Randidly had forgotten that this was not Earth Here strength was everything People would kill for a scrap of food With the anger hot in his belly Randidly stepped forward with fire in his eyes Life was not an incredibly precious thing It was worth less than a slab of bacon
That was what the system did It transformed you It transformed your world into a place where you either killed for strength or died to someone who wanted it more than you Just like Randidly’s strength was rising so was the strength of the System aiming against them Shal spoke of Calamities Raid Bosses were growing in strength Eventually the walls of the Zone Donnyton was in would come down
If Randidly had insufficient strength at that point he would never have another shot He was already taking enough of a risk by refusing to capitulate to the system and receive a class for now at least As such
He needed to seize every opportunity presented to him Or he would inevitably die
Chapter 150
Randidly stood panting almost 10 minutes later a dozen or so bodies around him ripped to pieces or devoured by insects or burnt to a crisp or slowly drowning in their own foaming saliva as Pollen of the Rafflesia destroyed their body from the inside
He stood with closed eyes panting Even though the anger had justified this to himself and even now he still believed in those reasons it was one thing to kill another It was entirely different to look at the bodies of those you had slain and lay their spirits to rest inside of yourself But Randidly stood there and struggled slowly adjusting his mindset
He had killed before and will kill again That was definitely true But today especially in the wake of being presented with the choice by Shal it felt like he had stepped on a path of death But in his heart Randidly knew that this was bound to happen All those months ago when given the choice he chose this
When he selected rot and got Pollen of the Rafflesia and Edge of Decay
When he had chosen the path of the stinking corpse lily
Still it hit him strangely now Perhaps it was their weakness They were much weaker than him Just average people here the dregs of society And he had killed them for envying his meat
After a few more minutes his breathing slowly turned to even Randidly opened his eyes the green in them dark like a shadowed forest Then he turned and began walking calmly over towards the woman who had given him the meat
In this world displays like this were common There was no need to feel embarrassment or shame Those around had simply backed up while it happened and picked through the bodies as Randidly departed showing their callous treatment of death This was a fact of life to them
For a second Randidly regretted leaving his spear attendants back in Qtal They really were rather convenient for avoiding interactions like this But it would be useful The faction the woman clearly belonged to seemed rather normal And perhaps it would be good to appear friendly after killing those people for relations here as they waited for caravans
Then Randidly sighed He had no fucking idea how to deal with interpersonal stuff Was it weird that he transitioned so quickly from killing to going to offer food But he was already walking over so it seemed strange to just turn around The woman had noticed his approach and was gazing at him
Randidly’s frown deepened What if she thought it was some sort of courting ritual Well he supposed it wasn’t worth it to worry One of the few sayings he had taken away from his mother was that humans are only big enough to hold emotions for one person so worry about how you feel and fuck the rest And do your best to feel good that’s all life is about ’ The point had wandered at the end but he had found worrying solely about himself and leaving other people to their own feeling involved less interaction on his part and appreciated it
Hello again He said simply walking up to the woman Another shorter woman had approached as he came and was standing nearby leaning on her spear
The woman he had spoken to nodded serenely and then said nothing
Scratching his ear Randidly just said it I had some extra of the boar you gave me Here as thanks for helping me No one else would
Randidly waved his hand and produced a pot with quite a bit of the extra meat and vegetables The woman nodded as if this was the most normal thing in the world and took it Then she bowed to him
I appreciate the gesture Mr
Ghosthound
Mr Ghosthound then If you need any more wildlife please come find me My name is Jade You appear to have the Cooking skill which is rather rare but appreciated We of the Willow Tree Spear Style will be willing to sample your cooking anytime
Randidly shifted awkwardly and nodded No problem Then he turned and walked back to Shal
As Shal seemed perfectly content to rest Randidly removed bracers and began to Engrave Time slowly slipped past It was frustrating but he didn’t seem to be able to get above 60% for now with the other two types of Engraving But he kept using all of his mana to make a Weeping Cloud and attempting it Shal didn’t even seem to mind as his face lost a lot of its lines as the soft rain landed on him
About 3 hours after they arrived just around the time Randidly was switching over to playing with his Root Spiders to pass the time a caravan rolled past Randidly stood but Shal shook his head Confused Randidly looked at him
This is not the quarry for which we wait Do not worry it will come within the day
Meanwhile the largest group present with rust color armor rolled forward headed down towards the caravan Several people from the caravan separated from it getting off their horses and walking over to meet the bandits
This road is very special Banditry is encouraged here on most caravans Brave and foolhardy and desperate merchants use this road The other routes are relatively safer but take much longer It was a lesson made by the founder of Tomkat who had a very large disdain for merchants
Randidly watched as the bandits split off too an exact number equal to the defenders continuing forward Then they battled in a group the bandits quickly overpowering most of the defenders except for one That individual fought valiantly until 3 bandits ganged up on her and stabbed her repeatedly killing her
Aside from that very exemplary individual who died just like that the rest ceased fighting with just wounds Randidly felt slightly sad for that young woman who died just like that for some strange reason that he couldn’t understand
There seem to be some rules Randidly asked Shal snorted
The playacting of the weak Worry not when you make your move you will not bother with it
Randidly’s eyes rose My move
Shal leaned back and closed his eyes again Of course we wish to be imprisoned in a place that cannot contain us if I reveal my strength they will place me in the highest tower without a hope of escape So I am just a companion of yours Keep yourself ready They may arrive at anytime
Mulling this information over Randidly settled back down around the fire they had made The bandits returned guffawing and happy having been paid off by the caravan to let the rest of them pass
With nothing else to do Randidly returned to Engraving But he was swiftly interrupted by a familiar voice
Mr Ghosthound are you engraving
Randidly looked up sharply The figure was basically indistinguishable from all of the other members of that strange Style due to their golden robes but the voice made him confident it was Jade He also felt slightly guilty for so blatantly practicing Engraving after Claptrap had implied that it was extremely dangerous but he didn’t really think he would be here long enough for it to matter
So to her question he hesitated but nodded That seemed to put her very deep in thought All of a sudden Randidly recognized from Shal’s stillness that he was paying very very close attention to what was being said
Jade bowed to Randidly then and then to Shal twice We had recognized you Artisan Shal but hadn’t known how to ask for your help But for the son of the Spear Phantom we would pay a high price for your