It didn't take a genius to realize that Jake was the one who sent the man. It also didn't require much intelligence to figure out why the Scarred Raven hadn't been seen from that night onwards.
The boss of the Black Mantis group had then ordered his group to go to war with the society of thieves. Results came soon after as the members of the society of thieves began to die.
Even the R brothers and Jake were killed in war. What's more, someone else took the blame for it. So the boss couldn't help but be satisfied.
He wasn't happy because he had lost a lot of good people and didn't get any money from the war. But his prestige in the underworld was preserved, so the matter ended somewhat well.
However, Arthur showed up a few days later. He showed up alive after the society of thieves and the Black Mantis group had gone to war and killed each other. The boss wasn't happy about that.
Arthur's matter was the fuse that ignited hostility between the two groups. Jake didn't pay because he said it wasn't certain that Arthur was dead. That caused the two of them to fight.
It turned out that Jake was right not to pay. But Jake was dead now, and so were so many other people.
Even though most of the fault was with Jake for escalating a simple harassment into killing, the fact that Arthur was still alive made the boss of the Black Mantis group very unhappy. He was so unhappy that he decided to have his revenge on Arthur.
—
Arthur eventually returned home after staying with his mother for a month. He brought with him a small, hairy, and golden dog, which he has decided to call Roar because of his loud bark.
He got the dog for 40 gold coins. Just like Ruff, it has the potential to reach the second rank. That's why it is nearly as expensive as a ninth transformation beast despite being a puppy.
The bond collar used to bind the dog to him cost him 10 gold coins. So in total, it cost him 50 gold coins to get a replacement for Ruff.
He took Roar home and stopped hunting. Instead, he focused on exercising and raising Roar.
He wanted to reach the ninth transformation as soon as possible so that when he gets the force diagram, he will be able to use it immediately.
A great strength will also increase his odds of survival in the green forest and make hunting easier.
The time he spends on training will help Roar grow and become useful in the green forest. He doesn't need Roar to be able to help him kill animals. As long as Roar can alert him of danger in time, it will be good enough.
So he put away his black armor and giant sword in favor of dedicated self-growth. Of course, the matter of his dojo and his charity was still put on the agenda.
He also spent time clearing out gangs and rescuing slaves. He did so at night to hide his identity, as his actions of liberating slaves offend even the legitimate slave merchants.
He was offending a lot of people and didn't want them to come to him. So he hid his identity and did his heroic work in secret.
He was like a real vigilante. But unlike other vigilantes, he made sure to grab a coin purse or chest before leaving the scene. In fact, the stash of money is his priority, not the slaves and the karma he was going to get for saving them.
The funny thing about him is that he is fine with killing people, but he finds enslaving others inhumane. It is weird, but something about seeing the debasement of others feels wrong to him.
Maybe it was the influence of his past life. He believes that someone is entitled to some pay.
Even if that pay is barely enough for them to eat and live in a house, it is what they deserve. It is a matter of common sense to him because that little pay will ensure that his workers are more productive than slaves.
However, no matter how badly he feels about slavery, it is not enough for him to risk his life to liberate slaves. Not even the karma is good enough for him to do it because he has other less risky sources of karma.
It is the money that the slave merchants have in their possession that motivates him the most. But the slaves don't need to know that.
All they need to see is that he went through a mountain of blades to liberate them. As long as they give him the karma that he deserves, he will even help distract their pursuers so that the slaves can escape.
It was truly a lot of work for him. Fortunately, his hard work finally paid off. He was able to make up for his absence from hunting and teaching at his dojo that was forced onto him.
He finally reached level 3 of the Mountain Karma.
MOUNTAIN SITTING DAO
State of Existence: First Mortal Coil (Sixth Transformation)
Life Span: 12/111
DIVINE ABILITIES
1. Mountain Karma: Level 3 (5,923/1,000,000,000)
2. ????: ------
ATTRIBUTES
Power: 8 × 3 (Mountain Karma)
Mind: 1. Mental Energy: 12
Body: 7 >>> 8. Life Energy: 22 >>> 24
TECHNIQUES
A: RANK 1
1. Fire-Breathing Mana Technique: 83% >>> 85% Mastery.
2. Fire-Movements Exercise Technique: 81% >>> 83% Mastery.
3. Fire-Fighting Mana Technique: 82% >>> 84% Mastery.
4. Savage Sword Weapon Technique: 89% >>> 91% Mastery.
He lay on the bed, unable to move. Actually, it wasn't that he couldn't move at all. He could move if he wanted to. He just can't move right.
His power suddenly soared from 16 to 24. That is a sudden 50% boost. It made him lose control of his body.
So he can move. He is just clumsy while doing it. He is so clumsy that it is painful to watch.