Rumor quite liked his new title. Despite the restriction of it only being usable once every 24 hours, being able to protect against a mental attack was huge.
He had hated it how Watto was able to talk him down when negotiating just using a skill, and how Padmé and Qui-Gon Jinn had dominated the entire conversation he had with them simply by virtue of being able to use skills against which he had no means of defense.
Although he doubted his title would be effective against the later two, since they were main storyline characters with titles of their own, and he wasn't sure Watto's [ Bargain ] counted as a mental attack, he still felt better having the [ Not You ] title. After all, the occasions above were the exceptions, not the norm.
But the thought of mental protection also reminded Rumor of the physical aspect. All this time, he had focused only on offense, thinking that killing the enemy faster was the best defense possible.
But with only 100 HP, and a measly 10 points of defense, each time Rumor got hurt almost always led to life-threatening situations.
While he didn't fancy becoming a tank- just taking hits while unable to dish out proper damage in retaliation - some more protection wouldn't hurt.
Thinking of that, he pulled out the [ False-Gold Shoulder Pad ] he had gotten earlier. With all the running around and fighting for his life, he hadn't been able to check it yet.
[ False-Gold Shoulder Pad ]
[ Rarity: 1-Star ]
[ Requirements: None ]
[ Defense: 12 ]
[ Durability: 15/15 ]
[ Description: An ostentatious shoulder pad wrapped in golden leaves, this equipment is eye-catching, but provides some degree of protection. ]
[ Observation: Can be brought out of this world. ]
Rumor equipped it without a second thought. It was, in fact, very ostentatious, glinting under the rays of the two suns. But it doubled his defense, so he would take it.
He mentally slapped himself for not checking it out sooner, it would have made his previous battles at least a little bit easier. But as they say, better late than never.
'Nothing to it.'
Shaking his head, Rumor activated [ Hunter Sense ]. This was the first skill he got, but it hadn't seen much use, at least compared to [ Red Blood ] or even the more recently acquired [ Grav-Leap Boost ].
He still had prey waiting for him.
Unfortunately, it seemed that said prey had started to realize what they were. After killing another pair of low-level thugs, he found the last 4 Krayt Dragon Gang members all together, including the remaining two elite guards.
The weaker thugs could be dismissed, but not the two elites. Their stats were similar to Roran's, and each had a different mastery skill at level 3 - first firearms and axes.
It was a combo that gave him a headache. He couldn't get close because the ax-user would tear him to pieces. But if he attacked from afar, he would be outgunned by the other guard.
'Do I really have to use that here?'
He was thinking of the [ Thermal Detonator ]. The explosive was a trumpcard he had been hoping to save for a more pivotal or desperate moment. Using it here seemed wasteful.
Yes, it was too much of a waste. Rumor decided try something else. It was a more time-consuming strategy, and with much higher chances of failing, but if that happened, so be it.
Crouch-walking to a better position, Rumor rested the muzzle of his [ E-206 Renegade Blaster Rifle ] on a junk pile, taking careful aim at the closest elite guard.
His shot caught the alien on the neck, but Rumor didn't wait around to see the results. He immediately ducked down and sprinted away to a different spot.
What he was doing now was employing the age-old strategy of kiting. He may not have much access to videogames growing up, but he had real-life experience with harassing your enemies until they got tired and went away - or, in this case, died.
Humans had always been predators of persistence. From chasing antelopes for 3 days in the African savanna tens of thousands of years ago, to hunting mammoths and bison with tiny spears amd letting them bleed out, or guerrilla tactics in the wars of the modern age - humanity had rarely hunted through strength alone.
And what Rumor was doing right now was nothing more than employ the same strategies as countless others before him.
Lasers hit his previous location, but Rumor was long gone. He peeked through a crack on the side of a broken ship and saw the four gangsters firing wildly at the completely wrong direction.
His blaster spewed death again, and this time it was a normal thug who fell to the ground clutching a burning stomach.
Rumor changed positions again.
It went like that for nearly 15 minutes. It was only when the ax-wielding elite guard looked around and discovered that he was the last survivor that he thought to run.
But by then it was too late. Injured in the left shoulder, right thigh, and pelvis, he could only wobble away. It was almost mercy when Rumor planted one last shot right in the middle of his back.
[ You have killed Krayt Dragon Gang member Diian. ]
[ Battle summary: You have slain 20 low-level Krayt Dragon Gang thugs, 4 mid-level Krayt Dragon Gang members, 1 Krayt Dragon Gang manager. ]
[ You have wiped out all Krayt Dragon Gang forces in the Ship Graveyard. Your feat is known throughout Mos Espa and spreads far through the criminal underworld of Tatooine. ]
[ Your reputation with the Hutt Cartel (Mos Espa) has grown to Well-Known (3.700/5.000). ]
[ Your reputation with the Hutt Cartel has grown to Familiar (850/3.000). ]
[ Your reputation in Tatooine has grown to Unknown (130/1.000). ]
He was well on his way to becoming a major figure - even if through infamy - on Mos Espa. Even the overall Hutt Cartel was starting to pay attention to him. They were probably always on the lookout for promising recruits - or possible enemies.
And the Ship Graveyard was just one of the Krayt Dragon Gang's bases. A big one, sure, but still just one. He could only imagine what it would be like when he destroyed them completely.
[ You have acquired: 12.000 wupiupis, Kaminoan Breach Herb, 1-Star Engraving (Trandoshan). ]
[ Your actions have caused many to start doubting the power of the Krayt Dragon Gang. Some members have decided to abandon the faction. Hutt Cartel (Mos Espa) is losing faith on Krayt Dragon Gang. Extra progress made on Side Mission The Wheel of Hate. Bonus rewards granted. ]
[ Bonus reward: Outer Rim Guide. ]
Rumor blinked. The rewards were less than he expected, but also more at the same time. The engraving was a massive boost - just a permanent passive advantage.
[ 1-Star Engraving (Trandoshan) ]
[ Rarity: 1-Star ]
[ Effect: Fuse this engraving with your body to randomly gain on trait from the Trandoshan species. ]
[ Restrictions: None ]
[ Description: A mysterious symbol containing a portion of the power of a Trandoshan. Fuse it with you body to randomly gain a trait. ]
[ Observation: Can be brought out of this world. ]
[ Warning: At your current prestige, you can only fuse with 1, 2, and 3-Stars engravings. Attempting to fuse with higher level engravings will have harsh consequences. ]
[ Warning: At your current prestige, you can only fuse with 3 engravings at a time. Attempting to fuse a fourth engraving will require that another be discarded. ]
Huh. It was somewhat different than the Tusken Raider engraving. It didn't have the restriction of being bound to him, likely because either hadn't been obtained through an achievement.
Not that it mattered. Rumor only had one trait slot occupied for now, [ Desert Whisperer ], and he wasn't about to turn down another.
[ You have used 1-Star Engraving (Trandoshan). ]
[ You received the trait: Stalking Killer ]
[ Stalking Killer ]
[ Rarity: 1-Star ]
[ Effect: Silence your footsteps by 50% as long as you stay below running speed. ]
[ Description: Early in their evolution, Trandoshans were the apex predator of their home world. They have evolved to stalk their prey unseen, and are specialists in staying silent when hunting. ]
Again, much like [ Desert Whisperer ], it was no world-shaking trait. But it almost guaranteed he could get one stealth hit at the start of every fight, which was in itself a big boon.
Feeling the trait taking effect as it fused with him, Rumor closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he opened them again to check his other rewards.
He had big hopes for the [ Kaminoan Breach Herb ]. After a big fight like this, which even the system recognized as a great feat, he had expected to be inundated with loads of miscellaneous items. Instead, he got only two, and the engraving, nice as it was, wasn't quite enough to make up for all the rest, so the true value had to be on the herb.
[ Kaminoan Breach Herb ]
[ Rarity: 2-Stars ]
[ Effect: Push your body far beyond its limits. Strength +10, Dexterity +10, Vitality +20, Temperance +10, Spirit +10 for 600 seconds. After effects end, all affected attributes fall by 10 points or to the lowest limit of 1 for 4 hours. ]
[ Description: A deep-water herb from the planet of Kamino, this plant can grant great bursts of power, but with strong side-effects, leading to its commerce being banned by the Republic. ]
[ Observation: Can be brought out of this world. ]
Rumor whistled. He immediately knew this would be another trumpcard of his. The absurd increase of a whole 60 points of raw stats was mind-blowing, and would no doubt be useful for many incursions.
Were it not for the aftermath and the fact it was a consumable, Rumor was fairly certain this would be worthy a 3, maybe even 4-Stars rating.
And now he had even bigger hopes for his extra reward. If even the normal ones were already this good, then it could only be even better.
Maybe he was setting himself up for disappointment here. But he didn't think so. Smirking, Rumor glanced at the information of the fist-sized metallic purple cube in his hands.
[ Outer Rim Guide ]
[ Rarity: 3-Stars ]
[ Effect: A detailed compilation of information about the vast majority of star systems, planets, major factions, key players, and much more of the Outer Rim. ]
[ Description: This guide was compiled after hundreds of years of effort by numerous groups around the galaxy. While it only contains information about the Outer Rim, it is extremely valuable. Be careful with it. ]
[ Observation: Can be brought out of this world. ]
Someone else would have probably been disappointed. Their first 3-Stars item, and it turned out to be a miscellaneous one seemingly no better than a book or a pendrive.
But to Rumor, who understood the importance of information better than anyone, this was a treasure trove. He quite literally couldn't have gotten a better reward if he asked.
Even in the very small chance he couldn't find a use for it in this or some future incursion to the Star Wars universe, The Mind had already implied there were ways to trade with other testers. The [ Outer Rim Guide ] would go for a fortune if he found the right buyer then.
Unable to stop himself, Rumor opened the guide. Windows popped up in front of him in the format of system messages, and he found that it worked much like a digital book.
The more he browsed, the more astounded he became. The [ Outer Rim Guide ] shouldn't be a 3-Stars item. It was definitely worthy of a 4 or even 5.
There was an index several dozen pages long, and he just had to think of what category he wanted for it open up. And inside each category was another index, and then another.
All together, there had to be several tens of thousands of pages worth of content. Rumor doubted he could go through out of it in his lifetime - after all, it did say it was created by several groups over hundreds of years.
The first page he opened was, of course, Tatooine. That was 2 layers in already - Star System Tatoo, Planet Tatooine. And inside were 4 categories - major regions and landmarks, major settlements, major lifeforms, major organizations.
It didn't have detailed information about everything on the planet. For example, creatures like blood ants, Anoobas, and so on didn't warrant a mention because they were insignificant. Nor did the Krayt Dragon Gang.
But the giant Sarlac, Mos Espa, and the Hutt Cartel were all described inside. And that was just one planet in one star system.
Rumor could already tell he was going to have a lot of fun with the guide. Even if he never got an incursion to this universe again, he would still enjoy reading about it.
Like, c'mon, it's Star Wars. Even a reject like him had seen those movies. And, all the life-threatening situations aside, being inside this universe had been mind-blowing.
Grinning wildly, Rumor made his way back to the explosion site of the office. The workers had cleared out, and the flames had dies down, so all that was left was residual heat and bodies.
The tester ignored it all. He just walked straight towards the main entrance of the Ship Graveyard.
Curious onlookers were loitering outside, clearly wanting to go in and steal everything that wasn't nailed down before the Krayt Dragon Gang sent people to secure the place, or another force moved in.
But they all took a step back when Rumor, blaster slung over his shoulder and knife strapped to his hips, walked out with his hands in his pockets, whistling.
His face was uncovered, and he had a smirk plastered on it.
He had wiped the soot and dirt from his face, but there was no hiding the obnoxious amount of blood staining his clothes.
And he was still whistling.
His grin widened by a few teeth when the voyeurs flinched. Rumor very deliberately stared down each of them.
"Do me a favor, would you? If anyone from the Krayt Dragon Gang pops by, tell them I said I'll see them soon."
That was a threat, plain and simple. No, it was a promise. They all had heard about the crazy human who was butting heads with the Krayt Dragon Gang.
But nobody had expected him to continue to provoke them. And going by the complete lack of anyone else coming out of the Graveyard, Rumor was coming out on top.
[ Your reputation with the Hutt Cartel (Mos Espa) has grown to Well-known (4.700/5.000). ]
[ Your reputation with the Hutt Cartel has grown to Familiar (950/3.000). ]
[ Your reputation in Tatooine has grown to Unknown (140/1.000). ]
Huh, so that worked too. His reputation seemed to be growing faster and faster lately.
But it made sense. The more people who knew about him, the more they would talk about him with others, and the cycle continued.
Plus, he had just revealed his face, so he was no longer just 'the human'. Soon his description would be outsourced to every outlaw and bounty hunter in Mos Espa.
But that had also been deliberate on his part. With Shala and Alena safely protected by Obi-Wan on the ship, there was quite literally no one on the planet who could threaten them, at least until Darth Maul arrived.
So, he only had to worry about himself, and that made life much, much easier.
"Don't forget it. I would hate for The Scourge to think I'm done playing with him."