Fancy Inn

After leaving his position, Ed went to check out the inns. Ed was going to stay for a while on this floor due to two reasons. First, he didn't want to leave so quickly. Although the floor was dangerous, it wasn't threatening for Ed. Out of all the people he had scanned, the strongest one was a Heavenly Establishment level 5, which Ed could kill. Second, he was planning to kill the boss, and not leave using the teleportation circle. Even if he were to take the turn immediately after Johan, he would still have to wait over a week.

He stopped by one of the more fancy inns and entered. The inn was the largest building in town and had many rooms. Each room was big, and could easily accommodate at least five people that didn't mind sharing. The big was a king-sized bed that didn't lose to the one Ed had in his room. The corridors were clean and the rooms were tidy and well kept. Ed was curious as to why such a high-class inn was inside the tower, and apparently, it makes money. Every room cost 5000 points per night, and by exchanging those points with treasures and taking them outside, they make a lot of money.

Ed bargained on the price and managed to get a 6% discount. Even more than what his haggling skill provided. He paid 4700 points and gave 300 points as a tip to one of the workers. Of course, Ed wasn't being unnecessarily nice, and the worker wasn't an idiot either. Ed wanted information, and the worker had them. The 300 points were simply to test the waters. Ed offered the man 2000 more credits to get him to spill all the beans.

"There's a group of dangerous bandits stationed outside the village. Every month they come and take points from everyone. In exchange, they help out in case of a monster horde. As for the local crime doers, you can kill them if you want they're only scrubs. But, try to avoid the bandits." The man spoke more and more about the situation of the Village. Ed wasn't interested in most of what was said, except for the first part.

Ed was curious as to why people didn't leave the village on the specific day. Apparently, the bandits work together with the Central Government. So, they have the names of everyone who is on this floor due to the exchange cards. Ed looked at the card in his hand and smiled while thinking, 'Looks like it won't be a quiet stay.'

Ed asked the man one last thing. "When is the next tribute day?"

"In five days." The man answered.

Ed gave him the promised points and left. These points didn't mean much to him since he got a plethora of them by selling useless carcasses. However, he wasn't going to give it away to bandits so easily. Ed headed to his room and summoned his companions. He told them everything that he was told and spoke about his next plans.

"We're going to kill anyone who messes with us." Ed wasn't a boy on Earth. Now, he had people he cared about and principles he believed in. Anyone who was a threat to him and his loved ones would end up dying. Seeing that he wasn't going to be able to avoid the bandits, only one solution remained.

All of his friends nodded at him in agreement. Ed made sure to create a dimension, so as not to be overheard by anyone. He also slept inside the dimension after eating. The next day, he strolled around the village looking at potential souvenirs. He wanted to use up his points somehow, so he decided to buy things he liked. A pendant caught his attention so he approached the salesman.

"You have a good eye, sir. This is a one of a kind item." He kept blabbing in, trying to convince Ed to buy it.

'One of a kind my butt.' Ed had scanned the pendant. It turns out that it's a cursed item that had a mind control effect.

"I want to see how it looks. Help me out and wear it so I can have a good look." The salesman's face went pale after hearing Ed. He knew that his plan was found out, so he could only beg for his life. Ed ended getting items at half price from him. He bought some jewels and rings for his family, and the total came to less than 20.000 points. Satisfied, Ed left the now crying salesman.

Ed spent the next couple of days hunting outside the village. He managed to level up, but only once. However, he was able to gather many Gacha tickets. He now had twenty, the largest amount he ever had at once. The system was going to come back anytime now so Ed was at his maximum anticipation. He was similar to a child who knew his father was going to give him a treat, so he couldn't wait until his father got home. Ed entered the Village but didn't head to the exchange booths. Even after these days, he still didn't burn through his point stock.

Ed noticed a commotion so he went to see what was wrong. One of the bandits came to let them know that the tribute was happening tomorrow, earlier than scheduled. Ed didn't care about these things, and instead tailed the bandit as he was going back. After walking for almost an hour, they finally reached the bandits' hideout. It was an underground base under a hill. The entrance was almost impossible to spot. Ed was using Zetsu to hide his presence all the time while tailing the bandit. But now he used Zero Sign and followed after him inside without forgetting to leave a teleportation wood piece.

The inside of the base was much larger than he thought. The numbers of the bandits exceeded 100, while slaves added to their numbers. The boss looking man was sitting on a throne-like seat with a couple of collared women sitting down on the floor next to him. He was telling the bandit members some things like 'we're the best' and 'no one can oppose us'. Ed didn't waste time and instead scanned them all. The strongest one was the leader at Heavenly Establishment level 6, while the rest were spread out at level 2-4. Ed also checked out their weapons and armor.

Ed had the thought of killing the leader now before his time with Zero Sign was up. However, he was startled by a sudden sound.

[I'm back.]