The Discarded Son's Skill Market

’And do you want to see it?’ Valia asked.

Zaid replied with a chuckle. ’Do I even have a choice?’

’You could try to run away... We’d surely die.’

’Then I have no other choice. I just hope they hurry—I want to reach 100,000 ME before dawn.’

’You must undoubtedly be the only lucky person in this world who can farm ME as if it were a game. I have to say, that girl who handed me over to you was a true angel. She handed me over to the most talented person on planet Earth,’ Valia joked.

’Even so, I think we’re going to die. I don’t know how great that is for you.’ He looked up at the top of the walls. Flying beasts were emerging from the Rank A dungeon. ’We won’t get out of here even if we had a state-of-the-art space rocket.’

’At least I’ll have a story to tell. When I get to the other side, I’ll have something interesting to share with my ancestors.’

Valia’s repeated jokes had helped him over the last few hours to come to terms with the whole shitty situation he was going through. Alice’s death... it hurt him to the core, and the fact that he could smile might not even be a good thing.

He felt that something inside him had changed, but he didn’t know what it was.

’Aren’t you curious to know why there are so many Rank B and A beasts?’ Zaid asked, still staring at the wall.

’I’m more curious about that mystical presence I’ve been sensing for over four hours.’

’You’re right... Maybe she’s the rumored goddess?’

’A god... I’ve heard rumors in the clan, but I’ve never actually met one.’

’Well, there’s a reason she’s a god. They don’t come around very often.’

’It’s about to start.’

The battle before them began when 13 Rank B beasts—some alone, others with their respective allies—leaped into the fray.

With the one already on the scene, there were 14 in total. It was the first time Zaid and Valia had seen so many together.

Valia even had to return to Zaid’s body and then step out beside him to get as far away from them as possible and be ready in case they had to flee—if they had any chance at all.

The battle began... it was brutal and caught the attention of the entire city.

There was massive destruction all around. The beasts fought to the death and departed with dignity. The C-Ranks were completely irrelevant in battle, as each of the powerful B-Ranks stood out above their rivals.

When the battle came to an end, the winner was a surprise that was anything but welcome for Zaid and Valia.

The Ogre who started it all.

’We have to get out of here.’ Zaid swallowed hard. If that thing ate all those bodies, wouldn’t it be able to rise to Rank A?

If it didn’t, it would come close.

’If we leave right now, we’re dead too. Look at how many observers are behind us... Some of them are Rank Bs.’

’Shit. What if, when it moves up to Rank A, those Rank Bs become its followers?’

They were in a truly desperate situation!

And the worst part was that the creature started eating and eating... No one approached it because they feared it.

The thirteen bodies that had fallen in battle slowly turned into bloody pools from which it was impossible to extract even a speck of ME.

Zaid regretted it, though he had no intention of approaching the scene either.

The wounded ogre sighed; hot steam escaped from his nostrils. Suddenly, his body shrank....

’We’re dead...’

He was about to be promoted.

As he curled up into a ball, his body gained power. It was a strangely mystical power that made the area tremble. The distant low-rank beasts fled in terror.

The high-rank beasts nearly fell to their knees.

The energy cracked the earth, and the nearby Rank B beasts began fighting among themselves...

Chaos erupted in an instant. Thirty minutes later, at around 5 a.m., the transformation into a Rank A beast was complete.

A reborn and fully healed ogre stood up. It had shrunk slightly, but its power had increased many times over. Standing tall, it surveyed its surroundings.

The battles involving the surrounding Rank B beasts had come to an end, leaving clear survivors. They did not devour their victims, but instead carried them and brought them until they stood before the Rank-A Ogre, the leader.

They knelt and presented them as a tribute... seeking his approval and acceptance into the group.

The Ogre had no reason to reject them. He accepted the tribute and then simply accepted them as his followers.

At that point, Zaid and Valia’s hair stood on end.

The imminent danger had barely made itself known... They wanted to flee, but it was impossible.

’Even if I spend my 55,600 ME on stats, I’d barely get about 780 total stat points. If I compare that to the minimum stats required for a Rank B, I’d be more than 100 points short...’

At first, he thought about adding up all those points to try to escape. It would bring him very close to Rank B, just in terms of total strength. However, that would force him to fight Rank B beasts, at the very least. Those kinds of battles would easily attract the attention of the beasts on the wall, and he’d end up dead.

After that, he thought about using a Talent. Currently, with the money he had available, he could buy a Rank B Talent; unfortunately, his brothers’ Talents were of no use to him in escaping this situation. And the Rank C Talents were even worse...

In the end, he had to refuse to allocate them for now and wait to see if he could get enough stat points to try to escape at dawn—even if it meant collective suicide.

However, at that very moment, he was tempted to start allocating stat points like crazy... Because that damn Rank A beast and the Rank B beasts were heading straight toward where he was!

With every step they took, a tremor shook Zaid to his core.

These beasts walked slowly, as if they wanted to make Zaid’s suffering last forever.

They soon reached where he was standing and stopped to one side.

They came to a halt.

Almost instantly, Zaid reached out toward the system to add as many points as possible...

However, suddenly a tremor shook the world.

RUMBLE!

From inside the Sacred Temple, to the surrounding area, and all the way to the villages.