“We will, Sandro. First, let’s enjoy this meal your sister prepared for us. We’ll talk about the rest once we’re underway.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. Can’t conquer the world on an empty stomach, huh?”
“The world?” I smiled. “Doesn’t even sound half so bad!”
Melina gave us a strange look, almost as if we were kids, and shook her head. I found it half-amusing as well, but it had a good ring to it. She pulled her sleeves back and reached for the porcelain pitcher, poured a drink in my cup, and then did the same for herself and Sandro.
“To us, and this—strange new world,” I said, my teeth on full display.
I couldn’t help but grin thinking about what was to come. I enjoyed punishing bad people to the point I could make it my life’s calling. And if this guy was as bad as I thought he was, then I was in for a treat.
“To us, Viktor,” Melina’s sultry voice resounded in my ears.
Sandro joined her in the kitchen to get the trays with food. I sat there alone for several long minutes, enjoying the silence and the lingering scent of her perfume. It was sweet yet spicy at the same time, just like she was.
“So what do you think of this new world? Quite interesting, isn’t it?”
I had totally forgotten about Scar. Shit. Just went to show I wasn’t bad with just names.
“Yeah, it is, big guy. It sure is. How are you feeling?”
“Feeling? I feel nothing. I’m just a spectator who sees and feels what you do. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“No, it’s not. But is there even a way for you to come out? Or for me to get you a new body?”
I could feel him shrug mentally.
“What do you think?”
I let out a deep sigh and leaned back against the chair next to me. Whatever I said would only make it worse, I was sure of it. How could one feel being stuck in someone else’s body?
“We’ll have to wait and see for now. Maybe things will change once I’m stronger.”
“I won’t keep my hopes up, Viktor, but I decided to go this route. I joined you in death, but I would never have thought I’d regret something as much as this.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Yeah, I know what you mean, trust me. But speaking of trust, do you have any sort of powers that could help me in any way?”
“Nothing special. The only thing I can do, well, the only two things I can do are sensing souls and seeing where the soul is located.”
I frowned. Where the soul was located? What the hell did that mean? “Can you explain the located part?”
“Yeah, I can, but I’ll keep it short since the two are coming back now. The soul is strongest in one part of the body, and it’s there that the soul has burrowed. With humans, it’s the heart from what I’ve seen. Most of them anyway. For some, it’s the lungs or liver.”
“And what? We need to protect those places extra carefully?”
“No, I mean yes. Listen first and ask questions after,” Scar hissed. “The soul is the best target if your opponent is strong. Destroy the soul, you kill the monster.”
“So almost like a weak point?”
“Exactly. Now, heads up. Your lady is here with a generous amount of food.”
Scar disappeared from my mind, leaving me to Melina and Sandro, who followed right after her. He had a pained expression on his face and a new bruise that hadn’t been there.
“Why are you—no, never mind.”
The look on Melina’s face told me everything. He had either said or done something stupid, and she’d hit him with something solid. Served him right. This just went to show how naïve I was. Who knew what was going through his mind? I beat and humiliated him. Would anyone sane let it go just like that?
“Are you up for fish?” Melina asked as she sat back down next to me.
“What happened in there? Is there something I need to know?”
Melina bit her lip and looked away. Sandro didn’t say anything either, at least not for a long time.
“I asked if she was sure of wanting to keep you around.”
“That’s it?”
He nodded, but she still wasn’t meeting my eyes.
“I’m afraid of you. Who knows what kind of person you really are,” Sandro whispered. “You’re strong; you’re brutal and unforgiving.”
“Unforgiving? I let you live!” I snapped. “I can live with you being afraid of me, even hating me, but don’t tell me I’m unforgiving, Sandro. She’d be trying to organize your funeral right now if I hadn’t forgiven you. And by the way, I still haven’t.”
“What happened with the two of you?” Melina asked, her voice weak. “I thought you said that the two of you were associates or friends or whatever.”
“Please, can we eat and forget about this?” Sandro pleaded. “We can talk about it if we survive.”
He was right. It wouldn’t do for her to worry needlessly about things she couldn’t change.
“Can you help me with the fish, hostess? I’m quite clumsy when it comes to picking out the bones.”
Her face lit up and turned into a provocative smile. The look in her eyes told me everything I needed to know.
“Sure, Viktor. I can do that much for a guest.”
Chapter Eight
Ten men. That was all Sandro could muster for our altercation with his boss. It wouldn’t matter, though, as I was most likely more than enough to take care of whatever the gang boss had to offer. Still, this was more important than he knew. It was a test. One of loyalty and how far they would go for him even in this new world full of uncertainty.
They looked tired, and half of them were bruised. I took a minute to inspect them and their weapons. All ten of them were armed with either some sword or another, while two had spears strapped to their backs. Interesting. That begged the question: how good were they in a fight?
“My name is Viktor, and I’m Sandro’s new patron. He explained the situation to you more or less, but let me tell you all one more time before we move out.”
“He’s right,” Sandro added. “Viktor is strong and merciful. We’ll do well under him.”
I stayed quiet for a moment as they nodded and sized me up.
“As Sandro just said, you’ll do well if you’re loyal and do what you’re told. For now, we’ll proceed to kill the previous gang boss. Once we’re done, all of you can take your families with you and come stay at our place. The two side buildings will serve as your new homes, and by staying nearby, you’ll enjoy my protection. After all, no one knows what’s next with this strange new world.”
One of the men raised his hand as if wanting to ask a question. “How strong are you?”
I snorted. Now that was a question I should have expected.
“I can take all of you on without my weapon and without anyone even hitting me once.”
All ten men roared in defiance and anger. How could someone with such a body like mine be even considered their equal? After all, they were larger than me.
I put my hand up to silence them, and they quickly did. They had some sort of deal with Sandro, as he was someone whom they knew and worked for, but I was a clown and nobody to them.
“Who’s the strongest among you?” I asked, looking the group over.
“Kang is,” Sandro replied for the men.
“Kang, come out and face me. You can strike first.”
The man smirked and stepped out of the group. He pulled his right sleeve up and… fell on his back. I leaned over him and stared into his eyes as the group remained deathly silent. He blinked as blood trickled down his nose and into his mouth.
I offered Kang my hand, and he took it without hesitation.
“What was that?” he asked and spat a wad of blood. I could see the underlying grin, but he made sure not to show it openly.
“That was a punch, Kang,” I replied. “Do you want to go for a second round?”
He shook his head in disbelief. “No, boss Viktor. I’m willing to pledge myself since I c
an recognize power when I see it.”
He was right. To my surprise, none of the others even flinched or made a move. These guys served a thug, but they weren’t people gathered from the street. I felt there was much more to them than just their servitude for Sandro.
“All of you have some sort of training, I assume?”
Sandro grinned. “How did you know?”
“Doesn’t matter. What are they?”
Kang coughed and raised his hand slightly as if to get my attention.
“We used to belong to a group of martial artists until we… the head of our group was framed and killed during his trial. We disbanded back then, and Sandro has been giving us odd jobs here and there, so we help him out when he’s in need.”
“I see. What kind of martial arts?”
“Mainly sword and spear. Some hand-to-hand,” Kang replied. “We aren’t the best, but we’re all family and share the same surname. We’re kids from five brothers and sisters.”
“Huh, now that’s interesting,” I replied and checked them out again. They didn’t look really similar, but maybe it was just me. Their skin color was slightly darker than mine or Sandro’s, but not too much. I had no idea what it meant in this world, and I didn’t want to sound stupid, so I didn’t bring it up. “How many of you have families of your own? Just wife and kids, nothing else.”
All ten men put their hands up. Good. That meant I would have more leverage over them, even more so because they were family. This was turning out much better than I thought it would.
“Are we going to do it, boss?” Kang asked.
I nodded but didn’t feel like bringing them with me anymore. Shit, if any of them died, then… bah! I wanted the group to become stronger and then start using them. What would they think of me if I told them all to sit tight, though?
“No, you’re not. I’m going in there alone with Sandro. All of you will go home and get packed. Make sure you have enough clothing and necessities. If you have kids, we’ll provide money for entertainment, but the women will help around the ryokan. Cleaning, cooking, doing chores. You will have guard duties and hunting duties in equal measure.”
“Wait, you don’t want us to go?” Kang asked. “Why not? We’re ready to fight if you promise protection for our families! Especially against that asshole Kihot!”
“And that’s exactly the reason why I can’t have any of you dying, or those who stay behind will blame me for their death, and there won’t be any more loyalty. People change like the wind, Kang.”
His eyes narrowed on mine and he took a step closer.
“You might be strong, boss Viktor, but you don’t know people. If we say you have our loyalty, then you have it. As long as any of us survives, they’ll make sure to… work for you.”
I let out a deep sigh as we stood there. A new wave of kobolds had just appeared, and no one was there to kill them, so I got an idea.
“Get in there and show me what you can do. We’ll stay here for a damn hour, and after every one of you shows me they can defeat a wave of kobolds by themselves, I’ll take you along.”
Kang jumped into action right away as he brandished his spear and charged the small creatures. They were as ugly as ever. Damn warted monsters.
His movements were quick and precise. Every attack counted; his dodges were clean and smart. I was almost jealous when I observed him move in between the creatures and kill them one by one with precise strikes.
“They’re all like that,” Sandro said as he leaned in so just I could hear him, “boss.”
“I… yeah, go on. Kill the rest before I change my mind. Go.”
The group was loud. Their hoots and cheers could be heard echoing down the street. They had spirit. Good, as we would need spirit and everything else we could get our hands on.
“We’re not even that far from Kihot. His main building is some thirty minutes up the main road and then just down the street.”
I nodded and turned to Kang. “If they drop anything, pick it up and tell me.”
He nodded and started going through the corpses. They disappeared quickly, leaving nothing behind. The crystals weren’t dropping as easily as I hoped they would, but it wasn’t meant to be. It made me wonder where the group of youngsters was. Melina would check once every hour, but if they weren’t around, it wouldn’t even make sense to.
We walked down the street and stopped at the intersection that led onto the main street. Smaller groups of people were fighting the kobolds everywhere, not just near the ryokan. The closer we got to the main street, the larger the groups of kobolds. The spot near our place had somewhere around twenty of the little monsters, but this particular one had easily over fifty.
“There’s a lot more over here than back at the park,” I said. “This would make for a better farm if I decided to hit the kobolds for crystals.”
“What was that, boss?” Sandro asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing. I just noticed that the numbers are far larger here than at our place.”
They weren’t even wandering off, no. They remained close to the point where they appeared. Sure, they attacked walls, doors, cars, and whatever they thought was interesting, but they didn’t break into the residential buildings.
“Keep killing them along the way. Maybe we get lucky and get a crystal or two,” Sandro said as he pointed at the large group of monsters.
The ten charged without a second thought and cut into the kobolds. Again nothing. Shit, that wasn’t good. We were over a hundred kobolds in and still hadn’t gotten a single crystal.
The state of the buildings was slightly better the closer we were to the exit, so to speak. There were even streetlights, which I’d seen last night before we rounded into the street, but they didn’t work now. Nothing worked.
Cars burned or were already ruined wherever the little monsters appeared. Even where the ground had opened and formed fissures during the adjustment period. I stopped at the dead center of the main street and looked to my left, where the tower loomed over the city in all its majestic glory. I could see it much better now, even the foot of the tower and not just the part that showed over the rooftops.
Who just knew what the hell that tower was and what would befall those who managed to get in? I shrugged at the thought of even worse monsters swarming the city, but there was no way of knowing.
“Keep killing them,” I said as I turned to the other side. The group spread out among the spawns of monsters and dealt with them quite easily.
To my surprise, many stores and bakeries were open. I had no idea how someone could think about working during such a world-ending scenario, but they did. People milled around and got rid of the kobolds as they appeared, protecting their property.
Two groups of farmers drew my attention as they fought over a spot. One of them was the youngsters I bought the crystals from. The scuffle broke up, and the other group left, leaving the youngsters sitting on the sidewalk.
Two of them pulled several paper bags from within backpacks. I knew there was alcohol in there, as it was what youngsters loved to do. What a waste. It was up to them if they wanted to drink or fight. At least the ten with me didn’t have that problem. They eagerly devoured every single kobold along the way.
We made our way further down the main road and stopped at the intersection, where a large group of people blocked the way down a side street. To me, they were a joke, nothing more than wannabe thugs, but they were still armed, and even a child was able to fight kobolds after… whatever it was that had happened to this place.
They were armed with all kinds of tools and weapons, mostly axes for chopping wood and even a chainsaw. What the hell were they even thinking? How the hell were they going to fight using a damn chainsaw?
“Stop!” one of the men said as he put his hand up, palm out toward me in a stop gesture.
“We got business here,” Sandro snapped as he held his weapon threateningly.
The man looked at the weapon, then at me and the rest. Al
l of us were armed properly, unlike them. His group was a ragtag bunch of unorganized wannabes.
“We got an order not to let anyone pass. I’m sorry,” he said and took a small step back.
“And who ordered you?” I asked. “Some kind of king?”
“King? What the hell are you talking about? There are no kings around here! We got paid by our benefactor!”
“Oh? And you don’t remember seeing me pass through here every damn day? You don’t remember me working for Kihot?”
“Hey, he’s that Sandro guy. I’ve seen him around,” another man said as he walked up to his friend. Both men had short white hair. They were easily in their late forties and didn’t wear much more than jeans, boots, and a T-shirt.
“Yeah, that’s me! Move aside or you’ll have to answer to him!”
“Oh? I don’t think so,” the second man replied. “See, Kihot gave us an order that if you showed up, we’re supposed to beat you to within an inch of your life and then take you to him. Alone.”
I rolled my eyes and put my hand up. It found the nodachi’s handle, and I tightened my grip around it.
“Will you move or not?” I asked, my voice as neutral as my expression.
I wasn’t into killing for no reason, but if they were going to cause us problems, it was only the smart thing to do and strike first. We were losing time, and I hated that.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Sandro whispered from my left. “Killing monsters isn’t the same thing as killing other humans. What if the police and army get involved?”
I frowned and looked over my shoulder. “Do you see any policemen or soldiers around?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t, but there are cameras, and people are recording with their phones.”
“Trust me, alright? I know there isn’t any force anywhere close that could pose a danger to us. At least not in this part of the city.”
He nodded and stayed silent.
“Scar? Can you feel if there are any concentrations of soldiers out here?”
Beginner Quest: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 1) Page 9