27 Blackmail

The moment he had chosen to leave the forest, Frederick was instantly sent to the dark space. Monitoring multiple windows, he had a bright and genuine smile on his face.

<Congratulations for completing the side story "Labyrinth of Dyrroth">

<2 random additional stats have been granted in mind (+1), dexterity (+1)>

<Congratulations 2 on reaching level 6. Please assign your free points to a stat>

- Constitution + ( 14 -> 15)

- Mind + ( 14 -> 15)

- Perception +( 13 -> 14)

- Dexterity + ( 15-> 16)

Indeed, he had chosen 2 additional stats as his reward. It was quite a risk since it was random but he believed it was better than a lootbox or resources. The main reason was that stats didn't increase the difficulty of his side stories. Despite having increased his base stats, he noticed that he was still sent into Dyrroth meaning that only levels and authorities influence the world he will be sent in.

Moreover, Frederick was not in dire need of another item. Increasing his stats was a priority to maximize his current abilities. Although a blue loot box was tempting as it was even more precious than a green loot box, he believed that rather than acquiring more and not being able to use them fully because of his low stats, he would rather focus on his present capabilities.

He did not even think of getting resources as his reward. What was the point of having resources if he didn't have the strength to protect it? That would be an unnecessary burden to him. Besides, what could be the point of having mountains of resources? Helping the construction of the city? Feed other candidates? That would be stupid.

Now turning his head to the level-up window, Frederick did not hesitate and directly increased his mind, reaching now 17 mind attributes. The feeling of increasing his mental stat was extremely addictive. He felt like he was growing stronger each time he increased his mind.

After choosing his rewards and allocating his stats, Frederick was directly sent back into the hub world with familiar yet foreign blue window screens floating in front of him. 

<Welcome to the Main Hub World !>

Frederick has seen this screen so many times before. He couldn't even count how many times he saw that message. Yet... This time, it was not because he failed and restarted but because he had finally won. He had finally escaped the never-ending cycle of death.

The moment he appeared, he was in a hall where a green cube with intricated patterns floated in the middle of the room. What surprised him a little was the size of the room. Somehow, the room was even bigger and more imposing compared to the last time he saw it 3 months ago. It had now a majestic presence, unlike the previous time when it seemed just like an empty room.

Looking around, he found that multiple guards were staring at him. A few even looked slightly anxious with their hands on their guns. The reason behind that was pretty obvious. Since they stayed here instead of actively hunting or training as Frederick did, their level and stats started to lag and it seemed like they were starting to feel the difference between stats.

Although they still could kill Frederick without him being able to defend himself thanks to their modern rifle, it was only a question of time before firearms became ineffective. Well perhaps weapons using technology even more advanced than Earth's would still work but it was another story.

Frederick paid them no attention and directly started to walk away from the fancy hall, which was still filled with people moving around crates when he heard the voice of what seemed like the leader of the guards.

"Hey you, where do you think you are going? You did not register what you obtained and paid the 60% fee yet. Don't think you can just go away like that."

"I already paid 3 authorities when I entered," said Frederick with an innocent smile. 

The man frowned upon hearing his words. Indeed, he had completely forgotten that Frederick paid two authorities to enter this place. The guy in front of him seemed too weak to be worth something anyway.

"Humph, that doesn't mean that you can walk away without registering what you obtained and which realm you went to, that's for the safety of everyone. Even if you failed your story, we still have to check." He said as he pointed his rifle at Frederick.

'Safety... What a nice way to say that they want to see what the candidate obtained so they can steal it. It wouldn't be the first time they do this kind of thing.' Frederick thought to himself. 

Seeing their chief point his gun at Frederick, the rest of the guards quickly followed him and prepared their weapons, ready to fire. Frederick didn't seem to care about their weapons. "Oh, I almost forgot. I also have an extra for your good service," said Frederick as he slowly approached the chief guard who was on his guard. 

However, when Frederick was close enough, instead of giving something, he slowly said something only the chief heard. The moment Frederick uttered those words, the guard's leader's expression drastically changed to shock.

"...How do you know that... You ...don't have proofs..." he asked with a grave tone and trembling body.

Frederick did not bother and calmly continued. The more he talked, the more the man became horrified. After Frederick stopped speaking, the man paused a long moment and said "I ... I see. So you failed your side story and did not obtain anything right? You can go." 

"Thank you, good sir," Frederick said as he bowed respectfully to the man. The other guards who saw this were astonished. This guy seemed to be just another candidate but how did he scare the chief to this point? What did he tell him?

Seeing that Frederick was already leaving, the chief regained his composure and said to his men. "Everyone, forget what you have seen, this was just a misunderstanding. This man is a ... harmless person."

"But chief ... That's..." one of the guards wanted to say something but he was quickly cut off.

"Shut it. Tonight's drinks are on me."

Although curious but seeing their chief being so generous, other guards simply shrugged it off and acted as if nothing happened.

Frederick was not stupid. During two years of endless attempts in Dyrroth, he had made multiple preparations for the moment he succeded Dyrroth. In two years of hard work, he gathered a lot of information and learned about a lot of people in this place. And among them, the chief was one of those who had the most secrets to hide.

After stalking him to obtain information, he learned that this guy was attracted to young boys. He was even so daring that he had his fun with some of them during his shifts. In exchange for their silence, he would give them some good food and clothes. However, that was not his most intimate secret.

This was a world that was way more cruel than Earth. Most people will not interfere in something they have nothing to do with since their lives could be endangered if they messed with someone they shouldn't have. So the chief believed he was untouchable since his role was really important. Unfortunately for him, one of his victims was someone he shouldn't have touched; One of the sons of the city's mayor. 

When the man learned about the identity of the boy, he had no choice but to "get rid of all evidence" and ultimately decided to bury the boy's body in a random place a few hours from the city. It would have been the best thing to do in this situation but the fact that he did not dispose of the body properly was a huge mistake.

The corpse was eventually found by a scout using a tracking authority. This led to a massive search in the city for the culprit. However, the search was postponed indefinitely and never resumed because of the lack of clues.

When Frederick found this weakness, he didn't think about it twice and directly used this information to blackmail this guy. Even if Frederick had no concrete proof, this was enough for the chief to believe that he had a way to prove what he said. Even if the man wanted to get rid of Frederick, It was not possible inside the city's limits as it would lead to an investigation, which was exactly what the chief wanted to avoid.

However, Frederick did not push the man into a corner since it would not give any benefits and would even harm both of them. Instead, he made a deal with him. In exchange for Frederick's silence, he just had to "forget" to verify what Frederick would obtain in side stories; that was all.

Except for resources that would land in this hall, there was no way for the city to verify what a candidate obtained inside stories. As long as Frederick did not openly show what he obtained in front of everyone, the city had no way to know.

After making sure that the guards wouldn't try to shoot him, Frederick went out of the fancy hall and exited the castle-like building. The moment he stepped out, he was greeted by the bustling city that looked even more crowded than the last time he saw it.

He was a bit surprised. The development speed of this place was extremely fast. Although it was not impressive compared to a big city on Earth, it was still astonishing that such a big city could be built in such a short amount of time. Glancing around, there were now multiple tall buildings, most of them being 2 to 3 stories high. The streets were even more crowded than the last time he was here.

In the center of the city, there was now even a fountain that had been built. The fountain was made of a mix of stone and iron with multiple decorations. It was not big but the presence of such a thing could only mean that they had running water.

Even the wall around the city was now almost finished with no holes. Although it was a still patchwork of multiple materials obtained from side stories, it somehow looked extremely sturdy.

There were a lot more of them than the last time he was here. Some seemed to be even wearing expensive-looking clothes while others were still in rags. It was a mixed crowd of people who had already established themselves in this new world and those who were still struggling to adapt.

 Even though the candidates were now equipped with various weapons, the city was surprisingly peaceful. The reason behind this was that if two candidates used authorities they would immediately be detected. Even Frederick was not an exception to this rule. If he used his authority to attack someone, he would be immediately caught and captured by the guards. It was also why the city's development speed was so fast, as this environment allowed most of the candidates to feel safe.

Walking around, he was welcomed by many shops and stands selling food and daily necessities. However, unlike on Earth, most items sold were not only food or clothes but also weapons. Most of the weapons were primitive, mostly swords, axes, and bows however they were not the average item as even the most basic sold items were authority relics meaning that they were products of an authority influence and thus had some magical effects. Although firearms existed, they were a rare commodity, so there were not that many stores selling them.

Yet he quickly noticed that the most popular store was not a weapons or food shop but a ... potion shop.