The Sound Of Despair

The truth was undeniable. How much work did Sturm have to go through just to barely match second to third-step commoners in physical ability? It had almost been a decade since he arrived in this world, constantly working on his mind, body, and already exceptional combat abilities.

Now, he even contracted two once-mighty magic beasts who even transferred a part of their power to him, but even with their power, he could only match their strength. Of course, Sturm knew that although there was a direct relation between combat ability and physical ability, that relation only amounted to so much. 

He had proven it, again and again, superior technique, magic, and senses had allowed him to destroy dozens of commoner guards and slavers at the same time, but his opponents were commoners no more. Even with all their advantages, the tier 10 ape had been an enormously dangerous opponent, and that beast lacked both intelligence and technique.

If Sturm kept training for just two or three more years, further refining their teamwork and abilities against magic beasts, then his physical stats would probably be enough to overpower most nobles, but he could wait no more. After leaving the cavern, Sturm had thought he would be ready for all of his foes. Going back to years of training was impossible now, even for him. Schatten and Licht would surely oppose it as well.

Just taking one or two steps towards heaven and then getting the two contracted beasts to the fourth or fifth bronze tier would considerably level the playing field. But, as they were right now, it would be nothing more than a suicide mission.

Schatten was still munching on some of the ape's raw flesh, while Licht had already eaten his fill. Both seemed excited that they had been praised for their analysis. Would they have ever imagined ending up like this when the tiny human found them inside the mountain? At that time, Sturm was weaker than even a single hair on their bodies, but now they felt prouder than ever with just a single comment of praise.

"I sense no difference from the power I am getting from you two. Didn't you say its meat would strengthen you two?" Sturm asked.

Even though he had not used [Electroanalysis], if any of the beasts had advanced to the fourth tier, then he would have sensed it. As it was now, almost the whole giant body had already been devoured. While Sturm wondered how so much meat could fit in the two beast's small bodies, the lack of change in their strength was what preoccupied him most. 

{During the last two years, after you finished a particularly hard training session, did you instantly feel stronger?} Schatten asked. 

That was basic knowledge, and Sturm did not even need a second to respond. "No, because muscles don't grow during training, but afterward and mainly during the resting phase. Oh, I see. I thought that since you two ate at least a few times your body weight, that your bodies would digest and process the nutrients almost instantly. But instead, your body probably needs a while to convert the magic beast meat into strength, correct?"

{Correct. It will take us around a month to fully absorb the energy,} Licht hastily answered. He had wanted to explain the process himself and did not expect Sturm to easily point it out. Being the wise one was his role, and Schatten had already beat him to answer Sturm's first question.

They were always competing like this, but Sturm had long stopped paying it any mind. As long as they put in the effort and he received the information he desired, then he was equally satisfied with both of them.

<<A month, huh? I can wait that long; we should use this time to approach the local priest then.>>

Churches were not on every single island, but luckily for Sturm Dagger's Rock Town barely passed the threshold to be allowed to build one. That did not mean it would be less protected than other churches, as all of them employed the best defenses and guards the local power could provide.

Usually, each of the three powers would take care of their own territory and only send supervisors to the others. Supervision was necessary to prevent one of the powers from massively empowering slaves and commoners and threatening the others. The twelve Pirate Lords were only considered a semi-power, though, so instead of simple supervision, the three powers each collectively sent troops to reinforce each church.

No one knew for sure why they went through all that effort instead of simply destroying the pirates in their entirety, getting rid of the almost lawless region once and for all. As the Empire had the most dealings with the Pirate Seas, people suspected them to be secretly in control of the twelve Pirate lords. The Empire was individually a lot stronger than the Huo Dynasty or the Northern Tribes but would not be able to face the two powers alone. With the aid of the pirates, though, the balance would be reestablished.

If that was the actual reason or not didn't matter to Sturm, but the guards posted around the church did. As far as he knew, there would be no mages around. Otherwise, the Thunder Merchant Company would have been destroyed a lot sooner for their possession of gintseng. On top of that, mages were the elite of the elite; it was simply impossible to station on at each church throughout the whole continent.

For this reason, maybe they could use Schatten's abilities to gain access, but to be able to scout out that possibility, they had to enter the town. But, unfortunately, Dagger's Rock Town was literally on the other side of the island, and getting there would not be quick. So, the question was if they should first finish the maclawco overlord's job and annihilate the sasquatches or return immediately.

"Can you two fight while digesting the meat?"

The giant white ape had been a lot stronger than the sasquatches, but it was also alone. Underestimating the sasquatch chieftains along with their guards would be stupid. Subsequently, if the two beasts were not in prime condition, then it was better to get to the town first. Schatten admitted they were somewhat weakened but argued it would make no sense for them to return at a later date. They would probably fight the mage the moment Sturm left his slavehood behind. Because of that, in his opinion, taking care of the weakened sasquatch tribes was the best course of action.

The tiger disagreed, saying that if they really had more time to prepare against the mage, then it was better to get used to their increased strength as soon as possible. In the end, Sturm agreed with Licht. The sasquatch tribes were not the goal but only a tool for them to forge themselves. Prioritizing their destruction was putting the cart before the horse.

As they came to a decision, the trio hesitated no more and started making their way towards Dagger's Rock Town. Were there properly maintained roads, one day would have sufficed for them to reach civilization, but the group had to traverse all kinds of terrain, so they took five days for the journey.

They killed and hunted all the beasts they spotted, which had caused further delay, but also filled the lightning space with magic beast materials. Right now, Sturm could only let the materials gather dust because delivering them to the Mercenary Association would only alert Arcanus Attalus about his presence.

That was something they had to avoid at all costs, and Licht kept telling Sturm to keep his emotions in check should they coincidently cross paths with the mage. What the tiger did not know was that the years inside the quarry made the young human a lot more patient with revenge than others. 

Finally, Sturm saw the tall walls surrounding Dagger's Rock. Schatten and Licht had never been to the town and had rarely encountered humans ever since they arrived at the local continent. When Sturm asked where exactly they were from, they said from somewhere unreachable and refused to elaborate any further.

Sturm did not mind, as his case was similar to theirs, and could thereby respect their privacy. It would be hypocritical to expect them to tell him everything when he refused to tell them himself. One day, maybe they would reveal all their secrets, but even the two years they had spent together were not quite enough yet to take that step. 

"Ok, we shall wait till nightfall and climb the walls to enter the city. I don't want to explain to the guards who I am, and lying could put everything at risk. If they see my slave mark, then sooner or later they will find out that I belonged to the Thunder Merchants."

2047. Those numbers were still burned onto Sturm's back, and while he had tried to burn or even cut it off, after a few hours, they always reappeared on regenerated skin. Edgar had once told him that the branding iron slavers used were special. No one could escape from being a slave without taking a celestial step, as only the energy of that process could cleanse the branding. 

{It is still a few hours until dusk, so we will be resting inside the lightning space. You should rest, too,} Licht said.

Sturm agreed and decided to meditate until then. Their next mission would be crucial, after all.