[Silver-tipped Arrow] = Stick (Softwood, 0.70-0.85m) + Silver (Arrowhead, 0.55-0.7kg) + 3 Feather (level 16+, 0.1-0.15m) + Twine (Hemp, 0.2-0.3m) + [Knife] (Copper) + [Workbench] (Any)
----------------------------------------
Who the hell were these people?
Naomi sauntered forth as the group of Expats followed behind, leading them through the jungle. Jay hung near the back where he could keep an eye on everyone.
“What do you think this is about, my friend?” one asked when Naomi wasn’t looking.
Kevin shrugged. “I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough, Amadi.”
He leaned an inch closer. “Just be sure to keep safe. Back in my country, walking into the jungle without answers was never a good idea.”
“Well, you’re not there anymore.”
“No.” He stroked his scraggly beard and grinned. “We are somewhere far worse.”
Jay watched Amadi closest. Though Kevin said the two were on good terms after spending their first few nights as neighbors on the island before coming across the E-Rank Expats, there was something behind Amadi’s dull brown eyes and jet-black skin that just seemed… Off? A slight crooked twinge to his smile, even without the scar that ran from an ear to his chin. An insincerity beneath his words. Jay couldn’t place it. All he knew was that this man seemed to have no interest in cleaning off the blood from his copper armor or pig iron mace. Both were coated in dried monster ichor, a mix between Natura’s manifestations and the dayside creatures.
“What do you think, Hyuk?” Amadi asked another, this time loud enough for Naomi to hear. “Do you think our benevolent leaders have finally gotten sick of us?”
“I think it would be better if we couldn’t understand each other,” Hyuk said, his metal-plated coat glittering in the morning sun and matching scimitar sheathed to his side.
“Strange, no? There are consequences for cooperation, yet your words turn into Swahili for me, and mine become Korean for you. It is almost as if they want to force you to move those pretty-boy lips in conversation instead of hiding in that cave of yours, hm?”
Hyuk rolled his eyes and kept walking.
Another oddity. Hyuk looked no older than Jay, with a youthful visage beneath straight, black hair, and limbs that could have been chiseled from brass. But where most walked around with gear that was torn or dirty, his medium armor and sword looked like it was freshly polished at the start of each day, and Jay suspected that they were all made of silver.
“What about you, woman?” Amadi asked the last stranger in their party. “Do you have something to say? Maybe know what your fellow American friend has planned for us?”
The woman glared but otherwise said nothing.
“Suit yourself.”
This one’s skin was more pale under the sun than the rest, and though she had her blonde hair trimmed short like a marine and had more brawn than Jay, her palm bark armor and stone club came from Primal Age. He would’ve suspected that she could not have been more than two weeks old on Annwyn, but from what he’d overheard from Naomi, she’d been here for half that time, just clearing her night seven battle against Natura with ease.
Jay sighed. Just more evidence of how much less difficult life here was for those with an Expat Core.
Amadi turned to Jay next, but seemed to have lost interest. He merely blew him a kiss, hoisted his mace over his shoulder like a baseball bat, and continued on his path, sight focused on Naomi next.
And their host continued through the jungle, leading her party delicately into a narrow ridge.
She’s taking us to the harbor, Jay realized. This was the main route there, right between the zone where Sayid set up endless pitfalls into acid traps, and Desmond kept an arsenal of stone walls covered with elemental runes that could burn a person to death just by walking near. Only through the narrowest passage could anyone make it to the harbor unscathed, and only if they didn’t happen upon one of the tripwires that they were fond of rotating around almost daily.
Yeah, if Jay had learned anything from his time nearby, it was to never approach from this particular angle without a chaperone.
They passed through the narrow ravine that ended the jungle territory and tasted fresh salt in the air. The midday sun shone high above, casting rays upon the cerulean beauty of their harbor. The E-Rank boats lulled lazily back and forth, white-crested waves gently rocking their sides, with a dock running between, their wooden planks flecked with barnacles.
But the real show stood on the side.
Jay’s eyes widened, trying to take in so many people at once. There were dozens of Expats loitering along the beach, all readily identifiable with their leather pouches dangling on the side, with their Expatriate Guides in each.
Some were still trapped in Primal gear, but the majority appeared to have hit Copper like him, their ranks a mix of silver, copper, and the duller gray of pig iron where applicable. The five main Weapon Crafts were all represented, but many seemed to have branched off into finer Sub-Crafts, with quarterstaves, mauls, rapiers, glaives, crossbows. Some had even evolved into separate branches, like Tinkering and Alchemy.
And the E-Rank group stood apart from all others, their polished forms sticking out like UN peacekeepers in an impoverished nation’s relief camp. Sayid, Naomi, Desmond, Ben. All armed to the teeth, a fury in their gaze.
Ben had even brought out his entire army of metallic constructs. They formed a vanguard nearby, gripping miniature halberds like little tin men. Though they weren’t taking aim at the crowd, Ben held the controls in one hand, and even with his blue-tinted goggles covering his eyes, his brow was furrowed with a fierce determination.
Naomi strolled to the front, her musket still in hand. Desmond’s golden axe rested over his shoulder, the runes glowing bright.
And Sayid kept his arms crossed nearby, his curled beard glistening with sweat, and a pole towering behind, its contents buried beneath a canvas. Even from the distance, Jay could make out flies buzzing about, and taste an acrid scent, just at the tip of his tongue.
Time went by unopposed as the crowd stood awkwardly in wait. Distant seagulls cawed, but the superior Expats did not move.
Finally, Sayid cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen – no, fellow humans in this foreign land – we have brought you all today as a simple reminder of where we all stand.
“As you all have been told, so long as my friends and I are here, we will do what we can to protect you from the dangers of this world, to the extent that can be done with the Rules we live under. There is little we can do about the threat at night, but some red lines can never be crossed during the day.
“Trust me when I tell you there is nothing more dangerous in this world than the people standing by your side. The four of us were Expatriated to an island where there were no such protections as the one we offer, and the result was as swift as it was brutal. That very island once had more than twice the crowd we have here, but when we finally evacuated, there were only the four of us left. Everyone else had been killed trying to prolong their lives at the expense of someone else.
“When we found this island, we knew what it must be turned into. Not just for ourselves, but for any who would come after us. This is the civilized world… One where there are consequences for such barbarity.”
He stared deep, his dark eyes piercing. “All of you know this. You’ve seen this. You’ve heard our explicit commands. Everyone here is free to do what they must to survive, but harming another human is the red line that cannot be crossed. And yet, here we are…”
He stepped back to the pole and yanked the fabric free.
And the air got caught in Jay’s throat. A woman… Blonde hair mangled, eyes glazed over, caked blood around her throat where the veins had been slit, skin turned blue and bloated, tongue rolled out. The last somehow twisted his stomach more than anything. He couldn’t bear the sight…
“Do not look away!” Sayid ordered, and Jay’s heart skipped a beat. “This is the crime that has been inflicted, and everyone must see it so you understand what happens when civilization is broken! This woman became Expatriated here, only to lose her second life mere days after arrival. That cannot be allowed to stand!”
Ben stepped forth. “Luckily, our murderer left us a nice clue. It seems that one little bit inside was just too juicy for them to ignore.” He held up a Guide. “So, here is how this is going down. We will search all of you, one after the next, until we find what we’re looking for.”
The people again peered from side to side.
“What is that supposed to mean?” one man asked.
Ben grinned. “Oh, don’t you worry about that. Both Naomi and Desmond know how to handle an interrogation, I did my share of intelligence training, and Sayid… Well, let’s just say his methods of extracting information are more brutal than ours, so you don’t want us to send you to him.”
Sayid suddenly drew a machete from behind his gambeson. Light flickered against its sleek surface, and his wrinkled brow watched on without care.
The constructs stepped forth next, their weapons aimed to kill, and alchemic eyes burning a fury of their own.
One of the women inched back.
…Only for the thunder to ring out, the sand shooting up beneath her feet.
“Did we say you could go anywhere?” Naomi asked, her musket smoking. With an inhuman speed, she stuffed more powder down the barrel and shoved in a pellet wrapped in cloth before retaking aim. “Next time someone tries something, I won’t miss.”
The crowd froze, still as a statue.
“Jay, you’re up first,” Ben ordered.
His eyes widened. “Me!? Why?”
“She was found in your old base.”
“But I didn’t d–”
“Save it for the investigation.” Ben turned back to everyone else. “The rest of you, line the fuck up! We’re burning daylight and nobody goes home until we’ve uncovered the murderer.”
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Jay gulped. They can’t seriously be doing this? Not after all they’d been through together… Right?
But as he stared into the E-Rank Expats’ eyes, he no longer saw the people who’d saved his life, but the grizzled killers, ready to unleash yet again against their perceived foe.
Oh, how Jay regretted coming down here. How he regretted stepping outside his shell. How he wished for nothing more than to get on a raft and go somewhere else, far from all these people who could still crush him like a bug the moment they had a thought.
Why did he always have to be under someone else’s thumb?
Clapping rang out nearby.
The crowd looked to the source. Straight up, atop the ridge, with a clear shot for everyone below.
A devious grin ran across an otherwise chiseled jawline, breaking only for a salt-and-pepper beard, trimmed tight. Piercing blue eyes drank the chaos beneath, the shadow falling over his wrinkled cheeks. He crossed his arms, hairy and bare, above a fishing vest lined with metal plates. A necklace with a coconut attached hung around his neck, and a rifle’s barrel poked out from his back, while the handle of a pistol sat tied to his cargo pants.
“Who the fuck are you?” Naomi asked, taking aim.
The man suddenly somersaulted through the air, twirling dozens of feet high before plummeting below. The sand puffed out where he landed. He curtsied.
“I am Viktor Kuznetsov,” the man said with a thick Russian accent, beaming. “And I believe your ‘investigation’ is about me.”
Ben gaped. “Huh?”
“That woman over there… Persephone. You wish to know who killed her? I will make your lives simple. It was me.”
“Why?”
“Did you know that fresh Expatriate blood is high in Radia essence?” Viktor asked. “Very rare to come across at this Rank. You have to move quick. Even a few small meals will purge the radiation from their system.” He raised a finger. “It is very important to get to them before then.”
“You’re saying that you killed someone over a few drops of essence?” Naomi asked.
“No, I tell you that I killed this woman over no drops of essence.” Viktor frowned. “I was too slow.”
Who the hell is this guy? Jay glanced around the crowd and saw everyone watching him with that same look, a mix of fear and confusion.
The E-Ranks gripped their weapons tight.
Only Sayid seemed deterred. His normally stern countenance had given way as he watched the man in front, his dark eyes bulging and lips quivering.
Naomi narrowed her eye down the barrel of her musket. “What we dealing with here, Ben?”
He tapped his goggles, turning their lenses from blue to red. “His gear’s all over the place, but the best he has access to is that rifle on his back. No way it’s been crafted by him though.” He twisted a lens an inch further and smirked. “I’d say E-Rank, just like us.”
Viktor raised an eyebrow. “Ah, that is quite impressive feat. Would you mind if I try those goggles?”
Ben laughed. “Fat chance, asshole.”
Wouldn’t mind trying them myself, Jay contemplated, making the personal note to experiment more later.
“Very well then,” Viktor said. He studied the E-Rank group, pointing to them each. “A technomancer, a marksman, a warrior, a rogue.” With a sigh, he casually removed his pistol and rifle and placed them in the sand besides. “It seems I have much work cut out for me.”
“Say the word,” Naomi said. “I’ll waste this guy.”
Desmond stepped forth. “No need, Naomi. I’ve got the cunt.”
He raised his giant axe high. The runes grew bright, one of his overwhelming attacks readying to fall.
But then the axe’s shaft got stopped midair.
A collective hush fell over the crowd.
Ever since slaying the leviathan, Jay’s vitality had jumped to a state well beyond a regular F-Rank Expat. The enhanced speed and strength were one thing, but it was the change in perception that made him finally able to comprehend the differences in power between him and his E-Rank seniors. Even if he couldn’t fight at their level, he could at least track their movements now.
And yet, Viktor had moved faster than eyes could follow. His hand gripped the hilt of the axe before it ever had the chance to swing.
Desmond gawked, his arms suddenly quaking against the weight of his enemy. His opponent beamed.
“I’ve got him,” Naomi said, her musket honing in.
Desmond gasped, the veins in his head bulging. “Bloody hell, wait!”
It was too late. A thunderous boom went off, but before the shot could land, Viktor twirled the axe and its owner around. Desmond cried out as the round tore into his chest.
Snap.
“Shit!” Naomi reloaded, her arms moving with precise automation.
But when she looked back up, Viktor was mere inches away.
The musket quaked. “How!?”
He winked. “You have your skills, and so do I.”
All in one motion, their situations reversed, with Viktor flicking the musket from Naomi’s hands, the trigger now in his fingers and barrel pointing into its former owner. He rammed her chest and forced her up, as if she’d been impaled.
The shot went off, gore exploding from her back where the shrapnel had pierced through. Naomi vomited blood, eyes quivering in shock.
Snap.
Ben’s constructs rolled in, but Viktor was already on the retreat, dodging their halberd attacks with ease.
“Get them out of there, Sayid!” Ben ordered. “I’ve got him locked down.”
“Do you know what is problem with relying on these constructs for attacks?” Viktor asked, zipping from side to side.
He suddenly leaped through the air, performing another backflip as he twirled to safety. Ben’s jaw dropped as his opponent landed behind, his constructs nowhere to be seen.
Viktor put his arm around his shoulder. “You forget about yourself so easily.”
Snap.
Ben screamed as his goggles shattered, the glass going right into his eyes before fading into dust. The construct’s eyes dimmed as if they’d lost sight too.
Viktor grimaced at the sight of another man crying blood.
But his gaze turned frenzied a moment later, the very air shuddering to life. Viktor immediately raised his arms to protect his face, gashes sprouting as metal pierced through.
Only through Jay’s high vitality could he make out Sayid’s attacks against this man. Quick. Precise. Deadly. A symphony of [Thrusts] into a single unarmed man.
Yet, Viktor tilted back and forth against his enemy’s rapier, taking the brunt of the damage in his arms like a boxer with his guard raised, and a thin smirk growing behind. He wasn’t struggling to survive. Far from it.
This was all part of the fun for him.
And neither Jay nor Sayid nor anyone else saw the flashbang drop until it was too late.
The world disappeared into a wall of bright light. Ears rang. Jay blinked and rolled, his head striking the sand when he tried to stand up. It took moments before his disorientation cleared, and by the look of everyone else, he wasn’t alone.
And Sayid gasped where he’d been stabbed, his machete cleaved right into his chest.
Snap.
Viktor kicked his defeated enemy over, yanked a vial from Sayid’s bandoleer of potions, and poured the contents over his open wounds. He frowned as they remained open, then tossed the machete aside with a yawn.
Just like that, it was over. The four most powerful people on this island had been defeated by one unarmed man. The E-Rank group writhed painfully from wounds that would have killed any ordinary human.
And Viktor Kuznetsov grabbed his weapons again, plopped onto the nearest boulder like a throne, crossed his knees, and gazed upon the crowd of weaker humans. He steepled his bloodied fingers and gleamed.
“Let us start this conversation again…”
Name: Jay Reis (Copper Age)
Vitality – 97/97
Hunger – 6/72
Thirst – 18/24
Fatigue – 36/48
Sanity – 90/100
Main Crafts: Alchemy 2, Armor Crafting 2, Base Building 3, Cooking 2, Jewelry 2, Medicine 2, Tailoring 2, Tool Crafting 3, Weapon Crafting 2.
Weapon Crafts: Axes 5, Bows 5, Clubs 5, Daggers 5, Spears 5, Swords 9.
Armor Crafts: Heavy Armor 5, Light Armor 5, Medium Armor 6, Shields 6.
Character Skills:
[Forbidden Knowledge]
Armor Skills:
Heavy Armor: [Push], [Stampede]
Medium Armor: [Recover], [Leap], [Waterform]
Light Armor: [Dash], [Feather Fall]
Shield: [Brace], [Track], [Break]
Weapon Skills:
Axes: [Chop], [Whirlwind]
Bows: [Sharpshooter], [Longshot]
Clubs: [Bash], [Paralyze]
Daggers: [Slice], [Flourish]
Spears: [Thrust], [Sweep]
Swords: [Power Attack], [Slash], [Rend], [Parry]
Armor:
[Pig Ironplated Hat] (Affinity+3), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+1)
[Pig Ironplated Coat] (Affinity+3), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+1)
[Pig Ironplated Leggings] (Affinity+3), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+1)
[Pig Ironplated Shoes] (Affinity+3), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+1)
[Silver Amulet]: Socketed with [Chipped Tourmaline] (Tempus)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Ruby] (Ignis)
[Silver Ring]: Socketed with [Chipped Ruby] (Ignis)
Weapons:
[Pig Iron Sword+3] (Affinity+4), (Hardened+2), (Reinforced+2), (Stable+1)
[Wooden Bow+3] (Elemental), (Reinforced+2): Socketed with [Chipped Ruby] (Ignis)
[Basic Leather Quiver]: Contains 20 [Silver-tipped Arrows] (Elemental+1)
[9mm Semi-Automatic Pistol] (Accurate+2), (Quick): Contains 3 [9mm Cartridge] (JHP)
Tools:
[Copper Knife+3]
[Copper Axe+3]
[Copper Hammer+3]
[Copper Pickaxe+3]
[Copper Shovel+3]
Boons:
[Minor (Speed)] (x3)