“Big Brother Woofy, this lookout tower is amazing!” Cheetara cheered. “We can keep an eye on the village and Father’s town too.”
Wolverine stopped staring in the direction of the village in which his master’s newest initiates sped off with their rolly-rollies. Thankfully the rain was long gone, reducing any chance of the kitten accidentally injuring herself. The sunlight wolf cub wouldn’t be able to face his best buddy if something happened to her. But of course, he also knew the kitten could take care of herself. He made sure of it, training the feline as an elite.
Still, he couldn’t help but worry. Best Buddy looked quite upset when he hurried off suddenly with Mistress Milia. Afterward, the apprentices emerged toward the end of the rainstorm and Soul Brother informed them of the situation. Like dutiful humans Wolverine knew them to be, they took control of the shop. Soul Brother stuck around to look out for them as he attended the tiny farm.
Wolverine glanced at the guard tower or special lookout tower. Best Buddy said it had to be at least fifty or sixty feet tall, but the sunlight wolf cub wasn’t sure. Infusing just a touch of sun and light mana into his body, he lurched forward, running up the side of it, leaping and then landing at the kitten’s side.
Glancing around, he took note of the stone, wood, and iron design.
“Father’s going to change this place soon,” Cheetara said. “I can feel it. Look, we can access the shed by touching this thing.” The excited kitten patted a small wooden pedestal in the center of the mostly empty lookout. There was enough room up here to fit at least Best Buddy, the other spirit beasts, the apprentices, Mistress Milia, and even some of the new initiates from the hero’s party.
“I like it up here,” Wolverine admitted. “It makes guarding the town easier.”
He placed a paw on the pedestal, and it was as Cheetara said. An image appeared in his mind, something like that of the cold red box thing Best Buddy obsessed over in the lab. All items were sorted and organized. One could select and presumably the item would appear.
Being the curious kitten, Cheetara selected an option before Wolverine could warn her not to do so until Best Buddy approved. One of Mandi’s failed prototypes appeared, a spherical ball of some sort.
Wolverine sniffed it.
“Disciple Cheetara Cutie… maybe we shouldn’t mess with anything from the shed until Best Buddy says so,” Wolverine said, though he continued to sniff at the ball. “Maybe we should hide some snacks in there.”
“Now you’re talking, Big Brother,” Cheetara said. “We could turn this into a tower of defense! Okay maybe a play tower, but defense too.”
Wolverine couldn’t stop his tail from wagging. As much as he wanted to deem this as immature and unbecoming of them, he failed to stop the excitement. That made the sunlight wolf cub accidentally select a previous hidden option.
[Communication to tower owner established. Tower owner will now receive notifications from the tower when events occur, or events you manually transmit to him. Upgrade for further long-range abilities, such as transferring items from the shed to the owner.]
“Father, I miss you!” Cheetara said to the pedestal. She turned to Wolverine. “Do you think he heard?”
Wolverine glanced at the device. “I’m not sure, honestly. What’s happening?”
Cheetara tilted her head. “Big Brother Woofy, I can see it now. If we can figure out this thingy, we’ll push our power to maximum! I think.”
Wolverine laughed. “Perhaps.”
He glanced at the tasties. Today would be the day! Best Buddy had butchered a couple and was currently doing something he called dry brining. Whatever that meant.
Weirdly enough, he made sure they didn’t have any mana. The elicrones were able to convey the go ahead to them. The rooster inside dared not to interfere. That or didn’t care.
As Milia, Anzu, Yani, and I rounded the corner, we came across a scene of chaos. Apparently the people didn’t appreciate their city leader getting strung up on a pole like a crucifixion. My plan had no room for fighting, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it became somewhat inevitable.
My mind flashed back to Cheetara mixing the potion, infusing it with mana with an efficiency so precise that, even now, I was still playing the experience back in my head, learning from it. I almost wanted to argue with the system about the kitten’s contribution points.
“So let me get this straight. They took Gwendolyn, but left Anzu laying there?” I asked, eyebrows raised. She didn’t appear to be violated, thankfully.
“They were in a hurry,” Yani, the snaky-eyed girl said. Elsa had stayed back with her siblings, waiting for my signal or the Cheat Force’s appearance. “Also, Princess Ling was with them. She told the guards to ignore the body. I think there was some kind of disagreement, perhaps some fallout between the princess and her father. She… easily defeated everyone, so… I was too afraid to speak. They simply took Mother and left while ignoring us. To think even now, she’s still unconscious.”
Glancing at the robed woman poorly attached to the pole, I seriously hoped they weren’t about to burn her like the idiots of the ancient witch hunt.
I pulled out one of my newest items, now attached to a necklace and tucked it into my shirt. I couldn’t allow for it to become an identifying feature of me. Unfortunately for the knuckles, if anyone noticed them and kept it to memory, they’d have a higher chance of catching me slipping eventually.
[Wanda’s Lost Heavenly Spirit Pocket Watch. Item rank: S. Item quality: Extraordinary. Possessing this increases your chances of finding spirit coins and also increases the number of heavenly spirit coins you receive from any source. You may also activate its once-a-day ability: Spirit Boost. Select a target. For five minutes, their strength, speed, vitality, and even luck will be increased by 50% and then multiplied by 2. Never underestimate the value of an S-ranked item.]
[Dwarven Power Silver Knuckles. Item rank: A. Item quality: Superior, heavenly attuned. Blacksmith: Lucas Fireborn. It would be a bad day for anyone hit by these. Chance to be ripped apart by the force of heaven itself!]
Let’s be honest, while Milia ruthlessly trained me, I wasn’t the biggest, baddest fish in the ocean. Without truly understanding all aspects of what made a master magician, I was nothing more than someone with a significant boost of power. Why I had them remained as my biggest mystery. My mind would not let go of the electric currency salesman and the creepy feeling he gave me when I foolishly answered the door. His rather insistent, rude sales pitch… and upon my second rejection, I blanked out, appearing here. Did he make any movements?
Slapping those quick thoughts to the side, I turned to see Milia finally done with her preparations, her hand on the ground, communicating with the earth.
Abruptly, I received a prompt.
[Communication to tower owner established. Tower owner will now receive notifications from the tower when events occur, or events you manually transmit to him. Upgrade for further long-range abilities, such as transferring items from the shed to the owner.]
Cheetara’s feelings rushed into me like a warm hug, and I couldn’t help but smile. Somehow Wolverine and Cheetara discovered a function for what I originally believed to be a simple guard tower until upgraded.
[F-ranked Special Lookout Tower. A simple watchtower at first glance; however, it unlocks additional features throughout a series of upgrades.]
“Let’s get this over with,” I said, wishing I could upgrade the tower. “We’ve got pets waiting for us. You two stay behind. We’ve got this.”
As we made our way around the crowd, we stopped in the back and watched as a man with long black hair, dressed in fancy gold robes, approached the pole. He… reminded me of some of my favorite Eastern Fantasy hero books back on Earth.
I scanned the Lord Ruler, which made him look right in my direction, searching the crowd we were hiding in. Thanks to the potion of masking, he wouldn’t…
Suddenly, he aimed a hand in my general direction, or at least where we were previously. That hand began to glow brightly.
“Who scanned me?” he asked. “Come out now, and I won’t blast all of you. Don’t worry, I have no need to hurt curious baby magicians. Rather, I’d like to know who’s brave enough to do so. You will be going to the academy, all expenses paid, with a stipend. After that, you will be trained… Wait. No presence.”
His eyes widened, almost wondering if he was scanned in the first place. The people around, of course, weren’t just standing. Some yelped and screamed as they got out of the path of the hand. Unfortunately, the guards didn’t allow anyone to leave.
[Enemy Analysis.]
Maximus Truestorm, Lord Ruler of the King of Merridon. Race: human. Neutral. Magician rank: 1st realm of the King. Spell book: C. Non-monarch.
Alrighty then. There was just no way in hell we’d pull this off with him there. Fuck that. I slipped into the shadows, emerging back to the hiding spot and also scaring the shit out of Anzu and Yani.
Milia emerged moments later, having shared the same shadow potion vial with me. I glared at the two, not that they’d see it through the mask.
“There’s no way we can pull off a rescue,” I said. “Not without getting killed trying. He’s paranoid as fuck, and his guard is nearly unbreakable from all angles. I hate to break it to you, but I haven’t known Gwendolyn long enough to risk my life for her.”
And just like that, I left. The sound of the Red Star getting blasted would soon fill the air. Yani was crying and begging while holding my leg. I slipped into the shadows, continuing until appearing in front of the jail, Milia following silently, but knowing I planned something. Her eyes were filled with nervous anticipation.
“I’ve scanned him too,” Milia said, pulling off her mask. “Are you sure you want to go through with this? We’re certainly no match for him. I was expecting Gwendolyn to be imprisoned in a holding cell, being questioned, but this is the most rushed execution I’ve ever witnessed.”
I quickly pulled the suit the dryad made for me from my storage ring, quickly changing into it.
“You call this rushed? Sheesh.” I shook my head. “The plan is still the same. No fighting. I’m unsure if we’ll be able to talk to someone with this level of paranoia…” My voice trailed off as I thought for a moment. “You stick to removing her restraints with the vine and I’ll distract him. Our focus is to get Gwendolyn out of there and onto Beakwing. I’m not too concerned about him; we’re already aware of his killing ability. It’s the daughter I’m worried about. If she appears, then we’re fucked. Tag teamed fucked. This isn’t a great plan, but it’s not like we have any time for others.”
[Loved Potion Maker’s Suit. Crafter: Milia Ofrey Emerald Starbreather. Item rank: S. Item quality: Extraordinary. In addition to high defenses, you may activate a special shield for one-time use capable of blocking the strike of even a King-realm magician, even higher if you overcharge it. However, overcharging it will require the crafter to repair the suit.]
“Milia Ofrey Emerald Starbreather,” I said, gaining a glaring pout from my betrothed. The L-word felt too awkward and honestly, I wasn’t ready to say it. Also, this wasn’t a fucking Hollywood movie, and I had no plans to die here. “We’re not dying here. Here’s…”
I froze, realizing Elsa was there watching the entire time. No… she stared down at her big siblings blankly, hope lost. She heard our words, including the consideration of abandoning them, and felt hope was lost for a good reason. What the hell could we do against a man that strong?
I didn’t give a shit about Mandi’s bully of a sister, so we left without saying any comforting words, donning our gear. Well, I did say, “What are you waiting for? Get your siblings out of the city already. Eastern gate. They’ll handle it from there.”
Slipping into the shadows, we returned to the crowd. For some reason, the Lord Ruler appeared to be waiting for something… or someone. But who? Princess Ling? If so, we were running out of time.
Abruptly, a guard hurried to the Lord Ruler, shaking his head. “There’s still no sign of him. He’s either a rumor or has left long ago.”
“Well, that’s a shame,” the Lord Ruler said to the awakening Gwendolyn. “I hoped to save your life by pinning the crime on Raider.”
My blood chilled like ice. This was not the setup I needed to run into. With him waiting for me, no hastily thrown-together plan would work. My hands shook. Fuck, was I pissed at the audacity of this fucker trying to set me up.
“The transmission between the Astral family and here has finally established itself, your excellency,” a guard said.
“Good,” the Lord Ruler said. “I take it the Duke is watching. For the crime of killing—”
“The crime was committed by none other than Princess Ling, the Lord Ruler’s daughter,” I yelled.
A bright ball of magic appeared in front of the Lord Ruler. Moments later, it formed into the face of a man.
“Is that so? Show yourself, accuser.”
The Lord Ruler looked both surprised and constipated, and I knew his pressure would explode at any time. The surrounding crowd would have a bad day.
“Well? If you cannot show yourself, then your claim is not valid.”
I still didn’t move because the guards were vigorously searching the crowd, looking, unsure who to find. Unfortunately, I had to throw the Lord Ruler a bone or risk getting torn to pieces, along with all of the people here. Gwendolyn would still die. This gamble of words held our lives.
“She did it of her own will, not orders, believing it to be infiltration so far from the capital,” I continued, so unbelievably pleased with my potion of masking. “Her presence still remains inside the Gaston house. Gaston likely didn’t answer her questions, and ordered his guards to attack. Self-defense is one thing, but daring to attack a questioner that strong, royalty, will obviously have severe consequences. Paper is quite costly, and no one wants to be stuck with a mound of paperwork and unnecessary political conflict between friendly nations. The day of succession is coming up. I’m sure the new emperor wouldn’t mind increasing his audience.”
“You… have made a valid statement,” said the man. “I am also grateful that you do not believe us to be idiots. My silver guard captain had already explored Gaston’s house, felt the presence remaining, and reported it through whispering wind. Raider, I know that’s you, even if I cannot detect you somehow. If you ever feel betrayed by your kingdom, let it be known that you have a place in my territory and plenty of Astral to marry into the family. That is the strength of being the voice of truth. You know, Lord Ruler, Maximus Truestorm, you could learn a thing or two. Did you really think I’d be stupid enough to believe Gwendolyn would cross me? Why would she do such a thing and not flee? Why bother with getting my son and one of her daughters to marry? People with high ambitions try to avoid bloodshed anywhere near their pawns. Fear not, for Raider, I will pity you and overlook this incident. I only wanted to get my offer to Raider, anyway.”
He laughed before the magic dissipated, just shy of the Lord Ruler’s punch. By this time, Milia’s vines had freed Gwendolyn. They almost pulled her away, but one wave of the Lord Ruler’s hand made them vanish.
“Raider! Show yourself! Or are you cowardly?”
I shook my head. “What’s his deal? Anger issues?”
The lady beside me flinched then her eyes widened.
“Show yourself, or I’ll destroy this town and everyone in it. Make a choice.”
I shadow-teleported to a rooftop a good distance from the Lord Ruler, allowing my cloak to flutter in the wind. Okay, that was unintentional, and it had the effect of making me seem more heroic and mysterious, a threat to the Lord Ruler’s rule.
“I cannot sense your presence, yet you clearly are a magician,” the Lord Ruler said. “You’re Raider, I presume.”
“I am,” I replied. “Pinning the blame for a murder on me was a fucked-up thing you tried to do. In the end, the duke wasn’t as stupid as you tried to play him for.”
“You don’t talk like you’ve lived on these lands for long,” the Lord Ruler said. “Your lack of respect has sealed your fate. Leave this kingdom, never to return, and I’ll overlook what you’ve done.”
“If you can assure the safety of these people, that city lady, sure I’ll go,” I said. “The Astral family is welcoming me with open arms.”
The Lord Ruler sneered. “You vigilante types would take a generous offer and spit it back into the face of leniency. You couldn’t leave quietly, accept my reward. You think this is something to jest about, going to the Astral Empire? I’ll tear you to pieces and a create a law, imprisoning anyone that mentions Raider.”
“Whoa, dude, calm down,” I said, surprising myself at the level of calm despite looking at certain death in the eye. “I came to talk. There is nothing gained by fighting or dying to the kingdom’s ruler.”
The Lord Ruler was no longer listening as he pulled off his robe, revealing his bare chest. He reminded me of a real-life version of the fucking Fire Lord from Avatar. The humor drained from me when I received a terrifying series of prompts.
[You are being confronted with overwhelming power…]
[Warning! This may not be a fight you can win. System recommendation: hasty retreat.]
