【Chapter 3】
🄴🄽🄸🄶🄼🄰🅃🄸🄲 🄳🄴🄱🅃
'Who the hell is Pirubaan? Is this my name in this world?'
As Guster couldn't for the life of him figure out what in the abyss he was talking about, his eyes darted over to the surrounding guards, who had halted to converse with a merchant a few meters behind him. When the large brute noticed the sidelong gaze, he grabbed him by the front of his black coat and yanked him nearer so Guster could smell his hot, rancid breath.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. Things could get messy..."
Guster was caught in a bind. How ought he to have acted?
Should he have attempted to shake him loose so the guards could be informed?
Should he have given the brute the little money he had left and told him Guster would get the rest later?
Should he instead inform him that he wasn't in possession of the gold at the time but would get it to him later?
Guster pondered if Oracle's Vision could be used to estimate someone's power level like it did for his own stats since it's usual to observe someone's power level in video games. Gaster attempted to gauge the scale of the gigantic jumble in front of him by using the Oracle Vision skill.
It worked!
The brute's stats were shown :
[Oracle's vision is showing the stats of the selected person →
Level: 10
Health - 1000
Mana- 0
Ki- 0
Agility - 1000
Attack power - 1000
Defense- 1000]
Then, he proceeded to check his own stats.
[Stats: Level-2
Health - 1000
Mana- 0
Ki- 0
Agility - 190 (boots in effect)
Attack power - 100 (glove)
Defense- 410 (suit)]
'Compared to my stats, this fella is a pure monster. There’s no way I can beat him in a duel.'
Guster spoke hastily while raising both his palms in an effort to quiet the savage. "Listen, I just need a couple extra days; I don't have the gold right now."
The brute's dark brown eyes peered into Guster's, searching for the truth before flashing him a smile so repulsive it made Guster's skin crawl. "One week. The Shadow Seekers will pursue you if you don't find the gold within the week I've given you."
After releasing Guster's coat, he turned away and yelled over his shoulder, "Bring the gold to House Vredon's agent Puppet Master!"
Guster's shoulders crumpled beneath the strain, and his heart plummeted slowly in his chest at the utterance of the phrase "Shadow Seekers."
He had heard stories from Zelton about those callous bastards. The Shadow Seekers, a cult established on the Oceanid Empire to serve as the bloody right hand of the House Vredon, were infamous for signing contracts with anyone who would hire them and for having hidden agents in almost every city in the world. They were vicious and sadistic.
He would not want to become involved with them, even if only half the rumors he had heard about them were genuine. That prompted the question of how he had come into contact with them in the first place.
As he came to the realization that the debt in that life was probably simpler than this one, he began to mourn his life in his home world.
'Least, I had time.'
His thoughts occasionally flashed back to memories of the home, but soon the recollection was shrouded by an unbreachable mist that he was unable to penetrate. He proceeded towards the outskirts part of town with yet another sigh of frustration at what he had dragged himself into.
He tilted his head once again as he strolled past the guards stationed at the outside gates of the town and into the pleasant countryside.
Relieved to be free and back out on the open road, he took in a lungful of the wonderful, rich aroma of manure that lingered in the spring breeze and looked out towards the fields of swaying golden wheat that spread out as far as the eye could see.
He felt a pinch of hunger as the well-traveled route that wound through the fields reminded him that it had been some time since he had last eaten.
He contemplated grabbing a few ears of wheat just to get some meal in his tummy, but Zelton's tales had taught him that some of these fields might be magically secured.
'Ah, it doesn’t matter. Let's give it a try.'
He hopped over the left side of the path like a complete fool, grinning merrily at the potential for danger, and stooped down to pluck off a few ears of wheat when all of a sudden he experienced an excruciating pain in the palm of his hand.
He watched in horror as the ears of wheat sprang to life like leeches and burrowed into his skin.
[The Honey Badger defense suit remains active. The invasion from the outside is being protested.]
[Defense : 410]
Battling the mounting panic that surged inside of him, he yanked the magically infused wheat from his grasp, hurled it into the ground, and stamped on it until it stopped moving.
His body shook at the close call, and he slowly walked away, his belly still grumbling.
He avoided taking any damage because of the artifact "Honey Badger's defensive Suit," which improved his defense stat; otherwise, things would have turned out worse.
That the meadows immediately outside the town walls would be guarded in such a manner shouldn't have shocked him, he supposed.
With sweat dripping down his brow, he continued plodding along the lonely road, his head bent, belly gnawing at his sides, and mouth dry with thirst, when he heard the distant shouts and screams of someone calling out for help.
The head lifted worriedly, he glanced around and saw a trail of black smoke lazily rising into the air a scant few miles from where he was.
Checking the map crafted by the Oracle's vision, he knew that the smoke must be coming from the direction of Sherfield, a small farming village to the west of town.
In quest of the origin of the loud cries that sliced through the air, he strode up the hill, skirting the wheat field, eager to learn what was going on.
As he neared the outskirts of the run-down settlement, his steps halted as he witnessed in sheer terror as a pack of wild silver wolves the size of fully grown horses poured into the small hamlet, their grey fur slick with blood as they leapt atop helpless villagers to bring them crashing down, tore out their throats, and sprayed their life blood across the dark soil in ever-growing puddles of blood.
