Luis seemed to have a lot of strong opinions about the camp and Brog especially. Connor thought for a bit and figured that he might be able to get some useful information from Luis.. Information that he might not say if he was not drunk.
"Tell me more about Brog!" Connor said.
"The whole damn place is under his… Thumb!" Luis continued. "Offish.. offish…"
"Officially?"
"Fishly.. Yeah! Fishly he's just the boss of the fighters, the Don's lieutenant, but he's more than that. Every man there's terrified of him… Even his shadow's scared of him" Luis hiccuped before continuing. "Cos that Brog.. He wants to replace the Don, doesn't he? HIC! Yeah he does!"
"How dare you throw accusations like that!" A sudden voice spoke from behind Connor. "You better think twice before talking you piece of..."
"Shut up!" Connor turned and looked at Ricardo. He totally forgot about the man being there for a bit. "Let him talk and we'll see what to do after!" Connor whispered to him.
"You seem to know a lot about Brog!" Connor turned and spoke to Luis again.
"More than you think! And not just about Brog" Luis continued. "You get me more beer and than I'll really tell you something"
"I get you more beer and I'll be lucky to understand you… I'll see what I can do!" Connor agreed, looking through his Crystal. He could have sworn that he had some beer on him, found some time back. "Here! One beer for some information!"
"Hey.. hey.. You got one.. You're beautiful" Luis cheered, starting to drink instantly. "
Alright, let's start with the pieces of the Sword Blade, decorated with gold" Connor asked.
"They're everywhere.. Everyone's got one, well, not Hawkins or Jan or Rachel or.. Craig has one! I saw it, it's quiet.. Big.. and that moron.. Dorgan.. he's got a piece.. Moron.. Of course Brog has one too.. You'd have to get him apart to get it Ha! And.. oh me.. I got one too"
"You have one?" Connor asked. "How about I give you a delicious beer for that piece of Sword Blade"
"No way.. What do you think I am? An idiot?... HIC! It's easily worth two!" Luis said.
"Of course.. Here!" Connor said with a smile.
"BEER! BEER! Here you go!" Luis reached into his Crystal and pulled out some golden fragment with inscriptions on it. Connor took it and quickly shoved it into his Crystal just in case Luis realizes.
Ricardo and Connor both left, heading towards the excavation site in the middle of the swamp. 5 Moth-like creatures flew around the area, their bodies covered in some goo. They screeched with a disturbing sound. These were slightly different from the Moths he saw back when he first came to this world.
'They must be some different type that came from the Ruins around here' Connor thought. He grabbed his Sword and Shield as they both reached one of them. Although the rest were close, they couldn't get there in time before Connor and Ricardo killed the one in front of them. This type seemed weaker but their stingers were fast with some sort of black-ish liquid dripping from them. Connor and Ricardo both separated, taking on 2 each.
Connor's dodging was smooth but he could barely find an opening to attack. He kept at it until he managed to get a hit in after the 2 Moth's attacks were not synchronized anymore. Connor kept moving around, using one of the creatures as a cover from the other as he dodged and struck. Eventually one fell, although not dead, its wings were no longer functional and its tiny legs could barely allow it to move.
After killing both of them, Connor enjoyed the Energy waves for a second before he ran towards Ricardo. He seemed to be in a worse situation as one of the Moths managed to land a hit on him. He seemed to be growing weaker as time passed, but luckily Connor appeared, taking one away as they both fought.
Ricardo could no longer hold on much longer even with only one and he lost his footing, falling. The Moth's stinger stabbed him right in the chest as blood squirted. Connor barely managed to kill the one he was facing before seeing the scene, but he did not truly care as he attacked and killed the last one.
"Trash!" Connor muttered, looking at Ricardo as he was breathing his last. His Sword lifted and stabbed right in his heart, killing the man instantly and gaining a small amount of Energy from it. He was surprised that humans can give Energy too, which made him rethink some of his plans.
After reluctantly taking off Ricardo's pants and grabbing his Crystal, Connor took everything else he had on him before throwing the body in the muddy swamp water.
"There are 2 more excavation sites remaining but I don't think I can take care of them by myself!" Connor muttered. "Why did that bastard have to die this quickly?"
Without a choice Connor started walking back. Of course he only did after looking around, finding a few chests that must have been where the Workers hid anything other than artifacts. There were a few healing potions, some plants and Gold with a Ring that had a red hue.
After getting back to the camp, Connor went to Dwight, informing him of the excavation site that had been cleared, prompting him and the other Workers to get digging and moving crates again. Connor was not about to deliver the Artifact crates himself, since it was not his job in the first place, so he will make the Workers do it while he gets the reward.
Oscor looked at the Red Ring Connor provided with interest. After a quick analysis he spoke. "This is The Ring of the Axe Fighter.. An artifact quite common in the Ruins. As you might have guessed it increases your Axe Skills by one Star"
"Not bad!" Connor said before wearing it. His body felt a jolt of Energy enter as his muscles got familiar with the weapon. 'I wonder if Artifact effects transfer to earth as well!' Connor thought.
Checking Ricardo's things properly, Connor found 600 GC alongside various plants, cigarettes and miscellaneous items. With the 50 GC Connor found at the excavation site and after selling all the useless junk he did not need, he ended up with 759 GC.
"It's about time I level up my Swordsmanship Skill" Connor muttered. He walked towards Craig and started the process. A wave of information was burned into his brain as his body slowly changed. The information was a Sword style called the Serpent Sword. Every strike and swing had a slight aura of viciousness with a special Sword Skill embedded into his brain and muscle memory.
[Viper Strike] was its name. The Skill was a form of a horizontal attack that had a slight pulling force. If prepared, the enemy will be able to easily dodge and fight back against the force, but if they're not, even if they manage to dodge it something will pull them back, forcing them to face the strike head on.
"This Style is one special to myself only.. I found a Sutra of sorts in the Ruins and I managed to master the first 2 Skills, unfortunately the rest was missing, so if you ever happen to find anything, don't forget about me!" Craig said.