Ethan wanted to recruit the two women not only because they were highly capable, but also because doing so would strengthen himself.
As for their loyalty, he wasn’t too worried. Under the Leader System, almost all of their information was completely transparent.
[Claire Quinn (Tier 2)]
[Class: Assassin]
[Status: Weakened]
[Alignment: 68]
[Endurance: 65 (108); Strength: 55 (103); Intelligence: 70; Agility: 70 (111)]
[Talents: Assassination S; Close-Quarters Combat S; Stealth S]
...
[Emily Gale (Tier 1)]
[Class: Healer]
[Status: Weakened]
[Alignment: 70]
[Endurance: 40 (80); Strength: 38 (68); Intelligence: 80; Agility: 40 (80)]
[Talents: Healing A; Energy Shield A; Attribute Enhancement A]
Leaving aside their abilities, the fact that they had survived in the wasteland for so long while still maintaining Alignment scores above the passing mark was enough to prove that they were genuinely decent people.
They were exactly the kind of talent worth recruiting.
Hearing Ethan’s offer, Claire Quinn regarded him warily. Ethan, however, met her gaze without the slightest hesitation.
After a long moment, Claire finally nodded.
"We’re willing to join you, but I have one condition."
"Let’s hear it first."
Ethan wasn’t the type to make promises lightly. He wanted them on his team, but not enough to throw his life away for them.
"When we went after the Dread Lizard, we never expected to survive. Before leaving, we only had time to tidy up the camp. Our fallen companions were cremated, but we never gave their ashes a proper burial. I want you to accompany us back to the camp so we can finally lay them to rest. Of course, you won’t be making the trip for nothing. We have supplies hidden there, and they’re all yours."
Ethan thought for a moment.
"Is the camp far from here?"
"Not really. If we leave now, we should reach it in about two and a half hours."
"That’s acceptable." Ethan smiled. "Then... does that mean you’re officially my subordinates now?"
"Yes."
Claire nodded, and the still-weakened Emily Gale, who was leaning against her, nodded as well.
At that instant, the information displayed before Ethan changed once again.
The Alignment field disappeared and was replaced with Loyalty.
As if they had planned it beforehand, both women started with exactly 60 Loyalty—just above the passing mark.
According to the system, a Loyalty score of sixty meant they already held a favorable impression of Ethan.
As long as he didn’t do anything to make them resent him or feel their lives were threatened, increasing their loyalty wouldn’t be difficult.
Especially with his Leader Aura, raising both of them to one hundred percent loyalty would only be a matter of time.
The rewards Ethan had been waiting for arrived immediately.
[Host has successfully recruited a subordinate. Reward: +5 Agility. Close-Quarters Combat upgraded to S Rank.]
[Host has successfully recruited a subordinate. Reward: +5 Endurance. Acquired Basic Healing.]
[Note: Each subordinate can only grant rewards once. Rewards cannot be obtained repeatedly. The host suffers no penalties if a subordinate dies or loses combat capability.]
[Attributes: Endurance 123; Strength 119; Intelligence 98; Agility 114.]
Although he hadn’t received an increase to every attribute, the boost to Endurance immediately made him feel his stamina and recovery speed improve significantly.
The increase in Agility made him faster and capable of executing far more advanced movements during combat.
Combined with his newly acquired S-Rank Close-Quarters Combat, melee fighting was no longer his weakness.
As long as he wasn’t facing a Tier 3 monster like the Dread Lizard head-on, Ethan was confident he could defeat any Tier 1 or even Tier 2 monster.
Basic Healing was an unexpected bonus.
Although it wasn’t as versatile as Emily Gale’s healing abilities, it was more than enough to greatly improve Ethan’s chances of survival.
These days, most people were fortunate just to have enough food and water.
Medicine, on the other hand, was incredibly scarce.
At the very least, Ethan had rarely seen any worthwhile medicine on the Exchange. Even when it appeared, it either came with unpleasant side effects or absurd asking prices.
With Basic Healing, minor illnesses, fevers, cuts, and superficial wounds could all be treated simply by spending some of his own energy.
That meant any medicine he found in the future could be traded for valuable resources that others would have a hard time refusing.
After giving Claire and Emily each another sip of Healing Potion, the two women supported each other as they walked out of the building.
When they arrived at the simple grave, Claire spoke hesitantly.
"Um... Master..."
Before she could continue, Ethan waved his hand.
"Just call me Ethan."
Claire froze for a moment before nodding.
"Alright, Ethan. May I collect Brother Niu’s ashes?"
"Of course."
As he spoke, Ethan opened the Universal Crafting Bench and used a few materials to craft a ceramic urn.
Watching him produce the urn so effortlessly, Claire sighed.
"So... this is one of the special abilities possessed by Survivors?"
"Hm? Don’t your people have the game’s functions?"
"The game?" Claire repeated, staring at him. "To you... is our world nothing more than a game?"
For a brief moment, she wanted to lose her temper.
But she quickly remembered that none of this was Ethan’s fault. Besides, both she and Emily were alive because Ethan hadn’t taken advantage of them while they were helpless.
Her voice rose slightly before she shook her head with a bitter smile.
"...I’m sorry. I got carried away."
"It’s alright. We’re victims too. Every Survivor was dragged into this world without warning. We arrived with nothing..."
After hearing Ethan explain the Survivors’ situation, Claire looked up at the sky.
"Do you think... we’re all just pieces in someone else’s game?"
"I don’t know," Ethan replied. "But I do know that the most important thing right now is staying alive. Only by becoming stronger can we hope to uncover the truth."
"You’re right."
Claire accepted the urn and, together with Emily, carefully gathered Brother Niu’s ashes.
Afterward, she wrapped the urn in a piece of cloth and secured it to her back.
Although Ethan still had inventory space, he chose not to offer it after seeing the sorrow in Claire’s eyes.
Perhaps, for both Claire and Emily, carrying the urn with them made it feel as though their companion had never truly left.
During the journey, Ethan learned a great deal about the native survivors from Claire.
Just as he had suspected, the natives not only lacked the game’s interface, but they also couldn’t use most game-exclusive items.
Blueprints.
Upgrade Crystals.
None of them worked for natives.
Even storage chests crafted by Survivors functioned as nothing more than ordinary boxes. They couldn’t access the inventory slots inside, let alone benefit from the built-in time-stop storage effect.
However, some crafted items remained perfectly usable, such as everyday furniture, armor, and weapons.
About two and a half hours later, Ethan’s group arrived at Claire’s camp.
The sight before them made him instinctively frown.
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