Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Mohai already knew that the hidden requirement for a bandit goon to power-up his template to a bandit leader was to kill another bandit leader or an Elite monster.
However, he was already a bandit leader with an Elite template, and if his goons were upgraded to bandit leaders, there was a high chance that they would leave him. Then, his efforts of training them would be in vain.
That was the reason why he was not in a hurry to level them up.
Until that night, after all his 15 goons had experienced obvious improvements and after he had equipped each of them with new gears, their Loyalty increased by 2. He decided to test it because the threats from the Magma Golem was pressuring him. Also, it was getting harder to level up the Ruler ability.
No. 13, who Mohai enhanced before, was the most loyal. He had 3 points in Loyalty and if No. 13 left him after leveling up to bandit leader, Mohai would not have to do it again on the other goons.
Transfixed, No. 13 bathed in the purple flash, his face was full of excitement and delight.
Mohai quickly pulled up his activity log.
Activity log:
Bandit goon No. 13’s template leveled up.
Bandit goon No. 13’s Loyalty +2.
Your Notoriety in the Monolith Stronghold +1.
…
Not only did No. 13 stay, but his Loyalty even increased by 2!
Mohai’s Notoriety in the Monolith Stronghold also increased by 1, which added up to 3 points!
“Leader, I feel a lot stronger!” No. 13 ran back to Mohai excitedly.
No. 13 did not change his attitude just because his template leveled up. Instead, due to the increase in Loyalty, he treated Mohai with greater respect.
The other 14 bandit goons were envious of No. 13. Their self-thinking had not been actualized, so becoming stronger was just an instinctive thought to them.
Before the level up, No. 13 was strong albeit only a little better than the others. The gap was not that wide and No. 13 could fall if the other two ganged up on him.
Now, No. 13 alone could take on a few of them at the same time.
“Hahaha, great!”
Mohai scanned over the rest of his stats and it delighted him even more.
Even though No. 13’s template had leveled up, he was still under Mohai’s command and the number of subordinates that Mohai had were still 15 over 15.
More importantly, the XP bar for Ruler increased by 5% all of a sudden!
The XP bar was near 45% and he still had 14 goons left to level up. If he made them all into bandit leaders, the Ruler ability would reach Rank E in an instant!
“Follow me. Everyone will get their turn. No one will be left out!”
The thought of his Ruler ability at Rank E and having 15 Elite subordinate excited Mohai a lot.
Only rare and powerful Bosses could have 15 Elite mobs around them! Even the Magma Golem only had four Elite monsters around him.
Including Mohai, there would be 16 bandit leaders, and he wanted to see how the Magma Golem would take him down later. Once Mohai and his goons reached Level 15, overthrowing the Magma Golem would not be a problem!
…
“No. 22! What are you doing!?”
Mohai and his 15 subordinates found another bandit leader who was cautious and frightened upon Mohai’s arrival but being cautious did him no good.
If Mohai wanted to kill him, he would not be able to escape.
All 15 subordinates jumped on him and attacked furiously on Mohai’s order.
After No. 13’s template leveled up, he managed to reach Level 12 and his stats were only a little shy from Mohai’s.
The bandit leader could not defend himself against Mohai’s attacks. His HP bar quickly dropped to a pathetic level.
“No. 1, it’s your kill!”
The rest stopped fighting as No. 1 went up and excitedly killed the defenseless bandit leader.
The purple light shone again. No. 1, who was only on Level 9, managed to level up to a bandit leader as well. He rose from Level 9 to 10 and was just a little shy from Level 11.
Similar to No. 13, No. 1’s Loyalty increased by 2 points and he did not leave Mohai’s command. He was even more loyal than before.
Mohai’s Notoriety increased by 1 again and the Ruler XP bar increased by 5%, so he was almost at 50%!
‘I was right! If I level up all the goons, Ruler will also level up to Rank E and my Notoriety will surge as well!’
When a player’s Reputation reached a certain level, the player could receive rewards or trigger a special event. Mohai was curious about what would happen if his Notoriety became higher.
As for whether a bandit leader commanding 15 other bandit leaders would attract the system’s attention, Mohai was no longer concerned.
He had been cautious on his first day as a monster because he did not know anything about the monster’s side of the game. However, after two days, especially after the deals he made with the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Distant Sea Bird, and the Fire Raven, Mohai knew that the monster world was not as stiff as he thought it was.
The monster world did not have any so-called forbidden acts. As long as it was workable, the monsters were allowed to carry it out.
The simplest proof was the record in the activity log.
There were records of his activities on the log, especially the increase in Loyalty value, which also meant that everything he had been doing was within the game settings. Before the bandit goons actualized their self-thinking ability, every single move they made would follow the system programming.
“No. 2, it’s your turn!”
With three bandit leaders leading the group, no one could fight Mohai in the Monolith Stronghold anymore.
The next bandit leader died a quick death and No. 2 leveled up this time.
Mohai had already gained three Elite subordinates!
…
“Okay, the bandit leader’s HP is almost at 10%. Be careful. We don’t have a Sorcerer with us. Stand back, you guys. I’ll tank the AOE attack before you guys come in again. Don’t make a mistake. Otherwise, we won’t be able to take this bandit leader down before dark!”
At the center of the Monolith Stronghold, there was a party of fewer than 10 players fighting a bandit leader.
They were only on Level 10, but their skills were quite good. Despite having less than 10 players and even with their lousy gears, they were able to lower the bandit leader’s HP to near to 10%.
All that was left for them to do was let the Shield Knight tank the bandit leader’s [Powerful Sweep]. Then, the other party members could come in and finish the job. There was no way for the bandit leader to escape anymore.
“Back off!” bellowed the Shield Knight. His party members swiftly retreated more than 20 meters away from the bandit leader.
The Shield Knight cast [Shield Charge] and rammed into the bandit leader. He managed to bring the bandit leader down to 10% HP and triggered the latter’s powerful skill.
A yellow ring of flash hit the Shield Knight, but the bandit leader only chipped off a little more than 100 HP from the Shield Knight.
“Okay, get in here! I can’t tank this for long,” said the Shield Knight.
It was already the third day in the game and a steady supply of potions and healing items remained a big problem for the players. If the Priest did not heal the Shield Knight in time, he would be in danger.
“What are you guys doing? I’m still faster than you guys! Hurry up! I can’t hold this any longer!” the Shield Knight urged.
Since his party members were slow to the rescue and his HP was almost depleted, worry started to rise in his heart.
“L-look! To your left!” one of his party members’ terrified voice entered his ear.
“What the f**k, man!? I’m dying and you are looking at something else?!” The Shield Knight was livid.
The bandit leader was dying, and so was he, yet his party members were distracted by something else. He started to wonder whether he should stay in this party or not!
However, the Shield Knight still turned to his left out of curiosity and was stunned. He finally understood why his party members forgot to heal him.
From the tall bush on his left, a group of bandit leaders emerged. There were 11 bandit leaders with five bandit goons following them!
The bandit leaders outnumbered the bandit goons! What the hell happened?