Chapter34-Want to Team Up?
Though Velen seemed a bit naïve, his calm demeanor made it clear that he wasn't someone easy to exploit.
The chubby young man, Kidd, who couldn't quite figure Velen out, proactively suggested,
"My name's Kidd. Since it's your first time in the Singularity Battlefield, you're probably unfamiliar with a lot here. Why don't we team up? We'll split all the resources we get fifty-fifty."
Combat was the best way to reveal someone's strength, methods, and trump cards. If Velen truly was naïve and lacked the strength to back it up, Kidd wouldn't mind stabbing him in the back when the time came.
No one shows kindness without a reason—either a crook or a schemer!
Velen immediately saw through Kidd's facade. Though he looked innocent, he clearly wasn't trustworthy. After all, in the harsh environment of the Singularity Battlefield, there was no room for honest people.
Still, Kidd seemed like a seasoned veteran who knew the area well. Teaming up with him would be a good way to quickly familiarize himself with the Singularity Battlefield. So, Velen nodded.
"Kidd, huh? I'm Velen. Let's work well together!"
Soon, the two set off together. After walking for a while, Kidd, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped and said,
"There's a pack of blood wolves ahead, about 200 of them. They're around Apprentice Rank Level 5. How about we see who can kill more?"
Though these blood wolves weren't particularly high in rank, their numbers and speed could easily overwhelm an inexperienced newcomer. Kidd wanted to test Velen's strength and see what cards he had up his sleeve.
Velen nodded casually. "Alright, let's compete."
With that, Velen channeled his mana, summoning a stack of Imprison Scrolls before him.
Kidd froze for a moment. Weren't they supposed to compete?
What was with all these scrolls?
As the sealing energy radiated from the scrolls, Kidd's heart trembled. If his senses weren't wrong, these were precious Tier-2 Scrolls!
Under Kidd's astonished gaze, Velen activated the scrolls.
Chains imbued with a strange energy flew out from the scrolls, instantly binding the 200 blood wolves in place. They could only glare at Velen angrily, unable to move.
Velen walked up to the immobilized blood wolves, pulled out two golden knives and forks from his storage bag, and began slicing their throats one by one.
Blood spurted out as the blood wolves let out feeble whimpers before collapsing into lifeless heaps on the ground.
Kidd was dumbfounded.
These blood wolves were only Apprentice Rank Level 5. Was there really a need to use such valuable scrolls?
Was Velen so rich he didn't know how to spend his money?
While Kidd stared in disbelief, Velen quickly dispatched all the blood wolves.
"They're all dead. Looks like I win this round!"
Velen put away his knives and smiled at Kidd.
Kidd's lips twitched.
He had considered stepping in to compete with Velen, but the chains formed by the scrolls were so strong that his attacks couldn't even make a dent.
All he could do was watch Velen perform.
It also became clear to Kidd that Velen hadn't just used the scrolls to restrain the blood wolves—he'd done it to prevent Kidd from intervening.
Using so many scrolls for a simple competition…
Kidd's heart ached. If only those Imprison Scrolls had been given to him instead!
The value of those scrolls far exceeded that of the blood wolves.
"Let's go, Kidd. Let's check out other areas!"
After killing the blood wolves, Velen lost interest and prepared to leave.
Kidd, however, stayed behind, staring at the pile of spellbeast corpses.
Though these corpses weren't as valuable as the scrolls, they were still worth a decent amount. Was Velen really going to leave them?
"Velen, these blood wolves are all yours. Their mana cores and pelts are worth quite a bit of gold coins!"
Velen shook his head at Kidd's persuasion.
"If you want them, they're yours. I'm not interested in gold coins."
Kidd: "..."
Fine, keep showing off. Let's see how long you can keep it up!
Kidd, who had come to the battlefield to train, wasn't about to let the blood wolf pelts and mana cores go to waste. He quickly gathered and stored them in his bag.
Just as the two were about to leave, an old man carrying a massive blood-red blade appeared, blocking their path.
Drawing the blade from his back, he said coldly,
"You two kids can't handle the mana cores and pelts of so many blood wolves. Hand them over, and I might just let you live."
With that, he released his mana waves—Apprentice Rank Level 9!
The aura was saturated with killing intent and the stench of blood!
"This guy must be one of the battlefield bandits. These types usually rely on robbing others and have no real skills," Kidd muttered disdainfully, though his expression turned serious.
Anyone bold enough to be a bandit here had to have significant strength; otherwise, they wouldn't survive long.
As Kidd was about to warn Velen to be cautious, Velen casually activated an Imprison Scroll.
Chains of sealing energy shot out, binding the old man in place.
"A single Imprison Scroll won't stop me!" the old man sneered, slashing with his blade. A flash of blood-red light cleaved the chains apart.
Before he could advance further, more chains shot out, binding him again.
The old man remained unfazed, slashing through chain after chain with broad, forceful movements.
In no time, he had destroyed over ten Imprison Scrolls' worth of chains.
Seeing Velen run out of scrolls, the old man grinned triumphantly.
"Out of scrolls, are you? Now it's my turn!"
Just as he finished speaking, his pupils contracted as he saw Velen summon hundreds more Imprison Scrolls.
The vicious expression on the old man's face froze.
While he could break through ten scrolls' chains, the effort had consumed nearly half his mana.
Facing this many scrolls, he'd likely exhaust himself to death!
Who was this seemingly unassuming young man?!
He needed to flee!
The old man moved decisively to escape, but Velen activated the scrolls, and chains wrapped around him like a mummy. He couldn't break free.
Velen stepped forward, golden knife and fork in hand, and stabbed the old man in the chest.
The old man's face was filled with terror and disbelief.
He never imagined he'd die so miserably here.
Kidd, witnessing the scene, broke into a cold sweat.
How many Imprison Scrolls did Velen have?
It was as if he had an endless supply, using them like they cost nothing!
If Kidd had acted rashly against Velen earlier, he'd probably have ended up like the old man.
He laughed bitterly at himself for thinking Velen was an easy target. Now it was clear—Velen was the wolf, ready to devour anyone in his way!
At the same time, Kidd finally understood why Velen didn't care about the mana cores or pelts of the blood wolves—he truly wasn't short on money!
"Kidd, take these scrolls. Use them when you encounter spellbeasts or bandits. They're simple and efficient, and there's no need to waste precious time on them."
Velen wiped his hands clean and handed Kidd the remaining hundreds of scrolls.
Kidd's eyes widened in disbelief.
Was he dreaming?
Velen glanced at his system interface. With over 9,000 scrolls remaining and only six hours until the next day, he realized he couldn't use them all alone.
He needed to speed things up!
Not long after, Kidd, now very cooperative, began encountering spellbeasts and immediately started with Imprison Scrolls, dramatically increasing his efficiency and minimizing risk.
Five hours later.
"Congratulations, Host, for successfully flaunting wealth. Reward: 1,000 luxury points and 100 SSS Tomes of Skill Experience!"
Lying on a tree branch, Velen smiled at the system's notification. Watching Kidd, who was now fully engrossed in using the scrolls, he nodded approvingly.
"Not bad. Having someone help flaunt wealth really speeds things up."
Clearly, Kidd had never fought with such abundant resources before and was enthusiastically using most of the scrolls himself.
After finishing off the bound spellbeasts, Kidd stood eagerly by Velen's side, awaiting his next instructions, having fully embraced Velen as his newfound benefactor.