Second World

”Whatʼs wrong?” Samantha asked.

Jack didnʼt reply. He opened his map system. He had traveled through large parts of the warehouse, so the warehouse layout could be seen on his map. He then compared it to the red dot positions on his radar. Fortunately, none of the dots seemed to be heading for the basement.

However, they were spread out all over the warehouse that if he wanted to exit, he would most likely stumble upon one of them. Based on his memory, the exit was either from the front door, back door, or windows where he went in before. But those windows were only at the opposite sections of the warehouse. At the wall this side of the section where these stairs came up onto, there were no windows.

”Mister Storm Wind, whatʼs wrong?” Samantha repeated her question.

”The cult people were having a communion before, but now they have gone back to their patrol,” Jack told them the truth about the situation. ”We need to sneak through them. It will not be easy. You two need to follow my every lead.”

Samantha nodded her approval. Jack glanced at Gilbert who gave his silent nod.

”Ok, stay close to me, and donʼt make any noise!” Jack said as he climbed up the stairs. From the comparison between his map and radar, he had found out that after the communion dispersed, it was the main hall which was now empty of the cultʼs presence. The Main hall had an opening to both sections of the warehouse. He could use it to cross over to the rooms which had the open windows.

When he almost reached the top of the stairs, he gave a signal for the other two behind him to stop. They leaned on the wall of the staircase as they kept complete silence. He had seen in his radar two dots were coming near their position. He stayed in his place in patience as he waited for the two dots to pass by. His heart leaped when the dots stopped near the opening to the stairs. He heard a voice from where he was hiding.

”Hey, want to go check on that old man?”

Another voice came after, ”what for? Our shift will come next, letʼs go have some refreshment first.”

”Okay,” the first voice agreed, and then the sound of their footsteps getting farther as Jack exhaled a relief breath.

He waited until the red dots were a distance away, then checked to make sure no others were in their vicinity before he signaled for the two to continue. He brought them into the alleyway where the entrance to the main hall was. After making sure again the hall was empty, he led them inside.

The hall was a simple rectangular room with several benches facing towards a stage with an altar. It was the common setup for a religious space. The altar was rather wide, allowing three people to hide behind it. Hence, he took his entourages to hide there while he reobserved his radar to determine the correct timing to make the cross.

As he hid behind the altar, his God-eye monocle made a beep and highlighted something underneath the altar. The monocle marked it with a silver glow. He examined the place and found a small partition underneath the altar that could be opened. He removed the partition and it exposed a small compartment. Inside it was a pot-like object.

”Thatʼs…!” He could hear Penielʼs surprised voice. ”I must say, the Goddess Blessing didnʼt get wasted. Your luck stat had shown its effect.”

ʼIs it something impressive?ʼ Jack said as he took it out.

When Gilbert saw the object, his eyes went wide. He seemed to also know this object. Samantha however, only showed a confused expression.

”Whatʼs that?” She asked.

To find out, Jack used his God-eye monocle to inspect the pot.

Container of Souls (Unique Artifact)

Collect souls of slain people or monsters

Uses 1,000 souls to increase userʼs 1 basic skill level

Uses 10,000 souls to increase userʼs 1 advanced skill level

Uses 100,000 souls to increase userʼs 1 elite skill level

Needs to be linked with user before the container can start collecting souls.

Souls collected: 0

After reading the itemʼs description, Jack had to agree with Peniel. This was damn good luck. He had gotten his hands on two Unique artifacts in just the span of a day, while everybody was still struggling to find rare items.

Though this item would not increase his strength immediately, it would provide tremendous help in the long run. He would not just rely on level up to increase the power of his skills. He just needed to collect these so-called souls.

ʼSo, I will get souls from any monsters or NPC I kill now?ʼ Jack asked Peniel in his mind.

”After you linked with it, then yes. Iʼm not sure, but I think other Outworlders you kill will also provide souls,” Peniel answered. ”But I suggest you donʼt proceed with the linking now, it will take some time. You are not in a situation that allows it at the moment.”

Jack remembered when he made the link with Second Soul Remnant, that time it also took quite some time to complete the process. So he stored the Container in his storage bag for the moment. Gilbert seemed to want to say something when he saw the object disappeared into Jackʼs inventory. His face showed a complicated expression. He then said, ”the Cult folks are gonna flip on their pants once they find out that thing is gone. Not that I sympathize with them though.”

Jack shrugged. ”They should have stored it more carefully then,” he said.

After the boon, Jack returned his attention to his radar. When he saw the red dotsʼ positioning, his heart sank. It seemed like he had used up his luck when he found that Container of Souls. The parts of the warehouse which had windows on its side, now had a large part of red dots gathering outside of it. If Jack and the others went out those windows, they would immediately be spotted. Their path of escape now only left the front or back door. Fortunately, with those red dots gathering outside, the remaining that roamed inside the warehouse were largely reduced.

After reviewing his radar, he chose the back door. There was only one red dot in the alleyway before the back door and then another one outside, after the back door but before the fence gate. He might not be able to kill those two red dots before they warned the others, but he could force his way if he only had to go through two hostiles, then escaped through the small door near the fence gate where he had entered from before.

With the plan in mind, Jack informed the other two. Gilbert seemed to wear an inquisitive look as to how Jack knew about the cultsʼ positioning, but he didnʼt utter any word. Samantha meanwhile, was just glad they had a plan to escape. With everyone clear on the plan, Jack took them out of the main hall as they proceeded towards the warehouseʼs back door. They stopped right before the turn which will bring them to the back door. The sole red dot was still roaming around there.

Jack watched his radar and waited until the dot came near the turn they were at. The idea was to catch him off guard and leave him stunned before they ran through the back door, and then Jack would hold the other lone cultist outside long enough for Gilbert and Samantha to run for the small door beside the fence gate.

They could hear a humming as the lone cultist came near the turn. Jack gave the signal and he rushed out. The cultist who was humming in a leisurely walk, was shocked at being jumped. He was sent flying by Jackʼs Power Strike and crashed on the wall with a loud bang. The sound must have alerted the other cultist outside. No matter, Jack thought, as long as there were not too many enemies on guard outside, he could still manage the escape.

The cultist who had been sent crashing to the wall was still dazed on the floor as Jack and the others were making their way to the back door. He pushed the door hard, no longer bothered with stealth, and dashed out as the door open. He readied his sword to attack the lone cultist outside and keep him occupied until Gilbert and Samantha made their escape. But when he saw the enemy, his feet skidded to a stop.

The one who stood before him was the level 25 Priest of Phobos.

😉