The first thing I heard the moment I teleported out of the magazine was muffled shouting that definitely came from Alister.
"THE FUCK'YA MEAN HE DISAPPEARED, IF HES INVISIBLE I EXPECT YOU TO FIND THE ASSHOLE."
It looks like the strategic use of my skillbook came out handy.
Seriously, no more levels in Battle Strategy? This is a terrible system.
I ran towards the stadium and heard some murmuring just outside the exit of the hallway. I slowed down as I heard this. Trying to be sneaky, I slowly opened the door before suddenly sending a Strong Punch amplified by Sneak Attack into a man I saw on the right of the door.
I then turned to see a man standing guard on the left-side of the door and I still had the element of surprise with me, activating both again. I punched that guy square in the mouth, knocking him out instantly.
Sneak Attack (2/25)
+100 EXP for upgrading a skill via natural means
+500 EXP for beating a fodder opponent (2x)
Alright, I needed to rush to the centre of the stadium, I knew for a fact I was safe there, there were too many witnesses to account for, the place was still littered with mafia goons but I should be able to deal with them as long as I have the element of surprise.
I continued on, dealing with enemies as I came across them, usually one or two-shotting them with ease, they were decent for farming EXP, I'll admit, but they were annoying and If I wasn't able to sneak up on em' then dealing with the people who were wise enough to run away was a big hassle.
I did feel a bit war crimey when I did attack running opponents, but they didn't exactly sign up for yoga class, did they?
I couldn't give two shits if these guys died, if they wanna profit off of hurting and killing others, then I simply wouldn't hesitate either. People say 'Oh, don't stoop to their level' but that'll cost me my life, I kill them so they don't have a vendetta against me later.
COS THEY'RE FUCKIN' DEAD.
Sneak Attack (3/25)
+100 EXP for upgrading a skill via natural means
+2500 EXP for beating a fodder opponent (5x)
I activated Sprint and legged it all the way out of the vomitorium and into the ring where Boxer Ben and Franco Vicci were fighting.
I was finally in a safe space, I could relax and get my energy back while giving my friend Ben some pointers.
I checked up on the fight and it was an absolute brawl to say the least, they were evenly matched, Franco was certainly stronger but Ben was faster and was able to evade most of his shots and return with 2-3 hits.
Alright, I knew this fight was gonna be fixed, I just needed to unfix it, it was that simple, and I think I have a plan.
"BEN, STALL OUT, DON'T GO FOR THE KNOCKOUT, DON'T RISK ANYTHING!" I shouted before running over to the opposite corner, going face to face with the enemy's cornerman.
"You're gonna get killed, Mr Blackstone." He said, casually.
"And why is that?"
"Because the boss wants you dead, that's why."
"I won't die, I have my ways." I said, crossing my arms. "Throw in the towel. I don't know what fucked up schemes you're scheming, but I need you to cancel your plans." I said, stepping in close, staring him down.
"What makes you think I'll just throw in the towel that easily, you and Ben're gonna die, so it doesn't matter if ya win." He said, laughing a little.
"A man who's about to die has nothing to lose…" I said.
"So?"
"What do I lose from killing you, right here and now, I'm a dying man."
It was then I saw his skin turn white and pale, and I knew his heart dropped.
"If I kill you, it will be slow and painful, I'll beat the shit out of you til' your face turns to mush, if you throw in the towel, your boss'll dome you, it'll go over real fast." I said, grinning. "Do it." I said, planting a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be worth it."
He gripped tightly on his towel and considering his options, he raises his hand and tosses it in the ring.
"Good boy."
DING DING DING.
"FRANCO VICCI'S CORNERMAN HAS THROWN IN THE TOWEL, LADIES AND GENTS, THIS IS AN UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCE, BOXER BEN HAS WON!"
"Hope you have fun." I said as I returned to Ben's corner.
"The fuck did you do?" He asked.
"I'll explain later, but right now we have to escape this island, the Vicci family want to kill us."
"I'm injured, I don't think I'll be able to fight for long." He explained.
"Then don't fight, run!" I shouted, pulling him along.
I ran into the vomitorium with Ben following closely behind, the deeper we went the clearer we saw a group of 30 men armed with machetes running over towards us both.
I'm not equipped enough to deal with this shit so I activated Sprint, ran as fast as I could and just barely leaped over all of them, Ben seemed to get the memo and jumped over too, he went about it a bit more casually though.
I kept Sprint on and instead turned back around into the crowd, when I got within range of the confused bunch who were turning around and looking everywhere for us. I then deactivated sprint, activated Flurry of Blows and did the usual shtick of repeating Strong Punch. I managed to catch 10 people with it while I was at it, but then the rest caught on and started charging us.
+5000 EXP for beating a fodder opponent (10x)
"I THOUGHT YOU SAID NO FIGHTING!" Ben shouted
"IT'S DIFFERENT FOR ME!" I shouted back as I was running away from the crowd with Sprint active which did allow me to catch up to an injured Ben.
"How're we gonna escape?" Ben asked.
"They gotta have a ship docked here somewhere, we dump whoever's on watch overboard, figure out how to sail, and piss off." I took a right and Ben followed.
"I'm thinking we get a rowboat and paddle away as hard as we can until they're out of sight." Ben suggested.
"That works for me." I said as we took a left and bursted out of the stadium, their comms must've been on point because there were 5 people standing here with machetes with more coming in the distance.
"Go right, the shore's there, I'll get a few of em."
"We don't need to fight." He said. I eyed my EXP bar and saw that I was 100 EXP off from a new level.
"I do, I'll be quick." I said as I rushed towards one, multiple people tried hacking at me with their machetes but I took a step back and immediately stepped in again, throwing a few punches to two of them that managed to knock em out. I grabbed the machetes for later and slipped it into my inventory before running over and catching up to Ben.
+500 EXP for beating a fodder opponent (2x)
You have levelled up
You have 6 stat points to allocate
Oh, I get 6 stat points per level, that's nice. I slammed 3 of my points into constitution and another 3 into agility. I noted that my strength and perception increased both by one as I levelled up.
"Why did you do that?" He asked, sounding frustrated.
"I get stronger when I do it." I simply said, running into town, around buildings and in alleyways, I managed to dodge or immediately dispatch most of the fodder placed around town and soon enough we were at the docks.
I was breathing heavily, I was so lightheaded that I felt like I would escape by floating off and landing on the moon like a certain rapper I know.
"C'mon dude, we got this, just rob a paddleboat, I don't give a shit if it's not ours."
RATATATATATTATATATATA
A man wearing a golden suit peppered the floor around us with his trademark golden AK-47, we luckily didn't get hit with any of the rounds. He was standing atop a building 100 metres or so off and was currently reloading.
"Shit, Vicci himself's tryna merc us." I shouted, running over to a dinghy that looked to be equipped with oars along with ben and leaped over onto it, almost submerging it, but it managed to stay afloat. We both grabbed the oars and started rowing with all we had, bullets followed us as we departed but none struck true, which I took as a sign of good luck.
Soon enough, the island started fading in the distance, and we were finally given a chance to relax.
I started my relaxation by passing out and hoping to god there weren't any particularly ravenous sea beasts around.
Ben did the same.
I woke up 20 minutes later, particularly refreshed, the guy beside me didn't look too good though.
I reviewed my character sheet, looking around to see if there were any goodies.
And there were certainly goodies, I had a slot called Survival Slot (Uncommon)
I immediately summoned the slot machine into existence, pulled on the bulb and watched as options scrolled down, finally ending up on…
Three health potions, a lighter, some bear spray and a tent.
The health potions piqued my interest so I looked over that first.
Potion of Healing (Basic)
+30 HP when fully consumed.
I know someone who might need this… I adjusted Ben's head, held his jaw agape and uncorked the bottle, spitting the cork out into the ocean. It's biodegradable, right?
I poured the potion down his throat and slapped him around the face to try to wake him up, some of his bruises and abrasions healed but he still didn't look too good.
"T'fuck was that for, jackass." He said. "I'm tryna rest."
"Do you feel better?" I asked
"Slightly?…" He said.
"Drink another then." I said.
"Huh?"
I uncorked another bottle and poured it down his throat, I left the bottle on the raft, I didn't know if it was recyclable.
"Ahck, shit, that's disgusting, but I feel a little bit better after that, what is it?"
"Healing potion, I ain't giving you anymore, there's only one left and I wanna keep that for myself."
"Where'd'ya get it from? Slots?"
"Yeah, I also got a lighter, a tent and some bear spray." I said.
"Hmm." He hummed inquisitively. "Makes sense."
"Do you know this ocean at all?" I asked, gripping onto one of the oars.
"I only know that island and a couple neighbouring it, those're where the major boxing arenas are."
"The Vicci guy runs those typa things around here right?" I asked
"Yup." He answered
"Then we're still screwed if we go there." I said. "Maybe not screwed but I'd rather not be in a place where they have jurisdiction."
Ben looked pale, paler than a second ago at least.
"The gym…"
"Fuck… you're right, did you even get the money?"
"No, we didn't have a chance to." He said.
"I've got my share, I don't think It'll be enough-"
"No, it's not about the gym." He cut me off. "Or the money, I just know those fucks're gonna kill our guys when they find out where they live."
"Oh… god." I said, my face also starting to turn pale. "Only one option then." I continued.
"What?"
"We just have to get stronger and kill them before they kill us." I said, composing myself.
"Just us? I don't think we can do it."
"It doesn't have to be just us, I know a guy back on the island, if we sneak back in and get him on board, we might be able to secure the victory." I said. "You might know the guy, his name was Zeff D. Rokas."
"Oh, that guy, yeah, he's a good fighter, I don't know if he'll be on board though." He said. "Maybe if you give him something in return, he does hate the mafia but he's not gonna fuck 'em up just cos we told him so."
"Then we've got our gameplan sorted."