Choices

Kane heaved a sigh of relief he would not have been convinced of the city's ability to defend itself if it only relied on Philimon and Juwayn as the only knight realm powerhouse available.

It would be safe to assume that additional beast knights will also join the beast tide during their one-month preparation period.

"The beast knights' presence in the beast tide is a problem that can be easily resolved. The main problem is the beast tide itself.

The longer they delay, the higher their numbers become. In light of this fact, the governor has decided to make judicious use of the city's stockpile of contribution points to acquire brand new, heavy weaponry that deals area of effect damage and upgrade those already available.

The city's shields and defensive structures will also be upgraded and extras would be acquired and installed.

This would consequently mean that contribution points expenditure on areas not related to the city's defense would be drastically reduced if not entirely cut off.

This brings me to the first choice you will have to make".

Juwayn paused for a moment before he spoke again "because of how frugal Philimon is going to be with contribution points, depending on the price of new pocket dimensions on sale, he is planning on buying one that is either graded E or one graded D if the price is low enough.

This is just to maintain appearances, if not, Philimon would not even bother purchasing any.

Another reason low-level pocket dimensions would be purchased is that a pioneer team comprised of low-level individuals will be selected to raid the pocket dimension. This decision was made with the mindset that the beasts could plan a surprise attack when the raid is ongoing.

We definitely would not want powerful commanders raiding a pocket dimension while the city is up in flames.

Now, that guy, wanted me to present you with two options.

The first option is to raid the pocket dimension purchased by Edan city. In the low-graded pocket dimension, the highest power level of indigenous lifeforms you would encounter would be in the evolved realm.

Your team would be made up of faces that are somewhat familiar to you and they will be given exclusive orders to protect you with their lives.

You will not be taxed on whatever you get, they would be all yours.

The second option is to be directly teleported into a grade C pocket dimension.

The highest power level of the indigenous lifeforms would be at the knight realm but they are not the only thing you should be worried about.

Since this is a pocket dimension purchased by a random city in a random empire, you will also be at odds with the raid team assigned to the pocket dimension. They would most likely have a knight in their ranks.

In the first option, your safety is practically assured. The only downside is, being a low-graded pocket dimension, the resources found in them would not be too valuable and you would also have to share them with the rest of the raid team.

In the second option, the pocket dimension's grade is not too low so the resources found within it would be valuable. You can also plunder members of the raid team that you can defeat. On the downside, you could actually die if you make a crucial mistake. Every living thing you see in there would be your enemy.

Make your choice wisely" Juwayn finished talking and looked at Kane seriously. He was curious to know which option he would choose.

Kane was deep in thought but was soon interrupted by his master's voice.

"In the first option, you are going to raid a low-grade pocket dimension with a team that half of its members might be one realm stronger than you.

You will always be under their protection, which also means you will be constantly watched.

You will also get to share whatever you get with the rest of the team. I have some problems working with this choice.

First of all, your entire team will treat you like some kid of someone important in Edan city, who is there for a joy ride. They will treat you like extra luggage.

Secondly, you will be watched, like, all the time. You have a lot of secrets Kane. Being watched is something you absolutely don't need. This will make you extremely passive throughout the raid.

Finally, share the loot my ass. You will not be doing any getting. Your team will do the getting. If you actually get anything that is remotely valuable, it would be quickly taken away from you. When everything is done, they could donate a few scraps just to keep up appearances.

The only way I can see this choice working out is if you are prepared to kill everyone in your raid team and emerge as the sole survivor.

On the other hand, not only are the resources plentiful in the second choice, you don't have to share what you get with anybody.

You can go about your activities without being worried about being watched.

With me, you don't have to worry about anyone below the knight realm. Even if we meet a knight, with my danger premonition and your Plain, we don't have to worry about anything. So it would be best if you chose the grade C pocket dimension".

After a moment of silence, Kane looked at Juwayn before saying "I choose the second option".

Juwayn nodded. He did not have any expression on his face that showed approval or disapproval.

"I hope you made the right choice," he said.

He sat upright and said "now unto the next matter. It's concerning the beast tide. That guy wants you to decide if you would like to stay in Edan city when the beasts attack or if you would like to leave before they arrive.

If you choose to stay, your fate will be tightly interwoven with that of the city. If it goes up in flames, you would too.

If you choose to leave, once you are done raiding the pocket dimension, you would be directly transferred to a Hunter Association in another relatively safer city. Your arraignments would then be handled by the castellan.

What will it be?".

"Do not leave the city!" Kane could hear Abel's voice almost immediately after Juwayn was done talking.

Even without his master's input, he would also not want to leave Edan city. He had become fond of the city and the people he had met so far.

"I will stay" Kane directly replied. Juwayn nodded expressionlessly once more. His slowly relaxing sitting posture indicated that he had addressed the pressing issues.

"I heard your performance was outstanding and you leveled up a skill to the intermediate proficiency level mid-battle. You are really something. No wonder that guy has an abnormal interest in you. Alright, you can leave now" said Juwayn as he began to use his computer.

"Thank you. I will be leaving now" said Kane as he stood from his chair. He turned around and was about to leave but suddenly turned back to face the castellan.

"Excuse me, sir, can I ask a few questions?" he said.

"About what?" asked Juwayn as he looked up at Kane.

"You have mentioned a 'that guy' a couple of times. I was wondering if you could tell me who that is" said Kane.

Juwayn was surprised. "You don't know? Hmm, if he didn't tell you who he was, then it might not be time for you to know.

Let me give you a hint. The only conditions to meet before I take orders from humans are if the orders are coming from the governor of the city in my branch is based, and the order is backed with the right amount of contribution points.

Now, even if these conditions are met, I will refuse the order if it meant providing another human with an unfair advantage over others.

'That guy' is someone who can make me or any other Hunter Association castellan treat you like our beloved son and has the ability to take you to any pocket dimension on the planet.

I will leave the answer to your imagination".

Kane was awestruck. A few names popped up when he used Juwayn's explanation to guess who 'that guy' was. The problem was each of those belonged to people who literally controlled the world.

"Do you have any other questions?" asked Juwayn when he saw Kane standing still and unmoving.

Kane who was jolted back to reality said "I thought that those spawned in the Hunter Association could never leave the building. You are different. You even rented a room in a hotel".

Juwayn chuckled before replying "as the castellan, I am different from the other employees. The governor of a city can 'liberate' the castellan of the Hunter Association in their city with the appropriate amount of contribution points.

A liberated castellan can have their power levels directly boosted with contribution points and the liberated castellan becomes an addition to the city's defense.

Abdul who I sent to look after you was not a Hunter Association employee. He was a human I procured to be my servant".