Raven Kang
Julius found this guy Victor a bit crazy, but he himself wasn't exactly normal either. He thought:
"The ambitions of this man and mine are a perfect match, aren't they? If he joins me, the chances of success will be much higher."
Julius truly needed Victor, not only because of his strategic mind, which had yet to be seen, but his physique and aura were already of high-level combat strength. Whether Victor preferred to be a strategist or a general, as long as he joined Julius' side, it would be beneficial. Julius smiled and said:
"Ha ha, great. It will be a pleasure to accompany you. I've already thought of a name for our faction, combining both of our names. It will be called Raven Kang. As for the flag, I'll take black, you'll take yellow. The top half will be black, the bottom half will be yellow. This way, the name puts you before me, but the flag puts me above you. Our faction will be equally split, with shared power. You will be the chief strategist of the dynasty. Does this sound good to you?"
Victor hadn't expected someone aiming to be an emperor to propose splitting power equally with him. But he was very satisfied with it, a strategist with power akin to an emperor was exactly what he desired. He laughed and said:
"Ha ha ha, you are indeed the companion I have been looking for. Very good, I will definitely work with you to build a great dynasty."
These two unusual men felt an unexpected compatibility upon meeting. This fateful encounter marked an important milestone in the future development of Raven Kang.
Now that the two considered others comrades, Julius asked:
"Can you show me your status? I will show you mine as well."
He wasn't foolish, he knew he had to do this. He needed trustworthy companions to increase the chances of realizing his ambitions. Therefore, there could be no secrets, otherwise it would lead to unnecessary suspicion.
Victor wasn't dumb either, he fully understood why Julius did this. However, this approach truly succeeded in gaining his trust. He laughed and said:
"Ha ha, no problem."
He then allowed access to his status and let Julius observe.
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Name: Victor Raven
Level: 0
Exp: 0/1000
Age: 22/104
STR: 147
DEF: 76
HP: 2168/2168
Mana: 100/100
Max speed: 32 km/h
Bag: 0/10
Equipment: 0/10 Rings
-----
Seeing that status left Julius astounded. He thought:
"Great, this strategist could probably take on two people like me at once."
He also allowed Victor to view his status. Upon seeing the Rings section, Victor was utterly shocked. He thought:
"Ha ha, this guy has a level 9 ring and dares to show it to me. I can't decide if he's brave or foolish. Hmm, neither is correct. Wise is the word to describe him. He has probably figured out part of my personality already. With someone like him, my ambitions might actually come true."
Though he was inwardly impressed, Victor's face showed a murderous intent. He swung a punch straight towards Julius's face.
But Julius simply watched the punch without moving. At the moment the punch was about to hit his face, it stopped. Victor asked:
"Why didn't you dodge?"
"I'm not afraid."
"Why aren't you afraid?"
Julius responded with a voice full of confidence:
"Because I know you've acknowledged me."
Victor then retracted his hand and patted Julius on the shoulder:
"Ha ha ha, that's right. Only someone like this is worthy of being my companion."
Julius not to be outdone, said:
"And you too. Otherwise, you wouldn't be qualified to be invited as my comrade."
Victor replied:
"But I'm much stronger than you."
Julius immediately retorted with a teasing face:
"But I have the ring."
Victor really wanted to punch the future emperor at that moment. Realizing things were about to escalate, Julius quickly said:
"Hey, I was just joking. My ring has no combat power. If you actually fought me, two of me wouldn't be enough. How about this, the next ring we find, regardless of its level, will be yours. How does that sound?"
Hearing this, Victor no longer wanted to hit him. Instead, he found Julius's words very agreeable. He laughed and responded:
"Haha, it's a promise. Don't go back on your word."
Julius smirked and said:
"With others, maybe, but not with you. Do you want to be my friend? After all, even when our faction grows, we'll still be equals."
Victor thought this offer wasn't bad, so he nodded in agreement.
With their faction now in its early stages, Julius asked:
"You're the strategist, so what do you think we should do first?"
Victor thought for a moment. Since he had been preparing for this since his time on Earth, it didn't take long. He said:
"First, we need to find talented people to build a solid foundation for our faction. Once the foundation is strong, more people will join us because seeking a better life is a common desire among people."
Julius hadn't expected Victor to think the same way he did. He asked:
"How did you think of this so quickly? Don't tell me you prepared for this scenario since your time on Earth."
Victor nodded and said:
"Of course. This is my ambition. I needed to accumulate enough knowledge so that when the opportunity arose, I could make my dreams a reality."
Julius thought:
"It seems this guy is even crazier than I am. I only had a rough idea before, but he's seriously prepared."
However, to do all this, they would need a significant amount of money, at least to ensure they didn't have to worry about food. Julius asked:
"From what I see, your family is very wealthy. What did you do before, or what did you study?"
Victor thought carefully for a moment before saying:
"I did whatever I wanted. My family had enough money, so I didn't need to study. When they forced me to go to school, I'd just skip classes. Anyway, I didn't like it. Plus, there were plenty of other family members eager to inherit, so I didn't care much about that."
Julius felt his mouth twitch slightly and said:
"It seems you're even crazier than me, pursuing your ambition to that extent."
Victor didn't deny being crazier than most. He said:
"Of course. You only live once. If you don't pursue your ambitions, what's the point of living? I don't care what others think but I want to be the greatest strategist, plain and simple."
At this point, Julius became curious about Victor's concept of a strategist and its origins. He asked:
"From what I know, strategists in history were usually those who used schemes and strategies, not physical combat. Why have you trained your body to this extent?"