Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] Chapter 26: Chapter 22: PvP

Read chapter 26 of Aetherios System [Slow Build OP MC, Isekai LitRPG/Cultivation] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

Chapter 22: PvP Chapter 22: PvP Time Remaining; 712 Days, 18 Hours, 16 Minutes… Traveling back to their camp ended up being a lot easier for Alex and Garret than the travel out to the village. No doubt the combined improvements to their stats and their eagerness to get back to their squad made the trip faster. Alex found his body significantly stronger than when he had left. While every part of his body felt like he was at the level of top professional athletes from back home, his dexterity and maneuverability were beyond even that. His balance and control of his movements, even when at top speed, was incredible. It took only a couple of hours for Garret and himself to get used to their new and improved selves and begin tearing through the forest on their trek back. Garret's physique had gotten bulkier since the refinement he had undergone. His muscles larger, and his overall look was impressive. His size wasn't ridiculous or anything, he didn't appear like one of those immensely buff anime guys. The apparent strength he held was just as impressive though. Alex saw his friend dig up stones from the ground with his bare hands. Stones that Alex guessed weighed at least a couple hundred pounds, and then tossed them meters away at the trees. The act wasn't a breeze for the guy, Alex saw him huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf ready for lunch. Regardless it was a feat of brawn that Alex knew Garret could not perform before and would have only been seen in those ultimate iron-strong man competitions back home. All in all, they were far more physically capable than they were when they left camp a few days ago. A fact that meant even more than ever that Alex wasn't crazy and imagining all the system screens and stats in his head. It was all very much real. The two of them were all smiles and laughs when they finally broke through the brush into their squad's camp. The laughs died in their throats and the smiles waned on their faces as they took in the sight in front of them. "Hello there boys," Kate said. The squad of Uni's all stood among their tents. Alex's eyes flashed around, seeing that Kate's team stood behind the four figures of Eric, Devon, Allie, and Henry who all knelt on the ground, their hands were tied behind their backs. Alex didn't have to be a genius to understand what was going on here. Based on the fact Garret's knuckles turned white, even he understood the situation. "Hello Kate," Alex slowly but deliberately took off his pack and placed it on the ground. He looked to Garret and nodded at him and the scout did the same. "Alex, isn't it? I heard a lot about you from your friends here. Seems like you knew what was going on from the beginning and decided not to tell us." Kate held his squad's combat knife in her hand. She twirled it lazily back and forth as she spoke. "You got experience points the first night and then ran off without explaining anything. Would have been nice to know, we didn't realize what was happening until the third day." Kate raised her arms, gesturing to the rest of her own squad. Zach, the pale guy with the vacant stare that unsettled Alex, nodded along with Kate's words. Holly stood a few feet to the side. She didn't seem like she wanted to be there and refused to look at Alex at all. Cole, the burly black guy in their group simply crossed his arms and let Kate continue. "Now we learn you have inside information about a village and went off without us. Once again you were thinking all about yourself. Selfish, capitalist northern pigs, I shouldn't be surprised." Kate kept on with her rant, the knife twirled in her hand as she spoke. "Hey Lance. You can come out now. Peter too, I assume," Alex turned his head so his voice carried behind him. With the two men being the only members of Kate's squad who weren't standing in their camp, it wasn't a mental stretch for Alex to figure out they were hiding as backup. He wasn't absolutely certain, but confident enough to call them out on it. A second