Chapter 220: Day 506 (2) – Aftershocks To The Gut From Worms

Chapter 220: Day 506 (2) – Aftershocks To The Gut From Worms

Naran and I ate our meal in silence. “You noticed it right?” I asked after a few minutes of chowing down some fresh bread and fruit.

“You mean how the majority of the monsters went after you?” Naran asked back.

“Yes. What do you think their behavior is based on?” I lobbed back a question. Naran let out a small sigh and I knew exactly the reason he did that.

“Purchase, stats, aerial combat, or getting wounded, pick your poison. It is one of those three things. No easy way to tell which it is. The real problem is they didn’t home on you right away but homed on you after you killed a few. That is why I am tempted to say it is because of getting wounded or aerial combat, but that just feels too simple,” Naran elaborated and expanded on my current thoughts.

I hadn’t thought of getting wounded would be a targeting parameter. “Others were wounded, but the worms didn’t go after them?” I countered, playing devil’s advocate.

“Well, if you want to really start feeling the pain, it could be a combination of any of these things. Next time, I should probably be the one to make the purchase,” Naran said.

“You are faster and should be able to take more hits, focus on luring them to the Airship Port?” I asked.

“Yes, that would be the best option. But we might even get the same type of monster,” Naran countered.

“At least now we have a good explanation for why we haven’t spotted any high tier cities. One group of those monsters, and the place would be wiped. If no one was around, you think they target the store?” I asked.

“Probably, it would make sense as a secondary target after all the people are killed or in hiding. Wipe out the store, then everything inside the city dies. No more monsters, no more people, everything resets in a few hours, and you are back where you started,” Naran explained.

“It wouldn’t be simple to test either. If the monsters chase a person after purchasing the next level of upgrade, it would be a disaster. No way I would have had a chance ten to one, without the city shield, helping out,” I said and then looked up as Clarissa entered the dining area.

“Michael, Naran, good morning,” she replied.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñòv€l-B1n.

“Clarissa,” Naran greeted her.

“Clarissa, good morning. How are things?” I asked to see if there were any updates on the situation.

“Expensive. Repairs aren’t cheap. But not that much in the large scheme of things. We should be fine in a day or so with repairs. As you know the Union teams were the hardest hit, that is going to affect long term income. There is some good news,” Clarissa said as she served herself some fruit and bread.

I was patient and ate quietly as she took a moment to gather her thoughts and eat a bit. “The disaster after the festival is being seen in a new light, after yesterday’s battle. Congratulations, you are more polarizing than ever, but your popularity is quite high overall,” Clarissa said.

“Oy, don’t give him a big head, he might float away,” Naran teased and I rolled my eyes.

“That would never happen. Since it is already as big as it can get. What about you?” I asked.

“The response is more reserved and mixed,” Clarissa shook her head slightly. “I want to say thank you, to both of you. You stopped yesterday from turning into a charnel house or having mass casualties, near a full wipe. I wanted the store upgrade, thank you for risking your lives in the battle and winning at great personal risk.”

“Don’t get sweet on me, you might make me blush,” Naran said with a grin. At Clarissa was thanking Naran as well as me. I sipped my pulped orange juice as I considered where she said.

“I am not happy with how things ended, but we gained information. While some people might call it a setback, each bit of information is more guidance on the pitfalls we need to avoid. Better to get burned a bit now, than on the upgrade after this one, with possible level 5 monsters,” I replied.

The children were innocent. None of them were Karens yet. I had no good line to draw regarding age, but I would probably say old enough to kill, old enough to be an adult. Whenever that happened, but it wouldn’t be for a while. Things could be handled on an individual basis until then.

I appreciated that the Almighty System didn’t dump children on us and really old people, but the births meant that it was just another headache that had come up. “Any issues so far?” I asked.

“No, but Doctor Katz is keeping a close eye on them. Since they are all too young to understand the store, his medical advice and pediatric specialty is quite valuable,” Clarissa said, and I nodded at that. The good doctor was probably happy about dealing with kids and not human experimentation.

“I should also pass on, that while he doesn’t think it will happen, there better be no experiments or tests on the kids beyond monitoring their health,” Clarissa said.

“It is fine. That is more than enough,” I replied. We finished eating and made short goodbyes after that.

Fethee was pulling the cart still. But on the way out of the city Naran stopped at the store. I was curious what he needed to get last minute. I looked over at the broken pillar and let out a long sigh. The debris had gone after the area had been covered over with a sheet, but the pillar was a jagged stump still.

I looked over and blinked a couple of times. Now that was thinking Naran. He held a massive sword in his hands. The thing was more a slab of sharp metal with a point almost as tall as he was. He grabbed the long hilt with two hands and lifted the entire thing up above his head.

It moved it around a bit, and I could feel the air swoosh about with every swing. He then went to one hand. I noted several people and the RMPF looking in on him. He finally stopped and nodded at me. We set out again towards the East gate.

“Nice sword,” I said as he was forced to carry it in his hand as we walked.

“A pain in the rear, but I am changing up my style. With a high Body stat, I need a sword like this that can take and dish out punishment without snapping,” Naran said.

“May I?” I asked. He carefully handed it over. I needed two hands to lift it.

“Damn, this is heavy. At least 1,000 Body to be able to wield it well,” I said and handed the monster sword back.

“I got some good advice after thinking on my fighting style,” Naran said.

“Well if you grow spikey blonde hair and have memory issues, then I will start being worried,” I replied with a grin.

“What?” Naran asked.

“That sword design and size looks like the buster sword. Really? Nothing?” I asked.

“I don’t know all the game stuff like you do,” Naran replied.

“Heresy. Once we get an airship, you are walking as a heathen,” I said. That was the point I was probably most sore about with the entire store upgrade failing. Don’t worry airship, one day I will fly you about the skies and call you Highwind and we would have glorious adventures.

“Then I can be chief heretic. So, this sword came from a game?” Naran asked.

“Yes, and people tried to replicate it. The issue always came down to size and weight. It is so large, the balance while swinging it is off,” I said.

“I will need to practice more. I have to counter brace with my feet. But I feel like I can exert myself much more with a chunky weapon like this, instead of a toothpick,” Naran said. I just ginned a bit, it was his choice, not one I would make. I preferred having my hands free for skills if possible.