Flashes of light and other effects from Artes clashing with each other bloomed and wilted just as quickly on Luxore town. Civilians were mostly gone from the streets while the non-magical security guys were busy containing the damage, such as putting out a fire or helping people out from a collapsed building.
During Viers fight with Leon, there was a group of four town guards nearby. They didn't intervene in Viers's battle, only observing the spectacle before them. The guards arrived roughly when Leon created a visually impressive lighting cage.
Most of them felt weak in the knees when they saw that, once again reminded of their difference with those who were blessed to be born with the ability to wield the strength of nature. They kept their distance and witnessing the battle from behind some cover.
“Whoa, cool! That cultist is doomed, right guys?”
“Is he though? I don't know...”
“Humph, that guy from the church will definitely win! That fat cultist will soon be a fat corpse.”
“Serves them right, those cultist bastards really made a mess of our town!”
A middle-aged man, the captain of this group of riff-raff did not answer the new recruit’s jubilations as if he was a deaf man.
“I want to put the cultist's head on a spike, without the mask. I bet he will look more handsome that way.”
“Mgggh, it's hard to see what's going on inside with the lightning arcs obscuring the view.”
“Are we gonna be okay this close? Shouldn't we move farther away?”
Suddenly the cage was broken, what they saw was a headless body and the separated head was falling down.
“Holy hell, the church guy lost! How could a Legionnaire lose?”
“Stupid, he’s not a member of the Silver Legion yet you doofus. Not all of the church militant are a Legionnaire, they need to be great or special enough to be called to the church’s headquarters and finish the training there before they become a member of the prestigious Silver Legion.”
“Never mind that, what should we do now, captain? Wait, what is he doing? He’s looting him! Ooh, look at that pendant! Must be a magic item, looks expensive too...”
“...We will do nothing, let him go away then we continue saving people after he’s gone.” The captain spoke.
“Why? Look, he’s hurt and walking weakly… and he’s praying? Either way, this is our chance to kill him!”
“Look, young man, he’s a Path-seeker. They are a different breed from normal humans like us. Don't get involved with Path-seekers business, it will get you killed.”
“So what? He’s just a level 0, just a little bit stronger than us. He’s injured and tired. After that fight, he must be out of juice! We got the numbers and after we kill him, the church's people will reward us handsomely for the return of their magic item. We’ll be loaded for months!”
“I agree. Not to mention we’re doing our duty to protect the town and its people by killing that murderer, terrorist, devil-worshiper plump pig.”
“Haaah, do as you like. I won't go, don't say I didn't warn you.”
“...Captain, I misjudged you. Fine, if you want to stay here then stay! I’m going. Men, which one among you want to kill this fucker that let loose a Ghoul in our town?”
The captain watched in silence when the hothead and his friend went after the limping cultist. He faced the remaining recruit that remained.
“Not going?”
“...I’m afraid, sir.”
“...I know, I’m afraid too.”
The captain saw what transpired in silence. The two town’s guards attacked the limping person, then they got killed in seconds.
The cultist wielded his sword like someone with a few months of experience, not an expert swordsman by any means but he was faster and stronger than the two guards. They attacked him from two sides but it didn't matter much, each of them let out a brief yelp before their lifeless body dropped to the ground.
After their demise, the masked murderer set his eyes on the captain for a few seconds before going away, gradually increasing the speed of his steps. The cultist movement was unimpeded, as if he was not injured at all. The white demonic mask with a touch of blood under faint illumination was a terrifying sight for the two survivors.
“See that, boy? Remember, fear is important for survival.”
***
Luxore town was a modest gathering of buildings in a somewhat medieval style. The houses were mostly had two stories or lower, while the better part of the town in the center districts had more high buildings and less space available between each building.
Bah, what a waste of Victa. Why they attacked me? Don't they know how strong a Path-seeker is? Hmn… the education rate of this world is horrible so maybe most people especially the non-magic ones are uneducated thus prone to do something incredibly stupid? I mean how smart people from the medieval era anyway? I don’t know… maybe they thought rains are angel’s piss or something.
Viers couldn't hear what they were saying to each other but he heard their whispers, therefore, aware of their presence. He played the role of an injured person to catch them off guard if the need arises, which it did. He didn't pay any attention to the remaining two people. His wounds were mostly healed or no longer bleeding. It was time for him to harvest some benefits.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Viers was following the sound of the Ghoul which appeared to be in the process of rampaging at the nicer part of town. He didn't dare to get too close to the mindless monster so his plan was to pick up whatever he can from the Ghoul’s wake of destruction.
My Victa is low, but I should have just enough for a maximized Rapid Water Steps and made a getaway. It's risky but I’m willing to take it. Any sign of danger then I’m high-tailing it. So, during a crisis like this, what can I gain? Loot the corpse of the Ghoul’s victims? Unless they are Path-seeker corpses, I doubt they would have something valuable.
It wasn't difficult to find the trail of a big angry monster smashing things left and right. Signs of Arte from the resistance such as a half broken rock wall jutted from the ground in the middle of the road and a wooden house missing part of its wall as if something sharp cut it clean off were scattered here and there.
At first, Viers found some people on the path where the Ghoul passed. Civilians and town’s guards went left and right doing damage control. Viers felt the scene was comparable to the aftermath of a natural disaster. When they saw Viers with his mask, the people gave him a wary look and wide berth, some of them immediately turned around and ran from the big bad masked cultist.
Most were civilians so Viers didn't care about them and continued on his way, as he moved closer to the Ghoul, the fewer people were on his vicinity and the nicer the neighborhood became. Viers was running through these streets where nice looking shops were lined up on his left and right. Before long, he found what he was looking for.
It's a good thing that the Ghoul went to the deeper parts of town. If it stays at the slums, what benefits can I gain there? Oh! This looks nice.
He found a fancy restaurant with a broken entrance. This particular restaurant was famous for serving high-quality monster dishes which were extremely expensive, the taste was rumored to be as high as the price.
I didn't pick this restaurant because I was hungry, definitely not! Whoever accuses me of that, I will sue them for slander!
Viers unconsciously gulped his saliva.
I need to test if eating monster replenishes my life-force! When I ate the Tomalica, I couldn't tell the difference but maybe because it’s too low in quality, where and WHEN else can I get some strong monster meat for free? Well… assuming there is still some inside.
Viers went inside, about ten or so tables were in front of him. Some fancy half-eaten food were on tables, but most were on the floor with broken plates. If there was suddenly a massive earthquake when the restaurant was operating, people won’t mind their table manners much.
Table for one. Bring me your most expensive food! Muahhaaha!
Viers went inside with a brisk pace but carefully avoided the organic matter on the floor.
I’m not gonna eat these leftovers… I’m not that desperate, a man got to have some standards.
His steps made so little noise thanks to the expansive carpet on the floor, the cooking area was his next destination. He was pleasantly surprised by what he found.
“Oh-la-la, nice!”
I don’t know what these dishes are but I can taste their deliciousness just by looking at them... I hope I don't strip after eating them, heh.
There were some plates ready to be eaten in the kitchen. They had magical stoves in this world and they were already turned off, various ingredients were left unfinished in various cooking processes because the restaurant cooks were gone.
Or not, Viers heard a squeak. He immediately unsheathed his sword and spoke towards the source of the sound.
“Come out slowly or I will make you come out dead-ly. You have three seconds.” Viers regretted his choice of words immediately.
Dead-ly? Fuck me, so cheesy. Damn it… language was never my thing.
“Eeep! W-wait! We will come out, please don’t hurt us.”
Two freighted young women came out from the door-less opening on the wall, Viers couldn’t see them immediately because they were out of his line of sight.
“Just the two of you? Where are the other employees?” Viers asked the two women who were most likely the restaurant’s waitresses
“They went outside, we thought... hiding and staying here is better.”
“…Possibly, I’m not going to judge, suit yourself. Okay then, don’t make any sudden movements, don’t go against me, and answer my questions. I would rather not killing people unless it’s necessary, deal?”
“D-deal…”
“Good, first things first, one of you bring me all the money on the cash register.”
High-class restaurant, the quests must be paying quite a sum… mine now. Huehehe.
“Come on chop-chop, I’m on a tight schedule.” Viers urged because they didn’t move.
“W-what’s a cash register, sir?”
Welp, my mistake. What am I? A convenience store robber? Wrong era.
“Just get me the money in this restaurant. Don’t think of running away, if you get too far from me, all your blood will come out from every pore of your body... very painful.” Viers cocked his head to the side.
Lies, but they don't know that.
“Y-yesss,” one of them went away, terrified, like a baby chicken before a giant boa.
“As for you, explain to me these dishes. From what monster are they? Which tier? You got some monster meat in the back?”
“R-right away, sir! That one is from a tier 3 boar, the yellow one was a tier 2 chicken, the soup was from tier 1 corn monster. And yes, we got some rare and strong monster ingredients in the storage but they are uncooked.”
“Good, bring me there.” Said Viers after taking the boar meat dishes, he planned to eat it while he walked. He took a few seconds to dive into his realm of consciousness to measure his life-force before started eating.
I should not spend too much time eating, I will just eat the most expensive of them before looking for other stores to loot.
Viers followed the trembling woman as they went to the storeroom. All kinds of ingredients were inside, most were put in cases, boxes, and jars. Viers expected a big refrigerator for a food storeroom but it wasn’t cold at all. They used some kind of magic item to keep the ingredients fresh.
Thank goodness I don’t have to force myself to eat a lump of frozen uncooked meat. Just uncooked is bad enough already…
“Nice, explain to me from the most expensive ones.”
“Certainly…”
Viers listened to her explanations while eating, the other waitress he sent away returned shortly.
“S-s-sir, m-my humblest apologies but the… the money was gone. There are signs of forceful tampering.” She was very terrified when she spoke the bad news, hoping Viers didn’t condemn her to death.
Hmm… crap, it seems I was too late. Oh well, it’s useless crying over spilled milk.
“Well, that is unfortunate. You can go now, both of you. Don’t disturb me and you’ll live.”
“Ah! Thank you, sir!”
“Thank you, thank you!”
Viers just waved his hand while finishing his meal in response to the two women. After they left, he dived again to check his life-force.
It increased! YES! Just a little but there’s an improvement! The stronger the monster is, the more life-force I get when eating their meat. Wait a minute, will different parts of monsters such as their heart, liver, or brain more 'life' rich? Meh, I will experiment on that later, my current mealtime is very limited.
Fifteen… no, ten minutes. Eat as much as I can then go to other places for other loot! An equipment store would be nice, my current gear is a bunch of crap. Time for an upgrade!
Viers’s eyes glinted with a ferocious appetite. He took off his mask and licked his lips.
“Time to get this food party started!”
Viers ate like the personification of Gluttony, he felt like he was eating life itself.