Chapter 616: Delay—Confidence—Worry

“What do you mean, Benezia?” Alex asks, questioning her vague remarks.

“Look at the condition of the item,” Benezia explains. “Since Jewel is in stasis, there is a good chance the item won’t trigger, and you’ll just wait for a normal mission issued by the Realm.”

“Are you sure? Jewel is still my pet... although yes, she’s no longer in my possession or with me. She’s stored. So you mean if I don’t pick her up yet, the item won’t trigger?” Alex asks, now understanding.

“There is a high likelihood of that happening,” Benezia explains. “And even if it does end up happening, you are not suffering any kind of punishment from trying. If we can delay the mission, we can continue to earn more FC. In fact, our reserves are used up entirely. We could use the time, and if things go well, we’ll get up to 1 month of extra time. When the mission finally triggers, you just need to unfreeze the little one, and your next mission will still be her Evolution mission. I’m fairly certain this strategy is viable. I need the time and some working capital, or I won’t be able to earn more FC. This additional month is worth thousands of FC, and we would be foolish not to take advantage of it.”

That is true... she used it all for my shards.

This... does it work? What if this delays or prevents the mission? No... what she’s saying makes sense. I’ll risk it.

“Let’s give it a try,” Alex says, giving Benezia his entire stash of FC. “Use my entire FC for now; I don’t need it, but hold on until the month is over. If it triggers, give me back a little bit because I might need some for the mission. If it doesn’t, you can do some investments, since these missions always give me a day or so to get ready.”

“It’s smart to keep a small amount of FC; you might need it for mission-based skills, but letting us keep the rest will earn you a lot of money,” Menchi interjects. “We’ll be here while you’re gone, after all.”

“True...” Alex reasons. “You guys are not joining me this time; that’s rather worrying. Well... I’ll be fine, especially since I also have Jewel with me.”

“That is what’s worrying me,” Benezia states. “She amplifies your worst traits.”

“...”

No way. Jewel is so pure, she wouldn’t. She just likes to joke around... probably.

Time passes, and exactly as Benezia predicted, despite the month passing, the [True Dream Ticket] does not trigger yet.

To Alex’s delight, Tereza’s mission arrives before his leave, but ends in a flash. Within just a single day, similar to his own, she returns, appearing fairly satisfied, yet with a hint of dissatisfaction on her face.

“What happened?” Alex asks, rushing towards her as she teleports back from the Realm.

“Hmm...” she replies as Alex hugs her.

“That asshole... though I did profit... and things turned out great... he again profited more than me... he hid something from me as well, I just know it...” Tereza mumbles while hugging him.

Shortly afterwards, Menchi also hugs her and urges her to sit down.

“So... what world did you two enter?” Alex asks, obviously curious.

“... Don’t ask,” she says, shaking her head.

“Oh, come on,” Alex says. “Tell us!”

“Fine...” Tereza says, her head lowered. “You know, I thought it was the real world at first... but it wasn’t. It was that movie; I haven’t seen it. You probably know it, but it’s kinda old. Men in Black.”

“That’s awesome...” Alex says. “That sounds like a lot of fun... cool weapons and aliens and all kinds of crazy things.”

“Fun?! I have never seen so many confusing, disgusting, and stupid things in my life!” Tereza yells angrily.

She then explains her mission, ranting for a good hour and going into great detail, complaining about aliens, especially after she killed them, covering her in alien guts.

From joining the Men in Black to hunting aliens to outright warfare against a faction of hostile players who teamed up with a faction of aliens, Tereza had a lot of stories to tell.

“So in the end... you got a lot of items, easily worth the amount Rishi promised, though none of them are rarer than Deep Purple; add to that an S- rank...” Alex summarizes. “That’s not bad at all. Honestly, even an A rank is fine... you got the items and the rank; what more could you want?”

“I guess so,” she says. “Still... I can’t help but feel like this was a waste of time. Also, the world didn’t suit me at all! Magic was ineffective, and I’m not used to modern firearms... still, I guess my Devil Fruit is useful in any environment, even cities.”

With Tereza back, Alex is no longer lonely, and he spends his time with her, training by fighting against her radically different fighting style, which, aside from using Knives, has nothing in common with Menchi’s, allowing him to test out his new items and become more comfortable with his new skillset and options.

Benezia’s suggestion, overall, grants Alex a lot more time than anticipated. In fact, it takes almost two full weeks until Alex reads the expected message:

[Next mission starting in 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 56 seconds.]

“It’s time, huh?” Alex wonders, talking to Tereza. “I guess I am ready. I trained really hard this time.”

“Yeah... your new skills are monstrous, almost scary,” Tereza replies honestly. “You’re quite intense in battle and in bed. I was talking to Menchi, and actually we agree that you—”

“Shut up!” Alex says, walking away, completely embarrassed. “Can’t win with these women....”

Are they talking behind my back and discussing my performance? This is awful... they are evil. I bet Jewel would agree with me. She would also take cruel revenge on them.

A few hours later, he informs the others about his impending mission, and Benezia hands him back 100,000 FC from his stash of FC, keeping 144,000 FC just to be sure he has enough for any situation that may occur inside the mission.

Going over his inventory quickly, since he is done with all preparations, Alex decides to take off his old Pluto Gear, keeping it ready for when he can use the boost in LUK more efficiently, or when he requires a boost in CHA.

For the first time in a long while, some of his stats have decreased, most noticeably his SPR, CHA, and LUK. Along with the decrease in SPR, his total BP is now at a mere 141. Despite improving all of his stats, his BP decreased by one. However, his AGI has improved significantly, and despite [Hlökk’s Divine Gloves (Remnant) R2] not contributing any stats, the increase in combat power is still significant.

Stats aren’t everything... anyway, let me sort this out... Mustrano deserves his own category by now... that snake is incredible, although I won’t tell him that. He’s definitely worth 3 or 4 Conjurations by now.

Maybe even more... he has allowed me to bypass the skill limit, after all. Sure, they are very specific skills, but I like them all.

They turned me into a budget Killua... no... not a budget one. A superior Killua. With the True Zoldyck-Style Assassin Martial Arts serving as a base, I know more than he does about combat and martial arts. The three active skills are also all the ones I know of... so in fact, I know them all.

There might be more, but I don’t think I need them... after all, Killua didn’t need them either. Neither have I seen Zeno or Silva use any other skills. Then there is Claw Proficiency, which, along with Mustrano himself, is taking me beyond the Zoldyck style. The Poison Resistance skill is also superior to theirs, I’d say. I’m almost completely immune to all poisons.

Alex Kerber: Lvl 9HP: 496/496, MP: 476/476 AURA: 406/406, BP: 141/141STR: 24 (+18), AGI: 24 (+8), PHY: 24 (+11), SNS: 24 (+2), CHA: 24 (+2), MNA: 24 (+11), INT: 24, SPR: 24 (+2), LUK: 24 (+3), NEN: 24 (+7)Available Stat Points: 2Followers: Menchi (Deep Purple) lvl 13 (75%), Benezia (Deep Purple) lvl 19 (75%)Pets: Jewel (Gold) lvl 9Innate Skills: Nen Prodigy lvl 6 (Genius Conjurer lvl 6, Basic Nen lvl 6, Advanced Nen lvl 6), Statistical OCD lvl MAXArcane Medieval Armory: Annihilation Grenade lvl 6, Sealion’s Icewing Embrace lvl 6, Magorian’s Rage Arrow lvl 6, Thorian’s Domination lvl 6, Sea King’s Giant Plate Swimfin lvl 6, Grim Reaper’s Card of Destiny lvl 6Mustrano’s Malice Mauler lvl 6: (Claw Proficiency/Poison Resistance/True Zoldyck-Style Assassin Martial Arts) Toxic Breakthrough/Rhythm Echo/Shadow Steps/Snake AwakensFree Skill Slots: 0/4, Free Basic Skill Slots: 0/8Basic Skills: Basic Close Combat Prowess lvl 6, Basic Footwork lvl 6, Basic Endurance lvl 6, Basic Long-Range Combat Prowess lvl 6, Basic Eloquence lvl 6, Basic Concentration lvl 6, Basic Meditation lvl 6, Basic Mana Control lvl 6Passive Skills: Alexandrian Royal Swordsmanship lvl 6, Imbuement Archery lvl 6Active Skills: Black Magic (Fire-Blizzard-Thunder-Series) lvl 6, Sword Magic lvl 6, Kunrith’s Biotics lvl 6 (Warp, Stasis, Barrier, Throw, Pull, Reave), Arts (Tear, Teara, Aqua Bleed, Frost Edge, Hydro Cannon, Crystal Flood)Fantasy Coins: 100,000 + (144,000) Soul Crystals: Small x21 Medium x6 Large: x2 Fantasy Shards: 0Current Weapons: Magoroth’s Legacy R2 (Gold), Draining Meteor Sword R2 (Gold), Executioner's Blade R2 (Light Gold), Skullflame Shield R2 (Gold)Current Equipment: Armor of Pluto (Purple), Visor of Pluto (Purple), Cuisses of Pluto (Purple), Hlökk’s Divine Gloves (Remnant) R2 (Deep Gold), Han Solo’s Action Boots R2 (Light Gold), Nimbus Cloak (Light Purple), Sacred Emerald Copper Earring (Purple), Noble Shirt+4 R2 (Light Purple), Drakul’s Vitality R2 (Deep Gold), Skitterguard Bracers (Light Purple), Cataclysmic Frost-Fire Ring (Deep Gold), Uzin’s Rage R2 (Light Black), Savant M R2 (Gold), Geth Waistguard (Deep Purple), Destiny Watch (Orbment) R2 (Light Gold), Shepard’s Promise R2 (Light Gold)Skin: Ebony Armor (Modified)Recovery Items: Twice-Infused Wiggenweld Potion Variant x15 (Deep Blue), Infused Exceptional Dish: (Energizing Honey Dew) x10 (Deep Blue), Infused Exceptional Dish (Cherry Crusted Dinosaur Steak) x10 (Deep Blue), Exceptional Dish (Meatpaste Supreme) x10 (Blue)Miscellaneous Items: Jack’s Spare Silvery Mask (Light Green), Gauntlets of Pluto (Purple), Sabatons of Pluto (Purple), Double-Star Hunter License (Deep Gold), Butchering Knife (Deep Blue), Quintessence of Blood (Purple), Blood Essence x6 (Green), Brawler-Pistol (Light-Purple), Colossus Armor S (Deep Purple), Logic Arrest Tool (Deep Blue), Mobile Skill Station (Purple), Contract (Unused) x3, Seastone Dagger (Deep Purple), Leave Card (Light Gold), Illumi’s Transformation Needle (Deep Purple)Marked for Trading/Selling/Gifting:Marked for Sharding:Special Items: Destiny Supporter Token (Purple), Zeno’s Broken Promise (Gold) Tsunade’s Scroll (Purple), Glimmerwhisk’s broken Runic Choker (locked) (Light Green), True Dream Ticket (Light Gold), Spectre License (Purple), Scapegoat-card (Deep Purple), World Governments Invitation (Light Gold), Leylin Farlier’s Bloodline Extraction Syringe (Deep Gold)

Satisfied, he shares his results with the others.

“Confident, aren’t you?” Benezia asks, staring right into his eyes, her gaze as stern as ever.

“Yes... I am!” Alex replies confidently, meeting her gaze head-on.

Smiling at him, Benezia surprises Alex. “I’m glad to hear that.”

Time passes, and with just a few hours left until Alex’s regular mission is supposed to start, he stands up. “I’d better get going and pick up the princess,” Alex says, nodding at the others.

“A moment,” Benezia says, stopping him. “Before you go, follow me. I need to discuss something with you.”

“Huh?” Alex wonders. Confused, he follows her into her room.

I haven’t stepped into this room in quite a while... it was always empty before Benezia arrived here. I bought this large penthouse on purpose... I guess it came in handy. She used up some money to remodel it... I remember carrying the stuff in front of her door from time to time.

Looking around, Alex feels like he has entered a meditation room. The room is completely dark; only the light coming in through the door allows him to see anything at all.

Trying to turn on the light, Alex only touches the wall.

“Huh? Wasn’t the switch here?” he wonders.

“I removed it,” Benezia states. “The only electronic thing I keep here is the computer you bought me, as it’s required for research.”

She then opens a drawer, pulls out something Alex immediately recognizes as a matchbox, and lights a few antique oil lamps.

What kind of bullshit did she mail order? I’ve got a feeling one day this place will get torched to the ground or a bomb explodes or something.

Closing the door, despite the lamps, Alex can barely see a thing in the dim light.

“I’m worried about you... and the little one. I know you are in a hurry, but please, help me ease my worries,” Benezia finally says. “Sit down.”

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