Shirebunkle, Dakota Dukedom
World: 86 days. Shirebunkle: 2 days.
The things Jason would have given to be able to listen in on their conversation. He couldn't complain, however. Tracking down their enemies gave them a huge advantage. When he located the two, he wasted no time griding their bodies. They weren't owed any decency. During their conversation he managed to get their physiques, heights and hair info. He didn't know what their faces looked like because he couldn't risk them feeling the threads on their bare skin.
He did know that the meditating one was female and the other one was male. He also ensured the thread attached to them had near zero resistance so they wouldn't feel anything. On top of that, he coated the soles of their footwear with ki and made it so that with every step they made an instant grid would be created for a few seconds and give Jason a snapshot of the area around them.
As Jason tracked the two, he was able to detect 2 additional assailants who he tracked as well. However, unbeknownst to him there were others that were beyond his range.
"Shouldn't we tell the GM about this? Have him do something at least?" Jason asks Chanty through the door.
"GM? Oh! Right. Well, we can't leave out post for obvious security reasons. If you have a means of contacting him without moving from where you stand, I wouldn't be against it." Replied Chanty.
"Oh? Then give me a minute. I'll get him down here in a minute."
Minutes later.
"He's not coming."
"What?"
"He won't leave his office."
"What did you do, exactly?"
"I wrote a message using ki strings on his desk."
"Are you sure he saw it?"
"He knocked down his chair in surprise. He saw it."
"Oh? Did you try explaining better?"
"I'm writing him an essay of everything going on. He's still not leaving the office."
"Oh well, he must have a reason. The plan hasn't changed. We protect this girl."
"Hmmm..."
"That aside, have I ever told you how odd you are?"
"Dafuq? Am I being insulted here or-"
"Oh no no, do forgive my wording. I just struggle to find the words to describe you sometimes."
"Must be rough for 'odd' to be the best you could do."
"You are performing at least 2 unfathomable feats of ki control that would each require complete meditative concentration SIMULTANEOUSLY while chatting with me."
"... Ok, I get where you're coming from now."
"Now that I said it out loud, I think you shocked the 'GM' into inaction."
"How? Oh wait. Crap."
"Nhn! He doesn't know if he's dealing with an unfathomable enemy or ally. He probably wouldn't dare make a move for fear of dire concequences if he makes the wrong call."
"Well he's going to be making a call soon whether he likes it or not cuz one of my targets i'm tailing is hiding near the Guild and the other 3 have stopped at the other end of town. Something is about to happen."
At different locations around the town, hooded figures initiate their plan.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions go off all around town. Multiple buildings are set ablaze. Resident run around screaming in terror. It's absolute pandemonium.
"There it is. It's begun." Jason says dreadfully.
Elsewhere in the GMs office, the man himself looks upon his town aflame through his window. "That's it. I've had enough!" Roars the GM as he grabs his weapons and dives through his window into the streets below. He was out for blood.
"GM has left the building. We're on our own." Jason announces as his shoulders sag a little. "Ah. The guy waiting nearby is approaching fast. Get ready. 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Speak of the devil... "
At that moment a black clad individual reaches the entrance of the hallway. Without missing a beat, he unsheathes his sword, coats it in ki, then suddenly runs at Jason with blistering speed.
Seeing this, Jason immediately coats his own sword: the good quality one from the former Bandit Boss. A sword coated in ki was sharper than a ki blade with the same output. He had to fight fire with fire.
As the assailant got within range, he somehow tripped out of nowhere the very moment Jason swings his sword. Despite this, the black clad man manages to block Jason's attack just enough to trade death for a useless left arm.
Despite the save, with one arm used to block, and the other out of commission, the black clad had no way to break his fall, so he landed face first. Hard.
Jason goes for a follow up attack on the prone figure, who somehow manages to quickly recover and make a faster low horizontal slash at Jason's legs from his prone position.
This forces Jason to abandon his swing and hop over the slash. The figure uses the momentum from his missed slash in tandem with leg movements to perform what Jason would consider a Breakdance maneuver to get himself back on his feet without using his arms. He does so just in time to parry another swing from Jason while pulling away from him with a floor tile attached to the sole of one of his boots.
Turns out the reason he tripped was Jason's doing. By giving the layer of ki at the sole of the figure's boot an adhesive quality at a well-timed moment during his mad dash, this stuck his boot to the group and made him trip.
Jason was glad he did so because from this short exchange he learned that his opponent was not just faster and stronger than he was, but also above him in skill. The impossible block was a testament to that. He'd wager this guy could beat Chanty 8/10 times. Taking one of his arms made things less one sided.
Deciding to not give the figure breathing room, Jason goes on the offensive. However his attacks are expertly dodged and parried. This continues for a few seconds before the figure flips the tables out of nowhere.
Jason was now forced to dodge and parry desperately. Despite his efforts, attacks slip through frequently and he's accumulating damage one shallow cut at a time.
The figure hadn't taken a single additional hit in this exchange. Jason was adapting to the assailants fighting style, thanks to his [Muscle Memory] Skill, but it wasn't getting any easier as the figure seemed to have an endless supply of new moves to throw at him.
He was hoping to weather the attacks and improve till they were on equal footing, then stall till the injuries slowed the figure down enough to overcome him. Problem was, Jason was taking injuries too, and soon they would be equally hurt if this keeps up.
'This is going to be hella close. I have to get more skilled faster. But how?' At that moment, Jason could sense the GM engaging one of the individuals he tagged in combat.
'That's it!' Thinking fast, Jason covers the GM's body in grids of ki threads. This gave him a 3d rendition of his body in his mind. As the GM fought, Jason memorized his moves and his Muscle Memory did the rest. Of course he gridded the bodies of the others he was tailing as well for good measure.
As the seconds ticked by Jason gradually went from desperate defensive to just plain ol' defensive. He was taking fewer and fewer hits as time went on, which didn't escape the notice of his foe.
'This... I have never met a man who could adapt this quickly during a life and death battle! It's like he's compressing days of training into seconds.
"Kuh!" The man grunts in pain as Jason manages to get a hit in. He's still taking more hits, but now he's able to retaliate on occasion.
'I've wasted too much time. And the more time I waste, this man becomes more skilled, and wears me down further. I still have the woman inside to worry about, and I'd be in no condition to face her if this continues any longer. I have to use THAT and end things right here and now. There's no other choice.' With the man in black's mind made up, he bites unto a pill in his mouth as Jason delivers a downward swing.
Clang!
'What the?!' It was Jason's turn for dismay. His attack was just swatted back with such power the sword in his hands was almost knocked out of his hand as it bled from the force. Whatever it was the assailant took, it granted him a notable boost in strength.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Riding on his momentum, the black clad man raised a leg and kicked at Jason's midsection, which was blocked just in the nick of time with a raised knee. Despite that, Jason was sent flying down the corridor. Landing with a roll, Jason quickly gets back to his feet just in time to block an overhead swing which makes his arms buckle. What followed is a more aggressive offensive from the man which Jason had to endure. Some deep and nasty cuts were a result. The blows were too heavy. He had to adapt.
FLOW STYLE!
A sword swing with a lot of weight and power behind it was deflected with great finesse. Like surfing the waves of a torrential sea, Jason let the forces guide his flow; abandoning the concept of 'blocking' completely.
SLASH!
The black assailant was becoming dispondent. He just consumed an Adrenalin Pill to grant himself a temporary boost in strength which he hoped to use and overwhelm his man, then the woman, before grabbing the target and escaping to the rendezvous point before the sideffects kicked in.
Despite that, he was only able to seize the advantage for a brief moment before the fight returned to how it was going before he took the pill. The man had adapted once again by changing his fighting style to one that renders his strength advantage irreverant. He was now in a worse situation and a tighter time crunch. If he's unable to take this man out in the next 1 minute, not only will the mission be a failure, he'd also be unable to get to the Rendezvous point before side effects hit if he decided to bail.
It was time to get reckless, lest the worse case scenario come to fruition. So with conviction, he bites down on another pill. A moment passes before his ki erupts violently off his body. This knocks off the grid Jason placed on his body. Noticing the change, Jason braces himself for what may come. Suddenly, a burst of ki flies out of the adjacent wall and strikes the man who was unable to dodge it in time because he was so preoccupied with Jason that he completely forgot about his other foe in the next room.
That was an advanced form of burst ki that passes through solid objects without damaging them, but would regain it's lethal properties once there was a sizable change in density.
Chanty knew where on the wall to strike because Jason had a moving crosshair on the wall showing where the dude in black was. Chanty proactively attacked when she felt the eruption of ki. This attack striking home gave Jason an opening to get a hit in, but he did less damage than he expected. Seems like the ki covering the man's body was offering some degree of protection.
There was an immediate retaliation which Jason almost didn't perceive. He tried his best but, despite dodging and deflecting, Jason was still hurt by the attack. 'Bro somehow got even stronger; and faster too, this time.'
Lukily, another burst of ki slammed into the man as he made to attack again. Jason was giving Chanty signals when to fire off attacks using his threads. This allowed them to sync their attacks and punish every move the man made. He may be faster and stronger now, but he's getting double teamed in response, and was suffering for it.
This continues for 45 additional seconds before the man couldn't take it anymore. Even at full health, the backlash from stacking these two Pills would risk his life. He had played all his hidden cards but was still unable to get past the weakest link. The mission was an abject failure, and he had to get out now if he wanted any hope of living long enough to try again.
So out of nowhere, the man clad in black turns tail and runs. His attack speed was impressive, but his movement speed was something else. Jason wouldn't be able chase him at his normal speed, much less this amped one. Additionally, because of the ki coating his body, Jason couldn't reattach the thread and track him. He was truly gone.
Jason stood there, sword in hand, breathing heavy and bleeding all over. Despite the double teaming, Jason was taking quite a bit of damage and was hanging in there desperately. The enemy retreating was a huge relief.
It was at that moment Chanty opens the door. "Well done, my pupil. That was a splendid figh- oh my!" The bloodied figure of Jason stops her praise in its tracks.
"I could hear you were struggling, but I didn't think it was that bad. Well, your opponent was strong, so it made sense." Spoke Chanty looking him up and down. "Come inside. I'll need to treat you quickly before you bleed out."
Doing as told, Jason sits in the middle of the room as Chanty rubs salves on his cuts and gashes before bandaging the wounds. Meanwhile he's keeping tabs on the GM's movement as he throws a Healing Pill into his mouth.
A Healing Pill is an edible product made by Apothecaries using herbs and various animal parts. In a pill form, it's more portable, store better and longer, and acts faster.
A Healing pill stimulates the red ki which speeds up healing of injuries. Higher grades of healing pills require more rare and expensive ingredients to make, and heal faster. Jason was using the lowest grade because he's not that rich.
"Hn" Hearing the alien noise, Jason's attention turns to its source which was the young Vladi girl they were protecting. She was sitting on the bed with her knees to her chest, and was covering her mouth and nose with a hankerchief with a strained expression.
'Oh right! She's vampire-ish. The smell of my blood must hit different for her. Hope she doesn't pounce on me and suck me dry. Pause! That last part was uncalled for.' There was nothing he could do about the blood. Vladi-chan would have to endure for the time being.
While recovering from his injuries, Jason decides to try something novel. He uses the ki threads to stitch up his cuts; closing them, and help accelerate the healing. Good thing too, cuz he was getting a little lightheaded with all that bloodloss. Anymore would be troublesome.
With that taken care of, Jason went back to spying on his other targets. Turns out the GM had taken down one guy and was chasing another. Meditate-chan and someone else were keeping their distance. They weren't as strong as the guy he fought, but they were pretty good for hanging in there against the GM who by his observantion was as strong as Chanty.
Jason thought of ways to make the fight easier for the GM, and almost slapped his forehead right way. "The same thing, of course!"
The GM was having a bad day. His town was on fire, and the Sons of Wenches responsible were too slippery to catch. He was the only one in this town strong enough to keep up with them, and everyone else was busy dealing with both fires, so he was on his own with zero support.
"Ahh! Oof!" Out of nowhere the guy he was chasing trips in his attempt to jump from one rooftop to another, and falls down to the street below. The GM let's out a bark of laughter at this, and pounces on his injured target; impaling him to the ground with his sword, before ripping it out and continuing his chase of the others. He didn't have the luxury of taking prisoners.
As the GM chases one of the other two, the same thing happens. The man trips out of nowhere and falls from the rooftop, giving him time to close the distance and finish him off. There was no bark of laughter this time. There was no way that was a coincidence. Someone was responsible for their falling.
This brought his mind back to the strange writings that appeared on his desk earlier which explained the whole situation to him. He believed a very powerful person was pulling strings here, and he was just a pawn in his chess game. He'd investigate this later, but for the meantime, he decided to play along.
The meditating female who Jason refers to as Medi-chan sees her companion fall, and a chill runs down her spine. Someone out there was responsible for their falling, but she couldn't even guess how they were doing it. At that same moment, she hears a loud whistling sound in the air. She recognizes the sound, but looks anyway to verify. It's a special arrow that makes such a sound when fired. This was their signal that the mission was a failure and they should retreat.
'What the hell is going on?!' Medi-chan almost has a mental breakdown, but keeps it together long enough to go into hiding. She didn't want to be moving in the open and risk the mysterious attack getting her too. She'd sneak around in the shadows of town, escape, and meet up at the rendezvous point. This turned out to be a good decision, as the GM loses track of her, and begins looking hopelessly. However, this didn't matter because Jason knew exactly were she was, and was feeling a bit mischievous, so he decided to do something he would never consider in real life because well, it'd be illegal and he'd have to make direct physical contact. But a modified version of his favorite quote came to mind "There's no rules against the human smugglers."
So with a mischievous smile that somehow made Chanty quiver a bit despite being behind him and unable to see his face, Jason controls some of the ki threads on Medi-chan's body, wraps it round a specific part, then squeezes. Hard.
A earsplitting scream erupts at the dead of night. Any who heard it would shiver involuntarily. The GM follows the noise and quickly finds who he's been chasing unconscious on the floor on a puddle of her own pee, clutching her crutch with her mouth foaming. That's right, Jason had pinched the hell out of her clitoris.
The GM didn't bother wondering what happened, and instead took in his prisoner for questioning. She was the last of the group he knew of. This was one of the craziest nights he's ever had.
Day 87
Jason and Chanty were in the GMs office with Vladi-chan in a corner for a debriefing on the previous night's events. The fires were being taken care of, and more adventurers were available to help with the protection.
The GM informed the two that a prisoner was being interrogated as they spoke, and in return was also made aware that one of the assailants attacked Jason and Chanty, but was denied his prize, yet was still able to get away.
With their discussions out of the way, Jason and Chanty left for a different Safe Room within the Guild Building. This was a two bedroom apartment design selected because 2 more people were acting as guards.
Jason used this opportunity to get some shuteye. He hadn't slept in 2 days, plus last night's battle did a number on him. He needed the rest. The day was peaceful. No shenanigans or attacks, so he slept till evening. Then Chanty slept that night.
Day 88
Early in the morning Jason hears some familiar beastial roars. He looks out the window to verify, and sure enough it's the Wyvern Rider Trio they met back at Escaville.
"Wonder why they're here. Oh well, we'll say hi if we get the chance." Noted Jason as he watched them land near the Guild Building. This close, Jason was able to notice that the trio of Skyler, Adair and Sid were each carrying a passenger.
Black hair, leather clothing, Emo vibe. One of them who looked quite attractive despite the distance happened to look at Jason's direction and he could just barely see they had black lipstick on. "Holup. Um Chanty, could you bring the kid over?"
"What for, pupil?" Asked Chanty as she beckoned the girl over.
"I'm not completly sure, but I think her family's here." Right after saying that, Jason could hear running behind him as Vladi-chan dashed to the window and peered out in the direction Jason was looking. She and the figure downstairs locked eyes, and for the first time, Jason heard her speak. "Brother!" She yells out in a cracked voice barely concealing her emotion.
'Brother? That's a dude?!' Jason's thoughts were interrupted by Vladi-chan trying to climb out the window.
"Woah Woah woah woah! Easy there, kiddo. You'll reunite in a bit, so just hang in there for a few more minutes, OK?" Jason told the girl as he pulled her back into the room. And as he guessed, the 'brother' downstairs began briskly making his way towards the Building.
Minutes pass which felt like an eternity before there was a knock on the door. It was opened to reveal the GM and the person from earlier. Vladi-chan ran at her brother who got on one knee and caught her in his arms. There, she cried loudly into his shoulder while having her head caressed. It was quite the touching scene.
After that, everyone met up in the GM office for various discussions. Turns out Vlad-chan is actually Victoria Hemorrh: the last born of the Homorrh Family, while the brother is Reese Hemorrh. They seemed to be nobility, but not Duke level unlike the Dakotas who rule this island.
The custody of the prisoner was transfered to Reese. Something about taking over interrogation and a trial.
Jason and Chanty were officially thanked for their part in protecting Victoria, and told their family will remember their deeds.
During the meeting, Jason took stock of Reese. He was wearing form fitting pair of red leather pants with black highlights, a skintight top that reminded him of the material spats were made of which was under a black and red t-shirt that only covered the upper half of the torso, all under a long sleeve jacket of the same design as the pants.
His figure was very similar to Sam, except he had slightly wider hips, more pronounced abdominal muscles, plus a bit taller. He had a mostly stoic face that was rarely expressive, and spoke in an all business monotone voice.
After talks conclude and everyone exits the room, Jason is immediately approached by Reese.