You have plundered a Scarlet Crab x3.

| Claimed materials: Summoning Ticket 2x Hunter, Scarlet Crab Shell x3 (Normal), Scarlet Crab Meat and Organs x11 (Normal), Scarlet Crab Bones x24 (Normal).

| Stats gained: 6 Strength, 8 Vitality, 3 Dexterity.

Seeing the low amount of Sats granted, Owen couldn’t help but knit his brows. The amount he obtained from their corpse was decreasing by the Level. No, it wasn’t just that. It was the higher his Attributes got, the less he’d obtain with Plunder.

It was only a matter of time before he’d gain nothing from these enemies, despite them being powerful. Soon, his low talent would bite him in the ass.

As a result of the fight, he had also gained two Levels. He placed the two points into Dexterity.

Putting that aside with great difficulty for now, he summoned the new Hunters. One of them was a 2-Star human, and the other was a 3-Star elf. He greeted them with far more practice compared to the first time, and sent them to Balthus after giving them a warm welcome.

Now that the orcs were out, both hunting and fetching the others of their tribe, Owen had some time to himself. And that meant a lot of thinking about the future. Now that he had a lot of Warriors and Hunters, he felt a lot more confident in sending them out further.

Owen had to get the lay of the land. He hadn’t done much exploration at all because of the threat the orcen Lord pushed on him. The whole point of picking the Rogue Class was to send out his Hunters to scout. And it was almost time to do that.

Depending on where he was in the Cursed Lands, would determine his next plan of action. He knew of various treasuries nestled below the sands, knew of secret locations that he could take advantage of. But as of right now, he didn’t have the faintest idea of where he was.

For all he knew, he could be in one of the many locations that were unknown in the Cursed Lands. Meeting Justin gave him a small clue as to where that was, but it was just that—small. Justin had met with Ansel in the Outpost.

The Cursed Lands was a monumental place. Apparently, it would take years to make it to the other side on foot.

Regardless of where he was, the most important thing was the survival of him and his people. Not only that, but he had to locate Louis and the others. For that, he had to become stronger. The first step was actually right underneath him. Reports of monsters in the mountain were increasing. That meant there was a cave system right under his feet. He was lucky the miners hadn’t struck anything severe so far. But he had placed Warriors in the tunnels as a precaution for that.

Another big part of strength would come from mastering his Skills. Although he didn’t really know where to begin with those. Swordsmanship was obvious; keep using his sword and improve. But Devil’s Reflexes? Unlimited Plunder? He didn’t know how to improve them.

But it was getting late. The cave could wait until tomorrow. After helping the Hunters on the wall for a couple hours, he returned to the mountain where he spotted Justin sitting at the entrance which was now adorned with stone pillars. It was Rohan’s idea. Apparently a Lord’s kingdom had to look grand. Couldn’t impose their will if their land looked like a bunch of nomads had taken hold of it.

Owen agreed.

“Hey,” Owen said in greeting and sat beside Justin. He noticed the young man was clean now, although he still wore the same clothes. “Good bath?”

“Yeah,” Justin chuckled, appearing in higher spirits now. “Bimpnottin brought me some fruits. To think there were Classes like that.”

“It’s pretty crazy what this System is capable of, isn’t it?” Owen asked, casting his gaze to the orange horizon. It wouldn't be long before dark. Many of the Builders moved from the wall, to the mountain, bowing to Owen in passing.

“They all seem to treat you like some god.”

Owen rolled his eyes. “You don’t know the half of it. They do think I’m some kind of god.”

“Wait,” Justin said with more than a hint of amusement. “Really?”

Owen nodded. “It seems like the System thought it was a good idea to introduce a ‘Faith’ programme. After my battle with another Lord, something seemed to have struck a chord with them. They even want to make a church.” If it was just a hint before, now it was full blown amusement. Owen clicked his tongue. “Don’t give me that look.”

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Justin couldn’t hold it back any long. He broke out with laughter. Full belly laughter.

“It’s not funny,” Owen said. “I’m rather distraught by it all.”

It only made him laugh more. Owen smiled.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh. It’s just… absurd.”

“You can say that again. This whole thing is absurd. All of it. Couple weeks ago I was sitting in an office cubicle, feeling my life drift away, wishing for something more.”

“And now you’ve got it,” Justin said, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Well, it’s more like a nightmare. But—” Owen looked over as the orcs approached. There were more of them now. Balthus, Lome, and Pyris were waiting for them. “—but it’s easier when I’m not alone. I couldn’t have done any of this otherwise.”

“Huh, alone,” Justin muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. Owen noticed the loneliness hidden behind his eyes, but he didn’t mention it. Justin changed the subject. “You had some questions?”

Owen nodded. “I wanted to ask about your travels. Apart from the Orcen Lord, I’ve not seen anything else. No humans. No landmarks. Just monsters and sand.”

Justin thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Not the way I came from. I was planning on riding the giant until I found something worth hopping off for. If it wasn’t for a crevice up on its shoulder blocking some of the sun, I'd have baked to death. Almost did.”

“Not even ruins?”

“I mean, there were some. Villages. But nothing big.”

“Alright,” Owen said, thinking.

“You looking for something in particular?”

“Civilisation,” Owen said. “Those Outposts the Administrator was talking about. We need to find those to get back. Otherwise we’re stuck here. Was there more than one village?”

“There were others, but they were days apart.”

“Considering you were travelling on the giant,” Owen said. “That means the distance travelled was immense.”

“You can say that again.”

“And that means that there’s nothing worth going that way for.” Owen stood up and stretched, then said, “There’s a cave in the mountain that I need to clear out. I was wondering if you wanted to help me out tomorrow? As a reminder, it’ll be dangerous.”

Justin grinned. “Because I’m expendable?”

“Because apart from me,” Owen said. “You’re the only one from Earth here. I could do with a friend. Someone to trust when we get back.”

Justin turned silent. And then, he smiled. One that was bright and true. “Alright then. Count me in.”

Owen chuckled and shook his hand. Then, dusting the sand off his trousers, he said, “I’m heading in. Make sure you get inside when that wave comes.”

“Will do.”

Owen nodded and stepped inside. In truth, he didn’t fully trust Justin yet. He knew about Justin’s personality from the book, but the author had changed things before. For now, Owen decided to stay cautious and watch Justin closely until he could be sure of who he really was—if he was truly the Justin Owen had come to know over the course of the book.

For the future, Owen needed all the help he could get.

***

Laying in bed, Owen couldn’t help but move his thoughts to Louis, Caroline, and the others. He missed them. Louis, because he had known and spoken to him for years. Caroline, and Callan because they had gone through a lot together.

Quickly checking the marketplace, he let out a sigh of relief. By some miracle, everyone was still alive.

I hope you’re all safe. I hope you’ve made it to an Outpost, Owen thought, his heart tightening.

Then there was Lai and Jasp. Some parts of him hoped that the System had brought them in together. But he knew the cruel truth; they were separated. By ten miles, one hundred, maybe even a thousand. Maybe more. That fact gnawed at him, pained him to the core that although he had rescued Jasp from the jaws of death—his fate was plunged into darkness once more.

You will live, Jasp.

A short while later, the entire mountain trembled, and darkness took hold of him. It made him feel even worse. It was suffocating. He couldn’t sleep. Sighing, he sat up, and opened up his Lord Shop. At least it was something to look at for a while.

He scrolled down the shop, placing all the things he didn’t need up for sale. He scrolled by something, when he shot up to his feet. He rapidly scrolled back, hands trembling. He saw it.

Lord Lai is selling Sand Hound Pelt (Inferior) x1

| Price: 5 Credits, or offer.

“Lai, you’re alive,” Owen whispered. His tongue parched, he made a decision. It was an easy one to make.

You have purchased Sand Hound Pelt (Inferior) for: 5000 Credits.

It was all he had. Almost all of it. 5000 Credits was a massive amount, and especially at this stage, everything was super low in price. He was going to use it to invest in the future, purchasing ingredients and other things that no one would suspect would be worth anything later on.

But if Lai was putting up an offer for only 5 Credits… She was desperate.

Owen sat down, his hands interlocked. “Hopefully those come in useful, Lai,” Owen whispered, looking up at the ceiling, although it was pitch black. “Find Jasp. Find your boy.”