Chapter 102

From the Dregs (IV)

Cain had peacefully returned to the group’s temporary home, settling in a corner and lighting up a cigarette. The look in his eyes was deep and sharp, his mind working rapidly to concoct the plans for their immediate future. As with most other times, he was forced to adjust on the fly with the addition of Yal’sha to the mix.

At first, he mostly just planned on digging through the information, observing the struggle from the side, and completing the low-brow missions to slowly begin increasing their reputation. However, a wrinkle was thrown into all that when Yal’sha put forth the proposal.

Sighing, he leaned closely against the wall and lifted his head. Though he was in no particular rush as going in and out of the Tower from here was fairly easy, he didn’t want to drag his feet here for too long. None of these ‘troubles’, in the long run, truly mattered. Especially to him, now, as the Time Thief. Gaining Yal’sha as an ally will be really helpful... especially when it comes to exploring Underworld...

Just as he was about to finish up and leave, three dispirited-looking faces showed up at the doorstep, slouched forward slightly. And, with them, came the stench, one so powerful that Cain was forced to use Body to close up his nostrils and charge Wind to disperse it through the windows as quickly as he could. The three, even with that, didn’t even seem to register him, walking over to one of the corners and sitting down.

Only now did Cain notice particular patterns on their gear in the form of dents and tiny holes. E-eeh... don’t... don’t tell me the idiots accepted the Rikur’s clean-up job?

The so-called ‘Rikur’s Clean-up’ job had another, more apt name -- ‘Noob Trap’. Though the mission offered fairly decent awards, especially considering the seemingly innocent requirements... most who knew anything of the second floor knew to stay as far away from that madman as possible.

"I... I can't!!" Diya suddenly exclaimed with a fervor that Cain had never heard before in her. "It... I'll go back and kill him!! I swear, I'll kill him!"

“C-calm down, Diya!” Jamal grabbed her arm and prevented her from standing up. “Think... think rationally! He’ll just call guards on us or something. Plus, he looked really strong.”

“But... but...”

“I know,” Lukas joined, grabbing her other arm and looking at her with deep sympathy in his eyes. “We know. We’ll... we’ll never speak of it. Forget it ever happened. Okay?”

“Yes, yes, what Lukas says,” Jamal nodded fervently. “It’s never happened.”

"It's easy for you to say!!" Diya exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "One... one of those nasty things... got... got into my shirt... and... and nibbled at... at places...” by the end, her cheeks were fervent red, but her embarrassment quickly turned into anger once again. “I can’t! I don’t care! I’ll go and kill him, whatever the consequences!”

“Not that I mind the show you’re putting on for me,” Cain finally spoke up, startling the three. “But... what the hell happened, guys?”

“...”

“...”

“NOTHING!!” the three replied in unison.

“I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what happened.”

“We don’t need your help!” Jamal exclaimed. “Besides, what the hell are you doing here? Did you really just stand here doing nothing all this time?”

“... naw, I also went out once to take a piss.”

“...” Jamal grunted and flipped him off.

“We... we took a mission--”

“LUKAS!!”

“W-what?” Lukas backed off slightly from the angered Diya and Jamal. “He... he might be able to help.”

“...”

“...”

“A-anyway, we took on a mission,” noting their silent, albeit unwilling approval, Lukas took a deep breath and continued. “It looked normal on the surface -- cleaning up a garden, good rewards, thirty points each. So, we went over there and met this kind-looking old man who explained that he’s had problems with... with ‘slugs’ recently and asked us whether we can clean them up.”

“And we figured, hey, what the hell?” Jamal interjected, continuing the story. “Sweep some slugs, earn some nice rewards, good day’s work, right? Right? WRONG!! Fucking wrong!! Those things... those things were not slugs!” Well, technically... they are... Cain mused silently, holding back a smile. “They stuck to things like instant glue or some shit! If they got on you, it was almost impossible to shake them off! And, and, and they had these really strong pincers that they used to poke and probe us! It hurt like hell!”

“... there ain’t no free lunch.” Cain said with a shrug.

“I know--I know! But isn’t it too much?” Jamal grumbled.

“You guys want to take revenge on him?” Cain asked suddenly as an idea appeared inside his mind.

“Yes, please! We’ll do anything!”

The ‘old kind man’, Rikur, was a member of Seribum’s immediate clique, and those ‘slugs’ were home-grown bugs used to process many of the poisonous plants into either workable medicine or even more potent poisons. However, very few people knew Rikur’s affiliation -- especially this early on -- so most just believed he was a jackass who preyed on those who didn’t know many things.

A plan was quickly completing inside Cain’s mind; though it was fairly risky, it wouldn’t cost them much even if they failed. At worst, they’ll just publicly have to assign themselves to Yal’sha.

“Alright,” he nodded at the eager three. “We’re gonna wait for Emma, Daniel, and Senna to return. Until then, you guys... you should probably wash up.” Cain added and quickly charged Earth, stomping his feet into the ground. Just a moment later, three separate ‘rooms’ stood in the place of the hollow one, each with a spacious bath that he quickly filled by charging Water. “You stink worse than a fish left out in the sun for days.”

"Ah, geez, thanks. Thanks for that." Jamal grunted as the three quickly charged into one of the rooms each, well aware of just how much they stank.

On the other hand, Cain moved closer to a window and looked outside, the gleam in his eyes brilliant. We can’t bring ‘im here, he continued to develop the plan. As for other places... where there are no people... hmm... maybe that abandoned cathedral at the west-end? Yeah, we’re already wearing masks as it is... I can just modify them temporarily.

Cain didn’t have many interactions with the natives of the City when he first came here. By then, most of the ‘struggles’ have been resolved and most of the key players right then were either dead or long since gone further up the City. Because of this, he was also quite uncertain of their personalities and what made them tick, warranting a sheen of caution on his part. Rikur, however, was an exception; he continued to live here even after Cain left this floor, testing not just the slugs, but countless other insects on the unsuspecting newcomers.

Even if Rikur’s disappearance wouldn’t truly spark a major conflict, it did have the capacity to shake the status quo; the 'relationships' now were, at best, strained, stretched taut, ready to snap. However, there were still quite a few reservations over; after all, once the 'war' broke out, there would be no stopping it until the winner's been decided. It was a tall order to swallow as it could lead to the extinction of most of the groups currently active. In fact, most would rather maintain these push-and-pull relationships if it meant maintaining their power.

The rumor of the Ascent was the likeliest to end the passive-aggressive war and turn it into an outright one; while it was different for Cain and others, for most in this City, climbing up was beyond difficult. That would also be the case for most humans who eventually wound up in the city. It would only get easier later down the line once everyone’s figured out the kinks of the City.

Before that, most would think that the speediest way to climb was to hoard points; as such, they’d be out there, in front of that board, every single day, looking for missions. Though there was no concrete number, in Cain’s previous life, once someone gathered somewhere around a hundred thousand points, they were usually invited to a set of tests and challenges that, if they passed, would result in them being allowed into the Adept Strata of the City.

However, hoarding a hundred thousand points... Cain got a headache just thinking about it. Even the best missions offered at most 60-70 and usually came with the genuine risk of dying. Most people would never actually go down this route unless they had absolutely no other choice.

The reason Cain sent six others out for the missions wasn’t really to collect points but to familiarize themselves with the system as well as the City itself. Once Daniel and Lukas hit level 40, he planned on just using one of the many other ways to climb up. Now, however, that would have to wait; if he could help Yal’sha not just climb the City itself, but also the ranks in his Clan, he would have an endless supply of the Blood Drops that he could use as yet another way to dominate the market. This didn’t only include the Conquerors, but ordinary people as well; Blood Drops were, in a way, a penultimate form of a pearie. They restored and enhanced Vitality, cured people of most genetic disorders, and, in sufficient capacity, even reversed aging itself.

First things first, he mused, stretching. Kidnapping Rikur will be easy... but playing Seribum won’t. That bitch is really clever and, even worse, twice as paranoid... let’s just hope she bites the bait.