Level Up Legacy

[Rank: F]

[An item of a set that can allow for long-distance communication. Limitations include the inability to be used across floors and the one-way communication.]

There was only one of these items, so Peter received messages from someone. According to his words, Vesper relayed messages through these items, which could be bought in a different town.

As for the old man, he was tied to the well that he deceived challengers at, with blood covering his clothes. He seemed to be on the brink of death, but Whisker was using some herb to keep him alive.

"…please… kill me… no more…"

His spirit has been crushed, and he no longer has it in him to beg for mercy. Arthur was not the one that tortured him, but the feline who seemed immune to mercy and empathy. Whisker even had a systemic approach, like a routine, in his torture.

"We are almost done," said Whisker as he fed Peter the herb, making him remain alive. "We still need to know a few things before we let you go."

"No more!" shouted Peter, as if he realized he would never leave here alive. Then, without hesitation, the man bit his tongue and killed himself, disintegrating into countless red particles. The ropes that tied him fell to the ground, loose.

Whisker did not seem surprised and rose from the ground. The feline returned everything to his bag as if he was done with his job for the day, making Arthur speechless.

"If you knew he was going to do that, then you should have prevented him," said Arthur with confusion. "We are never going to find him again."

"This is the plan. I wanted him to remain inside his room for as long as possible. I even left him some food I did not take for that purpose so he wouldn\'t return to Sith Town for the time being. Even if he is a weakling, he has the Trader medal."

"We should have taken it from him," said Arthur with regret. "We would at least both have one, making it quite useful. We won\'t be sure Peter would stay in his room."

"When we ask for the medal, Peter would have killed himself and rushed to Vesper. Greed is the main reason people lose focus on their goals, thinking they can obtain more. However, there is nothing like that, and everything is due."

"A wise sage cat, I must say," said Arthur with a smile. "You look like a different person from earlier, who tortured the old man without hesitation. Where have you learned all of that?"

"In the army," said Whisker as he turned toward the items. "These should be enough to last us until the end of the first floor. Vesper will be on high alert after losing his puppet master, so we will have difficulty entering and leaving Sith Town."

"We have everything we need to know to take down Vesper and his men," said Arthur with a smile as he organized the loot. "We should split these items between us according to need."

"Keep them all," said Whisker without hesitation. "My bag is full of items, and I cannot carry anything more. Yours is still empty. Have you raised your level yet?"

"I have," nodded Arthur with confusion. "How is that important?"

"Every level you gain adds one more item slot to your bag. This is another important function of levels that make people willing to forsake stats for their sake. An item can save your life, so the more you have, the better."

Arthur looked at the items on the ground and then picked up the ring, a Rank A item that could prevent people from leaving their rooms for a month. Since the bed was a healing station, they would not die from hunger but would have to endure it.

"Even this item?" asked Arthur with surprise. "This should be quite tempting even for you, Whisker. An item of such a high rank should sell for quite a bit."

"If you hint that I should snatch it, I don\'t need to do so. A high-rank item like this was nothing but a toy compared to your lightning. I have more reasons to follow you than anything, so rest easy."

Arthur smiled at the feline before he wore the ring with a smile. It immediately tightened around his finger, fitting it perfectly. It shone with a blue hue, but Arthur knew it needed time to recharge.

The rest of the items went into his bag. Arthur was still bagging them until he got to the tongue, which he picked with disgust. It looked like a small pedestal with a tongue protruding, but this might be the most important item.

"Vesper should communicate with his men through these," said Whisker as he noticed the item. "It is not uncommon for warlords to distribute these items. Although he should realize that Peter is no longer around, he cannot stop relaying the message through his system. This is crucial to understand these movements, so keep it outside your bag."

"I understand," muttered Arthur before he placed the mouth in his pocket. "We achieved the first step of our plan. What is next?"

"This is the time for rumors. We need to look for the man who protected your identity from Vesper," said Whisker with a smile. "This is one of the rare cases where mercy will make our plans succeed. That man can be trusted enough to hate Vesper, so he should be willing to spread rumors about what happened to Peter."

"Where can we find that man?"

"We should look for that new challenger that has just arrived. We might run into the man if we follow her," said Whisker before looking outside. "That bucket of water she took should not be to the old nanny, but another place Peter has set up as a trap. Let me see where she is heading."

Arthur did not have time to reply before Whisker turned into a shadow that rushed toward the temple walls, jumped them, and hopped toward the nearest roof. His agility and movements were exactly like a cat, making him navigate the city like a fish in water.

The temple was full of blood, and Arthur realized that someone might come looking for Peter if he stayed there too long. Thus, he went outside as well after gathering his items. He walked toward the main street, which was bustling with people.

Although Vesper has terrorized Sith Town, it is still full of life. Challengers tried their luck outside the walls, hoping to raise their level and obtain items to sell. Food was scarce, while items and weapons were more common.

Arthur noticed that every food vendor had a man guarding it, looking around suspiciously. These vendors all seemed to work for Vesper, making Arthur wonder how much money he was making and for what purpose.

"I found her," said a voice from above, and Arthur raised his head to see the cat looking at him from above the roof. Whisker had only his head showing, making Arthur find him cute, despite the not-so-cute things he had done earlier. "She is close to reaching her destination. We should hurry."

Arthur nodded at the feline, jumping over the wall and onto the roof. Whisker rushed without hesitation while moving slowly enough for Arthur to follow him as they headed toward the outskirts of town.

The new challenger still carried her bucket as she searched the city\'s outskirts for her target house. Arthur and Whisker got there in time to see her go into a large building that looked like it was cleaned regularly.

"That seems like a different destination than mine," muttered Arthur with a frown. "What kind of Quest did Peter give her?"

"That should be the orphanage where the old nanny works," said Whisker with a frown. "He might have told her some children are sick and need the healing water. We need to rescue her before it\'s too late."

Arthur nodded, and the two jumped down before rushing into the building and entering its front yard. It seems that this ambush was different than the last because they heard the sounds of fighting as soon as they crossed the door.

Blood was everywhere, and the scene inside was unlike anything the two expected. Arthur and Whisker stopped when they saw the screaming men on the ground and the red particle flying.

There were two men with their arms torn apart, bleeding while screaming on the ground. As for the last, he was dangling in the air while being held by his throat, squirming for air. The challenger who had just arrived was the one holding him and in the center of this massacre.

"…who are we rescuing again?" muttered Arthur with shock, but the feline had no words to answer him.