Dai Mubai looked at the bandages on his body, then reached up and tore them all off. Sure enough, there wasn't a wound in sight. His skin was as spotless as if nothing had happened. He had been hurt so badly that at least three ribs should have been broken. His shoulder, calf, and stomach seemed to have taken hits from that guy's ranged Spirit Skill too. So how had he recovered this quickly?
"Well, since it's come to this, I might as well eat first." It was the only way Dai Mubai could console himself. Jodio was absurdly strong. Dai hadn't merely lost; he'd been hammered into the ground. In any case, he was already at this school. He might as well settle into his grave—no, fall in with the bandits—no, make the best of it.
Dinner was three large sandwiches and a glass of milk. Bread, lettuce, pickles, ham, bacon, onion, and egg: a lavish sandwich like that counted as food for the sick around Jodio. They didn't usually get to eat it.
That was mostly because Dean Flender was so stingy with the food budget. Thanks to Jodio's financial support, the academy no longer had to survive on steamed buns and pickles three meals a day. But Flender still couldn't bear to spend too much on good food. He always skimmed a little off the budget in the name of saving money for future students. Still, Jodio took Oscar and Ma Hongjun out for extra meals now and then. They certainly hadn't gone without good food.
"Senior, what's your name?" Dai Mubai asked after eating for a while. Sitting there in silence felt awkward. Calling a kid younger than himself "senior" was embarrassing too, but considering he couldn't beat the kid's boss, he might as well say it.
"I'm Oscar. The guy who greeted you during the day is Ma Hongjun. I'm the boss's number-one gold-medal underling. He's a silver-medal underling, one rank below me. And you, well, you'll be bronze," Oscar declared proudly.
"Senior Oscar, why are you willing to be an—" Dai Mubai asked between bites.
"You don't get it, junior. Do you have any idea what kind of man Boss Jo is?" Oscar slapped the table, looking deeply sorry for him.
"Boss Jo reached level twenty at seven and level thirty-one at nine. Now he controls half the underground organizations in the city. Junior, have you ever seen anyone capable of that? How could anyone stand against him?" Oscar asked, spreading his hands.
"Underground organizations? Gangs? Sects?" Dai Mubai frowned.
"Passione. It's called Passione. Oh, you wouldn't understand anyway. That's what we're doing tonight. On a dark and windy night..." Oscar rambled on.
"...you murder and set fires?" Dai Mubai's face fell. Surely he wasn't about to join a gang of petty thugs? He was a prince. How could he get mixed up in something like that?
"What murder and fires? It's a night for saving lives." Oscar stood up.
"Senior, what's your Martial Soul?" Dai Mubai asked. He got to his feet with the sandwich still in his mouth and pulled on his clothes. I'm already here, so I might as well go along with it. As long as I don't have to kill anyone, it'll be fine. I'm living under their roof; I can't be picky.
"My Martial Soul is Super Big Sausage, a food-type Stand—at least, that's what I call it. My Soul Power is level twenty-eight. I'm exactly two years and three months older than Boss Jo, and two years and four months older than Ma Hongjun," Oscar explained.
"Eleven years old... level twenty-eight... food-type?" Dai Mubai was stunned. If that wasn't a genius, what was? Eleven and already level twenty-eight! Did Oscar have any idea what that meant? By the time he reached Dai's age, he'd almost certainly be above level thirty-one.
"How did you get so strong... so fast?" Dai Mubai was thoroughly impressed. This really was a gathering place for monsters. A genius like him hardly stood out here.
"Boss Jo has his own secret training method. Have you heard of it, junior? Within the human body lies an incredible power. Train it again and again, and there's no limit to what it can do! That is the power of mental strength!" Oscar clenched his fist proudly.
"Does mental strength have something to do with that Stand of his? What exactly is a Stand?" Dai Mubai felt like a country bumpkin seeing the wonders of a big city for the first time. Seriously, what the heck is a Stand? Why can't I follow any of this? Is this how fashionable Heaven Dou people talk? I love it.
"A Stand is the result of condensing a Martial Soul to an extremely high degree. For example, if you could condense your Martial Soul into a real White Tiger, you'd have a Stand." Oscar summoned a sausage and ate it as he explained.
"Condensing a Martial Soul to that degree takes incredibly strong mental strength. It's easiest for tool-type Soul Masters to figure out. For beast-type Soul Masters, it's much harder. That's why you and Ma Hongjun are only silver and bronze, while I'm gold," Oscar said proudly.
Standing beneath the stars again, Dai Mubai still felt uneasy. He remembered the tongue-lashing Jodio had given him, and anger mixed with fear. Did he have to face Jodio again? Could he take another round of scolding?
Suotuo City was some distance from the village, but both of them were fast runners. It took them only about an hour to get there. (The animated version supposedly changed the distance from four kilometers to forty. That would make ten round trips in that part of the story an 883-kilometer run in a single day. Holy crap, what kind of superhumans are they? That's like running from the Yangtze River to the border of Guangdong and Guangxi in one go.)
"Hey, Oscar. Brought someone along?"
"Yeah, Brother Sun. Thought I'd show my junior around."
"Ha! If you run into trouble, drop the city guard's name. Works every time."
The two guards at the city gate greeted Oscar with smiles and let them through without even checking them. Oscar folded his arms and strolled in as though it were only natural. Dai Mubai couldn't help thinking that if Oscar were a spy for the Star Luo Empire, this city would have fallen long ago. Ah, feeble Heaven Dou. It can't compare to my great Star Luo Empire.
"Hey, Oscar! Good to see you."
"Good evening, Brother Oscar!"
"Lord Oscar, would you like to try our shop's newest fruit?"
The city was even livelier and friendlier inside. Almost everyone seemed to know Oscar. They nodded respectfully or greeted him with a smile, and Oscar smiled back like a little adult, exchanging pleasantries as he went. That left Dai Mubai even more puzzled. Did underground organizations have good reputations these days? Or did everyone in this city enjoy being pushed around?
"Passione isn't purely an underground organization. Not entirely, at least," Oscar explained, seeing Dai Mubai's confusion.
"Passione never charges residents protection money. Our funding comes from jobs we take and money we earn. We have our own businesses, and the vast majority aren't shady at all. They're perfectly legitimate. You could say we don't disrupt order. We control it," Oscar explained.
"When someone provides a strong, decent order, people are quick to support him. That's why Passione has been able to put down roots here!"
←To Be Continued
Information currently available:
Martial Soul: Super Big Sausage (level 28)
Holder: Oscar
Spirit Rings: Yellow, yellow (570-year-old Pointy Muscle Pig)
Destructive power: None; speed: None; range: E+; persistence: D; precision: E+; development potential: A+
Martial Soul ability: Summons sausages for consumption. They are delicious and rich in flavor. The large sausage summoned by the first Spirit Skill heals injuries and restores Soul Power. It can also quickly invigorate whoever eats it, making it an all-purpose support Spirit Skill. It needs no other effects. That alone is powerful enough.
The second Spirit Skill summons a sausage called Lean Meat Small Sausage. Eating it increases Spirit Skill attack power and physical strength by 30%, and poison resistance by 50%. It's an excellent Spirit Skill for supporting combat.
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