The deceased bodies of Gorou's unfortunate lackeys were scattered and dripping with blood over the muddy ground beneath a dilapidated building.
'Ah, what a waste of resources! These clothes and even their blood were valuable at this stage...'
"Strip them clean. Every item counts." Yoichi insisted as the inactive hands began to tidy up and took some usable garments for future use.
"Phew... That was done! What about these bodies? Should we leave them here?" After packing things, Munekatsu and the rest looked at Yoichi, who was in contemplation.
"No worries, I'll handle these dirty things. For now, try to look for information and find a promising shelter. In one hour, let's meet here. This place can be easily spotted from the infrastructure around it."
As he stated his general observation, his party nodded and went on to different paths with seriousness on the matter.
"Hmmm... This should be good enough for substantial progress in my divine ability. Let's begin!" Stretching his arms from soreness, Yoichi activated his devilish skill without any hesitation.
The drawn-out blood from its victims soon formed into a glob of sphere, materializing and sucking every last drop of blood before going to Yoichi's physique as if like a vampire.
「Goredrinker EXP +7」
「Goredrinker EXP +6」
「Goredrinker EXP +9」
「Goredrinker EXP +4」
For a while, the four lifeless bodies were ruthlessly extracted while Yoichi went pale from the overuse of his ability, feeling his mind hazy and sluggish with every step out of the way.
"RAAAHHH!" Yoichi's voice echoed across the lonely alleyway, screaming and clutching his head from the agonizing pain he felt. Faint memories and extreme desires then converged in his soul, bombarding him with negative thoughts.
Soon, he fell to his knees and violently took every gulp of air like it was his last breath, feeling the chilly sensation across his skin.
"Fucking shit! I won't recklessly abuse this ability again!"
While his condition stabilized, Yoichi cursed out loud and checked his pallid countenance.
His slightly darkened skin went a little ashen, his tattered clothes were soaked from the different fluids, and small incisions across his body were slowly healing from the earlier fight.
"... I need to change my clothing and wait for them to return."
Therefore, he went into the shade amidst the rain and took his black shirt which was tightly fitted into his own physique.
Yoichi ate the plentiful rations and sat down in the shade, constantly feeling the gloomy vibe of the atmosphere.
...
"Yoichi! Look what we've found — Wait, your clothes looked dashing! Where did you get that?"
After one hour, Genji and the rest found a good spot to live until he saw Yoichi's clothes and felt envious of such luxurious clothing.
"Exactly! We got the clothes earlier, where did you even steal that?" Haruhiko was also suspicious and envious.
On the other hand, Towa and Hikari praised his nice clothing while Munekatsu simply watched the background, constantly on patrol alert.
"... Don't change the subject. Tell me about the place." Yoichi stood up and gave his jealous friends a knowing look.
"It was near the village gates, an abandoned basement with pipelines across the room," Munekatsu responded with urgency in his voice.
"Let's go... We'll talk about the information you gathered during the stroll..."
After that, Munekatsu became the guide while the rest followed and talked about their amassed news.
...
"Oboro Kai... Kurotora-gumi... The ragtags... This is even comprehensive than I thought..."
After hearing their compiled report, Yoichi mentally noted himself and crossed his arms in introspection.
Basically, Oboro Kai and Kurotora-gumi were a yakuza group associated with the shinobi. This bunch of people were normal and not a shinobi in any sense.
Oboro Kai was an affiliated group of the nobility, their loyal dogs among the common people.
In contrast, Kurotora-gumi was an individual group with a bunch of shady businesses such as gambling, high-interest loans, and prostitution, etc.
"Perhaps there are many children who are deeply tied to these parties. These decision makes sense from a logical viewpoint after all." Yoichi whispered.
"Everyone, we are here," Munekatsu reminded.
Looking at the graffiti on the walls around them, Munekatsu opened a door that led them to a stone stairs with a dark passageway.
While each step echoed across the whole corridor, the party then stepped into the even ground and saw two huge pipelines on both edges of the room with a huge concrete space in the middle, roughly 30 square meters.
"Whoa! This place is definitely a good spot!" Hikari exclaimed. Hearing her remark, Towa and the rest nodded in like-mindedness.
Although there's no bathroom or any sort of private space, it was clearly the best place since other places might be equal to or worse than this location.
"Let's rest up and find other ways to get food tomorrow..." In his unusual attitude, Genji sat down while the rest felt hungry from the eventful situation earlier.
"No worries, I'll take some time for myself to get these foods. Just wait here." With a confident statement, Yoichi stepped out of the basement and took some staple foods such as bread, jerky, and water.
Inside the room, the others were deeply curious about Yoichi's plan before talking once more, analyzing the current state of affairs with seriousness.
Within 30 minutes, Yoichi went inside the room along with enough food for 7 days which shocked the party in disbelief and doubt.
"Yoichi, did you steal somebody's storage room or kill someone again? Where the hell did you get these?!" Genji was doubtful, putting Yoichi into a different light once more.
The others also have the same question, feeling that their friend felt unbelievably resourceful and enigmatic in each action or decision.
"Just eat them... And don't illustrate me as lowly like that, alright? I managed to find some cash from those idiots a while ago."
In his response, Yoichi found some excuse for his defense which the others didn't believe but took as the truth.
Every person has a secret so they let him be.
However, their imaginative minds couldn't help but theorize about his means and tricks, inadvertently swamped into ridiculous speculations.
Afterwards, the party ate with countless stories surrounding their own lives as a topic. Despite the poorly-lit environment that was suffocating and fear-inducing, it didn't block the cordial mood with their laughter and elation amidst the night.
Afterwards, Towa and Yoichi decided to cycle their sleeping schedule, letting someone watch the vicinity as the rest were sleeping.
"I must break through the Skin Refining Stage right now!"
At 3 am, it was Yoichi's turn to patrol while he began smearing himself including his private parts and scalp with the Blood Ganoderma Ointment.
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(Current Progress)
[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Great Success) 144/500]
[Goredrinker: 36/100]
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