Chapter 23 - Inventory

"How did you manage to survive that?! Truly manly! I take it back! Very manly!" Candreva had a shocked look on his face. His bushy brows raised as he praised the one-armed Ivanic.

"I was very lucky to survive… The Protectors came after they found out we discovered a dungeon and one of them was a very good healer… If not for him…" Ivanovic's face showed signs of anger and disappointment as he was extremely regretful.

Niko was shaken. Ivanic was extremely lucky to have a team of skilled players when he was first summoned. In the first three weeks, he had leveled up to level three, which in this world was extremely outstanding. Ivanics team were crazy hungry for power and they went everywhere they could to level up. One day, his group found a huge cave that led underground, and being the power-hungry team they were, they entered it. The cave was a rank F- dungeon, which should mean that they would be able to handle it perfectly. The monsters within the cave were fairly weak and got stronger as they went in, however, they were still able to manage it. When they reached the end of the cave, there was an extremely powerful monster that looked like a giant centipede which was an F-ranked monster. As they didn't know much about dungeons at the time, they didn't know that dungeons possessed a monster at the end of it that was a rank higher than the dungeon.

The group that Ivanic was a part of was completely wiped out and the centipede gruesomely ripped his arm off and ate it. All of his teammates were quickly killed just like that. Luckily as the centipede was going to give its final blow, the Protectors appeared and killed the monster. Ivanic was at the doorstep of death, however, there was a healer amongst them.

"What were the rewards of the dungeon?" Zheng asked excitedly.

Ivanics face turned even more ugly, his brows furrowed as anger was covered on his face, "I don't know…"

"What?" Niko asked. He knew something was off as Ivanic didn't seem to be extremely happy speaking about the protectors.

"They took all of it… They took all of the dungeon and all of the rewards… They even took my team's accessories! Then they had the audacity to allow me to stay here for another month as compensation!" Ivanovic's fist was clenched as a fist was formed. Zheng and Candreva could see the killing intent within his eyes as it became glossy.

"They are mainly people who are supposed to be helping society…" Candreva spoke with doubt.

"Bullshit!" Ivanic blurred out in anger, but then he quickly gained his composure and said, "They monopolize everything. They take advantage of every beginner and use them for resources! The contribution system they have is complete crap! A made-up currency that takes advantage of the stupid! If they find out that your group conquered a dungeon, they would secretly take you and your whole group out and then take over the dungeons for themselves! You wonder why there are so few humans even though many spawns? Yes, some are killed by monsters but an equal amount is killed by them!"

Ivanic spoke with rage and continued, " They are power-hungry, even in this world. A while back a group calling themselves the Godly Warriors conquered a dungeon towards the west side of the mountain, however, a day later they were completely wiped out. The only person capable of fighting them is the Old Monster that owns that first mountain. No one even dares to step foot there… These people are afraid of losing power in the settlement, therefore, they take out anyone who threatens their power! If only I was stronger… I would leave this damn settlement completely..."

Everyone was shocked. Niko was beginning to understand things much better now. Sure this settlement was great for new people when it came to safety and those who first built it probably had different ideas on how the settlement was going to be like, however, if what Ivanic said was true then this was a huge problem. Niko wasn't ready to take sides as of yet as he was new to this world and had not experienced everything.

"But what can we do… We really can't do anything." Niko spoke realistically. The protectors were much stronger and possessed influence over everyone. To the people, they were their gods, how could beginners fight against gods?

Ivanic finally smirked, "After everything that has happened to I, Ivanic, I began thinking about the same thing. I have done the research, looked for Intel, and traded shards for information regarding certain dungeons. I waited for new people to summon so that they could join me. Yes, we are weak, however, I will let you know that I was the weakest in our group and the highest level player in my group was level six! In less than a month we were able to level up to six! If you all decide to join and help me, I can show you the locations and all that is needed to grow and become much stronger all the way up to level 10! I know all of you want to become much stronger… And Manlier!"

As Ivanic said this, their heart moved as their blood raced. Especially Candreva as he heard the word manly. They were sweating with excitement, however, they still possessed fear in their hearts. Niko was slightly skeptical, however, since he possessed the skill to control spirits this might be possible. He could completely own an army of spirits. If Ivanic truly knew a way of quickly getting to level 10, then things would be much easier and it would also make things better for them. Niko still possessed many questions regarding this as he was prepared to ask them.

"Even if we get to level 10 we are still too weak. We are still incapable of fighting them all, how do you plan to fight them after that?" Niko asked with interest.

Ivanic smiled and said, " I never said we needed to fight them when we were level 10… Hehe, we can wait a bit longer, not only that but we can also recruit other people as well. Let me tell you, behind that third mountain there is spawn. Although everyone who spawns there dies off because they are unable to fight the monsters there, if we are able to conquer that mountain and take the dungeon, we might be able to take up the new spawners. Don't worry, you don't need to answer me now, when we all get to level 10 you can make a decision. For now, let's just do what all of the beginners do and not raise any suspicion… Let me tell you, we aren't the only people who want to rebel either… The Protectors have wronged too many..."

"How can the owner of the first mountain be so powerful? Surely he is just one person!" Zheng asked still thinking about the man called Old Monster.

Ivanic shrugged as he leaned back against the wooden wall, "He is extremely powerful. He was one of those first summoned who acquired a cheat skill… No one knows exactly what it is, however, those who went there to create trouble never returned… Their bodies went missing completely. Let's stay away from that mountain and never go near it."

These are the kind of things Niko wanted to hear! Yes, Ivanic might not be useful when physically fighting monsters himself, for now, however, he possesses something that no one in the room possessed. Experience. He knows about this world and the events that have happened from when he was here, he knows monsters, farming places, and more. This was something extremely valuable in any group.

"Manly people! Let's go get manlier!" Candreva raised his hairy arms with excitement.

Ivanic shook his head and said, "Before anything, you all need a watch to store items and understand things a bit more, here!" Ivanic pulled out a blue shard from thin air. Before the shard appeared the watch on his wrist glowed slightly, showing where it came from.

"Pass it around and store it, a watch should appear for all of you." Ivanic handed the shard o Niko who was below him.

The shard was slightly cold and hard as the edges were dull without sharpness. It was the size of a thumb and it felt incomplete as it was almost as if it was part of something bigger.

[Celestial Probe]

…

[Item: Blue Shard]

Rank: None

Description: A shard that was once a part of a beautiful blue gem capable of upgrading items.

[Additional Information]

Collect 500 and turn it into a Blue Crystal

When it becomes a Blue Crystal it will enchant an item making it much stronger.

Niko's eyes brighten as he saw this. Such a thing really did exist in this world, and since he had seen other shards, such as the blue one that Marcos received, could it be that all of them possessed different uses, or where all of them the same?

"Store"

The shard disappeared from his hand as his right wrist began to feel slightly warmer. A dark glow could be seen surrounding it until it finally materialized into a dark metallic watch. The watch looked extremely clean and sleek as there weren't any bumps or dents on it. Although the watch looked metallic it weighed less than a feather, which made Niko wonder as to how all of this was possible.

Niko looked at his watch and in his mind, he said, "Inventory." Within his mind, a closet-sized space opened up for him revealing a small shard that lay there unmoving. This was an extremely strange scene to him, it was almost like a room in another dimension. This was very convenient, as well as very mysterious.

Niko chose it with his mind by thinking of it and surprisingly it appeared on the hand with the watch. This was something that he just couldn't wrap his mind around, however, as this was no longer earth, the laws of that world no longer applied to her. Niko then threw the shard over to Candreva and fiddled with the watch.