Cynthia and I started heading south after asking around the town, I also went to the prison where 'One-eyed Jack' was held and investigated. Everything pointed south. If the info we collected was correct, then all we had to do was go south where there is a cave that 'One-eyed Jack' used as his base.
'Lilith, how long to get there?' I asked
'About 5 minutes at the pace that we're going'
'Please be alert'
'Roger'
Cynthia and I soon arrived at the foot of a mountain, there was a small cave hidden in the bushes
"Cynthia, please" I requested
Cynthia raised her rod and a small glowing orb appeared, we used it as our light source when we entered the cave but I still used my night vision.
'Zeno, life-form detected above!' Lilith alerted me but it was already too late, a shadow dropped down and aimed a knife at Cynthia's neck
"Don't even think about doing anything" The man spoke, I assume that this is 'One-eyed Jack'
'Lilith! what happened?!' I always trusted Lilith's ability in detecting enemies
'I'm sorry Zeno but this man was using some kind of ability, he was wrapped up in energy while he was hanging on the ceiling, this has caused my scanners to register him as the energy that I normally detect in the atmosphere' Lilith apologized
'...I'm sorry Lilith, we still lack information about this world. It was wrong for me to blame you'
'Apology accepted'
"Hehe, never thought that they'd actually send some adventurers after me, tell me, who put you up to this?" One-eyed Jack kept laughing
"Why would I tell you that?" I tried to buy time
"Because this woman's life is on the line" He laughed before continuing
"Kill the lights" He pointed the knife at Cynthia's neck
"Do it Cynthia" Cynthia's light orb vanished the moment I said those words
"Heh, you can't see me but I can still see you thanks to that glowing head of yours" One-eyed Jack was confident
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'Lilith, rush mode'
'Acknowledged'
A stream of red light passed by One-eyed Jack and Cynthia before the former collapsed to the ground
"You alright?" I asked Cynthia as I sheathed Azazel
"I'm fine but this disgusting man touched my waist, I'll have to take a thorough bath later" Cynthia summoned the orb of light and again
"This mission was a bit easy..." I remarked as I beheaded 'One-eyed Jack' this will serve as a proof
"Yeah, I expected this bandit to put up a fight"
"I expected traps and all of that..." I was a bit disappointed
'Zeno, is this a good time?' Lilith asked
'What is it?' I replied
'It's about Vice-' Lilith suddenly stopped halfway
'What's wrong?'
'Alien life form detected!' Lilith quickly alerted me
'What?! where?!' I quickly drew Azazel and looked around
'On the dead body'
"Something wrong?" Cynthia asked
"...Nothing...thought I heard some footsteps earlier" I apologized as I re-sheathed Azazel
'Lilith, report'
'Alien bug number 13: Bug of Desire, First seen in the mission 'Gambling paradise' these bugs are parasitic, they stick to the host and enhance their lust, greed, and their vices while also releasing a chemical that makes the host unusually happy. The purpose of these bugs is to act as a spy'
'Lilith...could it be?'
'Possibility of Alien life-forms on this world has been raised to 76%'
'Scan the area for any more signs of alien life forms'
'I already scanned the area, I only detected a cracked shell behind that rock'
I walked to the rock that Lilith pointed and picked up the small broken shell
'Scan this'
'Scanning... Scanning complete, This came from Alien Bug number 17: Corpse Scarab. These beetle-like creatures release the small bugs of desire, they are usually the scouts of the entire Bug army'
"Zeno, you've been standing there... are you really alright?" Cynthia asked
"I'm fine, just a bit lost in thought" I turned around and faced Cynthia
"Then, let's go... it's getting dark"
"yeah"
Cynthia and I started making our way back to the city
'Lilith, use 'Reflection System' and send out signals'
'Reflection System will only work if there is an Allied ship to receive the signal and reflect it back, I only detected Alien life-forms... are you betting on the chance that an allied ship also came to this world?' Lilith asked
'Yeah'
'This will cost 40% of DK's energy to send out long-range signals, requesting for approval'
'Go ahead' I can always recharge
'Sending out signals....expected response will come tomorrow'
'Good work'
We finally arrived back to the city, we headed for a dark alleyway to meet up with the person who sent the request. I took out the head and presented it to the man who requested us, he was clearly happy with what he saw and gave us our reward before leaving.
According to Marcus, this is a personal request. Personal requests are also called 'Headhunting quests' because you are required to kill a person, these requests are only approved if the person you are hunting have committed a grave sin
I went back to my room and slept, I can't get in the mood to eat... there's too much in my mind... these bugs... my job is not yet finished, I need to fight them again but how? not only do I lack in equipment I also lack allies... Fujo, Rick, Cynthia and the others have no experience in fighting these bugs and I highly doubt that their steel swords can penetrate the shells of these bugs...What do I do?