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10.59% My System Powers Up My Crew Except Me / Chapter 22: Preparation

บท 22: Preparation

When Bang slept last night, he didn't see Andy going to sleep. But when he woke up this morning, Andy was already awake. He sure is hardworking.

Ligi was still asleep, which was weird because in previous mornings, he would always be awake before Bang.

Thinking that Ligi would need all the energy he could have in the journey, Bang decided not to wake him up. He went out of the room and walked to Andy's workspace. Andy was still banging on a metal using a hammer.

"Hey."

Andy did not answer.

"Hey!"

Andy still did not answer.

"HEY!"

When Bang shouted, Andy finally looked to his side to see who shouted. He saw Bang and he spoke while still continuing his work.

"Hey! Ready to go to the Dreaded Valley?"

"Yeah. We'll set off maybe later after Ligi wakes up."

"Great! That's great!"

It looked like Andy wasn't even listening to Bang and just responded to whatever Bang said. Feeling like it was hopeless to talk, Bang returned to the room.

When he opened the door, the sound escaped from the metal and went into the room. The sudden sound woke up Ligi from his sleep.

"Wha-! Wher-!...."

Ligi sat up as soon as he woke. His heart was beating wildly as he looked at his surroundings. Seeing the familiar blacksmith's place, he sighed in relief. Bang just observed the weird behavior of Ligi.

'Did he have a nightmare? Will that affect him in the journey? Should I do something, system?'

Instead of asking Ligi himself, Bang asked the system. He didn't want any wild cards that could lead to their deaths in the valley. It's good to hash out any problems in the plan before they set out.

'.......'

The system stayed silent. Bang interpreted this as the system telling him to not mind it because it won't affect their journey.

He just went to sit on a chair and checked his rucksack. He had food and water for the journey to the Dreaded Valley.

'Wait, is this enough?'

Right as he thought that Andy went back into the room sweating. He wiped his sweat from his forehead and spoke to Bang.

"So, you guys ready?"

"Not yet. How long does it take to travel to the Dreaded Valley?"

Andy smacked his head again and scolded himself.

"Right! I haven't told you where the Dreaded Valley was."

"Well, I'll just tell you when we're out of the gate. It'll be much easier to point the directions."

Bang still looked at his bag and counted his perishables.

"How long will the journey be?"

Andy saw the food and jugs that Bang carried in his rugged rucksack. He guessed the real answer Bang wanted.

"You'll need about 2-3 days travel. Those won't be enough."

Bang thoughts so. These were just salvaged from the caravan of Tab. Even if he portioned it, it wouldn't last a round trip with the two of them. They don't even have money to buy food or provisions needed for the journey.

Andy had no choice but to help them with their preparations because he was relying on their mission to the Dreaded Valley.

"I'll give you some money for now. Buy whatever you need for the journey. Did you pass by those stalls near the gate? You can buy some useful things from there."

"Yeah, I saw them. Thanks."

Andy then went into his drawer near his bed and counted out some coins. He gave Bang 5 golden colored coins that had the number 10 written on it.

"That should be enough."

Bang just looked at Ligi and nodded. They were still not talking but Ligi followed Bang without any question.

"We'll go for now."

Andy just nodded and went into a cabinet in the room and took out a tool. He just started working again, ignoring Bang and Ligi.

Bang went out of the blacksmith and into the streets yet again. There were fewer people than last afternoon and the stores and buildings were just getting set up. He could see people carrying some stones, woods, clothes, and even water buckets as they ran through the streets.

Bang retraced back his steps back into the gate where the stalls were set up. In contrast to the established stores in brick buildings, these flimsy set up stalls were already up and running. They were already calling out people to buy their products.

It was noisy, but the guards at the gate weren't responding. They were yawning and their eyes seemed heavy. Bang guessed that these guards had the night shift job and they were close to subbing out.

"Hey there young man, take a look at my wares. It's cheap, it's reliable, and there's plenty for everybody."

One seemingly enthusiastic vendor called out to Bang. Because he was looking for exactly this type of stall, Bang responded to the call and started walking towards the stall.

Looking closely, Bang could see that there were an assortment of products that the vendor could sell. Speaking of the vendor, he smiled when he saw Bang and Ligi coming to him.

The vendor was standing behind his stall, wearing a plain white shirt over a brown vest. He had a goatee but he still had a stubble beard that wasn't shaved for days.

"Hello customer, what would you like? Jerky? Salves? Extra clothes? Whatever you want we have it here."

The vendor seemed confident about his wares. Seeing that everything in here could be of some use to Bang, the confidence was not unfounded.

"We need some food rations. About four days worth. How much is that?"

"Oho. Looks like sir will be going on an adventure I see. Then let me recommend you this newly acquired jerky. This meat was specifically bred to sustain you more with respect to it's size. So you won't have to carry a lot of food with you."

The vendor gave Bang a sample. It was a small piece of jerky and when Bang ate it, he felt it was fulfilling compared to the size of the jerky. He didn't know if the story told by the vendor was true because most vendors would embellish their products to be more attractive.

It didn't taste good nor bad but in times of trouble, this would suffice.

"How much is it?"

The vendor rubbed his eyes and he smiled.

"20g"

He didn't know if that was expensive or cheap but he did know the ways selling in the street. They would always sell it at a higher price than normal. Bang's remedy to this was to feign disinterest in the jerky.

"Hmm....."

Bang then started to look at other products in the vendor's stall. After that, he took a glance at the other stalls feigning interest on those. They both knew what the other was doing. This was not their first rodeo but this was like an unwritten rule in the streets. If you didn't follow these rules, it's your fault if you get scammed.

"How about water? What do you have?"

"Of course, of course. We have this contraption right here."

The vendor took out a jug made of metal with some kind of cloth surrounding it. He pulled on some kind of string and the cloth turned into an upside down umbrella. The umbrella funneled into the metal jug.

"This one is very useful on rainy days. This can collect rain water very efficiently. Though, I wouldn't recommend it right now as it is still months away from the rainy season."

The vendor took out another metal jug. This one had a kind of cloth covering the mouth of the jug. The vendor unlocked some kind of mechanism in the jug and the mouth opened to see the inside of the jug.

"This one can filter river water to be drinkable."

Bang weighed the choices and the choice seemed obvious. The second jug was more compact and useful in their journey.

"How much for two?"

"For two of these...hmm... 20g would suffice."

Like before, Bang feigned disinterest. Although he was already almost over his budget, he still looked at the other products.

"Do you have a big backpack? Just large enough to fit all these and more."

The vendor bent down and reached for something in his stall. It was a big backpack. The quality of this was clearly subpar but compared to the bloodied and hole-riddled rucksack they wore, this one was clearly better.

"How much for two of them?"

"For you good sir, it would be 20g."

If Bang were to buy all he wanted to buy, the total would be 60g, way above his budget. But he clearly knew that the vendor inflated the prices so he decided to haggle.

"I'll buy the jerky, the second jugs, and the backpacks for 40g."

"You're kidding me dear sir! I won't profit from this and even lose some money. 55g."

"45g. I can look for other stalls."

After hesitating for a while, the vendor finally relented. The vendor knew that Bang wasn't an easy opponent after that exchange.

"50g final offer."

"Deal."

Bang bought the things needed and put them all on his newly bought backpack. He also gave Ligi his share of the products and they went on their way back to the blacksmith.

Truthfully, he wanted to buy so much more to fully prepare for this journey like salves and bandages. But alas, he didn't have money.

As they were on their way, they were surprised to see Andy walking towards them. He was walking with hurried steps. After he reached Bang and Ligi, he suddenly spoke.

"Are you guys ready to go? Let's go outside to the gate."

Without even waiting for confirmation, Andy dragged Bang and Ligi back into the gate. Bang noticed that the guards were now different signaling a change in post. Before, the guards just ignored Bang and Ligi, but now the guards looked at Bang and Ligi with interest. They spoke to each other with hushed voices.

Andy hurried even more seeing that. After they went out of the gate, one of the guard wanted to stop them but other guard prevented him from going so. They just discussed some more and one of them disappeared into the town.

After walking away from the gate, Andy finally spoke.

"You guys have to get out of here now! You're being charged with the murder of Tab the merchant."


next chapter

บท 23: Red

"What?!?! Is that true?!"

Bang became alert. If that was true, then he was being framed for the murder of Tab. Who would do such a thing? Why would they do that? Those were the questions that were going through Bang's head. Ligi just looked warily at the gate looking for any sign that the guards might comeback and arrest them.

"Yes! I have some reliable connections in the city. You have to go now!"

"Where do we go?"

"Follow that road until you see a sign saying 'to Bahan city' and take a sharp right turn. It should be a forest filled with red leaves. Continue in that direction until you see a river, by then follow the river that leads to a gorge until you see the Dreaded Valley. You'll notice it because it would be filled with rotten trees and leaves. Did you follow that?"

As soon as Andy told the directions, Bang got a notification in his mini map pointing in the directions that Andy told him. Bang didn't tarry any longer and sprinted into a different road than before. Ligi followed suit.

The danger of being caught by the powers that may be in Suno town for things he didn't commit terrified Bang. His adrenaline was so high that he forgot to ask an important question. Will they walk all the way there?

He realized it too late as Bang couldn't see Andy anymore. Andy probably put into the account of them walking to the estimated time of arrival in the Dreaded Valley. Hopefully.

Once they were far away enough so that Suno town was only an outline, Bang stopped jogging. He needed to conserve energy for the trip.

Once again, they were out here in the wild. Bang found it weird that he never got to settle in any one place. He was always pushed into some kind of situation that needed him elsewhere. Bang decided that he will try and stay in one place for a long time the next time he comes into a town. He needed to explore the things that were native only to this world and unthinkable on Earth.

Bang dreaded walking but thankfully, his body liked that. Ligi only had a determined face on him whenever they were away on a mission. Thankfully, there were clouds to buffer the heat of the sun.

After walking for what seems to be hours, Bang and Ligi finally saw the wooden sign that wrote 'To Bahan city'. True enough, adjacent to that sign was a forest filled with red leaves. It truly looked beautiful in the light of the sun. If it was back on Earth, it would have been a tourist attraction.

Following his mini map, he traversed the forest with increased curiosity at the sight. There really wasn't anything to do but walk through the forest. Bang noticed that there were flowers everywhere. Grass grew everywhere but didn't compete with the flowers. All in all, it looked like a plentiful forest.

Then out of the blue, they suddenly saw a lump of dirt in front of them turn into a big animal. To be exact, this animal probably hid in the soil. Alarmed at the sudden appearance, Ligi went in front of Bang and took out his shield. They braced for impact.

The expected outcome did not come at all. They looked at the buffalo who had spiral horns while the buffalo also looked at them. Bang was surprised that in the eyes of the buffalo, there was a sense of peace. It wasn't aggressive and angry but had eyes as clear as day.

After looking at them for a while, the buffalo finally left. Bang and Ligi felt relieved that there wasn't a confrontation. Well even if there was, Ligi would have deflected the attack. Speaking of the shield, Bang noticed something different on it.

The shield that was made up of barks, now grew moss and vines on it. There were also blades of grass growing out of the trunk. The shield was now mimicking the environment they were currently in.

Ligi just stared incredulously at his own shield. In all the time he had this shield, it had never exhibited this behavior. Was it because of the location? Or maybe some other factor, Ligi did not know.

Although it was weird, it wasn't enough to deter them from continuing on their journey. They had intermittent breaks throughout the whole journey in order to conserve energy and be in tip top shape when a crisis occurred. They would sit down near a tree and eat some jerky to fill their stomach.

They met some more docile animals in their journey in the red forest. They saw all kinds of animals that wouldn't have coexisted back on Earth. They saw cows, elks, deers, and there was even a horse. They could hear hummingbirds up in the trees enjoying life.

This was a complete antonym to the place they were going to for their mission. It had the word 'dreaded' on it. Bang thought that this may be the calm before the storm.

As the sun was setting, they decided to sleep off the night. Bang didn't get to buy some blankets or something to sleep on during an adventure. He would have really needed that right now. They only ate some more jerky and drank water from the jugs while Bang regretted.

As they were passing time watching the sun set, they some some little blobs of light. This wasn't like the ones in Suno town because Bang recognized it. It was a group of fireflies that danced around in the moonlight. Bang thought that was the only source of light in the forest but he was wrong.

As soon as night set in, the vines in the trees suddenly started glowing a blue hue. The dark where the blue light compliments the red leaves really left a huge impression on Bang and Ligi. This is what adventuring should be. Seeing and experiencing the unknown for himself. This whole trip would have been worthwhile by just looking at the scenery in the night.

Once they got sleepy, Bang closed his eyes. He finally spoke some words to Ligi.

"Let's take shifts. I'll sleep for now."

Ligi nodded. The peaceful night passed. Bang expected nothing to happen to him since the animals in here was so docile. True enough after taking shifts between them, there was no disturbance.

The next morning, Bang and Ligi went on their way. Bang once again followed his mini map, that way he won't ever be lost.

Following the path, he heard the splashing of water. A little ways down from where they were standing was a deep river that ran horizontally. They have reached the river that Andy pointed out. Bang looked left and right to see where the river would go.

On his right, the river went on for a little while but curved upwards and from then on, Bang couldn't see it from where he was standing. The left side of the river led to a small mountain in the distance. This must be the right place. Andy said that they should follow the river where it would lead to a gorge.

Bang decided to climb the small mountain and follow the river from there. Up here, he could see the direction to where he was going much easier. The gorge continued on for miles and miles until the sun set once again.

Bang went down the mountain and into the refuge of the red forest. The red forest was proven to be safe from last night and as a bonus, the scenery was to die for.

Bang thought it would be awkward traveling with someone while not speaking but in truth, it was easier than he thought. Because they weren't speaking, they were more focused on the journey ahead. The luminous vines once again lit up the whole forest. Bang felt it was a shame he didn't get to see the fireflies this time.

Taking shifts, the night passed without any accident. They ate some jerky, refilled their water jugs, and went on their way. As they traveled through the gorge, Bang noticed that the previous red forest became more and more darker. There were less grass and moss around the trees and the ground. The transition wasn't sudden but a gradual change.

The weather suddenly changed from being sunny, to being cloudy. Smoke started to fill their surroundings, but not enough to obscure their vision. Bang couldn't see any more animals in the forest.

Then, the forest suddenly stopped. Up in the distance was a dark and swampy place in the middle of two mountains. There was only small plain that buffered the two borders. The mini map pointed in that direction. That must be the Dreaded Valley.

Preparing himself, he suddenly heard a noise. This was the rustling of leaves and footsteps in the forest. Bang could hear that it was just adjacent to them. As he observed more, he saw a group of people walking towards the Dreaded Valley. Ligi readied himself to take out his shield.

Bang took a step and he also broke a branch. The sound reached the group and they stopped. Some of them decided to check it out and went towards Bang and Ligi.

Bang froze. He couldn't think of anything to do and the system just stayed silent. He let the group of people approach him.

As they got closer, Bang recognized a face. It was Lobo.


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