The mess at the hotel was unprecedented and disruptive. According to the Kriegshan Police, this was another of their acts of terror within the city. The Schurkische Bogenschütze, or the S.B. for short, was a terrorist group of archers who had former relations with the country’s military, and they went rogue for redacted causes. That was the short gist he got and was told to deal with them in non-lethal methods as possible until they surrendered.
Further evidence was the volley of arrows that struck the wall was sent away to the K.P.D. He kept the ones he took from the bag, hidden in the writing desk’s drawer. Once all of them cleared the scene, the hotel requested extra security from the central government and the K.P.D. The latter accepted while the former hasn’t responded.
A police unit was gathered at the front, facing directly to the street that directs to the hotel. A few horse carriages were present at the scene.
He viewed the front for a little longer before departing to his room. The door won’t be fixed until a couple hours later when the assigned door crafter’s shift begins. Instead, he got a curtain that substituted the door. To be honest, it worked perfectly.
Sitting himself down on the chair, he scooted up to the writer’s desk and took one arrow out, placing it on the table. Finally, that book. Daniel was confronted by the black hardcover, and finding no one in sight, he turned the cover. A story. Flipping more pages.
Oh well, rubbish. Daniel closed the book, putting it in the desk’s other unoccupied drawer to the right.
He picked up the arrow again.
< Do you sense anything off about this piece of arrow? >
<< Uh-uh. But did you think it’s weird they only barged your private space? >>
< Fair point. Sounds like the bacterium has already made its mark. The immune system of this world has already begun its procedures. >
<< You’re gonna relax with those analogies. It’s getting out of hand. >>
Daniel stopped observing the arrowhead, putting it back down on the desk. < You prefer literal than the latter? >
<< Yes, and I’m not good with non-literal activities or conversations. >>
< I thought, you don’t remember your past. >
<< Obviously, but that doesn't mean I know who I am by nature. >> His katana said bluntly.
< Ok…I’ll keep that in mind. I won't take your time too much then. >
--
Stamina: 80%
Clock: 06:10
--
I’m bored, just gonna go to bed with all the lights off. Daniel got up from the chair, shutting off everything, and succumbed to the soft, relaxed pillow. His mind lingered in the dark space with a couple of lackluster thoughts. He again thought of the past day and eventually seized into the morning as the “sun” set on the underground horizon.
19.2
Knock! Bang!
Daniel woke up from the slumber as the noise continued consistently. It was like someone was going with the flow and came with a spike. In this case, it was a loud knock slam. He slid his feet down to the floor and sat on the side of the bed, rubbing his eyes.
After getting washed up, he saw the door had been replaced over the curtain. Grabbing his katana, he opened the door and stepped out. The damage was reversed, leaving no wall damage prior except for the dark shadowy tint on the wooden floor.
--
Clock: 11:50
Stamina: 100%
--
That’s a long nap. Daniel went downstairs after sensing no qi on the upper floor. As he descended the stairs, he eyed left and right only to find no one except the ordinary guests and the same clerks from last night.
“Oh, you awake,” the male clerk announced.
“Have you seen them?” Daniel asked, assuming they knew who he was referring to.
He turned to the lady clerk. She gave a nod as if they were told a secret behind his back. The male clerk leaned up close to the counter.
“Can I ask what the heck happened yesterday?” He whispered, gesturing to him to walk to the other side of the counter where the lady clerk was stationed.
“Is this related to the archers?”
“Yeah.”
Daniel took a moment’s processing. “For how long?”
The lady clerk checked the clock, “It’s been at least three hours since they left the hotel. Not one of them has returned since.”
Interesting. Not even leaving a note behind. Gas started to boil inside of him. While keeping it in control, he asked one more question. “What made you want to tell me if this was a supposed secret?”
“After some thought, we think you are a breath of fresh air.”
“Rare take…what makes you think so?”
“Even though it hasn’t been exactly a full day, your presence alone created the attraction of the people around you. Startling height at first. However, that feeling goes away after a few moments,” the male clerk said. He then pointed around the lobby. “You see, it was not like yesterday was it. Nobody spooked off anymore. Keep that in mind the more you go out around Kriegshan.”
“Thanks, I will,” Daniel expressed with a lower tone.
“Please don’t take this to heart. They had not checked out and taken their luggage, so they should be back soon,” The clerk lady added.
“And one more thing, how long are our rooms booked?”
The lady clerk lifted six fingers, grinning without revealing her white teeth. Daniel asked her if there was any place to earn some quick income. She told her co-worker to get a map which the male clerk swiftly turned around, opened the bottom shelf, and brought out a long rolled wide sheet. He placed it down on the counter and unrolled the sheet, revealing a huge map.
Incredible, so this is what Kriegshan looks like underground. Daniel saw a tiny marker the size of a drop of paint at the bottom corner, indicating the hotel.
“Good thing you asked, there was a paper earlier this morning advertising a brawl fight. The winner takes six hundred silvers, enough to make you well off for some time. The male clerk said.
“Hold on, that’s near the Agora,” Daniel asserted, pointing at the open area which was scaled only to be an inch north away from the tiny marker.
“Ahh, so that’s where you were at…but yeah it’s there.”
Daniel recollects the trip, never seeing an attraction for a fighter’s ground. Both clerks refuted this, stating that the coffee shops most of them have an underground floor where it takes place. It was only recently they started operating again.
“Well,” Daniel paused, feeling his stomach. “I’m still full, so I guess I’ll seek it out then.” He expressed his gratitude to the clerks who were not even interested in talking about this to anyone else. They vowed their lips were sealed shut. By this point, he doesn’t even care if they tell me because his mood is low and would rather spend some time alone. And being in the room or doing nothing before the official tournament opens is no way in hell.
He moves away from the counter and expresses again his gratitude before departing only for them to call him again.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“I forgot to mention, they took your truck too!”
What the hell! Daniel angrily turned back. “Are you serious?!”
“One of the police reported it to us. I'm sorry.”
So, they went into my room??! “Thanks for letting me know.” He replied. “I'll be back.”
He ran out to the edge of the curb where the pavement ends. Viewing out in the open, the police are still on guard, standing in formation with all their attention focused right on the street. To the left directs back to the Agora. The sun in the bright sky was casting over the whole area, making it bright.
--
***Missions menu created***
Missions added (1):
Arrive the Agora’s Main Street Coffee (62 miles)
--
“Alright, let’s roll,” Daniel mumbled, launching himself into the sky.
While hovering in the sky, he saw a few flying, but it was scarce compared to the foot traffic below. Following the direction of the lengthy main street, he focused straight ahead and boosted away.
19.3
Around twenty minutes to get to the area of the Agora was bullshit. Skoltor’s clock counted barely five minutes over a sixty-two-mile trip by air. Which is twelve hundred and forty miles in one hour. So, either they are damn slow or awkward miscalculations because this is a fifteen-minute early drop.
Daniel arrived at the place. Like the clerks told him, it’s just an ordinary coffee shop. Up the stairs, pushing the door inward. “Hello?”
“Hi.” The male cashier responded upon his arrival. “What can I get for you?”
--
Missions completed:
Arrive the Agora’s Main Street Coffee (62 miles)
Missions added (1):
Order a cup.
--
“I’ll have one Café Crème,” Daniel answered, withdrawing three bronze coins. He went to have a seat at one of the empty chairs and table, facing the door. Pulling out one napkin from the container box, he wiped his face from the sandy dust he accumulated from the air.
As he waited for his cup of coffee, he noticed a tiny rack holding sheets of cards which were about the size of two business cards each. Next to it were of course the condiments for the coffee.
He took one out, flipping it to the front. And there it is. The synopsis of the brawl the clerks told him about. It was a few lines worth of information, and the rest filling the front page were formatted with advertisements.
Right at the bottom corner of the card was laminated by a strip of cardstock. Something very common on scratch tickets or some forms of hidden prize bets.
“Here’s your coffee, sir.”
“Thanks,” Daniel expressed, taking a sip of the café crème. Ah, that’s refreshing.
He took the edge of his fingernail on his thumb and rapidly scratched the gray cardstock off the card. Underneath it revealed the three-letter depicted like a code. Outside of the area of the former cardstock was an arrow pointed directly at it, and behind it was a short statement: “Reveal to the nearest register or employee once finished your coffee, thanks.”
Hmm. Daniel sat back on his chair, taking a few minutes of the soothing hot taste from the cup of coffee. It was relatively early noon hence the place was a little vacant amid the large occupancy it can serve at one sitting. Three bronze coins for a cup of café crème were worth the value and compared to other beverages it offered, it was the cheapest of the bunch.
After finishing the last sip, he turned to the register counter, where the male cash register along with a few other employees were doing their business with new orders. A few customers had arrived, occupying a couple of seats behind him. He stood from his chair and walked to the customer line where around five were in front.
While waiting, a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to find a middle-aged man with glasses who seemed to be a regular at this coffee shop. The man wore a tightly wrapped black robe with a silver t-shirt and was about as tall up to Daniel’s half-upper arm.
“New face, you must be new here?” The man asked.
Go with it. “Yes, sir. I am.”
“Name’s Carl.”
“Daniel, nice to meet you.”
Both firmly shook hands.
“Well, an unfortunate visitor of Kriegshan right when the barrages drop, so I’ve been here recently.” I fabricated that one. Well, whatever.
“Oh jeez. That took a dark turn. Anyway, good meeting you. Hope we see each other here next time one day.”
“Sure,” Daniel replied, nodding.
Daniel was next as the short interaction came quickly. He met up with the cash register, giving him the three-letter code. The cash register removed the grin façade, calling one of the employees.
“Hey, Elizabeth! We have one…” He went ahead, opening the counter door that leads into the area behind the counter. A thin, pale lady with a chef skull cap came out from behind the depths of the kitchen. Daniel was directed through the counter door and followed Elizabeth. Once away from the dining area, they went through a turn to a dead end.
A keypad was right at the lady’s side which was to Daniel’s left. She then told him to type the three letters.
Rumble!
The wall slowly pushed itself back in the deep ends before descending to the empty floor. With the door-disguised wall gone, it revealed a cave-like pathway illuminated by some kind of qi-based skill according to the misty roof. Before he entered, the skull cap lady talked with him.
“You’re the one-hundredth person about to enter that brawl match,” Elizabeth stated.
“How long have you guys had this restarted?”
“About a few days.”
Elizabeth pulled out a miniature clamp device like the ones that patients have on their fingers to measure their blood oxygen levels. She lifted his left index finger and put the device over it. After a few seconds, it came back reading “HI” to which Daniel heard Elizabeth's sigh as if she was relieved. “What does this mean?”
“Out of the hundred, only ten which includes you have a high reading on this device…this measures your qi composition that most came through here have minimal or lack of.”
“Let me guess, many fatalities?”
Elizabeth slightly nodded followed by a so-so gesture. “Good guess, but not entirely true. Only half didn’t last after the first round.”
“The other half sounds intriguing,” Daniel muttered. “Anything else I need to know before we exchange our farewells?”
“Please make it out alive. I don’t want to add another tally after hearing reports of another casualty. If you can break the streak, I’ll be grateful.”
More weight on my shoulders. Daniel thought about it seriously. How many times have I gone through this already?
“If I come out alive, expect me to try your delicacy. Deal?”
Elizabeth accepted without hesitation. “Big stakes, one hundred. Deal as it is and the meals are in the house.”
The two exchanged farewell stares, and Elizabeth watched Daniel enter the cave. The wall ascended from below, slowly covering the other side. She swiftly waved back, and he did the same. The wall clanked like a lock in place.
She was a breath of fresh air. Daniel was ready despite the lower probability. The mentioning of him with the other nine was more of a confidence booster to set his hidden ego on the line. Turning behind that led to the entrance, he gave one push before walking through the sharp left turn. Skoltor popped up after the turn:
--
Missions completed:
Arrive the Agora’s Main Street Coffee (62 miles)
Order a cup.
Missions added (1):
Initiate the 100th Underground Rumble.
The Agora’s Main Street Coffee discovered.
Main Street Underground Rumble Arena discovered.
0.0017% -> 0.0019% Raal discovered.
--
Straight ahead was another door. To be specific, a high-secured steel door. Daniel could hear loud chants and howling behind the steel. An ongoing match sounds fun. Hmm. No button and this shit are sealed shut.
He tried knocking on it a few times and nothing in response after he gave a minute. The noise and ongoing hype were still consistent. Leaving no options, he grabbed the lengthy handle with both of his grips.
< Oi, you awake? >
<< Ugh, what happened... Hold on why are we in a cave. >>
Bro’s really sleeping like a luxury. < We are about to have fun in an underground tournament. You interested? >
<< Finally, something can get me to wake up. Sure, I’m all for it. >>
Perfect. Daniel articulated his qi to both of his hands, enabling him to easily take over the weight of the steel door. Rocks cracked around the door frame, and the crying shriek of the steel reacted to his pulling force, surrendering after one more exertion.
Daniel hovered a couple inches above the ground to give him the space and leverage to change his grip, allowing him to hold the steel with only one hand. He descended back to the floor and absconded through the structured hallway wide and tall enough to fit.
Up ahead was another door but with a decent-sized transparent glass panel, allowing him to see through what was happening. To his frustration, this door was also locked. As a result, he backed away from it enough and began exerting his qi around him. He let out a growling rage and proceeded to throw the steel door, shattering the glass panel door.
The impact brought the two all the way deep down, crashing to the arena floor and barely missing the fighters below. Hmm. Daniel sensed company and lifted both of his hands, each grabbing a fist from behind the entryway.
He took the approach very aggressively and clashed the two men’s shoulders together, causing a loud crackling noise that echoed through the entire occupied arena.
Unfortunately for those security men, they were both knocked out by the echoing vibrations. Carelessly, Daniel threw them down too.
Every chant turned silent as they were purely surprised by the unprecedented twist of events from the outlook of the situation. Daniel walked down the stairs each at a time. He was so heavy from the ongoing exertion of qi that every step caused the arena to echo a loud thump.
“So, is this where the fun has been hiding?”