Too Easy

From the looks of it, his new ability was rather flexible in its usage, both capabilities held within his self-made elixir could be picked and chosen depending on what he wanted to do, he could thank the two eager drinkers for their assistance, even before getting a taste of the improved formula, they had been willing to quench their thirst with only what he had to offer, but now, not only was it more than nourishing, but it also had a captivating taste.

Though, as awesome as Edrick may be, he didn't have an endless amount of the stuff, there were some more missions to complete today which would require him the capacity to inundate or spray.

However, before all of that, it was time to lift some weight, he could tell that his muscles could be pushed further than they had already been, the initial progress had just been natural order as this body was meant to be powerful, now, it was truly the gruelling physical training Anoteros had been partaking in for decades.

A good session after emptying a good bit of his containers always felt nice, even though the equipment available to him was rather crude, instead of stainless steel, he had to make do with unrefined iron, the precise weights of what he was using hard to properly gauge.

But as long as it worked…

'Mmh, I still haven't gotten my hands on any of those cultivation methods or whatnot…' he mused, starting to wonder if it wouldn't be best to start hopping on that, the innate abilities he had received were great but they weren't exactly meant to make him more powerful, if anything, it was all catered toward making his properties stronger, which was fine and all, but Edrick liked to fight and kill.

He hadn't been crowned greatest serial killer for no reason in his old world, dominating others in matters of the bedroom had been more of secondary thing, what he had truly loved was scouring random places for opportunities, observe homes to break into right at the perfect time, elaborate atrociously complex contraptions for no other reason that to see some guy's head explode and recording it in slow motion to send his family…

Some fun activities.

Now, he doubted that recording was a thing in this world, and if it was, it probably wasn't with a camera- But the problem currently was that the townspeople were way too easy targets, and he really could just jump with both feet on anyone's head, in the middle of the street, after gathering everyone to watch, without repercussions, so where was the thrill? Where was the intensity of a victim that could effectively fight back? Where was the amusement of nearly being caught or killed as authorities opened fire on his shadowy figure retreating into the night?

There was none of that good stuff here, the only one that might actually provide some pushback was Xiao, and even then, his passage through the town was at the beginning of his hero journey, that guy was unlikely to be expecting to have to fight a serial killer in the body of a more than two meter mass of muscles.

'Would this system also provide a cultivation method?'

*Yes*

'I forget that it is so conciliant'

Looking through the missions again, trying to see if any seemed special but all were regular, nothing had come to replace the one concerning Linmin's corruption just yet.

Edrick rubbed his chin, most of the depraved missions he had been completing would be replaced by another that was wholly unrelated, but there were a few that seemed to follow a sort of little storyline, such as when he had gotten a father and his daughter to put on a show in exchange of tax relief and money, the mission that had appeared in its place was specifically about those two whereas it had been general before.

The original quest having not been laser focused on them, but perhaps it meant that the system had planned for a follow-up anyways, or maybe that it had been intrigued with how Edrick handled it and wanted some more?

Whistling, Anoteros called over his loyal wives to follow him, an audience was always welcome and besides, it builds an even tighter bond to have them bear witness to his actions, or even participate sometimes.

Making his way down into the town, it always seemed like everything was empty when he got there, almost like everyone hid and kept silent upon noticing his arrival.

Intending to test whether or not completing a string of missions would yield a substantive reward, he headed straight for the house where that family of two lived, softly knocking on the rundown door.

Knowing better than to pretend to not be there, someone quickly opened the door.

"Lord Anoteros! It is a pleasure to see you again, we don't deserve to be shone down upon by your presence"

"That's a bit much" he simply commented, the girl lowering her head as she stepped away to let Edrick and his wife-duo in.

"Sorry…"

"No need to apologise" he signalled for Linmin to shut the door behind them, the servant also carrying a chair from the residence for Edrick to sit in instead of a random, filthy chair used by peasants.

"Aah, I see that your father is here too" ignoring the father making a similarly grand greeting as he took a seat, his bright smile illuminating the room with its nauseous shine.

"Now, during my last visit, I had you two join-up like dogs in exchange for some benefits…" the mere mention of it seemed to make them both go pale, which Edrick commented upon.

"...But I couldn't help that you two didn't seem to enjoy yourselves! How bizarre! I, who was thinking toward truly strengthening your bond after your wife and mother went away, saw no such thing" putting on the most obviously theatrical performance he could, Anoteros shook his head.

"I realised the problem, I should have explained some more and gotten you to engage in a less impersonal position, it is one of my favourites so I didn't stop to think about how it might seem to others"

"Mister, you ought to stop thinking about your daughter while engaging with your daughter, does she not look a lot like your wife? Think about that instead, in fact, close your eyes and truly think only about her- In fact! Put this on" he pulled out a piece of fabric to serve as blindfolds.

"As for you miss- Well, don't worry, it is only natural for a man and woman to do, no matter their relation"

"And I want you two to truly be close whilst doing it, you can cry if you want"

Still smiling, he snapped his fingers.

"Come on, Lord Edrick is trying to better your family, do it"

"Yes, Lord Anoteros only wants you good, it might seem odd right now, but you'll eventually get it"

The two peasants could only look at one another dejectedly, no one was going to come and help them, the highest authority around was the one tormenting them, they couldn't run away, be it right now or ever as that would just condemn them to death.

They could only comply as their lord and his wives watched with interest.