Duels to the Death

His pulse pistol was extremely advanced, but only by the previous standards that Kyle had been accustomed to. He was still adapting to this crazy new world. From the thousands of star ships that left the massive orbital ring shipyard every hour to the massive accomplishments of architecture that could cast an entire city into shadow, Pillos had proven to be anything but boring.

Kyle was certain of his conviction however, he would adapt and overcome these challenges presented to him. His main current goal was to meet the expectations of the System in order to enter the Pillos Grand Academy. From what little he gleaned from Kali and others. Kyle checked his status.

[Name: Kyle]

[System Access Level 0.1]

[Race: Human]

[Cultivation: First Major Realm]

[Currency: 1350PC]

[Strength: 1.4]

[Dexterity 1.3]

[Constitution: 2.1]

[Intelligence 4.1]

[Further information on the Stats screen requires [ACCESS RESTRICTED]!]

His stats had improved slightly through his diligent work and completing the previous hidden quests. He had done well enough so far, he had not been here long at all. He sighed and focused back on his work.

"I've hit a wall." He muttered.

Kyle had hit a knowledge wall and had no idea how to do any better. He needed more knowledge and more knowledge meant more credits . He would ask Kali about their options, she was his source of knowledge at this point and she was apparently loyal if her actions said anything. He also needed some form of communication device considering he had literally no idea how to contact Kali without just knocking on her door.

He packed up his belongings and moved over to Kali's room. The makeshift hotel was rather small and easy to navigate. It only took a couple of moments to pack and make his way to her room.

"Kali, are you ready to leave?" Kyle said after knocking.

There was a quick yelp before an equally quick response.

"Yes Master! I'm ready to follow your order!" Kali said as she opened the door, in the exact same clothes as before but cleaner, she looked healthier and stronger than before even if Kyle still could not sense her Cultivation level."

They made their way out of the hotel, ignoring the girl working at the front again and made their way out into the street. Kyle had no destination in mind so he spoke to Kali about options.

"How do the people earn credits here?" He asked her.

She did not waste any time replying.

"Most people simply steal whatever they need." She shrugged and continued.

"But those who are more honourable will either set up some kind of service or participate in duels. Not many people choose the first option as it makes you the target of crazies. The wardens don't care a thing about what we do in here as long as we do not try to get out or break through to the Third Major Realm." She explained.

"Duels? Like fights to the death?" Kyle asked her for clarification.

"The duels here can be of a bunch of types. There are fights to the death to be sure, there are always people with ego's greater than their brain. But there are also those who compete in gambling duels or designing duels."

"Have you ever done a duel before?" He asked Kali, she seemed pretty knowledgeable over it after all.

"Yes Master, I did multiple fights to the death. It was expected of me in my previous clan to earn my keep." Kali explained.

"I'm guessing you won." Kyle joked to lighten the mood, she was a little too loyal with the title she had foisted upon him but she wouldn't call him anything else.

Kali giggled a bit before becoming more serious.

"Yes I won. I competed with people who were unprepared for my tricks. I bet I could win much more if I competed now, the magical elixir that you gave me is truly unfathomable." She remarked.

"Why don't we do just that then?" Kyle asked her.

"Pardon Master?" She blinked confusedly.

"Why don't we put you into the competition? You seem strong and the rewards would help." Kyle clarified.

[Quest Triggered: Duelling Victories]

[You have decided to enter your follower Kali into some duels to the death. This is a good opportunity to learn more about your followers and to gain some rewards!] Kali must win three duels to be victorious]

[Reward: Random follower reward, unlock the Level 0 Follower Manager feature]

[Failure: Kali dies. You are prevented from gaining any future followers]

Another quest! That at least confirmed it wasn't just one quest or hidden quests at a time. Now he was certain of his decision to put Kali in some duels. He would do them himself, but he was currently weak and unfamiliar with the exciting new world he was presented with.

Kali finally responded after a while of Kyle looking at the System prompt.

"If you wish for me to do it master then I would be more than willing to represent you!" Kali said devotedly.

Kali explained some of the finer rules to him, There would be fights once a month and they would go on for a few days. They had to be of the same personal cultivation level. The main problem was that the vast majority of people who took part were those sentenced to the prison area for life, as only they would be willing to fight to the death for credits.

To Kyle it seemed like a weird sort of prison. It was close to the Grand Academy and only housed relatively weak people, they were still allowed to use the credit system and had decent enough resources. It did not make sense to him in the least, but this was a foreign planet so who was he to say what was wrong and right.

The highest prizes for death duels could only be obtained from gaining a larger winning streak, the audience would bet on the winner and the participants would get a cut. The more interesting or talented the participants were, the more the other people would vote.

Apparently, people could earn tens of thousands of credits in the arena by risking their lives. It was a simple example of high risk high reward to the people in the prison area. A couple of wins could set you up for years. It would still take another five days for the next challenge time to begin.

"What should we do in the meantime Kali? Any suggestions?" Kyle asked her.

She thought for a moment before replying.

"We could always go to the scrap yard and try to salvage anything useful. The main risk is toxic materials and radioactive sludge. There are plenty of different materials dumped into the scrap yard from the rich folk but it's dangerous for many." She revealed.

Although the prospect of free goodies appealed to Kyle, there was no need to risk his life to its danger when he had Kali and the System already, plus a healthy portion of credits to his name

"I will pass on that one Kali, what else?" Kyle asked her.

She appeared to be thinking more this time as the obvious option was already conveyed.

"Perhaps we could go and locate the other Cultivation manuals you wanted? We only managed to find three yesterday but perhaps we could go find the other two you wanted?"

That was a good idea, Kyle had honestly forgotten about his other System quest while he was thinking about his pulse pistol.

"Let's go then if you have any more ideas of places that may sell us some!" Kyle decided, letting Kali lead the way.

The two traveled much longer than before. It was evident that they had previously exhausted Kali's close contacts and were now wandering off on different leads. They spent three hours walking at a brisk pace to reach their destination. The home of someone from Kali's clan. Although Kyle was hesitant because Kali was exiled from it, Kali assured him that as long as they kept to business transactions it would cause no issues.

In an odd change of pace, rather than having to open the door or knock like normal, the door opened all on its own and a woman stepped out.

"Little Kali, what are you doing here? You know the rules of being an exile!" The unidentified woman barked at Kali.

"I am just here on business on behalf of my new Master!" Kali said, clearing up the situation.

The woman's eyes moved to Kyle. And sighed.

"Very well, what do you need from me?" The woman asked Kyle.

Kyle responded quickly to get this over with, although he became a cultivator walking that long to get here was mind numbingly tedious, even with Kali keeping him company.

"I need cultivation techniques if you have them." He asked politely.

She scrutinized him for a second before nodding.

"I have a few, you will have to pay in credits though." She demand.

Kyle agreed and the three moved inside. They emerged ten minutes later an entire 1000 credits poorer but they had acquired the final two techniques they needed!

A familiar sound greeted Kyle the second they were alone. They had finished the quest!