章節 84: The Test
Only after a thorough search through their bags, and then their clothes did Stanis finally give up. These 3 bandit-esque figures had less than him, far less than him. All they had were few clothes, food and a lot of drink.
Exasperated, he used Light healing on the three and waited till the two of them regained their consciousness. This waiting time wasn't quiet, instead the opposite as Pete showered him with praise after praise, in between fishing for clues about what Stanis was going to use them for.
Now Pete, he had done a lot of disreputable things in his life but the way Stanis had said it made him fear that it wasn't reputation Stanis was going to trample on but morals…
Stanis waited a fair few minutes before slapping the two awake. They groaned as they regained consciousness, but soon stopped as their memories caught up to their minds. What followed was an awkward silence as Stanis intently watched the 3.
They were cattle waiting to be sold, Stanis peering over their features.
"Your lives are in my control," said Stanis. His eyes were roving at this point, looking at the clouds high above the cave.
"Of course. Our foolish mistake in targeting you, ain't it boys?" answered Pete. The two sitting beside him weren't sure what question he was answering but they got the picture a few nudges later.
"Oh yes baws and greater baws. We're still living and you even healed us. How can we ever repay you?"
"We unworthy. We in your debt."
It was hard to keep the smile off his face but Stanis managed, staring dead-faced at the three.
"You're my lab rats. One step out of the boundary or out of line and you're finished."
"We wouldn't da---"
"So, tell me," Stanis cut in. "What does your skill do?" he asked while looking at Pete. The skill had caught him off-guard and thus thrown his balance out of the window, endangering his poor life.
Stanis couldn't see any signs of hesitation in Pete's actions but the silence alone was a giveaway. An ice crystal began forming next to him, the very sight helping Pete find his words.
"It shares my feeling with anyone around me," answered Pete.
It was like cogs turned in Stanis's head as he heard this, connecting all the links together. It was but a brief second before he spoke again.
"You dirty fucker! You're soaked in it, aren't you? You drink it up like a sponge," He made no effort to hide his astonishment.
Pete giggled abashedly. Stanis's compliment, at least that's what Pete took it as, had caught him off-guard.
Stanis peered at the two sitting beside him, both of them crossing their arms in front of themselves and shaking their heads. They had fallen, sure, but they hadn't fallen as far as Pete had. They still had their dignity and pride, albeit only a bit.
In no time, a hearty laugh was rumbling out of Stanis's stomach. Pete joined him, whereas the other two watched the scene for a second before committing to controlled laughter.
Pete, who the two of them respected and trusted to get them out of this precarious situation, was lost after a single compliment. He was now already in the tiger's pit, laughing just as hard as Stanis himself but the other two were not going to throw themselves in like he had. If he gambled well, great. If not, they could always take a step back and act like they were merely corrupted by the devilish person in front of them.
After several seconds of hard laughing and after wiping a few tears across his face, Stanis regained his composure.
"You're beyond dumb if you're actually that drunk while fighting," said Stanis.
"I have a good tolerance, "answered Pete. "Far higher than others'."
Stanis took a deep breath in before shaking his head. That was all he had been curious about and the answer had loosened him up plenty.
"Alright then. Come on, get going," said Stanis while pointing towards the cave they were sitting beside.
He used Light healing a few more times across their feet before making them walk into the cave ahead of him.
Perhaps he should have killed the trio then and there but he felt it would be better if he had a few mice to test the waters with before diving in himself. If he learned anything valuable from their deaths, that was enough for him.
Of course, there was the added threat with having them around. He had already seen their typical behaviour from the first meeting and he'd be damned if he actually thought they had changed after a single beating. But it didn't matter either way, Pete's trick was only a one-time thing on him as he now knew the treatment for it. As for anything else they could pull out, well, the ice crystals he had floating around him weren't for show.
The cave wasn't very large in terms of width or length, but it did have an increasing difficulty. As they walked through, Stanis noticed how the mana intensity was getting stronger. It wasn't dastardly high at its peak but it was enough to push back anyone who didn't have mid-tier 3 strength yet.
All in all, the walk was about ten minutes long, and quite a pleasant one by Stanis's standard. Skint had lit a torch at the start and thus they hadn't walked in blinding darkness. Stanis could easily tell that the 3 walking in front of him wanted to talk throughout but didn't due to his presence. Not that he minded it much, the quiet was sometimes good for some necessary thought.
Not this time though, Stanis spent his time instead watching the backs of the 3 walking in front of him. Bear, an unusual name but not as weird as Scowly or the such, had a straight back and he walked with either confidence or naivety. From the man's stature, Stanis had guessed it was confidence but then reconsidered it after thinking of Bear's character.
Skint walked with a bent back, his forearm tightened as he tightly held a short-bow in his hands. It was obvious he had taken some kind of ranger/scout class as he repeatedly mumbled under his breath scouting skills. But he found out, as Stanis had done, that all scouting skills proved useless in the cave. There was some type of force blocking them.
And last but not least, Pete walked with an ever-changing back. Sometimes it would be straight but he would soon stumble across the floor and it would curve. Other times he was slouching back against the air, his feet moving forwards with a strange confidence. It was obvious that the man was still drunk but Stanis was nevertheless impressed.
It wasn't really the man's combat ability nor his tolerance to alcohol that had surprised Stanis, it had been the combination of the two. Stanis now knew that he was playing an act, because the second he had been caught off-guard, Pete's actions had flowed with a finesse previously unseen.
Eventually, the party of four exited the cave and found themselves in a barren, rocky landscape. The ground rose into a hill in front of them, the entire ground made out of layered, coloured rock. The first thing that Stanis noticed was that the gravity was far stronger than on Earth's. This meant that they were either not on Earth or in some kind of special area.
[Welcome to the Initial test
You have enough power to start your journey but you must first prove that power. Kill 100 enemies in 30 minutes.
There are 4 of you. The enemies have been multiplied by a factor 4. Each person can pass after 100 kills within the time limit or all can pass simultaneously if all the enemies are wiped out in the time.]
Initial test? So they were being initiated into something, but what? More importantly, what were their enemies? Stanis felt a small amount of joy at realising bringing the trio had been a good decision. If they had been separated after entering the cave, then leaving them alive would have been useless and in fact, possibly dangerous. But since they were fighting together, it meant Stanis could put them to use.
"Alright, you guys fight and I'll join you. Eventually," said Stanis, simultaneously stretching his arms. Once in the heat of battle, it was almost impossible to get out and even if he did, his mind would be in a different mindset and close to useless at analysing. But not now, he could watch from a safe distance, recognise the enemies' weaknesses, and then just steamroll over them. This was, of course, in the scenario that the enemies were fightable. If not, Stanis would use the trio as meat shields so that he could get a greater lead.
Skint and Bear looked like they were about to argue with the battle plan before better sense took hold of them.
"Sure ting boss-man," said Pete, taking the bag off Bear and opening it. He quickly found a shiny hatchet and a mace, taking both of them out. Stanis had seen these while searching through their bags and had initially been confused. Now, he was only more confused than before.
"Why those weapons?"
"Oh," said Pete, almost joyful that he had been questioned. "These are my proper weapons. Look at the way they shine. Ehergh eghergh,"
"So, why weren't you using those weapons before?"
Bear and Skint seemed exasperated at this question, going to their own preparations at this. Bear began casting spells on himself, whereas Skint began running across the hills, scouting for the enemies while also laying traps.
"Bah, what do they know?" answered Pete while sharply looking at his two men. "Tell me bossman, who's going to trust a drunk who's got two scary weapons by his waist?"
"No one," answered Pete, showing his yellowed teeth for extra showmanship. "But a drunk stumbling across the place with just a blade sheathed by his waist?"
Stanis stared unimpressed at the bearded man. His skill was utterly wasted on him! If a proper leader had gotten such a skill, then the courage and calmness and bravery they could bring to the frontlines were paramount.
But hey ho, fate would instead have it that a drunk received the skill, using it to make others drunk in the heat of battle.
"ENEMIES" shouted Skint from the top of the hill. In all truth, Stanis had already used Scout and sense and thus had known they were coming. And from the looks of it, it wasn't going to be a much of a battle. It was going to be war…
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