Shin put 16 gold coins on the counter and a four armed blue skinned woman with a third eye vertical on her forehead put the bundles of arrows in their place. Obsidian arrowheads, 200 each of bolt tip and barbed. Shin glanced at some of the bows hanging within the fletcher’s store but left without further purchase. He casually looked and inspected the goods of various stores he could make use of but he was on a budget and had two priorities in mind above all.
From a runeforger’s dwarf, 47 coins turned into a red axe and black buckler, the small shield painted to look like steel. He equipped and tested them out. The vermillian axe contained the uncommon tier Keen Chop active skill, the cleaving equivalent to Inari’s slashes, and the Buckler bearing Greater Deflect..
He waved and jabbed his left arm, the small shield on the larger side for a buckler but actually usable unlike the goblin faced shield still in his spatial bag. 36 gold and change left in his inventory and a number of items he wanted to buy but Shin held off for now. What he needed could change depending on the party he formed.
Shin strolled through the town identifying everyone he saw. The quickly growing settlement had become even more impressive on this second day. Packed with greater peasants and more than a few lesser lords, a number of teams and individuals gave off big impressions. He found a lot of Spotters and even a roguish looking lesser lord Scout but none of them gave him the right feeling, or to be more exact, they didn’t feel like anything at all. Shin jogged out of the gate and sped off into the wilderness, deciding to check back in the evening, and in the meantime, return to spirit searching.
---
Basem fled through the rocky mountain woodlands in long strides, each step making more noise than he would like but he hadn’t the mana to spare for that. He bounded over a ledge and darted to cover behind a tree, drawing his bow towards the path he came. Patiently he waited and loosed, just as a face charged into view, sinking an arrow between the man’s eyes before turning to flee again.
“Catch him or I’ll use all of you instead!”
A voice far behind pushed the hesitant pursuers back into a sprint. Basem clicked his teeth. They wouldn’t give up now, not with that bastard’s threat. The boy burst forward and bounded up a tree, aiming back from half cover once more, the color of his body blending into his surroundings.
He loosed a soaring arrow into the head of a lightly armored woman and then a man of similar attire before pulling behind the tree as an arrow tore through its bark where his head had been. An archer on the ground frantically aimed up above waiting for the boy to emerge and an arrow shot from the ground pierced his head just as the others.
With the fast types dead, Basem burst off now thinking of nothing but retreat. Several he could deal with but not the numbers they had. Through the trees he weaved, wasting not a split second of time, glancing back when he could just to make sure he was truly putting distance between them.
The pursuers were falling behind. As long as that leader continued to lead from the rear, he would make a clean escape. As Basem turned his attention to the front, a girl with long black hair and a slight smile stood in the opening that had just been empty. He came to a stop instantly and aimed his short bow at the player Identify made him wary of.
“You with them?!”
“Maybe?”
Shin drew two red daggers and Basem fired. Shin slipped and weaved towards the archer as arrows sailed passed in rapid fire, but as a step landed and an arrow neared his face, he paused for an instant in the slow world of thought and flung his body to the side as shards of buckshot from an exploding second arrow behind shredded the ground where he had stood.
Shin darted around as faster arrows pushed him further away. He jolted to the side once he reached the boundary of the clearing, racing through the trees as cover. Arrows sailed over and around until one sailed right towards where his head would soon be in perfect timing. Shin eyes focused on the masked boy, his path unchanging, as the arrow struck a tree in their path, and another flew straight past it now at Shin’s blindspot through nothing but air.
Shin emerged from behind the tree in the direction he came, and threw a knife that appeared in his hand at an empty space in the area. Basem lurched back and the knife grazed his shoulder and the camouflage skill surrounding him, his expression shocked and vigilant.
A second knife appeared in front of him, trailed by a fluttering talisman. A blinding flash of light filled the clearing and Basem recoiled with his eyes shut. He fired arrow after arrow in front at the footsteps but an impact tackled him to the ground, a foot stood on his drawing arm and the feel of a blade pressed against his neck. His vision soon returned to normal in erratic vision as the shaman lingered over him.
“Join my party.”
Basem stayed silent, guarded and unsure of how to act. Shin tilted his head in wait for an answer. The archer seemed little more than several years older than the twins but his experience in combat and killing was evident. His green hood had been knocked off from the tackle revealing blonde hair and tanned skin, the tight silk mask of an assassin covering the lower half of his face but none of his wariness or contempt.
[Human Archer (rare) - Lesser Lord]
“You’re good.”
“Fuck you, whore! Your dog mother will find your body in a hole!”
Shin didn’t know what set him off but it wasn’t the response he hoped for. As he stood in thought about how to convince the young archer to join, his attention pointed up and he jumped back, drawing a bow to drop an encroaching player. Basem stalled for only a split second before snapping to his feet, sliding a bit behind Shin to his side, bow in hand.
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Shin watched the growing number of pursuers find cover as they lay in wait. Red and steel axes found his hands and he charged, bounding around their flimsy cover and cleaving through them in droves. As he cut down the last, he turned to the man walking casually towards him. A fair skinned eastern face with long black hair tied into a high ponytail by a metal clip, wearing silk and leather of decent make.
“That was a day’s worth of workers. But it doesn’t matter. You will compensate me.” An arrogant smile found his face. “Offerings don’t need to be whole.”
The man vanished from Shin’s sight, the glimpse of a sword swinging towards his legs just barely reaching his vision. A buckler replace his axe and Shin’s mind raced. Too fast to dodge. His arm would barely move the minimum needed to block. Halfway into his leg, maybe more. He could stop a clean cut, that would be enough. An estoc appeared his other hand. A leg for a life.
An arrow snapped the swordsman’s head back, the silvery blue sword slashing air just in front of Shin with the end of his charge. Shin looked back to the crouching archer, camouflage of a slightly higher quality than Shin’s mask coming undone, a second arrow aimed at him.
“Don’t follow me.”
“Okay.”
The archer fled in a flash. Shin felt disappointed watching him go. That last shot was fired before the Lu scion moved, which meant he had anticipated his actions and waited for the opening perfectly. Shin hopped over to the aforementioned dead body to loot, shifting through the mostly unimpressive attire and goods.
He inspected the metal hairpin then stored it without much interest and turned all his focus to the blue sword. An epic tier cobalt jian sword with the active epic tier skill Spellbreak that can cut through and dispel magic. Shin swung it around, finding it wasn’t light enough to wield well, his movements sluggish. 200 Strength he guessed was the ballpark for making full use of his new weapon.
Grenda told him to increase his Control but along with his strength, his agility and perception were sorely lacking against the speed of the Lu bloodline, greater than Shin expected. Combat will have to be his first priority, at least in these early stages. As Shin prepared to take his leave, he stopped, having realized a crucial mistake. He forgot to tell the archer where he was staying.
---
An arrow sunk half way into the ogre’s skull and its attention turned towards the archer with a bellowing roar.
“Hoooh!”
A deep yell imbued with power brought the monster’s focus back to the brown haired squire with a scar across his face in front. He jumped to the side as the small tree in its hand caved in the rock and soil where it struck. A leather draped striker darted around the ogre’s blindside slicing away with a dagger but it scarcely seemed to do much more but enrage the creature further.
As the ogre boorishly looked around and stomped at the pest buzzing beneath it, the squire burst forward and hacked a small chunk out of flesh from its gut, darting back to narrowly avoid the tree swung in response. A second arrow struck its head to no greater effect that the first.
“It’s not working!”
“Aim for the eyes!” The squire yelled back.
The anxious archer took careful aim and loosed, the arrow missing the ogre’s eye by a hair and a half, slicing its skin as it passed. The brute bellowed once more, and thrashed wildly at the closest ones around him. The striker dove out of the way, but the squire could do little but imbue mana into his shield. The tree slammed into him, breaking through his paltry skill and the veil of protection around him as he crashed across the ground.
“John!”
Grass and roots bloomed from the ground, entangling the ogre. The monster ripped and tore the plants away but the moment’s pause was long enough for the striker to steal its focus once more. The squire struggled to sit up as the priest beside enveloped him in a golden healing light.
Brown skin and lush black hair, the priestess watched the battle with a stoic, nearly apathetic expression behind striking golden lotus pupils within royal purple eyes. While she healed the squire, she raised another hand towards the thundering footsteps of a second ogre and grass and roots grasped at its legs until it fell flat on its stomach, buying a few moments time.
“Get that angel out!” The striker yelled in a half panic, as the first ogre’s swings grew steadily closer.
“No!” The squire coughed out. “Hold him! We might need it for something worse later!”
“Not much fucking worse than this!” The striker snapped as he dodged another life ending swing.
Kamala held out her hand, and the plants beneath the ogre exploded in growth, binding and wreathing around it. The ogre wrestled against it, tearing the plants apart and pulling them out by the root but more and more followed, overwhelming it, forcing it still.
“Jalil!” The squire shouted and the archer acted in realization, loosing an arrow square into its eye.
“Yes!”
The archer’s elation was cut short by the roar of the still very much alive ogre and the looming steps of the second. Kamala glanced at the situation for a moment then focused on the constraining plants as they started to burrow into the open wounds of the ogre to shrieking roars. The ogre flailed and struggled madly against the plants, ripping and snapping them apart with desperate strength.
With a final burst of might, the ogre broke free of its grassy cage, and a swift arrow pierced deep into the back of its skull through its good eye. It stumbled for a moment before crashing to the ground dead. A second arrow felled the other ogre just as easily. The party turned behind them as a long haired boy jumped out in front.
[Human Healer (rare) - Greater Peasant]
“Join my party.” Shin casually offered the lotus eyed woman, ignoring everyone else. “You’re wasted on them.”
“Fuck you…” The squire rose to his feet fully and the other two gathered together, the striker just as furious as the squire.
Shin maintained his focus solely on the sole rare of the group. “You want more, right?”
“Listen here-!”
Shin chopped the squire in the back of his neck with a palm before any of them saw him move. His body blitzed again, tapping the archer on the chin and punching the striker in solar plexus, all three collapsing to the ground unconscious. Shin turned to the priest, plants creeping around her as a layer of protection and an angelic warrior appeared in front. A winged angel in heavy armor and a full helm that covered its head save for two lines small holes, a greatsword in hand
[Malakh (rare) - Greater Peasant]
Shin waited calmly for an answer but the stoic woman didn’t say a word.
“No?”
A long pause held the air before she spoke. “Why?”
“I think I’ll like you.” Shin said bluntly and casually.
“Please leave.” Her words came far more quickly this time, just as emotionless as before.
Shin tilted his head in thought. “I’m staying at the town over there, by the four spires. Look for the inscription store.” The squire started to rise, still groggy. Shin glanced over then vanished in a blur.
The striker woke with a spluttering cough. “What the fuck… Hey, Jalil.” He walked over and shook the archer awake for a couple light slaps.
“What happened?” The squire asks Kamala, holding his aching head.
“He left.”
“Good.” The striker didn’t mince words. “What do we do now?”
“Ogres are too much… Let’s go back to the town.” The archer suggested with some urging.
“It’s too risky out here for us now.” The striker agreed, directed at the squire.
“...let’s go.”
The striker led the way with the squire and archer at the rear. They moved at Kamala’s pace, towards the town Shin had just pointed to. None noticed the scowl across the squire’s face as he side eyed their priest. Disoriented he was as he awoke but he managed to catch some parts of the stranger’s last words, and Kamala showed no sign of mentioning they resided in the same town. His scowl deepened.
Shin meanwhile raced through the highlands and back into the forest, somewhat dejected. His search for party members was going poorly and he didn’t know why.