I have agreed to Zeshion’s plan of becoming the bait to catch the enemy off-guard. However, with that part fixed, it makes me vacant for the next few days.
“What can I do…?”
The girls still had two days of training with Zeshion, while Ember was still busy with her study with Goddess Zeta. As for me, I’ve got nothing to do. Nothing to train at, since I should leave training the Flame of Regression later until I recovered enough good karma.
“Right, there’s that!”
Good karma! I can stock up on it little by little!
Looking at the clock, which was a typical grandfather clock, the time was only around three in the afternoon. With that much time, I can still earn a little bit before it gets dark.
Turning to God Zeshion, who was leaning against the sofa’s armrest with Goddess Eta using his thigh as a pillow, I shouted.
“I’m going out for a bit. I’ll try to return before it gets dark.”
Zeshion, hearing my words, turned to the clock, then my face, then frowned.
“There are spies outside, though… Are you sure? Should I come with you?”
“What? Where?”
“Outside…?”
“You think those spies can pass through the capital’s tight security now after two consecutive Demon Tamer attacks?”
“…” 𝐞𝐨𝘃𝐞𝐥.
Zeshion sighed, seemingly tired of convincing me otherwise. He just turned back to what he was doing—petting Eta’s head—and waved at me to go away with his other hand.
I guess he must have realized why I refused his accompaniment. After all, rather than me, who was given a ring that technically gives me an extra life, the girls who were unconscious right now would be in more trouble if they suddenly got attacked.
Leaving Zeshion here to guard them should be the best choice.
Of course, I didn’t go without a plan either. I took out an old mask that I haven’t used in a long time, the lion mask that I had when we were still running from the Luo pursuers before. I fitted it over my face, checked how cool I looked in the mirror, and headed out of the training room.
When I return, I’ll ask Zeshion why his energy value was similar to mine, question marks. After all, if possible, I want to know how much my current energy value is.
I went straight out of the training center, walking out in the burning sun and taking a whiff of the pollution-filled air. Well, not as polluted as a modern suburban city, I guess.
“First, let’s go where there are more people.”
My aim is to recover my good karma, after all. Doing good deeds, no matter how small, should increase it by a trace amount. It’s a time-consuming method, but definitely effective.
I went down the wide pathway and quickly found my first victim. A child, crying alone by the side of the road. I quickly crept to his side, crouched before him, and asked.
“Are you lost, kid?”
As soon as he heard my voice, the kid’s shoulders twitched. He glanced at me, then was about to return to crying, but took another glance and stared with an open mouth.
“Why, kid? First time seeing a cool lion walking around?”
I posed like a model, emphasizing my beautiful smile. However, the kid just stared at me without blinking, as if he were mesmerized. Seeing him this enamored with my mask makes me feel a bit embarrassed.
I stood up and looked around. I tried to extend my senses, sharpening my hearing, to look for anyone around who was looking for this little guy. Without much difficulty, I found his supposed mother crying for “Matthew” from about two blocks away.
I extended my hand to him, explaining.
“Come with me; let’s go to your mother.”
The kid, still staring at my face, took my hand without much thought. Is this fine, little bro? If I were a kidnapper, then you’d be heading straight to hell, you know?
Anyway, with the kid following me with every step, we went towards his mother without much problem. As soon as her mother saw him, she rushed to hug him, tears threatening to leak from the corner of her eyes.
She bowed her head many times, thanking me for bringing his son to her, before she turned around and took the boy by the hand. The boy was still glancing at my face for some reason. Was my mask really so cool that he couldn’t help but stare at it?
“Still…”
I look at the fading figure of his mother.
“… Yep. Would.”
I nodded my head firmly before turning around. It’s time to find my next victim—I mean, to find the next person to help, yep.
As they claim, the more people there are, the more problems pop up. In just an hour, I managed to catch five pickpockets, stop one kidnapping, help three more lost kids, and even manage to kill time with a beautiful cat girl who was waiting for her tamer to come.
What? The last one isn’t even a good deed? No, she was actually unable to move by herself, as her leg was injured lately and her crutch broke, so I had to touch her soft body—I mean, I had to guide her gently around to the waiting place that she and her tamer designated as their meeting spot.
By the way, she was at the 8th stage, which makes her more powerful than I am, energy-wise. As a thank you, she treated me to one cup of coffee, and I wasted a good fifteen minutes chatting with her about random things.
I left before her tamer came; after all, if it were me and I saw one of my girls chatting with a random guy at a cafe, then I’d definitely rage. Better leave early than earn unsolicited enemies.
When I checked my karma value, it was already at 10%, which was recovering faster than I could ever dream of. Was my good deed that great?
As I was walking around, looking for others in need of help, I felt the hair on my neck stand on end. This feeling was extremely familiar—it was bloodlust! I pulled the sword from my waist and slashed it behind me by instinct.
*Clang!*
As soon as I did, a small throwing knife got slapped to the side. Looking closer, the edge was covered in a green liquid, probably poison of some sort. As soon as I confirmed that it was truly an attack, I turned to the source and frowned.
‘… There are eight of them?’
There were too many for me to handle alone. Furthermore, there are a lot of civilians around me. If I drag them into our battle, then I fear that my 10% good karma will get down to zero in an instant.
I turned around almost instantly and activated Lifeblood at the lowest setting. I felt a wave of heat circulate around my body, making my limbs burst with more energy.
Even with my current speed, the eight were immediately on my tail. Daggers flew toward my back at random intervals, coming from complicated angles. I had to slow down a little to snap at the daggers and send them toward areas with no people, adding more burden to my brain, which is currently on overdrive.
“STOP!”
As we were rushing over the rooftops, a shout came from below. It was the guards trying to stop the eight behind me.
“Don’t come over here!”
I shouted almost immediately. After all, the enemy was definitely at the demigod level. They’re not someone that 7th or 8th-stage guards could handle.
Despite my warning, however, the guards still intercepted the eight hooded figures. A flash of light appeared, and every one of them turned into a mutilated corpse in an instant. Screams of horror came from all around us, initiating a panic-stricken stampede.
‘I’m dead if that hits me!’
Seeing the departed guards rolling down the roof in pieces, I started wondering about something that had slipped my mind. How is it that I’m still alive? The ones chasing me were definitely the demigod-level spies who infiltrated the kingdom.
I don’t know how they managed to slip through the tight surveillance around the capital, but they’re behind me right now, chasing me without letting me out of their sight.
After they threw another batch of knives, I observed them closely and realized that their aim was far from fatal. Only towards my limbs or to my sides most of the time.
‘These guys… They’re trying to capture me!’
I don’t really get why they wanted to do that, but this gives me a chance. After all, dodging non-fatal attacks is much easier than ones with the intent to kill in one hit.
“…”
I turned to the left, heading for a location that just popped into my mind. The eight followed me without much thought, not knowing that they were about to fall into my little trap.
“Shi—!”
However, just as I was about to reach the vicinity of the location I had in mind, another batch of demigod-level spies came from the front. There were four of them, less than the ones who were chasing me from behind.
However, there’s one difference between the two groups. The eight behind me were aiming to capture…
The four before me, weapons gleaming with the aura of death, were definitely going for the kill.