Robbing

Approaching the central area of the desert, he could find some races hunting beasts. Unlike other places where no one could be found, the deeper he went, the more groups of people he encountered.

From where he was standing, he could see a small trail moving beneath the sand. There were many opponents here, so he would have to act quickly and monopolize any beasts he finds.

He didn't know what kind of beast it was, but he didn't waste any time and jumped on it, stabbing it with his sword. The beast emerged from the ground, making a noise. It seemed luck was on his side today. "Could it be that life is rewarding me after so many years of suffering?" he thought.

The beast he had found was the same worm he had lost earlier, but this didn't seem to be its habitat as it passed through the area without making much noise, and he couldn't see another one of the same species around.

Brandon didn't waste any time and combining his power with his sword, he launched a flurry of blows that connected with the beast. It had no escape, so it just screamed while taking the hits and attacked directly.

It looked like a tank that kept moving forward while hundreds of bullets hit it. Brandon had hoped the beast would make this attack.

Standing a few meters away, the beast opened its mouth to swallow Brandon, but this was what he wanted. He created two bombs of electric snakes and threw them into the worm's mouth.

They dissolved from inside the worm, and electricity began to spread into its entrails. The beast writhed, and even burns could be seen on its skin.

Many of the fighters who were watching what was happening were amazed. They thought it was a special lightning power that could cause such damage to the beast, and they wondered what race this figure belonged to.

[You have killed a basic level 2 earthworm]

Brandon walked up to the beast and began to cut where he felt a flow of energy accumulating.

He took out the core and looked at the beast's body. It would be a waste to leave the body lying there, especially if it's a level 2 beast. Although it's a basic level 2 beast, it's even a bit stronger than a mid-level 1 beast.

Thinking whether he should return, a group of lizard races approached Brandon. "Would you mind selling us the beast?" asked one.

Brandon looked at him as if he had seen his savior, but he remained calm and simply accepted. He wouldn't leave empty-handed this time.

"Based on its characteristics, I can say it's at least a level 2 beast. I can give you 800 Star coins, even if it's worth more, my group still wants to make some profit, and we'll have to transport the beast. So, what do you think?" The same lizard spoke again; he seemed to be their leader.

Brandon didn't haggle the price; he knew he could earn up to 2,000 Star Coins, but it would take him a long time to carry the beast back and forth, and he didn't want to waste time.

Brandon nodded and accepted 800 Star coins. The lizard signaled to one of the group's people, who approached and placed a collar on the corpse. The beast's body distorted and entered the collar.

Brandon couldn't feel bad because these people wouldn't carry it; if they had the means to take the loot, he wasn't one to judge them.

He took his money, and before leaving, the lizard spoke again. "Pleasure doing business with you, my name is Ankat."

"He handed Brandon a card and said, "If you have anything you can't carry and want to sell, infuse energy into the card and we can communicate, the card is free, you won't have to pay for it."

Brandon looked at the card for a moment and took it, he didn't know such an artifact existed. Without saying more, he nodded to the lizard men and left.

"Luzbel, did you do the analysis?" asked Brandon.

[*Analysis done. This card seems to have a communication rune, but it also contains hidden spells like tracking, I can take care of deactivating it and leaving only the communication function*]

Brandon already knew it wasn't normal for them to be so supportive of him. These were pirates and well-trained. "Don't deactivate it yet, wait until I'm further away."

"Sir, the signal is gone," said one of the lizards.

"What do you mean it's gone?" asked Ankat.

"I don't know what happened, but the signal suddenly disappeared," he replied.

"Send a group to track it down, now!"

...

Away from the central area, Brandon walked while looking for some beasts. But there were no beasts around.

"It seems like you have to get to the area early to hunt beasts before other groups take them," he thought.

The beasts never ran out, it was a strange phenomenon where more and more appeared every hour.

As he looked around, he could hear a battle raging in the distance. He became curious about what was happening, as it sounded like a fierce battle.

Brandon approached a tall mound of earth to get a better view of the battle. In the distance, he could see James and his group battling a yellow scorpion.

"They're fighting a high-level beast," he thought, his eyes shining. The beasts had a chance of becoming a rune, but only for whoever dealt the final blow.

The group was composed of 2 warriors, 3 archers, and James, who seemed to have a variant ability.

Brandon found these warriors interesting as they didn't seem to have any elemental or variant abilities.

James could always see attacks coming towards him. Brandon thought his ability was some sort of heightened sense.

The battle had lasted a long time until the moment when the beast was lying on the ground, unable to move. James was going to deal the final blow while the others just watched.

"The moment has come," he thought as he took out his bow and aimed at James.

James raised his sword with both hands, the tip of the sword pointed downwards. He was going to strike, but he put that aside and threw himself to the ground. He had sensed an object approaching him.

The group went on high alert at what had happened and looked towards where the arrow had come from. They saw Brandon on the mountain, but he didn't waste any time and, using his powers, gave a great push back as he ran.

James looked for a while at where Brandon was, but didn't pay much attention to him. He was going to take care of him outside the refuge and put more emphasis on hunting him.

He got up and prepared to attack the scorpion, but noticed a hole where some electricity was still coming out. His face turned red with anger, the unknown devil had attacked the beast but he wasn't the target.

"Behind him!" he shouted as he ran towards the mound, but he couldn't find any trace of Brandon, he had already left.

"AAAAAAAA" James screamed, consumed with fury at the thought that he didn't know if the devil had obtained any soul runes or not.

...

Meanwhile, Brandon had a big smile on his face with the notification he had heard earlier.

[You've killed a high-level 1 Scorpion Beast]

[The beast sacrificed its soul to reincarnation and left an equipment rune]

Brandon didn't have time to check what kind of equipment it was, or where the rune had appeared.

Now his concern was how to get back to the shelter without running into James' group, but his worries didn't last long as he could see a group of people wearing the school's free hunting uniform, and he decided on his next plan.

He had nowhere to leave his mask, so he tucked it under his sweater, showing that he had a lump underneath.

He approached the group and they immediately noticed him and he said, "Hey guys, how's it going? Are you also from Pandora school?"