Chapter 955 Ranked Items
Whisker knew the routes to get to the entrance points of the tower. The two had to visit several before they managed to find Peter reenacting his previous schemes, deceiving new challengers to do different quests, only to fail them.
"The trick no one knows is that you can reject quests," said Whisker as the two eyed their target. "Unless the tower restricts you like the events we encountered, quests are rejectable. Most people a.s.sume they are forced to do them or that Peter is a good person."
"I sensed no ill will when he gave me the quest," muttered Arthur with a frown as he saw the old man limp around the temple. "I used to take pride in my insight into people. Now I"m not so sure."
"The tower suppresses a lot of instincts and strengths to ensure that a fair challenge is presented to everyone. It"s no surprise that your instincts are dulled inside the tower."
Arthur found the logic sound because he depended on his acute ability to sense existences to judge people. Thus, that was suppressed alongside the rest of his main abilities.
"There are exceptions to that," said Arthur with a smile. Whisker snickered before the two saw Peter send the challenger on his way. "Time to intervene."
Arthur and the cat jumped and landed beside the confused challenger, a young woman no older than eighteen. She had sharp features that seemed to suspect them even though she had yet to say a thing.
"Be careful on that quest," said Arthur to the woman. "Peter has orchestrated some people to ambush you. The quest might be legitimate, but he ensured you can never finish it."
"…then how do I refuse?" asked the woman with a frown, her eyes shifting from one to the other. "It says that I will be punished if I fail."
"You have to finish the quests since you accepted them, but make sure to wait for a bit before you do. Hide when you get to the location and monitor the situation," advised Whisker before nodding at Arthur.
They left the woman and entered the temple to find Peter inside, writing a letter. It might be he was writing the instructions for the ambushers or just a report to Vesper, who supervised him. As he raised his eyes toward the incoming guests, his face became joyful.
"Brave one!" said Peter with glee as he rushed forward. "I heard about the unfortunate incident that happened yesterday. It seems that you managed to fight off those vile men!"
"Save the act, dirtbag," said Whisker as he revealed his gauntlets, making the man pale and retreat. "We know you allied yourself with Vesper to trick new challengers into accepting fake quests."
"Who are you, sir? What evidence do you have to accuse me of such a thing?" asked Peter with fright as he retreated several steps. "I just wanted to help that old woman, but those mobsters caught wind of your arrival!"
"We know about the medal," said Arthur with a smile. "We are interested in telling Vesper what we know. This can be a gift of goodwill between us that could erase the bad blood. However, it might also erase your alliance with him if he knew the medal could be transferred."
"…how did you…?" muttered Peter with trembling lips as he stared at the two. "Who are you two? That is a lie that no one is going to believe! If you don"t leave now, I will summon the good men who appreciate my quests!"
"Save the c.r.a.p, old man, or your little secret will be out. Even if he doesn"t believe us, Vesper will never waste such a prospect. Furthermore, we have yet to say what the medal is, but you never bothered to ask."
Hearing the feline rebuke and expose him, Peter grew pale. However, the next second, his ring shimmered as it exploded with blue fire that exploded toward them. His laughs accompanied the roaring flames as he revealed his true colors.
"Turn to ashes, b.a.s.t.a.r.ds! This fire will prevent you from returning for a month!" roared Peter as he limped away from them. The fire filled the temple, threatening to burn them. However, black lightning crackled, and the fire disappeared.
As the heat and light disappeared, Peter turned around with confusion to see the two unharmed. He looked at his ring, which was still shimmering and tried to activate it again, spilling out a smaller fire.
Arthur walked forward, covered with black lightning that diffused the fire. He reached his hand toward the ring, s.n.a.t.c.hing it from within the flames before deactivating it.
[Blue Ring of Flames]
[Rank: A]
[A magical item that releases ancient fire, burning enemies to ashes. Prevents resurrection for at least a month. It needs a day to be used again, and another usage will consume mana.]
"This is interesting," muttered Arthur as he stared at the ring and its fading light. "I never knew items had ranks inside this tower. A Rank A item should be worth quite a bit, right?"
"At least tens of golds," said Whisker as he raised a brow at Peter. "Have you obtained this from the good donations of the sick, dear priest? Are you going to deny the obvious any further? My friend here is reckless and might sever your head in his next attack."
"I will do anything!" shouted Peter as he fell to the ground, kneeling and prostrating himself to beg. "I did what I had to survive but never intended to hurt anyone! I prayed for every challenger to overcome this vicious warlord!"
Arthur gazed down toward him, watching the man crumble in tears. However, the next moment, he jumped toward him, using a small dagger that shot toward him like an arrow. The dagger elongated as a snake head appeared on its tip, trying to bite into Arthur.
Clang!
A resonant metallic sound echoed as Whisker appeared before Arthur, s.n.a.t.c.hing the dagger with his gauntlets. He sent it flying before bouncing toward Peter and grabbing him by the throat.
Bam!
The feline slammed the priest to the ground, placing his sharp claws at his neck. Peter was dizzy, unable to understand what had happened or how because of how fast Whisker moved.
Cling!
The dagger fell to the ground behind them. Arthur was still standing in place, not that he was caught off guard, but he knew the feline race would protect him from any sneak attacks. Even if he did not, Arthur could still save himself.
"Enough games, priest. Life or death, you can choose. Your next words should be chosen very carefully. If we don"t like them, you will die, and Vesper will turn your life into a living h.e.l.l."
Arthur was slightly surprised to see Whisker turn so aggressive, but he understood that such a lowlife needed such treatment. Peter was still processing what had happened as Arthur walked to pick up the sword.
[Snake Sword]
[Rank: C]
[A magical sword that can change form and poison enemies. It is bound to the challenger Priest Peter.]
"A befitting weapon for a man of your character, Peter," said Arthur with a shake of his head as he turned toward him. "I changed my mind, Whisker. Let us kill this b.a.s.t.a.r.d right here and expose his lies."
"No! Wait!" shouted Peter as he snapped out of his daze. "I will cooperate, please! Just don"t tell Vesper about the medal! My life inside the tower will be ruined forever!"
"As if we care about your pathetic life," said Whisker as he dug his claws into his neck, making the man squirm in pain. "Tell us everything we need to know about Vesper, including his weakness and men, or you die."
"I will say anything… Just please release me," said Peter with a hoa.r.s.e voice as his windpipe was almost crushed. "I will give you everything I have, too…"
"One wrong move and I will kill you," said Whisker as he slowly began to release the old man, allowing him to breathe again. Blood pooled on the ground, but the feline ensured he did not strike any major vessels.
Arthur was amazed at such precision, leading him to believe that this giant feline creature was well-versed in the arts of killing. Whisker licked the blood off his gauntlets, making Peter even more scared and less willing to do anything unusual.
As the priest surrendered to them, knowing that whatever he tried would be futile, he began to spill the beans. This included everything the two needed to know about Vesper and his men, their plans, and their goals.
After the information part was over, Whisker began to milk Peter dry. This included taking his items, food, or coins. Whenever Peter said he had nothing more, Whisker would say he was still unsatisfied and almost killed the old man. This tactic proved effective, as the feline knew how to make him feel the pain but never die and disappear.