Chapter 162: Resource Exchange

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'Broke a couple of my ribs, punctured my lungs a few times, dislocated my hips, shattered my kneecaps, mangled my arm, probably lost consciousness a couple of times...'

'All because I was playing with a big three-headed puppy.' Cedric huffed despite himself, 'Yeah, sounds about right...'

He's probably the only one in his batch who could shrug off this kind of abuse. Thank god for the mysterious healer fixing him up every time he's injured or else, he would've died already. As he is right now, he's definitely not the Cerberus' enemy...a playmate, more like, but definitely not an enemy.

Cedric then looked at his squad members and saw that all of them were on the ground; beaten, and exhausted. They have no energy to even move a muscle. If breathing wasn't necessary, they probably wouldn't be doing that either.

'...I said I wasn't going to babysit anybody here, but look at me.' Cedric inwardly shook his head as he recalled the words of advice he imparted to them earlier.

'Well, I'm tasked to do that anyway. Not explicitly, but it's the same thing. And I accepted the responsibility. Besides, their performance will reflect on my mission rating so I might as well do it properly.'

Cedric already dismissed the puppies. The training yard fell into a strange quiet since nobody except Cedric had the energy to even speak.

Most of them stared at the dark and gloomy skies above. The absence of the sun and light really creates a depressing mood. Add the fact that they are still wary of their surroundings because only that 1000-foot wall was separating them from the real hell...

Really, if Cedric wasn't a good motivator, they would most likely quit already. Screw being called a genius and graduating at the most prestigious institute ever!

As for Cedric, he subtly glanced at a certain distance.

About 5 kilometers away from where the apartment complex was, on the 5th floor of a building, he sensed a presence watching over them earlier, though he ignored him since he wasn't close anyway.

But as he continued observing that person like he was doing with them, Cedric sensed his motive for doing so...

'Most likely a scout and sent by Captain Silverwing to monitor us.' He mused to himself.

He didn't need to face the direction where the man was because of how his field of senses works, so no awkward eye contact here.

'But I am certain he knew that I found him. I could swear he grinned at me when he discovered it. Meh, whatever. One day, I'll hone my senses to the point that nobody can sense it.'

Cedric then stood up and dusted himself. He then approached his exhausted teammates and asked:

"Tired?"

A cacophony of whines and grunts were the replies he received. He fought the urge to smirk at their misery.

"Well, the day's far from over folks so stand up and walk it off. I'm giving you three hours of rest. Do whatever you wanna do during that time but three hours later, I'll be calling you back. There are still things for us to discuss, formations to practice, and strategies to memorize. So up! Don't sleep there."

Before he told her his choices, he asked: "Are we allowed to exchange Demon Souls for Merit Points?"

"Absolutely!" She replied cheerfully, "But I do recall your System being sealed so how are you going to do that?"

"Bank." Cedric replied flatly, causing the lady to blink owlishly at him.

She then chuckled and said: "Clever. I'll only accept T4 Demon Souls though. And the ratio of exchange is 5:1. How much will you exchange."

"1000 for now. Here's my choice, by the way."

The lady retrieved the list and saw his choices. Inwardly, she's surprised. Not because of his choices...he's practical on that part and that's to be expected, though she's a bit puzzled why he didn't ask for an electricity supply, that's none of her business.

What she's surprised about is the fact that Cedric's choices, including the excess that can't be covered by the ticket, exactly amounted to 1000 Merit Points. Right at the dot.

How he calculated that while there's barely a pause in their conversation eludes her, but again, that's none of her business.

"Let me fetch these for you. Meanwhile, enter your bank account here and get yourself verified. You can also do the exchange yourself, that machine's beginner-friendly anyway."

She didn't even wait for his reply before leaving. Cedric merely shrugged at this and did what she said.

Yeah, she's right. The machine was beginner-friendly. Even a simpleton could use it well. Probably made the Lifestyle Guild exclusively for the army.

'Thank god I have a good foresight to deposit some of my wealth into a bank. Otherwise, even with this supposed 1 week's worth of supplies, we'd still have to consume them sparingly.'

Cedric does not have qualms about spending his own money to provide for his squad. Demon Souls are something he had in spades. He has so much that he doesn't even know how to spend it, so this much wasn't a problem for him. He didn't even feel the pinch at all.

After doing the exchange himself, the lady returned with the stuff he ordered.

She helped him pack it all. She also gave her the rest of the things he ordered like; gas for the stove, more cleaning materials (because the ones back there are old), a second set of uniforms for the whole team, toiletries, etc.

Once he was good to go, he concluded the exchange and marched back to the complex.

Upon arriving, he saw some of his squadmates in the living room. They saw him return with stuff and were immediately interested.

"What're those?" #5 asked.

"A week's worth of supplies." He replied before starting to take out the supplies from the bag. "Help me with these, we'll divide them equally amongst ourselves."

Excited at the prospect of eating real and warm food, those who were available unhesitatingly stood up to help him sort out the supplies.