22 Chapter 22: Pirate (1/2)
Wilhelm stopped dead in his tracks, smiling wryly as he rubbed his empty stomach. His previous excitement had just about disappeared, and he stroked his thick beard whilst contemplating on how to procure more food. Other than the grottenburgs' and ants, there were no other edible species that resided inside of the dungeon. At the very least, no other animals that Wilhelm had yet discovered.
After deliberating for a few minutes, Wilhelm reluctantly decided to go and hunt a few ants. Unlike the grottenburgs' they weren't arduous to kill, nor were they repugnant. The main issue was flavor; Wilhelm couldn't even imagine anything tasting worse than what he had eaten that day—it still haunts him at night.
With this in mind, he used a small piece of string to attach the silver dagger to his loincloth, letting it suspend to the left side of his leg. He stashed his other rugged and cracked dagger to the right of his leg, in case of an emergency. If a dire situation arose, then he wouldn't mind using the rusted knife as a throwing device.
He then ambled toward the place where he had killed the squadron of ants in the past. If they were anything like the insects back on earth, then they surely gave off a signal when they died. On the other hand, it was also possible that they were similar to piss-ants, formulating a trail every time they moved a long distance.
Wilhelm was in no rush, so he amply prepared himself for the battle. He was still tired from fighting the group of skeletons, so he was in no position to fight a hard-won battle. In fact, he was much more inclined to assassinate a deserted ant and drag its body back to the lake before more arrived.
If everything went according to plan, then he would be able to make it back to his encampment before nightfall. If things went south, an innumerable amount of bad things could happen—the worst case scenario being death.
Thinking to here, his brows creased. What was the point of the dungeon? From everything he's done so far, it was almost as if it was tempering him. Not to mention the RPG-like system, what was the goal of the fairy? Such thoughts troubled Wilhelm as he trodded along the cavern.
…
While Wilhelm was trapped inside of the dungeon, Anna, among other humans, started to rebuild civilization the best they could. Those who unlocked stronger classes, or even secret classes, reigned at the top, while the others used their bodies or hunted for food as payment for protection. A hierarchy was formed, and many humans banded together to fend off the huge threats in the Holy Land.
In contrast to earth, where money reigned supreme, strength was the sole ruler in the Holy Land. It garnered the envy, fear, and even respect of others, establishing some form of order. Granted, there were also those that abused their power, killing other humans for experience, or forcing the weaker men to be meat shields.
Even so, many of the humans who usually followed laws and regulations were not used to unbridled freedom. These people were referred to as ”adventures,” they ventured out of the walls and hunted beasts, leveling up and becoming much more powerful than those who hid behind the barricades.
Many of them died on their endeavors, but the ones who came back were stronger than ever. Whether they achieved a secret class, or just leveled up, most of them had gain power incomprehensible to an average man or woman.
Strongholds were being built all over the place, offering protection to the weak, and supplies to the strong. Some monsters were too powerful to take down, and some were friendly—more knowledge about the world was slowly spreading.