《The Immortal Player》 1 The Star It was a cold and windy night in December. A tired young man arrived home after having the last set of Exams for this semester. Just like the usual Filipino Family in this era. His Mother, Father, and Grandma were watching the news on the television. They often do this to wait for him so that they would be able to eat dinner together. Knock! Knock! "Oh! Pedro is here! Let''s eat." His Mother stood when she saw him knock on the door. "I''m home!" He smiled. "Oi brat! Stop smiling and go wash your hands! I am hungry already." His grandma scolded while raising her fist as if wanting to hit Pedro. "I will, Grandma!" He rushed to the bathroom and washed his hands. "Grandma looked like she is in a bad mood, today. Why do I feel like I am going to get scolded by both father and grandma again?" He sighed, "Aaah... Several days of no sleep, I want to relax and have some fun at the least. I hope father and grandma will not scold me tonight." After washing his hands, he headed to the dining area and joined his family in the dining table. ''The calm before the storm...'' He sighed deep inside. He led the prayer before their meal. Afterward, they take turns getting food, allowing his grandma to take her portions first. Before his father could even take a bite, He looked towards Pedro and asked, "How were your exams today?" ''Waaa~ Here we go!'' Pedro felt troubled deep inside. "I think I did good, father. There were some tricky parts, as usual. Fortunately, I checked those parts and was able to correct my previous answers." "Good. But don''t get too relaxed. The results are yet to come. If you fail in even one of your exams... I''ll take those ''distractions'' off from you! Are we clear?" "Yes, father." He nodded in response. "Why do you need to wait for the results? Take him away from these VR Games! Let him accompany you in the company and observe so that he can learn the ins and outs of it." His grandma added. "Ma... Please don''t be harsh to Pedro. He''s just a second-year college student. Let him have some time to relax and enjoy his youth. He is still young after all." His mother defended him. ''Phew! Fortunately, the mother is always here to support and defend me!'' Pedro sighed inwardly. "Young?" His grandmother looked at him with a doubting look, "Him? When your father was 19 years old, He already started working as a part-time service crew in the restaurant owned by my friend, just to be able to save money for his tuition fee. And... You''re telling me he is young?" "Don''t worry mother, father, grandma... I''ll always do my best to make you proud. I''ll make sure that my hobby of playing games won''t affect my studies. After all, I am very thankful for everything you do for me. And only through achieving good results can I only repay your hard work!" His mother felt happy and was teary-eyed after hearing what he said. As for her grandma... "Ha! You can''t fool me with your sweet words. Go wash the dishes after we eat. I might get happy, at the least!" "Sure, grandma." Pedro forced out a smile. In the end, he washed the dishes after their dinner, even though they have a maid. Washing the dishes made her grandma, at the least, to smirk. After he washed the dishes, he was about to go up and return to his room when his father called him. His father was watching the news on the television. "Pedro, come here and have a look." His father was sitting on a sofa and pointed to the television. Their living room was wide. Attached to the wall was a fifty-inch curved TV. A few meters away from it was long enough to sit three to four people. Two separate, single-seater, sofas were located closer to the TV and in line with a glass center table. Pedro walked towards one of the single-seater sofas and took a seat. He shifted his attention towards the television. "Dorothy, Based on the statement given by the Presidential Spokesperson, Will the government support this game called, Bearth Online, that was about to be released in two days?" A news anchor asked the on-site reporter, that was doing live coverage outside the Congress. "Yes, Lino. You see, everyone was shocked by this statement from the Presidential spokesperson. We all know that since the existence of VR Helmets and the Virtual Reality games in the early 2030s, the congress, itself, passed several laws to avoid the negative effects it may bring to the people, especially the young ones. I asked some of the Congressman earlier about this matter and they only said that as long as it follows our laws and that it would benefit many people, then they saw no reason not to support the plans of our President." "I see... Did you get any information about why was the President, and it seems like even the congress, is supporting this game?" "Well, we tried to ask some of the Congressman about that, but all of them kept saying to wait for the announcement to be maid by the Presidential spokesperson, himself." "Alright, Thanks, Dorothy!" "No Problem Lino! This Dorothy Shosun, BTN News~" After that part of the news, His father shifted his gaze towards him. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Do you know that game?" His father asked. "Yes, father. I heard from some of its closed beta phase players that the game was something unusual. Unlike the usual VR games that had a role-playing mechanics, it had a sandbox mechanic that made it look like another ''reality''. In the end, the closed beta phase players remarked the game as a very difficult one. They said that out of the whole month of the closed beta phase, the top players considered were only able to reach level five. Moreover, according to one of the closed beta phase players, the game was so hard, that killing monsters was never an option. Instead, the top players were able to reach level five by doing ''labor'' tasks or quests from NPCs." Pedro got carried away after his father asked something to him about a game. Halfway through his explanation, his father shifted back his gaze to the TV. "I am not interested in the contents of the game. Do you know anything about it that can make our government act like this towards it?" "Ah! I''m sorry father but..." He paused for a second trying to brainstorm about the information that he read about the game. "If there''s nothing, you may go." "Wait... Father, If it is about something outside the contents of the game itself, then... It might be about the new gaming equipment that is to be first used in VR games. The VR Box." "VR box? Is it a box-shaped version of your VR helmet?" "No father. It is a refrigerator looking bed. There was not that much information about it. The closed beta phase players only said that it works the same as a VR Helmet. However, compared to VR Helmets, A VR Box consumes a lot more electricity. Hence, some of the players coming from middle-class families quit the game halfway because their monthly electricity bill was already twice their regular monthly bill, after only a week of using it." "Hmm... I see. Thank you for your time, son. You can go now." "Okay, father. Goodnight." "Goodnight!" Pedro left his father and went to his room. While he was walking back, he was curious as to why his father was suddenly interested in that game. Since he was afraid of his father and he doesn''t want to get scolded, he simply answered his questions and left when he had the chance. ''He won''t play the game, right?'' He mocked inside. He went back to his room and took a bath. Several minutes later, he was already finished with his matters and went to bed. Fortunately, VR games can be played during sleep. He took his VR helmet and plugged a cord in it. The other end of the cord was plugged into a socket near his bed. The VR helmet activated and he laid down in the bed. [Would you like to start the game engine?] "Yes!" Slowly, his consciousness started to fade. Seconds later, he woke up in a small and empty cube room. [Game engine run, successful!] [Welcome back to Dragona Online!] [Logging in!] Seconds later, a different virtual scene started to materialize around him. He appeared inside a huge room and he was standing in front of a throne and looked like a King. Beside the throne stood two red flags that had yellow writing in it. "ARES" "No one is around? Did they go out already?" He accessed his player interface and learned that only five of them in their guild that was online. ... Annie: Guild Leader, You there? One of the five members online chatted in the guild chat. Mr.Dark (IGN of Pedro): Yes, Why? Annie: Let''s farm some monsters? Are you free? Mr.Dark: Yeah sure. I''ll be on my way. ... Pedro joined Annie and the rest to form a party of five. They farmed some monsters in a nearby monster spawning area. "Gui~Gui~Guild Master!!! Isn''t that a Hidden Dungeon??" Annie who was holding a staff wore an astounded look. She pointed into a warp which was about 300 m away from their party. "Jackpot!" Pedro rejoiced. "Good eyes Annie! Everyone, let''s go!" 2 Past Experience Playing for almost 5 years in this VR game, Pedro and his party entered the dungeon and swept up to the door of the boss room with ease. They got tons of rare materials from the monsters but there were no weapons or accessories. This is for the reason that the weapons and accessories were dropped only by the bosses of each dungeon. "Guys, this is it. Everyone ready?" Everyone nodded in response and grasped their weapons. The ancient door of the boss room opened slowly with a ''Creeeeek!''. In the middle of the room was the boss. It was a black dragon that was awakened from its sleep. "Humans..." The black dragon yawned and watched them as they advance forward! "You dare wake me up from my sleep!?" "Man... what a scary dragon!" A male player with a bow mocked with a smile. "Be on your guard! Ready your teleportation crystals, Something feels weird with this boss!" Pedro held his teleportation crystal in his left hand. He watched the movements of the dragon very closely. Everyone in the party followed his order and took out teleportation crystals. This was a common safety method done by the players who play VR games. This is due to one of the laws made by the governments on VR games like "Death penalties should result in true death of the player''s character". This law was based on the study of a psychologist to help develop different skills like social or survival skills of the people, especially the young ones who play games most of the time. At the same time, it may lessen the chance of people becoming addicted to VR games. However, VR games have some cases into which this law was not applicable. Just like deaths due to losing on Duels or valid PvP battles, or tutorials and the like. The risks they face were very high since it was a Hidden Dungeon. Hidden Dungeons are one of the rarest and hardest dungeons in the game. At the same time, the hard work they put on their characters in those past 5 years would be lost if they die. "Vex! Charge now!" Pedro pointed his sword to the dragon. The party''s main tank grasped his sword and shield while staring at the dragon, full of killing intent. He nodded in reply and activated a skill that made him ram straight to the dragon. As everyone was following up the charge of the main tank and execute their combo, the dragon turned its head towards the party in a lazy manner. "Humans! You are brave... BUT NOT STRONG ENOUGH!" Their mouths went agape as the dragon was still able to move after being hit by the tank''s charge skill which should have had a ''stun'' effect. ''This!'' Everyone wore a grim look as they were now able to check the dragon''s name and information. The information only appears after it was engaged. Monster details, like names, do not appear unless engaged. This was one of the features of this VR game that was set to increase the difficulty of the game. [Atlas, The World Dragon] Rating: God Description: [unknown] Skills: [unknown] [unknown] A series of [unknown] greeted the party. It is at this moment that they realized that the dragon isn''t something they should mess with. As quick-witted as everyone was, they immediately activated the teleportation crystal in their hands. "TELEPORT! NOW!" Pedro was anxious as his teleportation countdown, of 5 seconds, starts. Everyone activated their teleportation crystal and the countdown started. This moment seemed to be the longest 5 seconds in their life. Suddenly, the dragon showed a faint smile and exhaled a blue flame out of its mouth. Fwaaaaaaah! "You think you can escape me, humans...." The dragon chuckled as everyone had a grayed vision and received a system notification. [You Died! Character deletion and automatic logout will commence in 3!] 2! 1! ... "Nooooooo!" Pedro screamed very loud as he regained consciousness in the real world. After a few seconds, Pedro got up from the VR Box and sat on his bed. ''What was that? A God~ Boss?! Isn''t it that God NPCs or Monsters only appear at Main Story Quests? How come the boss of the Hidden Dungeon was a God?'' While questions bombard into his head, someone slapped hard at the back of his head. He glanced in that direction and saw his angry father standing near the door of his room. "You useless piece of @@@@!" His dad scolded while pointing his hand to Pedro, "Can''t you see that we are already sleeping?! It''s 2:00 AM PEDRO! 2:00 AM! Here we thought something bad happened to you, only to know, you!!!" "Calm down, honey... Calm down!" His mother entered the room and stopped his father by hugging and pulling his father away. His father shrugged his mother and said, "This is the last time you''ll do this young man! One more... One more time and you''d be saying goodbye to your games!" When his father left the room, his mother sat down on the side of the bed. "Don''t mind him too much. Your father... he was just angry. The moment we heard your scream, he became very worried. He rushed immediately to your room. He feared that something bad might have happened to you! Only after seeing you and the VR box behind you, that he became annoyed. He only cares about you, son! I hope that you understand. Now, go back to sleep. It''s only 2:00 in the morning, I''ll go talk to your father." "Thanks, mom!" Pedro forced out a smile as his mother left the room. ''Sleep? I hope I can!'' He lied down to his bed and placed a pillow into his face. ~~~~~~~ Chook! Chook! Chook! The next morning, Pedro was woken by his phone. He was receiving messages from his guildmates. Seeing that there were more than 40+ unread messages, Pedro scanned through them one by one. Each of the 43 messages he received was from 43 of his guild members. All of their messages were similar. They will transfer to another guild after they learned that Pedro, their guild master, and the rest of the five-man party had died last night. Pak! Pedro threw his phone out of anger. "I know something is fishy! Only 5 out of 50 were online last night? And now they are telling me that they will leave the guild? Fvck them! If they wanna leave then go! I have no use for traitors like you!" Fortunately, Annie and the rest of the five-man party who died with him will still stay in the guild along with 2 more members. Since it was already Christmas vacation, Annie and the remaining members of the guild made another character and played early that day. As for Pedro, he decided not to play for a day to cool his self down. He was still angry with those 43 members who left their guild. ~~~~~~~ "Armaz Energy Corporation" Pedro''s father arrived at their company''s main office. He headed straight to his office room located on the top floor. Upon entering his office, the secretary of his father followed him inside. "Were you able to get the information about this VR Box I told you about?" "Yes, President Jon! Since last year, the developers of this VR Box had a major problem. It was their electricity consumption rate. Since then, the developers searched for possible solutions to the extent of even finding an Energy Company to collaborate in the research and design. Unfortunately, no Energy company displayed their interest to collaborate with them. The cost was high and the solution they wanna make was for something to be used in a game, which~" "was opposed by governments all over the world." Mr. Jon Armaz interrupted. "Yes, President Jon!" "Then... How did they succeed?" "Joe Energy Corporation International." "I see... Check if Atomic Energy Crystal III can lower the energy consumption of the VR Box. If the RnD Department sends its approval, Try to contact the Manufacturer of the VR Box. We must get a deal with them, no matter how small." "Yes, President!" The secretary left Mr. Jon Armaz, who was looking down the glass wall in his office. "If this doesn''t work... I can only ask my son to establish a professional gaming organization that would endorse our company. Energy Corporations once did this kind of advertisement... It seems like it would be back, once again." 3 Back to the Past! *Kriiiiiing... Pedro noticed his phone that started ringing. He grabbed the phone and saw the name of who was calling. It was Annie. ''Why is Annie calling me? didn''t they cut ties with me 6 years ago?'' He was a bit hesitant on answering the phone call from Annie after remembering what had happened after the "God Dragon" killed them 6 years ago. (After that incident, Annie and the other players were so furious that they blamed each other from what happened. This resulted in ruining their friendship and separating in their own ways. This incident gave Pedro a hard time during the start of Bearth and in establishing the Ares Guild despite having a company supporting and sponsoring him.) ''Maybe.. they got the news about me being electrocuted? well... It''s kind of them to remember me after everything that had happened.. I guess past is past and we leave it at that.'' He was thinking inwardly as he pressed the answer icon on his phone... "I finally got through!!" Annie muttered with a relieved voice. "... What''s up, Annie?" He asked "What''s up??? ... How can you be so calm, when you almost died in-game?" Annie replied with a confused expression. "Died in-game??" Pedro was confused and shocked by the reply Annie gave. ''How would I die in-game? From the gist of it, I don''t even see a VR Box here in my room. Besides, I have never encountered Annie in Bearth..'' "Is your head kicked by a pony that you lost your memory or something? or you are just messing with me guild leader?" Annie started to become annoyed to Pedro''s answers, unsure if he was messing with her or something. ... "...?" Pedro was rendered speechless to the annoyed response of Annie. Analyzing everything that is happening, Pedro became quiet for a moment. ''Died in game?... As far as I can remember, I only died once when I was playing the AVR game that I played with Annie.. and that is the "God Dragon" experience... However, if that''s the case, Annie won''t even bother calling me... Else... If I remember correctly, there was also one time when I almost died, luckily I was able to force log out of the game after stalling time for Annie and the gang to escape the ambush by a group of unknown assassin players. and this was around 7 years ago.'' "Hello!? Hello?! You''re still there? Hello?!" Annie kept asking as Pedro became quiet... ''It can''t be.... '' Still unsure of the current events, Pedro deduced that this is the event where he almost died on the AVR game he played with Annie and the gang 7 years ago. "Annie, I need to hang up, something just came up!" Pedro immediately ended the call and checked the calendar on his phone. To his surprise, he really deduced it right. It was apparently 7 years ago. *haaa... Pedro exhaled heavily as he confirmed that he somehow time traveled back 7 years ago. Realizing that he had returned back, Pedro tried to hold back his excitement as many thoughts and idea surged in his mind on how to deal with his current situation and his future. ''Calm down... Calm down... Let''s search for information about Bearth first... If I am correct, closed beta of Bearth will happen 1 year before its official release..'' when he finally contained his excitement, he calmly searched to glogol, an online searching website, about the game Bearth. He was able to access the website of the game Bearth. The website contained an advertisement about the closed beta of the game. [Registration of Closed Beta Players is ongoing! Limited slots only! Closed Beta will start on February 1, 2031!] "February 1? haa.. It''s just almost a week from now!" Pedro suddenly panicked. Scared of losing a slot to be able to enter the game earlier than others he quickly registered online... Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. *Tok.. tok.. tok... He was tapping the table with his fingers while anxiously waiting for the confirmation email that signified he was qualified to participate in Bearth''s closed beta. For others, playing in the closed beta of Bearth is just like having an upper hand on information and contents of the game, like what weapons and equipment should they invest on. They also aim to determine hidden quests and such, but the overall advantage is that they get was to experience and familiarize to the new game mechanics to be imposed on Bearth. Other than the fact that Bearth can only be played with the VR Box, It boasts a new game mechanics that made it different from other AVR game. (In Bearth, there were no classes that were specific like other usual AVR games. Players get the freedom to choose the set of skills they want to use, whether the skill of an assassin, "stealth type", was combined with the skill sets of a healer. This was one of the common skill combinations of regular players who played healer roles in the past life of Pedro. Imagine a healer being invisible in the PvP battles. Safely healing the party without the fear of being targeted or ambushed by the enemy. Unfortunately, this type of skill set has a drawback. In PvE, healers that had this skill sets had the most casualties based on an annual survey made by the developers. That is why, after a week of the official release of the game, players considered this as a "cheat code of the beta players" or "the trap of the developers". Bearth also implements a new game mechanic where players will get the skills in any way in the game, either through quests, NPC, treasure boxes, monsters and even after killing fellow players. Luckily, Information about the basic skills that were needed during the low levels would be determined by the Closed beta testers and later leaked to the forum giving an easy start for players on the official release. The rating of the skills gained on Bearth was based on its attributes and effects. The skill ratings were Bronze-rated skills, Silver-rated skills, Gold-rated skills, Legendary-rated skills, and Divine-rated skills.) .... *You''ve got mail! ... Pedro''s computer sounded after waiting for minutes of thinking and brainstorming what skill set he should get to become the best player on Bearth. A huge smile appeared on Pedro''s face after he read the content of the mail. 4 First Boss! "That is relieving! Gladly I was able to register for the closed beta phase. The rumors were true after all!" Pedro leaned back to the chair and relaxed. He was reminded that in his ''past'', Bearth Online was only able to get a small number of Closed Beta Players. There were many different reasons for that. One was the VR Box'' price. It was not cheap. The developers of the game would typically provide closed beta players their needs to play the game. It might be free, or some may cost but is not more expensive than the VR helmet. The second was related to the first one. VR Boxes were new technology. It meant that the first users would become the ''actual'' guinea pigs. Of course, no one would want to be in that place. What if it malfunctioned? What if there were hidden risks? These questions arose to their minds. The uncertainty was clear and the risks were high. At top of that, they were to pay for a huge amount for that? No way! Just for a game? To risk your life? Either you are a fool or a rich tycoon who is ''very'' adventurous. "We can''t blame people for being careful. After all, unless you are like me who time-traveled back and knew about the future. You won''t take this much of a risk." Pedro sighed as he stares at the website of Bearth Online. "No need to worry about that. Let them think in that way. In any case, I might as well try to invite Annie and the others to ''switch'' (1) to Bearth Online." "Knowing them and the previous encounter, they will contact me once again sooner or later. As of now... should I go back to sleep? Oh~" Pedro glanced to his bed. But before he stands up, he took a glance at the game logo of Bearth Online on the website. Suddenly, he was reminded of the most exciting and unique thing at the start of the game. "In-game Names." ''In-game Name? Hmm...'' He rubbed his chin as tons of ideas surged into his mind. He remembered that the first "Cheat code or trap" considered by the players was the In-game Name, IGN. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. In the past, casually starting, even the closed beta players choose names based on their liking. Only until the official launch of the game that they learned that they can also get skills from selecting their IGN. This was a godly, life-saving skill considering that deaths from AVR games, like Bearth Online, can cause instant deletion of their character. This person was scouted by many guilds, including Pedro''s Ares guild, but he joined a guild called "Starter Pack". That said guild, later on, belonged in the tier-B guild ranking. Knowing this, new players started selecting their ign carefully so that they could get some skills. Due to the intense competition, Information was limited. It was up to the point that there was only a small amount of information leaked after the 6 years Pedro played the game. Some of the ''leaked'' information were the well-known IGNs of tier A professional players who ranked at the top 100. Among them was Hope and Faith. "Hope" The player that had this IGN was given a legendary-rated skill that boosts the Attack Damage and HP regeneration of you and your allies by 70% as your hp falls below 20%. This was a godly skill specially designed for tanks. Imagine doing PVEs with your main tank having a skill like this. Not only it helps sustain survivability of everyone in the party, but It can also increase the firepower of everyone on crucial times. ~~~~~~~ "Faith" The player that had this IGN also had a legendary-rated skill that boosts the attack damage of you and your allies by 150% and increases your life steal by 100% of your damage when your hp falls below 10%. Only one word. "OP" It was super Overpowered! Those two were amongst the well-known IGNs that gave a legendary-rated skill right of the start. Both skills'' only weakness was that when the player''s HP returns to 30% the effect will end and a cooldown of 3 minutes will start. "Man, This chance given to me is a blessing. With so many IGNs available for me to choose from. Although, the number of the IGNs I encountered plus those IGNs that was leaked was not unlimited. I can still build a strong guild~No... The Strongest Guild from it!" Pedro took a pen and paper. He started writing down a list of IGNs that he remembered. Then, He placed a mark on the IGNs he might use. Sadly, In the past, he was not able to use an IGN that gave any skill. Hence, He marked the skills he was most familiar with or those IGNs that led their user/player to reach tier A. Time passed quickly. After an hour of staring at the list, He decided to go back to sleep. Rather stressing his mind on choosing the best IGN for him to use, It was best to clear his mind first. Besides, he had enough time to think about it. In the morning, He did his daily routine. He washed his face, brushed his teeth, jog, and exercise, ate breakfast, took care of the dishes, then took a bath. Though their family had maids, he was still brought up by his parents and was required to do house chores. One of those chores assigned to him was to wash dishes in the morning, ''since he was still unemployed.''. After that, He took again the list and started to weigh the pros and cons of each IGN. "Dong! Dong! Dong!" Their doorbell rang. Pedro shoot up and ran towards their main door. ''It might be the delivery of my VR Box!'' Pedro was excited and happy. So happy that his smiles were even about to reach his ears. He was expecting the delivery of the VR Box in that morning. "Mr. Pedro Armaz?" The delivery man asked as he saw Pedro came out of the door "Yes, That''s me!" Four men, carrying a huge box, long like a bed but half the width. It looked like a refrigerator, but slightly bigger. The delivery man followed Pedro to his room and started to install the VR Box. The delivery man gave him liters of the "Lifo". It is a liquid food composed of nutrients the body needs. It would be supplied to the user''s body once the system notices that the user required some nutrition or food. It was a feature added so that players who stayed in-game for extended hours will not have a problem of not eating. This was included the package he ordered online. "Right, I should tell Annie and the others that I''ll be switching to Bearth. Although I have conflicts with them in ''my past'', it is still not proper for me, their guild leader, to leave them like that." He had thoughts of inviting them to switch to Bearth Online but he decided not to do so. For one reason, Although the past is in the past, He can''t afford for someone to stab him in his back again. A wise man once said, "Once is enough, twice is too much, for the Third time... you''re a fool!". "Me, switching to Bearth is already a hint that something is unusual on this game. It''s up to them whether they''ll also play Bearth Online or not." Pedro sent a message to Annie regarding about his quitting of Dragona Online and switching to Bearth Online ~~~~~~~ The VR Box was installed after an hour. He also received the reply of Annie and how she felt about Pedro''s sudden switching of game. She included in her message that they decided to continue to play the current AVR game, Dragona Online, that they are playing. For the reason that Bearth is still in its closed beta stage and it is too early to tell if Bearth Online is a good game. "I did my part. It''s them who did not follow my steps." He smirked. His gaze was fixed to the VR Box that was installed beside his bed. He remembered his father and realized that his father will surely get the information that he purchased a VR Box. It will, with a hundred percent, anger his father. Hence, He must devise a plan or an explanation that is acceptable to his father. "Ugh... I guess that was the best way to do this." He shook his head as he started typing on his computer. "I didn''t think that the first boss I would encounter is... My Father!" ~~~~~~~ Author''s Note: 5 The Bearth Online: Closed Beta Starts! Dinner came, and as expected, Pedro was scolded by his father. Thanks to his mother, things didn''t escalate too much. His father calmed down and they were able to finish their dinner. "Young man, to your room! We''ll talk!" His father pointed with a serious look. His mother nodded at him as if saying to just follow his dad and not to worry since she is there. ~~~~~~~ ''I didn''t think it would be this hard! Fortunately, I was able to make that last-minute presentation. I have to thank Glogol for the information. Hehe.'' He shook his head as he went first to his room. Minutes later, his father and mother entered his room. His father''s glance was focused on the VR Box beside his bed as if he was a missile aiming for its target. "Now. Explain this to us." His father pointed to the VR Box as both of his parents looks at him, waiting for his explanation. "Uhm, Dad... I apologize for purchasing this without your consent." Pedro started smoothly. "Good, you still have your manners. But, I am more interested to hear about your explanation!" "Then... Please see this father." Pedro moved the mouse of his computer that activated its screen. "This is called VR Box. It''s that thing." Pedro pointed to the VR Box. "It is a new technology developed, specifically for gaming. Based on the specifications, it required a huge amount of energy to operate." "Why are you telling me this? What''s this gotta do with you?" His father frowned as he thought that Pedro was just playing him around. "Well... In the future, I would inherit our Energy company. And as the future inheritor, I must do everything I can to help it grow and succeed." Pedro answered in a straightforward but still respectful manner. His father was astounded for a second. He was prepared to scold Pedro thinking that he bought this thing for his enjoyment. To think that he did it for their company. His anger cooled down a bit. "If that''s the case..." "According to XXXX Survey, There are approximately 2 Billion VR Helmet owners as of today. If... Just if father, If this VR Box replaces all VR Helmet in the future, wouldn''t 2 Billion VR Boxes would be sold? If we are to supply the component that provides it efficient energy, then~" At this moment, his father held his forehead and gestured at Pedro to stop. "I get your point. Still... If this was your goal from the start, why didn''t you approached me or your mom instead? Why buy this thing yourself without informing us?" ''Trully worthy of the title as the first boss that I face.'' Pedro went speechless for a second. He sighed and smiled back at his father. "The reason for that was because only closed beta phase players could acquire a VR Box." "All right!" Mr. Jon Armaz went silent while rubbing his chin, "I''ll take what you said into consideration. I''ll let you off the hook this time. But remember this young man, If your grades fail... Don''t blame me for being ruthless!" His father gave up. Pedro''s points are something that he can consider. "Thanks, father! I will not let you down." His father left his room. His mother followed his father and send Pedro a wave and a smile as if cheering him up. ~~~~~~~ Days passed, Pedro''s excitement grow larger. ''I know that games are just for entertainment for other people. But for me... It is more than just that. The thrill, the excitement, and the glory that you feel were, for me, something precious.'' Determined and full of excitement, he comfortably lied down on the VR Box as he waits for the opening of the Closed Beta of Bearth. [The Servers of "Bearth: Closed Beta Edition" is now open!] [Start the game now? Yes or No?] "YEEES!" Pedro shouted. ''Sh@t! That might have been too loud! Father might come and slap me!'' Pedro feared that it might occur, so he prayed hard that it won''t happen. [Log in successful! Player welcome to Bearth!] [Character creation Initializing! 3!] 2! 1! [Appearance Editor Initializing! Note that only a few facial details can be changed and all real-life body specifications would be retained!] This is a way so that players would be most comfortable when playing. It would give them ease in the movement and maneuverability of their characters. ... [Say "confirm" if Appearance Editing is done!] "Confirm!" Pedro said in a low voice. ''Now! The first part... The "IGN" selection!'' he grinned. [Character appearance successfully generated! Proceeding to Name Editor!] [Enter your Name! ] ... An interface pops out in front of Pedro. Here, he can freely change the name he wanted to use. The named editor was also designed to generate a random suggested name to assist players who often have a hard time deciding what name to choose. After a week of waiting and analysis, He typed in the name he wanted to use. ... [Say "confirm" if Name Editing is done!] "Confirm!" He uttered as he waited for the system to give his first skill. [Welcome to Bearth, Player "Death"!] ~~~~~~~ Pedro decided to go for the safer choice. He chose the name "Death" to gain a skill that allows him to avoid death for an instance and give him a chance to be able to escape such predicaments. His decision was also brought by his experiences in his past life, especially when they were killed instantly by the dragon. More importantly, his goal in this Closed beta phase of the game was to gain information that he wasn''t able to come across during the official launch in his past life. This includes quests that were gained by other players before him. Also, he needed to familiarize himself with the new path he wanted to take. [Congratulations Player for choosing "Death" as your name! The god of Death was pleased with your actions and granted you a legendary skill ~Undying~. The God of Death hopes that you would put this name into glory around the whole Bearth!] A bright light appeared bellow Pedro''s feet as he was teleported to the teleportation platform in the middle of the Newbie Village. Other players started to appear near Pedro as he regained his vision. [Congratulations on being the first player to gain a legendary-rate skill! Would you like to announce your name to the world? Yes or No?] "No" The risks are too high from announcing your names in such achievement. Fame is a double-edged sword. You would get supporters, but you would also get haters. Hence, saying ''No'' was the ideal choice. [Sever Announcement!] [Congratulations Player @@@@@@, for gaining the first legendary skill in the game! Your rewards are: +5 Luck attribute points +5 Random attribute points 100% boost on village reputation points gained.. 1 day ] The players, except Pedro, went into an uproar. The Closed beta phase has just opened. Players were still being teleported after their character creation when the system announced that someone has already got a skill, Legendary-rated on top of that! "Fvck! How did he get it?" "Is this some kind of bug? Quick! Quick! Report this to the devs." Unlike the other players who were in an uproar, some professional players sneakily left the teleportation platform and roam around the village to find quests. Looking at the system announcement, Pedro''s excitement rose to another level. He also left the teleportation platform and went to an isolated area to safely check his skill and the rewards he gained. He opened the interface and checked the information on the skill he got. Skill: ~Undying~ Rating: Legendary-rated Skill Type: Passive Special Effect: Instead of dying, the Player will gain 1HP instead. It only works once until the cooldown condition was met. Cooldown [Special]: The skill resets only when the player''s HP returned to its 100%. [A blessing from the god of Death!] "OP, as expected! But I need to find a solution to solve the cooldown condition of this skill and maximize its use!" Pedro pondered for a bit and decided to view his overall stats. Name: Death Level: 1 HP: 50 MP: 50 Attack Damage: 1 Magic Damage: 1 Attributes Str +1 Int +1 Vit +1 Dex +1 Crit +1 Agi +1 Special Attributes Luck +6 Charisma +6 Instinct +1 The additional 5 Random Attributes that he got was allotted to his special attribute, Charisma. Special attributes can''t be increased by the free attribute points that can be gained from leveling up. It can only be increased if the player got specific attribute points from equipment, or by chance, from random attribute points from rewards. "I should do some labor quest and gain more skills. Any skill would do." He walked to the village chief''s office. Having no combat skills yet. Accepting hunt quests would simply be suicide. In his past life, a group of arrogant players accepted a hunt quest on a Level 1 Wild Wolf right after their character creation. The Result?? Complete annihilation. This incident became a sensation and it emphasized the importance of having a bronze-rated offensive skill, at least, before accepting such quests. [100% boost on village reputation points Activated! Duration: 0 days 23 hours 59 minutes] "Oh?" Pedro smirked while walking towards the entrance of the village chief''s office. Bag! The door was slammed just before he was about to enter. A villager in a bronze armor came out and scanned him from head to toe. "Tch!" The villager frowned and left the area with haste. ''What''s with that villager? I need to be careful! It seems like something bad is going to happen.'' Pedro became more vigilant after encountering that villager. When the figure of that villager disappeared, he entered the village chief''s office. "Who are you?" A middle-aged man spoke. He was seated in a chair, located behind a table filled with papers. A nameplate was located at the center of the table. ''Village Chief'' "I am Death." Pedro respectfully bowed as a sign of respect. "Excuse me?!" The man stared at Pedro with a frown. ''Did I do something wrong? Oh!'' Pedro realizes that his introduction was disturbing. ''Wha~What can I do? It''s my IGN?'' He can''t help but force out a smile. "My apologies! I am an adventurer named Death. Regardless of my name, I came with good intentions. In fact, I am here to ask if the respected village chief has any work to offer to this humble adventurer?" Pedro explained his intentions for coming with sincerity. ''Man, years of playing VR games really come in handy on such unprecedented situations.'' "Oh? Is that the case, young man. It''s not your fault if your father had been drunk when you were born!" The village chief consoled, "You were looking for a work, right? Please have a seat. You came at the perfect time!" 6 Village Story Ques Pedro entered the office and sat down on the chair that the chief pointed. "By the way, I am Antonio Kagat.. The chief of Kagat Village!" Antonio Introduced briefly.. "To be honest with you adventurer.... Death! The village is currently on state of alert!" The village chief started to explain the current situation of the village. ''Come on man, it''s awkward when you say my name like that!'' Pedro thought to himself before he replied. "Is that so? Then what can I do for you, chief?" Pedro answered back with a question. He knows that going straight to the point is the best approach. Doing quests and exploring the game was the main goal of the other beta players. If he took too much time on a single quest, there is a chance that someone else might get a head of him. "It''s good to see that you are confident enough, young adventurer! let me brief you of the situation first.." Antonio commented and continued "Just this morning, a soldier among the escort group of my wife and daughter returned to the main gate barely breathing.. After tending to his wounds, he informed us that while escorting my wife and daughter, they encountered a group of trolls.. The group of trolls was extra-ordinary, that they were able to kill every single soldier in the escort team.." "what about your wife and daughter?" Pedro curiously asked while thinking to his self... ''I hope this is not one of those hunt quests.. even with my ~Undying~ , I am not confident enough to do hunt quests yet..'' "Thankfully, the trolls didn''t harm them.. based on the information from the soldier, a fellow soldier stalled for him to escape and send warning to the village. While he was running as fast as he could, he often look back to the place of incident and saw my wife and daughter in the middle of the group of trolls like a prisoner, and walked to the forest." The Chief explained "What can I do, Chief?" "The soldiers are preparing as we speak. It will take about 20 minutes to complete. The trolls might have not wondered that far, so we will conduct a rescue operation... We can only leave when all of the soldier are ready.. At this point in time, scout soldiers were often mobilize to locate the tracks of the enemy so we can plan a strategy to minimize the casualties, unfortunately, the village had only one scout, and he is the soldier who just returned from the ambush and is gravely injured." Antonio explained with a deep voice. "You want me to scout the enemies?!" Pedro replied in an astonished manner that made him almost fell into the chair.. ''This is definitely not a hunt quest... but the danger is of the same level..'' [Village Story Activated!] [Quest: Scouting Duty! Rating: B-rate Mission: Scout the whereabouts of the Trolls who took the wife and daughter of the village chief. Duration: 20 minutes Will you accept?] .... ''If i take the quest, there is a high risk that I will die even if it is just scouting.. On the other hand, this is a quest requested by the village chief himself. The reward should be good..'' Pedro took a deep breath upon analyzing the situations he might encounter.. ''ahhh.. there is no sense thinking.. It''s just scouting.. I am not required to kill anything.. at worst I can just tell them that I didn''t notice anything unusual.. or point at a random location hahaha...'' "I accept.. I''ll take the risk, Chief!" after a minute of silence, Pedro calmly answered.. [Player "Death" has accepted the quest!] "That''s great!! Thanks young adventurer! I will take this as a big dept on you!" Before Pedro can speak, Antonio shot up from his chair and his nervousness was changed with joy.. "Take this young adventurer! Go to the village shop! buy some items that might be used for your survival!" Antonio gave Pedro 10 silver coins. Pedro was about to go out off the office when the Chief uttered something. "Another thing.. young adventurer.. If.. just if you were successful in tracking those trolls and there is an opportunity to rescue my wife and my daughter and safely escape! It would be of great help if you could rescue them and escape! I will personally reward you a secret skill passed down in our family!" [Side Quest Activated!] [Quest: Rescue! Rescue! Rating: A-rate Mission: Rescue the village chief''s wife and daughter from the trolls and escape with out dying. Duration: 30 minutes Will you accept?] "I accept!" Pedro accepted the side quest with an excited tone. The risks were high, but the skill reward is too attractive that he immediately accepted the quest. [Player "Death" has accepted the quest!] .... He rushed to the village shop to buy some items. "Welcome!" The saleswoman greeted casually. "Is there anything I can purchase, under 10 silver coin?" Pedro was in a rush, he didn''t have time to look at every item on the shop.. "Under 10 silver coin?!" the saleswoman was shocked but she still acted professionally. "Sire, here are the items that can be bought under 10 silver coin!" the saleswoman brought 3 items into the counter. [Basic Potion] Effect: Heals 25 HP of the players instantly Cool down: 2 seconds. Price: 5 bronze coins [Intermediate Potion] Effect: Heals 50 HP of the players instantly Cool down: 2 seconds. Price: 10 bronze coins [Potion injector] Effect: Automatically activates a selected potion in the inventory if hp drops from 20%. Price: 1 silver coin ''Only this?'' .... ''wait a second... 50 HP?'' Pedro remained quiet and shocked. ''haiiist.. this is really a newbie village, the shop doesn''t even have weapons or equipment for sale.'' .... ''I''ll buy the potions.. It is better than having an empty inventory..'' "I''ll buy 1 potion injector and 90 intermediate potion!" Pedro used all the money that the chief has given him. (1 gold coin is equivalent to 100 silver coins, 1 silver coin is equivalent to 100 bronze coins.) ''I must rush to the forest. The duration of this quest is really short..'' He thought in his head and immediately rushed to the north of Kagat Village, where the wife and daughter of the chief was ambushed. .... Running for 5 minutes.. Pedro was able to reach the area where the incident happened.. Soldiers'' dead bodies are all over the place.. He paused for a moment to catch his breath and checked how much time was left for him to complete his quest. [Quest: Scouting Duty! Rating: B-rate Mission: Scout the whereabouts of the Trolls who took the wife and daughter of the village chief. Duration: 12 minutes left] [Quest: Rescue! Rescue! Rating: A-rate Mission: Rescue the village chief''s wife and daughter from the trolls and escape with out dying. Duration: 22 minutes left] 7 ~Scout 1~ skill ''At last!'' Pedro sighed. Thirty meters away from where he hides was a guarded camp. ''That should be their camp.'' He stared at the camp, trying to spot if the family of the village chief was there. ''Let me check first, how much time I have left.'' He opened the player interface and check the quest details. [Quest: Scouting Duty! Rating: B-rate Mission: Scout the whereabouts of the Trolls who took the wife and daughter of the village chief. Duration: 6 minutes left] ~~~~~~~ [Quest: Rescue! Rescue! Rating: A-rate Mission: Rescue the village chief''s wife and daughter from the trolls and escape without dying. Duration: 16 minutes left] ''Wait! I spotted the camp of the trolls already. Why didn''t I receive a notification from the system that the quest has been completed? Don''t tell me~'' Pedro started to panic realizing that the system has not informed him about the completion of the quest. On top of it, the timer was still running. ''Am I supposed to return to the village and report to the chief?!'' ''Impossible! It would take me 2 minutes to return to the ambush site. While it would take me 5 minutes to return to the village from the ambush site. Basic math says it would take me 7 minutes. I won''t make it.'' Pedro was still in panic when a sudden commotion happened in the troll camp. A little girl ran out on one of the tents in the troll camp. Unfortunately, a troll was guarding outside of the tent and kicked the little girl back inside. At this moment, the system sounded and the notification Pedro was waiting for, appeared. [Quest: Scouting Duty!] [Completed!] [You have found the location of the trolls and the wife and daughter of Chief Antonio Kagat!] ''Sigh. Thank god, It was just that!'' The system always gives tricky quests. In this case, Pedro had found the camp. However, he didn''t see the chief''s wife and daughter. Hence, the system didn''t consider the quest as finished. For the system, What he scouted was "The camp of the trolls" and not the "Location of the trolls who took the wife and daughter of the chief". The system was right. There might be several troll camps in that area. And Pedro might have scouted the wrong camp. Hence, unless it was confirmed that the family of the village chief was in that camp, the system won''t consider it as completed. [Generating Rewards!] Reward: ~Scout 1~ skill book 100 Reputation points of Kagat Village 20 Bronze Coins [Congratulations Player "Death" for obtaining 200/1000 Reputation points of Kagat Village!] The buff Pedro got earlier, raised the 100 reputation points he got as a reward to 200. He knew from his past life, that if his reputation points were raised to 1000/1000, the village chief will make a recommendation letter that will allow Pedro to enter a Kingdom that the Kagat Village is affiliated. Villages on Bearth does not have any requirements for entry. However, the Kingdoms require a recommendation letter. or, Players can pay a high price of 2 gold per entry. This was the reason why on the official release of Bearth Online, other than "skills hunting" and leveling, Players also focused on getting recommendation letters from the villages. Pedro hurriedly opened his inventory and used the ~Scout 1~ skill book. [You have learned ~Scout 1~ skill] Skill: ~Scout 1~ Rarity: Bronze-rated Skill Skill Type: Active Effects: Temporarily increase the player''s movement speed by 10% and increase the player''s vision by 100 meters for 30 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes [A Skill required to learn skill ~Scout 2~] The rating of the skills gained on Bearth Online was based on its attributes and effects. The skill ratings were Bronze-rated skills, Silver-rated skills, Gold-rated skills, Legendary-rated skills, and Divine-rated skills. "Not bad. Every skill that I could get would be very useful." Pedro gazed upon his newbie sword and checked its properties for the first time. [Newbie Sword] Rating: Bronze-rated weapon Level Requirement: 1 Attributes: Attack Damage +1 [Default weapon was given to players] Cannot be Traded ~~~~~~~ ''Sigh. Attack damage of 1? At least, it is not zero.'' Pedro could only shake his head as he stares at the sword. "Trolls are slow walkers. Though they can deal strong damage, their movement and attack speed was low compared to humans." "I can only carry one person at a time. Should I still try rescuing the two?" Pedro activated the [Potion Injector] and selected the [Intermediate Potion]. This way, once he took damage and his HP drops below 20%, Potion Injector will automatically consume an Intermediate Potion instead of him manually using the potion. This is why he purchased it instead of an additional 10 more Intermediate Potions. "Sigh. No guts, no glory!" He steeled his self before rescuing the two. "Let''s start! ~Scout 1~ Activate!!!" Pedro launched like he was participating in a marathon. The nearby trolls patrolling looked at the direction of Pedro and started running like a predator that has seen its prey. [~Scout 1~ Activated!] [Player gained a 10% increase in movement speed and increase vision by 100 m for 30 seconds!] Pedro smiled as the Trolls approached him. As he expected, he was able to outrun the Trolls. Once the trolls get into his range, he will slice his sword to the body of the trolls. Although his damage was just a pitiful 1, It will ensure that the aggro of the Trolls would be focused on him. When he successfully rescued the two, He was assured that no trolls will chase after them. "If I have the aggro, the Trolls will follow me. I won''t have to think about their safety." He opened the player interface to check how many seconds were left on ~Scout 1~. By this time, He already entered the camp. ''I have 10 seconds left. Faster!'' He looked back and saw a huge gap between him and the Trolls. [~Scout 1~ skill duration has ended!] His speed slowed down but the trolls were still not able to close the gap. Fortunately, He was just meters away from the tent where the little girl was located. He quickly entered the tent and was relieved by what he saw. The little girl was hugging her mother and both of them are in the corner shaking from fear. Beside them was what made Pedro''s eyes shine! It was the two treasure chests that were shining brightly! Due to the lure of the treasure, He quickly came up with a new plan. "Go outside now! Hide in a corner for a second. When all of the trolls entered this tent. Run back to the village as fast as you can. The Chief and the village army are on their way!" Pedro instructed as he was about to touch and open the treasure boxes. [Gold-rated treasure chest detected.] [You don''t have a key to the treasure chest! Would you like to forcefully open the chest? Yes or No?] "What about you?" The kid asked as she was being carried by her mother. Pedro looked like a heroic figure. He looked like someone who was willing to sacrifice his life just to save others. On top of that, the scene looked cooler because of the bright light the treasure chest emits. "Don''t worry about me. I am~ an adventurer, after all!" Pedro glanced back with a smirk. The mother bowed slightly before running out of the tent as fast as she can. "Yes! Open that treasure chest!" Pedro shouted like a greedy person. Then, he felt something in his hands. A blue aura was going out of his hands to the treasure chest. [Please don''t move! Opening treasure chest ongoing! 5%] "@@@@!" Pedro can''t help but curse. He can now hear the footsteps of the trolls signifying that they were just meters away from the tent. [Please don''t move! Opening treasure chest ongoing! 50%] "Grrr! Grrr! Grrr! Grrr!" The angry trolls appeared. They went inside the tent one by one. ''@@@@! I am dead! My greed~ really got me this time!'' He cried while thinking that he should have escaped with the two, instead of staying for the treasure chest. In seconds, he was already surrounded by the trolls. "Grrruuuurr!" The trolls that were about to smash Pedro halted upon hearing the voice outside the tent. [Please don''t move! Opening treasure chest ongoing! 90%] ''Come on faster! faster!!!'' Pedro panicked. The trolls inside the tent moved aside. They gave way in the middle, directly heading to Pedro. A Troll, twice larger than the others, entered the tent and walked towards Pedro. ''A troll commander!'' Pedro wore a grim expression when he saw the huge troll. ''Did my bad luck from my previous life followed me?!'' 8 How to use a Legendary skill! [Please don''t move! Opening treasure chest on going! 98%] *Thud.... The Troll Commander stopped behind Pedro. *Grrruuuurrrrr... The Troll Commander shouted to Pedro''s back like an angry T-rex.. Then, It slowly raised its wooden club... (wooden club is a weapon that looked like a base ball bat.) [Opening treasure chest completed!] ''At last!'' Pedro took all the items found inside the treasure chest and placed it in his inventory. *Baaaaaag!!!! The wooded club the Troll Commander raised earlier, smashed the ground and made rocks flying everywhere. *Grr???? All the Trolls, including the commander, was shocked to the point that their eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. .... -1000 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] .... Pedro''s mouth went agape after seeing the consecutive texts that appeared in front of him. The wooden club hit his head and slides to the ground because of impact. He expected to receive a damage and the ~Undying~ skill to activate. Upon activation of the ~Undying~ skill, he planned to ran and escape. To his surprise, the Potion Injector activated, instantly using an Intermediate Potion and healed him with 50 HP which was coincidentally his currently max HP at level 1! This made ~Undying~ skill to reset and be available again! ''As long as I am level 1 and had tons of Intermediate Potion, I am an Immortal?!'' Pedro finally got back from his shock and became excited after realizing that he did not need to leave the second treasure chest. ''wait... The Intermediate Potion has a cool down of two seconds.. I should check the attack interval of the trolls...'' Pedro realized that other than running out of Intermediate Potion, If the interval between each attack of the enemy is shorter than 2 seconds, he would no be able to heal up his HP and he would die to the next attack of the enemy. He looked at the Trolls behind him and details about them appeared in the interface [Troll warrior] Rating: Bronze-rated Monster HP:700 Attributes Attack Damage: 100 Attack Interval: 3 seconds Defense: 30 Movement speed: 0.5 m/s Skills: ~Smash~ Effect: Increase damage dealt by 10%. Cool down: 20 seconds .... [Troll Commander] Rating: Silver-rated Monster HP:4000 Attributes Attack Damage: 1000 Attack Interval: 3.5 seconds Defense: 100 Movement speed: 0.5 m/s Skills: ~Smash~ Effect: Increase damage dealt by 10%. Cool down: 20 seconds ~War Cry~ Cool down: 30 seconds .... "Phew.. that is a breather.." Pedro relaxed upon learning that in the face of this trolls, he is an immortal being unless he ran out of Intermediate Potions. Before he could fully relax, the troll commander hit him again, but to no avail. ..... -1078 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] .... The same repetitive texts appeared. He looked back to the trolls and smiled.. The troll commander became more angry, and started to bash Pedro with his wooden club.. When Pedro looked back to the second treasure chest he immediately opened it.. [Gold-rated treasure chest detected..] [You don''t have a key to the treasure chest! would you like to forcefully open the chest? Yes or No?] "Yes!" Again, he felt something in his hands and saw a blue aura going out of his hands to the treasure chest. Pedro stood, not even glancing to the troll commander on his back who is smashing him repeatedly. [Please don''t move! Opening treasure chest on going! 1%] *Grrrurrrr!! The troll commander kept smashing the wooden club into Pedro every 3.5 seconds. The ordinary trolls did not dare to go near and hit Pedro because they were terrified of the troll commander who''s anger just kept increasing as time pass by. .... after a minute, almost half of the Intermediate Potion in his inventory was consumed... [Please don''t move! Opening treasure chest on going! 95%] [Opening treasure chest completed!] The treasure chest opened up its cover. Pedro immediately snatched all the items inside the treasure chest and stored them in his inventory.. ''I must escape now! I only have 18 Intermediate Potions left! I won''t last long if I stayed any longer!'' Pedro took advantage of the space the trolls gave to their commander as it entered the tent and activated ~Scout 1~. After arriving outside the tent, He swiftly ran towards the direction of the ambush site. "I did not receive the System notification about the completion of the side quest yet.. Could it be?! No.. that is impossible, if the two women was killed, the system would notify the failure of the quest.. Let''s check the details of the side quest.." Pedro opened his interface and check the quest information. [Quest: Rescue! Rescue! Rating: A-rate Mission: Rescue the village chief''s wife and daughter from the trolls and escape with out dying. Duration: 3 minutes left] "Great!! The village army should already be in the ambush site! I can make it on time! I just hope that the two women were already there!" Pedro occasionally looked back and saw that the trolls were still chasing him, but the gap was too far. Thanks to the temporary vision increase of ~Scout 1~ skill that he can barely see the trolls. ... "Haa.. Haaah... Haaaa.." Pedro leaned his shoulder to a nearby tree, Trying to catch his breath after running full speed away from the troll. "Who are you?!" A soldier raised his shield to the front and held his sword prepared to strike back.. "Hold on brother.. Haaa... haaaa... I am... haaa... a scout.. sent.. by... the.. village chief... Antonio Kagat!" Pedro raised his hand as if trying to stop the soldier. The soldier still kept his guard despite Pedro explaining. Other than the village chief, his wife and daughter, there should be no other civilian around that area, that is why the soldier was still suspicious of him. Suddenly, Someone was walking to their direction and stopped the soldier. "It is ok! I know him!" Antonio hold the soldier''s shoulder and pointed to the back of Pedro. "Go tell captain to quickly assemble the infantry there, He is a scout and must be returning after being chased trolls. There is a high chance that the trolls will arrive sooner! so, hurry!" The soldier quickly left and told the captain about what Antonio told. The Captain immediately commanded the soldiers who were scattered to patrol, to go in formation where the village chief pointed. The infantry soldiers made a spear tip looking formation, while the archer soldiers on their back ready to shoot their arrows. "I''m glad you''re fine! Let''s go near Captain Aks! It is safer there!" Pedro followed behind Antonio as the village chief pointed towards the center of the archer soldiers. He spotted the two women that is being treated by the medical soldiers near Captain Aks. "No words can express how grateful I am, young adventurer! You saved my wife and my one and only daughter! I have not forgot my promise to you! when we return to the village, go to my office, I will give you the reward I promised! For now.. Let us kill those b@s@@rds who dare kidnap my family and kill our troops!" Pedro was full of happiness upon hearing about the reward.. [Quest: Rescue! Rescue!] [Completed!] [You have rescued the village chief''s wife and daughter from the trolls and escape with out dying!] [Generating Rewards!] [Reward: 500 Reputation points of Kagat Village 2 Silver Coins] [Congratulations Player "Death" for obtaining 1200/1000 Reputation points of Kagat Village!] [Player''s social status has been changed to ''Revered''] [Player is now qualified to request for a Recommendation Letter from the village chief!] A series of notification appeared that shocked Pedro and made him slightly jumped. "hmm.. I am just playing for 2 hours, and I feel too tired! Atleast, I got my self a new skill and a ton of rewards!" Pedro scratched his chin and smiled after checking the time in his interface. (The time ratio is 1:2, 1 hour in real life is equivalent to 2 hours in game. The time that can be viewed in Pedro''s interface is the "in game time" to avoid confusion) Just as he was about to check the items he got. The trolls has finally appeared on their sight. "Readyyy!" Captain Aks shouted, waiting for the right moment to charge. "Chaaaargeee!" Captain Aks shouted, The infantry soldiers rushed forward to the trolls. 9 The Ring of Voices and The Gem of Authority Seeing that the village army is doing well, It is just a matter of time before the trolls would be wiped out. ''At first, the soldiers looks weak.. But when you see them fight, It turns out to be that they are really capable..'' Pedro looked at an infantry soldier who blocked a full force attack by a troll. ''It seems like, they can already manage. right! the loots from the treasure chest! They were immediately placed at my inventory after I grabbed them! Let''s see what we got!'' Pedro accessed the interface and went to his inventory. He got 2 skill books, a ring, a red crystal and 2 golds. The 2 gold made Pedro the richest player at Bearth! Players doing quest will reward them a maximum of 30 bronze coins. Some quests may provide or reward some silver coins but it is not enough for players to gain a single gold coin. The gold farming teams still don''t exist in the game because Bearth is only on its closed beta version. AVR games'' closed beta version were for information gathering. So, when the game was released officially, they would get an advantage and be ahead of the other players. The coins, weapons and equipment gained would be reset by the game developers to be fair with the new players on the official launch. This was the reason why gold farming never existed in closed beta version of AVR games. He took the ring and inspected it first. .... [Ring of voices] Rating: Silver-rated accessory Level Requirement: 1 Attributes: Intelligence +10 Special Effects: Automatically translates monster language to human language. [This was a ring once owned by a hermit who lives deep in the forest.] Can be Traded .... "Grrruuuurrrrr!" The troll keep shouting as it attacked the infantry soldiers. At this moment, It is the only troll remaining. Despite its shouting, It was unable to get the attention of Pedro who was attracted to the loots he gained from the treasure chest. ''Such a waste! If I got this ring during the official launch... I would have earned allot of gold! Since, I don''t have any ring yet, might as well equip this..'' Pedro equipped the light green colored ring. "Huumaaans!! I''ll kill you all!" Pedro heard a loud voice from a distant. When he looked at the direction of the source of the voice, He saw the troll commander who was almost dead. ''Awesome!!! This ring is really awesome!!! I can even understand what the troll was saying!'' Pedro said inwardly while trying to calm his self. ''The attributes are disappointing but its special effect is awesome!'' "Retreaat!" Captain Aks commanded and the infantry soldiers immediately ran back leaving the troll commander, who was even unable to stand, alone. "Archers.. Ready!" The archers pulled their bows ready to fire to the troll commander... "Firee!!!!" Arrows rained in the body of the troll commander. *Thuuud! The body of the lifeless troll commander dropped on the ground. The infantry soldiers dropped their swords and shield on the ground and dropped on the ground to sit. They were exhausted after taking blow after blow for minutes from the trolls. Their shields were too damage to be used again. Some of the infantry soldiers even had a broken arm. ..... *Ssssssss.. Minutes later after the troll commander was killed, a white smoke began to arise from the dead body of the trolls. Everyone was able to witness the event. The bodies started to evaporate until the dead bodies were no where to be found. The clothing, equipment and weapons were scattered where the trolls lay dead earlier. Everyone was used to what had happened because it commonly happen when they hunt monsters around the village. For Pedro, having an experience of 6 years of the game, He became used to it. However, Players can extract any part of a dead monster or life form as long as the player can extract it immediately after death and place it to his inventory. ''Trolls'' flesh?? Just the think of it makes me vomit?'' Pedro can extract their flesh but he decided not to do it. There are two reason, one, he did not receive any quest that requires him to extract a heart or a meat. The second reason is that, trolls is not something he would want to eat. Would you eat a human-like, green skin monster? "Adventurer! Thank you for you aid! I heard from Antonio that you spotted where the trolls were and aid the two madam in their escape! With out your help, there was no assurance that the two madam would still be alive. Likewise, casualties among the soldiers would be higher! If you need my help, don''t hesitate to contact me!" Captain Aks went to Pedro and gave his regards. "It''s nothing Captain Aks, I am an adventurer! Though my goal is to explore the world, Helping other humans with my strength and knowledge is a small thing. Plus, I got to experience things I might not experience in when I''m on my own!" Pedro replied "Well then, I need to go. We gotta clean these mess up and cure the injured!" Captain Aks turned around and walk to the other soldiers who was waiting for him to report something. "Young adventurer! I should head back to the village now! If you return to the village don''t forget to visit me!" Antonio suddenly appeared behind Pedro and tapped his shoulder. "I will.. Have a safe trip back to the village!" Pedro responded to Antonio who was already meters away from him. Antonio raised his hand and continued walking back to the direction of the village as if saying ''Don''t worry about me kid! I''ll be fine!''.. .... ''Hmm.. I should rest for a bit, Too much had happened in those 2 hours! I had at most 14 hours more!'' Pedro was leaning on a tree while looking at the village soldiers who were busy cleaning up the area. He was staring where the troll commander had laid when it died. ''What does it mean when the troll commander said "The King will not oversee this!"... I should tell this information to Antonio... But... It would be hard to explain how I got the information... Telling him about the ring is not a good idea... Though, Antonio is a good man, there is no assurance that he would not be blinded by the effects of this ring.. for players it might be a low level item of some sort, but for NPCs this might be a treasure worth risking their lives..'' ''I need to come up for a better excuse....'' .... Pedro''s habit of rubbing his chin began as he try to come up with an acceptable explanation to the chief about "the last words" of the troll commander. ''Thinking of it.. The soldiers looked to busy cleaning this area... why don''t I return to the troll camp and look around? I might see more treasure chests!'' Pedro''s heart began pounding of excitement. Decided to take advantage of the soldiers being busy at the moment, he started walking towards the troll camp. ''Right.. I haven''t checked the skill books and the red crystal..'' Pedro opened his interface and checked the red crystal first. [Gem of authority] Rating: ???? Effect: Resurrect and Subjugate 1 Life form. User has a choice whether the subjugated life form can retain its past memory or not! User will gain a skill to telepathically message, control or order the subjugated life form. One time use only Cannot be Traded [A gem with unknown origins] ... ''What a waste.. hu hu.. I got an OP item.. but on the closed beta version.. everything I got would be reset.. I just hope I''ll get it before some one does on the official launch..'' Pedro imagined the number of overpowered NPCs or Monster he can subjugate. It would not be the strongest companion in the game.. At least, It is better than having a fellow player that can turn their backs on Pedro and betray him. To him, this is one of the best items he had so far, including the 6 years he played in his past life. 10 "The first adventurer tragedy!" Returning the Gem back to his inventory, He then look at the two skill books he obtained. ..... Skill: ~Bleed~ Rarity: Bronze-rated Skill Skill Type: Active (Offensive Skill) Effects: Inflict 100% damage to the enemy and has a 30% chance to inflict 50% of Strength(Str) per second for 5 seconds. Does not stack. Can only be used with a sword! Cool down: 1 minute [A skill developed by soldiers and warriors to sharpen their swords on critical times!] .... "Atlast! An offensive skill! Although it''s only bronze-rated, Other players will surely drool when they learn about this skill." After playing for two hours in the game, he had learned one bronze-rated skill and it was not an offensive type skill. His only chance of getting an offensive skill was the reward to be given by Antonio. The early parts of the game, Pedro knew that it would not be ideal to take hunt quests. That was true, however, once players reach level 5 the first dungeons would be unlocked. The rewards here where to precious to ignore. Skill books and rare materials are often dropped by the dungeon boss. Plus, there was a chance a treasure chest could be found inside the dungeon. Moreover, once the dungeon was cleared it would never be open again. The dungeons would cause "the first adventurer tragedy" in his past life. Where small wars between guilds would often occur to secure dungeons and gain its loots. This resulted into players starting over again and delaying the clearance of the level 5 dungeons. Guilds would fight each other until one guild was fully wiped, consequently the winning guilds would also have heavy casualties, the remaining players was not sufficient enough for them to clear the dungeon they won, and the cycle would repeat it self. This is the reason why it was called "the first adventurer tragedy". Closed beta players had the "testing the waters" ideology... getting information and techniques.. locating quests and familiarizing themselves in game so that they would get ahead on the official release. This ideology, together with other factors, divided them from each other because of fierce competition. Factors like, there was a limited number of slots for the closed beta.. At the same time, Professional players of different VR games won''t spend much time on such beta testing. They''d rather send someone and pay them for the information they might gather. This is the reason why the beta players wasn''t able to reach the dungeon part of Bearth. The early stage made them to struggle too much, that the beta players was too busy to just even survive. Since, the official launch of the game would attract millions of players due to the advertisements of the governments. Every player tried to gain an offensive type skill. After this incident become a global trend, the game developers posted a notice that getting an offensive type skill has a rate of 5% on every quest they do. Though, the rate is low, the amount of player playing in the official launch make up for it. The number of players with offensive type skill increased exponentially. Taking advantage of their "power in numbers", the players were able to progress smoothly up to the dungeons part and thus "the first adventurer tragedy" occurred. "It is indeed a blessing.... however... if I leveled up because of monster hunting... my HP... will surely increase at the the same time!!" Pedro realized that he can start monster hunting and taking on hunt quests. However, other than materials one can gain to create various products, like weapons and equipment, players also gain experience points that will allow them to level up. When Pedro rises to level 2, his starting HP of 50 would increase. Thus, his "undying cycle" would be broken because the intermediate potion wouldn''t be able to fully heal his life that will cause the ~Undying~ skill not to reset. "Intermediate Potion is really a good item for beginners.. However.. to me.. It''s like one of my important skills.. Curse my luck! It looks like my "undying days" are counted!" He thought of the potion and how it plays a huge part in his current survival ability. "I know!! I should head quickly to the kingdoms before I reach level 2! There are potions better than the Intermediate potion and I could learn alchemy from the academy and create my own potions!" Pedro decided to go to the Kingdom the Kagat Village is affiliated. He knew from his past life that the technology was far advanced on Kingdoms compared to the villages. He had enough reputation points to get a recommendation letter from the chief. He had the "undying cycle" so he wouldn''t need to bother about dying while traveling towards the kingdom. "I think I can have more generous rewarding quests from Antonio but at some point I need to level up to level 2! If I did that here in Kagat Village, It would be harder for me to travel to the kingdom!" Pedro weighed what he might lose considering that he had become close with the village chief and gaining some bountiful quests would be possible. "Nothing can be done.. I want to become the best player! Based on my "past life" experiences, going to the Kingdom is the most advantageous choice for me!" At this moment, Pedro gained sight of the Troll Camp. He tapped the ~Bleed~ skill and learned it before he went and "inspect" every tent in the troll camp. [You have learned ~Bleed~ skill] Skill: ~Bleed~ Rarity: Bronze-rated Skill Skill Type: Active (Offensive Skill) Effects: Inflict 100% damage to the enemy and has a 30% chance to inflict 50% of Strength(Str) per second for 5 seconds. Does not stack. Can only be used with a sword! Cool down: 1 minute [A skill developed by soldiers and warriors to sharpen their swords on critical times!] .... "Curse those trolls! Their tents were only sleeping tents, other than a wooden bed, you can''t find any thing! Let''s just hope this tent would give us something at least!" He prayed as he enter the largest tent that would be the troll commander''s tent. The other tents in the camp was empty and he had not got even a single coin. The large tent was different from the other tent. Not only because it was larger, but also because aside from a bed, there was a wooden table where a few sheets of paper can be found. "This might be it!" Thinking that the sheet of paper in the troll commander''s wooden table would be some sort of treasure map, Pedro got excited and ran towards it. "Yes!!" Pedro shouted with glee upon seeing the sheet of paper was really a map. "....?!" His grin was suddenly replaced with a frown when he realized that the map was not some sort of treasure map but is just a normal map of the area near Kagat Village. He just took the map and placed it in his inventory. The same thing happened to the other unfamiliar maps. There was no sign of a "treasure" so he just kept it on his inventory. "Those two treasure box earlier must be all of what they have!" Pedro realized as he remembered how enrage the troll commander was when Pedro was unlocking the treasure chests. "It was no wonder that the loots i got is not that simple and ordina...." Just as Pedro was about to leave he stumbled on to something sticking out of the wooden bed of the troll commander. A black cloth was slightly displaced and Pedro caught a glimpse of the golden item wrapped in the black cloth. He pulled out the item and unwrapped the black cloth. 11 Jumbo Loots One factor to determine a player''s strength was through their weapons, equipment and accessory. The stronger it is, the stronger the player is. That is why players on Bearth in Pedro''s last life, always aim to get the best weapon and equipment on the game. At rare occasions, player with talents and good set of weapon and equipment were defeated by players who has mediocre talent but had a Legendary-rated weapon. The gap between the strength of a Legendary-rated weapon and a Gold-rated weapon was huge that players with Legendary-rated weapon has the ability to turn tides at critical moments of a battle or a war. His eyes wanting to pop out of its sockets, Pedro was shocked when he saw the weapon he was holding, a gold sword with a green stripes design on its blade. Looking to the sword, the sword should probably a Gold-rated at the least. He opened the interface and checked its information. [Faithpursuer Katana] Rating: Bronze-rated weapon Level Requirement: 1 Weapon Level: 1 Attributes: Attack Damage: +10 Agility: +5 Special Effect: [LevelUP]: Experiences gained by the player can be used to increase the level of the weapon. [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the weapon by reinforcing the weapon with the required materials. There is a 50% chance to gain the effect of the absorbed weapon, equipment and accessory. [Evolve Bronze-rated to Silver-rated] 0/1 Silver-rated damage type accessory 0/1 Silver-rated warrior equipment 0/1 Silver-rated one handed sword 0/1 weapon level 20 [This Katana was a blessing of the Ents to the warrior who stood with them against the orcs and trolls who tried to conquer the forest and set it on fire.] ..... "It''s just a Bronze-rated weapon but... It can be evolved! If I am not wrong.. It is one of those weapon which were even rarer than divine weapons!" Pedro remembered that on his past life only three well known players owned such type of weapon. This type of weapons are different from the usual ones regardless of weapon rating. They were the only weapons who can absorb other weapons and level up. When they level up and absorb other weapons, their ability also increases. That is why the rating of this weapon can be evolved. Contrary to what Pedro knew in his past life is that, although this weapons were strong enough to match legendary-rated or even divine-rated weapons, this weapon has a huge backlash. When the level of the weapon was higher from the owner''s level, as the gap increase on both levels, the backlash felt by owner is too great that it can cause damage to the owner when they use the weapon. .... Pedro''s stared at one of the effects of the weapon. .... [LevelUP]: Experiences gained by the player can be used to increase the level of the weapon. .... "Yeeeeeeeeeeeessss! yess.. yeesss.. yeesss!" Pedro jumped around and shouted "yes" like celebrating on winning a lottery. On the other hand, He doesn''t have any idea about the backlash of the weapon. "With this.. My leveling up problems are solved! All I need to do is put all the experience to this weapon! with my undying ability and this evolve weapon... nothing can stop me in this closed beta version! I just hope that my luck will allow me to meet this weapon again on the official launch!" Pedro equipped the sword and swung it left and right as if he was trying to familiarize his self to the sword. Getting the Evolve weapon, Pedro''s greedy eyes begin to shine and he decided to search the whole troll camp. He thought he might have missed a hidden loot somewhere. To his greed, He even dug on some tents thinking that the troll commander was a tricky one and hid all the loots they got. ... After spending for almost two hours on the camp, Pedro wasn''t able to gain more loots. He decided to go back to Kagat Village to get the promise reward by Antonio. ... Minutes later, he passed the ambush site and was walking in an open plain. He was thinking as if he had forgotten about something, he look back a few times and tried to remember if he forgot something. .... "hmm.?" he stopped walking and opened his interface. He looked around until he was in the inventory. "right! I haven''t checked this skill book!" He took it from his inventory. [Random Skill Book] Skill: ???????? Rarity: Bronze-rated Skill Skill Type: ?????? ..... [Generates a random skill when used!] .... "This looks interesting! I hope it is something I can use!" Pedro knew that the most common skill book the players got was a Random Skill Book. It is because, like on dungeons, the boss monster will certainly drop a skill book similar to one of the skills it used and a random skill book. The developers, in his past life, explained that if players got two of the same skill of the boss, there is a probability that they would raid dungeons with boss monsters who is weak against the skills they gained from the previous boss and it would just be easy for them to clear. Pedro patted the random skill book to his chest. Suddenly, the system prompted.. [Random Skill Book Activated!] [You have learned ~Earnest A~ skill] Skill: ~Earnest A~ Rarity: Gold-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: For every kill the player made, Permanently increase player''s attack damage by 1. Cool down: [Not Applicable] [A skill gifted to the childrens of war!] .... "Not bad.. The strength of this skill would appear later on the game... now, however.. it wasn''t that useful!" Pedro was happy but a bit disappointed. This early of the game, during the official launch on his past life, not even the highest ranking players could rampage level 1 monsters. What more to the beta testers! This is why he was disappointed. If he just got it on the official launch, it would secure his future already! "Haaaah!" Pedro sighed.. Though, the random skill book gave him a Gold-rated skill, He expected to get something overpowered after experiencing the "Undying cycle" and getting both the Gem of Authority and the evolve weapon Faithpursuer Katana. ''What am I thinking!! Getting this items while on a quest at the newbie village is already a "Godly Gift"!!..'' Pedro got back into himself after realizing that he is becoming to greedy in nature. "I need to become less greedy.. this time luck was on my favor.. you''ll never know what will happen in the future! might as well be more extra careful! The "Undying cycle" has still many flaws.. I can only be at ease when I solve all of those!!" Pedro realize that the length of time he may survive will depend on how much potions he had. The other flaw of his "Undying cycle" was the cool down of the Intermediate Potion. 12 Saved? "Sister Star.... are you sure we will do this?" a young looking man who was almost 6 feet tall was holding a newbie sword and a bronze looking shield had a conflicted expression unsure he will follow or not. "No worries Bert! We''re two that pig is just one! Based on our inside information, those are the easiest monster to kill.." A good looking woman who seemed to be in his 20''s replied with confidence and a smirk on his face. "But sis..teer..." The young man tried to reason out but the woman frowned and stared at him "Do you want me to replace you with other tanks! I''m sure there would be many who would want to take your place!" The woman threaten the young man with the idea of replacing him with other tank player. Truth be told, in the initial stages of the game, including the closed beta version, shocked by the difficulty of survival in this game, many players faced death after playing only in an hour or less. For this reason many players decided to focus on tank-type characters.(Tank-type characters are characters by players which focused on having tanking skills like defense improvement skills or vitality increasing skills.) "No.. I''ll do it! Ready!" The young man jolted, held his sword and shield tightly. ''Here goes nothing!'' "Yaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The young man shouted as he lift his sword to attack the pig who was eating the grass. "oink!" The pig stared to the young man with a crimson red eyes and rushed towards the young man *Splat.. Blood burst in the air and fill both the young man and the pig .... "Those six years of Bearth experience really come in handy..." Pedro smirked as he flawlessly extract the meat and other parts of this pig like a professional chef. After extracting the meat that he can get from the pig, he opened his interface, stored the meat into his inventory, then looked to his personal information. ... Name: Death (Player) Level: 1 HP: 50 MP: 50 Stamina:14/20 Attack Damage: 15 Magic Damage: 0 Attributes Str +1 Int +1 Vit +1 Dex +1 Crit +1 Agi +9 Special Attribute Luck +5 Charisma +5 Instinct +0 Skills [~Undying~] Rarity: Legendary-rated skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: Instead of dying, Player will gain 1HP instead. Only works once until the cool down was met. Cool down [Special] : (Skill is available) [A skill that is only one of its kind] Skill: ~Scout 1~ Rarity: Bronze-rated Skill Skill Type: Active Effects: Temporarily increase the player''s movement speed by 10% and increase the player''s vision by 100 meters for 30 seconds. Cool down: (Skill is available) [A Skill required to learn skill ~Scout 2~] Skill: ~Bleed~ Rarity: Bronze-rated Skill Skill Type: Active (Offensive Skill) Effects: Inflict 100% damage to the enemy and has a 30% chance to inflict 50% of Strength(Str) per second for 5 seconds. Does not stack. Can only be used with a sword! Cool down: (Skill is available) [A skill developed by soldiers and warriors to sharpen their swords on critical times!] Skill: ~Earnest A~ Rarity: Gold-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: For every kill the player made, Permanently increase player''s attack damage by 1. Kill/s: 5 Cool down: [Not Applicable] [A skill gifted to the childrens of war!] Weapon: [Faithpursuer Katana] Rating: Bronze-rated weapon Level Requirement: 1 Weapon Level: 3 Attributes: Attack Damage: +13 Agility: +8 Special Effect: [LevelUP]: Experiences gained by the player can be used to increase the level of the weapon. [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the weapon by reinforcing the weapon with the required materials. There is a 50% chance to gain the effect of the absorbed weapon, equipment and accessory. [Evolve Bronze-rated to Silver-rated] 0/1 Silver-rated damage type accessory 0/1 Silver-rated warrior equipment 0/1 Silver-rated one handed sword 0/1 weapon level 20 [This Katana was a blessing of the Ents to the warrior who stood with them against the orcs and trolls who tried to conquer the forest and set it on fire.] .... "Those five pigs had left me with four Intermediate potions! I could sell those meat a silver coin each.. I could earn big here, I must rush to the village and restock with potions!" Pedro closed his interface, then he continued to walk to the village ignoring the wild pigs from a far. ... "Heeeeelp! Heeeelp!" a good looking woman in her 20s and a tall young man covered with blood was running towards him as fast as they could. behind them is a wild pig with crimson red eyes. Pedro looked and scanned the two person. ''An NPC? I might get another quest? This might look like a hunt quest...'' He instantly stopped from analyzing and was shocked when two new interface to the side of his main interface appeared in an angled position. .... Name: Starberry (Player) Level: 1 HP: 50 MP: 50 Stamina: 3/20 .... Name: Berting (Player) Level: 1 HP: 60 MP: 50 Stamina: 2/20 .... "Heeeeelp! Pleaseee heeelp!" Starberry and Berting shouted as they close the gap between them and Pedro. ''They ain''t NPC..'' Pedro''s facial expression twitched, he frowned. .... "Heeelp! Mister!!!" Berting kept shouting while running at his top speed. When the gap was just meters between the two and Pedro.. Pedro smirked to them. ''Thank God! we''re saved!'' The two looked at each other with a sense of relief ..... A few minutes ago.. *Splat.. Blood burst in the air and fill both the young man and the pig "Oiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiink!" The pig screamed loud after it rammed on Berting''s shield. Blood filled the shield that came from the pig''s nose and blood kept dripping from both its nose. "Waaa! My shield is broken! Ruuuun sister! This pig is too strong!" Berting shouted as he just ran past through the still standing Starberry. Berting even forgot his shield and sword that was on the ground and ran as fast as he could. "Oh..." Seeing the red eyes of the pig and the blood dripping out of its nose, Starberry returned to his senses and ran immediately as fast as she can. "Oiiiiiiiiiink!" The wild pig angrily shouted. *Boom!!!! At this moment, the wild pig also ran and chased the two. The gap between them was closing at a fast rate. If Berting had not ran ahead, he would have been tackled again in just a matter of seconds. "We''re doomed sister! What the hell''s with that pig! One attack and my shield broke!" Berting complained to Starberry after seeing the gap between them and the wild pig become closer. "Look! Some one is ahead!! Heeeeeelp! Heeeeelp!" Berting sighted a man walking ahead and started shouting for his dear life. ..... Seeing Pedro turn around made the two at ease.. When they were just meters away from Pedro they saw a huge grin in his face and suddenly turned around and ran towards the village. "SH@@!!!" Berting and Starberry screamed as they saw Pedro started running and the gap between the two and Pedro increased. ''What speed!'' Both of them was surprised to how fast the gap between Pedro and the two of them increase. ... ''If you can reach me!'' Pedro turned around and ran towards the village with a huge grin in his face "I might get trouble if I help them, I can kill the wild pig, however, I''m not confident to last long if those players attacked me! That wild pig is tempting enough for them to risk their life hunting it... there is no assurance that they won''t attack me! After all, I had four Intermediate potions left!" He uttered as he continue to ran. The gap between him and the two has increased fast. The two started to slowdown due to their stamina running out and the wild pig was just meters behind them. ''F@@@ that man!!! I thought he''ll save us! But in the end he also ran!'' Starberry thought inwardly as she starts to feel the fatigue and slows down. "We''re almost there! Bert! Block the wild pig! I''ll compensate you well!" Starberry proposed to Berting as they saw the village fences, but the pig was just a few steps from their back. If Berting received the tackle of the wild pig he would surely die from it but on the other hand Starberry would get a little gap enough for her to reach the village and ask assistance from the village soldier who is guarding in the village entrance. "Oiiink!!!!" The wild pig shouted as it was about to reach Berting. ".... Nooooooo!" Berting shouted as the pig jumped and was just inches away from him. He closed his eyes, unwanted to see the next events.. 13 Karma strikes back "haaa.. haaa. haaa..." Pedro tried to catch his breath as he suddenly stopped running in front of the village soldier on duty. ''What''s with this adventurer?'' The unmoved village soldier stared at the exhausted Pedro but before the village soldier could utter a word Pedro spoke as he pointed to where he came from. "There are two adventurers being chased by a wild pig and is injured!" Pedro lied hoping that the village soldier would take action immediately and there is a chance that Berting and Starberry would be saved. ''This is the least I can do for them.. I am not that cold hearted person.. But I cannot act personally and risk losing everything I gained! Besides, Though they''re just exhausted, they looked like they had been in a furious battle, so I didn''t exactly lie...'' Pedro slapped his face lightly after feeling guilty of lying to the village soldier. "Is that so? Then, I have a task for you young adventurer!" The village soldier calmly replied and shocked Pedro. ''This doesn''t look good! I might get another quest.. I have four potions left!'' He started to become worried when the village soldier continued to speak. "I, Village soldier Tam Darko, request you to rescue the two adventurers from the wild pig!" Village soldier Tam spoke calmly at the now shocked Pedro [Quest: Rescue Fellow Player! Rating: A-rated Mission: Save adventurers Berting and Starberry and kill the wild pig! Bring the dead body of the pig to village soldier Tam! Duration: 20 seconds (Timer starts upon issuance of the quest!) Will you accept?] ''@@@@!!!! I dug my own grave! There goes being a hero!'' Before Pedro could even react the duration started to count down. [Quest: Rescue Fellow Player! Rating: A-rated Mission: Save adventurers Berting and Starberry and kill the wild pig! Bring the dead body of the pig to village soldier Tam! Duration: 19 seconds (Timer starts upon issuance of the quest!) Will you accept?] "I accept!!" Pedro hurriedly shouted and left village soldier Tam not even being able to utter a single word. ''It''s not like I have a choice!! My reputation with the village might reduce if I don''t accept this quest! @@@@!!!'' .... Seeing Pedro run towards the two adventurer, village soldier Tam muttered to himself.. "Although, I want to help them, I can''t leave my post.. the captain would be angry with me and the safety of the village might be compromised when I leave!!" "Seeing that adventurer, he doesn''t look the same with other adventurers! He looked a bit stronger than other adventurer... he might save them.." Village soldier Tam rub his chin while looking with suspicion to the fading figure of Pedro. .... ".... Nooooooo!" Berting shouted as the pig jumped and was just inches away from him. He closed his eyes as he wait for the system notification that he died.. ''Something is wrong!'' Seconds passed but the system notification didn''t appear, he slowly opened his eyes. A golden light was blinding him when he heard an unfamiliar voice. "I''m glad, I made it in time!" Pedro sneered as he block the tackle of the wild pig with his Faithpursuer Katana.. *Baaaag!! The impact of the tackle of the wild pig was received by the Faithpursuer Katana but the impact was strong that it send Berting a few meters backward and took damage.. "Ah!!" Pedro became worried that Berting might die and he would fail the quest. He quickly checked the interface to see Berting''s remaining HP. .... Name: Berting (Player) Level: 1 HP: 17/60 MP: 50 Stamina: 0/20 ..... "D@@@! The impact is enough to even kill a player who had high vitality!" Pedro was still shocked to the power of the wild pig. Though, he had no idea how much power the pig has, since Pedro had the undying cycle when he was hunting wild pigs earlier. It was only at this point that he had saw its true power, thru the other players. .... -200 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] ... "SH@@!! I had three more potions left! I need to end this fast!" Pedro uttered as he saw the two with a surprised expression.. ''They might still be worried that they might die!'' Pedro shook his head as if saying "they are really newbies on Bearth"... ''well... as an.. Elde... Expert! I''ll have to show you how to survive in this game..'' .... "It''s fine now!" ..... "Why??!" ... "Because Death is here!!!" Pedro proudly shouted the words as if he was some sort of super hero going to save the day. ''Well... I''ll save some one so it is almost the same... right?'' .... Starberry suddenly stopped running and was shocked to the scene happening in front of her. The "Bas@@@@ person" that left them and run towards the village suddenly reappeared and intercept the wild pig that was strong enough to destroy the shield of Berting with one tackle. What''s more is that his weapon was glowing with a blinding golden light that might signify that it is a rare weapon. Both Starberry and Berting was so flabbergasted that they were rendered speechless as they watch Pedro fight the wild pig. .... [Wild Pig] Rating: Bronze-rated Monster HP:300 Attributes Attack Damage: 200 Attack Interval: 2.7 seconds Defense: 10 Movement speed: 2 m/s Skills: ~Tackle~ Effect: Deals 100% attack damage to a target and cause impact that would deal 25%, or less, of the attack damage with in 3 meter radius of the initial target to other targets. (The first target will receive 100% attack damage and won''t be affected by the 25% or less of the attack damage.) Cool down: 10 seconds .... "Luckily, it is the same of what I fought earlier!" Pedro smirked and engaged the wild pig. After the tackle of the wild pig, with the increased agility his movement and attack speed has increased compared to the normal players and was just a level down compared to the NPC village soldier like Tam. He quickly attacked the wild pig and dealt as much damage he could. Seconds later, with his sword, he blocked another tackle by the wild pig and the undying cycle activated. Given the opportunity, Pedro slashed non-stop until the wild pig cried and fell to the ground.. .... "My Graaaaasss...." .... The wild pig cried. ''Its last words are grass?!'' He was shocked be cause the other wild pigs he killed didn''t have the strength to say its "last words". *Baaag! the body of the pig fell down and the two adventurer remained silent, still unable to process the event that just happened before their eyes. Some one had solo killed a wild pig that can kill them with one hit. It was too much for them to take. Berting and Starberry had not seen a some one who tried to fight the wild pig and lasted long to live but the man in front of them killed the wild pig alone and in a short time at the top of that. ''He must be a strong NPC on Kagat Village!'' Starberry stared at Pedro with amazement and shock until he realize to check the personal information of Pedro. A new interface beside her main interface appeared, slightly angled to have ease in viewing. .... Name: Death (Player) Level: 1 HP: 50/50 MP: 50/50 Stamina: 1/20 .... "A P..Player????!" Starberry shouted as she was astonished to know that the man who saved them was a player. ''It would have made sense if the man was an NPC. but.. he''s a player?! what''s more astonishing is that his HP... He didn''t took any damage at all!!!!'' Starberry was pointing to Pedro with a shock look where her eyes were like it is gonna pop out of its sockets. "Who.. who are you?!" Berting was scared and shocked, he remembers how his shield was shattered by only a tackle considering that very few at the current stage of the game that players get their hands to different equipment and weapon other than the newbie sword. With fear and respect those were the only words that uncontrollably came out his mouth. .... Pedro smirked as he tilted his head a little to the back like a super hero who had just saved some civilians.. with the glow of the evolve weapon as lighting effects. "I am player.. Death!" 14 Fate? A month ago... "Talia! Activate your teleportation crystal now!" A handsome looking guy on his early 30''s screamed on the top of his lungs as his sword blocked another player''s sword. "But... Brother Mathew!" Talia, the young girl who was around 16 years old, cried as the teleportation rune below her feet started to shine a bright light. "Shiiiiiing!" Bright light shines in the area where Talia was located. Afterward, The light slowly dissipated and the young girl was nowhere to be found. A huge grin appeared on Mathew as he grasps his sword tighter. "Now... I can let loose a bit..." Mathew sighed and became calm... "Such big words... We are a legion of 5000 players! You''re just one! No matter how strong a player...you have your own limits!" a player among the crowd shouted. It was followed by the laughter of the legion army of players Matthew is about to face. "To think that Warlords Gaming sent a large force of player just to deal with a single professional player! HAHAHAHA!" another player from the crowd mockingly shouted. "To target a core player of the Pancit Gaming! They must have been really desperate to win the Professional League Championship!" As the crowd kept mocking about the situation... "So... It''s Warlords Gaming after all!!" Mathew finally released a frightening aura with killing intent from his body. ... "Sh@@!!" the swordsman cursed as he felt the frightening aura Mathew released. "You''re courageous... But... not strong!!" Mathew muttered as a golden light shone from his sword. "..." the swordsman was shocked to the point that his eyes were about to pop out of its sockets. His sword was sliced into half by Mathew''s sword. It went straight and also sliced the swordsman in half. "Nooooooooo!" the swordsman helplessly cried as he turned into white light. The legion army turned silent and was shocked by the event that had occurred before them. ''A player was sliced in half with one strike? Moreover, that swordsman is an MT!'' almost all the 5000 players thought how scary their target was... "Are we gonna stare all day or fight??" Mathew broke the silence by taunting the 5000 players. He waved his left hand like saying ''come and attack me!''... "B@@@@@@! You think you''re that almighty!??" Players were enraged and charged straight to Mathew. Swords, arrows, and spells rained down on him one after another. He skillfully dodges each attack while swinging his sword that cuts every player it hits into two. Bright light shines around the battlefield as the number of the players on the legion army dropped to 4000. "This is not good! At this rate... he''ll literally kill us all!" a cloaked man asked a cloaked tall man beside him. "Use the annihilation crystal now!" The tall man commanded angrily "But... It will also kill all of the 4000 players! Including us!" "Can''t you see? It''s just a matter of time! We would be wiped out by that man! We would die either way!" "But..." He stared at a distant watching how Mathew kept killing player after player and got closer and closer to them. He retrieved a dark crystal that was releasing a more frightening aura than what Mathew released. ... "Not good!" Mathew''s attention was in the direction of the two cloaked men. He was focused on the crystal that one of them was holding. "Booooohh!" Before Mathew could get near to the two cloaked players, a mushroom cloud of smoke rose from the crystal. The smoke soon spread up in the whole area until it even passed Mathew. *Cough... cough... cough... All players, including Mathew, coughed hard as they started to lack oxygen. Seconds later, amidst the black smoke where one can''t almost see anything, white lights appear around Mathew. "Sh@@!! It''s an annihilation crystal! Log out!!" Mathew panicked as he tried to open his player interface. This is one of the few life-saving methods the players of VR game utilize. Before Mathew can log out... a system notification appeared to his screen. [You Died! Character deletion and automatic logout will commence in 3!] 2! 1! "...." Mathew was speechless. He regained his consciousness in the real world. "I''m in big trouble..." He carefully removed his VR helmet. Then, he walked towards a desk and grabbed his phone. "I should inform guild leader about this.." Mathew started typing the details of everything that had happened. "Eee... Eee... Eee..." His phone ringed and the caller was his guild leader. He accepted it, and his guild leader spoke in a calm way. "What had happened has happened, Mathew! We didn''t expect the Warlords Guild to act this way just to win the championship!" "What should we do next guild leader?" Mathew asked with a heavy heart. Now that his character was instantly deleted, his value to the Pancit Gaming is good as zero. He has the talent, but he had no character to use. Creating a new character would take years for it to be strong enough to participate in competitions. Acquiring other accounts from other players is impossible because avatars were locked per person. "For now... Don''t tell the other members about this... the competition is just a week from now... I''ll personally inform them to take extra care when playing!" his guild leader explained. "For you... we''ll figure out something after the competition! I hope you understand!" The guild leader finished his point to Mathew. "..." Mathew was rendered speechless. He was a core player but not the most important one in their guild. Their guild took a loss when they lost a player like Mathew. However, Their guild was participating in the Professional League Championship. The guild leader can''t act harshly and create events that may compromise their chance to win the championship. "I know that this is hard for you Mathew... take a rest for now! bye bye!" His guild leader responded as he ended the call with Mathew. ... "I think, I am over in this game..." Mathew had a sad look in his face. He placed his phone to the table. "Since I have nothing to do..." Mathew sat in a chair and opened his computer. He surfed the net, watched videos, and even opened his mail due to his boredom. After the long list, he noticed something. [Developers of Bearth Online is Inviting you to its Closed Beta Version!] Mathew was not that interested, but he had an inside feeling telling him that this is a hope given by the Lord to him. ... After a week, their guild fought in the Professional League Championship. They won a tight competition. Mathew was happy, but he felt sad because he wasn''t able to participate in the event. After thinking for a week, He made a decision to play Bearth and its closed beta version. ... "That man is not bad. He moves like a professional, and I assume that he had a good skill set! It took me hours to kill a wild pig... but that man took only seconds..." Mathew muttered as he gazes at Pedro, Bert, and Starberry. "Though I know the majority of the professional players on AVR Game, this was the first time I saw him! I just hope he is not affiliated with any of the guilds! Let''s evaluate him first! Talent without a good attitude or good manners would be a tragedy in AVR games!" Mathew professionally followed and observed Pedro until he got back to the village. 15 Chain Quests? "Death??" Berting''s eyeballs enlarged when the hero looking Pedro suddenly vanished, and a cold breeze of air went past Berting and Starberry. "So fast!" Starberry uttered looking at the distant figure of Pedro. When Pedro''s figure was about to vanish, A man slightly taller than Pedro and looks like a typical Korean in his 20''s passed the duo with a notch down compared to Pedro''s speed. "...." Berting was again dumbfounded. The reason why he agreed to fight the wild pig was to impress Starberry and gain her trust. Berting knew that Starberry might be one of those players who was sponsored by some multi-million dollar companies. Gaining her trust might secure him a good position in her guild on the official launch of the game. He would garner huge income while playing Bearth. "Is that another pro player??" Starberry asked while staring at the distant figure of Mathew. "Sister! I think it''s a good idea to follow Death..." "I... mean... the player... Player Death!" "If I am not wrong... he is currently one of the strongest players at this point!" Berting suggested as he stood up and shook off his pants. "Then let''s follow him! We can become stronger if we follow him and learn how did he kill the wild pig!" Starberry traversed slowly back to the village. .... "Respected village soldier Tam!... I have saved the two people and killed the wild pig!..." A typical Korean looking man around six feet tall with a mild body build and tan skin approached a soldier who looked bored and exhausted from whole day work. "But you failed to submit the pig to me on time!" The soldier interjected in a fearsome and serious tone. "Can''t you kindly reconsider? This pig, I will naturally give to you! I have no use of it at the moment! It would be a waste to throw it away!" the young man tried to negotiate with the soldier. Unlike in other Adventure VR Game, In Bearth, Failed quests by players can be negotiated but the rewards they might get is less compared to the initial rewards that have been set. This was another unique feature in the game. Consequently, this feature has its own risks. It may cause a negative effect on the relationship of the player trying to negotiate and the NPC. There were cases where players would be instantly attacked by the NPC and died. This was included by the developers to make Bearth almost identical to the real world. "You''ve got guts adventurer! To demand to a soldier like me!" village soldier Tam smirked as a murderous aura escaped from his body... "...." The young man, Pedro, was surprised at first when the NPC threatened him, but later on, smirked as if the threat was nothing... .... "Just because you can kill a level 1 wild pig easily doesn''t mean you are strong enough to fight an NPC!!" Mathew uttered in a disappointed manner upon seeing that Pedro is somehow about to fight soldier Tam. "Right?! That man is kinda weird!" Berting replied as he and Starberry appeared behind Mathew and imitated how Mathew was spying Pedro behind the tree. *Shiiiing!!! "Who are you?" Mathew jumped out of shock and unsheathed his sword and entered a defense position against Starberry and Berting. "Whoa... brother chill out!! We mean no harm!" Berting raised his arms trying to show that they don''t impose a threat to Mathew. "Pro bro! Don''t blow our cover! We''re not interested in you! We were interested in that other pro bro over there!" Starberry shamelessly scolded Mathew as they might get caught by Pedro. "Tsss!" Mathew went to another nearby tree to spy Pedro while taking notice of the two players. ... "Hahahaha! I know that you adventurers are weak! I never thought that you can even defeat that wild pig! I truly underestimated your capabilities!" Soldier Tam laughed loudly as he kept releasing the aura to impose supremacy over Pedro. Yet, Pedro was already well exposed to such experiences due to his past life. "Unfortunately adventurer, I also have no use for that wild pig! If I am to rate my abilities, my worst would be cooking!" soldier Tam honestly informed Pedro about the wild pig... "If so, then why would respected village soldier Tam require the remains of the wild pig? Surely it''s not just for proof right?" Pedro replied professionally as if he was playing the game for many years. He had a smirk in his face as if he knew he might get something good. "You are a wise one adventurer! Though my cooking skills are worst, I am a very skillful hunter! That wild pig is the perfect bait to wild mountain wolf!" soldier Tam explained "Am I going to hunt a wild mountain wolf?" Pedro suddenly became nervous. Based on his memory any wild mountain monsters should be around level 5 because they were monsters that were located on mountain areas where level 5 dungeons can be found. "Hahaha! You may be brave but you''re still really a newbie!" soldier Tam laughed as he saw Pedro''s facial expression. "Three days starting tomorrow, I would go to the mountains and hunt these monsters! Hunting these monsters were easy to me. However, even with my strength, I could only carry a limited amount of mountain wolf bodies back to the village!" soldier Tam explained the situation briefly to Pedro. "What can I do to help you on your hunting? Perhaps, I would help carry some wild mountain wolf?" Pedro asked curiously "That''s the gist of it. However, I cannot guarantee your safety! I know you are strong enough to handle a measly wild pig, but I do not know if you are strong enough to endure even a single blow from the wolves!" village soldier Tam scratched his chin and looked at Pedro hesitating if he should bring Pedro when he hunts the wild mountain wolves. "how about this?? Go rest for some time... look for me after two hours and make sure that you are in your best condition!" Village soldier Tam asked Pedro when a notification appeared in Pedro''s Player Interface. ... [Chain Quest: Wild Mountain Wolf Hunt! Rating: S-rated Current Mission: Rest and prepare for the trial village soldier Tam has prepared for you! Locate village soldier Tam after resting and preparing within the time duration. Duration: 2 hours] ... ''Dang!! a chain quest! how troublesome!'' Pedro knew how troublesome chain quest was in his past life. This was a type of quest where missions after missions would be issued. The total number of missions were not specific. There was also no average number of missions that occurs on a chain quest. There were instances where only three missions or quest was done, while the most well-known chain quest in his past life reached up to twenty-four quests or missions until it was completed. What''s more troublesome with chain quest is that there is only one reward and could only be attained at the completion of the last mission or quest. If you fail a mission or quest, the whole chain quest would automatically fail. This is why players in his past life ignored and didn''t do the chain quests that much on the start. However, later in the game, chain quests would become more common as players reached levels of 50 to 100. In this stage, Players would discover legacy enhancement, where for a certain religion or culture a player belongs or believes, he or she may get special skills that were once used by a King, an Emperor or even a god. This legacy enhancement was unlocked by doing chain quests and the legacy enhancement attainment itself was a chain quest. In his past life, Pedro played a tank type swordsman. Although there was no class system in Bearth, his skill set was focused on strengthening his defense and increasing his vitality. In order to be self-sustaining and not dependent on potions and healer type players, Pedro took a legacy enhancement from the disciple of the god of healing, that gave him skills that enhanced his HP regeneration and damage reducing abilities. This skill set combination brought him to the professional league of Bearth. "Then I won''t disturb you anymore sire!" Pedro respectfully bows to village soldier Tam. 16 Proof of Strength? "was that some kind of a test of courage?" Mathew asked his self as he saw Pedro ran back to the Village and the murderous aura of village soldier Tam vanished. He then decided to check village soldier Tam''s information out of his curiosity. .... Name: Tam Darko (Village soldier, NPC) Level: 6 HP: 1000/1000 MP: 850/850 Stamina: 100/100 .... "whooooosh!" a wind blew past Mathew, Berting, and Starberry and they once again felt the murderous aura that was present when Pedro was talking to Village soldier Tam. If a player or NPC has a high enough Instinct, their five senses would be enhanced and they would be able to determine if someone was checking or inspecting their information. This, however, does not apply to monsters. This was like an early warning system that would inform them that they were somehow being targeted by someone. However, this does not allow a player or NPC to determine the location of the person spying on them. Locating those person spying on them require specific skills that were rare to come by. ''Looks like someone is interested in my handsome looks despite my old age!'' Village soldier Tam sneered as he tried to calmly look around for the person who inspected him. "what did I just do?? Man! I know how realistic this game is... But this is way too scary!" Mathew muttered as he was shaking behind the tree and didn''t have even the slightest courage to look back to where village soldier Tam was. "Pro bro! Pssst! What did you do?? Why did that NPC seem to be angry once again?" Berting whispered to Mathew who was hiding to a nearby tree. "Did my A##! I just checked his information! I didn''t know that it might anger him!" Mathew retaliated while he was unable to calm his self as he felt the murderous aura from village soldier Tam. "So... You''re my admirer?!" Someone spoke behind the tree where Mathew was hiding. Mathew and Berting slowly turned their heads to the origin of the voice and they saw village soldier Tam smiling while leaning his hand to the tree where Mathew was hiding. "RUUUUN!" Berting shouted as he and Mathew tried to run away from village soldier Tam. "How can I let you leave without giving my signature?" Village soldier Tam suddenly grabbed Berting and Mathew in the back as the murderous aura he released became stronger. "Live???" Berting and Mathew misunderstood the word "Live" with "Leave" and looked at each other with an unexplainable look like saying ''we''re dead!!!''. Although Mathew was a professional gamer and was well adapted to the environment of AVR Games, he was still unable to escape village soldier Tam. "Re... respected villager! please don''t misunderstand! we adventurers were just curious about your relationship with the aad... adventurer named... de... death!" Starberry shakingly tried to explain to village soldier Tam as he carries Mathew and Berting. "Hmmm?" Village soldier Tam doubted Starberry as he looked at the three adventurers. "Ye... Yess! It''s true!" Mathew got back to his self, barely calming his self, and tried to bluff his way out. "Ri...right! You see respected villager, that man saved our lives and we were just curious about how he got that strong... we followed him and when we were about to approach him, he talked to you! when you released this same murderous aura... It really scared the sh@@ out of us! we got curious and just happen to check you! That''s all!" Berting panicked and the made-up story quickly came out of his mouth out of fear. "Hahahaha! Is that so? You are the weaklings that he saved?" village soldier Tam laughed as the trio released a relieved expression. "I have plans for that adventurer! However, you three are too weak to join him! Strengthen your selves first, then I should give you quests to complete!" village soldier Tam gently dropped Berting and Mathew to the ground. .... ''Is the gap between me and that player that big?'' Mathew suddenly changed his expression and his competitive personality arisen. "I personally think that the difference between me and that adventurer is not that large!" from fear to his competitive personality, Mathew bravely spoke to village soldier Tam. "Hahaha! Adventurers are truly unpredictable! If it is the case, then prove it to me! Hunt down three wild pig each and bring them to me within half an hour! As they say... Let your actions speak!" Village soldier Tam laughed as the notification of the trio prompted. ... [Quest: Proof of Strength! Rating: A-rated Mission: Kill three wild pig and bring the dead body of the pig to village soldier Tam! Duration: 30 minutes ] ... "Go now! for your time is limited!" Village soldier Tam became serious and returned to his post like nothing happened. "What did you just do!? Again!!" Berting shouted to Mathew. As a result of the single phrase, Mathew said to village soldier Tam, they were given of an impossible quest of killing the wild pigs, three each at the top of that. "Got an A-rated quest?" Mathew uttered in an annoyed manner. He glanced for a second on Berting and Starberry, then he started walking back to the area where the wild pigs were located. As Mathew''s figure faded, Berting was still puzzled on what to do. It was an A-rated quest. Players who received quests of this rarity at that point of the game could only be counted on one hand. It was rare but the difficulty of its completion was consequently hard. This made Berting''s mind undecided as he tried to determine whether to do the quest or not is more beneficial to him. "There''s no point standing around! Why don''t we go to the wild pig spawn area and think of a way to accomplish this quest?" Starberry felt that it would be such a waste to give up immediately on the quest. These quests were rare as of now, and there was a chance that they would get some sort of "first server achievements". Hence, she felt losing thirty minutes of in-game time was worth it. At most, they would have information on how hard A-rated and above quests were for their current level. "Sister Star!! Can''t you remember?? A wild pig almost killed me!! If not for brother Death... I would be starting a new character by now!" Berting was angered. The quest already pressured him enough. He had personally experienced how strong those wild pigs for players at the moment. What Starberry further pressured him, making him unable to contain his anger. "I know!!! But what can standing here do????! Huh??! Instant completion of the quest??" Starberry shouted like an angry mother. "Can''t you see? Death was able to kill a wild pig!! a player did!! It means it''s possible!! Although we are not as strong as those pros, we just have to find a way to do it given our current abilities to make up for it! Else... how can normal players match professional players? Do you think that the developers would allow professionals to be the only strong ones??!" Starberry scolded Berting. It was so fierce that Berting was not even able to speak a single word. "... Never mind! Follow if you want! I won''t require you to join me anymore!" Starberry left and ran quickly to the direction of the spawn area of the wild pig. "wai..." ... "Aish!! D@@@ this too realistic game!" Berting cursed as he tried to chase the running Starberry. "Sister Staar! Wait!" ... "Waiiit!" Berting shouted as he ran as fast as he could. ... Village soldier Tam glanced at the fading figure of Starberry and Berting. "Adventurers are truly unpredictable! Haha!" He uttered as he returned his focus in his post with a smirk. "Looks like I would be having a fun trip in the next few days..." 17 Different ways "three wild pigs? I can barely kill one after two hours..." Mathew was brainstorming on how would he complete the quest. He was 1 in 100,000 among the players who can solo kill a level 1 monster at the early stage of Bearth. He was really a professional. Unlike Pedro, who was able to participate in the professional league in his past life by capitalizing his skill set, Mathew had his fair share of experience and knowledge in playing AVR Games for a time longer than Pedro had in his past life. If not for being a reincarnate, the gap between their strength would be like Sun and Pluto, The gap was far but not impossible to cross. "That player possibly had some skill that allowed him to kill the wild pig that quickly!" Mathew rubbed his chin while staring at a wild pig busy eating grass. ... [Wild Pig] Rating: Bronze-rated Monster HP:300 Attributes Attack Damage: 200 Attack Interval: 2.7 seconds Defense: 10 Movement speed: 2 m/s Skills: ~Tackle~ Effect: Deals 100% attack damage to a target and cause an impact that would deal 25%, or less, of the attack damage within a 3-meter radius of the initial target to other targets. (The first target will receive 100% attack damage and won''t be affected by the 25% or less of the attack damage.) Cooldown: 10 seconds .... "Wait... Didn''t that player earlier stop the wild pig''s tackle by intercepting it with his sword?" A smirk appeared in Mathew''s face as he stares at the skill of the wild pig. ... ~Tackle~ Effect: Deals 100% attack damage to a target and cause an impact that would deal 25%, or less, of the attack damage within a 3-meter radius of the initial target to other targets. (The first target will receive 100% attack damage and won''t be affected by the 25% or less of the attack damage.) Cooldown: 10 seconds ... "What if I attack a wild pig and it activates Tackle... Then let another wild pig receive the Tackle??" "Its attack damage is 200... Tackle skill deals 100% attack damage... Its HP is... 300!" "The pig that was hit would just have 100 HP Left... But there were uncertainties!" Mathew formulated an unconventional way to kill the wild pigs. He would attack one wild pig and it would attack him. When the wild pig activates its skill, Tackle, he would use another wild pig as a shield. Executing this was not a problem to a pro like Mathew, however, he was uncertain of some things. First, the wild pig used as a shield would be left with 100 HP. To reduce the HP of the wild pig to that, made the wild pig faster to be killed. However, the charging wild pig would still target him. This was the first risk the method imposed. He was thinking of a way to deal with the situation if he had the aggro of two wild pig. If he didn''t have the aggro of the ''shield'' wild pig, he could just run around and let other wild pigs become his meat shield. At best, the ''shield'' wild pig has a chance to attack the raging wild pig, allowing Mathew to just run around and kite the wild pig until it dies. Yet, Mathew was a pro, he would not discard even the slightest possible factor that may be considered. ... "If Talia was just here... we could lure the two pigs into head-on collision and easily kill these monsters!" He thought that if Talia was with him they both would attack a wild pig each and let them collide until they die. However, he was alone at the moment so he needs to devise a strategy for his self. "Let''s just put our bet that I won''t get the aggro of the ''shield'' wild pig!" Mathew grasped his sword tightly and rushed towards the wild pig eating a grass. ... "What is he doing?" Berting was surprised as he saw Mathew''s figure rushing to attack a wild pig. "Is he really that desperate to accomplish this quest? or is he just nuts?!" Berting exclaimed. "You saw how he moves... he is without a doubt a pro... he won''t do anything stupid and just die because of some rare quest!" Starberry commented while staring at Mathew "Then you''re saying..." Berting responded but Starberry immediately spoke. "He somehow has a plan on how to deal with the quest... I don''t know how... or if it would be successful? Like I said earlier... I would observe first! That may include watching what that man would do!" Starberry explained while pointing to Mathew who was being chased by a wild pig. ... "Oink! Oink!" the wild pig charge as fast as it can to Mathew. "Look, Bert! Something is off.." Starberry pointed to the running Mathew. "The gap... It''s not decreasing... It''s increasing!" Berting responded in amazement. ... "This should be far enough!" Mathew glanced to the wild pig chasing him that was around 8 meters away. Mathew ran past another wild pig which was busy eating grass. Then, He turned a bit left to assure that the ''shield'' wild pig, the chasing wild pig and he himself forms a straight line so that the chasing wild pig would perfectly hit the ''shield'' wild pig. "Baaag!" The two wild pigs collided and caused the ''shield'' wild pig to roll meters back... ... -200 ... A red text appeared above the head of the ''shield'' wild pig. "As expected! It works!" Mathew smiled but after a few seconds, it was replaced with a frown. The ''shield'' wild pig had red blood eyes and followed behind the first wild pig chasing him. "Man nothing is really easy in this game!" Mathew ran as he got near to the next wild pig he targeted to use as a ''shield''. ... "What??" Berting was astounded to what occurred between the two wild pig that Mathew orchestrated to collide. "To be able to come up with that kind of strategy... who is this player?" Starberry stared in amazement to Mathew and checked Mathew''s player information. .... Name: Happy Face Killer (Player) Level: 2 HP: 80/80 MP: 57/70 Stamina: 15/20 .... "Happy Face Killer? A new player?" Starberry looked well informed of the professional players in the AVR Game industry and she seemed like she had not heard that name anywhere. "Sister Star! why don''t we imitate his strategy? we''re not strong enough... but.. we can run!" Berting interjected Starberry and placed his closed fist to his chest showing a proud and confident look. ".... wai... wait!" Starberry stopped Berting and explained "You attack one wild pig... I''ll attack one... then we make them collide!" ".... That''s a good idea sister Star!" Berting now started stretching to get ready. "Let''s go! Bert! Remember! Make the gap as far as 4 meters to avoid the 25% aftershock damage!"Bert and Star started walking in the opposite directions towards their targetted wild pigs. "Start!!!!!" Star shouted and both of them attacked each a wild pig and immediately ran as fast as they can towards each other. .... "Baaaam!" ... Slamming sounds echoed after some period of time a distant away from Mathew that got his attention. "Curses! Talia must play this game! It would be easier with her around!" Mathew was looking to the duo doing their strategy of orchestrating a head-on collision. Then, he glanced to the two wild pigs chasing him. ... [Wild Pig] (The First chasing wild pig) Rating: Bronze-rated Monster HP: 300/300 .... [Wild Pig] (The second chasing wild pig) Rating: Bronze-rated Monster HP: 100/300 .... Mathew returned his focus and drove the two wild pigs to another ''shield'' pig and it collided. Damage text appeared above the heads of each wild pig. .... -400 (The ''shield'' wild pig took damage) -50 (The second wild pig took damage) -50 (The first wild pig took damage) .... The ''shield'' pig that collided with the 2 wild pigs chasing Mathew instantly died and the two wild pigs receive the 25% impact damage since they were within the 3-meter radius. After that, the two pig continued to chase Mathew as a system notification appeared. ... Wild Pig has been killed! Wild Pig has dropped quest item "wild pig body" x1! Player gained 100 Exp! 18 Trio After 10 minutes, Bert and Star were able to make the final head-on collision to kill their last wild pig requirement. "Sister Star? Should we help him?" Berting was at a young age, he was naturally more trusting and kind compared to Starberry. "Let''s let him do his own business!" Starberry was sitting down on the grass, her back slightly bent backward with her left hand preventing her from lying down and her other hand resting on the ground still grasping her newbie sword. "But..." Berting tried to persuade her but Starberry instantly looked at him with a frown. "Check his stamina!" Starberry pointed to Mathew''s figure. Berting then switched his view to Mathew and checked his information. .... Name: Happy Face Killer (Player) Level: 3 HP: 100/100 MP: 27/90 Stamina: 15/30 .... "That is why!" Berting looked at the running figure of Mathew, He and Starberry ran for almost 10 minutes. Berting assumed that they didn''t burn that much stamina since they had leveled up. Their nearly exhausted stamina and Mana Points (MP) went back to full and if they didn''t level up on the process, they would have almost empty stamina and rest for some period of time. ... The stamina was still a mystery to the players at the moment, except Pedro. He knew that stamina consumed and recovery depends on the physical physique of the player''s character like in his or her real life. The actual computation or "formula" was not revealed by the developers even in his past life. Hence, players only deducted that the stamina in a player''s information panel was just an aid to help them determine their fatigue level. Doing activities like running will get a player exhausted like how he does in real life. The only difference between Bearth and reality is that there was the stamina in a player''s information panel that serves as a reference for a player''s fatigue level. ... Berting''s assumption was half true and half not. It is true that leveling up kept their stamina from reaching critical stages. However, It was not true that it went back to full. It was just because as a player level up, the strength of his character increases, consequently. This includes his stamina consumption and recovery. This was just like running or jogging. When one ran for the first time, he or she may run a few hundred meters. As he or she does this regularly, he or she will eventually be able to run more, up until he or she can run a kilometer. This was what happened to the stamina of a player when he or she levels up. The same mechanic applies to MP and HP that makes Bearth more real compared to other AVR Games. Players were still in closed beta version, so, there was no need to hide profiles like name and such * Claap... Claap... Starberry stands, she sheathed back his sword to its scabbard and clapped to get Berting''s attention. "Let''s submit these to that village soldier!" Starberry pulled two dead wild pigs in its tail and started walking back to the village. "Ohh... Sister Star! you left one of your dead wild pig!" Berting reminded. "....??? I can only drag two of them..." Starberry replied in a soft and shy voice. "Is that so? Then let me pull the other one!" Berting dragged Starberry''s third wild pig and acted like a gentleman. He now drags four wild pig, pulling two tails of a wild pig each hand. ''They are heavier than I thought!'' Berting struggled to pull the four dead wild pig. Though he struggled, he tried his best to hide it, in order to impress Starberry. As of now, he was a replaceable party member for Starberry. He gained Starberry''s trust because of his show of loyalty. However, He knew that in order to be a professional and join top tier guilds, He would need skills or talent at the least. Top tier professional players were not ranked by loyalty in the first place. ... "Sigh..." Mathew sighed as he saw Berting and Starberry dragging dead bodies of wild pigs. ... "respected villager! Here are the dead wild pigs you tasked us to kill!" Berting talked to village soldier Tam. "Great!... But where is the other man?" Village soldier Tam was joyed seeing the number of wild pigs he can use as bait. "other man?" Starberry and Berting looked at each other and got a sour look. "Yeah!" Village soldier Tam nodded "Uhm... respected villager... he is still killing wild pigs, the method both of us used was easier and efficient than his. That''s why we finished faster!" Berting explained "Is that so..." Village soldier Tam''s expression changed as if looking a bit disappointed. "Before I forgot, Here are your rewards!" Village soldier Tam handed 5 silver coins each to Starberry and Berting. "We''re rich!!" Berting''s young eyes shine bright of greed! The highest amount of coins received by the players from B-rated quests were around 30 bronze coins. The difference in reward coins was more than ten times that of an A-rated quest. This proved that the harder the quests the more rewards there would be. Before they could further react, the system notification sounded. ... [System Notification!] Quest: Proof of Strength! Rating: A-rated Completed! ... Generating Rewards... Rewards: 5 Silver Coins 4 pig skins ... Quests that gave exp were very rare occasions, quest rewards normally consisted of coins, materials, Items, skills or anything the quest giver can reward. At the same time, reward''s rarity is always proportionate to the quests'' rarity. (materials that can be used, like crafting or potioneering. what, where, and how to use materials were dependent on the players. For example, pigskin can be used as food or can be used on experiments to make potions and such.) "Respected villager! Is there anything else you''d want us to do?" Berting still possessed with greed asked in an excited manner, expecting that village soldier Tam will issue another hunt quest and their rewards would be of the same value. "Hahahaha! enthusiasm is good, adventurer! but greed is dangerous!" Village soldier Tam reminded. "Young ones are really just full of energy! Hahahaha" Starberry commented. "Hahahaha! True! True!" Village soldier Tam nodded in agreement as they saw a figure from a distant slowly approaching them. "It seems like everyone will join the camping trip! hahaha!" Village soldier Tam became more lively and happy. As expected, Mathew succeeded in completing the quest. The number of wild pigs he actually killed was around 10. He was reluctant at first to harvest the other 7 dead bodies and gain some wild pig materials thinking that if he submitted more than the required he would get additional rewards. However, he could at most pull four wild pigs, he was sure that he can do three trips back and forth to submit the 10 dead wild pig to village soldier Tam, however, the dead bodies of the wild pig will disintegrate after some time, so he decided to just stick to the quest requirement. Even if he submitted an extra dead wild pig, he thought that it wouldn''t make a bigger difference on the rewards village soldier Tam will give and it would be more beneficial for him to harvest the materials he can get from the dead wild pig. After completion of the quest, Mathew received the same rewards Starberry and Berting received. When Mathew accepted the rewards, the system notification sounded and caught the attention of the three players. ... [System Notification] [Chain Quest: Wild Mountain Wolf Hunt! Rating: S-rated Current Mission: Rest and prepare for the trial village soldier Tam has prepared for you! Locate village soldier Tam after resting and preparing within the time duration. Duration: 1 hour] ... Village soldier Tam didn''t give Mathew time to digest or celebrate the rewards he got. The three players were shocked beyond belief. They just triggered an S-rated quest, a chain quest at the top of that. After seconds of silence, another system notification rang that made them back to their senses. ... [System Notification] [Chain Quest: Wild Mountain Wolf Hunt!] [Will you accept? Yes or No?] 19 Bearths uniqueness! "Yes!" The trio gladly accepted the quest. The higher the rating of the quest, the more difficult it is to complete and the higher the chance of a player dying in the process. Despite that, their experience on their past quest, killing wild pigs, gave them the idea that the game felt more real compared to other AVR Games, where such things don''t happen, made them confident on taking quests related to hunting. Pedro knew this and its drawback. It''s true that monsters can be killed in unconventional ways, however, each monster has a different intellectual level. Just like the trolls, Pedro faced earlier. Compared to wild pigs, their intelligence was far higher, so if one would want to kill those with ease, one must formulate an unconventional method appropriate to the intelligence level of the monster. Due to the threat of instant death, players tend to be more cautious to avoid even the slightest contact with monsters at the early levels. Only after a month of the official launch in Pedro''s past life of the game that this method or ways became well known. Few closed beta players knew about this, yet it was leaked later on. This gave them an advantage of a month in Pedro''s past life. Every player tried the method on every monster. This made the low intelligence monster farm areas to be crowded and the race to leveling up started. Later, players were able to deal with the monsters with higher intelligence. "Very well! Rest now! Settle the things you need to settle! Restock of things you would need for 3 days at most!" Village soldier Tam commanded excitedly as his shift would be over. The trio left and entered the village. ... Almost an hour ago... "Before anything else! I must go and secure ALLOT of Intermediate potions! Although this is a village, unlike other AVR Games, Bearth has no safe zone!" Pedro uttered worriedly as he strives fast towards the village shop. The goal of the developers was to make the game as close to reality as possible, so the battle in villages was not restricted by the system and players don''t have immunity on damages. However, to keep villages peaceful and to protect the village, There were guards who were tasked to guard and catch those who were involved in a battle or conflict. This includes harassment on female players and other NPCs. This was a fun experience for those players. Some even took the newbie equipment and weapon of the players who logged off and succeeded. After this event, the developers released some guides on what to do and how to be safe when logging off. One is to hire a fellow player or an NPC while you log off or also known by players as "Sleeping mode". This was the riskier method, for players and even NPCs can betray you and take your items. This was one of the game features Pedro was confused at. Currently, players have the inventory in the player interface, hence, stealing is out of the picture when one logged out. A player can simply store his or her belongings to the inventory and be worry free of losing them. But in his past life, when he started playing the game, players had a bag with them to activate the inventory interface and access all the items stored in that bag. Those bags were not bound and can be taken when one logged off and this is where the second method has the advantage compared to the first method. The second method is to obtain a rare crystal stone sphere. The rare crystal stone spere is a light blue crystal sphere a size of a coin, that wraps the player with a diamond looking cocoon to protect him or her from anything. It also has a monster repelling effect so players can be worry-free when they needed to log off while in the wilderness. However, this crystal stone sphere can only be obtained through A-rated quest or above dungeons. The first dungeons were level 5 dungeons. At the start, its drop seemed to low due to the difficulty of level 5 dungeons and the rarity of A-rated quests before the first adventurer tragedy. Other than that, the only downside of the crystal stone sphere is that it would take a spot in one''s inventory which was very critical especially when dealing dungeons and quests that gives generous amount of rewards. Each novice village was made unique however, they had quests of almost the same rating. Pedro and the trio suspected that the developers have somehow planted some high rating quests in this beta testing for those top tier players to experience them early on and get their feedback about it. Based on Pedro''s past life, A-rated quests, items, etc. started to appear when the first adventurer tragedy occurred. However, S-rated quests and such were almost unheard of. The same goes for skills, players normally have Bronze-rated skills up to Silver-rated skills. Other than those Legendary-rated and lower skills from character name selection, there was not even a single rumor of Gold-rated or above skills until players reached level 20. ... After minutes of walking to the village shop and observing other players along the way, Pedro reached the village shop once again. "Sire! welcome! come in! come in!" The saleswoman greeted excitedly to Pedro as if Pedro become a patron to the shop. Pedro nodded in response. "Seeing sire came back, what business does sire have with the village shop?" The saleswoman confidently asked Pedro. "Ahh... The potion... was of normal quality... since I have some use of the potion, I was wondering if I could procure more of it..." Pedro talked slowly while moving around the shop. Though there was no sign of equipment, weapons or accessories at the sale, there were various things displayed on the shop. They were red crystals inscribing an old looking paper. "Purchasable skills?" Pedro was stared at the saleswoman with a surprised look. Skill crystals or well- known as Purchasable skills were skills available to be purchased on some store or shops located on Bearth. Although not all shops and stores sell skills, most common players'' skill set was composed of purchasable skills. It was only at the start that the mainstream players obtain skills from quests, however, after the players reach the kingdoms in Pedro''s past life, most of the mainstream players depend on the purchasable skills. These skills were sufficient to cater to the demands of the players. The only backdrop of the purchasable skills was it was too pricy to players who were below level 20. The cost ranges from some silver coins to a gold coin. Quests below level 20 rewards players bronze coins to silver coins only. The daily cost of living like, food, shelter and cost of repairs, was enough to drain the pockets of the players. However, when the quests were above level 20, its difficulty increases too high, that the rewards obtained also increases. Hence, securing purchasable skills when one is above level 20 and capable enough to finish quests above level 20 was not that hard even to mainstream players. "Sire is well informed!" the saleswoman smirked knowing that the purchasable skill was too attractive to players or to NPCs, "adventurers". "How much does one cost?" Pedro asked as he stares to one red crystal with an ancient looking paper with golden writing on it. "We have skill crystals priced at 80 silver coins, 90 silver coins, and the exclusive at 1 gold coin!" the saleswoman informed happily. ''I had 2 gold coins with me currently! Unfortunately, I can''t spend all on purchasable skills, I need to secure a huge amount of intermediate potion! Unless... there is a skill enough to compensate or has the same effect with the intermediate potion...'' Pedro was not shocked by the prices of the purchasable skills. In his past life, purchasable skills normally cost around a gold coin. He can only shake his head. At the current stage of the game, the main priority of the players is survivability. Each skill they obtain, can contribute and increase their survivability by a huge margin. 20 A Skill-Maker! ''Let''s see what purchasable skills this shop offers...'' "Can I see these purchasable skills first!" Pedro pointed to three red crystals with an ancient looking paper and golden writing on it. ... Every player in his past life knows very well about purchasable skills. The more ancient looking the paper was, the more the skill was harder to master for an NPC. This meant that the harder skills were to master, the stronger the skill become. While the golden writing indicates how refined and was close to perfection the skill was. This was designed to indicate the difficulty of mastering the skill for the NPCs. During Pedro''s past life, some players questioned the developers about the skills and the difference of mastering it between NPCs and the players. They mocked the developers who always talk about making the game as near to reality as possible saying that the developers want the game to be close to reality but players instantly learn skills to their perfection. The developers gave a simple and meaningful response, in order to shut their critics down. "Were you sure that your skills were at their hundred percent?" Yet the developers made their statement, one the past 6 years in Pedro playing bearth in his past life, no players had their skills advanced like how NPCs do. This really made Pedro curious, even until now. ... "Of course Sire!" the saleswoman handed Pedro the purchasable skills one at a time as Pedro inspected them. ... Skill: ~Sword slash~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Active (Offensive Skill) Effects: Inflict (Attack damage x 100%) to the enemy and has a (10+Luck)% chance to inflict an additional (Str) damage to the target. Cooldown: 30 seconds [A skill developed by soldiers of Kagat village that penetrates enemy armor!] Price: 1 gold coin ... Skill: ~Rock Throw~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Active (Offensive Skill) Effects: Has varying effects depending on where the target was hit with the rock. Headshot: Deals (Attack damage x Crit) to the enemy and has a (Luck)% chance to inflict a stun mode for 3 seconds. Body shot: Deals (Attack damage) to the enemy and has a (Luck)% chance to activate shotgun mode for the next skill activation. (Shotgun mode is a mode where it multiplies the projectile five times. If all of the five shots hit the body, Body shot effect applies to each shot) Missed Shot: Extends the cooldown of the skill by 30 seconds. Nutshot: Body shot effect is triggered adding a stun duration for 10 seconds. If the nut of the target was destroyed, aggro is unremovable for 30 seconds and stun of 10 seconds won''t take effect. Cooldown: 30 seconds (Cooldown is reduced per conditions) Cooldown reduction B: cooldown becomes 5 seconds when the shotgun mode is activated. Cooldown reduction C: cooldown instantly resets when the nutshot effect is activated. does not apply when the nut was destroyed. [Rocks will determine your future!] Price: 1 gold coin ... Skill: ~Luck enhancer 1~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: Increase luck attribute gained by 10% [I''m feeling lucky!] Price: 1 gold coin .... "d@@@, these skills are not that strong and godly, but you can''t deny the fact that each one of these can greatly help a player!" Pedro can''t help but frown. His bronze-rated skills were definitely helpful. However, their cooldowns were too long. This is a huge factor considering that his ~Bleed~ skill has an effect almost similar to the ~sword slash~ purchasable skill. "The only difference was the cooldown! It''s true that my battle power will increase by several folds... But... with my experience and expertise, I can manage until I find a better offensive skill!" Pedro deduced as he eliminated the choice of the purchasable skill ~sword slash~. "Curses... If I only had enough gold coins!" ... "I am just looking to these 1 gold coin skills... Arg... There must be at least a few notable purchasable skills that cost below 1 gold coin!" Pedro scratched his head undecided of what to do. "Sire is having quite a hard time!" the saleswoman interjected teasing Pedro with a huge smile in her face. ''Haha... this woman sure knows how to rob her customers!'' Pedro taught inwardly realizing how cunning the saleswoman was. "HAHAHA! It''s just that the items sold in this shop are of good quality! Perhaps you can directly show me the best items I can procure under 1 gold coin?" Pedro bluffed his way out. The Saleswoman went back to the shop''s stockroom and took two red crystals. One has an ancient looking paper like the three earlier, while one was like it was made just hours ago. "What is this?" Pedro asked with a wryly smile. He pointed to the red crystal with a paper that looked like it was just made a few hours ago. "Don''t worry Sire! I am not mocking you! Currently, these five Skill crystals were the best items one can procure in our shop! I personally guarantee it! Please have a look!" The saleswoman responded with a serious and professional tone. "If that''s the case!" Pedro first inspected the fourth ancient looking purchasable skill. ... Skill: ~Charisma 101~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: Increases Charisma when talking to an NPC of the opposite gender of the user. (Charisma is increased by [Charisma x (age of user - age difference of user and the target)]. Please note that computation will apply and negative charisma may be attained.) Negative Charisma: If Charisma 101 took effect and user attained "negative charisma", the user won''t immediately get the hatred or dissatisfaction from the NPC. Negative Charisma will only take effect if the user angered the NPC. Absolute Charisma: Neglects Charisma 101''s Effect when the user equips the "Charisma Disciple" title. [Have the advantage to take the spotlight of being a youth!] Price: 1 gold coin ... "Next..." Pedro wore a blank face as he quickly turned his attention to the newly made looking purchasable skill. ... Skill: ~Craftiness 1~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: Instinct value becomes (50 x instinct) when on a disadvantageous situation. [Kagat Village soldiers were inspired by an adventurer who faced a perilous situation but was still able to survive and complete his quest of saving the village chief''s wife and daughter!] Price: 1 gold coin ... "Is this skill... based after me?" Pedro was shocked after he read the skill descriptions. He knew that skills can be made by NPCs. These were called "skill-makers". However, most of these NPCs resided on kingdoms and was given privileges. There were only a few rumored skill-makers NPC that roamed around Bearth. They were called the "eccentric five". Among these well-known skill makers, one of them specializes in making skills based on a heroic scene she personally saw or experienced. She was named¡­ "The most eccentric, Madame Soledad Laparas!" Pedro can''t help exclaimed as he assumed that the skill was made by her. "Ho¡­ how did you know about the Madame??" The saleswoman asked in a shocked manner. "You know her? Where is she?" Pedro panicked and asked furiously to the saleswoman. He unconsciously released a frightening aura that may rival that of the village soldier Tam. A frightening aura was felt from the shop that got the attention of players and NPCs nearby. "Uhh¡­ Uhm¡­ She just left minutes before you entered!" The saleswoman pointed to the door of the shop with a frightened expression. Pedro quickly started to run, but when he was halfway out of the shop he stopped and turned to the saleswoman. "Do you have any Idea where the Madame is heading? Even the slightest clue would help!" Pedro asked hurriedly. 21 Bearths Continents... ''Madam Soledad... I hope I see her...'' Pedro ran as fast as he can towards the village chief''s office. Skill-maker NPCs were the rarest type of NPC on bearth. Every Kingdom in Bearth has one or two Skill-maker NPC, however, they were at least at the apprentice level. The "eccentric five" were well-known not only because they roam around continents but also because they were at least Master Skill-Makers. The ranks start at Apprenticeship, like apprentice forgers. Next, is Beginner ranked, just like Beginner forgers. followed by Intermediate ranked, like intermediate forgers... Advanced rank, like advanced forgers... Master ranked, like Master forgers... and finally, Grand Master ranked, like Grand Master forgers. In the NPCs, those who exceed the Grand Master rank were called Legendary. In the case of players in Pedro''s past life, no one was even able to reach the peak of Grand Master rank. Regardless, NPCs with such talent were so rare that the Kingdoms treasure them much, in some cases in Pedro''s past life other countries had Kingdom wars over these NPC skill-makers. It was only when the war broke that these NPCs became well known. The World of Bearth was composed of five major continents. Though there were five major continents, there were three more continents that were considered. The Dark Realm Continent and The Bearth Central Continent were continents that were limitedly explored by human NPCs for the magic concentration in these areas was too huge for human bodies to bear, hence they were called the god continents, where humans believe that this was the continents where either the gods reside or forsake. The third continent was only existing in the stories and lore the player unlocked in Pedro''s past life. But no one, not even the NPCs knew its exact location. ... It was only said that a hundred years ago, there was once a god who had resentment over other gods. With his power, Etoros, the god of jealousy, secretly made and develop mutated humans and animals that had extraordinary strengths capable of fighting even the gods. When the other gods learned about it, it was too late and Etoros and his army marched towards The Bearth Central Continent or formerly known as the gods'' continent. Etoros and his army successfully conquered half of the gods'' continent. The gods were caught in surprise and had difficulty countering back. The reason for this was although Etoros'' army was weaker, their numbers kept increasing despite the war. Etoros was able to successfully manipulate some countries in the northern continent and using humans and animals to create more monsters and strengthen his army. Since the force of the gods were already weak, they decided to grant a human their blessing. This human was called the Legendary swordsman! He stormed his way in the dark realm continent and was able to reach Etoros. The Lore said that the legendary swordsman struck his divine sword, Baia, to Etoros and successfully struck him. Unfortunately, on his last breath Etoros sucked up all the magical energy he had and shot a powerful beam that sliced through the lands of the dark realm continent and the gods'' continent. The legendary swordsman died but there were rumors that his body, that was blessed by the gods, emits a power that a human can inherit and become the strongest human that can match with the gods and complete the purification of the dark realm continent. The location where the remains of the legendary swordsman were located was considered as the third continent on the three non-major continents. This was already existing in the humans'' history as a "Symbol" of the heroism of the legendary swordsman and encourage other humans to avoid evil. With the lack of validity and considering that it was only an NPC history that was hundred years ago and was only read today at some libraries, only a few NPCs and players tried to search for it, to no avail. ... Due to the adventurers/players appearance, their extraordinary growth of strength showed the development capabilities of the human race, and soon when players reached a certain level they would explore these areas. These were only possible for players who only played to have fun. There was a high fatality rate of going to places unknown to players. This was especially true to the Dark Realm Continent where strongholds of trolls, dragons and such were located. The professional players and top guilds were especially tempted to explore these areas, of course, the more the area is unexplored the more treasures were waiting for them to be harvested. However, In Pedro''s past life, guilds even the small ones had already constructed small villages to kingdoms rivaling the NPC kingdoms in their continent of origin. Hence, going to explore the dark realm continent was not a good idea. They will definitely lose their territory from other players or NPC army. At the same time, they had a very high rate of dying and starting all over again. These allowed players who played just for fun to take advantage and enter the dark realm continent. Among these players, only 5% came out with Legendary weapons and treasures and rank among top players. Upon successfully establishing the Undying cycle, Pedro has set his sights on the dark realm continent. Hence, He needs to increase his strength fast and be unkillable. Only through this, he would rain over kingdoms, then countries, later on, the continent and the whole world of Bearth. Luckily, he was on the same continent and the same country where he was in his past life and he can fully utilize the knowledge he had. As for the Madame Soledad, she was among the only two skill-maker NPC who showed up in his continent, Aquari, the eastern continent. Aquari continent was one of the two continents isolated by miles and miles of ocean from the other continents. These made the travel of the other three skill-maker NPCs a bit impossible since there was only a small amount of ships, which was at the same time requires a large amount of magical energy to operate. ... "This is a chance of one in a billion... At best, I could become Madame Soledad''s skill-maker apprentice!" Pedro started to began dreaming of all the benefits he could get if he would become one. In his past life, there was no known information about a player becoming a skill-maker, however, It was well-known that players can become forgers or potion makers by becoming apprentices of different NPCs. ... The special thing about Bearth is that there was no limitation of the number of "specialties" one player can specialize. There was a case where a player was a master forger at the same time an alchemy master and was able to create a unique weapon called the Gas thrower. It blows a large amount of sleeping gas like a flame thrower that mixes in the air and spreads around the area. This allowed that player and his guild to conquer an NPC village in five minutes with no casualties. Sad thing is, it became well-known and Pedro knows how and what to do to achieve it... "Sorry, bro... It''s mine now!" ... Just as Pedro reached outside the village chief''s office, the door went open and a woman on her thirties and looked like a Filipina, went out of the door with the chief, his daughter, and wife. "Aunt! aunt! thanks for the gift! Visit us again!" The chief''s daughter who was holding a doll and gleefully bowing to the woman. "Ah... Cherry behave!" ... "Madame, my apologies!" The chief corrected his daughter, then bowed apologetically. "Please raise your head... This is nothing!" Madame Soledad gestured and approached the child. "Cherry, be good to your parents ok... be sure to follow them and help them always! In return, when I came back and visit, I''ll bring you more dolls!" Madame Soledad fixed the hair of the child with her hands. "Cherry will! Cherry will!" the chief''s daughter nodded happily. "Well then, I must depart now... It''s dangerous to be in the wilderness at the dark!" Madame Soledad stand and started walking, but before she could step another meter, a man was bowing in front of them. "The great Master Skill-Maker Madame Soledad Laparas! Please make me your apprentice!" Pedro shouted at the top of his lungs while bowing in a perfect forty-five degrees angle. "????" Madame Soledad was astounded and rendered speechless by the boldness of Pedro. A Sudden silence and shocked filled the Chief and his family. "Big brother savior..." Cherry uttered silently as she starred to the familiar looking man "Adventurer Death?" Chief shouted in question as he recognizes Pedro. 22 Parting ways with Kagat Village Part 1 "Say, young man... what''s your name?" Madame Soledad spoke seriously as her eyes turned all black. ''Why do I feel a powerful dark energy from this young man?'' Madame Soledad thought inwardly as she became wary of Pedro. "Ahh..." Pedro was rendered speechless for two reasons. First was that he thought that it would be awkward to introduce his self just like he did with the village chief for the first time. Second was... It was because of the all black eyes of Madame Soledad. ... In his past life, legacy enhancements became a norm when players reached level 50 to 100. A handful of those professional players had a rare legacy enhancement that enhances their perception ability. These legacy enhancements made the eyes of the owners became permanently different. Although the information about the legacy enhancement was disclosed. The people called it "god''s eye". One player had her pupils turned red and It was said that anything she saw was in slow motion and was per millisecond. By studying the past videos and battles of her enemy, she can determine the key movements her enemies make as sort of activation of their skill. With this, she would know what skill her enemy would use and had tons of time to discern the best counter attack she can make and do it. This might have seemed godly to normal or mainstream players. But to professional players, this has a drawback. It was true that she can see in slow motion, however, there were skills that were instantaneous when activated. She might notice it and be prepared to it, but she only saw it in slow motion. Her body might not act fast to be able to even dodge instantaneous attacks. This showed that the professional players stood up to their names. Though faced with a godly ability, they were still able to devise strategies and plans to defeat other players. Regardless, one player stood above all players who had "god''s eye". He was called "the Emperor". Feeling the threat the player village imposed, an NPC kingdom attacks the village of the guild of "the Emperor". Hundreds of thousands of NPC army march towards their village. A mile away from the village, the Emperor stood after the NPC army. Before the army could charge after him, his eyes turned all black, and he wore a fierce and unyielding look. Those who walk went into their knees, those who were in horses fell and the king and its general wore a grim expression. The NPC army looked like an army that was on the brink of annihilation and lost all their will. That event was recorded by his fellow guildmates and was uploaded in the forums and got the utmost attention. He was then called "the Emperor" for being able to subjugate the NPC army without even lifting a finger. And his eyes were called (Not Emperor''s eye, lol) "the king of eyes". ... "Ehmmm..." Madame Soledad fake a cough and showed a slight grin on her face. This made Pedro return back to his senses and carefully responded to her. "My apologies Madame... my name is Death... It might seem unusual, but it is truly my name!" Pedro bowed again respectfully. "Is that so? No need to be shy of your name! After all... It''s not your fault that your father was drunk when you were born!" Both Madame Soledad and Chief Antonio laughed. "Back to the topic... Adventurers development capabilities were suspicious enough ... Much less someone who knows about me! Perhaps you are..." The air around changed and felt heavier. A scary aura escapes from Madame Soledad that is way leaps and bounds scarier than that of Pedro. "I... I have no ill intentions! I just wanted to learn skill-making and become the strongest person in the world!" Pedro burst out of fear. After a few seconds, the heavy atmosphere disappeared, and Pedro had a grim expression. ''Did I just fall under the control of a god''s eye similar to that of "the Emperor"?'' He thought inwardly as fear still filled him inside. "Hmm... Hmm... So... You''re not a stalker?" Madame Soledad expressed in a relieved manner and her eyes returned to its normal look. "What? That''s nonsense?!!" Pedro shouted. ''She looked at youngest in her thirties, why would I even have the interest to stalk her... wait what am I saying?!'' "Is that how you talk to your master? Shut your mouth and follow me, We''ll stop nearby before we leave the village!" Madame Soledad scolded Pedro and started walking. "master?" Pedro was astounded and looked with disbelief. ''Did I just become her apprentice?'' "I thought you want to become my apprentice? or did you chicken out and wanted to back out?" Madame Soledad mocked Pedro. "No... No! I want to be your apprentice!" Pedro retorted. "Bye bye aunt!" the chief''s daughter waved her last goodbye to the Madame. "Oh... Adventurer wait for a second!" The chief ran to his office and after a few seconds came out immediately with a skill shard on his hand. "Take this... this is the reward I promised you!" ... Skill: ~Charismatic man~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: Each NPC met for the first time has a (Luck)% chance to have a Friendly or above treatment. Friendly: If NPC is non-human, effect activates the friendly treatment. If the effect was triggered and the human NPC was way stronger than the owner, the initial treatment established is friendly. Respected: if human NPC was at least on par with the owner, the initial treatment is respected. Revered/Worship: If the owner was way stronger than the human NPC, the owner would experience a revered or worship treatment from the NPC. [Kagat Family''s Treasure!] ... "Also... take this... It is a pin given by a friend of mine! This will help you enter any kingdom! I hope this will aid you in your adventures!" Antonio took out a silver pin that has a design of an envelope. "Thank you so much Village Chief! this would be of great help to me!" Pedro can''t help but thanks, the pin has the same purpose as recommendation letters do. So it would be of great help to Pedro. It is a new Item for Pedro, as long as it can let him enter any kingdom it would be useful. Besides, He is now the apprentice of Madame Soledad, which kingdom would not let him enter? ''Are they nuts?'' "No... thank you! without your help... I am not sure if my wife and daughter would still be alive!" Antonio responded as he bowed forty-five degrees perfectly followed by her daughter and wife. "Once again! Thank you, Adventurer Death!" "Thank you big brother Death!" Cherry bowed... "Let''s go now! It''s getting late!" Madame Soledad commanded and continued walking. "Right!" Pedro followed while waving his hands like saying goodbye. 23 Parting ways with Kagat Village Part 2 "Ehhh?" Pedro paid less attention when Madame Soledad said that they''d be stopping somewhere nearby before they leave Kagat Village. He didn''t expect that it would be the village shop. "Is there a problem?" Madame Soledad responded to Pedro before heading in the village shop. "Ahh... There is none... It''s just that I need to go to the shop too!" Pedro explained, Madame Soledad just ignored him and entered the shop. ... "Welco... Madame, how may I help you?" the saleswoman respectfully escorted Madame to the shop. "I''m here to claim the money you promised for the skill I made!" Madame Soledad said in a serious tone. "Ahh... About that Madame! To be honest, the shop is currently low on funds... we were able to only sell a few potions this past few days... And..." The saleswoman started to explain. "And what?" Madame Soledad had a frown in her face... "There was currently no one who was rich enough to buy skill shards nowadays!" "Ohh... right! that man was looking to buy skill shards earlier!" The saleswoman immediately pointed to Pedro who was trying to hide behind Madame Soledad. ''Curses... This saleswoman is really cunning... To use me as an escape from Madame Soledad!'' Pedro had a wryly smile on his face remembering how cunning the saleswoman was earlier. "Oi... Newbie... did you say earlier that you have something to do in this shop... do it now!" Madame Soledad commanded Pedro like a boss. "Yes... if you will excuse me..." Pedro went past Madame Soledad and went to the shop counter where the five skill shards (purchasable skills) that cost 1 gold coin was located. "As my budget is limited, I could only purchase one of those skills... If you wouldn''t mind, I would like to look at them first once again... Before that, I would trouble you to please prepare 1 gold coin worth of Intermediate potions..." He requested before checking the skill shards again. He slightly glances to Madam Soledad who in turn smiled at him like saying ''you''re gonna buy the skill shard I made, right?''. Pedro just smiled and returned his focus in choosing a skill shard. "Sire... here is your 1000 pcs of Intermediate Potion!" The saleswoman pointed on 10 stacks of potion case that has 100 potions each. "Here are two gold coins! As for the skill shard... I choose..." Before Pedro picks he shot a glance at Madame Soledad before he made his final pick. "THIS!" Pedro selected the skill ~Luck enhancer 1~ "Thank you for your purchase!" The saleswoman bowed as she received the payment. "Woooooooosh!" Sudden heavy magic energy was felt within the area. Pedro slowly turned his head and saw the fuming Madame Soledad. ''one point for Pedro!'' Pedro thought inwardly like a child. "Haa... What''s wrong with it? With that purchase, I am sure you can pay me 1 gold coin now?" Madame Soledad returned to her calm self and asked the saleswoman about the payment. "Unfortunately Madame... The gold coins were allocated for us to pay the rent for this month and the past month so we can''t currently pay you with the golds the shop has recently earned. ''Seriously? You really wanna make the old woman angry?'' Pedro realized inwardly that the saleswoman got by her greed and is not willing to depart from the 2 gold coins she recently earned. "YOU!" Madame Soledad shouted angrily and her eyes turned all black this time... ''We''re dead!'' Pedro started to dash towards the shop''s door while activating his inventory interface to store all the potions and the skill shard he had purchased. "The shop is really on the edge of closing... Luckily, a huge number of adventurers suddenly appeared today. And the shop might make it somehow. Unfortunately, we truly don''t have the capability to pay you right now!" The saleswoman explained. ''Did she just used her god''s eye again?'' He had a wryly smile while looking to his Master. "If that''s the case, then how will you pay me?" Madame Soledad asked in a serious tone... "Hmm... Perhaps a trade Madame? You can pick a skill shard of the same cost or a certain number of cheaper skill shard or potions?" The saleswoman barely responded with sweat in her face. "A trade huh?" Madame Soledad glanced to Pedro who in return was about to run out of the shop. Pedro smiled to Madame Soledad like a thief who got caught and was to make a run for his life. "Very well! Newbie! Go select one more skill shard! Take this as an acceptable gift from your master! I''ll head outside and wait for you!" Madame Soledad left the shop ''I thought I would die from the rollercoaster ride of sudden decrease and increase in magic energy in the atmosphere!'' "I''d gladly accept your gift Master!" Pedro slowly glanced to the saleswoman with a creepy smile in his face. "Then... I choose... THIS!" Pedro took the skill shard and placed all his purchases into his inventory. After that, he also left the shop. ... "Master!" Pedro called Madame Soledad like their relationship is of that of a student and a teacher. "... Just call me Madame!" She answered "Then, Madame! can I ask where are we heading? when will you teach me skill-making?" The exited Pedro asked gleefully. "Be at ease... It''s not ideal to teach you here... and you''ll learn soon where we are heading! It''s not like you''ve roamed around the whole continent!" Madame explained. "OK!" Pedro didn''t pry anymore to Madame Soledad. Prying into her matters might anger her or think that Pedro is some kind of spy which he doesn''t want to happen. ''Well... Actually, I have roamed around the whole Eastern Continent!'' ... Just as Pedro was about to leave Kagat Village with Madam Soledad, He encountered the trio and Mathew took the chance to talk to him. ... "Expert brother! What a coincidence! I was about to search for you!" Mathew, A.k.a. Happy Face Killer approached Pedro with a kind gesture. "???" Pedro was confused as he scratches his head. ''Another problem? right... I had an S-class, Chain quest!'' ''Naaah... at best, on level 50 to 100, I could get three or four of these... but this opportunity to be Madame''s apprentice is once in a billion! so... I''m definitely gonna stick to the Madame no matter what!'' "For what reasons? If you have matters with me, please add me to your friend list." Pedro opened his player interface and added Mathew. "I''m sorry... I''m currently in a hurry... so I have to leave now!" Pedro pointed to the slightly irritated Madame Soledad as soon as Mathew added him. "Oh... No worries expert brother! Let''s just message each other, if that''s not convenient!" Mathew replied. "Ok! See you then!" Pedro nodded in agreement and quickly followed Madame Soledad. Mathew bowed slightly that astonished Bert and Star that made them both bow slightly also. ''A fish finally took the hook! One expert down... Many more to go!'' Pedro was filled with glee upon the personal approach of Mathew. This was because Mathew, Happy Face Killer, was a professional gamer who owned a "god''s eye" called "Eyes of Nullification" which made Mathew''s eyes became all gray and any player or NPC that he had Eyed or focused on cannot activate any active skill within a certain range, that was rumored that increased as Mathew levels up. "Madame! can I have a minute! I have something to talk with that man!" Pedro pointed to Village Soldier Tam. "Respected Village Soldier Tam! I am sorry to inform that..." Pedro ran towards Village Soldier Tam. Upon reaching him, he bowed forty-five degrees and expressed his deep apologies. But before he could finish Village Soldier Tam interjected. "It is quite unfortunate considering I have high hopes for your talent... but seeing you in better hands, I can only regret!" "???" Pedro was a bit confused inwardly. "Go now! You shouldn''t keep someone like her waiting!" Village Soldier Tam took his tobacco and started smoking. He looked a bit down, but not that hopeless, because he still had the trio. "Till then!" Pedro left quickly and returned to Madame Soledad. ... "Do you have any more agendas? Wanna sleep in the forest tonight?" Madame Soledad scolded Pedro. "No Madame!" Pedro answered in a shout! "Then move your big a$$! Make sure you don''t lag too far behind!" Madame continued to scold as she started walking. "Where''s the carriage?" Pedro asked "What carriage?! We''re walking you lazy pig!" Madame Soledad angrily answered. Pedro kept his head down and walked behind Madame Soledad. At some time he glances at the fading view of the Kagat Village. ''It''s been just a short time, But I gained allot! One day I''ll return!'' Pedro thought to himself as he returned his look back forward. 24 Journey! "Madame! can I ask why did you accept me as your apprentice?" After walking for hours, He cannot contain the silence anymore. Hence, Pedro tried to break the silence by starting a conversation. "Why the sudden question?" Madame Soledad replied still keeping her focus and attention to their surroundings. ''Accept you? Around the whole area... there were odd reports about the unusual increase in the number of adventurers! Therefore, to observe adventurers the best, being as close as possible to one of you is the best choice... Well... You gain something from me... I gain something from you! A win-win situation!'' Madame Soledad thought inwardly "Ohh... I just thought that wouldn''t it be a waste if I became your apprentice?" He replied in an innocent manner. "Hmm???" She glanced back at Pedro with a troubled look. "Well... I mean... back at the village... there were people who were far stronger than me! Like the village soldier?" "I''ll tell you once you''ve become a master skill-maker!" Madame Soledad answered and became silent again. Due to his fear that Madame Soledad might take back his apprenticeship, Pedro chose to not further pry on things Madame Soledad didn''t want to talk to. ''Well... I can''t tell you now that I feel Dark magic energy residing in your body! And you have a skill I never had seen before, a magic inventory of some sort... You can store a thousand potions in that? That''s ridiculous! if an army had that, it would be a very huge advantage when they went on war.'' Madame Soledad thought inwardly. He took Pedro as an apprentice because of the Dark magic energy in his body, that is most likely from his ~Undying~ skill that was "gifted" to him by the god of Death, and the weird skills that adventurers had like the inventory interface. To players, it was something normal or ordinary for a game, but for an NPC, advance ai version, anything non-existing to the programmed world would look new and revolutionary. ... "Respected Village Soldier, we are back to join you in hunting wild mountain wolfs!" The trio approached village soldier Tam after preparing for their quest. "Very well! Let''s depart now!" Village Soldier Tam took a carriage where the pig parts to be used as bait was placed in boxes was located. "What about the other expert?" Mathew asked upon noticing that Pedro was still no there. "He has some more important task to take care so he can''t join us!" Village soldier Tam explained ''More important task? something was more important than an S-rated chain quest?'' Mathew scratched his head, unable to comprehend what Pedro did. "where would we sit respected village soldier?" Bert asked as the trio saw that there was no space left in the carriage for them to ride. ... [Chain Quest: Wild Mountain Wolf Hunt! Rating: S-rated Current Mission: Walk and Protect the horse, until you reach the mountains! Duration: Until you reach the mountains!] ... "S-rated quests, surely won''t be easy! Haha!" The trio could only console their selves now. The tasks might be hard and exhausting but the rewards would not be that simple also. Hence, Being blinded by the possible rewards the trio had no choice but to follow. ... "Uhm... Madame!" Pedro remembered something important that he needs to tell Madame Soledad after realizing that it was already afternoon of the first day. "What now?" Madame Soledad became a bit irritated to Pedro who ask questions from time to time. "I forgot to tell you about my sickness!" Pedro showed a wryly smile. "Sickness?" Madame Soledad''s face had a frown when she stopped walking and glanced to Pedro. "Yes... Although, I can stay awake and active for a maximum of two days... I need to also be asleep for the same amount of time to replenish my energy! I have been like this since birth, and don''t know the cause! I hope you understand!" Pedro realized that when he logs out of the game the odd event that he sleeps unconsciously for two days would be a weird thing to the NPC, to the point that the NPC might think that Pedro had died. Hence, He came up with a lie, telling that it was a sickness he had since birth and has of unknown cure currently. "Is that so... then we need to speed up and reach our destination!" Madame Soledad seemed unaffected or unsurprised by Pedro''s "sickness". "Why doesn''t it surprise you?" Pedro followed up as they continued walking at a faster pace. "???" ... " Cause your very existence is already surprising!" Madame Soledad complained in an irritated manner. "When we reach our destination, head to one of the vacant rooms you find comfortable!" She instructed as she returned to silent mode. "I greatly appreciate it, Madame!" He offered his thanks. ... ''I wonder where we are heading... Kagat village was located somewhere at the far west of the Aquari continent and near the equator line of the planet! Based on the Sun''s location and considering that it is already afternoon, we are probably heading southwest... If I''m not wrong... we are heading towards the western kingdom by the sea! the Naga Kingdom!'' Pedro exclaimed as he predicted where they were heading using his past knowledge and a historic way of determining the direction using the Sun as a reference. (players call it Sun based from the original earth but its actual in-game name was "Bof", meaning "Ball of Fire".) ''In kingdoms, I can challenge the King... right? but only for a certain condition... one must be able to have a reputation point that may rival that of a noble at the least!'' this was a fact in Pedro''s past life, However, the players weren''t able to succeed to increase their reputation point high enough for them to challenge the kings. The kings had their own eyes in their kingdom, hence, they can see who might threaten their position as kings. With this and their intelligence, they can sabotage anyone who aims to take the throne from them be it NPCs or Players. This resulted in players making their own villages that will later become kingdoms. This was far easier than trying to subjugate existing kingdoms. On that point, It was also way easier for players to subjugate a kingdom by wars, hence, only a few hopeful players tried to challenge a king but to no avail. NPCs in bearth cannot identify players as an alien from some other world. This was because once the players die their character also dies. There wasn''t something weird about it, unlike the past MMORPG where players revive when they die. Hence, in AVR Games the players get to experience a whole new world like they were really part of it. ... Occasionally, some monsters would attack Madame Soledad and Pedro. But with Pedro as a tank and Madame Soledad as the damage dealer, they quickly defeat the monsters. Due to the time-consuming extraction of NPCs, Madame Soledad allowed Pedro to use his Instant Extraction on the monsters they kill. (Instant Extraction was just looting to players with the use of the system and the player interface.) "Catch your breath kiddo, we''re just an hour to our destination!" Madame Soledad remarked as she saw the exhausted Pedro. ''Really! This youngsters of today must do more work and exercise. Ten years ago, I can climb five consecutive mountains in one day!'' Madame Soledad dejected after looking at Pedro. "Yes!" Pedro suddenly became full of glee. 25 Naga Kingdom? "We''re almost there! Keep up the pace!" Madame Soledad and Pedro were standing on a cliff as the sun sets beautifully in the distant sea. "Yes!" Pedro was full of glee, besides the view of the beautiful sunset by the sea, the night rising, emphasizes the blue and violet glowing crystals that were embedded in Naga Kingdom''s walls. "Such a beautiful view!" Pedro can''t help but exclaim while walking down the mountain. "beautiful but deadly! Hahaha!" Madame Soledad destroyed his happiness with a sentence. The world of Bearth was truly beautiful and mesmerizing that people forgot the dangers that are present in the wilderness, hence, many became victims to it. During the official launch in Pedro''s past life, casual players that spawn near areas with beautiful views were immediately captivated. They spent their time roaming around, fascinated by the views until it became dark. As night comes, nocturnal monsters came out. They often roam around isolated areas and hunt on anything that is alone or are less in number. Hence, many players died, It was the same to NPC who travels for the first time. Those NPCs who survives the first night of their journey learns the cruelty of the world and either return to where they came from or became a "wanderer". A wanderer was a rank given by the Kingdoms into which an NPC can become a messenger, hunter or any job that involves one to go to the wilderness for more than one day. It was the riskiest and deadly job over being soldiers. ... Just as the sun was completely gone, Pedro and Madame Soledad reached a small abandoned port just miles away from the Naga Kingdom. "Are we talking a boat to the Kingdom?" He curiously asked as he was unable to grasp what was Madame Soledad''s plans. "When did I ever said we are going to a kingdom?" Madame Soledad boarded a wooden, old looking boat that can cater only two people. "Hop in! we must reach the ship before the "Bof" is completely gone!" Having various experiences in his past life, Pedro was able to ride the boat smoothly and was even able to row the boat with Madame Soledad. With this, their speed was faster compared to when only Madame Soledad was rowing the boat. "We''re not going to the Kingdom?" Pedro asked with a depressed look. He had hoped to claim some of the Treasures he know in the Naga Kingdom and to even challenge the King by using Madame Soledad''s reputation and him being a skill-maker. "Madame is really considerate! Knowing that my heart was broken knowing that we would not go to the Kingdom, you tried to lift my morale by showing your concerns and finally deciding to teach me the basics of skill-making!" Pedro responded that made the feeling a bit awkward. "You''re my apprentice! It''s of natural for me to care for your condition! If it worsens and made you useless, It would also reflect my name as a Master! So remember that! And! NEVER SLACK OFF!" Madame Soledad scolded then she had a slight grin on her face. ... Minutes after they sail, the sun was already gone and the moon rises. "Look! That''s the ship!" Madame Soledad suddenly became happy. "A ship? more like a Yacht!" Madame Soledad keep mentioning about a ship but what Pedro saw was a Yacht, So he mocked the confident Madame Soledad. "Hehe... Let''s see how long you''d have that smug in your face!" She replied with confidence to Pedro. As soon as they reached the "ship" a man of the same age as Pedro was waiting aboard. He wore a formal attire looking like a mansion butler. He bowed slightly as a sign of respect to Madame Soledad. "Thank for waiting, Carlos!" She said as she took an overcoat that was placed on a seat. It was white with an orange lining on it and has three golden stars in both of her shoulders. On her back, there was something written largely. "Vicealmirante" When Madame Soledad wore the overcoat, she looked awesome but for some reason, Pedro was about to burst into laughter. ''HAHAHAHA! a vicealmirante of a yacht? She could have just told me that she owned this Yacht!'' Pedro taught inwardly "Why are smiling? was there a stain in my overcoat? Carlos!" Madame Soledad called Carlos as he noticed Pedro who was about to burst into laughter. "Oh... there is no stain! my apologies! I just remembered something that I had experienced. Whenever I went to a beach, a bird always poops on my shirt whenever I wear white colored shirts. Hence, I decided to never wear white colored shirts ever!" Pedro bluffed his way out, he doesn''t want Madame Soledad to know what he really thought. "Well... you gotta bear with it! It''s some sort of uniform here!" Madame Soledad tossed an overcoat of the same color and lining but it has a black triangle in both of his shoulders. In his back, there was also something written, where the first word looked altered. "Apprentice Class" Pedro had a grim look. ''was there even an apprentice class? the United Continent Army has a ranking system and based on my past life, the lowest was "private class"... seeing this altered... this was definitely a private class overcoat! da@@!!! Madame really underestimates my capabilities! Just wait and see!'' ... "Vicealmirante" "Apprentice Class" After wearing the overcoat, Madame Soledad went down on a stair that might be heading to the rooms so Pedro followed. "It has been a long time since the Madame took in an apprentice... Something big might happen!" Carlos uttered as he watched an awesome scene of Madame Soledad and Pedro going down the stairs with their overcoat on. "Elder brother! I have placed Madame''s boat safe and secure!" a big man with a big voice uttered. "Then, let''s get in the Karakoa! We are about to depart!" Carlos went down the stairs with the big man who had a similar outfit with him. ... In the bridge of the "ship"... "Comandante! Comodoro de Armada! the Vicealmirante is on board! Carlos contacted us and was done on the departure preparation!" "Then, Let''s go!" a bearded man that looked like a Japanese middle-aged man claimed as he looks to a woman near the captain''s seat! He was wearing circular glasses, a white long sleeves tacked in slacks partnered with shiny black shoes and his overcoat on top. His overcoat has two "Sun" looking symbol with eight rays on it that made it look similar to an asterisk, in each of his shoulders and something written on the back of his overcoat. "Comandante" ... "SET SAIL!" A Filipina looking woman in her thirties commanded in response as she stands near the center seat, captain of the ship''s seat, in the bridge of the ship. She wore a white long-sleeved polo tacked in her black skirt paired with a fancy looking running shoes and an overcoat. Her overcoat has one star in each of her shoulders and something written on the back of her overcoat. "Comodoro de Armada" ... Somewhere in the main castle of the Naga Kingdom... "Grandpa! Let''s go! Let''s go!" A child, well dressed, pulled an old man that looked like a royalty or noble. "Alright! Alright!" The elder responded. "I wanna see Aunt Soledad''s ship!" The child rushed to the balcony, overlooking the vast sea! 26 The famed ship, Karakoa! "Get in!" Madame Soledad pointed to one of the rooms that glowed a beautiful blue color. "Eh?" Pedro was confused. The Madame said he can pick any room he wants, but the room Madame Soledad tells Pedro to get in was an unfurnished room. It looked like an interrogation room made of steel with huge glasses that were probably two-sided. Yet, the blue light on the floor glowed beautifully. "Tsk!" Madame Soledad pulled Pedro and pushed him inside the empty room. "Ahh... Madame? Is this my room or your room?" He was confused seeing Madame Soledad enter the room and the metallic door automatically closing. "Neither! But if you wanna stay here, you can!" She coldly replies as she faced a panel full of buttons glowing in blue light with numbers located beside the door. She then pressed the lowest number which was one. "Authorization required! Please place your hand on the scanner screen!" A voice suddenly spoke somewhere in the room. While a blue light shone beside the panel full of buttons. "Authorization my ass! I''m gonna wreck you, part by part if you don''t get me to the first floor in minutes!" Madame Soledad angrily placed her hand by the scanner screen that it was about to shatter. ''An Elevator?'' Pedro uttered while still being confused. ... On the elevator control area, one man was sleeping on the chair while the other one was eating a bowl of noodles. When the man eating a bowl of noodles heard someone scream on one of the elevators he quickly looked at the security cameras placed and saw the irritated Madame Soledad, He quickly placed his bowl of noodles aside and reached the elevator radio, he pushed a button and spoke. "My apologies Vicealmirante! First floor! right ahead!" He quickly controlled some complicated buttons and made the elevator move down smoothly and quickly, Making it so that Madame Soledad and Pedro won''t feel dizzy when they reach the first floor. "This voice! Zexau! then Xajua! you''re slacking off again whilst in duty! you''re dead when I see you again!" Madame Soledad was angered and Zexau, the man who was eating noodles in the elevator control area had a grim face. He then slapped the bald head of the sleeping man, Xajua. "Ouch!!! What''s that for!" The angry Xajua complained to Zexau. Zexau ignored him and just pointed to the screen in a scared manner. "Oh!!! Hi Vicealmirante! How... how was your trip?" Xajua suddenly looked grim and was like someone whose faith was sealed and death was scheduled. "Xajuaaaa!" Madame Soledad screamed on the top of her lungs, as they descend in a slant manner and Pedro was able to see the beautiful underwaters where fishes were around... other than that he was shocked to see the real ship Madame Soledad was telling. It was a massive sword looking ship with two smaller swords looking ships as an outrigger. (It actually looked like a sword blade from a katana.) ''Wait a minute! Based on its looks... Ain''t this the famed ship, Karakoa? During the continental war and start of the Dark realm continent exploration, an isolated NPC "government" group existed and it was called Bearth Human Organization... BHO! They were a collective group of NPC humans from all over the Bearth that aims to protect the sacred "god''s continent" and regain the stolen lands which were the Dark realm continent.'' He had a sudden realization based on the beautiful underwater look he sees while they were going down the elevator The overall progress of reclamation of the dark realm continent was too slow that even during the time Pedro died and reincarnated, the reclaimed land didn''t even reach ten percent. This was because players were too afraid to explore the dark realm continent and feared that they might lose their own plot of lands. Hence, to show their participation at the least, some sent their "excess" or "cannon fodder" forces into which none came back. They all had one consolation in their minds... "At least we didn''t get in the BHO''s bad side!" BHO was an individual entity that can rival the combined forces of all continent, not including the dark realm continent and the "god''s continent". The overall combined player force can just dream of fighting BHO even with their superhuman abilities. One of BHO''s major component was its naval force. Where it was composed of thousand of submersible ships. These forces were divided into three classifications. Class C, Class B, and Class A classification. Class C submersible ships were the most common. They were of the size of a normal battleship and was equipped with complete battle armaments either underwater or surface battle. These ships where commonly commanded by a "Teniente de Navio" or captain ranked BHO personnel. There were three players who were under the BHO that had their own Class C submersible ships. Unfortunately, Because of the strength of the mutated sea creature that they faced while following the orders by BHO on the dark realm continent seas, they quickly sank to their death. Other than that, there was of no story heard for a player reaching greater heights than what they have achieved as a BHO personnel. Class B submersible ships were called the fleet heads. They were massive ships that lead tens of class C ships. These massive class ships were purely equipped with advanced detection technology and the boasted "Kraken shell defensive" magic. Its firepower came from hundred of BHO master class mages. They were strong enough to defeat a kingdom if the battle was just a contest of firepower. In the fifth year of bearth, a system update was done, into which NPCs were also given a ranking. Common rank, Transition rank, King rank, BHO Common rank, BHO Elite rank, BHO Master rank, BHO Legend rank, and finally BHO Emperors. Class B submersible ships were the standard design of battleship the BHO has. Hence, aboard it were above BHO Elite rank NPCs. While Class A submersible ships had little to unknown information in Pedro''s past life. It was only rumored that the design of each ship was unique and dependent to each captain. Its size was so huge, that it can be compared to a hundred class B submersible ship glued together. And only BHO Leaders and Legends had the information about them. Although its personnel was at a bare minimum of BHO Elite rank, it was commanded by a BHO Master rank at the least. ... The famed ship Karakoa was of a unique design in reference to the sword. And it was considered at the top of Class A submersible ships. It was also rumored that there were two more Class A ships connected to the Karakoa. Hence, forming the legendary "clean up" fleet, as called by the players in his past life. This was the sole fleet of A class ships, that roamed around Bearth and annihilated Monsters that had escaped from the dark realm continent. These monsters were mostly water type giant creatures. For those land creatures that reached other continents, either the kingdoms, players or all together fight them. Hence, they had fewer activities on land. Other information, like the ship captain or its firepower and defense capabilities and such, were unknown. ... However, the rankings in their overcoat showed their military ranks within BHO. This included their influence on the overall organization. The ranking was only available to players to identify the threat level of an NPC based on the mastery of his/her skills and talent. Transition rank and BHO elite rank were composed of NPCs who were Intermediate ranked and Advanced ranked in terms of talent. King rank, BHO Master rank, and BHO Legend rank are NPCs with Master and grandmaster rank in talents. While BHO Emperor rank was only composed of few people who seemed to have favorability of the gods and lead BHO in governing "peace" in Bearth. 27 The Vicealmirantes Apprentice "You seemed not surprised?" Madame Soledad claimed while watching the beautiful underwater scene that can be viewed in the elevator. "Was there more to be surprised by you? You had too many secrets that you decided to reveal one by one... why not tell them all to me in one go, so I could be shocked one last GRANDLY time! seeing this, I feel that you are somehow a part of a really strong organization..." Pedro was dejected and expressed his anxiety by telling hints, in general, to expose and confirm that Madame Soledad belongs to BHO. Pedro was feeling anxious, although Madame Soledad accepted him as an apprentice, He still hadn''t acquired the skill-making talent. Madame Soledad glanced a bit at Pedro. "Since, you have come this far... Let me tell you one thing first!" She then moved towards Pedro''s back quickly that Pedro was only able to see her after images because of his six years of experience of Bearth in his past life. ''Huh? So fast!'' Pedro was amazed but at the same time, the anxious feeling instantly turned into fear. It was like he was one step away from death''s door. When he finally had a glace at his back, he saw Madame Soledad in position with her right hand, that looked like a molten metal hand, was about to strike his back. Although he was able to see her about to strike and his mind commanded to dodge, his body was too slow at the moment to respond and dodge. Shhhk... A cloth torn sound was heard as he closed his eyes, hoping that he won''t die. Seconds later he regains his consciousness and realized something weird... ''Oh... right... I have an undying skill... wait... why is there no system notification about the skill activating? could...'' Just as he was about to open his eyes someone karate chopped his head. ... A second ago... Ting... The elevator went open... "Let''s go!" Madame Soledad somehow burned a part of Pedro''s overcoat. She then stood up and walk, when she passed Pedro, she saw a hilarious look in Pedro''s face with his eyes closed. "Hey, Kiddo! Stop spacing out!" She scolded as she karate-chopped Pedro''s head. Paaaak! "Ouuuuch! What was that for?" He complained but Madame Soledad only looked at him seriously. He then checked his back and saw that his overcoat has a large black burned mark in it. Hence, the words written on the back of his overcoat were only... "Apprentice" ... "Keep in mind... you''re not just some skill-maker''s apprentice! you are my apprentice! so DON''T MAKE ANYTHING STUP@@ AND DON''T SLACK OFF! Anyway... Let''s go! I need to stop by the elevator control room to give someone a lesson!" She commanded as she grasps her molten metal looking fists. As soon as they left the elevator, Madame Soledad instructed Pedro... "After we stop by the elevator control room, Carlos, the man earlier, will assist you in the vacant rooms you can choose to occupy. Whenever you are free, you can look for me to learn things... However... be reminded that when I say learn doesn''t mean I would always teach... Most of the time, you would learn by observing! How much you''ll progress will depend on you! Also, Not because you''re my apprentice doesn''t mean that you rank only second to me! You still rank the lowest among the ship''s crew, so be nice! I won''t save you from any trouble you make here! Understood!" "Yes, Madame!" Pedro attentively shouted "Good! Any questions?" She asked knowing that Pedro was an enthusiastic person and was eager to learn anything, in effect, it caused him to always ask questions to her. "Ohh... How can I increase my rank in the crew?" He asked "increase your rank? We are under the command of the Bearth Human Organization! An Organization focused on protecting the whole Bearth from monsters! The crew ranks were determined by the organization with some tests or quest to show your strength... Once you have reached Intermediate and advanced ranked, you can challenge BHO Personnel of the same level or one level higher... I''ll explain further when you reach that level! As of now! Strengthen yourself... You have the potential to reach even the Master rank like me... so... Don''t slack off!" When Madame Soledad was finished she entered the elevator control room and left Pedro outside. baaag! baaaag! baaaag! baaaag! Various metals were crushed by a punch inside the elevator control room. ... [Congratulations! You have activated Bearth Emperor Legacy Enhancement!] [Bearth Emperor Legacy Enhancement!] You have been the first player to be a personnel of Bearth Human Organization! A Master rank BHO official has eyed you for your unidentifiable potential and you are one of the potential candidates to inherit the Heroic Legendary swordsman''s powers and be the strongest man on earth! Current Mission: Reach Master rank and be a BHO official. ... [Congratulations! You are the first player to activate a legacy enhancement !] [Would you like to let the world know of your achievements? Yes or No] ... "What???? Of course NOO!" Pedro screamed, there was always a rule in games, with fame comes with power, and power comes with many enemies! ... [Sever Announcement!] [Congratulations Player @@@@@@, for activating the first legacy enhancement in the game! Your rewards are: +20 Luck attribute points +20 all attribute points Random skill x1 ] ... "Sh@+!! I just saw someone died after attacking a level 1 monster! That announcement must have distracted that courageous B@5+@r@!" "You guys never learn the lesson to not attack any monster!" "welcome back to level zero!" ... After almost a night of the beta version of Bearth in real life, beta players made a closed forum for them to post pieces of information that might be helpful to each other and the developers. This has also become a type of communication in the game for players since messaging were only available for in-game friends. Hence, after the system announcement, the forums become lively again after the protest earlier made by the players saying that the developers made the game too realistic and too hard! ... Pedro was uninterested in the "chat war" in the forums, that''s why he shifted his focus back to the reward. ... [Do you want to generate random skill? Yes or No] ... "Yes!" Pedro shouted ... [Generating random skill... please wait!] ... [Random skill generation completed!] [You have learned the new skill!] ... Skill: ~Might of Pain~ Rarity: Gold-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Passive Effect: Absorbs 100% of the damage dealt into the user and adds it to the total attack and magic damage of the user. Has a (Luck)% chance to trigger a True Damage Effect. (If the user was hit and a damage was dealt with in five seconds, Effect activates again and the increase in damage stacks until (Release Effect) was satisfied.) Release Effect: When the user attacks and the additional accumulated damage was applied the Passive effect resets and the attack and magic damage of the user returns back to its original. True Damage Effect: Ignores 100% of the target''s defense and consider damage dealt as raw damage. [How much can you endure pain?] ... "A..." Pedro was silenced beyond words... He is lucky at the same time unlucky... He got a skill that greatly works with his undying cycle... however... it was only closed beta version... "developers" of the game will reset any progress, as usual, on AVR games. "There you are, mister! Let''s go and choose your room!" Carlos saw Pedro who was outside the elevator control room, motionless and it seemed like he was unconscious... "It seems he is unconscious..." Carlos pondered for a bit. ''this might be his sickness the Vicealmirante told us about...'' "brother carry him! Let''s put him first in a vacant room! He can choose to switch rooms once he gained his consciousness!" Carlos commanded the big man beside him. "Gotcha! " The big man carried Pedro by his shoulders and started walking deep in the hallway. 28 Joshua and Carlos "Does the system hate me that much?" It was really a problem to Pedro although he had a high chance of repeating the same sequence and activating the same progress, like quests and rewards, he had now, It wasn''t still a hundred percent. The probability that he would get the same skills from random skill generators and skill books wasn''t the same. He could get a "better" skill or a weaker skill. Considering, that the skill he got was currently one of the best he could combine with his undying cycle, was there any "better" skills he may get than that, he thought. "Wait what were they saying?" Pedro was not paying attention to Carlos and his brother talking. Suddenly, the big man carried Pedro and for some reason, his energy was like sucked dry instantly and he was having a hard time to move even a finger. ''Curses! Curses! Curses! What are they going to do with me? Madaaaame! Madaaaame Soledad Help!! Masteeeeer!'' Pedro cried in his consciousness¡­ He had a feeling, the same to a person who just woke up and had consciousness but his body, like his hands, won''t respond at all even at constant struggle¡­ and after only some time would they be able to move a part of their body, like their fingers. "Why do you think the Vicealmirante would take in an apprentice? Especially now that we are currently on a mission? Wouldn''t we get in trouble again because of this, Elder brother?" The big man asked in a deep voice. "The Vicealmirante''s actions are too eccentric to predict. It may take us months to deduce why would she act this way at this point in time, and it would be more efficient to ask her directly, but that won''t end well¡­ so we can leave this to her, including the handling of matters with the organization in case we got into trouble because of this¡­" Carlos responded as they had a casual talk not knowing that Pedro was somehow conscious and was struggling to gain control of his body. "Right! Right! Yet, I still wonder¡­ what did she saw on this man! He seemed way too weak for me¡­ I doubt he could even pass the BHO entry test and be ranked even as cannon fodder!" He expressed his thoughts openly with a deep voice. "cannon fodder" rank was the "reserves" rank It was not included in the threat level ranking since these NPCs has zero or almost zero threat level. They are often seen doing non-magic using works. Majority of this "reserves" rank works in cleaning and sanitation departments, cooking foods, extra manpower in construction and repairs, and at worst a diversion in desperate times of battle, when necessary for the survival of higher ranking personnel or official. Hence, they were called cannon fodders by the majority of personnel and some officials. ''Please put me doooown! Excuse meeee!'' Pedro struggled to move any part of his body, in his mind he screamed all he can, move his hands and feet all he can, and even tried to slam his head but to no avail. After many attempts, Pedro surrendered like he had lost all his energy to struggle. ¡­ Minutes later he seemed to have regained some energy to be able to speak¡­ "Aa¡­ a¡­ a¡­" Pedro was finally able to make some sound and was able to move his head at his best efforts and looked at the giant man¡­ "Oh! You''ll scare people like that! Elder Brother! He is awake!" The big man carrying Pedro informed Carlos as they stop on the hallway. "Put him down first Joshua!" Carlos commanded the big man who was carrying Pedro on his shoulders. "Ok, Elder Brother!" Joshua, the big man, put Pedro down and Pedro started to regain his control over his body slowly. "How are you feeling mister? We were just about to put you into one of the vacant rooms, as ordered by the Vicealmirante!" Carlos explained. "I¡­ wasn''t¡­ able¡­ to¡­ move¡­ even¡­ a¡­ finger¡­ earlier¡­" Pedro was barely able to speak. Carlos then, glanced to Joshua with a frown, like asking Joshua ''did you do something?'', then, he looked back at Pedro with a smile. "Is that so? You must have been tired from your journey! Let''s choose your room for now!" Carlos responded as Pedro was able to return to normal. ''Too many had occurred, It''s no use thinking about things right now¡­ I must settle things with them first! and if possible¡­ get information about the Madame, the ship and the organization!'' "Uhm¡­ About the room selection¡­ Can I select a room nearest to the canteen of some sort initially?" He asked the two. ''Was he referring perhaps about the Bar area?'' Carlos was a bit confused and assumed that Pedro was referring to the area where alcoholic beverages were served. "Unfortunately, all rooms near that area was already occupied¡­" Carlos informed Pedro. ''Although the Vicealmirante was not a drunkard¡­ her room was the one nearest in the bar area since it was rumored that she was...'' Carlos thought inwardly and stopped, not wanting to continue further remembering rumors about her. "If I may suggest¡­ would you like to occupy one of the rooms near ours? There are still few rooms vacant left ¡­ If you''d need something, we can assist you immediately." Joshua recommended in an innocent manner. "What a brilliant Idea brother!" Carlos praised. With these, if Pedro needed help, they could assist him with ease and immediately. So if ever he wanted to go to the bar area, they could guide him and at best drink with him. "Let''s go with that! It would really of great help!" Pedro also realized that if he had some questions he can ask the two instead of heading straight to Madame Soledad who was the "captain" of this ship and would be busy most of the time. ... After minutes of traversing and walking through confusing hallways¡­ They finally arrived in the hallway where the rooms were located. The room doors were made of a metal looking crystal and have a mark written on it. "Is KBR-201 the room number?" Pedro asked as he followed Joshua and Carlos. "Yes¡­ It means¡­ Karakoa Bedroom for KBR¡­ Floor Level for 2¡­ room number for 01! Ours is at KBR-204!" Joshua pointed to their room door. "Then, KBR-205 must be vacant?" Pedro faced the room and was about to hold the handle when it suddenly opened and a blonde British looking woman, in her twenties and was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, came out. Both of them was surprised a bit¡­ "Good evening, Beatrice!" Joshua greeted like a child and broke the momentary silence. "Oh¡­ good evening Joshua! Who''s this man?" She greeted back and asked as if Pedro was some kind of lower life form, just like how nobles see commoners in the past. "That!" Although Carlos was a bit irritated by how Beatrice acts like a royalty, His irritated mood was suddenly replaced with a realization. ''what was this man''s name?'' ??? Beatrice gave a confused look. She increased her weariness as if treating them as a threat. 29 Rank Match Beatrice VS Pedro Part 1 "Him? Aunt''s apprentice?! You''ve got to be kidding me!" Beatrice became more irritated. "We are not lying!" Joshua defended. "Why don''t you ask her personally?" Carlos was about to lose his temper so he decided to walk away and ignore Beatrice. "Mister! aren''t you gonna choose your room?" Carlos called Pedro to avoid a heated discussion that may lead to an unwanted outcome. "Of course!" Pedro replied, he then bowed slightly to Beatrice and said "Nice to meet you!" and left. "Goodnight Beatrice!" Joshua wave like a giant innocent child. ''It''s not right... Even, I... the sole personnel recruited a year ago... was not even taken by Aunt Soledad as her apprentice... So... who is that man? and... what is with him? Is he some kind of royalty? No... It must not be... Aunt is well connected to many royal families... of all of those of the same age as me and belongs to a royal family, only me was recruited because of my defensive and healing capabilities!'' Beatrice cannot believe what she just heard. Considering the high standards of her "Aunt" Soledad, Where even herself, an heir of a royal family and the one with the most potent abilities in their kingdom, didn''t even become her apprentice. "Hold up!" Beatrice called to the three before Carlos could open the door of KBR-206. "What''s the matter?" Carlos complained in a heavy voice. "If you really are Aunt''s apprentice... At the least show me your strength! I challenge you to a rank match!" Beatrice challenge Pedro a rank match. A rank match was a battle between two BHO Personnel or official. This was only known to the players who became members of BHO in Pedro''s past life hence he didn''t have information about it. It was only rumored that this was a way to increase one''s rank in BHO. Some players tried to challenge a BHO NPC in his past life but the NPCs just laughed at them. "Beatrice! That''s enough!" Carlos complained wearing a worried expression. ''If things got out of hand, It will all fall into my responsibility... Surely, Vicealmirante Soledad, won''t let me off the hook that easy!'' "Stay out of this Carlos! I just wanted to know his strength... that''s all! I mean... If he''s gonna join us, He should at least put up a fight!" Beatrice was already determined to her words and challenge, besides, it would be a blow to her pride as someone from a royal family if she would turn back on it. Meanwhile... Unfortunately, to the randomly generated things he got, there was of 0.000099 percent chance to get them again. (In short, It''s close to "Impossible".) Still, he can''t ignore the ten percent chance of him not triggering it again. Hence, he decided to know more information to serve as a back up for him to enter the BHO. With him entering BHO, he could at the least find Madame Soledad again and somehow gain talent and become a skill-maker. ... "If agreeing with the so-called rank match would solve this conflict... then I accept your challenge!" Pedro had a bit of confidence in his self. Although he is only level 1, his sword''s level was already at level 8. It increased its level when he got experience from the monsters he and Madame Soledad fought together. Other than that, Since he is still level 1, his undying cycle was still a godly trump card. Adding his new skill, ''might of pain'', and the 937 intermediate potions left, he had confidence in defeating her. ''Let''s see where your pride will go after this match! Hahaha! All I need to do is openly welcome and gladly accept any damage you would give! ... Wait... am I becoming a masochist?'' He thought inwardly with confidence. "Mister..." Carlos facepalmed his self after hearing Pedro agreed to the challenge. ''I''m dead... My execution is already scheduled!''. "State your rules!" ''???'' Pedro was confused when Beatrice asked him about the rules. "What are you staring at? Tell them now! quickly!" Beatrice rushed Pedro as she started to become irritated again. "Beatrice... I think he doesn''t know what you meant by rules!" Joshua who was observing calmly finally spoke. "How troublesome... Inform him, while we go to the battle arena! He can state the rules there!" Beatrice commanded Joshua. "No worries!" Joshua replied as Beatrice flicked her golden blonde hair and started walking on the confusing hallway towards the ship''s battle arena. "You could have just turned her challenge down!" Carlos spoke in a troubled manner. "Right! Right!" Joshua supported "Rank Match is a special method of showing strength in our organization. Although, Battle capability was not the only basis to determine a person''s strength, It was still one of the most significant factors to be considered!" Joshua then explained "Rank match has four overall rules... one, a person can only challenge a rank match to personnel or officials of the same rank or one rank higher, or any personnel or official of the rank lower than his/hers(the challenger). Second, match rules, match limits and such (This include time limit, match conditions, bets, etc.) would be decided by the person who was challenged. However, this must be also approved by the one who issued the challenge. Third, Any personnel or official can turn down any Rank match, if they don''t want to. Lastly, The winner of the rank match will get organization points that can be used in the organization, either to increase your military rank or to other causes like buying information!" Carlos continued to explain ''Man, I should have not acted rush. If I only knew I could turn her challenge down! no worries, at least I could test how far I can match with the personnel of BHO!'' Pedro claimed "How do you determine how much points you get when you win?" Pedro asked "It would be based on the military rank of the personnel or official that you defeated. At simpler terms, when someone in private class defeats a sergeant, he gets an organization points that can help him/her to be promoted to sergeant rank. Be noted that defeating someone of lower rank than yours is not beneficial since the point you might get is not that high to be of use in your organization military rank promotion!" Carlos explained. "Then If I win, I can increase my military rank to that of "Beatrice"?" Pedro asked full of expectations and his competitive nature became active. "That''s the gist of it!" Joshua replied "Can I know, what was Beatrice''s military rank?" Pedro was curious so he asked. "Sarhento!" Carlos replied furiously. "What about you guys?" Pedro asked "Sarhento!" Both of them answered simultaneously ''no wonder Carlos and Beatrice had some conflicts, they were of the same rank after all... But seeing that Carlos and Joshua at the same military rank with Beatrice who seemed to be their junior... Beatrice must be strong, to be able to catch up to them... I must be careful in battle...'' Pedro thought inwardly "This is the battle arena! Be reminded that each battle arena has its own rules... in our battle arena... since we are in a ship... the only rule was, no skills or attacks or anything that may compromise the ship and the safety of other personnel and officials on board. That was what Vicealmirante had only set!" Carlos explained as Pedro was about to open the door. "Thanks for your guidance... one last thing... are you available after these?" Pedro asked Carlos and Joshua while glancing at them with a wide grin in his face, and holding the dual door of the arena with his hands and was about to push... "Sure!" Carlos replied thinking that Pedro was a drunkard and really wanted to drink as Carlos remembered how Pedro asked about a "canteen" earlier! "If you''ll leave unscathed..." Carlos continued with a smile in his face saying ''If you could come out of the arena in a non-critical condition at the least!'' "Then, It''s settled!" Pedro pushed the doors and went in the ship''s battle arena. ... In the surveillance area, in the control room of the ship... "That''s your apprentice Soledad? Are you sure that you''re not interfering with this? I mean he is against Beatrice for god''s sake! He could at least, came out of the battle arena in a coma?" A Filipina looking woman in her thirties, with "Comodoro de Armada" written behind her overcoat, expressed her opinion. 30 Rank Match Beatrice VS Pedro Part 2 ''I need to gather my self up! I should put the past in the past! and move forward in the present! Else, how can I be the strongest player if I would always act this way! It''s time to change and trust my self! I have the undying cycle and my past experiences as a weapon! It''s time to show them who the new Pedro is...'' He claimed to his self as he pushed the doors of the battle arena. Booog! the doors of the ship''s battle arena slammed open. Pedro entered the battle arena in a calm and cool manner. The overcoat looked good but he wasn''t that comfortable with it since he was just used to wearing jackets or hoodies. "Everything''s ready! Elder Brother Urse has already prepared the arena! So... what''s your rules?" Beatrice spoke pridefully as she stood near the five feet plus tall American looking man who has a big body like a bodybuilder but his face and hair was a bit messy as if he had just woke up from his sleep. Pedro bowed slightly to Urse as a sign of respect. He considered all of the other NPCs in the ship as his senior. Urse then nodded and walked towards the battle arena control room. ''Senior Soledad''s apprentice? Seems like Senior is up to something!'' Urse uttered. ''Well then, Let''s start!'' Pedro thought inwardly as he saw the departing figure of Urse and as he turned his glance to Beatrice. "Rules... right? ... I had only three! First, no control or silencing spells!" Pedro informed that shocked Beatrice and the others who were watching either the live broadcast in the arena, like Madame Soledad and "Comodoro de Armada" Alivia, or those who watch in the battle arena, namely Joshua, Carlos and the Battle arena moderator, Urse. The battle arena was similar to that of a basketball arena. The main battle area was located in the center. It was wrapped by a white, transparent, soft glass looking material with some green lines in it. When one gets close to the green lines, you can see that it was a written incantation of some sort that heads straight to the battle arena control room. This can somehow reduce the impact of the battle to the ship, and at the same time, if something unexpected arose, it may reduce the damage dealt with the ship. Surrounding the wrapped main battle arena was the viewers'' area. Here, anyone can enter and watch rank matches. It was parallel to the two longest sides of the battle arena. There were sits just like in a cinema but the sit in front was a bit lower for convenient watching. This was designed this way because of a tab like in front of the seats. The same green line runs through the monitor to the control room. This was used in betting, that was only available and allowed inside the battle arena. The live stream was caught by a piece of magical equipment placed in different angles of the battle arena. This made the live stream, that was available to all personnel in the ship to watch, of high quality and as if you were watching in the viewers'' area. The only difference was... well, you can''t bet! ... Returning back to Pedro''s first rule... "no control or silencing skills allowed!" Earlier, when Carlos and Joshua were about to arrive and saw Pedro outside the elevator control room, He received a system notification, however, since the ''might of pain'' skill caught his attention, He paid less attention to it. Later on, when they were walking to go to the battle arena, he checked his interface and read the notification. The interface indicated that Pedro was put into a controlled state. It didn''t cause him any damage but he lost control over his body. If an enemy has a control skill, he/she could just render Pedro immobile and Hit him till he dropped dead. When it comes to worst, the enemy could just keep recasting a control skill and make Pedro suffer from not being able to move while being conscious, A torture at that. He had a hunch that either Joshua or Carlos did it. Silencing skill was basically the overpowered type of skill. Although most of the silencing skills in his past life, same goes for Mathew''s, affects only the active skills of the target, he can''t exclude the fact that an NPC of unknown strength might have a silencing skill that may affect his passive skills, including the ''Might of Pain'' and ''Undying'' Skills. Fortunately, potion injector was an item so its effects can''t be silenced. ... "Those Brats..." The surprised Madame Soledad exclaimed angrily and grasped her hands tightly. "He''s good... Carlos and Joshua might have done something earlier, but he was able to quickly adjust!" Alivia responded in a somehow a bit interesting manner. ... In the viewers'' area... "No secret last long!" Carlos claimed "I just tried to make him relax a bit, elder brother! That''s all!" Joshua defended like an innocent child "Explain that to the Vicealmirante!" Carlos chuckled in response ... "Ok! It''s not a big deal! I don''t even have such skills in my arsenal!" Beatrice replied proudly "Then it''s settled! Next, the battle will only end when one is either rendered unconscious or surrenders! Lastly..." This was a usual condition on a rank match, hence, they were not intrigued by it. Pedro paused a bit before saying the last rule. "No time limit!" (Screen shows various looks of those who were watching, Lol) All of those who were watching were astounded by what Pedro said. The longer the battle last, the more disadvantageous it becomes for him. Beatrice was surely stronger than him, especially in terms of magical ability. That''s what those who watch and Beatrice thought, but to Pedro and Madame Soledad, He has still at least had a forty percent chance of winning. That was high enough to have hopes that Pedro would win. "Very well! I accept your rules... Be reminded though... the match won''t take that long! so prepare yourself to lose!" Beatrice agreed with full of pride and confidence. She then grasped a silver sword located near her waist as She wore a huge grin on her face. "Then it''s settled!" Pedro walked around ten meters away from Beatrice. "The battle is about to start! Please place your bet''s!" Urse spoke in the battle arena control room that somehow echoed to the whole arena and the tab like a monitor in front of the occupied seats in the battle arena became lighted. ... "Brother! how about we bet?" Joshua suggested to Carlos. The arena was almost empty, besides Carlos and Joshua, there were only a few personnel that can be seen in the battle arena. "What should we bet at?" Carlos was still feeling dejected, knowing that Madame Soledad will scold them once they see each other. First was for Pedro getting involve in a rank match with Beatrice, Second was for the control skill incident. "The Loser would be the one to face the Vicealmirante and explain about the unexpected happenings!" Joshua innocently explained like a kid. "Does that count as a bet? Haha... Then I go for Beatrice to win!" Carlos then tapped the picture of Beatrice in the tab like a monitor in front of him. "Then, I''d bet on him then..." Joshua tapped the blank box with a question mark in the tab like a monitor. Since Pedro has just arrived at the ship, he didn''t have an account yet, hence Urse set the anonymous avatar for Pedro. ... "It''s too sad we can''t bet!" Alivia complained. "Haha... It''s good... you''ll save some of your money! hahaha!" Madame Soledad laughed confidently. ... "This looks interesting!" A man uttered as he puffed out smoke, and was watching inside a dark room, where only the monitor was glowing. It showed the live stream of the battle arena. Although it might not seem like it, every monitor of every personnel in the ship, be it the bar area or the ship''s bridge, there was a monitor displaying the live stream on the battle arena. Hence, every personnel and official in the ship was watching. ... Seconds later, Battle arena moderator, Urse, spoke... 31 Rank Match Beatrice VS Pedro Final Par "The betting period is complete! Let the battle begin!" "3!" "2!" "1!" "Fight!" Pedro was still contemplating the loud sound when Beatrice pulled her sword and held it with her two hands. The sword looked exactly like a royalty''s sword. The handle and the cross-guard part of the sword were made of gold with a dazzling design. It perfectly matched the meticulous design on its golden scabbard. The blade part was silvery white in color with its edge having highlights of gold. She quickly lifted it to prepare for a vertical strike. Her right knee and body were bent forward as she raised the sword slightly above her head. Small golden wisp-like balls started spiraling from his hand up to the blade and a reddish color started to appear on the swords'' blade. She then strikes the sword down and like magic, a raging flame in the shape of a sword descend to Pedro. The red flame extends from Beatrice''s sword to meters past where Pedro was standing. ''Eastern Continent, Magiya Kingdom''s Summer Sword Flame Strike?'' Pedro was somehow familiar with the skill of Beatrice and at the last second, he moved to dodge the attack by jumping sideways. ''This skill was the common skill used by all of the Tier-A professional players on the Guild, Fiery-Fire Blaze of Eastern Continent! Then, this might mean that they got that at the kingdom this lady belongs... If I''m right... that flame obsessed guild''s kingdom was located in the north!'' He was somehow well-informed about the skills and how they looked but information about where they were acquired or how was never told to the public. Before Pedro could even react, the ''flame sword'' that struck the ground suddenly exploded and burst sideways. It looked like a wave of fire going sideways. (Just like a wave in a sea) Tok, Tok, Tok, Tok... "Summer Sword Flame Strike... Level 2!" (highlight animation just like those in animes or manga showing new or special skills, lol) ''It Burst? I don''t remember it being that way! A different skill? Definitely not! It looked way too similar!'' He jumped vertically to try to dodge the burst of fire that went sideways. At the same time, he took out the Faithpursuer Katana in his inventory. Unfortunately, the after burst was way faster than how Pedro had reacted. It reached him and Immediately, He was fully covered with flame. ... ''It''s no surprise that you dodged the sword flame... However, I have developed this skill, since father always dodged it so easily! So, I increased the power and flame output on the initial strike, this will make the impact explode and burst sideways like waves of fire! This match is over! The waves of fire''s damage were of the same of the initial strike''s halved damage!'' Beatrice had a grin in her face. This was especially true to some of the crew who hoped that Pedro would at least put up some fight. but to what they had just watched, the battle had sort of ended already and Pedro would at the least have some major burn injuries. ... While on Pedro''s point of view... ''This was unexpected!'' He claimed as he saw the damage text near his body and when a successive system notification suddenly rang. ... -5000 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: (2 +10 +8) +5000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: +5000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... When the system finally stopped Pedro was astounded. ''That wave of flame was even stronger than the attack of the troll commander! If not for my undying cycle... I would have long been reduced into ashes! Back to the match... Knowing she made an attack with that damage, she would at least have thousands of HP... I must buy 2 seconds each time she attacks and receives as much damage as I can... I can bluff my way out to prolong 2 seconds in between each attack... but... there was no assurance that she would attack again within 5 seconds, the stacked damage would reset... the accumulated damage would be lost if I don''t receive damage during that time!'' Pedro thought as the fire starts to dissipate. Luckily, the overcoat that was given to him by Madame Soledad had high burn resistance, although it can''t stop the application of damage to Pedro, It somehow didn''t burn into ashes, that may leave Pedro naked. His head, however, was black as charcoal, same to his hands, and his shoes burned into ashes. ''My precious free newbie shoes! You''re gonna pay!'' Bloodlust ran through Pedro as one of his items was reduced into ashes. "Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Pedro holds the Faithpursuer Katana tightly with two hands. The fire finally dissipated, His bloodlust oozed scaringly, and he ran straight towards Beatrice like a madman! ''Hahaha... Let''s see if she won''t cast a follow-up spell now! Attack me with full force! I''ll greatly accept your (damage) "offering"!'' He grinned inwardly as he thought, who in the world targeted by a mad man full of bloodlust, would not attack in response as self-defense... right? Imagine yourself holding a gun and a mad man or a serial killer targeting you was charging at you with a blade... won''t you shot him right... at that point, you''d even empty the magazine, full of bullets, of the gun, right? ... "Ho hooo!" all the watchers were astounded and some were impressed as if thinking... ''what was with this person? He survived that attack, then he attacks like this...'' Pedro looked like some barbarian who lost his control to his self and attacked in a frenzied manner. ... "Soledad... This apprentice of yours is quite interesting... He had used 2 skills so far that is unknown to me... No wonder you took him as your apprentice" Alivia said in an impressed manner. The two skills Alivia noticed can only be noticed by those at the top skilled NPCs among the crew. The main noticeable skill Alivia was referring to was his Undying skill. With the physical attributes of Pedro and the Magical energy within him, it was true that there was a 100% that Pedro could have not resisted that attack and should be in a fatal condition as of now, but contrary to that, he was even like a mad man full of energy to charge to his target. Hence, she deduced that Pedro has somewhat a nullifying skill or damage reduction of some sort. The second skill she noticed was something that only a few top skilled crews can notice. It was the moment Pedro took his Katana in the inventory interface. To them, the Katana magically appeared... and it was of a not that simple type of sword... it radiated an aura that had seemed suppressed... It was not the sword though, that caught their attention. It was how Pedro was able to make the sword appear out of nothing... They initially taught that Pedro had used a stealth ability to hide and suppress the presence of the sword. "Hahaha! Don''t think of stealing him away from me! Oh! You too, Kentaro!" Madame Soledad shouted to the bearded man that looked like a Japanese middle-aged man who had "Comandante" written at the back of his overcoat. ... Just as Pedro shouted and charged like a mad man, the cooldown of the intermediate portion was already finished and another "Undying" cycle was available. ''What''s with this man?'' Beatrice was terrified. Small golden wisp-like balls started spiraling from his hand up to the blade and a reddish color started to appear on the swords'' blade again quickly. She twisted the sword sideways, then immediately struck the sword horizontally towards Pedro just like her first strike. A raging flame in the shape of a sword approached to Pedro. ''Good! Since you are being generous! I would gladly accept your offer!'' Pedro suddenly had a visible grin in his face. Although his head looked like charcoal, his grin was still noticeable. Boom! Although he tried to block it with the Faithpursuer Katana, the flames struck Pedro. The impact tossed him to the corner of the battle arena. He then falls facing the ground... still grasping tightly to his sword. A series of system notification rang. ... -10,000 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: (2 +10 +8) +[5,000 +10,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable)] = 15,020 Magic Damage: +15,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... ''This is enough... Though, I can endure more and last longer... She looked like her magic energy was about to be exhausted! I have 4 seconds left before the damage expires... I won''t be able to reach her from this distance in that amount of time! I almost lost the +5,000 damage earlier, If her attack had been a bit slower by a second!'' He faced a problem as the distance between him and Beatrice was too far. And by the looks of it, Beatrice looked exhausted. The skills she used must have required a huge amount of magical energy. ... "He''s still alive?" Everyone in the ship grasped again in awe as they saw Pedro stood once more after receiving a direct hit from Beatrice''s skill. But before they could utter a word... Pedro tossed his sword towards Beatrice. ''Huh?'' Still trying to intake that Pedro withstood her second attack, Beatrice could only move her head, luckily he dodged Pedro''s sword by hair''s breadth! Her eyes followed the golden sword as it passed beside her... She then quickly returned her glance to Pedro, when suddenly a rock was heading straight to her forehead, It was too close for Beatrice to dodge. Booom! The whole ship shook as soon as the rock hit Beatrice''s head. Because of a magical defense she had, the rock didn''t penetrate her head. As the rock hit her forehead, It made her whole body spin a few times vertically before dropping down to the ground, unconscious, with her eyes wide open, and a shocked facial expression. ... Initially, the ship was filled with silence, unable to digest the thing that had occurred, then after a few seconds, an uproar erupted. "Such Strength! He is trully Vicealmirante''s apprentice! No doubt!" "As expected of the Vicealmirante, He is, of course, someone extraordinary!" "Beatrice was trully strong... but the new recruit has the unfading, shear, f@@@ing will!" Various ship crews of the ship exclaimed as the event unfolded before them. ... There was silence in the bridge of the ship, they were bot awed by the strength showed by Pedro at the same time worried at Beatrice. She was still part of their crew. ''Brat was hiding his strength all this time!'' Madame Soledad can''t help but have a bitter laugh. He knew that Pedro had potential, but she never assumed that his strength was at the level to knock Beatrice down with a single rock. ... on the viewers'' area on the battle arena... ''Sh@T! I''m dead!'' Carlos exclaimed inwardly and wore a worried look. Joshua just grinned a bit. ... On Pedro''s point of view earlier... ''Sorry brother... though you''re a rare weapon! I''d be using you as a decoy!'' Pedro apologizes to his ''Partner'', the Faithpursuer Katana, as he threw it straight to Beatrice with his left hand. Simultaneously, he retrieved a rock in his inventory interface. ''Activate, ~Rock Throw~ skill!'' He then threw the rock towards Beatrice. Thanks to the Faithpursuer Katana that got her attention, the rock he threw aimed straight to Beatrice''s forehead. Since, the sword didn''t hit anything yet when the rock hit Beatrice, the rock hit was considered as the ''attack that applied damage'' hence it was where ~Might of Pain~ skill was applied. This skill (~Rock Throw~) was the one he selected in the Kagat Village as a "gift" from Madame Soledad. When the rock hit her forehead series of unbelievable system notification appeared on Pedro. ... [True damage effect (~Might of Pain~ skill) Activated!] Damage dealt would be raw damage! [Headshot effect (~Rock Throw~ skill) Activated!] Headshot: Deals (Attack damage x Crit) to the enemy and has a (Luck)% chance to inflict a stun mode for 3 seconds. Total raw damage dealt: (15,020 x 20) [Release Effect (~Might of Pain~ skill) Activated!] Attack and Magic damage reset back to original state! ... Pedro saw a red text above Beatrice that made his jaw drop, even at his charcoal state... 32 First Rank Match Concluded! Somewhere in the main castle of the Naga Kingdom... "What a beautiful ship Grandpa!" The was awed by the gigantic, sword-like ship that rose from under water. "... It trully is a beauty!" The elder responded with awe as if he was fully captivated by the scene of the Karakoa leaving. When the Karakoa was at a size of a dot when one views it from the balcony where the elder noble and the child was watching it depart, a strong tremor was suddenly felt by the whole Naga Kingdom and the nearby forest. "Ahh! Grandpa! the ground is shaking! I''m scared!" The child hugged tightly to the old man as the tremors finally stopped. ''From the looks of it... It came from the ship! I hope nothing bad happened!'' The old man thought as he holds the child tightly and stared at the dotted figure of the Karakoa. "Calm down, Xavier! Grandpa is here! Don''t worry! From the looks of it, you want to join Aunt and her ship when you grow up! right?" The old man knelt down and comforted the child. "Uhm! Uhm!" The child who was teary-eyed nodded in agreement with his Grandpa as he scratched his eye to remove the tears. "Then! Don''t let this simple tremor scare you! How about this, Grandpa and your Dad will train you so that four years from now, when you''re 12 years old, you can ask your Aunt to take you into her ship?" He said to the child as a few guards and the Father of the child who was a noble entered the room. Since the child was already calmed, they just kept silent and evacuated the room safely. ... ''Brat never fails to amaze me... If not for the suppression of the runes inscribed personally by a core disciple of the Goddess of Healing, Qomera, the injury Beatrice had would have killed her instantly!'' Madame Soledad had deep thoughts as she stared at Live broadcast on the battle arena. She then went in front of the golden pipes that were high enough for a normal person to speak. "CARLOOOS! I told you to bring DEATH to his room! Not to the battle arena and fight Little Beatrice! You''re de..." The voice of Madame Soledad sounded through the whole ship and before she could continue, Alivia pulled her going out of the Bridge of the ship. Alivia nodded to Kentaro as if saying ''you know what to do! I''ll take care of Soledad! you take care of the other matters!''. Hopeless, Comandante Kurokami Kentaro nodded in return and wore a grim face. ''These youngsters are really troublesome... sigh!'' "Put me down, Alicia! Put me down! I''m not finished! Put me..." Madame Soledad struggled as Alicia pulled her out. "Ehm... First, Urse... please continuously check and monitor little Beatrice! Carlos... send Soledad''s apprentice to his room! To..." Comandante Kentaro want to welcome Pedro but he didn''t know Pedro''s name, hence he went silent a bit before continuing. ''I would rather be poor than to be cannon fodder!'' ''I can take as many shifts as I can, Just no to be one of those!'' All the crew on duty became attentive and focused as soon as they heard the cannon fodder words. They all looked like slaves who will willfully work just to avoid that punishment. Majority of the crew who were not on duty decided to sleep, for them, nightmares are better than being cannon fodder if they lacked sleep and was caught slacking off during their duty. ... On the viewers'' area... "See you later! Joshua!" Carlos quickly left to fetch Pedro like a soul-less person. ''That''s if I see you again... alive!'' Joshua just gave him a wave, after Carlos left, Joshua also stood and went out of the viewers'' area. "Might as well go around since I''m on duty!" Carlos uttered in a low voice. ... In the arena, Battle arena moderator, Urse left the control room and continued to monitor the condition of the critically wounded Beatrice. Pedro was astounded of what he had done. The power he currently had was strong enough to rival dungeon boss monsters of any level... considering it has low intelligence. Besides, he knew that the outcome would be reversed if Madame Soledad was his opponent. In terms of skill and experience, they might be of the same rank already, but Madame Soledad and other strong crews like Comodoro de Armada Alivia Mercado, and Comandante Kurokami Kentaro. Of course, if the control skill rule of Pedro was not included, there were chances that he can''t beat Joshua Verano or Carlos Verano. Thinking that his strength was all dependent on his skills, the potion injector, and the intermediate potion, He had a sudden resolve that he had a need to gain way more information for him to utilize and become the strongest player. "There are still many loopholes!" He uttered in a low disappointed voice. ''It was certainly a good start! But It was not yet perfect! He did not aim to be one of those who were at the top of Bearth but to rule it! His damage output was godly! I must refrain from using it! If not for these "mysterious runes", I might have had my first NPC kill in bearth after the reincarnation happened! Should I hold back a little when against them?'' He walked towards the Faithpursuer Katana to pick it up. He had a worried look because if his strength became well known to NPCs on Bearth, It was like a double-edged sword. It could benefit him, but at the same time can bring harm or misfortunes to him. Overall, he was glad of the damage he can produce, it would be godly in dungeons, but on NPC battles, He would need to device a plan to fight them without killing them, especially when he plans to enter BHO and rank among the top officials for his legacy enhancement. Killing NPCs on BHO would garner more hate from BHO personnel and Officials rather than respect and worship, just like a hero. "Would she be alright?" Pedro asked the Battle arena moderator, Urse. "Barely... She''s still unconscious and her magic energy was almost empty! Luckily, she had a Gold-rated defense talisman that sucked up all her magical energy to produce a shield that blocked your attack and made her avoid being instantly killed... Never the less, she is still in a critical condition! We''ll know further about her conditions when the Ship Doctor came!" Urse replied to Pedro as Carlos arrive at the battle arena''s entrance. "Mister... I have come to assist you back to your room!" Carlos who was spiritless exclaimed. ''I got into trouble because of this man, and yet I still don''t know his name!'' Pedro glanced one last time to the unconscious Beatrice with a serious and determined charcoal face. "Senior Urse, please take good care of her! Let''s go, Senior Carlos!" Pedro then flicked his overcoat that made its lower part rise a bit into the air. The live stream that was still on in the battle arena caught this awesome moment where Pedro was leaving the battle arena, with his lower overcoat slightly in the air. 33 Has Guts, but no Strength! "If you don''t mind, would you tell me your name?" Carlos asked breaking the awkward silence while walking back to the Bedrooms. "... I am Death, Senior!" Pedro answered in an unmotivated manner while glancing back to Carlos. Carlos was astounded to what Pedro has said. Mixed emotions filled him, unable to know what to express at that moment. ''Is he mocking me?!'' Carlos grasped his hands tightly and vibration, although weak, can be felt coming from it. ''What can I do... It is really my name!'' Pedro uttered inwardly and opened his inventory interface, ready to take the Faithpursuer Katana. ''Man! I hope this doesn''t end badly... That "rank" match had not given me any benefits! Although Carlos said I''d get organization points if I win, the system hadn''t informed me of any notification at all!'' Pedro had a frown in his face. He had exposed almost all his battle capabilities yet had not attained any benefits from it. "Senior... It is really my name!" Pedro said in a bitterly smile and still glancing at Carlos. Boooom! Pedro had just passed a three-way hallway intersection, a punch suddenly hit him that made him fly to the wall. The punch was so strong that the wall where he impacted had a not so deep, oval hole and cracks running thru the walls for about a meter. ... -100,000 You''ve been inflicted by [Homerun punch (Paralyzing effect!)]! You are stunned for 3 seconds! [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 2 +10 +8 +100,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: +100,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... ''What now?'' Just as Pedro has regained his self, the woman who punched him had sent another punch and was inches away from reaching Pedro''s forehead. ''Sh@@!'' He saw the already on the way fist of the woman as he was unable to move because of the paralyzation. Boom! ... -150,000 You''ve been inflicted by [Homerun punch (Paralyzing effect!)]! You are stunned for 3 seconds! [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 2 +10 +8 +250,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: +250,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... Pedro sank deeper into the oval hole and the crack ran longer. Pak! ... -0 You''ve been inflicted by [Homerun punch (Paralyzing effect!)]! You are stunned for 3 seconds! [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 2 +10 +8 [+250,000 +0(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable)] Magic Damage: +250,000 +0(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... The punch landed on his stomach but it was just like a tap. Pedro had became dazed of what had happened. The intensity and strength of each punch of the woman get stronger every time it hit Pedro. Hence, he was dazed when the stronger and more intense punch hit him and it dealt no damage. "As expected of Carlos! Your Amplify~Reduce ability is truly strong!" The woman who made Pedro a punching bag stopped her punch assault and approached Carlos with a smile. At the same time, Madame Soledad appeared from the hallway where the woman who punched Pedro, came from. "Satisfied? Alivia?" Madame Soledad uttered normally as if nothing had happened. "Ah... Yes, Soledad! Your apprentice is extraordinary!" She replied to Madame Soledad with a smile. Her smile suddenly became a serious expression. Pedro, who had just recovered from the three seconds stun, threw a punch to Alivia. In Pedro''s point of view... Just after Alivia''s punch hit Pedro the system notified. ... [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] ... Just before the stun duration was finished, Madame Soledad, who was just behind Alivia, looked at him and to Alivia like she was trying to say ''Punch her back! Let her taste your strength!''. Pedro smiled as if saying back, ''Hehe... O... Ok... you''re the boss!''. When the stun duration was finished, Pedro launches his fist straight to Alivia. However, his punch somehow stopped 12 inches away from Alivia and his knuckles somehow touched a transparent green barrier. As his knuckles hit the transparent green barrier, Pedro saw a red text at Alivia. -0 ''What did just happened? Where did the +250,000 damage go?'' He was astounded as he looked at the smiling face of Alivia and his knuckles. He was filled with disbelief as Alivia began mocking him. "Hahahaha! You''ve got guts to punch me! But has no strength to back it up! Soledad, your apprentice is really interesting!" Alivia burst into laughter. Even if Pedro''s punch caused damage, Alivia won''t still be receiving damage. Defensive magic barriers can be composed of several layers, especially to strong NPCs. ... Other than strong NPCs, Dungeon Bosses on level 60 and above who had low intelligence had these Defensive magic barriers that absorb damage to make up for their low intellectual ability. A green barrier can absorb total damage amounting to 1 Million, Yellow for 10 Million, Orange for 100 Million, Red for 1 Billion, Gold was unknown. This was based on his past knowledge of Bosses from 100 man dungeon raids. The gold barrier was unknown, there were rumors from BHO membered players that explored the ''god''s continent'' and saw a small village protected by a Gold barrier, like a dome. The village seemed to be abandoned and looked like a god''s village. They assumed that some sort of treasure can be located there. No one can pass the golden barrier, hence they bombarded it with skills and damage for a week but the dome still looked unharmed. After a week, the players gave up! The week-long bombardment already made them a level behind other players without getting any progress or benefits at all. ... "Was there anything you need from me?" Pedro asked. He knew that Madame Soledad was the captain of the ship. Unless she was somehow resting, she wouldn''t just roam around considering that the ship had only just departed to the open world. Various attackers can strike the ship at any time. "I wanted to see you close, personally!" Alivia replied. "Oh... Mister... You must be tired because of all of these! Let''s hurry back to your Selected Bedroom!" Carlos then pulled Pedro hurriedly, ignoring Alivia and Madame Soledad! "wait! wait!" Pedro was confused and could only glance to Alivia and Madame Soledad. "CARLOOOOS!" Madame Soledad fumed as she tried to follow them. Thankfully, Alivia hugged Madame Soledad and restricted her from following them. ''I''m safe! For now! Thank you, Senior Alivia! Thank you... Mister... Death!'' Carlos inwardly claimed as he hurriedly distances himself and Pedro from Madame Soledad and Alivia. ... When the figure of Pedro and Carlos was lost, Alivia finally released Madame Soledad. They both wore a serious look. "Train that apprentice of yours well... So that he could live another year!" Alivia uttered "No worries! He''ll last longer than that!" Madame Soledad replied in a serious but confident manner. 34 Bedroom Selected... ''Thank God! We did not encounter any more problems along the way!'' Carlos had a relieved look as they arrive in front of KBR-206. He placed his hand on a blue glowing glass beside the door and it opened. They walked in the room as Pedro inspect it if it something that would suit him. The room looked like a fully furnished apartment. Upon entry, to the right was the bathroom and laundry area. The left side was the master''s bedroom. After the Bathroom and laundry area, a small kitchen area and the living room was located. While after the Bedroom is a multipurpose room. The multipurpose room is a place where they can cultivate or practice their skills and abilities, or it is where special rooms like the forging or potion making area can be located. The overall size of the whole KBR-206 was around forty-nine square meters. When Pedro entered the "master''s bedroom", there was no bed inside. "Is this really the master''s bedroom?" Pedro asked casually. "Yes, it is!" Carlos who was standing near the door of the master''s bedroom nodded. "Why is there no bed?" Pedro pointed to the empty room as Carlos peeked slightly in. "This... I''ll contact room management! please wait here!" Carlos went in front of a golden pipe in one corner of the living room to contact the room management who were in charge of maintaining unoccupied rooms in the ship. "Senior! No need! Let''s just check another room!" Carlos had a bit of hesitation but he nodded in agreement. He thought that bringing more personnel might cause another unnecessary event. They went and check room KBR-207 which was just across KBR-206. Seeing that the room was of complete basic facilities, Pedro decided to take the room. "I''m fine with this room, Senior!" Pedro smiled as he sat to the small sofa in the living room. "Well then, I shall leave now!" Carlos was determined to part ways to Pedro. It was just a small amount of time that they had been together but he had already been involved in trouble. Hence, he wanted to part with Pedro as soon as possible to avoid any more trouble. "Wait, Senior! I thought you were free after the match?" Pedro planned to gather more information from Carlos after the rank match. This is the reason why he asked Carlos if he was available after the match. "Yes, I am free! However, I lost all of my energy because of recent events. So, I need to take a rest for now!" Carlos bluffed his way. ''I certainly must not stay around him any longer!'' "If that''s the case, I won''t trouble Senior any more! Thanks for your help!" Pedro had a sour face inwardly. ''I won''t force Senior Carlos further! Unexpected events had happened one after another! I don''t want to trigger another!'' The closed beta launch of the game opened at exactly 12 in the midnight in ''real-world time''. When he entered the game and was teleported to Kagat Village the sun was already up. The ''in-game time'' was past 9:00 in the morning. If it is past 11:00 in the evening already, Pedro had already spent was around 7 hours of ''real-world time'' playing Bearth! (1 hour, in reality, was equal to 2 hours in Bearth) Hence, It was around 7 in the morning already in reality. At this point in time, Pedro was still in his second year in college and was taking up Electronics Engineering in one of the best Universities in the Philippines. Classes in these days can be attended online, via live stream. Hence, going to the University to attend class was just an option. Students were only required to go to school on major exam days or when in need of actual presentation of reports or such. The only advantage he may get if he attended the class at the University is that it was convenient to ask questions directly to his professor. Today, He had a class at 7:30 in the morning. Being tired of getting into trouble in-game, Pedro decided to log out early so he could relax and eat breakfast with his family. He needed also to remind his father about his proposal. The proposal he made to his father was for the company to do whatever it takes to be able to partner with the VR Box maker company. Closed beta had only a small amount of players, hence there were only a thousand of the VR boxes that were sold or produced. One of its main problems, currently was that it takes too much power to generate. Hence, It would be a perfect business opportunity for them if they would be able to partner with the VR Box maker company. It was a new technology. Although risky, Once it was successful, their company would earn millions of revenue. Ather having breakfast, he took a quick bath. He decided earlier to just attend the class online since he had already attended the class at the university in his past life. It was just some sort of refresher for him at the same time it would show ease to his parents that he is not ''wasting'' his life. After his class, there was a notification that they needed to somehow go to school tomorrow for some sort of important university announcement. It was stated that it was not mandatory but it was of that importance. He tried to recall this in his past life but he can''t remember any significant events like this in his past life. At first, he decided not to go, but he, later on, decided to go since he would be taking classes online most of the time now instead of going to the university personally. This will save him time from the traveling which he can use to train his body. Although his real-life body was stronger than his current body in-game, this was only because he is only level 1! Once, he increased his level, there would be a point where his in-game body would be stronger than his real-life body. If his in-game body was stronger than his real-life body, his maximum capability in real-life would be the only thing he could utilize, wasting the remaining strength he could have used in-game. This made him decide to also focus on training physically in reality. After the class, It was already lunch, so he had eaten lunch. He rested for a bit, then he started his physical training in the afternoon. 35 A Breaking News Worldwide! Earlier that day, Inside a Chairman of a company''s office "That''s the overall report for the first 12 hours of the run time of Bearth, Chairman!" A Chinese woman wearing a usual company attire, like a secretary, explained. A Chinese man that looked in his fifties and wore formal attire, like a Chairman of a company, sat on an executive office chair while holding papers about the first 12 hours of Bearth. The man had a troubled look and the air in the room started to become heavier each minute. Knock! Knock! Knock! A series of knocks rang on the door of the room. The man instantly frowned as his focus was turned to the door. Seeing the chairman irritated, his secretary went near the door. "Should I open it, Chairman?" She politely asked as a sign of respect. "Go on... It must be urgent!" He waved his hand as he commanded. The secretary bowed slightly and opened the door in a gentle manner. ''If this is not something urgent... I might dismiss this person from the company!'' The irritated Chairman thought inwardly. "Chairman... Sorry to bother you on an unprecedented note! I am here to report that the VR box maker company, The Yang Developers, had sent a notice that the mass production of the VR box would not be a problem! They solved the Energy Consumption Issue by partnering with a Southeast Asian company, The Armaz Energy Corporation! For the western and European countries, They partnered with The Joe Energy Corporation International!" A man in a formal suite reported respectfully. "Someone was willing to invest and take a very high risk?" The Chairman was astounded. ... The current problem of the VR box was energy consumption. If Bearth was opened to the public and they ordered VR boxes, It was predicted that there would be high amounts of players quitting due to the high energy consumption of VR boxes that may be costly for ordinary people to sustain. Considering the difficulty of the game and VR boxes'' high energy consumption rate, It would only look like the people were burning money for nothing. Which was not a good trait for a game. A game must cost low or be affordable at the least. With the Atomic Energy Crystal III technology of the Armaz Energy Corporation, The overall operational cost (the total energy consumption rate cost) of a VR Box would become lower and be affordable for everyone. The only backlash was the overall price of the VR Box would increase a bit. Although the overall price of a VR box increased, the market price was still affordable for everyone. It was a risk for the Armaz Energy Corporation because the partnership was between them and a company in the gaming industry. Regardless of the risk, the business partnership was considered ''small'' compared to business partnerships between Energy Corporation and the countries'' government. With the advanced technology available, the Energy consumption of the people increase. Hence, the demands for the Energy Industry skyrocketed. The Armaz Energy Corporation took the risk by considering a few factors. First, Some of the company board members supported the partnership. To these board members, As long as the company would gain profit, they would give their support. The second was, the President, Mr. Jon Armaz, supported this partnership since Pedro, his son, personally proposed it out of the blue. Knowing Pedro, although he was a gamer, he was still performing good in his schools. Hence, his son must not be that d@mb to suggest a proposal just for a game. Considering the circumstances, the company board members agreed to the partnership with the Yang Developers. However, they restricted their contract only in Asia and Australia. ... "Yes, Chairman! With the help of this, we could also update the game back to its original feature!" The man continued. "Wonderful! Tell the Yang Developers and the two energy companies to begin mass production already!" The Chairman shot up to his seat and ordered in a delightful manner. "Yes, Chairman!" The man bowed slightly and quickly left the room. The secretary was patiently waiting beside the door. "Ms. Luo! Please set up a hologram conference for everyone in a minute!" He ordered to the secretary. "Yes, Chairman!" the secretary bowed slightly and was about to leave. "Another thing! Please tell the Game Development Team that we would be speeding things up... a bit!" The Chairman added. The secretary nodded in response and quickly left. "It''s about time!" The Chairman, smiling, was standing while looking to the view of the city with the Sun, starting to set. ... minutes later... In a dark room, Holograms of standing people, arranged in a circular way, Started to appear one by one that illuminated the room. Other than the holograms, only the Chairman was inside the room. When everyone was complete, the Chairman Clapped his hands and spoke. "Greetings, respected leaders!" the Chairman bowed slightly as a show of respect to the leaders of the different countries. "First of all, I give my sincere apologies for calling you all in such a very short notice!" the Chairman Bowed a bit deeper this time. "It''s fine Chairman! Please get to the point immediately! I was currently in the middle of a meeting! I had to stop it for a while because of this!" The American President spoke in a hurry. "Well... I was in the middle of my lunch!" the Philippines President chuckled with a wryly smile in his face. "Your Excellency is really humorous!" another leader interjected. "Ehm... Before this goes out of hand... I would now start! We are about to speed up things and would be ready tomorrow! As agreed upon, I would like to request you, respected leaders, to do your part as soon as possible!" The Chairman explained briefly. "Is that all?" the Korean President asked. "Yes, your Excellency!" The Chairman who was still slightly bowing responded. "Very well! I''ll leave now!" the hologram of the American President disappeared immediately. "Thanks for your time!" The Chairman spoke as one by one the hologram disappeared. "Mr. Wong! Don''t forget to send us some extra VR Boxes for free! Just kidding!" The Philippines President expressed jokingly as he waved goodbye to the Chairman. His hologram disappeared. When all the holograms disappeared, The Chairman walked to the door and was about to go outside the room. "It seems the world would be busy these coming days!" He uttered in a low voice and smiled. ... When his online classes already ended in the afternoon, He already waited for his father while reading in the forums. Nothing notable was present and almost all contents were about the level of difficulty of survival in the game. While waiting for his father to come home, Pedro was suddenly called by one of their maids. "Young Master! Come and take a look at the news!" She hurriedly approached and called Pedro. He followed the maid and went to the living room where his grandma and mother together with the other maids were watching. "Breaking News! After almost half a day of its closed beta opening, the game Bearth Online was announced that the game would proceed to its Open beta phase by tomorrow night at Philippines time 9:00 in the evening! Not only that! Almost every government leader in the world has shown their support to the game, some of them even adding the game as an additional subject in their curriculum for high schools and college level, as Electronic Survival Sports and Development subject! In our country! Our President also endorsed the said game, at the same time signed the pending bill that makes Electronic Survival Sports and Development subject, Bearth Online, to be included and offered in high school and college level! Specific details were to be announced by the Department of Education by tomorrow morning!" a local television news anchor reported. "Oi Pedro! Don''t think that because of this, we would give our full consent on you playing these games!" His grandma scolded while pointing fingers to Pedro. "Calm down ma! Jon and I won''t let Pedro''s future be destroyed by these games!" His mother defended Pedro. "Stop spoiling him!" His grandma stood and walk going to her bedroom. She was assisted on the way by one of their maids. "Good heavens... what is the government doing? Spoiling all kids nowadays for money?! During my younger years, not a second were we allowed to slack off... If we did, we would not eat anything on that day!" She complained as she remembered how hard life was during her younger days. "You heard your grandma, Pedro! It doesn''t mean that it was added as a subject that you would only focus on that! Remember that you had other subjects too!" His mother adviced as his Grandma entered her room. "Of course..." Pedro uttered softly. Deep inside, he was shocked to the core. First of all, there was no open beta phase of Bearth in his past life at all. This was a new event, that might be due to him causing a butterfly effect! ''If so... then the "announcement" on school tomorrow must be about this!'' he remembered the sudden university announcement tomorrow. Just as Pedro was contemplating the new events, the tv news program showed its next news... "The Philippine Energy Company, Armaz Energy Corporation was partnered to the Yang Developers for the production of VR Boxes to be used in the game that''s making a worldwide trend, the Bearth Online! Here is the live view outside the Armaz Energy Corporation Main Office and the President and owner of the Armaz Energy Company, Mr. Jon Armaz!" The news anchor reported that was followed by a live video. "Mr. Armaz! Mr. Armaz! What can you say about the worldwide trend, Bearth Online... Did you partner with the Yang Developers because you know about this?" the reporter asked... 36 Plans for his relatives Part 1 "Your father..." His mother facepalmed herself out of embarrassment. "Dad looked very happy!" Pedro commented as the tv news program shifted to the next news. He had a wryly smile. He doesn''t know whether to laugh or cry out of embarrassment. Ring! Ring! Ring! The phones of both Pedro and his mother rang at the same time. Pedro walked to their backyard, where a swimming pool was located. While his mother, who was sitting in a sofa in the living room, gesturing to the maids to mute the sound from the television, and afterward answering the call. ... Pedro answered the call... "Guild Leader! It''s me, Annie! I''ve seen the news about the game you are playing! I, my brother and my cousin decided to play Bearth Online!" Annie explained "Are you all switching to Bearth or you''re gonna play it together with another AVR game?" Pedro asked immediately. There was a common occurrence to players who played two or more different laborious games, simultaneously. Their progress in both games became slow, that their progress and levels were left behind by a huge margin. Also, these type of players lacks mastery in their own characters and classes. Hence, these players seldom rank amongst the top players of any of the games. "I plan to play it simultaneously, but my brother and cousin will focus on it! My parents said to start as soon as possible after knowing about the recently approved bill by our President! Even I was dragged... hahaha... They say that I should also play it and at the same time guide and help my brother and cousin in the game..." She expressed her opinion with a wryly smile. "Is that so..." Pedro replied and was a bit disappointed. "Yeah... That''s why I called you, knowing that you were one of the closed beta players who experienced the game ahead of others! If it''s not a problem for you, can we join you as we start?" Annie continued and stated her true intention. "About that... I can''t be of help as of now... I''m sorry!" Pedro answered without hesitation. He is currently on Karakoa, a ship. It is sailing in the seas and he didn''t know where was his current location. ... Unlike the random generation of initial spawn on villages, going to ships and sailing meant that he had no access to land. Although he would eventually have a chance to return since the ship would re-stock its supplies and dock to a harbor, He personally wouldn''t want to leave the ship and trade his current position just to babysit someone. Initial spawn of players in villages upon character creation was random. This was not a problem because players can safely travel during daytime and players of the same continent were spawned in the same continent. Other than the isolated Aquari Continent, the other three continents were connected by land. As long as players travel during the day, they could go wherever they want. When they travel in the day, all they need to do is avoid the monsters. In special cases of Intelectual monsters, the players can outrun them because most of them had slow movement speeds. Hence, rendezvous was a possible feat for players. ... "That''s unfortunate..." Annie replied in a sad voice. ''It''s maybe due to the rumored difficulty of the game. Guild leader himself might have been having a hard time also, that he can''t really help us that much!'' Annie assumed that Pedro also had a hard time playing that is why he rejected without a second thought. "How about this Annie... Why don''t you switch to Bearth and focus on it?" Pedro suggested with a huge grin on his face. "???" Annie was confused. She already told him that she would play simultaneously but Pedro still insisted to focus on bearth. "I mean, Play it full time? I was planning to make my own gaming studio! Since you are an old friend of mine, I invited you to join!" He sat on a sunbathing chair near the pool as he explained his plan. "Gaming Studio???" Annie was astounded. To establish gaming studios, It would cost a huge sum of money and resources. At the same time, the success of a gaming studio was low. Most gaming studios go to bankruptcy because they didn''t find a stable source of income in-game that can be exchanged to real-life cash. "Yes!" He replied confidently. Annie was still astounded. She doesn''t fully know Pedro in real life. And based on the way they meet in the previous AVR game, Pedro looked like a casual player. Hence, Pedro seemed to her that he is ''betting'' his life in this game. "But guild master... A gaming studio cost too high! If I''m right, you''re still young! You''ll have better opportunities in life in the future!" Annie reasoned, out of concern to Pedro. "Don''t worry! Money is not my problem! I have enough money to establish a gaming studio! As for better opportunities in life... I think Bearth Online already offers the best opportunity! So, Annie, what do you say? Are you in?" Pedro smiled confidently. He can''t tell Annie that he is the son of the President and Owner of the Armaz Energy Corporation. "I''ll have to consult my family first, about that!" Annie helplessly sighed. Wang! Wang! Wang! Wang! Police sirens approached closer as it escorted the car of Pedro''s father to their home. "Ok, Before I go... Add the name I will text to you, in-game! He is an acquaintance of mine! Although I can''t personally help you, this man might!" He replied as he remembers about Mathew. "Many thanks... Guild leader! See you, in-game!" Annie thanked Pedro. Although she didn''t get Pedro''s support, Some would be able to help them in replace of Pedro. He texted to the phone number of Annie of the player''s name. "Happy Face Killer" Pedro ended the call and returned to the living room with his mother and other maids. "How''s your call?" His mother asked... "It''s was just some old friends from a game! They were interested in Bearth Online, so they asked if I wanna join them!" He explained in a simple way. "Birds of the same feather... Flock together! Hahaha..." Her mother joked. "Well, I rejected them... I can only play on a limited amount of time! The school was still my priority!" He explained "That''s good to hear, son! If your father learns about this, he would become happier..." His mother praised when her grandmother walked back to the living room after being annoyed by the siren of the police escorts of his father. "Show it in your actions! Actions speak louder than words, Brat!" His grandma interjected. "I will grandma!" He scratched his head while wearing a wryly smile. "By the way son! The call I had was from your Aunt Concha! She said that many of your cousins might play that game because of school, so she asked if I could help her acquire VR boxes since they can''t pay for it. She also mentioned that your other aunts and uncles might contact me soon for the same matter. I said that they contact you about it and make one representative for all of them. So, don''t be shocked when they texted you!" His mother explained. Although his family was rich now, both of his parents came from a middle-class family. He had one Aunt on his father side but he had four Aunts and three Uncle on the mother side. His aunt in his father side was doing well since she worked at their company. But out of his seven Aunts and Uncles in the mother side, five of them were experiencing poverty. Although Pedro''s mother was helping them, by sending some money from time to time, they were still experiencing poverty due to different reasons. One of them tried to do business but failed that later on got depts, while the rest was because they had not finished college, into which consequently made them unable to find decent jobs to support their family''s needs. ... "Don''t worry mom! I''ll handle it!" He smiled as he had plans for them. He planned to make them as a money farming team in-game for his Gaming Studio. Hence, not only would his cousins be able to play, but also his Aunts and Uncles. Moreover, they would be paid a good amount of money for playing the game! It was hitting two birds with a stone for him. He helped them while having a sufficient supply of money in-game. After Pedro had finished, their door sounded as it closed. 37 Plans for his relatives Part 2 When his father arrived home, they ate their dinner first before going to the living room for discussion. Pedro''s grandma was already sleepy so she didn''t join the discussion. "How was your day honey?" Pedro''s mother initiated. "It was exhausting... I was packed with meetings the whole day! I didn''t think that some game would be this big! I mean, the government was even advertising it?" His father complained while sipping a cup of tea. "Speaking of that! You had a wonderful speech on the television!" Pedro''s mother crossed his arms and scolded. "Hehe... you didn''t like it? It was his idea after all! Speaking of the d3v1l! Pedro! I heard you didn''t attend the class on-site!" His father turned to him in a serious mood. Pedro had a wryly smile. "Relax dad! I attended the live stream class here! Besides, I would also go to school tomorrow because the school has some announcement!" Pedro explained. "Let him be... He knows what is best for him! I trust what our son said earlier that despite the game, he would still prioritize his studies over it!" His mother defended. "Tsk... Action speaks louder than words! If your grades went down for even a bit... Expect something brutal of me!" His father showed a scary, threatening look. ''was he trying to be scary?'' Pedro contemplated the ''failed'' attempt of his father to scare him. "Now... Now... honey, don''t worry... I have all eyes on his school performance don''t worry!" Her mother showed a simple smile, but deep inside Pedro and his father sees a huge evil smile, like a devil. ''Mom looked way scarier than father!" He can''t help but have a wryly smile. "On another note, My sister called me about the game... she was asking the help of acquiring something for the game! Since Pedro was more knowledgable in games, I allowed him to handle this matter..." She changed the topic. "It must be because of the government announcement..." His father uttered "About that father! the game was a trend now... and we were lucky to be able to partner with them! However, rival companies will surely not sit idly! Based on some factors and personal experiences with VR Helmets, I predicted that these companies will sponsor players in the game. Later on, they will become famous and one by one, they will steal our clients... With that hypothesis, I planned to ask you, father, if the company could sponsor players to? With that, I plan to recruit professional players and establish a gaming studio responsible for the advertisement of the company! also, I plan to recruit my cousins, aunts, and uncles who are currently unemployed or wish to gain a higher salary! It''s a better way to help them than just giving them money!" He explained... "I''ll take note of that, as of now, I can''t give you an answer!" His father replied seriously as he sipped his tea. "That''s fine with me mom!" Pedro smiled, With the help of his mother, the workload from him would be lessened. "That''s for today! I''ve got many matters to take care of tomorrow! I''ll sleep now! Goodnight son, and... good job!" Pedro''s father left the living room followed by his mother. His parents were happy to see the ''changed'' Pedro. Before, He would just keep quiet and listen to them. He would not suggest any of his ideas even if it was about his relatives. Hence, seeing their son doing something good for the benefit of their family, company, and relatives, they were delighted. "Goodnight Pedro!" His mom waved as she followed Pedro''s father to their bedroom. "Goodnight Mom! Dad! Have a nice sleep!" Afterward, He also went to his room, entered the VR Box and went online. ... Checking player information data! ... Log in completed! ... Initializing engine! ... Entering game in 3! ... Entering game in 2! ... Entering game in 1! ... [Log in successful! Player ''Death'' welcome back to Bearth!] ... Just as he regains his consciousness, like he woke up from his sleep, the whole ship was shaking wildly! He noticed that his body fell down from the bed and rolled several meters away from it. He tried to stand up but the shaking was strong that it made him almost fell down back to his knees. After a few moments, the shaking stopped for a brief moment and a shouting voice was heard from the golden pipes protruding from the "master''s" bedroom''s ceiling. "Is that all you guys got?! Are you really mages? or peaches?! You can''t even take down a mutated Octrocras!" Madame Soledad''s angry voice startled Pedro as the shaking continued. ''Octrocras? Ain''t that the sea creature like a Kraken that appeared during ''the rise of the sea king!'' event in my past life?'' Since players had barely survived on land, much less in the water (ocean), the knowledge they had on them was very limited. During the first year anniversary of the game, there was a popular event on NPC kingdoms called ''The Rise of the Sea King!'' where sea monsters surround the shores of Aquari Continent. The NPCs set out a quest to players to kill these sea monsters and defend the Kingdoms. Among the monsters was a "sub-boss" looking octopus and was well-known as ''Octrocras''! They were Kraken like monsters that had very long tentacles, Its scales were thick and were able to withstand the attacks from players. If not for the magical cannons in the walls of the Kingdom, They wouldn''t be able to penetrate its thick scales, much less kill it. After realizing that, he immediately checked the origin of shaking and went there. After a few minutes of traversing the hallway, he arrived at the upper deck of the ship. A fantastic view welcomed him... Ten or so mages were casting skills and were fired to the Octrocras. When the skills hit the Octrocras, massive shockwaves were caused. ... In his past life, he knew that after the Octrocras reached half of their hp, it goes into rage mode! Its damage was increased exponentially and it''s attack speed increases. ... After some time, the Octrocras was already wounded. Minutes later, It entered its rage mode. It started to attack the ten NPCs randomly... those who had failed to react fast ended up being meat pastes. Seeing that the situation is getting out of hand, Pedro decided to join in and have some ''exercise''! ''Let''s begin!'' Pedro retrieved the Faithpursuer Katana in his inventory and dashed towards the front of another NPC who was about to be squashed by the Mutated Octrocras! 38 Killing the mutated Octrocras... Along with the opened door of the combined bridge and control room, or CBCR, of the ship, Comandante Kentaro was smoking a cigar with his right hand. His left hand held a red-golden Katana. When the CBCR defense unit was about to head outside, Kentaro blocked them with his Katana and puffed out smoke. "Stand by! I''ll tell when to strike!" He glace to the CBCR defense unit with a serious look. ''Take one more step forward... I''ll cut anyone into pieces!'' The CBCR defense unit understood what he meant so they could only follow. ''If it comes to worst... The Comandante himself would take action!'' All they could do was pity the mages who was squashed by the mutated Octrocras. They shifted their glance away to the mage that was about to be squashed. They can''t bare the gore scene of humans being mashed like a potato. Boom! Suddenly, a shockwave was sent on the deck. On its origin, Pedro had completely resisted the attack of the Octrocras'' tentacles with his Katana. Because of the force, the tentacle exerted in the attack and the strength of Karakoa, the energy was transferred sideways with the use of shockwave. ... -50,000 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 40 +50,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: +50,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... While blocking, Pedro looked to the interface and checked the Octrocras'' information. ... [Octrocras (Mutated)] Rating:??? HP:??? Attributes Attack Damage: ??? Attack Interval: ??? Defense: ??? Movement speed: ??? Skills: ??? ??? ??? .... ''Of course! The suppression system!'' He had a wryly smile. When the gap in physical strength was too huge, the suppression system activates. This concept avoids the ''quantity abuse'' for the players, where open world monsters were killed by players that grouped together. They make up for the strength difference by increasing the number of players attacking the target. This has a backlash though, Monsters can have AOE skills that can wipe them in one sweep. Hence, to avoid selecting monsters without AOE skills and killing them using ''quantity abuse'', the Bearth Online developers made the suppression system, where the information about Monsters, NPCs, equipment, weapon or items were rendered unknown if the magic energy and/or physical strength of the player was way too inferior to those. ''~Scout 1~ Skill Activate!'' ... [~Scout 1~ Activated!] [Player gained a 10% increase in movement speed and increase vision by 100 m for 30 seconds!] ... Pedro dodged the first tentacle by jumping to the left, as he landed he quickly jumped again to the left. Despite his skillful dodging, the third tentacle hit him. ... -50,000 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 40 +50,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: +50,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... ''I got caught in the feeling of dodging! I forgot about the five-second rule of the might of pain!'' With the same pattern, Pedro dodged the next attack, but this time he purposely received the second attack. He dodges the third and receives the fourth... He continued this cycle until he had a million additional damage in him. ... -50,000 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 40 +1,000,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: +1,000,000(damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... He holds a rock on his left hand and threw it straight to the body of the monster. ... [Shotgun mode (~Rock Throw~ Skill) Activated!] ... The rock split into five as it hits the Octrocras! Five red texts appeared on the monster. Earlier, before he dashed in front of the mage, he threw a rock to the monster and activated (Body Shot Effect) of Rock throw skill. It triggered the shotgun mode where it will make the next rock thrown, split into five. ... -1,000,000 -1,000,000 -1,000,000 -1,000,000 -1,000,000 ... Although he dealt a scary five million damage, the Octrocras seemed to still be alive. Octrocras has an HP of 4.5 Million, however, Mutated Octrocras must have higher HP. Since he let the mages earlier to wear its HP down to 50%, he was confident that its HP was less than five million. Still dazed from the situation, Pedro failed to notice a sneaky tentacle that attacked him on his blind spot. Seconds before it hit him, a man''s shadow went past through him and slightly lifted his Katana from its scabbard, showing a little of its red-golden blade. After a second, the man pushed the Katana back to its scabbard. Pedro returned his gaze to the Octrocras and was shocked to see it diced on perfect cubes. ''Just who is this NPC?'' Although he checked in his interface, it showed unknown even in the name. ... [???(NPC)] Rating:??? HP:??? Attributes Attack Damage: ??? Attack Interval: ??? Defense: ??? Movement speed: ??? Skills: ??? ??? ??? .... Before he could get back to his senses, the man talked. "Good job! Young... " Just before he finished his ''awesome'' line. Someone shouted from the CBCR''s door. "Kentaro! your sword style creates too many messes! Be sure to clean it up afterward!" The angry Madame Soledad shouted as Alivia pulls her back in the CBCR. "..." Kentaro and Pedro''s eyes met. Kentaro''s face suddenly wore a wryly smile. ''Oi! Oi! You''ve got to be kidding me!'' Pedro uttered deep inside as he wore a wryly smile back. "Hehe... Young man! Since you''ve contributed well in the Octrocras'' death! You''ll help me clean this up right!" Kentaro shamelessly uttered. A huge grin can still be seen in his face. "But... You sliced him, Senior! I didn''t plan to do it that way!" Pedro tried to reason his way out. He glanced on the door where he came out and saw Carlos who turned around, glanced back to him and waved mockingly, like saying... ''Have fun!'' "Don''t lie to me! you won''t hold that tight to that little golden Katana of yours!" Kentaro continued as he pointed to the Faithpursuer Katana with a smile. ''You can''t complain anymore young man!'' Kentaro chuckled inwardly... Pedro tried to run to the door but suddenly, Kentaro arrived in front of him. He wore a scary look and an aura full of bloodlust. "Young man! let''s not play hard to get, shall we?" Kentaro smiled. Pedro still not losing hope turned around towards the CBCR and run. "Madaaaame! Heeelp!" He was able to cry for a moment. Alivia slightly peaked out of the CBCR door with a smile in her face. ''Sorry kid!'' Baaaag! Alivia pulled the door closed. When Pedro glanced at the other door, he saw Kentaro close the door forcefully with a smile. ''F@@@!'' He cursed as he realized that he was unable to escape another ''trouble''! ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Author''s Note: 39 ‘Surprise’ Party! "Young man! Want some cigar?" Kentaro smirked as he casually handed Pedro a cigar. "??? No... No thanks!" Pedro slightly pushed Kentaro''s hand and shook his head. "Too bad... Here is a tip from your senior! There is a surprise party for our ship!" Kentaro lighted the cigar and placed it in his mouth. He started walking towards the front deck of the ship. ... You have looted the following: 1x Octrocras Heart 1x Octrocras Egg 2x Octrocras Eyes 20x Octrocras Meat 1x Vitality Enhancing Gem ... ''Vitality Enhancing Gem? No wonder the HP of the mutated Octrocras was unusual even to a mutated one! Unfortunately, I still have no accessories to place it!'' Enhancement Gems increase a specific attribute of a player once it was socketed on accessories. It can also improve or strengthen a specific skill. Hence, Pedro could only store it at the moment. "What party?" When he finished letting the system to auto-loot and checked them, he ran towards Kentaro. ''Auto-loot'' was a technique developed by the players on his past life. To loot, one must touch the items to store it to the inventory interface. It was later learned that items can be stored with in five meter distance as long as the inventory interface was open and the palm of the player''s hand was facing the item. This new method was the method called auto loot. Since a player needed only to face his palm on an item as long as it is with in five meters. "You looked excited! It''s coming soon, don''t worry!" Kentaro smiled as he glanced forward and lift his sword slightly. "???" Pedro was confused and all he could do was to look forward, trying to spot anything ahead. Woooong! A loud siren erupted from the CBCR. Pedro glanced at the CBCR confused about the current events. ''What is this party senior was talking about?'' "Young man!" Pedro turned his head towards where Kentaro was standing. ''???'' When he turned his head and was facing forward, Huge cube cut and blood of Octrocras was heading straight towards him. "Watch out..." Kentaro jumped to the left side, avoiding the huge Octrocras cubes and blood. Splat! It was too late for Pedro to react. He was buried in Octrocras cubes and blood. ... You have looted the following: 1x Octrocras Heart 1x Octrocras Egg 2x Octrocras Eyes 20x Octrocras Meat ... ''... Does this game really wanted me to become a masochist?'' He chuckled inwardly as the system auto loot functioned. He got the same materials except for the vitality enhancing gem. Splat! Splat! Splat! ... You have looted the following: ... You have looted the following: ... You have looted the following: ... ... After five minutes, Pedro and the ''auto loot'' finished the last set of Octrocras loot. "Not bad, young man! The ''surprise'' party is finished!" Kentaro laughed as he sheathed his Katana to its scabbard and lighted another cigar. Bag! The door of the CBCR opened! Alivia rushed towards Pedro as Madame Soledad followed behind her. Carlos opened the door to the rooms from the deck. ''You won''t get me this time!'' Pedro steeled his self. The moment Alivia was about to grab Pedro, he jumped backward. ''Eh??'' Alivia was astounded by the reaction of Pedro. "Relax kid! Alivia won''t attack you like last time!" Madame Soledad gestured to Pedro in a calm but serious manner. Pedro relaxed a bit as Alivia didn''t approach further, but he didn''t dare to lower his guard. Swoosh! Pak! ''Are all the NPC in this ship crazy and too aggressive?'' Pedro was able to react and move his faithpursuer Katana to block, but when his gaze reached to his side, he already saw Alivia stoping Kentaro''s light-red glowing Katana between her two palms. "As expected! The gap between a Master rank and a Grandmaster rank was like heaven and earth! Even I, who was at the peak of Master rank, can be stopped bare handedly!" Kentaro shook his head as he sheathed his sword back to its scabbard. "That''s good you know!" Alivia placed his hand into her pockets and turned around and faced Pedro with a curious/interested, determined look! "By the way kid! What was that skill? Where did all the Octrocras remains go?..." She was dragged back to the CBCR by Madame Soledad and Kentaro on each hand! She tried to struggle but it was no use. "I''d be free tomorrow and the rest of the trip! Be sure to find me, that''s if you want to learn the basics of skill-making! Also, be noted, we would be arriving in an island in two days at the least! Join Carlos'' group to have some experience!" Madame Soledad, Alivia, and Kentaro entered the CBCR deck door. Kentaro waved to Pedro before closing the door. Bag! When the door closed, Carlos approached Pedro, who was still covered in blood from head to toe. ''What? My team? Haha... I just hope he won''t drag us down! Your survival will depend upon your self!'' "Mister... Death! How about we get something to eat? You just woke up right?" Pedro was out of the game for around 14 hours(real-world time). Hence, he was "sleeping" for almost 28 hours now! "Yeah, sure!" Pedro nodded and followed Carlos. "Please stand there for a moment!" Carlos stopped Pedro in entering and took a hair blower looking equipment. ''A wind blower?'' He was familiar with the equipment that Carlos was holding. It was the equipment used in flying a blimp or air balloons. (The only flying method in game) It was the only method of flying since it was only developed by players. Like other AVR games, the Bearth online was a self progress and develop game. It is like another world that develops overtime by itself. The only factors the developers can change was the system used to ''guide and help'' the players. ... When Carlos transfered a magical energy to the wind blower, a strong wind blew towards Pedro. The blood that covered Pedro was either blewn away or dried up. "That''s good enough! Let''s go!" Carlos stored the wind blower in a hidden compartment and closed the door as soon as Pedro went in. ''I must keep my distance from this troublesome man! But... with Beatrice in a bad state, another help would be great!'' Carlos can''t help but feel dejected. Pedro at the least would become the ''cannon fodder'' of their team. "Senior! Can you tell me about the island thing?" Pedro stared at Carlos in a curious and enthusiastic look. "I''ll run you about the details while you eat!" He scratched his head and looked troubled. ______________________________________________________ Author''s note: Quest are only activated when NPCs require the assistance of a player that will benefit them. That is why quests were normally activated when an NPC was willing to give a player as a reward. 40 Sailing to gods continent! "What''s up, Elder Federico!" Carlos waved his hand as they entered. "To what do I owe the honor of your presence?" An old bartender in the bar area of the ship approached them like a waiter as soon as they entered the area. "Breakfast!" Carlos pointed to Pedro. Elder Federico didn''t pry anymore to their business. He led them to one of the isolated tables in the bar area. "Mister! This was the course set for breakfast today!" Elder Federico handed out a menu list of the breakfast choices to Pedro like a high-end restaurant. Pedro wore a wryly smile when he saw the menu. ''Are they mocking me?'' ... ~Menu (Breakfast)~ Preserved Sardines with rice - 100 Gold Coins Rice Porridge - 50 Gold Coins ... "Is everything ok?" Carlos notices the expression on Pedro''s face. "Is that all?" Pedro asked in a kind manner. Preserved Sardines were literally canned sardines in real life! But forget about it, the price was way out of the charts. In kingdom and village cafeterias, these were served the same at breakfast, but for only 30 bronze coins! ''This is literally a scam! a scam, indeed! These meals only cost below 1 silver!'' "Well... we can cook you any dish you want as long as you supply us the ingredients!" Elder Federico suggested with a smile. ''Oh... I had tons of Octrocras meat!'' The ''surprise'' party was still fresh in his mind, so he remembered about the tons of Octrocras meat. "Would this work?" Cube meat of the Octrocras suddenly appeared to one of Pedro''s hands. "An Octrocras me-meat!" Elder Frederico gasped excitedly. "Ho-Ho... unfortunately... I had no enough money to pay for even the Rice Porridge!" Pedro shook his head as he acted disappointed. "... If It is not of inconvenience, May I ask how many of this cubed meat does mister have in possession?" Elder Frederico unexpectedly asked. ''This meat is not half bad, I could increase the variety of foods served later!'' One look at that meat and Elder Federico had a grasp of the quality of the meat. "I have around 10 pieces!" Although he had more than 10 pieces of the cubed meat, He told Elder Federico that he had only 10 pieces. There was one easy talent to be obtained and was necessary for all players! It was cooking! He planned to learn it as a necessity and not to be a Grandmaster Chef. With this talent, one could save thousands of coins which could be used for purchasing potions, weapons and such. Also, When one is out in the wild, It was troublesome to go back to the Kingdom or Village just to eat, considering the limited day time they had to grind. "If it is fine with you... Would you like to trade those 10 pieces of meat with a rice porridge?" Elder Federico was ecstatic. His eyes shine bright and he was excited! ''That... I guess I have no choice!'' Pedro wore a forced smile inwardly. In real life, He had not experienced to enter a restaurant and had no enough money to buy even the cheapest food. That was why going out of the ship bar area without ordering anything was like a dagger to his heart! It was like his pride and reputation was being torn apart. "It''s settled then!" Pedro took out ten pieces of the meat and gave it to Elder Federico. ''At least, I won''t leave without eating anything! Haha!'' Pedro sighed as he forced a smile to Elder Federico. "How about you Carlos?" Federico called another bar service crew to bring the meat to the kitchen. "I''d pass! Joshua must have cooked something!" Carlos calmly replied. Though, deep inside he wore a wryly smile. ''Don''t get me wrong! But... I won''t be scammed!'' "Very well! Please wait for five minutes for your order!" Elder Federico left and went to the Kitchen. ''Did you just bring me into a scam?'' Pedro was forcing a smile as he looked to Carlos. ''You still had no Ingredients and cooking materials (Like wood and such), so it is best for you to eat here for the moment!'' Carlos looked back with a wryly smile. "Ehm... Can you tell me about the island thing?" After second of staring at each other, Pedro faked a cough and started the conversation. "Right! About that! Bearth Human Organization, or BHO, was a human organization that focused on solving matters about the monsters globally! After years of continuous battles with monsters, their number started reducing in the human-populated regions. Hence, In the next years, the organization aims to exterminate all monsters outside the "Dark Realm Continent"! Currently, we had two missions we have accepted before we return to the BHO main base for the annual personnel recruitment event! First was the village & Kingdom Assistance mission, where we ensure that any threats that may attack the Villages and Kingdoms during the annual personnel recruitment event be exterminated! The second was to locate one god and seek assistance from him/her in completing the organization''s plans and initiatives! The first mission was already completed! We are about to start the second one!" He explained until Pedro''s rice porridge was served. Being unable to eat for a day, Pedro finished the rice porridge in just a few seconds. "How''s the second one connected to an Island? Wait! Could it be that we are heading to..." Pedro had connected the dots and as he realized where they were heading his eyes enlarged as if it was going to pop out. "Correct! We are heading to the gods'' continent! But only in the farthest part!" Carlos remained calmed. Although he knew the threats the gods impose, with the combined strength of Alivia, Kentaro, and Madame Soledad, He knew that they could escape death from a god at the least. 41 Failed recruitment attempt! ''So the lore about the Dark realm continent and the god''s continent(Bearth Central Continent) was true!'' Pedro rubbed his chin as he analyzes the information and gets a grasp of the situation. "My Team is composed of Myself, Joshua, and Beatrice. Since Beatrice is currently in the recuperative state, you would temporarily serve as her substitute!" Carlos showed a slight grin, like ridiculing Pedro for attacking Beatrice with too much power. ''Why do I need to cover for her?'' Pedro was astounded inwardly. He knows that for NPCs to enter the area of the gods'' continent, they had a strength way too strong for a player at their current stage to grasp. The incredible damage output and blinding fast attack speed of Alivia and the unfathomable slash of Kentaro was an example. Even with the Undying cycle, Pedro wouldn''t last more than five seconds from the two. "Senior... I am still too weak to substitute for Senior Beatrice! I even doubt that I could last a second when I step into the gods'' continent!" He has a good set of starting skills, but he was still at level 1. Entering the gods'' continent at level one was unheard of. It was like a day old baby going to a park. There might be no hostile people but the environment around it( the heat of the sun or rain) can kill the baby! "It is not an order or request, but a privilege! If you want to learn, and experience and was willing to risk even your life, then follow us! But if you value your life that dearly, then don''t! It is not like you have some use in battle, anyway!" Carlos raised his voice a little bit as he looked down to Pedro. ''No use... Excuse me! I have defeated Beatrice! Does that not speak for my strength?!'' He chuckled as he was taken back to his chair from surprise. "Whether you join or not is up to you! Remember one thing though, When you are in a perilous situation, I would save you... Only if it is within my capabilities! If not, I can only apologize and give you my deepest condolence!" Carlos stood up and left the area in a calm but terrifying manner. ''It was the ships number one rule after all! Prioritize yourself for you to contribute better to the greater benefit of the ship!'' Carlos had an unfading resolve as he walks away from the bar area. Seconds later Pedro also stood and was about to leave the bar area. "Thanks, Senior for a good trade!" Pedro bowed slightly to Federico. "Just call me Federico! I won''t do another trade in the future if you call me Senior!" Federico replied with a smile. "Very well! See ya!" Pedro waved as he left and went back to his room. Occasionally, when he passes by crews of the ship they often looked gossiping to each other as soon as they saw Pedro. He just ignored them and continued to walk. "It''s too bad... Madame Soledad is not free as of the moment... I could have started learning the basics of skill making!" He softly complained to his self. While toying with the player interface, he accidentally opened his friend list and Happy Face Killer''s name appeared. "I guess... I could talk to him now!" Pedro pressed the message icon. The chat box appeared and he started typing his message. Death: "Are you free?" ... Somewhere in a mountain, four people were around a bonfire. Dead bodies of mountain wolves were scattered everywhere. A carriage was filled with blood and dead bodies of mountain wolves. "The Bof is about to rise! We could explore one last time to that cave and then we will go back to the village!" Village Soldier Tam uttered. "At last!" Berting sighed, as he was filled with relief and happiness. "Don''t get your hopes, high kid! When the Bof rises, cut three trees and place all the other dead wolf bodies in it! When we go back you pull one tree each!" Village Soldier Tam smirked to Berting who''s morale suddenly plummeted. ... [System Notification] [Chain Quest: Wild Mountain Wolf Hunt! Rating: S-rated Current Mission: When Bof rises, cut down three trees and place the wolves'' dead bodies in it. Duration: 1 hour] ... ''This ruthless game!'' Mathew can''t help but complain. Unlike Pedro who had logged out of the game, Mathew, Bert, and Star played the game continuously. Their bodies in real life were fine thanks to the advanced features of VR boxes. They can continue to play as long as the VR box was refiled with "Lifo", a liquid food that may substitute to food to allow players to play on extended hours without affecting their real-life physical bodies. Just as Mathew was checking his attributes his interface prompted that he got a message. [Player Death has messaged you!] ''Ohh... Expert brother!'' He was astounded. He planned to contact Pedro after the quest but he never expected that Pedro would contact him first. He opened the chat box gleefully. Death: "Are you free?" ... ''Why does Expert brother ask? Perhaps he had another sharable S-rated quest!'' Mathew''s happy face instantly turned into a grim look. The difficulty of S-rated was terrifying. Only due to their seemingly one hundred percent luck that the three of them was able to survive up to this point. They had long since forgotten the fear of dying. Hence, even if the chain quest was still not finished, they already grew accustomed to the flow of events. ... Happy Face Killer: "At the moment... Still on the quest, has only limited time!" ... ''That''s great! Hahaha!'' Pedro chuckled in an evil manner. ... Death: "This won''t take long... :) :) :)" Happy Face Killer: "Thanks for the understanding, Expert Brother! xD xD xD" Death: "I would be straight forward then... Do you belong to any professional gaming organization?" ... ''Huh? professional gaming organization? why is expert brother asking?! Is he part of other gaming organizations?'' Mathew was astounded by Pedro''s unexpected question. Pedro knew that Mathew was a part of a professional gaming organization. Knowing this, Pedro planned to recruit Mathew and make his ''Past Life All-Star Guild''! If his father agrees to his new proposal, Money would not be an issue and he could hire the best players in his past life. Those who were just once students but eventually ranked among the top tier players were the easy ones. While those who belonged to existing gaming organizations were quite a challenge, however, to Pedro It was not a challenge. Didn''t his experience taught him that money can play a big role in such things, If he just offers them a high longterm contract (that were terminable only if he/she doesn''t play Bearth online for two years!), the players would have no reason at all to refuse. ... Happy Face Killer: "Yes I do? why did the expert brother ask?" Death: "I am planning to start my own gaming studio! I wanted you to become part of it!" ... ''Join you? Too bad... I can''t... I had a contract with the gaming organization, The Merchant Paradise!'' Mathew had a complicated expression when Pedro revealed his true intentions. ... Happy Face Killer: "Unfortunately, expert brother... I am in contract currently with a gaming organization! :bowingemoji: :bowingemoji:" Death: "Don''t think about those silly matters! If you agree, I would settle the cost of terminating your contract and would offer you twice the amount of your current annual salary! That''s just the gist of how generous I am, other benefits would be specified later on!" ... ''??? Something is suspicious! Why would someone recruit me and offer something like this? I need to confirm first if expert brother recruits me because of Bearth or the former AVR game.'' Mathew put his guard up. He suspected Pedro because of his last reply. He still had a vague understanding of the situation, of why Pedro wanted to recruit him. First, to the three who didn''t log off, Bearth Online was still in closed beta phase. Hence, it was not a good idea to invest that early to the game. Second, they barely interacted with each other, so why would Pedro be willing to recruit him that bad. ... Happy Face Killer: "If it is not of inconvenience... Expert brother, can you tell me why would you go such heights just to recruit me? and... is the game you''d center on, be Bearth Online?" Death: "Unfortunately... I can''t tell you the details... It is confidential! and... Yes, It is Bearth Online!" ... ''I can''t tell you that I''m have been reincarnated or had time-travelled to the past... right?'' Pedro chuckled. ''It''s suspicious! Sorry expert bro, but my answer is no!'' Mathew wore a wryly smile. ... Happy Face Killer: "Sorry, expert brother! I can''t accept your proposal as of now!" Death: "No worries... If you ever change your mind, contact this email! Pedr04rm4z_####@########.c##### or contact me by phone, here is my world number! 52###1-1##000-#33#... By the way! If you ever encounter a cylindrical container filled with a liquid and two eyeballs in it, Inform me... I''d pay 200,000 Philippine Peso!" ... Real life money was available in the trade interface of players. The currency was changeable, Hence many players in Pedro''s past life was scammed. ''Although, I could scam him... I would dare not to! He may not accept my offer now, but once father gave his approval... Let''s see if he still dare to reject my offer!'' Pedro wore a vicious evil smile. ... Happy Face Killer: "Ok! Expert brother, I''ve got to go!" Death: "See ya! Good talk!" 42 Eyes of Nullification! "Of course... It''s not that easy!" Pedro sighed as he closed his interface. He could only shake his head. All he can do now is a promise, which was not a good thing when one was talking about contracts. He stood up and walk to the kitchen and took some materials and ingredients out. Carlos'' assumption was wrong. During the journey of Madame Soledad and Pedro, Pedro had gained a good amount of wood and other materials. As well as ingredients like different meats, vegetables, and fruits. The stove was like the old days, It needed wood as a source of flame and a ceramic pot was available to cook the food. If a new player was in the same situation, he or she would be troubled on how to start a fire. Luckily, Pedro got his experiences in his past life so it was easy, like counting one two three, to him. He used a rock to start a fire and started his first cooking. [Congratulations! You have learned Cooking talent!] [Cooking] Rank(Mastery Level): Apprentice Chef Requirements Needed to advance to next Rank: 500 Dishes cooked! Progress: 1/500 Dishes cooked! Cooking is a fundamental factor in your life! What you cook, you eat! What you eat makes your body stronger and makes you live! You''re currently just an apprentice cook, so don''t F@@@ boast about it! and... don''t let others eat your F@@@in@ food! Disgusting! and... F@@@ you! ... "This game details never gets old! Hahaha! It''s like it''s from some TV program!" Pedro laughed as he read and remember the hilarious scene from the TV program. [Congratulation on being the first player to gain a talent! Would you like to announce your name to the world? Yes or No?] "No! Although It would not make that much trouble! I prefer to become the ''Cook King!''! Ahahaha!" He chuckled. [Sever Announcement!] [Congratulations Player @@@@@@, for the first player to learn a talent in the game! Your rewards are: +1 Luck attribute points +5 all attribute points Grocery Bag x1] ... "Hahaha! I commend this fellow, who ''somehow'' got into the first announcements and got a grocery bag as a reward!" "Commend +1" "Commend +2" ... ... ... The players caused another ruckus in the forums because of the announcement, but instead of feeling envy they mocked the player because of the grocery bag. ... [Grocery Bag] Adds a separate ''cooking inventory'' to player''s inventory that can store up to 500 stacks! A Master Chef''s privilege! ... Unknown to their knowledge, that this is an inventory upgrade available only to players who are Master-ranked Chef! It actually upgrades the inventory of a player. The upgrade separates the main inventory from the cooking inventory. The main inventory retains its original capacity of 100 stacks, while the cooking inventory has a capacity of 500 stacks. It was a very useful function, since, gathered meat and other ingredients would not take up the slot in the main inventory. One can also store other cooking related items like wood, ceramics (for making pot), and even steel (which were used for making utensils or grills). However, cooked foods can''t be stored. Ingredients and cooking related items can contain 100 pieces per stack. This is why it was a good reward that only Pedro knows as of now. "Laugh now! Cry later! After 2 years or so, If someone gets to Master-rank Chef that fast! Haha!" Pedro could only chuckle as he read the forums while cooking his second dish. After hours of cooking, Pedro''s tummy ballooned. He ate the majority of the food he cooked while the rest were thrown to his toilet. He had the idea of giving some crew members a serving, but he decided not to, because of the fear that he might encounter another trouble. All he aimed was to increase his cooking progress while he has nothing to do. ... Blink! Mathew sent a message to Pedro that appeared to his interface. ... Happy Face Killer: "Expert brother! I have found something similar to your description earlier! But... the ''eyeballs'' were all colored gray! It shows unknown when we appraise it, hence I decided to give you a message, Wondering if the trade you said earlier is possible?" ... ''This item doesn''t glow like the Katana of Expert brother! It might be unknown for now because of the level difference, but the rarity must be of low! Knowing expert brother, he might need this item for a quest!'' Mathew deduced as he stares at the glass container with a liquid and gray colored eyeballs. ... ''He found it?'' Pedro was astonished. He had no hopes that Mathew would find the item soon. ... Death: "Great! Since I''m in a good mood! I''d add 10,000 to the trade!" ... As soon as Pedro initiated the trade, Mathew grabbed the chance immediately. The trade was quickly completed. The item appeared on Pedro''s Inventory while the 210,000 Philippine Pesos appeared in the bank account of Mathew. ''Two month''s worth of salary just like that! Who is this expert brother!'' Although he was happy, he still questioned his self who Pedro was. His impression that Pedro was a scammer suddenly faded. ''Perhaps he is not lying! I will check it out after I log out!'' He started to consider Pedro''s offer for recruitment. If someone was able to purchase something just for a quest that easy, the salary he offers would be true! ... "Hehe! The god''s eye! Eyes of Nullification is now in my hands!" Pedro laughed like a devil. Any god''s eye was an item. The Legacy Enhancement was only triggered by the item itself when someone removes the seal of the container. The seal contains the magical energy the eyeballs release, that is why to Mathew it was of low rarity. The seal can only be seen hardly or unlocked barely by Players who were at level 20 because their magical energy was strong enough to notice the slight glow from the container. Hence, He needed to wait until he reaches level 20! ''reaching level 20 would take long since I need to stay to level 1... but... having the item itself is already a good fortune!'' He was still happy. Legacy Enhancements were ''guides'' to achieve and retain power or strength that is unusual or not in common to the magical progression of NPC in bearth! Since it included retain, It meant that these enhancements required a maintenance method. The stronger the enhancement was the more troublesome it is to maintain. ''With great power comes great responsibility!'' Hence, players can have as many enhancements they have as long as they can maintain it! In his past life, a top-tier professional player had two legacy enhancements. One of his legacy enhancement was at the peak rating while the other was at the bottom rating. This player had barely maintained his legacy enhancement causing him to be among the middle ranked top-tier professional players. Legacy Enhancement was only categorized by players in three ranks, the peak, the middle, and the bottom. These were based on the maintenance difficulty of the enhancement. One notable peak legacy enhancement was the Blood Hunter enhancement of a European professional player. Her legacy enhancement gave her a skill that the amount of monsters killed by her within a month with a single melee weapon increases her HP by (10 x Number of monsters killed within the month). It was rumored that she needed to kill at least 100 monsters per day, else the number of monsters killed will reset back to zero. ... "Let''s just store it to the Inventory first!" Pedro happily placed the item to his inventory. 43 A Shape Shifter?! Somewhere in a cave, Mathew was still happy from the recent transaction he had! "Pro bro! Look! Here are more of the same item!" Bert was holding two more cylindrical containers on each hand as he approached Mathew. ''There''s more?'' Mathew was shocked and was shaking of excitement. "Can I have these as well?" Mathew asked kindly to Bert with a smirk. "Of... Of course pro bro! Hehe..." Bert handed Mathew the two cylindrical containers that had all black eyeballs and all-white eyeballs. ''These items were of close to no value! If I could get pro bro''s favor with these items... Our path in this game is secured!'' Bert was feeling happy not knowing how much Mathew could earn from those two items. "I have some matters to take care of... head back with Star first!" He commanded as he started messaging Pedro again. "Ok pro bro!" Bert was humming happily back to the entrance of the cave. ''Four months of salary! I hope Expert brother would still need these items for his quest!'' Mathew chuckled as he sent Pedro a message. ... Happy Face Killer: "Expert Brother! Do you still happen to be in need of the same item? I had two more! Same price!" ... When Pedro read Mathew''s message he was astounded. He suddenly looked like someone who won a lottery! After a second he began jumping like crazy! ''Why is Expert brother not answering... perhaps he needed only one!'' Pedro often replied instantly on his past messages. A minute has passed already but he had not answered yet. ''Let''s finish this deal fast!'' Pedro got exhausted from jumping and shouting. He headed straight to the trade interface and Mathew accepted immediately. The trade was done and the two items headed straight to Pedro''s inventory. Mathew was delighted as his bank account was increased by months worth of his salary. He memorized Pedro''s email address and cellphone number. (The cellphone number Pedro gave was a number from a prepaid sim card so he could dispose of it whenever he wanted.) "Pro bro! RUUUN! The village soldier got angry and is trying to kill us!" Bert and Star were running towards Mathew at full speed, behind them is the berserk village soldier Tam who was swinging his sword in a frenzy. "You Sc@@! You take my treasure! Years! Years, I''ve been looking for it! I even needed to stay in that disgusting village! Yet, you Sc@@ took it! I''ll kill you!" Village soldier Tam roared. Mathew followed the duo who just went past him. They ran as fast as they can until they met a dead end! ... Minutes earlier... "Good job! Go rest for now! I''d explore the cave a bit deeper!" Village Soldier Tam commanded as the trio went back to the entrance of the cave and He went deeper in the cave. When the trio got into the entrance of the cave, Mathew notices an unusual crack in the wall near the entrance. It was hard to fit in the crack but the trio was able to fit in. When they reached the end of the crack, It was another cave. They entered and walked for minutes until they saw the god''s eyes that were being held by a skeleton on the ground. ... [Sever Announcement!] [Congratulations Player @@@@@@, for the first player to learn a talent in the game! Your rewards are: +1 Luck attribute points +5 all attribute points Grocery Bag x1] ... "Such luck..." Mathew could only grasp of envy as he holds the container containing the god''s eye. ''No worries... If Expert brother is a scam... I would at least earn two months worth of my salary!'' He consoled his self. He sent his message to Pedro. ... Happy Face Killer: "Expert brother! I have found something similar to your description earlier! But... the ''eyeballs'' were all colored gray! It shows unknown when we appraise it, hence I decided to give you a message, Wondering if the trade you said earlier is possible?" ... ... ... Glaaag... glaaag! glaaag... glaaag! After a minute of running, they''ve reached a dead end! The raged village soldier Tam dragged his sword as his red blood eyes were focused on the three. "I''ll ask for the last time where''s the treasure!!!" Village soldier Tam roared as his clothes were torn suddenly. His body enlarged and grayish fur started to cover his whole body. His face resembled that of a wolf as a grayish fur covered also his face. A tail grew from his back and his fingernails turned black and pointed. "A..." Bert and Star could only stare from shock. ... [Werewolf Tam(NPC)] Rating:??? HP:??? Attributes Attack Damage: ??? Attack Interval: ??? Defense: ??? Movement speed: ??? Skills: ??? ??? ??? "A traitor in the Kagat Village! He plans to create chaos in the Aquari continent by starting with the destruction of the Kagat Village!" ... "... Shape Shifter type! A werewolf!" Unlike Bert and Star, Mathew has a resolve. Village soldier Tam grew a few feet high and the magical energy he releases was too frightening that any player could not lift a finger. ''If I would die... wouldn''t it be better to give you a little trouble!'' Mathew wore a wryly smile. He grasped his ''Newbie Sword'' tightly! All the three items that can only be found was already to Pedro via trade! The money was already transferred to his real-life account so he really had no reason to be dejected. It was unfortunate that the system didn''t notify them of an update to the S-rated quest, and needed to eliminate the village soldier. ''Maybe... we should have not encountered this area or gave him one of the items that the S-rated quest be updated!'' He could only regret a bit as Mathew thought of the possibility. ''Never the less! It''s a hundred percent that we may die... Every escape route available was inside that monster''s attack range ever since I saw him chase these two idiots! Besides... thanks to my experiences in AVR games that I was able to calm myself and analyze the situation! Look at those two statues looking...'' Although his character would be deleted, He had not felt any regrets at all, he had profited way beyond his expectations already. He could only shake his head as he glanced to Star and Bert who stood like a statue. "Sister Star! Let''s act like a statue and don''t move! Maybe, it might work and we may survive!" Bert messaged star as his sweat slowly falls down in his face and his heartbeat starting to increase slightly. "What else could we do?! We''re dead meat either way!" Star messaged back in a ridiculing and angry manner. "You don''t want to speak! Then farewell!" The raged werewolf Tam stroke his sword towards Bert and Star. "Don''t forget my compensation for dying!" Bert gave Star a wink and a thumbs up. The sword of werewolf Tam descended upon them hitting Bert first then Star with a horizontal strike. Mathew received the hit with his Newbie sword that broke instantly. But due to the force, He was left with only a sliver of HP. However, the force pushed gave him a boost to launch past werewolf Tam. He smirked as he dashed away immediately as he passed the monster. Before he could celebrate a hand caught his feet and he was held upside down. When he glanced to the owner of the hand, It was werewolf Tam. He dropped his sword and reached for Mathew. He squeezed Mathew until he split into two. ''Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!'' Although he had reduced the pain felt by 75%, Being squeezed was way too painful of an experience. (Since some pro players preferred to feel the pain to increase their awareness.) Before he could calm his self a system notification appeared. ... [You Died! Character deletion and automatic logout will commence in 3!] 2! 1! ... "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" the VR box opened as Mathew shot up in a sitting position. "Hah... Hah..." He sweats as tried to catch his breath like he just finished an exercise. 44 Early arrival at the University! "Brothers and sisters! We don''t need to worry! With us all together, we can explore the world further!" A male player leading a group of ten walks in the forest a few miles away from a mountain. "Awooooooooooooo!" A very loud wolf cry was heard miles away from the mountain as its origin. All the players in the group stopped to their tracks and wore a pale look. "Not good!" a small player quickly ran away, opposite the mountain. He ran back towards the Kagat Village which was about half a day by foot. "Waa! Waaa!" Seconds later, the rest of the group ran for their lives! "What was that! It is too terrifying!" the player who leads the group could only wear a bitterly smile in his face. Fear took over his pride. ... Back in his room, Pedro kept the traded items to his inventory for he could not use or activate it yet. He just continued his cooking until It was just minutes before he logged off. He planned to wake up early so he could go to the university and meet his classmates before the ''announcement'' would be made. He woke up at 05:00 in the morning and jogged around outside their house and did some push-up and jumping jacks to exercise. "I need to change my lifestyle and make a better morning exercise plan! That way, my body will not weaken when playing the game in extended hours!" He uttered to his self as he walks back to eat breakfast and prepare to go to university. During breakfast, they had the usual morning conversation. After eating breakfast, He took a shower and quickly prepared to depart to the university. "Let''s go, Pedro!" His Uncle Gilbert was waiting outside the door of their house. He wore a Barong, black slocks and shiny black shoes. He was Pedro''s Uncle in his mother side that works for them as a personal driver. "Uncle?! Are you driving me to the university? Then, who''s gonna drive for father?" Pedro asked. His father''s personal driver was his uncle. This way, they could be assured that the driver wouldn''t have ill intentions to his father and his trip would be safe, especially he is the president and owner of a company. "Don''t worry! Your father will leave later than usual, so he ordered me to bring you to the university first! I''ll go back home to pick your father afterward." His uncle explained. "Thanks, uncle! But I''ll just bring my car to the university! That way, I won''t be troubling anyone to pick me up later!" Pedro replied as he plays the key of his Toyota Land Cruiser. "But... your fa..." His uncle tried to argue because Pedro''s father ordered him to and at the same time, he was also concerned about Pedro''s safety. "Let him, Gilbert! You don''t wanna be late, son! Have a safe trip!" His mother interjected as she approached them and gestured at Pedro to leave. He rides his car and left. After an hour of driving, he was able to reach the university earlier than he expected. It was only around 08:00 in the morning. There were many cars parked already. It mostly belonged to the university''s faculty, staff, and employees. "Guess, I''ll look for Engr. Davion Garcia and ask where should I go for the ''university announcement''!" He went to their department building and look for Engr. Garcia. He decided to look for him since he was a professor who was easy to approach and kind. Pedro''s university was the Lowland University. It was located between Metro Manila and Cavite Province, that was a typical University composed of different departments for the different course offered, like the Engineering Department, Education Department, and the Business and Office Administration Department. Each department has its own designated building on the campus. Besides departmental buildings, There was the University Logistics building, University Administration Building, Library, and a University Arena. All of the buildings were surrounding the University Arena (North) and football field (South). The Engineering Department building was located on the left side of the intersection of the football field and the University Arena. When he reached the fourth floor of the building, which was assigned to the Electronics Engineering, he went to the faculty room. He greeted the professors he got contact with, as respect, and went to Engr. Garcia who was talking to another faculty. When Engr. Garcia noticed Pedro he excused himself to the other faculty and approached Pedro. "Mr. Armaz... You''re early!" Engr. Garcia chuckled as he approaches Pedro. "I predicted that there would be a huge crowd who will go to university. That''s why I decided to head early!" Pedro smiled a bit awkwardly while scratching his head as he explained. "That''s good! That''s'' good! So... Do you need anything from me?" Engr. Garcia patted Pedro''s shoulder slightly, twice then he places his hand over Pedro''s shoulders as they walk out of the faculty room. "Yes, Professor... I was wondering if you had any information about the ''university announcement''..." Pedro asked directly to Engr. Garcia as soon as they were in the hallway. "Information? If you mean about the contents of the announcement... I can''t help! Even the Dean doesn''t know anything yet... We were only advised to place the students per year and section! Then, assign each to a room... That''s all!" Engr. Garcia could only explain to Pedro while occasionally glancing inside the faculty room. ... In his past life, he didn''t experience any university announcements like these. The Electronic Survival Sports and Development subject, Bearth Online, was only included in the curriculum in their country a year after Pedro graduated from College. (Third year of Bearth Online.) Hence, Pedro could only deduce that the announcement made would be the same as the one released during the third year of the game. The announcement was that the game was a mandatory game to be played. It can be played when one was sleeping, there was no problem in the progress of one student in the game and It would not be a reason for them not to perform well in the school. Students were graded quarterly based on their Survival rating. The school will record the level and attributes, at the start of the quarter and at the end of the quarter. The difference in the recorded data was used in giving the Survival rating. This rating reflects the ability and potential of one person that he can possibly contribute to the community. The Survival rating has two parts. The attribute and the level increase. The attribute part was just a reference to what was the current capabilities of the player. It will be indicated as raw values of his or her attributes to show how a player was able to attain those corresponding level increase. The major role player was the level increase. ... For example, at the start of the first quarter of the year, the current level of Pedro in his past life was 44. When the first quarter was about to end, he had a level of 51. Hence, he had a 7 level increase, which was above the average level increase in that quarter that was around 4 to 6 level increase. If a player has a level increase below 3, he or she would be rated "F" on survival ranking. 3 to 5 level increase would be rated "E". Above 5 to 7 level increase would be rated "D". Above 7 to 8 level increase would be rated "C". Above 8 to 9 level increase would be rated "B". and lastly, Above 9 level increase would be rated "A". ... The Tier ranking was based on the survival rating of players, mostly based on the level increase. (Note that Tier rankings are based on a yearly basis, not quarterly!) ... Other than students, the government, in his past life, made a special department to record the Survival rating of a non-student citizen. Because the rating can be used in applying for jobs and such, as a representation of survival and development capabilities of that person. It would highly reflect his or her abilities in working alone or with other people. ... "It''s fine Professor, I was simply referring to the room assigned for me!" Pedro chuckled. "Ahh... You''re on section EE23, right? Go to room 405, that''s the room assigned for your section! Is that all?" Engr. Garcia pointed into one of the rooms along the hallway. (EE23 - Electronics Engineering, second year, section three.) 45 Grouping up! Tap! Tap! The dead silent room was filled with Pedro''s taps on his phone while waiting inside room 405, Pedro checked the forums to pass some time. A pinned post caught his attention immediately. [Server Announcement!] The open beta phase will proceed tonight at 9:00 pm, GMT +8! Thank you for your efforts in playing for the past two days. As compensation for turning the Closed Beta phase to Open Beta phase on such short notice, your existing characters, and the overall game progress would not be deleted and reset. Also, A system update would occur at 12:00 noon, GMT + 8! The servers would be down until the Open Beta phase launch! To settle you''re existing accounts, we allow Closed Beta players to log in tonight, ahead of time at 8:00 pm, GMT +8! Given this opportunity, the game company requests that you lead the players in exploring Bearth! To support you further on this conquest, this forum would only available among closed beta players and a Developer Hosted Item Auction would be hosted after three ''real-world'' days! This is only available to closed beta players and any item bought from the auction would be soul bound to the character! For more information about the auction please refer to the DHIA post. Good day! ... ''Yes!'' He chuckled inwardly. He was not worried about the character deletion since the whole game would be reset. He can just repeat all the things he had done and get the same progress. The only loss he would gain was the random generated skills and rewards. Creek! The door opened and made a sound that broke the silence in the room and got Pedro''s attention. A cute girl, around 20 years old, wearing glasses and a typical shirt and jeans peak slightly inside the room. She had black hair and tan colored skin. ''Pedro? He''s early! Must be because of the announcement'' The girl smiled at Pedro as she went and sat opposite to Pedro''s side. ''Sabrina always arrive ahead of time!'' He recalled that the girl was the one who always arrives first whenever he goes to the university early accidentally in his past life. Pedro waved his hands in response as he returned back to his phone. Minutes later, their classmates arrived one by one. Creek! The door opened and a man wearing a yellow hoodie and jeans entered the room. He looked lost and was looking for someone. When he spotted Pedro, He walked towards him and continued to play the Portable Game Console, PGC, he held in his hands. Pedro lifted his bag and the man wearing yellow hoodie sat beside him. "Still playing first gen. games, Aldo?" Pedro uttered as his attention was caught on the PGC of Aldo. "Yo... If it isn''t Mr. Weird!" A good looking guy walks to Aldo with a smug in his face. Two other guys walked behind him with a mocking look. ''I pity Aldo! He''s gonna get humiliated again!'' The two guys behind the good looking guy smirked too each other. The good looking guy grabs the left shoulder of Aldo and slowly tightens his grasp. Instinctively, Aldo tried to stand and fight back. Unfortunately, When Aldo was about to stand the guy pulled Aldo back to his chair. ''What a guy... He can only talk with his disgusting attitude!'' Their other classmates, mostly girls, gossip around as they look at Aldo with disgust. "You!" Aldo could only glance at the guy with anger. He struggled and tried to punch the guy in full force. Swooosh! Pedro pulled Aldo sidewards as the guy escaped Aldo''s full force punch by a hair''s breadth. Pedro stood up and gestured Aldo to stop. "It''s quite a busy day for our professors, Lukas! Let''s not add up to their problems, shall we?" Pedro uttered in a calm demeanor as he pulls Aldo away from the Lukas and his two friends. "Tsk... Tell your friend to behave his self! I wouldn''t mind causing trouble if he acts up again!" Lukas turned around and sat to their seats at the back of the classroom. ''You''re lucky that the son of the president of a company was your friend!'' Lukas stared at Aldo as he seat. "Just play your PGC! It wouldn''t be wise to cause trouble now!" Pedro and Aldo sat back to their chair. On the opposite corner of the room, cute girl with glasses chatted with her friend and occasionally looking to Pedro and Aldo. Minutes later, Engr. Garcia entered the room and started the briefing. "Professor! can you announce it quick? I need to go home fast to do something!" Aldo shamelessly uttered to Engr. Garcia. ''This guy! Something''s wrong with him...'' Engr. Garcia could only shake his head feeling that Aldo has some case of Autism. "As I have said earlier to some of you, even us don''t know anything about the announcement! What I am going to tell you was to make a group of five and make sure that you all head to the University Arena in an orderly manner. Now, we were instructed that the group of five should at least have one boy or girl in it and be sitting next to each other in the University Arena. Decide your groups now! I''ll just get my things in the faculty room and we''ll head together to the University Arena!" Engr. Garcia gave no chance to the students to ask a follow-up question and immediately left the room. ''This is troublesome... why not let the students head straight to the University Arena!'' Engr. Garcia scratched his head as he walks towards the faculty room. ... Bag! The door slammed closed as Engr. Garcia Left the room. Pedro''s classmates erupted and started to panic selecting group mates. However, Aldo and Pedro remained calm on their seats. Pedro was contemplating things while Aldo was uninterested. ''If my memory was right... this group of five was a battle team that will contend to other battle teams to get the right to represent their school in the National Student Bearth Competition! Although I need to choose the best teammates, these hastened events were due to my actions or the so-called butterfly effect! Hence, anyone among them will do! I don''t want that same old me who depended on sheer luck and others. If I am gonna win... I want to be confident that I can do it alone!'' Pedro has no problem of who his teammates would be, he aimed to be the best player on Bearth. If he couldn''t even face an enemy of five alone, how can he even face an army of the enemy, even a god! Hence, he had a resolve that no matter who his teammates were, he must be able to fight even alone. "Sis... What should we do! Almost all other groups were complete! We lack two more members more!" Sabrina''s friend asked her and another girl, that was in their ''group''. "We lack one more!" Lukas shouted in the classroom as his group composed of him, the two guys who were with him and a beautiful Filipina girl lacked one last member. The third girl from Sabrina''s group gazed towards Aldo, then switched back to Lukas and his group. "I''m sorry Sabrina and Loren... I''ll join Lukas'' group!" She bowed slightly and approached Lukas'' group. "Kel..." Sabrina''s friend could only wear a grim look as if their fate was sealed. Her gaze was now only focused on Pedro and Aldo who were the only ones left with no group. "I''ll join you guys!" Kelly uttered as soon as she joined Lukas'' group. "Sabrina and Loren sure are unlucky... Although Pedro was a fine groupmate, Aldo..." "Shh... do you want to cause another ruckus? Others might hear you!" Their classmates who had a settled group could only glance to Sabrina and Loren with pity. 46 University Announcement Part 1 Creek! The door in the room opened and Engr. Garcia was back with his back. "All done? Let''s go, everyone!" He just looked at the students and seeing them in groups of five, he decided to depart as soon as possible. Other rooms were still noisy, this meant that they were still choosing groups. "Let''s go!" "I wonder if the announcement would be related to the news last night!" "I also wonder..." The excited classmates of Pedro picked up their things and were about to go out of the room per group. "But there''s just the four of us!" Aldo suddenly uttered while being focused on playing his PGC. As usual, their classmates looked to Aldo with disgust. Lukas looked at Pedro like saying ''Didn''t I say to tell your friend to behave well!?''. ''This guy again!'' Engr. Garcia wore a grim expression inwardly. Pedro could only slap his face of humiliation, not to his classmates but to Sabrina and Loren who had no choice but to be their groupmate. "It''s fine... You''d get your last member later! The school administration predicted such cases. Hence, such cases were too settled in the University Arena! Now hurry! We don''t wanna join a huge crowd and line up for minutes!" Engr. Garcia had a relieved expression as Pedro''s classmates started going out. "Classmate Aldo!" Sabrina approached Aldo. "Sis..." Loren was tried to stop Sabrina with a worried expression but she was too late. "Let''s follow Professor... Looking at how he acts, It seemed like he also wants to go home early like you! If we follow his instructions we''ll be able to head home earlier than others!" Sabrina smiled to Aldo that looked ''cute'' to Pedro. ''Such a treacherous beautiful smile..." Pedro chuckled inwardly. He knows that Sabrina''s smile has a hidden meaning in it... Somehow... "I guess you have a point!" Aldo finally took his bag and stood while still playing his PGC. Aldo, Loren, and Sabrina looked to the still sitting Pedro. ''Oh... So I''m the leader?'' Pedro wore a wryly smile in his face as he stares back to the three. "Let''s go then!" He stood and walk out of the room leading the Aldo, Loren, and Sabrina. He and Sabrina had a smirk in their face. While Aldo had his focus on his game and wore a serious look. Loren looked a bit troubled as if saying ''Why did Sis and I became a part of this group...''. They were the last group to leave the room. As soon as they came out of the room, All of them left to the University Arena. Their class had six groups accounting for twenty-nine students. The way to the University Arena was fast as there was hardly anyone seen by Pedro''s class. It was like a ghost town in that area. "Yo... Brother Victor, It''s Lukas and his gang!" A man smirked as he approaches Lukas. The man wore glasses and wore a red and white colored jacket similar to the other two students. "Well... Well... If it isn''t Lukas, the pretty boy!" The man with a scar in the right of his lips, called Victor, approached Lukas with a mocking and malevolent smile. "What do you need? Do you want me to add another scar on your lips that your women can enjoy?" Lukas sneered evilly as he breaks the arrogant act of Victor and made them angry. "You!!!" Victor launched a punch but was stopped by another man on his back. Victor looked back and stared at the man who stopped him. "Brother, Calm down!" The man with a big body build pointed his other hand towards the other students behind Lukas. "Tsk... I''ll see you again! soon!" Victor sighed as he pulled his jacket and continue walking past Pedro''s class. While passing Pedro''s group, the last in their class, Victor glanced and smirk to Pedro and Aldo. ''Such a trash class... Tch...'' Victor wore a frown in his face and looked at the distancing figure of Pedro''s class with malicious intention and killing intent. "Brother Victor, you need not worry! None of those EE23 losers would be able to match up to us!" The man with glasses mocked. "Why would I? I just can''t wait to crush them! Let''s see If they could still have that smirk in their face! He!" Victor smirked after he replied. ... ''Why does this class look troublesome? Just a second there, I thought they would cause another trouble!'' Engr. Garcia chuckled as the class approached him. "Hurry and sit! I need to go to my seating area too! Ahh... Pedro''s group! Go to sit there... Beside that student!" Engr. Garcia pointed to an area with chairs located near the center area of the arena where a woman with black hair was sitting. The University Arena''s setup was like a basketball arena. However, Instead of a basketball court in the center, a black stage slightly elevated was put in place. The area where Pedro was instructed to head was the second row of the VIP rows in a basketball arena. While the rest of his class was located at the far end of the "block area" in a basketball arena. The seats in the arena were mostly arranged by five seats. In between each was a space, one seat long. On the opposite "Block area" of where Pedro''s class was seated, another class was already sitting. He recognized them as the Department of Computer Science and Visual Reality. Besides their "Block area", was another class which was where Victor belonged. It was the Department of Computer Engineering. (Computer Engineering were mostly on hardware, while Computer science was mostly on software, so they''re a separate department.) "Thanks, Professor! Let''s go, guys!" Pedro bowed slightly to Engr. Garcia as a sign of his thanks and respect. "It''s nothing! Good luck!" Engr. Garcia responded as he watched Pedro and his group goes their assigned seat. ... Pedro and his group sat to the four remaining seats beside the girl Engr. Garcia pointed. He sat beside the girl, who was in his left. Aldo sat in his right, followed by Sabrina then Loren. "Huh? Who are you?" The girl wearing a white hoodie and a face mask stared at Pedro as she tries to grasp the situation. "I am Pedro... Armaz! And my group was assigned to sit beside you! You are?" Pedro interestedly stared back to the girl because of her face mask. 47 University Announcement Part 2 "Ehm..." Sabrina faked a cough that caught Pedro and Ashley''s attention who was staring at each other. "Loren... What do you think would this announcement be?" Sabrina turned to Loren and totally ignoring Pedro and Ashley who glanced at her. ''What''s with this kind of situation!?'' Loren could only wear an astounded look on her face. Sabrina was staring at her, while Pedro and Ashley were looking at them. Well, Aldo was still immersed in his PGC. "Sabrina! Wanna switch seats?" The since the calm and serious look of Aldo was replaced with a smirk on his face. ??? Loren, Pedro, and Ashley were astounded to Aldo''s words. On the other hand, Sabrina was also astounded and blushed a little. "No! I want to sit next to Sis!" Loren broke the momentary silence as she clings to Sabrina. ''It''s just a seat! Why are they making a fuzz about it?'' Pedro could only shake his head as he watches Loren clings to Sabrina and was unwilling to let go. "Then, I''ll seat at the end? That way Sabrina would sit next to Brother Pedro and You!" Aldo paused playing his PGC and stare to Loren like saying ''Just f@@@ing switch seats!''. "But... I would sit beside you..." Loren wore a troubled expression as she replied back to Aldo''s suggestions. ''Didn''t know Aldo liked Loren...'' Pedro thought as he glace at Aldo and Loren. "I... It''s fine classmate Aldo! I am comfortable with my seat already!" Embarrassed looking Sabrina interjected and gestured to Aldo that she was fine with her seat. "Ok!" Aldo returned to playing his PGC. Loren, Pedro, and Sabrina sighed of relief. ''Something is wrong with this group...'' Ashley thought inwardly as she watches the conversation end into an awkward silence. "But seriously, won''t you reconsider switching seats?" Aldo, uttered again that annoyed the other four. "NO!" Sabrina and Loren shouted simultaneously to Aldo. Their shout got the attention of the other students from the two other class and their own classmates. Their classmates started to gossip about their group as an awkward silence can be felt on Pedro''s group. Minutes later, Other class started coming and they slowly filled the University Arena. Fortunately, the University Arena has many entry points that made the entry process last for less than an hour. ... On a spacious room in the University Administration Building, a middle-aged man entered and bowed forty-five degrees to an old man who was sitting on a sofa and was reading something in his tablet. The light in his tablet glowed brightly because of the closed curtains and unlighted room. "Sir, It''s almost time..." The middle-aged man uttered calmly and with respect. "Oh... Let''s go!" The old man stood slowly and placed his tablet to the center table. He walked slowly out of the room. The middle-aged man stared at the still glowing Tablet of the old man and saw the student profile of Pedro. After the old man left the room, the middle-aged man closed the room''s door and followed behind. ... Tap! Tap! The sound of the microphone being tapped was heard from the speakers in the arena. "Ehm... Good morning students, and professors! May we request you to settle down, keep silence and be on your seats. We would begin in a few minutes." A middle-aged Filipino man wearing a black suit was standing in the podium and spoke. Afterward, He returns back to the empty first row of the VIP area in the arena that was opposite to where Pedro''s group was sitting. "Why does it seems like we''re on some kind of special seat?" Aldo asked while playing his PGC, that broke the awkward silence among them. "Khaah..." Pedro sighed and wore an awkward smile as he glace around adjacent and opposite sides of second-row VIP seats. Upon which there were only about two more women that were located at the same ''second-row VIP seats'' in front of different blocks. Loren and Sabrina wore the same awkward smile and could only glace around too, while Ashley remained silent. Seconds later, the lights were suddenly turned off that astounded some and made a few noises around the arena. Some students shouted some ''personal'' phrases. "Stop it!" (Japanese version) "I love *Insert Name*!" "I love you back!" "I love Professor *Insert Name*!" "Dream on!" "Dream on +1! Maybe on your next life bro!" "Pray Hard!" "Pray Hard +1!" "Pray Hard +2!" ... The Arena was filled with laughter until the lights turned on again. This time the illumination was focused on the center of the arena where the black elevated stage was located. The same man earlier was standing at the podium. "Again... Good morning students, and professors! Thank you for giving your time and attending this sudden assembly. I know that all of you were at unease thinking that why to go as far as these measures just for a certain announcement. We understand your frustrations but this is a new matter that would have huge impacts in both in school or outside school performance. Hence, the administration decided to do it best in this way. We hope you understand!" The man bowed forty-five degrees after moving sideways from the podium at the same time other persons, that were sitting in the VIP first row opposite to Pedro''s block, stood and bowed the same way. Among them was an old man in the middle. "To no further ado, let us proceed with the announcement! The announcement would be done by our beloved Principal himself, the person who made Lowland University to what it is today, the one and only Dr. Cristoval Buenaflor!" The whole arena was filled with claps as the professors stood from their seats. The old man who bowed forty-five degrees earlier in the center of the VIP first row seats walked towards the podium. "Ehm... Greetings everyone! I''ll try to keep things as fast as possible! As everyone has speculated, this announcement is because of the new subject you are all REQUIRED to take! The Electronic Survival Sports and Development subject, specifically the game BEARTH ONLINE!" Majority of the students erupted and cheers were shouted everywhere. Games were considered the opposite of Studying. It was considered initially as a type of entertainment, but due to abuse and such, It was later considered one of the vices that greatly affect the studies of the youth in negative ways. Hence, the elders, especially the parents who were concerned about their son''s and/or daughter''s future, oppose it. However, today... the two opposite paths had finally merged into a point and that point was no other than the game, Bearth Online. "Calm down my dear students!" Dr. Cristoval Buenaflor smirked as the students calm down and the arena was filled with an eerie silence. Aldo glanced at the old man in the podium as he closes his PGC. "Based on the experience of the three Closed Beta Players present... your paths wouldn''t be easy! As explained and ordered by the Department of Education of the Philippines, DepEduP, you are to play simultaneously while still attending your class and performing as expected of you! Now, as DepEduP instructions, students would be grouped by five and play together to lessen the difficulty. This is in consideration that you are still attending classes which would be too troublesome to anyone!" "These groups would be permanent until you graduated from this university! Only, on special cases shall one either leave a group or transfer to another one! Hence, the groups of five you had earlier would be your final groups!" Dr. Cristoval smiled once again like saying ''Did you think that grouping into five was for you to enjoy or have fun??'' "What?" "Aww..." "D2@@!!" "What luck! I had no choice but to pair with four girls!" Some of the students uttered/gossiped in the arena. It was true to some of the groups. The idea of one male or female in each group was utilized so that there won''t be a conflict on genders and avoid further disputes. Hence, some were forced to join a group composed of four girls or four boys. "Next, you would be graded quarterly based on your survival ratings! Any survival rating below "D" will have a quarterly grade of 50! A survival rating of "D" would be quarterly graded 70! A survival rating of "C" would be quarterly graded 80! A survival rating of "B" would be quarterly graded 95! and A survival rating of "A" would be quarterly graded 100!" Once again, the students erupted. Some cheered out of excitement while some were displeased. "Listen closely... Since our university employs a two-semester system, each semester''s grade would be based on the average of the two quarterly grades you obtained! Of course, our passing mark is at 70, as usual!" "You are not prohibited to join any guilds made either inside or outside the university! Just keep in mind, you carry the risks you might get from joining such... In short, How you became strong... that''s your choice, problem, and responsibility! However, be warned... any intolerable acts like harassment... WHETHER DIRECT or INDIRECT, once PROVEN and has enough evidence, would be penalized of instant failure in subjects for a year, in short... two semesters worth of failure! Surely, No one of you would want to extend a year in college because of a game!" Dr. Cristoval mocked as the noisy arena became silent once again. This was to ensure that no one would be harassed, mostly sexually. Although, how one woman would protect her self from such situations as part of the game, the DepEduP still made rules to avoid such events from happening since they were still students. However, the game developers didn''t give special treatments to schools and implement countermeasures for students. Hence, they could only make a provision of grouping by five and scaring anyone who dares do such things by saying ''Dare do that and the whole government would be your enemy! We don''t know who you might be but... we''ll make sure to find you... go for you... and imprison you!''. "I won''t explain the survival rating any further! The developers will include it in-game, so be sure to read it yourselves! Your professors would also play from time to time to monitor you and grade you!" Almost all the professors wore an awkward smile like saying ''Another task/job but no increase in salary! What a rip off!''. "Lastly! I did mention about three Closed beta players that were present! They would transfer to our university today! As I had the DepEduP permission, they could join any group and exceed the five per group rule! Since one of them was already in one group... the two remaining ladies can now choose any group they''d want to join!" The whole university arena got noisy. Having a 6 man group was already a privilege, what more having a closed beta player who had hours of experience as an advantage already! ''When did sister Ashley join a group?''A small and cute Filipina with a ponytail stands as she glanced at the astounded Ashley who was standing beside the shocked ''Pedro group''. ''Such a smart little sister! Don''t think that you''ll outsmart me forever!'' A typical "no brain, just looks" woman stood and also glanced to Ashley and the group beside her. ''This is all a misunderstanding!'' Ashley stood in her seat and stare to Dr. Cristoval with a frown on her face. 48 The 7-Man Squad! Before Ashley could utter any word, Pedro stood up and grabbed her arm. Then, Pedro spoke softly that only Ashley and his group could only hear. "If you joined our group... you won''t regret it!" Pedro showed an emotionless confident smile. His actions astounded Loren, Sabrina, and even Aldo. ''Does big brother Pedro like this woman? Hehe...'' Aldo chuckled as his attention was accidentally switched from Pedro and Ashley to Sabrina''s hand that was gripping her bag. ''For some reason... I find this B@@CH annoying!'' Sabrina''s grip in her bag tightens as her stare to Ashley. ''Why do I feel like I''m sitting next to a tiger who was about to pounce its prey?!'' Aldo wore a forced smile inwardly as his attention was shifted on Sabrina who was showing a forced smile. Although she smiles, the fury in her eyes showed the annoyance that she felt inside. "Don''t touch me! How dare you!" Ashley shrugged Pedro''s hands and was about to slap him in his face. When her hand was just inches away from Pedro''s face, Ashley''s hands were suddenly stopped by someone. They glance to the one who stopped Ashley''s hand and it was no other than Sabrina who wore an exasperated look with her flaming eyes glaring straight to Ashley intensely. ''You dare hurt Pedro... I mean one of my groupmates!'' Sabrina was filled with rage. "Voicing out your personal views is fine... but to hurt someone... that''s going way too far!" Sabrina''s killing intent intensifies and her grip on Ashley''s hands keeps tightening each second. ''Woa... didn''t think the tiger was this fierce!'' Aldo could only shake his head and wore an awkward smile inside as he watches Sabrina. ''Ha... Ha... Uhm... Sisy? what has gotten into you?'' Loren was helplessly shocked and could only stare at the developments of the events. The Sabrina she was staring at, was not the quiet, shy and passive type Sabrina she knew. ''Ho ho...'' The other two transferees were entertained and seemed interested in the current development of the events. "Calm down Sabrina! There''s no use for you to be angry! BESIDES... whether she joins us or not won''t make that much difference!" Pedro placed his hand to one of Sabrina''s shoulder as he spoke in a mocking tone. ''Oh... what am I doing!'' Sabrina got back to her self and starts to blush out of embarrassment. Her grip to Ashley''s hands begins to loosen. When Ashley felt it was loosening, she immediately pulled her hand back and took a step back to distance her self from Pedro and Sabrina. "How about this... Join our group for a month! After that, you can decide whether you stay or change groups... If you even die once due to te... Ehm... group activities, I''d compensate you with a hundred thousand Philippine Pesos!" Sabrina embarrassedly went back to her seat with Loren comforting her as Pedro makes an offer to Ashley. "Cause I''m also a Closed Beta Player!" Pedro sneered proudly as he places his hands in his pocket. "What?" "Huh?" "Eh..." Since the students were still gossiping lively in the arena, they barely heard what the conversation between Pedro''s group and Ashley. However, the information that Pedro revealed had made Loren, Aldo and Sabrina''s Jaw drop regardless of the mixed emotions they feel. Ashley was also astounded as she felt that Pedro was doing his ''desperate'' measures. ''Looking at his group, there is a high chance that he is bluffing out of desperation! If he is really a Closed Beta Player... I need a confirmation that he is not lying!'' Ashley stared to Pedro as she was in deep thought. "Then let me check if you''re not bluffing! Can you give me any proof that you''re a Closed beta player?" Ashley smirked as if saying ''Let''s see how long you could keep this act! Hehe...'' "Auction, three days!" Pedro replied in a calm and serious tone while gesturing ''three'' to Ashley. "..." The pinned forum announcement was only limited to Closed Beta Players hence Ashley could only grasp as she affirms that Pedro was indeed a legitimate Closed Beta Player. ''At worst I would only need to be in this group for a month... After that, I can re-choose my group! This offer doesn''t sound like a bad idea!'' Ashley straightened her uniform and stood in a neat looking manner. "Alright... I''m in! ... Captain!" Ashley and Pedro shook hands as both of them smiled to each other, full of happiness. Aldo and Loren sighed of relief as Sabrina was still looking at Ashley in a calm demeanor. ''Seems like Ashley had her group already!'' The other two transferees wore a malevolent grin as they look to Ashley and Pedro. "Grandpa! We can choose any group and exceed the member limit, right?!" the small and cute Filipina with a ponytail asked Dr. Cristoval in a cute manner that garnered the attention of the boys, especially those who liked cute Idols... Like Aldo. "Tsk! Brat is using her cuteness again to gain supporters!" The typical "no brain, just looks" woman complained to her self. "That''s right Charlotte! Have you chosen your group already?" Dr. Cristoval answered in the microphone that silenced the whole arena as they await to what group has the two Closed Beta Players had chosen. They were anticipating for their groups to be chosen. "Umm!" Charlotte nodded cutely that excites the boys who see her as an Idol at the same time the girls were triggered by the action of the boys and treated her as a common enemy. Charlotte walked past to where the "no brain, just looks" woman was and smiled at her. Pedro and Ashley seated back and watch the Charlotte approach their block. ''I wonder which group has caught her eyes?'' Pedro glanced left and right to see anyone peculiar among the groups. When the Charlotte stopped walking the still watching "no brain, just looks" woman was hit a sudden realization... "Any group right, grandpa!?" She shoutingly asked as she ran towards Charlotte''s location. Charlotte was astounded by the other transferee that was running towards her. Hence, she halted and glanced to the other transferee got closer. "Yes, Elisabeth!" Dr. Cristoval wore an awkward smile like saying ''how many times should I repeat it!''. ''Oh... NO! You bit@h! This is my group!'' Charlotte wore an awkward smile as she rushed to point and shout to her chosen group. 49 University Announcement Conclusion! "Eeeeeeeeeehh..." Pedro, Aldo, and Loren were so astounded that they made a surprised expression like a truck was about to hit them at full speed. ''Are they planning to cause us trouble?'' Sabrina was shocked but her face had a frown on her face as she assumes that Charlotte and Elisabeth were scheming something bad. The whole university arena turned silent as Dr. Cristoval facepalmed himself. ''These brats really know how to anger their grandfather!'' "Hah... Ehm... You two, can''t you reconsider joining other gr..." Dr. Cristoval took up the microphone and approached them but before he could finish his request for reconsideration he was interrupted by the two. "I AM ALREADY DECIDED!" Charlotte and Elisabeth simultaneously glanced to the approaching Dr. Cristoval, filled with determination and confidence. "Please don''t be hasty and reconsider!" Victor stood from his seat and approached Pedro''s group and the two while wearing a smug. "And who are you?" Charlotte and Elisabeth stared at him with ridicule like saying ''Keep out of this mess, you pebble!'' "I am Victor... Would anyone of you like to join my group? We somehow got our hands into few Closed beta information, unlike this trash group who would want to leech the hell out from you!" He removed his shades and stares his eyes mockingly to Pedro''s group. "F@@k off!" Charlotte gestured in an irritated manner that triggered her ''fans'' and imitated her ''shoo'' gesture. "Shoo!" Elisabeth joined Charlotte''s fans and gestured to Victor to go away. "Tsk!" Victor''s confident smug was replaced with a frown as he gave Pedro''s group a death stare. ''Just you wait... Seven in a group? So what! We had the support of three companies!'' He walked back to his seat with a flounce. ... ''Serves you right!'' Lukas smirked as he saw Victor be humiliated in front of a large crowd. ... "Grandpa! You said we can choose any group we want even if it exceeds the group limit?" Charlotte starts to become irritated as she stares at Dr. Cristoval. ''These brats... Ha! You''re lucky I''m already old and must avoid being stressed! Else, both of you would be punished and I won''t take it lightly!'' Dr. Cristoval shook his head as he walks back to the podium. "Ehm... It is final, then! That''s all for today! Young ones... Lowland University has high expectations from you! Give your best and give glory to our school!" Dr. Cristoval placed the microphone to the Podium and slowly walked back to the nearest exit where other university administrators were waiting. After a few seconds, the glowing light started to rise like a night in grassland where the moon was high up in the sky and fireflies help the moon, light up the darkness. Suddenly, a holographic faded logo of ''TBO'' slowly became clear. The whole area setting slowly became clear as the logo vanished. It was in a forest in the middle of the night, where the moon and fireflies light it up. It showed three people, one driving the carriage while the other two escorted it outside. Suddenly, the driver halted the carriage as pairs of red eyes, started to appear around them. It slowly moves towards them until it was illuminated and were identified as wolves. The driver hopped down the carriage and lifted his sword. He sliced through the wolves as blood splattered and filled the holographic view. As the blood subsides down, a new scene was shown. This continued for minutes until a shot from each scene that looked like a printed photo was shown to four sides and stacked up to the center of the arena. When the last Photo was stacked the hologram showed a four-sided 3D screen facing each side of the arena. The scene played was a first-person point of view. The person walks towards the edge of a cliff and the view of the beautiful sunset by the sea awed everyone in the arena. The night rising complimented the setting sun and the blue and violet glowing crystals that were embedded in the walls of the kingdom by the sea. It was no other than Pedro''s point of view the moment he got a glimpse of the beautiful view of Naga Kingdom. ''I submitted a captured video as required to the Closed Beta Players, CBP, but I didn''t think It would get that spotlight!'' Pedro chuckled as he reminisces the beautiful event. ''I must return there one more time!'' The game name "Bearth Online" slowly appeared. Moments later the hologram was turned off and the arena was filled with darkness. Dim lights were opened one by one in the arena and the students erupted. "Woooooooooooooo!" "Awesome!" "What a nice game!" "I can''t wait for tonight!" "Bearth Online!" "Bearth Online!" "Bearth Online!" ... The shouting players were calmed when someone spoke in the microphone. "Ehm... Calm down! Calm down! Instructions and other information would be posted on the university website in two days. Since your everyone was still about to start at level one the starting data needed to know your progress are all the same and there was no need to record them! If you had any other questions refer to your assigned professors! Good day! Dismissed!" The same middle-aged Filipino man wearing a black suit stood at the podium and left after he finished speaking. ... "At last! It is all over! Time to go home!" Aldo carried his bag and turned hastily towards the exit. "Where do you think you are going?" Pedro pulled a handle on Aldo''s bag and stopped him. "Eh? Home?" Aldo pointed towards the exit as he glances to Pedro in an explaining look. "We''ll have a group meeting! It is very important and it won''t take long!" Pedro glanced to their groupmates who were sitting. "It''s good to now that you''re not just someone who is all talk!" Ashley stood in an impressed manner and glances to their group. 50 Together, A One Strong Force! "This trash group! Smile now because it won''t last long! I''ll make sure of it!" Victor''s gaze follows Pedro''s group as they exited the arena. ... "I know a good place to do our meeting! Hehe!" Charlotte made a cute look trying to attract Pedro and Aldo. Unfortunately, it only worked to Aldo. Aldo looked like an in love Idol fan as if saying "Go ahead and lead the way! I''d follow you even to the furthest stars!". "Lead the way then! We''ll just follow!" Charlotte walked forward at a confident pace as the rest of the group follows. Minutes later, they arrived at a room in the administration building. ... "Lock the doors, our discussion is confidential!" Sabrina locked the front door while Elisabeth locked the back door. "Ok, Let''s start! First of all, let me confirm who would be the team captain?" Pedro only acted as the ''temporary'' leader. It was not good to assume that he was the leader of the group already. Hence, to avoid conflicts, he wanted the group to have a formally elected group leader(a team captain) and a vice-captain. "Aren''t you the one?" Ashley had her arms crossed as Charlotte and Elisabeth glanced at her with a curious look. "It is fine for me!" Sabrina nodded in agreement as she sat beside Loren. The others followed up with their agreements. "Same!" "Same!" "Same!" "Same!" ... "Then, I''d be the team captain! In cases that I might not be around, we must also have someone to substitute for me, a vice-captain!" Pedro glanced to all of his teammates one by one. "I think classmate Aldo would be a good choice!" Sabrina pointed to the silent Aldo who was sitting near the doors. "Huh? Me? Why me?" Aldo wore an awkward look like saying ''these things started to become troublesome as time goes by!''. "You guys might not notice it but classmate Aldo has a great perception of his surroundings!" Sabrina recalled that Aldo was able to grasp the situation even if his attention was focused on his PGC. "Why don''t we have cousin Ashley as a vice-captain? I mean... Won''t she be a better choice? Among us three she had the best performance in the closed beta, having to die only four times! If not for her short temper, I would have wanted her to be the captain!" Sabrina and Loren have no intention of being the team''s captain or even vice-captain. Hence, the choices were left to the rest of the team but Elisabeth was ''All looks, no brain'', so she didn''t consider herself to have such a role. Among the three, Aldo and Ashley were the most suitable for the vice-captain position. The only reason why Sabrina suggested Aldo was because Ashley could leave the team in a month. Hence, picking Aldo was the ideal choice. He would gain experience that can be used in time for the team. "About that... She is somewhat a ''temporary'' member. Hence, It is best for the team if other members would take the role. That way, there wouldn''t be a need for rechoosing for the position!" Sabrina nodded in agreement as Pedro explained why she was not a viable choice. "Temporary member... Khuh! Sounds like her! Don''t worry captain! I won''t be the same!" Charlotte grinned to Ashley and looked confident with joining Pedro''s team. "So... Aldo would be the vice-captain!" Pedro smiled as he glances to his teammates, checking if anyone has any objections. "I Agree!" "Hah... I agree!" "Agree!" "Agree!" "Agree!" "You didn''t ask for my opinion... But I''m ok with it... Since you''d still be doing everything! HAHAHA!" Aldo laughed maniacally that creeped the hell out of everyone. "Lastly for the team matters, Any suggestion for a team name?" One of the hardest parts of forming teams, guilds or such was the naming phase. Hence, Pedro decided to let the ''girls'' choose the team name to avoid him and Aldo making the worst team name for them. "Team Charlotte sounds good to me!" Aldo raised his hand as he shot up his seat like an avid fan of an Idol with hearts coming out from his eyes out of admiration. ''How shameless!'' Loren could only facepalm herself and shook her head of humiliation from Aldo''s, ''the vice-captain'', act. Pedro and the other members could only wear an awkward smile as they look to the determined Aldo. "Uhm... Since... Pedro... is the team captain... Why don''t we name the team... Team Pedro?" The moment Sabrina finished speaking, Pedro and the other members, including Aldo, face slapped themselves. "Ehm... Let''s not use a member''s name, shall we?" Everyone nodded to Pedro''s suggestion, even Aldo, who started it. "How does ''team PALACES'' sound?" Loren combined the seven initials of their member''s name that resulted in the word ''PALACES''. "Ashley is just temporary, so I suggest our team name to only be ''team PLACES''!" Aldo interjected as the air between him and Loren started to become heated. "If I may... since there are seven of us, why not name our team... ''Team Seven''?" Elisabeth stood with a smile. "What is this? Naru@@?! Have some originality, you brainless B@TC@!" Charlotte pointed angrily to Charlotte as Aldo''s attention was shifted back to her and started his creepy ''die-hard fan'' act. ''She''s so cute, even when angry!'' Aldo looked hypnotized by Charlotte and if she wanted to, he can even be her puppet or pet to control. "How about ''messed up team''!" Ashley chuckled as everyone glances at her. "You''re just a temporary member!!!" Everyone, except Pedro, shouted in unison. Ashley kept her grin even after becoming ''public enemy number one''. "Then how about ''Team Number One''?" Pedro used the momentary silence to voice out his suggestion. The other members looked at him with a weird expression. "What kind of naming sense do you have?" Ashley laughed at Pedro''s suggestion as if it was the worst suggestion made. Sabrina could only shake her head as she understands what Ashley said. "Hahahaha!" As Ashley laughed the rest followed and the room was filled with laughter. "How about ''Team F1''?" As they calm down from laughing and Pedro blushed from humiliation, Loren suggested casually as she wipes the tears of joy from her eyes. "I think that one is good!" Elisabeth wiped her teary eyes and supported Loren''s suggestion. "would you mind telling me why F1?" Everyone glanced to Loren in anticipation of her explanation after Charlotte asked her the meaning of ''F1''. "Ah... It''s Force as one! Meaning, all of us, together, as one strong force! That''s all!" Loren begins to become comfortable with the team so as everyone. Hence, she explained it casually as if they are just friends having a talk. "That''s good for me!" "I''m fine with it!" "Let''s go for that!" "well... It doesn''t matter to me. I could leave the group at a certain point!" "Since all of you are in favor, our team would be called ''Team F1''!" Pedro smiled as he glances to his teammates until he glances to Aldo. "Ehm... Captain... Pedro! Ain''t it supposed to be Group F1? and not ''Team F1''!" Aldo wore a confused expression as he corrected Pedro of his error. "Brother Aldo... It''s Team F1! I want it to be a team and not a group, else you can change me as your captain!" Pedro confidently stood in front of the five. The purpose of the DepEdup was to lessen the difficulty of the game for the students. Hence, the grouping was implemented. However, groups do not promote a common goal for every member, that may cause conflict or a slower pace of development. On the other hand, Teams promote a common set of goal that may lessen the number of conflicts that may occur at the same time increase the bond of the members that would consequently result in a huge improvement in their teamwork and coordination. This was especially important in raiding dungeons and high rating monsters. "It''s fine, It''s fine!" Aldo shook his head and gestured that he had no problems with it. In fact, everyone understood what Pedro meant, especially the three Closed Beta Players. Their coordination with each other will play a huge role to survive in the early stages of the game. 51 Does she like me? "Before anything else..." Pedro took out his tab and a form was shown in it. "This is a contract! This is in order to protect the interest of everyone in the group!" Pedro sent copies to their phone thru a wireless connection. ... The contract emphasized that any information given out to the team must not be disclosed to anyone because it may compromise things like tactics, techniques or even bug exploits that the team could capitalize and earn benefits. This takes effect even if one is not a member of the team anymore. Secondly, Other than Ashley''s one-month agreement, team members can request a termination of the contract and it would take effect after 10 days have passed from the day of request. Also, the member must delete his/her account when the termination took effect and pay compromising damage fee. The last major emphasis of the contract was that when one was forced or voted to terminate their contract by the other member. The member, whom to terminate his/her contract because of mutual decision among team members, would not be required to delete his/her account and pay compromising damage fee. There were other contents, but most of the contract focuses on the three rules. It was a safeguard that Pedro prepared to avoid the same things happening for the second time. At the same time, bug exploits he knew can be fully capitalized by their team without other teams learning about it. ... Everyone read and imprinted their thumb mark as agreement to the electronic contract prepared by Pedro. Ashley got a different contract where it mainly emphasizes the information secrecy. "Let''s start! First, as soon as you logged in, gather together at "Kagat Village"! It is located in the mid-west part of the Aquari continent! I have a good favorability in an NPC there! Once, I added you as friends in-game, I will send something to you Sabrina as a proof to show to the NPC that you are acquainted with me! With that, the safety when you logged out is secured!" Sabrina nodded to Pedro as she took note of his instructions. "Next! You might consider this as an absurd order but... Avoid contact with monsters as much as possible!" Ashley, Elisabeth, and Charlotte stared at Pedro, confused about what he said. "Avoid contact? Then how would we gain levels! Experience points were only gained by killing monsters, right?" Ashley frowned in response because the typical method to gain strength in a game was thru leveling and killing monsters. If Pedro was distancing them from the source of development, It looked like Pedro wanted them to do the exact opposite of what they must do. "What do you want us to do, then?" Ashley''s raging eyes were fixated on Pedro as she stood in an abrupt manner. "Hah... Cooking!" Everyone wore a stupefied look. Ashley didn''t know whether to laugh or cry from what Pedro said. "Cooking? How''s that gonna help us?" Ashley raised her voice as she can''t contemplate what Pedro wants to happen. "Calm down Ashley! It is simple... Cook food... Sell them... Earn money! When you cook, you gain the cooking talent I had and improve it at the same time earning coins!" Ashley and Elisabeth''s jaw dropped and their eyes were like going out of their sockets from shock. On the other hand, Charlotte burst in laughter. "Hahaha! So you are the brother who got the first talent in-game!" Charlotte kept laughing that put the three non-Closed Beta Players to feel out of place. "Yep!" Pedro nodded to Charlotte as he had a grin on his face. ''With the ''bombs'' now all dropped! I guess they won''t question my orders anymore!'' "Imagine the seven of us having the only talent in the game while those fools try to level up as much as they can! Won''t we benefit that much money from them? We buy the materials and Ingredients from them at a cheap price while we sold cooked food at an affordable but profitable price. The profit we earn can be used to fund our equipment!" Pedro looked evilly as he explained it to everyone. "Pedro... you said the thing about materials and ingredients... How can we secure those when we just started and had little to no money?" Sabrina pushed her glasses slightly upward and looked smart after asking Pedro a good question. "Hehe... I''ll handle it! I''ll just send you those later... On a point, May I request the three of you to gather some herbs or wood as you go to Kagat Village?" He glanced to Charlotte, Elisabeth, and Ashley. "It won''t be a problem!" Ashley stood confidently as Charlotte and Elisabeth nodded in agreement. "Then, we''re all settled! See ya later then, in-game!" Pedro tapped his tab as he created a group chat for them to communicate. Everyone joined for convenience. "Don''t forget that all of these are our ''little secrets'', ok!? By the way! If anyone of you had problems procuring VR Boxes, don''t hesitate to tell me! I''d help you secure one before the Open beta start!" They all started packing their things and leave the room. "I messaged my parents earlier, asking them to buy one, asap(as soon as possible), since it is ''needed'' in school!" Aldo waved his phone and explained to Pedro. "Our moms probably went to a nearby appliance or gaming center to buy one. When they heard about some detail on it from our professor, they went out together to look for one as they wait for us!" Loren and Sabrina''s mom were close since they were classmates since highschool and somehow was living in the same district in the city. "That''s good to hear... I''ll leave first, then!" Pedro was about to open the door when Sabrina held his harm. "Eh?" "Uhm... Pedro! Thanks!" Sabrina''s face went full red as she shyly thanked Pedro. ''Aaaaaaah! What did I just do! There goes my hippocampus, acting on its own again!'' Sabrina let goes of Pedro''s arm as she tries to force a smile. "It''s nothing!" Pedro smiled back. The moment Pedro smiled back to her, Sabrina''s world became slow as her heart skipped a beat. She was filled with unexplainable happiness as if seeing at last her knight in shining armor. ''What a beautiful smile...'' Sabrina could only be utter less as Pedro walked out of the room. "Look at them flirting! Tsk!" Charlotte held crossed arms as she was annoyed by the scene in front of her. "Hehe... you''re just jealous!" Elisabeth chuckled as she started teasing Charlotte. "You!" "Let''s go!" Ashley stood coldly after she watched Sabrina as Pedro left. ... Outside the room, Pedro was walking out of the building to his car. Dug! Dug! Dug! His heart began beating faster the moment he left the room. ''What was that about? Does she like me? No, no, no! It''s not good to assume things up! At any case, I must focus on the game first!'' Pedro holds his arm where Sabrina held it earlier and shook his head. Ring! Ring! Ring! His phone suddenly rang. When he took his phone from his pocket, his dad was calling him. "Dad! You need anything from me?" He answered the call and leaned his back to his car. "The proposal you gave me last night... I approve of it!" Pedro jumped of happiness as if he passed a major exam. "Let your mom handle the company matters, you handle other matters as soon as you get home! I gotta go, son! Take care!" His father ended the call and Pedro continued jumping like crazy. 52 Heroic Attempt! "Hah... Hah... Hah... I... better... go... home, now!" The exhausted Pedro opened the door of his car and hopped in. Voom! "Seems the crowd has already subsided!" Pedro drove smoothly as cars left the school earlier after the dismissal in the arena. The traffic was normal until he reached the commercial area where shops that sell VR Boxes were located. "Crowd seemed to have been in a craze! The gamer community itself could cause such traffic build-up... Add up the students who were hyped by the announcement, Sabrina and Loren''s moms were really quick-witted and went earlier than the crowd! They might have already secured VR Boxes! Aldo is a VIP Member of a gaming center... He wouldn''t have to trouble to line up for VR Boxes!" The traffic started to become heavy in these areas as cars were barely moving. Hence, It was an hour past when he left the university and he was still in these areas that he normally passes thru within thirty minutes. Vroom! Vroom! Vroom! A sport''s car was behind Pedro''s car and was like showing off the luxury of his car. Pedro just shrugged it off since he could afford to buy a more luxurious one but chose not to, so that he won''t attract too many attention and get into unnecessary troubles. ... "What a rip off! The other store sold VR Boxes at 40, 000 PHP each! Why does it cost 80, 000 PHP here?!" A customer complained about on a store near the roadway where Pedro''s car was barely moving. The bored and hungry Pedro watched the scene in that shop. "Goof off! That shop had already sold out its stocks of VR Boxes! Ours were about to reach its limit too! You can just wait for the restock on two days time if you really can''t afford it!" The merchant approached another customer looking for a VR Box and had the same expression. "Dear customers! I am not lying! Restock of VR Boxes are really after two days time! You can even call the distributors personally! They said that the demand surpassed their expectations to the extent that the units to be resupplied for tomorrow were already delivered this afternoon! And the third-day supplies were still in the Factory to be delivered tomorrow afternoon!" The owner of the shop explained in an irritated manner. "No wonder, father became busy suddenly!" Pedro chuckled as his attention was focused on a young man who was wearing a local high school uniform and was with her exhausted grandmother. "I''ll rest for a minute! I am already... tired! Hah..." The grandmother held her back as she places her other hand in the wall as support. "Then, I''ll rest too! Do you want water, grandma?" The young man tried to help her grandma as she kept grasping her breath! "No need! Go check the... next... shop... and check... if they still... have... that device!" the grandmother gestured to her grandson to enter the next shop. Blag! Just seconds after the young man entered the shop, her grandmother suddenly collapsed, unconscious. "Grandma?!" The young man walked out of the shop immediately and saw his grandmother lying on the floor. "Oh my god!" Pedro looked at the side to check if there was a motorcycle passing to the driver''s side. When there was no motorcycle, He immediately jumped out of his car, hopped over the metal railing and helped the old woman. "Grandma! Grandma!" The young boy helplessly tapped his unconscious grandma as he turned her facing upward and rested her head in his arms. "Did you checked her pulse!" As soon as Pedro arrived, he grabbed the old woman''s wrist and checked for her pulse. "I didn''t! Grandma! Huhu!" Tears started to come out from the young man''s eyes as he continued to tap her grandmother. Tog! Tog! Tog! Tog! Pedro''s heartbeat started to race as he can''t feel a pulse from the old woman. "Nothing! We need to bring her to the hospital immediately!" Pedro was about to carry the old woman together with the young man when the good looking man from the sports car arrived after hopping over the metal railing. "Wait! Let me help!" He stopped Pedro by showing his hospital I.D. card. "She has no pulse we must bring her to the hospital Immediately!" The crowd started to build up around them and Pedro started to become anxious as seconds pass by. Pedro was pushed to the side as the man took off his smartwatch and placed it on the old woman''s wrist! Before the man removed the watch from his wrist, the watch showed a "73 BPM" but when he removed the watch and placed it to the old woman it showed " - - BPM". "Not good!" The man''s face became grim as he immediately placed his ears towards the old woman''s mouth. "She''s not breathing!" The man uttered as he single-handedly carried the old woman. "Kid hop in my car! It''s faster than this guy''s second rate car!" The man had already carried the woman to his sports car and the young man has just hopped over the metal railings. "Uhm..." The young man nodded and followed the good looking man. "You! ... Then, let me at least escort you out of this heavy traffic!" Pedro rushed and rode back to his car. The bystanders unitedly stopped the cars parallel to Pedro''s car and the Sportscar that gave way to them to switch lanes and make a counterflow. Beep! Beep! Beep! Pedro kept pressing the horn as his car''s hazard lights were turned on. Luckily, the opposite lane has Moderate traffic, their counterflowing was effective as they were able to pass through the choke point and was around three hundred meters away from the intersection. Pedro was able to pass through and speed up to the intersection as the sports car stopped momentarily because of a motorcycle that suddenly appeared. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaag! Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag! "What happened? Why do I feel sleepy?" Pedro lost his consciousness after banging his head to the side. Seconds later the car stopped rolling and he was sitting upside down and an airbag was inflated in front of the steering wheel. The moment he entered the intersection, his car was rammed by a high-speed ten-wheeler truck that resulted in his car rolling several times. "Sh1t!" The man in the sports car can''t help but curse as he saw Pedro''s car get rammed with full force by a ten-wheeler truck. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Author''s Note: PHP = Philippine Peso _______________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 53 Rescue! "Sh1t! Sh1t! Sh1t!" The good looking man in the sportscar can''t help but curse. Vrooom! ''The hospital is just up ahead! I''d rush this old woman first! If CPR was not done in 2 minutes tops she''ll start to be brain dead!'' The sportscar sped past the halted intersection and went straight to the hospital who was around 300 meters from the intersection. Bee... Bee... Beep! The good looking man pressed his horn multiple times as soon as they arrived at the hospital''s emergency entrance. The guard in charge approached fast and help the good looking man in carrying the old woman. "Owen, I can manage! Ready the ambulance team and tell them that we''ll depart immediately! There is an accident nearby!" The good looking man ordered the guard. The guard nodded as he approached the ''on-standby'' ambulance and the emergency and rescue team. "CARSON! CARSON! Hurry! CPR! CPR!" The man shouted as a nurse approached them. The good looking man placed the old woman in a vacant hospital bed as a middle-aged Filipino went out of a curtain, that separates different emergency patients in the emergency room, and rushed towards the good looking man. "Young Master!" Carson placed his hand on the old woman''s chest and started doing CPR as the nurse place an instrument in the old woman and activated the Electrocardiogram (EKG) machine. "How long since she was unresponsive? ... JEFFERSON! Intubate her! Fast!" Carson asked as sweat started to appear on his face as he continued to do CPR. A younger-looking doctor arrived and followed immediately. "FIVE MINUTES! Carson... I''ll leave this one to you! There''s an accident nearby... I need to go! NURSE! CALL THE CHIEF! ANOTHER EMERGENCY PATIENT WOULD BE HERE IN MINUTES!" The guard entered the emergency room as the ambulance stopped in front of the emergency room''s entrance. "Hah... Hah... Hah... Close! Good thing, Young Master was able to bring her here, else she would have been brain dead if CPR wasn''t done in six minutes! Get the defibrillator ready!" Carson kept doing CPR as the nurse took the defibrillator. *Sob... Sob... The young man was crying as he watches his grandmother was being resuscitated. "Gonna be back kid! Gotta rescue that elder brother who helped you earlier!" The good looking man patted the kid''s shoulder as he runs out of the emergency room and hopped to the front seat of the ambulance. Wang! Wang! Wang! Wang! The Ambulance started it siren and left the hospital. The young man glanced at the ambulance that departed as his cry started to subside. ... A moment earlier... "Else, we would have had a hard time securing one, if we didn''t!" The driver agreed in response as she scratched her head out of frustration to the heavy traffic. "Sis! I can''t wait for tonight!" The young woman sitting on the left side uttered excitedly as he glances to the perpendicular side of the intersection. Their van was about four vehicles away from the intersection. "Me too!" The young woman sitting in her right replied and seemed to blush a bit. "You young women! It doesn''t mean that the school required you to play that game that you would neglect your studies!" The elder Filipina scolded the two young woman behind. "Yes, Aunt!" "Of course, Mom!" The two young women answered in unison as they wore an awkward smile inside. Beep! Beep! Beep! A car kept honking as its hazard lights were blinking. The car counter flowed and was able to pass through and speed up to the intersection as the sports car behind it, stopped momentarily because of a motorcycle that suddenly appeared. The four women''s attention was shifted to the two-car who seemed to be in a rush. "Sis Sabrina! Ain''t that classmate Pedro''s car?" Loren, the young woman sitting at the left side (Behind the driver), pointed to the white Toyota that sped in the parallel road lane. "AX# #4#7! It is his car!" Sabrina read the plate number on the white Toyota''s back and affirmed with an intrigued look. ''What is he doi...'' "WATCH OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The driver of their van, Sabrina''s mom, shouted as her gaze was caught to the incoming full-speed truck. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaag! Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag! "Oh my God!" The three women in the van, except Sabrina, was shocked beyond belief to what just happened. Sabrina''s mind went blank as he stares at the upside-down car of Pedro. Vroom! The sportscar passed through the intersection in top speed. Woog! "Where are you going, Sabrina!!!" The silence in the van was shattered by Sabrina as she rushed out of the van and ran toward''s Pedro''s car. Her mother was surprised by her actions and shouted as she tried to halt her daughter. "You guys, stay here! I''ll go get Sabrina!" Sabrina''s mother took off her seatbelt and chased after Sabrina. Loren and his mother looked at each other like saying ''My God! what is happening?''. "Loren! Call an ambulance! You know the number right? I''ll call your uncle, for help! He must be at the police station right now! He may ask help from a nearby police station!" the two held their phones and started pressing the screen in a panicked manner. ... ''Pedro! Please... be safe!'' Sabrina ran at her full speed but still with the care of her surroundings as tears start to fall from her eyes. *Sniff... "Pedro! Pedro!" Sabrina used her arm to wipe her teary eyes. She knelt down, not minding the shattered glass in the floor from the car''s windows, and peeked inside the overturned car on the driver''s side. She saw the unconscious Pedro with blood all over his head! Luckily, the truck hit the right side of Pedro''s car, which was the front passenger seat in the Philippines, and he was wearing his seatbelt. The right side of his car was wrecked and bend inwardly. The front door was broke off and was thrown a few meters away while the back passenger door was barely hanging from the car. ''No! No! No!'' Sabrina inserted her hand in the broken window near Pedro as she tried to search for the lock of the door. She didn''t mind the sharp glasses left in the broken window that caused her some shallow cuts as blood came out from her left hand. Tock! The door''s lock was opened as Sabrina grabs the door''s handle and opened the door. ''Oh my God!'' At this moment, Sabrina''s mother was able to catch up and saw the critical looking Pedro upside down. "Stop, Sabrina!" Her mother pulled one of Sabrina''s arm as she tried to pull Pedro out of the car by removing his seatbelt first. Sabrina glanced with a furious look as her mother tightens her grip to her arm. Wang! Wang! Wang! Wang! "Let them rescue him!" Her mother bluffed as the rescuers and the good looking man approached them with a stretcher. Her mother didn''t want Sabrina to be involved any further, besides, the first thing needed to do after an accident was to call the police. "Stop! You must call the police first!" A bystander stopped the rescue team as the good looking man held his phone and shot pictures on all angle at the scene. ''YOU!'' Sabrina''s eyes were full of killing intent as she stares to the bystander and grasped her hand tight. "Don''t mind him! Continue! I''ll handle those matters! If the police arrive, give them this!" The good looking man gave the bystander a calling card. Minutes later, Pedro was finally placed into a stretcher and was being carried into the ambulance. "Are you related to him or recognizes him?" The good looking man approached Sabrina and her mom. "Mm..." Sabrina nodded in response as her mother was astounded by her actions. ''She must be his fiance of some sort! The way she acted just to rescue him... their relationship must be that close!'' The man rubbed his chin as he stares at Sabrina. "Then follow me to the ambulance... your shallow cuts must be addressed and disinfected too!" The good looking man walked towards the ambulance as Sabrina faced her mother. "Mom! I gotta go!" Sabrina wore a gloomy look as her mother felt the sadness in her eyes. ''She''s grown up!'' 54 Are You His Secret Girlfriend? Chog! "Marisa, how''s Sabrina?" The moment Sabrina''s mom closed the door of their van, Loren''s mother wore a worried expression after witnessing the events that had happened. "She''s fine! Just some bruises!" Sabrina''s mom forced a smile as the image of Pedro full of blood and upside down was being played repeatedly in her head. "Anyway! Let''s head to the hospital and check on Sabrina''s condition!" Marisa, Sabrina''s mom, started the van. After some minutes, Police and Highway Management Group, HMG, arrived at the intersection. The HMG manned the road lanes so that they can pass through the unblocked area of the intersection in an orderly manner. Marisa, Loren and Loren''s mom, Annette, went straight to the hospital. ... Wang! Wang! Wang! Wang! ''Pedro! Hold on! Don''t give up!'' Endless tears started flowing out of Sabrina''s eyes as she holds Pedro''s hands tight. The moment the ambulance reached the hospital, Pedro was raced in a vacant emergency area where an old doctor was waiting. "Doctor! Please save him! Do everything you can! Please!" Sabrina held Pedro''s hand and was unwilling to let go. "Miss! Let''s stay here and let the Doctors focus on treating your friend! KARISSA! Please take care of her wounds! Miss, there was an emergency patient earlier and I would check her condition... for now, let nurse Karissa treat your cuts!" The good looking man placed held Sabrina''s shoulder as she was brought to a seat. The white curtain surrounding the hospital bed of Pedro was pulled closed. *Sniff "Miss... Can I ask you a few details about you?" The nurse was holding a paper and a pen as she sat beside Sabrina and approached her in a calm and professional manner. "Yes..." Sabrina nodded as she wipes her tears away. ... ... "Sir, Our factory in the Laguna Factory of VR Boxes has already requested for another batch of Energy Crystals! Our stocks of Atomic Energy Crystal III is becoming thinner regardless of the continuous production!" A man reported inside the office of Mr. Jon Armaz who was looking into some emails and report. Ring! Ring! Ring! "Tell the production board to stop the production of Atomic Energy Crystal I and Atomic Energy Crystal II and focus in Atomic Energy Crystal III!" His gaze was focused on his phone as he ordered the man. After the man bowed and left the room, he answered the call. "HONEY! Pedro has been into an accident! He is in the ICU in Bacoor North Hospital!" Pedro''s mother was crying while speaking on the phone. "WHAT! I''ll be there!" Mr. Jon Armaz took his coat and left the room immediately. His secretary was astounded by the departing Mr. Jon. "To the Bacoor North Hospital! Inform Jerome to prepare our helicopter, we''ll depart in five minutes!" Although Mr. Jon wants to depart as soon as possible, there was one call he cannot ignore no matter what happens! The call of Nature! (P@@ping!) "Pooot! Ah..." ... Tog! Tog! Tog! Tog! Tog! "Claire! Contact me if there is only a need!" Mr. Jon screamed on the top of his lungs just for his secretary to hear his voice over the noise made by the helicopter. He tapped her shoulder and entered the helicopter as Claire bowed in response and distanced her self from the helicopter. "Mr. Jon! Please be at ease! We''ll be there in minutes!" The pilot gestured an ''ok sign'' to Mr. Jon as the helicopter starts to depart. Minutes later, the helicopter got the view of the Bacoor North Hospital as several hospital crews were on stand by near the helipad for the incoming helicopter. "Jerome! Prepare and refuel the helicopter! The company has too many matters to handle that I may need a ride again today!" Jerome, the pilot, responded to Mr. Jon with an ''ok sign'' as Mr. Jon opens the helicopter door and went out. "This way sir!" A doctor bowed to Mr. Jon as she pointed the way to the elevator. "How''s my son! What''s his condition!" He can''t already contain his worries and started bombarding questions to the doctor. "He had attained a concussion and several broken bones, especially in the rib and shoulder part! Luckily, His spinal cord was intact! He was already operated to remove and stop the bleeding in his brain!" The elevator opened as the doctor finished his explanation to Mr. Jon. "Honey!" Pedro''s mother ran towards his father the moment she saw him walk out of the elevator. Tear flow out like a waterfall from her eyes as she hugged her husband tightly! "Our Pedro!" *Sob... Sob ... His father held his mother''s hands as he walked towards the hallway with a glass view where the inside of the Intensive Care Unit, ICU, can be seen. In the hallway, Sabrina was seating in the hallway together with Loren and their mothers. Her eyes were swollen from crying as her arms and legs were covered by several patches. Pedro''s father nodded to them as he turned and see his son in the ICU. *Sob... Sob! "The doctor said that the estimated time he would wake up is around a week or so! But, he also said that there is a chance that it would take longer than that!" Her mother explained as she tries to wipe the tears flowing out of her eyes. ... Ting! The elevator opened as the good looking man and an old doctor came out and broke the deafening silence in the hallway. "Nice to meet you... Mr. Armaz! I am Dr. Nielson Byrne, the President in this hospital! This young man is my son, Jason Byrne! He was the one who led the rescue team that saved your son!" The old doctor and the good looking man shook hands with Pedro''s mother, then his father. "Thank you for saving our son!" Pedro''s father and mother bowed in thanks to the young man that astounded everyone around. As Jason was about to speak Sabrina stood and bowed at the same time. "Eh... Please raise your head! I just did what I can do as someone from the Bacoor North Hospital! Besides, your son is one of the few people I knew, who would be helping others in times of danger!" Jason explained as he looked to the unconscious Pedro inside the ICU! "Please don''t worry about your son! As of now, He is already stable and all we need to do was wait for him to wake up! Besides, he has a loving family waiting for him to come back!" He smiled as he glances to Pedro''s mother and father then into Sabrina. At the same time, Pedro''s mother and father shifted their gaze to Sabrina like saying ''who the heck is this girl? Perhaps she is her girlfriend that he is hiding from us?''. "Uncle, Aunt! I am Sabrina Concepcion! Pedro''s classmate!" Sabrina broke the awkward silence and stares by bowing in respect to Pedro''s parents. "Uhm... Perhaps, you are Pedro''s ''secret'' girlfriend?" Pedro''s dense father asked out of the blue that made Sabrina''s cheeks turn bright red! "Heh! More like she has a crush on Pedro!" Loren mocked as she crossed her arms and look to the other way. "Loreeeen!" Sabrina looked with a frown as she tried to speak in a sweet voice in front of Pedro''s parents. Her mother could only face-palmed her face as if saying ''My daughter was easy to read as always!''. The air in the area became less tense because of Loren''s tease. "By the way! I am here for another reason Mr. Armaz!" Dr. Nielson smiled towards him as if saying ''you''ll be interested in what I am about to say!'' "what is it then?" Mr. Jon shifted his look to Dr. Nielson with a serious expression. "Please follow me then!" Dr. Neilson walked and gestured to Mr. Jon like saying ''This way!''. They walked until they reached the end of the hallway. Pedro''s father was astounded as he sees a VR Box inside the ICU. "Yesterday! We had a patient who had the same case with your son! The expected time for her to regain consciousness was around two months! Hence, we tried the suggestion of the Department of Health, to try the VR Box technology! Once we used it, we were successful in making contact with her through the game, Bearth Online! Her family was also able to talk to her in-game too!" Dr. Nielson had a serious look as he stares to the VR Box. "Can... Can my son be in one too? Can we see or talk to him too?" Pedro''s father was ecstatic as he glances at Dr. Nielson who had a grim look. "Yes! Your son can be in one too! Unfortunately, the hospital had only procured one of such device!" Dr. Neilson shooked his head in response. "It''s not a big matter!" The eyes of Mr. Jon was like a candle that was lit with fire. His depressed feeling was suddenly filled with hope as he grabbed his phone in his pocket. "Excuse me! Claire! Contact the VR Box company! Tell them to send two of their best VR Boxes here in Bacoor North Hospital! Also! Look for a decent house or Condominium a walk away from the area! Buy it immediately and send five of the similar VR Boxes to that place!" His father knew that his mother would never leave the ICU area until Pedro was awake, hence, he asked for two VR boxes so that she could see Pedro without leaving the ICU area. As for the house or Condominium, It was for his grandmother who was not able to follow because of the rush. They might be strict to Pedro but that speaks of how much they care and love him. "Yes! Right away, President!" Claire responded as Mr. Jon ended the call. "VR Boxes are not a problem! They would be here in hours time!" His father glanced to Dr. Nielson like saying ''I have solved your problem! You better not get back on your words!''. As they walk back in front of Pedro''s ICU room, Sabrina and Loren''s mother stood up. "We''d be taking our leave! We''ll pray for Pedro''s quick recovery!" The four bowed slightly to Pedro''s parents. "Thank you very much! And sorry for taking your time! We really appreciate your concern!" Pedro''s mother bowed back to the four as they turn around and leave. Sabrina glanced to Pedro one last time and thought inwardly... ''See you soon!'' 55 A Tsundere Chef? "Where am I? Why is it all dark? Why is it cold!" Pedro felt that his body was like falling deep in the ocean, where it was cold and dark. [System Notification! Special log in confirmed!] ... Checking player information data! ... Log in completed! ... Initializing engine! ... Entering game in 3! ... Entering game in 2! ... Entering game in 1! ... [Log in successful! Player ''Death'' welcome back to Bearth!] ... "..." Pedro slowly opened his eyes as he saw the ceiling of his room in the Karakoa. "I am in-game? What happened?" Pedro slowly rose to a seating position as he places his hand to his forehead trying to remember the previous events. The last thing he could recall was him in the traffic and the old woman collapsed. "I guess I''ll log out to know what had happened!" Pedro opened his interface and worked his way through the logout button. "What''s this? I can''t log off!?" Pedro relentlessly pressed the logout option which was greyed out in his interface. "No... No... No... No... This can''t be happening?!" Pedro kept pressing the logout option relentlessly as a female figure slammed open his bedroom door. "Will you be SILENT! We are talking about something here!" Madame Soledad''s face frowned as she scolded Pedro who seemed like he just woke up and kept pressing something in the air. "Madame! Wha... What are you doing in my room?!" Madame Soledad was holding the remaining serving of the dish he made before he logged out. "Oh! Your "Apprentice" is awake, Soledad!" Before Pedro could react further, another woman peaked out of the door. "Senior Alivia?!" Pedro wore a grim look as another man peeked in and it was no other than Elder Frederico. Pedro could only sigh as they went to his room''s living room that was cramped of the remaining dished he made. Madame Soledad and Alivia returned to eating the dishes Pedro made as soon as they sat on the couch. "Kid! Though it has fewer nutrients than the usual dish, It tastes good compared to Frederico''s!" Madame Soledad kept eating like a glutton and indirectly mocked Elder Frederico''s dish. "You can... just... eat... many of this... to match... the nutrients... Frederico''s dish provides!" Alivia kept eating the already cold dish as she ''ignore'' Frederico''s presence. "Frederico! Why don''t you taste it!" Madame Soledad glanced to Frederico who crossed his arms and looked irritated. "Hmph! My dish might not taste this good, as you say! But it is full of nutrients!" Frederico replied in a stubborn manner as Pedro sat down on a separate couch. Cooking was a simple and basic talent. The higher your rank is, the higher the quality and amount of nutrients it can give. Consequently, the harder it is to master making the dishes by the increased failure rate. In his past life, players initially just cooked by the usual method they learn from NPCs until some culinary students who played the game and explored the different ingredients available in the game. They experimented until they found out that the taste of food can be improved and was not dependent on the cooking rank of a player. Hence, although the quality and nutrients of the dish Pedro cooked were low, the taste was something new and delicious to NPCs like Madame Soledad and Alivia who had not tasted something like that before. (This can be related to real-life where there were foods that tastes good but was not that healthy or has fewer nutrients compared to the foods or dish designed for a healthier diet.) "Now! Now! Frederico! Have a taste! Here! Choo! Choo! the train is coming!" *Choo! Choo! Madame Soledad lifted her spoon with the sauce and a chunk of Octrocras (Squid-like) meat. Frederico looked sideways irritated like a child saying ''HELL NO!''. "OPEN UP!" Madame Soledad shouted as her eyes turned all black. Other than Alivia, Madame Soledad scared the sh!t out of Pedro and Frederico. Hopeless, Frederico could only open his mouth as Madame Soledad shot up the spoon to his mouth just like a mother and child. *GULP! The room was filled with awkward silence as Frederico swallowed the food. Madame Soledad, Alivia and Pedro stare in anticipation of Frederico''s reaction. ''Hallelujah! Hallelujah!'' Frederico had an awkward, happy look on his face like he was someone who was reborn again. Tears start to flow out of his eyes as if God has given him enlightenment. "Well... I must admit... It tastes good! BUT! IT CAN''T MATCH THE NUTRIENTS IN MY DISH!" Frederico acted like a ''tsundere'' that made Pedro frown as he considers the scene in front of him weird and awkward. (Imagine an old man acting like a tsundere... LOL) Frederico picked up a spoon, took a bowl of the dish and ate as he can''t already control himself due to the smell that came from the dish. The three kept eating as Pedro inspects his Interface. The first thing that caught his attention was the Notification tab. [System Update Complete!] [Update Contents are listed below!] 1) The Inventory tab/interface would be removed and replaced by an ''Inventory Bag''! Everything in your inventory box is transferred into the ''Inventory Bag'' that is attached below. Be notified that the bag is not bound to the owner and can be taken by other factors like other players, NPCs or even monsters! 2) Bound or SoulBound Items can be taken together with the Inventory Bag, however, no other player can use the item, weapon or equipment other than the owner and would show an unknown status to others. 3) Minimum pain reduction would be fixed at 80%. Other reductions like Feeling, Smelling and Hearing reduction would be removed and be fixed at 100%. 4) The friend list interface would be replaced by the ''Communication tab''. The existing ''friend list tab/interface'' would be under it at the same time, a new tab called ''Earth communication tab'' was added. In ''earth communication tab'', players can send realtime messages and calls to people outside of the game. 5) The player ranking is activated. Players would be rated by the survival rating. The survival rating would be rated by the following: A level increase below 3, the player would be rated "F". 3 to 5 level increase would be rated "E". Above 5 to 7 level increase would be rated "D". Above 7 to 8 level increase would be rated "C". Above 8 to 9 level increase would be rated "B". Above 9 level increase would be rated "A". To students, this would be the basis of the corresponding grade you would get. The player ranking board is activated. It will showcase the top players on Bearth per server. Note: Being Enlisted in the player ranking board is not mandatory. ... ''Nothing new!'' Pedro sighed as his attention was shifted to the next notification. He glanced at the three who was still busy eating like he was not in the room at all. Hence, he decided to continue checking the notifications. ... [System Notification!] Please be advised that you are currently undergoing a special type of Medical Treatment! Your logout button is currently disabled until the treatment is completed! Doctor''s Note: Currently, you are unconscious and currently in the so-called ''Dream State''. Thanks to the advancement of science and technology, you can play the game while going under medical treatment. Hence, Don''t panic as your body is slowly recuperating and as we wait for you to regain your consciousness. ... "???" Pedro was flabbergasted after reading the notification as he started to recalls the ''missing'' events that occurred that explains why he was back online in the game. Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep! Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaag! Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag! PAAAK! As Pedro recalls the scene where a truck was about to hit his car, a bowl hit directly in his face that made his nose bleed. "DEAATH! I SAID MAKE MORE OF THAT DISH!" Pedro got back into his senses as Madame Soledad''s eyes turned all black, again, and was fuming with anger directed at him. "Righ... Right away!" Pedro jumped out of the couch and head straight to the kitchen out of fear. "Yeeeey!" Alivia''s belly bulged like a balloon as she raised her had of happiness and looking forward to eating more of Pedro''s dish. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Author''s Note: You guys might think that if he is conscious in-game, why is he not conscious in real life? The reason was the technology of VR Boxes can only alter the unconscious mind ("Dream State") and manipulate it into something like the game. Hence, It may look like he is conscious in-game, but he is actually currently in a "Manipulated Dream State". ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 56 Serves them right! "Hmm... Hmm..." Frederico kept nodding as he watches Pedro cook the Octrocras stew. The pot made a bubbling sound as he increases the heat by adding more wood. "Done!" Minutes later, Pedro took three bowls and filled it with the Octrocras stew. "Ho... Hooooo..." Madame Soledad, Alivia, and Frederico blew into the hot Octrocras stew. Gulp! "Aaaaaaah! This spiciness! Perfect!" Frederico blushed as tears started to come out from his eyes. ''The strong smell and taste of the squid were perfectly controlled by the spiciness brought by the sauce! Marvelous!'' "Kid! Starting today, you''ll be my personal chef!" Madame Soledad shows no sign of stopping in eating the stew. "That''s not fair! Soledad!" Alivia pouted to Soledad and wore teary eyes. "I... I guess... I can give you some..." Madame Soledad shook her head in response. "Yay!" ... Alivia wore a mischievous smile as she returned eating. ... "Aliviaaa! It''s your duty!!! Where, the hell, are you?!" Kentaro''s voice echoed thru the room from the golden pipe. Burp~~ "Oh... Thanks for the meal! I look forward to more of your dishes! I''ll just lecture this troublesome junior of mine!" Alivia rubbed her ballooned tummy as she left Pedro''s room. "What are you looking at? Go cook the same dish! Didn''t you watch him cook!?" Madame Soledad stared daggers to Frederico and gestured to go into the kitchen. "Uhm... It''s no that I can''t cook the same dish... It''s just that... I don''t have the ingredients to cook one!" "Here! Use these!" Pedro placed the ingredients to be used one by one in the kitchen. "You!" "Go cook! or... do you want to be the one to be cooked?" Madame Soledad''s eyes turned black as Frederico ran towards the kitchen. "Since we have nothing to do... would you like me to teach you skill making?" She grinned while Pedro kept nodding his head. "Alright then! Actually, skill making was an easy job! All you need is an imaginative mind and tons of experience of different magics! The only reason why there were only a few of the skill makers was because of the resources needed. They were rare and if available, they are expensive." Madame Soledad explained as she took out an ancient-looking paper and a pen filled with red liquid in it. "resources?" "Yes! These are the two materials needed in skill making! A paper from a Nearis Tree! and blood of a creature with a huge amount of magical energy!" Madame Soledad played with the red pen in his hands. "blood of a creature with a huge amount of magical energy?? Tha... that can be used to empower someone and increase his/her attributes permanently or..." Pedro''s eye can''t help but follow the pen revolving in Madam Soledad''s hand. Fortunately, my grandmother was a maid of such families in her younger years. During that time, she saved the only daughter of her master from an assassination without a second thought! As a reward, the family gave her their most useless treasure, The book of skill making. Grandmother treasured it allot because it was the fruit of her good deed. She even required my father and me to learn it and pass it down to the next of our kin. The art of skill making was almost extinct until the disappearance of the god of jealousy and the legendary swordsman! When the legendary swordsman was nowhere to be found battles of the monsters and humans were on stalemate!" "What about the gods? where are they?" He interjected as he was astounded by the actions of gods not helping humans wiping out the monsters Etoros had created. "..." Madame Soledad could only shake her head with a sad look. "There were signs of them around the gods'' continent, but none of them is making contact with the humans! There were rumors that after seeing the potential and might of a human, the gods begin to be wary and decided to avoid them. While some said that after gods helped humans annihilate monsters, the gods were afraid that humans will target them next! There were various rumors, but in the end, this caused the destruction of many villages in the world! Including ours! Although our village became well known because of the villager using the skills made by my Grandmother, It wasn''t enough to defend the entire village!" ''That explains why she roams around helping Kingdoms and Villages!'' Pedro has put the pieces together and finally understands why Madame Soledad roams around the continent and not just stay to a single Kingdom or village. "What about Kingdoms?" Pedro asked unconsciously and suddenly realized that he may have asked a ''sensitive'' question. "The nearby kingdom''s army arrived a day late that helped our escape, but it was rumored that it was intentional so that our family would reside in that kingdom! Well, we actually did reside there... and after years, the strength of the army increased by two folds because of father and grandma''s personally made skills! They even bribed me with rare treasures to make skills... but I chose the adventurer''s path! HAHA! Serves them right! " Madame Soledad chuckled as she looked like she was mocking that kingdom but deep inside she was full of anger and resentment from that kingdom. "Let''s get back to Skill making! It is only simple! Imagine an action done, in an accurate and detailed manner, then write it in the paper! Look!" She looked like someone writing in a paper, however, the red blood ink started glowing after some time. "Done!" "What about the crystal?" "The crystal? oh! you mean the container! It was only a standard container to keep the paper safe until it was sold! There is a high chance that water may be spilled in it or it may be caught in a fire that may destroy the paper itself. Hence, if you wanna sell them! You''ve gotta protect them with the container!" Madame Soledad chuckled in surprise as she was impressed by Pedro''s wit. "Here are your Octrocras stews!" Frederico interjected as he proudly served his dish to them. "Take a look!" Madame Soledad passed the ancient-looking paper to Pedro and took a bowl of Frederico''s stew. ... Skill: ~Awkward Eating Bluff~ Rarity: Bronze-rated Skill Skill Type: Active Effects: The user makes a weird lewd look and releases an aura that entices anyone within nine meters to the food the user eats. Those affected by the skill would be on an enticed state for two minutes. Enticed State: Craves for the food that double one''s hunger and increase stamina reduction by ten percent for two minutes! Cooldown: 2 hours [Inspired by the tsundere chef!] 57 Finally! Skill-making talent! "Here! Try it!" Madame Soledad handed Pedro another ancient-looking paper and the red-inked pen. "Eh? But... That''s all? I mean... you only showed me how you make one!" "Just try it! Don''t ask too much!" She returned to eating the food cooked by Frederico. ''Then... I won''t ask further! Don''t blame me for wasting such rare and expensive material!'' Pedro chuckled as he grasped the pen tightly and focused his attention on the paper. ''Imagine... Imagine... How Frederico reacted when he first tasted my dish!'' He slowly opened his eyes and began writing for a minute. ''He''s successful? He is actually successful in his first try!'' Madame Soledad could only stare at Pedro with a terrified look as the paper started to shine. [Congratulations! You have learned talent!] [Skill-Making] Rank(Mastery Level): Apprentice Skill-Maker Divine-rated Skill Making Success rate: 0% Legendary-rated Skill Making Success rate: 0% Gold-rated Skill Making Success rate: 0.003% Silver-rated Skill Making Success rate: 3% Bronze-rated Skill Making Success rate: 83% Requirements Needed to advance to next rank: 500 Bronze-rated skill made! Equivalent in Progress for advancement to next mastery level: 1 Silver-rated Skill = 5 Bronze-rated Skill 1 Gold-rated Skill = 10 Silver-rated Skill 1 Legendary-rated Skill = 1000 Gold-rated Skill ??? Divine-rated Skill = ??? Legendary-rated Skill Progress: 1/500 Bronze-ranked skill made! ... [Congratulations Player "Death" for unlocking the rarest talent in Bearth!] Your rewards are: Empty Pen-Knife x5 Empty Book(Skills Only) x2 ... ''Some odd rewards! I wonder what are their uses?!'' Pedro was about to check his rewards when Madame Soledad slammed her bowl to the table. "Thanks for the meal!" She inspected the skill Pedro made as they stare at her in fear. "Not bad! I won''t lie... You seemed to have better talent that those spoiled brats! But! Still not good enough! Ehm... Just like what you are about to do with cooking! Keep on making skills! It doesn''t mean that you''ll cook for me and Alivia that you''d skip Skill making!" Madame Soledad was about to leave the room when Pedro stopped her. Frederico slapped his face as if saying ''Please let her leave! So that I can also leave already!''. "About that! Where do I get a paper from a Nearis Tree?" He raised his hand as if gesturing to Madame Soledad to stop. "Nearis Tree? Soon! In the gods'' continent, there are many of those!" She smirked as she left the room. ''I can see my younger days on you! Let me guide you to the right path so you won''t end up like me!'' ... ''The gods'' continent? I guess I could only wait until we arrive!'' Pedro rubbed his chin as he watches Madame Soledad depart. "I shall leave too! I may have been rude to you and your dish... But... as a fellow cook! Th... Tha... Tha... Thank you!" Frederico ran out of the room at full speed. "What was his problem? and... Why, the heck, was he blushing?!" Pedro frowned as he didn''t know whether to laugh and cry from Frederico''s actions. ''Wait!!! Why does it feel like... I placed myself into another trouble?!'' Pedro glanced around his room and saw dishes, pots, spoons, leftover foods, and sauces all over the place. "YOU GLUTTONS!" He shouted in anger as he looked like someone whose house has been robbed. While looking around, his attention was shifted to the skill he made. ... Skill: ~Awkward Eating Bluff~ (Downgraded Version) Rarity: Bronze-rated Skill Skill Type: Active Effects: The user makes a weird lewd look as the food releases a smell that entices anyone within five meters to the food the user eats. Those affected by the skill would be on an enticed state for two minutes. Enticed State: Craves for the food that doubles the hunger and increases stamina reduction by five percent for two minutes! Cooldown: 2 hours [Inspired by the tsundere chef! Plagiarised by an APPRENTICE Skill-Maker!] ... "Plagiarised?" Pedro wore a wryly smile and sighed. "No one''s gonna clean this mess up except me!" He chuckled as he placed the skill he made into his inventory. He started to clean the room as he picked the utensils one by one. ... "If there was a talent called clean-up talent... I would have been able to master it!" Pedro had cleaned his room and the fishy smell was gone. He was washing the last set of dishes when the interface rang. Ring! Ring! Ring! ''Eh?'' He was astounded as he saw a familiar number in his ''Earth Communication tab''. He pressed the green button and accepted the call. "SON!" *Sob Sob... ''Mother?'' Pedro heard the woman cry and the phone being moved over as if it was being passed to another person. "Let me talk to him first! Calm down and then talk to him, Alright!" Pedro heard his father''s voice as the sound became clearer. "Ehm... Pedro? Hello! Do you recognize me?" "Father?!" "It''s me, son! It... It''s good to know you recognize me! How... How are you feeling? Does it hurt anywhere?" His father tried to suppress his emotions but his ''fatherly love'' took over and sent Pedro a barrage of questions. "I am fine! Why would I not recognize the voice of whom I inherited this Celebrity like looks!" He joked to lighten the mood between them. ''Eh... but you looked like a mummy right now! No worries! As soon as you wake up, we''ll schedule you to plastic surgery if your doctors approve of it!'' "That''s good! That''s good! If you feel anything weird, don''t hesitate to contact us! You didn''t forget our contact numbers right?" His father stares at the Special type VR Box Pedro was using. It has thick glass walls that can allow others to see the one inside the Box. This was a VR Box specifically modified for medical purposes. *Sniff "I''m ready!" His mother wiped her tears with an elegant white handkerchief as her other hand pulls the sleeves of his father''s polo shirt. ''One sec!'' His father gestures to his mom. "Son! Your mom''s gonna talk to you now! All I can say is, no matter what happens... Stay strong and never give up!" His father gave the phone to his mother as he placed his hand on her shoulders and occasionally patting lightly on her back. "SON!" "Mom!" "Mommy loves you! Uwaaa!" Her mom cried as his father took the phone again. This time, his mother can''t suppress her emotions and could only cry. (Her mother may look like a cry baby, but his mother was just so close to him. He''s spoiled, can''t do anything about that!) ''Not good! Her crying might have a negative effect on Pedro''s recovery!'' His father decided to end the call and just contact him again later when her mother calms down. "Son, we have some matter to take care at the moment... we''ll call you back a minute later!" "Ok, dad! Please tell mom that I am fine! and... If she continues to cry... I''d be sad!" "Don''t worry son! I''ll handle things! Who do you think I am? ... Oh! By the way! You never told us that you have a GIRLFRIEND! Seems like someone inherited my traits of being charismatic on women!" His father smirked as his mother shot glances to his father and slapped his back. "Girl... huh?" Pedro uttered but his parents weren''t able to hear him. "What do you mean by ''CHARISMATIC ON WOMEN''!? ARE YOU HIDDING SOMETHING FROM ME?" Pedro was astounded by what his father told but before he could answer back he heard his mother scream as she slapped his father in the back. The call ended as Pedro stared in the air trying to process "who, the hell, was his ''GIRL... FRIEND''!". ... After he finished washing the remaining dishes, he sat on the sofa and still wondered who was the woman his father was referring when his ''Earth Communication tab'', ECT, rang again. "Are they done handling their matters? or did they forgot to tell something?" ''A different number?'' Although he was confused about the different number calling him, he answered it. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. "He... Hello? Pe... Pedro? Classmate Pedro?" The sweet and lovely voice of the girl was mixed with astonishment and concern. ''This voice!'' "Sabrina? Is that you?" *Sob Sob... "I... I... I''m... Sorry... I... I wasn''t... of great help!" Sabrina was crying but her voice sounded soft and cute. ''Wait... It couldn''t be that...'' Pedro was speechless as he placed the pieces together and made ''an assumption''. __________________________________________________________________________________________________ Author''s Note: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Author''s Opinion: Take note of this line... "SON!" (Pedro''s Mother cried) Then, later on, Pedro replied this line... "Ok, dad! Please tell mom that I am fine! and... If she continues to cry... I''d be sad!" ... This scene showed that whenever someone you know is sick or is in critical condition (may include depression), It is a good thing to show a happy or positive vibe to them. I personally believe in this as it may encourage or empower the will of those who were sick into which, I think, is an important thing. This was inspired in the movie "3 idiots" where one of them was in a coma, they kept showing happy and positive vibes to him (even the fake ones) that help speed up his recovery. It might seem impossible, but... I personally believe in it. As they say... "Happiness is the best medicine!" ... To those who were feeling sad or hopeless... Just remember this... "Nothing is permanent except... change... and When the world, loses another great man like you!" The message I wanna say was messed up, Lmao... (I even remade the Author''s opinion part) But... All I wanna say is... If you''re sad, sick or such... "CHEER UP!". ... (I personally suggest watching the "3 Idiots" movie! It was really a good and inspiring movie! ... I''m not advertising lol... Just suggesting a good and inspirational movie that can make you motivated!) 58 Pen-Knife, The Special Weapon-Item! ''Nah... It''s not good to assume things up!'' "Don''t worry about me! I''m doing fine! How about you? Are things all set in your side for the game later?" He broke the awkward silence with a concerned voice. "Uhm!" Sabrina nodded as she responded to Pedro and her cry started to subside."My VR Box is already installed beside my bed! And... I was checking the information Charlotte, Ashley and Beatrice gave us earlier... when Uncle... Ehm... your father... called saying that I could contact you through phone!" ''Father? Ha! I''m now a hundred percent sure! Sabrina was the one father was referring to as ''My Secret Girlfriend''! Knowing father... He might have asked that personally! No... He definitely asked it personally! How embarrassing!'' He wore a grim expression after imagining what his father might have asked Sabrina as he started to feel shy and embarrassed to Sabrina, making him silent and speechless for some time. ''Why am I blushing? Why does my heart start to beat fast again? It''s not like... I like her... but... Ah! I need to hang up for some unknown reason!'' Pedro started to panic as beads of sweat started dropping down from his head. "Ehm... Sabrina, sorry to cut you out... but... I have to go now! Something came up! We can just talk later! Hehe" He anxiously bluff as more beads of sweat drops from his head. "Oh... yeah yeah... no problem, Pedro! Sorry to trouble you!" Sabrina forces an awkward smile as she thought inwardly ''What''s with this awkward feeling? Why does it seem like he is avoiding me?''. "You were never a ''trouble''!" Words came out unconsciously out of Pedro''s mouth as both of them were astounded and wore a shocked look. "Eh?" Sabrina could only be rendered speechless, unable to process what Pedro meant to say. ''What did he mean by what he said?'' ''Whaaaaa... Why did I say that! Yo! Yo! Inner me! What did you just do? Is that the result of my head getting a concussion?'' "Anyway, I gotta go! See ya later! Bye!" Pedro bluffed as he ended the call and didn''t even allow Sabrina to say her ''See ya later!''. "See ya..." Sabrina murmured as Pedro disconnected in the call. She had mixed emotions, not knowing whether to be happy (because of her ''Assumption'') or sad (because of Pedro''s current situation.). ''Hah... Hah... Focus! Focus! I cannot let this feeling interfere with my dream of becoming the best player in Bearth!'' ... Bored and nothing to do, Pedro checked the rewards he gets for gaining skill making talent. ... [Pen-Knife] (Special, Weapon-Item) Rating: Bronze-rated weapon Level Requirement: 1 Weapon Level: 1 Attributes: Attack Damage: +5 Container Limit: 0/1 Liter of blood Special Effect: Passive Mode: Automatically sucks blood within a five-meter radius. -If the container is empty, the nearest blood type (except the user''s blood) will be sucked. -If the container has a blood content, the same type of blood will only be sucked. Active Mode: User directs which blood to be gathered. (be noted that container cannot contain two different blood type at the same time!) (Blood type isn''t the different blood types of humans. The different blood types referred to Human blood, Wolf blood, Troll blood, etc. where each species has a different type of blood.) [LevelUP]: Write the required number of words using the pen to increase the level. Required number of words: 0/2000 Words [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the weapon by offering an amount of blood required. Amount of Blood Required: 0/100 Liters of blood Offer: Consumes all the blood in the container. (It may not look realistic for a pen to hold 1 Liter of blood... Well... it is a game though!) [The forgotten type of pen of the olden times used in skill making, mapping, and magic scroll making!] ... "What? It is also an Evolve weapon? That explains the sharp, knife looking, glass opposite to the pen''s tip! Well... It not much of a weapon but a pen... just a specialized one! The system gave me five of this for the reason that the other four might be extras... in case... I lost one?" Humans lose things like pens normally, so Pedro assumed that the system considered this factor. (Well, we do lose some pens at some point...) ''Blood... Hm... Didn''t I looted a Blood of the Octrocras?'' He scanned through the items in his bag and took it out. "A Strawberry jam?" He took out a jar with a red, gell looking liquid in it. He twisted the cover slowly as he toggles the Passive mode of the Pen-knife. SPLAT! WHOOSH! The moment Pedro opened the cover of the jar, Blood started to gush out of it as Pedro''s room started to be flooded with Blood. FFFFFF! ... [System Notification!] [Pen-Knife] (Special, Weapon-Item) Container Limit Reached! Container Limit: 1/1 Liter of blood ... "Wa! Wa!" Pedro panicked and closed the jar as the gushing of blood stopped. However, his room was already filled with an ankle-high of Blood flood. "Offer! Offer!" Pedro doesn''t have a Paper from a Nearis Tree, Hence, All he can do was use ''Offer'' to empty out the Pen and suck more blood to remove the Blood flood in his room. ... "Hooh!" He sighed as his room was finally back to normal and the Pen has now evolved to silver rating. [Pen-Knife] (Special, Weapon-Item) Rating: Silver-rated weapon Level Requirement: 1 Weapon Level: 1 Attributes: Attack Damage: +50 Container Limit: 4/10 Liters of blood Special Effect: [Blood Vacumm]: Sucks blood until the container was full. User can toggle from Passive to Active mode. Passive Mode: Automatically sucks blood within a five-meter radius. -If the container is empty, the nearest blood type (except the user''s blood) will be sucked. -If the container has a blood content, the same type of blood will only be sucked. Active Mode: User directs which blood to be gathered. (be noted that container cannot contain two different blood type at the same time!) (Blood type isn''t the different blood types of humans. The different blood types referred to Human blood, Wolf blood, Troll blood, etc. where each species has a different type of blood.) [LevelUP]: Write the required number of words using the pen to increase the level. Required number of words: 0/2000 Words [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the weapon by offering an amount of blood required. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. Amount of Blood Required: 0/1000 Liters of blood Offer: Consumes all the blood in the container. (It may not look realistic for a pen to hold 1000 cc or 1 L of blood... Well... it is a game though!) ... Special Skill: Skill: ~Deeper Cut~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: Amplify the bleeding caused by the knife tip by 100% for 5 seconds. [Sharpened and cuts deeper! Be careful!] [The forgotten type of pen of the olden times used in skill making, mapping, and magic scroll making!] ... 59 STALL MODE! "Let''s check the other reward!" Pedro was filled with excitement and anticipation and took the ''Empty Book'' in his bag. ... [Book(Skill Records)] (Special Item) Rating: Gold-rated Item. Item Level: 0/100 Effect: Main Effect: Stores records and details of skill observed by the user. One Skill is equivalent to one page. Exact same skills won''t be recorded again, However, if there was new or different in the methods used to display the same skill, the new records, and details would be included in the first record and would be updated. Special Effect: 1 - [User Bound]: Records data and details using the vision of the User bound to the book! Bound User: "Death" 2 - [Rewrite]: Automatically saved records will last for 10 days. If not re-written within 10 days, the recorded data and details would be erased automatically. Re-write would place the record permanently to the Book. It can only be re-written with the use of "Pen-Knife" and a creature''s Blood! Non-Permanent Records: 0/100 Permanent Records: 0/150 [LevelUP]: Each skill data or record saved would be equivalent to 1 level up. Each level up increases the number of pages by 1. Max level is 100. Additional Page/s: 0/100 [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the Item when the maximum level was attained and all pages were occupied by data and records of different skills. Book Level: 0/100 Occupied pages: 0/150 [The book of skills! A Skill-maker''s bible and with it they can produce new skills with ease! "Who the hell in the world can remember every scene he/she saw since birth?"] ... "A GOLD-RATED? Two evolve type of rewards... But all were only usable to Skill-making! The book has no use at the moment!" He was astounded as he returned the Book to his inventory bag. "Guess I''ll just strengthen the Pen-Knife as much as I can before we set foot to gods'' continent!" He rubbed his chin as he took out the jar of blood. He started feeding and offering blood to the Pen-Knife. He only used one Pen-Knife and stored the rest to his bag. Hours later he consumed all the blood of Octrocras he looted. Phew! "It seems easy, but it was really hard! Doing the same thing over and over again can be exhausting!" He sighed as he looked like he was about to puke. He checked the details of the Pen-Knife as he assumed that it evolved once again. ... [Pen-Knife] (Special, Weapon-Item) Rating: Gold-rated weapon Level Requirement: 1 Weapon Level: 1 Attributes: Attack Damage: +500 Container Limit: 347/500 Liters of blood Special Effect: Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. Passive Mode: Automatically sucks blood within a five-meter radius. -If the container is empty, the nearest blood type (except the user''s blood) will be sucked. -If the container has a blood content, the same type of blood will only be sucked. Active Mode: User directs which blood to be gathered. (be noted that container cannot contain two different blood type at the same time!) (Blood type isn''t the different blood types of humans. The different blood types referred to Human blood, Wolf blood, Troll blood, etc. where each species has a different type of blood.) [LevelUP]: Write the required number of words using the pen to increase the level. Increase Container Limit by 10 Liters for every 5 levels increased. Additional Container Limit: 0 Liters Required number of words: 0/2000 Words [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the weapon by offering an amount of blood required. Amount of Blood Required: 2,500/1,000,000 Liters of blood Offer: Consumes all the blood in the container. ... Special Skill: Skill: ~Deeper Cut~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: Amplify the bleeding caused by the knife tip by 100% for 5 seconds. [Sharpened and cuts deeper! Be careful!] ... Skill: ~No Contact Control~ Rarity: Gold-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: Manipulates the Pen-Knife trajectory and position with just the User''s mind. (Includes floating in position!) [It''s a bird! No, It''s a plane! NO! It''s SuperPen!] ... [The Pen that can only be nurtured by a killer!] ... "Now... what to do? Maybe, I should go find Senior Kentaro and kill more Octrocras so I can evolve this Pen once more! Hehehe..." Pedro played his Pen-Knife in his hand as he grabbed his inventory bag and walked out of his room. When he passes crew members on the hallway, they often gossip to each other while glancing back to the fading figure of Pedro. "Seems like that duel made me famous! However, that woman may act almighty, why do I feel like using a rock was an overkill?!" He wore a wryly smile as he enters the deck area. "I should visit her later!" Knock! Knock! Knock! ''Why is he here?'' Alivia was surprised as her attention was shifted to the access door of CBCR, Combined Bridge and Control Room of the main ship, to the deck. "Open up!" "Senior Alivia, Sorry for the inconvenience!" Pedro bowed in respect, they might act like friends when they are not in ''duty'', however, It is a different matter when they are on work. And as of now... They are Officer and a Soldier, not a Senior and Junior! "We don''t bow! We salute! Anyway... what do you need?" Alivia exerted a tense aura that made the air in the control as serious as possible. The focus everyone gives was like they were just about to enter a war. "Perhaps, you are here to give me my snacks?" "Uhm... It''s somehow related to that! I had a limited amount of ingredients and was hoping to seek help from Senior Kentaro in securing some... If he''s free!" Pedro wore an awkward smile inwardly and felt scared just from the tense air inside the CBCR. Hence, He bluffed and used the ''Snacks'' into his advantage to gain Kentaro''s assistance and getting a huge amount of Blood ''Loots''. "There! Take him!" Alivia pointed to the engraved Kentaro in a wall in the CBCR. Kentaro wore a miserable look and one of his shoulders was dislocated. Boom! "Ha..." Kentaro sighed dejectedly as he used his Katana to push his self from being engraved on the wall. "Help him secure the ingredients he needs!" Alivia stare with a threat as Kentaro walked towards Pedro. Crack! Crack! "Yes! Yes!" Kentaro replied in a serious tone as he fixed his dislocated shoulder and caused a cracking sound. "Thank you, Senior Alivia!" Pedro saluted as Kentaro entered the deck. "Wait! Let me join! I have not stretched out for days already! Besides... More hands, more ingredients, more food you can make!" Madame Soledad smirked as she walked through the main entrance of the CBCR from the ship. "Oh... Madame!" Pedro''s eyes suddenly shined with greed. With Madame Soledad and Kentaro, He could collect tons of "Blood Loot"! ''I need to divert their attention that might lead to the Pen-Knife and the ''blood loot'' thing! Madame Soledad might ask for one if she knew! The book has harder conditions to meet, hence... All I can do was to give an extra Empty Book to Madame Soledad! It might even be useful to her!'' "By the way! I have something to give you..." Pedro opened his bag and took out the book. The moment Madame Soledad got a glimpse of the book, one-fourth of it was already exposed outside the bag, her eyes turned black as Alivia noticed it. "STALL MODE!" Alivia screamed on top of her lungs as Pedro, Kentaro, and Madame Soledad Vanished. The ship stopped in an abrupt manner that alerted everyone in the ship. The doors located in the deck, including the one in the CBCR, were shut close as the ship started to descent underwater. After a second, Alivia also vanished from the sight as the crew was confused why the ship entered a ''stall mode''. (''Stall Mode'' is a protocol in the Karakoa where the ship stays still and goes underwater. All crew members, whether on duty or not, was required to be into battle mode. Madame Soledad, Kentaro, and Alivia were the only ones who were Master-rank and above. Hence, If the ship encounters treat at that rank or level, It would be a downside battle for a moving and halved battle power ship. But with the full force of the crew, they can act as a sphere defense and protect every side of the ship. Although there would be a difference in strength, they can still delay enemies until one of the three return.) (Why stay still underwater? Simple concept... To disguise as a rock underwater! Even underwater detection magic would be tricked by this!) ... Whoosh! "Where are we?!" Pedro was astounded as he holds the extra ''Empty Book'' in his hand and a gust blew through the desert. When he glanced to Madame Soledad, her black eyes immediately caught his attention. His astounded expression was immediately replaced with a pale look. He felt the same feeling when the ''God Dragon'' (In the AVR game he played before Bearth Online!) stared at them like they were ants. "So... what''s the situation? Why did you send us to your ''dreamland'', Soledad?!" Alivia arrived seconds later and asked casually like it was something normal to her. ''Dreamland? What''s that? never heard of it even in my past life!'' Pedro frowned as he awaits Madame Soledad''s explanation. "Calm down Young man! It''s safe here! In fact, this place is safer than the ship... or even the BHO main base! As long as you have food though! Hahaha!" Kentaro chuckled as he placed his hand to Pedro''s shoulder. "That book! It''s the same to the book grandmother got as a reward in her younger years, the Book of Skill making!" She pointed to the book Pedro was holding as Alivia and Kentaro glanced at it. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Author''s Note: - Those who pointed out some of my mistakes, thank you! I''m a new author and was still in the process of learning and development. I make mistakes often, Please bear with me. Hahaha... :D (especially my grammars - usual case to new authors) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Kindly support the novel by Voting it! It motivates and inspires me knowing that you guys like my work! - It is through your comments and the Votes the novel received, where I learn that you liked my work! 60 Truth about the gods eyes ! "No worries! No worries, Madame! I intended to give you this, In return for accepting me as your apprentice! To be honest, days ago, I was just a nobody with no future! Fortunately, I have encountered you and tried my luck to learn skill making! To my surprise... I didn''t only learn a rare talent but I also became a part of the crew of the rumored Sword Ship!" ''Phew!'' Pedro sighed as he looked like someone who had just answered an interview skillfully. "Give? To me? Do you even know its value?" Madame Soledad was astounded to Pedro''s words. He looked like a kid giving a bar of gold to an elder like it was just candy. "Seeing how you react... Its value might be way more than what I could imagine! Hence, this... even solidifies my resolve to give this book to you! If it was left to my hands... I can''t imagine what tragedies and misfortunes would come after me!" ''Come on! Just take it! I''m starting to run out of words!'' He frowned inwardly as he wanted to avoid any further question and answer portion. "Hmm..." Alivia had a doubted look as Madame Soledad walk towards Pedro. "Then... Tell me! Is there any item with the same value that you possess?" Madame Soledad''s black eyes stared directly to Pedro''s eyes as she took the book. "Uhm... Uhm..." "Hmm?" "Uhm... There... There is!" Pedro''s mouth seemed to have a life of its own and answered Madame Soledad''s question by itself. "Let me see it!" ''What the heck! Why is my hand moving on its own?! Stop! Stop!'' He tried to stop his hands who was moving on its own, to no avail. It grabbed the cylindrical container with the black eyeballs in it. "..." Madame Soledad was astounded and speechless as if a god was standing right in front of her. "Oh! My! God!" Alivia was also astounded to the point that her eyes looked like they were about to pop out from their sockets. "What''s the matter? Is it too gory to see a pair of eyeballs for you? Khe!" Kentaro mocked Alivia as he didn''t know the true value and power the eyeballs hold. "You!" Alivia stared daggers to Kentaro. He did not know anything about gods'' eye as Madame Soledad''s gods'' eye was only known by her and Madame Soledad herself. ''Dang! I''m dead! They saw the ''gods'' eye''! Dang! Dang! Dang!'' Pedro cursed inwardly as he grasps the cylindrical container in his hand. "I..." He wanted to try to bluff his way out... but... the NPCs in front of him is way too strong for him to mess around and lie. ''I should have not taken the book out!'' ''Calm down, Soledad! Calm down!'' "Ordinary creature?" Kentaro wore a grim smile as he fully unsheathed his golden katana from its scabbard. Alivia, at the same time, was covered with a thick pink aura as his hands wore a golden pink aura like boxing gloves. ''Haha... I feel like... if I move even a millimeter... It would instantly cause my death! Senior Alivia and Senior Kentaro''s aura and killing intent were like an elephant staring at an ant wanting to crush it so bad. While... Madame Soledad''s aura... is like... you are... in front of the demon, itself!'' Pedro wore a grim look deep inside as he was being overwhelmed by the magical energy he felt from the three. "Should I say lower life form?" Madame Soledad smirked as she mocked Kentaro with a demonic voice. "Those eyeballs belong to the gods who fall into evil! They were called... Demons!" "???" "..." Kentaro and Pedro were confused to what Madame Soledad said as they try to contemplate what she just said. "Historic records say that some Humans in the early days found the tomb of a ''Demon''. In it... lays its corpse... and a pair of eyeballs! It was rumored that they were considered as cursed items as humans try to bury or place them somewhere far. But for a blind human... It is a blessing!" Madame Soledad sighed as she held her hand to her forehead. "Let me tell you my story! The monster siege that destroyed our village intensified my will to help and protect those helpless villages. Hence, at an early age, I choose the path of being an adventurer." "Together with a group of ten adventurers, we roam around the northern continent and help villages who faced attacks from monsters. Until one day... an unprecedented flock of mutated carnivore birds attacked." "One by one, every villager was being sliced down by its claws into half. It was a gore scene for me as a new adventurer. As a result, I spaced out! The moment I spaced out, a mutated bird aimed for me... Arsel... Arsel, a fellow adventurer, saved me by pushing me aside. He... He was cut into half right in front of me! Although... He pushed me... My eyes... were reached by the bird''s claws! At that moment, I became unconscious..." "After a seemingly long sleep, I waked up inside a cave... besides a woman (who looked like a mummy without the wrap) and beside her was an empty cylindrical container... like that!" She pointed to the container in his hands as all of their gazes shifted to it. "Is your vision back? The dried woman asked me as I replied a nod... She smiled back and said that she was glad that I didn''t end up being blind... thanks to the demon''s eyes that she placed in me! Later on... After a countless amount of research, I learned that the demon eyes can be infused to replace a blind man''s eye, This is where I met Alivia. However, It required huge magical energy to infuse it. Demon eyes wielder can easily fuse it... but... to ordinary humans... It would suck up all their magical energy to death." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. "Well... If the proper fusing was done! If not... It would only make ordinary humans be in a weakened state for some days... but, the power of the demon they inherit doesn''t even match to one percent of the demon''s true power!" ''One percent?!'' Kentaro was astounded to the point that his jaw dropped to the ground. ''One percent? Then... the power the players had in my past life... was just... one... percent?! Then... Just how powerful Madame Soledad is? Nevermind that... How powerful is a god?'' Pedro can''t help but wore a grim face as he stares at the container in his hand. 61 The house of Pride! "No need! No need to kill me, Madame! You... you can have it if you want it! I am your apprentice after all! I''d follow anything you''d order me to do!" Pedro bluffed at his best. Beads of sweat fall from his forehead as he wore a wryly smile. ''This is just one of the three... no need to die and lose all of them... Haha!'' He chuckled deep inside as he prays at his best that Madame Soledad, Alivia or Kentaro won''t kill him. (To those who ask why was he afraid? Remember Alivia and Pedro''s first meeting, Alivia''s casual punches were to fast for Pedro to react which highlights his weakness. Any attacks with an interval shorter than two seconds (The cooldown of Intermediate potion) can kill him... At the other point of view, let''s just take the ''weaker'' Kentaro. Pedro can''t even see his Katana out of its scabbard when they killed many Octrocras.) "Ho... ho... Not bad!" As soon as Pedro handed the cylinder container to Madame Soledad, she crushed it with her grip. "Eh?" Alivia, Kentaro, and Pedro were shocked as Madame Soledad grabbed the eyeballs in midair. Swoosh! A black aura sliced through Pedro''s eyes as his vision became dark. "Ah! My eyes! My eyes! Please don''t kill me! Please don''t kill me!" Pedro was in his knees. His hands held his eyes and tried to stop its bleeding as he panicked and system notification sounded. ... -???????????? You''ve been inflicted by [???]! You are blinded permanently! [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 78 + ??????????? (damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: +????????? (damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... (Any damage beyond ten million will show a question mark for players below level 50.) "Ah... My eyes!" Pedro was not even able to pay attention to the notification because of the pain. ''What now?'' His hands started to move again on its own as it slowly moves away from his eyes. "AAAAAAAAAH!" Pedro screamed as he felt the chilling aura get closer each second to him. ''Please stop! What are these hard things being forced into... my... eyes...'' Something was forcedly pushed to his eye sockets as he slowly lost consciousness. Despite his unconscious state, Various notifications flooded into his Interface. (he can''t see it though) [Congratulations! You have activated Demon Varxatos Enhancement!] [Demon Varxatos Legacy Enhancement, Completed!] [System Notification] Player received 95% of the actual strength of Demon Varxatos'' eyes. Everything was successfully inherited by Player "Death". ... [Demon Varxatos Legacy Enhancement!] Attributes(LOCKED): ??? Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. ??? ??? UNLOCK: ??? ??? ??? ??? ... ... Skill/s List: ... Skill: ~Emperor''s Will~ Rating: Legendary-rated Skill Skill Type: Active, Passive Effect: Effects are only applicable only to Living things. - Passive Effect: Releases ~Emperor''s Aura~ within a 100-meter radius, User is the center. Emperor''s Aura: Suppresses anyone to give respect to the Emperor! ~ 10 Levels or more, Below the bound user''s Level: Consciousness fatigue is at 100%. Instantly losses their consciousness. ~ 9 Levels below to 9 Levels above the bound user''s Level: Silence all skills, Consciousness fatigue is at 60%. Kneels down and can barely suppress the fatigue. ~ 10 Levels or more, Above the bound user''s Level: Silence all Gold-rated skills, Silver-rated skills, and Bronze-rated skills. Consciousness fatigue is at 20%. A small amount of fatigue to temporarily cause temporary loss of focus or attention. Can use to temporarily interrupt spell casting or such. - Active Effect (LOCKED): Releases ~Emperor''s Focused Intimidation~ on a single Living thing within a 100-meter radius, User is the center. Emperor''s Focused Intimidation: ~ 50 Levels within (plus or minus) the bound user''s Level: Consciousness fatigue is at 100%. The target instantly loses its consciousness. ~ More than 50 Levels within (plus or minus) the bound user''s Level: Inflict Consciousness fatigue of 10% and Intimidate the target like a bluff. Cooldown: 1 minute - Active Effects does not stack. Active Effect does not stack with Passive Effect. - UPGRADE: ??? ??? ??? ??? [Bow to the Emperor of the Demons!] ... ... Skill: ~Emperor''s Dreamland~ Rating: Divine-rated Skill Skill Type: Active Effect(LOCKED): Teleport to the Personal ''Dreamland'' of User. Dreamland:??? ??? ??? ??? [Available only to Inheritors of gods'' eyes who was infused with the sacrifice of one human or if infused by a gods'' eyes User. Actual Strength received must be higher than 75%!] ... ... UNLOCK OTHER SKILLS: ??? ??? ??? ??? ... "Where... Where am I?" After minutes of being unconscious, He woke up inside the CBCR. He was greeted by the busy crew, a serious Alivia and Madame Soledad, and the stuck again to the wall Kentaro. "He''s awake!" Alivia was ecstatic to see and learn what Pedro gain from the ''Demon''s eyes''. (Author''s Note: Let''s call it ''Demon''s eyes'' from now on!) "Huh? Senior? What happened?" ... "Ehhhhhhhhhhhh? I can see again?" Pedro remembered everything that happened in a flash. He shot up from the floor, blinking his eyes and looking around as if he can''t believe what had just happened. "Lower your voice!" Madame Soledad scolded as she walked near to Pedro. "Stop the ship!" Fwoooosh! The crew was confused about her orders but all they can do was to follow her. Hence, the ship halted abruptly that shook the whole ship. "Try to remember a negative experience! A betrayal or anything that might anger you!" Madame Soledad commanded as all crews watched them in anticipation, even the engraved in the wall Kentaro. "Uhm!" He nodded as he thought about how his "guild members" who terminated their contract in his past life, "betrayed" him... and he imagined them mocking him like he was someone who was ''weak'' and ''money dependent''. Bog! Bog! Bog! Bog! Bog! "Eh?" Pedro was astounded when his vision got ''Upgraded'', while at the same time watching the scene where almost 80% of the Ship''s Crew Members within a 100-meter radius from Pedro, especially inside the CBCR, lost their consciousness and began falling to the floor like a dead man. "Pff... Such power!" Alivia felt slight dizziness as she leans on a railing. Kentaro felt the same as Alivia, fortunately, he was holed up and won''t need to stumble. 62 Capitalizing fear! "Why does it look like everyone has a magical aura around them? though it is thin, I still can see it~ Waa!" Pedro glanced over to every until he glanced to Madame Soledad who was covered with a black aura. "Hahaha! That''s because... your eyes belong to a demon from the house of Pride!" Madame Soledad chuckled and explained since only Kentaro and Alivia was awake in the CBCR. "House of Pride? What is that?" Pedro asked in a confused manner as Alivia face palmed herself. ''It seems like, even after six years of Bearth experience in my past life, I am yet to unfold the true lore behind the game!'' Pedro wore a grim smile as he shook his head inwardly. "Seriously? You didn''t know about it?" Alivia asked again with disbelief. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. "Uhm!" Pedro nodded in response. *Sigh "Remember what I told you about the Demon''s eyes... I said that it was once the eyes of an exiled god... or a demon... Right?" Madame Soledad started to explain as Alivia walked towards her seat in the CBCR. "There was a gods and demon war before Etoros caused havoc in the world! Based on the historical records, It was said that there were seven houses in the demon faction. Each house has its distinct traits from the other houses, that set their members'' common characteristics... including the visual techniques they use!" "How did you know that my demon''s eyes were from the house of Pride?" "..." Madame Soledad smirked as she pointed to her eyes which was also colored all black. "Your... your demon''s eyes were from the house of Pride too?" Pedro was astounded as Madame Soledad nodded to him in response. "Yes! Abilities or Skills that an inheritor gain will speak to what House does the original owner of the demon''s eye belong! After you used your Demon''s eyes, everyone around you was rendered unconscious... or suffer minor mental fatigue! It signified that you were looking down upon them like some animal that can be butchered with ease!" Madame Soledad tried to explain in the best way possible. "My eyes are technically the same. I look down to everyone! That way, I would be able to draw a line that shows the difference in strength between me and anyone and create fear with it. Then, I capitalize that fear to force someone to spill information or force them to do something! Remember your hand when it took the cylindrical container? Haha!" Madame Soledad grinned as she mocked Pedro. "Hehe..." Pedro could only laugh in embarrassment as a response. "Uhm! Thank you, Madame!" Pedro bowed ninety degrees to Madame Soledad as he was full of gratitude. First, he would have waited for a long time before he can activate the legacy enhancement. And Second, he gains that much information about it and he didn''t get the usual ''one percent'' inherit like the other players in his past life. "Hmm... Can you somehow wake them back up? We are kind of short in time already! We need to be in BHO main base in a few days!" Madame Soledad wore a troubled look as she glace to the still unconscious crew. "Ok..." Pedro blinked his eyes and it returned to normal. Seconds later, crews started to regain their consciousness one by one. "What happened?" "Did I just fell asleep?" "Did... did I just slack off?" The crew gossiped to each other like someone who just woke up from his/her sleep. The moment they realize that they were inside the CBCR, they looked at each other and then slowly glance at the same time to Madame Soledad''s serious figure. "Do you want me to ask you ''HOW''S YOUR SLEEP?''!?" "No! Captain!" Everyone shouted in unison as they went back to their stations. Boom! "Should we continue our fishing... Ehm... getting of the ingredients now? Shall we?" Kentaro shot out of the wall and excitedly approached Pedro. ''Ho... Ho... If what I heard earlier is right... He will cook food for us if he has the ingredients! With his demon''s eyes! We can get many ingredients... hence... many foods!" Kentaro grinned evilly deep inside. "Let''s go!" Madame Soledad smirked after being reminded of the ingredients and food as she gestured to Kentaro like saying ''Good job!''. "Go on! I''ll handle things here! Just... be fast!" Alivia gestured at the like saying ''hurry and get those ingredients so he can cook and we can EAT!''. ''Why do they look like gluttons to me?'' Pedro wore a grim smile inside as he shook his head. ... *Tok! Tok! "Get ready young man!" Kentaro smirked after Madame Soledad knocked on a wall of the ship that was like a sign meant for the CBCR. They were on a triangular formation, where Madame Soledad was in the front right, Kentaro was in the front left and Pedro was behind them, in the middle. "Here they come!" The ship descended a bit until the deck was the only one above water. For some unknown reason, different sea creatures jumped out of the water to attack them. But before Pedro could react, the giant fish of a size of yacht that jumped out of the water was sliced into cubes and was heading straight to Pedro. "Dang!" He can''t help but curse as he faced his palms towards the incoming diced fish. He tossed the Pen-Knife in the air and opened his interface. He set aside the other notifications and only waited for the prompt about "Offer". "This kid! Just how many secrets does he have!" Madame Soledad shook her head as she glanced to the floating Pen-Knife above Pedro that kept sucking blood. "Woo!" Alivia''s eyes shined bright as she stares at the Bloodsucking Pen above Pedro. 63 A Trap Reward? While ''fishing'' Kentaro looked up in the sky... "Senior! Someone''s watching us! Should I hunt it down?" Kentaro grasped his sword tightly as he stared at the bird with killing intent. "Don''t! It might be someone from the gods'' continent! We don''t want to upset anyone from there! Just keep your defenses up always! The moment it strikes, we counter-attack!" Madame Soledad instructed as Pedro heard their conversation. He took the Faithpursuer Katana from his Inventory bag and grasped it tightly with his other hand. "Kid! Don''t use your eyes unless I say so! Those ''temporarily hired'' crews were too weak to resist your skill! ... and it would be troublesome if they lost consciousness in the middle of an emergency!" Madame Soledad glance to Pedro as if saying ''DON''T YOU DARE!''. "Uhm!" He nodded in response as he felt scared from her dark aura. ''Dang! When will I be able to resist her control skill!?'' ... Bag! Bag! sssh! "That''s enough for now!" Minutes later, the ship slowly rose after Madame Soledad made two strong taps with her foot. "Go Cook so we could eat before we arrive!" Madame Soledad''s aura returned normal as they walk towards the CBCR. Pedro, on the other hand, walked towards the entrance to the ship nearest to the rooms. "Time to cook!" He grinned as he descends in the stairs to the ship. ... While cooking, Pedro checked the notifications in his interface. He first checked the Legacy enhancement he gained. [Demon Varxatos Legacy Enhancement!] Attributes(LOCKED): ??? ??? ??? UNLOCK: ??? ??? ??? ??? ... ... Skill/s List: ... ... "Unknown!" Pedro could only shake his head. "It can''t be helped! Legacy enhancements were meant to be attained at level fifty after all." He decided to set the legacy enhancement aside and checked the next notification in the queue. [Congratulation on being the first player to gain a Legacy Enhancement! Would you like to announce your name to the world? Yes or No?] "No!" [Sever Announcement!] [Congratulations Player @@@@@@, for gaining the first Legacy Enhancement in the game! Your rewards are: Legacy Enhancement Skill Rank Up x1 ... Generate a random Legacy Enhancement Skill x1 ; or Generate an ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill x1] [Please choose between "Generate a random Legacy Enhancement Skill x1" or "Generate an ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill x1"!] ''Eh... Trap Reward! So... among these two rewards, one is more valuable than the other! This two reward seems the same but... I am certain... one of them is more valuable than the other! Hmm...'' He scratched his head as he reminisces his past experiences of ''Trap Rewards''. He had one experience where the choices were either a "Gold weapon" or a "Silver-rated weapon". Full of glee, He immediately chose the "Gold weapon". Upon getting the weapon, he regretted his choice immediately because the reward was a golden knife which was a ''bronze-rated weapon''. ''He! You won''t trick me again! My Legacy Enhancement has a skill that is locked! If I chose the random Legacy Enhancement... I would gain a legacy enhancement skill, no doubt about that... but... it could also be Locked! Hence...'' "I choose the "Generate an ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill x1"!" He smirked as he awaits the system''s response. [You have received the following: Legacy Enhancement Skill Rank Up x1 Generate an ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill x1] ... [System Notification] [Generate an ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill x1] To generate an ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill, User can select and ''Unlock'' among a list of "personally experienced" similar Legacy Enhancement Skill. Check the ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill tab to select! ... ... "Haha! If this was the trap... I''m fine with it! At least... I didn''t get another ''Locked'' Legacy Enhancement Skill!" He chuckled as he moved to his ''Earth Communication tab''. ... [Text Message] From: 09## ##1 2##6 Message: Son! We''ll contact you once in a while... It is really busy out here! The company has been busy all day long, thanks to someone! ... While your mom... She is taking care of your ''plan'' with our relatives while being your ''guard'' in the hospital! Make sure to thank her when you see her! Oh... I and your mother decided to play the game ''Bearth Online'' so we could see you! Besides... We''re just tagging along with your ''Secret... Girlfriend''! It''s a good opportunity to know our ''future daughter in law''! Haha! We love you! ... "Dad! She''s is not my GIRLFRIEND! Well... It''s not that I don''t like her! It''s just that... It''s not good to assume things up!" Pedro shouted and then blushed as he remembers Sabrina''s cute smile. Plak! "Ouch! Ouch!" Pedro accidentally pushed the pot and it fell into the ground. The boiling sauce spilled into Pedro''s pants that made him jump. ... Somewhere in a Beach Forest... Fwoosh! Wog! Wog! Wog! Boog! "What''s the matter, Kag?" A young girl with green hair and golden bright eyes caressed the giant Eagle''s mouth like it was just a dog. The ''Beach Forest'' was filled by momentary silence as they speak to each other telepathically. ''What''s the matter? You looked anxious!'' The girl continued to pet the Eagle. ''Oh, Great Goddess! Forgive my sudden intrusion! I saw something from afar and rushed immediately to report!'' ''It was fine! It was fine! So... what did you see?'' ''Humans!'' "HUMANS?" The little girl was astounded as one of the trees behind her moved. Its roots were uprooted as it became its two feet. Its branch bent as it became its two arms. And somewhere along the upper half of the trunk was it''s eyes and mouth. "So... We have visitors! When... will these... puny... humans... learn... THEIR LESSON!" The tree angrily uttered and its saliva splattered everywhere as the girl looked at it with a frown. "Quiet, Tan! Do not forget that I am here!" The girl scolded "Oh, Great Goddess, Forgive this lowly creature for my foolish acts!" The tree kneeled and bowed in absolute sincerity. "I''ll let you off the hook this time!" The girl shifted back her gaze to the eagle and telepathically communicated with it. ''How long, till they reach us?'' ''In approximately four hours, your majesty!'' ''Very well! Let them dock! I''ll handle with them! It has been a long time since I last played with humans!'' The girl grinned as she stopped petting the Eagle. "Listen! Don''t touch the humans! I''ll handle them!" She warned the trees that glance to her and nodded in response. ''Keep an eye on them! Report to me if you notice something unusual!'' The girl caressed the bird one last time as the Eagle nodded in response and flew towards the ocean. Wog! Wog! Wog! *Screech! "I hope these humans will provide me with some entertainment!" She began to skip towards the forest while humming a happy tune. 64 The Nawa Domain! A man was holding his phone while sitting on a couch. He was watching the delivery and installment of a VR box in a room fully covered with the color pink. "Brother! Why is my VR Box not colored pink?" The young girl wearing a pink jacket and pajama with some highlights of black complained to the man. The man ignores her as he focused on his cellphone. ... [Text Message] From: 09## #2# #4#1 Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. Message: Expert Brother "Death"! This is "Happy Face Killer"! I am sorry to inform you but... I would officially decline to your offer! I plan to stay with my current organization with my younger sister! Thanks for the great offer! Also! Remember that Village Soldier Tam?! We took his S-rated Chain Quest only to know that he is a MONSTER! He''s a shapeshifter! A werewolf of some sort... And... He seemed like he was looking for the treasures I traded to you! Just wanna inform you... in return for your ''kindness'' earlier! See you in-game! Good luck! ... "BROTHER!" The girl shouted that got the delivery and installation unit to glance at her and stopped at what they were doing momentarily. "Ow! Sorry, Talia... What was it again?" He wore an apologetic smile as he pats the girl''s head. "Hmph! Brother is spacing out again! I... SAID... MY VR BOX... IS... NOT... PINK!" Talia crossed her arms as she scolded Mathew. "Ow! Brother will do something about that! Don''t worry!" Mathew wore an awkward smile as he continued to pat Talia. ''I better get some paint at the hardware later!'' ... "Hah... How troublesome! I have to repeat the cooking! Fortunately, I have tons of ingredients!" Pedro complained after cleaning up the mess. *Sizzle Sizzle After minutes of cooking, His Fish Stew Dish was ready to be served! He went towards the golden pipe in his room and he wanted to try using it. "Ehm!" Pedro faked a cough. ''It seems like that is not the right way to use it!'' "Youngman! You''re done cooki~" *Pak! "Ouch! What was that for?" The voice of Kentaro was heard through the pipes. "You''re done?" Madame Soledad spoke in a serious tone that was hiding her excitement. "Uhm!" Pedro nodded as he responded. "I''ll send someone to help you to bring it here!" Minutes later some crew arrived at his room''s door and helped him carry the fish stew dishes to the CBCR. When they arrived at the CBCR, Madame Soledad, Alivia, and Kentaro wolf down the food and after minutes, every pot was emptied. "Senior! Unfair! You ate two pots more than me!" Pedro complained as Alivia punched him straight into the CBCR wall. "So what! Soledad ate twice of mine!" "You''ve got a problem with that Alivia?" Madame Soledad''s eyes became black and the dark aura starts to envelop her. "Oh... No! No! I was just saying!" Alivia wore a grim smile as she gestured to Madame Soledad. "TARGET ISLAND ON SIGHT! PREPARING TO ROTATE AND ENTER STALL MODE! IN YOUR ORDERS CAPTAIN!" A crew shouted that interrupted their squabble. ''How beautiful! No Beach in the Aquari continent looked like this!'' Pedro could only exclaim as he watches the beautiful scenery. *Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! "Ahhh..." Madame Soledad stood after emptying her drink. "ROTATE! STALL MODE ACTIVATE!" "Kentaro! Alivia! Stay here on the ship! You know what to do in case something happen! DON''T FK!NG HESITATE LIKE LAST TIME!" Madame Soledad was completely covered with black aura as her voice became deep. "Yes, Captain!" "Yes, Captain!" "Inform Carlos and his team to be on standby!" Madame Soledad shifted her gaze to a crew. "JOSHUA AND CARLOS WERE NOW ON STANDBY AT THE DECK!" The crew mustered all his courage to answer to the Demonic looking Madame Soledad. "KID! Let''s go! You''re coming with me!" Madame Soledad started walking towards the CBCR door to the deck of the ship. "Eh? Me?" Pedro uttered unconsciously that made Madame Soledad glance back. "Yes! YOU! WHO ELSE WOULD HAVE A NEED TO GO THERE?" Madame Soledad scolded as all crews looked away as if saying ''Nah! We''ll pass on that!''. ''What''s with this atmosphere!'' Pedro could only wear a grim smile as scanned through the crews who avoided contact with him and Madame Soledad. "Hurry! We must not stay here for a long period... It''s not safe here after all!" Helpless... Pedro could only run towards Madame Soledad and follow her to the deck. ... "Captain! Your boat is ready!" Carlos reported as soon as Madame Soledad and Pedro walked out of the CBCR. "Good! Remember! Don''t Slack off!" Madame Soledad scolded as she and Pedro boarded the boat. Joshua and Carlos saluted as the ship starts to turn around facing the opposite side of the Island. ... "What a beautiful place!" Pedro can''t help but be awed by the view. ''The water is so clean to the point that I could see through bottom. The transparent water allows me to see the beautiful corals! And... the beach... It has beautiful whitish-brown sand! It feels like I am heading to an unexplored wonder of the world!'' "Don''t be captivated by the scenery! We were able to reach here without encountering any trouble! If my guts are true... We are approaching a trap or something!" Madame Soledad looked wary of their surroundings as her thick dark aura covers her whole body. "If you felt something was wrong, don''t hesitate to use your demon''s eyes! Were far enough from the ship!" "Yes, Madame!" Pedro took out his Pen-Knife and hid it in his left-hand sleeves. Whoosh! Whoosh! The waves hit the shore as Pedro and Madame Soledad hoped out of the boat. ''Hooo... The water is not that hot nor cold!'' Pedro seemed tempted to swim from the ''good temperature'' of the water. *PAK! ''Ouch!'' Pedro scratched his head and looked like he was about to cry when he shifted his gaze to Madame Soledad to complain. But... He only saw Madame Soledad stare at him with a serious and scolding look. Tak! Tak! Tak! Plop! ''What''s that!'' Pedro and Madame Soledad stared to the bush behind a coconut tree as a rock was thrown and bounced towards them. "WHO''S THERE?!" Madame Soledad spoke with a deep demonic voice as her dark aura intensifies. "Welcome! Humans!" A figure of a young girl came out and started approaching them as different species of beasts and animals started coming out of the forest. The giant eagle flew high above them together with other birds and Screeched. 65 Its Been an Honor! "Greetings! We were sent here from a far place... hoping to encounter the rumored gods and goddess and ask for their aid in fighting the remaining monster army of Etoros~" Madame Soledad uttered while increasing her aura to try to scare the beasts and the little girl. "So that you can attack us afterward? Such mischievous beings! khuh! I was planning to play around but..." The little girl crossed her arms as she mocked Madame Soledad and Pedro. She swung her hands as if saying to the beasts... ''ATTACK!'' Screech! Rawr! Various beasts started charging towards them. A raven looking bird with sharp metallic claws was heading straight to Pedro. ''Think of those B@st@r@s! Think of those B@st@r@s! Think of those B@st@r@s!'' He closed his eyes wanting to activate the Demon''s eyes. *Bog! Bog! Bog! Bog! Bog! The small flying beasts fall one by one from the sky, as soon as Pedro activated his ''Demon''s eyes''. After activating his Demon''s eyes, a quarter of the beasts became unconscious. "YOU! YOU DARE HURT THEM!" The little girl''s soft voice became deep as her eyes turned into gold. "A GODDESS?!" Madame Soledad was stupefied while staring at the gold eyed girl. "HMPH! You knew it just now! Such INSOLENCE!" The young girl suddenly vanished out of thin air. At this moment the Ship was about to launch to its full speed away from the area. "You think you can escape me!" The little girl appeared a few meters above Pedro. She shifted her target from Pedro to the ship. She stares at it like it was a cotton candy about to be taken by another child. ''Oh no!'' Madame Soledad could only wear a grim look as she watches the girl aim for the Karakoa. ''YOU WON''T! DREAMMMM~ LAAAND!'' *Swooosh! Tig! Tig! "Ho... Ho... Such... Tricks... Won''t work on me!" The moment they arrived at the Dream Land of Madame Soledad the little girl vanished into thin air. ''Such speed!'' Madame Soledad had barely caught a glimpse of the little girl who has already launched a punch straight into Madame Soledad''s guts. *Bwah! ''Sh1t!'' Madame Soledad spit blood as they returned to reality. While in mid-air, due to the impact of the punch, she shifted her gaze to the sea. ''Please be safe!'' She felt relieved after seeing a glimpse of the full speed Karakoa. ... Seconds Earlier... "Madame!" Madame Soledad suddenly vanished together with the little girl. Fwooosh! ''Why are you leaving us behind!'' Pedro wore a grim look as he watches the Karakoa fled in full speed. The moment the Karakoa''s figure was about to be gone, Madame Soledad appeared with the little girl who punched her in the guts. ... A minute ago... Faraway from the island, Carlos and Joshua were the only ones in the deck and monitors the movement of Madame Soledad and Pedro. "..." Their calmed expressions were replaced with a grim look as if someone is standing right in front of Death! Madame Soledad had maxed out her aura signifying that she is facing someone that has an unfathomable strength. It was the sign that Madame Soledad informed Carlos as he has the [Amplify~Reduce] skill. Due to experiences, He was among the rare NPCs who can personally tell the difference between the magical energy of a being. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. "GOO! GO! CODE BLACK! CODE BLACK!" After a second, they got back into their senses. They ran towards the closest door to enter the ship. ''Code Black'' is the worst code in the ship that signifies complete inhalation and could only survive by trying to escape. Everyone''s faces went pale. In the CBCR, Alivia and Kentaro were speechless as the whole ship entered a deathly silence. ''Is this where we depart... Soledad!?'' Alivia had a conflicted feeling as if her mother, father or any relative was hit by a high-speed car right in front of her. "TSK!" Kentaro bit his lips, he tapped his sword to the wall that broke the silence. Boom! "FULL SPEED! USE MAGICAL ENERGY BOOST! GET US OUT OF HERE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE!" He shouted, not minding Alivia who was still in a daze. "Co~ COPY!" The crews shouted in response as they prepare for the launch. The ship had a propeller that had a rotating mechanism that needed a wind skill user to rotate it. They had a total of 15 mages who learned the same skill who had equal shifts by groups of five. In full speed, however, all 15 mages were required to rotate the propeller at their maximum and strongest output, thus making the ship at its full speed. "Hold up! Kentaro! You''re now the Captain!" Alivia walked towards the golden pipe in the CBCR as she wore a serious expression. "IT''S BEEN AN HONOR TO SERVE AS YOUR COMODORO DE ARMADA! SEE YOU~ SOMEDAY! BON VOYAGE!" The whole ship went into silence and was stupefied by what Alivia said. She walked towards the door to the deck and was not looking back to where she came. "Tsk!" Kentaro can''t help but scratch his head as the survival of the whole ship fall under his shoulders. ''Things went all messed up in just a second! Dam#!'' "Master Ken!" ''Paul! What are you doing here?'' "Paul Sorales reporting as Acting Second in Command!" A young man with two katanas in his waistline bundled together approached Kentaro. Kentaro shifted his gaze back and forth to Paul and the departing figure of Alivia. ''Ahhh! It can''t be helped!'' Kentaro gritted his teeth as he approached the golded pipe. "Paul! You''re now Karakoa''s Captain!" "Eh..." Paul was shocked as Kentaro vanished into thin air. Paul gathered himself as the crews stared at him as if saying ''Let us leave! We have families to go back to! We don''t want to die!''. "EVERYONE! PREPARE FOR FULL SPEED! LAUNCH IN 10 SECONDS!" Bag! Bag! Bag! All doors in the deck went shut as Alivia walked full of killing intent to the far edge of the ship. "You have no obligation to follow me!" Alivia was enveloped by a pinkish-red aura as soon as Kentaro appeared out of nowhere. "Khe! I have my reasons!" When they reached the edge of the back of the ship, Joshua, Carlos, Elder Urse, and the unconscious Elder Frederico was at the last small boat waiting for them. "Since you have your death wish... Don''t complain to me in the afterlife!" Boom! The ship shook as Alivia jumped high to the shore. "What are you waiting for? You''d think we''d need a ride!?" Kentaro mocked with a serious look as he bounced in the water to the shore. Fwooosh! The Karakoa sped away the moment Kentaro left. In seconds, the ship was nowhere to be seen. ... *Splash! Splash! Splash! Madame Soledad bounced off the water a couple of times until she landed into someone''s hands. "Senior! Is that blood?" Kentaro mocked with a smile as he seemingly floats above the water. "I bit my lips! That''s all!" Madame Soledad shrugged Kentaro''s hands as she stares at the little girl''s figure. "What''s this? More offering for my pets?" The little girl chuckled as she flies in the air. In her back where two massive wings that caught everyone''s attention. 66 The Heroes Crusade! Fwoosh! "PUNCHING ART: MULTIPLE KNIGHT BLOW!" Alivia screamed as she intercepted the girl in mid-air. ''She... She had multiple fists? Or... She is just that fast?'' Multiple punching golden fists beside Alivia and were about to hit the girl. "A child''s play! Khe!" The girl smirked as she gestured a push. Boom! Splat! ''...'' Everyone was speechless as Alivia spat out blood and pushed to the sea. Splash! "I got her!" Joshua jumped from the boat and caught Alivia. Yawn~ "Hoh... Too weak! Now... I am bored! Guess, I''ll... END... THINGS... NOW!" The little girl transformed into a flying dragon. "Those two greenhorns... The black scales... and those golden eyes... It can''t be you! The... the beast goddess! GODDESS DRAGON FAUNIA!" Alivia wore a grim look as she stares at the goddess. "Hoho... It seems someone knows something about me! But... it''s too late!" Goddess Faunia chuckled as she continued to descent towards Madame Soledad and Kentaro. Her throat looked like it was filled with magma as she closed her jaw. "Kentaro! Stay behind me!" "COME!" Madame Soledad''s demonic aura became thicker by tenfold. "GODDESS!" ''GODDESS!'' Everyone, even the treants hiding in the forest, felt fear deep in their hearts as they can only watch the dragon and the thick black demonic aura clash. Fwaaaaah! "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" The demonic figure of Madame Soledad screamed as the aura tried to fight the flame from the dragon. ''Soledad! Ah!'' Alivia tried to stand, but her injuries made her kneel in the water. (Note that only, Kentaro, Alivia, Madame Soledad, and Joshua can walk into the water.) ''Hold ooon!'' Carlos wore a grim look as blood started to drip from his nose, and his veins began to pop-out from pressure. ''Brother!'' Joshua shifted his gaze to Carlos as he assists Alivia. "BROTHER! NOOOOOOOOOO!" "To Serve, To Protect, To Sacrifice for those who are in need! Glory to Heroes~" *Splat! "Sen... ior... Car... los!" Pedro trembled as Carlos exploded into chunks of meat and covered Elder Urse and Elder Frederico with his blood. Fwoh! Everyone was shocked as they watch Carlos burst into pieces, and the dragon''s breath overpowered Soledad''s Aura. "Se... Senior Soledad?" Kentaro''s heart stopped as he tried to reach for the charcoaled body of Madame Soledad. Swoosh! A wind blew that pushed Madame Soledad''s kneeling figure down. "Eh? Did you survive? Guess that woman is capable! A bit! Hehe!" The dragon chuckled as it wore a wryly smile. "Brother!" *Sob! Sob! Joshua supported Alivia as they approached the boat. The dragon glanced at them and wore a mischievous smirk. ''Oh, no! Don''t stick together!'' But before he could warn them the dragon''s tail was heading straight to Kentaro. "SENIOR KENTARO!!" Pedro shouted as he tried his best to warn Kentaro, but the dragon was so fast that the moment Pedro shouted Kentaro was already sent flying and was a few meters away from the boat. Pffffffft! Bag! The dragon inhaled and was about to blow her second breath. "KURO STYLE: KINGDOM SPLITTER!" "Pweh! PUN... CHING... ART: ... HEROIC... FIST!" Alivia and Kentaro stood side by side as Kentaro used the impact to do a ''sumo'' stance and grasped his Katana that emitted a robust red aura. While Alivia gripped her right fist as a golden aura enveloped it as Joshua on her left was supporting her. (Joshua was in between them. Kentaro was in the left, while Alivia was in the right.) Fwaaaaaaaaaaa! The dragon breathed fire that burned Alivia, Kentaro, Urse, Joshua, and Frederico to death. Alivia and Kentaro''s attack wasn''t even able to split the flame into two. "Nooooo!" Pedro could only scream as he watches them be burned like charcoal. The beasts started charging to Pedro as the dragon glanced at him with mischievous intent. "YOU!" Pedro''s sword knife flew out of his sleeves and circled his back. It cut through the beast that was about to pounce to him into half. ''If I am gonna die! I''ll bring some of you kin with me!'' Out of anger, Pedro looked like a madman as he turns around with a smirk on his face. He took the Faithpursuer Katana and charged to the beasts. "You!" Swoosh! ''Eh?'' The dragon suddenly appeared in front of him, and its tail hit him. ... -???????? Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 100 +???????? (damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: +???????? (damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... Pffffffft! Splash! Splash! Splash! ''Sh1T!'' Pedro bounced meters on the shore as the dragon was to release the breath for the third time. Fwaaaaaah! ''I guess... this is the end for now! At least... I''ve got some information that I didn''t have in my last life... and... I learned not to set foot at the gods'' continent, no matter what!'' Pedro closed his eyes as he sees death was right in front of him. ''Is it too painful that I don''t feel it anymore?'' He slowly opened his eyes after being not able to feel any pain. ''Eh? Madame?'' A charcoaled figure sent out a demonic aura stood in front of Pedro that divided the flame into two. The aura was so strong that it changed the sunny weather in the area. The area started to be filled with darkness as bolts of lightning filled the sky, and heavy rain began to fall. "Such persistence! You think that a demonize form can scare me!" The dragon was irritated as it prepares to breathe fire for the fifth time. Pffffffft! Fwaaaaah! The dark aura this time was being suppressed and pushed back bit by bit. "Kid! This is the last thing I can do for you as your ''teacher''! Remember to help those who needed help, guide those who were lost... and... forgive those who had sinned! This is the only way in which the world will attain its peace!" Fwaaaaaah! The dragon''s breath intensified. "To Serve All! To Protect the Weak! To Sacrifice for those who are in need! May our crusade lead... to this world''s Peace and Harmony! Glory to Heroes~" Fwoooh! ... -???????? [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 100 +???????? (damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: +???????? (damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... 67 Kneel Before Me! ... [System Notification] [Generate an ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill x1] To generate an ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill, User can select and ''Unlock'' among a list of "personally experienced" similar Legacy Enhancement Skill. Check the ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill tab to select! ... [One ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill can be generated! Do you want to generate and unlock similar Legacy Enhancement Skill? Yes or No] ... ''Eh... Ma... Madame!'' His hand was barely able to move, still unable to process what just happened. He unconsciously tapped ''Yes'' and a series of system notification appeared. ... Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. ... ... ''To Serve, To Protect, To Sacrifice for those who are in need! Glory to Heroes~'' ''KURO STYLE: KINGDOM SPLITTER!'' ''PUN... CHING... ART: ... HEROIC... FIST!'' ''This is the last thing I can do for you as your ''teacher''! ... Glory to Heroes~'' His eyes were filled with emptiness and mixed emotions of regret, anger, fear, and sadness as the recent events kept playing in his head. ''Too weak! Now... I am bored! Guess, I''ll... END... THINGS... NOW!'' He remembered how the goddess mocked them earlier when suddenly an unknown voice spoke in his head. ''Such an unacceptable sight to see! The inheritor of my eyes to be looked down upon like a prey?!'' ''Huh? Who are you? Where are you?!'' ''Who am I is not important, right now! What is important is for you, the inheritor, to make anyone who looked down on you, to pay!'' ''Pay? How?'' ''How? It''s simple... Just fully accept my eyes and inherit its full power! Be reminded, your body is too weak to handle the backlash and using its full power might cost your life!'' ''I would die anyway! I couldn''t care less anymore! If I would go down... Might as well bring that d@mn dragon down with me to hell!'' ''Haha! I like you kid! Well then!'' Pwoooooooooooosh! ''It''s... Painful... but... why... does it seem like... it was just a wound being poured with alcohol...'' Pedro wiped the blood coming out from his eye sockets as a thousand folds stronger aura came out from his body and shot up to the sky. This caused stronger lightning strikes and heavier rainfall as his skin started to peel off and be replaced by the dark aura. ''Ma... Madame Soledad''s...'' ''Don''t worry... Master! Seniors! I won''t waste your sacrifices for this world! I''d promise to continue your crusade! Besides, my goal was to become the strongest in Bearth! Be it NPC or Players! This goal is nothing but a small one compared to that!'' ... Seconds earlier... ''He''s too afraid, to the point that he can''t even move a finger? I guess my pets will have a luxury dinner, of a raw human, tonight! Kheh!'' The dragon smirked as she glanced to her ''pets'' who had a happy and exciting look. Pwoooooooooooosh! ''Another demonized... hu... man!'' The dragon''s look went pale as she glanced to Kag, the giant eagle, and Tan, the treant. "EVERYONE! RUN! GO AS FAR AS YOU CAN!" "KAG! HEAD TO ELDER SISTER LARAYA AND TELL HER... THE DEMON KING IS BACK!" Everyone was startled and could only glance back and forth between the goddess and Pedro''s demonic figure. ''The Demon King!? VARXATOS?'' Their faces went pale as soon as they were able to process what the goddess said. "But... But... your... majesty! How... about... you?" Tan asked in concern to the goddess. "I''ll buy you some time! THE MESSAGE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN MY LIFE! GOO!" Her throat looked like it was filled with magma the moment she closed her mouth. Screech! The eagle flew straight to the forest as the trees surrounding the shore uprooted and rushed to the forest''s direction. (The other beasts, goddess'' pets, followed.) Fwoooooooh! The moment the dragon shifted her glance back to Pedro she opened her mouth and breathed fire. "Tsk... Tsk... Tsk... Young girl! Where are your manners! Is this how you welcome visitors of your domain?" The moment the dragon had breathed all the fire, Pedro smirked, mockingly, as he spoke with a deep demonic voice. "VARXATOS! YOU DEMON!" The dragon roared as the gaps between her scales started to be filled with magma and her throat ballooned, with a magma look. Her eyes turned orange as it was filled with fury. FWOOOOOOOH! The dragon breathed fire, that was tenfolds stronger than the ones she used earlier. The demonic aura that protected Pedro was pushed more than halfway around him. "Khek... what was it again? Ah... Child''s Play?" He grinned and mocked as his aura surged back to how it was before the last breath of fire. "YOU!" The dragon could only wear a frown as she started to fear Pedro. "I like that cute look of yours... It was the same look of fear we had earlier! but... it looks way better! Khe!" The Pen-Knife sword flew to his hands, and played it, as he looked down to the dragon, like a cockroach. "Fear? A mere human?! I should FEAR?! SUCH BLASPHEMY!" She roared as she prepared another fire breath. Fwoooooooh! Pedro was left untouched by the breath of fire of the dragon as he stood, unmoving while looking with a mock to the dragon. ''I should end this ''child''s play'' fast! I need to catch up with her ''pets'' and avoid raising an alarm among other gods!'' The Faithpursuer Katana was rammed into the hands as he stood like an Emperor or a King. "ENOUGH!" The dragon was halted and could only stand in place. "KNEEL BEFORE ME!" He spoke in a heavy demonic voice as the demonic aura surged and fill the atmosphere around the dragon. ''Wha... What is happening! My... My body! It is acting on its own!'' She tried to resist but her whole body kneeled and bowed down towards Pedro''s figure. *Thump... Thump... Thump... Pedro sheathed his sword and walked towards the dragon. "YOU!" The dragon bellowed in anger to the approaching Pedro. "Relax! Relax! I''d punish you seven times! In return for the seven lives you took!" Pedro started to circle the dragon while rubbing his chin. "For now... I guess... I''ll start with that! He placed his hand to her head as the demonic aura started enveloping the dragon. 68 Another Dragon? Earlier... ... [One ''experience-based'' Legacy Enhancement Skill can be generated! Do you want to generate and unlock similar Legacy Enhancement Skill? Yes or No] ... [Yes] ... [Legacy Enhancement Skill Generated and Unlocked!] Skill: ~Manifestation of Pride(Eyes)~ Rating: Divine-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effect: The user enters the demonic mode. Allows user to use randomly selected skills(eyes) on each of the 7 houses of the demon organization. House of Wrath: ~Time delay~ Skill Type: Passive Effect: Everything would be seen by the user is slower in motion. Slow-motion delay: 0.05 seconds(Bearth time) would become one second. (If one can see 10 frames per second, User can see 0.5 frames per second.) Cost: 100 Liters of Blood per hour. Upgrade:??? [Conquer the battlefield with the greatest perception!] ... House of Envy: ~Replicate~ Skill Type: Passive Effect: Enshroud the target with your aura and copy/replicate/recreate a selected skill. After Effects: Copied/replicated skill has a percentage chance to retain or have better attributes than it''s original copy/source. If Copied/replicated skill retains or has better attributes than the original copy/source, Skill would be retained permanently. Else, User can only use Copied/replicated skill within one day, regardless of cooldown. Divine-rated Skill: 10% Legendary-rated Skill: 15% Gold-rated Skill: 30% Silver-rated Skill: 40% Bronze-rated Skill: 60% Upgrade:??? [Learning through experience and applying it in real life! When was that bad?!] ... House of Gluttony: ~Cook''s Stare~ Skill Type: Passive Effect: Identify the attributes and properties of Ingredients, food, and other ''possibly edible'' things, including poisonous stuff. After Effects: Increase the hunger rate by fifty percent when the user has not eaten for more than one day, when the user sees, smells, or tasted a food. Upgrade:??? [Everything has different quality and use! Food! Food! Fooood!] ... House of Lust: ~Irresistable Glance~ Skill Type: Passive Effect: User gets eye to eye contact with the target. Target has a (10 + (Charisma/2)) % chance to be hypnotized if the target is the opposite gender. If the target is of similar gender, Target has a 10% chance to be hypnotized. Hypnotized: User gains control of the Target like a puppet or pet. Target forgets memories starting from the moment the target was hypnotized. Upgrade:??? [Can you resist the stare of a Prince?] ... House of Sloth: ~Shortcut Detector~ Skill Type: Passive Effect: Identifies all possible, shortest ways on completing, achieving, reaching a task, a destination or such. Magical energy marks or guides the User to the ''shortest way'' without concern to other parameters like safety. Cost: The remaining magical energy of the user must not be less than sixty percent than the user''s overall magical energy capacity. Upgrade:??? [Laziness shall give me more time to rest so that one day, I would grow up to be strong and healthy!] ... House of Greed: ~Treasure Detector~ Skill Type: Passive Effect: Identifies, appraise and detects all targeted treasures or such within the vision range of the User. Magical energy can be used to mark certain items/treasures or such. Cost: Temporary luck reduction of (20+X)% for 6 hours. Divine-rated Skill: X = 50% Legendary-rated Skill: X = 35% Gold-rated Skill: X = 30% Silver-rated Skill: X = 20% Bronze-rated Skill: X = 10% Upgrade:??? [Things with great value comes with great responsibility... and enemies filled with GREED!] ... House of Pride: ~Reverence for the King~ Skill Type: Passive Effect: User''s stare will instill absolute fear to the hearts of the target/s and make them unconsciously follow your commands. Restriction: two commands per target only! Target/s won''t escape control unless the user was out of the control zone. Control zone: One-Kilometer radius from the User. Cost: 99% of the user''s life force (HP) per target. Upgrade:??? [Life-saving skill of the past Governors of the House of Pride!] ... ... ... Demonic mode: Enter the ultimate demon form of the original owner of the eyes. (Only personal set of skills and the Demon Skills(Eyes) can only be used by the user. However, It would be enhanced and the damage output or such would be increased.) Control Mode [A]: Gain 10% of ultimate demon form, but retain one''s consciousness. Control Mode [B]: Gain 100% of ultimate demon form, but costs the user 99% of his/her life force (HP). Chance of survival is 1% or less. Ultimate Demon Form: Temporarily increase one''s magical energy in reference to the actual magical energy of the owner. (The reason why it costs 99% of the user''s HP) Duration: 7 hours Cost: User will enter a 2-day sleep after returning from his/her ultimate demon form. Cooldown: 66 days [Ultimate skill of Demon''s eyes user! Only unlocked after concrete knowledge about the original owner and years of familiarity with its use!] Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. ... ... ... UPGRADE: ??? ??? ??? ??? [~Manifestation of Pride(Eyes)~ is the remains of the ultimate power of the former Demon King''s Eyes!] ... ... (Be noted, In this system notification, Pedro was only able to scan through it while he resisted two breathe of fire from the dragon.) ... ''This skill is overpowered... but their backlash was too strong to the point that it may result to the user''s death!'' He wore a frightened smile. ''I should end this ''child''s play'' fast! I need to catch up with her ''pets'' and avoid raising an alarm among other gods!'' The Faithpursuer Katana was rammed into the hands as he stood like an Emperor or a King. "ENOUGH!" The dragon was halted and could only stand in place. "KNEEL BEFORE ME!" He spoke in a heavy demonic voice as the demonic aura surged and fill the atmosphere around the dragon. ... ... "For now... I guess... I''ll start with that! He placed his hand to her head as the demonic aura started enveloping the dragon. ROAAAAAAAAAR! ... [System Notification!] [~Replicate~ Skill Activated! Successfully replicated a Divine-rated Skill with 16% increased in attributes!] [Replicated skill will be permanent!] ... Skill: ~God-Beast Transformation(Fire Dragon)~ Rating: Divine-rated Skill Skill Type: Active Effect: The user transforms freely to Fire Dragon and vice versa. Original Attributes would be boosted by multiplying it with the user''s level, Not including Attack and Magical Damage. Attack Damage: (User Level) x (Original User''s Attack Damage) x (STR + AGI) Magical Damage: (User Level) x (Original User''s Magical Damage) x (2 x INT) (Attack Damage are attacks that get contact with the dragon itself, while magical damage were the gusts or any non-contact damages, Except Breathe of Fire.) [Special Transformation Skill: ~Breathe of Fire~ Charge flame for at least 2 seconds and release a breath of fire to the target. Apply Magical Damage equal to 100 x (Magical Damage) x (Total Charging time) Charge flame: Consumes 10% of MP per second. (Upgradable=???) ] [Dragons were once considered divine creatures that represented the gods.] ... "Am I a god now?" Pedro''s eyes looked like they were going to pop out from their sockets as he read the notification. ''Why don''t we try this out!'' He chuckled as he started to transform into a dragon. ''I~ Impossible!'' Goddess Faunia had just recovered from the pain the demonic aura that shrouded her caused when Pedro suddenly transformed into a dragon. Pfffffft! FWOOOOOOH! ''So awesome!'' Pedro''s sadness was temporarily lifted as he charged for a second and blew to the air. ROOOOAR! He screamed that caught the fleeing beasts'' attention. 69 Gem of Authority! ''Enough fooling around... I need to chase the beasts and the Karakoa! I don''t want to stay any longer here!'' Pedro reverted to his human form as he scratched his head. ''Eh... Where are my clothes?!" When Pedro reverted to his human form, he was nak*d and only held the inventory bag that covered his sensitive part. ''Sh*t! I have no extra clothes!'' "What a lewd human!" "Shut up!" He started scanning to his inventory bag as if he was looking for a pen in his messy bag. ''Please! Please! Any clothes will do!'' He scanned around his inventory until he saw a red crystal. ''I guess... I''ll stay in dragon form for now~'' ''Oh! That item! I almost forgot about it!'' "So... It can''t be helped! You need to... die!" He shooked his head after taking out a red crystal. "YOU! YOU DARE!" The dragon bellowed in anger as she kept struggling to escape Pedro''s control. "I DARE? Of course! I wonder how a roasted dragon taste?! Hehe!" He rubbed his chin while having malicious intent to the dragon. "YOOOOOOOOU!" "I guess, I''ll go with that!" He smirked as he transformed back into his dragon form. (He needs to be in his human form to take out stuff from his inventory bag. The bag is placed in his finger like a ring, when he is in his dragon form.) "Stop! Stop! Please! I am the inheritor of the god of Beast! If you kill me... the lineage of the god of Beast will be forever extinct!" The dragon tried to bargain her way out that astonished Pedro. "It''s transferable!?" "You think gods live eternally?!" "Well... yeah! Ain''t it why they were called gods?" "Tsk! Humans were more stupid than I thought!" "What did you say?!" Pedro stared at Faunia like it was his prey. "Ah... nothing! nothing! Hehe... Anyway... We, gods, can have eternal life... That''s if our life would be a peaceful one! Unfortunately, like any other creature or being, we can kill each other if we are strong enough! Don''t get your hopes too high! Besides a stronger god, no other creature or being can touch us!" Faunia explained trying to convince Pedro at her best. "Hoho... Then, why don''t you transfer it to me! I''ll be a better god of Beast than you would be!" "You!" "Don''t make me waste my offer! I don''t mind god of Beast lineage to go extinct!" pfffft! FWOOOOH! "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Faunia could only bellow in pain as Pedro breathed fire to her left wings and scorched it. *Crunch! "Aaaaaaaaa! YOU! Aaaaaaaaa!" *Nom! Nom! Nom! *Gulp! ''Not Bad! But... I don''t like it! It tastes like the frog I ate in my camp during elementary!'' "I''ll give you one last chance! Transfer it or die!" "Well then!" Pfffffffffffffft! Fwooooooooooh! *Thog "Aaaaaaaa~" Faunia''s body crashed to the ground after Pedro breathed fire directly in the dragon''s chest. A molten hole was left, where her heart was located. Her eyes lost its brightness as the red crystal on the ground shined bright. Pedro reverted to human form to pick up the crystal. [System Notification!] [Gem of Authority can be used! Use it? Yes or No] The soul of the nearby corpse was trapped in the crystal! You have 5 minutes left to use the crystal and resurrect the corpse! ... ''If only I could use this to resurrect one of them... There''s no point in regretting anymore!'' He wore a serious look, but... deep inside, his heart was broken. The gem of authority can only resurrect someone, with a corpse as if infusing the soul back to the body. Unfortunately, Madame Soledad and the other''s body were reduced to ash, or almost... Hence, the gem of authority won''t work on them. "Yes!" ... [Would the target retain its memories or not?] ... "Hmm... It''s obviously... retain! That way... she won''t forget about what she did!" ... [Gem of Authority successfully used!] ... *Crack! Crack! Crack! *Fwooooosh! The red crystal broke as a red ray shot up into the sky. After seconds, a golden ray shot down from the sky to the dragon''s corpse. The corpse was enveloped by a golden light that made Pedro cover her eyes from the brightness. "She''s unconscious khuh! Then, I''ll handle her ''pets'' first!" Pedro transformed into his dragon form and flew towards the beasts. *Fwoosh! Pedro was so fast that in less than minutes he was able to keep up with the eagle who was in front of all the escaping beasts. *SCREECH! "HALT!" Pedro bellowed to stop the beasts with fear. However, they continued to escape and ignore Pedro. ''They''re too stubborn... like their master!'' *Booom! *Blag! Blag! Blag! Blag! Blag! *Bhaaag! "STOOOP!" ROOOOOAR! Pedro slapped the giant eagle with his tail down the forest that intercepted the escaping beasts and treants. Then, he went down and roared that completely stopped all of them in their tracks. "LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SPEAK!" Pedro transformed into his human form and equipped the ring of voices. "Your master was resurrected and is in my control! Hence... I am her master! Your master''s master is also your master! So Listen and Follow me!" "SUCH... LIES! DON''T... LISTEN TO HIM!" The giant eagle screeched as it was barely able to stand on its legs. "Khe... Shut up! Here I thought I would show some mercy!" Pedro became irritated and glanced towards the eagle. "You... You can understand us?! Ho... How?!" "It doesn''t matter how! Listen! Though, I won''t hurt your goddess... I have changed my mind... and... I''ll bring her along with me and leave this damned continent!" "YOU!" "I WON''T HURT HER! BUT... In exchange, none of you must tell this to anyone, especially the other gods! This is for your benefits too!" "Who said we would agree to you?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. "HMM!" Pedro stared at the eagle that was somehow forced to kneel and bow to Pedro. "Gre... Great... master! If... it... meant... the... safety... of... the... goddess... then... We... treants... agree!" Tan the treant bowed in respect as the other treants followed. "You! Traitors!" Kag (the eagle) burst in anger. "It... is... for... the... goddess'' ... sake! Even... if... it... cost... our... lives... treants... will... give... our... lives... for... the... goddess!" "Enough! I won''t kill anyone... Besides, concealing everything was for your benefit and safety! It doesn''t matter to me! It is to protect the domain of your goddess when she is gone! Anyway! Treant! What do you know about Nearis Tree?" 70 The New Captain! "Hmm... That''s a problem!" He rubbed his chin as he stares at the treant. ''No wonder, Madame Soledad told that those materials were rare! I can kill these creatures easily. However, It would be a problem if someone finds out that this domain is empty... Leaving them alive would be a perfect cover especially to other humans that might be able to explore this area.'' "If... I... may... What... would... Master... be... using... it... for..." "Paper!" "Perhaps... Master... is... referring... to... this!" Tan peeled of a dry bark from his trunk. The peeled dry bark was lighter in color than the dark brown bark of Tan. The treant gave it to Pedro with respect as Pedro appraised the bark that Tan gave. ... [Nearis Tree Bark(Dry)] A bark that can store magical energy! It can be used as a paper or be used in carving charms. One time use only! Tradable. [The ''skin'' of the few remaining species of Ents!] ... "Hmm... I need a constant supply of this dry bark! Can you gather it?" "Master... It... would... not... be... a... problem! We... treants... sheds... our... bark... once... a... month! If... we... don''t... shed... our... bark... it... would... come... to... a... point... that... moving... would... be... hard... for... us!" "Great! Then, I''ll bring some of you with me too... would there be a problem?" "No... Master! As... long... as... we... receive... enough... sun... light... and... water, there... would... be... no... problem!" "Good! Good!" Pedro nodded in excitement as he stares to a hundred treants behind Tan. ''I can at least, bring thirty treants with me... Hence... A dry bark per day!'' "As for you..." "YOU TRAITORS! YOU''LL PAY FOR THIS! YOU FORGOT WHAT THE GODDESS SA~" Pedro and Tan ignored Kag''s rants while they talk. Tan ignored Kag as a show of respect to Pedro. ''This birds is anno~ ... No, No, Pedro calm down! I need to show this junior goddess of mine that I am a man of good intentions. Hah! Such a lucky bird! You would have been a roasted bird a while ago... Sh*T is this the aftereffect of the gluttony thing?'' He shifted his glance to Kag and shook his head. "Bring him! Drag him if you need to!" Pedro stored the ring of voices and the dry bark to his inventory bag and transformed to his dragon form. "Take care of my junior! I''ll take care of some matters first! Oh... Tan! Prepare thirty treants that I would bring with me! Also, gather all the dry barks you can gather from those who will stay!" "Yes... Master!" ''I have a steady supply of Nearis Paper! Now... to the hard part!'' Pedro flew in high speed, towards the sea. ... "Head back to the Aquari continent first!" "Yes, Captain!" ''I... need to settle... some... matters before we go back to BHO HQ!'' ... "It''s been minutes already! I just hope that I could catch up to them!" Pedro flew in full speed for minutes, until he saw the figure of the Karakoa. ''There you are! I can''t let them see me in my dragon form! Ah! I know!'' Pedro flew too high that the crew of Karakoa can''t see his figure. When he was flying high directly above the ship he reverted to his human form and began falling in the air. "Woooo!" Pedro glided with glee as he experiences skydiving for free! ''Good thing I have my inventory bag to cover my ''bird''! Else, It could have flown away by itself! Haha!'' "Ow! Ow! Ow!" Pedro panicked as he was about to fall to the Karakoa in full speed. ... In the ship... "Captain! Something is approaching us from above! FAST!" "WHAT!" Paul''s face went grim as he looked out of the CBCR''s window. *Bhog! "What in the world~" Paul was speechless as he watches the demonic aura crashed into the deck of the ship and carved a huge hole. *Knock! Knock! Knock! ''Eh...'' Paul and the CBCR crew shifted their gaze to the main door of the CBCR. Paul glanced to a crew as if saying ''Go open that!''. He grasped to one of his Katana as the crew slowly opened the door. "~Shortcut Detector~ is handy! I was able to reach the CBCR in seconds." Pedro stood behind the door with his bag covering his ''sensitive'' part. "EEEh! Senior?!" Paul and the crew on CBCR was shocked beyond belief when they saw Pedro. "Oh!" Pedro shifted his glance to Paul. ''What was his name again? Paul?'' "Paul!" "Se... Senior! You''re safe! Where''s Madame Soledad? ...Senior Alivia? ...Senior Kentaro?" "I''m..." "Where Senior? ... We''ll go right away to pick them up!" "I''m... sorry! They''re... They''re all gone!" "Eh..." Paul stood unmoving from shock as tears started flowing out from his eyes. "You''re... Just... mess... messing... with us... right? SENIOR! RIGHT!?" Paul was unable to contain the sadness in his heart anymore. He tried to clear his tears that flowed continuously. "No... They did everything they can to buy time and save me!" Pedro placed his hands to Paul''s shoulders as he continued to cry. After minutes of crying, Paul was able to calm down. *Sniff! *Sniff! "Senior! In regards to the Vicealmirante''s orders, the fleet would be disbanded once the three of them were gone! The main ship would be owned by the Vicealmriante''s apprentice. The Left ship would be owned by Senior Kentaro''s apprentice, while the right ship would be owned by the apprentice of Senior Alivia. If no apprentice will take care of the ship, It would be left in the middle of the ocean! ... Since you are the Vicealmirante''s apprentice, the main ship would fell under you!" "The main ship?" "Yes! As for me... I''d take the left ship and continue senior Kentaro''s Legacy!" "What about the right ship?" "We... we''ll drop it somewhere in the ocean since Senior Alivia''s apprentice is only Senior Kentaro!" "Such a waste... Then how about this! Use Senior Alivia''s ship to send those crews back to Aquari continent... Afterward, leave the ship at where we left from the Aquari continent days ago!" "You''re not heading to BHO HQ, Senior?" "I''ll head somewhere else to look for talents..." Pedro shooked his head to say that he won''t join. ''I need to pick-up the treants and the brat! I can only allow a handful to know about them!'' "Senior, What about the BHO recruitment event?" "I''ll be there... Don''t worry!" "Then... Paul Sorales reporting to Senior~" Paul stopped as he realizes he still doesn''t know Pedro''s name. ''Oh... He still doesn''t know my name... ''Death'' would not be appropriate! Might as well, make one up to avoid further inconveniences... how about... Dragon... Ragon... Agon... Hmm... Aron! Aron sounds good!'' "Aron! My name is Aron!" "Forgive me, Senior! Paul Sorales reporting to Senior Aron, the captain of the mother ship, Karakoa! Ships Felippe (Kentaro''s ship/ Left ship), and Raphael (Alivia''s ship/ Right ship) will detach and head to BHO HQ, via Aquari continent sea!" "No need to report to me, Paul! From now on... you and your crew are already independent! I just ask a small favor from you to bring the crew that our Seniors protected back to the Aquari continent safe!" "Sorry, Senior! Just my old habit!" "I see huge potential on you! Strengthen yourself so that you can continue to help others!" Pedro uttered that reminded Paul of the first words Kentaro said to him when they first met. "I see huge potential on you kid! Follow me so that you can continue helping others!" _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I was glad about your continuous support, hence I decided to do something new! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. I would hold a "Reader''s Effect" Event! In "Reader''s Effect", I (the Author), would ask for certain stuff from the readers, that I may include in the novel. How your submissions or entries would be selected would be explained each time there is a "Reader''s Effect" Event. Rules: 1) The first submission would be chosen immediately! 2) If more than 2 submissions are fighting for the second and third spot, The comment/submission with the most likes would be considered. 3) If cases arise that ''likes'' were not applicable, Reader with the higher Power stone overall vote would be selected. Format: ... In-game Name (IGN): Gender: Age (15-40 years old): Characteristics/Traits: ... I hope you guys will participate! This is one way of saying my deepest thanks to everyone! 71 I shall return! "Senior! See you at the HQ! Good luck!" Paul waved to Pedro as ship Felippe and Raphael depart leaving Karakoa behind. Pedro waved back to them as they depart. The only crew left with him were the ones enough to maneuver the ship. Everyone, even Beatrice (in critical condition) boarded Felippe to reach BHO HQ faster and get better treatment. "Now... Let''s go back to work!" Pedro smirked and walked back to the CBCR as the figure of Felippe-Raphael Ship disappeared from his sight. ... "Captain~ Aron! At your orders, Sir!" The voice of one of the crews left in the ship echoed from the empty silence in the CBCR. "ROTATE!" "Sir?" "Rotate! We sail back to that d*mned place!" "Right away sir!" "Sail Low!" "Sir?" "I would go fishing!" Pedro pointed to the deck as walks towards the door. "Oh... Whenever you are ready sir!" "Good!" He grinned as he played with the Pen-Knife in his hand. ... Earlier... "There''s... the... goddess!" Tan glanced to the sleeping dragon as they returned to the shore. "YOUR MAJESTY!" Kag rushed toward Faunia as he shrugged the treants that assisted him to stand. ... Deep in her thoughts, Faunia was having a dream whilst unconscious. "NOOOOO!" Faunia bellowed as she arrived in a dark space. "Quiet down will you!" Someone who wore a black hood and released a dark aura appeared from the darkness. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. "Eh... Perhaps... You are... Big Brother Death? The god of Death?" "Mhmm..." "If... so... AM I DEAD? Were you here to collect my soul?" Faunia Pannicked as the "reaper scythe" appeared and threatened her. "I was supposed to... but somehow, your name was suddenly removed in my list for today!" "Eh?" "Anyway, Based on my records, after checking it twice, There''s a high chance that I won''t be the one to harvest your soul! Now... Now... Enough chit chat! Go back!" "Wait, Big Brother! What do you mean by that!" "You''re ''return'' was somehow forced... Expect aftereffects to happen when you revive! ... Oh! And when you encounter someone named ''Death'', Say high to him for me!" "Wait! What?" "Bye! Bye!" "Wait! Wait!" Faunia''s vision was filled with a blinding light as the figure was consumed and disappeared in the light. ... "Who is that! What''s that noise!" The unconscious dragon slowly opened its eyes as she glanced around and saw treants carrying ''dry barks'' and walking to the sea, towards the ship. "What''s happening? What are they doing?" "Wakey! Wakey! We need to go soon!" Faunia shifted her gaze to the source of the voice and saw Pedro standing beside her. "Wah! What did you do? What are the great treants doing?" She bellowed in anger that caught everyone''s attention. "They''re going with me!" "going with you?!" "Yes, going with me! To explore other continents!" "YOU!" "Fun right! Don''t worry! You would join us too!" Pedro smirked as he increased the thickness of his aura on purpose. ''Fortunately, the duration of this ultimate skill is freaking seven hours!'' "YOU!" Faunia closed her mouth ready to charge for a breath of fire. ''Behave and Revert to your original form!'' A voice echoed in Faunia''s mind and her body acted on its own as it became relaxed and she transformed back to a young girl with green hair. "What''s Happening!" She panicked as she lost control over her whole body. "Hmm... Hmm... It seems like I won''t have troubles with this brat!" Pedro nodded as he shifted his gaze to the approaching Kag. Wog! Wog! ''Your Majesty!'' ''Kag! Those bruises! Are you fine? How are the others? Why didn''t you escape!'' ''Your Majesty! Forgive me for I have failed my duty! That b*stard... was stronger and faster than he may look! He may seem skinny... and WEAK... Yet he was able to catch up to us and strike me down!'' ''BIRD! WATCH YOUR MOUTH! I am already having trouble, controlling myself from turning you into a fried chicken!'' Pedro Interjected in their mental communication. (Pedro can enter and leave Faunia''s mind, freely, due to the effect of the Gem of Authority.) ''You... You can hear our conversation?!" Kag and Faunia stared at Pedro as if he was some kind of stalker. ''Don''t get the wrong idea! I am just making sure, you guys ain''t plotting any sh*t against me! Anyway! Say your last goodbye... We''ll depart in minutes! The treants were already on board the ship! Birdy! Don''t forget what I said! Else, when I come back! I''ll fry you together with your eggs!'' ''...'' Kag and Faunia could only stare as Pedro walked along the shore. ''Your Majesty...'' ''It can''t be helped, Kag! Even my consciousness, he controls!'' ''But...'' ''That is life, Kag! Now... as... he said! I have no choice but to follow him around! I''ll leave the Naga Domain into your protection while I am gone!'' ''Your... Your Majesty...'' ''Will you do it? For me?'' ''Of... Of course!'' ''Then, don''t disappoint me!'' ''Of course, your Majesty! ... Oh... and one thing... should... I... still... report to~'' ''Ehm... I can hear you...'' Kag and Faunia glanced to the distant figure of Pedro who was glancing back with a smirk on his face. ''There''s your answer!'' Faunia wore an awkward smile as she caresses Kag for one last time. ''Don''t worry about me! Just do your duty!'' Faunia forced as a smile as if saying "Everything is gonna be fine!" to Kag. Faunia followed behind Pedro and hopped to Tan''s hand. "Don''t... worry... brother... Kag! I''ll... Protect... the... goddess... with... my... life!" Tan uttered before he walked towards the Karakoa. Pedro was standing on his shoulder as Faunia stood in Tan''s palm while waving ''goodbye'' to Kag, the beasts and treants left in the Nawa Domain. *Screech! Kag flew high up in the air circling them as if saying his ''goodbye''. The setting sun matched the world-class forest beach that made Faunia teary-eyed as they leave her ''paradise''. The orange sunset lighted the Karakoa, treant Tan, Faunia, and Pedro. Pedro can help but be awed by this scene, after glancing back to the shore with a huge grin on his face. 72 Turning Goddess into a Glutton! "Cap... Captain Aron..." A crew member approached and whispered to Pedro while watching Faunia scoff down foods in the CBCR cooked by Pedro. "One sec!" Pedro seemed to be playing the piano in the air that made the crew wore an awkward look as if saying ''such a bunch of weirdos...''. ... [Text Message] Sent To: 09## ##1 2##6 Message: Father! For some reasons, I have encountered some mess in-game, that placed me in a situation that I need to sleep for two ''in-game'' days (one day in our real-world time). I''ll meet you and mother as soon as I wake up! Kindly inform... Sabrina... and my other school mate to familiarize themselves, first with the game! I am fine and kicking! So, you don''t need to worry! Take Care and see you soon! Love Pedro! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. ... *Nom! Nom! Nom! "Human! Cook more food! Else, I''d eat everyone here!" Faunia chuckled as she continues to scoff down the food like a hungry child. "Hahaha!" "How cute!" "Where did Captain found such a cute and innocent kid!" ... ''Completely the opposite of him... khek!'' The crew was attracted to the cuteness of the little girl as they watch Pedro and Faunia like a father and daughter. ... On the other hand, one of the crew in CBCR shook his head as he remembers Pedro arriving at the CBCR earlier, naked. (He has clothes now(since he parted ways with paul) by the way!) ... "Tsk! I have cooked you food enough for two days and ate it in less than two hours! Go outside and eat some raw fish! As if you eat human flesh!" Pedro mocked the kid as the little girl wore a frown on her face. "You!" "What?!" "Heh!" Faunia walked to the deck after wolfing down the last serving. She was received by the Tan and the treants as soon as she came out of the CBCR. "Goddess~" Before Tan could continue talking, Faunia interjected with an angry and irritated expression. "Catch me those so-called ''monsters''!" "But... Goddess..." "What? You can''t do it? Such a simple task and you can''t do it?" "No... But..." "Enough! Just do as I say!" Faunia crossed her arms as she taps her feet rapidly to the floor just like an impatient kid. "What were you saying earlier?" "Ah... Captain... About that! Most of us were wondering of what would you do to us after we return to the Aquari Continent?" "Hmm?" "Well... It''s not like we want to die early... nor we have the same resolve with the previous Captain! But... We still want to help, in some way, anyone we can! I mean... most of us had experienced difficulties in our lives, because of those monsters! Now... that we were capable to be, at least, of help!" The other crew members glanced at Pedro while nodding in agreement. "Your lives is something I can not promise to protect! BECAUSE! It is not mine... but yours to protect! Your survival will depend on your individual decisions and strength! Now... Choose! Join my crew or not? Just remember... our mission is still the same! WE''LL KILL THOSE BLOODY MONSTERS! Whether we get something in return, or not! Whether we could save lives, or not! WHETHER... We LIVE, or NOT! CHOOSE!" The crew members glanced to each other. Some of them were even gossiping with each other. *GULP! "You have two days to decide!" Pedro stood as he approached the door of CBCR to the ship. "Ca... Captain!" "???" ... "You''re already decided?" "It... It is not that!" "Then, what?" "It is a protocol that, at least, one of the three highest-ranking official or the owner of the ship to be inside CBCR while in a cruise mode! Since... you are the only one~" "I need to sleep! The past events drained my energy empty!" "Then... Shall we go ''Stall mode''?" "Huh? No need!" "What about the ship''s safety? I mean..." The crew tried to reason out, but he decided not to continue any further after seeing the irritated face of Pedro. "That won''t be a problem! If anything arises... That girl is more than capable! She may not look like it... but... she is far scarier than Madame Soledad!" Pedro chuckled as he pointed to the ''irritated'' Faunia who was impatiently waiting for the ''Monster'' fishes to be fetched by the treants. The crews could only shift their gaze to Faunia with a confused look as if saying ''That little girl? Won''t it be better to say that she is ''Cute'' than ''Scary''?''. "If there''s nothing else! I''ll leave the CBCR to your hands! I would take a rest and prepare until we reach the Aquari continent!" Pedro left without giving the crew a chance to ask another question. ''The new captain... is kinda weird! Well... If he is normal, the previous captain would not even spare a glance to him!'' The crews on the CBCR could only shake their head as Pedro fades from their sight. ... ''Brat!'' Pedro started a telepathic communication with Faunia as he walked towards his room. ''What, Human!'' ''I am going to rest for some time! Behave your self! You can only attack monsters and anything that poses a threat to the ship! You are also free to engage with anyone who dares to harm me and the ship!'' ''Hmph! So troublesome!'' Faunia crossed her arms like a spoiled brat. ''I''d cook food for you when I wake up, as a reward!'' ''Hmph! If that''s the case... be thankful that a goddess will protect this toy ship of yours! You better be true to your words!'' ''Of course! I''ll trouble you then!'' Pedro arrived at his room and immediately head to his bed as the ''seven'' hour duration of his ''Demonic mode'' was almost over. After using the ''Demonic mode'', Pedro would need to sleep for two in-game days. ''I can''t wait to arrive at the Aquari continent!'' ... Two days later... "Human! Don''t forget your promise!" Faunia stood beside Pedro (Like his daughter) and behind them stood the treants. ''Such a view! Even if... this was the second time... I can''t help, but be awed by the view of Naga Kingdom!'' Pedro stared in awe to the Naga Kingdom, whose beauty was highlighted by the rising darkness. ''Hmm... Should I conquer it? Nah... Knowing her... Madame Soledad''s soul might haunt me on my sleep!'' He shooked his head as he remembered his memories with Madame Soledad. *Fwooog! Fwooog! Fwooog! Fwooog! A strong wind gusted towards Pedro that blew his new white coat with a word written on it. " ?A?p?p?r?e?n?t?i?c?e? Captain" 73 An Unexpected Reunion? "Treant!" Pedro glanced to Tan who was standing beside Faunia. "Yes? Young... master?" "All treants will remain in the ship and will serve as its protector. The sea here is deep, even for giant creatures like you." "How... about... the... goddess?" "She''ll be with me! Don''t worry about her! Besides... what can ''humans'' do to her?" "..." Tan remained quiet as the treant and Faunia shifted their glance to Pedro. "What?" "Coming from you? We won''t be worried!" Faunia mocked as she shifted her gaze to the Naga Kingdom. "So... you guys are saying that it is not safe for her to go alone?" "Uhm!" The treants nodded in unison that made Pedro shook his head. "I am with her, ok! What could go wrong?" "CAPTAIN... WAIT!" A crew member ran out of the CBCR in a panicked mode. "What?" "Who would... defend the ship when you are gone? I mean..." "Them!" "Trees?" "Ehm... where''s... your... manners... Human?" Tan shifted his glance to the crew. "Anyway, It is not your problem. You and the other remaining crews can leave tomorrow morning." "If you say... so..." "Any other concerns?" "No, Captain!" "Very well! Since I''d be leaving the ship tonight, I might not be around to send you, and the other crews, off the ship. Let me express my deepest gratitude to your service to the ship... and... to the late vicealmirante!" Pedro faced the CBCR where the remaining crews were watching. He bowed sixty degrees that surprised everyone. "THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!" "Please... Please raise your head, Captain! It is us who need to give thanks to you and the late Vicealmirante!" "Hmm?" "Without the Vicealmirante''s sacrifice, we wouldn''t have been able to escape alive from the demonic monster in the first place!" "No need to mention that! It was our duty." "Duty?" "Yes!" Pedro turned around towards the boat as Faunia followed behind him. "How can we save other people, If we can''t even protect our comrades?" ... Somewhere in the forest near the Naga Kingdom... "ROAAAAR" "Hah... Hah... Hah..." "Just... Keep... running... Talia! We are almost there!" "Elder... Brother! You said it is safe to travel around unless it is night time?" ''It is... It''s just our luck isn''t that good! Who would know that we''d be encountering a pack of wolves in the forest?'' "Hehe..." "Aaaaah! I knew it! You lied! You''re so dead to me later, brother!" "An NPC??? We''re safe!" The guy started to feel the effects of fatigue as the wolves closed the gap between them each second. Fortunately, he saw the figure of two humans. "HEELP!" "Please HELP!" Talia and her brother shouted towards the two figure. ... In the far end of the path, another "Brother and Sister" were walking towards the forest. "Humans?" The little girl scanned to the back of the Talia and his brother and saw a pack of hungry wolves chasing them. ''Why does this scene feel like a deja vu?'' The man shook his head as he shifted his focus to the wolves. "Wolves? Why are there wolves in the forest? Especially near the kingdom?" The man frowned as he tried to think the reason behind this unusual event. "What should we do?" "Do you even need to ask? I''ll handle the wolves, you watch those two... If they try to do anything silly... don''t hesitate to neutralize them!" The man smirked as a red blood knife launched out of his sleeves. He took a golden sword out of his bag and walked towards the wolves. He grasped the sword tightly as his eyes turned all black. Bhag! Bhag! Bhag! Grrrrr! Talia and her brother stumbled as they felt a sudden headache. The smaller wolves behind them suddenly lost their consciousness as the momentum from running made their body slide and roll for a few meters. The bigger wolves halted their pursuit as they tried to guard the smaller wolves. "Stop this futile resistance!" The man sneered as the blood-red knife went through the closest wolf and continued to pierce through other wolves. Even the bigger wolves weren''t able to escape from the attack. As the knife went through their bodies, their blood was sucked dry. And after a few seconds, their corpse looked like a mummy preserved for hundreds of years. "Such strength!" Talia and his brother could only gasp in amazement as they watched behind the man and witness how the ferocious wolves were killed like a chicken. "Awo~" The last wolf tried to cry to call other wolf packs nearby but it was instantly pierced by the knife before it can eve finish. The man smirked and walked to a nearby wolf corpse. He placed his hand on its body. The corpse disappeared after some seconds, and he continued to do the same thing until all the wolf corpse were completely gone. "Now... how should I deal with these two?" The man stood as he dusts off his hands and shifted his gaze to Talia and her brother. "YOU ARE~" Talia''s brother was astounded when he got a glance to the man. Earlier, they were too concentrated on running away from the wolves and wasn''t able to recognize the man. "Hmm?" "Expert Brother... Death!" The man was unable to compose himself from shock. "From that tone... Happy Face Killer?" Pedro scanned through the man and checked into his interface. .... Name: Killer Smile (Player) Level: 3 HP: 30/100 MP: 2/90 Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. Stamina: 1/30 .... .... Name: Talon (Player) Level: 2 HP: 60/80 MP: 1/90 Stamina: 1/30 .... "It is you... Expert brother!" "Death? You know him?" Talia(IGN: Talon) was at a loss as the Pedro and Mathew converse in a conversation like they were colleagues in his past work. "He... He is the one I am talking about earlier." "The suspicious brother who offered you to join his ''to be built'' gaming organization?" Talia uttered continuously that placed Mathew in an awkward position. "Suspicious, Khuh?" Pedro chuckled as he walks back towards them. ''No wonder he rejected my offer.'' "It''s not what you think Expert Brother! It''s just that~" "No need to explain Mr. Killer Smile! I completely understand." Pedro used his interface and sent a friend request to Mathew and Talia. The two accepted the request as Pedro caught a glance of the curious Faunia. "Any way... I was curious, why are there wolves here in the forest?" Pedro changed the topic as he glances back to where Talia and Mathew came from. "That... We don''t know!" "Mr. Death... Maybe we were just... unlucky." Talia interjected. "Is that so..." "But... Expert Brother, I have a hunch. Remember Village Soldier Tam?" "Oh... The S-class chain quest! What happened?" "Everything went smooth... by luck. Until that godd*mn Village Soldier transformed into a werewolf and annihilated the three of us." "A shapeshifter? So... he is a monster after all!" "Uhm..." "HUMAN! Does that ''werewolf'' you speak of was about seven to eight meters tall, has dark black fur and had some spikey fur in his back like a porcupine?" Faunia approached Mathew with a grim look. "That''s right! That''s right! That''s how he looks in his wolf form!" Mathew nodded in response to affirm that Faunia''s description of Village Soldier Tam was correct. "You know him?" Pedro asked in a serious tone as he shifted his gaze to Faunia. "Uhm! If I am right... That werewolf is... Miti Obol! A former General of a werewolf army!" Faunia explained that astounded Pedro, Mathew, and Talia. "Mi... Miti Obol? Did I hear it right?" Pedro was too shocked that he remained unmoved. ''The... First Continental Monster Boss that reigned chaos in the Aquari continent and was rumored to be only defeated by... Madame Soledad!'' Pedro could only stare at Faunia in shock as he recalls the first major event, in-game, that happened in the fourth month of the game in his past life. "Yes!" Faunia nodded as she looked confused to Pedro''s reaction. Pedro was able to compose himself as he glanced to the three. 74 Luring Killer Smile! "In danger?" Faunia, Mathew, and Talia look to Pedro in astonishment. "Uhmm..." Pedro smirked as he shifted his gaze to Faunia. "Don''t worry! It was just some hunch by my senior!" ''Hoooo... That was close... Giving them more information will soon raise their suspicion on me. Fortunately, I bluffed my way out!'' "If Expert brother says so..." Mathew sighed. "Anyway... We have to go!" Pedro glanced to Faunia as if telling ''Let''s go.''. "?" "Seeing you here, meant that you have access to the Naga Kingdom." Pedro turned around with a smirk on his face. ''You rejected my offer. It''s just really unfortunate!'' "Wait, Expert Brother! To be honest with you, we are lost at the moment and was only trying our luck exploring the area to look for a village. We tried entering the Kingdom but they denied us entry and required a certain amount of payment." "Hmmm..." "I was wondering... if... you could bring us with you? I mean... the more, the safer, right?" Mathew explained anxiously as he awaits Pedro''s response. "On one condition!" "Condition? What is it, Expert Brother?" "All corpses of anything we kill would be ours!" "Agree!" Mathew didn''t bat an eye and agreed to Pedro''s conditions. "Very well! Let''s go!" Pedro started walking as Faunia rushed to his side. ''Oi... Human! Why did you bring those two with us?'' Faunia spoke mentally to Pedro in an irritated manner. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. ''Relax... I saw potential on them. You''ll see it someday. That''s if they join us...'' "Hmph! Anyway... I am hungry! Let''s eat now so that we won''t do another stop along the way!" Faunia crossed her arms like an irritated kid. "Hahahaha! Ok! Ok! Let''s do that then... Can''t you get me some wood?" Pedro burst as he took out a pot from his bag. ''Tsk! Ordering a goddess to do such things! You have no shame!'' Faunia pout that looked like a cute daughter complaining. ''How cute!'' Mathew and Talia can''t help but be captivated by the cuteness of Faunia. "Expert Brother, Let me do that!" Mathew smiled as he walked to Faunia and patted her head. ''Look what have you dooone! These humans think of me as some weak human child!'' Faunia frowned as she grasped her fist as if complaining after feeling humiliated. "I don''t need your help on such measly task!" Faunia shrugged Mathew''s hands and approached the nearest tree. "..." Mathew and Talia were speechless after seeing Faunia cutting three parallel trees in one flick of her finger. "I HOPE THIS IS ENOUGH!" Faunia drags two of the trunk towards Pedro that stunned Mathew and Talia further. ''Who is this Kid?'' Mathew was only able to move a finger that accessed the interface to scan Faunia. .... Name: ??? (???, NPC) Level: ??? HP: ??? MP: ??? Stamina: ??? .... "WHAT?" Mathew was shocked beyond belief as his eyeballs looked like they were about to pop out from their sockets. "Brother?" Talia was confused as Mathew can only point towards Faunia. "What''s the matter?" Pedro smirked as he looked to the flabbergasted Mathew. ''Your fate is sealed! You''ll join me... But... in your own accord.'' "Who... Who is this little girl?" Mathew was filled with fear of Faunia as he glanced to Pedro. "Hmm... My Pet!" "YOU!" "Eh? Expert Brother... You know how strong this NPC you are provoking?" "Strong? OMG!" Talia scanned Faunia with her interface and the series of unknowns appeared. Her confused look was replaced with astonishment as she stares at Faunia. "I''m just kidding! Just kidding! Hahaha! She was a lost child that I happened to come across and adopted!" Pedro bluffed. "Lost Child?" Faunia frowned as she stared daggers to Pedro. ''Chill up! Just ride with the bluff, It would cause a lot of trouble if they learn that you''re a goddess. Right, When we return to the ship, ask Tan to call you ''your highness'' instead of ''goddess''. We don''t want to attract attention as much as possible.'' Pedro explained telepathically as he stared back to Faunia. "Your daughter..." Mathew could only stare in disbelief as Pedro''s reputation to them increased by leaps and bounds. "Yup... my daughter! Now, time to cook for my ''cute'' little daughter!" Pedro said in a sarcastic way as he started a fire and started cooking. "This..." Mathew held his hand into his forehead as if saying ''What else is Expert Brother hiding from us?''. Pedro started cooking as the other three sat on the log. After minutes of waiting, They wolf down the food and emptied out the pot. "Expert Brother..." Mathew spoke to Pedro with a troubled look. "What is it?" "I was wondering... if..." "if?" "If I could hang around with you? I mean, I know it is rude of me to ask after rejecting your offer... but..." "I can allow you to ''hang around'' for one condition!" "Name it, Expert Brother..." "You sign a contract with my gaming studio!" Pedro smirked as he finished up returning his stuff to his bag. "That... I..." "No need to rush! Paperworks were still being managed anyway. For now, you can ''hang around'' with me." "Then, I would trouble Expert Brother!" Mathew smiled as the four of them stood and head towards the direction of Kagat Village. ... Along the way they encountered and Faunia slaughtered monsters. Since he can''t hide Faunia anymore, He decided to let her handle the monsters while he harvests some ingredients that he can use in cooking. Minutes later, they arrived at the cliff where Pedro and Madame Soledad stood and saw the beauty of Naga Kingdom. "This brings back memories... One day! I''ll build a castle on this cliff!" Pedro felt a tinge pain in his chest as he recalls the scene with his master. "Oi! Stop spacing out! It''s night already. At some point, we need to sleep!" Faunia complained as he turned around towards the direction of Kagat Village and the three were waiting for him. "Sorry about that! Let''s go!" He rushed towards them. ''to the Kagat Village!'' 75 Vice Guild Leader! "Expert Brother... Can I ask you a question?" Mathew approached Pedro who was picking up some herbs. "What is it?" "The... The relationship between you and that girl is... permanent? I mean~" "Yes!" "Hoo..." Mathew exhaled heavily as he was making a major decision in his life. "Then, I am considering joining your gaming studio, if my salary would be as what you said with your previous offer of twice my current salary... And..." "And?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. "I must bring her along with me! I mean... we are currently in a contract with another gaming studio. We need some money to settle with the contract issues." Mathew explained with a nervous look. ''I feel bad leaving the Pan-cit gaming studio, however... this Expert brother is someone extraordinary! First, activating S-class chain quest... Now, ''adopting?'' an Overpowered NPC? Coincidence? I doubt it! More or less, he is hiding something... a connection with the game developers? Whatever it is, my guts tell me that If I join expert brother... something great will happen!'' "Ok!" Pedro agreed without batting an eye as he casually continued picking some herbs. "You agree? that fast?" "I see no reason to disagree with your request. Besides... Your salary is not a problem!" "Ehh..." "You see brother... Killer smile~" "You can call me Mathew." "Then, Mathew..." Pedro glanced to Mathew with a serious look. "I choose players based on two criteria. Loyalty, and Potential." "No wonder, you accepted my offer without a second thought." "Well..." Pedro smiled to Mathew as he went to the next herb to gather. "???" "Anyway, Stop calling me an expert brother... You can just call me... Aron!" "Then, I look forward to working with you, Brother... Aron!" "Same, Vice Guild Leader Mathew!" Pedro smirked as he dusted his hands and shook hands with Mathew. ... Somewhere in an open plain, a group of players was traversing through as Wild boars fought with Wild packs of wild mountain wolf. "ROAR!" An ''Alpha Male'' mountain wolf charged towards the group as the other wolf followed. The Alpha Male mountain wolf has a scar on its snout that seemed to be scratched by a claw. Its body build was larger than the usual wolf. "Waaaaa! Everyone! Protect me from that scary monster!" A girl player named ''Love'' pointed in the "You have guts wolf!" "for Love!" "for Love!" The young-looking players who seemed attracted to ''Love'' moved in front without a second thought. Those young-looking players circling the nine players in the center moved to intercept the charging wolf. "Tsk... Using your charms! You AIRPORT!" Another beautiful girl mocked beside her. "You''re just jealous, ''ILLUSION''! What kind of name is that? It has no charms or whatsoever..." Love mocked in return. "You!!" "Ahhhh!" The argument between Love and Illusion was immediately halted as one of the ''young-looking'' players died. "RUN!" A girl player named Direction Idiot shouted as she ran through another clear path through the plains. The other six players followed immediately as Love and Illusion stared to each other. "Leave now our princess! We shall delay these monsters until you are in a safe distance!" "Yeah!" "YEAH!" "You guys..." Love was speechless as the players intercepting the wolves fall one by one. "GO! GO, PRINCESS!" The players shouted as Illusion ran and startled Love. "Tha... Thank you, guys!" "Aaaaaw!" The players were more motivated after Love made a wink to them before she left. "FOR PRINCESS!" "FOR PRINCESS!" "ATTACK!" The players attacked simultaneously that effectively delayed the wolves'' advance. The gap between the nine players and the wolves increased by a hundred meters. Unfortunately, at this point, the wolves have annihilated the players who bought some time for the group of nine to escape. "Sh*t! Sh*t! RUN! RUN!" Another girl player named ''Hope'' uttered as the wolves chased them and the gap they built was being closed each second. ... "Aaaaah!" Love screamed as the ''Alpha Male'' mountain wolf was just a few meters behind her. "Don''t worry Charlotte! I''ll save you!" A player named ''Faith'' halted and charged to the Alpha Male Mountain Wolf to save player "Love". "Thank you, teammate Aldo!" Love winked at Faith as he Intercepted the Wolf. ''I just hope that you guys will be able to meet brother Pedro and escape! I''ll try my best to buy some time!'' Aldo took out his newbie sword as he dashes towards the wolf. The wolf launches a bite to Aldo as he planted his foot in the ground. When its snout was inches away from his body, Aldo exerted full force to his feet and hopped to the side. "Yaaaaaaaaah!" Aldo grasped the newbie sword as tight as he can and slammed it straight to the wolf''s head. -3 His face went grim as soon as he saw measly damage he induced to the wolf. The wolf stared at him with a smug as if saying ''Is that all you can do?''. ''Sh*t! I''m dead!'' Fwoooosh! -55 -55 Two pen-knife flew straight into the wolf''s eyes as blood splattered out from it. Although the damage is not high, Injuries can still be made like in real life. However, some monsters have regeneration capabilities to recuperate the damage they attained. Fortunately, most of the carnivorous monsters were focused on damage and only second in such abilities. Hence, the wolf can''t heal its eyes. "Awooooooo!" The Alpha male mountain wolf cried as his pack approaches from behind. "Oh no!" Aldo tried his best to run. Unfortunately, the claws of the Alpha Male Mountain wolf was inches away from his back. "Sorry brother Pedro... I have wasted ''Faith'' IGN!" Aldo whispered in an embarrassed manner. He knows to himself that he has almost to nothing in terms of skills and experience in playing AVR Games and could only utilize his gaming experience on other types of games to survive in the environment of Bearth. Boom! Suddenly a little girl with green hair appeared behind Aldo. Her punch sent the Alpha Male mountain wolf flying meters away. When the wolf landed it rolled a few more meters until it lies on the ground, unconscious. 76 The New Karakoa Main Crew! "Step aside! You in my way human!" Faunia mocked the shocked beyond belief Aldo as she continued to charge towards the other wolves. "Eh?" The nine people escaping, including Aldo, stared in Faunia who charged towards the wolves like they were her prey. ... From a distance... "Talia, be careful..." Mathew halted and warned as he saw the figure of Aldo and the other players with him. "Players?" Talia hid behind Mathew as she glanced towards the group. Pedro''s attention was shifted from the herbs and ingredients he was harvesting to the group. "Hmm..." Pedro placed his hand in Mathew''s shoulder as if saying ''Let me handle this!''. He walked towards the group as a short-haired woman felt Pedro''s presence and grasped another set of a blood-red knife. ''Pen-Knife? Then... they are...'' Pedro smirked as he approached the group. When he was meters away the other players noticed him. "Sabrina?" Pedro frowned as the pen-knife escaped from his sleeves and started to rotate at full speed. The pen-knife''s rotation was so fast that it looked like Pedro has a force field around him. "Ped... Pedro?" Sabrina stares at Pedro with a frown as she inspects the familiar figure. .... Name: Death (Player) Level: 1 HP: 50/50 MP: 50/50 Stamina: 8/20 .... "PEDRO!" Sabrina rushed towards him, not minding the "Pen-Knife Barrier" protecting him. Her actions astounded everyone, even Pedro. .... Name: Gentle Breeze (Player) Level: 2 HP: 41/80 MP: 61/70 Stamina: 5/20 .... ''Gentle Breeze... It is Sabrina!'' Pedro had no choice but to halt his "Pen-Knife Barrier" as Sabrina inched closer to him. Upon reaching Pedro, Sabrina hugged him tightly as if she missed him allot. Aldo and the rest of Pedro''s group facepalmed themselves as they felt embarrassed by Sabrina''s actions. His mother and Aunt frowned, as they were unable to grasp the situation unfolding right before them. "I didn''t think that their relationship would be at this level. I don''t want to tolerate such... things or actions, but... I am not against it either." Pedro''s father smirked as he held Pedro''s mother''s hands as if saying ''our son is a grown-up now!''. His father holding his mother''s hands made his mother calmed a bit. ''It''s not what you think! Uhm... Sabrina... what are you doing?'' Pedro had an awkward smile as he witnesses the reaction of his parents, aunt, and his groupmate. "Uhm..." Pedro blushed as his heart started to beat faster. "Uhm... It''s not what you think! It''s just... It''s just that, I am glad... because after everything that has happened, the accident and stuff, I was still able to see Pedro!" Sabrina tried to explain while keeping her embarrassed look. "We understand!" Pedro''s father walked towards Pedro with her mother and aunt. .... Name: King A (Player) Level: 1 HP: 50/50 MP: 50/50 Stamina: 3/20 .... .... Name: Queen A (Player) Level: 1 HP: 50/50 MP: 50/50 Stamina: 2/20 .... ''Mother? Father?'' Pedro felt a tinge of happiness as his attention was shifted to the two figures who were approaching him. "Hahaha! Son! You look great!" His father patted his shoulder as his mother dusted his coat. "Of course! To whom would I inherit this ''great'' traits of mine? It''s no other than you!" Pedro smiled as he hugged his mother and father. "We miss you son!" Her mother whispered in a sad voice. ... Mathew and Talia stood as back up, meters away from Pedro. They watch the events unfold. They can only act once Pedro took damage and falls back. And only upon considering that the situation is not hostile, that they can come out. This was their protocol when they face other players. "It seems like everything is fine, should we head and pick the wolf corpses, brother?" Talia asked Mathew who was still carefully watching the other players. "Let''s go. If something bad happens, we have Faunia!" Mathew started walking towards Pedro and the group. Swooosh! "Young Lady! You''re fast!" Mathew wore a serious expression as Sabrina pointed the tip of his knife to Mathew''s neck while Mathew''s newbie sword touched the side of Sabrina''s neck. Sabrina didn''t bat her eyes that were filled with killing intent. "Who are you?" Sabrina asked as if she looked like a professional killer with no emotions. "I am his subordinate!" Mathew gestured his head to point towards Pedro. "Is it true?" Sabrina asked without glancing back to Pedro. She kept her attention towards Mathew. "Relax! We''re all allies here!" Pedro confirmed with a smile as he glances towards Mathew and Sabrina. "Then..." Sabrina retracted her knife and stepped back. ''This girl... It seems like Expert Brother knew a player with high potential.'' Mathew chuckled as he glances to Sabrina''s Character. "Oi Human! Enough with those hugging! Bof is about to rise!" Everyone, except Mathew, Talia, and Pedro who were already accustomed to Faunia''s sudden appearing and disappearing, was surprised when she suddenly appeared beside Pedro. ''Who is this girl?'' Sabrina frowned as she inspected Faunia. ''This...'' "Yeah... Mathew! Kindly continue gathering the corpses. Everyone... Kindly help us gather the dead bodies of the wolves!" Pedro instructed as they moved immediately. Aldo, Pedro, Mathew, and Sabrina went the furthest as they were the fastest among the group. In less than ten minutes they were able to gather all the corpse that made the whole plains empty. The blood-splattered was sucked by Pedro and Sabrina''s Pen-Knife that left the plains without any trace of evidence of battle. "Brother Pedro!" "Expert Brother!" "Son!" "Pedro, we''re all done!" Everyone approached Pedro who was standing with Faunia. "About my name... Please call me... Aron!" Pedro wore an awkward smile as he glanced to the confused Mathew, Talia, and Faunia. "Then, Aron... we''re all done!" Sabrina smiled as she walked in front of the ''Pedro Group'' and Pedro''s parents and aunt. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. "That sounds better!" Pedro smirked as he and Faunia turned around to Naga Kingdom''s direction. 77 A Commotion by the Shore! The BoF was about to rise that made their travel easier than it was during the night. Monsters have somehow a fear in daylight and choose to lurk in dark places. Hence, they hid in caves, dungeons or abandoned places like villages and kingdoms. In less than two-thirds of the time Pedro, Faunia, Mathew, and Talia traveled to pick up the others, they were able to reach the cliff that was memorable to Pedro. As if like a norm, Pedro stood in deep thought as he stares in the forest and the distant Naga Kingdom. "A~Aron, Let''s go!" Sabrina waved her hand to Pedro as everyone walked ahead to the path to the forest. "Uhm!" Pedro glanced and nodded to Sabrina in response. He looked one last time to the view as he grasped his hands tightly. ''I''ll build a Kingdom here!'' Pedro was full of determination as he ran towards everyone with a smile. Minutes later, they were just meters away from the shore where Pedro''s ''boat'' was docked. At the moment Mathew had a glance at the shore near where Pedro''s boat was docked, he halted abruptly that confused everyone. (Not including Pedro, Faunia, and Sabrina) "Stop!" Mathew wore a weary look as he held Talia''s shoulder that stopped her from walking. "Eh?" Talia was confused for a moment but when she saw a figure of a human from a distance she immediately understood what Mathew meant. "Those flags... That outfit... People from the Naga Kingdom?" Pedro walked towards the group''s front as he checks the crowd right beside the dock where his boat was located. "Not only them..." Mathew pointed to the people with different outfits behind those from the Naga Kingdom. "Players? Stick together!" Everyone followed Pedro''s command and compressed together, Except Faunia and Pedro, as Pedro''s knife rotated around the group and formed a circle line in mid-air. ''I can''t let anyone knew about our true strength... Including Faunia...'' Pedro frowned as he pulled up a black mask that covered half of his face. (It covered his mouth and a part of his nose. Like the ones used for medical purposes.) ''Faunia!'' He talked to Faunia telepathically as he glanced to her and hands over a similar black mask. ''What, Human?'' ''Wear this... Our Identity must remain hidden!'' ''Why?'' ''Stop asking, and just put it!'' ''Ok! Ok!'' Faunia took the face mask with a frown as a scene where Pedro uses some kind of manipulation ability to control her plays in her mind. The mask covered half of her face that emphasized her unique green eyes and cute look. ... In the distance, a huge volume of players watches behind the NPC from the Naga Kingdom. "Look! This NPCs from that Kingdom were standing here since the ''Sun'' rise!" "I wonder who are they waiting for?" "It must be someone from that ship!" "Such a huge ship!" "Developers did a great job in making this game feel like reality!" "Yeah, so real that I died four times already!" "D*mb*ss!" "D*mb*ss!" +1 "D*mb*ss!" +2 "D*mb*ss!" +3 "D*mb*ss!" +4 ... "Hahaha!" "Laugh all you want! If that Kingdom only allowed me to enter, I would have not died FOUR times!" "Complete the beginner quests first, said the developers!" "beginner quests my *ss!" The players built a noisy crowd. Yet, the NPCs from the Naga Kingdom ignored them as they patiently wait for someone from the ship. Among the NPCs stood a middle-aged muscular man who wore a golden crown and a silver sword hangs by his belt. "Grandpa! I wonder why Aunt Soledad returned? Maybe she missed me... or... she wanted me to join her crew!" An excited kid dressed well like a noble pulled the hands of his grandfather that he held tightly. "Hahaha! Maybe she missed you!" The old noble laughed in amusement to the child. "Hmm... Grandpa still doesn''t believe Vonider Naga III is a talent!" The child pouted as he looked to the old noble. "Behave your self kid!" The middle-aged man with a crown glared to Vonider as if saying ''Don''t humiliate me in front of the Great Soledad!'' "Ye~Yes Father!" The kid closed his eyes and screamed on top of his lungs in fear. "Your Majesty! Someone is approaching!" A knight in full silver armor kneeled and reported as the figure of Pedro, Faunia, and the others came out from the forest. "They are here! But... Where is the Great Soledad?" The middle-aged man frowned as Pedro and Faunia inched closer to them. ... A moment ago, when Pedro saw the middle-aged man''s figure and the crown in his head caught his attention. ''It seems like he is the king of ''that'' Kingdom!'' Pedro glanced to Faunia with a serious look. ''King? More like spoiled humans with big ambitions and greed for power!'' Faunia mocked in response to Pedro. ''Hahaha! It may seem like it, but don''t take all of them to be like that!'' ''Heh! Why not? All creatures experience greed, even gods and goddess. Hence... Humans are no exception!'' ''All right! All right! I get it! Anyway, don''t attack unless we are in danger, or I say to attack!'' ''I know! You don''t need to repeat it every time, human!'' Faunia glanced back to the group as her attention was focused on the hands of Sabrina that were grasping tightly blood-red pen-knives. When Pedro and Faunia arrived, the King of Naga Kingdom walked forward with the old noble, the kid and a few knights equipped with shield and armor. "Greetings! Seeing you coming from the direction of Kagat Village. Perhaps you are one of the crew members of that ship! May I know where is the Great Soledad?" The King welcomed in a resolute and powerful voice as if Pedro and Faunia was someone weaker than him. "Your majesty! It''s an honor to meet you! About your question... Madame Soledad... has passed away!" Pedro bowed in respect as he explained calmly. The King''s face frowned as the other NPCs went silent as they were shocked beyond belief. This event confused the Players behind the NPCs and started ''Scanning'' Pedro. ... "Who is he?" "Is he also an NPC?" "Is this an event?" The gossip of the players filled the shocked silence by the NPCs. ... "Then... Who are you?" The King stared at Pedro with Killing intent as he grasped his silver sword. At this moment, the players finished scanning Pedro and his data showed up in their interface. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. .... Name: Death (Player) Level: 1 HP: 50/50 MP: 50/50 Stamina: 17/20 .... "Me?" The players stared at Pedro with a confused look as he chuckled towards the King, ignoring the King''s ''Predator staring at its prey'' look. 78 Showing off in front of a King! "Such insolence!" A Knight standing beside the King grasped his sword and shield tightly as he stared daggers to Pedro. "Please let me finish my introduction. My name is Death, Aron Death... the apprentice of Madame Soledad and the new Captain of the Legendary ship Karakoa!" Pedro bowed in respect with a smirk on his face. He stole a glance to the Knight as if mocking him. "YOU!?" The King was astonished and responded with a smug in his face. "Yes... Me!" Pedro nodded with a confident smile as if saying ''You wanna test it out?''. "HAHAHAHA! You got some confidence, Young Aron. But... It is still not enough to prove that you are telling the truth!" The King released a magical aura that caught the attention of everyone. Though it is not comparable to the magical aura of Madame Soledad when her demon eyes activate, It is far stronger than that of a regular NPC, and than that of Village Soldier Tam in his "disguised" or "Human" form. ''My guess was right! It won''t be easy to convince them without showing power...'' Pedro stole a glance at Faunia. She was confused to why Pedro looked at her. Faunia wore an awkward smile as she started to talk with Pedro telepathically. ''Human, is there a problem?'' ''No, there is no problem... It''s just that to convince this ''King''...'' ''We need to show our true strength?'' ''Yes!'' ''Just tell me and I''d show them what they want!'' Faunia smirked to Pedro as if saying ''Why don''t we roast some of them to ashes, maybe, they''ll know who is in front of them!'' ''Uhh... there is no need for you to "roast" someone. Let me handle this simple task!'' Pedro smiled back to Faunia. Upon shifting his gaze back to the King of Naga Kingdom, He wore a serious look as he considers the NPCs in front of him as a threat. Fwoooooosh! Bog! Bog! Bog! Bog! Pedro''s eye turned black as he stood and look down to the King who was on his knees due to the ~Emperor''s Will~ effect. ''This human... He trully resembles a Great Demon King! Absolute power, strength, magical energy, and... Authority!'' Faunia felt shivers run into her spine as she watches the scary figure of Pedro that seemed like looking down upon everyone... no, everything around him. "Such... strength..." The King wore a grim look on his face as he held his head to ''somehow'' resist the mental fatigue Pedro caused as he slowly glances around and watches the players and NPCs fell to the ground or be on their knees due to the sudden the mental fatigue. Only the King, the old noble with the kid, a handful of knights beside the King and Faunia were able to remain conscious and awake, among those who were within the one hundred meter radius around Pedro. All the players, Including Pedro''s group, slept tight in the shore. "You believe me, now?" Pedro stared at the King as the situation was reversed instantly. Now, Pedro looked down upon the King as if it was his prey. "Believe you?" the King chuckled as he grasped his sword by his side and stared back to Pedro. Pak! "Eh?!" The King was astounded as Faunia appeared between him and Pedro. Faunia used her hand to stop the silver sword of the King that was targeted to Pedro. "If I were you, I would not do that. I am not Madame Soledad. I don''t have that much relationship with you and your people." Pedro warned as Faunia''s grip to the silver sword tightens and it started to crack. "So... Please don''t do it again! I won''t be considerate next time. Now... Do you believe me? or~" Pedro smirked evilly as if resembling a demon. "I believe you! I believe you!" The King lost all his pride as his heart was now filled with fear. He knew, himself, how strong someone from BHO, especially those who were Master ranked and above just like Madame Soledad. "That''s fair enough! Anyway... Circumstances had gone far beyond my expectations. I am here to tell you about the... death of Madame Soledad." "Then, who will lend us their support in fighting monste~" "Do not worry! I carry the will of Madame Soledad to help humans fight against the monsters. Whenever I am around, I will do my best to protect humans." Pedro blinked as his eye reverted to its normal state. Slowly, the players and other NPCs started to wake up from their sleep. "However... Unlike Madame Soledad, I believe that... some humans... tend to become monsters themselves!" Pedro stood eye to eye with the King as the King slowly recovers from the mental fatigue induced by Pedro. "Humans? become monsters?" The King frowned in confusion from what Pedro said. "And before you notice it, the wolf would already be in your yard!" Pedro turned and walked towards his boat. "Where are you going, mister?" The young Vonider chased after Pedro. "Hmm... Elder Brother is gonna go where the strongest humans are located!" Pedro smiled as he pated Vonider''s head. "Then, you won''t fight those monsters?" "Hahahaha! Of course, I will! Elder Brother will just look for extra help so we can protect many Kingdoms like the Naga Kingdom!" "Help? Vonider can help! Yesterday, I killed a ''Barbit'' with ice magic!" Vonider grasped his hand and hit it to his chest, proudly. ''Barbit... the monster that looked like a rabbit. It is one of the agility type monsters, where its speed compensates for the low hp and damage output. This kid...'' Pedro was astounded momentarily but he was able to compose himself immediately. "Good! Good! It seems like you have talent, kid! One day, Join my crew!" Pedro smiled as he boarded his boat. "Uhm..." Vonider paused for a moment before nodding in response to Pedro. He was full of determination after reminiscing the similar scene that happened months ago. ... "Aunt! Aunt! Can I join your crew? I can already cast ice magic. And... and... Elders in our Kingdom says I have a talent at such a young age!" Vonider bragged as he ran towards Madame Soledad who just arrived at the dock near the Naga Kingdom. "Ho hoo... Is that so?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click for visiting. "Uhm... Uhm..." 79 A Cute Little Girl? ... "Also, Mister! You were just lying when you said Aunt Soledad is dead, right?" Vonider thought that Pedro was just ''joking'' around when he said that Madame Soledad passed away. Pedro answered Vonider''s question with a forced smile. "Let''s go now Vonider!" The old noble approached Vonider as the King glanced one last time to Pedro who was heading towards his group. ''This young man! He reminds me of her... No wonder the Great Soledad took him as her apprentice.'' The King turned around and started walking to the direction of the Naga Kingdom. "Let''s go!" The NPCs followed as they marched back to the Naga Kingdom. The players were still in confusion as to what happened. Earlier, after the first few hours of the open beta launch, the developers updated the system and said that they system assistance in status effects were modified to make the game "an inch" closer to reality. Hence, when a player was inflicted by Pedro''s ~Emperor''s Will~, they would instantly be unconscious without knowing what made them sleep. However, to poison, armor reduction, etc., their effects can be seen above their hp bars. The duration, damage dealt per second, or other values like how much armor was reducted were the only one indicated above the hp bar. What type of skill used, or such other information was removed. This was a similar feature added in Pedro''s past life after the game has been officially released after two months. ... "What happened?" "Where are the NPCs going?" "Was it done by that NPC?" The players were dazed as they stare in the departing figure of the King of Naga Kingdom. They did not even notice Faunia who was left standing right in front of them. ''Faunia, you may start!'' Pedro smirked as his boat was near where his group was located. ... Earlier... ''Faunia, when these people from the Naga Kingdom leaves, Kill everyone else and take all their bags!'' Pedro wore a mischievous smile when he looked to Faunia. ''Why, should I, A Goddess, do such evil act for you?'' Faunia frowned as she was being turned by Pedro into a thief and a murderer. ''In the wild, Predator hunts their prey! In this case, they were our prey!'' ''I didn''t know you were into cannibalism?'' ''I am not!'' ''Then, why?'' ''Didn''t I tell you to get the bags! How many, Ingredients was I able to store in my bag? Too many, right?'' ''Human... do you mean...'' ''Yes! Many bags, many ingredients, many foods that we can cook!'' Pedro chuckled as he ''manipulated'' Faunia using food. ''I said later! I''ll just give you a sign when to start!'' Pedro shooked his head as Vonider chased after him. ... "Oh... a little girl!" "Were you left by them?" "We''ll escort you to the Kingdom!" The players wore mischievous smiles as they thought that Faunia was with the Naga Kingdom NPCs. They thought to take advantage of Faunia to become the first players to enter a kingdom and gain quests, rewards and other benefits. "Uhm... I hope you can help me with my trouble." "Aww... Of course, little girl." Faunia made a cute look like an innocent girl that was lost from her parents. This made the players relaxed and drop their guard towards Faunia. Speaking made a delay and caused the figure of those from the Naga Kingdom to fade. "Uhm... but I am hungry! I need food first!" The players were happy. They felt like they were having a quest. Although there was no prompt of the system that they received a quest, no players knew how the ''quest'' system prompt works at the moment. Hence, they can only assume that quests were given when an "NPC" made a request. "Would this be fine, little girl?" A player quick-witted gave Faunia a piece of bread. "It is fine~" Faunia smirked as she stabbed her hands straight to the player''s heart. -??????? [You have died! Character deletion and automatic logout in 3!] 2! 1! ... "Noooooooooo!" The player, fortunately, didn''t feel any pain. He screamed on the top of his lungs as his vision grayed. Pffffff! Blood burst out from the body of the player as Faunia''s hands pierced through it and her hand can be seen in the back of the player, that was holding the player''s heart. The other players were shocked in place as they stare to Faunia and her pierced hands into the player''s character. "One down!" Faunia wore a mischievous smile as the blood that spurted on her made her resemble a serial killer. Faunia pulled her hand as she took a bite to the heart in her hands. Nom! Nom! Nom! Gulp! "Fresh and healthy human heart! How I missed this taste!" Faunia finished the whole raw heart as the other players got back into their senses. "Ah... RUN!" "MONSTER!" "RUN!" ... ... Players tried to escape in different directions. However, Faunia is way too fast. In less than twenty seconds, all players lay dead with a hole in their chest. Some even tried to record the scene to no avail. They were killed before they can record it. As Faunia ate the last heart, Pedro was able to send the last batch of his group (the Main Crew) to the ship. ''You''re done?'' ''Yes! I''ll leave the gathering of bags to you, Human!'' ''Ok! Don''t drop your guard, someone might be lurking around. Don''t hesitate to kill anyone who poses a threat to us. Also, Kill those who watch or observe us. No need to hold back.'' ''Then...'' Faunia picked a seashell and faced towards a row of trees, into the forest. Boom! Faunia threw the seashell like a baseball player. It made a hole through the trees until something was hit and burst blood. A human body, with a similar bag to players, dropped headless into the bush. "Aww! There are only a few shells left!" Faunia looked troubled as she only saw a few seashells around her. "Here, use these!" Pedro took out rocks from his bag and gave it to Faunia. 80 His Goal! "That''s enough Faunia. We might not be able to collect those are way too far!" Pedro shook his head as he stores back the stones on the shore. "Hmph!" Faunia crossed her arms as she can only obey Pedro''s command. "Why don''t you go and get the bags of the dead bodies furthest from us, and burn their dead bodies, to leave no "evidence". " He scratched his head as he looked troubled while staring in the forest. "Tsk! Human! You''re so troublesome!" "It''s no trouble at all... Later on, you''ll see that hard work pays off!" Pedro smirked as Faunia looked at him with an irritated look. After making a few steps forward, Faunia vanished into thin air. "Gods... Their strength is unfathomable. I can only consider my self lucky escaping death from her hands. and... being able to place her under my control..." Pedro shook his head as he ran back to the forest to collect the bags of the players killed by Faunia. ''I must not let my guard down! Faunia is not around me...'' Pedro became cautious as he gets the bags. Minutes later, Faunia and Pedro meet in the shore after all the bags has been taken and the dead bodies were burned. They rode the boat to the Karakoa. ... Earlier, when Pedro sent the last batch of players to Karakoa, he called everyone (his crew) to the deck near his boat. "Captain!" The NPC Crew that was left salutes to Pedro in a respectful manner. Pedro''s mother, father, and aunt, Sabrina and the rest of his ''group'' was astounded to the NPC''s actions. As for Talia and Mathew, they wore a frown as they stare at Pedro as if saying, "Captain? Him? This ship?". "Cap... tain?" Loren was astounded and filled with disbelief as she stares to Pedro. "Ehm... I''ll explain things later. For now, we need to prepare for our departure! First of all, I''d like to thank Shervan Jen Stelis, Kroven Tuf Stelis, and the all other crews who decided to stay with me and continue the crusade of the former Captain and her crew!" Pedro scratched his head as he started briefing everyone. "It''s our honor, to be part of your crew!" Shervan Jen Stelis and Kroven Tuf Stelis bowed slightly in response to Pedro. "Very well! Any updates on Raphael?" Pedro asked that confused the players with him. "No need to worry Captain! Raphael is below us! We just need half an hour to attach it back to Karakoa." Shervan Jen Stelis, the older looking man, with glasses and a body built like a football player reported to Pedro. "Then... I''ll proceed to assign crews to each ship. Shervan, you''ll lead half of the crew and will be assigned with me in the Karakoa. As for Kroven, you''ll lead the other half and be assigned to Raphael." Pedro stopped momentarily as he caught a glance to the players in the side, watching the events. "But..." Aldo tried to reason out, however, Pedro spoke before he can continue. "You don''t need to be worried, brother killer smile would be with you! He would be your second in command and my third sub-commander!" Pedro shifted his gaze to Mathew who was still unable to process what is happening. "Me? Third sub-commander?" Mathew pointed his hand to himself out of astonishment. "Yes! I believe in your talent so don''t fail me!" Pedro smirked. ''Expert brother thinks too highly of my skill, haha!'' Mathew Forced a smile to Pedro as he nodded in response. *Clap! Clap! "The same goes for everyone! Shervan, Kroven, Brief them of the information they need to know about the ships. I''d wrap somethings up back there. When I return, we''ll depart immediately to BHO HQ!" Pedro turned around and went back to his boat. "Yes, Captain!" The NPCs shouted as they started to do their task. Shervan and Kroven approached the MPC, Main Player Crew, consisted of Sabrina, Loren, Aldo, Beatrice, Charlotte, Ashley, Mathew, Talia, and his Aunt. His mom and dad were part of it, but they were mainly playing just to see Pedro. Sabrina looked at the departing figure of Pedro as if she wanted to join him back to the shore. ... "You have killed many humans! It''s surprising that you''re not turning into a demon yet!" Pedro mocked Faunia to break the awkward silence between them as the boat heads back to Karakoa. "Heh, human, are you dumb or playing dumb?!" Faunia responded with a frown. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Eh?" "You''re dumb! Haha, We, Gods and Goddess, only became demons, once we succumb to dark magical energy to attain power and go against other Gods and Goddess... or... if our actions threaten the existence of this world! Other than that... we are free to do what we want. That includes eating lowly beings, like humans!" "Hmmm..." Pedro rubbed his chin as Faunia explained new information to him. "Human! It may seem weird to you but, do humans eat birds? vegetables? Yes? The same to gods and goddess, Humans are just like birds to us!" "Then, A human eating a goddess... I am the first one?" Pedro smirked to the serious-looking Faunia. "Tsk! Without your inherited demonic powers, you are nothing!" Faunia shifted her glance to the ship. "Hahaha! Then I am lucky for having them! Else, I won''t get my self a strong goddess on my side!" Pedro patted Faunia''s head like she was his little sister. "Heh!" "Anyway! I only have one goal that I would need your assistance..." "What is it, Human?" 81 The Calm Before the Storm! In a dark room located in a mansion deep in a rainforest. A young man and an old man were playing a ''chess-like'' board game. The young man''s side, the white side, has seven more unique pieces left. While the old man, the dark side, was only left with the smallest and the biggest piece each player have. (The two remaining pieces signifies the smallest and highest value in the board game.) "Old D! It seems like ''destiny'' does not favor us these days!" The young man wore a relieved expression as he ends his turn, with the victory on his sight. "Hmm... indeed." The old man who was frowning and was trying to think of a way to win the board game with the use of his ''two'' pieces. Moments later, he leaned his back to the chair and sighed as if he accepted his loss. "So... What''s your plan old D?" The young man stared at the old man, anticipating for his response. "Hahaha! You are a nosy one, kid!" The old man burst into laughter that confused the young man for a second. But later on, the young man smiled back, and somehow, "got" what the old man meant. "Hahaha! Of course! I am the God of Destiny''s inheritor after all. Master Destiny brought me up this way!" "You do resemble that crafty bas*ard! BUT... you still lack experience as a God!" The old man smirked as he took the biggest piece he has and used it to directly kill the young man''s biggest piece that was wide open. "..." The young man was confused about the old man''s move. But before the young man could speak, the old man started to lecture him. "Being a God or Goddess is not a blessing. It is more of a curse. You get too strong, other Gods and Goddess would be threatened and will strive to bring you down. Yet... If you become too weak, You''ll get targeted by other Gods and Goddess to reduce the competition. Don''t forget humans and other beings, who have great greed for power! They''ll do whatever it takes for power. They won''t have second thought doing evil things for power!" "Heh! I know old D! I am not born yesterday... Hey, Hey, Hey! Don''t dodge the question, old D! What are your plans? What are your plans?" The young man smirked, however this time, the young man looked menacing. "Simple, To Retire!" The old man smirk as he stared to his remaining piece on the board game. The young man could only smile as his attention was also shifted to that small piece. ... "Hahaha! As expected of my son! You have your own ship in this game!" Pedro''s father laughed proudly as the "Karakoa Main Crew Group" (Karakoa MCG) toured around the Karakoa ship. It was led by Pedro who was closely followed by his Parents, Loren, Sabrina, and Faunia. Everyone''s attention was shifted to Pedro''s father that embarrassed his mother. "This is a good idea! Why don''t we try entering Cruise Lines?" Pedro''s father relaxed as he rubbed his chin. "Eh... Another of your wild ideas! Let''s focus first on the present matters in the company. We can try anything you want when everything is stable." His mother commented back. Hence, his mother and father started their "discussion" as if Pedro, Loren, Sabrina, Faunia was not there. (His father and mother may look like they were acting weird or childish, it is just that, that feeling of a parent, trying to hide their worry or sadness, especially that Pedro was still not waking up due to the "accident".) "Please don''t mind them. Let''s continue, I am also wanted to rest already." Pedro forced a smile as he looks to Loren and Sabrina. "We understand classmate Pedro. Our parents also fight at some times." Loren forced a smile to Pedro as she ignores Pedro''s Parents. "We''re not fighting!" "We''re not fighting!" "Pfft...Haha!" Pedro''s father and mother uttered in unison that somehow made Faunia unable to contain her laugh. His parents just took a glance to Faunia, then returning to their "discussion". "Ped... Ehm... Classmate Pedro, Are you sure, Aldo and the rest would be fine on their own in the other ship?" Sabrina who was beside Loren, made huge strides to be able to catch up to Pedro. "Hah... Sabrina, just call me Pedro if you want to." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "No, no, no... sorry about that!" Sabrina halted her steps immediately as she blushed red as if she ate something spicy. Loren shooked her head as if saying ''These guys, his parents on the back is arguing. Why do I get the feeling that these two ''closet lovers'' will also start their own ''discussion''?'' "Hah... Just call me that!" Pedro insisted that made Sabrina speechless for a moment. "Then... Pe~Pedro... would, would the others be alright?" "Don''t worry... An NPC Crew is with them. They''ll be more than just fine!" Pedro answered back with confidence as he stole back a glance to everyone. "If you say so!" "Then, what''s your plan?" The long silent Faunia asked as they were about to arrive at the ship''s battle arena. "Plan? To get strong, what else?" Pedro smirked as he opened the door to the battle arena. "Heh... Human, aren''t you strong enough? You defeated me, remember?" "Strong, Khuh? Do you know why Kings get replaced?" Pedro''s arrogant and happy look turned serious as they entered the battle arena. "Heh, because humans are weak!" "No! Because they think that they are the peak, the strongest, the one who reached the so-called ''Limit''. They exert less effort to improve because their minds were set or fixated that they already achieve what is considered to be the "limit"!" "Reminds me of something... what was it? Go beyond? Plus ul..." Loren rubbed her chin as she frowns trying to recall where she heard the familiar phrase. However, Pedro interrupted before she can finish. "Historically speaking, once there was a King that believed in his knowledge as the peak of human knowledge, that was somehow gifted by gods. One day, he lost a war into which where he was the one who designed the tactics and strategies that was used. (Western continent: American player force vs NPC kingdom, NPC kingdom lost and gets conquered in his past life.) Wait..." "You saw your mistake, human?" "Another King... had "unlimited" full trust to his nobles, warriors, and generals. Later on, the King was betrayed by everyone! But..." Pedro was confused for a minute until his father spoke. 82 Remembering the Auction! "Anyway, Here is a place where you can battle each other without dying, the Ship''s Battle Arena!" Pedro frowned after glancing to "Karakoa- MCG". "What''s with the sour look, human?" "It''s a good facility. However, we have two problems... First, other than Senior Urse, who passed away, no one knows how to operate the battle arena control room." Pedro shifted his gaze to the direction of the battle arena control room. "Do you mean operating those lowly incantations in green color?" Faunia pointed to the green lines in the battle arena that were all connected to the battle arena control room. "Lowly... Uh, yes?" "Tsk. I have never seen such miserable incantations in my life! Don''t worry, human! I can operate these measly incantations!" Faunia walked casually towards the green lines. She looked like she was inspecting it of some sort. "Then, I''ll have to trouble you. Other than that... The incantations can prevent you from dying, but not being in a coma state." "Of course human! Didn''t you hear what I said? LOWLY Incantations! What can you expect when it was made by a human!" Faunia scolded as her hand became enveloped by a reddish aura. She then waved her hand to a part of the green incantation. The green lines vanished as her hand, and the aura in it, went pass through the line. "What are you doing?" Pedro was astounded with Faunia''s actions. Although he didn''t know what Faunia was doing, he didn''t stop Faunia. After all, she is still a goddess. And, of all those who are in the ship, she is probably the only one who knows about those incantations. "Modifying it!" "Haha, how thoughtful of you!" Pedro mocked as Faunia started to become annoyed. "Tch... Don''t misunderstand. Knowing you, who have such great hunger for power. You''ll use this area to fight someone from time to time. And for you to come out safe is not a hundred percent, at least. If you die, I also die! Even if you''re in a critical state, my existence is still in jeopardy! REMEMBER THAT!" "My existence is still in jeopardy..." Sabrina whispered to herself as she stared daggers to Faunia and her hand unconsciously went for her pen-knife hidden in her inventory bag. The atmosphere in the arena started to become heavy. Faunia felt the threatening stare of Sabrina. Hence, Faunia responded by releasing an aura of a stronger ''level'' than Sabrina. ''Why do I feel like something bad is about to happen?'' Loren thought as she glanced back and forth from Faunia and Sabrina. "You... Eh?" Just as Sabrina was to answer back to Faunia, Pedro raised his arm to stop Sabrina. Sabrina was surprised to Pedro''s actions as she can only stare in astonishment to him. "We''ll see... Nothing is impossible!" Pedro smirked as Faunia stole a glance to Pedro. Faunia didn''t argue further and just continued "Modifying" the incantations in the Battle Arena. After a minute of silence, Something caught Pedro''s attention when his eyes landed to the inventory bag. ''Sh*t! I forgot about the Auction! I need to hurry up and come up with a plan to at least get one or two stuff in the auction! I have a few ''in-game'' hours left before it starts!'' "Everyone! I have to leave now to attend some urgent matters! Kindly return to the CBCR and take my place at the moment. Sabrina and Loren, familiarize yourselves in managing the ship, especially the CBCR." "Why do we need to do so, classmate Pedro? Ain''t you the Captain of the ship?" Loren scratched her head in confusion. "I''ll explain things later on. For now, I''ll have to go." Pedro started to panic like someone who needs to go to the toilet and take a poop. "I''ll stay here and modify these incantations. I would just be bored staring on the view of the endless sea!" Faunia explained as the rest of the group nodded to each other. As quick as the lightning, Pedro ran out of the Battle Arena, towards his room. "We''ll be going then, little girl." Pedro''s mother waved towards Faunia as they left the Battle Arena. Faunia acted like she didn''t hear Pedro''s mother and just continued Modifying. ''These humans know how to mess with a goddess. If I am not bounded to this ''Aron'' human, I would have killed them with one finger! HAHAHA!'' Faunia smiled mischievously as a "god-level" aura escaped from her. Luckily, the incantations were able to contain it within the Arena only. ''Ehem...'' Pedro faked a cough mentally to Faunia. Faunia was astounded as her mischievous smile was replaced with an awkward smile. ''Belittle them as much as you can... One day, you''ll see their true strength. Not only them but all of humanity!'' Pedro remarked that made Faunia punched the wall in the arena that made the whole ship shook slightly. ''We''ll see, human.'' ... Along his way back to his room, he encountered an NPC crew. His stressed mind, became bright as if he saw the answer to his problem. He halted and stared for seconds to the NPC Crew. "Ca~Captain!" The NPC Crew nervously saluted to Pedro. The NPC became more anxious as each second pass by. For that NPC, this moment seemed to be the slowest seconds of his life as Pedro stared at him with a ''weird'' smile. ''Bingo!'' Pedro celebrated deep inside. He tried his best to contain his excitement while in front of an NPC crew. "What''s your name?" The crew wore a confused expression after being asked by Pedro. ''Don''t tell me... The captain is interested in me? I mean... It''s true that back home, many told me that I am handsome... but...'' The NPC assumed in his head as beads of sweat escape from his forehead. "Recruit Ome Irella, Patrol Group Three! Captain!" "Recruit Ome, Kindly inform the treants and other crew members to bring to my room as many Paper you can bring, immediately. Only papers made from Nearis Tree. Got it?" "Yes, Captain!" "Go!" "Salute!" The NPC ran as fast as he can after saluting to Pedro once more. 83 Skill Manufacturing Part 1 Pedro sat on the sofa in his room as he took out a book from his inventory bag. The moment he took the book out of his inventory bag, A dim golden light shines out from its first few pages. Curious about the book, Pedro checked its information in the user interface. ... [Book(Skill Records)] (Special Item) Rating: Gold-rated Item. Item Level: 0/100 Effect: Main Effect: Stores records and details of skill observed by the user. One Skill is equivalent to one page. Same skills won''t be recorded again, However, if there was new or different in the methods used to display the same skill, the new records, and details would be included in the first record and would be updated. Special Effect: 1 - [User Bound]: Records data and details using the vision of the User bound to the book! Bound User: "Death" 2 - [Rewrite]: Automatically saved records will last for 10 days. If not re-written within 10 days, the recorded data and details would be erased automatically. Re-write would place the record permanently to the Book. It can only be re-written with the use of "Pen-Knife" and a creature''s Blood! Non-Permanent Records: 9/100 Permanent Records: 0/150 [LevelUP]: Each skill data or record, saved would be equivalent to 1 level up. Each level up increases the number of pages by 1. Max level is 100. (Permanent Records only) Additional Page/s: 0/100 [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the Item when the maximum level was attained and all pages were occupied by data and records of different skills. Book Level: 0/100 Occupied pages: 0/150 [The book of skills! A Skill-maker''s bible and with it they can produce new skills with ease! "Who the hell in the world can remember every scene he/she saw since birth?"] ... "This time is perfect! While waiting for the papers, I''ll start the "Re-writing"!" Pedro took out his Pen-Knife and played it by his hand. The Pen-Knife was already filled with blood he collected earlier. "Hmm... Let''s see what skills were recorded! I hope that luck won''t fail me this time!" Pedro chuckled as he opened the book to the first page. The first page looked like a biography of a skill. On the top left (almost half of the top left) was a small box that magically played the captured ''video'' of the skill in terms of Pedro''s vision. In the upper right side was the important details about the skill. Below the small box and the important details were some information like history or such related things about the skill. (the history and related things were mostly based on what Pedro knew, learned, heard or even encountered.) ¡­ Skill: ~Wolves'' cry~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Active Cooldown: 10 minutes Deviation: 67% Estimated Success Rate (ESR) = 83% Record Status: Non-permanent Days Left Before Automatic Deletion: 9 days 09 hours left ¡­ "A good skill indeed. If not for its long duration, this might even be ranked in the top silver-rated skills or the lower gold-rated skills... What is this Deviation thing? This estimated success rate explains for its self as the estimated success rate when trying to make the skill... but the Deviation..." Pedro rubbed his chin as he thinks that this skill would be stronger than his ~Scout 1~ skill that temporarily increases his movement speed by 10% and increases his vision by 100 meters for 30 seconds. Regardless, his eyes were fixated to the new information located in the ''Biography'' of the skill. It was the deviation. There was no included explanation or guide of what it was about. Hence, Pedro can only stare at it and assume what it was supposed to be. "Deviation from reality or the actual skill? I am not sure. There is no use thinking or assuming what it is about. I''d just probably learn what it is along the way." He shook his head as he gripped the pen-knife and started writing. Minutes later, He finished Re-writing all nine Non-Permanent skills that were recorded. Knock! Knock! Knock! "Captain! Here are the papers that you requested!" Recruit Ome led five NPC crew who was carrying stacks of cut paper just high above their head. The NPC crew were all male, hence carrying such heavy stack of papers was an easy task. Pedro was sitting on the sofa, scanning back and forth in the pages of the book. He was undecided of which among of the nine skills, should he pick to ''mass'' produce and sell to players and get the money he needed for the auction. "Alright! I''m on my way!" Pedro returned the book to his inventory bag and approached the door. "Come in, place it there!" He opened the door and pointed to the area near the sofa. "Yes, Captain!" Recruit Ome and the other NPC crew rushed in the room. Pedro stood by the room as he watched them place the Nearis Paper. After leaving the papers beside the sofa, the NPC crew immediately walked out of the room. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Captain! Should we bring more Nearis paper?" "That would be good. Just knock on the door when you are to deliver another batch. If I wasn''t able to respond, leave the papers outside. Assign one crew to stay and guard the papers." "Aight, Captain!" Recruit Ome made a salute to Pedro as he rushed back with the other NPC crew to get more papers. "NPCs... I bet other players were having a hard time ''communicating'' with NPCs! I remember the early days... We were such in a hurry to get quests to the point we acted like a boss to the NPCs. Not realizing that we, the players, looked like ''babies'' who had a tantrum to get ''candies'' to the NPCs. Hahaha! Good old days!" Pedro shook his head as he walks back to the sofa. "Those were in the past. Now, I must capitalize on the knowledge of how the game works!" Pedro took out his book once again. He placed the book in the table as he reached for a piece of Nearis paper. He placed the paper to the table as the Pen-Knife slide down from his sleeves. 84 ~Transformation 1: Mountain Wolf~ Upon opening the book to the page of his selected skill to mass produce, He stared and watched at the video that played on the top left of the page. After minutes of watching the repetitive video, Pedro closed his eyes as he replays the video in his mind. "Imagine... Imagine... Imagine how I was able to transform... but this time... as a... wolf... Imagine!" He murmured to himself as he frowned resulting from trying to imagine what he watched the best he could do. After seconds, he opened his eyes that shined a dim blue light. He grasped the Pen-Knife as his hands started to write on its own. It took him two minutes until his hands stopped ''writing'' on its own. At the same time, the paper glows brighter than how it did in the first skill he was able to make. "This... If my hunch is right... I had successfully crafted this silver-rated skill!" Pedro took a closer look at the paper despite its slight blinding light. ... Skill: ~Transformation 1: Mountain Wolf~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Active Effects: Transforms User into a White Mountain Wolf. -While in transformation mode, increase User''s Agility by 30%. -The transformed form has the same amount of HP and other attributes with the original form of the user. Once the HP in transformed form was depleted, the User will be reverted to its original form, with the same amount of HP before the transformation. -Revert user to original form when the time limit expires. The time limit for transformed form: 2 minutes Cooldown: 1 hour [A good skill created by an Apprentice Skill Maker! The cooldown defect speaks for itself!] ... "Dang! This system is really brutal. It won''t even give me the chance to place a flavor text to my masterpiece!" Pedro chuckled as he placed the skill he made to his inventory bag. His eyes shined of gold the moment his gaze landed into the Nearis Paper. "With this amount of Nearis Paper... I am rich!" He smirked as he did not dare waste any second, and grabbed another piece of Nearis Paper to start making another copy of the same skill. ... Somewhere in the ship, Recruit Ome and the other NPC crew with him started a conversation regarding Pedro. "Why do all of those who became the Captain of this ship is unfathomable?" "I don''t know. All I know is that their goal is to protect and give help to humans! For me, that''s enough reason to follow them." Recruit Ome interjected with a serious look. "Well... That''s true. But remember, we are not some kind of supers like they are!" "That''s why we must do all that we can to support them." "So that they can save and protect more people!" "We! So we can save and protect more people!" Recruit Ome corrected with a smile on his face. The other NPC crew look back at him astounded, however, seconds later, they smiled as they shifted their glance back forward. "Right! WE!" The NPC crew, including Recruit Ome, walked out of the hallway full of energy. Ready to do give all they can, starting with delivering as much Nearis Paper they can bring. ... After almost an hour... "Hah! Hah! Hah!" Pedro exhaled heavily as he was about to finish making another skill. Knock! Knock! Knock! Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Recruit Ome and his team knocked at the door of Pedro''s room. The Papers were already pilled up in the hallway, outside Pedro''s room. Hence, recruit Ome can only try knocking again and again at Pedro''s door. "Brother Ome, You think Captain is alright?" "Relax Brother Crab, It may not look like it but... there is this different vibe from Captain. He may not be as strong as the previous Captain of the ship, but there is, definitely, something different on him." "You mean the weird talking trees of the legends that are on board in the ship?" "Uhm..." Ome nodded once and smirked. "That''s why... He''s, definitely, someone unique and unpredictable!" Inside the room... "Tch... Did my luck run dry? After a grueling hour of making skills... I was only able to successfully make three ~Transformation 1: Mountain Wolf~!" Pedro leaned back to the sofa as he sighed of relief. Knock! Knock! Knock! "Oh... I was too focused on making skills, that I wasn''t even able to notice them." Pedro wore a wryly smile as he stood from the sofa and started walking towards the door. Creak! "Captain!" Ome and the others who seemed exhausted after knocking for sometime jumped in astonishment as the door opened. "What? Oh..." Pedro also took a step back in astonishment. He wore a grim look as he glances left to right in the hallway. ''Since when we had this many Nearis Paper? No~No~No... I am not even confident that I can use all of these in one month!'' "Captain? Your orders?" Ome gulped as he steeled himself and asked Pedro who was still in a daze. "Oh... right! Bring as much as you can in my room." Pedro pointed to his room as the NPC crew stretched for a bit, as a sign that they are about to start. "Right away Captain!" Ome saluted as he glanced at the other recruits as if saying ''Let''s get to work guys!''. The Crew started bringing up the papers inside his room. Pedro stood outside as he checked his player interface. "6:57 PM, hmm..." Pedro rubbed his chin and frown like someone who was doing a problem-solving. ''If my memory is right, the auction will start at 8:00 PM, GMT + 8. And, based on the announcement, we can auction items but it must be registered thirty minutes before the start of the auction.'' "Hmm... Considering the amount of time I have left, Asking help from Killer Smile and selling these skills might not be a good idea!" Pedro shook his head. Ome and his gang often glance to Pedro who had a grim look since they arrived. "Ugh... What else can I do? All I can do is hope that the three skills would make me earn at least 3 gold coins. And, combining that with I have, I have an amount of at least 14 gold coins that I can use to buy some stuff in the auction!" Pedro walked back to the kitchen as he was still staring at the auction notification. "These guys sure work hard might as well give them some snacks before they leave!" Pedro smirked as he brought out some ingredients and started cooking. 85 Pre-Auction! ... [System Notification] Pre-auction details are now available! The Auction will have two parts. The first part would be the Players'' Auction. It is where players can freely place items before 8:00 PM GMT+8. The items placed would be later on available for other players to be bid and after ten minutes, the highest bidder would win the selected item. The second part would be the Main Auction. It will start after the Players'' Auction. Ten items would be included in the Main Auction. Upon the appearance of the ten auctioned items, Players can bid on the starting price of that item. There is no buyout price. After half a minute, three counts would be made to signify as the final bid. If no one bids higher during that point, the item would be considered sold. Note: Main Auction items'' starting cost ranges from 10 silvers coins and above. ... [System Notification] Players can now place items to be auctioned for the first part. Time Left before the first part of bidding to start. 28 minutes, 21 seconds ... "As expected! The auction mechanics were similar in the past. This ''players'' auction'' was a chance given to players who failed to gather enough coins for the actual auction." Pedro sighed as he placed in to auction the three ~Transformation 1: Mountain Wolf~ skill he was able to make. ... [System Notification] Please set the starting bid for your items. ... "Hmm... Starting bid huh? I''ll go with 50 silver coins. I doubt that anyone in the game has a gold coin or more." He smirked as he set the bidding price in his interface. ... [Player Killer Smile sent you a message!] Killer Smile: Expert Brother, the ''compensation'' auction is about to start. What is our plan? ... "Oh! Hahaha, not bad, not bad!" Pedro was impressed by Mathew''s wit. Auctions on games were a way to get items, weapons or such... easily. It only required a player to own a huge amount of in-game currency to get such stuff that may give them huge lead among other players. Hence, Pro players treat this as a type of warfare into which strategies and plans were formulated and used. But... in terms of money! ... Death: There is no need for a plan. I''ll send you and the four other ladies 20 silver coins each. Buy anything you want. If it is not sufficient, don''t hesitate to contact me. Killer Smile: If Expert Brother says so... Death: Oh! While I''m at that, Help me check the auction and see if there are any suspicious or weird looking items like the ones you sold to me during the closed beta period. Killer Smile: No problem, Expert Brother! Should I tell the girls? Killer Smile: Noted! I gotta go and tell them. :SaluteEmoji: Death: :OkEmoji: ... "Hah... I wonder what stuff would be auctioned. There''s no sense worrying." Pedro sighed of relief as he transfers the pot of stew to the table. He prepared six sets of spoon and bowl on the table as the NPC Crew carry the last set of Nearis Paper to Pedro''s room. "Phew!" Recruit Ome wiped the sweat on his forehead after placing the last set of paper to Pedro''s room. "Good work! Have some stew before you go!" Pedro approached the NPCs. Gulp! "We~we don''t dare, Captain!" "Come on. Don''t reject my goodwill!" "Bu~But..." Recruit Ome can''t help but feel awkward as he thought, ''Is Captain really... after us?'' "Hahaha! Then, you may go now if you won''t eat. ... Such a waste, I even cooked it myself..." Pedro walked back to the center table to take the spoon and bowls back. Ome and the other NPC looked at each other with a frown. The NPCs stared at each other as if saying, ''What should we do?'' ''If we don''t eat, we''ll waste Captain''s effort.'' ''Such a waste, from its smell and look, it must be delicious!'' "Hey, brother Ome..." one of the NPC whispered. "What?" Ome answered back with a frown. "Can we eat!?" "Yes, the Captain said it himself. what are you waiting for?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Uhm... for you to go first?" "Why me? I am not eating. At least, my face is not that thick like you guys." "Come on, we''re brothers, right?" "Tch... These guys!" "Ome! Ome! Ome!" The other five NPC cheered in a low tone. ''When will you guys grow up... tch...'' Ome helplessly shook his head as he approached Pedro. "Captain! Can we still eat?" Pedro turned around with a confused looked and saw Ome who was forcing a smile and the other NPCs whose eyes were shining with happiness. The other NPCs smiled as their eyes were fixated to the pot of Stew. "Suit yourselves. Just don''t spill the stew on the papers." "Yes, Captain!" the NPC shouted as they rushed towards the center table. "I''d be doing something in my workroom. Call me when you are to leave!" "We will!" "Good. Enjoy!" Pedro entered his workroom while the NPCs were eating like they have not eaten for days. "I have some minutes left, might as well try my luck and make some more skills." ... After 15 minutes Pedro walked out of the room casually. In this instance, coincidentally, the NPCs were able to finish their final serving of the Stew. "Hoho... It seems that you liked my stew." Pedro rubbed his chin as the pot was spotless empty. "Captain''s stew is so delish!" "Not only that! My energy was ''magically'' replenished after eating Captain''s stew." "Captain! Thanks for the meal!" The NPCs saluted with a grateful look. Pedro smiled back as he took out five pouches that have silver coins in it. "Thanks! I am glad, knowing that you enjoy the food I made. Anyway, I have one last request for you." "What is it, Captain?" "Deliver this pouches to the other ship." Pedro handed over the five pouches to Ome. "Yes, Captain!" "Go, now. They will need it soon!" Pedro watched as the NPCs, full of energy, ran out of the room. 86 The Real Thing! ... [System Notification!] Players'' Auction will now start! Browse through the list of items, weapons, equipment, materials, etc. bellow. After the counter runs out, the highest bidder will win the item. Good luck and Enjoy the Auction! ... "Let''s check if there are some noteworthy stuff here." Pedro sat comfortably on the sofa as he scans his interface. The interface initially showed up a mixed-up list. Hence, Pedro arranged it according to rarity. The highest rarity was on top, while the lowest was on the bottom. "Eh?" Pedro was astounded as soon as he saw the first three items on the list. It was no other than the three skills he placed in the auction. He smirked as he checked if there was anyone who bid for the skill. "Meh... As expected, none of them has that much money yet." Pedro shook his head as no one was still placing a bid for the three skills. He decided to scroll down slowly to check other stuff and make sure that no good stuff will escape his attention. "Bronze weapon... bronze armor... bronze earing... Hah, these people... even selling needles? Who are you trying to fool? And for 50 silvers? come on man, find an embroider NPC. They''d give you needles, more or less!" He continued to scan the list for six minutes and was about to reach the end of the list. "Hmm... Nothing worth the coins so far... I guess I''d go and bid for some weapons for them. Other than Sabrina, Everyone else is still with their beginner sword." Pedro selected some weapons and placed a bid on it. ... Somewhere in an isolated part of a village, three players were standing together. "Yo~Young Master... I found a ''Godly skill'' in the auction!" A teen male player was nervous as beads of sweat fall from his forehead. "Godly skill?" A well built young man wore a frown on his face. "Yes. Though it is only Silver-rated, It can allow a player to transform into a wolf!" "Transform? How much does it cost?" "The~The bid required to surpass it is at... 1 Gold and 10 Silver coins already!" "That high? Queis, can you supply me with that amount?" "Mr. Crest, I can... but our limit is at 1 Gold and 70 Silver coins amounting to 100 thousand dollars." The big-bodied man replied as he scans through his player interface. "That would do. Transfer the money to Sqwazle." "..." The big-bodied man hesitated for a moment as he stared back at the young man. "Don''t worry. I''ll send the money to your account. 100 thousand dollars right?" "Yes. Then, it''s a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Crest." Queis, The big-bodied man, sent the 1 Gold and 70 Silver coins to Sqwazle. "Make sure to win that item Sqwazle! We need that item to gain an advantage over other players." ... Since there were minutes left before the Main Auction, Pedro decided to check the skills he auctioned. ... 1) ~Transformation 1: Mountain Wolf~ skill Current bid: 1 Gold 50 Silver coins Bid to surpass: 1 Gold and 60 Silver coins 2) ~Transformation 1: Mountain Wolf~ skill Current bid: 1 Gold 40 Silver coins Bid to surpass: 1 Gold and 50 Silver coins 3) ~Transformation 1: Mountain Wolf~ skill Current bid: 1 Gold 40 Silver coins Bid to surpass: 1 Gold and 50 Silver coins ... "What? more than 1 Gold? They probably ignored the rating of the skill and was blinded by the transformation effects of the skill." Just as Pedro was still trying to calm himself after seeing the amount he might earn, Mathew sent Pedro a message. ... [Player Killer Smile sent you a message!] Killer Smile: Expert Brother! Three items are being fought over by all the closed beta players in the auction. Even some of my acquaintances contacted me to ask me if I can lend or sell them my coins. Considering this, I have a hunch that even the top gaming organizations and guilds were supporting closed beta players just to acquire those skills. Hence, I didn''t lend my money and decided to tell you about this first. ... "Did I cause that much commotion?" He shook his head in disbelief. Then, he replied to Mathew. ... Death: Let them have it. We''ll have a chance to get our hands with one of those in the future. For now, I suggest for everyone to bid for what you need, especially armors and equipment. Kindly, inform the other four. Killer Smile: Aight, Expert Brother. :SaluteEmoji: Death: Enjoy. :OkEmoji: ... Minutes later the Players'' auction has concluded. Pedro gained 4 Gold coins and 50 Silver coins amounting to 1 Gold coin and 50 Silver coins per skill. The weapons he bought for his Player Crew only cost him for 70 Silver coins. The weapons were sent directly to his inventory. "I''ll give these to them later." Pedro smiled as the System proceeds to the Main Auction. ... [System Notification!] The Main Auction will now start! Good luck Players and Enjoy the Auction! ... First Item. [Laeotan Sword] Rating: Gold-Rated weapon ... ... ... Starting bid: 1 Gold coin ... The closed beta player erupted as the starting bid was already at 1 Gold coin. "What a scam!" "Pay to win! Literally, Pay to win!" (Pay to win in this game is through paying ''money farming'' organizations or guild to farm coins. There was no real-money to in-game-money exchange available.) "Curse those with the backings of companies and organizations!" ... "Hahaha. I pity those who can only watch." Pedro smirked as he started the bidding on the sword. "Although it is just a typical gold-rated sword, it would not hurt me to spend 1 Gold coin." ... [System Notification] Someone outbid you. Current bid: 1 Gold 10 Silver coins Bid to surpass: 1 Gold and 20 Silver coins ... "Hmm... I guess I''ll pass." Pedro rubbed his chin as he decided not to contest the bid anymore. The price of the first item increase, as expected. In the end, it was sold for 1 Gold and 70 Silver coins. The same goes for the second to sixth items auctioned reaching a huge amount of 3 Gold coins. Pedro was not that interested in the first six weapons auctioned since they were just plain Gold-rated weapons. He would rather save his coins for the future that waste it for some weapon he has of no use. ... Seventh Item. [Book (Ship Manual)] Rating: Gold-rated Item. Contain information about the conquerors of the sea! Ships! ... Starting bid: 2 Gold coins ... "Finally, Something good!" Pedro placed a bid of 2 Gold coins on the book. Books were obviously important things in the game. Like in the real world, they contain information and knowledge that anyone can learn and apply. Yet, Pedro knew that buying a Book has a drawback. Either he would have a use for that knowledge, or not. Still, compared to the previous items auctioned, it is of higher value. ... [System Notification] Someone outbid you. Current bid: 2 Gold 10 Silver coins Bid to surpass: 2 Gold and 20 Silver coins ... "Seems like even if it is a book, it won''t be that easy to win." Pedro frowned as he contested for the book. He placed a bid amounting to 3 Gold coins. "Let''s see if someone can still put up a fight." Fortunately, no one contested further and Pedro won the Book for 3 Gold coins. The book appeared into his inventory as the 3 Gold coins were subtracted to his money. ... Eighth item. [Deino''s Necklace] Rating: Gold-rated accessory Special Effect: The gem in the necklace changes its color from blue into red, when poison or poisonous material enters its range. Range of detection: 0.3 meters radius around the gem. Starting bid: 4 Gold coins ... "This is a good accessory. Although, it is of not much use to players. It would be a good gift to NPCs especially if you want to gain their favor." Pedro bid again. Surprisingly, no other players placed a bid allowing Pedro to win the Necklace. ... Ninth Item [Compass] Rating: Silver-rated Item. The only item that points towards the true north! Starting bid: 1 Gold coins ... "Hmm... This would be useful in the future." Pedro scratched his chin as he bid for it. No one contested his bid because for players, this item has of not much use and 1 Gold coin can only be afforded by players supported by tycoons and huge companies or organizations in the real world. In the end, he won the item leaving Pedro with 5 Gold coins in his balance. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. ... Tenth Item. [Erot''s Eyes] Rating: [Unknown] [Unknown] [Unknown] [Unknown] [Unknown] Starting bid: 2 Gold Coins ... "A... A God''s Eyes! This is the real thing!" Pedro jumped from his seat from astonishment. Without a second thought, he placed a bid on the item. The picture of a pair of black eyes in a container ruined its image to the players. The item seemed like more of a collection than of any use to them. Only Pedro knew how godly this item was. ... [Player Killer Smile sent you a message!] Killer Smile: Expert Brother... Those pair of eyeballs! Death: :OkEmoji: ... The other players didn''t contest Pedro''s bid as they didn''t see any value to the eyeballs. Hence, Pedro won it for 2 Gold coins leaving him with 3 Gold coins in his balance. 87 The Presence of an Evil Being! "Ehm... Girls... We would leave these game matters to the both of you. I and My husband will log off the game and have a ''proper'' rest. Though the developers said we''re as good as asleep while playing, we decided to log off to take a rest without thinking things consciously." Pedro''s Mother approached Sabrina and Loren with a smile and explained that She and her husband will log off the game early. "Besides... We only played to see our ''in coma state'' son." Pedro''s Father interrupted calmly. "Please take care of him. He might be unpredictable lately, but... We know, he has a kind heart." "You can count on us, Uncle, Auntie! Right, Sabrina?" Loren affirmed to lighten up the mood in the CBCR. Pedro''s parents looked towards Sabrina with a smile that made Sabrina blush. "Ye~Yes, Auntie, Uncle. Yo~you can count o~on US!" Sabrina was barely able to finish her response from embarrassment. "Thank you." Pedro''s mother smiled as they enter the bedroom in the CBCR, as instructed by Pedro, to go and stay in that room before logging out. "Oh... and by the way Sabrina! You can call us Mom and Dad too!" Pedro''s father jokingly shouted before closing the door quickly. "It''s a misunder~" Sabrina wasn''t able to even finish her ''denial'' as the door of the room was shut close. Loren just smiled and remained silent to avoid making Sabrina angry. ... Inside the bedroom in CBCR. "Honey! You should have not done that!" "It''s fine. Sometimes, these young ones need a little push!" "Still..." "Don''t worry. When was my hunch even wrong. hehe." Pedro''s father pulled Pedro''s mother to the bed as they logged out of the game, hugging each other. ... In his room, Pedro held the newly acquired God''s eyes in his hands. He stares at it and was in deep thought. ''What should I do with this many God''s Eyes? Should I keep them till I have enough knowledge about them?'' Knock! Knock! Knock! "This aura? NOT GOOD!" Pedro frowned as he returned the ''God''s eyes. back to his inventory. His eyes turned all black. The skin in his face and body started to become like the skin of his dragon form. "Who dares?" Pedro approached the door slowly. His heart beats as if there was someone who can kill him in an instant. The Pen-Knife slid off his sleeves and started rotating around him at full speed. He took the FaithPursuer Katana from his inventory as he tried to telepathically contact Faunia for reinforcement. "Human! Are you ok?" Faunia''s voice echoed outside Pedro''s room. ''Eh? It''s just you, Faunia?'' ''Yes, don''t mind me. Are you ok? I felt a tinge presence of an evil being!'' ''I''m fine. Enter the room. I unlocked the door.'' Creek! "Tch. I felt a tinge presence of an evil being. What can you expect, Human?" "Evil being? You mean this?" Pedro took out the God''s Eyes he acquired from the auction. "This..." "Erot''s Eyes, You know anything about it?" "E~Erot? The Reaper Demon! How did you know about the exiled god of war?!" "Pedro, are you fi~the exiled god of war?!" Sabrina arrived in the hallway. The moment she arrived, she stared at Faunia, confused but, full of killing intent. Her hands held two blood-red Pen-Knife. (the Lower version of Pedro''s) "Hah... What a troublesome matte~" Pedro shook his head as the moment become complicated. But before he could finish, Faunia vanished in front of him. "HUMAN! YOU DARE STARE AT ME LIKE THAT! You''re just an insect that I can crush with a finger!" Faunia appeared behind Sabrina as a godly amount of aura escapes from Faunia''s body. Sabrina''s body froze from fear, but after a second she quickly recovers from her fear. She glanced to her side full of killing intent and without the fear to back down. "Don''t think that I will show mercy to a mere child!" Sabrina replied as she grasped the Pen-knives tightly. Clap! Clap! Clap! "ENOUGH!" Pedro approached them as his eyes remained to its normal state. However, it felt like if any of the two moved even a finger, His eyes would instantly change back to black. "You are one lucky human. If not for him..." Faunia walked past Sabrina and went towards Pedro. "Hah... I said enough. Faunia, go to my room! Explain everything to me." "Tch." Pedro commanded as Faunia disappeared into thin air. Pedro walked towards Sabrina who suddenly changed her mood from the serious look to an embarrassed one. "Since, you''ve heard it. Join us!" Pedro grabbed Sabrina''s wrist that astounded her. Then, He pulled her to his room. "Jo~Join? Bu~But! Wha~" Sabrina blushed the moment Pedro held her wrist. Although she didn''t remove Pedro''s grasp in her wrist, She placed a heavier weight to the ground to slow down. Unfortunately, Pedro''s strength was different in-game. She slid on the floor instead of walking in some instances. It was a moment for Sabrina into which her heart wanted to keep Pedro''s hands on her wrist, while her mind says ''no''. "What?" Pedro stopped as he glanced at Sabrina with a frown. "Lo~Loren is alone in the control room. I need to help her!" "She''ll be fine. This is more important than that. Also, NPCs are there. So, don''t worry about her!" "..." Sabrina didn''t argue any further and followed Pedro. Bag! Pedro pulled Sabrina in as the door shut closed. "Sorry about pulling you... Please have a seat." "It~Its fine!" "Stop flirting, Humans!" Faunia was tapping the table and started to become more annoyed. "Alright! Alright! You may start! Tell us what you know about this!" Pedro took out the ''God''s Eyes'' and placed it in the center table. Faunia calmed herself, for a bit. While Sabrina looked like someone whose eyes were gonna pop out from their sockets. "The~The tenth item in the auction?" "Auction?" Faunia glanced with curiosity to Pedro. "How did you know?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Pedro was astounded with what Sabrina said. The auction was exclusive for closed beta players. It''s no surprise if a player with huge backings would know about the auction, even if he/she is not a closed beta player. However, Sabrina was neither a closed beta player or someone who has backings from a company or organization. "The news?" Sabrina answered in a confused manner. ''He didn''t know?'' "News?" Faunia''s frown deepens as she became more confused. ''Auction, now News? Such mysterious humans!'' 88 Erot, The Reaper Demon! "ANYWAY! I''ll explain later, Sabrina. Faunia, tell us. Who is this Erot? For you to act like that, Erot must not be someone ordinary." "Ordinary? Human... gods, and goddesses were never ordinary in the first place! Their powers exceed beyond your imagination. And even us, ourselves, needed to take precaution whenever there is a presence of the same level as ours or greater. Else, you wouldn''t know if you''ll have another meal in your life!" Faunia explained like a child telling stories. Sabrina finds it like a girl telling her experiences in school for that day. "???" Pedro frowned as he stares at Faunia in confusion. "Tch... For you to understand. Remember your eyes!" ''His eyes?'' Sabrina glanced at Pedro wondering what is unusual with his eyes. "Yeah, what about it?" "No one would imagine that those preserved eyes of the Demon King Varxatos would give a human a power able to kill a goddess! Do you now understand?" "I somehow have the gist of it. I''ll take precautions next time." "That''s reassuring. I can''t let you die unless I find a suitable inhe~AHEM!" Faunia faked a cough as soon as Pedro smiled and finger pointed to himself, the moment he heard the line that Faunia was looking for something. "Hahahaha! I was just joking!" "Heh! In any case, Erot was a former god of war. I only heard rumors from my master that He became so obsessed with wars and fights to the point that it became the reason for his exile!" "fights?" "Yes. It was said that one time, he had a practice fight with another god. Unfortunately, his enemy lost consciousness after receiving one punch from him. Erot was annoyed and felt like he was being mocked. Hence, instead of stopping the fight, he continued to punch that god to death." "That incident made him a bad guy and later on was considered a demon?" "On point, human! My master told that that move to exile Erot was one of the worst decisions made by the gods and goddesses. My master said that Erot became one of the most notorious demons in history with a kill count of gods and goddesses, only ranking third from Varxatos. Hence, getting the title The Reaper Demon!" "Hah... So troublesome!" Pedro rubbed his forehead as if someone with big trouble. "It is. So?!" "So?" "What will you do with that, Human?" Faunia pointed to the pair of black eyeballs in the center table. "I am still not decided. However..." "However? Speak your mind, human." "Faunia... Do you happen to know if we can combine two eyeballs from different ''Demons''?" "Huh?" "I see... Judging from your response, It is not possible!" Pedro became a bit disappointed after knowing that even from a goddess, like Faunia, two ''Gods'' Eyes'' can''t be merged! "Eh..." "You can''t combine it, of course! Where did you see someone with four eyeballs? But, that doesn''t mean that they won''t get stronger. At the least, they can develop depending on how you use them. For example, It was said that Erot was a former god of war hence his eyes were all good with fighting stuff like determining weak points of the enemy in one look. If one uses his eyes in fights, who knows, it might get stronger." "Then, from what I know... his eyes should be red. Why is it in black?" "Tch... I told you! Even if my master didn''t tell me about it, do you think a former god of war would be that dumb to charge straight on like those mad demons? No! He would be caught up by the other gods and get killed before he can kill that many. Never... Underestimate gods and goddesses. Even I am not confident to face sister Laraya, what more Erot." "I guess... We can just rest easy for now. These demons are nowhere near us at the moment!" Pedro wore a relieved expression as the Pen-Knife slid down through Pedro''s sleeve. Sabrina, who was silently listening to Pedro and Faunia, frowned the moment they finished their conversation. ''Even with my instincts... I wasn''t fast enough to react!'' Sabrina''s hands were held by Faunia who suddenly appeared in front of her. Sabrina''s hands were inside her inventory bag. Her hands were tightly grasping a Pen-Knife. "What''s the meaning of this Pe~Pedro? What is she doing?" Sabrina tried to struggle from Faunia''s grasp but it was of no help. Pedro seemed like he didn''t hear Sabrina. Sabrina was speechless, but she wasn''t the type of woman who would give up easily and panic on such conditions. She calmed herself while scanning around and thinking of what to do to escape Faunia. "Ah..." Sabrina stared at Faunia full of killing intent as she smirked mischievously. On the next second, Sabrina slightly sent her head backward to gain momentum. Then, with full force, she sent her head straight to Faunia''s face. ''Ehh... Not bad!'' Faunia dodged sideways, making her grip on Sabrina''s Left hand to loose for a bit. Sabrina took this chance to pull her left hand, with full force, out of her inventory bag. Sabrina quickly rotated her wrist, while Faunia''s grip was still loose so that she can cut Faunia''s hand. Clank! The Pen-Knife of Sabrina was stuck and wasn''t even able to penetrate Faunia''s skin. "What?" "You don''t learn. Do you?!" Faunia''s skin transformed into her dragon skin. "This..." Hopeless, Sabrina could only stare at the lizard-like look of Faunia. Faunia''s grip suddenly tightened that made Sabrina drop the Pen-Knife in her hands. "Relax! Faunia. That''s enough of a proof for you?" "Wha~What proof?!" Sabrina shouted in pain as Faunia releases her grip on Sabrina''s arms. "Proof... That you are worthy enough to be entrusted of a great power beyond what you can imagine!" Pedro smirked as he held Erot''s eyeballs in his hands. (Faunia opened the sealed case for him, a while ago. Pedro is still level 1 so... He can''t do anything with the seals of the containers.) "What are you saying?" Sabrina was still confused about what Pedro meant. However, She trusted Pedro hence she didn''t run anymore. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "You''ll know! Faunia, please do the honor!" Pedro handed over Erot''s eyes to Faunia. "Wha~What are you going to do?!" "Relax and trust me. Close your eyes. It would be quick... and it won''t hurt! I promise!" Pedro smiled as he held Sabrina''s hand. Sabrina was blushed and can only do as Pedro says. "Aaaaaah!" Sabrina felt a slight pain as if she had sore eyes. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the calm Pedro and anticipating Faunia. She looked left and right as if nothing happened. When her eyes landed at her interface, she had a new notification. "Eh?" ... [Congratulations! You have activated Demon Erot Enhancement!] [Demon Erot Legacy Enhancement, Completed!] The Demon Erot was long subjugated and killed. He was the demon well-known as the Reaper Demon. He was formerly the god of war. However, after some instances, he was exiled and considered as a Demon. Erot felt that the incident was somehow a plot against him since at that time, he was considered as one of the strongest gods. Hatred and thirst for revenge filled his heart as he felt that the ones he protected with his life, stabbed him in the back. Due to his top-notch strength, experience and wit as a god of war, He slew the gods whom he suspected of turning their backs against him. To the point that he went into a killing spree. Where even the gods who were not related to his incident were not spared. On the demon side, even the seven demon governors didn''t dare underestimate him due to two reasons. First, he was a former enemy that gave them so much trouble, that even lead to the death of many demons. Second, He was even more powerful when he was a demon than he was when he was still a god. He was killed when the strongest gods during that era, cornered him. Though he was killed, He was able to bring with him to the afterlife two of the ten gods that entrapped him. ... [System Notification] Player received 100% of the actual strength of Demon Erot''s eyes! Everything was successfully inherited by Player "Gentle Breeze" 89 The New Reaper! ... [Demon Erot Legacy Enhancement!] Attributes(LOCKED): ??? ??? ??? UNLOCK: ??? ??? ??? ??? ... ... Skill/s List: ... ... 1st Skill ... Skill: ~Reaper''s view~ Rating: Legendary-rated Skill Skill Type: Passive Effect: Activates the following skill all at the same time. A) ~Body Analysis DX~ B) ~Slowmotion MS~ C) ~Precognition DX~ ... A) ~Body Analysis DX~ Passive Effect: Instantaneous scan of a target''s body and followed up by complete analysis on the actual status of the target''s body, including most weak parts at the moment. Vision Range Limit: 100 meters Maximum Number of Targets(DX): 3 Maximum Data Retained from Target(DX): 3 (If the user changes target after reaching the maximum allowed, the past target''s data would be overridden.) "I see... Your weakness!" ... B) ~Slowmotion MS~ Passive Effect: Increased Perception to the point that the user can see everything clear each millisecond that passes. Vision Range Limit: 100 meters Time delay: User can see 10 Milliseconds for the actual 1 Second Focus delay: User can see 5 Milliseconds for the actual 1 Second. Activates when the user is focused on a single entity. "You can''t escape my focus!" ... C) ~Precognition DX~ Passive Effect: Predict all the Possible movement of the target. Vision Range Limit: 100 meters Maximum Number of Targets(DX): 3 target "I see... Your next moves!" ... ~ 10 Levels or more, BELOW the user''s Level: User has 100% resistance to Silence Skills and Control Skills. ~ 9 Levels below to 9 Levels above the bound user''s Level: User has 70% resistance to Silence Skills and Control Skills. ~ 10 Levels or more, ABOVE the user''s Level: User has a 70% chance to fail to activate A) ~Body Analysis DX~ on the target. ... UPGRADE: ??? ??? ??? ??? [Behold on how Reapers see the world!] ... ... 2nd Skill ... Skill: ~The Demon Reaper''s Dreamland~ Rating: Divine-rated Skill Skill Type: Active Effect(LOCKED): Teleport to the Personal ''Dreamland'' of User. Dreamland:??? ??? ??? ??? [Available only to Inheritors of gods'' eyes who was infused with the sacrifice of one human or if infused by a gods'' eyes User. Actual Strength received must be higher than 75%!] ... ... UNLOCK OTHER SKILLS: ??? ??? ??? ... "Wha~What is this?" Sabrina held her forehead as she felt dizzy after scanning through the information in her interface. "Hahaha! I felt the same back then. Take your time to adjust." Pedro laughed while he was still ''unconciously'' holding Sabrina''s hand. "I''m fine. I''m~ ffff~fine!" Sabrina''s face blushed when she the moment she saw how close Pedro was sitting beside her. On top of that, he was holding her hand. "Huh?" Pedro became confused. However, he didn''t realize about the ''holding hands'' matter since he was excited to see what Sabrina gained from the ''Erot''s Eyes''. ''How long is he gonna hold my hand?!'' Sabrina blushed more as seconds pass. She felt the warmth of Pedro''s hand that made her speechless. ''Eh... what is she going to do?'' Sabrina looked confused as Faunia''s hand transformed into a dragon''s hand and was dashing towards Pedro, full of killing intent. ''Not good! Pe~Pedrooooo!'' Sabrina pulled Pedro towards her as her other hand grabs her Pen-Knife that was on the floor. "Noooooooooo!" Sabrina screamed as Faunia''s claws were inches away from Pedro. ''Eh?! What is happening?" Sabrina became confused when everything she saw moved slower. In that slow moment, She saw how Faunia''s slowly smirked. When she focused on Pedro and Faunia, She looked like a prodigy doctor who can analyze their body and its movements. ''This stance... She won''t continue the attack?! And... at worst... the claw won''t penetrate Pedro''s skin. If I throw the Pen-Knife, there are two possibilities. Either, she risk all and strikes forward. Or she takes another step back, doubling the distance and allowing us to prepare for her next attack. Based on her body language, she''ll take a step back.'' Sabrina had a complete situation analysis in just a short period of time, without knowing that her eyes turned all black already. ... Earlier... ''Faunia... Let''s help her activate the abilities she got from Erot''s eyes.'' Pedro smirked as he telepathically talked to Faunia. ''Activate? How human?'' ''Instinct! Human Instinct!'' ''I see. Then, Can I not hold back this time? I mean... She has the eyes now!'' ''No need Faunia... Attack me this time! But... make sure that she can see it.'' ''I''ll go ahead then...'' Faunia stared at Sabrina full of killing intent. Afterward, Faunia launched an attack on Pedro. ... Sabrina''s Prediction was on point. Faunia didn''t continue to attack. When Faunia took a step back, Sabrina threw the Pen-knife that made Faunia take another step backward. Swoosh! ''From her body movements... She''ll stop and~'' Before Sabrina could continue her analysis she suddenly felt an unexplainable pain in the head as if she got a bit dizzy. "Good. Good!" Pedro smirked as his hands pushed off the sofa and supported his body. This hindered his body from falling directly above Sabrina. ''His eyes... Wait! Wait! Wait! What am I thinking!'' "Wha~What are you doing!" Sabrina grabbed her inventory bag and hit it to Pedro. "Ouch!" Pedro was confused as to why Sabrina hit him with the bag. Pedro''s glance went back to Sabrina as his face wore a frown. ''Oh...'' Pedro blushed as he quickly stood up. "Sorry! Sorry! I didn''t mean that!" "Heh! Since both of you have time to flirt already, I''ll excuse my self. I need to replenish my energy!" Faunia mocked them that made Pedro more embarrassed. "Food, Food, Food! What food should I eat?" Faunia started humming as she walks out of Pedro''s room. ... "It''s ok Pedro. I know that you didn''t mean it." Sabrina smiled at Pedro to break the awkward atmosphere after Faunia left the room. "I''m really sorry about it! Anyway, look!" Pedro took a picture using his vision and sent it privately to Sabrina. It was a photo to show that her eyes were colored black. "Eh? What happened to my eyes?" "Relax. It is caused by your new skill! More like animation and stuff. Once you deactivated it, your eyes will return to normal." "How can I deactivate it? I mean... I don''t remember activating it either!" "Deactivate? Just think of a happy memory or event in your life. It should deactivate. See, my eyes returned back to normal!" Pedro showed Sabrina how to deactivate it. "I will try..." Sabrina closed her eyes as she remenisce how she and Pedro became ''groupmates'' for the game. Sabrina opened her eyes and stared at Pedro. Pedro felt awkward as he hurriedly took a shot and sent it again to Sabrina. "There you go! About the activation... just think of something that angers you or something. Or, as I recently found out, human instincts will activate it automatically." Pedro smiled as he stood up. "I see... I will remember that. Tha~Thanks Pedro!" "Hahaha. You''re always welcome. Anyway, should we go? I wanna have a look around the ship." 90 Boss? "How were things doing in the CBCR Sabrina?" "According to the NPC, the sailing was smooth so far. There are no problems at the moment." "I see. By the way... Can I ask you something?" Pedro smiled as he stole a glance at Sabrina. The awkwardness he felt before was now gone. He became used to Sabrina being with him. Hence, Pedro can now talk casually with Sabrina. "A~ask? Sure, what is it?" Sabrina raised her eyebrows anticipating what Pedro was about to say. "You know what... Forget about it." Pedro halted for a moment as if he remembered something important. He shifted his gaze forward as his heart changed its rhythm and started to beat faster. "Eh? You said that you have something to ask me." "Just forget about it... It''s something personal." "If you say so. However, If you change your mind, Don''t hesitate to approach me." Sabrina respects Pedro hence she didn''t pry any further to that matter. ''If I won''t say it now... I might not have a chance, to say it in the future. Hah... F**k it! I don''t wanna end up to be the same loser I am in the past!'' "Eh... Then... Can I ask you?" "Ask what? Sure! go ahead." Sabrina became confused as Pedro stopped once again. However, this time, He turned around with a serious look. "Then... Sabrina, Can you be my girlfriend?!" Pedro shouted at the top of his lungs. After shouting, he focused his gaze on the floor near where Sabrina was standing. His heart beats faster than normal as beads of sweat started to fall from his forehead to his blushing face. Silence filled the hallway as Sabrina was speechless, not knowing what to say. While Pedro never felt this degree of nervousness in his life. As each seconds pass, his heart starts to tighten. The longer time passes, the more awkward he felt and the more his heart hurts. "I remem~" Pedro raised his head and was about to say his ''Escape'' lines when Sabrina interrupted. "Yes..." "Eh..." Pedro was astounded and can''t help but to stare at Sabrina. "I said... Yes!" Sabrina averted her gaze from Pedro as she started to walk towards Pedro. Pedro was still speechless as his ''heart pain'' and sadness were suddenly replaced with a seemingly endless amount of joy. ''Yahooooo! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!'' Pedro screamed inwardly as he felt relieved. He seemed like someone who just won from the lottery. Before he could calm himself, Sabrina was just a step away from him. Sabrina hugged Pedro that made his heart beat faster than before. Pedro hugged back Sabrina as he placed his right hand to Sabrina''s back and his left hand to her head and caressed it. "I''m not dreaming, right?!" Pedro joked with a smile to break the silence. "AAAAAA-Ouch!" Pedro screamed on top of his lungs that made Sabrina laugh. "Hahahahaha! Did I just got my self a crybaby?" "Tch! Anyone would cry when they got pinched like that!" "Alright! Alright! At least, you know now what will happen to you when you do something wrong! Also, From now on I want you to call me ''Boss''!" Sabrina''s hug to Pedro tightens as if she didn''t want to let go of him. "Boss?" "Yeah! You got a problem with that?" "N~No, Boss!" "Good... Hahaha!" Sabrina laughed as she released Pedro from her hug. "Hmm... It''s kinda unfair! I want you to also call me ''something''!" Pedro complained as he straightened his outfit. "Then I will call you Blockhead!" Sabrina walked backward, ahead of Pedro, as she happily raised her hand as if signifying for a good idea. Pedro, who was scratching his chin and was in deep thought while walking, shifted his gaze to Sabrina with a confused look. "Why blockhead?" "Cause you''re an idiot... who thinks about others before yourself!" "Eh? When did I~" "Do I even need to remind you of something?" Sabrina sighed as she turned around and matched Pedro''s walking pace. Sabrina was referring to the recent accident where Pedro acted to help others to the point that he disregarded his own safety. "Let''s not talk about that!" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Whatever, blockhead!" Sabrina smiled as she was about to reach Pedro''s hand. "Tch... Anyway, I''ll go and check how the other ship is doing." "I''ll go with you!" Sabrina made a cute face as if imitating a cute cat who was asking for food to her owner. "Alright! Alright! You can come." "Hehe... Don''t worry, I''ll protect you no matter what!" Sabrina smiled which made her shine like a beautiful celebrity. ... On the port of Bearth Human Organization Headquarters... "Brother Yojiro! That ship!" "Uhm... One of the three ships of the Legendary fleet Karakoa... The ship, Felippe!" "We must join that crew brother!" "I can''t promise, but... We''ll absolutely do our best to top in the recruitment event!" "Yeril, Mom... Dad... One day, Brother and I will return to save you from the monsters!" Two young men wearing a neat BHO Uniform and has a Katana on their waists, stood in front of the window of their room, into which the room faces towards the port and the open sea. All other BHO members who will participate in the recruitment event stayed in the same type of room that was provided by the officials. The two young men have a thin body built. Although the two of them have a small size of muscles, they were well-toned like they were doing bodybuilding. ... On the ship Felippe, Captain Paul Sorales, Kentaro''s apprentice, stood in the deck of the ship. "We''re finally here!" Paul Sorales sighed as if he was carrying a huge weight on his back. "Don''t worry, Captain! Vicealmirante''s apprentice will also go to the recruitment event." A female crew spoke behind him. "Still... Things won''t be that easy for all of us! At worst... There might be a war coming in our way!" "A war, Captain? with monsters?" 91 This scent... "Captain Paul, You sure know how to joke!" "Hahahaha! Beatrice, though I find your response hilarious, what I said will most likely happen! You know too less... and underestimated too much, how the top brass of the BHO works!" "how the top brass works?" "Yes! Anyway... That''s to be expected since the balance of power will shift once more!" Paul Sorales nodded. "The balance of power will change?!" Beatrice crossed her arms as her face frowns. "Right!" "Are you saying that this war will happen due to that change?" "I am not sure. But... All I know is that... the Vicealmirante''s death may bring a huge effect on the balance of power within the organization." "I... can''t argue with that!" Beatrice sighed as she remembers her memories of Madame Soledad. "I guess... We can just wait and see." Paul sighed as he tightens his grasp into his katana. "Uhm..." ... Back on the Ship, Pedro and Sabrina arrived at the other ship and met Mathew and the rest. "Brother Pedro!" Aldo shouted as he ran towards Pedro and Sabrina to receive them. "Brother Aldo! What''s up!" Pedro smiled towards Aldo as soon as he arrived. Sabrina who was walking beside Pedro waved a ''Hi'' to Aldo. He nodded with a smile in return. "I''m Exhausted!" Aldo sighed as he leans forward and looks like someone who just finished his daily exercise. "Hahaha! This is a game though." Pedro mocked with a smile. "Game my ass! I didn''t know that managing a ship would be this troublesome. It feels like I am a Captain of a ship in real life!" "Hahahaha! Do not worry brother! Your hard work will bear fruit in the future! You just need to keep doing your best and be patient. I promise you, brother Aldo, that the benefits you will gain would not be that simple!" Pedro smiled as he thought that if only Aldo knew the future of playing the game and its benefits. "I believe your brother. But... can you at least tell me some few hints and stuff? Even stuff and hints that can help lessen some of my workload in-game would be great!" "I''ll see what I can do. But... For now, I will have to ask brother Aldo to endure this for a few more days!" Pedro scratched his chin as he thinks of a way to help ease Aldo''s workload on the other ship. Besides, the players'' number one goal was to get stronger and to level up. So, Aldo''s current situation wasn''t ideal in the future. "If Brother Pedro says so..." Aldo sighed, but after he stole a glance to Pedro and Sabrina, he smirked as he went and place his hard to Pedro''s shoulder. Aldo pulled Pedro at some distance from Sabrina and whispered to him. "Brother Pedro, Be honest... Something happened between you and Sabrina?" "What do you think?" Pedro smirked. "Hahahaha! That''s my brother! Hahahaha!" Aldo burst into laughter as he sent waves of strong pats behind Pedro. "Hmmm?" Sabrina became confused as he watches Aldo laugh. "It''s nothing Sabrina~" Pedro waved with an embarrassed look. "HMMM?!" Sabrina frowned as she crossed her arms and stopped walking. "Oh... Boss... It''s nothing! Hehe!" Pedro quickly catches up before Sabrina can lecture him. ''Man, that was close. My skin would get turned 180 degrees if I didn''t notice that!'' "Eheeeem! Brother Aldo, how are the others doing?" Pedro changed the topic as Aldo stopped laughing and wiped the ''tears of joy'' in his eyes. "They are fine. If you want to see them, I can bring you to them." "No need. Just give these to them." Pedro took out the things he bought from the auction and gave it to Aldo. "Brother... this..." "Stop... Just accept it! If you want to repay me, then repay me by your hard work! Do your best to become stronger! The same for the other three." "Hah... Then I guess, I can only say... I WILL DO MY BEST!" Aldo sighed and replied with confidence. "That''s good! I won''t take your time any longer. See you around!" Pedro smiled as he and Sabrina waved ''goodbye'' to Aldo. Aldo remained silent as he gave Pedro a salute. ''Seems like Brother Aldo liked the game.'' Pedro smirked as he walks away, with Sabrina, from Aldo. A few minutes later after walking back, Sabrina broke the silence. "We have a few hours left before we log off... Are you gonna be fine when we are offline?" "YES BOSS!" Pedro shouted with a salute. "Tch..." Sabrina frowned and pinched Pedro to his side. "Ouch!" "Stop joking, Blockhead! Hmph!" Sabrina crossed her arms and averted her glance from Pedro. "Haha! I''ll be fine. Don''t worry! More importantly, worry about yourself. You will attend our class tomorro~Later, right? The main topic of everyone might be about the game, so... Don''t let this distract you on your academics, Alright?" "Hmph! The worried became the worry. I know what to do, you don''t need to lecture me. But... thanks for the thought!" Sabrina blushed, which made Pedro blush. Pedro wore a shy look as he nods in agreement. ... Somewhere in a forest of the Aquari continent. *Sniiiiiff! "This scent... An exiled one? AWOOOOOOO!" A werewolf with a huge body, sharp claws, and needle-like fur screamed as his blood-red eyes were filled with anger and killing intent. 92 The Migratory Flocoloso Birds. "We are about to log off!" Sabrina waved goodbye as she and Loren started walking towards the second of the three rooms in the Control room. "Take care! Don''t forget to remind everyone to keep everything a secret. The fewer people that know about our progress the more we have an advantage against them." "You don''t need to worry, blockhead!" "Then... " Pedro smiled as he approached Sabrina. "Then?" Sabrina was confused. Loren can only watch the events unfold in front of her. Pak! "A~a!" Sabrina was astounded after Pedro flicked his finger to Sabrina''s forehead. He didn''t give Sabrina a chance to retaliate and placed his head near Sabrina''s ears. "I love you..." Pedro whispered into the ears of Sabrina. "Y~y~youuu!" "Bag!" Sabrina sent a strong punch to Pedro''s stomach that made him curl up. "A~a! Cough! Cough!" Sabrina took this chance to escape as she pulled Loren''s hand. The two entered the room but before the door was to be closed Sabrina sent a slight smile to Pedro. "These two lovers... Sigh..." Loren shook his head as she lies in the bed and log of the game. ... "Hah... I expressed my love and I got a punch in return." Pedro stood as he shook his head. He sighed as an NPC crew walked towards him. "Captain! We detected an unusual amount of energy ahead of us!" "Ho?" Pedro became serious as he walked with the NPC towards a ''magical monitor'' that was shining a bright light. "Can''t we circle and avoid it?" "About that Captain. It would take us months to reach the BHO HQ if we circled it." "That long?" "Yes." "I see... Then we have no choice but to head forward!" "As you command!" "You. Go find Faunia and tell her to come here." Pedro pointed to another NPC Crew who saluted in response and immediately left out of the Control room. "I have a bad feeling about this." Pedro stared at the far distant sea. As the ship continued to sail forward, the cloudy sky in front of them started to become dark. ~~~~~~~ "Human, What do you need?" Faunia arrived in the Control room minutes later. Pedro was still standing staring in the dark sky and vast sea ahead of them. He didn''t glance at Faunia as his face had a troubled look while his hand was rubbing his chin as if in deep thought. "Look." Pedro pointed forward which made Faunia shift her glace in that direction. Faunia''s eyes stared deep in the far distance. She looked like someone trying to spot something in the distant. Seconds later, Faunia seemed to spot something that made her frown, slightly. "That..." "Huh? What is it?" Pedro glanced at Faunia troubled. "Relax, Human! It''s nothing. There are just some pests around that area." Faunia smirked confidently. "Pests? You mean... Monsters? Isn''t it dangerous for us?" "Dangerous?" "Yes, Dangerous?" "They are measly pes~monsters, human!" "Hah... We have the firepower to fight monsters. But, Ain''t it better to reserve our strength for now?" "For what? Don''t tell me that you are scared, human." "Of course not! It''s just that we are already operating with the least amount of crew. If we suffer casualties, won''t that be a huge problem?" "No, You Ignorant Human!" Faunia sighed as she shook her head. "Huh?" Pedro and everyone else was astounded. Pedro''s analysis was correct. If they are to suffer casualties, the speed upon which they would reach BHO HQ would be reduced. Considering that they are already traveling the slowest pace, Pedro knew that they can''t afford to be of any slower. Else, They might end up missing the recruitment event that they badly need. "Tch... I am here! Did you forget?" Faunia scolded. Then, She walked towards the door of the Control room to the Deck of the ship. "Eh?" "Eh.." "Eh?!" The NPC crew gulped their saliva as the sky above them became darker. On the other hand, despite being nervous, Pedro followed closely behind Faunia and exited the Control room to the Deck. "Can you at least tell me what kind of monster is it? Please don''t tell me it is something very big." Pedro''s Pen-Knife slid off his sleeve and started to hover above them. On his right hand, he held his Faithpursuer Katana. "Big?! More like small. Those are Migratory Flocoloso Birds!" "Birds?" "Khek. More like pests, Human. A Million Flock of Migratory Flocoloso Bir~pests!" "A million? Are you kidding me?" Pedro jumped from shock. He knew that Faunia won''t lie to him because of many reasons. Hence, even though what Faunia said was hard for Pedro to believe, he can only trust what Faunia said. "I am not. See it for your self." Faunia pointed to a black "duck" looking bird that started circling directly above the ship. Some of them started charging towards the ship. "This~" Pedro was speechless. He wore a grim look as the first batch of Flocoloso birds arrives. "Faunia! You can transform into your dragon form." "Tch~ For such pests! I don''t need to be in my true form to handle them." Faunia sent a glare to Pedro. Faunia started jumping up and down while killing the birds with her palm. She looked like a kid who was given a ''fly swatter'' and started her revenge on the flies. This time, the ''fly swatter'' was Faunia''s hands while her target was the Flocoloso birds. As usual, the blood of the dead birds was sucked by Pedro''s Pen~knife. Almost half a minute after the birds started to attack the ship, a bird was finally able to luckily pass-through Faunia''s ''swatting''. ''Oh?'' Pedro focused his gaze to the descending Flocoloso bird. He grasped a few stones on his left hand while the other held the Faithpursuer Katana. He threw a stone to the bird when it was just a few meters away from him. "Aaaack!" The bird stagger for a bit but was able to stabilize itself. It aimed its sharp, shiny, black beak towards Pedro''s neck. "Swoosh!" ... -300 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 50 [Player''s HP is back to 100%.. ~Undying~ skill has been reset!] [~Might of Pain~ skill activated!] Attack Damage: 100 +300 (damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) Magic Damage: 0+300 (damage will be lost in 5s, stackable) ... The familiar system notification rang on Pedro''s head. The bird was able to make a direct hit as it started to circle and deliver another critical strike. "Heh... Only Bronze-rated? I was on guard for something that is just a mere Bronze-rated?" Pedro sighed after being able to scan the bird. ~~~~~~~ [Flocoloso Bird] Rating: Bronze-rated Monster HP:500 Attributes Attack Damage: 400 Defense: 30 Movement speed: 30 m/s Skills: ~Peck~ Effect: Increase Movement Speed by 150% and increase dive damage to the target by 5%. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. ~~~~~~~ 93 Eight down! More to Go! "Sigh. If the rock had just hit this bird~" Pedro shook his head as he grasped his sword. The Pen-Knife was hovering above him and was busy collecting the blood of the birds Faunia ''swatted''. Hence, He can only rely on his sword. ''This many birds. Monsters = EXP. A million birds meant... A million EXP!'' Pedro''s eyes shined bright. His smile reached from ear to ear as he ran towards the door of CBCR. "Can anyone rush to the other ship, and ask their commanders to come here. As soon as possible!" Pedro highlighted the importance of his order. ''Rush to the other ship? Was there a problem? Is this darkness beyond the Captain''s capabilities to the point that he needed help?'' Truth be told, the NPC crew gets more anxious as everything becomes darker and darker. The NPC crew in the Control Room looked at each other with a grim look. In front of them were millions of monster birds. Though they believe in Pedro and Faunia''s strength, Fear still envelope their hearts. As a result, no one immediately responded to Pedro. "I''ll go, Captain!" A thin crew member bit his lips and stood. "Thank you!" Pedro nodded at him with a thankful smile. ''What''s with their reactions? Is there something strange in my face?'' Fortunately, Pedro had misunderstood their reactions. Else, they would have had gotten themselves a round of scolding from Pedro. When the man left, Pedro ignored the other NPC Crew and returned back to his position. The bird, earlier, that was able to land a hit to Pedro was already killed by Faunia. "This is a good opportunity to level up. But, my undying cycle~" Pedro rubbed his chin as he entered into deep thought. ''You look troubled, Human? Any problem?'' Faunia glanced back to Pedro whilst accurately swatting birds. ''Swatting~ with no look! Dang, this goddess!'' He immediately shifted his gaze to Faunia. Seeing Faunia staring at him, he reactively forced a smile. ''I am just troubled with something.'' Pedro bluffed. Although Faunia knows that Pedro has some kind of life-saving skill, She didn''t specifically know about the undying cycle. She only assumed it to be some kind of nullifying skill that Pedro luckily got his hands on. ''With what? If it''s about these birds, Didn''t I tell you not to worry because I am here? These birds are nothing to me.'' Faunia smiled as she shifted her focus back to the birds. ''It''s not that.'' He shooked his head that made Faunia raised her eyebrows and be curious. ''Then what is it?'' Faunia glanced back as she started to get irritated. ''It has something to do with my development.'' ''Your development? What do you mean?'' ''Should I or should I not... Level up?'' Pedro rubbed his chin as he stares to the sword on his hand. [Faithpursuer Katana] Rating: Bronze-rated weapon Level Requirement: 1 Weapon Level: 27 Attributes: Attack Damage: +203 Agility: +31 Special Effect: [Level UP]: Experiences gained by the player can be used to increase the level of the weapon. [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the weapon by reinforcing the weapon with the required materials. There is a 50% chance to gain the effect of the absorbed weapon, equipment, and accessory. [Evolve Bronze-rated to Silver-rated] 0/1 Silver-rated damage type accessory 0/1 Silver-rated warrior equipment 0/1 Silver-rated one-handed sword 0/1 weapon level 20 [This Katana was a blessing of the Ents to the warrior who stood with them against the orcs and trolls who tried to conquer the forest and set it on fire.] ~~~~~~~ "Sigh. I can only keep transferring my EXP to this sword to prevent me from leveling up." Pedro wanted to level up. After all, It is the only way for him to get stronger. But for some reason, He was already comfortable with the undying cycle. Other than the two-seconds, the cooldown of the potion, he was basically unkillable. "Tch!" Pedro frowned as he bit the tip of his thumb. "No guts, No Glory!" He grasped his sword as he stared, full of killing intent, at the incoming birds. He finally decided to use this opportunity and level up. A million amount of exp was no joke. It would even be enough to bring him around level 40. If players knew about Pedro''s problems, they would have died from envy. They will think that Pedro was so lucky to the point that two, supposed, blessings became his problem. ''Faunia! You seemed tired. Let me help you a bit!'' Pedro smirked as he charged forward, ahead of Faunia. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Kill!" Pedro threw rocks to the birds. Some of the birds were hit while some were able to react and dodge the rocks. "Slash!" He swung the sword with full force. His golden sword made a beautiful arc that was able to illuminate the dark area. The birds who were able to dodge the rocks were sliced by Pedro''s sword. The birds were not killed in one slice. However, The sword that was sent to swing with full force to the left suddenly stopped right after slicing the last bird. It immediately swung back to the right on the same arc. [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] [Level up!] [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] [Level up!] "This..." Pedro was astounded. After using an old sword technique of his, he was able to kill eight Flocoloso birds. The exp brought by those five birds made him level up by two. 94 The Wiggly Sword Technique! "Such strength!" The NPC Crew in the control room can''t help but be amazed. Together with the golden katana and the dark area, it was such a beautiful scene. "WOW!" Talia was amazed. The moment Pedro made the arc, Mathew and Talia arrived at the control room of Karakoa. They were able to witness Pedro killing eight birds in an awesome way. "Impossible..." Mathew was shocked as Pedro kept slicing birds with his sword. "What''s the matter, brother?" Talia shifted her glance to her brother. "That!" Mathew pointed to Pedro who was in a frenzy. "What Expert brother is doing, is more difficult than how it looks." "In what way brother? From the looks of it, He is just simply slicing birds left and right." Tap! Mathew patted lightly, Talia''s head. "Watch closely. To slice those birds, Expert brother needed to apply a full force to his swing. To stop it completely after hitting the last target, and slicing it back to the opposite direction with the same amount of force~" Talia observed carefully while Mathew was explaining. "You''re right brother. What he is doing is difficu~ No! It''s Impossible!" At this moment, Mathew shook his head and smiled. ''Expert brother never fails to amaze me. It was definitely worth it following him.'' "Let''s go, Talia! Expert Brother might have something to tell us." Talia was still amazed. She just nodded in response to Mathew while watching Pedro. ~~~~~~~ "Hah~Hah~Hah~" Pedro exhaled heavily as his stamina started to go down. ''Human. Someone is approaching.'' Faunia informed Pedro after noticing that someone was about to go out of the Control room. ''Where?'' Pedro frowned as he looked left and right around the ship. He became vigilant of other creatures other than the birds. "Expert Brother!" Talia waved as she walked out of the control room. Beside her was Mathew who was on his guard, ready to engage anything that strikes towards them. "Oh! It''s just you guys." Pedro felt relieved. He stopped his ''killing'' and approached the two. "What do you think?" Pedro smiled at them. "Awesome! Awesome!" Talia smiled back. Her glance was caught to Pedro''s sword. "Awesome?" Pedro was confused about what Talia said. What Pedro meant when he asked them ''What do you think?'', he was referring to the situation right in front of them. He was expecting Mathew to realize about the million birds. As gamers, this scene would definitely be a bug. Imagine millions of mobs for you to kill. You''d definitely earn allot of gold coins or stuff in other games. Basically, it was a bug. It was something waiting for them to be ''utilized''. "The way you killed those birds was awesome!" Talia explained while Mathew went silent. ''Kill~ing birds...'' Mathew frowned as he stared in the sky above them. "A bug!" Mathew''s eyes looked like it was going to pop out from its sockets. He knows that facing monsters were difficult, Much more killing them. However, based on Pedro''s words and the scene around them, He had discovered what Pedro meant. "Right!" Pedro smiled as he turned around and watched the birds. "Haha! See! I told you, they are merely bugs!" Faunia laughed upon hearing the word, ''bug''. "Then, why did you call us expert brother?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "What else then? To abuse it!" Pedro grinned. If one was to describe, Pedro looked like an evil person who had a bad intent towards the birds. "Abuse? But... I fear that we are not strong enough to kill those birds. Our damage output might not be sufficient to kill a single bird. On top of that, we might not have enough stamina to~" "I have a way." Pedro didn''t allow Mathew to finish his analysis. He simply held his sword and pointed at it. "What''s with the sword brother?" Mathew and Talia looked at the golden sword. Pedro waved the sword left and right fast. The sword was rigid hence it didn''t wiggle like a ruler. Mathew imitated what Pedro did with his new sword. It wiggled like a ruler. Mathew frowned and looked to Pedro. ''Is Expert brother showing the difference between our sword?'' "This is a little secret between the three of us. Ok?" "Ok?" "Ok?" Mathew and Talia agreed unconsciously while they were still confused. "Try to hit the bird as many times as you can to that bird. You should hit the bird as if slicing it. The force won''t matter. However, If you want to hit many targets at once, you must exert some force to it. Because you might miss your target if your slice is not fast enough. So, put some force to hasten your slice and hit your target. Remember, Don''t tell anyone!" Pedro emphasized to Talia and Mathew to keep this as a secret. The two nodded in response. This was one of the most abused bugs by the players in his past, at the start of the official launch. Players had no choice as everyone only had a newbie sword at the start. The typical person would strike a target with the sword with full force to deal heavy damage. This was true in real life. But in-game, it was a different story. The weapons in the game had a specified amount of damage it can deal with. No matter how one would strike, it would deal with the same amount of damage. Hence, a player in his past life realized this and checked about his theory. It worked. It was then leaked to the forums and later on abused by the players. "Brother, try it!" Talia was exited and pointed to a Flocoloso bird. Mathew nodded and charged towards the nearest bird. "Khek!" The nearest bird looked like it was smiling. It dove down towards Mathew as if mocking him and his wiggly sword. He shook the sword before striking it, making it wiggle like a ruler. "Slice!" The wiggle of the sword made it slide left to right at the belly part of the bird. Two red texts appeared above the bird and greeted Mathew. -40 -40 "Aaack!" The bird cried as it flew away from Mathew. It regretted mocking Mathew''s sword. Luckily, Mathew''s focus was shifted to the red text above the bird and forgot to continue attacking. "It works!" Mathew became excited as his eyes showed a killing intent towards the birds. 95 Qaogals Amulet! [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] [You''ve killed a Migratory Flocoloso Bird. Player gained 200 Exp.] ... [Level up!] ... Mathew and Talia were able to farm with ease. They had trouble killing birds at the start. But later on, they got the grasp of it until they were just like walking in the park. Still, Grasping how to kill one bird was not enough. Their numbers were too many. Luckily, they don''t need to worry about it. This was because of Faunia. The number of the Flocoloso birds attacking kept increasing, but to Faunia, it was nothing. Hence, Any bird that Mathew and Talia can''t attack was ''swatted'' by Faunia. This resulted in Mathew and Talia leveling up quickly. Though their kill count was less than that of Pedro, they were still able to farm at a steady pace. The difference between Pedro and Mathew was huge. Pedro was not the best swordsman you would see. His body built is of that of an average teen. He didn''t have the stamina of an athlete. And, He obviously doesn''t practice a proper sword technique in real life. However, With him was his past memories and experiences on Bearth Online. He had the ''bugs'', and ''techniques'' that was able to make ordinary players compete with professionals. He does lack the physique and such. But It doesn''t mean that he would just lay back and accept that fact. He needs to find a way to be able to stand with or even surpass others. Mathew, on the other hand, was well fit. He regularly goes to the gym to maintain his strength. While on games, he typically doesn''t have a problem with regards to physical strength. He can fully utilize the strength of his character, whether be it speed or stamina. After several minutes of farming... [System Notification!] [You are the first player to reach level 10! Congratulations!] [You have a reward after reaching level 10!] [Reward: Qaogal''s Amulet x1] [You have unlocked the top ten level ranking list. Would you like to enlist your name and gain glory?] "Hmm? No." Pedro stopped killing Flocoloso birds after hearing the system. He read through it and got excited. He rejected, enlisting his name to the top ranking list. He wanted to keep low as much as possible. "It was rumored that being the first player to reach a certain level will get rewards. I didn''t think it was real. Might as well check what I got. There are far too many monsters for me to kill." Pedro scanned the Amulet''s information through his interface. ~~~~~~~ [Qaogal''s Amulet] Rating: Silver-rated Accessory Level Requirement: 1 Attributes: Luck +2 Special Effect: [Coroded Metal]: The Item lost its true capabilities due to time making it weaken to one-tenth of its actual capability. Cannot be repaired. [One of the thousand amulets used by humans to prosper in the past.] ~~~~~~~ "Experience Multiplier?" Pedro was astounded as he took the amulet out of his inventory bag. It was a rusty silver plate that has a circular hole on top. "This is probably a necklace. A string or chain must be inserted into the hole for me to be able to use it." He nodded after carefully inspecting the item. "Not bad human. That piece of metal leaks a small amount of ancient magical energy." Faunia smiled while Mathew and Talia heard what she said and stared at the rusty piece of metal in Pedro''s palm. "Ancient magical energy?" Pedro, Mathew, and Talia wore a curious look. "You know anything about this?" Pedro added. However, Faunia just shook her head in response. ''This type of energy was gone thousands of years ago. How would I know?'' Faunia decided to communicate with Pedro mentally. The information they were to talk about was something she doesn''t want to share except Pedro. ''I see.'' ''In any case, Many humans, including those who had gone to my Island before, held such amulets occasionally. My master told me that those were treated as family treasures for the humans and was handed down for generations. And, there are a huge number of it in the human lands.'' ''I''ll keep it for now.'' ''Though there is no information about ancient magical energy. But, we can always investigate and make a new one.'' Faunia looked like a little girl who was interested in some kind of cartoons or story. ''Hahaha! If you insist.'' This was the first time Faunia didn''t hold back about learning something. Hence, Pedro decided to just support her as she was still ''a kid?''. ''She is curious about the ancient magical energy, so am I. If she learns one or two things about it then, I would know about it too. It''s a win-win situation for me.'' "It''s nothing." Pedro smiled at the confused duo. He sent the information of the amulet to them. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Wow! Wow! Wow!" Talia jumped of excitement as her eyes shined like it had seen a treasure. Mathew shook his head whilst smiling. ''Expert Brother~ is a man full of secrets. He told us two ''secrets'' earlier. Now, he unveils another one. How many more does he have? Why do these advantages look like cabbages for him?'' "Expert Brother is really amazing!" Talia praised. "Haha! Here, I lend it to you. You are the slowest farmer among us. We are only passing through this area. We won''t stay long, making our farming time-limited." Pedro tossed the amulet towards Talia. He reached level 10 already, but it was not easy like how it was in the first four levels. After level five, Pedro needed to kill more than thirty of the birds to level up. This bottleneck that started at level five made Talia and Mathew''s level up became slower compared to Pedro. Mathew was level seven, while Talia was just about to reach level six. "Then, I won''t decline on your offer! Tha~Thank you Expert Brother!" Talia caught the amulet with her hand. Although the amulet was supposed to be a necklace, if it was held within one''s hands, its effect still worked. Pedro simply nodded in response. Mathew bowed slightly to Pedro as thanks. To him, Pedro was a good boss. Pedro''s act to help Talia was an unselfish act. If it would have been another player, they would have kept the amulet to themselves. "Heh! Brother Mathew, don''t slack off! With this amulet, I would be even able to surpass your level!" Talia bragged as he waved the amulet towards Mathew. 96 A Player or an NPC? Mathew reached level ten just minutes earlier than Talia. The two siblings were exhausted to the point that they sat to the floor of the deck. Their bodies were paralyzed and they can only stare to the figure of Pedro who seemed like someone who had an infinite amount of stamina. "How can Expert Brother have such an amount of stamina? Don''t tell me he is using some kind of hack!?" Talia asked Mathew with a curious look. "Hack? Hahaha. Expert Brother is an Expert! That''s all it is. Look at how he moves. Compared to us, it could be described that we ''farm'' the birds in a ''frenzied'' mode. We just kept on attacking and racking up experiences as fast as we could. On the other hand, Expert brother don''t just randomly kill those birds in that manner. Unless there were around seven to ten birds in his range, He won''t attack and just dodge them effortlessly. And when he strikes, he takes down those seven to ten birds in two arcs." Mathew explained while they were resting. "Then... Brother Mathew, why don''t we do the same with what Expert Brother does?" Talia had a curious look. What Pedro was doing was a more efficient way of farming. By simply dodging the attacks and waiting for seven to ten birds to line up, his stamina regenerates. By utilizing his two arc sword strike he can kill those birds without losing that much stamina. Thus, Pedro can continuously kill the birds without the threat of being exhausted. "Well..." Mathew forced out a smile to Talia, as Pedro had noticed the two siblings resting. Pedro approached them as Faunia took full control in killing the birds. "That''s because I have this!" Pedro flipped his Faithpursuer Katana into the air, as he was some chef playing with his knife. Talia and Mathew focused their gaze on his sword. "There is a limit to what your weapons and equipment can do. Fortunately, this sword is strong enough for me to use it in ''farming'' these birds. In any case, I hope to find more of these types of weapons for you guys to equip." Pedro continued with a smile. "Don''t worry about us, Expert Brother! Brother Mathew is a professional AVR Player. He was able to analyze many things a normal player can''t determine. I know that he''d also be able to obtain such weapons in the future!" Talia said proudly. "This~" "Hoho... Then I can''t wait for your brother to obtain one!" Pedro smirked then he continued, "Seeing that both of you reached your limits, Its probably time to end this ''Farming'' and proceed to our main objective." "Eh? Expert Brother... Won''t it be such a waste? I mean..." "I know what you want to say Killer Smile. But... There are far more important things to take care of than farming. And... Won''t it be troublesome if the developers noticed our ''unusual'' speed in leveling?" Pedro explained. "Don''t worry... We have our way out of these birds. But First, Can I borrow back the amulet for a second?" "Ow! Ow! Sure! Sure, Expert Brother!" Talia handed the amulet over to Pedro as a smirk appeared towards Pedro''s face. ''Faunia... Get ready! I''m gonna do the thing!'' Pedro warned telepathically to Faunia. Faunia stared at him with a frown and replied. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. ''Dumb#ss! You''ll knock the crew out! The ship will stop moving and we''ll be delayed further!'' ''Relax! Relax... I have a plan.'' Pedro simply smiled in response. "Ehm... The two of you were already familiar with the ship and how to operate it right?" "Uhm..." "Yeah!" Talia and Mathew were dumbfounded by Pedro''s question. They could only nod in response by instincts. Seeing the two nod in response, Pedro supported the two back to the Control Room(CBCR). He let Mathew control the ship while Talia was assigned to take a look at the navigation. The NPC crew were also dumbfounded by Pedro''s actions, but they cannot do anything against his orders and can only follow it. He instructed Mathew to keep heading forward to the current direction and simply avoid obstacles like small islands or shallow ocean areas that may make the ship stuck. Talia was the one to guide them in case such areas were detected. "Expert Brother, why are we the ones to control the ship? Ain''t the crew the one in charge of running the ship?" Mathew asked before Pedro was about to leave the Control Room. "You''ll know soon!" Pedro smiled as he showed the amulet. Still, the NPC crew, Mathew, and Talia were confused by what Pedro meant. They could only follow his order and watch him on what he would do. "Oh! Also, I advise all of you to sit. Its gonna be a bumpy ride in a minute." Pedro added as he left the Control Room. The Door connecting the Deck and the control room was closed as Pedro headed towards the side of Faunia. ''This is the only way. I can''t let them see you in your dragon form. We must save it as our final trump card. As for these birds, these are at least level five. My plan should work!'' ''Up to you human.'' Faunia replied casually. "Then... Let''s start!" Fwooooooosh! A wave, originating from Pedro, launched around him as the breezy wind was cleared. His eyes turned black and a thin dark magical energy envelops his body. Seconds later, All the NPCs who were, luckily, sitting, lost their consciousness. He activated his ~Emperor''s will~ skill from his gods'' eyes. Since the NPCs were all level one, and the birds were around level three to five, they all lost their consciousness. The NPC crew lay sleeping on the floor. As for the birds within the hundred-meter spherical radius, they started falling from the sky. Some hit hard to the Ship and killed them instantly while the others landed in the ocean and got drowned. Since Talia and Mathew were already level ten, they only felt a tinge pain in their head and were able to regain their focus back. "What''s~ Happening?" Mathew held his head with one hand, while his right hand was grasping the wheel, afraid to lose control of it. "Ah!" Talia could only cry as she held her head with both of her hands. "This~" Mathew was speechless. After recovering from the tinge pain he felt, a rain of birds greeted him from the window. Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag! Plop! Plop! Plop! Plop! Endless birds fall from the sky as the ship started to get covered by splattered blood. Mathew gazed to the side and saw birds falling to the ocean. He then turned his gaze back to Pedro who was standing ''casually'' beside Faunia. 97 Leveling Frenzy! [Level up!] [Level up!] [Level up!] ~~~~~~~~ "This~" Pedro was astounded as the system sounded without a sign of stopping. Hence, he checked his interface and checked what was happening. Name: Death (Player) Level: 27 HP: 800 MP: 750 Stamina: 200 Attack Damage: 378 Magic Damage: 295 Attributes Str +320 Int +270 Vit +340 Dex +220 Crit +200 Agi +280 Special Attribute Luck +45 Charisma +25 Instinct +40 ~~~~~~~ "Eh?!" Pedro''s eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets. His astonishment was so great that it made him staring speechless to the interface for almost a minute. But the system was not yet finished, as the light started to appear on the sky ahead of them. Pedro''s level kept rising. However, after reaching level 30, he was only able to rise two levels only, after a minute. It was clear that the experiences that the birds provide became small compared to the experience Pedro needed after reaching level 30. ''I can ask Killer Smile to move the ship around but... Since I got into level 35, It would need 3 minutes just to reach level 36. And as the level increases, the amount of EXP doubles. Also, this was only possible with the exp multiplier amulet. Else, I would have still been in level 20s.'' Pedro thought to himself as the ship finally got out of the area filled with the Flocoloso birds. "Eh? Why is the ship turning to the right?" Pedro noticed the sudden change in the direction of the ship. He looked back to the Central Bridge and Control Room of the ship, only to notice that Mathew and Talia had also lost their consciousness. "Oh!" Pedro blinked and his eyes returned to normal. The NPC crew, Mathew, and Talia started to regain their consciousness. They were all dazed to what had happened. However, their worried hearts rejoiced upon seeing the clear sky and their captain standing strong on the deck of the ship. "What had happened, Brother Mathew?" Talia asked while robbing her head just like how she does when she wakes up in the morning. "I... I don''t know. I can only recall the birds falling from the sky, like rain!" Mathew held his head with one hand, after being able to stop the moving of the ship to the right. "In any case, we can ask Expert Brother for what had happened. Seeing him standing like that as if nothing had happened, he may know the cause of it." Mathew continued. Talia simply nodded in response. Back in the deck. "1/16th?" "Yes, Human. Well... It''s a different story when you''re on ''that'' mode." Faunia referred to the demonic mode of Pedro. However, Faunia didn''t know that entering demonic mode had a huge drawback. It had a long cooldown and makes the user into ''sleep mode'' for two days after its duration. Pedro forced a smile in response. Of course, Faunia didn''t know about the cooldown and the after effect, and he had no plans of telling it to her. With the help of the NPC crew, the ship headed back to its track. Since Mathew and Talia were helping in the control and navigation of the ship, other NPC crew, together with the treants who came out from their hidding spot, cleaned the ship. The corpse of the birds was sent to Pedro to be stored on the inventory bags they got from players, earlier. They were able to collect a mind-blowing amount of approximately 3000 dead birds. While all the blood was sucked by Pedro''s Pen~Knife. The Pen~Knife was shining bright red and releases a heavy and strong magical energy. Pedro became curious hence he checked its data in his interface. ... [Pen-Knife] (Special, Weapon-Item) Rating: Gold-rated weapon Level Requirement: 20 Weapon Level: 7 Attributes: Attack Damage: +50 Strength: +20 Container Limit: 23,400/100,000 Liters of blood Special Effect: [Blood Vacumm]: Automatically sucks blood until the container was full. (User can control when and which blood would be suck.) [LevelUP]: Write the required number of words using the pen to increase the level. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. Required number of words: 3626/10,000 Words [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the weapon by offering an amount of blood required. Amount of Blood Required: 160,490/1,000,000 Liters of blood Offer: Consumes all the blood in the container. [The forgotten type of pen of the olden times used in skill making, mapping, and magic scroll making!] ... "Sigh... The evolution from gold-rated to Legendary-rated is still far despite the blood from thousands of birds. At this rate, I can only keep hoping for Faunia''s help incase we encounter gods or someone stronger than me." Pedro shooked his head. Now that his HP is at 800, he can no longer rely on his undying cycle. Choosing to level up at this point was not a wrong decision. One day, he would need to level up from level 1. The risks were higher if he''d level up at a slow pace, and around people and monster whos levels and strength were far greater than his own. "Once I returned to the Aquari Continent, clearing dungeons would be with ease. I can solo them or even Speed clear it with Faunia. In any case, It would still take time before other players discover or even be able to clear them." "As of now, I should focus on gathering Trustworthy and Talented NPCs on the supposed NPC only recruitment event." Pedro stared at the far distant, where land started to appear. It was a port made with woods, bricks, and a limestone looking material, that emits a weak glow. "We''re almost there, Captain!" An NPC Crew notified as he pointed towards the direction of the port. "That''s... The ship, Felippe!" Pedro saw the ship of the former Kentaro. Seeing that there was a space beside it, Pedro smiled and pointed to that direction. "Dock in that area!" "Yes, Captain!" 98 Docking at the port of BHO HQ! "Expert Brother! What are we going to do here?" Mathew asked as he and Talia felt relieved after seeing the port and the brick buildings. "To recruit!" "Recruit?" Mathew glanced at Pedro with a confused look. "Yes. Recruit. We lack crew members." "Players? If you needed manpower, you could have told me so earlier. I can ask my fellow~" Before Mathew could finish, Pedro interjected. "Not players... NPCs." He smiled. "NPCs?" Mathew frowned. He and Talia looked confused as they were not able to process what Pedro was thinking. "Expert Brother... If I may..." "Yes?" "Uh... Won''t it be better to hire Players than NPCs? I mean~" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "I know what you are thinking. But... I would say that I don''t trust players. This was the reason why I chose NPCs over players. Don''t worry, these NPCs are more capable than players. You''ll see!" Pedro stood from his seat. He closes his interface and approached an NPC. As for Mathew and Talia, they were still confused by Pedro''s logic. They can only follow him and see what happens. "After docking, tell all the crew to head to the deck. I will announce something important. Make sure that everyone is complete." "Ye~Yes, Captain!" Five minutes later, the ship docked successfully. People on the port started crowding around the majestic looking ship. Many of them were gossiping left and right. "Did you know that this crew had a new Captain?" "Really?" "Yeah! Yeah! And according to my source, He is still young. On top of that, rumors said that the new captain is not yet a member of the BHO!" "What? That is not possible!" "I know! I know!" "No wonder that there were rumors about the ''Spoiled Royalty'' taking actions against Paul Solares, the captain of Felippe Ship, the moment they arrived here." "Stop calling Teniente Comandante Silos Kartof like that! The guards and the ''Loyalist'' might hear you! You might get arrested like~ you know!" "..." The two ladies went silent after glancing left and right, looking if there were people who were able to hear their conversation. The two ladies sighed of relief after seeing the people around them busy in their gossips, while the others were focused on the ship. ''Human, Do you hear me?'' ''Yeah, You got something? Go on, I''m listening.'' ''There seems to be a conflict between humans, as usual. I heard a seemingly popular name. He was referred to as Teniente Comandante Silos Kartof.'' ''Noted. Keep on gathering information. I''ll join you soon.'' ''Got it!'' ''Oh! And Faunia!'' ''What?'' ''Killer Smi~ Ehem! Shin Wetham, A.K.A. Killer Smile, would be my proxy as the captain of Karakoa. Remember that.'' Pedro smirked as he stared back at the girl. ''Um!'' Faunia nodded and in a blink of an eye, her figure vanished into thin air. ~~~~~~~ Earlier, Faunia, Pedro, Mathew, and Talia arrived first at the Deck while the ship was docking to the port. "Guys, I have an important task for the three of you." "Important task you say, human." "Yes, Faunia. Each task plays a very important and strategic role in our ''trip'' to this area. Faunia, you and I will gather information about the recruitment event and the organization. While on it, we will disguise ourselves as aspiring members of the organization and we would try to join the said recruitment event." "As if I have a choice, not to follow." Faunia pouted like a cute little girl. Pedro ignored her and glanced at Mathew and Talia. "For you guys, you''ll act in my place, as the ''captains'' of these ships." "Eh? Us? Captains?" Talia asked in astonishment. "Yes. I''ll leave things up to the both of you. Do not worry. I will contact you from time to time, through Faunia." Pedro placed his hand to Mathew''s shoulder. "Expert Brother, can you tell us what you are planning?" Mathew asked. "Plan? I don''t have one. It''s just for safety purposes." "Safety purposes?" Mathew seemed to get the idea of Pedro. Despite that, he wore a frown and asked back to Pedro. "Yes. At any cost, My safety is the most important. It might seem like I am placing you in a dangerous position... Hence, I can only ask for you to understand and follow along." "It seems like everything was set." Mathew surrendered. "Do not worry. I know that I am asking too much with these tasks. Hence, In return, I''ll make sure to give you great souvenirs once we''re done." Pedro explained. Then, he moved his fingers in the air. He was typing on his interface and sent a message to Talia and Mathew. He said to them that each of them would have a name to avoid suspicion or conflict from the NPCs. The two agreed and Mathew decided for a name Shin Wetham, while Talia used the name Ila Wetham. Talia burst into laughter after hearing Mathew''s ''proxy'' name and decided to go with the Wetham as her last name since she is technically Mathew''s younger sister. On the other hand, Faunia disappeared into thin air and started her information gathering. At this moment, the NPC crew arrived. When everyone was complete, he announced that ''Shin Wetham'' would be their temporary captain and that he would need to attend to an emergency matter. He kept reminding the NPC crew to kept it a secret as much as possible. He allowed the NPCs to go to the port, but he didn''t allow anyone who left the ship to go back without his approval. In the same case for other NPCs from the BHO HQ, no one, without approval from him, would be allowed to board the ship. "That''s all! Dismissed!" Pedro shouted. ''Human, Do you hear me?'' Faunia asked telepathically. ... After they telepathically talked, Pedro went to Mathew one last time before heading to the port first. He blended along with the NPC crew that decided to check that BHO HQ and leave the ship. Their group was greeted by the crowd. ''You''re from that ship right?'' ''Where''s your Captain?'' "I heard that your Captain is a young man. Is your Captain looking for a woman? I am young and still fresh!" A lady shamelessly said that almost made Pedro puke. "Where''s your manners lady?" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" The crowd erupted and cursed the shameless lady. "All of you! Quiet!" "Trashes! Move aside! Give way to Teniente Comandante Silos Kartof" Two young men pushed the crowd away with force. They exerted magical energy as if threatening the crowd. They both had golden and silver-coated swords and armor, signifying that they were part of a royal army. "So this is the famed Ship Karakoa! Not Bad! Not Bad!" A young man covered in Golden armor with silver linings, with a black-golden sword by his side, praised as he stared at the ship with malicious intent. Then, the young man, Teniente Comandante Silos Kartof, waved to his men. The two men nodded in response as their face was filled with mischievous smiles. They approached the NPCs from the ship as their magical energy became stronger. "You! All of you, the crew of that ship! Come with us!" "You Trashes! Scram! Go mind your businesses!" The crowd was afraid of offending Teniente Comandante Silos Kartof, hence they all departed from that area. Thus, leaving the NPC crew from Karakoa and the three young men. As for Pedro, He took advantage of the scene the lady made and he blended among the crowd. He moved to a distant whilst watching the events unfold between his NPC crew and the so-called Teniente Comandante Silos Kartof and his men. "This so-called Teniente Comandante Silos Kartof acts faster than I thought." Pedro frowned as he saw the NPC crew who chose to go to BHO HQ and leave the ship, to have no choice but to follow Teniente Comandante Silos Kartof and his men. "Should I dispose of those insects?" A cute girl arrived by his side. She stared at Teniente Comandante Silos Kartof full of killing intent. 99 Acted Perfectly! When Silos Kartof and his men left, Pedro followed Faunia and headed inside one of the buildings that stood like walls. It was the building located in the centermost area where there was a huge crowd. "Did you see the Teniente Commandante and his men group upon the crew members of the late Vice Almirante Soledad?" "Yeah! Yeah! I heard rumors that Teniente Commandante Silos has his eyes on the famed ship Karakoa!" "So that''s why! No wonder he went to ''welcome'' the crew members." "Teniente Commandante might have someone with high ranks backing him up... We must take advantage of this recruitment event and be a part of his crew!" "Yeah! Yeah!" The crowd was gossiping about what they witnessed earlier. The centermost building was where the registration for the recruitment event was being held. Consequently, It is also where the application area for the aspiring new members of BHO was located. Faunia and Pedro looked around inside the building, which was a huge hall with two stairs that was filled with long lines. Not knowing where the line for the application area was, Pedro asked a lady who was last in the line that was queued at the right. "Excuse me, Madam. Is this the line for the application area to become an official member of the organization?" "Ah!" The lady jumped backward from astonishment, "You surprised me! Yes. Yes, this is the line young man!" "Thank you." Pedro nodded with a smile. Pedro allowed Faunia to line up in front of him. This made the lady in front of them to glance at Faunia with confusion. "Aww... little girl, are you here to support your elder brother? How sweet of you." The lady crouched and became fond of Faunia''s ''cuteness''. Faunia frowned but before she could say anything, the woman continued. "Sadly, the organization can only allow your brother to go pass through the second floor. So I suggest you to stay in a cafe located beside this building." ''This pest!'' Faunia was burning in irritation deep inside. ''Ehem... Calm down! We don''t want to attract unnecessary attention, right?'' Pedro scolded mentally. It made Faunia look towards Pedro with a pout. ''SHUT YOUR MOUTH!'' She burst telepathically. "It''s ok little girl. Your brother will be back in a few minutes. After he finished his application procedures, you can both enter the building walls and proceed to the outer area of BHO HQ! That''s if your brother becomes a BHO member. Hehe." The lady smirked after shifting her gaze to Pedro. "Please do not mind us. I''ll deal with this matter later on. Thank you for your advice!" Pedro replied after seeing the fury in Faunia''s eyes. "Your choice." The lady turned around and calmly waited on the line. The kid was leaning back to the chair and was in deep sleep. He was wearing a plain, blue overcoat with a white tag on his arm. A ''VO'' was written on the white tag that was wrapped on his arm. His head was covered with a knight''s helm whilst his arms were crossed. Applicants pass through the door one by one. Upon entering one candidate, the door will close and after a few seconds, the door will open once again, indicating for the next applicant to enter. After minutes of falling in line, there were only two more applicants before it was Faunia''s turn. The kid, apparently, woke up from his sleep. His gaze slowly focused on Faunia. "Little girl! Are you going to register as a member of the organization?" The kid asked as he took off his helm. Faunia looked back at him and simply nodded in response. "Hmm... I don''t think you are old enough to register yet." The kid stood and approached Faunia. "Not old enough?!" Faunia frowned and was getting more irritated. Hence, she ignored the kid, glanced at Pedro and talked telepathically. ''Human, My temper is almost at its limits!'' ''Resist it! Resist it! Remember, We don''t want to attract unnecessary attention, right?'' ''Tch!'' Faunia can''t help but focus her gaze forward whilst crossing her arms. She ignored the kid and Pedro. "Uhm... Mister, are you somehow her acquaintance? I am sorry to inform you that only you would be allowed to enter the registration hall. Your sister can wait at the nearby cafe." Seeing Faunia having tantrums, the kid approached Pedro. "Yes, I am with her. There''s no need for you to worry. She is also here to register and become a member of the organization." "Hahaha~" The kid burst in laughter that made Faunia stare at him, filled with killing intent. The happy expression of the kid became serious and calm in an instant. "Little girl! I advise you not to look towards an Officer like that! If it would have been others, you would have had broken arms already." The kid released magical energy similar to how strong Pedro''s current magical energy/aura. Despite the kid''s warning, Faunia remained silent and kept staring. Beads of sweat started to fall in Pedro''s forehead because, in any second, something bad might happen. "There! There! Please come down, the two of you." Pedro forced a smile and tried to stop the conflict between the two. "Move aside! I must teach this little girl, that she must never offend an officer of this organization!" the kid pushed Pedro to the side as he unsheathed his sword. Flick! Bag! With a flick of Faunia''s finger to the kid''s chest, the kid was sent flying through the wall. The brick wall was crushed and it burst into pieces, making the door fall down and giving a view inside the room. Inside the room was a long table with several BHO officers and officials sitting. Luckily, at the far end of the table, a middle-aged man with tobacco in his mouth caught the head of the kid with his one hand. His hand was big enough, to grasp the head of the kid. Everyone went silent because of shock. The kid became unconscious whilst the BHO officers and officials who were sitting behind the long table glance towards Pedro with a calm expression. ''Not good.'' Pedro glanced back at them through the hole in the wall and forced out a smile. Faunia rushed to Pedro like a cute little girl who got saved from a bad person by her elder brother. "Tha~thank you for saving me from that bad kid, elder brother!" Faunia acted perfectly like a relieved little girl. ''F@@k! Look what have you done!'' Pedro can''t help but curse deep inside. Everyone recovered from their shock and can only stare at Pedro or the hole in the wall. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. 100 The First Continental Ques "Ehe..." Pedro placed his hand behind his head and forced out a smile towards the officers and officials responsible for the application of new aspiring members of the BHO. Whilst everyone''s gaze was focused on him, he sighed as he slowly closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he reopened it but this time it turned all black. Everyone in the line fell down the floor unconscious. Amongst the officers and officials, an old man with white hair and a muscular body, and the middle-aged man with tobacco remained conscious. The middle-aged man staggered a bit making the tobacco in his mouth fall into the ground. He let go of his grasp of the kid and placed his hand to his forehead as if resisting a tinge pain in his head. The old man frowned as if he was not affected and stared towards Pedro with a confused look. Seconds later, that old man sighed and laughed loudly as his attention was shifted to the middle-aged man. "Jason! Hahaha!" "Why are you laughing old man?!" The middle-aged man named Jason clenched his fist and slammed the table that made a huge hole with cracks running into the whole table. "Oooh... Didn''t your brother taught you to respect your elders?" The old man raised his head and he stares towards Jason with killing intent. "He did! But he also taught me that if you want to be respected, you must learn how to respect others first... old man Fuego!" Jason looked back towards old man Fuego as both of them exerted strong magical energy that was enveloping the two of them. Old man Fuego''s magical energy covered his body that had a thickness of around 6 inches from his skin. While Jason had magical energy that had a thickness of around 3 to 4 inches from his skin. Old man Fuego had a reddish colored magical energy, while Jason had brownish color. The tension between the two rises by each second as they start to completely forget about Pedro and Faunia. "Hehehe... I must use this opportunity to leave." Pedro grinned as he slowly walked backward. He glanced back at Faunia and instructed something to her. ''Let''s go! We''ll just fall in line again! I doubt that they''d remember our faces.'' ''Sigh... Let me clear things up, human! I''ll help and protect you until I find a suitable inheritor! But it doesn''t mean that I''ll let some insect look down upon me!'' ''You''re being st@pid!'' ''What did you say, human?'' ''Did your head got kicked by a pony? I mean... The reason why these ''insects'' look down upon you was that because they are weak! They don''t have the strength, just to even see your true power. Besides... won''t it feel more ''fulfilling'' to show these ''insects'' your true strength on more crucial times?'' ''Sigh...'' Pedro shooked his head and felt that he is just gonna have a headache if he kept arguing with Faunia. Hence, he decided to give up since he was just a few steps away from the corner of the hallway down to the stairs. "Young man! Is this how you pay your respect to your elders?" Old man Fuego shouted that made Pedro stop on his tracks. Pedro''s face went grim and the hair in his body stood. "Old man! How many times do I have to~" Jason stood and turned towards Old man Fuego. He shoved the table and his chair to the side as he clenched his fist. It was filled with a thick, 4 inch, layer of magical energy. But before he could finish his words, Old man Fuego interrupted. "I''m not talking to you!" Fwaaaaah! Old man Fuego pointed towards Jason and a flame immediately came out of his pointing finger, like a flame thrower. Instinctively, Jason kneeled forward to duck and dodge the flame. "He... made me kneel before him!" Jason was in fury as he can only look towards Old man Fuego and the wall behind him that was hit by the flame. The brick wall was melted by the flame. A hole was made and showed a room from an adjacent building. It was the storage area for the cafe, where bags of coffee and other vegetables were located. The sacks of coffee beans got into flame and were still burning. Gulp! Jason could only stare at the burning sacks thinking that if he got hit by the flame, he would have become roasted meat by now. "Sigh... Look what you made me do! Just because the organization promoted young ones like you to the rank of Teniente Commandante, doesn''t mean that you''d be cocky enough to disrespect your superiors!" Old man Fuego shooked his head. He stood and walked towards the hallway to catch up with Pedro and Faunia. "As for you two... I may be old, but I''m still full of ENERGY, you know!" Old man Fuego arrived in the hallway. He made a ''this way please'' arm gesture towards them. "Can we have a little chat?" "Are you threatening us?" Pedro placed his hand in his inventory bag as the penknife slowly slid down to his sleeves, ready to come out any time. "Hahaha! No! No! This old man just wanted to have a chat with you. It''s been ten years since I last met someone with a rare ability like yours!" "Eh?" Pedro was astonished to what Old man Fuego said. Upon seeing the astonished look in Pedro''s face, Old man Fuego sent a grin. "Can we have a little chat?" ''I must not get ahead of my self. That person this old man was referring to must be Madame Soledad. Seeing my ''ability'', he must be thinking that I am someone with a potential and not someone suspicious.'' Pedro calmed himself. After seconds of silence, he nodded in response and followed old man Fuego who went back first. Pedro took a glance at Faunia who was walking by his side. ''Faunia, I''d have to rely on you when it comes to that old man. When I activated my gods'' eyes, he didn''t even flinch an inch. I am not confident that I am strong enough to fight him.'' ''Do not worry, human! That old man needs three to four times of his current strength just to lay a scratch on me.'' Faunia grinned in response. Pedro simply nodded as he returned his focus, forward. When he was about to enter the room a system notification suddenly rang. Out of curiosity, he opened his interface to check it out. [System Notification! A continental quest has been issued!] [Quest: Protect the Aquari Continent! Rating: A-rated Mission: Kill the monsters that start to dominate the Aquari Continent! Each monster killed will have an equivalent point that can be exchanged for items after the event. Your Kill count: 0 Players with the highest monster kill-count would get special rewards. Top 1 player will get a Gold-rated offensive skill. Top 10 players will get random generated Silver-rated skill. Top 100 players will get random generated Bronze-rated Skill. Quest Player Ranking Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. 1. _______ Kill count: ______ 2. _______ Kill count: ______ ... ... Quest Duration: 2 Months Quest participation is optional. Once a player killed a monster, the kill count will automatically start.] "A quest?" Pedro was astounded after realizing something. ''Why do I feel that something bad is about to happen? It is just a game but... this feeling! Besides... Why does my heart tells me to save the NPCs on the Aquari continent, like Chief Antonio and the Kagat Village, or is it just myself making excuses about being greedy about the rewards?'' He questioned himself deep inside. "Is there a problem?" Old man Fuego broke the silence and made Pedro back to himself. Pedro simply shooked his head and walked forward to the room. 101 Becoming an Official Member! "Here''s your ranking badge" Old man Fuego handed over to Pedro and Faunia a patch with black triangle design on it. "Although you are strong enough to be a BHO elite rank with a title of Teniente Segundo to Comandante, both of you are still to become a part of a crew. Only when you joined and become part of a crew, should you be able to increase your rankings." "Old man... Don''t tell me~" Jason stared at Old man Fuego with a surprised look. "Would you like to join my crew? If you join me I can help you attain a BHO elite rank and a title of Comandante, immediately. What do you say?" Old man Fuego grinned as he awaits Pedro and Faunia''s response. "OLD MAN! What are you doing?!" Jason was filled with rage. "Giving them a ranking and title a step higher than me, right of the bat? What do you think are you doing?" "I have my reasons... And... You have no right to lecture me, Jason!" Just as the conflict between Jason and Old man Fuego was about to rise, Pedro spoke after glancing at Jason. "I am sorry Senior. I have to decline your generous offer!" "What?" Jason cried. "Oh?" "Don''t misunderstand, Senior. It''s just that we already have a crew in mind." "If that''s the case, I won''t pursue any further. However, If you ever change your mind~" "We won''t!" Pedro interrupted Old man Fuego with a smile. "Hahaha! Good! Good! I have high hopes for the two of you! Until we meet again." Old man Fuego turned around and was about to leave. "Old man! Where are you going? The registration is not yet finished?" Jason tried to stop the old man from leaving. "I''m going to rest. I have more important things to handle later on!" "Old maaaan!" Creek! Old man Fuego ignored Jason and went out of the employee''s door where a fully armored woman was waiting for him. "Vice Almirante... Are you sure that you''re gonna let them go?" the woman asked. "Hmm? It''s not that I wanted to let them go, right? Besides... This year''s recruitment event would be special!" Old man Fuego grinned. "Special?" "You''ll know soon." The two left the building and headed through the forest behind the ''buildings that looked like walls''. ~~~~~~~ Back in the registration area... "What are you two, still doing here?!" Jason diverted his anger and pointed towards Pedro and Faunia. "Uhm... What do we need to do next?" Pedro forced out a smile. He and Faunia had no idea on what to do after their registration. Since Jason was the only one awake amongst the registration officers and official, He was the only one Pedro could ask for instruction and information. "Thanks, Senior!" "Leave!" Pedro and Faunia left the building. The moment they exited the building, Pedro deactivated his eyes. Slowly, the people in that building and the adjacent areas started to regain their consciousness. At the registration room, one of the registration officers noticed Jason. "What happened?" "You don''t need to know!" "Where''s the Vice Almirante?" "He left!" "He left???" "Isn''t it obvious?" Jason mocked the officer in an irritated manner. The registration resumed as if nothing had happened and everyone seemed to forget about Pedro and Faunia. ~~~~~~~ Whilst the registration was resuming, Pedro and Faunia made their way to the shop. They bought two ''common rank'' overcoats and attached the patch at their shoulder. "Finally... Madame Soledad... Wherever you are, I want you to know that I am now officially a part of the Bearth Human Organization! I will do my best to continue what you and Seniors Kentaro and Alivia had started. To serve... and to protect the weak!" He stared at himself at a mirror by almost a minute. Soon, they left the shop and went at the entrance to the forest that separates the main Headquarters and the port. At the entrance, an officer was instructing the new members on how to reach the main headquarters. Faunia and Pedro went towards the officer when a man approached them before they can get close to the officer. The officer didn''t stop the man and only averted his gaze from them. "Young man! Do you need an escort to the main headquarters? 1 gold coin only for a one-way trip! 1 gold coin and 30 silver coins for a two-way trip. What do you say?" "Sorry, not interested," Pedro replied. "How about this... 1 gold coin for a two-way trip? It''s a special deal since you''re a new member of the organization." "Sorry, not interested," "You!" The man was agitated but he didn''t continue as the officer was already staring at him. "Just you wait... I''ll let you know the importance of having an escort! Khek!" The man whispered but Faunia and Pedro heard what the man said. Despite that, they still ignored him and approached the officer. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Senior, is this the entrance to the main headquarters?" Pedro asked. "Yes, It is around three to four days on foot, from here. Just follow the track, and try to set a camp once you encountered a river." "Three to four days, Senior?" "Yes! Don''t worry, there are seven rivers that you''ll pass along the way. You just need to be a bit careful of monsters that may attack at night." "There are monsters?" "Yes. Despite this area being our HQ, some monsters were still able to pass through our defenses. Since not all the perimeter of the HQ can be ''walled'' by the organization, they can only send officers to fight monsters. But due to the recruitment event, all organization members were required to be at the main HQ making the forest area more dangerous. It was unfortunate for you, since yesterday, the majority of the BHO members went to the main HQ. You could have had left with them." The officer explained. "Too bad... No wonder that man offered to escort us for a high price." "That''s right. It''s up to you if you''ll hire them or not." The officer left and talk to other new members that had just arrived. "What''s your plan?" Faunia asked. 102 Kingdom Humberlica! Faunia and Pedro entered the forest. Hours later, the two of them got a glimpse of a Kingdom. Unlike the Naga Kingdom, there were no beautiful crystal glowing rocks that lit the Kingdom walls at night. Instead, Torches on the walls and the light inside the Kingdom complemented the dark night. Similar to a beautiful view of the city at night, nowadays. "Each Kingdom has its own beauty at night..." Pedro leaned on a tree whilst admiring the beautiful view of the Kingdom which was supposed to be the HQ of BHO. "A Paradise looking Hell..." Faunia sighed after eliminating a monster. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Hahaha! A paradise looking hell, huh? Let''s go. Although I want to play along with their schemes, we need to recruit staff and crew as soon as possible and go back to the Aquari Continent." Their figure vanished into thin air, as they rushed towards the HQ. The supposed three to four-day walk was covered by Pedro and Faunia in just hours. They took the chance of having few people around and transforming into their dragon forms. They flew at a high altitude to avoid detection and transformed back to human form when the HQ was an hour by foot away. An hour later... "Who are you?" A soldier in patrol focused his torch towards Faunia and Pedro, who just went out of the forest. "New recruits? Welcome to Kingdom Humberlica!" The soldier smiled as he pointed towards the huge gate of the Kingdom. "Thanks, Senior!" Pedro bowed in a quick manner and forced out a smile to the soldier. ''He spoke to us in a welcoming and hospitable manner. But... He never lowered his guard against us. It seems like things would get a little bit serious now.'' Pedro and Faunia were able to successfully enter the Head Quarters, Kingdom Humberlica. Compared to the tense air that can be felt outside the walls, as soon as they stepped inside Kingdom Humberlica, they were greeted by a busy and bustling Kingdom. Shops that were located left and right, were open. NPCs were all over the area. Various items were sold in each shop. From caught monsters to weapons and armors of different rarity. "This reminds me of the night market back ho~me." Pedro''s eyes shone upon seeing a shop in a far end corner of the street and ran towards it. "How may I help you... Sire?" The salesman scanned through Pedro after noticing his ''common rank'' overcoat. There were only a few people who enters the shop. And at the time Pedro entered the shop, He was the only customer. Hence, even if Pedro wore a ''common rank'' overcoat, the salesman had no choice but to entertain him. This was because the ''common ranks'' were usually BHO members that were either newly recruited or has of low talent. Thus, indicating their low capability to purchase or afford something in the shop. This is the reason why ''common ranks'' were mostly seen either in restaurants or cafes, repair shops, or cheap housing areas. This view of the ''common rankers'' has become a norm, thus making the salesman uninterested in Pedro and Faunia. "Uhm... Can I look at some of the skills you are selling?" "Ah! Of course, Sire! This is the catalog of the skills being sold in our shop." The salesman opened up a book facing Pedro. "The skills listed in the catalog were listed in order, based on their uses. This page contains skills that were related to production. The next page... hunting. The next page... Battle skills. Lastly, the specialty of our shop, Enhancement skills." "Ho Hoo..." Pedro brimmed with excitement. "If I may... May I know if Sire has a specific kind of skill in mind to purchase?" "There is nothing specific. But I might look in battle skills." Though the names of the skill and a brief description were written in the catalog, Pedro''s eyes were fixed at the catalog since he got a glimpse of it. Minutes later, Pedro pointed to a skill under production. "How much does this skill cost?" "Ohoh... It seems like Sire has good eyes. That skill originally cost 2 gold coins. But since it is recruitment event, our shop offers a 50% discount on all items except Enhancement Skills. Thus, its price is 1 gold coin." "Can I inspect it?" "Eh? Of course, Sire! Please wait for a second." The salesman walked to a shelf and grabbed a crystal protected paper. "Here it is, Sire." The salesman handed over the skill crystal to Pedro. ... Skill: ~Herbal Potion Crafting~ Rarity: Gold-rated skill Skill type: Active Effect: Craft [Herbal Potion]. [Herbal Potion] Potion Level: 1 Healing Effect: Heal HP by 10% Special Effect: 1) Increase [Herbal Potion] level by 1 after Crafting 0/1000 potions. 2) 1% chance for an abnormal Potion to be crafted. Potion Crafting Requirments: 0/100 Leaf pieces 0/1 Liter water 0/1 container [An ancient potion crafting method that was almost forgotten in the world.] Cost: 1 gold coin (Discounted) ... ''With leaf and water? And I can craft a potion? I might not benefit from the 10% heal of the potion but... With almost no cost on materials, I can make a profit from this!'' "Ehm... For some reason, Do you have an idea of how much does a container of a potion cost?" "Please forgive me for I don''t know the current cost of the containers. However, as I remember, a month ago, I heard from a customer that it cost around two bronze coins each." "I see..." Pedro rubbed his chin as he stares at the skill on his other hand. ''This will do. I will certainly benefit from this skill. It may be at a disadvantage compared to [Basic Potion] and [Intermediate Potion] at this stage, but...'' "I have decided! I''ll take this one!" Pedro took out a gold coin from his pocket. 103 The Laparas Skill Shop ''I have 2 gold coins left... These coins were the ones I earned from the auction. I need to make a way to earn more gold! It''s a waste not to capitalize on this opportunity. Wait a minute... If they sell skills, then~'' "Mister..." "Ah! Forgive my rudeness, Sire! My name is Augustus von Laparas. You can call me Augustus. I am the one in charge of the Laparas Skill Shop here in the Humberlica Kingdom, and the nephew of the late Vice Almirante Soledad Laparas." "You!?" Pedro''s eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets due to shock. "Sire?" Pedro''s reactions confused Augustus and made him stare towards Pedro. "Hahaha! It''s such a small world after all! Hahaha!" Pedro laughed whilst placing his hands into his face. "Sire?" Augustus became more confused at Pedro''s words. "Haah! Forgive my actions, Augustus. Let me introduce my self..." Pedro calmed down, "I am... Aron Death!" "Death?" "Yes. Aron Death, a recruit from the Karakoa Ship of the one and only Vice Almirante Soledad!" Pedro smirked. "Eh?" Augustus was astounded. No words could escape out from him. He could only stare at Pedro on shock. Seconds later, he was able to gather himself. "I~Impossible! Aunt Soledad only recruits the best, the most talented, and those with..." "Hahaha!" Pedro laughed at Augustus''s reaction and took a piece of paper out from his inventory bag. "Would this be sufficient enough as proof?" "A... A Nearis Paper!" ''Seeing how Augustus reacted... This paper might hold some value to them. Then...'' Pedro smirked deep inside. "Ehem! Perhaps, The Laparas Skill Shop is interested in buying Nearis Paper?" Pedro handed the paper to Augustus. "O~of course!" "Can I know how much a piece of paper cost?" "The shop is willing to buy fifty pieces of Nearis Paper for one gold coin." "That many? One gold coin only?" "Uh! Uh! Since... Since it is a recruitment event, I can make an exception for Sire Aron and give you an offer of forty pieces of Nearis Paper for one gold coin. I can''t go any lower than that, Sire Aron." "Hahaha! It''s fine! It''s fine!" Pedro laughed. ''Coin problem, solved!'' Pedro took out another inventory bag out of his inventory bag. Augustus became more amazed as he assumed that the inventory bag of Pedro was a rare type of Magical Item. Hours later, the sun was already about to shine when Pedro decided to stop because he got sick of counting papers, non-stop. He sold a huge amount of three thousand pieces of Nearis Paper. It was almost 80% of the total Nearis Paper he had. "Hmm... It is fine with me." Pedro gestured an ''Ok'' sign. "Thank you for your consideration." In the end, Pedro earned 65 gold coins and 5 skills. Three skills cost 2 gold coins while two skills cost 1 gold coin. The skills he bought was meant for the rest of his "7-man Squad". "It''s already this late in the morning? We better get moving! Augustus, It''s nice to meet you! And... My condolence to your late aunt." "My sincere thanks, Sire Aron! Please do come back when you have the chance. It''s nice doing business with you!" Pedro and Faunia waved goodbye to Augustus and left the shop. Having 65 gold coins, Pedro was brimming with excitement as his eyes landed on a huge weapon shop on the street. "Human! Let''s eat first! I am hungry!" Faunia pinched his ears and pulled him towards a restaurant on the other side of the street. Food in the restaurant cost around a few silvers. Pedro felt a rich man at that moment and allowed Faunia to order food to her heart''s content. In the end, their meal cost 3 gold coins and was deducted from his overall coin of 67 gold coins. Thus, he had 64 gold coins remaining. Just as they were about to leave the restaurant, Pedro received a message from Mathew. Mathew told Pedro that he was about to join a meeting with the highest-ranking official of the organization. Pedro replied and instructed Mathew that, no matter what happens, Karakoa Fleet must remain independent as it is. Mathew affirmed in response. He''ll do his best even if it cost his life. He was sure that no matter what happens to him and Talia, Pedro has things in plan for them. Hence, he was not afraid of losing his character. He can only trust Pedro''s plans and follow them. ~~~~~~~~ Minutes earlier, Inside the huge meeting hall in the Humberlica Castle, ten people were sitting around a round table. "It seems like Old man Sever won''t be coming once again." A young and good looking man with a long blond hair broke the tense silence within the room. He was wearing a light red overcoat with three stars on his shoulder. "Why don''t you go and help him at the Dark Continent, Senior Eigrand?" An elegant and young woman with a black and beautifully braid hair responded calmly. She was wearing a dark purple overcoat with the same three stars on her shoulder. "Nina! Are you threatening me?!" Eigrand pointed to the woman, full of rage. Nina simply smirked in response, while her eyes stared at Eigrand, full of killing intent. "Eigrand, Nina, Stop! Deal with your childish matter after the meeting." An old man with long white hair and beard slammed the table, strong enough to shook the dust off, under it, but not strong enough to make a dent or a crack. "Thank old man Thifrion... Don''t think that because you''re a woman that I''d hold back." Eigrand calmed down. "Tch..." Nina calmed down as well. The air at the room was about to become tenser. Fortunately, Another old man who was carefreely sitting leaned forward and placed his hands to the table. "Let''s get to the point, Uno. What do you plan to do with the three empty slots in the Admirals Circle?" "It''s not my decision to make... Fuego!" A man wearing a dark grey overcoat with four stars in his shoulder leaned forward with a smile. "Hahahaha! I was just kidding! No need for you to get worked up." Knock! Knock! Knock! "Oh! It must be them." Old man Fuego was filled with excitement. ~~~~~~~ Outside the meeting hall, Talia and Mathew arrived. "Talia... are you ready?" "Don''t mind me, brother! I am fine." "That''s good." Pak! "Ouch!" Mathew shouted in pain. Then, he looked towards Talia who slapped his back. "Relax brother! You''re so tense. It''s just a game. It''s not like you''re going into a job interview, right?" "Sigh... Okay. Okay." Mathew shook his head. "Come in!" They heard a voice coming from inside. Hence, Mathew didn''t waste another second and pushed the door open. "Eh... Why is the door not opening?" Mathew became nervous. ''Was this door designed to be specifically opened by strong people?'' "Brother..." Talia looked at Mathew with a disappointed look, with her arms crossed while shaking her head. "Eh?" "The door... You should pull it, not push! Tch!" "Oh!" Mathew pulled the door and it opened slowly. Crook! "Welcome, young ones!" Uno stood to welcome them. 104 "Doing My Job!" Mathew and Talia entered the hall and the door was closed. Everyone shifted their gaze towards them that made them felt tense. "Welcome, Young ones!" Old man Fuego smirked. "It is an honor to be able to meet Seniors." Mathew bowed in respect once again. "Hahaha! Good! Good! At least, you know how to respect your Seniors. Unlike some kids around here." "Old man Fuego... You better be careful with your words." Eigrand spoke in an irritated tone. "Hahaha! Eigrand, you sure can''t take a joke!" Old man Fuego answered in a laughing manner, but deep inside he had a serious expression, ready to fight in case Eigrand attacks. "Could we get to the point of this meeting? I have many matters to attend, my self." A woman who was around her 40''s spoke after remaining silent since the start. She wore a whitish-gray overcoat with 3 stars on her shoulder. "Then, I will proceed and ask our two guests some questions. Only then should we decide what to do with the Karakoa Fleet." With this, Uno started the meeting... ~~~~~~~ Back in the city, Pedro and Faunia were about to go into the largest weapon shop in the Humberlica Kingdom when they spotted a boy being bullied by three other kids of the same age on an adjacent street. "Orien! Didn''t we warn you not to say a single word to Sister Rhia about the potion?" Smack! "Ye! Ye! You sold us! You were envious of the potion! Traitor!" Smack! The three kids punched and kicked the boy named Orien. "Ehem!" Pedro faked a cough, whilst exerting a tinge amount of aura that was scary enough for the kids. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Ru~run!" The three boys ran away as fast as they can. "Should I chase after them?" Faunia asked. "There is no need." Pedro approached Orien and went down to see his bruised arm. Pedro took out a bottle of potion from his inventory bag. Before he could give the [Basic Potion] to Orien, He noticed that the boy was shivering while looking at Pedro as if he was a ghost. "What''s the matter, Orien... Right?" "Are~ Are you gonna hurt me too, Mister?" "Hurt you? Hahaha! Why did you think I would hurt you? Here, Take this potion and drink it. It will cure your bruises." Slowly, the bruises in his arm and the pain he felt earlier started to disappear. In minutes, he was completely healed as if nothing had happened. "Is... Is there something Mister wanted in return for the potion?" "Hahaha! Nothing! Nothing!" "I doubt it. Why would mister help an orphan like me for free?" Pedro stood with a smile on his face. He turned around and was about to go back to the main street. "Why, you say? You can think of it as doing my job." Pedro left and entered the weapon shop. The weapon shop was filled with many customers. The quantity and variety of good looking weapons, from swords to bows, that were displayed made Pedro drool deep inside. As a salesman approached, Pedro calmed himself from his excitement. ''I must buy some good weapon for Faunia and the rest of my crew to wield. If players saw us fight bare handedly and overpower our enemies, they would be suspicious of us and they might accuse us of troublesome things, like cheats. Hence... Weapons that we will wield may serve as a cover for the ''reason'' or ''source'' of our strength. Especially for me, Faunia, and Sabrina.'' Faunia''s sole existence was a ''cheat'' or a ''bug'' itself, for other players. It was the same with the overpowered "Gods'' eyes" of both Sabrina and Pedro. With those, Pedro can already assure their survival in the early stages of the game. Well, that was true until the past events required Pedro to deviate from the supposed normal progress intended for the character development of a player. It is an advantage against other players since Pedro and his crew was forced to develop and become stronger at an unusual speed. Imagine them having levels 30s and 10+, compared to the normal players or even the pro players whos level ranged from 1 to 5. The only backdrop was their development was ''forced''. It was something necessary to cope up with the events happening concerning their characters. If they lagged, there is a chance that they would be placed in a disadvantageous or perilous condition which was something Pedro didn''t want to be. Just as Pedro had learned after years of playing Bearth in his past life, Bearth Online is bigger than what he thinks it was. His experience and the knowledge he got from the extraordinary events he triggered, from meeting Madame Soledad up to now, told him that there is more to know and to achieve if he wanted to be the Best Player in the world. He knew that by capitalizing what he achieved right now was the best path there is for a player like him. The achievements and methods he encountered and is using was a far better method than that of using the past information he had, like the bug abuses and stuff. ''I don''t plan to build an army... But... If I plan to explore the Dark Continent, I won''t deny the fact that having an army would be an ideal move. Thus... In relation to this... Having a connection or a good relation to a weapon shop, in any place, is a must. If my army would be built, It would require huge amounts of good quality weapons to arm, my men. Hence, my goal in this shop is not only to acquire good weapons for us... Not only to buy weapons I can sell at a much higher price to players... But to also build a good relationship with the shop itself.'' At this point, The salesman bowed towards them and spoke. "Greetings, Sire! Welcome to Kratus Weapon Shop! I am Gerard el Kratus, the third son of Sarhento Freid el Kratus and the nephew of Commandante Waflo el Kratus. How may I help you, Sir?" ''Why do they need to always add their ''connections'' every time they would introduce themselves? Is there some discrimination like noble and commoner relationship here?'' Pedro sighed deep inside. "Nice to meet you. I am Aron Death. A new aspiring member of the organization. Can you help me find some good weapons of good quality but with a low price?" ''Going straight to the point is the only way into which I can avoid long talks. I don''t have the time to roam around casually. The event would be held in the Humberlica Arena in two hours.'' The Salesman, Gerard el Kratus, nodded in response and led Pedro towards a wooden box that contained many silver swords with a bronze scabbard. "Sire, this is one of our cheapest swords, the GeKnight. It is made from Crambon Mountain Silver that will speak for its durability. As for its sharpness, Sire can be assured for it was crafted by me." "Ho ho... Can I inspect it?" "With pleasure." Gerard handed over the sword to Pedro. Pedro pulled it out of its scabbard and acted as if he was testing the sword by swinging it slightly, left and right. What he really did was he scanned its property using his interface. [GeKnight Sword] Rating: Silver-rated weapon Level Requirement: 5 Attributes: Attack Damage: +20 Agility: +10 Strength: +10 Special Effect: [Increase Damage] by 1 for every successful 5 combo attack. (Stacks up to 10 times) 0/10 Additional Damage Additional damage resets if the combo made was reset. [This Sword of a wise Knight.] "This sword is good." Pedro praised Gerard, "How much does it cost?" "I normally sell three of this sword for 1 gold coin. If Sire wanted to buy only one, I can sell this for only 50 silver coins, no less." Gerard answered with sincerity. ''Hmm... As expected, a silver-rated weapon would at least cost 1 gold coin each. The 50 silver coins a piece is not a bad offer. But...'' "Can you give me five swords for 1 gold coin?" Pedro smiled as if he was testing Gerard. "This..." Beads of sweat suddenly appeared at Gerard''s face and started to fall. He went silent as the advice of his grandfather played in his mind. ''Gerard... Listen carefully, Earning less profit is better than having a bad reputation from any single customer, okay?" ''Is this man testing me? Five swords for one gold would mean that each sword would cost 20 silver coins each. The crafting and labor cost is around 10 to 15 silver coins all in all. It is not a loss, but... the profit I will earn is just... 5 silver coins each.'' "Would Sire tell me, how many of this sword would sire purchase?" Pedro made a "two" gesture that astonished Gerard. "Tw~twenty pieces? Fo~four gold coins?" Gerard asked. "No! Two hundred pieces." "Two Hundred?!" Gerard can''t help but shout from shock. Someone buy two hundred pieces of a sword was something he did not expect. Especially, Pedro was only someone who had just become a member of the organization. 105 The Mystery Box and The Katana! "No~no, Sire! The shop has sufficient stocks of that sword. It''s just that... I need to remind Sire that 200 swords would cost a total of 40 gold coins If I were to agree to your offer of 5 swords a gold coin." "I know. There''s no problem with that. So... Do we have a deal? 200 of this sword at a total price of 40 gold coins?" "Uh... Uh... Deal!" The jaws of the people inside the shop were open, wide enough for an apple to fit. They could only stare at Pedro, Faunia, and Gerard''s figure who went to the storage area of the shop. Pedro placed the swords in the empty inventory bag that once contained thousands of pieces of Nearis Paper that he sold. As usual, the NPC, Gerard, who first saw the magic of the bag, became amazed. It took Pedro several minutes to place everything he had purchased into the inventory bag. After paying, he now had 24 Gold coins remaining. When they left the storage area, Pedro stood in front of a Katana that was displaced on the wall. The handle and scabbard were colored black and had a cool looking red lining on it. "Can I see that one?" Pedro pointed to the Katana. Gerard nodded in response and handed the Katana to Pedro. He slowly pulled it off its sheath, when a bright red smoke came out of it. "Sh@t!" For some reason, Pedro felt danger and due to his instincts, he quickly sheathed back the Katana. Then, He checked its information in his interface. [The Fallen One''s] Rating: Gold-rated weapon Level Requirement: 20 Attributes: Attack Damage: +200 Agility: +80 Strength: +50 Special Effect: 1) [Fog] - releases a constant amount of reddish smoke for 30 seconds after being pulled from its scabbard. Cooldown: 5 minutes. 2) [Blood Blade] - Every 20 targets killed by this sword, a bright red blood blade would be conjured that can be used for a single attack delivering a 100% True Damage to the target. Can Stack. Blood Blades left: 0 [A katana once used in war and bathed in the blood and lives of many men.] Cost: 4 Gold Coins ''4 Gold Coins, huh? Let me try to bargain with Gerard. Hehe. I think he can give me a discount since I bought hundreds of silver swords earlier.'' Pedro rubbed his chin whilst in deep thought. "How much does this cost?" Pedro asked. Note that the NPC does not know about the system and Pedro knowing the initial price of 4 gold coins, without asking Gerard about it may bring trouble or doubts. Gerard might not think about the idea of ''system'' but he may doubt that ''Pedro might have checked and seen other shops selling a similar weapon.''. Thus to preserve the relationship Pedro built with the weapon shop, He still asked for its price before starting to bargain. "I''ll take it if you give it to me for 2 gold coins." "This..." Gerard went silent as he started to sweat. ''Gerard''s silence meant that he can''t agree with the price I asked. He might be weighing things up, the advantages and disadvantages of agreeing to my condition.'' "Tch!" Gerard bit his lips, "Sire, I have an offer!" "What is it?" "I''ll agree with your condition for two gold coins on this katana, but... You must purchase it together with 3 gold coins worth of weapon." Gerard sighed. ''It''s hard to decline on a customer like Sire Aron. Seeing that he is just a new member of the organization, Future transactions with him will surely benefit the Shop. A loss in profit of 2 gold coins is nothing compared to that relationship the shop may build with him. However, as a salesman, I must find a way for the shop to, at least, earn more profit. Thus, my offer is something that can be thought of like a win-win situation.'' "Hmm..." Pedro scanned through the shop looking for some weapons that may catch his eyes. For some reason, the one he spotted was Faunia, who was staring at a desk displaying good looking knives and short swords. Pedro approached her and asked, "Did you like anything?" "Hahaha! Are you mocking me?" Faunia''s laughter attracted the attention of some of the customers. Fortunately, other customers and the salespersons of the shop misunderstood what Faunia meant. They thought that Faunia was still a young lady and is still not advisable to use such weapons. Kids that became members of the organization either had talent or is someone well connected from the higher-ranking officials. They were not tasked to do actual missions, but instead to observe or learn from organization members to help further develop their talents and/or abilities. Thus, the majority of kid members either have weapons for decoration purposes or training purposes only. On Pedro''s point of view, he knows what Faunia meant, ''Those weapons were trash. So, why would she be interested in such ''trash''? And... Her fists were enough.'' "Is that so?" Pedro forced out a smile and simply rubbed the back of his head. "Hmm... What should I do with the remaining 3 gold coins worth of weapon..." Pedro was puzzled. Truth to be told, He discourages a mage type or an archer. Unlike other games, Playing as an Archer in Bearth was too troublesome to sustain. Either they need to buy a lot of arrows, which meant additional expenses, or they need to craft arrows, which requires more time of farming materials and the crafting itself. While on mages, the healers or healing type mages were of big help. This was true in the early stages. However, due to a lack of damage output, their leveling progress was the slowest compared to other players. Capitalizing skills like invisibility skills can only relieve some difficulty they experience whilst farming. Still, despite the ease and the feeling of security, healing type mages required twice the amount of grinding efforts compared to other players. This later on affected all other players, as the gap between them and other players becomes larger. Other players were forced to devise other healing methods just to be able to survive without the healing type mage. This made the healing type mage players shift their focus towards an offensive type mage, and abandon the healer path. Well, It is not that offensive type mage is any better. Offensive type mage skills were rank number one in terms of consumption of the MP of a player. Currently, only a few players had a set of offensive skills. Thus, not everyone notices that there was a problem with MP mechanics of the game. Pedro knew about this but he doesn''t pay any mind about it. He knows that the interface itself was just some kind of ''indicator''. In phones, You may think of the battery percentage as an ''indicator'' of how much or how long will the battery of your phone lasts, before it runs out and shuts down. He knew that some months after the open-beta phase, or good as an official release, the developers would do the last final updates that included the removal of both stamina and MP indicator. It was so that players could estimate themselves, how much energy they have left before they block out. And... The only sign a player runs out of energy was when they suddenly lost their consciousness. Later, it was known or ''assumed'' by players that once you recover at least 50 to 70 percent of your MP, players started to regain their consciousness. It was only a theory concluded after doing several trials and errors, done mostly by mages. This was the reason why he discourages the mage and archer path. One may say archer and mages have the distance advantage but when it comes to monster or enemy attacks, overall things to consider, like dodging and awareness, must be on par (at least) or better with the melee players. Well, that was for the norm of the players in his past life, and his suggestions and preferences. Of course, there were still players, be it casual or pro players, that we''re able to manage. There was even a famous player that was nicknamed ''Ret@rd'' in his past life. He had a character with a combination of a tank and a healing type mage. He was very tanky. He was invited so much on dungeons. Unfortunately, One day, He got ambushed and died. Those who killed him needed only to slice him to death. Back to Pedro... "What is in this black box?" Pedro''s attention was shifted to a block box with several golden lines and curve in it. "Uhm... Sire, That is a mystery box that we sell yearly during the recruitment event." "More like a scam! Hahaha!" Another customer interrupted with a laugh. The other customers that heard it followed with a laugh. "Hahaha!" "Hahaha!" "Hahaha!" "I see..." Pedro rubbed his chin seemingly interested, "How much?" "10 gold coins, Sire." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "10 gold coins for both the mystery box and this Katana? This is my final offer." In the end, Gerard agreed and Pedro was able to buy the mystery box and the Katana. Now, he has 14 gold coins left. Pedro waved goodbye to Gerard and left the shop with Faunia. Gerard gave him a ring and said that it was something Pedro can show indicating that he is a VIP of the Kratus Weapon Shop. 106 A Weapon or An Accessory? "As for this, Mystery Box... I wonder what would I get. The Interface identifies the box, and says that it is only a special kind of container." Pedro sighed, "I guess there''s no other way but to open it." Pedro opened the box and inside was a golden ring with a chain attached to it. "A ring?" Pedro was confused. The people who pass by him and got a glimpse of the ring. These people would eventually look to Faunia and smile. Faunia started to become irritated because of this, whilst Pedro seemed to be in his own world. ''Why is a ring inside a Mystery Box of a weapon shop. Shouldn''t it be at the accessory shop? I don''t remember mages using rings. All I know is that staffs, books, or orbs were the weapon for mages. So... How did his ring become a weapon?'' Pedro was intrigued and curious about the ring. Hence, He took it out of the box. "Ehh?" When he took the ring and closed the box, The chain was pulled accidentally after it was stuck at the box. Thus, to his surprise, the chain extended longer than how it was before it was pulled. He opened the box to remove the chain from being stuck. Then, he tried pulling the chain, once again, against the ring. The chain continuously came out of the ring as if the ring was a ''spatial like storage'' (like his inventory bag) and a very long chain was inside it. He checked the ring''s information in his interface. [Slavemaster''s Ring] Rating: Legendary-rated weapon Level Requirement: ???? Attributes: Attack Damage: ???? Intelligence: ???? Strength: ???? Special Effect: ???? [????] "Eeeeeh?" Pedro was astounded beyond belief. He just got a Legendary-rated weapon from a mystery box. Unfortunately, His level was not high enough for him to be able to use it. "I wonder how this works." Pedro rubbed his chin after wearing the ring. "Tch! D@mbass! Human, give it to me?" Faunia took the ring and wore it. Magically, the big ring size adjusted so that it would be fit to Faunia''s finger. Faunia closed her fist and the extended chain was somehow ''sucked'' into the ring. Then, She simply waved her arm towards Pedro. Pedro was covered by the golden chain in an instant. Only his head was left uncovered by the golden chain. He looked like he had a golden cocoon. "This is how it is used!" Faunia waved back her arm and the golden chain that enveloped Pedro suddenly disappeared. "How? Heh... Human weapons are simple to use. Just add a little bit of Magical energy and they will work. Remember that, Hu~!" Seeing the crowd build up around them, Faunia stopped her words and returned the ring to Pedro. Pedro pulled the newly bought Katana and cause a red smoke out of its main blade. It acted as some kind of smokescreen to give them a chance to escape the crowd. "These weapons are good. It was worth it. Now, we have an hour left before the recruitment event. We should go to Humberlica Arena, and be acquainted with fellow ''new BHO members'' like us. By the way... Here!" Pedro tossed the [Slavemaster''s Ring] to Faunia, "Use this in case you needed to fight. Use it as a cover. BHO members might see us suspicious if we fight barehanded. It''s up to you on how to use it." "Tch!" Faunia can''t help but frown, as she accepts the ring and the people who pass them, smiles and whisper, ''Aaaaah... How sweet!'' ~~~~~~~ While Pedro was doing his shopping spree, the Admiral''s Circle requested Mathew to state the story of how did he become the new Officer In-charge of the ship. He followed the instruction of Pedro and said that they encountered a seemingly ''infinite'' amount of birds. The apprentice and supposed Captain of the ship, which was Pedro, jumped off the ship to clear a way for the ship. Since then, their supposed Captain was missing and as a second in command, He took over the role of Officer In Charge of the ship. "Hearing this story, Does anyone have a suggestion on how we should deal with the Karakoa Fleet?" Admiral Uno asked. "Senior Uno! I suggest that we assign a new Captain for the fleet, And..." "Eigrand!" Nina slammed the table hard, that made a dent on it. "And?" Admiral Uno and Eigrand continued their conversation as if Nina wasn''t there. "And, it''s new Captain must become a part of the Admiral''s Circle." "You!" "Relax, Nina." Old man Fuego smirked. "You have anything to say, Fuego?" Admiral Uno replied. "Well, everyone here knows that you can''t do that!" "Ohoh... Why is that so?" "Because they already have a Captain! Unless this so-called Apprentice of Soledad was confirmed dead. You can''t appoint some random kid to become the fleet''s Captain. We have our rules, remember?" "OLD MAN!" Eigrand pointed to Old man Fuego with rage. "You''re as cunning as ever, Fuego! Then... Your suggestion is not accepted by the Circle, Eigrand!" "Tch!" Eigrand sat whilst staring daggers at Old man Fuego. "Can I ask you two... Is this so-called Apprentice of Soledad accompanied by a little girl?" Old man Fuego smirked whilst glancing at Talia and Mathew. ''Eh?!'' Deep inside Talia and Mathew was astonished. For a second, they didn''t know how to react to the old man''s question. "I''ll take that as a yes!" Old man Fuego kept his smile, "Then, I have a proposal." "What is it?" "Give this Apprentice of Soledad a ranking of ''Contra Almirante''!" "Eh?" Nina and the rest of the Admiral''s Circle were astounded. Talia and Mathew remained speechless after Pedro''s true identity got exposed without difficulty. Worst of all, they can''t argue with anyone inside the hall. The pressure they felt from everyone in the Admiral''s circle is equivalent to that of a high-level boss. As for Eigrand, He was grinding his teeth from rage. 107 The Conclusion of the Meeting "Fuego, Do you know the apprentice of Soledad?" Admiral Uno asked. "Hahaha! We''re not that close. You can say that I ''accidentally'' bumped into them earlier." "Hoho... It seems like you are interested." "Hahaha! I am not interested in the person itself, but the achievements he may gain in the next years. So... What does the Admiral''s circle say to my proposal?" "Your eyes for talents is something I can call terrifying." Admiral Uno remarked, "There is only 2 person I know that you recommended of a rank of Contra Almirante, right of the bat... I agree with your proposal. Never the less, we are not breaking any laws here." "If both of Senior Uno and Senior Fuego agreed, then so do I." Nina followed. "Tch! I disagree! Giving a newbie a high-rank would just cause problems with the Admiral''s Circle. Our members might even question our integrity! There are better options for the three spots in the Admiral''s Circle! I think you know what I am saying?!" Eigrand stood in anger. "Hahaha!" Old man Fuego clapped his hands in laughter. "Relax, Eigrand. The final decision is yet to be decided by everyone!" Eigrand sat back as the rest of the Admiral''s Circle went silent. Minutes later, some approved and, at the same time, disapproved of the proposal. In the end, Old man Fuego''s proposal was approved by a majority''s decision, 7 votes to 3. Talia and Mathew were instructed to continue as Officers in charge as the representative of their fleet in the coming recruitment event. Since the recruitment event was less than hours away, the meeting was concluded after assigning two new members of the Admiral''s Circle. The two new members of the Admiral''s Circle have been promoted to the same rank as Pedro which was Contra Almirante. ~~~~~~~ Minutes later, somewhere in the Humberlica Kingdom... "How was the meeting Vice Almirante Eigrand?" A man respectfully approached Eigrand. "Not good! Silos! I want you to look for someone... And remove his existence from this world!" "Re~remove his existence? A~any you ask, Vice Almirante!" "Good! Good! Don''t worry. I will reward you if you succeed. But if you fail... Your existence is the one I''m gonna take!" Eigrand was filled with blood lust. Silos remained to bow to Eigrand due to fear. "O~of course, Vice Almirante!" Eigrand''s figure vanished into thin air. ~~~~~~~ In the Humberlica castle, Talia and Mathew decided to contact Pedro and inform him of what happened in the meeting. Krung! Krung! The interface of Pedro rang whilst they were on their way to the Humberlica Arena. "Oh? It''s Killer Smile." Pedro accepted the call, "What''s up? How did the meeting go?" "Hooo... Tell me what happened. I am free at the moment." "Okay. I learned that this so-called Humberlica Kingdom is the Eastern Headquarters of the Bearth Human Organization." "Eh? So... This kingdom is only the Main Headquarters of BHO at the Eastern side of Bearth?" "Yes, Expert Bro. There were two more of the same kingdom in the West part and the North part of Bearth?" "I see... Continue." "Regarding our meeting earlier, I assume that they were the highest-ranking officials of BHO here in the Main Eastern Branch. They were called ''The Admiral''s Circle''!" Mathew paused for a bit, "They were composed of fifteen officials with a ranking of not lower than ''Contra Almirante''. At the meeting, 10 out of 15 were present, 3 were considered deceased, 1 was absent, whilst 1 was missing." "Deceased, huh?" "Yes. This is connected to what I am to say next... Those 3 spots left by the 3 deceased officials must be filled, and that was the main purpose of that meeting." Mathew paused for a while, that made Pedro think that the connection in their call was disconnected. "Hello? Hello? Killer Smile, you there?" "Yes... Ehem... Expert Brother, don''t be shocked to what I am about to say. But..." "But?" "You were assigned to be one of the 3 newly assigned members of The Admiral''s Circle!" "What?" Pedro was astonished. He stopped from his tracks and shouted, which caught the attention of other people. "How was that possible?" "Uh... It may be not what you think but... The moment we arrived inside the meeting hall, each of the members of Admiral''s Circle exerted a pressure similar to that of a World boss in other AVR games." Mathew sighed, "And amongst them was an old man, named Fuego, that knew you''re identity after a single question." "Eeeeeh? That old man? He is amongst the highest-ranking officer?" "So... You have met him, Expert Brother. No wonder, a few seconds of silence after he asked a question, he was a hundred percent sure that it was you. It was as if he read our minds." "Yeah... That old man is dangerous. Even I... am not strong enough to fight him yet. But you don''t need to worry. I have my ways." Pedro smirked. "Of course! Hahahaha! That''s all expert brother. I''d be substituting for you in the recruitment event. It seems like all of the 10 members of the Admiral''s Circle would be present later." Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Oh... Like a special audience?" "No, Expert Bro. More like a VIP. Hehehe! Once, we saw someone that gets our eyes, we can offer that recruit to join our ''fleet''. However, It is the recruit''s final say if he or she will join our fleet." "Okay. Noted. I''ll tell you if I saw someone notable to be recruited." "Got it!" "Good work! See you later at the recruitment event!" "See ya, Expert bro!" Klank! Pedro and Faunia arrived at the entrance of the Humberlica Arena when the call had ended. Many people were going to the Arena. Fortunately, there wasn''t a line that was formed along the entrance. 108 Test Z: Free For All. "Recruits? This way to the Battle Area." A BHO officer guided Pedro and Faunia towards the battle area. It was where the new members of BHO were located. All of them were waiting in the battle area of the arena so that fleets or crews can see them. This way, choosing who to recruit would be easier. The BHO officer left Pedro and Faunia after they entered the battle area. It was very crowded. Pedro and Faunia decided to stay and sit in a corner as they wait for the start of the event. Minutes had passed. The members of the Admiral''s Circle started arriving one by one. 10 Minutes before the event, the pathway where they entered was sealed with a door. The whole battle area has now been isolated. 5 Minutes before the event, the announcer appeared together with several officers holding a staff. "Everyone, are you ready!" "Yeah!" "Ready!" Everyone, be it the new members to be recruited or the crews and fleet representative, was excited and shouted all together in response to the announcer. "Then, let us welcome, The Falcon Admiral, Admiral Uno Primora!" "Hooo!" Everyone shouted in honor for Admiral Uno. Admiral Uno entered from a pathway together with Old man Fuego. Behind them was Mathew and Talia, and the other two new members of the Admiral Circle. Everyone continued to cheer, especially the new members who had high hopes to get selected personally by the High-ranking officials themselves. Only a few among the new members remained silent and simply observed how Admiral Uno and the rest entered. Amongst them were Pedro and Faunia, into which Old man Fuego had spotted immediately. "So that''s him?" Admiral Uno asked Old man Fuego. Old man Fuego nodded with a smile, in response. "Is that so? Then, why don''t we test them out, right of the bat?" Admiral Uno smirked as he stood beside the announcer. Old man Fuego and the rest went to their respected seats. As for Mathew and Talia, Since Mathew was a good elder brother, He allowed Talia to sit to the single chair, supposed to be assigned for Pedro. Mathew Stood beside her and nodded whilst looking towards Pedro. Pedro simply smiled in response. Upon glancing to the left, his face, slowly, wore a frown. "Paul Solares?" Pedro became confused after seeing a familiar face. Before he could send Mathew a message, the crowd became silent as respect to Admiral Uno who was about to speak. "OUR FALLEN HEROES!" Everyone shouted as they salute. Seconds later, Admiral Uno spoke once again. "Let the annual recruitment event begin!" "Yaaaaa!" Everyone cheered. ''Announcer... Do Test Z for this year!'' Admiral Uno whispered to the announcer and returned to his seat. "Te~test Z..." "Announcer?" "Ah! For this year''s recruitment event... We will conduct... TEST Z! Free For All Battle!" "Eeeeh?" "Eeeeh?" Everyone erupted. "Only the last ten amongst the participants will become the top ten of their class. If you want to surrender, just go to the pathway where you entered earlier." "Hoho... It seems like they wanted to see my ability as soon as possible" Pedro stood and held the Katana tightly. His pen-knife was hidding in his sleeves, ready to attack any second. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "What should we do?" Faunia asked. "What else? Show them what we''ve got!" Pedro smirked. He was ready to strike at any moment. "There are no restrictions in this free for all battle. However, a participant is eliminated when he or she either lost consciousness, voluntarily forfeits, or dies. So participants, Please decide wisely!" A minute was given to those who wanted to forfeit the match. After all, even if they forfeit in the match, they can still apply to the various crews and fleet. It was just that the match would give them more prestige and recognition among the various crews and fleet. Thus, out of the 4 thousand participants, only 200 were left. "It seems like these are all the participants left. I wish you all good luck. And let the battle begin!" "Wooooo!" Those who were watching erupted in cheers. ~~~~~~ In the VIP Area... Eigrand wore a mischievous smile, whilst watching the battle start. ''Let''s see how long that rat apprentice of Soledad will last!'' ~~~~~~ Back to the battle area... "Faunia let''s go!" Pedro pulled his Katana and a red smoke blew out from it. "Uhm!" Pedro ran as fast as he can, along with Faunia. The smoke covered the vision of other participants that was in its range. Hence, Faunia used the [Slavemaster''s ring] to pull the enemies towards her and send a solid punch to knock them out. The smoke was so strong that it also provided cover so that even those in the VIP areas cannot see what was happening in the battle area. "Yuson, rush! To the corner!" "Then, what brother?" Yojiro and Yuson, the two young men with a Katana, went into a corner where the smoke is yet to come. "Once that smoke gets near, use Wind Katana Arts non-stop to prevent the sweep the smoke away from us!" "Noted, brother!" They took their Katana and was ready, as the smoke caused by Pedro inched closer to them. "Twenty meters!" "Ten meters!" "Go!" "Wessal Style~ SIX BLADED WIND!" Fwoosh! Six ray-like wind blades were launched towards the approaching smoke. "Yes!" Yuson smiled, as he was able to stop the advance of the smoke. Ting! However, The six wind blades were suddenly cut by a seemingly red light. The wind blades, that was pushing the smoke away, has vanished. Fortunately, The smoke stopped its advance and a figure jumped out of it. "Tch... It''s already over?" The man said "Not good! YUSOOON!" Yojiro dashed in front of Yuson to intercept the man who jumped out of the smoke. Ting! Yojiro was able to save Yuson from Pedro''s attack. Pedro''s Katana was attacking and was in a vertical orientation. While Yojiro had his Katana in a horizontal orientation. "Hoho... Not bad." Pedro smirked. A golden chain suddenly went past through Pedro and wrapped around Yuson. Yuson was thrown in the air by the chain as it quickly went back to the area with smoke. Yuson panicked as he was falling in the air. "Eh?!" Yuson''s face went grim after seeing that he was falling straight to the tip of Pedro''s blade. Yojiro also noticed it, and the distraction that it brought made Pedro to overpower Yojiro''s defense. Faunia jumped out of the smoke and a punch was on the way to Yuson. As for Yojiro, the tip of Pedro''s blade stopped a millimeter deep in his neck, enough to make a small cut and blood to flow out of it. Bang! Yuson slammed into the wall, making a small hole around him. "Surrender!" Pedro smirked as Faunia fell down behind him. The smoke dissipated and only the three of them were standing. "Woooo!" Claps and Cheers rained as everyone applauded after witnessing the ''perfect'' coordination and execution of Pedro and Faunia. "I~I..." Yojiro bit his lips, "I surrender!" 109 You Need More Rest? "Wha~What is this?! The Free For All battle has ended in just 5 minutes and 30 seconds after it had started!" The Announcer shouted in astonishment, "Aaaaand... We have a winner! Congratulations to the three remaining participants! As for the other participants, than~" "Wait!" "Eh?" Admiral Uno stood and approached the announcer. He nodded to the announcer and said, "Let me handle this!" "I congratulate the three remaining participants in this Free For All battle. The three of you would be considered as the top three of your batch and would be now available for recruitment. Your ranks would be determined by the highest-ranking officer of the fleet or crew that you would join. But... the rank given to you should be at least ''Teniente de Navio''." "To those who were eliminated... All of you are now also open for recruitment. However, your ranks would remain the same. And only by passing promotion exams should your rank rise to the next level! I hope that all of you would work harder and become stronger." "Never the less, thank you for your participation and I hope to see you in 6 months, at the Grand Trade Event!" Admiral Uno stepped back. He looked to the announcer and said, "Thank you! You may now proceed in the next phase of the recruitment event." "Yes, Admiral." "Everyone! It''s time for the recruitment session! You can go and approach the representatives of the crew or fleet you want to join! As for the 15 Great Fleets, only 13 of them were recruiting new members. A separate recruitment area was assigned to each of them. Please refer to the officers for their location. That''s all! Good luck!" Everyone applauded. Admiral Uno stood and was about to leave. "Uno, You''re leaving? Ain''t it still too early?" "Hahaha! Fuego, Old men like us need more rest nowadays! Unlike you, I can''t slack off." Admiral Uno sighed, "If only Soledad had not perished... I could have passed the torch to her and I would have been able to join you." "Hahaha! Don''t worry, I''ll bring something good later!" "No thanks!" Admiral Uno entered the pathway and his figure disappeared. "That man..." Old man Fuego can''t help but scratch his head. At this point, the other members of the Admiral''s circle left without even speaking with each other. They would only look towards Pedro after standing, then they would turn around and leave. "Young man! Wait!" Old man Fuego halted Mathew, who was about to leave with Talia. Mathew and Talia stopped on their tracks and looked towards old man Fuego. "Is there something you need from us, Senior?" Mathew asked respectfully. "Ah... No! No! You''re gonna meet with young man Aron, right? If so, let us go together. I want to talk to him about something." Old man Fuego, Talia, and Mathew shifted their gaze towards the woman''s direction. "Did senior hit you hard to the point that you''d even forget his name, Beatrice?" Pauk Solares spoke in a mocking tone. "Him?!" Beatrice stared at Pedro, full of killing intent. "Oh... Paul, Beatrice! Would you like to come with us, and see your former crewmate?" Old man Fuego asked. "Crewmate?" Talia and Mathew became confused as they stare towards Paul and Beatrice. "Of course, Vice Almirante! I have something to discuss with him anyway!" Beatrice left first. "Ah! Wait, Beatrice! Ahahaha... Senior, We''ll head first!" Paul forced out a smile to old man Fuego, then he chased after Beatrice. "Hahaha! Young ones are really full of energy! Shall we go?" "Yes, Senior." Mathew nodded. ~~~~~~~ Back at the battle area... "D@mn... That was scary!" Pedro sighed as he retracted his sword away from Yojiro. He flicked the sword to the side to remove the blood in the katana. Then, he sheathed it back to its scabbard. "I had almost forgotten how it felt being stared at, with a menacing look." He chuckled. Pedro remembered how he felt after being stared like prey by a predator when Admiral took one last glance at him. "Is that it?" Faunia looked sluggish when Pedro looked at her. She looked like someone tired, but her tone seemed more like she was, somehow, disappointed. "I think so?" Pedro forced out a smile. "That''s what we came here for?" "No. Increasing our manpower was the priority. Joining these events were just for fun! Hahaha!" Faunia couldn''t help it but to shook her head. "To be honest, I am impressed." He paused for a second before he continued, "No one took the bait to our provocation. It''s either their wise or they don''t have the courage." "It can''t be helped... So... What are we going to do with him?" Faunia pointed to Yojiro who remained unmoved at where he stood. He was in a state of shock and can only listen to the conversation between Faunia and Pedro. "Hmm... He''s not bad." Pedro glanced to his side and stared at Yojiro with bloodlust. Yojiro took a step backward, due to his instincts. His face became grimmer. "Th~This blo~bloodlust! A~A... Mo~mo~monster!" Despite taking a step backward, Yojiro grasped his katana, tightly. He was ready to strike anyone who would get close to him, out of desperation to survive. Pedro smirked and drew his katana. Boom! Instead of the sounds of the clashing of metals, an explosion occurred after the sword and the katana collided. The smoke escaping from Pedro''s Katana was blown sideways. The katana was able to block a strike from a flaming sword, that emitted a blue-colored flame. "Beatrice, It''s nice to see you again!" The smug in Pedro''s face made Beatrice click her tongue. Seeing that she can''t force Pedro to even flinch an inch, Beatrice retreated a few meters away. At this moment, Paul Solares arrived at the battle area. The smoke started to spread once again. And in seconds, the whole area was filled with smoke. The figure of Pedro disappeared in the thick smoke. The smoke was thick enough that the people doing recruitment in the observation area couldn''t also see anything in the battle area. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "It seems like you didn''t have enough rest, Beatrice?!" Pedro chuckled. Fwooosh! "Eh?" After a second, Beatrice, Yojiro, and some of the common-ranked personnel within a hundred-meter radius from Pedro became unconscious. Those who stood collapsed to the floor. Bag! Bag! Bag! Bag! As for Paul Solares, Old man Fuego, and the rest, They felt a tinge pain in the head making them stop for a second with some needed to support their head. Pedro sheathed back the Katana and the smoke dissipated. At the entrance stood Paul Solares and Old man Fuego who wore a smile. 110 It Seems Like He is Having Fun? "How thoughtful of you, young man!" Old man Fuego smirked as he approaches Pedro. "However... While this old man won''t deny that I need more rest, nowadays, I still have some energy to spare. Would you mind to have a little spar with me?" Pedro shook his head and waved in rejection to Old man Fuego. While doing so, he had the chance to blink and return his eyes back to normal. Those who remained conscious was still in confusion of what had happened as those who were knocked unconscious started waking up. "Wha~What happened?" Yojiro and Beatrice woke up and sat in the ground. One of their hand supporting them while the other was placed somewhere in their face where they felt a pain caused by their sudden fall. "Sorry Senior... Sadly, I am not strong enough yet to fight you. Even if it is just a simple spar." Pedro ignored Beatrice and Yojiro who was still trying to process what had happened. They looked like people who had just woken up from their sleep after drinking alcohol all night. "Hahaha! I see! I see! Forgive me, young man. My blood boiled upon witnessing such a performance earlier. How about this... Why don''t the two of you attack together like what you did earlier?" Old man Fuego was serious, and his proposal made Pedro think twice of having a spar with him. The remaining personnel on the recruitment area heard and watched old man Fuego and Pedro. ''This old man has good eyes. However, It looks like he is looking down on Faunia. I guess there is a limit to a man''s naked eyes. I doubt that he would not be even able to move a muscle if he saw Faunia''s real magical energy. Man... Such a pain.'' "Senior Fuego is... challenging him?" Beatrice whispered to her self, out of shock. ''What do you think?'' Pedro asked telepathically to Faunia. ''Up to you. Besides... What can he do against me?'' Faunia chuckled, ''Besides... It would be beneficial for you to determine the gap between your strength and that old man''s, which... if I am not wrong, is considered one of the strongest humans here?'' ''Beneficial, Huh? Hmm...'' Pedro grinned towards old man Fuego. "Since Senior is eager to test us personally, there''s no reason for us to further decline to your challenge." Beatrice was assisted by Paul Solares and walked back to the entrance of the battle area. At the same time, Yuson was the last participant being brought out of the battle area by the medical personnel, into which Yojiro walked together. Hence, the battle area was cleared. The entrance was sealed upon the instruction of Old man Fuego to one of the personnel. Paul, Beatrice, Talia, and Mathew sat at the viewers'' area with the nearest path to the entrance of the battle area. "The~the Vice Almirante is..." "Brother, do you think Expert Brother can win?" Talia asked in a worried tone. "I don''t know... To be honest." Mathew paused for a second, "Based on my estimate, that old man is around level 80 to level 100. Expert Bro is somewhere past level 30. The gap is too huge. However, that little girl is with her." "Her? I see..." Talia rubbed her chin and remembered how Faunia, effortlessly, killed the Migratory Flocoloso birds. At the battle area, Pedro instructed Faunia telepathically. ''Faunia, there is no need for you to go offensive. Just act like we are at a disadvantage and were barely able to defend from the old man''s attacks. Let me get hit by the old man every four seconds.'' ''Acting? Haaah!'' Faunia looked at Pedro with an annoyed expression. ''Noted!'' "We''re ready, Senior!" Pedro gestured an ''OK'' sign. "Paul, facilitate the countdown." "Yes, Senior!" Paul stood and raised his hand. "Participants! Ready! Begin!" Paul sliced his hand downwards to start the battle. Fwoooosh! Pedro blinked and his eyes turned all black. The majority of the observer lost their consciousness as Paul who was still standing felt the tinge pain in his head once again. Those who were watching and was still conscious held their heads as they try to shift their focus back to the battle area. Pedro''s lifeless black eyes, emitted a blood lust enough to make old man Fuego frown and took a step back. The old man''s fist tightened its grip as a reddish flame-like aura covered around it. "Ah..." Old man Fuego grasped, "This amount of bloodlust at such a young age..." Utilizing the momentary shock, Pedro charged towards old man Fuego at full speed. He draws the Katana and smoke rushed out of it. It enveloped old man Fuego and Pedro in it. However, Before Pedro had completely lost the vision of old man Fuego, Pedro saw the old man smirked. ''Something is wrong!'' Pedro frowned as he jumped to his left. Boom! An explosion occurred that left a crater from where he jumped from. "Hoho, Not bad!" Old man Fuego chuckled. "Try dodging this!" Debris flew towards Pedro. Seeing the rocks flying towards him, Pedro grabbed the rocks with his left hand, ready to throw at any moment. ''That was clos~'' Before Pedro could even touch the ground, Faunia shouted telepathically. ''WATCH OUT!'' Fwooooh~ Boom! .... -1,000,000 [~Undying~ skill activated!] HP: 1/1100 [Player''s HP is below 20%... Potion Injector Activated!] +50 HP: 51/1100 ... [~Might of Pain~ Skill activated!] Attack Damage: 530 +1,000,000 (duration: 5seconds, stackable) Magic Damage: 441 +1,000,000 (duration: 5seconds, stackable) .... Pedro received a direct hit. The smoke was blown away by the blast and old man Fuego was staring towards Pedro with a smile. "Not good! Faunia!" Pedro cried after he was blown into the air. A light that seemed like coming from an approaching car in a foggy road, sped towards the front of Pedro. Boom! Another explosion occurred. Fortunately, Faunia arrived on time and intercepted old man Fuego''s attack with a three-layered shield made from the golden chain. Faunia ''acted'' and allowed her body to be pushed by the blast, backward for a few meters. The smoke was blown, once again, allowing Pedro and Faunia to see the old man. "A chance!" Pedro grasped the rock, tightly, in his left hand. He aimed a meter below the old man''s face. Inches before he touches the ground, he threw the rock with full force. Fwooosh! Boom! Another explosion had occurred. This time it was heard at the old man''s position. ... [True damage effect (~Might of Pain~ skill) Activated!] Damage dealt would be raw damage! [Nutshot effect (~Rock Throw~ skill) Activated!] Nutshot: Deals 1,000,530 damage to the target. Target stunned for 10 seconds. [Release Effect (~Might of Pain~ skill) Activated!] Attack and Magic damage reset back to the original state! ... Just as the system sounded, old man Fuego''s voice was heard. "O~ooof!" After a few seconds, "Aaaaaaaaah!" The old man made a deafening cry that made the observers cover their ears. Birds at the top of the Arena flew in panic as Everyone, including the other members of the Admiral''s Circle, shifted their glance towards the Arena. Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. 111 Not That Building! Hearing the old man''s cry, Pedro sheathed his Katana and drank as many potions as he can. Since the developers wanted the game to be as real as possible. The potions had no cooldowns after use. Hence, Pedro can use as many potions he can. Despite it, other players didn''t dare consume potions like that. It was because the players wanted to maximize the use of their potions since it was not cheap and they needed to use a lot of it. The more potions they can conserve, the longer they can farm monsters and become stronger. Thus, the majority of the players, still, drank one potion at a time. Pedro wiped his face and stood from his knees. The whole arena was still stunned by the scream of the old man. Their view of the battle area became clearer as the smoke disappears. And their jaws went agape upon seeing the curled up old man on the floor. ''Oops! I think I went a little overboard?!'' Pedro forced out a smile. ''Don''t worry. He''s an old human. He must have at least one or two siblings that inherit and will continue their bloodline. If he was young like you... Even I... would have taken pity to him and his bloodline.'' Faunia pulled the chain back to the ring and shrugged off the dust at her shoulder. "Let''s he~" Bam! Before Pedro could approach and help the old man who was in pain. The entrance was opened and Medical personnel rushed in to attend to the old man''s injury. "I guess they can manage." Pedro''s eyes returned back to its normal state and dusted off his overcoat as he departed from the battle area. Faunia followed behind him as the observers watched them leave. ~~~~~~~ Back in the viewers'' area, Beatrice, Talia, and Mathew woke up. Talia''s mouth went agape upon seeing the old man curled up in the ground. This old man was strong to the point that his brother, Mathew, assessed the old man to even be a level 100 or so NPC. Before she could utter a single word, Mathew stood emotionlessly and headed towards the pathway, to meet up with Pedro and Faunia. "Ah! Brother! Wait!" Talia stood and chased after Mathew, "Do~Do you know how did Expert Bro defeat the old man, brother?" "No..." Mathew replied in a cold tone, "When I woke up, the battle was already over. If you wanna know how he did it... Why don''t you ask him personally?" Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.webnovel.com for visiting. "Oh!" Talia stopped for a second before waving her hand towards Pedro. "Expert Bro! Expert Bro!" Talia rushed towards Pedro with excitement. Mathew can''t help but shook his head. He knew his younger sister well. She loved games, especially the part where she can exploit bugs or even abuse it. Thus, upon seeing the results of the ''spar'', She was amazed that Pedro was able to defeat an NPC more than twice his level. "Expert Bro! How did you defeat that old man? I mean... That old man scared the shit out of me and brother after we first met at the meeting earlier." "Hahaha! I''m sorry but... I''d like to keep it as a secret for now." Pedro was happy to see that Talia was interested, but he decided to keep it to himself because once he told it to others... no matter how trustworthy that person was... the information he would reveal would be leaked. "Expert Brother, Don''t mind this little girl! We still have other important matters to attend. The final phase of the recruitment event, approval of applications." Mathew pulled Talia on one of her ears. "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" Talia cried, but Mathew acted as if he didn''t hear anything. "Let''s go, Expert Bro!" Mathew led as they departed the arena. Pedro responded with a simple nod. ~~~~~~~ Back to the viewers'' area, Paul Solares watched the Medical Personnel heal the old man who was in pain. Beatrice remained quiet as mixed emotions filled her deep inside. "What do you think we should do?" Paul broke the silence with a question, that made Beatrice look at him with confusion. "Hmm?" "I mean... That man, the Vice Almirante chose as her apprentice... My guts are telling me to join back at the Karakoa fleet. But doing so... might affect my image and authority on our ship, Felippe." Paul paused for a second and continued, "Senior Kentaro entrusted his ship to me... If I join the fleet again... It would only look like I failed as his apprentice and showed everyone that I''m not strong enough to lead the ship." "You think too much, Captain!" Beatrice sighed, "Joining back the fleet, doesn''t mean that you failed as Senior Kentaro''s apprentice... It doesn''t also mean that you are not strong enough to lead the ship. Don''t you remember what the Vice Almirante always said?" "Ranks does not matter, as long as we can help those who are in need!" They uttered at the same time. Paul went silent, contemplating his final decision. After almost a minute of silence, paul stood and said, "I have decided! We''ll join the fleet once again! Besides... He is still new to the organization. He needs someone to guide him to the ins and outs of the organization." "Hehe... As you wish, Captain!" Beatrice smiled. ~~~~~~~ Aspiring recruits were lined up outside a three-story building. Each second that passes, the line becomes longer and the area starts to become noisier. At the entrance of the building, a sign can be seen with some text written in it. "Recruitment Area!" Pedro and the rest arrived outside the building. "Woah! It looks like we have a lot of work to do!" Pedro smiled. The Karakoa Fleet needed more crew and personnel. The reason why he went to the trouble of attending the event. However, just as he was about to walk towards the building, Mathew stopped him. "Wait, Expert Brother!" "Hmm?" Pedro looked back towards Mathew. Mathew walked towards Pedro and whispered, "Not that building! That one!" Mathew pointed to an adjacent two-story, abandoned-looking, building. "Recruitment Area! (Karakoa Fleet)" Pedro''s smile vanished upon seeing the sign placed near its entrance. 112 The New Karakoa Fleet! After a few minutes of waiting, no one entered their building. Pedro was frustrated but he released all his anger with a sigh and said, "Let''s not waste time anymore. We have no time to be involved with the politics of these NPCs." "What about our crew who went down the ship?" Matthew asked. "Hmm..." Pedro frowned as he rubbed his chin and thought what to do. Without the crew members who went down the ship to spend some time in the BHO HQ, the Karakoa fleet won''t be able to depart from that place. However, despite knowing that someone is stabbing them from the back, he can''t just simply fight back because there is a risk that they might end up being an enemy of the whole organization. Hopeless, he could only come up with one thing as a solution. "Roam around the HQ twice, whilst announcing our departure. I think that it would suffice to notify any aspiring applicants to our fleet and, at the same time, give a signal to our crew members to return to the ship immediately." He glanced at Mathew and Talia, "Mathew, Talia, head out first. Let''s meet at Kingdom Humberlica''s entrance in an hour." "Was this related to the event at the Aquari continent?" Mathew asked. Pedro simply nodded in response. Mathew stood and said, "Let''s go, Talia." Talia simply stood in response. She knew Mathew very well. His calm and decisive manner indicates that either Mathew was holding back his excitement or he was anticipating that something ''big'' to happen. When the two left, Pedro leaned his back to the chair and said, "At least, I got an overall view of the governing structure of this organization." "What are you planning to do next?" Faunia asked. "Plan? I don''t have one." He chuckled, "It''s just that rather than wasting our time with those b@st@rds, I would rather go back to Aquari Continent and kill some monsters." Faunia smiled in response and said, "I can''t wait to have a feast." Pedro laughed, but before he could speak another word, two men with Katana in their waist rushed into their building. It was no other than Yuson and Yojiro. As the two men leaned into their knees and they were trying to catch their breath, Faunia frowned and asked, "Who are you?" The Murderous aura that Faunia exerted made the two men shiver as their attention shifted towards the young girl. Their hands reactively grabbed the handle of their Katana, ready to unsheath it at any moment. Fortunately, Pedro remained calm. He placed his hand towards Faunia''s shoulder and said to her, "Let me handle this." "How may I help you?" Pedro asked them whilst forcing out a smile. Truth be told, Pedro was afraid that Faunia''s initial reaction has scared their ''first'' applicants. Not wanting the two to leave, Pedro approached them himself. "You are~" The two were astounded after they recognize Pedro and Faunia. "Uh..." Yojiro took a few seconds before he was able to respond, "Ye~Yes! We heard the Captain announcing the fleet''s departure. So, we rushed here as fast as we can, hoping that we could still apply and join the fleet." "Join?" Pedro took out two papers from his inventory bag and handed it over to the two. "Of course! Of course! Our Fleet welcomes new crew members. Just sign these contracts and you''ll be part of the Karakoa Fleet!" Filled with disbelief, Yojiro and Yuson slowly took the two contracts and scanned it cautiously. "Is this real?" Yuson asked, "I mean... Is this really the famous Karakoa Fleet? The one headed by the Legendary Vice-Almirante Soledad?" Pedro simply laughed in response. Then, he said in correction, "Formerly headed!" Yuson''s question has somehow made the air inside the registration area a bit awkward. To break it, Yojiro spoke. "So, the rumors were true? That the Karakoa Fleet is on the verge of disbandment?" "Hmm... It seems like that''s the reason why no one applied to our fleet." Pedro said, "Rest assured young ones, Rumors are Rumors. I would personally attest that the Fleet won''t be disbanding, no matter what." At this moment, Pedro wasn''t able to hold his emotions, and a murderous aura leaked from his body. It was strong enough to freeze Yojiro and Yuson in place, at the same time, Strong enough for other BHO members to feel it; those who were both outside the building and those who were in adjacent buildings. The next second, Pedro''s calm face shifted and wore an ''accomodating'' smile. "Anyway. As I said, Rumors are rumors. I would admit that we lack crew members. But... It doesn''t mean that the crew is disbanding." "How can we know that you are saying the truth?" Yuson asked. Pedro simply chuckled and said, "The Truth? Believe what you want to believe. Just remember this one thing... We do not need a crew member who does not believe in its own Fleet." After almost a minute of contemplating, Yojiro bit his lips and used a drop of his blood to sign the contract. Yuson wanted to argue but he was too late and Yojiro has already signed the contract. Hence, he could only make a small cut on the tip of his finger and used a drop of blood to agree to the contract. They gave the contract to Pedro, for him to keep in his inventory bag. Then, he clapped his hands and said, "Great! Now, Let''s go back to the ship! We have an emergency to attend to." "Emergency?" Yojiro asked. "Yes." Pedro smiled as he walked pass-through them, going out of the building. "I wonder which would be stronger, the wolve''s claws or their sword? What do you think Faunia?" "Who cares..." Faunia replied with a cold voice. "Haiz... Don''t ruin the mood." The two ''casually'' talked whilst Yojiro and Yuson followed behind them. However, just a few meters away from their recruitment area, a flame raged towards them. It was only when the flames were a meter away from them that Yojiro and Yuson were able to notice it as they tried to unsheath their Katana and defend. Fortunately, A golden wall made of chains blocked the flames, several inches from them. Pedro stopped into his tracks and said, "Beatrice... Do you really want to sleep?" "You!" Before Beatrice could continue her words, Paul stopped her. At the same time, the chains were sucked back towards the ring of Faunia. As Yojiro and Yuson saw who attacked them, their eyes seemed to pop out of its sockets, rather than retaliate in anger. "Co~Contra Almirante Solares!" Yojiro and Yuson saluted. Paul smiled in return and gestured towards them to be at ease. Then, he returned his attention back to Pedro. "Senior, I have decided to merge back to the Karakoa Fleet," Paul said. "Haaaaa?!" Everyone who was watching them or heard what Paul said couldn''t help but shout in astonishment as their eyes seemed like it was about to pop from its sockets. "Senior?" "Merge back?" "What did he mean by that? Isn''t he the new Contra Almirante? While that man is just a new recruit?" The crowd murmured that somehow made Pedro laugh. "Merge?" Pedro asked, "But we are leaving as soon as possible? Are you fine with it?" "Yes, Senior. I have already decided. If you are thinking about us and the recruitment event, just give me an hour to settle our matters and well follow you." "Alright!" He chuckled, "Then... Could you do me a favor and get me a few recruits too. I''ll leave the selection in your hands. I''m not good at that aspect in the first place." Pedro laughed that was followed by Paul Solares. Then, Paul said, "Of course, Senior! or should I say Contra Almirante Death?" "Senior will do!" Pedro said, "Let''s meet in the Kingdom''s gate in an hour." "Got it, Senior!" Paul smiled, "Let''s go, Beatrice!" Beatrice stared towards Pedro with enmity. With her Captain''s order, she could only flick her tongue in response and follow. When their figures disappeared, Pedro and Faunia started walking again. Pedro noticed Yojiro and Yuson, who remained in place whilst they were still in disbelief. Hence, Pedro said, "Young ones... I won''t wait for you. Better start moving!" They looked at each other for a second, then, they run behind Pedro and Faunia and followed them quietly. After an hour of waiting, everyone met at the gates of Kingdom Humberlica. Contra Almirante Paul Solares and the Felippe Fleet. Mathew and Talia with the Karakoa Fleet crew members. Beatrice, Faunia, Yojiro, and Yuson. And lastly, The new recruits. The New Karakoa Fleet! Seeing that everyone was ready, Pedro said, "Karakoa Fleet! Let''s go!" "Yes, Captain!" Everyone responded loudly, except Paul, Beatrice, and Faunia. Pedro simply smirked in response as he leads the way. Deep inside he thought, ''Aquari Continent! We''re on our way!'' 113 Status of the Continental Quest! On their way back to the ship, Pedro took the time to talk to Paul. "Paul, I want to talk to you about the arrangement of the fleet." "Arrangement?" Paul asked in a confused tone, "I''m totally fine with you being the Captain, Senior." Pedro smiled in response and said, "That''s good to hear from you. But... What I wanted to talk about is the assignment of tasks. Remember that there should be, at least, one of the highest-ranking officers to remain on board the Head Ship Karakoa?" "Yeah." "As of now, there''s only the two of us." He said, "I know that this would be a selfish request but... I would like you to be the one in charge of the ships. I mean... You are definitely more knowledgable than me in terms of control and navigation of the ships." Paul Solares laughed in response and said, "You think too highly of me, Senior. But if you say so, then it would be my honor." Pedro laughed in response and said, "Great! Great! Now, I am at ease that the ships are in good hands." "Rest assured, Senior! I''ll protect what our mentors handed over to us, even with my life!" With Paul''s assurance, Pedro was relieved. Truth be told, Pedro had planned to leave the ship under the command of his friend, Aldo, or Talia. Although he trusts the NPC more than players, both in strength and loyalty, he could establish a more decent control over players through real-life contracts. However, because of the relationship of Paul Solares to their mentors, Pedro was assured that Paul could be reliable and trusted in aspects relating to the ships. At the same time, the hierarchy and respect established by their mentors had given him an almost equivalent control, that he would have had to players, towards Paul Solares. Hence, Other than Paul and Beatrice, Pedro couldn''t think of another NPC that he could trust to command the ships. As for Mathew, He was like a ''General'' to Pedro. If Pedro needed to go to war on land, he needed to be present by his side. As for Faunia, She was like his ''bodyguard'' or a personal Knight whose job was to protect him from harm. Hence, it was only natural for her to be with him most of the time. While Sabrina... She was the hardest person to predict. Pedro wanted to give not only Sabrina but all of his ''groupmates'' freedom to choose whether they want to chill on the ship or not. So, he didn''t consider them playing the game full time and just being stuck managing the ships. Worst comes to worst, He could only rely on Aldo, his closest friend, to ''temporarily'' take that role. Well... Fortunately, Paul and Beatrice have rejoined their Fleet and one of his problems was solved. Before he entered the Combined Bridge and Control Center, CBCR, of the ship, Pedro changed his overcoat from the ''newbie'' overcoat provided for new members to the overcoat that was given to him by Vice Almirante Soledad. Afterward, he went in. "Everything ready?" He asked. Paul Solares nodded in response and said, "Yes, Senior!" "Let''s go!" He said, "Full speed! To Aquari Continent!" Paul nodded and commanded the crew inside the CBCR, "Full speed! South!" "Yes, Commander!" Everyone shouted in response. As they depart, Pedro sat at the ''Captain''s Seat'' and glanced towards the room where Sabrina and Loren were supposed to be ''sleeping''. He can''t help but wonder how the continental event was progressing. So, he checked the quest information through his interface. [Quest: Protect the Aquari Continent! Rating: A-rated Mission: Kill the monsters that start to dominate the Aquari Continent! Each monster killed will have an equivalent point that can be exchanged for items after the event. Your Kill count: 0 Players with the highest monster kill-count would get special rewards. Top 1 player will get a Gold-rated offensive skill. Top 10 players will get random generated Silver-rated skill. Top 100 players will get random generated Bronze-rated Skill. Quest Player Ranking 1. Hey_JoeCorporation [Kill count: 127] 2. Wazzap_JoeCorporation [Kill count: 104] ... Quest Duration: 1 Month, XX Days, XX Hours Quest participation is optional. Once a player killed a monster, the kill count will automatically start.] When he saw the top two players, he frowned and said, "Joe Corporation, huh? Pass a hundred kills? Not bad! No wonder they were the number one guild in the whole world. Just wait for me... That number one spot is mine!" Along their trip back to the Aquari continent, Sabrina and his other groupmates would often go online and tell him about real-life events. Ashley, Elisabeth, and Charlotte would often scold him about the event. They reported that some of their classmates had more than 10 Kills already. His classmate, Lukas, was the leading scorer for their class that had 27 Kills. Whilst the highest score from their University was 43 Kills which was from Victor, who was from the Computer Engineering Department. Pedro chuckled that made the three women, even furious. On the other hand, Sabrina remained calm. Somehow, because of her demonic eyes, she was able to remain calm knowing that there was a significant difference in strength between her and the three girls. "Relax guys!" Aldo said, coldly, "Don''t be lured by the hype caused by the quest. One careless mistake and your account would be deleted. Remember that the school didn''t place any requirement of some sort relating to the quest. It''s better to play safe and achieve our goals first. Which was to level up!" Everyone stood in silence. What Aldo had pointed out was the truth. Because of the hype of wanting to become the number one, Players would tend to become aggressive to the point that they might end up dying. As students, their main priority was to stay alive and keep leveling up. That was the main basis of their grades. Hence, being reminded of the truth, everyone couldn''t help but agree to what Aldo pointed out. But in the next second, Pedro burst into laughter. This made his ''groupmates'' look at him with a frown. "Did I say something wrong?" Aldo asked. "No! No! You were right." Pedro replied whilst calming himself, "But... We can still become number one!" 114 Lets Start the Party! Aldo, Charlotte, Elisabeth, and Ashley started arguing with him in response. They reminded Pedro about their encounter with the mountain wolves in the Aquari Continent. Although Faunia played a big role in clearing monsters during that time, But... on their own, they won''t be able to survive the attacks of the monsters. That is why they were not taking things lightly, unlike Pedro. Their hype regarding the event has been calmed by Aldo. That said, Everyone knew that it is an ideal time to farm monsters and level up. If they farm monsters, they would gain levels while being able to participate in the event. Who knows, they might qualify in any of the rankings and earn rewards. It was hitting two birds with one stone. As for Loren, she just plays the game for school purposes. Of course, she wanted to ''Pass'' their Electronic Survival Sports and Development Subject. But, she treated it like any other ''group activities'' from their school and ''allowed'' others to be their leader and simply do her part in return. On the other hand, Sabrina was confident because of her demonic eyes. Paired with her trust towards Pedro, Of course, she didn''t oppose him and she simply listened to their argument. In the end, Everyone agreed to have a sword training with Talia, Mathew, Yojiro, and Yuson while they were on their way back to the continent. This way, Pedro could build even just a bit of their confidence when fighting monsters. At the same time, they would become familiar with the ''attack patterns'' or tendencies of a sword user. Whether they would stick in being a sword user or not, the experience and knowledge they would gain from the training would be useful. Either they would have a stable foundation in becoming a sword user or they would have an idea of the ''basic'' movements that a sword user would use, in case they encountered a sword user enemy in the future. Yojiro and Yuson taught everyone the basics of wielding swords, except Mathew who already had established his own technique from playing other VR games. Including a few spars, this became their ''routine'' until they arrived at the Aquari Continent. As they approach the land near the Naga Kingdom, a cold breeze swept through the ship. Faunia, who was in the front part of the ship''s deck, stared towards the Aquari Continent as she scouts the area where they would dock. Pedro noticed her so, he went out of the CBCR and approached her. "We are still far from the land, yet the wind reeks of blood!" He said. "There''s a bloodbath, ongoing!" Faunia said, casually. "Humans hunting Monsters?" He asked. "No!" She said, "Monsters hunting humans!" "Were there any signs of humans from the Naga Kingdom?" He asked. "So far, there''s none." She said, "The humans I see were similar to the ones we hunted before." "Oh!" For some reason, Pedro smirked and asked, "Do you want to go ahead first?" "Hmm? You want me to save them?" "No!" He shook his head in response, "I want you to eliminate those humans and collect the loots, especially the bags, once again." "What about their body?" Faunia asked. "Do as you wish!" He said. Faunia simply smirked and nodded. In the next second, She disappeared into thin air. Pedro could only shake his head in response and chuckled as he heads back in the CBCR. ''I need to eliminate them to reduce the competition. After all, the more monsters, the better!'' Soon, their ship halted. Pedro, his group mates, Mathew, and Talia rode a small boat to reach the land. Pedro glanced towards Paul Solares as if saying, ''I''ll leave the ship in your care.''. Paul Solares smiled in response as if reassuring Pedro that he had nothing to worry about. Pedro thought to bring Yojiro and Yuson with them as additional bodyguards, but he decided to let them stay on the ship instead. So that he would be reassured that the fleet would be almost at its full strength and be able to defend against possible attacks at its maximum capability. After all, the next most important thing next to Pedro was the Ships. Although Pedro might not know the actual count, He knew that there were only a few ships as huge as Karakoa, Felippe, and Raphael, that were made in Iron and Silver. That is why Pedro decided to place all his NPC force on the ship. As for their group who would fight the monsters, they have two demonic eyes user and Faunia. On their own, they were already overpowered, even against monsters around level 10 to level 20. Plus, if the players around level 1 to level 5 could defeat a hundred or more monsters, what more Pedro who is around level 30+, Mathew and Talia who was on their level 10+. So, there was no need to bring more NPCs with them. As they got closer and closer to the land, the stink of blood becomes stronger. At this moment, Pedro''s Pen Knife was on standby under his overcoat. Then, he reached out on his inventory bag and took the [The Fallen One''s] Katana. The black Katana has attracted the attention of everyone. Their eyes were glued towards it, thus, Pedro can''t help but chuckle in response. Then, he handed over the sword to Sabrina. "Here''s a little souvenir from the Island that we visited." He said. Of course, Sabrina wanted to accept Pedro''s souvenir, but she hesitated to accept it after noticing the ''barely passable'' weapons of everyone else, even Mathew and Talia. Since she already have the pen-knives, she momentarily thought that it would be better if Pedro would hand the Katana to another person. "Is there a problem?" Pedro asked. "Uhm... No! But... Won''t it be better to give this sword to any of them?" She explained, "I mean... I have the pen knives already." Everyone remained silent. Pedro glanced towards their weapons and laughed. "Of course, I''ve got them some souvenirs too." He said. Believing what Pedro said, Sabrina didn''t argue any further and took the Katana from Pedro. Afterward, Pedro pulled seven [GeKnight Sword] and handed it over to the rest of his team. They expressed their gratitude towards Pedro before they checked the stats of their swords in a hurry. [GeKnight Sword] Rating: Silver-rated weapon Level Requirement: 5 Attributes: Attack Damage: +20 Agility: +10 Strength: +10 Special Effect: [Increase Damage] by 1 for every successful 5 combo attack. (Stacks up to 10 times) 0/10 Additional Damage Additional damage resets if the combo made was reset. [This Sword of a wise Knight.] ~~~~~~~~~~ [The Fallen One''s] Rating: Gold-rated weapon Level Requirement: 20 Attributes: Attack Damage: +200 Agility: +80 Strength: +50 Special Effect: 1) [Fog] - releases a constant amount of reddish smoke for 30 seconds after being pulled from its scabbard. Cooldown: 5 minutes. 2) [Blood Blade] - Every 20 targets killed by this sword, a bright red blood blade would be conjured that can be used for a single attack delivering a 100% True Damage to the target. Can Stack. Blood Blades left: 0 [A katana once used in war and bathed in the blood and lives of many men.] ~~~~~~~~~~ "Wow!" Elisabeth exclaimed. However, Charlotte shook her head in embarrassment towards Elisabeth''s ''amazed'' reaction. Before anyone could speak, Aldo asked Pedro with a straight forward question. "How are we going to use it? I am just level 2! Charlotte, Elisabeth, Loren, and Ashley are even just level 1." "Man, Didn''t I say that it is a souvenir?" Pedro chuckled, "If you want to use it so badly, then you can only do one thing... Level up!" At this moment, their boat docked to the beach. Pedro raised his hand, pointing at their front. Then, his pen-knife launched out of his sleave. Everyone could simply watch his pen-knife pass them. And just a few meters away from their boat, the pen-knife has split a sand skinned snake that was already on air, striking towards them. Everyone could only stare in astonishment from what had just happened. However, Pedro didn''t wait for them to get back into their senses. He hopped down the boat and ''collected'' the dead body of the snake into his inventory bag. Though he was able to keep the dead snake to his inventory bag, the blood it spilled has attracted the attention of all the nearby monsters. Thus, there were tens of monsters charging towards them. "What are you guys waiting for? Let''s start the party!" He grinned as he charged towards the monsters whilst taking out his [Faithpursuer] Katana from his inventory bag. 115 Slow but Steady! Three [Wild Mountain Boar] charges towards him. At the same time, there were four [Sand Skinned Viper] that launched towards him. Out of concern, Sabrina wasn''t able to hold her self to shout at him. "Pedro!" However, Pedro simply responded with a smirk. At this moment, He suddenly stopped charging and established a ''striking'' stance with his left foot in front. Then, He pulled the scabbard of his [Faithpursuer] Katana ''slightly'' backward with his right hand, whilst ''slightly'' twisting his body to the right. Afterward, he pulled the Katana out of its scabbard and swung it with full force. His strike made a beautiful golden arc that, somehow, split the three [Wild Mountain Boar] into half horizontally. Despite the ''awesome'' feeling, he didn''t lose his composure. He swung the Katana back to the right, thus making another golden arc and slicing three [Sand Skinned Viper] into half. The pen-knife pierced through the last [Sand Skinned Viper] as he placed the scabbard of his [Faithpursuer] Katana on his inventory bag. Thus, enabling him to grip its handle with his two hands; his left hand on the top half of the handle, whilst his right hand was on the bottom half. "Come!" He shouted as another batch of [Wild Mountain Boar] charges towards him. A smirk was glued in his face, whilst his body emanated a strong murderous aura, enough to make Mathew take a step back and grip his sword tightly. "This~" Mathew uttered whilst forcing out a smile. Everyone could only watch Pedro eliminate the monsters one by one. It was not because Pedro, alone, was enough to deal with the monsters but because his swordsmanship paired with the golden arc that his Katana made was so beautiful to watch. Soon, After eliminating the last monster in their vicinity, Pedro sheathed back his Katana. Then, instead of placing it back to his inventory bag, he attached the scabbard at his right waist. Ready for him to use any second. While resting, he checked his progress on the event and learned that his kill count was 24. Compared to the top players in the event ranking, there was still a huge difference between his kill count and their kill count. However, Narrowing the 200 Kills gap between him and the top event ranking players would be an easy job. If... If there would be enough monsters for him to kill. After checking his progress on the event, he checked the information about the [Wild Mountain Boar] and the [Sand Skinned Viper]. [Wild Mountain Boar] Rating: Bronze-rated Monster HP: 400 Attributes Attack Damage: 300 Agility: 10 Strength: 15 Vitality: 20 Skills: ~Boar''s Run!~ Effect: Increase Agility by 30% for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 20 seconds. "Run, Little Pig!" ~~~~~~~~~~ [Sand Skinned Viper] Rating: Bronze-rated Monster Attributes Attack Damage: 200 Agility: 20 Skills: ~Sea Snake''s Bite~ Effect: Immobilize target for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 30 seconds. "It won''t ''sting''!" ~~~~~~~~~~ He rubbed his chin after reading the information about the monsters. Then, he mumbled, "Wild Mountain Boars, huh? I wonder what monster is scarier than the Mountain Wolves that was enough to scare these boars to the shores." He stares towards the mountain for a few seconds before shifting his attention back to his ''team''. He sighed and asked himself, "Now... How can they safely level up?" Other than the whistle of the wind and the splash of the water, the shore was filled with an awkward silence as Pedro thinks of a way to help his ''group mates'' to level up safely. They, in return, glanced at him with both amazement and fear; just waiting for Pedro to give them a command. Truth be told, Farming monsters would only be easy with Faunia''s presence. With her being busy clearing the area from other players, Pedro needed to do her role since he was the highest leveled player amongst them. Mathew and Talia would have no trouble farming by themselves because they were already level 10. They could also equip the sword that Pedro gave them. However, they were not strong enough to ''assist'' or carry everyone else, even if they were just against bronze-rated monsters. "It would take a lot of time if I would assist them one by one." Pedro pondered to himself, "But I guess... I have no other choice for now." Hopeless, Pedro decided to take the role of a tank whilst allowing Talia and Mathew to reduce the monsters'' HP. As for his ''groupmates'', they would also help reduce the HP of the monsters. Eventually, one from them would be able to deal with the last hit to the monster. That said, one of them would hold the ''exp'' amulet to speed up their leveling. He planned to prioritize Sabrina and Aldo who were the most agile and better in combat compared to everyone else. The more hitters or damage dealers, the faster they could farm monsters, the more they could kill monsters. He approached everyone and explained his plan to them. He ''initially'' planned to let them farm on their own; thinking that Faunia could help them in case they would be in a dire situation. However, Pedro wasn''t as fast as Faunia. At least, not in his current normal state. He can only opt for the safer method. It would be ''slow'' but... He could ensure everyone''s safety. As for the ''exp'' amulet, he handed it to Sabrina. It was not because she was a Demonic Eyes User too. He chose her because of her ''combat prowess'' that she showed when they ''gave'' her the Demonic Eyes. The way she was able to devise a way to escape Faunia''s control at that time was even craftier and better than what Pedro could have done if he didn''t have the experience and knowledge that he got in his past life. Since then, Pedro had high expectations towards her to the point that he assumed that she could even match Mathew in a one versus one battle. It was not that he was underestimating the abilities of his other ''groupmates''. It was just that he wasn''t still able to see their potentials or strengths. As for Aldo, he had a rough guess on his potential since they were friends. However, he still needs to confirm his ''guess'' by conducting a few tests. They farmed monsters non-stop, even in the night. By the time that the BoF started to rise, Sabrina had already reached level 5. Aldo has reached level 3, while the rest of the group has reached level 2. Since Sabrina and the rest needed to log out of the game, they decided to return to the ships to ''sleep''. Through telepathy, he also asked Faunia to return and have some rest. With that, their first day of ''farming'' has ended. Instead of crafting skills, Pedro was somehow exhausted to the point that he ended up sleeping in his own room. "Ah~ This feeling! How comfortable! Did I really exhaust myself too much today?" He said as his vision slowly faded. 116 A Good News! Seconds after he closed his eyes, He heard a beeping sound that resonated all through the room. For an unknown reason, he started to regain consciousness. His eyes opened and his vision gradually became clear. He was laying in the bed with a ventilator attached to his face. But before he could grasp the situation, his attention was shifted to a familiar woman outside the room. She was on her seat and it seemed like she had fallen asleep. "Mo--" He tried to speak. Unfortunately, his body wasn''t strong enough to even speak. That said, he still tried to lift his hands, but he was only able to move a finger instead. The woman, for some reason, woke up and shook her head; Trying to shake her tiredness. At that moment, she took a glance towards Pedro; seemingly concerned about his condition. It took her a few seconds before she finally realized that Pedro was awake. "P-- Pedro!" She cried. The female doctor, who was busy checking medical information on a computer, ''reactively'' glanced towards her. In turn, his mother glanced towards the doctor; wanting to inform her about Pedro being awake. "D-- Doctor! My son woke up!" She said as she stood and approached the wall of the room that was made of glass. In response, the doctor ran towards her and peeked inside the room. Upon seeing Pedro''s eyes open, she bowed slightly towards Pedro''s mother and said, "Madam, Let me check on your son first. I would let you know if you can come inside." "Please do! Please do!" His mother replied. Without wasting another second, she entered a small room and wore an isolation gown, gloves, shoe cover, and mask. Then, she entered the room where Pedro was confined. She checked a few data from the machines before asking a few things to Pedro. Fortunately, by the time she was asking Pedro, he had regained a bit more strength that was enough for him to move his head and nod slightly. After a few minutes of checking Pedro, the doctor came out of the Intensive Care Unit, VIP Room, and said to Pedro''s mother, "Madam, I am happy to inform you that the patient is doing well. If his condition gets better, he could be transferred to a normal ward in a few days." "That''s great to hear!" His mother said in relief as if the pain and worry in her heart suddenly disappeared. Before she could shed a tear the doctor smiled at her and asked, "Do you want to go in, Madam? Although he cannot speak yet, he can nod in response at the least." His mother simply nodded in response as she started to have teary eyes. The doctor smiled in response. Then, she pointed towards the small room that they need to pass through in order to enter the ICU-VIP room. "This way, Madam!" The doctor said. "Son, Mom''s Here! Everything is going to be alright!" She said. "Uhm--" Pedro forced out a weak cough in response. His mother smiled in response. They spent a few more minutes before they were about to leave. Just when the doctor was about to leave the door after his mother, Pedro made a series of weak ''cries'' in an attempt to call their attention. "Aaaaah--" However, this made the doctor panic instead. She rushed back and checked everything thinking that something wrong happened to Pedro. In the end, she learned that Pedro just wanted to log in back in the game. Pedro thought that he would be bored staying awake because he wasn''t even able to move yet. Unfortunately, the doctor said that she would only log in Pedro to the game after an hour or so. Hopeless, Pedro could only agree in response. When they left, he simply closed his eyes and tried to take a nap. Soon, he falls into sleep. Hours later, he woke up in the game; inside his room in Karakoa Ship. He stared at the ceiling and raised his hands. Then, he tightly closed his fist and thought, ''Don''t worry, mom! I won''t die easily!''. ~~~~Back to the Real World~~~~ Pedro''s mom told the good news to his father and grandma. They rejoiced in happiness. Especially his grandma who strictly had a daily prayer routine for Pedro to wake up and safely recover. No matter how she sees Pedro as a ''failure'' because of playing games, she still regarded him as her dear grandson. After all, the reason why she was angry at Pedro for playing games was that she care for his future. She didn''t want him to have a hard life in his future. Why would she bother scold Pedro and get angry if she didn''t care for him? She''d just needlessly make her condition worst, especially that she was already old. ~~~~Back to the Game~~~~ Pedro remained at his bed, staring at the ceiling and doing nothing. Soon, his ''rest'' was interrupted when someone knocked at his door. "Faunia?" He asked. "Yes. It''s me, human!" She said, calmly. "Here are the bags that you told me to collect." "Oh!" Pedro stood from his bed from excitement and said, "Wait a sec!" The moment he opened the door, a strong smell of blood greeted him. Pedro frowned and covered his nose in response. Faunia remained ''cold'' and simply handed an inventory bag to Pedro. In turn, Pedro was confused as to why Faunia only gave him one inventory bag. "You only got one?" He asked as he took the bag from Faunia. However, the moment he touched the bag, a notification popped out from his interface. [Congratulations! You have obtained One Thousand Inventory Bags!] [Reward: x1 Spacial Inventory Skill (Gold-rated) x1 Inventory Merger Skill (Silver-rated)] [Congratulations! You have gained the title ''Inventory Bag Collector!''!] "This--" Pedro stood like a statue whilst holding the bag. This made Faunia frown; curious of why Pedro stood in astonishment right after he took the bag. "What''s wrong, human?" She asked. "I--It''s Nothing!" He said, "Thanks for your hard work. We''ll go to the Naga Kingdom later. Make sure to clean yourself. We might not get permitted to enter if you stink that much." "Whatever!" Faunia said. Then, she flicked her tongue and murmured as she left Pedro, "I can just eliminate them without anyone noticing." Pedro chose not to scold Faunia despite hearing her complain to herself. When she was gone, Pedro could only shake his head and return back to his room. "Eliminating them was not a bad idea. But... I am Madame Soledad''s apprentice! Not only that I have the ''inherited'' obligation to protect humans, but also to lead them and eliminate the monsters! Besides... Even in the game of chess, there were pieces called pawns." He chuckled. ~~~~NOTICE (Author''s Announcement)~~~~ Hi Everyone, Author Here! Recently, I spotted my novel being posted on other sites without my permission. I just want to inform everyone that the Original Author of this novel is ''RDream'' and I would like to encourage everyone to read at webnovel.com That said, I would greatly appreciate it if these sites would, AT LEAST, update my pen name which was ''RDream''. I know that the spread of the copy on other sites won''t be avoided. But... Please do ensure that the name of the Author was correct or updated because we spend time, effort, and many more just to make these stories. It would be painful for any author to see different names as names to their work, even if it was his/her former pen name. I think that as a sign of respect, at the BARE MINIMUM, the name of the author must be updated or correct. Thanks for your understanding! If you are a reader and like my story, please do read my story in webnovel. It is where I write my novels and where I get to interact with my readers, into which was one of my greatest motivations in writing novels. Link to the original site: https:///book/the-immortal-player_13510347106112805 117 The Dept of Truth! While waiting for everyone else, Pedro used the [Spatial Inventory Skill] and the [Inventory Merger Skill] that he got as a reward. Skill: ~Spatial Inventory Skill~ Rarity: Gold-rated Skill Skill Type: Special Effect: Allows the user to access [Spatial Inventory]! - To store an item to [Spatial Invetory], the user needs to pay 1 gold coin per item. - To retrieve and item from [Spatial Inventory], the user needs to pay 1 gold coin per item. - Maximum Capacity of [Spatial Inventory], 0/10 - Each Item stored has a 100 stacks limit. - The user would drop all items stored in [Spatial Inventory] upon death. [The safest vault in the world!] ~~~~~~~~~ "Here I thought I got the same inventory I had before the patch." He said, disappointed. "Well... I won''t be worried about the other demonic eyes from being stolen." Without a second thought, he placed the demonic eyes into his [Spatial Inventory]. Two of which were from the three demonic eyes that he bought from Mathew. He also stored a hundred stacks of potions and meat in the spatial inventory. At the same time, he also placed one [GeKnight Sword] inside. He stored these three items for ''contingency'' in some emergency cases. Afterward, he checked the [Inventory Merger Skill]. Skill: ~Inventory Merger Skill~ Rarity: Silver-rated Skill Skill Type: Special Effect: Allows the user to link two Inventory Bags. Details of [Linked Inventory Bags] - [Linked Inventory Bags] are Inventory Bags that had ''Shared'' storage and it could be accessed through either of the two Inventory Bags. - [Linked Inventory Bags] are activated only when the two Inventory Bags are within 500 meters spherical radius from each other. - Note: [Linked Inventory Bags] only allows access and transfer of items between two connected Inventory Bags. If they exceed the distance limit, the access to the other Inventory Bag would be lost. [Inventory Merge, Active Effect] Effect: User Connects two Inventory Bags. Limits: 1) Inventory Bags can only be connected once. 2) Restrict the number of [Linked Inventory Bags] that a player can use into one (1) [Linked Inventory Bags] per person. Requirement: 2 Unlinked Inventory Bags Cooldown: 200 days [Sharing is caring?] ~~~~~~~~~~ "Hmm..." Pedro rubbed his chin and pondered for a few seconds. Then, he smirked and said, "What if--" Shaking in excitement, he merged the Inventory Bag that Faunia handed to him to his own Inventory Bag. Just as how it was described in the skill information, he can access the other Inventory bag that only had ''Inventory Bags'' within it. Then, he deposited it, the IB2, into his [Spatial Inventory]. He rubbed his hand and said in excitement, "Let''s see if this would work!" He opened his inventory bag and, for some reason, he could still access the Inventory Bag, IB2, that he stored in his Spatial Inventory. He tried transferring some items in and out of it and he was successful. "A bug?" He asked as he burst into laughter. "Still... I need to be careful! If someone would be able to steal my Inventory Bag, they would also be able to access the Inventory Bag that was stored in my Spatial Inventory!" Despite that huge risk, he gained twice the amount of what a normal inventory had. Though he can do the ''stacked inventory bag'' method, separating it from his main inventory bag made his inventory more organized. The long term or ''still of no use'' items can be stored in the ''stacked inventory bags''. While those items that he would always use could be simply stored in his ''main inventory bag''. After the two skills, he checked the ''Inventory bag Collector'' title. Its effect is simple. It increases all of Pedro''s inventory by 10%, including his spatial inventory. Then, when he had nothing else to do, he roamed around the ship; checking if there is any problem. At some point, he arrived at the battle arena of the ship. There, Beatrice is fighting Yojiro and Yuson. Despite the explosive attacks of Beatrice, their sword arts were able to deflect her sword flame arts. If Beatrice was up against only one of them, she would have won with ease. But because of their ''almost perfect'' coordination, their sword arts combination were able to contend with Beatrice''s sword flame arts. At this moment, Pedro rubbed his chin and frowned, "Sword Arts, huh? Why does it seem like they were simply using skills? My Moon Sword Arts were the fruits of years of practice, but..." He paused as he watches the flames clashed with a series of wind blades. Before he could speak, the sweet voice of a young girl spoke behind him. "Sword Arts? That?" She said in a mocking tone. Pedro frowned in response and glanced towards the source of the voice. When he noticed that it was only Faunia, he can''t help but sigh in response. "You''re really good at astonishing people!" He said. "You''re just too weak to be startled like that." She said, calmly, "If you have been in the Dark Continent, you won''t even last one night." "That''s why I am working my ass off to get stronger!" He complained. "Working hard, huh?" She mumbled, "Just a piece of advice... If you really want to become strong enough to enter the Dark Continent and God''s Continent, strengthen your body first!" "I will." Pedro simply said, in response. He wanted to pry more into the topic but he didn''t do so because he was playing the game for only almost a month, in real-life time. At the same time, He got traumatized by his experience by just following Madame Soledad. That, later on, made him see the true power of a divine entity when they encountered Faunia, the goddess of beasts. Into which no player in his past life was able to even encounter. So, he decided to take things slower and safer. It was also the reason why he decided to leave early from BHO HQ. Yes, He badly needed crew members to manage his ship, but... After learning that there were other members of the organization that was targeting him and his fleet, he can''t help but avoid them instead by leaving the HQ. When he encountered Old man Fuego for the first time, he knew that he was strong as hell compared to the other humans present. Still... In terms of power, Faunia is way stronger than Old man Fuego. That is why Pedro could even destroy the whole BHO HQ if he wanted to. The only reason why he did not destroy the BHO HQ is that they were the strongest force that the human race could offer. They were the leading force in fighting monsters. And in the future, Pedro assumed that they would take the front in fighting against demons, gods, or goddesses that would threaten humanity. On another note, He just learned that the BHO HQ that everyone else thought highly, in the end, was just an eastern branch. With the lack of information with the rest of the BHO HQ, he didn''t want to carelessly attract the attention of an unknown enemy. But, he was not afraid of them. He was just being ''careful''. To change the topic, Pedro asked Faunia with an unusual question instead. "How was the population of monsters in the Naga Kingdom Area?" "Despite killing those d@mb humans, their numbers kept increasing at a faster rate." She said. Pedro smirked in response and said, "Then, it''s about time we take things seriously." ~~~~QUICK AUTHOR''s NOTE~~~~ Hi guys, RDream here! Please be informed that I am publishing my stories at w e b n o v e l . c o m! I encourage everyone to read at w e b n o v el. c o m! It is where I get to interact with my readers which is one of my motivations in writing this novel. To those reading in w e b n o v e l. co m, I want to thank you all for your support, at the same time, I would like to give y''all a heads up. Because of my busy schedule last year, I wasn''t able to incorporate the results of the [reader''s effect] event that I made last year. So, I would be doing a new [reader''s effect] event instead. To the past winners, 1) Vsdare, 2) xVx_K1R1T0_xVx_, 3) Crycks, if you guys are still there, do participate in the remake of the event, and I would automatically count your submissions. Of course, only within the duration of the event. xD If everyone was wondering why I am doing this and would ask "It''s your novel. Why ask readers for something that would take effect in the story?", I can only say this-- I enjoy the story as much as you do. It''s not that I am out of ideas, but... I just think that it would be fun. :D To be honest, there''s some problem with it. But meh, I think it would be worth it. So, I''ll try my best to establish a good [reader''s effect] event. I only hope many would participate. or just even support other participants. That''s all! 118 An Overseer and A Foreseer! "What do you mean?" Faunia asked. She frowned and stared at Pedro. "I planned to start clearing the monsters around the Naga Kingdom. Then, slowly move from there to other parts of the continent." He explained. "But... It would take a lot of time." "Human! You fear that by that time, our force would be overwhelmed by the monsters?" She asked. Pedro glanced at her as if asking ''Did you seriously say that yourself?''. Then, he simply returned his attention back to the fight of Beatrice, Yojiro, and Yuson. "Overwhelmed? Nah... I would benefit from this event, no matter what happens." He chuckled, "But... Humans in this continent might go extinct. Besides... How can I even take a step at the Dark Continent if I can''t even handle monsters in this continent?" "Then... What do you plan to do, human?" Faunia asked. "Feed those ''unusual'' humans to the monster, then farm them." He smirked, "At the same time... Use this event to gain the favor of the Kingdoms and Villages while recruiting people with potential." "Using humans as meat shields? Are you even human?" Faunia mocked with a smile. "Of course, I am!" He said, "But those ''unusual'' ones... I can only see nothing but trouble from their existence." Faunia laughed in response, enough to get the attention of Beatrice, Yojiro, and Yuson. Pedro waved to them as if saying ''Continue your training! Don''t mind us!''. Beatrice gripped her sword tightly and stared towards Pedro; she seemingly wanted to fight him. But before she could provoke him, Yojiro and Yuson launched an attack that forced her to shift her attention back to them. Even Yuson shouted ''You dare take your attention away from your enemy!''. Fortunately, Beatrice was able to dodge and was able to return back the course of the fight into a stalemate. After a few seconds, Pedro broke the silence in the [Battle Arena, Viewer''s Area] and he said, "Based on your response, you haven''t found a potential inheritor of being the [god of Beasts]. Why don''t you just pass it to me?" "You?" She asked. At that moment, she remembered something she was ''asked'' to do. Faunia took a sigh before saying, coldly, "Human, don''t think about it. I would never consider you as the inheritor!" "Oho-- Why is that so?" He asked, "I think I am a good fit to become a god''s inheritor, though. Don''t you think?" "I did not say that you are not fit to become one." She explained. "It''s just that someone already had eyes on you. And... It is someone whom I won''t dare offend." "Eyes on me?" Pedro forced out a smile and had a bad feeling with what he just heard. "Your name is ''Death'' right?" Faunia asked, "If you are the one that elder brother Death asked me to give his regards, then it means that he already had his eyes on you." "The god of Death." She said. "In any case... I don''t want to get on the elder brother''s bad side. So... Whether you are the one he was referring to or not, I won''t dare take the risk and ''steal'' his potential inheritor. That said, I doubt that elder brother Death would even choose a human as his inheritor." "Wait!" Pedro shouted as he stared towards Faunia with a frown. This made Faunia frown in response and ask, "What?" "What do you mean by not choosing humans as inheritors? Are there other races than humans?" "You don''t know?" Faunia asked in response due to her astonishment. "Would I ask if I know?" Pedro said as he calmed his self. Then, he added. "We can talk about this later on. Let''s get ready first before we head back to the land. We''d be gone from the ship for a long time after all." Faunia remained silent in response. Pedro didn''t expect her to respond, after all. Hence, they just quietly watched the battle between Beatrice, Yojiro, and Yuson come to an end. ~~~~~~~~~~ In an unknown place, darkness spans as far as the eyes could see. There were two beings seated in front of a table, playing a game similar to chess. The board was black. At the same time, there were ''wood pieces'' atop of it. On one side is a being whose eyes were white and it is the only thing that could be seen from him. Opposite of him was another being whose eyes were colored yellow; into which his eyes ''barely'' illuminated the board and the ''wood pieces''. (wood pieces are like pieces in chess. But like personally crafted figures.) "I like your older brother better..." The white-eyed being said. The yellow-eyed being laughed in response and said, "Hahaha! Old D... That one, we were not even blood-related. We just happen to have similar-sounding names." The white-eyed being didn''t respond. Instead, he took one of the two ''wood pieces'' on his side of the board. In turn, The yellow-eyed being gazed towards the ''wood piece'' the white-eyed being was holding. "Hahaha! Old D... Don''t you think it is time for us to meet him?" The yellow-eyed being asked. "You sure talk a lot, young Fate." The white-eyed being said, coldly. "Is this related to a demon from the house of envy?" The yellow-eyed being burst into laughter once again. Then, he said, "Hahaha! Old D! How did ya know?" "So... I was right!" Old D, the white-eyed being, said, "How? Did you even need to ask when you know the answer?" "Eeeeh? Nevermind that..." Fate smirked and said, "Hahaha! I am more interested in that ''piece'' you are holding, Old D!" "Ohoh~" Old D chuckled, "Even you, young Fate, was intrigued by my candidate." Fate laughed and said, "Hahaha! I didn''t know that you are planning to retire, old D!" "Stop with your nonsense." Old D retorted, coldly. "Your master already told me of my fate! That aside... Let''s go and meet this young man." "Finally! Finally! Hahahaha!" Fate celebrated as the two of them stood. A portal appeared a few meters away from them that had an opening that was filled with a silvery-black fluid, which was reflecting even the weak light from the two being''s eyes. Then, after they went past through it, the portal vanished leaving the dark place with an eerie silence. ~~~~~~~~~~ In the forest near the Naga Kingdom, a portal appeared. Then, a man around his 50s to 60s walked out with a black cane. He wore a plain black overcoat with a collar that extends up to half of his neck, like a detective. Behind his overcoat was the word "Overseers" written in it, in an unusual font. At the same time, It was paired by his black pants and black gloves. While his white eyes paired with his cane made him resemble a blind but rich person. Following behind him is a young man around his early 20s. He wore the same set of clothing but the word written on the back of his overcoat was "Foreseers", in the same unusual font. Instead of a cane, he had a black and white colored dice as big as a Rubik''s cube. "Hahaha! Old D, I am excited! It''s my first time visiting a human stronghold." Fate said whilst tossing his dice up in the air, like someone who was playing with an apple. "Don''t mess too much with their fate." He said, "It would be troublesome if Destiny and Justice come after us. You don''t want to be exiled, do you?" "Hahaha! Of course! Of course, Old D!" "Then, control yourself!" "Hahaha! I will! I will!" 119 Six, Huh? Thousands of players crowd outside the gates of the Naga Kingdom. Those who were in front are the ones asking the guards to let them in the Kingdom. Unfortunately, the guards remained unmoved and they remained on guard against them. Angered by the guards'' silence, a bald man took out his beginner sword and shouted, "Everyone! If they won''t let us through... Then... Let''s fight our way in! We are thousands, they''re just around a hundred!" In response, the other players took out their beginner''s sword, raised it in the air, and shouted, "Yeah!" The bald man smirked as he glanced back to the guard, "I wonder if this would make you speak?" The guard frowned. Not because of the bald man but because he felt an intense aura that made him froze in place. It was the same for the other guards. On the contrary, since the players only knew a little about the game, including the suppressive feeling caused by the aura of unfathomable beings, they only thought that they ''somehow'' got exhausted for some reason. Before they could do anything, even charge to the guards and force their way into the Kingdom, two men came out from the forest and attracted their attention. "Hahahaha! What''s this Old D?" Fate asked, "Were they the irregular humans that Elder sister Life was referring to?" "It seems like it." Old D said, "Life can''t see through their origin, but... I can see their deaths!" "Hahaha! Are you saying that Elder sister Life would not know if--" Before Fate could continue, Old D interrupted him. "Why do you always need to keep asking me questions that you already knew the answer." Old D frowned, "Just don''t run to me when Destiny goes after you!" "Ai~Ai! Old D, don''t be like that! Hahaha!" Fate said, "I''ll be nice! I''ll be nice! Hahaha!" Old D ignored Fate and simply walked forward. Unfortunately, the crowd has blocked their way towards the gate. Hence, Old D asked the players to make way. "Young ones... Could you let this Old man pass through?" He asked. The players frowned as they looked towards the ''blind'' looking old man. However, the players didn''t show even a hint of pity. Some of them even scolded him. "Old man! We''ve been waiting here since last night! Fall in line will you!" "Yeah! Yeah! Don''t think that because you''re old and blind--we would let you through!" Old D''s forehead knitted. He stood in place and didn''t speak another word. In turn, his silence made Fate smirk. He patted his back and said, "Old man! Old man! Let me handle this! These irregulars needed to know their place! Hahaha!" Fate''s always smiling face changed and became cold. With a hoarse voice, he laughed, "Ho--Ho--Ho--Ho! Let''s see what your fates would be!" He rolled his dice that is as big as the Rubik''s cube. Tak! Tak! Tak! "HAHAHAHA!" He laughed. Then, in the next second, his face becomes serious, and said, "Six, huh? That''s really unfortunate... All of ya fates are sealed! HAHAHAHA!" Fwoosh! After a cold wind went pass through them, their hearts burst in its next beat. All of them shouted because of intense pain. Then, in the next seconds, their bodies fell into the ground, lifeless. The Naga Kingdom guards could only stand in fear, frozen. Their hearts beating anxiously; wishing that the cold wind would keep blowing towards them. To break the eerie silence, Fate burst into laughter and said, "Hahaha! Who would have thought that these rude irregulars would be unlucky!" Then, he glanced towards Old D and asked, "Hahaha! Old D, How many did you harvest? Can I get a simple thanks from ya? Hahahaha!" "Young man... I only saw their end! But... For some reason... I was not able to harvest a single soul!" Old D said, annoyed. "Hahahaha! It seems like you have the same case with Elder sister Life. Hahahaha!" Fate mocked. "Whatever!" Old D surrendered. "Hahahaha! Old D, come on! Don''t be like that!" Fate chuckled as he picked up his dice and followed behind Old D. Fate kept talking but Old D ignored him in response as they went inside the Kingdom. The guards remained frozen in fear as the two went in ''casually'' towards the Kingdom. Only when the figure of the two vanished amongst the busy crowd of the Kingdom''s people did they got back to their senses. The guards didn''t dare to speak a word and simply remained on their post, as if waiting for their shift to end as fast as it could. Of course, the reason was that if they even tried to speak a single word about the two men, they fear that they might die like how the thousands of players did. At this moment, the ground outside the Naga Kingdom''s gates started to get flooded with blood, turning the dry soil into bloody mud. However, despite the stench of blood that gets stronger each second, the attention of the Kingdom''s guards is shifted towards the howls of wolves from the far end of the forest. "Not good!" The guard standing at the gate forced out a smile. Then, he shouted with a trembling voice, "R--Ring the bells! Ring the bells! A--A Monster Wave is coming!" The guard at the bell tower ran as fast as he can, even occasionally stumbling along the way. When he reached the bell, he didn''t think twice and rang it thrice in every interval. Dung! Dung! Dung! Dung! Dung! Dung! Dung! Dung! Dung! The people from the Naga Kingdom stared at the bell tower for the first few seconds. Then, after recognizing the meaning of the signal, their face went pale and everyone started running all over the place, seemingly heading back to their homes as fast as they can. Shops get closed and Full Armored NPCs rushed towards the Kingdom''s gates. Despite the panic, Old D and Fate remained calm as they walk at the main street. "Hahahaha! Old D, why are the humans in panic?" He asked in a mocking tone. "Hahahaha! What are they afraid of?" "Young Fate! They don''t see what I could see nor what you could see! What do you expect?" Old D scolded. "Hahahaha! I didn''t think that the human would be this interesting!" He smirked, "Especially your candidate, Old D." "Is that so?" Old D asked, coldly, "Control yourself this time around!" "Hahahaha! Old D, it''s you who needs to do so! Hahahaha!" Fate retorted. 120 An Unexpected Encounter! Earlier that day, Pedro held a meeting with everyone in the CBCR. He told them his plan to annihilate all the monsters in the areas near the Naga Kingdom. Of course, some raised their objection. But Pedro was firm in his decision and would proceed with his plan no matter what. Hence, everyone could only agree and follow in response. He assigned Paul Solares and Beatrice to remain on the ship and lead the Naval Team. That way, the safety of the ship won''t be jeopardized no matter what happens. At the same time, he ordered them to find the nearest area where the three ships could dock directly to the land. Next, everyone in his group, except Sabrina, needed to farm their levels. So, he assigned Yojiro and Yuson to assist them and farm near the shore. At the same time, they were the ones tasked to guard their boat and were called the Support Team; ready to aid Pedro and his Attack Team in case he needed them. Lastly, Pedro and his Attack Team would head to the Naga Kingdom and meet with the King. Although time was not on his side, He decided to head over to the Naga Kingdom for two main reasons. First, He needed to tell the King not to send soldiers to the forest in order to avoid ''friendly fire''. He is afraid that those NPCs would succumb to the power of his Demonic Eyes, in case they got into its range. Second, He wanted to check ''some'' hidden gems and treasures that may be hidding in the Naga Kingdom. Though he only had around ten golds left, that amount of money is still decent in any kingdoms in the Aquari Continent. The Attack Team is composed of Pedro, Faunia, Mathew, Talia, and Sabrina. They compose the strongest team amongst the three. Soon, the Attack Team and the Support Team arrived at the shore after separating ways with the Naval Team. Before Pedro and his Attack team depart, he gave everyone a few reminders. "I''ll leave everyone''s safety in your hands, Yojiro, Yuson." He said, "Failure is not an option! Unlike your fight with Beatrice, losing would cost everyone''s lives!" "Yes, Contra Almirante!" Yojiro and Yuson shouted in salute. Pedro nodded in satisfaction as he shifted his gaze towards Aldo. "Bro Aldo, I''ll leave the girls in your care." "You can count on me!" Aldo said confidently. Without wasting another second, Pedro simply nodded in response and departed with his team. ~~~~The Attack Team POV~~~~ As they ran towards the Naga Kingdom, Pedro''s pen-knife went ahead together with Faunia. The pen-knife danced magnificently with Faunia as if they were playing tag with the monsters that stood in their way. Faunia tapped the monsters strong enough for Pedro''s Pen-Knife to deliver the killing blow. And as his Pen-Knife went past through them, it sucked the blood out of the dead bodies of the monsters until it is dry. A few minutes later, several hundreds of meters away from the Naga Kingdom''s gates, Faunia abruptly halted on her tracks. Her eyes widened in astonishment and her body trembled out of fear. "Faunia, Why did you stop?" Pedro asked in confusion. Unfortunately, Faunia didn''t respond to him. This made Pedro frown in response and muttered, "I have a bad feeling about this..." Soon, he caught up to Faunia. And at that moment, he felt a murderous aura that is strong enough to make him shiver out of fear. Reactively, his whole body was covered with black scales and was one step away from transforming into his dragon form. Mathew, Talia, and Sabrina are astounded about what happened. At the same time, curiosity runs into their minds as to why Pedro and Faunia halted in their advance. After a few seconds, they were able to catch up to Pedro and Faunia. At that moment, they felt a strong ''force'' making their bodies feel weak and exhausted. This made Sabrina activate her Demonic Eyes instantly whilst taking her pen-knives out. On the other hand, Mathew took a step back and grasped his [GeKnight Sword] while Talia hid behind him with also a sword in her hand. "Is this a Special Field?" Mathew asked. Special Fields are places inside a VR game that had ''extraordinary'' cases like increased gravity and other debuffs. If Pedro didn''t know any information about gods, goddesses, and demons from the world of Bearth Online, he would have thought the same thing with Mathew. But because of the information that he learned from Faunia and his experience when he first met her, He had a hunch that the source of that murderous aura might be a god, goddess, or a demon. An NPC entity that is way scarier than the environment of Bearth Online, itself. "No!" Pedro said, "But it might be something way scarier than a Special Field... A divine entity!" "Divine entity?" Talia asked out of astonishment. "Yes!" Pedro said and explained, "Either a god, a goddess... or a demon!" "A-A-A god?" Mathew asked in a trembling voice. His face went pale as he took another step backward, out of fear. "I-Isn''t it too early for a god to appear in the game?" Pedro burst into laughter after hearing Mathew''s question. Then, he smirked to them and asked, "Too early? You''ve been traveling with one of them for days and you say that it is still too early for them to appear?" Pedro''s words confused the three even further, thus, rendering them speechless. On the other hand, Faunia simply stole a glance towards them as her skin changed into dark green scales. "Stop arguing, humans!" Faunia scolded in a cold manner and said, "Let''s meet Elder Brother Death and his companion. I doubt that Elder Brother would go out of his way to this realm just for a vacation!" 121 Casual Walk! Just when Faunia and Pedro are about to move, a strong wave of magical energy swept past through them; seemingly originating from the Naga Kingdom. It was strong enough to make Mathew, Talia, and Sabrina slid a few inches backward. "What was that?" Pedro asked with a frown on his face. "An energy wave!" Faunia said. Seeing that Pedro was still confused, Faunia sighed and explained, "It''s just a shockwave caused by a sudden release of magical energy, human." Several seconds after the energy wave went through them, the suppressive aura had ''suddenly'' dissipated. This gave Mathew, Talia, and Sabrina a breathing space to process everything that happened. Around them, the trees rustle as the wind swept past through them. However, the fresh and fragrant breeze starts to have a hint of a metallic smell. And as each second pass, the stench becomes stronger making it evident that a ''pool'' of blood was nearby. ''Blood? I have a bad feeling about this!'' Pedro thought as he stared at the forest behind them. After the wind blew past them once more, howls of wolves echoed throughout the forest; shaking the ground and the trees. The birds flew out of the trees. Leaves started to fall while the ground started to shake as if there was an earthquake. "Not good!" Pedro said as he took out his Faithpursuer Katana and hung it on the right side of his waist. Then, he said, "A monster wave is coming!" "Monster wave?" Mathew asked in confusion. They''ve been having a hard time processing the pieces of information. Adding up another one made their minds feel like it was being mixed in a blender. However, Pedro didn''t pay attention to them nor their confusion. A monster wave is on its way, and it was something very familiar to him because of his experiences in his past life. A brutal event that often ends with a loss of more than half of the military forces of a kingdom. There were thousands of monsters charging, and they would devour anything that would stand on their path. But to Pedro, he was not afraid of them. In fact, he felt a bit of excitement thinking that he would be able to farm monsters. That said, he had another factor that he took into account that overshadowed the excitement that he felt. It was no other than the presence of the two gods. He does not know what their intentions were, nor if they are enemies or not. On top of it, he has a duty to protect the NPCs from the Naga Kingdom. He can''t just simply ''sit and watch'' and head towards the Naga Kingdom to seek shelter or protection as it may ''damage'' or ''ruin'' his reputation as the ''Captain'' of a Legendary fleet from BHO. In fact, he should be the one who was supposed to act as their frontline and protect the NPCs. "Human, what''s the plan?" Faunia asked to break the awkward silence. He clenched his fist and was seething in anger. This, in turn, made him ''unconsciously'' activate his Demonic Eyes and consequently making Mathew, Talia, and Sabrina fall into the ground, unconscious. Even if Sabrina''s Demonic Eyes were activated, the level gap between him and Pedro was more than 10. So, the immunity effect of her Demonic Eyes against control and silence skills were not activated because it required her to be, at least, 9 levels lower from Pedro''s current level. "Don''t hold back!" He said as his eyes stole a glance towards the three unconscious people. "First... Bring them back to the shore and inform them about the monster wave. Then, join me and kill these pests!" Faunia smirked in response and used her chains to lift Mathew, Talia, and Sabrina with ease. Then, like an excited child, Faunia ran leaving Pedro behind. On the other hand, Pedro started to ''casually'' walk deeper into the forest; heading north, straight to where the wolves were coming from. The crashing sound of twig and leaves made a perfect interval as orchestrated by his footsteps. At the same time, a tremendous amount of murderous aura leaked out from his body and was paired with his cold gaze. If one was able to survive the effect of his Demonic Eyes, they would be petrified by the amount of pressure exerted by his calm demeanor. His pen-knife rotated around him so fast that it made a circular ring around him like the planet Saturn. It cuts through any bark of a tree as if it was a paper. At the same time, it creates a gust that is strong enough to blow the falling leaves away. "God of Death, huh?" He chuckled, "I''ll meet you soon!" ~~~~Support Team POV~~~~ With Yojiro and Yuson''s lead, the team was able to farm monsters easily. Just when they thought that everything would go smoothly, a strong wave of magical energy made Yojiro and Yuson shiver. This ''momentarily'' distracted them and almost destroyed their ''attack pattern''. However, Aldo and the rest of the group didn''t felt anything. Thus, they assumed that the two NPCs were somehow exhausted already. As the leader of their group, Aldo approached the two NPCs out of concern. "Sire Yojiro, Sire Yuson, we can take a break if you want," he said. "Break?" Yojiro asked. They are confused by Aldo''s question and only after a few seconds did Yojiro understood what Aldo meant. Hence, he rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "Forgive me for my rudeness." Yojiro said as he calmed himself down, "Perhaps... You are thinking that we are exhausted?" "Yes-" Aldo nodded in response. But before he could speak another word, Yojiro interrupted him. "We are not," Yojiro said and smiled. "But-" "If you are thinking about why we responded late earlier, then it has nothing to do with our endurance," Yojiro said, reassuring Aldo of his worries. However, the cry of wolves erupted to their North East before they could continue their conversation. Their howls echoed out to the shore as birds flew out of the trees. Yojiro and Yuson gripped their Katanas whilst their faces were filled with frowns. They stare towards the forest that was the origin of the noise and the shaking of the ground. "Something is wrong!" Yojiro said. 122 The Attack Teams Arrival! "Something is wrong?" Aldo asked in confusion. Charlotte, Elisabeth, and Ashley glanced towards them awaiting their command. However, Yojiro didn''t respond to them and watched the forest to evaluate the situation. When Yojiro noticed that the noise kept growing louder, he ordered everyone to ride the boat and evacuate as fast as they can. "Quick! Quick!" Yojiro said in a panic. "Ride the boat! Ride the boat!" But before everyone could even move an inch, a seemingly infinite number of monsters rushed out of the forest. The majority of the monsters are wolves, whilst there were tens of orcs and other monsters. Aldo and the three girls could just stare out of fear. Only after a few seconds were they able to get back to themselves and ran towards the boat at their fastest. Yojiro and Yuson followed behind them and were ready to defend them from the monsters while they were riding the boat. The monsters howled out of frenzy as they charged towards the support team. Their eyes shined bright red and the monsters emanated a faint dark aura. Paired with their drooling mouths, they were akin to the ''maniac'' version of their normal form. Seeing the monsters in a frenzy, everyone felt that those several seconds that pass as they board the boat seemed like it was the longest seconds of their life. They felt like a human survivor in an apocalyptic story where thousands of hungry zombies are going after them. As the first line of monsters pounced towards Yojiro and Yuson, they exhaled as they wait for the right second for them to strike. However, before they could draw their sword, a golden chain ''suddenly'' pierced through the monsters making them look like a pork skewer. They can''t help but stare in astonishment and awe towards the monsters and the gold chain that pierced through them. It was only when the golden chain ''suddenly'' disappeared, that their attention was shifted towards the next batch of monsters that already pounced towards them. Because their attention was shifted to the golden chain, they weren''t able to prepare for the next batch of monsters and were meters away from being bitten by the wolves. Fortunately, a girl with blood-red eyes appeared in front of them and stabbed her knives ''very accurately'' to the eyes of the wolves, thus killing them instantly, in the air. At the same time, for some reason, the monsters she stabbed became dry instantly. The girl didn''t wait for the wolves to fall. She drew her knives back and stabbed to her next targets. Yojiro and Yuson could only watch in awe as the girl killed more monsters compared to how many heartbeats they had each second. It was only after they got a glimpse of the face of the girl did they realized that it was no other than Sabrina. It was the same for Aldo and the rest. However, Sabrina didn''t pay any attention to them and continued her onslaught. He was able to recreate Pedro''s sword style on his own version. Compared to Pedro''s ''perfect'' stance allowing him to strike at full force and being able to halt at any point in the swing, Mathew''s version depended more on the number of swings. Although it was weaker in terms of the initial force exerted, the velocity retained by swiftly swinging the sword had compensated the lack of initial force making Mathew''s strikes to be able to kill monsters in one swing too. Behind him was no other than Talia who was cleaning up the monsters that are able to go pass through him. She used the Wiggly Sword Technique to kill monsters easily. The support team had their jaws drop as they watched them slaughter the monsters and slowly push the monsters back to the forest. However, before they could start to drool, they hear a familiar voice spoke beside them. "What are you staring at? Help them!" Faunia scolded. "Ah!" Yojiro and Yuson jumped into astonishment as they saw Faunia standing right beside them, who was fully covered with dark green scales except for her face. Before they could speak another word, Faunia glance at a group of monsters and raised her right arm. Then, a golden chain continuously shot out of her ring and pierced through the monsters like a pork skewer. The chain continued piercing monster after monster and extended as if there was no end to it. Whilst the chain was busy ''weaving'' its way through its targets, Faunia glanced to the support team and said, "What are you waiting for? the Divine day Celebration?" Divine day Celebration is the Christmas day Celebration alternative in Bearth Online. It was a special day for humans to celebrate the ''blessings'' that the various gods and goddesses had bestowed upon to humans and other living beings. "N-No!" Yojiro said, whilst gripping his katana as tight as he can. Then, he stared towards the monsters filled with murderous intent. "Everyone, Let''s go! We can''t lose to them, nor lose face towards Captain!" He dashed towards the monsters that were behind the monsters that Sabrina has just stabbed with her knives. "Hilagang Amihan, Wide Wind Blades! Five Hundred WS!" Yojiro shouted as he swung his katana. The monsters were cut into half. On top of that, a wind blade was launched that widens its arc as it goes even further. The monsters, and even trees, that it hits were split into two. However, Just when Yojiro landed after making a strike, Sabrina gazed at him overflowing with murderous intent. "Don''t get in my way and steal my targets!" She said as she twisted and pulled the knife out of the wolf''s eye sockets. Yojiro could only force out a smile and said "Sorry about that!" However, deep inside he thought, ''How scary... Is she enjoying killing monsters?'' 123 The Start of Advance! Faunia approached them and said, "I am done here! Now... Time to help that troublesome human." Sabrina knew who Faunia referred to as the ''troublesome human'', hence she glanced towards Faunia as if she wanted to peel out her skin or shred her into pieces. Of course, Faunia sensed her ''overflowing murderous intent'' and returned a glance to her. "You are too brave, human!" She said, "But... Know your limits! Don''t think that you''d be able to go against me because you have those wrathful eyes! I''ll let it go since you are important to him. But be warned, I won''t show mercy the next time." For some reason, everyone, except Sabrina, shivered in fear as Faunia disappeared into thin air. At the same time, their momentary ''rest'' ended as a new wave of monsters exited the forest. Sabrina gripped her knives tighter, enraged by Faunia''s words, as she charged ahead making Yojiro flick his tongue in response. "Yuson, I''ll leave the support team to you. Collect the dead bodies of the monsters and clean up the rest of the monsters." "What about you brother?" Yuson asked, hesitant to let Yojiro fight alone. "I''ll help them!" Yojiro said as he patted Yuson''s shoulder, "Don''t worry! It''s not like we would be fighting continuously for a week." "A-Alright!" Yuson said, despite being hesitant. Each second was crucial. So, he didn''t argue any further. "Be careful brother! You can leave them to me!" Yojiro patted his shoulder one more before he went after Sabrina. With Sabrina, Yojiro, Mathew, and Talia as the attackers, they were able to slowly push back the monsters back to the forest. On the other hand, Yuson led the rest of the support team in cleaning up the shore. The stench of the blood that filled the shore almost made them vomit. It was not because they were disgusted by the dead bodies but because the air they breathe had already smelled of blood. Thus, making it hard for them to breathe and was still adjusting to the ''unusual'' and ''sudden'' circumstance. Soon, they were able to adjust as Aldo and Yojiro handle the leftover monsters while the girls pick up the dead bodies. Truth be told, if Sabrina was not ''dead'' focused on hunting monsters she could have drained all the blood in the shore with her pen-knives. That said, It was still best for Sabrina to be in that state. With her killing efficiency, it became easier for everyone to push the monsters back to where they came from. ~~~~Pedro''s PoV~~~~ After walking for a few minutes, he was able to meet the first wave of monsters. But... When the monsters entered the one hundred meter radius of his ~Emperor''s Aura~, they would instantly lose their consciousness and crash everywhere due to the momentum of their charge. At the same time, he increased the orbit of his pen-knife. Thus, killing the ''unconscious'' monsters and sucking their blood dry. Be it monster waves, Guild Wars, Kingdom Wars, or any other mass battle event, extreme concentration was required because at any moment anyone could get killed. There is a lot of uncertainty and danger lurking in the world of Bearth Online. This was further proven to be real in front of Pedro as he learns about the Demonic Eyes, the gods'' Continent, the Dark Continent, and the BHO. Thus, it should only be a norm for him to be this concentrated for even days of combat. Even if he was the current strongest player in Bearth Online, he can''t ''chill'' and relax because everything could be lost in a split second. The game has just started for a few weeks or so and he is yet to be recognized as the strongest player. So, he cannot be arrogant and take the risks. On top of that, being the strongest doesn''t mean that he''d stop advancing and increase his strength. The glory, the power, the fame, the feeling of being looked upon... being idolized... being praised for his talent... Those are just a few reasons why players aim to be number one. Every gamer''s dream that only a few could achieve. As for the Continental Quest, his kill count started to rise like a rocket. Now, he went past two hundred kill counts and he has no sign of stopping. Behind him in the rankings was surprisingly Mathew. Compared to Sabrina, Mathew can kill more than two monsters at a single strike. Thus, he was behind Pedro despite a huge gap that''s increasing further. Of course, despite being able to attack two monsters at an instance, Sabrina''s movements were perfectly calculated. Thus, her efficiency gave her a constant growth at her kill count. Although she is still yet to surpass the former number one rank in the event, her kill counts increased at a constant rate, and soon she''d follow behind Pedro and Mathew. As for Talia, she is just cleaning up monsters who went past Sabrina and Mathew. Thus, it would take her a little bit longer to enter the top rank. Add up the factor that Yojiro was also helping her. It was only expected that her rank wouldn''t be like the monster trio. That said, she still makes good progress. ~~~~Other Players PoV~~~~ Unknown to him and his forces, the players all over the world erupted as Pedro and Mathew took the first two ranks while Sabrina was at the fourth. On top of that, Pedro and Mathew''s kill count rose non-stop that aroused the suspicion of other players towards them. The majority of them even started to report them for hacking. "Where are the GMs? Someone is cheating in broad daylight and they dare overlook this!" "Yeah!" "Yeah!" "Punish the cheaters!" "Cheaters!" Unfortunately, no matter how much they complain, the Game Masters and the Game Developer remained silent about it. Their ''auto-reply'' bots simply replied that the game management was ''looking'' into the issue. Thus, making the players angrier. ~~~~~~~~~ That said, not all players paid that much attention to the event rankings. Somewhere in the North of the Aquari Continent, a woman with a dark wooden bow sat on a branch of the highest tree. That gave her an overall view of the forest around her, spanning as far as the eyes could see. Her hunt for monsters was halted when a man appeared beside her out of nowhere. The man''s face is fully covered and resembled an assassin or a ninja. He kneeled towards the lady in respect, and said, "Guild Leader, you are now at the seventh place!" The lady frowned as she glanced towards the man and asked, "Seventh? Stop saying nonsense! My Kill Count is already around one hundred and forty!" "I am saying the truth, Guild Master! Please check the rankings for yourself." The man said. Although the lady emanated a ''scary'' aura, the man was able to hold his composure and didn''t show any hint of fear as if he was ready to offer his own life to the lady no matter what. "There''s no need!" The lady surrendered, "Just pick up the pace! Lure more monsters! If needed, ask Arco to hire more baits!" "Yes, Guild Leader Meen!" The man bowed one last time before he vanished. After that, a player shouting out of fear is rushing towards Guild Leader Meen''s direction. She simply pulled the strings of her ancient-looking bow and an arrow, seemingly made of light, materialized out of nowhere. "Complaining would just be a waste of time!" She said as she released the arrow. In the next second, a light pierced through the middle of the forehead of the wolf; instantly killing it. "Besides... I doubt that those d@mb b@st@rds would stay quiet. I''ll just leave it to them." She chuckled, seemingly happy of the accurate hit that she made. 124 And this was Supposed to be a Game? Somewhere in the West of the Aquari Continent, the cold wind whistles as it breeze through the bloody plains. Thousands of dead monsters and players lay everywhere as their blood made the soil muddy. Sat on top of a corpse of a giant orc, that lay the highest, was a man seemingly in his late 20s. His arms rested on top of his knees while his sword rested on his shoulder to the orc''s belly; where he was seated. His eyes surveyed their surroundings and gasped as if he was smoking a cigarette. Paired with his a thick and sinister mustache, he resembled a leader of a winning military force of war during the early 1900s. "And this was supposed to be a game?" He asked himself as he took another breath. Before he could speak another word, a good looking man walked through the mud of blood without complaint and asked, "Guild Leader Wan! The scouts reported to me that these were the last batch of monsters from the Eastern Forest!" "There''s none?" He asked as his face frowned. Then, he glanced towards the forest towards the east and said, "That''s odd... Shouldn''t they be attracted to the smell of blood?" "They should be, guild leader!" "Fhaco, tell Ronaldo and Hoben to investigate what is happening. Ask those students and the scouts to join them." He ordered. "Guild Leader... Won''t it be ideal to send the ''pawns'' instead?" Fhaco asked. "The Students?" Guild Leader Wan frowned as he glanced towards Fhaco as if he was about to scold him. However, Guild Leader Wan took a deep breath instead and said, "Don''t call them pawns... They might seem weak but some of them were actually capable." Guild Leader Wan paused as he glanced at some players who were gathered in a spot and formed groups of five. Then, he said, "Besides... I am deeply interested in what is happening in the east! I heard that those b@st@rds are creating a ruckus." "Are you planning to take revenge, guild leader? We''re roughly around a few hundreds left after this battle. How are we even going to match their hundred thousand men?" "Who knows, Fhaco?!" Guild Leader Wan burst into laughter, then he said in a fearsome tone, "But it doesn''t mean that we can''t defeat them!" Guild Leader Wan smirked as his eyes stared towards the east, filled hatred and an extreme desire to take revenge. This, in turn, sent shivers down Fhaco''s spine, making him salute towards Guild Leader Wan with his palm facing upwards instead of downwards. "Salute!" Fhaco said. Guild Leader Wan returned his salute and murmured, "Those b@st@rds... Just they wait! Kicking Filipino Players from the Asian Players Organization just because of a single energy company? We''ll show you how terrifying we could be!" ~~~~~~~~~~ "Gravitation!" One of the three men shouted, consequently pinning all the monsters around them into the ground. Their bodies seemed like it was being crushed by a giant boulder, disabling them to lift their bodies no matter what. Soon, the intensity of the pressure above them became stronger, enough to burst some parts of their body and crush or break some of their bones. At this moment, the man flicked his tongue and grumbled, "Those b@st@rds! Just they wait! They have underestimated us too much!" "Relax, Brother Arvedar!" One of the medium-haired guys said, who had a hair that laid in front of his face enough to cover his left eye. "You got the Gragan Inheritance, while Lony and I have a special eyeball. All we need to do is level up and join our fellow Filipino Players... And we can pay them back with their sh1ts!" "Aish- Roval! Help me turn these monsters into stones, will ya?" Lony, the other medium-haired guy with a gray right eye, scolded as he glanced at a wolf that slowly turned into a rock. Consequently, it broke and crumbled into pieces because of the pressure caused by the skill of the man named Arvedar. Roval flicked his tongue in response as he lifted his hair that was covering his left eye, and revealed the same gray eye with Lony''s. He glanced towards another wolf that was held in place and turned it into stone. Lony and Roval didn''t need to focus their ''special'' eyes towards their target. They could simply glance at them and their targets would slowly turn into stone. At the same time, for some reason, it would only work to the ''targets'' that they ''intended'' to turn into stone. Thus, even if they were able to glance at other things or even at Arvedar, nothing would turn into stone unless they ''wanted'' it to be. The only backdrop of their seemingly overpowered skills is that it takes time to turn something into stone. It was not instantaneous. Lony and Roval didn''t even know the information about their eyes nor how to ''properly'' use them. It''s just that they use it based on the results of their ''trial and error'' tests. The same could be said for the man named Arvedar. He could somehow ''increase'' the gravity around him, thus, pulling ''specific'' targets down to the ground. He can increase the pressure ''as he wanted to'', but he doesn''t know the exact specifics of it. That said, they knew that the skills they had should be classified amongst the overpowered ones. "Stop arguing!" Arvedar scolded as his forehead weaves a few lines. Then, he said, "Let''s focus leveling up and kill as many monsters as we can!" Lony and Roval''s faces went pale as their bodies felt a tad bit heavier and their feet sank a few centimeters into the ground. They forced out a smile and said, "Yes, brother!" 125 Continental Quest Issues: The Game Makers Views! ~~~~Outside the game~~~~ Inside a meeting room somewhere in China, five people anxiously waited inside. Their sight was fixated towards the table and didn''t dare gaze to each other. Unfortunately, in the next second, the atmosphere in the room becomes tenser as the door opened and a man entered the room. They stood, reactively, as they bowed towards the man out of respect. The man was on his fifties, with several scars on his right cheek. It was paired with his white hair and brown eyes; that surveyed around the room. Then, he straightened his suit and sat to a chair located at the far end of the table. "Everyone! Have a seat." He said. They bowed towards him once more before they sat to their chairs. At this moment, their hearts started to beat faster each second. However, the man didn''t waste another second and asked, "What''s happening in the Asian Region?" Like children that were being scolded, four of the five people stared towards a man who''s wearing a simple company shirt and jeans. The identification card that hangs by that man''s neck and rests by his chest had vibrated along with the hastened beat of his heart. As the sweat in his face was about to drop, he took a gulp and said, "Chairman, I am sorry! The production of the VR Boxes in the Asian Region has been slow. Although the Armaz Energy Corporation is increasing its production rate of the Power Supply of the VR boxes beyond its current capabilities, the other Asian Energy Companies are using this issue to pressure them to share the rights of supplying that component to the Yang Developer." The man bowed afterward while the Chairman rubbed his chin as if he was in deep thought. After a few seconds of silence, the Chairman said confidently, "Tell the suppliers to focus on the production of the power supply or the VR Boxes. We are not in a rush to sell out the game." "Yes, Chairman!" the man said as he bowed towards the chairman. But before he could return to his seat, the Chairman asked a follow-up question. "Is this the reason why players from the Philippines are being harassed in the game?" The man froze for a few seconds as he tried to ''formulate'' an answer that would not trigger or anger the Chairman. "Y-Yes, Chairman! I think it is somehow related to that!" the man said, mustering up the last ounce of courage in him. Seeing the Chairman silent made the man anxious, hence, he said, "Sh-should we do something about it, Chairman?" Consequently, the Chairman glanced towards the man with a frown; making the man force out a smile in response and thought, ''My career is now over!'' Contrary to what the man assumed, the Chairman sighed and said, "There''s no need for us to interfere. We are only responsible for overlooking the game. Nothing more, nothing less." "Moving forward. Could someone tell me the details about this cheater issue?" the Chairman asked. Unlike earlier, a woman stood and bowed towards the chairman in a calm manner. "Chairman, there were suspiscious players reported that had suddenly taken over the continental quest rankings in just a matter of several minutes. Upon observing it, personally, I think that they are cheaters and would like to request for your approval to ban the said players." At that moment, the Chairman grasped his fist tightly and slammed it into the table, strong enough to make a dent in it. Everyone was astonished. Even the woman who spoke can''t help but jump lightly and took a step back. "So, you are saying that there are hacks in Bearth Online?" He shouted to the woman on top of his lungs. The woman suddenly went pale and could only look down in silence. "I-I''m sorr-" She tried to ask for an appology but the chairman was consumed by his rage and interrupted her with a question. "Tell me! Do you believe that there are hacks in Bearth Online?!" "Y-Yes!" She said, stuttering. "Does all of you have the same thoughts with her?" He asked the other four, in a scary tone. However, they all remained silent in response; not wanting to trigger the anger of the chairman any further. Hence, the chairman stood and said, "Listen! All of you! There are no cheats nor hacks in Bearth Online! Not now! Never!" Then, He paused for a second and continued, "Remember this! The very concept of cheats or hacks are non-existent in that world! There''s only pure power and glory!" Out of rage, the chairman was about to leave the meeting room. Before he left, he said, "That cheat issue is just an excuse made by the weak and failures! And I just learned that there were some amongst you!" With a loud bang, the door was shut and the chairman had left. The woman who reported about the cheater issue could only went into her knees and cry; seemingly knowing that her carreer is over. The other four people could only pat her back and say consoling words towards her. Outside, the chairman returned to his office. Even his secretary didn''t dare to speak much when she met him. It was as if she knew that her boss was angry or in a bad mood. Thus, the chairman was left alone in his office after he dismissed his secretary. "Cheat, huh?" The chairman puffed out smoke as he glanced towards the continental quest rankings. Then, he continued, "If those incompitent Leads only knew the reality and harshness of the game..." 126 Issues Resolved: Armaz Energy Corporation! Several hours later, in a meeting room at the Armaz Energy Corporation Office at Manila, Philippines, Mr. Jon Armaz and the rest of the board members of the Armaz Energy Corporation are having an argument regarding the pressure they were facing from the other Energy Corporations and Companies. "We should start to ''outsource'' the production of the energy crystals to other companies!" One of the board members said. That was the voice of the minority of the board members. However, the majority of them think otherwise. "Outsource?" A woman stood and asked as her young look was distorted by her frown. Then, she pointed towards the man who suggested outsourcing the energy crystals and scolded, "We don''t need to outsource anything! The company is heading in the right direction!" "Director Miriam is right!" A man seating beside her interjected as he slammed the table lightly. Then, he said, "Soon, we would be able to supply enough energy crystals to cater to the demand of the country! Why do we need to outsource it to other corporations?! It''s like giving them our future profits!" "You!" The man, who suggested outsourcing the production of the energy crystals, stood and pointed towards the man beside Director Miriam. Then, he clenched his fist and said, "Director Wedel! We are only able to supply around a hundred thousand units so far. Half of which is for the Philippine market!" He tapped the table for a few times before he pointed back to Director Wedel and asked, "What about the other Asian countries? It is clear that we would not be able to meet even the demands anytime soon!" Then, he glanced to Mr. Jon Armaz with a seemingly forced smile on his face and asked, "What if the Yang Developer decided to retract their contract with us and find another energy crystal supplier for their VR Box for the Asian Region market? Won''t we suffer a bigger loss?" Director Wedel and Director Miriam are about to answer but Mr. Jon Armaz halted them as he raised his hand. Everyone went silent out of respect as they shift their focus towards the still calm President of the Corporation. "Leon, you have a point." Mr. Jon Armaz said, consequently making Director Wedel and Director Miriam to look at him with a questioning expresion. However, he simply raised his hand towards them and nodded as if saying ''Let me take care of this''. Then, he glanced back to Director Leon and said, "Unfortunately... It is too early for us to tell whether we needed to outsource to other companies or not!" "But-" Leon was about to complain, but Mr. Jon Armaz interrupted him and explained, "We have already acquired several factories in China with the help of Yang Developer." "This-" Director Leon took a step back from astonishment. But before anyone could spoke, Mr. Jon Armaz continued. Director Miriam, Director Wedel, and even Director Leon waved towards him as they rashed towards Mr. Jon Armaz, seemingly wanting him to retract his apology. "No-No-No! President Armaz! There''s no need for you to apologize! If you think that it would be the best move for the corporation, there''s no need to ask for our approval!" Director Wedel said. "Wedel is right, President Armaz!" Director Leon suprisingly said, despite his objection earlier. Then, he asked, "If I may ask... What is the estimated production capacity of the newly acquired factories?" Mr. Jon Armaz lifted his head, smirked, and said, "Around two hundred thousand a day!" Everyone gasped in astonishment. But before they could speak another word, Mr. Jon Armaz said another news. "Other than that, I have recieved a mail from the Palace saying that they were contacted by the government of India and several Middle East countries telling them that they were willing to lend some factories to us inorder to hasten the production of the energy crystals." Mr. Jon paused for a second as he glanced around to the board members. Then, he asked, "That said, I need someone to manage the oversees operation of our corporation." He glanced towards Director Miriam and said, "I think Miriam would be the best choice though." "M-Me?" Director Miriam asked out of astonishment. "No, Wedel." Mr. Jon said as he shook his head. Everyone could only stare towards him in confusion. After a few seconds, he burst into laughter and said, "Of course, it''s you. Is there another Miriam in this room?" "N-No." She said. In the end, no one opposed Mr. Jon''s suggestion, and Director Miriam was task to lead the overseas expansion of Armaz Energy Corporation. Consequently, Mr. Jon''s secretary entered the room and informed him that the Bearth Online Game Developers had sent them a message telling them to focus on the production of the energy crystals (power supply of VR Boxes) and ignore the pressure of their competitors. When Mr. Jon Armaz told it to everyone else, they simply burst into laughter. Thus, ending the meeting with a smile on everyone''s face. Would they dare betray the Armaz Energy Corporation? Unlikely! As they gain favorability and connection with governments from multiple Asian Countries, their company would only soon be second to both the Bearth Online Game Developers and the Yang Developer. They didn''t need to do something that would hinder them from standing along with everyone else in the pedestal of success. 127 The Gore Forest! Oblivious to the issues, Pedro ''casually'' walked closer and closer towards the origin of the monsters. He ensured that nothing would get pass through him by maintaining his slow but frighteningly steady pace whilst gathering the bodies of the dead monsters. Due to his heightened senses, he noticed the footsteps of the monsters that are hundreds of meters away from him. Unfortunately, the effective area of the [Emperor''s Will] skill from his Demonic eyes is only limited within a hundred-meter radius from him. Those monsters who didn''t get into his skill''s range wouldn''t be stopped and is headed straight towards the Naga Kingdom. The thought of not being able to stop all the monsters made him sigh and said, "There''s a limit to what I could do." He clenched his fist as more lines weaved through his forehead; seemingly angered by the possibility that the Naga Kingdom would fall. If the Naga Kingdom falls, he would lose the foothold he decided to establish. Fortunately, in the next moment, a strong wind went past him, from his right, and the noise beyond the area of effect of the [Emperor''s Will] disappeared. "Are you forgetting about me, human?" A cute voice of a little girl mocked him from behind. "Of course not." He said, smirking. Then, he tossed an inventory bag towards Faunia and said, "Clean up the monsters!" "Why don''t we find the head of these pests and kill it instead?" She asked. "Head?" He chuckled towards her before he continued, "All of these monsters would scramble everywhere if we kill their leader. They would ravage Villages and even Kingdoms! At that point... It would be harder for us to eliminate every single monster!" "You just want to kill as many monsters as you can, human!" Faunia murmured and smirked as her figure vanished into thin air. On the other hand, Pedro ignored her and simply continued his ''casual'' walk. ~~~~Attack Team PoV~~~~ As they go deeper into the forest, Sabrina has started to slowdown her onslaught. She stab her pen knives to the eyes of the pouncing wolves, perfectly acurate; instantly killing the monsters. Then, with her ''time-slowed'' vission, she glanced around and found her next targets that were tens of meters away from her. "What''s happening?" she murmured as she noticed that something was odd. That said, she still charged to her targets, which pounced towards her in response. After eliminating those monsters, she ''somehow'' did not spot any monsters around her. She still kept her defenses up and her alertness to its maximum because there might just be an ambush awaiting for them. After a few minutes of cautiously walking forward, Sabrina was at loss for words after seeing the forest of blood. Monsters were were squashed. Their bodies were splattered everywhere as the soil becomes a sticky mud made of blood. At this moment, Mathew, Talia, and Yojiro arrived behind Sabrina with their hands covering their face. When Talia saw the gore state of the forest, she can''t help but force herself not to vomit. Unlike when they kill monsters, Every single part of the monsters were scattered anywhere in the forest. Eye balls hanging on tree branches like a fruit while intestines were scattered in the ground and could be mistaken for worms. "Talia, are you okay?" Mathew asked in a worried tone. Talia took a gulp and gasped several times before saying, "Yes, brother. I am fine!" Before they could rest any further, a new wave of monsters appeared to their north. Everyone glanced towards the monster''s direction as if they complaining when the monster attacks would end, except Sabrina. Sabrina didn''t gave them a chance to speak another word, and dashed forward like a kid who saw a candy store. Hopeless, Yojiro could only sigh and shook his head as he rushed after Sabrina. Mathew, on the other hand, made sure that Talia was fine. That said, they started to follow behind them in a slower pace because of Talia slowly adopting to the gore environment. When they caught up, Mathew switched with Yojiro as the front attacker. His attacks were multi-targeted while Yojiro''s attacks were specialized in single targets. That is why it was ideal for Mathew to take the front with Sabrina, whilst Yojiro and Talia supports them and cleans up the monsters that were able to go pass through the two front attackers. ~~~~Support Team PoV~~~~ As the Attacker Team pokes into the forest, Yuson and Aldo lead the support team as they held the dock and defend their boat from the few monsters that were able to escape out of the forest. Since the amount of monsters apearing were not that much compared to what Pedro, Faunia, and the attacker team were facing, they were also able to boost the three girls and level them up slowly. Although their fights were not as intense as the attacker team, it was only enough for them to slowly familiarize themselves with the ''safe'' combat methods in fighting the monsters. At the same time, it gives Aldo a chance to test out some ''theories and concepts'' that he have based from his experience in playing non VR Games. That said, Ashley closely followed behind Aldo because Elisabeth and Charlotte often got into an argument or ''discussion'' whilst Loren simply wanted to be the one who collects the corpse of the monsters. Truth be told, if Aldo and Yojiro did not insisted, Loren would not even dare harm the monsters. In fact, everyone in the support team is bewildered as to how she became the best friend of Sabrina, who killed monsters way scarier than Yuson or Yojiro which were NPCs. "I wonder how are they doing..." Aldo said in a worried tone as he glanced towards the forest. 128 The Head, Procras! After an hour of advancement towards the foot of the Woba Mountain, Pedro is around a kilometer away from where the howls originated. Behind him, Faunia is clearing up monsters in the east of Pedro whilst the Attack team were clearing monsters from his west. Faunia''s range is far greater than Pedro''s one hundred meter radial range. Thus, she was able to stop as many monsters as she can, coming from the ''Western Forest'' which was located at the east side of the Naga Kingdom. Anything further her range could only be left towards the Naga Kingdom NPC Force. That said, majority of the monsters were coming from the north, which were the ones they were taking care off. Thus, it could be said that the Naga Kingdom NPC Force would only face the stray and left over monsters. On the other hand, the area of the forest between Pedro''s range and the shore was handled by the Attack team with the lead of Mathew and Sabrina. Anything that went pass through them, to the shore, would be handled by the Support Team. At this moment, Pedro got contacted by his Aunt about where the ship would dock and his player force. Fortunately, his pen-knife and his [Emperor''s Will] was enough to take care of majority of the monsters. Hence, he was able to chat with his Aunt. ~~~~~~~~~ Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): Nephew, your cousin Jake has contacted me, saying that they discovered a potential docking spot for the ships. It is around twenty Kilometers from where we separated and had sudden deep water after the shore. Death (Pedro): That''s good news Aunt Veronica! Purple Jade: Unfortunately... Your cousin said that their scout has spotted an enemy player force of twenty thousand and was marching towards them. Death: Twenty Thousand? How did cousin provoke that many guilds to collude against them? Purple Jade: No! Your cousin did not provoke anyone this time. He even went low key this time because he needed to stay alive for the class thing. Death: Then, why are there twenty thousand players going after cousin? Purple Jade: He said that it is about a group called United Asian Players who aimed to target Philippine Players for some reason. I am yet to get more information about it, sorry. Death: No worries, Aunt. Just send me the coordinates and inform Paul, the NPC, about it. We''re currently in the middle of a battle, so, we can''t follow immediately. But I will send a small group for help. Purple Jade: Okay, Noted! Thanks, Nephew. ~~~~~~~~~ Pedro closed his player interface as he took of his clothes and placed it into his inventory bag, even his [Faithpursuer Katana]. Fortunately, his skin was covered with his black scales else he would have been mistaken for a pervert if he was spotted by other people. Then, he hanged his inventory bag on his pinky. "FAUNIA! CHANGE OF PLANS! KILL THAT HEAD B@ST@RD! SOME MEASLY HUMANS DARED TO MESS WITH MY PEOPLE! WE DON''T HAVE TIME TO PLAY AROUND WITH THESE PESTS ANYMORE!" When he had transformed into a black dragon, he roared so loud and frightening enough to freeze every being in place. He towered higher than the trees of the forest, enough for the Naga Kingdom Soldiers above the walls to see his figure despite being kilometers away. As for the Attack team, Talia couldn''t help but take a step back in fear as a giant dragon suddenly appeared just several hundreds of meters away from them. On the other hand, Sabrina, Yojiro, and Mathew stood on guard, killing those monsters who would only attack them. "A-A-A Dragon!" Talia shouted as she took another step backward. Doing so made her trip into the root of a tree, making her fall to the ground. Before she could say another word and before Yojiro could assist her, the dragon jumped high up in the sky; shaking the ground that was strong enough to make some trees fall. Mathew stabbed his sword into the ground while Sabrina stabbed her pen-knife to a nearby tree in order to remain on their feet. On the other hand, Yojiro also stumbled. But he chose to lay to the ground as he heightened his senses and gripped his Katana''s handle tightly. As Pedro hovers around, a bluish light illuminated through the gaps of the scales of his neck. Then, he dived forward whilst breathing a blue fire towards the monsters. Everyone could only watch in amazement as Pedro torched the unconscious monsters to death. His kill count at 14,709 had suddenly jumped to 15,351 after just a single breath. This, in turn, made the other players erupt and complain. Of course, Pedro and the rest of his group were oblivious of the rankings and the sudden changes in it. Pedro, himself, is consumed by his anger and was focused on finishing the monsters as soon as possible, then, moving north to assist his player force. While the Attack team, and even the Support team, were so focused on watching the Legendary creature flew around burning the monsters to their deaths. A Kilometer to their North East, Faunia arrived at the river that was separating the Woba Mountain and the Western Forest. She took a jump and landed in front of a cave. Consequently, the monsters guarding it was eliminated by her golden chains. "A portal?" She murmured in confusion. Despite the area was clear, she didn''t dare to enter the cave because of a portal that could be easily seen outside. Hence, she shouted instead, "Who are you?" In response to her, a man laughed maniacally as he walked out of the portal and said, "I did not think that the goddess of the beasts would be here in the human realm. How are you doing, little Faunia? Kahahahaha!" "Yo-You are-" Faunia stuttered in astonishment and took a step back as the figure of the man became clear. He looked like he was in his mid-40s and had long black hair. His right eye was gray colored while his left eye was Violet colored. Unfortunately, his supposed good looking face was destroyed because of a scar in his left eye; where a part of his eyelid was missing. "Aish! How could you forgot your Elder Brother Procras?" He chuckled. Then, he continued, "Former god of Illusions. or should I say... the eight Demon Commander of the House of Envy?" 129 Dont Say that Little Girl! Without wasting another breath, Procras sent a punch towards Faunia''s stomach. His attack was so fast that Faunia wasn''t able to shield her arms and could only thicken the scales on her body at its maximum. Faunia could only grit her teeth as his fist landed on her stomach whilst having a huge grin in his face. "Khak!" Faunia spurts out blood from her mouth and was sent flying; crashing into the trees and splitting them into half. Fortunately, she hit a wall of rock and was buried several inches in it. The impact had caused a minor tremor that was strong enough to shake some leaves out of the trees and make the birds fly into the air. At this moment, Blood drips out from her dark green scale as her body seemed like it had suddenly lost all of her energy. She gasped at a hasted pace while barely able to raise her hand that was pointing towards Procras. "What happened to you little Faunia?" Procras asked while he shook off his right hand, "Where is that thick skin you are so proud of?" Faunia could only grit her teeth in response as Procras approached her with a smug. "No wonder I sensed a strong magical aura earlier." he said, "It scared the sh@t out of me, to the point that I even used a portal scroll." In the next second, the expression in his face changed from friendly to hostile, and he asked, "Are you also after me?" Faunia didn''t speak in response. Instead, the golden chains from her ring shot straight towards Procras. This somehow caught Procras off guard as the chains pierced through his chest. But before Faunia could feel relieved, the body of Procras turned into smoke and burst into the surroundings. Then, a few meters away from it, another Procras appeared, who burst into laughter and had no signs of injury. "Little Faunia! Little Faunia! Did you think that your toy would work on me?" He mocked, "Since when did your taste became sh@t?" After taking a deep breath, Procras charged towards Faunia, sending another punch to bury her deeper into the wall. Faunia could only brace her self because, for some reason, she still cannot move even just a finger. Consequently, she could only send a warning message towards Pedro, telepathically. ''Human... It seems like our journey together would end here!'' Faunia said to Pedro. Pedro''s mind went blank after hearing the faint voice of Faunia in his head. This made him suddenly land to the burning forest as tears were seemingly about to fall from his dark eyes. ''Wha-What do you mean-'' Pedro asked in response, but he was interrupted as Faunia continued her last words. ''A demon had defeated me. Go away from this area as fast and as far as you can. I''ll hold this b@st@rd as long as I can.'' She said, ''I might not like humans, but we share the same goal of defeating the demons! Live and avenge me and my master, human!'' ~~~~~~~~~~~ Faunia smirked as she watched Procras charged towards her, and murmured as her vision started to fade, "It feels better to die in the hands of a divine being than in the hands of a mere human." "Hahahaha! Don''t say that little girl! You would make Old D look bad! Hahahaha!" At this moment, when Procras was just meters away from Faunia, a dice as big as the Rubik''s cube rolled in front of Procras and landed at the number 5. Then, a big clown suddenly popped out of it. The clown was attached to a spring and held a knife that was aimed towards Procras. Like earlier, the clown was able to successfully stab towards the body of Procras but his body simply turned into smoke and burst. Then, another Procras appeared several meters away from it; who had a troubled look. "Hahahaha! How about my toy? Did you like it? Hahahaha!" Two figures of a man, who were wearing a black overcoat, came out behind a tree nearby the rock wall where Faunia was embedded. When their figures became clear, Procras can''t help but took a step back and stutter in fear. "F-Fate? O-Old D?" Fate simply burst into laughter and said, "Hahahaha! Why are you so stiff brother? Didn''t you miss me? Come on... Show me some of your magic tricks. Hahahaha!" Old D frowned in annoyance to Fate, and consequently ''tapped'' his cane to the ground, releasing strong magical energy enough to burst the figure of Procras into smoke again. However, this time, there was not a single trace of the presence of Procras. "Hide from us, Procras! But your day is specially marked on my list!" Old D said scarily, enough to even send shivers down Fate''s spine. Add up the trees that suddenly became dried, plus the leaves that suddenly withered, the area around them had an eerie vibe that was akin to an abandoned place or a forsaken land. After almost a minute of silence, Fate spoke in a dismayed tone. "Aish, Old D! You should have let me play a little bit with brother Procras. It''s been a long time since we have seen each other after all! Hahaha!" "Tch!" Old D frowned and glanced towards Fate in annoyance, and said, "If you really wanted to play with him, change his fate to do so! How annoying!" "Haha... I was just joking Old D! Come on! Can''t you take a little joke from me?" "Joke?" Old D asked. Then, he scolded, "It''s not even funny!" "Hahahaha! You are the one who is funny, Old D! Hahahaha!" Fate burst into laughter even after Old D almost hit him with his cane. "Let''s go back to that human stronghold! I like the drink they call tea, back there." he said, "Take the little girl and let''s go!" "Why do I have to-" Before Fate could finish his complaint, Old D stared towards him, enough to make Fate silent and grab the unconscious Faunia without saying another word. However, Fate still wore his wide grin and murmured to himself. "The future seems intersting! Hahahaha!" 130 The Master and The Inheritor! Old D summoned a portal while Fate picks up his ''toy'' dice. Since Fate carried Faunia at his left shoulder, he can only play his dice with his right hand. "Hahahaha! Old D! It seems like we are forgetting something." Fate hinted in a joking, but obvious manner. This made Old D halt from entering his portal. He took a deep breath and raised his cane slightly as if he wanted to ''tap'' it again into the ground. But before he was able to do so, Fate slid his foot and filled the gap between the cane of Old D and the ground. "Hahahaha! Old D, Relax!" Fate said, "Hahahaha! It''s my first time in the human realm! Can''t you, at least, let me interact with them?" Old D simply sighed and asked, "What are you up to now, young Fate?" "Just trust me Old D!" He said, "Hahahaha! After all... It is our fate to meet each other. Don''t you agree, human?" Fate glanced towards a dead tree that was around a hundred meters away from them. Old D also followed his glance. But even after almost a minute, they were not able to detect any movement from that area. What''s even odd was that the wind blew past the withered leaves in the ground but it didn''t move even a centimeter. However, Fate and Old D didn''t need to be very observant just to notice the unusual phenomenon. "Hahahaha! Friends! We mean no harm!" Fate shouted, assuming that the humans hidding behind the tree wasn''t just able to hear him. "I just wanna have a talk! Hahahaha!" Hopeless, the three men could only ''cautiously'' reveal themselves. A young man around his mid-20s leads two medium-haired guys, of the same age, with a grayish eye each. Despite the young man''s messy short hair, there was no trace of sweat on his face. He stared towards Fate and Old D with a frown whilst occasionally glancing towards the unconscious Faunia. On the other hand, the two guys behind him sweat heavily out of fear. They even often glance at each other as if asking if it was right to go towards the two unknown strangers. "Hahahaha! Great! Great!" Fate celebrated as the three men get closer to them. "There''s no need to be wary young men! I don''t eat humans. Hahahaha!" "W-We are just passing through this area and head towards the rumored Kingdom by the sea!" The young man said as they close, less than fifty meters, from Fate and Old D. At this moment, Old D and Fate felt a sudden increase in their weight as they were being pushed inches deeper into the ground. "Kingdom by the sea?" Fate asked as he pondered. Then, he remembered that the Naga Kingdom was located near the sea. So, he said, "What a coincidence! We are also on our way back to the Kingdom! Do you want to come with us?" ''Why not?'' The young man and the other two guys asked in their minds as they frown in confusion. However, before anyone could even speak, Fate pointed to the sky, where a seemingly big bird was flying straight towards them. Then, he said, "Because... You would be with him." Everyone couldn''t help but focus on the ''big bird'' whose figure kept growing each second. Soon, the figure became clear as they heard its roar. The three men couldn''t help but froze in fear as they watch the dragon inch closer. While Old D could only glance towards Fate and sigh. "You''re like your master! Always making things complicated!" Old D scolded Fate. But Fate simply retained his smile in response as they watch the Legendary creature arrive. "FAUUUNIAAA!" The Dragon roared as it lands in front of them; crashing the dead trees to the ground. The Black Dragon, Pedro, didn''t dare let this momentary chance go as a bluish light illuminated between the gaps of the scales on his neck. But as he was about to open his mouth and breath out a flame, Old D jumped and smashed his cane below Pedro''s jaw, making him look upward and release the flame in the air. "This is the first time that you''d meet your master and this is how you would greet me?" Old scolded that was frightening enough to even make Fate force out a smile. Then, Old D added, "Where are your manners, young man!" Fate knew that in Pedro''s mental state, he would definitely follow up with another attack. At the same time, he knew how strict Old D was, especially in doing his job. Thus, not wanting the master and the inheritor to enter a ''stubborn'' fight, he burst into laughter and consequently got everyone''s attention. "Hahahaha! I didn''t know that you would be this strict to your potential inheritor, Old D!" Fate said that made Old D stare daggers towards him as if saying ''He''s my candidate, I''ll do things my way!''. Whilst Pedro was astonished as he glanced back and forth between Fate and Old D. "I-Inheritor?" Pedro stuttered as he leaned slightly backward. "Perhaps... You are-" Before Pedro could even finish, Old D angrily struck his cane into the ground and said, "Yes, young man! I am your master! The overseer of the afterlife, Death!" 131 The Little Black and Gold Dice! Old D bombarded a strong magical aura around them, enough to make Pedro think twice for his next actions. That said, Pedro regained his composure and courage, and neutralized the fear that Old D wanted to establish in order for Pedro to show respect to him as his master. ''Inheritor? Non-sense! Faunia only said one thing! She was up against a demon!'' Pedro frowned as he glanced towards Faunia that was being carried by Fate and seemed lifeless. Before anyone could speak, Fate smirked as he tossed his ''toy'' dice into the air and deflected Pedro''s pen-knife that was aiming towards him at full speed. The Pen-knife stabbed into the ground whilst Fate''s toy dice landed straight back to his hand as if nothing had happened. This weaved a few more lines into Old D''s forehead as the magical energy he exerted becomes stronger, enough to make Pedro feel like he was being forced to kneel in respect. Fortunately, before matters could go any worst, Fate''s laugh broke the deathly silence as he placed his toy dice into his pocket and took out a small dice. It was almost an inch long on each side and had an alternating color of black and gold; where there was a black dot on the gold-colored sides. "Hahahaha! Being stubborn would bring you no good young man!" Fate said as he held tightly on the small dice, not even daring to play with it. At this moment, Old D glanced towards Fate and the dice in his hand as his grip to his cane tightens and the magical energy he released, became stronger. Before anyone could speak, Fate continued, "Ha-Ha! You see, young man... We are here to help! If you think that we were here to abduct Little Faunia, then you are wrong!" At this moment, Fate wore a calm and cold look as his usually curved lips straightened. Consequently, his body resonated with an equally strong magical aura with that of Old D, to the point that the pressure the Pedro felt had suddenly doubled. This time, Fear could be seen in Pedro''s dark eyes. Unfortunately, escape is not possible because even his vision was barely able to hold on. That said, Pedro still struggled to remain conscious like a student who stayed up late at night in order to finish a project that is due the next day. "First of all, if you are an enemy or our target... There would be no discussion and you would already be dead." Fate said as he opened his palm, revealing the black and gold dice. "Second, no one can stop Old D if he wants to harvest a soul. Not even Elder sister Life could stop him! So... Young man! If you are worried about little Faunia, then rest assured, we won''t do any harm to her." After he said his point, Fate controlled the magical energy he released enough to stabilize Pedro mentally but strong enough to restrict his movements physically. On the other hand, Old D''s gaze was still fixated towards Fate and his dice. "Pfff... Bwahahahahaha!" Fate burst into laughter after noticing that Old D was ''somehow'' on guard against his dice. Then, he said, "Relax, Old D! This is my ultimate special favorite dice! It looks cool, doesn''t it? Bwahahahahaha!" "I know! And I am very familiar with it!" Old D replied in a cold manner. Then, he asked, "You only have a few of those dice. Don''t tell me that you are planning to use it at this disrespectful candidate of mine?" "Bwahahahahaha!" Fate burst into laughter and said, "You don''t see what I can see Old D! You do what you think is best for the world, and I would do the same." Fate smirked as he opened his palm revealing the black and gold dice. Old D remained silent as Fate closed his hand and shook it. However, instead of throwing the dice, he stopped shaking his hand and opened it once more. "Tada!" Fate said like a magician as the black and gold dice became two. Old D frowned and was about to speak but he was interrupted with Fate''s laugh. "Bwahahahahaha! Old D, ain''t I cool? It''s a trick I learned from brother Procras! How irony! Hahahaha!" After a few seconds of laughing, fate gripped the two dice and said, "This is as much as I can do. It''s too early for me to look for an inheritor after all. Hahahaha!" Fate threw one dice in front of Pedro and another in front of the unconscious young man. The dice were thrown like a bullet that was fired from a gun. Bot landed and buried into the ground with the golden side with a black dot facing upwards. Consequently, the dice burst as a bright light filled the surroundings. It was so bright to the point that Pedro could only see nothing but white despite shielding his eyes with his arms. At this moment, Fate said, "We are done here Old D! It seems like we don''t have the time to have another cup of that drink called tea. Hahahaha!" Old D could only sigh in response as he activates his portal while saying his last remarks to Pedro, "It''s good to know that my candidate is brave and adamant. But know this young man... Only strength speaks loud in this world! If you want to become my successor, then you need to become stronger. Only then should I see if you are really rightful to be the overseer of the afterlife!" "Don''t worry about little Faunia. She might look like she perished, but she ain''t. You can ask Old D about it! Hahahaha!" Fate interjected and also bid his farewell, "See you soon, young Death! Hahahaha!" Pedro was about to respond but the light had started to dissipate, consequently making him dizzy; like when one stared into the sun in a long period of time. Soon, his vision became clear, and his dizziness disappeared. Only the dead trees, the withered leaf, and the three Asian looking men were left in the vicinity. There were even no signs of the black and gold dice. That said, Pedro was filled with mixed emotions and could only stare towards the three men who seemed to have regained their consciousness. ''Faunia...'' He thought as his memories with the cute gluttonous little girl played into his mind. At the same time, he remembered how he wasn''t able to protect Madame Soledad and everyone else and the thought of him being not strong enough to do so. He gripped his hand tightly as his teeth gnash in anger. His eyes--that was forced by the blinding light to return to normal--had become dark as the void, again. Consequently, making the trio collapse into the ground once again. "Nothing is ever enough! I need to get stronger!" Pedro said. ~~~~~~~~~~ Somewhere in the world, where darkness span as far as the eyes could see. A yellow-eyed being burst into laughter and said, "Old D! You''re candidate had a scary pair of eyes! Hahahahaha!" "Scary, indeed!" Old D said, forcing out a smile. "Well... At least he knows how to use a percentage of its true power." "Hahahahaha! I won''t dare go against him if he really becomes your successor." Fate said with a smirk. "I doubt that even Elder Brother Justice and Sister War could even match up to him." "Is that your assumption or the truth?" Old D chuckled. "Hahahahaha! Who knows?" Fate said, "It might be, it might be not! Hahahaha!" 132 Fates Blessing. Somewhere in the Dark Continent, A strong metallic smell breeze past through a garden that was filled with flowers of different colors and variety. At its center was a mansion made out of stone, which was illuminated by the Ball of Fire(Sun). The thick clouds above that place--that was supposed to be unpenetrable by the light from the Ball of Fire--deviate and make a circular hole to allow the light to highlight the beauty of the mansion and the garden in the middle of that dark land. That said, a man--who had violet and gray colored eye--sat in a throne that was barely lit by the natural light. He grinds his teeth whilst he clenched his fists, tight enough to leave marks on his skin. After some time, the man sighed as he ''tapped'' his fist lightly to the armrest of his throne. Then, he said, "I lost Miti Obol and a few relics!" He shook his head and took another sigh before continuing, "Just you wait... I''ll pay everything back. Two folds! Fate... Old D!" ~~~~~~~~~~ On the western side of the Aquari Continent, Pedro was about to leave the ''forsaken land'' of the Woba Mountain. However, before he flew up in the sky, a notification rang in his player interface. Out of curiosity, Pedro checked what was it about. "I hope that I did not end the Continental Quest just like that!" He said as he forced out a smile. Then, he continued, "What was I even thinking? Charging here despite knowing that there was a far greater threat than Faunia? Is it a side effect of the Demonic Eyes?" He shook his head and thought, ''What''s done is done. I could only thank my luck for surviving until this point. It''s just too bad that the NPCs took Faunia away. I guess the game developers had already kept an eye on me.'' "In any case... I need to be careful from now on." He said as his player interface pops up. [Congratulations Player Death! You have acquired the god of Fate''s blessing!] [Your rewards have been sent into your inventory bag!] [Rewards: x1 Random Divine Inheritance x1 Tome of Level (+10 Levels) x1 Random Divine Inheritance (Tradable)] ~~~~~~~~~~~ "This--" Pedro gasped as he was taken by surprise. Without a second thought, he returned to his humanoid form and checked his rewards. As he took out the "Random Divine Inheritance" item--that was in a form of a brown book--from his inventory bag. Then, a blinding light burst as the book transformed into a black book that releases a black smoke. ~~~~~~~~~~~ [The God of Darkness Legacy Enhancement!] Attributes(LOCKED): ???? UNLOCK Condition: ??? Skill/s List: ??? UNLOCK OTHER SKILLS: ??? [Not Tradable] [The long lost power of the Elemental God, God of Darkness!] [Cannot be used! Player Death has 1/1 Divine Legacy Enhancement!] ~~~~~~~~~~~ When he proceeded to the brown book of the tradable Divine Inheritance, it transformed into a book of glowing light. However, like the first book, he was somehow unable to also use the book. ~~~~~~~~~~~ [The God of Light Legacy Enhancement!] Attributes(LOCKED): ???? UNLOCK Condition: ??? Skill/s List: ??? UNLOCK OTHER SKILLS: ??? [Tradable] [The long lost power of the Elemental God, God of Light!] [Cannot be used! Player Death has 1/1 Divine Legacy Enhancement!] ~~~~~~~~~~~ "F@@k it!" He cursed as he also stored the second book to his spatial inventory. Then, he hypothesized, "This probably has something to do with my Demonic eyes! That said... I could ask M-Master Death and Faunia about it, later on." ''As for the Tome of Level... I gained seven levels in just a few hours. It would be better if I would give this to Sabrina since it is tradable.'' He thought whilst rubbing his chin. Then, he murmured, "If she could close the gap between our levels and remain conscious whilst I am using my Demonic Eyes, the offensive attacks would not become my problem anymore! After all, I can''t use my dragon form and attract the attention of the other players all the time. Speaking of which..." He glanced towards one of the unconscious men into which Fate had shot the same dice and thought, ''My rewards seemed like it came from that golden dice... Then, that means that... he, probably, would also get the same rewards I got!'' Pedro held his chin once again as a frown was weaved into his forehead. Then, he said, "I can''t just kill them! If that man is a divine being like Faunia and gave that man the same blessing as I have... Then, he might have some value for him!" Pedro bit his lips and continued, "I can''t afford to offend any divine beings at the moment! On top of it... He has Faunia!" Hopeless, Pedro could only compromise by offering the three men a contract so that they would stay under his watch. At the same time, he thought that he could use them as a bargaining chip in exchange for Faunia in the future. Well... That''s if they were players. If they were NPCs, he could always invite them to join his crew and obtain greater control towards them. That said, he transformed back to his dragon form--to pose a threat to the trio--before he reverted his eyes to its normal state so that the three guys would regain back their consciousness. "What happened?" The man who lead the two medium-haired guys asked. But before the two guys behind him could respond, their attention was shifted to the giant black dragon staring in front of them. "Uhm... Hi?" Arvedar, the man who lead the two medium-haired guys, said as he forced out a smile towards Pedro. Pedro simply smirked in response making the trio anxious. But before Arvedar could activate his "Gravitation" skill, Pedro reverted to his humanoid form and approached them. As the trio was filled with awe and amazement, while still keeping a guard towards him, Pedro said, "Perhaps you are adventurers like me?" He paused for a second. Then, he smirked as he reached out his black scale skinned hand towards Arvedar, and said, "It''s nice to meet you! I am... Death!" 133 Luring the Trio! As blood drips from Arvedar''s neck, Pedro said coldly, "I am approaching you out of goodwill. But if you try to harm me, I won''t have the second thought to kill you all. After all, I can easily do it without moving a muscle." The pen-knife pulled away slowly from Arvedar''s neck. Then, it rotated around Pedro and made an after image like the ring of the planet Saturn. "P-please spare us, sire! We are just humble adventurers trying to escape to the Kingdom by the sea!" Arvedar pleaded as sweats started to drip from his forehead. "Kingdom by the sea?" Pedro asked, astonished. Then, he frowned and asked, "Do you mean the Naga Kingdom?" "Ye-Yes!" Arvedar and the two men answered, seemingly relieved. However, Pedro went silent in response as he rubbed his chin and thought, ''Why would someone escape to the Naga Kingdom? Could it be...'' A lightbulb had seemingly lit in Pedro''s eyes as he remembered about the player force organize by his Aunt that was about to face a perilous battle. Connecting the ''player force'' case and what Arvedar told him, Pedro had a rough guess as to why the trio was fleeing away from the plains. "Could it be related to the United Asian Players?" Pedro asked, seemingly curious. Personally, he didn''t know any information about how the players were doing all over the Aquari Continent. Every since the game started, he was mostly in a journey in the seas. Other than the shore near the Naga Kingdom, he had no intel about how the other parts of the continent were doing. First of all, he was hospitalized, disabling him from getting news outside the game. Second, other than his Aunt, everyone else, even Mathew, didn''t report anything to him because like him, they were busy ''doing their best'' in catching up to Pedro and were also consumed by the progression and interaction with the NPCs. Hence, none of them really paid that much attention to the outside world. It was probably a side effect caused by Pedro''s revealing of information and techniques towards everyone else, consequently making them ecstatic in playing the game. This, unfortunately, made them ignorant of the information related to other players. "You''re a player?" Arvedar asked in astonishment. Pedro simply nodded in response and smiled. "Eeeeeeeh?!" Roval and Lony shouted in disbelief as their jaws dropped to the ground and their eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets. "What? Do you have a problem?" Pedro asked and grinned like a bragging child. Arvedar and Pedro could only force out a smile. That said, it was for the better as it somehow lifted the tense mood from earlier. Pedro simply smiled toward them and said, "I cannot share the information about it. But... I have a similar skill." "Is it the wolf transformation skill?" Arvedar asked. Pedro nodded in response and smirked. Then, he asked, "Do you know the ARES guild?" "Doesn''t ring a bell," Arvedar replied. Then, he asked, "What about it?" Pedro shooked his head and placed a palm in his forehead. Then, he said, "Join our guild, and I''ll give it to you for free." However, the trio went silent in response. It was a direct answer to Pedro that it''s not gonna happen that easily. On the other hand, Arvedar was wise. He knew that a dragon transformation skill was something that is impossible to obtain. Hence, he knew that Pedro was not an ordinary player the moment he revealed that he was a player. ''Based on how he acts, he can''t be just a lucky newbie!'' Arvedar thought as he sighed. Then, he asked Pedro, straightforward, "From what country are you?" "Philippines?" Pedro said in a questioning tone, seemingly confused about Arvedar''s question. "Why do you ask?" Hearing Pedro''s response made the trio to take a deep breath and relax a tad bit. Confused, Pedro could only watch their reactions with a slight frown in his face. "Is there a problem?" He asked. Arvedar simply shook his head in response and explained, "No, bro. We are also players from PH. It''s relieving to finally meet a fellow Filipino player in this game." "What do you mean?" Pedro asked, "Shouldn''t there be many players from PH? How come I was the first player that you met?" "You don''t know?" Arvedar asked with a frown. "Know what?" Pedro asked. "You don''t know that PH players are being PKed by other Asian Players?" Lony asked in astonishment. "PKed? Is this related to guild wars?" Pedro asked as the situation becomes clearer to him. "Guild wars? What are you talking about bro?" Lony asked, then he continued explaining, "Other big Asian Companies and Corporations grouped together to build a strong force. At first, they aimed to use quantity to fight the monsters brought by the Continental Quest." "It was successful." Arvedar interrupted, "But..." "But?" Pedro asked as he stares at Arvedar, waiting for the answer. "But for some reason, they have started killing Filipino players. No one knows the reason behind it, but some players had a hunch in the forum that it had something to do with the Armaz Energy Corporation." Arvedar explained, "We don''t know much about it and just want to hide from the crowd until this issue is resolved." "I see..." Pedro nodded whilst rubbing his chin. "You really don''t know about it, bro?" Lony asked. "Uhm!" Pedro nodded and said, "I was in this area since the closed beta started. I was filled with quests and had no time to even check just the forum." "No wonder you have no information about the events in the central plains," Arvedar said. Pedro simply nodded, then he asked, "So, what do you say guys? Do you want to join my guild?" "Uhm... That." Arvedar forced out a smile whilst scratching his cheek, hinting that he was a bit embarrassed. "We plan to build our own guild. I mean..." Despite Arvedar''s rejection, Pedro needed to recruit them no matter what. That said, he smiled and asked, "How about this? Why don''t you join us in the meantime?" The trio remained silent in response. That said, Pedro didn''t mind it and continued poaching them. "Our guild is quite generous. Our members were given a monthly salary. And yes! Even if you are just a student. Please think about this wisely. I think it is a good opportunity for you. We can even travel together." The last phrase of Pedro lit Lony and Roval''s eyes as their mouth started to drool. On the other hand, Arvedar could only force out a smile upon seeing the reaction of his friends. "You mean, we can ride behind your back?" Lony asked that was followed by Roval, like children that were tempted by candies. "I-I-In your dragon transformation?" Pedro simply smirked like a fisherman who caught a fish and said, "Why not?" "Deal!" Lony and Roval agreed simultaneously, not even considering Arvedar''s thoughts. Since they were good friends, and it was only just a game, Arvedar could only shake his head and surrender as he can''t change his friends'' decision. ''These two weebs. Enjoying the game rather than prioritizing the class requirements! If we fail the class, I''ll kick their freaking @sses!'' Arvedar thought as he forced out a smile deep inside. 134 Attack Teams First Reward! ''I have been betrayed once! Never again!'' he thought as he made a ''welcoming smile'' towards the trio. "To start... Can I know your names?" Pedro said as he retained his smile. "As I said earlier, My name is Death." "Death?" Arvedar frowned and asked, "Did you just say Death?" Pedro raised his eyebrows, seemingly confused about Arvedar''s question, and said, "Yes? Is there another problem?" "N-N-No..." Arvedar said as he took a few steps back whilst shaking his head in disbelief. "Y-You are... The rank one player?" "Rank one?" Pedro asked, "Ah! Do you mean the continental quest ranking? If you are referring to that, then yes... I am the one!" "T-T-The rank one player?" Lony and Roval were at loss at first. But when they remembered about it, they couldn''t help but be filled with awe and shouted in unison "WOOOOAH!" Pedro can''t help but force out a smile in response. He reminisced his experiences in his past life, where ''casual'' players tend to overreact when they meet professional players in-game. Although he and his guild were only in the C-Tier, they were still known to every casual player of Bearth Online. That said, Pedro rubbed the back of his head and bluffed, "Well... It''s thanks to my dragon form that I was able to do so. On top of that, this area is quite isolated, so..." "No wonder..." Arvedar said, "Here I thought there were hacks in the game." "Hacks?" Pedro asked before he burst into laughter. When he calmed down, he said in a cold tone, "There are no hacks. That is why I am going to ask you to fill up a contract before you join my guild." Arvedar nodded in response and said, "It''s only natural to have contracts. I find it suspicious if there aren''t any." "Of course!" Pedro said, "In any case, add me first before we proceed." Arvedar nodded in response while his two friends giggled in excitement. After adding each other, their doubts were cleared after seeing Pedro''s level. "Level Fourty Three??" Lony''s eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets. "It''s even thrice of brother Arvedar''s level!" "Haha... It''s not that much." Pedro said, "Anyway... Could you guys send me your emails? I''ll give it to our manager so that you can discuss and check the contents of the contract." In response, the trio gave Pedro their emails. It might seem odd for them to trust Pedro immediately to the point that they gave him their mails, but... Pedro''s level was the exclamation point that told them they can''t argue with him. Even if they did so, he can do anything he liked, be it robbing them of their inventory bags or killing them. Whilst they were processing their contracts with Pedro''s Aunt, Curiosity entered Pedro''s mind that made him check the Continental Quest Rankings. He was in an undisputable spot with 16,124 Kills. It was still rising but the rate was way slower this time. ''It''s probably because of the forest fire that I made...'' He thought as he glanced towards the direction of the shore. Afterward, he returned his attention to his interface and learned that next to him was Mathew with a kill count of 3977, followed by Sabrina with a kill count of 1789 and was in third place. At the fourth place was Talia with a kill count of 387. That said, the gap between Talia and the fifth player was only around a few hundred. There were still no signs when the continental quest would end, so, Talia was still not assured of her current rank. However, Pedro was amazed by her performance considering that the second and third place was taken by monsters. He also scanned the names of the other players in the top 10, but he didn''t give that much attention to them because they were just familiar names in his past life that were often listed in top player rankings. Since the trio was still unconscious, Pedro decided to sit down and use that time to make a few skills. He promised them a transformation skill after all. And an hour and a half later, Pedro had successfully made 10 Wolf Transformation and 4 Random Creature Transformation skills. The four Random Creature Transformation skills were like a ''special'' version of the transformation skill that generates a random creature at the start. Pedro identified it as special because he was only able to make it ''accidentally''. That said, he knew that it was a double-edged sword, like other random generated things in Bearth Online. In the case of the Random Creature Transformation skill that he made, it may generate a worm as a transformation form or it might generate a flying beast similar to Faunia''s pet in her domain. Despite the risks, Pedro sent one of each skill to Mathew, Sabrina, and Talia as a ''reward'' for being in the top 10 list. In return, they gave their thanks to Pedro and said that they would keep ''farming'' even further. ~~~~Attack Team''s PoV~~~~ Everyone took a break when Pedro sent them their ''rewards''. Fortunately, the monsters in that area were scarce already because of the Forest Fire created by Pedro. Thus, Yojiro was enough to handle the handful of monsters that charge towards them. Ecstatic, Talia was the first one who used her reward. She closed her eyes and had her fingers crossed as her heartbeat anxiously each second. "Dragon! Dragon! Dragon! Dragon!" She murmured repeatedly until he heard the interface rang. She slowly opened her eyes and check the notification. [Congratulations! You have learned "Transformation 1: Red Fire Ant" skill!] [Skill: Transformation 1: Red Fire Ant] Rarity: Gold-rated skill Skill Type: Active Effects: Transforms User into a Red Fire Ant. -While in transformation mode, increase User''s Agility by 200%. -The transformed form has the same amount of HP and other attributes with the original form of the user. Once the HP in transformed form was depleted, the User will be reverted to its original form, with the same amount of HP before the transformation. -Revert user to original form when the time limit expires. The time limit for transformed form(Duration): 30 minutes Cooldown: 45 minutes [A special type of transformation skill created by a Skill Maker! An Ant? Are you lucky or unlucky?] ~~~~~~~~~~ "A-A-An..." Talia stuttered as words can''t escape from her mouth. This, in turn, made Mathew frown and asked, "What''s the matter, little girl?" Talia stared daggers towards Mathew in response and shouted, "Ya! Don''t call me little girl! And..." "And what?" Mathew asked and forced out a smile as if he got a hint that Talia didn''t get something good. "I got a freaking Ant as a transformation, okay!" She said. Then, she pouted and crossed her arms as Mathew burst into laughter. "You''re now happy?" She asked that made Mathew calm down. "Yeah! Yeah!" Mathew chuckled, "That''s why I told you... Don''t expect to get something that much. Being able to get our hands on a transformation skill is already a miracle." 135 Random Generated Forms! [Congratulations! You have learned "Transformation 1: Pithecophaga Eagle" skill!] [Skill: Transformation 1: Pithecophaga Eagle] Rarity: Gold-rated skill Skill Type: Active Effects: Transforms User into a Pithecophaga Eagle. A) The transformed form has the same amount of HP and other attributes as the original form of the user. Once the HP in transformed form was depleted, the User will be reverted to its original form, with the same amount of HP before the transformation. B) Revert user to the original form when the time limit expires. The time limit for transformed form(Duration): 1 Hour Cooldown: 45 minutes [A special type of transformation skill created by a Skill Maker! A Bird of unknown origin! Were you lucky or unlucky?] ~~~~~~~~~~ Not getting a dragon transformation made Sabrina flick her tongue. Her forehead weaved a few lines that, in turn, caught Mathew and Talia''s attention. "What did you get?" Mathew asked, seemingly trying to hold back his laughter. Sabrina shook his head and exhaled heavily before she said, "An Eagle." Mathew retained his grin and said, "That''s nice." Then, he shifted his glance to Talia and mocked, "At least, it was better than an ant!" "Aish, brother!" Talia gritted her teeth and frowned. Then, she feints an attack towards Mathew with her sword and said, "Why don''t you just use yours and see what you would get!" Mathew shielded his hands to his face, flicked his tongue, and said, "Okay! Okay! Sheeesh! I was just joking!" Unlike Sabrina and Talia, Mathew ''really'' didn''t expect that much out of the Random Creature Transformation skill. Why? Because Mathew was playing VR games for a living. Whatever he had, he must use it at its best and fullest and capitalize it as much as possible. Hence, he used the Random Creature Transformation skill as if it was just an ''ordinary'' candy to an adult. [Congratulations! You have learned "Transformation 1: Chicken Banaba" skill!] [Skill: Transformation 1: Chicken Banaba] Rarity: Gold-rated skill Skill Type: Active Effects: Transforms User into a Chicken Banaba. A) The transformed form has the same amount of HP and other attributes as the original form of the user. Once the HP in transformed form was depleted, the User will be reverted to its original form, with the same amount of HP before the transformation. B) Revert user to the original form when the time limit expires. The time limit for transformed form(Duration): 1 Hour Cooldown: 30 minutes ~~~~~~~~~~ Mathew retained his calm expression as he glanced towards Sabrina and Talia, who seemed interested in what transformation form did he get. This, in turn, made him burst into laughers that confused the two girls in response. "What did you get, brother?" Talia asked with a frown on her face. "A chicken!" he said whilst wipping the tears of laughter on his face. Talia flicked her tongue in response and said, "It''s still better than an ant!" "At least... You have a transformation skill." Mathew said. Then, he took a deep breath to calm himself and continued, "Anyway, Let''s clean this area up. Guild Leader would pick us up in an hour and follow the rest of the fleet." Mathew paused for a second and grinned, "A war is coming!" Sabrina frowned distorting her smooth forehead whilst Talia started to bug Mathew for more information. Mathew could only run from Talia in response as Yojiro, who was taking care of the excess monsters, maintained his calm demeanor. ''War? Monsters?'' Yojiro thought. ~~~~Support Team PoV~~~~ Aldo recieved a message from Pedro instructing them to ride the boat and sail twenty kilometers straight to the north. Other than that, he didn''t get other instructions, not even an order to wait for the attack team. So, he tried to ask Pedro about it, to no avail. Aldo waved his arm as if telling everyone to ride the boat and said, "Let''s go! Brother Death told me to sail twenty kilometers north." "North? Why? What about them?" Ashley questioned. "I have no idea." Aldo admitted. That said, he continued approaching the boat and expressed his thoughts, "He didn''t give much information to me, and he didn''t respond to my questions. What I only know is... to follow his instructions." Remembering how they were able to survive and gain their current strengths in the game, the three girls didn''t argue with Aldo anymore, especially after saying the last phrase. On the other hand, Yuson could only bit his lips as he rode the boat, seemingly a tad bit hesitant in leaving Pedro and everyone else. Yuson could only tighten the grip in his hands and murmured, "Please be safe, brother!" ~~~~Pedro Team''s PoV~~~~ Back in the Woba Mountain, Pedro had receive a message from his Aunt Veronica that the trio had successfully signed a contract under his Ares Guild. At the same time, she informed him that Arvedar sold his [Tome of Level] and a [Divine Inheritance (Tradable)] to them for a staggering amount of Five Hundred Thousand Philippine Pesos. That said, Pedro didn''t seemed troubled after the exchange. The [Divine Inheritance (Tradable)] could make him more money than what he paid for. As long as it would end up in the right person''s hands. When the trio awakened, he made a trade with them, giving wolf transformation skills to the Lony and Roval. Whilst he traded the last Random Creature Transformation skill to Arvedar, who traded the [Tome of Level] and the [Divine Inheritance (Tradable)]. "Good Luck!" Pedro said to Arvedar, who was about to generate a random creature for his transformation skill. Arvedar took a gulp and prayed, "My luck, please be kind! please be kind!" 136 Transformation EX: Corvus! Truth be told, Arvedar only desired for a transformation skill that was of same strength with the mountain wolf tranformation, at the least. Hence, he checked the notification as if it was nothing important to him. [Congratulations! You have learned "Transformation EX: Corvus" skill!] [Skill: Transformation 1: Corvus] Rarity: Legendary-rated skill Skill Type: Active Effects: Transforms User into a Corvus. A) Corvus Form - Specialized transformation that allows the user to transform from Human Form (Original) to a Crow Form (Animal Form). B) The Crow transformed form has the same amount of HP and other attributes as the original form of the user. Once the HP in transformed form was depleted, the user would be reverted to its original form, with the same amount of HP before the transformation. C) Revert user to the original form whenever the user desires. The time limit for transformed form(Duration): No Limit Cooldown: No Cooldown [A special type of transformation skill created by a Skill Maker! The Hunter of a thousand Forms!] ~~~~~~~~~~ "Le-Legendary-rated..." Arvedar said, stuttering. He took a step back out of shock while his eyes were glued towards the ''rarity'' of his randomly generated transformation form that was displayed in his player interface. In response, the smiles on Roval and Lony''s face disappeared upon hearing Arvedar''s words. They stared towards the dazed Arvedar with a frown glued on their face. "What did you say?" Lony asked. "I-I got a ''Legendary-rated'' skill!" Arvedar said. His body trembled as he took another step back and glanced towards Pedro--who was looking at him with his brows raised, seemingly curious about what he said. This, in turn, made Lony and Roval gaze towards Pedro and were anticipating his words and actions. Their stares, combined with the awkward silence, made Pedro laugh hysterically as if he anticipated what was on their mind. "What are you guys staring at?" He asked while scratching the back of his head. Then, he continued, "It''s just a Legendary-Tier skill. I won''t harm you and breach my part of the contract!" However, despite Pedro''s assurance, Arvedar and his two friends stared at him for a few more seconds before his words sank into their minds. Before any of them could break the awkward silence, Pedro turned around and started walking several meters away from them. When he was around twenty meters away, he turned around and said, "Anyway... We have job to do. And time... is not on our side. Let''s go!" They rushed towards Pedro''s back, using his tail as their way up. On the other hand, Arvedar shook his head out of embarrassment from his friends'' act. Unlike Lony and Roval, he didn''t ride Pedro''s back and remained where he stood. This, in turn, made Pedro frown slightly because he ''somehow'' predicted what Arvedar thought. "Are you going to try your transformation skill?" Pedro asked. Arvedar nodded with a smile and said, "Yeah! It has no cooldown and time limit after all. It would be a good chance for me to practice using my transformation skill." "Good! Take your time adjusting in your transformation. It would feel awkward at first, but you''d get used to it quickly." Pedro said as he launched high up in the air. "Aaaaaaaaaah!" Lony and Roval shouted as if they were in a roller coaster. Their hands held tightly to Pedro''s scales while the skin on their face seemed like it was to be blown away from their skull--revealing their pearl white teeth, pinkish gums, and their different colored eyes. "Serves you right!" Arvedar chuckled as he transformed into his crow form. He struggled at first--trying to fly like a flightless duck, but soon, he was able to get the grasp of it and was able to fly several meters high. Pedro purposely circled along the way--doing maneuvers to amaze Lony and Roval, while waiting for Arvedar to adjust and master the basics of his transformation skill. The moment Arvedar had grasped the basics, including flying fifty meters above the ground, Pedro led the group and headed immediately towards the Attack Team. Surprisingly, Arvedar''s crow form was able to keep up with the speed of Pedro''s dragon form, making Pedro ecstatic in making more transformation skills in the hopes of getting more Random Creature Transformation Skills for Sabrina and the rest to use until they get the same, no time limit and no cooldown, transformations. Minutes later, they were able to spot the Attack team that ''casually'' rested under a tree. The first person to notice them was Sabrina, whose cold red eyes stared towards their figure that was paired with a frown on her face. Her grip on her pen-knives tightened, a tad bit, but was only tight enough so that her knives won''t slid from his hands when she launched an attack. On the other hand, Mathew and Yojiro only noticed the black dragon''s figure when they were able to notice Sabrina''s fixated fearless gaze. Mathew stood with the help of his sword, whose blade was buried into the ground and sighed. "It looks like break time is over!" Mathew said whilst shaking his arms in an attempt to remove the fatigue he got from swinging his sword for a few hours, non-stop. As for Talia, she remained on the ground, seating, and watched the black dragon get near. The dirt on her face made her resemble someone who survived from a burning house or a beggar during the ancient times. That said, Arvedar and his friends didn''t underestimate them. Because... Despite their ''ragged'' and ''dirty'' appearance, the weapons they wield were different from the newbie sword that every player had. Thus, the trio knew that everyone in the ''Attack team'' was not an ordinary player. "Guildmaster! Are those people our guildmates?" Lony asked. Pedro tilted his head slightly to the left, enough to reveal his confident eyes and smirking jaw, and said, "Yes... They are!" 137 Welcome to the Attack Team! As the dragon landed, Talia comfortably sat and leaned her back to the ''slightly'' burned tree. Yojiro was concerned for her safety, but because he needed to keep his guard on maximum against the black dragon, his attention was shifted back and was focused on Pedro. On the other hand, Mathew and Sabrina knew the reason why Talia is relaxed. In case that the dragon would attack them, Talia could just simply transform into her Ant Transformation and hid below the ground. Spotting her would be difficult compared to the Chicken and the Eagle transformation of Mathew and Sabrina, consequently making her the safest amongst everyone else in the Attack team. Soon, Lony and Roval hopped down from Pedro''s back, allowing him to return into his human form. Then, they approached them as the crow, Arvedar, hovering above them dived beside Pedro, transforming back into his human form when he was close to the ground. Mathew sighed out of relief while Yojiro was flabbergasted after seeing Arvedar and Pedro transform. Yojiro took a step back as the expression on his face froze like he had seen a ghost. Pedro chuckled in response and asked, "Are you guys alright?" "Yeah! Just a bit tired." Mathew said as he pulled his sword from the ground and sheathed it back to its scabbard that was attached to the left side of his waist. But before anyone could utter another word, the red-eyed Sabrina frowned and asked, "Where''s that annoying little girl? And... Who are they?" "Someone took her!" Pedro said, coldly, "We''ll get her back someday. For now... Please be gentle to the new members of the Attack Team." Arvedar bowed slightly in response and said, "I am Arvedar, an adventurer. It''s nice to meet you guys." Lony and Roval followed and introduced themselves. That said, Sabrina remained silent with her red eyes still activated. Because Sabrina acted cold and Yojiro was still to get back to himself, Mathew took the initiative to welcome them by introducing himself in response. "My name is Killer Smile, an adventurer and the Vice Guild Leader of ARES Guild." Mathew approached them and handed out his hand--wanting to shake Arvedar''s hand. In response, Arvedar gazed at him for a few seconds before shaking his hands. Upon doing so, Mathew smirked as he grasped Arvedar''s hand as tight as he could--seemingly testing Arvedar''s strength. Arvedar could only force out a smile in response as he tried to match the strength given by Mathew''s grip. Then, he said, "I didn''t expect that the top two players would be on the same side." "The number one and number two player... Hey, Lony! Slap me! I must be dreaming!" Roval said, jokingly. "One and two? Don''t forget the third and fourth!" Pedro chuckled as he glanced towards Sabrina and the comfortably resting Talia. At this moment, Mathew and Arvedar had finished their ''friendly'' handshake. Then, Mathew crossed his arms while his face wore a smug. "Don''t lose to these terrifying ladies, young men!" Mathew said, "Welcome to the Attack Team!" Arvedar, Lony, and Roval were at loss for words. The way everyone else stood, plus the cold wind that blew past through them, It was an awesome scene to witness and was enough to make Lony, Roval, and even Arvedar shiver in excitement. It was as if Mathew was saying, ''Top ranking players? You guys are next!'' The moment the cool wind halted, Pedro clapped his hands and said, "Alright! Enough drama! I''ll give you an hour or two to ''rest''. There''s a battle we need to join, and there''s no assurance that we''d be able to rest until it is over. So... Enjoy it while you can!" No one dared to question Pedro, even Yojiro. Hence, one by one, they all logged out with Mathew, Arvedar, and Sabrina being the last. Yojiro, on the other hand, leaned back to a tree and stared towards Pedro who was preparing to make more transformation skills. When Pedro got a glimpse of Yojiro, he can''t help but force out a smile and asked, "Are you not going to take a quick nap?" "Ah!" Yojiro was startled from his daze and said, "N-No, Captain! I am not sleepy. This is enough as a rest for me." "Sleepy, Huh? You don''t need to worry about it." Pedro chuckled as he returned his attention to the Nearis Paper and the skill he was about to make. As his eyes blinked, his eyeballs changed from his normal human eyes to his black eyeballs. Consequently, in the next second, Yojiro fell to the ground and seemed like he was already having a good night''s sleep. "You should have told me earlier that you wanted to sleep." Pedro chuckled as he started making transformation skills. ~~~~~~~~~~ Inside a house in the Kagat Village, ten people sat around two wooden dining tables that were joined together. The doors were shut while the windows were covered, making the room dim as it was only lit by two candles placed in the middle of each table. "Xoran, are you sure that twenty thousand men would be enough to clear the western shore?" A seemingly young woman with blonde hair asked the man who sat at the far end of the table. Unfortunately, the light brought by the candle was only able to barely revel up to everyone''s mouth, enough for everyone else to see the reactions or emotions of the other people. The man referred to as Xoran simply smirked in response and said, "That would be enough, Miss Park. Don''t worry about the Kingdom by the Sea. We''ll get there once our force reaches the million mark. For now, Let''s just focus on eliminating nearby threats one by one." "A Million, huh?" Miss Park chuckled as she stood from her chair--seemingly about to leave, and said, "I''ll head to the western shore with my men! Might as well watch the slaughter than sit here and drink." "Do as you wish," Xoran responded as he retained his smile. When the door shut, indicating that Miss Park has left, another woman that sat beside Miss Park asked, "Should I stop her?" Xoran simply shook his head in response and said, "Let her be! It would be nice to breathe some fresh air after all." The woman nodded in response as another person spoke opening another topic for discussion. However, Xoran remained silent as he pondered something. ''Twenty Five thousand players? Soon, the western part of the continent would be under my control. I wonder what rewards would I get from the werewolf!'' Xoran thought while a smile was glued to his face. 138 For the Grades! "This should be enough," he said as a frown weaved in his face due to the smell of smoke. After making transformations skills for almost two hours, he was only able to successfully make another three Random Creature Transformation Skill along with the eleven copies of the wolf transformation skill. "I hope that they would be lucky this time around and would be able to generate a transformation skill that had no cooldown, nor time limit on its use," Pedro said as he changes his eyes back to its normal state. That said, no one woke up even after Pedro stood and finished doing a couple of stretches. He could only force out a smile in response as he scratched the back of his head, thinking, ''Why aren''t they waking up?'' He pondered for a few seconds before he learned the answer to his own question and burst into laughter. His laughter echoed throughout the deathly silent forest, giving the vibes of a demon lord who had just successfully accomplished his goals. Then, when he calmed down, he said, "I almost forgot! Two hours in the game is equivalent to an hour in the real world. No wonder that no one is still up." "Well... I can''t blame them." He shook his head and sighed, "Killing hundreds to thousands of monsters... Then, we are about to go to war against other players? It was understandable for me to stay online in the game the longest because of my real body''s condition. But for them... They were working way past what could be considered overtime!" He glanced towards Sabrina, Mathew, and Talia--amazed with their hard work and dedication. Truth be told, Pedro was only able to attain everything he had through Luck and with the use of his past knowledge. On the other hand, Sabrina, Mathew, and Talia were able to make it through hard work, will, strength, and talent. Yes, It is undeniable that Pedro made a huge contribution to their growth as a player. But... They won''t be able to reach what they have right now if they did not use or utilize what Pedro gave them properly. In fact, Pedro purposely left them to their own accord because he didn''t want them to become dependent on him on the game. Though Pedro really handled threats that were impossible for the three to face, being left against a never-ending wave of monsters and being able to survive to the point that they were even able to take advantage of the situation was something that even professional players would have had a hard time to accomplish unless huge resources were spent on them to do so. That is why having Sabrina, Mathew, and Talia was of huge help to him. And at the same time, he could only hope that Arvedar and his friends would be the same. After a few more minutes, Yojiro was the first one to wake up. His eyes suddenly opened and started scanning around as his body remained in place and had retained the same breathing rhythm before he woke up. Only when he saw Pedro looking at him with a smile did he remember everything that happened before he slept. He shot up to a sitting position, however, before he could say a word Pedro smiled towards him and asked, "How is your sleep?" Yojiro could only force out a smile in response and said, "Uhm... I apologize for my lax behavior, Captain!" Pedro burst into laughter in response as Yojiro stood and shook off the dirt on his armor. Yojiro was confused and, at the same time, nervous about why Pedro reacted with a laugh, but he did not dare ask him why. Truth be told, if Yojiro was in a certain Kingdom''s army, he would have been scolded by his senior or commanding officer if he was caught sleeping in this kind of situation. Not only that, but he could have been also stripped of his rank and removed from his work. Adding up the fact that BHO was a higher ranking military organization compared to Kingdom armies, Yojiro can''t help but feel anxious, especially in the presence of the Captain of their fleet, Pedro. "What are you apologizing for?" Pedro chuckled, asking. Then, he smirked as his body emanated a tinge evil aura enough to send shivers down Yojiro''s spine, and said, "I allowed you to take a rest for a reason. Whatever that reason is, you''ll know soon. For now... Prepare yourself! Because a never-ending fight is about to come for the control of the western region!" ~~~~Support Team''s PoV~~~~ In order to conserve Yuson''s energy, Aldo decided that he and Yuson would use a paddle, each, to move the boat instead. At the same time, the skills of Yuson would be ready to be used in case a monster popped out of the water. As for Charlotte, Elisabeth, and Ashley, they took turns in logging out of the game and doing things they needed to settle before the long fight ahead of them. That said, all of them cannot go offline at the same time because it would be hard for Aldo and Yuson to take care of them in the case that they encountered enemies and they needed to abandon their boat. Hence, two of the girls were assigned to take care of the body of the one offline if that ''worst case'' scenario happened. While Yuson would ensure everyone''s safety with Aldo''s support. "Aaaaah! How troublesome could this situation become, any further?" Aldo complained as he wiped his face that was dripping with sweat. He looked a tad bit annoyed and envy towards the three girls, but he had no choice but to keep paddling for the boat to move. "For the GRADES!!!" he shouted, consequently increasing the speed of his paddle. 139 We Are More Than Just a Farming Guild! Yojiro can''t help but forced out a smile in response that consequently made Pedro burst into laughter. If it was other people, Yojiro might have said a word or two to escape the embarrassment. But... It was no other than Pedro. That is why he had no choice but to remain silent instead. Seeing Yojiro silent and forcing out a smile had somehow made Pedro calm down from his laughter. He did not know whether Yojiro was just like the typical soldier who have huge respect towards their seniors or if he was just simply terrified of Pedro''s strength or Pedro''s existence itself. Either way, he knew that he should take initiative because of his rank. Pedro wiped the tears from his eyes before he took a dead Flocoloso bird out of his inventory bag and said, "Since everyone is still asleep, Let me cook something to eat." "The-There is no need for that, Captain!" Yojiro said, shaking his head and his hands to stop Pedro. Unfortunately, Pedro had made up his mind. His pen-knife slid out of his sleeve and was about to clean the bird, free from its remaining feathers. "No need for what?" Pedro asked, coldly, while his attention was fixated on cleaning the bird. This, in turn, made Yojiro hesitant to respond. Only when Pedro halted cleaning the bird and glanced towards him as if asking ''You have something to say?'', did Yojiro swallowed his saliva and said, "I-I mean... I am alright, Captain. I am not hungry." "I see..." Pedro nodded his head a couple of times before returning back his attention to cleaning the bird and asked, "Do you think that I am going to cook because I think that you were hungry?" Yojiro remained silent in response. He did not know how to answer Pedro''s question. That said, Pedro did not wait for him to say a word and said, "No, I am not! Whether you... or everyone else is hungry or not, I would cook food for all of us to eat. Do you understand why?" This time, Pedro did not answer his own question and awaited Yojiro''s response. It took him almost a minute before he answered, saying, "To regain our strength?" Pedro laughed in response and said, "Are you asking me or telling me? Anyway... You are right. I did say to prepare yourself, remember? Regaining your strength is a part of it. And so does for everyone else." "Ah!" Yojiro gasped in amazement--thinking how Pedro had thought and realized critical or important matters a few steps ahead just from hearing his stomach grumble. However, in the next second, his face forced out a smile due to the embarrassment of not being able to see through Pedro''s intentions that fast. "Forgive me for my short-sightedness, Captain." He said. "Yes, Captain!" Yojiro shouted as he saluted towards him. On the other hand, Pedro responded to his salute with a nod and a smile. Then, he tossed the featherless bird to Yojiro and said, "Good! Now, help me prepare these birds. We are having a feast!" ~~~~~~~~~~ Around Twenty Kilometers north of Pedro and the Attack team, more than a thousand men had assembled along the shore where the ''ships'' were supposed to dock. In front of them was a young man, seemingly in his mid-20s, who had a tight grip on his newbie sword. His light brown skin had emphasized his dark lower eyelids that were paired with the glued smile on his face. He resembled someone who lacks a lot of sleep and seemed like he had a few loose screws in his head. That said, his medium-sized body built could be noticed to be tensed up--ready for a battle of life or death, while marks of the newbie sword''s handle started to imprint on his hand as his grip on it tightens each second. "Help is on the way!" He shouted, whilst retaining his smile. No one amongst the thousand players spoke nor gasp as he continued speaking, saying, "However! Our enemy does not want to give us any chances. This area is of significant importance for my cousin, and we have no choice but to defend it... Even if it cost our lives!" He glanced towards everyone else who remained silent as their faces wore different expressions but... No one dared to utter a single word. And after being able to gaze from left to right, the young man said, "I know it''s just a game! But there''s nothing wrong with wanting glory! So what, if they outnumber us?! So what, if they have better weapons and equipment?! Let''s show them what we got! Show them no mercy! Slay those bast@rds and bring them, with us, to hell! AND GIVE GLORY TO OUR GUILD!" "HOORAH!" Everyone erupted in response as they followed the young man and raised their newbie swords--filled with anger and, at the same time, excitement. The young man glanced at his back--to the vast plain, and chuckled whilst retaining the smile that was seemingly glued on his face, "We are more than just a farming guild! We are... the Oran Gutan Guild!" 140 Level Forty One! "How long before we arrive at our destination?" Pedro''s Aunt Veronica asked Paul as sweat drips on her troubled face. "We''ll be there in a few minutes." Paul Solares answered, calmly. Then, he glanced at Beatrice who was the second in command of the Naval Team and said, "Be ready to fight. We''ll arrive at any moment." "Tch!" Beatrice crossed her arms and flicked her tongue in response. Then, she complained, "Is there really a need to fight? I mean... Shouldn''t we join hands together and fight the freakin'' monsters instead?" Despite the complaint of Beatrice, Paul simply frowned in response and said, "These are the Captain''s orders! If you have complaints, tell him directly! And... I am sure that there were reasons for his decisions." Hopeless, Beatrice sighed and left the CBCR. She headed towards the front most part of the deck and stood there with her arms crossed, while her attention was focused on their front. "Fighting other humans?" Beatrice said as her face wore a frown. "What is that bastard thinking?" ~~~~~Attack Team''s POV~~~~~~ Just when Pedro started grilling the birds, Sabrina woke up next to Yojiro. Knowing that she was amongst the last ones to logged off, Pedro can''t help but gaze towards her out of concern, thinking, ''Did she even eat or take a bath? I know that she wanted to spend time with me, especially after what had happened. But... I am worried that her health might get compromised just because of that!'' Consequently, Sabrina gazed at him, eyes to eyes, as if sweetly asking, ''Is there a problem, dear?'' Her simple and innocent eyes made Pedro blush ''inwardly'' and it, consequently, made him avert his gaze--shifting his attention back to the bird he was grilling. Pedro shook his head a couple of times--seemingly trying to shake off the embarrassment that he felt, and thought, ''How embarrassing! I hope that she won''t make a big deal out of it! Speaking of which!'' Yojiro chuckled lightly in response when Pedro averted his gaze from Sabrina after they stared at each other with a ''tinge'' of intimacy. His chuckle was loud enough to break the awkward silence and, consequently, make Pedro fake a few coughs as he glanced back towards Sabrina. "By the way... I have something for you!" Pedro said as he handed two books and a Random Creature Transformation Skill to Sabrina. Since Pedro was grilling with his right hand, Sabrina took the initiative to stand and sat beside him whilst receiving the books and the skill. Then, she checked the two books first, since she was already familiar with the Random Creature Transformation Skill. "Myself? Leveling up is not my problem. So, it''s better if you''d use them instead," he said, calmly. Then, he gazed towards Sabrina with a smirk on his face, and said, "Besides... I want to fight along side with you. How would it be possible if you are asleep?" Sabrina could only force out a smile in response. Her heart raced suddenly at that split second, rendering her speechless. That said, she was able to control the happiness and excitement that she felt deep inside, probably because of the after effect of her Demon Eyes. Pedro was slightly dismayed by her lack of reaction to his ''spot hitting'' words. Hence, he simply shifted his attention back to the birds and asked, "Won''t it be fun, don''t you think?" Sabrina shook his head before she said, "It would be! To be honest... I can''t wait for it!" Pedro glanced to Sabrina in response. Seeing her ''excited'' smile, Pedro burst into laughter and said, "Why do we look like maniacs? Looking forward for a life and death fight... Are we retards?" Sabrina simply chuckled in response with her smug almost reaching her ears, and said, "We''re not! It''s just that we had these abilities that makes us strong enough to enjoy fights!" "You are right!" Pedro said as he laughed once again. But after a few seconds his laughter halted, creating a momentary silence as he looked up into sky--glancing to the rising moon. Then, he said, "Besides... It was them who wants a fight. We''ll just give them what they want." Sabrina remained silent whilst retaining her smile. On the other hand, Yojiro can''t help but remain silent as shivers run down his spine after hearing what Pedro had said. ''His thoughts... His actions... It''s all terifying for someone of his caliber! No wonder he was even greatly respected by Contra Almirante Solares!'' he thought deep inside as he followed their gaze and shifted his attention towards the rising moon. After a few seconds, they all returned their gaze to their own matters--Pedro and Yojiro focused in grilling birds while Sabrina used the two Tome of Level that consequently increased her level from 21 to 41. Now, she was only eight levels below Pedro, who was at Level 49, and consequently changing the range conditions set by both of their demon eyes. Sabrina was with in the plus or minus 9 levels compared to Pedro, thus, placing her under the middle range of Pedro''s [Emperor''s will] Skill. So, whenever Pedro uses his [Emperor''s will] Skill that was a passive skill of his Demon Eyes, Sabrina would only feel a 60% consciousness fatigue compared to the instantaneous loss of consciousness when her level was more than 9 levels below from Pedro''s level. Although Sabrina''s skills would be silenced as Pedro''s [Emperor''s will] Skill would govern over the silence resistance given by her Demon Eyes, she would still be able to move and ''farm'' the unconscious enemies through physical attacks. On top of that, being with in minus 9 levels from Pedro allowed her to use the [Body Analysis DX] skill of her Demon Eyes, giving her the ability to analyze and check the status of Pedro''s body--including his weak points. Well... That''s if Pedro was not using his Demon Eyes and had silenced all of her skill. That said, Sabrina had suddenly increased he strength by a huge leap. That is why it took her a few minutes to adjust to the changes that happened on her body. Her height did not increase, nor the size of her muscles. But... her body felt lighter--as if she can run faster, while her five senses became a bit more sensitive. "What''s your level, now?" Pedro asked out of curiosity. "Hmm?" Sabrina glanced to him in response and said, "Level Forty One. Why?" "Forty one, huh? You''re just a few levels away from me." Pedro paused for a second as he pondered something. Then, he chuckled, "I can''t help but wonder what would happen... if the world would knew that the player with the highest level is a girl?" 141 A Queen... ''Another transformation skill?'' Sabrina thought. The frown on her face paired with her momentary silence made Pedro look from her to the transformation skill in her hands. Then, after a few seconds, Pedro scratched the back of his head whilst forcing out a smile. ''Could a player only get one transformation skill? Nah... That''s impossible!'' He thought. When Sabrina gazed back at him, he was not able to hold back his curiosity and asked, "Is there a problem?" "Problem? What do you mean?" "I-I thought you weren''t able to use the transformation skill." Sabrina smiled and said, "Relax, my dear! I was just preparing myself before I use this... heartbreaking skill!" Sabrina''s cold and seemingly angry tone made shivers run down their spine. She wore a smile on her face, but... Her grip on the Nearis Paper was so tight to the point that it tore a few seconds later. "Ah!" Sabrina uttered in surprise. Pedro and Yojiro watched the Nearis Paper dissipate as they await Sabrina to tell them what she obtained. That said, a system notification rang on Sabrina''s player interface, indicating what she obtained from the second random creature transformation skill that she used. [Congratulations! Your Transformation Skill had evolved!] [You have learned "Transformation 2: Pithecophaga Eagle" skill!] [Skill: Transformation 1: Pithecophaga Eagle] Rarity: Epic-rated skill Skill Type: Active-Passive Effects: Transforms User into a Pithecophaga Eagle. A) While on the Pithecophaga Eagle form, the user would have ten times the amount of the current HP and other attributes as the original form of the user. Once the HP in transformed form was depleted, the User will be reverted to its original form, with the same amount of HP before the transformation. B) No time limit duration, and No cooldown. [A Bird of unknown origin! Level two!] ~~~~~~~~~~ After seeing the notification, Sabrina flicked her tongue in annoyance. She expected to obtain a different transformation skill. However, her first transformation skill, the Pithecophaga Eagle, seemed to have taken an upgrade or a ''level up'', instead of her getting another transformation. On top of that, she was yet to try her transformation skill. She does not know what kind of bird the Pithecophaga Eagle was, and how it looked like. Hence, she felt conflicted. Whether she would be happy that the cooldown and the duration limit of the skill were removed, or if she would be pissed after knowing that she won''t be able to obtain a dragon transformation because the random creature transformation skill had simply made her first transformation skill evolve or level up. She bit her lips and activated her transformation skill. In the next second, her body started to slowly grow larger while, at the same time, it started to form the shape of an eagle. Fortunately, Pedro and Yojiro were able to act quickly in response. Yojiro carried the Flocoloso birds they were grilling, whilst Pedro carried the five sleeping beauties away from the gigantic eagle. Sabrina just kept growing even larger to the point that she was a few feet even taller than the trees. The branch of the tree from where they sat was crushed into the ground. The trees near her were uprooted as they fell into the ground. While the eerie silence of the forest was broken with her shriek. "Kwiiiiyak!" When her transformation was complete, she towered around fifteen meters tall and had fearless eyes that stared towards Yojiro and Pedro. Her gaze paired with her brown-colored and white-colored feathers gave her a beautiful and elegant but menacing vibe, making Pedro and Yojiro stare in awe. That said, they can''t help but be cautious because she stared towards them as if they were her next prey. "A Queen..." Yojiro murmured. Truth be told, Sabrina''s transformation was a monster that even Pedro was not able to encounter in his past life. However, the white-colored feather on her head that was topped with a few streaks of brown feathers made her resemble a bird that had a crown. Thus, it gave out the impression that Sabrina''s transformation was a royalty of some sort. "Kwiiiiyak!" She shrieked once more. Yojiro stood in bewilderment as his hand, naturally, landed on the handle of his Katana. On the other hand, Pedro exhaled heavily as he wore a ring and said, "At least... Give us a warning next time!" Sabrina shrieked, angrily, in response. But this time, Pedro was able to understand what she said. "How am I supposed to know that my transformation would be this big?" Pedro laughed in response to the point that tears of joy had started to came out from his eyes. Yojiro was confused even further by Pedro''s laugh. That said, Yojiro eased a little bit because of Pedro''s comfortable demeanor. That said, before he could utter a word, Sabrina made another shriek, saying, "Why are you laughing?" Not wanting to anger Sabrina even further, Pedro calmed himself--wiping the tears on his eyes, and said, "It''s nothing! I just didn''t expect that you''d transform into something that was this big. I mean... Look at you! You''re almost a third of the size of my dragon form." Sabrina closed her eyes, momentarily, as she shook her head. Then, she said, "The size does not matter! What''s important is that my transformation skill evolved and had no cooldowns and duration limits, Hmph!" "Eh..." Pedro could only stare at the giant bird as it averted its gaze--opposite their direction, and stretched it''s ten feet long wings. Then, the ground started to shake as she started to moving around, and even occasionally flapping her wings--trying to fly. At this moment, Lony and Roval had ''unfortunately'' awakened from their sleep. Their eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets the moment their attention was shifted to the giant bird that was several meters away from them. "Holy shit!" Lony cursed. "A-A raid boss?!" Roval added. They could only stare towards Sabrina out of fear. And after a few seconds of silence, Pedro chuckled and said, "Raid boss? What are you saying?! That''s Gentle Breeze... Our guildmate." Lony and Roval glanced towards Pedro who raised three of his fingers and added, "Rank three, remember?" "Eh?!" Lony and Roval were at loss for words as they glanced back and forth towards the smiling Pedro and Sabrina, and was filled with disbelief. "Eeeeeeeeh?" They cried, consequently annoying Arvedar, who had just woken up and was still rubbing his eyes. "Noisy as ever!" Arvedar grumbled. But soon, he realized that the ground was shaking. Thus, making him follow the gazes of Lony and Roval. "What the--!" He cursed as soon as he saw the giant eagle. 142 Transformation Skill 2: No Time Limit! He still don''t have a hundred percent assurance that using the transformation skill page for the second time would grant a level up on the first transformation skill generated, instead of generating another different transformation skill. That said, Pedro can''t help but feel ecstatic after knowing that Sabrina''s transformation skill had leveled up. He could only hope that it would be the same case for Talia and Mathew, once they use the random creature transformation skill page for the second time. However, Pedro''s day dream was halted when Arvedar transformed to his crow form and flew away to a safe distance--out of fear from Sabrina. But, Arvedar''s actions wasn''t the reason why Pedro''s attention was focused towards him. But... Because of the fact that both Arvedar''s clothes and inventory bag did not disappear after his transformation. "Where are his clothes? His inventory bag?" Pedro murmured to himself as he glanced back and forth, from where Arvedar initially stood, to the flying crow. It was only after a few seconds did he notice a minature looking bag that was wrapped arround Arvedar''s neck. It was then did Pedro remembered that when Arvedar returned to his original form a few hours back when they first met the Attack team that Arvedar had retained his clothes. "Wait a minute! What''s going on?!" Pedro frowned as he shifted his glance towards Sabrina. He realized that for some reason, when they transformed, their clothes nor their inventory bag were unaffected. It was contrary to what occurs when Pedro transforms into his dragon form. He wanted to ask Sabrina to transform back to her human form but... he decided not to do so, thinking that if his hypothesis was wrong, Sabrina would be naked infront of several guys. Thus, he decided to wait for Mathew to go online instead, and check it after he had used the Random creature transformation skill once again. It was hitting two hypothesis with one stone. He would be able to confirm if the random creature transformation skill page would only grant one transformation skill and would only level up in the succeeding use of the similar skill page or... would it generated another random transformation, and Sabrina was just lucky to obtain the same transformation for the second time, consequently leveling up her Phitecophaga Eagle Transformation. On top of that, Truth to be told, Pedro was the only skill maker on Bearth Online that could make a transformation skill. Thus, it might seem like transformation skills were cabbage to him, but to other players... and even NPCs, such skill page or the skill itself was rare. Why was Yojiro being able to remain calm despite knowing these facts? Even Pedro was oblivious of the reason. That said, Pedro knew a thing or two about Yojiro and the other NPCs that were part of his fleet... They all recognized his strength and fear him. What more the two men who had witnessed an ounce of his strength in the BHO recruitment event? Pedro could only assume that they were afraid of getting on his bad side. Hence, they seldom question him, his orders, or his decisions. He couldn''t help but smile as he glanced to everyone else, seeing their limitless potential. It was true that everyone, including him, had their own weakness, and that they still lack some things despite being overpowered in their own ways, but... This was something that he did not expect to achieve, even despite the fact that it was his second life. "How about you two help us cook?" Pedro asked, averting the attention of Lony, Roval, and Yojiro away from the giant eagle. This way, Sabrina, and even Corvus, could train in peace and free from the pressure that was being exerted by the gazes of their audience. With Pedro''s authority, none dared to question his order and everyone followed accordingly. Soon, they had finished roasting the flocoloso birds, and at the same time, Talia and Mathew had woken up. Like Lony and Roval, the siblings'' eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets when they saw Sabrina in her transformation form. "Here!" Pedro tossed a random creature transformation skill page to each of them before they could utter a word. Then, he said, "She used another transformation skill page, and for some reason, it leveled up." "Le-Leveled up?" Mathew asked in astonishment. Pedro nodded in response as he returned his focus back to roasting their food. This, in turn, made Mathew force out a smile as he glanced towards Talia and nodded towards her as if saying, "Let''s go!" Lony and Roval watched the siblings use their transformation skill page. After the Nearis paper dissipated, Pedro followed their glance as he also awaited for the outcome of using the random creature transformation skill page for the second time. Mathew and Talia froze as their eyes stared towards their interface, which they themselves could only see. After a few seconds, Mathew glanced towards Pedro--full of disbelief, and said, "No time limit... And no cooldown!" Pedro smirked towards him before shifting his gaze back to the food--that was already dark brown in color. Then, he pointed towards where Sabrina was located and said, "Go there, if you are going to transform. I was almost crushed by a bird earlier... I don''t want it to happen again!" 143 So... It started? At that moment, Talia vanished without a single trace. While, on the other hand, Mathew transformed into a chicken--resembling a fighting cock, that was almost as tall as Sabrina''s transformation. It had dominant black and red-colored feathers that were mixed with a few yellow, blue, violet, and orange-colored feathers on its tail, its wings, and the comb on its head. While his black eyes glanced around as if he was finding food to peck. "Boook!" Mathew cried. "That''s some big assed cock!" Lony said as he forced out a smile. Fortunately, for some reason, Mathew did not hear what he said and had seemingly made a few slight bows towards Pedro before moving away from everyone to ''familiarize'' himself with his transformation and its limits. Pedro simply grinned in response and thought, ''It seems like increasing the level of a transformation skill also increases its size.'' This, in turn, caught the attention of Lony, Roval, and Yojiro. That said, he simply smiled towards them and said, "Let''s eat! After they familiarize themselves with their transformation, we''ll head straight towards our enemy and show them our strength." They nodded in response as Pedro chowed down his food. It might not seem like it but... Lony and Roval were filled with excitement. A few hours ago, they were being chased by that same group of players. But with Pedro''s precense, the rank one player in the world, together with his dragon transformation, Lony and Roval had an assurance that they would be able to get their revenge to the United Players. Several minutes later, Pedro had recieved a message from his Aunt, telling him that they had arrived at the shore. However, the enemy, with an army of twenty thousand players, were already charging at the plains a kilometer away from them. Fortunately, his cousin had scattered their thousand men. Thus, they were able to temporarily hold off the enemies. That said, they were being pushed meter by meter as more players on the enemies'' side arrives. "So... It started?!" Pedro stood with a frown on his face and glanced towards Sabrina and Arvedar--who were flying in the air, and Mathew--who was leaping twenty to forty meters high. "It''s time! Let''s go!" Lony, Roval, and Yojiro stood and dusted of their clothes, while Mathew took another leap, landing directly meters away from Pedro. On the other hand, Sabrina and Arvedar circled around them--waiting for Pedro to transform into his dragon form and follow his lead. At the same time, holes after holes in the ground started to appear as millions of ants started to appear. "Not bad!" Mathew chuckled towards Talia. "Hmph! Just you wait brother! I''ll let you see how powerful my transformation is!" Talia grumbled, not even stoling a single glance towards Mathew. Mathew simply laughed in response. Then, he asked, "Do you even need to ride expert brother''s back?" Talia glanced at him with a frown and said, "No! But I want to experience ridding a Dragon!" Before things could go south, Pedro interrupted them with a clap and said, "Argue later! We need to go now!" Pedro transformed into his Dragon form and laid his tail for everyone else to use in order to climb on his back. Lony and Roval were the first ones to climb and sat, and was followed by Yojiro. Talia followed them--full of glee and excitement, as Mathew shook his head behind her. ''How embarassing!'' Mathew thought after caughting a glance of Pedro, who watched them climb his back. However, Pedro did not gave them that much time to find a comfortable seat. The moment that Talia and Mathew sat, he leaped into the sky--forcing everyone to grab, tightly, on the spikey scales of his back. "Aaaaaah!" Talia and Mathew shouted as if they were ridding a roller coaster. The wind blew to their faces as if it wanted to separate their skin from their bones. Soon, Pedro reached the peak of his jump--allowing Mathew, Yojiro, and Talia to relax. That said, Mathew noticed Lony and Roval was bracing to Pedro''s spikey scales, even tighter. Unfortunately, before he could react, Pedro dived back to the ground, giving them another ride similar to a roller coaster. But this time, it was more nerve racking as Pedro only flapped his wings and glidded several meters before they hit the ground. "We-e-e-e-lco-o-o-o-me to-o-o-o-o Dra-a-a-a-agon E-e-e-e-e-express!" Lony said as he smiled towards Mathew, Yojiro, and Talia. Mathew and Yojiro could only force out a smile, while Talia seemed to be enjoying the ride. That said, whether they like it or not, Pedro did it a couple of times. He would tend to fly high, then, glide downwards. That way, he accelerated faster, at the same time, he was able to take a couple of rest from time to time. With Arvedar and Sabrina behind him, they resembled three planes that were about to attack. Pedro grinned after seeing this and roared, saying, "Attack team, on bound! ETA thirty minutes!" 144 The Great War of Aquari: The Start and The Arrival of the Support and Naval Team! Her attention was focused on a man who was retreating further backward and was seemingly being protected by the opposing force, indicating that he is someone of great importance. "Perhaps... He is their leader." Her lips curved upward as her hands waved as if she was calling for someone. In the next breeze of wind, a thin but muscular man arrived beside her, standing on the branch as if he was a bird. His face was fully covered with another player''s clothes and had two unusual looking daggers sheathed on his waist. "Guild Leader Park, do you have any order?" The masked man said as he bowed slightly--not lifting his head as he waits for the woman to respond. Guild Leader Park simply raised her hand--pointing towards the sleepless looking young man that she was watching, and said, "Kill that man! It seems like he is someone important." "Anything else?" The masked man asked. His eyes followed the pursuit of the figure of the sleepless looking young man while waiting for Guild Leader Park''s response. Guild Leader Park shook her head and said, "Killing him is enough." "As you wish!" The masked man bowed once more with a smirk on his face. The wind blew once more and in the blink of an eye, the masked man vanished into thin air. At the same time, Guild Leader Park grinned as she leaned her head to the trunk of the tree--happily watching the onslaught in the plains. "This is a lot more entertaining than those VR Action movies." She chuckled. At this moment, in the plains, Pedro''s gold farming army had been reduced to almost half. Yet, there were no signs of either Pedro or his Naval team. Thus, his cousin, Weyron, was forced to retreat after successfully holding off the enemy--not allowing them to enter the plains, for almost ten minutes. The sleepless looking young man could only retreat as fast as he could as the enemy lines advance forward and were barely stopped by his own force. That said, his mouth was still slightly curved upward, showing a tinge smile that steeled the hearts of his soldiers and consequently made their grip on their newbie swords even tighter, and their murderous intent even stronger. "Reinforcements would arrive soon! Do not fear! Do not falter!" He cried as he stole a glance towards his back. A huge man, a player from Weyron''s force, smirked in response as his grip on his newbie sword tighten to the point that it was enough to make his own hands bleed. That said, the big man remained unaffected as he stared towards the charging enemies in front of him as if they were his next meal. "Yaaaaaah!" The big man howled as he swung his newbie sword, splitting his first targets into half. The big man aimed for their necks, splitting three heads in one swing. The big man kept swinging his newbie sword, splitting body after body of their enemies. This, in turn, made Weyron shift his gaze towards Guild Leader Park and smirk as if he was saying, "How do you like that?" Guild Leader Park simply wore a smile despite his mock. Thus, he can''t help but furrow his brows and glanced at the big man while still retaining his smile on his face. Unfortunately, this time, he saw a thin but muscular masked man standing above the shoulders of the big man with his daggers embedded at where the big man''s eyes were located. "Sh1t!" Weyron cursed as the masked man vanished into thin air, leaving the big man lifeless and falling to the ground. But before Weyron could take another step, a blade pierced through his back and directly hit his heart. This made him coughed out blood as his vision started to fade. Still... His face retained its grin as he stared towards the view of the shore and the vast sea. ''I failed...'' Weyron sighed inwardly, thinking that he was not able to successfully lead his men and was not able to fulfill the job Pedro gave him. As he was just admiring the beauty of the shore, the sea, and the setting ball of fire before his last breath, the figure of three sword-like ships appeared--sailing in front of the setting ''ball of fire''. ''Avenge us... Cousin!'' Weyron smirked one last time as his vision completely faded. "Boof! Boof!" The ships horned, loudly, as it approached the shore without any hints of stopping. Everyone halted momentarily and could only stare towards the three humongous ships that were about to arrive. The masked man frowned in response as he drew his dagger out of Weyron''s back. Then, he stole a glance towards Guild Leader Park, who was staring in amazement at the three gigantic ships. Unfortunately, before they could utter another word, the remaining player alive from Pedro''s gold farming army erupted as they started attacking their enemies once again. "The reinforcements had arrived!" "Attaaaaaaack!" "For our fallen comrades! For guild leader!" Everyone shouted as they slaughter their enemies, one after another. It only took a second before their words sink into the minds of every opposing player from the United Asian Force. Thus, in the next second, their enemies scrambled all over the place. They were fighting for their lives while retreating back into the forest because of the fear caused by the arrival of the three gigantic ships. On the other hand, Guild Leader Park stood at the branch of the tree with her teeth gritted and her fist clenched tightly. Seeing her face, her men that made a defensive formation surrounding the tree where she was standing, remained on their feet and did not take another step back to retreat without her orders. And like a General of an Army, she shouted as loud as she can. Loud enough that it echoed through the battlefield and was able to get the attention of every player under the United Asian Force. "Attaaaaaack! Do not be afraid! We greatly outnumber the enemy! Our strength lies in our number! If you die, create a new character and join the fight again! Remember! In this world... we are immortals! We are the most powerful beings! Here... WE RULE THE WORLD!" The masked man simply smirked in response as his figure vanished. In a blink of an eye, he arrived at his nearest targets, stabbing them to their heart and killing them on the spot. The other players from the United Asian Force erupted as they followed the charge of the masked man and fought the remaining players of Pedro''s player force. "Glory to Lady Park!" "Glory to United Asian Force!" The twenty thousand men of the United Asian Force charged and annihilated the last members of Pedro''s player force, who did not falter and fought to their very last breath. This, in turn, made Guild Leader Park smirk as her eyes were glued towards the three ships that were about to reach the shore. "Those ships... They''re mine!" As the ships were about to crash into the shore and the United Asian Force was about to charge, a small ship being rowed by two men had appeared out of nowhere. It casually docked to the shore as if the people aboard it were on an island-hopping trip. "What''s that?" Guild Leader Park frowned, trying to see who was aboard in that small boat that was barely seen a kilometer away from the shore. Everyone''s attention was shifted from the three huge ships... to the ordinary boat and its passengers--four women and two men, that hopped out of it. What''s more out of place was that two of the four young women were happily waving towards the three giant ships as if they had seen their friend after a long time. "Look, classmate Aldo! We even arrived earlier than the ships!" Charlotte chuckled. Aldo forced out a smile towards her in response, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He did not know if Charlotte was teasing him for rowing the boat for a long time or... if she was just ''proud'' and was bragging that they ''did'' arrive earlier than the three ships. At the same time, he also realized that they stood between two opposing forces that were about to clash. Thus, He glanced around, looking for Pedro''s cousin and his player force. However, upon doing so, He was only able to spot players standing, seemingly on the same side, and were standing on the plains where thousands of dead bodies of players were scattered all over the plains. Even Yuson, who saw this scene, could only glance back and forth from the three giant ships to the United Asian Force army. "Shut up! Dense b1tch3s!" Ashley cursed as she had a sour look on her face. Like Aldo and Yuso, She also knew the situation and the position they were in. Hence, she gripped her sword as tight as she can and said, "This is a battlefield, not some field trip on a relaxing beautiful beach!" "Oh!" Charlotte and Elisabeth''s face went pale the moment they gaze towards Ashley. It was only at that moment that they caught a glimpse of the twenty thousand men that seemed unfriendly and were about to charge at them. Before they could utter another word, a cold breeze blew past them as the same masked man that slaughtered many of Pedro''s player force appeared in front of Ashley and was several feet away from landing a stab towards her. "Nooo!" Yuson and Aldo cried as they rushed towards Ashley in the hopes that they would be fast enough to protect her from the incoming fatal blow. "Eh?" Ashley could only stare and watch the last few seconds play before her death. Dodge? It was impossible for her. She was not fast enough to dodge the incoming attack. Thus, her hopelessness made the masked man smirk. "You''re dead!" He chuckled. 145 Come... Humans! "Burning Strike: Red Flame!" A girl shouted, grudgingly. Fortunately, in the last second, the man was able to twist his other hand and use a dagger to shield himself from the attack. His frown faded and was replaced with a smile, even after being barely able to deflect the flaming attack. "Not bad--" The masked man chuckled as a girl with reddish hair suddenly appeared in front of Ashley. Yet, in a blink of an eye, the masked man''s body split perfectly vertically into two causing his internal organs to ooze out to the ground. "Captain Paul! You don''t need to interfere!" The girl complained as she swung her sword to remove the flames on its blade. "I can handle them... At the least!" At this moment, the ships slammed into the shore, creating a deafening noise and a cloud of sand--as if there was a sandstorm. The three gigantic ships only stopped their skid when almost one-eight, in the side length, of the middle ship, Karakoa, was embedded into the sandy shore. The sandstorm made the support team cover their faces and, at the same time, it hid the unfortunate fate that the masked man had suffered from Guild Leader Park and the United Asian Force. Thus, Guild Leader Park and the players from the United Asian Force could only watch and wait for the sandstorm to settle before they could continue their advance. Despite their limited vision, the figures of the three ships could still be seen, consequently increasing Guild Leader Park''s excitement in obtaining the said ships. On the other hand, Paul Solares stared daggers towards the United Asian Force from the deck of Karakoa. He stood stable and firm as his right hand rested on top of the handle of his Katana--that was sheathed on the left side of his waist, despite the shaking caused by the impact. "Killing fellow humans without a second thought... No wonder Captain Aron sent us here!" He whispered to himself after he saw the hundreds of people lying dead in the plains. Then, he stole a glance at Pedro''s Aunt Veronica--who was standing to his left. A frown on her face greeted Paul, thus, giving him a vibe that something was a miss. However, before he could ask Aunt Veronica about it, a strong gust suddenly blew past them that originated from the lifeless body of the masked man. "Now what?!" Aldo grumbled as he was about to run away from the dead body of the masked man. However, upon turning around, he caught a glimpse of Yuson--who stared blankly towards the origin of the gust. Thus, Aldo had no choice but to halt from his retreat and observe the gust, blew away the sand that clouded the shore. "This..." Yuson murmured, full of disbelief. In turn, his expression had caught the attention of both Beatrice and Paul, who seemed like they also know something about this strange phenomenon. The NPCs calmness had eased the hearts of the players on the support team, despite being only a few meters away from the tornado looking phenomenon. A Kilometer away from them, Guild Leader Park wore a sour face as her gaze was locked to the tornado as if she ate a lemon. Her men could only steal a glance towards her as sweat had started to fall from their faces. "Sh1t!" Guild Leader Park flicked her tongue as she gritted her teeth, and thought, ''That reckless b@st@rd! I should have given the f@cking inheritance to other men, instead! Now... The Wind God''s Inheritance is in jeopardy! I must act fast! Before the enemy realizes what that tornado is, and the power they could obtain from it!'' In the next second, Guild Leader Park unsheathed an elegant silver rapier from her waist and pointed it towards the three ships. Then, she shouted, "Attaaaaack!" "Attaaack!" Every single player from the United Asian Force erupted as they lifted their newbie swords and charged like ants towards the three gigantic ships. This time, even Guild Leader Park charged together with her men. This consequently made Aldo, Charlotte, Elisabeth, Ashley, and Aunt Veronica''s face look pale. Thousands of enemies were charging towards them. Even if they were as strong as Pedro, it was still their first time experiencing such a scenario by themselves. A seemingly endless number of enemies filled with blood lust! Who, in their right mind, would not shake in fear from that? Although Aunt Veronica was aboard Karakoa, she can''t help but react the same way with the support team--who were already on the shore. Her hands trembled as beads of sweat started to fall on her face. Why? Because compared to VR Action Movies that had the closest similarity in terms of scenes, this time around, she is ''actually'' a part of one of the participating forces in the war. On top of that, every single decision that she would make could affect the war, even in the smallest detail. However, even as Aunt Veronica took a few steps backward, Paul Solares remained calm. He stood coldly and simply watched the ants charge towards them as if they were cubes of sugar dropped on the floor. He was irritated... angered... annoyed by the actions of these humans--players from the United Asian Force. He thought, ''Humans should be working together! Not Fighting against each other!'' Thus, he retained his resolve that they would not attack anyone unless they enter the vicinity of the shore. It was Paul''s limit. But... Aunt Veronica knew that the players would not stop on their attack. Hence, she had no choice but to send a message to Pedro indicating that their enemies were already charging towards them and hope that he would arrive to command the NPCs himself before things turn to their worst. As the air in the deck of Karakoa become tenser, tremors were suddenly felt on the ship. Everyone aboard the Karakoa could only glance towards the doors of the cargo area that was located on the deck of the ship. Afterward, the largest door of the ship, the doors of the cargo area, was opened by a gigantic ancient-looking Tree from the inside. Then, it walked out of the cargo area to the deck and walked to the front most part where Paul was located. Behind it, several more gigantic ancient-looking trees came out of the cargo area and followed it. The crew on the deck ran back to the nearest entry point to the ship to avoid being squashed by the giant creatures. That said, Paul simply stole a glance towards them and retained his cold demeanor. Then, like someone who does not want additional trouble, he asked, "Treants! What do you need?!" "Young... Human!" Tan, the eldest treant that was under Faunia''s care and the treant that had the darkest bark, grinned mischievously towards Paul. Then, he asked, "Can... we... play?!" Paul glanced towards their crewmates and the support team on the shore. Then, he flicked his tongue in response and said, "Do as you wish! But don''t go too far! I don''t want to anger Captain Aron and the Little girl!" "We... Won''t!" Tan smirked as he hopped down the ship, causing the ground on the shore to shake. The other treants followed his lead and hopped down the ship with the same mischievous grin printed on their faces. This caused minor shocks to the point that even Loren stumbled into the sand. That said, the United Asian Force did not falter nor halt in their advance. After all, what Guild Leader Park stated was true. All players were akin to being immortal. If they die, they can just create another character and ran back to the battlefield. Hence, the players did not fear death. Besides... Unlike NPCs, it was just a ''game'' for them. Their real life is not at risk. This made Elder Treant Tan chuckle deep inside. ''Great! These... offers! We... gladly... accept... for... the... goddess!'' Elder Treant Tan and the other Treants charged forward, making the ground tremble even stronger. Along the way, some Treants had even picked up huge boulders from the shore and threw them towards the players from the United Asian Force. "Fwooooooosh! Boom!" The boulders were launched as if they were shot from canons or catapults. It made whistles on its flight and made the soil splatter upon impact. The players that were nearby the points of impact were covered with dirt and soil, while those who were hit directly by the boulders were crashed to the point that their bodies could not be even recognized. Even some of the surviving players fell into the ground with their vision slightly faded--like what happens after looking up into the sun after a long period. That said, the United Asian Force only had several hundred casualties. It was only a small percentage compared to the number of their full force that was scattered all over the plain. On the other hand, Elder Treant Tan simply smirked as he and the treants lined by his side, halted their charge, and punched their arms--their biggest pair of branches, into the ground. This consequently made the ground shook as gigantic roots ruptured the ground and traveled through the plain like a wave, flicking players along the way several meters into the sky. Some were able to dodge the said "waves", while some were fortunate to have enough level and survive their fall from the sky. Yet, the casualties on the side of the United Asian Force were still minimal. This made Aldo and the rest of the support team to gasp in admiration and amazement. The Treants already showed how freakish in nature they were, still... the United Asian Force remained unfazed and continued charging forward. On the contrary, Paul Solares took a deep breath as he lifted his right hand off the handle of his Katana. Then, he gazed towards Elder Treant Tan and murmured, "I hope... that these men would start to retreat by now!" At this moment, Elder Treant Tan pulled his hand off the ground, consequently cutting his link from the wave of roots that he made. The other treants did the same thing, causing the gigantic roots to suddenly rot and shrink in the blink of an eye. For some reason, the roots disappeared one by one and were followed by constant quakes on the ground. Then, the soil started to collapse several meters below the ground as if it was quicksand, along the ruptured ground of the plains. Players in those areas were sucked and buried into the massive hole, consequently stopping the advance of the United Asian Force. "Not... Enough!" Elder Treant Tan howled as he stared towards the remaining players of the United Asian Force. However, Elder Treant Tan and the other treants simply stood, seemingly watching the next moves of the players from the United Asian Force. "Come... Humans!" Elder Treant Tan waved his hand, taunting the United Asian Force with a mischievous smile. 146 Such Beautiful Creatures! Shout out to MoeJam90, BLACK_HOLE, and NixxxiE who are the current top 3 in the Top Fans of the story! ~~~~~~~~~ The players from the United Asian Force stood as they watch Elder Treant Tan waved his hand, challenging them to charge forward. Cold wind breeze passed through them, sending shivers to their body as if it was a hint that they would all soon perish. On the other hand, the people watching the live streams of the war erupted as the seemingly unstoppable army of the United Asian Force was halted by the sudden appearance of overpowered monsters--the treants. Holy Sh1t! OMG! Amaaaazing! I can''t wait to play the game! Same! Same! +1 Same! +2 ... Their viewers skyrocket from thousands to million viewers worldwide. The live stream went viral in just seconds. Some giggled, while others jump in excitement as they all dreamed of being able to participate in that battlefield. In the real world, somewhere in United States, five people sat comfortably on a white leather sofa whilst watching the live stream that was displayed in a 70 inch curved monitor that was attached to a wall. "That''s some big @ss trees they got there!" The man sitting at the edge of the sofa chuckled before taking a sip to the white mug he held. Then, he combed his blonde hair upwards, revealing his beautiful blue eyes and said, "I can''t wait for our server to release such quests and monsters! I am fed up facing the little goblins! They can''t even make a scratch on me even when I was just level one." A blonde woman that was sat on the opposite end of the sofa, glanced towards the young man with a frown and said, "Just keep leveling up! Guild Leader Peter needs us to reach level twenty as soon as possible! So... Stop complaining!" "Reese is right, Jake!" A bald man said as he shifted his brown eyes towards the young man. Then, he continued, "I heard that Jason and Gerant had already went past the level twenty mark! If we became complacent, we would be left into the dust by the Asian Players!" Jake, the young man, flicked his tongue in response and was about to retaliate to what the black bald man said. But before Jake could do so, a blonde man entered the door whilst holding a tablet seemingly filled with information. The five people, who sat in the sofa, stood immediately when they heard his voice spoke from their back. Their faces could not help but to force out a smile, especially Jake who''s face had a few beads of sweat dripping down his face. "Jason and Grant had already reached level twenty." He stated with a frown, "Plus! They were ranked amongst the top ten players on the event of the Asian Server!" He turned of the tablet, stared towards Jake, and scolded, "Reese and I are about to reach level twenty. What about you Jake? You have the Damage Nulification Skill! An Epic rated! But you''re still at level seventeen?! I''ll give you five hours to catch up! You know what would happen if you fail, right?" "Yes, Guild Leader!" Jake shouted in response as he hurriedly headed towards gaming area. When Jake had entered the gaming area, Guild Leader Peter gazed to everyone else--who stared back towards him, waiting for his command. Guild Leader Peter frowned in response and scolded, "What are you guys staring at? Log back to the game and start farming! We can''t lose to the players from other servers!" Reese, or even the black bald man, Turner, did not dare to argue as everyone followed Jake towards the gaming area without wasting another second. Guild Leader Peter sighed in response after being left in the lobby area of their Gaming Camp. Then, he raised his hand and aimed it towards the television. His hand seemed like it wanted to grab the three giant ships that were parked behind the treants. "We are destined to be the number one!" He grumbled as he clenched his fist and consequently turned off the television. ~~~~~~~~~ Somewhere in China, the chairman of the company that made the Bearth online comfortably sat on the chair on his office. He quietly observed the live stream that was displayed on a television attached on the wall of his office. He rubbed his chin as his gaze was fixated to the gigantic treants standing infront of the United Asian Force. However, despite his calm and relaxed demeanor, his secretary, who stood behind him, had beads of sweat falling on her face as the tablet on her hands kept popping out notifications after notification coming from the different departments of their company. "Such beautiful creatures!" The Chairman said in admiration. Then, he waved his hand towards the television--turning it off, and glanced towards his secretary, saying, "Tell the other departments that I did not release any updates. Those monsters were just part of the feature of the Bearth Online being an open world virtual reality game. If they ask how did those huge trees appeared in that area... Tell them that even I don''t know the reason behind it! It''s probably caused by a player from the Asian Region. In any case... Even I would want to meet that player!" The secretary could only bow in response, whilst forcing out a smile, before leaving the Chairman on his office. Then, the Chairman rotated his chair and glanced to the view, outside his office. "Who ever that player is... I don''t know if that player is just d@mb or is just tired of living!" He chuckled. ~~~~~~~~~ Back inside the game, Elder Treant Tan shook his trunk and said, "Such... Disappointment!" Almost a minute had passed by and still... not a single player from the United Asian Force dared to move a muscle. Thus, with the lead of Elder Treant Tan, the treants took a few steps back before they sprinted and jumped through the hole. Unfortunately, they, even Elder Treant Tan, was not able to reach the other side of the Plains and fell into the hole that was deep enough to even hid their highest branch. This event made Aldo and the rest of the support team face palmed their heads as they started to became filled with embarassment, while at the same time, the fear that they felt earlier had started to came back to their minds. On the other hand, The United Asian Force bursted into laughter. Those watching the live streams online could not help but laugh as well. Some even mocked the game developers saying that they made the gigantic trees just to attract players. They won''t literally place chalenges, especially monsters, that they would not be able to defeat at the very start or on the early stages of the game. As the observers spam their mocks or ''Trap! +1'', the players from the United Asian Force relaxed as they walk forward, towards the three ships, as if victory was on their hands. That said, Paul Solares did not lift a finger, even if the United Asian Force was about to charge towards them, once again. "I didn''t expect them to be this strong!" Paul said as his face wore a frown. Then, he sighed and said, "Good thing that they were on our side." His words made Aunt Veronica frown as the ground started to shake with a stronger magnitude compared to earlier, when the treants made ruptures into the ground. Because of it''s strength, Paul neede to held at the railings of the deck, while Aunt Veronica entangled herself to the railing, in order to avoid falling down. On the other hand, Yuson and Beatrice were forced to stab their swords into the ground and held on to it tightly to avoid falling. Aldo and Ashley was too late as they could only stab their swords into the ground and cling to it, to avoid rolling around like Loren, Charlotte, and Elisabeth. "Wha-Wha-Wha-What i-i-i-i-is ha-ha-ha-happe-pe-pe-peni-ni-ni-ning?" Aldo asked as his body uncontrollably swung from left to right. His voice vibrated as if he was ridding an extreme ride on an amusement park--like roaler coasters. While his hands, like Ashley, started to show marks that indicated how tight they held their sword. No one answered him because everyone was busy keeping their feet on the ground. While Loren, Charlotte, and Elisabeth were hopelessly rolling on the ground. It was the same case for the players from the United Asian Force, some rolled in to the ground, while some were either on their knees or barely on their feet as they tightly held to their weapons that were stabbed in the ground. Soon, the quake started to weaken--signifying that it was about to end. Unfortunately, the dillema of the players from the United Asian Force were just about to begin. The soil in the plains, startingnearest to where the treants fell, started to collapse like a landslide. "Run!" The players cried as they did their best to run back towards the direction of the forest. Unfortunately, the soil collapsed and slid as fast as an avalanch. Those players, who were beyond the half of the plains, perished as they fall and were burried into the ground. While those, who were yet to cross almost half of the plains, were drifted by the soil towards the new location of the lowest part of the plains. The part where the treants initially fell. "I-Impossible!" The face of the players from the United Asian Force went pale as they spotted the gigantic figures of the treants--who stared towards them as if they were staring at their prey. "Come... Humans! Let''s... have... some... fun!" Elder Treant Tan chuckled as the other treants had a mischievous smile. 147 Frozen Cage: Negative Degree Prison! No content 148 A Bird? A Plane? No! Its a Dragon! No content 149 The Attack Teams Arrival! No content 150 Wolves Howl! Not Bark! No content 151 Wind Sword Art: Yojiros Wind Blade! No content 152 Evading the Dragons Breath by a Hairs Breadth! Yojiro took the front, while Lony and Roval cleaned up the rest. That said, after every wind blade that Yojiro made, another batch of mountain wolves appeared and charged towards them. "Let''s fall back!" Yojiro cried as he swung his sword and sent a wind blade, killing tens of mountain wolves in just a matter of seconds. Lony and Roval, who were in their mountain wolf form, glanced towards Yojiro after tearing the head of a mountain wolf, each, from its body. Then, they dropped it to the ground and starred towards Yojiro before they slightly nod. In the next second, the two gray wolves retreated as fast as they can--as if they badly needed to poop. With their four feet, their figures disappeared into the forest before Yojiro could even lift his foot. "Sh1t!" Yojiro cursed. "Those cowards!" Yojiro planted his feet and made one last swing before he followed their retreat. Soon, he was able to catch up to the two scared pieces of fools. Yojiro was still faster compared to them, since, even if he was an NPC, he was still of a higher level compared to them. Thus, his agility was higher, allowing him to catch up to the two. As to how Yojiro found their location, Lony and Roval barked at their loudest as they retreat, making it easy for Yojiro to locate them. At that point, Yojiro could go ahead of Lony and Roval, but he decided to match his pace with them, and eliminate the monsters that would be able to catch up to them. They simply ignored every player they encounter along the way as they retreat as fast as they can, away from the wave of mountain wolves. In turn, those players could only glance towards them in bewilderment as to why two ''foolish'' wolves and a man runs in the ''opposite'' direction--towards the burning forest where Pedro was located. After a few seconds of pondering, their attention would be shifted to their fellow players who also seemed to be running for their lives in the wrong direction. It was only when they heard the screams of the other players were they able to get back to themselves. "Run! Run! Run! Monsters! Monsters! Monsters!" "Wolves! Run!" "Run! If you want to live, run!" This made those astonished players glance to where they came from, only to see a seemingly infinite number of hungry and ferocious mountain wolves charging towards them. ''Thanks for your sacrifice!'' Lony chuckled deep inside as they encounter the same ''dazed'' expression of the players that they pass by. Soon, they were able to spot the figure of the Black Dragon that consequently made them feel relieved. With the Black Dragon on their side, the unlimited force of mountain wolves would be nothing to them. However, before they could even rejoice, Pedro flew high in the sky and dove towards them. A bluish light illuminated between the gaps on the scales of his neck as his jaw was about to slowly open--indicating that he was about to breathe out a bluish flame. "Sh1t!" Yojiro''s face went pale as the two wolves in front of him started barking as loud as they can, hoping that Pedro would be able to notice them before he makes a ''friendly fire''. Fortunately, at the last second, Pedro noticed the astounded Yojiro--giving him enough time to lift his jaw slightly before he breathed out the blue flame. Yojiro''s head was just several meters below the blue flame when Pedro exhaled the blue flame, allowing him to feel the heat from it. This made him shiver in fear as he was able to successfully avoid death this time. His glance could only follow towards Pedro who hoavered just a few meters above them. Doing so, he was able to see the other players behind him. They also watched the Black Dragon pass above them as their fellow players cry while burning to their deaths. The mountain wolves were not spared. All of them were burned into ashes as Pedro continued to fly around, burning everything along his way. The players--who stood with in ten meters behind Yojiro and was able to barely survive Pedro''s flame, gasped in awe as they started to feel a sense of relief. But it all faded when their attention was shifted to the two wolves in front of Yojiro. "B-B-Brother! Infront of you!" A player shouted towards Yojiro as he and the other players charged towards Lony and Roval. The two friends of Arvedar was quickwitted. They were able to respond quickly as they turned around and stare to each closest targets for them to freeze. At this moment, Yojiro blinked his eyes as he turns around--facing the surviving players from the United Asian Force, and grips the handle of his Katana, tightly. Then, he sighed heavily as he swung his sword at full force, and murmured, "Forgive me for being your opponent... May you have a peaceful second life!" "Wind Sword Art: Yojiro''s Wind Blade!" Yojiro shouted as his Katana sliced the two closest players into half. Afterward, a wind blade was created and it traveled like a wave, killing all the remaining players through splitting them into half. This calmed the hearts of Lony and Roval, while Yojiro could only watch Pedro with his brows knitted. ''How weak! How weak! How weak!'' Yojiro grumbled to himself, deep inside. ''How weak! I could only stand and watch as my very own death approaches! New Skill? New Sword Art? So what?! It''s all useless if I could not compose myself and face death head on! Fight to my last breath?! Am I really a warrior?! The future of our village? One of the defenders of the Wind Village?!'' Yojiro''s heart raced faster each second as the veins in his forehead bulged to the point that it seemed like it was about to pop out. His hands gripped the handle of his Katana as tight as he can. While his stare was fixated on watching Pedro kill their enemies with ease. An airplane flying just above them with a flame thrower attached on its front and seemed like it was about to crash towards them, Yojiro can''t be blamed for being at loss for words when Pedro went above them. That said, He was a swordsman, a warrior. He should have been unshaken, unwavered, even in front of death or any entity way beyond their strength. Something he should have had when he faced the threat of being toasted or crushed by Pedro''s Dragon form. He should have been able to make Pedro notice them through his shear will. His shear killing intent that he should have directed towards Pedro as he dove towards them. On the other hand, Lony and Roval transform back to their humans form as they were surrounded with the flaming forest, trapping them but, at the same time, allowing them to rest and relax. Though their childish acts, they didn''t dare pry into Yojiro''s business after noticing Yojiro''s grip that was starting to leave marks on his skin. Lony simply sat, relaxingly, besides Roval and sighed. Then, he said, "I wonder what happened to Bro Arvedar... I hope that he''s fine!" Roval flicked his tongue and frowned in response. He glanced towards Lony and said, confidently, "Don''t worry about him! He''s a madafaking crow! He can fly anywhere he wants! On top of that! He has the Gravitation Inheritance! The real Gravitation Inheritance! Those fake ''elemental'' inheritance of those freakin'' United Asian Force won''t stand a chance against him! Not even a percent of his strength!" Lony shook his head and forced out a smile as if he thought something terifying. Then, he said, "Who am I kidding! You are right! Bro Death even invited us to his guild because of him." "I know!" Roval grumbled, "You don''t need to remind me! That''s why... We need to work hard! Afterall, I don''t want to get kicked from the guild of the top ranked players in the world!" Lony chuckled in response and said, "You''re right! From the looks of it, we are just both excess baggages!" At this moment, Lony stood and dusted off the dirt on his armor and said, "We can''t always be baggages! We were lucky enough to be given this opportunity! It''s up to us on how we would capitalize on this opportunity!" "Haiiiz~" Roval grumbled. He followed Lony and stood whilst dusting of the dirt on his armor as well. "Just they wait! We''d be scary pieces of sh1t too! One day!" Then, they walked towards Yojiro and tapped his shoulder. They smilled towards him and nodded before asking in unison, "Shall we join them?" Yojiro, who was confused at first, sighed and smirked towards them. Then, he shrugged their hands and chuckled, "Stay behind me! But... Don''t leave me again!" Lony and Roval burst into laughter in response as Yojiro walked ahead--leading them. After a few seconds, they followed behind him and said in unison, "Of course, I won''t!" 153 Holding Off a Monster Wave! On the other hand, Lony and Roval had ''happily'' looted anything that is still in good shape or was still usable along their way. Most of their loots were made up of newbie swords, inventory bags, or the ''cooked'' corpse of mountain wolves. No matter how unsightly or brutal was the fate of these beings, Lony and Roval did not give a single d@mn care. Their loots would, at the least, be sold for several bronze coins. It was something better than not earning a single coin. Besides, the ''loots'' were free--just waiting for them to be picked up. Yojiro did not bother to stop Lony and Roval. Though he did not tolerate picking up the items of their fallen enemies, he knew that those things would be, at some point, be of use for them, their crew, or the Captain himself. For example, Yojiro knew that the Karakoa fleet was barely able to maintain their food supply. Hence, as the Captain of the fleet, Pedro resolved this issue by temporarily using meats of the monsters they kill. It was not as if the meat of monsters were dangerous or were forbidden to be eaten. In fact, even Kingdoms and Villages consume monsters'' meats in order to suppress the famine that their people would often encounter. Well... Of course, there were some exceptions like the orc meat, goblin meat, and other humanoid monster''s meat. It was not because it tastes bad but... The way these monsters resemble both the intelligence and the image of a human gives them, the humans, a distasteful and unappetizing image of being cannibals. On another hand, the poisonous monsters'' meat is also a no go. There were possibilities that their venom or toxins would be also present on their meats. So, for safety purposes, poisonous monsters'' meat must be avoided as much as possible. Since the ''Pedro-Roasted'' Mountain Wolves belong to neither of the two exemptions for food consumption, Yojiro did not stop Lony and Roval from looting them. He simply treated it as something that was necessary for their survival. "Pick up the pace!" Yojiro said coldly after glancing towards Lony and Roval--who were looting ''frantically'' around ten meters behind him. "It looks like the monsters from the mountain smelled the blood that spilled at the battlefield." "Is that the reason why we encountered that many mountain wolves earlier?" Lony asked as he picked up the pace in ''looting''. "Probably..." Yojiro nodded. Then, he rubbed his chin and said, "The Captain and the other members of the Attack Team are focused on attacking our enemies! I am worried that our force might get cornered between two enemy forces." "Hmm... You''re right." Roval nodded slightly, agreeing to Yojiro''s point. "Nah..." Roval shook his head in response. Then, he glanced towards Lony and asked, "How about you man? Did Arvee sent a message to you, or somethin''?" "Negative on my end!" Lony said as he shook his head. Hopeless, Yojiro could only heave out a sigh. Then, he stared towards the eyes of Lony and Roval, who, in turn, stared back at him as if they had ''telepathically'' talked to each other. "Then... It''s all up to the three of us!" Yojiro said whilst still retaining his calm demeanor. "Wait! Wait! Wait!" Lony said with a frown on his face. "I know that someone needs to hold the monsters off. Forgive me for saying this, but... I don''t think we would last longer compared to what we did earlier!" "My Bro is right, respected Sir!" Roval interjected, "Our wolf form only had time limits! On top of that, we could only kill one monster at a time. I am afraid that we''d be overwhelmed by the number of monsters that we might encounter." "I know! I know!" Yojiro said with a raspy voice. Then, he took a gulp of his saliva to clear his throat and the ''nervousness'' or ''uneasiness'' that he felt before saying, coldly, "I am aware of that fact! I won''t deny it! Even I, myself, am afraid! We''ve been fighting for almost a day. And I know to myself that I am almost at my limit!" Yojiro sheathed his sword and approached Lony and Roval. Then, he patted their shoulders and said, "That said... my comrades... We have no other choice! We must hold the monsters, no matter what!" Yojiro lifted his hand from the shoulders of Lony and Roval. In the next second, he sent strong slaps to their back--making them cry in pain. But before they could utter a word, Yojiro said, "An hour, a minute, or even just a second! It does not matter how long... We''ll buy them as much time as we can!" Yojiro turned around, facing the Woba Mountain and asked, "So... My fellow wariors... would you stay here and wait for reinforcements? or would you take your swords and fight with me?" At this moment, the holographic interface of Lony and Roval suddenly popped out. Their eyes slowly gazed down from Yojiro to the interface as their faces forced out a smile. [Special Hunt Quest Unlocked!] [Quest: Holding off a Monster wave! Rating: S-rated Mission: Karakoa Fleet Crew Yojiro requests your aid to hold the unlimited wave of monsters coming from Woba Mountain. Kill as many monsters as you can! Your Kill Count for the Continental Quest would be doubled during the duration of this quest. At the same time, you would be granted 1 EXP Points for each monster that you would be able to kill until the end of this quest. Kill Count: 0/??? Duration: ??? Would you accept? Yes or No.] Lony and Roval could only glance towards each other whilst forcing out a smile. Truth be told, they did not see any benefit in following Yojiro in his suicidal quest. They were only players who should be playing the game for fun... and for their grades. However, their decisions started to change as their hearts, for some reason, felt heavy in the thoughts that Yojiro might perish if they leave him on his own. Call them idiots, call them fools for feeling and thinking that way. But... Like everyone said... They are only players! They can just make a new character and farm they levels up if they die in a battle. But what about NPCs? What about Yojiro? Do they ressurect? No! They die for good! They had no second chances! In the world of Bearth, they only had one life! Thus, Lony and Roval was at loss for words. They knew that they were not as strong as Pedro nor Sabrina, nor Mathew, nor Arvedar, nor Talia! And Yojiro knew the same! But the difference between them and Yojiro was that... He was ready to sacrifice his very own precious life for their fleet. For the future of Humanity! So... Who are they to complain that ''Ah... no... I might die! I don''t want to fail this... I don''t want to bla, bla, bla!''. Yes, it was only a game for them. But to Yojiro, it was not! ''What if'' one day, the tables turned and they were placed into Yojiro''s place. When they were someone who was playing a ''game'' that was supposed to be their reality. How would they feel if those who were ''supposed'' to be immortals or those who can be ressurected chose to stay back and just watch them die? They would be infuriated! They would say every ''shity'' thing about the personality of that person. But look at Yojiro... Was he angry? ...No! Did he curse the shit out of them? ...No! He simply asked for their help. Nothing more! Because Yojiro held in his hands one goal in his life... his one heroic quest... It was to simply fight for the future of Humanity! ''Fuck the class!'' Lony thought. ''Fuck my level!'' Roval thought. And in the next second, they gritted their teeth and glanced towards Yojiro''s back, and thought in unison, ''Fuck those Fucking monsters! I''ll kill them all, even if I had to resurect a thousand times! I''ll leave no shity monsters alive!'' Their grasp on their newbie sword tightened, while their gray eye enlarged, making Yojiro''s overcoat started to turn into stone. "Wind Sword Art: Vertical Wind Blade!" Yojiro shouted as he sent a wind blade between Lony and Roval to wake them up from their daze. Then, he asked, coldly, "What are you guys doing?" "Ah!" Lony gasped as he forced out a smile and said, "Forgive us respected sir! We weren''t able to contain our rage towards those fucking monsters!" "Then, stare at the god damn monsters! Not on my back!" Yojiro scolded as he threw his ''rock solid'' overcoat. Then, he dusted his clothes and glanced towards Lony and Roval, asking, "So... Are you guys in... or out?" Lony and Roval nodded towards each other before glancing towards Yojiro with a smirk. The murderous intent in their eyes made them resemble serial killers who where about to have fun... in killing monsters. Then, they said in unison, "Of course... We''re in!" "Great!" Yojiro smirked in response. Then, he glanced back towards the Woba Mountain with his eyes filled with murderous intent, similar to Lony and Roval. "Let''s go, young men! We''ll show those bastards what we are made off!" 154 Lony and Roval: Their Plan For Survival! That said, Lony and Roval continued to pick up the loots along the way. Thanks to the ''charred'' but still usable inventory bags, the capacity of their storage was increased to several folds. Fortunately, most of the ''charred'' inventory bags were empty, giving them a lot of space to store the dead bodies of Mountain Wolves later on. At the same time, Lony and Roval spammed messages towards their friend, Arvedar. Though they agreed to help Yojiro hold the monsters coming from the direction of the Woba Mountain, they still did not want to die and reset their hard earned attributes and level. Not wanting to ''disturb'' the top ranked players, they had no choice but to seek help to their friend instead. They thought of using the ''stone and gravitation'' combination to aid Yojiro in killing the monsters. Unfortunately, they got no response from their friend. It was odd for them that Arvedar did not reply to their spams. He would often reply immediately and curse the shit out of them after receiving those ''annoying'' messages. Thus, they can''t help but feel a tad bit worried towards their friend--thinking that something bad might have happened to him, and they could only hope that he is still alive and was just busy kicking the enemies'' ass. Despite their concern, Lony and Roval remained focused on their own matters. They were about to face a seemingly infinite number of monsters. If they want to survive they need to formulate a plan... a strategy in order to survive as long as they can. Maximizing their little time to prepare, Lony glanced to his player interface to check if his transformation skill had ended its cooldown. Fortunately, its cooldown was finished and the skill was ready to used once again. Lony stole a glance towards Roval before shifting back his attention to the loots he was about to pick up and said, "Man, what''s our plan?" "Plan?" Roval asked, furrowing his brows whilst picking up the loots. "Arvee is still not responding." "Yeah. But out Transformation skills are up!" Lony said, gasping from the ''non-stop'' picking up of loots. "Our wolf form could only last around thirty minutes or so. Going beyond that would be risky." "I know!" Roval paused from picking up loots, momentarily, as he glanced towards Lony and said, "So, what do you suggest? Do you have anything in mind?" "Man... We''re obviously useless in our human form. Other than our stone turning gaze, our attacks would just tickle the shit out of those ferocious wolves. Forget about killing them one at a time... It would take us several strikes before we could kill one!" "Skip the details!" Roval scolded, "Just tell me what you had in mind." "Traps?" Roval shouted, "Do you think that we have enough time to set up traps? And with what? Newbie swords?" Lony nodded towards Roval confidently. Then, he smirked and said, "All we need to do is bury these newbie swords around a giant tree and stay on top of it while turning the monsters into stone as we wait for our wolf transformation skill to finish its cool down." "Tch!" Roval flicked his tongue in response. He was seemingly hesitant to let go of the newbie swords that they painstackingly picked up. That said, he knew that they had no other choice. In fact, he should be, at the least, grateful that Lony was able to think of a strategy that would fill the several minutes that their transformation form would be in cooldown. "Fine!" Roval said, making Lony smile in response. "Let''s have a five minute interval between our transformations, so that one of us would handle the monsters while the other one is setting up the traps before both of our transformation form reaches the time limit." "Yeah, man." Lony nodded in agreement. Then, he added, "At the same time, one of us would be able to pick up the planted newbie swords as we transform back and fight along side sir Yojiro." "Noted!" Roval said, coldly. His eyes burned with murderous intent that was strong enough to send shiver down the spine of an ordinary people, consequently making Lony smirk in response. Truth be told, Lony and Roval was nothing compared to their friend, Arvedar. Be it on their transformation form or to their normal offensive capabilities. What more compared to Pedro and the other members of the Attack Team. Their transformation forms had cooldown. They both shared a pair of legitimate Demonic Eyes by having an eye each. And on top of that, they only had tons of newbie swords at their disposal. They almost had no difference compared to an ordinary player. Because of that, their role were more on being the strategist and the control type players ever since they were traveling with Arvedar. They formulate plans and strategies inorder to survive in this realistic game. One of which was their favorite strategy with Arvedar where the two of them would turn their enemies into stone and used Arvedar''s gravitation skill to crush their enemies to their death. It was an efficient tactic for Arvedar since he would only need to use his gravitation skill at a reserved pace, allowing him to save energy and use his skills at a longer duration. That said, this opened up a weakness towards Lony and Roval. First of all, they depend to others in terms of offensive attacks, leaving them a lack in offensive capabilities when they are on their own. And Secondly, since Arvedar was previously their only source of offense, most of the EXP was obtained by Arvedar himself, leaving the duo behind even in terms of attributes. If not for their transformation forms, there was not even an ounce of possibility that they would be able to survive a single wave of monsters. They were just ordinary young man on their early 20s, who wanted to enjoy a game. Would anyone expect them to be well trained in any kind of swordsmanship in real life? A big NO! Hence, with that in mind, they, at the least, know on which part should they improve. If... they would be able to survive this war, at the least. Soon, the three of them reached the end of the burning forest. And the moment that Yojiro cleared the last set of burning trees, the first wave of wild mountain wolves pounced towards them. Yojiro simply smirked as he planted his feet to the ground and gripped his Katana as tight as he can. He took a deep breathe before he swung his Katana at full force--slicing five wild mountain wolves at once and creating a wind blade that extended like a wave that killed tens of wolves that were about to attack. "Wind Sword Art: Yojiro''s Wind Blade!" Yojiro howled in anger. At this moment, Lony was frantically stabbing swords into the ground--making a maze out of the newbie swords that made a pattern would be easy for them to pass through but difficult for the wild mountain wolves. On the other hand, Roval transformed into his wolf form as they planned. The wild mountain wolves that were not reached by Yojiro''s first wind blade, howled loudly, and was followed by more howls from the wild mountain wolves that were on the Woba Mountain. Lony can''t help but flick his tongue as he stared daggers towards the forest, while Roval''s jaw vibrated--making a ''grrrrr!'' sound, as his gray eye started to seemingly become darker in shade. "Don''t hold back, my comrades!" Yojiro said as he took another deep breathe. Then, in the next second, he lunged forward and charged towards the wild mountain wolves before they could react. With a swung of his Katana, tens of heads of wild mountain wolves dropped into the ground--weakening the howl that echoed through the whole Woba Mountain by 0.0000001%. At first, Lony and Roval were astounded. They were at loss for words. But when they both noticed that Yojiro had planted his feet into the ground once again, the glanced to each other and nodded. "Awoooo!" Roval howled as he charged towards his first target, staring angrily at the mountain wolf''s head and consequently turning it into stone. Then, he pounced towards it whlist staring towards the other wild mountain wolf behind it--also turning its head into stone, except its eyes. He shifted all the momentum and his weight to his right paw that slapped the head of his first target--consequently separating the head of the mountain wolf from its body as if it was a football that was kicked by soccer player. At the same time, Lony jumped towards the wild wolf mountain behind Roval''s first target--stabbing the ends of the two newbie swords to its eyes and consequently killing it instantly. Lony and Roval didn''t not waste a second as their stone turning eyes gaze to their targets. This sight, in turn, made Yojiro smirk as charged forward, leading the two brave men behind him. "Monsters... Come! Let''s have some fun!" Yojiro chuckled as he stared daggers to the seemingly infinite number of wild mountain wolves that were charging towards them. 155 Mathew and Talias Hunch: Another Monster Wave! Talia stole a glance towards them in response before following their gaze--glancing towards her ''babies''. The sight of the ground being swarmed by ants made Talia force out a smile as she glanced back to Beatrice, the Support Team, and the other Karakoa crew and asked, "How can I help you?" However, Before Beatrice could utter another word, a howl coming from the Woba Mountain reverbrated--reaching even the plains. Everyone glanced towards the Woba Mountain as their faces wore a frown. They watched the birds fly from the trees as their hearts raced faster because of the loud terrifying howl. "Wha-what''s that?" Charlotte asked with a pale look on her face. Beatrice, Yuson, and Aldo could only stare in a daze towards the Woba Mountain as Talia shifts her attention back to the loots that were being delivered to her by her ''babies''. When the howls stopped, Talia noticed through her ''babies'' reaction that the ground was slightly trembling--indicating that something was on its way towards them. In the next second, Talia can''t help but flick her tongue after she saw that Beatrice and the rest of their force were still staring towards the Woba Mountain. Some of them even wore a grim or pale face--hinting that some of them wanted to go back to the ships. That said, she knew that she was not their superior. So, she opted to spam messages towards Pedro and Mathew instead--informing them about the howl and the ''weak shakes'' that her ''babies'' felt in the ground. [Killer Looks (Talia): Brother! Brother! Brother! Brother! Brother! Did you hear the howl coming from the mountain that we flew above when we rode behind Expert Bro? I have a bad feeling that monsters are on their way! What should we do? What should we do? What should we do? What should we do?] Mathew, who was already Kilometers away from them, frowned the moment his Player Interface popped out, only to display Talia''s ''annoying'' message. Hopeless, he could only halt on his advance and revert back to his human form in order to reply to Talia and avoid getting an earful of complaints later in real life. He glanced back to where he came from and frowned. He pondered for a few seconds before he murmured to himself, "Was that a howl? Ain''t that expert bro?" He typed what he thought and sent it to her little sister, Talia. [Killer Smile (Mathew): Howl... No? I did hear a sound from your direction. But I thought it was just Expert Bro?] Talia furrowed her eyes in response, and grumbled, "Your hearing is weak as always!" "Met by now? That''s odd..." Mathew furrowed his brows whilst glancing around him--looking for any signs of fire, and, at the same time, he glanced into the sky--trying to spot if there were any flying figures around him. [Killer Smile (Mathew): There''s no signs of fire, nor a sign of any flying animal as far as my eyes could see.] [Killer Looks (Talia): Are you sure that you are not using your nose this time?] [Killer Smile (Mathew): Hey little girl! My eyes are wide open! There''s nothing literally around me except dead bodies and torn down trees! In any case... Have you tried to contact Expert Bro? Don''t tell me you don''t have him on your friend list?] [Killer Looks (Talia): I did!] [Killer Smile (Mathew): What did he say?] [Killer Looks (Talia): He''s not yet responding! Anyway... Brother! What should I do? The howl reminds me of the one we encountered earlier.] [Killer Smile (Mathew): Wolves?] [Killer Looks (Talia): :Worried Nodding Emoji: :Worried Nodding Emoji: :Worried Nodding Emoji:] "Hmm..." Mathew frowned as he glanced around him once again. Something popped into his mind after seeing the dead bodies of monsters and players that were scattered all over the place. "Could it be..." "Shit!" Mathew cursed after a breeze of wind blew towards him--allowing him to smell the stinky odor of blood. Then, he forced out a smile and said, "This is not good! We forgot that the Continental Quest is still up! These dead bodies had probably attracted the attention of the monsters in this area!" Mathew typed frantically on his Player Interface while saying to himself, "We should retreat and stay on the plains! We are separated, too far, from each other... If it is only against the players, we could keep on advancing forward. But... If the monsters joined the fray, it would be too chaotic and dangerous even to us. Well... except for Expert Bro and the other two flying... birds." At this moment, Talia panicked because it has been almost a minute since Mathew last responded to their chat. On top of that, Pedro was still not responding to her message at all. "What''s wrong with those two?! Are they playing a trick on me?" Talia complained--thinking that Mathew and Pedro were doing a prank towards her. However, before he could utter another word, She recieve a message from Mathew. Not only that, it seemed like even Aldo, Ashley, Loren, Charlotte, and Elisabeth got the same message as hers. [Killer Smile (Mathew): Notice to Everyone! There is a probability that a wave of monsters are coming from the Mountain on the South. I would recommend to everyone to return to the plains and stick together in fending off both players and monsters to avoid any loss. That said, Please await for any further announcement from the Guild Leader. We have informed him and are waiting for his instructions. Also, Since I am at the Northern part of the forest, I would stay in this area and hold off any monsters or players that I would be able to encounter. That''s all! -Vice-Guild Leader] "This..." Talia gasped as she glanced towards the Woba Mountain whillst forcing out a smile. Before Talia or the other players on the Support Team could utter a word, their Player Interface rang once again. This time, it was Pedro who sent them a message. [Death (Pedro): Follow the Vice Leader''s arrangement! Also, I''ll leave the commands to the Vice Leader in the mean time. I am going to catch up to Gentle Breeze (Sabrina) before I retreat. So, don''t expect me to see your messages nor respond to it, since I would be on my transformation form most of the time.] Pedro, who was standing in the middle of a burning forest, smirked as he clapped his hands and said, "That would do! Although Killer Smile is right... I must go to Kagat Village first, and see if it is where the players were ''camp spawning''. If so... I could only appologize to the Village Chief! I can''t allow any spawn camps to exist this early in the game!" As he was about to transform back to his Dragon Form, he recieve a message from Mathew--giving him no choice but to check the message. [Killer Smile (Mathew): Expert Bro, do you have a way to contact the three men you just introduced to us earlier? I am yet to add them as my friend in the game and I have no means to contact them.] [Death (Pedro): Arvedar and his friends? Unfortunately, I only have Arvedar''s... You can contact him when it comes to his friends. But I saw his friends with Yojiro as they retreated back to the border of the forest. They might be with the rest at this moment.] Pedro sent the Arvedar''s contact details to Mathew before saying his last instruction. [Death (Pedro): Sent! Coordinate with Talia. Check if they had returned safely. I am afraid that they got stuck in the middle of the burning forest. If that''s the case, kindly find a way for them to retreat!] [Killer Smile (Mathew): Noted, Guild Leader! I''ll inform you if something urgent comes up!] [Death (Pedro): :Ok Emoji:] After taking a deep breathe, Pedro closed his Player Interface as his eyes stared daggers towards the west--the direction heading towards the Kagat Village. Then, in the next second, he transformed back to his Dragon Form and launched high up into the sky. ''Here I thought things would be easy on my side.'' He thought as he sighed deep inside. Then, he continued, ''To think that someone would be able to establish the unified army this early in the game... The people behind this would have been the overlords in the game. Unfortunately... They messed with the wrong army! They have to suffer the consequences of bullying my guild farming army.'' "Besides..." Pedro chuckled as he reached the peak of his flight. Then, he dove down towards his next targets whilst a bluish light started to appear between the gaps of the scales on his neck. He starred daggers towards them with a smirk, and thought, ''They should know what true power is!'' "Fwaaaaaaaah!" He breathed out the bluish flame--incenerating anything on its way. 156 I Am... A Better Swordsman! The wild mountain wolves had concentrated towards their location as it offered a path that would bring them to the dead bodies of players that would serve as their food. That said, Yojiro''s relentless attacks were able to suppress their advance as if the opened path was a clogged sink. However, Yojiro was, in the end, only a human. As Yojiro planted his feet and prepared himself to do another strike, his body leaned forward a tad bit lower than his usual stance, whilst his hands trembled a tad bit--consequently making his grip on the handle of his Katana a tad bit loose. "Tch!" He flicked his tongue after he noticed that his body has started to show signs of fatigue. That said, he bit his lips in response and tightened his grip to the handle of his Katana--ignoring whether his hands would be bruised or not. At the same time, he lifted his arms slightly up and down to shake his muscles and loosen up the tension in it. Then, when the next wave of wild mountain wolves arrived, he took a deep breathe and swung his Katana with full force at the perfect moment. The first row of wild mountain wolves were split in half whilst the succeeding rows of wild mountain wolves behind it--inside the ten meter radius from him, were sliced by the wind blade that was created by his strike. Afterward, Yojiro felt his body tremble a little bit, making him force out a smile and stole a glance towards Lony and Roval--who were fighting the slightly burned wild mountain wolves that were brave enough to endure the heat of the flaming forest just to circle around and attack them from their back. ''Shit!'' He cursed deep inside as he flicked his tongue. Then, he grumbled to himself, ''Only a few minutes had passed and It seems like I am almost at my limit? If only I didn''t obtain an injury back then!'' At this moment, Yojiro felt an ominous sign as his past started to play into his mind. From the thought of the said ''injury'', he remenised eveything as to why he was where he is today. ~~~Flash back~~~ Inside a wooden hut, a woman wearing white clothes stood infront of the children who were gazing at the wooden pieces--that was curved and shaped to resemble a human figure, while a huge figure made of rock stood opposite the wooden pieces on top of the wooden table. "A hundred years ago... A violent storm had entered our lands..." ~~~~~Flash Back inside a Flash Back~~~~~ "Pawng!" The lightning screamed and crackled through the sky, making the people scramble and hide into their house. The thick dark clouds hid the ''ball of fire'' (sun) as tornados formed and advanced towards their village. The man pondered as wind started to blew towards them--just strong enough to make him feel cool after a hot sunny weather. Despite the wind getting stronger, the man kept staring to the sky, at the direction from where the dark clouds and strong winds originated. In a flash of a lightning, a figure of a giant floating man was revealed inside the biggest tornado that was located at the center most part of the incoming storm. The man was flabbergasted to the point that he even did not give a damn care to their windows that were already slamming back and forth because of the strong wind. On the other hand, the man''s wife and children were filled with fear. Hence, as their children starts to cry, the woman shouted towards him, saying, "What the hell are you staring at?! Close the windows before something bad happens to our house!" However, despite his wife''s cry, the man simply gestured to his wife as if he was saying to her ''wait'', while his eyes were locked towards the center of the giant tornado where he saw the figure of a giant man. Of course, the woman could only frown in response. Her fear became stronger as the wind blew into their house that was getting stronger and stronger each second. And just when the woman was at her limits and was about to stood to close their windows, another lightning flashed--revealing the giant figure of a giant man once again. This made the man ''unconsciously'' touch the handle of the door of their house before he stole a glance back to his children and wife. Then, he opened the door without saying another word and went out of their house. The wind blew into their house--strong enough to wiggle their wooden door and windows. That said, the woman did not think twice. She stood immediately and closed the doors and windows--calming the inside of the house. At the same time, she could only shook her head when she saw her husband outside their house--going against the wind and was barely able to plant his feet into the ground. That said, she paid no attention to his ''seemingly retard'' husband and simply went under the wooden table to accompany and comfort their children. As for the man, when he was able to establish a stable footing--strong enough to resist the wind, he went down to his knees, bowed, and said, "Dear Great Deity! What could this lowly man offer, for you to spare this peaceful and humble land from your wrath?" Unfortunately, the wind wistled even louder--indicating that the wind blew stronger, while the lightning strikes became frequent in response. The giant tornado altered its direction as it now heads toward the direction of the man. This made his heart tremble as his life might end in any second. Despite that, he remained on his knees--bowing toward the giant tornado. Fortunately, when the largest tornado was just hundreds of meters away from him and his village, it slowly vanished into thin air, together with the dark clouds in tthe sky and the lightning strikes that were terifying the land. Still, at this point, the man remained bowing his head, as in the next second, a breeze of wind blew past him and a figure of a man--twice as big as him, arrived infront of him. A fresh scar run from his forehead down to his right cheek--including his right eye. Whilst fresh scars could be seen all over the giant man''s body, indicating that he had just came from a fight. That said, the giant man stood tall--flexing all his well toned muscles, and his had rock abs. He took a deep breathe as he combed his white long hair upwards and said, "Are you sure... That you have what it takes to fulfill the needs of a god?" Strong wind blew past the bowing man as if threatening him that one wrong answer would cost his life. That said, the man remained composed and said, "Great Deity! This humble being shall do whatever it takes to satisfy your request..." The strong wind continued to blew past through them as the giant man stared towards the still bowing man. After a few seconds, the giant man bursted into laughter and said, "I applaud your bravery human! Seldom lower life forms could remain calm infront of us!" The strong wind stopped, calming the surroundings and returning everything back to normal. That said, the figure of the giant man vanished as a loud voice spoke and was heard all through out the village. "I''ll spare your little village but for a cost! At this time of the year, your village must send at least one young man or one young woman, at the coming of age, to the peak of the nearest mountain. They must be the most skilled and the most talented amongst their peers as their return to your village would depend upon their own strength. If you miss one year, I shall return here and take your village instead! Consider yourselves warned... And remember my words..." ~~~~~Flash Back inside a Flash Back ENDS~~~~~ "And remember my words... for thousands of years!" The woman imitated a man''s voice whilst she held the stone figure--finishing her story to the children. Half of the children were listening to her her story attentively. While some of them were busy on their own matters. Either they were asleep, staring outside the window, or were just not interested and were just removing boogers from their nose. "Teacher! You have told us that story for almost a hundred times! Can''t you let us practice our sword arts instead?" The young Yuson, around twelve years old, asked whilst removing a booger on his nose. The young Yojiro, who was sitting beside him, frowned and slapped the back of his head without second thought. "Ouch!" The young Yuson cried, "What was that for, brother?" "Where''s your manners?" The young Yojiro scolded, "A swordsman must be patient, obedient, and respectful! Why are you being rude to our teacher?" The young Yuson simply pouted in response. This made the young Yojiro furrowed his brows, and was about to send anonther slap. Fortunately, their teacher clapped her hands, stopping the young Yojiro from slapping young Yuson''s back. Then, she said, "Alright! Yojiro, that''s enough! The class had also ended!" "But--" The young Yojiro wanted to argue, but he was interrupted by the celebration of his classmates as they stood up and waved goodbye to their teacher. The young Yuson was not an excemption. He stood and waved goodbye to their teacher whilst happily singing, "It''s time to practice sword art! It''s time to practice sword art!..." The young Yojiro could only sigh in response as his teacher nodded towards him as if saying ''Just let it go!''. He could only shook his head as he stood, then, he bowed towards his teacher and said, "Thanks for the knowledge, teacher!" "It''s nothing Yojiro! I hope that one day... You''ll be able to succeed the Wind God''s Trial like your father... The Village Chief and the master swordsman!" ~~~~~Flash Back ENDS~~~~~ As another wave of wild mountain wolves appeared, Yojiro took a deep breath and he planted his feet. This time, he had prepared almost perfectly without any signs of fatigue. His eyes stared daggers towards his target as his hand gripped tight to the handle of his Katana. When the wild mountain wolves pounced, he swung his Katana towards them at full force, while saying--resembling his young version, replying to his teacher, "I am... a better swordsman!" 157 Im Sorry, Sire Yojiro... At this moment, even Lony and Roval could not help but glance towards Yojiro''s Katana--watching the light green blade end the lives of five wild mountain wolves. This, in turn, created a light green wind blade that surged like the waves of sound. A burst of wind followed the light green wind blade that even blew Yojiro to a tree--slamming his back into it. The impact made Yojiro cough out blood as his body slid into the ground. Fortunately, his last attack traveled hundreds of meters away from them--ten times the range of his normal wind blade, thus, there were no monsters who attacked in the next few seconds. ''Is this it?'' Yojiro frowned and gritted his teeth as his eyes landed on his left hand--trying to move his fingers in his left hand. ''Tch! Not... Yet!'' He cried deep inside after not being able to move his fingers on his left hand. Then, he slowly shifted his attention to his right hand--where the handle of his Katana rested on it. ''Come on!'' He grumbled deep inside trying to, at the least, grip his Katana with his right hands. Unfortunately, he was not even able to curve up his fingers and grip the handle of his Katana. That said, he did not give up. Yojiro gritted his teeth as strong as he can whilst trying his best to move even an inch of his muscle on either of his hands. However, his body had seemed to have already reached its limit. ''Grrrr! Move!'' Yojiro grumbled deep inside. He tried to move his body... to no avail. Soon, his vision had started to follow as it started to fade. He cried as much as he can, but, he started to lose his consciousness like someone who was injected with anesthesia. Fortunately, at this moment, Lony and Roval got rid of the remaining wild mountain wolves and had arrived in front of Yojiro who''s eyes were about to close. Of course, Lony and Roval noticed his eyelids that were about to close. Thus, the two white wolves could only glance at each other and force out a smile as if telepathically saying ''We''re fucked!'' However, before they could think of their next move, they heard the howls of wild mountain wolves that were charging towards them. This, in turn, made Lony bit Yojiro''s shirt and ran as fast as he can back into the path where they came from--dragging Yojiro with him while leaving Yojiro''s Katana and the stunned Roval behind. It was only after a second, and when Lony and Yojiro were about tens of meters away from him, was Roval able to get back to his senses. ''Fucker!'' Roval cursed deep inside--aimed towards Lony. Then, he bit Yojiro''s Katana before dashing after Lony and Yojiro. At this moment, Roval''s Player Interface popped out--seemingly displaying the stats of Yojiro''s Katana. [Practice Katana of the Wind God] Rating: Epic-rated weapon Level Requirement: 20 Attributes: Attack Damage: +500 Magic Damage: +550 Agility: +100 Special Effect: [1] Wind Affinity - Double the damage dealt by wind attacks using this Katana. [2] The Will of Wind - Has a 1% chance to create a new wind skill or attacks from base Wind Sword Art techniques. [3] Sword Bound - The sword is obtained through clearing the Wind God''s trial and shall be eternally bounded to its rightful user. If this Katana was used by the non-bound users, the attributes shall be reduced to 1% of its overall strength, while the Special effect [1] Wind Affinity and the Special effect [2] The Will of Wind would be disabled. Bound User: Y??? [This Katana is proof of a man''s strength and the proof of the Wind God''s benevolence to humans!] At first, Roval''s eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets. From the name of the Katana to its flavor text, the weapon he bit between his jaws was somehow related to a god! The Wind God! Unfortunately, its third ''special effect'' clearly indicated that it was a bound weapon, and was already bounded to an unknown person whose name somehow starts with a Y. Thus, Roval could only glance towards Yojiro and assume that he must be the one who was bound to the said Katana since he wielded it himself. Thus, he could only surrender the thought of asking for the Katana to Yojiro in case he wakes up or the thought of keeping the Katana to himself in case Yojiro does not wake up. Because... The sword was only a tad bit better compared to a newbie sword if it would be equipped by non-bound users. ''What am I thinking! I should focus on surviving first before I drool about using this epic rated sword!'' He thought. Roval forced out a smile deep inside as his eyes, unconsciously, glanced to his back to check if there were wild mountain wolves able to catch up. His heart was filled with relief after not seeing a single trace of the said ferocious monsters. That said, he didn''t slow down from his retreat--estimating that the wild mountain wolves were only around a hundred meters or so behind them. Minutes later, Roval reverted back to his human form after maxing out the time limit of his wolf form. He was running on his four feet when he transformed back to his human form, making him stumble and roll several meters before slamming into a tree. This had made Lony, consequently, halt on his tracks and avert his gaze towards the dizzy Roval. Fortunately, at this moment, they have arrived meters away from the unburned part of the forest where Pedro purposedly dodge the breath of fire to avoid doing an accidental friendly fire. Then, Lony laid Yojiro to an unburned tree before going towards the ''helpless'' Roval. Lony was about to bit Roval to pick him up and lay him beside Yojiro when Roval, himself, raised his hands towards Lony and said, "I''m okay! I''m okay!" ''Thank goodness...'' Lony thought deep inside as he sighed with relief. That said, Roval walked in a zigzag pattern as if he was drunk. "I''m okay! I''m okay!" Roval gestured once again as he walked like a drunk man--going towards Yojiro''s Katana. Lony could only shake his head in response thinking if Roval was really alright. "The... sword..." Roval mustered up his strength to pick the sword up and drag it forward--heading towards the direction of the plain. Lony frowned in response as he stared daggers towards Roval. In response, the weak Roval simply gazed back and forth towards Lony and Yojiro for a few seconds before asking, "What''s wrong? Let''s go!" As Roval was about to walk through the burning forest, Lony ran in front of him--blocking him from entering the burning forest, and howled towards him furiously, saying, ''Are you mad? Do you want to fuckin'' burn to your death?'' Unfortunately, Roval was only able to hear Lony howl towards him and he did not really understand what Lony meant. That said, Lony''s interference from him entering the burning forest and the furious reaction of the wolf, Roval somehow have a hunch on what Lony wanted to say. That said, Roval''s grip on Yojiro''s Katana tightened as he shouted towards Lony saying, "Get the fuck out of my way! So what if I would fucking burn to death? I would rather take that risk than just sit there and wait for my fucking death! I am only a player Lony! WE ARE ONLY FUCKIN'' PLAYERS!" At this moment, Lony had stopped howling as he could only watch Roval circled around--heading towards the burning forest. Then, he glanced towards Lony and shouted, "Stop staring at me! Grabbed the freaking NPC and follow me!" However, Just when the ''sad-looking wolf'' Lony was about to grab Yojiro, a sea of wild mountain wolves are on their way--just tens of meters away from them. Lony did not think twice and charged forward, in order to defend the unconscious Yojiro. ''You fuckin'' beasts!'' Lony roared as loud as he can, whilst starring daggers towards the first line of wild mountain wolves. The feet of his first targets froze and became stone, making them crash to the ground and be stomped under the sea of monsters charging forward. Because of the frenzy of the wild mountain wolves, some of them were even pushed into the burning forest--roasting them to their deaths. It was at this moment that Lony and Roval had thought that someone would heroically arrive and save them. Unfortunately, there were no signs of any gigantic animal present around them. Thus, Lony could only steal a glance towards Roval as if saying ''What are you waiting for! Come and fuckin'' help me turn these madafakers into stone!''. "Tch!" Roval could only flick his tongue and bit his lips in response. He knew what Lony''s stare meant. And at the same time, he remembered why they accompanied Yojiro in the first place. It was because Yojiro was an NPC and they were just players. They accompanied him not because of the S-rated Quest... but it was because they wanted to keep Yojiro alive until the quest has ended! ''If it was other players... We could have run back to safety! If it was other players... We won''t sacrifice our character just for a mere NPC! But we are not just ordinary players! We are from the top rank players'' guild! How could we face the other members... If we can''t even handle these pieces of shit!'' Roval thought as he charged forward--grasping tightly Yojiro''s Katana with his hands, whilst shouting, "If we could not even protect A MERE NPC!" Lony pounced while Roval charged towards the sea of wolves. They were able to take down their first targets with ease. But because of the quantity of their enemy, both their necks, body, arms, and legs were torn from each other--consequently making their vision grayish. [You Died! Character deletion and automatic logout will commence in 3!] At this moment, Lony and Roval could only glance towards the unconscious body of Yojiro as tears started to fall into their eyes. [You Died! Character deletion and automatic logout will commence in 2!] ''Forgive us, sire Yojiro! We did what we could...'' They both thought as their hearts were filled with a heavy feeling, watching the other wild mountain wolves avert their attention towards the unconscious Yojiro. [You Died! Character deletion and automatic logout will commence in 1!] Lony and Roval''s vision completely faded as the wolves pounced towards Yojiro. ''We did our best! Sorry...'' Lony thought as he slowly regained his consciousness in real life. That said, for some reason, tears started to fall down from his eyes. He tried to wipe it but his eyes only became wetter as more tears fell from his face. "I''m sorry, Sire Yojiro..." He cried in a raspy voice. 158 This is... REVENGE! However, before he could utter another word, her eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets as several wild mountain wolves pounced towards her and were about to land a strike. "ATTAAAACK!" She cried on top of her lungs. However, ants do not make any noise, her queen ant form was not an exemption. That said, the ground below burst open as thousands to millions of flying ants flew up from the ground and enveloped the wild mountain wolves. Some of them even entered the wild mountain wolves'' mouths, and even deeper into their bodies. Her babies did not wait for the next second, they bit the wolves in unison--completely clouding the minds of the wild mountain wolves with pain. This consequently made the pouncing wild mountain wolves crash into the ground, where the flightless ants helped in disposing of the wild mountain wolves. The wild mountain wolves cried as loud as they can--pleading to end their lives instantly instead. At this moment, Talia transformed into her human form and ignored the cries of the first victims of her babies as if she was a cold-blooded serial killer. That said, Talia was able to notice Yojiro by her side and was able to command her army telepathically that they should not touch Yojiro''s body at the very last second. So, her babies left Yojiro ''intact'' and simply targeted the sea of wild mountain wolves that were surging towards them. ''The NPC''s body is here. Where are the new recruits?'' Talia thought as her face frowned--glancing around. Her heart raced faster at this moment after being unable to spot any signs of the three players. Then, she frowned when her attention was shifted to the never-ending wave of wild mountain wolves that were charging towards them. ''One of them can fly...'' Talia thought as she glanced towards the tree branches, and eventually into the sky. Unfortunately, she was not able to spot any traces of any bird in that area. After a few seconds of searching, Talia gave up and thought, ''Who am I kidding! That player could have survived since these monsters could not fly!'' "As for the other two players... There''s no use searching for them. Seeing Sire Yojiro in this state, they are most likely dead by now." "Awooo! Awooo!" The wolves cry as they struggled to their deaths. Unfortunately, the pain they felt all over their body--both inside and outside, was so painful to the point that they could only wish that they had a quick death from Yojiro''s strikes instead. Soon, the millions of ants came up from the ground and advanced forward like a surging wave in the sea. Ants, both red and black, swarmed together--engulfing the opposing wave of wild mountain wolves. On the other hand, Talia pondered a way on how she would transport Yojiro back to the plains so that the other NPCs from the Karakoa Fleet could tend to his injuries. Digging a hole and pulling Yojiro downwards was the fastest choice she had. But... She knew that it was not safe. If they dug the soil and made a path underground, there was a possibility that the land above them might collapse, consequently burying them and Yojiro alive. How were Talia and her babies able to traverse underground? They simply utilized the gaps between the particles of soil which was only possible for Talia on her queen ant form, and, at the same time, her ant army because of their small size. They were small enough to move along the small gaps of the soil, thus, they were not technically ''digging'' and consequently not ''disturbing'' the soil underground, making their traverse through the soil safe. Well... Unless there was a big ass chicken that was jumping up and down, all over the place. The strong force caused by the chicken''s impact could compact the soil below--reducing the voids or gaps between each particle of the soil and consequently crushing her babies to their death. On another hand, Lifting Yojiro into the air with the use of her ''flying'' ants was impossible. The height into which her flying ants could fly was not that high. At maximum, they could reach as high as the trees. Secondly, Yojiro was too heavy to be lifted by her ''flying'' ants, even if they cover all of Yojiro''s body. Not wanting to roast Yojiro and her ''babies'' above the burning trees, Talia did not even consider that option as it was theory wise impossible, and unsafe. Thus, she was only left with the last safer option, which was to circle around and exit through the unburned portion of the forest. In fact, it was the most ideal path for her. Talia would be able to farm with the help of her ''babies'', while, at the same time, being able to locate the areas leading to the plains that were left unburned in the southern part--the Western Forest and the Woba Mountain. "Brother Mathew is holding the north... While Expert Bro and Scary Sister are charging straight towards the enemy''s base to the west." Talia rubbed her chin as she stared daggers towards the Woba Mountain to her south. Then, she smirked--resembling a mad serial killer, and chuckled, "Then... The south is mine!" She glanced towards her ''babies'' under Yojiro as if commanding them to carry Yojiro. Since there were millions of ants flooding everywhere, carrying Yojiro on the ground was not a problem for her babies. When she was about to take a step forward--following the sea of her babies that were marching forward, she was flabbergasted when she saw two grayish eyeballs that remained ''undevoured'' by her babies. What''s odd was each eyeball was located in two different corpses. One was located inside a wolf''s skull, while the other one was located inside a human''s skull. "My babies also consume eyeballs? Why did they not eat those two?" Talia said as her face wore a frown. Talia can''t help but be bewildered by the two eyeballs. They seemed like a pair, but for some reason, they had two different owners. So, she approached them as she commanded her army to leave that area--giving her the full ''view'' of what happened based on the bones and some things that were left in the ground. "Compared to the other wolves... This human''s skull and this wolf''s skull was separated to the other parts of their body." Talia murmured to herself. At this moment, she noticed that the separated bones of the wolf and the human were located meters away from each other. "It was as if they were feasted upon by the wild wolves. Wait!" Talia''s forehead weaved several more lines as her heart started to pound faster each second. Soon, her eyes landed on a bone of a human--the arm part, where its hands gripped a familiar Katana. "Could these be... the bones of the new recruits?" Talia''s body started to tremble as she slowly picked the Katana. Instantly, a notification popped out from her interface displaying the information regarding the said weapon. [Practice Katana of the Wind God] Rating: Epic-rated weapon Level Requirement: 20 Attributes: ... ... ... [3] Sword Bound - The sword is obtained through clearing the Wind God''s trial and shall be eternally bounded to its rightful user. If this Katana was used by the non-bound users, the attributes shall be reduced to 1% of its overall strength, while the Special effect [1] Wind Affinity and the Special effect [2] The Will of Wind would be disabled. Bound User: Y??? [This Katana is proof of a man''s strength and the proof of the Wind God''s benevolence to humans!] Talia''s grip on the sword tightened to the point that it started to leave marks on her hand. The ants near her were worried, but, at the same time, they were scared to the point that they would do anything she would order even if it would result in their deaths. "So... It''s them!" Talia grumbled. Her teeth gritted to each other as her eyes burned hotter than the burning forest whilst staring at the frenzied and maniac wild mountain wolves who were still going against her army--the sea of ants. After almost a minute, Talia took a deep breath and grumbled to herself, "They protected the NPC... Even if it costed their life. While... While I was busying myself with the loots!" "If... If only I had arrived a few seconds earlier... I could have... I could have saved them!" Talia grumbled to herself. Then, she raised Yojiro''s Katana--pointing towards the origin of the wild mountain wolves, and shouted, "ATTAAAAACK!" "Be it players... or these bastard monsters... Devour them all! Devour everything! LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE!" Talia shouted like a General of an army. In response, her babies charged with no restraint. The surge of ants became stronger, from a surge similar to the ones caused by an ordinary storm to a surge similar to the ones caused by a hurricane. They ravaged the land as if they were machines converting the wild mountain wolves into bones to be displayed in museums. Their cries... Their pleads for mercy... Talia ignored it all. She simply picked up the two odd eyeballs and an inventory bag--Roval''s inventory bag and placed them all into her inventory bag. Then, she stood and followed her babies along with Yojiro, and said, "This is... REVENGE!" 159 Waking Up: The Two Leaders! "Something is odd..." Talia murmured. She furrowed her brows as she stared towards the seemingly mindless monsters and said, "I know for a fact that wolves in real life are smart. They were also known to hunt as a pack. But... these wolves... They are still charging forward despite the visible fact that they won''t win against us. Are they that really hungry?" "I don''t think so..." She murmured to herself. That said, despite having a bad feeling about the unusual behavior of the wild mountain wolves--contrary to the ''realistic'' feature that they should have, She chooses not to pry and not to stress herself over it any further. After all, it was just a game and there was a Continental Quest Event still going on. She knew that it might have something to do with the Continental Quest Event and they would only know the reason behind it after the event was over. Thus, she decided to simply focus on the task at hand and inform Pedro and her brother about it... Well... Just in case they did not notice. Since the loots were picked up by Lony and Roval earlier in that same path, Talia decided to message his brother instead and inform him about what she encountered and found out, including the unfortunate fate of the two players and the unconscious NPCs. [Killer Looks (Talia): Brother! Brother! Brother! Brother! Urgent news! Two men, down! One, injured! Hundreds... to thousands of wild wolves are charging from the south! and... I CAN HOLD IT OFF! NO NEED FOR YOUR BIG ASS TO HELP!] Mathew, who was busy ''eating'' players, could only force out a smile when he received Talia''s message. He halted on his tracks and cried ''Boooook!'' as loud as he can, consequently petrifying the players he was chasing. But... The truth is that he cursed as loud as he can. "FUUUUUCK!" Mathew cried, knowing that it was the three people that Pedro had even ''personally'' told him to help based on the numbers of people that Talia had reported. "Expert Bro had even told me to help them, no matter what!" The Gigantic Chicken stared towards the players, seemingly dozing off. That said, the players who froze in place did not move a single muscle, thinking that the gigantic chicken halted its slaughter because it was not able to spot anything move. The cold wind breeze passes them which made everyone shiver. That said, they tried their very best not to make any move that would ''activate'' the gigantic chicken back to its non-stop ''meal''. Unfortunately, their effort was for naught when one of the players was not able to control himself and sneezed loudly due to the cold wind. This had made the other players stare towards him with a frown as Mathew got back to his senses. The players could not help but glance towards the gigantic chicken whilst forcing out a smile as the chicken started to move its head--leaning left and right to see the locations of the players properly. As the gigantic chicken starts to take steps forward once again, the players could only glance back towards the man who sneezed as if they wanted to punch him to his death. The man could only glance around to all of his fellow players and force out a smile, before saying, "So-Sorry?" Unfortunately, the one who responded to him was Mathew with his cry. "Booook!" This made the players started again running for their lives as Mathew started crushing and pecking at a faster rate than before. Unfortunately, the players could only cry in pain as Mathew released his anger towards them. Several minutes later, he was able to finally calm himself. At the same time, he had decided to contact Pedro and tell him the truth by forwarding Talia''s report. After all, He cannot make himself lie towards Pedro. It was contrary towards the Trustworthy and Loyal image he had taken pride off. "I know that there is a chance that I might lose my job!" He murmured as he reverted back to his human form. "But... It does not matter! I would rather play the game by myself than work with someone who does not have trust in me!" [Killer Smile (Mathew): Uhm... Expert Bro... Urgent matter! When you told me to look for Sire Yojiro and two other men, I ordered Talia to personally look for them. Unfortunately... I had just received her message saying that she found two dead and one injured. She also said that there were thousands of mountain wolves, probably similar to the ones we fought on the other side of the mountain. Rest assured, my younger sister is holding the south without a problem. Still... Please forgive me and my sister if we weren''t able to provide help to them in time.] At this moment, Mathew could only patiently wait for Pedro''s response. Mathew was barely able to contain the fury that he felt inside as his hands gripped his sword as tight as he can, even ignoring the possibility that his hand would be injured and bleed from it. It was just a game... Why would Mathew act like that? In fact, he had a professional background in VR games, at the least. Such matters should not be a big deal, right? After all, they were in a war. Loses or casualties can''t be avoided, right? Well... It was all true. In fact, Lony, Roval, and Talia''s reactions were acceptable. In the heat of a battle, ordinary players would tend to overreact... to let their anger control their minds. And oftentimes, it would lead them to act their revenge... as soon as possible. However, Mathew getting furious is of a different matter. He knew to himself that the reason why they lost two men while one was injured was that they became lax and complacent. It was a mistake that any amateur player might make. As for Professional Players, It was a must, not to be complacent... not until the victory was announced. It was true for any kind of game. Because they know that anyone could end up as the victor regardless of whether they were stronger or not. "Come back is real!" As they say in the early days! Thus, thinking that he becomes a victim of this rookie mistake, Mathew felt that he did not do well enough to fulfill his duty as the Vice Guild Leader and as the player whom Pedro seemingly fully trusts to lead the professional team that he would establish for Bearth Online. "I need to work harder!" Mathew slapped his other hand to his cheek as strong as he can. Then, he added, "I have been carefree because Expert Bro almost did everything! He even made all of us overpowered! That said... There was a limit to what one man could do! That''s why we were here! To help him! I could only hope that he would give me another chance to prove my worth!" At this moment, Pedro reverted back to his humanoid form, right after he was able to read Mathew''s message. He stood, calm, in the middle of a burning forest and was seemingly unaffected by the intense heat. However, his calm demeanor only lasted for a couple of seconds--while he was typing his command to Mathew. His body trembled in anger, showing the fury that he felt deep inside. On top of that, this had unconsciously activated his Demonic Eyes--turning his eyes all black and consequently rendering everyone within a hundred meters from him unconscious. Those who cried out of pain from being burned had suddenly gone silent, making the flaming forest be filled with crackles from the burning trees. At the same time, Pedro''s pen-knife had consequently spun around him at a faster rate--fast enough to the point that it was able to make a gust of wind that blows the fire away from him. "Just because my level is higher than theirs... Just because we have overpowered skill and weapons... Just because we have an overpowered NPC as support... I have been too lax! Too complacent! To the point that I forgot that we are playing a game... called Bearth Online!" Pedro transformed back into his Black Dragon Form and roared as loud as he can. It was so loud to the point that Mathew, Talia, Sabrina, Arvedar, and even the leader of their enemies on Kagat Village were able to hear. At this moment, Mathew glanced towards the origin of the roar after he read Pedro''s message. He smirked like a demon, whilst his eyes emanated murderous intent and said, "It would be my pleasure!" [Death (Pedro): Noted... It''s all on me! I have been too complacent as a Leader. Let''s set things straight from here on... Take charge of the plains and the forest in front of it. I''ll handle the rest! And remember... SHOW NO MERCY!] 160 Xoran and Tam: Using the Two Prisoners! Seconds later, the cry of the Dragon halted. At this moment, a man--seemingly in his late 30s, was rushing towards the Village Chief''s office and occasionally stumbling along the way. The man barged in the Village Chief''s office that had consequently awakened a girl who was tied and sleeping on the wooden sofa. "Lehkuhmhehiikghoo!" The girl grumbled under the cloth that was tied to her mouth. The middle-aged looking man ignored the girl and simply took a deep breath before he combed his mixed black and white hair upwards, and said, "Bad News, Respected Village Chief Tam! There are only around ten thousand men left!" "Xoran is it?" Village Chief Tam asked with a frown. The middle-aged man could only nod towards Village Chief Tam whilst forcing out a smile. In response, Village Chief Tam sat on a chair behind the Village Chief''s desk and asked like a boss, "Where are your fifty thousand men? I thought that you can summon more soldiers through the magical summoning portal of the Village?" "That..." Xoran hesitated to speak for a second. But after noticing Village Chief Tam''s gaze, Xoran can''t help but take a gulp and report the truth towards the Village Chief. "Th-The truth is that I sent almost twenty thousand men to the western shore and fight a thousand men--" "Don''t tell me that your men lost." Village Chief Tam interrupted whilst maintaining his calm and cold demeanor. "No, respected village chief!" Xoran shook his head and said, "We annihilated the ten thousand men, single-handedly. But... Before my men could retreat, three gigantic ships had arrived on the western shore. And aboard it... were gigantic moving trees and beasts that killed my men! We are trying to hold off the enemies as we speak. However... Despite our numbers, we are only able to slow the enemy''s advance! To fight the gigantic trees and beasts, we have no choice but to ask for your magnanimous help respected village chief!" "Is that so..." Village Chief Tam said with a calm demeanor. That said, the veins that seemed to burst in his forehead had increased, indicating that he was furious deep inside. "Then... Release the prisoners! Let them help you in your battle!" "The Prisoners?? But... With all due respect, Village Chief! What if they went against my orders? Won''t it just be additional trouble for us?" Xoran argued whilst forcing out a smile. Xoran could only force out a smile towards Village Chief Tam as beads of sweat started to fall on his face. He knew that if he spoke another word that the Village Chief won''t like, his life might end at this very moment. Thus, he can''t help but stare towards the Village Chief in a daze. "Is that not enough?" Village Chief Tam asked, staring daggers towards Xoran. "N-No! It''s enough!" Xoran said, trembling in fear. "I''ll do as you arranged, Village Chief! Since time is not on our side... I''ll leave now and do the preparations. I suggest that you leave the village with that girl as soon as possible." Village Chief Tam simply smirked and said, coldly, "Don''t worry about me, Adventurer! I won''t fail as you did!" Xoran could only retain forcing out a smile as he bowed towards the Village Chief Tam and left his office. This made Village Chief Tam follow his gaze towards the departing Xoran as his smirk straightened and his face became completely covered with a wolf''s fur. As Xoran''s figure vanished in the distance, he glanced towards the girl and said, "Your Father''s precious village is most likely finished!" Village Chief Tam stood and went towards the little girl. Then, he grabbed the tied little girl and carried her to his shoulder, and said, "Too bad... It was an ideal stronghold--being in the center of the great western forest. The best breeding ground! Unfortunately... We have an unexpected visitor! Even if that bastard, Pocras, faces the little goddess, I must leave this place at any cost. Fortunately... Your father and your uncles... Together with those foolish humans... They would be enough to hold that little brat--long enough for me to escape to the East." The little girl could only struggle as Village Chief Tam left his office--heading towards the Northeastern Village Gate. He blended amongst the scrambling players and, soon, was able to leave Kagat Village without leaving a single trace. "I''ll be back!" Village Chief Tam murmured, coldly, as he stares at the distant figure of Kagat Village. At this moment, inside a heavily guarded house in the middle of Kagat Village, two men were keeping an eye towards two men who were wrapped with metal chains that were embedded in the floor. One of the two men--personally guarding the chained men, played with the fire that was lighted like a candle on his hand. He sighed and glanced towards the other man with him, chuckling, "It''s so noisy outside... Those bastards are probably having a good time toying with the enemies." The man beside him did not respond--keeping his eyes closed and his arms crossed, whilst facing the two prisoners. This, in turn, made the man--who was playing with fire, frown and grumble, "Come on man... Say something, at the least! It''s too boring being in the guard duty--" "Whose fault do you think it is?" The man asked, keeping his eyes shut and his arms crossed. Then, he continued to scold, "If only you had burned Wan''s body into ashes... That bastard could have died and the Guild Leader Xoran would have not been suspicious of our player force!" "Come on man... Let''s not talk about the past. A mistake is a mistake! I kept burning everything after that, right?" The man smirked as the fire in his hands become stronger--strong enough to let the man beside him feel the intensity of the heat. That said, the other man simply opened his eyes and stared daggers towards the annoying man beside him. In the next second, he breathed out white smoke in his mouth--as if he was in a snowing area, whilst the ground below them had turned into ice and had reached up to the ankle of the ''annoying'' man. "Yeah! And you also burned our own men to their death! So, if you don''t fucking shut your mouth... I''ll fucking freeze you to death! Guild Leader Keya already had a lot of problems in managing our player force. Don''t add up to her burden." The annoying man simply chuckled as he extinguished the flame on his hand, and said, "Relax man! You and Elder sister Keya should take things more lightly. Although we are not currently as strong as the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Player Force, we are still stronger compared to the other Southeast Asian Forces." The other man could only sighed in response--breathing out white smoke. And at the same time, he lifted his foot from the ground, breaking the ice path that was connected to the feet of the annoying man and consequently melting it in the next second. "Just because we outnumber them, it does not mean that we can overpower them! Besides... Other than the ''seemingly'' American players in the Asian Server... No one amongst the ten countries on the United Asian Force knew the identity of the Top Four Players of the Continental Event." "Tch!" The annoying man flicked his tongue and complained, "Don''t mention those bastards! If the United Asian Force had not suppressed us from using our elemental inheritance, we could have been on the top ten rankings." At this moment, the door of that house opened and Xoran walked in, saying, "Top ten? Are you sure about that young man?" "Xo-Xoran?!" The annoying man forced out a smile in astonishment and said, "Ahehehehe, I was just hoping! I was just hoping! It''s not bad for young men like me to be ambitious, right?" "Ambitious?" Xoran stared daggers towards the annoying young man. This, in turn, made the other man--the man with the same ''fake'' ice inheritance as Ryu-san, stood in front of the annoying young man. That said, Xoran simply stole a glance toward the other man and shifted his gaze towards the two chained men, and said, "Release them! The Village''s safety is at stake! We need every single help we could get." "B-But... What if they--" The man said. But before he could finish his words, Xoran interrupted him and said, "They won''t! After all... His daughter''s life is on the Village Chief''s hands." Despite Xoran''s remarks, the man and the annoying man did not remove the chains of the two prisoners. Thus, Xoran ordered other men outside the house to remove the chains of the two prisoners. After doing so, the muscular one of the two prisoners stretched his arm--consequently hitting the head of one of the guards that removed his chain. That hit had displaced the head of that player, killing him on the spot. While, at this moment, the other prisoner--another middle-aged looking man, was being held by the guards as he started screaming towards Xoran. "Where did you bring my daughter! Where is that bastard, Tam?! I am going to kill that bastard!" Despite his cries, Xoran did not utter another word. Instead, Xoran stared towards the muscular man beside him and was on his guard. Fortunately, other than the unfortunate player, the muscular man did not harm any other players and simply sighed after caught Xoran''s glance. He placed his hand on the middle-aged man''s shoulder and said, "Relax, Antonio! They have your daughter... Let''s go along with them for now. Besides... If I heard it right, the Village is under attack." Xoran simply nodded whilst retaining his cold demeanor. Then, he turned around--seemingly leaving the house, and said, "Let''s go! The enemy would arrive soon!" 161 Conquering Kagat Village: The Overpowered Eagle and Dragon! ''No wonder she was able to kill them effortlessly from here.'' Pedro forced out a smile deep inside as his ''all black'' eyes met with Sabrina''s all red eyes. He did not trouble himself to dive down and breathe out the bluish flame to burn their enemies since Sabrina was already taking care of them herself. That said, Sabrina stared into his eyes and also forced out a smile deep inside, thinking, ''So that''s why I felt a tad bit dizzy a few seconds ago. I wonder what is on his mind?'' Before their stare towards each other become romantic at some point, Pedro was the first one to avert his eyes downward. Yes... Because he became shy after Sabrina stared back at him. But because of this, he was able to calm himself and return his attention to their task at hand. Sabrina also followed his gaze downwards as re-focused his attention on their enemies on the ground. Their ''eye to eye'' stares made Sabrina''s pen-knives to lag behind them a bit. Fortunately, it was able to catch up as the enemies below them falls into sleep. Pedro and Sabrina''s combination had taken away the last ounce of bravery that the players from the United Asian Force had within themselves. Unfortunately, Pedro and Sabrina flew above them, less than a hundred meters away, not giving any of the players a chance to escape nor fight to their death. At the same time, this made the spawn point of the ''new characters'' of the players inside Kagat Village to be crowded because after they had just created a new character and was just transported into the spawn point, they would immediately lose their consciousness in the next second. Thus, this made the sleeping players pilled up at the spawn point. As for Xoran and the other leaders of the United Asian Force, they were not an exemption as they fell asleep near the Kagat Village''s Village Chief''s office while attempting to run away through the northeastern gate. All were asleep and were painlessly killed by Sabrina and her missile guided like pen-knives. That said, Beside the sleeping body of Xoran, a muscular man stood with a middle-aged looking man on top of his shoulder. ''They must be NPCs...'' Pedro thought as his brows furrowed whilst staring at the face of the muscular NPC, trying to recall if it was someone he was familiar with. That said, instead of going down to face the NPCs to interact with him, Pedro flew up high instead. "Kwiiiyaaaak!" Sabrina cried. But what she really said was, ''WTF!'' However, before she could cry once more, Pedro caressed her elegant brown and white feathers and said, "That man standing is a hundred percent NPC. Now... since he remained standing despite my God''s Eyes being activated, he is an NPC of ten levels less than mine--like you, or an NPC that is of the same or higher level than me. Be careful!" "Kwiiiyaaak!" Sabrina cried in response, agreeing to what Pedro said. Noticing that she was not able to understand what Sabrina wanted to say, he took a ring from his inventory bag and wore it, allowing him to understand the words of any animals, beasts, or even monsters. "What was that again? Sorry?" Pedro said whilst forcing out a smile. Sabrina simply stared towards him and cried, "I said... I would!" "Good!" Pedro nodded in response whilst retaining his calm demeanor. Then, he continued, "With that in mind... We can''t deny the fact that that man might be a god or demon of some sort. The little girl is not with us, so it would be risky to approach him and the village. That said... I have no choice... I need to go down and destroy the spawn point of this Village! If I don''t destroy the spawn point now... The battle against the United Asian Force would not end. And in the long run... We might lose due to exhaustion. So... I must destroy the player spawn point no matter what!" "The little girl? Where''s that brat?" Sabrina asked. Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "She won''t be with us anytime soon. In the future probably... But now? She won''t be." Sabrina did not answer back and simply awaited for Pedro to spill the bean. However, Pedro could only shake his head once again and say, "Just trust me! I''ll just destroy the incantations and take the mana crystals floating on those pillars. It won''t take long, my love. Okay?" ''my-my love...'' Sabrina blushed deep inside, barely able to contain her astonishment even in her eagle form. That said, seeing that Pedro had made his decision, she could not help but sigh deep inside and say ''Okay...'' in response. "Thanks, my love!" Pedro patted lightly and pecked a kiss towards Sabrina''s back before jumping down to the ground. When he was far enough from Sabrina, he reverted back to his Dragon form to control his fall. Sabrina, on the other hand, could only smile from ear to ear deep inside as he watches Pedro dove down straight and fast towards the spawn point area. That said, Pedro was seemingly in control of his flight, curving up slightly and slowly as he gets close to the ground. That said, noticing that Pedro was getting closer and closer to the ground, the muscular man frowned as he grabbed a newbie sword that was nearest to him and joggled it on his hand as if he was checking its weight and was trying to familiarize himself with it. "So light..." The man smirked as he grabbed the sword tightly by its blade and aimed it towards the diving Pedro as if it was a spear he was about to throw. "If only there''s an ax around... Even a wooden ax would have been enough!" At this moment, Pedro had descended to a height that was close enough for him to recognize the identity of the muscular man. He can''t help but force out a smile deep inside as the muscular man swing his hand, with the sword, slightly backward, building up momentum whilst aiming towards him. "Captain Aks?" Pedro asked to himself deep inside as the muscular man threw the newbie sword towards him at full force. The newbie sword shot towards him like a bullet. However, before it could even reach meters away from Pedro, Sabrina''s pen-knives intercepted it precisely to the point that it shattered the newbie sword mid-air. That said, Sabrina''s pen-knives did not halt after even its impact with the newbie sword. It flew a few meters up before curving downwards--heading straight towards Captain Aks, the muscular man. Sabrina, who was watching from high above the sky, cried saying "No one will hurt my man on my watch!" On the other hand, seeing the newbie sword that he threw towards the dragon burst into pieces, Captain Aks could not help but gasp and smile as he awaited both the dragon and the four high-speed projectiles descend towards him at full speed. "Not enough, huh? I guess there''s only a limit to what humans could do." Captain Aks said as he closed his eyes--seemingly waiting for his death. However, for some reason, something had intercepted the four pen-knives deflecting them back up into the sky. The deafening crash of metals made Captain Aks frown and open his eyes. And to his surprise, the Black Dragon that was about to crush him into paste had ''miraculously'' vanished as five pen-knifes flew into the air--where one circled around and started rotating around the thin young man covered with dark scales and was standing several meters away from him. The black scales covering the face of the thin young man had reverted--showing the unforgettable face of the young man. Captain Aks'' eyes enlarged as he took a step back from astonishment and said, "A-Adventurer??" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "It''s been a long time, Captain Aks! It''s too sad to see the Village in ruins. Perhaps... This is all your doing?" "Hahahaha!" Captain Aks burst into laughter. He held his face, making him resemble a mad man. That said, Pedro, and even Sabrina, did not attack him after noticing the tears that started to fall down the big muscular man''s face. (But they still kept their guards up. That is why Pedro''s pen-knife kept rotating around him whilst Sabrina''s pen-knives dealt a fatal blow to the other unconscious players around them.) "My doing, you ask? No... Young Adventurer! I would never do such a thing like this to something that Antonio and I had painstakingly built for years!!! For the sake of the HUMANS who gets lost in the west!" Captain Aks said in a hoarse voice. Then, he gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and continued, "The-These humans!!! These Adventurers!! After giving them food! After giving them jobs! After caring for them! They betrayed us!!! They followed that traitor and killed everyone! The Village Soldiers! The Farmers! The Shopkeeper! Even the Village Chief''s wife! They killed them all!" "Now..." Captain Aks stared towards Pedro''s eye and asked, "Tell me, young adventurer! Are you among these men?" Captain Aks pointed towards the dead bodies of Xoran and the other leaders of the United Asian Force. In response, Pedro stole a glance towards them before staring back at Captain Aks. At this moment, Captain Aks picked up another newbie sword nearby and held it by its blade--with its handle pointing towards Pedro and its tip pointing towards the chest of Captain Aks. Then, Captain Aks said, "If so... Please stop our pain and end our lives! We would rather die than see our Village destroyed!" Before Captain Aks could say another word or issue a ''heartbreaking'' quest, Pedro smiled and said, "Rest assured, I am not! In fact, you might not believe it but... I am here to help! After all... I am... Death!" 162 End of The First Player War: The Western War! He did not wait for Captain Aks to respond and simply said, coldly, "Before we discuss any matters regarding the Village, I need to deactivate the Teleportation Platform first!" "The Teleportation Platform?" Captain Aks asked in confusion. He wanted to stop Pedro because a Teleportation Platform is a very crucial part of a stronghold. It is responsible for connecting one stronghold to another, be it Village to Village, Kingdom to Kingdom, or Kingdoms to Villages. On top of it, Teleportation Platforms is where the new characters made by the players were initially transported as they logged in into the game for the first time. Pedro knew that Captain Aks won''t allow him to destroy the Teleportation Platform. However, he also knew at this moment that Captain Aks was conflicted about it since the ''adventurers'' or players that were summoned from the said Teleportation Platforms were one of the reasons why Kagat Village fell into the hands of Village Soldier Tam. On top of that, Captain Aks was currently weakened. He did not have any decent weapon to wield, for him to fight Pedro and be able to, at least, deal a scratch on him. Thus, Pedro took advantage of this opportunity to obtain the Village''s Magical Crystals that powers the Teleportation Platform of Kagat Village. If the teleportation platform was destroyed, there won''t be players spawning non-stop in Kagat Village. This, in turn, would give Antonio and Aks some time to rebuild the village and, at the same time, establish a governing system that would help them manage the adventurers that would go in and out of their stronghold. As for Pedro, Obtaining the Magic Crystals would give him endless amounts of opportunity. He can save it for later--when he builds his own Kingdom, or he can use it to build temporary trap spawn points--where new players could be summoned for them to farm with ease. It was a win-win opportunity for both parties. That said, Pedro knew that he needs to, at the least, convince Captain Aks about it. This way, his relationship with the NPC and the Kagat Village would still remain to be friendly, or even better as if he was their ''hero'' or ''just a family''. Pedro took a deep breath and said, "I know the importance of Teleportation Platforms. Why they were often placed at the center of strongholds. However... Despite the advantages it brings to the village, it certainly poses dangers and risks, especially when it was not handled properly." "N-No..." Captain Aks murmured in response as he averted his gaze from Pedro to the ground. "Exactly!" Pedro said. Then, he turned around and glance towards Captain Aks and said, "That is why... I am going to help you rebuild from scratch. But in order to do so... I need to get rid of the Teleportation Platform first. After all, the adventurers would only bring destruction and problems to the village more than anything else." Pedro was about to turn around once again, when he remembered another important point to explain at the Village Soldier''s Captain, Aks. "Oh! By the way... Do you think that the adventurers are the ones that pose a threat to the village? Thousands of Monsters lurk around the western part of the Aquari Continent. And... My men were also fighting them to protect the village. I did say I am here to help. But... my men are also only humans. We also get tired. If I don''t make a way to reduce our enemies... Never mind the village... Even my men would soon fall to their deaths. So... forgive me. But the Teleportation Platform must be destroyed at any cost!" Captain Aks was hopeless. What Pedro had said was right. Yes, the Teleportation Platform was important. But... As they say, what would you do with the grass if the sheep is dead? What benefit would the Teleportation Platform bring, if the village itself is destroyed? Truth be told, the Teleportation Platform was beneficial to Pedro and his men. They could just camp around the Teleportation Platform and kill the enemies who had just created a new character for themselves. It was an infinite supply of EXP. However, Pedro decided to gather the Magic Crystals of the Teleportation Platform and destroy the platform instead. Because he knew that it was not an efficient thing to do for their characters'' development. First of all, they were not short on Levels, nor EXPs at this moment. In fact, Pedro and Sabrina were twice or thrice the levels of the other players--including Mathew and Talia. In addition to that, there was still the Continental Quest that seemed to be prolonged as the Majority of the players who spawned at the Western part of Aquari Continent had just been annihilated by Pedro''s Force. Hence, the subjugation of the monsters would be slower, particularly the wild mountain wolves at the Western side of the Aquari Continent. This, in turn, would give Pedro and his troops a chance to monopolize the monsters and farm them for themselves--that would eventually make their development and levels increase faster compared to other players. And speaking of Player Levels, their levels (the members of the Attack Team) were already way past the ideal level to ''safely'' enter the dungeons scattered all over the Aquari Continent. Since Pedro and Sabrina had leveled beyond 20, Pedro already had the thought of clearing dungeons in the continent. In fact, if not for the appearance of Pocras and the war, they could have been clearing dungeons at this very moment. The dungeons were on the top of his priority list since he knew that dungeons could only be cleared once--consequently, the rewards and loots from each dungeon could also only be obtained once. On top of that, weapons, items, armors, and other things with special or unique effects could only be obtained from the loots and rewards offered by dungeons. These were something better than those ''ordinary'' equipment that could be bought from the NPCs--giving players a huge advantage compared to others. Well... Pedro and Sabrina were overpowered on their own. They don''t need it that much. However, it was a different story to the other players with them--including Talia and Mathew. Though the two siblings have overpowered transformation forms with no time limits or cooldowns, they were not as overpowered as Pedro and Sabrina on their human forms. Yes, Mathew can kill faster and can kill more wild mountain wolves than Sabrina earlier. But... That was only thanks to his experience in playing VR Games. If Mathew would fight Sabrina in their human forms, he would not win against her despite having a professional background. Sabrina''s pen-knives were almost on the same level as Pedro, where it can freely levitate as if it was a knife version of Mjolnir. And... On top of that, Sabrina had four of them! This mere effect of the pen-knives had already set a huge difference between Sabrina and Mathew''s individual strengths. This is a feature of Bearth Online that gives ordinary players a chance to stand amongst the well-experienced players. Simply take Lony and Roval as an example. Without their transformation forms, they were nothing but ordinary players that are barely able to kill wild mountain wolves. In fact, they would have not survived that long without Yojiro''s presence. They were not even able to survive a couple of seconds before Talia and her army arrived. What if their swords can levitate and carry them to the sky--allowing them to retreat safely with Yojiro? What if their swords can allow them to control their victims like necromancers or lich? What if their swords could release a force similar and as strong as the fake inheritance of some of the players from the United Asian Force? If... If only they had weapons that had such a unique effect, they might have held long enough for them to survive the onslaught of the wild mountain wolves. That is why dungeons are very important. There were many things that await the players. Something that is far beyond what they could imagine. And... Only Pedro knows about it. Fortunately, because of the war, even those players with the highest level amongst the United Asian Force were killed--giving Pedro one less competitor for the said treasures from the dungeons. With this in mind, Pedro collected the Magic Crystals on top of four pillars that are around the Teleportation Platform without a second thought. Afterward, he reverted to his dragon form and smashed the Teleportation Platform of Kagat Village into pieces. The pillars collapsed while the rocks with runic writings were reduced into rubble. At the same time, the players that piled up in that area were not spared. They were mashed together with the rocks and ended up as paste mixed with the soil. Soon, clouds of dust form in that area--making Pedro halt from his jumps. ''Now... The western part of the continent is isolated. No players on their right mind would travel to the western side. It would take them a half-day, at the least, to reach this area--which is not ideal as they would lag behind other players who would choose to stay near their starting areas.'' He chuckled deep inside as he hovered meters above the ground--watching the clouds of dust to clear out. ''All the dungeons in the west is ours. That said... I could only hope that there would be several dungeons left, once we start to visit the other parts of Aquari Continent.'' He thought as he dove down--back to where Captain Aks was located. After he landed on the ground, he reverted back to his human form while, at the same time, reverted his eyes back to their normal state, and said, "Respected Sire... The monsters would arrive at any minute. I promise, in my name Death, that I shall protect this village and kill those bastard monsters at any cost! That said, I am a bit worried about the safety of the Village Chief. So... May I humbly request for your assistance to protect the Village Chief on my behalf?" Captain Aks took a deep breath--seemingly having a heavy heart and said, "You don''t need to tell me that! I would protect Antonio, even if it cost my life! I am his sword... His Head Warrior, after all!" "Then... I am assured!" Pedro smirked towards Captain Aks--making the muscular man feel shivers run through his spine. Captain Aks can''t help but force out a smile as he carries Antonio into the Village Chief''s office. "This young man... I can''t clearly see through his intentions. I don''t know if he is a good or a bad person! But... What I know is that he is not like the other bastard adventurers!" Captain Aks said. Then, he glanced towards Antonio--whom he lied to the sofa of the Village Chief''s office, and said, "Brother... Be strong! The young adventurer that once saved your wife and your daughter... had returned. And this time... He saved us! He saved our village! And with him... We can rebuild our village! With him... We can find that bastard Tam, rescue your daughter, and bring justice to our people!" ~~~~~~~~~ At this moment, Pedro stood on his feet and was busy typing a message to everyone else. It was only after almost a minute when he finished moving his fingers in the air. He glanced up into the sky and said, "We won the war! But it does not mean that the battle ends! We will not stop! We will not rest! Not until the mess is cleaned up and we''ve liberated the western region! After all... I can''t wait to see the faces of the dungeon boss after they see my dragon form!" At the same time, the Player Interface of everyone else rang as they receive Pedro''s ''love letter''. [Death (Pedro): Notice to Everyone! I have successfully conquered the Kagat Village! We have won the war! There won''t be any players from the United Asian Force that would be bothering us for now! That said... Clean up all the monsters along the vicinity! It''s time for us to enjoy the Continental Quest for real! As arranged earlier, Killer Smile would be the one in charge of the Plains and the Forest. Anything related to that area shall be referred to him. As for the ships, Paul would still be the one to take care of them. Assess any damage sustained by the ships and repair them immediately! As for the Village... I''ll handle the things here. No need to worry! Again! Congratulations on our Victory! Glory to ARES!] 163 Kagat Village: The Memories of His Past! Fortunately, he had long since sent a message to everyone to gather up at the plain and stay together. With the presence of the Treants and the NPCs, he was assured that they won''t obtain any further loss, even if they would face an unlimited number of players or monsters once again. Well... There was one exception. It was Arvedar! Ever since everyone had started communicating with each other, they had not received a single reply from Arvedar. His whereabouts were unknown. And even Pedro had no idea about it. With his two friends dead and was not in the game, while Yojiro was asleep, there was no one who could tell where Arvedar could possibly be located. Thus, Mathew did not bother much about Arvedar and could only hope that he was still alive. "Arvedar?" Mathew said deep inside. Then, he frowned and continued, "Is he dead or... Is he in his transformation form--unable to revert back to his human form even for just a couple of minutes? Whatever the case... I''ll wait for his response. But if he did not reply to my messages after an hour... I''ll inform expert bro about this matter!" ~~~~~~~~~~ Back at the Kagat Village, Pedro can''t help but force out a smile as the wind breeze past him--carrying the stinky smell of blood. That said, he had no choice but to loot the items and the inventory bags of the dead bodies of the leaders of the United Asian Force, that was lined up just outside the Village Chief''s office. "Why does it seems like I am getting used to this bloody environment?" He chuckled deep inside. Then, he glanced to the other dead bodies scattered everywhere, making him force a smile, and said, "Looting should be fun, especially after a hard-fought battle. But... Why am I feeling troubled right now, than earlier?" Pedro could only flick his tongue and drag his exhausted body to pick up the inventory bag and items--mostly newbie swords, that are scattered all over the place. Minutes passed by, and monsters soon arrived in the vicinity of Kagat Village. That said, Pedro did not need to transform into his dragon form and roast them by himself. Like what Mathew had encountered, the monsters that came from the north and east of the Kagat Village are very few. Thus, Sabrina was enough to handle the monsters heading towards them--be it the excess monsters from the east, the north, or the south. She was like a ''surveillance drone'' flying high up in the sky and can see every single movement of her targets as well as their weakest areas. All she needed to do was to mentally control her pen-knives to hit every single one of them. Hence, Pedro did not need to intervene and he could just simply focus on looting items and inventory bags. However, while doing so, he did not dare lower his guard. He kept his dark scales on, even on his face. While his pen-knife kept levitating around him, ready to pierce through any targets that may harm him in any way. "How troublesome..." He grumbled. "If only Faunia was here, all of these could have been collected in less than a minute! It seems like what Grandma once said was true. That you would only appreciate one''s importance when they are gone." He took a deep breath as he placed his hands to his waist--stretching his hips after bending forward several times to pick up loots. Then, he chuckled, "I could only pray... for her fast recovery." Soon, he arrived in front of a house with a torn door and broken windows. He can''t help but halt on gathering the loots and simply stared towards the desolated structure--remembering how it looked like when he first saw it. "The Village Shop..." He murmured as he felt a tinge of pain in his heart. He reminisced himself, rushing into the said establishment to buy what he could before going to the first quest--the village story quest. Then, he slowly entered the shop, only to see it desolated. He slowly caressed the top of the counter and remembered the kind and accomodating saleslady of the shop. Then, he took a deep breath--trying to soothe the painful feeling in his heart and said, "I won''t forget... The potions and the potion injector that you sold to me... They were the reason why I survived the first quest I got!" "Not only that..." He said in a sad voice, seemingly he was holding back himself from crying. "I won''t forget... That because of you... and this little shop... No! Because of this little village... I was able to meet Madame Soledad and obtain what I currently have!" "Though... It was just but a simple coincidence... I won''t forget!" He said. Then, he sighed heavily once again--releasing all the pain in his heart, and said, "Wherever you are... Rest assured... I''ll continue what you started. I''ll make this shop, one of the most successful and busy shops in Aquari Continent!" He tapped the counter once again, before leaving the shop and returning to collecting his loots. While doing so, he can''t help but have a heavy feeling after reminiscing the past and remembering the deceased NPCs. "It seems like I have a lot of work to be done... But... Am I just getting too emotional over such trivial matters?" He murmured to himself. Then, he shook his head and said, "Nah... That''s just probably just who I am. Besides... There''s nothing wrong in helping and protecting NPCs--like what Madame Soledad had wished, and There''s nothing wrong in reviving this shop... this village. In fact... I would even gain more things in doing so." With that in mind, Pedro was fired up. He collected the loots at a faster rate, only stopping when the moon was up. He went in front of the Village Chief''s office and cleared the dead bodies out--by storing them into an inventory bag. Then, he piled up woods from the rubble and made a campfire. As the flame started to become stronger, he went to a nearby house to take out several chairs and a table and placed them around the campfire. Then, using a couple more of woods, he started roasting Flocoloso Birds for their dinner. Inside the Village Chief''s office, Captain Aks'' attention was caught by Pedro''s seemingly campfire. Thus, Captain Aks can''t help but check on the resting Antonio before going out of the office. The door opened, making Pedro glance towards its origin only to see Captain Aks. Then, he simply returned his gaze back to the bird he was roasting and said, coldly, "It''s not yet cooked." Captain Aks simply forced out a smile and said, "Don''t mind me... I am not that hungry." Captain Aks went to one of the four seats and sat on it. He leaned forward with his hands rested on top of his thighs while staring at the campfire. Pedro could not help but to stole a couple of glances towards him and see the sad and hopeless eyes of Captain Aks. Then, he said, "What''s your plan?" Pedro''s question made Captain Aks glance towards him and ask, "What do you mean?" Pedro simply stole a glance in response and said, "There''s only the two of you... I mean... I could only help protect the village and rebuild it. But... After that... The village would be left under you and the village chief. I can''t stay here for a long time... I have other villages and Kingdoms to also help and visit." After hearing Pedro''s side, Captain Aks glanced back towards the campfire and said, "To be honest... I wanted to rebuild this village. To make it an even stronger and safer fortress than before. But... Like what you just said... In the end... It would just be Antonio and me. With the increase in the number of monsters, I doubt that the people from the east, the north, and the south would travel as far as the west to conduct trades or migrate." "Two men in a village... This would be difficult, even for the two of you." Pedro said. "Well..." "Why don''t you guys consider joining our fleet?" Pedro said, glancing towards Captain Aks. "I mean... We are currently short of hands in our fleet. And... We have a common objective." At this moment, the door of the Village Chief''s office opened--interrupting Pedro, and Antonio came out with his hands leaning towards the door, and said, "To help those who are in need." Pedro and Captain Aks glanced towards him in astonishment. That said, Captain Aks stood and immediately approached Antonio, saying, "Brother... Your body is still weak! Please go back inside and take some more res--" "I''m fine!" Antonio waved an arm towards Captain Aks--hindering him from assisting the middle-aged man from standing properly. Then, Antonio glanced towards Pedro and said, "It''s been a while young man! Where''s Soledad? Did she send you here?" Pedro simply averted his gaze--retaining his cold demeanor. Deep inside, he always feels sad whenever he remembers Madame Soledad and his previous seniors in the Karakoa fleet. That said, he could only take a deep breath after a few seconds, knowing that being asked about Madame Soledad was inevitable because he was her apprentice in the first place. "She is having her well deserved rest." He simply said. 164 Pedros Idea: Using Trade To Rebuild Kagat Village! That said, Village Chief Antonio knew what Pedro trully meant, consequently making another layer of sadness in his heart. Madame Soledad was close to the hearts of many Villages and Kingdoms because of the selfless acts that she did in order to help them. Be it economy, safety, or other things, she was the type of person who would try her best just to help people without expecting anything in return. That is why her loss would be painful, especially to those people whom she has helped in a lot of ways like Village Chief Antonio. On the other hand, Pedro simply stole a glance in response towards Village Chief Antonio without saying a word. He did not want to talk about Madame Soledad, what much more about her death. At first, he just played the game like how he did in his past life. Kill monsters, do quests, level up, and get stronger. However, Things just turned out different in this second life. That feeling of being treated like a hero after saving the wife and daughter of Antonio, the bond that he was starting to build with Madame Soledad and his Seniors from the Karakoa Fleet, and even just listening to Faunia''s storytelling... These had all made him attached to the NPCs even more. As if they were his real-life acquaintances that had contributed well to his development as a person. Thus, whether it Madame Soledad, or if it was just Faunia, he does not want to talk much about them. Because for him... Losing them is like losing a close relative in real life. "I-I see..." Antonio said. Then, he averted his gaze to the ground and took a deep breath--releasing all the sad feelings he felt deep inside. On the other hand, Captain Aks could only grip his hand and look down to the ground, thinking that humanity had lost a kind-hearted, strong, and helpful person--who helped those who are in need without expecting anything in exchange. It took them a few minutes to process everything and to ease the sudden heavy feeling that they felt deep inside. At this moment, Village Chief Antonio walked out of the Village Chief''s office and glanced around the desolated area. ''It was supposed to be lively.'' Antonio remembered how noisy the streets were at night as the day shift soldiers cheered for another day passed, while the night shift soldiers would be teased for being unlucky. At the same time, women and children would have joined their laughter as they all eat dinner together. With another sigh, he arrived at one of the chairs that Pedro had prepared and sat on it. Then, he remembered Pedro''s offer to join the Karakoa fleet and said, "Sadly... I am too old to join Soledad''s fleet. So... I''ll pass in your offer young man. But... Perhaps Aks might still be able to join." "Respected sires... Please forget what I said." Pedro said--interrupting the discussion between Aks and Antonio that was about to happen. Then, he said, "On second thought, I think that it is a good idea to have a village where humans could seek shelter in the west. It was just... For me... It was too troublesome to consider rebuilding this village." "You''re thinking too much young man! It is my responsibility to take care of the village. There''s no need for you to take that burden away from me." Antonio said. Pedro simply smiled towards him and said, "I know! But... Tell me Village Chief... How do you plan to rebuild this village? Sire Aks had said earlier, the influx of monsters had reduced the number of people traveling towards the western land of the Aquari Continent. Other than my fellow adventurers... Who would stay in this isolated village?" "That..." Antonio could only avert his gaze towards the campfire whilst thinking an answer to Pedro''s question. However, before an idea could come into Antonio''s mind, Pedro said, "I have an idea in mind. But... I do not know if the two of you would be interested." "What is it, young man?" Antonio said, "Feel free to tell us what you had in mind." "I would like to establish a shop and attract the merchants from nearby Kingdoms." Pedro said, "I won''t tell much about the specifics. But... You must know that I am using trade to attract people to go into this village. So... I need assurance that both of you would be able to establish and implement a governing system to avoid this tragedy from happening once again." "This..." Antonio and Aks were at loss for words. Although Pedro pointed out the governing system of the village, they knew that there were more matters that they need to change or improve. Safety, Reconstruction of the old and damaged structures, and many more. All of it needs a lot of money, resources, and, most importantly, manpower to work. That said, Pedro already had several plans in mind. He only needs Antonio and Aks to agree to his arrangement and for them to swear that they would give all their best for the village. After all, he won''t be able to stay for long at Kagat Village as he said earlier. Even if he helped them revive the village, how it survives in this brutal environment, in the long run, would still depend on Antonio and Aks. Pedro knew that the ''adventurers'' was just an excuse for their failure to defend their village against those people or beings that had ill intent. Truth to be told, he wanted to hear what they learned or would do better in order to avoid their mistakes in the past. This way, he would be assured that he could trust Antonio and Aks that they would be able to protect his shop and the goods he was going to sell. He did not want to establish a shop that sells the skills that he had painstakingly made to be only robbed by players from time to time. No matter how high the quality of his goods was, if it would be robbed or taken advantage of, his shop would not last long. And if this would be the primary attraction for people to visit or migrate to Kagat Village, then, It would just become a wasted attempt to revive the village. It would be much better to end the village now, rather than suffer losses later on. That said, Pedro did not suggest this to Antonio out of his emotions... If he would only eventually suffer loss from it. Whether he attains loses something or not, it would be a good chance for him to establish connections amongst other merchants of other Kingdoms and Villages, and, at the same time, build up a brand name that would be the face of his products. On top of that, It is also a good chance for him to observe the NPCs in terms of Village or Kingdom Management. This way, he could determine if he could consider using NPCs to govern his future Kingdom in Aquari Continent, especially if he would be roaming around the world most of the time. Thus, he suggested this idea instead. In fact, he could have just made the Kagat Village as the Base of the gold farming team that was led by his Aunt and his cousin Weyron. Or... He could have just killed Aks and Antonio, and burn the whole Kagat Village into ashes. Less problem, right? But... He would not gain anything in return. Just imagine if they would be successful. If the Kagat Village would rise once again. They would become a strong ally towards the Kingdom that Pedro would build in the future. They could even provide assistance to Pedro in building his own kingdom. There were a lot of possibilities and potentials that the Kagat Village may bring to his table. So, why destroy it, when you could gain from it. On the other hand, Antonio and Aks were not able to respond immediately because they were questioning themselves if they are ready... If they are capable... If they would be able to live to Pedro''s expectations. They had failed, miserably, once. No matter who is in their shoes would definitely doubt themselves, especially when they know that the responsibility they had to bear was almost twice as heavy as before. That said, the answers of Aks and Antonio were long set in stone. They had lost too many to give up on establishing and achieving their dream. Thus, they would still choose to stay with the village, no matter the cost. "Rest assured, young adventurer! I''ll do my best!" Antonio said--whilst still staring towards the campfire. "And so would I!" Aks said glancing towards Pedro with confidence lit in his eyes. Pedro simply smiled in response as he stood and started to cut the roasted Flocoloso Bird into four portions. Then, he gave them a leg part portion each and said, "I am looking forward to working with you, Village Chief." 165 Dont Worry Village Chief! I Dont Eat Humans! "Are you not going to eat, young adventurer?" Village Chief Antonio asked. He glanced towards Pedro who sat back to his chair without holding food. Village Chief Antonio and Village Soldier Captain Aks could only glance towards him, whilst waiting for Pedro to eat first as a sign of respect and courtesy towards him. That said, Pedro simply smiled towards him and said, "Please go ahead and eat first, respected sire! I would also eat in a minute. I am just waiting for someone." "I-I see..." Antonio said. He wanted to wait for Pedro and whomever he was waiting for to eat before he takes a bite to the fragrant and mouth watering roasted bird meat, but... his stomach had betrayed him as it growled out of hunger. Antonio could only force out a smile and said, "Then... I''ll eat first. Thanks for the meal!" "Enjoy!" Pedro said after nodding his head a couple of times. Then, he looked up into the sky--staring at Sabrina and can''t help but wonder if she is alright. ''She''s been flying for hours... I kept sending messages to her but it seems like she is ignoring them all. Perhaps a meal with me would make her calm down...'' Pedro chuckled deep inside as he navigated to his Player Interface and sent a message to Sabrina. [Death (Pedro): My dearest... Dinner is ready. Come down, or else it would be cold.] "Kwiiiyaaak!" The eagle flying above them cried lowdly as it started to descend. Pedro can''t help but grin after stoling a glance towards Sabrina and noticed that she was starting to descend. However, a series of messages popped out in his player interface before he could close it and prepare for Sabrina and his dinner. Since his player interface was already open and Sabrina was yet to arrive, he decided to check the messages of Talia and Mathew. [Killer Smile (Mathew): Expert Bro, here are the reports on my end. There were a couple of good news and there were also some bad news. I''ll start with the good news. First, the Plains and the Shore is all under our control. The Support team, together with the other NPCs from the fleet are defending the Northern Border of the Plains, including the path I made deep into the forest... hehe. As for the southern border of the plains, I have asked my younger sister to personally give you a report about that area. But from the looks of it, she is doing well. Hence, we have decided to leave it be, at the moment. It does not pose immediate danger to us and it hinders monsters from charging into that direction. That said, we are worried that this forest fire might spread into the deeper parts of the forest. At the same time... The injured Treant had seemed to regain its conscousness. That said, it seemed like the Treants would need till sunrise before the injured Treant would be completely healed. That''s all for the good news. As for the bad news... I''ll start with the food of the support team and the NPCs. Because of the rush of going into battle, the support team and the NPCs forgot to bring food and water for them to eat. Fortunately, I was able to improvise and use the wild mountain wolves'' meat to feed them... raw! Well... some tried to cook it, like me, but... for some reason... all of us end up with charred meat. Well... It''s better than eating it raw. :D And Lastly... for the bad news... Arvedar is not yet responding to my messages. It was also impossible for me to contact his two friends as my younger sister informed me that they were the two person who died. If there''s other way to contact him, do inform me so I could contact them as soon as possible. That is all on my end. I returned momentarily in the ship to log off and check the news outside the game. Don''t worry about the monsters. I scouted far ahead to the north east and only encountered a few hundreds of monsters. I even took care some of them, so I think that the support team and the NPCs would be enough to handle them. The NPCs were stronger than me to begin with. Hahahaha. XD] ~~~~~End of Mathew''s Message~~~~~ Pedro nodded in satisfaction from Mathew''s detailed report. That said, he can''t help but wonder about Arvedar. He glanced towards the icon of Arvedar''s character on his friendlist and noticed that it had a green line around it--indicating that Arvedar was still online. That said, the last message in their chat box was the last message that he sent, announcing their victory. "I hope that there''s nothing wrong... He''s my bargaining chip, in exchange for Faunia!" He said deep inside. "But... Based on what Mathew said... His two friends died. Then... It means that Yojiro was the one who survived. Thank god!" He shook his head, making him notice Sabrina that was already close in landing into the ground. Thus, he closed his interface and murmured to himself, "I''ll read Talia''s report, later! Whether they are plotting something bad against me or not... We''ll see! I won''t hold back and make them suffer, even if they are bargaining chips in exchange for Faunia!" At this moment, Aks and Antonio could only stare and watch as Sabrina lands towards them. "Aaaaaaaaah!" Antonio cried as they were seemingly a giant bird was about to crash towards them. Pedro simply grinned in response and cut the remaining portion of the Flocoloso Bird into half. At the same time, Sabrina transformed into her human form at the last second, making Antonio and Aks stare towards her--at loss for words. "Is there a problem?" Sabrina asked in a cold demeanor. Her face wore a frown as her eyes stared daggers towards the two NPCs. Unfortunately, the two NPCs seemed like they were frozen ice or petrified into stone due to the shock that Sabrina brought to them as she almost mashed them with the ground. Thus, her murderous gaze had not made them shiver from fear. "Don''t mind these two Sires. It''s probably the first time that they saw a Bird turn into human!" Pedro chuckled. ''Of course it is the first time!!!!'' Aks and Antonio shouted deep inside. "Hmm..." Sabrina pondered whilst receing her food from Pedro. "Then... They often see a Dragon turn into human?" "Dra-Dragon??? Khuuuhk!" Antonio spewed the food on his mouth from shock. If he was drinking water at that moment, he could have spewed it to the campfire, enough to kill the flame. "B-Brother! Are you okay?" Aks asked as he made several slaps on Antonio''s back in order to help clear the food choking Antonio. Fortunately, after a several coughs, Antonio was able to breath properly. He waved his arm towards Aks--seemingly wanting him to stop slapping his back, and said, "Stop! Stop! I''m okay! I''m okay!" Consequently, Aks stopped in response and said, "Eat slowly! Don''t rush! You are still not feeling well, remember?" "Aish--" Antonio was about to complain. But he was interupted by Sabrina who glanced towards Pedro and said, "Who are they?" Sabrina''s stare was tenacious and scary, hence Pedro could not help but force a smile and introduce the two NPCs to her. Pedro pointed his hand towards the muscular man and said, "This is the Captain of the Village Soldiers here in Kagat Village. He is Sire Aks." Sabrina glanced towards the bigger and muscular man into the eye, making Aks even yield and end up forcing out a smile in response. "G-Greetings!" Aks said, barely able to push the word out of his mouth. Sabrina bowed slightly towards Aks, but she did not utter a word in response as if she felt a tad bit shy deep inside. On the other hand, Not wanting for mood to be awkward, Pedro pointed towards Antonio next. "And this is the one and only Chief of this Village... He is Sire Antonio." Pedro said. Unlike Aks, Village Chief Antonio was not able to utter a single word as Sabrina glanced to him in the eyes. That said, Sabrina did not wait for him to say anything. She simply made the same slight bow towards him. Fortunately, Sabrina had seemingly lost her shyness as she smirked towards Antonio and said, "Don''t worry Village Chief! I don''t eat humans!" 166 A Dream Come True! Sabrina, in turn, stared daggers towards Pedro as if asking him ''Since when did I become your personal bodyguard?'' That said, Pedro could only force out a smile in response as if saying, ''Just ride with what I said! These NPCs are our allies, I don''t want them to have even just a hint of suspicion towards us in any form.'' "T-That''s reassuring, young adventurer!" Antonio said after he made a sigh. "Such a fearless young lady... Perhaps she was amongst the Royal Knight of the Fire Princess of the North?" "Royal Knight?" Pedro frowned in response. Then, he shook his head and said, "No... She''s not affiliated to any Kingdoms, nor the Fire Kingdom of the North! She''s just a fellow adventurer whom I met by coincidence. I personally saw a huge potential in her, thus, I offered help in developing her abilities in exchange for her service." This, in turn, made Antonio gazed towards Sabrina--waiting for her confirmation that what Pedro said was true. On the other hand, Pedro could only wink towards Sabrina as if he was saying, ''Just ride with my story!'' Sabrina smirked in response as if she was not going to follow Pedro''s bluff, making Pedro''s heart pound faster each second. But, in the next second, she took a deep breath whilst shaking her head in response--thinking how hopeless Pedro was. "He''s right, village chief!" Sabrina said as she gazed back to Antonio and Aks--sending shivers run down their spine. Fortunately, Antonio and Aks were finished eating their dinner--giving them a chance to escape into safety and avoid Sabrina''s presence. After showing their gratitude towards Pedro and Sabrina through a couple of bows and thanks, they went back into the Village Chief''s office to rest. Thus, Sabrina and Pedro were left outside in the campfire. Pedro caught a glance of Sabrina, who stared back at him and was seemingly curious as to why he was staring at her. "Is there something weird in my face?" Sabrina asked. Pedro simply smiled towards her whilst shaking his head. This, in turn, made Sabrina frown and ask, "Then... Is there something else bothering you?" Pedro shook his head a couple of times before he averted his gaze from Sabrina to the beautiful starry sky. In response, Sabrina followed Pedro''s gaze and look up into the sky. Upon seeing the beautiful and peaceful sky, Sabrina can''t help but gasp in amazement. "How ironic, isn''t it?" Pedro asked with a smile as he stole a glance at the ''genuinely'' smiling Sabrina before shifting his gaze back into the sky. Sabrina sighed in response and nodded her head in agreement, murmuring, "Yeah..." In the next second, Sabrina stood and lifted her chair. She brought her chair and placed it right next to Pedro. Then, she sat comfortably by his side and watched the beautiful stars with him--with her head resting towards his shoulder. "A dream come true..." She murmured, making Pedro smile. Soon, Sabrina fell asleep with a smile painted on her face, leaving Pedro the only one awake. Unfortunately, Pedro could not stand nor move much because he knew that he might wake Sabrina up. Remembering how hard Sabrina fought earlier, he wanted her to enjoy her sleep at the least. This, in turn, gave him a chance to check Talia''s report and, at the same time, remember about Arvedar--who was currently missing in action. "I better check her sister''s report before I start to overthink things..." Pedro said to himself as he opened his player interface and checked Talia''s report. [Killer Looks (Talia): Expert Brother! My big bro, Killer Smile, asked me to personally report to you what I encountered here in the southern border of the plains. As instructed by big bro, I searched for the three men that you told him to help. With the help of my ant army, I was able to locate their location after just a few minutes of search. By the time we resurfaced to the ground, sire Yojiro was just seconds away from becoming a snack to the wild mountain wolves. I was able to save him, but from the moment we found him, he was already lying by a tree and seemed like he was unconscious. He had severe injuries, but none of it seemed like it came from the attacks of the wild mountain wolves. We are currently rushing around the shortest path into the plains and recon with the others as soon as possible. Big Bro has already contacted the Support Team and tasked them to call an NPC that specializes in healing from the ships. Rest assured... I estimated that we would arrive in the plains as the Sun rises. As for sire Yojiro, his pulse beats at an average rate. If not for his injuries, you might just mistake him for someone who''s in deep sleep and was very tired after a day of work. On another note, I found two unusual corpses just a few meters away from where I found sire Yojiro''s body. One was the bones of a wolf, while the other one was the bones of a human. Their head, body, arms, and legs were all separated from each other. Most importantly, I found a gray-colored eyeball in each of their eye sockets. What was odd was that my ants did not even dare to eat it. And on top of that, the two grayish eyeballs seemed like they were a pair. In any case, I took the eyeballs with me. Also, the human''s arm gripped sire Yojiro''s Katana. It seemed like the man used it to fight the wild mountain wolves. Unfortunately... I have no other evidence with me to prove that it was the two other players that were with sire Yojiro, as I was informed. My ant army had devoured everything with flesh because of the heat of that moment, leaving nothing but bones... hehe. Unfortunately, there were tones of bones of wolves and humans all over the place. But most of them were either split into half or had their head split from the rest of their body. Thus, I think that the two brutally torn apart bodies with grayish eyeball each were the corpse of the two players that had just joined our team. And based on how their bodies were brutally torn apart... I think that they tried to protect sire Yojiro, consequently costing their lives. That''s all for my report. I''ll inform you and big bro, in case Sire Yojiro wakes up. Please Note: I am doing well in holding the south border. My army is enough to fight the monsters from the mountain. You and everyone else can just focus on your own matters and leave the south border to me. :D ] ~~~~~End of Talia''s Report~~~~~ "A wolf and a human..." Pedro frowned and gritted his teeth. His eyes stared bloodshot to the campfire--whose flame was becoming weaker and said, "There''s only one way to find out!" Pedro navigated through his player interface and sent a message to his Aunt. [Death (Pedro): Aunt Veronica, could you kindly contact the three players that had just recently signed a contract under my guild as soon as possible? It seemed like two of them died because of the war. One of them is still alive and is still online in the game. But he is not responding to my messages since we got separated from each other. I have a bad feeling about this. So, I am asking directly for your help, Aunt. Thanks.] Pedro sighed after he sent his message to his Aunt Veronica. And a few minutes later, his Aunt Veronica replied. [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): I''ll contact them right away, nephew! Just give me a couple of minutes to log off and contact them offline. In case you think that they have somehow violated some conditions under their contract, inform me as soon as possible. I''ll arrange a meeting with our lawyer immediately. If you need anything else, don''t hesitate to send me a message. Though you are my nephew, this is still my job. Besides... I promised your mother that I would do my best to help you in this game, especially in these crucial times. Feel free to leave these tedious matters to me and your cousin. Just relax as much as possible and enjoy the game. This way, you would recover fast from your injury.] His Aunt''s message made him smile deep inside. That said, he did not reply immediately to his Aunt. He waited for the green line around her character''s picture in the message tab of the player interface to turn into gray, indicating that she had successfully logged out of the game, before he sent his reply to the message of his aunt Veronica. [Death (Pedro): Thanks, aunt! I appreciate it! I''ll inform you if something comes up... Can''t wait to see you guys offline!] ~~~~Author''s Announcement:1583~~~~~ Here''s the link to the discord server that I made. Check it out if you wanna chat with me from time to time. https://discord.gg/g2BZ3jj9Qm And I would like to encourage everyone to read this novel at w e b n o v e l . c o m to support the Author. ~~~~~End of Author''s Note:1644~~~~~ 167 The Storm After The Calm! He knew that the chance of Arvedar betraying or stabbing him in the back was low because Arvedar and his friends were bounded by a contract. Thus, Pedro could narrow down the possible situations related to in-game circumstances. Either Arvedar encountered a really strong opponent--requiring him to fight at his full attention, or he could be monitoring other players, making him unable to revert back to his human form to avoid alerting the enemies at any cost. After all, he had a transformation that could also fly high up in the sky. Something that was perfect for scouting, spying, tracking, and such. However, before he could think any further, he felt a strong force pulling him deeper into the ground. This, in turn, had also awakened the asleep Sabrina, whose eyes went bloodshot whilst glancing around--looking for the origin of the unexplainable pressure. On the other hand, Antonio and Aks rushed out of the Village Chief''s office out of fear--like someone who was inside a building when the ground suddenly shook. Then, they ran towards Pedro whilst wearing a pale look as if it was the end of the world. Their advance was slow because their feet were buried several centimeters deeper into the ground with each step they make. At the same time, it felt like blocks of rocks were being placed on top of them--making their legs shiver as the weight it carries increases exponentially each second that passes. "What is happening, young adventurer?" Village Chief Antonio cried. Unfortunately, Pedro simply stared to their south--ignoring the middle-aged man''s question. Even Sabrina, who stood beside Pedro, furrowed her brows and stared towards the dark starry sky to their south full of murderous intent. This, in turn, had made Sabrina''s eyes became all red in color as Four Pen-Knives flew around her. "Should I--" Sabrina seemingly wanted to ask Pedro''s go signal to engage the hostile entity. However, Pedro raised his hand--interrupting Sabrina, and simply shook his head. Then, he sighed as the lines on his forehead straightened. "Relax!" Pedro said, smirking. "He''s on our side." Soon, they saw a black crow flying towards them. At the same time, the increasing pressure that they felt above them had suddenly vanished as if nothing had happened. This, in turn, made Antonio and Aks sat on the ground to relax the stressed muscles on their thigh and legs. In the next second, the crow landed on the ground and transformed into a human. Pedro and Sabrina knew who it was ever since they saw the black crow. It was Arvedar. Only when Arvedar was meters away from them was the campfire able to reveal his pale looking face--as if he was sick. His eyes were being forced open as he exerted the last ounce of his strength to approach Pedro and Sabrina--wanting to get near them as soon as he can. "T-Thousands of monsters... are on their way!" Arvedar said. "I-I could... only... hold them off! S-Sorry!" Arvedar collapsed into the ground before he could even reach Pedro and Sabrina. Pedro rushed towards him as he took out several bottles of potion on his inventory bag. At the same time, Pedro nodded towards Sabrina, who nodded in response. In the next second, she transformed into his eagle form and shot up into the sky with her four pen-knives. Then, she flew towards the direction where Arvedar came from and was able to barely spot thousands of charging monsters. "Kwiiiiyaaaaak!" Sabrina cried, signaling to Pedro that they are under attack. That said, Sabrina did not wait for Pedro''s orders and launched her pen-knives like a missile to the monsters charging from their south--coming from the western forest. Anything that was illuminated by the stars and the small moon was instantly pierced through by Sabrina''s pen-knives. However, because of the trees and the dark night, almost half of the monsters leading the charge were able to avoid her detection and was able to survive the onslaught of her pen-knives. Unfortunately, due to the seemingly endless amount of enemies, she decided to leave the surviving monsters to Pedro''s hands and simply navigate her pen-knives forward--piercing every single monster she was able to spot. The charge of the surviving monsters was able to shook the ground--making Pedro flick his tongue whilst frantically pouring potions into Arvedar''s mouth. On the other hand, the two NPCs could only remain seating on the ground as they watch Pedro do his best to save Arvedar. "Don''t die! Don''t die! Don''t die! Don''t die!" Pedro cried repeatedly while simultaneously pouring potion after potion to Arvedar''s mouth and staring at his player interface--watching closely Arvedar''s character avatar and name on his friend list. If the green line around Arvedar''s character avatar disappears, it means that he had logged off the game--whether it was forced by the system or not. So, if a green line was around his character avatar, then, he is still online in the game--indicating that he was still alive conscious or not. On the other hand, if the black font of Arvedar''s in-game name had turned into gray, then it only means that his character had already perished. And... This was the thing that Pedro wanted to avoid at any cost. At this moment, he can''t help but feel guilty deep inside. He thought that Arvedar betrayed him when, in fact, he was doing all his best to hold off a monster wave coming from the south. On top of it, Pedro and everyone else even had the time to rest and relax while their comrade was fighting. "I even promised to become a better leader!" Pedro grumbled. His teeth gritted as the veins in his forehead seemed like it was about to pop out. After almost a minute, he stopped pouring potions into Arvedar''s mouth because was assured that Arvedar was still alive since he was still online in the game--just unconscious. Then, he glared towards the two NPCs, and said, "Forgive me, sires! But we have to leave the village now! As you have heard, thousands of monsters are charging towards us!" "But... What about the--" Antonio tried to argue to Pedro, but Pedro interrupted him. "JUST! Just tell me if you are going or not! A monster wave at night is not something that a desolated village could stop! Even if I helped! Even if all of my troops helped! I cannot assure you that there wouldn''t be a monster that would be able to reach the village! YES, WE HAD A REST! BUT THAT''S BARELY ENOUGH... CONSIDERING THE FIGHT WE HAD EARLIER! AND WITH THAT SAID! I CANNOT RISK THE SAFETY OF MY COMRADE BY LEAVING HIM DEFENSELESS IN THIS VILLAGE! SO... DECIDE! Come with me and evacuate to a safe place, or... Stay in this village and die with it!" Pedro was filled with anger. That said, he was still able to restrain it--hindering his eyes from turning into black. He knew that deciding about it was not easy. But... Time was not on their side. Hence, he had no other choice but to be blunt to the two NPCs. He needed to bring Arvedar to a safe place as soon as possible so that he would be able to help Sabrina in fighting the monsters. That said, he did not want to force the two NPCs to follow him as it may result in making an enemy out of the two NPCs instead. On the other hand, It was really unfortunate for the two NPCs. At this moment, they had only two choices to choose from. Either they stay and die with the village that they created, or they follow Pedro and live, giving them a chance to help other people but in a completely different way from what they dreamed of. That said, Pedro and the two NPCs knew how brutal the monster waves are at night. Unlike humans, most of the carnivorous monsters use their noses to locate their targets. Thus, the monsters are advantageous against humans at night. As for Pedro, it would just remain a stalemate if he simply remained at the center of Kagat Village. It was not, in any way, efficient in fending off the monsters. They would just simply spill more blood and further attract all the monsters in that area. Can Pedro stay awake for several days??? Even inside the game??? No! There was still a limit to what he can do. And it was the same for his troops. Because at the end of the day... They were still humans! 168 The Decision of Antonio and Aks! [Death (Pedro): Urgent! To Everyone! Ready yourselves! There''s another wave of monsters charging--coming from the south. Sabrina is currently holding the monsters before they arrive at Kagat Village. Unfortunately, we learned about it just now. Arvedar held them as long as he could. That is why we were not able to contact him since we joined the fight. Defending the Kagat Village is an impossible feat. Thousands of monsters would soon knock on its walls. Reinforcements would be useless because, by the time you arrive here, the village would already be crushed into the ground. So... We''ll be taking the battle into the plains. Like earlier, Mathew would hold the northern border of the plain. Talia would hold the foot of the Woba mountain and the southern border of the plain. While the Treants would hold the eastern border of the plain. As for the support team, all of you would become the temporary communications and reporting team. Faith [Aldo] would be with me as my messenger. Direction Idiot [Loren] would be with Sabrina as her messenger. Hope [Ashley] would join Killer Smile [Mathew] at the northern border as his messenger, together with Yuson as an escort. Illusion [Elisabeth] would join Killer Looks [Talia] at the southern border as her messenger, together with Beatrice as an escort. While Love [Charlotte] would be the messenger for the commands to the other NPCs who would stand by. They would act as reinforcements, loot collectors, and they would be the ones to bring the injured personnel back to the ships. We''ll hold the monsters first and see later on what actions we can take to advance forward. We have to ensure everyone''s safety first because we don''t know when will fatigue hunt us down. Let''s do our best and capitalize on this annoying ''bug'' event! If you have any ideas or suggestions, don''t hesitate to message me. I would greatly appreciate your help, especially that there are only a few of us left standing. And remember... Don''t die!] ~~~~~End of Pedro''s Message~~~~~ It took Pedro a few minutes to type the long message. He did so, to give a more detailed instruction to everyone else, and, at the same time, give Antonio and Aks more time to ''carefully'' make their decision. As for the monsters, they have a couple more minutes before they arrive. Besides... Pedro just needs to transform into his dragon form and fly into the sky in order to escape the monsters. Or, he could just activate his demonic eyes, making every monster fall into sleep. Thus, Antonio could only bit his lips as Aks nodded to him--indicating that he would support him on any decision that he would make. "I... We... W-We''ll evacuate with you!" Antonio said with pain in his heart. "It was obvious that we would stay, even to our deaths. But... With you... Adventurer Death! I know that we could build Kagat Village from the ashes... in the future, once again!" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Of course... We''ll make these bastards pay tenfold!" In the next second, Pedro handed over Arvedar to Aks'' care. Then, he walked a few meters away from them before transforming into his dragon form. Afterward, he swung his tail into the ground, allowing Antonio and Aks to go up and ride behind his back. They sat between two huge spikey black scales on Pedro''s back, with Arvedar sitting in front of Aks and was locked in place by his hug. If this was seen by people outside the game, they would have mistaken that Arvedar and Aks were sweet lovers in an amusement park. Pedro glanced to his back and smirked slightly towards them that, in turn, made Antonio and Aks force out a smile in response. They had an ominous feeling about it, thus, they reactively tightened their grip at the scales on Pedro''s back. They were right! They were right to grip tightly at the scale on his back! In the next blink of an eye, Pedro jumped as high as he can, making the ground shake and the two NPCs cry in fear. It was as if they rode an airplane with no glass shielding them from the wind. The skins on their faces seemed like it wanted to separate from their skull--consequently revealing their teeth and eyeballs. When Pedro reached the peak of his jump, the NPCs'' hearts were filled with momentary relief. That feeling as if they had successfully reached the ?h?e?a?v?e?n? sky. However, before they could utter a word, the wind rushed towards their faces once again as Pedro glides downward--heading to the west. Pedro did this repeatedly, giving the two NPCs one hell of a roller coaster ride. On the other hand, Sabrina had also started to retreat behind Pedro. Her pen-knives had circled on the ground and followed her retreat whilst still piercing through every monster it could encounter along the way. That said, Sabrina saw hundreds of wild mountain wolves already feasting on the dead body of the players inside the Kagat Village. On top of that, tens of giant orcs were smashing their gigantic clubs--destroying the wooden walls of the village in a single blow. But what really caught her attention was a grey owl, whose grey eyes were staring back at her fearlessly. Sabrina felt something bad about it, hence, she made one of the pen-knives to circle around and kill it silently. The grey owl tried to fly away but it was too late. The pen-knife pierced to its head, killing it instantly. Then, it fell down, straight into the campfire that they had earlier--consequently burning it into ashes. A strong black smoke burst in the campfire, killing the flame and consequently swallowing the village in the dark. Thus, Sabrina could only avert back his attention to her targets as she retreated, almost half a kilometer away from Pedro. ~~~~~~~~~~ At this moment, Somewhere in the world of Bearth, a lady sat casually on a throne. Her lips were curved upward and were barely lit by the light coming from the moon. While her grey colored eyes illuminated through the darkness that was covering the rest of her face "Interesting..." She said. Then, the lady lifted a glass that was filled with a red viscous fluid and took a sip from it. "Those pair of murderous red eyes... It seems like the Elders had already made a move to the human continent. If that''s the case... Then, there''s no use for me to stay and play with these little mortals." "What about the contracts and the deal with those humans?" A man said as he takes the empty glass of the lady. He had pale white skin, silvery-white hair, and four fangs hidden amongst his teeth--two on the upper jaw and two on the lower jaw. "The experiment was a success, right?" The lady said in response, "All we need to do is capture more gods and demons to produce more contract with their blood. What power they bring... I don''t give a damn! What''s important is that if we give it to those dumb humans... They would gladly become our pawns. And this is good news for us... Especially for the next war." "What if the elders learn about the contracts? What should we do, my lady?" "I can''t quite understand the essence of your question, Koffer." She said. The man named Koffer could only bow towards her in response and said, "Forgive me, my lady." The lady simply waved her hands as she stood from the throne, revealing her snow-white skin and her elegant silver-white hair that beautifully laid to her back. She lifted her white dress like a queen or a princess as she went down the few stairs that were leading to the throne. "It''s alright! I understand that you are worried about those bastards. After all... They are the most treacherous beings in this world!" She said as she waved her hands, creating a black gooey liquid-like portal. Then, she took a deep breath and said, "But don''t worry! They won''t cause a ruckus, especially that the seven houses are rebuilding their respective forces. It''s just a matter of time before another war starts... Every single demon on their side is important." "I understand, my lady!" Koffer bowed once again. He did not have any hint of fear in him as if he had completely entrusted his life to the lady, even to death. The lady could only smirk in response and say, "Let''s go! We''ll just go back in the near future. By then... We would have prepared a lot of the contracts for our pawns." "Yes, my lady!" Koffer said as he and the lady entered the portal, leaving the throne room empty. 169 Erafir: The Spy In The Treasure Chest! Hours later, the moon soon reached its peak--emitting the brightest light for the night. When the throne room was illuminated, it revealed several men that were hanged all over the place. Blood dripped from the holes in their chest to their feet, before dripping into the ground. Their blood had consequently covered the intricate design of the floor and, at the same time, it had damped the blue carpet heading straight to the throne. At this moment, the stench of blood had started to spread across the room. However, the doors that open inwards were blocked by a pile of treasures--consisting of gold coins, weapons, gems, and other precious items or equipment. This had sealed the only entrance into the throne room--consequently causing the air to flow out of the windows. With this, it would take a longer time for the Royal Knights or anyone else to notice the tragic fate that those inside the throne room had suffered. That said, after a few hours of nothing but the dripping sound of blood echoing into the room, the huge treasure chest located on top of the mountain of treasures had started to shake as if it was an egg that was about to hatch. It was so huge to the point that even two or three humans might fit inside it. Later on, a golden key shot up from the piles of treasure and perfectly inserted itself into the lock of the treasure chest. Then, it turned around making a ''clack'' sound--signifying that the lock of the chest was opened. However, the chest did not burst open like it usually did in the dungeons. Instead, its cover was simply lifted a few centimeters high--just enough for anyone to peak in it. But on the contrary, a man''s eyes peaked from the inside and glanced around the throne room as if it was checking if there were anyone outside. Seeing nothing but dead bodies hanging around, the man pushed the cover of the huge treasure chest upward--completely opening it and revealing the figure of a man that was inside. But in the next seconds, the man was able to sniff the strong metallic smell of the blood--making him cough as if he was about to vomit. "This..." The man coughed several more times before he bit into his arm to avoid vomiting. ''I need to tell Guild Leader about this!'' The man thought as he navigated to his player interface and started typing as fast as he can. [Erafir: Guild Leader Weyron! Urgent News! The Tarala Kingdom would soon fall like the Kagat Village! I am currently inside the throne room of the Tarala Kingdom''s Royal Castle! Ernald, the King... together with the rest of the royalties, the elders, and the advisors are hanged to their deaths, inside. It would be easy for me to take all these treasures and escape from this place. But... I think that this is a good opportunity for us to take over this Kingdom! You can leave the setup to me! I''ll just make it look like the advisors and elders were the ones behind this horrendous event. All you need to do is find a way to get into the Tarala Kingdom''s Royal Castle and bring some knights with you to act as witnesses. Please do send me a message about the arrangement within these two days. If you guys won''t be able to arrive, I''ll take all the treasures and I''ll hide back inside the chest until everything is clear. You don''t need to worry about me being detected. Rest assured that even the demons were not able to sense my presence whilst I was inside this chest that we got from Meen. So... I''ll leave the rest up to you, Guild Master. Just... I hope that you won''t forget to put this treasure chest into a ''safe'' place. It would be ideal for you to bring a person who could take over the throne of the Tarala Kingdom. Maybe we can ask the other ''Infis'' if they knew any noble from the other nearby Villages or Kingdoms that are related to King Ernald. We can establish a contract with them and make them the new rulers of the Talaca Kingdom. A child is our best option. They would be easier for us to control. On another note, It seems like the ''goddess'' that Kageyama and the Japanese players referred to was actually a demon--a vampire. She, together with another man, were the ones responsible for the death of the heads of this Kingdom. Based on what I heard, the inheritance that the top players from the United Asian Force used was actually just a contract made by them. Unfortunately, I was not able to gather any further information about how it was created. I just know that it won''t bring us anything good, even if it would give us elemental powers that could make us stronger than the ordinary players. In any case... That''s all for my report. Please remember to be here in the Tarala Kingdom in two days. Whether we gain control of the Kingdom or not, we would benefit, either way, just being in this Kingdom.] ~~~~~End of Spy Erafir''s Message~~~~~ After sending his message, Erafir went out of the treasure chest while his left hand was covering his mouth and nose. He glanced around and assessed what ''setup'' would he do to the horrible state of the dead NPCs. He could only force out a smile when he noticed the marks that the ropes were making around their neck. If it was in real life and technology, the cause of death would have been obvious. Thus, he knew what he had to do first. He glanced towards the swords that were piled up with the rest of the treasures and said, "Let''s start with putting them down." Erafir pointed his right hand to a golden sword. Then, he lifted his hand, consequently making the sword flew ''magically'' into the air. And with the guide of his hand, he cut the ropes that are hanging the Royalties, Advisors, and Elders by their neck. This made them fall into the ground for Erafir to set up--framing the Advisors and the Elders as perpetrators of this event. ~~~~~~Back to the Plains~~~~~ The NPCs led by Charlotte fall back near the shore. The treants had requested them to stay back as far as possible because they might accidentally get hit by the Treants as they fight once again. Mathew had also agreed to this point. He knew that the Treants would be more destructive compared to earlier because they would be driven by their anger and their thirst for revenge for what happened to their comrade. Well... Charlotte and the NPCs with her were fortunate to follow the Treants'' request. The ground shook heavily as the forest was slammed into a paste by the Treants. The tremors were even felt from where Charlotte and the NPCs stood, and it was even enough to make some of them fall into the ground. It was as if there were several Mathews bulldozing their way deeper into the forest but in a more explosive and powerful manner. As for Talia, she commanded her babies that was left at the border of the plains to go underground and advance ahead to the south--specifically to the path going to the trail of Woba mountain. This way, she would be able to attack at full force after she ensures that Yojiro was brought back to safety. At the same time, she wanted to avoid her army from being crashed by the Treants. Thus, went towards the direction of the Woba Mountain that was far from where the Treants are heading. On the other hand, Sabrina flew around the forest that was ahead of everyone else. She was their first line of offense. Her pen-knives killed as many as it can, making her surpass Mathew in the second rank of the Continental Quest Event. As for Pedro, he sent Arvedar to the healers of the Karakoa Ship. At the same time, he inspected the ships and talked with Paul about them. He instructed them to check every single corner of the ship and that they should be ready to depart at any moment. And when he was about thinking of what to do with Antonio and Aks, Aunt Veronica rushed towards him and said, "Nephew! Nephew! I have confirmed that it was the two adventurers that perished. They made new characters with the same name and similar looks so that they would be easily identified. Also... They told me that they spawned at Axutar Village that was located in the Eastern part of the Aquari Continent. Unfortunately... They can''t join us now because they had decided to spend the night in that village for safety reasons." "Axutar..." Pedro frowned as he rubbed his chin--pondering the location of the said village in his mind, based on his experience in his past life. "Noted, Aunt! We''ll meet with them as soon as we are able to fend off the monsters coming from the south. For now... Tell them to remain in the village and gather information instead. It would be too risky for them to travel on land while the Continental Quest is still active." "Got it!" Aunt Veronica said as she opened her interface and started to message Lony and Roval. Pedro, in turn, glanced towards Antonio and Aks, who glanced back at him as if they were waiting for his command. Just when he was about to glance at Paul--who was behind him, his player interface popped out and showed a long message that he received from his Aunt. Since his Aunt was just in front of him, he can''t help but stare towards her--confused about why did she send a message to him instead of telling him about it personally. "What''s this message about, Aunt?" He asked. "It''s a message that your cousin, Weyron, had sent to me. He said that it was best for you to personally know the report of his Infi. He also said that you would be greatly interested in this matter... Because he knows that you can do something with the "Succession" thing... And... It would be greatly beneficial for us." "Succession?" Pedro frowned as he glanced several times into the battlefield. Noticing that everyone seems alright, he decided to check the message that Erafir made--that Weyron forwarded to Aunt Veronica, his mother--and that Aunt Veronica forwarded to Pedro. After a few minutes of reading the message, Pedro smirked evilly and murmured to himself, "Tarala Kingdom, huh?" He glanced at everyone, and said, "Change of Plans! The East seemed to have some problem! We have to pay them a visit as soon as possible... and give them a hand!" 170 A Bluff or The Truth? "The East?" Paul asked, taking a step forward to represent everyone else. "Captain, can you tell us the reason why we need to head to the eastern side of the continent as soon as possible? Because... Our forces had just regrouped. Won''t we suffer more loss if we split from each other again?" Pedro took a deep breath whilst shaking his head. Then, he said, "You guys don''t understand... It''s not like we have any choice! The western side of the Aquari continent only has the Naga Kingdom and Kagat Village as human strongholds. The eastern side had a completely different case. There are hundreds of villages and a handful of Kingdoms on the eastern side of the continent. If these same amounts of monsters attacked the eastern side... the very same amount that even we were barely able to hold off... Do you think that they would be able to survive?" Paul, Antonio, Aks, and everyone else could only avert their eyes as Pedro glanced at them as if he was waiting for their answers. That said, their reactions were enough to speak their answers. It was a definite NO! The chaos caused by the influx of both players and monsters was really hard for an ordinary village to handle. Kagat Village was already an example. Add up an external factor--like Village Soldier Tam, any village would definitely fall and be destroyed. Everyone knew about that fact. That is why they felt ashamed towards Pedro, especially Antonio and Aks. The two NPCs had experienced, first hand, the difficulty of defending against the monsters and the revolting players. On the other hand... To Pedro, what he said was partially part of a bluff. If not for the Tarala Kingdom that was about to fall, he would not dare lay foot in the eastern side of the Aquari Continent. First of all, he had the western side of the Aquari continent for himself. This includes the resources, the monsters, and the dungeons that all players would fight over. And secondly... He knew that the players won''t be that disorganized as before. Or so he hoped. Every member of the United Asian Force had suffered a huge loss from their defeat in the hands of Pedro and his force. And they definitely can''t take any further losses. There is a huge possibility that some major gaming organizations would leave the United Asian Force, consequently weakening it and it might even cause its disbandment. Thus, In order to remove the suspicions and the questions in the NPCs'' mind, Pedro took this chance to add weight to what he had initially pointed out. "The Kagat Village is already destroyed. And... The Naga Kingdom''s crystal walls could survive the onslaught of these monsters. There''s not much for us to protect here on the western side. So... Instead of fending off these monsters for no concrete purpose... Won''t it be ideal for us to go to the east and save as many lives as we can? After all... We have a duty to fight for them!" He said. "But Captain... The assessment of the ships'' integrity is yet to be completed. And it would take us almost a month to circle around the continent. Won''t be ideal to work our way to the eastern continent by land instead?" Paul said, making Pedro force out a smile deep inside. However, before he could speak, Paul continued, saying, "I am sure that we would reach the eastern side in two weeks, at most. We could, at the same time, reduce the population of monsters along the way." "I am aware of that!" Pedro said, annoyed. "But two weeks is too long! By that time, too many lives would already be lost! So... I have decided to form a small team of my own instead. We would go to the east, ahead, and help as many villages and Kingdoms as we can." "This!" Everyone can''t help but gasp in astonishment at what Pedro had just said. However, they had no other choice. Deny it or not, it was the best option that they had right now if they want to save as many humans as they can. Their main force could focus on advancing to the eastern side, slowly but surely. While a small but terrifying group led by Pedro himself would buy them time by holding off the monsters and protect as many strongholds as they can. Plus... The fact that Pedro and his team are technically from Bearth Human Organization... It could encourage and rally the hearts of the NPCs who are placed in a tight situation. That said, once he used his identity as someone from BHO, he must be extra careful with his actions as it might affect both his reputation and the reputation of BHO, itself. Well... He''s not that much of an idiot to bluntly and proudly say that he is from BHO, isn''t he? Thus, in the end, no one argued any further from his decision. With a heroic goal in mind, even Paul yielded and awaited for Pedro''s instruction and command. "So, what''s the plan?" Paul asked. "Who would be on your team?" Pedro simply smiled and said, "The Eagle, Faith, Direction Idiot, Antonio, Aks, and Yuson." "Yuson?" Paul asked. "Why not bring Beatrice? She''s a noble from the north. She might hold more credibility than Yuson as a member of BHO, right?" Pedro simply shook his head and said, "I know. But... You also need a hand! Until Yojiro and Arvedar recover from their injury, it would be very risky to leave the safety of the ships, alone, in your hands. With Beatrice on your back, I won''t be worried about the safety of the ships. Besides... The Chicken, The Ant Army, and The Treants are more than enough to fight on the land. Though we are advancing through the land, I still want to retain the strongest defense that the ships could offer, as much as possible. It''s like our Kingdom after all." "I understand." "Great!" Pedro celebrated by clapping his hands. Then, he glanced towards his Aunt and said, "Aunt Purple Jade, I''ll leave you here with Paul, as usual. You''d be safest with him, after all. If you need anything, don''t hesitate to contact me at any time." "Don''t worry about me, Nephew! I''ll be fine!" She said. "Remember to rest and avoid overworking yourself! Don''t be like your cousin, who doesn''t care about himself... And too arrogant!" Pedro burst into laughter after remembering Weyron, who always got into fights or trouble. Then, he said, "Thanks, Aunt! I will!" Aunt Veronica simply smiled in response as Pedro glanced and nodded towards Antonio and Aks as if saying ''Let''s go?''. However, before he could transform into his dragon form, he was somehow intrigued by where his cousin was, at this moment. So, he gestured his hand towards Antonio and Aks as if he was saying, "Wait a minute.". Then, he glanced back to his Aunt and asked, "By the way... Aunt, where''s my cousin right now? From the looks of it... his guardian angel had protected him from death once again." "Your cousin?" She asked. Then, she burst into laughter in the next second and said, "He said that he went straight to the north--running away from the giant chicken, earlier." "Is that all?" Pedro asked in a calm tone. "I mean... I know cousin... He''s lazy as fuck, than me! He won''t go out of his way to the north just to run away from a friendly chicken who just wants a friend to play." "Haha, you know your cousin very well! He said that he''s going to meet a woman named, Meen. He called her guild leader... But I think that it''s your cousin''s girlfriend." Aunt Veronica said in a mocking tone, before bursting into laughter. "Meen, huh?" Pedro simply smirked as if he was joining his Aunt''s tease to his cousin. "It seems like cousin Weyron had finally found his source of happiness." Pedro and his Aunt burst into laughter. Everyone else could only force out a smile because they weren''t able to understand the humor that only Pedro and his relatives could understand. At this moment, Pedro waved goodbye to everyone on the ship as he approached Antonio and Aks. With a nod, the two NPCs started to climb down a rope ladder leading to the shore. While Pedro casually jumped down from the deck of the ship--that was tens of meters high above the ground. "Now... Let''s solve our manpower issue by getting ourselves a Kingdom!" Pedro murmured to himself. Then, his face wore a faint mischievous smirk. 171 A Family That He Once Did Not Have! As usual, Paul Solares was the commander of the Naval Force. Any decisions or actions to be made--concerning the three ships, would need his approval before implementation. On the other hand, the Attack Team and the Support Team were replaced with the Advance Force, the Land Force, and the Logistics Force. All of which are responsible for any on-land related tasks or objectives. Both the Land Force and the Logistics Force would be under Mathew''s command. That said, he would focus more on managing the Land Force consisting of Talia and the Treants, who would be the new frontline fighters of this battle. The Logistics Force would still be under Mathew''s command, but... The work was divided amongst Charlotte, Elisabeth, Ashley, and Aunt Veronica who were assigned as ''messengers'' and ''reporters'' that were scattered through the battlefield. The goal of establishing the Logistics Force is to ensure proper communication between all of them, and, at the same time, improve coordination between their troops to avoid suffering any loss, especially in terms of the life of their men. Charlotte, Elisabeth, and Ashley''s coordination are very important. Elisabeth and Ashley were the messengers and reporters of Talia and Mathew--who are amongst the three major frontline fighters of their force. In case any or both of the two forces needed back up, they would be the ones who would contact Charlotte who is in charge of the NPCs from Karakoa Fleet. What happened to Arvedar was an eye-opener to both Pedro and Mathew. They knew that they someday experience the same situation as Arvedar, where they were too busy fighting in their Transformation Form to the point that they won''t be able to revert back to their human form just to send a message or report. Thus, the messengers or the reporters were a crucial part of their force. Lastly, for the Advance Force, Pedro would lead the said small group whose goal was to advance ahead to the East and gain as many ''things'' as they can. Be it Manpower, Money, Connections, Reputation, or Weapons, they would take as much as they could with them. Truth be told, Pedro was hesitant in bringing Aks, Antonio, and Yuson with them. He did not want to use his identity of being a part of BHO in obtaining his objectives and targets. However, he had no choice. First of all, it would be suspicious to Paul and the rest of the NPCs as to why he wanted to suddenly head into the East. Thus, in order to avoid that suspicion, he had no choice but to bring the three NPCs with him. With the three NPCs, namely Aks, Antonio, and Yuson, as his representatives, and his title as Contra Almirante from the BHO, Pedro could obtain the authority that would allow him to control, not only the Tarala Kingdom, but the majority of the NPC forces of the eastern side of Aquari Continent, and lead them in fighting against the monsters and the ''troublesome'' Adventurers. As for Sabrina, she was his ''private bodyguard''. Her goal was to protect Pedro from any threat, no matter what. It was unfortunate that she was not left on the Land Force. With her huge range of vision, paired with her Demonic Eyes and her telepathically controlled pen-knives, the Land Force''s advance could have been twice faster. She was basically a one-man army. Her attack range was as wide as what Talia''s ant army could cover--around a kilometer radius. While her kill rate was as fast as the combined kill rate of the Treants and Mathew, on his chicken form. Well... It was the advantage that Pedro gained for bringing Sabrina along with him. In case they needed to go against a combined force of monsters and players/adventurers, Sabrina would be enough to ''take care'' of the majority of them. As for Loren and Aldo, they were their personal messengers and reporters. Aldo was Pedro''s friend, so there''s no doubt that he''d be the one that Pedro would fully trust to always ride on his back. While Loren was Sabrina''s friend... or more like her sister. Thus, Loren was the only one allowed--besides Pedro, to ride behind Sabrina''s back on her eagle form. With everything organized compared to earlier, Pedro hoped that they won''t suffer that much loss this time around. On top of that, he could only hope that Yojiro and Arvedar would recover fast. Though their firepower was not in the level of Sabrina, Mathew, or Talia, they were at the least on par with Beatrice''s strength. Thus, their presence was still very important, especially that their manpower was limited. At this moment, Sabrina had arrived at where Pedro and the rest of the Advance Force were located. She reverted to her human form and ate an ''early'' breakfast with everyone else. Loren jumped and hugged Sabrina the moment she arrived, and said, "Sis! How are you? Did you get any injury? Just tell me... I''ll take care of them for you." Sabrina simply retained her calm expression--not minding much Loren''s sisterly hug, and said, "I''m fine, Sis. Don''t worry about me. How about you? Did you rest?" "I''m fine! I''m fine!" Loren said as she let go of Sabrina. Then, She smirked towards Sabrina and raised her left hand--showing a ring in one of her fingers. "Classmate Pedro gave me a ring." In the next second, Sabrina''s eyes turned all red. Fortunately, before she could release a strong murderous aura, Pedro threw the ''EXP'' Amulet towards her--making her shift her attention towards it. Since her demonic eyes were activated, she was able to see the thrown ''EXP'' Amulet in slow motion, and, at the same time, she was able to predict several trajectories it might take--allowing her to perfectly catch it with one hand. "Nice catch!" Pedro said, smirking afterward. Sabrina glared at him as if asking ''Why did you give Loren a ring?''. Pedro could only fake out several coughs before forcing out a smile. Then, he said, "Don''t misunderstand... I gave it to her so that she would understand what you would say in your eagle form. You''d be our eyes from above after all. It would all be useless if you would not be able to convey or report what you guys see. And... Don''t expect that her vision would be as clear as yours!" Sabrina could only sigh after hearing Pedro''s explanation. At the same time, her pen-knife--that was initially aimed towards Loren, curved towards Pedro, consequently missing Loren''s neck by a hair''s breadth. That said, Sabrina''s pen-knife simply ricocheted off Pedro''s black scales on his neck--leaving a small scratch in it. It was small enough to the point that it would be hard for someone to notice it even if they were just standing a meter away from Pedro. On the other hand, Pedro could only force out a smile and grumble, "What was that for?" Sabrina ignored him with a ''Hmph!'' and simply took a Flocoloso Bird for her to eat. This made Loren and everyone else burst into laughter, thinking that the two lovers were about to have a quarrel. Hopeless, Pedro could only shake his head in response and sigh. Then, he glanced at everyone and said, "Make sure to eat a lot! We would be traveling straight to the East. We won''t make any stops along the way. So... Be sure that you finish all the things that you need to do and prepare all the things you need." Loren, Aldo, and Yuson nodded in agreement. However, Antonio and Aks could not help but force out a smile instead. They know that riding behind Pedro was like their ride to their afterlife. They would rather endure their hunger later on, rather than ride a ''roller coaster'' with their stomach full. Pedro could only smirk at their response. Well... Loren was lucky. She would ride behind Sabrina. Unlike Pedro, Sabrina''s flight was stable and not bumpy--like a car that''s traveling on a highway. So... It would rather be an enjoyable experience for Loren. As for Aldo and Yuson... Those who were able to experience riding behind Pedro... They could only say one thing... Good luck! With many things to look forward to, Pedro can''t help but be filled with happiness despite their situation. Sure, they lack personnel. Sure, they were not yet strong enough to protect, nor dominate the whole of Aquari Continent. But... This time... In his second life... He had capable comrades... He had their loyalty... And most of all... He gained something that he did not have in his past life. Something... that only a few would obtain inside a game. He gained a family that he once did not have. Chapter 172: Stepping into the Eastern Side! "What a view!" Loren said. She can''t help but gasp in amazement whilst watching the Ball of Fire rise in front of them. Her arms were raised in the air, enjoying the fresh and cool breeze of wind blowing past them. This made Sabrina glance towards her and said, "I know, right? It''s even more peaceful here." Before Loren could express her agreement to Sabrina, Pedro rose again to the sky--right in front of them. They can''t help but watch Pedro and the reaction of the four men riding on his back. "Aaaaaaaaaah! Heeeeeeeelp!" Aldo cried on top of his lungs as he and the three NPCs were having one hell of a roller coaster ride of their life. Their faces were already pale as if they were sick, while their hands had tightly gripped on Pedro''s spikey scales on his back. On the other hand, Loren and Sabrina caught Pedro''s glance at the four men and smirk before gliding downwards once again. The Bestfriends could not help but force out a smile as they try their best to hold their laughter that is directed towards Aldo--who was screaming ever since they started their journey. "Well... It''s peaceful if Classmate Aldo is not screaming." Loren chuckled. Sabrina simply smirked and said, "It''s better this way! His screams keep us entertained--I mean, awake!" Loren burst into laughter in response. This, in turn, also made Sabrina laugh as Aldo kept screaming for his dear life. Truth be told, Loren was also anxious when they departed a few hours ago. She trembled out of fear, whilst hugging tightly at Sabrina''s back. She even had her eyes closed at the first few minutes of her first flight behind Sabrina. That said, she was able to slowly conquer her fear, thanks to her trust towards Sabrina and the hilarious screams of Aldo and Yuson at the start. And over time, she became accustomed to it to the point that she would raise her hand in the enjoyment of the fresh and cold breeze of wind. At the same time, She had casual talks with Sabrina from time to time. She used this as her distraction from her worries and fears deep inside. Well... Aldo''s cries were also their source of ''entertainment''. Fortunately, they were flying at a stable pace high up in the sky. It was just akin to ridding an air balloon in the sky. On the other hand, Pedro flew up and down like a roller coaster in the sky. It was not because he wanted to do so, in the first place. It just happened that he find it efficient and less taxing to ''casually'' fly up, and use the height to glide down at a safe altitude before flying up once again. The time that Pedro glided downwards gives him time to relax his wings and avoid his muscles from cramping up. It was something better than constantly flapping his wings all of the time. As for Aldo and the NPCs, It was understandable that they would cry out of fear. They were not wearing any safety equipment and, at the same time, Pedro flew as if he wanted to shake them off from his back. Well... Ridding a ''roller coaster'' that was hundreds of meters high in the sky without any safety belts. Who would not scream out of fear from that? As for the reason why Sabrina could fly at a more stable pace than Pedro, it all lies in their body built and weight. Sabrina''s eagle form had a wingspan that was as long as Pedro''s wingspan on his dragon form. That said, Sabrina''s eagle form was technically smaller and lighter compared to Pedro. With huge wings, but a small and light body, Sabrina flew smoothly because she only needed to flap her wings for only a few times. Unlike Pedro, his huge and heavy body had put a strain on his flying ability, requiring him to flap it more often than Sabrina needed to. Thus, his flight was more unstable and taxing than Sabrina''s. Add up the weight of the four men behind him, Pedro had no choice but to fly in such a manner, to utilize his strength efficiently, and to be able to fly to the east as far as he can. That said, Sabrina did not daze as if she was on vacation. She would often glance to the ground--marking every single target that she could for her pen-knives to pierce. After all, Pedro gave the ''double exp'' amulet to her. It would be such a waste not to capitalize using it, especially that she had nothing much to do while flying. Hundreds of monsters died into her pen-knives per minute, most of which are wild mountain wolves. This, in turn, transformed the plains, forest, or mountains that they passed through into a graveyard of blood dried corpse. Fortunately, her pen-knives absorbs the blood, else, the fresh breeze of wind would become metallic and the soil would become muddy from the mixture of soil and blood. That said, the experience that she gains from killing the low leveled monsters starts to become small to the point that it was almost negligible. If not for the double exp amulet, she won''t be able to notice the increase in her experience points. Well... Thanks to the Continental Quest and the unlimited monsters that her experience had continued to rise. As for Pedro, he did not dove down to incinerate monsters and farm his way up. First of all, he really did not want to burn the trees --in the forest and in the mountains, and consequently create a forest fire that would destroy the nature and the resources that they might be able to harvest on it later on. If it was not for the urgency to attack because of the previous war, he would have not burned any part of the western forest. Another reason why he did not dive down too low was that he did not want to encounter troubles along the way that will slow their travel towards the Tarala Kingdom. He did not want to provoke or create unnecessary conflicts against random high leveled NPCs. That is why they were flying hundreds of meters up in the sky. They wanted to avoid their detection as much as possible. On top of that, that was also the reason why Sabrina did not attack other monsters except the wild boars, the orcs, and the wild mountain wolves. She did not want to cause trouble by unnecessarily provoking strong monsters or NPCs along the way. Soon, They have crossed the borders and had entered the east side of the Aquari Continent. At this moment, Aldo was already quiet and seemed like he already lost his voice from screaming for several hours. Fortunately, at this point, Pedro and Sabrina had spotted the wooden walls of a village in the plains of the easter part of the Aquari Continent, that met with the furthest edge of the Great Western Forest. ''We would attract unnecessary attention from the NPCs if we continue flying in our transformation forms. It''s best for us to continue traveling on land instead. Besides... The Tarala Kingdom is just half a day of travel from here. If we''d be able to encounter merchants with carriage in that village... our travel to the Tarala Kingdom would be a lot more easier.'' Pedro thought as he glanced towards Sabrina and Loren--who glance back at him in response. Then, he roared softly, only enough for Sabrina and Loren to hear. "Let''s circle back to the edge of the forest and land there," Pedro said that only Loren was able to understand. Thus, Sabrina could only glance towards her waiting for her ''translation''. On the other hand, Loren was at loss for words for a few seconds before she got back to herself and asked, "Land? Even the two of us?" "Yes." Pedro said, "We''ll travel by land from here on. Kindly tell everyone else my message." Loren simply nodded in response and said, "Okay!" Then, she shifted her glance towards Sabrina and said, "Classmate Pedro said that we should circle around to the edge of the forest and land there. He said that we''ll travel by land from now on." Sabrina stole a glance towards Pedro before asking Loren, "Okay, Sis. Hang on tight, it would be a little bumpy on the way down." Loren could only force a smile in response as she reactively hugged tightly towards Sabrina''s back as if her life was on the line. Then, in the next second, Pedro and Sabrina circled back to the edge of the Great Western Forest, whilst slowly descending from the sky. Soon, the two giant creatures crashed into the forest--smashing the trees into the ground. Then, the figures of the two giant creatures that towered higher than the trees had suddenly vanished into thin air. Fortunately, there were still some trees covering the Advance Force--hindering the people from the nearby village from seeing Loren, Aldo, Antonio, Aks, and Yuson from hoping down Pedro and Sabrina''s backs, and at the same time, hindering them from seeing Pedro and Sabrina revert back to their human form. Since Loren, Aldo, and the three NPCs were yet to ''adjust'' after their extraordinary flights, Pedro did not pressure them to cope up immediately. Instead, he used this time to also take a rest. After all, Flying was more tiring than just ridding. Consequently, this made the people who witnessed the descent of the two giant creatures to gather themselves and simply ignore what they saw--thinking that they were just still hallucinating after a good night''s sleep. That said, Sabrina had clearly seen the ones who had noticed them, and, at the same time, she had already marked them as her targets--waiting for her pen-knives to be slaughtered if Pedro ordered so. "Just give me the go signal... I''ll eliminate the observers, without leaving any trace!" Sabrina said that made Pedro smirk. He simply gestured ''stop'' to Sabrina and said, "There''s no need for that. Just let them be... We are too strong for them to mess with." Pedro smirked as he and Sabrina emanated a murderous aura that was strong enough to send shivers to run down Yuson and Aks'' spine. "It''s time for us to check the East!" He said. Chapter 173: The Black and The Gold Arcs Dance! Seeing that Aldo and the three other NPCs were still ''adjusting'' on their own, Pedro took out and wore adventurer clothes that he was able to loot earlier. Unfortunately, It did not offer any defensive properties or capabilities that would protect its user from any threats or attacks. Thus, Pedro had no choice but to keep his black scales active. It would serve as his armor, his protection against the attacks of the enemies, especially against sneak attacks. That said, in order to hide the black scales protecting his neck and the lower half of his head, he used another shirt as a face mask that would cover the lower half of his head and his neck. Then, he took out a white overcoat with "Contra Almirante" written on its back and wore it. Lastly, he took out his elegant Faithpursuer Katana as he opened his player interface to check its stats and attributes. [Faithpursuer Katana] Rating: Bronze-rated weapon Level Requirement: 1 Weapon Level: 32 Attributes: Attack Damage: +255 Agility: +39 Special Effect: [Level UP]: Experiences gained by the player can be used to increase the level of the weapon. [Evolve]: Increase the rating of the weapon by reinforcing the weapon with the required materials. There is a 50% chance to gain the effect of the absorbed weapon, equipment, and accessory. [Evolve Bronze-rated to Silver-rated] 0/1 Silver-rated damage type accessory 0/1 Silver-rated warrior equipment 1/1 Silver-rated one-handed sword 1/1 weapon level 20 [This Katana was a blessing of the Ents to the warrior who stood with them against the orcs and trolls who tried to conquer the forest and set it on fire.] Pedro nodded in satisfaction and said, "Plus Two Hundred Fifty-Five Attack Damage and Plus Thirty Nine Agility? Not bad! Once I hit level sixty, I could start fusing EXP points that I gain to this sword once again." Then, Pedro tied it''s sheath to the left side of his waist so that he would be able to draw it out with his right hand easily. As he was about to check to everyone else, his eyes unintentionally landed on Sabrina whose eyes were fixated on the golden sword attached to his waist. He can''t help but force out a smile and ask Sabrina, "Is there a problem?" Sabrina shifted her gaze from the sword to Pedro''s eyes. Then, she shook her head and said, coldly, "Problem? There''s nothing wrong with it. It''s just... Why are you equipping your sword when your fist and pen-knife is morethan enough?" Pedro simply smirked and said, "Don''t underestimate my sword. It''s stronger than you think." "Okay..." Sabrina said, coldly. At this moment, Everyone else could not help but stole a glance at the golden sword on Pedro''s waist. That said, Pedro simply shrugged it off and said to Sabrina, "My Dear, why don''t you give your knives a rest? Didn''t I also give you a Katana? Why don''t you use it? It has some cool effects, you know." Sabrina frowned as she gazes back and forth to Pedro and the golden Katana on his waist. Eventually, she gave up with a deep sigh and grumbled, "Fiiiiine! I''ll use it! But I won''t keep my pen-knives back into my bag!" "All up to you! I just find it a waste if you would not use it." Pedro said, "Besides... It would be ideal to keep the pen-knives as a secret weapon, don''t you think?" "I know!" Sabrina grumbled. Pedro could only force out a smile in response. He knew that Sabrina was somehow already annoyed. Thus, he did not say another word--afraid that Sabrina might get angry. And in order to lighten the mood and to change the topic, Pedro took out two silver swords with bronze scabbards each. Then, he handed it over to Aks and Antonio, and said, "These are the best swords that are currently with me. Once I have sufficient coins, I''ll buy the two of you a more decent weapon that would suit well to your liking." "This..." Antonio murmured. He and Aks were hesitant in accepting the swords. However, before they could decline on his offer, Pedro released his grip to the swords. Then, he turn around and started walking towards the plains, saying, "Don''t think much about it! Remember that our goal is to help and protect other people from harm. It''s not that I am underestimating your abilities but... Won''t it be better to fight the monsters with a weapon, rather than fight with your bare hands?" "I''ll head out first! Take your time, adjusting and preparing yourselves for a combat. But... Don''t lag behind too much. There''s a place that we urgently need to visit! I won''t hesitate to leave you behind." Pedro said as he drew his Faithpursuer Katana. His hands gripped the Katana''s handles tight, pointing it forward with the tip of the blade in line to his eye level. He cassualy walked forward at a calm and perfectly intervaled pace, consequently releasing an unforgiving murderous aura that was strong enough to send shivers run down everyone''s spine, except Sabrina. At that moment, the monsters from the plains had started to rush back to the forest--targeting Pedro and the rest of the Advance Force. That said, Majority of the monsters fell to Pedro and his Katana--reducing the amount of monsters charging after everyone else. On the other hand, Sabrina followed behind Pedro as her eyes turned all red. Then, when she drew her black Katana, a smoke bursted out of it, creating a smoke screen that made the wild mountain wolves to retreat. Unfortunately, the monsters weren''t able to retreat too far as Sabrina was able to catch up to them easily. And with the longer range that the Katana''s offer, compared to a knife, she was able to slaughter them immediately, by accurately slicing their feet in a swing and later on, allowing her to slice through their heads. Pedro smirked after he stole a glance to his back and see that clouds of smoke were approaching behind him. He could only grip his Katana tightly as he lunged his body slightly forward, allowing him to advance forward at a faster pace. That said, Sabrina was able to catch up to Pedro thanks to her demonic eyes. At the same time, the clouds of smoke had covered their surroundings--making the monsters retreat back to the plains. Fortunately, Pedro was familiar with this clouds of smoke, enabling him to match the pace of Sabrina. Pedro used a technique that he learned from his past life, while Sabrina utilized the abilities of her demonic eyes, making a seemingly perfectly synced ''dance'' of Black and Gold Arcs made by their sword as they slaughtered every single monster on their way. Behind them, Loren, Aldo, Antonio, Aks, and Yuson was forced to wield their weapons and follow behind the two maniacs. Loren stood in the middle of the four men, whose maintaining a formation where Aks was at front, Antonio and Aldo was on her sides, and lastly, Yuson was behind them. They took care of the monsters that charged towards them after being able to escape away from Pedro and Sabrina''s range. Aks was strong to the point that he was able to slice the heads of the monsters vertically into half in one swing. For some reason, he seemed to be a bit uncomfortable in using a sword, thus, he could only kill one monster at a time. On the other hand, Yuson had easily held of the monsters attacking from their back. The number of monsters that he needed to take care off was not that many compared to the ''never ending'' monsters that they faced at the west. As for Aldo and Antonio, they simply stood along side Loren and were the ones to protect her in case a monster would be able to escape from Aks and Yuson''s attacks. Fortunately, Yuson and Aks only did a clean up. The two maniacs had already wiped the monsters ahead of them. Pedro and Sabrina had even sucked their bloods dry. That said, the only disadvantage of Sabrina and Pedro''s Black and Gold Arc Dance was that they arrived so fast towards the adventurers and the NPCs who were fighting the monsters to defend the village that they spotted earlier. At this moment, the adventurers and the NPCs could not help but point their weapons towards the clouds of smoke that stopped advancing right in front of them--who killed the monsters they were fighting together. "Who are you?" A man wearing a helm and an armor cried as he pointed the sword towards the cloud of smoke, even if his hands shook--consequently making his sword also tremble. In the next second, Pedro came out of the clouds of smoke with his Katana resting atop of his right shoulder, like a gangster. His eyes glared towards the man with an armor and a helm, whilst emanating a strong murderous aura that was strong enough to make everyone present, be it players or NPCs, to freeze in place. Pedro simply walked beside that man, who was trembling whilst frozen in place. Then, Pedro stopped as he placed his hand on top of his shoulders and said, "Relax young man! We''re here to help! Else... You would have been already dead!" He tapped the man''s soldier one last time as Sabrina, the red eyed woman, walked out of the clouds of smoke with her black Katana--which already stopped releasing smoke. She simply followed behind Pedro and passed through the adventurers and NPCs as if they were nothing but thin air. Pedro started walking towards the village once again, and said, "As for your question... I am... Death!" Chapter 174: A Game called Tag! After a few minutes, Pedro and Sabrina arrived at the western gate of the said village. Right behind them were the other five members of the Advance Force, who were able to catch up to them thanks to the soldiers and adventurers who were fighting and clearing monsters around the said village. Since there were no monsters around, they simply sheathed their weapons back to their scabbards. That said, Pedro and Sabrina''s Pen-knives lay await underneath their clothes--ready to strike at any second. "Young Adventurer!" Aks called Pedro, making him stop and glance to his back. Then, Aks asked, "Can I know why are we entering the Village of Axutar? I mean... Shouldn''t we help their soldiers clear the monsters first? The monsters are not that many compared to the west?" "There''s no need for that, Sire Aks." Pedro said, "The village soldiers and the adventurers are morethan enough to face them. Our goal is to immediately help those who were currently in dire situations. So... We must move forward to the next stronghold. I just need to give my greetings to the village chief and say a few words of ''advice'', before we look for merchants that would easily bring us to the next stronghold." Pedro did not wait for Aks'' response. He turned around and walked towards the gate of Axutar Village--where several village soldiers stood on guard, and said to Aks, "Merchants are important in this time of crisis. They are the ones transporting food, potions, and other important supplies from a bigger stronghold to a smaller stronghold. We should, at the least, be able to help them by providing protection along the way. It''s a win-win situation for both sides." "You are right. But... What about the other--" Before Aks could finish what he wanted to say, Pedro interrupted him, saying, "That''s why I am going to have a talk with the village chief!" Then, he glanced towards Aldo and said, "Brother Faith, contact my Aunt... Tell her to inform the two men to meet us outside the Village Chief''s office in five minutes. Also... Bring Yuson with you after we enter the village, assess the situation in the village. Meet us at the village shop afterward." Aldo glanced towards Yuson, who nodded in response. Aldo nodded to Yuson and glanced back to Pedro, saying, "Got it." Pedro simply had a feint smile painted on his face. Soon, they arrived in front of the village soldiers who where guarding the western gates of Axutar village. They raised their hand--stopping Pedro and the rest of Advance Force from entering, and said, "Who are you? If you are from other Villages or from the Creezal Kingdom or the Tarala Kingdom, show us your recommendation or citizenship letters. Else... If you are adventurers... You need to pay a silver coin for each person to enter inside the village!" The soldiers smirked, emanating out a greedy aura, that made Pedro frown in response. Sabrina took a step forward as if she wanted to slice the village soldiers into pieces. Fortunately, Pedro raised his hand to stop her. Truth be told, Sabrina had emanated a strong murderous aura that even made the other members of the Advance Force behind her to force out a smile. However, for some reason, the village soldiers was not able to notice or detect it. At this cases, it should be either they were too strong to ignore Sabrina''s murderous aura, or that they were too weak to feel it. But... Based on their actions, it was evident to everyone that the village soldiers belong to the later. Since, Aks, Antonio, and Yuson knew how teriffying Sabrina was... They didn''t dare hinder her and simply left the job of stopping her to Pedro. On the other hand, Aldo and Loren were also players. They were also adventurers! Seeing that they were almost scammed, they would obviously not hinder Sabrina from chopping them into pieces. In fact, they might even give her a hand in taking care of the shameless bastards. It was really fortunate that Pedro stepped in, else, the three village soldiers would have turned into chunks of meat that might be used as a bait to the monsters. That said, Pedro could also barely control his emotions. He knew that the entry payment was a good way to control the people entering the village. At the same time, the villages often use what they earn to pay adventurers to hunt monsters or to help the village soldiers in defending the village. However, Pedro knew that the payments are often collected by NPCs who were working under the treasurer of the village or the village chief themselves. Otherwise... It is an illegal collection being made by the soldiers. Unfortunately, such acts were not punishable at this moment, since, there were no governing rules or laws set in place for adventurers everywhere in the world of Bearth. Not even in the well structured and governed strongholds like Kingdoms. Pedro knew that it would take at least a year before such rules or laws would be implemented across Bearth. Thus, he knew that arguing with the greedy soldiers would be nothing but a waste of their time. That said, it does not mean that he is going to tolerate the shameless actions of the village soldiers and simply pay the amount that they were asking in order for them to allow Pedro and the Advance Force to enter the village. He was not that much of a fool. Pedro took a deep breath and said, "Is this how your village treat members of BHO?" "BHO? What''s that? Stop saying nonsense, young man! I know that you are all adventurers. Pay the entry fee, else... you won''t be able to enter the village!" One of the village soldiers said with a smug on his face. At this moment, even Yuson could not help but shake his head in embarassment. BHO is an organization that is built and composed by the strongest humans all over the world. Almost all of the Kingdoms in Bearth are aware of the BHO''s existence. In fact, Royal Families would even go as far as exhausting as much resource as they can, just to train their heir so that one day, they would be strong enough to be part of the Bearth Human Organization and consequently increase the prestige of their Kingdom. Thus, Anyone from BHO are definitely strong and are someone whom they should not mess at any cost. And at the same time, they are very important people that even Royal Families would scramble and get out of their way to welcome them to their Kingdoms just to give them good impressions. Because... If they got into their good sides, their heir might be taken as apprentice. A good example for this case was Beatrice. Well... She had talent and potential in the first place. That''s why she was taken by the picky and eccentric Madame Soledad. Unfortunately, the three village soldiers seemed like they did not knew much about it. It was only natural for some ordinary people or commoners to be ignorant about the existense of BHO. It was even the same for majority of the players or adventurers. It even took years before players had some knowledge or information about BHO in Pedro''s past life. So, Pedro can''t blame the three village soldiers from being ignorant. That said, he won''t let them go off the hook easily. After all, they tried to extort coins from him. Something that is not easy to earn at this ''starting'' stage of the game. "How about we have a little game, respected sires?" Pedro said, calmly, as he took out a gold coin from his inventory bag. Then, he flipped it into the air--consequently attracting the eyes of the three village soldiers that were fixated to the gold coin ever since he took it out. "G-Game?" "What kind of game?" The village soldiers asked as their eyes shined bright out of greed. "It''s a game that is famous in my hometown. It''s called Tag." At this moment, Pedro smiled whilst his hand was playing with the gold coin. While his other hand, moved its fingers, typing and sending a message to Aldo with his instructions. "The mechanics are simple and easy. One person would chase the other participants in the game. If the other participants were touched by the chaser, they are automatically eliminated from the game. But... if the other participants were able to survive and run away from the chaser... They would win the said prize that was set before the game. In this case... It is this gold coin." Then, Pedro frowned and said, "So... Are you respected sires up to the game?" The three soldiers podered for a moment. Two of them was about to agree but one of them shouted, saying, "Wait! What would happen if we all got eliminated?" The other village soldiers nodded in response and glanced towards Pedro waiting for his answer. "It''s nothing much, respected sires." Pedro said, "Perhaps..." At this moment, Pedro caught a glance of a man running inside the village as if his life was on the line. However, the three soldiers was only able to notice Pedro''s smirk, thinking that he was up to something bad. Thus, they were about to decline Pedro''s offer of a game. But before they could do so, Pedro said, "You''d all be dead." "Are you threathening us?" The village soldier bellowed in anger--pointing his sword towards Pedro. Sabrina was about to retaliate in response, but Pedro simply stopped her once again, whilst retaining the smile on his face. Then, he chuckled and said, "Of course not, respected sires! I am just saying the truth! Why don''t you personally ask your village chief? After all... He seems like he is looking for the three of you. But... I would not do that if I were you. I would rather start running now before the chaser arrives." The village soldiers became confused. The veins on their foreheads seemed like it was about to pop out as they were about to attack Pedro. But before they could do so, they heard someone shouting behind them, thus, they glanced towards its origin, only to see the furious village chief running towards them like an angry tiger. "YOU BASTAAARDS! I''LL KILL YOU ALL AND FEED YOUR BODIES TO THE MONSTERS!" The white haired old man cried whilst raising his machete--ready to chop the three village soldiers into pieces. The faces of the three village soldier went pale as their bodies reactively started to move--running out of the village. "Shit! It''s the village chief! RUN!" Chapter 175: The Act of Two Young Adventurers! However, Aldo purposely tripped one of the soldiers into the ground. This, in turn, made the other village soldiers trip and crash into the ground. Unfortunately, the village chief of Axutar village had arrived before they could stand and continue their escape. The village soldiers could not help but stare daggers towards Aldo--who was whistling at that moment as if nothing happened. However, before they could do anything towards him, the village chief arrived with a huge smile on his face. He went towards Pedro and bowed ninety degrees towards him, saying, "Welcome to the humble village of Axutar, young sire? I am Meerak Axutar, the village chief of this village! Can I ask what could I do for you, young sir? or perhaps to the great Bearth Human Organization?" Pedro smiled and said, "Please lift your head, respect village chief Meerak. I came here to help defend the human strongholds in the east from the monsters--whose numbers seemed to have increased exponentially for some reason." Pedro glanced around--from the adventurers and village soldier fighting monsters behind them to Village Chief Meerak and the two men who had just arrived behind him. Then, Pedro smiled and said, "Since your village is doing well against the monsters, I was just about to check the village from inside and, at the same time, have a little chat with you. Unfortunately..." Pedro glanced towards the three village soldiers who could not help but stay on the ground. Village Chief Meerak followed his gaze and glared towards the three soldiers as if he was saying, ''I''ll punish you later! You better ready yourselves because I won''t go easy on the three of you!''. Then, Village Chief Meerak forced out a smile towards Pedro and said, "Forgive me, Sire! Rest assured that I would personally ensure to punish these ignorant soldiers accordingly. That said, I hope that Respected Sire would consider going inside the village and, if I heard it correctly, you would like to have a talk with me. It would be an honor to accompany you and have you as guests to our humble village." Pedro smirked deep inside. The smile that was painted on his face was barely able to contain the happiness that he felt deep inside. That said, he did not wander off and simply said, "That''s great! Should we go check the teleportation portal first?" "T-Teleportation portal?" Village Chief Meerak asked whilst forcing out a smile towards Pedro. Pedro frowned in response and said, "Yes! Is there a problem?" "O-O-Of course not! There is no problem, young sir!" Village Chief Meerak said, stuttering in fear and respect towards Pedro. Then, he thought deep inside, ''This kind of overcoat! He''s definitely from Bearth Human Organization!. Whilst waiting for Pedro to respond, village chief Meerak''s eyes can''t help but scan through the people behind Pedro. Seeing that Yuson wore the same kind of overcoat, Village Chief Meerak could not help but think, ''The cloth... the embroidery... they are all of the high quality! Only members of BHO would wear such a kind of overcoat. I cannot offend these people at any cost! They might destroy the village and kill everyone in just a flick of their hands. Good thing that I arrived before these three bastards could have offended this young sire.'' Village Chief Meerak also stole a glance towards the two young adventurers behind him and thought, ''I should reward these two adventurers at any cost! If not for them... I would have not known that someone from BHO had arrived in our village. Something that even my father was only able to experience once in his lifetime...'' At this moment, Pedro gazed towards the two young adventurers standing behind Village Chief Meerak, and asked, "But before that... Could I know who are these two young men?" "O-Oh... These are the two young adventurers who informed me about your arrival, young sire." Village Chief Meerak explained. In turn, Pedro offered his hand for a shake and smiled towards the two young adventurers, saying, "It''s nice to meet you, young adventurers. I am surprised to learn that the two of you had some knowledge about the organization. This village is located deep in the middle of this continent. Perhaps... The two of you are aspiring to become part of the legendary organization?" One of the two adventurers--whose eyes were covered by his hair, took his hand and shook it, saying, "It''s an honor to meet you, young sir! My name is Roval! And... I am but a humble adventurer. It''s quite embarrassing to say for someone of my level but... Yes! I do aspire to become a part of the legendary organization and help protect humans against these monsters one day!" "Is that so?" Pedro smiled, moving to the other young adventurer and shaking his hands. "My name is Lony, young sir! It''s an honor to meet you!" the other young adventurer said in response. Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "We''re quite short-handed at the moment... How about the two of you join us in our course. If you display great potential along the way, I won''t hesitate to recruit you permanently into our force." "This..." The two young adventurers were at loss for words. Even Village Chief Meerak''s eyes can''t help but gasp as his eyes seemed like it was about to pop out in astonishment from deep inside. "Perhaps, there''s a problem in my arrangement?" Pedro asked, pressuring the two young adventurers, even Village Chief Meerak, to respond. "N-No, young sir!" Roval said, "I-I would gladly accept your offer! Rest assured that I would give my best to convince you that I am worthy of being your subordinate." "I would also do my best to become stronger and protect humans like the kind people of the village of Axutar!" Lony said. Pedro clapped his hands and said, "Then, it''s settled! Welcome to Karakoa Fleet!" At this moment, Village Chief Meerak was filled with disbelief. He was ''casually'' forcing out a smile, but deep inside, he was like a man who lost his soul in astonishment. That said, Pedro did not pay that much attention to him. Pedro glanced towards Loren and said, "Join the other adventurers behind me. We''ll depart as soon as my matters with Axutar Village is done." "Yes, sir!" Lony and Roval celebrated, but deep inside, they felt relieved as their ''acting'' has finally come to an end. Truth be told, Pedro informed and ordered Lony and Roval to summon the Village Chief of the village of Axutar to the western gate. He messaged the contents of his ''plot'' to Aldo, who sent it to Pedro''s Aunt, then to Lony and Roval who were waiting inside the village. Whatever the reason behind Pedro''s plot, Lony and Roval did not dare question and simply followed as soon as they receive the order. They could not help but act as if they did not know Pedro and Sabrina, whom they already met just a few days ago. On the other hand, Pedro arranged it that way so that Lony and Roval could rejoin them without arousing that much suspicion from Village Chief Meerak, Aks, Antonio, Yuson, and the other NPCs present. At the same time, he might be able to pressure Village Chief Meerak in providing the strongest humans in the village of Axutar--giving Pedro the chance to recruit them without him personally asking the village chief for reinforcements. Whether Village Chief Meerak would fall for it or not, Pedro did not give that much care. Currently, the safety and survival of the villages are in jeopardy because of the seemingly unlimited monsters spawned by the continental quest. Losing their talented people would greatly affect the strength of their army that might greatly weaken their ability to defend against monsters. Thus, It was a great pressure on the village chief if he would prioritize the assurance of the safety of their village, or... he would take the risk and send the best of the best people to the BHO, and consequently obtain prestige and a stronger source of protection in the future. But of course, Pedro did not think that simple. He knew that players or adventurers would be morethan enough to defend the villages. With just proper rules and laws implemented by the villages, they would be able to survive the monster waves no matter what. In fact, the United Asian Force was only effective because most of the players from the Asian Region bonded and stayed together in the Kagat Village. Since Pedro had destroyed their force and had taken control of the western region, it would be difficult to establish another United Force of Adventurers. First of all, Unlike the isolated village of Kagat, the Eastern Region had a lot of Kingdoms and Villages in it. Most of them are acquainted and are closely connected. If the players did another unification and camped in a village, the affiliates or allies of the NPCs might find something amiss with their situation, and eventually, they might send forces to aid or recover their allies and their stronghold. Add up the fact that the NPCs were still of a higher level and were well equipped than the adventurers or players. There was no chance that they would be able to get stronger by bonding together once again. Besides... Large organizations know that the farming areas would be a problem when that happens. It would be limited that would consequently make their character developments slower. Thus, it was only natural and more advantageous for them to play the game ''normally'' by familiarizing themselves with the game, do quests, hunt monsters, and level up. This way, they would be able to ensure the steady development of their men, and overall, their force. With the zero possibility of players bonding together once again, and with the assurance that they would definitely help defend the villages--filling in the loss of personnel of the villages because of Pedro''s recruitment, Pedro proceeded with his plan, by dropping a ''bomb'' to pressure the Village Chief of Axutar Village. "Is there a problem, village chief?" Pedro asked, glancing towards Village Chief Meerak. Then, he smiled and said, "Perhaps... You know someone whose good enough to help us in our job?" Chapter 176: You Want It? Come and Get It! "W-Well!" Village Chief Meerak took a step back in astonishment. He forced out a smile towards Pedro and said, "There are few villagers that I could recommend. B-But... I doubt that they would pass the minimum standards that young sire has, in terms of strength and potential." "It does not matter!" Pedro said with a frown on his face. "The times have changed! No matter how many qualified people we have on our side, we would not be able to fight the seemingly infinite number of monsters that are scattered all over the continent. If that happened... Countless lives... villages... even Kingdoms might be destroyed. So... In order to avoid that from happening, we must adopt. I have decided to train a couple of people under my force. It would all depend on their performance whether these people--or should I call representatives, would stay in my force after this catastrophe." "I-I completely understand, young sir!" Village Chief Meerak said, elated. "Then... Shall I show you around the village first, as you requested?" "Sorry for the trouble, village chief!" Pedro nodded in agreement to Village Chief Meerak. That said, Pedro did not forget about the three village soldiers who tried to extort money from him in exchange for his entry to the village of Axutar. Pedro glanced towards them and said to Village Chief Meerak, "Though I am not against the collection of entry fees to the village... I still don''t tolerate blunt extorsion. Tell me Village Chief Meerak, are these men collecting fees under your orders?" "No, sire!" Pedro simply averted his gaze and entered the village, saying, "Then, you know what to do!" "Of course, young sir!" Village Chief Meerak said. He glanced towards the three village soldiers and said, "I am going to give the three of you some face. Go to jail, or leave this village and never come back!" Unfortunately, there was an increased number of wild monsters because of the Continental Quest. It was definitely dangerous to travel from one stronghold to another, especially for NPCs. Thus, the three village soldiers had no other choice but to surrender themselves and choose to be imprisoned instead. This way, they would be safer than traveling in the wild just to reach the nearest village. After all, non-BHO member NPCs were only as strong as ordinary players. Fighting hundreds of wild monsters would be a hazardous task that may cost them their lives. That said, they could not help but feel hatred deep inside towards Pedro as they chose to be imprisoned. If not for Pedro, they would not be relieved of their post and they could have continued with their scheme. Of course, Pedro knew about their hatred towards him. However, he did not think much about it because they were not on his level in the first place. What could they do against him? At the same time, the fact that they mocked the BHO was enough for them to be labeled as enemies of the strongest human organization in Bearth. If it was the other leaders or higher-ranking officials from BHO, they would have suffered an unfortunate fate. Fortunately, it was Pedro whom they encountered. Thus, they were lucky to survive this time from mocking the organization, and simply just end up being escorted to jail. They were locked in a cell together with a man whose body was covered with several bandages--covering his injuries. He reeks of human blood and, at the same time, stains of blood was still attached to his skin. ''This man... he looks familiar.'' Pedro frowned as Village Chief Meerak opened the steel doors of the cell. Unfortunately, the lamp that Village Chief Meerak had was not bright enough to lit the cell, for Pedro to be able to recognize the identity of the heavily injured man. However, just as the three village soldiers entered the cell, the man chuckled, saying, "It seems like we are fated to see each other once again. I did not think that I would meet you at this place for the second time." Pedro could not help but frown in response. That said, before he could say a word, the three village soldiers clenched their fists and surrounded the man and were full of anger. "Brothers! It seems like this man did not have enough beating earlier. Why don''t we teach him some more lessons." "Yeah... He would be a great punching bag to vent our anger!" The village soldiers said as they were about to attack the injured man. However, in the next second, a fur grew in the injured man''s face as his nails turned into sharp claws, which he scratched towards the neck of the three soldiers. Their necks were separated from their bodies as blood burst out of it--consequently drenching Village Chief Meerak from their blood. Village Chief Meerak, Aldo, Loren, and Yuson, could only stare and watch the three lifeless bodies fall to the ground. While Antonio, Aks, and Pedro could only stare towards the furry face of the injured man, who stood from his seat--revealing his face to everyone else. "Old man... Your daughter''s flesh was delicious! Could you provide me more of it?" The hairy injured man chuckled. At this moment, Antonio was not able to control himself. His eyes were filled with rage as he drew his sword without a second thought and tried to stab the injured man through the gaps between the metal bars separating them. "TAM!!! YOU BASTARD!" Antonio cried. However, Ex-Kagat Village Soldier Tam had completely transformed into a werewolf, while his hands had casually grabbed the sword of Antonio--stopping it inches away from reaching his furless chest. He clenched his fist--crashing the blade of Antonio''s sword into pieces. Then, he shook his head and said, "Is this how you great your old friend?" Antonio was about to charge into the cell. Fortunately, At this moment, Pedro and Aks nodded towards each other as is saying to each other what to do next. Sabrina could only frown after seeing Pedro and Aks'' reaction, and simply draw her sword without hesitation. Smoke burst from it, clouding the prison of Axutar Village. That said, Pedro and Sabrina''s demonic eyes activated--readying Sabrina for battle and, at the same time, making everyone else lose consciousness. Pedro grabbed Village Chief Meerak and Antonio out of the prison, while Aks took care of Loren, Aldo, and Yuson. At the same time, Sabrina grabbed Lony and Roval out of the prison, but she handed them over to Aks--the moment that they got out of the establishment. Pedro also handed Antonio over to Aks and said, "Go to the teleportation platform! Go back to the coordinates that I told informed all of you of earlier! Tell everyone to retreat back to the ships and maintain full force defense asap. I''ll communicate with the rest if I ever needed Paul''s help!" "What about the two of you, young adventurer?" Aks asked with a frown on his face. "Don''t worry about us! We have our own ways... Besides... We won''t die that easily!" Pedro said as he draws his golden Katana, shining bright in the middle of the smoke that was clouding outside the prison. "Ho, ho... We''ll see about that... Young Adventurer!" Werewolf Tam chuckled as a pair of murderous eyes lit in front of Pedro and Sabrina. "Go!" Pedro shouted as his pen-knife flew out of his overcoat and aimed towards Werewolf Tam''s head. Sabrina''s pen-knives followed his lead but Werewolf Tam was able to dodge them all. That said, Sabrina did not stop attacking. She followed up with several slashes into the air, consequently sending four bright red blood blades towards Werewolf Tam--that was similar to Yojiro''s wind blade but only blood-red in color and looked like it was in liquid form. Sabrina''s red blood blades had made Werewolf Tam frown and cross his arms--to shield himself from it. Sabrina''s attacks had caused several cuts into Werewolf Tam''s hands, making the werewolf grip his paws tightly and howl loudly out of pain. Aks used this chance to ran towards the teleportation portal and escape. On the other hand, Pedro laid Village Chief Meerak below four unconscious adventurers inside a nearby establishment. Werewolf Tam was about to go after Aks or Pedro but he was forced to take a step back as a black arc almost sliced through his neck and split it into half. "How annoying!" He cried as he shifted his focus towards Sabrina. He was about to launch a counter punch towards Sabrina but a pen-knife went for his head, forcing him to dodge instead. That said, it allowed him to see her all red eyes through the clouds of smoke in that area. He can''t help but howl in anger and grumble, saying, "Those eyes! They''re mine!" On the other hand, this gave Sabrina a chance to distance herself and prepare for another attack. Fortunately, at this moment, the teleportation platform of the village lit, indicating that Aks had successfully teleported out of the village. Thus, Sabrina could not help but smirk and sigh in relief in response. At the same time, she sheathed her black Katana and stared daggers towards Werewolf Tam--but with a smirk on her face. Her image became more clear as the smoke started to dissipate. "You want it?" She asked, chuckling. Then, she lunged forward to catch two of her high-speed pen-knives on each of her hands and said, "Come and get it!" Chapter 177: A Miserable Defeat! "Raaaa!" Werewolf Tam howled as loud as he can, while his eyes stared bloodshot towards Sabrina. The veins in his forehead, arms, feet, and neck had suddenly seemed like it all wanted to burst. Then, he lunged forward towards Sabrina with his claws protruding at their maximum--seemingly wanting to slice Sabrina into half. However, Sabrina simply smirked as she lunged forward and attacked the werewolf head-on. But before the two of them could clash, a pen-knife went past Sabrina''s neck and flew towards Werewolf Tam''s head at a high speed. Werewolf Tam swayed his head to the side and was barely able to dodge the pen-knife. The pen-knife cut through his right cheek, making blood burst out of it. Despite obtaining an injury, he did not remove his eyes from Sabrina and did not halt in his advance as if he did not feel any pain, nor did he fear Sabrina. However, before he could even blink his eyes, another pen-knife went past through Sabrina, accurately aiming for his head. Since his body could lose balance if he swayed further to the side, Werewolf Tam bent downwards--allowing his body to retain the momentum of his charge. Unfortunately, Werewolf Tam did not obtain any injury or cuts this time. This made him smirk as he and Sabrina were just a meter away from him. ''You''re mine!'' he thought as he transferred all the force that his body generated to his right paws. However, despite being able to predict his attacks, Sabrina did not even dodge as she stabs her pen-knife in her right hand--aiming towards the werewolf''s chest. When the claws of Werewolf Tam was just almost a feet away from tearing Sabrina apart, and the pen-knife of Sabrina, on her right hand, was also just feet away from Werewolf Tam''s chest, Sabrina smirked as she released her grip to her pen-knives. The pen-knife she held on her left hand had shot straight to the claws of Werewolf Tam, deflecting like two swords that clashed. Consequently, the force made Werewolf Tam sway to his right, saving him from obtaining a fatal hit from the pen-knife that Sabrina released on her right hand. That said, the pen-knife had still successfully pierced through the chest of Werewolf Tam--just missed a vital organ. Werewolf Tam can''t help but cough dryly as an intense pain surged from his chest. Blood and small chunks of flesh burst through the hole on Werewolf Tam''s chest, revealing a portion of the monster''s beating heart. Werewolf Tam was really filled with luck. If the pen-knife pierced through his chest, slightly to the left, a cut would have been made to his heart. Sabrina did not want to let this chance go, she bent down and grabbed her Katana as tight as she can. Her eyes glowed full of murderous intent as if she had already dictated the end of the monster''s life. The moment that Werewolf Tam was able to meet Sabrina''s terrifying eyes, He can''t help but grip his left hand and pour all of his remaining strength into it, to send a strong punch towards Sabrina that hinder her from drawing her sword and, eventually, slicing his body into half. In spite of his efforts, Sabrina simply smirked as she bent even lower--making Werewolf Tam punch into the air. Then, she drew her Katana and sliced through Werewolf Tam''s feet. "Aaaaaaah!" Werewolf Tam cried as his legs slid into the ground--completely immobilizing his movements. At this moment, Pedro had come out of the village house where he hid Village Chief Meerak. He could not help but force out a smile after seeing Werewolf Tam fall into the ground, with his feet separated from the rest of his body. "This..." Pedro frowned when he noticed that Sabrina was about to deal another strike towards the hopeless Werewolf Tam--aiming for his neck and showing not a single bit of mercy. "STOOOOOOP!" Pedro shouted on top of his lungs as the vein on his forehead suddenly seemed like it was about to burst. His eyes seemed like it went even darker in shade, releasing powerful magical energy that ''miraculously'' stopped Sabrina''s Black Katana. Werewolf Tam''s blood flowed through the blade of Sabrina''s Black Katana that was only able to cut several millimeters deep into his neck. At this moment, the time had seemed like it had stopped. Pedro can''t help but sigh of relief as Sabrina and Werewolf Tam glanced towards him with frowns on their face. Pedro met Sabrina''s gaze and simply shook his head, saying, "Don''t kill him!" "Why?" Sabrina asked, coldly, "He''s an enemy. Hesitate now and we might not get another chance to kill him!" "I know." Pedro said, "But if we kill him, we might end the Continental Quest! We would suffer a huge loss if we end it now! Just cut his limbs, his tongue, and his eyes. Without his sight, his voice, nor his ways of movement, he won''t be able to escape nor run away from us. He''s good as dead. That way... We can ensure that the Continental Quest continues, no matter what." "But..." Sabrina wanted to argue, but Pedro was headstrong with his decision. Truth be told, both of them had good points.Pedro knew that the continental quest ends when Werewolf Tam dies. He knew it very well because the Continental Quest ended when Madame Soledad defeated Werewolf Tam in his past life. However, Werewolf Tam was almost as strong as Madame Soledad. That is why she was the only one who was able to defeat Werewolf Tam in his past life. The underlying reason probably lies in the fact that Werewolf Tam was able to obtain the Demonic Eyes in the past. Unfortunately, Mathew obtained the Demonic eyes in this timeline--which he sold to Pedro. Else... Sabrina would have not been able to fight Werewolf Tam single-handedly and one-sidedly. Thus, Pedro did not want to kill Werewolf Tam and end the Continental Quest immediately. It would greatly affect several plans he had in mind for his fleet, especially the development of the players on his force. Using the monsters as EXP farm was one of his major reasons. As he establishes his player force, the source of levels might become a problem if the Continental Quest ends. At this moment, players were struggling to fend off monsters all over the Aquari Continent. But... If the continental quest ends, the players might start fighting over the monsters that they could farm. Add up the factor that the population of players was yet to spike up. By that moment, it would be troublesome to fight for ''EXP'' for everyone else as strong players would need to escort weak players, consequently slowing the development of players. Truth be told, only the strong players benefit from the continental quest. They kept farming EXPs, consequently increasing their levels with ease. On the other hand, the weak players end up being cannon fodders, who would just enter the fight-die-create new character cycle. Since Pedro and his force belong to the strong players, there was really no reason for him to end the continental quest soon. He gains a lot of benefits as a player in the world of Bearth. In terms of being the Fleet Captain of an NPC force from BHO, he actually has more advantages than disadvantages if he would not end the continental quest. Yes, it was his duty to end it. But... He would lose the chance to use the continental quest as a reason for him to recruit and, at the same time, infiltrate and gain control of every stronghold in the Aquari Continent. Well... It was not as if the NPCs would be left in the dark. With the players'' arrival, their safety is most likely ensured. So, there was not much reason for Pedro to end the continental quest any time soon. Regardless of any reason, Sabrina, on the other hand, was only thinking realistically. She and Pedro know that if they did not take this chance to kill Werewolf Tam, there''s a possibility that he would be able to escape and take revenge later on. She simply did not want that to happen. A wasted chance to end the life of a troublemaker that might give them hardships in the future. That said, She has a hundred percent belief in Pedro. Thus, she did not argue even further and simply followed his orders by cutting Werewolf Tam''s limbs, tongue, and eyes. Then, Pedro and Sabrina used the looted clothes to tie up and stop the bleeding on Werewolf Tam''s limbs, eyes, and chest. Soon, Werewolf Tam passed out as his body weaken due to severe blood loss. But Pedro did not panic. He simply poured a bottle of potion towards Werewolf Tam''s mouth in order to restore a little bit of health to the unconscious werewolf. Seeing that Werewolf Tam was somehow alright, Pedro and Sabrina sat casually to the ground as if they were tired after a long day of work. Pedro sighed and glanced to Sabrina, saying, "Now... Where are we going to hide him?" Sabrina glanced at him and said, coldly, "Don''t ask me! It''s your idea to keep him alive." Pedro could not help but simply force out a smile and say, "What if you carry him with Loren on your bird form?" "Hmph!" Sabrina averted her gaze away from Pedro and said, "Whatever! But... What would you do if I am offline?" "Hmm..." Pedro rubbed his chin and pondered for a few seconds. Then, an idea came up in his mind after remembering about the Tarala Kingdom, and he said, "The slums and the black market of Tarala Kingdom hold the answer to that." Chapter 178: What Are You Waiting For?! New Year?! Sabrina simply replied to Pedro with another "Hmph". Then, her pen-knives shut down, stopping right above the unconscious body of Werewolf Tam. This way she could rest and recuperate her strength in preparation for her another seemingly non-stop flight. On the other hand, Pedro simply smiled slightly as he opened his player interface. He went into his friend list and mailed everyone else to ignore the message that he conveyed to them through Aks. Also, he told them not to worry about their safety as he and Sabrina were able to fend off Werewolf Tam. He even included that they were chasing after Werewolf Tam, in order to bring an end to the continental quest. And he added that they all should just simply focus on their advance so that they would be able to provide aid to the strongholds in the east. Other than that message, Pedro sent another message to Sabrina and Mathew, revealing what his true plans were. He said that Werewolf Tam would be placed inside a container that would be consequently attached to Sabrina''s foot--like a dove who has a container on her feet to store papers for transporting messages in ancient times. Then, He told them that they would head to the Tarala Kingdom to conspire and take control of the head-less Kingdom. Pedro had also said to them that the real reason why Werewolf Tam was kept alive was because of certain advantages that they would gain from it, like recruitment of NPCs, mobs for farming for EXPs, and a common enemy for stabilization and control of the strongholds at the east. It was evident to them, even to Pedro himself, that there are loopholes to Pedro''s plans. But... Mathew and Sabrina did not dare question his arrangements because of their trust and respect for Pedro''s decision making and his ability to turn unfavorable tides into his favor. After all... The power and status that they currently have were mostly brought to them by Pedro. They simply need to survive and, at the same time, work their hardest to capitalize on the benefits and advantages that Pedro brings to them so that they would become the strong players that were destined to stand by his side. Of course, they gave Pedro an assurance that they would keep this information a secret until Pedro decides to reveal some of it to everyone else. Mathew and Sabrina knew the importance of this matter to their future human force that would be made up of both Players/Adventurers and NPCs. Thus, they could understand why there was a need for this information to be rated as Top Secret. Unfortunately, Before they could talk at each other even further, Cries of wolves echoed around the village, indicating that there were hundreds of monsters that were on their way to the village of Axutar. Pedro could not help but force out a smile and nod towards Sabrina as if he was saying ''Let''s go!'' after noticing the unconscious people all over the place. With his Demonic Eyes activated, he can''t help but think of the possibility that even the village soldiers and adventurers outside the village would lay unconscious and defenseless against their enemies. Thus, Sabrina walked a few meters away from Pedro and Werewolf Tam before transforming into her eagle form. Then, she flew high in the sky with her pen-knives following her suit. There she noticed that ''luckily'' more than half of the combined force of Adventurers and NPCs were out of the hundred-meter radius of Pedro''s skill, and were fighting hundreds of monsters--barely able to fend them off. Thus, she sent her pen-knives to give them a hand--clearing the monsters within the village''s vicinity and consequently giving the combined Adventurer and NPCs force a time to breathe. Seeing that the combined force of Axutar Village was safe from harm, Sabrina dove back to where Pedro and Werewolf Tam was. Then, Pedro tied a cylindrical basket around one of her feet that was big enough to fit Werewolf Tam in it. He placed a wooden cover above him to ensure that Werewolf Tam won''t fall from it, no matter what flight maneuvers Sabrina would do. Fortunately, there gaps and small holes in the basket--giving ventilation in it. With a few taps to check the durability of his tie, Pedro smiled and made an okay sign to Sabrina, saying, "Go ahead first! I have a few loose ends to take care of." Sabrina simply nodded in response and flew up into the sky. When she reached a height that was high enough to even hid her figure, she cried loudly as a signal to Pedro that everything is okay on her end. "Kwiiiyaaaaak!" Pedro simply smirked as he stretched his head by slightly leaning it to the sides and said, "It''s my turn!" His eyes reverted back to their normal, consequently waking everyone up in the next few seconds. That said, he immediately rushed to the village house where he placed Village Chief Meerak and pushed the adventurers on top of the village chief, saying, "Get off of him! Get off of the village chief!" The Adventurers could not help but follow him as they stared towards Village Chief Meerak as if they had seen a ghost. They were all astonished and, at the same time, confused as to why they ended up on top of the village chief and why did they seemingly lose their consciousness. On the other hand, Village Chief Meerak could not help but frown in response as if he just woke up after a good night''s sleep. Then, he glanced towards Pedro and said, "S-S-Sire?! W-W-What''s happening? T-T-The Prisoner?" "Don''t worry, respected village chief! We drove him off the village, already. That said, we need to immediately leave the village and chase after him before he causes more damage to other people or... even to other strongholds. One of my men followed after him to trace the said monster! And I need to follow them as soon as I can!" He stole a glance towards the other people inside the village house before glancing back to Village Chief Meerak, and said, "Please prepare the five villager or adventurers that you deemed capable and have potential to become my apprentices on BHO. All of my men had already left the village as we speak. They returned to where our main force was located to call for reinforcements that would arrive in a few weeks. That said, It would of great help if you would be able to provide me the village''s most talented people and aid me in the subjugation of the said monster. Who knows... I might even consider taking them into my force, regardless of their performance after this chaos." Pedro patted the village chief''s shoulder and said, "Anyway, I need to stock some supplies that I need in the village shop. Please meet me at the easter gate of the village in ten minutes. If I did not see anyone waiting there by that time, I would immediately leave and go after my comrade." Pedro turned around and was about to leave the village house. But before he could take a step outside, Village Chief Meerak shouted, "Wait!" In turn, Pedro abruptly halted as he turned around to face the village chief, and asked, "Is there a problem?" Village Chief Meerak ran towards him as he took out a badge from his pocket. Then, he said, "Take this, young sir! Show this to the Shop Keeper! Take anything that you need from the village shop for free! This is only what I can do as a village chief!" "But..." Pedro forced out a smile and hesitated from obtaining the badge. However, Village Chief Meerak placed it in his hands and pushed it towards him, saying, "I have not much use for it! It''s just a badge that''s resting in my pocket. It would be better for you to have it. That way, you won''t encounter the same experience that you did as you enter my village. I hope that this would be able to help hasten your entry to other strongholds--even the Tarala Kingdom, in order to find that ferocious monster and save as many people as you can." "This would be of big help village chief!" Pedro said as he placed the badge into his inventory bag. Then, he said, "I would make sure to repay your kindness by killing that cold-blooded murderer! See you at the eastern gate in ten minutes!" "Alright! I''ll go ahead and prepare your apprentices immediately." Village Chief Meerak said. Pedro nodded in response and left the building as if he was late for work. At this moment, Village Chief Meerak glanced behind him and glared towards the adventurers, who were previously on top of him. "The four of you! To find the Head Soldier of the village and tell him to send three of his best men to the eastern gate immediately! I would give you generous rewards afterward. But... Don''t blame me for being brutal if you fail this mission!" Village Chief Meerak said, coldly. However, the four players could only stare in a daze towards him as a quest popped out from their player interface. Thus, Village Chief Meerak could not help but frown and said, "What are you waiting for?! New Year?! Hurry! Before I assign you as baits in the field!" The players could not help but force out a smile as they rushed out of the building, saying, "Yes, Village Chief!" ~~~~~ Author''s Announcement:1592~~~~~ Happy New Year guys! I hope that you all are enjoying the holidays with your family! Another tough year has passed, and we survived it! May blessings come to all of us in the upcoming year 2021 and hope that... this novel comes true to life. Just kidding! xD Probably had read too much manga/manhwa/manhua in the past few days. In any case, enjoy the chappy and comment down below any manga/manhwa/manhua that you might recommend for me and the other readers to read. See ya all in the next chappy and HAPPY NEW YEAR! ~~~~~Author''s Announcement End:1694~~~~~ Chapter 179: A Warning to the Village Chief and the Head Soldier! The four players scrambled out of the said village house. Fortunately, most of the people were still busy contemplating what happened. Thus, they were able to easily head out of the village to search for the Head Soldier of the village of Axutar. On the other hand, Meerak Axutar did not dare waste the time and opportunity that Pedro had given him. He went outside and assigned nearby soldiers to clean the mess that Werewolf Tam made inside the prison. As for Werewolf Tam''s limbs, they were all taken by Pedro. While the blood was, of course, sucked by their Pen-knives. Thus, no one, not even Meerak Axutar, the village chief himself, was able to notice anything unusual at the location where Pedro and Werewolf Tam fought. So, everyone simply carried on as if nothing had happened, including Meerak Axutar who rushed back to his office after giving instructions to the soldiers. "This is a good opportunity for Neerak!" Meerak Axutar said, running at his fastest towards his office. "If I only knew that a BHO officer would come in this area, I would have not sent Mirak--my eldest son, on a journey to the Eastern Kingdom of Aleptra and participate in the Trials of Aleptra. With his strength and skills, there''s a possibility that the young officer would have taken a liking to the abilities of my eldest son. Well... It is really unfortunate. I could only hope that Neerak would be able to learn a thing or two on his trip with the young officer!" Soon, he arrived outside his office. He did not stop running and slammed the door open of the village chief''s office. This astounded a young man who was sitting at the seat of the village chief and was reading a book with a red cover on it. His eyes shot up and glared towards Meerak Axutar, while his body reactively leaned slightly backward in astonishment. But before he could utter a word, Meerak Axutar gazed towards him and said, "Son! Prepare your things, Fast! A BHO officer has visited our village and he''s taking in apprentices from the village! If you are able to show him the slightest of potential, he might take you as an official member of his army! You must join him, no matter what!" The young man, Neerak Axutar, frowned and said, "Father! You are the village chief! The ruler of this village! Don''t get swindled easily by the flowery words of those adventurers! Brother has left for the Eastern Shore and has yet to come back. If I leave the village, who would inherit the role of a village chief if you... uhh... unexpectedly perished? Such tactics were commonly used by our ancestors to conquer opposing villages and Kingdoms!" "Aish!!" Meerak Axutar grumbled as he walked angrily towards Neerak. Then, he grabbed the young man by the back of his clothes and dragged him out of the village chief''s office--heading towards the eastern gate of the village. "Father! Let go! Father! Let go!" Neerak Axutar cried as he struggled from the grip of his father. Unfortunately, his father did not even glance towards him and simply dragged him to the eastern gate at any cost, whilst emanating a murderous aura that was strong enough to silence him and stop him from struggling. "First of all... Do not question my decisions! I am the chief of this village! Whether it falls or not, It is my problem! It''s my responsibility! Understand!" Meerak Axutar said, coldly. His son, Neerak Axutar, did not dare answer back to his father and simply crossed his arms--still against the decision of his father. Thus, Meerak Axutar could not help but scold him, saying, "Secondly... You have to change your manners! What if the officer heard what you said? Do you think that the village would be able to survive their wrath? You must think carefully before you speak! You wanted to protect the future of the village but you are too naive to handle such situations!" "This officer that you speak off... Were they even able to hear what I said?" Neerak Axutar chuckled. "That''s not the point, young man!" Meerak Axutar shouted as the veins on his forehead seemed like it was about to burst. "Whether he hears it or not, you must learn to respect everyone! Especially people who say that they are from the organization! Besides... You might not know it but... You might have not seen me at this moment if not for the young officer and his accomplices that drove away a human turning beast--who killed three of our village soldiers in one swing of his hand!" His son could not help but simply absorb his father''s lectures as they see the eastern gate of the village--where the figure of four village soldiers stood in wait. That said, Meerak Axutar did not stop his lecture and said, "I can''t imagine Eikzitor win from that monster... What much more to the young officer who was able to scare it off our village! So... Just behave yourself and follow the young officer at all cost! At worst... You''ll gain a few learnings from him that would allow us to increase the strength of our future generations!" "B-But... Why choose me, father?!" Neerak asked, "There are more capable soldiers in the village. Why not pick them?" "Stop arguing, will you! You might not be as strong physically as your elder brother but... You are the most literate amongst the people in this village! If you are able to experience the threats in the continent--first hand, won''t it be a great advantage for you to know what countermeasures to prepare, in case our village encounters those threats in the future?" At this moment, Neerak Axutar did not argue any further as he and his father arrived at the eastern gate of the village. His father simply lifted him up as the Head Soldier of the village of Axutar approaches them. "Chief! These are three of my best of the best men that you requested! What are you going to do with them?" The Head Soldier asked while pointing towards the three village soldiers behind him. Then, his attention was shifted towards Neerak Axutar, and chuckled, "What''s Neerak doing here? Don''t tell me that you''re sending him again to the frontline to train his combat ability?" "Something like that!" Meerak Axutar said, "I''ll explain the details to you later. But... to cut the story short... They would all train under a BHO Officer." "BHO Officer...?" The Head Soldier pondered for a few seconds. Then, he can''t help but stare towards Meerak Axutar with a frown and said in an astonished manner, "Do you mean that legendary human organization? W-Why is there an officer here in the middle of the continent? W-Wait! D-Did you just say train?!" Meerak Axutar nodded in response and said, "Yes, Eikzitor! The organization where the yearly winners of the Trials of Aleptra in the Eastern Kingdom of Aleptra were sent to join. As for your other question... I also don''t know the reason. But based on what he told me earlier, I think that they are here to help strongholds in fighting the unexplainable number of monsters--like our village." "I-I see..." The Head Soldier of the village, Eikzitor, rubbed his chin and said, "No wonder several soldiers suddenly fell asleep outside the village earlier. Perhaps, it has something to do with the officer you are saying." Meerak Axutar simply frowned in response. He was about to say something, when a man in a white overcoat walked past him whilst saying, "Yes, it was my doing! I need to scare the monster off the village and fight it in an open field to reduce the casualties and damage." "You--" Axutar Village Head Soldier Eikzitor frowned as he glanced towards the young man who casually interjected their conversation. However, before he could utter another word, Village Chief Meerak Axutar knelt down towards Pedro and said, "Young sir! I did not expect you to arrive ahead of time." "My transactions with your shop ended faster than I expected it to be." Pedro said, "So, I decided to head here in the hopes that I would be able to talk to you about some matters." Pedro stole a glance towards the Neerak Axutar, Axutar Village Head Soldier Eikzitor, the three village soldiers, and the adventurers behind them, and said, "I don''t have much time to have an elaborated discussion with you, so I would have to inform you about the most important matters first and would discuss the other ones, later on when I return to your village." "No worries, Young sir! The village of Axutar would not go to another place, and it would be an honor for us to have you here in the village!" Meerak said, respectfully. "I appreciate your kindness and hospitality, respected village chief!" Pedro said, "Rest assured that I would do everything in my power to help every stronghold and someday bring prosperity to this land. As for the matters that I wanted to tell you... Village Chief... Head Soldier... Consider yourselves warned. The Adventurers pose a threat similar to monsters. Although they aid in your battle against the annoying monsters, Don''t be too complacent... If they become strong enough, they might become the cause of the destruction of your stronghold." "Are you saying that we should not allow adventurers to enter our village? What about those who kept appearing from the Teleportation Platforms?" Neerak Axutar, the village chief''s second son asked. Pedro glanced towards him with a frown. Meerak Axutar could not help but force out a smile as he glanced from his son to Pedro and was about to try to ask for an apology to Pedro. However, before he could do so, Pedro smirked towards Neerak--emanating a murderous aura that was even strong enough to make the Head Soldier shiver in fear. "How you handle them is not my problem. And... I don''t care if you believe me or not!" Pedro said, coldly."It''s all up to you! But I can assure you... If you do not control them properly, a disaster would soon occur in your territory. So... Choose wisely!" Chapter 180: Departure From Axutar Village! Because of the Murderous aura emanated by Pedro, none of them was even able to lift a finger. Thus, Pedro can''t help but to sigh and shake his head¡ªclearing off the strong murderous aura that his body emanated. He glanced towards Meerak Axutar and said, "That is as much as I could say to you, respected village chief!Other details about the adventurers are still being observed by my men. We are yet to establish a plan on how will we handle them. But¡­ We highly recommend to be cautious against them. Nothing would be lost if you establish a few countermeasures against them, right?" "O-Of course, Young sir!" Meerak Axutar said, "I-In fact¡­ Eikzitor and I had a talk about what we would do to the adventurers, just a few days ago. There was a sudden increase of adventurers appearing in our teleportation platform to the point that it crowds the central area of the village. Luckily, the adventurers were brave and enthusiastic in helping the village, even if they needed to be sent to the battlefield and help the soldiers fight the monsters." Meerak Axutar paused for a second and glanced towards his son, Neerak Axutar. Then, he pointed his hand towards Neerak Axutar and said, "Speaking of which¡­ Last night, the number of adventurers appearing in the teleportation platform had suddenly increased¡ªhighest than I had even seen before in my life. Fortunately, my youngest son, Neerak Axutar, was able to control the crowd of adventurers by creating another office that specifically gives task to the adventurers that arrives in this village. Though our treasury needed to release a huge amount of funds, it was worth the price as the adventurers had been organized and where even able to help our soldiers in fighting monsters." "I see¡­" Pedro rubbed his chin and nodded whilst staring towards Neerak Axutar. He thought to himself, ''Not bad¡­ To think that an NPC would be able to think of a way to manage the players this early in the game. This kid had a lot of potential. However, such strengths do not come without any draw backs. Based on his actions earlier¡­ Perhaps it is his attitude. It would be troublesome to bring the kid with me but¡­ His ability to manage people is something rare among NPCs. I have no choice but to bring him with me¡­ If I can! Whether they come from a Kingdom, or a village, it does not matter! Talent is talent, period.'' "Is he amongst the people that you are going to send with me?" Pedro asked to Meerak Axutar. Meerak Axutar nodded in response and said, "Yes, young sir! Forgive me for being seemingly biased but¡­ I do think that my son would be of great help to you, especially in managing people and their needs." "Hmm¡­ Is that so?" Pedro said as he glanced towards Neerak Axutar. Then, he asked, "Tell me young man¡­ Do you want to join me on my quest to help the strongholds here in the east?" "I-I¡­" Neerak Axutar could not help but force out a smile. He glanced back and forth from Pedro to his father, whilst carefully thinking for his answer. ''If I said no, father would be enraged towards me. But¡­ if I say yes, I would need to travel with this man and face the monsters in the wild. I am not confident to my combat ability just like my elder brother. I could barely able to properly hold a sword. So¡­ I need to confirm to this man, what would my task first. If he expects me to fight monsters on a regular basis, then I could only apologize to father. But¡­ If it is about other tasks like collecting herbs and preparing food¡­ I have no choice but to follow this man. After all, what father truly wanted for me to accomplish was to gain even the smallest insight or knowledge from this man that we could later on apply for our village.'' Neerak Axutar thought. Neerak Axutar glanced to Pedro and asked, "Before I make my final decision, Can I ask young sir, what would my job or task be if I joined you on your journey?" "Aish!" Meerak Axutar grumbled as he stood and was about to scold his son. But before he could do so, Pedro raised his hand¡ªstopping Meerak Axutar from doing so, and said, "Your task? To be honest¡­ I do not know as of the moment. Your father told me that you are most capable in managing people, not leading people. Thus¡­ From the looks of it, you are not that efficient in terms of combat." "Yes, you are right young sir!" Neerak Axutar nodded in response. "I am not a combat type of person. That''s why I was wondering as to why I should go and join your party, young sir!I know that you have an important task to carry, which is fighting monsters. I do not want to hold you and your party off just because of my incompetence. I think it would be wiser to bring more soldiers instead, so that they would at least be able to help in young sir''s quest." Pedro smirked and simply shook his head in response. He said, "You are right. But you got one-point wrong!" "Huh?" Everyone frowned after hearing what Pedro said. It was confusing thus they can''t help but glance at him¡ªwaiting for his explanation. Pedro simply smirked towards them and said, "You are wrong about the term "Holding Back"! Don''t misunderstand young man! I don''t need help when it comes to fighting these annoying monsters. It would be an easy task form me if it was the case." "W-What do you mean?" Neerak Axutar asked as lines started to weave on his forehead. "Did you forget what I said?" Pedro asked, "Didn''t I say that my job is to help the people of this land? Do you think that the issues regarding the monsters would end if I simply killed as many as I can? No! Because no matter how many monsters I would be able to kill, it would not be enough to kill them all.If you think that killing them all would solve the problem¡­ Then, why didn''t the organization launch an all-out attack against the monsters? The answer is simple¡­ Because even if the whole organization goes all out, we won''t be enough to exterminate every single monster in this continent." At this moment, Pedro averted his gaze and was about to leave the village. He said, "It would just simply be waste of time and resources. So¡­ Won''t it be better to help you fight the monsters, while guiding your best men along the way? This way, you''d be ensured that there would be capable and experienced soldiers that would defend your territory. On top of that, you could use the few lessons that you might learn from us, to improve and develop your training system or fighting strategies against monsters." Pedro stopped on his tracks and gaze towards Neerak Axutar, saying, "So, tell me young man¡­ Won''t it be better to give some people a guidance, rather than giving you flowery words about salvation? Whether you are a combat type person or not¡­ The monsters do not give a fuck! And¡­ Don''t give me a shitty excuse that you are not a combat type person because in this point of crisis, everyone should be thinking on how to capitalize on every single opportunity to become strong as fuck!" "I am going ahead, respected people of Axutar Village." Pedro said as he averted his gaze to the mountain in front of him¡ªgoing to the east. Then, he said, "I have an important matter to take care off. To those who the village chief recommends, follow me if you want. Just be informed that although you are with me, your survival in the wild would be in your hands." At this moment, Meerak Axutar could only glance towards his son. Yes, he badly wanted Neerak Axutar to take this opportunity to learn from a BHO officer. However, he did not want to force his son to do so if he really did not want to follow Pedro. It might be a waste, but he still wanted his son to decide for himself. After all, his life would still depend on him if he decided to follow Pedro. Thus, Neerak was placed into a tight spot that eventually made him bit his lips and decide. He glanced to his father and said, "For the village¡­ For the sake of the village, I''ll do my best to learn as much as I can. But¡­ I need you¡ªfather, to promise one thing to me in return!" "Promise?" Meerak Axutar asked, "What is it?" "Promise me that you''ll take care of yourself, no matter what!" Neerak said. "I will!" Meerak said with a smile as he patted Neerak''s shoulder. Neerak simply smiled in response and said, "Then I am off, father!" "May the gods and goddess bless you with a safe journey!" Meerak Axutar said as he waved his hands to his departing son¡ªwho chased after Pedro with the other three village soldiers. When their figures faded from the distant, Meerak Axutar smiled and said, "Good luck, my son!" Chapter 181: Observing Neerak Axutar and The Three Soldiers Capabilities! "Officer! Officer! Please wait for us!" Neerak Axutar cried as he and the village soldiers chased after Pedro. However, Pedro was already ''taking'' care of a few monsters, thus, he could only steal a glance towards Neerak and the three village soldiers before slicing his Faithpursuer Katana once again¡ªcreating a lustrous golden arc. Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers could not help but stop on their tracks. Their jaws went agape as they watched Pedro sliced several monsters into half, in one swing. On top of that, Pedro kept advancing forward with no signs of fatigue¡ªas if he was casually swinging a stick to kill the monsters. "What are you guys waiting for? Stay behind me if you do not want to become the lunch of these monsters!" Pedro said, coldly. This made Neerak Axutar return to his senses. He simply forced out a smile and ran behind Pedro, saying, "Yes, respected officer!" Reactively, the three soldiers followed behind them. However, they saw a few monsters coming from behind just when they were able to catch up to Pedro. They can''t help but force out a smile and say, "R-Respected Officer! M-Monsters are charging behind us! They were the nearby monsters that did not reach your range earlier!" "Can you handle them?" Pedro asked, coldly, as he stole a glance to his back. ''One, two, three¡­ Disposing of the wild mountain wolves would be an easy task for my pen-knife. But¡­ I want to test these soldiers'' combat abilities. It would be great if they can handle, even a monster each. It means that I could leave the kid''s safety to them, in case we encounter a strong enemy. It would be problematic to protect them in case I needed to fight a strong enemy. Better not be too complacent!'' Pedro thought whilst waiting for the three soldiers to respond. After a few seconds of pondering¡ªweighing the pros and cons, the three village soldiers nodded to each other as if they had come to a consensus. They gripped the swords tightly¡ªthat was sheathed to the side of their waists, and said, "We''ll take care of them!" Pedro stole a glance towards the three village soldiers and smirked¡ªin satisfaction, as the three village soldiers drew their swords and sliced towards the wild mountain wolves that just pounced towards them. Unfortunately, Unlike Pedro, Mathew, Yojiro, or Yuson, they were not able to split the monsters perfectly into half. Instead, they were able to cut a few inches deep into the monsters'' bodies and consequently made the monsters cry in pain as they crash to the ground. Then, the three village soldiers gripped their swords once again and swung their sword at full force¡ªaiming for the wild mountain wolves'' legs to immobilize them. Since the wild mountain wolves were immobilized, the three village soldiers did not waste another second and rushed after Pedro and Neerak Axutar. They did not want to be left far away from Pedro, thus, they had no choice but to opt for this strategy instead. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but force out a smile. His pen-knife shot out from the sleeve of his overcoat and circled around¡ªaiming for the heads of the immobilized wild mountain wolves. ''Not bad¡­'' Pedro chuckled deep inside. ''Their attack was simple¡­ But the attacks of these three village soldiers were perfectly in unison¡ªas if the other two were clones of the one that was in the middle and did the exact same attacks like the one in the middle did. Well¡­ I am yet to know their identities. I could only assume that the village of Axutar teaches its soldier the same attack patterns¡­ or should I say techniques. In any case¡­ Immobilizing the enemies instead of killing them¡­ it''s not bad! They know that our priority is to ''chase after someone''. So, they stopped the monsters from attacking¡ªby immobilizing them, while making sure that they won''t fall behind that far and slow our advance. Just by that¡­ I know that Village Chief Meerak was sincere and he did send some of his best soldiers to me.'' At this moment, Pedro''s pen-knife pierced through the heads of the wild mountain wolves like a needle piercing easily through a cloth. Of course, it sucked the blood of its targets dry¡ªmaking the faces of Neerak Axutar and the three villages turn sour. They watched the pen-knife circle around them in amazement. It flew as if it was a guided arrow¡ªflying straight¡­ to its targets! However, what made them fear it was the ''after-effect'' that it caused to its targets. Its targets went dry as if their body did not have any liquid in them. And as it weaves through the monsters like a needle weaving through a cloth, they can''t help but look at Pedro with greater respect and fear. ''No wonder father respected him so much¡­'' Neerak Axutar forced out a smile deep inside. ''His weapon alone could annihilate the whole village! Fortunately, He is on our side. I could not imagine what would have happened to us if we were his enemy.'' Pedro caught a glimpse of their reaction and simply smirked. Then, he said, "I''ll take care of the monsters. Just make sure that you keep up with me. We are about to enter the Baliu Forest and head to the Baliu Mountain of the East." "Yes, officer!" Everyone cried in response. Pedro simply shook his head and said, "Just call me Aron! I am not used to being called an officer." The three village soldiers glanced at each other¡ªconfused whether they should obey Pedro or not and call him in an informal way. That said, Neerak simply sighed and said, "I understand, sir Aron." Pedro smiled in response and said, "That''s better!" Minutes passed and they had already entered the Baliu Forest¡ªa few kilometers to the east of the village of Axutar. At this moment, Neerak had started to feel the exhaustion and wished deep inside that they would, at the least, have a break. It was the same for the three village soldiers. It was not because the three village soldiers were very exhausted from running. It was just that they came from their duty in the Axutar Village¡ªfighting monsters that attacks the village, and immediately followed Pedro¡ªrunning for almost an hour without any rest. Of course, Pedro noticed their fatigue. In fact, even Pedro started to get exhausted. His hands started to feel numb after making hundreds of strikes or swings, ever since he left Axutar Village. That said, he did not dare complain nor halt. He was trying to gouge out the NPCs limit, after all. He wanted to know the limits of their stamina, so that he could have an overall grasp of their capabilities and, consequently, so that he would be able to properly assign tasks to them and avoid putting their lives into danger¡ªlike what happened to Lony and Roval, especially that Neerak and the three village soldiers were NPCs. Thus, having a hunch that they won''t be taking any rest soon, Neerak Axutar glanced to Pedro and asked, "Sir Aron, forgive me for asking but¡­ Can I know why we are heading towards the Baliu Mountain? Won''t it be ideal to circle around it instead? And based on my experience, it would take us until noon--tomorrow, to arrive at Baliu Village. Won''t it be ideal to prepare a camp, for us to stay for the night instead?" "You are wise, young man!" Pedro said. Then, he bluffed, "But¡­ We need to get to the Baliu Village before that bastard monster does! An hour¡­ No! Even if we were just a few minutes late, the Baliu Village would definitely fall! I know that you guys are tired and you guys wanted to rest, but¡­ I cannot risk the lives of the people in Baliu Village! I hope that you understand the importance of our mission, young man!" Neerak Axutar could only bit his lips and muster all of his strength to keep running behind Pedro. The village soldiers were in a better state but they had the same bitter expression as Neerak. They had no choice but to follow Pedro even if their feet were already feeling numb. At this moment, the monsters they were able to encounter had started to decrease in numbers drastically¡ªto the point that Pedro''s pen-knife was more than enough to take of them. The NPCs also noticed it, but they did not give that much care about it. On the other hand, Pedro can''t help but frown and slow down on his advance. His face wore a frown as he thought, ''What''s going on? The continental quest is still ongoing. I did not end it! But¡­ Why are the number of monsters gets lesser as we get deeper into the forest? Sabrina is on standby¡­ So does her pen-knives! Plus¡­ The werewolf is in our hands! Only a handful of monsters? At dawn on top of that! It''s impossible for this to happen! Unless¡­" Pedro finally halted after hours of non-stop travel and said, "There are Adventurers nearby¡­" Chapter 182: Werewolf Issue, Solved! Pedro gestured to Neerak and the three village soldiers to halt, before placing his right hand on top of the Katana that was sheathed on the left side of his waist. His left hand held the scabbard as he slowly walked forward¡ªdeeper into the forest. ''There are only two possible explanations for missing monsters, especially for a forest! One¡­ there''s a lack of food for the monsters in this area. Second¡­ There are adventurers who are killing the monsters, while at the same time, they were storing the corpse in their inventory bags.'' Pedro thought as he glanced to the ground while taking a deep breath. ''The smell of blood is strong, and the land is moist¡­ almost muddy, probably because of the monster''s blood.'' He thought. At this moment, Pedro''s pen-knife arrived beside them and rotated around his group¡ªcreating a ring that is similar to Saturn. Then, a reddish gas rose from the ground to the pen-knife as if red steam was evaporating from the ground. "Its blood!" Pedro accidentally voiced his thought because he was astonished after one of his assumptions was proven correct. "W-What do you mean, sir Aron?" Neerak said while trembling in fear. His face was pale due to exhaustion while his feet were already numb. If they were to encounter monsters or other enemies, it would be difficult for him to run, or even just walk. Thus, his mind gets clouded by negative thoughts such as the appearance of a strong monster who stays in Baliu Forest and feeds on weaker monsters or humans. However, Pedro knew from his past life that such cases¡ªstrong monsters that are almost in the category of open-world bosses, would not occur or appear until the fourth or fifth year of Bearth Online. In fact, he knew that the open-world bosses that would appear later in the game came from the weak monsters scattered everywhere in the continent and were able to level up along with the players. Thus, their appearance at this point of the game was a hundred percent impossible. Even if Pedro learned from this life that there were strong monsters in the seas and the other continents, he knew that the possibility of them migrating to the human habited continents were very low. First of all, transportation was an issue. There was no natural way for the monsters to travel through the seas and escape through the continent that they inhabited. Unless such overpowered creatures were brought by an external force¡ªlike the Treants, the monsters can''t travel on their own from one content to another. Secondly, Pedro had a hunch that the humans were being protected by the gods and goddesses. Why? Because monsters were like the pawns of the demons. The monsters build most of the demon''s army. Since the monsters feed in living beings like humans, monsters became the common enemy of humans and deities¡ªconsequently, making humans the pawns of gods and goddesses that were destined to fight the monsters. So¡­ gods and goddesses would definitely intervene if the existence of humans would be placed in jeopardy¡ªincluding the presence of a strong monster that no human could defeat. As for the ''weak'' monsters, the gods and goddesses left it to the hands of humans to take care of. The monsters could become the source of their food, and at the same time provide a way to increase their strength. After all, the humans need to defeat weak monsters and level up first before they could face a stronger monster. Well¡­ either way, Pedro is strong enough to handle any situations except with the presence of beings in the deity level¡ªbeings above level 100. Thus, Pedro was a hundred percent sure that it was the works of other adventurers. "Those red vapors are the blood of monsters." Pedro explained, "We can''t spot any corpse of monster, despite their blood being spilled all over the place." "B-But, why adventurers?" Neerak asked, remembering what Pedro said earlier. "Shouldn''t it be the work of the monster we are chasing?" Pedro glanced towards Neerak Axutar in response. He retained his cold expression, but deep inside, he forced out a smile thinking, ''This kid is too smart! He''s starting to become a nuisance rather than an asset. If he keeps this up¡­ I might accidentally slice his head off! Anyway¡­ It''s my fault after all. My bluffs are starting to bite me back. My guilt is eating my conscience and I won''t be able to this much. I am a VR Game Player not a Poker Player after all.'' "The werewolf was injured by me and my comrades earlier," Pedro said as he averted his gaze to his front. "He''s probably using adventurers to kill monsters¡­ or even humans, as his food to regain his strength. On top of that, the absence of the presence of corpse despite blood being spilled everywhere, I am sure that this is the work of adventurers." "I-I see¡­" Neerak Axutar said with a frown on his face. "Does it have something to do with the bag?" ''Ho, Ho¡­ This kid is really impressive! To be able to think about the inventory bag¡­ Why can''t I remember an astounding NPC from Axutar Village in my past life? All I know is that most Legendary NPCs came from the North of Aquari Continent, the South of Aquari Continent, and of course from BHO. In any case¡­ This kid is more or less in my grasp, and¡­ though I don''t like it, I am quite good with bluffs.'' Pedro thought as he smirked towards Neerak Axutar. "You are smart, young man!" Pedro praised that made Neerak Axutar force out a smile. Then, Pedro continued, saying, "You are right! This is related to the magical bags. Did you know that you can store several things inside, regardless of the item''s size?" "What?! Really?!" Neerak Axutar shouted in astonishment. Pedro simply nodded¡ªnot minding whether they would alert the other adventurers or not. Then, he asked, "You did not know? I mean¡­ there''s a lot of adventurers going in and out of your village. You should know these things from them now." Neerak Axutar could only avert his gaze and force out a smile before saying, "We don''t know. Hehe¡­ Our village might seem well and organized but¡­ We were just able to control and organize the adventurers these past few days. It was way more chaotic a few days back. Other than shelter¡­ Food, water, and even equipment were a problem. It took us more than a week to be able to set things up. So, we are not yet able to take a closer look at such information." "It is as expected." Pedro said, "It was also chaotic in other villages, as you said. Anyway¡­ Let''s continue our discussion after we are done with our task. The four of you stay here and rest. There are almost no monsters around, so, you''ll be safe here. Also, I''ll leave this ring active around you so that you would not think about anyone harming you." "W-What about you?" Neerak Axutar asked with a frown on his face. He knows how terrifying the rotating pen-knife was, just from observing it kill monsters from earlier. That said, he knew that the pen-knife served as a cover for Pedro''s back and blind spots. Thus, Neerak Axutar felt worried thinking that Pedro would lose one of his ''overpowered'' weapons which could play a big role in crucial situations. "There''s the four of us! Why don''t you bring your weapon with you, instead?" Neerak Axutar added. Pedro burst into laughter in response. A few seconds later, he calmed down and said, "I am way stronger than you think!" In a blink of an eye, Pedro''s eyes turned all black¡ªconsequently putting Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers into sleep. Even Sabrina, who was flying high in the sky, felt a tinge of pain on her head. That said, she was able to resist it and was able to maintain her altitude while watching closely the events in the ground¡ªready to assist Pedro with her pen-knives (missile) at any second. At this moment, Pedro smirked as he took off his hands from the top of the handle of his Katana and relaxed. He scratched the back of his head and forced out a smile before saying, "It''s really better when the surrounding is peaceful and quiet." He glanced towards tens of meters away from him, where several figures of humans were also laying asleep in the ground. Then, he said, "Now¡­ Let''s finish this quickly... so that we could move to the next village before midnight!" He took off his clothes and equipment and placed them all in his inventory bag. Soon, he arrived where the sleeping adventurers were located. "These faces¡­ Pro players from Japan, Huh?" Pedro chuckled. "I wonder how they were able to arrive in this place in just a matter of day? Don''t tell me that they got their op skills this early in the game?" Pedro started picking up their inventory bags while replacing them with inventory bags filled with dead bodies of humans and monsters¡ªthat Faunia collected when they first returned to the Aquari Continent to meet Sabrina and the rest. He left one of the men with no inventory bag¡ªframing that man up as the monster that they were chasing. Then, he used his Faithpursuer Katana to sever one of the man''s arms and hide it in his inventory bag. With a couple of more cuts to the man, and wrapping the severed arm with an adventurer''s shirt, the man really resembled someone who is severely injured and was escaping from someone. "Sorry, ''Ice-Mage'' Ryu¡­ But Japan Player Force would need to exert more effort to become strong this time around!" Pedro smirked as he placed his Katana in his inventory bag before transforming into his dragon form. Then, he jumped up and down¡ªturning all the adventurers into a paste that was mixed and buried with the ground. "Thanks for offering your lives! Now¡­ the werewolf issue is solved!" Chapter 183: A Warning to Neerak Axutar! Pedro reverted back to his human form and approached Neerak Axutar and three village soldiers, who were in deep sleep. While approaching them, he typed a message towards Sabrina informing her that he was able to set up the adventurers and one of them as the culprit that they were chasing. On top of that, he said that she¡ªPedro''s comrade who went ahead to chase after the werewolf, was tasked to chase after the men whom Pedro had ''purposely'' allowed escaping. This was so that they would be able to track the location of the other accomplices of their enemies and, later on, bring them down one by one. With this, Sabrina''s was missing for a purpose. Even the members of the Advance Force would be able to understand and accept this explanation. At the same time, he took this chance to warn Sabrina about Neerak Axutar''s ability. He was too smart to the point that they might not be able to make him follow them just by simply instilling fear towards him with Pedro and everyone else''s power. Thus, they need to act carefully in front of Neerak Axutar. Well¡­ It was the trade-off for having a talented NPC under his command. He also said that their goal was to arrive at Baliu Village before midnight. Whether the NPCs would be capable to follow behind him or not, he did not give that much care. He said to her that the important thing right now is to be able to reach the Tarala Kingdom by dawn the next day. Thus, if they wanted to do so, they would need to stop by Baliu Village for an hour or two to give Pedro and the other NPCs a chance to rest. And if they were lucky, they might encounter merchants that would be able to bring them to the Tarala Kingdom without needing to rest for an hour on the Baliu Village. That said, Pedro did not expect that much¡ªthat there would be a merchant present at the Baliu Village. It was because they were not even able to encounter a merchant at the Axutar Village. In fact, Pedro was not able to obtain anything other than potions in the Village Shop of Axutar Village. He had a hunch that the travels of merchants are temporarily halted because there was currently no decent solution to the monster waves that are prominent everywhere in Aquari Continent. With Sabrina informed of the things he plotted, he was assured that from now on, their journey towards the Tarala Kingdom would be smooth. And that they would arrive at the said Kingdom before any major event occurs. ''I am concerned about her¡­'' Pedro mumbled deep inside. ''She would be flying non-stop for hours. I need to form up a plan for someone to meet her¡ªso that she could take a rest and log off the game. Perhaps¡­ I could ask Mathew to teleport at Baliu Village and swap with her from guarding the Werewolf. This is my only choice since there are only a few monsters coming from the north.'' Decided, Pedro sent another message to Sabrina. This time, he also sent the same message to Mathew. In response, Sabrina cried loudly that made Pedro smirk. As for Mathew, he simply messaged him with an ''Okay'' emoji and said that he would transfer the management of the Land Forces to Talia¡ªsince her ant army was the main force dealing with the monsters coming from their south, The Great Western Forest and the Woba Mountain. "This would do¡­" Pedro mumbled, "We really lack manpower. Hiring Cousin Weyron is the easiest solution to this problem. But¡­ He is the only one I can trust to manage and lead the gold farming force. On top of that¡­ Aunt said that he''s already contacting other major guilds from the Philippines. He probably got his hands full at the moment. No wonder he left the Tarala Kingdom Problem in my hand." Pedro shook his head and said, "In any case, the solution to the manpower issue lies on the Tarala Kingdom. If it falls¡­ I''ll try to use the organization to recruit its previous soldiers. But if it doesn''t¡­ A representative would do. Because¡­ I could just head to the underground organizations and solve this issue." He glanced towards Neerak and murmured, "I just hope that things won''t go south because of this kid. He would be useful later on¡ªin case we need someone to organize the people that we would be able to obtain from this trip. Or¡­ We could use him to set up an adventurer guild of some sort that the Kingdoms and Villages might adopt. It was his idea after all." Pedro smirked evilly as he reverted his eyes to their normal state. Fortunately, Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers woke up despite their stamina was dried to its last drop just by continuous hours of non-stop running. They had trouble standing up¡ªespecially Neerak Axutar, as their body trembled as if they had finished a marathon. Their legs felt weak as it was barely able to lift them up, much less to be able to take a step forward. That said, they did not dare to lay idly, especially in front of Pedro¡ªwho had ''configured'' the forest behind him. Smashed trees, Mashed soil, and the stinky reek of blood, the NPCs could not help but to stare at Pedro and admire how frightening he was. With his murderous stare, paired with the cold aura that his body emanated, Pedro resembled a serial killer that made the four NPCs froze in place. Their hearts could not help but race faster each second as his smirk made it seem like Pedro was even enjoying that very moment. In order to bring them back to their senses, Pedro made a clap that astonished the four NPCs¡ªout of fear. Then, he glanced towards Neerak Axutar and said, "I have defeated the enemy with ease. Fortunately, we were able to deal with a severe injury to the werewolf at your village. The long chase had worn down its remaining strength, giving me and my comrade to defeat him with ease." "T-That''s great news!" Neerak Axutar said, after mustering up all his courage. Then, he glanced around looking for Pedro''s ''comrade''. Seeing that no one was around, Neerak Axutar could not help but force out a smile and ask, "B-But where''s your comrade, sir Aron?" Pedro simply pointed his thumb to the ''configured'' part of the Baliu Forest and said, "We just learned a piece of disturbing information! It seems like the adventurers were somehow collaborating with the shape-shifting monster. We are yet to find out the reason behind this, so, I sent her to follow an adventurer that we purposely let go, alive." "T-This¡­" Neerak Axutar could not help but frown as he glanced towards the three village soldiers¡ªwho also had the same sour look. They took a glance in the direction of their village before shifting their attention back to Pedro. Then, Neerak Axutar asked, "S-Sir Aron! This is bad news! Should we not return to our village and inform my father so that he would be able to employ a stricter rule regarding the adventurers?" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "I am sorry but¡­ We can''t go back already! We need to go after my comrade and be ready to provide assistance in case she encounters a strong enemy." "B-But¡­" Neerak Axutar wanted to argue but he was interrupted by Pedro before he could utter another word. "Don''t worry young man! Even at worst, the adventurers in your village won''t do anything that would harm anyone¡ªeven your father. They have a common enemy¡ªwhich is the monsters, and they aren''t strong enough to be the enemy of the Head Soldier of Axutar Village. Besides¡­ Didn''t you establish an office that would manage the adventurers? Have some faith in your work! The other villages¡­ even Kingdoms, do not have the same rules that you were able to establish." "This¡­" Neerak Axutar could not help but rub the back of his head and force out a smile¡ªbeing shy. At this moment, Pedro''s pen-knife halted from rotating around them, and simply slid back to Pedro''s sleeve. Then, Pedro approached Neerak Axutar and sent a strong slap to his back, while saying, "Cheer up! Instead of worrying someone else, why don''t you worry about how you would keep walking to Baliu Village instead? It''s about to turn dark, and I don''t like camping that much!" Pedro laughed, hopelessly making Neerak Axutar feel troubled. The young man glanced to his feet only to see it trembling and was barely able to keep standing. Then, he glanced towards Pedro and said, "Sir Aron, Shouldn''t we inspect the area and the bodies of the culprits before we head to our next destination?" At this moment, Neerak Axutar had his fingers crossed. He was hoping that Pedro would consider what he said and that they would check the corpse¡ªgiving him and the three village soldiers more time to rest. However, Pedro simply smirked in response as if he had seen through Neerak Axutar''s intention to delay their departure for a bit. Truth be told, the three village soldiers could still be able to proceed and even reach the Baliu Village¡ªbut in exchange for draining their strength to its last drop. It was only Neerak Axutar who is not able to continue that far. But no matter what happens, Pedro had no choice but to proceed because time was not on his side. The Tarala Kingdom is doomed to fall if he did not arrive there the next day. Fortunately, he was able to plant several inventory bags¡ªcontaining dead bodies of humans and wolves, which became his escape to Neerak Axutar''s plan of delay. Pedro simply smirk and pointed to where the dead bodies were located and said, "There''s no need for you to see something gore at your age. But¡­ If you want to insist, go check the inventory bags of the adventurers that I fought... Don''t tell me that I did not warn you beforehand,young man!" Chapter 184: Plan B: To the Tarala Kingdom! Neerak Axutar had an ominous feeling just from Pedro''s warning. However, He had no choice. His body was already at its limit. Even now, he was barely able to walk towards the squashed bodies that Pedro had framed up. He could only buy himself some time to regain his drained stamina. Pedro can''t help but frown on Neerak Axutar''s actions. He crossed his arm and closely watched Neerak Axutar walked towards the squashed corpse as the three village soldiers followed behind him¡ªglancing around them ready to defend Neerak Axutar from any threat. ''I don''t want to check these bags because of Sir Aron''s warning but¡­ I have no choice! This is the only way that I could buy some time for my body to rest.'' Neerak Axutar thought as he covered his mouth to lessen the stink of blood that he could smell. Then, he opened it and peeked inside the inventory bag. A bunch of gore stuff greeted him, consequently leaving him at loss for words. He can''t help but stare towards the popped-out eyeballs of a man, who stared back at him as if the corpse was crying for help. Neerak Axutar''s face went pale in the next second and he immediately threw the inventory bag away. The three village soldiers immediately approached him¡ªthinking that something went wrong. However, Neerak Axutar threw up before they could even get closer. The two of the three village soldiers could only halt in their tracks as they could only watch Neerak Axutar vomit in pain. Whilst one of them knelt down beside him and rubbed his back, helping to calm down and stop Neerak Axutar from vomiting. "What''s wrong, young master?" The village soldier asked. After several coughs, Neerak Axutar had stopped vomiting. He raised his left hand¡ªstopping the village soldier from rubbing his back, and said, "D-Dead humans! D-Don''t look inside that cursed bag! There are dead bodies of humans inside!" The three village soldiers could only stare towards the inventory bag that Neerak Axutar had just thrown away. At this moment, Neerak Axutar took out a cloth from his bag and wiped his face¡ªremoving the residual from his vomit. At the same time, he glanced towards Pedro with a frown. Pedro simply made a faint smile and said, "I warned you, young man!" "I am aware of that, Sir Aron." Neerak Axutar said. At this moment, he decided not to look at the other inventory bags of the adventurers who were ''conspiring'' with the monster, even if he needed to buy more time to rest and regain his strength. Thus, he was put into a hopeless position and he got no other option but to reveal the truth to Pedro. "Forgive me, Sir Aron!" He said, making Pedro glare at him in anticipation of what he is about to say. This made Neerak Axutar take a gulp before saying, "My body is at its limits! I wanted to check these dead bodies to learn a thing or two about them. But¡­ What I truly wanted to accomplish above that was to have some rest so that I could still continue traveling with you??? Unfortunately, I did not expect to see a human corpse inside the magical bags." ''This¡­ This is not good!'' Pedro thought as he forced out a smile deep inside. ''I knew that this kid is just buying time. But¡­ I did not expect him to bluntly reveal his intentions to me. Since he implied that he could not proceed with walking any further, I have no choice but to go for plan B. After all¡­ It was the faster option to travel to the Tarala Kingdom and it would be such a waste to leave this young man in this dangerous forest alone.'' "I see¡­" Pedro said, "Then, we have no choice but to opt for plan B." "Plan B?" Neerak Axutar asked with his eyebrows furrowed. The three village soldiers also glanced towards Pedro with a frown on their faces. Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Yes! Plan B! We''ll rest at the Baliu Mountain for the night and head for Baliu Village in the morning. Then, we''ll use the teleportation portal on Baliu Village to head to the Tarala Kingdom immediately." "Tarala Kingdom?" Neerak Axutar asked. "Can I know why you are in a hurry to go to the Tarala Kingdom?" Pedro simply sighed and said, "To be honest¡­ We already interrogated the ''accomplice'' of these evil bastards! In fact, that person was being kept by my comrade somewhere near us and was not chasing nor following after the said ''accomplice''. I only made up the part that we let their ''accomplice'' go to follow him and locate their other men so that I would be able to gouge out the limits of your body. However¡­ From the looks of it, there is no need to proceed any further with my test because it seems like you are already at your limit. Doing so would only produce more harm than an advantage to you and your bodies." "Y-You are testing us?" Neerak Axutar asked in astonishment. He can''t help but avert his gaze away from Pedro due to the embarrassment and said, "Forgive me, Sir Aron¡­ But¡­My physical ability is something that I am not proud of." Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "I know¡­ Anyway, everything is now settled. We are going with Plan B. As for your question earlier, we need to rush to the Tarala Kingdom as soon as possible, to confirm the validity of the information that we got. I can''t tell you the details but¡­ All I can say is that the Tarala Kingdom would fall if we don''t arrive there by tomorrow." "T-This¡­" Neerak Axutar sucked up air after hearing what Pedro had informed them. Since there are waves of monsters attacking strongholds in the Aquari continent, Neerak Axutar can''t help but assume that the monsters had something to do with it. He can''t help but stare towards Pedro with a pale face as if he had seen a ghost. This was because of his assumption that if the Tarala Kingdom was bound to fall in the hands of the monsters, how could the nearby/affiliated smaller strongholds like Cities or Villages survive in the future. If the Tarala Kingdom falls, it would be just a matter of time before the nearby strongholds would fall. Thus, knowing that simple fact made Neerak Axutar at loss for words. Now¡­ The life of the humans nearby the Tarala Kingdom lies in their hands. "No wonder you¡ªSir Aron, is in a rush to head to the Tarala Kingdom." He said. Pedro nodded with a smile and said, "It''s good that you understand the responsibility that lies in our hands. Anyway¡­ Take your time to rest. We''ll hike the Baliu Mountain as soon as you recover some of your strength. My senior told me about a hidden way that she found on Baliu Mountain¡ªa short cut, that we could use to go to the other side of the mountain without the need of taking the long path." "A shortcut?" Neerak pondered, thinking if he knew anything about a short cut located at Baliu Mountain. "This is my first time hearing something like this, sir Aron. From what I know, the Baliu Mountain is filled with caves and dungeons, that''s why there''s no trail up to it and eventually leading to the other side." "You are right." Pedro said, "There''s no trail! But¡­ My senior told me that it could be located at a cave that we would be able to encounter if we took a straight path to the east of Axutar Village." "I-I see..." Neerak Axutar nodded in amazement. "You really can''t underestimate the members of the organization. They can''t even obtain information than ordinary people¡ªlike us, who even resided in this area for decades." Pedro simply averted his gaze and said, "Young man¡­ You should not underestimate anyone. Even those who are far weaker than you. Always remember this¡­ Life is like a wheel of a merchant''s carriage! Sometimes you are at the top, sometimes you are at the bottom. There might come a time that those whom you''d underestimate, would rise at the top¡ªhigher than you. So¡­ Never underestimate anyone, especially us¡ªcrafty adventurers." Neerak Axutar could only force out a smile as he glanced towards Pedro, and said, "Forgive me, Sir Aron! I won''t underestimate anyone again. I promise to remember your words for the rest of my life. Thank you for your lesson!" Pedro simply nodded in response as he took out three [Ge Knight Swords] and handed them over to the three village soldiers, saying, "Since all of you would be traveling with me for some time. Take these swords and equip them. It would be embarrassing if we would arrive at Baliu Village, even in the Tarala Kingdom, with you equipped with low-quality swords. I don''t want the reputation of the organization to be tainted just because of this after all." The three village soldiers had could not help but to accept Pedro''s gift. After all, the sword was of high quality and was enough to make them drool. On top of it, Pedro gave it to them out of his goodwill. It would be rude for them to reject his offer. Thus, they accepted it despite having a little bit of hesitation. After that, Pedro glanced towards Neerak Axutar and said, "I''ll give yours later on. After all¡­ I don''t think that a sword would be a good gift for you." Chapter 185: Dungeon Detected: Ira Spider Queen’s Nest! "N-No! There''s no need for you¡ªSir Aron, to give me a gift!" Neerak Axutar said as he waved his hands towards Pedro as if he wanted to say not to bother much about it. "Learning a thing or two from you is more than enough for me. L-Like the important information about the hidden threats that the adventurers pose to our village! It''s already a priceless gift to me, my father, and our village!" "I have already decided on it. You dare stop me?" Pedro asked in a cold tone. "Of course not! I would not dare question your decisions, Sir Aron!" Neerak Axutar said while forcing out a smile. Pedro simply clapped his hands and said, "Great! I am sure that you''d be happy with my gift! Now¡­ Shall we move forward? You had enough rest already, right?" "Y-Yes! O-Of course, Sir Aron!" Neerak Axutar said. Pedro shifted his glance to the three happy village soldiers, who nodded without hesitation in response. Thus, they went towards the nearest cave with the lead of Pedro. Since Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers were low in strength, they simply walked towards it¡ªgiving Pedro a chance to message Sabrina and Mathew about their plan. Mathew would still meet them at the Baliu Village''s teleportation portal in the morning, while Sabrina would wait for Pedro and the NPCs at the other side of the ''cave'' that they would use to pass through Baliu Mountain overnight. He arranged it this way so that Sabrina could have someone to switch with, in guarding the body of Werewolf Tam. At the same time, he also asked Aks, Antonio, Aldo, Loren, and Yuson to join them so that he could have extra hands when needed. Well¡­ Sabrina, Loren, and Mathew would be separated from them so that¡­ Antonio and Aks would not be able to recognize their ''captive'' and risk exposing the truth from Pedro''s lies. Soon, Pedro and the four NPCs arrived outside a cave that was covered by thick vines. It was so thick to the point that the four NPCs could only force out a smile and stare towards Pedro¡ªthinking if he was crazy or not. Pedro caught a glance at their reaction and could simply shake his head in response. Then, he thought, ''I have shown them my strength¡­ Why are they still doubting my decision! I have been playing this game for more than six years, you know?! I know the whole Aquari Continent as if it was printed on my mind. If not for these troublesome matters I need to take care of, I have had already taken gone into clearing spree of dungeons.'' "Get ready! We are about to enter the cave!" Pedro said as he drew his Katana¡ªslicing the vines as if they were thin pieces of paper. It took him almost a minute to cut through the vines that were two meters thick. Of course, he took the vines that he cut and placed them into his inventory bag like a looting maniac. The four NPCs could only follow closely behind him¡ªafraid that they might get left behind. The cave was dark to the point that the four NPCs had no choice but to hold onto each other to avoid getting separated from everyone else. Fortunately, after making just a couple of steps, a runic formation written in the walls of the cave had lit, giving them a dim light as a guide inside the cave. "This¡­" Neerak Axutar took another sharp breath that made Pedro glance at him with a smirk. "Do you know about this?" Pedro asked. Neerak Axutar simply nodded in response and said, "A Dungeon!" "Ho¡­ Then, why do you look calm despite knowing that we are inside a dungeon?" Neerak Axutar wore a confident smile before saying, "Because we have you!" Pedro burst into laughter as he opened his player interface to check the details of the dungeon. At the same time, he said, "Let''s have a five-minute break to rest and prepare before we head deeper into the dungeon. Make sure that you have recuperated sufficient energy to continue walking forward for the rest of the night!" "Yes, Sir Aron!" Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers saluted in response. Then, they all took a deep breath as they sat on the ground and lay their backs to the walls of the cave to rest. On the other hand, Pedro checks the details about the dungeon that prompted in his player interface. [Dungeon Detected!] [You have entered the Ira Spider Queen''s Nest!] [Ira Spider Queen''s Nest] Dungeon Rating: B-rated Suggested Player Level: LVL 25 ¨C LVL 30 Player Number Entry Limit: 10 Status: Unexplored Clear Requirement: Eliminate all monsters and Kill the Ira Spider Queen! Special Clear Requirement: ???? Rewards: ???? Time Limit: Not Applicable. Entry Requirement: Not Applicable. Clear Failure Penalty: Ira Spider Monster Wave would escape around the Baliu Area and affect the nearby territories. [A Dungeon that was hidden in the mountains where the Ira Spider Queen was sealed. After 100 years of being almost forgotten, its seal started to weaken. And with the help of the faint magical energy from the new discoverers of the dungeon, the seal was finally broken, allowing the Ira Spiders to wreak havoc in the nearby areas.] ~~~ After reading the information that was displayed in his player interface, Pedro could not help but force out a smile and thought, ''Why does it seem like the system is even blaming us for discovering the dungeon? Was it our fault that the seal weakened after almost a century? In any case¡­ I hope that the space in this cave would become larger. I badly wanted to see the expression on the dungeon boss''s face if I am able to transform into my dragon form. Hehe¡­'' Then, he stole a glance towards the four NPCs and thought, ''I am way above the suggested player level. However¡­ I don''t know about them. Dungeons are tricky in this game. Instead of having a Level Requirement, Bearth Online employs a Suggested Player Level instead¡ªthat simply serves as a warning about the ideal level needed to face the monsters inside. So, Basically¡­ The Dungeon Boss should be around Level 30, while the mobs should be at Level 25, at the least.'' "Oh well!" Pedro murmured to himself, "We''re here anyway. Why not clear this dungeon along the way? I might take the ''rewards'' before other play¡ªadventurer does!" Neerak Axutar glanced towards him, curious about what Pedro was mumbling. That said, he did not dare pry into it as Pedro took out another inventory bag and equipped it. Inside it was the potion injector and half of his remaining Intermediate Potions that were neatly arranged for ease of use in case needed. Then, Pedro took out two more [Ge Knight Swords] and placed them on his back. He equipped it so that he would be able to draw them, in case his Katana gets destroyed or if he simply loses his Katana at a crucial point. It was his reserve weapon other than his black scale coated fist and his Pen-knife. Fortunately, his level was high enough, giving him enough strength and agility to move casually despite the heavy load he is carrying on his back. That said, he did not stop at that. He picked up several rocks and placed them in the pockets of his overcoat, ready to be thrown to the enemy. With this, his fully loaded preparation has ended. Since there were still a few minutes left before they start, Pedro decided to check the Continental Quest Rankings. [Quest: Protect the Aquari Continent!] Rating: A-rated Mission: Kill the monsters that start to dominate the Aquari Continent! Each monster killed will have an equivalent point that can be exchanged for items after the event. Your Kill count: 21,456 Players with the highest monster kill-count would get special rewards. The top 1 player will get a Gold-rated offensive skill. The top 10 players will get randomly generated Silver-rated skill. The top 100 players will get randomly generated Bronze-rated Skill. Continental Quest Player Ranking 1.Death [Kill Count: 21,456] 2.Killer Looks [Kill Count: 21,175] 3.Gentle Breeze [Kill Count: 21,089] 4.Killer Smile [Kill Count: 9,281] 5.Arvedar [Kill Count: 2,765] 6.Hey_JoeCorporation [Kill count: 274] 7.Wazzap_JoeCorporation [Kill count: 227] 8.¡­ 9.¡­ 10.¡­ Quest Duration: ??? [Quest participation is optional. Once a player killed a monster, the kill count will automatically start.] ~~~ Pedro can''t help but nod in satisfaction after knowing that everyone on his side was dominating the rankings. Although Aldo and the rest were yet to enter the ranking, Pedro was complacent and confident that they would soon follow behind them. After all, they now control the duration of the Continental Quest and, at the same time, all he needs to do is provide everyone else a transformation form that would help them farm monsters easily. Though the rewards that they would be able to obtain by being on the top 10 rankings was only a randomly generated Silver-rated skill, Pedro still wanted Aldo and the rest to try their best and become part of the first-ever Top Player Ranking in Bearth Online. "It looks like we are on the right track!" Pedro chuckled with a mischievous grin on his face. Chapter 186: The Path to Infinite Attack Damage? For some reason, his gaze was locked upon his kill count for almost a minute. It is at this point that something sunk into his mind. "Twenty thousand kills¡­" He mumbled whilst forcing out a smile. His hands trembled whilst navigating through his player interface to check his attributes. "Don''t tell me¡­" [Player Information] Name: Death (Player) Level: 54 HP: 7750/7750 MP: 3570/7700 Stamina: 745/1480 Attack Damage: 37,574 +50 +203 Magic Damage: 3425 Attributes: Str +520 Int +370 Vit +540 Dex +320 Crit +280 Agi +480 Special Attribute: Luck +45 Charisma +25 Instinct +40 ~~~~~~~~~~ Pedro can''t help but gasp after seeing the additional 37,574 base attack damage of his character. He knows that his base attack damage should be around 3,000¡ªsimilar or close to the value of his base magic damage. The reason why his base attack damage had skyrocketed to five figures was because of his skill [Earnest A] that permanently increases his damage for every kill that he makes, regardless of whether it is a monster, a fellow player, or even an NPC. Thus, gaining control over the continental quest, he could even increase his attack damage to six figures with the use of the skill. He can''t help but chuckle in excitement and said, "Who would have thought that this skill would be overpowered when used properly. Well¡­ My Attack Damage is already as high as the damage of an adventurer who is at level sixty and has a complete set of level sixty weapons, accessories, and other equipment. It would probably increase even further if I equip a level fifty weapon!" Unfortunately, before he could fantasize on such possibilities even further, Neerak Axutar stood together with the three village soldiers and approached him. "Sir Aron! It''s been five minutes." Neerak Axutar said. Pedro simply nodded to him in response as he closed his Player Interface, and said, "Let''s go! It''s too rude to prolong the agony of the monsters in this dungeon. We shall give them the eternal rest that they deserve!" The four NPCs could only force out a smile as they closely followed behind Pedro. Fortunately, the cave becomes wider¡ªwide and big enough to fit a carriage inside. That said, the runic formation written in the walls had started to become larger as they get deeper into the cave. At this moment, there were spider webs that could be seen at the ceiling and the walls beside them¡ªmaking Pedro and the four NPCs to walk in a straight line despite the wider cave. In fact, Pedro even needed to cut through some of the spider webs just so they could pass through and move deeper into the cave. At the center of the spider webs were spherical balls made of spider silk that resembled a giant roll of white yarn. Since the majority of it was located near the walls, Pedro did not bother to destroy them and check what was inside. He simply walked a straight path¡ªswinging his sword from side to side, non-stop. He was like a lawnmower that destroys humongous spider webs covering most of the path. Thankfully, the spider webs were weaved by thin layers of spider silk¡ªallowing the light from the runic formations to illuminate the cave and, at the least, guide Pedro at their path. On the other hand, the four NPCs simply kept quiet as they increased their vigilance to its maximum. Two of the village soldiers walked beside Neerak Axutar, while one of them walked behind, creating a triangle defensive formation to protect the young man. Their advance had been smooth and they had not encountered a single monster yet. However, it ended after a few minutes, when the runic formations in the wall had seemingly suddenly ended. The surroundings had become dark again¡ªhindering everyone, even Pedro, to see anything but the luxurious glow of his golden Katana. At this moment, Pedro already had an ominous feeling. So, he abruptly halted¡ªmaking Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers hit on his back. "Ah!" Neerak Axutar cried, consequently making several blood-red circles appear in front of them. "KRARARARAK!" Something cried that made the four NPCs froze in place. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but force out a smile as a slimy liquid sprayed into his face. That said, he simply wiped the gooey liquid in his face as his eyebrows furrowed and his teeth gritted¡ªseething in anger. Then, he gripped the handle of his Katana as tight as he can and swung it downwards with his two hands at full force. Due to the light coming from the golden arc that was made from his strike, the innards of the head of the gigantic spider became visible to Pedro and the four NPCs¡ªinstantly killing the said spider. Then, he constantly swung his golden sword from side to side, to create golden arcs that illuminate the dark cave. At the same time, Pedro''s Pen-knife revolves around them as fast as it can¡ªmaking a ring around them. It acted like a grinder, cutting through the stone walls of the cave or through the flesh of the other gigantic spiders as if they were paper. At this moment, the player interface popped up, showing a notification about the monster that he has just killed. [System Notification!] [You have killed an Adult Ira Spider!] [Adult Ira Spider] Rating: Silver-rated Monster Level: 28 HP: 12,000 Attributes: Attack Damage: 1000 Attack Interval: 4 seconds Defense: 120 Movement speed: 2 m/s Skills: 1)~Poisonous Sting~ Effect: Inflict poison to the bitten targets. Deal 20 HP Loss per second. Cooldown: No Cooldown. 2)~Spider''s Screech~ Effect: Inflict Petrify to targets lower than the user''s level. Stun targets for 2 seconds. Cooldown: 2 Minutes [The Protectors of the Ira Spider Queen!] [You have killed an Adult Ira Spider!] [You have killed an Adult Ira Spider!] ¡­ With his Pen-knife dealing the killing blow to the monsters, and his Faithpursuer Katana simply cutting them into small pieces¡ªwhich illuminated their surroundings whilst allowing Pedro to loot the chopped pieces of monsters, their party advanced forward. It was slow and dirty progress, but¡­ They were advancing inch by inch, at the least. Soon, the cave had suddenly expanded ten folds¡ªboth in width and height. Pedro''s Pen-knife had stopped grinding to the walls as spider eggs continuously dropped from above. "This¡­" Pedro can''t help but be at loss for words after glancing up to the ceiling of the ''seemingly'' widest part of the cave. Above them was a twenty-foot-tall spider, whose long legs were even embedded to the rock wall as if it was cemented on it. While around the giant non-stop egg-laying spider was tons of runic formation that barely had light coming out from it. There were odd-looking spiders that were ''transporting'' the spheres made out of spider''s silk¡ªthe one looking like a ball of yarn and was found at the center of the spider webs. They transported the spider silk spheres from the spider webs scatter all over the place, to the mouth of the twenty feet high spider. "It must be the queen!" Pedro mumbled as he watched the twenty feet high spider¡ªthat covered the ceiling of the largest and widest room in that cave, eat the ''delivered'' spider silk spheres and, in turn, lay eggs. As the spider eggs hit the ground, it breaks and a new smaller Ira Spider comes out of it and charges straight towards Pedro and the four NPCs. This cycle repeated non-stop, keeping Pedro and the four NPCs in place. Fortunately, the pen-knife was enough to handle any spider that would be able to get close to them, thus keeping the four NPCs safe. However, due to the endless amount of spiders, they were eventually forced to hide into a hole¡ªconsequently forcing the spiders to simply attack to their front. "This would soon end¡­" Pedro chuckled as he noticed that there were only a few spider silk spheres left. However, before he could rejoice even further, something unexpected happened. The odd-looking spiders had started to gather the dead bodies of both adult and baby spiders, and eventually delivering them towards the Ira Spider Queen¡ªcontinuing the non-stop cycle of eating and laying eggs. "Tch!" Pedro can''t help but frown in response. But after a few seconds, the muscle on his face relaxed as his lips curved slightly upward. Whilst swinging his Katana with one hand, Pedro used his other hand to navigate through his player interface and check if his ''Kill Count'' in the event was also increasing. [Quest: Protect the Aquari Continent!] Rating: A-rated Mission: Kill the monsters that start to dominate the Aquari Continent! Each monster killed will have an equivalent point that can be exchanged for items after the event. Your Kill count: 21,509 ¡­ Your Kill count: 21,514 ¡­ Your Kill count: 21,519 ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ [You have killed an Adult Ira Spider!] [You have killed an Adult Ira Spider!] [You have killed an Baby Ira Spider!] ¡­ ''Who would have thought that this would be a good farming area after all?!'' He chuckled deep inside as he happily swung his Katana. At this moment, he stopped collecting the dead bodies of the spiders and simply ''offered'' it to the Ira Spider Queen for it to lay more eggs and bring more attack damage and kill count to Pedro easily. "Infinite Attack Damage, Here I go!" Pedro chuckled, before he burst into laughter like a mad man. Chapter 187: Player Death... A Hacker? Three Hours later, Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers had fallen into deep sleep¡ªbehind Pedro. Neerak Axutar was even drooling like a child, probably due to extreme exhaustion earlier. On the other hand, Pedro sat casually with his legs crossed while his pen-knife roamed around the cave, killing every Baby Ira Spider that had newly hatched. His Faithpursuer Katana laid on top of his legs, while his hands continued to navigate through his player interface. Of course, he would often glance to the cave in order to ensure that no spider would be able to sneak away from his sight and attack them by surprise. "My Kill Count is already around Two Hundred Sixty-Four Thousand¡­" He chuckled to himself. "And so does my Base Attack Damage! If this continued for several hours, I wonder if my damage would become as strong as Senior Alivia''s bare handed punch?" He can''t help but shook his head, remembering his first encounter with Alivia and how he almost died in her fists. He forced out a smile and said, "Those three NPCs are terrifying¡­ They must be ranked amongst the top officers in BHO. They must have been level 90 or above to have such damage." He took a deep breath and shifted his interface from the Continental Quest tab to his Player Information tab, and said to himself, "My attack damage had even gone past through the attack damage of the strongest player in my past life. If I am right¡­ The American Player from the Joe Corporation named Persistence had an attack damage of a hundred and eighty thousand. That''s considering that she was about to reach level 80 and that she had equipped an evolve weapon and artifact which was as strong as level 90 weapons." He stole a glance to the newly hatched spider eggs, before he glanced to his Faithpursuer Katana and said, "I can raise the level of this Katana to a hundred if continue farming these spiders. But¡­ I need to go to the Tarala Kingdom as soon as possible." Then, he stole a glance towards the four sleeping NPCs and thought, ''I already used rest as a reason for us to camp in this hole. These NPCs would eventually become suspicious if we wouldn''t leave by the time they wake up. At the same time¡­ I can''t use my demonic eyes to forcefully keep them asleep! There''s a chance that the transporter spiders and the spider queen, herself, would also fall asleep.'' ''The best thing to do is leave this dungeon and finish the matters regarding the Tarala Kingdom as fast as we can.'' He thought, ''The Axutar Village and the Baliu Village were almost an hour of travel away from here. I doubt that these monsters would be able to spread that far in just a matter of days. In fact, they would probably focus in hunting monsters and adventurers around this area to increase their population before heading towards the further areas.'' "Then, it''s settled!" Pedro chuckled, "We''ll stay here for six to eight more hours. After that, we''ll rush to the Baliu Village and use the teleportation platform to go to the Tarala Kingdom. It might cost me a few silver coins but¡­ It''s better than walking our way to the said Kingdom." Since Pedro and the four NPCs would spend a little bit more time inside the dungeon, Pedro gave Mathew and Sabrina an instruction to meet ahead, somewhere near Baliu Village. This way, Sabrina would have the opportunity to rest, even log off the game and stretch a bit or eat something, while Mathew is guarding her character and, at the same time, the werewolf. On the other hand, All the players around the world erupted as the ranked one player in the Continental Quest was hundreds of thousands away from the second ranked player. Contrary to the relaxed state of Pedro, Sabrina, and the four other NPCs, the forum and world chat erupted as Pedro''s kill count continues to rise. M3ch4n1cSh00terXX01X:Wtf! Wtf! Wtf! 200,000 Kills! 200,000! If this player¡ªDeath, is not hacking! Then, he might be in some kind of helicopter¡ªkilling monsters non-stop with a machine gun! B0zz Mo Mangga:Machine gun my ass! This player might have a necromancer skill of some sort and is controlling thousands of undead! WuuJin01:Necromancer? I doubt that there''s someone who''s able to obtain such skill yet! I think that Death is someone who summons something¡ªlike a shadow, and commands them to attack the monsters on his stead! Anonymous:Non-sense! Non-sense! This player is definitely using hack! Based on his name, it is possible that every monster''s death in the game would be included in his/her kill count! Cheater! Salty01666789:Cheater! +1 Cheater! +1 Cheater! +1 Cheater! +1 ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ At this moment, Outside the game, an office somewhere in China was filled with rings of phones to the point that it seemed like the fire alarm has sounded. Inside, the employees were scrambling all over the place as the once quiet and peaceful office had seemingly became a battlefield like a crowded public market. "Good afternoon, Sir! If this is related to the game, rest assured that our management is doing our best regarding this matter. We have forwarded this issue to our management team and are currently discussing the actions to take regarding everyone''s concern. We would kindly request for you to patiently wait for an announcement once we got to the bottom of this issue. Thanks for your patience and we hope for your kind understanding." These are the words that the employees were saying regardless whether the people on the other line was speaking or not. Then, they would drop the call afterwards and would then get another call from a different person. At the highest room in that office, the Chairman of the game developer of Bearth Online was on a conference call with the Presidents of different countries all over the world, saying, "Rest assured, respected leaders, that the game has no hack or cheat on any form. By now, all of you know that the server could not be hacked even by the best hackers in the world¡­ This ''case'' is a hundred percent legitimate. However, how this player was able to achieve this impossible feat is still unknown to our team. For now¡­ Kindly give us some more time to investigate and we''ll inform about the details as soon as we are able to know the cause of this ''case''. Thank you and good day!" The Chairman bowed slightly as he disconnected to the call. Then, he glanced towards his secretary and said, "How''s our customer service doing?" "Not good, sir!" The lady said, "Anonymous people from all over the world are calling non-stop for the very same reason. Unfortunately, we are yet to receive a call from someone who knows a thing or two about this player." "Is that so¡­" The Chairman frowned whilst rubbing his chin. After almost a minute, he glanced to his secretary once again and said, "Shut down the customer service function and simply post an announcement about this issue. Let''s take the investigation about this ''case'' on our own." "Yes, Chairman." The lady bowed towards the Chairman before using her tablet. Afterward, she glanced to the Chairman and asked, "Uhm¡­ Chairman, the management head asked if we should close the game servers until this issue was resolved?" "Is he dumb?" The Chairman shouted, "Does he want to destroy the game?! Tell him clearly that the game servers should NEVER be closed! And that he should be packing his things by now after asking such a stupid question!" "E-Eh?" The secretary''s face went pale. She can''t help but stare towards the Chairman out of fear. "Didn''t you hear what I said?!" The Chairman shouted in anger. "I-I did Chairman. I-I did!" She said, anxiously, while typing into her tablet¡ªrepeating what the Chairman said. At this moment, her heart beat raced faster while her fingers were crossed deep inside¡ªhoping that she won''t be fired next to the Management Head of the game company. Seeing the anxious demeanor and the scared look of his secretary, the Chairman can''t help but sigh to calm himself and said, "Never mind! Just tell that dumb ass to keep the servers running. And¡­ Tell him to simply pack his things up, if he asks the same question again." "Y-Yes, Chairman!" The secretary said whilst forcing out a smile. Fortunately, she was yet to send her response to the management head of the company that she initially made. At the same time, the change of mood of the Chairman had somehow eased the worries that she felt inside. ''This is a disaster!'' The Chairman thought as he watched Pedro''s kill count increase non-stop. ''Who would have thought that there is a crafty player that would be able to do this in the game. I wonder what method this player is using¡­ Even I, nor the game masters were not able to achieve such feat!'' ~~~~~~~~~~ Back to the game, Talia can''t help but shout in anger, saying, "Shit! Shit! Shit!" She commanded her ant army to even furiously attack every single monsters coming from Woba Mountain and the south¡ªfrom the Great Western Forest. This was because she ranked first three hours ago, beating Pedro for almost a hundred of kills. However, for some reason, Pedro''s kill count had suddenly increased to the point that Talia became second before she could even brag to his brother. Thus, this unconsciously triggered her inner competitive self, trying to catch up with Pedro with her kill count at 50,000 mark. "Expert Bro¡­ I don''t know what tricks you are up to, but¡­ Me and my army won''t go down without a fight!" She grumbled, "We''ll catch up to your kill count soon! Just you wait!" Chapter 188: Arrival of Advance Force in Baliu Village! Inside a room in the Karakoa Ship, a circular runic formation was carved into the flooring of the sleeping area. At the same time, Magic Crystals were embedded at the walls¡ªmaking the circular runic formation glow, bright blue. Mathew, Lony, Roval, Aldo, Loren, and Yuson stood at its center, while Paul stood by the door¡ªwaiting for them to depart. On the other hand, Beatrice stood outside the room¡ªemanating a heat that was strong enough to keep the other NPCs away from that hallway. "I really can''t believe it!" Paul gasped in awe, "Captain had set up a teleportation platform on his own¡­ No wonder he told me to assign Beatrice to guard this room, temporarily¡­" "Won''t it be dangerous to put the teleportation platform at the center of the ship?" Lony asked, out of curiosity. "I-I mean¡­ Won''t adventurers like us, randomly spawn here?" Paul Solares simply burst into laughter in response. Then, he said, "Young man, that won''t happen! After all¡­ This is an advanced teleportation platform!" "Advanced teleportation platform?" Lony''s brows furrowed, and asked, "Where there even different types of teleportation platform?" Paul Solares nodded and said, "Yes, there are! As I know, there are three types of teleportation platform. The Basic, The Advanced, and the Instantaneous teleportation platforms. Two of which were being used by us, humans. While the other one could only be seen in dungeons, most of the time." "The Basic teleportation platforms and the Advanced teleportation platforms almost had the similar functions. After activating the Magical Energy stored with in these Magic Crystals, these runic formations would be activated¡ªtransporting everyone with in the circle to another ''target'' teleportation platforms." Paul explained as he crouches down and pointed to the bluish runic formation. Then, he said, "The only difference is that Advanced teleportation platforms has special modifications and traits like the ''code lock on'' of this teleportation platforms. Thus, rest assured that no adventurer would randomly spawn here. In fact, unless you know the ''code'' you won''t be able to teleport from here or to here." "Hooo¡­ That''s cool!" Roval said, consequently making Paul Solares smirk. "It is indeed!" Paul said. Before anyone could utter another word, Mathew rubbed his chin and asked, "Was it easy to set up a runic formation¡ªa teleportation platform like this? And¡­ What do you mean by Instantaneous teleportation platforms? You said that it has something to do with dungeons, right?" "For your first question¡­" At this moment, Paul Solares stood and walked to the door of the sleeping area and said, "It was naturally hard to set up one. But¡­ Captain had the help of the little girl. Either he prepared this runic formation long ago, or¡­ he had learned how to make runic formations from the little girl. Just ask the Captain personally if you are curious on how he manage to build a teleportation platform on his own. Even I am puzzled on how he did it by himself." "As for your second question¡­ Instantaneous teleportation platforms are teleportation platforms where either monsters or humans could go in or out freely. Thus, its name instantaneous. It was the best teleportation platforms of all. Imagine walking through it and arriving to a nearby stronghold that might take days to travel to. It was the best teleportation platforms. Unfortunately, it requires a huge magical energy source just to keep it open. So¡­ It''s only typically located in dungeons where it feeds on the excess energy of boss monsters deep inside it." "I see¡­" Mathew, Lony, and Roval nodded in response as they learn something new from Paul Solares. Paul Solares simply smiled towards them as a muscular man entered the room. Paul Solares can''t help but clap his hands and say, "Alright, Sire Aks is here!" Aks simply bowed slightly in response and said, "Forgive me! Antonio seemed like he need some more time to rest. We''ll leave him in your care instead." "Is that so?" Paul Solares pointed towards everyone else from the Advance Force¡ªguiding Aks to the teleportation platform. "Don''t worry. We''ll take good care of him. Just focus on your task and help the Captain as much as you can in my behalf. The things we needed to take care of is way more than what a single fleet could do." Mathew smirked in response as Aks joined them inside the runic formation. Then, Mathew said, "We will¡­ Glory to Heroes!" A blinding bluish light shone inside the room that was strong enough to make Paul Solares shield his eyes with his left arm. Then, in the next second, the Advance Force¡ªtogether with Mathew, disappeared into thin air. At this moment, Beatrice approached Paul Solares and asked, "Are the reinforcements gone?" Paul Solares nodded in response and said, "I''ll also be taking my leave. The ships would retreat to the seas soon. I''ll leave the injured men and this room in your care. You can guard these two rooms at the least, right?" Beatrice can''t help but frown and flick her tongue before saying, "Don''t underestimate me too much! Just because I lost to Captain once, does not mean that I am weak!" "I know! I know!" Paul Solares said in a cold tone. "I am just reminding you about it. The fate of the humans in this continent lies in our hands. Add up the fact that we lack capable personnel¡­ We can''t afford to mess things up, right now." Paul Solares did not give Beatrice a chance to utter another word. He left the room and closed the room¡ªleaving Beatrice alone in the room with her fists clenched and tinge heat emanating from her body. "One day¡­ I would definitely defeat Captain!" She grumbled. ~~~~~~~~~ At the centermost area of the Baliu Village, the teleportation platform lit¡ªshining of bright light that indicated that someone had been spawned or had been teleported. When the blinding light dissipated, the advance force¡ªtogether with Mathew had appeared. Since players spawning was just a normal occurrence, no one paid much attention towards them. Utilizing this chance, Mathew nodded towards Loren as if he was saying ''Let''s go.''. Then, they quickly left and separated from everyone else as they had planned earlier. On the other hand, Lony, Roval, and Yuson nodded towards each other and left¡ªheading towards the Village Shop of Baliu Village. Their job was to check what items could be found in the village shop and report it back to Pedro. At the same time, they would act as Pedro''s Merchants or Middle man for their transactions, while establishing a good reputation for their group. As for Aldo and Aks, the two of them headed straight to the village chief''s office and talk with the village chief. Their discussion includes the recruitment of the best men that the village chief would recommend and, at the same time, give some guidelines and warnings regarding adventurers as usual. Also, if possible, they could prepare something to receive Pedro and something that could further elevate Pedro''s reputation, especially when he arrives at the Tarala Kingdom. Unknown to all of them, the world was in chaos as Pedro''s Kill Count continued to rise. Players kept cursing the top players, saying that they were all using cheats or hacks. At the same time, they can''t help but voice out their frustration towards the game developers¡ªwho seemed like they were not doing anything about it. In fact, the game developers of Bearth Online had even released an announcement, informing everyone that they were not able to detect any malicious external programs, codes, or such through the live media coverage in real life. Thus, Pedro and everyone else was still ignorant of the chaos. "What are the game developers doing? Someone is cheating in broad day light and they dare turn blind eyes on it?" A player grumbled outside the Baliu Village. Mathew can''t help but frown upon hearing what the man said. He halted on his tracks and glanced towards that man, and said, "Cheating?" "Hmm?" The man¡ªwith his two friends, glanced towards Mathew and Loren. Then, he asked, "Is there something wrong, brother?" "I was gonna ask the same thing¡­" Mathew said whilst forcing out a smile, "What''s with the game developers and the thing about cheating?" "Oh! That?" The man rubbed the back of his head and said, "You don''t know about the chaos happening in the game?" "Chaos?" Mathew frowned, indicating that he does not know anything about what the man was saying. "Me and my sister, here, just died in the field¡ªfighting monsters for hours, and we just made new characters and spawned in this village. I heard you say about cheats¡­ So¡­ I was kind of interested. Hehe¡­" "I see! I see! You''re one of those unfortunate ones, huh..." The man sighed in pity towards Mathew and Loren. Then, he said, "Sorry to break your hopes up brother¡­ We also have no information about the cheat. In fact¡­ It seems like only a few of the top ranking players in the event knew about it. You can check the forum and rankings to see it for yourselves." "Thanks, brother!" Mathew bowed slightly to the man whilst forcing out a smile. Then, he said, "We''ll be heading first then, we have a quest to do after all!" "Good luck, brother!" The man said. "Don''t die this time!" Mathew simply made an okay sign, while Loren waved towards them with a sweet smile. Without second thoughts, Mathew checked the Continental Quest Rankings while running towards their meeting point with Sabrina. The moment he saw Pedro''s kill count, he can''t help but be at loss for words. Only after a few seconds was he able to return to himself and chuckle, "Cheat? I don''t think so¡­" Chapter 189: The Possibility of a Dungeon Overflow? After an hour of travel, Mathew and Loren arrived at the foot of Baliu Mountain. Then, Loren sent a message to Sabrina¡ªindicating that they were already at the eastern side of Baliu Mountain and were just waiting for her. With Sabrina''s enhanced vision, because of her transformation form, she was able to find them a few minutes later. She hovered above, circling around the area to check if there were any nearby monsters that might become a threat to them. Noticing that there were only a few monsters that even Mathew could handle by himself, she started to descend whilst crying, "Kwiiiyaaak!" It took her a few minutes to descend and land at a safe distance away from Mathew and Loren. Then, she reverted back to her human form¡ªmaking the ropes lose and eventually separating the basket containing Werewolf Tam from her leg. She stretched her arms and feet before she dragged the basket and went towards Loren and Mathew. "I''ll leave my character and this ''piece'' to your care!" She said as she handed the basket to Mathew. "I might be offline for a long time. There are some matters I need to do outside the game." Sabrina glanced to Loren and said, "But¡­ In case there is a need for me to go online¡­ Don''t hesitate to send me a message!" "I got it, Sis!" Loren said as she smiled confidently while gesturing a thumbs up to Sabrina. "You don''t need to worry! We already finished the stuff we needed to do outside the game. So¡­ We won''t need to log out of the game any time soon. Besides¡­ You have been playing continuously for almost a day. You deserve some rest at the least." Mathew simply nodded in response¡ªagreeing to what Loren has said. Thus, Sabrina can''t help but force out a smile in response. She knew that Mathew was more than enough to protect her character while she was offline and, at the same time, protectt the hopeless body of werewolf Tam. However, it would be extremely difficult for Mathew if he would encounter an endless amount of monsters like what they encountered in the western side of the continent. So, Loren came along as Mathew''s support and, at the same time, the messenger of their group. "Thanks¡­" Sabrina smiled to them as she sat to the ground and logged off the game. Loren simply waved towards her, saying goodbye, while Mathew reported to Pedro about the progress of their task and the chaos that they had learned from their fellow players. Fortunately, there were only a few monsters in that area¡ªgiving Mathew a lot of time to be even able to send a message to Pedro. [Killer Smile (Mathew): Expert Brother, we have successfully met Gentle Breeze. We are currently acting as guards to her character and the ''piece''. If you have any orders, don''t hesitate to inform me. I am quite free at the moment. In another note, I have encountered some players in Baliu Village. It seemed like your ranking in the Continental Quest had caused a turmoil all over the world. They are accusing you of cheating because of your absurdly high kill count. What are you plans regarding this matter? I mean¡­ won''t it eventually be a nick of time before the devs would able to know about us? I know that you aren''t using any hacks or cheats but¡­ I don''t think the world share the same sentiment with me. I am afraid that the devs might come after us. By that time that it would happen, won''t it be ideal to have some back up plans before hand?] ~~~~~~~~~ Since Pedro had nothing much to do, he was able to read Mathew''s message. That said, he simply chuckled after learning about the cheat or hack on Bearth Online that he was accused of using. ''Cheat? Hacker? How dare them spread baseless accusations! It''s not my fault that they are just too weak to see my real strength.'' Pedro chuckled deep inside. ''Anyway¡­ What''s important is to capitalize in this dungeon as much as I can before we leave and head towards the Tarala Kingdom.'' Truth be told, Pedro wanted to retaliate or answer after seeing the people in the game''s world chat or forum, cursing him. But, he did not do so because he already had a lot of matters to take care off by his two hands. He can''t afford to anger himself over trivial things. Besides¡­ He would just add fuel to the fire if he did retaliate towards them. [Death (Pedro): It''s good that you have joined together with Gentle Breeze. Take good care of the ''piece'' and the two girls. As for the devs or the hack issue, you don''t need to concern yourself about it. We are not using such hacks or cheats, so, we won''t get in trouble even if the devs would be able to trace us. For now, follow my instructions. If you have some hands to spare, help Loren level up. We can''t let her¡ªthe members of the Logistic Force to lag behind. We won''t be able to ensure their safety all the time, especially in the future. It will take me a few more hours inside the dungeon. Afterward, we''ll head out and meet with you. Make sure to act well. The NPC with me is a bit irritating.] [Killer Smile (Mathew): Got it, Expert Bro! I''ll message you if something comes up.] [Death (Pedro): :OKAY SIGN: :OKAY SIGN: :OKAY SIGN:] After sending his message, Pedro smirked and said, "Cry all you want! Someday, we''ll get a chance to show you all the fruits of our hard work. Unfortunately, all of you could only admire my name and my kill count for now." ~~~~~~~~ Hours later, Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers had woken up. They can''t help but glance towards Pedro and watch his pen-knife kill the Baby Ira Spiders mercilessly. They forced out a smile and thought deep inside how scary and strong Pedro was. However, Pedro smirked towards them in response. Then, he glanced back to his front and sigh before saying, "It seems like you all had a good night''s rest. Since everyone is already awake, let''s leave this dungeon and retreat for now. The issue regarding the Tarala Kingdom is more urgent than clearing this dungeon. We''ll just return afterward. Do you guys have any objections?" The three village soldiers glanced to each other before shaking their heads, saying, "We don''t have any objections with your arrangement, Sir Aron." Pedro nodded in response. Then, he glanced towards Neerak Axutar and asked, "How about you, young man? Do you have any questions?" Neerak Axutar could not help but force out a smile. He rubbed the back of his head and asked in a shy manner, "W-Won''t there be a risk of Dungeon Overflow if we leave this dungeon un-cleared?" "Yes, it''s possible that a Dungeon Overflow might occur." Pedro said. "But¡­ In the case of this dungeon, the chance for it to happen is less than five percent. So¡­ There''s really of no need to be concerned about a Dungeon Overflow. Besides¡­ even if the spiders go out of the dungeon, it would take them weeks or even a month to reach, either Baliu Village or Axutar Village. On top of that¡­ I doubt that the Villages would fall immediately because of that. And before that even happen, we would already be back to clear it once and for all." "Still¡­" Neerak Axutar bit his lips, thinking about the safety of his father and their village. That said, Pedro smirked before Neerak Axutar could say another word. He stood and said, "I know that you are worried about your father and your village. So¡­ In case we won''t be able to return in this dungeon after a week, I''ll send a few of my men to your village to help defend against the monsters. How about it?" "Sorry for the trouble, Sir Aron!" Neerak Axutar said in an embarrassed tone. Pedro imply shook his head in response and said, "It''s alright, young man.I know that you just care for the village. However¡­ Sometimes, you need to think of a bigger picture. Especially if we are talking about things concerning the survival of humanity. If a Kingdom falls¡­ So does its affiliated smaller strongholds. But if a small stronghold like villages falls¡­ The Kingdoms could just send an army to help recover it back. It might look unfair at some point, but¡­ on our perspective¡­ won''t more humans live and survive in that way? Anyway¡­ I even personally hate doing sacrifices so¡­ rest assured that I would do my best so that there won''t be any casualties because of this dungeon." Neerak Axutar can''t help but avert his gaze as he listens to what Pedro said. Truth be told, Pedro was right. They needed to prioritize the survival of as many humans as possible. Thus, if they needed to choose to save a Kingdom over a village, Pedro would do it without hesitation. Because he and his fleet''s job was to save as many humans as possible. Not wanting the atmosphere to become more tense, Pedro drew his sword and said, "Let''s go! The faster we finish our task at the Tarala Kingdom, the faster we can go back to this dungeon." Chapter 190: Sprinting Out of the Dungeon! "These little monsters are easy to handle. But their Queen is one hell of a nut to crack!" Pedro said. Then, he pointed to an opening at the other side of the cave and continued, saying, "The cave might even collapse if we kill it. It would not be a problem for me but¡­ We might get stuck inside this cave for a few days. We can''t afford it right now so, all we got to do is run in that direction and get out at the opposite side of the dungeon." "In your command, Sir Aron!" Neerak said ready to run at any time. The three village soldiers drew their swords in response and simply nodded towards Pedro, indicating that they were ready to move. Pedro simply smiled in response and returned his focus back to the monsters. As the first batch of newly hatched eggs falls into the hands of Pedro''s pen-knife, he charged out of the hole, ahead of everyone else, and shouted, "Let''s go!" "Shit!" Neerak Axutar can''t help but curse out of astonishment. That said, his body reactively run behind Pedro and was even able to catch up to him because of his fear. While the three village soldiers followed behind him with their hands tightly gripping their swords and their eyes dead focus on their surroundings¡ªready to strike anything that would pose threat to them. The pen-knife eliminated the Baby Ira Spiders, eliminating the threats in that area and allowing them to arrive at the opening that was leading to the dungeon''s entrance/exit opposite to where they entered earlier. At this moment, Pedro still leads the charge out of the dungeon, while continuously slicing the spider webs blocking their path. Fortunately, it would take a few more seconds before the next eggs would fall and hatch, giving them enough time to increase their distance away from the monsters. It took them several minutes of continuous running before Pedro was able to cut the same thick vines that covered the entrance of the dungeon. Unfortunately, because of the momentum of their sprint, they were not able to halt on time, and they fall at the thirty-foot-high cliff that came immediately after the last layer of vines. "Waaaah!" Neerak Axutar cried out of fear. Fortunately, Pedro remained calm and was able to stab his Katana to the rock wall. It did not penetrate that deep into the rock, but it was enough to allow Pedro to slide on the vertical wall and fall safely into the ground. At the same time, this had allowed him to grab Neerak Axutar and save him from falling straight to the ground. On the other hand, the three soldiers were also shocked at first, but they were able to follow what Pedro did, leaving them with only a few bruises as they reached the ground. "Phew! That was close!" Pedro said as gasped heavily¡ªtrying to catch his breath. He smiled like someone who had a ''thrilling'' experience and glanced towards Neerak Axutar, saying, "Are you alright, kid?" "Kid?" Neerak Axutar frowned, seemingly irritated by Pedro''s words. He almost died and Pedro even seemed like he mocking him. Thus, he can''t help but feel a bit of anger and was not even able to control his emotions. That said, Pedro simply stared at Neerak Axutar, making the kid realize that Pedro was his ''boss'' and not some kind of relative or people from the village of Axutar. Neerak Axutar averted his gaze from Pedro and faked several coughs, before saying, "I am alright, Sir Aron!" Pedro could not help but shake his head in response and said, "That''s good! That''s good!" Then, he glanced towards the injured village soldiers and asked, "How about the three of you?" The village soldiers shook their heads one by one. Then, one of them said, "Other than some cuts and bruises due to the sliding, I did not sustain any major injuries and can still fight, Sir Aron!" "It''s the same for me, Sir Aron!" "My left hand is a bit numb, but I can still also fight!" The other two soldiers added. Hearing that everyone was okay. There was not much reason for them to stay and relax in that area. The wounds that they obtained would surely attract nearby monsters towards them. So, it was really not ideal for them to recuperate at that location despite being unable to encounter any monsters until this moment. Pedro stood and dusted off his clothes, while saying, "Then¡­ Let''s go! Let''s find our comrades first before we head to Baliu Village. Finding them should be easy because I got a message from them earlier that they would wait for us somewhere nearby." Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers stood and followed Pedro''s lead as they searched for Mathew''s group. Through chatting in the player interface, Pedro instructed Mathew to cut some trees for them to know their location. Thus, Mathew sliced down trees that consequently made weak tremors to the ground but was strong enough for Pedro and the four NPCs to know their location. After walking a few minutes to their south, Pedro was able to see the figure of two women and a man with a huge basket on his back. ''It''s them!'' Pedro thought deep inside. He lowered the cloth that was covering half of his face so that Mathew and Loren would be able to recognize his face. At first, Mathew was on guard against him, even if he was able to recognize that it was Pedro. However, he relaxed upon noticing some black colored scales on the back of Pedro''s neck¡ªwhich was covered by the collar of Pedro''s overcoat to hinder Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers from seeing it. Of course, it was not enough as a verification. Mathew sent a message to Pedro, telling him to wave his two hands if they saw each other. Since Pedro did it even ''happily'', Mathew can''t help but shake his head and smile as he lowers his guard a bit, towards Pedro and his group. "Where are the others?" Pedro asked with a grin on his face. "Climbing up from the bottom of the well!" Mathew replied in response. Afterward, both of them burst into laughter, making Neerak Axutar, Loren, and the three village soldiers frown in confusion. Truth be told, it was only natural that Pedro and Mathew would be the only ones to understand the meaning behind what they said. If Mathew asked Pedro to waved his two hands upon seeing them, Pedro asked Mathew to say that very same line as an answer to his question. Thus, aside from being a way of confirmation of their identities, both of them did not expect it to be hilarious¡ªresulting in both of them bursting into laughter. When Pedro was able to calm himself, he glanced towards Loren¡ªwho was carrying Sabrina on her back, and asked, "Classmate¡­ Do you need help in carrying her?" Loren stared at him in response as if she was suspecting that Pedro would do something perverted to Sabrina. Thus, she shook her head instead and said, "I can manage." "Okay¡­" Pedro can''t help but force out a smile as Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers glanced back and forth from Pedro to Loren and Sabrina. Pedro glared towards the four NPCs and asked, "What? Do you have a problem with me?" The three village soldiers simply shook their heads and forced out a smile in response. However, the na?ve young man, Neerak Axutar, said, "Sir Aron¡­ It''s bad to play with a girl''s heart, you know?" Pedro can''t help but force out a smile once again, out of embarrassment to Loren, Mathew, and the village soldiers who were able to hear what the kid said. On the other hand, the three village soldiers could not help but slap their foreheads out of embarrassment to what Neerak Axutar said. Mathew burst into laughter once again, breaking the awkward atmosphere around them. Then, he can''t help but pat Pedro''s back several times, while saying, "Expert Bro, where did you get this kid? He''s too funny! Hahaha!" Pedro could not help but sigh in response and said, "He''s Neerak Axutar from the Axutar Village that is located several kilometers away from the other side of this mountain." Neerak Axutar was confused about why Mathew laughed once again. However, since Pedro introduced him to Mathew, he can''t help but bow slightly towards him in response and respectfully said, "Greetings respected sir! As Sir Aron had mentioned, I am Neerak Axutar from the Axutar Village. The youngest son of the village chief, Meerak Axutar. It''s my pleasure meeting you!" At this moment, Mathew calmed down as he gestured towards Neerak Axutar to raise his head, while saying, "Lift your head young man! Lift your head! I am Mister Smile, Sir Aron''s comrade! It''s nice to meet you, young man! I heard a lot of good things about you! I hope that you would not disappoint my expectations, young man." "I could only do my best, Sir Smile!" Neerak Axutar said, forcing out a smile. Chapter 191: Arrival at Baliu Village! "Anyway... Did you guys wait long?" Pedro interrupted, asking Mathew and Loren. "Not that long¡­" Mathew sneered. Then, he pointed his thumbs proudly to Loren, and said, "Just enough to raise her level to eleven." "Hooo... Not bad." Pedro stole a glance at Loren and nodded in satisfaction. He rubbed his chin for a few seconds before he glanced back to Mathew and Loren, and said, "Why don''t you guys focus in increasing your levels? You guys can just walk your way to the Tarala Kingdom instead. I''d be the one who would be handling most of the tasks in the Kingdom. The three of you can just follow behind." "But Expert Bro... What about your safety?" Mathew''s brows knitted. But deep inside, he wore a huge grin on his face as if he was a villain acting along with Pedro''s play. "I-I mean... It''s the Tarala Kingdom we are talking about. I am afraid that you might encounter a group of humans with ill intent. It''s not that I don''t trust your strength but¡­ Won''t it be better for us to handle such threats instead? On top of that¡­ We know that the Tarala Kingdom is currently in crisis¡ª" "You think that they might take advantage of the chaos and use it against us?" Pedro interrupted which made Mathew nod in agreement. Pedro simply smirked in response as his eyes went bloodshot and, at the same time, his body emanated a murderous aura that was strong enough to make Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers took a step back¡ªaway from Pedro. "Let them come! I''ll give them a taste of death!" Pedro said, coldly. Then, he glanced towards Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers who were filled with dirt and were trembling slightly out of fear. This made him frown in response as he rubbed the back of his head and said, "It would be a tad bit of a problem if they become hostile the moment we arrive at the Kingdom''s teleportation portal since we''re all not in our best shapes. However, Our goal remains the same. Protect as many humans as we can." Pedro sighed and glanced back to Mathew, saying, "Anyway¡­ The nobles would surely keep me busy most of the time I am in the Kingdom. I''ll leave the rescue of the people in the slums, in your hands. Be sure to quietly relocate the people in the slums to the nearest village. It would be a little tricky since you need to travel during the day. I''ll leave it in your hands on how you would execute this operation. But¡­ Just a quick tip from me, make sure to travel from the Kingdom to the nearest village at day. The vision is limited at night. We might suffer some casualties, if that happens." "I''ll keep that in mind, Expert Bro!" Mathew said, "But¡­ Why do we need to relocate the people living in the slum area of the Kingdom?" Pedro smirked slightly and said, "I''ll tell you at the right time! All I can say for now is that it has something to do with improving the life of the humans in this continent. I am sure that you can at least grasp the advantages it would bring to all of us?" Mathew smirked in response and said, "It seems like we have a lot of work to do. Well¡­ I think we can manage with the task you gave. But¡­ Can you really handle those nobles by yourself? I mean¡­ They are the troublesome ones, aren''t they?" Pedro patted Mathew''s shoulder before he glanced back to Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers, and said, "You don''t need to worry about them. I have my ways. I''ll make sure to personally give those people who want to make trouble a visit!" "Hehe¡­ It seemed like it''s going to be fun. Too bad, I won''t be with you this time around." Mathew chuckled. Then, he asked, "What about Baliu Village?" "We''ll handle things in the Baliu Village. You guys can go ahead, since you''d be traveling on foot to the Tarala Kingdom." "I see! I see!" Mathew nodded in response. Then, he said, "Oh, right! Before anything else, can I ask what to do with the thick skinned adventurers? Can we have permission to engage them? I mean... Forgive me, Expert bro, but... Majority of them had become ''wild'' these past few days. We even saw some of them stab village soldiers in the back just for the lowly equipment." Pedro frowned as his tone became cold. "Those bastards... Although they are humans... Don''t hesitate to fight back. Show them no mercy! They act like monsters in the first place! So¡­ We must treat them like one!" "Hehe¡­" Mathew clenched his fist and was barely able to hold the excitement that he felt deep inside. Then, he glanced to Neerak Axutar with a smirk and said, "Young man, help Expert Bro as much as you can. And... Make sure that you don''t die along the way!I want to know you more when we see each other again!" Neerak Axutar was at loss for words in response. Fortunately, he was able to gather himself after a few seconds and bowed towards Mathew, saying, "I would do my best, Sir Smile!" "Good! Good!" Mathew smiled while nodding in satisfaction. Then, he glanced to Loren as if he was saying ''Let''s go!''. Afterward, he glanced to Pedro and said, "Then, we''ll head out first Expert Bro!" Pedro simply nodded in response whilst retaining the calm cold demeanor. When Mathew and Loren''s figure disappeared from the distant, Pedro stretched his head to the sides and said, "Let''s go! We don''t want the village chief of Baliu Village to wait that long." The four NPCs could only nod to him in response. They quietly followed behind Pedro and headed straight to the Baliu Village regardless whether they were dirty, hungry, and exhausted. In fact, they did not dare to complain towards Pedro because they knew that Pedro was of the same case as them. They were in the same boat in the first place. On top of that, Pedro had a calm and cold demeanor, which set an eerie vibe or mood amongst their group. If anyone spoke something and Pedro somehow did not like it, they might get split into half without even being able to argue their side to Pedro. Thus, even Neerak Axutar did not dare utter a single word at this moment. As for the three village soldiers, they were old enough and well experienced enough to read the atmosphere within their group. Since they had not much thing to say to Pedro, they chose to simply remain silent most of the time. In fact, the three village soldiers can''t help but be anxious towards Neerak Axutar''s actions instead. They knew he was still a young man who''s still a bit naive despite his talent in observing people and efficiently manage them. Fortunately, it only took them almost an hour to arrive at the western gate of the Baliu Village with their heads intact. Outside the wooden walls of the village, the rest of the Advance Force waited for them¡ªtogether with a four feet tall old man that has a long white beard on his face. "Bro Faith, where are the representatives of Baliu Village that I requested?" Pedro asked as he glanced around looking for the five representatives coming from Baliu Village. However, Aldo could not help but force out a smile in response and said, "Sorry, bro! The Village Chief did not believe me and Sire Aks. He wanted a concrete proof that we are from the organization." "Hmm... Is that so?" Pedro frowned as he glanced towards the small old man. Then, he glanced back to Aldo and asked, "Perhaps, this respected elder is the village chief?" "No, No! He''s not the village chief bro!" Aldo can''t help but rub the back of his head and point his arm to the short old man, while saying, "This is Nordan Karva. A former merchant in at the Tarala Kingdom. We met him at the village shop. He somehow heard us talk about the Kingdom and immediately run towards us, asking help to save someone in the slums of Tarala Kingdom. It was his relatives if I could recall correctly. Since he came from the Kingdom, I think that he would be of some help to you¡­ rather than that shameless village chief!" "Hmm... Is that so?" Pedro glanced towards the short old man. Then, he bowed slightly and said, "Greetings respected elder! I am Aron Death, the Captain of Karakoa Fleet from the Bearth Human Organization. At this moment, I am on my way to the Tarala Kingdom. May I ask how would this young man could be of help?" "T-The legendary organization..." The short old man rushed towards Pedro and knelt down as tears started to fall down from his face. Pedro could not help but frown even further as he closely watches the old man cry on his feet. "Y-Young Sire! P-Please! I beg of you! Please save my son and my granddaughter in the slums of the Tarala Kingdom! Things were not looking good for the Kingdom. The crops were damaged due to the sudden increase of monsters! S-So, there won''t be any food for us for the next three months. The people in the slums are in chaos right now because of this. We tried to seek help from the nobles but it was for naught! So, I had no choice but to face the danger and travel to nearby villages and seek help to old acquaintances from nearby villages. Unfortunately, my friend¡ªthe shop keeper of this village, had seemingly perished just a few days ago. A-And the new shop keeper did not want to give any aid without a cost!" "Hmm¡­" Pedro''s eyebrows even furrowed as he glared towards the village. But before he could say a word, the old man continued to grovel on his feet, saying, "I-I won''t ask much and beg for money, y-young sire!... But please, please help me rescue my son and my granddaughter and bring them safely here in this village. The chaos in the Kingdom would soon reach its peak. Sooner or later, blood would be shed in that forsaken land. S-So relocating my family is the utmost priority. I-If you save my family... I-I would do whatever you say! Just, please! I beg of you, young sire! Please save my son and granddaughter!" Everyone can''t help but stare towards the groveling old man. No one dared to speak a word as the final decision lies with Pedro. And whether they agree to his decision or not, they had no choice but to follow him. After all, they all believe that his decisions would always be for the benefit of the many, whether it is favorable to them or not. This made Pedro sigh in response. He shook his head a couple of times before glancing towards Aks and Aldo, and said, "Can you handle the rescue mission?" "This..." At first, the two were hesitant. But¡­ Aks had experienced the pain of losing someone close to him, just recently. He can''t help but force out a bitter smile in response as if saying he was leaving the final decision to Aldo. Thus, Aldo can''t help but bit his lips and flick his tongue. He anxiously rubbed the back of his head whilst saying, "I-I could only try my best!" Pedro grinned in response and said, "That''s more than enough!" Chapter 192: Quest: Rescue Merchant Nordan Karva’s family! Pedro gave several silver coins to Aldo that had consequently caught the attention of the people around them. They were adventurers whose eyes went wide open and glared towards the silver coins on Aldo''s hands. Then, in the next second, they averted their gazes as if they were just casually glancing around. That said, everyone from the Advance Force noticed them glance towards the weapons on their waist, from the silver made swords of Aldo, Aks, Lony, Roval, and the three village soldiers from Axutar Village to the Katana of Pedro and Yuson. Pedro simply ignored them and knelt down to help the small old man, Merchant Nordan Karva, to stand, while saying, "Respected Merchant Karva, please calm yourself. Lead my men to the whereabouts of your son and your granddaughter. I gave them money, enough for you to leave the Kingdom with your family later on." "T-Thank you, young sir! T-Thank you very much!" Merchant Nordan Karva said, whilst bowing towards Pedro several times. Pedro simply waved his hand to stop Merchant Nordan Karva from bowing and pointed towards Aldo, while saying, "Please follow closely behind him. He will be the one to assist you." This made Merchant Nordan Karva express his gratitude towards Aldo. Thus, Aldo can''t help but force out a smile¡ªtroubled by Merchant Nordan Karva''s actions. At this moment, a notification popped out on Pedro and Aldo''s Player Interface. However, they could only read through it for a few seconds since they were short of time. [Quest: Rescue Merchant Nordan Karva''s family! Rating: B-rated Mission: Rescue the food merchant''s son and granddaughter from the chaos arising at the Tarala Kingdom. Because of the unfortunate event, Merchant Nordan Karva got suppressed by greedy nobles to the point of bankruptcy. Thus, his family was forced to reside in the slums of the Tarala Kingdom, where a conflict against the Kingdom''s Force was about to rise. The Difficulty rating of the quest might change, dependent on the state of the conflict between the Kingdom and the poor people. Quest Shared due to Player''s overwhelming authority! Quest Shared to Player Faith! Reward/s: Merchant Nordan Karva''s Service. Duration: 2 Days] ~~~~~~~~~~~ After scanning through the quest information, Pedro faked a cough that made Aldo return to himself and, at the same time, grab the attention of everyone. Then, Pedro said, "Lony, Roval, and Yuson¡­ The three of you would head to the market area upon arrival. As usual¡­ Check every single shop and report to me what you see." "Yes, Captain!" Lony, Roval, and Yuson said and nodded in unison. Pedro nodded in response and said, "Great! Since we have nothing left to do in this village, let''s go to the teleportation platform and head for the Tarala Kingdom immediately." "What about the village chief, bro?" Aldo asked. "I''ll take care of him after we are done with the Tarala Kingdom," Pedro said, coldly. "Hehe¡­ Can I join you when you meet him?" Aldo asked, smiling. He was barely able to hide the anger he felt inside. In fact, even Pedro was able to notice it. He did not just bluntly asked Aldo about why he was so angry with the village chief of Baliu Village. Pedro is not that dense to do so. "Do as you wish!" Pedro simply said in a cold tone. He walked towards the western gate of the Baliu Village and led everyone from the Advance Force. However, before they could step inside the village, a group of men stood in front of the gate¡ªblocking their path into the village. Huge grins were painted on their face as their eyes often glanced towards the weapons of the Advance Force. They wore adventurer''s clothes but their weapons were similar to the ones that the village soldiers were using¡ªmaking them stand out from the rest of the adventurers inside the village. On top of that, they acted like a gangster¡ªpushing anyone who stood in their way as they approached Pedro and his group. "Is there a problem?" Pedro asked. "Problem?" A short man leading the group raised his eyebrows before shaking his head, saying, "No, No, No! There is no problem. And¡­ There won''t be a problem if you would just obediently hand over your money and weapons, kid." "Bastar¡ª" Aldo cursed and was about to draw the sword on his waist. But before he could even grip the handle of his sword nor finish what he said, the neck of the short man was split into two¡ªconsequently making blood burst out of it. The men who arrogantly walked behind the short man followed the same fate in the next second. Then, their body fell to the ground lifeless. Everyone can''t help but stare at the unfortunate fate of the arrogant men. After a few seconds, several women¡ªwho were able to witness the horrific event, cried out of fear as they ran away from Pedro and his group. At this moment, Pedro calmly walked towards the dead bodies despite everyone from the Advance Force was still in shock. He took their inventory bags, as well as their weapons while glancing around¡ªchecking if they have accomplices hiding in the dark. Seeing that there was no one suspicious around, he glanced towards Aldo and the rest, and said, "I am not in the mood to argue with anyone. Let''s go! We got a lot of things to do." Everyone couldn''t help but follow him in response. Some fear him like Neerak Axutar, and the three village soldiers from Axutar Village, some were happy with his actions like Aldo, while some were amazed by either his strength or his decisiveness like Aks, Yuson, Lony, and Roval. Truth be told, there were different reasons why they didn''t say anything about what Pedro just did. However, in the end, the fact still lies the same. Pedro was the strongest being amongst them, and he can do whatever he wanted. They can argue with him. They can scold him. But¡­ They could never stop him kill anyone he wanted to kill. They were just not simply strong enough to be able to do so. Thus, instead of inciting another conflict, everyone simply decided to remain quiet and act as if nothing has happened. As for Pedro, it was just his pure anger. These types of players are the ones he hated the most. It was not that he was against such actions of the strong taking advantage of the weak. It was just the law of nature. He can''t change anything about it. In fact, he might even do it, himself, at some point in time. It''s just part of the game. But, it was a different case if you are the one being harassed or bullied. Unfortunately for those men, they picked the wrong man to mess with. Add up the fact that Pedro learned that the players were backstabbing NPCs just to obtain their weapon and equipment, his anger reached its peak in an instant as he remembers the players who caused the destruction of the Kagat Village. ''I''ll take care of bastards like these later on!'' Pedro cursed deep inside. ''I''ll let you live for a few more days. After I take care of the Tarala Kingdom problem, I''ll make sure that your happy days are over!'' Soon, they arrived at the centermost area of the village, where the teleportation platform was located. This place was crowded by both players that were newly spawned and by players that were just roaming around the village. Because there were no village soldiers organizing and managing everyone, it was chaotic everywhere you look. It was as if you are in a mall and there was a price drop event going on. Pedro and the rest of the Advance Force, simply fought against the wave of people¡ªwhilst maintaining a hundred percent vigilance on their belongings. Truth be told, Pedro was tempted to activate his Demonic Eyes and simply put everyone to sleep. Then, he would just simply drag the rest of the Advance Force to the teleportation portal with the help of Aks. This way, they would be able to avoid any other problems like being robbed of an item or two. However, Pedro chose not to do so because he did not want to risk the chance of alerting a possibly high leveled NPC in that village, which might further delay their arrival to the Tarala Kingdom. Thus, he had no choice but to simply maintain a hundred percent of his perception and detect, not only his but to the rest of the Advance force, any potential threats towards them. It took them several minutes to reach the teleportation platform. And fortunately, they did not encounter any problem along the way. Since there was no NPC managing the teleportation platform, they did not need to pay in order for them to use it. Pedro simply glanced towards his comrades¡ªwho nodded to him in response, as a bright light envelop them¡ªteleporting them to the Tarala Kingdom. "Let the infiltration begin!" Chapter 193: Infiltration... Success! Soon, the bright light covering their vision dissipated, revealing a huge spacious hall with a huge circular runic formation that spans twenty meters in diameter and has ten pillars around it with Magic Crystals on top. The runic formation emits a bluish light¡ªsimilar to the runic formation in one of the rooms in Karakoa. The hall was closed with concrete, where it''s ceiling is curved¡ªresembling the insides of a Cathedral but with equally wide sides. At the same time, the pillars and walls that reinforced the whole building had an intricate design carved on them. Everyone can''t help but gasp in amazement. They were mesmerized by the simple but elegant design of the Tarala Kingdom''s teleportation platform. Add up the bluish light emitted by the Magic Crystals and Runic Formation, it was truly a sight to behold. However, before they could even take as many ''vision shots'' as they can, two guards approached them¡ªfully equipped with armor, a shield, and a sword made out of steel. Then, they unsheathed their swords¡ªprepared to attack everyone any second, and said, "This is the domain of King Sakazar Tarala! Identify yourselves, else, face the power of the mighty Tarala Kingdom!" In reaction, Everyone''s hands landed on the top of the handles of their swords, and they were ready to draw them any second. Fortunately, at this moment, Pedro raised his left hand¡ªcommanding everyone else to relax and to stand down. Then, he took out the badge that Meerak Axutar gave him beforehand and raised it with his right hand for the two fully armored guards from the Tarala Kingdom to see. "We mean no harm brave soldiers!" Pedro said, "I am Aron Death, the Captain of the Karakoa Fleet from the Bearth Human Organization. I personally come to this Kingdom to request an audience to your King! I have some important matters to discuss with him as soon as possible!" "Bearth Human Organization?" One of the two guards uttered in confusion. Then, he glanced to the other guard, and asked, "Then, why do you have a village chief''s badge? And from what village is that badge from?" Pedro can''t help but scratch the back of his head. Then, he forced out a smile and said, "The village chief of Axutar Village is a good friend of mine. So, he gave me his badge after learning that I am heading towards this Kingdom." "Axutar Village¡­" One of the guards pondered for a few seconds before glancing towards Pedro, saying, "The village on the other side of Baliu Mountain?" Pedro simply nodded in response. However, the two guards were still not a hundred percent convinced that Pedro was from Bearth Human Organization. Thus, the two guards nodded to each other in response. One of them went back to the hallway that led to the entrance of the teleportation hall. While one of them remained on guard¡ªhindering everyone from going out of the said teleportation hall. The guard gripped his sword tightly with his perception activated at its maximum limit. This way, he would be able to hold of everyone and stop them from going out of the teleportation hall. "Forgive me, young sir! But there are rules we need to follow regarding this matter. My brother called our Head to verify your claims. I hope that all of you could wait peacefully until they return." One of the guards of the teleportation hall explained to everyone. "Okay." Pedro simply nodded with a smirked towards the remaining guard. Then, after a few seconds, his demeanor changed into a calm and cold, and said, "I''ll be considerate. I would give you a chance. But¡­ If they did not arrive before night falls, then¡­ I could only head to the Royal Palace by force." The guard could not help but force out a smile in response. He knew that he might be stronger than Pedro and everyone else if he was to fight them one by one. However, it would become a different issue if he would go against everyone else at the same time. Fortunately, before anyone could say another word, two men were running from the entrance of the teleportation hall. Their metal armors made a clashing sound that echoed throughout the enclosed space. At the same time, someone was grumbling¡ªseemingly scolding someone, that echoed in that place. "What the hell are you two doing?!" The voice of a man scolded. "If the King knew about this incident, we would all be punished! Do you understand?!" "Ehh? Sire Klader, what if those people were just fakes?" "What the fuck are you saying? Do you badly want to face our ancestors already?! Remember this Sorzon, no person¡ªnot even the most cunning humans, would dare claim that they are from the Bearth Human Organization¡­ if they were not really part of it! That organization is built with the strongest humans all over the world. And if they wanted to¡­ or if they deemed needed to be done, a single fleet from them would be enough to graze our Kingdom to the ground. That is the reason why no one dares to go against them. So¡­ We must welcome them as best as we can, and not provoke them at any cost!" At this moment, two figures of men appeared from the hallway. One of them was the same guard that approached Pedro earlier, while the other man wore no helm¡ªexposing his handsome European looking face and his short black hair. The guard¡ªwho was left to keep Pedro and everyone else in the teleportation hall, can''t help but force out a smile deep inside his helm as he switched his focus from Pedro to the two other guards approaching them. Soon, the two men, Klader and Sorzon, arrived at the teleportation hall. However, Klader could not help but glare towards the guard that was left to stop Pedro and everyone else. Teleportation Hall Guard Klader could not help but slap the back of the helm of that guard and said, "What''s with the sword, Larent? Do you have a death wish? Sheathe it before the King order''s your execution?" Teleportation Hall Guard Larent was stupefied at first. Fortunately, Teleportation Hall Guard Klader''s glare was enough to make him sheathe his sword back to the scabbard on his waist. At this moment, Pedro could not help but force out a smile upon hearing the word ''King''. ''It seems like they still don''t know that the King is already dead!'' Pedro thought deep inside. On the other hand, Teleportation Hall Guard Klader felt at ease upon seeing Pedro smile. This meant that Pedro is, at the least, not angry about the actions of his subordinates. That said, he did not dare act as if nothing had happened in front of someone who is from BHO. "Respected Sirs, please forgive my subordinates for such an unfitting welcome!" He said as he bowed towards Pedro and everyone else. In turn, Teleportation Hall Guards Larent and Sorzon followed his bow. "Please forgive us!" The two guards said in unison. Pedro could not help but to rub his forehead before gesturing his hand to the three guards, saying, "It''s nothing! Please lift your heads! In fact, I am impressed by the security that the Tarala Kingdom had placed on your teleportation platform." "Thank you for your understanding, respected sire! It is our honor to be praised by you!" Teleportation Hall Guard Klader said, respectfully. "I am the Teleportation Hall Head Guard, Klader Morphus. I am honored to welcome you, sire, to the Tarala Kingdom!" "Good! Good!" Pedro nodded in satisfaction. Then, he said, "I am Aron Death. The Captain of Karakoa Fleet from the Bearth Human Organization. It is an honor to meet the three of you." "Welcome, Sire Aron!" Teleportation Hall Guard Klader bowed slightly before saying, "Perhaps¡­ Can I know the purpose of your sudden visit to our Kingdom?" "Of course, Of course!" Pedro said with a smirk on his face. "I simply wanted to have a talk with the King regarding some important matters. So, can I request you to arrange a meeting with the King as soon as you can? I am quite short of time. My men are currently fighting monsters on the western side of the continent. And I need to visit several more villages and Kingdoms and have a talk with their respected leaders before I return to the battlefield." "I-Is that so, respected sire?" Teleportation Hall Guard Klader could only force out a smile, and said, "T-Then, please follow me! I would lead you to the Kingdom''s Registration hall first, then, I would personally guide you to the Royal Castle!" "That''s great!" Pedro clapped his hands as he started walking. Then, he gestured his hand and said, "Please lead the way!" Teleportation Hall Guard Klader turned around, together with the other two guards, and said, "Of course, respected sire. This way please!" With the lead of Teleportation Hall Guard Klader, Pedro--and the rest of the group, was brought to the registration hall and were given a citizen badge each that would enable them to go in and out of the Tarala Kingdom. Afterward, everyone separated and headed towards their destinations based on their individual tasks. This was easily executed because of the status that Pedro and his group hold. Hence, Pedro can''t help but chuckle deep inside because they were able to execute things smoothly and, at the same time, because they were being guided easily into the Kingdom''s Castle. "Infiltration¡­ Success!" Chapter 194: Meeting Two Royal Knights of Tarala Kingdom! Soon, they arrived at the front gate of the castle. At this moment, Pedro can''t help but gasp as he glanced upon the castle that was beautifully covered by vines. Its roof was made of bricks¡ªwhere giant magic crystals were embedded and illuminate the surroundings with bluish light be it day or night. The thick green vines extended from the roof to the ground¡ªrunning along the sides of the runic formation written in the castle''s walls. And from the ground, the runic formation extended to the pillars scattered around the castle with magic crystals placed on top of it. On the other hand, Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers from Axutar Village were mesmerized by the elegant and luxurious view from the outside. They can''t help but stood in awe, thinking how rich and powerful the Tarala Kingdom is. "One, Two, Three¡­ How many Magic Crystals are in this place?" Neerak Axutar asked in amazement. "Isn''t it that Magic Crystals costs around two gold coins each? Our village only has five Magic Crystals¡ªthat was even only enough to be used to power the Teleportation Portal!" Pedro frowned as he glanced towards Neerak Axutar and asked, "Is this the first time you saw a Royalty''s Castle? Aren''t you the son of a village chief? Shouldn''t you have seen this a couple of times already?" The other NPCs could not help but stare at Neerak Axutar¡ªwaiting for his answer. Thus, Neerak Axutar could not help but force out a smile and said, "Yes, Sire Aron! This is, indeed, my first time seeing the royalty''s castle of the Tarala Kingdom this close from outside. Ever since I was young, Father and I went here¡ªthe Tarala Kingdom, to seek talented people who would be willing to reside in our village. Since that day, I was intrigued by the light coming from the roof of the royalty''s castle. It is only until now did the question I had in mind--since my childhood days, was answered." Klader Morphus chuckled in response. Then, he said proudly, "Of course, it is only natural that only a few people would be able to see the real beauty of the Royalty''s Castle of the Tarala Kingdom. Its perimeter is heavily guarded by the Royal Knights¡ªhindering anyone from getting close to the castle. If you don''t have authority, an invitation, or an acceptable reason why you are within the castle''s vicinity, the Royal Knights would take you down without hesitation. So, no one dares approach this area and create trouble." Before they could even gather themselves, Klader Morphus smirked as he waved his hands to the two Knights¡ªwho were standing by the gates leading to the Tarala Kingdom''s royal castle. Then, he said, "They are all with me!" "Sire Klader? What''s the meaning of this?" One of the Knights asked. "What do you mean?" Klader Morphus frowned in response. Then, he said, "They are important guests of our Kingdom. Based on our protocol, I must bring them immediately to the King as soon as possible. So¡­ I would like to ask one of you to guide us directly to the King." "Guide?" One of the two Knights asked. "You should think first whether we would let you into the vicinity of the Royal Castle, what much more helping you guys find his majesty! So¡­ Stop daydreaming!" "Eh?" Klader Morphus went towards the Royal Knight and said, "This is an urgent matter requested by Sire Aron! It must be done immediately!" "So what if it was requested by whomever!" The Royal Knight said, unyielding. Then, he continued, "I apologize Klader, but¡­ The entry of anyone is prohibited until the end of the Annual Conference. It is his majesty''s order a few days ago." "But¡­" Klader Morphus was about to argue with the Royal Knight but Pedro interrupted him by placing his hand on his shoulder. "Let me handle this," Pedro said, smiling towards Klader Morphus. Then, he glanced towards the Royal Knights and bowed, saying, "Great Knights of the Tarala Kingdom, I am Aron Death. The Captain of Karakoa fleet from the Bearth Human Organization. May I humbly request an audience with his majesty and talk about our fight against the sudden increase of monsters?" The Royal Knight simply sighed in response and said, "Forgive me, Sire Aron! His majesty had given us an order to restrict anyone from entering the vicinity of the Royal Castle until their conference is finished. As a Knight serving directly under the King, we are to follow his orders at any cost¡ªeven if it required us to sacrifice our lives just to fulfill our duties." "I see¡­" Pedro said in a calm demeanor. After a few seconds, Pedro rubbed the back of his head and said, "If that''s the case, then we could only come back when His Majesty is accepting visitors already." "Thanks for your understanding, Sire Aron!" The Royal Knight said, seemingly relieved that Pedro did not make things more complicated to them. "This¡­ Sire Aron?" Klader Morphus could not help but feel embarrassed towards Pedro. He knows that Pedro was an important Person¡ªakin to another visiting King. Thus, he did not want to give up in trying to set Pedro a meeting with their King. Unfortunately, Pedro seemed like he was firm on his decision already. So, Klader Morphus had no choice but to rub the back of his head and follow Pedro''s decision instead. "Is there a problem, Sire Klader?" Pedro asked with a faint smile. Klader Morphus could only force out a smile in response and say, "No, No, No! There''s no problem, Sir Aron! If that''s your decision, then I could only do my best to serve you, sire, on behalf of our King!" "You have my thanks, Sire Klader." Pedro said, "However¡­ For now, I would like to check the Kingdom on our own. Check the shops and see if we could find something that would pique our interest." "I-If that''s what Sire Aron wants¡­" Klader Morphus said in an embarrassed tone. "Then, I would humbly respect your decision. But in case you needed something from me, please don''t hesitate to look for me at the Teleportation Hall. It would be my honor to serve you, respected Sire!" "I will!" Pedro said as he nodded towards Klader Morphus before he turned around and glanced towards Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers from the Axutar Village. Then, he said, "Let''s go grab some food to eat. I know that you guys haven''t eaten anything yet since afternoon, yesterday." The four NPCs did not speak. That said, their happiness could be seen through their eyes¡ªwhere tears had even started to fall as if the gods and goddesses had sent a blessing towards them. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. He can''t help but slap his face deep inside, thinking, ''Why am I so stupid! I just forgot to feed a child! If this was in real life, I would have been charged with child abuse by the people.'' As they left, Pedro stole a glance back to the Royal Castle and thought, ''Anyway¡­ The King is dead. So does everyone else inside that castle¡ªprobably including everyone in that conference. What''s suspicious though is that these so-called Royal Knights were acting too calm despite hearing no news from their King for several days already.'' Then, he shifted his attention back to the four NPCs who were happily drooling in front of him, and thought, ''Whatever is with those Royal Knights is not my problem. Sooner or later, the truth would be revealed. Whether they were related to the death of the King and the other royalties or not, we''ll know about it in a few more days. It''s best for us to lay low at this moment and wait for the rabbit who ate the carrot to come out of the hole. By that time¡­ It would be easy for us to steal the throne from the rabbit.'' Pedro smirked which Neerak Axutar was able to notice. Thus, Neerak Axutar could not help but frown in response and ask, "Tssss¡­ Sire Aron, why are you smiling? Don''t tell me that your mind is changing?!" Hearing what Neerak Axutar said, the three village soldiers could not help but force out a smile in response as they glanced towards Pedro¡ªseemingly waiting for his reply. At the same time, their stomachs growled, making Pedro laugh. Pedro simply shook his head as he calmed himself. Then, he said, "What are you saying, young man? I am a man of my word. We will definitely eat first before anything else. It''s just that I am also looking forward to the delicious food available in this Kingdom. So¡­ I can''t help but smile¡ªthinking that we are about to have a good time, while the other teams are very busy doing their task." "Hahaha! We are just lucky that the King is not available at this moment!" Neerak Axutar chuckled, "It''s not our fault that we are ''unfortunate''! Hahahaha!" Pedro simply forced out a smile towards them in response. Soon, they arrived at the bustling market and the four NPCs immediately run towards the nearest food stall that they were able to see. They bought pork skewers that costed a few bronze coins each. Then, they rushed back towards Pedro and gave him a stick of pork skewer. "Thanks for the food!" They said in unison as they chowed down their food. Chapter 195: Solving a Few Problem of Their Two Gaming Organizations! Pedro handed over several more bronze coins to Neerak Axutar for them to buy more food to their heart''s content. That said, Pedro simply leaned upon a brick wall of an establishment to relax while waiting for Neerak and the three village soldiers to return with food that they bought at the small stalls along the street. "I am starting to run low of budget¡­" Pedro scratched the back of his head after seeing 2 gold coins, 40 silver coins, and 130 bronze coins were left inside his inventory bag. Then, he opened his player interface and said, "I wonder if cousin was able to rebuild the gold farming team already?" He navigated to his friend list and found out that his aunt was still online in the game. He can''t help but smirk as his fingers started to move on their own¡ªtyping the message he wanted to convey to his cousin, Weyron. [Death (Pedro): Aunt Veronica, do you have any news about the gold farming team of cousin? I would be needing a lot of coins soon. Do tell me if there is a problem. I''ll try my best to help.] Surprisingly, Pedro got a reply from his Aunt Veronica immediately. [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): You are just on time, Nephew! Your cousin and I are having a discussion about whether to recruit other local gaming organizations under us.] Before Pedro could reply, his aunt added message after message¡ªconsequently revealing information one bit at a time. [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): Remember I said to you that your cousin went to the north? He somehow encountered a local guild under the leadership of a Filipina referred to as Guild Leader Meen. One of the players in the top 10 rankings beside you and your friends.] "This¡­" Pedro can''t help but gasp as he immediately navigated through his player interface¡ªfrom his friend list to the continental quest rankings. [Quest: Protect the Aquari Continent!] Rating: A-rated Mission: Kill the monsters that start to dominate the Aquari Continent! Each monster killed will have an equivalent point that can be exchanged for items after the event. Your Kill count: 673,151 Players with the highest monster kill-count would get special rewards. The top 1 player will get a Gold-rated offensive skill. The top 10 players will get randomly generated Silver-rated skill. The top 100 players will get randomly generated Bronze-rated Skill. Continental Quest Player Ranking 1.Death [Kill Count: 673,151] 2.Killer Looks [Kill Count: 62,552] 3.Gentle Breeze [Kill Count: 21,089] 4.Killer Smile [Kill Count: 9,433] 5.Arvedar [Kill Count: 2,765] 6.Hey_JoeCorporation [Kill Count: 287] 7.Wazzap_JoeCorporation [Kill Count: 239] 8.¡­ 9.¡­ 10.Meen [Kill Count: 221] Quest Duration: ??? [Quest participation is optional. Once a player killed a monster, the kill count will automatically start.] ~~~ Pedro was supposed to only check Meen''s rank and Kill Count in the continental quest. That said, he can''t help but notice his¡­ and Talia''s absurdly high Kill Count. He can''t help but shook his head and say, "What''s that little girl doing? If not for the dungeon, I won''t even be somewhere near her kill count? How terrifying! She even went past through Sabrina''s Kill Count?!" After a few seconds, Pedro could only shake his head in response¡ªreturning his attention back to checking the player named "Meen" and the seemingly non-stop messages of his aunt. He glanced to Meen''s kill count and said, "Two hundred twenty-one? Not bad¡­ She''s just tens of kills away from catching up to the Americans in this server. But¡­ I wonder why aunt and cousin were deliberating whether to put them under us or not. Perhaps, there is a problem." Pedro navigated back to his friend list and continued reading the message of his aunt from where he left. [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): Your cousin told me that Guild Leader Meen was asking for 10 Million Philippine Pesos for them to merge into our guild. I know how important this game was, for you. But the 10 Million Philippine Pesos is not something that we could agree upon without your consent. Besides¡­] [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): We only have 2 Million Pesos left in our budget. We even need to take care of the gaming camp that we would use for the important players of both guilds.] [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): So, it all really depends on your final decision, because you are the one who would be able to estimate whether we would be able to afford the 10 Million Pesos, and, at the same time, you would be the one to provide the money for it.] [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): In any case, your cousin is against recruiting them for the hefty price of 10 Million Pesos. That said, he is keeping a friendly relationship with Guild Leader Meen until you make your final decision. But you know your cousin¡­ He is a bit short-tempered, so¡­ I suggest that you inform me as soon as you can if you want to push through the deal. I am worried that things might go south if your cousin''s patience reaches its limit.] [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): Please don''t get him wrong, though. It''s not that I am also against recruiting them to either guild of ours, but¡­ Even I never heard of a deal concerning Virtual Reality games¡ªreaching this absurd amount.] [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): Still¡­ We would like to leave the final decisions to you because you are the owner of both gaming orgs. Forgive me for leaving heavy decisions to be made under your shoulder¡ªdespite you needing rest because of your body''s current situation in real life.] Pedro can''t help but force out a smile. Then, he rubbed his chin and pondered, ''Ten Million Pesos is not something that they could decide by themselves. After all, the budget would come mostly from my wallet. Mom and Dad would just probably give me some money to let me do what I want¡ªafter the accident and this coma stuff. But I doubt that they would tolerate me spending such huge money in one go! So¡­ Aunt and Cousin are right. This amount is absurd. But¡­ Recruiting someone who was in the top player rankings in the continental event... And for only Ten Million Pesos? This is a deal that I should not miss.'' At this moment, he glanced to his inventory bag and took out a skill page, while thinking, ''As for where I would get the Ten Million Pesos¡­ The answer lies to this skill page in my hand.'' Pedro smirked as he mailed the skill to his Aunt together with a message. [Death (Pedro): Aunt, agree to her terms. But tell her that the payment would only be transferred to them once they would be able to transfer and settle to our gaming camp. As for the money, you don''t need to worry about it. I sent a skill page to you. It''s the wolf transformation skill I was able to luckily obtain. Conduct an auction in real life as soon as possible, and set the minimum bid to 300,000 US Dollars. Then, We''ll use that money to slowly build the two gaming organizations.] [Purple Jade (Aunt Veronica): 300,000 US Dollars?! I am a bit concerned if there would be someone who would bid that high for this skill? Nephew, are you sure about this? I mean¡­ Our identity would even be revealed to the world? Isn''t it dangerous to do that this early in the game? Please think twice about that, Nephew.] Pedro simply smirked in response. Then, he replied to her Aunt, filled with confidence. [Pedro (Death): I understand your concern, Aunt. But¡­ Such things were bound to happen if we wanted to become the strongest organization in Bearth Online. It was only a matter of time before enemies rise and attack us. That is why we need to increase the strength of our organizations as much as possible. It is the hurdle that we must face when we wanted to become the strongest. There would definitely be opposing forces that would want to take the topmost seat. We could only do our best to keep sitting on it. Besides¡­ If we can''t hold it for now, how can we hold it later on? As for the price of the wolf transformation skill¡­ Kindly follow what I said. There were more people eyeing the game, more than you know it. And I assure you¡­ The starting bid that I set is just a small amount to some of them.] Pedro''s Aunt was hopeless in convincing him to think otherwise. Thus, she could only put his trust in him and simply follow his arrangements. After all, he was still her boss. Since she had a lot of things to handle offline¡ªconcerning the auction that Pedro ordered her to conduct, Aunt Veronica said a couple of words to Pedro before going offline. Unfortunately, even Pedro was washed along with the excitement that the recruitment of Meen and the wolf transformation skill auction had brought to them to the point that he forgot about the gold issue that he initially asked. It was only when her Aunt went offline did he remember about it. He can''t help but force out a smile and say, "Oh well¡­ It''s not that I am in immediate need of coins after all!" Chapter 196: The Suspicious Group of People and a Familiar Face! Pedro did not bother much about the gold coin issue. He could simply message his aunt about it when she goes back online. Thus, he closed his player interface and glanced around¡ªlooking for Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers. However, before he could glimpse towards them from afar, Pedro''s attention was caught by a group of people who entered a small corner opposite of him. They wore brown cloth on top of their clothes¡ªmaking them stand out amongst everyone else. ''These idiots¡­ You would attract more attention if you do that.'' Pedro chuckled deep inside. ''I wonder what these people are up to? The Ball of Fire is high up in the sky, but these people even dared to add another layer of cloth above their shirt?'' At this moment, Pedro spotted a familiar face following right behind that group. Pedro can''t help but smirk and thought, ''I see¡­ Now I understand why those people are fully wrapped even in the middle of the day. A snake is roaming around this place¡ªpreparing to bite its prey!'' Unfortunately, before he could approach the suspicious-looking men, Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers had returned with their hands holding a lot of food. "Sire Aron, we bought you food. These were the best ones that we were able to taste so far." Neerak Axutar said that was followed with a satisfied nod by the three village soldiers. Consequently, Pedro glanced towards them and the food they held. However, he returned his focus back to the corner of the street where the ''suspicious men'' entered. Unfortunately, the ''suspicious men'' had disappeared--making Pedro force out a smile as he glanced back to Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers. He can''t help but scratch the back of his head and simply say, "Thank you!" Pedro took the food that Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers gave to him. Then, he gulped the food like a hungry wolf. ''Kageyama, huh? Japan''s best player¡­ Inside a Kingdom this early in the game? This could only mean one thing. There is a high probability that this is the place where he got his vampire bloodline!'' Pedro frowned deep inside. He felt an ominous feeling that something bad would soon happen. Fortunately, he was able to calm himself a few seconds later. He took a deep breath and thought, ''His perfect swordsmanship¡ªpaired with his inhuman strength¡­ I would not be his match even if I followed the same path I took in my past life! In any case, those people¡ªwhom he was following, most probably have the vampire bloodline too. I should take care of them if we would be the ones who would take over this Kingdom. After all¡­ We would not want to have annoying pests lurking in our very own house.'' "Are you alright, Sir Aron?" Neerak Axutar asked after noticing Pedro sighed heavily. Then, the young man forced out a smile and said, "Perhaps, the meat of a Riosh Chicken is not to your liking?" Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. Then after a few seconds, Pedro shook his head and said, "No, It''s not like that! The meat was good! It was fresh and tasty¡ªwell seasoned. But¡­ I was bothered when I remember a ''gigantic chicken'' that I was able to encounter in the past. It ate both humans and monsters like they were grass and the aftermath was gore for anyone to watch. So, I could not help but remember about it¡ªconsequently upsetting my stomach a tad bit and, at the same time, making me lose my appetite. Sorry!" "No, No, No, No! It''s alright, Sir Aron! There''s no need for you to apologize about it. To be honest, I even have a similar case as you. I am not comfortable eating the meat of an orc. It was as if I was eating the meat of humans! Eww!" Neerak Axutar grumbled while looking as if he was about to vomit just from the unpleasant thought of it. ''Haha¡­ It''s good that this kid had misunderstood what I said. Anyway! Let''s just ride along with what he said.'' Pedro thought as he shook his head. Then, he glanced towards Neerak Axutar and said, "Let''s not talk about these things! We can''t afford to lose our appetite while we are on a mission." "Mission? But the King is not available yet, right? Shouldn''t we take this time to recuperate any injuries we got, have some rest, and relax?" Neerak Axutar asked. "Rest? Relax? Just because we were not able to proceed with our talk to the King of this Kingdom, does not mean that we have nothing to do in relation to our mission of helping this Kingdom." Pedro scolded with a frown on his face. "First of all¡­ Look at our clothes. Do you think that our clothes would be pleasing to the eyes of a noble? Much less a Royalty?" "But Sire Aron¡­ What we wear does not matter! Your strength would more than enough to prove your identity better than any clothes that we could buy and wear." Pedro could not help but scratch the back of his head in response. He was starting to get irritated with Neerak Axutar. However, at that moment, he can''t help but remember that he does not have much gold left with him. At the least, they would be able to buy a set of decent clothes for a few silvers. But for the best clothes available in the clothes'' shop¡ªmostly tailor-made clothes for nobles and royalties, these high-end clothes might cost them a gold coin or two. So, Pedro can''t help but agree with Neerak Axutar deep inside and thought that clothes were not that important at that moment. That said, he doesn''t want to lose face in front of the other NPCs. That is why he smiled slightly towards them and said, "I know that fact! But¡­ We still need to buy and change into some decent clothes, at the least, because it is some kind of respect that we should show to other people, especially the King!" Seeing that Pedro was already dead set in buying new sets of clothes for everyone, Neerak Axutar could only surrender with a smile. He scratched the back of his head and said, "I-If that''s the case¡­ Then, I could only say my thanks to you, Sire Aron." "That''s nothing! It''s only natural for me to do this. I don''t want people to bully my men just because of the clothes they wear. It is my job as your Captain to this much for all of you. In any case, don''t you like it that way? Who knows, a princess might fall in love with you?" Pedro chuckled¡ªmaking fun out of Neerak Axutar. "Hehe¡­ Sire Aron, you surely know how to joke!" Neerak Axutar said. He can''t help but force out a smile as he was a tad bit embarrassed by that idea deep inside. Noticing that Neerak Axutar seemed like he was starting to get annoyed, Pedro slapped his back and said, "Have some confidence in yourself, will you?! You are young, talented, and well educated. You are not much different from a noble of your age. Hahahaha!" At this moment, Neerak Axutar''s mind was starting to get clouded by his annoyance to Pedro that was brought by the ''Princess'' topic. He was barely able to hold himself from shouting in response towards Pedro. The three village soldiers knew Neerak Axutar very well because they came from the same village. Thus, they can''t help but force out a smile after seeing Neerak Axutar''s face that was on the brink of shouting to Pedro in retaliation. They started to sweat, thinking about what to do. Would they stop Neerak Axutar beforehand, or would they just let the deities decide on what would happen next? Fortunately, Pedro did not tease the young man even further. He simply stood in place¡ªahead of them, to the path that was leading to the clothing shop. At first, the three village soldiers felt relieved. While Neerak Axutar was able to get back to himself and was calming himself down. But after a few seconds, it synced into them that Pedro has not even moved a finger in the past few seconds. Thus, they can''t help but feel that something bad was going to happen. "What do you need?" Pedro asked coldly to a middle-aged looking man standing right in front of him. The man''s hair was medium in length¡ªjust long enough for the tip of his hair to cover his eyebrows, ears, and the back of his neck. While he had a slightly big body built that was almost akin to a bodybuilder, and is paired with his small black eyes. The middle-aged looking man simply smirked in response and pointed towards the Golden Katana attached to Pedro''s waist. Then, he said, "Young man, give me that sword! I''ll pay you one gold coin for that!" Pedro stared daggers directly into the man''s eyes. But for some reason, the man did not show any hints of fear¡ªmaking the four NPCs standing behind Pedro worried. That said, Pedro kept his calm and cold demeanor. Then, he said, "If that''s all that you need¡­ Then, I''m sorry to disappoint you, but... My sword is not for sale! So if you have no other matters with me, please move aside and don''t block on my way!" Chapter 197: A Vampires Heart! Despite Pedro''s cold demeanor, the middle-aged man remained unfazed. He also did not dare move an inch from where he stood to give way to Pedro and the four NPCs behind him. Instead, he smirked in response as he inserts his hand into his inventory bag. "Young man¡­ Based on the bag hanging around your body, it is safe to assume that you are an adventurer too, right?" The middle-aged man said, making Pedro frown in response. Then, the middle-aged man chuckled, saying, "I knew it! Hahaha!" "So, what if I am adventurer?" Pedro asked, coldly. "Does that give you the right to stop me?" Pedro''s words had killed the laughter of the middle-aged man, consequently making the atmosphere tense up. The middle-aged man stared daggers at Pedro and said, "Young man, I am giving you some face¡­ That''s why I offered you a gold coin for your sword. Do you know who I am? I am Kazuto Kageyama! Just the player who would stand at the pinnacle of this game in the future! So¡­ Why don''t you hand over your sword? Who knows, I might even consider taking you into my guild if you show me your sincerity?" "Why you! Sire''s sword is made of gold and you dare offer him with only one gold?" Neerak Axutar burst in anger. He walked forward and was about to went past Pedro while saying, "Who''s giving a face to whom? Why don''t you go to the blacksmith and ask them to use your golden coin and craft you a weapon?! Who knows, they might craft you some toothpick with it?!" The bystanders around them¡ªwatching the drama, burst into laughter after mistaking what Neerak Axutar said for a joke. This, in turn, had angered Kazuto Kageyama to the point that his hand swung out of his inventory bag¡ªconsequently sending a bronze sword to Neerak Axutar. "Did your father not told you to do not interfere in the discussion of two elders?" Kazuto Kageyama growled as his bronze sword was just inches away from slicing Neerak Axutar in half. At this moment, Neerak Axutar froze in place as everything around him seemed like it becomes slower in pace. He could not help but simply watch the bronze sword gets closer to his body. The three village soldiers behind him shouted as they tried their best to go after Neerak Axutar and protect him from Kazuto Kageyama''s strike. Fortunately, Kazuto Kageyama''s bronze sword suddenly split in half, just when it was inches away from Neerak Axutar''s skin. This, in turn, made the other half of the sword to fly into one of the stall shops on the side. Everyone could not help but to froze in place as their attention was focused either towards the still one piece Neerak Axutar or the broken bronze sword in Kazuto Kageyama''s hand. In fact, even Kazuto Kageyama, himself, was at loss for words and he could only stare at his broken bronze sword with a frown. At this moment, Pedro chuckled and said, "Let me set things straight, Mister Kazuto Kageyama! First of all, I am the one who is giving you a chance not to lose some face in this public area. And secondly¡­ It is me who would stand on top of everything else!" "Huh?" Kazuto Kageyama frowned in response. His eyes immediately glanced to his left, where the tip of his bronze sword flew. At this moment, he saw Pedro''s Pen-knife on its way to his head. Thus, he can''t help but grit his teeth as he used every single fiber on his body to slightly lean backward and avoid the knife by a hair''s breadth. A weak gust went past through his face, leaving at the tip of his nose. Then, blood burst out of it in the next second¡ªconsequently making Kazuto Kageyama retreat a few meters back while grabbing a female NPC along the way. "That was close!" He chuckled. Then, after a few seconds, he smirked towards Pedro and said, "Don''t move! Put your weapons down and had over all of your things to me! Else¡­ I would kill this woman!" His threat made everyone gasp in fear, while the female NPC could not help but cry. Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers could not help but grit their teeth as they were all put in a tight situation because of the hostage. Thus, they can''t help but glance at Pedro¡ªwaiting for his next actions. "I''ll give you five seconds to follow my instructions!" Kazuto Kageyama said with a smirk on his face. "One! Two! Three¡ª" Before Kazuto Kageyama could continue his count, Pedro could not help but shook his head and said, "Your ability is really good! To be able to spot my weapon in the span of milliseconds¡­ And even able to dodge my attack¡­ You are quite strong! Unfortunately¡­ You are still too weak to face me head-on!" Everyone was flabbergasted at what Pedro said. Kazuto Kageyama can''t help but frown as his jaws opened at their widest and were about to bite at the woman''s neck. However, before he could do so, Pedro''s eyes went all black in the next millisecond¡ªknocking everyone out into the ground. Pedro could not help but take a deep sigh as he calmly walked forward to the sleeping Kazuto Kageyama. He shook his head and said, "I wanted to spare you because I wanted you to become my rival. I know all your tricks and attack patterns and is written in my head. So¡­ It would not be bad if you would be the one who would stand as my rival. But! You chose to create a scene instead. I am not fond of people who like to constantly bring trouble to me. So¡­" At this moment, Pedro arrived in front of the sleeping Kazuto Kageyama. Then, he drew his Faithpursuer Katana and said, "I have no choice but to end you here! I hope that you''d learn not to poke your nose into other''s business. I would not show any mercy if you dare cause trouble to me in your second character!" Pedro stabbed his head several times. Then, he separated his head from his body before extracting his heart. This, in turn, had made his player interface to pop up with a notification. [Congratulations Player Death for Killing a Vampire!] [You have destroyed the Vampire''s jaw, eliminating the chance of accidental bites and the accidental creation of new Vampires.] [You have gained the title "Vampire Hunter"!] [Vampire Hunter] Effect: Increase damage against Vampires by 10%. No Cooldown! [A title was given to the slayers of the blood-sucking demons!] [You have successfully extracted a ''Vampire''s Heart''!] [Vampire''s Heart] Rating: Epic-rated Consumable Item. Effect: When fused to a weapon or a summon/familiar, the fused weapon, summon, or familiar would obtain [Vampirism] Skill. Use: 1/1 [The specialized Heart of the blood-sucking demons that allows anyone to obtain the ability to replenish their strength, through sucking the blood of their targets!] ~~~~ At this moment, Pedro could not help but scratch the back of his head. He glanced towards the ''Vampire''s Heart'' on his hand and thought, ''Vampire Hunter? Since when was there a Vampire in Bearth Online? No wonder Kazuto Kageyama had inhuman sense and reaction ability. He was not a human in the game after all! This explains why he was even able to overpower the American Players in the Asian Server in my past life! In any case¡­ I can''t help but be curious about the Vampirism Skill that the Vampire Heart could give to a weapon or a summon.'' Pedro rubbed his chin for a few seconds, thinking if it would be good to use the Vampire''s Heart to his weapon. However, he frowned afterward and said, ''It''s not worth to fuse it with weapons¡­ It''s much better to give it to a summon or a familiar later on! Though¡­ Unfortunately, they are not yet available at this point of the game. Thus, I can only keep this into my inventory bag.'' "Now¡­ How should I clean things up?" Pedro sheathed back his Faithpursuer Katana to its scabbard as his Pen-knife levitated back around him, making a ring. "Hmm¡­ I should just probably store his dead body in my inventory bag and let the pen-knife suck the blood up! As for everything else¡­ I could only act later on as if nothing had happened." Pedro took Kazuto Kageyama''s dead body and used his pen-knife to suck the blood as he planned. Then, he walked back to where he stood earlier and reverted back his eyes to normal. Slowly, everyone regained their consciousness back. They all woke up as if they had a good night''s sleep. That said, Pedro did not give Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers a chance to even stretch their limbs nor rub their eyes. He kicked them one by one, and said, coldly, "How long are you guys gonna stay in the ground? I don''t have that much time to spare for the four of you to simply take a nap! Stand before I cut those lazy limbs of yours!" Chapter 198: Auction Den! "Ehh?" Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers could not help but frown in response. They glanced towards the lady that was a few meters away from them with an astounded expression. Unfortunately, there was not a single trace of Kazuto Kageyama left. Thus, they can''t help but glance back to Pedro and force out a smile¡ªstill not able to fully understand what really happened. At this moment, Pedro had crossed his arms while his face wore a frown. Then, he glared towards the four NPCs and said, "How long are you guys gonna stay on the floor¡ªsitting?! Don''t tell me that you are all tired already?" "I-It''s not what you think, Sire Aron." Neerak Axutar said as he and the three village soldiers stood¡ªnot wanting to anger Pedro. Then, Neerak Axutar continued to explain, saying, "W-We suddenly passed out while a bad guy was holding the lady in front of us as a hostage." "What bad guy? All I can remember is you guys suddenly falling into the ground! I did not see anyone attack someone, what much more get taken as a hostage!" Pedro bellowed in anger. In the next second, the murderous aura he emanated became stronger, while saying, "Besides¡­ Do you think that I would stand still and let such a thing happen right in front of me?" "O-Of course not!" Neerak Axutar''s face went pale and was barely able to respond to Pedro. At this moment, Pedro can''t help but sigh deep inside. He thought, ''Aaaahh, how embarrassing! Acting is not my strong point¡­ If not for the need of building a good relationship with these NPCs, I would have not done such acts even in my past life! It is a good thing that these NPCs believed my bluff¡­ That said, with Kazuto Kageyama missing, the NPCs he was with earlier would probably start looking for him. And if I am not wrong, those NPCs are most likely vampires too. We don''t know how many vampires are in this Kingdom, so it''s best to avoid them instead for now. Besides¡­ I am yet to receive any message from the whereabouts of Mathew, Sabrina, and Loren. It would be troublesome if I would need to handle everything on my own.'' He glanced to Neerak Axutar and said, "It''s good that you know¡­ Now! Follow me! There''s a place I want to visit!" Hopeless, the four NPCs could only follow behind him in response. They glanced around them and saw the other NPCs woke up just like them. That said, they did not dare question Pedro nor poke into that matter even further because they were all too afraid of Pedro. They could only assume that they got attacked mentally¡ªcausing them to have such a bad dream, and Pedro was just strong enough to the point that he was the only one in that area who remained unaffected by it. After walking for several minutes along the central path of the market area, they arrived at a plaza-like area. At its centermost of the plaza was a gigantic statue of a man with a gold coin in his hands. While around that gigantic statue, stalls selling different things¡ªfrom food to monster loots, were scattered everywhere. The four NPCs could not help but gasp in amazement as they personally witness the heart of Tarala Kingdom''s Market Area. Their eyes surveyed around, glancing from mouth-watering food to eye-catching weapons or equipment. At this moment, Pedro can''t help but grin and murmur to himself, "It''s time to go shopping. But first¡­" Pedro glanced towards Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers, and threw a pouch of silver coins to each of them, saying, "Go buy what you want! Treat this as my compensation for not even giving you a chance to prepare the things that you might need as you travel with me." At first, the four NPCs could only stare at the pouch of silver coins in their hands. Then, they glanced back to Pedro before they checked how many silver coins they have. Before they could start the tedious task of counting how many silver coins they have, Pedro called their attention saying, "Anyway! I''ll go around too. Young man¡­ I''ll leave the three soldiers to protect you. Let''s just meet at this point after three hours. In case you encountered any problem, ask the Kingdom Soldiers for help. I am sure that the Head Guard of the Teleportation Hall would even run here if he learns that one of my companions got in trouble. But¡­ If someone dares to hurt or rob you, don''t hesitate and kill on sight! I would take responsibility for it¡­ We might as well do the King a favor and lessen the population of the criminals in this Kingdom." Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers could not help but force out a smile towards Pedro. It was only after a few seconds did Neerak Axutar got back to himself and said, "Y-Yes, Sire Aron!" Pedro smirked in response and said, "Enjoy!" Pedro did not give them a chance to even say their gratitude towards him and left. After just a few seconds, his figure vanished into the crowd¡ªconsequently creating huge smiles on the four NPCs'' faces. Pedro can''t help but also smile after he caught a glimpse of the smile in the four NPCs'' face, just before he completely lost sight of them. Then, he murmured, "Now¡­ I can shop freely!" He glanced around, looking for some things that might catch his attention. Unfortunately, most of the things that he was able to see were common items, which mostly have a bronze rating. On top of that, the materials sold are the most common ones that are easy to gather nearby the Tarala Kingdom. Thus, Pedro did not give them that much interest. That said, he noticed that everything that he encountered so far¡ªincluding the food they bought, had a price ranging from tens of bronze coins and above. So, he can''t help but frown, thinking, ''Even meat of a monster costs around thirty bronze coins a slice. At this point, even commoners would have a hard time surviving each day. In my past life, living in a Kingdom cost too much. A lodging cost ten bronze coins a day¡ªfood is not included. Since we were players, we tend to hunt and cook our own food. But if the hunt was not good, and we ended up with nothing, the rice was the cheapest alternative that only cost around five bronze coins a bag. No wonder that the people in the slums would be in turmoil. If they can''t even pay for a lodging worth ten bronze coins, what more about this meat?'' Then, he shook his head and thought, ''In any case¡­ I did not have high hopes for this Free Market in the first place! After all¡­ The hidden gems are located at the Auction Den! Thanks to Kageyama, not only did I obtain some inheritance pages from them, but¡­ I also obtained a pouch of gold coins from him!'' ''I did not count them all. But based on the size of the pouch, there is probably a hundred of gold coins inside¡ªat the least.'' He chuckled deep inside. At this moment, he entered a street leading to the north of the Free Market, while he placed his golden Katana back into his inventory bag. It took him several minutes of walk before he arrived at the gate with a huge sign above it. It was separated by a brick wall and has several fully armored soldiers standing both outside and inside the gate. That said, the brick wall was only as high as the houses in the Kingdom that were around twenty feet high¡ªsmaller than the main wall of the Kingdom that was around forty feet high. "Auction Den" Pedro took a glance at the sign for a few seconds before he glanced inside and smiled, saying, "I wonder what I would get from this Kingdom''s Auction Den? There''s only one way to find out!" Pedro walked into the Auction Den without wasting another second. On the other hand, the village soldiers in front of the gate had simply ignored him since he did not have any kind of weapon with him, and, at the same time, they did not see Pedro as someone who would create trouble inside. Of course, Pedro knew about this beforehand. That is why he unequipped his Faithpursuer Katana earlier. There was a strict rule was being implemented inside Auction Dens that prohibits any weapon that would not be sold from being brought inside. This was implemented in order to avoid conflict inside. But most importantly, it was done so to recognize the fact that it was a place where money was everyone''s weapon. It is where the rich people show their power. After all, only those who are strong enough were the only ones who had lots of money at their disposal. Chapter 199: Visit to the Tarala Kingdoms Auction Den! Right after passing through the Auction Den''s gate, a lady approached Pedro and said, "Young Sir, Welcome to Duke Albert''s Auction Den! I am Weesse, an Auction Guide prepared by the Auction Master. Seeing you, respected sir, for the first time¡­ Can I assume that you are new to this Auction Den?" "Y-Yes, I am!" Pedro can''t help but force out a smile to her in response. Then, he scratched the back of his head as Weese clapped her hands and smiled back at him. "There''s need to worry, Young Sire! I would accompany you on your visit." She said, "But before anything else¡­ I would like to kindly remind young sire about some rules being strictly implemented inside this Auction Den. There are only three major rules being implemented. Firstly, fighting is strictly prohibited inside the Auction Den! If you are caught violating this rule, the punishment would be given depending on the damage that would be made because of the fight. It would range from being blacklisted from this Auction Den to simply paying fines costing as high as one hundred gold coins... Second, if one is caught stealing inside the Auction Den, they would be severely punished to the point that even public execution is possible. And lastly, the Auction Den would take two percent on each good sold as a transaction fee." Pedro simply listened casually to the Auction Guide, whilst nodding his head a couple of times from time to time. That said, he can''t help himself but to chuckled and said, ''I know these rules! Or should I say traps? It might seem that there were only a few rules. But these three major rules are just the generalized version of the rule inside this Auction then¡­ For example, the prohibition of fighting in this area¡­ What if I was the one being attack and just retaliated or protected myself in response? There was still a possibility that they would punish me even if I am not the culprit.'' ''In any case¡­ This Auction Den''s really wanted to only keep things about businesses as much as possible. This was true to any Auction Den located in the Human Kingdoms all over the world,'' Pedro thought as Auction Guide Weese forced out a smile towards after staring back at her¡ªseemingly at loss for words. "Do you have a problem with the rules, Young Sire?" Auction Guide Weese asked. Pedro simply shook his head and said, "Forgive me, Weese? I just can''t help but doze off out of excitement and anticipation to what this Auction Den could offer. As for the rules, I have no problems with them. However, in the event of someone attacking me without second thoughts, can I assume that you have deployed strong knights or soldiers which I could depend my safety upon, during my stay in this place." "Of course, Young Sire!" Auction Guide Weese said, "Duke Albert''s personal Army is even scattered all over the place to ensure the safety of everyone else. Besides¡­ No one would dare cause trouble to Duke Albert''s Territory. Duke Albert is a close friend of the King himself after all!" "I see¡­ That''s reassuring!" Pedro nodded in satisfaction. "Anyway¡­ I completely understand the rules that you said. Can you tell me more about this Auction Den? Do you have any suggestions on how I could enjoy my visit here?" "As you wish, Young Sire!" Auction Guide Weese said, bowing respectfully towards Pedro. Then, she said, "This Auction Den consists of three areas! Namely, the Risk Auction Area, the Minor Auction Area, and the Grand Auction Area!" Auction Guide Weese pointed to the stalls near them and said, "Everything located outside the Auction Mansion is under the Risk Auction Area. It was called the Risk Auction Area because the authenticity of the items or goods sold in this area is not checked by the Auction Manager, thus leaving the final validation of the authenticity of the goods to the buyer. That said, Prices in this area are way cheaper compared to the ones sold at the Minor Auction Area and the Grand Auction Area." Pedro simply nodded in response. At this moment, he and Auction Guide Weese had started walking around looking at some stalls¡ªchecking if there were some goods that would be caught his interest. Then, he glanced to Auction Guide Weese and asked, "Can I know if I can verify the authenticity of the goods by myself?" "Yes, you can, young sir!" "What if I break it?" Pedro asked with a frown on his face. "For example, what if I swung a sword and for some reason, it broke. Am I required to pay for it and complete the purchase or not?" "Unfortunately¡­ For that case, young sire¡­ You would have to pay for the item''s buyout price." "It''s truly unfortunate," Pedro said whilst calmly glancing around checking stall after stalls. At this moment, Auction Guide Weese realized that Pedro seemed like he was familiar to Auction Dens and was just asking out some rules that often vary depending on which Kingdom he was present. Thus, she can''t help but glance towards Pedro and ask, "Perhaps you have been into Auction Dens in other Kingdoms, young sire?" Pedro glanced towards her for a few seconds in response. Then, he averted his gaze back to the items or goods being sold in stalls and said, "Yes¡­ Is there a problem with that?" "N-No! There''s no problem with it, young sir!" Auction Guide Weese forced out a smile as beads of sweat started to appear on her face, "It''s just that I am curious to what you are looking for¡­ So that I could recommend to you some stalls!" "It''s all right!" Pedro said. "There''s nothing specific that I am looking for. You can just take it that I am just a simple guest looking around and would buy anything that might pique my interest." "Very well! Then, please take your time." Auction Guide Weese said as he walked along Pedro, checking stalls after stalls in the garden like area. Minutes later, they arrived at an area filled with cages. Inside these cages were humans, demi-humans, and even intellectual monsters that have thick metal collars, locking their necks. While chains were wrapped around their hands¡ªlocking them up at a certain place in the cage and a few feet away from each other. "Slaves?" Pedro asked as his eyebrows furrowed. His attention was shifted to the ''intellectual monsters'' that were chained all over their body and were grumbling and struggling as much as they can. It was a giant three-eyed orc that was over ten feet tall and has well-toned muscle. However, before he could speak another word, Auction Guide Weese smirked and said, "Yes, young sir!" Pedro can''t help but sigh as he averted his gaze from the giant three-eyed orc to the weak and ragged looking humans, and asked, "How much do the humans cost?" The man standing in front of the cage¡ªthe seller of the slaves, glanced to Pedro and asked, "Do you mean the buyout price for each of the human slave?" Pedro simply nodded in response as the man raised three of his fingers and said, "Thirty Silver Coins each! Price is fixed!" "Thirty Silver Coins, huh?" Pedro walked closer to the humans whilst robbing his chin. Before he could say another word, the man scratched the top of his head and said, "These are quality goods! Just feed them properly and give them some bath, and you would see their true value!" The man was right. The auctioned slaves have some eye-catching features and assets. Most of the young ones were even good looking. However, Pedro knew about it since he first saw the slaves inside the cage. The man had only told him about it because it was somehow a part of the man''s sales strategy. That said, Pedro was not interested in the slaves because of their appearance. He was thinking of a way on how to test the abilities of these humans and find the strong or talented ones amongst them. Unfortunately, because of the fact that he might unconsciously violate the rules of the Auction Den, he can''t help but stare at them and ponder whether he should buy them all or should he just simply pass on them instead. "Six female¡­ Five male¡­ Let''s see¡­" Pedro rubbed his chin as he glanced towards the man. Then, he asked, "For the demi-humans, how much is the buyout price?" The man raised five of his fingers to Pedro and said, "Fifty Silver Coins!" "How many do you have?" Pedro asked. "Overall?" The man asked, which Pedro nodded in response. "I have four more at the back. Add up the five in this cage, I have nine demi-humans in total." "Nine, huh?" Pedro pondered for a few more seconds before he was able to make up his mind. He glanced towards the man and said, "Deal! I''ll take all the demi-humans" "Thank you for your purchase¡­ Wait what???!"The man shouted in astonishment as if his eyes were about to pop out from its sockets. "D-D-Did I just hear you correctly??? Nine demi-humans¡­ That''s Four Gold Coins and Fifty Silver Coins all in all???" "Yes, is there a problem?" Pedro asked with a smirk planted on his face. Chapter 200: The Master of Demi-Humans! "N-No problem! No problem!" The man said as he glanced back and forth from Pedro to Auction Guide Weese¡ªas if he was asking if Pedro was really going to buy the slaves. However, before the man or Auction Guide Weese could utter a word, Pedro took out four gold coins and a pouch of silver coins from his inventory bag. Then, he said, "Please prepare my slaves immediately. The pouch contains eighty silver coins. I would like to bid three silver coins for all of the human slaves, except the old woman at the corner." Pedro glanced towards Auction Guide Weese and handed to her the money. Then, he asked, "You can handle the purchase for me, right?" Auction Guide Weese bowed slightly in respect to Pedro and said, "O-Of course, Young Master!" Pedro simply smirked in response. He turned around and walked towards a carriage with ragged looking human slaves in it. Their necks also had the same thick metal collar as the slaves that Pedro had bought. Their hands were also chained, restricting their movements and hindering them from potentially escaping. On the other hand, their slave trader could not help but bow respectfully towards Pedro after witnessing him buy the slaves that were being sold by an adjacent slave trader at the buyout price without even batting an eye. "How can be of help, Young Master?" The slave trader asked. "How much for these human slaves?" Pedro asked whilst carefully looking at the slaves inside the carriage. "If you mean the buyout price, Young Master, the price is the same as the previous slave trader. Thirty silver coins each." "I see¡­" Pedro simply nodded in response. Then, he glanced towards Auction Guide Weese¡ªwaiting for her to finish the transaction that he made at the first slave trader, and said, "Let''s wait for my guide before we make any transactions." "Of course, young master!" The slave trader said as he followed Pedro''s gaze and glanced to Auction Guide Weese. At this moment, Pedro could not help but force out a smile deep inside and thought, ''Thirty silver coins? You''ve got to be kidding me! If not for the coins I got from Kageyama, I would not even dare talk to these bastards! The slave chain costs around two silver coins. Other than that, there is basically nothing else that these slave traders needed to pay for.'' He glanced towards the human slaves in the carriage and thought, ''In fact¡­ I can just simply go to the slums of every Kingdom. The people there would even approach me on their own and offer their services in exchange for food. So¡­ I could only bid three silver coins for each human slave, out of consideration for the Auction Den''s owner. I won''t go beyond that even if someone outbids my offer. Besides¡­ These are not the best slaves that this auction den could offer.'' Moments later, Auction Guide Weese approached Pedro with several papers on her hand. While the nine demi-humans followed behind her with their thick metal collar still in their necks. "These are the papers regarding the contracts of these slaves." Auction Guide Weese explained as she handed out the papers to Pedro. "After you sign these contracts, they would be officially yours, Young Master!" "Let''s take care of it, once we are inside the Auction Mansion. There won''t be problems with it, right?" "Yes, young master!" Auction Guide Weese simply bowed in response. Then, she asked, "These slaves are already your property. These papers are just for formality¡­ At the same time, there won''t be a problem if the young master desires to bring his slaves inside the Auction Mansion. They are young master''s property, so it is only natural that they would be allowed inside the Auction Mansion." "Good!" Pedro nodded in satisfaction. Then, he glanced towards the slave trader beside him and said to Auction Guide Weese, "Please bid three silver coins for each human slaves that are being sold in this Risk Auction Area. But make sure to only place a bid on human slaves that has a slave collar around their necks. As for the demi-human slaves¡­ buy them out immediately." At this moment, Pedro handed over a pouch of gold coins and a pouch of silver coins to Auction Guide Weese and said, "Here are the coins in case you need to purchase them. There are fifty coins in each pouch. If you ever needed more coins, just approach me." "This¡­" Auction Guide Weese can''t help but tremble as her eyes were fixated on the two pouches in her hands. The slave trader can''t help but also stare at the two pouches. That said, the slave trader did not dare snatch the two pouches because he knew that even if he was able to run at his fastest, he would not be able to leave the Auction Den alive. Well¡­ That is only considering the strength of the Auction Den''s Guards. If Pedro was to interfere, he would not be able to run in the first place. Pedro could only pat Auction Guide Weese''s shoulder¡ªto calm her, and said, "I trust you that you can handle this matter at the least. Please take care of it immediately so that we could proceed inside the Auction Mansion. And if possible, please ask the slave traders if we can purchase the carriages with a cage on top of it." "I-I''ll take care of that, young master!" Auction Guide Weese said. Then, she forced out a smile towards Pedro as she bowed and called the slave trader to execute Pedro''s orders. In turn, the slave trader also forced out a smile as he bowed towards Pedro before talking to Auction Guide Weese. On the other hand, Pedro glanced towards his demi-human slaves and thought, ''If I could remember correctly, demi-human slaves are quite rare in Aquari Continent at the start of the game. It was only after the game''s fourth year did their population started to grow. However, by that time, they were already well established like human NPCs. Thus, the chance of obtaining a demi-human slave was very low.'' ''In any case¡­ I did not buy them at the maximum price just because of their rarity. I bought them because demi-humans are a race of hybrid humans. Despite their looks¡ªwhere some of them even resemble some animals or beasts, some of their abilities were way better than ordinary humans. For example... These Cat People¡ªor should I say Kiths, had sensitive ears and skin allowing them to sense the presence of any being around them regardless of whether they were using invisibility skills or such.'' At this moment, Pedro glanced towards the three Kiths amongst the nine demi-humans that he bought, and pondered, ''But¡­ If I could remember correctly, they had two variations. The three Kiths that I bought had dark blue furs in their ears and tails¡ªindicating that they are part of the so-called Wild Kiths! They were the Kiths that were usually found in villages located near forests or mountains and were good at fighting because of their enhanced vision¡ªespecially at night and their quick reflexes. If trained well¡­ They could even become great assassins who could kill enemy guild leaders with ease, later on¡ªin guild wars. In any case, I really hit the jackpot this time!'' ''As for the other type of Kiths, they were called Passive Kiths. They had light brown fur on their ears and tails and were simply rumored to excel in housekeeping. They were quite sensitive about the cleanliness and maintenance of their houses. I don''t have much idea about the Passive Kiths since I was the one who personally took care of the maintenance of the guild''s castle in the past. Even if I would be able to obtain Passive Kiths, I still won''t hand over the maintenance of the guild castle in the future¡­ Though it was a pain in the ass¡­'' Pedro thought as he forced out a smile deep inside. ''At least¡­ I learned my lesson! And I''ll keep the guild castle small this time around.'' In the next second, his eyes landed on the six other demi-humans that also had a few furs in their face and a nose that was akin to a dog''s nose. Then, he scratched the back of his head and thought, ''As for this Dog People¡ªor should I call Pops¡­ I expect that their extraordinary smelling abilities are not damaged of some sort! I would not have high hopes on their extraordinary hearing abilities because most of their hearing abilities deteriorate as they get older because of the environment.'' ''In any case¡­ They would be good trackers, material gatherers, cooks, alchemists, and even poison detectors so¡­ I''ll just have to improve their state first. It would be troublesome to place them under the annoying kid, so I would probably leave these demi-humans under Bro Aldo''s command. After all¡­ Bro Aldo might end up as the protector of my castle in the future¡­'' Pedro chuckled¡ªconsequently making his demi-human slaves puzzled in response. Then, he clapped his hands and said, "Greetings, my servants. I am Aron Death¡­ And I would be your master from now on!" Chapter 201: Adjusting His Plans: Preparation Before Pedro Visits the Auction Mansion! The demi-humans placed their right clenched fist and placed it to their chest¡ªthe left side where the heart is located, and bowed towards Pedro as they said in unison, "This lowly servant greets young master!" Pedro, on the other hand, could not help but scratch the back of his head¡ªthinking of what to do next with his slaves. ''Now¡­ What should I do with these demi-humans? It''s obvious that I should buy them clothes, equipment, and weapons¡­ But I still can''t do that! Not until the blood contract has been established between me and these demi-humans. Only then I could ensure that they would never betray me no matter what happens!'' Pedro glanced to the contracts in his hand and thought, ''These contracts were just for formality as Auction Guide Weese had said. These were just in accordance with the laws of the Tarala Kingdom concerning slave trading. The effect of these contracts might even be restricted amongst places that the Tarala Kingdom was only affiliated with¡­ In any case, I can just make them sign a blood contract later on. And while I am on it¡­ I can''t help but wonder what would happen if I use a Nearis Paper for the blood contract?'' Pedro can''t help but sigh deep inside. Then, he shook his head and thought, ''I could only try it if my plan works. The silver sword I bought from the BHO HQ would surely attract the eyes of the Auction Master. I could only hope that I would gain his favorability and be treated like a VIP. Only then I can make the blood contracts without anyone watching.'' Since Pedro could not arrange a change of clothes for the demi-humans, he could only rub the back of his head and embarrassingly said, "Please raise your heads¡­ Unfortunately, I can''t provide a change of clothes as of now. So, I would have to trouble all of you to endure your uncomfortable clothes for now." The demi-humans slowly raised their head and glanced towards Pedro. Then, after a few seconds, what Pedro said had sunk into their minds. Some of them forced out a smile whilst shaking their heads and said, "Y-Young Master, you need not trouble yourself about that!" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "It''s not a trouble for me! In fact¡­ I want all of my slaves to be well dressed and equipped. Do you know that what you wear would reflect back at me as your master? Besides¡­ I am not doing it purely out of my reputation. I am an adventurer¡­ So¡­ You would know by now why clothes and equipment are important, even if you are just my slaves." Pedro''s demi-human slaves could only avert their gazes to the ground and remained silent. As the word itself says, Adventurer! A person who travels often from one place to another. Thus, Pedro indicated in his message that they would face constant threats posed by the monsters that were scattered in the wild. Consequently, his message had highlighted the importance of proper clothes¡ªagainst the unpredictable weather in the wild, and the importance of armor and equipment as protection against the threats posed by monsters. That said, the reason why they can''t help but avert their gaze from Pedro was because most slaves bought by adventurers would end up dying after a few months, or even days. This was because most slaves are used by adventurers as baits or meat shields against monsters. Thus, if they are not physical, mentally, nor magically strong, their fate is most likely sealed and their deaths would be inevitable. Well¡­ They had no choice after all. If they try to do anything funny, they would certainly die inside the Kingdom, on the spot. So¡­ It was still a better choice for them because being baits or meat shields gives them a chance to be able to live more¡ªdepending on their strength, wit, or such. On the other hand, Pedro understands the grim look on their faces. He knows that they are weak and are afraid because of what he had just revealed to them. However, he was lax because he would never let them be in a perilous situation. Well¡­ depending on the situation. In any case, it was the reason why he wanted to provide them proper clothes and equipment at the bare minimum. He just wanted to establish an irrevocable contract so that his investments won''t go to waste. After all, he would develop them to the point that they would become pillars of his force later on. In the end, Pedro simply ignored them and watched Auction Guide Weese contact the other slave traders regarding Pedro''s request. At this moment, he thought to himself, ''I know that it is hard for these demi-humans to accept their fate. However, I want to establish them as strong individuals. Taking care of them like a baby would not bring anything good. I might even mess up their development if I interfere with it. So¡­ I could only leave them on their own and develop. After all¡­ Unlike Players¡­ NPCs have no system to guide them in increasing their strength.'' A few seconds later, Pedro can''t help but frown deep inside and thought, ''That said¡­ It seems like Auction Guide Weese would take a few more minutes before she would able to settle all the matters with the slave traders. I only have two hours left. I haven''t even checked the items sold inside the Auction Mansion. What much more finding the ''hidden gems'' inside it! Should I extend my stay here???'' Pedro rubbed his chin and pondered for a few seconds before clapping his hand, thinking, "I have decided! I''ll stay here for now. Besides¡­ I doubt that the issue concerning the Royal Family would happen soon. The Royal Knights are still too stubborn¡ªmeaning that this kind of event is something still normal for them. As for the case of them being perpetrators for the death of the King¡­ Seeing the Teleportation Portal Head Guard was more concerned about the reputation of the Royal Family and the Kingdom, and at the same time, was more concerned about the chance that would be lost if they did not meet me, indicates that my initial hypothesis is still right and that this is still something normal to them.'' ''In any case, there won''t be much of a problem if I stayed even longer here in the Auction Den. As for the annoying kid¡ªNeerak, and everyone else¡­ I''ll just arrange for Aldo to meet everyone else and bring them to the Head Guard of Teleportation Portal to ask for help in finding a decent place to stay for the time being. It would be a good chance to rest and save energy until Mathew''s group arrives. Well¡­ if they would arrive in this Kingdom before the chaos occurs.'' With that in mind, Pedro started typing in his player interface¡ªsending a message to Aldo about his arrangements. In turn, Aldo messages him back saying not to worry about it. On top of that, he even said to Pedro that they have successfully rescued Merchant Nordan Karva''s family and were just on their way back. That said, something bugged Aldo. They had successfully rescued Merchant Nordan Karva''s family but the quest was yet to be completed. Fortunately, Pedro knows about the reason behind that and simply informed Aldo that it would be completed¡­ probably¡­ once they are out of the Kingdom. Since they still have a few days left before the quest deadline ends, Aldo could simply follow arrangements and recon with Neerak Axutar''s group and the Trio''s Group before they ask for help regarding the place where they would stay, from the Teleportation Platform Head Guard. On the other hand, Pedro took the chance to ask Mathew about their whereabouts after he settled the arrangements for the rest of the advance team. Unfortunately, Mathew was not familiar yet with the land on the eastern continent. Thus, he could only describe their surroundings to Pedro with the help of Sabrina. Thanks to that information, Pedro learned that the three are just a day away by foot from the Tarala Kingdom. That said, he did not inform them about it. Instead, he simply encouraged them to continue heading towards the east at all cost. It was not the direct way to the Tarala Kingdom, but¡­ Pedro knows that they would eventually find their way to the Tarala Kingdom because there are some trails or paths that they could follow. With that, he was able to successfully arrange the next steps for the rest of the Advance Force without the need of leaving the Auction Den anytime soon. He had ensured that he would have enough time to spend in the Auction Den and find some hidden gems that he wanted. Fortunately, at this moment, Auction Guide Weese was walking back towards Pedro¡ªfinished with the matters concerning the slaves. This, in turn, made Pedro crack his knuckles and say, "Now¡­ It''s time for the real business!" Chapter 202: Skills Auction Area! "Are you finished with the transactions on these slave traders?" Pedro asked as he occasionally stole a glance at the ten more demi-human slaves behind Auction Guide Weese. He could not help but to force out a smile as Auction Guide Weese hands over the slave contracts to him. "Yes, young master." Auction Guide Weese said as she bowed slightly towards Pedro. The ten new demi-human slaves followed her and bowed in respect towards Pedro. This, in turn, had caught the attention of the people nearby¡ªespecially the slave traders, who seemed like they were mocking Pedro. Thus, Pedro can''t help but wave his hands towards them, while saying, "It''s alright! It''s alright! Please lift your heads! Anyway¡­ Since the transactions are complete, shall we head inside the Auction Mansion already?" "As you wish, Young Master!" Auction Guide Weese said. But before Pedro could even turn around¡ªheading towards the Auction Mansion''s entrance, Auction Guide Weese slightly bowed towards him and asked, "Young Master, before we head inside the Auction Mansion, I would like to hand this booklet to you. This is the list of bids that I made¡ªconcerning the human slaves. After five hours, if no one bids a higher amount than your bid, then, we''ll have to return here and pay the price we bid." Pedro nodded in response. But before Auction Guide Weese was able to give him the booklet, Pedro shook his hands and said, "Take care of that booklet on my behalf. You were the one who placed a bid on the human slaves. Thus, you are the only one who would be able to recognize which slave you placed a bid on. Besides¡­ I would greatly appreciate your help, especially that I might need to take care of the contracts of these demi-humans once we settled somewhere inside the Auction Mansion." "Of course, young master! I would be glad to be of help!" Auction Guide Weese said with a smile. Then, she glanced to Pedro and said, "As for your request¡ªregarding the carriages with a metal cage, I was only able to acquire four of them by spending a huge amount of fifty silver coins each. The carriages would be left here, once the remaining slaves of the said slave traders were sold." "Good!" Pedro nodded in satisfaction. Then, he rubbed his chin and asked, "Is there anything else you need to inform me?" "That''s all, young master!" "That''s great to hear! Then, shall we head into the Auction Mansion?" "Of course, young master! Please follow me." Auction Guide Weese said as she leads Pedro and his 19 demi-human slaves to the entrance of the Auction Mansion. The Auction Mansion is located in the centermost area of the Auction Den. It was a two-story building that was around twenty feet high on each floor. The walls were made of brick and concrete, while runic formations run through it¡ªeventually leading to the roofs where the Magic Crystals are located. Its front door was located on one of its shorter sides, and it was made of dark wood with some metal linings on it. On top of that, two fully armored guards stood outside and verify the identity of the people who were allowed to enter the Auction Mansion. "Halt!" The guard warned Auction Guide Weese and Pedro before they reached the doors of the Auction Mansion. "In accordance with the rule of the Auction Den, I could only allow legitimate customers inside. Since the Minor Auction Area and the Grand Auction Area would require a person to have an asset worth of a gold coin at the least, please show me a gold coin or any item or goods of an equal or greater value." Auction Guide Weese could not help but shook her head in response. Pedro had casually handed a pouch of gold coins to her earlier. That only means that he had more coins with him. It was something that was way past the requirement needed for the guards to allow Pedro and everyone else to enter the Auction Mansion. "Would this be enough as proof?" Pedro asked as he flipped a gold coin in his hands. His smirk made the guards be at loss for words. They started to sweat down in their armor, while their heart raced faster each second after they almost chased out a special customer. Thus, the guards could not help but force out a smile towards Pedro and Auction Guide Weese, saying, "O-Of course, young master! Welcome to the Auction Mansion of Duke Albert!" The guards opened the huge wooden door, revealing the spacious and luxurious lobby of the Auction Mansion. The chairs, tables, and other furniture were expertly made to the point that it might even look as elegant as the ancient-looking furniture inside the Royal Castle. After the lounge area, three-meter wide stairs could be located that was both leading to the second floor of the building. In between the two huge stairs was a path leading to the open space in the middle of the mansion and to the rest of the rooms located on the first floor. However, before Pedro could explore his way into this building, an old woman¡ªwho was standing by the door, approached Pedro and Auction Guide Weese, saying, "Weese? Can you tell me who is this young sire?" Auction Guide Weese could not help but force out a smile in response as he glanced back and forth from Pedro and the old lady because she was not able to get Pedro''s name. Thus, she was troubled when the old lady asked for Pedro''s name. Fortunately, Pedro was able to understand the reason behind Auction Guide Weese''s silence. Thus, he simply took over in introducing himself, saying, "Greetings madam! I am Aron Death, a humble adventurer who wants to try my luck and check if I would be able to obtain some decent goods in the Auction Mansion." "An adventurer, huh?" The old lady pondered. She gazed at Pedro from head to toe and thought, ''Cheap clothes, ordinary bag¡­ I don''t know how this kid got past through the knights but¡­ I doubt he would able to buy a thing or two here inside the Mansion. In any case¡­ I''ll leave him to Weese. I would rather accompany those bastard nobles and get a few silver coins as a tip, rather than assist this kid who would probably be leaving in a few minutes.'' "Then, I would be leaving him in your care Weese. You know your way inside the Mansion, right?" The old lady said coldly to Auction Guide Weese. "Yes, Manager Jade!" Auction Guide Weese said, respectfully. "Good! Good!" Manager Jade nodded her head in response. Then, she smirked and said, "Go now! Make sure to bring sire Aron to the Minor Auction Area on the first floor, first before you head to the second floor and the open area." "I will, Manager Jade." Auction Guide Weese made one last bow to Manager Jade before she glanced to Pedro and said, "Young Master, please follow me. I would bring you to the Minor Auction Area." "Thanks!" Pedro simply nodded in response. He also nodded towards Manager Jade¡ªout of courtesy. But deep inside, he can''t help but sigh and thought, ''Manager Jade, huh? It seems like a Manager of this Auction Mansion sees no worth on me. That''s too bad for her though¡­ I have more than fifty gold coins left. And it is more than enough to let me buy the bests goods being auctioned at their buyout price. Well¡­ If the goods in the auction are worth that price though.'' After a few minutes of walking through the spacious building, they arrived at the first room that was displaying a huge variety of luxurious crystal shards with a seemingly ancient scroll rolled inside it. Add up the glass container and the light created by the runic formations, the crystal shards were eye-catching to the point that someone might mistake it for a thin version of a Magic Crystal. "Skills!" Pedro chuckled as his eyes started scanning around the area. At this moment, Auction Guide Weese nodded and smiled because the skill shards had somehow caught Pedro''s interest. If Pedro would be able to buy a lot inside the Auction Mansion, it was obvious that Auction Guide Weese would get the attention of the Auction Master and even the owner, Duke Albert, for bringing in and assisting a rich costumer. Thus, she was happy because something caught Pedro''s interest at the very first room that they visited in the mansion. Before Pedro could even approach a skill shard that was being displayed, a thin old man approached them and said, "Greetings, young sire! I am Sordal Larkas! The Auction Guide specifically station here in the ''Skills Auction Area''. Feel free to inquire me information about skills as it is of my expertise. I would gladly answer your questions to the best of my ability." Pedro was barely able to contain his smirk deep inside as his lips curved slightly upward. Then, he said, "Then, I would not hold back sire Sordal Larkas. I would like you to check a skill page that I luckily obtain along the way to this Kingdom!" "Hooo¡­ A skill page you say?" Sordal Larkas asked with a smile. "Perhaps, young sire is thinking of putting the skill page in the auction?" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Whether I can put it in the auction or not, I think¡­ It is for you to decide. Am I right, sire Sordal Larkas?" Sordal Larkas simply burst into laughter. After a few seconds, he calmed down and said, "Of course! Of course! A skill page might not look as luxurious as a skill shard but in the end¡­ It all ends up in the effect it has!" Chapter 203: A Polar Opposite Ability! Sordal Larkas bowed slightly towards Pedro and pointed towards a door, leading to a seemingly staff''s room of the Skill Auction Area. Then, he smiled and said, "Young sir, please follow me. Let''s continue our conversation in our VIP room." Pedro nodded and smiled in response. Then, he glanced to Auction Guide Weese on his side and to his nineteen demi-human slaves as if he was thinking what to do with all of them. Fortunately, Auction Guide Weese had somehow read Pedro''s mind. She stole a glance towards Pedro''s demi-human slaves before forcing out a smile to Pedro saying, "If young master would permit, May I request to stay behind and keep an eye on his goods instead." Pedro could not help but to force out a smile and nod towards Auction Guide Weese while saying, "Thanks!" But before Auction Guide Weese could utter another word, Pedro glanced towards Sordal Larkas and said, "Let''s go!" "Yes, young sir!" Sordal Larkas said as he leads Pedro towards the VIP room. Inside, there was a luxurious sofa paired with a bluish transparent table made out of crystals. At the same time, an ancient-looking pair of wooden table and chair could be found at the far end of the room¡ªadjacent to the door leading to the comfort room. Pedro could not help but gasp in amazement as his eyes got glued to the ancient working wooden table and a high enough chair. Then, he smiled and said, "Not bad¡­" Sordal Larkas simply smiled in response after seeing Pedro''s eyes glued to the pair of ancient-looking furniture. That said, he did not dare waste another second and simply pointed to the sofa, saying, "Young sir, please have a seat. I would like to check the skill page you were saying earlier." In the next second, Pedro could not help but to scratch the back of his head as he forced out a smile towards Sordal Larkas and said, "Of course!" As Pedro sat on the sofa, he searched his inventory bag¡ªlooking for the Wolf Transformation Skills that he personally made. At this moment, Sordal Larkas can''t help but notice Pedro''s overcoat as he sat opposite to him. And in order to break the awkward atmosphere while Pedro was getting the skill pages for the Wolf Transformation Skill, Sordal Larkas forced out a smile and said, "Young sire¡­ That overcoat of yours¡­ It seems like I have seen that somewhere else before?" "Hooo¡­ Perhaps you know someone named Soledad?" Pedro said in a casual manner as his attention was still fixated in his inventory bag. On the other hand, Sordal Larkas could not help but be at loss for words. His eyes enlarged and seemed like it wanted to pop out of their sockets. A few seconds later, he was able to calm himself with a deep breath. Then, he said, "Young sire¡­ If you would not mind¡­ Can I ask what is your relationship with the Grand Master of skill making?" "Grand Master? Do you mean Madame Soledad?" Pedro glanced towards Sordal Larkas with a frown. However, Pedro could not help but to shook his head when Sordal Larkas simply remained quiet in response. Then, he said, "I am just a young man whom she took care of, for a few days. Nothing special!" "I see¡­" Sordal Larkas simply nodded his head in response. That said, he can''t help but sigh of relief deep inside, thinking, ''No wonder this young man does not even know that Soledad was a Grand Master in terms of skill making! He was just with her for a couple of days¡ªprobably someone whom she saved somewhere in this continent. Then¡­ Could it be¡­'' Sordal Larkas glanced towards Pedro and thought, ''Could it be that the skill page this young man wants to sell at the auction is a skill page made by Soledad?'' Sordal Larkas should his head deep inside, thinking, ''No! No! No! No! That''s impossible! Whoever it is, whatever is the case, it was obvious that anyone would use the skills that Soledad made by herself. Especially if it was given by her personally and for free!'' Before Sordal Larkas could gather more information regarding Pedro and his relation to Madame Soledad, Pedro took out two skill pages and read them first before giving them to Sordal Larkas. "Here! This is the skill page that I told you about, early on. Feel free to check them out." Pedro said as Sordal Larkas took the two ancient-looking papers. Sordal Larkas did not waste another second and read the contents of the skill page. For almost a minute, he repeatedly read the contents of the skill page as if he was a student who had seen a test questionnaire and he seemed like he does not understand a single thing written on it. His eyes were enlarging to their maximum, while beads of sweat had started to appear on his face. This sight, in turn, made Pedro smirk thinking that Sordal Larkas was rendered speechless by the skill he personally made. Thus, in order to capitalize with the current scenario, Pedro faked a cough and said, "How is it, Sire Sordal Larkas?" "This¡­" Sordal Larkas forced out a smile towards Pedro and said, "A-A skill t-that allows one to transform into a wolf being¡­ T-This skill is a treasure!" Pedro can''t help but smirk in response and said, "Hooo¡­ Then, how much would this skill page sell?" Sordal Larkas shook his head in response. After a few seconds, he sighed and said, "To be honest Young Sire, I am not sure how much it would cost! If a human being would use these skill pages, they would obtain a transforming skill that is similar to the humanoids and the shapeshifters! Despite it being Bronze Rated, its effect itself was enough to be ranked amongst the Legendary Rated skills!" "Remember that shapeshifters and humanoids are other beings in this world that could transform into human forms¡ªlike werewolves, vampires, slimes, spirits, and even the Dragon Lineage??? On the othe hand... This skill page would grant any human an ability to transform into a wolf! Something that was the polar opposite to the ability of the shapeshifters and humanoids! So¡­ Even I personally had no idea on how much these skill pages would cost." "That''s quite a problem," Pedro said whilst rubbing his chin. Deep inside, he was thinking, ''To think that an expert in skills would rate my work this high¡­ I am happy and honored to know that the value of my work is that of a Legendary Rated Skill¡­ But¡­ That was only the case in the eyes of these NPCs. Their value would still fall if I sell these skill pages to the Players on a regular basis! In any case¡­ I can find a way to increase its price later on. For now¡­ I am a bit troubled that this skill page might attract unnecessary attention and bring trouble later on¡­ As Sordal Larkas said, it''s effect was the polar opposite of the transforming abilities of other beings in this game. I am a hundred percent sure that such beings would come and look for me and inquire about the details of the skill¡­ I know that I would earn a lot from these skill pages but¡­ I am not sure if it is worth the trouble that it may bring to me later on.'' On the other hand, Sordal Larkas could only rub the back of his head and force out a smile towards Pedro, while saying, "Why don''t you use this skill page instead, young sire??? I mean¡­ It''s quite a rare skill page to have. Besides¡­ Shouldn''t you treasure it, if it was given to you by the Grand Master Skill Maker, herself?" "Given???" Pedro can''t help but frown in response. Then, he sighed deep inside and thought, ''Grand Master Skill Maker??? Does he mean Madame Soledad? And what''s more¡­ given??? Does this old man think that I got this skill from Madame Soledad? Haiz!!!! I was the one who made it, for fack''s sake!'' Pedro shook his head and said, "It was not from Madame Soledad! That¡­ I can tell you! However¡­ I cannot tell you where I got it from!" "Eh???" Sordal Larkas could only stare towards Pedro in response. Before he could utter another word, Pedro bit his lips and said, "I know that it might bring trouble later on, but¡­ I have already decided to sell it no matter what! Besides¡­ You have seen it already. What''s the use of hiding it from everyone else?" At this moment, Sordal Larkas was still at loss for words. It took him a few more seconds before he got back to himself, and said, "I-If that''s what you want, Young Sire! T-Then, I could only comply!" Sordal Larkas glanced to the two Wolf transformation skill pages in the table and said, "How about this young sire? I would recommend the two skill pages to be sold at the Grand Auction. There''s a huge chance that it might become the Main Item to be sold. And if that happened, you might earn as much as hundreds of gold coins!" "Recommend???" Pedro asked with a frown, "There is no assurance that it could be sold at the Grand Auction?" Sordal Larkas could only shake his head in response and said, "Unfortunately young master, I am just but a mere Auction Guide in this Auction Den. Even if I get to ask an Auction Manager for help, the decision of whether these skill pages would be included in the Grand Auction or not would still lie to the Auction Master, Duke Albert. So¡­ The best that I could do is to recommend this item for the Grand Auction to the Auction Master. B-But! You don''t need to worry young sire! Even if it would not be included in the Grand Auction, I could still display it here in the Skill Auction Area with a price of Fifty Gold Coins!" Pedro simply sighed in response and said, "I guess¡­ I have no other choice! Then¡­ I''ll leave it in your hands, sire Sordal Larkas!" Sordal Larkas stood in response. He shook Pedro''s hands and said, "It would be my honor, Sire Aron!" Chapter 204: A Shameless Auction Manager! Pedro and Sordal Larkas walked out of the VIP room¡ªconsequently getting the attention of Auction Guide Weese and Pedro''s 19 demi-human slaves. At this moment, Auction Guide Weese was about to approach them. However, she simply halted on her tracks and waited for them, since they seemed like they were heading towards her. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but stole a glance towards Auction Guide Weese and his demi-human slave, and asked, "Sire Sordal Larkas, before we pay the Auction Master a visit, can I know if there''s a place where my newly bought slaves could rest for the moment?" Sordal Larkas stopped on his tracks and glanced to Pedro before he shifted his attention to the demi-human slaves. He rubbed his chin for a few seconds before saying, "Why don''t we check the second floor and see if there are any VIP rooms available?" "This¡­" Auction Guide Weese could not help but to force out a smile in response. Then, she glanced to Sordal Larkas and said, "Sir Larkas¡­ Even if there is a VIP room available, I doubt that the Auction Managers would allow us to occupy one for that simple reason." Pedro can''t help but frown in response. Then, he glanced towards Sordal Larkas and said, "She''s right, Sire Sordal Larkas. Won''t it just bring us trouble? Though it''s true that I want to keep them in a safe place while I am roaming around the Auction Mansion, I don''t want to experience any trouble just because of it." Sordal Larkas simply smirked in response and said, "You don''t need to worry, young sir! You are an important guest. It is only natural that the Auction Mansion would provide a room for you and your belongings at the least¡­ It''s a rule that even Auction Managers would not dare to ignore. Am I right, Guide Weese?" "O-Of course!" Auction Guide Weese said in an embarrassed tone. She can''t help but worry deep inside because she knows that the Auction Managers often judge the book by its cover. In fact, even Pedro had just experienced such unwelcoming treatment from Manager Jade earlier. That said, what Auction Guide Sordal Larkas had stated was true. It was only normal for them¡ªthe employees of the Auction Den, to treat important guests of the Auction Den very well. It includes providing services like food, entertainment, and more importantly, a shelter or a place to stay during their visit to the Auction Mansion. Thus, Auction Guide Weese can''t help but be cautious about this matter. She had second thoughts about using a VIP room for Pedro''s demi-human slaves because she did not also want to cause trouble to her ''boss''¡ªwhich was the Auction Managers, and at the same time, she did not want to put Pedro in an embarrassing state¡ªwhere the Auction Managers might ridicule them, or mock them, or at the worst¡­ they might get chased out of the Auction Mansion. Pedro was still a customer. And to Auction Guide Weese, no matter what Pedro''s assets were worth, it does not matter to her. She was just an Auction Guide whose job is to ensure that their clients would have a good time at the Auction Den, no matter what. Since Auction Guide Sordal Larkas had already explained that matter to Pedro and was even headstrong to request a VIP Room for them, Auction Guide Weese had no other choice but to agree instead. After all¡­ Although Sordal Larkas was just an Auction Guide, he was still someone who the Auction Master even respect and trust when it comes to Skills Expertise. So¡­ Sordal Larkas even had an authority that was almost the same as the Auction Managers. Why he was still an Auction Guide despite being trusted by the Auction Master remains a mystery to Auction Guide Weese. With everything settled, Sordal Larkas clapped his hands and said, "Then, shall we arrange young sir''s room first, before we proceed with the transaction?" Auction Guide Weese could only nod in response. Thus, Pedro could not help but to force out a smile and say, "Then, I would have to trouble the both of you¡­ Please lead the way!" "It would be my pleasure!" Sordal Larkas said in a glad tone but he was still retaining his respectful manner. "Please follow me¡­ I''ll lead the way." With the lead of Sordal Larkas, they went back to the Auction Mansion''s lobby to head up to the second floor¡ªwhere the VIP Rooms were located. The VIP Rooms were at the inner side of the building and was purposely made so that the VIP guests would have a view of the open area in the middle of the building. It would allow their VIP guests to participate in the Grand Auction that is held at the ''open area'' without the need of going out of their rooms. Since the rooms were limited, only the most important guests are often allowed to stay in one of them. At this moment, Auction Manager Jade was escorting a seemingly noble and was already on the second floor. Because of the open ceiling, she was able to see Auction Guide Weese and Pedro''s group¡ªconsequently making her chuckle out loud and say, "Haha! The Minor Auction and the Grand Auction is way different from the Risk Auction being held outside the Mansion! The good being sold inside cost ten times more than that outside! It is not something that an adventurer could handle!" This, in turn, had caught the attention of the noble with her. The young man with a medium body built glanced towards Pedro and everyone else that was in the lobby, and said, "Are they your acquaintance, Manager Jade?" Auction Manager Jade simply chuckled in response and said, "N-No, Baron Kireon! I-If I would say it¡­ It''s just a frog in a well." "Is that so?" Baron Kireon chuckled. Then, He ignored Pedro and his group as if they were not on the first floor and said, "Let''s go to my room! I want to have some rest before I roam the Minor Auction." "O-Of course, Baron Kireon! Please follow me!" Auction Manager Jade said as she pulled the Baron''s hand like a sweet maiden to her lover. Soon, their figures disappeared from Pedro and everyone else''s view. At this moment, Sordal Larkas could not help but shake his head and force out a smile, out of embarrassment from Auction Manager Jade''s act. On the other hand, Pedro can''t help but feel annoyed after being embarrassed by Auction Manager Jade in public. Fortunately, other than him, there was only Auction Guide Weese, Sordal Larkas, and his demi-human slaves in the Mansion''s Lounge Area. Thus, he was able to calm himself after a few seconds when Manager Jade and Baron Kireon disappeared. "Frog in a well, huh?" Pedro murmured, but it was still loud enough for Auction Guide Weese and Sordal Larkas to hear¡ªconsequently attracting their attention. That said, Pedro did not mind them. He simply chuckled and said, "Then¡­ I would be troubling you to throw your coins to my well!" At this moment, Pedro unintentionally exerted a weak amount of murderous aura that was strong enough to make everyone look at him with fear in their eyes. They were all frozen in place. While some of them had even shivered out of fear. It was only after a few seconds did Pedro noticed their gazes towards him. He can''t help but force out a smile in response as he dissipated his killing intent. Then, he clapped his hands to get them back to their senses, and said, "What are you guys spacing out for? You guys don''t need to worry! I am not a monster who eats humans¡­ I would not do anything bad against those two." "Haizzz¡­" Sordal Larkas sighed as he shook his head. Then, he glanced towards Pedro¡ªembarrassed, and said, "I would like to ask forgiveness for my colleague''s harsh comments. Rest assured that I would personally inform the Auction Master about this incident." Pedro could not help but shake his hands in response and said, "No, No, No, No! There''s no need for that Sire Larkas! It was only natural for me to be mistaken for someone new to an Auction Mansion. Let''s just simply do as we planned. I would like to avoid conflicts as much as possible." Sordal Larkas seemed like he was headstrong in making sure that Auction Manager Jade would be punished. However, On the other hand, Auction Guide Weese agreed to what Pedro said. Avoiding conflicts at that moment was their best option in hand. Thus, she can''t help but interrupt them before Sordal Larkas could utter another word. "Shall we proceed as planned?" She asked as she bowed respectfully to Pedro. Pedro, in turn, simply smirked in response and said, "Please take the lead!" Auction Guide Weese and Sordal Larkas could simply bow slightly towards Pedro before pointing towards the stairs to the second floor¡ªAuction Guide Weese pointing to the left stairs while Sordal Larkas pointing to the right, and saying in unison, "This way please, Sir Aron!" "This way please, Young sir!" Chapter 205: Yes... I am! Before Pedro gets confused on which stairs to take, Auction Guide Weese forced out a smile as she immediately pointed towards the stairs on the right¡ªwhere Sordal Larkas was pointing at. Thus, Pedro could only sigh deep inside as he followed Sordal Larkas up to the second floor. A spacious hallway greeted them that was well lit by the natural light coming from outside. At the same time, the supposed wooden floor was topped with a high-quality carpet¡ªseemingly made out of a red-furred monster. Pedro could not help but gasp in amazement at the elegant and luxurious vibe of that area. But before he could utter a word, a muscular man approached them and said, "How may I help you?" Sordal Larkas simply pointed his hand towards Pedro and said, "This is Sire Aron! A very important guest of mine, Manager Hoazz! And that said¡­ I would like to request a room for young sire and his slaves to settle in. It won''t be a problem, right Manager Hoazz?" The muscular man named Manager Hoazz glanced at Pedro from head to toe before he glanced back at Sordal Larkas¡ªwho wore a smile on his face. Then, he said, "Yes! There won''t be a problem. Room Seven is available! Hurry and occupy that room before another noble comes!" "Thanks, Manager Hoazz!" Sordal Larkas and Auction Guide Weese bowed slightly in response. Manager Hoazz simply ignored them and said, "Don''t mention it! It''s not like we are having a Grand Auction today!" At this moment, Manager Hoazz stole a glance towards Pedro and said, "Make sure to treat our guest properly! You know what would happen to you if our Auction Den''s reputation got tarnished because of your mistreatment!" "Of course, Manager Hoazz!" Sordal Larkas said. "Thanks for the reminder!" Sordal Larkas did not waste another second and bowed slightly towards Pedro while pointing towards the right side of the hallway, saying, "This way please, Sire Aron!" Pedro simply nodded in response and followed behind Sordal Larkas. At the same time, he ignored Manager Hoazz while having a cold demeanor that was even able to hinder Sordal Larkas from speaking with him. That said, they proceeded to their designated room without encountering another trouble. The VIP room was composed of three sections. The combined Bedroom and Living Room that was overlooking the open area of the building. An isolated eating area at the left side of the room upon entrance. And lastly, there was a discussion area at the right side of the room upon entrance. The furniture inside was delicately designed and was all made of ancient-looking wood. The bed was even large enough to fit five people in it. While the whole floor of the room was cover with a luxurious red carpet that was slightly darker in color in comparison to the carpet along the hallway. It was way better compared to the ordinary rooms located in the inns¡ªwhere most of them are just huge enough to fit two small beds inside. This, in turn, made Pedro''s slaves gasp in awe. It was their first time entering such a luxurious room, and they have no idea whether they would be able to obtain another chance to enter such a room once again in their life. On the other hand, Pedro can''t help but smirk in response. He thought, ''I would admit that this room is amazing. It was better than the inns that I had to live in for a few years inside the game in my past life. But! The rooms in my ships were just a few levels below compared to this room. Well¡­ The ships were more on comfortable and safe transportation than a luxurious experience. Just a few improvements and decorations and the rooms in the ships would not lose to this VIP room!'' He glanced through the window and spotted a light bluish colored looking sword that was embedded in a stone located at the centermost of the open area. Pedro''s eyes widened as his jaws went agape. Auction Guide Weese notice Pedro''s astounded expression and, in turn, she could not help but to follow his gaze to the embedded sword. Then, after a second, she smirked and said, "Perhaps¡­ Young Master knows about the story of the Legendary Knight of Estanian?" This, in turn, made Pedro sigh in response. He shook his head and said, "Of course! How would I not know about a Legendary Knight who said to have fought alongside gods and goddesses in the ancient times?" However, deep inside, Pedro can''t help but chuckle while thinking, ''So, this is where one of Asia''s strongest swordsman got his Legendary Rated Sword! The drunken sword master, Kim Seo Ju! Well¡­ Truth be told, I have no other info about the sword except its cool light bluish gem-looking blade, its rarity, and a bit of its lore that the Drunken Sword Master had revealed on one of his interviews in my past life. In any case¡­ I can simply organize an assassination attempt if won''t be able to obtain the sword. Besides¡­ I already have an Evolve Weapon that is even rarer than that Legendary sword!'' At this moment, Sordal Larkas followed their gaze and glanced to the embedded sword, while saying, "Perhaps, Sire Aron wants to try and pull the sword, and see whether you are worthy of being the new owner of the sword?" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "I definitely would like to try pulling that sword out of that stone. But! We should take care of the matters regarding the Skill Pages first. Never mind pulling that sword! We might even get chased out of the Auction Den if we won''t be able to talk to the Auction Master!" "You''re right, Sir Aron!" Sordal Larkas said in response. "Then, shall we meet Duke Albert himself?" Pedro simply nodded his head in response and said, "After you!" Pedro and Sordal Larkas left their VIP Room. And after a few minutes of walk, they arrived in front of an isolated room. It was located at the opposite side of the entrance to the Mansion and was on the second floor. Outside, it had two doors that were heavily guarded by four fully armored Knights¡ªwho stopped Pedro and Sordal Larkas before they even got close to them. "Halt!" One of the Knights said as he placed his hand on top of his sheathed sword. But before the Knight could continue to speak, Sordal Larkas frowned and asked, "What do you want?" "I should be the one asking that question!" The Knight said in a cold demeanor. "Although, Master allows your entry to his room¡­ He did not say that he would allow someone else with you to enter his room!" Sordal Larkas could not help but frown in response. He scratched his head and forced out a smile to Pedro while saying, "Sir Aron¡­ I would like to talk with the Duke first and ask permission for you to enter. I am sure that¡ª" Before Sordal Larkas could finish what he was saying, Pedro raised his hand¡ªstopping Sordal Larkas, and said, "It''s alright, Sire Sordal Larkas! I completely understand what you want to say. I''ll just stay here and wait for you at any case!" Sordal Larkas nodded in response and said, "Thanks, Sir Aron!" Sordal Larkas headed towards the room of Duke Albert. The fully armored Knights allowed his entry and simply kept watch of Pedro¡ªwho was quietly waiting from a distance. And after a few minutes of waiting, Sordal Larkas came out of the room together with a middle-aged looking man that has a medium body built and was wearing eye-catching clothes. "M-Master!" The four knights said in unison as they all knelt down towards Duke Albert¡ªwho just came out of the room. Then, Duke Albert glanced towards Pedro and said, "Esteemed guest! May I invite you for a discussion?" "But¡ª" The Knights could not help but force out a smile as they stole a glanced towards Pedro. However, their actions made Duke Albert frown and flick his tongue. He glared towards the knights¡ªconsequently making them avert their gaze to the floor. "I''ll take care of you guys later!" He said in a cold tone. Then, he glanced towards Pedro, forced out a smile, and said, "Please forgive me for not teaching my men proper manners in front of an important guest like you! As an apology on behalf of the Auction Den, I''ll make sure to prepare a suitable compensation for you later on. For now¡­ Can I request to have a talk with you, esteemed guest?" Pedro approached them in response and said, "Of course! Of course! It would be my honor!" Then, Duke Albert shook Pedro''s hands and said, "Thank you for your kind consideration, esteemed guest! I am Albert Estania. The third son of the previous Duke Martis Estania, and the head of the business district here in the Tarala Kingdom! It''s nice to meet you!" Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "I am Aron Death. An Adventurer¡­ and the new Captain of the Karakoa Fleet from the Bearth Human Organization! It''s my honor to meet you!" At this moment, the time had seemingly stopped for Duke Albert, Sordal Larkas, and the four fully armored knights who were able to hear what Pedro had just said. Their eyes enlarged and seemed like they were about to pop out from their sockets. While their jaws went agape in astonishment. "B-B-Bearth Human Organization???" Sordal Larkas said as his heart started to tremble faster each second. "Y-Y-You are from the Legendary Human Organization???" Pedro retained his smile and simply nodded in response. Then, he said, "Yes, I am." Chapter 206: Pedros Three Conditions! "T-Then¡­" Sordal Larkas stuttered while pointing towards Pedro as if he did not know what to do at that moment. However, before he could utter another word, Duke Albert frowned and asked, "What does an officer from the Bearth Human Organization want from me?" "Hmm?" Pedro glanced towards Duke Albert in response with a frown on his face. Then, he said, "Forgive me, Duke Albert! But¡­ I can''t understand what you wanted to say? Though I am indeed an officer from Bearth Human Organization, I have no official business with you as a representative of the organization." "So, are you saying that you came into my den on your own accord?" Duke Albert chuckled in response. Then, he starred daggers towards Pedro, and said, "Don''t take me for a fool, young man! Just tell me the truth! Are you here for the Kingdom?! To protect the King and stop the destruction of this territory?" ''Wait a minute¡­ Destruction of this territory? How did he know that there is a possibility that this Kingdom could be destroyed? Perhaps, he is amongst those people who plotted against the royal family? Whatever is the case... It''s better to talk with him first before doing anything stupid! My cousin wants to obtain control over this Kingdom at any cost! Besides¡­ I would just be digging my own grave if I take them down immediately! Someone might frame me up and eventually result in jeopardizing our plan to take control over this territory!'' Pedro grumbled deep inside. At this moment, he was rubbing his chin and was in deep thought, consequently making Duke Albert anxious. Fortunately, Pedro remained calm the whole time and did not show any signs of hostility. Thus, Duke Albert was simply on guard against Pedro while anxiously waiting for him to respond. That said, Duke Albert''s worry¡ªthat Pedro was going after him, had disappeared as Pedro grinned evilly and said, "It is my job to save and protect human lives from monsters¡­ The affairs of the Kingdoms nor Villages is not of my concern, unless¡­ Unless the life of many people is in jeopardy!" "So¡­ Are you saying that you don''t care what would happen to the current King? And¡­ You don''t care who would replace him?" Duke Albert asked with a frown on his face. "Yes! I am not interested in the matters concerning the current King! But¡­ I would be lying if I say that I had no interest to the one who would replace him!" Pedro said as he made an evil smirk towards Sordal Larkas and Duke Albert. Shivers run down through Sordal Larkas'' spine as his body unconsciously took a step back out of fear from Pedro. On the other hand, Duke Albert took a dagger that was hidden from his waist and pointed it towards Pedro. Then, he glared towards him with strong murderous intent, and asked, "Were you sent by those two bastards?" "Bastards?" Pedro asked as his brows raised in confusion. Then, in the next second, Pedro simply smiled towards him in response and said, "No, I am not! I don''t even know who was the two bastards you are referring to! And as I said earlier, I am here on my own accord! Besides¡­ There''s no need for you to worry! I did not visit the Auction Den for that purpose! I am here¡­ To talk with you. Just purely business!" "Business my ass!" Duke Albert grumbled. "Drop the act, officer! Tell me what you truly want with me! Who knows? I might spare your life if you surrender peacefully!" Pedro can''t help but burst into laughter in response. Then, after a few seconds, he calmed down as his expression and demeanor suddenly became cold. He said, "Fight you? Don''t spout such nonsense in front of me! You are not even strong enough to fight me! And mind you... If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so from the start! By this time, your body would have been rotting inside your room already. On top of that¡­ The whole Kingdom might also already be grazed to the ground. So¡­ Please stop accusing me of being an accomplice of your enemies! And¡­ Let''s just proceed with our meeting, shall we?" At this moment, Pedro emanated a murderous aura that was even strong enough to be able to freeze Sordal Larkas and Duke Albert in place. Then, he glanced towards Duke Albert and said, "I am here because I want to sell these skill pages in the Grand Auction. And if possible¡­ I would also like to discuss with you¡ªsomething about the future of the Kingdom." Duke Albert could not help but simply shook his head in response. Then, he took the two skill pages to Pedro and said, "T-Then¡­ I-If that''s what you came for... Please follow me to the discussion room!" Pedro followed closely behind Duke Albert and Sordal Larkas. They entered the room quietly to the point that they even ignored the presence of the four Knights of Duke Albert. They headed towards the spacious discussion room and sat across from each other on a square table. Then, without wasting another second, Duke Albert checked the contents of the shill page that Pedro had handed over to him. "This¡­" Duke Albert could not help but draw out a sharp breath. He glanced towards Pedro and forced out a smile, saying, "It is really a rare skill page as Sordal had said! But before I give you an offer... Officer Aron... I would like to hear what you have to say regarding the future of the Kingdom, first?" ''He''s good!'' Pedro can''t help but praise Duke Albert deep inside. That said, he retained his calm and cold demeanor outside. Then, he glanced towards Duke Albert and said, "I''ll make this short, Duke Albert! I have no plans of being the new King! But¡­ I just can''t leave the people in this territory to die needlessly! After all¡­ I am risking my life¡ªfighting monsters, just to save their lives. So¡­ I have decided to make you the new King of this land! But!!! But I have some conditions at hand!" "Support me?" Duke Albert can''t help but frown in response. Then, he asked, "Tell me¡­ What do you want?" At this moment, Pedro simply smirked and raised three of his fingers towards Duke Albert. He said, "I only have three conditions for you, Duke Albert! First and foremost¡­ I want you to ensure the safety of every human in your land at all costs! How you do it¡­ I''ll leave it up to you! But, I don''t want them to needlessly die as I said earlier!" "That¡­" Duke Albert averted his gaze from Pedro, seemingly troubled by that condition. Then, he flicked his tongue and said, "Let me clarify this to you¡­ Your first condition... I only need to ensure that they won''t die easily, right?" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "You are right! I am not requesting you to feed every single one of them! All I am saying is that¡ª" "Avoid those demons and demon worshipers that uses human sacrifice to gain power?" Duke Albert said as he interrupted Pedro¡ªknowing what he truly meant. "Of course, I won''t officer Aron! The humans are the source of income! If they die, my business would also die! Do you think I would allow that to happen?!" "It''s good that we are on the same track, Duke Albert!" Pedro said. Then in the next second, Pedro sighed and continued, saying, "However¡­ Don''t let your guard down. We have encountered a lot of demons lately in this area. So¡­ You need to increase your efforts in hunting them down, especially once you are crowned the new King!" Pedro glanced towards his palm and gripped it. Then, he said, "You don''t have to worry! I''ll lend you a hand in fighting those bastards! I had already prepared a plan, which brings me to my second request¡­ I want to build a so-called Adventurer''s Guild that would govern over all the adventurers that suddenly appeared all over the continent!" "Adventurer''s Guild???" Duke Albert asked with a frown on his face. "What do you mean? You did say that you are an adventurer. But I cannot comprehend what is this Adventurer''s Guild was for? You know very well that adventurers simply come and go on each and every stronghold. They travel all over the world and would simply stay in an inn to spend the night before resuming their adventure. How would you govern them if they would not even stay in our territory?" Pedro simply smirk in response and said, "That''s exactly the point, Duke Albert! Whether they stay permanently in a stronghold or not, adventurers still need a way to earn money and live. Think of it this way¡­ We can temporarily hire them to help our soldiers fight the monsters that are attacking our territory. In turn, we can pay them money for their services. However¡­ It would not be sustainable in terms of budget if the Kingdom would be the ones paying them for their compensation. So¡­ That is where the Adventurer''s Guild would come in. We would be the ones to post a request to the adventurers on behalf of the Kingdom and its people, while, at the same time, we would think of a way to earn some coins." "Then... Those coins that you would earn¡­" "We will use it to pay them for their work!" Pedro said with an evil smirk. Chapter 207: Blood Contract: Aron Death and Albert Estania! Duke Albert and Sordal Larkas could not help but stare at Pedro as if an evil being was in front of them. Thus, this made the air inside the room a bit awkward¡ªconsequently making Pedro shook his head. Pedro took a deep sigh, and said, "Well¡­ I would be the one doing most of the work. So, there''s no need for you to feel troubled about it." Then, he glanced towards Duke Albert and asked, "You won''t have any problem doing such arrangements for me if you became the new King¡­ right?" At this moment, Duke Albert was forced to return to his senses. He nodded unconsciously towards Pedro and said, "Of course¡­ Such things would not be a problem if I would be the next King!" "Good! Good!" Pedro nodded his head in satisfaction. Then, he smiled and said, "Then, into my third condition¡­ The Kingdom shall hold an annual fighting competition! And the winners shall serve under my fleet!" Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile in response. He rubbed his forehead¡ªseemingly troubled about Pedro''s third condition. Then, he took a deep breath and said, "Forgive me, officer Aron! But¡­ Can you kindly be more specific about your third request? Like¡­ Who are the participants? Are the heirs of the Royal Family included in the said competition?" Pedro frowned in response. Then, he rubbed the top of his head and said, "If you are worried about the heirs of the Royal Family nor other important men of the Kingdom being taken by me, then¡­ You don''t need to worry about it! As I said, it is a competition. And I want it to be open to all!" "Even slaves?" Sordal Larkas asked with a frown painted on his face. "Hmm¡­" Pedro pondered for a few seconds after glancing towards Sordal Larkas. Then, he said, "It would be a troublesome case for the slaves, huh? How about this? The slaves that were permitted by their owners shall be allowed to join the competition? As for those who do not have an owner yet before the competition starts¡ªallow them to join the contest if they have proof or a decent background that would act as a basis that they would be able to fight head to head with the other participants? Just pay the slave traders an appropriate amount as compensation for their participation." Pedro glanced to Duke Albert¡ªwaiting for his response. This, in turn, had placed Duke Albert under a lot of pressure, and eventually, he had no choice but to bit his lips and said, "Alright! I agree! I know that the forces of Bearth Human Organization need reinforcements from time to time¡­ As long as the Kingdom''s interests won''t be affected too much, I don''t think that there would be an issue in sending capable warriors to your force, Officer Aron!" "Based on your response¡­ Can I take it that you are agreeing to my conditions?" Pedro asked as his face wore an evil smirk. He took out a wooden cup from his inventory bag and placed it on top of the table. Using his pen-knife, he made a cut to his palm on his right hand before he gripped that hand tightly and allowed the blood to drip and fill the cup, around one-eighth full. Then, he pushed the wooden cup towards Duke Albert and, at the same time, handed his pen-knife towards him as if Pedro was saying that it was his turn. Duke Albert simply smiled in response as he took the cup and the pen-knife from Pedro. Then, he did what Pedro did¡ªmaking a cut on his right palm and allowing his blood to drip into the cup to fill it until it reached around one-fourth of the capacity of the wooden cup. "Blood Oath, huh?" Duke Albert chuckled. "Officer Aron, you are sure cautious about this agreement." "I am just being careful, Duke Albert! After all, the lives of thousands of people lie in my hands. A few safety measures won''t be that bad, right?" Duke Albert simply burst into laughter in response¡ªconsequently making Pedro smile at the same time. Then, after a few seconds, Duke Albert calmed down and raised the wooden cup, while saying to Pedro, "I, Albert Estania, hereby swore to uphold the conditions given by Officer Aron in exchange for his support in my succession to the Tarala Kingdom''s throne!" Duke Albert simply took a sip before he handed the wooden cup to Pedro. Then, he took a gulp and wipe the blood on his face. At this moment, Pedro raised the wooden cup and said, "I, Aron Death, hereby swore to support Albert Estania in his succession to the Tarala Kingdom''s throne!" Pedro drank the remaining blood in the cup until there was not a single drop left. At this moment, Pedro''s player interface had suddenly popped out with a notification displayed in it. [Congratulations Player Death! You have successfully formed a Blood Contract with !] [Conditions of Blood Contract established with !] 1.Support Albert Estania to become the new King of Tarala Kingdom. Note: Condition of this Blood Contract shall be fulfilled when is crowned the new King of the Tarala Kingdom. [Failure to meet the conditions stated above shall result in the inevitable death from the curse of the Blood Contract!] ~~~~~~ Pedro could not help but sigh heavily deep inside. He thought, ''This¡­ I have already seen such notification countless times, but the trap of the Blood Contract never gets old! Though there is only one condition included in it, I must also ensure that Duke Albert would not die until he is crowned as the Tarala Kingdom''s new King! Else¡­ I would fail to fulfill the condition, and I would definitely die¡ªno matter how overpowered I currently am¡­ In any case¡­ This Blood Contract is worth the risk! Once I complete my part, I would be free from the curse of the Blood Contract! While on the other hand¡­ Duke Albert is forever tied to our agreement until he dies. He had no choice but to uphold his side of the agreement no matter what.'' At this moment, his attention was shifted to the empty wooden cup and thought, ''Fortunately¡­ Blood loss or bleeding is connected to a player''s Health Points. I only need to drink a potion or two to regain back the blood and, at the same time, heal the wound on my hand.'' Pedro took out two potions from his inventory bag. He gave one to Duke Albert, while he drank one for himself. Fortunately, a potion was enough to cure the cut on his palm and, at the same time, solve any irregularity that his body was experiencing¡ªmaking Pedro feel rejuvenated. "Thanks!" Duke Albert said as he drank the potion that Pedro gave. The cut on his hands also got healed as his body got rejuvenated. Then, Duke Albert took this chance to go back to their business concerning the two Wolf Transformation Skill Pages, and said, "Moving Forward¡­ Officer Aron, I would like to offer two hundred gold coins for one of the two Transformation Skill Pages! I know that it is a bit shameful for me, the Auction Master, to buy one of your items instead of putting it in the auction but¡­ I, personally, do not want to pass on such a rare skill to slip from my hands! Besides¡­ I personally think that the value of the transformation skill page would rise to an unfathomable amount if only one copy would be auctioned." "You want to tell the Auction Participants that it is only one of a kind? A rare one, as they say?" Pedro rubbed his chin, seemingly interested in Duke Albert''s idea. "Yes, Officer Aron!" Duke Albert simply nodded with an evil merchant''s smirk in response. "From my estimate¡­ You might earn two hundred gold coins at the least! With another two hundred gold coins from me, won''t it be a good deal for you?" "You are right!" Pedro said, "If there''s only one copy being auctioned, the Auction Participant might even exhaust all their resources just to obtain the said rare skill. And it would consequently raise the value of their bids to its maximum! But¡­ Two hundred coins are not enough for me! Add two more goods in the Auction Den of my own choice, then you can have yourself a deal!" At this moment, Sordal Larkas had seemingly fainted after hearing the staggering amount that Duke Albert had offered to Pedro. Thus, Sordal Larkas was not even able to hear Pedro''s counter offer. On the other hand, Duke Albert could not help but to bite his lips in response. He pondered for a few seconds before raising his hand for Pedro to shake, and said, "For the sake of our partnership¡­ I agree to your conditions!" "Deal!" Pedro gladly grabbed Duke Albert''s hand and shook it. "It''s my pleasure doing business with you!" Duke Albert could only force out a bitter smile in response and said, "Same! Same!" Chapter 208: A Former Royal Knight! Without wasting another second, Duke Albert stood and was about to leave the discussion room. Then, he glanced at Pedro and said, "Please excuse me for a minute! I would like to immediately prepare my payment to you, Officer Aron!" Pedro simply nodded in response as Duke Albert left. This, in turn, had left Pedro with Sordal Larkas in the discussion room. And it was only at this moment that Pedro noticed Sordal Larkas was ''somehow'' unconscious. Thus, he can''t help but force out a smile and reactively stood up¡ªrushing towards the unconscious Sordal Larkas. "Sir Sordal! Sir Sordal! Are you alright?" Pedro shouted in a worried tone. However, Pedro did not get any response from Sordal Larkas¡ªleaving him with no other choice but to shake Sordal Larkas on his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. Unfortunately, Sordal Larkas remained unconscious whatever Pedro did. In fact, he even slapped his face but was still not successful in waking him up. Soon, Duke Albert had returned to the room and witnessed Pedro slapping the face of Sordal Larkas. He can''t help but frown and ask, "What are you doing, Officer Aron?" Pedro could not help but to force out a smile in response and said, "For some reason, Sir Sordal Larkas is unconscious! I tried shaking him¡­ And even slapping his face just to wake him up. But, none of it was effective and Sir Sordal is still unconscious. I checked his pulse and based on it, I don''t see any life threatening signs that we should be wary about." "I-I see¡­" Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile in response. He walked out of his room and called one of his guards to carry Sordal Larkas, saying, "Bring him to healer Ethareia. Tell her to prioritize his recuperation and inform me immediately, once he wakes up!" "Yes, Duke Albert!"The guard said. Then, he carried Sordal Larkas out of the room¡ªconsequently leaving Pedro and Duke Albert behind. When the doors slammed shut, Duke Albert took out a pouch that was hidden in his pocket. Then, he handed it over to Pedro and said, "This is my payment. Please check if you receive the right amount. And¡­ Since I have already given my payment, there won''t be a problem if I use the skill page that I personally bought, right?" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Yes, you gave me the right amount! As for using the skill page¡­ Please feel free to do so, since it is essentially yours from now on." Duke Albert smiled in response. He immediately took the skill page and tore it into half¡ªconsequently allowing him to obtain the Wolf Transformation Skill. And without a second thought, Duke Albert used the skill and transformed into a wolf. "Awoooo!" Duke Albert cried on his wolf form out of excitement. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but smirk towards Duke Albert and say, "I am happy that you like the skill, but¡­ Please do not forget that there''s still the two goods of my ow choice left in our condition. I hope that you won''t forget it." Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile in response. He could not help but revert to his human form, thinking that he has some matters yet to settle with Pedro. Then, he glanced at Pedro with a huge smile glued into his face and said, "Of course, Officer Aron! I would not forget about our deal. However¡­ Since Sordal Larkas is unconscious, I would be the one who would personally handle matters regarding the goods you want to take with you. That said, I would need to also arrange and manage the Grand Auction regarding your Skill Page, so¡­ I would like to ask you, Officer Aron, which goods are you specifically looking for so that I could bring you to where the best goods could be located." "Hmm¡­" Pedro pondered for a few seconds, thinking of what goods should he prioritize obtaining since it was for free. Skills, Weapons, Equipment¡­ He weighed it all and pondered which was the most important and ideal for him to obtain at this moment. In the end, he said, "Slaves!" "Slaves?" Duke Albert frowned in astonishment. "A-Are you sure about that, Officer Aron? I-I mean¡­" Before Duke Albert could continue speaking, Pedro nodded with a smile and said, "Yes! I am a hundred percent sure about it!" Seeing Pedro headstrong in his decision, Duke Albert could not help but sigh. Then, he rubbed his head and said, "If that''s the case, then please follow me, Officer Aron! I shall bring you to the Best Slaves that this Auction Den could give you." Duke Albert and Pedro went to an underground area that was hidden beneath the Auction Mansion. It resembled a jail inside a cave and was only lit by a few Magic Crystals and Several Runic Formations written all over the ceiling. The Jail Bars were six inches thick and were embedded deep into the ceiling and the ground. Inside each cell were Slaves which had the same thick steel collar around their necks. But in comparison to the Slaves that were found at the Risk Auction Area, the slaves here were completely wrapped in a half an inch-thick metal chain, except for their eyes, mouth, and noses. This, in turn, gave Pedro a bad feeling¡ªthinking that these slaves might be troublesome or difficult to manage. Thus, he can''t help but glance towards Duke Albert and ask, "Duke Albert, are you sure that they are slaves and not some sort of most wanted criminals caught by the Kingdom?" Duke Albert simply burst into laughter in response. Then after a few seconds, he calmed himself and said, "It''s true that some of them were once branded as criminals by the Kingdom. But rest assured Officer Aron¡­ All of these slaves are not only strong, but they are also of good heart! Something that would suit you best, if I am not wrong!" "Hooo¡­ Is that so?" Pedro murmured as he gazed through the slaves that they pass through. Fortunately, at this moment, they have reached the furthest cell in that underground area. Duke Albert glanced to the left cell and said, "Officer Aron, this is the best slave you would be able to find within the territory of the Tarala Kingdom!" "A woman?" Pedro asked with a frown. Duke Albert simply nodded in response with a smirk painted on his face. At the same time, the guard with them entered the cell and removed the chain to reveal the physical appearance of the slave. She had long silver hair, beautiful and elegant golden eyes, and snow-white skin¡ªthat gave Pedro a good impression and even thought that she was somehow part of a royal family. However, that thought vanished after the chains were completely removed. Her perfectly matured assets were paired with slightly toned muscles on her arms and legs, indicating that she did not live a carefree life like the princesses from the Royal families. Unfortunately, Pedro was not able to hypothesize more about her nor her abilities because she had a calm demeanor towards them. Pedro can''t help but avert his gaze to Duke Albert in the fear that he might start to take a liking to the woman¡ªwho was seemingly also around his age. Then, he said, "You said to me that she is the best slave, but¡­ Don''t tell me that this is all about her physical appearance?" Duke Albert burst into laughter once again. Then after a few seconds, his demeanor suddenly shifted to a cold one, and said, "I am not mistaken, Officer Aron! She is the best slave that I could offer! After all¡­ She is a former Royal Knight from the Great Kingdom of Aleria in the Western Continent¡ªthe Kingdom where the Swordsman of the Legends originated!" "What did you just say?!" Pedro shouted in astonishment. "S-She''s a Royal Knight from the Kingdom where the rumored Legendary Swordsman originated?" Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile and said, "Y-Yes, Sir Aron! You are not mistaken!" "This¡­" Pedro could not help but stare towards the woman in response. This, in turn, had made the air around them a bit awkward. Thus, Duke Albert decided to tell Pedro other details that he knew about the woman instead. "Her name is Jea-an Clara Aleria. A Royal Knight of the Alerian Family in the Western Continent. In fact¡­ The blood of the Legendary Swordsman¡ªwho once fought the demons together with the gods and goddess, runs through her since she was an illegitimate daughter of the previous King to one of her maids." Duke Albert explained. "Initially¡­ The previous King was able to cover up her identity to the point that she was even raised to become one of the strongest Royal Knights of the Great Kingdom of Aleria. Unfortunately, the former King of Aleria died due to a sickness two years ago. And as the first prince ascended the throne, her true identity was revealed. Consequently¡­ As usual¡­ To reduce the threats that may steal the first prince''s throne, she was ordered to be executed. Fortunately, she said to us that a kind woman helped her escape the execution and even brought her here to the Eastern Continent. However¡­ Since then, she had that slave collar in her neck before her supposed execution. And not even the one who saved her was able to remove it from her. Thus, despite her strength as a former Royal Knight, she was treated as a slave and no one, not even a village, dared to recruit her. And that is how she ended up under my Auction Den¡­ She did not want to be sold¡­ But rather¡­ She wanted to find someone¡­ Someone who can give her a new home. And¡­ I think that you are the person that is the most capable of that! Don''t you think so, Officer Aron?" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Well¡­ She has the final say on this anyway. Am I right, Duke Albert?" Chapter 209: Two New Comrades: A Former Royal Knight and A Wyvernoid! Duke Albert simply nodded in response to Pedro. Then, he shifted his gaze from Pedro to Jea-an Clara Aleria as if he was waiting for her answer. On the other hand, Pedro grinned slightly before he glanced towards Jea-an Clara Aleria. And before anyone could speak, he said, "But before that¡­ Won''t it be a norm for me to check her strength first?" Pedro glanced towards Duke Albert and asked, "There won''t be a problem with that, right Duke Albert?" Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile after his eyes met with Pedro that made his heart tremble out of fear. Beads of sweat fell from his face as he gulped his saliva and said, "O-Of course, you can, Officer Aron! B-But, please refrain from doing tests that might damage the goods?" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "I know that much, Duke Albert! You need not worry! I won''t go to such lengths. A simple test is more than enough." "A-A simple test?" Duke Albert asked in a worried tone as he watched Pedro glanced at Jea-an Clara Aleria once more before glancing back to him. "Yes! A simple test!" Pedro chuckled as his eyes turned all black after he blinked. A seemingly unfathomable and undetectable magical energy flows out from Pedro instantaneously, affecting everyone within a hundred spherical radius from him. At this moment, Duke Albert and the guard inside the cell fell to their knees. Their hands gripped their heads tightly as their heads felt like it was about to burst due to the pressure and the aftereffects of suddenly feeling exhausted¡ªas if they ran a marathon way past what their physical abilities could do. They coughed dryly¡ªforcing their mouths to spit saliva, while their eyes cried in response. "Aaaah!" They cried a few times after coughing dryly out of pain. Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Duke Albert¡­ I am surprised that you are able to remain conscious at this moment?" However, the smirk on his face only lasted a few seconds as it was straightened when his eyes landed on the seemingly alright Jea-an Clara Aleria. He simply stared towards her¡ªwho had kept her calm demeanor and seemed unaffected. Pedro was surprised to know that Jea-an Clara was able to resist the passive skill of his Demonic Eyes. It consequently made his heart tremble¡ªseemingly nervous about her, and was only able to calm himself down after a few seconds. He said, "To think that you are stronger than I thought¡­ So tell me¡­ What is your decision? Do you want to have a new family¡­ or do you want to stay in this cell for eternity?" "A family, huh?" Jea-an Clara Aleria chuckled and said, "Don''t say the word family so casually as if you are going to take responsibility for me!" Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. He scratched his head and averted his gaze from Jea-an Clara while saying, "I am sorry but¡­ I already have someone in my heart!" "Well¡­ It''s not that I expected that I would be your lover." Jea-an Clara Aleria said. "Anyway¡­ I don''t give a shit about that! But if you can tell me what would I get following you¡­ I might consider being sold to you." "Get?" Pedro chuckled in response. Then, he glanced to his palm and said, "You are already strong¡­ So, I doubt that you would get something from following me! Well¡­ Other than obtaining the responsibility to protect something?" "Protect something?" Jea-an Clara Aleria asked with a frown on her face. "Yes!" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Protect something we call family and humanity!" At this moment, Jea-an Clara Aleria went back to her cold demeanor towards Pedro. On the other hand, Pedro could only remain silent and wait for Jea-an Clara Aleria''s final decisions. At the same time, Pedro got somehow irritated by Duke Albert and his guard''s pitiful scream. Thus, Pedro reverted back his eyes back to their normal. Duke Albert and his guard coughed dryly several times before they were able to calm themselves and catch their breath of exhaustion. He can''t help but stare towards Pedro and thought, ''How terrifying! This is probably just one of Officer Aron''s skills! And to think that I and my guard was immobilized without even lifting a finger¡­ Officer Aron¡­ No! Anyone from the Bearth Human Organization should not be messed up with, no matter what happens! If he truly wanted to just obtain what is found here in our Auction Den, forcing us out would not be a problem for him. We are lucky that he was kind and understanding!'' "Hmm¡­" Jea-an Clara Aleria pondered as she glanced around her jail. Then, she smiled slightly and said, "How promising¡­ Well¡­ It won''t be bad to walk around from time to time! This is a good opportunity to see what''s going on outside." "Can I take it as a yes?" Pedro asked. Jea-an Clara Aleria simply nodded in response and said, "But don''t get your hopes up too high! If the family that you are so proud of is not what I expect it to be¡­ I''ll go back here without a second thought!" "It''s better that way!" Pedro said. "We are too busy to take care of a headache!" "It''s good that you understand¡ª" Jea-an Clara Aleria said as she comes out of the jail and offers a hand for Pedro to shook¡ªwhile seemingly wanting to know Pedro''s name. Pedro grabbed her hands in response and said, "My name is Aron! Aron Death! It''s my honor to work with you." "And I am Jea-an Clara Aleria!" Jea-an Clara Aleria said with a smirk on her face. "You can just call me Clara, Officer Aron was it?!" Pedro shook his head in response and said, "Aron or Captain Aron would be enough!" Before anyone could say another word, Duke Albert interrupted them and said in a hurried manner, "Now that everything is finalized! Let''s go back to my room. My body feels heavy and I want to lay on my bed, immediately." Pedro and Clara could not help but force out a smile in response. However, before they could leave the underground area, a heavy man''s voice cried, saying, "Wait, young man! Based on your blood''s smell¡­ Tell me¡­" At this moment, the chains wrapping the seemingly middle-aged looking man had started to break one by one. He said, "What is your relationship to our race?" "Race?" Pedro can''t help but glanced towards the middle-aged looking man and simply watch the metal chain break into pieces. "I can''t comprehend what you are talking about, mister! I am but a full blood human! And so does you, right?" The middle-aged looking man with white hair¡ªdue to old age, was able to successfully destroy the chains that enveloped him and said, "Human??? Is that so??? Then¡­ Please also take me with you! You could take it that this old man had also taken an interest in you! I am a humanoid from the wyvern race. A Wyvernoid!" "Wyvernoids, huh? No wonder he was able to destroy the metal chains around him." Pedro murmured to himself. Then, he thought, ''It''s getting more troublesome down here! Well¡­ Someone from the wyvernoids would not be a bad addition to my team. In fact¡­ He might even be stronger physically compared to Clara! And¡­ It''s not that I would be able to find any better stuff in the Auction Den¡­ It''s just an additional payment that I received in exchange for the Transformation Skill Page. I still have gold coins to use in case something good came up. In any case¡­ I''ll check the information about this wyvernoid from Duke Albert, before making my final decision.'' Pedro glanced to Duke Albert and asked, "Duke Albert¡­ Can you kindly give me some information about him?" "Uhh¡­" Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile in response. This, in turn, made Pedro frown and ask, "Is there a problem with him?" "N-No! There''s no problem with this old man!" Duke Albert explained. "I-It''s just that¡­ He''s a slave who has of equivalent value as Jea-an Clara Aleria! O-Of course! If Officer Aron wants to have him¡­ Then¡­ I can hand him over to you if request it." "I see¡­" Pedro said as he rubbed his hands and pondered. At this moment, Pedro felt a bit guilty thinking that he might be abusing Duke Albert''s kindness by taking two high-quality slaves for free, as an additional in exchange for a single Wolf Transformation Skill Page. Thus, he said, "I already obtained something special from you, Duke Albert! My conscience could not take it, so¡­ How about I pay Fifty Gold Coins for this man?" "T-That''s not necessary, Officer Aron!" Duke Albert said as he shook his head and hands towards Pedro. "I have already decided earlier to give you two things as an additional payment to the wolf transforming skill! Since then¡­ I was prepared to offer one or two special goods to you, to show our goodwill!" Pedro simply nodded in response as the guilt he felt inside was resolved. He smirked towards Duke Albert and said, "How about this¡­ Please take Fifty Gold Coins later on, from the coins that I would earn at the Grand Auction. Take those gold coins as an advance payment¡­ or perhaps a reservation payment, just in case a wyvernoid or any humanoid falls in your hands." "B-But¡­" Duke Albert wanted to argue but Pedro seemed headstrong with his decision. Thus, Duke Albert could only force out a smile in response, and said, "If Officer Aron insists¡­ Then, I can only agree!" "Good!" Pedro said as he shifted his attention to the wyvernoid. He offered his hand for a shake, and said, "I am Aron Death! It would be my honor working with you!" Chapter 210: The Perfect Bait! "This lowly wyvern greets Young Master Aron!" The wyvernoid bowed towards Pedro. Then, he said, "I am Ragas Wyverson! A former head warrior of the wyvern kin that was once in the forbidden continent! It is of my great honor to serve you, young master, with every remaining fiber of my strength!" Pedro helped Ragas Wyverson to lift his head and said, "Please raise your head, Sir Ragas! There are some matters that Duke Albert needed to take care of with urgency, so, we have to settle back to my room before we could get to know more about each other." "As young master requests¡­ I would obediently follow!" Raga Wyverson lifted his head and stood at the left side of Pedro as if he was his butler with ragged clothes. At this moment, Pedro nodded towards Duke Albert as if mentally saying ''Let''s go!''. And without wasting another second, Duke Albert could not help but to simply nod in response whilst forcing out a smile. Then, he turned around¡ªtogether with his guard, and led Pedro, Clara, and Ragas back to Pedro''s VIP Room. The moment that Auction Guide Weese opened the door from the inside, her jaw dropped to the floor while her eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from its sockets. She was at loss for words and could only stare towards Pedro, his two newly acquired ''slaves'' and the Auction Master himself. In turn, Duke Albert could only smirk in response and murmured, "So it was her¡­ I''ll make sure to give her a manager role for taking good care of Officer Aron." Pedro was not able to hear what Duke Albert murmured, so, he simply thought that Duke Albert wanted to make preparations for the Grand Auction as soon as he can. Thus, Pedro glanced towards Duke Albert and said, "Thanks for accompanying us to our room, Duke Albert. We can take it from here and I would have to trouble you in handling the matters about the auction of my item." "I-It is only natural for me to take good care of guests like you, Officer Aron!" Duke Albert forced out a smile towards Pedro. "T-That said, I would need to leave you under her care as I handle the matters regarding your item." At this moment, Duke Albert glanced to Auction Guide Weese and said, "Please take good care of our esteemed guest on my behalf. Rest assured¡­ I would leave one of my guards outside to ensure Officer Aron''s safety." Then, Duke Albert glanced to Pedro and said, "Please don''t hesitate to call for me, whenever you feel the need. I would try my best to come as fast as I can." Pedro simply shook his hand in response and said, "I''ll do, whenever such situations arise. For now¡­ I would be taking some rest, so please be at ease and focus on what you need to accomplish." "You have my thanks, Officer Aron!" Duke Albert said as he bowed slightly towards Pedro. Then, he left the room on his own¡ªleaving the guard with them outside of Pedro''s VIP room. Truth be told, Pedro did not want such special treatment towards him. However, arguing with Duke Albert would only start unnecessary conversations that would only further prolong the auction of his wolf transformation skill page. Thus, he had decided to simply say ''Yes'' to his arrangements so that Duke Albert could immediately leave and take care of the matters concerning the Grand Auction. As for the Grand Auction, it might seem simple to ordinary people but there was more into it. Pedro knew this fact on how hard it is to organize an instant Grand Auction because he had held such events in their own Guild Kingdom in the past. One would need to send letters to the richest person that the Auction Master is acquainted with. And these letters needed to have been signed and sealed by the Auction Master himself. Add up the short time that they have to prepare and deliver the said letters, it was one of the most challenging jobs at the start of the organization of an instantaneous Grand Auction. At most, the letters must reach the nobles and important guests within an hour a main item for the Grand Auction was decided by the Auction Master. Following the delivery of those letters to the ''walking banks''¡ªor should we say, rich people, the Auction Master needed to prepare the Auction Den as a whole, not only in welcoming the very important guests to arrive but at the same time, the cleanliness of every single corner of the Auction Den. This also includes the rooms where the walking banks would stay during the Grand Auction. Since most of the VIP rooms are occupied, the Auction Master converts the rooms used in Minor Auction Areas into temporary VIP Rooms for the other Auction Participants to occupy. They would simply place all items sold in the Minor Auction at the perimeter of the open area and bring out the sofas and tables on each Minor Auction Area room''s respective VIP Room¡ªjust like the sofas where Pedro sat when he first talked with Sordal Larkas. And the Auction Managers and Auction Guides only have thirty minutes to clean and prepare the rooms upon announcement of the Main Item to be auctioned in the Grand Auction by the Auction Master. And lastly, the Auction Master needed to prepare several more items to be Auctioned for the Grand Auction. Well¡­ To the Auction Participants, it was the part of the Grand Auction where they could show their power through their coins. For experienced Auction Participants, it is where they single-handedly crush the newbies or weaken the Coin Power of their rivals. In any case, it was an advantageous case for the Auction Master as he would be the one to earn coins in the end. So, it is an intricate job for the Auction Master to select other goods to be sold at the Grand Auction. Thus, it was not easy to conduct a Grand Auction, instantaneously on top of that. Duke Albert and his personnel only had a short span of time to manage and prepare everything from top to bottom. In fact, some of his men needed to use Teleportation Platforms just to deliver messages to walking banks that are several hours away from the Tarala Kingdom. Well¡­ As for Pedro, he could only glance to the open area and watch the Auction Personnel move around. He sighed and said, "I am a guest¡­ But why does it feel exhausting just watching the Auction Personnel on the ground?" "Perhaps¡­ Young Master has already handled an Auction at this level, once?" Ragas Wyverson asked. Pedro can''t help but force out a smile deep inside after seeing Ragas Wyverson''s reflection from the window¡ªwho stood like a butler on animated videos from Japan. Then, Pedro simply averted his gaze and returned watching the busy Auction Personnel, while saying, "Yes, I did! But it''s nothing compared to this level¡­" Pedro sighed. Then, he turned around and said, "Ragas, Clara, follow me to the discussion room. Let''s continue our previous discussion inside." "Yes, Young Master!" Ragas Wyverson placed his left arm¡ªhorizontally, in front of his body and bowed slightly towards Pedro. On the other hand, Jea-an Clara Aleria simply stood in attention¡ªwith her hands on her side, and said, "After you, Captain Aron!" When the door of the discussion room was closed and locked, Pedro sat opposite Clara and Ragas. Then, he said, "I will get straight to the point¡­ On my way here¡ªto the Auction Den, I encountered several suspicious people whom¡­ If I am not wrong¡­ are vampires." "Vampires?" Clara asked in a calm demeanor. That said, her forehead weaved a few lines similar to Ragas. Pedro casually nodded in response and said, "Well¡­ It was only my hunch! Those people were fully covered by thick cloth despite being outside the streets in the middle of the day. That very fact alone had given away a piece of important information¡ªthat those people do not want to be touched by a single ray of light at any cost. And who else would behave like that, other than the vampires themselves?" "But, young master¡­ Isn''t it normal for vampires to exist where the humans are heavily concentrated? The Royal Family should be on guard against them at the least. That is why I don''t see any need for you to worry about it." Ragas said. Clara had simply nodded in response¡ªagreeing to what Ragas said, consequently making Pedro shook his head in response. Then, Pedro said, "You are right! But¡­ you guys might not know it but¡­ The Royal Family of this Kingdom is already dead." "This¡­" Ragas could not help but to lean slightly backward from astonishment. However, before they could utter a word, Pedro spoke, saying, "Chaos would soon befall this Kingdom. And from the looks of it, only a few nobles and high ranking officials knows about it. What do you guys think would happen, if it became chaotic inside the Kingdom? There are monsters on the other side of the wall¡­ And most of the Kingdom''s Soldiers are fighting them off. With all of that in mind, won''t this be the ideal time to strike, if the vampires wanted the Kingdom to fall?" "So¡­ What do you have in mind, young master?" Ragas Wyverson asked. "It was obvious that we can''t leave this place until the Auction ends, right?" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "That is why I wanted to talk with the two of you. It was obvious that I can''t allow this Kingdom to fall, what much more for those blood sucking addicts to succeed. In any case¡­ I have already made preparations on how we would handle them. I had already prepared a bait that is too attractive to ignore. I just need help from you to watch my demi-humans and my back, once they start to attack." "What about the good you sold for the Main Auction?" Ragas Wyverson asked with a worried expression. Pedro could only force out a smile in response and scratch the back of his head, saying, "We''ll think of that later on. Our priority still remains the same¡­ Protect lives as much as we can! Besides¡­ I doubt that the Auction Master would leave such a treasure unguarded." Chapter 211: Preparation for Auction, Part 1! "Anyway¡­" Pedro said as he clapped his hands. "I don''t want the both of you to fight empty-handed. And¡­ This is not some sort of test after all! So¡­ Feel free to tell me what kind of weapon you need. I would try my best to obtain the proper and decent weapon as you request." Clara simply glanced towards Ragas¡ªchecking whether he was about to ask a thing or two. However, Ragas seemed like he was not going to utter a word, thus, Clara took this chance to ask, "Captain Aron, are you really gonna provide us with weapons despite not being bond on any kind of contract with us?" Pedro lowered his head a tad bit and glared towards Clara, saying, "It''s not that you guys are gonna stab me behind my back, right? Anyway¡­ With or Without a contract, it does not matter. We can discuss it later on. For now¡­ Let''s focus in preparation for what is to come!" Clara simply remained silent in response. Truth be told, she was not Pedro''s slave on any point. There was even no written contract made or prepared by Duke Albert for them. She was just like a random stranger that became a party member of Pedro''s group at that moment. She can leave or stay with Pedro at her own discretion. Thus, there was no contract binding them together. Well¡­ Pedro knew about this risk beforehand. However, Clara''s identity and ability were too special¡ªwhich was enough for Pedro to ignore the risks that he might get from choosing her. That said, since obtaining her was just a ''gift'' given by Duke Albert, he had nothing much to lose in choosing her in the first place. If Clara would stay with him, then she would be a great asset to Pedro''s force. But if she won''t join him, he could only let her go and find what she truly wants¡­ as long as she won''t stand in the way of Pedro''s plans. On the other hand, Ragas remained silent for almost a minute. Then, he glanced towards Pedro and said, "I don''t need any weapon, young master! However¡­ I would like to trouble, young master, for some change of clothes instead." At this moment, Pedro remembered that Ragas was a humanoid from the wyvern lineage¡ªwhich are typically descendants of the Dragons in ancient times. Thus, based on this lore in the real world and other games, Pedro had hypothesized that Ragas has a similar problem with him, where their clothes in their humanoid form get destroyed if they transform to their true forms. So, Pedro could only nod in response to Ragas and said, "I understand. Just inform me if ever you need something else." Ragas bowed slightly in response and said, "Thanks, Young Master!" Pedro nodded once again¡ªdismissing Ragas'' bow, as he glanced towards Clara and asked, "How about you Clara? Do you have any questions, or perhaps, you also do not need any weapon on hand?" Clara shook her head in response and said, "Any two-handed sword would do, Captain Aron! Just kindly make sure that the sword is not to the point of breaking. I am not quite fond of fighting with broken swords!" Pedro simply chuckled in response. At the same time, he opened his inventory bag and took one Silver Sword inside. Then, he threw it to Clara and said, "Take this! It''s not as good as the sword stuck in the middle of the Auction Hall, but¡­ It is good as new at the least." Despite receiving a decent sword, Clara retained her calm demeanor. She stood and familiarized herself with the sword by swinging it lightly a couple of times. Then, she nodded in satisfaction and glanced to Pedro. But before she could utter a word, Pedro threw an empty inventory bag towards her and said, "Weapons are not allowed inside the Auction Den. Hide the sword in that bag." After being able to watch Pedro ''magically'' took the silver sword out of a similar bag, Clara did not ask any questions to Pedro about it. She simply wore it around her and tried placing the sword in and out of it. "A magic bag?" She asked with a frown on her face. "Isn''t these kinds of bags rare and expensive? Why did you give one to me?" "Rare???" Pedro could not help but shook his head in response. It was only a norm that Clara¡ªwho was kept inside a cell underground, would not know about the mysteriously appearing adventurers all over the world. For her, such magic bags were naturally rare since they could store a certain amount of items that would normally require a wagon or a carriage to carry. Thus, Pedro could not help but say, "Yes¡­ It is rare¡­ Probably a few days ago! But now, they are like cabbages that you can simply pick up nearby the villages. So¡­ Don''t think much about something that you can get easily even by yourself." At this moment, Pedro also handed over an inventory bag to Ragas and said, "That said, please don''t think that I gave these inventory bags out of pure kindness... Later¡ªafter defeating the vampires, I would trouble the two of you to pick their corpses and store them inside the bags. I have some uses to them." "So¡­ Are you telling us to catch them as clean as possible?" Clara asked with a frown. Pedro simply chuckled in response and asked, "Why? You can''t catch a mere bug?" Clara held herself from cursing Pedro in response by forcing out a smile. That said, her annoyance to Pedro was revealed by her gritted teeth¡ªthat was hiding behind her forced smile, and the few lines weaved on her forehead. This, in turn, made Ragas stand. He clenched his fists as tight as he can, while his eyes emanated a strong killing intent, consequently making the atmosphere inside the discussion room tense. Then, he said, "I AM WARNING YOU, HUMAN! If you dare lay your hand to the young master¡­ I won''t hold back and turn you into paste! You may be strong¡­ But you are still young and na?ve! Consider, yourself warned!" Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. He does not know the real reason as to why Ragas was so protective of him as if he was his personal bodyguard. Though he had a hunch that it has something to do with his Dragon Transformation and Ragas'' being a wyvernoid, there was still no certainty that it was the reason behind Ragas'' actions. Thus, Pedro was at loss for words at this moment and could only watch the two converse. On the other hand, Clara had seemingly got back to herself. The lines on her forehead disappeared as her smile straightened. Then, she sighed and said, "I would not mind if you come!" At this moment, the time had seemingly stopped. Ragas clenched his fists even tighter to the point that the veins in his hand seemed like it was about to burst. While Clara frowned as she, reactively, placed her hand inside the inventory bag. With a blink of an eye, Ragas appeared in front of Clara. His fist¡ªwhich was covered with dark green spikey scales, clashed with the blade of the silver sword in Clara''s two hands and was emitting a faint golden aura that was visible to Pedro''s eyes. Ragas'' slightly reddish eyes stared at Clara''s golden glowing eyes, where both of them emanated a strong killing intent. At this moment, a delayed force blew past to their backs with the point of contact of Clara''s sword and Ragas'' fist as its origin. ''Ah, Shit!'' Pedro could not help but curse deep inside. Then, in the next second, he took a deep breath and said, "Enough! Save your strengths for later! Though we''d be fighting bugs, there''s still a possibility that a demon would be with them! So, rather than a childish fight¡­ I recommend that you both sit down and rest." Pedro took out two roasted Flocoloso bird and two wooden cups filled with half a liter of water. Then, he stood and walked to the door, saying, "Both of you¡­ Eat your food and follow me. I would have to trouble you to protect me while I am asleep." Pedro did not give them time to respond and immediately walked out of the door. At this moment, he took out a dummy inventory bag and placed the other half of the bonded inventory bag¡ªhis other main inventory bag, into his spatial inventory. Then, he walks to the bed and said, "Auction Guide Weese¡­ I would trouble you to prepare ten sets of spare clothes for Ragas. Use the remaining money that I gave to you earlier." "C-Clothes?" Auction Guide Weese stuttered as her attention was shifted from Pedro to Ragas¡ªwho just came out of the discussion room. Then, she bowed respectfully to Pedro and said, "R-Right away, young master!" Auction Guide Weese left the room, consequently making Pedro sigh and relaxed. Pedro opened his player interface and thought, ''It''s been a long time since I logged out of the game¡­ I wonder how my treatment was doing? I hope that I could be discharged soon so that I could manage the base of the guild.'' Chapter 212: Preparation for Auction Part 2: Progress of Pedros Recovery! Pedro pressed the log out button, consequently activating a system countdown in his player interface. And when the countdown finished, his vision slowly faded. Almost a minute later, he started to regain his vision and was welcomed by the constant beeps of the medical instrument. Then, he breathes heavily through the mask on his face¡ªthat was connected to a ventilator, as he moves his head, glancing around slowly. He was inside a transparent version of the VR Box, allowing him to see the people waiting outside his glass-walled intensive care unit room. "Maaaa¡­ Laaaaa¡­" Pedro faintly cried as his eyes were locked upon his mother¡ªwho was seemingly watching some Kdrama on her tablet, and his grandma¡ªwho was sleeping on his mother''s shoulder. At this moment, Pedro used all his strength to move his body. And fortunate enough, he was able to lift his finger, in fact, even his arm, and was able to tap a button inside the VR box and open it from inside. "Tsssss¡­" Smokes came out of the transparent VR Box but it was still not loud enough to get the attention of Pedro''s mom from the Kdrama she was watching. ''Mom¡­'' Pedro shook his head and sighed deep inside. ''She can''t be helped when she starts to get hooked to those good dramas. Well¡­ I can''t blame her! It''s probably just a way for her to distract herself from her worries about my current state. But¡­ Can''t your instinct at least tell you that your son is already awake?'' ''Well¡­ She better notice that I am awake before grandma does¡­ She would definitely be scolded by grandma because of that.'' Pedro could not help but force out a smile deep inside. At the same time, he had his fingers crossed¡ªhoping that his mother notices that he was already awake before his grandma does. At this moment, the doctor monitoring that was tasked to monitor Pedro in the nurse station had noticed the changes in Pedro''s vitals. The interval of Pedro''s vitals had suddenly become more irregular compared to how it was when he was unconscious. "What''s happening¡­" The doctor murmured to himself as he scanned through the rest of the information about Pedro''s vitals. Then, his eyes finally landed on the monitor that was displaying the live video inside Pedro''s intensive care unit room. "T-The VR Box¡­ It''s open!" He cried as he reactively shot up on his seat and ran towards Pedro''s intensive care unit room. At the same time, this had caught the attention of Pedro''s mom, making him glance towards Pedro''s room. However, before she could even react, Pedro''s grandma had woken up and noticed that Pedro''s VR Box was open. She pointed towards Pedro''s VR Box and said, "It''s open?" She glanced to Pedro''s mom¡ªwhose attention was focused on the doctor running towards them. Thus, she can''t help but to glance at the doctor and was also seemingly waiting for his remarks. Unfortunately, contrary to their expectations, the doctor simply nodded in a rush towards them and said, "Madams, Kindly stay here for the moment. Let me have a look at the patient first. I''ll inform you if you can visit the patient." The doctor was in a rush to get inside Pedro''s intensive care unit room, so, he was not even able to allow Pedro''s mom and grandma to utter a word in response. Pedro''s mom could only shout, "Doctor, please do your best to save my son!" The doctor simply nodded in response as he hurriedly wore the required protective equipment in compliance with the protocol that was needed to be followed upon entering the intensive care unit. At this moment, Pedro gazed towards the doctor with a smile. Then, he said in a weak voice, "Doctor¡­" With a "Fwshhh!", the door of the intensive care unit opened and the doctor immediately rushed to Pedro. He said, "Mr. Pedro, G-Good afternoon! I am Dr. Ecar Mahgilom! One of the physicians under the VR Therapy Department that is in charge of your recovery." "Ahm!" Pedro said in a weak voice as he made a slight nod towards Dr. Ecar Mahgilom. On the other hand, Dr. Ecar Mahgilom took out a pen-looking instrument and placed its rounded metal tip towards Pedro''s chest before pressing a button in its opposite tip. In the next second, A weak wave traveled through his body, which seemed like it scanned the whole body of Pedro. While the pen-looking instrument was scanning Pedro''s body, Dr. Ecar Mahgilom gazed at him and said, "Mr. Pedro¡­ Based on the equipment data, I learned that you were the one who opened the VR Box, right? Can I know if you can move any parts of your body, or even speak?" "I~I can¡­" Pedro was barely able to say in a weak voice. Dr. Ecar Mahgilom could not help but gasp in response. Deep inside, Dr. Ecar Mahgilom was teary-eyed and, at the same time, celebrating after knowing that there were improvements in Pedro''s therapy and recovery. He was relieved and happy that one of their patients had shown positive signs of recovery, but he cannot rejoice outwardly and give Pedro and his family a false hope that he had fully recovered already. After all, his treatment is not yet finished, and¡­ Anything could still happen at this point in time, including unfortunate events like eternal sleep. After a few seconds, Dr. Ecar Mahgilom was able to calm himself and said, "You have a nice voice, Mr. Pedro! Were you a singer or a WeTube personality?" Pedro could not help but stare at Dr. Ecar Mahgilom with a forced-out smile, seemingly at loss for words. And before Pedro could even respond, Dr. Ecar Mahgilom chuckled and said, "Just kidding! I just want to make you smile Mr. Armaz. Anyway¡­ Can you tell me if you are feeling pain somewhere? Some discomfort or such?" Pedro simply shook his head slowly in response. And Dr. Ecar Mahgilom could only smile in response as a hologram was projected to the tip of the pen-looking instrument, showing Pedro''s body that was colored light green. Some parts of it were light red in color, especially some of the nerves on his feet, but was not critical in particular to make Dr. Ecar Mahgilom worry. "Based on the Instant Scan, I found no life-threatening irregularities in your body. That said, your legs were the most damaged part of your body. So, it might take time and effort before you can walk again properly. But, it''s not like you are not going to be able to walk once again, right? In any case¡­ you are doing great in terms of recovery. And since you are not feeling any pain, anywhere in your body¡­ I guess, I can let you see your family." Dr. Ecar Mahgilom smiled towards Pedro and nodded once, saying, "Please excuse me for a second!" Pedro simply nodded as Dr. Ecar Mahgilom left the intensive care unit. At this moment, outside the intensive care unit, Pedro''s grandma could not help but frown as her eyes saw the Kdrama that was paused in the phone of Pedro''s mom. "We went here to watch your son''s recovery! But why are you watching Kdrama instead?!" Pedro''s grandma scolded in Tagalog. "If you are going to watch that, stay in the apartment instead!" "Ma¡­ Please¡­ It''s just a way for me to distract myself from my worries about Pedro''s recovery." Pedro''s mom said in English. "What about you, ma? You said that we are here to watch Pedro''s recovery, but why were you sleeping?" "Aish¡­ You!" Pedro''s grandma glared at Pedro''s mom and said in English, "You don''t English, English me ha! Your son¡­ Like you¡­ Answer, Answer me! An elderly!" At this moment, Dr. Ecar Mahgilom was about to approach them¡ªconsequently averting the attention of Pedro''s grandma back to him. Then, Pedro''s grandma grumbled, "This brat would not even have a car if you did not spoil him like this! When he recovers¡­ Hire his uncles to drive for him! Experience, Experience in driving? He''ll have a lot of it in the future! You don''t need to hurry it!" Pedro''s mom simply kept silent with a smile painted on her face. She knows that Pedro''s grandma was only grumbling because she was somehow concerned about Pedro. In fact, her grandma was the one who wanted Pedro to grow up and become independent¡ªthat is why she constantly scolds Pedro for playing games in both of Pedro''s life. That said, just based on what she said, his grandma seemed like she wanted a more experienced driver to drive for Pedro instead. Thus, it showed her concern about Pedro''s safety. Fortunately, before Pedro''s grandma could grumble any further, Dr. Ecar Mahgilom called them, saying, "Madams¡­ You may visit the patient. Please follow me." Pedro''s grandma stood immediately, leaving Pedro''s mom behind. Then, she went ahead and wore the protective equipment with the guide of Dr. Ecar Mahgilom. Pedro''s mom followed after her and they all entered the intensive care unit at the same time. "Maaa¡­ Laaa¡­" Pedro uttered in a weak voice that consequently made his mom and grandma teary-eyed. Chapter 213: Pre-Auction: Final Part! "S-Son!" Pedro''s mom rushed towards him with teary eyes. Dr. Ecar Mahgilom and Pedro could only force out a smile in response as Pedro''s mom grabbed his hands. "How are you feeling son? Does it hurt anywhere? Don''t hesitate to tell the doctor if it hurts somewhere, alright?" Pedro simply closed his hands¡ªholding his mother''s hands and said in a weak voice, "I''m fine, Mom¡­ It just feels a little bit heavy¡­" His mother nodded in response with a priceless smile painted on her face. This, in turn, made Pedro avert his gaze from his mother and shift his attention to his grandma¡ªwho had dark circles under her eyes. Then, he smiled and said, "La¡­ Your health¡­ Sleep early¡­" "Aish!" His grandma grumbles in response. It seemed like she wanted to hit Pedro but given his current state, his grandma could not help but retract her hand and flick her tongue instead. Then, she sighed heavily and said, "Brat, you even got time to worry about me despite being in that state! Hurry up and recover fast so that I could get back my goodnight''s sleep!" "I will¡­" Pedro said in a weak voice. Then, he glanced to his mother and asked, "Ma¡­ How is dad doing?" "Your father¡­" His mother sniffed a couple of times, before saying, "He''s fine! You don''t need to worry about him. He had a lot of work in the company but it''s nothing compared to the work he had last week. In any case¡­ He''ll be here after his office hours. I hope that he''ll be able to see you awake. I am sure that he''d be very happy!" Pedro simply forced out a smile and said in a weak voice, "That¡­ I can''t¡­ I need to log back¡­" Pedro''s mother and grandma could not help but frown in response. Fortunately, before his grandma could even scold him, Dr. Ecar Mahgilom walked towards Pedro and said, "The patient is right, Madams! I''ll tell you more about the details later, but it is truly best for Patient Pedro to stay in his hibernated mode. His recovery was at its fastest during his sleep. And based on how his body recovers, it might only take him a week or two before we can move him to the VIP ward and start his physical therapy partially. In any case¡­ we need to let patient Pedro recover all his injury first before we proceed to anything else." "T-Then, please put him back to sleep, doctor!" She said, worriedly. "If that would hasten his recovery then we could only wait patiently until he is fully healed!" "Ma¡­" Pedro could not help but force a smile in response. His mother simply patted his hand and said, "It''s alright, son! You don''t have to worry about us! What is important is that you recover your health as soon as possible! Okay?!" Pedro could not help but nod in response. At this moment, his grandma spoke, saying, "Oi brat¡­ You better recover fast! You need to properly introduce us to your woman! And¡­ I want to see the future generation of this family, so you better not die on me!" "Maaa!" Pedro''s mother cried out of embarrassment to Dr. Ecar Mahgilom. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but avert his gaze from everyone else out of embarrassment. While his grandma frowned and flicked her tongue in response as she heads out of the intensive care unit. At this moment, Pedro''s mother could only glance back towards him with a smile on her face and said, "Your grandma is right¡­ I also can''t wait to have grandchildren-s! So, you better get well fast, son!" With one last tap on his hands, his mother stood and followed after his grandma¡ªleaving the intensive care unit. She nodded towards Dr. Ecar Mahgilom as if mentally saying, ''Doctor, please take over from here.'' Dr. Ecar Mahgilom could only nod in response¡ªacting as if he had not heard about the ''grandchildren'' or ''future generation'' part, and simply smiled towards Pedro, before saying, "Can I know if you would like to log back into the game already?" Pedro simply nodded in response and said in a week voice, "Please¡­" "Very well¡­" Dr. Ecar Mahgilom nodded in response and smiled at Pedro. Then, he said, "Enjoy your recovery!" Dr. Ecar Mahgilom closed Pedro''s transparent VR Box and activated it in one of the panels near it. Then, slowly, Pedro''s vision faded as he logs back into the game. After a few seconds, his eyes shot wide open, while his body shot up, shouting, "Faaaaaaaaaack!" as if he just woke up from a nightmare. At this moment, his VIP room in the Auction Mansion became filled with awkward silence, where everyone was staring at him. He can''t help but force out a smile in response as he slowly adapts back to his unrestricted limbs and normal breathing interval of his body. ''Ah, shit! This is awkward!'' He cursed deep inside. He glanced to Ragas, Clara, and Auction Guide Weese before shaking his head, thinking, ''Well¡­ The transition from a weak body to a healthy body¡­ The sudden change is a bit surprising. Anyway¡­ It is probably my years of experience playing this game that I was able to adjust quickly. Else¡­ I would have vomited in this bed already. In any case¡­'' Pedro glanced to everyone else and waved his hands, saying, "I am alright! I am alright! You don''t need to worry about me! I had just a bad nightmare, that''s all!" Deep inside, he could not help but force out a smile, thinking, ''BUT¡­ WHAT THE HECK IS THAT GRANDCHILDREN THAT MOTHER WAS TALKING ABOUT? D-Don''t tell me that they are already planning to marry me to Sabrina? Why are they even thinking one step ahead of me? We have not yet even celebrated our monthsary?! And they dare talk about the ''future generation'' of the family?! I-It''s not that I don''t l-like Sabrina! I-If it was my past self, I would have even agreed with them already! But¡­ After experiencing six years of hellish life in Bearth Online, I don''t dare make such decisions too rashly! In any case¡­ I need to focus on the game first! Kageyama and other Players might have infiltrated Kingdoms already! It is only a matter of time before they start to find out about dungeons and start the First Adventurer Tragedy! In any case¡­ The Continental Quest would hold everyone at bay for a few more weeks at the least. I could only clear as much as a dungeon as I can, and focus on establishing the Adventurer''s Guild. It would be a rare chance to monopolize the resources all over the continent. Besides¡­ Duke Albert''s ascension as the new King is already assured! The vampires would surely attack tonight and they would be the perfect excuse for Duke Albert to be crowned as the new King.'' From his calm demeanor¡ªseemingly in deep thought, Pedro could not help but to smirk, making Clara and Ragas frown in response. Ragas could not help but ask, "Is there a problem, young master?" "Oh!" Pedro gasped as he got back to himself. Then, he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Sorry about that! I just can''t wait for the Grand Auction. I can''t help but wonder what other goods did Duke Albert prepare." "If that''s the case, then I won''t bother young master already." Ragas said, respectfully. "But if I may¡­ I suggest that young master shares the story about your nightmare so that it won''t happen in reality." Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. Then, he glanced to Ragas and said, "Relax¡­ Even if it became true, it won''t be that frightening or life-threatening to me." Then, Pedro glanced outside¡ªto the sky, and thought, ''After all¡­ It''s not that I completely do not want to marry Sabrina¡­'' Since Pedro had nothing to do at this moment, he used this time to establish a slave contract to the demi-humans that he bought earlier. Thanks to the potion, he did not suffer any backdrops due to severe blood loss. Indicated in the blood contract that the slaves would be treated decently and would be given the freedom to build their own family. However, they were required by Pedro to work under him with absolute loyalty. On top of that, their future generations would be bound to this contract and only Pedro could nullify the contract between them. Normally, they would have not agreed with such conditions. However, because they were originally his slaves. It was only evident that they would be bound to Pedro to eternity. At the same time, Because Pedro''s blood was even exposed to Ragas¡ªwhich had traces of Dragon Blood, even Ragas wanted to form a blood contract with Pedro for eternity. However, Pedro did not do so because of several safety reasons. First of all, he does not know very well the traits and characteristics of Ragas. In case he turned out to be someone evil, it would soon bring huge trouble to Pedro, especially that he was a strong entity. And second, Pedro does not know the real reason behind why Ragas wanted to follow him. He was a human, an adventurer, a player. He was not a dragon or someone from the dragonkin like Faunia, the goddess of beasts. Though he has a dragon transformation, it does not necessarily mean that he was from the dragonkin of some sort. That is why he was confused as to why Ragas revered him as if he was a deity. He can''t simply build a bond with Ragas by simply knowing a few things about him. And it''s not like he was way weaker than him like the demi-humans. Thus, Pedro decided to establish a contract once he has a sufficient understanding of Ragas, and also Clara. Though it was indeed a rare opportunity, Pedro could not help but choose assurance and safety. After all, it was the real start of the game already. Not some closed beta trial where he can just simply do anything just for fun. Chapter 214: The View in the VIP Room! By the time that Pedro came out of the discussion room and finished forming blood contracts with the demi-humans, it was already dark outside. At this moment, representatives from different Royal or Noble Families started to arrive at the Auction Mansion and were personally welcomed by Duke Albert himself. On the other hand, Sabrina, Loren, and Mathew remained on standby outside the Kingdom¡ªa few kilometers away from the walls. Pedro had canceled their mission to rescue the people in the Kingdom''s slum area. Instead, they were tasked by Pedro to act as his support, in case he needed more hands. As for the rest of the advance team, they were brought by the Teleportation Hall Head Guard Klader Morphus to his own residence within the Kingdom. That said, Aldo, Aks, Merchant Nordan Karva, and his family had left the Kingdom and teleported back to Axutar Village as Pedro had instructed. This way, Pedro and Aldo''s quest with Merchant Nordan Karva would be complete. However, since Nordan Karva was a merchant, Pedro simply tasked Aldo and Aks to take care and protect them in his stead, until he gets back to Axutar Village. As for Neerak Axutar, the three village soldiers from Axutar Village, Lony, Roval, and Yuson remained with Teleportation Hall Head Guard Klader Morphus in the Kingdom. They were tasked to assist Klader Morphus in guarding the teleportation portal at any cost. Since Lony and Roval were basically still low leveled players, their tasks were actually just communicators who would transmit Pedro''s commands to Neerak Axutar and the other NPCs. Well, they have Yuson, so, their safety is not in jeopardy at the least. With everything settled, Pedro sat by the window and watched the lively open area from above. On the other hand, Ragas Wyverson stood on his left, while Jea-an Clara Aleria stood on his right as if they were his bodyguards. The three of them had a calm demeanor that consequently created a tense atmosphere inside the room. Auction Guide Weese could not help but to force out a smile while trying her best to remain calm and professional towards them. Auction Guide Weese was sitting on a chair at the right side of Clara and Pedro, and she is the one responsible for taking care of any bids or transactions that Pedro would make. That said, Auction Guide Weese was not able to stand the deathly silence in the room. Since she was an employee of the Auction Den, then it is part of her job to entertain her guest and provide the best experience she could do so. Thus, she faked a few coughs and was able to attract Pedro''s attention. "Ehem¡­ Is there anything you want to discuss with me, Auction Guide Weese?" Pedro asked after faking a cough in response. Auction Guide Weese simply shook her head in response and said, "It''s not that important, young master! I just want to inform you that you have successfully purchased ninety-seven human slaves. They are all cramped up in the carriage with cages that you bought." "Was the coins enough?" Pedro asked¡ªseemingly troubled that he might owe something to Auction Guide Weese. "Y-Yes, young master!" Auction Guide Weese took out the pouch with several gold coins in it. Then, she said, "There are seventeen more gold coins left inside, young master! I would like to return it to you since the transactions I handled were completed already. I think that it would be of great help to young master in case you needed to bid for any goods that caught your attention in the Grand Auction tonight!" Pedro shook his hand in response and said, "I can manage! Take two golds for yourself¡­" Auction Guide Weese''s eyes seemed like it wants to pop out of their sockets, while her jaw dropped to the floor in astonishment. However, Pedro simply ignored her by returning his gaze to the lively open area¡ªwhere the Grand Auction would be held. Then, Pedro rubbed his chin and said, "As for the remaining gold coins¡­ Can I trouble you once more, to find Auction Guide Sordal Larkas and see if he can recommend me some good skill shards and purchase them before the Grand Auction begins? Of course¡­ Please keep the amount within the remaining gold coins¡ªexcluding the two golds for you." "T-This, young master¡­" Auction Guide Weese could not help but to shake her head and force out a smile towards Pedro out of disbelief. "I-I do not dare take the two golds, Young Master! H-How about I add it to the budget in buying a skill page? This way, the Auction Den would gain more profit. And, in turn, every employee would get a fair share from it?" "How kind of you, Auction Guide Weese," Pedro said as he made a faint smile. Then, he continued, saying, "I admire your professionalism and kindness but¡­ I have spent a huge amount in the Auction Den already. Take the two gold coins as a tip¡­ A gift from me, in return for the excellent service that you provided me. There''s no problem with that, right?" Auction Guide Weese could not help but feel a bit of guilt. Two gold coins might seem like a spare change to Pedro, but to other players, even ordinary NPCs, it was a huge amount. Thus, when Pedro insisted to take the two gold coins, she could not help but glance back and forth at Pedro and the pouch of gold coins on her hands. Alas, after almost a minute of pondering, Auction Guide Weese gave up and smiled¡ªgenuinely towards Pedro, saying, "Y-Young Master¡­ I sincerely give you my thanks! These two gold coins would greatly help my family, especially in this time of crisis where foods are quite expensive. If there''s a chance¡­ I would not hesitate to repay your kindness in the future!" Pedro smiled in response and raised his hand slightly, saying, "I could only accept your kindness, by then¡­" Auction Guide Weese simply nodded in response. Then, she stood and said, "Then, I would be on my way, young master!" After making a slight bow towards Pedro, Auction Guide Weese left the room and searched for Auction Guide Sordal Larkas. At this moment, Pedro''s VIP room was about to be filled with a deathly silence. But¡­ Before it happened, Pedro caught a glance of a familiar robe being worn by a group of pale white skinned people. "They are here¡­" Pedro chuckled as Ragas and Clara followed his gaze. Their respective red and yellowish golden eyes were the only ones seen inside the darkroom and were emanating a strong murderous intent that can make anyone¡ªwho stares back at them, shivering in fear. "Should we take action immediately, Young Master?" Ragas asked, calmly. "Nah! Let them buzz around for now. We''ll interfere if the drama can''t be handled by the Auction Master anymore!" Pedro said coldly in response. Then, his gaze shifted to a seemingly angered man and chuckled, saying, "Besides¡­ There are other great actors around. Right, Clara?" "I don''t quite understand what you wanted to say, Captain Aron." Clara coldly said in response. Her gaze was still focused at the pale white-skinned people, and said, "If you are worried about me¡­ My principles and duties as someone from the Legendary Swordsman''s bloodline¡­ Then, rest assured that I am not bound to protect anyone anymore! Ever since I was exiled from our homeland, I am not bound to wield my sword for anyone else. So¡­ You don''t have to worry if you want to play with a few worthless human lives." Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "It''s good to know that we are on the same page! Well¡­ I am not against humans nor other races¡­ I just simply cannot tolerate anyone with a bastard trait. So¡­ Although I have a task to protect the interest of the humans in the majority, it does not mean that I cannot do what I want¡ªincluding taking care of bastards who I think would hinder me." At this moment, Pedro had unconsciously emanated a murderous aura that was just enough to keep everyone in the room silent. It was only after almost a minute that he realized this and was able to calm himself. He took a deep sigh and said, "In any case¡­ I would give all of you a heads up. The world of Bearth would soon be filled with chaos¡­ Something more complicated than what you thought it would be." The demi-humans could only gasp in response. Then, the room returned to its awkward state as if no one was inside it. It was only when Auction Guide Weese returned did the atmosphere changed inside it. "Young master, here are three skill shards that had a buyout price of five golds each." Auction Guide Weese said as she hands over three bluish crystals with a skill page inside them. "Mr. Sordal Larkas told me that these three skills shards¡ªalthough only being Gold Rated, have great effects that you might find useful in your journey." Pedro took the skill shards and checked their information in his player interface, while saying, "Hooo¡­ Let''s see what he gave me!" Chapter 215: The Boring Auction! [Skill: Track!] Rarity: Gold-rated skill Skill Type: Passive Effects: Marks one selected target and the User becomes aware of the target''s location within 500 meters from the user. Cooldown: No Cooldown. [A skill used by veteran scouts to keep track of their targets!] ~~~~~~~~~~ [Skill: Lighten 1!] Rarity: Gold-rated skill Skill Type: Active Effect/s: Increase Agility of User by 20%. Duration: 5 minutes. Cool Down: 30 minutes. [A skill used by messengers to ensure fast delivery of letters!] ~~~~~~~~ [Skill: Instant Defense 1!] Rarity: Gold-rated skill Skill Type: Passive Effect/s: Instantaneously blocks sneak attacks to User for 1 time. Cool Down: 2 Days. [A skill used by nobles and high ranking people to avoid instant death!] ~~~~~~~ Pedro could not help but force out a smile deep inside. His attention was focused on the [Instant Defense 1] skill on his hand. He thought, ''The three skills that Sordal Larkas gave were exceptional in different ways... Especially the [Instant Defense 1] Skill! Although it could only block one attack... and it has an absurdly long cool down, its effect would be a lifesaver against sneak attacks and ''one-hit delete'' critical attacks!'' Then, Pedro glanced to the other skill shards in his hands and thought, "As for the other two skill shards... One of them is an active skill that directly enhances my agility by twenty percent¡ªwhich would consequently increase my movement speed and attack speed, while the last skill shard is a target locking skill that is often useful in hunting. Nevertheless, these skills were good despite being gold-rated. Not too overpowered... But useful enough for me to personally use them!'' Pedro smirked in response and nodded in satisfaction. Then, he crushed the skill shards on his hands and said, "These are truly great skills with good effects that would be useful in my journey! And¡­ It is definitely worth the price!" Auction Guide Weese simply smiled in response. She was happily bowed towards Pedro and said in a slightly trembling voice, "I-I am glad to know that young master liked the skill shards that we prepared! It is our great honor to have another satisfied customer like you, young master!" Pedro simply raised his hand in response¡ªwanting Auction Guide Weese to lift her head. Then, he smirked as he shifted his attention to his player interface and said, "It seems like it would be a good idea to look around the Minor Auction Area after the Grand Auction. Who knows¡­ There might be several goods waiting to be purchased by me!" Pedro burst into laughter, consequently making Auction Guide Weese force out a smile in response. She was glad that Pedro was interested to look around and buy more goods, but... At the same time, she felt a bit troubled deep inside thinking about the work she needed to do later on. Thus, Auction Guide Weese could only gather herself and do her best to accompany Pedro while he was in the Auction Den. She bowed once more to Pedro and said, "Then¡­ I would gladly accommodate you along the way." "Thanks!" Pedro said as he nodded towards Auction Guide Weese. However, before anyone could utter another word, a small bell was rung by Duke Albert himself¡ªconsequently attracting the attention of everyone that would participate in the Grand Auction. Then, in the next second, Duke Albert coughed several times as he awaits everyone to settle. It took almost a minute before the noise inside the Auction Mansion had settled. It was replaced by the whistle of the breezing wind that brought a relaxing cold air to everyone else. At this moment, Duke Albert smirked to everyone else and said, "Welcome, esteemed guests! I would like to express my gratitude to all of you for participating in this Grand Auction Event on such short notice! On behalf of my Auction Den, I would like to ask for my sincere apology regarding that matter and I hope that you would all like the goods that I prepared." Duke Albert glanced around before saying, "I know that most of you are busy, especially in this time of crisis! So, I won''t take much more of your time... Let the Grand Auction begin!" Some of the guests shouted out of excitement, while some of them are like Pedro¡ªwho remained calm and quiet. And since the number of guests who are participating in the Grand Auction is limited, the Auction Managers were able to proceed smoothly with the first item. A golden cart was pushed to the middle of the open area with a golden box located on its top. Then, the Auction Host stopped a few meters away from the bluish-colored sword before lifting the golden box. And when the golden box was lifted a chunk of shiny black stone was revealed inside. Some of the guests could not help but gasp in response. In fact, even Pedro raised his brows and was seemingly interested in the chunk of shiny black stone. Of course, the Auction Host did not let such an opportunity be wasted. She smirked and said, "This is one Hilo of Divine Black Ingot! It is a super rare material that was mined and transported from the Divine Continent! Not only was it difficult to obtain, but, it is said that once this ingot was forged properly, swords and armors would weigh as light as paper¡ªwhile being as strong and sturdy as titanium! There''s no buyout price, and the bidding price starts at thirty gold coins!" In the next second, the other guests had started to bid for the rare material. The price of the Divine Black Ingot constantly rose and soon it already reached fifty gold coins as its last bid price. At this moment, Pedro could not help but to frown and rub the back of his head, while thinking, ''Oi, Oi! Divine Black Ingot? Around one kilogram on top of that? Who in their right minds would pass on this?! Such a rare material¡­ but the wolf transformation skill page was a more important thing? I really cannot understand the tastes of NPCs.'' "Sixty Gold Coins and Fifty Silver Coins¡­ Going once¡­" The Auction Host shouted that made Pedro frown. Although he knew that it was a rare material, he knew the risks and losses he would gain from buying that rare material. Thus, he could only grit his teeth and thought, ''I won''t deny it that it is indeed a rare material! But¡­'' "Going twice¡­" The Auction Host shouted. "It is not something that can easily be handled!" Pedro grumbled to himself while trying his best not to bid for the rare material. At this moment, Pedro''s face was filled with sweat and seemed like he was someone who is constipated¡ªconsequently making Auction Guide Weese smile. "Going thrice¡­ Sold!" The Auction Host said in a glad manner. In the end, another guest was able to purchase the divine black ingot for a staggering amount of 60 Gold Coins and 50 Silver Coins. And since the rare material was already sold, Pedro was able to sigh of relief and said, "That was close! That ingot was really tempting! But¡­ In order to be able to successfully craft a weapon or equipment using that rare material, it requires a blacksmith to be at the Grand Master level at the least. Else¡­ it would just end up a waste." This, in turn, made Ragas smirked and said, "I did not know that young master would be this knowledgeable about ingots. Perhaps¡­ You were able to try forging such rare ingot in the past?" Pedro simply forced out a smile in response and said, "No, I did not! It''s just common sense¡­ If this material was as strong as titanium¡­ Then it only means that it needed the same skill in handling titanium ingots? And based on common knowledge, titanium ingots can only be successfully handled by Grand Master Blacksmiths!" "I see¡­" Ragas murmured as he gazes back at the ingot¡ªmaking the atmosphere inside the room a bit awkward. Pedro did not mind this atmosphere much because they were still part of a battlefield where coins are being used as weapons. So, it was only natural for him to be focused and in a cold demeanor. Unfortunately, the following goods sold at the Grand Auction were not able to catch his attention. Most of them are Gold Rated Weapons and Equipment that usually boast ''godly'' effects. It was good enough to deceive the other NPCs¡ªmaking some of them pay up to a hundred gold coins on some of the items, but it won''t be able to deceive Pedro at the least. Soon, his wolf transformation skill page¡ªthe main item for the Grand Auction, was being brought to the center of the open area for introductions. And at this moment, Pedro noticed that the vampires¡ªwho were with a rich looking NPC, stood seemingly interested and filled with anticipation for the main item. It was a normal reaction for an auction participant to look forward to what would be sold as the main item. But Pedro, Ragas, and Clara knew that the vampires had other motives. Ragas and Clara could not help but glance towards Pedro¡ªseemingly waiting for his command. That said, Pedro kept a calm demeanor and even laid his chin comfortably to his palm. In the next second, Pedro pointed his left hand to the rich man that was with the vampires and asked, "Auction Guide Weese¡­ Perhaps you know that gentleman, over there?" "Hmm?" Auction Guide Weese raised her brows as her gaze followed Pedro''s hand. Then, she said, "Do you mean Duke Kleon? The Duke of General Governance of the Kingdom?" "Duke Kleon?" Pedro asked with a frown on his face. Auction Guide Weese simply nodded in response and said, "Yes, young master! Perhaps you have seen him somewhere?" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "Nah¡­ I was just wondering who was behind those suspicious men. It turns out to be one of the highest-ranking officials here in the Tarala Kingdom! Now¡­ It all makes sense! I was wondering how those monsters were able to enter the stronghold. It turns out to be that there''s a rat inside, creating a hole! No wonder such a powerful stronghold was easily infiltrated by those monsters!" At this moment, Auction Guide Weese could not help but frown in response. She can''t understand what was Pedro saying, so, she could only ask, "Infiltrated? Monsters? What do you mean by that, young master?" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "You would know very soon!" Chapter 216: 1070! Pedro had a clear view of the open area from above¡ªallowing him to see the ''converted VIP room'' where Duke Kleon was located. His eyes slowly followed the pale white-skinned men as they separate into two groups. Four of the vampires walked out of the room, while five remained with Duke Kleon. At this moment, Pedro could not help but frown as one of the Vampires got close to Duke Kleon and bit him on his neck. "Shit!" Pedro cursed as he shot up from his seat. Then, his eyes suddenly shifted to Duke Albert, who seemed like he was in a paralyzed state beside the Auction Host. However, in the next second, the four vampires¡ªwho walked out of the room, revealed their fangs as the pupil of their eyes turned blood red. To make things worse, all of them were eyeing the ''main item'' to be auctioned, and, at the same time, they were seemingly also targeting Duke Albert. Without wasting another second, Pedro pointed his right arm to the window¡ªsending his pen-knife that shot like a bullet and instantly broke the glass into pieces. This, in turn, gave them an opening that would lead them to the open area as fast as they can. And since he knew that Ragas and Clara can move faster than he does, Pedro gave them an order, saying, "Clara! Ragas! Protect Duke Albert! Hurry!" At this moment, the four vampires noticed the windows of Pedro''s VIP Room to be broken, consequently forcing them to charge towards the main item and Duke Albert in response. Unfortunately, before they could even reach the main item, the four vampires'' bodies crashed into the ground¡ªheadless. Two heads rolled near the bodies while the other two were missing. And it was only after a second did they notice two figures standing from where the four vampires had just passed. It was no other than Clara and Ragas. Clara held her sword like a true Royal Knight. She held her silver sword with two hands while twisting her body slightly to the right with her sword oriented vertically. With her left foot forward, she was ready to strike anything she deemed necessary to be sliced into half. Paired with the shining golden pupil of her eyes and the golden aura enveloping her silver sword, those who gazed at her could not help but shiver in fear. On the other hand, a seemingly old man stood a few meters beside her with the two missing heads of the other vampires. He gripped their heads on his hands that were covered in greenish pointy scales. While his body emanated a murderous aura that was strong enough to scare everyone else. Before anyone could utter a word, Pedro''s pen-knife shot past through Ragas and Clara. It sucked all the blood along the way, completely killing the vampires and hindering them from their recovering the part of their body that got injured. Then, it went straight to the remaining five vampires. Unfortunately, due to the vampires'' heightened senses, they were able to dodge Pedro''s pen-knife at the last second. That said, before the vampires could rejoice, Clara''s blade and Ragas'' fist arrived in front of them, rendering evasion impossible in response. "What are you pests doing here?" Ragas chuckled in response. At this moment, the other guests were already in panic and were about to leave the Auction Mansion as soon as possible. Thus, Duke Albert could not help but stare at the dead bodies all over the place¡ªincluding Duke Kleon''s lifeless body that was sitting on a couch. Pedro could not help but to force out a smile in response and scratch the back of his head. Then, he took a sigh as he climbs to the window of his room¡ªpreparing to jump from it. But before he did so, he glanced towards his demi-human slaves and Auction Guide Weese, saying, "Please head to the discussion room! All of you! I''ll be back in a few minutes! Hurry!" "Y-Yes, young master!" Auction Guide Weese cried in response. She trembled out of fear and immediately guided the demi-human slaves to enter the discussion area. On the other hand, Pedro jumped out of the window and headed straight towards Duke Albert. Pedro had no choice but to save him. They were both under a blood contract, and Pedro would die if Duke Albert dies. So, he had no choice but to protect him¡ªuntil Duke Albert would be successfully crowned as the new King. With one obstacle away from Duke Albert''s mission to become the new King¡ªwhich was Duke Kleon, Duke Albert takes one more step forward to being the new King. Add up the possibility of gaining the favors of the nobles and high ranking officials that were present at the Grand Auction, this event was as if a well-planned event by him. "Duke Albert, are you alright?" Pedro asked in a cold and wary demeanor. Duke Albert simply nodded in response, saying, "I-I am alright!" "That''s good to hear¡­" Pedro said as his attention shifted to the guests who were escaping. "The vampire bastards were taken care of¡­ I''ll leave the guests and the resume of the Grand Auction to you. You can do that, right?" "I can!" Duke Albert frowned as he nodded towards an Auction Manager in response. This, in turn, made the Auction Manager ring a bell and shout as loud as she can. "STOOOOOP!" The Auction Manager shouted on top of her lungs. "Esteemed guests, I humbly request for all of you to calm down! The unexpected circumstances have been successfully handled! And the perpetrators of the assassination and robbing incident have been neutralized! May we request all of you to return to your rooms as we are about to resume the Grand Auction''s final part!" "R-Resume my ass!" One of the guests shouted in anger. "Someone died and you dare continue the Auction despite knowing this fact! My life is more important than any treasure that you have!" The other guests could not help but agree with what that guest said towards Duke Albert and the Auction Manager who shouted. That said, the Auction Manager was able to successfully attract the attention of all the guests at this point. And without wasting another second, Duke Albert used this chance to showcase the effects of the skill. He used his Wolf Transformation Skill and transformed into his wolf form. "This¡­" The guests could not help but be frozen in place out of astonishment. Some of them even had their jaws dropped and their eyes seemingly wanting to pop out of their sockets due to astonishment. Before they could utter another word, Duke Albert reverted to his human form and smirked. He shook his head and limbs¡ªindicating that he was still not used to using the skill. Then, he took a deep sigh and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen! I would like to introduce the Main Item for the Grand Auction today! Although it has a low rating¡­ It is a miraculous skill that allows a human to transform into that of a wolf!" At this moment, Duke Albert nodded towards the Auction Host¡ªwho, in turn, lifted the golden box and revealed the Skill Page that was the main item for the Grand Auction today. Then, Duke Albert smirked and said, "All of us are very familiar with Shapeshifters and Humanoids¡ªwho can transform from their monster form into human form! But now¡­ We are offering an ultimately rare chance¡­ For you, a human¡­ To have a similar skill like them!" Duke Albert paused for a few seconds, before he continued, saying, "There is no buyout price for this item! And the bid would start at¡­ Fifty Gold Coins, no less!" "One hundred Gold Coins!" A guest shouted that made everyone else get back to their senses. This, in turn, had started the bidding war without giving the guests who were about to flee a chance to go back to their comfortable rooms. "One hundred and fifty Gold Coins!" "Two hundred Gold Coins!" "THREE HUNDRED GOLD COINS!" "Three hundred and fifty Gold Coins!" ¡­ The price continued to rise at a staggering amount. Those who were not able to compete had instead supported other guests in exchange for probably a favor in the future. Whatever was the case, Pedro and Duke Albert did not give a single care. What was important to them was to gain as much profit as they can from the wolf transformation skill page. So, they could only watch the other guests go on a bitter fight to obtain the said skill page. In the end, the wolf transformation skill page was bought for a staggering amount of 1,070 Gold Coins. And the one who won it was the third Duke of the three great Dukes of the Tarala Kingdom. Duke Ersi Ester, the Duke responsible for the Military Affairs of Tarala Kingdom! Of course, he did not win it by himself. He had the help of five more guests who contributed a hundred gold coins at the least. And just from the looks of it, it was not something odd for someone to help a high ranking official that is handling military affairs of a Kingdom, especially in times of crisis like this¡ªwhere monsters are charging non-stop all over the place. Well¡­ That was true¡­ Until Pedro would be able to successfully establish the Adventurer''s Guild! Chapter 217: Meeting the Head of the Military of the Tarala Kingdom, Duke Ersi Ester! The moment that Duke Ersi Ester won the wolf transformation form skill page, his rival guests and their supporters left without even saying a single word. Fortunately, the unexpected event concerning the vampires was completely disregarded by everyone as the majority of them thought that it was all a part of an act to increase the value of the main item. That said, Duke Albert and Duke Ersi knew to themselves that it was not the case. They were certain that the one who was assassinated by the vampires was Duke Kleon, one of the three great Dukes of the Tarala Kingdom that was trusted by the ''dead'' King to handle the General Governance¡ªor the political affairs, concerning the Tarala Kingdom. What was the proof that it was the real Duke Kleon himself? The letter delivered to Duke Kleon was good enough to serve as proof of identity. And since most of the guests mistake the vampire scene as an act to increase the value of the transformation skill page, Duke Albert took that into an advantage and mobilized his guards to clean up and cover up the mess. With the help of Ragas and Clara, as ordered by Pedro, they took the corpses of the vampires to themselves. Of course, knowing how important Pedro was to them, the personnel of the Auction Den¡ªeven Duke Albert, allowed Pedro''s aides to do so. On the other hand, Duke Ersi arrived at where the main item was located, together with a handful of his men and the nobles from other strongholds that supported him. With them were several pouches that they handed over to Duke Albert''s few Auction Managers to assist him in counting the Gold Coins. And after a few minutes of verification, Duke Albert and Duke Ersi signed a blood contract regarding the humongous deal. Then afterward, they exchanged the cart full of pouches containing gold coins with the transformation skill page. And the moment that Duke Ersi obtained the skill page, he read it for almost a minute before he immediately tore it into pieces¡ªconsequently using the transformation skill page for himself. Well¡­ Pedro and Duke Albert had no interest in how would Duke Ersi use the skill page. They earned a huge sum of money and that was all that mattered. In any case, Duke Ersi used the skill immediately and transformed into a wolf-like how Duke Albert did earlier. Duke Ersi''s men and the other nobles supporting him could not help but clap their hands in response. Then, they kept saying, "Congrats, Duke Ersi for winning the main item¡­" Despite the happiness and excitement that he felt deep inside, Duke Ersi reverted back to his human form with a smirk planted on his face. Then, he glanced to Duke Albert and said, "Nice goods, this time!" Duke Albert simply nodded in response and said, "It''s great to know that you liked our product! I hope that it would provide you a huge help in defending our Kingdom against monsters." "I hope so¡­" Duke Ersi Ester frowned and scratched the back of his head. Then, he glanced towards the lifeless body of Duke Kleon and asked, "What should we do about his body? The Kingdom might be thrown into chaos if the information about Duke Kleon''s death gets known to the public! So¡­ We must suppress as much information as possible!" Duke Albert simply smirked in response and said, "You can leave that matter to me. And before I forgot¡­ I got a tip from someone telling us that the King is currently in a dire state and we must visit him as soon as possible." "The King???" Duke Ersi asked with a frown on his face. Then, his gaze was shifted back to the corpse of Duke Kleon and the several vampires near him before saying, "I see¡­ Then I would take a trip back to the palace before going back home! Those rookie knights would be troublesome to handle though. All of them are quite stubborn despite being weak than the average strength needed for a Royal Knight!" Duke Ersi could not help but sigh as his attention caught the figure of Clara and Ragas, making him frown and ask, "Are those two, your men? Since when did you get such strong men that are capable of neutralizing those annoying vampires in just seconds? I-I mean¡­" Duke Albert simply shook his head and said, "They are not my men. They were initially high-quality slaves that are being sold under this Auction Den. However, by now, they are owned by one of our esteemed guests!" "Guest?" Duke Ersi frowned as his head followed Duke Albert¡ªwho, at this moment, approached Pedro full of confidence. Duke Albert simply nodded in response as he pointed his hand towards Pedro and said, "Ersi, please meet Sire Aron! The owner of the two slaves¡ªwho neutralized the vampires and prevented the commotion in getting worst." "Greetings, Sire Aron!" Duke Ersi simply raised his hand and waved it to Pedro as he went closer towards them. "I can''t help but be amazed by your ability to be able to spot such rare gems at the same time! I wonder where great sire came from?" At this moment, Duke Ersi noticed Pedro''s overcoat and was suddenly at loss for words. After a few seconds of silence, his jaws slightly opened as he took a step back and pointed towards Pedro, saying, "Y-You¡­ Are you, perhaps, someone from ''that'' organization?" Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "Organization? If you mean the Bearth Human Organization, then you are right, Duke Ersi? Was I right? Forgive me, sire¡­ I am not that quite good with names!" Duke Ersi had just suddenly gone blank at that moment. And it took him tens of seconds before he was able to get back to himself and return to his calm demeanor. Then, he took a deep breath and bowed to Pedro with his right arm in front of his body, while saying, "Respected Sir Aron, it is my honor to be in your presence! Forgive me for not noticing immediately, that you are someone from the Legendary Fleet of Karakoa of the Three Great Admirals of the South Eastern Lands! May I know if the kind Vice Almirante Soledad sent you in this Kingdom?" At this moment, Duke Albert and everyone else could not help but stare towards Pedro out of astonishment. However, they were not astonished and at loss for words because they know what Duke Ersi had said. But¡­ it was because they were astonished by the way that Duke Ersi had responded towards Pedro. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but smile in response and said, "Please, lift your head respected Duke¡­ you don''t need to be like that towards me. As for your question if my mentor had sent me here for a task of some sort¡­ Unfortunately, I have to disappoint you but¡­ that is not the case! I am here for my own accord. I could tell you some information about my visit but¡­ I would like to have a private talk with only you and Duke Albert around." "I-Is that so?" Duke Ersi panicked and seemed like he was a bit troubled. He glanced towards Duke Albert, then, to the other nobles before forcing out a smile and saying, "Forgive me, but¡­ I would like to kindly ask everyone to wait for me in the lobby. I would need to talk with Sire Aron for a bit¡­ There won''t be a problem with it, right?" Probably out of fear to Duke Ersi, the six-foot man with a body of a bodybuilder and brown threatening eyes, everyone could only force out a smile in response and agree to his arrangements without having that much thought. "Please take your time, Duke Ersi! I don''t have many things to settle back in my stronghold!" "Yes, Duke Ersi! It is the same case for me!" "Please take your time!" ¡­ This, in turn, made Duke Ersi clap his hands out of glee as he glanced towards Duke Albert and said, "Albert¡­ Where can the three of us talk privately?" "Uhm¡­" Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile as he glanced back and forth to Pedro and Duke Ersi. And it was only after a few seconds that he was able to calm himself and scratch the back of his head, saying, "I-If that''s the case¡­ Then, please follow me!" At this moment, Duke Albert went to the golden cart where the pouches of gold coins were placed. He pushed it by himself as he walked and led Pedro and Duke Ersi to his private room on the second floor. But before they could even reach the room, a breeze went past them from behind as a white-haired lady appeared in front of them. "Stop!" The woman shouted. She glared towards Pedro whilst her hands held the handle of a sword that was sheathed in the left side of her waist. Then, she asked, "Tell me¡­ Do you really know Vice Almirante Soledad, Captain Aron?" Pedro simply smirked and nodded in response, saying, "Yes, Clara! I am quite familiar with my very own Mentor, Vice Almirante Soledad!" Chapter 218: Revelation of the Truth to Duke Ersi, Part 1! "I-I-I don''t believe it!" Clara said with a frown on her face. Then, she added, "S-Show me a proof! Else¡­ I won''t believe that you are someone acquainted with my savior! I-If you could prove it to me, then¡­ I might even give you my loyalty!" Pedro could not help but gasp in response. Although Clara was stuttering when she spoke, Pedro knew from what she said¡ªhow she looks up to Madame Soledad and how her life changed because of her. But despite her sincerity and tempting offer, Pedro had no other means of proof other than the Karakoa ship that he inherited from Madame Soledad. That said, it does not mean that he would immediately bring Clara to the ship because of a spoken promise. He was not that dumb to do that. Clara, even Ragas, were NPCs that were seemingly stronger than him. So, it would be troublesome if he would need to fight the two of them in case they became his enemies. Even the safety of the ships would be placed in jeopardy if he carelessly brings them aboard the ship. That is why bringing them to the ship was a no go. In fact, they would even need to undergo Pedro''s observation that would happen upon his stay in the Tarala Kingdom and later on¡ªhis visit to other strongholds. Since he had nothing with him to act as proof that he was really someone acquainted with Madame Soledad, Pedro could not help but force out a smile and ponder on how he would answer Clara''s question. Fortunately, at this moment, Ragas had arrived in front of Pedro¡ªready to fight Clara and protect Pedro. This, in turn, gave Pedro ease on his mind¡ªconsequently allowing him to focus on thinking of a way to prove the credibility of what he was claiming. He thought, ''Inviting them to the ship is a no go! And¡­ I don''t want to reveal that I am also a skilled maker as much as possible! As for combat ability¡­ Madame Soledad did not even give me any lesson about combat or battle¡­ And even if I did learn a few from Madame Soledad¡­ I would not be able to properly show it towards them, especially when against Clara¡­'' Pedro could not help but scratch his head and frown, thinking, ''Haiz¡­ How troubled some! It''s not that I have no proof that would show that I am really acquainted with Madame Soledad¡­ But¡­ The ways I have to prove my claims is not something I could just show to strangers!'' At this moment, Duke Albert and Duke Ersi could not help but glance towards Pedro¡ªseemingly waiting for his response. They also seemed interested as to how Pedro would prove that he is truly acquainted with Madame Soledad. In response, Pedro could not help but take a deep sigh. Then, he glanced towards Clara and said, "I would be honest to all of you¡­ I currently have no means to prove to you that I am acquainted with the Vice Almirante other than the transformation skill that was recently sold to Duke Ersi! Besides¡­ Although I am acquainted with her¡­ It does not mean that I have to show proof or something!" Clara was about to move his jaws and was about to say something to Pedro. However, before she could utter a word, Pedro furrowed his brows and said, "And frankly¡­ I am quite annoyed by your¡ªshould I say¡­ request?! I wore an overcoat that serves as my uniform from the Bearth Human Organization! On top of that¡­ I even introduced myself to all of you! Don''t you think that you are being a bit rude towards me?" At this moment, Pedro glared towards Clara¡ªconsequently replacing her mixed emotions with guilt. That said, Pedro did not stop and said, "I am being quite lenient to all of you since the start! But if you are going to keep poking into such matters¡­ Then, don''t blame me for not showing mercy!" Duke Albert and Duke Ersi could not help but force out a smile. They both have different reasons, but both of them became suddenly scared of what Pedro has just said. Duke Albert feared Pedro because of his strength, especially after experiencing the effect of Pedro''s Demonic Eyes when they were testing Clara''s strength earlier. Though he was able to remain conscious, Duke Albert was a hundred percent sure that Pedro can kill him as if he was just a bug. Thus, he can''t help but fear Pedro, especially now that he felt that he was offended. As for Duke Ersi, although he was not able to experience the effect of Pedro''s Demonic Eyes first hand, he seemed like someone who even personally knew about Madame Soledad and the Legendary Fleet of Karakoa. Amongst them, he was the one who knew the legitimacy of what Pedro said regarding the overcoat being a uniform. Well¡­ It was probably not something unusual to him. Because in the first place, Duke Ersi was the Head of the Military of the Tarala Kingdom. And most of the time, they were the ones who would definitely know anything about the Bearth Human Organization. So¡­ It would be perilous and a huge loss to the Kingdom¡ªand even just to themselves, if they would be able to offend someone from Bearth Human Organization. That is why Duke Ersi could not help but fear the loss that the Kingdom would gain if they offend Pedro. On the other hand, Clara could not help but to shake her head to clear her mind and return to her calm and composed demeanor. She sighed and said, "Then¡­ Unfortunately¡­ I can''t simply believe that you are someone who is acquainted with my savior! Unless you show me a proof¡­ I''ll stay by my condition that I will follow you on my own accord, and see for myself this family you are proud of!" "Suit yourself!" Pedro said in a cold demeanor. Then, he glanced towards Duke Albert and Duke Ersi, before saying, "Then please make way¡­ There are a few things that the respected Dukes and I needed to talk about! Follow your task, and protect my demi-human slaves! You can do that at the least, right?" Clara simply averted her gaze from them and turned to the hallway that was leading to Pedro''s VIP room. Then, she said, "Of course!" Soon, Clara''s figure disappeared, making Ragas feel at ease. His clenched fist went open, while his shoulders lowered a tad bit. Pedro was able to notice Ragas relaxing, thus Pedro could not help but to force out a smile in response. Then, he took a deep sigh before placing his hands on top of Ragas'' shoulder and said, "Thanks, Ragas! You did well! Stand by for now." At first, Ragas was seemingly at loss for words. But after a second, he was able to gather himself. He smiled in response to Pedro and bowed out of respect to him, saying, "It is my honor to be praised by you, young master! I would do as you command!" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Wait in the VIP room. Help Clara watch over my demi-human slaves. I would just have a discussion with the two respected Dukes." "Yes, young master! Then, I would be taking my leave!" Ragas bowed one last time and left¡ªleaving Pedro with the two Dukes. Seeing the troubled faces of the two Dukes, Pedro could not help but to also force out a smile and say, "Sorry for the trouble, respected Dukes! Please kindly lead the way so that we could proceed with our discussion as soon as possible." "Y-Yes, of course!" Duke Albert said as he led Pedro and Duke Ersi to his room. They went to the discussion room of Duke Albert''s room to talk privately. At first, the atmosphere was tense because of the fear of the two Dukes to Pedro. That said, Pedro did not give that much care about it. And when Duke Albert¡ªwho ensured that the doors were locked, had sat with them across the table, Pedro rubbed his chin and pondered, saying, "Now¡­ Where should we start?" Seeing that Pedro was a bit troubled at where to start their conversation, Duke Ersi took the initiative and said, "If I may¡­ I am quite intrigued by the reason why you gave a sudden visit here to the Tarala Kingdom? So¡­ I would like to humbly ask for the reason." "Oh, that?" Pedro raised his brows and chuckled, "If you wanted to know the reason for my visit, then it would definitely be best to tell you, first, about it¡­ I am here¡­ to solve the problem that the Kingdom is facing!" "Problem?" Duke Ersi asked, "Do you mean the monster waves?" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Yes¡­ But I don''t think that the monsters are the only problem of this Kingdom." "Then¡­" Duke Albert frowned in response. "Do you mean¡­" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "If you are referring to the matter regarding the selection of the new King, the re-establishment of the Kingdom, and the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild¡­ Then, we are on the same page." "New King?! Re-establishment of the Kingdom?!" Duke Ersi asked in a calm demeanor. Though it seemed like Duke Ersi was calm, Pedro and Duke Albert knew that he was just holding back his anger. And from the looks of it, Duke Ersi was somehow angered by what Pedro said. But despite that fact, Pedro and Duke Albert learn that Duke Ersi, somehow, have no idea by the current state of the Royal Family. Thus, Pedro could not help but to force out a smile towards Duke Ersi and say, "I know that you might not believe what I am about to say, Duke Ersi, but¡­ I got an information from one of my men¡­ that the Royal Family¡ªtogether with several high ranking officials, are already dead!" "What?!" At this moment, Duke Ersi was not able to control himself any longer. He slammed the table and stood while shouting, "Non-sense! Why would that happen if there are Royal Knights scattered all over the vicinity of the Royal Palace?" Pedro simply shook his head and said, "I know that it is hard to believe. But there is only one way to know whether I am right or wrong! And it is¡­" "To meet with the King!" Duke interjected, making Pedro nod in response. Chapter 219: Convincing Duke Ersi! Noticing that Duke Ersi still looked a bit offended, Pedro could not help but to shake his head and said, "Please calm yourself, Duke Ersi! As I said¡­ Though my visit was something personal, my goal was still to ensure the safety of the majority of the people in the Kingdom. I did not want to interfere with a stronghold''s political affairs in the first place, but¡­ Things have already come to this point!" Pedro sighed and glanced towards Duke Albert, saying, "I am sure that you are familiar with what would happen if such news about the death of the King spreads out? I even heard that there are quite some problems in the Kingdom, especially in the slums area. Add up the monsters that became an annoying problem to all the strongholds, be it a mere village or an almighty Kingdom... I am sure that if things won''t be handled properly, there is a huge possibility of chaos breaking out inside the Kingdom! And we can''t rule out the possibility of obtaining huge casualties, especially when the vampires are lurking around in the corners of the Kingdom! If that happens¡­ I am not confident that I would be able to provide you that much aid, since our fleet''s main focus is fighting the monsters and not humans! With all of that said... I am afraid that the Kingdom might fall!" "Still¡­" Duke Ersi retained the frown on his face. Then, he glanced towards Duke Albert, and asked, "Albert! You are the King''s friend! Why can you stay calm despite knowing this fact?" Duke Albert could only shake his head in response. Then, he glared towards Duke Ersi and said, "What can irrationality bring to me at this moment? Look, Ersi! Yes, I am the King''s friend, but¡­ I am also a Merchant¡ªthe official, that was entrusted to handle the commerce of this Kingdom! Whatever is the case... Whether I like it or not... I am still the one trusted by the King, himself, to manage the Business and Trade Industry of the Kingdom! It is my duty to ensure the prosperity of the Market in the name of the King! So¡­ It''s not that I am unaffected by this information but... The King has trusted the Kingdom''s Market to me! I can only do my best, in return, whatever is happening!" "Are you saying that I am just being emotional?!" Duke Ersi shouted as he glared daggers towards Duke Albert. In turn, Duke Albert could not help but to his head and said, "No! Of course not! What I just wanted to say is that¡­ the King entrusted us our tasks to ensure the prosperity of the Kingdom and the welfare of his people. Would we risk the chance of jeopardizing what we¡ªtogether with the King, had painstakingly reformed and develop just because of such a scenario! All I wanted to say is that... Whether the King is dead or alive, in the end, it would be us who would take responsibility for managing the Kingdom in his stead. So... We must focus on that part instead!" "Well¡­" Duke Ersi could not help but to calm down and sigh after realizing what Duke Albert said. Then, he glanced towards Pedro and said, "I''ll check the validity of your information as soon as our meeting is finished! So¡­ can I know what the two of you had in mind in case you are correct?" "That matter¡­ I am leaving that to Duke Albert!" Pedro said with a calm demeanor. Then, he said, "My concern is just all about the people''s overall safety! If the both of you could ensure the safety of everyone in this Kingdom, then¡­ I don''t give that much thought and focus on the political affairs of this Kingdom! So¡­ I''ll leave it to your hands." "I Understand¡­" Duke Ersi nodded in response. At this moment, Duke Ersi returned to his calm and composed demeanor. Then, he said, "If¡­ Just in case that what you said was right¡­ What can I do to help prevent chaos from occurring in the Kingdom?" Pedro simply scratched the back of his head and said, "In the meantime... Please focus on defending the Kingdom from the monsters in our stead. I would like to focus on helping Duke Albert in handling matters from within the walls¡ªlike the vampires and such, first and foremost! So that we would be assured that there won''t be enemies biting behind our back! As for the so-called Adventurer''s Guild... I am sure that both of you are aware of the sudden increase in numbers of the Adventurers. And to control and organize them while transforming them into contributing entities for the Kingdom, I want to ask for your support and establish an independent organization called the Adventurer''s Guild! Imagine unifying all the adventurers visiting the Kingdom and using them as an additional force in fighting the monster waves! Won''t it be a big help to you and the Kingdom''s Army?" "That''s true¡­" Duke Ersi could not help but to rub his chin as he nods in agreement with what Pedro had said. On the other hand, Duke Albert simply remain silent and retained his calm demeanor to avoid suspicion of Duke Ersi. It was not because he was the one who orchestrated the death of the King and Duke Kleon, but because he did not want to give a wrong impression to Duke Ersi that he and Pedro were the ones behind everything and got blamed for conspiracy of some sort. Besides¡­ It would not be a good idea if there would be any further internal conflict between them. It would just hasten the chaos that they all wanted to avoid no matter what! So, they could just act calmly and discuss things carefully because the fate of the whole Tarala Kingdom and its people lies in their hands. If they act rashly, there is a possibility that things might go suddenly out of hand. At this moment, Pedro clapped his hand to gain the attention of the two Dukes. Then, he said, "Since I have already told you what I had in mind¡­ I would like to suggest that we conclude our discussion here, for now, and allow Duke Ersi to check the validity of the information that I got. If the information was right, then we can immediately take measures based on what we arranged so far. But if the information was wrong, then I could only ask Duke Ersi to kindly mediate between me and the King, and schedule a meeting to discuss the matters regarding the Adventurer''s Guild." Duke Ersi simply nodded in agreement and said, "I also think the same thing! Well¡­ In any case, I am glad to know that we are on the same page¡ªprotecting the interest of the people and the Kingdom!" Pedro and Duke Albert simply nodded in response. They smiled as Duke Ersi stood and said, "As for the matter regarding Kleon¡­ Albert, you can hold the information about his death for about a day or two, right? The involvement of the vampires is quite troublesome, and we would need to conduct a thorough investigation about this incident. I fear that the vampires would become careful of their actions, or they would hide back in the shadows¡ªknowing that they were able to successfully eliminate Kleon! Anyway¡­ I''ll inform the two of you in case I got any leads!" "We would trouble you then, Ersi!" Duke Albert said whilst forcing out a smile. Then, he scratched the back of his head and said, "As for the control of the information¡­ I can delay its spread for a day at most! Duke Kleon''s son was present in the auction earlier¡­ I fear that he would cause a scene any time soon, especially that his father was involved in this matter!" Duke Ersi could only flick his tongue and frown in response. Then, after a few seconds, he took a deep breath and shook his head, while saying, "That''s quite troublesome¡­ Well, we have no choice! Just try to delay it as much as possible! We don''t want to alert Kleon''s supporters¡ªwho would definitely cause trouble! As for his son¡­ Just make do a temporary reason and avert his attention. Like¡­ Tell him that it was just a doppelganger of his father and was just part of an act or so¡­ That idiot would buy it for now, at the least." Duke Albert stood in response and said, "Don''t worry much about it! I''ll take care of that kid! For now¡­ let''s focus on the verification of sir Aron''s information, as well as the improvement of the current state of the Tarala Kingdom!" Pedro simply stood and nodded in agreement. While Duke Ersi simply sighed in response and said, "Very well¡­ Then I would be taking my leave first!" "May you bring back good news about the King!" Duke Albert said as Duke Ersi left¡ªwaving his hand. At this moment, Pedro and Duke Albert were the only ones left in the room. Duke Albert could not help but force out a smile whilst locking the doors, and saying, "Ersi¡­ What a tough man to handle! If not for your presence, sir Aron, I am not confident that I would be able to convince him and gain his support on my own!" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "You don''t need to give me the credit, Duke Albert! I merely said what I truly had in mind. Besides¡­ I doubt that you do not have a contingency plan in your hand! Am I right, Duke Albert?" Duke Albert simply grinned mischievously and said, "What are you saying, Sir Aron? Everything that happened till now was just all coincidence! Just coincidence!" Pedro simply shrugged his shoulder and smirked, saying, "If you say so¡­" Chapter 220: Planning Their Next Steps: Conquering the Tarala Kingdom, Part 1 "Before we discuss something else¡­ Can I get my earnings first? I am worried that something bad might happen with those gold coins¡­" Pedro said as he rubbed the back of his head whilst forcing out a smile. "Yes, of course!" Duke Albert simply said as he handed over the pushcart to Pedro. He can''t help but take his seat¡ªopposite to Pedro, as Pedro was starting to take pouch per pouch, carefully counting the gold coins inside. After Pedro counted them, he placed the checked pouches in his inventory bag. And while doing so, he took this chance to message his Aunt Veronica¡ªtelling her to inform the spy of Weyron to hide back to the treasure chest. He said to his aunt that he would obtain the said treasure chest, on the next day, so the spy of Weyron should not be worried about his character dying anytime soon. And other than that, Pedro also said to his aunt to tell his cousin to go to the Tarala Kingdom soon and meet him there. Although he was unsuccessful in conquering the Kingdom due to several circumstances, he was about to establish an authoritative and governing force for players instead. Pedro and Weyron would use this chance to rebuild the gold farming force that they had lost from the war. With profit easily obtainable whilst gaining the favor of the other NPCs in behalf of the other players, it was truly the new definition of gold farming force. And although the other players are not necessarily part of their gold farming guild/organization, it would soon require their approval if the other players ever wanted to obtain quests from the NPCs. Unfortunately, the Adventurer''s Guild that they would be able to establish would only be available to the players within Aquari Continent. Expanding their influence to the other continents would be difficult, whether through the game¡ªby traveling through the seas, or offline¡ªby creating accounts overseas. There is a possibility that there would be other players or gaming organizations to imitate what they would do on other servers. But¡­ One thing is for sure. It won''t be that easy! After all¡­ There are no other players who had a similar influence with Pedro in the game. Besides¡­ It was not like the players in the other continent are from a single big guild of some sort. There would definitely be different factions to form as the number of players continuously increases each second. There would definitely be a conflict in terms of control and authority, making the establishment of Adventurer''s Guild a challenging task in other continents. ''If only teleportation portals could bring us to other continents¡­'' Pedro grumbled deep inside. Even he himself knew that it would be difficult to establish Adventurer''s Guild in other continents. It was akin to establishing a similar organization to Bearth Human Organization but mainly composed of adventurers or players. Well¡­ Although BHO members are at the pinnacle of what humanity could achieve, there was still a huge possibility that the players would be able to reach¡ªor even overcome, them within a few decades. So¡­ If such another global organization was established, and it was composed of players¡­ Not only does the strength of humanity would significantly increase, but¡­ they might even start to stand toe to toe with gods, goddesses, and demons. That said, the expansion of Pedro''s Adventurer''s Guild would still be difficult, especially when he won''t be able to do that at this point of the game. Because in the future, the different factions like guilds or gaming organizations were bound to have their own Kingdoms or strongholds. By that time, the need for quests in the NPC governed strongholds would decrease. Fortunately, Pedro already knew of these challenges, especially when he thought of establishing the Adventurer''s Guild in contingency to the desire of Weyron to govern a strong force by capitalizing on the weak state of the Tarala Kingdom. Before Pedro finishes counting the gold coins, his Aunt Veronica went online and had informed him that they were able to successfully transmit the message to Weyron''s spy. Unfortunately, his cousin won''t be able to head to the Tarala Kingdom immediately, because he was busy gathering the thousand men of his guild. His Aunt Veronica said that his cousin estimated that it would take them two to four more days before they would be able to march towards the Tarala Kingdom. This made Pedro scratch his head deep inside and thought, ''Two to four days??? That''s too long! I need him to arrive as soon as possible so that I could transfer the authority to him and let him manage the Adventurer''s Guild in my stead! Besides¡­ I can''t let the spider dungeon left open that long¡­ It''s not that I am worried that other players would take advantage of the source of my bug attack damage, but¡­ I am more worried for both players and NPCs falling prey to the spiders and consequently increasing their numbers... then, later on, be able to attack the nearby villages!'' ''I even promised Neerak that I would protect their village¡­'' He sighed deeply. Coincidentally, at this moment, he had just finished counting the gold coins he earned. He forced out a smile to Duke Albert afterward, and said, "I am done¡­ Sorry for making you wait, Duke Albert." Duke Albert simply rubbed the back of his head and said, "You need not worry¡­ I understand why you wanted to do this first! It was a skyrocketing amount that even set a new record in my auction den. There would definitely be some evil entities who would aim to steal your earnings. It is only natural that we handle it as soon as possible!" Pedro nodded in response and said, "Thanks for understanding, Duke Albert! This profit is of importance to me. It would play an important role in the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild." Duke Albert smirked in response and mockingly teased Pedro, saying, "It seems like you have carefully planned everything, sir Aron¡­ From the coins to the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild¡­ Are the members of the Legendary Bearth Human Organization this scary?" Pedro laughed out loud in response and said, "It''s all just coincidence, Duke Albert! Just coincidence! My true motive was to prevent a disaster from happening and save as many human lives as I can¡­ The strength, money, and power I gain were just additional rewards I get along the way." "Coincidence, huh?" Duke Albert chuckled. Then, he took a deep sigh and said, "Anyway¡­ Since it is already evening and we are yet to eat our dinner, I would like to get straight to the point and ask you¡ªsir Aron, about how we should deal with the ones who were behind the chaos in the Kingdom and the death of the King?" Pedro simply rubbed the back of his head and said, "I am not against the vampires¡­ nor do I have any suspicions to anyone so far. So¡­ although I did say to Duke Ersi that I would help find and exterminate such evil beings, that is only limited within the Tarala Kingdom. If the vampires go out of the Kingdom, then they would be out of my jurisdiction." Duke Albert simply nodded in agreement and said, "You are right! However¡­ won''t we risk the possibility of the escaping vampires to seek the help of the other vampires in other strongholds and act revenge for their fallen comrades in the future? I mean¡­ won''t it be better to silence them all and avoid confrontation and battle against them in the future?" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "You have a point, Duke Albert! But¡­ Annihilating them would be extremely difficult¡­ I fear that a cornered snake would even bite harder, so¡­ I would suggest leaving them be if they can escape. Besides¡­ We won''t gain anything in killing them other than buying time before the vampires from the other strongholds notice what happened here in the Kingdom. There''s still the possibility of the enemy preparing their force and attack us once again later on." "Well¡­ You have a point." Duke Albert said after making a bitter smile. Then, he continued, saying, "I guess we''ll just have to avert the attention of everyone from the vampires when the news about the death of the King and Duke Kleon spreads out. Besides¡­ We are only certain that they are somehow involved in this mess¡­ We just don''t know how much their involvement was." Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "In any case¡­ Whoever is the one behind all of this¡­ I am confident that they would be found and persecuted by you and Duke Ersi." "By us???" Duke Albert asked as he forced out a smile. Then, he continued, "What if the perpetrator was me o Ersi? Would we still be even persecuted?" Pedro simply burst into laughter and said, jokingly, "The both of you are shapeshifting wolves, right? How would the both of you be acquainted with the vampires when you are amongst the werewolves¡ªwhich are their arch-enemy?" Chapter 221: Checking the Rest of the Minor Auction Area! Duke Albert simply laughed in response to Pedro''s joke. At this moment, they had nothing much to talk about anymore. Thus, Pedro decided to leave and use that time to check the Minor Auction Area and see if he would be able to see some ''hidden treasures'' instead. This, in turn, would allow Duke Albert to take care of the things that he needed to do¡ªincluding things like handling matters about the death of Duke Kleon. After all, Duke Kleon was still one of the highest-ranking officials, following the Royal Family and their advisors. Fortunately, Pedro did not need to take care of that mess. Else, things might have been more complicated and several more people might have perished. Well¡­ If Duke Albert would betray him of some sort, Pedro could just simply smash the Auction Den into rubbles. So, Pedro had nothing much to worry about, especially that Ragas and Clara were currently on his side. "With a lot of coins¡­ I wonder what should we check first?" Pedro said as he rubbed his chin whilst walking with Ragas to the first floor of the Auction Mansion, where the Minor Auction Area was located. "Young master, if I may¡­ I suggest that we purchase some decent skills and weapons for the Pops and Kiths so that they won''t be a dead weight for us to carry all the time!" Ragas said that made Pedro think. "Hmm¡­" Pedro pondered. And after a few seconds, he shook his head and said, "That would just be a waste of money. The majority of the demi-human slaves are women. Though they have the so-called motherly instinct to protect their children from enemies, they are still not blood-born warriors that we could simply develop and use in the future." At this moment, Pedro glanced towards Ragas as if he was reading his mind. Then, he said, "If you are going to ask me why did I purchase them despite knowing that fact¡­ The answer is simple. They have certain abilities that are better than an ordinary human. It would be useful in some tasks in the future. That is why I chose the demi-human slaves instead of the humans." "In any case¡­ We currently have no problem in terms of weapons and skills. It would be best to focus on checking rare materials, accessories with special effects, alchemy products, magic crystals, and other unusual stuff¡­ I just hope that our pockets won''t become empty after this!" Pedro said that made Ragas smirk. "Young master do really know how to joke!" Ragas chuckled, "Being that close to the Duke¡­ I doubt that you would run out of coins! Hahaha!" Pedro simply smiled and said, "Who knows¡­" Since Pedro and Ragas had arrived in front of the room where the magic crystals are being displayed, they decided to check that area first. Each magic crystals had a starting bid of 4 gold coins. And for some reason, there were no other guests who placed a bid on any of the magic crystals. Knowing who were the typical guests of the Auction Mansion, Pedro had assumed that the reason why no one bid for the magic crystals was because most of the guests already have their own territory and has already sufficient magic crystals in hand. Thus, Pedro was not in a hurry to place a bid on any of the magic crystals. There was still a lot of stock after all, and it''s not that there would be players capable of entering the Auction Den any time soon. The magic crystals were very important to strongholds because they are their source of energy. Teleportation Portals, Magical Protection Barriers, and even just the lights at night were all powered by the magical energy stored in magic crystals. Although it was a rare material that can be mined by a very slim chance, most of the strongholds in Bearth are not short of it because most of the strongholds have developed already in long periods of time. So, magic crystals were commonly important to small strongholds¡ªlike villages, that were transitioning into bigger strongholds¡ªlike the Kingdoms. And because of the monster wave all around Bearth, most of the transition of some strongholds were put on hold, consequently reducing the demand for magic crystals. Well¡­ The demand would surely increase afterward, especially when the adventurers/players would start building their very own strongholds. Pedro, as stingy as ever, wanted to take advantage of this chance and allow the starting bid price of the magic crystals to drop over time. That way, he could buy as many magic crystals as he can for future use, and even for resale at a higher value. After leaving the Auction Area specifically for magic crystals, he proceeded to the Auction Area for rare materials. In that area, Pedro made several bids on ores that had no previous bids and cost around a gold coin or less. It was not because he is planning to become a blacksmith, but¡­ He wanted to have a rare ore with him, at the least, so that he could hand over a good material to an NPC blacksmith in case he encounters one, and in case he got their favor at some point. As for the accessories, nothing had attracted his attention. That said, he placed a bid on one elegant ring for two gold coins. Its effect was just an additional attribute that was similar to the other accessories available. But¡­ Pedro placed a bid on it in thoughts of giving it to Sabrina. He remembered how Sabrina had misunderstood when he gave the Ring of Voices to Loren. Well¡­ It was just a few gold coins. Sabrina''s happiness was still something priceless to him. Afterward, Pedro simply placed a bid on several rare potions like strengthening potions¡ªwhich increases one''s strength for a certain period of time¡­ Status resistance potions¡ªthat gives the user a specific resistance like poison resistance, heat resistance, stun resistance, and such¡­ And some reverse effect potions¡ªthat can make one bleed continuously for a certain period of time or can make one lose his/her consciousness for a certain period of time. For a few minutes, they checked other Minor Auction Areas before heading back to their VIP room. That said, before they could enter the room, the Knight that Duke Albert had assigned to guard the room''s door stopped them and accompanied them to another room where his demi-human slaves, together with Clara, were relocated. At this moment, Pedro wanted to try pulling the Legendary Sword on the open area with Clara. However, he decided not to do so because he did not want to add another problem to Duke Albert. Thus, he could simply let everyone else rest as he holed up himself to the discussion room and started making more of the transformation skills. ''I should make as many transformation skills as I can make! I might have not much time to do so in the future! After all¡­ This might become the special item that would become the flagship of the commerce in my future Kingdom! In any case¡­ It''s nice that I gained a time to relax a bit after a long journey.'' Pedro thought as he casually makes a transformation skill page and consequently increasing his mastery in skill making, and at the same time increasing his success rate in making wolf transformation skill. ~~~~~~~~~ At this moment, outside the game, the whole world is in eruption as the price of the wolf transformation skill page that was placed in the auction had reached a staggering amount of 1 Million US Dollars and was still continuously rising. The ordinary players could only drool from such profit, wishing that they were the lucky ones who were able to obtain such an awesome skill page. Some of them even started posting memes and jokes about the trending topic. While on the other hand, various independent giant gaming organizations, government-sponsored gaming organizations, and even some independent rich video game streamers were furiously participating in the bid just to obtain the current coolest skill in the current trending game in the world. The ordinary people might think that it was absurd to pay such a huge price for an in-game item but¡­ the thrill, the enjoyment, and the prestige brought by the skill was something that the players sought for. While others sought for the power and uniqueness that they might obtain from the skill¡ªwhich they could take as an advantage against other players. It was truly a skill that they don''t want to miss. In fact¡­ Most of the giant gaming organizations had regretted not being able to obtain the first few copies of the wolf transformation skill page which was only sold for three gold coins. That said, with a rare opportunity in front of them, plus the fact that there might no other copies of the said skill page left, everyone fought over the transformation skill page, even those who had once obtain a copy of it. Chapter 222: Overnight Development! Back in the game, it took Pedro two hours to create wolf transformation skill pages non-stop. And due to his hard work, he ended up with almost 70 wolf transformation skill pages and 8 random transformation skill pages. Now, Pedro has over 384 wolf transformation skill page in his inventory bag, together with the newly crafted 8 random transformation skill page. And with this in mind, Pedro could not help but stop and rest in the meantime. He leaned his back to the chair and pondered to himself, thinking, ''Sabrina, Mathew, Talia, Arvedar¡­ even Lony and Roval! Why am I the only one who needs to remove all of my equipment and clothes before I transform to my Dragon form??? Is it a bug? Or it was just the way it was designed by the developers for Legendary Beasts? Should I report this to the devs?'' After almost a minute of contemplating whether to report it to the game developers or not, Pedro shook his head and grumbled deep inside, thinking, ''That won''t do¡­ The devs would just laugh in my face and say their typical annoying "Figure it out yourself, young man!" line! I would rather spend my time figuring the reason behind it, than wasting my time with those game devs whose mouths were shut like bank''s vault!'' At this moment, he can''t help but stare towards the last skill page he was able to successfully make and mumbled, "That said¡­ It''s been a month or so since I started playing the game¡­ I did not even feel the time to pass by that much! Oh well¡­ It''s probably the effect when you are working non-stop to the point that you forgot the time passing by. I even barely remember that I got into an accident and was still even recovering in the hospital¡­ If not for the times I logged out to check the status of my body, I would have not remembered such an unfortunate fate¡­ In any case, the doctor said that my recovery was doing good! I can''t wait to go out once again¡­ The fried chicken from HappyBee¡­ The shrimp burger and potato fries from Watdy''s¡­ And the pineapple pizza of Solitaires¡­ Damn! I can''t help but drool just remembering all of them!" He took a deep breath as he stretches his neck by swinging it from left to right. Then, he forced out a smile and said, "Looking at it¡­ It seems like my body is starting to get used to taking ''Lifo'' as the source of nutrients and food. Though it is more balanced and controlled than your normal meal¡­ The happiness and satisfaction that you get from good-tasting foods still can''t be replaced! Well¡­ I can probably eat food again once my body fully recovers¡­ For now, I could only be grateful for the good tasting grilled foods here in the game." At this moment, Pedro stood as he places the skill page in his inventory bag and said, "On top of that¡­ Since I am essentially in a dreaming state in real life¡­ There is really no need for me to sleep inside the game! However¡­ It just often leaves me nothing to do in times like these. I want to hunt as many dungeons as I can before the competition starts to arise, but¡­ I can''t leave here! Not until my cunning cousin arrives!" Since he was bored, Pedro went out of the discussion room and joined everyone else in the bed area. Then, he took this time to talk to some of his demi-human slaves who were still awake at that time. They talked about how they became slaves and how the humans had severely treated them in the past. It was not a secret that humans and demi-humans had conflict amongst each other. In fact, if not for the presence of monsters that both pests on both communities, the two races would have long been in a war. Pedro was not ignorant of it. Even in his past life, although the humans were working together with demi-humans like Kiths and Pops, the relationship between the two sides was not that good. Of course, to players, such a case was dependent on their personality. Some of them love pets in real life, thus some players had a good relationship with the demi-humans. However, there were also humans¡ªwho see humans as the pinnacle of the animals, thus some selected players were a bit brutal to the demi-human NPCs. As for Pedro, such things do not matter to him. What was important is that the demi-humans have some use to him. It was not that he was cold-blooded towards them but he knew that relationships between them sides would simply develop over time. So, there was no need for him to establish a friendly relationship with the demi-humans as soon as possible. Besides¡­ As they say, the faster something was built, the faster it might fall. So¡­ Such things as relationships should not be built in a hurry. Else¡­ It might not last longer than it is expected to be. In any case, the demi-humans were severely treated by human NPCs. Well¡­ It is probably because they resemble some animals or monsters¡ªwhich was everyone''s enemy. Fortunately, they are now under Pedro. And if they just worked hard as Pedro ordered them, they would be able to live a decent life from now on. Time went by as he got absorbed into the stories of the demi-humans. Hours later, another man of Duke Albert informed Pedro that Duke Ersi was able to verify Pedro''s information. Unfortunately, all the members of the Royal Family, even their advisors and the Elders of the Tarala Kingdom were found lifeless in the Royal Castle''s throne room. Other than a human-sized treasure chest, there was no single trace of the perpetrators who orchestrated the said massacre. That said, Duke Ersi''s men were able to identify that a vampire was definitely involved since some of the corpses had bites on their necks. Add up the blood that even filled the throne room, Duke Ersi was a hundred percent sure that the vampires were involved in this incident. Thus, other than a few Royal Knights who seemed to be involved in the massacre, Duke Ersi had immediately ordered the capture of all suspected vampires in the Kingdom. And that they must be caught before the ball of fire rises the next day. That said, the information about the death of the Royal Family and several high ranking officials of the Kingdom was still suppressed from everyone else. Of course, they don''t want to cause panic to everyone else and even give those who are against the nobles a chance to rise up and create chaos inside the Kingdom. As for Pedro and Duke Albert, their plans were seemingly on the right track. However, before they could proceed with any of their plans, they needed to wait for Duke Ersi to come back and discuss the next steps they needed to take. That said, Duke Albert used this time to manipulated Baron Kireon Ealo, the son of Duke Kleon Ealo, by using the information about the Royal Family''s death and the involvement of vampires, and connecting it to his father''s death¡ªwhich was also caused by a group of vampires. Fortunately, although Duke Albert said earlier that the Duke Kleon that had died earlier was just a double, Baron Kireon did not believe Duke Albert and was headstrong that it was really his father, Duke Kleon. Because Baron Kireon was seemingly knowledgeable about the presence of vampires, and that Duke Albert seemed like he did not know anything about their relationship with the vampires¡ªand was just simply trying to hold the information about it because it happened in his territory, Baron Kireon got manipulated by Duke Albert and made him angry against the vampires, while at the same time removing his suspicion to Duke Albert regarding the death of his father. As for Pedro''s involvement, he was just mistaken by Baron Kireon as another guest who was just dragged into the mess because of the vampires'' attack at the Auction Mansion last night¡ªjust like the other guests. So¡­ Pedro was essentially out of the suspicion board of Baron Kireon, regarding the death of his father. In the end, it was fortunate that even Baron Kireon did not want the information about his father''s death to become public. Because¡­ First of all, his father¡ªDuke Kleon, went to the Auction Mansion together with the vampires himself. And with all the other VIP guests present, there were too many powerful individuals present to attest as witnesses. So¡­ Baron Kireon had no choice but to keep things private. Of course, since Duke Ersi was able to verify Pedro''s information, and Duke Albert was able to take care of the loose ends, Pedro was regularly updated by Duke Albert''s men about the overall progress of the situation. They were ''partners'' after all. And soon, the ball of fire rises, and a new lively morning welcomes the Tarala Kingdom. In the discussion room of Duke Albert''s room in the Auction Mansion, Pedro, Duke Albert, and Duke Ersi sat across the table with dark circles around their eyes. Pedro could not help but force out a smile and say, "Shall we start? It''s already morning, but we are yet to have a good night''s sleep!" Chapter 223: Establishing the Adventurers Guild! Duke Ersi and Duke Albert could only force out a smile towards Pedro. This made Pedro chuckle in response and said, "Before we talk about anything¡­ I just want to be clear of one thing! First of all, I am not interested in how you guys would handle the matters regarding the changes in the Kingdom. As long as the safety of the people is assured, then you can rest easy because I won''t take any action against you. Well¡­ Of course¡­ The Adventurer''s Guild matter is of a different topic! Still¡­ Rest assured that we''d be purely dealing with monsters and such related matters. If ever an adventurer poses a threat to the Kingdom, feel free to take action against them. I won''t tolerate any actions that would jeopardize the interest and safety of the many!" Duke Ersi sighed in response and said, "Of course, sir Aron! It is only natural for us to take care of the people. They are the Kingdom''s true treasures after all. So¡­ Don''t worry about that! As for the Adventurer''s Guild that you wanted to establish¡­ I thought things true since last night. You are right that there was a sudden increase in weak adventurers recently. Add up the monster waves that were charging non-stop¡­ It was really a chaotic scene outside the Kingdom. I know that your idea was a great way to solve the chaos outside the Kingdom since I heard it last night. However, I could not agree to your proposal immediately, because the adventurers that appear were no stronger than a farmer. As a General of the Kingdom''s army¡ªeven though they are adventurers, I cannot simply allow them to charge to their deaths and waste their life needlessly! But!!! Knowing that you are from the Legendary Human Organization, can I know¡ªsir Aron, what you have in mind to do with the adventurers? If your plan is not to simply order them to charge to their deaths, then¡­ I might support you with the establishment of your so-called Adventurer''s guild!" Duke Albert could only glance towards Pedro with a bitter smile. That said, Pedro kept his calm demeanor and said, "I understand your worry, Duke Ersi! I commend you for your concern towards other people¡ªespecially the adventurers, even though they are not residents of this Kingdom. However, you seemed to have forgotten what being an adventurer means!" At this moment, Duke Ersi and Duke Albert suddenly leaned backward as they seemingly understood what Pedro said. Duke Ersi could not help but to murmur, "I see¡­" However, Pedro decided to continue telling them what an adventurer is, despite them seemingly knowing what he meant. He said, "An adventurer is someone who takes risks and lives a difficult and dangerous life roaming the world. That is why they are not considered permanent residents on any strongholds! So¡­ Unfortunately, I cannot assure you that the adventurers won''t charge to their deaths when tasked to assist the Kingdom Soldiers in fighting monsters. After all¡­ Their own lives depend on themselves in the first place!" Seeing that Duke Ersi was a bit worried, Pedro could not help but sigh and say, "That''s the reality of their life! And it was them who chose that path in the first place! If they wanted to have a peaceful life¡­ Don''t they have the freedom to become citizens of this Kingdom? So¡­ I think you have a misconception when you thought about their safety! Don''t get me wrong though¡­ The Adventurer''s Guild would aim to organize the adventurers and utilize them to the best of their abilities¡­ So, although we can''t assure that they won''t waste their lives, we could, at the least, manage them properly so that those who wanted to become strong would be able to develop their strengths properly. For me¡­ I think that it is better than just simply letting them stay on their own¡ªeventually leading to their deaths that might even bring trouble to the Kingdom, specifically the army!" "I-I understand, Sir Aron¡­" Duke Ersi rubbed the back of his head and was a little bit ashamed towards Pedro because of what he said earlier. Pedro¡ªbeing as cunning as he was, took advantage of this opportunity to get Duke Ersi''s approval. He said, "I am quite amazed by your kindness, Duke Ersi! To think about the welfare of adventurers, I did not think that you would go out of your way just for them! I see a good future for the Kingdom''s Military!" Duke Ersi simply laughed in response after being praised by Pedro. Then, he took a deep sigh and said, "I guess you are right, sir Aron¡­ It must have been really foolish of me to assure that the adventurers won''t charge to their deaths when they are unrestricted people in the first place! Since it''s for everyone''s benefit, then I don''t have any other reason not to support the establishment of your so-called Adventurer''s Guild! Well¡­ If Albert has no problem with it, then we can arrange its establishment as soon as possible." Duke Albert casually shook his head, and said, "I have no problems with it." "Great!" Duke Ersi shouted in glee. "Then it is settled! Sir Aron, feel free to tell me if you need something from the Military of the Tarala Kingdom¡ªor even to me personally, I would try my best to assist you in establishing your Adventurer''s Guild!" "Then, I won''t be courteous!" Pedro smiled towards Duke Ersi. Then, he said, "As you have said earlier, the adventurers were as weak as a farmer. However, being an adventurer myself¡ªand after observing the greenhorns for several days, I know for a fact that their potential is limitless!" At this moment, Pedro took out a newbie sword and said, "This is one of the swords that the adventurers were using! And as I observed, most of them are not familiar with the proper usage of the sword! So¡­ I would like to ask an aide from the Military to teach the adventurers how to properly use a sword. This way, we can ensure that even if they recklessly charge into the battlefield, they would at the least be able to defend themselves from one or two monsters¡ªsomething that is enough to make them realize the danger of what they are playing with! Whether they overcome their fear and become great warriors, or they go back and seek a different path¡­ It would now all depend on their own decisions. We would have taught them some skills while increasing their chances of survivability in this cruel world!" "An instructor for swordsmanship, huh?" Duke Ersi rubbed his chin. Then, he said, "That would be easy for me to arrange. However¡­ Sir Aron, are you sure that you would only need someone who would teach swordsmanship? I mean¡­ What if there are adventurers who are adept with magic and sorcery¡­ or perhaps with a bow and arrow? Should I also prepare a few mage and sharpshooters to act as instructors for the adventurers?" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "I would greatly appreciate that if you could also arrange them to be instructors. However, based on my observation, there is almost to none amongst the new adventurers that have a magic staff nor a pair of bow and arrow¡­ And¡­ it might seem a bit awkward but¡­ I doubt that they have sufficient coins to buys weapons even with the lowest grade at this moment! That said¡­ you don''t need to think much about that! I already have plans in mind and I would like to talk about that with Duke Albert next. I just simply wanted to say that the swordsmanship training would definitely take priority first before anything else!" "If that''s what you think is best¡­ Then, I would prepare the best instructors that the military could send." Duke Ersi said in a calm demeanor. Pedro simply nodded in response as if he was thanking Duke Ersi. Then, in the next second, he glanced to Duke Albert and said, "Regarding the matters concerning with Adventurer''s Guild and the Market, I would like to consult your opinion, Duke Albert, if it is possible to establish several shops affiliated to the Adventurer''s Guild to generate profit that would be used in managing it?" "Hmm¡­" Duke Albert frowned a bit and pondered for a few seconds. Then, he smirked and said, "It won''t be a problem! I''ll arrange someone to guide you and help you securing locations regarding the shops. However, I need to remind you, sir Aron, that every shop would need to pay a monthly operating fee of 2 Gold Coins! On top of that, anything that could be considered rare must be sold at the Auction Den instead. And of course¡­ The same rule applies! The Auction Den would place an additional one percent as a processing fee. If you have no problem with that, then I would gladly support the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild!" Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "I have no problem with that arrangement! But¡­ Can I ask a bit more help from you, Duke Albert? Since the shop I am going to open for the Adventurer''s Guild is something new, I would need to assign some trusted men of mine to operate by themselves. And knowing that they had not much knowledge about rarity and stuff¡­ I would like to ask if you could lend me some of your men to help us identify such things¡ªwhile, at the same time, helping us manage the shops?" "Of course! It would be my honor to help!" Duke Albert said with a smile. "Great!" Pedro said, happily. Then, he clapped his hands and said, "With that¡­ Can I assume that the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild is final?" Duke Albert and Duke Ersi simply nodded in response. Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "Then, it''s settled! Let''s now proceed to the more important things we need to discuss!" Chapter 224: The Tarala Kingdoms Future! "So¡­ Please proceed and discuss the next steps we are going to take to address the current situation that the Kingdom is in! Most are matters regarding the Kingdom so I won''t be interfering much with your decisions. That said¡­ If I deemed necessary, I would not hesitate to voice out any concerns¡ªin case there''s any." Pedro said that made Duke Albert and Duke Ersi smile. At this moment, Duke Albert took a deep sigh and said, "Our biggest problem as of now is that the whole Tarala Family has been killed. Unfortunately¡­ As far as I know, King Edron did not even have any concubines because of the authoritativeness and power of Queen Innra. So¡­ There''s technically no one that is blood-related to the King that would be rightful to inherit the throne." "You are right, Albert!" Duke Ersi nodded in agreement. "Typically, the immediate next in line of the Royal Family''s bloodline would be the ones to inherit the throne. However, we are left to such an ultimately rare case where there''s no one¡ªwho had even just blood of the Tarala Lineage, to be able to succeed to the throne. Even I had no idea what to do next¡­ However, the throne can''t be left empty for a long period of time! The control of information that we are doing is only able to buy us some time. On top of that, the Kingdom''s current state is getting worst as we speak. Lack of food, exhausted soldiers, and an infinite number of monsters¡­ I estimate that an uproar would occur sooner or later!" Duke Albert slammed the table lightly with his clenched fist, and grumbled, "That bastard, Kleon! He dared to conspire with the vampires just to obtain the throne! I knew that the Governance Sector was corrupt! But I did not expect that even Kleon would be involved in it!" Duke Ersi simply sighed in response and said, "Relax, Albert! Don''t waste your time blaming a dead man! What''s done is done. We could only move on and discuss what to do next! After all¡­ Kireon is still alive! There''s a high possibility that he might continue what his father started." Duke Albert simply flicked his tongue in response. This, in turn, had made Duke Ersi shook his head and said, "Fortunately, the traitors amongst the Royal Knights had been taken care of¡­ So, we have complete control over the Kingdom Guards and Royal Knights. That said¡­ The task of locating the remaining vampires inside the Kingdom might take several more days! We can''t do a deliberate search after all, as it may alert the attention of the people." "Hmm¡­ I also thought about it last night¡ªon how to deal with the remaining vampires¡­ Unfortunately, all I could think of was conducting a thorough inspection. Placing baits or traps is not a good idea because they might not take it in the first place or not all of them might take the bait. Either way¡­ Traps and Baits are out of the options because it would only alarm our enemies and give out the information that we are wary of their existence!" Pedro said. "I agree with you, Sir Aron!" Duke Ersi said in a serious demeanor. "That is why¡­ I think that going after the vampires won''t be a good idea at this point. It would just drain the strength of our men in return. And regarding what you initially said yesterday, I would like to ask you, sir Aron, to help the Kingdom Soldiers in fighting the monsters instead. This way, the energy of my men would be conserved, and when the time that the vampires come out¡ªwe''d have sufficient energy and strength to fight them off!" Pedro could not help but frown as glanced towards Duke Albert. Then, he forced out a smile as he glanced back to Duke Ersi, saying, "If you need help, then I could lend you a hand! However¡­ I would like to personally ensure the safety of Duke Albert! It''s not that I have no trust in the capability of his guards but¡­ I don''t want to take any risk! If one of the two of you perish¡­ I am afraid that the Tarala Kingdom would immediately fall into ruins!" "I completely understand your concern, sir Aron!" Duke Ersi said in a calm tone. "Considering what you said, I suggest that we temporarily avoid the widespread search for the vampires and the perpetrators of the death of the Royal family and simply leave the investigation to my few men who are already undercover. Then, we heavily focus on fending off the monsters and improve the states of our soldiers. While at the same time, we check what we can do to help alleviate the food problems in the Kingdom and quickly establish the Adventurer''s Guild of sir Aron¡ªso that we could provide support to the soldiers as soon as possible!" "I have no problem with that arrangement!" Pedro said whilst rubbing his chin as if he was in deep thought. On the other hand, Duke Albert simply nodded and said, "I also have no problem with that! However¡­ What should we do with the open throne? I mean¡­ Duke Kleon is dead and the control of the Governance of the Kingdom would definitely fall to his son. I am afraid that we might encounter some problems with the Governance Faction, especially that no one is actually seating on the throne." "Since you are more qualified than me to handle such a position, why don''t you temporarily take that position, Albert?" Duke Ersi suggested in a calm demeanor. Then, he said, "I have my hands full with the Kingdom''s military and security and stuff¡­ It''s better if you would be the one who would take over temporarily, than that bastard''s son, right?" Duke Albert simply sighed in response and said, "Alright! I''ll do it! For the Kingdom''s sake! Besides¡­ There''s not much to do with the Kingdom''s Market! However¡­ I don''t want to stay in the Royal Palace! This mansion is my comfort place after all!" "That won''t be a problem!" Duke Ersi said with a frown on his face. "Do as you wish!" Duke Albert could only sigh in response. A few seconds passed and no one uttered a word¡ªindicating that they had no problems with the arrangement. So, Duke Ersi stood from his seat and said, "Then, it''s all settled! I''ll head back first and rest if there''s nothing else you want to say!" Duke Albert stood in response and said, "There are no problems on my side!" "So, do I!" Pedro said as he followed them and stood. "Well then¡­ I''ll be taking my leave!" Duke Ersi said as he left the room. He was sent by Pedro and Duke Albert¡ªwho were the ones left in the room afterward. However, before Duke Albert was able to utter a word, Pedro scratched the back of his head and said, "Congratulations, Duke Albert! May the gods and goddesses bless you with enough strength to manage the Kingdom!" Duke Albert smiled slightly and said, "It is my honor to serve the Kingdom, sir Aron! I would like to invite you for a breakfast as thanks for your support!" Pedro simply shook his hands in response and said, "Forgive me, Duke Albert! But I would be declining your offer for now. There are some matters I need to handle immediately so that I could order my men to gather here in the Tarala Kingdom and be able to assist the Kingdom''s soldiers as soon as possible!" "It''s alright, sir Aron!" Duke Albert said in a dismayed tone. Pedro simply forced out a smile and said, "How about this, Duke Albert? I''ll ask my men to inform you as soon as I am free. By then, I would appreciate it if we could have a decent meal and talk about your next plans!" "Of course, Of course! Feel free to do so! After all¡­ You are still an important guest of the Tarala Kingdom!" Duke Albert said with a smirk on his face. Pedro simply smiled back towards him. Then, he waved his hand as he was about to leave while saying, "Then, I would also be taking my leave!" Duke Albert simply waved in response. He was about to say something to Pedro but the door shut, disabling Pedro from hearing what he said. That said, Pedro did not give that much thought about it and simply walked his way back to his room. He simply smiled mischievously deep inside and thought, ''It was hard to act in front of the two NPCs¡­ Good thing that the talk went smoothly! Now¡­ All I need to do is to wait for my cousin to arrive, together with the first batch of ''Adventurers''¡ªwhich are the members of his guild! And if things become successful¡­ With Duke Ersi''s influence on other nobles¡­ We could easily expand to other strongholds! Together with the exponentially increasing number of players¡­ We would definitely gain a lot!'' "Speaking of which¡­" At this moment, an idea entered Pedro''s mind. He can''t help but chuckle, saying, "I guess it''s time to recruit new members of my ARES Guild!" Chapter 225: Preparation for the Establishment of the Adventurers Guild! When Pedro returned to his VIP room, he isolated himself to the discussion area and messaged Mathew about ARES Guild and Pedro''s plan to recruit new members. Pedro told Mathew to contact his closest of friends and ask them if they would want to become a part of their guild. Pedro did it this way so that Mathew could have a few trustable men under him in the guild. Whether they are also professional players of VR Games or not, Pedro did not care that much because they would most likely end up assisting Mathew in managing the guild. Well¡­ It''s not because Pedro was a bit lazy in managing the guild matters because of his past experiences. It was just because he also had a responsibility that he needed to fulfill as a member of BHO. As a matter of fact, he was considering leaving the shackles brought by the Bearth Human Organization. His actions are often affected by the fact that he is someone from BHO. Thus, things and situations became difficult for him from time to time, which should not be, because he was nothing but a player after all. Responsibilities such as being a Hero and saving the NPCs are not something that he should carry in the first place. Although Players fight monsters and evil entities, it does not mean that they are bound to do so for the NPCs. And like what he had experienced so far¡ªfrom Werewolf Tam and the United Asian Force, he knew that Players were not bound to choose the good side¡­ nor the bad side! They can even create their own sides if it was the most convenient thing to do. That said, Pedro decided not to leave BHO for now. He needed BHO to retain the ownership of the ships, and consequently allow him to travel through seas. On top of that, He barely had any influence in strongholds. His status/rank in BHO is his ticket from going in and out of strongholds, especially Kingdoms while obtaining the NPCs'' favor. So¡­ Since he won''t be leaving BHO any time soon, it was only ideal to leave the management of the guild under Mathew. This way, the development of the guild would be continuous¡ªeven if Pedro is not around. As for the other members of his guild, it was divided into several groups¡ªwhere some are directly under Pedro, while the rest are managed by Mathew. Pedro''s team is composed of Sabrina, Aldo, and Loren. They would be the Head Team and would be oftentimes traveling with Pedro. On the other hand, Arvedar and his friends would also be directly under him¡ªsince they are under his observation because of the case concerning Fate and Faunia. But¡­ Arvedar would lead his friends and form a separate team¡ªwhere Pedro would often give them special tasks, or in short, The Special Forces Team. As for Mathew''s team, Talia would be his member¡ªconsequently forming a two-man army team. Under Mathew, there is a Logistics Team that would be temporarily led by Ashley and has Elisabeth and Charlotte as members. While Pedro''s Aunt Veronica would be the Guild Manager of both the ARES Guild and the Oran Gutan Guild. And lastly¡­ Since the ones who would fund the Gaming Organizations he was going to build were his parents, he decided to ask his mother to become the President of the Gaming Organizations. Well¡­ Pedro was the Guild Leader after all. So, he planned to give the President position to his mother. This way, he won''t be troubled by the matters concerning advertisements or such in the future and could just simply focus on playing the game. That said, although the major roles were already set. Their guild does not have that many members. So, Pedro decided to start increasing their number through Mathew''s closest friends. Unfortunately, recruitment of other top-ranking players in his past life would only be possible after he fully recovers in real life and be able to establish a Gaming Camp for their guild. After all, professional players of VR Games often require a complete facility that they can use for their development. Since Pedro was yet to establish the Gaming Camp for his guild, he had no choice but to hold of the recruitment of top-ranking players in his past life. Besides¡­ He wanted to establish the best gaming camp he could provide so that it would be easier for him to lure more strong players. Fortunately, Mathew seemed like he had no problems with Pedro''s task. However, since Mathew was in the wilds and was fighting monsters non-stop, he can only invite his friends later on¡ªwhen they can freely log off the game. In response, Pedro messaged him that he was not in a hurry. At the same time, Pedro also said to him to recon back to the Tarala Kingdom and help suppress the monsters coming from the west. This way, they could clear out the western area outside the Tarala Kingdom''s walls¡ªwhich would be used as the land area for the adventurer''s guild. Of course, without the need of being instructed twice, Mathew, Loren, and Sabrina started to advance to the western gate of the Tarala Kingdom. With Sabrina''s Eagle Form and her pen-knives, the volume of monsters charging to the west of Tarala Kingdom had drastically decreased! This, in turn, eased the defense duty of the Kingdom Soldiers in that area. This matter eventually spread to the other soldiers and the high-ranking officials of the military¡ªincluding Duke Ersi who even sent a messenger towards Pedro to simply express his gratitude for Pedro''s help. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but smile and said, "Everything is going according to plan! I just need to wait for Duke Ersi and Duke Albert''s arrangements, then we could proceed to the next step of establishing the Adventurer''s Guild. That aside¡­ I did not think that establishing the Adventurer''s Guild would be such a difficult thing to handle¡­ Anyway, I hope that I would be able to find NPCs who have a high mastery in terms of combat, potion-making, and crafting weapons and equipment. It is one of the critical and important parts in establishing the Adventurer''s Guild." Since he had nothing much to do at this moment, Pedro had decided to roam around the Kingdom instead. This way, he could personally visit blacksmiths, potion makers, and such. Who knows? He might even be lucky to find some of them who would even be able to willingly join Pedro and his plan. He left his demi-human slaves in his VIP room with Clara, who was comfortably resting in the bed. Thus, Pedro was only left with Ragas as his bodyguard. And the first place they visited in the Kingdom was a shop called, Olan Shop. "What can I do for you, young man?" The five-foot-tall man said as Pedro and Ragas entered the Olan Shop. Pedro simply scratched the back of his head and said, "I am here to meet the shop''s blacksmith! There are some matters that I would like to talk about with the blacksmith!" The five-foot-tall man simply burst into laughter and said, "I am this shop''s one and only blacksmith! The name''s Olan Kaffen! How can I be of help, young man? Feel free to tell me what business do you have with an old and unsuccessful blacksmith like me?" "U-Unsuccessful or not, it does not matter!" Pedro said. "Anyway¡­ I would like to ask you if you could teach me the basics of being a blacksmith! O-Of course¡­ I would not ask for your help for free. You can just kindly name your price." Old man Olan could only shake his head in response and said, "Teaching the basics, huh? Unfortunately¡­ I am not that good with teaching! So¡­ You can simply observe me work later on and just purchase the sword I would make afterward." "I see¡­" Pedro nodded with a smile on his face. Then, he said, "That won''t be a problem! Then, I would be in your care!" "Good, Good, young man!" Old man Olan chuckled. Then, he glanced towards Ragas and asked, "By the way, is he also going to observe with you? My workshop is kind of small¡­ It would be a bit uncomfortable for me if the room would be crowded as I work." "No worries, Sire! I am the only one who would be observing your work." Pedro explained as he glanced towards Ragas. Then, he said, "He is my guard. He would probably stay outside the door of your workshop so that you would not feel uncomfortable. I hope that this arrangement is alright with you." "Of course, Of course! If he is your escort, then you can simply let him wait outside. There won''t be a problem with that!" Old man Olan simply said with a calm demeanor. "We''ll start as soon as my grandson arrives with the materials we are going to use. I hope that you have no problems with that, young man." Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "Of course! I have a lot of free time today, after all!" Chapter 226: A Unique Idea??? Since there was nothing to do in the blacksmith''s shop, Pedro looked around and glanced at some of the finished products that Old man Olan had created. Most of the swords are two-handed and are dual-edge swords¡ªwhich was similar to a Knight''s sword. Most of them are made of slightly grayish metal, consequently giving off a lackluster appeal to the common people. Even Pedro could not help but frown and thought, ''Why are the swords being sold in this shop is of the same quality with the newbie swords? No wonder he called himself unsuccessful! Blacksmith Olan must have been using an Ordinary Metal Ore in crafting these weapons!'' Pedro forced out a smile as he glanced to Blacksmith Olan and thought, ''Don''t tell me¡­ He is focusing more on profit, that is why he is using the cheapest metal ore in creating weapons! By only having a small capital¡­ These cheap swords were the ones that provide the second-highest profit for blacksmiths. However¡­ Selling cheap swords was difficult! They lack appeal no matter what their design was, so¡­ it won''t even be ideal as ceremonial swords. Thus, most of the time, they are only used as practice swords¡­ Well¡­ It''s not my problem! It''s not my shop after all!'' "Is there a problem?" Blacksmith Olan asked Pedro with a troubled expression. Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "There''s none¡­ But, I wonder¡­ why are there only swords made out of Ordinary Metal Ore in your shop?" Blacksmith Olan could not help but sigh and said, "Young man¡­ You are trying to earn some money by trying to become a blacksmith like everyone else, right? Then, you must know that the metal ores cost around a silver coin or more, other than Ordinary Metal Ores that are easily found in mines and caves! Besides¡­ It''s not like there''s absolutely no one buying low-grade swords. With the monster waves, the weapons of the soldiers wear out fast and break oftentimes. Thus, it is normal for them to purchase low-grade swords, rather than spend a larger sum of money in rush repairing their medium grade swords." "I see¡­" Pedro rubbed his chin as he pondered for a few seconds. Then, he said, "It''s true that I want to learn how to create a sword, but¡­ I am not doing it for money! Anyway¡­ I''ll tell you more about it after I learn the basics of forging a weapon. I hope that it is alright with you, Blacksmith Olan." Blacksmith Olan simply nodded his head in satisfaction with a smile on his face, and said, "It''s great to know that someone was into forging weapons other than the reason of money. I can''t help but be curious about the reason why you want to learn the basics of forging¡­ But, it does not matter! I won''t pry to whatever reason you have. As long as you would respect the art of forging a weapon and, at the same time, watch properly the methods¡­ Then, I am alright with showing you the basics and, at the same time, giving you a few advice along the way." "Then, I would be in your care¡­" Pedro bowed slightly towards Blacksmith Olan¡ªgrateful for the kindness given by the old man. Well¡­ Truth be told, the Blacksmiths had a tight competition against each other. There were even criteria including originality in some cases. However, due to the increased demand for weapons caused by the monster waves, and the urgent need for work of the poor people in the Kingdom, the Expert Blacksmiths in the Kingdom had no choice but to teach anyone the basics of forging weapons and equipment. Thus, even Blacksmith Olan had casually allowed Pedro to observe him forge a weapon and even give him a few tips or so. Well¡­ Blacksmith Olan''s working area must have been small¡ªwhich was why only one person was allowed to observe his work. Else, he could have even allowed Ragas to join them. That said, after a few minutes, Blacksmith Olan''s grandson had returned with a few chunks of Ordinary Metal Ores with him. The first thing that caught his attention as soon as he entered the room was Pedro, and consequently asked Blacksmith Olan, "Who are they, grandpa? Another new apprentice of yours?" Blacksmith Olan could not help but force out a smile while rubbing the back of his head, and said, "No, Iyola! They have simply come to observe me do my work. Nothing more¡­ Anyway¡­ Since you are already here, go place the metal ores at the workshop! I would start forging in a few minutes! Watch the shop in my stead, while I am crafting weapons. You can do that at the least, right?" "Of course!" Iyola proudly said. "You don''t have to worry about the shop while you are forging weapons. I can manage the shop at the least! Besides¡­ The next shift of the soldiers would be by night. There''s several more hours before that, so you don''t have to worry about having many customers stopping by." "That''s good!" Blacksmith Olan said with a satisfied nod. "Now, bring the ores to the workshop!" "Yes, grandpa!" Iyola nodded towards Pedro and Ragas as greetings before he headed towards the back of the shop where Blacksmith Olan''s workshop was located. At this moment, Pedro could not help but smile in admiration of the hardworking child, Iyola. He seemed like he was a few years younger than Neerak Axutar, but, he was kind and hardworking¡ªwhich were good traits for children to have. Then, in the next second, he glanced to Blacksmith Olan and said, "You have a talented and kind grandson! Perhaps... He could forge weapons on his own, already?" Blacksmith Olan simply chuckled in response and said, proudly, "Of course, young man! He''s been with me since he was four years old. Since all I do every day was forging weapons and equipment, he can''t help but observe¡ªand even help me for more than thousands of times forging. So¡­ He can already forge knives despite his young age." "I see¡­ I see¡­" Pedro nodded in admiration of Iyola''s feat. Then, he said, "To be honest with you, Blacksmith Olan, I wanted to learn the basics of forging, because I wanted to create a sword made out of magic crystals! Do you think that it is possible?" "Hmm¡­ Magic Crystals, huh?" Blacksmith Olan frowned in response as he rubbed his black beard. Then after almost a minute of pondering, he said, "You have quite an idea young man! Using magic crystals in forging weapons or equipment is not something that I could think out of the blue¡­ A unique idea indeed! That said¡­ I would be honest with you! I don''t have any idea whether creating a weapon or equipment out of magic crystals would be good or bad. After all¡­ Out of the forty years that I have been a blacksmith, this is even my first time hearing that weird idea of yours." "Hoo¡­ Is that so?" Pedro said with a slightly worried tone. Then, he scratched the back of his head and forced out a smile, saying, "Then¡­ Is it really not possible?" Blacksmith Olan simply sighed in response and said, "It''s not that it''s impossible to do, but¡­ Magic Crystals are too expensive to become a crafting material. Besides¡­ Unlike ores, magic crystals can''t be melted, so¡­ it was only natural that we, blacksmiths, would not use magic crystals as forging materials. If you want to know more about magic crystals and their use, I suggest that you head to the Kingdom''s Magic Tower and search for the Grand Master Sorcerer! Perhaps he could give you some information about magic crystals. But as a veteran blacksmith, it''s not completely impossible, but it would be very difficult to do so!" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "It seems like I need to visit the Grand Master Sorcerer afterward! In any case¡­ I would still like to learn the basics of forging! It''s a great skill to learn after all! Besides¡­ How would I know if forging magic crystals is possible or not if I don''t even know the basics of forging!" Blacksmith Olan simply burst into laughter and said, "You praised my grandson, but you, yourself, are a great person too! May this old man know your name and from which village you were born, young man?" "Uhm¡­" Pedro could not help but scratch the back of his head and force out a smile¡ªnot knowing what to say about his birthplace in the game. After all, he was just a player that had spawned in Kagat Village. Since he can''t think of anything at that moment, he had no choice but to say, "Ka-Kagat Village! I am from Kagat Village on the western side of this continent!" At this moment, he took a deep breath as his troubled expression was replaced with a smirk on his face. Then, he said, "As for my name¡­ I am Aron, Aron Death!" Chapter 227: Basics of Being a Blacksmith! "From the east, huh? You''ve come a long way, young man!" Blacksmith Olan said with a smile on his face. Then, he shook Pedro''s hands and said, "Now, come¡­ I''ll show you how to make a decent weapon!" Pedro simply nodded in response to Blacksmith Olan. Then, they went inside the workshop¡ªwhere the little kid Iyola was just about to leave. Inside the workshop, there was a piece of huge oven-like equipment that had runic formations around it, together with a dirty red magic crystal on top of it. Its door¡ªwhich was showing the flaming view inside, was left open while the runic formations remained deactivated. At this moment, Iyola handed over a pair of thick gloves and an apron to his grandpa. Then, Iyola gave another set to Pedro and said, "Sir, here''s your gloves and apron. Please wear it so that your clothes won''t get damaged in case of molten metal spills. It would also protect you from burns, so make sure to wear it!" "Thanks!" Pedro simply nodded in response as he wore the thick apron and the thick gloves. At this moment, Iyola had given Pedro and Blacksmith Olan one last wave before closing the door of the workshop. And without further ado, Blacksmith Olan picked up a metal ore and said, "Young Aron¡­ This is the Ore Oven that is often used in softening the ores using intense heat until the ore is about to reach its melting point. And as you can see, it has a runic formation that activates when its door is closed. By that time, it automatically uses the magical energy stored in magic crystals that were replenished from the ball of fire''s natural light energy!" Pedro simply rubbed his chin in response and said, "What a great thing to own¡­ I should probably purchase one for myself. Perhaps¡­ Blacksmith Olan¡­ Do you know how can I obtain an Ore Oven like this?" "That won''t be easy!" Blacksmith Olan said as he forced out a smile to Pedro. "The Ore Ovens are typically built permanently amongst establishments. On top of that, the runic formations can only be made by rune specialist mages or sorcerers. So, it might be impossible for you to own an Ore Oven at this moment¡ªbecause there are several factors you need to consider like the place where you would put your Ore Oven and, at the same time, if you would be able to hire a rune specialist mage or sorcerer that would set up the runic formation of your Ore Oven. That is why I think that it is more ideal for you to rent an Ore Oven instead since you are still a newbie. It costs only costs a few silver coins to rent an Ore Oven for half an hour¡­ Considering the price of Ordinary Metal Ore¡ªwhich is around Fifty to Eighty bronze coins a Hilo, and the selling price of a low-grade weapon¡ªwhich was around three silver coin to ten silver coins, you can gain two to five silver coins on each low-grade weapon!" Hearing what Blacksmith Olan said, Pedro could not help but force out a smile. Then, he simply shook his head and said, "Thanks for your advice, Senior Olan! I''ll consider what you said! To be honest¡­ Although I have a great idea regarding the forging of magic crystals, I don''t have that many coins to spare. So¡­ It would put me at a lot of risks if I were to spend all my coins in setting up an Ore Oven!" "I understand!" Blacksmith Olan nodded in agreement. At this moment, Blacksmith Olan took a Hilo of Ordinary Metal Ore and placed it inside the Ore Oven, while saying, "Moving forward¡­ All you needed to do next is to place the right amount of ore that you are going to use into the Ore Oven and wait for around three to five minutes until the ore is ready to be molded into your desired shape." When Blacksmith Olan closed the door of the Ore Oven, the runic formations around it had suddenly lit light orange in color. Then, Blacksmith Olan clapped his hands to remove the dirt on his hands and said, "Just an additional tip from me¡­ You might be wondering why I did not clean the metal before placing it inside the Ore Oven, right?" Pedro simply nodded in response as Blacksmith Olan smirked. Then, Blacksmith Olan said, "Based on my experience, there is almost to no effect caused by the impurity due to dirt on ordinary metal ores. Well¡­ It is the same as other ores because most of the time¡­ the dirt that the ores have is already removed before the ores get sold to us. The ores are being sold by weight, so it was only natural to remove huge chunks of dirt." At this moment, Blacksmith Olan scratched his head and said, "If you don''t believe me, then you can simply test it later on and see if there were any significant changes to the durability of the low-grade weapons. But as far as my experience goes¡­ The difference is quite negligible." "But what if you are crafting a high-grade weapon or equipment? Shouldn''t we clean it so that we would obtain the highest purity of the ore in crafting the weapon?" Pedro asked with a frown on his face. "Well¡­ You are right, young man!" Blacksmith Olan said after forcing out a smile. "High-grade weapons are mostly for luxury and strength, so¡­ It was only natural to treat every step of its creation with love and care¡­ as if you are raising your own baby! So, it was only natural to do it that way. But for these mass-produced low-grade weapons, such things are not that much needed. After all, what matters with low-grade weapons is their quantity." "You''re right!" Pedro simply nodded in agreement. Then, after a few seconds, he asked, "Can I ask, Senior Olan¡­ Is there anything else I can do while waiting for the metal to get burned and soften?" Blacksmith Olan simply smirked in response and said, "You''re sharp, young man! Here is my second tip for you¡­ While waiting for the Ore Oven to finish its job, you can use these three to five minutes to visualize the design of the weapon that you are going to make. Since you would be paying for the sword I am about to forge, can you tell me what kind of sword you would like to have? A Long sword? A short sword? Feel free to tell me what you have in mind." Pedro rubbed his chin in response. Then, after a few seconds, he said, "A single-handed short sword would be great!" "Then, a short sword it is!" Blacksmith Olan nodded in response and said, "Now! With that in mind, you should be able to imagine the next steps you are going to take. For short swords¡­ Ores would typically need around three minutes in the Ore Oven for the low-grade weapons. But if it is for high-grade weapons or those weapons with intricate designs, it would need at least three and a half minutes in the Ore Oven. This way, the ores would tend to be softer and would be easier to hold and design. As for the long swords or long spanned weapons, it is ideal to keep them in the ore oven for four to five minutes because it would be easier to mold them at that point¡­ But, I will warn you, young man! Avoid leaving ores inside the ore oven for more than five minutes! Most of the ores would melt by that time¡ªconsequently reducing the amount of ore that you can forge. If that happens, many things would be greatly affected later on¡ªincluding the strength and durability of the weapon." "I will keep that in mind, Senior Olan! Thanks for your warning!" Pedro bowed slightly with a smile. At this moment, Blacksmith Olan opened the door of the ore oven¡ªconsequently turning the runic formation off and slowly reducing the heat inside. Without wasting another second, Blacksmith Olan grabbed the yellowish-orange ore with huge scissors and placed it on top of the anvil. Then, before Blacksmith Olan smashed the ore with his hammer, he pointed to the light red part of the ores¡ªusually on its tips, and said, "These light red colors indicate that the ore is still a bit hard and would need a strong force in hammering and molding it. Normally, it would all turn light orange if you left it in the ore oven for more than four and a half minutes." Pedro simply nodded in response. But before he could utter a word, Blacksmith Olan smiled and said, "Now¡­ All you need is to hammer the ore and mold it to your preferred design. Afterward, you just need to soak it into the water to cool it off¡­ Just be careful on thinly molded ores¡­ cracks might start to appear as you are trying to cool it off. So, you should know how thin each ore can be molded... I''ll leave everything else to your experience¡­ And that''s all for the basics of forging weapons!" At this moment, Blacksmith Olan handed over the newly crafted short sword to Pedro and said, "Since you are a newbie¡­ I''ll only charge you with four silver coins. Please pay it to my grandson after you go out of the workshop!" "That won''t be a problem!" Pedro said with a smile on his face. "But what about you, Senior Olan? Are you not going out of the workshop?" Blacksmith Olan simply smirked in response and pointed towards the chucks of ordinary metal ore, and said, "I have more work to do." "I see¡­ Then, I would be leaving first! Thanks, Senior Olan! You were of great help!" Pedro said, respectfully. Then, he walked out of the workshop area and pain four silver coins to Iyola. In fact, he even gave a silver coin tip to Iyola. This, in turn, made the child happy to the point that he opened the workshop''s door and started bragging towards his grandpa. Blacksmith Olan could only force a smile in response and thought, ''What a strange young man¡­ Using magic crystals as ores¡­ Is he trying to make a Legendary Weapon on his first try?'' Blacksmith Olan simply chuckled and murmured, "I should start innovating my works¡­ Else¡­ These newbies would soon overcome my feat¡­" Chapter 228: Operation: New Weapon! Right after they left Blacksmith Olan''s shop, Ragas Wyverson glanced to Pedro and asked, "Young master, something is bothering me¡­ Can this lowly being ask a question?" Pedro simply stole a glance at Ragas in response and smirked. Then, he said, "A question? Go ahead! Feel free to ask anything." "Then, if you would not mind, young master! Can I know why did you need to learn the basics of weapon-making of humans? I mean¡­ Isn''t it that Dragons and Wyverns only need their fist to fight? I see no benefit from you¡ªyoung master, in investing much time on such things!" Ragas said in a calm demeanor. Pedro simply scoffed in response and said, "You are right¡­ I only need my fist to fight as a Dragon. However¡­ I am still only a young Dragon! Although I am of the Dragon race, my strength is only as strong as the humans. In fact¡­ You know very well that some of the humans could even kill me in an instant! So¡­ It would be best to have a few weapons at hand¡ªand intentionally keep the fist combat a trump card! Besides¡­ I have a great idea in mind¡­" "The magic crystals¡­ into weapons?" Ragas asked. Pedro simply nodded with a smile on his face in response. Then, he said, "You might not understand what I am saying right now, but¡­ If my theory is right, then we''d be making something cool! Anyway¡­ Do you know anything about magic crystals?" Ragas nodded in response and said, "Yes, young master! Is there something you want to know about magic crystals?" Pedro rubbed his chin and said, "Other than store magical energy¡­ does it have other use?" "Hmm¡­" Ragas averted his gaze from Pedro as he entered into deep thought. Then, after almost a minute, he glanced back to Pedro and said, "As far as I know¡­ Magic Crystals are only capable of storing magical energy and nothing more. There were some rumors about cursed Magic Crystals¡ªwhich only sucks magical energy until it is full, but since I was born, even I was not able to encounter such ''Cursed Magic Crystals''!" "I understand¡­" Pedro said in a calm demeanor. "It was the same case for me. Even in dungeons¡ªwhich I am very familiar with, had no such case where magic crystals would only keep on absorbing magical energy. Add up the fact that the most unstable magic crystals were only found in dungeons, I think that cursed magic crystals are just purely rumors." "But, with that in mind, young master¡­ Why do you want to create a weapon made of magic crystals?" Ragas asked. "I mean¡­ Magic Crystals only absorb magical energy, and it only releases magical energy through runic formations¡­" Pedro simply smiled in response and nodded to Ragas as if saying that he just said a clue to his theory. Thus, Ragas could not help but be at loss for words for almost a minute, before he smirked and said, "A quite interesting idea you have, young master! I look forward to seeing what weapon you would create!" "Haha¡­" Pedro scratched the back of his head and said, "There''s nothing special about it¡­ It just happened that I have some spare time at the moment and that I am curious about what would happen if my theory was right. So, it would not hurt for me to try what I have in mind." "Is that the reason why you are heading to the so-called magic tower? To learn something about the runic formations?" Ragas asked. Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "That''s the gist of it. But other than that, it would not hurt to get acquainted with some mage or sorcerer. Why? Is there a problem with it?" Ragas simply shook his head in response and said, "No, young master! However¡­ If I may¡­ I am quite knowledgeable about runic formations. If you¡ªyoung master, would like to learn a thing or two about them, I think that it would be best for me to teach you about it instead. That said¡­ If you want to get acquainted with some humans, then please simply ignore my suggestion!" "Hmm¡­ Getting acquainted with some mages or sorcerers is not necessarily important." Pedro said in a calm tone. "However¡­ Ragas¡­ Although I bought you and Clara from the Auction Den as slaves, there''s still no strong contract that is binding us with each other. So¡­ I do not know if I am even qualified to ask such things to you." "Young Master¡­" Ragas drew a sharp breath in response. Then, he smiled and said, "Such things are trivial matters to me¡­ Though you are right¡ªwe are not strongly bonded to each other, the fact remains the same¡ªthat I am your follower! And I chose to be your servant!" Pedro could only force out a smile in response. He was at loss for words and could only scratch the back of his head out of embarrassment to Ragas. Then, after a minute or two, Pedro sighed and said, "Then, we''ll have a change of plans¡­ I guess?" Ragas bowed slightly towards Pedro and said, "As you command, young master!" Pedro took another sigh and said, "Then, it''s settled! Let''s go back to the Auction Den and ask Duke Albert to find us a good residence within the Kingdom. With that¡­ We won''t need to cramp up in the small VIP room, and we could establish an Ore Oven and try the theory I had in mind. That said¡­ I would be troubling you to teach me things regarding runic formations." "As you wish, young master!" Ragas said as he bowed slightly in response. With that, Pedro and Ragas went back to the Auction Den. They headed straight to Duke Albert and immediately voiced out their plan. Of course, being an important person to Duke Albert, Pedro''s request was immediately handle. In fact, he was given a high-end residential area near the Auction Den for free. Pedro was hesitant to accept the high-end residential area but in the end, he accepted it. After all, it would not be good to reject Duke Albert''s goodwill. And given the high-end residential area, the Ore Oven was just a trivial matter. Duke Albert arranged the best Ore Oven makers in the Kingdom to prepare one in Pedro''s residence. At the same time, he even gifted Pedro several magic crystals that were only ''collecting dust'' in the Auction Den''s warehouse. Duke Albert was even going to arrange a few blacksmiths, mage, and sorcerers to aid Pedro on his experiment. But Pedro simply rejected this offer because he wanted to do things by himself. That''s the thrill of conducting an experiment¡­ or so he said. However, despite spoon-feeding Pedro with what he needed, these matters were simply handled by Duke Albert''s men¡ªsince Duke Albert, himself, was busy with the matters regarding the Kingdom. Thus, Pedro and everyone else went to the high-end residence that Duke Albert had prepared. It was just a few streets away from the Auction Den and was also along the towering walls of the Kingdom. That said, unlike the Auction Den, the residence area was only surrounded by seven feet high walls that are made of metal bars. The high-end residence area was only half a hectare in size with one huge mansion in the middle and a spacious garden outside¡ªwhich was big enough to grow vegetables and even keep livestock. On top of that, it was well maintained, decorated, and even guarded¡ªconsequently making it a special residence area for a high-ranking official. With the help of Auction Guide Weese, Pedro was able to smoothly transfer to his residence, together with his slaves¡ªboth human and demi-humans. Unfortunately, since he was yet to establish the ''life bound'' blood contract to the human slaves, he can only leave them in the cage-like carriages that were parked on one side of his garden. The demi-human slaves¡ªwho had already formed a blood contract with Pedro, were the ones tasked to handle the matters regarding the human slaves. As for Clara, she was allowed by Pedro to do whatever she wanted. Thus, she simply decided to observe Pedro instead of guarding the slaves. (Quick Author''s Side Note: If you guys are thinking how the hell are the slaves answering nature''s call¡­ Then, worry not! Pedro had low-key ordered the demi-human slaves to dig a huge pit near the cage-like carriages. It was a few meters deep¡ªwhere all of the slaves answer nature''s call. And at the end of the day, a layer of soil would be returned to the pit to bury the ''fertilizers''.) At that moment, Pedro did not dare waste time and simply wait for the construction of the Ore Ovens to finish. After getting toured around his mansion, he went straight into his office room with Ragas and Clara to start learning things about runic formation. An information that he did not personally know, even on his past life. Pedro locked the door, walked past the seated Clara and Ragas, and sat in his chair. Then, he smirked mischievously and said, "Let''s now discuss the first phase of Operation New Weapon!" Chapter 229: Their First Product! Before Pedro was able to say anything, Ragas glanced to Clara and asked, "Young master¡­ Is it really alright for her to observe our meeting about your ''idea''? I mean¡­ Isn''t she still a ''temporary'' member of your group." Clara''s eyebrows raised as her gaze shifted to Pedro waiting for his answer. Thus, Pedro could only shake his head in response and force out a smile. Afterward, he sighed and said, "It does not matter¡­Anyway¡­ Let''s proceed since the Ore Ovens would soon be finished in an hour or two. I want to learn the basics of the runic formation and how it works." Ragas could only obediently bow towards Pedro and said, "If that''s your decision, young master! Then, I won''t pry on that matter anymore! As for the runic formation and how it works, the answer is simple! Runic Formations are ''commands'' written in an ancient language called Kalivahta! Now¡­ If Runic Formations are connected or are supplied by a decent amount of magical energy, then, the effect or ''command'' written in an item or such, would be activated. Unfortunately¡­ The ancient language was required to be written completely and properly¡ªconsequently making the ''commands and conditions'' of runic formations to be typically long." "Hoo¡­ No wonder." Pedro said as he remembered the long runic formations typically found in buildings or mansions, and inside dungeons. Then, his thought returned to the idea he had in mind, concerning weapons. He asked, "Is that the reason why there are no weapons with runic formations established in it?" Ragas simply nodded in response and said, "Yes, young master! Runic Formations were too long to be placed in a weapon. Besides¡­ Weapons are often used in battles, so they have a huge tendency to be damaged or even be broken¡­ With the extreme sensitivity of Runic Formations, it was only natural for the weapons to not be embedded with any runic formations." Pedro simply nodded his head and rubbed his chin in response. Then, he asked Ragas, "I see¡­ So that''s the reason why no one¡ªsince our ancestors, gave that much thought in crafting weapons with runic formation!" "That said¡­ Young master, there were several successful experiments concerning weapons and runic formation. Most of them are ranged weapons like bows. But most of them are junked or trashed because although the experiment with ranged weapons was successful, it has a drawback¡ªtaking additional magical energy of the users of the weapons with runic formation." Ragas explained. "This, in turn, depletes the magical energy quicker than the norm. So, it was not used by anyone else." Before Pedro nor Ragas could utter another word, Clara interjected and said, "If you are referring to weapons that were embedded with runic formation, I only know a few swords available in our Kingdom that were available for use. However¡­ We were all told that such weapons can only be used in great wars¡ªespecially in life and death situations only." "Like a suicide attack?" Pedro asked with a frown on his face. Clara simply nodded her head and said, "That''s the gist of it! I won''t go that much on the specifics of the sword with runic enchantments but¡­ As I heard, most of the weapons with runic enchantment somehow require a huge amount of magical energy to operate. And as you guys know, it was not ideal on combats¡ªespecially on drawn-out battles. So, instead of placing simple additional effects as runic enchantments on weapons, our Kingdom simply utilizes an amplifying effect instead that tends to immediately drain the magical energy of the user. And¡­ You know what happens afterward, right?" "When the magical energy of a person gets drained to its limit, they lose their consciousness. And if they are on a battlefield¡­ That''s equivalent to their death!" Pedro interjected with a frown on his face. But after a few seconds, he sighed and said, "Well¡­ At the least¡­ We know the problems that were encountered in embedding runic formation/enchantment to weapons in the past. With that, we know our current limits and we can brainstorm on how to solve them later on." Clara and Ragas simply nodded in response. Thus, making Pedro clap his hands and said, "Moving forward¡­ Ragas, Can I know how long can a single word be in terms of the ancient language? And tell me how small can you write them¡­ Though I want to learn the ancient language myself¡­ It would need to be moved to some other time because it would be a waste not to try what I have in mind!" "How long you ask, young master? If I would estimate it for your ease of understanding, a word in our current global language is equivalent to a paragraph of the ancient language!" Ragas said that astonished Pedro. However, before Pedro could say a word, Ragas continued, saying, "As for how small I could write them or embed them¡­ At best, I can write them at the size of a human nail per ancient language character." ''Around an inch, huh? Then it seems like I won''t be able to create enhanced handheld weapons at the moment! In any case, things would become easy later on if blacksmith players would start to rise! After a piece of microscope-like equipment is made, the development of runic enchantments would follow! For now¡­ Since it is just the start of the game, it seems like I could only settle with the ''big toys''! Fortunately, Magic Crystals won''t become a problem. There''s a lot of supply and less demand¡­ I just hope that I would have sufficient funds later on.'' Pedro thought as he glanced to a runic formation inside the room-which was providing light to the room. Then, he grumbled to himself deep inside, ''It''s my fault this time¡ªfor not knowing how the European Top Guilds and Gaming Organizations were able to create weapons with runic enchantments in my past life! Well¡­ I am not a blacksmith in the past, and it was not my specialty, to begin with! I just remembered the reports of my guild members in my past life¡ªwho were blacksmiths¡­ I can only do a trial and error method at this moment based on the information that I can remember.'' At this moment, Pedro scratched his head like someone who had no choice but to settle to what can only be done or accomplished, and said, "Then, I would be troubling you, Ragas, later on." "It would be my pleasure, young master!" Ragas said, respectfully in response. Since Pedro needed to only tell Ragas what to embed, and since he would be the one doing the shaping of the big toy, they stopped their meeting at this point. Then, they decided to head over to the workshop and check the progress of the construction of their ore oven. Fortunately, it all ended after another hour of wait. And without wasting time, Pedro and Ragas went to work. Pedro placed several magic crystals into the ore oven to slightly melt it up. This way, Pedro could attach the magic crystals, forming a 12-inch diameter cylinder that was 3 feet high. On the other hand, Ragas embedded ancient language to a metal case that would seemingly house the 12-inch diameter cylindrical magic crystal that Pedro was forming. And before Ragas was about to finish embedding the ancient language equivalent of what Pedro told him, they inserted the cylindrical first, which fitted the metal housing perfectly. And as soon as Ragas finished embedding the ancient language, the runic formation/enchantment lit bright orange as an intense heat was suddenly felt inside the workshop¡ªwhich was strong enough to even make Pedro and Ragas sweat a tad bit. Pedro could not help but to force out a smile in response and said, "Aron, says stay cool!" And like magic, the atmosphere returned to its normal state as the light orange glow to the runic formation disappeared. Pedro could not help but smirk towards Ragas and said, "It''s a success!" Ragas simply smirked in response. Then, he bowed towards Pedro and said, "Congratulations, young master! You have successfully designed a good toy to play with!" Pedro scratched the back of his head in response. Then, he said, "Since it seemed functional¡­ Why don''t we try it out in the actual field? But before that¡­ Let''s have a visit to the auction house¡­ We need a lot of magic crystals after all!" "Yes, young master!" Ragas said as he bowed respectfully towards Pedro. Together with Clara, Pedro and Ragas headed back to the Auction Den and bought all the magic crystals available¡ªconsequently leaving Pedro with only 350 Gold coins. That said, Pedro did not have any second thoughts about buying them. It was something he deemed worth the price after all. In any case, Ragas and Clara were not able to comprehend why Pedro bought all the available magic crystals in the Auction Den. That said, they did not stop Pedro because they don''t have the authority to do so in the first place. So, they can simply follow him as they headed from the Auction Den to the nearest gate to them¡ªthe northern gate of the Tarala Kingdom. Luckily, Duke Ersi was checking the situation at the Northern Side of the Tarala Kingdom at this moment. Pedro simply smirked as he¡ªtogether with Clara and Ragas, approached Duke Ersi. Then, he waved his hands and said, "It''s great that you are here, Duke Ersi! I won''t be needing the trouble to find you¡­ Anyway, can I request you to come with me for a minute?" Duke Ersi simply laughed in response and said, "Getting straight to the point as always, Sir Aron! I wonder what makes you require my presence that bad?" "You''ll see¡­" Pedro simply chuckled in response. Chapter 230: The Aron Burner and The Three Unexpected Guests! With Pedro''s lead, they all soon arrived on top of the northern walls of the Kingdom. That area was so high to the point that everyone was given a clear view by the chaotic battle occurring between the Kingdom soldiers and the monsters. With Pedro''s lead, they all soon arrived on top of the northern walls of the Kingdom. That area was so high to the point that everyone was given a clear view by the chaotic battle occurring between the Kingdom soldiers and the monsters. A cold wind breeze passed through them¡ªwhich had a strong metallic smell, that made Pedro close his eyes for a few seconds. Then, he took a deep sigh and said, "Your soldiers looked tired, Duke Ersi! Allow me to give them a short break!" "What do you mean¡ª?" Duke Ersi could not help but frown in response. However, he was interrupted by a knife that flew out of Pedro''s sleeve¡ªconsequently attracting the attention of everyone as it aimed at the monsters on the battlefield. Duke Ersi together with the Kingdom Soldiers could only gasp in response as the Pen-knife weaved through the monsters¡ªkilling them one by one while sucking them dry of their blood. And only after almost a minute, the monsters being fought by the Kingdom Soldiers were annihilated, leaving the new wave of monsters for them to take care of. However, because the monsters were even too many and too far for Pedro to accurately target, Pedro''s pen-knife halted its advance and it started to fly back to Pedro. After a momentary relief caused by Pedro''s help, the Kingdom Soldiers could only force out a smile and take a deep breath as they prepare their selves to face the next wave of monsters. That said, at that moment, Pedro nodded towards Ragas and Clara¡ªsignaling that it was their turn to show their abilities. Ragas and Clara simply smirked in response. Ragas'' fist tightened as his skin transformed into dark green spikey scales. While Clara took out a silver sword and held it up with her two hands, near her right shoulder like a knight. In the next second, the two vanished into thin air as the next wave of monsters was killed. Half of them¡ªto the left of Pedro, was blown by a strong force that consequently mashed everything into a paste. While the other half¡ªto the right of Pedro, the next wave of monsters was sliced cleanly into half¡ªhorizontally. The area that the attacks of Ragas and Clara had covered was around fifty meters wide and around a hundred meters to the north. The Kingdom Soldiers, even Duke Ersi''s mouth went agape from what just happened. That said, before they could utter another word, Pedro''s pen-knife rotated back to where the dead monsters were located. The pen-knife casually sucked the blood of the dead monsters as Clara started picking up the dead bodies of the monsters. On the other hand, the monsters seemed like they were infinite as several monsters started to appear right after the single-sided massacre. That said, Ragas simply walked around fifty meters away from where the Kingdom Soldiers were located on the battlefield. Then, he took out a cylindrical ''trash can'' looking item that they crafted. He planted it into the soil, leaving around 70% of its body above the ground. Afterward, Ragas simply rushed back to Pedro and was followed by Clara. And when they returned, Pedro simply clapped his hands and said, "Aron says¡­ Stay hot!" In the next second, a powerful magical energy wave was launched from the cylindrical trashcan-looking item. At the same time, the runic formation¡ªthat was cramped in a spiral manner on its perimeter, lit bright orange. Then, anything within a Fifty-meter radius of the trashcan-looking item was burned into ashes. There was no flame thrower of some sort. And the burning was not instantaneous¡­ Instead, there were visible heat waves¡ªindicating that there was a sudden increase in heat in that area. The monsters that were charging towards them would just simply crash into the ground as they burned to their deaths. Because of this, the Kingdom Soldiers could only take a step back out of fear of being burned like the monsters. On the other hand, Duke Ersi could only glance at Pedro out of awe and, at the same time, fear. It''s true that he got a piece of news about Pedro''s residence and the Ore Ovens being constructed as per his request. However, Duke Ersi did not think that Pedro would be able to produce a weapon of this caliber. In fact, Duke Ersi was thankful that they were on Pedro''s good side. Else, he could not imagine what would have happened to the Kingdom if they were on his bad side. At this moment, Pedro could only smirk in response and said, "So¡­ What do you think, Duke Ersi? This is my first product! The Aron Burner!" "T-Terrifying!" The word unconsciously went out of Duke Ersi''s mouth. Pedro simply smiled in response. And only after a few seconds was Duke Ersi able to get back to himself. Duke Ersi said, "Forgive me, Sir Aron! I can''t deny it¡­ Your product is truly terrifying! To be able to hold the monster wave easily¡­ I wonder how long can its effect last?" "I understand." Pedro chuckled in response. "As for the duration of its effect¡­ As long as there is sufficient magical energy available within the area of effect''s radius, then, the burning effect would continue unless deactivated." At this moment, Duke Ersi could not help but glance up into the Ball of Fire as if asking, ''Sufficient Magical Energy¡­ Does that include the magical energy from the Ball of Fire?'' Pedro simply followed his gaze and smirked. Then, he said, "If you are thinking about the magical energy from the Ball of Fire, then you are right! It is enough¡­" "This¡­" Duke Ersi could not help but stare at the ''Aron Burner'' and be at loss for words. On the other hand, Clara was also intrigued by Pedro''s work. That said, she did not see it as a threat to her because she knew that the burning effect¡ªalthough looking overpowered against the monsters, has its limits. Ragas also knew about it because he was even part of the creation of this item. The monsters that were charging to the human strongholds and were part of the Continental Quest are mostly low leveled monsters¡ªwhich were around level 3 to level 15. That is why humans were able to defend against the monsters despite their seemingly infinite number. Capitalizing on this idea, Pedro created an item that would slowly burn anything within the area of effect. With the large area being covered, Pedro needed to minimize the strength of the ''Aron Burner'' to the point where it was only strong enough to burn the monsters level 15 and below into ashes. It was something that he calibrated based on his past knowledge about the Magical Defense System of Kingdoms of Players. In fact, the Magical Defense Systems were more terrifying to the point where one can transform normal soil into magma in one clap. So¡­ The Aron Burner was really not something special¡­ If there was no Continental Quest and an unlimited amount of monsters. That said, the Aron Burner was utilizing the magical energy that it absorbs within its area of effect, so¡­ even if it was Pedro who activated the item since he did not directly supply it with his magical energy, the kills made by Aron Burner was not added to his absurdly high kill count on the Continental Quest. Well¡­ It''s not that he expected it to be a farming tool. Besides, he was fully aware of its effect in the first place. So, he did not have high hopes that he would gain EXP, nor Kill Counts from it. As for the monsters or other beings above level 15, they would constantly receive burn damage over time. And if they had no means to resist the heat, nor recover their constantly dropping HP, they might even perish over time. Well¡­ What was important is that Duke Ersi would think highly of the Aron Burner¡ªthat would, hopingly, bring Pedro a business with the Kingdom. Which stronghold or territory would not want to buy such a ''life-saving'' item. That said, Before Pedro could even take advantage of that moment, a familiar laughed echoed loudly from his left. "Hahahaha! Awesome! Awesome! Hahahaha!" A mysterious young man came out of a gooey black liquid that appeared out of nowhere to their left. "I see that you are trying to become a crafter now, young D! Hahahahaha!" Pedro could not help but stare blankly at the mysterious young man with yellow eyeballs. Then, Pedro''s eyes had reactively turned all black¡ªmaking almost everyone near him asleep. Ragas and Clara reactively went in front of Pedro¡ªready to face the mysterious young man bravely head-on. While Duke Ersi and some of the soldiers with him could only kneel to their knees because of the effect of Pedro''s Demonic Eyes. That said, before they could even move another muscle, the mysterious young man simply burst into laughter once again. "Hahahaha! Old D! Old D! Your disciple is very entertaining! Why don''t we spend some time with him at the moment? It''s not like we have something urgent to do, right? Haha! Besides¡­ I think it would really be a fun experience! Hahahaha!" At this moment, an old man with a cane and all-white eyes came out of the wall of black gooey liquid, and said, "You are really quite annoying Young Fate! We are only here to send off the little girl! Don''t make things complicated!" "Haha¡­ What a joy killer! Haha!" Fate complained as a little girl with green hair came out of the wall of gooey black liquid. "You are just too lively, Senior Fate!" The little girl with green hair grumbled whilst forcing out a smile. "Hahaha! Junior Beast! Junior Beast! It''s alright! It''s alright! Hahaha! We''re with Old D after all! Who knows¡­ He''s with us to take us to his domain¡­ It would not hurt to be lively, even just for a little! Hahahaha!" Fate laughed in response. At this moment, before Old D or the little girl could even utter a word in response, Pedro rushed towards the little girl and hugged her with teary eyes. He cried, "Faunia!!! I am glad that you are alive!" Faunia simply pushed Pedro in his face and said, "It was only natural that I''d be alive! So, stop crying like a child! You''ll just¡ª " "Bahahahaha!" Fate interjected with a loud laugh. "Old D! Old D! Look at Young D! So happy to see, Junior Beast alive! Hahaha! It seems like Junior Beast has another kind and caring senior! Hahahaha!" "This human is not my SENIOR!!!" Faunia shouted in response. Chapter 231: Faunias Return! "Hahahaha! Junior Beast, Relax! You just recovered from your injuries! Hahahaha! You don''t want to go back and recover with Old D, right? Hahahaha! It''s spooky in his domain after all! Hahahaha!" Fate said happily. "You¡­!" Faunia bit his lips to stop herself from attacking or saying anything bad against Fate. After all, she was still recovering from the injuries she obtained after fighting Demon Pocras. That said, even if she is in her top shape, she won''t still be able to win against Fate for several reasons. Well¡­ Fate won''t even consider helping her recover if he was against her. Fate simply laughed at Faunia in response. Fortunately, at this moment, Pedro was able to calm himself down and he was even able to take out his Faithpursuer Katana. Then, he glanced to Fate and said, "Uhm¡­ L-Lords¡­? C-Can I ask what you want in return for Faunia''s recovery? I-I mean¡­ You did not help her recover for nothing, right?" "Hahahaha! Young D! You are so funny! Hahahahaha! Just call me, Senior Fate! Hahahaha! You don''t need to call me Lord! I am not part of the worship addict cult after all! Hahahaha!" Fate said with a mocking tone. "Haha¡­ And also¡­ We are not as kind as you think, young D. So, don''t think that we helped Junior Beast out of goodwill¡­" Before Fate could continue speaking, Faunia interrupted and said, "Don''t forget that we are selfish beings, human!" "Hahahaha!" Fate simply burst into laughter once again. Then, after a few seconds, he calmed down with his face wearing a slight smirk, whilst his all-yellow eyes became filled with a murderous aura and said, "Junior Beast is right! Haha¡­ But that does not mean that we are here to bring you any harm. That''s what matters, right? Haha." Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. He did not dare utter another word and had decided to simply respond to Fate and Old D if he was asked personally. Pedro knew how powerful the three entities in front of him. So, he can''t afford to offend them no matter what happens. Fortunately, Old D broke the tense atmosphere with a deep sigh. Then, the old man caught a glance of the Kingdom Soldiers and Duke Ersi¡ªwho seemed like they had headaches, and said, "It''s amazing to know that there are humans whose wills are strong enough to resist Varxatos'' Authority!" Afterward, Old D glanced at Clara and Ragas, and said, "There''s even a human that shares the same blood with the Aleria Swordmaster¡­ It seems like you won''t need much help from me yet! Since we don''t have much time to talk¡­" Old lifted his cane and tapped it to the brick floor of the walls before he could even finish what he wanted to say. In an instant, everyone else who was able to remain awake from Pedro''s Emperor''s Will had suddenly dropped into the ground, unconscious. On the other hand, Pedro could only stumble as he felt a strong force that opposed the Emperor''s Will. He could not help but grit his teeth just to be able to stand on his two feet. At this moment, even Fate and Faunia kept silent. Fortunately, before the atmosphere became tenser, Old D spoke, saying, "You don''t need to worry, young human! I am not bringing them with me to my domain¡­ Anyway¡­ Since everyone else is fast asleep, I can now tell you a few important things before we leave. First and foremost, you need to know that Young Beast has not yet fully recuperated! So, I suggest that you stay low for a few months until she fully recovers her strength. It''s not that I can see a definite future like Young Fate, but¡­ It would not hurt to be a tad bit cautious¡­ Now¡­ As for you¡ªbeing my successor, there''s a bit of an issue right now! Your eyes are previously owned by Varxatos¡ªmaking you inherit his power before you could inherit the power of the God of Death! But worry not¡­ That does not mean that you are not eligible to become my successor anymore. You''ll know more about it in the future. What''s important is that you continuously increase your strength. And if that time comes¡­ We''ll probably see each other again!" Pedro did not dare to utter another word in response. Although he was able to barely resist the pressure that Old D was exerting on their surroundings, Pedro did not dare to respond because he did not want to take any risk that may cause his character to die at that moment. He already progressed so far and had achieved so many things just to die because of unnecessary reckless actions. Of course, Old D and Fate knew that Pedro would not dare speak carelessly this time, like how he did earlier. That said, Fate did not care much about such trivial things. He simply laughed and said, "Don''t be so stiff, Young D! At the very least, we are on your side. So, you don''t need to be afraid of us! Hahaha! Anyway¡­ Before I forgot¡­ You have some kind of divine-like power giving paper with you, right?" Pedro''s eyes widened slightly out of astonishment and thought, ''How did he know about the elemental inheritance pages that I obtained from the Japanese Players?'' ''He is the God of Fate, human!'' Faunia scolded telepathically. ''Did you forget about that? It''s only natural that he knows a thing or two about you! Anyway¡­ I suggest that you simply be honest with him. He''s working with Senior Death, so it won''t bring you any harm if you follow what he says.'' Pedro could only sigh deep inside and said to Faunia telepathically, ''I know! I know! You don''t need to tell me!'' In the next second, Pedro simply nodded and said, "Yes, Senior Fate. I have several of such paper with me!" Fate laughed in response and said, "Can I see them? Hahaha¡­" "All of them?" Pedro asked whilst forcing out a smile. Fate simply nodded in response and said, "Yes, all of them! Hahahaha! Don''t tell me that you want to use them for yourself? Greediness is a sin, Young D! Hahahaha!" Pedro could only steal a glance towards Faunia before he hopelessly handed over the ''fake elemental inheritance'' that he obtained from the Japanese Players. And when Fate received the ''fake elemental inheritances'', Old D and Faunia could not help but frown as their gazes were fixated on the mysterious papers. But before they could utter a word, Fate laughed once again and said, "I was right! Hahahaha! These Demons¡­ Hahahaha! They are trying to use humans as weapons, huh? Are they that desperate to start another war? Hahahaha!" At this moment, Fate had infused a bright golden aura to the ''fake elemental inheritances'' in his hands¡ªconsequently revealing runic formations into the air that was written in blood-red color. Pedro could not help but be at loss in response. He did not have any idea what were the runic formations displayed in front of them. Fortunately, Fate laughed and said, "Haha, such ruthless conditions! To make humans kill other beings in exchange for power¡­ These Demons are as creative as they are! Hahahaha! Well¡­ Let''s change the conditions for you, Young D!" Fate moved his fingers¡ªremoving and replacing some characters in the runic formation effortlessly, while saying, "In exchange¡­ for the power¡­ that is granted by this blessing¡­ humans¡­ should¡­ protect other beings¡­ except Demons and their underlings! Hahahahaha!" Then, Fate grinned and said, "That''s better! Hahahahaha! Those annoying Demons would shit on their pants if they learn that I messed up with their toys¡­ Hahahahaha!" At this moment, Old D and Faunia could only shake their head in response and sigh. Afterward, Old D asked Fate, "Are you done, Young Fate?" Fate returned the ''fake elemental inheritances'' to Pedro and simply said, "Yeah! Yeah! Hahaha! I am done! Hahaha! I have nothing else to talk with Young D! Haha¡­ But Old D¡­ Don''t you have something to give Young D before we leave? Hahaha." Old D could only shake his head in response and said, "Why do you need to spoil everything all the time?!" Fate burst into laughter in response. On the other hand, Old D tapped his cane once more¡ªconsequently redirecting all the pressure that he released to Pedro. "Aaaaaarg!" Pedro cried as his whole body seemed like it was about to burst. And while he was in pain, a notification popped out of his player interface as Old D and Fate walks back to the gooey portal. Old D simply nodded towards Faunia as if he was saying that he was leaving Pedro into her hands. While Fate simply smiled and waved his hands towards them. "Hahahaha! Have fun in your adventure, Young D! I hope to hear the story of your journey one day! Hahahaha! That''s if¡­ We''d see each other once again! Hahahahaha!" Fate said as the gooey black liquid disappeared. At this moment, Clara, Ragas, and everyone else regained their consciousness as Pedro passed out due to extreme pain. "W-What happened¡­? Young Master!" Ragas was confused about what just happened. But before he could even rub his eyes¡ªlike how one does as he wakes up from a good night''s sleep, he saw Pedro unconscious and seemingly went into an intense pain before passing out. So, he can''t help but rush towards him and glare towards Faunia. However, after almost a minute, Ragas had somehow recognized Faunia''s true identity. He can''t help but stare towards Faunia¡ªout of fear, and said, "Y-You''re also a Dragon!" Chapter 232: The Price of an Aron Burner! "Huh??? A Dragon? What are saying lowly wyvern?!" Faunia asked with a frown on her face. She resembled a little brat who has a tantrum. On the other hand, Ragas could only force out a smile and step back in astonishment. Unlike Pedro¡ªwho was kind and understanding when they first met, Faunia was arrogant and a tad bit hot-headed, which was the typical characteristic of someone from the Dragon-kin. Thus, out of fear, Ragas immediately bowed down towards Faunia and said, "F-Forgive this lowly wyvern, oh great ancestor! I was disrespectful at your presence due to shock¡­ I hope that you could spare this lowly wyvern''s life!" Faunia simply sighed in response as she grabbed Pedro by his head and took him from Ragas. Then, she raised Pedro¡ªjust enough to keep him in a standing position despite being unconscious. In a blink of an eye, Faunia releases his grip from Pedro''s head¡ªconsequently making Pedro fall towards her, as she follows up with a punch aimed towards Pedro''s stomach. "Wake up, weak ass human!" She grumbled. Faunia''s punch landed on Pedro''s stomach that was strong enough to make the wind blew past everyone else. Consequently, Pedro coughed out blood as he somehow got back to his senses. Ragas and Clara could not help but be worried towards Pedro. That said, they did not dare to even move a muscle out of fear towards Faunia. As for Duke Ersi and the Kingdom Soldiers, if Clara and Ragas would not dare act against Faunia, they would not even dare go against the little girl by themselves since Clara and Ragas were several leagues above them in terms of strength. They could only watch from behind and see what happens to Pedro. At this moment, Pedro was coughing frantically, resembling someone who got rescued after almost drowning in the water. On the other hand, Faunia glared towards Ragas and asked, "What matters do you have with this weak ass human?" "I¡­ I am¡ª" Ragas stuttered out of fear in response. However, before he could finish his words, Pedro interjected by raising his hands¡ªseemingly wanting to tell Faunia to stop. "He''s¡­ He''s with us!" Pedro said whilst coughing out several times. Ragas simply nodded in response that consequently made Faunia talk with Pedro through their minds. ''What is this wyvern saying? A servant? Since when were you able to tame a wyvern, human?'' Faunia asked casually deep inside. Pedro simply forced out a smile in response and said, ''I did not tame him¡­ He seemed to have noticed the presence of a Dragon''s Blood inside my body. So, he decided to follow me after meeting him in the Kingdom''s Auction Den. Rest assured, they are not here to hurt me!'' ''If that''s the case¡­'' Faunia sighed out of relief. But in the next second, her face wore a frown once again as she stared towards Pedro while saying deep inside, ''What are you doing, acting like you are still injured? You only got shocked by the sudden transfer of whatever Senior D gave to you! Other than losing your consciousness, there''s nothing else that needed to be concerned about! So... Hurry up and get us out of this situation! I don''t like getting stared at! Else¡­ You want me to take care of these pests¡­'' Pedro could only scratch the back of his head and said deep inside, ''Fine! Fine! I know what to do! Just sit back and relax! You''re still in recovery after all! It would be a lot more troublesome if Senior Fate and Senior Death return just because of you!'' Faunia could only smile in response and said telepathically, ''Don''t say that, human! It would be a disaster if that happens!'' Pedro could not help but to force out a smile and simply agree to what Faunia said. At this moment, Pedro was able to stand casually as if nothing had happened. Then, he used his left arm to wipe the blood on his mouth and said, "Anyway¡­ I am alright! It just happened that I got an extreme headache for some reason! Fortunately, I only some punch to wake me up¡­ So, you guys don''t need to worry about me!" Then, Pedro glanced at Faunia and said, "This little girl is Faunia! She is like our fleet''s little sister! Unfortunately, she got injured after fighting some incredibly strong monsters! Thus, the two men earlier¡ªwhich were our seniors, took action by themselves and helped in the recovery of Faunia. They must have a special task¡­ That''s probably why they needed to drop Faunia to me as soon as possible!" Faunia simply nodded in agreement as Pedro glanced towards Duke Ersi and said, "That said¡­ I hope that you can simply ignore what had just happened, and I would like to proceed to discuss something with you¡ªDuke Ersi, regarding the weapon that I was able to make!" At this moment, Duke Ersi was still trying to process everything that happened. But because of Pedro mentioning his name, he could only shake his head to calm himself and said, "O-Of course! It would be a great help to the Kingdom if we can use such weapon!" "Then, I would be troubling you¡ªDuke Ersi, to spare a bit more of your time! Please lead the way to a room, where we can talk privately!" Pedro said as another wave of monsters started to charge towards them after Old D and Fate left. "O-Of course, Sir Aron!" Duke Ersi forced out a smile in response as his attention was unconsciously averted towards the Kingdom Soldiers¡ªwho just seemingly woke up and were just a hundred meters away from the new wave of monsters. On the other hand, Pedro understood Duke Ersi as if he had read his mind. So, Pedro simply clapped his hands and said, "Aron says¡­ Stay hot!" In the next second, the ''Aron Burner'' activated and the monsters who enter its range get burned into ashes. With nothing to hold Duke Ersi back from leaving that area, Pedro can''t help but to smirk and say, "Shall we go now?" Duke Ersi could only nod in response as he and two more Kingdom Soldiers with him lead the way to a nearby building that was being used by the military as a command center for the northern gate''s troops. Together with Faunia¡ªwho was seating beside Pedro and was ''happily'' eating food, Clara¡ªwho stood on Pedro''s right, and Ragas¡ªwho stood on Pedro''s left, Pedro had a conversation with Duke Ersi about the ''Aron Burner''. Of course¡­ Their meeting went as planned by Pedro. Duke Ersi stated his desire to obtain a few more of the ''Aron Burner''. However, Pedro did not agree immediately to Duke Ersi after receiving some offers worth hundreds of gold coins. It was not because Pedro wanted to gain more gold coins and he simply changes his mind to put the ''Aron Burner'' into the auction, but¡­ It was because he wanted to use this chance to take advantage of Duke Ersi''s connections and obtain as many magic crystals as he can. Whether it would come from the Tarala Kingdom or other strongholds, Pedro could not care less. And considering the good relationship Pedro was able to build with Duke Ersi and Duke Albert, he simply settled with 200 Gold coins paired with 20 Magic Crystals¡ªwhich would cost around 2 Gold Coins each, as payment for a single ''Aron Burner''. With the additional request from Pedro to Duke Ersi¡ªregarding the patent of his creation, Duke Ersi had personally agreed to Pedro''s conditions and placed three additional orders of ''Aron Burner'' other than the one currently operating near them. Unfortunately, Duke Ersi would need to leave and go back to the main command center of the Kingdom''s Military to prepare the Payment that Pedro required. That said, out of goodwill, Pedro kept the first ''Aron Burner'' active. This way, Pedro would look, not only like a weapon trader, but also a good man who''s simply trying to help another human and was just charging only necessary expenses needed to be able to craft the said life-saving weapon. Of course, Duke Ersi immediately left after their deal was settled. So that he could prepare the payment that Pedro required and, at the same time, took care of Pedro''s requests/conditions, including the patent or ''the right to manufacture'' of the ''Aron Burner'' magic weapon. On the other hand, Pedro and the rest were left at the Northern Command Center of the Tarala Kingdom Military Department as Faunia satisfies her hunger. After all¡­ It''s been days since she was able to eat food. In fact, even Pedro needed to borrow the kitchen to avoid cleaning the food storage of that Command Center. After all, there was a shortage of food in the Kingdom due to the monster wave. And the food stored within that command center was allocated and designed to feed the Soldiers who were risking their lives to protect the Kingdom from monsters. Out of respect to those soldiers, and not wanting to cause trouble to Duke Ersi, Pedro used his resources and simply cooked Faunia some food out of the Flocoloso Bird. At this moment, Pedro could not help but smile as he glanced towards the ''satisfied'' Faunia after cooking food for her non-stop. He murmured to himself, "I even needed to take over and cook her food! Well¡­ That is alright! What''s important is that she''s alive!" Chapter 233: New Innovations! Faunia caught a glimpse of Pedro¡ªwho was staring at her, so Faunia can''t help but frown in response and ask, "Why are you staring at me like that, human? Don''t tell me that you don''t have enough meat for the next meal?" Pedro simply smiled and shook his head in response. Then, he said, "Don''t worry! I am not short on resources! However... I still have a lot of things to take care of for the rest of the day. So, this would be the last serving that I am going to cook for you! Besides¡­ I still need to fulfill my part in the agreement that I made with Duke Ersi earlier." "Are you referring to the toy that you made?" Faunia asked with a frown on her face. Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response because for Pedro, it was not an easy job to stick and mold the Magic Crystals together. In fact, if not for his knowledge of the future past, he would not have any idea on how many Hilos of Magic Crystal must be used. Add up the fact that Pedro was not even an experienced blacksmith in his past life, it was purely out of luck that they were barely able to craft a decently working Aron Burner. Well... Unlike Skill making, Potioneering and Crafting rely mostly on the materials used and the method used. As long as a craftsman uses the right material and followed the proper method, they were unlikely to fail in their job. Of course, Pedro knew that Faunia was not directly making fun of his work. It was just that for gods and goddesses like Faunia, such things were too weak to be considered as a weapon. So, Pedro understood where Faunia was coming from. That said, Pedro''s silence made Faunia smirk and said, "I did not expect for you to rely on such lowly methods to fight monsters¡­ Well¡­ You are not that strong in the first place! So, I can''t blame you for being creative on the toys that you make." Pedro scratched the back of his head in response and said, "It''s not for me! It''s for the Kingdom! I can fight these monsters and survive easily without the need for such magical weapons! It''s just that I am just helping the people in this territory by resolving the threats posed by the monsters towards them, while, at the same time, consequently helping reduce the casualties that the Kingdom''s military obtains from fighting monsters¡­ It''s not like we can stay in this place and defend it forever! It''s good to give them a chance to stand on their own! Besides... I gain coins from them in return! It was a win-win situation for both sides!" Faunia could only sigh in response and said, "Alright! Alright! I understand!" Soon, Faunia finished her meal and they headed back to Pedro''s residence. Without wasting that much time, Pedro¡ªtogether with Ragas and Faunia, went to the workshop area and started making another ''Aron Burner''. At this moment, Ragas worked on the metal cover of the Aron Burner with the same Runic Formations to be embedded on it. While Pedro would focus on molding together several Magic Crystals that would be the source and storage of Magical Energy for the Aron Burner. On the other hand, Faunia simply watched them do their job as if she was their boss or supervisor. That said, after a few minutes of watching Ragas embedding the Runic Formation at the metal cover, Faunia could not help but shook her head and sigh. Then, she glanced to Pedro and scolded, "What are you guys doing?! Embedding Runic Formations into a metal plate¡ªwhere everyone could see it in broad daylight?! Are bluntly exposing the effect of your work by embedding the Runic Formation on its cover?!" Ragas could not help but to stop in response. As a wyvern, he only knew about the ancient languages and how they could be ''embedded'' physically into magical items¡ªto become a Runic Formation. He did not know of any process on how he would be able to embed the Runic Formation other than applying them physically. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but to remember the runic formation that was holographically displayed after he handed over the ''fake elemental inheritances'' to Fate. It was probably what Faunia was referring to or what she wanted to establish than the simple ''physically'' embedded runic formations. In any case, Ragas was forced to halt his work as Faunia instructed Pedro and Ragas on how to make and embed runic formations with the use of their Magic Energy. Fortunately, Ragas was able to catch up with Faunia''s instructions and was able to embed runic formation to the metal cover with the use of his own Magic Energy. Unfortunately, Pedro would not be able to write Runic Formations because he would need more time to learn the Ancient Language of Bearth. He needed to study them more very closely before he could even do it by himself. Thus, in the end, Ragas was the one who made the runic formation as Pedro arranged. And considering the limitless space where they can embed runic formations, they were able to make some adjustments and added several new features to the Aron Burner. On the other hand, the runic formation found at the metal plate only serves as a decoy that was meant to confuse enemies in the future. In the end, the new version of Aron Burner had the same function of inflicting burn on low leveled monsters¡ªsimilar with the first version. That said, the new version of Aron Burner, or also called Aron Burner 2.0, has an improved control method¡ªwhere several person could be allowed to be binded with the item, whom would be given access in turning on and off of the said magical weapon. On top of that, Aron Burner 2.0 had an improved safety feature where the runic formations embedded physically in its metal cover were fake and would act as a decoy against enemies. At the same time, the self destruct feature was modified and now could only be activated if the item was being dismantled by other people¡ªcompared to the initial condition of the ''self destruct'' option of the first version that activates when it is severly damaged. Other than that, there was no other major changes on the basic effects of the magical weapon. And fortunately, it seems like they did not experience any other technical problems along the way. Thus, they immediately finished the three new orders of Aron Burner for Duke Ersi. Afterward, Pedro and everyone else had nothing to do. Thus, Pedro decided to use that time to try some experiments using the Divine Method of Basic Enchantment¡ªthat uses Magical Energy in establishing Runic Formation. At first, Pedro forged a knife made out of Ordinary Metal Ore and added a small piece of Magic Crystals that was placed in its handles. Then, with Ragas'' help, they added a runic formation in it using magical energy to give the knife an effect that makes its blade hot when activated. That experiment was successful. However, the knife required a lot of magical energy to activate the effect. So, Pedro could not use it because of its magical energy consumption rate issue. With that in mind, Pedro did a follow-up experiment. He added more magic crystals to the knife with the aim of increasing its magical energy consumption efficiency. After several trial and error, he was able to get the proper amount of Magic Crystals to be embedded in the knife. Unfortunately, there was only a limited period of time into which a user could use the effect of the weapon. After the reserve magical energy drains up, the effect of the knife would stop. Well... It was way better than the initial ''one use only'' version. Unfortunately, knives and other weapons could only equip small pieces of magic crystals so, in the end, there was still a limit to the number of use of the effects of the magical weapons. Consequently, by this time, Pedro noticed Ragas starting to get exhausted from constantly using his magical energy in placing runic formations to the experimental weapons. So, Pedro decided to let Ragas rest for the day. Of course, although Ragas stopped making the runic formations, Pedro kept trying to design weapons that would take advantage of runic enchantments and magic crystal combinations. He simply drew his ideas into an ordinary sheet of paper, together with its functions and effects. And it was through this chance that¡­ Pedro was able to give birth to the first magical energy powered guns in Bearth Online! Something that even he, himself, was not able to encounter in his past life. Unfortunately, Ragas needed to rest for the moment. So, Pedro could not help but to simply wait for tomorrow for him to be able to try creating his designs. That said, he was filled with excitement, and use that momentum to keep drawing designs and concepts over the night. In fact, even Faunia who was watching him earlier could not help but fall into sleep. The next day, Pedro prepared breakfast for everyone before the Ball of Fire rise into the sky. He went back to the Workshop Area--where Faunia was asleep, and knocked to the door, while saying, "Breakfast is ready, Faunia! It would not be good for your recovery if you skip a meal!" Chapter 234: The First Small Steps of the Adventurers Guild! Faunia slowly stood coldly in response and went to the dining area¡ªto the point that she even ignored Pedro. This, in turn, made Pedro scratch his head as he forces out a smile deep inside and thought, ''Cold as ever...'' Since everyone was busy with their breakfast, Pedro had decided to leave shortly and head towards the Auction Den to find slaves who were blacksmiths in the past. Unfortunately, Duke Albert even told him that there was no such slave available in the Tarala Kingdom''s market. So... In the end, Duke Albert could only promise Pedro that he would check the market of other Kingdoms. Thus, Pedro decided to went back to his mansion empty-handed. Unfortunately, this, in turn, had affected his plans on trying to create a Magic Powered Gun today. The reason for this is that Pedro was not someone who is good at crafting/forging weapons. So, although he can barely able to craft a knife or a sword, it would be difficult for him to craft a gun''s barrel on his own! That is why he needed someone with great expertise in crafting/forging weapons. That said, it does not mean that he could simply hire someone else to craft the Magic Powered Gun for him. At most, he needed a decent blacksmith as a slave. Why slave? Because Magic Powered Guns are pioneer weapons that would severely impact the world of Bearth Online. In fact, the possibility of it being mass-produced in the future for the adventurer/player''s use was high. So, in order to ensure that the production method would not be leaked anywhere else, Pedro could only rely upon a slave who was previously a blacksmith to handle its production. This way, Pedro would not need to spend time crafting/forging the body of the guns, in case they start to mass-produce. On top of that, the restrictions in a slave contract were the most important to Pedro. This way, he would be assured that the slave won''t be able to do detrimental acts towards him in any case. That is why Pedro only preferred a slave rather than an ordinary blacksmith. Besides... The Magic Powered Gun was just amongst several plans he had last night. Pedro had many more projects in the future, so it won''t hurt if Pedro could find a slave that has skills in being a blacksmith. In fact, if he could develop their talent now, it would even benefit him in the future. That said, slaves with skill in forging were difficult to obtain. The reason behind this is that Blacksmiths were one of the basic professions that could earn coins easily. Thus, most of their lives are decent and they would not need to sell themselves for money¡ªunless a special situation arises. So, with that in mind, Pedro could not help but to go back to his mansion. However, halfway back to his residence, he had changed his mind and decided to look for Duke Ersi to deliver the three additional Aron Burner 2.0 to him. At the same time, this would allow him to obtain the payment that Duke Ersi promised for each Aron Burner 2.0. Knowing that Pedro was an important personality, Duke Ersi was even able to prepare for his visit. Unfortunately, Pedro could only visit him for a short amount of time. Thus, Pedro could only talk to Duke Ersi regarding the important matters¡ªlike their agreement concerning the Aron Burner 2.0. At the same time, Pedro even mentioned to Duke Ersi if he could find a slave that has excellent forging skills for him. And like Duke Albert, Duke Ersi could only try to ask around other officials of other strongholds. On the other hand, Duke Ersi had a piece of good news for Pedro regarding his favor¡ªthat was in part of their deal. Duke Ersi informed Pedro that several people from other Kingdoms had expressed their interest in purchasing an Aron Burner. That said, it would take them several days before they would be able to place their orders since they would need to process several documents and handle several matters¡ªincluding the need to convince some of their leaders/Royal Family, to purchase the Aron Burner. Well... Pedro was not in a hurry to conduct trade with them. After all, he would become busy with clearing dungeons in the next few days. Besides... When his cousin, Weyron, handles the Adventurer''s Guild in his stead, Pedro could simply leave the negotiations to his cousin. This way, the Adventurer''s Guild could also capitalize on this opportunity to spread their influence all over the Aquari Continent. ~~~~~~~~~~ On the other hand, in the Western Side of the Aquari Continent, The Treants, together with Talia''s Ant Army had already secured most of the Woba Mountain and the forest at the south of the Kagat Village. In fact, if not for the lack of manpower they would have had continued their advance. Sadly, they have reached their limit and could not proceed further south as it may create gaps between their forces that would eventually cause or bring trouble to them. Since they were able to bring the situation in the western region into a stalemate, Talia decided to halt their advance and simply wait for his elder brother and Pedro''s decision on what to do next. As for the three ships, they were successfully pushed back to the sea and were on standby¡ªready to leave at any second. That said, the ships did not go that far away from the shore. After all, almost half of their men were still on the land, holding the surrounding area. With that, Pedro''s plans were somehow in line with the actual results that he was able to achieve. It was unfortunate that his force can''t proceed any further to the west and open a path that would provide easy access to the western region. ~~~~~~~ Back to the Tarala Kingdom, after visiting Duke Ersi, Pedro went back to his residence. At first, he looked around, checking the welfare of his men. And since they seemed alright, he headed straight to the workshop area with Faunia and Ragas. Since the matters regarding Magic Powered Guns are too early for their little group, Pedro decided to focus on making several Aron Burner 2.0 for the meantime. This way Pedro would be able to sell it immediately, in case someone was urgently looking for the Aron Burner 2.0. It was a business, after all. So, it won''t hurt Pedro to produce some extra Aron Burner, just in case. At this moment, Pedro got a message from Sabrina, saying that thousands of men were marching towards the Tarala Kingdom. Although Sabrina did not know from what group of players it was, she was certain that the men marching towards the northwest of the Tarala Kingdom were all players. So, he had no choice but to inform Pedro about it. And with Sabrina''s message, Pedro met once again with Duke Ersi to discuss the location where the first Batch of Adventurers could stay as they arrive in the Tarala Kingdom. Fortunately, Pedro was given by Duke Ersi an area outside the walls¡ªto the northwest of the Tarala Kingdom. And with Duke Albert''s help, several tents made of cloth and wood were built. At the same time, the instructors that Pedro asked the two Dukes to prepare were also asked to meet Pedro and be ready to receive and manage the adventurers who were about to arrive. "Duke Albert, What are you doing outside the Kingdom''s Walls? Isn''t it dangerous for you? And... Aren''t you busy with Kingdom Matters?" Pedro forced out a smile as he approached Duke Albert¡ªwho just came out of the Kingdom''s Northern Gate. "I want to witness how you would manage the random adventurers!" Duke Albert chuckled in response. "Besides... I could also help you prepare the market based on the needs and demands that the adventurers would have. So, I took some time to go out of that office and breathe some fresh air. After all... It''s been a long time since I, myself, was out doing business in the streets¡ªor should I say outside the Kingdom?" Pedro simply laughed in response and said, "Well... If you insist! Then, I won''t stop you from observing. However, please allow Ragas to be on your side while you are here. I still can''t risk your safety, especially that you are under the area being occupied by the Adventurer''s Guild." Duke Albert simply nodded in response and said, "I understand your concern, Sir Aron! Then, I would like to excuse myself! I would like to check the stalls you prepared before the adventurers arrive!" Pedro simply nodded his head in response and said, "Please do... It would be my honor!" Duke Albert simply nodded in response with a smile painted on his face. Then, he left and headed towards the stalls¡ªthe shops that were prepared for the Adventurer''s Guild and were located at the center near the Kingdom walls. When Duke Albert left, Pedro could not help but mumble to himself, saying, "By the end of this day, you would realize how big is the appetite of the adventurers!" Chapter 235: The Adventurers Guilds First Land! The Adventurer''s Guild was located at the northwestern side, right outside the Kingdom''s wall. By foot, it would take around two to three minutes to arrive at the northern gate of the kingdom. While it would take around ten to twenty minutes to arrive at the western gate of the kingdom. This was made so because Pedro had his residence located in the northern part of the Kingdom. Thus, the Adventurer''s Guild was placed at the nearest gate¡ªwhich was the northern gate, in consideration for Pedro. It was a well-thought idea by Duke Ersi and Duke Albert. That said, it did not matter much to Pedro. After all, Pedro could even cross a mountain in several minutes, what much more walking around the Kingdom. Going back to the Adventurer''s Guild, since it was the first time that such an organization would be established, Pedro did not have an idea regarding the setup or arrangement of the land area that was usually arranged for an Adventurer''s Guild. So, Pedro could only imitate how Adventurer''s Guild was established in other games. Of course, Pedro did not make things complicated and only arranged a simple land allocation that can still be easily modified in the future by Weyron. The Adventurer''s Guild Area was divided into two major parts, the Basic Needs Area¡ªwhich was located near the wall of the kingdom, and the Management Area¡ªwhich was located at the outermost side facing the northwestern side of the Tarala Kingdom. The Management Area has three sub-areas namely the office area¡ªfurthest to the left, the registration area¡ªmiddle, and the training area¡ªfurthest to the right. And out of these three sub-areas, the training area was the only place where no structure was built. It was mainly for duels and training that would be held later on. Well¡­ It was designed that way because as the land occupied by the Adventurer''s Guild expands, the location of the training area was the most probable place to be affected. So, it was purposely left empty for now. As for the office area, it was just an office for the management group of the Adventurer''s Guild. At the same time, it is where the lodgings of the clerks/workers of the Adventurer''s Guild were located. And the man in charge of this area was no other than Neerak Axutar. Although he was still young and a tad bit na?ve, he was one of the people whom Pedro trusted regarding the management of people. And that is why Pedro chose him over everyone else. Lastly, the registration area is where adventurers would get registered as an adventurer. It is also where the quests are being displayed. At the same time, it is where new adventurers would be given tests before they can join the Adventurer''s Guild. The Registration Area was personally handled by Pedro, in the meantime, together with his demi-human slaves. Well¡­ It would be the busiest area of the Adventurer''s Guild when the players come. So, it was only natural that Pedro had a lot of extra hands in that area. Proceeding to the Basic Needs Area, it has three sub-areas namely, the resting area¡ªwhich was located at the far left and near the walls of the Kingdom, the market¡ªwhich was at the centermost, while the storage area was located at the right side of the market. It was called a storage area but it acts more like a bank. It is where goods of the Adventurer''s Guild would be kept, while also keeping some of the goods of some traders in the market for safety purposes. And since it would be similar to a bank, Aks was the one tasked to protect that area, supposedly together with Ragas. That said, since they lack manpower at this moment, the management of the Storage Area was still placed under Neerak Axutar since the recording of the inventory still lies under the management group. As for the market, it was supposed to be managed by Pedro. However, since actual structures were to be built, Pedro simply left the stalls under Aldo, Lony, and Roval''s hands. Pedro simply gave them instructions on how to manage each stall. Together with Yuson and Clara as their guard, it was a small but decent-looking market. Under the Market Group, there were currently three stalls that everyone could visit. The first one was the weapon and skill shop that was handled by Aldo since Pedro could only entrust the weapons and skills that he personally made to Aldo. And because of the importance of the weapons and skills, Pedro anticipated that there was a high possibility that ill-intentioned people would attack the Weapon and Skill Sho besides the storage area. So, Pedro specifically asked Clara for help in temporarily guarding that area. The second stall was managed by Lony, which was a food stall. Together with some of the human slaves that were knowledgeable in cooking, they handle the food stall that sells roasted meat of monsters or some stewed meat of monsters. Well¡­ The players won''t give that much thought about it. As long as it won''t taste bad, they would purchase it just to satisfy their hunger. And lastly, the third stall would be managed by Roval, which was the special stall. It was supposed to be a miniature version of the Auction Den, where players could sell or bid items. However, due to lack of manpower, Pedro had simply converted it to a lottery area instead. Thus, leaving Roval in managing it. The mechanism of the lottery was simple. Players would only need to select seven numbers from 1 to 50, no repeating numbers, and pay a fixed participating price of 10 bronze coins. Then, a huge wheel would be rotated at midnight to determine the winning combination for that day. If a player was able to perfectly match the winning seven-digit combination for that day, he/she would win 1 Gold Coin. Well¡­ Pedro set the money prize to 1 Gold Coin so that many players would get attracted to participate in the lottery. That said, being able to perfectly match the winning combination was difficult. So, Pedro did not expect anyone to win the Grand Prize anytime soon. Besides¡­ It''s just one gold coin. Pedro has hundreds of them. That said, to remove the doubts of the players in participating in the lottery, Pedro even set a prize of 20 Silver Coins to the players who would be able to perfectly match six out of the seven-digit winning combination. There was a prize of 5 Silver Coins for those who would be able to perfectly match five out of the seven-digit winning combination. And lastly, there was a prize of 1 Silver Coin¡ªequivalent to 100 Bronze Coins, for those who would be able to perfectly match four out of the seven-digit winning combination. Well¡­ Pedro did not need to do some schemes or whatnot in the lottery. After all, it was all for fun than it is for profit. A piece of entertainment for the players as you could say. Besides, it was only a temporary alternative for an Auction Area. Considering the bond that Lony and Roval were able to re-establish with Yuson, the NPC was tasked to maintain order at the special stall and the food stall. Well¡­ Even Pedro did not think that someone would create trouble in these two seemingly minor stalls. As for the last sub-area under the Basic Needs Area, the resting area was composed of several temporary tents, where players could ''safely'' leave their characters as they logged out of the game. It would be one of the most difficult areas to monitor, so, Pedro decided to assign Loren and Sabrina to manage that area. That said, the Resting Area¡ªtogether with the Adventurer''s Guild as a whole, does not guarantee the safety of each player to a hundred percent while in their land. They can only offer protection to the best of their abilities and, at the same time, ensure that the evildoers would be properly punished. After all, it was the same case for inns inside Kingdoms and Villages. If the guards of the inn were not able to detect the assassins and someone was killed on their premises, they won''t be able to do anything to help them in return. So, it was only natural that the Players'' lives would be in danger most of the time at the start of the game. Whether it be against monsters, NPCs, or even their fellow players, they won''t be safe anywhere in Bearth unless they are in their own territory. Well¡­ It was not that the players would not be safe in Sabrina''s presence. There were even only a limited number of Kingdom Soldiers that would be able to fight against her, head-on. In fact, even the Royal Knights would have difficulty in fighting her. Add up the fact that Pedro was heavily investing in Sabrina''s Character as if it was his second account¡­ Thus, Sabrina was more than enough to monitor the resting area. Besides¡­ Even if some ill-intentioned people would try to cause trouble within the premises of the Adventurer''s Guild, a goddess was always by the side of Pedro and was even amongst the gods and goddess who has the strongest detection skills. So¡­ Pedro did not really have that much problem at all. If anyone dares to mess with them¡­ Ragas, Clara, Aks, Yuson, Sabrina, Pedro, and Faunia would take care of them as if they were bugs. Something that they can dispose of with ease! Chapter 236: A Good Foundation! As for Duke Albert, he was greatly interested in the Adventurers¡ªwhich Pedro himself wanted to look after to the point that he even went away from what he was supposed to do as a BHO Officer. And there was no better way to observe them but by being present in the Adventurer''s Guild by himself. Besides, it was beneficial for him to do so because adventurers would eventually enter the Kingdom for different reasons, sooner or later. So, it was critical to gain as much information as he can from this opportunity. On top of that, Duke Albert has the highest probability of being the next King of the Tarala Kingdom. So, he would eventually need to know a thing or two about the adventurers to prepare for the adjustments he needs to make to accommodate them into the Kingdom. Fortunately, Pedro did not mind Duke Albert observing the Adventurer''s Guild. As a matter of fact, Pedro even preferred it this way so that Duke Albert would be able to see the benefits he might gain if the Adventurer''s Guild would be successfully established. This way, the Adventurer''s Guild might get the support of Duke Albert--consequently hastening the development of the organization. With that in mind, it was evident that the best place to let Duke Albert observe was the market area itself. After all, Duke Albert was a merchant himself, and it was his area of expertise. So, that is the reason why Pedro casually allowed Duke Albert to act as an advisor in the market area, specifically under the Weapons and Skills Shop. Well¡­ His authority in the shop is not that much. Duke Albert can simply give Aldo some advice on the prices. And in the end, the final decision in the shop would still be made by Aldo. Truth be told, most of the weapons that they were selling are looted newbie swords. Other than that, there were also knives made from Ordinary Metal Ore that would be useful in material gathering and cooking. As for the best weapon, Pedro placed one silver sword for sale. It was not that great compared to some weapons sold inside the Kingdom. But... It was good enough to attract the attention of the new players. As for the skills, the ~Awkward Eating Bluff~ skill was the only one being sold. The reason for this was simple. Pedro only had a handful of skills that was saved in his [Book(Skill Records)] item. And obviously, he can''t sell the wolf transformation skill page as if it was a cabbage. So, he had no choice but to craft tens of the ~Awkward Eating Bluff~ and sell it instead. Well¡­ Pedro would update the inventory of the Adventurer''s Guild''s Market if Weyron was able to successfully take over in management part of the said organization. Of course, it would not be that difficult for Weyron to take control of the organization later on, because of the presence of Neerak Axutar. At the Weapon and Skills shop, Duke Albert took the Silver Sword and checked it as if he was a customer. Then, he glanced to Aldo and asked, "Young Faith, how much does this sword cost?" "Oh, that?" Aldo raised his brows in response as he averted his gaze from the newbie swords that he was cleaning with a cloth to Duke Albert. Then, he said, "My friend, Aron, told me that I should sell it around a gold coin or two." "A gold coin, huh?" Duke Albert rubbed his chin and said, "That''s a bit expensive if you ask me! Based on my estimates, this sword should cost only around eighty [80] Silver Coins." Aldo simply returned his attention to the newbie sword that he was cleaning, and said, "I told the same thing to Aron! I estimated that its selling value was only around forty [40] Silver Coins. However, he insisted that it must be sold at a Gold Coin at the least. So, I really have no choice but to price it that way." ''Why is Sir Aron selling this sword for one gold coin? There are a lot of better swords available inside the Kingdom and their price is only around eighty Silver Coins¡­ Nevertheless, there must be a reason as to why Sir Aron is adamant about selling this sword for a gold coin... If I was in his shoes... I could only think of one reason behind such a decision! The reason behind the high price of this sword has something to do with the adventurers! Whatever it is¡­ I will know about it later on. And if this pricing works¡­ The prices of swords inside the Kingdom would be greatly affected! This would be a good opportunity to know up to how much should I adjust the prices in the market!'' Duke Albert thought as he glanced to Aldo with a curious look. Then, he asked, "I see¡­ Did he mention anything to you as to why he insisted that this weapon must be sold at one Gold Coin?" For some reason, Aldo simply chuckled in response and said, "He only said that I would know soon enough the reason behind it. Well¡­ If I would take a wild guess, you can say that it has something to do with the prestige that most of the adventurers were chasing after! So¡­ There''s still a possibility that it would be sold at that price." "But¡­ Would Adventurers even have a Gold Coin with them? I mean¡­" Duke Albert asked which made Aldo shook his head in response. Then, Aldo smirked and said, "You are right! No adventurer probably has even one gold coin with them. That said¡­ It does not mean that they won''t be able to obtain a gold coin by any means. Besides¡­ Isn''t the Adventurer''s Guild going to offer them a chance to be able to earn coins? I think that it would only be just a matter of time before someone would be able to buy this sword." "Hoo¡­ Is that so?" Duke Albert said, seemingly excited to know how would the adventurers earn coins and would be able to purchase the silver sword. Then, he returned the silver sword to a special counter¡ªwhere it was displayed as if it was a legendary item. On the other hand, Aldo simply nodded with a smile. He knew that at this point of the game, obtaining a gold coin was not difficult. That said, the silver sword would become a good source of motivation or goal for players to achieve. On top of that, it would be a good chance to advertise the existence of the Adventurer''s Guild to the players. This way, the popularity of the Adventurer''s Guild would increase while consequently gaining a lot of membership¡ªespecially on the population of new players. At this moment, Pedro was organizing everything in the registration area together with Faunia and five Pops¡ªa more humanoid version of dog-looking beasts, of his demi-human slaves. Together with Pedro as a supervisor of some sort, they were able to establish, five counters that were akin to a ticket booth on a train station or amusement parks. As for Faunia¡­ She was like a cute little sister of Pedro¡ªwhom he brought with him to his work because no one would take care of her. As for her cold demeanor, it could only be mistaken for rebelling against a big bad brother, and would sometimes look cute or adorable to some people. In any case, Faunia seemed like an innocent NPC and the adventurers might definitely fall into her trap. "I was just lost for a few days but there are so many things that I need to catch up already, human!" Faunia said coldly whilst watching the five Pops prepare their counters. "Well¡­ It was not just a few days, but a very long few days that passed by!" Pedro said in a calm demeanor. Then, he said, "I have been through a lot these past few days¡­ And it was not as easy as you thought it was!" "Difficult days, huh?" Faunia asked in a cold demeanor. "I wonder what makes you do such things this far? To constantly go out of your way to help others¡­ I doubt that this is just out of your kind heart! All beings, even gods and goddesses do things only if it has something to do with themselves. I won''t believe it if you are just doing this out of charity!" Pedro could not help but to scratch the back of his head in response and said, "Well¡­ It''s not like I am hiding something or what¡­ My goal was to improve the situation in this continent. It just happened that I get some benefits along the way because of some unexpected circumstances. After that¡­ I can focus on increasing my strength once again. Though I can be considered as one of the strongest humans on this side of the world, I am still but a bug in the eyes of a god, goddess, or demon¡­ I am still not strong enough to face every single challenge that this world could offer!" "Good luck with that goal of yours, human!" Faunia chuckled in response. Then she smirked and said "Besides... If that annoying senior of mine was even on your side, I guess¡­ There''s a huge probability that you''d be able to obtain what you want in the future... That''s if you''d be able to survive long enough in this cruel world!" Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "We''ll see! We''re just at the start anyway! There''s still a long road ahead of us. And only time would tell what I am fated to be! So, for now¡­ I could only do my best to establish a strong foundation in this cruel world! And so far¡­ Things had been going well for me! My strength is not lacking¡­ And, at the same time, I am surrounded by great and strong people! I could not wish any more than this!" Chapter 237: The Five Combat Type Divisions! Soon, Weyron and the players with him arrived. Due to their huge number, the monsters blocking their way were easily taken care of. That said... Before they could even get close¡ªaround fifty meters away from the registration area where Pedro and the demi-human slaves were waiting, a giant eagle flew down in front of them. Then, when it was near the entrance of the registration area, it gently hovered down into the ground and cried, "Kwiiiiyaaaak!" The face of the demi-human slaves went pale as Faunia simply raised her right brow as if she was familiar with the gigantic eagle. On the other hand, the players could not help but be more cautious in their advance as they stare at the giant eagle¡ªwary of the actions it makes. "Don''t be afraid! Just keep advancing! We have the Great Archer with us!" A voice within the crowd bravely shouted. This, in turn, rallied the hearts of the players¡ªconsequently removing the fear they had in their hearts. That said, the eagle simply glanced towards them with a smirk. Then, in the next second, it started to shrink until they could only see the figure of a woman in a distance. At this moment, the players could not help but shout in astonishment. Some of them even had theirs eyeballs seemed like it wants to pop out from their sockets. While some of them had their jaws drop wide open. Soon, the woman disappeared from their sight as she entered the registration area that was patiently waiting for them. And it was only at that moment that the group of players was able to return to their pacing as they progress forward to the Registration area of the Adventurer''s Guild. At this moment, Sabrina had casually entered the registration area¡ªignored the registration booth, and headed straight to Pedro. She said, "Dear, I am back!" Faunia could not help but force out a smile in response, like what someone makes after hearing a cringe line. Of course, Sabrina noticed it in response. So, Sabrina glanced at Faunia and asked, "I did not know that you are back!" Faunia simply scoffed in response and said, "Do you even need to know that I am back, human?" Sabrina''s eyebrows furrowed as her eyes turned all-red as it glared towards Faunia. Her fists were tightly clenched making Pedro force out a smile. Fortunately, Faunia seemed unaffected by Sabrina''s annoyance and simply retained her calm demeanor. So, Pedro took this chance to interject by saying, "H-How was the trip? And¡­ Where''s Direction Idiot?" Pedro glanced behind Sabrina¡ªtrying to find Loren. However, he was not able to spot even a strand of Loren''s hair. So, Pedro could only glance back at Sabrina as he waits for her answer. Since Pedro intervened, Sabrina could only calm herself¡ªeasing up his fists and forehead as her eyes went back to their normal state. Then, she shook her head and sighed, before saying, "I left her with Killer Smile! After all¡­ The task of Killer Smile was very dangerous! It would not hurt to allow Sis Direction to be with him just in case! Besides¡­ It''s not that my job here would be that hard. I could handle it by myself at the least!" Truth be told, Pedro had the same worry a few hours back. That said, he wanted to trust Mathew, Loren, and Sabrina''s decision on whether Loren would go back with Sabrina or not. So, he simply left the final decisions to the three. Well¡­ Mathew was more than enough to guard the body of Werewolf Tam. However, they know that they can''t still rule out the possibility of something unexpected from occurring. So, it was only normal for them to consider a contingency plan in case something bad happens. In any case, Mathew, Loren, and Sabrina decided to choose the safer path. After all, Guarding Werewolf Tam was a far more important task than Guarding the Resting Area. And with the arrival of Sabrina, the temporary staff of the Adventurer''s Guild is all filled. Pedro simply handed over a card made of gold with three stars carved in it. Then, he scratched the back of his head and said, "My Dear¡­ This is your Identification Card! Please take good care of it and never lose it! It would be your ticket in and out of the Adventurer''s Guild in the future." Sabrina simply grabbed the golden card and said, "You are my ticket in and out of this organization! Besides¡­ Even if I lose the golden card¡­ Can your men even stop me from entering if I wanted to?" "Aish! Don''t speak like that!" Pedro said whilst keeping his forced-out smile. Then, he continued, "I know that they are not strong enough to fight you but¡­ Let''s avoid trouble if there was no need for an argument in the first place!" "I got it! I got it!" Sabrina grumbled in response. Then, she glanced to Pedro and asked, "My Dear¡­ Where''s the place that I am going to look after?" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "It is located on the left side of the Market Area! It''s the Renting Area! And you know what you are going to do, right? All you need to do is to manage the resting area¡­ Make sure that the adventurers would pay the renting fee of ten [10] bronze coins per night, while, at the same time, maintaining peace and order in that area." "I know!" Sabrina grumbled in response. At this moment, she noticed Weyron and the other players getting close to their location. So, she could only sigh in response and say, "Then, I''ll go to my post! Your visitors are about to come!" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Enjoy¡­" Sabrina simply waved her hand in response as she left the registration area. And only after a few minutes, Weyron and the other players arrived. That said, before they could get into the registration area, they were welcomed by Pedro¡ªwho just came out with a black cloth covering his face. "Welcome Adventurers! I am Aron Death! And it is my great honor to welcome you all to the Adventurer''s Guild!" Pedro said in a hospitable tone. Then, he clapped his hands and said, "Now¡­ Before all of you could be given a chance to register and join the Adventurer''s Guild, allow me to inform you on some important matters that you need to know about the Adventurer''s Guild!" At this moment, Pedro pointed toward the different colored flags with different white symbols in them. Then, he said, "First¡­ There are five major combat types in the Adventurer''s Guild, namely¡­ The Sword Masters¡ªwith a blue flag that has two swords as its symbol. The Sharp Shooters, or also called Archers¡ªwith a green flag that has an arrow as its symbol. The Great Magicians, or also called Mages or Sorcerers¡ªwith a yellow flag that has a book as its symbol. The Berserkers, or also called the brute fighters¡ªwith a red flag that has a fist as its symbol. And lastly, The Eccentrics, or also called Unique Combatants¡ªwith a gray flag that has a human eye as its symbol." "In each combat type, we decided to establish a division to ensure proper development of our members! Of course¡­ This includes a good foundation to be established at the start. So¡­ We are giving you the chance to choose which division you want to join if ever you have decided to join the Adventurer''s Guild!" Pedro said as he smirked behind the cloth covering his mouth. "That said¡­ Please keep this in mind! Each division was only established to ensure the proper development of our members on specific combat types! Should you want to change or learn another combat type, you can do so by visiting the Adventurer''s Guild''s Office." Then, Pedro gestured towards them with two fingers up, and said, "Second¡­ There would be a membership fee to be collected that costs twenty bronze coins! I know that some of you might think that twenty bronze coins for a membership fee are too much¡­" At this moment, some of the players could not help but murmur and nod in agreement to Pedro. That said, before someone could complain to Pedro, he took out a rectangular metal card and said, "That twenty bronze coins that we would collect is just a payment for the Identification Card that we would issue to the official members. It is made of metal and was not free after all! Well¡­ The Adventurer''s Guild Members do not need to worry about gaining coins! Once you are an official member of the Adventurer''s Guild, you would be given tasks¡ªappropriate to your skill, to earn more coins! So, rest assured that joining won''t just be a waste of your budget!" Pedro paused for a second to tense up the atmosphere a tad bit. This way, the players would feel a bit pressured to join the Adventurer''s Guild. Then, he took out a letter and said, "Finally¡­ Joining the Adventurer''s Guild would definitely bring you a lot of benefits! And one of which is gaining a Recommendation Letter from me, that would serve as your entry ticket into the Tarala Kingdom!" At this moment, the players become rowdy. They can''t help but discuss among themselves the benefits that they would gain¡ªespecially the Recommendation Letter from Pedro. And after almost a minute, Pedro faked a cough to get the attention of the crowd, and said, "Ehem! If you have decided to join the Adventurer''s Guild, please kindly fall in line in the registration area of the Combat Type Division of your own choice! If you have further questions¡­ Don''t hesitate to approach me! That''s all!" Chapter 238: Manners... Are Only for Humans! The players erupted¡ªdiscussing what Pedro told them. That said, a snake crawled out of the crowd and transformed into his human form. Then, the man approached Pedro and asked, "If I may ask, respected sir¡­ Most of us are already in a so-called Guild! Wouldn''t there be a conflict if we joined the Adventurer''s Guild?" The players could not help but quiet down and glance towards Pedro¡ªwaiting for his answer. That said¡­ Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "That''s a good question, young man! We, Adventurers, are sometimes composed of large groups that travel together and were called Guilds! However¡­ These are only individual groups that had nothing to do with other adventurers! So¡­ We call them Factions instead!" "Individual groups of adventurers that move with each other, dependent on each Faction''s goals! But the Adventurer''s Guild was different! It is an organization that is established to organize and unify every single adventurer in times of chaos like this¡ªregardless of the Faction they are in!" Pedro explained in a confident tone. "If you are concerned about whether the Adventurer''s Guild would interfere with the matters of your Faction, then rest assured, we won''t interfere with your personal agendas¡­ Well¡­ As long as it won''t go against the interest of the adventurers as a whole!" "Is that a threat?" Weyron asked as his face wore a mischievous smirk. That said, Pedro knew his cousin very well. So, Pedro was able to remain calm in response. Then, he smiled back to Weyron and said, "It''s up to you if you would take it as a threat or not¡­" Weyron simply laughed in response and said, "I''m just joking! Just joking, Sir Aron!" Weyron''s Guild Members could only sigh of relief¡ªthinking that their Guild Leader would even be able to provoke an NPC unconsciously. Then, in the next second, Weyron calmed down and asked, "Anyway¡­ Can I know, Sir Aron, where could I get quests after I complete the registration?" "You would be informed by the registration staff about this¡­ But since you asked, it would be a good opportunity to tell everyone about it." Pedro shifted his attention from Weyron to the other players. Then, he said, "The quests issued by the Adventurer''s Guild are posted temporarily at the office area. But be warned¡­ As I said earlier, we wanted every adventurer to develop their skills properly. So¡­ It was evident that we would not give all of you tasks that we would deem beyond your current ability! The Adventurer''s Guild is implementing a rating system that would serve as a basis on which quests each of you would be able to get!" "The rating system is composed of several tiers that are dependent on your individual strength or also called levels! Tier F is for those adventurers whose levels are five [5] and below¡­ Tier E is for those adventurers who are level six [6] to level ten [10]¡­ Tier D is for those adventurers who are level eleven [11] to thirty [30]¡­ Tier C, level thirty-one [31] to fifty [50]¡­ Tier B, level fifty-one [51] to eighty [80]¡­ Tier A, level eighty-one [81] to one hundred [100]¡­ And lastly, Tier S is the tier for adventurers whose levels are above one hundred [100+]! That''s the basic gist of the quests! You''ll know more about it when you register!" Pedro explained. Weyron simply smiled in response and said, "Interesting¡­ Then, allow me to be a member of the Adventurer''s Guild, Sir Aron!" Weyron left and headed towards the registration area of the Eccentrics or Unique Combatants¡ªmaking his other guild/faction members follow him in response. Well¡­ They did not specifically follow him to the Eccentrics Combat Type Division. In fact, most of the players lined up at the Sword Master Combat Type Division. This was an expected scenario by Pedro because all of the players only had a newbie sword after their character creation, without even being given a chance to choose for other weapons. As to why the developers did it that way, even Pedro himself had no credible explanation even with his memories of his past life. What he only knows was rumors¡ªwhere the most famous one was about the newbie sword resembling a knife that one would basically need if he/she was surviving in a wild place. It would depend on the player''s skill¡ªwhether he/she could make the weapon of his choice using the basic weapon that the player has at hand. That means that the newbie sword should only act as a stepping stone for players to obtain a weapon of their choice. However, such logic was hard to comprehend, especially for players of a game. So, all of the players could only use it as if it was their treasured sword at the start. As for the reason why Pedro was selling newbie swords to players who already have them, even Aldo has no clue about it. Well¡­ Truth be told¡­ It was just simply to increase the value of the silver sword drastically! It was a marketing strategy that Pedro designed. Besides... Other than promotion purposes for the Adventurer''s Guild, it would also create competition amongst the players under Weyron''s Guild¡ªconsequently allowing the best in them to be released. This way, they would get stronger faster, and they would develop faster than other players. Something good in games, especially for VR games like Bearth Online! That said, Pedro did not mind their Combat Type Division Selection that much. After all, he knew that most of them would change their combat methods to the ones the players were most comfortable with. That is the reason why he placed a lax rule about Combat Type Division Selection¡ªwhere players could freely change divisions or even join several divisions at the same time. "Can I kindly know your name, age, level, and kindly tell me a little bit about yourself, Sir¡­" The Demi-human staff that was assigned to the registration area for The Eccentric Combat Type Division asked Weyron with a hospitable smile. "Sure!" Weyron said as he smiled in response. Then, he continued, saying, "The name''s Weyron the Great! Twenty Years Old, Level Fourteen, and I like catgirls!" The demi-humans could not help but force out a smile out of astonishment from Weyron. But before the Pop could even utter a word, Weyron chuckled, saying, "I am just kidding! Anyway¡­ If you want to know something about me¡­ Perhaps I could say that I am good with annoying people! Hahahaha!" Pedro and the other players could only force out a smile in response as if they were agreeing to what he said. In fact, even Pedro thought to himself deep inside, saying, ''At least¡­ You are honest to yourself!'' That said, the demi-human staff simply recorded everything on a piece of paper. Afterward, he took out a metal card with the letter "D" engraved in it¡ªsignifying his rank within the Adventurer''s Guild which was Tier D. On the other side of the card was a runic formation that was engraved with a size of around a centimeter on each character. Then, the demi-human staff said, "I''ll give you this Identification Card after you can pay for the registration fee of twenty bronze coins." "So strict¡­" Weyron could not help but force out a smile in response. At this moment, Weyron simply took out twenty bronze coins from his inventory bag and said, "Here''s the payment! Twenty Bronze Coins, right?" The demi-human simply nodded in response with a smile on his face. Then, he said, "Yes, Sir Weyron! It''s twenty bronze coins!" At this moment, the demi-human handed over the Metal Identification Card to Weyron and said, "Sir Weyron, please put a drop of your blood into the Metal Identification Card so that it would be bound to you. At the same time¡­ It would be your ticket from going in and out of the territory of the Adventurer''s Guild! On top of that, it would be the item to be shown to the Adventurer''s Guild''s Office to obtain Quests. And since Sir Weyron is a Tier D adventurer, I suggest for you to head to the office and find some Quests to take after this." "Going to work again, huh?" Weyron mumbled to himself. Then, he sighed and said, "Thanks for your guidance!" The demi-human simply nodded in response with a smile on his face. At this moment, Weyron stood of his seat and was about to head to the office area of the Adventurer''s Guild. However, before he could even leave, he noticed the cute presence of Faunia, making him approach her and ask, "Hi, little girl! Are you also a part of the Adventurer''s Guild? If not¡­ Then, I suggest that you back inside the Kingdom! This is not the place where kids like you could safely play!" Pedro simply chuckled by himself in response as Faunia glared towards Weyron and said, "I am giving you one warning, human! Don''t mess with me!" "I am not messing with you! I am just a concerned elder, can''t you see?" Weyron said as he forced out a smile towards Faunia¡ªwhom he thought was a bit disrespectful for a child. Then, Weyron glanced towards Pedro and asked, "Perhaps, Sir Aron, she is your daughter? Why is she a bit disrespectful to her elders?" Pedro was about to burst into laughter. But before he was able to do so, Faunia sent a strong punch towards Weyron''s guts and said, "Manners¡­ are only for humans!" Chapter 239: Teaching Weyron a Lesson! Weyron coughed out blood right after Faunia''s fist landed on his stomach. Then, he launched out of the registration area like a bullet. Consequently, a wind blew together with him, which was strong enough to even make other players take a step backward¡ªconsidering that they were lined up several more meters away from Weyron''s path. Some of the players could only daze in astonishment, while some of them could only quietly watch Weyron''s body fly forty meters away from the entrance of the registration area before he crashed down and rolled into the ground. Dust clouded the area where Weyron landed and crashed, thus hiding his critical state from other players. He coughed out blood several more times before he was able to get back to himself. That said, he could only grit his teeth as he resisted the intense pain that he felt on his stomach. Then, he wiped the blood on his mouth with his left arm while trying to stand up with the support of his right hand. "What''s wrong with that little girl!" Weyron grumbled to himself in a weak voice. At this moment, he opened his interface immediately to check his remaining HP. To his surprise, there were still almost 75% of his HP left. So, he could only stare at his HP bar and was at loss for words. But before he could even stand nor utter another word, Faunia suddenly appeared right in front of him, consequently making his eyes widen out of astonishment. Weyron tried his best to dodge another punch from Faunia that was already on its way. Fortunately, in the last second, Weyron was able to successfully transform into his snake form¡ªconsequently avoiding Faunia''s punch that was aimed to his stomach. That said, before he could even crawl away from Faunia, he saw the smirk on Faunia''s face as her punch curved downwards and eventually hit Weyron''s tail. The impact of Faunia''s punch made the ground shake as strong as a magnitude 6 earthquake. This, in turn, had created a strong wind that cleared the dust in that area, while blowing some players several meters away. At this moment, Faunia became visible to everyone else, together with a very familiar snake that was found near the center of a crater that was several feet deep. That said, the snake was not moving as its tail got smashed into the ground. Then, before anyone could utter another word, Faunia lifted her fist and dusted her clothes, while saying, "Don''t play dead, human! You won''t able to fool me!" Weyron, in his snake form, could only make a guilty smile as his eyes moved and glanced to Faunia. This, in turn, made Faunia sigh in response and shook her head, while saying, "Nice try dodging my punch¡­ Well¡­ You did better than the other humans, so¡­ You pass the test! Go talk to the human named Aron for your rewards!" In the next second, Faunia''s figure disappeared into thin air¡ªconsequently making the players draw a sharp breath. Some were amazed, while others were filled with fear. But what''s important was that Pedro was able to tell the players ''indirectly'' that the Adventurer''s Guild as a whole was not a pushover. They were individuals whom they needed to address with respect and sincerity. Else¡­ They might end up being paste without even knowing it. Well¡­ The Adventurer''s Guild was reaching after them with good intentions. So, they just need to be sincere and respectful towards them. Truth be told, there was no need for them to fear the management of the Adventurer''s Guild. That''s if they have no bad intentions towards the organization, its members, or its interests. Soon, the first player to react was a woman that had a bow on her hand. She ran towards Weyron and said, "Mister Weyron! Are you all right?" Weyron simply pushed his body around¡ªto lay at the ground facing upwards. Then, he sighed and said in a weak voice, "Can you tell me if I look okay?" The woman simply scoffed and said, "You look terrible!" Weyron could only force out a smile in response as he glanced at the woman and said, "Miss Meen is really brutal¡­ From the negotiation up to the way that you treat me¡­ I don''t know if you are a sadist or if it''s only natural that you are hot-blooded towards me?" Player Meen simply laughed in response. Then, when she arrived at Weyron, she gave him a potion and said, "Who knows? Haha. Anyway¡­ Who was that little girl? It seems like you got beat up in a short matter of time!" Weyron simply took the potion from her and gulped it down. Then, Weyron averted his gaze from Player Meen and glanced towards the registration area, while saying, "A being you don''t want to mess with!" "Hooo¡­" Player Meen sneered as she followed Weyron''s gaze to the registration area. "Are you sure that they are not hostile to us?" Weyron simply sneered in response and said, "You don''t need to worry! The little girl said that it was only a test! Besides¡­ If it was they really wanted to dispose of us¡­ They could have done so, almost an hour ago!" Player Meen simply remained silent in response. This time, her face was serious and cold to the point that even Weyron did not dare joke to her. Then, after several minutes, she sighed and said, "This setup¡­ It looks like newly established! Are you sure that this is worth it than staying back in the north?" Weyron simply smirked in response and said, "Just trust me! Everything is going according to plan!" "Hooo¡­" Player Mean smirked. Then, she said, "Then, I''ll do as you say! I''ll join this Adventurer''s Guild!" "Don''t forget about that thing!" Weyron said as Player Meen was about to leave. In turn, Player Meen simply glanced back to him and said, "Don''t worry! I am on to it! I have hired several bloggers to record everything that happened! It''s only a matter of time before the news about the Adventurer''s Guild spread to other players!" "Great!" Weyron clapped his hands in celebration. Then, he said, "Let''s take this chance to check the Adventurer''s Guild! It would be crowded by then after all." Player Meen simply smirked in response as she left. Weyron slowly stood and followed behind her. And when they arrived in the registration area, Pedro welcomed them with a huge grin on his face. That said, unlike Meen who still needs to do the registration, Weyron simply showed his badge and was able to enter the Adventurer''s Guild''s Area. The first thing that Weyron visited was obviously the office area. He went there to check which quests he would be able to take. Fortunately, though it was just his first time checking the quests, Weyron was able to select many quests because of his Tier rating within the said organization. That said, Weyron simply selected the easiest available quest at the moment. And it was to kill five monsters before the ball of fire disappears for that day. The reward was ten bronze coins for each monster that they were able to kill. As for the other quests, most of them are non-combat related. Thus, Weyron could only pass on them and simply choose an easy combat-related quest. This way, Weyron would have a huge chance that his first quest would be a success. On the other hand, Pedro did not give that much care about it. He had a lot of things to take care of especially the market area that he needed to improve. So, he can only leave players like Weyron to their own accord after they finish the registration part. And like Weyron¡ªwho took a hunt quest, most of the other players also took a hunt quest. That said, unlike Weyron, the other players could only band together and form a small party that has a goal of fighting monsters for the hunt quest being issued by the Adventurer''s Guild. That way, they would be able to hunt safely, efficiently, and fast. With that settled, the Kingdom Soldiers slowly started to get aid from the adventurers in fighting the monsters. Add up the Aron Burner that was set up on four sides of the Kingdom, the task that the Kingdom Soldiers needed to carry was tremendously reduced and it was all thanks to Pedro and the Adventurer''s Guild. Their shifts have been reduced¡ªconsequently giving the Kingdom Soldiers sufficient time for rest. Well¡­ Truth be told, the adventurers/players would prefer for them to rest more so that they would be able to hunt more monsters. But with the increasing numbers of adventurers, the number of monsters would soon become limited. So¡­ Pedro needed to do the last phase of their plan soon. To designate the Adventurer''s Guild''s control to Weyron, while he focuses on expanding to other strongholds. The Final Phase¡­ The Domination of the Adventurer''s Guild! Chapter 240: Creating a Hype: The Adventurers Guild! At first, several gamers posted a video that they were able to record inside the game¡ªas arranged by Weyron. They were able to capture all the events that had happened from their journey to the Tarala Kingdom to their arrival and membership application to the Adventurer''s Guild. And slowly, the views of their videos started to increase and hit the million count. Some of the views came from aspiring new players, while some came from current players of the game. The video showed how cruel the nature of Bearth Online and how hard it was to survive in the game¡ªsomething that the current players were able to agree upon. It was not to discourage other aspiring players from playing the game but to inform them what should they expect upon playing it. At the same time, the video showed how unity and working together as a group greatly increases the survival of a player in the game. It was seen amongst individual parties who worked together to fight monsters that attack or aims for their group. Considering the whole group of a thousand players, the danger and difficulty were severely reduced, especially that each party/group was also helping each other along the way. This was later emphasized even further in the parts where they accomplish hunt quests efficiently by fighting monsters together with a party. Consequently, this part was able to showcase the benefits that the Adventurer''s Guild had brought to them. From the coin earning quests, to the unusual skill¡ªbut extremely useful in hunting monsters, the Adventurer''s Guild was able to provide a decent-but-safe way of leveling up and earning coins. Something better than simply charging their way to their deaths for nothing. In fact, even the food that was sold to the Adventurer''s Guild''s Market was more than enough to attract the attention of a small number of players¡ªwho even decided immediately to travel to the Tarala Kingdom and be a member of the Adventurer''s Guild. Truth be told, the majority of the new players and some of the weak players were only able to eat raw meat that they were able to obtain from the corpse of the monsters. So, knowing that the Adventurer''s Guild offers coins in exchange for the completion of the quests, and later on, these coins could be used to buy food or other goods in the Adventurer''s Guild''s Market. And speaking of the Adventurer''s Guild''s Market, the elegant and luxurious silver sword had caught the attention of every viewer of the videos. Even the professional players could not help but wonder what are the effects of the sword. That said, in the end, most of the players in the Asian server could only hope that they would be able to reach a stronghold or territory that had an Adventurer''s Guild established in it. Because it was the only way where their development would be supported properly and that their survival in the game would be greatly increased. As for the players outside the Asian Server, they could only hope that such an organization would appear somewhere in their respective servers. Unfortunately, trying to establish an Adventurer''s Guild similar organization was a no-go. They lack sufficient authority and credibility towards the high-ranking NPCs of Kingdoms. While, at the same time, lacking enough strength nor coins to support them. As we have seen in the auctions where NPCs participated, a hundred gold coins was a norm to them. In fact, even a thousand gold coins would even be easy for them to prepare. Unfortunately, no players other than Pedro had the capability to earn that huge amount of coins whatever was the case. So, there was no chance for other players to be able to establish a similar organization with the Adventurer''s Guild. That said¡­ It was safe to say that the videos that the players with Weyron had uploaded were able to achieve their purpose¡ªwhich was to hype players and, at the same time, advertise the presence of the Adventurer''s Guild. On the other hand, Pedro was able to give Weyron a chance to take over the management of the Adventurer''s Guild¡ªunder Neerak Axutar''s guidance, based on his and his party''s contributions to the Adventurer''s Guild on the past day of defending the Kingdom. Together with Player Meen and several more players¡ªwhich was the best of Weyron''s guild members, they were able to hunt hundreds of monsters. It was evident that the high-ranking officials of the Tarala Kingdom¡ªspecifically Duke Albert and Duke Ersi, would be able to learn about their feat. This even affirmed Duke Albert and Duke Ersi that working with Pedro and supporting his plans was a game-changing choice for the Kingdom. In fact, it even showed to them the true value and potential of the wandering Adventurers all over the world of Bearth. Thus, the two of them supported Pedro''s plans and requests without that much thought. Duke Albert even helped Pedro in updating the inventory of the market of the Adventurer''s Guild. At the same time, Duke Albert even gave priority to developing the area of the Adventurer''s Guild. However, Pedro did not rush in the upgrades of the establishment within the area of the Adventurer''s Guild. Instead, he decided to build a more comprehensive training area¡ªconsequently giving each respective Combat Type Division a proper training area that could be used to develop and improve the abilities of the players. Pedro did it that way because he wanted to fully entrust the management and development to Weyron since Weyron was the one responsible for managing their gold farming force¡ªa disposable or usable force for Pedro''s main force. In fact, other than being a gold farming force, Weyron''s guild has more tasks than it looks from the outside. The gold farming force can be used to observe and test the abilities and other matters concerning potential players that can be part of the main guild. Also, the gold farming force was the organization that Pedro aimed to establish to be able to increase their guild''s influence and control over Bearth. Material Gathering Monopoly, while at the same time, Player Market Monopoly was his additional target or goal for the establishment of the gold farming force. This way, Pedro could focus on developing his main force purely in strength and combat ability. Since it would also require him to increase his own strength, it was definitely best for Pedro to leave such minor matters to Weyron and the sub-organization. Besides, it would be difficult for Pedro to capitalize on his knowledge of his past life if he would busy himself in the management and control of the people under him. So, he could not handle the management of the Adventurer''s Guild by himself. That said¡­ Unknown to Pedro¡­ Another huge change was about to happen in the game¡­ Somewhere in China, several men were gathered around a meeting room and resembled a board meeting of a huge company. The atmosphere inside that room was tense to the point that some of the men were sweating despite the room being air-conditioned. "Do you guys know anything about the Adventurer''s Guild?" The man sitting at the farthest corner of the table asked in a calm tone. He glanced around to the other men, seemingly waiting for anyone to respond. Unfortunately, all of them remained silent in response¡ªwhere some of them even shook their heads at the same time. The man could not help but sigh heavily in response. Then, he started tapping his finger into the table¡ªmaking a weak tapping noise, while saying, "Then, let me ask once again¡­ Does any of you have something to do with the so-called Adventurer''s Guild inside the game?" Unfortunately, this time, the man got the same response from everyone else. Thus, the man could not help but to stop tapping the table and clench his fist. He was supposed to slam the table with his clenched fist, but he simply tapped it lightly instead¡ªindicating that he was able to retain his good temper. Then, he rotated his seat and faced the window¡ªoverlooking the city from below. The man crossed his legs, leaned back comfortably to his chair, and said, "Even the Game Masters¡ªwho were able to play the game for over a year before everyone else, had no idea about the origin or existence of the Adventurer''s Guild¡­ I wonder if this has something to do with the Continental Quest going on in that server¡­ Nevertheless, the plan continues! We''ll commence the final update for the Official Launch of the game. Are there any questions?" At this moment, a young man bravely raised his hands and asked, "Chairman, can I ask if we''d still keep the player privacy and personal modification settings for the simulated battles?" "Of course!" The man referred to as Chairman responded calmly without hesitation. Then, he added, "Keeping such features would keep us away from trouble. Besides¡­ No one on earth could touch us, as long as I am alive! So, you don''t have to worry about anyone who would try to gather some information or leak data about certain players! If they dare mess with us¡­ Let''s see if they could still play the game!" Chapter 241: Adventurers Guild Higher Ups Meeting Part 1 At this moment, Inside the game, Pedro¡ªtogether with Neerak Axutar, Weyron, and Faunia, were sat around a table inside a room in the Adventurer''s Guild''s office. And before the atmosphere become tense and awkward, Weyron leaned to his chair and said, "Are we gonna stare at each other all day? Or are we gonna talk?" Pedro could only sigh in response and said, "Then, shall we start our meeting?" "Great!" Weyron chuckled. At this moment, Neerak Axutar could not help but to rub the back of his head¡ªseemingly annoyed by the disrespectful manners of Weyron who was required by Pedro himself to join the said meeting for an unknown reason or purpose. So, Before Weyron was able to utter another word, Neerak Axutar asked, "The Adventurer''s Guild is doing well at this moment. There''s quite a lot of task needed to be handled by the Adventurer''s Guild''s Office, so I would like to keep things short as we speak. Please go directly to the point if possible¡­" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "I understand¡­ Then, without further ado, I would like to inform both of you¡ªThe temporary manager and the deputy manager of the Adventurer''s Guild, that I plan to head back to the Axutar to handle some matters regarding a dungeon." Then, at this moment, Pedro glanced at Neerak Axutar before continuing, saying, "At the same time, I would like to take this chance to establish an Adventurer''s Guild Branch at the Axutar Village after clearing the said dungeon. Unfortunately¡­ I can''t bring you with me, Neerak, for the time being¡ªsince you are important and needed here in the main office!" At this moment, Pedro leaned back to his seat and continued, saying, "You are greatly needed on guiding Weyron and several of his men on properly managing the whole Adventurer''s Guild. So, I hope that you understand that you won''t be able to return with us to your village." "I-It''s alright for me, Captain Aron! There would be a lot of chances to do so in the future!" Neerak Axutar said in a slightly trembling voice. He was not afraid, but rather embarrassed towards Pedro. So, he could not help but stutter as he responded. Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "It''s great to know that you understand my decisions despite your young age. Now¡­ As compensation, I would provide three Aron Burner to the Axutar Village for free! This way, I could ease your worries about the safety of your father and the Axutar Village so that you would be able to work without thinking much about them!" Neerak Axutar could only shake his head in response to Pedro. Then, after a few seconds, he said, "Worry is something that won''t disappear from me as long as I am away from home, Captain Aron! That said, I have trust in my father''s ability and, at the same time, the abilities of the Axutar Village''s Military. So, there''s really no need for you to provide three Aron Burners¡ªfree of charge! I fear that this might create some trouble in the future for both you and the village¡­ So, I don''t think that it would be a good idea to do so." Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "You worry too much, young man! The three Aron Burners were nothing but a gift for not being able to handle that monster properly in the past! Besides¡­ I am yet to pay for the things that you are doing for the Adventurer''s Guild! Just consider it as your payment or salary instead!" "Still¡­" Neerak Axutar wanted to argue. However, Pedro was headstrong in his decision. So, Neerak Axutar did not dare go against Pedro''s decision any further. After all, he was his boss. His decisions would always take priority over his own thoughts. What was important was that he told Pedro his concerns and thoughts about it. And, seeing that Pedro was headstrong with his decision despite everything that he said, then he knew that there was something more from it. So, he could only listen and follow Pedro since what he was about to do was not necessarily bad for anyone. That said, the reason behind Pedro''s desire to provide a free Aron Burner to Axutar Village was simple. He knew that his Naval Force won''t be able to proceed from the Western Side of the Aquari Continent to the Eastern Side. So, eventually, it would all depend on Pedro and the Advance Force on protecting other strongholds at the Eastern Side of the Continent. Add up the huge probability of unexpected factors like the threats posed by the presence of Vampires and Demons, Pedro could only resort to the Aron Burner to increase the safety of minor or smaller strongholds. Besides¡­ The Adventurers, although are able to fight and use their numbers to their advantage, are still too weak in comparison to monstrous existence like the Vampires. Truth be told, Pedro had not made a move in retaliation against the Vampires because Pedro knew that his plans¡ªincluding the development of the Adventurer''s Guild throughout the continent, would be greatly affected if he does so. In order to avoid ''stacked up'' problems in the future, he could only resort with the Aron Burners in order to fortify small strongholds to help them without the need of him being physically present in those smaller strongholds. And although he said that the three Aron Burners would be given for free, it was more like a part of his plan to make other small strongholds that would not be able to purchase an Aron Burner to seek his favor and eventually approach them by themselves to offer assistance and support in establishing an Adventurer''s Guild Branch in their territory. Since the price of the Aron Burner was expensive from the start, Pedro knew that there would be some smaller and poorer strongholds that would seek his help sooner or later. Some of them might even demand his help and use his title as someone from the BHO to gain Aron Burners for free. This is one of the reasons why the cost of an Aron Burner required a lot of Magic Crystals as payment from the start! Of course, he wanted to gain a lot of Magic Crystals for later use and later development of weapons. However, some of it was purposedly allocated to create smaller versions of Aron Burner that would be given for free to some villages in the continent. That said, there were more things into it, especially that the Adventurer''s Guild would be involved whenever the Aron Burner subject would be brought. So, there''s really a ton of ways to gain back the coins spent in crafting the free Aron Burners. Weyron knew about this fact, that is why he did not argue against Pedro''s decisions. In fact, he even supported this move or plan by Pedro since he had so many things or ways in mind to capitalize on this chance and take advantage of the smaller strongholds with the use of the Adventurer''s Guild. On top of that, NPCs typically had low expectations and views on adventurers at this point in time. So, he wanted to use this chance to be able to control and stand on top of every other player on this continent. The probability of other players defecting against the Adventurer''s Guild in the future was not low. But for now, there''s a hundred percent assurance that the majority of them would depend on the assistance that the Adventurer''s Guild could provide, considering the extreme difficulty they face just to survive in the game. So, such plans were actually more beneficial towards Weyron and his Adventurer''s Guild. That is also another reason why he did not go against Pedro''s decision that much. In any case, Pedro had already made up his mind. And Neerak Axutar knew that he could not do anything much about it. So, in the end, Pedro''s plans would push through. Neerak Axutar could only sigh of surrender and force out a smile, saying, "If that''s what you have decided, then I could only give you my thanks, Captain!" Pedro simply nodded in response and smiled. Then, he glanced towards Weyron and asked, "I''ll leave the Adventurer''s Guild to the both of you! The Market Area is being handled by my demi-human slaves¡ªtogether with the support of Duke Albert. So, there''s no need for you guys to worry about it while I am gone." Pedro paused for a few seconds with a sigh. Then, he said, "There would be a huge increase of Adventurers arriving in the next days. So... I would be leaving a lot of work in your hands... There won''t be any problems, right?" Neerak Axutar and Weyron could only smile in response. Pedro had left them with a huge and difficult task¡ªwhich was to manage the Adventurer''s Guild in his stead. With the members of Advance Force slowly handing over the control of the different areas of the Adventurer''s Guild, it was trully a huge work for Neerak Axutar and Weyron to take over and assign important roles to trustable men. That said, things had been settled as Pedro wanted once again. It was definitely not the best course of action but... It was not a bad plan after all. Besides... leaving the decisions to Weyron and Neerak Axutar just like that was the best choice for him. Because Pedro could not afford to babysit every person every time. There are things that he needed to do, which was to increase his strength as soon as possible! Chapter 242: Adventurers Guild Higher Ups Meeting Part 2 Pedro clapped his hands and stood from his chair, while saying, "I would be leaving tomorrow morning. Feel free to approach me if you have some personal concerns that you want to tell me¡­ Moving forward¡­ Neerak, how many adventurers signed up on each combat type division?" At this moment, Neerak Axutar handed over several papers to Pedro while saying, "There are a total of Eight Hundred Seventy adventurers that enlisted in the Sword Master Division. A total of Fifty-Five adventurers on the Great Magicians Division. A total of Thirty-Nine adventurers on the Sharp Shooter Division. A total of Thirty-Four adventurers on the Berserker Division. And lastly, a total of 4 adventurers on the Eccentric Division." Pedro simply nodded in response whilst scanning the papers that Neerak Axutar handed to him¡ªwhich had the names and some minor information about the adventurers were indicated. Then, he glanced towards Weyron and asked, "Did you get any information from your fellow adventurers if they really want to stick with the Sword Master Division? I mean¡­ It''s definitely not because of their starting weapons¡ªas you said, Am I right?" Weyron could only rub the back of his head as he made a troubled smile. Then, he said, "Well¡­ You can say that it, at the least, play a part in it. Although the Market of the Adventurer''s Guild was able to provide Bows and Arrows and Magical Weapons, their efficiency in terms of hunting was way lower compared to the newbie sword. And compared to the Berserker Division¡ªwho fights in a riskier style compared to the other divisions, the Sword Master Division was a lot safer for the adventurers to use. Thus, most of the adventurers prefer the Sword Master Division instead." Pedro could not help but frown and rub his chin as he leaned back to his chair and entered into deep thought¡ªthinking of a way to resolve this issue. It was not because he wanted to maintain a balance between the population of the adventurers in each Combat Type Division nor because the instructors won''t be able to handle the huge amount of trainees. The real reason why Pedro wanted to, at the least, increase the number of adventurers enlisted in other Combat Type Divisions other than the Sword Master Division was to increase the flexibility of the Combat Capability of the adventurers overall, incase another apocalyptic quest like the Continental Quest would happen. Besides¡­ The combat styles of each player should be unique from each other¡ªdepending on each adventurer''s desires and strategies. The Combat Type Divisions were merely a starting guide designed by Pedro so that players won''t needlessly die at the start of the game. So, Pedro was also quite troubled by the fact that the players might only focus on certain Combat Types that the Adventurer''s Guild has set. He still wanted to give other players the freedom to be able to establish their own unique combat styles. After all, it was only that way did the strongest players rose on his past life. Unfortunately, Weyron could only assume that Pedro wanted to maintain a balance between the adventurers listed on each Combat Type Divisions based on Pedro''s Troubled Expression. So, Weyron could only force out a smile and say, "If you want to promote the other Combat Type Divisions¡­ I''ll see what I can do! However, I can''t promise that the other adventurers would change their chosen combat types. After all¡­ Forcefully intervening with the adventurer''s preferred combat style would only hinder their development even further. And eventually¡­ That may affect both their performance in combat and their relationship with the Adventurer''s Guild. So¡­ I suggest that we let them choose their own paths for now." "Sir Weyron is right, Captain Aron!" Neerak Axutar added that made Pedro glance towards them. "Besides¡­ The adventurers are doing great in all aspects. Be it development or their own talents, there was almost to no failure that can be heard associated with the adventurers that are under the Adventurer''s Guild''s guidance." Pedro could only sigh in response and said, "Still¡­ Try to find a way to increase the members under the other Combat Type Divisions. I firmly believe that majority of the adventurers are missing out on their true potentials out of fear or other minor reasons. Understandably, they would act this way at the start but¡­ It would not be an ideal option in the long run¡­ I hope that you two understand my point." Weyron simply nodded in response and said, "I am fully aware of your concern, Leader Aron. And rest assured, I will find a way to solve this problem later on." "Then, I''ll leave that in your hands," Pedro said in a calm demeanor. Then, he shifted his gaze to Neerak Axutar and asked, "How''s the training of the other Deputy Managers of the Adventurer''s Guild? We handed over the control of almost every aspect in the Adventurer''s Guild to some of your chosen men. I hope that they can cope up with their tasks." Neerak Axutar simply forced out a smile in response. Then, after a few seconds, he said, "It would take some more time before they would be able to get used to their work. Don''t worry, Captain Aron! Sir Weyron and I are taking a close look at everyone else. Rest assured that there won''t be that much of a big problem along the way." "Be sure with what you said, young man!" Pedro said in a cold demeanor. Then, he raised his brows and said, "Don''t forget that you are still under my provisional training. Sooner or later, you would also need to join me in visiting other strongholds. So, make sure that you finish everything that you need to do for the foundation of the Adventurer''s Guild as soon as possible. Remember! We''re still just laying out the foundations of the organization. And we have to go somewhere in a few months, so we need to finish everything when that time comes." "Go somewhere?" Neerak Axutar asked with a frown on his face. Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Yeah! The BHO HQ!" Neerak Axutar was stupefied in response. He could only stare towards Pedro as if he was asking, is this for real? Pedro was already familiar with such reactions. So, he simply remained silent and waited for Neerak Axutar to come back to his senses. That said, before Neerak Axutar could do so, Weyron interrupted with a question, mockingly saying, "BHO HQ? What''s that? Some kind of secret hideout?" Pedro could only force out a smile in response and nod. Then, he said, "Yeah! Something like that!" "Hooo¡­ Am I not invited?" Weyron asked as his face wore a smirk. Pedro could only shake his head and said, "You''re not strong enough yet! You''d just be humiliating yourself if you join our trip! I suggest that you focus on increasing your strength, and by a year¡­ I might consider bringing you with me to the BHO HQ!" Weyron faked a sigh in response. Then, he grumbled, "I get it! I get it! You don''t need to worry! With the Adventurer''s Guild''s assistance, my growth has been accelerated by a lot compared to when I was working on my own. It''s only a matter of time before I become strong enough for you to recognize me as someone strong!" "It great to hear that you have the motivation to become strong. However, always remember that you are also the future leader of the Adventurer''s Guild. So¡­ Enjoy!" Pedro chuckled in response. Weyron could only flick his tongue in response as Neerak Axutar could not help but scoff at what Pedro said. At this moment, Faunia sighed like a tired kid who wants to sleep. She glanced towards Pedro and asked, "Are the three of you gonna talk longer? If so¡­ I would like to head back to the mansion first and take a nap! I need to restore more energy to hasten my recovery!" Pedro could only rub the back of his head as he glanced towards Neerak Axutar and Weyron, and said, "Then, that''s all for now! I''ll call the two of you once again if it is necessary!" Weyron and Neerak Axutar simply stood in response and bid farewell to Pedro. Then, they left the meeting room before Pedro and Faunia. After all, they had more tasks that they need to handle compared to Pedro. At this moment, Pedro stood as he stole a glance toward Faunia. Then, he smiled and asked, "Are you staying here to sleep, or are you gonna go back with me to the mansion? Choose wisely!" Faunia simply lifted her head in response. Then, she said, "Let''s go!" Pedro simply nodded in response as he leads the way back to the Mansion. And when they returned home, Faunia headed straight to her bedroom without much delay, while Pedro went to the workshop area to continue his weapon experiments together with Ragas. Chapter 243: The Benefits of Joining the Adventurers Guild! After hours of experimentation together with Ragas, Pedro was able to craft an arrow with an ice blue tip that has a pebble-sized magic crystal attached to its tail. At this moment, Pedro was sweating all over his body, while his face wore a frown as he carefully transfers the arrow with an ice blue tip, to a metal box with the use of two metals gripping the arrow to avoid direct contact with it. Then, when the metal box was closed¡ªsealed, Pedro can''t help but to take a deep sigh of relief and said, "I can''t wait to try the Ice Tip Arrow! Would it be able to freeze a human or a monster on the spot? Or would it be able to freeze a whole Kingdom at once? Whatever''s the case¡­ It is one of the biggest arrows that I made so far!" Ragas¡ªwho was working with Pedro with the runic formation, could only nod in response. He leaned comfortably to his chair as he took a deep breath and said, "I have reached my limit, young master! I''ll be taking a rest for now to replenish the magical energy that I lost along the way. That said¡­ Don''t hesitate to wake me up in case something odd happens." Pedro simply nodded in response whilst retaining his calm demeanor. Then, he glanced at Ragas and said, "It''s alright for now! Thanks, Ragas! I''ll call your help in case the opportunity arises. Good job!" Without wasting another second, Ragas went to sleep in one of the desks in the workshop area. Pedro could not help but scratch the back of his head and say, "Runic Formation can be easily established as desired. However, the weapons all have a common issue that is probably because of the Runic Formations established! The more the runic formation gets complicated, the more it consumes magical energy from use. In any case¡­ I can''t help but wonder how weapons like his Pen-Knife were created." That said, Pedro did not dare to mess with his Pen-knife''s runic formation. He was afraid that one of his best weapons would become useless if he encounters a problem along the way. So, just to be safe, Pedro preferred not to conduct any more experiments regarding the weapons. Besides¡­ He would need Ragas¡ªwho just went to sleep, in setting any runic formations. So, the weapon development could only stop for now. At this moment, Pedro could only slide the metal box with the Ice Tip Arrow into his inventory bag. Afterward, he went back to his room and simply slept the night out to rest before he returns to the Axutar Village. ~~~~~~~~ While Pedro was in deep sleep, the current players and aspiring players from the Asian Server burst into excitement in playing the game as more and more of them get hooked by the videos regarding the Adventurer''s Guild. At this point, even major guilds or gaming organizations were starting to move their asses and head towards the Tarala Kingdom to join the Adventurer''s Guild. Something that Pedro and Weyron had predicted to most likely happen. That said, they had long prepared for such situations. So, even Weyron was able to calmly rest at this point. Even if there were too many players for the current staff to manage, Weyron could just simply issue a management quest to the existing members of the Adventurer''s Guild or, at the same time, ask aid from Duke Albert¡ªand either obtain loyal slaves or hire people from the slums area. That is why even Weyron did not even worry about such things that much. Yes, he would have a lot of things to do. But¡­ The things he would gain from this were worth the price of his hard work. Imagine controlling the actions of the adventurers, as well as monopolizing the materials they gather¡­ It was something unheard of in any VR Games! Of course, some people tried to probe how did Weyron and his little guild know about the existence of the Adventurer''s Guild. Unfortunately, those ill-intentioned people were not able to find any lead about it because most of Weyron''s men were, first of all, loyal to him! On top of that, only a handful of Weyron''s men knew about the truth. Thus, the ill-intentioned people could not find out anything about it¡ªconsequently making them think that they learned about the Adventurer''s Guild by luck. Since it was a game, and there was competition amongst players and their respective gaming organizations, they could also only mobilize their men to head towards the Tarala Kingdom and join the Adventurer''s Guild as soon as possible. On the other hand, those who knew about the truth on Pedro''s Side¡ªlike Aldo, Sabrina, Lony, Roval, and Mathew, were mostly busy with in-game matters. So, they did not have that much spare time to get interaction outside the game besides their family¡ªthe same case to those who are on Pedro''s side. On top of that, all of those who were with Pedro was bound to an information secrecy contract that has a severe penalty to the point that their contracts might get terminated and they might get fined for a very high amount of money. And if possible, they might get criminally charged and be sent to jail. So, there was not much question regarding the leak of information on either Pedro or Weyron''s sides. This was one of the benefits brought by the lack of trust of Pedro to other people¡ªshaped by the depressing events in his past life. Moving Forward¡­ The reason behind the hype of the Adventurer''s Guild was the new videos that were posted online. One of the most famous videos discusses the benefits of joining the Adventurer''s Guild. Of course, it highlighted the great treatment of the management of the Adventurer''s Guild to the players¡ªwhich some of them were mistaken as NPCs too. On top of that, various facilities such as bank, market, training, and resting area were available. Something important to an ordinary player. Add up the quests that are posted that allow players to earn a decent amount of coins regularly¡­ It definitely gives the players a chance to experience a life out of a magical world that only once existed in stories. There were some similar formats to other games. However, none of the other VR games provide great freedom to their players to the point that they were in control of which path or in what way should their character develop. Most of the other games similar to Bearth Online provides restriction to the players like the selection of specific classes¡ªwhich can''t be changed later on in the game. On the other hand, Bearth Online gives every player the freedom to choose in which way should they character develop to conquer that world. Unfortunately, this kind of freedom comes with a great degree of challenge as the difficulty of the game spikes up compared to other games. Probably the reason why governments all over the world had advertised this sole game to their citizens. Probably¡­ Other than the video that discusses the benefits that they would obtain in joining the Adventurer''s Guild, a popular video¡ªadvertising the Adventurer''s Guild, was focused on the food available in the market area. That video was as if it was a food-related blog that made the stomach of people in real life grumble and feel hungry. Considering that it was recorded from inside the game, the current players from the Asian Server could not believe their eyes from what they were seeing. The Continental Quest was in fact a calamity that befallen the whole Aquari Continent. Thus, the food supply of every stronghold was inevitably affected. Consequently, since adventurers were the least priority in being allocated with food¡ªtogether with the peoples living in the slums, it was as if a blessing to them to know that an organization was kindly taking adventurers in and was even providing decent food that was not even comparable to the food that was available for them in other strongholds. Expired Bread, Raw Meat, even rotten meat! The players could only hold their disgust and eat anything available just to survive in the harsh environment of Bearth Online! It was something that they need to resist by themselves in order to become a strong player! As for the so-called casual players¡­ Well¡­ Those who did not want to eat the rock hard bread nor the left over or rotten meat just simply got their characters die out of hunger. Although in Bearth Online, there was magical energy, it does not mean that humans¡ªone of the mortal beings, are exempt from not eating for a certain period of time. They were still humans like the majority of the NPCs in the Aquari Continent. So, it was only natural for them to seek food. A good food. After all, at the end of the day, food is the fuel for the humans'' physical strength. That is why, although it was hard to believe but, the players were even captivated and hyped by a mere reason such as food. Something that did not even happen on other games. Well¡­ It was probably one feature that would show how hard or tough a life of an ordinary player in Bearth Online compared to other games. It was as if you are living in another world with nothing on you but your own talent, knowledge, and/or wit. Chapter 244: Going Back to Axutar Village! On another trending news worldwide, the Wolf Transformation Skill Page that Pedro placed in auction¡ªwith the help of his aunt, was sold for a huge amount of 10 Million US Dollars. It was bought by a gaming organization that was established by a famous fast food chain worldwide called ''MisterDow''. Truth be told, spending 10 Million US Dollars on a skill page in the game was something unheard off. In fact, even if Pedro knew by this time that the skill page was already sold, he would not dare to estimate its final value to be at 10 Million US Dollars. Why did several giant gaming organizations fought for this item to the point that its final value even reached 10 Million US Dollars would be a mystery even to Pedro. That said, it was not Pedro and his gaming organization''s problem. Who and Why did such giant gaming organizations placed a bid to an in-game item does not matter to Pedro. What he was after was the profit. Period. Nevertheless¡­ An item being sold at such value¡ªwhich is even high enough to be a prize money to a professional competition on famous VR Games, would surely attract the attention of everyone else, especially the media. If not for the hype and noise established by the videos concerning the Adventurer''s Guild, the auction of the wolf transformation skill page would have definitely topped the headline of various news outlet. With the help of Pedro''s Aunt and Pedro''s Mom, the transactions were carried out smoothly¡ªmaking Pedro almost half a billion Philippine Pesos richer in an instant. Well¡­ There''s still a lot of expenses that needed to be covered for Pedro''s gaming organization. ~~~~~~~~ Back to the game, it was early in the morning in the Tarala Kingdom. The Ball of Fire was yet to rise yet several people were already roaming around above the walls of the Tarala Kingdom¡ªwatching the Aron Burner toast their targets as if it was not running out of magical energy. Add up the groups of adventurers that were hunting monsters early in the game¡ªconsequently providing help to the Kingdom soldiers and making their life easy, it was a fantastic view to observe as the monsters continued to crash down around them all over the place. "What a weapon¡­" One of the nobles uttered in awe and amazement. Duke Ersi could only smirk in response and said, "Thanks to the Aron Burners and the organized help of the adventurers, a lot of Kingdom Soldiers were able to rest properly and regain their strength before they fight monsters once again." "Indeed!" "You are clever, Duke!" The men with Duke Ersi praised him, probably, for the chance to be able to get his favor or help. Especially regarding the matters concerning the Aron Burners. That said, Duke Ersi know that there some hidden meaning to their praises. So, he maintained his calm demeanor while increasing his sense of observation instead. Besides¡­ Duke Ersi was firm on his goal or target, which was to help Pedro sell the Aron Burner, and advertise the potential of the Adventurers and the Adventurer''s Guild. After taking a tour, they headed towards Pedro''s residence, to talk about the deals regarding the Aron Burners and the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild''s Branch on their strongholds. Fortunately, at this moment, Pedro was just getting ready to leave for the Axutar Village. Thus, he was able to organize a small meeting with Duke Ersi and the other nobles with him. "Duke Ersi, what brings you here?" Pedro said as he welcomed the Duke as if they were very close friends. Then, before anyone could speak, Pedro glanced to the nobles behind Duke Ersi and asked, "Is there a problem? How can I be of help?" Duke Ersi simply shook his head in response and said, "There is no problem¡­ In fact, I only came to bring my acquaintances here. They wanted to talk to you about the weapon that you made and how they can collaborate with the Adventurer''s Guild. As for the details, I''ll leave it between you guys." Pedro could only scratch the back of his head in response. Then, he glanced to the nobles behind Duke Ersi and said, "About that¡­ I''ll have to trouble you all to head to the Adventurer''s Guild''s Office instead. I gave the authority to sell the Aron Burner and discuss about the expansion of the Adventurer''s Guild to the organization''s management." Then, Pedro bowed and said, "Forgive me for not being able to discuss with all of you personally. I have already delegated the authority regarding such matters to the organization managers to maintain order and give everyone a chance to be able to discuss such matters. Besides¡­ The organizations managers would be the ones to carry the placement, turnover, and orientation about the proper use of the Aron Burner. At the same time, they would be the ones to ensure that the Adventurer''s Guild Branches would be properly established. Of course, this includes the deployment of competent organization managers that would ensure the proper management of each branch." Pedro glanced to the nobles before saying, "So¡­ I can only ask for forgiveness, but the discussion regarding such matters are already delegated to the organization managers. Kindly see them instead. They would be glad to have a discussion with all of you. That said¡­ I hope that you all understand the circumstance we are in, and I look forward in working with all of you!" In response, some of the nobles were a bit annoyed. Because Pedro could have talked to them at that moment instead. That said, other than the fact that they needed the assistance that the Adventurer''s Guild could provide, the nobles understood Pedro''s sincerity. So, they were able to, at the least, give an exemption for Pedro''s rudeness this time. Well¡­ Truth be told, it was quite rude of Pedro to deny a talk to the nobles who were sincerely reaching out to him, to the point that they even made a trip to his residence. However, it was important to follow the protocol of the Adventurer''s Guild¡ªwhich was to allow the organization managers, namely Neerak Axutar and Weyron, to discuss with them about their concerns regarding the Aron Burner and the expansion of the Adventurer''s Guild. This way, Pedro would be able to reduce his workload and be able to focus on other important matters instead. Besides¡­ It was more efficient that way¡ªwhere certain people could focus in the jobs of managing the Adventurer''s Guild, be it managing a branch or the Adventurer''s Guild as a whole. With that all said, the nobles simply gave Pedro some greetings before they left. After all, they were all in a hurry to purchase an Aron Burner, as well as establish an Adventurer''s Guild Branch to their strongholds. Their soldiers fought monsters almost non-stop. It was only natural for them to rush such matters when the lives of their soldiers and the fate of their territories were on the line. As for Pedro, he could not care any less. Although he would definitely obtain huge benefit from the Adventurer''s Guild, he knew to himself that one''s strength is what matters! It''s true that being able to control every single player in the Asian Server would give him great power. However, the possibility that the players won''t follow every decision or order that the Adventurer''s Guild would make is not low also. That is why Pedro knew and strongly believed that there was only one way to stand on top of Bearth¡­ And it was to become the strongest player on Bearth! Because of the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild, and the failed attempt to obtain a Kingdom in the game, Pedro''s character development has been greatly affected. Even his plan to conquer the dungeons were delayed for quite a bit. So, he is quite troubled by the fact that the number of players are starting to increase¡ªincluding the number of players who are strong enough to enter dungeons like he can. Well¡­ the word ''enter'' was different from ''clear''. That said, he can''t risk the fact that other players could grab the rewards that he could have obtained if he just simply focused on the dungeons themselves. After all¡­ Even though he and Ragas were able to craft magical weapons, they were not even close in being able to craft weapons that are on the level of those that can be obtained in dungeons. So, rather than spending time trying to improve their blacksmithing abilities, it was best for them to raid dungeons one by one. It would be an easier feat after all. Besides... It''s not like Pedro and Ragas would be able to reach a breakthrough soon! They lack knowledge from crafting magical weapons. It was only natural that their progress in weapon development would come into a roadblock. Thus, Pedro together with two groups¡ªnamely Advance Force 1 and Advance Force 2, went to the Axutar Village through the teleportation portal. Their mission? To establish the first branch of the Adventurer''s Guild in the Axutar Village while Pedro was on a clearing mission of dungeons! Chapter 245: The Well Kept Face of Adventurers! The Advance Force 1 consisted of Ragas, Clara, Sabrina, and Faunia with the lead of Pedro. The five of them would be the ones responsible for clearing dungeons. On the other hand, The Advance Force 2 consisted of Aks, Lony, Roval, Yuson, and three of Pedro''s Demi-human slaves. They were led by Aldo¡ªwho would act as the temporary head manager of the Adventurer''s Guild Branch in the Axutar Village. Of course, to provide ease in managing and establishing the branch, Pedro had even assigned some of his human slaves to accompany Aldo and act as his helper or apprentice in managing the Adventurer''s Guild Branch on Axutar Village. This way, in case they needed to move to another stronghold, there would be someone whom they can leave to be the head manager of the Adventurer''s Guild in that stronghold. Well¡­ Not just an ordinary Head Manager, but someone whom they have great control to be the head manager of that branch. That is why, Pedro''s human slaves were, one by one, given a chance to work under Aldo and even Weyron to learn how to manage a branch of the Adventurer''s Guild. With all of that set and prepared, Pedro and the rest of the Advance Force 1 and Advance Force 2 arrived at the Axutar Village''s Teleportation Portal. "Looking for a party! Purpose: Travel to the Tarala Kingdom!" "Buying Silver Coins for One Dollar! Go to the village''s bar and find ''ScaryTomato'' if you are interested!" ¡­ The players were rowdy and had completely occupied almost every single space in the village. Add up with the non-stop appearance of new players in the teleportation portal. It was chaotic to the point that the volume of the crowd might even beat a highly anticipated concert by a very famous singer. "What a crowd¡­" Pedro could not help but force out a smile as he and everyone else from the Advance Force get pushed along the flow of players. That said, after a few seconds of being lost in his thought, Pedro could not help but glance towards Faunia in the hopes that she isn''t irritated. Fortunately, for some reason, a three-inch gap was maintained from Faunia to the other players around her¡ªincluding Pedro. ''What''s happening?'' Pedro asked with a frown deep inside. ''Why can''t we get near her?'' At this moment, Pedro could not help but glance at Clara and Ragas who also maintained the same distance to the crowd as Faunia did. Bewildered by what is happening, Pedro glanced back to Faunia and was about to ask how they were able to do that. However, before he was able to utter a word, Faunia spoke to him telepathically, saying, ''This is called Mana Control, human!'' ''Mana Control?'' Pedro asked telepathically in response. Faunia simply nodded in response and replied, ''Yes, Mana Control! The Second Level of Magical Energy Utilization.'' ''Magical Energy Utilization? What''s that? Is that some sort of skill?'' Pedro asked with a frown. Faunia could not help but sigh in response and said, ''Magical Energy Utilization is the stages of mastery on how a being can fully control its magical energy.'' ''Interesting¡­'' Pedro nodded his head out of curiosity. Then, he glanced back to Faunia and asked, ''Can you tell me more about this Magical Energy Utilization? Like how many stages are there, and how can I also learn them?'' Faunia simply glanced towards Pedro for a few seconds. Then, she averted her gaze from him and said, ''The Magical Energy Utilization is as its name says. It is the determination of how one can use or utilize their magical energy and, at the same time, how it should be properly used. In other terms¡­ It is the standard or the basic method on how to use your magical energy properly.'' At this moment, Faunia emanated a strong aura that was able to push those around her more than the three-inch gap that she had maintained earlier. Even Pedro was able to feel the pressure that Faunia had emanated. And while doing so, she said, ''There are currently four major stages of the Magical Energy Utilization that is known both to humans and other beings. The first stage is this¡­ The so-called Mana Outburst!'' ''You release your magical energy¡ªwhether controlled or not, into whatever purpose you have in mind. For me¡­ This time, I intend to use my magical energy to create a certain distance between me and these little pests!'' Faunia said as the magical energy that she emanated became stronger. Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. That said, before he was able to utter a word or even ask a question, Faunia spoke again, saying, ''This stage also includes the activation or use of your so-called skills¡ªsimilar to the majority of that toys that humans and others make. Well¡­ Even you can use it unconsciously, so you can consider it as the basics of the basics!'' ''I see¡­'' Pedro glanced to his hand and pictured out that he was emanating strong energy around him to push the crowd away from him. In turn, a gap was created between him and the crowd that was almost two-inch away. That said, for some reason, his body started to feel a tad bit exhausted as if he was running. He glanced towards Faunia and asked, ''I can use Mana Outburst so casually? But why do I feel that my stamina is also decreasing?'' ''Stamina?...'' Faunia shook her head in response. Then, she said, ''You''re not losing your stamina, idiot! You''re obviously losing your magical energy! Anyway¡­ You don''t need to worry. It is something normal! Humans like you¡ªwho rarely use their magical energy, would definitely feel the effect of using your magical energy, even if you use it slightly¡­ Just keep on using it and you''ll eventually get used to it.'' ''I see¡­'' Pedro nodded in response. Then, he added, ''So, it''s like when you get used to sitting all day at home¡­ Then, when you go out for a walk, you would tend to feel tired easily. Something like that?'' ''You made quite a comparison, human! But you are right!'' Faunia said in response. Pedro could not help but force out a smile towards Faunia. Then, he took a deep sigh to clear the awkward atmosphere and said, ''Moving forward¡­ Can you tell me what are the next stages about?'' At this moment, Faunia retained her cold demeanor¡ªindicating that she did not mind telling more about it to Pedro. Then, she said, ''As I said earlier, the second stage of mastery of the magical energy utilization is the Mana Control! In this stage, you should be able to control and manipulate freely your magical energy. That includes the Mana Barrier that I was using earlier... However, Mana Control is only limited to the manifestation of magical energy without greatly affecting other ''foreign'' variables¡ªlike the magical energy of other humans or other beings and such. Because using your magical energy to affect ''foreign'' variables would lie under the third stage, which is Mana Fusion!'' Faunia could not help but sigh at this part of her explanation. Then, she said, ''It''s quite complicated to explain starting from the second stage¡ªMana Control¡­ I doubt that you''d be able to reach the third stage anytime soon, so¡­ I''d just give you a rough idea about it and the fourth stage in the meantime.'' ''It''s alright! I understand!'' Pedro said whilst forcing out a smile. Faunia sighed once again before she said, ''Going back¡­ For you to visualize the third stage of mastery of the magical energy utilization¡ªthe Mana Fusion, one of its examples is the Divine Enchantments that was done by the wyvern to your toy.'' ''Hooo¡­ I see! I see!'' Pedro nodded in amazement. Then, he smirked and said, ''It seems like it would take me a long time before I get to craft something on my own.'' ''Well¡­ That would depend on the progress that you would make in mastering the utilization of your magical energy, human! I mastered Mana Control for a year, and another year for Mana Fusion back then¡­ So based on my experience¡­ It would take you five to ten years to master each stage respectively.'' ''Five to ten years? And there''s even a fourth stage on top of that?'' Pedro grumbled deep inside. Faunia simply smirked in response and said, ''The Fourth Stage? You are pushing your luck if you plan to reach the fourth stage of magical energy utilization, human!'' ''Pushing my luck? Is there something that would hinder me from reaching the fourth stage?'' Pedro can''t help but glance towards Faunia with a frown. Then, he added, ''What is the fourth stage that even you think that I won''t be able to reach?'' Faunia glanced back to Pedro in response. Then, after a few seconds, she averted her gaze from him and said, ''Do not misunderstand, human! When it comes to the fourth stage, there is even only a limited number of gods and goddesses like us who had mastered it! After all¡­ Not all Divine Beings can manifest the purest form of magical energy! The Mana of Origin!'' At this moment, Pedro and Faunia''s discussion was interrupted as they¡ªtogether with the rest of the Advance Force, arrived outside the village where everyone else is redirected. The soldiers of the Axutar Village kept a strong guard at some areas inside the village¡ªlike the Village Chief''s Office. And to maintain order¡ªas what Neerak Axutar had organized before he left with Pedro, the Adventurers were redirected outside the village for proper identification before they could proceed with any matters inside the village¡ªincluding the visits of any establishments or shops. And amongst the people managing the adventurers together with the NPC officials from the village, Pedro was able to recognize one of them. This, in turn, made Pedro smirk deep inside and said, ''This old man is really shameless! I killed him once and yet¡­ he still did not learn his lesson! Let''s see how long you and your men could retain those thick and well-kept faces!" Chapter 246: The Official Launch Update! There were few tents¡ªwhere the players/adventurers line up to obtain a wooden badge that would become their ticket into the village. That said, unlike the well-organized registration area that Pedro established on the Adventurer''s Guild at the Tarala Kingdom, the few tents only served as a ticket booth. There was no inquiry nor recording of personal information being done, making the management of the people entering the village ineffective. That said, Pedro knew that although their method of management was lacking, it was still something better than just casually allowing adventurers to roam around on important establishments in the village. Truth be told, the case of other villages was way far worst than what is happening in the Axutar Village. It was only thanks to Neerak Axutar''s early establishment of a management team was the Axutar Village able to restrict the entry on some vital establishments in the village. That said, it does not mean that the current situation of the Axutar Village was good. They were barely able to control and manage the crowd, but it does not mean that things won''t slip out of their control. Besides... Unlike the Adventurer''s Guild, the Axutar Village''s Management Team was not issuing quests to help relieve the threats posed by the monsters. So, their military was, in fact, being used to its very limits. That is why if another band of adventurers wanted to revolt and take over the control of the village, doing so would be easy considering the current situation of the village. Something that Pedro wanted to avoid and was against because he knew that it would only cause unnecessary casualties on the NPCs'' end. That was the reason why establishing the Adventurer''s Guild across the continent was important. Not only does it provide benefits to Pedro and his men, but it also ensures proper management and development of players while preventing conflict between players and NPCs. Well... The Adventurer''s Guild provides a lot of positive notes and solves a lot of issues, problems, or threats. That is why, consequently, its establishment would not be easy as drinking tea. Pedro still has trust issues against players. So, he can''t easily entrust the management of an Adventurer''s Guild Branch to someone he does not know well. While, on the other hand, his NPC manpower was not that big to be able to fill every single position and role on every single Adventurer''s Guild Branch to be established across the continent. In any case, Weyron took over the control of the Adventurer''s Guild successfully. With that, Pedro needs not to shoulder such issues by himself. And for now, Pedro can focus on doing what he wanted to do. ... At this moment, Pedro could not help but scratch the back of his head and glance towards the rest of the Advance Force. Then, he forced out a smile and asked everyone, "Are we really gonna fall in line just to get some shitty wooden badge?" Pedro spoke in a tad bit loud tone¡ªconsequently making another player hear it. Then, that player walked towards him and said, "This is the line for getting a badge to enter important establishments inside the village! If you are not interested in obtaining the said badge, then¡­ Fuck off! And don''t block the line for those who wanted to obtain a badge!" Pedro frowned in response as he glared towards the player. That said, the player seemed to be weak as he was unable to even feel the pressure that Pedro exerted with his magical energy. But before Pedro could utter a word in response, the player in front of them continue his scold to Pedro saying, "How long are you gonna stand there? Goof off if you have nothing else to say!" In response, Pedro clenched his fist and was about to send a punch to the player. However, he was interrupted with a series of beeps from his Player Interface¡ªwhich he checked immediately. 1) The Quest Information tab was upgraded. This time, only the information regarding the special quests were the only ones available and would be often displayed in the Quest Information Tab. This includes the rewards that might be obtained. 2) A new generalize tab was established and was called the Player Statistics tab. Under this tab were three subcategories namely, the Basic Stats¡ªconsisting of important character factors like HP, Mana, Level, EXP percentage, Name, and rank. The Attributes tab¡ªwhere Pedro''s basic attributes and special attributes are displayed. And lastly, the Skills tab¡ªwhere Pedro''s skills were listed. 3) The communication tab was also updated. Under the communications tab, game-to-game or game-to-outside the game messaging function was still retained. However, the call function was removed. Other than that, the Trade Function was also included in this tab for ease of access. 4) A Special Feature tab was established for specific functions that are important to players. Under this tab, a new function called Inventory Bag Inspector is available. This function would allow the players to manage and determine the contents of an Inventory Bag that they have. At the same time, under the Special Feature tab, the Vision Capture and the Gallery function were also available. These functions are often used for online streams and/or scouting/data or information gathering. 5) The Basic Operation Functions tab is newly established to separate the Log out option, the Virtual Sync option, and the Ranking tab from the rest of the Major Tabs that were applied in the new update of the game. 6) A simplified and generalized rating system was established. Divine-rated ratings were changed into S-Rank to SSS-Rank Category Rating. The Legendary-rated ratings were changed into A-Rank Category Rating. The Epic-rated ratings were changed into B-Rank Category Rating. The Gold-rated ratings were changed into C-Rank Category Rating. The Silver-rated ratings were changed into D-Rank Category Rating. While the Bronze-rated ratings were changed into E-Rank Category Rating. Changes were made in accordance with the observation of the majority of the players, concerning the different rating systems used in Dungeon or Quest Difficulty and the rarity of a weapon or an item. 7) An Automatic Mental Calculator System was added to give ease to players on arithmetic computations. Results of the Calculation are displayed in the System Automatic Calculation Tab. 8) The location of where the player interface would appear was changed from the direct front of the player to above either of the player''s arms, hands, or palm. This is made to address the interruption made by the player interface on a player''s vision. In case, incapacitated, the player interface would be displayed in the default location, the direct front of the player. 9) Lastly, the Official Launch Update marks the official launch of Bearth Online! So, to celebrate such a great occasion, another special event would be released for ALL SERVERS! Stay Tuned! ¡­ Pedro could not help but smirk after reading the Official Launch Update Details. In fact, he was not the only one who was happy after reading the details about the update. The players around them had started to become noisy to the point that some of the players were even jumping out of excitement. Most of the players were excited about the incoming special event. Whatever the event is about, together with the ongoing Continental Quest, the players on the Aquari Continent were blessed with a lot of opportunities. So, it was only natural for them to anticipate great things to happen in the future. On the other hand, Pedro was also delighted by the fact that the majority of the conflicting or confusing features of the game were corrected. After all, the game would be played by Billions of people all over the world. It would be a huge problem if there are some inconsistencies in any of the game''s features. So, it was a great move by the developers to choose a simple but organized and easy-to-navigate player interface. That said, Pedro clapped his hands to get the attention of the players in the Advance Force, and said, "Enough daydreaming! Let''s proceed as planned! Brother Faith¡­ Do you think you can handle your task considering the current situation that the village is in? The case of this village is different from a Kingdom. After all¡­ The Village''s Teleportation Platform is located inside the village itself!" Aldo stole a glance at the tents where the wooden badges were being distributed. Then, he rubbed the back of his head as he glanced back to Pedro with a frown on his face, while saying, "I''ll see what I can do! Let''s try going according to the plan, for now! If I noticed any possibility that our task would fail, I won''t hesitate to contact you. So, don''t worry!" Pedro simply nodded in response. Then, he glanced towards Sabrina, Ragas, Clara, and Faunia before clapping his hands once again, while saying, "Then¡­ We''ll separate from here! May you succeed and bring humanity glory!" Aldo placed his right closed fist to his chest. Then, he bowed slightly to Pedro and said, "And so do you, Captain!" Pedro simply nodded in response and smirked. Then, he led the Advance Force Team 1 towards the Baliu Mountain. He chuckled to himself, murmuring, "My attack damage farm¡­ Here I come!" Chapter 247: Aldo and the Advance Force 2! "Now¡­ How are we going to proceed?" Aldo asked himself with a frown on his face. But in front of him, the players were still busy discussing among each other the contents of the game''s update. Thus, Aldo got a chance to skip the line and head straight towards the Village Soldiers who were guarding the designated entrance leading to the Village Shop, Village Chief''s Office, and the Village''s Original Residence Area. Fortunately, at this moment, Lony and Roval¡ªtogether with the rest of the Advance Force 2, were attentive and focused in carrying out their mission, especially right after Pedro and the Advance Force 1 left. Thus, they simply followed behind Aldo¡ªwhom they know was utilizing that momentary chaos to skip ahead of the players that were falling in line and get a chance to talk to the Village Soldiers on guard. However, before he was able to reach the village soldiers, a man was able to notice the presence of the three demi-humans with them¡ªconsequently making him notice Aldo and the rest trying to go past everyone and approach the core area of the village. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Where do you think you guys are going?" The man cried loudly to the point that it was able to attract the familiar old man''s attention! Well¡­ Familiar to Pedro. The white-haired old man noticed the demi-humans behind Aldo and his group before his eyes landed on a very familiar figure. His eyes widened as he unconsciously took a step back and said, "I-Impossible!" This, in turn, made Aldo and everyone else glance towards him because of his unusual reaction after learning about their presence. Then, after almost a minute of staring towards the white-haired old man, Aldo could not help but rub the back of his head and ask, "Do I know you¡ª" However, just right before he finished his question, Aks charged towards the old man without a second thought. His fists were tightly clenched while the nerves on his hands seemed like it was about to burst. Then, in the next second, Aks arrived in front of the old man with his fist aimed towards his head. "YOU BASTAAARD!" Aks howled in anger as his fist landed on the old man''s face. Aks'' punch was so strong to the point that his fist got embedded half an inch deep into the old man''s face. That said, the old man felt the intense pain because of Aks'' punch before he completely lost his consciousness. Aldo, on the other hand, could not help but simply watch Aks tackle the old man into the ground and pound his head with his fist, continuously, despite the fact that the old man had already lost his consciousness. "THIS IS FOR ANTONIO! THIS FOR¡­ THIS IS FOR¡­ THIS IS FOR..." Aks kept crying names of the former residents of the Kagat Village¡ªwho were killed by the United Asian Force and Werewolf Tam. At this moment, everyone could only watch Aks smash the head of the old man. The murderous intent of Aks was so strong to the point that no one around them could even move a muscle as he brutally smashed the old man''s head into a paste. Yes¡­ Not even the Axutar Village''s Soldiers¡ªwho were standing just a few meters from them. Soon, Aks had seemingly said all the names of the NPCs who died in the hands of the United Asian Force. That said, Aks seemed like he was not yet satisfied for punching the old man to his death. Fortunately, at this moment, he was able to, at the least, get back some sense to himself and remember that they have an important task at hand. A task that would ensure that no other stronghold would suffer the same fate that the Axutar Village did from the Mismanaged Adventurers. So, to avoid complicating things any further, Aks lifted his right fist and clenched it as tight as he can. Then, he sent his last punch to the old man''s face while saying, "BASTARD XORAN! THIS IS FOR KAGAT VILLAGE!" With a splat, Xoran''s second-created character''s head was mushed into the ground¡ªremoving any chance for him to recover or live after that. Consequently, the stink of blood, together with the gore scene, was too realistic to the point that some of the players could not help but vomit at that instant. As for the other players, they could not help but simply watch Aks sigh and stood with blood covering his fists. They did not dare to make another move because they might be the next victim of the huge man in front of them¡ªwhom they can compare to a wild bear in the wild. On the other hand, Aldo simply sighed in response as he approached Aks whilst taking out spare clothes that were looted from the corpse of the players that died during the war in the west. Then, he gave it to Aks and said, "Clean up! We still have a lot of work to do! You don''t want Captain to come back just after he left, right?" Aks simply took the clothes in response and cleaned the blood on his hands while saying, "I know, young man¡­ You don''t need to tell me!" Aldo simply ignored what Aks said¡ªas if he did not hear it, and simply averted his gaze towards the Village Soldiers guarding a small entrance. Then, he said, "Let''s go!" Lony, Roval, Yuson, the demi-human slaves, and the human slaves had casually followed after Aldo as if nothing had happened. Well¡­ It''s not because they were simply cold-blooded humans¡­ It was just that Lony, Roval, and Yuson even know personally the fate that the Kagat Village had suffered. And after hearing from Aks¡ªone of the only two survivors from the Kagat Village, that the perpetrator was the said old man, Xoran¡­ They could not care less for the old man''s well-being. In fact¡­ They even sympathize with Aks and was glad that he was able to, at the least, give justice to what had happened to the Kagat Village. That said, they were currently the image of the Adventurer''s Guild that Pedro had established. So, they can''t just publicly show their satisfaction, even if they think that Aks'' actions were a justifiable act. Fortunately, they were not the leader of their group, so they can just casually follow behind Aldo. On the other hand, Aks picked up Xoran''s Newbie Sword after cleaning his hands. It is probably a trophy of some sort that he wanted to keep as a sign that he was able to defeat one of the perpetrators why the Kagat Village was destroyed. Then, he simply followed behind Aldo as if nothing happened. At this moment, the players working under Xoran started to flee, one by one, away from that area. This, consequently, made the other players run away from that area in response. A few seconds later, Aldo and the rest of the Advance Force 2 arrived in front of the two village soldiers. Their faces wore a frown as they stare towards Aldo and his group. That said, the sweat dripping in their face had given away the fact that they were anxious or troubled by their presence¡ªeither they are afraid of Aldo and everyone else with him, or they see them as a potential threat to their village. Unfortunately, it was their duty to guard that entry point to the village¡ªto limit the people going in and out of the isolated important establishments in the village. So, they had no choice but to confront Aldo and his group, whether they were a threat or not. "What business do you have with the Axutar Village?" One of the village soldiers asked coldly. At this moment, Aldo pulled out a badge from his inventory bag and showed it to the Village Soldiers. Then, he said, "I am Faith, an adventurer! I came here under the orders of Captain Aron to meet with the Village Chief and discuss cooperation regarding the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild''s Branch. If you still have questions¡­ Let me remind you that the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild''s Branch is a mandatory order as ordered by Duke Ersi Ester of the Tarala Kingdom! If you dare delay our entry and even hide the Village Chief from us, then consider the whole force of the Tarala Kingdom as your enemy!" The other younger-looking village soldier could not help but force out a smile in response. His body was slightly trembling¡ªprobably out of fear from the man right in front of him. Besides the brute strength of Aks, they did not expect that the status of this group of adventurers would be that high. "T-Then¡­ Forgive us, young master! B-But, the village chief ordered us not to let anyone enter unless g-given an entry badge that was issued by the adventurer''s management!" The young-looking village said¡ªbarely able to finish his words out of fear. "So¡­ It would be that way¡ª" Aldo said with a troubled expression. Unlike Pedro, Aldo was not that good in negotiations. He was more of a straightforward person¡ªthe reason why he only has Pedro as his friend in real life. It was not like he was hated or anything but it just hits a bit awkward to people when you say some things that should not be said straightforward, and it would just feel not right if it even happened as if it was normal. That said, right after he said his last word, the other village soldier faked a cough and said, "I hope that you would understand us because we are just doing as ordered! However, if you really need to have a talk to the village chief¡ªconsidering the village chief''s badge in your hands, I could ask someone to go inside and inform the village chief, himself, about your presence. Would that be alright?" Aldo could only rub the back of his head and sighed. Then, he said, "I guess you could do that. After all¡­ We are not here to fight, but to talk!" Chapter 248: Commotion Outside the Axutar Village! The Village Soldier felt relieved that Aldo had agreed to his proposition to call the Village Chief instead of creating a commotion or conflict against the two parties. Of course, as the village soldier had proposed, a villager was asked to call the Village Chief in his office. Thus, leaving Aldo and the rest of Advance Force 2 waiting outside the village. At this moment, the players¡ªmostly new, were at a loss on what to do next. The villagers¡ªwho were processing the village pass together with the men of Xoran, could only stare at them and did not dare to move recklessly nor continue their work, out of fear from Aldo and his group. This, in turn, had given up a piece of important information to Aldo that the player named Xoran, and his men, somehow have a huge impact on the management of the players in this place. That said, it does not matter much to Aldo. After all, the Tarala Kingdom has higher influence, authority, and power in the territory where the Axutar Village was located. So, it was only evident that the Adventurer''s Guild would hold the upper hand in obtaining authority in managing the players, or so-called adventurers¡ªregardless of whether they like it or not. With all that said, some of the confused players gathered all their remaining courage and approached Aldo and his group, asking, "E-Excuse me¡­ M-Mister¡­ Can we ask what to do now? W-We are just new p-players and just wants to know if there are some quests we can get to safely level up?" Aldo glanced towards the man with a frown on his face. He seemed troubled about what to answer at the man''s questions. So, he could only stare at them¡ªat loss for words. That said, other players who approached him asked follow-up questions¡ªeventually hindering Aldo from being able to respond. "Yeah, Mister¡­ We mean no harm! We just want to play and level up!" "Yeah! Yeah! We just want to become strong like you to fight those monsters!" "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! We''re ready to follow any instructions you give us! We''ll even pay you Bronze Coins if you want!" "Can I be your dog girl''s pet???" "Shameless Nerd!" "Shameless Nerd! +1" "Shameless Nerd! +2" ¡­ After hearing the player''s concerns, Aldo could not help but smile in response and chuckle. This, in turn, had attracted the attention of all the players¡ªconsequently making them quiet in response. Then, Aldo scratched the back of his head and asked, "Are you guys familiar with the Adventurer''s Guild?" "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah! Of course! Who would not be familiar with the Adventurer''s Guild?! Almost all of us aim to become strong enough to travel to the so-called Tarala Kingdom to join the Adventurer''s Guild!" "So, why would we not know about the Adventurer''s Guild!" "They are right!" "Yeah!" "Yeah! +1" "Yeah! +2" ¡­ The players become noisy just by mentioning the words, "Adventurer''s Guild". Thus, Aldo could not help but be filled with excitement deep inside. In fact, he was even barely able to hide it as his face wore a smile that almost reached his ears. That said, he knew that there were some ''minor'' things that he needed to take care of¡ªespecially the investigation of what the player named Xoran was doing. So, he can''t help but suppress the excitement that he had deep inside and act rationally because he knew that there is a huge possibility that ''enemy'' players could be around. "Well¡­ I don''t know if you would believe me but¡­ I am from the Adventurer''s Guild!" Aldo said as he smiled towards the players. On the other hand, the players could not help but gasp in response as some of them started to discuss among themselves what Aldo has just said. And before anyone else could even ask him, Aldo continued speaking, saying, "We are here to set up an Adventurer''s Guild Branch as ordered by the Higher Ups! We know that you, adventurers, would have a hard time believing our words, so, we are going to talk to the village chief first. That said¡­ I know¡ªfrom earlier, that you are all lining up to obtain a badge and enter the village. But¡­ Can I ask why those adventurers were also participating in the management and distribution of such badges? Did they get such simple quests like that?" The players erupted once again. After all, if what Aldo said was true, then it would truly be a blessing to them. They won''t need to trouble themselves in finding a way to get to the Tarala Kingdom to join the Adventurer''s Guild. Despite everyone else being busy discussing the Adventurer''s Guild and the possibility of a branch being established in their starting village, a player near Aldo spoke¡ªanswering his questions. He said, "Uhm¡­ Mister! Regarding the adventurers who are helping the NPCs¡­ I won''t call it a quest, but more of a collaboration with the village! They wanted to unify the players and move together as one¡ªheading towards the Tarala Kingdom, while the NPCs desperately needed help in managing us players. So, in the end, it is a win-win situation. That is why we are simply following as they instructed." "Yeah, Yeah! The young man''s right, Mister!" Another player added. "They said that they were even amongst closed beta players. So¡­ We thought that it would just simply be best to follow their lead. After all, they got more experiences than us." At this moment, all the players could only glance towards Aks¡ªwho killed Xoran without mercy. Aldo could not help but force out a smile in response. He, as a player like them, knew what was running in their minds. Most of the players in that area are probably asking in their head, ''If they are from the Adventurer''s Guild¡ªthat aims to develop and increase the survivability of players, then why did that big man mercilessly killed the expert?''. So, knowing the question he needed to answer behind the players'' gazes, and as the leader of that group, Aldo could only sigh in response and said, "Not all expert has good intentions! Please keep that in mind!" Aldo smiled afterward as he shifted his attention towards the entrance that was guarded by the two village soldiers. At that moment, the village chief of the Axutar Village, Meerak Axutar, together with a villager, hurriedly approached them. "Sir Aks! Young adventurers! It''s been a few days since we first saw each other! What business do you have with me and where''s my son and Captain Aron?" Meerak Axutar said in a hospitable manner. However, they were interrupted by the villager with him¡ªwho can''t help but vomit after seeing the headless body of Xoran. Of course, Meerak Axutar glared at the villager with a frown but only to be responded by pointing towards the corpse¡ªwhich sight was covered by several players and could only be noticed by focusing in that direction. "This¡­" Meerak Axutar could not help but force out a smile in response. Then, he reactively glanced at the village soldiers as if he was asking who killed that man. However, the village soldiers could only shift their glance towards Aldo and his group¡ªindicating that they were the ones responsible for the death of that person. Aldo simply forced out a smile in response. And as if he had predicted what was running in Village Chief Meerak''s mind, he said, "I''ll explain what happened later on! All you need to know is that Captain Aron had sent us here for an important reason! Something that we need to discuss in private! That is why¡­ I hope that the respected village chief has some time to spare at the moment!" "O-Of course!" Village Chief Meerak said before forcing out a smile. Then, he pointed towards the direction of the entrance that was guarded by the two village soldiers and said, "Luckily, I have some free time at the moment! Please come in! Let''s talk in my office!" "That''s great!" Aldo said with a relieved tone. Then, he scratched the back of his head while saying, "Then, I would be troubling you to hear Captain''s message¡­ Oh! And he ordered me to give this back to you¡ªsaying that it would be somehow useful to you in the next few days!" Aldo handed over the Axutar Village''s Village Chief''s Badge to Meerak Axutar. At first, Meerak Axutar was hesitant in getting it back from Aldo. But knowing Pedro''s title of being an officer from BHO, Meerak Axutar knew that there is definitely a good reason why Pedro returned the badge that he gave to him himself. So, in the end, Meerak Axutar took the Village Chief''s Badge from Aldo and said, "If that''s what Captain Aron said himself, then I''d be taking this back. Now¡­ Please follow me into my office. I can''t waste that much of your time¡ªespecially that you are amongst Captain Aron''s men!" Aldo simply nodded in response and said, "I appreciate your concern, Village Chief!" Chapter 249: Everything Going Well! The other players can only watch Aldo and his group enter the restricted area of the village. This, in turn, made them erupt in excitement¡ªrealizing that what Aldo said to them about being a representative of the Adventurer''s Guild was true. On the other hand, Xoran''s men¡ªwho blended amongst the crowd, could only clench their fists and grit their teeth because they knew that they lost the chance to control that territory in an instant. Whatever was the case, it was evident that their plans had been spoiled by the sudden appearance of the members of the Adventurer''s Guild. That said, Aldo and the rest of the Advance Force 2¡ªtogether with Village Chief Meerak Axutar, did not mind such things and simply proceeded with their discussion. Unfortunately, they all went to the Village Chief''s house instead of the Village Chief''s office so that everyone from the Advance Force 2 could be accommodated. When everyone was able to sit comfortably in the wooden sofas in the living room of Meerak Axutar''s house, he¡ªMeerak Axutar, himself started the discussion by asking, "Do you guys want something to drink before we start?" Aldo simply shook his head in response and said, "I am fine Village Chief! Thanks for the offer!" Since their leader had respectfully declined, everyone else could only follow him in response. They declined Meerak Axutar''s offer, thus, making them proceed with the discussion about the Adventurer''s Guild. "We know that you are busy, Village Chief! So, we won''t make it long for you¡­" Aldo said calmly and straightforwardly. "Our task here in your village was to establish the first branch of the Adventurer''s Guild in this continent!" "Adventurer''s Guild? What is that? And¡­ What does it have to do with the Axutar Village?" Meerak Axutar asked with a frown on his face. Aldo simply smirked in response. Then, he said, "The Adventurer''s Guild is an organization that Captain Aron, himself, had founded to ensure the proper development of adventurers all over the Continent! At the same time, it is an organization that aims to unify adventurers while utilizing their talents to fight against monsters and such threats!" "Of course... It would not simply end there!" Aldo added. "There''s also a possibility of odd tasks¡ªlike escort quests, gathering quests, and such, to be issued dependent on the need of both adventurers and the affiliated stronghold." At this moment, Aldo paused for a second in case Village Chief Meerak Axutar wanted to say something. However, Village Chief Meerak Axutar was simply listening to him. So, Aldo decided to continue his explanation, saying, "As for your question regarding what does the Adventurer''s Guild have to do with Axutar Village... The Adventurer''s Guild''s establishment was supported by the Leaders of the Tarala Kingdom... With that said... You can just consider it as the aid that the Tarala Kingdom would provide to solve the current problem with the seemingly infinite amount of monsters." Meerak Axutar could not help but draw a sharp breath and say, "The Tarala Kingdom? If it really is an order by the Tarala Kingdom... Then, there really not much of a reason for me not to comply, right?" Aldo simply nodded in response. Then, he scratched the back of his head¡ªa little bit embarrassed by the fact that they are somehow forcing Village Chief Meerak Axutar to agree. That said, after a few seconds, Aldo faked a cough and said, "Unfortunately, you are right! However! I want to reassure you, Village Chief, that the Axutar Village would only keep gaining advantages with the Adventurer''s Guild''s presence. So... You don''t have to worry that much about the organization being a liability." "That said... Please don''t get your hopes that high¡ªthat we would be able to establish an Adventurer''s Guild Branch that is identical to what is available in the Tarala Kingdom." Aldo added. "Of course... It does not have something to do with the level of authority of the stronghold. It was just that the arrangements to be applied here in Axutar Village were specifically designed to adjust the current situation and interest of the village. For example... In the main branch in the Tarala Kingdom, there is a market established specifically for adventurers. Various items were being sold there¡ªincluding weapons, skill shards or skill pages, food, and such! So... To avoid any conflict or competition with the Axutar Village''s shop, we were tasked to open a shop that would only sell food¡ªthe basics of the basics needs of every adventurer! We''ll also open a special stall... But it has not much of an effect on the shops of Axutar Village." "It''s great to know that the welfare of the people of the village was still being taken into consideration." Meerak Axutar said as he took a deep sigh. Then, he continued, saying, "Since it was a plan by Captain Aron, I am sure that the Adventurer''s Guild was established for a good cause! However... I am quite afraid that the Axutar Village won''t be able to support the establishment of the Adventurer''s Guild¡ªhere in Axutar Village. We are already short on coins... And I am not sure if we would be able to provide necessary establishments for you to settle." Aldo simply smiled towards him in response and said, "There''s no need for you to worry about that, Village Chief! All we need from you is your approval regarding the establishment of our branch here in your village. And¡­ Just guide us to the area that you want to allocate for the Adventurer''s Guild and we''ll take it from there!" "Hooo... If that''s the case¡­" Village Chief Meerak Axutar stood in response and said, "Then, I would be troubling you to establish a branch of your so-called Adventurer''s Guild. I hope that the issues that the village is encountering due to the unstoppable increase in numbers of adventurers and the non-stop attacks of monsters would be resolved soon." "Leave it to me!" Aldo said as he smiled and stood from his seat. Then, he took Village Chief Meerak Axutar''s hands and shook it¡ªindicating a done agreement. Of course, they signed contracts afterward to avoid any problems or issues in the future. With that all said and done, Aldo proceeded with the installation and use of the Aron Burner¡ªto the area opposite to where the Adventurer''s Guild Branch would be established, to immediately alleviate the pressure that the soldiers of Axutar Village were carrying on their backs. Using the alibi that it was a gift from the Adventurer''s Guild, Village Chief Meerak Axutar could only accept them since it was out of the organization''s goodwill. The control of the Aron Burner was embedded in the Village Chief''s Badge, thus, signifying the importance of that small piece of metal. That said, Pedro being a safety maniac, he and Ragas set the badge only to work when he, Ragas, Faunia, Aldo, Neerak Axutar, or Village Chief Meerak Axutar were the ones using it. It was inevitable that an enemy player would be able to infiltrate and be a member of the Adventurer''s Guild. At the same time, it was also inevitable that the information about Aron Burner won''t be leaked amongst players. In fact, it became a hot topic in the game''s forum as a piece of cool but dangerous equipment that the Adventurer''s Guild monopolizes. Although it can also affect allies¡ªboth fellow adventurers or NPCs from the Axutar Village, it was still a ''life-saving defensive weapon'' that can hold off the monsters easily. But because the Continental Quest was only available in Aquari Continent or the Asian Server, it was inevitable that the information about the Aron Burner did not become a trending topic. It only caught the eyes of the many, but that''s all into it. After all¡­ It''s still an ''imperfect'' weapon that can damage or affect allies or even the user themselves. Nevertheless, the expansion of the Adventurer''s Guild to Axutar Village was a success even though there are hidden threats present. That said, as long as the Adventurer''s Guild branch was successfully established, Aldo and the Advance Force 2 would be able to complete their task. That''s what matters. As for the ill-intentioned adventurers, they can try messing with the Adventurer''s Guild. Well¡­ That is if they are tired of living! The development of Weyron''s Guild was going smoothly¡ªthanks to being the first group of adventurers being nurtured by the Adventurer''s Guild. With this, their development would surely be ahead of everyone else. Add up the fact that they were also given a chance to establish a good foundation from the start¡­ Even Pedro nor anyone from his force won''t need to take care of the ill-intentioned adventurers themselves. The Adventurer''s Guild could simply release a kill order to all of its members and hunt the ill-intentioned adventurers. That fact itself was terrifying enough that would surely make anyone think twice before messing with the organization. Add up the fact that the heads of the Adventurer''s Guild are closely connected to high-ranking NPCs¡­ Blacklisting the ill-intentioned players on associated strongholds would not be a problem. So¡­ Whatever is the case, messing with the Adventurer''s Guild was not an option. And with all that in mind, Pedro could now safely assume that there won''t be much threat to the growth and expansion of the Adventurer''s Guild. At the same time, he can now safely leave everything about the Adventurer''s Guild to Weyron''s hands¡ªexcept the Market Sector. After all, Pedro was still one of the two craftsmen of the Aron Burner and was the one responsible for funding and organizing the Business Industry under the Adventurer''s Guild. That said, by this time, Pedro and Sabrina were just casually leveling up, slowly, in their spider farming area, while learning Mana Outburst from Ragas, and swordsmanship from Clara. As for Faunia¡­ She was just casually giving Pedro a few tips and information from time to time. She did not personally teach Pedro since there were Ragas and Clara to do so. Besides¡­ She was still recuperating her injuries at this time. Chapter 250: The Love Birds Training Part 1! After setting their respective pen-knives to rotate in a fixed axis, Pedro and Sabrina''s class started with Ragas¡ªteaching the basics of Mana. "What do you guys know about Magical Energy or Mana for short?" Ragas asked Pedro and Sabrina¡ªwho stood in front of him. At this moment, Clara and Faunia simply sat comfortably on the ground, resting while casually watching everyone''s back. The two lovebirds thought for a second, and it was Sabrina who answered first. She said, "It''s the energy used to cast skills." Ragas simply nodded in response and said, "That''s true, young miss! Magical Energy is the energy to be used or consumed to manifest specific abilities or skills. In the current state of humans these days, pre-recorded skills on skill pages were being used. Everyone might call it skills or abilities, in general, these days but¡­ In the era of divine wars, it is the lowest in terms of strength compared to the other classification of skills, but is the most efficient and easy to learn and use skills¡ªwhich were called "Enmas Skills"!" "Most of the users of such skills were humans and other lesser beings¡ªwhose aim was to win battles through using the quantity of forces than the quality! Well¡­ It was sure effective to the point that the Demon Lord back then even needed to create the Demonic Pawns¡ªor now famous as monsters, just to counter them." At this moment, Ragas noticed that they are going a bit out of the topic. So, he can''t help but scratch the back of his head and said, "Well¡­ We''ll talk about that some other time. What''s important for you to know, for now, is that the Enmas Skills were the weakest amongst all other skill categories." At this moment, Pedro raised his hand like a student and asked, "Other than Enmas Skills that¡ªif I understood correctly, is meant for mass production, what are the other so-called categories of skills? Does it have something to do with the reason why even weapons or equipment could have certain skills on their own?" Ragas simply nodded and smile in response. Then, he explained, "You can put it that way, young master! As for the other categories of skills, they are mostly separated dependent on the acquisition of the said skill or ability. For example¡­" At this moment, Ragas'' skin turned into scales¡ªtransforming into his humanoid form, while saying, "For humanoid races like Dragons and Wyverns, and the shapeshifter races like Slimes, Werewolves, and vampires, we have the so-called transformation skill that is under the Espec Skills. The skills are often only available to a specific race and are often inherited by birth. And as you know it¡ªsince it is rare, Espec Skills are often overpowered in their own ways." Pedro interrupted Ragas by raising his hand once again, and asked, "Then, what about the skill page that I just sold to Duke Albert and Duke Ersi? It can allow them to transform into wolves¡ªwhich I believe can still be considered as a transformation skill despite not being a race under humanoids nor shapeshifters?" Ragas could not help but to scratch his chin and thought for a second. Then, he sighed and said, "I think¡­ The young master should consider it to be amongst the Excen Skills." "Excen Skills?" Pedro asked as his face wore a frown. Ragas simply nodded in response and said, "Yes, young master! Excen Skills. The category where skills that do not belong to any of the three major skill categories falls¡ªincluding the skills that fall into either two or three categories." "Is Excen Skills any special compared to Enmas Skills and Espec Skills?" Pedro asked. "Possibly yes¡­ Possibly no, young master!" Ragas replied without hesitation. Then, he added, "You see¡­ Excen Skills are also called eccentric skills¡ªmeaning that they are unique skills compared to other skills present in the whole world in terms of origin. That said, their strength had a huge variation from being as weak as being able to transform into livestock or being as strong as being able to transform into a legendary being. So¡­ It is one of the skill categories that''s more of a gamble. Thus, consequently making it the rarest of the rare skills." Pedro smirk in response and said, "Well¡­ With the transformation skill that Duke Ersi and Duke Albert have, I doubt that Excen Skills could still be considered as the rarest of the rare skills!" Ragas could only rub his chin in response and said, "That would be difficult to claim, young master! After all, if the world is not short of Enmas and Espec Skills, then there is definitely no shortage of Enrul Skills¡ªskills that are made by the deities or divine entities themselves!" "Hooo¡­" Pedro could not help but smile because of both amazement and excitement. Then, he asked, "Can I know how to obtain Enrul Skills?" Seeing the high expectations of Pedro to Enrul Skills, Ragas could not help but to shake his head and said, "These skills are the skills of the divine entities, themselves! In order to obtain one, either you get Enrul Skills as blessings from them¡ªthe easiest way¡­ or obtain a specific item related to them¡ªlike your godly eyes¡­ or lastly, you can get Enrul Skills by being a deity yourselves!" Pedro''s mouth went agape in response as his eyes seemed like they lost their life. On the other hand, Ragas could not help but laugh in response¡ªknowing that Pedro''s expectations had been crushed. Then, Ragas consoled, "It''s alright, Young Master! You may not know it, but you already have several Enrul Skills with you. By that fact itself, you can consider yourself as someone lucky amongst the luckiest humans." "He''s right, human!" Faunia interrupted with a scold. Then, she continued, saying, "Add up the fact that there are no Divine Wars currently happening in the world! You''re not just lucky amongst luckiest, but the luckiest amongst the luckiest!" Pedro could only force out a smile in response. Well¡­ Faunia was right. Pedro can indeed be considered as someone who was the luckiest amongst the luckiest. He was selected by Old D to become his potential successor while owning the eyes of one of the strongest Demons that ever existed. So, technically, he was someone who was the luckiest amongst the luckiest. That said, in order to avoid an awkward atmosphere, Ragas faked a cough and said, "Going back¡­ Determination of the origin of the skills is very important because it is where you would know how much Mana you need to spend in manifesting them! Espec Skills use almost to no Mana¡­ Excen Skills has a varying Mana requirement¡­ Enmas Skills has a medium to huge Mana to be used¡­ While Enrul Skills requires massive Mana to be manifested. And by knowing that fact, you would know as to how much you would train in regards to your Mana Capacity and Mana Restoration Capability¡ªin order to fully utilize your skills and abilities at their maximum!" "In short, Since the two of you have Enrul Skills, both of you need to train your ass off and increase your Mana Capacity and Mana Restoration Capability¡ªway past your limits." Faunia interrupted¡ªseemingly annoyed. That said, in the next second, Ragas faked a laugh and continued what Faunia said, saying, "In order to increase your Mana Capacity, all you need to is to keep using your Magical Energy! But it would be impossible to do so by simply using Enmas Skills! So, I would teach you how to use the basics of the basics of Enrul Skills, the mastery of Mana Utilization." "Huh?" Pedro frowned in response and asked, "What does mastery of Mana Utilization had to do with Enrul Skills? Ain''t all skills powered with Mana or Magical Energy?" Ragas simply shook his head and said, "Enrul Skills can be considered as the pinnacle of skills in this world! And in order to fully utilize them, one must have complete mastery over their Mana Utilization. So, it was only evident that the both of you should master the Mana Utilization at any cost, in order to be able to maximize the use of your Enrul Skills." "I see¡­" Pedro said as he nodded in response. "In the case of Enmas Skills, mastery of Mana Utilization is almost not needed¡­ That is why only a few humans¡ªlike Clara, were knowledgeable about it!" Clara simply nodded in response as Ragas smiled in agreement. Then, Ragas said, "Well¡­ The more interaction you have with Divine Entities, the more you need to master the Mana Utilization because of the high probability of obtaining Enrul Skills¡­ Moving forward¡­ To start your training, you need to learn Mana Outburst¡ªthe first stage of mastering Mana Utilization." Pedro and Sabrina simply nodded in response as they wait for Ragas'' instructions. Of course, knowing that the two lovebirds were itching to learn and become stronger, Ragas did not delay their training any further. In the next second, he suddenly emanated a strong aura that gushed through the two love birds¡ªconsequently making them unconsciously activate their Demonic Eyes in response. Chapter 251: The Love Birds Training Part 2! Ragas simply smirked in response as a strong force¡ªprobably made out of magical energy, was slamming to Pedro and Sabrina like it was a wave that surged from the sea. Then, Ragas said, "Young master, young miss, please try to imagine a strong energy bursting out of your body to fend off the outburst of mana that I am directing towards the both of you!" In response, Pedro and Sabrina frowned as they both glared towards Ragas full of killing intent. This had consequently released magical energy from their respective bodies that opposed the ''waves'' of magical energy that Ragas was directing towards them. By this time, Pedro and Sabrina did not feel like they were being hit by strong ''waves'' anymore. Instead, they could occasionally feel some ''splashes of water'' hitting them as a result of the clash of Mana Outburst between them and Ragas. Unfortunately, Faunia thought that Ragas was being too lenient towards the two lovebirds. So, Faunia exerted a strong Mana Outburst that immediately suppressed even Ragas'' and Clara''s Magical Energy. This had consequently forced Clara and Ragas to enter the second stage of the mastery of Mana Utilization, which is the Mana Control, and establish a Mana Barrier around them¡ªGreenish Aura for Ragas and Light Yellowish Aura for Clara, just to resist the Dark Greenish Mana Outburst by Faunia. At this moment, Pedro and Sabrina felt as if they were drowning in a deep sea. And they could only remain calm in response and do their best to manifest a Mana Outburst that would be strong enough to resist Faunia''s. And before Pedro could even grumble deep inside, Faunia chuckled saying, "Fufufu! Humans, is that the best that you got? Come on¡­ I am even in an injured state! This Mana Outburst is just one-tenth of my true strength! The wyvern is being lenient on the two of you¡­ But I won''t be the same! Hahahaha!" This, in turn, made Sabrina glance towards Pedro¡ªwho, despite seemingly being calm, had a frown on his face, indicating that he was feeling troubled like her. And knowing that the two of them were hopeless, she can''t help but grit her teeth, clench her fists as tight as she can, and glare towards Faunia¡ªfilled with a very, very, very strong killing intent that was strong enough to even make Clara and Ragas force out a smile. "Yo-ou Daaa-aa-ree!" Sabrina cried as her body occasionally released a Mana Outburst that was able to momentarily push Faunia''s Magical Energy just enough to give her a millisecond chance to breathe. It could be said that at this moment, Sabrina was able to create a slight opportunity to be able to breathe out air and be able to survive in water¡ªlike a swimmer. "Hooo¡­" Faunia chuckled in response. Then, she glanced towards Pedro and said, "Your woman is doing great, human! How about you? Are you just going to keep depending on those eyes of yours? And everyone around you? Hahahaha! How weak!" At this moment, like a man who is just a few seconds away from drowning, Pedro remembered how he failed miserably in the past, for some reason. The times he lost in the Tier-C League Finals¡­ The times he lost his guild members¡ªwhom he even treated as if they were his own family¡­ To the times where he remembered how the people of Kagat Village celebrated and thanked him upon the rescue of Village Chief Antonio''s Wife and Daughter, to the memorable times he had with Madame Soledad, Kentaro, Alivia, and his other mentors in the Karakoa Fleet¡ªwho had trusted him and treated him as if he was their family! He remembered it all as if he was about to perish. And as he draws his last breath like a drowning man, Pedro bit his lips and murmured, "I won''t give up¡­" Then, in the next second, his eyes burned with the desire to live¡ªconsequently releasing strong magical energy that was even able to push Faunia''s Mana Outburst for almost an inch away from his front. At the same time, Sabrina''s intense desire to protect Pedro and save him from a seemingly perilous state had seemingly ignited the almost non-existent magical energy that she was releasing to oppose the Mana Outburst of Faunia. "I WILL BE THE STRONGEST!" "I WON''T LET YOU DIE!" Pedro and Sabrina said respectively as they were able to manifest a Mana Outburst that was strong enough to push Faunia''s Mana Outburst back, almost a foot away in front of them. Compared to a drowning man, Pedro and Sabrina have an oxygen mask this time¡ªthat enables them to survive for a limited period of time. Unfortunately, to them, their ''time limit'' had soon come. And eventually, all of their magical energy was sucked up dry. Consequently, both of them had slowly lost their consciousness as their pen-knives crashed into the ground one by one. Of course, when Pedro and Sabrina lost their consciousness, Faunia stopped releasing Magical Energy, consequently allowing Clara to charge and handle the baby spiders¡ªwhich should be farmed by Sabrina and Pedro. While Ragas went to properly lay Sabrina and Pedro down into the floor. The mother spider was not eliminated as Pedro ordered the three NPCs, no matter what. While Pedro and Sabrina were not given any help in restoring their mana because this was a part of their training that falls under their Mana Restoration Capability. After all, it can only be improved when ''naturally'' restoring their mana. The more there was a demand on someone''s body to recover their mana on a daily basis, the more their Mana Restoration Capability would speed up and improve. After several hours of sleep, Pedro and Sabrina woke up and resumed the same training. Unfortunately, there was not that much of an improvement that could be noticed. Well¡­ It''s not like they are not improving. It''s just that it''s not visible in the naked eye, at the least. On the other hand, Clara and Ragas were on duty¡ªtaking care of the baby spiders while Pedro and Sabrina were asleep. Since there was not much to teach the two love birds, it was only natural to be on guard duty instead. Besides... Although Faunia was helping in their training, she was still recuperating her injuries, and is best for her to at least have as much rest as possible. Well¡­ Helping Pedro and Sabrina in their training was not that much of a problem¡­ Because the two love birds would only last a few minutes before going back to sleep. Had they been like this in real life, they would have had been called lazy trashes by their family. Hours passed, and eventually days. And on their third day of training, they were able to last around 17 minutes awake while resisting Faunia''s Mana Outburst. At the same time, they were able to obtain such feat by learning¡ªalong the way, to regulate or control the amount of magical energy that they release to counter or push Faunia''s Mana Outburst. It was a good improvement for the two love birds since it would be a part of the second stage of the mastery of Mana Utilization¡ªthe Mana Control. In any case, Pedro and Sabrina were taking leaps ahead of every other player. If the members of the Adventurer''s Guild can establish a good foundation as players, then, Pedro and Sabrina are doing their best to establish a good foundation to become one of the strongest entities in the game. Something that can be compared similarly to the distance between heaven and earth. And on the fourth day of their training, a piece of good news arrived. Not about matters related in-game, but matters in the real world! After a session of Pedro and Sabrina''s training for the fourth day, Pedro had awakened in real life¡ªwhile his character on the game was asleep. It was not something unusual. But the good news is that Pedro was now able to move without pain, despite still lying on his VR Box. This, in turn, was a positive note¡ªindicating Pedro''s trauma less recovery was successful. And with that in mind, he was transferred from the intensive care unit room to the VIP room of the hospital that was prepared beforehand in anticipation of Pedro''s recovery. "Oi, Kid! I heard that you hit the jackpot in the game this time!" His grandma scolded whilst his mother, Mrs. Caroline Armaz¡ªtogether with Sabrina and Sabrina''s Mother, Mrs. Marisa Conception, were taking care of some stuff as they settle into the VIP room. Taking advantage of this chance to give him some ''tips'', his grandma continued, saying, "But don''t let that distract you! Still focus on your studies and graduate! It''s still different being a degree holder rather than a high school graduate!" Mrs. Caroline Armaz and Mrs. Marisa Conception could only smile and nod in response¡ªas if agreeing to what Pedro''s grandma said. On the other hand, Pedro¡ªat the same time, Sabrina, could only force out a smile in response. They can only remain silent and refrain from answering back to avoid ''adding fuel to the fire'' and, at the same time, out of respect to their elders. Besides¡­ The less they say the less mistake they do. Chapter 252: The Love Birds Training Part 3! "Of course, grandma¡­" Pedro said with a bitter smile. His grandma simply sighed in response and said, "Good! You''re lucky that your doctor stopped me from giving you your lecture materials and such. Else¡­ You''d be studying by now! Anyway¡­ Enjoy your free time while it last!" "Ma¡­ Please take it easy on Pedro. He just got transferred from the ICU. I am sure that he''ll be able to find a way to catch up with the lessons and lectures that he missed in the past month." Mrs. Caroline Armaz said respectfully. Then, she added, "I even talked to his professors and said that they would do their best to adjust their lectures in consideration to Pedro''s case. So, you don''t need to worry much about it." "Aish!" Pedro''s grandma could only flick her tongue and murmured in response, saying, "I am just reminding him about his responsibilities¡ªnow that his recovery is almost finished!" Everyone could only force out a smile deep inside in response. They all know that old people like Pedro''s Grandma only cared about their future. They have experienced the most in life, including the hardships that came from being uneducated. So, they understood where Pedro''s grandma was coming from. Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "You don''t need to worry about my school, grandma! I''ll do my best to catch up with the lessons, as soon as my body regains back its strength. That aside¡­ The doctor suggested that I enroll in some kind of sports clinic once I can stand and move my body once again¡­ Considering that outdoor sports won''t even be a possible choice while I am here in the hospital, Why don''t I train some kind of martial arts instead? I mean¡­ Wouldn''t it be good to learn self-defense along the way?" "Self Defense?! Self Defense?! Stop spouting nonsense!" Pedro''s grandma scolded. Then, she swung her hands with full force as if she was slashing someone with a machete, while saying, "All you need is a machete and you can chase anyone who dares to mess with you to their deaths!" Everyone could not help but laugh in response. After a few seconds, Pedro calmed down and said, "Aish, grandma! I only said to defend myself not to kill someone. Besides¡­ How can I bring Machetes in broad daylight, nowadays? I would get reported to the police if I do that! Hahaha!" "Aish¡­" Pedro''s grandma could not help but surrender this time. Well¡­ His grandma was just telling Pedro how they did ''self-defense'' during their days. Without the presence or availability of guns, civilians back then only have machetes with them that are often used in farming. At this moment, Sabrina approached Pedro''s grandma and handed her a plate with fried rice and fried chicken with matching gravy, together with a pair of spoon and fork. She said, respectfully, "Grandma, here''s your lunch po." "Ah¡­ Thanks!" Pedro''s grandma nodded with a smile towards Sabrina. Then, she continued saying, "What a good girl! P-Please have a lot of patience with my grandson, ha!" Sabrina bowed respectfully with a beautiful smile on her face and said, "Yes, Grandma! I will po!" Pedro''s nodded with a smile in response. Then, she averted her gaze towards Sabrina''s mother and said, "Mrs. Conception, thank you very much for the food! You and Sabrina even went out of your way just to visit my grandson!" "That''s nothing po!" Marisa Conception, Sabrina''s Mom, said respectfully. Then, she smiled and said, "That''s the least we can do for Pedro." "Nevertheless, thanks!" Pedro''s grandma said¡ªfull of gratitude. Then, she raised the plate on her hands slightly, and said, "Let''s eat! The food will get cold!" "Yes, po!" The three ladies said in response as Pedro could only make a bitter smile out of envy from everyone else. ''Ugh¡­ That fried rice and fried chicken¡­ Plus the gravy! I want to eat one too¡­'' Pedro grumbled deep inside¡ªtogether with his stomach. At the end of that day, it was decided that Pedro and Sabrina would be enrolled in a Tae Kwon Do class to be taught by Sabrina''s Uncle who was a Tae Kwon Do instructor himself. Well¡­ Sabrina herself was a brown belter in Tae Kwon Do, during her elementary days. But because it has been a long time since he last practiced the said martial arts, she decided to take the class from the start once again, with Pedro. And since it would be awkward if Pedro and Sabrina were the only ones who would be taking the class in the hospital, they invited Aldo, Loren, and even Pedro''s cousin, Weyron, to join them. Well¡­ Truth be told, Pedro wanted to learn martial arts not only to maintain his body''s strength but to also gain the chance to master a specific fighting style and even apply it in in-game use. Although it was not in-line with the goal of such martial arts group most of the time, they can''t still avoid the fact that through VR simulation could they be able to showcase the advantages of their fighting style against others. In fact, amongst the professional leagues in the Bearth Online on Pedro''s past life, most of the gaming organizations in Tier-C Rankings had recruited masters in various martial arts¡ªor even real-life mercenaries, ex-soldiers, ex-police, or even ex-professional players of different sports, just to be included in the rankings. However, Pedro knew that such things have limits. Yes, they are a step higher in terms of physical ability compared to professional players of VR Games. But, they lack the experience and knowledge in surviving at VR Games like Bearth Online. Thus, their recruitment could only become a temporary solution¡ªlike a substitute once the main player is not available. That said, it was a different story if they, an experienced player, would try to improve their physical abilities. Well¡­ It''s not that their body condition would degrade after long hours of playing. The miracle solution Lifo was developed to counter that problem. In fact, Pedro''s recovery was thanks to that miraculous liquid. But¡­ It would not hurt them if they would move their limbs as usual in real life. That is why Pedro always involves such training, even in his past life. It can only be said that he''s casually taking steps forward in integrating real-life training with the in-game development of players. Back in the game, Pedro had needed to return a couple of times to the Tarala Kingdom and create as many Aron Burners as he can for the Adventurer''s Guild''s disposal as they expand to other strongholds. As for the Market Sector of the Adventurer''s Guild, Pedro had handed over its temporary control to Neerak Axutar since Weyron was able to fully gain control over the management of the Adventurer''s Guild. Since Pedro''s knowledge and mastery of Blacksmithing was not yet profound, he had no choice but to outsource the weapons, skill pages, and everything else sold in the Adventurer''s Guild''s Market. At this moment, Pedro had event contracted several Blacksmiths to directly sell their creation under the Adventurer''s Guild''s Market. Well¡­ The establishment of Adventurer''s Guild was an outstanding scheme by Pedro. Players would be given quests¡ªsuch as material gathering or monster hunts. The players, then, would be given a payment in return¡ªor ''reward'' as they call it. Afterward, the players would use that money to buy food and replenish their resources so they could take more quests and consequently increase their level and strength along the way. On the other hand, the Adventurer''s Guild would supply the materials gathered to blacksmiths, cooks, and even alchemists, to produce products that the players can buy later on. With the ''crafting fee'' that is equivalent to the ''profit'' that the crafters would get by producing such items on their own, many crafters¡ªsuch as blacksmiths, cooks, and alchemists, chose to simply work under the Adventurer''s Guild, where they can simply craft without worry and earn money non-stop. The remaining profit was split into two. A part goes to Pedro as commission while the other half goes back to the Adventurer''s Guild to be used as budget in issuing quests. Of course, the Adventurer''s Guild knows that the crafters would consequently increase their proficiency on their respective jobs so, they required the crafters to take on apprentices¡ªwhich were the human slaves that Pedro kept buying. That way, in case Pedro needs to mass produce a certain product, he can leave such troublesome matters to his slaves. With all of that in mind, it could be said that it was a ''win-win situation'' to all sides. The Strongholds gets aid from the unified adventurers¡­ The adventurers¡ªor players, gets stronger along the process¡­ The Crafters gain profit like they never did before¡­ The Adventurer''s Guild obtains influence and Authority¡ªunder Weyron¡­ And Pedro earns a lot of coins while being able to develop the crafting abilities and being able to increase the experience of his slaves. It was a perfect scheme that Pedro had established. Well¡­ It would be difficult for such thing to be taken down. After all, the cause of the Continental Quest was already in his hands. In other words, he dictates on how long this scenario would last. Add up the fact that the player count¡ªeven in Asian Server alone, were increasing exponentially as time goes by, the demand on the Adventurer''s Guild had even increased to the point that players from other Servers even tried to establish the same thing but only to miserably fail. Unfortunately, due to the damage caused by unmanaged adventurers, majority of the human strongholds in other servers had even destroyed their own teleportation platforms¡ªconsequently slowing their non-stop summon. And instead, the various strongholds had start to establish teleportation portals in the wild and far away from their territory. This way, the NPCs could use ''the nature''¡ªor in other words the monsters, to trim the adventurer''s population and only leave the best among them to be able to survive and eventually reach their stronghold. With that, only those adventurers whom they have a use are the only ones that they needed to take care off. As for the others¡­ They are pretty much on their own. Such players could only form in groups and try to survive whilst envying the players in the Asian Server¡ªwho are able to develop and level up with ease. Chapter 253: Intruders in Their Training Area! ''Things have drastically changed compared to the past¡­'' Pedro sighed deep inside. Then, he shook his head and said, ''Well¡­ The good thing is that I am benefitting from it. I wonder what changes would happen because of my interference.'' Pedro simply raised his shoulders and said, "Who knows! I am not a fortune teller to find out!" Pedro chuckled to himself. At this moment, Sabrina¡ªtogether with Clara, arrived with them on top of the Tarala Kingdom''s North-Western Wall¡ªoverseeing the bustling Adventurer''s Guild below them, with the picture-perfect setting sun to their left. "There''s no problem within the Adventurer''s Guild," Sabrina said, casually. Then, she followed Pedro''s gaze and glanced to the Adventurer''s Guild below them, while saying, "There are some minor conflicts amongst the adventurers¡ªlike loot distribution conflicts, but¡­" "That''s the adventurer''s problems! It is beyond the organization''s control since the collaboration and agreements were made by themselves." Pedro said as he interjected with a calm demeanor. On the other hand, Sabrina simply nodded in response. Then, she glanced towards Pedro, who looked like a legendary figure with the orange sky and the setting sun behind him. She could only smile genuinely and gasp, murmuring, "What a view¡­" Noticing Sabrina spoke, Pedro consequently glanced towards her¡ªmaking them stare in each other''s eyes. Their minds shifted into neutral as all thoughts suddenly disappeared in their minds. Their hearts started to race faster as the winds were seemingly pushing them to each other. However, at this moment, a strong magical energy blew towards them¡ªmaking them reactively use Magical Outburst in response. That said, the strong magical energy simply flew by them and disappeared in the next second. Thus, the love birds also stopped releasing their magical energy afterward. Then, they reactively glanced towards Faunia as if asking ''what was that for?''. Faunia simply chuckled in response. Then, she said, "Stop your useless love thing, humans! It''s been two days since you last trained using your magical energy without using those puny Enmas Skills! If you have time to do such things¡­ Do it while training!" Pedro and Sabrina could not help but smile in response¡ªcontrary to the annoyed reaction that Faunia assumed beforehand. Well, Faunia did not care that much about it and simply crossed her arms, while asking, "So, are we gonna keep standing here, or are we gonna go back to the training area?" "Of course¡­ We go back to the training area!" Pedro said with a smirk on his face. Then, he walked towards the edge of the kingdom''s wall and said, "But since it is not that far from here by foot¡­ Why don''t we walk our way there instead? After all¡­ The use of the teleportation portal is too expensive! There won''t be any problems for everyone, right?" Faunia could only shake her head in response and murmur, "Expensive my ass! You''re just greedy, human!" Pedro simply chuckled in response and jumped off the Forty Feet high wall, while saying, "See you all later!" Faunia could not help but shake her head in response and started walking towards the edge of the wall while saying, "If you don''t want to arrive last¡­ I suggest that you all move now!" In the blink of an eye, Faunia disappeared with the breeze of the wind. Sabrina, Ragas, and Clara could not help but force out a smile in response. Well¡­ Unlike Pedro and Faunia¡ªwho were a bit short-tempered and lazy, Sabrina, Ragas, and Clara were still well-mannered beings. In fact, Ragas even bowed towards Clara and Sabrina¡ªlike a butler, while saying, "Young Miss, Young Alerian¡­ Please go ahead first!" The two girls simply nodded towards Ragas in response and left¡ªusing the normal way down the wall and out of the Kingdom. Ragas simply followed behind them, ensuring that no one would be left behind. Just half an hour later, Faunia arrived at the ''Spider Farm Dungeon'' of Pedro¡ªat the side of Baliu Mountain facing the Baliu Village and the Tarala Kingdom. The forest near the entrance of the dungeon on that side had somehow started to be filled with spider webs all over the place. That said, Faunia even ignored the presence of the baby spiders that were able to escape the dungeon and simply made a path straight into the dungeon. However, before she could even go any deep into the dungeon, she encountered a group of adventurers¡ªwho were seeming standing in guard in that area. "Humans?" Faunia murmured to herself. Then, she thought deep inside, asking herself, ''What are they doing in this place? I should inform the ''greedy'' human about this!'' However, before Faunia could even talk to Pedro telepathically, one of the four men chuckled upon seeing her, and said, "A little girl? What are you doing here? This a dangerous place! So, please leave as soon as possible! Some of our guildmates¡ªfrom the Kiwi Guild, are somewhere outside this dangerous cave. Go find them and they would bring you back to the Baliu Village." "A little girl?!" Faunia asked with a frown on her face. Her teeth were gritted as her eyes glared towards the players¡ªfull of killing intent. Then, she grumbled, saying, "YOU! A PEST! A PEST DARED TO CALL ME A LITTLE GIRL!?" At this moment, the players could not help but shiver in fear as their bodies unconsciously took a step away from Faunia. Of course, they reactively grabbed their weapons and were ready to engage and fight Faunia. That said, since Faunia really looked like a little girl, the players did not dare attack her immediately and even gave her another chance, saying, "Little girl, we''re not bad people! This place is indeed a dangerous place. So, for your safety, leave immediately. Else¡­ If you insist on staying longer, then, we don''t have a choice but to use force and drag you out of this place¡ªeven if we needed to do so." Faunia''s fist simply tightened in response. At this moment, she can''t help but to angrily talk with Pedro telepathically. She said, "Greedy Human! THERE ARE SOME PESTS CALLING ME A LITTLE GIRL, HERE IN OUR TRAINING AREA! They said they are some kind of member of a so-called Kiwi Guild! Knowing your relations with other humans¡­ Tell me¡­ Are they allies or not?" "Pests? Humans?" Pedro asked in response, telepathically. "Uhm!" Faunia simply responded. "Did they say where they were from?" Pedro asked. "They did not¡­ But from the looks of it, they are somehow affiliated with a place called Baliu Village!" "Hooo¡­ I see!" Pedro said in response. Then, after a few seconds of deliberation, Pedro chuckled and said, "Do as you please!" Faunia chuckled in response and said, both telepathically and in actual, "Noted!" At this moment, the players¡ªwho were still scolding Faunia and telling her to leave, could only stare at her and frown, thinking whether Faunia would really follow their advice or she''d be like a brat who is difficult to persuade. Unfortunately, their indecisiveness had become the cause of their death. Before they could utter a word or inform their fellow guildmates, their heads fell down the floor as their vision slowly went gray. Then, a notification from their player interface popped out¡ªtelling them that they were being forced out of the game and that their characters died and would be deleted. "Fuuuuuck!" The four players cried as their vision completed faded. On the other hand, Faunia took their inventory bags and placed them inside hers. Then, she took out another inventory bag where she placed the four men''s corpses. And it may look like it took her a minute or more to do so, but, in fact, Faunia was able to do it in just a few second''s notice with the help of her golden chains. Then, without wasting any chance, she went deeper into the dungeon and killed every single player that she was able to encounter. This time, the players weren''t even aware of Faunia''s presence and simply died out of nowhere like magic. After a minute, there was nothing but the Spider Queen, a few ''Food'' Carrying Spiders, and a few baby spiders were left. Thus, unlike how it was when Pedro and the Advance Force 1 were training here two days ago, the rate at which the Spider Queen was laying baby spiders was ten times slower. Faunia knew that Pedro was using the spiders for some reason¡ªto the point that he did not want to disrupt their cycle by any means. Now that the cycle was 10 times slower, she knew that Pedro would be annoyed if he learns about it, at the least. That said, Faunia was not concerned about the cycle or whatnot. She was worried that their training would be affected by humans who are freely lurking around that area, instead. Well¡­ They can easily take care of other players. However, it would be really annoying if they need to get out of their way often times just to silence such players. Whichever is the case, Pedro still has the final say on everything so Faunia simply decided to wait for Pedro''s decision instead and simply protect that area before they arrive. Besides¡­ It would be a good chance for her to ''exercise'' from time to time. And the players were the best way to ''stretch'' her limbs a bit. Chapter 254: The Gift: Freedom From Slavery! Faunia defended their ''Training Area'' from intruders for another hour before Pedro had arrived. Unfortunately, it was already evening at that time¡ªconsequently making hunting difficult for Pedro. And since it was also difficult for other players to move at night, Pedro knew that the players would simply stay in their camps. So, he did not pursue any further, regarding the cleaning of players in the vicinity. That said, he was angered by the fact that his Attack Damage Farm was almost destroyed. Thus, in order to avoid complicated matters to occur¡ªsuch as requests on the Adventurer''s Guild Baliu Village Branch to inspect the areas near the dungeon, Pedro had even consulted with Weyron for their potential course of action regarding that issue. In the end, it was decided that the Adventurer''s Guild would impose restrictions in the entrance to the Baliu Mountain due to the ''irregularities'' detected at the said area. During that time, Pedro would seal the original entrances with boulders while, at the same time, creating a new path out of the dungeon. Unfortunately, they cannot completely demolish the two original paths because the runic formation of the said dungeon would be damaged if they did so. Thus, they could only place boulders to block the entrance and make it blend naturally with the mountain so that the other players would not be able to locate it once again. As for the new entrance, Pedro and Ragas worked together to dig a new entrance, which they also placed runic traps of their creation. With the use of newbie swords and an Aron Burner as traps, they were able to establish a hellish path that would certainly kill any player and prohibit them from entering the said cave. Well, in the end, that said path would lead them to Pedro''s group¡ªwhich no player nor group of players can defeat. Thus, it was safe to say that the Spider Dungeon was under their control once again. Unfortunately, the rate at which the Spider Queen could produce an offspring was reduced to one-tenth of its original rate two days ago and was irreversible. In fact, if Faunia had not arrived on time, there would have not been any Food-Transporting Spiders left¡ªleaving the Spider Queen alone. "It was commendable that the adventurers were able to find a way to eliminate the mobs of this dungeon in two days, at the most! They could even clear this dungeon if we did not interfere!" Pedro said with a smirk on his face. Then, he added, saying, "Unfortunately, for them, I found this dungeon first! And it''s mine to clear no matter what! As for my Farm¡­ It''s not like we can''t find another way to return the rate of production of an offspring of the Spider Queen to its normal. At worst, all we need to do is to feed the Spider Queen by ourselves!" "Heh! Are you really a human?" Faunia asked with a smug on her face. Then, she added, saying, "You are secretly keeping a monster created by the Demons of Gluttony! Shouldn''t you be the one leading the annihilation of such demonic beings?" At this moment, Clara could not help but glance at Pedro¡ªwaiting for his explanation. On the other hand, Ragas and Sabrina did not give that much care about it. Sabrina has a complete trust in Pedro and is a player herself, while Ragas did not give that much thought about human lives like Faunia. That said, Pedro simply smirked in response. Then, he said, "Don''t misunderstand. I am not keeping them! I am using them to increase my strength in a certain manner, nothing more! And as my strength increases, so does the limit into which I can be of help to humanity¡ªin fact, even to other races. So¡­ I am just wisely capitalizing on this chance available right in front of me." Faunia simply smirked in response. Then, her eyes glanced towards Clara, while saying, "Did you hear that, human? I have been sensing the unease in your heart in the past few days! If you think that we are conspiring against humanity¡­ Then, you are mistaken! Although we act for our own benefits, it does not mean that we support any of the shitty acts of those bastard Demons! You got that?!" After hearing what Faunia said, Ragas and Sabrina could not help but to steal a glance towards Clara¡ªseemingly wary of her actions. That said, Clara simply shrugged their glares of and acted coldly as if there was no problem. Then, she said, "It''s not my problem on which sides you are! And it''s not like I am a part of either side! Whether it be good or evil, it does not matter to me! I am taking the side of those who I can call a family! So, remember that I am joining you in your journey to know whether if all of you can be really called my new family!" Pedro simply smiled in response. Then, he glanced and nodded towards Faunia while telepathically saying, ''Can you break the slave collar of Ragas and Clara?'' Faunia chuckled deep inside in response and said, ''I know that you are going to ask me about that! Anyway¡­ You don''t need to worry! I can do that much! However¡­ I might enter into a weakened state after doing so¡ªconsidering that I am still under my recovery! So¡­ If you really want to break their slave collars¡­ Be sure that we could, at the least, escape from them when they became rogue!" "Do not worry!" Pedro glanced to Sabrina¡ªwhich was followed by Faunia. Then, he added, "If that happened¡­ We still have her!" Faunia simply burst into laughter in response. Then, when she calmed down, she said, "Indeed!" In the next tick of the clock, Faunia appeared in front of Ragas¡ªwith her left hand tightly gripping the thick metallic collar on his neck. Then, Faunia''s left hand was shrouded by a thick black aura that activated a weak red blood aura from the slave collar¡ªwhich was somehow making Ragas choke. Of course, in response, Ragas'' skin changed as he transformed into his humanoid form¡ªout of safety reasons. But before his worry and fears could even increase, the slave collar, together with the red blood aura around it, was crushed into pieces. Ragas fell to the ground as he started coughing in response. On the other hand, Clara and Sabrina could only watch everything in response. However, before they could even make another sound, Faunia arrived in front of Clara and repeated the same procedure in destroying Clara''s Slave Collar. In turn, Clara also went to her knees, coughing furiously like someone who got choked. That said, compared to Ragas, Clara did not have a humanoid form, thus, a reddish mark on her neck could be found afterward¡ªindicating that something tight wrapped around his neck recently. However, such things were not important. When Clara was able to stabilize herself and was able to breathe properly once again, she glanced towards Pedro and asked, "W-What did you just do? W-Why did you destroy the slave collars in our necks? Are you not afraid of us, going against you?!" "S-She¡­" Ragas coughed a few times. Then, he continued, saying, "She is right! W-Why did you set us free from our limiters!" Faunia crossed her arms in response and grumbled, saying, "Can''t you just be happy that we got rid of your curses! Why do you even need to ask too many questions after doing that? Besides¡­ Is it just me, or are the two of you too blind to recognize our goodwill!" Before the situation gets out of hand, Pedro shook his head and interjected, saying, "Just consider it as a gift from me. Besides¡­ I don''t feel comfortable just seeing the thick metals around your necks." At this moment, Clara coughed one last time before standing up. Then, she said, "This would be a favor that I would owe you! But it does not mean that it would be enough to prove to me that you are credible enough to be considered as my new family! Well¡­ Not yet at the least!" Pedro simply sighed in response and said, "Do as you please! It''s not like we expected anything in return when we released both of you from your slave collars!" "Well¡­ It good that we''re clear about that!" Clara said before she took a deep sigh. At this moment, Ragas was able to calm himself and revert to his human form. Then, the two of them stretched their necks¡ªas if weights have been removed from their necks. "Young Master¡­ I suggest that you don''t do such things again." Ragas said in a cold tone. Then, he added, "Not all beings are like me and that human! You''d eventually get stabbed in the back if you continue to be this soft to other beings! Everyone is susceptible to all kinds of temptation after all!" Pedro simply smirked evily in response and said, "You don''t need to tell me! I, at the least, know that!" Chapter 255: Combat Trainings of the Two Love Birds! It took Ragas and Clara several minutes before they were able to adjust as they returned to their normal state¡ªfree from the binds of the slave collars. At this moment, Pedro and Sabrina were busy farming the spiders with the use of their respective Katana, since there were only a handful of baby spiders that were spawned in each batch. Of course, there was a catch. They needed to fight them without relying on their Demonic Eyes. Well, Pedro planned that they farm with their eyes closed. But because they need to consider the potential threat that Clara or Ragas can give to them, Pedro decided to settle with not activating their Demonic Eyes instead. This way, Faunia won''t need to do everything by herself in case of emergencies. Besides¡­ She was still not in her best shape. So, even the training itself needed to be moved a few hours later. Well, it''s not like what they were doing was just a waste of time. It has been a long time since Pedro and Sabrina had fought monsters without using the Pen-Knives. It was a good opportunity to ''stretch'' their limbs from time to time. After all, it is still completely different if they are fighting enemies by themselves, compared to just sitting back and letting the Pen-knives work their magic. On the other hand, Ragas and Clara knew that Faunia had used quite a bit of Mana in destroying their slave collars, so, they also knew that Pedro and Sabrina''s training on Mana Outburst would be pushed later on¡ªafter Faunia was able to regain the Magical Energy that she lost. Fortunately, none of them had ill-intentions against Pedro, Sabrina, nor Faunia. Thus, instead of letting Pedro and Sabrina train their ''instinct'' fighting style against the baby spiders, Ragas and Clara took turns in giving Pedro and Sabrina lectures about Hand to Hand Combat¡ªfor Ragas, and Sword Mastery¡ªfor Clara. Later on, Pedro decided to focus on such combat training instead, to allow Faunia to focus on her own recovery first before continuing the Mana Outburst Training. Well¡­ Everyone is in favor of that arrangement, especially Pedro and Sabrina. It was a chance to polish their combat abilities and not just be like newbies who simply swing their swords in the hopes that they would be able to hit and deal damage to their enemies. They would be able to learn the pros and cons of each combat method, as well as their most effective uses. Besides¡­ Being able to learn the proper way to fight in the two combat styles would allow them to maximize their attacks and unlock their fullest potential in the future. That said, it was not the only combat training that they have. Other than Ragas'' hand-to-hand combat training, they were also having a Tae Kwon Do training outside the game. Well¡­ Only Sabrina was doing well in the training outside the game. Pedro''s movements were still restricted in the real life, so, he can only do weak kicks¡ªthat was only aimed to stretch his body from time to time. Time passed by, and since the time in-game was twice faster in real life, after ten days, in-game time, Faunia was able to recover from her injuries already. At this moment, Pedro and Sabrina were able to master the basics of hand-to-hand combat and the basics of wielding two-handed swords similar to a Katana, and one-handed swords that were almost similar to machetes. As for their Tae Kwon Do training in real life, only Sabrina showed great improvement and progress in her training. That said, both of them were able to incorporate the techniques that they have learned in the game¡ªeven using it against Ragas or even Clara when an opportunity rises during their spar. However, their training both in-game and in real life was not easy. They needed to practice a single stroke, a single kick, or a single attack a hundred times a day to master them. And it was not only a single strike using a sword, a single kick, or a single attack combination, or a single punch that they needed to master and do repetitively each day. Fortunately, they were able to adjust to their new daily routine in those past ten days in-game. It would often only take them several hours to complete before they could start their spar with Clara and Ragas. And after that, they resumed their Mana Outburst Training with Faunia. Eventually, the two love birds would lose their consciousness in-game, due to their Magical Energy being drained to its limit. Consequently, they would wake up later on in real life¡ªgiving them an hour or two of rest in real life. Sabrina would often use this time to take care of matters related to her studies, while Pedro would use it to exercise his body while taking care of some matters related to the two gaming organizations that they were going to establish. Luckily, this time, when he went offline from the game, he had two guests who visited him in the hospital with his grandma and mother. He can''t help but smile as he woke up and was greeted by his noisy family and relatives. "It''s been a long time, Aunt Veronica, Cousin Weyron! How are the two gaming organizations doing?" Pedro said in a slightly weak tone. "Nephew!" Pedro''s Aunt Veronica cried as her face wore a smile. Then, she said, "I am glad that you are getting better as time goes by!" "Thanks, Aunt!" Pedro nodded with a smile towards his Aunt Veronica. Then, he glanced towards Weyron and said, "I am amazed that you could even go off the game¡ªconsidering your position and the job you need to do regarding the guild, cousin." Weyron simply smirked in response and said, "I have many friends, cousin! And they are quite capable to do some matters on my behalf! Hahahaha!" "You''re as crafty as ever, Wey!" Pedro chuckled in response. Then, he said, "Anyway¡­ Be sure to compensate them properly in return. After all, they are still your friends. It''s obvious that they won''t be able to do charity works forever. Even they have a limit." "Aish! Cousin Peds, you worry too much!" Weyron grumbled. Then, he sighed and said, "There won''t be any loose ends, alright! Besides¡­ They can already be considered as someone amongst my closest of friends. Don''t you think that it would rude if I insisted for them to be compensated?" Pedro simply burst into laughter in response. Then, he said, "I know! I know! All I am saying is that¡­ If they are already playing a huge role¡ªeven a critical role in our gaming organizations, won''t it be best to give them an ''offer'' and ensure that they won''t leave for other gaming organizations, no matter what?" "Still¡­" Weyron understands what Pedro wanted to say. However, he was somehow hesitant to give his friends an offer similar to professional players because he knew that his relationship with his friends might get affected, including how they were currently playing the game. That said, his friends were already playing a role in their gaming organization. Thus, he knew that it was only a matter of time before things get more difficult for them, and could eventually affect the way they are currently playing the game. So, Weyron could only scratch the back of his head and said, "Let me see what I can do. But I won''t promise that I''d give them offers immediately, cousin Peds. I would like to leave the final decision in their hands, alright?" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "That''s better, Wey! Because at the end of the day, games are all about competition. And oftentimes, the enemies would strike at our weakest part without hesitation! So¡­ We must leave no such weak parts if we can." "Aish!" At this moment, Pedro''s Grandma handed over a plate, a spoon, and a fork with a frown on her forehead. Then, she scolded them, saying, "Talking about the game right off the bat! Can''t you two eat first and talk about something else first? My ears are quite painful lately¡ªhearing nothing but the word ''games'' every single minute!" Pedro and Weyron could not help but to force out a smile in response. Then, they respectfully took the plate, the spoon, and the fork from their grandma, while saying in unison, "Of course, grandma!" "Good! Good!" Pedro''s grandma nodded in response with a smile on her face. Then, she glanced to Weyron and asked, "So, let''s talk about your studies mister! How are your grades doing? Don''t tell me that you are going to fail again that math subject of yours?!" Weyron simply smiled in response and said, "Don''t worry grandma! I''ll definitely pass this time! I did great in our Prelim Exam, and I did not have any issues with our Midterm Exam! Who knows¡­ I might even get a perfect score in my Midterm Exam! Hehehe." "Don''t get your hopes too high!" Their grandma said in a cold tone. Then, she added, saying, "Unless the results have been released, don''t be so cocky! You might still get a low score by any chance!" "Aish, grandma¡­ Don''t say that! It might come true!" Weyron argued but still maintaining respect towards their grandma. Then, he added, saying, "I did study well for the Midterm Exams. It would be heartbreaking for me¡ªyour favorite grandson, to have a low score on that!" "Tsk! I am just saying the truth!" Their grandma said after flicking her tongue. Then, she took this chance to change the topic, saying, "Enough of that! Let''s eat before the food gets cold!" Chapter 256: The News About the Exhibition Games! As Pedro took a bite of his gravy-filled fried chicken, he can''t help but be teary-eyed as his mouth started to water like a hungry wolf. Then, in the next second, he wolfs down his food without leaving a single grain of garlic rice left on his plate. "Take it easy, cousin Peds! We brought four buckets of fried chicken! I know that you missed these kinds of foods, but slow down a little bit, will you? It''s not like were soldiers undergoing training, so take your time in enjoying the foods we brought, okay?" Weyron said with a smirk on his face. At this moment, Pedro drank his water to avoid choking from the food that he gulped down in just a matter of minutes. Then, when he calmed down, he said, "You can''t blame me, Wey! I''ve been eating roasted¡ªif not raw, meat for more than a month." Weyron simply scoffed in response and said, "Speaking of which¡­ Why aren''t there fried chicken and stuff inside the game? I mean¡­ Even the ones sold in the Adventurer''s Guild''s Market were considered premium-grade food by the NPCs¡ªconsidering the fact that they are just mostly roasted or stewed with some vegetables¡­ No wonder you got fed up eating the same food over and over again." Pedro could only rub the back of his head and said, "Cooking itself was a difficult skill or ability to master. Nowadays, it might seem easy because of the internet and stuff¡­ You can just search what kind of dish you want to cook and it would just automatically give you the ''tested'' recipes of different people. However¡­ In ancient times, similar to the environment of the game, cooking is mostly learned through the idea of apprenticeship. And only after being able to cook numerous times would they be able to master cooking a dish! Thus, the concept of variance in the taste and availability of food is not profound." "I see¡­" Weyron nodded his head in response. At that moment, he was on deep thought¡ªprocessing the information that Pedro revealed. And it was only after a few seconds, was Weyron able to notice the smirk on Pedro''s face as if Pedro had something mischievous in mind. That said, Pedro did not need to tell Weyron what it was. Weyron kept thinking repeatedly about what Pedro just said until he thought of something that would be able to make Pedro smirk like that. Weyron smirked in response and said, "Perhaps¡­ Cousin Peds¡­ Are you planning to modernize the cooking methods inside the game??? Don''t tell me that the Adventurer''s Guild has a role to play in it?" "What do you think, Wey?" Pedro asked with a mischievous smirk. Then, he added, saying, "Have you forgotten how food affected the world in the past?" Weyron simply took a sip of his soft drinks in response before saying, "Only in the past? Even now, cousin Peds! Food greatly affects the world! Remember how fast-food restaurants were able to dominate the world? Should we also do it in the game?" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "We can''t do it for now. We are already short of hands and we even dare to expand our ventures in the game in other ways. We would fall sooner or later if we became too greedy! Let''s settle on what we can do first. Then, we can proceed with such things later on." "A trump card then¡­" Weyron murmured in response as he took another sip of his soft drinks. Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "I guess¡­ You can put it that way." Weyron simply forced out a smile in response and said, "For some reason¡­ I think that I am now afraid of how genius my cousin might be!" "Genius?" Pedro chuckled in response. Then, he drank his water before saying, "I''m not a genius! I''m just a lucky guy with lots of great ideas! Besides¡­ Such ideas would have been trash if I did not have the capability to turn them into actions. So¡­ I am definitely just a lucky man than a genius." "Yeah! Yeah! Whatever! Tell that to the dogs, they might even believe you say that!" Weyron in a mocking manner as he took another piece of fried chicken. At the same time, since Pedro had also finished his second piece of fried chicken, Weyron glanced towards Pedro and asked, "Do you want another chicken?" "Yeah! Thanks!" Pedro nodded with a smile. At this moment, they noticed that their grandma was starting to get annoyed¡ªprobably because they were talking something about a game in front of her. That said, it was inevitable for them to talk about such things. Thus, they simply go out of the topic from time to time until their grandma left after having lunch with them. Pedro''s mother, Mrs. Caroline Armaz, went together with their grandma and returned to their newly bought home in a building nearby. Thus, Pedro was left with his Aunt Veronica and his Cousin Weyron at this moment. And with her grandmother away, they can now discuss game-related matters¡ªfree of worry. "Cousin Peds, you''ve earned a lot of money from the auctioned skill page! It''s more than enough to pay the shameless requests of that woman!" Weyron grumbled to Pedro. Then, he said, "She may be strong, but I don''t like her attitude of asking too much money just by knowing the fact that we''re are going to represent your family''s company. So¡­ I don''t think that I would be having her under my guild¡­ or should I say gaming organization." Pedro could only scratch his head in response and asked, "Are you sure? I mean¡­ She should, at the least, have a reason behind her decisions. Besides¡­ She''s speaking on behalf of a group of people. How can you be sure that she''s the one who''d be benefiting from that all?" "Still¡­" Weyron shook his head in response and said, "It does not justify her shameless actions. It''s not like she''s one of those pro-VR players¡ªwhom, if I may say, were just asking for hundreds of thousands at the least. In Philippine Peso, on top of that! So¡­ I am still firm on my decision! If possible, I don''t want to handle her, nor the players with her. I have already met many people like them, and they were all the same! There would only be conflicts between me and them in the future if that happened." "I understand," Pedro said in response. Then, he added, saying, "That said¡­ I can''t let her join my men if she can''t even obtain your trust and approval! So, I''ll have to leave them under your observation first. Test them if you deemed needed. And if you think that they could at the least be trusted with some of our secrets, only then could they join my organization. On the other hand¡­ If they are not trustworthy, then I can only establish another sub-gaming organization and use them in some ways. Either way¡­ I believe that there''s more of a benefit than a loss in that deal." "Noted," Weyron said in a cold tone as he proceeded to the next topic. He said, "On another note¡­ The Game Developers of Bearth Online told us in advance that a simulated competition would be held to celebrate the official launch of the game. An exhibition game to be exact! Some Well-Known and influential Gaming Organizations and Personalities were invited to participate in the said event. Since we are related to affiliated companies with the Game Developers, we were given a special invitation to participate in the first run of the pro-league competition of the game as some kind of dark horse. Well¡­ It''s safe to say that the Game Devs wants to use this chance to give back the support that the affiliated companies gave to them by using that stage as some sort of advertisement." "Simulated Competition, huh?" Pedro asked with a frown on his face. Then, he asked, "Did they send the details about the mechanics of the competition?" Weyron shook his head in response and said, "Nah! We simply got informed about the said event and the fact that we were invited to participate. Other than that, there''s nothing else said in the email. I am also yet to talk to Uncle about it¡­ I even tried asking around to no avail." Pedro simply sighed in response and said, "I''ll see what I can do. I hope that I can get father to probe more details about it to the Game Developers so we can prepare beforehand." "As expected of the young master!" Weyron said with a mocking smile. Pedro simply laughed in response and said, "Young master my ass! Remember that your gaming organization is still a separate one from mine! If you''re not strong enough when that competition comes, don''t come crying to me after eating other''s dust! Hahahaha!" Weyron simply flicked his tongue and said, "Tsk! My men might not be that strong in your eyes¡­ But they are brave enough to fight anyone! So¡­ Don''t underestimate us too much, cousin Peds!" Pedro simply chuckled and said, "We''ll see¡­" Chapter 257: The Plans For a Gaming Camp! Before Pedro and Weyron could utter another word, Pedro''s Aunt Veronica faked a cough and said, "Before the two of you talk and dream of being able to participate in the exhibition games, we need to establish a gaming camp for the two organizations beforehand. We do not know what you specifically have in mind, nephew. So, we agreed to wait for your decision regarding this matter. Tell us what you had in mind¡­ The estimated budget for the gaming camp... The size of land area that you need... And which amenities are needed." At this moment, Pedro scratched the back of his head and said, "About that¡­ Initially, I planned to ask father about that¡ªconsidering the fact that the company owns several buildings in Manila. However, because of the profit that we gained from the auction, I am now thinking of going to a more independent path¡ªwhere we buy land and commission some contractors to build our gaming camp." "That''s the best choice we have." His Aunt said. "However, I am worried that our current budget won''t be enough for the construction of a gaming camp¡­ In case it is sufficient, there''s a probability that we''d lack the budget for other matters¡ªincluding the compensation of our players. So¡­ I think it is ideal for us to rent a place or utilize an unused space by the company in the meantime. After all, we don''t need to support that many players yet. Other than the players in charge of the management of the main branch of the Adventurer''s Guild and the players who have the potentials to be part of our pro-team, there''s not much need to require the other players under the two gaming organizations to attend the gaming camp for player development and such." "I understand what you are trying to say, aunt! However, I think that it is more budget-wise to have our own gaming camp in the long run." Pedro said before he smirked. Then, he said, "In any case¡­ Give me a few more days to think about this matter. I want to learn more about the details of the exhibition games so that I could see if there''s any way we could take that chance to earn some money. For now¡­ Try to see if there are any lots for sale around the Metro Manila Area¡ªor the adjacent provinces, and check their price. As for the land size¡­ It should be a hectare, at the least!" "A hectare?!" Weyron asked as his eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from their sockets. Then, he said in a mocking manner, "Are you going to build a small stadium, cousin Peds? Isn''t a hectare of land too huge for a gaming camp?" Pedro simply shook his head and said, "It''s smaller than you think it is, Wey! Anyhow¡­ Just do as I say. I''ll tell you guys more about it later on. What is important is to be able to estimate on how much the establishment of the gaming camps would cost." "Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha." Weyron laughed like a retard. Then, he asked, "Do you even need to finish your college degree, cousin? I mean¡­ You''re starting another company while there''s already another one that you would inherit in the near future!" Pedro simply forced out a smile in response and said, "Do you think that grandma and my parents would allow it? Besides¡­ It''s not like my course is that hard." ''Well¡­ I already took the very same classes and had even graduated with a good record in my past life. So¡­ It''s easy for me this time around and it would not hurt me to continue my studies.'' Pedro chuckled to himself deep inside. On the other hand, Weyron could only force out a smile in response as his mom, Pedro''s Aunt Veronica, glared at him while her hands were placed on her hips. She said, "Look at you! Being a bad influence on your cousin! And who told you that you don''t need to graduate from college too?" "Relax, ma!" Weyron said whilst forcing out a smile. Then, he added, saying, "It was only just a joke ok! I was being sarcastic! Sheesh! I don''t know if both of you can''t take any jokes or both of you are just slow to know that I am just joking¡­ Besides¡­ No one wants to be chased with a machete to the ends of the world by grandma! So, why would I be serious about that?" Pedro and his Aunt Veronica could only shake their heads in response as if they were saying, ''Excuses!''. Then, Pedro simply sighed and said, "Anyway¡­ How are the things in the game doing? I have been in training with Sabri and the NPCs for quite some time. Do you still have enough Aron Burners with you?" "Sabri? You mean, your girlfriend?" Weyron smirked as if he was teasing Pedro. Then, he said, "Hey, cousin¡­ What are the two of you training together? Don''t tell me that it is some kind of secret cultivation technique? You know¡­ The lover thing!" Pedro simply sighed in response and said, "Wey! I don''t do the same things that you do. I suggest that you don''t reveal your secret deeds right in front of Aunt. Hahahaha!" "Tsk!" Weyron flicked his tongue in response. Then, he frowned and said, "Secret deeds my ass! I don''t even have a girlfriend. And you tell me that I am doing such indecent things. Aish¡­ I don''t know if I would be angry or what!" Pedro''s Aunt Veronica simply laughed in response and said, "Aish¡­ Nephew! Don''t be too hard on your cousin. He hasn''t had a girlfriend for the past few years. That''s why he can say such things. It''s probably also the result of reading too many comics." "Aish¡­ Why do you guys need to bring up my unfortunate love life! Let''s talk about the game! The game!" Weyron complained that made Pedro and Veronica laugh. Then, when the two calmed down, Weyron said, "You don''t need to worry about the Aron Burners for now. We still have a lot on stock, even after catering the needs of the Kingdoms in the North and East side of Aquari Continent." "The South is the most populated area though¡­ Are you sure that you still have enough? Don''t hesitate to tell me if you still need more, or even if you have some problems that require my help. I''ll do my best to help." Pedro said. Then, he paused for a second and smirked, before saying, "Except love life problems¡­" "Aish!" Weyron could not help but grumble in response. Then, he sighed and said, "I am fine, okay. There are no problems and in case there are, I would immediately inform you about them. So, don''t worry!" Pedro simply nodded in response¡ªrelieved that there''s currently no problem which he needed to personally interfere concerning the Adventurer''s Guild. Then, Pedro glanced to his Aunt Veronica and asked, "How about the fleet, Aunt? Were there any problems that you encountered? Any problems that the NPCs reported?" Pedro''s Aunt Veronica simply shook her head in response and said, "There''s nothing notable on my side, nephew! In fact, I even have a piece of good news!" "Hooo¡­ Can I ask what is it, Aunt?" Pedro asked with a smile. Pedro''s Aunt Veronica said, "The critical patients, namely Arvedar and Yojiro, woke up a few days ago. Their body was still under recovery though. But Arvedar was even so eager to catch up with his friends¡ªwho were with you. It seemed like his two friends had been teasing him ever since the Adventurer''s Guild was founded." Pedro laughed in response and said, "Those three¡­ If that''s the case, then I''ll proceed with the transformation skill experiment. I''m just concerned that our players would think too highly of the transformation skills to the point that they would depend on it instead." Then, Pedro glanced to Weyron and said, "The same case for you, Wey! Don''t depend on the transformation skill too much! And don''t even think of it as a trump card of some sort! It would not be good for your character development, especially in the future!" Weyron sighed in response and said, "I know! I know! And FYI, I am taking the Sword Master''s training and the Mage''s training in my free time. So, you don''t need to worry about me. I learned my lesson when I got trashed by that green-haired brat with you!" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "That''s good! Just keep on doing that and you''ll see the results of your hard work soon. The Exhibition Games is coming, and you''ll see the difference between players who are dependent on skills and those players who really have skills!" "You seem to know a lot, cousin Peds?" Weyron asked. Pedro simply scratch the back of his head in response and said, "Of course! It should only be natural¡­ Because I am a gamer!" Chapter 258: Details of the Exhibition Games! After a couple of casual conversations, Weyron and his mother left as Pedro logged back into the game. And as usual, he had started his daily training with his training sword, the newbie sword. Unlike Sabrina, Pedro was not that compatible with a sword even though he was a sword wielder in his past life. Thus, he could only put more effort into his Sword Mastery Training than that of his close combat training. As for their Mana Outburst training with Faunia, they were now able to last around thirty minutes¡ªawake, against the Mana Outburst of Faunia. It was not because their Mana Capacity was increasing at a god-like rate nor were they able to increase their Mana Recovery to the point that it is regenerating at a bug-like speed. Rather, it was because they were able to control or limit the amount of the magical energy to the point that they may even be able to train Mana Control¡ªthe second stage of the mastery of Mana Utilization, at some time. That said, Pedro and Sabrina believed in Faunia, Clara, and Ragas'' teachings. Thus, they did not argue that much about their training because they know that in order to master the use of their Magical Energy, it is necessary to, first and foremost, have a high Mana Capacity and fast Mana Recovery. On the other hand, just because they can increase their Mana Capacity and Recovery through training, does not mean that the player system was faulty. In truth, the system was just indicating the actual strength of the players and the changes that happen to their characters'' bodies as it levels up. And unknown to them¡ªeven Pedro and Sabrina, there was no specific limit as to how much an individual''s body can handle the changes with matters concerning their Magical Energy¡ªor Mana, and their Health Points¡ªor known to NPCs as Life Force. Well¡­ Compared to Mana, Life Force or HP is a fixed variable that can''t be trained to increase. It was heavily dependent on a being''s level and would only increase permanently as their level and/or vitality attribute increases. That aside, there were still definitely limits on how much they can train and increase their Mana Capacity, Recovery, and Release through Mana Outburst Training. But they were still far from reaching it because they would only reach their limit when their body starts to get physically affected when using their Magical Energy to its maximum form. And because Pedro had once unleashed an outstanding amount of Magical Energy when he fought and defeated Faunia, he was still not even close to One Percent of his true capability. Add up the fact that he had increased his level many times since then, although there was a definite limit to what a human body can contain, the current level of Magical Energy being used by both players¡ªincluding Pedro and Sabrina, and the common NPCs were not even an ounce of their true capability. Fortunately, with the existence of the Adventurer''s Guild and the Continental Quest, players from the Aquari Continent were still attached to low-level quests, including the top-ranked players. That said, it was still way better compared to players on other servers because most of them are still busy trying to establish a decent ''safe zone'' for themselves. Although unified players in other servers were able to establish a place to stay for themselves, it did not last long as internal conflicts between different groups or factions of players occurred. Pedro knew about this fact and knows that it would take¡ªthe best factions/guild, at least half a month to establish a firm stronghold on their own. So, he was not necessarily in a hurry to establish the two gaming organizations and expand to the other servers. Besides¡­ He needs to have a firm grip on the Asian Server before he decides to expand to the other servers. ¡­ A day of training passed by like a wind, and the information about the Exhibition Games was sent to the participants ahead of the official announcement. The event was called Bearth Online Simulated Battles that was meant to introduce the future professional league of the game. As its name suggests, Simulate Battles are battles that would be held in a simulated environment using ''synchronized'' data of characters from the game''s main server. Items, Weapons, and such were included. However, anything with Artificial Intelligence, like NPCs, Slaves, Pets, and such can''t be synced and used in the said competition. Similar to other VR Game Professional Leagues, the Simulated Battles would have three major stages, namely the Elimination Stage, the Inter-Server Playoffs, and finally the Tournament Championships. During the Elimination Stage, each guild/gaming organization would face random enemies¡ªeither other guilds/gaming organizations or Simulated Monsters based on the discretion of the system. Those who won''t be able to pass this stage would be immediately eliminated from the competition and would receive a consolation prize. Moving into the Inter-Server Playoffs Stage, guilds/gaming organizations would be matched against a random enemy from the same server. Then, they would have a ''best of 3'' competition to determine who would move forward on the playoffs. The respective guilds/gaming organization would fight against each other until the Server Champions or also called the Server Representatives were determined. Lastly, the Championship of the competition would be held with a ''best of 5'' competition to determine which guild or gaming organization would stand on the top and be hailed as the champion of the competition. The Consolation Prize for those who were eliminated at the Elimination Stage would be 1,000 US Dollars per player that participated. The Consolation Prize for those who were eliminated at the Inter-Server Playoffs Stage would be 2,000 US Dollars per player that participated and an additional 5,000 US Dollars for the respective Gaming Organization per stage in the playoffs that they were able to reach. The Server Champion''s Guaranteed Prize would be 100,000 US Dollars for each Gaming Organization/Guild, 10 Gold Coins for each Gaming Organization/Guild, a month worth of Lifo Supply, and 20 VR Boxes. Lastly, the prize for the World Champion would be a staggering amount of 1 Million US Dollars for the winning Guild/Gaming Organization, a B-Rank Sword, 20 Gold Coins, half a year supply of Lifo, 50 VR Boxes, and the rights to choose where the next Bearth Online Championship would be held. As for the mechanics of the simulated battles, each battle would be a game of either War Simulation that may involve Kingdom Defense or just pure Battlefield Combat Simulation. The Kingdom Defense is mainly composed of two opposing Kingdoms in a randomly generated environment where a maximum of 20 players would be allowed to play on each side. The First Team to achieve the specific goal or objectives set by the system or¡­ the First Team to be able to annihilate all the players of the opposing force would be the winner for that round. Amongst those 20 Players, a role of King, Ace, Queen, and a Joker would be assigned with specific roles and value compared to other players. The King is of the highest authority amongst all the players and has the power to increase the attack damage and magical damage of its members by 50% on that round. Thus, Killing the King of the opposing force would provide them a 50% damage advantage over their enemy. The Ace is the role of the strongest player and would be granted a 20% increase in all attributes¡ªexcept Special Attributes. This is a vital role that would play as the major killer during the battle. The Queen is a special role, where if captured or killed would grant the enemy team a temporary 10% boost on all attributes¡ªexcept Special Attributes, for 10 minutes. It is a role that is not as important as the other roles but it can be a game-changer at crucial times of the battle. Lastly, the best role, The Joker! It is a special role that is given to a player that would allow one to act as one of the three roles and confuse the enemy. If captured or Killed by mistake, they might obtain a -10% on all attributes¡ªexcept Special Attributes, as a penalty. As for the Battlefield Combat Simulation, it is similar to Kingdom Defense with a maximum limit of 20 players on each team, but there won''t be any objectives set by the system nor special roles to be given to players. It would only be straightforward combat amongst the two opposing forces in a random simulated environment and location. And only the team/guild/gaming organization that would be able to annihilate the opposing force will be considered the winner for that round. ¡­ The said Exhibition Games would be held in China, after two weeks. The Opening Ceremony would be held on April 02, 2031. While the Championship is estimated to be held on April 15-20, where the official launch of the game was set to be announced. Pedro could not help but to scratch the back of his head after knowing that that the said competition would be held in two weeks. He was still undergoing recovery and he did not even know if he would be allowed to travel on plane by that time. With a slim chance that even his parents would even allow him to participate in such an event, Pedro could only hopelessly shake his head and said, "I guess, I''ll leave everything to Mathew and Sabri just in case." Chapter 259: Pre-Exhibition Games Meeting: Armaz Gaming Company! The next day, Pedro invited everyone to his VIP room at the hospital to discuss the upcoming Exhibition Games. In his room, Sabrina, his mom, his dad, and Aldo were preparing for the first meeting of members of his guild. Pedro''s Mom and Sabrina were taking care of the food and drinks, while Aldo and his father were preparing the holographic display to be used later in the discussion. As for Pedro, he was chilling on his hospital bed¡ªthat was bent upwards for him to lean his back comfortably. "I can''t believe that my hospital room became a meeting hall!" Pedro mocked with a smile. His father scratched the back of his head and said, "We have no choice, young man! Your doctor said that you could only leave the hospital after two days! Besides¡­ It is you who''s in a rush to conduct this meeting. Not me, Not your mother, nor your Aunt." "It can''t be helped, Pa!" Pedro said whilst forcing out a smile. Then, he was casually tapping on the tablet in his hand, while saying, "It''s such a big event that I can''t ignore. Not only does the future of the two organizations are on the line¡­ But probably the future of the gaming sector of the whole country!" At this moment, Weyron and his mother, Pedro''s Aunt Veronica, entered the room. They were able to hear Pedro''s words, that is why Weyron interjected in the conversation, saying, "Do you mean the prize that the Champion would receive? The rights to select where the next location of the next major tournament would be held? Don''t worry cousin Peds, our guild will make sure to win the game! We already had a few tactics in mind." Pedro simply shook his head and said, "Who told you that you''d make it past the Inter-Server Playoffs Stage?" At this moment, Pedro''s Aunt Veronica interjected and said, "Both of you should stop being cocky amongst each other! The two organizations might not reach that stage if the leaders are both too arrogant. Remember that it''s still a tournament and anything could happen." Weyron simply laughed in response and said, "All we need to do is survive in the elimination round¡ªwhere we might face other players on other servers. But on the Inter-Server Playoffs¡­ Either of the two organizations would surely take the Server Champion! After all¡­ Every single player on our server is under our control and monitoring. So, there''s almost a hundred percent that they won''t be able to defeat us." Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "It all depends on how strong the players from the other server are. The Elimination Stage is one of the fastest yet most dangerous stages because there is a huge possibility to be eliminated without being able to fight back. Well, it''s not like our players were pushovers!" At this moment, Weyron approached Pedro''s Father and took his hand, and placed it to his forehead to show his respect, while saying, "Mano po!" Mr. Jon Armaz simply smiled in response and said, "May God Bless you, young man!" "Thanks, uncle!" Weyron said respectfully in response. This made Pedro smirk and say, "Wey, you do know how to act kind in front of my father! Hahahaha!" Weyron smiled in response and said, "Cousin Peds! I am naturally kind; you know? It''s just you who''s shameless. Hahaha." Pedro was about to answer back when someone knocked on the door before it opened. Then, a man peeked inside and asked, "Sorry for the intrusion but is this the room for Mr. Pedro Armaz?" At this moment, a girl beside him that has blonde hair, and beautiful blue eyes pushed him inside while whispering, "Older brother! That''s Mr. Jon Armaz! The President of the Armaz Energy Corporation and Guild Leader''s father! I am sure that we''re in the right room!" "Aish¡­ Still... We should be respectful and ask just in case! This is still a hospital we don''t want to inconvenience anyone that much!" The man scolded at a weak voice that made the girl ''Hmph!'' in response. Then, he glanced towards everyone inside the room whilst forcing out a smile before saying, "Excuse us¡­ Is this the room of Mr. Pedro Armaz? The Nurse told us to find this room, so¡­" "Uhm¡­ I think you are referring to the next room." Weyron said with a smile. "Oh! Is that so?" The man said as he scratched the back of his head, seemingly embarrassed by everyone else. Then, he closed the door while saying, "Sorry for the trouble!" Right after the door closed, Weyron burst into laughter that made everyone else shook their head in response. Pedro could only place his palm into his forehead¡ªseemingly troubled, while saying, "What have you done, Wey?" "Hahahaha! It''s not my fault that they believed my joke! Hahahaha!" Weyron was barely able to said as he continued to laugh to the point that his eyes were even starting to cry. At this moment, someone knocked on the door before it went open and three men wearing a college uniform appeared outside the room and said, "Excuse us, is this the room of Mr. Pedro Armaz?" This time, before Weyron could make fun of the three men, Pedro shouted, saying, "Yes! Please come in!" At this moment, the man¡ªwho seemed like he was in his late 20s, and the girl has just closed the door of the other room that was empty. At the same time, they were able to hear Pedro''s shout and Weyron''s laughter¡ªmaking them tap one of the three men''s back while asking, "Excuse me, brother¡­ Is this the room of Mr. Pedro Armaz?" The man with hair that''s almost covering his eyes, nodded in response and said, "It seems like it? Perhaps the two of you are also invited for the meeting regarding the exhibition games?" The man¡ªwho seemed like he was in his late 20s, simply nodded in response and said, "Yeah¡­" Before the two could continue their conversation, Pedro pointed to where Sabrina, his Aunt Veronica, and his Mom were located and said, "Please approach them from proper identification." Then, Pedro paused for a second as he glanced towards Weyron before saying, "And please don''t mind what my cousin says! He likes to joke around a lot. So, I hope you guys would be more patient towards him." "Haiz¡­ Why do I feel like you are telling them that I have some sort of special case?" Weyron grumbled in response as he wipes the tears of joy on his face. Then, he added, "Sorry about that, mister¡­" "Mathew! You can call me Mathew." Mathew said whilst scratching the back of his head and forcing out a smile towards Weyron. "Oh! The Vice Guild Leader of cousin Peds!" Weyron nodded in satisfaction whilst rubbing his chin. Then, he glanced to the girl beside Mathew and asked, "Then, she would be your little sister, Talia, if I am right?" Mathew simply nodded in response whilst saying, "Yes¡­" At this moment, Pedro''s Aunt Veronica interrupted them by handing over name tags to Pedro and Weyron¡ªwith their in-game name written in them, while saying, "Weyron, can''t you just sit still and save your energy for later? You''re being too excited again in meeting in-game acquaintances!" "Aish¡­ Ma, who would be excited when you meet the stars of the Asian Server of a worldwide trending game?" Weyron grumbled as he wore his name tag. Pedro simply chuckled in response¡ªbecause of the hilarious fact that Weyron''s IGN was his name in real life itself. Then, he wore his name tag whilst forcing out a smile towards everyone who is staring back at him. Weyron broke the awkward silence and laughed out loud to Pedro in response. Then, he said, "Cousin Peds¡­ I think you shouldn''t wear your name tag instead. It gives off the wrong vibe, especially that we are in a hospital. Hahahaha!" Pedro simply sighed in response as he took off the name tag and handed it over to his aunt. Then, he said, "Aunt, kindly write Guild Leader in my name tag instead. I am afraid that Wey would keep farting later on because of too much laughter." "Of course, Nephew!" His Aunt said with a smile. After being able to confirm their identity with Pedro''s Mom and Sabrina, they were given name tags and were allowed to shake their ''bosses'' hands¡ªespecially Pedro. Arvedar and his friends were the first to approach him in a very respectful manner. They shook Pedro''s hand whilst bowing slightly and saying, "It''s nice to meet you Guild Leader! Thank you for your help in the game!" Pedro could not help but to scratch the back of his head and said, "That''s nothing! In fact, I would like to also thank you guys for the huge help in handling matters regarding the Adventurer''s Guild. I''ll discuss your reward later on." "It''s our honor to be of help!" Lony and Roval said in unison as they bowed slightly towards Pedro. On the other hand, Arvedar could only scratch the back of his head and said, "I''ll do my best to help as soon as my character recovers." Pedro simply nodded his head in response and smiled. Then, he said, "Focus on recovery first. There''s a lot that you can do later." Arvedar simply nodded in response as they were guided by Pedro''s Aunt into their seats. Fortunately, Lony and Roval were seemingly acquainted with Weyron because of the Adventurer''s Guild matters. Thus, they started to discuss--even teasing Arvedar as someone being out of place from the topics. On the other hand, Talia was shaking Pedro''s hands at this moment, while saying, "Expert Bro! It''s nice to meet you! Don''t think that because your Kill Count in the Continental Event went past the million mark does not mean that I won''t be able to catch up to you." Talia''s eyes were burning with passion and determination to surpass Pedro in the rankings in the Continental Quest. Thus, Pedro and Mathew could only force out a smile in response. Then, Mathew said, "She became a little bit competitive in the rankings of the Continental Event after she was almost able to take the first place before your kill count suddenly ballooned in just a few hours." At this moment, Weyron glanced towards them and interjected, saying, "Sister Killer Looks! Give up on competing with cousin Peds! He has some sort of secret farm of monsters! Add up the overpowered NPC brat with him, his kill count can reach the sky if he wanted to! So, it''s pointless to compete against him even if you have such army!" "Says someone who just told me that he would defeat my Guild in the Exhibition Games." Pedro chuckled in response. Then, he added, "Let her try, Wey! There''s nothing wrong with trying to beat my kill count. Besides¡­ It''s not like it is impossible to achieve!" Chapter 260: Pre-Exhibition Games Meeting Part 2! "Aish, cousin Peds! Don''t give false hope to others! Such things are no joke. How in the world would she be able to catch up to your million-plus kill count? Even if she extends her influence to the western side of the continent, I doubt that she''d be able to reach you." Weyron said with a mocking smile. Pedro simply shook his head in response. Then, he glanced at Talia with a smile and said, "I am positive that it is possible. That said¡­ How you do it, I''ll leave into your own imagination. After all¡­ I want to take the first place for myself too." Talia seemed to be fired up in response and said, "I''ll figure it out, Expert Bro! You don''t need to worry!" Pedro simply nodded in response. At this moment, Mathew glanced towards Weyron and asked, "On another note¡­ Sorry for the question but, isn''t mister Weyron''s Guild an independent one from ours and is going to also participate in the upcoming Exhibition games? Won''t there be a conflict of some sort between two participating guilds?" Pedro chuckled in response and said, "It''s alright! They don''t have much firepower compared to us. In fact¡­ I am worried that they might not even make it to the Inter-Server Playoffs Finals." At this moment, Weyron interjected with a frown on his face while saying, "That would only happen if we encounter your guild early in earlier rounds! I have already scouted the members of the main guild and all of the core members is no pushover!" Then, he raised his right hand, gesturing ''five'' towards Pedro and Mathew while saying, "Five out of the Nine expected participating members are too strong to the point that we can categorize them as ''One Man Army'' Force. There are Five unrivaled players in one group! Even the roles in the Kingdom Defense were not enough¡­ Never mind that! Each of the five players could even represent themselves in the Exhibition Games and even have an 80% chance to win by themselves." Then, Weyron glanced towards Lony and Roval and said, "The remaining members of your guild are not half bad either. They can effectively carry out supporting roles as given by cousin Peds. Who knows what additional plans cousin even has in mind. That said, It''s not like we completely have no chance of competing with the main guild. At worst, we might end up as runner-ups in the Inter-Server Playoffs." Pedro simply sighed in response and said, "Don''t worry, Wey! I will ensure that the gold farming guild would have a chance to fight back¡­ I''ll tell you the details later on." At this moment, the last person invited to this close meeting has arrived. It was no other than Loren, who immediately did her identification with the help of Sabrina as Aldo prepares the hologram projector before their meeting starts. In front of Pedro''s bed¡ªwhere he was sitting, was a living room area with three sofas arranged around the hologram projector. On one sofa, Pedro''s Father, Mr. Jon Armaz, Pedro''s mother, Mrs. Caroline Armaz, Pedro''s Aunt Veronica, and Weyron were seated together. On another sofa, the trio¡ªLony, Roval, and Arvedar, together with Aldo were seated together. While on the sofa right after his bed, it was occupied by Sabrina, Loren, Talia, and Mathew. As for Pedro, he was the one who''s going to lead the meeting so he''s going to stand most of the time. Well¡­ He''s even able to attend martial arts training this past few days already. Standing up for a few minutes was not a problem. And as everyone was able to settle down, Pedro started the meeting by glancing at his parents while saying, "First of all, I would like to give you all a short rundown about our overall organization." At this moment, the hologram projected the logo of their company, the now Armaz Energy Internationals, while Pedro was saying, "The Company that we are representing in this closed competition is none other than the Armaz Energy International that is affiliated with the producers of the VR Boxes. Now¡­ The overall gaming organization that Armaz Energy International had established and is partnered with is called The Armaz Electronics Inc., where both the main guild¡ªThe ARES Guild, and a sub guild¡ªThe Oran Gutan Guild, are placed under an independent purpose." "Overall, my mother¡ªCaroline Armaz, and My Aunt¡ªVeronica Santiago, are the bosses of The Armaz Electronics Inc.," Pedro said as he pointed towards his mother and aunt, who nodded with a smile in response. Then, Pedro continued, saying, "Going back¡­ At first, the goals of the two guilds under Armaz Electronics Inc. were different with the ARES Guild being the main guild and the professional guild, while the Oran Gutan Guild being the supporting guild as a gold and materials farming guild. Either Fortunately or Unfortunately¡­ Both guilds had developed in an unprecedented way to the point that the main guild was leagues beyond compare to rival gaming organizations as the support guild become sufficiently competent enough to even stand just right below the main guild. Thus, both guilds had become qualified and were competent enough to participate in Bearth Online Professional Leagues like what the Exhibition Games wanted to promote." "At the least, the supporting guild can compete amongst the best gaming organizations in the Asian Server, so, we can''t rule out their capability to participate in such events. There were also no noticeable effects regarding the performance of the supporting guild in relation to their goals, thus there was really no reason to prohibit the supporting guild from such events." Pedro said as he glanced at Weyron. Then, he added, "Fortunately, the invitation for the exhibition games allowed, at most, three participating teams under the Armaz Energy International. Thus, we have decided to build separate teams with the two different and independent guilds under the Armaz Electronics Inc. You can say that the ARES Guild would be Team A, and the Oran Gutan Guild would be Team B." At this moment, Pedro paused for a few seconds as he glanced to his parents and nodded to each other before their faces wore a smile. Then, Pedro continued, saying, "Initially, we thought of establishing a temporary team composing of players from both guilds because of my health issues. That said, I thought that it would be more beneficial for Armaz Electronics Inc. as a whole for two different teams to participate. This way, the chances of securing the championship would be higher¡ªconsidering that there''s a lot of possibilities that may happen along with the competition. That is why it was decided that the two separate guilds would build their own competing teams to participate in the said event." Pedro glanced to Weyron and said, "Moving forward¡­ The Matters concerning the supporting guild were handled and led by my cousin, Weyron. Based on the participation mechanics, he had prepared forty of his best guild members¡ªwhere twenty would be playing including he himself, while another twenty would act as a substitute in case something unexpected happens. Most of them have well-developed characters at the level of Lony and Roval but have a fighting capability better than you two because of certain factors like skill compositions, weapons, and such. Additionally, they have the famous Asian Archer Queen as their trump card. So, Team B can really be considered one of the top teams participating in this event." At this moment, the hologram projected the characters of Pedro, Sabrina, Arvee [Arvedar''s real name], Mathew, and Talia. Then, an arrow with a freezing arrow tip inside an open box, popped above the five characters as Pedro continued to explain, saying, "Gentle Breeze, Arvedar, Killer Smile, Killer Looks, and my character¡ªDeath, are the Five One Man Army Entities that Wey had said earlier. By ourselves, we can compete in the said event and event come up with a great finish. That aside¡­ We have Direction Idiot, Lony, Roval, and Faith as support and backups just in case. So¡­ By playing in one team, we became strong to the point that we can defeat our enemies in one flick of our fingers." Then, Pedro paused for a moment as his attention shifted to the arrow with a freezing tip. He said, "This is one of my successfully newly crafted weapons in the game. The Arrow of Eternal Coldness! And I plan to give it to Team B to give them another card in the disposal." "What do you mean ''another'' trump card? It would be our only trump card, cousin Peds!" Weyron said whilst forcing out a smile. "The Asian Archer Queen won''t even be able to land a single hit on Arvedar, Gentle Breeze, or much more you! How can she be a trump card for us? Anyway¡­ What''s the arrow''s effect for you to see it as an equalizer between the two teams?" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Freeze everything within a Fifty Thousand radius upon impact to the ground! Cool right?" Everyone could not help but draw a sharp breath except Sabrina who already knew about the arrow and Pedro''s parents who were not much interested in game-related matters. On the other hand, Weyron could not help but to force out a smile and say, "More like it''s cold! Cousin Peds¡­ Isn''t that a cheat? Hahaha. Won''t we get banned if we used it?" Chapter 261: Pre-Exhibition Games Meeting Part 3! "If I may guild leader¡­" Mathew interrupted with a serious tone. Then, he asked, "You said earlier that you crafted the arrow¡­ Does that mean that we also have our own?" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "We only have one of it. Crafting it was a tedious process that cost me almost a day to complete. And¡­ It sucked dry the ME [Magical Energy] of an NPC that is possibly above level 100! So¡­ It was already miraculous enough to create one." "Then¡­ Aren''t you basically handing the win to us, cousin?" Weyron asked with a smug on his face. Pedro responded with a smirk and said, "That''s if the arrow would even touch the ground before all of your forces were eliminated." At this moment, Lony and Roval chuckled in response as they placed their arms above Arvedar''s shoulder whilst glancing towards Weyron, and saying, "Would the arrow even hit the ground with our brother around?" Weyron could only flick his tongue in response and grumble, saying, "See! The exact meaning of overpowered! You have someone in your team who can control gravity! Might as well learn how to fly and fight on-air if that''s the case!" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "It''s not my problem anymore! I''ll be lending you an overpowered weapon! It''s up to you how you would use it!" "Aish¡­" Weyron was about to grumble once again. But Pedro frowned and asked, "What? You don''t want it?" "No! No! No! No! I was just joking, cousin. Hahahaha!" Weyron said as he forced out a smile. Then, he added, "You can''t take jokes¡­ Sigh!" Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "With that¡­ The gap between the two Teams is solved. It''s up to the two teams and their leaders on how they would achieve victory." Then, Pedro glanced towards Mathew and said, "Unfortunately, gaining clearance from the doctors for me to be able to fly on a plane seems to be bleak. So¡­ Vice Guild Leader Mathew would take my stead as the leader of Team A. I''ll discuss further arrangements regarding Team A when Wey is not around. But for now¡­ I''ll discuss a more sensitive topic concerning our organization¡­ Although such things as the right to choose where the next competition would be held were at stake, I am planning to develop Loren, Lony, Roval, and Aldo''s characters to be able to stand amongst the One Man Army characters. This way, we won''t need to reveal our ''guns'' to the whole world at this early stage of the game." At this moment, Mathew nodded in agreement towards Pedro. Then, he said, "This is a wise move guild leader! It would be more on for the future of the two guilds and the assurance that we would obtain more championships." Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "It is alright for Team B to go all out in this event. After all, they can use this chance to attract a lot of good players to join them. With that, we can even ensure that our support guild is even strong in that regard. And in the future¡­ It might even be possible for us to open a player development-focused guild that might provide ordinary players a chance to be a part of the main guild. Of course¡­ That would still be in the future since our overall organization has just started." As Pedro stopped speaking, the hologram changed its display and showed a luxurious hotel with a mall below it. At this moment, Pedro''s Aunt Veronica handed over folders to Lony, Roval, Arvedar, Mathew, Talia, Aldo, and Loren while saying, "The Armaz Energy International had bought four floors in the Ultra Plus Asia Tower, a five-star hotel. As the sponsor company, we will provide four rooms for everyone in Team A as a temporary gaming camp until the Main Gaming Camp is established. The rooms have complete amenities and have VR Boxes installed beforehand. As for the room allocation, the Vice Guild Leader would have a separate room next to my nephew''s own room. It would be followed by the room of the three girls, and the four boys afterward." At this moment, Pedro''s Aunt Veronica raised a gold card and said, "The similar gold cards in your folders is your key to your rooms, so make sure not to lose it! As for the silver cards next to it, those are your VIP cards in the said establishment! You can use it to purchase anything in any shop at the mall below the hotel. However, each of you would only be given a hundred thousand worth of allowance each month. But! It is not allowed to be used in the casino area!" Everyone nodded in response¡ªseemingly agreeing that the casino would not bring them anything good. Plus, they know that the gaming organization did not want them to waste their money so, they understand such restrictions. "Remember that the VIP card is a gift that the sponsor company has given to all of you, so I hope that all of you would use them properly. The details are also included in the files in the folder, so make sure to check them before using the cards. And these benefits would only last until your stay in the said hotel." Aunt Veronica added before Mr. Jon Armaz took over the explanation. At this moment, Mr. Jon Armaz spoke, saying, "These are just the initial gifts of the Armaz Energy International as goodwill. Your actual compensation would be discussed later on, as we are still busy handling matters regarding the overall organization. I know that most of you had already signed a contract with my son, but rest assured that we would adjust your compensations depending on which is best for the interest of both parties." "I-Including me?" Talia asked in disbelief whilst pointing her finger to herself. Mr. Jon Armaz simply nodded in response and said, "Yes, Miss Garcia. As long as you are considered to be a part of Armaz Electronics Inc., you would definitely get proper compensation." At this moment, Mr. Jon Armaz stood and said, "Before I leave¡­ I would like to ask all of you to kindly take care of my son in the game. I am not asking this as the President of Armaz Energy International but as the father of Pedro. He tends to carry the weight by himself all the time, so¡­ I know that your help would greatly alleviate the weight he is carrying on his back. After all, although it is a game, it is still hard to prosper in a business." "You can count on me, sir!" Talia happily said in response. "It''s the same for us!" Arvedar said with a smile. "Same," Lony said with a thumbs up. "Same," Roval said with an okay sign. Aldo simply saluted in response, while Loren simply bowed in respect. As for Sabrina, she simply smiled towards her future father-in-law and mother-in-law¡­ or should it be simply mother and father too? [In the Philippines, in-laws are often treated as if they were their very own parents. That is why terms like father-in-law or mother-in-law are only mostly used by the parents or siblings of the wife or husband. In fact, at some times, if not in direct conversation with them, "Mother of " or "Father of " is more commonly used than the "father-in-law" or "mother-in-law" counterparts in the previously mentioned circumstances.] Lastly, Mathew¡ªas the second person with the highest authority compared to the other guild members, stood and bowed towards Mr. Jon Armaz, while saying, "Mister Armaz, please do not worry! I will do all my best to support your son. I assure this in the name of our ancestors in Garcia Family!" Mr. Jon Armaz placed his hand on top of his shoulder in response¡ªto help Mathew raise his head, and said, "Thanks, Mister Garcia!" Then, Mr. Jon Armaz glanced at everyone else and said, "Thanks to all of you! May you have a great trip to China!" Mr. Jon Armaz and his wife bid farewell to Pedro and everyone else as they have a lot of things to take care of. And using that chance to take a break, they all had a meal before continuing their discussion regarding the event that they were going to participate. Since Weyron had nothing more to discuss with Pedro, he and his mother left after their lunch. After all, Weyron needs to also meet his guildmates and prepare on their own. Besides¡­ It''s not like they were completely free from any duties in the game. Time flows twice faster in the game, so every second is important. As for Pedro and the members of the ARES Guild, they can be considered as the luckiest amongst players because they currently have a lot of free time on hand. Talia''s time was completely available as her army of ants were doing the farming job on her stead. Whether she went offline for an hour or a day, it does not really matter that much. As for Arvedar, his character was still under recovery and it was only natural for him to be asleep. While Aldo, Lony, and Roval''s characters were safely protected back in the ship. As for Mathew, Loren, Sabrina, and Pedro, their characters were being protected by Faunia, Clara, and Ragas in the secret training area in Baliu Mountain. So, there were no risks on their characters on any form. Chapter 262: The ARES Guilds Plans Part 1! In terms of development, it''s been days since Arvee was not able to farm using his character. That said, his strength was still way higher compared to even professional players around the world. What much more for Mathew, Pedro, and Sabrina? That is why there''s no rush for everyone to log back into the game unlike Weyron and Pedro''s Aunt. "Individual Strengths aside¡­ How are we gonna defeat the godly arrow, expert bro?" Talia asked Pedro like an extremely curious girl. Then, she added, "Knowing sir Arvedar''s ability of gravitation, I am sure that mister Weyron would find a way to counter him at any cost!" Pedro nodded in response and said, "Most likely! However¡­ It would be a difficult task! An NPC told me that his [referring to Arvedar] gravitation skill is from a legitimate inheritance¡ªunlike those of the players that we fought from the United Asian Force. And as far as I know, inheritances are the strongest abilities available in the game. So, unless Wey finds a divine-rank or legendary-rank counterpart, I doubt that they would be able to stop him." "It is more possible for them to find inheritances to fight head to head against us," Arvedar added. Mathew nodded in response and said, "They are in control of the Adventurer''s Guild after all!" "Then, why did you give them the arrow, expert bro?" Talia asked. "Won''t it be our loss if they would be able to find inheritances and use their numbers against us?" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "Whatever they do, they won''t be able to defeat me or Sabri! Even if all of you joined them, you won''t be able to defeat the two of us." "Why is that so, Expert Bro?" Talia asked with a frown. "I am already at level Forty-Three! Brother Arvedar has the gravitation skill! Plus, we all have overpowered transformation skills¡­ Even if both of you are amongst the top rankings in the Continental Quest, there''s no way that you''d be able to fight against us. And¡­ It''s not like you have another overpowered arrow with you, right?" At this moment, Aldo, Lony, and Roval could only gulp unison as their eyes seemed like it was about to pop out from their sockets due to the astonishment from Talia''s level. On the other hand, Mathew simply shook his head in response and said, "Talia, there''s no use arguing with Guild Leader. Miss Direction Idiot and I had personally witnessed the ''training'' that they were doing with three god-like NPCs. Sword Master, Hand to Hand Combat, and even ME training! Both of them are already leagues apart from us." Those who were not able to witness the training that Pedro and Sabrina were undergoing by themselves would definitely not understand what Mathew was saying. Thus, Mathew could only sigh in response and said, "Just imagine them using newbie swords or their fists alone killing tens of monsters in one strike! Can you even do that in your human form, without using a skill? And that''s not all¡­ They can even move as if they were protagonists in some ninja anime." At this moment, Pedro interjected, saying, "Well¡­ I have not seen the effect of the arrow myself. So, if Wey is fast enough, there''s a chance that we might lose. Other than that, there''s nothing that can stop me and Sabri! As for our training that he said, all of you would undergo the same training. However, it would be the two of us who''d be teaching you. After all¡­ It would be a waste if those NPCs would just become instructors. Anyway¡­ We''ll start such training after the event. So, get ready to kiss your free times goodbye. Hahahaha." "Aiya¡­ Please have mercy guild leader!" Talia complained like a little sister. [Well she is like everyone''s little sister.] Then, she said, "Besides¡­ If I went into training, who would defend the borders of Woba Mountain and the Western Forest to the south?" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "That''s for the Adventurer''s Guild to find out! Anyway¡­ This is a good opportunity little looks! All of us should not be dependent on our transformation skills and the abilities we gain from them! After all, they were just skills that allow us to transform into beings that are just simply stronger or better than ordinary humans. It''s not like it''s omnipotent or something, nor are they better than inheritances. And like you said¡­ Such things, if known, can be easily countered. So, if you depend too much on such abilities, you would eventually be countered by other players and be eventually defeated." Mathew nodded in response and said, "I also just realize that recently! I have been relying too much on my transformation ability or my good weapons to the point that I found myself hopeless against Guild Leader and Miss Gentle Breeze just after witnessing their spar with the two NPCs. Besides¡­ Wouldn''t it be nice to defeat your enemies without using your skills that much¡ªwhat even more your trump cards?" Talia could only nod with a troubled look in response. Then, she asked, "But I am not good at physical activities¡­ What should I do?" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "It does not matter! The training itself would make you good at it. After all, repeatedly training something would give you mastery over it. How much you''d be able to master would depend on how much you would train. So, all you need to do is work hard in your training." At this moment, Sabrina interrupted with a smile and said, "Don''t worry! I''ll help you along the way." "Thanks, ate." Talia hopelessly responded as everyone else seemed determined and excited with the event and the training. [Ate is the Tagalog term for elder sister, which is often said in respect to an elder woman¡ªof course except to the old women.] To change the topic, Aldo faked a cough and asked, "Brother Pedro, why are the three girls in the school group not included amongst us? Didn''t they sign a contract or something with you?" Pedro shook his head in response and said, "That''s just a contract that restricts them from leaking any information that they would be able to obtain while they are on our side. And their contract would end in a few weeks. Knowing that they were also Closed Beta Testers, there''s definitely someone behind them and they would not join our guild no matter what." "But they are our groupmates? Shouldn''t we play together?" Loren asked in a worried tone. Pedro simply smirked and said, "It''s quite a tricky case, isn''t it? Well¡­ They are indeed our groupmates. However, it does not specifically bound them to follow us in what guild they should join. And at a bigger picture, the guild matters are more important because the groupings at school would only last until we graduate from college." "And it''s not like I did not invite them to join our guild¡­" Pedro added. "I actually asked them personally a couple of times before the war, but they only said to me that they will decide when the time comes. Since then I was busy and was not able to ask them about it, and they did not reply in response. So, I don''t think that they would choose to stay with us." "But didn''t you give them some of the in-game names with a free skill? Won''t it be a waste to let them go?" Aldo asked. Pedro simply said, "It''s just a skill. Nothing more. Besides¡­ If I did not give it to them in the first place, someone might have taken it by now. So, it does not really matter that much to me. And they might even start rumors that we''re generous of some sort. That way, they won''t be able say anything bad against us." At this moment, Pedro used his tablet to display something in the hologram projector. Then, he said, "Before I forgot, I did say earlier that were not going to reveal our true strengths as much as possible. So, I plan to give one amongst Lony, Roval, and Aldo a role of a celebrity." "Celebrity? What do you mean Guild Leader?" Lony asked in response. Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "As the name suggests¡­ I''ll make one of you famous! But¡­ It''s more of a risk than a benefit of some sort. Okay¡­ Let me explain. To be more clear, we''ll develop one of you to become as strong as a ''One Man Army, and be the one to act as the face of our organization¡ªmore specifically our team. Imagine what would happen if we win the championship? Wouldn''t the leading player be a celebrity and standout amongst others? Especially if the victories that the guild obtained were mostly because of his contribution?" "Your right, Expert Brother!" Mathew said, "At the end of the day, there''s definitely one or two players that would stand out and be called the ''Ace'' of the team. But why do we need to allow one of them to purposefully be the so-called celebrity? Perhaps you are afraid that one of us might get scouted by other gaming organizations?" Pedro forced out a smile in response and said, "Well¡­ It''s one of my reasons. But the main reason why I wanted one of them to act as a decoy and attract all the spotlight is because of the dangers it may pose in the game. Competitions were never friendly in a VR Game, Bearth Online was not an excuse. And considering that the Governments all over the world has supported the game, I expect that evil people like criminals in real life would also exist in the game. And I think that there won''t be any short of them." "So¡­ You wanted the enemies to focus their attention to one of the three instead, in the game?" Mathew asked. Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Yes!" Chapter 263: The ARES Guilds Game Plan Part 2! "If I may¡­" Arvee interjected in the discussion. Then, he said, "I think my friend Lony would be the best for the job. It''s obvious that it would only be a waste if we let brother Faith [Aldo] redo his character in the future. Didn''t he also obtain some kind of bonus skill because of his IGN? So, I deduced that it would be best if either Lony or Roval would act as a decoy. Since Roval is not that good with bluffs¡­ I think Lony is our best option." Lony simply nodded in response and said, "I have no objections, guild master! Let my handsome face be well known to the world!" Everyone laughed in response, even Pedro. Then, when he calmed down, Pedro clapped his hands and said, "Then, I''d be troubling your acting skills, Lony. We''ll make sure to make you a celebrity in the game. Who knows¡­ You might even win an Oscars award or something. Hahahaha!" Lony smiled in response as if he was a good-looking guy trying to hit on a beautiful woman. Then, he flexed his thin muscles as if he was a bodybuilder that made everyone laugh in response. When Pedro calmed down from his laughter, he said, "As for how you would become strong, I''ll give you a lot of Wolf Transformation Skill Page. We already know that using the same Transformation Skill Page will somehow increase the level of the transformation skill that a player was able to obtain. So, this would be a good chance to see how strong the wolf transformation could become. Add up the boost in your level and some additional skills and equipment, you''d be strong enough to face anyone¡ªeven the trump card of Wey, the Asian Archer Queen." "But what about the arrow that you gave them?" Arvedar asked, "Won''t my gravitation be the only counter to that? And even if Lony acted as if he was the one using the gravitation skill, it would still be a problem if we won''t be able to finish them fast." "Don''t worry!" Pedro said with a smile on his face. Then, Pedro displayed the Aron Burner at the hologram projector and said, "We have this!" "An Aron Burner? Can it counter the arrow that you gave them, Expert Brother? I mean¡­ Isn''t its heat output weak and only applicable to low-level monsters?" Mathew asked. Pedro simply shook his head and said, "We''re just gonna act as if it is because of the burner that we were able to escape that effect of the arrow. Hahahaha." "But won''t the big shots know later on that the Aron Burner would not be enough to be used as a counter to the freezing arrow? By that time, they would see through our acts and it would be only a matter of time before we also get harassed in the game or something?" Aldo asked in a worried tone. Pedro simply smiled and said, "You don''t need to worry about that! We can just say right off the bat that it is not like the ordinary Aron Burner that we got from an NPC in the Adventurer''s Guild. If they asked for the details of the Aron Burner, we can simply ignore their request like every gaming organization does. By that time, no one would pry in such matters anymore and even the big shots would only think that the Armaz Electronics Inc. is just one of the rich gaming organizations that heavily invested early on the game." Aldo and everyone else nodded in response¡ªsatisfied with Pedro''s well-thought plan. Then, Pedro took this chance to add, saying, "We can even use that fact to tell everyone that it was the reason why my Kill Count had even reach into millions." "But if the Aron Burner became a huge topic, won''t it be possible for other players to obtain one in the future? I mean¡­ You even tried it Brother Pedro, and the kills it generates are not added to your Kill Count even if you were the one who activated it?" Aldo asked in response. Mathew responded for Pedro, saying, "The craftsman is Guild Leader, and as far as I know, he''s just allowing a selected number of people that can activate and deactivate the Aron Burners! As for the strongholds¡­ It was their savior against the monsters, would they sell it to adventurers considering that fact? I think otherwise! If the Continental Quest had taught the NPCs one thing, it''s the devastating effect that the monster wave can bring to their territory. And without the Aron Burners, they are basically putting their feet into their own graves. And they are not dumb enough to choose to be completely reliant on adventurers. The very presence of the Adventurer''s Guild had made them realize how cunning the adventurers are to the point that they needed to be properly managed. Else¡­ It would a disaster for them. Not only would they lose their precious positions, but they might even lose their life. And as far as I know, these NPCs are not dumb. They won''t trade such things for a meager profit." "That''s true!" Pedro said in agreement. "There''s more backstory on every NPC. And it''s vast than you think! They''ve been through a lot of hardships and unless they are desperate, there''s no chance that they''d give something that could save their life. And even if they do so, the players won''t be able to use them because of the restriction I placed on each Burner." "Then, it''s settled!" Mathew clapped his hands with a smile. Then, he added, "With everything in place, there''s not much of a problem with the upcoming competition. All we need to do is to ensure that Lony would be able to develop to the Ace Figure that he needed to be, before the game." Pedro nodded in agreement and said, "Also practice holding back¡­ We don''t want to be too obvious when the time to act comes." As a part of the weaker group, Aldo took this chance to ask Pedro, saying, "Brother Pedro, you said that we are the support of the team, right? In what way should we provide support to you guys? Do we learn some kind of healing spell or something?" "Support does not always mean that you need to be a healer," Pedro said. "Attacking the enemy to create confusion and distraction to the enemy, and consequently provide an opening for the main attacker can also be considered as support. That''s one way on how the three of you could act as support. Yes, you are not strong enough to fight enemies on your own, but you can still give them a difficult time in critical situations. So, the three of you can just train like the rest of us and just be ''at the right place, at the right time'' during combat. That''s how the three of you can act as support. If I were to compare it to a game of chess¡­ You are not pawns but rather rooks that limit the movements of the opposing team." At this moment, Mathew interrupted by displaying a holographic projection of a man being chased by three swordsmen through his tablet, while saying, "Other than that, you can also lure the enemies into a trap, scout their location, hold off their ace, infiltrate the enemy''s territory, and such tasks while the main fighters are attracting the attention of the enemy team." Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "That''s right! In fact, the reason why there are twenty players allowed to participate in the game was because of the ''objectives'' to be given in the Kingdom Defense Mode. It''s just my own assumption but¡­ Just out of the King and the Ace role in that format, we can already conclude that the four major roles were specifically to divert the attention of the enemy team and allow the rest of their members to finish the winning objectives. And I think that most of the teams that we might be facing would definitely focus on completing such objectives considering that almost all players are of the same case or level at this moment of the game, and confrontation would be too much of a risk in their chance to win the battles." Mathew simply nodded in response as Sabrina interjected whilst rubbing her chin. Then, she asked, "It''s quite a difficult task to hide our true strengths, especially if we''d be placed in a do or die situation. Shouldn''t we find several more players like Team B and even prepare players to act as substitutes just in case an emergency of some sort happens?" Pedro simply smiled and said, "I understand your concern, Sabri¡­ However, I can''t just randomly recruit players whom I don''t know well. It takes time and countless interactions together before we can establish mutual trust with others¡­ That is also one of the purposes of the sub-guild. It''s more like our temporary development guild¡ªwhere we can observe and know which players are compatible and trustable to be a part of the main guild. So, regarding your question¡­ We''d rather forfeit in such competition rather than expose the secrets of our organization to the world. Besides¡­ It would be just a waste of budget if we hire players who would not even be as strong as Wey. They would just be cannon fodders and would just delay our eventual defeat¡ªif that happens." At this moment, Arvee smirked and said, "You don''t need to worry, sister Gentle Breeze! If we produced a great result in this exhibition game, the great players themselves would be the ones knocking on our doors. As for hiding our true strengths from the world¡­ I think I understand Guild Leader''s intention behind it. The exhibitions game is just for a show and more on the promotion of the game. It does not give that much advantage or credit to the winning team other than the ''home court'' advantage in the next competition. In fact, I assume that big gaming organizations would only send their Team B or latter just to test the waters of the competition in Bearth Online. They would keep their big guns hidden until the real competition arrives." "That''s more like it!" Pedro said in response. "But that ''home court'' advantage is not simple as it seems! If we can bring that priveledge to our country, it would greatly affect the VR gaming industry in the country. And if that happens, we would be the ones reaping the most benefits if we''d be the ones to bring it back home." Chapter 264: I Thought You Have Something to Say! Pedro paused for a moment as everyone dreamed of bringing the ''home court'' advantage to a small country in Southeast Asia. The fans, the crowd, the cheers of everyone is surely something to be anticipated by anyone. Then, Pedro glanced towards Lony and said, "Anyway¡­ Let''s see how strong the wolf transformation skill could become. Lony, please record the changes on each consumption for data and analysis. And in case someone asked where we got such skill in the future, all you need to say that it is all about money and we simply got the wolf transformation skill page that we sold through the auction with it. If someone wants to pry even further, you can just tell them the rest of the information is confidential and some ''brokers'' whom we were in touched with, were the only ones who knew about it." Lony nodded in response and said, "I''ll keep that in mind, Guild Leader." Pedro smiled in response as he shifted his attention to Loren and said, "Lastly¡­ Classmate Loren, I won''t ask much from you. Please train as hard as you can with Sabri, and just simply assist her in return. I''ll discuss your role in more detail later on, together with our combat plans. For now¡­ I want all of you to focus on preparing and moving to our temporary gaming camp. Then, afterward, we can start preparing for the exhibition game. If you have issues regarding your participation in the gaming camp or the exhibition game itself, please don''t hesitate to inform me as soon as possible. I''ll try my best to find a solution so that all of you would be able to participate in the competition. Is that all clear?" "Yes, Guild Leader!" Everyone shouted in response as their faces were filled with smiles of excitement. They had some casual talks afterward, before Lony, Roval, and Arvedar left¡ªwho was going to prepare for the ''experiment'' regarding the wolf transformation skill. As for Talia and Mathew, they remained with Pedro and his classmates to discuss matters regarding everyone''s training while Pedro is still in the hospital. "Bro Mathew, I''ll leave their training in your hands. I discussed with Sabri''s uncle and decided to enroll everyone in a Tae Kwon Do training. It was only a few days since we started training, but I was even able to land a surprise kick to the Old Man NPC. Sabri was even better! She was able to push back the old man with a series of kicks from time to time. So¡­ We were witnesses ourselves that the Tae Kwon Do training is really effective even in the game. Please ensure that everyone would take the training seriously. After all, we''d be the players who''d be standing on top of the guild¡­ and possibly in the game." Pedro said seriously. Mathew nodded in response and said, "I understand guild leader! You don''t need to worry about that. Please focus on your recovery so that you can join us in our training." Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "I''d be back before you know it!" "Then, We''d be waiting!" Mathew smirked in response as he shook Pedro''s hands. After exchanging a few words, Mathew and Talia left them in the room. At this moment, Aldo was like Pedro''s secretary and was busy cleaning up the sofas and the hologram projector that they used during their meeting. On the other hand, Loren and Sabrina were cleaning up the leftover foods to ensure that the room would be clean before they leave. And since Pedro had nothing to do, he simply laid into his bed whilst scanning through his tablet¡ªchecking game-related information in the net. Obviously, the wolf transformation skill page was the hot topic, even after several days have passed. After all, it was sold for a record-breaking price that every player in the game could only dream of. Even the recruitment of Meen and her players to Armaz Electronics Inc. was overshadowed by that topic. This, in turn, made Pedro think of ways on how to improve Aldo, Roval, and Loren''s characters without depending that much on physical training. Thus, he can''t help but glance at Aldo and ask, "Bro Aldo¡­ Do you have anything better in mind for your character development? The same for classmate Loren? I am afraid that the combat training is not compatible with both of your styles." Aldo glanced back to Pedro in response whilst scratching back his head. Then, he said, "I''ve been into several strongholds lately because of Adventurer''s Guild matters. While doing so, I was also looking into other options that I could try other than direct fighting or such¡­ Unfortunately, all I was able to hear were crafting occupations like blacksmiths and alchemists and nothing else. Obviously, the merchant occupation is not suitable for such competitions that involve combat so¡­ I think that they are also a no-go!" "That''s not certainly true, Bro Aldo," Pedro said. Aldo frowned in response and asked, "What do you mean?" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Have you forgotten about the ''objectives'' part in the Kingdom Defense Mode? If the competition is more combat or fighting related, then, won''t be ideal for the game developers to divide the modes in terms of different scenarios instead like the shooter games? Like if the objective is to abduct someone in the opposing team, won''t it be better to call it a seize and control mode or rescue mode of some sort instead? But, the game developers opted for a more generalized term of Kingdom Defense." "Are you suggesting that in Kingdom Defense Mode, there''s a possibility that a merchant or crafting occupations would play a role in the completion of such objectives?" Aldo asked. Pedro simply scratched the back of his head and said, "I am just assuming every single scenario that''s possible to occur. And it''s not definitely impossible for such cases. Remember¡­ The Adventurer''s Guild is established through trade and political stuff¡­ And since it occurs in the game itself, won''t it make sense to also occur in the Kingdom Defense Mode?" "So, should I focus on becoming a merchant, Brother Pedro?" Aldo asked. Pedro simply shook his head and said, "Not necessarily¡­ Just in case¡­ I think both you and classmate Loren should play a special role that is only available to our team." "A special role? Support?" Loren asked. Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "Let''s call it Jack!" "Jack¡­ Jack of all trades, master of none?" Aldo asked. "Bingo!" Pedro said as he smiled and pointed towards Aldo¡ªhappy that Aldo was able to read what was on his mind. Then, he added, "Blacksmith, Alchemy, Merchant¡­ None of the Five "One Man Army" has such knowledge at this point in the game. And not even Lony nor Roval knows the basics of such. Won''t we be at a disadvantage if the objectives were just easy but require such profession or occupation?" "As for mastery, the game has just been launched. So, the game developers would most likely just showcase such possibilities to occur in a competition. They won''t even think that someone would be able to clear the basics of such occupation so there is a possibility of only the basics to be included in the competition." Aldo said that made Pedro nod in agreement. Then, Pedro responded, saying, "Since Lony and Roval know a few about being merchants, Bro Aldo, you can focus on blacksmith occupation since it requires more physical ability than Alchemy. As for you, classmate Loren, I''ll have to ask you to learn the basics of Alchemy in your free time. I''ll ask Wey to introduce you to some of the best crafters in the affiliated Kingdoms for both of you to get the most knowledge in a short period of time. As for the other occupations, do inform me if you learn some more. I''ll ask Roval to learn it before the competition. Then, if possible, try learning the other occupations so that the both of you would know the basics for every non-combatant profession." "I''ll do as you say, Brother Pedro!" Aldo said. Loren nodded in agreement and smiled. Then, she added, saying, "I agree classmate Pedro! It''s better than putting high hopes that my combat ability would become as good as everyone else in just a few days of training." Pedro simply laughed in response and said, "But don''t forget to set some time for your combat training, classmate Loren. It''s essential that you know how to defend yourself at any time¡ªor, at the least, you should be able to create a chance to escape and run." Loren waved his hands to Pedro while saying, "I know! I know! My Sis Sabrina right here is going to help me on that! Hehehe¡­" Pedro simply sighed in response and said, "You have one of the most terrifying players in the game as your teacher. I don''t know if I would be envy or I would be afraid for you. Haha." "Ahem¡­ Did you say something, my dear Peds?" Sabrina faked a cough before forcing out a menacing smile to Pedro. At this moment, Aldo could not help but to avert her gaze from Sabrina and Loren whilst forcing out a smile. On the other hand, Pedro frantically shook his head in response whilst forcing out a smile and saying, "N-Nothing!" *Crack!!!* *Crack!!!* Sabrina cracked her fists and said, "I thought you have something to say¡­" Chapter 265: Mastering ! Sabrina, Loren, and Aldo soon left after cleaning Pedro''s hospital room and getting the furniture back to its original arrangement. On the other hand, Pedro went to the VR Box beside his bed and logged back into the game. At that moment, Clara was sitting in front of Sabrina and Loren''s characters and was half asleep. Her head was on top of her crossed arms and was resting at the handguard of her sword. Beside her was Faunia¡ªwho was casually laying her back to the just awakened Pedro. "Uhm¡­ Can you move a little?" Pedro asked Faunia whilst forcing out a smile. Faunia simply furrowed her brows before her eyes opened¡ªfilled with murderous intent. She asked, "Did you just insult me, human?" Pedro quickly shook his head in response and said, "I am not! I am not! What I said was if you could move a bit so that I can stand." Faunia simply sighed in response and said, "If that''s the case, then, you should have told me earlier." Pedro flicked his tongue in response and said, "That''s what I said earlier!" Faunia simply moved forward to allow Pedro to stand. Then, she moves back and leaned to the cave''s wall when Pedro left behind her¡ªto go back to her rest. At this moment, Pedro glanced at the sleeping character of Mathew with the basket containing Werewolf Tam behind his back. Pedro glanced towards Clara and asked, "Is the Werewolf still alive?" "He can hear you, Captain!" Clara said coldly. "I was just checking!" Pedro said in response. Then, he glanced deeper into the cave and said, "We''d have more students later on. They are to train the basics of swordsmanship and close combat. I hope that you two could help. However¡­ Please go easy on them. They are not as strong as the two of us." "What''s the occasion, young master?" Ragas asked as his shadow appeared in front of them. He was inside the dungeon and was taking care of the baby spiders in Pedro and Sabrina''s stead. Pedro stretched his head to the sides while saying, "Nothing special¡­ My friends and I might join a party with other humans." At this moment, Ragas walked out of the dungeon with a hungry baby spider running in a frenzy behind him. That said, Ragas did not even bat an eye as it got closer to them. Then, in the next second, Pedro''s Pen-knife went past Ragas'' left shoulder and pierced through the baby spider''s body. Its corpse dropped dead into the ground with a gooey substance oozing out of the hole. Then, a few seconds later, something pulled the corpse back into the dungeon and a weak wave of air blew past Pedro and everyone else, indicating that another batch of baby spiders was on their way. "Have a rest. Let me stretch my arms for a bit." Pedro said with a smirk as his figure vanished into thin air in the next second. Then, aftershocks could be felt¡ªoriginating from inside the dungeon. Ragas smirked in response and said, "In just days¡­ Young Master and Young Miss have already mastered ! Impressive! It is only a matter of time before they would be able to create skills of their own!" "Dream on, wyvern!" Faunia chuckled in response. Then, she added, saying with her eyes closed, "They are just starting to properly control their mana! Their mana capacity and recovery indeed increase by a huge leap, but they are still far from reaching even a percent of their limits. Yes, they are stronger than ordinary humans, but they won''t be able to last longer than the rage form of a Mongutan!" "Just keep on fighting them to drain their Mana before fighting them with nothing but their raw physical strength. It''s more effective than just draining them out of their limits." Clara argued calmly. "It slows their Mana Outburst mastery and capability. But training Mana Outburst without application is pretty much useless. So, I''ll overlook this for now!" Faunia said in response. Ragas bowed towards Faunia in response and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty!" Faunia simply raised her hand in response and said, "Raised your head before I decide to even take over their combat training." Ragas could not help but raise his head and sat beside Mathew as Pedro and Sabrina''s welfare during training might become at risk. After all, Faunia did not know the words "Going Easy" to anyone who''s under her training. ~~~~~~~~ A few days ago, Pedro and Sabrina were about to reach their limit in resisting Faunia''s Mana Outburst. That said, at this moment, Pedro''s player interface popped up¡ªnotifying him that he received a message from his cousin. "Urgent news cousin¡­" Weyron said in the first few lines of his message. Unfortunately, Pedro was not able to continue reading his cousin''s message any further as his Mana was about to be sucked dry and his vision started to become blurry. "Not yet!" Pedro grumbled as he bit his lips and his will to remain awake intensified just to be able to remain awake and be able to respond to Weyron''s seemingly urgent message. That said, in the next second, Sabrina beside him started to fall on her knees while he was barely able to keep his balance¡ªstanding on the ground. "Hoo¡­" Faunia chuckled as she noticed the slight change on Pedro this time around. That said, Sabrina noticed that Pedro was somehow being able to withstand way past their previous limit. Thus, she can''t help a bit to also grit her teeth and do her best to remain awake with Pedro. In fact, most of the time, Pedro losses his consciousness first before Sabrina because of Sabrina''s intense will to last longer than Pedro and be able to protect him at such times. It was not being competitive but rather care and desire to protect someone she loves. As a non-forgiving trainer, Faunia did not even give them the slightest mercy and even increased the pressure created by her Mana Outburst towards Pedro and Sabrina by two folds. Thus, Pedro and Sabrina''s eyes entered their last spurt of rage as their Mana uncontrollably burst out of their body to resist the force exerted by Faunia. However, like a car that runs dry of gas, Pedro and Sabrina had slowly lost their consciousness as their body gets blown into the ground. At this moment, Faunia stopped releasing her Mana while saying, "They lasted longer this time around¡­ Something must have happened with the Greedy Human [referring to Pedro.]." "You even toned up the strength of your Mana Outburst¡­" Clara said in a calm demeanor. "Should you have maintained your normal output, then, they might have lasted longer than usual." "If I did not do so¡­ Their development would be slow at a constant rate! They would rather fight either of you till their mana run dry than try to resist my Mana Outburst and just waste my mana!" Faunia said in response. "Hmm¡­ Their bodies have been experiencing Mana bursts in the past few days¡­ Won''t it be better to go easy on them in the next few days, Your Majesty?" Ragas asked as he carried Pedro and Sabrina''s bodies on a safer side. Then, he added, "Well¡­ It''s not like we''d be going really easy on them. I just suggest that they learn a thing or two where they can apply the fruits of their training¡­ Their training would just be a waste if they have no single-use for it." At this moment, Faunia pondered for a few seconds before taking a deep sigh. Then, she said, "Teach them the basics of movement using their mana. That way, their magical energy would be drained faster during combat training. It''s up to the two of you on what you would do afterward. But if it is up to me¡­ I''d beat their asses off until they are unable to lift a finger." "You need not worry about it, Your Majesty! Please use these times to recover, and leave the combat training to us. We''ll make sure to train them ''properly''!" Ragas said as his mouth curved up and his eyes emanated a tinge of killing intent. Faunia simply shrugs off Ragas'' faint killing intent as if it was nothing, and said, "Do as you wish!" ~~~~~~~~ Back at the present¡­ Pedro fought the baby spiders by using the hand-to-hand combat ability that he learned from Ragas, combined with the Tae Kwon Do that he learned in real life. Add up with the use of his mana to hasten his movement speed¡ªby releasing magic energy in his back to propel him as fast as the speed of light, Pedro was able to kill and kick the unfortunate baby spiders straight back to the Spider Queen''s mouth, increasing the production rate of offspring of the spider queen by three times. However, such efficiency did not last long as his mana was almost sucked dry. That said, fighting without the boost of his mana is not a problem because what they experienced from their combat training was more difficult than that. "Ragas and Clara is more a hundred times more terrifying than a hundred of these baby spiders combined!" Pedro smirked as he toyed around the baby spiders and kicking them just strong enough to land directly into the Spider Queen''s mouth. ~~~~~End of the Chapter~~~~~ Pedro glares at you and says, "Hey, Readers! What are you doing? Do you want mass release? Vote for the novel and bug the author about it in the comment section! Do you want him to enjoy the latest chapters on his own?! Or do you even need my grandma to ask on your behalf?" Sabrina chuckled in response and said, "Let them be... my dear Peds! The Author will have a chance to laze off if that happens. Well... some readers are not reading on w e b n o v e l. c o m, and no one is commenting lately, so we can''t really blame the lazy author!" "So... This is all the Author''s Fault!" Pedro cursed in response. Then, he raised his pen-knife and said, "I am going to chop that lazy man into pieces!" ~~~~~End of the Rant~~~~~ Chapter 266: The Guilds Logo! Pedro kept fighting the monsters by himself. Hours later, Sabrina logged back into the game and joined him in the training without even using her Demonic Eyes. That said, it was evident that Sabrina was a bit better compared to Pedro in terms of combat, both hand-to-hand combat and using a sword. Well¡­ It is probably a way for her to be able to cope up with Pedro''s overpowered attack damage. In any case, Sabrina''s help was able to ease the job of Pedro in fighting the baby spiders, giving him a chance to send ten copies of the to Lony through trade in the player interface. As for , Pedro did not immediately send it to Weyron because of his concern that the item might accidentally be stolen or used before the said competition. Thus, Pedro kept it by him for ease of his mind. Soon, after a few hours, everyone else from the ARES Guild logged back into the game. Mathew and Loren¡ªwho were with Pedro and Sabrina in their secret training area, left in preparation for their training. At this moment, Faunia had nothing else to do, thus, the basket¡ªwhere Werewolf Tam is prisoned, was left to her protection. On the other hand, Talia, Aldo, Lony, Roval, and Arvedar teleported from the Karakoa Ship to the Axutar Village¡ªwhere they were going to meet with Mathew and Loren. After being able to gather in Axutar Village, Mathew led Talia, Lony, Roval, and Arvedar back to the ''secret'' training area while Aldo and Loren teleported to the Tarala Kingdom. And like how Pedro and Sabrina started their training, Lony, Roval, Arvedar, Talia, and Mathew underwent the hellish training of Clara and Ragas. They were made to train a thousand punch of different ways into the sturdy wall of the cave while they were made to swing their swords a thousand times on different ways to strike against each other. Arvedar¡ªwho was still recuperating, and Talia¡ªwho was a girl, was not excused from such hellish training that everyone else was tasked to do. That said, they did not waver because they witness how Pedro and Sabrina were easily toying with the baby spiders and knew that if they do their best in their training, they could become as strong as Pedro and Sabrina now. As for Aldo and Loren, they went on their separate ways after Weyron had guided them to their respective learning area to study the basics of being a blacksmith and an alchemist. Aldo worked under the best blacksmith of Tarala Kingdom, learning the differences between the material to be used up to the proper use of the Ore Oven and the shaping of the weapons. While Loren studied under the Alchemist Association of the Tarala Kingdom, where she was an apprentice who was given lectures in the basics of alchemy and was given a chance to participate and watch in experiments¡ªincluding potion making and neutralization of harmful effects like poison or a common disease. Although Loren and Aldo were busy on their own occupation, they were still able to make a way to practice the basics of swordsmanship in the Adventurer''s Guild in their free time. That said, their development in terms of combat ability was just a fraction of the development of everyone else in the ARES Guild. In the next few days, Pedro''s health had greatly improved as he was given a clearance by his doctor to be released from the hospital. That said, he needs to comply and attend several follow-up check-ups with the doctor to ensure that there were no aftereffects on his body. And during those times, All the members of the ARES Guild had settled everything that they needed to do within their own families and were able to move to their temporary gaming camp already. Since Pedro was still not present, Mathew with the assistance of Arvee, led everyone else in their planning and training. In terms of weapons and equipment, Aldo was their go-to guy. While Loren was their informant when it comes to potions and alchemy-related stuff. And for their real-life training of Tae Kwon Do, Sabrina was their reference if they had some questions like how can they integrate what they learned in real life with the fighting style that they learned from Ragas. That aside, it was not like they were all playing the game or talking about the game all the time. They would oftentimes go to the mall below their hotel to bond together and know more about each other. Mathew arranged it that way to increase the chemistry amongst everyone else even in a short matter of time. And right after finishing their dinner together in a high-end restaurant, Mathew received a message that made him smile. Then, he glanced at everyone else and said, "Let''s go! It''s time to go back!" Lony, Roval, and Talia could only cry in protest as they seemingly wanted to go around the mall for a little bit longer and relax. However, because of Mathew''s authority, they could not help but follow in response. While on the elevator as they go back up to their rooms, Mathew said, "Before you go back to your respective rooms, follow me to the meeting room. It seems like Expert Bro has prepared something for us." "Meeting room? Do we even have one of that, Elder Brother?" Talia asked in response. Mathew simply said, "That''s what Expert Bro message to me earlier. I am just following his order." "Hooo, Hooo¡­ I see!" Talia nodded in response as the elevator arrived at their floor. They left the elevator and followed Mathew to the room that was located on the other side of Pedro''s room. And when they entered the room using Mathew''s Keycard to his own room, a familiar voice greeted everyone. "I heard that the pork barbeque was delicious. Did you guys bring some?" "Expert Brother!" Talia shouted upon seeing Pedro¡ªwho was sitting at the far end of a table like a CEO with a smirk on his face. "Brother Pedro, what are you doing here?" Aldo asked. "I thought that it would take a few more days before you''d be discharged from the hospital?" "Can''t a day be considered few? Hahahaha!" Pedro laughed in response. Then, he added, saying, "Anyway¡­ Come in and sit down. There are some things that we need to discuss." "Don''t tell me that you are going to introduce another teammate to us, guild leader?" Roval asked with a smile on his face. "Sorry to crush your hopes early, Roval. But there won''t be anyone joining our guild until the competition is finished." Pedro said in response. "Anyway¡­ The main topic for our sudden meeting is just about the Guild''s Logo." "Guild''s Logo? Cool! Cool! Are we going to design it, Expert Brother?" Talia asked happily like a child. Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Yes! But before that¡­ I would like to inform you that tomorrow morning, my Aunt and my Mom would talk to all of you one by one¡ªregarding your contract and the corresponding income that you would earn monthly from the company. Make sure to also inform them about your food preference and stuff so that we could prepare them beforehand as we travel to China for the competition." "Isn''t it better to enjoy the local food in China while we are there? Why do you need to prepare our favorite food instead?" Talia asked. Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "Remember that we are still going to play in a competition. We want all of you to be in your best condition during the competition. So, it is only normal to prepare your comfort foods to avoid problems along the way. Well¡­ We can enjoy their local cuisine after the event if you want." "I see¡­" Talia nodded in response. Seeing that Talia had no follow-up questions, Pedro glanced at everyone and asked, "Does any of you have any other questions before I proceed?" Everyone shook their heads in response. Thus, Pedro proceeded by activating the hologram projector that was displaying their sample name for the competition. "The Character Synchronization Feature in the game does not include the sync of the in-game name of our characters. So, we have a chance to alter our professional in-game names for the Simulation Battle. Since Armaz Energy International is our sponsor, our professional in-game names for the Simulation Battle should follow the format ." "That said¡­ I have discussed with my mom and we had agreed that the guild''s personal logo would be used instead without the influence of the sponsor company." Pedro said as he forced out a smile. Then, he added, saying, "However¡­ I am not that confident with my ''creative'' skills. So, I would like to ask the help from all of you to come up with a guild''s logo that we would use¡ªboth in tournaments and in the game. Submit your designs tomorrow and we''ll vote on which logo would best represent our guild. Are all of you, okay with that?" "Yes, Expert Bro!" Talia said with full of excitement as her competitive mindset was activated. On the other hand, everyone else simply nodded in response while thinking of good ideas for their guild''s logo. But before some of them could even daydream, Pedro clapped his hands to attract their attention. Then, he said, "That''s all for the meeting tonight. You can go back to training if you have no further questions." Chapter 267: The Legendary Sword, Estan! Everyone went back to their respective rooms with Aldo as the last one to leave the meeting room with Pedro. At this moment, Pedro utilizes this chance to talk to Aldo, saying, "Is the matter regarding the ''three transferees'' complete?" Aldo nodded in response and said, "Yes, Brother Pedro. They chose to take a separate path from us. Although they were a bit reluctant, they had no choice because they are a part of the University Head''s family and had to establish a separate gaming organization from us. They would also leave our group for the ESSD Class [Electronic Survival Sports and Development Class] to avoid any conflicts in the interest of the two parties. Now, there''s just you, me, Loren, and Sabrina in our ''squad'' for the class." "Were things properly documented?" Pedro asked as he closed the door. "Yes! I sent the copy to your aunt as you instructed." Aldo said. "Fortunately, their squad change was allowed by the head because we were just their ''temporary'' squadmates and the three girls had just transferred to the school when the formation of squads happened. Anyway, Things were handled cleanly, and later, I would be guiding them to the Tarala Kingdom and hand them over to the Adventurer''s Guild." Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Sorry for the trouble, Bro Aldo! I really had high expectations for schoolmate Ashley. It was unfortunate that they can''t join our guild." Aldo nodded in response and said, "She and the Crazy Red Haired Flame NPC would be a perfect duo. Their unconventional sword styles would have been a great combination¡ªcovering the lapses between each of their attack." "Well¡­ There''s nothing much that we could do about it. We can just focus on training the NPCs and hope that they would become stronger players in the future. Besides¡­ The First Order is being established. We can''t hide behind the BHO all of the time. My relationship with the BHO is starting to get in the way of our interests. So, it''s only a matter of time before we get dragged into the internal conflicts of BHO." Pedro said in response. "Then, what about the Adventurer''s Guild?" Aldo asked. "It is established under the influence of BHO¡ªby your authority." "It can''t be helped," Pedro said in a cold demeanor. "It''s not like we can contain the players for a long time. We only did that to take advantage of the situation and earn as much profit as we can. Even Wey and Sabri knew about this." "Ahh¡­ Such a waste¡­" Aldo said in a depressed tone. "Then, what about the plans of expanding to the other continents?" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "We can''t get all shares of the cake if it is a world! All we got to do is to ensure that we got most of it!" "Haiz¡­ I''ll trust you on this Brother Pedro! I hope that we leading in the right direction!" Aldo said as Pedro stopped in front of the door of his room. Then, Pedro smiled in response and said, "For now¡­ Focus on the training for the event. The announcement would be made soon. And we''d become busy in the next few days. The media is quite pesky these days¡­ So, be ready." Aldo simply nodded in response and said, "I''ll take that in mind! See you later, Brother Pedro! Don''t hesitate to contact me if you need anything!" "Thanks!" Pedro waved goodbye to Aldo as he entered his room. Then, he placed his important items into an isolated plastic basket before his eyes landed on the VR Box beside his bed. He chuckled, saying, "The First Order, huh? It seems like I need to start making ships." Pedro did his nightly routine afterward, before playing the game. At this moment, Lony, Roval, and Arvedar were already practicing their usual training routine. By this time, unless Clara or Ragas has something new to teach them, they could just simply carry on the training by themselves. Of course, Pedro was not excused from such training routines. He started on his own and did not wait for anyone to join him at the same time. Soon, all of them logged back into the game and followed the early birds in the training. That said, after Sabrina completed the thousand punch of different ways and the thousand swings of different strikes, Pedro approached her and said, "Let''s go. We have some things to do at the Kingdom." "What about the training?" Sabrina asked. "We''ll join them later on. There are just some urgent matters that I need to do." Pedro explained. Then, he glanced towards Clara and said, "Clara, you''re with us!" "What''s the hurry?" Clara asked. Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "I don''t want to lose a good sword!" Without any further arguments, Pedro, Sabrina, and Clara departed to the Axutar Village and even immediately used the Teleportation Portal to the Tarala Kingdom. Then, they headed straight to Duke Albert''s Auction Den¡ªwhere they were welcomed as if they were the second most important person next to Duke Albert. "What matters does Captain have with my Auction Den to appear in such a short notice?" Duke Albert asked with a smile on his face. Pedro smiled in response and said, "We''re here to buy a sword!" "A sword?" Duke Albert asked in a slightly astonished demeanor. Then, he faked a cough to calm himself and asked, "Perhaps you were informed that a good sword was being sold in our auction den? If you could kindly describe it to me, then I could probably arrange it and give it to you instead?" Pedro simply shook his head in response. This made Duke Albert frown and ask, "Is there any problem with the procurement, Captain Aron?" "Well¡­" Pedro forced out a smile as he pointed to the sword that was stabbed into the ground at the center of the open area and said, "I do not know if that''s even for sale." Duke Albert followed Pedro''s glance and saw the bluish-gem-looking sword at the center of the Auction Den. Then, after a few seconds, Duke Albert laughed and said, "To think that Captain Aron was interested in the sword of the Legendary Knight of Estanian!" At this moment, Duke Albert clapped his hands¡ªconsequently summoning several Auction Managers towards them, and said, "Please clear the open area! Captain Aron wants to try drawing the Legendary Sword!" "Yes, your highness!" The Auction Managers responded in unison with a bow. Then, in the next second, everyone in the open area was assisted back into the first floor of the Auction Mansion as Duke Albert bowed slightly towards Pedro whilst pointing towards the sword. Duke Albert smiled and said, "It would be our honor for Captain Aron to try pulling the sword out of the stone." Pedro nodded in response as he slowly approached the sword. The gazes of everyone followed Pedro as the echoes of his footsteps could be heard in the surroundings. Then, when he reached the sword, he took a deep sigh before he grabbed the handle and pulled the sword. The veins on his right hand seemed like it was about to burst as the bluish gem-looking blade of the sword started to shine brighter in color. Then, the circular design at the center of its handle guard¡ªa bird whose beak was pointed to its blades, suddenly rotated and locked with a click. Now, the bird''s beak in the design was pointing towards one side of the sword, while a blinding light runs through the carvings on the design of the sword¡ªfrom its handle''s guard to its very own handle. And at this moment, Pedro was able to pull the sword out of the rock as intense pressure was emanated by the sword. Fortunately, Pedro and Sabrina were able to train the first two stages of Mana Utilization, thus resisting the pressure was easy for them. On the other hand, Duke Albert and everyone else could only take a step back as they watch Pedro lift the sword casually. "Such beauty!" Duke Albert said in amazement as the bluish light and golden light shine through their surroundings¡ªcoming from the sword in Pedro''s hands. Soon, the pressure weakened together with the light that the sword emanated. Then, a mysterious figure of a Knight shot out of the tip of the sword and was bluish in color. It approached Pedro like a hologram projection and asked, "Finally¡­ A worthy owner!" "It is my great honor to be praised as someone worthy!" Pedro said with a smile. "It is only natural!" The Mysterious Knight said as he knelt in front of Pedro and asked, "How should I address my humble owner!" "Clara!" Pedro said with a smile. The Mysterious Knight remained on his knees¡ªbowing towards Pedro, and asked, "Are you referring to ''that'' lady?" Pedro simply nodded with a smile and said, "Yes." "Very well!" The Mysterious Knight said, seemingly delighted in response. Then, the Mysterious Knight disappeared with the wind and reappeared in front of Clara. He asked, "My lady, Clara, please give this humble warrior a name!" Chapter 268: The Purchase of Decent Goods! At this moment, everyone was astonished by the turn of events. Most of the people in that area, especially Duke Albert, knew the lore of the sword. And they knew that upon successful removal of the sword from the stone, a contract would be established with the sword¡ªsimilar to other Legendary Sword known to exist in the past. Where giving the weapon''s ''spirit'' a name was a way of forming a contract. Other than that, Everyone, including Clara, knew that only the person who drew the sword successfully was the only one worthy of the sword. That is why all of them were surprised when Pedro even ''redirected'' the ownership of the sword to her. The only remaining possible reason for that to happen is that Clara was also worthy of the sword herself. That said before they could utter another word, or before Clara could even reject the ownership of the sword, Pedro threw the sword towards Clara¡ªwhich she had no choice but to catch in response. Then, she glanced to Pedro and asked, "Why are you giving the Legendary Sword to someone like me?" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "So that you could protect me and your new family!" Clara stared at Pedro in response. Then, after a few seconds, she sighed and smiled before saying, "You really are great with persuasion, Captain Aron! Then, I would like to gladly accept to protect everyone in my new family! This I swear by the blood of the Great Swordsman, Aleria!" At this moment, Clara''s eyes shined bright while a blinding light rotated around the Legendary Sword in her hands. On the other hand, the Mysterious Knight responded whilst remaining on his knees, saying, "It is my honor to serve my lady, Clara! To your family, shall I protect!" Afterward, the Mysterious Knight''s figure turned into bright blue light as it flows back into the tip of the sword¡ªconsequently making the bright light revolving around its bluish gem-looking blade slowly fade and disappear. Everyone could only glance at Clara and the Legendary Sword, Estan, that was on her hands. Pedro simply smirked as he glanced towards Duke Albert and asked, "How much do I need to pay for that sword, Duke Albert? Please don''t rip my wallet off, okay?" Duke Albert could only stare at him in response. And only after almost a minute was Duke Albert able to get back to himself and said, "N-No need! I-I¡­ I just have a request!" "A request?" Pedro asked. "Then, what would it be? As long as it''s reasonable and is within our capability then we''ll do our best to fulfill it." "I-It''s not that much¡­ J-Just return the sword here, I-If you no longer have use for it¡­ It is a treasure that is once used by our ancestors and we''d always gladly return the prosperity that it brought to our family by taking care of it." Duke Albert explained. "Of course¡­ We''ll do as you wish!" Pedro said in response. It took them several more minutes before everyone else got back to themselves. That said, Pedro, Clara, and Sabrina did not wait for them to respond. They headed towards the Minor Auction Area in the Auction Mansion to check other swords and, at the same time, find a decent scabbard for . With the assistance of Duke Albert¡ªwho rushed to follow them, they were able to find a golden scabbard that fits decently for . With the matching golden handle of , it was as if the scabbard was specifically made for it. Other than that, Pedro was able to snatch some B-rank, or also known as Epic rank, daggers and one-handed swords. And while the matters concerning his purchase were being processed, Pedro took the chance to talk with Duke Albert about the Adventurer''s Guild and the Tarala Kingdom. "How''s the plan going, Duke Albert?" Pedro asked. "Everything is done. Ersi is now going after Kireon and the blood sucking bastards!" Duke Albert said in response. "And it was already decided between me and Ersi that I would succeed to the throne¡ªto be transferred next month after the chase down operation." Pedro nodded in response and said, "That''s good to hear, Duke Albert! But remember¡­ A stable boat does not mean that it is an unsinkable boat!" "What do you mean by that, Captain Aron?" Duke Albert asked with a frown on his face. Pedro stole a glanced towards Duke Albert before shifting his attention back to the weapons in display and said, "Adventurers are quite troublesome to handle. They are all increasing their strength at an exponential rate¡­ And sooner or later, Factions amongst them would arise. Something that can cause the smallest hole on a stable boat!" "But there''s the Adventurer''s Guild to control and manage them, right?" Duke Albert asked in response. Pedro simply scoffed in response and said, "Yes, you are right! But don''t forget the fact that Adventurers have what we call freedom. And they might use this as an excuse to create their own independent factions later on¡­ It''s not like all of them are hostile against the Kingdom, but¡­" "It''s not like they are completely allied with us!" Duke Albert interjected that made Pedro nod in response. "Anyway¡­ It would take years before that happens. What is important is that you create the right countermeasures ahead of time. And by that time, the Kingdom would be ready even if there would be a war." Pedro said with an evil smirk. Duke Albert simply nodded in response and said, "Thanks for the warning, Captain Aron! I''ll make sure to keep your words in mind." Pedro simply nodded in response. Their discussion came to an end as Pedro''s purchases were successfully processed. Pedro, Clara, and Sabrina paid Aldo and Loren a visit before Teleporting to several more Kingdoms¡ªpurchasing ''rare'' and ''high value'' weapons and items that he could remember from his past life. Since they were able to move at a hastened pace, they were able to return to the secret training area before lunch. They brought everyone a lot of food to eat. However, Pedro looked pale on the other hand. Thus, Faunia could not help but frown and ask, "What''s the problem human? Are you sick or what?" Pedro simply shook his head and said, "My pocket was sucked empty! Huhuhu¡­" "Well¡­" Faunia''s eyes landed to the sword that was on Clara''s waist and chuckled, saying, "Everything has a price! It''s just a matter of choice¡ªon which is more important." "I know¡­ Huhuhu¡­" Pedro said in a depressed manner. "Since you understand¡­ Stop sulking and eat! Don''t think that you can skip training, greedy human!" Faunia scolded as she crossed her arms in response. Pedro was hopeless and could only do as Faunia said in response. His fear that Faunia would take over their training was greater than his sadness caused by losing all his gold coins in just a matter of hours. Two days passed in the game and thanks to everyone''s continuous effort in training, their strength had greatly increased. Aldo''s mastery in forging weapons had greatly increased, allowing him to purchase rare metal ores for him to craft as weapons for everyone in the ARES Guild. This way, there would be uniformity with their weapons and they would not need to use any of the weapons that Pedro bought¡ªwhich would definitely attract a lot of attention in the exhibition games. On the other hand, Loren was holed up in studying herb combinations and such¡ªlike a Medical Student, and was trying to master the basic concoction of potions, antidotes, and such related stuff in preparation for the tournament. Of course, Pedro was capable of purchasing such items necessary for the even¡ªlike what Weyron did for his guild. That said, Pedro decided to leave such matters to Loren and even let her craft the concoction by herself to reduce the cost of manufacture, increase the supply, while increasing Loren''s Mastery in Alchemy. On another note, Lony''s had mutated into a after using ten of the that Pedro provided. In fact, it was second mutation that happened, following that occurred after Lony used five copies of the . Compared to the ordinary wolf transformation and the Alpha wolf transformation, the Mountain Werewolf transformation has thicker muscles in the arms and way sharper claws in its hands that Lony can use to tear or smash its enemies easily. Add up with its sharp fangs, sensitive smell, and faster movement speed that it got from the wolf lineage, Lony could even single handedly face a hundred village soldiers at once. In fact, he can even match Arvedar, Mathew, Talia, and Roval combined in a spar using only swordsmanship or hand to hand combat. However, he was still far away from the strength of Werewolf Tam¡ªwho''s a pure blooded and a matured werewolf. Werewolf Tam has a way more terrifying aura as his fangs, his limbs, his claws, and even his fur were sharper and sturdier than Lony''s. If Werewolf Tam is like a veteran soldier who has faced a lot of near death experiences in life, then it can be said that Lony is like a teen ager who is innocent and has just graduated from high school. That is why, although Lony can single handedly fight back against the four players, he won''t be able to land a single strike to either Sabrina or Pedro if they opted to do so, without even using their Pen-knives nor their Demonic Eyes. Chapter 269: The Information About Ships! Earlier, they went offline one by one as the players had a meeting with Pedro''s Aunt and Mom regarding their contracts with Armaz Electronic Inc. and their income. With Mathew gaining the highest salary of almost Half a Million Pesos per month, while his younger sister, Talia, having the lowest salary of just Seventy-Five Thousand Pesos per month. Well¡­ The reason why Talia had the lowest salary was that Mathew opted to convert the supposed remaining of her salary into other types of compensation like scholarships and other benefits. As for everyone else, they were given around 150,000 Pesos to 200,000 Pesos of salary monthly. Other than that, they were also given health benefits and insurance, food allowance, housing benefit, clothing benefit, and other basic needs benefit¡ªthat include providing VR Box for them to use and Lifo Liquid to consume whilst playing the game. Transportation Expenses that are associated with company travels were also vouched and paid by the company, including housing and other necessities. It was the same for other similar cases. Their new contracts were eventually signed after careful review, marking that they were now official members of the ARES Guild under the Armaz Electronics Inc. Thus, in the evening, they all had another dinner together to celebrate such a memorable event. Now¡­ They were all officially comrades. Afterward, it was Talia''s most awaited "Guild Logo Meeting"¡ªwhere each one of them would present a logo that they think would best represent their guild. And as soon as their meeting started, Pedro projected his own suggestion of a guild logo with the word "ARES". "It''s a bit too simple¡­" Talia ruthlessly commented that sent daggers straight to Pedro''s heart. Sabrina and Loren nodded in response¡ªagreeing to Talia''s comments and sending another two daggers to Pedro''s heart. "Khuk!" Pedro could only cough blood deep inside as his suggestion was rejected without mercy. Arvedar, Lony, and Roval followed Pedro and suggested the letter "A" as their guild logo. However, like Pedro, they were ruthlessly denied by the three girls. Thus, with Mathew not suggesting a guild logo, they proceeded with the girls'' suggestion. The guild logo that the girls prepared was also just a letter "A". However, unlike Arvedar, Lony, and Roval''s plain and simple suggestion, the girls'' guild logo has a design in it. At the lower end of the letter "A" were fangs¡ªfour on the left and five on the right, to resemble a dragon''s mouth. Then, the space in the letter "A" was designed to imitate the eyes of a dragon. "This logo might seem simple but it has a lot of meaning in it," Talia explained. "The letter A obviously stands for ARES¡ªthe name of our guild, while the fangs represent us¡ªthe first nine members of it. Lastly, the eye of a dragon was placed at the hole of "A" to indicate that the creature that resembles our logo with its mouth opened is a Dragon. Not because Guild Leader can transform into a Dragon, but because the sole existence of the guild itself was like a Dragon that stood above everyone else." Sabrina and Loren nodded in support as if saying that it was the proper way to create a meaningful logo for their guild. And obviously, the men were hopeless as the girls'' logo were the obvious winners of guild logo selection. Well¡­ It was not actually bad either. So, without any further objections or suggestions, the logo that the girls made became their official guild''s logo. "With the Guild Logo matter settled, let''s proceed with your Pro-League IGN. I''ll give you a few days to decide on your Pro League IGNs. I would be strict in this matter and I would not allow you guys to submit a Pro League IGN similar to your IGN in Bearth Online. This is for your safety, so I hope you guys understand." Pedro said as he dismissed everyone else. Everyone simply nodded in response and said, "Yes, Guild Leader!" Pedro could not help but scratch the back of his head and force out a smile, seemingly embarrassed and not used by being called a guild leader. Then, he said, "Just call me Team Captain or simply Captain! It''s a bit awkward to be called Guild Leader." "Yes, Captain!" Talia shouted whilst raising her hand¡ªseemingly happy because her suggestion with Sabrina and Loren was the one selected as the Guild''s Logo. "That''s better!" Pedro said as he sighed with relief. Then, he glanced to Mathew and said, "Then, address Brother Mathew as Vice-Captain." "Meh¡­" Talia said as she waved her hand¡ªdenying to call her elder brother as Vice-Captain. Then, she added, "I''ll pass! I''ll pass! He''s my elder bro after all!" Everyone simply laughed in response. After a few words of encouragement, they all left and headed back to their training. As usual, everyone did their extreme training as soon as they were able to log in to the game. The reason for this was because the first ones to be able to finish their ''daily in-game routine'' would be the ones who''d be able to fight against Clara and Ragas in a ruthless spar. Well¡­ Those who''d come last would either fight the spiders or Sabrina. So, there''s not much difference in the difficulty of the spar. However, Sabrina emanates weaker magical energy that provides lesser pressure to them compared to Ragas and Clara. As for the baby spiders, it was the easiest enemy that emanates no pressure towards them during battle. Thus, Ragas and Clara were the ones that Lony, Roval, Arvedar, Mathew, and Talia were fighting over to be their sparring partner. As for Pedro, he himself returned to the Tarala Kingdom to help Aldo in crafting weapons and determine a way for him to be able to build a ship¡ªfor specific purposes later on. Pedro glanced to the Blacksmith with them and asked, "There''s a massive ship made out of metal that I know. I can''t help but wonder how it was made using Ore Oven¡­ Blacksmith Prodel, do you perhaps have any idea how the gigantic ships were being made?" The big-bodied middle-aged looking man named Prodel looked up into the ceiling and though for a second before glancing back to Pedro, while saying, "I, myself, is not familiar with how ships were made. I just heard from some senior blacksmiths in the past that most of them are made from specific Kingdoms located on another Continent¡ªsomewhere north of the Aquari Continent." "There''s no information about its production here in this continent?" Pedro asked in a slightly astonished tone. Blacksmith Prodel simply shook his head in response and said, "Unfortunately, there''s none available as far as I know. Perhaps the high ranking officials have an information or two¡­ But for the regular blacksmiths or even the academy, there''s none. In fact, even boats are being brought by sea merchants to our continent." "We can''t even make boats?" Pedro asked. Blacksmith Prodel nodded and said, "Yes. Even I tried making one during my younger days because of a foolish dream to be the first blacksmith to successfully create a boat in the continent. Unfortunately, it did not last a day and sank to the sea. It is only then that I learned that the water from the sea is filled with magical energy. And combined with the strong waves, it was evident that the boats won''t last that long." "What if we used a rare metal ore? Won''t it be able to last longer?" Pedro asked. Blacksmith Prodel nodded and said, "Yes, it might last longer. But it would not be able to last long enough to travel even just from two places in Aquari Continent. That is why, rather than wasting so much precious ores in a boat, it was more ideal to craft weapons and equipment to be used whilst traveling by land." Pedro nodded in response and said, "I understand¡­ Then, if I want to learn more about ships, I should go find a sea merchant somewhere in the continent?" "Yes." Blacksmith Prodel said in response. "That''s your best bet if you are really interested in boats and ships. However¡­ They are quite difficult to encounter, sir Aron. Most of the time, they lurk under suspicious organizations and are too slippery to catch. Well¡­ Their goods are often dropped in bulk that is why there''s no short of their goods even here in the Kingdom." "Well¡­ I can understand that." Pedro said. "By the nature of the Royalties and Nobles, there is definitely a high chance that their life would be put into danger if they got caught or something¡ªjust to be able to extract information regarding other continents. And as a merchant¡­ There was almost no profit gained if they would just drop a thing or two in their partners in the continent. So, I can''t blame them from acting in such manner." "If I may¡­" Blacksmith Prodel said in a low voice. "I heard from rumors that sea merchants often had transactions with ''corrupt'' officials and nobles. So¡­ If you badly want to know more about the ships and wants to meet a sea merchant, it is best to ''get in the good side'' of such officials. Well, it is up to you. It''s not like it is a crime or something. People just don''t want to get dragged in the royalties and nobles'' matters. That''s why most of us don''t want to get involved that much with sea merchants." Chapter 270: The ARES Guilds Official Equipment and Weapon! ''It seems like there''s really not much information about creating ships. What much more about workshops or factories for making such! It''s great that I have a ship-making manual¡­ But I still lack almost everything needed to make a ship. And from my estimate¡­ I would even need to build a Kingdom near the sea to be able to start such a project¡­ But something is suspicious¡­ If the sea merchants can easily travel from one continent to another, won''t selling ships be a huge market? If that''s the case, there should be a few ships sailing around¡ªother than the ships that belong to the BHO members.'' Pedro thought deep inside. ''In any case¡­ The ship-making operation would be on hold for now. I''ll see if I can get more info from Duke Albert and his underground connections. If that''s not enough, I have no choice but to find the answers through BHO in the trade event.'' Then, Pedro nodded towards Blacksmith Prodel and said, "Thanks for the info, senior!" "That''s nothing! That''s nothing!" Blacksmith Prodel said in response as they shifted back their focus in crafting weapons and equipment. They used a black and cloudy metal ore known as the Black Mountain Rock Metal Ore that is often obtained on the deepest part of the caves and is known to be just a rank lower compared to titanium like Metal Ores in terms of strength and durability. It was hard and was difficult to melt, thus, it often needs at least five minutes in the Ore Oven¡ªtwo minutes longer than the ordinary metal ores. Molding and shaping it was not an easy task. It would take them minutes of continuous hammering before each blade was formed. But because Pedro and Aldo were just novice blacksmiths and the fact that the metal that they used is dark and cloudy in appearance, the weapons lack elegance even on the final output and are not eye-catching just like the newbie swords. That said, its durability and sharpness are on another level and could even be compared to the swords wielded by officials in the Kingdom''s Military. On the other hand, Blacksmith Prodel, together with some NPC slaves under Pedro were crafting the Armors for everyone in the ARES Guild. Unlike the traditional full metal breastplates, they cut Black Mountain Rock Metal Ore in separate pieces and attached them to chainmail as Pedro instructed. This way, their movements won''t be restricted even if their sword art techniques came from Clara and were designed to adapt with the restrictions that a breastplate provides. With elegant black cloth sewn in between each Black Mountain Rock Metal Ore to hide the chainmail, together with golden linings as design, it looked like a metal bulletproof vest with a bit of a luxurious vibe. Add up the cover to the shoulders, the neck, the groin area, and the thighs, the armor could also be mistaken to be similar to Japanese Samurai''s Armors as a whole. There was also protective equipment for their limbs, hands, and feet that were made using a similar style of crafting, but the Black Mountain Rock Metal Ore were cut into way smaller pieces so that the protective equipment won''t restrict much of their movement when worn. As for their helm, it was crafted as thin as possible using the Black Mountain Rock Metal Ore. Only by placing another layer of the metal strip on critical parts like the forehead, the top of the head, the back of the head, and the chin area. As for the design, they simply imitated the design of an ordinary helm and just made a diagonal opening near the ear area, for hearing enhancement purposes. The helm itself was designed to be lightweight and fit while ensuring that its defensive properties won''t be compromised. With the addition of cloth inside, it was comfortable to wear for anyone. Their vision was also not affected that much, so, other than the hot environment in extended periods of use¡ªespecially during combats where perspiration and body temperature was inevitable to rise, there was not much of a backdrop in wearing the helm. With that, the ARES Guild member''s armors were made. And Pedro participated in the crafting together with his slaves because he wanted to give it to everyone else so that they can familiarize themselves in fighting with their armor equipped. There''s a huge difference after all because although the amount of the metal ores used were reduced, the weight of the armors was still heavy on that point. And considering that almost all of the parts of their body have specific protective equipment to be worn, it was completely a different experience from not wearing armor. It was as if they were trying to fight with ''weights'' attached all over their body. The only difference from the ordinary armors available was that their movements were not much restricted. The details and design of the armors were just overkilled because of the support that Duke Albert provided to Pedro. From the quality of the cloth that was used to the expert seamstress that accompanied them all through the crafting process, it was all provided to Pedro to ensure that the craft of their Guild''s First Official Armor would look as good as it could be. In fact, their Guild''s Logo was even engraved at their shoulder guards, at the forehead area of their helm, at the lower left guard of their thigh¡ªnear where the scabbards of their sword were placed, and at the handle guard of their swords¡ªsimilar to where the bird was located on , Clara''s sword. Well¡­ Pedro could not refuse Duke Albert''s offer, thus he had no choice but to willingly accept his aid. They might surely attract attention if they wore those armor in the exhibition games, but they can simply say that they ''paid'' a hefty price to acquire such armor and it was not as if other players couldn''t obtain such things with the right amount of gold coin. and Lony''s were still of a different case compared to the armors, because the two ''rare'' items were something that could not be easily bought even with lots and lots of gold. That aside, their armors only boasted high defense properties. They still have no special effects or such engraved in them. Pedro wanted to use Ragas again on this matter, but he thought otherwise because he knew that doing so would just result in the quick drain of everyone''s magical energy¡ªof course, except him and Sabrina. They can just simply add some effects later on when they start to learn the proper utilization of their magical energy. As for the weapons, he''s considering asking Ragas to place some effects based on the needs and traits of each of them. It would be good to be their individual trump card on the battlefield¡ªpurposely made so to avoid revealing any of their ''secrets'' in this competition. "This is so cool!" Aldo said as he and Pedro tried their own armors and equipment. Then, he took a ''picture'' of Pedro through the system and sent it to their guildmates. "Our attempt to not stand out was futile! This armors and equipment are too cool that we''d even be celebrities after our first match!" "Well¡­ It can''t be helped. At least, we tried!" Pedro said whilst punching in the air and occasionally doing kicks¡ªcreating his own combination of attacks. "Besides¡­ It''s not like these armor and equipment are not procurable at this stage of the game. We can use the Adventurer''s Guild for a reason and it may even bring us more profit! As for the overall grasp of the armor and the other equipment, they are quite heavy, but our movements are not restricted by that much compared to ordinary armors." Aldo simply nodded in response as he drew his sword and tried to do several swings with it¡ªsimilar to what he does during his practice. At every strike, Aldo''s arms seemed like it was being pulled into the ground by a magnet¡ªslowing the recovery of his sword and increasing the interval between each of his strikes. "I didn''t think that armors would be these heavy¡­ The Knights and Soldiers make it look like these are not heavy. But when you wore it yourself, it''s like the weight of every part of your body had increased two or three folds in an instant." Aldo said. Then, he glanced towards Pedro with a worried expression and added, "Won''t the girls have difficulty in wearing these armors?" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "It would be difficult for everyone, but the girls are more competitive than us. I assume that either you or Roval would even be the ones who would have the roughest time with these armors." At this moment, Pedro also drew his sword to familiarize himself with the changes. First, he was swinging the two-handed sword with his two hands, while saying, "Killer Looks [Talia] might be the youngest and probably the weakest physically but her will and desire to become stronger than her elder brother¡ªand even me and Gentle Breeze [Sabrina}, were enough to allow her to surpass Arvedar in raw strength and combat ability. Well¡­ Arvedar had just recovered from his injuries and his strength completely lies on his special abilities, so there was nothing much to expect as of now on his combat ability." Then, Pedro shifted in using only one hand while swinging the sword around and saying, "As for Direction Idiot [Loren], you know her well ever since¡­ Her physical abilities are just behind Gentle Breeze and are even more athletic than you in comparison." "Aish¡­ You don''t need to remind me of that!" Aldo complained to Pedro. Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "Anyway¡­ Since everything we need for the ''battle'' is completed, and the both of you had already learned a thing or two about the basics of each of your occupations, you and Direction Idiot would join me, back to our training area and do some combat training." "Aish¡­ How scary!" Aldo said whilst forcing out a smile. Then, he added, saying, "I heard from the boys that their training was ten times more difficult compared to our training in the Adventurer''s Guild. I have a bad feeling about this ''training''." Pedro simply smirked in response as he stared at the blade of his sword and said, "It can''t be helped! Such training is needed to obtain the strength that everyone dreamed. Nothing comes easily, my friend!" Aldo simply sighed in response as they wrap everything up¡ªin preparation to send the weapon and equipment through trade to everyone else. At the same time, Pedro paid Blacksmith Prodel and the several seamstresses sent by Duke Albert with his remaining coins. And when everything is done, they headed back to Pedro''s Mansion in the Tarala Kingdom, together with his slaves. Chapter 271: Both Trained, But Different Results! Pedro and Aldo did not remove their equipment other than their helm. Thus, they unintentionally attracted the attention of the people inside the Kingdom along their way¡ªthinking that they were some sort of Knight Order that is newly established. Well¡­ It does not matter that much because those who saw them were NPCs and the presence of Knights, even Royal Knights, were just a usual occurrence to them. Thus, Pedro and Aldo wearing their armors did not create that much commotion. After arriving in Pedro''s Mansion in the Tarala Kingdom, Pedro and Aldo had nothing to do whilst they wait for Loren. So, Pedro smirked and asked Aldo, "Why don''t we have a spar while waiting for Direction Idiot?" "A spar?" Aldo asked with his eyes wide open. Then, he added, saying, "Are you trying to kill me or what?" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "Relax! I just want to try out my new sword¡­ It''s not like we''re going to fight to our death or something!" Aldo stared towards Pedro as if he was asking mentally, ''Are you serious?'' Pedro raised his brows in response and asked, "What? Do you have a problem with that? Don''t tell me that you are afraid to fight?" "Who-Who-Who said that I am afraid to fight?" Aldo asked whilst forcing out a smile. Then, he said, "I am just surprised by your sudden challenge." "That''s good, then!" Pedro said with a satisfied voice. Then, he wore his helm and said, "Pick up your helm and follow me to the yard. Let''s stretch a little bit while waiting for our alchemist." Aldo could only sigh in response as he took his helm out of his inventory bag. Then, he wore it as he followed behind Pedro into an open area in the yard. "Are you sure about this?" Aldo asked. Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Won''t this be a good opportunity for you to grasp how strong you could be after taking the ''special'' training you are about to have?" "B-But¡­" Aldo wanted to argue but Pedro had already drawn his sword. Then, Pedro lowered the visor of his helm and shouted, "Stop complaining and draw your sword, my friend! I would attack whether you draw it or not!" Aldo drew his sword as Pedro made his attacking stance¡ªwith his left foot in front and both of his feet facing forward while his body is angled back to the right where he held his double-edged sword with his two hands vertically upward like a Knight. Then, Aldo followed and made his attacking stance with his left foot forward and both feet facing forwards while he held his sword pointing towards Pedro as if it was a single-edged sword like a Katana. "Whenever you are ready, my friend!" Aldo said as he took a deep breath. At this moment, some of the slaves and the Mansion Keepers could not help but stop what they were doing and watch as Pedro and Aldo were about to spar. That said, Pedro did not mind them and simply smirked as he dashed to Aldo with a straightforward attack. Pedro allowed the weight of his sword to be pulled slightly to the right, allowing him to launch a diagonal strike from right to left¡ªgoing downwards. That said, Aldo steeled himself in response as he grips the handle of his sword as tight as he can. Then, he twisted his left hand to his right while his right hand guided the bottom part of the handle to control the depth on how much the sword would fall to the right. At the right moment, he pulled his right hand back towards him to launch a diagonal strike from his right to parry Pedro''s attack. "Clang!" The two swords of equal strength collided, creating a strong ringing sound that sent shivers to some of the spectators'' bodies. Aldo could not help but grit his teeth as he tried his best to resist the force that Pedro''s sword was exerting on the opposing side. But before he could even think of a next move, a sudden burst of Pedro''s strength pushed him slightly backward¡ªconsequently making Aldo lose his focus at that split second. That gave Pedro a chance, thus, making him smirk and send another strike to Aldo''s sword¡ªConsequently pushing Aldo backward slightly once again. And before Aldo could even recover for the second time, Pedro capitalized the recoil that Aldo experienced to push his sword into Aldo''s sword¡ªhindering Aldo''s sword from recovering the inch distance that it lost because of Pedro''s attack. At this moment, Pedro took a step forward with his right foot to push the right side of his body forward. Then, he pulled his sword slightly towards his left waist¡ªwhilst creating a ringing sound due to the friction between the two blades of the sword. Afterward, he pushed his body, together with his sword, forward at full force¡ªwith its tip aiming towards Aldo''s chest and was just a few inches below his neck. The blades of the swords rubbed at each other once more that created another irritating sound of clashing metals. On the other hand, Aldo could only take a step backward¡ªout of his instincts, to avoid the thrusting attack of Pedro. Unfortunately, Aldo could only wear a sour look because it was already too late for him to avoid Pedro''s attack¡ªwith this moment appearing to him in slow motion. The tip of Pedro''s sword eventually reached Aldo''s armor. Fortunately, Pedro had complete control of his attack and was able to halt right after his sword''s tip touched the surface of the black metal on Aldo''s armor. On the other hand, the spectators could only gasp in amazement after witnessing the breathtaking spar between Pedro and Aldo. The difference in Pedro and Aldo''s strength was clearly visible, especially by the fact that Pedro was even able to stop his attack at the perfect time. "Not bad!" Pedro said with a smile on his face. Then, he retracted his sword as Aldo helplessly took a step backward in response. Pedro added, saying, "Your stance was decent and you were even able to stop my first strike. But you lost your focus along the way¡ªprobably because of the astonishing and irritating sound of clashing metal, and probably because of your lack of training and combat experience. So, you don''t need to worry about it that much." Aldo could not help but sigh in response and said, "Here I thought I would last at least a minute of exchanging blows¡­" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "Don''t even think of sword parry as the very essence of sword fights itself. The real battle with swords was never like those clashing animated fights. And¡­ Mostly¡­ The goal of wielding a weapon, like swords, was to kill an enemy or target. So¡­ Victory is decided by who would be the first one to deal a killing blow. It does not matter how many strikes you ''dealt with'' or ''resisted from'' your enemy! And in an actual battle¡­ If you hesitate even once¡ªas you did earlier, it''s as good as saying to your enemy that you are allowing him to deal such a critical blow." Aldo could only force out a smile in response and said, "Ahahaha¡­ Please go easy on me, my friend! I am just a newbie¡­" Pedro could not help but sigh in response and say, "Save those words for later¡­ The trainers are not as kindhearted as me." Then, Pedro walked back to where he stood before the start of the spar and said, "Let''s try it once more since Direction Idiot is still not here." "B-But¡­ Shouldn''t we use wooden swords instead?" Aldo asked with a pale look. "A wooden sword?" Pedro asked in response. Then, he shook his head and said, "Are you gonna use a wooden sword in an actual battle?" "N-No?" Aldo replied. "There goes the answer to your question," Pedro said as he smirked and was about to launch another attack. Aldo could not help but grasp his sword in an attempt to parry Pedro''s attack. Their swords clashed but this time, Aldo was already able to adapt to the ringing sound and was focused enough to the point that he was able to react to each of Pedro''s attacks. However, his actions and schemes were obvious to Pedro and were countered or even taken to Pedro''s advantage to deal with a critical attack. This way, Aldo was being lectured by Pedro on his mistakes and lapses, which was not taught on his training in the Adventurer''s Guild. Fortunately, Aldo was saved by Loren because of her arrival. With that, his spar with Pedro ended and he was able to rest while Loren was happily checking her new set of armor. That said, Pedro knew that Loren''s sword arts are not much stronger nor different from Aldo''s because they both trained under the Adventurer''s Guild in the past few days. But compared to Aldo, he knew that Loren was more physically strong. That is why he did not have much concern, other than the fact that they were behind compared to everyone else from the Guild in terms of combat ability. Soon, Loren''s hype of her new weapon and armors had calmed down and they were able to depart to their guild''s secret training area. This would be their final preparation in the game before they participate in the competition. Chapter 272: The ARES Guild Pro-League Uniform! Other than the members of the ARES Guild, Faunia, Ragas, and Clara had their own set of armor and weapon. However, Ragas and Faunia declined to use the armor because it would be just a hindrance to their combat ability. Besides¡­ They have a way stronger armor than what Blacksmith Prodel and Pedro''s slaves have crafted. As for Clara, she simply hid the sword that Pedro made to the inventory bag that is on the right side of her waist¡ªsimilar to everyone else. Of course, Clara used as her main sword and was the one attached to the left side of her waist. As for everyone else, it took them an hour to adjust themselves to the changes brought by the heavy armor. Well¡­ All of them, including Clara, kept the helm to their inventory bag since they were not on a battle nor were they on a simple spar. During their adjustment period, Ragas and Clara used that time to teach Aldo and Loren the things they needed to do in their ''daily routine''. Unfortunately, Pedro intensified the ''daily routine'' training before they could even start their first try. Now, all of them needed to complete three different sets daily. The first set is called ''the warm-up set'', where all of them would do their ''current daily routine'' of thousand punch of different ways into the sturdy wall of the cave while they were made to swing their swords a thousand times in different ways to strike against the wall¡ªwithout their armor and using only a newbie sword. After that repetitive task, they would have a spar against Clara, Ragas, Sabrina, the baby spiders, or Lony on his Werewolf form. Then, they would have an hour or two of rest in the game, before proceeding to their second set¡ªwhich is ''the armored set''. This time, they would repeat their ''current daily routine'' but with their official armors and their official weapons made of Black Mountain Rock Metal Ore. This set would be concluded with another spar against the same enemies. And lastly, the final set is called ''the unrestricted set'', where they can use or wield any weapon of their own choice but with their official armor still equipped. This set no longer requires the ''current daily routine'' to be accomplished and is completely dependent on the type of training that each of them was pursuing. And this set was more on a spar that removes the restriction that prohibits them from using other means of combat in the first two sets of their training¡ªbut the transformation skills were prohibited. Each set has its own specific goal and purpose with equal weight and importance to the development of their combat ability. The first set was important because it trains them and their combat ability to the case where they only have the bare minimum weapon and equipment to fight and survive. The first set is based on scenarios where if their armor and weapons get destroyed, or when they have no equipped armors or weapons to equip in the first place. Such cases were to occur, thus, it was important to train their skills in consideration of such cases where they had nothing in hand. The second set was equally important since it trains them to fight with good and typical armor and weapons were at hand. It aims to increase their familiarity with the changes they needed to bear as they wore protective gear. It also increases the natural strength of their bodies¡ªwhich would allow them to wield the armors and weapons easily even in battles. While the third set allows them to freely use whatever they have in hand¡ªincluding attacks that had variation compared to what Clara and Ragas had initially taught. This is where they could also freely use their special abilities to familiarize themselves with which part can they integrate their basic combat abilities and their individual special abilities. The transformation skill is prohibited here because the transformation skills provide a wider range of variation in attacks and are part of next-level training under Ragas in the future. That said, Lony was exempted from this rule because his transformation form would be their trump card in the upcoming competition and he needed to familiarize himself with fighting in his transformation form as much as possible. As for Pedro, he and Sabrina had a fourth set, which was a spar with Ragas, then Clara, and lastly Faunia¡ªwith no ''holding back''. Well, it often ends quickly with Pedro and Sabrina getting beat up. So, it was almost unnoticeable at that. Of course, their daily training does not stop there. They were required to attend a Taekwondo training in real life, not only to exercise their body but to also learn a few things that they can apply inside the game. Well, it was very effective, so there was no reason for them not to attend such training. Besides¡­ Their training in the game only lasts half a day in the game or 6 hours in real life. So, they have a lot of time to spend in real life, especially that they can also play the game whilst their real-life body is asleep. But since they don''t have anything much to do in real life, they would often go back to the game and do their training once again. The next day, good news wakes them up. Pedro was given clearance by his doctor to be able to join them on their trip to China. Since his father and mother were obviously joining the trip, it was only evident that Pedro was officially allowed to join the trip. As for his grandmother, she would be left to their relatives whilst they were on a trip. Other than that, their ''guild outfit'' or ''uniforms'' were brought to them¡ªwhich was a black dry-fit T-shirt with white designs to establish a cool but simple black and white theme. The guild logo is printed largely in the back with white color. And above it, their ''Professional In-Game Names'' were printed, also in white color. On the sleeves were the logos of affiliated companies of the Sponsor Company, Armaz Energy International. While the logo of Armaz Energy International and Armaz Electronics Inc. was printed on the front side of the shoulders. Moving forward, their shirts are paired with comfy jogger pants and a black overcoat that has their guild logo printed on the back. They have three sets with them and another five kept by Pedro''s mom and aunt as extras in case needed. Their uniforms made them all excited as everyone tried it immediately after receiving it from Pedro. And as if it was planned, they were brought into a photoshoot afterward¡ªwhich everyone even happily participated especially Talia. "It''s nice to relax and have fun like these after an exhausting training, right elder sisters?" Talia asked Sabrina and Loren, who were also being prepared for their photoshoot. "Yeah!" Loren said happily in agreement. Then, she chuckled, saying, "Classmate Pedro is really good at pampering his girlfriend¡­" "Hehehe¡­" Talia also chuckled in response as she teasingly glanced towards Sabrina. In response, Sabrina retained her poker face and said, "How I wish it was the case¡­" "Aish¡­ The elder sister is being humble. Lol." Talia chuckled in response. "That''s just how she is¡­" Loren added with a smirk. Sabrina simply shrugged them off¡ªallowing Talia to change to another topic. Eventually, the girls went into their lively conversation, talking about their ''uniform'' for the event, to the results of their training¡ªspecifically how Talia was able to defeat Lony, Roval, and Aldo in a spar. In another room, Lony and Roval were asking for tips from Mathew on which pose should they go for in the photoshoot since he was a professional player from another game before. Of course, Mathew did not give them a straightforward answer that made their room quite a bit noisy. "Should I go for the cold look or the ''good-looking guy'' pose?" Lony asked as if he was a new celebrity. "I''ll go for the cold gaze like the old man, Ragas!" Roval said as he stared with a cold gaze at everyone else that made them laugh in response. "Cold gaze? More like you are ''feeling cold'' gaze! Hahahaha!" Lony said in response. "Tch¡­" Roval could only flick his tongue in response as Mathew interjected. "Just be yourself¡­ The more you try to look good the more it would look awkward in the actual photo. So, being yourselves would do." Mathew explained. At this moment, Pedro interjected with a laugh, saying, "Lony, why don''t you try having a shot with how you look when you''re in raged form in your werewolf form? Hahahaha! Won''t it be a good pair if the media would be able to capture a perfect photo of you during the competition in your werewolf form?" "Oh!" Lony''s eyes shined bright¡ªthinking that Pedro suggested a good idea. But after a few seconds of deep thought, he frowned and glanced towards Pedro while saying, "Captain¡­ You''re not pulling a prank on me, right?" Pedro simply laughed in response and said, "Why would I even do that to you?" Lony could only scratch the back of his head in response as Arvedar smiled and gave Lony a thumbs up. Then, Arvedar said, "That''s a good idea! Hahahaha!" "Aish¡­ I knew it! There is really something fishy about it!" Lony grumbled that made everyone burst into laughter in response. Chapter 273: The First Video Trailer of Bearth Online! After their photoshoot, all of them went down to the mall to have their dinner. Along the way, they encountered several players from the Oran Gutan Guild who were also wearing their Guild Uniform that was colored yellow and white. It was only to be expected that they have some information about the ARES Guild since it was technically the main guild of Armaz Electronics Inc. And although they were opposing teams that were participating in the competition, they were still under one company. So, the two teams were friendly to each other. Some of the members of the Oran Gutan Guild waved towards them, while some simply smiled and nodded to greet them as they pass each other On the other hand, Pedro and everyone else simply nodded in response and made a friendly gesture. At this moment, Mathew¡ªwho was walking beside Pedro, asked, "This place is sure filled with players under the same gaming organization. Won''t this create rumors and attract the media later on?" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Even so¡­ This is still an exclusive mall under the same management with the hotel. It would be difficult for the media to enter if they wanted to report a piece of news or something inside this establishment." "If only the Game Devs would announce the event¡­ We don''t need to hide the information from the media outlets like this." Mathew sighed in response. "Who said that we need to hide the information about the event?" Pedro asked. "Isn''t it confidential?" Mathew asked as he raised his brows in response. Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "It is not¡­ We just don''t want the information about us being participants in the event to leak before we could even leave for China. It would put a lot of pressure on our players to represent the country¡­ And there might be annoying flies that would buzz around¡ªasking or demanding for complicated stuff!" "I understand what you mean¡­ It''s just a bit odd for me because I think that it would be a good opportunity for our gaming organizations to earn some publicity and eventually more sponsorships." Mathew nodded in response whilst forcing out a smile. "That said¡­ As a player, I can''t help but admit that a peaceful environment is what I prefer. We could really just focus on playing the game." Mathew paused for a second as they encounter another group of players from the Oran Gutan Guild, who waved towards them. Mathew simply nodded towards them in response and said, "Anyway... It''s so peaceful that the players from Oran Gutan Guild have a lot of free time." "This¡­" Pedro could only force out a smile in response and said, "When I checked on them after arriving here in the hotel, it seems like Wey held a ''Development Competition'' amongst the top 100 players of their guild. The top 50 would be the ones selected to join the trip to China." "That many?" Mathew asked in astonishment. Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Apparently, yes¡­ Aunt approved the budget for Wey''s decision for some reason. So, I can say that it''s probably legit. That said¡­ This move of Wey is to probably increase the potential combination of players that he could use to avoid being countered by enemies, and consequently be able to save their ''big plans'' when they are against us, or when they reach the championships." "It looks like they are also serious about winning this competition?" Mathew said with a smirk on his face. "Well¡­" Pedro smirked in response. Then, he said, "They are free to try¡­" Pedro and everyone else ate their dinner as the players they encountered from the Oran Gutan Guild had returned to their gaming camp in the same hotel. At this moment, Weyron was coincidentally roaming around checking every player about their progress in their training and character development. "How was dinner you lazy bugs?" Weyron asked with a smile to the three players that just came out of the elevator. "Better than your cooking, guild leader!" One of the three men chuckled in response and was followed by the laughter of the two men with him. "Aish¡­" Weyron raised his hand¡ªseemingly wanted to hit them with his tablet. But he lowered his hands and simply sighed in the next second while saying, "Just because the three of you are in the top 30, it does not mean that all of you can just take it easy ''till the competition. The enemies would be from all over the world. So, don''t take them lightly!" "Relax, guild leader!" One of the three men said in response. Then, he added, "We just got in at the Kingdom and were able to bid some good weapons, equipment, and skills in the Auction Area! If we are able to win the bid, the three of us might become the Ace of our guild!" Weyron could only shake his head and sigh in response. He knew that Pedro was even able to freely go in and out of the Tarala Kingdom. And by that mere fact, there was already a huge chance that the ''great'' items were already bought by him, leaving only the ''trash'' items behind. However, before Weyron could even scold them about it, one of the three men curiously asked, "By the way guild leader. We just saw the players from the main guild. Are there really only nine members of the main guild? I mean¡­ Three of them were even girls, and I doubt that they were even good in VR Games." Another one of the three men nodded in response and said, "Yeah! Yeah! They were too beautiful and young to be Pro Players!" Weyron could only force out a smile in response and said, "Don''t say that in front of them!" "Huh? Why is that so guild leader?" Weyron gestured one towards them while saying, "One of those three girls can single-handedly eliminate everyone in our guild, in the game¡­ And the other two were not half bad either! Whatever is the case¡­ Adding even a single player in the main guild would not make that much difference! So¡­ You better train your asses off just to survive even a single strike from any of them!" Weyron slapped the shoulders of the three men¡ªpushing them hopelessly back into their room. The three men could only force out a smile in response¡ªnot knowing whether to believe their guild leader or not. On the other hand, a beautiful girl¡ªseemingly in her mid-20s, approached Weyron after coming out from a nearby room and asked, "Is the main guild that terrifying, guild leader?" "Without a doubt, Meen!" Weyron said as he took another deep sigh. "Even with me around?" Meen asked with a curious look. Then, she added, saying, "I can also kill a lot of players, you know!" Weyron shook his head in response and said, "Still¡­ I would rather fight you than any of the players in the main guild. That''s how terrifying they can be." "Then, aren''t you saying that there''s no hope in winning against them? Why bother to participate in the even if that was the case?" Meen asked. "It''s not like we''re completely hopeless¡­" Weyron said. "I still have some trump cards up my sleeves, so you don''t need to worry." Meen simply smiled in response and said, "I see¡­ Then, shall we resume with the checking of the progress in the development of the top thirty?" "Let''s go¡­" Weyron said coldly in response. ¡­ Back to the ARES Guild, after their dinner together, they went back to their respective rooms and went into training. Aldo and Loren proceeded slower than everyone else, but they did not show any signs of surrender or giving in. They worked their hardest which was rewarded by personal coaching by Ragas and Clara while everyone else was either resting or were starting their next sets. The next night, the information about the exhibition games was released. The media [news outlet] were all over the said exhibition games because it was also the mark of the official opening of the game. And the trailer video that the Game Developers used to announce the said event went trending worldwide. At this moment, everyone in the ARES Guild was gathered in the meeting room. They had just finished their training inside the game and were about to check the said trailer video together. Mathew closed the lights as the room was illuminated by the bright light that the hologram projector emitted. Then, Pedro tapped on his tabled that was connected to the hologram projector¡ªconsequently playing the said trailer video. "Evil constantly propagates and attacks our lands¡­" The narrator said as the monsters attacking villages and NPCs were displayed. "The young¡­ The old¡­ Even the strong ones were not spared from their terror!" At this moment, the first players who were fighting monsters were displayed in the projector as the narrator continues saying, "But hope... is not lost! A few brave men took the courage to stand and fight against the forces of evil¡­ Protecting people and eliminating the threats in our land!" Then, the video went dark as the narrator said, "In this fight against the evil forces... There is only one question we ask¡­ Are you brave enough to be one of these Heroes?" At this moment, several participating guilds were displayed, including the ARES Guild and the Oran Gutan Guild, with a player representative and their Guild or Gaming Organization Logo behind them. Lony was the player representative for the ARES Guild¡ªwith the crossed arms and a piercing glare pose that was taken in their photoshoot yesterday. As for the Oran Gutan Guild, their player representative was the beautiful Meen¡ªwith a scary but elegant glare. While their guild logo was a face of a monkey that has a mischievous smile. If not for the fact that there were other participating teams that also had beautiful players as their representatives, the Oran Gutan Guild would have probably gained the most attention in this video trailer. The screen went black for a few seconds before the logo of the game slowly appeared [''Bearth Online''], while the narrator is saying, "There''s only one way to find out¡­ Take your courage and fight in the World of Bearth! Who knows¡­ You might be the next destined Hero!" The trailer video ended as everyone shivered in excitement. Only after a few seconds did Roval, Talia, and Lony erupted like an extremely happy child. On the other hand, Mathew simply smiled as he turned the lights back on in the room. "Holy sh1t, Lony! You''re freaking so cool! That video is now trending all over the world! You are now a freaking celebrity! Can I have your autograph?" Roval mocked Lony in an extremely happy manner. Lony and everyone else simply laughed in response. Then, a few seconds later, Lony calmed down and said, "No wonder I kept getting messages in the game earlier! It''s a good thing that we were in training at that time, and I had disabled the spam messages beforehand. Hahahaha!" Talia raised her hand in response and ecstatically asked, "Elder Brothers! Elder Sisters! Can I take a picture with all of us? I want to post it in my PicBook [A social media platform for sharing Pictures.] and brag that I am a member of the guild to my classmates and friends! Pweease¡­" No one could resist the request of the youngest member of their guild, thus, even Pedro could only nod in response that made Talia jump out of joy. "Yey!" She shouted happily as she instructed everyone to head on one side of the table¡ªopposite to where she set up her phone. After taking several pictures, Lony, Roval, and Loren asked Talia to share the photos with them so that they can also post the pictures to their PicBook¡ªto brag to their friends and classmates too. Of course, Roval, Talia, and Loren also had a picture with Lony¡ªwho is probably now a celebrity worldwide. Inevitably, their posts garnered a lot of envious comments from their classmates and friends. In fact, even they themselves become popular after their acquaintances learned that they were a part of a gaming organization that would participate in the first simulated battle competition of Bearth Online. Chapter 274: Talia’s Spar: 1 v 4, Part 1! A few minutes later, the world erupted as the news channels worldwide reported the official launch of Bearth Online. It was mainly about the released trailer video that later on branched out to other specific topics like the difficulty of the game, the vast world of Bearth, and so on to ride the hype and the trend caused by the trailer video. That said, one of the most discussed topics was the eye-catching teams that were included at the end of the video. The teams'' appearance themselves signified that a competition of some sort or a Pro-league on Bearth Online was soon to appear. Thus, it was evident that they would be able to obtain a piece of news or two about the Exhibition Games to be held soon in celebration of the official launch of the game. They learned that there were 11 Teams ''Specially'' Invited by the Game Developers to participate in the Exhibition Games that would represent affiliated companies that are responsible and are contributors to the success of the release of the game. These 11 teams were the teams that were the only teams included in the trailer video, thus, including the Ares Guild and the Oran Gutan Guild. That said, these 11 teams were not ''push overs'' compared to the other 69 teams that were invited to participate in the Exhibition Games. The Joe Corporation International, for example, which was similar to Armaz Energy International that provided solutions to the Energy Issues of VR Boxes in the European, African, Canadian, Russian, and American Region, has the two strongest teams in the American Server. And out of the three representative teams that they sent to the Exhibition games, their third team was under the ''Asian + Australian'' Server and was just a few ranks lower compared to the ''hidden'' ARES Guild and Oran Gutan Guild in terms of strength. Add up the fact that the two teams under the Armaz Energy International were the ''hidden'' top two teams in the Asian Australian Server, those 11 teams can even be considered as the group of the strongest teams currently organized in Bearth Online. Fortunately, it was already nighttime on the side of the ARES Guild and the Oran Gutan Guild, so, on the spot media interviews were difficult to be conducted. Add up the security on their training camps, it was really impossible to get an interview from the players at that time. Some media even tried to contact them through online interviews but were simply rejected because of their training schedules. After all, the ARES Guild Members have a hellish training that they need to accomplish, while the Oran Gutan Members have a tight competition against their members who were fighting for the spots available for the competition. So, rather than being complacent or arrogant, the players under the two guilds were completely focused on their character development at this moment. However, due to the high demands and requests for an interview by the various news channels, Pedro and Weyron had no choice but to attend a press conference with their moms and the respective player representatives of each guild. The press conference was arranged so that they could answer the reporters from different news channels in one go. At the same time, it was arranged so in consideration of the convenience of the players that were going to participate in the interview. The press conference would be held at the event area of the hotel that they were staying. This way, the players would not lose that much time in their preparation for the said exhibition games. "Expert Bro, can I also join the press conference?" Talia asked Pedro after their training in the game. "It was one of my dreams to be watched on a television since I was young!" Pedro could only scratch the back of his head as he stole a glance towards Mathew¡ªwho acted as if he did not notice Pedro nor was he able to hear what Talia said. Then, Pedro forced out a smile and hopelessly said, "I''ll agree but on one condition¡­ You have to fight Aldo, Loren, Lony, and Roval on a spar!" "Awwwe! Come on, Expert bro! Please go easy on me." Talia grumbled that made Pedro chuckle in response. Then, Pedro sighed and said, "I am being considerate already though¡­ It''s not like I required you to win against them." "Aish! Of course, I''d win!" Talia proudly said. "It''s just that I don''t want to reveal my trump cards yet to you guys! I might get countered by elder brothers in the future! How would I win from them if that happened?" Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "You said that it was your dream to be seen on the television, right?" Talia simply nodded in response. This made Pedro smirk and said, "If it was your dream, then, shouldn''t you do your best to obtain it? Besides¡­ It is only natural for everyone to be countered eventually. If you don''t want that to happen, all you have to do was to be strong enough to the point that you won''t even need to use your ''trump card''. Or¡­ You can train harder and become stronger to obtain a more powerful ''trump card''." Talia could only sigh in response as she hopelessly approached Loren, Lony, Roval, and Aldo and told them about a spar being Pedro''s condition. Of course, they agreed to Talia''s challenge in response. Although it may look overkill or as if the four were bullying Talia, but¡­ It was also a good chance for them to try and work together as a team against an opponent. After all, there was a saying¡­ ''What a man can do, could be done faster with four men.'' Well¡­ It''s not like the outcome was already determined at that point. They were all trained by Ragas and Clara, and it was only a norm that they would at the least be able to fight several enemies at once, including Loren and Aldo. After a few minutes, their sparring grounds were cleared of obstacles. Ragas and Clara were taking care of the baby spiders so that they won''t get in the way of the spar. That said, the cycle of the production of the baby spiders was still maintained since their battle won''t take more than an hour. The insides of the dungeon were even a challenge itself because it was so dark to the point that they were barely even able to see anything inside. Other than the dim lights emitted by the runic formations of the dungeon, there was basically no other source of light available in that area. Well¡­ They have, at the least, become accustomed to such environments after training there at a certain period of time. They might not be able to fully see in the darkness like creatures who have night vision eyes, but they can still fight as if they were trained without the need for their eyes. *Clank! *Clank! *Clank! The sounds made by Talia''s armor echoed through the cave as she takes several steps away from Loren, Lony, Roval, and Aldo. Then, when was more than 10 meters away from them, she turned around, slightly bent both of her knees¡ªfacing towards her four opponents with her right foot at the back, and drew her sword from its scabbard. She leaned forward with her head located directly above her left knee, while her hands gripped the handle of her sword¡ªwhich was just inches away from her left knee. Then, she lowered the visor of her helm with her right hand and shouted, "Come! Elders!" Roval simply chuckled in response whilst he was lowering the visor of his helm, and said, "Young one¡­ You sure have your ways with your words!" At this moment, Lony, Loren, and Aldo had finished lowering the visors of their helms and were already charging towards Talia in different directions. The sounds of metal hitting the ground had reverberated through the whole cave. Then, in the next second, someone shouted to Talia''s front-right side¡ªprobably trying to distract her attention. "Waaaa!" However, Talia was so dead-focused to the point that she did not flinch from the shout. Instead, her knees went a few inches downwards as her body ducked even lower¡ªforward. Then, she pushed herself forward, slightly to the left, with full force, while pointing her sword horizontally to the front. This, in turn, allowed her to dodge the straightforward attack of Aldo¡ªwho had already swung his sword downwards. However, Talia''s armor on her elbow scratched Aldo''s armor on his elbow, consequently making them create a ringing sound. None of them got irritated by that sound, showing that they were all used to such ringing sounds. "Tsk!" Talia flicked her tongue in response as her location was exposed. Aldo simply smirk at that moment as he twists his body and consequently allowing it to rotate towards the direction where Talia was. Then, using the momentum of his vertical strike, he allowed his sword to circle upwards¡ªwhich was aimed to his right side where Talia passed. *Ting! Aldo''s sword was able to hit the tip of Talia''s armor¡ªwhich was the armor protecting her thighs at the back. That said, before Talia could even grumble, a strong murderous aura was oozing out in front of her, which came from Roval, who was casually standing with his sword on its way towards Talia. It was as if Roval was able to read Talia''s movements as if it was written on the back of his hand. Paired with his scary confidence, one word was standing right in front of Talia. "Death!" But Talia did not give up. She gritted her teeth and thrusted her sword with full force towards Roval''s head. *Clang! Roval and Talia''s sword slammed to each other¡ªconsequently making them bounce a few inches back, away from each other. At this moment, Roval applied more force to his sword¡ªallowing it to recover the gap that it bounced back in just a second. On the other hand, Talia slightly waved her sword as her body dashed further to the right¡ªdodging Roval''s Attack. *Psssst! A weak sound of spurting blood sounded¡ªindicating that someone obtained a cut despite wearing a full armor. Clara stole a cold glance in response, while Ragas smirked as they were taking care of the baby spiders. On the other hand, Pedro could not help to chuckle in response. Pedro murmured, "She took the wiggly sword to a new level¡­" Chapter 275: Talia’s Spar: 1 v 4, Part 2! A cut appeared in Roval''s face¡ªright below his eyes. Talia actually aimed for Roval''s eye through the opening on his helm but thanks to Roval''s unusual reaction speed, he was able to look slightly upwards¡ªallowing Talia to miss his right eye. That said, because of Talia''s wiggly sword technique, the cut on Roval''s face even reached up to his nose¡ªconsequently increasing the amount of blood that burst in his face, which, in turn, momentarily blinded Roval''s right eye. That said, Roval did not stand idly anymore. He dashed to his left¡ªaway from where Talia went pass through him. This way, even if Talia has a follow up attack, he would have a sufficient space to defend or counter attack. Well¡­ At this moment, Talia simply stood on guard after miraculously dodging Aldo''s follow up attack¡ªthat came after Roval''s first strike earlier. Talia can''t chase after Roval because the gap between them was within the striking distance of Aldo. If she was not careful and carelessly went after Roval, then her head would have been struck by Aldo''s sword. That said, she can''t also go straight after Aldo because, at this moment, Lony was able to caught up to them. Even if she took the risk to eliminate Aldo, Aldo could still have a chance to restrict her movements before he gets commissioned out of the spar and allow Lony to deal a critical strike. Aldo charged forward with a strike to keep Talia busy and give her no chance to formulate her new pattern or ways of attack. Unfortunately, Aldo obviously lacks more training compared to Talia, so, Aldo''s attacks were easily countered. If not for Lony''s interference, Aldo would have been considered eliminated in the spar already. After retreating a couple of times, Talia felt another murderous stare coming behind her. Thus, she decided to dash backwards as low as she can. Fortunately, her anticipation was correct. A blade of a sword sliced horizontally¡ªjust an inch, above her. Since Aldo was chasing after Talia, Roval''s full force attack was now heading towards Aldo. And, inches before Roval''s sword hits Aldo''s hands¡ªthat was gripping his sword, another sword slammed and stopped Roval''s sword. It was Loren''s sword that came at the right time. That said, even though Talia was able to stop Roval, Aldo, and Loren from chasing her, Lony was not restricted of her previous maneuver, allowing Lony to go after her. Talia tried to use the wiggly sword technique a couple of more times, but Lony and Roval were strong enough to defend her attacks. In the end, Loren and Aldo got removed from the spar after they fell into the trap of Talia''s wiggly sword and, later on, was immobilized by Talia through taking advantage of their center of gravity. Talia only need to deal a slight push using the wiggly sword technique at the right part of their body to make Loren and Aldo fall into the ground¡ªwhich was considered as an immediate loss in a spar. (Unless falling into the ground was on purpose, like to dodge.) But all in all, the spar was a draw. Lony and Roval became strong enough to be able to even face Talia together. That said, there was still obvious lapses on Roval''s side, namely his uncontrollable release of murderous intent when attacking. His attacks were quite straight forward to the point that the slightest of hunch of Talia can easily predict his attacks. That said, Roval has an astounding reaction speed that allows him to defend properly, conduct counterattacks instantly, and make decisive decisions in a short matter of time. On the other hand, Lony lacks the motive and decisiveness to deal a murderous or critical attack to his enemies¡ªmaking him a careful attacker. He often waits for a ''one hundred percent'' chance before he strikes his killing blow. It was a trait of a hunter more than that of a warrior or a knight, thus spar with him often leads to either a draw, an immediate defeat, or a long fight of win. It won''t be a bad thing when he is fighting one-on-one battles or when he is against a weaker opponent. However, it might become his weakness when he is participating on huge scale battles or when he is against a more experienced and stronger opponent. As for Loren, although she got eliminated from the spar, it is safe to assume that she has a great perception of the situation during a heated fight. She was even able to stop Roval''s sword and stop a potential ''friendly'' attack. Unfortunately, her combat ability and experience were lacking the most amongst them, else she could have been a great support or a commander type of player. As for Aldo, his attacks were straightforward like Roval, thus, giving him a lot of opening during his attacks. Paired with his lack of experience compared to Talia, he was rather an easy opponent or target. If Aldo would be able to increase his experience and would be able to resist or counter his enemies'' attacks effectively, he is best describe to be someone who is a berserker in other games¡ªwho are often known for their persistence and being ''attack first'' type warriors that neglects any draw backs that their body would obtain along the process. His wit¡ªthat came from playing role playing games, has somehow compensated for his lack of experience in combat. However, it would not be enough when he would be against one of the "One Man Army" players. Pedro, Sabrina, Arvedar, Mathew, and Talia might have some weaknesses of their own. But¡­ All of them are also hardworking, well-engaged in battles, are smart, motivated and dedicated, and has abnormally strong physical bodies in the game. So, it was natural that it would be difficult or ''close to impossible'' for them to be defeated. Truth be told¡­ The spar was a little bit difficult for Talia. She needed to devise a plan to make her opponents surrender, or knock them out of the battle in order to win. It was not because she was lacking the ability to do so, but rather because her strength relies on the quickness of her attacks. Often times, her attacks were aimed to deal a critical attack at her target and consequently eliminated them on a single attack at the very start. Trying to hold back while being against Lony and Roval¡ªwho improve a lot lately because of their desire to catch up to the five, had given her a lot of difficulty, especially that Lony and Roval did not want to surrender up to the bitter end. Well¡­ There was nothing much to worry about after knowing the result of the spar. Because in the end, even Loren could easily fight the best swordsman that was produced by the Adventurer''s Guild''s training program¡ªwhat much more everyone else. Besides¡­ They obtained the goal or purpose of the spar. It was to see their lapses and know at which part should they look into and improve. After all, it was better to know them now, rather than after they got killed for whatever reason in the game. It was an opportunity to learn and improve without the cost of dying in the game and consequently getting their characters deleted. "You all did good in the spar today. I am now assured that everyone here is stronger than an average adventurer at the least." Pedro said as he glanced to everyone else. "Obviously, we still have a lot to work on and improve. So¡­ Don''t hesitate to approach each one, exchange pointers, or ask advices on how to correct your mistakes! That''s the only way that we''d become stronger and stronger!" "Dream on, human!" Faunia interjected in an annoyed tone. "You and your friends might be able to swing a toy or ''tickle'' each other with your fists, but¡­ in the presence of a divine being, all of you are nothing but a mere ant who''s trying to bite. All of you, obviously, need to do ''more'' than just swinging toys every single day!" Then, she sighed and said, "Even the wyvern and the predecessor of the human-hero needs to work harder and stop slacking off. Well¡­ That''s if you want to survive longer in this world. It''s not like its bad to dream and live on a ''simple'' life like the ones that you all are having nowadays." Pedro could only sigh in response and said, "Don''t worry. We''ll take things up to another level, soon. There are just some things that I needed to handle lately. So, I hope that you would understand." Faunia simply shook her head in response and said, "Do as you wish, human! I am only here to guide you, not to decide the paths and decisions that you would make in your life, for you¡­ Whether you chose to be weak, or you choose to be someone strong, it''s not my decision. But if you ask me¡­ I won''t just swing toys and even hope to become strong." "Don''t worry! We would definitely follow your advice." Pedro said whilst forcing out a smile. Faunia¡ªwho had her eyes closed since the start, did not respond and simply went back to her rest. This made Pedro to nod towards everyone else as if saying to proceed with their rest as usual. Chapter 276: Hi Everyone! A few hours later, their ''Daily Routine'' in the game was finished. Thus, Pedro, Lony, and Talia prepared themselves for the press conference. There were even makeup artists and hairdressers that were personally sent by Pedro''s mom¡ªwith the help of Sabrina''s Mom, that would ensure that the three of them would look good for the interview. Of course, Sabrina and Loren were with them to cheer them up. While Mathew, Arvee, Roval, and Aldo were in the guild''s training room and were doing spars for their Taekwondo training since they have nothing much to do until the end of the Press Conference. Roval and Aldo were especially fired up because of the spar that they had against Talia. They might have not won against Talia but they were, at the least, able to hold her off for a certain period of time on her ''handicapped'' mode. "Vice-Captain, your younger sister has terrifying instincts!" Aldo said whilst forcing out a smile. "She was able to dodge bro Roval''s attacks without even having a clear view!" "Well¡­ She fought the most mountain wolves amongst us. Isn''t it only natural for her to be adept in noticing straightforward attacks?" Mathew said before taking a sip on his water bottle. At this moment, Arvee¡ªwho was kicking a punching bag, interjected, saying, "Roval should have kicked her, instead of a sword strike! That would have made Talia evade backward, allowing bro Aldo''s follow up to hit." Mathew pointed towards Arvee after drinking water and said, "He''s right! Talia tends to always lean as low as she can to gain momentum and increase her speed exponentially. A kick would have startled her, even for just a moment. If she falls back, she''d get hit by your strike¡­ or you could have also followed up with a kick on one of her legs to immobilize her before dealing a killing blow." Arvedar simply nodded in response and said, "There''s a lot of ways you can deal with people dependent on speed. But overall, what you guys just need to remember is that in order to defeat fast opponents, you just need to restrict their movements as much as possible." "Then, use that chance to deal them a killing blow," Mathew added with a smile. Arvee nodded in agreement as he returned his focus to the punching bag. On the other hand, Aldo was rubbing his chin and was in deep thought. Then, he glanced to Roval¡ªwho just finished doing a set of pushups. Aldo asked, "But I am amazed¡­ For you, bro Roval, to be able to catch up with us after your right eye got covered with blood¡­ How were you able to gather yourself that fast? Was it just pure anger at that time? Like you have your mind was clouded or something?" Roval simply shook his head and said, "I was just too absorbed in the fight at that moment. I got astonished at first. That is why I retreated. But in the next second, I somehow got back to myself and after that¡­ My body just moved on its own, dashing ahead to intercept Talia." "I see¡­" Aldo nodded in response. This made Arvee stopped kicking the punching bag and, consequently glance towards Aldo with a frown. But in the next second, he glanced back to the punching bag and resumed his training, while saying, "I just remembered¡­ You and Sister Loren joined the training later than everyone else. No wonder the two of you are not used to getting injuries." "What do you mean?" Aldo asked. "Instructor Ragas and Clara were quite brutal at the start, you know!" Roval complained. Then, he forced out a smile and said, "I even got my arms cut off after having a spar with Instructor Clara!" "What? Really?" Aldo''s eyes enlarged in astonishment. Then, he can''t help but glance at Mathew for confirmation. Mathew simply nodded in response and said, "Well¡­ Lony got the worst treatment of all. His feet and hands got smashed by Instructor Ragas before getting beaten up for two gruesome minutes." *Cough! *Cough! Arvee coughed several times before saying, "That old man is ruthless! Good thing that Captain instructed them to go easy on us, after Lony''s match! Else¡­ I could have even ended up in the same case with him. Those NPCs'' movements were too fast, even for us!" "Huh? But¡­ Can''t you guys fight them head-on, in spars lately?" Aldo asked with a frown on his face. Mathew could only force out a smile in response and said, "That''s because they are only allowed to make a few steps each second! But if they were to really fight with us, with no limits, you would not even be able to see them ''walk''!" Arvee nodded in agreement and said, "You did not notice the presence of any baby spiders during your spar, right? you can''t even notice that the queen spider was laying its eggs! It was because of those two freak NPCs, who were handling things too fast to the point that you would not even be able to notice their presence alone. What much more about the things that they were doing? That''s how fast they could move." "You''re all just lucky not to experience their brutally!" Roval complained. Then, he sighed and said, "Well¡­ The captain said something with ''next level'' training¡­ It must have something to do with the instructors having no limits, right vice cap?" "Sadly, I do not know," Mathew said whilst forcing out a smile. "Captain does not also tell me such information unless it would be soon executed. Whatever it is¡­ I assume that it had something to do with the results of our participation in the Exhibition Games. After all, the number of players kept increasing. There''s a huge possibility that stronger opponents would appear eventually, and we''d soon need to face them, not only in competitions but also in the game itself." Aldo nodded in response and added, saying, "I heard in the forums that players were starting to obtain A-Rank weapons by accident. So, most of the players nowadays are busy searching for such weapons rather than farming and increasing their levels. Well¡­ Bro Pedro said to ignore them for now. He told me that there''s a bigger possibility that the players would fight amongst each other just to gain such items. It is why he emphasized to simply fight with typical items in the competition." Mathew simply smirked in response and said, "You are right. And¡­ It''s not like they would be as terrifying as our two instructors could be! Anyway¡­ Go back to training! The press conference would soon start. I want to watch the reactions of my little sister when the media starts firing their questions." At this moment, Roval also smirked mischievously and said, "It would also be fun to record the press conference and make some memes out of Lony later. Hehehe¡­" Arvee simply smirked in response whilst sending a thumbs up to Roval. On the other hand, Aldo could only shake his head in response¡ªnot knowing what to react to Arvee and Roval''s ''evil'' plan. ¡­ Time went past and the Press Conference was about to start. Pedro, Lony, and Talia went down first together with Pedro''s mom as their acting team manager. *Ehem! *Ehem! *Ehem! Lony coughed several times as their elevator goes down at a seemingly unusual and faster rate. This, in turn, made Pedro smirked in response and said, "Why are you so nervous? It''s not like you are going to spar with the NPC, aren''t you?" Lony could only force out a smile in response. But before he could utter a word nor cough once again, Talia slapped his back and said, "You are too nervous, elder brother Lony! Calm yourself down, or else you''d be an internet sensation after the press conference! You don''t want to pee yourself in front of the whole world, right?" Pedro wanted to hold his laughter, but he failed to do so. Thus, consequently attracting the attention of everyone else. Talia simply crossed her arms and said, "Just look at Expert Cap! He''s not even flinching a bit. That''s because you can just ignore them if you think that you are starting to get overwhelmed. Always think that they were someone who ''wants'' to talk to us, and ''not'' us wanting to talk to them!" "But you wanted them to talk to you, right? That''s why you asked to join us, right?" Pedro said in a mocking tone. This had somehow made Lony chuckle, slightly removing the nervousness that he felt deep inside. "Tch!" Talia flicked her tongue in response. Then, she grumbled, saying, "I want to be seen on the TV, Expert Cap! Not talk to them, okay?" "Yeah! Yeah! Just enjoy the experience, okay?" Pedro said with a smirk on his face. At this moment, the elevator had arrived on the ground floor. As it opened, a lot of media personnel with different sizes of cameras were waiting for them. But for some reason, they did not immediately take a lot of shots of pictures towards them. Thus, Pedro simply shrugged it off and took that chance to leave ''easily'' without being blinded by the flashes of the camera. Even Talia could only bitterly flick her tongue as her ''dreamed grand entrance'' turned in a different way. Since she can''t afford to get separated from the group, Talia simply waved towards the cameramen and said, "Hi everyone!" Chapter 277: Press Conference: Pre-Exhibition Games, Part 1. It took a few seconds before everything synced into the cameramen''s minds, that the representatives of the ARES Guild who would be participating in the press conference have just walked past them. In the next second, Cameras started flashing as Pedro and Lony maintained a cold demeanor¡ªnot even smiling at any of the cameras. On the other hand, Pedro''s mom smiled a couple of times towards the cameramen, while Talia even happily waved like a celebrity to all the camera around them. "Hehe¡­ Hehe¡­" Talia chuckled to herself like a happy kid who was given a new toy to play with. Soon, they arrived at the waiting room with the guidance of the hotel management personnel. They would remain in that room, on standby, until Weyron''s group arrives and the press conference starts. Fortunately, they did not wait too long as Weyron, Meen, and Pedro''s Aunt Veronica walked out of the elevator. Compared to the ARES Guild''s Black and White-themed uniform, the Oran Gutan Guild had a White uniform with Black and Orange prints as design¡ªso that it would not look like they were some kind of medical personnel. ¡­ At this moment, in their discussion/meeting room, everyone from the ARES Guild was gathered and were watching the news together. Loren''s eyes shined bright¡ªas if she was a proud friend, after seeing Talia wave towards the camera as if she was a celebrity. On the other hand, Mathew could not help but slap his face from embarrassment as Roval, Aldo, and Arvedar smirked towards him as if they were saying, ''You have quite a little sister, vice cap!''. "Little Talia looks so beautiful on the TV!" Loren said happily like a proud elder sister or friend. "It''s to be expected! She took her beauty from Vice Cap! Hahahaha!" Roval laughed out loud in response. Arvedar and Aldo were not also able to hold their laughter in response. They burst into laughter making Mathew flick his tongue. Mathew was about to scold them, but when he saw the two girls also smiling, he could not help but shake his head and sigh in response. Then, he mocked, saying, "I just hope that we got some sponsorships after this and make extra money. It would be nice if we could invest in a shawarma food stall that Talia loves to eat. It''s been ripping my pockets off ever since we started training." Roval simply chuckled in response and said, "Aish, Vice Cap! Why don''t you just find some kind and innocent boy for little Talia, so that you would not carry the burden of spoiling her requests every time?" "Why? Do you want to apply as one?" Mathew smirked in response. Roval burst into laughter in response and said, "Brother Aldo, Brother Arvedar, and I would pass! We don''t want our pockets to be like yours, Vice Cap! Hahahahaha!" "Then, stop saying nonsense and stop rubbing salt on my painful pockets!" Mathew grumbled in response that made everyone else laugh. ¡­ At this moment, Weyron, his mother, and Meen arrived at the waiting room¡ªcompleting everyone who would be participating in the press conference. Weyron bowed slightly in respect to his aunt¡ªPedro''s mother and their boss, which was followed afterward by Meen. On the other hand, Pedro simply smiled at his Aunt Veronica, while saying, "Aunt¡­ Since when did Wey last look this decent?" His Aunt Veronica simply chuckled in response and said, "When he graduated from high school! Hahahaha!" "Aish¡­ Cousin Peds, making fun of me as soon as we saw each other after several days of ''intensive'' training. Do you badly miss my handsome face that much?" Weyron flicked his hair, acting as if he was a prince charming in some fairy tale story. However, contrary to Weyron''s expectation that Pedro would be annoyed in response, Pedro chuckled in response and said, "Sort of¡­ You only put effort into your image if there''s someone whom you are trying to impress¡­" Pedro stole a glanced towards Meen before smirking. Then, he said, "I wonder who it is¡­ Hmmm¡­?" Weyron flicked his tongue in response and frowned, saying, "Don''t be like that Cousin Peds!" Then, he covered his mouth from Pedro''s Aunt Veronica''s view, and grumbled in a weak tone, saying, "My mom is here¡­ I''ll get scolded if say things like that!" Unfortunately, Weyron was already too late to warn Pedro. When Weyron stole a glance at his mom, she was already glaring towards him. So, Weyron could only avert his gaze away from his mom as much as possible. Fortunately, the event organizer went inside the room¡ªinforming them that they can now go to the stage. So, Weyron used that chance to escape by saying, "L-let''s go now¡­ We can''t let everyone wait that long!" Pedro''s Aunt Veronica smirked mischievously in response and said, "You''re right! There are also ''a lot'' of things that we need to talk about afterward." Shivers run through Weyron''s spine as his mom and Pedro''s mom went out of the room¡ªahead of everyone else. Meen simply shook her head in response before following their two bosses. Pedro simply chuckled in response as he tapped Weyron''s shoulder while saying, "Don''t worry Wey! A boss is meant to be cleared! You''ll soon be able to ''clear'' it. That said¡­ I hope that personal matters won''t affect the performance of your guild! I have high hopes in the ''Oran Gutan'' Guild!" Pedro left the room followed by Talia and Lony¡ªwho simply smiled towards Weyron as if they were saying ''Good luck''. Weyron simply sighed in response and said, "Don''t underestimate us too much, cousin¡­ After all, we are ''the'' Oran Gutan Guild!" Weyron followed them to the press conference area afterward. There was a long table covered with white linen. On top of the table, there were microphones, name tags, and a bottle of water for each of them. At the furthest left¡ªbased on the view on the television''s live coverage, Talia was seated with her Professional In-game Name written on her name tag on the table. "Shawarma¡ªTeam ARES, Support" She was followed by Lony with a Professional In-game Name, "Bulk¡ªTeam ARES, Ace" Then, By Pedro with a Professional In-game Name, "Black¡ªTeam ARES, Captain" His mother, "Mrs. Caroline Armaz¡ªPresident, Armaz Electronics Inc." His Aunt Veronica, "Mrs. Veronica Santiago¡ªDirector of Guild Affairs, Armaz Electronics Inc." Then, Weyron followed with a Professional In-game Name, "Noryew¡ªTeam Oran Gutan, Captain" And lastly, at the furthest right, Meen sat with a Professional In-game Name, "Neem¡ªTeam Oran Gutan, Ace" At this moment, various cameramen started ''firing'' shots to take a picture of them. The flashes consequently blinded all of them but they did not mind that much because the press conference would start at any minute. That said, it was a different case for Weyron. He covered his eyes and shouted, saying, "Hotel Managers! There are some ''defective lights'' going on and off! Can you do something about it? It''s so painful in the eyes, to the point that I am not able to see the beauty of some of the reporters in front of me!" The cameramen stopped taking pictures and simply laughed in response. This, in turn, reduced the number of flashes as the cameramen took pictures without flash afterward. On the other hand, the event organizer took this chance to start the press conference. She introduced everyone one by one, indicating their specific roles in the Exhibition Games to come. Then, after some introduction about the overall gaming organization, they immediately proceeded with the first reporter to start. "Good Afternoon, Everyone! I am Dell Corman from HIJKLM News! For my question¡­ There have been rumors around lately that each affiliate company and corporation¡ªlike Armaz Energy International, can bring three teams, at most, to the said exhibition games. So, I would like President Caroline Armaz about why there are only two teams endorsed by Armaz Energy International? Wouldn''t it be ideal to bring three teams like the other affiliates of the Game Developers, to increase your chances of winning?" The reporter asked. Mrs. Caroline Armaz simply smirked in response and said, "Uhm¡­ Regarding that matter, I think that you should ask my son about it instead if you want a more detailed explanation as to why we are only sending two teams to the exhibition games. But to answer your question, we are only going to send two teams because we just had established our gaming organizations a week ago. Unfortunately, building another third team would take more time, and ''that'' third team might still not be able to participate in the exhibition games. So, instead of forcing things. We decided to focus on what we have to increase our chances of winning." "I see¡­" The reporter nodded in response. But in the next second, the reporter asked, saying, "But I heard that there are some independent gaming organizations that expressed their desire to form an agreement with your organization for that ''last'' spot. What are your views on this part?" "Yes, you are right! Since last night, we have received a lot of offers from different gaming organizations in the country... Even in the other parts of the continent! However, to be fair to everyone else, we have decided to kindly decline them instead. We''d rather prefer ''not'' to be the start of any conflict amongst the various gaming organizations! After all, our organization''s goal was to enjoy the game¡ªeven on such competitions." "Thank you, President Caroline!" The reporter said as she sat down. Afterward, the next reporter stood and said, "Good afternoon, everyone! I am Heich Feile from Channel 12345 News. Based on the information that you released earlier, Team ARES is your gaming organization''s main guild. But what''s intriguing is that there are only nine [9] players in the ''main'' team''s roster! Something that is way fewer compared to the overkill number of players in the Team Oran Gutan. I would like to ask Director Santiago if you could share the reason behind such arrangement." "You''ll know soon, in the exhibition games! But if you want to really know the reason for the respective roster of each team, then I suggest that you ask the two Captains instead. That''s if they would reveal their own reasons themselves." Director Veronica Santiago said confidently. The reporter glanced towards Pedro and asked, "Captain Black, can you spare us some information?" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "I am sorry, miss! I would rather choose to keep my mouth shut than unconsciously start a ''war'' between the two teams. Anyway¡­ It''s not like the Exhibition Games is the actual Professional League. You can consider it more like a ''Friendly'' Match amongst selected gaming organizations all over the world. For me¡­ There''s no need to take things that seriously, especially that the game has just been officially launched." The reporter nodded in response and asked, "I see¡­ So, are you saying that Team ARES is still under development?" Pedro confidently nodded in response and said, "Absolutely! Even if, just in case, we become the best team in the world¡­ There would still be a thing or two to improve and develop." Chapter 278: Press Conference: Pre-Exhibition Games, Part 2 "We would certainly hope that you would become the best team in the world, and bring glory to our country on VR-Sports. That''s all for my questions, thank you!" The reporter said as she sat down in her seat. In turn, the man beside him stood and said, "Good afternoon to all of you. I am Timothy Carls from NMM News. We all know that it was Armaz Electronics Inc. that sold the ''million-dollar skill'' in an auction just a few weeks ago. Is it true that you have another copy of that skill, or did your organization mistakenly sold the item and failed to anticipate that such skill would have been useful in a competition like this?" The reporter stared at them¡ªwaiting for their response. However, none of those from Armaz Electronics Inc. answered in response. Instead, Pedro, Director Veronica, and President Caroline glanced at each other as if mentally asking who will answer the question. Fortunately, before the reporter could speak again, Pedro simply smiled and said, "Ehem¡­ Let me answer that question since it is in-game stuff!" Then, he glanced to the reporter and said, "Sadly¡­ It was the only copy that we have. As for whether we mistakenly sold the item or we failed to anticipate the competition¡­ These are nothing but rumors. I am not saying that we purposely sold the item despite knowing that there would be a competition later on. No! That was not the case! That said¡­ I won''t consider the selling of it to be a mistake!" "How can you say so, Captain Black? I mean¡­ Won''t your chances of winning increase when you have that skill?" The reporter interjected. Pedro simply sighed in response and said, "How much is the prize for the exhibition games? For the Overall Champion? Wasn''t it only one [1] Million US Dollars?" Then, he glanced to the reporter and said coldly, "The skill page was sold for ten [10] Million US Dollars! We would need to win ''Ten'' Exhibition Games to earn what we got from selling the skill page. So, I don''t think that it was a mistake for us to sell that item. And, although we did not anticipate that there would be such a competition, thanks to the sale of the item, we gained a budget that was sufficient to establish two competitive teams for the competition." "Well said, Captain!" The reporter praised with a smile. Then, he asked, "Moving forward¡­ Is it possible for you to share how you were able to obtain the said item in the game? I mean¡­ I myself am a player of Bearth Online, and I would admit that I am one of the players who are dreaming to obtain such gold in the game. Well¡­ That''s if it''s only alright with you. I totally understand if you would not tell me the secret about it." Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "I know that many would bug us soon about it, so, I''d prefer to tell everyone a few things about it. Besides¡­ It won''t be fun if we''d be the only ones who know about the information on that item." The reporter''s eyes shined like gold in response. Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "And¡­ To give everyone excitement on looking for such items, I won''t tell you the exact information on where I got it. I can only tell you that it has something to do with the Adventurer''s Guild, somewhere on the eastern side of the Asian Australian Server''s continent. It''s now up to you to figure out the rest." "That''s quite an information, Captain Black! Even I can''t help but be urged to leave this press conference and play the game right now. Hehehe¡­ Anyway, That''s all for my questions! Thank you!" The reported smirked in response as he sat down. Several Reporters asked for information regarding rumors that were spreading on the internet. Well¡­ Pedro and everyone else did not pay that much attention to that since most of them are busy playing the game. Nevertheless, those questions were answered and clarified honestly by everyone else without revealing highly classified information in their organization. As the press conference was about to end, the questions of the reporters now focused on the players that were on the roster of both teams. Team ARES has nine [9] members while Team Oran Gutan only has five [5] confirmed members as of this moment. That said, it''s already known that there was a competition within the Team Oran Gutan''s members and would only end before several days before they leave for China. So, the reporters did not focus much on Team Oran Gutan since they would bring with them an overkill number of players with them. At this moment, a reporter asked, "To Captain Black, I checked your roster earlier and saw that out of the nine players, only one was a former professional player from another VR Game. On top of that, three of your players are girls. It''s not like I am underestimating them or something, but¡­ We all know how brutal and difficult it was to play this game. I really can''t help but be curious about how the Team ARES would win in the Exhibition Games. And knowing that your supposed Team B¡ªThe Team Oran Gutan, is heavily packed with quite ''scary'' weapons¡­ Can you, at the least, give us a bit of an idea¡ªA spoiler if you may, on what to expect from the Team ARES?" Pedro simply laughed in response and said, "Sadly, I''ll have to let you wait for a few more days before your question would be answered. Rest assured though, that each player under Team ARES could handle a monster on our own. I don''t want to overhype things on our end, but I hope that all of our countrymen would support our two teams that would be participating in the exhibition games. After all¡­ It would be our honor to hold the next Bearth Online Event... If either team would become the champion of this competition." "Thanks, Captain Black!" The reporter said as he glanced towards Lony, A.K.A. Bulk. Then, he asked, "To mister Bulk¡­ How confident are you in going head to head with miss Neem¡ªthe Ace of Team Oran Gutan, in case your two team faces each other in the exhibition games?" "It would be a challenge. But¡­ Our team would win!" Lony said with a smile. "Hoo¡­ What can miss Neem say about it?" The reporter smirked as he glanced towards Meen. Meen simply chuckled in response and said, "We''ll see if that would happen!" "I can already see it, though!" Talia interjected with a confident smile. Pedro and Weyron could only force out a smile in response. And before a heated argument could occur, Armaz Electronics Inc. President Caroline Armaz stood from her seat and said, "I apologize but the press conference shall end here. Our players need to go back to their training already. We''ll release an official guideline on how we would answer your questions later on. Again, our organization was just created recently and we''re focused at the moment on the development of the players. So, it might take us a few days before we could respond. Thank you for your time and please support Team ARES and Team Oran Gutan on the first Bearth Online Simulation Competition: Exhibition Games!" At this moment, Director Veronica Santiago stood on her seat and glanced towards Meen and Weyron as if she was saying to them, ''Let''s go!''. The two simply nodded and stood in response. On the other hand, Pedro simply waved towards the media whilst he was standing from his seat. Then, he patted Lony''s back and said, "Let''s go! Let''s have some meal, my treat!" Lony immediately stood and said, "No taking back of your words, Cap!" "Yeah! Yeah!" Talia added with a smile on her face. Then, she gestured "3" to Pedro and said, "Add three shawarmas for me, Cap! It''s been a day since I last ate one!" Pedro simply laughed in response and said, "Sure! But before anything else, call everyone and tell them to follow us, okay?" Lony and Talia simply made an "Okay" sign to him as they went into their phones. On the other hand, Pedro approached Meen and Weyron, and asked, "Would the two of you like to join us in a meal before you go back? My treat¡­" "Err¡­" Weyron could only force out a smile in response as he glanced to Director Veronica as if he was asking if it would be alright to accept Pedro''s invitation. Director Veronica simply nodded in response and said, "Be back before seven! We still need to discuss the final roster of the team! There are just some matters that President Caroline and I need to handle beforehand! So, make sure to return on time." "Aish¡­ We will! We will! It''s not like we are going to escape from the training or something!" Weyron said as he approached Pedro. Then, he said, "Cousin Peds, please lead the way. As you can see, we only have limited time." Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "What about you miss Meen? Would you like to join us for a meal?" Meen scratched the back of her head while glancing back and forth from Pedro to Weyron. Then, after a few seconds, she sighed and said, "Then, I would gladly take your offer." "That''s great!" Pedro clapped his hands in response. Then, he led everyone out of the press conference area and said, "Let''s go! I am already hungry!" Chapter 279: Setting Up a Skirmish Between the Two Teams! Everyone met up in front of a famous high-end restaurant called Mins'' Restaurant. There were some media following them, but they did not care that much nor did they pay that much attention towards them. The Manager of the restaurant clearly recognizes their identity as Pedro, Weyron, Meen, Talia, and Lony''s faces were all over the news that was broadcasted on the television inside the restaurant. So, the manager of the restaurant approached them with a big smile and asked, "Madams, Sirs¡­ Welcome to Mins'' Restaurant! How can I help you?" Pedro simply said, "A table for eleven, please." "Eleven? I see, sir. Please kindly wait for a second, we''ll prepare the tables for all of you to fit in." The manager respectfully said as he stole a glance towards the other restaurant crew as if he was telling them to arrange a table for eleven people. "Will do, thanks!" Pedro nodded in response. Then, he glanced at Weyron and asked, "Why don''t you invite the other three players that are already selected for your roster?" Weyron simply shook his head in response and said, "Do you want to scare them by introducing these freaks¡ªehem, great players?" Meen could not help but frown in response. While Pedro simply laughed before saying, "How was your training? Do you know how to swing your sword properly now?" "Aish! Don''t change the subject that fast, cousin Peds!" Weyron grumbled. "My schedule is really packed because of tasks from here and there! It''s busy enough for me already, you know?" Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "Here I thought you can spare us some time for some in-game combat sparring¡­ I guess you are too busy for that. What a shame¡­" "W-W-What did you say?" Weyron asked as everyone else glanced towards Pedro out of astonishment from what he said. Fortunately, the manager of the restaurant interrupted them with a menu in his hands, while saying, "Uhm¡­ Sir¡­ Your table is ready!" "Great!" Pedro said as he clapped his hands. Then, he said to everyone, "Let''s go! I am hungry!" Hopeless, everyone could only follow Pedro in response as they resumed to the topics they were discussing beforehand. Pedro simply ordered the appropriate platter meals that would be sufficient for everyone else. And while waiting for the food to be served, the restaurant crews¡ªeven the restaurant manager, requested a picture with them. The same thing happened with the other customers of the restaurant and even some passerby that had thick faces. Well¡­ It was better than that rather than an awkward silence amongst them. Eventually, they were left to their own accord as their meals were served. And while eating, Pedro asked Weyron once again, saying, "You and your guild really don''t have any time to spare for a skirmish of some sort?" "Are you serious?" Weyron asked with both of his brows raised¡ªdoubting that Pedro was seriously considering a skirmish amongst the two teams. "Yeah, why wouldn''t I?" Pedro said. "We lack experience in dealing with opponents that have huge numbers, while your team is lacking experience fighting against a strong group of opponents. I think it would be a win-win if the two teams would be able to have a skirmish against each other." "How many players do you want me to send?" Weyron asked. "And, what are the other specific details of the skirmish. I doubt that we would even be allowed to use our trump cards?" "Hmm¡­ It''s obvious that we won''t use our aces and trump cards!" Pedro said. "Our goal, after all, is just to gain experience. There''s no need for any of the teams to really kill each other. Anyway¡­" Pedro glanced towards Arvee and asked, "Arvee, how many players can you handle. Restrictions applied." "Restrictions applied?!" Weyron complained. "What do you mean by that cousin Peds?" "Hmm¡­ I can probably take on twenty Aldos, Cap!" Arvee answered in a calm demeanor. Pedro simply laughed in response. Then, he whispered to Weyron, saying, "Did you forget that we destroyed a force of Fifty thousand players when our strength was unrestricted. Do you badly want to die in the game, Wey?" Pedro simply sighed in the next second and said, "Anyway¡­ Bring all of the one hundred players on your team! Those who can touch me, Sabri, Mathew, Talia, and Arvee are ''commendable'' players. While those who can hold Loren, Aldo, Lony, and Roval on their own would not be half bad either. Won''t it be a good opportunity for you to see who has what it takes to be able to fight against us?" Weyron simply flicked his tongue and said, "Deal! No take-backs! We meet at the Tarala Kingdom Adventurer''s Guild Branch!" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "Taking advantage of setting the place of the skirmish, huh? I just hope that your men would be wearing proper armor during that time." "Tsk! Don''t underestimate our players, cousin Peds! They might not be as strong as you guys, but we''re hardworking you know!" Weyron grumbled. "Don''t miss understand, Wey! I am not underestimating the effort that all of you are giving for the game. However¡­ Hard work and Winning are two completely different things! Just think of this skirmish as an opportunity to learn something new! Anyway¡­ It would also be a good opportunity to show miss Meen and your members the reason why you are terrified with us." Pedro chuckled in response. Weyron could only scratch the back of his head and said, "It''s not like I can reject your request anyway! Besides¡­ It would be a good opportunity to show them ''what we should be aiming for'', right cousin?" Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "I''ll message you if we are about to return to the Kingdom. There are few things that I need to settle in the game beforehand." "I understand! I understand! Take your time. The production of our guild''s items is not yet finished. It would be best if my players would be accustomed to their new weapons and equipment before the skirmish starts." Weyron said. Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "Good Luck!" Soon, their dinner ended. After a few exchanges of goodbyes, Weyron and Meen left¡ªafraid that they would be scolded by Director Veronica even if they were just a second late. On the other hand, Pedro paid for their meal and they stopped by a shawarma stall to buy Talia''s snacks before heading back to their gaming camp. "Was it really alright to have some skirmish battles against the Team Oran Gutan, Captain?" Lony asked in a worried tone. Pedro simply smiled and said, "It''s obvious that they need it more than us. We are just giving them a helping hand to know their mistakes and improve while they still have time to do so before the competition starts." Lony simply sighed in response as he stole a glance towards Arvee and Talia. Then, he said, "I could only pity those players who would be against these two hardcore players. I doubt that they would take them easily despite the difference in strength." "Don''t worry!" Pedro said. "We''ll be fighting as a team. It is completely different from fighting on their own. Teamwork is harder than it seems when it comes to fighting with swords." "Well¡­ You are right! But still¡­ Just you, Captain, and sister Sabrina together was already a terrifying combination to be an opponent. What more all of us in one go?" Lony said before forcing out a smile. Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "It won''t be terrifying as it seems." Soon, they were able to return to their gaming camp. Upon arrival, they held a team meeting before going back to their own rooms, prepare, and log back into the game. They discussed that they would need to finish their ''Daily Routine'' first before they would head back to the Tarala Kingdom with Faunia. They decided to leave Werewolf Tam under Ragas'' care while Clara would be his backup just in case something bad happens. Although it was a risky move that they chose, it was way riskier to leave Faunia away from Pedro for quite some time. She gets annoyed easily, and the aftermath could only be the worst if someone would be in a conflict with her. So, it was only evident for Pedro to keep a close eye on Faunia as much as possible. Moving on, Pedro also made things interesting for them. Instead of using teleportation portals, he suggested foot travel to train their bodies in moving from place to place with their heavy armors on. Not only would their stamina be tested, but also their movement speed while on their armors. ¡­ On the other hand, the Team Oran Gutan also had a meeting at that time in the game. Weyron explained the details of the skirmish to them and informed them of the rewards they would be able to obtain if they were able to, at the least, fend off the attacks of certain players in the Team ARES. Of course, it fired up the players of the Team Oran Gutan, especially by the fact that they would be able to fight against the main guild, Team ARES, while being able to see the fruits of their hard work. Well¡­ It seems like only Weyron was terrified by the outcome of the skirmish. Nevertheless, it would still be a good opportunity for him to get a grasp on how strong Team ARES currently was and how can he win against them if they face each other in the competition. Chapter 280: The Overpowered Instructors of Team Oran Gutan Everyone from the Team ARES logged back into the game and immediately did their ''Daily Routine'', while Pedro informed the NPCs about the said arrangements. Fortunately, the NPCs did not have any problem with Pedro''s plan. Thus, after they did their daily routine, they immediately left for the Tarala Kingdom. "Are you sure that you don''t need my help on handling the monsters, human?" Faunia chuckled Aldo, Loren, and Roval were barely even able to catch their breath as they advance to the Tarala Kingdom. Faunia added, saying, "We''re not even halfway to our destination and these three are even barely able to run anymore." Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Why don''t you carry them instead and leave the monsters to us? Everyone else is enjoying the hunt. Wouldn''t it be nice to let them loose some steam from time to time?" At this moment, before Faunia could say another word, Roval glanced to Faunia and said, "I¡­ am good! I¡­ just need to slow¡­ down a little! I¡­ can manage!" "So¡­ do¡­ I!" Aldo added before he exhaled heavily, gripped his sword tightly, and charged towards his next target. Faunia could only glance towards Loren in response with one of her brows up as if she was asking Loren, ''What about you, human?''. Loren simply shook her head in response, saying no, whilst panting heavily as if she was about to reach her limit. That said, seeing that Aldo and Roval were doing their best to catch up, she could only bite her lips and took a deep breath before she followed everyone¡ªfull of determination. Fortunately, thanks to Aldo and Roval, she only encountered a handful of monsters since the start. It was just her stamina that was low compared to everyone else. So, Loren had difficulty traveling with all of her armors equipped. Well¡­ Pedro was leading the three of them, together with Faunia, by taking a straight path to the Tarala Kingdom but at a slower pace. Thus, most of the monsters were actually taken care of by Pedro, while Aldo and Roval simply cleaned the monsters that went past through Pedro''s range. As for Sabrina, Arvedar, Mathew, Talia, and Lony¡­ They took their own ''longer'' paths to increase the difficulty of their ''training'' while being able to familiarize themselves with battles involving a huge number of enemies with a huge variation of unpredictable attacks. Truth be told, Pedro assumed that Lony would be amongst Aldo, Roval, and Loren when he was on his human form. But for some reason, the players with the transformation forms tend to have an abnormal amount of stamina compared to those who did not have transformation forms. Pedro did not know the exact explanation for this fact but, he knew that it was the ''factor'' that was certainly at play¡ªregarding the difference of stamina amongst the players. Knowing that fact, Pedro was even tempted to give Aldo, Roval, and Loren their own transformation skills. However, he opted not to do so because he wanted them¡ªspecifically Loren and Aldo, to be used to mental fatigues and such negative effects due to exhaustion. After all, the war that they won in the east was proof that long-drawn battles or wars are inevitable to happen in the game. It was best to prepare them at this moment so that they would gain a lot more experience¡ªand, consequently, solutions to resist or ease the negative effects caused by exhaustion. Besides¡­ If they kept getting exhausted like that, they would eventually become used to such situations to the point that their bodies even adapted on their own. Soon, they all arrived at the ever-busy Adventurer''s Guild Branch on the Tarala Kingdom. Pedro and everyone else were mostly covered with monsters'' blood, thus, they naturally caught the attention of a lot of players. Add up their eye-catching full armor set¡­ The players could only gaze at them both in amazement and out of fear as they walked past by everyone else. They could not help but whisper amongst each other, discussing the identity of the fully armored men. In fact, most of the other players even assumed that they were NPCs related to the Adventurer''s Guild. Well... It does not matter to Pedro and everyone else, whether they would be mistaken for an NPC or not. "Hey, Hey, Elder Bro! How many monsters did you kill along the way?" Talia asked Mathew whilst barely being able to hide the smirk on her face. Mathew simply shook his head in response and said, "I didn''t count them! I was focused on trying several attack combos, so, counting my kills did not enter my mind." "Booo!" Talia said whilst giving her elder bro a thumbs down. "You''re no fun, elder bro!" Mathew simply sighed in response and said, "Whatever! It''s not like the number of kills matter anyway." "Hmph!" Talia simply ignored her elder brother¡ªwho spoiled her plans to brag. Then, she simply glanced towards Pedro and asked, "Expert Cap, are we really not going to use any plans or strategies during the skirmish? Won''t it be cool to win in some sort of ''orchestrated'' manner?" Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "We are not going to use any strategies for now. After all, we want to test the opponent''s strength first before we do so. If they would be able to defend against us on a straightforward attack, then we can try different plans afterward. Besides¡­ Things don''t usually go as planned." "Haiz¡­ Why do I feel like we are just going to bully around some adventurers?" Talia said to herself whilst shaking her head¡ªslightly disappointed. There were thousands of players that were in line to the registration area of the Adventurer''s Guild Branch of the Tarala Kingdom. Fortunately, their skirmish would not be held inside the Adventurer''s Guild Branch itself because of the huge number of participants in this friendly spar between the two teams. Weyron simply waited for them to arrive before he guided them to an adjacent area to the side of the training area of the Adventurer''s Guild¡ªwhere hundreds of players were waiting for them to arrive. Some of them had iron armors with them, while some only had leather ones. Unfortunately, none of the players from the Team Oran Gutan have a complete set of armor with them. They mostly have body armor, a helm, and some guards on their legs. As for the leather armors, although they were just made of cloth, they were all thick enough to stop the slice of a dagger or a sword¡ªpreventing its user from obtaining cuts or injuries from several strikes of their opponents. Compared to ordinary players, the members of the Team Oran Gutan could be considered as elites in terms of equipment and weapon. Although some of Weyron''s players still have a newbie sword as a weapon, the rest of them already have a newly crafted sword that Weyron has prepared with the help of the Adventurer''s Guild in the past few days. Of course, be it ordinary players who were just curious about Pedro and the full armor of him and his team, or be it the players that would be against them in the skirmish, all of them could only stare at them amazed and intrigued by the source of their black armor. That said, Pedro and everyone else from the Team ARES remained cold as they quietly followed behind Pedro and Weyron. "Our guests were here! Is everyone ready?" Weyron asked as he surveyed along with his top 100 players as of now. "We are ready!" The 100 players shouted confidently in unison. Weyron simply glanced towards Pedro and smirked in response, before saying, "Cous¡ªEhem, Sir! My men are ready to battle. Just tell me guys when you are ready and we''ll immediately start the battle." Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "We were always ready. Start the battle if you want." Weyron simply nodded to his players in response, giving them a sign that their battle has begun. On the other hand, Pedro nodded towards Talia, Arvee, and Lony¡ªas if he was commanding them to attack. In the end, it only took Team ARES ten minutes to defeat a hundred men of Weyron. In fact, Pedro did not participate that much offensively, since his attacks could easily kill the other players in one hit. So, other than observing the fight from afar, Pedro was also able to give his team improvised commands to test some of their combinations along the way. On the other hand, Weyron could only cover his face with his hands as a lot of spectators were able to witness their team''s one-sided defeat. Even Meen¡ªTeam Oran Gutan''s Ace, could only stare towards Team ARES, already thinking of a solution to increase their survivability in the next scheduled skirmish. That said, despite the players from the Team Oran Gutan were barely able to stand, no one amongst the spectators dared to try and steal any of their items. After all, Team ARES was still standing as if they were even able to stretch their legs that much. And that is how the rumors about the ''Fully Armored NPCs'' spread across Bearth Online. The Overpowered Instructors of the Team Oran Gutan. Chapter 281: Exhibition Games, Day 1: Team Introductions! After another skirmish between the two teams, Weyron had completed the final list of the players who would be representing the Team Oran Gutan. That said, those who were not chosen were not demoralized in return. Unexpectedly, the skirmish between the two teams had ignited the desire of everyone in the Team Oran Gutan to win against Team ARES on the exhibition games no matter what it takes. Thus, it was alright for any of the 100 players to not be chosen because as long as it would give them the victory against their ''seemingly impossible to beat'' opponent, Team ARES. On the other hand, Team ARES was now able to adjust themselves to fighting against other players. Although they were dominating their opponents on their own at the first skirmish, the lapses of their straightforward and unorganized formation were exploited when Team Oran Gutan used a ''trap'' tactic¡ªeventually allowing Team Oran Gutan to restrict Lony and Talia''s movements momentarily. That said, the difference in the strength between the two teams was obvious. So, in the end, Team ARES still won the second skirmish with the help of the ''aggressive'' support trio of Loren, Aldo, and Roval. And although the third and final skirmish were to happen, it was evident that Team ARES would be able to easily win against Team Oran Gutan, since they only need once to be reminded of their lapses and be able to immediately overcome or find a solution to them. These traits of theirs have developed thanks to their training with Clara and Ragas. They would often be told of their lapses and mistakes in a terrifying way. And if they won''t be able to come up with a decent solution, they would just keep getting beat up over and over again. Fortunately, the area where they were conducting their skirmish was guarded and hidden from other spectator''s view¡ªto avoid leaking crucial information like how strong both teams were. In any case, other than the rumors that the Team Oran Gutan was being trained by ''strong NPCs'', there was no other information related with the skirmish that was spreading around the internet. Eventually, the third skirmish ended¡ªgiving both teams valuable experiences and knowledge regarding the strengths and weaknesses of their own teams. This gave them the chance to improve and make some changes before they all fly towards China for the exhibition games. ¡­ Days later, Team ARES¡ªwith 9 Official Players, and Team Oran Gutan¡ªwith 50 Official Players, arrived at Shanghai, China together with the Presidents of both the Armaz Energy International and Armaz Electronics Inc., and the Director for Guild Affairs of Armaz Electronics Inc. Fortunately, their accommodations were arranged by the Game Developers themselves, so, almost all of the teams participating in the Exhibition Games would not need to worry about such details. Transportation was not much of a problem because the place where the Exhibition Games would be conducted was near the hotel where all of the players were being accommodated. That said, Mrs. Caroline Armaz and Mrs. Veronica Santiago were still personally managing the needs of their players. Mrs. Caroline Armaz manages the smaller Team ARES¡ªtogether with Mrs. Marisa Conception (Sabrina''s mom), while Mrs. Veronica Santiago manages Team Oran Gutan with the help of some managers lent by Armaz Energy International to Armaz Electronics Inc. Well¡­ Their jobs were only to ensure that the players are comfortable and would be able to participate in the competition to the best of their abilities. The Game Developers had already provided almost everything that the players would need. So, the respective managers of each team were only there to ensure that everything was going well to their player''s side. ¡­ April 1, 2031 10:00 AM In the nearby arena to the hotel where all the participants to the Exhibition Games were accommodated, a huge device was installed at its centermost area¡ªprojecting a hologram display that spanned up to the roof of the arena. The higher area of the arena was ''jam-packed'' by random spectators¡ªwho were lucky enough to secure a ticket to Introduction Day of the Exhibition Games. As for the lower area of the arena, the seats at that location were reserved for the players of the 69 invited teams that would later enter the arena one by one. Lastly, the VIP Area¡ªsimilar to courtside seats in a basketball arena, would be occupied by the 11 teams that would represent the affiliate companies and corporations of the Game Developers of Bearth Online. At this moment, the whole arena suddenly went dark as the lights were turned off¡ªmarking the start of the event for that day. The crowd could not help but shout out of excitement as the hologram lit slowly¡ªensuring that it would not hurt the eyes of the people inside the arena. At first, the monsters wreaking havoc on different villages on Bearth Online were played at the holographic device as the narrator speaks, saying, "When hope is lost and the light of victory fades¡­ A group of people stood and fought whatever it takes!" The scene transitioned to the appearance of the players who fought monsters bravely even if it costed their life. Then, the narrator continued saying, "And amongst these brave men¡­ Only one would stand on top! The Heroes that would ignite the strongest light! The Champions!" A blinding light¡ªseemingly coming from a star or from the sun, was displayed in the hologram projector. Then, slowly, it became dim as the narrator said, "The question is¡­ Who amongst these heroes would be the First Champions?" At this moment, the entrance to the lower area of the arena was lit by the spotlight as the narrator said, "Introducing¡­ The 69 teams invited for the First Bearth Online Competition!" The logo of the first team amongst the 69 teams was then displayed by the holographic projector as the name of the respective team was mentioned by the narrator. Then, that respective team''s Captain and Ace Player were introduced afterward. The crowd often cried in support of the respective teams that they support¡ªwhere most of them support the teams that represent their country. People all over the world also erupted as each of the teams that they supported were mentioned during the live coverage. Time passed and eventually, the 69 teams were already mentioned and had already occupied most of the lower area of the arena. At this moment, the narrator and the hologram projection were about to end the introduction of the participants when, somehow, an error had seemingly occurred. The hologram projection shook and vibrated wildly as if it was being hacked by someone else. And in the next second, the narrator spoke and said, "I-I-Introduci-ci-cing! The-The-The¡­ 11 Team-Team-Teams¡­ Spe-Spe-Specially Invited¡­ To-To-To¡­ the First Bearth Online Competition!" At this moment, the entrance to the VIP area was lit by a spotlight as the logo of the first team amongst the 11 Specially Invited Teams was displayed by the holographic projector with an ''error-like'' effect. At the same time, the narrator mentioned the name of that said team and was consequently followed by the introduction of its team captain and ace player. And as they enter the arena, a guiding light on the sides of their path was lit red¡ªas if the players were walking in the middle of an airport''s runway at night. And after all of their players were seated, the next succeeding teams were mentioned. Moments later¡­ "I-I-Introduci-ci-cing! The-The-The¡­ 10th Team-Team-Team¡­ Spe-Spe-Specially Invited¡­ To-To-To¡­ the First Bearth Online Competition! Fro-Fro-Fro-From the Philippines¡­ Team-Team-Team¡­ Oran Gutan!" At this moment, the Team Oran Gutan''s logo was displayed to the holographic projector of the Arena, and to the live coverage being witnessed by all the people from all over the world. Naturally, the Filipino spectators erupted at this moment in support of the team. Consequently, Team Oran Gutan entered the arena with the lead of Weyron and Meen. "Tea-Tea-Tea-Team Captain¡­ Noryew!" The hologram projector displayed a full-body photo of Weyron¡ªwearing his guild uniform. Then, it rotated 360 degrees before it transitioned and changed to the full body shot of his synced character from the game. "A-A-A-Ace Player¡­ Neem!" The hologram projector displayed a full-body photo of Meen¡ªwearing her guild uniform. Then, it rotated 360 degrees, similar to Weyron a few seconds ago, before it transitioned and changed to the full body shot of her synced archer-based character from the game. That said, when Meen was the one projected in the hologram, the crowd became noisier¡ªthanks to the additional cheers of a lot of men who immediately became her fans. Soon, everyone from Team Oran Guan was seated. And after a few moments of silence, the narrator proceeded. "I-I-Introduci-ci-cing! La-La-La-Last¡­ Bu-Bu-Bu-But not the least! The-The-The¡­ 11th Team-Team-Team¡­ Spe-Spe-Specially Invited¡­ To-To-To¡­ the First Bearth Online Competition! Fro-Fro-Fro-From the Philippines¡­ Team-Team-Team¡­ ARES!" At this moment, the Team ARES logo was displayed to the holographic projector of the Arena, and to the live coverage being witnessed by all the people from all over the world. Like how the crowd reacted when the Team Oran Gutan was mentioned, the Filipino spectators erupted at this moment in support of the team. Seconds later, Team ARES entered the arena with the lead of Pedro, Lony, and Mathew. "Tea-Tea-Tea-Team Captain¡­ Black!" The hologram projector displayed a full-body photo of Pedro¡ªwearing his guild uniform. Then, it rotated 360 degrees before it transitioned and changed to the full body shot of his synced character from the game. Compared to the other teams, Pedro''s character in the game caught the most attention of the crowd and the spectators as most of them gasp in awe upon seeing the full black armor set that was paired with a matching black sword. Some of the participating players gossiped amongst each other, indicating that they are paying full attention to Team ARES as if they were the strongest team. The noise within the arena and amongst the spectators all over the world had even surpassed the noise when a beautiful female player was introduced by the narrator and the holographic projector. That said, Only the Team Oran Gutan''s players were not surprised with it. In fact, they remained silent because they know how strong the players of Team ARES were despite wearing a set of heavy armor¡ªwhich were technically heavier than the armors of the players from Team Oran Gutan. But the eruption of the crowd did not stop there. Some of the spectators and other players thought that Pedro was the only one with the full armor set amongst their team. Unfortunately, they were immediately proven wrong as Lony, Team ARES'' Ace was introduced. "A-A-A-Ace Player¡­ Bulk!" The hologram projector displayed a full-body photo of Lony¡ªwearing his guild uniform. Then, it rotated 360 degrees before it transitioned and changed to the full body shot of his synced character from the game that was wearing the same full armor set with Pedro¡ªjust slightly modified to fit perfectly on the body of Lony''s character in the game. The crowd erupted loudly, with some of them crying and discussing how much did the Team ARES invested in their equipment just for this competition. Well¡­ Pedro and everyone else from the Team ARES did not mind them much and simply sat in their designated area. And with that¡­ The Team Introductions for the First Bearth Online Competition were concluded! "These are your 69-80-69-80¡­ 80 Participating Teams for the First Bearth Online Professional Competition! May the best team arise as CHAMPIONS!" Chapter 282: Meeting the President through a Hologram! User1234321: Which Team do you think would win? User2431390: Hmm¡­ Not sure, probably the last team introduced? Their freaking armors were so cool! User0182977: Hahaha! I am still going to root for my Goddess Neem! My Goddess for the Win! Go, Go, Oran Gutan! User1234321: A Trash¡­ Tsk! Tsk! :Face Palm Emoji: User2431390: She''s not half bad though! :Smug Emoji: :Smug Emoji: :Smug Emoji: User1234321: Aish¡­ You two! Whatever! I''ll just bet on the Joe Corporation Teams if the two of you would bet on the Asian Teams. :Sigh Emoji: User0182977: :Okay Emoji: :Okay Emoji: :Okay Emoji: User2431390: Good luck on your bet! :Smug Emoji: :Smug Emoji: :Smug Emoji: The world erupted after all the teams were introduced. Most of the people are having discussions amongst their peers on who to bet upon in the upcoming tournament. Some were just in for the fun while some were hoping to double their cash. After all¡­ This was the first Bearth Online Competition and many betting programs, sites, apps, and such were available everywhere. The reason why most people talked about ''bets'' during this time was that, at this moment, the Game Developer''s representative was just giving a few remarks before they proceeded with the explanation of the ''complete'' rules of the competition. It was quite ''boring'' to watch, especially that the rules are only applicable to players who would be participating in the competition. As sent by the game developer earlier together with their invitation to the participating teams, there would be three major rounds on the tournament. Namely, the Elimination Round, the Inter-Server Playoffs Round, and the Championship Round. At the Elimination Round and the Inter-Server Round, Team versus Team matches would be held. The only difference between the two rounds was that on Inter-Server Round, a ''loser''s bracket'' was added to give losing teams on that round a chance to come back to the competition. On the other hand, the Championship mechanics was modified and would be a four-way match amongst the Inter-Server Champions and a specific point system would be used to determine the winner. The Game Developers decided to do such a ''battle royale'' like mechanics to ''spice'' things up for the Championship Match. The point system was simple. Each objective that each team would be able to complete would earn them one point. And Each player that would remain alive at the end of the Simulated Match would be also counted as one point for their respective teams. However, "Captured" Players won''t be counted as an additional point even if they survived till the end of the match. And Lastly on the point system for the Championship¡­ There would be "Special Objectives" Set by the developers that if completed would automatically end the match even if the "match duration" is still not over. The equivalent points for the completion of the "Special Objectives" would vary depending on its difficulty. Moving on¡­ The last team standing before the match duration ends, or the team that was able to gain a lot of points would be held the winner of the match. The Team that would be able to win three matches in total would be held the Champion of the competition. So¡­ It was obvious that the Game Developers set the Difficulty of the Championship Round by ten folds compared to the Elimination Round and the Inter-Server Playoffs Round¡ªwhich would actually bring the best of the best team out of all the participating teams. Winning would only mean pure strength of that Team and nothing more! ¡­ As for the Elimination Round and the Inter-Server Playoffs Round, the Kingdom Defense Mode or Direct Combat Mode would be randomly selected by the system. Those who would be able to completely annihilate the opposing force completely, or those who would be able to complete the set objectives would be the ones to win the match. The Team who would be able to win two matches first would be considered as the winner and would be moving forward to the competition. As for the Prizes¡­ There were no changes made. The Participation Prize for those who were eliminated at the Elimination Round would be 1,000 US Dollars for each player. The Participation Prize for those who were eliminated at the Inter-Server Playoffs Round would be 2,000 US Dollars for each player, and an additional 5,000 US Dollars for the respective Gaming Organization per stage in the playoffs that they were able to reach. The Server Champion''s Guaranteed Prize would be 5,000 US Dollars for each player, 100,000 US Dollars for each Gaming Organization/Guild, 10 Gold Coins for each Gaming Organization/Guild, a month worth of Lifo Supply, and 20 VR Boxes. Lastly, the prize for the World Champion would be a staggering amount of 1 Million US Dollars for the winning Guild/Gaming Organization, 10,000 US Dollars for each player, a B-Rank Sword, 20 Gold Coins, half a year supply of Lifo, 50 VR Boxes, and the rights to choose where the next Bearth Online Championship would be held. ¡­ After all the specific information was announced, the event for that day was concluded and the teams were sent off the arena¡ªstarting from those who entered first. Fortunately, Team ARES and Team Oran Gutan were amongst the 11 special teams and were able to leave just after several minutes. Of course, they did not interact much with the other teams because they were not that familiar with each other during those moments. That said, Team ARES and Team Oran Gutan did not immediately head back to their respective rooms after leaving the arena. Mrs. Caroline Armaz and Director Veronica Santiago to a nearby large hall that they rented for the next weeks for their whole organization''s gathering¡ªthe Armaz Electronics Inc. as a whole. Technically, it was for Team Oran Gutan that has 50 Players with them. Organizing their lineup would be impossible inside a small room, so, it was evident for them to secure a spacious area for them to have a discussion or a team meeting. Whichever''s the case, even Pedro and Weyron were also not informed of the reason as to why the Team ARES was also asked to go to the said Hall that they rented. And the moment they arrived in that establishment, the lady waiting for them at the reception area bowed towards them out of respect while saying, "Welcome, esteemed guests! Please follow me to your rented hall!" "Thanks!" Pedro and Weyron said as they bowed slightly in unison. The lady retained her smile and brought them to a hall that was huge enough to cater to hundreds of people inside. That said, its centermost area was occupied by a huge holographic projector that was similar to the ones used in the arena. At this moment, Pedro''s father and mother approached them with smiles on their faces. "How do you like this, son?" Mr. Jon Armaz asked Pedro. "I specifically requested the President of Bearth Online Development Company to set this up for you¡­ It is similar to the simulation equipment that would be used in the competition! Awesome, right?" Pedro nodded with a smile on his face and said, "Thanks, dad!" Mr. Jon Armaz simply burst into laughter in response and said, "I am glad that you like it! Anyway¡­ Why don''t all of you come in first! Your mom and aunt have something to tell all of you." Pedro simply nodded to Weyron and everyone else in response. They entered the room and as soon as everyone was inside, the door was closed¡ªshut, and Mrs. Caroline Armaz started speaking. She said, "I called everyone here because there is someone who wants to speak to all of you." Mrs. Caroline Armaz simply nodded towards Mrs. Veronica Santiago¡ªwho was on her laptop and was probably talking to someone in it. Mrs. Veronica Santiago simply smiled in response and in the next second the hologram projector lit¡ªdisplaying the figure of an old man that is very familiar to all of the players. "Greetings, Young men and women!" The old man said with a smile on his face. "M-Mr. President!" Weyron shouted like a child as he pointed to the Philippine President''s holographic figure that was projected at that time. The Philippine President simply chuckled and nodded his head in response. Then, he faked a cough and said, "Since everyone here recognizes me, I would skip the introductions and head straight to the purpose of my call¡­ As you can see, Team ARES and Team Oran Gutan are amongst the handful of teams that would be representing our country in this said competition. I would like to wish you good luck and am one of the millions of Filipinos¡ªhoping that you would bring glory to our country in the Bearth Online ''Industry''! Kick those [email protected]@rd''s @sses and show them how scary we can be in fights! Shove your swords to their @nus if you can!" Everyone could not help but burst into laughter in response. Some even cheered in support of the brave remarks of their president. "Anyway¡­ Jokes aside¡­ I am talking to my advisers about what can I do to reward all the participants in the said competition¡ªthat would represent our country. So¡­ Although it is not yet official, expect that I would prepare a reward to all of you¡ªeven if I had to do it personally!" The president said confidently. "President! I would be happy if you can set me up with a date with [Insert name of an actress] instead!" Weyron shouted shamelessly in response. The president simply smirked and said, "Aish¡­ Why are you telling that to me?! Tell that to [Insert name of an actress], young man! You are like a celebrity now. She would know a thing or two about you by now! After all¡­ You have [email protected] to ask her, right?" "Of course!" Weyron shouted confidently. Everyone could only slap their face in response¡ªembarrassed to the President because of Weyron''s Actions. However, contrary to their reaction, the President chuckled and said, "Anyway¡­ I still have a lot of work to do young men and women! I would have to leave first! Thank you for your time and May you bring our country glory to Bearth Online ''Industry''! Good luck and God bless!" Weyron saluted in response while Pedro and everyone else bowed slightly in response as the holographic figure of the President vanished. All of them were barely able to keep the excitement that they have deep inside and were starting to get rowdy¡ªdiscussing the honor that they just obtained for meeting the President and being amongst the representatives of the country in this competition. Thus, Pedro was even barely able to hold his excitement and even challenged Weyron and Team Oran Gutan for a friendly match in the spur of the moment. "Wey¡­ What do you think of a friendly match in this simulated environment? This way¡­ Both sides could go all out¡ªunlike the skirmishes we once had!" Pedro asked with a smirk on his face. Weyron was also pumped up at this moment and reactively said, "Bring it on! I''ll let you taste the power of our Ace!" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "I am looking forward to it!" The rest of the Team ARES followed behind Pedro with an evil smirk on their face. The hype and the fact that they won''t need to hold back¡ªand restrict themselves from killing their opponents, made them shook from excitement as they were guided by Pedro''s father to their respective Simulated Battle Modified VR Boxes. That said, Weyron, Meen, and the rest of the Team Oran Gutan did not waver because they have complete trust in Meen''s skills and their overpowered secret weapon¡ªwhich was not used during their skirmish. "So, do we!" Weyron said with a smirk on his face. Chapter 283: The System Destroying Trump Card! The two Team''s first trials on the simulated battles ended with Team ARES'' victory. Unfortunately, The Kingdom Defense Mode was still unavailable at that time, thus, the two teams had a Direct Combat Mode instead in a simulated open field. It was not an instant victory for Team ARES though. Meen''s non-stop barrage of arrows gave them a difficult time closing the distance between the two teams after being spawned. In fact, if everyone in Team ARES were not moving faster than an ordinary player and they were not wearing decent full-body armors, there was even a chance that one of them¡ªfrom Team ARES, would have been killed as they were just charging towards the location of Team Oran Gutan. Add up the specialized formation that the Team Oran Gutan were testing against Team ARES, they were even able to hold off their defeat for several minutes. Unfortunately, Pedro, Sabrina, and Arvedar specifically targeted Weyron and Meen¡ªkilling the two leaders of Team Oran Gutan before they could even use their ''Frozen Arrow'' trump card. Of course, in the second trial match, Weyron asked Meen to use the ''Frozen Arrow'' at the very start. Consequently, it immediately transformed the green and windy plains into a place that was seemingly buried thousands of meters deep into the ice of Antarctica¡ªjust a few seconds after the match has started. The Holographic Projector even encountered an error as the match was later on concluded by the system as a draw. Well¡­ It was not because all of the players were killed on both sides¡­ In fact, amongst all the players in the simulated area, Pedro and Sabrina were the only ones who were able to survive the blast by reactively using their Magical Energy to protect them. However, the system considered the match as a draw because the battlefield itself was ''essentially'' destroyed by the ''Frozen Arrow''. Of course, Pedro was worried about it¡ªespecially that if the same mechanics or governing rules would be applied on the system that would be used in the competition. That said, Pedro won''t report this to the game developers because it would just reveal the Team Oran Gutan''s "Simulation System Destroying" Trump Card. Besides¡­ It''s not like they don''t have a counter against the ''Frozen Arrow''. In fact, Pedro did not even¡ªin the slightest, tried to stop the arrow from hitting the ground. He, himself, wanted to know how powerful the ''Frozen Arrow'' was, and to what extent can it bring damage to the opponent. It''s just that he failed to calculate that the ''Frozen Arrow'' was so strong to the point that it converted the windy plains into a place submerged in thousands of meters of layers of ice in an instant¡ªthat would even probably take years to be dug in the game. On the other hand, Weyron, Meen, and the players from Team Oran Gutan were also terrified by the power of their secret weapon but were extremely happy¡ªknowing that they have a fighting chance against a seemingly overpowered team like Team ARES. In the end, the simulated battle trial was stopped because of errors in their simulation equipment. Both teams were satisfied with the result of their first trial of the Simulated Battles despite some ups and downs that they encountered along the way. Talia even bugged Weyron afterwards¡ªnot to use the ''Frozen Arrow'' and fight bravely like a man. Of course, Weyron simply shrugged her off in response. Obviously, Weyron can''t fight equally against opponents like Team ARES. If he gave them just a slight chance to attack, it would even be too late for them to even use the ''Frost Arrow''. With the Simulation System unavailable, the two Teams had no choice but to continue their trainings back to the game. However, there were no more skirmishes between the two teams and they were back to training by themselves at this moment. At night, the both team''s opponents were released. Team Oran Gutan''s opponent was a Team composed of VR Streamers from Europe, and their Elimination Match was scheduled in the afternoon the next day. As for Team ARES, their opponent was Team Fuji¡ªone of the two well-known Gaming Organization that were going to participate in the competition from Japan. Pedro, himself, was familiar of this Gaming Organization because it was the guild that was led by the man¡ªwhom he got the ''fake inheritances'' from. Pedro could not help but chuckled and said to himself deep inside, "What kind of matchmaking is this? Matching two bigshots from Asia right of the bat??? Well¡­ It''s not like I am worried that we are going to lose but¡­ I also hoped that there would be a lot of Teams from our server¡ªthat would be able to reach the next round of the competition. That way¡­ The Adventurer''s Guild might get famous and get a lot of attention!" "Anyway¡­ It can''t be helped! Besides¡­ I am also curious to know what that man, Kageyama, did after I killed him in the game!" Pedro smirked mischievously. "We''ll see what they can do, tomorrow morning!" ¡­ April 2, 2031 7:30 AM Bearth Online Stadium Shanghai, China It was so early in the morning but the whole Bearth Online Stadium was already packed with audience. The previously VIP Area was converted into a VR Box Area¡ªwhere the VR Boxes that the two teams would be using were located. The hologram projector that would display the live coverage of the match was still located at the center most area of the arena. The lower part¡ªclose to the hologram projector in the ground would display the map that was randomly generated by the system for each match. While above it, in the air, a hologram projection on a specific point in the battlefield was displayed as directed by the organizers of the competition. That way, the people inside the arena would feel like as if they were inside the simulated battle and were part of it themselves¡ªincreasing the immersion and the thrill that they would feel inside the arena. At this moment, the hosts and analysts started introducing themselves after the opening projection of the competition was displayed. "Glorious morning to everyone! I am Bob, the newb, A VR Streamer who has experienced the most brutal way to die in the game!" A fat man in a suit said whilst waving his hands. Then, he was followed by the man sitting beside him¡ªwho was a good-looking American Host, saying, "I am Rudy Mason, a professional VR Games analyst!" "And I am Dong Li, Chairman of the Bearth Online Game Developer Group!" The old Chinese man beside Rudy Mason, smiled happily whilst waving his hand. Rudy Mason smiled in response and said, "And we would be your commentators for the first match of the first ever, Bearth Online Simulated Battles Competition!" Then, he paused for a second and glanced to Chairman Dong Li and said, "That said¡­ It''s quite nerve-wracking to be commentating beside you Chairman Li!" Chairman Dong Li simply laughed in response and said, "I completely understand how you feel. But, I have to ask you to bear with me for a bit. It''s been one of my life long goals to be able to commentate in a game. And obviously¡­ This is one of the few opportunities I have to do so in my life. Hahaha!" Rudy Mason smiled in response and said, "Well¡­ It is my honor to be able to commentate a match with one of the creators of Bearth Online. I am sure that the other VR game analysts and commentators are all envious of me and Bob!" Bob and Rudy Mason simply smirked afterward as Chairman Dong Li laughed out loud. "Anyway¡­ The Audience¡ªno, the world is already dying to see the very first match! So, shall we call in and introduce the first two teams that would compete for the first Elimination Round Match?" Rudy Mason said as he glanced to Bob and Chairman Dong Li on his sides. Bob exaggerated his ''shake'' on his body, whilst saying, "Let''s go! Everyone''s excited like me!" Chairman Dong Li smiled to the camera and said, "For the first match of the Elimination Round¡­ Two big shots from Asia would go against each other!" Bob smiled and said, "Introducing¡­ From the Land of the Rising Sun! Please welcome, Team Fuji of the Sun Industries!" At this moment, their team logo was displayed in the hologram projector¡ªsimilar to yesterday''s introduction of the participating teams. At the same time, the 18 players from Team Fuji entered the arena through the entrance of the VIP Area¡ªnow the VR Box Area. The Japanese fans¡ªamongst the crowd and the spectators all over the world, erupted in support of Team Fuji and its players. "Their Team Ace¡­ They call him the ''Ent Killer''¡­ The Ice Mage, Ryu!" Bob said in a cool manner. Ryu''s Character was displayed in the holographic projector as he came out of the entrance to the VIP Area. He waved his hands towards the crowd whilst smiling towards them. The Japanese fans erupted in support of Ryu. A few seconds later, Bob continued saying, "And¡­ Their Team Captain! The Rank One VR Player of Japan¡­ The Fearless Sword Master¡­ Kazuto Kageyama!" Kazuto Kageyama walked out from the entrance with a serious look on his face, whilst his character was projected in the holographic projector. The Japanese fans erupted once again as the other spectators and audience started murmuring to each other¡ªintrigued to the identity of the team who was matched with Japan''s front runner in the VR Games Industry. "And that''s your Team Fuji!" Bob said one last time as the Japanese fans erupted in cheers¡ªone last time. Chapter 284: The Wrong Image of a "Pay to Win" Team! At this moment, Chairman Dong Li smirked and said, "Moving on¡­ to their opponent! Introducing¡­ From the Land of a Thousand Islands! Please welcome, Team ARES of the Armaz Electronics Inc.!" Team ARES'' logo was displayed in the hologram projector¡ªsimilar to yesterday''s introduction of the participating teams. At the same time, the 7 players from Team ARES entered the arena through an opposite entrance of the VIP Area. The Filipino fans erupted in support of them, both amongst the audience and the spectators all over the world. Add up the fans of Talia that were cheering for their ''goddess'', the audience was more rowdy compared to when Team Fuji''s 18 players entered. Of course, Talia happily waved her hand as if she was a well-known celebrity. After a few seconds, Chairman Dong Li faked a cough and said, "For their Team Ace¡­ They said you don''t want him to get angry! He''s not Hulk¡­ He''s Bulk!" At this moment, the Filipino fans erupted once again as Lony entered the Arena with a serious look on his face¡ªoccasionally waving his hands along the way. Lony''s fully armored character was displayed by the hologram projector that made some of the audience gasp in awe at his cool armor. "And finally¡­ Their Team Captain¡­ The one and only heir of Armaz Energy International and Armaz Electronics Inc.! The Unfathomable Boss of Team ARES, Captain¡­ Black!" Chairman Dong Li said with a smirk on his face. The Filipino fans erupted once again as some of them stood from their seats. He may not be the most handsome Captain nor a player with a famous reputation like Kazuto Kageyama but¡­ Pedro was the son of the president and owner of the only company from the Philippines that is acquainted in some way with the Game Developers of Bearth Online. It was also probably the reason why even Chairman Dong Li¡ªthe Owner and the President of the Bearth Online Game Developer Group, personally introduced him and his team to this competition. Well¡­ That was only the most probable reason for it. On the other hand, Pedro himself could only force out a smile after being introduced as if he was just a rich young man with a lot of connections because of their family''s company. In fact, some of their opponents from Team Fuji even chuckled¡ªthinking that Team ARES was just a team to temporarily represent Armaz Energy International and Armaz Electronics Inc. at this moment. Well¡­ They were not the only ones who thought so. Even, many amongst the audience in the arena and the spectators/viewers all around the world thought the same thing. The few numbers of players on Team ARES, up to the ''expensive'' looking armors of their Captain and Ace¡­ They were more like a group formed with the closest friends of Pedro¡ªthe heir of the two companies as said by Chairman Dong Li. This, consequently, gave a wrong image to Team ARES as "The most powerful Pay-To-Win Team" that was participating in the competition. Thus, speculations about this matchup started to arise¡ªthat the first match in the competition was between one of the strongest teams, in terms of player experience, in the Asian-Australian Server and one of the strongest teams, in terms of the ''Pay-To-Win'' idea, in the same said server. That is why after Pedro joined the rest of Team ARES, Bob¡ªone of the commentators, bravely asked Chairman Dong Li, "Sir Chairman Dong Li, our audience in the arena and the viewers all over the world are seemingly curious about how these two "bigshot" teams were matched¡ªhere in the elimination round? Did the event organizers purposely made this matchup at the start, or was it pure coincidence that the system arranged?" Chairman Dong Li simply chuckled in response and said, "It was purely a coincidence, because the Separate Autonomous System¡ªthat was being used for the Simulated Matches, was the one that assigned the opponents of each team in the Elimination Round." He paused for a second before saying, "It would be the same for the Inter-Server Playoffs Round! The Autonomous System would always be at play to avoid any biased actions from the organizers. That said¡­ I won''t deny that the arrangement of each match was slightly modified by the event organizers so that we might have some exciting match right off the bat!" "And this match is one of those, Chairman Li?" Rudy Mason asked. Chairman Dong Li simply nodded and smiled towards him in response. "Well¡­ That''s interesting!" Bob interjected with an excited tone. "As a player of Bearth Online, myself¡­ I wonder if being a "Pay to win" player can be good enough to match someone who''s an "expert" on VR Games¡ªnot to mention the Pro VR Leagues that are also mostly Simulated Battles!" Chairman Dong Li simply chuckled in response and said, "We''ll see soon enough!" ¡­ At this moment, Pedro was having his last-second meeting with his players before they enter their own VR Boxes. He clapped his hands to get their full attention and said, "Guys, Guys, Guys! Focus, okay! Remember not to underestimate the enemy, and don''t get swayed by any of their taunts! Most of the time, in games like these, once you lose your temper because of a disadvantageous situation, you''ll get played, toyed, and trashed by the enemy¡ªregardless of whether you are stronger than them!" Pedro paused for a second before saying, "Remember to stay calm and attentive at all times! Always be focused and follow our plans!" Pedro glanced towards Talia and said, "Talia, you can show off¡­ But don''t take the spotlight from Lony no matter what!" Talia smiled in response and made a thumbs up to Pedro. "Good!" Pedro said as he nodded in response. Then, he glanced to everyone else before saying, "Other than that¡­ I want to say have fun but¡­ It''s more exciting if I say¡­ Assume that we are going against Clara and Ragas! SHOW THEM NO MERCY!" "NO MERCY!" Everyone shouted in response¡ªas all of their eyes emanated a strong killing intent. All of them were as calm as the wind on a hot sunny day on the plains. Even the event personnel¡ªmanaging their VR Boxes, shivered from the tense aura that they exerted as everyone went to their own VR Boxes. On the other hand, the crowd erupted as the two opposing teams entered their VR Boxes and started logging into their Simulated Battle Accounts. [Welcome to Bearth Online: Simulated Battle System!] [Logging in to Synced Bearth Online Character Account¡­] [Log in, Complete!] [Transferring Player Black_ARES_ArmazEnergyInternational to Team ARES Lobby! Please wait!] ¡­ A few seconds later, Pedro and his teammates materialized in an empty room as their fully armored characters were also displayed in the holographic projection in the arena. "Whoa!" Bob could not help but gasp together with the audience in the arena. Obtaining a decent sword¡ªother than the Newbie Sword, was already difficult at these moments of the game. It was very hard for common players and even some streamers to earn coins¡ªwhat much more weapons, armors, and such. That is why most of the people who were already able to play Bearth Online, knew that the full armor set of Pedro and Lony was already an ''overkill'' on the side of Team ARES. They had a hunch that the two sets that Pedro and Lony were wearing, cost the Team ARES most of its budget¡ªthe reason why they can only bring a small team at the competition with only even Mathew as their Pro VR Player. Upon seeing that the rest of the Team ARES with the same full armor set and even matching weapons, it was only natural for them to be amazed by the very equipment of Team ARES. "It looks like we have underestimated Team ARES too much with their capability to spend money for the game!" Rudy Mason chuckled in response to Bob''s reaction. Chairman Dong Li laughed lightly in response and said, "Sometimes, if you want to win and stand on top¡­ You need to take the necessary risks¡ªincluding spending money! That aside¡­ I am impressed with Team ARES! They really prepared well for this competition and are seriously considering this competition!" "But if that was the case, Chairman Li! Why would they not place player Neem and the reserves of Team Oran Gutan to fill their team?" Rudy Mason asked. "I mean¡­ They should at the least fill all the 20 slots within a team if they are really considering winning the competition." "Who knows?" Chairman Dong Li said with a smirk on his face. "It must have been part of their plan or something¡­ What I only know is that¡­ You won''t equip all of your men with good armors and stuff just to flaunt your money to the world! Even Mr. Jon Armaz of the Armaz Energy International is not like that when I met him a few days ago." "Interesting¡­" Rudy Mason nodded in response. Then, he stared at the characters of Team ARES that were projected by the hologram, and said, "I can''t wait to see them fight in actual!" At this moment, Bob was able to gather himself once again and said, "This Team ARES is a bit overkill! A few days ago, I learned that the Adventurer''s Guild, which was quickly being established by the NPCs all over the Asian-Australian Region, was selling a Silver Sword for two gold coins each! Although the sword and the armors of Team ARES are not as elegant as the Silver Sword¡­ I assume that each piece of their equipment would cost tens of silver coins at the least! And by basic mathematics¡­ It is safe to assume that Team ARES spent tens of gold coins on their armor alone! That¡­ To me, as a player¡ªis something that I could only dream of having! Truly Terrifying! You can''t underestimate the power of Pay to Win Players!" The Audience in the arena and the viewers all over the world could only nod in agreement to Bob¡ªwho are mostly also players of Bearth Online. Fortunately, the Battle Mode was about to be selected¡ªallowing Rudy Mason to take over, saying, "Well¡­ We will all find our answers to the mystery of the two big teams from Asia as the match is about to begin! Again¡­ Team Fuji versus Team ARES! Who would move forward to the next stage of the competition and who would go home? Let''s all find out in the first Bearth Online Simulated Battle Competition!" Everyone erupted in cheers as the hologram projected the system randomly generating an environment similar to Bearth Online. [Game Mode: Kingdom Defense!] [Map: Mountain Ridge and Open Plains!] ¡­ [Tradean Empire: Team ARES] [Military: 10,000 NPC Soldiers] [Population: 100,000 NPC Civilians] [King: Black_ARES_ArmazEnergyInternational] (AN: Pedro) [Queen: White_ARES_ArmazEnergyInternational] (Author''s Note: Obviously Sabrina is white. xD) [ACE: Bulk_ARES_ArmazEnergyInternational] (AN: Lony) [Jack: Shawarma_ARES_ArmazEnergyInternational] (AN: Talia) ¡­ [Defacto Kingdom: Team Fuji] [Military: 5,000 NPC Soldiers] [Population: 200,000 NPC Civilians] [King: Kageyama.TeamFuji.SunIndustries] [Queen: Mina.TeamFuji.SunIndustries] [ACE: Ryu.TeamFuji.SunIndustries] [Jack: Shino.TeamFuji.SunIndustries] ¡­ [Teleporting Players to the Simulated Area in 3!] [Teleporting Players to the Simulated Area in 2!] [Teleporting Players to the Simulated Area in 1!] Chapter 285: Their First Professional Match! The moment that the counter ended, everyone from Team ARES materialized inside the throne room of the said Tradean Empire. Other than everyone from their team, there were also fully armored NPCs who were bowing towards Pedro¡ªtheir King in that simulated scenario. And¡­ They did not dare lift their heads without his command. Thus, Pedro used this chance to scan through the details of the Simulated Battle and the objectives he needed to accomplish to win the match. [Tradean Empire: Team ARES] [Military: 10,000 NPC Soldiers] [Population: 100,000 NPC Civilians] [Match Objectives] -Conquer Enemy Stronghold or Annihilate the Opposing force! [Objective Completion Reward: Win the Match!] ¡­ Pedro simply waved his hand to the right¡ªconsequently closing his player interface. Then, he sighed and said, "Raise your heads, brave and loyal warriors of Tradean! I, your King, wants to know the situation we are in?!" "Yes, your majesty!" The Empire Soldiers, Warriors, and Knights lift their heads as a red armored man with thick brown hair on his face stepped forward. The man said, "We got the news that the Defacto Kingdom will launch a full-scale attack to your highness'' lands! They have prepared 5,000 soldiers to attack us by surprise! Luckily, our spies were able to warn us just several hours ago! We already have alerted the whole Empire and have gathered around 1,000 of our men and stationed them outside the walls!" "We have also sent messengers to call our remaining troops back¡ªthat are hunting monsters in the Tradean Ravine! Their number was around 9,000 and is enough for us to single-handedly crush the enemy! However¡­ It would take them two to three hours to return. And I fear that if the Defacto Kingdom launches an attack now¡­ Forgive me, your majesty, but¡­ There''s only a slim chance for us to win the battle!" The man explained to Pedro with a worried tone. Pedro frowned in response and asked, "How many soldiers are guarding the gates?" The man could only force out a smile and said, "Embarrassingly¡­ There are only 10 Soldiers assigned on each of the four gates, your majesty! It was supposed to be around 50 soldiers but because of the dire of the situation, we assigned 40 from each gate to the main force!" Pedro simply sighed and shook his head in response. Then, he glanced to Talia and Lony, while saying, "Bulk, Shawarma follow me! I will personally lead the thousand men to the battlefield!" The Empire Soldiers, Knights, and Warriors could only stare towards Pedro in response as Lony and Talia simply nodded with a mischievous smirk in response. "But your majesty¡­" The man with the red armor wanted to argue. But Pedro simply glared towards him and said, "I know your worries! But with my lead¡­ We can rally the thousand soldiers and make them fight courageously for the empire! This way, we can buy some time for the reinforcements to arrive and even prepare themselves for the fight!" The red armored man wanted to argue but Pedro spoke once again before he could utter a word, saying, "I, the King of Tradean Empire, commands you¡ªthe strongest warriors, soldiers, and knights of the Empire, to be the shield of the Empire''s Walls in my absence! My Queen, White¡ªtogether with my Advisor, Chicken Burger (AN: this is Mathew), would gain an equivalent authority as mine when it comes to decisions that need my approval!" "Now¡­ Arrange my horse and prepare the thousand men to leave!" Pedro said one last time that made every NPC forced out a smile in response. At this moment, a man with the red armor knelt towards Pedro and said, "Your highness¡­ Forgive me for my selfish request but¡­ Please allow me to join you in the battle! As the General of Empire''s Soldiers, I should be beside your majesty''s side at the least!" At first, Pedro was hesitant. If he takes all the thousand men¡ªincluding the ''capable'' soldiers, with him, he was afraid that there would be no one to defend the Kingdom if the enemy attacks even with a small diversion force. Although Sabrina, Mathew, Arvee, Roval, Loren, and Aldo would be left on their stronghold, he still finds it risky to leave the defense of an entire stronghold to themselves. That is why Pedro wanted to leave the strongest soldiers behind. This way, the rest of the Team ARES would have a second line of defense that would eliminate threats or enemies that are able to pass through the player''s defenses. But since he wanted to utilize the chance to strike first and cause disturbance on the opposing force¡ªmaking them realize the fact that their "plans" were seen through by their enemy, Pedro had no choice but to agree since it was only one of the tens of soldiers, warriors, and knights inside the throne room. Thus, Pedro was assured that even if he took the General of the soldiers with him, the rest of the Team ARES would still have backups with them. After a few seconds, Pedro simply sighed and said, "Hurry and Prepare the Soldiers, General! We are charging to the Defacto Kingdom before they would even be able to leave their territory! I want to deliberately tell them that we were able to see to their plans and confuse their leaders¡ªto buy enough time for our reinforcements to arrive!" "Yes, your highness!" The General of the Soldiers said as he bowed one last time to Pedro before rushing out of the throne room. At this moment, Pedro simply glanced at all of the NPCs and the rest of Team ARES, and said, "I leave the Empire''s Defense in your hands!" Then, he glanced to Lony and Talia, and said, "Bulk, Shawarma, Let''s go!" Lony and Talia simply nodded in response as they follow Pedro¡ªleaving the throne room. "Glory to the Tradean Empire!" The NPCs shouted as they knelt down and bowed towards Pedro¡ªwho just left the room. Then, a few seconds after Pedro left, they stood before kneeling and bowing towards Sabrina, while saying, "As you command, your highness!" "Err¡­" Sabrina could only force out a smile in response as she glanced towards Mathew¡ªas if she was asking him what does she need to do next. Mathew could only hopelessly shake his head in response as he takes over the leadership of their defensive force. He said, "Before anything else, can someone tell me which direction is the Defacto Kingdom located?" "It is towards the East of the Empire, Sire!" A man said whilst kneeling and bowing¡ªnot even daring to lift his head. Mathew simply nodded in response and said, "What about the Tradean Ravine?" "It''s located at the North West of the Empire, Sire!" The same man said in response. "Are there any other threats around the Empire?" Mathew asked. "There are none, other than those two, Sire!" Mathew simply nodded in response and said, "Divide yourselves into five groups! Your highness, Queen White, would lead a group and would be the ones to defend the Eastern Gate! I would lead a group and would defend the Western Gate! Bhor and Yellow would lead a group and defend the North! Crow would lead a group and defend the South! While Pink would remain in the palace and defend it! We, the four groups that would defend the gates, would immediately depart as soon as you organize yourselves! Please hurry in doing so! We can''t leave 10 soldiers guarding each gate of the Empire!" Hopeless, the best of the best Kingdom Soldiers, Warriors, and Knights organized themselves based on which group composition would be the most effective in defending the four gates of the Empire. Knowing that the threats from the Defacto Kingdom would come from the East, Mathew assigned Sabrina¡ªthe second most powerful player on their team, to defend that critical side. Obviously, most of their enemies would be attacking from that direction. With their reinforcements coming from the North West, Mathew assigned Roval (Bhor) and Aldo (Yellow) to the Northern Gate. It was the side that could be least threatened because even a diversion group would be easily stopped in the assumption that they would encounter the reinforcements coming from the North West along the way. Arvee (Crow) was assigned to the South because it was the second most critical side following the Eastern Gate. There would definitely Diversion Groups from the Defacto Kingdom that would attack the South of the Tradean Empire. And since the reinforcements of the Tradean Empire would come from the North West, there was no possibility that the reinforcements would be able to slow and weaken the Diversion Forces aiming for the Southern Gate of the Empire. And since Arvee was the fourth-strongest on their team¡ªfollowing Mathew himself, it was only expected for him to be assigned to defend the Southern Gate of the Empire. Lastly, Mathew stationed himself to the Western Gate since it was the side that would play a slightly important part in their defensive strategy. The Western Gate is the first side of the Empire that would definitely get in contact with the majority of the Reinforcement force. Since Mathew was acting as their tactician, it was ideal for him to remain on the western gate so that he could immediately organize them as soon as they arrive. At the same time, since he was the third strongest player on their team, it was only to be expected that he would be stationed at the opposite side¡ªwhere Sabrina was defending. That way, they would be assured that both halves of the Empire are well defended under the two of them. On the other hand, Loren (Pink) was supposed to be grouped with Aldo and Roval. However, since it was a Kingdom Defense mode, there must be at least someone from their team to remain and defend the castle or the palace of their Empire. After all, those were the very core or heart of an Empire that depicts the glory of its leader. And Loren was stationed to defend the Core of the Empire in case someone would be able to sneak in from the other defender''s detection. Well¡­ There was nothing bad with being extra careful. Chapter 286: Lony and Talias Attack! [WARNING TO ALL: Gore Scene Alert! This chapter contains scenes that are disturbing for the general audience. It contains scenes that may not be suitable for young audiences or for those who are eating as of this moment. Consider yourself warned before reading this.] At this moment, Pedro was riding a black warhorse with golden plates to protect it. Beside him were the NPC General, Lony, and Talia¡ªwho were riding their own brown warhorse with silver plates protecting its head, neck, and body. Lony and Talia were supposed to be unusual with riding a horse since they were even able to ride one in the actual game. However, they were able to experience riding a Dragon¡ªwhich was more ''thrilling'' than just riding a horse. So, the two of them did not have that much trouble riding the war horses. Behind the four of them were the flag bearer NPCs of the Tradean Empire that were also riding a warhorse with silver plates in it. And as they rushed out of the Empire, the people that they pass through¡ªimmediately stops what they were doing before respectfully bowing towards them. Only when their figure is gone from their sights, do they lift their heads and start murmuring to each other¡ªgossiping about the King personally joining a battle. Most of them are worried about the safety of the King¡ªwhen they only saw several men coming with him. Well¡­ Pedro was not even worried about anything. He was confident and capable enough to even head to the battlefield by himself. Add up Talia, Lony, and the NPCs¡­ It was only a matter of time before their enemy gets defeated. "A straightforward attack would disrupt the enemy lines and make their leaders rethink their plans of attack! With that¡­ It''s safe to assume that we would be able to buy sufficient time before the reinforcements arrive!" Pedro said confidently. "Then¡­ Should we use the Shielder''s Formation?!" The General of the soldiers of the Tradean Empire asked. Pedro simply nodded in response and said, "Use whatever formation you think is best for the survival of the soldiers, General! What is important is that we are able to hold off the majority of the enemy''s force until the reinforcement comes!" "As you command, your highness!" The General said respectfully. At this moment, Pedro had just exited the eastern gates of the Tradean Empire. The Soldiers Guarding the Eastern Gate, stood in attention, as horns were blown above the walls¡ªsignifying the appearance of the King, himself. The thousands of soldiers waiting outside the Eastern Gate¡ªstood in attention, as they watch Pedro head at their front, together with their General. "Glory to the Tradean Empire!" The Soldiers shouted in unison as Pedro nodded in satisfaction while stopping his horse and glancing back at all of the soldiers. "Brave Men of the Tradean Empire! The shameless Defacto Kingdom dares to threaten our peaceful lives! They aim to attack our lands¡­ Our family¡­ Our loved ones, while most of our comrades are busy fighting monsters for us! They have prepared Five thousand men to attack us¡ªthinking that we are WEAK and that WE WOULD EVEN ALLOW THEM TO HURT AND DESTROY EVERYTHING WE HAVE!" Pedro angrily stated in front of all of the soldiers. "What they don''t know is that¡­ Although we are outnumbered by them¡­ We are STRONG! WE ARE BRAVE! AND WE WILL NOT FALTER WHEN IT COMES TO DEFENDING SOMETHING PRECIOUS TO US!" Pedro angrily said that made the hearts of the soldiers burn with fury. "So¡­ Brave Men of the Tradean Empire! Lift your weapons! AND FOLLOW ME TO SLAY THOSE [email protected]@RDS!" Pedro said as he drew his black sword and raised it in the air to rally the hearts of the soldiers. "For the Glory of the Tradean Empire!" "For the Glory of the Tradean Empire!" The thousand soldiers cried in response as Pedro led their march towards the Defacto Kingdom. Lony and Talia simply followed behind him as the NPC General took over the management of the soldiers¡ªmaking them march in unison like an organized army. After an hour of continuous advance, the Defacto Kingdom and its five thousand men were already insight of Pedro and his thousand men. Unfortunately for the enemy, the opposing leaders from Team Fuji were just able to learn about the sudden appearance of a seemingly Advance Force on the side of Team ARES. That said, before they could even mock them for their "suicidal" attempt to halt their larger force, two amongst the thousand men of Pedro started charging towards them in a warhorse. "Go! Horsey, Go!" Talia shouted as she tapped the sides of her horse with her legs¡ªmaking it run as fast as it can towards the enemies. At this moment, Lony glanced to Talia and said, "How should we deal with the enemies, Little Shawarma?" Talia frowned in response and said, "Don''t call me little Shawarma, Elder Brother Bulk! And¡­ Do you even need to ask that to me? Isn''t it obvious that we aim for their leader quickly?" "You are right¡­ But what if they are hiding amongst these five thousand soldiers?" Lony asked whilst forcing out a smile. "Then¡­ Let''s just kill all of them!" Talia chuckled. Lony simply smirked in response and said, "Sounds good to me!" When Lony and Talia were just tens of meters away from the first line of their enemy. They halted their war horses and hopped down. This made the enemy soldiers burst into laughter, mistaking Lony and Talia for some peace talk representative that the Tradean Empire sent to them. Of course, knowing that they already have the advantage over Tradean Empire, the soldiers from the Defacto Kingdom acted arrogantly¡ªgiving Talia and Lony enough time to leave their horses and approach them. "It seems like they mistook us for ambassadors or peace talkers¡­" Lony said whilst forcing out a smile. Talia simply lowered the visor of her helm whilst retaining the mischievous smile on her face. She was glaring at the soldiers like a hungry wolf on a chicken farm. She said, "You better hunt now, Mr. Ace¡­ Or else, I might steal your prey!" Lony could only force out a smile in response as he lowers the visor of his helm. Then, he said, "Then¡­ I''d be going first!" Lony lunged forward¡ªcharging towards the soldiers. And when he was two meters away from his first target, Lony drew his sword and used the momentum of his draw to slice the soldier''s neck. His first target''s head was immediately separated from its body, stunning the other soldiers in response. But before anyone could even react, several more heads started falling into the ground as the majority of the Defacto Kingdom Soldiers lost their vision of Lony and Talia''s whereabouts. Only those who were around Lony and Talia were the only soldiers who were able to know about their location. But before they could even swing their weapons nor scream to inform others of their location, the heads of the soldiers were separated from the rest of their body¡ªhindering them from doing so. That said, there was still a limit with Lony and Talia''s restricted mode. Eventually, soldiers were able to cry, scream, or even just gasp before they were mercilessly eliminated. There were also soldiers who were fortunate to be distant enough from the two¡ªallowing them to be able to run away from them. This, in turn, started to make a commotion amongst the Defacto Kingdom''s Soldiers as they unintentionally create a space between them and the duo¡ªbecause of running away from them due to fear. "This is not good!" Lony said whilst continuously slicing multiple targets at once. "Gaps are getting bigger as we advance! Should we increase the pace a little more?" "No! We can''t! You''d be going above your restriction if you do that, Elder Brother Bulk!" Talia said with a frown on her face. "Then what should we do?" Lony asked as he was starting to get troubled by the gaps between them and their next targets. "I have a plan!" Talia said with a smirk on her face. In the next second, she grabbed a soldier''s falling head and threw it up in the air. With her quicker movement ability compared to ordinary players and NPCs, she was able to make it rain of their enemies'' heads¡ªconsequently slowing the soldiers who were running away from them. Those soldiers who were not able to notice them beforehand could only throw up as juices and meat fall to them. Unfortunately for them, their heads went flying too, a few seconds later. On the other hand, Lony and Talia seemed unaffected as they continuously advance towards their enemy. Of course, they got sprayed by the different liquids in the air. But¡­ They could not care less because they experience a lot more of a hell than that. "I am starting to get anxious, little Shawarma!" Lony said whilst forcing out a smile. "Things are going to smooth according to our plans! We haven''t even encountered any retaliation or response from Team Fuji! It''s either they are completely dazed from the situation that they were in, or¡­ We are playing right into their plans!" Talia simply sighed in response, and said coldly, "Don''t worry! I got your back!" Chapter 287: Abducting the Enemys Leader! [WARNING: Slightly disturbing scenes ahead. :)] At this moment, inside the Defacto Kingdom''s Royal Castle, two men were talking to each other with smirks on their faces. "Kageyama-san, our men have already started the ''operation''! It''s only a matter of time before we win this match!" A man said as his smirk was not even able to hide the special fangs amongst his teeth. The man referred to as Kageyama simply smirked in response and said, "No wonder I can smell blood even from here! How many were we able to ''convert'' so far, Ryu?" The man referred to as Ryu simply chuckled in response and said, "Around Twenty Thousand Civilians¡­ All thanks to the formidable NPCs we ''converted'' in the first batch! They were able to obey our commands and even exceed what we initially expected. In my estimate¡­ We''d have a full two hundred thousand force in a few hours! Even if Team ARES'' NPC reinforcement arrives, they won''t stand a chance against our hundred thousand force! Hahahaha!" Kazuto Kageyama simply smirked in response. However, before they could even celebrate any further, an NPC Soldier rushed through the Throne Room''s door and said, "Forgive me, your highness¡­ For barging in without warning! I would like to report to you that Two Thousand of our men had already fallen from the sudden attack of the enemy!" "What?! What happened? Why didn''t you report to us, the moment the enemy charged to our troops?! Who''s leading the fight right now?" Ryu asked angrily to the NPC. The NPC soldier could only shake in fear and said, "C-Currently¡­ T-There''s none, your highness! We were unable to locate any of the Generals at this moment! S-So, I headed immediately to your majesty to inform him about this matter!" Ryu was about to scold the NPC Soldier but Kazuto Kageyama stopped him by placing his hands above his shoulder. Then, Kazuto Kageyama nodded towards Ryu as if saying ''Let me handle this!''. Ryu could only exhale heavily in response as he let Kazuto Kageyama took control of the situation. "How many men did the Tradean Empire bring? I thought that they only have around a thousand men? How did we lose Two Thousand men over a Thousand Men? Even without the Generals¡­ I doubt that our men would lose that easily?" Kazuto Kageyama asked calmly. The NPC Soldier could only force out a smile and said, "T-There were only two heavily armored men! A-A-And they are even stronger than the Generals!" "What? Only Two Men?!" Ryu shouted in response. "There are Five Thousand Soldiers and you can''t even handle TWO MEN? Even if they are stronger than the Generals, isn''t it too much for Five Thousand People to lose against only two?" "Two is more than enough to conquer a Kingdom!" A man said in a mocking tone. The NPC Soldier, Ryu, and Kazuto Kageyama could only glare at the figure of two fully armored soldiers that entered the Throne Room. It was no other than Lony and Talia. "You are¡­" Before Ryu could even finish his words, blood spurted all over his face. At this moment, Kazuto Kageyama had lost his left hand to defend Ryu from Talia''s attack. Of course, Talia did not stop from her attacks. She kept aiming for the still dazed Ryu but Kazuto Kageyama was, for some reason, able to parry her attacks with the sharp nails on his remaining hands. "Get back to yourself and attack, you [email protected] @ss!" Kazuto Kageyama shouted to Ryu. However, before Ryu was even able to move an inch from where he was standing, he suddenly finds himself sliding down into the ground. Blood spurt everywhere as his two limbs were separated from the rest of his body. Fortunately, for some reason, the cut on his leg healed almost instantly just to stop the bleeding. It was similar to Kazuto Kageyama''s hand that was sliced earlier. Lony could not help but to whistle in response and said, "What a terrifying regeneration ability! Are you guys aliens or what? Well¡­ We will know sooner or later! After all, it would be incredibly fun to play with people who have great regenerative ability!" At this moment, Talia was able to bait Kageyama Kazuto into her faint¡ªconsequently allowing her to take his limbs off too. Then, she said, "Hehehe¡­ Elder Brother Bulk, I want to join the fun too¡­ I am good at playing with such people too! There are a lot of stuff I want to do¡ªlike in the movies!" Assuming that Talia would be more brutal than him, Lony could not help but to force out a smile out of pity to Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu. Then, he could only hopelessly say, "Do as you wish! Just remember that we only have a limited time to have some fun!" "Hehehe¡­ You worry too much! You worry too much, Elder Brother Bulk!" Talia said with an excited smirk on her face. "Crack!" At this moment, Talia and Lony twisted the arms of Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu like a knot behind their back in unison. The two men cried in pain as their broken bones healed in an instant¡ªseemingly permanently locking their hands together. And before Talia could start her fun, she glanced to the NPC Soldier before asking Lony, "Elder Brother Bulk, what should we do with mister soldier?" Lony simply smirked in response and said, "Leave him be¡­ We need someone to tell their other men about their King''s whereabouts!" Then, Lony glanced to the NPC Soldier and said, "Tell all your people that your King is with us! We''ll bring them to the Tradean Empire and would wait for all of your people to surrender!" Despite Lony and Talia sparing the life of that NPC Soldier, that NPC Soldier glared at them as if he wanted to tear them into shreds. However, because their King and their Advisor were captured, he could not help but hopelessly watch them in response. "Do as we demand¡­ Or you won''t even be able to hear another word from your King!" Lony said as he and Talia left with their hostages. After a few seconds, the NPC Soldier mustered all of his courage and decided to went after Lony and Talia. However, they were nowhere to be found when he left the throne room. The NPC Soldier could not help but slam the nearest wall out of anger. He grumbled, "Sh1t! Sh1t! Sh1t! Why does it have to be the King and the Great Advisor!" Minutes later, the other players from Team Fuji, together with some of the NPC Generals from the Defacto Kingdom, arrived back at the Kingdom''s Royal Castle. Unfortunately, the NPC Soldier was the only person left alive within the vicinity of the Kingdom''s Royal Castle. "Where''s the King? And¡­ his Advisor, Soldier?" An NPC General asked. The NPC Solider could only speak in a weak and depressed voice, saying, "The soldiers from the Tradean Empire took them and said that¡­ If we want his majesty and his highness alive¡­ We must surrender to the Tradean Empire! F-Forgive me for not being able to stop the enemy, General!" The NPC General could not help but grip his hands tightly to the point that his veins seemed like it was about to pop. And out of anger, the NPC General separated the NPC Soldier''s head from his body¡ªkilling the NPC Soldier instantly. "What should we do, General?" A player from Team Fuji asked. After a few seconds, the NPC General exhaled heavily and said, "We''ll play with the Tradean [email protected]@RDS'' GAME! Besides¡­ We have already ''converted'' the majority of our civilians! We''ll fake our surrender before we wreak havoc to their lands!" ¡­ At this moment, Pedro, Lony, Talia, their thousand unscratched men, and their hostages were on their way back to the Tradean Empire. "Expert Cap¡­ Are we really going to keep these two alive? I mean¡­ It''s already obvious what their plan was!" Talia asked whilst lazily dragging Kageyama Kazuto with her. "Yeah! I need to talk something important with them." Pedro said with a smile on his face. Then, he added, saying, "We just need to head back before the remaining members of their team counterattacks! It would be a tad bit troublesome if we would be the only ones ending up fighting. They are quite annoying than you thought they would be!" "How will you know if you did not even try to fight them?" Talia said, seemingly wanting to face the rest of the Team Fuji and the Defacto Kingdom instead. Pedro simply shook his head in response and said, "Why would we even need to try and fight them¡ªjust to know they are annoying? Aren''t bugs annoying enough for you? They are just of the same case, Little Sha!" "Asdghjkl!" Talia grumbled in response. Lony and Pedro could only shake their heads and force out a smile in response. Then, Pedro murmured to himself, saying, "I should not have sent her into the front line!" Chapter 288: The Modern Version of Trial by Fire! At this moment, in the arena, the people were already in eruption as Lony and Talia''s brutal annihilation of the overwhelming 5000 men NPC army in just minutes become a hot topic across the whole world. Even the three hosts for the game''s live coverage were at loss for words¡ªnot expecting that it would only take two men to destroy the NPC army of Team Fuji. "Here I thought that Team ARES is going for a suicide attack¡ªto buy time before their main force to arrive¡­ Who would have thought that they actually only need two men to wipe the opposing NPC force, and even ABDUCT the enemy team''s leaders?!" Rudy Mason said¡ªafter he notices the Live Coverage Director frantically waving towards them as if saying to them to say something. Then, Rudy Mason glanced to Commentator Bob and asked, "What can you say about what Team ARES did, Bob? I mean¡­ I just¡ªfor me, I am just speechless! Literally speechless! It is my first time seeing someone single-handedly won on a 2 versus 5000 fight, but with the two-person winning at the end! Just ridiculous!" Commentator Bob shook his head and even slapped his face¡ªprobably thinking whether he was dreaming or not. He said, "I am not dreaming, right?" Commentator Rudy Mason and Chairman Dong Li could only glance at him and laugh in response. Then, after a few seconds, Commentator Rudy Mason slapped the back of Commentator Bob and said, "If that hurts¡­ Then, you are wide awake, brother!" "It does¡­ a bit!" Commentator Bob said as he glanced at the two men beside him. Then, he asked, "Then¡­ How were two men able to kill 5000 men in just minutes?! I mean¡­ Those 5000 men are intelligent and strong creatures¡ªwho are not like those monsters that just charge out of no reason! Perhaps¡­ There''s a difference between the simulated games and the actual game, Chairman?" Chairman Dong Li simply shook his head and said, "Everything in the game is similar to what is in the simulated games. The only difference is that the scenarios on the Simulated Games are randomly generated by the system. It does not automatically reflect any actual ongoing scenarios or events in the actual game itself." Then, Chairman Dong Li glanced to Commentator Bob and said, "And¡­ You are right, Mr. Bob! Those NPCs were no joke! Every single player of Bearth Online probably thinks the same! But for those who are yet to play the game¡­ You can imagine each one of the 5000 men as a random person who can easily swing a meter-long iron pipe at the least!" "And¡­ Player Bulk and Player Shawarma were so terrifying¡ªfor them to make it look so easy taking down 5000 men in just MINUTES! In Just Minutes!" Commentator Bob said whilst forcing out a smile. Then, he added saying, "They took care of their enemies too fast as if they used a Minigun or a machine gun to defeat them! Just truly terrifying!" Chairman Dong Li could not help but nod in agreement with what Commentator Bob said. On the other hand, Commentator Rudy Mason interjected so that the atmosphere in the live coverage would not be awkward once again. He glanced to Commentator Bob and asked, "Bob¡­ If you were in Player Shawarma or Player Bulk''s position, how many NPCs could you kill?" Commentator Bob could only force out a smile in response. Then, he shook his head while saying, "With my current equipment in the game¡­ None!!! I couldn''t even handle two wild wolves at once! How am I even going to win against a more intellectual opponent?" "What if you have the same equipment and weapon with the players of Team ARES?" Commentator Rudy Mason asked in response. Commentator Bob simply shrugged his shoulders in response and said, "Who knows? We don''t have any information about Team ARES'' equipment and weapon! If the reason for Player Bulk and Player Shawarma''s strength was on their equipment and weapons, then¡­ There''s probably a chance for me to be able to take tens of the opposing NPCs. But¡­ If their strength was not because of their equipment and weapons¡­ Then, I won''t be able to kill¡ªeven a single NPC!" "Hooo¡­ Those are some questions we need to ask the players from Team ARES! Else¡­ I doubt that anyone of us would be able to sleep tonight after witnessing such an incredible feat!" Commentator Rudy Mason said as the live coverage was about to show some ads. But before the director of the program could do so, Chairman Dong Li interjected into the conversation, saying, "And I would like to say something to everyone once and for all! There are no hacks nor cheats in Bearth Online or even in the Simulated Battles! In fact, even the big countries are asking me as to what kind of system we were using¡ªthat even their best hackers could not infiltrate the system for some reason. So¡­ Rest assured that everything on Bearth Online and the simulated games is fair and unbiasedly ruled by our system!" "That''s reassuring, Chairman!" Commentator Bob said in response. Then, he added, asking, "But¡­ Did the Bearth Online Developers give some kind of special items to the affiliate teams like Team ARES, Chairman?" Chairman Dong Li could only stare towards Commentator Bob as if he was saying, ''Are you really asking me that?''. Then, after a few seconds, Chairman Dong Li simply sighed in response and said, "As I just said¡­ Everything is ruled by the system! Even, I, the Chairman of Bearth Online Game Developer Group, can only make minimal changes to the game. And mostly¡­ It has something to do with the Player Interface or the Reward System of the main game. Other than that¡­ Everything is handled by the A.I.!" "Less human intervention¡­ Less biased influences into the game! Right, Chairman Li?" Commentator Rudy Mason interjected with a smile. Chairman Dong Li simply nodded in response as the viewers all over the world erupted with ridicule, laughter, and mocks on Commentator Bob for ''digging his own grave''. User9182929: Lolololol! Commentator Bob has B@lls of steel! I don''t know whether he''s an idiot or was it just all part of his script! User8762345: Kekeke! A former viewer of Commentator Bob''s live streams here! And all I can say is that¡­ Commentator Bob is a confirmed Id1ot! User7894329: Idiot +1 User7543988: Idiot +2 ¡­ Back into the game, Pedro, together with all of his NPC force, was able to return to their stronghold. However, other than Talia, Lony, and himself, everyone else remained inside the closed gates of the Tradean Empire. At the same time, he ordered the messengers to revoke his request for assistance from the 9,000 men since they were able to take care of the 5,000 soldiers of the opposing force and was just waiting for the Defacto Kingdom''s residents to surrender. Well¡­ Fortunately, the reinforcements were just halfway back to the Tradean Empire stronghold. And since a high-ranking soldier was even able to send a message to the rest of the reinforcement troops, they were able to immediately return back to the Tradean Ravine to fight the waves of monsters charging through that area. On the other hand, Pedro simply waited with Lony and Talia¡ªknowing that their win is already in the bag for them to take home! "You should have allowed us to attack the remaining forces of Team Fuji instead, Expert Cap!" Talia grumbled to Pedro. Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "Relax, Shawarma! It would even be difficult for you to find the other 18 members of Team Fuji amongst the 200,000 NPC of Defacto Kingdom! So¡­ It''s ideal and faster to make them surrender instead¡ªto win the game." Talia could only sigh in response and said, "I hope that the next battle would be combat related, Expert Cap! I did not expect it to be more fun fighting against capable NPCs!" Pedro simply smirked in response. Soon, the 200,000 NPCs under the Defacto Kingdom and the remaining players from Team Fuji arrived with robes, make-do cloths, and linens covering every inch of their body from the Sun. However¡­ Contrary to the demoralized state that everyone had expected of them¡­ All of the NPCs from Defacto Kingdom and the 18 players from Team Fuji stared daggers towards Pedro, Lony, and Talia¡ªwho had Player Ryu and Player Kazuto Kageyama in front of them. Pedro simply smirked in response as he drew his sword with his right hand. Then, he placed his left hand on Lony''s shoulder while asking, "Bulk¡­ You planted the ABs as I instructed, right?" Lony nodded in response while saying, "Yes, Cap!" Pedro simply smirked in response before slicing his sword¡ªseparating the head of Player Ryu from his Body in the next second. Then, Pedro said, "Good! Because it seems like my hunch was correct! Team Fuji¡ªno! The Defacto Kingdom won''t go down without a fight!" And before the remaining players from Team Fuji, nor the NPCs from the Defacto Kingdom could react, Pedro swung his sword once again¡ªseparating the head of Kazuto Kageyama from his body and killing him at that instant. Then, Pedro exhaled heavily and said, "It''s time to end this war! Let''s show everyone¡­ The Modern Version of Trial by Fire!" Chapter 289: 4 Versus 200,000+ Pedro clapped twice¡ªconsequently making the temperature to suddenly rise. This, in turn, made the ground dry. Cracks started to appear as if it was the hottest moment of summer, while the green grass starts to melt, before emitting a white smoke around them. The 200,000 NPCs from the Defacto Kingdom and the remaining players from Team Fuji start to panic as their robes start to burn. That said, everyone remained unaffected physically by the intense heat. That is why Pedro and his men were able to remain calm at this unusual and uncomfortable moment. Pedro smirked and said, "It''s time!" He glanced to Lony and Talia, commanding, "Bulk, take the north! Shawarma, you go to the south! Make sure that none of them would be able to escape from our trap! I''ll take the front and face them head-on!" "Yes, Captain!" "Yes, Expert Cap!" Lony and Talia said in unison before leaving in the next second. Right after Lony and Talia left, their enemies hopelessly removed the cloths covering them while charging towards Pedro and the Eastern Gate of the Tradean Empire. Unfortunately... The moment that the Ball of Fire shined through their skin, it became flakey and was starting to shed. Soon, the weak ones turned into ash like a burning paper. While the strong ones were barely able to move, dropping into the ground like a thirsty horse. That said, their eyes remained bloodshot red, while their jaws were wide open¡ªrevealing two fangs as if they were hungry wolves. "My hunch was right! Team Fuji won''t give up easily without putting up a fight!" Pedro sighed heavily as he draws his black sword. Then, he lowered the visor of his helm and said, "The Will of Japanese Players is truly admirable! They are willing to fight ''till the bitter end!" "But sadly¡­ Will, alone, is not enough to win this fight!" Pedro charged forward¡ªmoving just slightly slower compared to Lony. That said, his lack of speed was compensated by his strength as multiple heads fell into the ground in just one of his swings. He even threw his sword forward to pierce multiple necks at once while using his hand to grab more necks and break them apart. Eventually, his sword got stuck to its "last target". Fortunately, Pedro arrived in time to draw his sword before it fell into the ground with the body of its last victim. Pedro gripped the handle tightly before swinging his sword 360 Degrees with full force. In a blink of an eye, ten heads of Vampire NPCs fell into the ground, creating a small breathing space for Pedro before he charges to his next targets. Obviously, there were several Vampires who were able to go past his defenses. But that wasn''t a problem, because there were only a few Vampires who were able to do so, for some terrifyingly unknown reason. Add up the fact that Sabrina was patiently waiting for them outside the Empire''s gates. It was to be expected that nothing but the smell of blood would be able to reach the walls of their base. At some moments, the soldiers of the Tradean Empires needed to shoot arrows and wooden spears¡ªto help slow the advance of their enemies. With Lony and Talia suppressing the enemy force from their sides, the enemies were hopelessly trapped in the "hot area"¡ªleading to their complete annihilation, and, eventually, Team Fuji''s Defeat. [Match 1, Complete!] [Team ARES'' Victory!] The holographic projector displayed the results of the first match in the arena as the players from the two opposing teams were logged off from their accounts and exited their respective VR Boxes for the scheduled thirty minutes break between each match. At this moment, everyone¡ªthe commentators, the audience in the arena, and the observers all over the world, could only remain silent as their minds were still trying to process how Team ARES was able to annihilate hundreds of thousands of Vampires in just a few hours. Yes, it was a long match that they watched. But the moment the clash between the 4 men and the 200,000+ men started, everyone was on the edge of their seats¡ªwaiting which side will fall first. And as it ended¡­ No matter which angle you look at it¡­ Team ARES was able to achieve a feat that even a squad of soldiers with machine guns would not be able to easily accomplish! There was undoubtedly only one word to describe such a feat¡­ Godly! On the other hand, Talia and Lony were rejoicing in Team ARES''s side. Pedro and Sabrina were able to suppress their joy, out of respect to their opponents while also knowing that they need one more match to advance in this elimination round. While Roval, Arvedar, Mathew, Aldo, and Loren did not actually get that much of a fight. They weren''t as happy as Lony and Talia because they did not contribute that much in that battle. Something that is contrary to what Pedro, Lony, and Talia did¡ªfighting non-stop for several hours and were simply glad that their ''hard work'' was not wasted. "Good job, everyone!" Pedro''s mom, Mrs. Caroline Armaz said as he approached everyone together with Mrs. Marisa Conception (Sabrina''s Mom) and the other staff who is in charge of managing and providing the needs of the players of the Team ARES. "Thanks, Mom!" Pedro said with a smile. Mrs. Caroline Armaz simply nodded in response before glancing towards everyone else and saying, "Shall we proceed to the discussion room?" Everyone simply nodded in agreement as they all started walking towards the exit of the VIP Area of the Arena. At this moment, Team Fuji was also on their way to an exit located at the other side of the VIP Area¡ªopposite to where Pedro and Team ARES were heading. The audience in the arena clapped their hands and stood from their seats¡ªapplauding both Teams for giving them a long and intense first match. Even Chairman Dong Li was not able to hide the smile on his face as he clapped his hands while glancing at the two teams exiting the arena for the break. On the other hand, Commentator Bob could not help but exhale heavily in response and say, "I am sorry everyone... But¡­ I am now, hereby, a fan of Team ARES! I mean¡­ I got to give credit to Team Fuji for having such unconventional tactics... And for educating me that there are Vampires in Bearth Online! But¡­ I am hands down to Team ARES, man! Using only four men against what??? Two hundred thousand plus men??? That''s just insane! Just¡­ Unbelievable!" Commentator Rudy Mason could only force out a smile in response and say, "Did Team ARES just showed us¡ªhow we can kill thousands of monsters like the top ranking players in the Continental Quest on the Asian-Australian Server?" Commentator Bob simply forced out a smile in response and said, "I don''t think that there are other players on the Asian-Australian Server who are as strong as Captain Black, Player White, Player Shawarma, and Ace Bulk! So¡­ If I am not wrong¡­ They are most likely the top-ranking players, themselves, in the Continental Quest on the Asian-Australian Server!" Commentator Bob paused for a second before saying, "Anyway¡­ All the mystery lies on their armor and weapons! If their strength lies on their equipment¡­ Then, it is safe to assume that their armors and weapons are A-Rated or B-Rated at the least!" "But¡­" Commentator Bob glanced to Commentator Rudy Mason for a second. Then, Commentator Bob continued, saying, "If their strength was not dependent on their Armors and Weapons¡­ Then, it only just means that they are some sort of ''terrifying'' people that can even survive if you drop them in the middle of an alerted military camp!" Chairman Dong Li simply chuckled in response and said, "You are exaggerating things too much, Mr. Bob! Obviously¡­ Combat using guns is completely different from melee combats. So, even if the players from Team ARES could be as terrifying as you said in close combat¡­ They might not perform well in Ranged Combats!" Commentator Rudy Mason simply nodded in agreement with a smile on his face. Then, he said, "Chairman Li is right, Bob! Ranged Combat is completely different! Speaking of which¡­ Didn''t you notice the weapons of the players from Team ARES? They are all wielding swords¡ªwhich are close-ranged weapons! I can''t help but wonder¡ªon how they would fight against teams that are rumored to be specialized in Ranged Combats." "Like Team Oran Gutan! Their Team B, itself!" Commentator Bob said excitedly in response. Commentator Rudy Mason simply nodded in response and said, "If I could remember correctly¡­ Team Oran Gutan''s Ace was wielding a bow, herself! I am quite interested in how would Team ARES win against a team like Team Oran Gutan!" Chairman Dong Li simply chuckled in response and said, "We''ll see¡­ If Team Fuji would allow Team ARES to take the next match! And we''ll find that out soon¡ªafter the break!" Commentator Rudy Mason and Commentator Bob could only nod and force out a smile in response as the live coverage was temporarily cut and various ads were played during that break. ¡­ At this moment, in a conference room with a holographic projector that was displaying the live coverage of the Bearth Online Simulated Games¡­ Weyron could only exhale heavily and scratch the back of his head. Then, he grumbled, "Long Range Combat, Short-Range Combat my @ss! We can''t beat them even if we are Ultra Giga Mega Terra Long Range Combat Specialized Players! My Cousin is not even allowing those freaks to use their skills in this competition¡ªincluding their transformation skills! They were obviously being mocked in broad daylight and they were still not able to see through my cousin''s schemes!" Meen simply chuckled in response and said, "Calm Down, Captain! Even we are participating as an opposing team¡­ We are still both under Armaz Electronics Inc.! Isn''t it good enough that we are on the same side?" "I know!" Weyron grumbled. Then, in the next second, he exhaled heavily and said, "I just got pissed with that fat @ss Bob¡ªfor involving us in their discussion on the live coverage! Thanks to him¡­ The pressure towards us¡ªto perform well, is now twice of the pressure that we get for being just Armaz Electronics Inc.''s second competitive team participating in this competition!" Director Veronica Santiago¡ªwho was sitting beside Meen, simply smiled faintly and said, "Then why don''t you guys show them what you''ve got on the match this afternoon?" "We won''t just show them what we can do, mother!" Weyron said with a frown on his face. "We''ll let them know that we''d be the champions of this competition!" Chapter 290: "Good Game!" Inside Team Fuji''s Discussion Room... Everyone could only stare blankly at the monitor that was displaying some highlights of the first match. It was only after almost a minute did a long-haired man sighed. Then, he glanced to the man seating opposite him, and asked, "Kageyama-san... What''s the plan now?" Kazuto Kageyama glanced at him and sighed. He said, "We are done..." "I see¡­" Ryu murmured in a heartbroken tone whilst slowly gazing down to the floor. Then, he added, "Are we going to forfeit the next match? I mean... It''s not that I am giving up on winning already, but... Obviously, our strength lies in our Vampire Race. And... Our opponents... They were able to defeat us, without even losing a single man!" Ryu glanced back to Kazuto Kageyama before saying, "Two hundred thousand vampires... I don''t think that even the whole of the United Asian Force would be able to fight that!" "I understand what you want to say, Ryu!" Kazuto Kageyama said calmly. "And... I know that our defeat is inevitable!" Kazuto Kageyama paused for a second before saying, "However... It is not enough to be a reason for us to forfeit our next match! I want all of you to think of this event as a source of experience, a measure of strength, rather than a simple competition with a prize." "Because... It would be an unrecoverable disaster... if such battles occurred in the actual game!" Kazuto Kageyama said, making everyone else shift their attention towards him. Then, he added, "Remember... The true competition exists inside of Bearth Online!" "If that''s what you plan... Then... We got your back, Kageyama-san!" Ryu said confidently. The other players nodded in agreement with what Ryu said. Kazuto Kageyama simply smiled in response and said, "Thanks, everyone!" "Moving forward..." Ryu interjected, to kill the awkward atmosphere in the room. He added, "Kageyama-san... Should we change factions now, and try to be acquainted or, if possible, be allied with Team ARES?" Kazuto Kageyama glared towards Ryu, making Ryu force out a smile in response. Ryu said, "I know that it won''t be easy because of the United Asian Force case, but... I think... It is worth the try, considering that Team ARES might be the best team in the world when it comes to Bearth Online!" "Do you even need to ask me that?" Kazuto Kageyama coldly asked. "It''s obvious that we should be acquainted with them, at the least, after this match!" "About our participation in the United Asian Force... I can make a public apology towards the Philippines players, at worst!" Kazuto Kageyama added. "Besides... I doubt that the Philippines players still have that much resentment, right after what happened to the United Asian Force." "Anyway... Let''s discuss that later on!" Kazuto Kageyama said before standing from his seat. Then, he said, "Let''s focus on our next match and make sure to learn a lot from our opponents! Let''s gain as much as we can from this competition!" "Yes, Captain!" Everyone from Team Fuji shouted in response. At this moment, an old man in a suit who was peaking in the door¡ªnodded with a smile to Kazuto Kageyama. Kazuto Kageyama simply nodded in response, thus, making the old man leave with a smile on his face. ''I was right in choosing you as the Guild Leader, Kazuto!'' The old man said deep inside. ¡­ Time passed by and the second match began. The audience was hyped about how Team Fuji would be able to fight back against the unstoppable force of Team ARES. Unfortunately, to their dismay, the second match was a Battlefield Combat Simulation¡ªthat was obviously beneficial for the stronger Team ARES. And unlike the first match that lasted for hours, the second match did not even reach the 10-minute mark. Lony and Talia single-handedly dominated the battlefield, annihilating everyone from Team Fuji mercilessly. For some reason, Kazuto Kageyama was not as strong as he was when he first fought Pedro inside the real game, in the Tarala Kingdom. Pedro knew that the reason behind it was either their difference in the level of their characters, or it was the result of their intense training under Clara and Ragas. Whatever''s the case, Pedro and the rest of Team ARES happily took the win... And the long break that comes with it before the Playoffs Round. On the other hand, although they lost miserably to a newly established organization in the VR Sports Industry, Team Fuji exited the competition with the Japanese Fans still cheering for them, for fighting ''till the end. "Congrats! Good Game!" Kazuto Kageyama said to Pedro as the two teams shook hands after the second match. Pedro smiled and said, "Good Game! Thanks!" "Can I add you in the game?" Kazuto Kageyama asked out of the blue¡ªastonishing Pedro in response. "No add?" Kazuto Kageyama asked after Pedro''s few seconds of silence. Pedro simply laughed in response and said, "No, No, No! I am totally fine with it. Hahahaha! Let''s meet at the Adventurer''s Guild Branch on the Tarala Kingdom later, and continue our discussion!" "Sure, Sure! I''ll see you then!" Kazuto Kageyama said with a smile on his face. "See you!" Pedro shook Kazuto Kageyama one last time before shaking Ryu-san and the other members of Team Fuji. After the friendly gestures, the two teams exited the Arena¡ªone team emerging Victorious. And this time, it was Team ARES! Filipino fans all over the world, who watched the live coverage of the Elimination Match, started jumping up and down as if they had won the lottery. While the other audience, even the Japanese Fans, applauded the two teams for a great match. Good Game it is, indeed. That said¡­ Not all people were satisfied after watching such a good match. Some People¡­ They were nervous! "The pressure is real!" Weyron grumbled before shaking his hands and exhaling heavily. Armaz Electronics Inc. Director, Veronica Santiago, simply chuckled in response and said, "Relax, Wey! If your cousin Pedro can do it, so can you and the whole of Team Oran Gutan!" "Director is right, Guild Leader! If Team A can do it, we can also do it!" One of the players from Team Oran Gutan shouted in response. "Yeah! He''s right, Guild Leader! We''ll kick anyone''s @ss, even if it is Team A!" "Yeah! Yeah!" "AISH!" Weyron randomly swung his hands to make everyone quiet¡ªout of his annoyance. Then, he said, "You guys can make such brave claims! So¡­ Anyone who would die needlessly later, would be sent to the reserves, IS THAT CLEAR?" "Awwe!" "Awwe!" +1 "Awwe!" +2 ¡­ All of the 48 players under Team Oran Gutan grumbled at what Weyron said about being part of the reserves. That said, they eventually laughed¡ªknowing that their guild leader was anxious and nervous at that moment. "What would you do, guild master, if no one dies?" One player asked. "Would we get some kind of incentives? Hahahaha!" "Incentives my @ss!" Weyron grumbled. "Say that to me if all of you survives the match this afternoon!" Everyone laughed in response. Then, they glanced towards Meen and started saying, "Vice Leader, our fate is in your hands! Hahahaha!" Meen simply smirked and said, "We can only try breaking the system!" "Yeah! Yeah!" The room was filled with cheers and laughter as the Players of Team Oran Gutan were filled with excitement for their first professional match, EXCEPT for Weyron. ``` At this moment, Team ARES was taking a short break in their discussion room in the Arena, before heading towards the Press Conference Area. "Well done, everyone!" Pedro said. "I did not expect the opponents to pack some punch in the first match, but¡­ We somehow got through it without using any of our aces. Sadly¡­ After the Press Conference¡­ We have to immediately go back to the hotel! We''re kinda late for our daily routine! Haha¡­" "Oh¡­ Sheet! I almost forgot about that!" Talia cursed in response. "Hehe¡­ Can''t the match be considered as a replacement to our daily routine instead, Expert Cap?" Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "Don''t ask me! Ask the little girl with green hair!" Talia''s eyes enlarged and simply averted his gaze from Pedro while saying, "Never mind!" "Since some of us are less likely to join the press conference, is okay for us to head back first?" Arvedar interjected whilst raising his hand. Then, he added, "I am glad for the win, but¡­ The little girl''s punishment is scary!" Pedro could only sigh in response, before saying, "Don''t be like that! Let''s go back together! We''re a team, right? Besides... I don''t want to be punished by the little girl too!" Aldo simply chuckled in response and said, "That''s your problem, bro! It''s time for you guys to experience my daily dose of suffering! Hahahaha!" Pedro could only force out a smile in response before glancing to his mother, and asked, "Mom¡­ Who''s in for the interview?" Everyone followed his glance and was nervously waiting for Armaz Electronics Inc. President, Caroline Armaz''s response. Well¡­ All of them were nervous except Sabrina. Mrs. Caroline Armaz could only force out a smile and say, "Lony¡­" "Kheuk!" Lony cried as if he was shot by a gun. Sadly, Mrs. Caroline Armaz can''t understand what they were nervous about, and she could only glance at Talia, saying, ''Talia¡­'' "Kheuk!" Talia cried as if she was also shot by a gun. "Lastly, Sabby¡­ And of course¡­ you, son!" Mrs. Caroline Armaz said as she glanced at Pedro. "Darn!" Pedro cursed¡ªobviously faking that he did not expect to be part of the group who were asked to participate in the Post Match Press Conference. On the other hand, everyone else that was not required to join the Post Match Press Conference was relieved, as if they got exempted on some sort of elimination match. "Ehem! Ehem!" Talia faked several coughs before whispering to Pedro, "Expert Bro¡­ Should we head to the Post Match Press Conference while everyone else is still celebrating?" "Good idea!" Pedro said with a smirk on his face. Then, he glanced at his mother and said, "Mom, let''s go!" "To the Press Conference Area?" Mrs. Caroline Armaz asked. "Yeah!" Pedro simply nodded in response. "So, that we can catch up with everyone else in our training afterward!" "Oh!" Aldo stared at the smiling Pedro for a second before saying, "Bro Roval, Bro Arvee, let''s go back to the hotel now! Bro Pedro and Talia are scheming to catch up... I don''t want to get punished once again!" Unfortunately, Arvee and Roval could only glance at Mrs. Caroline Armaz and Mrs. Marisa Conception for their approval. Pedro and Sabrina''s Mothers were the ones who were managing and guiding them during their trip, including their food and other activities. So, it became a norm for everyone to ask for their guidance during these moments. Mrs. Caroline Armaz simply nodded towards Mrs. Marisa Conception and said, "Mars, kindly guide them back into the hotel. I''ll take care of the Press Conference Group." "Okay!" Mrs. Marisa Conception nodded in response before glancing to Aldo and the rest, who were itching to go back to the hotel already. Aldo smiled happily in response. Then, he glanced at Pedro and said, "Bro, Good Game!" Chapter 291: Post Match Press Conference Part 1! Press Conference Area B Team Fuji Post Match Interview¡­ Cameras flashed non-stop as Kazuto Kageyama, together with Ryu, entered the huge hall filled with reporters and cameramen. A few seconds later, the two players sat in their respective seats¡ªready for their post-match interview. At the same time, an event staff stood and raised the microphone in his hand. The event staff faked a cough before saying, "Everyone¡­ We would like to kindly request all of you to turn off the flash of your cameras¡ªfor the convenience of the players. Also¡­ May we request all the reporters to take a seat so that we could proceed with the Post-Match Interview. Thanks!" In compliance with the request of the event staff, the cameramen turned off the flash on their cameras while the reporters sat in their respective seats. A minute later, everyone was settled, thus, the event staff stood once more and said, "Before we begin the interview, I would like to remind everyone that each of you could only ask two questions at most so that all of you would be given a chance to ask questions to our guests. Thank you for your cooperation... Now¡­ Without further ado, let''s start the Post-Match Interview with Team Fuji!" "With us, is Team Fuji''s Captain¡ªMister Kazuto Kageyama, and Team Fuji''s Ace¡ªMister Ryu Taro!" The event staff introduced the two players to the reporters. Then, the event staff glanced to the reporter nearest to him and said, "And to start¡­ Reporter Amberson from SNeN News, you may now ask your question to our guests." The huge man with a snow-white skin nodded in response to the even staff before standing from his seat and raising the microphone in his hands. He said, "Greetings to Mister Kazuto Kageyama and Mister Ryu Taro! I am Robert Amberson from SNeN News North America! To start¡­ I would like to ask you¡ªplayers from Team Fuji, if you guys have any ideas, by now, to defeat the seemingly undefeatable team of Team ARES? I mean¡­ This is just the first ''friendly'' competition held for Bearth Online? And considering the popularity of the game, the professional competition is probably soon to happen. By then... There''s a huge possibility that you would face Team ARES once again!" Kazuto Kageyama smiled in response. Then, he said, "To be honest¡­ That''s a difficult question to answer!" Kazuto Kageyama laughed and was followed by Reporter Amberson and everyone else. A few seconds later, Kazuto Kageyama calmed down and said, "But in my perspective as a player, and a leader of a Team, I would like to simply say that nothing is impossible." Kazuto Kageyama smiled with confidence, making some reporters and viewers gasp in astonishment. They thought that Kazuto Kageyama would have no answer to such questions since Team Fuji just recently got "Bullied" by Team ARES in the first-ever competitive match in Bearth Online. That said, the Bearth Online players knew that the Main Game itself provides a lot of opportunities that can make them strong enough to be able to compete against the current strongest players and teams all over the world. That is why what Kazuto Kageyama said was not just an act nor any kind of bluff to somehow show to the world that Team Fuji was hopeless at this point in the game. In fact, Kageyama was saying, in an indirect way, that any player of Bearth Online can potentially defeat Team ARES and other strong teams in the world. And true enough, there are a lot of opportunities unexplored in Bearth Online. Reporter Amberson smiled in response to Kazuto Kageyama. Then, he said, "Moving into my last question¡­ How terrifying is Team ARES?" Everyone could not help but gasp and stare at the two players right in front of them. They were quietly waiting for their response. The reason behind this was that watching is different from experiencing the battle by themselves. It was easier to watch players of different games battle each other, but it was obviously a lot more difficult being in the shoes of the players. So, if Team ARES'' performance was so terrifying to watch, it was really intriguing to know, how terrifying they were as an opponent. Kazuto Kageyama simply raised his brows and said, "If you are referring to their individual strength¡­ Yes, they are extremely terrifying human beings!" "But earlier, as their opponent, I did not think that much of it¡­ Whether they were terrifying or not¡­ Because it would just affect our morale, our focus in executing our plans and winning the match." He added. Then, Kazuto Kageyama glanced back to the reporter and said, "And if you want to know, specifically, how strong they are¡­ I suggest that you try fighting them instead!" ¡­ At this moment¡­ Inside the Press Conference Area N¡­ The cameras flashed as if they were machine guns shooting towards Pedro and everyone else. "Darn!" Talia cursed. "The flashes are hurting my eyes!" Lony could only force out a smile in response. Then, he and Talia glanced towards Pedro¡ªwanting to know his reactions. However¡­ To their surprise¡­ Pedro had his eyes closed from the start¡ªas if he was able to anticipate what was happening. "Darn, Expert Bro!" Talia cursed once again. Then, she also started walking with her eyes closed before saying, "You got us on that one!" Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "Got on what? Sorry, but I have my eyes closed at the moment!" "Tch! The blinding flashes! The blinding flashes!" Talia grumbled. "It''s painful in the eyes!" Pedro laughed before saying, "Ah, that! Forgive me little Talia¡­ I thought you like the flashes and stuff." "I do!" Talia grumbled. "But not to the point that it hurts my precious eyes!" Lony simply smirked while Pedro laughed out loud in response. At this moment, Lony, Talia, and Pedro sat in their seats, at random, with their eyes closed. It was nothing special for them. But for the viewers, especially on the televisions and other platforms, it was a spectacular scene to witness. It was three people casually walking and finding a random vacant seat with their eyes closed. And obviously, this awed everyone¡ªwhich was accompanied with a closely similar, sudden thought in their minds. ''Was this the effect of playing Bearth Online?'' Bearth Online was undoubtedly one of the most realistic VR games ever made. And¡­ Being seen as one of the powerful players at this moment, it was only to be expected that Team ARES''s players, specifically Pedro, Lony, and Talia, were seen as terrifying human beings capable of even fighting against elite soldiers in hand to hand combat. That is why, not only were the audience amazed by their actions, their hearts were also filled with the desire to be as strong as them. To become a freak of nature when it comes to combat. To become someone who can do anything even with their eyes closed! Thus, this made the hearts of the audience race, while their anticipation and excitement for the Press Conference grows at its peak. In fact, some of the audience were even informing their acquaintances about the Press Conference and the previous match of Team ARES, and were even encouraging them to watch the said coverage. And in that instant¡­ Team ARES'' Post Match Press Conference became the number one topic in the world. "Can you guys start asking questions? I still have training to do!" Talia shouted, instantly silencing the noise inside the Press Conference Area. Everyone could only force out a smile as the atmosphere inside the hall becomes awkward. Fortunately, it was broken by someone¡ªwho tapped Talia''s shoulder. "You are seating on my seat, sis¡­" A girl calmly said behind Talia. Talia could not help but to glance behind her, to see who tapped her shoulder and, basically, told her to change seats at that moment. It was no other than Sabrina, who had her eyes covered with one of her hands. "I am seated next to Peds¡­" Sabrina explained. Talia stole a glance at the names in front of them and saw that she was really seating on Sabrina''s seat. She can''t help but force out a smile before standing and saying, "Oh, Oh! Sorry elder sis! I wasn''t able to notice the arrangement because I had my eyes closed when I sat." "No problem¡­" Sabrina said as she sat beside Pedro. Then, she said to Talia, "You can just cover your eyes with your hands next time¡­ Don''t follow what these weirdos do! They just want to look cool in front of everyone." "Ahehehe¡­ No worries, elder sis! I''ll keep that in mind! I was just distracted earlier by the flashes of the cameras, so I just reactively imitated what Expert Bro was doing!" Talia said whilst she was sitting down. "At least¡­ We looked cool earlier!" Pedro interjected before chuckling in response. Sabrina simply ignored what he said. Then, she simply faked a cough before saying, "Shall we start the Press Conference?" Chapter 292: “Don’t Mess With The NPCs!†Similar to how Team Fuji''s Press Conference proceeded¡­ An Event Staff asked everyone else to calm down and take a seat. The flashes of the cameras were disabled, while the Live Coverage of various news outlets started. The event staff did the ''scripted'' introduction and soon proceeded with the questions of the reporters. "Does your strength rely on your weapon and equipment?" The very first question was asked directly to Pedro, the Captain of Team ARES. Of course, the atmosphere, at this moment, was tense¡ªbe it inside the Press Conference Area or be it amongst the people who were watching the coverage of the Press Conference. Pedro simply chuckled and said, "Partly Yes, Partly No!" Pedro''s answer made everyone become a little bit rowdy. Some gossiped amongst each other. Some sighed¡ªas if they have unlocked an ultimate secret in the world. While some simply smirk¡ªas if they know what Pedro would answer. But before the reporter could ask a follow-up question, Pedro said, "Team ARES obviously wields great weapon¡­ But¡­ Those weapons would be useless if we won''t be able to use them properly!" "Imagine giving an ordinary people a sword... Would that person be able to swing it like a real-life swordmaster?" Pedro asked. Then, he shook his head and added, saying, "I don''t think so!" "That is why¡­ No matter how powerful our weapons and equipment were¡­ If we were not able to wield them properly¡­ Then, it would be more of a disaster than a victory!" Pedro said with a smile. Then, he glanced to the reporter who asked the question and said, "I hope that I was able to answer your question, sir!" "Yes¡­ Yes¡­" The reporter murmured whilst nodding in amazement as if he learned a valuable lesson from one of his greatest professors. Then, after a few seconds, the reporter glanced back to the tablet in his hands before saying, "Uhm... Moving to my last question¡­ Seeing four men defeat hundreds of thousands of NPCs¡­ There are speculations on the internet and social media, indicating that the players from Team ARES are the same beings that wiped out the entire United Asian Force in the Asian-Australian Server Disaster lately. Perhaps these rumors are true?" Sabrina, Talia, and Lony could only glance towards Pedro upon hearing what the reporter said. Obviously, it was them who annihilated the United Asian Force back then. However, they can''t reveal their ''true'' identities to the world because Pedro did not want to do so in the first place. And more importantly, because their hard work to hide their true strength would be jeopardized. That is why the three of them were nervous as to what Pedro was going to answer. That said, Pedro simply smirked in response before shaking his head and saying, "Those people were OUR MASTERS! Just to clarify to all of you and everyone else watching¡­ A few weeks back, Philippine Players were being targeted by the players that were members of the so-called United Asian Force. Back then, it was a difficult time for us, where some of our players needed to remain online in the game for a day or more!" "But I have no grudge about it or something!" Pedro chuckled. "Bearth Online is a VR Game, and such competition is only to be expected!" "Unfortunately for the United Asian Force¡­ Our MASTERS¡ªpowerful NPCs, were with us during those days. The players from the United Asian Force attacked us, thus, our Masters simply retaliated in response." Pedro said before smiling. A few seconds later, he added, "In case those players from the United Asian Force are going to blame or roast us for not stopping our Masters¡­ I can only say one thing to them!" "If we were JUST their students¡ªtheir apprentice¡­ How are we supposed to stop them¡ªconsidering they were our Masters!" Pedro asked with a smug on his face. "So¡­ I think that this is a lesson for all of us!" He said. "Always know who you are going against with, and always know that there would always be more powerful beings in the game! So, don''t poke anyone''s nose just because of some childish reasons¡­ Even if they were just MERE NPCs!" Everyone became rowdy once again, while Sabrina, Talia, and Lony sighed of relief before nodding in agreement to what Pedro said¡ªindicating that what Pedro said was ''somehow'' the truth. Everyone understood the message that Pedro wanted to convey. "Don''t mess with the NPCs!" For the weak players, they completely understand what Pedro wanted to say. But that was because they look up to the NPCs because they are weaker compared to them. But it was a different case for the capable players and the strong players! Capable Players¡ªor the players who can barely survive on their own in the game, and the Strong Players¡ªor the players who can even fend off or mess with the NPCs, tend to look down at the NPCs since they were really just artificial intelligence programmed for the game. The real threat in the VR Games is often posed by other players and the competition existing between them. Thus, NPCs were not considered as threats most of the time. However¡­ Now¡­ Pedro and the whole world knew that Bearth Online had a different case from your usual VR Game. The level of difficulty was dramatically increased to the point that even the NPCs were affected. And now¡­ The NPCs not only were powerful but were also smart enough to even defeat the Capable Players. That is why, Pedro''s warning had so much impact to the point that even the Leaders of Different Gaming Organizations were starting to reconsider their approach towards the game¡ªmore specifically on the way they interact with the NPCs. Well¡­ It''s not that they weren''t able to notice such oddity in the first place. It was probably just difficult for them to deviate from their dominant way of playing¡ªthat is common whilst playing other VR games in the past. But because of the huge advantage that Pedro and his Gaming Organizations were able to build because of such treatment to the NPCs, the other Gaming Organizations are obviously going to follow his footsteps¡ªin consideration of the ever-growing competition in Bearth Online. The Press Conference continued for more than half an hour, consequently making Talia and Lony suffer Faunia''s punishment. It was no other than¡­ Two hours of non-stop psychological training¡­ or also known by Pedro and Sabrina as their Magical Aura Training. Right after their ''intense'' training, Pedro led everyone else¡ªtogether with Faunia, to the Adventurer''s Guild''s branch outside the Tarala Kingdom. They were about to meet Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu Taro from Team Fuji, as they have discussed after their match. Team ARES Players'' Black Armor became an immediate giveaway of their identities to the other players present in that area. Thus, Kazuto Kageyama¡ªtogether with Ryu Taro, was able to locate them with ease. Fortunately, players all over the world knew how powerful the players of Team ARES were. That is why no one dared to approach them, even after recognizing their glorious armors and weapons. On top of that¡­ No player really wanted to have a meaningless death. Thus, it was only a norm for them not to approach anyone they are not acquainted with, regardless of whether it was Team ARES or other Professional Teams. "Captain Black???" Kazuto Kageyama asked with a frown on his face. He was able to recognize the familiar black armor and weapon, but¡­ he was unable to identify his identity because of the helm that Pedro was wearing. Pedro nodded in response before lifting the visor of his helm. Then, he approached Kazuto Kageyama and said, "It''s been a while, Captain Kageyama!" Kazuto Kageyama forced out a smile in response and said, "It''s not that long since we last met though!" At this moment, a cute little girl interjected in their conversation and said, "For Vampires like you¡­ The passage of time is naturally faster than this measly human!" Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu Taro''s attention was immediately shifted to the little girl. They glared towards the little girl as if they were telepathically asking who she was. Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. Then, seconds later, he said, "Before anything else¡­ Let me introduce to you one of my masters¡­" Pedro pointed to the little girl and said, "She''s the strictest instructor of ours¡­ She is¡­ The Great Faunia!" "Nice to meet you, Great Faunia!" Kazuto Kageyama said before bowing towards Faunia. He was then followed by Ryu Taro, despite being hesitant to do so at first. To Ryu Taro, he thought that Pedro was just messing with them, by introducing a young girl as one of his masters. However, since Kazuto Kageyama paid respect towards Faunia, he can only hopelessly follow his lead. As for Kazuto Kageyama¡­ He greatly took into account what Pedro said in the Post-Match Press Conference earlier. That is why he paid respect to Faunia, regardless of whether she was really one of Pedro''s masters or not. Besides¡­ It won''t hurt to greet someone respectfully for the first time, right? Unfortunately¡­ Despite Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu Taro''s respectful greeting, Faunia ignored them in response. She glared towards Pedro and asked, "Human¡­ What business do you have with the pawns of the Blood-Sucking Bitch?" Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu Taro reactively glanced towards Pedro¡ªas if they were also intrigued by his answer. Pedro simply smirked in response and said, "We''ll just have a discussion." Faunia hopelessly sighed in response and said, "Do as you wish¡­ You know your limits anyway!" Pedro simply nodded in response before glancing towards Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu Taro, and saying, "Let''s go somewhere more private, shall we?" "Please¡­" Kazuto Kageyama said before bowing towards Pedro once again. Then, he added, "Please lead the way!" Chapter 293: The Adventurers Guild District and The ARES Guild Operations Building! The Adventurer''s Guild outside the Tarala Kingdom has now become a small district¡ªas if it was a city from the ''real world'' that was adapted into the game. In fact, the builders and blacksmiths are amazed with the designs and architecture of the players to the point that they even started making plans on how to convert and ''Modernize'' their own Kingdom. Well¡­ Pedro was not that much concerned about such ''integration'' events. After all, such things were bound to happen the moment that the players and the NPCs were able to peacefully coexist and learn¡ªeven work, with each other. Besides¡­ It was people under Weyron and the Oran Gutan Guild who were managing the Adventurer''s Guild and the matters related to it. And one of their works as of lately, was the ''Integration of Real-Life Technology'' that was leading to the ''Modernization'' Programs of the different strongholds in the game. Sadly, such integration was only limited to the Tarala Kingdom and the nearby strongholds, since the influence and manpower of the players from the Oran Gutan Guild were still limited. And obviously, such changes can bring a lot of profit for Armaz Electronics Inc. as a whole. They can use the Buildings established within the jurisdiction of the Adventurer''s Guild to display ads or promotions for profit. Be it recruitment for ''Guilds'' under the Adventurer''s Guild¡­ Or up to Advertising a certain brand of shampoo¡­ Anything can be promoted as long as it passed through the Adventurer''s Guild''s approval. Aside from ads and such, high-quality products¡ªsuch as weapons and armors, were starting to become famous, primarily because of Team ARES. From the speculations of the commentators during Team ARES'' match, up to Pedro''s answers in the Post Match Press Conference, all of these factors contributed greatly to the sudden increase in demand for such items. Sadly, players from other servers, and those who are in strongholds within the Asian-Australian Server but still have no Adventurer''s Guild influence yet, still have no access to such items. That said, it is not like they have no ways to get their hands on the equipment that the Adventurer''s Guild, primarily the NPC force of Pedro, produces. Giant Gaming Organizations were using Asian-Australian Server Gaming Organizations to procure such items through the abuse of the Trade System in the Player Interface. In exchange, Asian-Australian Server Gaming Organizations get paid with tons of real-life money. Thus, the Adventurer''s Guild''s market was also booming like crazy at this moment. The market aside, the Adventurer''s Guild earns the biggest income in its Gambling Area. Well¡­ There are no Casinos of some sort in the game. There''s just a Lottery that was designed to allure all the players¡ªespecially those who don''t have many coins (In-Game Currency) with them in the game. With the influence of Players within the Adventurer''s Guild''s Management Team, they made sure that the other players would be able to, no matter what''s the case, participate in the Daily Lottery. That is why, almost all the players that were members of the Adventurer''s Guild were betting daily in the Lottery, in the hopes of winning the Grand Prize. Well¡­ It''s not a loss for the players in the first place. Imagine killing 10 to 20 monsters daily, to earn 250 Bronze Coins. (This is through quests.) Normally, such quests were taken by a group of players¡ªwho would divide the earnings equally later on. (Not much of a problem arises in this kind of scheme as of the moment, because the division of earnings was also included in their Quest Contract as per the Adventurer''s Guild. Of course, it was obviously an influence by Players that were working in the Adventurer''s Guild, to avoid conflicts amongst players.) That is why Players can easily earn tens of Bronze Coins a day. Most of these coins were invested in the resources that they would need for doing quests the following day. Thus, Players are often left with a change of 10-20 Bronze Coins a day. With a lottery ticket that is worth 15 Bronze Coins at the cheapest, they get a chance to win Tier F weapons¡ªwhich are formerly known as Silver Rated Weapons, that cost around 500 Silver Coins to several Gold Coins. The Grand Prize itself was already a steal for a lottery that is only worth their ''daily pocket change''. Add up the fact that the Lottery is conducted daily, and that there''s a winner selected daily, it was really not "taking the players'' money", but rather "giving opportunity for every player on a daily basis.". That is why the Lottery held by the Adventurer''s Guild was getting a lot of attention and support from almost all the players, be it casual players or established gaming organizations and groups. ¡­ These Achievements speak how much the Adventurer''s Guild has grown and developed in just days. From the great relationship between the NPCs and Players to the huge profit that ARES Electronics Inc. was earning on a daily basis, it was really an outstanding accomplishment. Fortunately, the overall management was carried by Weyron and his mother, Director Veronica¡ªconsequently giving Pedro the leverage to focus on other game-related matters. Moving forward¡­ Pedro led everyone else¡ªincluding Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu Taro, into one of the Buildings in the Adventurer''s Guild District outside the Tarala Kingdom. [A-00P Building] The building was a 5-story high building with the huge "Team ARES Logo" painted on its wall. "Woah¡­" Ryu Taro gasped in amazement after seeing the "Team ARES Logo" in the building. "Mister Black¡­ Don''t tell me that Team ARES owns this building?" Ryu Taro asked in disbelief. Pedro simply chuckled in response before glancing at Kazuto Kageyama, and saying, "Yes¡­ We own this building. I happen to be acquainted with a higher up in the Adventurer''s Guild. So¡­ Purchasing our own Guild Building for a certain value was not difficult." Kazuto Kageyama glanced towards Pedro with a ''calm look'' before asking, "How much?" Pedro simply smiled before raising one of his fingers. "One Gold Coin???" Ryu Taro shouted in astonishment whilst his eyes seemed like they were about to pop out from their sockets. Pedro simply shook his head and said, "No¡­ One Hundred Gold Coins, plus a skill page!" "Wa-Wa-Wa-One Hundred Gold Coins???" Ryu Taro shouted in astonishment. "W-Where the fudge did you get a Hundred Gold Coins, mister Black???" Pedro chuckled before saying, "You''re crazy, mister Ryu... if you think that we''re able to pay such a huge amount of money in one go! Obviously¡­ We were paying in installments. xD" "Anyway¡­ I can ask my acquaintance for you¡­ That''s if Guild Leader Kageyama is interested in acquiring one of these buildings¡­" Pedro said whilst glancing towards Kazuto Kageyama. On the other hand, Kazuto Kageyama remained calm and simply rubbed his chin before saying, "I''ll relay this information to the higher-ups of our organization. I''ll inform you, in case they are interested¡­ For now¡­ Let''s proceed with our discussion." Pedro simply sighed in response before saying, "Very well¡­ Then, I would like to invite you to our Guild Operations Building!" Kazuto Kageyama nodded in response¡ªallowing them to proceed inside the ARES Guild Operations Building in the game. At this moment, Arvedar, Aldo, Loren, and Roval left to check the ''improved'' Adventurer''s Guild District. Thus, Pedro, Sabrina, Lony, Talia, Mathew, and Faunia were left with their two visitors. Well¡­ It''s not like the four''s presence was required during the discussion. That aside, Ryu Taro''s amazement kept growing, while Kazuto Kageyama''s knowledge about the game improved as they personally saw the "fruits" of being close to the NPCs. The fruits that team ARES harvested by treating NPCs equally¡ªas if they were ordinary people in real life. One of the learnings that Kazuto Kageyama got upon entering the ARES Guild Operations Building was the thought of being able to hire NPCs to work for them. Kazuto Kageyama personally knew how talented the NPCs were, especially on the jobs they specialized at. However, making them work for players was extremely hard. And as far as he knows, most of the NPCs were only ''forced'' to work for them, thus, from the NPCs'' treatment towards them, up to the quality of their work, none of them matches the work and treatment that was given by the NPCs that were working in the ARES Guild Operations Building. So, it was an enlightenment... A new learning for Kazuto Kageyama... That what Pedro said in the Post Match Press Conference really had a lot of bearing, application, and benefits in the game. The Aggressive, Dominant, and Reckless traits of players in the past VR Games won''t work effectively in Bearth Online. "The Adventurer''s Guild''s Domain is really far different from the other places in this world." Ryu Taro said. Pedro simply smiled in response and said, "That''s to be expected! This place, the Adventurer''s Guild District, was built to cater to the needs of Adventurers in the first place!" "Hooo¡­ Mister Black seems to know a lot of things about the Adventurer''s Guild!" Ryu Taro said with a scheming smile on his face. Pedro simply laughed out loud in response. Then, his face became serious before he coldly said, "That''s also to be expected! If you are in my place¡­ Would you trust all those people and spend that amount of money without even knowing a single thing?" "If you are that kind of person¡­ Then, Sadly¡­ I am not the same!" Pedro said with an evil smirk on his face. Chapter 294: An Offer for an Alliance! "Aish¡­" Ryu Taro forced out a smile towards Pedro whilst rubbing the back of his head¡ªseemingly embarrassed. Then, he said, "That''s not what I meant, mister Black¡­ I apologize!" "It''s just that¡­ I am amazed at the feat that you and the ARES Guild were able to achieve in the game." Ryu Taro added. Pedro simply smiled in response before saying, "I am honored. But¡­ It''s not that amazing, to be honest." Pedro paused for a second, as he enters a discussion room with everyone else. Then, as he walks towards his seat, he added, saying, "I just took every opportunity I got and used them to my advantage. Just like how you would also probably do when you are in my place! So, it''s nothing really special!" "Anyway¡­" Pedro glanced towards Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu Taro before he took his seat. Then, he said, "Please take a seat¡­ There''s something that I am excited to discuss with you, Mister Kageyama and Mister Ryu." "Hooo¡­ Something that excites the leader of, possibly, the number one force in the world!" Ryu Taro said with a smirk on his face. Then, he sat down to his seat whilst adding, saying, "I wonder what it is?" Pedro simply smiled before saying, "Well¡­ It''s something that you guys would benefit from. But before that¡­ I want to inform the two of you that anything that we would discuss here should be kept a secret, as much as possible." "A secret?" Ryu Taro asked in confusion. Pedro nodded with a calm face before saying, "It''s not mandatory, but¡­ It''s more for your ''sake'' than ours, so I encourage you to keep it hidden as much as possible." Kazuto Kageyama simply raised his brows¡ªindicating that he was interested in what Pedro was referring to as a ''secret'' that would benefit him and team Fuji. That said, before he could utter a word, Pedro casually leaned his back to his chair, whilst saying, "Let''s start with your races¡­ I would be direct¡­ The Vampire is a strong race! But it has a huge flaw in it!" "We can''t be exposed directly to natural light?" Ryu Taro asked. Pedro shook his head in response and said, "Well... It''s one reason... But, that''s not the flaw I was referring to!" Then, Pedro pointed his finger to his neck before saying, "A vampire''s greatest flaw is¡­ being dependent on the blood of the humans!" "Hmm..." Kazuto Kageyama raised his brows in response. Pedro simply explained, "I know that you guys already know about the ''satiety'' feature of this world! Obviously, we need to satisfy our hunger, else our body would become physically weak as time goes by!" "Unfortunately... The Vampire Race''s satiety can only be satisfied by drinking human blood! It''s not like their satiety were even replenished by drinking the blood of monsters or even eating raw meats of any being!" Pedro added. "And... As far as we know... Humans are not the only existence present in this world! Thus... Anyone with a Vampire Race is obviously limited to areas where humans are located¡ªrestricting their exploration capability which is necessary to increase one''s strength!" "Hmm... You do have a point, Mister Black." Kazuto Kageyama nodded whilst rubbing his chin. Then, he glanced at Pedro and asked, "That said... If we give up the Vampire Race... Won''t we be at a disadvantage? I mean... It''s the Japanese Player''s trump card, right?" "For now!" Pedro said. "That''s true, for now!" At this moment, the room was filled with silence as Kazuto Kageyama analyzes the pros and cons of Pedro''s suggestion. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but to shake his head before sighing heavily in response. Then, he said, "I know that this would be a difficult decision for you to make, especially that you and your men''s future in this world are on the line! But... How about this? If you follow my ''suggestion''... I''ll provide you some help, to become stronger compared to the ordinary people despite being humans?" Everyone could only glance towards Pedro in astonishment, except Faunia who was not interested in their conversation. "Can I take this as you, Mister Black, offering us, the Japanese Players, to form an alliance?" Kazuto Kageyama asked with a frown on his face. "Well... I can''t speak on behalf of all the Filipino Players¡ªlike you can for the Japanese Players, but... As the leader of the ARES Guild... I can, at the least, offer an alliance with us!" Pedro said before smirking in response. Then, Pedro added, saying, "But before you think and dream that you and your men would be as strong as us right now... I would like to be honest with you¡ªthat, although we''d be offering you some help, there''s still a limit on things that we would be providing!" "Take the Oran Gutan Guild for example... Albeit being the second representative of our gaming organization... We didn''t feed nor gave them ''everything'' that they would need to become as powerful as us!" Pedro explained. Then, he added, saying, "We simply gave them a piece of information or two about which ''path'' is ideal for them to take... Everything else depends on how they capitalize the help we gave them!" Kazuto Kageyama simply nodded in response and said, "I understand your point, Mister Black! After all... Even if we become allies... We are still competing against each other, in a way!" Pedro simply nodded in response. And using this opportunity, Pedro took out a skill page and handed it over to Kazuto Kageyama. "T-This is..." Kazuto Kageyama could not help but lock his eyes to the skill page in response. In fact, even Ryu Taro could not help but stare at it¡ªcurious about what skill it was. "A-A-A TRANSFORMATION SKILL?!" Kazuto Kageyama shouted in astonishment. "EEEEEEEEEEHH?!" Ryu Taro stood in astonishment as his eyes seemed like they were about to pop out from their sockets. Then, he said in a trembling voice, "D-D-Don''t tell me that, that skill page is the MILLION DOLLAR WOLF TRANSFORMATION SKILL???" Pedro simply nodded with a smile before saying, "Yes, you are not mistaken!" Then, Pedro raised four of his fingers on his right hand, whilst saying, "If you agree to follow my ''suggestion'', and... You agree that you won''t re-sell the skill pages... Then... I can offer this skill page to you for only Four Thousand U.S. Dollars EACH!" "Of course... The supply is only limited per month, but... I can provide some slots for you¡ªas ''help'' from us!" Pedro said. Then, he explained the difference of the Transformation Skill from the ''Race'' Mechanics of the game, saying, "I think... Both of you know already, the major difference between what a Transformation Skill could offer compared to being tied up to a specific race, right?" Kazuto Kageyama simply nodded in response and said, "Although the Transformation Skill has, reportedly, a cooldown... It has fewer drawbacks compared to having a different race!" Ryu Taro nodded in agreement and said, "On top of that... The Players who bought these said skills¡ªdisplayed outstanding performance in the elimination round, consequently bringing their teams to the next stage of the tournament!" Kazuto Kageyama could not help but chuckle and say, "The Team of ''that'' famous fast-food chain even relied on the transformation skill most of the time! But..." Kazuto Kageyama glanced towards Pedro¡ªwith a serious demeanor, and said, "I don''t think that this transformation skill would be enough to compensate with the strength and power that we''d lose from giving up the Vampire Race!" "Did I say that the Transformation Skill is the only thing that I could offer?" Pedro chuckled in response. Then, he added, saying, "Well... It''s up to you! You can just inform me anytime¡ªif you want to proceed with our alliance!" Kazuto Kageyama could only sigh heavily in response. Then, he said, "Please give me some time to think things through! After all... The future of my guildmates and our gaming organization were on the line!" "I understand!" Pedro said. "It''s not like we are in a rush to form an alliance anyway!" At this moment, Kazuto Kageyama was about to return the Wolf Transformation Skill Page back to Pedro¡ªsince the alliance was yet to be officially established. But Pedro simply stopped him and said, "You can take that skill page as a sign of sincerity from us¡ªregarding the things that we talked about!" "But..." Kazuto Kageyama was about to insist otherwise... But seeing Pedro''s sincerity at that moment, he had no choice but to accept the wolf transformation skill page. "Then... I''d happily take your gift!" Kazuto Kageyama said in response. ... They exchanged a couple of words with each other before Kazuto Kageyama and Ryu Taro left¡ªto report everything they discussed with Pedro to the leaders of Team Fuji''s Gaming Organization. That said... Pedro was satisfied with his ''discussion'' with Kazuto Kageyama¡ªknowing that there''s a huge possibility that the ARES-FUJI Alliance would be established. "I am done with my ''presentation''! It''s up to them¡ªwhether they would side with us or not!" Pedro smirked mischievously! Chapter 295: The Need for a Developmental Team: a Second Sub-Guild! "Is it really alright for us to even offer Transformation Skills to Team Fuji Organization, just for an alliance?" Arvedar asked with a frown on his face. Mathew could only scratch the back of his head before adding, asking, "What do we get with forming an alliance with them in the first place?" Pedro simply chuckled in response before saying, "Why you ask? Isn''t it obvious?! To lessen our enemies in the future!" Arvedar couldn''t help but sigh in response and say, "It''s not like I am against what you did¡ªoffering, and revealing the information about the Transformation Skill, to them, but¡­ Don''t you think that it was a risky move¡ªespecially that we do not hold any form of assurance that would ensure that they won''t leak the information to everyone else?" "Relax, Arvee!" Pedro said. "Whether they leak the information about the transformation skill or not¡­ won''t be a problem! We have complete control in its supply¡ªeven its price, in the first place! So¡­ It''s not like the skill''s value would be affected!" "Well¡­ I just don''t want our group to gain more trouble!" Arvedar leaned his back to his chair. Then, he added, saying, "Our hands are also ''full'' as of now!" Pedro rubbed his chin in response¡ªpondering for a few seconds, before saying, "I understand your concern. But¡­ I have great trust with the Japanese Players! They won''t betray us that easily!" "Up to you, Cap!" Arvee said. Then, he shifted the topic by saying, "Moving forward¡­ What''s do you plan to do with the Anti-Adventurer''s Guild Faction in the South?" "Hmm¡­ Erafir reported that the remnants of the United Asian Force were taking advantage of the chaos in the south!" Pedro said. "The non-stop waves of monster attacks were already overpowering the combined forces of the Players¡ªunder the adventurer''s guild and the NPCs! And¡­ Those b@st@rds are probably using that opportunity to ''stain'' the reputation of the Adventurer''s Guild!" "It''s not like we can go there, nor do we have any force that we can deploy in that area!" Mathew added in response. "The members of Oran Gutan Guild have their hands full with the management of the Adventurer''s Guild Branches alone! And¡­ It''s not like we can send the fleet to the South! Our progress in the Western Side of the Continent would be wasted!" At this moment, Pedro could not help but glance at Faunia and ask, "Do we really have no other choice but to end the calamity?" Faunia kept her eyes closed and simply crossed her arms before saying, "It''s up to you, human! But¡­ If I were you¡­ I would focus on ''capitalizing'' on this opportunity to strengthen my men! After all¡­ In order to obtain power¡­ Some ''sacrifices'' are often needed to be made!" "Giving up the South, huh?" Pedro murmured in response. Then, he added, saying, "Things won''t end well between us and the NPCs from the south¡ªif we do that!" "You can''t please everyone, human!" Faunia said in response. Pedro could only sigh heavily in response¡ªhesitant to give up their control at the southern part of the Aquari Continent. Truth be told, the number of monsters¡ªspecifically wild mountain wolves, was increasing exponentially throughout the Aquari Continent at this moment. It was seemingly in proportion with the increasing population of players in the continent. That said, despite the ''developmental'' aid provided by the Adventurer''s Guild, players are unable to match the tenacity of the monsters. Thus, humans are slowly being cornered by the monsters brought by the calamity [also known as the Continental Quest]. Obviously, this was a good opportunity to strike for those who have ill intentions or those who desire to replace the Adventurer''s Guild. In fact, spreading rumors around could even work and help them slowly overthrow the Adventurer''s Guild with its control over the players in the southern part of the Aquari Continent. Sadly, Pedro lacks the manpower to retain a firm grasp over the whole Aquari Continent as of the moment. Their men, mostly from Oran Gutan Guild, were scattered everywhere and are busy leading and managing branches of Adventurer''s Guild in different strongholds in the continent. On the other hand¡­ He may be trying to establish an alliance with the other gaming organizations and players, but¡­ It does not necessarily mean that he would give them any information nor authority with regards to the management of the Adventurer''s Guild. Besides¡­ Such things¡ªlike alliance, were never ''set in stone'' in the first place. Even in the presence of contracts, Betrayal amongst allies is still bound to happen. That is why¡­ Pedro didn''t want to depend upon ''alliances'' to solve the current manpower problem, even if he can consider the loyalty of the Japanese Players. "Why don''t we just leave things as it is?" Aldo asked¡ªsurprising everyone else in response except Faunia. Then, he added, saying, "I mean¡­ Even if our branches in the south falls apart, we could at least make the NPCs realize that the Adventurer''s Guild did its best to help them ''till the very end!" "And¡­ It''s not like we can destroy them once again!" Arvedar added. "It took us weeks to ''find'' them and infiltrate their group! Destroying the hostile faction would just make things more difficult for us since we need to look for them again¡ªif such cases happened!" "You guys have a point¡­" Pedro said. Then, he sighed heavily before saying, "It seems like we need to establish another sub-guild!" Pedro paused for a second¡ªglancing to everyone else, before saying, "We have several days before our next match in the competition. Contact anyone you guys deem trustworthy, hardworking, and reliable¡ªboth in VR Games and in real life! Bring them here, and we''ll see if they''d be good enough to be part of our organization!" "Bro¡­ To be clear¡­ We would bring people for some kind of Job Interview, right?" Aldo asked. Pedro simply nodded in response before saying, "Trustworthy People, Bro!" "Got it!" Aldo said whilst giving Pedro a thumbs up. "But¡­ How are you planning to use the sub-guild that we are going to establish?" Mathew interjected with a frown on his face. Pedro simply chuckled in response and said, "Hmm¡­ I don''t know how should I explain it, but¡­ This sub-guild that we''re going to establish¡­ would act as our substitutes or support, in case the need arises!" "Even in professional competitions?" Mathew asked. Pedro simply nodded in response before saying, "Think of this as a ''contingency plan'' on our side! In-Game and Real-life events could happen at the same time, right?" "Like¡­ The previous war at the western side of the continent, for example!" Pedro explained. "What if such cases were to occur in the game, whilst a Real Life event¡ªlike competitions, were ongoing¡­ We would be forced to choose to abandon one of those two cases! Obviously¡­ We would prioritize "In-Game Events" over the Real Life ones! So¡­ The third sub-guild would not only act as our supports here in the game but also¡­ They could act as substitutes for us in pro-leagues!" Pedro paused for a second before adding, saying, "On top of that¡­ This would be a good chance to ''take advantage'' of the results of our experiment with the wolf transformation skill! Building an army of Werewolf Transforming Humans would not hurt for us, right?" "As for Lony¡­ It''s up to him if he would like to keep his Werewolf Transformation Skill, or if he would want to take his chances to obtain a randomly generated one!" Pedro said as he glanced towards Lony. Then, he added, saying, "Well¡­ If we win this competition¡­ Considering that he is the player that we deliberately advertised as our Ace¡­ There''s a huge probability that he''d be targeted by our enemies in the game¡ªand he could die because of that¡­" "In any case¡­ If the Oran Gutan Guild is our ''Source of Money''¡­ Then, this new sub-guild would be our ''Main Army''!" Pedro said before his face wore a mischievous smirk. Mathew could only scratch the back of his head, whilst his forehead weaved a few lines¡ªindicating that he was slightly troubled with Pedro''s plan. That said, he can''t deny the fact that Pedro was right. There was a chance that events both in real life and in the game could overlap and happen at the same time. In fact, in reality, Professional Gaming Organizations are often composed of two major groups of players. One is their ''Flag ship'' Group¡ªor their Main Team consisting of their "Best" Professional Players, while the other group is their ''Developmental'' Group¡ªwhere players with potential to be in the Main Team were being trained and developed. That way, in cases that a spot was needed to be immediately filled in the Main Team, the Gaming Organizations would have players who could, at the least, decently fill the said vacant roles or spots in the Main Team. As for the ''Gold Farming Teams''¡­ Only the Giant Gaming Organizations in the VR Games Industry have their own Gold Farming Teams. The reason behind this is simple. Independent Gold Farming Focused Gaming Organizations also exist. And¡­ Small Professional Gaming Organizations could just simply conduct trade with them, at the ''exact'' amount they needed. That way, the Small Professional Gaming Organizations would not need to worry about the management and the compensation of the players just for Gold Farming purposes. Besides¡­ It''s not like players could not earn coins for themselves. It''s just that there would be cases that they would suddenly need a lot of coins for some specific reasons¡ªbe it a quest, for weapon or item upgrades, and such. Of course¡­ Mathew knows about this fact since he previously worked in a Different Professional Gaming Organization himself. In fact, he was confused as to why Pedro made the Oran Gutan Guild a Gold Farming Team, instead of their "Developmental Team". It''s not like the ARES Electronics Inc., a newly established Gaming Organization, could be considered as a "Giant" in the VR Gaming Industry in the first place. That said¡­ Knowing their current circumstance¡­ He knew that they had no choice but to establish a "Developmental Team" of their own. "Who would lead the sub-guild, Captain?" Mathew asked. Then, he added, asking, "Do you have someone in mind?" "I want Weyron to take that role, but¡­ I doubt that he would be able to let go of the Oran Gutan Guild at this point!" Pedro said in a slightly dismayed tone. Then, he sighed heavily before saying, "Anyway¡­ I am still undecided, but I have a few people in mind!" "In case you guys have anyone you want to recommend to lead the new sub-guild to be established¡­ Don''t hesitate to tell me about it. The more the candidates for the leader position, the more choices we have, the better!" Pedro said.