Untamed wilderness and unnatural silence. High noon.
Daylight was compromised due to gray clouds and dense vegetation in the area. A certain black-haired young man was seen traversing this region with his legs clad in purple lightning.
'You have no idea how to keep Steve and Renita on track with the rest of you, do you?'
Alephee asked Eren when he found himself separated from his team. He had told his team members that he would hunt for perks that would be beneficial for his team. However, he needed to do one thing first before anything else– get rid of Jason.
Ivor had sneaked into the event successfully, thanks to the elven mask Eren had obtained from Shandil. Eren did not understand how an elven artifact could outperform many of the security measures imposed by the kingdom of Edinburgh. He could only come up with one possibility for Ivor's successful infiltration– someone influential from the kingdom had defected to the kingdom of Layos.
The butcher had expected some kind of foul play from the forces of Layos anyway. He was just glad that he could make use of the loopholes they had created for him.
Jason was also inside Sansara World. He had officially joined Royal Ren and was serving as his team's captain. Ivor and Eren wouldn't have a better chance than this to get rid of Jason. Especially at the beginning of the competition where everyone's powers were restricted.
Eren sighed before replying to Alephee's question.
'That bitch is right.
Steve and Renita will not be able to level up with the rest of them and fall behind before eventually getting taken out. That is if I don't do something about it soon to counter this huge disadvantage.'
Eren admitted the flaw in his strategy right away. He had also thought about this flaw when he made his strategy. And he had no surefire way to balance it out yet. However, that didn't stop him from enforcing the strategy on his team members anyway.
'I don't know how similar this event is to the event in my previous timeline. So I have my doubts. Still, it is the same Sansara World that had been used in the previous timeline and it is the same Karma points system.
So I'm hoping there should be a perk in the Sasara World that would allow someone to share their Karma points. At least that's what I heard when I listened to the news at that time.
Once I figure out how to get that perk, I'll use it on myself and link Steve and Renita to it.
The downside is that I'll have to carry two of them while leveling up myself. That's a lot of work. Even my growth will be impacted if I do this.'
Eren didn't share this plan with anyone else on his team because he didn't want to demoralize them. Carrying oneself while leveling up in the Sansara World was not going to be easy. So carrying two of them seemed like a far-fetched plan. At least by normal standards.
Furthermore, he was basing a lot of things on his knowledge of the past timeline. He couldn't explain how he could come up with such a strategy or how he could execute it practically. So he avoided explaining it, saying "it is bothersome to explain."
'Meh! I meant it when I said no plan is flawless. I'll improvise my strategy as I move along. It is still much better than spending time coming up with the right plan and the right time.
I'll work on my plan and make it perfect. There's no time to wallow in self-doubt or idleness.'
Eren narrowed his eyes as he sped ahead using his movement technique. His goal was to locate a ranker who had sneaked into the graduation event under his plan.
***
The butcher knew that the negative impact on Steve and Renita's progress was not the only issue his strategy had. Things were much more complicated than that.
The main team might find it difficult to explore Sansara World safely because Renita wouldn't be there leading them. She had her hands full prioritizing Steve's well-being for better or worse. It meant that the main team would have a higher chance of getting ambushed by opponents.
A full-on offensive meant there would be no talk of non-aggression or cooperation. Meaning Eren's team would always engage in conflict every time it came across an enemy. The White Raven crew's battle potential would be seriously tested if they carried out this plan.
Furthermore, Steve was an integral part of the offense for the White Raven crew. Without him, the team's attacking potential was also liable to be severely affected.
Eren had already made it clear that he wouldn't stay with the main team. Becky was opposed to Eren's absence the most in his strategy due to their attacking potential getting halved.
The main team was supposed to launch a full-on offensive despite there being no berserker, ranger, or close combat expert assisting them. The very thought of this setup made Becky clench her fists and throw daggers at Eren with her eyes.
However, Becky's technically sound logic was not enough to sway Eren or anyone else from this plan. Eren as well as his team members counted on Eren to make things work.
Eren had to let go of loads of self-doubts and indecisions the difficult way to develop this level of confidence in himself. That process chipped away a part of him that he would never get back.
The butcher had come up with this plan for his own benefit. He needed the freedom to do what he wanted in the Sansara World. And despite the negative connotations, the plan he had come up with gave him the confidence to roam freely in the separate dimension.
Of course, he had to work twice or thrice as hard to level up even if his strategy does work. He needed to justify his seemingly reckless action with his work.
'How many Legacies are you aiming to obtain?'
Alephee asked when she felt Eren's determination. Laughing openly, he declared.
"Kekeke. All of them, of course."
