Chapter 58: Valeheart
"When will the next battle be?" Kai asked, rolling the coin-like badge across his knuckles.
Roland had been eying the badge since Kai had thrown it in his face. He still felt amused remembering the burly guy's expression then. Confused and frightened, but shocked the most. 'Ser Tussy has no sons,' Roland had spat back at Kai.
'Why don't you go and ask him then?' Kai had asked in return, pointing at the badge. That had been enough to shut the Branch Captain of the Silver Hunter Guild. The Guild, which from outside looked like a two-story building, was big enough to encompass two football fields. The little building was just one of its entrances.
"3 days from now, at evenfall," Roland answered, nodding at another guy. "We will ambush a Herb Gathering Party."
The guy, who Roland had nodded at, brought a map and spread it on the table between Kai and Roland. By now Kai had got to know many miscellaneous things from Roland, without losing a single Mission Credit.
'Once a week, the world outside the Wall comes alive,' Roland had told him. 'Beasts, herbs, trees, water, and mines, name it and you can find it out there. These things are the precursor for the battles. The City is enormous, and to sustain it the Empire needs resources. You can guess the rest.'
Kai could indeed guess the rest. 'It is all a game for the Systems. By limiting the resources, it forces the Empires to fight each other. And this happens on each floor, like a boring, endless cycle. No wonder all Contestants long to return to Random Worlds. Here life is monotonous, but there… There is a world full of possibilities, and power.'
"Good," Kai nodded. "What was I asking before? Ah, yes! What is the relation between Abilities and Worth? How to get the Skills? How to get the Abilities?"
Kai saw Roland's face becoming ugly with every question he asked. Kai wasn't worried about Roland not answering, though. The badge in his hands was enough to make Roland do pretty much anything.
The Guild members didn't like Kai either. Not after he had sent four of their members to the hospital wing. The Chaos would heal them to full, but not before their turn to go to the random world. But it was alright too. Kai didn't want these guys to like him. They were just strangers to him, and before long, he would leave all of them behind.
Not all had worth for Kai to be manipulated. 'Some people are just there for me to use,' Kai thought, flipping the badge in the air.
"If a newbie has high Worth from the start," Roland said, his eyes tracing the badge's path, "then there are high chances for him to have an Ability based on his previous life."
'Oh!' Then Kai understood. The reason for his two Abilities. 'No wonder.'
"Go on," Kai urged the branch captain to continue, but he didn't ask about Glitch.
"Skills can only be obtained as a reward of Missions," Marine Roland said. "Abilities are more straightforward, but the process to get them is complex. For example, you can practice for months in swordsmanship in our training facility and can get Elementary Swordsmanship."
'This?!' Kai couldn't believe it. "Then what about Elementary Magical Aptitude?"
Roland and the guy near him shared a look. A look of mockery. Kai ignored it, though. The answer was the only thing that mattered now.
"You can get Elementary Magical Aptitude too in the same way," Roland said. "If you have high Intelligence, and have the time to spend years in meditation, forcing yourself to perceive Mana. That's why the best way to get Abilities is to be acknowledged by Random World's characters."
'Motherfuckers!' Kai furiously cursed both Arlen and Simon in his mind. 'Why didn't they tell me?!'
It wouldn't have made any difference. Still, Kai had rather this information sooner.
Kai took a deep breath, not letting any of the Guild members notice his reactions. There were many things he needed to know. But Kai would give that honor to the System itself, after looking at their price. 'It isn't prudent to ask something that can become a cause of suspicion,' Kai had thought.
"What do you know about the Valeheart Empire?" Kai finally asked, his breath halting in his throat. "Tell me everything."
"Don't order me," Roland fumed, eying Kai and the badge. But answered all the same. "I am just a 1st Floor Contestant. I know little, other than what I need to know and what I am told. The only thing that is publicly known and discussed is that it wasn't always called Valeheart Empire."
'Huh?!' That stuck oddly to Kai. Then he noticed the thing he had forgotten, like a fool. 'Of course! The R'lyeh Empire has a history of 2000 years. The Order's Empire must be equal to its strength. No one person can topple an Empire alone, at least not just after coming to the Primordial Tower.'
"Some 100 years ago," Roland continued, "a Contestant ascended to the top and single-handedly toppled the last Empire."
Kai could feel an absolute fear in Roland's voice. The guy, standing next to him, was shivering. "Who was he? Do you know his name?"
"He?" Roland replied. "No, not a He. But, She."
"The Contestant was a woman?!" Kai asked, almost leaving his seat.
"Yes," Roland nodded. "Brienne Valeheart, the Empress of Justice, Balance, and Order."
'Brienne… Hahaha!' Kai laughed but somehow felt emptier than before.
"Prepare a room for me," Kai almost commanded. "Tomorrow we will go to the Armory. You better not have any lack of Mission Credits."
Kai saw Roland gritting his teeth in anger and rubbing his fists. 'He wants to hit me,' Kai sniggered. 'Come then.'
But the badge turned out to be more powerful than Kai had imagined. In a few minutes, Kai found himself in a big room. Big enough for it to have all the things he could have needed. Kai didn't go to sleep immediately, though. There were a few things he needed to do before going back to the Random World and getting the Items.
And this was as good a time as any.
"Chaos," Kai said, his voice booming within the room. "I want the Miscellaneous Rent Box."
*********
AN: If you want to know more about Brienne Valeheart, and would like to clear the doubt bubbling up in your heart without cursing me, then you can read Chapter 172: Brienne Valeheart and Life Halt. I wouldn't recommend it, though.
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