"You are bluffing! You cannot withstand a single attack from my beast. So, what makes you think that you can go against the Salt Rock Shelter leader?" Malik responded, spitting at Zuriel.
Zuriel stepped aside, dodging the attack, which landed on the wooden floor, staining it.
"Mark my words, Zuriel Zahara. I will kill you with my own hands," Malik growled, his expression twisting into rage.
┏━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┓
[System's notification ]
Action: (Triple combo x3) You have received a death threat from the main character.
Reward: +6,000EP
┗━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┛
Observing Malik's menacing glare, Zuriel's smile widened even further. The burning desire to obtain more editor points surged again within his heart. He was definitely going to make him eat up his words soon.
However, Zuriel's smile further provoked Malik, eliciting another intense reaction. An immense hatred capable of causing one's hair to stand on end radiated from Malik's eyes.
The temperature within the room dropped drastically.
Finn couldn't help but gulp as he observed the scene before him. He didn't know the captain had such a fierce character in him. He knew it was impossible to fully understand his character in four days. But, the fact that Zuriel had hidden it from him made him realise there was more to uncover about him.
"Bring me a chair," Zuriel said, looking at Finn.
"Can I know what you need a chair for, captain?" Finn asked, furrowing his brows in confusion at his request.
"I want to keep our prisoner company until the Salt Rock Shelter leader and the others arrive so I can observe how they plan to rescue him from this ship," Zuriel responded.
Finnn was dumbfounded by his words, wondering where he had gotten the courage to speak like that.
Could it be that the Head of the Zahara household hadn't left his son defenceless and had secretly given him something to protect himself from any danger they might encounter?
Perhaps he had assigned a powerful beastmaster to accompany them in secret? Yes, it was within reason that a man of such calibre would ensure his son's safety on this perilous sea was guaranteed!
Despite being curious about it, he remained silent as it wasn't his place to ask. He nodded at Zuriel respectfully and exited the brig.
Minutes later, he returned with a wooden chair and placed it beside Zuriel.
Zuriel positioned the chair close to the cell and sat down on it.
"What are you planning to do?" Malik asked, his fierce gaze fixed on him.
┏━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┓
[System's notification ]
Action: You have successfully become the focus of the main character's suspicion.
Reward: +1,000EP
┗━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┛
"You should have checked your ears before coming here as a spy. I said I will keep you company here until the Salt Rock Shelter leader and the others following him arrive," Zuriel responded. He clicked his tongue in annoyance as he realised his words sounded too suggestive.
Mailk furrowed his brows in confusion; his expression morphed into caution and suspicion.
Zuriel turned his head towards Finn and commanded, "Leave us."
Finn wanted to speak, but looking at Zuriel's fierce and determined gaze, he nodded in understanding. "I will be staying close if you need anything. Also, I will rush in immediately if I sense you are in danger," he said.
Zuriel responded with a nod.
Casting one final glance at Malik, Finn turned around and exited the brig.
"Now, let..." Zuriel began. However, before he could complete his sentence, Malik immediately interrupted.
"I don't care whatever negotiation you want to make. I will not change my mind and pretend that nothing has transpired. When the Shelter's leader and the others following him reach here, they will collect the Zahara household's sacred magic tool, which will used for the complete downfall of the Zahara household, capture you and...." Malik said, but before he could complete his sentence, Zuriel interrupted.
"Shut up, and speak to me respectfully! And what gave you the illusion that I am here to negotiate with you." His tone was sharp and expression were tinged with a mixed of annoyance and displeasure.
Zuriel glanced at the system notification's tab.
┏━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┓
[System's notification ]
Action: You have successfully become the focus of the main character's irritation.
Reward: +1,400EP
┗━━━━━━༻✾༺━━━━━━┛
'I think I understand how it works. The more intense the emotional reaction, the higher the reward. I suspect that there are other ways to receive higher rewards, but I'm not certain. I will need more time to verify it first.'
'In the meantime, I'm glad I won't have to listen to his remarks whenever I get a system notification, or else I might lose it. I will use the opportunity to squeeze out as many editor points as possible,' Zuriel thought before dismissing it. He refocused on Malik with a broad smile.
Malik felt a shiver travel through his spine before he swiftly recomposed himself and stared back at him with a persistent glare.
.....
Three days later,
Zuriel spent three days in the brig with Malik.
On the first day, he earned 65,000 EP at varying intervals, ranging from ten to thirty minutes, before Malik ate and slept briefly to reinvigorate his body.
On the second day, Malik grew increasingly irritated and borderline furious at his presence, cursing and ranting for several hours before collapsing from exhaustion, only to wake up and continue. As a result, Zuriel managed to trigger several combos, amassing 50,000 EP.
Unfortunately, on the third day, Malik was emotionally and physically exhausted and reached his breaking point. He hurled every curse and insult he could think of before he grew more wary and suspicious of Zuriel's motives for being there and became silent, trying to figure them out. After a while, he only glared intensely at Zuriel without saying a word.
Despite Zuriel's best efforts, the now stone-faced Malik wouldn't react. Zuriel could only give up. Fortunately, it was still a fruitful harvest as he had obtained 24,00O EP. In those three days, the editor points added to the previous he had collected was a total of 154,900 EP.
"I'll be taking my leave," Zuriel said, rising from the chair. He picked it up and walked towards the door.
Malik frowned but stayed silent, watching Zuriel's actions. Zuriel had tried this tactic before, leaving just to return an hour later, and it was clear it wouldn't work this time either.
Sighing in resignation, Zuriel opened the door and left the brig. He handed the chair to Finn and returned to his room.
'It seems it's finally over,' Finn thought, glancing at the door and then at Zuriel with an exasperated expression.
Zuriel had stayed in the brig all day for the past three days. Whenever he stepped out, he'd give Finn instructions, particularly regarding the prisoner Malik, and inform him when he would return after checking the ship's condition and handling other matters.
Zuriel didn't seem worried that their location had been exposed and would soon be raided, acting instead as if he were simply catching up with an old friend. This behaviour made Finn sense that Zuriel and Malik were quite close than they had let on for him to dedicate so much time to him.
However, after looking into it, Finn realised they weren't even remotely close, making Zuriel's actions even more puzzling. He concluded that Zuriel must have felt sentimental about being so far away from home and wanted to spend time with someone from there.
'Captain, I promise to do my best to ensure you complete your mission and return home safely. At least, before my contract expires,' Finn thought, determination gleaming in his eyes.
He gave an order to the crew member stationed to guard the brig, clenched the chair tightly, and walked away.
....
Zuriel entered his room and sealed the door. He sat on his bed, summoned Storm Shell from his beast space, and opened his beast status sheet.
[ Race: Thunder Reef Tortoise
Bloodline: Ripple Reef Tortoise bloodline (60%)/ Black Cloud Dragon bloodline (40%)
Type: Water(Dominant)/ Thunder(Subtype)
Rank: Bronze(5th tier)
Talent: (4-star)
Status: Tamed
Mana numerical value contribution: 51(2.5)
Bond strength: Stable (+5% contribution of the magical beast mana numerical value)
Common Skills:
Thunder Wave Barrier (Yellow) (Intermediate)
Effect: Generates a protective barrier of electrified water that absorbs damage and deals AoE electric damage to attackers, reflecting 5% of the absorbed damage with a 2-meter radius.
Inherited Skills:
Coral Shock Trap (Yellow)(Intermediate)
Effect: Creates hidden electrified coral structures around the battlefield that shock enemies on contact. These structures have a stun duration of 0.5 seconds and cover a radius of 7 meters.
Potential Evolution: Deepsea Storm Tortoise (Gold)
(Beastmaster Editor Points: 154,900! You can make an edit) ]
'Obtaining editor points was much harder than I initially expected. If I continued on this path, I would become the main character's main antagonist. But it was worth every second. With 154,900 EP, I can finally make an edit to secure my survival.'
'I will think about how to handle his anger once I'm safe. Firstly, I will increase Stormshell's rank, thereby increasing the amount of mana numerical value I will receive before making any other changes,' Zuriel thought.