Chapter 41

312.4.65.

"Please explain again. Why do I have to come along?"

These words came from James who had to be dragged into a Green Dragon branded car with the combined strength of Helen and Anthony.

"Because you're the strongest out of all of us and the only person, other than myself, that my ability can use as a reference point."

While the adults were arguing at the front, the kids were performing another experiment with Drake's ability in the back of the car. Peter spent most of his money on two cubes of iron. One of them was almost completely pure and was also the more expensive one, and a bigger but cheaper one that was basically scrap metal.

The idea was to test out how Drake's stomach acts based on the purity of his diet. It was bound to become extremely expensive in the near future so it was a good idea to find cost saving methods beforehand.

[You have consumed 0.5 kg of iron.]

[Result: STR +0.03, END +0.04, MGC +0.01, EXP +10]

[Temporary result: STR +0.15, END +0.2]

[Time left: 35:57:21]

[You have consumed 1 kg of scrap iron.]

[Result: STR +0.03, END +0.04, MGC +0.01, EXP +10]

[Temporary result: STR +0.06, END +0.08]

[Time left: 11:59:54]

The result of the experiment was about as good as they could have realistically expected. If the power boost wasn't needed immediately, then it was cheaper and about as effective to just get whatever junk they could find at a scrap yard instead of buying expensive materials.

The car ride itself was a little more than four hours long and it was about as a boring as one could expect from a continuous frozen coastline and the occasional mountain. Thankfully they were going south so they could see a flower or two by the end of their journey.

Their final destination was the main temple of the Phoenix Order. Despite what their name might suggest, they worshiped a bear and not an actual phoenix. The order came to existence a few years ago when the founder and current leader, Jake Igel, allegedly found a perpetually bleeding bear that healed whatever living being it passed by.

In spite of their horrible reputation in high society, regular people were quite fond of them. This contradictory effect was the result of the group's activities outside of their creepy rituals. The coastal islands they decided to inhabit were full of care facilities primarily focused on people with chronic or innate conditions who are otherwise doomed to a lifetime of suffering.

The group arrived at the temple shortly after sunset and were greeted by a young priestess alongside a few helpers. She was cheerful and welcoming, which was a stark contrast to her appearance. She was missing an eye and a leg alongside several other scars that she failed to cover with her robes in spite of her best efforts. She was also deathly pale.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Williams. We are glad that you still walk among us, in the living world."

"Well, thank you. The news of my death have been a little exaggerated, as you can see."

The priestess then led the seven of them inside the temple to meet the head priest. Along the way they passed by a couple of care rooms and their guide was passionately describing all of the work they have been doing, while also mentioning the healing powers of their beloved apostle.

However, when they were approaching a red framed door, her voice became melancholic.

"Unfortunately, even the Great Bjorn's power can't prolong the inevitable forever. I ask you to remain quiet while passing by. We wish to keep their final days peaceful."

The door was wide open and what they saw made the young priestess' worries completely justified in their eyes. The people inside were of all ages and origins. They had almost nothing in common other than the fact that all of them were a single step away from death's door. There was actually another thing but only a few of them could see it.

[Entity class 3.]

[Entity class 1.]

[Entity class 0.]

…

[Entity class 4.]

Peter had to go through a great deal of effort to find so many weak people back home in Ambolt but here there was an unnatural abundance of them. Actually, the strongest person they have met so far was the priestess and she wasn't that much better considering her position.

[Entity class 8.]

It was common knowledge that the most frequent visitors of the order were those that couldn't afford medical help elsewhere, so it was expected for them to be weaker than average but there were supposed to be at least a few outliers.

As he was thinking about that, they arrived at a large chamber. The order's leader was sitting at the head of a long table with some food prepared on it.

[Warning: Class 22 entity detected!]

[Caution is advised.]

"Welcome, dear guests. Please sit down and join us for dinner. I would have liked to offer some of our wine, but considering that there are also children with you, how would you like some cranberry juice instead."

The offer of fruit juice was probably made because of Sarah and Manda, since the rest of them looked nothing like children, even though there were two more of them.

[Entity class 22.]

[Ability: Siphon]

Things were becoming even weirder with the head priest as the only person with a single ability and that much power Peter has seen before was the still alive Anthony and that was only because he had a really simple ability. The word siphon didn't exactly scream simple so he was being cautious.

The group was sitting around munching on some appetizers and discussing the next few day's schedule until the drinks were brought out. Peter in his absentminded state gulped down the entire glass he was given, then had to resist spitting it back out.

[Health: 100%]

[Stamina: 100%]

[Use of Monster in The Dark has been restored.]

[You are affected by Siphon!]

[Siphon has been disabled.]

If that was the only thing that happened, he might have had an easier time trying to compose himself but there was one other thing that the interface didn't inform him about. The cranberry juice that was supposed to be nothing but sweet had a hint of metallic and salty flavor in it.

Fortunately, he didn't have to remain composed for too long because everyone was distracted by the sound of shattering glass coming from his left.