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Volume 4
Chapter 07: A Hectic Day
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When Siva escaped the scene of the town square, he had his mind set to go to the market. But the fear of the effect of the Malevolent Aura made him cower and so when he passed through a shop that sells masks, he saw a gas mask that fills his face and bought it.
It was just a normal gas mask, a head gear accessory that doesn’t do anything unlike his first masks that he bought and modified with the help of old man Janus.
Surprisingly, the mask, aside from being a mask itself, occupied quite a space not only on his inventory but also to his Weight Limits (we). It was genuinely a big lug of weight.
But for now, it will do.
What he needs right now is cover.
Though just to be sure to hide his skin and all other visible parts of his body, he also bought a darker grey cloak that looked more like a shawl, and partnered it with gloves that came as a set.
Now he looked nothing like the elegant looking Siva or the nasty, short-tempered The Destroyer attending a ball. He looked more like a cowboy from the Texas.
As he was more comfortable with a gun than a sword on his back with his current outfit, he set the current one as a default with his second mode.
The two guns were holstered on his legs, secured and fitted as to not impede movements. The black and white colors peeked through a little one at a time, each time he took a step and the grey shawl that extended to his arms ended up as a front cape that covered only until above the knees.
The triangle tip dangled on every pace, the back side is like a square blanket that dances on his every step. And with the hood lowered deeply to cover his red tint ball goggles, all the people he came across to looked at him like some kind of unannounced astral mob.
Note to self: Fix the mask later.
He spent an hour sitting in a bench, catching his breath and allowing the pulse of adrenaline calm down from his beating temples. He was mentally tired with the events that happened in Anazon forest.
As soon as he felt that he was relaxed, he scanned all the items on his inventory and a dark skinned grin had escaped his black smoke lips.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t much visible. The hood that goes down on his face prevented anyone to see the crooked smile that started from the sight of the number of items on his loot inventory.
They were so many that it was a scene. All their locks are lifted, numbering around 800 or so that his eyes bulged in delight. Including the monster materials from who knows what and how many monsters the ‘Ancient Evil’ had slain, his loot inventory window was packed full that he just had to smile.
When he thinks about the money he’d get and the materials he’d have from the rare ones on the list, the smile on his lips and the happiness of his heart dispels all kinds of negative blood on his system.
So he went into the Item Trading Post and registered his name, sold the useless items, and only kept the ones that he knew could be of use.
There were MODs, Rare and Special ones, but aside from their basic abilities like Quick Step that only jams his style rather than improve it, he let them go instead.
Siva kept some weapons and armors and only sold those items that was below than the current standard on his system. He specifically kept ‘the nagitana’ he got from Karim, the «Double Edge», and thought to train himself in its art someday.
He had heard of a «Blader» before, Blade Masters who had mastered at least three bladed weapons on their arsenals but these rumours pointed at NPCs, so he thought to be the first player to do so.
There were of course, Bows in there. A-grade ones that had rare monster materials in them. He thought to keep them as a substitute to when he runs out of ammo on his twin guns.
After he kept the other items on his Private Stash and paid a bill, he looked at his current cash, 160M Zentra, and the 150+ items that he planned to sell in the online auction site.
Satisfied, he closed all open windows, decided that he needed to see Dante as soon as possible.
But as soon as the thought entered his mind, he also realized that he was in the middle of a very difficult situation. Just outside the Item Trading Post, threats to Siva’s safety were all over the place.
Seeing that there were the City Guards, the knights of The Order of The Seven Pillars patrolling the area, he thought twice before revealing himself.
So without further wasted time, he scrammed off and went into the closest path he remembered possible into the direction of Angel Café.
Left, right, up and down, Siva peeked out of the dark alley he hid himself, into the streets filled with roving Guards with giant blades on their back.
Destroyers.
—player slang for Sword Masters who mastered the art and science of using these giant blades.
Sword Masters are a little different than Swordsmen as they master one specific bladed weapon all throughout their careers.
In Terroa, Blade Masters are limited to a very few of the already few numbers of the swordsmen players, yet dominated by countless NPCs from the Gonn and Atlas Races. These NPCs are commonly seen as Knights of certain Knight Orders of Kingdoms and Empires, and they serve as their country’s police force.
Some players online even refer to these NPCs as Integrity Knights as they uphold their country’s laws like a robot, not budging a step out of the law they enforce.
He reviewed the details of the Malevolent Aura and took a deep breath before taking his first step out to the streets. From the shadows of the back alley, he went forth, advancing his foot over the other until his pace is halfway across performing a walkathon.
Because unlike normal Blade Masters, Destroyers are a bunch that uses large-ass blade weapons. One strike of that and he’s out. Especially now that he can’t use magic to control the Dragunov’s function well.
He was not as confident he could escape them even with the use of the «Lightning Step», what more is now that he wasn’t able to use any magic.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
So he passed through the NPC knights and aimed for the other streets as fast as possible only to be stopped by the image of a second wave of patrollers.
That group then stopped by in front of an old citizen and they began to talk about something he couldn’t hear from afar.
But the problem in front of him was bigger than he had expected. Siva recognized the leader of this second wave of patrollers as the Guard Captain when he first visited Walled City of Loire.
If he was not mistaken, the name of that captain was Captain Harris. He was talking to a citizen about something and when the captain turned to his direction, Siva’s body tensed and he felt Mister Deathknight’s arms anchored on his shoulders, saying ‘hello buddy’.
World’s Antagonist
---Every noble in every country will recognize you as a demon and will issue an immediate execution upon the sight of the cursed form.
---Knight Orders and Guardian Forces will immediately issue an execution command upon first sight of the Keeper’s cursed state. (This effect lasts as long as the Malevolent Aura is active)
Siva was pretty sure there was ‘that’ detail concerning the Malevolent Aura.
He wasn’t aware how many time he had gulped or how many times per second his heart was beating. He could feel he was sweating but it might perhaps be just his imagination as there wasn’t a visible sign that he was perspiring in the current condition of his skin.
Captain Harris looked back to the citizen and a finger was pointed at his direction.
His body felt like he was bathing in lava, no, ice, and he had an illusion of Mister Deathknight cheering for his death with a glass of beer.
—You dare enjoy this?!
He thought he was going crazy from the high tension because he realized he’s yelling at no one in his mind.
Captain Harris bade a hand to the citizen and he rushed towards Siva’s direction. Siva’s reflexes acted and he tried to reach for his guns but as soon as he did the first attempt, he noticed Captain Harris’ eyes went pass him.
“Huh?”
Harris’ group rushed by and Siva followed them with his eyes to see a flower stall a few paces behind him.
The captain went to speak with the seller and Siva bid a sigh as he took a trembling first step.
When he reached his fourth, the tension was already halfway out his system but then he heard the Captain’s voice came from behind.
“STOP!”
Footfalls, signs of running, came behind him.
Siva stopped and his shoulders stiffened. He shuddered to the thought of his impending doom. But he instantly decided that he won’t go down without a fight so he pulled out his guns and turned around—
—only to see a running burglar about to hit him.
“STOP HIM!” Yelled Captain Harris frantically.
His fighter reflexes triggered, Siva made a half step left that tripped the runner. But the runner himself was also good on his feet and as soon as he realized he tripped, he jumped but also made sure that he give Siva a kick.
“This jerk!” Siva cursed as he felt the force of the kick.
But the runner didn’t see the hidden guns on his sleeve so as soon as the thief had his back away from him, Siva pointed at his legs and fired.
Gunshots echoed, the runner fell face first. Two shots on his legs and another to his right arm, the runner groaned and Siva fell on his behind. He actually felt the pain of the kick on his stomach.
“That guy kicks pretty hard.” he said as he kneaded his belly.
When the runner was about to stand up, Harris and the Knights of the Seven Pillars (KSP) was already on him and pressed him down as Harris went to pick Siva up.
“Good decision there, Hunter.”
“Sorry I had to shoot him, he kicked me first.”
Siva forgot what he was afraid of but it was too late now that Harris was shaking his hand. Though he was thankful as his voice sounded a little different than the usual primo of a young man.
What he heard that came out of him was a hollow voice layered by the SWAT mask that covered his face.
Thankfully, the Knight Captain didn’t notice his effort to try to hide his real voice under the shell of his mask.
“Ah, you should look up to that kick though,” Harris prompted at his stomach. “This guy’s a Brawler and his attacks really hurt. Look at what he did to my men.”
He and Harris looked at the direction where they came from. Siva saw the flower vendor and two knights in a state of ruin as they clench their bodies as if some sort of deadly attacks hit their warehouse.
“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.” Harris looked disappointed. “I think I need to train them more. Anyways, thanks for the…”
Siva shuddered. Harris was looking straight at his face.
“I… I…” He tried to look for excuse for the mask and his unusual attitude but found nothing until Harris made a smile at him.
“I know you!” he exclaimed happily. And then sweat formed at his face as soon as he said so. “Ah… you’re that guy, Si—Master Siva.” The knight took a step back and weirdly made a courteous front. “I-It’s nice to meet you again.”
Siva wondered how it happened and realized that in his hand was the Blue Card that he planned to use in case he was caught.
Harris was looking at it and Siva’s composure flew off as high as the sky.
A crooked smile escaped his lips. Regrettably, there is a mask to hide it so what happened is just the usual act of arrogance on his behalf.
Siva firmed his puffed his chest and flipped the card on his hand into the Captain’s face.
Even though he had this trump card on his sleeve, he’s still under the influence of the Malevolent Aura and so he needed to have an excuse to say when things get ugly.
“That’s right.” he said calmly, mentally shortening his nose as minimum as possible. “I came to visit Dante again. Sorry that I had to shoot the runner though.”
When the thief entered the conversation, the man’s leg was already healed but he was tied and helped to stand.
“This is not over! Hagrid will get you for this!”
The threat bade a salty taste on Siva’s thoughts and he faced Harris prompting to explain with a slight tilt of his head.
“Unfortunately,” Harris sighed. “he’s just a lackey. The man he spoke of, Hagrid, is the leader of the gang that that guy belonged to. No one knows how he looks but I wouldn’t dare underestimate his capability as all his men, or at least those who we only managed to lock, are all well trained men. You felt how hard they kick, right? You can imagine how strong this Hagrid is.”
Siva also sighed as soon as Harris finished.
“Perhaps, but it is not my problem to ponder.” He said with a nod. “Now excuse me.”
It wasn’t even a request but a command. Siva felt that he already wasted enough time so he did not bother to use formal speeches in exchange for the recognition.
Harris gave way to him and Siva holstered his guns on his legs and moved. Although what he did was glance over to the man with tied arms and what he thought were words directed at Harris was actually meant for him. The man was looking at his direction and he yelled out the words “You’re dead!” before the knight behind him shut him off with a spank to the nape.
When he reached the Angel Café, all the patrons’ eyes turned to him.
Somehow, there was the awkward feeling that he might be in some movie setting where the light of day behind him was somewhat blinding and the sound of wind mix in with the abruptly halted sounds of the music inside.
He doesn’t have a cowboy hat but he did have his hood and hands on the guns on his legs. His posture alone is enough to cause some of the patrons to stand up from their seats.
But if not for a single person there catching Siva’s attention, the hot air wouldn’t have been dispelled.
In the counter, Siva went straight.
The weak hearted patrons gave way while those who’s been antagonized by his flashy entrance, tried to block his path.
Two large men with eye patches was on him. Classic.
They were obviously Mages, though it may only be a front as he might even pass as one as he hid his true fighting style under his flashy cloak.
“You seem strong.” said the right one with the right eye patch. And the other one who had an eye patch on the left eye sneered at him and spat on the ground.
“I hate strong people,” he continued. “Tastes trash.”
Siva looked up. They were that tall.
Gonn and Atlas races, the largest Races in the Terrans.
It was no wonder on that. It was a common knowledge of the player’s height in the game is the mental height of themselves in the real world.
It was part of the calibration of the Neurolink Device before activation of the game that a user will have to touch him/herself on different parts of their bodies so that the inboard GPU of the NL-Device can accurately determine the exact rendering of the player’s body.
After all, if a player uses an avatar that is not on the same bodily constitution as their real selves, it would be difficult to move and perception of height and distance is shattered, becoming huge problems.
Especially the reach of their attacks and defense.
That said, when he was looking up to the two men in front of him, it was no exaggeration to say that they’re really tall men in real life. Almost as tall as the twin doctors he knew.
“I only came here to talk to the owner.”
When Siva said that with his voice impeded by the harsh gargle-like sound because of the mask, the two big men’s expression only became more sour.
The right eye-patch man cracked his neck left and right as he stretched his chest muscle and shoulders, while the left eye patch guy cranked up his hands.
Distance, 4 meters. Siva’s hands was ready to pull the guns on their holsters when he saw more people ready to take a part on the brawl.
It was then that he remembered, and noticed, perhaps, that it was the season of the tournament, and that these guys in here was just looking for a good reason to pull up the curtains of this establishment’s number 1 patron pulling event.
“BAR FIGHT!”
Siva had no time to ponder where that announcement came from but his instincts told him that using weapon is a major taboo.
He grinned behind his mask and clenched his fists.
Before he could land a punch, the right guy’s grinning face was already at him.
A fist landed on his face that almost knocked his soul out of his body. But instead of the pain, he felt the fun of it instead.
The two big lug’s front was just a façade. Their words and threats earlier was just a formal invitation to start the brawl. His flashy arrival was just the catalyst.
He grinned behind his mask and tried to land a punch but he was wrestled and carried like a woman, thrown into another corner of the bar area and landed atop of another man.
Chairs went flying, treys, food, drinks, even the female maids of the bar was also thrown.
Ales and music went high and filled the rowdy area, laughter and cheers echoed here and there.
Kicks and punch, no weapons allowed, the brawl of the Angel Café patrons, an event that happens once a week, and almost everyday during the tournament season, was triggered by the coming of a flashy guy.
But despite the rumble, the noise, the knocked out men, the drunk NPCs, the swirling live music, the women’s laughs and beaten men’s cries, the fun of it was just so awesome that Siva forgot the reason why he actually came there.
He just brandished his fist and kicked whoever was the closest. And it was not until the twin eye patched guys stood victorious in the middle of the bar back to back with him that the chaotic scene was stopped.
Drinks were shared later that afternoon.
And Siva had just found himself enjoying the company of his new found friends, forgetting his goal.
If there’s one thing that he confirmed as of that moment of distraction is that today was a hectic day.