Given such a choice, Sammuel needed to think this through.
Sammuel didn’t understand why he had such low Combat Power but it didn’t diminish the fact that Xeril would soar to the very skies. It was essentially fate for him to revitalize his family.
“Sammuel, I’m not going to lie. I need someone to stand by my side while I’m weak and so far you’re the best candidate for the position. Once I reclaimed everything that’s rightfully mine, I’ll reward you with riches that you will never have to work a single day of your life.” Xeril proudly said. He had the right to say so.
It took Sammuel a long period of silence before answering. “I can’t be your subordinate.”
“That’s… a shame.” Xeril sighed. Considering his momentum, he expected Sammuel to agree.
“But the institution piqued my interest. I could stand by your side during this time but I don’t think I can stay for much longer afterwards.”
Xeril’s eyes widened. “That’s good enough! There’s enough time for you to change your mind later. I just need to save up enough money to get in.”
“I could pitch in. How much do you need?” Sammuel wasn’t interested in buying anything for the time being. He has a stable way to receive income from his deal with Lawrence.
“I need 62 more gold coins.”
Sammuel didn’t say anything else and understood the problem. Sammuel had around a total of 34 gold coins on his person. Without missing a beat, he gave Xeril 30 gold coins immediately. As for whether Xeril would take it and run, Sammuel didn’t even think of it. If someone who had a Diamond Card Quality ran away with such a paltry sum then he could only blame himself for being too gullible.
“I can get you 30 more gold coins in a week’s time.”
“You could get that much money so quickly? What are you going to do? Fight in an underground arena?”
Sammuel merely shook his head. “I have something else in mind.”
They both exchanged contacts so that they could know where to find each other. He couldn’t return to the underground arena as he already dominated the fights so one-sidedly that he was banned from fighting again. It had made the fights boring for the spectators.
To get 30 gold coins within a week, he had to take advantage of all of his understanding of Aganth, the city of commerce. That was approximately 4.3 gold coins a day. With his deal with Lawrence, he could get 20 silver coins a day, this brought his required amount down to 4.1 gold coins a day.
This was going to be an extremely taxing week but Sammuel had a plan. It involved something that only he could do.
Going back to the inn and practicing [Flowering Swordsmanship], Sammuel detailed his plan within his mind. Aganth centered around trade so he was going to use this to his advantage.
With only 4 gold coins left, he spent 2 gold coins to purchase information. This seemed to be an extreme waste from another person’s point of view but Sammuel went to think deeply thinking about his current advantages.
Reading the list, “Sharly Stone, market price 3 gold coins. Found near rivers that have eroded a certain rock. Thorned Purple Berry, market price 1 gold coin per berry. The common food of the rare Underthyn species, acquired from shrubbery growing inside a cave.”
The list continued on listing every single item that had a base market value of 1 gold coin alongside their market price and descriptions.
His interaction with Lawrence made him realize how easy it would be for him to find rare items that other people would be hard-pressed to acquire. After all, he could also see the description of items. It’s just that up until now, there hadn’t been an actual reason for him to use it other than during his first month in this world consuming fruits and berries.
Moving out, this time Sammuel was increasing the number of things he could do at once. From targeting creatures that had a Bronze Card Quality and seeking out these valuable treasures, there was much room for improvement.
[Assimilation Requirements:
Condition: Reach 50 Combat Power | Reward: Ego Fusion
Ego Fusion: Use Ego of the same species to empower each other.
Condition: Awaken to Mana | Reward: Increase Mana Affinity
Condition: Gain 5 Bronze Ego | Reward: Ego Delegation
Ego Delegation: Change EXP Gain and Affinity Level based on chosen Ego. Does not affect inherent stats.]
The current tasks given to him were without a shred of doubt, much more difficult to accomplish. Yet they weren’t so far out of reach.
For example, [Ego: Runic Bear] currently has a Combat Power of 22.76 while still being level 3. At around level 7, it would reach the requirement to accomplish such a task. Pushing it even further, if Sammuel used [Flowing Swordsmanship] alongside [Ego: Runic Bear]then it would only need to be level 5.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
And for gaining 5 Bronze Card Quality [Ego], Sammuel currently had 2 that had a Bronze Card Quality, [Ego: Base] and [Ego: Runic Bear]. He could evolve [Ego: Goblin] by spending time trying to increase his affinity with it but he didn’t see it as worth it.
It was clear that a goblin was a weak card, it wouldn’t do him that well in the future. Other than its slightly sneaky body, there were a plethora of other creatures that could do much better than it.
Sammuel proceeded to focus on his quota of Mirage Apples. After getting what he required for the day, he stored it in his sack and continued on forward. Memorizing the list, Sammuel kept an eye out to see if any names popped up.
[Feigned Leaf]
[Mirage Apple]
[Queen’s Temptation]
Seeing such names pop up, Sammuel sighed. These weren’t anything valuable. Cross-referencing the vault of information in his head, he noticed that a lot of these items came from caves. With how risky it was to enter a dark and unexplored cave, it made sense for people not to want to enter it.
Unlike them, Sammuel somewhat had the confidence to move on. He wasn’t as intimidated as he could always accurately know whether or not the enemy before him was stronger than him. Choosing a large gap beside a mountain, Sammuel bravely entered it.
Just as [Ego: Goblin] gave Sammuel a nimble body, [Ego: Runic Bear] gave him night vision. It seemed to give him a trait from the creature he was using. This made him feel a little bit more secure about proceeding forward.
A silent and quiet intruder would attract fewer eyes than a person blatantly waving a fire in the dark.
Keeping track of everything before him, he saw a group of monsterized bats hanging above him. Their sizes were larger than humans as they slumbered. Sammuel kept his mouth shut and carefully observed them.
[Species: Hemorrhaging Bat
Card Quality: Bronze
Star Quality: 1 | 8/10 | EXP: 43/100%
Affinity Level: 9.38%
Combat Power: 32.43]
If it was a single creature then Sammuel wouldn’t hesitate at all to go all out and strike it down. The allure of possibly gaining an [Ego] and having actual decent improvement to his EXP was too much. Yet seeing 5 Hemorrhaging Bats huddled together made Sammuel think otherwise.
A Runic Bear was a creature that was inherently stronger than a Hemorrhaging Bat but in this case, the level difference between them actually made Sammuel’s [Ego] weaker. Upon seeing that one of the Hemorrhaging Bats suddenly started noticing something amiss, Sammuel quickly acted.
[Switch Ego: Goblin]
Sammuel’s vision turned black as it was replaced by darkness. He might not be able to see but he could still hear the Hemorrhaging Bat moving around. It settled down in place once again, no longer agitated like earlier.
Although it was a completely weaker [Ego], in this specific situation, it was more valuable to Sammuel. After all, just beyond his reach was an interesting item.
[Solidified Pure Blood]
An item formed when a Hemorrhaging Bat consumes its prey. They have a unique way of spewing their own corrosive blood into the bloodstream of their prey, slowly burning them from the inside. The Hemorrhaging Bats would then suck it all back to consume the nutrients. The Solidified Pure Blood was the remnants of a Hemorrhaging Bat’s meal on the floor.
Due to the innate corrosive blood of a Hemorrhaging Bat turning much calmer as it mixed with another creature’s blood, it was a surprisingly effect medicine when properly processed.
A gram costs around 50 silver coins. There are around 14 grams here.
Sammuel carefully made his way forward, making sure that there were no problems at all. Despite already having a very high Combat Power, Sammuel knew that this wasn’t their greatest danger, it was their blood. You may be able to slay them down but your blade may dissolve alongside them.
Unless you had a ranged attack, there was no point in fighting against them. Sammuel carefully took these 14 grams and slowly made his way back. He had made sure that he didn’t stumble anywhere. He wouldn’t make a mistake this far in.
Though, as perfectly as Sammuel could play this, not everything will work in his favor. One of the Hemorrhaging Bats flew down, deciding to consume its leftovers from its last meal. When it went down, it had noticed that there was no longer anything there. Angered, it screeched information to the rest of the Hemorrhaging Bats of an intruder.
With something entering their territory so blatantly, they all flew out and decided to find out where it was and drain its blood. Sammuel could only blame his bad luck. Pocketing the Solidified Pure Blood, Sammuel unsheathed his blade.
[Switch Ego: Runic Bear]
[Flowing Swordsmanship | Gain Combat Power: +12.43 | Sammuel: 35.19]
[Status: Fear | Lose Combat Power: -1.13 | Sammuel: 34.06]
A negative status condition. It had been a while since Sammuel had seen such a thing. He tried to recompose himself yet knowing just how dangerous these Hemorrhaging Bats were, he couldn’t fake it. He was genuinely afraid of his current predicament.
As such, the only thing Sammuel could do in a situation like this was run. There was no shame in such a thing, after all, the winners were the ones who were still left alive.
No longer needing to be quiet, Sammuel bulldozed all the obstacles before him. A straight dash to the outside.
The Hemorrhaging Bats pursued the intruder. Their eerie cries made Sammuel even more unnerved.
[Status: Fear | Lose Combat Power: -1.15 | Sammuel: 34.04]
The thought of having your body stuffed with another creature's blood as it slowly marinated you for consumption was terrifying. Flashes of the past where a mountain of corpses filled his mind. Up to this day, it was a scene he would never forget.
[Status: Fear | Lose Combat Power: -1.3 | Sammuel: 33.89]
This wasn’t good, Sammuel was just making things difficult for himself. Taking a deep breath, Sammuel began to think this through logically. Hemorrhaging Bats may have terrifyingly corrosive blood but their bodies themselves weren’t too strong.
A ranged attack. Sammuel needed a ranged attack. With a flock flying right behind him, Sammuel’s perceptive mind managed to pull something together.
[Switch Ego: Mineral-Clawed Ferron]
Ducking down, he laid flat on the ground letting the Hemorrhaging Bat fly over him. Sammuel didn’t waste this opportunity to carve out stone as easily as if his hands were chisels.
[Switch Ego: Runic Bear]
With a large clump of rock in hand, Sammuel threw it at the Hemorrhaging Bat’s wing, severely injuring it. Falling down with a light thud, Sammuel started to see just how versatile [Ego] truly was.
Unfortunately, it was at times like this when one began to think that it was safe that they would let their guard down. Another Hemorrhaging Bat flew by and grabbed Sammuel’s shoulders. He carried him up to the skies. Sammuel was in great danger.