A large crowd of combatants gathered around the open zone where twelve different fighters were currently engaged in all-out combat.
Braun wielded a strange staff formed out of an intertwined mass of silvery threads, with each thread overlapping one another to stabilize its structure. The weapon constantly changed shape, from first being a staff then transforming into a blade then into a shield with a long spike at the front.
On the other hand, eleven women with the same appearance wielded differing weapons, from blades to bows, hammers, staffs, and even guns.
It was an onslaught of attacks from both sides, with one man displaying disgustingly great combat instincts to the point he moved with such precision and finesse that it felt like a painter creating art, while the woman coordinated with her clones as if they were one large organism rather than multiple people akin to the legendary beings known as hydras in various myths and legends.
This fight was a showcase of two supers duking it out in the realm of combat, with them pushing themselves to their limits.
Braun constantly dodged and evaded, and sent out ruthless attacks to Nora’s incoming clones in the process. His mind underwent overdrive, processing all of the information he perceived with his five sensory senses so that he could move at near optimality.
Unfortunately, no matter how big of a genius Braun was with an impeccable instinct for combat, Nora still had the upper hand not just in experience, but also in weapon mastery, martial arts, and most importantly, numbers.
He fell to the ground, a blade an inch away from his neck.
Braun sighed and raised his arm helplessly, retracting his threads into his fingers.
“You got me,” he said defeatedly.
Nora chuckled and placed the sword back into its sheath before all of her clones merged back into her body. Then, like magic, the blade in her hand began to squirm before shattering into fragments of light.
This was her second artifact, the Level 2 Ring of Weapon Creation. As the name suggested, it can create weapons, all having the attack potency of Level 1 Artifacts. All she needed to create any weapon she wanted was to have enough knowledge of the weapon’s structure and mental energy to create the weapon itself.
It was an incredibly versatile artifact that greatly complemented her superpower, and had accompanied her for almost 2 years already.
“How do you even get artifacts? Do you have to like pay money?” Braun stood up, patting the dust away from his butt.
“It’s actually a pretty complicated process, since artifacts are far rarer than Supers or Monsters, and can be wielded by even normal humans. Besides your original trainee program completion, you can apply to acquire an artifact once every year or after you’ve made enough contributions.” Nora subconsciously sighed upon recalling the incredibly complicated and arduous process she had to go through to acquire her Ring of Weapons Creation.
“I see…” Braun nodded his head and smiled. “Thanks for being my sparring partner for today by the way.”
“No problem.” Nora waved her hand. “Don’t be afraid to ask me or Terry for a sparring session if you ever want to, we’d be more than happy to have a little fun.”
“Sure.” He nodded his head.
…
Walking through the pristine white hallways of Nuwesca City’s southwestern Aegis branch, Braun arrived at an incredibly large room known as the cafeteria, with multiple floors, each housing tens of tables and hundreds of chairs for people to sit down on.
Self-serving stores can be found lining the walls, serving various foods, many of which were highly nutritional and appeared tasty at a mere glance.
Braun curiously walked up to a nearby stall selling what appeared to be fresh seafood ported all the way from Insea City, a coastal city located all the way up north of Dela. As he waited in line, a pair of workers who stood in front of him noticed his presence and gasped in surprise.
“Woah, you’re the new Super, right?” the blond-haired man’s eyes twinkled.
“The man who was rumored to have even defeated the combat goddess Nora Shi?!” the other guy, a dude with spiky black hair, remarked.
“Combat Goddess…” Braun chuckled at the nickname and casually said, “Yeah, that’s me.”
“Damn, congrats on landing that awesome job!” congratulated the blond man. “I heard that the pay is really great. Terry even told me he earns a few hundred thousand dollars per year.”
“I heard from a coworker that Karsen earns a few million dollars per year!” Added the man with spiky black hair.
“I’m not that blessed… yet. I’m still just a trainee right now so my earnings are just over fifty thousand dollars per month,” said Braun; the tone of his voice not even fluctuating.
“Sweet mother of God!” whistled the blond man.
“Damn! That’s the same as our captain’s salary, right?” analyzed the spiky-haired man.
Within Aegis, besides their main fighting force consisting of their group of supers, there was plenty of ordinary personnel without powers working for Aegis, and combat/military force was no exception.
Although the two appeared rather easygoing, one shouldn’t dismiss them as such as they were grisly veterans that experienced numerous cases of life and death already, having faced various anomalous situations with nothing but their wits and skills to keep them alive.
“I wonder if I’ll be able to get powers too one day,” the blond-haired man said wistfully.
Braun dismissed their thoughts and didn’t find the energy to give a damn about their wishes. Instead, he unhurriedly asked, “So, what do you two suggest I order for my first time there?”
He pointed at the end of the line where the self-serving stall for seafood was found, with its fish ported straight from the coastal city of Insea.
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“Oh, I have the perfect combo meal for you!” The blond man hurriedly said, his eyes shining brighter than before.
…
“A bowl of rice, deep fried fish on top and covered in sauces, a side of soup, vegetables, and lastly, a cold glass of healthy beer,” Braun repeated the blond-haired man’s suggestion and stared at his plate with a curious stare.
Finding an empty seat, he placed his tray on the table and inspected each of the items he bought.
Nothing about them was out of the ordinary besides their large portions, but what truly caught his intrigue was none other than the mysterious drink known as Healthy Beer. The name alone implied an outrageous claim that was akin to defying the way of the heavens, because if it was real, then they had done the impossible and made beer healthier than drinking tea!
He held back the urge to drink already and instead grabbed the pair of metallic chopsticks on his tray, before digging into his meal. He gave each meal a proper taste test and was surprised at how good it tasted, and while he hadn’t eaten authentic Afrilian food in his life before, Braun felt that this was very close to the original!
Only after eating over half of his meal did he finally feel that it was right to take a sip, and hurriedly grabbed the can of beer. As it opened, a sharp hiss resounded in his ears and he poured the contents of the drink into a glass cup, with light yellow liquid pouring out. A layer of fluffy white was on top, giving the glass of beer an alluring appearance.
Slowly inching it closer to his mouth, he finally took a sip, and a familiar taste immediately greeted him. He paused for a moment and stared at the glass in his hand with an incredulous yet enlightened stare.
So the beer they served before was healthy beer! I should have expected it! Bran shook his hand upon realizing this fact and took a bigger swig, enjoying the familiar feeling of ingesting alcohol.
When he finished the rest of his meal and drank the last bit of his beer, he patted his belly and mumbled, “If I sold that beer outside, then I would be rich!”
He laughed at his own thoughts and slowly stood up. He even let out a burp in the process.
“They even have automatic receptors in the bodysuit that would immediately anti-drunkness formulas into my body if it was needed,” he muttered with a grin.
And since it’s healthy and wouldn’t harm my liver, it means I could go for another round without repercussions! He involuntarily rushed forward and headed straight for one of the various stalls selling healthy versions of alcohol.
When he arrived, he saw a long group of workers already waiting for their turn.
It seems like I’m not the only one who thought of such a thing. Braun shook his head.
Even though everyone would practically receive alcohol addiction if they continuously drink Healthy Beer or any other healthy variations of alcoholic drinks, as long as it doesn’t disrupt the organization’s flow of work and deteriorate the health of its workers, then by all means, drink till you have your fill!
They’d probably use that as an advertisement if they could, but it would just tarnish the organization’s reputation for incoming workers. Braun snorted but remained patiently waiting in line.
Unknowingly, Braun already fell into the trap known as Healthy Beer, a devious scheme plotted by Aegis to keep their workers hooked, so that they would never betray the organization and continue drinking not just beer, but all forms of alcohol to their hearts’ content without destroying their liver.
…
Emo Raven Girl, also known as Kaya Macias, resumed her daily schedule in Aegis. She woke up late in the morning, and ate a heavy meal for breakfast, exploiting her rapid metabolism as a transformation-type Super. She would then binge-watch shows, ranging from dramas to anime, while continuously munching on snacks.
She would continue doing so until lunch when she’d head out for the cafeteria to buy some really great ramen full of meat, eggs, and cheese, along with a healthy amount of alcohol, before returning to her room to continue watching shows.
Only when it was around 5 pm would she begin combat training with Nora as her mentor, which would last for around an hour.
That period of time was the thing she hated most, but for the most part, life was leagues better compared to when she was still a normal university girl working part-time in a convenience store, wasting her life away with no future in store.
As she waited for the next episode to load on her massive television screen, she stared at her blurry reflection on the television’s black screen and smirked. She traced her fingers across her legs to her hips and licked her greasy lips.
Look at my perfect body, ha! Fuck you belly flaps, to think there would come a day when I would become one of those mythical creatures that could eat anything they want without gaining a single gram of fat!
She grinned victoriously, but considering she appeared like a loser of a human being lying down on a couch, with bits of snacks scattered all around, it made her appear more like a little gremlin glob rather than a beautiful girl.
It doesn’t matter though. All that mattered was that she could get drunk all she wanted, eat all she wanted, and only have to do grueling work sporadically throughout the day!
Not only that but when I finish being a trainee, my training time will even be reduced! She tried to cackle madly but instead choked on her chips making her enter a coughing fit.
Slamming her fist on her chest, she managed to save herself from dying due to choking on some chips and hurriedly drank a big gulp of a famous Afrilian alcohol combo: Soju + Sake + Cola.
Heaving a sigh of relief, she swiftly sat down back on her sofa and was about to continue watching the anime she was currently binging, when the screen of her television abruptly switched from the anime’s opening to big red letters that read:
[Notice: Level 2 Monster rapidly approaching the city from the southwestern front! Karsen, Jonas, Lucas, and Kaya, please gather at the Central Hub!]
“Fuck!” She cursed loudly and threw the bowl of chips placed on her tummy away.
Without giving a damn about her current looks right now, she dashed out of her room with greasy hair and oily lips. Underneath the skintight suit covering her whole body at the moment, her skin rapidly turned a dark shade of gray, causing her speed to soar.
On the other hand, Braun, who was busy in his room coding away, simply closed his laptop and stood still.
All of a sudden, a hole opened up beneath him, sucking him into a strange tube that led all the way into the Central Hub.
As soon as he arrived, he saw Jonas also slipping out a tube in the distance, while Karsen already stood near the map in the center of the room, staring intently at the rapidly approaching red dot outside the city.
Braun recognized that place as the mountainous region near the city, with vast green plains.
“I’m here!” His thoughts were interrupted when a girl came running from the door, her face a dark shade of gray, hair messy like a wild beast’s fur.
Braun inspected the last member of the team that he hadn’t interacted with yet, and casually sized her up.
Yep, I can kill her in one blow if I need to. Assured of an overwhelming victory if the two ever got in a fight, Braun lowered his guard around the woman and approached Karsen.
Karsen silently switched the hologram to show a video feed of the monster in question, and the four saw a large monstrous Armadillo covered in a dense layer of rocks and dirt, forming a sort of natural armor. It rolled like a wheel, heading straight for the city, as if it was sensing the large amounts of human meat it could devour.
“Monsters are usually stronger than their Super counterparts of the same level, and takes a group of three supers of the same level to take down one. While this does change at higher levels, it remains the case for you three.” Karsen placed his hands behind his back, his eyes turning into slits.
“Lucas, Kaya, I’m giving you this opportunity to sharpen your combat skills and learn what it’s like to fight against monsters by doing a live test. Jonas will act as you two’s support, while the two of you act as the group’s main attackers.”
“I’ll remain watching from a distance and will intervene if things get really dangerous, but expect to lose a few limbs if you aren’t careful because I would only help when you’re truly going to die.”
“Got it?” he added with a cold and serious voice.
“Yes, captain!” Jonas and Braun said in tandem.
“Yes, sir!” Kaya responded a second late.
Karsen nodded his head, and with that, a blue portal opened up right beside the four.
Staring at the portal, a smile danced on Braun’s lips, as his excitement for battle once again resurfaced.
I’ll finally get to fight a monster!