Kanbe had arrived at Andving through a ship, accompanied by several men wearing golden armors, as he had been a few days going to the place while he kept training his mana control with the help of his bodyguards. He had been given a basic sword, made of steel and with a straight hilt made of steel and a grip made of tough leather, with a spherical pommel made of steel. It was given as a sort of self-defense weapon, without using spells, to prevent anyone from learning about the hero’s magic affinities. Said sword was kept inside a wooden sheathe, to avoid screeching, while not being too obvious on the sight of anyone looking at the hero.
As soon as he arrived, he was led by numerous elves to a massive tree building that had been used as a bureaucracy building for those that arrived to the elven country for quick bureaucracy to register those that went to Rivialt, their reasons, and the duration of their stay.
It didn't take long for the hero to get everything done, as all the paperwork had been prepared by the king earlier, but Kanbe noticed the looks of the elves towards the hero.
The elves clearly looked down upon humans, and the hero noticed their contemptuous looks at him. They didn't believe that Kanbe could solve the mystery he was sent to solve, and they weren't keen on assisting him. But all of their looks changed when Rei arrived, as they looked at her with looks of both trust and slight discomfort.
As Kanbe saw Rei, he clearly recognized her as he blushed brightly, Rei smiled widely at Kanbe while looking at his abs for a moment.
“Heya Kanbe-kun! Missed me!?” Rei said excitedly, while walking towards the hero.
“Rei!? Why are you here!? Didn't you die-?” Kanbe quickly said, as he looked clearly surprised by Rei’s sudden new life.
“Same thing that happened to you. I got killed back on Earth. In my case, I was having a date. You know, the sort that pays well. But well… The future wife of the man I dated found out, and the rest is just a good old case of passionate murder. I learned from that, but I got the chance to be a hero and here I am.” Rei said, before hugging Kanbe, while Kanbe looked surprised.
“If you needed money, you could have asked! My father was a commissioner in the police, and grandpa was the boss of a company! Mom got the company from my grandpa once he died. It's not like I couldn't help you out!” Kanbe exclaimed, clearly surprised by what he had heard.
“Oh, yeah. But I didn't want to get you involved. Also, some of the girls worked hard like that. So I thought I could just do it. But it seems I was too popular to stay alive.” Rei said as she blushed.
“Okay. No need to weep for things in the past, I suppose. I got killed for trying to stop a pervert.” Kanbe said as he scratched the back of his head.
“That's so you. I thought you would have fought some yakuza, and then got stabbed by them. Which reminds me, there's a Yakuza group in this world. Only one though.” Rei said as she smiled widely.
“I am not that much of a jackass.” Kanbe said while scowling.
“Oh, no… Mister ‘I fight a Lich while being level 1’. Not a jackass at all. You are doing jackass acts one after another. You shouldn't get involved in this investigation with such a low level!” Rei said, while glaring at Kanbe, as she hugged Kanbe.
“Nonetheless, it’s part of the job. I got sent by the king himself, to do that job. And I will most certainly do it.” Kanbe said, as he looked away.
“Okay, that I can understand. But defeating a lich? That’s impressive. Most adventurers kick the bucket fighting one. That’s Aren stuff. Nonetheless, I guess I will have to explain to you all about the case.” Rei said, as she started walking while hugging Kanbe.
“Aren?” Kanbe asked, as he followed Rei, while the elves kept a close distance from Kanbe and Rei while making sure to keep an eye on both heroes.
“A special species made right after the godslayer age. Turns out that the strongest godslayer left a couple of parting gifts. The first was an army of undead that started rampaging across the land, which made the people suffer for a long time until someone managed to mutate people of various species to make them Arens. Upgraded, mutated, individuals meant to fight and outmaneuver the undead army.” Rei replied, as she kept walking while guiding Kanbe.
“And the other parting gift, what it was?” Kanbe asked once more.
“The second parting gift was a virus that modified angels and demons alike. Turning them into Nephilim. Nephilims were too powerful for the world, until the god of light and the goddess of darkness made the hero and the dark lord to counter them. Later on, both got turned into heralds of the respective gods. And the dark lords end up causing issues, so the heroes are revered as the good guys.” Rei answered Kanbe’s question.
“Interesting. But what happened to that virus? I don’t expect that the hero and the dark lord had skills to nullify said viruses.” Kanbe said, as he pondered about what he was told.
“Oh, the virus ended up being neutralized. It turns out it was a mutated one, so it wasn’t viable out in the open. So once all the infected ones were killed, the virus was done for.” Rei explained calmly.
“Ah, that’s a relief. I suppose that godslayer was investigating the virus itself, and it broke out. Just like what happened in that movie. You know, the one in which a few chinese lab researchers messed up and caused a world pandemic.” Kanbe said as he nodded to himself.
“Yeah, I recall that movie! Nonetheless, we should consider more important things. The Arens are probably pissed off with you. A lich is a job for one of them. And if someone who isn’t an Aren or a Knight of Zerax kills them, that means it’s an insult to them. Usually they don’t get angry about this, and simply warn the ones who do so. But you did so at level 1. This will put them in a tough spot, as they’ll have to explain exactly how you did it.” Rei said, as she looked at Kanbe.
“Oh, that doesn’t sound so good. But what else could I do? I had no other choice than to do my best, and I had assistance. So it shouldn’t be that bad.” Kanbe said, as he frowned.
“Well, best to talk with them and ensure you don’t end up in a bad relationship with them. If they start disliking the hero, the Order of Sorcerers will dislike you too. As many Arens are in the order, and the order itself is very close to the Arens. And the order has a lot of influence that could be used against you.” Rei said, with a worried look in her eyes.
“Ah, thanks for the advice, then.” Kanbe said, as he smiled at Rei.
“Either way, first, we should reunite with the other heroes. Hiro is out of commission due to a fight. But Haseya and you could go together and level up quickly. Leshelle is god knows where, so good luck catching up to him, like the rest of the heroes. So it would be going with Haseya and you. Agh, we need a proper tank. But after fighting that vampire, I think it’d be better to let him rest.” Rei said, as she and Kanbe kept walking.
As the two heroes walked together, a tanned man with short black hair, black eyes, a stout constitution and a few scars on his face bumped with Rei. The man was wearing a black pinstriped peaked lapel double-breasted suit over a red, star-patterned dress shirt, a red leather belt with a gold buckle, black suit trousers that were the second part of the suit he was wearing, and black Oxford shoes.
This man was a human, but it was clear that even the elves respected him a lot, as the elves tried to stay away from him while bowing towards him.
“Watch where you are going, gal. It’s not a nice thing to bump against someone. Especially when going with a boy, like the ditzy gyaru you are.” The man said as he scowled at the sight of Rei.
“Hey, I am sorry about the situation. But it was done without any ill will, and you shouldn’t judge her just by how she looks. We said some things, we did some things without ill will, now could we just keep moving and forget about this situation?” Kanbe said, as he tried to calm the man down.
“Usually I would, but I am sure she’s Japanese. That, and her disrespectful demeanor, means that she probably is the sort of girl to go around and try to charm any boy that catches her fancy. I am Japanese too, so I had a handful of experiences with that sort of women.” The man said, as he glared at Kanbe.
Kanbe just frowned as he grabbed his sword, as he unsheathed it, while the man simply sighed. Rei quickly looked at Kanbe, clearly worried about Kanbe, while walking a bit away to avoid being hit if the fight broke out.
“Retract your words, sir. I can understand some prejudice due to her looks, but I don’t condone that you insult Rei like that.” Kanbe said, with an angered tone, as he aimed his sword at the man.
“Alas, I shall not. And I suppose you don’t know who I am. Otherwise, you’d remain silent and stand aside. Maybe even ask for my forgiveness.” The man said, as he clenched his fists.
“More like, I wouldn’t mind even if I knew. I am not the sort to fear anyone wrongdoer.” Kanbe retorted, ready to attack the man.
“Joryujoh, that’s my name. That said, you remind me of that old bastard. Can you use Heavenly Defiant attacks?” Joryujoh said, as he looked at Kanbe, while lowering his body and getting into a stance for fighting in a close range.
“Yes, I did two already.” Kanbe said confidently.
“Ah, I see. Yeah, pricks like you tend to pull them off. That’s why you aren’t scared of me. The leader of the Doryoh clan. The yakuza clan of Terra. If you think you can topple me, then come and try it, boy!” Joryujoh said, right before charging at Kanbe.
Kanbe was surprised by the charge of Joryujoh, but quickly found himself doing a Heavenly Defiant attack. It seemed as his body had retained the sensation of using it, and managed to enter the zone as it sensed the powerful enemy incoming, which did surprise Rei.
But what happened right after was even more surprising, as Joryujoh was ready for the Heavenly Defiant attack and managed to counter it right before it hit him. A solid counter delivered with his right fist struck Kanbe in the face, with enough strength to send the young hero flying and almost fall to the sea.
Kanbe couldn’t even recover from the attack, as it had a tremendous power, and it was clear the vast gap between Joryujoh and Kanbe. Or so everyone thought, as Kanbe managed to shakily get up, while Joryujoh simply smirked.
“One hit, and you are shaking like a leaf. I am a level 60, a godslayer in fact. But I can notice one thing, out of you, with that sturdy endurance of yours. It’s not because you have any special skill or anything like that. You just get up because you have to do so for your friend here. As much as I don’t respect your friend, I must admire your will to not fall down. Reminds me of that man once more, and of myself, but in a good way this once.” Joryujoh said, as he walked towards Kanbe, while smirking.
“Y-Yeah? Well, get ready… Because I am just starting.” Kanbe said as he smiled like a demon, which made Joryujoh shiver for a moment and get into the stance instantly.
“You are already in that step. Or that, or you are born to be like that. One way or another, I rather feel proud of feeling this sensation. Being intimidated by what would seem an easy enemy. It does bring more than one good memory.” Joryujoh said, as he looked excited by the prospect of a surprising fight.
Kanbe looked at Joryujoh, and used Holy Bullet to shoot at his head while charging at him, while Joryujoh charged at him while dodging all the bullets as he used his footwork to dodge them.
The hero calmly moved towards Joryujoh, with his sword in hand, as Joryujoh prepared to counter the next Heavenly Defiant attack. But what came wasn’t a simple Heavenly Defiant attack, as it was different from anything he had seen.
As Kanbe went to attack him, he didn’t use a Heavenly Defiant attack. Instead he trusted in the classes of Kendo he had done back on Earth, and delivered a solid hit to the forehead of the yakuza. Unluckily, the difference of stats and skill trees, ensured that the sword would shatter even if Kanbe struck the head, and Joryujoh delivered a body blow with enough strength to knock out Kanbe.
“Damnit. If we didn’t have such disparity of level, stats, equipment, and skill trees… You would have left quite the nasty wound in my head. It’s just like what Evan and Moriarty told me ages ago…” Joryujoh said, as he smirked while sweating profusely, while Kanbe fell to the ground.
Rei quickly ran towards Kanbe, and started healing him using several spells as blue and golden mana came out of her body and entered inside Kanbe’s body, while the elves looked scared and clearly didn’t know what to do.
“I’ll leave you two be. But I ain’t apologizing for my actions. You started it by bumping into me. Next time, watch your step.” Joryujoh said, while he moved away from the area, with a wide smirk on his face.
As Joryujoh moved away, Moriarty moved towards him while using his real face. It was clear for the assassin, as he had tracked Rei and seen the hero, that the hero wouldn’t be trouble for him as long as he was careful with the Heavenly Defiant attacks.
“Joryujoh, you know that you will get more enemies than you should get, right?” Moriarty said, while walking near Joryujoh, once the yakuza was away from Kanbe and Rei.
“Moriarty. Yes, you are right. But also, I showed that the heroes can be defeated even by someone not related to the dark lord. This alone will make all the bad guys who hate the heroes to get together and consider what to do. If to just prepare to lie low for a lifetime, or outright kill and deal with the dark lord by themselves. Also, the bitch sought this out by bumping into me.” Joryujoh said calmly.
“You still hate gyarus as much as you did back in the godslayer era. But yeah, she’s clearly a gyaru even seeing what she has done. Also, she talked with Falco.” Moriarty said, before taking a deep breath.
“But I have to admit it. Right before I knocked him out. That demonic smile. He had the same smile as that psycho of Evan and that goody-two shoes of Takuto. I got shivers out of seeing it. He clearly did what all godslayers have done once or twice at least. Onwards unto death. To not fear the reaper, nor accept death. But to make sure that death put some effort in offing you, and prove that it deserved you.” Joryujoh said, as he smirked at Moriarty.
“Indeed. He most certainly did so. I fear that he may be related to Takuto Tokugawa. That old man would most certainly have that sort of child. But if so, that means we will have to deal with another Sakura Samurai. A dark lord can’t handle that sort of hard-ass.” Moriarty said, as he shook his head.
“They’ll be after your ass, after what you did to the toy boy of Saida. But Grandine probably would applaud you. After all, that elven princess is a traitor to the Von Aegilard family. If Evan saw her, he would be devastated by how much of a bitch can come out of one of his children.” Joryujoh said, before scowling.
“It was a job. Katas asked it, and I had to comply. It’s not like I can say no to that one so happily. Not after using my ‘not going to do it’ coupon twice on him. If Evan comes back, I am sure I will not be in his kill list.” Moriarty said, as he glared at Joryujoh.
“I would have to see him back to believe it. But he won’t have his usual body. So he’ll probably be unable to be that much of a psycho, right?” Joryujoh said, with a serious face.
“Probably he’ll be the same. Remember, some godslayers didn’t go back to their bodies, and still had their skills.” Moriarty said, as he looked at Joryujoh.
“Damnit. I know I owe Evan one for telling me the trick to counter Heavenly Defiant attacks. But he’s the sort of individual who would happily rip someone’s head off once he gets angry. Either way, Veltian is preparing for a new client. But it’s not a godslayer, nor a girl from the academies. So… Do you have an idea of who could be the lucky individual?” Joryujoh said, as he took a deep breath.
“The brat you smacked. Misaki has been seen near the hero. You can cover an entire building with people to avoid journalists, but I can always buy some of the maids working there.” Moriarty said with a smug grin on his face.
“A boy who is not a godslayer is getting equipment from Veltian? Which god has died to take out his PSTD after Prometheus almost dunked him inside the lava pool he had in his forge? Not like I liked dealing with him, he’s too effeminate for my liking. If I had to choose a blacksmith to go to, I’d choose Gio.” Joryujoh said, shocked by what he had heard from Moriarty’s mouth. ‘Moriarty isn’t one to lie, but fuck it… I can’t believe that Veltian is out of his trauma with Evan.’ Joryujoh thought to himself.
“You and everyone! Gio is the best. If wasn’t because he makes the weapons too reliant on the skill of the user. If the user is trash, forget about getting equipment from him. But you have knuckledusters made by him and Evan. Mostly, Evan gave new combinations to try out to Gio.” Moriarty said, as he grinned at Joryujoh.
“Ah, fuck you. Those knuckledusters are awesome. But I haven’t managed to unlock their special skill. This is the issue with Gio. I don’t know how to even unlock it, and the guy isn’t sharing much data either.” Joryujoh said, while frowning, which made Moriarty to start laughing.
“Well, that’s on you. Either way, how about we go together to have a drink? The hero won’t be a threat after what you have done to him, at least for a few days. And Rei probably will know what suits her, after seeing the might of a godslayer and will happily cover the kill. Like all the others” Moriarty said, after laughing a bit, while patting Joryujoh’s back. ‘If I can get him to cover me, I can handle most issues with the heroes without risking issues.’ Moriarty thought while smiling.
“I wouldn't say no. If it wasn't because the rank 29, Ogre, asked me to visit him. You know how rankers in Dawn World were. They thought themselves to be the greatest because they were the best in the non-godslayer arena.” Joryujoh said while he scratched the back of his head.
“I still find it reasonable to be unable to go to the non-godslayer arena. Remember, we all abused obscure skill tree synergies. If you allowed that against those who didn't even notice them, it’d be a bloodbath. Only the Technocratic Revolution knew obscure skill tree synergies, but as they didn't defeat a god… Even as a group, they were able to participate in the arena. And all the top 10 arena lists were taken by them, until they got nerfs when participating in the arena.” Moriarty retorted calmly.
“Agh, you are right. Luckily, after being transmigrated to this world, the rankers learned the harsh reality. No arena where they get their defense against godslayers truly showed them who is better.” Joryujoh said while smirking.
“True. So we can go and talk some business in a simple place, right?” Moriarty said, as he smiled at Joryujoh.
“Yeah, well. As long as it’s not in the underground, I am fine.” Joryujoh said, as he looked at Moriarty.
“Why not the underground? The best bars are there!” Moriarty retorted.
“Because Jack-o-Bomba is there. Remember that godslayer who was unranked because she was useless in the fair 1v1 fights?” Joryujoh said, while glaring at Moriarty.
“Oh, yeah, that villain girl. She was with Thundy’s accolade at first, but then when she became a godslayer she went to the small group known as Highrisers. What’s she doing that literally has you wanting to avoid the underground?” Moriarty said, as he frowned.
“Fighting the barbarian hero. The barbarian said that all Bombers should just be considered as a waste of time, and that they are just good to be used as demolition experts. That in a real fight, a Bomber sucks.” Joryujoh replied Moriarty’s question, before taking a deep breath.
“That barbarian is going to die. She has killed for far less than that. Literally insulting the best Bomber of all time, like that. She’s gonna bomb his ass until it looks like Japan’s flag. Any axe wielder that dares to trash talk her should know that they are going to suffer.” Moriarty said, as he noticed a huge earthquake.
“They have started fighting. How about we find a safe spot to lie low and wait until Jack-o-Bomba finishes the duty?” Joryujoh proposed, as he scratched the back of his head.
“Hm. I’d prefer to watch the match, but I guess she’ll tell us later.” Moriarty said, right before nodding.
As the two godslayers walked towards the city’s insides, to avoid being caught by anyone and having to do more clean up than expected, the earthquakes got bigger and bigger. It was clear that the fight had gotten messier than expected, and now both were fighting for their lives, or so it seemed to everyone unless the two godslayers.
***
Before the fight between Kanbe and Joryujoh, Leshelle had been assisting a man with what he considered some disciplining on an errand boy that hadn’t brought him the booze. To discipline the errand boy, he had dragged the boy out of the inn he was in and brought him to the underground of the city, the sewers of the elven capital.
And so, now, Leshelle was in a massive maze of stone, running water, and enough waste to make a zombie desire to not have any sense of smell. As he was forcing the errand boy to work out, in order to teach him some discipline, while having heavy weights on his back.
The boy was a young human, with short black hair, black eyes, tanned skin, who was wearing a brown T-shirt, black trousers, and a pair of black sneakers. He looked androgynous, and it was clear that he didn’t manage to win enough money to eat well enough, and it was clear for everyone unless the barbarian hero that the boy wasn’t able to keep up with the training.
“Come on, 100 more pushups, and you are done!” Leshelle exclaimed, clearly happy of his own gruesome training.
“I can’t, sir! Even one more… It feels too much for me!” The errand boy exclaimed, while crying due to the pain he was feeling, as his body was quivering due to the strain of this merciless training.
“You have to! If you give up because of a bit of pain, then you are not disciplined! No pain, no gain!” Leshelle exclaimed, clearly angry, as he used his axe to intimidate the boy.
As the boy groaned, and tried to do more pushups, a young woman with her left side of her hair blonde and her right side was red. This woman had a snow-like skin, long eyelashes, blue eyes, a body that looked clearly feminine but with an average chest, and a few freckles on the bridge of her nose.
Said woman was wearing a black vest, a red shirt with a pattern of golden prisms, black fingerless gloves with a blue orb attached on each of the backs of the gloves, black trousers, and black Oxford shoes.
“Can’t expect much from a hero who insults a fine skill tree, right?” The woman asked, with a taunting tone, as she glared at Leshelle.
“Oh, who are you? A Bomber who is angry because I said the truth?” Leshelle asked as he turned to see the woman.
“You can call me Jackie. Jack-O-Bomba is my name. Either way, while Joryujoh tried to convince me to not blast you to ashes, today is the day you are going to learn a painful lesson.” Jackie replied while glaring at Leshelle.
“And what lesson I shall learn from a failure skill user?” Leshelle asked, with a taunting voice, as he grinned at Jackie.
“That insulting a godslayer is not a good idea.” Jackie said, as the orbs in her gloves started shining brightly.
Leshelle quickly got into a battle stance, holding his axe with his two hands, and charged at Jackie. But Jackie was already considering how dangerous Leshelle could be in close range, and shot pellets of slightly red mana at the barbarian hero.
“What’s that weakass attack!?” Leshelle asked, clearly underestimating what Jackie had done, and kept charging at her.
As Leshelle touched the pellets, they exploded with a strength equal to a blast ant’s explosive glue, which pushed Leshelle away from Jackie. As Jackie smiled, she sent mana over her feet as it made a cluster of mana right below her feet before the explosive lady moved away.
‘He’s a barbarian with Rage King, Berserker, and Barbarian. Plus Enhancer. Defender is neat, but not a danger for me as it focuses on defending others. Right now, due to my refined and flexible body, I am barely slightly faster than this muscle head. But I have more damage output, and better range. That said, he is too sturdy and hasn’t even used Rage Mode. Once he uses Rage Mode, his defense will increase. While the explosion is improved by the mana exploding, the explosion itself is a physical attack. So I managed to surpass his resistance to magic with that. But the issue lies with the unknown hero skill tree he has, and with the huge recovery power he has due to Seething Hatred, Barbarian’s body, and Unyielding Barbarian. Even if he gets faster, and stronger, with the other passives… As long as I dodge the attacks, I can happily trigger from a distance each recovery passive and then blast him away with Maxibomb. He’s not a threat I need to deal with by using combo skills, if I take my time, but I will absolutely have to use two-fold and higher skills. Leaving explosive traps with Trickster will help me too, even if I have to use two marks at once.’ Jackie pondered, while planning her next step in this fight.
As Leshelle managed to charge after Jackie, after being pushed away, he stepped on the cluster of mana that Jackie left for Leshelle which exploded with a loud noise and bright light that pushed Leshelle to a stone wall on his left. As Leshelle tried to understand what was happening, even in a dizzy state due to the flashbang and explosive trap combination he had received, Jackie kept sending pellets to whittle down his health by causing wounds due to the explosions.
“How cowardly of you, Jack-o-Bomba! I heard you were an entertainer first, and this is just boring! Just hoping to drain me of my recovery passives and then ending me!? How absurd!” Leshelle exclaimed, clearly annoyed by the hit-and-run strategy done by Jackie.
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
“You are just trying to make me use more than I need to. I am not here to entertain you, berserker, I am here to cripple you. As I don’t want to fight alone several hordes of useless vermin, I prefer to just cripple you and teach you a lesson.” Jackie said, as she smirked at Leshelle.
As Leshelle charged to attack Jackie, as he didn’t have any decent movement skill to close the distance, Jackie was about to shoot more bombs to weaken Leshelle a bit more, but then she saw a red flash striking the chest of the barbarian charging at her and quickly recognized what it was.
As soon as she was able to, she quickly teleported away from the location and moved 100 meters away from Leshelle.
The red flash absorbed the air around the barbarian, and exploded like a thermobaric bomb. Only that instead of exploding in one location, it exploded horizontally through at least 200 meters. The entirety of the sewer shook vastly due to the aftershock, and it seemed like if it was going to fall down, but then she saw how the sewer walls and roof molded and glued themselves together.
“No way. That was a Crimson Red. A Crimson 'City outta the fucking way' Red! Evan, is it you!? You damnable psycho! You could have turned me to ashes! At least warn, man! I don’t want to be a tortilla! I don’t have onion, nor potatoes, to taste good!” Jackie said, as she turned around to see Evan, only to see the Wisdom Lord covered by a hood and Nigredo besides him.
“Oh, no. We were just trying some things. It’s not that great. Rubedo owes me a few gold coins. I told him, the boy can’t recreate Lord Evan’s spells! But ignore me, I guess! A half-assed Crimson Red may pass as the real thing, as it still scares the shit out of everyone. But Sunshine will not work that well!” Nigredo said, while pouting.
“Yes, we both tried to convince him, Nigredo. But you know how stubborn Rubedo is with trying things first, and later consider what to do. At least, I broke free from Grandine’s cuddling.” The boy said while taking a deep breath.
“Oh, come on! She’s just adorable! Especially when she hugs you, Jin!” Nigredo exclaimed as she smirked at the boy.
“It would be nice if she didn’t almost suffocate me with the airbags! More like flesh bags… But you understand me!” Jin said while blushing brightly.
“But you love it…” Nigredo retorted, while smirking at the boy, as she was clearly teasing the boy.
Jackie simply looked at the two, took a deep breath, and shrugged. Surviving to a thermobaric blast of 250 meters of distance was a no-go for most, so the bomber was rather sure that Leshelle was dead. Even if it wasn’t the real thing, that pseudo Crimson Red was still one of the finest anti-building spell variations.
“Well, the barbarian is dead. Or that, or he’s frigging lucky. It doesn’t matter how many recovery passives you have against something that slaps that hard. But nonetheless, shouldn’t you be feeling bad? You know: Such a high level spell variation should make you have a terrible headache, minimum. A child’s brain normally can’t take it.” Jackie said, clearly surprised by a child capable of using such a spell.
“First: Leshelle is not dead. While the explosive effect worked, the damage was vastly reduced. It still hurt, but between the enhancer passive that increases the resistance to magic and the lowered output of the Crimson Red… He barely survived it, but was enough to trigger all the recovery passives. Second: Wisdom Lord’s passive. There’s one that increases the mental power of the individual. That said, we are here to talk with you, miss Bomba.” Jin said calmly.
“Okay, won’t delve into that mess. But what sort of talk you want to have with me?” Jackie said, as she scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.
“A proposal for a business. You may bring as many allies as you want to it, all of you will get paid nonetheless. But you have to stall for time. Protect Moriarty, without risking yourself, from the meddling fools that will go after him like Leshelle.” Jin said, with a cold gaze.
“Sounds like an easy job for me. But why should I protect the criminal mastermind himself?” Jackie said, looking at the boy.
“Because if Kanbe says the truth too early, he’ll come back to Elstivia too early. If he goes back before Evan is around, there’s a child of Evan that will die. Katas has a plan to have his daughter go with the hero to hunt Legias. We aim to avoid it.” Jin answered Jackie’s question.
“Okay. A good reason. Surprising reason, nonetheless. Are you telling me that functional psycho is coming to this world as we speak?” Jackie said as she raised her eyebrows.
“Yes, he is. But we need to buy some time. I don’t know how much you can win, but you’ll have to make do. And Joryujoh can’t stop always the heroes, he’d get into trouble, so I thought: Why not ask the one already considered a heretical psycho?” Jin replied to Jackie’s question.
“Eh, you are right. But you most certainly haven’t read a single letter of the reports that the psycho had on me. I don’t do family shit, I don’t cooperate with families.” Jackie said, before shaking her head, as she was about to leave.
“Hm, why?” Jin asked, as he looked slightly surprised.
“It’s a long story. But let’s just explain it quickly: My family betrayed me almost all my life. In fact, I have gone through a watered down version of Evan’s life. Only that I managed to get out, and cut ties. But my family wasn’t abusive, they just betrayed me constantly. Never counted with me for the good things, but always used me as a disposable pawn and treated me as a bad person that dealt with their issues without needing to be asked. So yeah, I made a rule: I don’t help in family bullshit. Families are just not my thing. Just like Evan in that sense, only that he just made an exception when he made his own family on Terra. But in my case, no husband… No family. I will die alone, and I am happy about it. Because that opens a lot of jobs, as I do work almost all the year. Get it? Now, scram. If Evan asks me to help him with one of his plans, okay. But I am not going to assist Joryujoh and his yakuza family, that’s a big no.” Jackie replied, as she frowned, while moving away.
“Then, can you fight the heroes? You are a villain, after all, by how everyone treats you. Sooner or later, Leshelle will get the other heroes after you. And maybe a few countries. Moriarty and Joryujoh could help you after you help them. A quid pro quo.” Jin proposed calmly, as he looked at Jackie’s face.
“For what reason?” Jackie coldly asked.
“Look, if the heroes catch Moriarty… Two things will happen. First: All the heroes four feet under. Second: A world war that will break all of our plans, yours included, so thoroughly that even Grandine’s last date will look more alive than us. We are talking about the world going crazy because their own dark lord defense system, aka the heroes, are going to die. And the dark lord isn’t around even. We don’t even know who the dark lord may be! If it’s someone who hates godslayers, that dark lord will be a problem. And an issue you can’t just blast to nothing. You need a hero to seal a dark lord’s soul. And the Rebirth Hero does not count for that one, nor the Archer Hero. We need Kanbe alive, or at least Rei.” Jin answered calmly.
Jackie started pondering the situation, but Nigredo simply nodded at Jackie. This made the infamous bomber just sigh, and shrug, while walking closer to Jin with a frown on her face.
“Okay, let’s say I believe your explanation. It fits that the world would turn itself out if the heroes die. But another thing is that we can’t kill the dark lord. Trust me, give an unkillable enemy to Moriarty, and you’ll see Hallowed Death saying ‘Yeah… No’. And not only that, the magic corp is the sort that sees an unkillable enemy and starts experimenting methods of sealing and killing on that one. The dark lord may survive a few deaths, but that won’t stop the godslayers. Unless it’s Evan, but if it’s Evan… Why the hell a Sunken Guardian would want to allow the heroes to live? Evan runs on chaotic shit, as much as he dislikes it! A world war of that caliber would be a necromancer’s wet dream, and Evan’s laboratory brainrot itself.” Jackie said, as she didn’t believe Jin’s words.
“You are right. But how many people would die? And we don’t know if it’s Evan. After all, we can’t know what Namika is planning. But the idea is to not have Moriarty and Joryujoh fighting a world war. We get them busy, we avoid killing them, and once the dark lord is gone… We can kill them at our own leisure, if we need to. If they are gullible and easy manipulation targets: Why not manipulating them?” Jin said, as he smiled at Jackie, while Nigredo chuckled.
Jackie glared at Jin, clearly not wanting to ponder the possibility that was dawning on her mind that they were preparing Evan’s return with an interesting lack of information, and then made her choice. It was the least risky one, and the one with the biggest benefit for her right now, but she still didn’t like that choice.
“Okay, I will hear out your plan. I help out Moriarty and Joryujoh to avoid being annoyed by the heroes. Up to a limit. I am not fighting with them, nor going to do some innocent killing. I do things I am ready to be responsible for. So no boy killing, no bullshit regarding widows, nor any innocent bullshit. I trust the Sunken Guardian to keep remembering Evan’s rules in mind, because mine are very similar.” Jackie said, before taking a deep breath.
“We do. Don’t worry. Thing is: We need to keep them busy, and separated. I don’t want Leshelle going with Rei and Haseya. And Joryujoh doesn’t have patience. So… I have a good idea. One that will force the feminist ranker party, Themeria, to call upon the heroes. But for that, we need your expertise in making explosives.” Nigredo said calmly.
“I guess you want to blow up their swinger bar. For being so toxic as feminists… They sure love having swinger’s parties. Not that I am against that. Just that they could just be equality seekers, like Evan. You know what to do, you get the job. And if you fuck up, you own the mistake. No differences between boys and girls, just all taken without any sort of prejudice… Neither advantageous nor disadvantageous.” Jackie said, as she smiled.
“More like, blow up one individual going to the swinger bar. A pretty known politician from Asthalos. An angel of the purity party. He loves elves, just that he is part of a party that sees that sort of interaction… Not in good eyes. So he doesn’t do the deed, but enjoys having a few elven girls around to drink his sorrows away. We can’t touch him without Themeria going crazy… But you can. The guy has been trying to get you as a slave, only a few circles know of it, by trying to get Leshelle to act like the fool he is and bait you to attack him. I think you would love to teach him what he wants to take for himself.” Nigredo said with a smirk on her face.
“So you used the mess in your favor. Well, I get my revenge against the puppet master after all… So not a bad thing for me. But you all should consider whether that is good for you.” Jackie said, as she crossed her arms.
“We have done that already. But this is the best way, without getting muddled up in the entire mess. Also, if we can do it well enough… We can split the heroes for long enough to cover Moriarty well enough, and keep the godslayers safe. But you’ll be the one in the worst position possible, Jackie. That said, you are the one who suits best the position.” Nigredo said calmly.
“Yeah, I know. Well, do tell me later. I will go to talk with Moriarty and Joryujoh, and you two get out of here. If Leshelle sees you after, he might be trusted by the other heroes.” Jackie said with a serious face.
Nigredo simply nodded, and teleported away with Jin, as she left Jackie alone. The bomber simply sighed, before leaving the sewers while running, as she had noticed how complicated everything would get soon, but also felt excited as she saw a rather fun chance to cause some undiluted chaos on the elven country.
Jackie Status:
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Age: 36 years old
Height: 1 meters and 60 centimeters.
Three sizes: 75/59/80
Cup Size: C
Likes: Cute boys, explosions, vests, heels, teasing naughty boys, loyal people, godslayers that get along with Evan, working with Evan.
Dislikes: Not being able to explode things, Leshelle, being underestimated, spicy food, corruption, hypocritical people, slavers, and those who underestimate Bombers.
Level: 60
STATS:
HP: 30000/30000
MP: 40000/40000
STR: 1
VIT: 200
INT: 600
DEX: 200
AGI: 200
Magic affinity: Fire Magic, Projectile Magic, Thunder Magic.
Skill affinity: Teleporter, Charmer, Magician, Bomber, Alchemist, Survivalist, Merchant, Wizard, Trickster.
Titles: Godslayer, Jack-o-Bomba, Builder’s Nightmare, Greatest Bomber, Bomb Tsundere, Bomber Psycho.
Job: Mercenary.
Special skills:
Mana recovery: Active, 0 MP. The user lowers the cost of all the skills by a 50% for an hour. Only works once every day.
Bomb Master: The user’s Bomber skills are a 60% stronger, and the damage caused by explosions made by them is increased a 50%.
Skin of Dragos: The defense of the user increases a 50%, and the strength of physical attacks without using weapons increases a 80%.
Royal Surge: The user recovers 50% of their remaining HP, and all of their mana when they lose 50% of their HP.
Nature’s blood: The health regeneration of the user becomes 100 HP/Second. The maximum amount of health increases a 25%.
Soul of Magic: The mana recovery becomes 50 MP/second.
Skills:
Merchant (Master):
Knowledge of materials: Passive, allows the user to see the materials used in any item and be able to know the price of the item.
Discount: Passive, the user will pay less money for the items he/she wants to buy. Success rate depends on the intelligence and dexterity of the user and the target.
Overcharge: Passive, the user will sell the items for more money. Selling price increase depends on intelligence and dexterity.
Eye of the merchant: Passive. The user can see what the client is looking for and what they truly desire.
Charmer (Master):
Increased Charm: People of the opposite sex or those of the same sex interested in the same sex will be more attracted to the user.
Charmed Trust: Those who are charmed by the user will trust him/her totally.
Charming negotiations: The negotiations with the ones who can be charmed will be easier.
Irresistible: Those who may be interested in the user will lose any kind of restraint when they see him/her.
Trickster (Master):
Drilled dodging: The user can dodge attacks faster, and their speed is a 10% higher than average.
Tricking is magic: The user’s mana control, magic power, and mana pool is enhanced a 20%.
Acrobat: The user movement is fully optimized, and so their stealth and speed is enhanced a 25%.
Quick Phasing: When the user is going to touch an ally, they can phase through them to avoid colliding.
Trick Dodge: Active, 10 MP. A quick translocation of 5 meters of range, that can only be activated when being attacked. It can leave a mark if used alongside Mark Creation or Trickster Bomb.
Mark Creation: Active, 5 MP. The user can place a magic mark on the ground/air that is under the feet of the user. This mark can have beneficial effects or negative effects like: Healing, boosting physical/magical capabilities, binding a target to the ground for a small amount of time, poisoning a target, blinding a target.
Foul Trick: Active, 20 MP. The user can swap positions with an ally, if the ally allows it, or an enemy. Can be combined with Mark Creation.
Trickster Bomb: Active, 25 MP. The user can leave under his feet a mine that will explode upon touch. While the damage caused by this explosion is no bigger than a firecracker, it can disorient a target.
Trickster’s Dash: Active, 50 MP. The user can dash linearly, in any linear trajectory the user sees, even midair.
Slow Flow: Active, 60 MP. The user can use it while dodging an attack. Implants a moderate amount of mana inside a target, which makes the target becomes slightly slower for a moderate amount of time.
Arcane Dodge: Active, 200 MP. Pinnacle skill. It can only be used while dodging. After a successful perfect dodge, which is when the user dodges an attack that should hit them by inches, the user can cast any spell immediately (it still costs mana).
Wizard (Master):
Wizard's blessing: The user's magic skills are a 20% stronger.
Grand Magician's Regeneration: The mana regeneration base speed becomes 100 MP/second instead of 1MP/minute.
Wizard Channeling: The casting speed of the user's spells doubles.
Wizard Extra Chanting: The user can cast two times the amount of spells they should be able to.
Mana Bolt: Active, 1 MP. The user shoots a bolt made of mana, which can go through physical defenses but deals a rather small amount of damage. It can get stopped by barriers made by mana or by anti-magic fields.
Heavy Mana Bolt: Active, 10 MP. The user shoots a reinforced mana bolt that goes through physical defenses and deals a moderate amount of damage. It can pierce barriers.
Mana Decoy: Active, 25 MP. The user can leave a decoy made of mana, that is a foul mimicry of life, and gets eliminated rather quickly.
Mana Sound: Active, 100 MP. The user creates a clear sound in an area that is 300 meters away from the user. This sound acts as a diversion to lure the enemies away from the user.
Homing mana bolts: Active, 50 MP. The user can leave small clumps of mana that will be turned into mana bolts. These bolts will follow and try to hit anyone who gets in an area of 50 meters near the clump of mana. The bolts won't deal much damage, but these bolts slow down those they hit.
Enhanced Flesh: Active, 1000 MP. The user can enhance their body to block physical attacks easily and run fast for a moderate amount of time.
Mana Reparation: Active, 5000 MP. The user can repair any item to its optimal state.
Teleporter (Master):
Mana Brain: The user acquires the capacity to hold a mana brain. The mana brain is an accumulation of mana that acts as a secondary brain of the size of a pea, that is inside the heart. Damage to the mana brain will cause a state of dizziness to the user, but it’ll nullify all the side effects of the mental fatigue as it runs all the subconscious thought. It’s said that the mana brain allows its users to learn twice as fast as they should be able.
Mana Fatigue Resistance: The user is more resistant to the side effects of using too much mana at once, allowing them to recover twice as fast as they should without this passive.
Spatial Resistance: The user is able to nullify teleports that affect them if they don’t want to be teleported.
Expansive Inventory: The inventory is twice as big as it should be.
Space Distortion: Active, 10 MP. The user can use this to nullify space magic that the user detects, as it distorts the space and nullifies the incoming space magic. It can be only activated as a counter.
Space Jump: Active, 5 MP. The user uses mana to jump at the speed of light to a location in a range of 50 meters.
Space Distortion Aura: Active, 15 MP. The user can create an armor that will send away projectiles, and nullify attempts of using space magic on the armor user, to themselves or an ally. This aura armor can only work for ten minutes, and can only nullify up to two space spells and withstand 300 attacks with projectiles.
Space Transaction: Active, 200 MP. The user can do a transaction between themselves or an ally and any space of similar size they have knowledge of. Fair warning: If the user doesn’t calculate well, the target may end up fused to a wall and unable to escape.
Mass Teleport: Active, 3000 MP. A mass teleportation that takes anything in a range of 100 meters, and sends it to another place. Takes both inanimate objects and people, so it’s way more taxing than any other teleport.
Mass Space Transaction: Active, 5000 MP. A mass version of Space Transaction. Exchanges a space of a size equal to a range between 50 meters and 300 meters with another location. Takes everything. Pinnacle skill.
Bomber (Master):
Bomber Soul: The user is immune to explosive damage, and their explosions are a 10% bigger than they should be.
Bomber Mana: The user’s mana is highly explosive, increasing the power of the fire magic and explosions a 30%.
Bomb Knowledge: The user is capable to know where the bombs will be the most effective, and how much firepower is necessary for the desired effects. Also, this increases the user’s speed a 30%.
Pellet Bomb: Active, 5 MP. The user shoots one pellet made of explosive mana to one target, which will explode upon contact. This attack causes physical damage, instead of magic damage, as the explosion is not a magical explosion, but its damage depends on the user’s magic power.
Timed Bomb: Active, 10 MP. The user turns any bomb, or bomber skill, into a timed bomb. This increases the damage. This attack causes physical damage, instead of magic damage, as the explosion is not a magical explosion, but its damage depends on the user’s magic power.
Toss Bomb: Active, 15 MP. The user creates a throwable bomb, with stronger explosive yield than the average bomb. Also, it can be used to turn any bomb or bomber skill (that isn’t this one) into a timed bomb. This attack causes physical damage, instead of magic damage, as the explosion is not a magical explosion, but its damage depends on the user’s magic power.
Magnified Bomb: Active, 25 MP. The user magnifies the explosive yield of any bomb, or bomber skill, and increases the damage they cause.
Main Bomb: Active, 30 MP. The user creates a bomb with a slightly stronger yield than the average bomb. This attack causes physical damage, instead of magic damage, as the explosion is not a magical explosion, but its damage depends on the user’s magic power.
Bomb Planting: Active, 25 MP. The user can plant any bomber skill as if it was a bomb, leaving a mana cluster in the area, and increase their explosive yield for a very small amount. This attack causes physical damage, instead of magic damage, as the explosion is not a magical explosion, but its damage depends on the user’s magic power.
Giga Bomb: Active, 60 MP. The user creates a bomb with three times the yield held by the Main Bomb. This attack causes physical damage, instead of magic damage, as the explosion is not a magical explosion, but its damage depends on the user’s magic power.
Machine Bomber: Active, 40 MP. The user magnifies their capacity to shoot bombs, allowing the user to use five-fold bomber skills instantly.
Maxi Bomb: Active, 120 MP. The user creates a bomb with fifteen times the yield held by the Giga Bomb, but it takes a while to stabilize it. This attack causes physical damage, instead of magic damage, as the explosion is not a magical explosion, but its damage depends on the user’s magic power. Pinnacle skill.
Jin Status:
Race: Human.
Gender: Male
Age: 6 years old
Height: 1 meter.
Likes: Taking care of his books, rumors, money for buying new books, sweets, learning, reading, freedom, loyal people, godslayers, helping fellow orphans, Evan’s wit.
Dislikes: Not having books to read, corruption, slavers, having to deal with Nigredo and Grandine’s loving nature, Zerax, spicy food, nobles, wasting money.
Level: 1
STATS:
HP: 21000/21000
MP: 21000/21000
STR: 110
VIT: 110
INT: 220
DEX: 200
AGI: 200
Magic affinity: All. Has affinity to all magic types.
Skill affinity: Illusionist, Wizard, Merchant, Cleaner, Chef, Researcher, Charmer, Scholar, Trickster, Survivalist, Master Scribe, Alchemist, Wisdom Lord.
Titles: Wisdom Lord.
Special skills:
Veto’s Blessing: The user is granted 200 points in Intelligence, 200 points in Dexterity, and 200 points in Agility.
Mental Musculature: The user gains status points in Strength and Vitality equal to 50% of the user’s intelligence.
Skills:
Wisdom Lord (Master):
Mana’s Wisdom: The user is capable of learning all magic affinities, without requiring to use skill points, and the user’s learning speed is increased tenfold. This also helps in learning skill trees for free.
Wisdom Lord Authority: The user can use any sort of magic, and all those who believe in Veto and participate in his religion will feel as if they must follow the Wisdom Lord’s words.
Wise Body: The user’s mana regeneration becomes 1000 MP/hour, and the user’s body can’t be affected by curses, mind manipulation, blessed curses, poison, and illusions.
Wisdom Lord’s teaching: The user is capable of teaching easily to anyone, and their explanations will always explain what the user wants to explain.
Magician's soul: Passive. All spells cast by the user are a 20% stronger.
Magic control: Passive. All spells are cast 10% faster. Some can even be used without chanting.
Magic modification: Passive. The spells can be modified to give them new effects and change the way they are used.
Chantless: Passive. The minor spells will be automatically cast without even saying the name of the spell and the user only has to think in the spell and the adept spells only will have to be chanted entirely when using magic modification.
Wisdom Lord’s Dispersion: Active, 1 MP. The user can dispel any magic skill that is near the user, or aimed at the user.
Mana Charge: Active, 0 MP. The user remains immobile, but absorbs mana that can't be used normally and re-energizes it with his own mana. Can't be used when the user is out of mana.
Fire Magic:
Fire bullet: Active, 1 MP. The user can shoot a small bullet of fire.
Fireball: Active, 2 MP. The user shoots a ball of fire.
Firebolt: Active, 5 MP. The user shoots a bolt of fire that explodes upon touch.
Fire Wave: Active, 10 MP. The user casts a wave of fire that goes to the target.
Ignite: Active, 1 MP. Sets something on fire.
Blazing Sun: Active, 25 MP. The user creates a ball of fire that burns with the heat of a sun.
Fiery Salvo: Active, 12 MP. The user creates several spell circles that shoot giant fireballs.
Flame Flash: Active, 25 MP. The user shoots a wave of flames out of his hand.
Fire Guard: Active, 5 MP. The user creates an aura that will protect the user from the flames and burn anyone who comes too close to the caster.
Flare of destruction: Active, 35 MP. The user can create an explosion of flames where he/she aims in an area of 100 meters.
Fire Bomb: Active, 35 MP. The user shoots a ball of fire that explodes upon contact.
Pyro Storm: Active, 55 MP. The user casts a storm of fire that burns everything around 3 kilometers.
Supernova: Active, 76 MP. The user creates a small sun that will explode with the strength of a supernova. Range: 500 meters.
Meteor: Active, 100 MP. The user shoots a small fireball that grows while it is flying to the size of a meteor. Range: 2 kilometers.
Flame empower: Active, 0 MP. The user can add the fire element to any other spell.
Dark Magic:
Dark smoke: Active, 1 MP. The user shoots dark smoke to cover his whereabouts.
Curse: Active, 3 MP. The user curses the target and causes ailments like poison, blindness, and sleep.
Lethargy: Active, 5 MP. The user makes the target be slower and less powerful.
Greater curse: Active, 6 MP. The user curses the target and causes ailments like petrification, degradation (high-level poisoning that makes the body degrade until it breaks if it is not treated) and bleeding.
Dark Vision: Active, 1 MP. Grants the user the ability to see through darkness.
Dark Chains: Active, 10 MP. The user can create chains made of darkness that will stop the target.
Dark bullet: Active, 5 MP. The user shoots dark element bullets that will hurt and pierce the target.
Dark Embrace: Active, 20 MP. The user can curse the target and cause instant death. It takes a long time to make it work.
Dark Envoy: Active, 5 MP. The user creates a dark elemental who will deliver messages.
Dark eye: Active, 30 MP. It forces the enemy to do what the user orders.
Dark Aura: Pinnacle spell, 0 MP. The user can add the dark element to any other spell.