Ey.
Re-uploaded Chapter 18 is here.
Finally dwelling a bit more into the intrigue which is taking place behind the scenes.
Won't be long now anymore.
With that said, enjoy.
XXX
Hmm, as I expected. These libraries are indeed great sources of knowledge.
The boy nodded once, flipping to the next page, his eyes carefully scanning the sentences. Though he had become pretty proficient in speaking Koine, the language of the west, the written part was still on the harder side to understand, though he believed he was still pretty good at reading and that his pace was acceptable.
...As the area of negative charge at the base of the thundercloud builds up, it induces a region of positive charge to develop on the ground below. As a result of this, a potential difference or voltage is created across the cloud-to-ground gap. Once the voltage reaches a certain strength, the air between the base of the cloud and the ground develops an electrical conductivity. At first a channel, known as a stepped leader, is formed. Although invisible to the naked eye, this allows electrons to move from the cloud to the ground.
It is called a stepped leader because it travels in 50 to 100 meters sections, with a slight pause in between, to the ground. As it nears the ground, a positively charged streamer fires upwards from the ground to connect with it. Streamers are most often initiated from tall objects on the ground.
Once connected, electrons from the cloud can flow to the ground and positive charges can flow from the ground to the cloud. It is this flow of charge that is the visible lightning stroke.
After the first discharge, it is possible for another leader to form down the channel. Once again, a visible lightning stroke is seen. This can happen 3–4 times in quick succession. All of this happens in a time interval of about 200 milliseconds…
…
…
200 milliseconds? Well...that's fast...Notes, gotta take some notes...
Fuzen grabbed the pen and his small notepad both of which he prepared exactly for this excursion to the library, and began writing down notes on what he had learned so far. He had little doubt in his memory, but just in case.
Notes never hurt anybody.
So far he had been learning at the library for the better part of six hours now. It was straining and not exactly to his liking, this whole reading thing, however he was well aware that one could not become the strongest without learning.
Still, he felt mental fatigue slowly building up.
Was it because of how early he had awakened, or because he had already began reading at an early hour back at the Manor?
Nonetheless, Fuzen knew that reading anymore than this would be counter-productive: he would hardly remember anything past this point.
Thus he closed the book, making sure to write the page number he last read in his notes then placed it back on the bookshelf he took it from.
Without further delay he walked past the elf librarian, with whom he had exchanged a few words during his days at the library, bowing to her and wishing her a good day before walking out onto the street.
Fuzen's first reaction had been to look around, trying to spot the creepy-looking man from before. Alas, it seemed he decided to leave in the end.
However…
I can make it worth your time. The man had said, his expression the exact opposite of trustworthy. Fuzen had understood it then: the man was a weasel.
And he hated weasels.
I'm not interested in either your message nor in your offer, sir. I will not repeat myself. Goodbye.
Young man, I believe you should really-
Fuzen at the time turned around, locking eyes with man before him. Granted, he had no sword on him because the library did not allow any weapons to be carried inside, but he believed he made his point very clear: one more word and you will not like what will happen next.
If the man's silence was anything to go by, then his point got across and Fuzen made for the library, letting no further hindrances get in the way of his training and learning regime.
...Let's hope you do not regret your decision…
That was the last he heard of the weasel-looking man, whispering under his breath as he closed the door behind him and went on with his day.
That was...a threat.
At least, as far as Fuzen could understand.
...All bark and no bite, most probably. That man did not look like a fighter. At most, he might hire some muscles and send them my way. Sigh...what a waste of lives that will be.
Fuzen shook his head and walked on. No point in dwelling on such matters. He would deal with them when the time came.
"...It's midday...And if I remember the work assignment correctly...Yeah, that could work." Fuzen walked on, towards his next destination: the Hostess of Fertility.
...Sigh...why did I even decide to do that? Damned be my sense of duty and honour…
XXX
Ais Wallenstein felt, once again to her surprise, good.
It wasn't a new sensation, either: she felt different for more than a couple of months, now.
"Rooar!" The beast before her bellowed with rage yet Ais did not feel the slightest bit intimidated. How could she, after all? She was a Level 5 Adventurer and the enemy before her was a simple Bloodsaurus, the last of it's pack.
She ran around the monsters, to it's left side in order to make use of it's slow reaction to fast-moving targets then jumped on it's rear leg, then once again towards it's long neck. The monster dispersed into ash after it's head had been cut, it's Magic Stone falling to the ground with a familiar thud.
Her rapier now sheathed, Ais looked around at the many shining Magic Stones on the ground, all from Monsters she had slain.
In one month's time, their Familia would launch another expedition into the Deep Floors.
It would also be another try at reaching a lower Floor than what they managed so far: their highest Floor reached was to date the 55th Floor, and so the goal this time around was the 56th Floor.
Naturally, everyone was hyped about this challenge and Ais was no different.
However to her surprise, she was far more excited than ever before. She remembered the time she was a Level 3 Adventurer and just set foot onto the Deep Floors for the first time, and...she could not remember being excited back then.
It was just another wall to break through.
Just another step stone towards becoming stronger and reaching her goal.
But that emptiness from back then was gone now, instead replaced with feelings of excitement.
Of eagerness.
"...I wonder why…?" Ais pondered on the question for a moment, then simply shrugged. "Doesn't matter, I guess."
She was training, like most of the others in the Familia.
In truth, the Amazon twins had come to this Floor with her before splitting up each of them taking over an area of the Floor in order to maximize their individual Excelia gain.
Going by her internal clock which was pretty accurate most of the time, they had been here for the better part of five or six hours. She could naturally still go at it for a couple of hours more, however…
"I'm hungry…"
Ais sighed.
Lefiya, the last to join their group had followed them into the Dungeon as well.
Their supplies were also with her, back on the 25th Floor. Just like them Lefiya also desired to do some solo Excelia farming and seeing how the Middle Floors were less dangerous than the Deep Floors, everyone decided to agree to Lefiya's proposal of holding onto the supplies.
Reason for this was that it was unlikely for Ais, Tiona and Tione to get hurt, and in case they got hurt, all three of them could quickly reach Lefiya. Second reason was that the mage was in more need of the few supplies they took with them.
"...I should have taken some crackers with me, at the very least…"
Ais decided to call it a day and go back up. All that was left was to check on Tiona and Tione-
A cheerful voice called out to her. "Hey, Ais! You done?!"
...Scratch that I guess… Ais looked to the side and saw Tiona running towards her, the ridiculously-sized Urga held in her hand, a bag held in the other.
"Yeah. You too?"
"Yep! I could still go at it, but meh, we still a while month left to prepare for the expedition."
"Mhm. Then let's go check on Tione." The cheerful Amazon nodded and after collecting the Magic Stones on the ground, the two walked on.
"So, feeling any stronger?"
"Hmm…" Ais took a moment to ponder, trying to sense any changes inside of her. "I guess not as much as I expected. And you?"
Tiona sighed, taking a moment to think. "...So-so, I'd say. We've been at this for a while now but...guess the Monsters here aren't all that tough for us anymore. Less Excelia, too."
"Yeah...Guess we need to go even deeper to make actual progress."
"Mhm."
Before long they heard the sound of battle in the distance accompanied by the roars of Monsters in agony. Neither of the girls hastened their pace, however. There was no reason to.
After all, the scariest roar of them all boomed louder than that of all the Monsters combined.
"Die already, you pieces of shits!"
"Sigh...There she goes again…" Tiona was naturally already accustomed to her twin's true personality and was in no way surprised at her fits of anger. Ais, too, had witnessed this for a couple of years now, however she still flinched the slightest bit when it happened.
The shift in personality was way too extreme for her.
The narrow corridor came to an end, into a larger room. Magic Stones were scattered across the ground. In the distance, the buxom Amazon stood with both her knifes drawn, having just slain the last of the Monsters. "Tione, you done?"
"Hm? Yeah. Ain't a challenge anymore."
"I know, right? Ready to go back up?"
"Guess so." Tione shrugged, sheathing her knifes and sighing. "I won't become stronger for the Captain at this rate…"
"Now, now, don't go sulking on me."
"I wasn't sulking, you idiot."
"Who're you calling an idiot?!"
One sibling argument later the three girls had moved on, the silence between them persisting for the shortest moments. However, with Tiona around such notions were quickly forgotten.
"So wanna head even deeper next time? Not like we'll make much progress on these Floor anyway." She asked the other two girls.
"Yeah, that would be for the best. I need to get stronger so that the Captain will praise me and allow me to fight by his side."
"Tione, you already fight by his side."
"It's not the same!" The Amazon shouted. "Sure, as a Level 5 I'm fighting by his side, but I want to be the one to fight by his side!"
"Geez, you're confusing." Tiona said, hardly being able to understand her own twin anymore when it came to the Captain.
"Well, that's to be expected. My naive younger sister is still blind to true love, after all." Tione replied.
A faint grin took shape on Tiona's lips. "Shouldn't both people be in love with the other for it to be true love?"
"...What the hell did you just say?!"
"The truth, duh!"
Ais looked on as the Amazons head-butted each other, neither of them allowing themselves to be pushed back.
They were...funny, she realized.
"...Hmhm…"
"…!"
"…!"
Her chuckle did not go unnoticed, both Amazon's turning their head towards her with wide-eyed shock. Their shock were not just because of this one instance of Ais laughing: she had laughed multiple times in the past few weeks.
Normally this would hardly be a reason to be shocked. However, this was no normal person, it was Ais Wallenstein.
The ever aloof, mysterious and socially awkward doll-faced Ais.
"...What?"
"...N-Nothing." The twins replied in unison, and the group moved on.
Tiona however could not keep quiet for long. She threw a couple of glances at Ais, then finally could no longer hold it in."...Say, Ais."
"Hm?"
"You've...changed." She stated, her twin nodding once in agreement.
"...I have?"
"Well, yeah. You're like...hmm...more sociable? Uhh, not to say you weren't before!"
"Tiona's right. You laugh a lot more, as well. Did something change, Ais?"
That was an unexpected question. Did something change?
She...didn't know.
Did she feel different?...Possibly? It was all quite confusing, even for Ais herself. "….I don't know. Nothing really changed."
"Hey, don't get us wrong, it's not bad if nothing changed."
"Mhm." Ais nodded, her brows still frowned. Now that the twins mentioned it, she did laugh a lot more recently. "...I feel lighter. I think."
"Lighter? Did you lose some weight?" Tiona asked, halfway oblivious to the real meaning behind the words.
"That's not it, Tiona. It just that...I feel like I can breath easier now?"
"Then something happened to make you feel so. When did this happen?" Tione inquired.
When did it happen, indeed?
Ais concentrated, trying her best to think of when this feeling began to make itself known to her. Was it a week ago? Two weeks?...No, it was more. "...I guess two or three months now?"
The twins looked at each other, and nodded. "Sounds about right. That's when we first noticed, too."
The question remained as to why she felt this way.
Two to three months ago, that was when…
"Isn't that around the time you got that weird fever that nothing could cure?" Tiona asked, and Ais nodded in response. Quite indeed, that was the time she began to feel like this. When she no longer felt as...troubled as before.
"So...around the time that boy came back to help you?"
"Yeah…"
Ais remembered little of the time she got sick and only knew what others told her.
The fever and the other symptoms had manifested very sudden with no prior indications of something being wrong with her. One day, she was in her room contemplating her choices, the next she felt a sharp, body-engulfing pain and the world went dark before her eyes.
Next she woke up and the boy, Fuzen, was by her side.
She panicked.
It was only for a single moment, but she panicked.
Meeting his hazel eyes right upon waking up, she thought the boy had come to...finish what he started. It was foolish, and she knew it: though Ais failed to understand the concept completely, she knew for a fact that Fuzen would never go against his word, that he would not harm her as long as he remained with Loki Familia.
But in the end people cannot always win against their fears, and so she had panicked.
He is going to kill me.
That thought crossed her mind, however just as fast as it came, so it disappeared.
For the first time in her life, Ais had tasted the cold breath of death on her life at the hands of a human: at Fuzen's own hands.
Yes, she had fought other humans until that point and in her younger years came many times close to defeat. But even so, she never truly felt she would lose her life at their hands.
Until the boy made her experience it.
Ruthlessly and mercilessly.
However, one single moment after waking up, she understood.
He was not a danger to her.
Why did she think this of someone who almost cut her head off?
She didn't know.
She simply did.
"It's all weird." Tiona's words shook Ais from her thoughts. "I mean, how can high-tier potions and Magic not work, but his intervention cured you?"
"Well...he's puzzling like that." Tione replied with a shrug. "Truly, I doubt anyone in the Familia knows what his deal is."
"Still, aren't you curious?"
"It's not like you can expect people to simply share their past with you, Tiona. You should know that."
"...I guess." The younger twin nodded, then looked back towards the Sword Princess. "So, Ais. Uhh...how are you doing? You know, about that...thing?"
Ais understood that Tiona was asking about the time she had almost been killed. Truth be told, she did have trouble sleeping the first few days after that incident.
Some may say things like I survived and thus all is good, but Ais knew that was simply a lie.
Those who said that had not come close to death in the first place. She had herself been...scared.
One moment she felt like the bond between them has deepened through a link of swordsmanship, and the next moment he is one strike away from killing her.
Naturally, she had been scared.
Had been.
"...I'm good now. Really." Ais assured her friends with a nod. For once she felt as if she didn't half-lie about her state of being.
She truly felt fine.
She understood her mistakes all too well.
Extreme as it had been, Ais doubted she could ever go to such lengths herself, Fuzen's actions were understandable more so after learning more of the boy from Riveria. She tried to steal his most precious thing and paid the price for it. All she could hope to do now was to somehow make amends, a goal she knew would be difficult if not downright impossible.
Still, she had to try to do it, no matter how hard it was.
Currently, the boy was busy with his own training, something he's been at for more than three months now. Ais knew she should not try to speak to him in this time. He already hated her and would probably hate her even more if she tried to distract him.
However, the next big expedition was just a month away.
And taking in consideration just how powerful he was, Finn was bound to place him in the vanguard again.
Ais too, as always, would be in the vanguard.
That is when she would try to speak to him.
Try to make things better.
And finally, ask him why she felt so different after the treatment he performed on her.
Why she felt different.
Why she felt freed of burden.
XXX
"...Closed? But…" Fuzen looked up at the sky and frowned.
It was no longer midday, but even so he knew for a fact the pub before him would be open until night time, when they served only Adventurers.
So then, why was the pub closed?
...This is weird.
He knew for a fact that the woman he was looking for would be working today. However, it seemed like he could not fulfil his duty today, if they were closed.
Should I ask around…? He pondered for a moment before shaking his head. No, it is not my business. These women can take care of themselves.
Guess I'll just go….do something. Anything. Sigh...I hate rest days…
"...Oh, if it isn't the cute boy."
Fuzen looked to his side with a frown, having heard those two words used together to describe him one too many times.
I'm not cute, damn it. I'm a Disciple of the Lightning Sword Style.
"...Faust-sama."
The brown haired female waved at him, however he did not return the gesture. He felt that would be way too much as he was just a stranger to her and vice-versa. "Are you here looking for Chloe again?"
His eye twitched slightly as his hands curled into fists. Quite indeed, he was here for the creepy Cat Woman who made his skin crawl.
If only he wasn't bound by a sense of duty…
"...Yes, I had come here to be served food by Rollo-sama. However, it seems your establishment is closed?"
"Yeah, the weirdest thing happened." Lunoire replied with a shrug. "A big group came earlier at the pub, over fifty people in fact. We even had to bring out the spare tables and chairs for them. The orders were so many we used up most of the ingredients in the storeroom. Then that group left and another one came. Mama Mia sent most of us out in a hurry to buy more ingredients, but there was nothing left there."
"...Nothing left?" Fuzen inquired, by now rather taken aback.
Orario was the largest city in the known world. Compared to the half-baked excuse of a marketplace found in most cities in the Far East, Orario's marketplace was enormous. It was thus almost unimaginable for there to be...almost nothing left.
"Yeah, it seems that most of the food was bought by some individuals. Honestly, there was enough left for us to buy for the pub, but...Syr said that civilians need to buy food for their families, too. So we came back, told Mama Mia everything, and she closed the pub for the day. I'm not saying no to half a day off, but...this all seems rather weird."
"...Indeed, Faust-sama. Whoever could be so greedy as to buy so much food in a single day?"
"Who knows?" Lunoire shrugged again, this time with a long sigh. "I just hope it won't happen again tomorrow."
"I hope so, too."
"Yeah...So, anyway…" The brown-haired waitress grinned, and Fuzen knew from that gesture alone he was not going to like her next words. "Why do you come here so often and only ask for Chloe to take your order? Don't tell me you are actually…into the same thing as her, only in reverse?"
In a rare display of emotions, Fuzen's expression shifted into one of pure disgust at even just being compared to the Cat Woman known as Chloe, something which greatly amused Lunoire herself. "Please, do not insult me with such comparisons."
"Haha, sorry, sorry. Still, it is quite suspicious when you think about it. We rarely get customers who only wish to be served by a single waitress alone."
"I am not blind to what happens around me and I simply wish to repay a debt." The boy replied, though it only helped to confuse the woman before him even more. "Despite how much I dislike it…" He added, muttering under his breath.
"What debt?"
"Sigh...That is for me to know alone. All things aside, if your establishment is closed, then I shall see this as a saving grace and be on my way. Farewell, Faust-sama."
"Okay, see you."
Fuzen bowed his head and then was on his way again.
This incident felt all weird.
He had been in Orario for more than a year now and he never heard anything like this happening before. The city was a living being, with the economical strategies behind it making Fuzen's head spin.
He learned much from the Captain during his apprenticeship, for a lack of better words, under him and yet the political and financial games behind Orario was still beyond his ability to understand.
He knew, however, that such an action would not go unpunished. Whoever bought this insane amount of food with total disregard for the city would surely suffer at the hands of someone.
...It's none of my business, however. It's neither personal nor Familia-related. The city's problems are just that: the city's.
He was still hungry however, and that was a problem.
Though his breakfast had been plentiful indeed, that had been over twelve hours ago. Strangely enough, he found out that the feeling of hunger appeared faster in him when his time was allocated to reading despite it's lack of physical movement found in training.
"...I suppose I could go for some Gyúdon at the owner's restaurant. It's been some time since I last ate some eastern food."
This was the same restaurant he once brought the Takemikazuchi Familia to, a couple of months ago. It was also his favourite place to eat at when not preparing his own meals, for the owner had a large variety of dishes, all of which were not accessible for him back in the Far East, having been born in a small village with a population of under ninety villagers. It had also been situated very, very far away from any major settlement, so dishes like this were rare to come by back then.
Wait...Gyúdon, or something else? Hmm...I don't believe I have done or achieved anything worthy of such a dish just yet. I have not even achieved a Level Up. No, I cannot have Gyúdon. Rice and fish will have to do. Indulge is bad, indulge is bad…
His mind made up, Fuzen made his way towards the East District where his kinsmen were gathered.
Where the Gyúdon and ten servings of Dango were waiting-
He stopped and shook his head as a frown took shape on his face."God damn it, no. No Gyúdon. Simple rice. Simple, fricking rice. Sigh...This is all that god damned lizard's fault."
Raiju was part of Fuzen in more ways than just one. Strong emotions, for example, were also shared between them. Secondly, they also shared a...mental compass, and one could guess or feel where the other was.
Without much effort, Fuzen could immediately guess that Raiju was still sleeping back in his room. The lizard must have subconsciously felt that Fuzen was thinking about food and then inserted his own preference of food in Fuzen's mind, their thoughts merging together in a sort of mental compromise.
Such things happened far too often now that Raiju had fully manifested himself into the physical world and their link had strengthened.
And it was maddening.
Fuzen stopped, and slowly looked up at the sky, feeling his eye yet again twitching without his intention.
Was he making progress towards his goal, or the opposite?
The one safe space he had to collect himself, the vastness of his own mind, was no longer his own.
From a landlord, he had became both a landlord and a tenant.
When he resolved himself to pursue his goal, he knew the very world would become his enemy
He accepted it, terrifying as it was. But he didn't cower at the prospect. At the very least, he knew he could trust his training, his Sword Style, his Ki and probably most important of all, himself.
And all that came crashing down.
No longer could he become strong through his usual training: the lizard stole all his progress.
No longer was his Ki his own: the lizard stole half of it.
No longer was he whole: the lizard's manifestation split him in two.
No longer could he find solace in the silence of his own mind: the lizard intruded his very thoughts, trying to shape them to his own liking.
This meant only one thing: he could not even trust-
...Huh?
In front of him the sun's luminance slowly began to be engulfed by a blanket of rising, black smoke. He took a moment to assess the situation.
People's voices in the distance.
The slight vibration in the ground produced by rushed steps of large number of people moving as one.
Black smoke.
A fire broke out in the East District.
Not even that long ago, it must have happened while he was thinking.
"Lighting Drive."
Losing no more time Fuzen rushed to the scene. It happened just a short while ago so his assistance might be the difference between life or death for anyone trapped wherever the fire broke out.
He did not use the streets, instead jumping on the roofs of the eastern-style buildings of the East District.
his shaved off time by avoiding the large crowds of people gathering on the streets.
He had arrived at the scene in seconds and his suspicions proved right: the place where the fire had broke out was the Kigo Ryótei, translating as the Four Season Restaurant.
The place he frequented the most.
"[More water! Bring more water!]"
"[Don't inhale the smoke! Step back!]"
"[Did everyone make it out?!]"
Down below on the streets his kinsmen were frantically trying to put out the fire, brining water buckets and barrels to the scene to try and contain the flames. However, despite their efforts the fire did not go down at all.
That is also when Fuzen noticed it.
The fire was unnatural.
It was not the colour of flames caused by accident: the flames had slightly violet edges and it spread like an oil across the establishment. He had seen something similar once, on his first Expedition with Loki Familia.
A lower-level member had thrown a bomb at a Silverback which caused this exact same kind of fire. Upon inquiring about the bomb the man told Fuzen that it was a new creation of Perseus, the Captain of the Hermes Familia.
"Alchemical fire...meaning this was not an accident..."
...Questions for later.
He noticed the young waitress of Kigo Ryótei, an acquaintance of his, on the street and jumped down to meet her. "[Riko. What happened?]"
"[Y-Young Master?! It's terrible! O-One moment everything was normal, then all of a sudden something exploded and t-the fire…!]"
"[Calm down. Where is the owner?]"
"[H-He...He was in the storeroom past the kitchen when the fire began. Young Master, I...I don't think he…]" The woman's hands curled into fists, tears falling down her face.
It was obvious even to someone as socially inexperienced as Fuzen that she was thinking of the worst.
"[Understood. Wait here.]"
"[What?]"
Fuzen wasted no more time in taking off his jacket and shirt, confusing the waitress with his actions. Once his upper body was bare he rushed towards the restaurant, running past the entrance and making a beeline straight for the kitchen.
As a matter of fact, he was not afraid of flames, not even of burning buildings.
Fire was dangerous, yes, but only if you moved slow enough to allow it to burn you. The word slow did not apply to him, however, and having taken off his easily flammable clothes the most that could burn off were a couple of hairs.
Secondly, the smoke posed no danger to him, either. Thanks to his training he could hold his breath even while moving or running for very long periods of time even when compared to other blessed Adventurers.
Because of those reasons, he could deal with the situation calmly and swiftly.
...Good. I sense an ember of Ki. He's alive.
The restaurant itself was built in a very traditional eastern way, which meant it was mostly made of wood. The ceiling had collapsed and there was little room for him to move forward. This was when he cursed the fact that he left his swords back at the Manor and the rule that forbid the possession of weapons while inside the library.
Fuzen quickly looked around, and to his luck he noticed a suitable substitute for his swords: the owner's hòchò.
The Far East had little in the way of natural iron resources.
Despite the fact that westerners mostly affiliated eastern swordsmen with katana, in fact, soldiers and a good number of swordsmenused spears in battle, as less iron was required for forging a spear than a sword. This was one of the reasons why owning a katana was seen as a sign of good uprising and wealth.
However, iron was not used just for the military force and nobility.
Sushi chefs, called Itamae in his country, spent as much as twenty years to master their craft.
They were also were highly regarded in the society and their most notable sign of status was their kitchen knife: the hóchó.
The same steel used for forging a katana was also used to forge a chef's hóchó. It was thus not false to say that one such knife had roughly the same quality as a good katana, easily being able to cleave through meat and bone with little effort.
Because of that, one could say that a hóchó had the same importance for a chef as a katana for a swordsman.
Knowing this Fuzen was hesitant for a moment to grab the knife.
He may not trust anyone but even he had respect for other people's possessions. However, this was an emergency. Shameless as it was, he grabbed the knife and cut the broken wood pieces blocking his way in two, finally able to move on.
Rushing inside the small storeroom he found the owner, laying unconsciously on the floor.
At the very least he didn't burn alive.
Since he rushed inside, two seconds had passed. For Fuzen it was barely anything, but the owner's life depended on how quickly he could get him out.
Walking back was not really an option, as he heard even more of the building collapsing behind him. Worst case scenario, another piece of the building would fall on them as he tried to cut a way.
So then, what could he do?
The answer was obvious.
Grabbing the knife tighter in his hand, Fuzen hurled the owner over his shoulder and ran towards the wall in front of him.
If there is no way, make one. Easy life-cheats.
He slashed away at the wall, the knife now coated in a thin layer of his Ki, even sharper than before. This was also in order to keep the blade from getting dull and nicked.
Once the wall had been weakened enough Fuzen threw a frontal kick at it and the wood was sent flying.
He wasted not one moment and jumped outside, a gust of flames barely missing him and the owner. Obviously enough, having created another exit point the flames followed shortly after, using the new opening to grow even larger thanks to the oxygen.
Well, that was pretty close. Anyway…
Fuzen rushed back to Riko, who cried in surprise as he appeared from around the corner, the owner alive on his shoulder. No longer under the pressure of possibly burning alive he laid the unconscious man on the ground, now finally having time to examine the wounds.
Luckily, the man had received only a few burns on his body. He guessed the smoke did more damage than the fire itself. Taking a mid-tier potion from his pouch, which he always carried on him, Fuzen emptied the content on the owner, the liquid quickly getting absorbed into his body. Though he remained unconscious, the burns on his skin vanished as if never there.
It was done.
Now only a question remains: who dared burn down my favourite Dango shop?
…
…
…
Wait wut? Fuzen grabbed his head, feeling the anger from before return back threefold."[No, damn it! Not Dango! Rice. Simple cooked rice! Ahhh, I'll deep-fry you, lizard!]"
To his side Riko stared at him with a shocked, confused expression. "[...Uhh….Young Master?]"
"[God fricking damn it! Get the Dango out of my head you stupid lizard!]"
[...I-Is this one of the teenage phases I heard about…?]
"[I don't even like Dango that much! At least fill my head with sinfully delicious eclairs!]"
…
…
…
That was the first day Fuzen ran down towards a building at full speed and plunged himself head-first into the wall, breaking through the thin wooden planks with his momentum alone.
A moment of dizziness later, he slowly pulled his head back.
XXX
Roughly one hour had passed.
After his little...slip of character, Fuzen helped the civilians put out the fire which thankfully died out some twenty minutes later. A group of Ganesha Familia members, the policing force of Orario, had also rushed to the scene after being informed of the fire and helped out as best they could.
After the fire died out Fuzen introduced himself to the Ganesha members and informed them of a potential arsonist being on the loose and about how he believed alchemical fire to have been used.
It was not much of a lead, but they could try to trace it down with help of the Hermes Familia who sold said bombs, so the information had been appreciated.
The owner also woke up in the meantime and thanked Fuzen for saving his life, despite how downhearted he was to see his restaurant burn down before his very eyes.
Fuzen was not good at comforting people.
Truthfully, he did not even understand the reason behind such actions. There were no truths nor any lies in life, only hard facts. The restaurant burned down. End of story. Nothing less and nothing more.
Deal with it and start anew.
That had been the only response Fuzen could have given the owner regarding this whole situation. It was the only one he could give without lying.
Even so, maybe it was because he was older now, or maybe because he spent too much time in Orario, but even he understood that it was not...suitable to say it.
At the very least, not right now.
Thus he handed the knife back to the owner, bowed, said he was sorry for his loss and was once again on his way.
It was possible to save the owner, and so he did it.
It was possible to help with the fire, and so he did it.
It was his civic duty to give his report to the policing force, and so he did it.
Anything more than that was not possible nor required, least of all trying to comfort others.
...Still, I wonder...Why exactly the owner's shop? Does he have enemies out for his life? Do….Do people working in the food industry engage in deadly, systematic annihilation of one's competition…?
For a single moment the visage of the woman called Mama Mia popped up in his mind, her face twisted in a wrathful expression as he had seen multiple times now, mostly while throwing rowdy Adventurers out in the street.
That only served to solidify his belief of the food industry fighting a shadow war behind the curtains where each establishment was fighting for dominance as the best place which served food.
In other words, a city-wide battle royale was going on.
Last man standing takes everything.
"...Huh. That's kind of scary. Still, it doesn't concern me."
He had arrived back at the Manor and quickly made his way to the bathroom. Ash was sticking to his skin as well as in locations he would rather not voice out.
He needed to scrub himself clean for a filthy body was a sign of unworthiness for a Disciple.
One good scrubbing later, he was fresh again and clad in a new set of his usual clothes.
Because of the difficulty of his new training regime and the wounds that came with it he decided to buy a drawer's worth of clothes as they got destroyed rather quickly, so now he was the owner of a drawer full of the same pants, shirt and haori jacket.
Even so, however, the number of usable clothes decreased rather quickly.
He would need to buy new ones soon.
Sigh...clothes are not cheap, damn it. What happened to the days where I only had a single set of clothes and took care of them until I outgrew their size…? This is shameful...
Fuzen walked down the stairs towards the ground floor.
Thanks to that fire he never got his rice so he was planning on making some food, meditate for a couple of hours and then hit the bed for the hardships which would follow tomorrow. Twelve more days of continuous fighting to the death. He would need to be well-rested-
Rushed steps followed behind him and Fuzen turned around to see Raul almost sprinting in his direction. His expression was one of worry and concern, and while that was normal enough to notice on the man, this time around it looked far more serious.
"...Nord-sama. What happened?"
"Fuzen. You weren't here?"
"No, I was away today. Why the rush?"
"It's a total disaster." Raul stated with a shake of his head, peeking Fuzen's interest. "Our Familia put out orders for the upcoming expedition. We need a lot of resources, items and so on for large-scale expeditions, after all."
"Indeed." Fuzen nodded. He was aware of this thanks to the days he spent learning under Finn.
"However, we just got word that the orders we put out either got stolen, will be delayed due to lack of materials availableor for one reason or another can no longer be upheld. As for the potions we requested to be brewed in advance, they were somehow destroyed by burglars or something. This happened to all the Pharmacies in and outside Orario, except Dian Cecht's shop. I'm on my way now to check on the weapons. Sorry, gotta go!" Wasting no more time the High Novice rushed out of the Manor, leaving a confused Fuzen behind him.
...A mass delay of orders? Is that...even possible? Is that why the Manor feels so empty? Is everyone out there checking this all out? Then, I should too...
He took another step down the stairs, then another, the second one slower than the first. By the third step his eyes narrowed and by the fourth step, he remained still for a couple of seconds.
Slowly his hands curled into fists, his teeth clenching, veins popping up on his face and neck one after another.
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
"Huff...Huff...Huff…Grrhh..."
He hunched forward, his fingers clenching and unclenching as he tried to compose himself with jagged, hissed breaths.
It didn't work.
Had there been another instance where his breathing technique was not able to calm him down?
He could not remember.
Not at the moment.
He could barely think at all.
Overwhelming anger plagued his mind, anger he had not felt in a truly long time.
And then his eye began to twitch, as did his whole body.
"...How dare you…? How dare you…?The Lighting Sword Style...My Lighting Sword Style...Every single one of you...Every last one...I'll cut you apart…I'll rip your hearts out your throats...You honourless dogs...You who would step over all I have left...You who would use others as stepping stones to get to me..."
"How dare you?"
"How dare you?"
"How dare you?"
"How dare you?"
"How dare you bring shame upon my Lightning Sword Style?!"
…
...
...
"...I will butcher you all like the animals you are. No mercy. No compromise."
The rage increased and he felt it throbbing throughout his body, no longer at a state where he could contain it.
He had hoped, he truly did, that it would not happen again.
He had hoped people here would be smarter than the ones from his home country.
He had hoped, for the sake of his sanity, that such carnage would no longer be required here in Orario.
In the west.
In his lifetime.
But again, he was proven wrong.
Like always, people could not be trusted.
Something as simple as honour could not be expected from them.
As the rage continued to build up, Fuzen went over everything they had done and where he could potentially find them. Every single piece of information he analysed for a pattern, anything to give him a lead as to their whereabouts-
"...Ah." And as he realized what they were up to thanks in no small part to Raul and his words his anger dispersed into thin air, replaced with a feeling of worry.
They were honourless dogs.
Even she could be targeted.
He could not allow harm to come to her, no matter what.
Fuzen turned around, his hand extended. "My swords."
"Here, Master." Raiju nodded, extending Utegiri and Eisatsu to Fuzen who quickly fastened them at his hip. When exactly the lizard rushed to his side, Fuzen could not say with certainty, but they shared a link and thus his rage must have woken him up from his sleep.
"Do you understand?"
Raiju nodded, no trace of his usual goofiness to be found. "Yes."
He nodded as Raiju transformed into his small form and took to the skies as Fuzen himself rushed out the front door at full speed with the usage of Lighting Drive.
No time could be lost.
Just then he heard Raiju's voice echoing in his mind. Clear, Master.
Good. Stand by and be ready.
Everything around him was a passing blur and he could not make up any definite form or shapes as even the road itself was a blur, and he switched to navigating the way to his goal by instinct alone, his eyes no longer helpful.
Was it because of his anger?
Was it because his Ki regenerated today?
He frankly did not know, and he did not care.
He was faster than ever before, and that was all that mattered. His focus could not be interrupted, not even by the sparks of electricity crackling around his body.
Though he saw them and it confused him, he chose to ignore everything least his speed got reduced by any inquiring thoughts.
And so in a blur Fuzen arrived at his destination, throwing himself into the door to open it.
A single glance later his suspicions proved right: the man, the weasel, was here.
"F-Fuzen? What's wrong?" Amid asked from behind the counter, taken aback by the sudden break-in.
The boy looked at her for a single second, making sure she was safe, sighing in relief as he confirmed it as such. He then looked over at the man whom was smiling lightly as his left side was turned to face Fuzen, slowly pulling his hand out of his mantle's pocket.
In return, Fuzen slowly reached for his sword, just waiting for the weasel to make the first move.
I'll cut you down before you can twitch a single damned muscle.
He waited, narrowing his eyes at the man's hand.
A dagger?
Pallum-sized crossbow?
Those he could deal with. They were not a threat.
The only reason Fuzen did not attack was because of the small chance the man might take out a bomb of sorts.
If said bomb was in a glass vial and he cut the man's hand off, it might fall on the ground and explode.
If it was not in a glass vial and Fuzen cut through it, then depending on the fuse used for the bomb a spark might happen as his sword reached it and it would also explode.
He was not afraid of a bomb: he could protect his body with Ki enough to avoid receiving any lasting damage.
However, the same could not be said for Amid.
Depending on the bomb's potency, any such explosive blast might harm her.
He was not going to let it happen.
Take your hand out already so I can cut it off, weasel.
He waited and waited, his focus so great the man's action of pulling his hand out his pocket feeling like whole minutes instead of mere moments. Then slowly, he began to see what the man hid in his pocket.
A piece of cloth.
Thin.
White.
Frills-...
...God damn it.
The desire to cut rose to such heights Fuzen barely managed to hold himself back from jumping the weasel and ending his life.
But he no longer could.
He had been outplayed, and it was shameful.
He let his hand fall back to his side, simply starring daggers at the grinning man. His eye felt like twitching, but Fuzen held it back from doing so. No weakness could be shown, least it got exploited.
This was the past repeated all over again.
The weasel gave him a half nod then turned to face Amid. "I am thankful for the short introduction to your shop's products, my fair lady. However, I need to be on my way now." He gave her a nod and then turned around, walking past Fuzen and making his way outside.
Not long after he heard the hoofed legs of horses and the spinning of wooden wheels in the distance of the street outside.
A carriage, maybe?
He had not seen any such vehicle on his way here.
...I'll wipe your face clean of that smug, don't you fricking worry…
"S-Say, Fuzen...What was that all about?" He turned to look at the doctor, a look of worry on her face. "Are you alright? Is something wrong?"
He simply sighed in reply.
This was why she irked him so much.
Just be like the others, god fricking damn it...
Fuzen now fully understood the magnitude of what he was trapped in. He could try to plan but everything past this point was uncertain. Despite everything one might think, he was not delusional enough to believe certainty was unchanging.
While he was lost in thought Amid had walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, the worried look on her face even more pronounced than before. "Hey. Can I help you?"
"…I don't trust you."
"Hm?"
"I don't trust you. Nor do I trust my Familia. Nor any other person within this city, nor any one person found outside this city's walls. I don't trust you, none of you. Not now, not ever. Never again."
"…?"
"All humans and Deities wear masks. Masks that are switched according to necessity. Every single damned person walking under the sun wears a damned mask, no matter where I go. Whatever it's the east or the west, the north or the south, nothing changes. Different cultures, same bullshit. It's always the same bullshit…"
"…"
"I don't trust you...however, if your offer still stands there is one favour you might do for me."
"What is it?" Amid asked without hesitation.
"...Keep your mask on." Fuzen replied and made for the door, turning the knob and already on his way out of the shop.
"...Wait. Why?"
"...Because it is the same mask my progenitress wore. It is beautiful." Closing the door behind him Fuzen sighed and closed his eyes for a single moment.
Memories of a long-forgotten past flooded his mind as he allowed them to do so, if only to use them as a temporary pillar of strength.
...It truly is beautiful. Like all fake, fictitious things.
He slowly opened his eyes again, his determination as unflinching as ever.
Then he walked on into the shadows of a nearby alley on the opposite side of the street. "Lead the way." The figure clad in a mantle and whose face was hidden by it's hood stepped outside from his hiding spot and made a head gesture for Fuzen to follow him.
Hard as he tried to cover his shock at being found, it didn't work. Fuzen could feel the man's Ki fluctuating in a manner he could easily compare to a certain feeling: Fear.
Good. That is exactly what you should feel. What you all should feel.
By means of backstreet alleys and underground tunnels, the man had led him halfway across town over the course of an hour to a barely-populated area of the city.
Here the buildings were old and collapsed, the flow of time taking it's toll on their weakened stones while the streets were bare of any sign of life one would expect to find in the Dungeon City. It was somehow predictable. Though Fuzen knew not who the weasel was, this sort of hiding place was something he would expect of any scum.
His guide steered him into yet another alley, then took a left turn which led into a large opening. Probably something close to a garden back when this part of town was still inhabited.
Spread throughout the open area were other individuals, numbering eleven in total. They wore second-class weapons and armours and were positioned carefully across the space in order to close off any escape routes quickly.
Mercenaries, most probably.
Fuzen followed his guide towards the door leading inside a two-story building before another of the men nearby cut off his path.
"Your swords." He demanded with an extended hand. Fuzen looked the man in the eyes for a moment before grabbing his swords and placing them in his palm.
"Take care of them."
"Behave yourself in front of the boss and you'll get them back."
"Not you."
Fuzen replied as he walked past the man and followed the guide into the building then up the stairs to the first floor. The guide stopped and made a head gesture towards the door on the far left. "In there."
He nodded, and walked on
He could feel multiple individuals inside the room. None were hiding themselves in ambush. They were underestimating him.
He was grateful.
Wasting no more time on pointless scouting Fuzen opened the door and stepped inside. The room was rather large, at least thirty square meters in size. On his right side was the weasel of a man leaning against the wall, two armed men flanking his sides. Opposite of him were three men as well, one of whom had his sword drawn and at the neck of the creepy woman.
Chloe was bruised and beaten, her hands tied to her back.
Dried blood stuck to the sides of her mouth, one of her cheeks swollen and purple. Fuzen had found out through observation that the creepy woman was strong, so if they managed to beat her like this…
Level 3?
Level 4?
At the very least he understood that the man with the drawn sword was a seasoned Level 4 mercenary. His composure and hawk-eyed stare told him that much.
It didn't matter.
Fuzen looked down at Chloe.
She was conscious, at least barely so. Her emerald green eyes shot up to his face, a dreaded expression taking over her feline features. "No...Run away..."
The man behind her grabbed her hair and pulled it back, his sword now biting into the skin of her neck as a couple of drops of blood ran down her bosom. "Be quiet, woman."
His eye began to twitch.
The weasel took this moment to clap his hands, taking a single step forward but not too far away from his bodyguards. "Hmhm, young Katsumi. I was not expecting you so soon."
Twitch.
So, this is what it comes down to…
"You are not an easily reachable person, my boy."
Twitch. Twitch.
Using others to get to me...
"So many doors a man has to knock at to get in touch with you...Luckily, not too many doors, it seems."
Twitch.
Interfering with local businesses I am a customer at…
"You truly are a smart boy, Young Katsumi. I wasn't even sure you were a cat owner, but to think you understood the fact that I found your cat just from me showing you her headband..You've got a good head on your shoulders."
Twitch. Twitch.
Trying to sabotage my current Familia…
"Still, so much of this door-knocking could have been avoided if only you had accepted the letter back then...That's no good, Young Katsumi, being so stubborn. Children should behave themselves."
Kidnapping a hard-working waitress... Beating her... What else did you do, you honourless dogs? Did you...did they…?
Twitch.
As his knuckles turned white from the sheer anger he was clenching his fists with, Fuzen stared into Chloe's eyes and began searching desperately.
Her soul.
Her Ki.
Her spirit.
He searched everything within her...and found nothing.
There was no stain to be found.
Finally, he sighed in relief.
He had gotten here in time.
Luckily, he would not need to cut her down, as well.
With this there was only one thing left to do.
"...No mercy."
"Excuse me?"
He ignored the weasel, instead looking straight at the high Level mercenary in front of him. Then slowly he took off his haori and held it in his left hand, never breaking eye-contact with the mercenary.
"Don't you make any stupid moved, kid! I'll cut her throat open!"
"...You'll fucking die trying." Fuzen replied and took a single step forward, his boot producing a sharp, heavy sound which echoed throughout the empty room. "...Lighting Sword Style:"
The man's sword arm drew ever closer to Chloe's neck as the two other men also drew their swords, ready to intercept Fuzen. "I said don't move! I'll kill her-! Gaaah?!"
Clarity of mind and soul.
Those were two of the most important components of the Lighting Sword Style's foundation. It was, after all, a Sword Style best used by those who were talentless and weak.
The recklessness of the strong.
The arrogance of the superior.
The self-reliance of the winners.
Those were attributes only the strong and talented could use in a positive way for their strength, their superiority, allowed them to use them as such.
All Disciples of the Lighting Sword Style were taught to avoid such attributes, for they were not meant for them. A Disciple relied on countless hours of training for a single well-performed strike while the strong relied only on their strength and talent for one such strike.
A lifetime of discipline for a moment of victory.
That was the Lightning Sword Style.
A sage was not required for one to understand what would happen if the weak were to indulge themselves in recklessness and arrogance: they would meet their end sooner rather than later.
To avoid such cases one's emotions needed to be kept under control at all times. This was achieved by learning how to meditate uninterrupted for hours and if needed, for whole days while also performing daily mental self-reflection.
All was done in order to achieve clarity of mind and soul.
However the Founder was a wise woman, and she understood simple facts in life better than anyone else: in the end, humans will remain humans.
One can try his whole life to avoid giving in to emotions but that task alone would prove impossible.
Emotions were simple part of everyone, and they would surface from time to time, no matter how much one meditated and trained his mind.
So then, what could be done?
Easy: make the most out of it by creating Techniques which relied on emotions alone. And more so than for any other emotion, the most Techniques had been shaped to be used while using one's ever-increasing anger.
"...Clamour of the Red Assail."
Blood and gore gushed out of the now bisected midsection of the Level 4 mercenary and the other two men, filling the room with the scent of warm death and acidic carnage just as their upper bodies flew backwards and fell on the floor with a boring, routine thud.
The floor where Fuzen stood a single moment ago broke apart and caved in, the boy's sudden rush forward too powerful for it's old, mouldy wood to withstand.
It had all happened in less that the blink of an eye and the weasel's smug expression was replaced by one of pure, unadulterated fear as he looked in disbelief at the blood-covered Fuzen standing atop three dead men, three men who were alive just a single second ago.
Still, nothing too extraordinary happened, at least in Fuzen's own opinion: seeing his opening he jumped forward, grabbed the left man's sword from his hand and with a quick and merciless horizontal strike cut all three men in half faster than they could see or react.
Indeed, the Technique itself was not all too impressive.
However, the power behind it was what actually shocked Fuzen as well, for a single moment that is.
Anger...is powerful.
Then he looked downwards at Chloe.
She was conscious and from behind the now blood-soaked haori he threw over her just before cutting the three men down, her emerald eyes looked upon him with utter awe and dismay.
"...My swords." Fuzen extended his hand towards the door which slowly opened to reveal Raiju in his human form. He stepped inside the room, closing the door and approaching his Master with his swords in the right hand and the charred head of the man who guided Fuzen to this place in his left. "Kill the other two."
"As you command, Master."
"Gaah-!"
"Wait-! Ahh-!"
A couple of moments later just as Fuzen fastened his swords once again on his persona, Raiju turned around and nodded, his Master returning the gesture.
"I apologize for all that has happened." He then placed his palm just between Chloe's cat ears, the woman falling unconscious just a couple of moments later. "...Raiju, bring her to safety."
"At once."
"...Now." Fuzen threw the sword he had stolen away and drew his Utegiri, the sword feeling much better in his hand than that third-class chuck of iron he had just discarded.
Only the weasel remained. The men outside had been killed by Raiju. The men in the room were also dead and Raiju already left the vicinity with Chloe.
"...W-W-Wait! I'm unarmed!" The weasel shouted, both his hands shooting up into the air.
"Tsk. Shameful, to try and survive like a worm by all means necessary...Do you not have a single shred of honour?" Fuzen shook his head and drew his Eisatsu, throwing the sword at the man's feet. "There. Problem solved."
"P-Please...I-I...j-just…"
"Be quiet and die." Fuzen brought his arm back, ready to kill the man where he stood.
Then he stopped, just a moment away from taking the weasel's life.
His anger was far from over.
It had not died out at all.
But, he began to ponder on his actions.
A second turned to two, and two to ten.
Lastly, with a tired and irked sigh, Fuzen lowered his sword and gaze alike.
...No. He shook his head. No. This is not the right way. I need to think more. To stop my narrow-minded pursuit…
He lifted his eyes and looked at the man cowering before him.
...If...there is a way I can use this weasel to help me in my pursuit…
If...there is a chance it might prove better than my current Familia…
...Then I need to hear him out.
"...You. Weasel."
"Y-Y-Yes?!"
"Speak. Keep it short, keep it important. Your message and your reason for seeking me. All of it. And know that if I sense a single lie rolling down your tongue I will cut your head off your shoulders."
...Yes. Shameful as it is...
XXX
And so we are now approaching the Arc which fried my brain while I was writing it, before the re-upload.
I'll probably have to go the Chapters making up the approaching Arc more than just once, as they are filled with information and revelations.
Still, it should not be long before I re-upload them.
That's about it.
Kay bye.
