As Alex opens the [Large Blue Chest], his eyes go from disappointment to surprise to sheer joy, all in the span of a second.

FC and three items, altogether four drops. Not too much for a large chest, but three skillbooks?! Two of them are for Rokushiki. Perfect!

“Hell yeah!” Alex yells, causing Iceburg and Benezia to briefly stare at him, the latter ignoring him and continuing with her explanation like she didn’t even hear it.

Congratulations, Soulmate. ❤️

Thanks, let’s take a closer look.

[Skillbook: Dual Sword Proficiency]

Quality: Deep Blue

Effect: Teaches the skill: “Dual Sword Proficiency”

Note: Dropped by Kaku

Dual Sword Proficiency (Level 0 Base):

Requirements: 6 STR, 6 AGI, 8 SNS + 1 per level,

Requirements: Basic Close Combat Prowess lvl 0 +1 per level, Basic Footwork lvl 0 +1 per level, Sword Proficiency(or a higher-tier sword skill) lvl 0 +1 per level.

Leveling Requirements: 1500 Fantasy Coins + 500 per level

Effects: +10% accuracy and speed when wielding dual swords of any kind + 5% per level.

Effects: 5% parry chance and damage when wielding dual swords of any kind + 1% per level.

Now this is interesting. It’s only a Deep Blue Quality skill, and the effects are rather lackluster, but they obviously stack with the standard Sword Proficiency. If you use Dual Swords, you actively benefit from two different sword skills. It takes two skill slots, but this is almost as good as my gold-ranked skill in terms of bonus, despite both of the skills just being Blue Quality.

Are there Gold-Ranked auxiliary skills for Swords? Or maybe Purple-Ranked skills? Maybe it would make sense to specialize... I’ll need to look into it, if that’s possible with my Alexandrian Royal Swordsmanship.

[Skillbook: Soru]

Quality: Deep Blue

Effect: Teaches the skill: “Soru”

Note: Dropped by Kaku

[Skillbook: Rankyaku]

Quality: Deep Blue

Effect: Teaches the skill: “Rankyaku”

Note: Dropped by Kaku

Soru (Level 0 Base):

Requirements: 10 STR, 10 SNS + 1 per level, 20 AGI + 2 per level

Requirements: Basic Close Combat Prowess lvl 0 +1 per level, Basic Footwork lvl 0 +1 per level.

Leveling Requirements: 1500 Fantasy Coins + 500 per level

Effects: Allows the user to perform a high-speed movement by repeatedly kicking the ground in a flash. This move uses up a high amount of Stamina and also requires a stable ground to perform. Higher levels decrease Stamina cost and allow for a smoother and more stable performance.

Range: 20 meters + 2 per level.

Cooldown: 20 seconds - 1 second per level.

Rankyaku (Level 0 Base):

Requirements: 15 STR, 15 AGI + 1 per level,

Requirements: Basic Close Combat Prowess lvl 0 +1 per level, Basic Footwork lvl 0 +1 per level, Basic Long-Range Combat Prowess lvl 0 +1 per level.

Leveling Requirements: 1500 Fantasy Coins + 500 per level

Effects: Allows the user to perform a high-speed kick, generating a sharp blade of compressed wind. This ability costs a high amount of Stamina.

Effects: Deals 50 Damage + 10 per level. Damage declines upon reaching the maximum effective range and completely ceases after passing the maximum range.

Effective Range of 10 meters + 2 meters per level.

Maximum Range of 30 meters + 4 meters per level.

Cooldown: 10 seconds - 0.5 seconds per level

I might as well open the Bloody Chest from earlier now. Maybe I can get some nice Barbarian skills? Though the Bloody Chests are only capable of creating a certain number of items, depending on their total wealth. To receive something truly good, I need to receive 2 worthless items, to allow the chest to pick something truly valuable. Let’s just see....

You received 7,000 FC

You received Soul Crystal (Medium)

You received Skillbook: Axe Proficiency

Not bad. A Medium Soul Crystal! That’s the real treasure! This is insane. A small stack of FC and one of his skills. It’s the most basic one I can expect from a player of that skill, but this is nice regardless. I guess the other skills were too expensive. Still, this is all fine, as long as it’s something I can turn into new resources or use myself to grow stronger, I’m satisfied. This is the same Blue Rank Skill I’ve seen for swords, spears, pistols, and shotguns. They are nothing special but effective and reliable, and I can sell them easily.

[Skillbook: Axe Proficiency]

Quality: Blue

Effect: Teaches the skill: “Axe Proficiency”

Note: Dropped by Player Andrei

Smiling wildly, Alex notices that Benezia, Tereza, still sitting on the ground, and Iceburg are all staring at him.

“Ehm... what is your opinion, ehm Mr Butcher?” Iceburg asks nervously.

“What?” Alex asks, looking around. “Sorry, I was kinda busy here... can you repeat the question?”

“I asked if it would be possible that you could just lay low and then leave once you’ve recovered?” Iceburg asks again, carefully.

“Why?” Alex asks. “Don’t tell me you’re pissed at us?”

“No...” Iceburg says. “However, I can’t expose that these four—Lucci, Kaku, Blueno, and even my own secretary, Kalifa—were agents working for the World Government. Especially a branch that does not even exist on paper. Also, everyone loved these four... it would sound extremely unbelievable and would throw the city into chaos if I were to announce the truth. It would also invite disaster not only for me, but for the entire city. The World Government could decide to make an example out of us. I simply can’t risk it. I need to protect my citizens. If I could just blame this thing on you... I know it’s a selfish wish, but I don’t see how I can save the city any other way.”

Alex sighs loudly and breathes out all the remaining air in his lungs. Then he begins to complain, “People always blame me... why am I always the bad guy, huh?”

Thinking for a second longer, looking at the pleading face of Iceburg, he continues, “well, who cares... I think that’s okay? Just blame us....”

I don’t know if I want to return ever... this mission is also almost over.

“But won’t that cause problems for us...?” Tereza asks. “If Baroq—I mean the company learns about it, we’ll be in trouble. We could even fail our mission. That would expel us immediately and would cause us to receive a very low rank. We can’t risk that.”

“I can wait a few days,” Iceburg suggests. “I’ll start an investigation and announce the results a few days later. That gives you time to recover and quietly leave. I’ll make sure that nobody will bother you.”

Benezia thinks for a moment, her expression remaining calm. “The thirty-day timer is almost up. As long as you wait for a few more days, this is a feasible option for us. The third mission gives us a real choice, and we weren’t planning to keep working for our current employer anyway, now, were we? Until then, I’ll prepare a story that will please our current employer.”

Alex sighs. “I’ve got a feeling this might bite us in the ass... but fine.”

“...” Tereza shares Alex’s worry but remains silent.

“I’ll trust you, Benezia,” Alex finally states.

“We accept your offer then, Mayor,” Benezia announces.

“I... I can’t thank you enough. Even the Franky Family is safe! This turned out to be a surprising blessing for us. The Marines' spies are gone—two of them dead—and the spies that have been living hidden in our city are gone as well... and you’ll absorb the blame... I... I am sorry that it had to come to this. I have to thank Granny Kokoro—you people are a godsend. I will never forget this favor, despite the circumstances. If you ever require help, I’m always there for you.”

[Secret Quest Completed

Mission: Protect Iceburg from any source of danger.

Reward: Soul Crystal (Large)

Time Limit: —

Failure: —]

“This is a necklace. Apparently, it’s been handed down from Mayor to Mayor. According to notes I’ve found, it’s a rare artefact, and it’s able to create a tremendous amount of Energy that can’t be replicated,” Iceburg explains, presenting a necklace with a large shining purple gem. “Please, take it as a sign of my gratitude, it’s the least I can do!”

Alex takes it, his hand slightly trembling.

You received Soul Crystal (Large)

A Large Soul Crystal is worth 5 Medium Soul Crystals... A single Medium Soul Crystal is worth 5 small ones. This one Soul Crystal is worth 25 Soul Crystals. It’s worth 500,000 FC! It’s priceless! I can’t believe it! This turned out to be the right decision after all.

“Thank you, Mayor,” Alex says. “We better hurry and get back to our hiding place. We have a few loose ends to take care of, afterwards we’ll be gone.”

“I’ll delay making a statement as long as possible, but please, leave as soon as you can,” Iceburg urges them. “I’ll walk towards the city—my employees must be searching for me already, and the Franky Family is probably informing them as well. Again... I won’t forget your kindness.”

“Goodbye,” Tereza says, stretching out her hands towards Alex, smiling. “Pick up your most treasured loot.”

That’s... pretty cringe... I'd better stay silent.

Princess Jewel is embarrassed!

Reacting to her cue, Alex gently picks her up again. Benezia, however, does not move. “Mayor. We need a way to get back into the city without drawing too much attention to ourselves. With our current condition, it will be difficult. Especially if our Captain is forced to carry one of us.”

Two! Princess Jewel is on top of Soulmate as well!

“The building on the far east of this suburb of the town has a few bulls,” Iceburg explains, pointing in a direction. “You can just take them. They are kind, and they’ll obey you without making a fuss, but as soon as you leave them alone, they’ll return.”

“Your advice is appreciated,” Benezia replies, walking towards the east.

Alex, carrying Tereza, follows after Benezia.

Just like Iceburg said, they quickly find a small herd of caged bulls and gently coax two of them outside their cage, which they break open.

They then ride the bulls back into the main city, darting around the place. As the bulls maneuver through the town, they see people with torches searching through the city.

“The Butcher! Catch the Butcher, he must be closeby!”

“Be careful, the Night Demon is nearby too. I heard she can magically appear behind you and behead you in a single second.”

“Don’t scare me, I’m already pissing myself, I hope we won’t find them!”

“Coward! The Mayor is counting on us. How dare you speak like that, you ungrateful rat?”

“Did you even see her... I’m dreaming about getting a night visit from a beauty like that. Even if I have to pay the ultimate price.”

Fuck! So many degenerates closeby. We need to hurry.

The bulls, ignoring the people, move exactly like instructed, swimming past the Galley-La workers, who, for whatever reason, are not actually paying much attention to them.

It takes a while, because almost no water-elevators are still active—just a single one—forcing Alex and the others to circle around the city to find it. However, they still manage to make it back home, trying their best to avoid any source of light they spot.

As they arrive, they quickly ride the bulls to the closest spot they can dock, their home already visible.

“We... should be safe? I hope?” Alex asks.

“Indeed,” Benezia replies. “Only the agents know our precise location. Maybe a few Galley-La workers do as well, but Iceburg will prevent them from going after us.”

“We... we really made it!” Alex says, smiling. “This was a close one.”

“Yeah... you can say that,” Tereza replies. “Carry your princess home, I’m tired!”

“As you wish...” Alex replies, lifting her up again.

The only Princess here is Princess Jewel! Imposter!

“It’s the way he carries me,” Tereza explains. “It’s called a Princess carry!”

Soulmate! The next time you have to carry Princess Jewel like that as well.

“How?!” Alex asks, sighing.

Tired, they walk back into their temporary home.

As they enter, they smell food and immediately see Menchi welcoming them, quickly presenting them with a few plates of fresh food.

“Welcome back,” she cheerfully yells, smiling widely.