Chapter 18: Cowens' Stomach Pouch

Villan's invitation cast a shadow over Roger's heart.

It instantly washed away his joy from killing the Corpse Demon, leaving only a trace of anxiety and doubt in his heart.

His anxiety came from Villan's powerful strength.

In Roger's memory, Villan was a LV89 archmage.

Not only did he have a pivotal influence in Northern Deer County which was his own territory, he was also a favourite of the Morante royal family. He had apprentices and contacts throughout the principality.

Villan had true dragon blood, so he had a rare vertical pupil.

The super magic expertises he had were also outrageously numerous.

His fighting style was treacherous and varied, and he was also superb in his fighting skills — in short, he was a very difficult opponent.

Roger in his previous life was rubbed hard against the ground by him ninety-nine times.

At that time, Roger had used a fighter character of more than LV90 and with dual professional expertise, but he was no match for Villan.

If he were to run into Villan now, he would not even have the chance of being rubbed on the ground.

Because he would be killed instantly!

　　...

He was doubtful because he hadn't heard of the places such as [Northern Deer County] or [Morante Principality] in the past ten years.

This made Roger a little relieved.

After all, this meant that even if he got teleported into the game, he and Villan should be quite far apart.

"If I had known, I would have read more about the background information when I was playing the game."

Roger couldn't stop smiling bitterly.

When playing games, he usually never read the background story at all, and just focused on piling up the attributes and killing the monsters.

"What normal person would read the background story!"

That used to be Roger's famous saying.

But now, he was only left with endless regret!

If he had read more on the background stories, it might be of great help to the current situation.

He had now killed Villan's apprentice and suspected friend.

Who knew if Villain would come looking for him!

This made Roger feel a greater urgency than before to improve his strength.

On the other hand, deep in his heart, he had a vague suspicion.

Was all this really just a coincidence?

'Just as I decided to walk out of the Novice Village and kill a BOSS, then I had indirectly provoked my enemy of the previous life.'

This had a taste of conspiracy in every way.

But this was just a guess.

Before there was actual evidence, Roger would not waste too many brain cells on this matter.

He would just keep this in mind.

　　...

He must not have this invitation letter with him.

It must be gotten rid of!

But now was not the time.

Roger casually put the invitation letter back into the interlayer and went back to participate in the meeting for dividing the spoils from the Corpse Demon.

Next was the equipment.

As the greatest hero in killing the Corpse Demon, he still had the privilege of choosing first, and the quantity was three.

Roger looked one round, and finally picked out a good-quality dragon lizard leather armor, a thick waterproof cloth, and a black ghost statue with mysterious patterns.

He actually didn't really take a close look. The reason for choosing these things was very simple——

His Qi Divination Technique produced a sign of violet Qi.

Based on Roger's experience, violet Qi was basically equivalent to a good thing.

It would at least be on par with the suicide ring!

The remaining things were all common items, and at most they could be sold for copper orders, so Roger lost interest.

He waited patiently for a while. Taking advantage of the lively atmosphere of the crowd, he finally found a chance to slip out.

Roger left the camp quickly.

Walking for several kilometers under the night sky, he found a river with a suitable width and length.

There were fish and shrimps in the river.

And beside the river there were a few monsters that came out to hunt for food in the middle of the night.

Seeing someone coming, the monsters suddenly surrounded him with ravenous eyes.

Roger held the Green Beetle and fought with everything he had got. In the blink of an eye, he pierced numerous holes on these monsters.

　　...

[You killed the green fish monster]

[You've received 1 XP]

[Your hair growth rate has been slightly increased]

　　...

[You killed the red fish monster]

[You've received 1 XP]

[Your nail growth rate has been slightly increased]

　　...

"The experience points (XP) are too little."

"The attribute bonuses are also as sloppy as always."

"When will I find a monster as cute as the Explosive Magic Frog!"

Glancing at the data column, Roger was a little melancholic.

With his current strength, Tongma Town and the surrounding areas were indeed no longer suitable for him.

He needed more powerful opponents to gain experience points, and more diverse monsters to gather attributes.

"After this crusade is over, it's time to set off."

His first destination was the Gem City which most adventurers in Tongma Town had yearned for.

He just wasn't sure if there were any monsters suitable for him to frantically pile up his attributes.

As Roger was thinking, he went under water to catch fish.

As a frog hunter in Yuntai Mountain, catching fish with his bare hands was naturally a piece of cake for Roger.

It didn't take long before he successfully caught a suitable big fish.

He folded the invitation letter into a small roll and stuffed it into the fish's belly through its mouth, then put it back in the river and turned back ashore.

Watching the shadow of the big fish disappear at the bottom of the river, Roger let out a sigh of relief.

This was the best way he could think of.

This kind of dragon fish was often active in the rivers of Mystra in summer.

When winter arrived, they would go down the river and return to the sea.

Even if Villan found this place in the future, it would take a lot of effort to trace the invitation letter thoroughly.

At that time, Roger would have gone elsewhere.

"It is safe for the time being." Roger comforted himself silently.

　　...

It was late at night when he returned to the camp.

Roger was about to go back to sleep in his tent, only to find someone within the tent.

"Dorothy?" Roger was a little surprised. "What are you doing in my tent?"

The fading bonfire reflected the girl's blushing face.

Somehow, Dorothy, who had always been frank, looked a little shy.

"I, I'm here to give the last part of the spoils that fall in the miscellaneous classification to you."

Dorothy pointed to the mess on the ground and pretended to complain, "Isn't this your fault by sneaking away halfway?"

"As the new captain of the crusade team, isn't it my duty to ensure that the distribution of the spoils is fair?"

Roger smiled and thanked her.

He bent over to pack the things and found that she had really brought a lot of things.

Although they were all random items, they could still sell a lot of money when combined.

"How come there are so many?" Roger was a little surprised.

"Well, this is a token of appreciation from everyone."

Dorothy explained, "You only took three pieces of equipment, so everyone thought that you should be allocated more of these miscellaneous items. Among the remaining miscellaneous items, each of us picked one suitable item, and the rest are all here."

"Don't refuse. Who told you to be absent during the allocation?"

Roger was a little tongue-tied.

These teammates were really too simple and kind.

It was only in small places like Tongma Town that it was possible to maintain this kind of atmosphere.

"Thank you all." Roger expressed his gratitude from the bottom of his heart once again.

Dorothy bit her lower lip lightly, a little uncertain. "Apart from thank you, do you… do you have anything else to say to me?"

Roger shook his head and said, "No more."

The girl stomped her foot and walked away angrily.

Roger was a little puzzled, but he didn't want to clarify his doubt.

He was leaving soon, so he didn't feel the need to resolve these random matters.

He took a short break, and then began to organize the spoils.

At this moment, an accident happened - when he was packing up the thick waterproof cloth, he found a unique little thing from within it.

It was a sack-like object full of wrinkles and of unknown texture.

From the outside it appeared like a small glove.

But if they were gloves, they were too small and could only be worn by children.

Roger noticed that there were some mysterious patterns of lavender colour on the inside of this "glove".

Previously, Roger had wondered how a piece of waterproof cloth would result in violet Qi.

Thinking about it now, the real treasure should be this little glove!

As soon as he thought of this, Roger didn't hesitate to start a deeper investigation.

Not long after, rows after rows of data fell before his eyes.

　　...

[Cowens' Stomach Pouch]

[Rating: A+]

[Compartment 4, Texture 7, Durability 4, Magic Pattern 1]

[Special Effect: Double Volume]

[Double Volume: Increase the number of compartments used for storage to 8 for a short time and consume 1 point of durability (when the durability is 0, this item will automatically be obliterated.)]

　　...

"Cowens... Is it the suture monster?"

Roger was overjoyed.

Who would have thought that this thing was actually a space item, which was really rare on Mystra!

　　...