“Hey priest, I know you’ve just been hiding in order to make things smoother but do one thing quickly, get you ass down here!” yelled Terry out of the bunker.

“Yes,” asked the priest in his white robes as he looked down to Terry.

“I said to get your ass in here, not just watch,” Terry said angrily as he knelt down to feel Ryan’s hot, stiff neck for a pulse.

The priest climbed down the metal ladder and looked at Terry.

“Yes, what would you have me do?” asked the priest annoyed.

“Haah, I should’ve told you to be more like a doll since I’d usually kill someone on the spot for disrespecting me in such a way. Anyway, I assume you’re not as dumb as you act. Heal him, as you’ve seen, he’s very strong and I’d like to have him as an ally for at least a while if not until he dies. Since you’re a priest, I assume you can heal him pretty damn well even if you’re not some miracle doctor or messiah. Besides, why else would I bother keeping you alive?” Terry asked in a threatening tone.

“Yes, right away master!” creid the priest as he hurried over to Ryan and Crystal. The priest knelt beside the two roasted bodies and felt for a pulse. “Dead.”

Terry flinched, “excuse me?”

“The girl, she’s dead,” repeated the priest.

Terry furrowed his brow and swung his sword to the priest’s neck angrily.

“I told you to fix my servant, not that b*tch, okay? Hurry up now, that’s an order. Oh, but one thing, make sure he’s all healed, but make sure to keep his face looking as different as possible. Heal him as best you can, but since he’s wanted for whatever reason, I don't want him getting recognized.”

The priest frowned and moved his thin hands to Ryan’s charred back. The burns were severe from where Ryan’s heart was and then became weaker outward, meaning that Ryan’s very heart was nearly set ablaze. A normal person would have incinerated immediately yet as Ryan was a ‘Legendary’ class, he was probably a lot better than the average n*gga off the street. On top of everything, Ryan was strong and without ambition. Perfect to serve Terry as a loyal dog. Terry stared at the priest and watched as a red light was produced from his hands as he pressed them upon Ryan’s charred skin. The priest winced at the pain of the contact from his hands to the charred flesh that had quite literally melted a dagger into liquid, only a minute before. Ryan’s body was much cooler now that he wasn’t literally on fire though, and the priest was still able to touch and directly heal Ryan along with himself from the immense damage.

[Activating Appraisal]

[High Priest=Dangerous] Notice, High Priest is a Super Rare class.

Huh, so he is worth quite a bit. Nice, since he’s a High Priest and a Super Rare, he should be able to fix Ryan up pretty well. Although, why’s he dangerous? Oh, wait, I think I get it, he’s a holy dude and I’m a vampire heh, well at least he’s probably worth plenty of levels. Same with Ryan, he’s incredibly valuable but if things were to go south, I must make sure to be the one to claim his perfect Experience. Damn, those rare classes sure are awesome, if only I had gotten to kill some in that damn cave. All those memories are seriously traumatic, even for me. Especially that massive tarantula who I can’t even describe. If only he had saved just a few stronger spiders for me, I would’ve been able to do whatever I wanted. Well, at least I have a goal now. I just hope I can hurry up with this and leave my mark on this world.

“Alright, he’s all better now, I’ve healed all that I can so he most surely won’t die as long as he doesn’t do… whatever he did to get into that shape. Although, I’ve used up much of my magic and therefore will be unable to treat such a wound for a few days at the very least. Simply wait for him to awaken if you wish to continue onward,” said the priest as he began to stand.

Terry helped lift the man to his feet before kneeling to inspect Ryan.

“Well, now we can finally put some clothes on this guy. Priest, go find some clothes for this guy and hurry up,” ordered Terry as he turned Ryan to face him. “Nice, his face looks like he’s a poor black guy from the ghetto. He’ll never be recognized like this. Well, the rest of his body looks goo- I mean okay, damn, I almost sounded gay. Well, just gotta put some clothes on him and find some food here which shouldn’t be a problem seeing as how the princess was a spoiled b*tch.

The priest returned and handed some large clothes to Terry who dropped his sword and placed them upon Ryan's body and scoured the bunker for food to find a small cellar after the use of his skill, Vampire Sight which made everything regardless of size visible to Terry. After opening the small cellar, Terry was greeted by a cool burst of air before finding several bottles of high quality wine and even quite a bit of salted beef and pork along with a few other meats. There were plenty of pickled vegetables as well as even some honey preserved fruits and large amounts of raw honey. While there wasn’t necessarily a king’s storage, there was quite some valuable stuff and best of all, there were grapes, Terry cared not for alcohol as it destroyed the mind and he had made a self rule of never tasting such filth. But fruits like grapes which were his favorite, Terry couldn’t wait to taste the sweetness.

Terry’s mouth drooled in excitement as he lifted the small jar from the cellar and used his intense strength and skill to open it with ease.

“I haven’t had grapes in such a long time, this smell, I can almost taste the sweetness,” Terry said excitedly as he used his index finger and thumb from his right hand to pull the plump, green grape from the honey and place it into his mouth. Terry licked the sweet honey from the grape as he knocked it around his mouth with his long tongue before finally biting into it with a loud crunch!

“I just love when grapes are nice and crunchy. Although, something important is missing. Bruh, I feel so dumb right now. Vampires can’t f*cking taste fruit?!” Terry cried angrily as he sealed the jar tightly and placed it back into the cellar. “Well, I guess I should just grab the beef and vegetables along with the best looking wine as a gift. Hmm, which wine is the best? Well, I’ll just use my Vampiric Mind and pick… this one. Now just the beef and veggies,” Terry said as he gripped a bottle of some sort of grape flavored wine along with a small bag of some vegetables and meat he had picked before he closed the cellar and walked back to Ryan and the priest.

“Alright, take the mutilated girl out of here while I carry Ryan,” Terry said.

“Are you sure you don’t wish to take some of the fine jewelry from this place or other such things? There’s even some good weapons here,” asked the priest.

“Nah, or wait, you know, sure, my original blade is kinda dull now and almost completely broken from those damn… never mind, you’re right, go find me the best weapon in this place while I carry these two bodies out of here,” Terry said as he moved Ryan’s body to grip the mangled, charred corpse of Crystal.

[Activating Overwhelming Strength]

Terry tensed his massive muscles tightly before using massive strength in order to launch the mangled corpse high into the air and far out from the bunker while shouting at the top of his lungs.

”Yeet!” Terry yelled with a smile. That felt nice, Terry thought before he proceeded to carry Ryan on his back out of the bunker before re-entering it at the sight of the priest.

“Here, this sword appears the best,” said the priest as he weakly carried a sword of larger size than Terry’s old sword toward Terry to hand it to him.

“Damn, you’re weak, but I guess that's fine since everyone has strengths and weaknesses to properly utilize in their lifetime. Good work,” Terry said as he walked over and took the large, gleaming sword from the priest as he inspected it closely and began to swing it around slowly.

[Weak Sword of Versatile Enchantments acquired;7 slots available for weak enchantment of different or same elements]

“This is one helluva nice sword. Powerful, sharp, light, and strong, you did really good finding this here. And by the way, I’d prefer to just leave a bunch of stuff here with how well it’s hidden. In fact, if I had any luggage I would’ve been happy to leave stuff here. But remember, we’re not here to steal but rather to simply restock food and possibly better weapons which we have gotten. Besides, there's mostly just a bunch of jewelry which true men should never wear. While I enjoy and see no harm in wearing rings, I refrain from most other jewelry as I personally find men in necklaces and earrings among most other things to be kinda gay. And I ha- err, I dislike gay people very much similar to how you priests must be. Now then let's just seal this place back up and move out towards Dinstorm. You can ride your own horse while I take the unconscious Ryan as you would be too weak to support him while I’m weightless as a vampire or something similar which makes me the perfect person for this. Besides, only I’d be able to restrain him while also riding a horse. Even though I’ve like, never ridden a horse before. Oh, and besides, there's plenty of food in this backpack,” Terry said as he and the priest exited the bunker and closed it tightly, thoroughly making sure to cover the entrance with ash from Ryan burning quite a bit inside the bunker, rotted wood which was used to seem like a campfire to any who had noticed the smoke. Terry looked around the bunker closely to detect any who were possibly watching and waiting for a chance to enter once the inhabitants had left, although Terry found no such signs or people and therefore carried Ryan over to a horse as the priest led the way.

Riding at greater speeds due to how the horses were pulling less weight compared to a cart, Terry reached the gates of Dinstorm without much difficulty in a matter of a little less than a week.

“Next!” called out a man at a table as he called over Ryan, Terry, and the priest near a small table as he was guarded by 2 seasoned soldiers who were each labeled as Dangerous to Terry although, unlike all of his previous opponents, the soldiers were merely stationed for defence instead of specifically trying to kill Terry. And besides, since Terry was entering an actual city, of course he’d have to face strong security, in fact, Terry wouldn’t be surprised if there were several Deadly or higher ranked enemies for Terry to face. But of course, staying smart and avoiding useless confrontations was one of the many reasons that Terry had become such a skilled assassin and therefore didn’t need to worry about such things. Which is why Terry needed to work extra in order to leave his mark upon the world soon.

Terry began to pull the insignia from his armor but was stopped before he finished.

“I’m terribly sorry sir crusader, we’ve been expecting you, please forgive me for making you wait, are these your companions? You have excellent horses by the way, don’t worry, go right through please, I will notify the king of your arrival at once. Please head to the inn where you can unwind and get a good bath so that you may be fetched. I suppose some trouble arose which is why you only came on 2 horses and without your guards. Please, take a moment to relax at the inn,” said the man very fast as constantly he rotated from concern to important questions which made Terry feel on edge. The man in front of him wasn’t normal at all but not in the siabled sense, in the insanely dangerous sense, while weak, the man was much smarter than most men Terry knew. Such a waste, Terry thought as he stared at the guards near the man who began to move with their lances drawn.

“You there, how dare another mere refugee like you dare attempt to sneak into the great city of Dinstorm by using a great Arch Crusader?!” cried the man at the desk as the guards moved toward Ryan who steadied himself and his knuckles for a fight although he didn’t yet attack and waited instead for an order from Terry.

“He’s with me,” Terry said as he glared viscously at the guards and man at the table.

“Oh, oh yes, of course,” said the man frantically as he pulled the guards back and allowed Terry and the men to enter through the massive gates.

“Here, while you pissed me off, thanks for letting us in so quickly, I appreciate the service,” Terry said as he gave the bottle of wine from his bag to the man at the desk before throwing the rest of the bag with some vegetable scraps and a few pieces of meat towards the refugees. “Share some of the wine with the guards. After all, they risked their very lives because of your stupidity.”

Terry smiled at the man as he signaled for Ryan to lead the group while Terry held the horses by their reins and continued to look at the massive line behind him to enter the city. Terry had plenty of blood on his blessed armor. The line was mostly refugees of darker skin color and there were hundreds with plenty of storage in their thin, malnourished hands such as little bits of food, very little money, plenty of children, and a bunch of random trinkets and such. Terry saw children younger than 10 years old carrying at least 25 pound boxes and more. Plenty of refugees saw that Terry’s group was in good condition and attempted to rob him in their starved state which caused him to knock them full meters away which Terry made sure not to kill, but simply to serve as a lesson. After all, had Terry been back in the previous world, these very people would be his most loyal supporters.

Terry walked his way into the city and frowned.

“Heh, go straight down this path and you’ll never learn that there's so many refugees in this place. This idea was smart so that tourists will never be harassed by people of the slums while the people of the slums can go about their business,” Terry said as he surveyed Ryan very carefully to see how he would respond with all of ‘his kind’.

“Alright, I know where the inn is since it’s literally just straight and on the right. Although, I’m very surprised that the man didn’t tell us exactly where to go for the inn,” said the priest.

“He must’ve just forgotten to properly greet the people giving his king a bunch of valuable coins. Yeah, I guess people forget even that stuff nowadays,” Ryan said sarcastically.

[Activating Vampire Hearing]

“Did he say ‘valuable?’”

“Valuable coins? Just a few is awesome.”

“We need plenty of coins if we are to survive.”

“Let's ask that man for just one.”

“You think he’ll give one? No, we’ll just take all of them. Cmon, let’s go, we can hold that priest hostage and force him.”

“Haah,” Terry sighed as he watched two large groups of refugees approaching the priest with small daggers as they ran as quiet as possible.

Plenty of tourists and guards merely watched as Terry slowly processed what to do in response. Damn, I could just slaughter these people but they’re innocent in a sense, well, they’re going to die anyway via the Temple so if they intend to kill me, then I have no qualms against killing them. Terry drew his large sword as he protected the priest on one side before feeling a tap on his shoulder.

“Hm?” Terry said as he swung around with his sword at immense speed.

“Don’t worry, I got this,” Ryan said as he flexed his enormous muscles and equipped his thick, spiked knuckles and stood near the priest.

There were plenty of children and young adults along with even mothers to make 2 groups with 30 or so people in total.

Punch! Punch! Punch! Punch! Punch! Punch! Punch! Punch!

“You dare harm my master, you wish to try your luck? How can one as weak and cowardly as you possibly defeat a superior human such as my masters?!” Ryan said as he tore through the group of refugees and knocked them far back with his powerful, muscular, well fed body.

The refugees flinched, they didn’t expect to have one of their own attack them. And the very fact that Ryan’s face was so disfigured from not being properly healed, showed the refugees the dedication that he would have to serve his ‘master’. The fact that Ryan actually mauled the refugees so brutally even without killing them, was proof of his intense strength and resolve. Without Terry moving a single muscle, all of the refugees had frozen in place. While Ryan couldn’t exactly scare them all away, he did a pretty good job of making them think hard upon their next move. All that was needed was a bit of a push in the right direction.

“Alright, we don’t have time for this, c’mon Ryan, you too boss,” Terry said to Ryan and the priest as he continued along as if nothing had happened.

“H-hey, cough, give us you-r mo-ney,” said a child as blood dripped weakly from his arm. He wouldn’t die from the simple wound or impact of Ryan's punches as Ryan was Legendary and a real punch of his would cripple somebody, although the boy got all of the other refugees thinking the same thing.

Let’s get him from behind. That bastard, he’ll die for mocking us like everyone else, we’re people too.

[Activating Intimidation]

“Good luck, I welcome some blood on my blade any time, but not the blood of the weak or cowardly, only the blood of the strong. If you wish to die, kill yourself and leave civilized people out of your life,” Terry said with a massive glare at the refugees before he continued onward.

The 3 men walked their way without further trouble to the inn where they checked in, similar to a hotel or motel before they arrived in a spacious, 3-star room which was very simply sat inside after handing their fine horses to the stable master.

“Alright guys, since there’s plenty of room and such here and how this is pretty secure room off the ground, I guess we can just take care of what we need to such as properly bathing and getting my armor fixed while maybe getting some good clothes too,” Terry said. “Then we can begin my plan to make my name known in this massive city.”

“Boss, what do you plan to do?” Ryan whispered to Terry.

“What else would I do, you saw the awesome weapon of mine, I’m going to kill the king of this place using the ‘Finger Of Thomalus,’” Terry whispered in response as he couldn’t know for sure if he could completely trust the priest even if he had a contract.

Ryan’s eyes went wide in shock as the priest attempted to ask what Terry had said but was restricted.

“You are an ambitious man, I knew I was right to follow you,” Ryan said with a smile. “Alright, well, I can guard the money while you and the priest take a bath since we never know what could happen.”

“Smart, I wish I could be nice and decline but you are my slave so it’s natural for you to do such things. If somebody starts something, make sure to f*ck em up. Well, see ya,” Terry said with a large grin as he emptied out the several pouches inside his armor onto a table so that Ryan stood directly next to them.

“Alright, finally, I got this armor fixed up so there’s no longer a massive hole anymore. Damn, I never expected that there was magic used to repair armor while time, skill, trial, and error among most others are for just forging the items.

Now then, Terry thought. I should make sure that all the plans and conditions for killing this place’s king are met. Number 1, I need to have somebody who can and will take over while simply holding the throne for when I become stronger or who’s willing to give me compensation. I can imagine many nobles will wish to take over but I’ve also heard that the king of this city of mostly refugees is very dangerous and strong. He may even have hit close to or even the actual max level for humans. Well, if anything, I could just allow these damn refugees to be useful and serve as cannon fodder for me. But I’d prefer for this place to be under stable management rather than starving people fleeing from another country or whatnot.

Well, time to find the king of garbage in these back alleys and possibly a few diamonds in the rough while I’m at it.

“Why’s a tourist in a place like this?” asked a voice behind Terry as a sharp dagger was pressed against his thick neck. Terry knew that the person behind him wasn’t some mere rat from the gutter, but rather a seasoned alligator from the sewers. The person seemed to be quite tall and also a girl who probably knew what she was doing.

“I’m here to find your boss to make him an offer,” Terry said as cool as a cucumber.

“You people are all the same, I saw the way you let your companion treat us. You people are all the same and see people like us with nowhere else to go as animals to enslave and smack around however you want. It’s about time we bite back and so why don’t you drop everything you’ve got before I kill you and take everything off?” said the girl threateningly as plenty of refugees began to surround Terry with small rocks and weapons. They were very angry and the fact that Terry had come so deep, so willingly into the slums made the refugees even more angry.

“Firstly, I’d be glad to take it all off willingly if you are pretty enough, which I can’t tell from you being behind me with a blade to my neck. And secondly, if you kill me, who’s gonna kill the king, are you or anyone here strong enough to do a thing to that man?” Terry said in a quiet whisper.

“C’mon, spill his guts already if he won’t give us the money for free!”

“Please, take his money and sell his armor. We need food and water, we can buy plenty by using him,” said plenty of the surrounding people as they stayed back. The refugees knew not to mess with those in charge of them. After all, while dogs are weak and simply follow orders or get beaten around, they understand strength amongst each other very well and will never harm one their rulers of which the girl was one.

The girl’s eyes went wide but then became slits again in suspicion. So that’s why you didn’t make a move. Sure, I’ll take you to the leader but I’ll take your blades before you enter the room with him which is unnegotiable,” said the girl quietly as she signaled for the other refugees to clear a path.

While reluctant, the refugees said not a word and simply moved away. One child attempted to pickpocket Terry although he was merely kicked aside like a soccer ball to a grown man who bowed his head in apology as the girl leading Terry glared at him before continuing to lead Terry deeper into the slums.

[Activating Appraisal]

Bruh, Terry thought. All theses n*ggas are weak and worthless. While anyone and everyone can grow to higher ranks, I’d be better off taking nobody than these people. Hmm, even though they’re all worthless though, it’s weird. With how there's literally thousands of refugees here, there should be at least a few rares or super rares. Like, damn.

“We’re here,” said the girl as the 2 finally reached a larger, actual building in the slums. It was guarded by a large, muscular man who looked weaker than Terry but stronger than Ryan.

Woah, Terry thought, this dude is pretty weak compared to me but damn! He’s a Super Rare Gladiator. Maybe this ‘king’ has all of the non worthless refugees and is planning an uprising. Damn, this is perfect for me.

“Hey! You damn Crusader, what do you want with Aria?!” yelled the man as he stuck his large blade to Terry’s neck.

Terry looked at the man and smiled warmly at him.

[Activating Intimidation]

“If you’re gonna use that to kill someone, do it to yourself cuz if you piss me off, you’ll be subject to endless torment.”

The man froze in response and the woman shook but both held their ground.

“Nice resolve, here, you can have my swords, but the rest stays with me. You got a problem with that, then think about a plan to kill me yourselves. Although, do that and you’ll have no chance to be free of the k- oh wait, you don’t deserve to know. Boss man’s ears only,” Terry said mockingly as the girl calmed down the big man and led Terry into the building after Terry handed his swords to the large man.

“Damn, it’s hell spacious in here!” Terry said as he stepped through a long hallway in the building until he entered a large, clean, room. The slums had connected to a nobleman’s house and therefore it was like the castle to the rest of the city. The man who lived in the building had to be a sort of representative of the refugees who was trusted and strong as well as directly under the thumb of the king in order to make money. Terry had mixed feelings about mentioning his plan to one who directly served the king but if push came to shove, Terry had 2 uses for the Finger of Thomalus and could easily slaughter his opponents by combining it with his numerous skills. Terry was led over to a couch by the woman before she sat down and had him do so next to her.

“Kamura, come on down here, I have a guest for you!” yelled the woman as she and Terry remained silent for the next few minutes before Terry eventually heard footsteps coming from a staircase.

“So then, how do you do?” asked Terry as he stood from the couch to greet his possible ally.

“Hey-”

“It’s fine Aria. Although, this conversation we shall have may become quite dangerous so I ask you to leave,” said a robed man as he entered the room. He was tall and well fed unlike the refugees he probably managed. Even more unlike the refugees though, were his stylish, silver lined, blue robes that covered his hairy, dark brown skin. Long black hair made into dreadlocks flowed from his hard scalp as he smiled at Terry.

Aria steadied herself and again held her dagger to Terry’s neck.

“He won’t even think about trying to threaten you boss, I’ll fight and die for you.”

“You brought him here for good reason and I trust your judgement which is why I let you directly serve me. But you must know when somebody is superior to you and act accordingly. In fact, the only one that blade you hold to his neck can truly hurt is you. Now don’t make me kick you out,” the man said annoyed as Aria quietly left the large room and went outside. The men waited until they heard the click of the door before continuing.

“Aria, I told you to leave the building. Fail to do so willingly and you shall instead leave this life forcefully!” roared the man before Terry heard the door click again and the man before him settled down.

“So then, why are you here, imposter?” asked the man as Terry flinched for a moment before taking a deep breath and staying completely calm and composed.

Terry couldn’t exactly trust the man before him and so he decided to play things safe.

[Activating Appraisal]

[Activating Read Minds]

“Heh,” Terry laughed. “Just what the hell are you?”

Whoosh!

“Well, as the second strongest person in this entire city, I have to be strong don’t I,” said the man as he held a dagger to Terry’s neck and glared viscously at him. “You can read minds, first you had my curiosity, now you have my attention. Tell me, what exactly is your plan?”

“Heh, you mean erection instead of attention. You damn gay n*gga, only caring about my head. I’m still shocked to notice your incredible strength of being ultimate in comparison to me and probably having massive amounts of experience for so I guess I’m really sad to notice that my best possible ally is also a damn homo. Well then jokes aside, I’m here to assassinate the king of Dinstorm,” Terry said quietly.

The man before Terry flinched.

“You have appraisal too? Not many have both those incredible skills. But to think you wish to kill Heckel, the king of Dinstorm, while you see me as ultimate, this may just be a waste of my time. It’s a shame you’re so weak. Considering how you stole the armor and priest from the Crusader and even have one of the Legendary class following you, I expected more. But it seems you’re just a mere fool,” said the man as he used his dagger to slice straight through Terry’s cold flesh.

Splurt!

[Activating Immortality]

[Activating Blood Regeneration]

“Cough! Cough! Bruh, c’mon, testing your appraisal eh? I hate when people other than my allies know that I’m a Vampire even more so when they learn I’m a higher one,” Terry said as his decapitated head began to steady atop his bleeding neck. The cut was very clean in order to prevent the head from falling, possibly dripping blood all over the place in the process. Since this was the case, the head was merely severed and could heal in place quite easily since it wasn’t necessarily moved from its resting place and rather just separated.

“I needed to make sure, while appraisal is useful and never wrong, it all depends on how it is interpreted. While you may see me as ‘ultimate’ I see you as dangerous. So I naturally had to test my theory. I also wished to see your control which is astonishing as anyone normal would be thrust into a massive rage from the pain. Although one thing, the class that I saw upon you was Arch-Crusader and not Vampire. I merely wondered why an Arch-Crusader would betray a Temple when their power stems directly from sworn servitude. That’s how I knew something was up, but to think you’re a vampire, I’ve never heard of a way to not just block, but trick the skill Appraisal. Well, I now see that you can definitely accomplish this regicide you have planned.” said the man as he wiped the few drops of Terry’s blood that remained on the knife with the inside of his coat.

Terry paused, interesting, he thought. I can trick this Appraisal skill perfectly. So at least I can’t be figured out almost no matter what. One problem arises though, why am I apparently an Arch-Crusader, he can tell and will get mad if I read his mind so I should avoid that, but why was I an Arch-Crusader, hmm, maybe because of the armor? The skill Impersonate is interesting, very interesting. While I can change my looks and such which is awesome already, I can even make my class different, heh, this is perfect for someone like me. With all this, I’ll most surely not fail against the king.

“Heh, while I’ve never felt that exact pain since that is pain only felt before an instantaneous death, I have felt much worse and inflicted even worse than that. Water torture, skinning alive, a good ol crucifiction, needle scarirng and stabbing, I may not have been through or infincted all as many are too costly and inneficient, but I have definitely done the most painful of such things. So then, while I don’t care much for the skills of this place, I wish to have a civilized conversation about a regicide I plan on. If you wish to stand against me which I doubt, I could use you very well as a way to test myself and gain massive experience, therefore making the king even easier. Oh, and we can’t really delay this right now, I have only today so we need to be quick,” Terry said as he slowly moved his head around in circles to better return his feelings.

“I sense skill and experience from you. While I don’t know you, men like us don’t need to be friends with somebody to determine to kill them or let them speak at a first meeting. I simply wish to know why you would come to me. The leader of these refugees who also directly serves king Heckel like a loyal dog,” said the man as he began to glare fiercely at Terry, producing plenty of bloodlust in the process.

“Heh, please stop that, it resonates with my own skill which will cripple everybody here with how weak they are. Anyways though, I imagine you already know the answer to that very question. With what I could see in your mind, you serve a long dead king who has become the slave of the Temple. A man once very powerful and just who has fallen to the temptations of this world. You are loyal to a dead man walking as the puppet of greedy pigs who wish to destroy this very world,” Terry started as the man before him radiated massive amounts of bloodlust, enough to choke Terry quite a bit and cause him to tremble in excitement.

“Are you here to insult my king now? I see that it was a waste to listen to one such as you who is all talk,” said the man as Terry glared back.

“You’re weaker than that damn tarantula, he forced me to the ground in a split second, but even when uncontrolled, even he couldn’t simply deflect this move. In fact, you might even piss yourself from this,” Terry said as he smiled widely.

[Activating Demon King Aura]

Whoosh!

The room froze as Terry stretched his back and arms from inside his gleaming armor.

“C’mon, you know I’m right, and you know what I want. I can put your ‘master’ out of his misery so long as you handle the aftermath of me doing so. I need the second strongest person in Dinstorm ready to take over as well as all of those who see the king as an eyesore which should be easy as he’s no longer the man he once was from what the priest has told me. Plus, you should know better than everyone what kind of twisted bastard he is. From what I can tell about you, I know for a fact that he never would’ve sold the refugees you watch over into slavery and experimentation. I know you probably want him dead better than anyone even though, or especially because you must’ve known and respected him the most. Thing is, I can kill him although I won’t say how or why, all you need to do is offer me sanctuary or some such. If you are still curious or doubtful though, I welcome you to be my practice round,” Terry said with a smile.

“Haah, interesting, very interesting. I never expected to meet someone like you. You are very correct and it brings great sorrow to agree with you on this although you are correct. Heckel must die if Dinstorm is to see peace for the refugees. I could handle simple abuse and the occasional murder for the greater good but when he began selling the very people he wished to protect into slavery and experimentation, I admit, I snapped and he simply lost my faith. So while I don’t actually lose a single thing from this, I can’t exactly just promise such vague terms to someone like you. And as a man of my word, I won’t be able to turn you away should you succeed if you happen to ask for things I had no idea of. Tell me, what do you want in terms of ‘sanctuary and such’?” asked the man.

“Heh, I merely want a way to get the hell out of this place safely while somebody I trust preferably takes over and basically warms the position of ruler. That isn’t too difficult right?” Terry asked.

“Well then, I shall immediately arrive at the scene to provide assistance if you do manage to kill Heckel. While I do feel great sorrow that you will possibly kill my master, I hate to see a man who has fallen so low from so high. After all, I swore my loyalty to his soul and not merely his body. Simply know, you only have my aid for after your possible success. Failure or crippling mistakes will not be helped by me,” said the man with a deep sigh.

“Heh, you’re right. Death is inevitable because the body is fragile. While very complex, it is very fragile and as long as intent exists to take the life of another, the life shall be taken. However, the person themself doesn’t die as their soul lives on forever. After all, souls are part of our creator himself while bodies are simply his creations. I assume a man of your strength must understand right?” Terry asked.

“While anyone else would wonder what that possibly has to do with regicide, I understand you far better now. While I still doubt your success in killing a man who’s leagues above you, I will not disgrace your passion and resolve. While I know nothing about your plan, men like us can figure out just fine. You have my support, good luck,” the man said as Terry smiled and began to walk back through the hallway to the entrance.

“Wait, um, is there an easier way out of here for after I get my swords, I don’t really know my way around these back alleys well and I may get into a few problems with your subjects,” Terry said with a laugh.

“Heh, sorry, but having you exit my house would raise suspicions. Don’t worry though, I can escort you out of here through a shortcut. Oh, but if you don’t mind, you walking out of the refugee area looking like that will raise suspicions even more,” responded the man as grabbed a small bottle of dark red liquid before he followed Terry outside.

“Oh, boss, what’re you doing here?!” asked the large man outside startled. He held Terry’s massive swords on the ground in order to handle the high weight.

“It’s fine, he was just leaving, give him his swords and watch over this place while I lead him out of here. It’s no place for one such as him,” responded the man.

“Uh, sure boss, here sir, take your swords,” said the large man as he weakly lifted Terry’s swords and handed them to him as Terry snatched them away strongly.

Terry, led by the man, walked their way through a different way out of the slums than Terry had used to enter through.

“Thanks for being a guide. I appreciate you taking time out of your own regicide plan to help me. It almost makes me feel bad that you won’t get the same satisfaction I will. Well, your job should be much harder than mine. Remember, I’ll need all their help by the time that I murder the puppet,” Terry said as he began to step out from the alley before his shoulder was grasped firmly.

“You, your mind reading skill shouldn’t be able to know that. Tell me, what was your intention from the start? Were you just a spy from Heckel or are you working for someone else?” asked the man as he glared daggers upon Terry and gripped his shoulder with crushing strength.

“Don’t worry, I merely wished to earn your trust through that statement as more proof that I can accomplish this. I also wished to help you understand that our goals are the same. If you wonder how I could learn of your plans of regicide, well, I just wondered where all of the strong people were among the millionss of trash refugees that you manage. From our conversation I learned that you have Appraisal and that naturally means that you can tell who is valuable and who’s not. You’re also able to do what you want with them as the leader. Even though they’re mostly trash, the sheer number of them is enough for plenty of at least Rare people. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were at least 10 legendaries. Only problem you have though, is how you don’t have access to a stable source of experience. I imagine that all you can do is merely train to safely become stronger since you have to stay under the radar. I may be hella strong, but the mind is the only thing that’s permanent while the body must be maintained and even then dies. I simply wish for you to also realize that I’m your only chance to fix this city. If you don’t understand that, just think of me having 5 balls rather than the usual 4. 2 eyes, 2 testicles, and 1 crystal which helps me with intuition. Just be ready for your time to be useful for once in your miserable lives,” Terry said with a smile as he turned and forcefully removed the man’s hand from his shoulder via Overwhelming Strength.

“While I don’t appreciate your sheer disrespect for other people simply because they are worse off than you, I shall look forward to your success and offer my aid immediately should you succeed,” the man said as gripped Terry again and pulled out a small bottle of dark red liquid.

“What do you need?” Terry asked annoyed.

“Someone like you walking out of here without problems is impossible, I’ll just pour some blood onto your blade. Simply pretend that you killed a refugee for touching you if anyone asks,” the man said.

“Heh, such a cruel world. One must say they did kill somebody to avoid being a criminal. Well, sure, I can’t help but get even more excited to shove my blades through this damn Heckel,” Terry said excitedly as he spread the murky blood across his blade before he stepped out of the dark alleyway and into the light of dusk in the streets.

“One last thing, I’ve noticed it quite a bit at this place with a lot of people walking around,” Terry started as he spun around.

“What’s on your mind?” asked the man as Terry handed him the bottle of blood.

“Why do I see so many refugees, mainly but not limited to, strong men and shapely women, following anybody who seems remotely wealthy and even normal people?” Terry asked as he smiled at a theory he had made.

“You shouldn’t attempt to anger me further by playing the fool. Even children know why their parents either are or have slaves. Besides, with how things are here for people like me, being a slave who must undergo a contract and follow the every whim of their master in order to survive is all that can be done,” the man said angrily.

“Heh, slavery huh? Well don’t mind me, I just wished to further explain how valuable I am to you with the service I can offer,” Terry said with a small laugh.

“Is there anything else you need?” asked the man, annoyed.

“I just hope that those fools didn’t get summoned without me. Well, plenty of my assassinations have hung by a thread of success and have usually worked out fine. I hope it's alright. Hehehe,” Terry laughed before walking back toward the inn while also looking intrigued by each and every one of the thousands of slaves inside the bustling city of Dinstorm.

“So guys, did anybody deliver a message?” Terry asked as he opened the door to his room of the inn.

“Oh, yes boss, a soldier came and said that we are to deliver the money tomorrow morning. He said that we are to get a good rest before doing things of such great importance,” Ryan said as the priest lay across one of the three beds of the large room. The men had to sleep in the same room in order to properly protect the massive amount of money as well as each other.

“Damn, well, I need a break after everything. Although, I hope that nobody tries to rob us. After all, 100 platinum coins are quite a lot. Thankfully, if anyone tries to rob us, we’ll know that the king was involved since he’s the main one who knows about our money. Well, he shouldn’t be stupid enough to try and rob us. I’d like to see him try to rob us, especially when they should still think that the Temple is at our backs. Even so, as I don’t need to sleep, or rather I can’t, I may as well be useful and serve as the guard of the money,” Terry said nicely.

Ryan attempted to figure what to say to prevent his master from working, but as there was nothing he could say, his mouth simply stayed awkwardly open for a while until he shut it and lay across his bed before falling asleep.