The only sound after his introduction was of Larissa's steps as she walked passed by him and went beside the group of people.
"We have to move." He said.
The restless young woman scoffed.
While the others merely listened.
"If we stay, we die. we got a respite for now because the meteors scared the animal life away, but it's only a matter of time until they come back, and I'm told we are three days away from the Academy. The nearer we are from civilization, the fewer beasts there is. Although you were lucky and was not forced to be the other team's cannon fodders, there's still plenty of danger ahead."
"Not everyone is a killer like you! Ricon fouler is the one leading the other team, he'll bring everyone back to safety then a rescue team will be immediately dispatched to save us, we just have to stay in the same place and wait!" The black-haired woman with drug withdrawn symptoms- Lila- spoke.
Lazaro stopped and looked around to see how many people agreed with her, to his dismay none said a word.
At first, people were afraid of him, and his bloodied mouth was ominous, to say the least, but he handed over the weapons, and both people carrying them, stood ten meters away from him, ready to shoot. They gave people a sense of security to speak.
"It's common sense, think about it, for help to come, they'd have to solve the emergency around them first. Only then, they'll have to find us, or, if we're lucky, the first team reaches the academy and give our coordinates. then they'd have to prepare, and only after that they would come, and they'll still have to travel back with us. All wasted time will amount for at least six days, do you think we can survive this long?"
"B-But Ricon said, that as long as we have water and food, we'll manage, and even though our innate abilities are not that fit for battle, those two guns can make up for that."
Lila rebutted, albeit, not so sure of her words. And as she looked around looking for approval, she found everyone was looking at her, with pity.
"B-But R-Ricon said..."
"How do you think we should go about it?" The old man with the timid teen girl asked Lazaro for everybody's surprise.
"You can't be serious! this guy murdered two men! The only reason he isn't forcing us is that he isn't holding a gun!" Lila forced it in.
Lazaro ignored her, For what he observed until now, the only people he needed to convince were the old man, the boar, and healer. The rest would follow.
"We'll figure a formation after I know the basic abilities of everyone. But basically, the healer will be in the middle surrounded by non-fighter while the more useful for confronting will be on the four edges of the formation."
"And where will you be at?" Larissa asked.
"I'll do front-line and scouting."
"You have no gun," Lucas said.
"I do not need one."
Skeptical glances, even plain scoffing reached his ear, Lazaro laughed. 'I kind of missed these reactions.'
The old man- Gerald rues, observed the people around, the silver-haired young man seemed to not care. while the effeminate was indecisive. Lucas and Larissa were clearly on board.
Gerald frowned.
Lazaro killed two grown men thrice his size alone, but in the forest, the enemy is beasts and not men. In the middle of his thinking, he felt stare on him. He looked to the side and saw the thin sixteen-year-old with a braided pink hair staring at him through her round glasses, her eyes trembled slightly waiting anxiously for him to conclude his thought.
"Sweet pie, are you afraid?" He smiled and gently spoke to his granddaughter.
She didn't speak but her reddened eyes and pursed lips portrayed her feelings.
He caressed her head and smiled."We only waited before because there was more of us, so it was relatively safe, but now it's only this few if we wait things will get bad quick. So it's not about options, it's about picking the less risky option."
He pulled her to his chest and patted her back. "He won't do anything bad to us?" She asked softly. Referring to Lazaro.
The old man was sad that his troublemaker granddaughter was scared to this extent, and sighed.
"Don't you trust grandpa's eyes? He won't do anything bad, and even if he does, you can just gather weight on your fist, and bust his crotch right?"
"He" she chuckled and sniffled lightly.
"Let's move." The old man straightened his back and spoke imposingly.
Lila trembled.
"I agree, we should move." Larissa chimed in.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Lila shrieked. "He's not some hero! contrary to that, he killed the only two strong able men of our camp! even if they were jerks, they were still trained, strong and weaponized, who can guarantee this guy won't just use us as bait instead!?"
"I'm in," Lucas said.
Lila trembled instinctively, she knew that with those three, there was no more debate.
'I'm going to die, haha." She said exasperatedly.
"It's decided then. Let's get to work." Lazaro laughed
He turned around to Larissa. "This universal market, does it sell meat?"
She blinked, "Yes."
He nodded, "I need some item, can you buy them for me? I'll pay you back later."
She shook her head. "Move the essence on the core in your chest and state "Open U market"
He frowned, but did anyway, a translucent screen showed in front of him,
{-------------------------Universal identity----------------------------}
[Universal Identification: Lazaro of superbia(Human lineage)
Homeworld: Earth, the blue planet (Infantile civilization, tier 9 world)
State of being: Lesser mortal;
Essence; 00,05 (99,85 until Common Mortal)
Currency: 10,00$ UN.
[Options]
-Contacts
-Market
-Navigate
{-------------------------Universal Identity----------------------------}
'What the hell is all this?' He asked inwardly.
(A world beyond everything you ever witnessed. But don't rush to know more, you just need the basics for now. The 'state of being' is a universal standard for strength across the cosmos. It mainly measures the quantity and quality of the essence within one's self.)
"Market." He stated.
{-------------------------U Market----------------------------}
-Universal market(Locked)
-Universal open barter market (locked)
-Open barter market
-Local market
-Private exchange
{-------------------------U Market----------------------------}
"Local market, spells"
{------------------------------------------------------------}
-Basic method of gathering essence, and initiate spells.
Un 1000,00 *Requirements
{------------------------------------------------------------}
-Initiate fireball spell
Un 200,00 *Requirements
{------------------------------------------------------------}
Initiate water ball spell
Un 200,00 *requirements.
{------------------------------------------------------------}
Initiat-...
Lazaro peered through the 10 or so items on the list and frowned.
'Only this much?'
(Earth was also an isolated place, with very little essence advancement. it was found out recently around ten years ago. It just joined the universal market. They limited the spells available for the public until they can guarantee safety within society, only the hunters and the powerful will be allowed to unlock the universal market and buy the good stuff.)
Lazaro nodded, and suddenly thought of the gun they were so terrified of, but before he could search Hiera explained.
(The neutral universal law federation, regulates the network to each civilization's laws. If you cannot buy weapons normally, then you won't be able to through the market.)
'food?'
(Food can be exchanged freely.)
Now, he understood why they weren't panicking much, there's no shortage of food as long as they have money.
(Not really, the universal market are still powered by essence, and teleport consumes a lot of it, each exchange transfer from point A to B has a tax based on distance. And it takes from half-hour to three days, depending on the mass of the object being exchanged.)
He sighed annoyed and bought a two-liter bottle of water that cost all his 10 bucks.
But since he made everybody move, he had to take responsibility for it.
He looked at the mesmerizing Larissa in her yellow sundress.
He walked softly in front of her and smiled.
"I don't lend money to random people." She said before a word came out of his mouth.
His smile stiffened.