Chapter 23 Kiro vs DrakeXScales
(*Note: In the last chapter I did a significant typo. Where I had stated that Kiro couldn’t move more than 10km away from the battlefield, I forgot to add: “for 1 month”. Sorry for the confusion.)
Rules of War
1. Players that haven’t finished their one month starting period cannot start, participate in or join in a war.
2. In a war, killing a member of the opposite side will result in fame and while not be considered player killing by the Npcs or the system.
3. If a player is killed in a war and respawns before the war is over he will be resurrected in a “ghost” state. In this state he cannot be killed by nor can he kill the enemy, and in fact will be unable to get within 1 km from anyone from the other side.
4. A player can log in and out during a war. Every time he logs in he will be automatically be teleported to the “base camp” an arbitrary location determined by the leader of his side.
5. Attempting to log out in a dangerous situation (as determined by the system) will be considered as if the player had committed suicide, and the related penalties will apply.
6. If a player is logged out when the war is won, he will gain the corresponding rewards as soon as he logs in.
7. If a player is logged out when the war is lost, it is treated as if he was killed, with all the penalties that this and the lost gives.
8. If the war is won and a player on the winning side does not participate in the war for more than two weeks, or does not participate even once before the end of the war, either because he was not logged in or because he did no action that benefited either side, he will be considered a deserter and will receive no reward at the end of the war. Instead, he will lose some intimacy with Npcs that are aware of his cowardliness.
*****
Seated in one of the biggest rooms of Mutianelis’ keep, Drake was casually observing the other people in the room. As soon as it was apparent that everyone in the guild had received the same message, he had called in all of his lieutenants, even those that weren’t logged in. They had all gathered here to discuss what to do.
If he had to put a label on the vibe he got from the room, it would be hilarity. Most of the people here obviously thought of the declaration of war as a practical joke, or the half-baked idea of a player with more than a screw loose.
He couldn’t blame them, as he had half a mind to think of it as a joke as well.
But it was a challenge, one they couldn’t afford to ignore.
He rose. Around him the noise died down. Masking how good that made him feel, he spoke.
“We need to find this Kiro person, and kill him.”
“Are you sure?” One his lieutenants, called HardRoss, asked. “It hardly seems serious.”
“It’s a challenge. If we don’t answer, and squash him decisively, who knows how many other vigilantes we will have to deal with in the future. It’s better to kill him before he gives others some ideas.”
HardRoss nodded. And looking around the room, he could tell the others agreed as well.
Singling another one of them out, a tracker going by HunterX, he issued his orders. “Take 300 guys with you. With as many trackers as you can. Make them form parties of 6, with one tracker in each group. Most likely, this Kiro guy is hiding out in the woods or the mountains. Find him and kill him.”
“Why so many people? We just need a few guys to comb the woods and we’ll find him soon enough.”
“Do you want to risk stumbling into him alone, on the off chance he’s strong enough to kill you?”
The guy shook his head. The idea of a single player challenging their guild was laughable, but the penalties for losing, and dying, were sever enough to make him break out in cold sweats.
****
In the Tearan residence Mina and Jinan were sitting on the couch besides Anamai who was trying her best to console them.
She had rushed over as soon as she had heard the situation from Allise.
Her grandfather, Sekiru Samurisa, whom had drove her here had also elected to stay a bit. He had meet the Tearans before and had grown fond of the twins.
He came in the living room where they were and flipped the tv on, addressing the kids: “Come now, nothing will come from just moping around. We need more information about these bastards. Then we can discuss what to do about them!”
“But what information could we get from a tv program?” Jinan asked. “We were there before, we say with our own eyes what they are doing.”
Sekiru became slightly evasive. “Well... If we’re lucky, one of them will let slip his address, or show up to be interviewed in person…” He started mumbling: “We just need to find one of them, and then…”
Yep, clearly, Anamai’s stalker tendencies didn’t sprout from trees.
The voice of Ana Satila the famous anchor from Sun Television, came from the television:
“… And the dissatisfaction towards the DrakeXScales guild continues to rise, as the reports of their oppressive behaviour keep pouring in from dissatisfied players. Tell me, Mr. Arkinson what do you think should be done about the DrakeXScales guild?”
The name of this show was “New World Analyse”. In this show, Ana and a group of panellists, all in suit or elegant dresses, were seated around a table and discussed about different controversies taking place in the game. As the animator, Ana would raise the topic of discussion and keep the conversation going.
Mr. Arkinson, a balding man in his forties, started talking: “Well in my opinion, the members of other guilds in the area should…”
Ana raised her hand, the other one on the speaker she had on her ear. The man fell silent.
“I apologize for cutting you off, Mr. Arkinson.” She said with a smile. “I have just received some breaking news. Apparently, a lone player has declared war on the DrakeXScales guild!”
Mina let out a startled breath, in time with the panellists on the other side of the screen. Everyone in the house turned their attention to the television.
“In a video posted on their website,” Ana continued, “the DrakeXScales guild clearly show the declaration of war they have received from a player named Kiro…”
Mina muted the sound. She turned to Jinan. “Is it true?” She asked breathlessly. The other people in the household had the same question.
Jinan was already on his laptop. In a few clicks he had opened AllNewWorld.com, his favorite forum site for discussing New World. Skimming through the topics, he selected one that had been started today. He started reading the comments with a feverish concentration.
“It’s true!” He stated, turning his computer towards his sister.
She also started reading:
-Anama231 says: Did you guys see the video? LOL
-SlickDavid7 says: I know right! That Kiro guy XD
-CrazyWarmonger says: It’s a joke right? Got to be a joke
-Anama231 says: Look at the penalties for losing. No one would go that far for a joke.
-TheGhostOfPastPosts says: LMAO
-SlickDavid7 says: I hope they post the video when they find his ass XD XD XD
-TheMassacreGuy says: Massacre! Massacre!
-Inou6X says: You guys think he has a chance?
-Anama231 says: You nuts?
-CrazyWarmonger says: no
-MyMind33 says: 1 vs 3000, its got to be a joke!
-TheMassacreGuy says: Massacre! Massacre!
Mina stopped reading. She had a concerned look on her face that was mirrored by everyone else in the house. Except for Sekiru, who was laughing quietly. “Declaring war, eh? That’s a good way to do things. Well done, boy.”
****
When Kiro arrived within sight of the city, he could also see many members of the DrakeXScales guild leaving through a thick gate in the wall. They formed parties – groups of 6 individuals – before spreading out, obviously intending to comb the surrounding forest and mountains to find him.
There were about 300 of them, so maybe a tenth of their total strength.
It was not yet dawn. The only lights came from the stars and moon overhead, and the many torches within Mutianelis. It was not enough to illuminate the forest around Kiro.
Kiro backtracked, putting distance between himself and the would-be trackers. He didn’t go far, just retreated for maybe 15 minutes or so, just to let the groups that had entered the forest go a good distance away from the city.
He changed out of his travel clothes, a set of letter clothing he had made from the hide of some monster, into the tunic he had gotten from the Master Training Center. He also took out the weapons he had gotten. In the darkness, the golden shine of the dragon etched on the white cloth seemed slightly ominous.
What had the old man said?
Let others scramble around wildly, desperately looking for rare artifacts to increase their strength, and know that you can slaughter them all with a toothpick.
That sounded about right. Slaughter was what he intended.
He started hunting.
It was immediately evident by the way the different groups of DrakeXScales players converged on his position that a few of the people after him had some sort of advanced tracking skills. They pinpointed his general direction quite early on, and lead the rest after him.
Except for him and his enemies, the forest was empty of players. They had probably went to hide in the city or logged out to not be caught in the conflict.
Unfortunately for DrakeXScales, he was not a typical enemy. They seriously underestimated him. The trackers, confident in the strength of their groups, ran in front, leading the way. They never even considered that he would be the one to hunt them.
He simply let them all get within a hundred meters or so of himself. Then he doubled back.
The trackers could see they were gaining on him. Caught in the excitement of the hunt, overly eager because they could tell he was near, they rushed ahead, leaving their groups behind and themselves isolated. And therefore vulnerable.
Of the 300 people after him, only a dozen or so were skilled enough to track him. They were his first victims. Using Assassin’s Rush, he swiftly targeted and killed each and every one of them, so quickly and silently that the others didn’t even realize their death was near until they woke up in their Pods.
After killing the trackers, Kiro ran away sneakily.
The remaining players, having lost any means of locating him, had no choice but to spread out and search for him.
Making them easy prey.
There were other trackers amongst them, but they weren’t good enough to pick up his trail.
He started killing them. His would-be hunters. He targeted the stranglers, the overly eagers, the ones that separated themselves from their group, first. Using Assassin’s Rush he would sneak up to them, kill them and then vanish again.
He moved around a lot, targeting different groups in different locations, giving the DrakeXScales guild members the impression they were being hunted by a whole group of assassins.
The comrades that separated themselves from them would be found dead just minutes later. They felt as if they were stuck in a horror movie, and impression reinforced by the gloomy feel emanation from the dark pines and the silent nature of the kills.
The members of each party grouped together, walking no more than three or four meters away from each other, in some kind of elaborate buddy system. It didn’t help.
Kiro would simply sneak close to such a group, and the instant he saw a vulnerable prey, he would rush in for the kill before escaping unseen.
By that point the members of the DrakeXScales guild had lost all pretense of looking for him. Now they were simply running around aimlessly, fleeing from a death they could neither see nor hear coming.
*****
Kil-D-Streak was a member of the DrakeXScalse guild. He was a level 210 warrior. With his party he was combing the woods looking for a player crazy enough to challenge their entire guild to a fight.
“I say Bob, he must be either nuts or delusional don’t you think? I mean come on. What can he do by himself? Right? Bob?”
He turned to the left, were his friend Bob-Slay was walking besides him. And saw no one.
He stopped, looking left and right, trying to figure out where he could have gone.
“Hey guys!” He called out to his guild members. “Did anyone see Bob?”
Silence. No one answered. In the distance, he could barely hear similar cries echo from other players now alone.
The forest was very dark, and way too quiet. The dark pines loomed over him.
“Shit. This can’t be happening!” He swore.
Then he felt a breeze on his neck. A searing pain. Darkness. Before waking up in his capsule.
*****
After two hours of hunting, their nerves finally snapped. They fled back towards the city, like a herd of sheep being chased by wolves. But still Kiro would not let them be. He started killing the stragglers, and the sudden silence from their now dead friends urged the others to greater speeds.
Finally, the 100 survivors of the massacre broke out of the forest and made a last, desperate dash across the field, towards the safety of Mutianelis and its fortified walls.
*****
Standing in front of Drake and his lieutenants, HunterX had the look of a man on trial. And he was, in a way.
“200 dead! How exactly do you explain that? And you didn’t even find the guy!”
The person questioning HunterX was Scales, Drake’s right hand man. They were friends and real life and had founded the guild together.
Drake himself stayed silent, just listening.
“It-it wasn’t my fault. At first it was going well, but then our trackers got ambushed, the guys were picked off one after the other. We never saw the killer. There was nothing we could do…”
“Don’t joke around! There were 300 of you out there! Don’t tell me none of you got so much as a glimpse of your enemy!”
“It-it was dark and…”
The mood in the room was grimmer than before. Confusion, and a bit of fear, replaced the smiles from before. Drake got up again. HunterX stopped talking.
“Would you say you guys got picked of at a speed impossible for a single opponent to manage?”
“Yea-yeah! It was like he was everywhere!”
“Hum.” He fell silent. The entire room held its breath. “It seems clear to me now that the declaration of war was nothing more than an elaborate trap. It’s impossible for a single player to do so much damge so fast. The guys in the woods probably fell into traps or were killed by assassins from another guild.”
“What are you saying, Drake?” Scales asked.
“I’m saying that the declaration of war was nothing but a ruse to lure some of our members out. The real enemy is probably a guild that is after our city.”
At that everyone in the room looked shocked.
Drake sent out a new set of orders: “Man the walls! I want at least 500 people up there, mostly archers, with mages and warriors in reserve. I want them to be wary of surprise attacks. The enemy won the first round, we won’t let them win the second!”
A roar of approval resounded in the room.
*****
“… Bringing you more news from the war between the mysterious Kiro and DrakeXScales. It seems that a first assault by DrakeXScales has ended in failure. The players sent to capture and kill the player Kiro were rebuffed, and suffered heavy casualties for their troubles.”
Everyone in the Tearan household had their eyes glued to the television. They were desperate for any scrap of information they could collect about the ongoing hostilities. The depressed mood from earlier in the day had dissipated into worry for Kiro.
“Tell me Mr. Yessard, do you think he can win? Can Kiro win?”
“Of course not. Look at the facts, Ana. No one has ever heard of the guy before. So either he is a new player or he is some recluse that has spent all his time avoiding other players. In either case, he doesn’t have the power or the connections to bring down a strong guild like DrakeXScales.”
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“But the fight in the woods…”
“Only indicates that he has some kind of ranger class. He probably booby-trapped the whole place to inflict that kind of damage on DrakeXScales. It was quite well done, but that’s it. There is no way he can do it again. It’s time to face reality, people. It’s a single guy against an army of 3000 high level players. He has absolutely no chance.”
*****
In the head office of Sun Television, the executive director Derek Somers was speaking to his secretary. “Do we have anyone close to Mutianelis?”
“Sorry sir, but we do not.”
“Damn,” he muttered. “I want you to get me somebody, anybody, that hasn’t an account in New World yet and make them start in Mutianelis. We need eyes and ears there, do you understand?”
“Yes sir!”
****
A few hours, a quick nap and a snack later Kiro was ready to resume the hostilities. He walked back till a point where he could see the walls. They were close to 6 meters in height. The city had no moat, but Kiro could see towers placed at regular intervals. On top of the walls Kiro could see members of the DrakeXScales guild patrolling. From where he was he could see maybe 200 people or so. Which meant that there were probably some 500 or so people patrolling the entire length of the walls.
Well, wasn’t someone nervous.
Kiro smiled. The sun had rose an hour ago and a soft light bathed the surroundings. Kiro could see it reflecting off the dew of the grass field surrounding the city.
Between the edge of the forest and the walls of the city, the field stretched out for some 250 meters. He would have to cross that distance in full view of the people on top of the walls.
Kiro walked around the city in a half circle, keeping to the forest. He searched until he saw a small trail, where the ground was relatively flat yet he was still sheltered by the tall branches of the thick pine trees.
When you think about it, players and Npc weren’t the same at all. Kiro wouldn’t kill an Npc if he couldn’t help it. But players were a different story. Even if you killed them they respawned within a few days, just like monsters. And if they used system assist, the similarity grew even more.
Kiro stepped onto the path, and walked until he was about 50 meters from the end of the trail.
He activated Celestial Thunder Tiger’s Rush and started running. On step, two steps, three steps, each and every one of them propelling him forward faster and faster. In 8 steps he cleared the 50 meters of trail separating him from the huge clearing around Mutianelis.
He shot out of the woods like a bullet. He cleared the distance between him and the wall so fast the people who even noticed him didn’t even have the time to shout out in alarm.
About 10 meters away from the base of the wall he put all the strength at his disposal into his legs and jumped. He sailed high and forward, easily clearing the 6 meter tall hurdle before landing on the stone wall top between two groups of guards. Even as he landed he twisted, converting all of the energy from his jump into a forward impulse towards one of the two groups of guards.
The trick about Celestial Thunder Tiger’s Rush was to never stop, and never slow down. Obeying these principals, Kiro charged towards his enemies with two daggers held high. He didn’t want to risk his sword getting stuck in the corpse of one of his enemies.
The first DrakeXScales guard raised the bow he was carrying in a futile attempt to protect himself. Kiro, not slowing down, ducked under the bow before bringing his arm up, his blade tearing the neck of his opponent open.
His Blade proficiency was advanced lvl 9. So were his Bleed and Critical Strike skills. His Armor Penetration skill was advanced lvl 1. His strength was 971. Most of all, his Celestial Thunder Tiger’s skill was fully active, and the speed he was moving at now was no joke.
All of that culminated into the kind of damage that made it unnecessary for him to deliver a second strike to his already dying opponent.
In front of the wall was a huge square filled with players. It was obvious at first glance that they were beginners and/or innocent bystanders. As Kiro had no desire to involve them in his conflict, he opted to make his way down the wall instead.
As he charged towards his second victi… ahem, opponent, the first one had already fallen to the ground as a lifeless corpse.
****
Lego-Lass was a level 223 archer, and a damn good one, she would say. As she patrolled the wall, she kept an eye out on the woods, fighting boredom. Rumors had it that the guys the boss had sent there last night had been done in by assassins from another guild, which explained her presence her.
But the sun was up, she’d been here for a couple hours and nothing had happened so far.
She was bored out of her mind.
She sent another glance at the woods. And froze. Something had moved.
Before she could take a closer look, a human figure burst out of the woods, charging at the wall faster than an arrow from her bow. Before she had time to even cry out it had jumped over the top of the wall before landing not 10 meters away from her.
A human, dark hair, in a white tunic. That was all she could see before he moved again, impossibly fast, towards her.
Panicking, she fumbled for an arrow, her agitation making her clumsier.
As she watched him, he reached an archer standing between her and him and in an impossibly swift move cut his throat open. Even as the archer fell she struggle to raise her bow, to at least get a shot off.
But then he was right there, in front of her. And then nothing.
She woke up in her Pod.
****
No one was speaking a single word. Neither in the house, or the people on the other side of the screen. They all had their gaze fixed on the footage being played live by a reporter from Sun Television in Mutianelis.
At first the reporter had been describing what she could see and hear about the city at war, prompted by the question from the Anchor, Ana, but now she too was speechless.
In front of them was painted a surreal scene. On top of the walls of the city, which were clearly visible from the bird-eye view from the top of the building were the reporter was perched, was a black sphere. With a radius of about 1 meter, its thick darkness clashed with the cheerful light of the morning sun.
The sphere was what one would typically see when trying to videotape a player using the privacy button. It made it impossible to see him or his actions outside of the game.
But Mina didn’t care. She didn’t mind that she couldn’t see her brother. It didn’t matter.
The speed and the strength he displayed as he mowed down enemy after enemy told her everything that she needed to know.
That her brother was strong. He was powerful. And he was fighting for them.
With every enemy he killed, Mina could feel some of the dark emotions that had lingered after the leader of the DrakeXScales guild had laughed at her as she protested against his guild fade away.
It was like Kiro was telling her and Jinan: look, I will definitely make the bad guys go away, so please come over!
Sekiru, sitting beside her, was nodding approvingly as he watched the screen.
****
By the time the other group of guards had made their way to the first group, all of them were dead and Kiro was assaulting another one. Again, they were too slow to help them, for Kiro never slowed, even as he systematically killed entire parties of DrakeXScales members.
Most of the players on the wall were of the ranged type. But their arrows were useless as Kiro closed the distance between himself and them faster that they could draw their bows back. And those farther away would aim for him as best they could, but his path was unpredictable making them far more likely to hit one of their fellow guild members.
Finally, the alarm was sounded. The archers on the walls retreated in a hurry, abandoning the wall to units of mages and warriors. A few of them made their way into the different towers, while the rest retreated deeper in the city.
Kiro was unaffected with the movements of his enemies. Taking a few steps to build up even more speed, he jumped as high as he could towards one of the towers occupied by a few archers. Towers that could more accurately be described as raised stone perches because of their lack of roofs.
Kiro’s body sailed over the tower. He attuned his blades to fire and sent a dozen Elemental Waves at the archers hiding their. He landed in front of a group of warriors as screams of agony and the cry of “Magical Swordsman” resounded behind him.
Being warriors didn’t help them much, as the DrakeXScales members soon found out. Before they could even raise their weapons to defend themselves they were efficiently butchered in one or two well-aimed strikes from Kiro’s daggers.
They weren’t even enough to slow him down.
Every strike from Kiro was precise. He aimed for the throat, the thighs, the heart, the brain or any other vulnerable spot that would kill his enemies instantly.
All around him the members of DrakeXScales, trying to get to or away from him. But they were going so slow it was like they moved in slow motion.
As he mowed down yet another group of warriors he stumbled onto a relatively free section of the walls. About 40 meter in front of him a group of robed mages were joined forces to create a spell, a gigantic fireball.
Even as his brain registered that fact the mages finished their spell, making the gigantic fireball shoot towards him like a cannon ball.
Everything slowed even more. To his left a series of steps gave the people of the city access to the wall.
Above the stairs was a lantern. It was held in place by a thin wooden beam stuck directly in the stone side of the wall.
Kiro jumped, aiming for it. His foot connected with the wooden beam which barely held up his weight. But it wasn’t necessary for it to do so for more than a second. Kiro immediately pushed himself off of it.
Beside him, the gigantic fireball rushed past, leaving a trail of scorched and half melted stone.
It crashed into a tower, utterly destroying it in a fiery conflagration.
Kiro received himself in the middle of the group of mages and killed them in seconds.
That marked a turning point in the confrontation. For the second time since the beginning of the war the members of the DrakeXScales guild started to retreat.
****
On AllNewWorld.com, the users were going crazy:
-BANANAS says: Shit are you guys seeing what I’m seeing?
-SlickDavid7 says: He’s tearing them appart XD
-THEDUDE says: He’s so fast
-Anama231 says: Look at all the DrakeXScales guys running away LOL
-GeneralPain says: I could do that to!
-SlickDavid7 says: You mean run away like a scarred rabbit? I’m sure you could XD
-TheMassacreGuy says: Massacre! Massacre!
-Anama231 says: Massacre indeed.
-Anama231 says: Do you guys think he’ll kill them all?
-THEDUDE says: no, he’s good. But they have over 2000 guys left. They’ll kill him in the end :(
-BANANAS says: I just wish we could see!!!!!
-Veritas33 says: Yeah, same here.
-HumanitasY says: At least it’s still entertaining!
Everyone agreed. There was a show going on in Mutianelis, and it was clear that Kiro was the star.
*****
The speed at which Kiro killed DrakeXScales members robbed them of their courage. They abandoned the walls and the towers to flee into the city proper.
The battle for the walls had lasted only 30 minutes or so. In that time he had killed maybe 300 people. More than half the original number of guards.
He followed the fleeing DrakeXScales players into the city, dropping his Celestial Thunder Tiger’s Rush to accelerate his recovery of stamina and mana.
His position on the wall lead him to a maze-like portion of the city, filled with twisting narrow streets and looming houses. The perfect place for ambushes.
But Kiro’s Celestial Qilin’s Sense was far too developed to allow him to fall prey to something like that. It alerted him well before any would be ambusher could think of springing his trap. And an ambush was only dangerous for someone who didn’t expect it.
After the 10th or so ambush that ended in the quick death of the DrakeXScales members that had orchestrated it, the others abandoned the idea.
*****
Lurker was a level 198 assassin. He was currently hiding in the narrow gap between two houses with a few other assassins, planning on ambushing the monster that had made his fellow guild members on the wall run away with their tails between their legs.
He was confident in his chances. The dagger he had equipped had been thoughtfully coated in the most potent poison he could get his hands on. A single scratch would be enough to kill a level 200 tank. He was sure even this enemy would go
down in a few well aimed strikes.
As the enemy came closer, he signaled his companions with his fingers. 3… 2… 1… Go!
He launched himself out of his hiding place. To find himself impaled on a dagger. A burning agony, and a moment of darkness, later, he was back in his V.R. Pod.
*****
Kiro’s Celestial Qilin’s Sense allowed him to sense the fleeing enemy. It seemed that most of them were gathering at one place, in the center of Mutianelis, its ruling keep.
Kiro made his way towards it, only deviating to kill the remaining stragglers that lagged behind.
The keep was surrounded by another stone wall, half as high as the one surrounding the city. It had a thick wooden door barring the way forward.
Behind it, Kiro could sense a mass of people packed tightly in a large open space, probably a courtyard of some kind.
There was about 2500 people there, or in other words, what was left of the DrakeXScales guild. It was still a formidable force, even after Kiro had killed close to 500 of their members.
*****
Standing in the packed courtyard, Drake was at a lost. He didn’t know what was going on. Every report agreed. The person, the monster who assaulted the wall, was acting alone. Yet alone he was able to decimate the people Drake had placed there, and did enough damage to break their spirits and make them flee.
With no better idea, Drake had ordered all his guild to gather in the courtyard of the keep.
If the reports were to be believed, this Kiro guy was some kind of super-fast, super strong Magical Swordsman, strong
enough to kill with one strike.
Drake had trouble imagining what kind of crazy level he must have to kill people like the DrakeXScales guild members so easily.
But just like every other Magical Swordsman, this guy must also be all power and no juice. If he tried attacking the 2500 or so members gathered here, sooner or later he’d run out of mana and stamina, and they would butcher him.
Repeating this to himself over and over again, Drake tried to project an air of calm competence even as his heart was filled with unease.
*****
Taking a few deep breaths, Kiro prepared himself for the fight ahead. It would be the last, most decisive one. The one that counted. He checked his mana and stamina. Both fill. His Satiety. Almost fill, which he corrected with another quick snack of dried meat.
His weapons: they had barely lost any durability. They’d be okay.
Taking a last breath, then exhaling, Kiro activated Celestial Turtle’s Shell Aura. He walked up to the door.
It was made of very thick wooden boards. It was probably heavier than 10 of him. It was securely fastened from the inside to the thick walls on either side. It probably had been reinforced on the other side as an extra precaution.
But to Kiro, all of that didn’t matter. It was standing between him and the jerks that had chased his brother and sister out of the game.
He would make them pay.
…And the door was in his way.
He lifted his foot. He trusted his hips forward. And front kicked the door with every ounce of strength in his body.
It was time to scare the living daylight out of some people.
Chapter 24