You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength
Marcus Aurelius
David wasn't a fool, he knew that it could take years of planning to take over Vermont Town. He would need plenty of money and resources. Not only that, he would need the strength to take out Guild Leader, whether it was his own strength or his made-up organisation, it didn't matter as he just needed to own a powerful trump card. He didn't know how strong she was but maybe he could find out through gathering intelligences, therefore he needed the orphans.
David decided to roam around the paraded town on a whim as he wasn't sure what he was looking for, but for now, he had decided to travel freely, merely going with the flow of the crowd to see where it takes him.
"Anyway, since you don't like travelling with me, why don't we go our separate ways?" David said towards Darius who was following him around.
"Nope, if I leave you my sister will get really mad since she told me to babysit you for the day, but after that, I will have nothing to do with you" He said with an annoyed expression. David just shrugged his shoulders and continued travelling.
David decided to take advantage of this living encyclopedia and began to ask questions. He first asked about the food they ate and ask why it was so expensive, he found that quite odd.
"Basically the food we ate had bonus properties; firstly, it will boost your stamina to regenerate twice as fast as usual for a few hours, also the material used were high quality, and lastly, the venue was at one of the most popular inn so the price will no doubt be more expensive than other places that would sell the same thing" Darius said reluctantly.
'So certain food can help your stamina regeneration? I would have to find a talented chef to be part of my new organisation' David thought before asking another question. He wanted to know about the DNA device and how did it know the bandits detail just from a scan.
"The Device is linked with the Dungeon Network, so basically if you had ever used a device that scans your body, such as the Identity Card test or the Membership Card test you just took from the Bounty Hunter Guild, then your DNA has been put into the Dungeon Network, and any scan on your DNA will result in them giving your details like how you had gotten that Bandit" Darius said impatiently.
David didn't know how to feel about this. His DNA had already been registered into the Dungeon Network, and that there was nothing he could do about it, so he decided to move on. And after walking around for a few more minutes, he suddenly felt himself sweat a little. He saw that his passive skill was still on, but he decided to keep it on as it didn't bother him much.
He decided to stop at one of the small shops that sold festive masks. He contemplated for a moment and decided on getting one of cheaper one. He paid two gold coins for a clean, plain black toad mask to cover his face. He bought this mask to hide his identity as he didn't know if the Elvish woman had people in this town, but it was best to be cautious. He then decided to sell his armour set too since it was a gift from that woman. Darius said that it was best to sell it at the Lupian Armoury for a higher price.
David borrowed the backroom of the mask shop to change out of his amour, he only had the ball boy uniform to change into, so he had used that. He was now back into his familiar blue shorts, white t-shirt and sneakers. His weird casual clothes have caused him to be the centre of attention, but this was just for a small moment before everyone went on their merry way.
Some girls who hadn't seen his face yet tried to see behind his mask since his body was well toned and muscular, they guessed that his face was either too handsome or too ugly to be covered up. But David ignored them before letting Darius lead the way towards the armoury.
"I've seen the remains of the bandits you killed, there were enough evidence in the battlefield to know exactly how they died. We had our investigator draw up a recount of the battle by looking at the scene. Both a low-grade crystal and a mana potion to cause an explosion, but our investigator couldn't comprehend how the leader died. His best guess was a special unknown ability... What was that ability? And why didn't you used it on the Hobgoblin boss?" Darius suddenly asked.
"Just a trump card, what's it to you?" David said, not wanting to give out any details of his hidden move. Darius wanted to know but stopped pestering David as he saw that he wasn't budging, he then asked another question.
"Why didn't you teleport out with the rest of us when the dungeon was completed" Darius said in a questionable tone, this was what he wanted to know the most as it had caused him a headache too, many people thought that he was the one to kill David.
"Uh? I had help from my contracted companion, JoJo as he helped me teleport elsewhere, away from you guys" David lied shamelessly. JoJo was stunned to hear his name, but after living a long life, he was able to catch on with his basic intelligence.
"Hummpft!" JoJo grunted arrogantly towards the young fire mage, which caused Darius to think twice about this fairy. He thought the fairy would had been stupid and useless. But now had to take the tiny fairy seriously. Whether it was the truth or lie, it was a fact that David didn't appear with them when the dungeon was completed, and this feat alone was something he had never seen before.
'Was the fairy really the reason? But why didn't I see it inside the Dungeon? Did the fairy also used that kill the bandit leader with the mysterious blast? Huuuumpft, still I can't believe this clueless Noble killed all of them, it’s unreal' Darius thought inwardly.
"Whatever, anyway, I could had killed that Hobgoblin on my own, I didn't need yours or that Monks help in killing it, I was the one who did the most damage and could had killed the boss if I drank my mana potions, but you guys stole him away" Darius said shamelessly. David couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, perhaps Darius was telling the truth but what’s done is done.
Soon, they had made it towards the Armoury. This building was made of bricks and steel, is three stories tall and had plenty of customers coming in and out. He then decided to take a look at the store. The first floor had plenty of grade F to E items, he didn't need to go to a higher floor as everything he needed was here.
"Hi, how can I help you" A young voice startled David who was just looking around, this was a female attendant with a name-tag that says Missy.
"Hello Missy, I would like to sell my used goods here" David young voice echoed from behind his white frog mask. He slowly gave the lizard armour set to her hands so that she can inspect it.
"Hmmm, it has a few minor damaged, but nothing that can't be repaired... I will take this for 850 gold coins" She said after thinking for a moment. David didn't know if this price was acceptable, so he turned towards Darius with a hint of expectancy. Darius rolled his eyes as he couldn't believe he was going to help David.
"An armour set like this could sell at 1600 gold coins, you are basically robbing us in broad daylight!" Darius sharp voice countered hers. She couldn't but frown at the young fire mage.
"I can at most, give you 950 gold coins. You must account for the reparation fees for the armour, and also the fact the armour doesn't have the idealistic attributes. A bonus resistance against F+ water attacks is almost useless to Dungeoneerers of this region, and what makes it further detrimental is that it is weak against lightning attacks. The only redeeming factor is that its defence can take on F+ physical attacks, but that can easily be made up for when you level your personal Defence Attribute from F to F+. So, inconclusion, this armour has almost no value to our types of customers, you can try and sell it somewhere else, but I doubt you would get a higher price than ours" She explained calmly.
David accepted the deal and sold the armour set. He wasn't surprised when he heard that the armour set was extremely useless, so he then took out the lizard dagger. This stunned the attendant as she wasn't expecting the young man before her to accept the deal without bargaining first. She forked out the gold coins with an ecstatic expression as she just made an easy profit in just a few seconds. She then packed away the armour and took the lizard dagger from the young man’s hand.
"I can take this dagger for 750 Gold Coins" She said while smiling brightly. David didn't see anything wrong with this type of price as he just wanted to get rid of these stuffs. But before he could accept the payment, Darius reached out his hands to stop him.
"Didn't your parents teach any basic skills? Sometimes I forget that you are a Noble" Sneered the young fire mage. This statement stunned the female attendant. She thought that the young man in the black toad mask was the servant of the boy in the red robes. She heard the word Noble, but there was no proof of title shown, hence she stayed cautious and kept a friendly smile on as the fire mage raised the price.
David watch the two fights back and forth, he wasn't used to such a scene as he had never bargained for anything in his life. Anything he wanted in his past life, he asked his parent to buy, no matter if it was too expensive. Sell? He didn't need the money at all, so he just gave some of his personal belongings to his friends, they were happy to take the expensive gifts. Suddenly thinking about Earth had made him a little teary, but no one saw his sad face through the black toad mask.
Finally, the match came to an end, and the settled price came to land on 1000 gold coins. David was stunned, this was more then what he had gained for the armour set. He turned to see the arrogant mage snort triumphally. The attendant nodded her head in defeat before handing David a paper slip. This paper slip was an official bank note of the kingdom, on the paper was a picture of a king and the numbers $1000 on top.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
David felt that handling in notes was better than carrying a bag full of gold coins. He accepted this payment and then moved onto his last item, the lizard bag. He had already emptied out the bag of its content beforehand and placed everything inside his pockets.
"Hmmmm, this bag is still in top quality. It has the same attributes as the armour set and is waterproof... I can give you 250 gold coins for it" She said after inspecting the bag. David’s face went down, he turned towards the fire mage,
"Hey, don't look at me, bags are generally this cheap" Darius said while shrugging his shoulders.
"Can I trade this bag for another one, I can add in gold coins if that's needed" David said as he needed a new one. The attendant then bought them to a back room where there was plenty of used goods, waiting for reparation.
"Here are the ones you can trade for your bag" Missy said before pointy to a few dozens of bags left lying around. David searched through the pile until he found one that was fairly acceptable.
Belly-Drum Toad Bag (76/80 Durability)
[Durable against F+ Physical attacks]
[F+ resistances against water related attacks]
[F+ resistances against sound related attacks]
[Water Proof]
David also found the design wasn't too bad, the pattern looked to be like a black onion. The material felt elastic and stretchy. David only had to trade in his old bag, plus an extra 250 gold coins for this item, which he did. David then placed all his wealth inside the bag, he found that the total amount of gold he has is 1918 gold coins, including the bank note.
They soon left the Lupian Amoury after David had thanked the attendant. She found it odd to receive some thanks after trying to scam his money, but she nodded anyway before moving on to another customer.
But when they saw the streets before them, they were stunned. A huge crowd surrounded one shady man who was wearing a black hoody, the crowd was jeering loudly towards the man as he began to speak in a loud voice.
'"Hear ye Hear ye, douth lordth hath spoken, we are recruiting members so join the Sacred Serpents. Our organisation won't force you to join, that's because our lordth will save only those who wants to be saved! The lordth mission is to cleanse our body of the slave mark as we are all born slaves to the world! The Gods imprisoned every living soul with a flawed system, this system is what you all have now, a system to level up your classes. But what will happen when you reach the peak of your class? The gods had made it so that everyone with a system will be unable to soar the heavens!
The world is not at peace because of this, humans had become so judgemental, look at the arrogant pathetic nobles, they treat us like scums because they think they are so better. They cause needless bloodshed, but fret no more, our lordth will shackle all chains, free all humans and bring peace to the world! All you need to do is join us so that we can cut off your ties towards the Dungeoneering System!"
David couldn't help but stand there dumbfounded, he was watching the angry crowd chase away the cult member. He saw that the shady mans voice was even louder then the crowd, and that he was repeating his speech over and over as he ran. The security guards also joined the chase but they all couldn't catch him. Everyone was frustrated as they saw the man escape. David heard the angry mutters of the crowd. He heard between a few people that the Sacred Serpents are all crazy, they want to start a war with the nobles and he also heard that anyone who joins this cult is never seen or heard from again.
'The Sacred Serpents Cult? The levelling system is a prison? Are they able to make their personal levelling system disappear? But who would want to lose that?'
He shook his head left and right, thinking about how dumb people would have to be to join that cult.
The sky was getting dark, so the trio began to walk back towards the inn. David was especially surprised about Darius attitude as the young fire mage was very helpful today. But the attitude of the fire mage, more or less didn't change, he was still as arrogant as David had seen him inside the Newbie Dungeon.
Soon David found a worn-down building, this build stood out because it was the only building that looked to have never been maintained. It was bleak and dark, different from the bright colourful vibe that every other building has. He soon found children’s playing around inside the building, they wore old clothing’s and seemed dirty.
'So, this is the Orphanage' David thought, before walking towards the entrance. All the children’s stopped play while they stood on vigilance as they saw a young man walk towards them. Darius had an unpleasant expression as he saw David walk towards the orphanage, but he kept quiet as he wanted to see what he would do.
"Hi, how are you doing" David said towards one kid. This kid was quite startled by the sudden approach and ran away. David scratched the back of his head wryly because to anyone he turned to inched backwards.
"What are you doing here" A girl said, this girl seemed to be the leader as all the kids hid behind her.
"Do you want to save King?" David’s voice echoed throughout the orphanage. This caused a wave of chatter between each of the kids, all their eyes lit up due to the mention of saving King, but this had caused the girl to become a little sceptical.
"Why would you want to do that?" The girl said coldly
"Because I want to hire him" David said while taking of his mask, he felt she wouldn't listen to anything he says if his identity was hidden.
"I don't plan on forcing him to work for me, if he declines, then naturally I will leave him alone, but first, he needs to be free and for that, you need money to pay his release fees" David said in a soft tone voice.
"Well do you have the money? If not, then scram?" The girl said while crossing her arms.
"I may not have the money, but I can easily get the gold needed if I have all of your guys help" David said slowly.
"I doubt that, so can you please leave" She said, tapping her foot in impatience’s.
"Wait, I have a precious secret recipe that I'm willing to share with you guys, I want to hire you all to help cook and sell food using this recipe on the main street tomorrow, and every gold we make will go towards the release fees for King" David said, this cleared up the reason why he was here to all the orphans here.
"Believe it or not, I am an orphan like you, and I used to live in a building like this, so I know how it is like. All you need to do is just come to the main street tomorrow at noon, I will be waiting for you guys with the food ready, but don't forget that this is a job, and that the pay would be 1 gold coin per hour each" David said while leaving the orphans to chatter amongst themselves. He left the building after saying what he needed.
David forgot that Darius was still following him, and that he had exposed the fact that he himself was an orphan. Everything that just happened had stunned the young fire mage, but then the fire mage thought that David was just lying to win over the orphans.
"Why would you hire these little thieving brats? There are plenty of servants for hire around this town" Darius said with a confused expression.
"Well, I felt quite bad when I saw King's imprisonment and decided to help out the orphans, isn't hiring them to work, better than donating them money? This way, the orphans can gain the necessary skills needed to work for a steady income?" David explained slowly as they continued to walk towards the inn.
"Yeah but aren’t you going to expose your secret family recipe? And also, you are paying way too much per hour to this little thieves" Darius replied.
"Its fine, it'll just be a normal secret recipe, and as for the payment, one gold per hour? How is that too much?" David said with a baffled expression. This caused Darius to look at him funny. In Darius mind, he was screaming towards David with a frustrated voice.
"The average earnings for lower class civilians is at least a few bronze coins per hour" Darius said.
"What are bronze coins?" David accidentally blurted out.
"What are bronze coins? Are you serious?" Darius said with a dumbfounded expression, this cause David to nod with embarrassment.
"Bronze coins are typically used by lower class civilians, one hundred bronze coins equals to one silver coin, and one hundred silver coins equals to one gold coins. So now you understand how much you promised to pay these orphans?" Darius said bitterly.
"That much huh? Then why am I seeing so many gold coins being thrown around casually these days" David said with a confused expression.
"Well there is a festival going on, so many people from all over the region came to taste the food, so many of the buyers are those that have the ability to travel far and wide. As for my family, we usually dabble in escorting, we escort mostly Scions of Nobles around the region, that’s how we get our wealth" Darius said slowly.
.................
"Oh right, the day is still not over, and I need your help" David smiled towards the young mage as they made it towards the Pondering Inn.
"I need you to hire some oven-carts, around ten, and please help me get all these materials, just bill me about these things tomorrow" David said while borrowing a paper and pen from one of the servants, he then wrote down a list of all materials needed for his 'secret family recipe,' Darius frowned as he took the paper, he couldn't say no to David as he was asked by his sister to help him for the day.
"Fine, I have them ready inside the rented space we have, but I won't help you move all the stuff tomorrow hummpft" Darius said while running out to order his own servants to do the work. David only took did this because he didn't know where to buy everything he needed, and also it was because the young mage attitude was bad. Darius was like a neighbourhood bully that liked to show off his tough side to impress other people. So David was happy to order him about.
David then went towards his room and began to work out. He wanted to take advantage of the fact that the stamina regeneration effect was still ongoing. He did hundreds of push-ups, sit-ups, squats inside his room. When he first started the exercise, he found that he had sweated a lot, which was to be expected due to his new passive ability.
But after a while, he found that he began to get experience points for working out. Every ten minutes or so he would get one exp in his Mystical Hyper Sweat ability. He found that this was too slow, so he decided to up the ante by getting one of the servants help him find some weighted suit. The weighted suit was around 40kg, this cause him to get two exp every ten minutes.
The stamina regen effect seemed to have worn off after three hours, so this caused David to be dissatisfied. His room had a bath and after filling it up with warm water, he quickly took of his sweat soaked clothing’s and jumped in. His whole body was soaked in black slime, he found that the mystical sweat had expelled many impurities from his body. He felt cleaner inside and out, and after washing of all the sweat and impurities off his body, he felt that his muscles were more well-toned and had more depths than before.
He suddenly had a thought.
'Can I improve my body's grade like this?'
David was excited about this thought, he never heard about people doing regular training to upgrade their attribute, as everyone seemed to only level up their class or abilities to upgrade their attributes, but never through regular training. He then thought about the Sacred Serpents Cult, from what he had heard so far, they seem to be set on the path of relying on their own body. They had no help from the levelling system as they had somehow erased it from themselves.
But without the system, how do you get superhuman strengths and power? Any human from Earth can train as much as they want, but they can never get super human strength or powers...
He slept deeply after a long thoughtful night with all types of theories swimming in his mind. He wasn't expecting this, but he was eager to start the next day.
Mystical Hyper Sweat [Level 1 EXP 52.53/2500]
Passive Skill, [Mystical Sweat: On] [Turn On/Off]
Active Skill [Hyper Sweat Blast] [Cost 80% of Mana and 99% of Stamina]
[Warning, using this blast will leave you in a state of extreme exhaustion]