by L. M. Kerr
"And this is Officer Cain, my Defensive Team Leader!" Shigun motioned to the man on his right.
A brown-skinned man with long brown hair and a muscular body, with arms that were covered in black tribal tattoos. His brown eyes gleamed with intelligence as he nodded at Micheal, also in a friendly manner.
Cain also stepped forward and extended a hand.
Micheal shook the man's hand, giving him a friendly smile in return.
Internally, he was restraining himself from drawing his sword and leaping forward, lopping the man's head off.
'This is… Bloody Iron Arm Cain?!' He recognized the man from the original timeline, not allowing a hint of emotion to appear on his face despite the shocking realization,
'He was one of the Black Flag Pirates B Rankers… I personally saw him around 4 months in, back in my original timeline…' The memory had been another one fraught with peril as an expedition he was tagging along with was attacked by the Black Flag Pirates.
Bloody Iron Arm Cain was renowned as a killer that executed the targets he picked without mercy, in Micheal's first time. He got his nickname for his brutal attack style, using his powerful Steel Body Type to obliterate his opponents with his bare fists, covering his arms in blood.
'What is he doing as one of the Officers of the Godfather Organization?!' As this thought raced through Micheal's mind, Head Shigun stepped forward, sticking out his own hand.
Micheal grasped it, shaking the man's hand firmly as he forcibly controlled his emotions. He gave off an image of supreme confidence, not missing a step.
"Now… tell me what exactly it is you are here to tell me." The Head smiled, his eyes unblinking as he stared at Micheal. The air around the Head seemed to shiver as he spoke, as if he was capable of exploding with power at the drop of a pin.
Micheal stared back and then glanced at Cain, his mind racing ahead of him as he tried to think up a new response, adapting his plan on the spot.
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Chapter 61: Proposition
Micheal blinked, his thoughts racing.
'Cain is definitely going to become an Executive of the Black Flag Pirates in the future. His presence here can mean one of two things…' His mind processed all of this in an instant, continuing,
'He either escapes the brutal battle that takes place with the Godfather Organization, somehow surviving, and goes on to join them after the Organization in this Cluster collapses or…' His eyes flashed,
'Or he betrayed the Godfather Organization in the first place, helping contribute to their downfall and winning himself a position in the Black Flag Pirates.' The first option was possible but unlikely. The second option, however, was not only possible but probable.
'If it's like that, everything makes sense. The Godfather Organization gets wiped out because their own Defensive Team Leader betrays them. No wonder they lost so badly.'
'However… that means that I've just exposed Sophia and myself to the Black Flag Pirates. Cain has likely already betrayed the Godfather Organization and is colluding with the enemy. Damn.'
All of these thoughts raced through his mind in a split second. Micheal didn't let even a hint of nervousness or frustration show as he smiled calmly back at Head Shigun.
"I'm here for two reasons, Head Shigun. The first is to give you an offering to show my sincerity." As he was about to continue, he was interrupted.
Bloody Iron Arm Cain's voice was pointed as he interjected,
"My men reported that you know something that can enhance the power of every man in the Cluster. Is that true?"
Micheal glanced at him, his eyes flicking between the Head and Cain. Shigun simply smiled, his arms crossed as he waited expectantly.
"Yes. It's a way to increase the Physique of every human." Micheal spoke aloud openly, hiding nothing.
"It's the formula for a unique concoction called Dragon Building Liquid."
A few moments passed as Micheal explained the effects of Dragon Building Liquid. He gave them a detailed explanation of the slow acting Dragon Building Liquid, the one that cost more. The fast acting one would be dangerous to use for those that didn't have a fine level of control over their Ki, especially here on the First Layer.
"It can change your Physique? A hidden stat that represents the talent a being is born with?" Cain led the questions as he quizzed Micheal on the effects. His voice was laced with disbelief, something Micheal couldn't entirely fault him for. Very few people on the First Layer would've heard about Physiques, the number of Abilities that would change that were quite small.
"Yes. It will make cultivating your Ki noticeably easier. Abilities will come more naturally and it will become easier to increase your stats." Even one's Soul stat, a stat that was notoriously hard to increase in the First Layer, could be made easier to increase with a stronger Physique.
Micheal had a few ideas on how he could increase his Soul stat on the First Layer.
One of them was to try training himself with his Life Orbs. When he extended them with a great deal of focus, they would strain his soul. It was possible that repeated usage of the Orbs could toughen his soul up and, by doing so, increase his Soul stat. The soul of a being and the Soul stat were linked up. The Soul stat was essentially a representation of how powerful a being's soul was.
'I can't risk injuring my soul now, not before the Black Flag Pirates attack.' He'd put that plan on hold for now, focusing on the present. He shook the stray thoughts from his mind.
"In fact, I myself have already gained a 1 Star Physique." Micheal held out his right hand towards Boss Shigun, flexing slightly.
The Head looked at it for a moment before taking it.
"Hup!" Micheal shook his hand, squeezing with all his might. He pulled on every muscle he possibly could to do so, contributing an inordinate amount of strength. The Ki in his body shook slightly as he drew upon it.
"Oh my." Shigun nodded as he felt this, his eyes glowing. Shigun was an A Ranker, and his strength placed him far above Micheal's current power. However, he had adept senses and was able to finely detect that Micheal was only using his Ki and the raw power of his body, without any other boosting Abilities.
"Quite impressive, young warrior." Shigun let go, smiling. Michael took his hand back, smiling back.
"If all of this is true, and it seems like it is, then this is something that will change not only the entire Cluster, but perhaps the entire world!" Boss Shigun's voice was full of excitement as he heard this, his eyes ecstatic.
'He really is one of the good ones.' People that truly cared for others were not that easy to find in the Layers. As Micheal saw this, he internally made a promise to do his best to save Shigun.
"Cough, cough, wheeze!" In his excitement, Shigun took a long drag from his cigar and fell into a spew of coughing once more, apparently forgetting he was inept at smoking.
Michael coughed as he hid a snort, wiping a smile from his face.
"That is indeed information that stands up to what you claimed. I will have my men test it immediately. If it is tru-" Boss Shigun stopped talking as he saw Micheal hold up a hand, the powerful Head frowning slightly.
"That's not all the information I came to share." Micheal's eyes were cool as he continued,
"That tidbit was just to get your attention and prove I am worthy of trust. You can have your men check it over as proof that I'm not here to mislead you. It should only take a couple of days to see clear effects." He nodded his head.
The frown vanished from Boss Shigun's face as he looked at Micheal, considering. The two Team Leaders on either side of the Boss stared at Micheal intently as well, listening to his every word. Micheal had to restrain himself, again, from directly attack Bloody Iron Arm Cain.
"What do you want for all of this?" The Head of the Stardust Cluster Branch of the Godfather Organization was well aware that there was no free lunch in this world.
Micheal smiled,
"It's nothing complicated. I'm looking for her little sister, and I wish to become a close ally to
your organization." He was open and honest. Those two were technically things he was looking for.
'Sophia never found her little sister, even when she became S Rank in the original timeline. 111,000,000 people came before us, her sister in the First Wave. There is no realistic chance that her little sister is in this Cluster, and likely not even in this Layer, so there should be no risk in asking about her, even with Cain here.' His thought process was rather simple.
"Oh? A sister?" Shigun turned his attention to Sophia, giving her a polite nod.
"You are Sophia, yes? You're looking for your little sister?"
Sophia nodded back, her expression demure,
"Yes to both. Anna Morgan, my little sister, came with the First Wave, years ago, and I've been worried sick about her ever since."
A few moments passed as Sophia described her sister. Shigun called one of his guards into the room, making them write down the description Sophia offered.
"If all you have given me is true, I will do my best to see if we can find your sister." Shigun gave Sophia a strong, reassuring nod. He looked down at his cigar for a moment, as if considering trying to take a drag from it before giving up, turning his attention back to Micheal.
"But if it's only this much, becoming a close ally of the Godfather Organization is still a bit much." If the Godfather Organization declared someone a close ally, that word was like stone. They would defend their close allies as they would their own, offering them safety and sanctuary.
"I'm aware." Micheal smiled again,
"I said I had two things to tell you, right?"
Shigun nodded his head slowly.
"The second fact I have is one I'll need to prove to you in person. It's a way to gain a vast amount of Points in a short amount of time, a method that can be repeated over and over." Micheal's voice was passionate and engaged as he spoke, giving him an air of authenticity.
"How many Points are we talking, here?" The Offensive Team Leader, Officer Martin, known to many as Martin the Hammer, spoke up, his voice wavering with curiosity.
"Tens of thousands." Micheal replied, his smile everpresent.
You could hear a pin drop in the silence that came after Micheal's announcement. All three of the men looked at him, a mixture of excitement, disbelief, and expectation filling their eyes.
"And what's more… Like I said, I can prove it to you."
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Chapter 62: The Final Day
"Well, that went as well as it could." Micheal waved at Sophia as they were escorted to the entrance of the Godfather Organizations HQ. Several armed guards were currently walking them up the stairs.
After vaguely explaining a few parts of the method to track and kill Golden Morenkai, without giving anything away, Micheal had finished talking with Head Shigun. They had both mutually agreed to meet back up in a couple of days, after Shigun had had time to test and verify the Dragon Building Liquid concoction.
He'd thought about trying to get a private meeting with the Boss, without Cain in the room, but concluded it wouldn't be possible. While they were impressed with his strength, they certainly didn't trust him yet. He was also too crunched for time to sit around and wait for them to trust him.
Thankfully, it didn't matter what Cain heard about the Golden Morenkai or Dragon Building Liquid methods. The Black Flag Pirates weren't going to stop their attack, even if they learned about everything he had to share. If anything, this would make their attack more certain and predictable as they tried to silence the Godfather Organization before this information got out.
The methods were all information he planned on making fully public in the near future, to better all of humanity. Even if the Black Flag Pirates leaked it, it wouldn't matter, nor would it interfere in his own strength growth. Sophia's method of tracking Golden Morenkai was far superior to any other methods he could think of, after all.
"It did go well… why didn't you warn them about-" Sophia cut herself off as Micheal shook his head.
"We are meeting back here in two days to take Boss Shigun and the Officers on a small expedition to prove the method we discussed. We will need to get a few ingredients to prepare for that. On such short notice, we'll probably have to trade with some of the other groups." Micheal purposefully spoke in a clear voice. He didn't make it obvious that he was talking a bit loud, but he also didn't make it look like he was worried about anyone overhearing.
Sophia blinked at him in confusion for a split second before she caught on.
"Right. We can't hesitate to prepare as much as possible! It's important we make a good impression." Micheal gave her a small smile.
As they rounded the top of the stairs and the guards pulled slightly out of sight, he turned and casually pointed at his ears. He made the movement subtle, yawning as he did so. She didn't make any overt reply, but narrowed her eyes ever so slightly.
They walked out into the evening-lit sky. The sun was slowly starting to set, signing the end of the day.
"Jarrod will escort you out of the territory." One of the guards spoke up, motioning to one of the other guards. They all wore white shirts and black slacks, looking professional.
"Right this way, after me." Jarrod had short brown hair and was slightly overweight, an AK-47 strapped to his back.
"No problem! We'll get out of your hair, no worries!" Micheal gave them a reassuring smile and set about following Jarrod as the man led them away. Sophia quickly fell in behind.
As they followed, Micheal narrowed his eyes and then nodded. He fell back ever so slightly, till he was right next to Sophia.
He then whispered quietly,
"We're being tailed." He motioned for her to act naturally, walking with him behind the guard.
"What? Why? That went so well!" Sophia replied, restraining her desire to look around as she hurriedly whispered back.
Micheal shook his head,
"Later. Follow my lead for now. We need to get to a skyscraper outside their territory." His heartbeat accelerated slightly as they moved, knowing that every minute they waited was another minute an ambush could be sent their way.
The sixth sense he had that let him know when someone relatively nearby was eyeing him with bad intent was flickering. While the feeling wasn't the most reliable, especially against experts, here on the First Layer it was more than enough.
A few minutes passed as they moved from bridge to bridge, crossing through the Godfather Organizations territory. The guard from the HQ led them on a meandering path, one that was similar to the way they came. Finally, they made it to the last skyscraper on the edge of the Godfather Organization's land.
"Keep it real, Larry!" They had, coincidentally, taken almost the same path they had arrived on before, even meeting the same two guards that had originally greeted them. Micheal acted natural and kept a friendly demeanor up as he waved at the two original guards they had first met, as well as Jarrod.
"Yes, sir!" Larry waved back, motioning them through.
'Everything seems perfectly normal. Let's keep it that way…' Micheal's eyes flashed.
They crossed over with no issues. The feeling of being tracked, however, never left Micheal, constantly sticking to him.
"Come on." He broke out into a jog as he and Sophia left the area, moving over two more skyscrapers.
At that point, Micheal dragged Sophia forward and practically dove into the shed atop its roof. They immediately raced down more than a dozen levels, in a mad sprint.
"How many are there? Are we going to be attacked?" Sophia, to her credit, kept herself from panicking as she followed Micheal's hurried run.
"None if we can have it my way, and we won't give them a chance to attack." Micheal's voice was cool as they stopped descending, ending up on the 15th floor, his chest only slightly heaving from exertion thanks to his enhanced stats.
Micheal led the way to an open lounge, not encountering anyone or anything. He immediately threw open the door that led to the outside, quickly scanning his surroundings.
>
By now, they were well into the fading evening, with night fast approaching.
Micheal called out his two Life Orbs, smiling as he mentally ordered them to step next to his feet. He then turned towards Sophia, holding out his arms.
"Up you go. Now that we're this far, they won't be able to catch up." He couldn't resist a smile, relief filling him. The speed at which his Life Orbs moved, plus the unexpected nature of him flying away, made it extremely unlikely any scout would be able to follow them.
He wasn't worried that he would get harmed, but if an ambush dragged out and anyone got near Sophia…
Sophia rolled her eyes,
"I'll ride your back." She stepped forward, waving for him to turn around.
He shrugged, smirking slightly,
"Oh, well, if you insist. A little forward for me but I won't-"
"Ow!" He ducked under a smack as Sophia blushed.
"Alright, alright!" He laughed quietly,
"Let's escape now before they search the building. I'll explain everything while we fly away!"
.. .. .. .. .. ..
"Lord Brandon! We've received word of the Irregulars that attacked you."
In a brightly lit lounge, a one-armed man sat, a large axe slung across his back as he looked down at a set of papers. A set of glasses could be seen on his face as he squinted, reading over several lines.
A dark mood hovered around this man, a fierce frown on his face.
"Lord Brandon! Sir!" The muscular figure of the Pirate Lord Brandon looked up from reading over the paper, blinking as he lost focus,
"What?" His voice was laced with irritation.
"Sir, one of our men in the Godfather Organization has found the Irregulars that attacked you!" Standing at the entrance to the lounge was a man dressed in a black shirt and grey pants, one of the lower level scouts in the Black Flag Pirates.
"Oh? Where did-, you said attackers? Not attacker?" Brandon frowned,
"Yes, sir! Both Sophia and Micheal, the two Irregulars, were spotted!" The scout promptly replied.
"Huh? That's… that's not possible. What? Are you certain?" Brandon's eyes widened in shock.