1
However, the deeper parts of Cloudburn are unfazed by what has occurred near the entrance gate. Seems they don’t care as Cloudburn near the town square is fairly huge and more mannered than at the entrance. Earlier, the view from above was blocked by strands of clouds, leaving only the cooling tower and outside circumference border visible.
Not even near the town square as the directions say and few vehicles are crossing along the road, slowly into the crowd of pedestrians walking.
“There’s so many people here,” Selina muttered.
“Reminds me of Jinsu, but this is more dense,” Kilian replied, looking around as the three reached the open intersection.
||Scanning directory
[Straight]||
||[Location Discovered: Cloudburn Main Crossing]
He then heads straight, with the two following right behind him. Five directions, one head straight, while three coming different ways with one more from the diagonally right. To be fair busy. More than Jinsu’s main street. He manages his distance and directs the two to stay close and not to stop.
Keep going. Kilian glances behind with his peripherals. Selina and Fredrich kept themselves close. Constant shoving from foot traffic across multiple directions slows them down. Umph. He got hit briefly but kept going till they finally reached the curb. Selina turned back to the intersection seeing a clearer view of the crosswalk.
“Seeing all of them having a normal day, it would be a blessing when Jinsu has this again,” Selina muttered, and Kilian called her, who was waiting for her. “I’m coming!”
Out of the foot traffic, they continued heading straight, entering a different district of Cloudhun. To the left is a massive open lot, turning into a greenery park. A grand blue body of water in the middle of the lot. Kilian pulled out a phone from his pocket and took one picture of the park as he continued walking.
The remaining walk took around fifteen minutes as they reached the edge of the town square with a sign specifically for directing them to the vault. Insisting heading to the right, they turned right, revealing ahead a big building that resembles the palace back home.
“I'm gonna say, that looks bizarre,” Selina said, speeding up first, arriving at the roundabout. “Even a water fountain.”
Fredrich sat down at one of the benches surrounding the water fountain. “You go ahead. I’ll sit here,” he said to Kilian.
Seriously. Kilian leaves him there, heading to the entrance stairway.
||[Location Discovered: Cloudburn Vault Center]||
He walks into the building and meets with the front counter. The front desk clerks were all greeted as if he was a VIP. “Number?” they asked.
“Fifteen…” Kilian mumbled. He then repeated the number. Pulling up the note he saved from his pocket, he gave it to them as they were about to ask for the code. One of the clerks gave direct eye contact with Kilian, seeming curious about the scenario.
“Sir, what are you here for?”
“I need to check my vault,” Kilian answered plainly. His qi is unstable. He turns to the business card holder, and grabs one of the cards, letting the OLRS read and decipher all of it.
||Completed…
+1 XP (1 Card)||
||Name Tag match
Business card match
Identity confirmed||
“So, Mr. Chang, why were you giving me a stare? Is there a problem?” Kilian leans his elbow at the counter, facing directly to his left where Mr. Chang was standing.
“You don’t look like Jarek,” Mr. Chang said.
“What? Aren’t friends or close contacts not allowed to help Jarek find his stuff while he's out on duty?” Kilian rebuked.
“Uh…Yes, but you are new though.”
Kilian annoyingly shook his head. As he was about to initiate, the other clerk approved his access, showed him the way, and told Mr. Chang to stop provoking. Kilian looked at her and departed the front desk. Kilian and the clerk lady head to the back, and right when they turn, he hears Selina. Immediately connect her through the OLRS.
Stay outside. I don’t want to bring any more suspicions adding to the prior suspicions of that man clerk at the front.
<< Jesus, sorry. Alright, I’ll leave. Keep us both posted. >>
Yes, no worry. Now go and watch Fredrich.
He took a silent breather and entered downstairs to the underground lobby, followed by a security checkpoint. The lady clerk turned around, gesturing for any items to be removed. Hmm. Kilian took his sword, placed it on the table for security, and walked through the checkpoint. The lady clerks headed in first and did a pat-down screening. She does it while looking back at him.
||[Clear]||
“Ok, you’re good, right this way,” She said, directing to the vault ahead on the right.
Kilian looks back at his sword which is still at the counter.
“Oh, don’t worry, your sword is in good hands,” she said.
“Just be careful. Don't get your hands exposed to it too much,” Kilian warns the security guard, then follows the lady clerk.
Kilian stood in front of a tall, circular, and metallic door. He stood staring at the humongous door while the lady clerk walked up and pushed random-shaped buttons at a specific pattern. Should I record this? Kilian wondered. He then forgets about it as it’s a waste of time if nothing valuable or any worth is in there. “Ok step back,” The clerk lady said, prompting Kilian to take one step back.
A rattling sound comes from the gears, followed by a thud as the vault door ejects itself from the lockset. Pitch black only brightens when the door further opens outward. The clerk lady walks in and switches on the lights of the interior.
“Come in,” she said. Kilian enters the vault's interior to find the whole section covered with shelves of secured safes.
||Scanning…
Counting…||
“First time here right?”
“Yes, mam.”
“Luckily, you are the only one here so you can take your time here,” She said, turning left and entering the room with a sign above [士兵]
Soldier. Hmm, a vault section for the soldiers. “So, soldiers have their section in the vault. What do they usually store here?”
“Weapons, assets, and various personal items. It varies. As long as it can fit in their safe, then it’s acceptable.”
||Amounted: 158,720 Gold Coins||
Wild that this was all within the vault he just walked through. With that much worth in gold, he could already rebuild Jinsu but ten times larger. Being a low-level OLRS, he had to do the entire scan again. While directed to Jarek’s safe, he rescans only within the [士兵] area of the vault.
Clanks of the lockset opened from his safe, “Here you go sir,” the clerk lady said, stepping aside and letting Kilian observe the safe.
“Are you watching me?” Kilian turns around and sees the lady standing, directing towards him.
“Vault policy,” she said, gesturing not to mind her. “Do your business, and I'm not even here.”
Kilian secretly played along, reaching into the safe, looking for some valuable intel. Only to his disappointment, the vault is virtually empty. But he did find one thing, diving his hand into the depths of the safe. Reaching out, holding a couple of keys and a pouch. Putting in his inner pockets, the OLRS finished.
||Amounted: 76,102 Gold Coins||
Still a lot. Kilian closes Jarek’s safe, nodding to the clerk lady he’s finished. “This will do,” he said, departing to the entranceway and waiting for the clerk lady to lock the safe, before following her out of the vault.
Walking out of the vault, Kilian walks past the security guard, instantly directing his sword back to the grip of his right hand. Turning to the security guard, whose eyes were shut, and leaning back towards the chair.
“Adam!?” The clerk lady ran behind the desk, feeling his neck. “Still has a pulse.”
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Kilian views his black blade and redirects his focus to the security guard but partially regains consciousness. Terrified, he looked and flinched away from the black sword in Kilian’s grip. Your new sword ain’t having it. Can you put it away? Looked at his sword again, thinking back to Mei’s comment on his sword, and was terrified.
“Did you touch or anything with your senses to my sword?” Kilian asked.
Adam mumbled, only enough for the clerk lady to hear. “He looked at it monetarily before his body felt spinning and lightheaded,” The Clerk Lady said.
This is the tenth case now since Mei. I guess it all correlates to one thing. “This weapon is more menacing than I thought,” Kilian muttered. “Is the factory open?”
The Clerk Lady nodded, mentioning it was on break as lunch hours were about to begin. The Vault visitors' traffic will pick up eventually. Adam, feeling better, insisted on letting him be alone.
Both leave him there, heading back to the main lobby. Leaving the stairways only to be confronted by a large group of armed men. Swords on deck and few on first defense with shields. The two noticed Mr. Chang, hiding behind them. What a coward. Kilian thought. He knew something was iffy about that clerk. No surprise there. He received a visual notification while being confronted.
|| Hey! We have company surrounding the vault. Blending around the benches, waiting for your call. Respond ASAP if you see this. - Selina||
|| AMBUSH! Now.
[Sending…]||
The Clerk lady pulled Kilian’s arm, “What the hell is going on?”
“We’re being confronted,” Kilian said, holding back.
“I don’t have a good feeling about this,” The Clerk lady said, beginning to grow suspicious of Kilian in terms of his identity. “Are you here for what you were saying earlier at the counter?”
Kilian glanced quietly back at the army and looked at the unoccupied counter. Turning back to the Clerk lady asking her, “Are you the only one behind that desk?”
“Just me and Mr. Chang.”
“I mean, is there any other front desk recipient here? Or just you?”
“Just me,” The Clerk lady said.
Kilian grunted within his mouth, “Since you were polite in your job, I trust you can keep this place in your company till this brawl is over.”
“I don’t understand what you mean. The manager here is my boss,” The Clerk Lady said, confused about what he meant.
“Just do what you are good at. And don’t get killed,” Kilian said, walking slowly up to the armed group with one arm behind his waist, gesturing to the lady to move right behind him. “What is this travesty I’m witnessing?” Kilian walks closer to the counter, pointing his finger to the right, directing at it. The Clerk lady crawled behind the counter, crawling under the counter space.
Mr. Chang blurted out to apprehend Kilian, pointing his finger towards him. “That’s him!”
“Sir, we need you to come with us. You are charged with identity theft and trespassing,” The armed frontman said.
||[Message Sent]
[New Message]||
Kilian slightly tilted his head sideways. “I beg your pardon?”
||Armed Sergeant HP: 500/500||
||Armed Men (25) HP: 300/300||
||Ok! All units are moving into town. Get prepared! - Selina
Automatic Documentation Updating…
Documentation Completed
* Arrive at the border of Cloudburn
* Assist annihilating the Cloudburn's border guards
* Head down to Cloudburn Inc. Vault Center
New Documentation:
* Deal with the Tensions from the Armed Men
* Kill Mr. Chang(Optional)
* Conquer Cloudburn
* Face [??]
||
Sweet.
“Sir, are you listening?!”
“Yes, I am listening!” Kilian said, swirling out his black sword and slashing the group. The whole strip of the first floor’s glass and the wood frame shatter. Shards of glass spew in all directions, some striking the armored men. Few in the farthest line, nearest to the entrance, got cast out while the glass shattered.
||+28 XP||
All in the front responded with an immobilizer, paralyzing Kilian in the process. The black sword broke out of his grip by cutting its hilt, flying in front of Kilian, and spooking them. The sword glows red before thrusting itself towards them, striking the front line. The Armored Sergeant who initiated the paralysis on Kilian deployed his shield with his vacant left hand while trying to keep the immobilizer effect active through his right hand’s fingers.
“What kind of sword is this?!” he said, not prepared to deal with the mysterious sword. The clash initiated all others to barge to the sword, only to fail when it deployed a projectile of its qi. The qi strikes through their chests, collapsing them to the concrete floor.
||+22 XP||
The black sword hasn't lost its focus and increases its weight by upsurging its qi.
||[Paralysis in effect…(20s)]
Unknown effect(1) in effect: Boosting Strength and Defense (25 s)
Unknown effect(2) in effect: Upsurge Qi (30s)
Paralysis effect -50%||
Kilian’s fingers start to move, followed by his tingly hands. Clenching his fist, his mind burns, desperate for the action. As his paralysis fades, he observes his sword hasn’t done anything other than keep the man pinned at the spot.
Crack!
Damn it! The man painfully reacted while holding it in after the sword’s immense qi pinned one of his knees down to the concrete, cracking it.
||Armed Sergeant HP: 400/500||
Just a little more…Kilian’s whole upper body returns to him, forcing his legs out of paralysis as he is less than five seconds away from regaining full control.
There! Kilian dashes and thrusts his right arm out, grabbing the blade from the guard.
Slit!
Splat!
He glances down and sees a bloodied hand on the front in front of his feet. A howling scream lingered in his ears leading him to look up only to find the man’s hand had severed. The forearm bone is exposed with the cut flesh, spurting blood showers.
||Armed Sergeant HP: 25/500||
“You got me there with paralysis, but I was able to cut in half,” Kilian muttered to him. Glancing at his black sword while holding grip on the guard, “Tell me where the refinery for material is at?”
“That…Cooling…tower,” The man stuttered in a low voice going into a state of shock. In the distance, Kilian sees Selina and a few of her men, chasing Mr. Chang.
“OK, thanks. Nebelstrahl!” Kilian said with a grin before striking a mist through the Armed Sergeant’s head.
Selina pulls her three men back, saving them last second from the clear mist showering over Mr. Chang, imitating a spotlight. He screamed as his skin molted through the longer contact with the mist. Seconds later, he succumbed to the attack, evaporating to thin air.
The lingering mist dissolves, leaving no environmental after-effects.
||Documentation Completed
* Arrive at the border of Cloudburn
* Assist annihilating the Cloudburn's border guards
* Head down to Cloudburn Inc. Vault Center
* Deal with the Tensions from the Armed Men
* Kill Mr. Chang(Optional)
Armed Sergeant HP: 0/500
Mr. Chang HP: 0/50 (-800)
+120 XP
+50 XP
[Level 1: 1018/5000]
||
Walking through the piles of shards of glass and pieces of wood, Kilian checks the clerk lady if she is safe. “Mam?” He called, peeking under the desk.
“I’m good,” The Clerk Lady said, dragging herself out from the desk. Kilian assisted her up, revealing the damages from the minute that had passed. “What in the world?!”
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
She shook her head, finding a seat for her to sit down. “Leave me here, go!”
Kilian silently nodded, leaving the front desk area, flying downward back to the front lot seeing the wrecked fountain. Meeting up with Selina, who witnessed the mist, “What’s next?”
“I will say a great job to us where all our forces were able to blend into society. I guess you are right to bring them into Cloudburn first before I arrive.”
“Sometimes we have to improvise on the spot,” Selina said.
“Was this your idea or his?”
“It was mine. Remember he doesn’t want to be part of leading the men.”
“Shit, maybe I should have put you in his place instead.”
Selina insisted she was fine being a Colonel. Then switching topics of any intel he found.
“I found his keys and pouch,” Kilian said, spinning his head around. “You know what, I’ll let Fredrich handle this matter. He can go investigate the keys here by himself.” He called Fredrich, who seemed less moody.
“What?” Fredrich asked, looking at the content Kilian was holding. “What is that?”
“Potential intel from one of the dead soldiers I’ve dealt with. Could help us learn more about the lifestyle of Cloudburn.” Kilian hands the keys to Fredrich. “Since you like being alone, maybe you could do the digging.”
“Me?”
“Well, yeah. What, you don’t want some time alone?”
Fredrich didn’t respond and turned around leaving the front lot.
Selina sighed, “I got new documentation to head for the refinery. Have you received it?”
||Automatic Documentation Updating…
New Documentation:
* Head to the Refinery
Ongoing Documentation:
* Conquer Cloudburn
* Face [??]
||
“I just received it. Well, I guess we're going,” Kilian said. Selina called a couple in her division to follow as she exited first from the lot. On the horizon to the left, the road heads back to the entrance and western part of town, plagued with trails of smoke in the air. She and Kilian turned right, facing the town square and the cooling towers. The two began picking up pace, jogging down to the refinery, encouraging Selina's men to do the same.