Chapter 1: The Meeting of the Dynasty Brothers
The city Serabourg is a good location for many new players to Royal Road. One of the most well guarded locations with it's city guards and roman like military system. It was easy place to take haven from monsters and player killers.
Due to its higher security the likelihood of a place for new players to level up against monsters in the city should be close to none. Unfortunately one young man had to be part of the one percent that did not have the ease to just relax in the city.
The owner of a neglected library had been gifted with a special dungeon involving his building. This felt it was like the game itself wanted him to suffer as he was technically a cheat character. Not in the terms of being a hacker and modifying the programming as that would have been a lot easier to catch and administer punishment to as it was an illegal act. The game was troubled by the ability of this certain player to go past the realm of the restrictions for certain classes and skills just due to his real life experience. The virtual reality game boasted it's realism and freedom of choice but it never expected a player who had train all his life in different aspects such as survival, combat, and the being an artisan of sword making. There was also his ability to read through books like a machine and memorize everything that he had just finished reading
All those experiences combined Akaro was rewarded with a legendary class, secret sub class for a blacksmith, powerful equipment for a low level character, and to top it off two pets. The game just decided that he needed to suffer a little bit for pushing the system so far.
In the Library of Rosenheim a certain red headed youth had a look of despair on his face. His library filled with his books was now the abode of two different entities. One was the Rat King who had taken strong hold in the basement and the other was the Spider Queen who resided in the second floor. The main floor unfortunately became a breeding ground for dozens upon dozens of mice.
“Hyung are you okay?”
Genbu, who was still on the head of his furry brother, said in concern. He had watch his brother stand silent for over ten minutes. It was an eerie situation.
Rai unfortunately had better instincts then Genbu and he all to well knew that his master was not feeling happy. He started to back away as he felt what was going to happen next.
“Genbu. We need to stay back for a bit.”
“Why Rai-Hyung?”
“Just watch.”
Akaro just finished having a really good day. He finished making his swords and he obtained a blacksmith class. He also had a few drinks with his hyungs at the Hunters Delight. So some could say he was on top of the world until the wheels of fate decided to play a prank and spun forward to the worst day possible for him.
'Pages everywhere... History of Rosenheim... the knight of holy light legends... the biology of foxes...'
He was listing all the books he saw were completely ruined and need to be repaired or completely replaced. Like a chant his inner thoughts were becoming vocal. A red aura was beginning to form around him.
In front of him were a bunch of mice chewing and eating various books. These mice did not stop at the edges or the corners of the books that they have started to consume. Some of the books actually looked like they were Swiss cheese as there were many holes chewed through them. That was not the only atrocity as a lot of the books spine where the glue held the pages together had been chewed through and papers floated everywhere. Some just on the ground or on spider webs.
Looking up at the second floor, he noted that it looked like a cloud from the sky outside was taking refuge in his library. Akaro could see that the spiders webs were really thick and dense. He can probably guess that he can walk on it if he could get on the second floor. This fuelled his rage even more as he did not know what mayhem was occurring to the various scrolls and other irreplaceable literature.
The only positive thing was that the spiders and the mice seem to not have gotten along as there were traces of various battles between the two. Regardless of the fact that there won't be a collaboration of their two forces, Akaro simply did not care in his current state.
“Ha... haha... hahahaha....”
“Why is hyung laughing?”
“Ssh. Just watch. Master is going to go berserk. Can't you feel it? The danger around him.”
“Rai-hyung. I'm scared.”
Akaro had started laughing while one hand was placed on his forehead. His eyes were closed but he continued to laugh.
This caught the attention of many of the mice and spiders alike. Unlike the spiders the mice were braver when they had the number advantage. They soon turned their whisker filled faces towards the laughing madman.
The he stopped laughing which seem to have increased the tension in the air. The red aura around him seemed to have grown. Looking up, Akaro countenance was quite dark. Taking out some needles he put them between his fingers. These weren't the generic sewing needles that are quite small. These were shinobi needles that were quite large and was built for piercing flesh to reach to the veins and arteries of enemies as it was usually laced with poison. He had made various throwing weapons out of the extra ores of steel that wasn't used for his chef-hyung's knives while he waited for their handles to dry.
“SHIIII-NEEEE!!!!"
(Die)
All at once the silence was broken and as if a dam broke, the rage within the red head burst out. He threw several needles at groups of mice each piercing them before they disappeared in a grey flash.
This was not the careful movements of a trained ninja but rather a tempest contained in human form. Once he had run out of needles he switched to shuriken.
Ding
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Learned Throwing Mastery (Beginner Lv. 1 0%): Enables the user the ability to throw various projectile weapons using ones hands.
AGI up by 1
DEX up by 1
Fighting Spirit up by 1[/col][/box]
The level difference between the mice and him was large and in his favour. The mice on the main level were ranging between level 5 to level 10. What the real issue was the staggering number count of the mice. Akaro can kill one mouse with no issues. The main issue is when they started swarming but he was not deterred. He knew he was out numbered a thousand to one but again that did not matter to the current Akaro.
“Hyung looks scary...”
Genbu shuddered as he watch his older brother throw shuriken, needles, and kunai at a lot of mice.
“We should help master but...”
“I know Rai-hyung. We don't want to get in the way. How about we gather all the things the mice were dropping.”
“There was something shiny after first mouse die. Let's grab the shiny!”
Genbu and Rai walked casually around picking up the various japtem and gathering them for their master. The shiny object they found was a rare silver ring. They kept that around one of Genbu's legs. The only japtem that dropped around them were mouse tails but they also gathered their masters thrown weapons.
While the two gathered the items their master had just run out of things to throw. His anger was very apparent and he eyed the mice with malice.
The mice were naturally cowardly creatures that tried to avoid their predators but the fear they were feeling from the red headed individual was in a different league. But the mice stayed even if their instincts told them to run. The reason was soon clear as a rat about the size of Rai came out from the basement door.
It squeaked out as if it was giving an order. One of the mice squeaked back and it was then killed by the rat. The rat was acting as if he owned the mice and it had every right to. It was about level 35 while the mice were much lower. He then stared at Akaro as if smirking.
This infuriated the young ninja and he unsheathed Yusuke and Sasuke from his back.
“Kakkate Koi!” (Come and attack!)
As if on queue the mice army started to attack on the rat's orders. They were originally taken by surprise by the flinging of sharp tools from their first skirmish but now that they have regrouped and they attacked as a unit.
Unfortunately for them the skills Akaro used prior were not his main ones. Now that he had his swords the battle was still to his advantage. With one swing of Yusuke he killed five mice in a row. The attack damage he had with his weapons were alarming and no creature would be able to withstand them unless they were a boss class or had enormous amount of health.
Still the battle of attrition waged on. Rai and Genbu watched in awe and fear as their master was literally slaying any mouse who chose to try and attack him. To animals they can understand other animals due to the translation system of the game. Players had to pick up the skills to understand animals manually or if they were lucky enough to get the skill to be able to talk to animals. Not many gamers would bother trying to understand animals as most of them would attack them for experience.
“Do not let that man get close to me at all. If you do not follow this command we will eat your children!”
“Noo my babies! Even if I will do at least 1 damage!”
“He's so strong!”
“FOR THE RAT KING!”
Rai and Genbu continued to watch the onslaught of mice attacking their master. Although he was quite skilled and had powerful weapons. One man can only handle so much. They soon started surrounding him and attacked his blind spots.
“We'll cover your back hyung!”
“You dare hurt master!”
The two pets had now entered the fray. As the mice were a lot more cunning and agile than Rai he was not able to catch them with his Running Headbutt so he had to rely on bite. Genbu was already slow to begin with but thanks to Rai he could spit out clay at the mice who were not yet in Akaro's attack range.
Akaro's wrath continued. Slash after slash as mouse tails seemed to be raining. Mice were jumping at him from the various shelves and he reacted quickly slashing them the moment he felt their presence. This not meant he got all of them as he was not in a calm state of focus. So he could not use sword skills that require a lot of focus like Raijin or Ameterasu. Instead he used Kojin from time to time as it matched the situation a lot better. His movements would accelerate and he would strike seventeen times that would catch multitudes of mice.
'Not enough... more shall suffer this injustice!'
Akaro then spun at quickly slashing at the air. He spun to the right with both his blades pointed at the direction of the movement. He spun about seven times and as he spun he would gradually go lower which ended with Akaro in a crouching position before he flipped the direction of his blades and spun the other way. This created an equilibrium to prevent himself from getting dizzy. He knew this skill would send him a message and he already had his answers ready.
Ding
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have used a new combat skill. What would you like to name the skill?[/col][/box]
“Fuujin!”
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Fuujin
Rank [A] Dual Sword technique
Spinning like a tornado the twin blades are able damage everything in its wake.
Attack power with two weapons (+200% ATK)
Attack speed with two weapons (+200% ATK SPD)
Consumes 1000 mana
20% chance to cause fear
20% chance to cause confusion
20% chance to ignore defense[/col][/box]
The massacre that occurred after the skill was used, instilled immense fear to the surrounding mice that even the rat boss cowered.
Feeling that the they were at a disadvantage with their current numbers, the rat then shrieked even louder and the mice joined in.
“Master we must run!”
“Hyung they are calling more mice!”
Akaro who snapped out from his anger looked at his two pets and started to calm down. His pets health were beginning to lower at dangerous levels and if they get attacked even more they may die. He understood as they were denizens of this world and he would lose them forever if they died, so to prevent that he heeded their advice.
Rai and Genbu was first to head towards to the door. Akaro seeing the mounds they created earlier stopped and grabbed as many of his tools and mice tails as possible before a thundering of steps could be heard.
Behind the trio was a literal wave of mice and rats. Akaro thanked his attentive pets as they must have understood the shrieking earlier. They closed the door behind him and he locked the door.
“Sorry...”
Akaro felt responsible for his pets getting hurt. He slumped down on the door looking a bit depressed.
'If I had kept going I would have lost my companions. I shamed grandfather.'
“Don't apologize hyung! We're sorry that we are so weak.”
“Master don't be sad.”
Rai licked the young man's face.
“No I am at fault. I went into a blind rage and did not understand my surroundings like a proper shinobi. The alcohol also dulled my senses.”
As he was not a drinker but still had the occasional sake with his grandfather even though he was a minor during those times. His grandfather would just say a man needs to understand the dangers of alcohol with experience.
“Hyung... what are we going to do?”
“Master's home taken. Must kill furry mouses.”
Akaro nodded at Rai before replying to his mountain turtle.
“We need to rethink our approach. We lost the first battle against the vile vermin.”
Noticing the glare of the sun reflecting off of Genbu's leg he found that there was a ring on it. Genbu took it off and gave it to Akaro the moment he noticed.
“Look master. First mouse dropped shiny!”
“Identify.”
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Ring of the Mouse Saint
Legend speaks of a mouse who helped a paladin from danger. Due to his benevolence he was allowed to become human. This is the ring that was given to him by the paladin.
Durability: 60/60
Equip:
Health is doubled
Mana regeneration 2 mana/second
Requirements:
Level 50
Faith 100[/col][/box]
Akaro equipped the ring as it doubled his health and increased his mana regen which will come in handy for the next bout with the rodents. The funny thing he noticed was the ring changed in size to fit whatever finger he placed it on. This meant he can equip a total of eight rings as he did not count the thumbs as it would feel strange having a ring there.
“My stats.”
Status WindowNameAkaroAlignmentNeutralRaceHumanLevel16ClassLegendary Myth WeaverTitleGraduated Apprentice of MelchiorReputation575Health2780Mana6460Stamina135 +10Vitality95 + 10Dexterity63 + 10Strength97 +10Agility117 +10Wisdom145 +10Intelligence145 +10Leadership20 +10Luck100 +10Perserverance87 +10Fighting Spirit70 +10Speech750 +100Art150 +20Magic ResistanceFire0% +10%Water0% +10%Earth0% +10%Black0% +10%[p=left]+ All stats are added 10 points
+ All stats are added 10 points
+Speech stat is added extra 90 points
+Art stat is added extra 10 points
+Magic Resistance added 10%
+Enables you to equip certain item specialized equipment for this class
+Enables you to learn spell books bypassing any restrictions
+Enables you to learn one other Class to Grandmaster
+Ancient Blacksmith Master Class
+Weapons wielded have 25% more damage
+Weapons wielded have 25% more durability
+Armour that has been created will have durability set to 1
+Armour that has been created will have defence set to 1
+Reduces level requirement to equip weapons by 100
+Reduces level requirement to equip armour by 50
+Enables user to equip weapons regardless of class restriction
+Enables user to equip weapons regardless of stat restriction
+Enables user to equip armour regardless of class restriction
+Enables user to equip armour regardless of stat restriction
+Enables you to learn one other Class to Master
+Enables you to learn secret skills based on your level of Story Telling
+Increases Fame by stories that are written or spoken that become wide spread
+Decreases the learning of any skills by 75% unless related to class skills
+All other skills can go no further than basic unless related to class skills
+Legendary Story Weaver max skill level is Master
+ Base Health Doubled
+ Mana Regeneration increased by 2 mana/second[/p]
He can easily handle himself in there but keeping his pets safe would be a different issue. He then thought of some of his grandfather's teachings.
***Flashback***
Two Japanese martial artists were in the middle of a valley. Both equipped with two blades. The melodious sounds of metal clashing can be heard.
An old man that showed the epitome of technique and experience while the younger student showed his strength, speed and cunning.
Both seemed to be in a dead lock. As it looked like the battle was going to take on forever the youth tripped over a wire that his grandfather manage to put into the ground during their exchanges. This ultimately made him fall and before he could correct himself he was force to concede as the older man had a blade pointed to his neck.
“Jii-chan! That wasn't a fair duel!”
“Who said I was duelling you. All I said was that we would be fighting until one was forced to concede. You were the only one who thought this was a duel. To me this was a battle.”
“I don't see the difference.”
“You are still young. You've only turned 14 years old. You should be proud that you were able to put up a fight at all. But let me explain it to you with another question.”
Akaro waited epectantly at the question his grandfather was going to ask.
“Are you a samurai?”
“No, I'm a shinobi.”
“Exactly. There is a major difference between the two in this country's history. Samurai were used in battle openly while shinobi were used to end a battle before it even started. Our job was to tip the scales in our lord's favor while the samurai showed the lord's honour and power.”
Understanding a bit of what his grandfather was explaining he had to ask another question.
“So what would the shinobi do when fighting stronger opponents?”
“We could use various methods. Poison imbued weapons, assassination when the samurai slept, and even using their loved ones as leverage.”
“Doe that not make us bad people?”
“No Akaro. I'm teaching you the major difference between the way we fight. We do not fight to be fair but to ultimately be the victor. As the victor gets to go home alive to their loved ones and to their lord that they serve. In modern times us shinobi need to continue honing our major strengths. What is our nindo or ninja path Akaro?”
“Stealth, speed, knowledge, adaptation, and patience.”
“Why stealth?”
“We need to be able to sneak in to steal their secrets, scout, and assassinate targets without being seen to ensure there will be no proof of our existence for the mission.”
“Why speed?”
“We need to move like the wind to catch our opponents off guard or to escape when the mission put's our lives in danger.”
“Why knowledge?”
“For a shinobi to accomplish his mission one must first learn of the target and what surrounds it Proper knowledge can turn the situation to our favour when all options have been taken to account.”
“Why adaptation?”
“To be able to live in any situation and quickly realize our current situation. If we are in the forest we learn to survive. If we are in the city we look to follow the habits and culture of our fellow men to decrease suspicions of our trade. If there is an obstruction to our mission we find ways to deal with it or avoid it.”
“Why patience?”
“One must not rush into any situation without proper preparation as that can lead to death of yourself or your comrades. If the advantage seems too easy to obtain it will usually mean that there is a trap.”
“Good good. Your memory is quite powerful. This is one of your many weapons Akaro. Remember to always think calmly and do not lose focus in front of you enemies. The moment you let your emotions take over you are bound to make mistakes.”
Akaro nodded. He did not feel that he would ever be one to lose to his emotions but he always heeded his grandfather's words.
“Alright Akaro. Remember what I just told you. We ninja will do what it takes to accomplish the mission or goal set before us. There is nothing we do not use to retain the advantage.”
**End Flashback**
His jii-chan was right. Akaro went into the situation without the proper amount of preparation to control the issue. His emotions had strongly influenced his actions in his first battle and caused him and his companions harm. Even though it was a mixture of alcohol and one of his pet peeves, he knew that if he kept going he would never be able to finish them off.
Looking at his two companions before closing his eyes he began to analyze his situation.
'My library has been taken over by the king of rats and the queen of spiders. But it seems the two sides are not friendly. The mice ate baby spiders and the books. Saw some of the mice who tried to invade the stairs leading to the web die by what it looked like bigger spiders. The first target should be the rat king as they were the most hostile. The spiders did not attack me even when they had the perfect opportunity to do so.'
Akaro remembered that there was a sea of white above him and he could see the spiders gather at the move about on the web with ease. They had many opportune moments to attack him in his rage filled assault but they just quietly observed.
'Now the focus of my assassination of the rat king. The mice who are naturally cowardly creatures due to them being so low on the food chain are actually attacking me. That means there is a chain of command and that rat was leading them. I do not know the number of mice and rats but I do know that whenever I killed one, more would soon replace it.'
“Quest window.”
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Special Event quest: Reign of the Rat King and Spider Queen
The library has been taken over by two forces that have waged war and many of the literary works found in the library were caught as collateral damage. You need to remove the forces fighting within.
Difficulty: D
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
Rat King Forces: 1658/2000
Spider Queen Forces: 1785/2000
Requirements:
Rewards will be based on contributions on removing the threats of the library.[/col][/box]
Akaro noticed that the numbers of the two forces gradually changed but thanks to his influence he made a dent to the rat army. Just as he was about to close the window he noticed that the Rat King Forces seem to be growing once more. He watched as the screen window showed that the Rat King Force had reached to 2000 once more.
'Kuso... Mice with their high birthrate due to being targeted by so many predators, were actually growing back to their original numbers...'
“Genbu. Rai. Go to the restaurant for now and wait for me there. I'm going to check on something.”
The two pets went to wait at the restaurant.
Akaro logged off.
***
“What has troubled you grandson?”
“Mice has taken over my library and eaten a lot of my books...”
Myung-Dae looked surprised.
“Here in this new house?!”
“No in the game.”
Myung-Ki shook his head and cleared the misunderstanding.
“That is a travesty. We cannot let that continue on. Do you not have companions to help you?”
“I only have two friends and one is eomma. I can't let her fight my own battle. The other one is a tailor and I do not know if she can fight.”
“Then how about making more companions.”
Myung-Dae suggested.
Dong Sun who was also in the living room with the two decided to make a suggestion as well.
“Did you not say you have pets as well. Why don't you get more pets who can naturally defeat the mice? Like cats, foxes, and snakes.”
Myung-Dae and Myung-Ki looked at him as if he was a genius.
“I can do that. I'll look for the companions first and make my own army of natural predators. The next problem after clearing the library is to repair or replace all the books. Gramps do you know how to repair books?”
“Yes I do. I have a lot of information with the publishers. I can help you with that after.”
“Well the first thing I have to do is clear it. I'll ask you again after. I need to start right away.”
Myung-Ki dashed back downstairs to login again.
“Dong-Sun. Make arrangements for two more of those Royal Road machines. Grandson needs our assistance.”
Myung-Dae would do anything for his grandson and obtaining the capsules would allow him to help him directly in the game.
“As you wish. But why two?”
“How else will you attend to me if you are also not in the game?”
“Forgive me for my lack of thought.”
***
Walking to the restaurant he wanted to pick up his two pets and tell them his battle plan.
“Genbu. Rai. How do you feel about adding more companions?”
“More friends?! Master get more friends!”
“Yes hyung. As long as they know I'm second in command. Is that okay Rai-hyung?”
“I don't care as long as master tells me what to do.”
Akaro shook his head.
“Genbu it will all depend on who we find. We are going to be getting natural predators against the mice so there may be rivals for second in command. I will not decide who is top between any of you. You will have to figure that out and let me know.”
Rai then panted and started wagging his tail.
“Master who are we going to get first?”
“What are mice most afraid of?”
“Cats!”
Rai unexpectedly answered before even Genbu had a chance to ponder about it.
“How will you be if we have cats in our team Rai?”
“Master. I don't mind cats. I know of two that we can get. Both are alley cats.”
“Good boy Rai. Do you remember where they are?”
“I can sniff them out master. I owe one of them as she fed me once.”
“Well, we will follow you to them then.”
Following Akaro's turtle wearing companion, Rai started to sniff through the alley ways trying to locate the two cats he had met before. Thanks to his Scent Detective skill he was able to locate their scent and soon he bolted off towards the scent.
Akaro was able to run closely behind his dog due to his agility stat but if this was real life he wouldn't have been able to follow along so well as four legged animals are usually faster than the biped ones with the exception of a few ground birds he read in some animal kingdom books.
They finally reached an alley where they sold fish on the main street. Rai was about to go up to them but was held by his owner.
“Not yet Rai. We first have to watch what they are doing.”
Akaro watched as the two cats were eyeing the tuna at a fish store. The first cat he spotted was devoid of any other colour but black with the exception of her pale silver eyes. This cat lurked in the shadows who seemed to be biding her time.
The second one who had white unkept fur and various black stripes seem to nod after looking at his sister. He jumped up and grabbed a fish in his mouth and was deliberately trying to get the owner to notice him. The owner came out with a broom and started to chase the white cat who expertly avoided the broom swings.
The black cat then jumped from its hiding spot and started flinging fish towards the alley with her paw. It so happens that this was the same alley that Akaro and company were hiding in.
“Good choice Rai. Now stay back with Genbu. I need to obtained their fish.”
Akaro stealthily grabbed the fish that was just flung into the alley before the two cats noticed. He then went back to where Rai and Genbu was hiding.
The white cat noticed his sister finishing her job dropped his fish and ran towards the alley along with the black cat. Upon entering the alley they noticed their hard work seemed to have disappeared. The could smell the fish and another foreign smell.
They both thought human and followed the scent. They did not have to go far as they spotted the red head and the two other animals. One of which they remembered.
Akaro watched as the black one jumped onto one of the trash bins and just stared at him as if trying to find out his actual purpose.
'She's the smarter one of the two. Unlike the other...'
The cat in question was meowing and hissing. Akaro had a feeling he was being threatened so he used his translation skill to understand him. He had failed about five times before the familiar window came up.
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]You have learned Feline Language: Enables the user to communicate with animals listed under this category.
Level up: Translation (Beginner Lv. 4 78%)
INT up by 1
WIS up by 1
LUCK up by 1
Speech up by 50[/col][/box]
“You evil doer. You stole our fish!”
Genbu was the first one to react acting as if the villain.
“That's right! Hyung has taken your stolen fish and it is now ours.”
“I challenge you human! Don't stop me sister. I will not let him have our hard work. ”
Akaro sighed as he looked at the white cat. His voice sounded youthful and it seemed to think he was the bad guy. Although he just watch the two cats steal from the fish vendor owner.
“Are you scared human?”
Akaro decided to step up as if accepting his duel.
“So you accepted my duel. Prepare to taste the wrath of my tiger claws technique!”
Before he even got to move Akaro went and smacked it on the head.
“Ow. You were suppose to wait! I have to prepare my special move. Then how about this. WHITE TIGER OF THE WATERFALL UPPER...”
Bop.
He was hit once more. The white cat placed his paws on his head with the pain.
“I am a defender of justice. You will feel the pain of my white tigers roar!”
Akaro watch the cat meow extremely loud. He then bopped him on the head again.
Meanwhile with the other three animals. Genbu was eyeing the black cat and Rai was happily panting.
“Nuna! How are you doing?”
“Doing well dongsang. You have found quite a powerful owner. I can sense it.”
“Wow Nuna! You are so smart. I'm called Rai now.”
“Okay Rai. Why did you come here for?”
“Master needs cats to kill mice. Lots of them. They almost killed me.”
The black cats ears perked at the sound of a lot of mice. She was thinking the pros and cons of having an owner. Her freedom would be restricted but it would be nice to have a stable amount of food and affection.
“My poor Rai. This Nuna will definitely help you. But you will obey me if not ordered by the master right?”
Genbu watched as the cat was starting to manipulate her way through the hierarchy. He did not like where this was going.
'This nuna is dangerous.'
“I'm the second in command and Rai-hyung was before me. So obviously you will be number three if Rai-hyung will listen to you.”
“My my. What a smart turtle... Of course I understand that but if Rai is your hyung then you cannot be second in command. Rai would be and because I am his nuna and he conceded to me that would mean I am your nuna too. So it only makes sense that I become second in command right?”
Genbu did not have the intelligence or wisdom to combat the black cat's wit and logic.
“Yeah. Nuna is right. I was before you so I was the older one.”
Rai also made a comment obviously influenced by the black cat. She had just gained the position of second highest in the chain of command amongst the animals.
Coming back to the white cat and Akaro. The one sided battle continued. The cat had indomitable will power as it continued to stand. If this was a cartoon he would have multiple round bumps on his head with all the knocks from Akaro's fist.
“Ow ow ow ow... I give up. You are too powerful. How can you be so strong?”
The white cat was really surprised. Most of the humans he ever had to fight off were shop owners and children who did not have enough battle experience to catch this cat. This was the first player he had ever faced and probably the worst one to face first.
Akaro was technically the king of the noobs as his combat strength for his level was alarmingly high. He saw every move the cat had made earlier in it's fight with the fish vendor owner so he had already knew what the cat planned.
The black cat had jumped in and bowed in her cat form.
“Rai's master. Please forgive my brothers impertinence. I have heard why you were looking for us from my dongsang. We would love to join your group.”
“NUNA! Why do we have to join...”
Smack!
The black cat smacked her younger brother with her paw.
“I'm sorry nuna. I didn't mean to disobey you.”
“Now apologize to the new master.”
The white cat was obstinate at first but then came up with an idea. If their master was strong, he can learn how to be just as strong.
“I'm sorry seonsangnim. Please take me as your disciple!”
Now both the cats were bowing. Akaro verbally issued a contract.
'Disciple... huh. Well I'll make sure he stops yelling out his attacks before he actually uses it.'
“I, Akaro, will take care of both you Kuroneko and Byakko and provide you shelter and food as long as you two obey and protect me your master.”
When calling out their names he made sure to look them straight in the eye so they understood what he would call them.
The two cats did not have names yet as they never had an owner. They had lived in the streets for a while and most animals can communicate without having a naming system like humans had to do. The black cat seemed to like her name and the white cat was quite happy with his.
“That names sounds cool. I accept.”
“It is a lovely name master. I gladly accepted.”
Ding
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Kuroneko has accepted the companion contract.
Byakko has accepted the companion contract.
Level up: Contract (Intermediate 3 7%)
INT up by 1
WIS up by 1
Mana up by 100[/col][/box]
“Kuroneko's stats.”
Status WindowNameKuronekoRaceCatLevel10Health400Mana0Stamina220Loyalty55%Strength40Agility100Vitality30Instinct50Wisdom70Intelligence140Leadership30Luck70Attack50Defence30Combat Skills:ScratchATK +20%
Consumes 10 staminaSilent KillerATK +100%
Stealth +75%,
Consumes 30 Stamina
20% chance to instant killSpecial Abilities:Nocturnal VisionLike most cats she is able to adjust her eyesight depending the amount of light is available.DominateDue to her nature she is able to cause lower intelligent creatures to follow her command using either logic or fear tactics.Soft PawsCats have paws that allow them to silently move while they stalk their prey. Also very soft to touch
“Byakko's stats.”
Status WindowNameByakkoRaceCatLevel9Health640Mana0Stamina300Loyalty80%Strength90Agility60Vitality60Instinct118Wisdom19Intelligence23Leadership0Luck20Attack60Defence40Combat Skills:Legendary Attack of the White Tiger ClawATK +20%
Consumes 10 stamina
Damage received 10% of damage given.Legendary White Tiger Waterfall Cutting UppercutATK +30%
Consumes 30 staminaLegendary Attack of the White Tiger Twin ClawsATK +40%
Consumes 20 staminaLegendary White Tiger's RoarOpposition Defence -20%
Consume 20 stamina
10 minute durationLegendary White Tigers Pounce of a Thousand ScreamsATK +75%
Consumes 50 stamina
10% damage/second on duration of biteSpecial Abilities:Nocturnal VisionLike most cats he is able to adjust his eyesight depending the amount of light is available.Indomitable WillAble to stand even with zero stamina and continue to fight as if he had full stamina for ten minutes. Obtained by constant fighting with other felines and opponents stronger than him.Soft PawsCats have paws that allow them to silently move while they stalk their prey. Also very soft to touch
Akaro had gotten a headache from reading Byakko's skills. The cat had a naming sense as if he was a middle school student or better known as chuunibyou in Japan.
“Byakko...as your sensei... I have to tell you one thing.”
“Yes sensei?”
“Change the names of your attacks or I'll change them for you.”
“BUT SENSEI! How can a hero of justice not have moves to scream out that will instill fear into my enemies.”
“Byakko...”
“Yes sensei? OW!”
Akaro had threw another closed fist on the cats head.
“Don't talk back to your sensei.”
“Yes sensei. How should I change them?”
“Since your namesake is off a legendary beast already, you can just change it to your name. Byakko claw and Byakko Roar. Shorter names will make it easier for me to command you.”
“Yes sensei. I'll rename my skills.”
“Good student.”
Byakko then turned his attention to his senior companions.
“I challenge the both of you for the third leader of the group!”
“Alright white cat.”
“I accept your challenge. Rai-hyung! Let me stand on my own two feet.”
The three boys separated from each other. Each eyeing each other down. Rai originally did not care about his position but he was challenged by a cat so he felt that he needed to fight. Genbu hated that he lost his position as second in command so he was gunning for the next position. Byakko just wanted to fight as he wanted to see who was the strongest.
Akaro sighed as he watched the three prepare to fight. He knew he had already told the animals to decide the hierarchy and after hearing Genbu accept the challenge, he knew the turtle must have lost his position to the black cat who made herself comfortable on his shoulders. She must have used her dominate ability as she had extremely high intelligence for an animal and unfortunately Genbu was just a bit smarter than Rai. He gently pet her cuff and she purred.
Ding
[box border=1 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=3 width=80% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5][col colspan=4 valign=top width=100% bordercolor=#202020 bgcolor=#f5f5f5]Kuroneko's loyalty up to 75%[/col][/box]
'I must have found her favourite spot.'
Taking out one of the fish from his inventory since they had already fallen on the ground it was a bit dirty. Grabbing a knife he skinned the fish and cut a piece off and tasted it. It was quite fresh so the fish vendor must have just gotten the fish today. He cut a piece off for Kuroneko as well.
'I can get use to this.'
Kuroneko and her younger brother grew up in the alley way and had to steal food to survive. Now that she had an owner who actually treated her and was willing to feed her she was quite content. But she was not going to trust him completely as she has met many house cats who left their household as they were mistreated.
Then the two turned their attention to the other animals who were still glaring at each other.
“Just start the fight. I don't have all day.”
Akaro mentioned as them talking was taking him away from his true objective.
“Try to get past this. Rock Form!”
“Byakko Claw!”
The white cat launched himself at the turtle who had retreated to his shell. As the claw collided with the hard shell he broke one of his nails.
“Damn your shell is tough. But you can't attack me if you hide in there! Byakko Uppercut!”
“Rushing Headbutt!”
Rai had launched his head towards the white cat and knocked him away. Due to his speed it was hard for Byakko to dodge him.
“OW!”
Genbu had bit down on Rai's tail that swayed close to him. Byakko taking advantage of the situation decided to attack the dog.
“Byakko Twin Claws!”
His two claws struck Rai on the side. Rai was now losing health and stamina and decided to shake off the turtle who landed with a thunk on the ground.
“Rushing headbutt!”
He rushed towards the turtle at alarming speed and was greeted with a defence boosted shell. This knocked him out and fell over with thud.
Byakko using his paw, he got underneath the turtle and jumped high in the air while extending his one claw. It was as if he performed a move from a certain fighting game which Akaro had played on the super famicom.
After the paw collided with the underbelly of Genbu he was launched into the air and spun. During the spin he came out of the shell and spat out multiple clay shots at the cat.
“I'm blind!”
One of the shots had hit Byakko square in the face and he ran towards a wall and knocked himself out as well.
Once Genbu hit the ground he landed unfortunately on his back which put him in an unfavourable position.
They all were now incapacitated but the final blow was from Genbu and he just couldn't flip himself over.
“Victor Genbu.”
Akaro announced officially as the other two quadrupeds recovered. Akaro cleaned up Byakko's eyes and Kuroneko flipped Genbu over. The three fighters all looked at each other and started to laugh.
“Genbu-hyung won. You are strong for a turtle.”
“His shell is too hard to hit. My head hurts.”
“Haha I'm still the third in command.”
Byakko had fire in his eyes as he was about to say something with immense passion.
“Genbu-hyung has impenetrable defence and Rai-hyung is extremely fast. If both of you and my power and technique combine we will be unstoppable. Do you want to make a brothers oath?”
“Brothers oath?”
Genbu asked as he wasn't sure what the white cat wanted to do.
“Yeah, an oath to train together, fight together, and die together in order to protect sensei!”
“I like that. Let's be sworn brothers!”
“Yes protect master together!”
“So as of today we are all brothers by oath.”
Akaro watched at his three pets and only shook his head. This reminded him about a scene from a historical book he had read.
'It's like they are Zhang Fei, Guan Yu, and Liu Bei... Only stupider.'
He had now increased his battle power with the new addition of the intelligent Kuroneko and the scrappy young cat of justice, Byakko.
“Master we got cats now. Are we going to try again?”
“No Rai. Our team is not yet complete. We will have to go outside to the forest to get our next set of companions.”
“Outside! Are we going to train again master?”
“Yes. We need to work on our team work and one of the companions I'm looking for only comes out at night. So lets head out.”
Akaro then looked at the ebony cat.
“Kuroneko, you will train the three while I search. However you like to train them I leave to you.”
Kuroneko responded with a couple of meows.
“I'll make sure to train the three idiot brothers.”
“Hey!”
The three brothers responded at being insulted.
“Master give our group a name.”
Akaro thought about what he remembered earlier about the three members of an older dynasty.
“I'll call your group of three, dynasty brothers.”
The three were happy with the new title they were given. The party of one shinobi and four animals started to head towards the western gate.
The myth of the Dynasty Brothers will begin from this point on...
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