Arlo had been slowly but surely trying to take in as much information as possible. It was out of character for a warrior like him to remain in the backseat for so long, but the situation was so odd that even someone like Arlo decided to use extreme caution.
And from what he had seen... well... to be frank, he had no idea what was going on.
He had made a deal with the Determined after fighting her and determining that she was the real deal, and intended to make a more fair deal with the slimes regarding potion production for the upcoming war.
Then these four who called themselves the antiheroes showed up. It was not impossible for the antiheroes of legend to exist if the Determined existed, but it was also possible that they were fakes. The ones who were said to rule the monster kingdom would not be as weak as Arlo sensed they were.
However, they could have been hiding their strength and faking their own weakness, so Arlo was reluctant to attack or speak out, and had bowed to them. Of course, this was primarily due to the confidence he felt from the elven one.
The spirit had put a little bit of pressure on one of the slime child, but not even enough to hurt her. Sure they had made her cry, but Arlo had done much worse than that himself, so he did not see any reason for them to be so repentant of their actions. It was suspicious, but he could find no reason for their actions unless they truly were repentant.
Arlo had killed two male slimes who hadn't even stood up to him before, and left one upstart brat with quite the beating.
So why were these people so regretful over pinching a kid?
Especially if they were demons. Arlo knew the higher demons to be fearful beings that he would never even consider going against. They were too strong, but they were not only stronger than him. They were much smarter. They had both the power and the intellect to not only rule over the monster realm as dictators, but also to instill fear into the hearts of the entire realm, even when they sat on a throne hundreds of miles away.
That was how strong they were. Arlo, who was the most powerful lizardman, would never even think about fighting a demon. However, the two in front of him for some reason seemed to be so weak. It had to be an act. There was no way they could be this weak. Especially so if by some miracle their claim to be the antiheroes was true.
Arlo had listened to the Determined and hit them because of 2 reasons. The first was that he respected her, and was willing to do what she wanted. Even if it caused his own death, he would be able to say he died for the sake of one he respected as a warrior.
The second thing, and perhaps the more important one, was that the demons showed signs of complete remorse, and seemed as if they would accept whatever terms the Determined had set.
They would not be mad at Arlo for hitting them. Rather, they would blame themselves.
It was bothering Arlo how weak they felt when he hit them, but perhaps they had lowered their defenses in order to receive maximum punishment.
But now, they had even gone so far as to make friends with the child slime, and were talking with all the slimes as if they were lifelong friends. What even was this scene? This was not the way monsters typically acted. Even Arlo had only been willing to negotiate because the Determined was strong.
Regardless, they continued speaking.
The higher demon male spoke.
"You know everyone, I have been thinking ever since I made it to this world. I have something I want to share, so I hope you will all listen."
Arlo and everyone else turned and listened to the demon.
"Before I came to this world, I was betrayed by someone who I never had considered to be a friend, but I was intrigued by a new opportunity that he had introduced me to. I couldn't stop my own curiosity, and because of that I ended up here, and I even dragged some others into this. On top of that, in my own rage perhaps, or perhaps as a result of a screw coming lose because of the events I've been through, I have caused others harm, and failed to lead you all. For that, I am truly sorry. However, I once more have thought through things. I think that on one hand, we should do what we can to assist and support those who show us kindness. There is no need to flaunt evil like we just have. HOWEVER. To think that everyone will sit back and accept us without harboring ill intentions against us is merely naivety. With that being said, we need to be prepared to fight. Determined, as I said before, I wish to change this world's view of what justice is."
The Determined was paying attention to what he had been saying, and she replied back with a sweet smile.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"In stories and fantasy, you often see people trying to save the souls of their enemies by trying to show them the light. But in the real world, people are twisted. How many times in my life have I met people who pretend to be good in front of others, while lurking in the darkness, waiting to pull innocent bystanders into their clutches? Gamblers, Murderers, Rapists, Liars, Cheaters. There exist so many people who get off the hook because of connections or money. Yet people who are usually innocent don't put up a fight and end up losing. Why is this? It is because of the concept of justice. I wish to change that. I want to rid this world of those who would look down upon others. I wish to rid this world of those who use the system in order to get what they want. I wish to rid this world of those who sit comfortable at their own position while breaking the backs of those underneath them. I do not wish to try to convince them to change themselves. People are locked in their own ambitions. They do not change so easily. As such, even if I am considered to be a monster or a demon, I want to make this world a better place."
The other three nodded.
They all looked guilty from what they had done, but invigorated by Garett's words.
They truly intended to fight for what they believed was right.
Perhaps they had all changed on the inside from when they arrived after seeing the consequences of their own evil.
It was ironic that seeing themselves perform evil was exactly what made them hate it so much. However, they clearly didn't hate it so much as to not use it for their own ambitions. What an odd bunch.
Claire smiled, but looked down sadly.
"I was murdered 10 years ago. No, it was actually just a day ago, but to me it seems like 10 years. The man who murdered me was... trash. He was trash in every way I can think of. He used women, he was lazy, he lived life as he pleased without thinking of any consequences. But now, that man holds a position in this world that is of extremely high power"
The demons became very serious as the Determined explained this to them.
"This man became what is known as the Indeterminant."
The indeterminant.
The man who was known as a sort of figurehead of the enemies of monsters. He was the one who would stand against the Determined and her party of antiheroes, as the legend said, with his party of heroes, and thus the fate of the world would be decided.
What would happen in the days to come? Was all of this really real? Arlo could hardly believe it.
"What power does he hold?"
"He holds to power to control the system. As if he was a coder who could use commands, he can change the very properties of this world to suit his own wants. He can even kill people freely, and create any items he wants out of thin air. I have been made aware by the system that he cannot spontaneously increase his own abilities, nor change the abilities of other people. Also, I, the Determined, have the ability to restrict his abilities, however I should not carelessly restrict him, as this may cause him to catch on to something and become more diligent. If we are to defeat him, we must remain in the shadows, which is why I believe that you all need to stop going around and spreading your names. Speaking of which, he holds great power, power even to kill anyone on the spot, however he can only use this power if he knows the name of the one who he is using it on. It is like when you type in a command, you have to associate it with the entity you are editing. He cannot kill you without typing [\kill Insert name here]"
"Ho?", Trevor said, seemingly intrigued.
"So that is why you told us not to use our names. I thank you for the warning."
"With that being said," Claire turned to all the slime people and Arlo. "I ask that you all keep the existence of these four a secret for now. We cannot allow their existence to be found out so that we may eventually defeat the Indeterminant."
The slimes all agreed readily. Arlo too nodded his head in agreement. As a matter of fact, this was a good thing. If he was doing these people a favor by keeping quiet about them, he would be able to use this in order to negotiate once more with the slime people.
"With that being said, Antiheroes, I implore you on behalf of the slime people! We still wish for you to lead us!!!" The elder shouted, seemingly supported by the rest of the slimes.
"EH!?" The four party members shouted at once.
----
"Why would you want monsters like us who threatened and strangled one of your children to lead you?" Garett asked.
"I don't understand your logic. Please explain." Trevor stated.
"These slimes might just be idiots. Oh well.... fine by me." Ashley whispered.
"Of course we will lead you!" Samantha exclaimed, seemingly full of herself once more.
"Oi don't go agreeing so quickly you flighty woman. Always in it for the popularity eh?" Trevor snapped, but seemingly in a good mood.
The elder stepped forward, seemingly representing the entire group of slimes and their opinions.
"We have witnessed the power and the skills that you all have as rulers... you all truly are fit to rule a state! Not only this, but you have shown us something that the slime kin had never expected to see... throughout our existence, other groups of monsters have come and attacked us, time and time again. As you can see, we have dwindled down to the twelve of us who remain here, along with one more who is bedridden right now. However- you all showed us kindness... even to something as small as the tears of a single child! How can we not be moved!!! We beg of you!!! Become our rulers!!!"
The slimes seemed to all be on the verge of tears as they genuflected towards Garett and the party as they sat next to the young girl slime person. It was truly a mysterious and yet charming scene.
Trevor turned to the slimes.
"It is true that we have repented and will not harm the innocent, but let me ask you this, people of the slime village. If you accept us as your rulers, it will mean that you have chosen us to rule you as dictators. What we deem to be right will become right. What we say will become law. You will no longer be able to disobey or disagree with us the moment we rule over you. Even knowing this, do you all still wish for us to rule you?"
"Yes, please be the lords of this land!!!", the slimes all shouted with emotion- not allowing a single moment of hesitation.
That settled it.
"Do not say I didn't warn you all", Trevor said with a sly grin as he pushed up his glasses.
Trevor then turned back to Arlo.
"What do you say, Lizardman?", Trevor asked out of curiosity.
"I have no qualms against you all taking over the slime village, but I ask that you allow the lizardmen tribe to do business with you.", Arlo responded promptly.
"Agreed. I won't go easy on you though.", Trevor stated as he pushed his glasses up with his finger.
Why did Arlo feel like this man was so intimidating as he negotiated with him? A chill went down his spine.
"What is the current production line looking like, Iotar? I need to get an idea of the current economic situation before conducting any negotiations."
"Yes, my Lord. Currently, as the head alchemist, I try to produce as many potions as I can without harming my fellow slime kin. Each slime is able to have 2 middle tier potions worth of gel extracted from them each day before it would harm them. With all 13 members of the village, we can produce 26 potions a day, but the materials are of course dependent on the color of each slime, as I explained earlier, so we can only make so many of a specific type without harming ourselves, and while it is possible to overproduce, it would cause a net reduction in production in the long run, eventually leading to death of the overtaxed slimes."
Even recently, slimes had died because the lizardmen had forced them to overproduce their potions.
"I see. Lizardman, how many potions do you require, and of what type?"
"As many as you can spare. Preferably healing potions, but we will accept anything that can be used in battle."
"Hm... I see... Garett, I will leave the production of the potions to you and the slimes, and the regulation of what we keep for ourselves and what we sell off to you, but for now let us decide on a price. Is there a system of currency in this world?"
Garett had collected some gold back in the dungeon, but given it all up to a trap.
"Yes, well in this world there are Bronze, Silver, and Gold coins. 100 bronze is worth a silver, and 100 silvers are worth a gold. I would say that the lizardmen have in total somewhere around 4 to 5 silvers total circulating within the villages economy, after looting the humans we have killed from the boarder patrol skirmishes. If we could pay perhaps 2 or 3 coppers per potion, that would allow a long term partnership."
For some reason the red demon and the spirit seemed to be distressed about something. They started whispering to each other.
"It was worth that much!!! I would never have gotten rid of it if I knew it was worth that much!!!" The demon stated.
"Don't let the others know anything... they will only get mad if we do" The spirit whispered.
"We can hear you, you know. I am right next to you both." The elf threatened.
"Eep! N- nothing to worry about! Go on!", The spirit stated, seemingly trying to hide something.
The elf looked annoyed, and facepalmed, but kept going.
"Less than 1% of your net worth for a potentially life saving potion? I think you're underestimating me. Lets try this again. What do you think a fair price would be for the potions we produce?"
Arlo gulped. He had never felt this sense of pressure on him before. It was much different from battle, much more terrifying. He truly felt like he was going to be eaten alive by this man. Regardless of the performance he had just put on about being remorseful, he was still this terrifying. There was no way Arlo could hope to debate with him.
"15 Pieces of copper per potion! No, 20! We will pay 20 pieces of copper per potion!"
Trevor smirked, and Samantha looked at him dumbfounded.
'How did he convince him so easily?', she thought.
But a part of her was somewhat taken away at the skill Trevor had. Her heart fluttered for just a second.
"I suppose that's a more reasonable offer. For now we will accept it, however should we be offered something better by the birdmen I might have to renegotiate if you wish to keep our business going..."
Truly terrifying. Arlo then left, completely defeated, bowed to the elf, and Hopkin followed him.
"Arlo! You agreed to something ridiculous! We were previously getting those potions for free just by offering protection and now you go and offer 20 coppers! That guy was probably weak! You probably could have beaten him to a pulp!"
"Shut up, Hopkin. You may not have sensed it because you weren't in the negotiation chair, but that elf was more terrifying than any demon or monster I have ever met. I have a feeling that angering him could be the end of the lizardman race..."
"Surely you are joking..."
However Arlo stared into the sunset as the two walked back to their village, in silence.
He was not joking. He truly felt terrified. He had no intention of slipping the information about the existence of the antiheroes to anyone but Rocko himself, so he would be aware of the deal. It would be rough to use so much of their funds on potions, but as the elf had said, they would save lives. They were necessary, and worth all the money in the village.
Back in the hut, Claire had begun discussing the future with the party.
"If you are all going to lead this village, then I will be the one to supervise things. Is that alright?"
"I see no issues. We should call a meeting immediately to discuss our current situation and the next moves we will take. Elder, and Mrs. Determinant, can we go somewhere else to have a meeting?"
"Of course, my Lord"
"That's fine"
And so the six went to a different hut, the one that Claire had previously been given to stay in. It was somewhat crowded, but it was the best the village had to offer.
"So the first thing is that from now on I wish to begin production of potions, and assist the head alchemist with such matters. The issue is that the four of us cannot be separated from each other, so you all should work together to assist me if we are to be efficient."
Garett then explained the situation to the elder and to Claire about their level, their equipment and skills, and basically everything they knew.
The elder was surprised to hear that they were not ultimately powerful, but they were still much stronger than the slimes, and were able to increase in strength, so he saw no problem.
The rest agreed with Garett, and they moved on.
"Aside from increasing potion production in order to make everyone stronger, eventually we will need to fight to level up. Are there any wild monsters around here?", Trevor asked.
"Actually, yes. If you were to head slightly south there is a cave where us slime people have avoided, as it is too dangerous for us. Perhaps if it were you four though..."
"That settles the issue of our next expedition and goal. What do you say we spend the morning tomorrow preparing potions, and once we finish we take some of them and go level up in the cave? I will leave the slime village to you, Claire."
Trevor seemed to be taking control of the conversation, but this was expected as he was a businessman accustomed to meetings.
Claire and the elder agreed, as getting stronger was very important if the party was to face larger threats anytime soon. They were not even strong enough to beat the lizardman right now.
"That settles it then. Also, I would like to make contact with the birdmen tribe and with the lizardmen tribe leaders, to see what position, if any, we should take on this war, however I fear that we should get stronger before doing so. Once we become stronger, perhaps we will personally take a trip there to check out the situation."
A bitter smile appeared on Samantha's face.
"Once we get stronger, eh? You sure are optimistic."
Trevor chuckled. "Heh. You're right. That is of course assuming we live long enough to be that strong."
And with a slightly awkward atmosphere, the meeting had finished.
The direction that the antiheroes would take had been decided.
However, the antiheroes were not the only people who were beginning to make moves.
Meanwhile, back in the Ruthobold Kingdom, Oscar was about to start making his own move.