Chapter 22
Title: Hard Job...
…
When Alex sees that the rat is still alive, he doesn't panic at this. He knows just how dangerous this situation is for him… meaning not that much. He also has his wand in his hand, which has the blue crystal on its tip. He waves the wand once, and two red magic circles appear with two red serpents coming out of it. He waves his wand once more, and two red magic circles appear above the snakes casting the blood explosion on the snakes.
This is a pretty popular and effective strategy amongst the Blood Mage players. Alex wasn't a Blood Mage in his past life when he was a gamer, but he still prepared in case his character would die, and he would have to create a new one. He would become a Blood Mage, so he still knows quite a lot of combinations of spells for it.
….
Ten minutes later, and Alex was able to kill the ratman. The rat had lost an arm in the first exchange, but due to Alex collapsing the sewer, the rat-man had nowhere to go. So he could only try to dig his way out and send his rats through the small opening in the wreckage to look for the perpetrator. But Alex also used those small openings to bombard the rat-man. The simple deciding factor on this was the difference experience, Alex had years of in-game experience while the rat-man had never fought against anyone who could fight back.
[Quest: Rat Infestation COMPLTED]
Alex smiles as he sees his Exp go a little above two thousand. For the current him this is quite a lot of Exp. As soon as he completes his Rank Advancement Quest then he will be able to start leveling up again. Also with good Quests not being hoarded by the Guilds (like his) he can now get a lot of quests and have access to the best exp farming grounds.
'But if there aren't players to take care of those monsters then…' Ponders Alex, he knows that by the time for when the game would have started. He needs to fill in the gap for what millions of players would have or else humanity as a race on this planet would cease to exist. Even in the first version of the game 'The Awakening of the Beast Emperor.' If the players didn't just hunt the beasts like some madmen for Exp then the human armies would have failed miserably. Especially the Beast Emperor himself, which has unmatched strength doesn't have to fight millions of players himself. Then the strongest people of the human race wouldn't be able to finish him off so quickly and with almost no casualties.
'I must get stronger faster. I must have the best equipment and be at least a high leveled Legend Rank mage to even be able to contend with the Beast Emperor.' Ponders Alex as he orders his snakes to go and open up a way to the rat-man so they can at least drag his head back to Alex. He has to take the head as proof back to the Merchant's Guild. He doesn't want to wait for a while and the Merchant Guild to investigate that the rat problem is truly gone, only after they verify that they will give Alex the full amount of the money.
After all, giving away money just because someone says that he finished the job that is illogical in the eyes of the Merchant's Guild. They will give him a down payment of only a couple hundred Gold until the job is verified… and that verification could take quite a bit and Alex then wouldn't be able to buy what he needs.
….
It takes till dark of Alex regenerating his mana by meditation and once again sending miniature snakes to cause small explosions to get the head of the rat-man out. He was able to do so after many hours and due to being dark he immediately just uses a spell to create a razor-sharp blood blade that makes a clear cut to the stump of the neck. He then uses blood hardening to stop any bleeding from the head and he puts the head under his cloak.
He then starts walking along the wall. He uses the darkness as a cover while he goes back to the secret passage he came from.
'This took a little too long.' Mused Alex, the most troublesome thing was the rouble and getting the rat-man's head out of the rubble. He could have gone in there himself and tried blasting the debris away. But he is a squishy mage so if the thing collapsed in him he would be as good as dead. 'Plus a mage never fights in close combat as it is his weakness.'
….
While Alex was traversing the darkness and entered the city. One of the guards looks at him suspiciously and calls out. "Hey! You there!"
Alex is covered in a cloak so the guard just assumed that it was a dwarf or some other type of small creature. Alex on the other hand is completely relaxed, even as the guard pulls out his sword and imbues it with a heavy amount of Ki. Guards in Gungai City are always like this, they have their own families that live in this city so they want to keep it safe. The Governor also did good to create a sense of belonging for the guards so they won't be easily corrupted or turn a blind eye to an evil deed.
Alex just turns around and tells the man. "Excuse me. I am on Merchant Guild's business."
As soon as he hears that the guard who looks around his twenties immediately straightens out and relaxes as he hears Alex's childish voice. "Do go on kid. But be careful, it's nighttime and it can get quite dangerous."
Alex nods at this. "Thank you for your concern."
He starts walking away and the guard goes back to his patrol. To Alex dealing with guards like this, the corruption method would never work. Gungai City is proof of how good leadership can change a place. This place used to be the Mage's backyard due to being one of the cities relatively close to the Magic Academy.
Mage fights would happen every week and houses would be demolished. Due to the chaotic atmosphere, a lot of people disappeared 'mysteriously'. Pretty much they turned into Magician's lab rats. But a good leadership put an end to that chaos once and for all, the Mage's were all shot down and imprisoned. It created a little friction with the Magic Academy, but in the end, an old friend of the Governor saved the Merchant Guild having to go against the Magic Academy about the situation… that old friend was raised as an orphan together with the Governor, and while one went into politics. While the other went and became a well-known mage.
They are still best friends to this day and manages the security of his best friend, who manages the city. They have also seen Gungai prosper through the years and though the Black Market is technically existing, anything truly illegal going on in there and heads will start rolling once again. The Mage of Gungai, as he is called now is a Rank 3 Mage, he is no joke.
….
But while contemplating different things Alex was walking along the dark road when he noticed that there were no torches turned on around him.
Fwosh!
That is when suddenly a shadow moves at blitzing speeds and appears out of nowhere in front of Alex. The creature had a humanoid figure as it swiped its claws at Alex.
Baam!
But contrary to the creature's expectations he hits a translucent red barrier. Alex frowns as he looks at the creature in front of him covered in shadows. 'It's a damn vampire…'
Alex wasn't surprised by the situation at all, he had already thought of an alternative where he would be ambushed and his countermeasures against it.