After leaving his position, Ed went to check out the inns. Ed was going to stay for a while on this floor due to two reasons. First, he didn't want to leave so quickly. Although the floor was dangerous, it wasn't threatening for Ed. Out of all the people he had scanned, the strongest one was a Heavenly Establishment level 5, which Ed could kill. Second, he was planning to kill the boss, and not leave using the teleportation circle. Even if he were to take the turn immediately after Johan, he would still have to wait over a week.
He stopped by one of the more fancy inns and entered. The inn was the largest building in town and had many rooms. Each room was big, and could easily accommodate at least five people that didn't mind sharing. The big was a king-sized bed that didn't lose to the one Ed had in his room. The corridors were clean and the rooms were tidy and well kept. Ed was curious as to why such a high-class inn was inside the tower, and apparently, it makes money. Every room cost 5000 points per night, and by exchanging those points with treasures and taking them outside, they make a lot of money.
Ed bargained on the price and managed to get a 6% discount. Even more than what his haggling skill provided. He paid 4700 points and gave 300 points as a tip to one of the workers. Of course, Ed wasn't being unnecessarily nice, and the worker wasn't an idiot either. Ed wanted information, and the worker had them. The 300 points were simply to test the waters. Ed offered the man 2000 more credits to get him to spill all the beans.
"There's a group of dangerous bandits stationed outside the village. Every month they come and take points from everyone. In exchange, they help out in case of a monster horde. As for the local crime doers, you can kill them if you want they're only scrubs. But, try to avoid the bandits." The man spoke more and more about the situation of the Village. Ed wasn't interested in most of what was said, except for the first part.
Ed was curious as to why people didn't leave the village on the specific day. Apparently, the bandits work together with the Central Government. So, they have the names of everyone who is on this floor due to the exchange cards. Ed looked at the card in his hand and smiled while thinking, 'Looks like it won't be a quiet stay.'
Ed asked the man one last thing. "When is the next tribute day?"
"In five days." The man answered.
Ed gave him the promised points and left. These points didn't mean much to him since he got a plethora of them by selling useless carcasses. However, he wasn't going to give it away to bandits so easily. Ed headed to his room and summoned his companions. He told them everything that he was told and spoke about his next plans.
"We're going to kill anyone who messes with us." Ed wasn't a boy on Earth. Now, he had people he cared about and principles he believed in. Anyone who was a threat to him and his loved ones would end up dying. Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to avoid the bandits, only one solution remained.
All of his friends nodded at him in agreement. Ed made sure to create a dimension, so as not to be overheard by anyone. He also slept inside the dimension after eating. The next day, he strolled around the village looking at potential souvenirs. He wanted to use up his points somehow, so he decided to buy things he liked. A pendant caught his attention so he approached the salesman.
"You have a good eye, sir. This is a one of a kind item." He kept blabbing in, trying to convince Ed to buy it.
'One of a kind my butt.' Ed had scanned the pendant. It turns out that it's a cursed item that had a mind control effect.
"I want to see how it looks. Help me out and wear it so I can have a good look." The salesman's face went pale after hearing Ed. He knew that his plan was found out, so he could only beg for his life. Ed ended getting items at half price from him. He bought some jewels and rings for his family, and the total came to less than 20.000 points. Satisfied, Ed left the now crying salesman.
Ed spent the next couple of days hunting outside the village. He managed to level up, but only once. However, he was able to gather many Gacha tickets. He now had twenty, the largest amount he ever had at once. The system was going to come back anytime now so Ed was at his maximum anticipation. He was similar to a child who knew his father was going to give him a treat, so he couldn't wait until his father got home. Ed entered the Village but didn't head to the exchange booths. Even after these days, he still didn't burn through his point stock.
Ed noticed a commotion so he went to see what was wrong. One of the bandits came to let them know that the tribute was happening tomorrow, earlier than scheduled. Ed didn't care about these things, and instead tailed the bandit as he was going back. After walking for almost an hour, they finally reached the bandits' hideout. It was an underground base under a hill. The entrance was almost impossible to spot. Ed was using Zetsu to hide his presence all the time while tailing the bandit. But now he used Zero Sign and followed after him inside without forgetting to leave a teleportation wood piece.
The inside of the base was much larger than he thought. The numbers of the bandits exceeded 100, while slaves added to their numbers. The boss looking man was sitting on a throne-like seat with a couple of collared women sitting down on the floor next to him. He was telling the bandit members some things like 'we're the best' and 'no one can oppose us'. Ed didn't waste time and instead scanned them all. The strongest one was the leader at Heavenly Establishment level 6, while the rest were spread out at level 2-4. Ed also checked out their weapons and armor.
Ed had the thought of killing the leader now before his time with Zero Sign was up. However, he was startled by a sudden sound.
[I'm back.]
Hello everyone! Enjoy.
'Welcome back!' Ed smiled on the inside as his partner finally got back. He looked at the bandits and thought about using magic to blow this place up. But, after looking at the slaves he gave that thought up. There was also the possibility of the bandits seeking revenge and coming to the village early. That would interrupt his reunion with the system.
Ed teleported outside the base, and then to the entrance of the village. There was another state of commotion. Ed left as soon as the bandit did, so he didn't know. Most people don't manage to gather enough points until the last day. And, since the last day is today, they were panicking. 'Procrastinators.' Ed thought to himself and entered his room in the inn. He opened up a pocket dimension and entered.
[Let your monsters out.] The system told him as soon as they were inside the dimension. Ed did what he was told, and summoned his companions. Raikou was there as well after getting out of his shadow.
"what is this abo-" Before Ed could finish, all of them had a burst in power. Ed was surprised and checked their stats. Everyone one of them was now at Heavenly Establishment level 5.
[Since host will keep getting stronger, and keep getting companions. It was decided to make them a uniformed cultivation. This way you wouldn't have to keep check of their power-ups. Now, every time you advance a level, they will as well.] The system's words were like music to Ed's ears. Although the difference was only three ranks, all of his monsters were now that strong. It definitely meant a big improvement.
[Next up is Gacha function. The host has both the Blacksmithing and Pharmaceutical skills, at Legendary grade. The weapon and armor Gacha became obsolete due to this. So those two will be removed and instead replaced by a Material Gacha.] Ed was keeping check of what he was told. These improvements concerned him and not someone else, so he had to keep his attention.
[Lastly, for the Gacha tickets. The tickets can now be exchanged for a higher grade. One Gacha ticket is a guaranteed common item; two can be exchanged to guarantee Uncommon. Three for rare, five for Epic, and ten for Legendary. For Mythical and Supreme you need 25 and 50 tickets respectively.]
Ed was glad that he gathered twenty tickets. This meant that he would be able to draw at least two Legendary cards. He wanted to use the tickets immediately, but he had the bandits to prepare for. Ed also had a question to ask the system. He told him about his encounter with Johan.
"He should be related to them, right?"
[Yes, that's how the Map works.] The system gave Ed the answer he was expecting. Ed was now even more confused as to why Johan treated him so indifferently. 'It doesn't matter.' Ed stopped thinking about it and started preparing for the bandits. He was worried about the Leader of the bandits being strong. But, now that his companions leveled up, he didn't care anymore.
"System, can the Transformation cards do specific conditions?" Ed asked.
[As long as it's simple]
'Great.' Ed smiled as he withdrew three of them. He transformed into one of the thugs he beat on Port city back on his continent. He recalled his companions and teleported out. Upon meeting someone, he started panting and screaming. "The Bandits want to kill us all!!" his shout attracted everyone's attention. The condition he set on the Transformation card was bloody beat up body. Usually; people wouldn't believe someone so easily. But, looking at him they had no choice.
"What do you mean?!" a flustered middle-aged man asked. He was afraid for his life.
"What do YOU mean?! They attacked me and my friends saying today is our last day here! We ran away hoping to let everyone know! Now, I don't even know where my friends are!" Ed quickly told them his lie. He spent the whole night doing this and transformed two more times. By morning, people were panicking and some of them tried to use the teleportation circle. Quickly, however, they overheated it and now it needed a week to start working again.
People now were on edge. Fear took over their rationality and made them go berserk.
"They're here!" one of the men shouted on top of the wall. Not all bandits came as only a group of them usually did this job. Before they could enter the village, arrows rained on top of them along with magic and spears. The bandits were stunned at the sudden development and had no choice but to run away.
'Phase one successful.' Ed, who transformed into his black disguise set, smiled. He wasn't stupid to fight over 100 Heavenly Establishment people. Instead, he used those that he could, the ones in the village.
The Bandits now came over with their Leader in the front. "What does this mean?!" He shouted on top of his lungs. He was in control for so many years, but now people were revolting. It didn't make any sense.
"Why do you want to kill us?!" another villager screamed at him.
"Because you attacked my grunts!"
"They attacked us first!" By now, Ed's plan was in full effect. However, even he wasn't heartless enough to involve those who were innocent. Those represented by a blue dot were under Ed's surveillance, while he didn't care about others. It was his selfishness and he didn't care about what others thought.
Soon, both parties started fighting while Ed secretly summoned his companions. "Sieg, Raikou take care of the leaders. Suika and the others, you can kill bandits, but make sure that these people don't die." He showed them those who were blue dots and all of them rushed away. Ed was killing bandits very swiftly. No one managed to catch a glimpse of his due to his speed and the chaos that took place near the entrance. Same was for his companions. Only Raikou stood out, but since some people were using monsters as well, he was ignored. Ed finally met someone who was a monster tamer.
Hello everyone! No Gacha for you in this chapter!!
Hope you enjoy^^
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT