Chapter 219 Ruthless (1)

"Jake, we have to report what we confirmed today to Frederic, but can you wait for us here?" Louise asked. "You are facing the criminals way too often and I think everyone would benefit if we were to be with you in one of those encounters. We might be able to stop future big incidents like those."

"I wouldn't benefit from it," Jake said. "Besides, in one way or the other, I think the enemies reached their goals. I am pretty sure that they didn't expect to succeed with the three attacks, so they attacked three places to increase their chances of succeeding in one. With that in mind, they won't make any big move any time soon. They will check the results of their actions."

"How you can be so sure of that?" Lana asked.

"That is how smart people think and act, I am sorry if you aren't one of us," Jake said.

"Determining yourself that you are smart… your ego is bigger than Jupiter…" Lana said.

"Well, self-confidence is everything," Jake shrugged.

"Jake, I am being serious here… the guild masters are having a lot of things to deal with already," Louise said. "Everyone already knows that this situation is caused mainly by humans working with monsters. We can't let the situation escalate any further."

"I am already doing by best to help, you can't demand of me anything more," Jake said. "I was the one who stopped the boss from succeeding in the second world, remembers? Also, the guild masters themselves are to blame for letting the situation escalate this much since the guys who are making this mess are from the same batch of humans that finished the tutorial as them."

"Well, even if that is the case…" Louise said.

"Give it up already," Jake said. "You know that I am not the type to work for others without a good reason. I am already doing more than most, so I don't feel obligated to go to such lengths for these so-called guild masters. If you want to work in a normal mission once in a while without having any suspicious goals related to the guilds, I won't mind, but not under these circumstances. I am sorry to be so blunt regarding all this, but I feel like I need to be more clear."

"I guess it would be too out of character if you were to cooperate so easily…" Louise said. "Sorry for bothering you so early in the morning."

"No problem, I start my mornings slowly anyway," Jake said and then shrugged.

The group finally decided to leave and Jake sighed. Putting his own reasons aside, Jake could tell where they were coming from. Aside from Karina and Julian who owed Jake for helping them, Lana and Louise worked with him for a while and build a good relationship together. So, trying to make sure that a friend wouldn't have much of a hard time while doing the things that they needed to do was a given.

"So… they were performing some kind of ritual, huh," Jake rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "They are either too weak, or they are preparing for something since they did that. People like them would only do that king of thing if they would benefit from it… in any case, how did they manage to work with the crystals and the monsters? I suppose they would benefit from it as well."

Jake had to talk with the boss of the dungeon near his home. Vare seemed pretty calm when he died, so Jake was starting to think lately that he didn't die… there was also how his body disappeared. In any case, there were so many things that he needed to know…

Jake needed some essences to make potions, so he might as well head to that dungeon and ask the boss for answers. If they don't cooperate, he will have to be a bit violent to force them to answer him.

After finishing some preparations, Jake left his base and then headed to the dungeon. The number of monsters around was pretty small since Louise's group cleared the dungeon recently. Still, once Jake found them, he realized that his shurikens alongside throw were enough to kill the beasts. That being said, he felt like something was off.

"That feeling is bothering me again…" Jake said while looking around.

It didn't feel like he was being watched… In any case, Jake entered the dungeon and confirmed that the feeling didn't disappear… He wasn't being watched. That was for certain…

Regardless, Jake headed to the last part of the dungeon after killing some Grizzlies and eventually he reached his destination. Where he saw Vale doing the same thing as before… Meditating. He used Appraisal to confirm that it was bim and he finally understood that he was the boss again and the feeling that was bothering him.

Elder Frozen Grizzly

Lv 185

Water/ Wind

Health: 27.650/27.650 (7)

Mana: 8.500/8.500 (7)

Stamina:14.220/14.220 (7)

Strength: 1450

Dexterity: 915

Speed: 890

Intelligence: 650

Endurance: 1350

Control: 590

Mentality: 780

Luck: 780

Recovery: 4200

Willpower: 780

Coins: 00

Status: 00

Skill List

Active Physical Skills: Frozen Touch Lv 90, Frozen Claws Lv 75, Charge Lv 70, Cold Hoar Lv 100

Passive Physical Skills: Pain Resistance Lv 170, Herculean Strength Lv 60, Health Bonus Lv 550, Mana Bonus Lv 550,

Spells: Ice Arrow Lv 70, Ice Lance Lv 50, Ice Trap Lv 30

"Vare… how come you have gotten stronger when you didn't leave this place?" Jake asked.

"I may have acknowledged you, but that doesn't make us friends," Vare said and then get up. "Don't expect me to talk with an enemy either."

"So, if I beat you, will you answer my questions?" Jake asked.

"No, I won't," Vare replied.

"So, was I wrong when I thought you were a prideful warrior?"

"... There are things more important than pride," Vare replied after a few moments of silence. "I will throw away my pride for those things anytime."