"His trait must be pretty powerful, and he should have a lot of mana to be able to create lightning," Zack thought as he watched that guy in the distance. "He is probably a guild master… but he is using his underlings to lure the monsters.
In a world where there was no central government to enforce laws and maintain order, the guilds served as the de facto authorities, keeping each other in check through a delicate balance of power.
Without a governing body to impose regulations, the guilds operated with a significant degree of autonomy. They had the freedom to pursue their own agendas and wield influence as they saw fit. However, this freedom came with a caveat: the constant threat of opposition from rival guilds.
In this system, it might often equated to right. Guilds could essentially do whatever they wanted as long as they had the power to back it up. They controlled territories, enforced their own rules, and engaged in activities ranging from monster hunting to resource extraction.
However, despite their autonomy, no single guild could dominate the others without facing consequences. If one guild attempted to overstep its bounds or engage in dangerous behavior, it would inevitably draw the ire of the others. Rival guilds would quickly band together to oppose any threat to the established order, ensuring that no one guild could become too powerful. That was why reputation was everything for them.
"This doesn't surprise me… no one is here to keep an eye on him," Zack thought. "Anyway, for now, it isn't my problem."
Invisibility was about to end, so Zack decided to leave the area and resume his hunting elsewhere. As long as he kept using his enchanted blade, he wouldn't be found, so he didn't have to worry about anything.
Zack returned to his starting point since the slimes could easily find him and attack him. He could still head to the West and East to look for more frequent battles, but he decided to take it easy during the day and only hunt seriously at night when the other group left. Thanks to that, he only got two levels that day.
"Ice is supposed to counter fire, but I am starting to think that the core's enchantment is too weak compared to the power of the frozen witches," Zack rubbed his chin thoughtfully while he was cooking some marshmallows by the bonfire. Perhaps I should increase my Intelligence a bit and see if that theory is confirmed. It could be that the power of the enchantment is connected to my magic."
In the end, Zack doubled his intelligence to check for some differences in his sword. While he noticed a difference, the cold emitted by the weapon didn't double. It wasn't that simple. Perhaps the effect would only take place when he put a new core in, but he had to wait until morning.
Zack tried to extract the old core and add a new one to test things out. Much to his surprise, he was able to add a new one, but not to extract the old one… Nevertheless, the power of the cold in the sword increased… to the point that the particles of dust around the sword began to freeze.
"This will be useful," Zack thought. "Still, it is the same as buying extra power with money."
Zack wouldn't be there forever and had hundreds of cores left, so he didn't mind using them. It would make him hunt the monsters faster, so it was fine. At the same time, he was quite eager to know what skill he was going to get next. It was quite an addicting feeling to reach that point.
In any case, when Zack noticed that the area had grown quiet, he confirmed that the other group had left. So soon, he got up from his camp and then went to look for the monsters. Finding them was quite easy in the darkness of the night since they were essentially giant balls of fire.
After doing some tests, Zack soon confirmed that he could put three cores on the sword before the weapon's cold started to wound him and freeze his arm. When he added the fourth, frostbite began to appear on his hand, and he was forced to leave the sword alone since time didn't pass in his inventory. Only when morning came, one of the cores dissipated and he had the chance to use the weapon again. Maybe it was because of that, but he only reached level fifty-nine during the night, and then that group was back.
"I guess I need to rest, but I want to reach the next level first…" Zack rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Continuing the hunt was a dangerous bet for Zack. He knew that he risked being found by the next group of hunters, but he also understood that it was inevitable. Running away would only delay the inevitable and possible confrontation, and there was no point in trying to escape.
With that realization in mind, Zack consciously decided to resume hunting. He couldn't afford to let fear or hesitation hold him back. The city was his hunting ground, and he was determined to make the most of it, regardless of the risks involved.