Chapter 14: What more could you possibly want?!
Orat did not hesitate for even a single second, terrified that any delay would result in his immediate death. He quickly raised his remaining left hand and tapped the empty air directly in front of his chest.
A transparent blue box immediately materialized in the space between them, glowing with a soft magical light.
It was his personal inventory screen, displaying twelve mini boxes arranged perfectly in neat rows and columns within the interface.
Seven out of those twelve mini boxes had actual items stored within them, while the other five remaining boxes were completely empty. The glowing grid floated steadily in the air, revealing the contents clearly.
This blue grid was the official storage inventory provided to every player by the world’s system. It acted as a personal vault that traveled with a person wherever they went.
Under normal circumstances, a player could actually choose to display their screen like this, configuring the system settings to allow anyone standing nearby to see its entire contents.
Most players chose to keep their inventory hidden from public view though, preferring to keep their wealth secret.
They would only show it to those they could trust completely, or when it became absolutely necessary during a transaction.
In Orat’s current case though, he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. With his life hanging by a single thread, he had to comply immediately to avoid being sliced into pieces.
Leon stepped closer and stared intently at the glowing content of each filled box, evaluating the items.
He looked at the first few icons, muttering under his breath, "Healing potion... mana potion... same... same, tsk."
He was clearly unimpressed by the standard consumables, finding nothing of real value in the grid. He clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction and turned his cold gaze toward the other survivor.
"Show me your inventory too," Leon said, his voice flat and demanding as he pointed the smoky tip of Excalibur toward the trembling giant.
The huge man nodded his head rapidly, not daring to argue for even a fraction of a second. He raised his remaining hand and hastily displayed his own glowing system inventory to Leon.
His storage grid was even more empty than his captain’s, looking completely bare. There were only two boxes filled out of the entire twelve, and both contained low-tier, common grade weapons.
Leon sighed deeply, shaking his head at the pathetic lack of quality loot these mid-tier players carried. As he looked down at the two crippled men, a dark, evil glint flashed across his eyes.
"Now..." Leon said, his voice dropping into a sinister whisper that made both men shudder. "Empty it all out in front of me right now."
The two injured men glanced at each other for a brief moment, their eyes filled with deep bitterness and regret. They had spent months collecting resources, only to lose everything to a porter.
They had absolutely no choice though, knowing that their lives were worth more than any digital loot. They reached out and immediately emptied all what was in their inventory, dumping the items onto the dirt.
The items dropped to the ground in front of Leon, falling onto the dirt in a messy heap.
Several small glass vials containing red healing liquids and blue mana fluids clinked softly against each other as they landed.
Alongside the potions, the common grade weapons from Bort’s storage fell with heavy, metallic thuds, their iron blades cutting slightly into the grass.
Leon smiled happily as he looked down at the rewards of his victory, his face lighting up with genuine satisfaction.
He stretched his right hand out toward the scattered pile of items lying on the forest floor, completely ignoring the bleeding wounds of the two men responsible for the loot.
As soon as his open palm aligned with the pile, the items vanished into thin air all at once. all of them instantly reappearing in his own secure system inventory.
The ground in front of him was left completely bare, with only the bent blades of grass showing where the treasures had rested just a moment prior.
Orat gulped heavily, his throat tightening as he watched his entire life’s work disappear into Leon’s inventory.
He glanced back at the sliced halves of his former party members resting nearby, the sight of their blackened, lightning-fried flesh causing his stomach to turn in absolute disgust.
He shivered violently from head to toe, pulling his gaze away from the gruesome scene and forcing himself to focus entirely on his own survival.
’As long as I’m alive... I can get them back... I can always find a way to rebuild my wealth and status as long as my heart is still beating.’
He swallowed his remaining pride and looked up at Leon with pleading, bloodshot eyes, his voice trembling as he tried to secure his freedom.
"So..." Orat said, his words coming out in a desperate, ragged whisper. "You’re going to spare us now... right? We gave you everything we owned without a fight. You have no reason to hurt us anymore."
Leon was completely silent for a long moment, standing perfectly still with his invisible sword held loosely at his side.
He stared down at the party leader with an unreadable expression, letting the quiet of the destroyed forest stretch out until the tension became utterly unbearable.
Then, without any warning, he suddenly burst into a loud, mocking laughter that rang out through the fallen trees.
The sound of Leon’s amusement was harsh and entirely devoid of any warmth or kindness. He threw his head back slightly, his shoulders shaking as he laughed at the sheer absurdity of the captain’s hopeful question.
"Who said anything about sparing?" Leon asked, cutting his laughter short as his face instantly snapped back into a cold, lethal expression.
He looked down at the two men like they were nothing more than insects waiting to be stepped on.
Orat immediately panicked, his heart leaping into his throat as his face turned entirely white with fresh terror. He scrambled backward an inch, his remaining hand scraping wildly against the rough dirt.
"What?!" Orat screamed, his voice cracking with pure desperation. "You took all we had! We didn’t hide anything from you! What more could you possibly want from us?!"