Both sides still had a lot of questions left to ask, but Xu Tao ended their discussion for now.
"Let's continue this tomorrow. For now, you should all stay in this room and spend the night," he said.
Since the Lost System's quest wasn't completed even after Xu Tao let the "wanderers" enter the Log House, that meant the system meant what it said—as is. To make "houses," plural, for them too.
Xu Tao left the cultivators under their respectful bows, heading downstairs.
From the lull in their conversation, he could tell that Jehanne was also done talking to her subordinates. Xu Tao arrived, glancing once. Their eyes met, and a wordless interaction commenced. Both sides nodded.
"Gervais, Thierry, Etienne, Benoit, Armand—you five should choose a vacant room upstairs and use it," Jehanne called each of them by name and commanded. "Make sure not to start a fight with the other residents, or I'll punish you directly. Understand?"
"Yes, Saint Joan!"
All five saluted simultaneously before marching away, loudly, just as soldiers would.
Xu Tao watched them pass by his side, heading upstairs—though he didn't miss the sharp glare of one of them. The one he almost punished some time earlier.
"Looks like the talks went well?" Xu Tao asked as he approached. "Then? How did it go?"
It's not like they exchanged information about what to ask beforehand. However, with their intelligence, it wasn't hard to figure out what they needed to know first and foremost.
"As expected, all five of them had memories of fighting in the frontlines. Then, while they were on a break, asleep... the next thing, they were here."
"Hmm... My side's roughly the same," Xu Tao nodded, crossing his arms while standing idly. "They were fighting a mysterious entity and were in despair. Then, after waking up from sleep, they found themselves already here."
Xu Tao frowned.
He knew a secret that Jehanne didn't know—that, based on the system, she died before coming here. But this puts a new question into perspective.
'Did the others also die before coming here...?'
It could be that they just lost a part of their memories regarding their last moments, like Jehanne did. Or maybe, they truly were kidnapped by the Lost System before they died. Either way, this puts the Lost System into question once again.
"What the hell is this system?"
Xu Tao was starting to get curious.
Its frequent mentions of awarding him with True Heavenly Qi every now and then—although it wasn't awarded to him yet—also made him question what the hell this System's purpose was in the first place.
"Oh, right..."
Just then, he recalled the previous reward he got. The thing that was given to him instead of a drop of True Heavenly Qi. He forgot to check it since the "wanderers" arrived, interrupting him.
Xu Tao quickly checked inside his Storage Ring and grabbed the mysterious object.
It was... some sort of garment, with stretchy black fabric that covered only the bare minimum, paired with what looked like pale brown, full-body leotards. The item name did say it was a "Bunny Suit," so the design of it—having bunny ears and a tail as attachments—made sense.
"Hmmm..."
But what made him even more curious was its description. It had a special effect added on.
[
Item Name: Bunny Suit
Rarity: UR
2x Set Bonus: STR x2
3x Set Bonus: AGI x4
Complete Set Bonus: Hidden Stat, Charm +100
Note:
Cuteness is justice, but exceptional beauty has thorns. Be careful!
]
"What a curious attire that is..." Jehanne muttered, staring at the Bunny Suit with interest. "It's basically just underwear. Are you wearing it?"
"I don't know..." Xu Tao shook his head. "It's obviously for female use, but the bonuses..."
Among all the items he saw, it was the first time he encountered a stat multiplier. Normally, it's just a flat addition to the stat itself, so it had bad scaling... but this one actually doubles Strength and quadruples Agility upon equipping the full set!
As expected of an item given in exchange for a drop of True Heavenly Qi!
"Want it?" After consideration, Xu Tao gave up wearing it himself and offered it to Jehanne. "It doubles your Strength and quadruples your Agility. It's too good to give up on, honestly."
He didn't want to sully his image or hurt his pride. But more than that, he just couldn't stomach imagining himself wearing such a skimpy dress... various things would pop out, for sure.
"Me? Wearing that?" But Jehanne's expression warped, as if she just bit a bitter bug. "God forbid... I'd rather die than let my soldiers see me in such an embarrassing outfit..."
"Well, I guessed so..." Xu Tao shrugged.
Their minds were one and the same. Dignity over potential power-up.
As such, for now—until the right time comes—this overpowered attire was semi-permanently sealed.
After all discussions were over, the sun had just set, plunging the place into darkness.
Thankfully, among the many items that randomly dropped from Loot Boxes, candles were a common item. Although they didn't have matches, creating a fire wasn't hard for a cultivator like Xu Tao.
Candles were set around the place, chasing away the surrounding darkness.
One might think it's a bad idea to put candles in a wooden house, but... Xu Tao had already tried burning a spot with his flames, and nothing happened. The house itself seemed fireproof despite being made of a perfect fuel for fires.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
"Alright boys! Meal's ready~!"
Right then, Jehanne clapped a ladle against an unused pot—items that, like everything else, were procured from random Loot Boxes. Even the apron Jehanne was wearing, one that added DEX +5 as a modifier, was also a Loot Box drop.
Called by the loud sound, all ten visitors came down.
Their gazes quickly roamed toward the large pot in the middle of the floor, filled to the brim with what looked like milk stew, still bubbling hot.
"I made Potée de Lait with what's available," she explained the dish. "So don't be shy and dig in! We have lots of it!"
As expected, tables and chairs weren't things that dropped in Loot Boxes at least. But utensils did. Everyone was given a wooden bowl and spoon, where Jehanne poured a generous serving of her recipe.
The thick soup, smelling of bread and milk, urged their stomachs to growl.
The five soldiers, who had worked under Jehanne for a long time, didn't hesitate and dug in. The bliss on their faces as they filled their cheeks with hot stew made the cultivators stare in envy.
Warily, the five also took a bite... and their expressions quickly softened.
"Delicious...!"
It was a flavor one wouldn't expect from just bread, milk, salted meat, and a few root crops—all random loots—mixed together!
Even Xu Tao, who was already done eating, couldn't help but want another serving. Who would've expected that a woman as strong as Jehanne was also a skilled cook?
Thanks to this, the night went by quickly... without any sudden events.
—Like the calm before the storm.