After arranging for the vagrants to pass along the message, Roy and the elven girl did not linger and headed back.
On the way, the elven girl could not suppress her curiosity. "What did you do to them?"
Roy replied calmly, "Nothing much. When I first came to Orario, I ate a bowl of jelly. They insisted I ate two bowls. So I had no choice but to pluck out their eyeballs and swallow them, letting them see for themselves whether I had eaten one bowl or two."
"…" The elven girl understood. It was a story of bandits running into an even worse bully.
Having been thoroughly dealt with once by Roy, the vagrants were left with deep psychological scars. They did not dare deceive him at all, especially with a reward involved.
These vagrants, like the adventurers of the Dark Faction, lived at the very bottom of Orario. They usually hid in dark corners and made a living by scamming others.
Naturally, they had channels to contact people from the Rudra Familia.
The news quickly reached the ears of Rudra, the familia's main god.
He was a man whose appearance and attire carried a strong Indian style, his entire body emitting a faint divine aura that made it clear he was a god. Upon hearing that the goddess of justice, Astraea, had invited him to meet, the god Rudra burst into laughter, slapping the table.
As a god from the eastern regions, many of his followers also came from India. Having learned some history of a neighboring great nation, the familia captain was among them. The middle-aged man showed a wary expression. "Xiang Yu invites Liu Bang to a banquet!"
(T/L: "Xiang Yu invited Liu Bang to a banquet" = idiom 鸿门宴 (Hongmen Banquet)
Meaning: a banquet that appears peaceful, but is actually a trap to kill the guest)
Many familia members spoke up to dissuade him. They suspected this was a trap—luring them out and then using the bounty to wipe them out in one sweep!
In fact, when Ryuu issued the declaration for a "War Game," Rudra had nearly agreed on the spot, finding the whole thing amusing.
It was only due to the strong opposition of his familia members that he was barely stopped. After all, the Ganesha Familia, which had excellent relations with the Astraea Familia, was watching them closely.
How could they not get involved?
Were they supposed to fight an S-rank Ganesha Familia with their heads?
But this time, Rudra had already made up his mind. He asked in return, "So what did Liu Bang do afterward?"
"He… became emperor," the familia captain said after a brief pause, uncertainty in his voice. "Then… shall we attend the banquet?"
Orario, Daedalus Street.
This was a complex area where the city's impoverished residents gathered. The terrain was like a maze, and it was said that once you entered carelessly, you would never get out.
Inside an unremarkable tavern.
The god Rudra entered with two guards. At a glance, he saw the cloaked Astraea, hiding her identity, and behind her, an elven girl with a small, tense face filled with hatred and killing intent.
Ryuu clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms. Blood dripped down without her even noticing. That was the culprit—the main god who had founded the Rudra Familia!
Rudra, on the other hand, stared at the elven girl with great interest. "If you could keep that expression, I'd be very happy to let you join my familia."
Ryuu's face twisted as she nearly drew her sword.
"Ahem!"
The goddess Astraea's expression turned unpleasant.
Rudra's attention returned to Astraea, and he said with amused surprise, "I didn't expect I'd still get the chance to meet the goddess of justice."
As a cruel and merciless evil god in Indian mythology, Rudra was naturally opposed to justice.
"God Rudra, let's skip the nonsense. Start the War Game and settle this karma once and for all," Astraea said coldly, giving him no pleasant expression.
"I have no objections."
Rudra chuckled. Since he had come, it meant he had already decided to proceed with the War Game.
"Then the rules of the War Game are…" Astraea's lips moved, her voice so soft it was barely audible, yet it clearly reached the ears of the god Rudra and everyone else present.
The people in the tavern widened their eyes in shock.
Rudra's body trembled slightly. An unprecedented light bloomed in his eyes—excited and fanatical.
…
While Ryuu protected the goddess Astraea during the meeting with Rudra, Roy seized the time to enter a dungeon alone.
For the upcoming War Game, every second had to be turned into nourishment for growth.
Dungeon: Highschool of the Dead
Difficulty: LV.1–LV.2
Description: Over ninety percent of the world's human population has turned into zombies, plunging the world into chaotic disorder.
Main Quest: For every ten zombies killed, gain 1 attribute point. Upon reaching one thousand kills, a special reward is triggered—Potion Chest (contains at least one high-grade potion).
Extra Quest: Save the world…
Since he had not brought along an LV.4 heavy hitter, Roy honestly returned to a dungeon within his capabilities.
However, when he saw the dungeon rewards, Roy almost thought he was seeing things. What kind of nonsense was this—1 attribute point? Was this charity?
He quickly realized the reason.
He had grown stronger.
As his strength increased, the rewards of different dungeons would also change.
The zombies in this dungeon were at most on the same level as goblins. With his current stats, clearing through them was not difficult, so naturally the rewards would not be generous.
If this were back when he had just received his blessing, the reward would probably have been 1 attribute point per zombie.
Roy did not complain. If he were willing to gamble with his life, there were dungeons with much higher rewards.
[Fate/Zero Dungeon: Hunt Matou Zouken — Reward: 4000 attribute points, Silver Chest]
[Naruto Dungeon: Hunt Orochimaru — Reward: 10000 attribute points, Gold Chest]
…
Roy coveted the rewards of these dungeon worlds but did not dare enter them. The chance of being killed in return was far too high.
Island Nation, Fujimi City.
When Roy opened his eyes, he found himself standing on the rooftop of a building. From this high vantage point, the classic scenery of the island nation came into view—clear skies, gentle winds, comfortable and pleasant. But the situation below was far from harmonious.
The streets were filled with zombie-like walking corpses, with shriveled skin and lifeless eyes. At a glance, there were at least a hundred of them.
Roy frowned. All fear came from insufficient firepower. If he had heavy weapons, not to mention a thousand zombies—even ten thousand—he was confident he could slaughter them all!
But before that…
Roy carefully made his way down. The zombies in this world were attracted by sound, and with his SS-rank Agility, moving silently was effortless.
He entered a convenience store at the intersection. The staff had long since turned into zombies, and Roy enjoyed a round of zero-cost shopping.
Opening the refrigerator, he took out a chilled bottle of soda. Suppressing his excitement, Roy held it with both hands as if it were the most precious thing in the world.
Fifteen years! Fifteen years without soda! Did anyone know how he had lived through those fifteen years?
Roy popped open the can. The fizzing bubbles and the familiar, faint fragrance sent a shock through his mind. Unable to hold back any longer, he took a big gulp.
The soda slid down his throat, the刺激 sensation shooting straight to the top of his head. Roy almost cried out in pleasure.
Moments later, the sensation faded.
With a look of reluctance on his face, Roy took a second sip. Then he tossed away the now-useless soda can—tasteless to drink, yet a pity to discard.
A two-and-a-half-yuan soda: the first sip was worth two yuan, the second sip worth forty-eight cents, and the remaining ten cents wasn't worth anything at all.