Chapter 88 - Lucky
The man before Adam was so unusual it was shocking.
He was a gang leader and led a group of rustic and rowdy thugs, that were all out for their own gain, while he was a righteous and honest monk who was only focused on his own improvement.
He looked young and he looked as though he was in his early twenties, but the way he acted was very weird and old-fashioned, as if he was an old man from ancient china.
However Adam exploited the man's unusual temperament to his advantage, and as soon as the monk threw away his staff, Adam swiftly attacked him.
But what shocked Adam was despite the surprise attack, the monk was able to block his fist with his arms and his body was rock solid.
Adam hurt his fist while striking the monk, and jumped back, making some distance between him and the monk.
[This must be a skill or an effect of his cultivation method, that allows him to harden his body. Or he might have another way to harden his body] thought Adam to himself.
"You attacked me before I was ready. What a despicable way to battle" stated the monk calmly.
"How old are you?" asked Adam as he dashed towards him and launched the same fist as he did when he attempted to sneak attack him.
"Ha, your attack won't work no matter how many times you try" scoffed the monk as he prepared to block the fist.
However just as Adam was about to punch the monk, he suddenly crouched down and grabbed the monk's legs.
The monk stood in a sturdy horse stance and his body wouldn't be damaged by Adam's comparingly flimsy fists, so Adam changed his battle plan.
Sweeping his legs from under him, the monk fell backwards with great force as he smacked his back against the ground.
A fall like that would have instantly knocked out an ordinary person and may have even caused them to suffer permanent damage, but the monk stood up as it was nothing as Adam made some distance between himself and the monk.
"You are fast and quite good at fighting. But you can't harm my body" stated the monk as he dusted off his clothes.
Adam could clearly see and sense that the monk's energy didn't surpass rank 1, but the defence of his body was incredible and it was as though he was a wall.
[I wonder how high his defence stat is] wondered Adam to himself.
It was unlikely that he was bulletproof, but his body was many times tougher than an ordinary person, even if his strength for a cultivator was only average.
Adam tried many tactics to take down the monk, but nothing that he tried worked and the monk didn't seem to have suffered any damage yet.
"What do we do from here," asked Adam after attacking the monk for a few minutes, as they reached a stalemate.
There were a few weapons in the room, but they were all blunt weapons and Adam didn't think they would increase his battle power, so he had nothing that he could use against the monk.
"You are a worthy opponent and have pushed my hardened form to its limits" stated the man as he stumbled to one knee.
In that one sentence, he had revealed that he was in a weakened state and couldn't sustain the hardened form for any longer.
"You have two options. Die and I take your methods. Or submit to me and become my subordinate" offered Adam.
Adam had an instinctive feeling that the weird man, that behaved like a monk, had incredible potential, and his hardening ability was proof of that.
The man suddenly bowed down to Adam.
"I hereby humbly accept you as my master and will follow all your orders and do as you tell me to" declared the monk.
It was almost too good to be true.
[Am I dreaming, or does the system have something to do with this] thought Adam to himself.
Adam had come to learn that nothing in life was free and easy, but what he had just experienced went against that idea.
Adam had sharp instincts and his Hunter's mind made it difficult for him to make risky decisions that would place him in danger, but he felt that the monk was weirdly trustworthy and there was no risk in accepting him under him.
"Okay, quickly get up, let's get out of here" stated Adam as he pulled him up.
Adam had previously heard a siren approaching the area he was in, and it was most likely for him.
The monk was massively drained and was struggling to move, as Adam massively underestimated the weakened state that the monk was in.
Pulling the monk over his shoulder, he began looking around for a way out.
"Over there. There is a private stairway that leads to a backdoor of the building, which we can leave from" stated the monk as he lifted his weak arm to point at a small door in the corner of the room that looked like a cupboard.
Without thinking about it, Adam rushed towards the door and went inside to find a small old fashioned stairwell that was made for emergency use.
Just as he closed the door behind him, he heard steps on the stairs up into the top floor and a female voice.
"Stop, this is NYPD. Put your hands up" called out Angela as she charged into the top floor to find it empty.
Looking around there were signs of people being there, but she had come up the only entry route and there was no other probable way for somebody to get away.
She couldn't help but scream in frustration after reaching the top to find nobody there after rushing up all the stairs.
The guards all moved out of her way after seeing her gun and badge, and weren't looking for trouble as they all dispersed from the scene.
Most of them didn't have any loyalty to the gang, and unlike the Wolf Fang Gang Leader, the monk also didn't care about the gang as the men merely followed him after seeing his strength, in the hopes of riches.
Meanwhile, Adam was climbing down the small and tight stairwell with a small smile.
He was extremely lucky the entire day and had not only avoided police, but had succeeded in getting many people to agree to meet up at Elizabeth's chosen location and had gained a powerful subordinate.
[It seems I am finally seeing the stat point for luck that is above average in action. And I am the luckiest person after gaining the Dungeon System anyway] thought Adam to himself joyously, as he asked the system a question to pass the time while climbing down the tight dark stairwell.
[System why isn't the luck and charisma stat shown when I see the statuses of beings with malicious intent or beasts in the dungeon] asked Adam.
{That is because beasts in the dungeon do not have the charisma or luck stat for the host to look at, and for the host to see it for humans, the host must unlock the Status Peering Feature to be able to see the full status of all humans} answered the system.
Adam already knew that it was going to be expensive and he had no chance of affording it, so didn't even ask for more information as he finally reached the bottom of the stairwell.
He was also quite tired after a long day of working, and he just wanted to rest before he had to return to the dungeon.
Reaching the bottom of the stairwell, there was a door that hadn't been used since the building had been built, and after kicking it multiple times, Adam was finally able to break it.
Adam carrying the bald monk rushed towards where he had left Elizabeth, as he instructed the monk to hide his face as much as possible.
Despite the weird looks he was receiving, Adam dashed as fast as his legs would carry him and finally reached the area that Elizabeth was waiting for him in and as she saw him approaching, she couldn't help but scream in frustration.
Adam was constantly causing trouble wherever he went, and was becoming more of a liability than an ally.
But she could see his worth had helped her massively the entire day, and vowed to herself that she would repay him.
"Did you miss me?" asked Adam sarcastically as he shoved the large monk into the car and squeezed in beside him.
"Who the hell is this" shrieked Elizabeth as she was squashed in the back of the car by a large bald man wearing traditional robes.
Adam shrugged, as the driver drove off towards their next location.
While Adam and Elizabeth were bickering, the monk slept in between them and the driver quickly drove towards the prepared location for them to clean up and get rid of any evidence including the car.
Everything had turned out almost perfectly despite the slight hiccups, and Adam was extremely lucky.