Chapter 2
Bastion City
-:-
Following the bunny twins, Vacio made his way to the nearest town.
During that time, Vacio learned quite a bit about the world from his interaction with the bunny twins.
The most important thing he learned from them was what 'Cultivation' was. Apparently, it was just a fancy name for Levels.
The Realms of Cultivation and their corresponding levels were as follows:
Acolyte- Level 1-10
Advance- Level 11-20
Master- Level 21-30
Hero- Level 31-40
King- Level 41-50
Emperor- Level 51-60
Saint- Level 61-70
Sage- Level 71-80
Enlightened - Level 81-90
Overlord- Level 91-99
God- Level 100
Technically speaking, there were only 10 Realms of cultivation. The last Realm was nothing more than a fanciful title to those who have achieved absolute power.
As far as this modern world was concerned, no one has ever seen a person go beyond the Hero Realm.
The highest ranked beings that the bunny girls knew of was the mythical 4 Divine Gods that founded the Dragon Empire. Legend stated that they were all in the Sage Realm.
These 4 were the ones that pacified the chaotic realms and made it into Dragon Empire. Based on the legends, all knowledge that was being used by the continent could be traced down to the 4 Divine Gods. Be it mathematics, arts, agriculture, warfare or even love. All of these were taught by the 4 Divine Gods
However, there was one thing that confused even the modern historians.
Why were the 4 Divine 'Gods' only at the Sage Realm? Shouldn't they be in the God Realm?
The most widely accepted answer to this was the Cultivation Realms was meant to teach people the price of overconfidence. There will always be someone stronger than you and you should never get cocky when you gain new strength.
All of the philosophers believed that this was the message the 4 Divine Gods wanted to convey in the Cultivation Realms.
Within the philosopher's community, it was widely accepted that there were only 9 Cultivation Realms. The Enlightened and the Overlord Realm did not exist. They were only placed there in order to teach the masses the lessons the 4 Divine Gods wanted to teach.
All the philosophers believed that the 4 Divine Gods were already at the God Realm, but they humbled themselves for the sake of the people.
Even though the 11 realms were believed to be inaccurate, the Cultivation Realm remained as the Gods presented them out of respect
Now, the bunny twins don't give a rats ass about the history of Cultivation, but their very own grandmother was one of these Philosophers. The twins couldn't escape their grandmother's lesson even if they wanted to.
During their travels, Vacio also learned how 'Cultivation' worked.
Quite simply, it was mediation.
Cultivation took a hell lot of time and it wasn't as straight forward as Vacio's Yggdrasil leveling system.
First they needed something called a 'Cultivation Method'. They sit on their asses for hours on end while reciting these Cultivation Methods. If they broke through a rank, they receive stat bonuses and skills that the Cultivation Method provides. It was exactly like what Classes was to Vacio.
In order to increase the rate of their cultivation, they use things called Pills (WTF!).
No, it's not those drugs used for contraception.
Apparently, Pills were this world's Potions, albeit in expensive round solid candy form.
Cultivation was fairly straightforward forward process. Instead of the classic RPG style of killing monsters and performing quests to gain EXP, martial artist can absorb EXP straight out of the pills.
No need to risk your life in the wild blue yonder. All you need to do is sit still and let the 'heavenly energy nourish your body'.
However, Cultivation was an extremely time consuming and horribly inefficient. Not only were Pills expensive, it also gave pitifully small amounts of EXP. The higher a martial artist's cultivation realm was, the more powerful, more expensive and larger amounts of pills he was required to consume.
However, there was an upside to Cultivation.
Martial Arts!
The bunny twins could perform skills that rivaled mid tiered spells.
Pace of the Wind worked similarly to the 5th tier spell Haste with its increased move speed.
Evasion worked like one of the skills of the Shadow Dancer, one of the advance classes for the Rouge. It gave the user an increased dodge rate via decreased body weight for ease of movement.
For some reason Vacio couldn't use Martial Arts at all.
Apparently Martial Arts could only be achieved through one or a combination of the following: quite a bit of practice, combat experience or a life/death experience that forced a person to grow.
All of these were inaccessible to Vacio
"Meh… Its not like I desperately need martial arts anyway. If anything, I'm actually better off without it."-Vacio-
One thing very important thing he learned from the bunny sisters was how amazingly weak this world was in regards to magic.
The massive Dragon Empire and its neighboring countries focused greatly in martial arts. Mages were uncommon because of how widely available martial arts schools were in the Dragon Empire.
Magic was mostly concentrated within wealthy merchants and the nobility. Education in this world was a privilege, not a right. Most people cant even read. Magic required a person to read magic texts and sigils.
The bunny sisters were actually one of the rare few who had access to education. This was because their talent caught the eye of their tribe's matriarch. They were forcefully bred into the future leaders of their tribe.
Because of this focus in martial arts, the highest ranked magic that was normally seen by the people was of the 3rd tier.
4th tier magic was so rare that most people couldn't identify them on sight. This was the main reason why the bunny sisters were not able to recognize the 4th tier magic Force Push and Invisibility.
Apparently there are those who could use 5th tier magic but the only ones who could use it was those who had successfully stepped in the realm of Heroes.
6th tier magic was on a different scale. Normally, it required a lot of magic casters, large amounts of materials and long preparations to cast one. Even then, the odds of failing were painfully high. There have been records of people who were able to cast 6th tier magic, but details were extremely hard to come by.
The 7th tier and beyond simply exist in mythology. Similar to the 4 Divine Gods where their actions were so removed from common sense that it cant be real, the 7th tier and above were labeled as nothing more than fairytales by modern day scholars. They were simply too godlike to be real.
The talk with the bunny sisters gave Vacio a lot of valuable insight on what not to do. Quite simply, he almost shot himself in the foot during his fight with the bunny sisters against the Hobgoblin.
Bards were relatively unpopular in Yggdrasil. Here in this world where Martial Arts dominated the war market, Bards would probably be even less popular.
The tier 4 Force Push was a sound based shockwave that smashes into an enemy with enough force of a truck. Fortunately for Vacio, Force Push was nigh indistinguishable with Telekinetic Blast, a tier 3 mage-only spell. The only real difference between Force Push and Telekinetic Blast was that the later was much more powerful and it didn't have the loud bang.
Vacio wanted to keep himself incognito. He still has no idea how society worked in this world. Being too flashy would attract a lot of unwanted attention.
Until he was able to work the system, it was best to stay off the system.
-:-
10 Days Later
The trio approached a city that Vacio expected from a Chinese Fantasy novel.
Bastion City was a massive city built around a fairly tall mountain. The mountain itself became something like a fortress due to the fortification carved directly into the stone. There were tons of houses, fields and market places scattered around the mountain.
But most amazingly was the massive wall that surrounded the town completely. Based from the outside appearance alone, it was about 50 meters tall. When they got closer and passed through one of the main gates, Vacio estimated that the wall's thickness was at least 20-30 meters.
Bastion City lives up to its name. Breaking through that monstrosity of a wall was going to be a monumental undertaking.
After entering, they passed through numerous rice fields that stretched from the wall to the bottom of the mountain.
Eventually they arrived to one of many small 'towns' that surrounded the mountain. That's just how big Bastion City was. It had multiple towns inside the massive city area.
At the center of that small town was a sight only seen in fan service anime.
Bunny Girls… about 20 of them.
Or maybe they should be called Bunny Women.
Compared to the pre-teen Tu Zi and Tu Mei, the Bunny Women were curvations and mature. They looked like something out of a hentai minus the nudity and sex scenes that one would expect with such a gathering of unrealistically beautiful women.
Sadly, Vacio was used to the artistic prowess of many amazing graphic artist in Yggdrasil. The Bunny Women were just pretty to look at, but not in the level as those NPCs created by some of Vacio's friends.
And besides, Vacio was instinctively wary of beautiful women.
One of the bunny women spotted the Tu Twins.
"Oy! The Twins are here!" –random bunny woman A-
"Hahahaha! I thought you two bit the dust! Tough little rats aren't you!" –random bunny woman B-
The bunny women gathered around the twins while giving some friendly insults here and there. Unlike their beauty and bell like voice, their words were quite crass and manly.
That was expected of a warrior race.
One particular bunny woman approached the twins. The aura of this one was so great that everyone gave way for her. All the bunny girls performed a martial arts salute to her.
"You two sure took your time. I was starting to think you died" -?-
""We apologize Guardian Go Fei."" –Tu Zi and Tu Mei-
It looked like Guardian was some sort of high ranking position in the War Bunny hierarchy. Whoever she was, she had a lot of authority within the group.
Vacio stealthily backed away when the bunny women approached the Tu Twins. From the looks of things, this was where his short lived trio must go on their separate ways.
And besides, Vacio was a bit wary of this Go Fei woman. While she looked drop dead gorgeous, she felt like one of those German stereotypes in anime, extremely serious and heavily militarized mind set.
Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get away fast enough.
"Guardian Go Fei. We truly did meet a situation that would have definitely led to our deaths. If it wasn't for our benefactor, little Vacio, we wouldn't be here"- Tu Zi-
The way Tu Zi presented Vacio was as if she was boasting.
Go Fei was slightly confused. She knew the Tu twins since they were cubs and was familiar of their personalities. Tu Zi was incredibly cocky and prideful and she would never place herself beneath someone unless there was a clear difference in ability.
Go Fei shifted her gaze to Tu Mei for answers.
"My sister speaks the truth. Vacio, a child younger than we are, rescued as from spending our lives as sex toys to the Hobgoblin and his goblin horde. For such a young human to possess extraordinary talent, me and my sister were blessed with such an encounter"-Tu Mei-
Go Fei knew that Tu Mei was the more sensible of the two. Tu Mei followed protocol so much better than her older sister. If the younger Tu was backing up the older Tu, Go Fei knew that this was the truth.
"Va Cio? Such a weird name. Where is this little benefactor of yours"- Go Fei-
The Tu Twins search around for a bit and spotted Vacio who was already a fair bit of distance away.
"Hey Vacio! Isnt rude to just suddenly leave? Atleast say goodbye will ya!"- Tu Zi-
Vacio felt a chill crawl up his spine. He knew that simply walking away was rude, but that he felt that Go Fei was bad news. Thus he kept walking away as if he didn't hear Tu Zi.
"Aw come on! Don't be such a stranger!"- Tu Zi-
Go Fei was able to spot Vacio by following Tu Zi and Tu Mei's line of sight.
"Martial Arts: Pace of the Wind" –Go Fei-
Go Fei launched herself at Vacio with breakneck speed with the intention of grabbing him.
Due to large amounts of pvp experience during his time in Yggdrasil, Vacio's kinetic vision was used to tracking high speed movements. The second his instincts warned him that something dangerous was coming, he was able to turn around, spot Go Fei in during her lunge and was able to dodge roll out of the way.
Due to Go Fei's high inertia, she wasn't able to change directions quickly and simply went past Vacio
This surprised Go Fei. To think that a child that was only in the 6th rank of the Acolyte Realm was able to dodge her even if she was holding back.
"Interesting"- Go Fei
"Northern Martial Arts: Vector Change"-Go Fei-
Without stopping or slowing down, Go Fei's direction suddenly changed.
Vacio was still recovering from the dodge roll. He couldn't help but be caught by Go Feis sudden direction change. With no means to resist, Vacio prepared for the worse
"Resistance. Reinforce Armor. Shield Wall"-Vacio-
Not a millisecond after casting his defensive spells, Vacio was nailed with a painful punch into his gut. He was blown back into a nearby wall, and before he could crumble to his knees in agony, Go Fei quickly pinned him into the wall with her elbow.
"Hmm. I see the Tu sisters were right. You do have potential. You might even have enough talent to-"-Go Fei-
Go Fei suddenly released Vacio in order to dodge the combined attack of the Tu twins.
The fully armed Tu Twins made a defensive perimeter around Vacio.
"Guardian Fei! How dare you attack little Vacio!"- Tu Mei-
"I should send those words right back at you. How dare you attack a Guardian of your tribe?"-Go Fei-
"Me and my sister owe Vacio a Life Debt. We promised him that as long as we remained together, we would guarantee his safety. As a Guardian that upholds the tradition of our clan, you know what that means right?"-Tu Zi-
Tu Zi was arrogant when facing off with Go Fei but in truth, she was scared shitless. While Guardians main purpose was to hold the traditions, values and discipline of their clan, they were more powerful than most of the clan members. The only one that could exceed a Guardian in combat was the Matriarch, which would often be the greatest of all the clans warriors.
Guardian Go Fei would easily rip the twins apart with her bare hands.
Fortunately, the twins gamble paid off.
Guardian's main function was to strictly uphold traditions. One of the most important War Bunny traditions was the Life Debt.
If the War Bunny believed that she owed a person her life, she must spend the rest of her life paying that debt.
"I apologize. I thought the little human was being rude for ignoring the two of you. However, after seeing his abilities for myself, I realized that he was truly someone worthy of a War Bunny's respect"-Go Fei-
Everyone calmed down after that. The War Bunnies didn't enjoy the prospect of having to fight a Guardian.
The Tu twins turned their attention to Vacio
"Why did you ignore us when we were calling? That kind of hurts you know?"-Tu Zi-
Naturally, he didn't want to tell them that Go Fei's existence gave him an instinctive impulse to run away.
"Shit. Got to lie myself out of this one." –Vacio-
Praying that the Bard class gave him enough charisma to act convincingly, Vacio began his bullshit.
"You called me? I didn't hear it" –Vacio-
"We were practically shouting. There's no way you didn't hear us"- Tu Mei-
"Hmm… I guess I was thinking too deeply. Sorry about that. I was trying to figure out what to do from here on out. I have some plans but they were too vague to amount to anything. I was brainstorming before the powerful lady attacked. I was about to lose my only acquaintances after all."-Vacio-
The bunny twins told Vacio early on that they were going to Bastion City to meet those of their clan in order complete their rite of passage. They would then leave the Dragon Empire and head north beyond the great wall to their home country.
Naturally, Vacio had to prepare for their eventual separation.
"~Aww~ Are you sad that we'll leave you behind?"- Tu Zi-
Tu Zi teased Vacio by poking his cheeks.
Unfortunately for the cocky bunny girl, Vacio has more than enough experience to counter this.
He lightly caressed Tu Zi's cheek and with the demeanor of a man talking to his lover, he launched his counter attack.
"Of course I'm sad my love. To be separated from such a beauty like you breaks my heart in two"-Vacio-
"WHA-!" –Tu Zi-
The blushing Tu Zi quickly backed away from Vacio. She was speechless as she covered her cheek with her hand. Vacio's actions made her heart skip a beat.
The bunny women who witnessed this did not hesitate to laugh out loud. To think the tomboy Tu Zi would such a girly reaction was hilarious!
"You... YOU BASTARD! YOU DARE MAKE FUN OF ME?!"- Tu Zi-
"So you're the type of person who likes to tease someone but cant take it when you're on the receiving end. How adorable!"-Vacio-
She grappled Vacio and tried to pull his cheeks apart, but Vacio valiantly resisted with all of his might. Sadly Tu Zi was 1 level higher than Vacio. While he can impede her efforts, he was still losing in brute strength. Even if they were the same level, he probably would have lost anyway. Demi-humans always had higher stat gain than humans after all.
However, if Vacio was in his true level, he could easily win in brute force.
Vacio was actually already at level 14. This was thanks to all of the goblins his poison bombs killed, the death of the hobgoblin, the quest of saving the bunny twins and all of the lore he has gained during their 10 day travel.
His leveling up was slow as hell, but beggars cant be choosers.
However, he didn't spend any of his level-ups because martial artists had this annoying ability to detect someone's cultivation if they were +/- 10 levels from each other.
Cultivation was supposed to be a long and tiresome process that required lots of 'cultivation resources'. Someone who could suddenly jump 8 levels was beyond abnormal. He had to wait for the twins to leave before he could use up all of his levels.
He did have an advance class that can disguise his level, however, it was only available at level 20. Until then, Vacio needed to keep his interactions with others to a minimum.
The less he had to deal with, the better.
While Vacio was being manhandled by Tu Zi, Go Fei approached them.
"You twins are right. His potential is indeed great. In fact, his potential is so great that in normal cases, I would have forced the two of you to start a Line with him"-Go Fei-
""HA?!"" –Tu Zi and Tu Mei-
The twins' face suddenly became scarlet. Both of them took a peek at Vacio, but the moment their gazes met, they quickly shifted their heads. Tu Zi even got off him as quickly as possible. The two shyly stood a few meters from Vacio.
It looked like whatever this 'Line' was, it was kinky in nature. Interesting
Whatever, the Line was, Go Fei quickly smashed the twins' delusion.
"However, we have our laws and traditions to adhere to. Little Va Cio... I apologize but your name just sounds weird. I cant help but pause every time I say it" –Go Fei-
Since this world was a Chinese themed world, most people assumed that his name was Va (last name) and Cio (first name). That's to be expected since his name isn't even Chinese, or is not even a name.
"That's because I'm a foreigner in the Dragon Empire."-Vacio-
"Oh. That explains everything then. Gray hair in your age might not be common in this parts of the world, but its probably common somewhere else."-Go Fei-
"Err… No. The gray hair is more of a genetic mutation. Odds are, I'm one of the extremely few that has it. But enough about that. What's this with laws, traditions and that 'Line' thing? "-Vacio-
Just from the sound of it, this 'Line' was a chain quest that would takes ages to complete. Quest meant lore, items and exp. All of these were things Vacio needed in massive amounts.
"A 'Line' is something like a military unit."-Go Fei-
"Huh? A military unit? Then why the hell are the twins blushing? This makes no sense"-Vacio-
"I can see the confusion in your eyes and I understand. There is a reason why we are called WAR Bunnies. We are beings born to wage war. A 'Line' acts like a military unit, but to us, it is something similar to a 'Family' to humans. We travel together, eat from the same pot, fight together and die together. It's a small community of brothers and sisters at arms."- Go Fei-
"I see…. So that's how it is."- Vacio-
Family might be a big deal to the War Bunnies. It's something stupid like Bushido or Chivalry. Over value something and it will end up becoming a core belief of an entire civilization.
That was also probably the reason why the twins blushed.
"While you have the potential, you are not qualified to start a Line at the moment. First you are too young. 15 years of age is what we consider as an adult. Next, and more importantly, you don't have enough money. A Line requires food, weapons, shelter and many other commodities to keep it running. While you will eventually have people helping out with the expenses, those who start a Line are the de facto 'Father' of that family. Being the breadwinner is expected." –Go Fei-
"Ah. Not only is it a base building quest, its also resource management. Looks like this 'Line' chain quest is one of those that stays in your quest log for a long time. Its better to have a vague goal to work towards than going in blind"-Vacio-
"I understand. There's nothing I can do with being under age. I'll just have to let time pass. On the other hand, I can do something about my lack of money. How rich do I have to be in order to be qualified to start a Line?" –Vacio-
"That's easy. Just imagine yourself as the father of lots of rambunctious and bloodthirsty children. How much money do you think you need?"-Go Fei-
Vacio couldn't help but facepalm. He had experienced raising a child and a dead weight for a wife. Those 2 costed quite a bit to support.
If he was going to be the initial investor of a military unit, it would probably cost him an arm and a leg.
"The more the better?"-Vacio-
"Correct. Discouraged? "-Go Fei-
"Nope. It looks like a worthy goal" –Vacio-
More accurately, a military unit under his beck and call would increase his chances of survival. A tightly knit unit would greatly reduce the chance of betrayal.
'Strength in numbers' or so the saying goes.
"Vacio! A 'Line' means a blood-!"-Tu Mei-
Suddenly, a few bunny women quickly subdued Tu Mie. One of them even covered Tu Mei's mouth in a similar way with kidnapping via chloroform.
"No time to talk you twins! We were about to leave anyway! I know you're tired buts its your fault for being late!" –random bunny woman-
Tu Mei was dragged away by multiple bunny women.
Tu Zi had it worse. She didn't even get a chance to speak when 5 bunny women grabbed all of her limbs. She was taken away kicking and screaming.
The bunny women were laughing and smiling.
In contrast, the Tu sisters were blushing profusely and were trying to shout something to Vacio. However, they were muffled by their older sisters.
"I know an outsider like me shouldn't meddle, but aren't they being a little rambunctious?"- Vacio-
He couldn't help but feel worried of the War Bunnies' overly physical show of affection
"Ha ha ha. We get that a lot. Not to worry. The older ones are merely celebrating the Tu twin's coming of age by a little teasing. I was subjected to the same thing when I was young"-Go Fei-
"I kind of understand. When men horse around, a lot of people mistakenly think that they're really fighting." –Vacio-
"Anyway. When you are confident that you can start a Line, head north, go beyond the great wall and search for the Shadow Mane Khanate. That's the clan me and the Tu sister belong to. We'll then help you get your Line started."- Go Fei-
"Got it. See you in a few years!"-Vacio-
Vacio and the War Bunnies from the Shadow Mane Khanate parted ways.
Unbeknownst to Vacio, Go Fei and the bunny women were practically laughing all the way back to their home town.
They have successfully ensured that a powerful individual was going to join their clan.
Why?
What Go Fei didn't explain and what the Tu sisters were trying to warn Vacio, was that a 'Line' meant a BLOODLINE.
Just like the current Matriarch and her 7 husbands, Vacio may end up having a harem in order to pass on his superior genes to as many children as possible. The more children he produces with as many women as possible, the more soldiers the Shadow Mane Khanate has in the next generation.
If they could get Vacio to do the traditional rites, they could force a genius with unlimited potential to marry into their khanate!
The future of the Brown Mane Khanate was bright.
And it was all thanks to the Tu twin's fated meeting with the monstrous Vacio.
-:-
The next 2 days, Vacio did the one activity that he hated the most…. Job Hunting!
He was 13 years old and the only qualification he had did not exist in this world. There were no Boeings or Airbuses in not-ancient-china! He'd even settle for a gig as a crop duster, one of the job in aviation that was very prone to crashing!
Pretty much every potential employer he approached would only accept an apprentice AKA dirt cheap labor. The main problem was all of those dicks didn't even want to pay him! They wont even provide food or shelter!
"I know I should have expected this from a Chinese themed world, but still! I cant believe scammers, thieves and assholes here are even worse modern china!"-Vacio-
Overly prevalent corruption was one of the shit loads of reasons why Vacio couldn't even stand a month in modern day China.
The main reason was the beyond lethal levels of pollution in the big cities.
However, the last place he tried to get employment made him realize that there was another criteria that caused him to be disqualified from any chance of working: He was a foreigner.
In short, Racism.
Vacio wasn't particularly mad though. He wasn't going to try to pretend that he has the moral high ground here. He may not show it, but he himself has some irrational racial hate.
Who was he to lecture others of racism?
However, it does make job hunting nigh impossible. And that is annoying.
"At the very least, this world has clean air and drinkable water. For a shitty place to live in, not-ancient-china makes up for it with beautiful scenery." -Vacio-
The entire mountain side was converted into a bustling city. The higher you go up, the richer the people are. The 5 families at the very top were the de facto ruler of Bastion City.
At the moment, Vacio was in the lower-mid part of the massive mountain within Bastion City. He was on a bridge made of solid stone that joined 2 parts of Bastion City that was separated by a 40 meter drop into a valley down below.
From there he was in for a visual treat.
The misty forest that stretched as far as the eyes can see at the backdrop of the slowly rising sun.
"Yup… 100 times better than the smog filled hellhole IRL" –Vacio-
It was another new day for the old man in a young man's body. While his plans of getting his very own military unit just smashed into a wall, he still had a few aces on his sleeves.
The first ace was he was now at level 14, or as the locals would call it, the 4th rank of the Advanced Realm.
With this, he took up the following classes in this specific order:
Lvl 7- Bard
Lvl 8- Bard
Lvl 9- Alchemist
Lvl 10- Blackguard
Lvl 11- Blackguard
Lvl 12- Blackguard
Lvl 13- Alchemist
Lvl 14- Alchemist
Which brought Vacio's class levels to: Bard-lvl 6, Alchemist- lvl 4, Blackguard- lvl 3, Fighter- lvl 1.
Vacio's choice might look chaotic and unplanned to the uninitiated, but there was an intricate plan hidden beneath the madness.
Vacio was doing some serious min-maxing.
Yggdrasil has over 2000 classes with requirements that ranged from the extremely straight forward to the 'you expect me to kick 2000 chickens in order to get the Chicken Bane Class?! Bullshit!'. Some even theorized that the requirements were completely randomized.
For example, Vacio's Bard in Yggdrasil was beaten in a one on one duel against his friend Momonga. Even though Vacio's items were chosen specifically to counter Momonga who was a death magic specialist, he still lost because Momonga used a skill that could bypass immunity to death magic.
Momonga wouldn't tell Vacio what this class was and how he got it. Understandable since information in Yggdrasil were very sacred.
The annoying part was some of these classes could only be taken at a very specific level with a very specific combination of classes.
Some could only be accessed at the level 90+s as long as the PC has met the requirements.
However, the harder classes to get were actually at the lower levels because they needed a combination specific skills, spells and classes in order to get them. And these requirements were needed to be met at an extremely low level, else they would be missed.
Now for Vacio's reasoning for the weird arrangement of his classes.
The reasoning for the bard and fighter was already expounded earlier.
Normally, he would have taken the first level of alchemist around level 8 because it was mostly useless at early levels. However, Vacio wanted to be able to make healing items as early as possible.
It was simply a precaution.
Now for the advanced class Blackguard. Just like any advanced class, it could only be taken at level 10 and above.
In order to explain why the Blackguard was taken at level 10-12, we must explain what Feats are.
Feats are special skills and abilities that were available to multiple classes but could only be learned at specific levels. Examples of such feats are Twin/Triplet Maximize Magic, Power Attack Mode, Cleave, etc.
Feats were available at level 9 and every 3 levels after that (9, 12, 15, 18, etc).
At the first level, one of the many skills the Blackguard gain is 'Use Poison' skill. It doesn't look like much on its own, but it actually synergizes with another class down the road.
At the second level, the most noteworthy skill was the passive skill Dark Blessing. This skill adds a portion of the Special stat into physical defense, magic defense, resist and all Saves.
Bards naturally had high Specials which were used in RP as the charm stat when speaking to NPCs, and more importantly the primary stat that influenced the strength and effectivity of their song magic.
This synergy was a match made in heaven.
With a well-planned build and the proper items, the Dark Blessing was capable of turning the support oriented Bard nearly unkillable tank.
Among the skills of the third level was Turn Undead, an x-per-day skill that could potentially one shot or heavily damage the undead.
In Yggdrasil lore, Blackguards were evil Paladins. And just like Paladins, Blackguard also has the access to the Cleric skill Turn Undead.
Turn Undead was not an amazing skill, but it was necessary in order to unlock one of two very important feats: Divine Might or Divine Shield
By sacrificing one charge of Turn Undead, the player can activate either Divine Might (temporarily adds a large portion of the special stat as unblockable damage into physical damage) or Divine Shield (temporarily adds a large portion of the special stat to phy. atk, phy. def, resist).
He chose Divine Shield for even more survivability.
Aside from getting the Divine Shield, Vacio has no intention of adding any more Black Guard levels. The last 2 levels had some interesting skills to offer but not enough to pay off the investment. Those 2 levels were better off spent elsewhere.
And lastly, in regards of Vacio's overall build.
While his build was still flexible at the moment, Vacio was planning to make his Bard an extremely versitile tank.
Now that he has the Dark Blessing and Divine Shield, the only class left to solidify his foundation was only available at level 21-23. If he missed out on any class or any skill that was required, he can kiss his versi-tank Bard good bye.
However, Vacio has been planning for this for a long time. There was no way he would make a mistake at this point in time. He only needed 1 more level of Alchemist and 5 more levels of another class in order to unlock the level 21-23 class.
However, there was one thing he needed that he wasn't sure how to get. For the perfect versi-tank Bard build, Vacio needed to become one of the Heteromorphic Race.
He didn't really need too much class levels in order to perfect his build. If his calculations were correct, his versi-tank Bard would be completed at the mid level 40's. The rest would be supplementary classes that boosted his core classes.
The best way to do this was to gain stats, passives, immunities and bonuses that was available in large quantities to Heteromorphic players.
Plus one to the many regrets Vacio has piled up since entering this world. If he only created a Heteromorphic PC, he wouldn't be in this predicament.
There was a way to change one's race, but it required a specific item given by a specific chain quest as a reward. Once that item is used, the PC's race would be locked and could no longer be changed.
The most annoying part was the required level for the quest was at level 40.
Well, its not like he has any way to actually do that quest given his current predicament. Never the less, he cant help but wish for something he doesn't have.
While he was in deep contemplation, an old man's voice forced him back to reality.
"Young man! Stop her! Quick!"-old man-
Before Vacio could turn around to see who the old man was, a female about the same age as his body was standing on the railing.
The girl could be described by 3 words: A White Mummy.
The girl wore a beautiful white silk dress that covered nearly every part of her body. The parts that weren't covered by clothes were wrapped in bandages. The most noteworthy apparel she had was a finely crafted mask that covered everything except her snow pale green bob cut hair.
She reminded Vacio of a plague victim. Someone who's appearance was so horrific that she was forced to cover it all.
If that were true, then it would be a big shame. The girl was wrapped in a very pretty package after all.
It didn't even take Vacio a millisecond how important this event was. This was most certainly the beginning of a high reward chain quest, and it all hinged on the white mummy girl.
Because this wasn't the first time Vacio has ever seen someone attempt suicide, he was able to react faster. Sadly, the moment the girl noticed Vacio's movement to stop her, she immediately jumped off
"You crazy bitch!"-Vacio-
Vacio jumped after her. He had to move quickly because there was a mere 40 meters till they hit the ground below.
He immediately caught up with the mummy girl.
Naturally the girl was surprised. She didn't expect anyone would risk their life for someone like her.
Originally, Vacio planned to keep to the 3rd tier of magic in order to keep a low profile. However, desperate times called for desperate action. He began casting as high as tier 6 spells on the white girl in rapid succession.
"Hypnosis, Resistance, Shield Wall, Reinforce Armor, Bark Skin"-Vacio-
The tier 6 Hypnosis allowed Vacio to implant hypnotic suggestions into the white girl. For now, he hypnotized the girl into a trance so that her memory would be muddle.
The tier 5 Bark Skin covered her with armor made of tree bark. Due to Vacio's low level, it would probably disintegrate in one blow.
As they went down, he positioned himself at the white girl's side and aimed at the small pathways that zigzagged up the side of the cliff that was about 10 meters away.
"Force Push"-Vacio-
The girl was blasted into the cliff and slammed face first into the wall. She then landed on her back on the pathway. Thanks to Vacio's defensive buffs, the worst injury she had was a bloody nose and a painful butt.
Satisfied with the girl's safety, Vacio turned to his current predicament. He was now barely 20 meters from the ground.
He has a good old Yggdrasil trick that would save him, but he wasn't sure if it would work in this world.
With that in mind, he prepared for the worse.
"Activate Song: Guardian's Hymn, Divine Shield, Bark Skin, Reinforce Armor." –Vacio-
He wanted to cast more defensive buffs but he was too close to the ground. He can only pray that this trick still worked.
He aimed at the ground that was only 5 meters away.
"Teleportation"-Vacio-
His view distorted.
Instead of a loud and painful slam into the ground, Vacio disappeared from the air and appeared on his target location unharmed.
"HAHAHAHA! Still works like a charm! Awesome!"- Vacio-
The tier 5 Teleportation cuts a caster out of existence and pastes him at his target point. It doesn't carry the caster's momentum or directional movement.
This was one of the many tricks adrenaline junkies used in Yggdrasil. Jump from the highest cliff and just before they hit the rocks, they teleport to safe ground. Since Teleportation has a limited range, it would require some practice before perfectly nailing the timing. Greater Teleportation could make things much easier, but sadly, the Bard doesn't have that in its spell progression.
Vacio died quite a few times from the fall damage before he got it right.
Vacio turned his eyes skyward and spotted the mummy girl. She was staring down right at him with surprised eyes…. Or atleast that's what Vacio felt.
He also spotted the old man rushing down the small pathway towards the girl. From the looks of it, the old man cared for the girl quite a lot.
Vacio went up the path to meet with the two.
After 10 minutes of walking, he finally met the two.
"I apologize for the trouble and I thank you for saving my young lady. You didn't need to risk your life for an unknown stranger, yet you did. My name is Lao Wing. As long as within my capabilities, I would perform 1 task no matter its nature." -Lao Wing-
"That's fine. On the other hand, I need to give the little girl a piece of my mind"-Vacio-
Vacio turned to the girl.
"There are 2 reasons why people kill themselves. First, your death will save a lot of people. Second, your life is too painful and you want a way out. Which one are you?"Vacio-
He made sure to activate 'Poker Face', one of the many social skills of the Bard. He had a gut feeling that whatever was behind that mask, he wouldn't be able to keep a straight face.
If the mummy girl was going to be a central focus in whatever chain quest that was to follow, Vacio needed to give her a reason to trust him.
True enough, Vacio's speculation was right on the money
For a few silent seconds, mummy girl was shaking in rage. Eventually, she exploded into a tantrum.
"You wouldn't understand! You don't know me! You don't know how much I've suffered!" –mummy girl-
"Then by all means. Enlighten me"-Vacio-
The poor kid fell to Vacio's taunting so easily that it was sad.
She removed the mask and threw it to Vacio.
"There! Look at the face fate has given to me! Are you happy?! Are you satisfied?! Go ahead! LAUGH!"mummy girl-
"OH MY F*CKING GOD! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"-Vacio-
Thanks to 'Poker Face', Vacio looked calm and unmoved. In reality, he wanted to avert his eyes and back away as far as possible.
Why?
Because mummy girl's face was something out of a horror movie. Her face was slightly bloated with countless open wounds that weren't bleeding. Her cheeks were missing and all of the muscles were exposed for everyone to see.
He wasn't going to lie. It was a face not even a mother could love.
Fortunately, his 'Bardic Knowledge' filled in the details and it was rage inducing. He couldn't help but pity the girl for being a victim of circumstances.
At the moment, the mummy girl needed all the self-esteem she can get. The best way to do this was for Vacio to stay calm and give her hope.
"I can already tell that your life wasn't filled with rainbows and butterflies. However, it is no excuse for you to kill yourself. Its not like your condition is incurable."-Vacio-
""Eh?""- mummy girl and Lao Wing-
While the 2 were surprised, the face of distrust could also be seen in their face. Vacio understood it very well.
Based on the young lady's fancy clothing, the 2 belonged to some rich ass family. Lots of people probably knew about the mummy girl's condition and probably scammed the hell out of them with false promise of a cure.
Time to give her the much needed moral boost.
"Your affliction is called the 'Hyper Immune Carapace'. It is a state where your body's immune system is so strong that it wont allow any harmful substances inside. It instead redirects all the impurities into your skin. Its hard to cure but definitely curable" –Vacio-
Truth be told, Vacio was just repeating what the Bardic Lore implanted in his head. He has absolutely no idea what a Hyper Immune Carapace is, but he was familiar of a certain quest that had mummy girl's condition. It was an Alchemist specific quest, so most people don't know about it.
If he could recall correctly, the level 20 quest name was 'Beauty of the Beast' where a young prince was afflicted with the Hyper Immune Carapace. It was a fairly long chain quest and by the end Vacio was able to get 2 levels from it.
By doing this quest alongside a few quests, it was easy to get 8-10 levels.
"And I guess you want something in return, correct? Money I assume?"- Lao Wing-
Lao Wing had a face full of disgust. An understandable reaction if Vacio considered the crap the scams he accidentally stepped into.
Vacio wanted the money. Very much as a matter of fact.
However, asking for monetary reward was the wrong answer in this situation. He decided to play the suave seducers Bards were supposed to be famous for.
He pointed at mummy girl and said…
"The second I cure you, you will become mine. You will leave behind your family, your wealth and whatever connection you have within your circle of acquaintances to become my woman!" –Vacio-
"OH MY GOD! THAT WAS SO EMBARASSING! It sounded way better in my head!" –Vacio-
Vacio thought that given mummy girl's condition, she might have developed a Cinderella complex. She desired a prince charming that would whisk her away from all of her troubles. He wasn't sure if he was correct, but given the culture of this world, nothing was more suspicious than a free gift.
As expected, mummy girl and Lao Wing were dumbfounded.
Vacio wanted to kill himself so badly right now.
Unfortunately, the dice has been casted. His only choice was to power through.
"…. Oy…. Are you serious?"-Lao Wing-
"Very serious!"-Vacio-
"You expect me to believe that your motivation is out of lust for my young lady? No offense to my young mistress, but lusting after her is absolutely unthinkable. All of the people that have approached her were aiming for her family's wealth!" –Lao Wing-
Mummy girl was a little hurt by Lao Wing's words but she didn't deny them. They were true after all.
She had been deceived more than once in the past. People who wanted to be friends or even help her were all liars and thieves. She believed Vacio was no different
That's why his next words shocked her to her very core.
"And that's why I will not allow you to give me any money, any gifts, any food and pretty much anything. I'll fund my own escapades and search for my own materials. In return, I ask only 2 things that you can easily provide."-Vacio-
"And those are?"- Lao Wing-
"First is a place to do my work. The more isolated and the more unknown it is to the people, the better. I don't need anything fancy. A far flung cave, an abandoned shack or a dried up sewer will do. The second is for you to sell my products. You'll get 20% of the sales while I get the rest. I assume that's acceptable right?" –Vacio-
Truth be told, Vacio was taking a hell lot of loss on this one. And the old man Lao Wing knew this.
"It does sound favorable… in fact it sounds too favorable for us. I still cant understand why you're practically working for free."-Lao Wing-
The Dragon Empire's culture was one based on corruption.
'Establishing friendly connections' is a fancy word for bribery. It also promotes the use of connections in order to get higher positions rather than skill.
The martial arts philosophy of 'Strength is everything' is an excuse that justifies bullying.
This was why the offer that excessively one side was met with great suspicion. There must be some underlying motive for such an offer.
While Vacio was after the EXP from her chain quest, he genuinely wanted to help the girl. Call it an old man's vanity if you will, but it pisses him off when a young kid suffered enough into suicide.
Sadly, the Dragon Empire's culture made it impossible to trust anyone.
Knowing this, Vacio decided to tell the truth aka lie even harder
He turned his gaze to the mummy girl. Her face was the stuff of nightmares, but thanks to his 'Poker Face' skill, he was able to pull off a gentle smile. He caressed her putrid skin and began spouting the most convincing bullshit he has ever mustered.
"It's because I can see beyond superficial looks. From my point of view, you are a victim of circumstances. Without this affliction, men would probably fight and kill for your favor. The way I see it, any loss I experience now would be totally worth it if I get to monopolize you" –Vacio-
"You… are disgustingly honest. Did you know that?"-mummy girl-
"I hate liars, and I pretty sure that you hate them too. I don't know how this corruption based culture of yours work, but from where I came from, trust cannot be built on a lie"-Vacio-
"Even though a lot of what I said was a lie…. Teehee XP" –Vacio-
Mummy girl squirmed a bit. She was probably blushing but it was hard to tell given her not–so-pretty complexion.
Vacio couldn't help but sigh in relief. He wasn't sure if the random actions he copied from movies would work at all. Fortunately, it worked in spades.
"So, do we have a deal?" –Vacio-
Mummy girl and Lao Wing talked in secret for a bit. A few seconds later, they came to a conclusion.
"Since I feel that you are a righteous young, I will believe that you have the young lady's best interest at heart…. As for your desire to claim the young lady as your woman, that would be for the two of you to decide."- Lao Wing-
Mummy girl took a deep breath and exhaled.
"I-If you cure me, then you can have me. Aside from Old Lao Wing, everyone only wanted to talk to me for my money. Since you said that we weren't allowed to pay you, I guess I can allow myself to hope a little again."-Mummy Girl
"Then we have a deal. My name is Vacio and if you give me everything that you are, I will give you everything you ever wanted"-Vacio-
Once again, the line that sounded much better on his head was extremely lame when he heard himself say it.
"Y-yes. My name Shen Yun. Please take care of me."-Mummy Girl
"As I have stated earlier, my name is Lao Wing, the young lady's godfather. I thank you for not only saving my young lady, but also to help her in her condition. And while I know this may sound disrespectful, but may I ask how are you planning to cure the young lady? This condition is something she was born with after all." Lao Wing
Once again, the Bardic Lore provided the information Vacio needed about the subject… and it further pissed him off. Whoever did this to her was someone that needed a bit more suffering in his/her life.
"I can understand your mistrust. I am a 13 year old kid after all. However, age is not the measuring stick for knowledge and wisdom." –Vacio-
"What you say is true, but please understand. We have been scammed a few times by legitimate looking people for a fair bit of money. Make us go on wild goose chases in search for a 'Rainbow Weaving Leaf' or some other unheard of ingredients just to name a few." –Lao Wing-
"Hmm… Good point. The main ingredient for the cure is a potion called an 'Elixir'. Are you familiar with this?"-Vacio-
The main purpose of the 'Beauty of the Beast' quest line was to teach the player the diagrams for the most common alchemic items they could craft. Healing potions, mana potions, buff potions, poison bombs and smoke bombs were just to name a few.
At the very end of that quest line was the design for the Elixir which was said to be able to cure any disease. That wasn't exactly true, but it worked on the most common debuffs and poisons.
Lao Wing and Shen Yun's face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Yes! We are familiar with that! It is a pricy medicine but not something out of reach. How much do we need?"-Lao Wing-
The two couldn't help but feel excited. All the quacks, scammers and incompetent doctors required some fancy ingredients because Shen Yun's affliction was beyond what they understood.
To think that the solution was so simple!
However, Vacio quickly squashed their hope of an easy cure.
"I've seen the elixirs around town when I was looking for a job. They're quality is crappy so I'd rather make it myself. As for the quantity…. An average elixir bottle is about 50ml... We need enough to completely submerge Shen Yun's entire body…. I guess 30 gallons worth of elixir would do the trick" –Vacio-
The 'Beauty of the Beast' quest line required the same amount in order to remove the poison that has built up on the prince's skin.
Shen Yun was much smaller than the Prince, so the amount might be less. However, Vacio wasn't taking any chances. Failure after mouthing off so much would be a painful kick to the nuts.
""T-THIRTY GALLONS?!"" –Lao Wing and Shen Yun-
An elixir was 80 gold per 50ml bottle. 30 gallons was about 2271 50ml bottles of elixir. 2271 bottles of elixirs were worth 181680 gold coins!
The Hou family might be one of the financial giants of Bastion City, but Shen Yun herself received very little support from her family. She has been treated as a plague since the day she was born. While she does receive an allowance, it wasn't big enough to make a dent in the 181680 gold coin price tag of the cure.
Only a handful of people openly support her. One of which is Lao Wing. However, even if Lao Wing forked all of his savings in addition to Shen Yun's savings, it was still nowhere near enough to pay even one fourth of the bill.
"Don't worry about the money. Based on what I've seen around the shops the past few days, the quality of elixirs in the market are too low for us to make use of it. We wont be spending a single gold towards the elixirs. If we want to make sure that you're healed 100%, I'm going to manually find the herbs and make the potions for myself" –Vacio-
While job hunting, Vacio discovered that nearly every item out there belonged to the Low Class Item rating. Even the more reputable establishment had middle class items at most.
He wasn't sure if this was because the creators of these items were third rate, or maybe it was because the stores were positioned where the middle class people could easily access it. Or maybe this was the best this world could offer.
Despite being only a level 4 Alchemist, Vacio could easily create any potion in a much higher quality compared to any of the alchemist and herbalists in Bastion City.
He tried to find out the selling price one of the experimental Moderate Healing Potions he crafted, and it a couple of alchemists went into a bidding war for it. It went as high as 120 gold for a piece.
Since he could do a much better job than pretty much every other manufacturer in Bastion City, he planned to abuse this and increase his financial might.
"For now, I need a place to work. Give me that and I'll show you what I can do." –Vacio-
Vacio picked up the mask on the ground and gave it back Shen Yun
"As a reward for give me everything that you are, I shall show you the world you always yearned for"-Vacio-
"Y-yes!"-Shen Yun-
Vacio couldn't help but feel goosebumps crawl up his skin. He was never an arrogant person to begin with. Spouting overconfident and extremely lame lines made him want to hide under his bed in shame.
Just like any woman, the girl needed to know that someone desired her. This alone was a massive boost to her self-esteem.
And so, Vacio had no choice but to play the role of a seductive swashbuckler, much to his displeasure.
-:-
3 Hours Later
The massive mountain at the center of Bastion City was technically 5 mountains that were so close to each other that it was hard to distinguish one from the other. The largest mountain was right in the center while the smaller mountains were positioned at the north, south, east and west of the largest mountain.
Vacio, Lao Wing and Shen Yun were located on the western mountain of the massive Bastion City.
The trio moved up and around the western mountain until they reached a small ravine. It was an area that was near impossible to find unless the person knew what he was looking for.
Perfect for Vacio's childhood dream of setting up a secret evil laboratory.
Unfortunately, there was a very minor problem
"Tch… To think lowly bandits would occupy this location…"-Lao Wing-
There were about 5 of the most stereotypical bandit imaginable. Rugged, unclean and overly unpleasing to the eyes.3 of them were men and 2 were women.
Based on their attire, rusty straight swords and 'I haven't bathed in months' look, Vacio gauged them about the same level as that hobgoblin he killed with the bunny twins.
He would have been cautious back then, but he was level 14 at the moment and he got 2 levels the lore he got from the last few days of job hunting and from saving Shen Yun. So technically speaking, he was already level 16.
He hasn't leveled up yet because he has been talking to Shen Yun and Lao Wing all this time. They have been a great source of exp through Lore and listening to them was quite enjoying.
"*sigh*…. I never expected my old secret hideout have become home to lowlife… I better clear them out" –Lao Wing-
Lao Wing unsheathed his sword. But before he could make a move, Vacio stopped him.
"Hey old man, why don't you let me deal with this." –Vacio-
"Oh? Are you sure about that? To a 10th rank of the Master Realm like myself, the 5 10th rank of the Acolyte Realm are nothing to me. If you are to suggest such a thing, then you must be confident of your strength right?"-Lao Wing-
"10th rank of the Master Realm… what is that again? Level 30? Not bad at all. He's the strongest one I've met so far." -Vacio-
However, Vacio couldn't help but feel a bit concerned. Lao Wing looked like he was at his late 50's and the best he could do was level 23? Was this how slow the leveling process was in this world?
That's a bad sign.
As of the moment, Vacio's leveling speed was slow compared to Yggdrasil standards, but it was way too fast in this world's standard. However, he wasn't sure if his leveling speed would remain this fast forever.
He wasn't sure how strong his future enemies are.
This uncertainty only solidified Vacio's commitment to starting a Line with the Tu sisters. Having lots of people would greatly increase his chance of survival.
But more importantly, Vacio needed to get to level 100 as fast as possible. Only at level 100 could he be confident enough to stand a fighting chance against any enemy he would meet in the future.
For now, he needed as much exp as he can get. Those 5 trash mobs might not look like much, but every exp was much appreciated.
"I fell 40 meters without a single scratch. That should be testament enough that I have my own set of party tricks, right?" –Vacio-
Lao Wing thought for a moment.
"…True… But why bother with these riffraff?"-Lao Wing-
Since cultivation doesn't require the martial artist to kill anyone in order to level up, the very idea of seeking battle baffled Lao Wing.
"You're a man right? It's pretty obvious that I'm going to use the small fries to look good in front of my woman!"-Vacio-
Vacio grabbed Shen Yun by the waist and pulled her close.
"W-W-W-Wha-?! I'm not your woman yet! You still have to heal me!"- Shen Yun-
"Ha ha ha ha! Resisting the inevitable is a waste of energy. I suggest you do something more constructive instead. How about thinking of a name for our children instead? Im a foreigner and my naming sense doesn't fit with the local dialect."-Vacio-
"Childr-! You rouge! Unhand me!" – Shen Yun -
Lao Wing couldn't help but smile at Vacio and Shen Yun's comical display.
He has spent so many years of his life protecting the daughter of his best friend, and it wasn't easy.
Shen Yun's condition has made her suffer greatly. She had no friends, no allies and while her mother was still very much alive, she did nothing to help Shen Yun. Shen Yun could do nothing but curl into a ball and hide from everyone.
The very idea that someone was able to playfully tease Shen Yun gave Lao Wing hope.
This little kid from a foreign land may be Shen Yun's salvation.
"Since you're confident, then by all means. However, I'll help out the moment that I believe that your life is in danger."-Lao Wing-
"Sure, but I doubt you'll get a chance to interfere." –Vacio-
Vacio let go of Shen Yun and stealthily approached the 5
Shen Yun's heart was a bit shaken. While she didn't enjoy being teased by Vacio, he was also the very first person her age to hug her so closely.
Due to her condition, the only one who was willing to have close contact with her was Lao Wing.
Because of this, her Cinderella Complex was already beyond its peak. Vacio, her prince charming, was about to charge into danger head first. She couldn't help but feel worried.
Vacio on the other hand wasn't too worried.
When he was teasing Shen Yun, the bandits didn't even realize that they were there. They weren't exactly quiet and they were still a fair ways off from the bandits, but that doesn't excuse how careless the bandits were.
A few seconds later, Vacio was hidden in a bush about 10 meters to where the bandits were located.
He closed his eyes to increase his levels.
For level 15 and 16, he took a level in Alchemist and Blacksmith. These 2 might will not help him in the upcoming battle, but these were integral requirements to his build as a whole.
"Lesser Strength, Resistance, Shield Wall, Reinforce Armor, Activate Song: Guardian's Hymn, Divine Shield"-Vacio-
Truth be told, he wanted to use all of his defensive spells, but he decided against it. Using tier 4 and above would attract unwanted attention.
He took out 2 potions that he has crafted yesterday and drank it in one gulp. These potions where 'Ogre's Strength' and 'Fiend's Endurance' which increased his strength and defense respectively.
He took another bottle and applied a coat of oil unto his mace. This was 'Thorny Rose', an weapon coat that temporarily gives a weapon a chance to cause bleeding.
What his build severely lacked in magic, he would make up with the mixture of alchemy, armor, weapons and skills. In fact, his build was probably one of the most item dependent builds out there.
With his preparations finished, Vacio took out all of his javelins and attacked.
His first throw nailed one of the females in the head.
Sadly, the bandits were not goblins. They reacted far faster and had the annoying thing called a brain to guide them.
Instead of charging at Vacio like a deranged bull, they used the trees and bushes for cover. Vacio drained his entire stock of javelins without hitting anyone.
They may look like bandits but it was obvious that they had a fair bit of combat experience. They were probably ex-adventurers or really really experienced outlaws.
The second he threw and missed his last javelin, one of the bandits immediately closed in. He swung his sword into Vacio's neck.
Vacio blocked it with his mace, but at the same time….
"Acid Javelin!"-Vacio-
As they locked weapons, Vacio shot an Acid Javelin into the bandit's gut.
The beauty of this simple technique was that the enemy's line of sight was so busy staring into his face to notice anything outside his area of perception.
The bandit crumbled into the ground while screaming in agony.
Before Vacio could finish the bandit off, 2 more bandits catch him in a pincer attack.
Vacio parried the blow from the bandit coming from the right, but that left his left side unguarded.
The bandit on the left attacked with the confidence that he would chop off Vacio's arm.
Even Lao Wing and Shen Yun feared for Vacio's safety.
However, none of them expected what transpired next.
The sound of a sword hitting a thick metal shield echoed out the moment Vacio used his left arm to block the blow.
This surprised everyone around.
Whenever someone uses a martial art, experienced practitioners would feel a certain amount of spiritual energy or Chi being drawn into the martial artist's body. This was the reason why people could perform feats that defied common sense.
This was also one of the means to predict an opponent's movement.
However, not a spec of spiritual energy could be felt from Vacio.
To a martial artist, going against someone like Vacio was like a blind and deaf man going against a rabid tiger.
Adding the fact that bandit's rusty swords couldn't even pierce Vacio's skin, they were royally screwed.
After parrying, Vacio immediately launched a counter to the bandit on his left. He shifted his left arm in order to let the rusty blade slide off, and at the same time, smash his mace into the bandit's skull.
It was like using a sledgehammer to break an egg. He not only broke the egg, he also broke the table beneath it.
With a much higher stat due to leveling up, heavy defensive buffs and doping from potions, crushing a bunch of level 10s was child's play.
Vacio quickly changed target and charged at the bandit at the right.
The bandit tried to stab Vacio in the head, but Vacio was able to tilt his head slightly for the blade to graze his cheek.
He speared the bandit into a tree, effectively knocking the wind out of the outlaw.
Vacio separated from the bandit and quickly followed up with a brutal mace strike into the poor soul's chest. The blow was so strong that the bandit's ribs were effectively fish paste.
The first bandit and the remaining female bandit couldn't believe what they saw.
A mere 13 year old kid overpowering 5 full grown adults? How the hell was that realistic?
To think they would meet a monstrous genius like Vacio at a place like this. Bad luck wasn't enough to justify this!
"P-please! We'll never do bad things again! We'll turn in a new-" –first bandit-
The first bandit wasn't able finish his sentence because of his head exploded from the force Vacio's mace transmitted into his skull.
"Hiiii!"-female bandit-
The last remaining bandit decided to run for her life.
A wise decision albeit a futile one.
"Acid Javelin!"-Vacio-
It caught the bandit on her right leg. The pain caused her to hit the ground face first.
She tried to get up and use her remaining leg to hop.
Unfortunately, another acid javelin landed on her last good leg.
She desperately crawled to safety, but it was futile.
Vacio quickly caught up with her and dragged her back.
"Please! Have mercy! They forced me to do this! I didn't want to become an outlaw!"-female bandit-
"Regret doesn't erase your past crimes. Consider me as all the bad karma that you've racked up. That would make you feel a bit better" –Vacio-
"No! You cant do this! I'm a woman!"-female bandit-
This line pissed Vacio off to high heaven.
"I am a very firm believer of TRUE gender equality! If I, for example, bash a man's skull into paste, my conscience would never forgive me if I didn't do the same thing to a woman!"-Vacio-
"No! Please! Have Mercy!"-female bandit-
"Taste the gender equality women have always wanted!"-Vacio-
Vacio violently stomped on the bandit's head. Sadly the force was not strong enough to kill her in one go. He stomped on her head again and again and again until she stopped twitching.
He hated to admit it but he got a bit emotional there.
Vacio hated nothing more than a woman who thinks that she gets a free pass because she's a woman.
This disgusting use of the gender card was something his ex-wife used often.
With his upbringing, Vacio fell for it like a good little boy.
Well, not anymore! Be it man or woman, he'll show no mercy to those who deserved none!
"Okay… Calm down…. Inhale… Exhale… phew"-Vacio-
He might not be an old man anymore, but he couldn't help but fall back to his old habits. Too much excitement nearly gave him a heart attack once.
He searched the corpse for any valuables, but sadly, he was disappointed.
Aside from their rusty weapons and a few coins, they were flat broke.
He wasn't really that surprised. Bandits were often people who were forced into it due to poverty. Morality often took the backseat when starvation was imminent.
He checked his condition.
Truth be told, he did receive damage from blocking that sword with his arm. However, it was so minor that Vacio wasn't really bothered by it.
At worst, it felt like he got hit by a baseball bat in the arm. There will be muscle pains here and there, but nothing major.
While Vacio was inspecting his body, the two caught finally caught up.
"That was amazing!"- Shen Yun -
Shen Yun launched herself at the unprepared Vacio, effectively knocking the wind right out of him.
"Even though they outnumbered you and even when they were larger than you, you still won! That was awesome!" – Shen Yun -
"Don't be so surprised. As my woman, you'll see a lot of those in the future. If you follow me faithfully, this type of performance wont be out of your reach"-Vacio-
"Really?"- Shen Yun -
"Naturally. Your body is my canvas. Entrust it to me and I will shape it into the form you have always desired"-Vacio-
"Yes! I believe you! I'll do whatever you want!" – Shen Yun-
Vacio couldn't see her face because of the mask, but he was pretty sure she was smiling innocently. In her eyes, he could see absolute trust, fanatical faith and even a hint of love.
"It hurts! It really hurts! Don't look at me with such innocent eyes!" –Vacio-
Vacio felt a bit guilty.
He knew that Shen Yun has suffered greatly despite her age. The suicide attempt was an obvious warning sign.
Shen Yun's mental state was at the point that she would madly fall in love with anyone that showed her sincere kindness. Her desire to be saved by her prince charming was so great that she would probably throw herself at her prince with reckless abaddon.
Vacio was quite worried on how to interact with her.
People who carelessly help someone who was mentally unstable were fools. More often than not, they would cause more harm than good.
Was he helping her the right way?
He wasn't sure.
He could only pray that it would work out in the end.
-:-
Lao Wing was part amazed, part thankful and part terrified.
As he watched over Vacio and Shen Yun inspects the small cave, a turmoil of thoughts were trying to figure out if Vacio was a blessing or a curse.
While Lao Wing may look like a 60+ year old man, he was actually over 120 years old. It was thanks to his high mastery of cultivation and secret cultivation techniques that allowed him to extend his life.
Add the fact that he was only 1 step below the realm of heroes, he could say that he was one of the strongest humans in the world.
However, for all of his strength, he was old and getting older still.
He wasn't sure how long he could remain beside Shen Yun.
Having someone like Vacio beside her would remove a massive burden off his shoulders. Having a friend, or even a lover, was ways better than suffering alone.
However, Lao Wing was a bit terrified of Vacio.
First, Vacio's knowledge and overall temperament.
Lao Wing has lived for 120 years. There was no way he wouldn't learn how to see through a person's character during that time.
He could tell that Vacio truly wanted to help Shen Yun in her dilemma, but the way he approached it was absolutely not something a 13 year old would do.
Lao Wing could easily tell that Vacio could read Shen Yun's emotional and mental state. He then led her by the nose and manipulated her feelings in order to get her to accept him quickly.
This type of wisdom and street smarts were something an experienced con artist or a politician would do…. Though the 2 doesn't have much difference from one another.
And don't get him started on Vacio's understanding of alchemy.
While Lao Wing didn't have any skill in the alchemic discipline, he became familiar with it over the many years of combat.
When he, Shen Yun and Vacio were heading to the secret hideout, Vacio asked Lao Wing of the location and availability of the materials required to make the elixir.
Lao Wing was shocked how precise Vacio described the possible locations of each material, their effect when mixed with the other materials and the potential risks if Vacio made a mistake during the brewing process.
All of these were taught to Lao Wing by his alchemist friends during a war a few decades ago.
How could a 13 year old know so much?
Second, his ungodly levels of combat prowess.
Those who have enough experience in cultivation and martial arts could tell that Vacio's background was certainly not ordinary.
Martial Artist unconsciously leaked Spiritual Energy just by breathing. When in combat, Martial Artists would often unleash massive amounts of spiritual energy in order to perform heaven defying feats.
However, Vacio did nothing of the sort. While his skill in the magical arts was a shocker, his absurd physical endurance without a single spec of spiritual energy was an enigma.
The sound of metal when a blade smashed into his arm was not normal!
Lao Wing initially thought that Vacio was born with a Supreme Body, but he quickly dismissed it. If that was the case, Vacio wouldn't have used so much defensive magic to protect his body.
However, Lao Wing was very doubtful that even the master class tier 3 spells was enough to completely block out the damage.
The only conclusion was that Vacio possessed a type of cultivation that vastly surpassed Lao Wing's comprehension.
The third and probably the most terrifying fact about Vacio were the 2 potions that he drank prior to the start of the battle.
Ogre's Strength and Fiend's Endurance were called by modern alchemists as 'Forbidden Potions'. These were performance enhancing drugs that temporarily boosted a person's power to dangerous levels.
The main reason why these were called Forbidden was because they were highly damaging to the body.
A few minutes after ingesting a Forbidden Potion, the person's body would begin rejecting the potion. Aside from a pale complexion, nausea, throwing up of gastric juices and internal hemorrhage, the person would be poisoned that would cripple a person if not quickly treated.
Lao Wing took such potions during the wars when he was about to make his last stand.
However, not only was Vacio not exhibiting any of the typical symptoms, he actually drank 2 at the same time!
How could Vacio still be alive and well after that?!
Lao Wing couldn't comprehend the absurdity that was Vacio
However, a few seconds of deep thought made him realize something
"Don't tell me…. This kid is a user of the Northern Martial Arts?! To shrug off 2 Forbidden Potions, could he possibly a have the potential to become a god class Northern Martial Artist?!" –Lao Wing-
Unlike the Western, Eastern and Southern Martial Arts, the Northern Martial Arts was very easy entry curve for beginners before the learning curve suddenly shot straight up at the middle levels.
The first and last Northern Martial Artist to achieve a God class rating was the Black Beast of the North, one of the 4 Divine Gods and founder of the entire Northern Martial Arts Techniques.
Fear swelled within Lao Wing.
Was Vacio a guardian angel that would lead the world into a brighter future?
Or was he the demonic entity that would plunge the world into chaos?
-:-