Chapter 19: The Fugitive Butler and the Gamble for Loyalty
After checking the market and house, he starts to practice the knife technique, but he prefers to use a sword for killing monsters because he feels killing a monster with a knife is riskier than with a sword. He wants to kill the monster while taking care of his safety.
Ram also recommends Ash use a sword or bow for fighting a monster, but he rejects the bow because he thinks a bow can become his deadly mistake in a deadly battle, in a place where daily battle is routine for defending the city. He also likes the sword more than the bow because it makes him feel more respected among his future soldiers.
After 2 hours of knife practice, Ash starts to think about when the new refugees will come. After thinking about that, he suddenly goes outside the city, where the city door exits. He sees a vast field of soil with a river in the middle, crossing the field like a three-lane road, roughly straight in line but not fully straight. He sees one person in average clothes coming to the city, with bald hair, and he seems like a middle-aged man to Ash from afar. Ash can see.
After 25 minutes of waiting, the middle-aged man finally comes near the city.
Later, he talks with Ash about the city, and Ash truthfully answers all things about the city. After that, Ash asks some private questions to the middle-aged man, and he answers the questions. Ash likes the middle-aged man; he is the former butler of the city owner's son of the level 5 city.
He tells Ash about his previous problem, how he had to become the scapegoat for the former city owner's son because the city owner's son made a grave mistake in the monster hunting outside the city. Because of him, 30 soldiers and the city's powerful person's son almost get killed and gravely injured. Because he is the butler of that person, he has to face the punishment for the mistake his master made. The city owner doesn't want to make the matter big and offend the powerful combat person of the city thoroughly, so he uses him to bury the anger of the powerful person.
So, he has to become a fugitive and find a new place to live.
Ash asks him about his name, and he tells him his name is Robin.
After that, Ash tries to see Robin's status.
A window pops up in front of him.
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Name: Robin (?)
Age: 48
Status: Healthy
Abilities: None
Level: ? (? Mana mist level?)
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After seeing the status of Robin, Ash asks him about his level, and he says his level is 2. Ash is surprised but not surprised because his level is 1, and he cannot see the level of Robin, so he guesses his level is 2.
After that, Ash asks him, "Why do you want to join the city?" and Robin tells him frankly that your city altar is level 0, and you need someone with experience that can help you in your city and give some help in defending the city. He is not good with combat skills and experience, and he knows how a city with a big level will treat him. He has no confidence in surviving with fighting level 1 and level 2 monster hordes. So, he ultimately decides to try joining a level 0 altar city.
So, Robin is trying in Ash's city, but he also, in his mind, has no confidence that Ash will accept him in the city because high-level subjects compared to the city owner can challenge the city owner's power.
As a butler in the level 5 city altar, he is also aware of this, but he also doesn't want to die by being used by a person. So, he decides on his suicide by asking a level 0 city owner to join him in the city. But it is highly likely that in this world, some courageous city owner took in a person higher level than them. Robin is betting on luck that he finds that kind of city owner. And his luck is really good this time because he meets the person who can really take him in without caring about his level.
After some consideration by Ash, he finally takes Robin into the city and makes him the subject of the city altar.
Robin is very surprised because he becomes a subject here. After all, he is fully prepared to die by trying to become a subject in a level 0 altar city.
A few seconds later, Robin pledges his loyalty to the city altar and towards him with Eldros world's etiquette.
First, he stretches his back and bends down his knees, puts his left hand on his chest, and then he pledges his loyalty to the city altar and him.
Afterward, Ash tries to see his status window.
A window pops up in front of him.
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Name: Robin (altar subject)
Age: 48
Status: Healthy
Abilities: None
Level: 2 (10/100 mana mist level 2)
After seeing his status window, Ash nods. He says to him, "Let's get in the city," and he tells him about the city. He says, "There are two more people here, and their names are Ram and Evan. Evan is a level 0 person, and he is preparing for the advancement to level 1 from level 0. Ram is a knight of level 3, but he is injured and not fully recovered. He is currently refining the mana mist in the altar room after fighting the monster with us."
After 15 minutes of sightseeing in the city, Ash sees Robin becomes somewhat familiar with the city. After all, the level 0 altar city is not very big, and it does not have many people there. Only four buildings: the market, altar room, one house, and the garden where the mana tree is planted.
Robin meets Evan when Ash is introducing the city to him, and he likes Evan, treating him like his son. After some talk with Evan, Robin tells Ash to buy some potions or pills for Evan's breakthrough to level 1 from level 0. Ash agrees with him and tells him that he doesn't know anything about breakthroughs to level 1 because he, as the altar owner, doesn't feel any problem with the breakthrough.
He currently build the market a few hours before.
After listening to Ash, Robin says, "You are doing good, after all, you got this altar only for three days exactly. You are doing much better from my perspective, and you should not mind any mistakes. Mistakes and failure are part of life, and you should learn from them." After Robin gives his advice to Ash, he then asks, "How many mana mist or mana cores do you have? Because you need an amount of cores/mist for buying breakthrough materials."
After some thinking, Ash says in his mind, status window:
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City: Nexus City
Ability: Territory defense double
Description: In the event of city defense, all attack power, defense power of people, and buildings become double.
Altar level: 0
Upgrade requirement: (wood*1000, stone*250, 50* mana core (level 0))
Production: mana mist level 0 * 10 per day
Area: 625 square meters
Status: Very small village
Building: Guide mark1 (active), Market (5 free trades per day)
Blueprint: low grade house (stones100, wood25)
Warehouse: wood*39, mana core level 0*33, mana core level 1*0, Rabbit monster hide level 0*11, Rabbit monster hide level 1*1, Stone*10
Population: 4
Specialty: Mana tree (produces level 0 mana * 3 per day)
Resource point: stone mountain level 1 (310 mined /1000 all stone mineable in new mine)
Attack power level: 0 (700/1000)
Description: City's power level to attack enemies
Defense power level: 0 (2000/10000)
Description: City's defense power level against enemies
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After seeing the mana core he has in the status window, he closes the tab.
He says to Robin, "I only have 33 level 0 mana cores," and he says, "I don't have mana mist." Robin knows the mana mist produced by the altar daily is mostly used daily for the cultivation of the warriors, people of the city. If mana mist is not consumed daily by the people of the city, it is an indicator that the city is not doing well. After all, the city is not cultivating their warriors and is preparing their necks for monsters to kill them easily. This is also why any item or resource that can produce mana mist from the altar or mana-building or any structure that can produce mana mist without reducing the production of the city altar is highly sought, and cities fight to the death for this resource.
When Robin sees the mana tree, he is surprised that Ash manages to get something that precious. He is not able to judge the mana tree entirely, but he advises Ash not to tell anyone about this plant that is producing mana mist because if it is publicly known by others that he has a treasure that produces mana mist, even if it is three mana mist of level 0 daily, people will come for this treasure and snatch it.