Chapter 74: Pyramid

Chapter 74: Pyramid

Chances urumi snapped back around his wrist and the golden mist receded. Stunned stares bored into him from the surrounding cultivators. He wiped some of the mud from his face and flicked it onto the ground, grimacing as the thrill of the fight faded.

Jerrin snapped his fingers. James and Tamara shimmered, vanishing from the wet ground and leaving nothing behind.

If Im not mistaken, I get his materials now, right? Chance asked.

You do, Jerrin said with a curt nod. And Id say you earned them. Five mid rank cultivation aids, so a total of ten for you. Impressive fight.

An attendant jogged up and handed Jerrin two pouches, which he passed to Chance. Chance tossed them into his case, together with all the other pills hed stored up.

Thats it? I guess thats a pretty good signing bonus for a sect that doesnt actually require anything from you.

Thank you. Chance walked back to Bella. She gave him his case back and they sat back in their chairs.N0v3lRealm was the platform where this chapter was initially revealed on N0v3l.B1n.

Well done, Bella said. You had me worried for a second. That was a pretty dirty trick that the other cultivator pulled.

Chance shrugged. Yeah, kind of. Is there such a thing as a dirty trick in a fight, though? He was just using his powers to the best of his ability, like I was. If I had some sneaky ability, Id use it too.

Bella blinked. Then she frowned. Dont make me feel sorry for him. He was a dick.

Not arguing with that. Chance grinned. I think he intentionally antagonized me while you were cultivating to see if I was strong, then decided I was too nave or soft and thought Id be an easy target. Guess that didnt work out for him too well.

Bella nodded. Several cultivators were still watching them warily, as if Bella or Chance were a hairs width away from snapping and trying to kill everyone in the area.

Any other challengers? Jerrin asked, clearing his throat to try and get some attention back to himself. Ill be honest, we typically prefer to thin the herd a little more before continuing. We dont exactly have that many pills to give out.

Im not challenging the kid, a cultivator muttered. Hes a smiling demon.

I bet the girl with him is even worse, another one added, sending a worried glance at Bella. Shit, shes glaring at me. Dont look in her direction.

Chance cocked an eyebrow at Bella and she sighed, looking away from the cultivator.

Come on, Jerrin said, practically begging. What about someone else? Those two arent the only ones here, you know. Dont forget they could challenge you if you arent fighting someone else.

That worked better than anything Jerrin had said yet. Several people immediately leapt to their feet and rushed up to him, challenging each other. Chance leaned closer to Bella as Jerrin prepared next two fighters.

Why is everyone so surprised at us not being terrible at our age? I thought you said that the younger a cultivator was, the more likely theyre actually really powerful and just immortal.

Jerrin smiled. Ah. I understand your worry. The lands below us are dangerous and fraught with threat. As a sect, we have the power to be a little more open with who we allow in. Make no mistake, we are not altruistic beyond belief. You are cultivators, not worthless mortals. You would defend yourself from attack, no?

Of course I would.

Then what do you think would happen if someone were to attack our city?

Ah. Its a militia that you dont have to pay for.

Precisely, Jerrin said with a nod. And that is not a secret. Cultivators come here knowing that they can practice and train mostly in peace, with access to many of the supplies that they could only get in a scholar-city. In exchange, if we do get attacked, they defend their temporary home. It is a symbiotic relationship.

I see, Chance said. But what if we dont want to defend the area when you get attacked?

Then you leave, but do not expect to be let back in.

Thats fair enough, Bella said. What about leaving normally? These tokens let us into the city. How do we get out of it?

There are a multitude of waypoints throughout the city. Touching any of them will return you to the location on the ground that you left from, Jerrin replied. Alternatively, you can purchase transport to another location, but it costs contribution points. You wont get that unless you help us out.

Fair enough, Chance said. Thanks for the honesty.

Of course. It doesnt help me to lie, especially to people such as you, Jerrin said. A sly grin crossed his face. After all, Id very much like if you stayed, and lying tends to have the adverse effect. We have use for talented cultivators such as yourselves.

Thank you. Well go check the city out, then, Chance said. He and Bella nodded to Jerrin, then started after the other cultivators toward the city proper.

Chance waited until theyd put enough distance between themselves and Jerrin to be out of earshot before he spoke again.

I think this whole thing is kind of a pyramid scheme.

Pyramid scheme? Bella asked. What pyramid? This looks like a normal city.

Not a physical one, Chance laughed. Its a phrase from Earth. Its a scam of sorts. The guy at the top has all the money. He recruits some people and gives them a tiny portion of it if they recruit even more people. That keeps going down, with the vast majority of the money remaining at the top while all the work is done by people at the bottom.

Ah, I see. The contribution points are us doing all the stuff that the city actually needs done.

Yeah, I bet everything is crazy overpriced here, Chance said with a nod. It seems safe enough, though. I dont think Jerrin was lying. What do you think?

The same. Even if their prices are high, as long as we get the bare minimum of what we need, this is safer than below. We can train here for a while, which has the added benefit of lessening our chance to run into any Shikari. I guess it depends on just how bad their prices really are.