Rebirth System: Blood and Ash

Aric looked around. The low mountains that surrounded them on almost all sides cast an enormous shadow over the area. It was a secluded part of Miredis, one that most would not normally pass through on their journey, and made the bandits even more obscured with the added cover of the abandoned mines.

"Seems you lot found a good spot," Aric commented, his eyes trailing from one bandit to another. Some faces were familiar, the terror in their eyes was obvious, while most were unknown to him and only showed skepticism in their gaze.

"I don’t know if you’ve been briefed or not, but I’ll tell you myself: you are all now under my leadership. That means every single action you take from this point on will be by my orders alone. You will do what you’re asked, when you’re asked. I don’t care how dangerous or ridiculous the order seems."

One of the bandits raised his hand as Aric spoke.

"To do that much, how much are we to be paid?"

Aric tilted his head as he turned to the bandit and pulled out a single gold coin, raising it.

"Do you think your life is worth this much? Any of you?"

Aric’s gaze swept from the left of the crowd to the right before he continued speaking.

"I know men who would slit the throat of any one of you for this single gold coin. So, are your lives not worth less than it?"

Aric gripped the coin as he lowered his hand.

"Right now you are worthless and not deserving of a single silver. But that can change. Show me you’re useful, and I’ll make you very wealthy men."

"Bullshit! I didn’t come here to be bamboozled!" one of the bandits exclaimed, getting some murmurs of agreement from the others.

"Well, then you may leave. I won’t stop you. But those who do stay, if you work hard, you might end up earning just as much as Borag and Twitcher here," Aric said, retrieving two bags of gold coins and tossing them to the two men.

"That is your second payment of thirty thousand gold," Aric announced as both Borag and Twitcher opened the bags, dipping their hands in and pulling out gold coins with large grins on their faces.

Murmurs spread through the crowd of bandits as they saw this. Gold in the thousands was something most of these men had never seen in their entire lives, but Borag and Twitcher were given that all at once.

"Sire, we ran through almost every tavern and brothel we could find, and we still couldn’t use even a quarter of our first payment. And here you give us another," Twitcher laughed, overwhelmed by excitement.

"Well, you carried out an order excellently, and I know what both of you are capable of, so you are worth being given this much," Aric said before turning to the rest of the bandits. "So, who’s leaving and who’s staying?"

The bandits shared a look among themselves before promptly bowing their heads and unanimously declaring, "We are here to serve you, sire."

---

Recruited Bandits | Humans

Avg Loyalty: 50

Emotion: Greed, Fear

---

"Good," Aric grinned. "Do what you’re told and do it well, and you won’t just make thousands of gold. I will give you the power to go against cultivators and mages."

Aric began to walk back to the wagon, his words about giving power leaving the bandits both confused and intrigued.

"Finally, I might not be present, but I see everything—through the eyes of Borag and Twicher…even beyond, and I know exactly who is worth what. You will understand this the next time we speak," Aric explained as he boarded the wagon.

"Sire, are you not leaving us with a task?" Borag asked.

"Keep the rune stone close. I will send word by tomorrow."

Both bandits nodded as the wagon began to pull away from the mine entrance, retracing the same path. As they moved, Aric shifted to the wagon driver and pressed the cold steel of a knife to his throat.

"Can I trust you to keep your mouth shut about all you’ve seen here today?" Aric asked, handing the driver a small bag of coins with his other hand.

The driver nodded, and Aric then turned to check the panel beside him.

---

Oratz the Wagon Driver | Human

Avg Loyalty: 91

Emotion: Greed, Fear

---

The prince exhaled, removing the knife from the driver’s throat, handing him the pouch, and then stepping back to sit beside Serina in the wagon.

"You are very thorough," she commented with a smile.

"I am."

"I’m sure there is a calculated reason behind the display back there. Most of those bandits would happily do whatever you asked for a payment of 30 gold per week, but instead, you gave them hopes of thousands."

Aric huffed, leaning further back as he watched the sun finally dip behind the horizon.

"If I gave them a fixed payment of 30 gold, I’d end up with useless thieves who feel entitled to it regardless of what they did. For that reason, they would do nothing or the bare minimum—whatever made getting those 30 gold coins the easiest. But now, I’ve given every single one of them something to work toward. A reason to do their best because, in return, they get a greater reward."

Serina smiled. "That’s a brilliant tactic to make them the most efficient."

"Not just efficient. It also prevents them from stealing from me. When they begin hitting the transports and obtaining goods, some might consider the goods worth more than a measly 30 gold and perhaps run off with them. But by promising the chance at far larger wealth, they won’t throw that away so easily."

"It’s as if every action you take is without flaws," the mage lowered her head. "Sometimes it’s terrifying, even more than your brutality."

"What’s terrifying is how little I know about your intentions," Aric replied.

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She turned to him. "You’re a mage now, aren’t you?"

Aric stayed quiet, but he didn’t need to answer. The question carried a strong certainty.

"I told you there has to be balance, your highness. The mana core you now possess was formed by taking from me. But for that reward, you must give a sacrifice."