'Should I raise Identify to Level 3?' Aaron thought while avoiding Sherry's sweep attack before ducking under the Squirrel's claw then rolled to the side on the ground and quickly got up to block another attack from his maid which attempted to swing her wooden Staff downwards on his right shoulder.
'The benefit of Awareness is greater than Vision during the day while both compliment each other during the night, right now I become a bit passive during the 10 Seconds of Cooldown between each activation.
'My MP bar is deep enough to supply all the Skills I require during the sparring match like Recovery, Nimble-Feet, Magic Guard, Mana Armor, and Identify.
'But whenever Identify is on Cooldown I'm forced to Passively Defend and wait for it to become available to me again, especially when this fat fur-ball is included in the mix.
'The damn thing is seriously coming after my vitals with its claws and teeth every single time!
'God knows how far injured I'd be right now if it weren't for Magic Guard transferring 85% of the damage its trying to inflict on me to my MP bar, but many a little makes for too much strain on my MP bar since Sherry is also finding ways to inflict some damage of her own.
'Me having to fight without relying on Teleport or any of my Offensive-Skills is making me feel annoyed because it's putting too much restrictions on me.
'Thankfully I'm getting better at using the Staff and my footwork is no longer as clumsy as it used to be when I first sparred with Sherry.
'I can also feel like I'm getting used to the pressure these two are putting me through.'
"Alright." The maid suddenly stopped and took a step back to avoid the kid's swing before adding : "That's enough for today, you did good keeping up with little-Red and I for so long young master Ron."
*Snort* *Kuk-Kuk*
The Squirrel circled around him and gave Aaron an arrogant side-glance before jumping into the teenager girl's embrace while gesturing with his claws as if to say : "That's because we're going easy on him, maybe we should've gotten serious and gave him a beating when we had the chance... better be grateful you little human who kidnaps and bullies animals for no reason at all."
Aaron ignored the annoying creature and gestured for Sherry to stop while saying : "Wait, there's something which I'd like to try."
Afterwards he retrieved a consumable which he decided to buy after loosing the advantage of increased Physical-Defense thanks to some bloody disgusting Squirrel who pukes on people.
Pain-Reliver Effect Physical/Magical Defense +300 Maximum Number 100 each per Inventory slot Tradability Tradeable Refunded For 1 Gold Description A special Pain Reliver made within R&D Sector Notes Taking 1 or 2 Pain Reliver a day is fine but be careful of taking more otherwise you're going to have to deal with "Unknown" side-effects.
The kid pulled the wrapping open to unseal the bag which revealed a thumbnail-sized half-green half-brown pharmaceutical-capsule then swallowed it with the help of some Pure-Water.
Afterwards he watched both his [Above-Average] graded Phy/Def and M/Def climb to [Rare], [Superior], [Top], then finally settle at the [Epic] classification.
Both of the Defensive-Layers from Magic Guard and Mana Armor which used to be invisible before were clear to Sherry and her pet to see!
*Screech*
The Buff-Tail Skipper seemed like it's complaining that it's dangerous to be around this annoying human anymore, it urged the teenager girl to keep her distance.
"I want you hit me, start weak and gradually increase the power until you're at max force then start using your Staff." Aaron ordered Sherry after taking a sideways stance, his back is going to be his maid's target.
But he kept most of his focus on the MP bar to estimate how much damage his body can soak with the assistance of Pain-Reliver especially since there's a glaring issue where he might suffer the "Unknown" if he consume more than 2 of this capsules in a single day!
The only one to enjoy this segment of the day in old man Sid's backyard was the Red Squirrel, Sherry almost stopped swinging her Staff more than once but the kid urged her to continue seriously while holding his laughter back.
Simply because he could barely feel a thing until his maid started using all of her power to swing the wooden Staff.
"You too, come at me." He found the grin and the excitement on the Squirrel's face a bit annoying and Sherry was almost out of breath after giving the task all of her effort for a while now.
*Kuk-Kuk*
The Beast seemed like it was saying : "Bro you asked for it... I'm going to mess you real good for daring challenge my awesome power."
This time the Buff-Tail Skipper wasn't holding back at all, its claws found Aaron's vitals from weird angles and sometimes it'd climb his body all the way to the shoulders before jumping up and twisting its body in the air just to come down with its claws with full intentions to lacerate his skin and tear at his body!
*Bark* *Kuk-Kuk-Kuk*
"Hehe... makes you mad, doesn't it?" Aaron smirked and gave the gasping Beast a teasing smile before patting its head while adding : "It's normal for you to be surprised after seeing me practically unharmed after all your acrobatics did nothing to a single hair on my body!
"Let me tell you something you little idiot, you're still a 100 years too early.
"But... let me give you a little piece of advice there.
"You better not be thinking of trying again after a century, simply because... you wouldn't be able to come this close to me let along touch a single hair on my body.
"Because I'm invincible whenever there's an idiot standing in my way! Muahaha... wallow in despair you idiotic mortal."
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
*Growl* *Ku-Ku-Ku* *Screech*
"Calm down little-Red, Stop biting young master Ron!" Sherry was sweating bullets and pulling at the long furry tail of the Squirrel which was biting with all its power on the boy's buttocks.
The kid looked behind him at the rude Beast while thinking : 'You asked for it you Dog, Squirrel, and Skunk hybrid... fire in the hole!'
*Ku-Ku* *Snort* *Ku-Ku*
"How pathetic... you can't even stand a single fart of mine!"
*Ku-Ku* *Bark*
The kid just rolled his eyes when the Squirrel pointed at him with its claws and glared, "Yeah, yeah... That's exactly what a loser would say." Afterwards he waved goodbye to grandpa Sid who was sitting in the shade at the corner with his lady friend and enjoying the show.
But once he got outside the shop and walked the streets he saw the citizens running everywhere with panic all-over their faces like chickens which just lost their heads!
"What's going on?" Aaron asked one of grandpa Sid's neighbors when he saw the lady on the second floor about to close her window shut.
"Uh! Hide yourselves, they say the bandits are here. They've surrounded us and Chief Peter is on the eastern-walls to talk to their leaders." Afterwards the woman closed the window in a hurry.
The kid raised an eyebrow while thinking : 'Are they trying to negotiate a deal with those thieving bastards behind my back?'
"Let's go take a look." He said before heading towards the Village's eastern-walls.
'It's funny that I never went that way ever since I came to this Pine-Breeze Village!
'The farthest I've went east is probably old geezer Todd's restaurant, or is it Chief Peter's house?'
"Young master Ron." Sherry couldn't hide the worry from her voice.
Aaron looked towards her and smiled, "Are you scared that I might do something reckless?"
The maid blushed slightly when the kid revealed her feelings so calmly but she still nodded silently.
"Oh relax! We're going there to watch, I promise not to talk to these "Baddies" unless I have to." Afterwards he looked away and watched the people abandon their businesses and hide while the all the soldiers and guards they met on the way were running East in a hurry.
But most of them were either cursing under their breath since they were supposed to be resting instead of preparing for a fight!
Of course the majority of them were more or less of the same age like Pio with signs of fear, unwillingness, and sometimes despair on their expressions.
"What's the meaning of this?" Once he started seeing the eastern-walls, Aaron recognized the voice of the one shouting these words.
The east-gate was sealed shut and the walls was packed to the brim with guards, the same goes for the Archer-Towers which had the full-capacity of Archers standing inside them.
"Hahaha... Long time no see old Peter! What? Aren't you going to welcome me and my pups inside for a drink?" A deep, rough, and slightly wild manly voice answered the Village Chief from a distance.
Peter looked towards the right and sneered before answering : "We just met a couple weeks ago, how could that be a long time? Last I remember Chief Chadrion... The agreement we all had was for our Pine-Breeze Village to pay each and every one of your gangs only once a month. You should go back and come back next month, these Beasts of yours are starting to frighten our livestock and that's not good for our business."
At that time Aaron and Sherry were at the walls and he could see the person talking to Chief Peter, the man was in his late forties possibly in his fifties already.
Tall, muscular, and hairy like Roger but this one was topless and only wearing some leather trousers which seem to be made from some snake-skin and a pair of long-neck boots which are made from fur.
On his shoulder was some sort of weird and a bit funny-looking cape also made from the same type of fur his boots were made of.
But the most recognizable thing in that scene was the Dire Wolf standing next to him and every person standing behind him!
Chief Chadrion smiled widely and exposed a perfect set of white teeth, "That is that and this is this, if you're worried about your livestock so much... Why don't you throw some to your old friend here and help him feed his hungry pups?"
*Snort*
Peter simply rolled his eyes before looking towards the left where a group of women stood behind a tall beauty who's in the twilight of her years, "Are you in on this farce too Phyllia? Our Village has done nothing to provoke your Axe-Gang! Must you push us to the wall like this?"
The woman with a dozen or so small and sharp-looking short Axes on her waist and a long, huge, double-edged Axe on her back which might be mistaken for some sort of Shield if someone is not paying attention.
She spread her arms wide which exposed more and more scars on her long arms before saying : "Don't blame me for this situation, you know that there's a Beast-Wave coming our way and all of us might get buried in history if we don't prepare for it. You're the idiot who just showed us the means to survive, now I'm forced to share with these guys or I wouldn't get any for my girls at all. Moron! You should've come for me to help you spread all that Mice meat hush-hush instead of being silly enough to let your greed think for you."
"I see," Chief Peter nodded before looking towards the east where the center is occupied by a well organized army battalion, "Marshal. We've known each other for too long, heed my advice and go back before it's too late for regret."
The man standing at the head of the unit of Heavy-Cavalry took off his silver Helmet and put it under his left armpit, his expression was serious and his age was definitely approaching sixty.
The armor he's wearing looked ancient but it's well-maintained and polished with care while the steed he's sitting on top is half a meter taller than the War Horses his men are riding.
The Grey Dire Wolf which belongs to Chief Chadrion was 2 meters tall and more than 3.5 meters long!
This War Horse was even bigger in size but looked lean without any excessive muscles at all which means it's not only strong but fast as well as agile.
Behind this old general was about 300 Heavy-Cavalry, 400 Light-Cavalry, 500 Archers, and almost 1,000 Heavy-Infantry!
'This old dude has come knocking on the gates with a freaking army! How cool is that? These two groups seem lacking a lot when sharing the same stage with this Marchal's army' Aaron thought while looking everywhere as if he's sightseeing without caring a single bit about the conversations happening between Village Chief Peter and these guys.
Simply because he caused all of it and would like to see how things play out.
The general finally opened his mouth after staring deeply at Peter for a short while then said : "You need to give me a reason why? I can go back after you do, but... I'm taking all the profit for the Mice meat that your people sold in the markets within our territories."
Chief Chadrion grinned, "Our Wolf-Gang isn't as forgiving as the Head-Reapers Army of Marshal Cesar but we welcome your gift all the same, just make sure to add 20,000 Gold Coins to our monthly payment starting next month."
Phyllia crossed her arms, "Then we're all in agreement." She played her part and delivered a kick to Peter once she thought he was down on his knees begging and grasping at strings of hope out of helplessness!
*Sigh*
Village Chief Peter shook his head and leaned forward with his elbows on the ramparts of the wall, "Simply because you're all mistaken, none of that Mice meat belongs to my house."
"Hmmm..." Marshal Cesar squinted his eyes.
"Huh!" Chief Chadrion frowned and had an expression on his face as if to say : "Seriously dude! Are you going to play that card now? What do you think of us? A bunch of five years old maybe? So what if it isn't yours? We're taking all the profit anyway and whoever it belonged to can kiss my Wolf's ass for all I care! Not to mention that you're still going to pay me the 20k every month in the future."
"Oh really? Then tell whoever gave it to you to come talk to us if they're going to give you any trouble, you're one of our precious patrons after all... as long as you pay us every month of course!" Phyllia flicked the edge of her Axe with a finger afterwards and it caused a sharp metallic ring which annoyed the Dire Wolves and War Horses alike.
Aaron looked towards the Village Chief and saw his son Sen looking towards him and giving him a meaningful smile which meant : "Your time to shine has come kid, how do you like the stage I've set for you? Careful now... these fellows actually knows how to fight back unlike the Mice you've been summoning in your basement back home."
Of course the kid smiled back and didn't shy away from the covert challenge as if to say : "Don't act like you don't know about my heroic actions in the canyon last night, just watch and learn how it's done so-called teacher Sen. Even your name is so shady mate!"
Peter also looked towards the boy and shrugged as if to say : "I've done my best here, these guys are being unreasonable and any further attempts to negotiate with them is only going to backfire against me, you, and the Village as a whole!"
Aaron nodded before activating Hero's-Echo and saying : "You've asked for me and I'm here! Where the fuck is my money you thieving bastards?" Afterwards he Teleported right in the center of the three groups.
*Neeigh!*
*Awoo*
"Whoa!"
"What happened girl?"
Immediately the War Horses and Dire Wolves were overcome with fear and panicked, the people of the three groups also looked towards the kid which just appeared with trepidation and terror after what just happened but most of them where struggling to control their Beast-Companions but the scene from on top of the eastern-walls could be described with a single word.
Chaos!