Chapter 7: Bar at the end of Ken'bitch
"R. Lee. Or should I just call you Lee?" The hydra member just sat there on the ground, ignoring everything I said. If Ricten was the bad cop, and Lizen was the worse cop. Then I have to be the good cop so we don't accidentally kill him. His clothes were already smoking from the lightning Lizen did earlier, so I could tell torture wasn't going to make him talk.
"What? Dog got your tongue? Did Shiku crack a rib?"
"You don't have to listen to them. We could leave together." Lee suggested. It was an obvious ploy I wasn't going to fall for, but I humored him a bit.
"What are you talking about?"
"Riala just tried to kill you with no remorse a few hours ago. Even worse. The nation that wants to "lend you it's strength" only has one person competent enough to help you out."
"And where are you going with this? And be warned, I'm prepared to strike if you try something." I held the tip of my flag near his neck. Despite all of that, he stood there unfazed.
"The hydra could fix everything for you. Your arm, your weak companions. We can give you all the power in the world. Mr. Tylia would be overjoyed with a hero like you joining.
"Sounds too good to be true." I removed my spear from his neck and placed it back by my side.
"Katarina told me you were a skilled hero who fought an orc several times his level and lived to see the day. Imagine all the untapped potential you can unlock if you just joined us." Lee wiggled around a bit. I held up my spear and prepared to attack, but he dropped some sort of pin on the ground. 5 hydra heads all letting out a mighty roar.
"That is the symbol of a new recruit. If you're even in Hatyr, the boss will recognize it as a sign and scout you out personally."
"And what if I don't want to join?"
"Then get rid of it for all I care. But the offer still remains. We can always use a hero like yourself."
"Tempting offer. But no thanks."
This hydra was still too mysterious for me to agree on the spot. Either way, I reached down to grab the pin.
"A shame." The second I crouched down, Lee got up and hit me with a corkscrew kick to the head, immediately sending me to the ground. Cutting his rope with the sharp end of my flag, he opened the door and ran to the roof.
"Oh God Damnit!"
/~/
"YAY! Mommy's here!" Neila cheered as she hugged her mother. The ditzy drunk spun her around and had a good laugh while doing so.
"So. What are we gonna do about Mr spandex?" Ricten asked. All of Lizen's torture and questioning turned out to be fruitless, so they just left him in the back cart. Their last attempt at getting the guy to talk was Flores, but everyone agreed nothing would change.
"He's very stubborn from what we see."
"No answer comes, no matter how hard we plea." The twins replied.
"Despite all my torture, he seems to fear that the consequences of what he says would be much worse than anything we can do to him." Lizen picked up one of his arrows and twirled it in his fingertips.
"Once we get back to Ken'bitch, I'll message one of my informants to see if we can get any information on the guy. Until then, we're in the dark."
Crash!
"Oh God Damnit!"
Two sets of footsteps could be heard from the caboose before transferring to the roof.
"You think we should help him?" Ricten asked.
"Eh. let's give him a shot. Not that we'll be losing much if he escapes anyways." Lizen added.
"Yeah, but I'm more concerned for Flores."
"Oh, he'll be fine."
/~/
Lee leaped up and drop-kicked Flores, flipping off his body before landing perfectly on the ground. Falling to the floor, Flores moved his head to the side to narrowly dodge a punch and then sent a kick toward Lee. The mercenary however activated his ability and backflipped backwards to avoid the hit.
/~/
"It's more of the fact that we have no idea what level he is."
"Well when we fought him. He wasn't able to hurt Shiku or Riala. Not to mention barely hurting you. With you being level 78, he's most likely around the late 50s, or early 60s if I'm being generous."
"That's still quite the gap in power."
Getting up. Flores activated his attack order and ran forward, swuinging at Lee with a horizontal slash. When Lee dodged, Flores repositioned himself and attacked with a spear thrust.
Lee dodged again, but using his weapon's unique functions. He opened his palm and allowed the flag to fly forward before stopping at the edge of his hand. Since it was unable to leave his body, Flores gripped it and performed an 180-degree slash aiming for Lee's side.
/~/
"Haven't you checked the party? After our lovely Doe's vehicular manslaughter, Flores gained over 23 levels. He's at level 41 right now."
"That's still quite the gap. Especially with the merc's unique dodging ability."
"But with his power-up methods and his attack order skill, that gap will transform into a wooden bridge. He can make it. But only if he decides to tread carefully." Lizen reached into his bag and pulled out a book. "After all he's been through, he most likely wants to prove he's not a burden to us. So let him go at this alone for now."
Ricten sighed. "A self-conscious hero is a dangerous one Lizen. You should tread carefully when dealing with him from now on."
"Flores's mental state can be traced back to his life before his summoning. I don't know what happened, but allowing him to show his worth will be a good stepping stone to boosting his… well morale." Lizen chuckled. "At least, I hope it does."
"And on the off chance, it doesn't?" Ricten questioned.
"Then we're going to have a new deadly sin situation all over again. And if Yomiko's was bad. Flores's will going to be 10 times worse. Let's hope we can keep his mental state in check."
/~/
My trick was a success. My flag wouldn't leave my hand, meaning I could do more advanced moves and techniques with minimal effort. Lee is very over the top, and I knew that he would do some sort of flip to dodge my attack. Thanks to that, he was still in midair from his last dodge and took the full force of the slash.
Leaving a gash on his side. I wasted no time and attacked again, this time going for an overhead swing as he landed. But instead of dodging like he usually would, he stood his ground and took the attack head-on.
I could tell the attack hurt due to the grunting and the sound of his bones cracking. But he successfully blocked the attack.
He then grabbed my flag and pulled me forward, punching me in the face as I was dragged closer. He then followed it up with an uppercut and finished up with a roundhouse kick that sent me to the ground, and almost off the edge of the train. If it weren't for Lee grabbing me, I would have rolled off.
"I don't want to kill you Flores, so I'll let you live for now." As he pulled me up, he walked toward the edge of the train. "I suggest you rethink." And with that, he fell backward. The sound of bones cracking under the weight of the train's wheels was heard, and I saw his lifeless body getting further and further away.
"Damn it!"
/~/
"Flores. How'd it go?" Lizen asked. He was attempting to hold in a laugh. Most likely because I had a black eye and bruise on my cheek and chin. I knew he hit hard, but that combo was devastating. It was like an ultimate from Grand Fighters XI was just performed on me.
"About as good as you think it went. Fuck you by the way." I tossed the rope that used to bind Lee at Lizen. He didn't dodge and just allowed it to hit his face.
"So he escaped. That's bad." Ricten commented.
"No. He killed himself actually"
"Huh?." Everyone reacted. I guess I would be in the same boat. He could have escaped easily. But he decided to help me and fall under the wheels of the train. He didn't say anything that would indicate killing himself would be better than running, so what was it all for?
"That certainly was a big twist."
"I wasn't expecting a suicide in our midst." The twins pondered.
"Maybe he thought death was better than Lizen's torture?"
"That could be it but I'm not sure. I have a feeling he's more afraid of what his boss may do?"
"The dark hydra leader is unknown, so it's not impossible for him to be some sort of tyrant. Did you get anything out of him before he died?" Lizen questioned.
"Nothing really. Just that he wanted me to join and gave me a pin."
"A pin?"
"Yeah. He said the boss should recognize it if I'm ever in Hatyr. So odds are their boss is located there."
"You don't say," Lizen muttered. A few sparks of electricity flew off him before his aura calmed down. "Good then. I finally know where to bomb."
"Wait what?"
"Honey! Double time."
"On it Ham!"
"Hey! I thought you said you'll stop calling me that!" Lizen Flushed.
"I lied!" Riala laughed as she sped up the train. Nobody can convince me these two aren't still together. Anyone who says so is either in denial or just stupid.
/~/
"RIALA!"
"MIHARE!"
The two women glomped at each other at a speed too fast for me to comprehend. And it wasn't just an average tackle hug. Mihare's feet were left indented and even cracked the ground as she braced for the hug. I don't know what kind of immovable object she is, but she's also going on the do not fight ever list.
"Look at you. You actually got some sleep didn't you." Riala ruffled Mihare's head after taking off her hat.
"It was unwanted. But definitely needed. Besides, look at yourself. Finally got a new dress."
"Made it myself. I also redid my hair, got a much-needed spa day, and made my little Tamale a new dress."
"Oh my god, I saw that! She is so cuute!" Mihare gushed. This was the most energetic I've seen Mihare be. She was always so gloomy and tired. If this is what she's truly like, then I feel sorry for all the stress she's going through to not sleep for two days.
"You two can talk about spa treatments later." Another voice demanded. Looking over to the source, it was Yomiko. And she did not look happy in the slightest.
"Yomiko."
"Riala."
The two looked at each other. One with disgust in her face. The other with complete regret and guilt.
"Hey, Riala. We got a situation that we could use your input on."
"Y-yeah. Let's get to that." Riala excused herself along with Mihare. So this was the relationship between those two.
"Lizen. I need some materials in the lab. Mind helping me."
"Well I was gonna-"
"Thanks." Yomiko didn't let him finish and immediately dragged him off.
"We'll if we're all splitting up."
"We're going to clean up." The twins waved goodbye and went towards the fort. Ricten also had his own stuff to do and went along with the twins. That only left me with Neila…
"Did I just unknowingly get put on babysitting duty?"
"Come on Mr Flores. Let's go play!" Neila grabbed my sleeve and started to tug it.
"Yep. I did."
"Come on Mr Flores. You're moving slow!" Neila giggled. "I know a super cool place that'll help train-"
"Neila Starlight Nicodia Sinclair the third!" Someone yelled when we passed by the town's bar.
A lady came out and went over to Neila. She had curly red hair and brown eyes that were covered by a pair of glasses. She wore an apron over a lavender shirt and a black skirt that went down to her knees.
"Damn, she's hot. If it wasn't for Yomiko, I would aim for her."
"That voice. M-m-miss Freya!" Neila stammered.
"You're not trying to go to the Misfortunes tempest without permission again, are you!" The lady pulled on Neila's cheeks.
"Sowwy Mwiss Fwewa."
Freya sighed. "Seriously. You and your father are extremists. If you keep leaving town again without notifying an adult. Your apple juice privileges will be revoked." Freya threatened.
"Wait wait wait. I have Mister Flores with me. He's daddy's friend so he counts."
"Flores huh?" The lady looked me up and down, keeping a very close eye on my weapon during her inspection.
"Fine. I'll allow it. But next time."
"Yeah yeah, warn you. Come on Flores, quickly." Neila grabbed me by the arm and started to run.
"Watch where you step Neila!" Freya called out. Her list of overprotective friends and family is just getting bigger by the day.
/~/
"You sure you know where you're going?"
"Are you worried cuz I'm blind?" Neila asked.
"Yes." I cut down a piece of a branch with my knife for Neila and continued to move forward.
"Don't worry. Daddy spent months teaching me the concept of erudition and sensory magic. I can see all!" As she claimed this, she tripped on a rock and fell. Thankfully, I grabbed her before she hit the ground.
"Okay, I can see some. Mostly things that can produce a shadow."
"So erudition is being so in tuned with your element, that you gain certain abilities surrounding it?"
"Kind of." Neila touched the shadows of one of the trees and formed it into a small ball of shadow in her hand.
"Imagine this cube is sand."
"That's a sphere."
"Okay. Imagine this sphere! Is sand." Neila grumbled. "Erudition is where you use your inside energy to dictate its shape and flow."
The ball Neila was holding turned into a long rope. Neila then swung it forward, cutting a tree in half before turning the whip into a ball again.
"See how cool that was. Aunty made this form of erudition when she was in Rinoth." Neila beamed. "My family is the coolest!"
"Mihare made this?" I asked. I mean. We are talking about the same Mihare, right?
"Yeah, Aunty is strong. She beat Ms. Yomiko, father, and fought Mommy to a tie. Every fight she goes like woosh and swoosh. Then there's the occasional slam." Neila did her best to explain the movements she does. But clearly, she has no idea what she's talking about.
"Wow. She must be very tough."
"Yeah, she is. That's why we need to get you into shape as well. Aunty hasn't been feeling well ever since the dragon glass turned on. I want to make sure she can sleep well."
"You're a good kid." I patted Neila on the head. "So. where are we heading?"
"Hehe." Neila laughed. "Long long time ago. In an area not so far away. The hero Miguel fought the Storm Tenko with the force of 300 men. It was this fight that… rock formmedd?"
"Terraformed." I corrected.
"Yeah. Terraformed the area, trapping it in a pe… parp…perpitual?." Neila sighed. "An endless storm." Neila ran forward and what I saw shocked me. It was a large building, larger than the fort of Ken'bitch. Its walls were a pear white and seemed to be some form of brick that glowed with purple energy.
In the center of that wall was a door. When Neila opened it, a power gust of wind almost knocked me off my feet, but Neila held me down.
"WELCOME TO THE MISFORTUNE'S TEMPEST!" Neila yelled. She was barely audible due to the howl of the large winds.
Inside was a large forest-like area of oversized trees and roots. Debris of various different metals, clothing, and weapons flew all around a sphere of wind that seemed to act as the storm's borders. On the other side of the storm, there seemed to lie another door at the edge but getting there wasn't really an option either. Lightning struck all over the place at random intervals, tornadoes grouping up and moving everywhere, and strong winds that could fling even the heaviest of objects. All of this and more, all gathered together in a forest a walking distance away from Ken'bitch. It was a mystery how any plant life survived all of this.
"These people are crazier than I imagined."
"MAMA SAID THE SEAL OF THE STORM TENKO IS WHAT KEEP'S THE TEMPEST BOUND TO THIS SPOT! PAPA ALSO SAID IT'S THE MOST DANGEROUS PLACE IN ARCADIA!"
"THEN WHY ARE WE HERE!"
"BECAUSE! I WANTED TO TEACH YOU ERUDITION! COMMUNING AND INTERACTING WITH THE ELEMENTS IS THE FASTEST WAY TO LEARN THE WILD WINDS!"
"WILD WHAT!?"
"JUST WATCH!"
"WAIT NEILA DON'T-" and with that, she jumped into the storm.
While inside, I finally learned the true gap in power this kid had over me. Not only was she moving with ease in these 300-mile-per-hour winds. She was also fighting the natural forces of nature… and she was kicking its ass.
When lightning would strike, she would just reach out her hand and smack it away like a tennis ball. When a tornado came at her, she punched punch it and caused it to disperse immediately. Hail? Blocked. Acid rain? Ignored. Being flung halfway across the sphere? She landed perfectly on the trees and kept going.
At one moment, she grabbed lightning out of the sky and toss it at a tornado. Then when the tornado also defied physics and absorbed the lightning to be an electric supercell, she separated the lightning from the tornado and tossed both of them away.
I guess Lizen did something similar, but that was a magic spell. Neila on the other hand just grabbed whatever weather phenomena she could find and manhandled it. Only the Sinclair family.
"SEE MISTER. YOU JUST GOTTA FLOW THE ELEMENTS AROUND YOU! JUST LIKE MAGIC!" Neila yelled as she dived through the entrance.
"I DON'T KNOW MAGIC YET! AND I CERTAINLY CAN'T CATCH LIGHTNING!"
"YOU DON'T KNOW M-." Neila cleared her throat and closed the entrance.
"Right. Hehe, I forgot." Neila chuckled. "How about I teach you magic instead?"
"Is the possibility of death lower than this?"
"Absolutely!"
"Then let's do it!"
"Okay! Back to Ms. Freya!"
Me and Neila both returned to Ken'bitch, and went inside the Ditzy Drunk. It was a common bar you'd find in most old tv shows. Tables all about, the usual long counter with a few bar seats, and of course the usual drunken fight happening. It was quite scary. And by it, I mean her. When one of the drunken patrons tried to fight Freya for accidentally bumping into him. Freya paid him no mind as she effortlessly tossed him out the door with one hand.
"Why isn't she in my party."
"Alright, Miss Freya. A gallon of apple juice."
"You already spent last week's allowance on apple juice You're getting a pint."
"Gallon!" Neila argued.
"Pint!"
"Gallon."
"Alright. You get a Gallon."
"No. I want a Pint."
"Deal!" The bartender put down a small glass of apple juice.
"... Wait that's not what I meant."
"Haha, Just kidding. Drink up, kid." The bartender slid down a jug of apple juice toward Neila. How she's allowed in this establishment will remain a mystery.
"Yay! Thanks, Miss Freya." Neila started to chug her apple juice while Freya looked over at me.
"I'll put in on Lizen's tab." Freya shifted her focus from Neila over to me. "So the new captain of Ken'bitch finally reveals himself to the public."
"I didn't know news about my promotion spread this fast. Especially since it was just an offhand comment from Lizen before training.
"There are two reasons for a bar to exist. A place to drown away all your troubles. Or a vast network of information cuz drunk idiots can't keep their mouths shut. Guess which one I am, Morale hero."
Well shit… actually, is revealing my identity even a bad thing?
"Welp you figured me out. Not sure what that achieves though."
"Nothing really, I just love gossip. Although, that pin you carry around is a cause for concern."
"How did you-"
"It's a dark hydra recruitment pin. It indicates one's potential employment in the dark guild. And by the looks of it, you seemed to have gotten one from a paid intern."
"Paid intern? Wouldn't that just be an employee at that point?"
"No no no." Neila finished her jug and was about to speak, but Freya passed her another, distracting her for much longer. "The dark guild's ranking system goes as followed. Slave, unpaid intern, intern, paid intern, and the boys. You've gotten a pin from the second rank, meaning you're high on their scouting priority." Freya took out a pin of her own which was glowing a bright purple.
"I got this from a paid intern a while back. And by got I mean kicked his ass and ran off with it." Freya chuckled. "The recruiters who have these can then track where you are if you're ever nearby. That's how I knew you had it on you when you walked by. I was also making sure Neila was okay since a dark hydra member near her isn't good news."
"So that's what he meant by the boss will recognize me. Do you know any more info?"
"Yeah, I do. But it'll cost you something."
"And what might this something be?"
"Information for information. You've encountered a paid intern, give me all of the details."
"Well If that's all then where do I begin?"
I spent the next few minutes describing the oddity that is R. Lee. Everything from his fighting style, special ability, and his death. Freya already knew who Lee was, and even had some entries on him before. He was classified as a highly-skilled scout who specializes in assassinations and theft. Sadly though, that was pretty much all she had. Nothing on the boss, any previous missions, or even his goal for attacking Riala.
You won't believe how berserk she went when I finally gave her a mountain of new info on this man's fighting style. I was also shaken many times.
"Oh, I hit the jackpot today! I knew the hero would have good shit!"
"Child."
"Who gives a fuck!" Freya slammed the table "Give me more and I'll happily give you a beer for life."
"I don't drink."
"Then… I'll think about it later."
"Ohh. Can we use your stage for magic training then!?" Neila suggested.
"Magic training you say? And by doing that, we can sell admission for a rap battle. Excellent plan Neila!"
Freya lept out from the counter and landed on the stage. "Earth and Water, combine and grow. Cover the stage and match my flow. Transform yourself, grow in might. Protect yourself from the strongest of smites. Magic of the tavern and barkeep as one, grant my request, and let's all have fun!" Freya slammed her hands on the floor, and the ground started to shake. "[Galaxy Terraform!]"
The walls opened up and expanded before closing again, making the tavern bigger. Then the stage broke apart and reformed into a larger stage that glowed the same purple as the stone wall before. Things continued to break apart and reshape until finally, everything went dark.
"Poems of old."
"And limericks a new."
"Rhyme are divine."
"So let them through."
"Sing to us tonight."
"For that is your goal."
"Show us what you got."
"FOR RAP IS A MANS SOUL! Melodic Magic: Grand Show!"
Lights filled the room as Neila and Freya took the stage. It seems the terraforming magic turned the bar into a theater. The stage was much bigger now and shined with dozens of lights that floated in the air.
"Alright Flores. Let's see if you got the bars."
Journal of Flores
Entry #1: Dark Hydra
My old journal was blown by a mortar, so I'll be starting a new one for future generations to read. I would have done this a lot sooner. But between being summoned, losing my arm, and having to deal with the dark hydra, I never got the proper chance.
If Flores is reading this, then ignore this page. If you're a new reader, then welcome. I am Sylvester Flores, captain of Ken'bitch and hero of the morale tools. This entry will be on the dark guild of Arcadia. The hydra.
According to Freya. The dark hydra is pretty much a myth. To those who do know though, it is the main guild of Arcadia with the Exodus Legion being their front so no authorities would catch on. Their ranking system is also based on capability, so paid interns are a lot more suited to handle difficult tasks than the level 500 unpaid intern who is dumb as shit.
Also despite the name. Unpaid interns do actually get paid. Their benefits also include 3 meals a day, a place to sleep, flexible work schedules, and a guaranteed 3 days off your choosing. If this weren't a criminal organization, I would have taken Lee's deal in a heartbeat. But I'm not trying to deal with the mental repercussions, so I'll pass for now.