Jack glanced at the valiant young swordsman now bowing before him. All bulging eyes were fixated on the two of them.
— Accept Derek as a student? —
+ New minion
+ Increased authority
+ Possibly increased Wealth
– Tensions with White Eagle something
– Efforts needed to teach him
– Rumors going wild
This sure was one complex problem with near-infinite possible ramifications. He could already picture an angry sword master coming over to complain about the disciple snatching.
Short-term benefit? Yes!
Possible catastrophe down the line? Perhaps
Long-term benefits? Only if he played his cards right…
The man on the ground didn't twitch a muscle. Never had Jack seen someone kneel with such intensity: he was oozing the resolve to bow till the end of Infinite…
"Tch— Whatever, I'll let you try out," Jack grumbled, the youngster raising his head with the purest joy there was.
"R-really?! I won't disappoint you, Master!"
"Alright, let's finish this test, shall we!" Jack thundered, bringing the spectators out of their stupors. What the heck had just happened?!
As soon as they reached the camp, they almost gave a heart attack to the militia commander. He knew his men, and he knew Derek.
"What?! You guys are following him?! WHAT?! You're his disciple now?!!" That was his reaction. It only got worse when Derek corrected him.
"No, no. I haven't earned that right just yet. I'm a prospective disciple for now, but I'll gain true disciple status for sure!!" He heroically thundered.
At this moment, the poor commander felt like the world was turning upside down. He had rejected Sir White Eagle for this?!! His face showed all kinds of hue the more he listened.
Still, as entertaining as his reactions were, Jack had official business with him.
"Sir, can we speak in private? It's urgent." He requested, the shellshocked commander agreeing instantly. He too had so many questions!
The two headed into a military tent. Jack couldn't help but give an approving nod as he spotted the noise-blocking runes. No one would eavesdrop here…
"Commander, I fear the coming days will be extremely harsh for Sprigfield. First, there's the mana renewal, then damn macabres, and now even Bloody Chains are involved…."
All the problems he had caused were perfect to "prove" his point. The more he spoke, the grimmer the commander's face became. He even grimaced at the mention of the slavers.
"We live in dark times, but the Empire will forever remain! We'll need strong men like you to help us defeat evil!" He spoke with passion.
"Exactly, commander! That's why I have a favor to ask. Please let me establish a brigade to patrol the surrounding savage lands and protect Sprigfield!"
"That's impossible. There are rules established. I cannot just allocate soldiers to—"
"I'll use the Braves, Sir! I'll convince them to help defend this great town! That's how the militia started, didn't it? Courageous men taking arms to defend their loved ones, right!"
The speechless commander gazed into Jack's eyes. At this moment, he saw a patriot ready to shed his own blood for the common good. He had to help such a pure and heroic soul!
"Alright, even as a commander my power is limited, but I'll do all I can. Recruit, no, soldier Jack, I hereby swear that we will defend this town!"
"Thank you, Sir!"
Jack shed a few manly tears of gratitude as they spoke about cooperation. The man would not break any rule for him, but he'd bend them where possible. His operations would gain legitimacy, and he'd get access to some privileged information.
Jack left the commander's tent with a huge grin.
"Master, you're back! How was the meeting? Do you need me to do anything?" Derek respectfully asked.
"Sure, wear this, with the hood. We're going on an errand." He threw him an old brown tattered cloak.
At first, Derek was confused. What was up with that outfit? Were they going to do anything secretive? Seeing his puzzlement, his master chuckled.
"Get into the habit of disappearing as often as possible. Your enemies won't ever know if you're really gone or just messing with them." Jack enlightened him.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Before long, two arrived at a newly constructed building, one that had a colorful yet dignified appearance. The whole place seemed deserted with the passerby ignoring it.
< Resplendent Silk! >
They entered the shop, seeing colorful clothes all over. There were coats, shirts, and especially many cloaks, all of it exuding the scent of wealth.
A clerk instantly came to welcome them.
"Hello, customers. Can I help—"
But Jack completely ignored the man and turned toward his new would-be disciple. "Say, what do you think of this place?"
"It looks colorful? A bit too expensive, maybe?" Derek commented as he looked at a red scarf costing 10 gold.
"Customer, I can assure you that all our products are of the highest qual—"
Jack spoke over the poor man once more, even gesturing him to remain mum.
"Their products are far too expensive for a town. Then why would they be here? Is the owner dumb? It could be a simple mistake, right?" Jack had a sly smile.
"Sir, good products naturally sell. You're free to leave." The clerk said indifferently.
"Zero advertisements, zero change to the prices, and the clerk doesn't seem too worried about the lack of customers…." Jack remarked before staring meaningfully at his student.
Derek understood that this was a test: the gaze made it obvious. He started racking his brain, trying to think like a merchant. This was so much harder than swordsmanship!
He couldn't understand what was going on! Why weren't they worried? Lacking customers was to a merchant what lacking a weapon was to a warrior! Yet they didn't care?
The clerk was even shooing them away by now. Was he simply prideful? No, this wasn't it. He really didn't give a fuck about them! That's when it finally hit him.
Jack grinned as he saw the look of realization on his student's face.
"Did you figure it out?"
"They're not real merchants! This whole place is a cover-up, right!" Derek felt this was the only option. The clerk even seemed to twitch as he heard that. He had to be right!
"Nope, they're 100% merchants." Jack chuckled, enjoying the look of horror on his student's face as he thought he had failed the test. "But you're right. This place is a cover-up."
He turned toward the clerk:
"Please tell your Boss I'm here to discuss business."
"The Boss is a very busy man. I'm afraid he doesn't have time for nobodies who—"
"Oh, but I have an invitation, you see." Jack summoned a bag from his inventory, throwing it. It wobbled in the air before landing heavily on the counter, right next to the employee.
— Thud! —
A red liquid dripped on the wood, staining it. There wasn't much of it, but the smell was very telling. The iron scent of Blood!
As the clerk glanced inside, he barely reacted. Slavers were used to gore since fear was a highly effective "taming" method.
All he did was subtly reach for a button under the counter while buying time. "Oh, I see. Well, if you have an invitation then—"
"Master, I have a bad feeling about this. I think we should leave!" Derek urged.
"Why worry so much? Shouldn't you be energetic and hopeful at your age?" Jack shrugged.
"Go go go!!!" Suddenly men came pouring out of the front and back door alike, filling the shop in a matter of seconds. They encircled them, blocking every possible exit path.
It was clear that they were all mighty warriors, none of them tailors for sure! They reeked of blood, violence, and rage, their enmity palpable.
As they invoked Bloody Chains, their true identity became clear. The atmosphere changed, from oppressive to simply unbearable. Killing intent, so much killing intent!
Even the valiant Derek turned pale. Those were not enemies they could take on. There were far too many of them!
He gripped his sword tighter, ready to carve a bloody path out or die trying. He was ready for—suddenly, he froze. What the heck was his new master doing?!
There were bad guys all over, yet Jack didn't seem to care. He started to lazily stroll in the little area they could still move in.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Eight seconds, it took you guys 8 seconds from the moment he pressed the button for you to show up. Is that really the best you can do?!" He shook his head.
They couldn't help but glance at him strangely. Was this man mad?! Actually, he was only getting started…
"You guys covered the windows and back door, but no one's covering that chimney over there. Do you know how easy it would be to escape through it?"
A few slavers unconsciously moved to guard it, with Jack giving them a small nod.
"As soon as you arrived, you instantly used your Bloody Chain ability. What's the point? Are you trying to intimidate us? Please, you guys look like a group of BDSM enthusiasts!"
"Still, all that stuff can be forgiven. After all, you guys are just doing your jobs, right? The one I'm truly disappointed in is you!" Jack pointed at the clerk.
"I literally said I'm here to do business! What's with this sausage fest?! Are you trying to make it hard for your Boss? Do you think I'm into that shit?!" He protested.
"The whole point of a panic button is to be used in time of emergency! Emergency! Are you so tired of working here? Are you trying to antagonize me so that I destroy the shop?"
The more he spoke, the more confused the slavers became. The clerk couldn't help but turn livid as he realized the implications:
1. This man perfectly knew who they were
2. He had known about the panic button and reinforcements
3. Even then, he had chosen to stay and was so damn calm!
The clerk suddenly realized that this whole situation seemed way above his pay grade. Seriously, who was this guy?!
Just as he was wondering, a hooded man sneaked in. As soon as the slavers saw him, they all kneeled.
Jack grinned. It seemed the Slaver Boss had personally come…