Godfather's System

106. Development - 4

Even as I spent fifteen minutes patrolling around the outpost, I failed to find any further hostile presence. I stopped only after I noticed a group of guards riding toward me. They were on horseback, and as they approached, I noticed Zolast among them as well.

I didn't show myself immediately, rather I stood back, trusting Zolast to handle the situation alone.

The guards weren't stupid enough to antagonize the most critical person to the plans of their liege lord at such a critical juncture.josei

One of the guards walked forward, his hands glowing blue. Another mage, probably using some kind of detection magic to understand the source of the explosion. He didn't say much, but his expression was glum enough to show that, whatever the source of the explosion was, it wasn't something good.

I was just hoping that it was too rare to come across repeatedly.

Zolast and the mage talked for a while under a silencing ward, the angle not allowing me to read their lips. I didn't bother getting close. Zolast would tell me if it was anything important.

Soon, the guards took two charred bodies and left, while Zolast and the rest went to the outpost to make sure everything was going alright.

I used this opportunity to continue patrolling the surrounding area, but other than the guards doing their own investigations, I couldn't find any. Two hours later, Zolast and the rest traveled back to the town. I shadowed them just in case, not willing to reveal my presence to any potential enemy.

I revealed myself only when Zolast was back at his office, alone, working on the ward once more. "Exciting, right?" I said as I stepped out of the shadows.

"Yes, very exciting," Zolast answered in a sarcastic tone, then continued with a more serious manner. "Things are getting more and more dangerous."

"Yes, they are," I answered. "What was that explosive?"

"A mana bomb, a very strong one," Zolast said. "I'm guessing you're the one who stopped it." I nodded. "Good, it would have destroyed half of the outpost if they managed to sneak it in."

"Should I expect another one to appear?" I asked.

Zolast looked lost in his thoughts as he considered my question. "Not very likely. Fabrication of mana bombs is illegal for anyone other than the kingdom, punishable by death. And they are not exactly cheap, or easy to make."

"How expensive?"

"Even the materials are more expensive than everything we've spent on the dungeon. Then, you need to find a magical blacksmith skilled enough to forge such a thing, but mad enough to ignore the risk. Very rare indeed."

"Good," I answered, while Zolast started working on the leveling ward once more. "I'm still going to go around and check," I said, which was a better use of my time than just staying in the headquarters and twiddling my fingers.

Or forcing the people of the outpost to struggle even harder under the constant siege. Pushing them too hard would only backfire.

I spent the next two hours jumping between the town and the outpost, patrolling both areas repeatedly to catch the presence of the Greens … only to notice during the time I had been in my outpost, leveling, that they had pulled back from the city.

The timing was very suspicious, especially when combined with their decision of sudden escalation, wasting a very expensive weapon of sabotage in the process.

"Did they notice what I had been doing with the Charisma," I muttered to myself, vocalizing to help me think as I once again covered the distance between the outpost and the town rapidly. There was a chance that they had decided the battle had turned too costly and pulled back…

But I'd rather assume someone had noticed my Charisma trick.

That still left many questions, like whether they guessed it was me who was responsible for the Charisma effect. Maybe they did, though it was not unlikely that they would credit the achievement to some mysterious supporter of our guild.

Not exactly a priority, I decided as I stopped patrolling the area and returned to the headquarters.

Whether the Greens were triggered by my actions or something else, one thing was clear: They had pulled out from the town, and rather than trying to carry the bomb with them and risk getting caught, they decided to leave with a bang.

I made a note to pay in kind once I discovered their true identity, but for the moment, I shelved it and focused on the more immediate concerns.

Leveling.

I had enough experience to level up thrice — unless the requirements jumped more than I expected — which posed the question of which stats to enhance. I dwelled on that while I traveled back to the headquarters.

The whole gang was there, waiting for me. "Have you discovered anything?" Jertann asked, nervous, suggesting that Zolast had informed them what I had been doing. "Who did it?"

"We still don't know who did it, other than the force behind the Greens. As far as I can find out, they have already left the town," I explained, not mentioning the presence of the several spies that stayed behind.

I need them to stay around so I could track them if necessary. There were many ways a spy could be useful once discovered. Especially if the spy was unaware of that particular nugget, and I didn't need Jertann poking that.

He was coming to his own as a leader, but he was nowhere near ready to handle the espionage aspects of the work.

"That's it?" he asked, shocked.

"That's the best we can get," I said, shrugging. "We know that they can't easily bring a weapon of that caliber again, and with the town mostly established, the loss of their agents is a significant loss. They won't risk attacking us again, at least not in the near future."

"What about later?" he asked, indignant.

"That's why you're going to the dungeon, to get stronger, so the next time, you'll be strong enough to prevent it," I answered, then, I decided to grab a staff. "Speaking of getting strong, I need to see how you're handling your new power. Attack me."

He grabbed a wooden spear as well, ready to use his advanced skill, and attacked me. However, I noticed a feral expression on his face. Subtle, but hard to miss with my perception. Maybe it was the frustration he had with the helplessness, but I still didn't like how it affected his attacks.

I frowned as I leaned back slightly, letting the first attack miss me without doing anything. The second attack came, which I knocked away easily. Jertann rushed forward, taking the fight to close quarters … only for me to land a painful hit to his diaphragm.

His healing energy rushed, but before it could complete, I hit him again. "No healing while training," I warned.

He growled and attacked again, this time even faster and more recklessly. I didn't like it. He was acting like a drugged boxer rushing to finish the match.

The staff flashed again, this time hitting his temple, hard enough to rattle him. "What the hell is that?" I shouted.

"You wanted me to attack you," Jertann growled with frustration … and something else. Whatever was going on, it was not simple. And, if Zolast's sudden expression of alarm was any indicator, I wasn't the only one who noticed it.

Trusting Zolast to intervene if it was an emergency, I focused on Jertann. "I expect you to attack just like I trained you, measured and strategic, not like a brute."

"I'm not used to a spear —" he tried to argue, but before he could finish, my staff collided with his chin.

"What do I say about lies during the training?" I growled much to the shock of the others.

"I'm not lying," Jertann said, but the animalistic growl that followed surprised the others as well. Zolast gestured for them to stay back.

"Not to me, you're clearly lying to yourself," I countered. "Whatever's going on, it's not just frustration. I don't care if you embrace it or reject it, but don't deny it."

Jertann said nothing, but he nodded, which was the best I could hope for under the circumstances. I was reluctant to push more due to the supernatural nature of his anger. Too much pressure had the risk of backfiring.

"Good, now, about the dungeon…" Zolast intervened.

"I'm going. I can't afford to lag behind with everything going on," Jertann declared immediately, looking at Zolast. Their gaze suggested that Jertann was aware of the risk he was facing, probably informed by Zolast the moment he accepted that ability.

Zolast looked at me, and I shrugged. I was not his babysitter. It was his responsibility to face the challenge however he wished.

"Let's go, we have a dungeon run to complete," Zolast said, looking at them. "But be careful, this time, it's going to be even more intense," he warned. Soon, they disappeared through the magical gate, leaving me alone.

I walked to the other room, to the leveling ward.

The wards were stronger than I expected, which was good news.

[-12,526,812 Experience]

[Level up!]

[Stat Points +10]

[-15,490,272 Experience]

[Level up!]

[Stat Points +10]

[-19,013,009 Experience]

[Level up!]

[Stat Points +10]

[Experience: (4,291,292/23,063,040)

"Not bad," I murmured as I spent all my Experience and leveled up three times, which was more or less my expectation., Even though I expected it, the exponential growth was still as annoying. "Now, to the hard question."

Increasing Strength or Agility was tempting, but I ignored those momentarily. The improvement in my ability already increased them more than I expected, and temporarily, it had to be enough.

Instead, I decided to focus on my newest stats.

[-25 Stat Points]

[+8 Concealment]

[+7 Attunement]

[+10 Speed]

Not a bad improvement, I thought even as I let Concealment free, only enjoying the feeling of semi-invisibility. It would be very useful as I poked around.

Attunement was good to significantly increase the amount of mana I could hold. Even though what I could do was still limited, it wasn't hard to see that it would be far more useful as time went on.

And, Speed … I didn't have the slightest doubt about Speed. The faster I could move around different locations, the more flexible I would be. And, under my circumstances, flexibility was vital.

Concealment reminded me of another mission I was assigned. Maybe I should pay a visit to the young man who allowed me to discover the existence of such a useful ability and fulfill my promise to him.

With things heating up, his ability would be rather useful.

I would go there right after I visited the headquarters to fill my recently expanded mana pool.