Chapter 20

Duuuddeee…

Panting, the leader of the human squad, faced off alone against Akoth, Ferra, and me. "For filthy Kojin, I'm surprised at your combat experience. But, we humans have far more tricks up our sleeves," he said while tossing a new colored orb to the ground. It burst with light, and then all his people slowly rose back to their feet. Their wounds closed and, in a few cases, regrew entire limbs. Only the one guy without a head stayed dead. The man looked at the one dead soldier and tsk'd. "Guess the Orb of Resurrection has its limits. Good to know."

My Stamina was still topped off due to Berserker, but my Rage Skill was exhausted, and I felt my total combat effective Astra begin to drop. So, I opted for intimidation. "I'm guessing you want us to kill them again?" My voice was gruff due to my werewolf jaw, but the words were clear enough.

"Ha. No. Unfortunately, while I can bring them back and restore their health, I can't restore their Mana or Skill timers. Plus, our buffs are running out. No, you lot bought yourselves your freedom for today. My name is Red Star One, Kromanson of the 7th division. Remember it well, because next time we'll be ready. Now, what are your names."

Interesting, I thought to myself. I should fuck with them. I de-transformed, willed the helmet to shrink down into the suit to reveal my face, and then smiled. "My designation is Wolf of the Special Units divisions known as X1 under the CIA's Special Activities Center for the American Government of the Human world known as Earth, which specializes in counter-terrorism and assassination. My name used to be highly classified, but since I'm no longer in my world, I'll share it with you now. I am Ezekiel Conri, but most call me Zeke."

"Did he say human?" One of Kromanson's soldiers asked.

"What you on about Zeke?" Akoth asked. "I thought you were a Kojin Traveler?"

"Dude, I explained to you my true origins like three times."

"When? Wait, was it during one of your many ramblings I tuned out?"

"Which ramblings did you tune out?"

"All of them."

"Then yes!"

Akoth scoffed. "Whatever."

"Hey!" Kromanson shouted. "What do you mean you're human? What planet is Earth? We have no known planets we occupied before our transfer to the Layers."

"So, you remember your history before the Layers. That is good to know. Do you know of a solar system called Sol? Nine planets, well, eight if you don't count Pluto. The third planet in the solar system supported life."

"I believe you're using a Translation skill, but yes we do know of Sol. That world had a team sent to it that never returned. Hmm… look at me, reminiscing of my old days as a History teacher."

"Wait, how old are you? Wasn't humans one of the first species to arrive on the Second Layer?"

"Yes, we were. I'm quite old, but for a long time was content with teaching and training the next generations. Orbs are a gift of immortality if used correctly. But all that changed when filthy Kojin killed my family. Now, I'm out for blood. But I must question why a human is running with the Kojin?"

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"Circumstance, but that is all I'm willing to say. My Kojin friends are under my protection."

"Then you'll die alongside them. You should've chosen Orbs instead of that ridiculous Beast-type transformation. It may seem strong at first, but Orbs have a far greater growth potential. You will not win next time." Then Kromanson and his entire team suddenly vanished. Not with invisibility, my Skills and Abilities would detect that. They used something akin to teleportation, similar to my Transportation Beacons.

That's good. He thinks I'm using the same Shop System as them, so they will underestimate me even more next time. My understanding of Humans obviously came from the experience of being one, even if we're two different types of Humans with vastly different cultures. Our natures don't change. Plus, if what he said was true, my type of Human came from them originally during some kind of expedition that never returned. That might also be why they conquered many planets and were now transferred into the System of Layers. For what purpose? No one seems to know yet. But maybe one day, Earth people will also join the Layer System. Who knows.

That said, Human nature is to learn, adapt, and overcome. Giving them time to analyze the battle and learn our strengths, weaknesses, and operating styles could be our downfall. Obviously, we'll do the same in return, but they don't know that. They have preconceived ideas of how Kojin hunts.

"Ugh!" Akoth kicked a nearby tree, sending cracks through its incredibly dense bark. "They got away!"

"Let's head back. Get the others and study their battle tactics. Then, we'll invade them."

"What? You want to attack them?"

"Yeah, waiting for them to ambush us again is stupid. I say we bring the fight to them. It would be the least expected action, and they won't be prepared."

"So what? You want to spy, plan a trap, and ambush them in their forest. Stupid. It could take weeks."

"No, we'll attack their city directly," I said, rubbing my hands together with an evil grin.

"Now that is stupid. I'm in," Akoth replied with an evil chuckle.

~~~

"Zeke, now I know you lost your mind," Jaxon said.

"Please. I know you're always down for a little mayhem."

"It would be a good opportunity to test the upgrades to the ship and my guns.

VeLana folded her arms. "I can't believe I'm going to be the voice of reason here. But attacking an entire Human city? Are you guys nuts?"

"It'll be a coordinated strike. We'll do long-range reconnaissance first. Even have Harry hack their systems and sneak in. Then we'll shut down their defenses before we strike. The goal will be to do as much destruction as possible. Then we'll leave a nice statement for Kromason. With luck, he'll get in a lot of trouble for failing to capture us and allowing for a counterattack," I reasoned with her. "Plus, with these Transportation Beacons, we can instantly escape. And you never know, maybe we can help free some of the other races to at least sow a bit of chaos while we're at it."

"I don't know…"

"Honey, it'll be fine. Hold my beer. I got this."

"Hold your own damn beer!"

"No, that's a saying…"

"And I'm saying, get your own beer. Also, get one for me, too."

"Are you sure you don't want wine?"

"No, the wine here tastes awful. We need to introduce this world to real booze. Speaking of which, starting a business here will be more difficult than we imagined. If we wanted a simple store that sold armor and weapons, it isn't a big deal. But any business that competes with this "Private Officer's Club" is not so easy to do."

"Probably since they get their recruits to the guard via membership. I'm assuming we'd have to put on the same kind of restrictions. Do we know what they offer at this club?" I asked.

"Music, expensive drinks, food, and something called narcotics? I don't know what that is."

"Drugs…" I muttered. "If they have that, then they might also offer other unsavory things. "Harry, can you infiltrate this club and find out everything going on?"

"Ugh. Fine. I'll send one of my bodies to do it."

"One of your bodies?"

"Yeah, I made several more, including a fully functional Iron Man suit."

"No way…"

"Way…"

"Duuuddeee…"

"Duuuddeee…"

"What is going on?" VeLana butted in on our bro moment. "You guys sound like idiots."

"Ouch, that's harsh. I should spank you."

"Is that a promise?"

Jaxon and Harry both made puking noises. "Alright, alright. Everyone knows what to do. Study that battle Akoth and I had. Harry, show me everything you've made."