A/N: HI readers hope you have a wonderful Christmas holiday, oh I just remembered I got something for you (reaches into pocket and pulls out a chapter then slams it on the table) Here have this and a merry good time. Ok bad jokes aside hope everyone is doing good and having a great time, however its clear now that I am likely unable to make the end of year deadline for 2 more chapters sadly. Regardless I will wait until the 10th chapter where I will go back and rewrite and edited the previous chapters to better fit what I want and to make them less awful. One thing to note is the old man here will speak differently and that's more representative of what his character should be and when I revise the earlier chapters he is one of the main things I will be changing.
As always I would love any feedback or criticisms you have for me to improve my bad writing.
LAST EDITED 11/03/23 CHANGES:
Sorry for any confusion due to the arrow symbal that I used not being carried over to fanfic so I have replaced it with -TO- sorry again.
(dates will be DD/MM/YY)
**4 days since arriving in Alpha**
If you thought I would have a lucky break, how wrong you were, seeing it's been another three days, and I got even less to show for it. I have not even gotten past the door in half the places I tried since the first day. Though given my track record of being screwed over whenever I get past the entrance of either getting beaten, scammed, laughed at, insulted, or many other degrading things, maybe that's a good thing.
Hell, my back still hurts from the frist day along with many other fun additions other ruff rejections I got since the first day gave me. To even walk, days later, my back still hurts most out of the injuries, and that's the oldest one. Turns out my regeneration really isn't that good it is likely tied to my poor stats. All of this goes to show how useful that herb Mixture Marie made how it was able to heal me so quickly. I really should ask for more though I don't know if she will just give me some. Maybe I can help her pick the herbs in exchange for more; I may even get a quest out of it; games sure love their herb-picking quests.
The only reason I am still out and about looking for a place that will teach me is the game system not showing any debuffs or Hp loss when moving around on such low hp. But weirdly, I have been on this low level of Hp before and felt a lot worst. I guess there's more to what calculates the Hp value than I know of and its not always tied to how I feel.
Anyway, back on topic, currently, I am going back to my room from another non-successful day of getting rejected and rejected and…. You get the point; at least I wasn't scammed today not that I have anything left to get stolen. Remembering that makes me so angry at myself for being so easy to scam. Well here's how it happened.
**2 days since arriving in Alpha**
On the second day of looking, while feeling as if someone took a sledgehammer to my back, I found the last place on my list that I got from asking around at the bar and such. It was very much in the afternoon when I came across a friendly-looking dojo with a welcoming master who answered the door not that long after knocking. He seemed happy to get me to join just for a quick down deposit to be able to train unlike the first dojo I went to, this amount was much more reasonable still its was most of my money. Thinking I wouldn't need much money after joining because surely I could just sleep in the dojo even if it wouldn't be comfortable. So unwisely gave him a large amount of all that I had, which would later affect the length of I could stay in the city. I'm angry at myself that I didn't pick up on the fact that it was a scam quicker and only realised when it was too late.
He then said to go back to my room rest for the night and bring my things which I did; however, when I arrived the following day with my bag packed, he acted as if he never met me before and how I was making a disturbance that he would call for the law enforcement to come and arrest me. Seeing as I had no other option, I returned to my room to think through what I was going to do. Thankfully I forgot to ask for a refund for the nights I thought I wouldn't use because otherwise, I wouldn't be able to stay there for another three nights.
**Morning of the 5th day since arriving at Alpha**
Now here I am three nights later, which they were of no use; no matter how much I looked or begged, they didn't accept me. Now I don't even have enough to pay for any meals tomorrow, and if I can't even pay for meals, it means I sure as hell got nothing to pay for the room, meaning this was my last night before I had to leave.
If I am luckly enough, I may find a dry, warm alleyway to sleep in; surely it's not that tough. However, because it has been raining a lot here lately, getting wet is quite a concern; I don't know if that's how normally this part of the year or out of the norm….
(Slams fist into bed)
This sucks I have no idea what I am meant to do? What am I even able to do? Where is my quest leading me? Surely there must be a way to complete the quest. It wouldn't be impossible, right? Maybe it is impossible for me because I don't have the correct stats, knowledge, luck, or whatever it is. (Sigh) (lays down on the bed) Having a tantrum won't do anything I guess the only option if I don't want to live on the streets is going back to Wolf's neck. There should be a job I can do over there to earn some money in the meantime while I think about what I am going to do.
Now that I have a point to go to, I quickly get up and pick up my bag with my stuff in it that I got from the Kennedys. At that movement, my gut makes its anger known as being empty, but sadly I can't fill it today.
Adorno Landor's Inventory
Wallet: 5 Ber
Shoty Pistol
Beaten Cutless
Looking at my inventory, clearly, I barely had anything left to pay for it, so I guess I will be going without; maybe I could see if I could pick up an apple or something from the markets there meant to be on today if I remember right from what I overheard while walking around the city. I am still saddened that I only got 25 Ber for each wolf pelt. Apparently, they aren't rare, which should have been evident to me in the first place; they are native to this island, after all.
Anyway, I got to go see if there is a ship heading to wolf Neck so I can hitch a ride; otherwise, I am screwed. As I have no clue how to get there by land and I doubt I will find anyone that would guide me back regardless, I better hurry up and get to the port.
Going down the stairs for the last time, I am not that sentimental about this place, but that's not really the people's fault; they are kind of the only non-assholes in this city, both the owner, who was also the Barman, apparently he came from another island and settled here and his staff always smiling. When the owner realised I got scammed he even cut the price which allowed me to say as long. Apparently, he ups the price around this time for the markets. As I finally hit the bottom of the stairs, I looked to the bar and waved to the owner and one of the waitresses that was talking to him. I didn't bother really paying attention and made my way outside.
The real reason I am not that sentimental about this place is to do with this city. I don't really get why the Barman Settled here while this city looked like a great place to live when I first stepped foot in it; however, now being in it even for a few days, I got a feeling that the niceness and friendliness are just a thin veneer over the top to make it more appealing to travellers. Likely due to the Alpha relying on trade and such.
This veneer, when removed, shows an underlying Envy, a desire to be higher on the social ladder than others; you can feel it in nearly everyone here, from the poorest to the richest. The city's people seemingly have this need to get a leg up on each other regardless of what that means, which is somewhat freaky to me. Also, there is a general lack of empathy where; yesterday, as I was walking to another stop on my list. I saw that people were more than happy to leave an elderly woman fall and be left to her fate to be stamped to death from the busy walkways. Thankfully I was pretty close, so I reacted without much thinking; she was really grateful for my helping her. Apparently, the elderly don't get much respect in this city. I helped her on her way as she was close to home and fell because she was overburdened due to the bags of food she was carrying. So I helped her out quickly; thankfully, it was along the way to the next place.
It seems that the people in this city really don't care for the community but rather are self-centred such that they see everything through the lens of what it can do for them, which, seeing as no one was willing to take a risk with me and take me in is understandable if they were all just selfish. Of course, while it is intelligible, it doesn't make me forgive them or anything because even if they have a reason, it is not a good legitimate one. I came to this city quite optimistic that this place had many chances for me to finally make something of my life, but sadly that optimism has taken a beating.
What's worst is the nobles of the city seem to embody the extremes of the negative traits I have found, as they seem nearly as bad as the celestial dragoons. I almost ran into one after getting rejected again, and I honestly thought I would be killed at any moment by the tank in human foam that seemed to be the guard of this young noble.
"Damn, another bust, but at least the (looks at list) the Supreme Fist is close by though it is just on the border of the noble district, so I doubt this will be any better really thought that Lonesome Kick was a good bet; sadly that didn't happen but thats likely for the better," I told myself after getting rejected by yet another gym I hadn't had any luck today. I didn't feel like this one would be better, but I don't know if I didn't try.
After I got close to where it was based on my map, I was finally sure I was where I wanted, which was at the border of the noble district, which was hard to miss. Based on the massive wall separating it and the rest of the city, it had to be at least twenty meters tall, where the gates were all guarded, and there seemed to be guards patrolling the top of the wall. While somewhat distracted by the sight, I quickly regained focus and found my destination not long after.
The gym looked off with how richly they decorated the outside, like who makes a gym out of marble and gold? And then, when I got closer, I saw there was a line in front of the door with velvet ropes foaming a line that wouldn't look out of place at an amusement park. Making this even greater (sigh), well, it can't hurt to try, so I quickly got in line and was standing there for about twenty minutes until I heard a commotion behind me up the line.
The noise got closer and closer, and I got pretty worried when a man, who I could only guess was a noble, came walking through while being surrounded by five guys, three of which looked nothing special, but they were wearing all identical suits. They were knocking over everyone in line, making room for their charge to follow; besides the noble guy, the two other men that were walking with him got my attention.
The one that took most of my attention was the man standing behind him who freaked me out as he felt like he had an aura of death. I had no clue why I thought that, but Every time I looked at him, I thought of the word death. The other guy seemed to be a butler of some kind which I could only guess was a personal assistant to the noble, so I paid little notice to him.
I looked at their character sheets to better understand them, seeing as they acted as if they owned everything.
Name: Jonah Jameson Richfield
Age: 16
Height: 5'8
Weight: 65kg
Sex: male
Lv: 10
Occupation: Nobel Scion
Hp ***/***
Description: He is the Third son of the noble household Richfield who obtained their wealth through their ownership of most of the farmland on Wolf Island. He has never been left wanting for anything as he is deemed the favourite son by his mother, who he takes after a lot. However, he has little to offer to anyone but his awful personality, which he would gladly subject to those he deemed his lessers. Though he would try to act becoming of himself when around other nobles to get past that, he likes to take trips outside the noble district to have 'fun'. He is currently reluctantly undertaking Fighting training that was mandated by his father due to some less-than-ideal rumours spreading about him, which will lessen his value to him. He resents this as he believes that he was above this yet has no option but to do so; this has caused him to be even more vindictive.
Stats:
Brawn: *
Vitality: *
Dexterity: *
Intellect: *
Wisdom: *
Charm: *
Name: Caul Bar
Age: 30
Height: 8'9
Weight: 180kg
Sex: male
Lv: xxx
Occupation: Body Guard
Hp ****/****
Description: Known as the thirty-man butcher due to his exploits as a mercenary around the north blue. However, his old band of mercenaries were killed, with him the sole survivor. In need of a job, he was finally hired as Jonah's bodyguard for when he leaves the noble district for his 'fun', which Caul doesn't mind as this is just a job. He is quite a thick man whose arms are the thickness of tree trunks which slim quickly to his hands. He is covered in metal armour providing excellent protection. At the same time, his primary weapon is his pole axe which he carries threatenly.
Stats:
Brawn: ****
Vitality: ****
Dexterity: **
Intellect: *
Wisdom: *
Charm: *
Name: Watson Finlay
Age: 65
Height: 5'10
Weight: 80kg
Sex: male
Lv: xx
Occupation: Butler
Hp **/**
Description: Watson has been a member of the Richfleids household for fifty years and has served without a complaint, even when assigned to the young master Jonah. He works as the personal assistant to Jonah, controlling and advising most things he does. He puts great effort into stopping any not needed rumours about jonah. He looks pretty handsome despite his age though he is quite lanky and not physically gifted.
Stats:
Brawn: *
Vitality: *
Dexterity: **
Intellect: **
Wisdom: **
Charm: **
Ok, that's a lot to take in, and I don't have a clue where to start on this though something feels off about these descriptions, but I can't tell what. Before I could think of it, they finally got to me. I willingly stepped back, not wanting to be knocked onto the ground; the noble noticed this and laughed insultingly.
"Oh look, a rat knows its place seems even the lowest of the low can learn, hahaha it's a miracle that has made my day; now, servant knock him on his ass, he doesn't get to miss what he deserves" As he said, that the bodyguard punched me in the guy faster then I could hope to react leading me to fall to my knees in pain.
-10hp
Ah fuck, that hurt, but I didn't say anything hoping they would just pass and for the most part, they did, with the noble leaving a last snide comment.
"Nothing to say scrap, good now we shouldn't dally any longer I must quickly join this dumb club, so I get my annoying father finally off my back," He said with all the attitude you are thinking he had though I doubt its that smart to say that out loud thou not like I will correct him.
After a minute of recovering and finally seeing him enter the building after continuing to leave a trail of people either still on the ground moaning or already getting up, seeing as he was going to be a part of this place seems like this is another bust, so after I recovered, I left to go to the next one on the list.
So that's how it went; then again, given what we see in one-piece, the odds of a noble being, even the smallest part, not a jackass is so tiny that it shouldn't be hoped for and just be happily surprised when it happens. I am genuinely thankful that it is over now; hopefully, I don't run into any more of them; once is enough for me.
Anyway, I really have to hurry and stop getting lost in my thoughts. I must get to the port before the ship goes to the wolf's neck village. If I miss it, I am really boned, so I start running as fast as I can in the city, given that even early in the morning, it's packed full of people preparing for the markets, but that doesn't matter to me. I just need to get to the ships; let's hope I don't trip- (smack).
"Urgh", I painfully groaned.
That sucked I thought as I rubbed my back after falling backwards luckly, I didn't hurt myself that badly and didn't even get a Hp loss which is nice. However, as I was finally getting up, I heard a voice from behind me and then an arm that helped me to get up.
"Ah, I see you tripped over here I shall help you up," The voice behind me says; when I finally got to my two feet, I looked towards whoever helped me up. Mainly to thank them for being a rare thing called a kind person, which is very elusive in this city. However, I was surprised to find that It was the old man, the first guy I had met in this world. If I recall, his name was Qiao Hui; it's kind of weird that I ran into him given that he lives nowhere close by; maybe he got a ride the same as me. Regardless I should thank him for helping me again.
"Oh, Oldman, good to see you; thank you for lending me a hand did you see what I tripped over? I wasn't paying attention."
"You tripped over that cabbage that man is chasing, " he replied, pointing to a man running past us down the slope the road was on as the city rises to the centre. The man was chasing a rolling cabbage that somehow got up to speed going down this long road. You could hear him yelling about my cabbage and stuff like that; for some reason, this felt familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"I kind of feel bad for him as he seems like the type of guy that things don't really go his way," I remarked, continuing to watch the man fail to catch up to his target, which had got kicked up by someone and was now going down a side road.
"Anyway, poor fellows aside, I didn't expect you to be here, seeing as you live so far away' I finally asked the question I meant to ask.
"Oh me, well I was buying a new fishing rod and some line nothing much also checked to see if any new books came in, when your old like me its all about the simple things in life what are you doing here if you dont mind me asking you were in quite a rush" He seemed happy that I bothered to ask I really only asked why an old man would travel so far.
"Well, you see, I been trying to find someone to train me on how to fight, but none of the places accepted me, hell I even got scammed of what little I had, so I am on my way to the docks to board the ship back to the village" I explained what my goal of arriving at this city and how its a total failure so I was going back to the village.
"Thats a shame to here someone with a desire to improve themselves yet a farmer can't wait all year for the rain to come so shouldn't you either ok also the ship your looking for should be leaving soon so if I was you I would be running" What is he trying to- Shit I better get going.
"OH SHIT, I BETTER GO THEN BYE" I didn't bother to look back and wave; I was too busy trying to weave my way through the busy streets to the docks.
After saying goodbye, I quickly rushed off to the port luckly, when I finally got there, most of the ships were still docked, so I quickly ran to one of the boards displaying which ship was docked where and where it was going. I was just looking for ones that would go to wolf neck; thankfully, I found one and if I was right about how the docks are labelled, it shouldn't be that far from here. Hence I started running again regardless of how tired I was. It was too important to get on the ship, else I would have no clue how to get back to wolf neck.
As I finally spotted the right dock, I quickly ran onto it and was confronted with the sight I least wanted to see right then. The ship that was my ticket out of here was already leaving the dock and was getting further out. I quickly ran to the end of the pier shouting for them to come back, but of course, they probably either didn't hear me or didn't know who I was and thence wouldn't stop for a random person.
I fell to my knees, disappointed that I missed the ship as if I needed a reminder of how shity the world is. It started raining, which quickly drenched me, making an already shit day worst. Seeing as staying here wasn't going to do anything, I got up and started walking back the way I came. On the way, I checked if there would be another ship, but the board said there would be a two-day gap between the next one.
As I was meandering down the road, I was not really paying attention to the world around me and felt dejected from missing the ship. While cutting the ship may not seem that big of a deal to you, it really is because now I am left in this damn city with no way to get back to the only people in the world that I know and have any relationship with. I feel as if I am alone right now, which shouldn't be new to me but right now, it is hitting differently than ever before. Hell, all I am doing now is walking wherever my feet will take me, having now a goal in sight to work towards. While I understand logically this funk I am in isn't helping at all, that knowledge really isn't changing anything. (SIGH)
I Should really stop pussyfooting around and find a place to crash at, so hopefully, I have a somewhat rested mind to tackle this challenge tomorrow. So after a little bit more walking and not seeing a bench or any other stereotypical location, a homeless person may use, really just shelter from the wind and rain and off the beaten path which hopefully will be good too due to less likely to be found then attacked. However, seeing as no other option is presenting itself to me, so I go to the next ally way I see, which thankfully happens to be covered, which is good as I like not being soaked in the rain. There were even some boxes that could be used for storage by the buildings on each side; however, that matters little to me.
So I Stumbled my way to the boxes and sat on them; it felt great to finally sit down and rest; however, I closed my eyes to the outside world and tried to calm down and think logically as being too emotional is not going to be helpful. While being melodramatic, I think it is fair to say it would be hard for my situation to get worst….
"Oi, there ya sap, seems you been eating one too many cakes, ya fat bloomer" Out of nowhere, this voice came from my right as I was still trying to calm down and recover. Needless to say, this didn't help that process.
Name: Rattle Snake
Age: 17
Height: 5'7'0
Weight: 70kg
Sex: male
Lv: xx
Occupation: Gang Leader
Hp ***/***
Description: Rattle' Rat' Snake is the leader of the small teen gang called "Tunnel Snakes" in this area; while only made up of teens, they have expanded recently, yet they are still marginalised. He aspires to be the underworld leader of the city to achieve his dream. He usually has a calm and stern personality with a bit of flair but doesn't take backtalk or cowardness lightly and prefers to punish heavily should either happen. While there are generally codes the gang must act by, they aren't heavily enforced. He has ginger hair that is gelled and combed back while his eyes are lime green. He holds a toothpick in his mouth as a fidgeter, and due to him not being old enough to smoke in public, he obeys that law because he doesn't want to draw law enforcement's attention to him. He wears a plain white shirt with his gang emblem on the back, which is covered by a leather jacket with the symbol on the back. He has faded jeans on his legs that have holes near the knees and wears regular shoes.
Stats:
Brawn: **
Vitality: **
Dexterity: **
Intellect: *
Wisdom: *
Charm: *
—Skill Level up—
Some skills can be levelled up; they tend to be ones which able to be improved. To see which skills can be levelled up, check the skill menu.
Observe level up due to (12/12) uses of Observe, its rank has increased to Level two, which increases the amount of information that can be seen in higher levelled characters.
Before I could really take in what this meant and how this really was annoying it never told me I could level it up I had other issues at the movement to focus on. When I get out of this situation I am sure to review this anyway I better answer him before he gets mad.
"What? I-... Is there anything I can do for you?" I replied with such a pathetic tone to my voice that it was clear why they thought I was an easy money day hell I would do the same if I was in their shoes. I quickly get off the creates and look to the new threat, which has a buddy with him. Maybe thinking I was some fat noble man child that lost my way and that they could easily beat me and take my money.
"Oh, there is a LOT ya can do for us, chum; starting with kindly give all the fucking chaff on ya fat lard" Well, this isn't going to end well based on the fact that I have no money. I doubt they are going to take that as an answer that doesn't involve beating me and maybe killing me. I really need to learn to keep my bloody mouth tight and not temp fate; else, this is what happens.
"Us? Chaff?" I confusedly replied, but all he does is point behind me, which I did, and seemingly out of nowhere, two teenage punks were blocking that way. Meaning my likelihood of escaping has dropped below between likely and entering a hail mary as I would need to get past two guys to even run, which I doubt I could do.
"Dough, Sweets, cherries… Money we want your money", He started explaining what he ment by chaff but gave up when he saw I wasn't getting it. For the record I am in a high stress environment I believe its fair to not pick up on such things….. Right? Regardless I needed to explain to him that I got no Berries.
"Wait, this a robbery? You're robbing me, right? I got nothing, man I lost it all why else would I be sitting on this box in this shitty alley, So I would advice you to try someone else as theres nothing to get from me," I queried anxiety looking at who I thought was the boss, as this was bringing back memories I would instead not remember. While I know it's wrong to try to offload them to someone else, I don't really care; right now, I would rather not die to these guys.
"Robbing is such a hush word. I much prefer taking everything you have, If you call that robbing you thats up to you, but thats not our problem thats just something to think about as we kick the living crap out of you" That came from the closer of the two at my back who had moved since I looked away to be an equal distance from me as the other group.
Well looks like I am well and truly fucked, and sadly it's the type of fucking that I will still be a virgin…. I hope I am still a virgin after this. However seeing as I doubt I can get outof this with charisma and as I am still injured I quickly dumped all my points into Vitality so I could maybe survive this.
Adding (8) to Vitality 9-TO-17
55/105-TO-105/155
You hit the first milestone (at 10) in Vitality which gives an bonus 10hp
Damn I feel so much engry its like I both just woke up and drank 10 engry drinks plus the pain in my back is starting to dampin. I gues this is what happens when I nearly Double my stats anyway I should still try to get out of the fight.
"Why do you have to do this? Surely there is a better way to make money than robbing a guy with none on him", I questioned in a last-ditch effort to get them to leave, hoping whatever god that would hear me that would work.
"Oh, why didn't I think of that? Well, I feel like a fool now; well, I guess we best be going" He sighed dreamily and turned around, looking defeated. Wait, that worked; no way that worked.
"Well, tha-" I was just replying when I heard a scrape on the paved ground behind me. By the time I looked over my shoulder, I had got a front-row view of the fist about to smash into my head.
-20Hp
ARGH FUCK, I stumbled back from the force; it was a miracle I was still standing. I could already see my hand covered in blood from my nose; at the time, the thought of whether it was broken or whatnot didn't even register in my mind. My brain was too busy coming to terms with being raddled inside my skull like a babys raddle from that punch. I quickly looked towards the boss, and he was laughing along with his partner, so I could probably ignore them, so I focused back on the guy who punched me, who happened to be winding up for his next punch. I thankfully was able to stumble out of the way of the punch, which finally bought me the time to catch my bearings and stop the world from spinning.
I quickly threw a punch in return which missed by a mile and led to me having unequal footing providing a window for the second guy to throw a cross punch to the other side of my face, which hadn't been hit yet.
-20hp
I was able to recover from this punch much quicker than the first why; I had no clue, but I wasn't going to spend valuable time thinking about it right now as I could feel my blood pumping and my heart thumbing in my ears. As I quickly stumbled back into the boxes I got off, not even a minute ago using them to support me when my legs still felt a bit like jelly. Punching normally didn't work, so I took a risk and moved closer to the first puncher charging him. I was able to dodge another of his jab by bending down as if I was getting ready for a tackle. when he threw another punch which just miss grazing my check I was getting closer to my target, which when I was in rage I punched with as much power as possible combined with my forward momentum.
25hp
A second later, the alley was filled with a high-pitched scream that only lasted a second. Seems I was on target and did hit him in the balls; sadly, as I was hyper-focused tunnelling on the guy I just made scream like a little girl, that his friend had all the time to bring down his closed fists held together on the back of my head.
-30hp
That got me on my knees, holding my head which felt like he hit it with a sledgehammer; he quickly followed it up with a kick to my chest, which hurt like hell, given my injury from the first day hadn't fully recovered.
-20hp
But through sheer luck, I caught his leg and used it to get him onto the ground on top of the guy who was still shouting about his balls. Realising that meant there were no guys on this side, I quickly looked back and saw the boss realising that too, but that didn't matter to me. I got up as fast as I ever did before and bolted for my life away. I got close to the exit when a metal chain quickly wrapped around me and pulled me back. Not expecting this, I got thrown onto the floor with my arms restrained, which caused a hard landing.
-10hp
Where the hell did this chain come from? I quickly looked back the way I came as I was lying down and saw the guy next to the boss holding a small scythe connected to a long chain he was holding onto. So I as quickly possible tried to get out from the chains as soon as possible, but they weren't going slack for some reason. Which was quite frustrating.
"Now did ya think we would just let you lamb away, Nah ya staying with us bozzo HAHAHA", After that they all started laughing while I fruitlessly tried to get out of this chain. Also… Did he have to hit me with the bozzo that's just low. However, before I could think of anymore non helpful things when I really should be focusing on running a shadow fell over me coursing me to still and look up to what caused it.
"Now, what are you four rapscallions doing making all this ruckus
"Shut it codger, no one asked you, best if you leave now else you learn what it feels to walk with broken knee caps"
