Morning,
Third Day
Kai let Roland in the room and shut the door. "How much did they cost?"
"What happened to you?" Roland asked, stunned.
Kai looked like someone had sucked out flesh off a chicken, leaving behind feathers. His face was pale, and his eyes had dark circles under them.
Roland continued, getting no reply. "400 Mission Credits for each saber and another 300 for the armor."
1100 Mission Credits, Kai reflected. I would have never gotten those many, at least not that easily.
After a talk with Jack, Kai had made the armorer forge two sabers using the talons and an armor using crushed leftover talons and bones.
Roland passed over the armor first. “For the newly forged Items, whoever put them in the Inventory first will become the owner,” he explained. “Also, you can’t just put someone else’ Item in your Inventory. If you steal someone’s Item, and he or she were to die, then the Item will go back to their Inventory, regardless of where you are.”
Kai nodded and held the armor then, his gaze falling on the dull-gray Stats hovering above it.
…
[
Item: Steel-Bone Brigandine
Grade: Common
Specification: A studded leather vest made of Hippogriff’s hide, lined with its crushed talons and bones
Requirement: Strength 11, Stamina 10
Attributes: Weight 3.5 kg
Skill: Not Applicable
Effect: Defense +7 Agility - 1
Quality: 66%
]
…
It’s like wearing my own skin over myself, Kai thought, his eyes lighting up.
He immediately wore it over his shirt. It was plain brown from outside, only showing blurry white protrusions where the lining had been carried out over chest and back.
Wonderful! Now I can resume my fighting style, Kai thought, flexing his arms.
"Why only 66%?" Kai asked, recalling the Quality. "I thought it would be 100%. Certainly, the materials were fresh."
"No, it's not that." Roland had almost left the room leaving the sabers behind. "Materials matter, but it is an innate flaw of Contestants who are also armorers. If you want an Item beyond 80%, you can only get one in the Random Worlds, or have it made by the armorers within the Random Worlds."
"How much would that cost me?" Kai passively asked.
"Humph!” Roland snorted in reply. “Get ready, we are leaving in an hour."
When the Marine had gone, Kai took out a black saber, his heart thumping in anticipation.
…
[
Item: Black-Steel Saber
Grade: Common
Specification: A saber forged using Hippogriff’s talons
Requirement: Strength 11, Agility 12, Perception 11
Attributes: Base Damage 35 Points
Skill: Hippogriff’s Fury
Skill Effect:
1. Mana Consumption: 5-10 MP
2. Reduce HP Regeneration by 25-40%
Quality: 72%
]
…
A vile, creepy smile surfaced on Kai’s face.
With a thought, a glass vial appeared in his hand, and from the markings over it, one could tell there were around 7 ml of substance within it.
"My precious!" Kai muttered, activating the Skill once again.
*
*
Kai wasn't a skilled rider, but the stallion was trained masterfully.
He pressed his knee against the beast's belly, gave a slight tuck to the reins, and it understood his commands.
Roland was in lead, followed by his right-hand man, while Kai was in the middle of the team which comprised 4 men and 3 women.
They weren't the only ones, either. Bands of Contestants were marching out of the Barren Gate to a land that wasn't barren anymore, and even before going out, they could see greenery from the opening in the gate. Distant cries of birds were sipping in the city, giving all the Contestants a cheery and expectant expression.
Yet, there was one Attribute in Kai’s Stats which just never wanted to let the things end smoothly.
"YOU!" A shout came from Kai's left. Kai remembered him from the time before they had entered the city. "In the name of R'lyeh Empire, I, Head Guardsman Stuart Gunther, confiscate you into the Barren Gate 3rd Unit."
Luck was indeed a fickle thing.
"Get down!" Stuart bellowed. "Guards! Close the gates. No one leaves before I make this boy kneel."
"Haha!" Kai suddenly laughed, a shrill, cranky sound coming out of his throat.
"Are you mocking the Empire, boy?" Stuart shouted again, his pointy chin becoming red.
"Why bring big words into the game, old man?" Kai asked back. "I am mocking none other than you, of course."
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
"You!" Stuart pointed his shaky finger at Kai. Many others also gasped at hearing Kai's jest. It was well in Head Guardsman's rights to confiscate a Contestant into the Empire's direct service in the absence of the Captain of Barren Gate.
But Roland and the other Guild's members were calm.
Kai's hand reached down into his pocket and took out a badge. The bronze glimmered golden under the white sun.
Stuart stumbled back, a horrified look appearing on his face. "This can't be!" he mumbled. "Why do you have the Knight's honor badge?"
This time it was Roland who replied. "It is Ser Morgan Tussy’s."
A buzz resounded all around them. Ser Tussy wasn't some elite warrior for him to be known throughout the city. But in the immediate region of the Barren Gate, his name was known by all.
Only the captain of Barren Gate could talk to him on equal terms, and that too, if Ser Tussy wanted so.
"Impossible!" Stuart said, finding courage out of thin air. "Ser Morgan would never... Still, all Contestants must service the empire when called upon. Even knights are not excluded from it. Come with me. When Ser Hostler returns, you can present your arguments."
Fool, Kai rebuked Stuart. He should have backed away when he had the chance. Tch!
"Yes, you are right!" Kai said, shocking the Head Guardsman. "But then, what of the orders given to me by Ser Tussy? He has given me his honor. He can as easily take it back."
"He is right, Stuart," Roland chimed in. "Red must prove himself to me in this battle. Such was Ser's command."
A stalemate occurred between Kai and Stuart then. They both looked at each other. Kai knew Stuart must have learned of his first battle from the other newbies, and had somehow guessed that he has an Ability. No other reason could have been so pressing for Stuart to be so adamant about keeping him from going out.
"It may be so, Roland," Stuart spoke after considerate deliberation, licking his lips up and down. "But I still can't let him go. What if he completes the Kill Count and runs away to a Random World? How will I answer to the Captain then?"
There was no question of what if. Stuart and Kai both knew he could easily complete any count.
"Well, I have a simpler solution," Kai almost whispered, but his voice reached Stuart's ears. "Why don't you come with us? You can monitor me, and when I am done, you can bring me back. As a freeman or a prisoner. Huh? What say you?"
*
*
7 they were, but 15 they became.
The Stallions and mares left behind a storm of dust as they galloped off to the place of ambush.
Stuart had brought seven more guards along with him to outmatch the Silver Hunters Guild's members.
Roland took them around a small hill covered in tall trees and made them dismount. "Stuart," he said, addressing the tagalongs first. "I am taking my team to the other side of the hill. Don't let your men make any noise. Otherwise, answer to Ser Tussy himself."
"Humph!" Stuart snorted. "Don't teach me, Roland. I was a Contestant even before your father had entered your mother."
Roland didn't bother to reply to the jest. He brought Kai and others to the opposite side of the hill, following a shadowy trail. They didn't have any steel armor that could have revealed their presence in the noon either. It was a long, narrow valley there, covered in a purple-blue shine.
"Those are the herbs they are coming for," Roland told them, pointing at the purple stems and leaves.
"How much longer?" Kai asked.
"30 minutes," Roland answered, scratching his beard. "40 maybe, but not longer. If you are late, I won't wait for you."
"That's more than I will ever need," Kai smiled.
Kai traced back the trail and walked to the group of men, hiding well under the shade of dense trees.
"Why are you back?" Stuart asked at the first sight of Kai. "Don't tell me you are a craven? Haha! Now that's a surprise." The guards laughed along with him.
Kai didn't reply.
Step…
His eyes became slits.
Step!
Two sabers appeared in his hands.
Step!!
Steam drops evaporated and his figure blurred behind the hot mist.
Step!!!
Kai slithered, the black sabers glistening like oiled steel even in the shadows.
When Kai dashed towards the guards, they were still confused about what was happening.
"To arms!" Stuart shouted, waking them up. They all took long spears out of their Inventory.
Stuart had a longsword in his hands.
Kai took a deep breath. For the first time, he was truly feeling alive.
The guards charged at him, their spear points rushing at him. Stuart backed away, letting the guards take the van. The Head Guardsman's face had turned pale from the red of anger. He must have seen them. Those two menacing slits, and the heat coming out of Kai.
Twin-Saber Style…
One moment, Kai was coming at them. In another, he disappeared.
The air seemed to hiss as he slithered in and out of the spears. The sabers danced, kissing one man after another. Some were kissed at wrists, some at legs, and one was lucky to even get a peck on the neck.
Dance of the Giant Serpent!
When Kai left the cut-up guards behind, he found Stuart shaking like a leaf.
"Hah!" A mad charge. Stuart lifted the longsword as high he could and hacked at Kai.
Kai slithered away. One saber blurred upwards, the other across, and kissed the middle-aged man twice.
Blood showered from Stuart's shoulder and waist.
…
[
Elementary Snake Instinct: Proficiency 16% (+3%)
Elementary Slither Footsteps: Proficiency 47% (+2%)
Elementary Twin-Saber Style: Proficiency 40% (+5%)
]
…
"Run!" Stuart let out a whimper, darting for the horses. The bleeding guards followed.
But even before reaching the horses, they saw the notification regarding the 25% drop in HP Regeneration, their eyes going wide.
Black-Steel Saber - Hippogriff’s Fury!
Still, this wasn’t enough to prevent Stuart and others to rush toward the horses anyway.
The thing was… Kai had intentionally not put his weight on his attacks, letting the cuts remain shallow. Just enough for the steel to enter their flesh. Because he wanted to test something… and these men were nothing but a part of his experiment.
"Haha…" Kai laughed, not worrying about Stuart and guards mounting the horses at all.
Thud!
Then one guard fell off the horse, tumbling down like a dead weight.
Thud! Thud!!
The others followed one by one too. Stuart persisted, for a mere second longer, then he came down as well.
What’s happening? Why can't we move? They thought.
Kai stalked towards them, his steps sounding like the grating noise of death's scythe in their ears.
He looked at his sabers. These were his fangs, but unlike his previous life, they lacked one exceptional property.
Venom!
A stray ray of sunlight fell on the edge of one of the sabers.
Kai saw an imperceptible layer of transparent liquid smeared over the cutting edge, and his lips arched up in a hideous grin.
Light Neurotoxin!
The rest was an ugly business.
Kai had only left them alive to see the potency of his poison-smeared sabers. When the saber parted their heads, they couldn't even blink.
Under the afternoon sun, only the wind screamed for them.
*
*
"No!"
Slash!
"Please! We are not soldiers!"
Hissss!
"You Demon! They were innocents!"
Thud!
"Huff! Huff!" Kai panted, taking his saber out of the guard's heart. The report given by the informant had turned out to be true. Only one guard at Roland's level had accompanied some 25 Contestants to gather the herbs, thinking the major fight was going on somewhere else.
They had no Items and no Skills. In a way, they were indeed innocent.
There is no such thing as innocent Contestants, Kai had told Roland, before descending on the Order's Contestants like darkness.
The bloodbath that had ensued was nothing but plain butchery. The other six guild members had joined Kai too ultimately. But Kai was fast, and the speed at which he killed could hardly be matched by Contestants like Roland.
The poison did most of the work. It was hidden! And deadly!
When the guard took his last breath, the thrill in the demon’s eyes got buried behind the notification.
…
[
Terminating Battle Sequence…
Floor: 1 (1st Set)
Kill Count: (21/20)
Battle Number: 2
…
Contestant Kai Stormborn, you have achieved the required Kill Count
Are you ready to leave the Primordial Tower?
Once declined, your Kill Count will reset to 0
The Choice is yours…
]
…
"Don't come back…" Roland said from afar. The rest were too scared to approach Kai's bloody figure.
Kai’s grinned at Roland, sending him a shivery goodbye.
Then he disappeared with a blue flash, leaving behind stiff corpses. Many had their eyes open, and a few might still be alive, dying slowly.
Death would claim them the same.
It was just a matter of time.
----------------------------------------
VOLUME 2 - THE PRIMORDIAL TOWER (INTERLUDE) - ENDS!!!