9 Past and Presen (1/2)
”Seems like this Chaos Syndicate will be more troublesome than I thought.”
Jack had finally started to better understand his situation and clear his mind to brainstorm when another mug slammed down on the table. He looked to his left and saw Rydel taking a seat.
”I like you kid, but don't get all heroic on me and take on the Chaos Syndicate just yet. Until your stronger than me, don't even think about it,” said Rydel.
”Oh, if it isn't Rydel. What good fortune we have to gain your company,” said Jezelle, poking fun at the tall, skinny man. ”I'll bite, why has the reclusive Rydel come out of hiding to speak with nobodies like us?”
”Can it Jezelle, don't play innocent with me. I'll get out of your hair in a second, so save the flirting for after I leave,” said Rydel. ”Kid, you may be low leveled for now, but with my methods, you'll be leveling up in no time. Plus, I'm curious about what you can do with such a weird class and subclass, Mr. Achievement Junkie. What's that supposed to mean, anyway?”
Jack's eyebrow twitched after hearing Rydel. Not only was he seen through by this oracle, but he felt naked before Rydel's all-knowing gaze. ”I know you're not an oracle, so how do you know all that?”
”First off, anyone with high enough authority in the association can access its stat gem and find the data it's stored of all the branch members. Second, with you being so low leveled it's so easy to see through you; like I'm looking at a child trying to hide candy behind his back,” stated Rydel emotionlessly. ”Even if you were high-leveled, my eyes can see through just about anything so get used to it.”
”Eagle eye?” asked Jack, who wasn't surprised to see Rydel gently nod his head in confirmation. Jack sighed and shrugged, ”Figures, so how much authority do you need to have to access the association's stat gem?”
”You can access the info on anyone up to five levels higher than you. Of course, you're only allowed to use the stat gem unsupervised if you're lv. 20 or higher. Otherwise, it's impossible for you to fully access it due to the item's level requirement,” answered Rydel.
”That little one you have is the lowest quality stat gem and can only store one person's information. The stat gem in that podium is a medium tier stat gem. It's higher quality and much larger so it can store up to one hundred people's stats and can power a stat analysis if it's hooked up to the right equipment.”
”Enough about your stats. Wanna try me again Rydel?” Jezelle spoke up. ”I already drank half a keg today; you can consider it a handicap. Think of it as me going easy on you, what do you say?” She was interested in hearing that Rydel had the eagle eye ability, but the rest of the conversation was too boring for her to listen in.
”No thanks. I've already underestimated you once, so that won't happen again,” Rydel quickly sidestepped the offer.
”Oh, why not? Last time you almost drank 70% of the keg, I'm sure you'd fare even better now,” taunted Jezelle.
Thinking back to his challenge, Jack was a little shocked to hear how well Rydel could handle his liquor. During his challenge earlier, after the third mug, he received a notification about a new skill for [Alcohol Resistance]. It was only lv. 0 after he unlocked it, but it still helped him almost reach the challenge's halfway point.
”I already know your type, Jezelle. I won't fall for a trick like that again. Kid make sure you're ready by noon tomorrow,” said Rydel as he got up and left without looking back.
”Now, where were we?” asked Jezelle gently, as if Rydel had never interrupted them.
Jack subtly shook his head at the femme fatale with a smirk. Seeing her decisively drive away Rydel, he wasn't sure what to think of her. He continued their previous conversation, ”I'll figure out a way to deal with the Chaos Syndicate soon enough. What are the immediate threats that we face here?”
Jezelle smiled after Jack resumed the conversation without batting an eye. ”We mainly face the threat of wild beasts and some monster settlements spread out across the country. For now, it's not too bad but if we were to face all these threats at once no one knows what would happen.”
”What about other countries? Does the Reinolt Kingdom have any enemies or allies?” asked Jack.