“Perfect. Either of the two is fine. You can fire once every—what? Half a minute? Or a minute? So if you fire, make sure it counts.”
I’d never seen a man showing his whites like Mark at that moment. He was all grin from ear to ear, baring his teeth as if he were about to devour me.
“My sniper rifle is in the back of the car. I can pick it up when we go out.”
“Good. What about the rest?”
“You still have a couple of minutes,” Melina interrupted. “Please don’t let the food go to waste.”
“I won’t, but tell me where Sandro is at.”
“Outside, sitting near the fountain and absorbing some spare crystals.”
“Good, good,” I whispered. “I hope he can stay on the right path, Melina. I’m not sure about his mental state, but I think he can be a good man if he wants to and has someone keeping him from straying too far.”
She snorted and then caught herself as the baby stirred for the third time. “Sorry,” she mouthed.
Sarah just winked and adjusted the baby so she could feed better.
“Tell me about it. I’ll be honest, though. If I’m around and you’re there to keep him in check, I think he’ll be a good asset now that most of his gut is gone.”
I didn’t speak anymore, at least not until I ate a couple more pieces and gulped the pitcher down. I took in a deep breath and let out a sigh, then got up and offered my hand to her.
“Make sure I’ve got somewhere to return to, Melina.”
She nodded and leaned in, pressing her cheek against my shoulder. “And you’d better make sure to return alive and well, or I’ll never forgive you, you hotheaded fool.”
“Boss, are you ready?” Kang asked as he walked in on us.
“Yeah, we’ll be out in a second,” I replied and pushed her off me gently.
“Be safe,” she whispered as I held her gaze.
“You too,” I whispered and leaned in, sliding my lips along her neck and kissing her. I waited for Mark to get up, and he did the same with Sarah before he leaned in and kissed the baby’s forehead.
“You need more time?”
He shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m all good.”
I could feel the tension in the air as both women looked away. It was a brave new world, and we were at the front of the line, battling so they didn’t have to. Keeping that in mind, I walked out and stopped near the fountain, where the men were already lined up.
“Hey, boss,” Sandro said, flashing me a weak smile. “You ready?”
“Sandro, good to see you’ve gotten stronger as well. You’re exactly the man I’ve been waiting for.”
“Oh? What do you want me to do?” he asked cheerfully.
“The most important thing of all. You’re going to protect Melina and the girls.”
“What? I want to go out and earn glory!”
“You’ll get your chance once we’re back. You can go out for as long as you want.”
“I can?”
I nodded. “After confirming they’re easy to deal with, you can go and do whatever you want.”
“And you won’t stop me?”
“Unless you go around killing innocent people, no.”
He stared at me almost defiantly, but then he looked away. “I don’t know why you would even think that way, but no, I don’t plan to do anything that would ruin your reputation.”
“Not that I have one anyway, right?” I joked.
“Well, after taking care of Kihot as you did—I’m not so sure you don’t have one. Even the commissioner didn’t dare touch you.”
“That Oliver guy?”
He nodded. “Yeah, he’s a commissioner.”
“And that’s quite a high rank, right?”
He frowned and stared at me as if I had gone nuts. “He’s the top dog in this part of the city, so yeah, he’s pretty high-ranking when it comes to the police force.”
I scoffed accidentally, not able to hold back.
“Police force? There is no force anymore. I don’t see the police taking care of the monsters. And what he told me regarding the army—sooner or later they’ll be wiped out.”
A chime resounded in my head and was accompanied by a timer.
2:59
2:58
2:57
“What now, boss?” Kang asked as he glanced around nervously.
The others were as nervous, but I wasn’t. No need to be. We would either make it or not. And if we didn’t, I’d be too dead to worry about anything. Someone else could pick up the cause then and… no, what about my revenge? I needed to take this more seriously.
“Mark will get his weapon and take up the high ground. I’ll be at the front along with you, Kang. The rest will keep the entrance to the ryokan safe and join in the battle as needed.”
“That’s it?” Kang asked incredulously.
I frowned, not quite getting what he was getting at. “Are you afraid?”
“Me? Never!” he protested, but then shut up after realizing he’d snapped at me.
“Alright. Show me that spirit outside, then. Scar, come out as well.”
The lightning wolf appeared right next to me, his skin crackling and snapping out at anything that was nearby, including me.
“What the hell is that?” Gary hissed. “Boss?”
“That’s my power, so don’t even think of attacking him. He’d devour you before you could even get the first hit in.”
It was always an amusing sight to see grown men fear for their lives, but this time it was also embarrassing. They were my people, and after breaking through their first meridians this morning, I was expecting more.
“Yeah, but he’s—”
“He’s on our side as long as you don’t provoke him, Gary. That goes for everyone.”
“I sure hope so. He scares the shit out of me,” Kang hissed under his breath.
“Wait until you see him in action.” I laughed.
Another chime rang out in my mind.
0:59
0:58
0:57
“Anyone has any issues with me?” Scar asked, baring his teeth. No one said anything, which was only to be expected.
“Shut it, Scar. Come on, let’s go. Mark, you get your gun. The rest form up in front of the entrance.”
Scar caught up to me and shrank in size once we went through the barrier. It was almost as if it sapped his power, but I could still feel it. The energy output was the same as before he shrank slightly.
“Don’t worry about me.” He snickered. “I can easily kick your ass.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever you say, Scar. Just give me some backup, alright?”
“Kang is mad at you.”
“Oh? He shouldn’t bitch about fighting in that case. My opinion on him hasn’t changed much, but I dislike people who question me.”
“You need some more help at the front?” Gary asked, drawing my attention to the right, where he caught up and stopped.
“You make sure I don’t get caught off guard or attacked by more than one of those things if we manage to find them.”
Mark ran up to me with a big bag in his hands, stopped to show me what was inside, and then rushed over to the kids’ playground. He assembled his gun on the lower platform, then climbed up to the tower’s roof. It wasn’t big, but he had enough room to lie on top with half of his legs dangling over the edges.
A loud buzzing resounded in my ears as I saw the counter go down. Luckily no one was around, but quite a few spectators watched from their balconies and windows. It was almost as if they were waiting to watch an arena fight.
“I guess this is it,” I whispered just as the timer served its purpose.
3
2
1
Chapter Fifteen
An incredibly dense energy wave struck the park and playground. Dirt, gravel, and leaves were blasted in every direction. Even one of the smaller trees had its roots pulled from the ground and was sent flying by the strong
wave. It struck one of the swings and broke the frame before it settled down.
“Shit, that’s some power,” I cursed as all the kobolds disappeared but then reappeared again several seconds later. I could feel the others stir restlessly behind me, and I wasn’t feeling much at ease either.
Out of the two dozen kobolds or so, five of them had slightly purple skin and were larger by about half their size. In their midst, another kobold appeared, but this was a big and nasty thing that towered over us by at least two heads and was grossly overweight.
“Is that a boss or an elite?” Gary asked.
I shook my head, as I had no idea. “Could be either, but I don’t think it’s a boss monster. It isn’t overbearing enough.”
“You’re right,” Scar added. “I feel much stronger sources of Enma scattered around the city. There are two, but none are moving. Everything is standing still.”
“Yeah, now that you mention it,” I murmured. “Why aren’t they moving around?”
The kobolds finally stopped shimmering and solidified, if one could call it that. The big elites—their skin turned darkish red while the purplish ones grew a foot taller. So they were scaling in both height, bulkiness, appearance, and Enma signature.
We got the answer to our question just as I was about to comment on it.
Notification:
BEGINNER’S QUEST CHAIN 1
Rewards for quest completion:
1. Level +2
2. Party skill: 3. Random skill scroll
NOTE: You can create a party with up
to 32 other players.
BEGINNER’S CHAIN QUEST START
CHAIN 2: Kill 2 Elite Kobolds
COMPLETION: 0/2
“Did everyone get the same messages?” I asked hurriedly as the first kobold started to stir.
“Three rewards. Two levels, the party ability, and a random skill scroll,” Gary replied.
“Exactly. Do whatever you have to right away before we start fighting.”
A new timer appeared in my periphery.
0:59
0:58
0:57
I quickly pulled the scroll open and was stunned by a bright light. It disappeared the moment I saw a new notification.
Notification:
SKILL RECEIVED: << SPIKE >>
LEVEL: 1 – 0.0%
DESCRIPTION: Use 40 Enma to add 250% to Enma Attack on a successful hit and inflict Defense Debuff with a 50% chance.
“So this is a skill, huh?” I whispered. “Almost three times the attack when used. Now that’s quite something.”
I opened the status window next to see what the added levels did for me.
Status:
NAME: Viktor
AGE: 31
LEVEL: 3, REALM: 1, RANK: 3
HEALTH: 360
ENMA: 150
SPEED: 1.2
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 75
ENMA ATTACK: 79
DEFENSE: 50
ENMA SHIELD: 260
The difference was quite remarkable, and the thing I noticed was that with each gained level the stats I got were different than with cultivation ranks. The system had it pretty nicely balanced out, but if the only way to gain levels was through quests, I didn’t like it at all. Speed was one thing I wanted much more of. I sat at 1.2 and had noticed the difference slightly, but it was far from where I wanted it to be.
A slight jolt of pain pulled me back to the matter at hand when Scar rubbed his shoulder against my leg.
“Scar!” I hissed. “What the hell?”
“Ten seconds left and you’re still staring into the distance like an idiot.”
“I was checking for changes on my stats.”
“Hey, boss, what about this party thing?” Kang asked as he stepped up to us.
“What about it?”
“I just tried it, and I added Feng and Ang to the party. Their names showed up in small letters right next to the counter.”
“Oh? Any other changes?”
“No, but I’m sure it has something to do with the next phase, especially if those monsters are as tough as we think they are.”
I nodded as understanding dawned on me.
“Everyone back! Mark, you too!” I looked up at the balconies and the windows. “No one had better risk fighting these things until we’re back in a few minutes, alright?”
An elderly couple waved me off, and some others replied with a yes and sure.
Mark jumped off the small tower but left his gun behind. He backtracked quickly as the counter reached 0, and hid behind me. Well, he wasn’t hiding, but he took up a position where I was between him and the kobolds. To me, it was the same.
I sighed and shook stupid thoughts from my mind. Why was I even thinking about such idiocies when there were much more pressing issues at hand?
“Let’s go back—”
I didn’t even manage to finish speaking when the kobolds roared and started to thrash around. One of the big red ones grabbed a small gray kobold and hurled it at me. The thing struck my head, and I staggered back.
Damage Notification:
You have received 20 damage from Elite Kobold.
Twenty points down on my Enma Shield. Shit, that thing sure hit a lot harder than the smaller ones.
I didn’t have to tell them to move again, though. Everyone took a step back and rushed into the dome’s safety, all the while holding their weapons in front of them.
“Can you die?”
“No, but I’ll be gone for a while if I sustain too much damage.”
“Can you get out of there if you think you’re about to get ripped apart?”
“I think so, why?”
“Go cover our retreat, then, you ass!”
Scar rolled his eyes at me and darted right at the group, jumping atop one of the two elite kobolds. I took the time to check the elite out before I ran.
Monster Scan:
NAME: Elite Kobold
RANK: 3, Elite
HEALTH: 600
ENMA: 110
SPEED: 1.1
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 90
ENMA ATTACK: 60
DEFENSE: 50
ENMA SHIELD: 400
I turned my back to them and motioned with my arms to move. It took us only seconds to get back in and gather around the fountain.
Scar entered the domed front yard just after we did, but he didn’t seem any worse for wear. The lightning that usually crackled around him steadily was out of control, so he stayed away from our group.
I looked over all of them, studying the men one by one and checking if anyone was wounded. Everything seemed in order, though I didn’t see why it wouldn’t be. This was just a small adrenaline surge.
“How does it work?” I asked as I stared at Kang.
“I just imagined inviting them to the party, and they said that they got an invitation, just like those other small messages, then they accepted.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it,” he replied with a nod.
I turned to Sandro, who ran up to us after seeing the gathering at the fountain.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, a worried look on his face.
Just then Melina noticed us and ran up as well.
“I’ll try to add you to the party right now, alright? And we’ll all stay together if it’s possible.”
Melina nodded. “Sure, but what do I gotta do? And what’s a party? The thing we got from the quest reward?”
“Yeah, that,” I said as I focused on her. “Accept if you get a notification about joining the party.”
I imagined the process just like Kang described, and suddenly, her name appeared in my periphery, up at the top left corner.
“That’s pretty easy.” I frowned. “Did you feel anything?”
She shook her head slowly. “No, I didn’t.”
“Good. No pain means more reason to go through with it. Anyway, I’ll add all of you, and then we’ll go out again.”
I started with S
andro, Mark, Gary, and Kang, then did the rest.
“What about the rest?” Mark asked. “What about my wife ’n’ kid? And the others?”
“What about them?”
“Well, if there’s any benefit to it, then maybe they can share in it?”
I shrugged. I had no idea if there would be any benefit at all, but I’d do as he suggested. I sure as hell would want Melina included if it did us any good.
“Alright, go get your wives, girlfriends, and kids. I don’t want to walk in on someone taking a shower or something.”
Melina face-palmed. “Really? Couldn’t you have said it more nicely?”
“What? It’s just as I said.”
“Yeah, but you don’t have to sound so stupid saying it!”
The group dispersed quickly and left the two of us standing there arguing.
“Will we have enough room for all? It said thirty-two,” I asked.
“I don’t know. I think there’s thirty or so of us.”
One by one, they returned quickly with their partners, but a better idea struck me.
“Everyone but Melina, Sandro, and Mark leave the group. I’ll redo it quickly. I’ll first offer you an invite, then your wife, and if you’ve got a kid, them as well.”
I started with Sarah and their kid. The name Laney appeared right after Sarah, though it took us a long minute until the kid finally accepted.
“Is something wrong?” Melina asked.
I didn’t see any importance in the matter and nodded. “I… lost my newborn a long time ago. I just remembered it after adding the baby to the party, is all.”
Sandro frowned, and I could see the cogs in his mind whirr. To his luck, he didn’t say anything as he caught the glance in my eye.
“You had a baby?” Mark asked. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
All of them echoed the same thing, and I almost felt overwhelmed right then and there, but I stood my ground and took in a deep breath. It wasn’t the time to think about it right now.
“Yeah, we’ll talk about it tonight if I feel better regarding the matter.”
He nodded and then kissed Sarah and Laney and pushed her gently to go back to what they were doing. One thing bothered me, though. How the hell could a baby accept? Instinctively?
Beginner Quest: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 1) Page 17