The Almighty Ring

Jiang Fei suppressed his power and approached the campfire with the lightest steps he could take. When he was close enough, he hid behind a larger tree and peeked. There were five of them, sitting around the campfire, with their guards lowered.

These five looked familiar. Jiang Fei recognized all of them as they were all graduating trainees.

“Should I greet them…?” He asked himself. They were not from Ottogackt’s class.

“Hmph? Is someone there?”

“I see him. Isn’t that the trainee that was late to the ceremony?”

“You can come out now! We all saw you!”

…

Whether it was his own weakness or the strength of those five, Jiang Fei’s presence was discovered and he had to move out of the darkness and into the light.

“Come along now,” said the one with a crocodile head, a Decronian.

“I… Okay…”

Jiang Fei gave up and listened. It would only be rude, not to mention embarrassing for him, to leave when they had already noticed him.

He took the liberty to sit on an open seat close to the raging fire. The one that had called out to him, the Decronian, seemed to be the leader of the group. The Decronian was famed to be the strongest even amongst the army ranks.

“Greetings. I’m Bacca,” said the Decronian first.

“I’m Jiang Fei,” Jiang Fei introduced himself plainly.

“These here are my teammates. That’s Luna, Dodge, Mingsk, Waxus,” said Bacca as he introduced the others.

“Hello,” said Luna. She was a female bunny girl. Although she looked rather plain, her long, luscious legs made her stand out amongst the others.

Ronalbenian

Combat Level: 350,000

Note: A race dominant of the planet Robalbee. They are but only average in terms of power. Female Robalbenians are extremely suited to be secretaries.

Based on the readings of the scope, the girl’s combat level was only average. Because of the information given to him by the scope, Jiang Fei could only lower his expectations of her race. Then again, he had thought of the girl to be more than just a secretary. Her legs might be seductive but any martial artists knew better than to judge a person based on their appearance. Those legs of hers might actually be able to break his ribs.

“How are you alone?” asked Dodge. He was the only… being that was different than the others. While the rest had a certain humanoid appearance, he was just a lump of green slime.

Slime

Combat Level: 480,000

Note: A peculiar species. While most of them are blobs of conscious liquid, only a few gained a high level of intelligence and power. Besides fire, nothing could kill them.

“Heh. Must be my looks,” said Jiang Fei, shrugging it off. He could not take his eyes off Dodge as he had never seen anything like him before; a gathering of greenish liquid that could talk and think without visible organs.

Mingsk and Waxus were brothers and they were almost identical to humans. The only difference was their eyes. Unlike human eyes, theirs were just plain white without any discernible iris.

Alderaanian

Combat Level 450,000, 550,000.

Note: Beings of Alderaan are strong in psychic ability. They are always able to take control of other beings with weaker mental strength.

The brothers were quiet and only nodded when Jiang Fei turned to look at them.

“Jiang Fei, did you get your weapon?” Bacca straightforwardly asked. Based on the rumors that Jiang Fei had only over 120,000 combat level, it was obvious that the question was enveloped with sneer and sarcasm.

“Ugh… I had it and I lost it…” said Jiang Fei truthfully. There was no use in hiding it since he had nothing to show for it anyway.

“I understand what you’re going through. All we can do now is to wait until all weapons have been discovered and for the start of the second mission,” said the slime.

“Don’t mind us. Please continue the conversation as we cook,” said Mingsk while Waxus was busy spinning a boar-like creature on a stick atop the campfire.

“I say, Jiang Fei. You’re in luck! Alderaanians make the best roasted meat! No one else could enjoy such an authentic experience!” said Bacca as saliva dripped from the tip of his jaw. Such behavior was only expected from aliens with beast-like instincts. If Jiang Fei had done that and toward Luna the bunny girl, it would definitely be sexual harassment! Fortunately, he was only slightly disgusted.

As the conversation shifted toward casual topics, the brothers finished cooking and Jiang Fei helped himself to a piece of boar leg. Before gobbling it down like a savage, Jiang Fei made sure to ask 0541 to examine it through the scope to make sure it was edible.

The roasted meat was surprisingly delicious. Jiang Fei had never been so hungry for more alien meat. As he licked his fingers clean, the sun had set and the skies were littered with stars from nearby galaxies. The forest was dark and was only illuminated by starlight through the canopy of leaves.

“Leader, won’t the light of the fire attract others?” Luna asked, worriedly.

“I’ve made it so, purposely. None of us had acquired a weapon. By attracting unwanted visitors, we might actually lure in one that carries a weapon. We’ll kill whoever holds the weapon and be done with it,” said Bacca without much of a flinch.

Jiang Fei choked a little when he heard Bacca’s plan. No wonder he had so straightforwardly asked Jiang Fei about having a Primordial Weapon. If he did, the group of five might have attacked him! The weapon had been created through a special method that even storing it in the ring’s inventory would not leave its wave energy undetected. No wonder Bacca had been so trusting with Jiang Fei; he had no Primordial Weapons on him!

Be it as if may, Bacca was still friendly, speaking with Jiang Fei. Then again, he had ulterior motives of his own. If he and Jiang Fei could graduate together, Jiang Fei could at least introduce him to a certain someone supporting him.

“Primordial Weapons are not for all. By luck, you might find one. Without it, one might be eliminated through the second trial. It seems that the weapons play a key role in surviving the next mission,” said Mingsk in an attempt to lighten the mood for not owning a weapon then.

“You might be right. Dodge, you take the first shift. The rest of you should get some rest,” said Bacca, changing the topic quickly.

“Sure thing,” said Dodge before he left the campfire. The next moment, something happened that made Jiang Fei almost pee his pants.

Dodge had expanded from being just a pole with arms into a large balloon before exploding into countless pieces!

Splat… Splat… Splat…

The smaller green pieces moved about, crawling slowly toward all directions.

“Surprised? Haha. I have no idea what they are but the Slime species are miracle workers. They can split into countless pieces with a mind of their own. If they were destroyed, their consciousness will join the other pieces, sharing any information. In any situation, if a single piece survives, it would regrow back into a full being. Hard to kill, they are! I see them as the best scout!” said Bacca, laughing at Jiang Fei’s comical reaction.