Parallel (A Virtual Gamer's Story) [Vol.1 - Vol.4 Complete]

Chapter 30: Bonds

12:03 a.m. 17th Peniel 1091.

Bang!

"Ow!" Kashi cried out in pain as he regained consciousness. He massaged his sore temple and pushed off the rusted cell gate that had broken loose and crashed on him as a result of the earthquake. As the daeben got to his feet, only one thought ran through his head. 'If I had come a little later, I might have lost the opportunity to rescue those vixens. Lady Luck has not completely abandoned me yet.'

Kashi used the dim moonlight streaming into the cells to search for something on the floor. Clink! The daeben grinned when his fingers clamped around a set of keys. The captain's room had been empty except for his armor, and there was nothing of value in the smelly fish room. Thus, the daeben surmised there could only be one more place bandits like those would stash their loot.

Kashi inspected each cell closely, searching for trap doors or false walls, but he was mortified to find that they were all empty. 'What kind of bandit has no loot?!'

Frustrated, Kashi turned to leave, but fortunately, halfway to the stairs, he stumbled over a catch on the floor. The daeben swore as he stood up and checked to see what had tripped him up. The lighting was poor, so the daeben resigned to feeling the ground with his hands. Kashi's initial search turned up nothing, and he would have left if he did not recall something seemingly redundant.

[Dark Eyes]. This was a skill which, for a little MP, would significantly improve his sight in the dark when activated. Kashi smacked his forehead for his forgetfulness and enabled the skill, pleased when his surroundings became just a tad bit brighter. He successfully made out a latch on the floor buried beneath some fish bones and grabbed it in excitement. He yanked the trapdoor open with the vigor of a ten-year-old, and his eyes glowed as he spotted a set of stairs leading to an even lower floor.

A small part of Kashi's mind wondered why fishermen would need a secret base such as this, but the majority rejoiced over the potential loot stashed away. An iron door blocked the way at the landing, but after a few tries with the captain's keys, the door opened before him to reveal a room lit up by several torches hanging from the walls.

Kashi's lips curled upward, revealing a toothy grin as he gazed upon the chests of gold, armor, weapons, and precious stones neatly piled away, alongside several parchments and other precious materials. Though every cell in his body wanted to claim it all for himself, he had two things going against him. A little part of his brain was shouting a different course of action, and even if he chose to ignore it, he could not possibly fit everything into his inventory.

Live No Evil used the 'physical loot' system. This meant that monster drops and items did not appear on screen like other games. Their full forms were actually right in front of you. The Summoned could shrink these items and place them in their inventory, but their individual Strength and inventory size determined what, and how much, they could carry.

Luckily, the game also had the Carry system. As its name implied, if a Summoned's inventory was full, they could still carry the rest of the items in their hands, a bag, on a cart, or through any other feasible method. Yet, even with all of these options, Kashi would never have been able to carry everything. So, to start with, he went to the piles of gold. Money had no weight, and a Summoned could hold as much as they wanted.

Kashi put his hand over the pile, and the system promptly informed him that the total sum of coin present was 50,000 Syros. "Holy barracuda's balls," Kashi exclaimed as he looked at the vast wealth that lay before him. He could have chosen to take it all for himself, but his conscience kept banging on about the bigger picture. "Okay, okay! I'll listen this one time."