Chapter 4: The Makings of an Army

Prime Minister Honest is not happy.

Far from it.

He has received a report that told him that all of the supplies of the newly formed assassination unit called the Group of Terror have disappeared.

All of it.

Every single item ranging from the brainwashing machines all the way to the laundry detergent has vanished in thin air.

Thousands upon thousands of gold coins were used to supply Bill and Gozuki with the means to create the means to keep the Empire on top, and while Gozuki has given his reports throughout the years and it is all satisfactory, Bill's was the one that had shown the most promise.

Sure there's the fact that while his practices would bring their own solutions in a much quicker timetable, the result won't last as long as he would personally like.

Something which Gozuki's own methods would provide in spades.

So to see that a vital part of his plan to maintain power for as long as possible has not only hit a roadblock, but a major one such as this one infuriates Honest so much that he no doubt won't be able to eat for days on end!

He may even end up anorexic!

He walks down the corridor and heads towards one of the many secret entrances to the catacombs below the empire, where he has set up a meeting with Gozuki as well as some other not-so-noteworthy people.

While he doesn't care enough to remember their names at this very moment, he knows enough of them to know of their importance in the system that he has developed in order to live the best life possible.

And if hundreds of thousands of people below him have to suffer for him to enjoy this luxurious life, then so be it.

They are all just pawns in this game of life he's playing.

One he knows for sure that victory is in his favor.

Once he reaches the designated room, he looks to see that Gozuki is the first to be there, already waiting for the meeting to begin.

"Took your time now didn't you Prime Minister?" Gozuki questions, his fingers locked into each other as they support his head from hitting the table.

"Now now Gozuki there's no need to be so direct. I was merely reminiscing of the fond times I have had when going through these wonderful corridors." Honest states as he gives Gozuki one of his infamous 'gentle' smiles.

Gozuki raises a brow. "Really? During such a crisis?" He asks.

Honest's smile gets even bigger as he himself takes a seat. "One must have a calm mind in order to see the bigger picture clearly." He retorts back to the former Rakshasa Demon.

Gozuki grunts, looking away from Honest before closing his eyes, pondering on his thoughts as he places his legs on the table.

Soon enough one by one, Honest's other associates begin to trickle in and begin to take their seats, awaiting what Honest has in store for them.

"As many of you know, we have created an assassination program that has been majorly led by Saikyuu in order to quell the increase in uprisings happening all over the Empire's territory." Honest begins amicably as he motions his hand towards Saikyuu, who smirks.

And in an instant, Honest's expression turns serious. "Well, the leader of the Group of Terror Bill and his assistant Jill have disappeared along with all of the supplies under their care, as well as their best squad Group A." Honest states as he glares at the whole room, who have gone deathly still. "And that's not mentioning that all of the soldiers posted as guards as well as Dr. Stylish have disappeared as well."

Now that got everybody in an uproar, since Dr. Stylish is one of their most valuable assets, especially with such a versatile and valuable teigu in his hands.

As they continue to argue amongst each other for a while, Gozuki decides enough is enough and firmly taps the table with Murasame's sheathe.

All of the ones arguing stop and turn their attention towards Gozuki, who stares at them unimpressed. "If this is how you all react to something unexpected, then no doubt the Empire will fall with such weak-willed men leading it." Gozuki states. "While this is indeed a setback, my children are more than ready to do their part now. They have already completed their first missions with resounding success and are more than ready to carry the Empire to victory!"

Internally though, Gozuki was thinking about another thing entirely. 'Group A hasn't reported themselves since they have left to do their first mission. More than likely they are dead… how am I going to explain this to Akame?' He ponders to himself, wondering if he should lie as always or just tell her the truth this time around. He knows for a fact Akame has a borderline obsessive love for her younger sister Kurome, which is the main reason as to why she has trained so hard.

Though then again, they might not be. If everything Bill owned has disappeared along with his assistant, then it could mean that the person responsible for this might not have killed them at all. Rather he is holding them hostage and took Group A for himself, no doubt to mold them into tools for themselves to use.

If going by that line of thinking, Dr. Stylish would have been kidnapped as well. Though considering how the man is, there is a higher chance that he may have gotten himself killed.

Who knows? He's merely speculating.

As he places his attention back to the meeting at hand if only for just a moment, he wonders if this is even the path he wants to continue going.

After the retirement of Prime Minister Chouri following the last Emperor's 'sickness' and his wife's 'suicide', Honest has been pulling the strings and has increased the speed at which the Empire is degrading.

And sure while he is being paid handsomely for his troubles, he has a gut feeling that in the coming years he might not be able to even use said cash at all.

Sure there's the secret pleasure he has for raising his seven children assassins, but then there's the fact that he has ignored his biological daughter Mez for the most part of her life, leaving her upbringing entirely to the Imperial Fist Temple where he originally was a Rakshasa Demon.

And even then, due to the necessities of the Empire, he has made his own 'children' do unsavory things at such a young age that no child should even be doing them in the first place.

So with that in mind, does he truly deserve to leave when he has already set his pieces?

Gozuki might be a bastard who will use whatever it takes to win regardless of the means, and he might be a strict and cruel man…

…but he is one to stick to his decisions, regardless of the consequences they may bring.

With Faust…

Y'know, this turned out to be even more pleasant than expected.

After some smooth-talking from yours truly, I was able to convince the group to come with me and for the most part, they seem to be in brighter spirits than before.

Remus in particular seems to have taken a liking to me, no doubt from saving her from getting killed by the guy she nearly bisected.

At first, I thought that she was the weakest link out of them all considering what I have seen, but the moment I used [Observe] it semi-confirmed it to me, but in a different way than I was expecting.

Remus, Clumsy Optimistic Assassin, Lv. 23

Affection: 40

Thoughts about you: You saved her life, she is really thankful for that.

HP: 740/740

SP: 740/740

STR: 105

END: 74

DEX: 112

INT: 69

WIS: 8

CHA: 92

LCK: 10

Kurome, Prodigal Assassin, Lv. 37

Affection: 25

Thoughts about you: Thankful for saving Remus, and for being a better boss than Bill so far.

HP: 1140/1140

SP: 1140/1140

STR: 133

END: 114

DEX: 149

INT: 94

WIS: 92

CHA: 109

LCK: 91

Natala, Group A De-Facto Leader, Lv. 35

Reputation: 25

Thoughts about you: Thankful for saving Remus, and for being a better boss than Bill so far.

HP: 1630/1630

SP: 1630/1630

STR: 110

END: 163

DEX: 118

INT: 93

WIS: 80

CHA:91

LCK: 67

Gin, Delinquent Assassin, Lv. 29

Affection: 25

Thoughts about you: Thankful for saving Remus, and for being a better boss than Bill so far.

HP: 660/660

SP: 660/660

STR: 114

END: 66

DEX: 92

INT: 84

WIS: 48

CHA: 115

LCK: 65

Womyn, Bookworm Assassin, Lv. 26

Affection: 25

Thoughts about you: Thankful for saving Remus, and for being a better boss than Bill so far.

HP: 550/550

SP: 550/550

STR: 73

END: 55

DEX: 78

INT: 117

WIS: 105

CHA: 98

LCK: 3

Her WIS stat is in an abysmally piss-poor state compared to her other stats. If one were to ignore that, then she'd be the third strongest of them all, just a couple points behind Natala in terms of physical stats and by a whole lot in WIS.

Their stats aren't bad at all either, for the most part, considering the world they live in. For a moment I was going to compare them to mine, but I have to keep reminding myself that The Gamer Powers are just too OP for me to even compare to something normal like natural growth.

Low-key with how strong I have gotten I kind of feel out of place…

Right now we are leisurely walking back to the base I have set up in the mountains, with me obviously leading them as they trail behind me, or in the case of Remus, walking beside me.

"So what's the game plan boss?" Gin questions as she looks at me curiously before getting smacked in the back of the head by a panicked Womyn, causing her to stop, looking at Womyn with an accusatory stare. "Hey!"

"I apologize for Gin's crassness. Please forgive her." Womyn states, bowing slightly towards me, slight fear emanating from her that has no doubt been put in her from the past experiences she and the group have had with Bill.

Uh…

Well isn't this awkward…

"Alright look let me get this straight from the get-go. You all can act casual with me. I don't really care about all of that professional mumbo jumbo. It's only a problem when we are on a mission but other than that, go for it I do not mind at all." I placate, try to reassure them that I'm nothing like Bill. "Obviously since we have only just met hours ago I know for a fact that you all can only trust me so much. Therefore if you all don't mind I would like to ask each of you some personal questions, just so I can get to know each of you."

This catches their attention. From the looks of surprise they're giving me I can hazard a guess that Bill hasn't even done anything remotely beneficial to them in terms of building a personal relationship with those under him.

Though this IS the Empire we're talking about, so I'm not surprised really.

"If you guys want, I'll start off first. My name is Faust and I am an Agent for The Empire. My likes are cooking delicious food, eating delicious food, exploring, nature, and keeping my loved ones happy. My dislikes are spicy foods, Marxist communism, savages, betrayers, papaya, disease, and people who think they're hot shit. My goal in life right now is merely to live my life to the fullest and make the empire prosperous." I begin as they now seem to be more at ease around me.

That's good since I'm not fond of personally leading people who view me in a negative light.

History has proven the consequences when one does so.

"Okay, now I have said my piece, who would like to go next?" I ask them.

Remus speaks up first. "M-My name is Remus! I am the 12th kill ranked assassin for the Empire! I like my friends, spending time with them, combing my hair, and my uh…" Remus starts off before slowly going quiet.

I glance at her with a questioning look. "Yes? Anything else you would like to add?" I ask her as a blush begins to grow on her face.

"N-No…!" Remus fidgets as she looks away from me.

From behind, Gin chimes in rather loudly. "It's her old teddy bear!"

Remus' face goes tomato red as she looks aghast at what Gin has yelled out. "Gin!" Remus calls out as she jumps on top of her and soon enough the two of them begin to wrestle around on the ground much to my hidden amusement.

Kurome chuckles slightly at the sight before noticing me looking at her. "Oh! Uh, yes my name is Kurome! I am the 8th kill ranked assassin! I like sweets and my friends and my sister Akame and I don't like being kept away from her. My goal is to reunite with her one day!" Kurome proclaims with a determined look on her face.

Ah… family bonds…

They sure are a strong thing…

Stopping that train of thought from going any further, I immediately turn my attention towards Natala who seems to be breaking up the tussle between Remus and Gin. "What about you Natala? Would you like to contribute a bit?" I ask.

"Sure thing. I am Natala the 9th kill ranked assassin and my favorite things are my friends, teasing them, and training. I don't like it when my friends are hurt and my goal in life right now is to stop the chaos plaguing The Empire." Natala replies as he holds up a red-faced Remus and a chortling Gin before letting them down on their feet.

Remus looks away from me out of pure embarrassment from what I can tell so I turn my attention to Gin. "And you Gin?" I ask her as she looks at me with a challenging look.

"Well you already know my name so I'm not going to bother with that, but I am the 10th kill ranked assassin. My likes and dislikes are simple. I like to train and fight with my friends and I don't like assholes and-"

"Literally or figuratively?" I interrupt her.

"Huh?" She is thrown off guard by what I said and is further confused when she sees everyone chuckling or laughing by what seems to be at her discretion. Moments later she pieces together what I meant and her face erupts a nice glowing shade of red.

"Wha-! No-! I mean-! Uh-! AAAAH YOU DAMN BASTARD!" She screeches out as she launches herself at me, her hands fully intent on strangling me.

Heh, don't tempt me with a good time!

The moment she gets close I quickly maneuver around her and grab her by her waist. "Want to know how it feels to be a helicopter?" I ask her.

From the look she has given me, she obviously doesn't know what a helicopter is since they don't exist, but judging by how pale she's getting I know that she knows that she is not going to like it one bit.

I then begin to toss and twirl her around as if I was making pizza dough. Her frantic screaming followed by the laughter of everyone else watching only makes this more fun for me as I keep on spinning her.

After a couple of seconds of messing with her, I decide enough is enough and put her down gently. She staggers for a bit before grabbing a hold of Natala as she tries to remain upright.

"I won't forget this, you bastard…!" Gin claims as she points a shaking finger at me.

Decreased Affection with Gin 22/100 (-3 for making a fool out of her in front of her friends, and being very smug about it.)

Fucking worth it, and judging the glare she is giving me and the big grin plastered on my face she knows what I'm feeling. "And last but certainly not least, Womyn?"

Womyn adjusts her glasses before she begins. "Well as you already know, my name is Womyn and by process of elimination, I am the 11th kill ranked assassin for the empire. I in particular like reading and studying since knowledge is power as well as my friends since it's always healthy to be around people one cares about. I also like archeology and would like to be an archaeologist once my services as an assassin are no longer needed by The Empire. Things I don't like would be Bill and those who try to hurt my friends."

So she's an assassin who wants to be an archeologist?

I basically have my own Nico Robin here.

Kurome is Akame's sister, so I have no doubt she's going to get absurdly strong once I start training her.

Natala already has properties showing that he has the capabilities of being a capable leader, so training up his INT and WIS will be as critical as training up his physical stats.

Even more so with Gin and Remus since their WIS stats are atrocious compared to their other stats.

I nod my head as I let out a hum. "Alright, alright that's a good dream you have right there. I'm sure all of you will make your dreams come true given enough time and thank you all for telling me a little bit about yourselves." I state as the minimap shows that we are nearing one of the entrances I have via multiple shovels that head back to my base of operations. "We're here." I state as I stop in front of a boulder with the 'former' Empire Assassins looking around in confusion before they notice me staring at the boulder.

"What do you mean we're here? All I see is this massive boulder and the forest behind it." Gin inquires as she and Remus look around the boulder to find anything that can show an opening.

…yeah I definitely need to improve their WIS stats.

Granted the way I make it open could be considered… ridiculous to some, but to that, I say if you can't make life enjoyable to yourself then what's the point in living?

I

jump on the boulder and place my feet on some indents I made. To open the entrance to my base, one has to be able to do the splits as well as have enough physical strength to push the two halves of the boulder away from one another so one can have enough space to walk down the corridor comfortably.

And so the splits I did.

After opening up the entrance, I motioned them to walk inside. Once they walk into the corridor I close the boulder and walk behind them.

Setting this all up in a week took so much work. Thankfully though I have enough stamina and STR to spare and I don't really need to sleep so I went to work.

And work I did.

Do you know how much work one has to put to strategically carve out an underground base in a mountain? Me neither until I actually went through the entire ordeal.

You wanna know how much fucking dirt and rocks I have in my inventory right now!?

Enough to make Minecraft Steve proud!

And even then, I have to take into consideration where to shovel since the mountain still needs to maintain its structural integrity.

Thank God for geometry and structural knowledge!

Still though, even if I had taken most of the week to get the basis of my base set up, I can't say that I'm not satisfied with the results.

As we continue to walk down the dark corridor, I decide it's now time to summon out my good steed so he can meet my first and newest members.

They all yelp in surprise when a torrent of flames suddenly appears in front of them, immediately taking out their weapons and putting themselves in a guarded position.

"Now now hold on everybody, don't get too hasty! This here is my trusty steed Guerra." I placate the group as I walk past them and begin to brush his flaming mane with my hand, having learned long ago that the flames he produces do not harm me or my allies whatsoever.

"You can't be serious!? That's more of a danger beast than a horse!" Natala yelps out in astonishment as he sizes up Guerra.

"I concur." Womyn adds as she hesitantly gets closer to Guerra to examine him properly.

Guerra puts his attention towards her once she gets close enough and lets out a torrent of flames from his nostrils via a snort.

Said snort makes Womyn let out a terrified yelp as she backs away and holds her blade back up in a guarded position.

"Guerra play nice, please. No need to be like that." I chastise my horse who gives me the horse equivalent of a smirk.

I didn't even know a horse can smirk.

Then again, this is Guerra I'm talking about.

Hopping onto his back I call out to my new 'lackeys' to follow me and to stay close so as to not get lost.

And I mean that seriously.

I know that no place in this world is safe from being broken into. I mean shit, just look at me. I was able to get into one of the most secure and secretive areas in the empire and take what I need without anyone finding out.

Well… they did find out, but they didn't live long enough to tell anyone else.

Except Bill's assistant aptly named Jill.

Once I get these guys situated into their new home, I'll give those brainwashing machines a test run of sorts on her.

Don't wanna fuck things up with Kurome and her friends so might as well use someone who I don't really care about.

Aside from that though as we slowly trek through the trail I have created, there is one thought that has been lingering in my mind since I have summoned Guerra for the first time.

I really need to get him a saddle.

Once I got all of them situated into their new home and showed them the rooms where they would be staying, I went off into one of the largest rooms I have set up to be my laboratory of sorts, with it being the size of your average Wal-Mart Supercenter. Going through my inventory, I begin to sort through all of the things I have stolen from Bill and by extension, The Empire.

I didn't even check what I took, I just grabbed everything in sight and threw it all into my inventory without a care in the world.

Speaking of that...

I didn't get any stat boosts from killing Bill and Stylish. Or even the guards for that matter.

Hell, I didn't even get any from the guys I killed while acquiring Kurome and the others.

Sure I got their respective skills and knowledge, but other than that, no physical or mental power-ups that I can see aside from an expanse of knowledge.

I need to bring up my Perks list to see what my class perk stated to see if there are any discrepancies from what I thought it did to what it actually does.

{Exponential Combat Improvement} - The more you have fighting against you, the better. More so when you actually kill the people standing against you. The base stats of each opponent you kill gets added to yours along with their skills.

Oh… ok… that actually makes sense.

Taking into consideration the wording of the description of this perk, then that means that the ones I kill have to be actively aware of my existence and therefore make any form of assassination moot since I won't get the complete benefits from the perk itself.

I mean my class literally is The Horseman of War, so that would entail direct combat against those who are my enemies.

Thus team-killing is a no-go as well as assassinating those who have never even heard of me.

But that also means that they have to actually know of me and view me as an enemy, and thus I have to build up my reputation across the land.

Well, ain't that a bitch.

Nothing I can't work with though, just a small inconvenience.

Gotta plan out my killings to be more… confrontational in order to receive the full benefits of my class perk.

I mean that shouldn't be hard. This world tends to bring out the worst of people so it shouldn't be hard to make enemies here and I just gotta remember to leave people alive and not annihilate them all in one go.

Nevermind that though, I got a workshop to set up!

I open up my inventory to see what I have and to start picking out the most useful things I have… acquired from my venture into the Empire.

Uuuh… let us see here…

…

Hmmm…

Is there an organizing option available for my inventory? It's all a complete mess.

Current Option Selected: User Acquired, Descending

What would you like to do?​

Can you separate all Items that are together? Like all of the books on the shelves and all of the medicine in the cabinets?

All Items are now separated.

What else would you like to do?​

Can you categorize them by what they are? Like all medicine in one part, all furniture in another.

Something like that would make things much easier for me.

Current Option Selected: Categorized by Item Type, Descending

What else would you like to do?​

That's it. Thank you very much for that game!

Increased Reputation with The Game™ 14/100 (+4 for being appreciative of the things I do. Many other gamers don't even give minor stuff like this a glance and think it's all so easy when they aren't the ones doing it.)

Uh… you seem a bit upset. Would you like to talk about it?

No. And even if I did it would take too long. So just keep doing what you are doing. I'm not supposed to interact this much with the gamers anyways.​

Um, okay then, I wish you the best.

Increased Reputation with The Game™ 20/100 (+6… you know why.)

That last message makes me crack a smile before deciding to head back to what I was planning on doing, which is making sure that my workspace is as clean as it can be.

Pulling out one of the many brooms I have stolen from the Empire I lose myself to thought.

Thinking back to the past chat I had with the game has made me think of my life before all of this. While I might be a selfish person for the most part, that doesn't mean I don't care for those who do things for me.

My older brother for instance always had my back no matter what. He's what I would call the better version of me. He's more kind-hearted than me, doing things out of the goodness of his heart rather than personal gain like me. He would always try to de-escalate any situation he's apart in, while I in turn would only make things worse with my penchant for always using the violent solution, which in my opinion is still the best solution there is, even if he stated otherwise.

Whenever I was with him, I will admit he brought out the kinder me, since that's just the kind of feller he is. In turn I would always try to do right by him whenever he was around.

Sibling love sure is a powerful thing.

Too bad he died four years before I did.

I remember that day vividly… Our younger sister got kidnapped by a group of savages while I was just leaving my High School. My brother was heading back from work when he texted the whole family that he caught sight of the van that took our sister.

That was the last text we received from him.

Tracking his phone was easy since all of our phones had GPS trackers so once I was picked up my whole family went towards his location.

Only to see the police and ambulances surrounding a warehouse.

When I saw his body…

The splintering snap of the broom in my hands brings me back from my walk down memory lane.

Ah… Goddammit…

I let out a sigh as I put away the broken broom into my inventory before beginning to place all of the items I have taken from Bill and the Empire and put them in a proper position.

Okay… let's put you guys here… and you all can go over here… Let's see what else I can pull out of my inventory… hmm?

Well, what is this?

[Remus' Old Teddy Bear - Common, E-Rank]

Remus' teddy bear that has been taken from her by Bill when she was first 'recruited' into the Group of Terror. The only thing she has that is from her parents, she cherishes it greatly and longs to have it back. Has a nostalgic smell to it.

Durability: 9/15

So this is the teddy bear that Gin mentioned. Definitely will give it to Remus when I next see her.

Anywho, gotta get back to organizing this place, or else it will never get done.

Cabinets can go into that corner over there… and now to put half of all books and medicine I have in my inventory into said furniture.

Oh yeah! Can't forget about these brainwashing chairs, they will surely be needed when the time comes.

"Um… F-Faust sir?" Remus' wavering voice calls out.

"Yes, is there anything you… need?" I speak before noticing the condition she's in.

She's breathing heavily as a lot of sweat drips down her face. She looks quite pale and haggard as she keeps gulping down deep breaths and struggles to maintain her balance.

"Shit shit shit what's wrong!?" I ask her in worry, and why wouldn't I be? Using a quick [Observe] tells me that her HP and SP are slowly draining, and she's already lost about 15% of it!

"Our medication… we need them… do you have them?" Remus pleads to me as she begins to lose consciousness.

I catch her as soon as she begins to tip over, holding her close to me as I begin to open my inventory and begin searching for any medication that can help alleviate their pain.

C'mon c'mon c'mon where the hell is it!? I read through the descriptions of each jar of medicine I have in my inventory to find it but each and every single one isn't the one I am looking for.

Seriously considering the type of person he is, why would he need so many different types of medicine!?

Unfortunately, my luck doesn't help me in this matter as the medicine I need right now was all the way to the bottom of my Inventory list.

Gonna organize this shit alphabetically once I'm done with this.

[Empire's Super Soldier Medication - Rare, C-Rank]

Medication created by Bill to mitigate the side-effects of the continuous doping he gave the assassins under him. Doesn't really mitigate but rather stalls said side-effects so long as they continue to take the medication. Has highly addictive properties.

Durability: 50/50

…

Yeah once I give them their meds I am going to try my hardest on making a much better version of it using Stylish and Bill's knowledge.

Putting my hand into one of the nearby cabinets, I open up my inventory and pull out a vial of the medication, taking out one of the pills quickly.

"Remus… Remus wake up, I got what you need." I softly speak to her as I lightly shake her body. Thankfully she stirs awake and looks directly at me despite the slight swaying of her head. "I got it. Open your mouth for me please."

She complies and I insert the pill into her mouth and she begins chewing. The effects work rapidly once she finishes taking the pill. She regains consciousness rather quickly as well as her skin regains much of its color.

Once I see that she's much better, I sprint towards the chambers where I have left them to their devices, only to find them all on the floor right at the corridor that leads them down here.

Seems they had the same idea as Remus, glad they are conscious though.

I take no time in giving them their medication, as much as it pains me to do so since they've been force-fed it for who knows how long and they have become incredibly dependent on it because of how addictive it is.

I got a long road ahead of myself to get them off of them as well as get them stronger through some more… natural means.

"Everybody alright?" I ask them as they all slowly get up from the floor.

"Yes… we'll be fine… wouldn't be the first time we would be kept from our medication…" A sweating Kurome begins as she takes in some big breaths.

"What she said… just give us all a moment…" Gin adds in tiredly as she looks up at me. Looking at Natala and Womyn they both give me silent nods before turning my attention to Remus who is still in my arms- why is she so red?

"Uh… Remus? You okay there?" I ask her, who in turn stiffens before nodding robotically. She only seems to be getting redder.

It's as if she is blushi- hold up…

…

Really? Crushing on me already? I haven't even done much, just showed them kindness and saved Remus and some potential others from getting killed on their first mission…

…

Okay, nevermind I can see why.

I let out a cough so as to get everyone's attention. "Okay so I'm going to be quite honest, they never told me about you all needing to take meds after a mission so I would like to apologize in advance for that.

Secondly, I am currently setting up my workplace where we can continue with your modifications, or rather the opposite of that." I state, catching many of them to look at me by surprise as they all get back up on their feet.

"What do you mean?" Natala asks, worry evident in his tone of voice.

"What I mean is that Bill's methods, while they may produce fast results, will also result in all of you dying within a matter of years at best." I explain, making them all look at me with some form of shock or astonishment.

"But… but… Uncle Bill said that we would be able to live our lives once we have completed our service!" Remus exclaims, not wanting to believe what I just said.

"He never meant to have kept that promise. That's why I am going to try to get you all off of those drugs he made and make you all much stronger these coming months than Bill ever could." I proclaim to them as they look at me with awe and confusion.

"But Bill said that his drugs would get us stronger than we could get naturally? Though with what you said, it isn't without its set of drawbacks." Womyn states before she begins to ponder to herself from what I can tell.

And normally, as much as I hate to admit it, yeah Bill is pretty much correct on what he has stated before his untimely demise.

However…

To that, I say screw the rules! I have Gamer Powers!

Glancing at my Teaching Skill I can only let out a smirk.

[Teaching](Passive): Lv. 267/1000

The perfect way of passing down one's skills to the next generation. At this level, you are capable of imparting knowledge or teaching a skill to someone at a speed that would normally be biologically impossible for them to even grasp in such a short time. When teaching someone, they learn whatever knowledge and skills you are trying to teach them 1335% faster than if taught by someone else. Physical training development is boosted up by 534%.

Oh yeah… totally broken.

I mean why have natural talent when you can get someone with the right skills to just give you a rather big boost.

By the time I am done with these five, The Elite Seven will not stand a chance against my soldiers.

Getting back from my thoughts I respond to Womyn's statement. "You are correct on that Womyn, but let me just tell you all this: when there's a will, there's a way. And trust me, I know a way." I tell them as I pull out of my inventory a couple of water bottles for each of them. "Now it is getting late, I am sure you all would love to get some rest. In fact, take a week off. From the reports, I have read on what Bill has made not only your group do, but all other groups as well, it seems that neither of you guys has had any prolonged downtime. So take this week of yours and do whatever your heart desires. I will be in my workshop if any of you need me for anything. Have a good night." I say, ready to turn around before pausing.

I turn to face Remus who still has a flushed face. "Before I forget, Remus." I state as I pull out her old teddy bear from under my cloak to disguise my use of my inventory, making her freeze in place as her eyes go wide in shock. "I found it while getting Bill's things from his office. I didn't know it was yours until a while ago." I state as I hand it over to her.

She gingerly takes the stuffed bear from my hands as she stares at the one thing she has no doubt held dear in her heart for a long time before tears begin to form in her eyes as she begins to softly weep.

Personally, I've never been good with people crying, mainly because I never had a sense of how to actually comfort someone.

That was more of my older brother's thing.

I turn to leave before a pair of arms wrap around my waist, stopping me in my tracks.

It doesn't take a genius to know who it is.

"Thank you…! Thank you so much…! I-I never… never thought I would… s-see it again!" she chokes out as her grip on my waist tightens.

Increased Affection with Remus 65/100(+25 For bringing her something she thought would forever be lost.)

Increased Affection with Kurome 35/100(+10 For making her teammate very happy as well as being a much better leader than Bill.)

Increased Reputation with Natala 35/100(+10 For making her teammate very happy as well as being a much better leader than Bill.)

Increased Affection with Gin 32/100(+10 For making her teammate very happy as well as being a much better leader than Bill as well as not being such an asshole.)

Increased Affection with Womyn 35/100(+10 For making her teammate very happy as well as being a much better leader than Bill.)

50 Reputation Award - Remus

Item Gained: [Determined Bear Trinket - Epic, D-Rank]

A Platinum Pin with an emerald at its end that has been masterfully crafted into the shape of a Grizzly Bear's head. When worn, grants its user a 10% chance that a fatal hit will only leave him with 1 HP instead of killing them. Can grant certain effects when applied onto certain items.

Durability: 300/300

Looking down towards her, I can see that her face is completely digging into my cloak, though a quick use of [Observe] tells me that she is feeling pure joy as well as 'strange feelings' when near me.

One doesn't have to be a genius to understand what those 'strange feelings' are.

From the position, I am in, wrap one of my arms around her shoulder, and give her a gentle squeeze. "It's no problem at Remus. As a leader, I am here for each and every single one of you. If any of you ever need assistance with anything, just say the word." And at that, I let go of Remus, who at first seems hesitant to let go before she wordlessly complies with her head down, sniffling and trying her hardest to reign in her tears.

I walk back towards my workshop, wholly intending on getting what I need to do done.

Uh… Remus… A potential relationship can be started if I pursue, but do I really want to?

I've only been in this world for what a little over two weeks or so? Do I really want to move that fast? I feel like moving that fast can be a recipe for disaster.

Yeah, I'd rather just wait a bit to see where the pieces fall in the near future.

If I'm gonna pursue someone, I'm gonna be genuine about it, none of that fake manipulating shit.

Never mind that though, I've been stalled enough. Once I head back into my workplace, I pull out all four of my Epic Loot Crates, stacking them one on top of the other.

I've waited too long to open you four up. Now time to see if my Luck can give me some great pulls!

I grab the first one, and with a quick prayer, I open it.

Ping!

You have obtained the following!

[Jango Fett's Slave I - Epic Vehicle, S-Rank]

a modified prototype Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft used by famed bounty hunters Jango Fett. Originating from the Galactic Prison Oovo IV Desolation Alley as one of six prototype police vehicles ever made, the ship was stolen by Jango Fett, replacing his previous ship.

While under Jango Fett's ownership, its weaponry included two heavy twin blaster cannons, as well as two rapid firing ion cannons. Rounding out the ship's armament are two projectile launchers, each holding a magazine of three homing missiles or various other payloads, and a naval minelayer equipped with nine seismic charges.

Durability: 4,100,000/4,100,000

Gugh…!

Oh my…!

OH MY…!

GOODNESS!

I don't care what people say, the Slave I is one of the greatest spaceships from Star Wars hands down! In fact, I dare say that I'd rather have this ship than the Millennium Falcon! It has such an iconic look to it that one who knows of the series would never mistake it for anything else.

And now, I have my very own!

Sure it may not be as fast as the Falcon, but it more than makes up for it with its sheer firepower. Plus if this ship can give Obi-Wan Kenobi a run for his money while he is in a freaking Jedi Starfighter, that's fast enough for me.

Though, I wouldn't mind upgrading this baby once I have the necessary skills to do so.

Man… I'm trying to calm myself down but I just can't keep down my excitement! I have Jango Fett's

Slave I in my workshop!

Though this brings an important question.

How da hell do I get it out of my workshop?

Sure it's only taking up like ten percent of the space in this room but if I can't even get this wonderful piece of machinery outside for a test drive then what's the point?

Eh, I'll put that off for later, got more loot crates to open, and after this my expectations are high.

Alright, two for two…

Here we go!

Ping!

You have obtained the following!

[Mystery Loot Crate - ?, ?-Rank]

A hazy yet clear loot crate that will grant the user a random item from a random rarity. It could be anything from something like a wooden spoon all the way to a conceptual artifact! Test your luck and see what comes your way!

Well damn! A true and blue spin the wheel in the form of a mystery box! Man, I wanna open it immediately, but I hold back a bit as the implications begin to set into my mind.

So far I have received many beneficial things from the loot crates, but who's to say that one can't receive anything negative from them?

And since they grab all of their items from the infinite amount of universes and multiverses out there, the chances of me getting something detrimental instead of beneficial is borderline infinite.

Yeah… imma hold off a bit from opening this crate. Off to the next one!

C'mon get me something good!

Ping!

You have obtained the following!

[Small Robotics Manufacturing Plant For Beginners - Epic, B-Rank]

Wanna start building up your robotic army to take over the world? Well here's a good way to start it! Comes with all you need to begin manufacturing your own artificial minions to do anything you desire!

Also comes with five blueprints of random droids you can build to start up.

You have received the following blueprints:

-Star Wars Series: IG-100 Magnaguard Blueprint

-Pixar Series: EVE Blueprint

-Metal Gear Series: Unmanned Gear RAY Blueprint

-YU-GI-OH! Series: Infinitrack Tunneler Blueprint

-Elysium Series: Police Robot Blueprint

…

Yo…

I… I have little words to say…

Aside from HELL YEAH~!

My mind is already going through many possibilities as I review each of the blueprints to see what each of them is capable of individually.

The Police Robots can be my grunts of my mechanical Army, Seeing as they can be repurposed for doing any number of things.

The Infinitrack Tunnelers can be my way into infiltrating and creating surprise attacks to any place with massive walls seeing as they can go underground.

The EVEs can be my scouts as well as my hit-and-runners, seeing as they are incredibly fast and agile.

I know for a fact I can use the Unmanned Gear RAYs to be a big chunk of my future Naval Fleet seeing as they are originally built to be Amphibious Metal Gears. And knowing they have Water Jet Cutters as weapons while in the ocean pretty much means they'll never run out of ammo so long as they're on the water.

And for the Magnaguards…

Oh, those are going to be my Elite Units Right there!

In fact, They might be the first ones I'll build, as I could use them to be my training dummies for Kurome, Remus, Natala, Gin, and Womyn so that they could get a much better hands-on experience.

From what I saw in Bill's memories, he mostly had them just killing death row inmates with a spar coming in once in a while, usually focusing their training on the drugs and brainwashing.

…I really need to get them off of the drug and reverse their brainwashing fast. I get the feeling that the only reason why they seem so nice to me is that I blatantly lied to their faces, claiming to be a part of the Empire when I actually am not.

And now that they are asleep, it is now the perfect time to experiment and test out Bill's abilities.

Pulling out an unconscious Jill, I put her on one of the brainwashing machines and begin my experiments.

Wait a minute… I seem to be forgetting something…

I smack myself when I remember I have two other Loot Crates to open.

So far I have gotten nothing but good things, so here goes my final Epic Loot Crate!

Ping!

You have obtained the following!

[Epic Class Companion Gem - Epic, ?-Rank]

Brings forth someone of Epic-Quality to be a companion for you. This week's availability is: Bryan Fury, Akuma, Aqua, Kakuzu, Overgrown Rover, Donquixote Rosinante, Gintoki Sakata, Selvaria Bles.

Well… This is something I didn't expect.

I didn't even know one can summon companions, but hey, I ain't complaining.

Though with all of these options available to me…

Yeah, Imma hold off on using this Gem for now.

Now that leaves me with the Mystery Loot Crate.

Okay… It's better to just get this over with in one go rather than just putting it off on the off chance that something can go wrong.

Alright, let's open this box up!

Ping!

You have obtained the following!

[Proto-Adamantium Shield - Mythical, X-Rank]

The Shield of the iconic Captain America before he ever got his hands on it. Made of a virtually near-indestructible metal that takes the usage of the Infinity Stones to even have a chance of breaking it, this shield is your first and final stop in defense.

Durability: Near-Unbreakable

Jkqwedghjasbd!?

Wha-!? Did I just-!?

Captain America's Shield!?

Oh, thank you, Lord! Oh, I wish I had some way to replicate it because I would most definitely make this standard-issue equipment for my elite soldiers.

Putting it on, I look at the shield in disbelief at the fact that I have the genuine article on me.

I have half a mind to re-enact some scenes from the MCU, but I reign it in as I realize that I have left Jill by herself.

While I don't fear her attacking me, I do worry that she may wake up and try to tell my 'acquisitions' the reality of things.

And that is more of a reason to start brainwashing her.

I hope Telepathy can help me here.