Jake Smithson, currently in the middle of collecting points to pay off the debts he accrued… just sneezed."Could it be my folks back home thinking I"m missing?
Nah.
If anything they"re probably cussing me out for leaving home for goodness-knows where."
Jake didn"t know it, but he was closer to the truth than his guess, because at that moment, someone was throwing enough profanity at him that would make a hardened convict blush.
"I"d like to farm more points, but I can"t; there are more important things to be done."
As much as Jake would love to stack an even more outrageous amount of points after paying off his debts, it wasn"t possible.
First, his mana aren"t infinite – since his intent is to fight as safely as possible, he has to spare his mana for the fight against the Skeleritter.
Second, and more importantly, he put the Swiftstone up as a wager.
"Time to face the music."
His debts have been paid. As much as this was a relief to him, he still didn"t enjoy it, because he wanted more time to farm for points.
Once the points were gathered, the time for fighting the boss had begun.
And this had an even bigger stake than usual, because if he can"t, he"ll have to return the Swiftstone Sword.
He"d never allow something like that to happen to one of his most prized purchases.
This is why, as soon as he got the points needed, he stopped farming.
Thanks to the Griefen, the boss was trussed up and bound in magical chains, struggling to get loose.
Jake took a deep breath, looked to his target, and as soon as he stopped killing the skeletons, they rallied and attacked.
He ignored their attacks and all the while looked at the Skeleritter.
"Time to finish you off! Forget your flunkies, it"s your head I want!"
As he did, Jake poured all of his mana to use the Griefen"s power as much he could, pulling out the monster"s limbs to make it completely vulnerable to attack.
"He"s a lot stronger than I thought."
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Despite being bound, he could feel the creature"s power now straining against its bonds.
It would have escaped and fought Jake if it had a little more strength, but Jake"s stats kept him from doing so.
Thanks to the Griefen, the odds were evened somewhat – now, Jake had a fighting chance to beat this boss.
"Now I"ve got you where I want you, time to die!" Jake called as he moved in, Swiftstone Sword in hand.
As he did, the skeletons converged on Jake as well, attacking him.
Their attacks were rebuffed or ignored entirely by their target.
"My defense won"t allow it!
You"re the one who needs killing, here!
Let"s wrap this up, I have an appointment with the Awakening Store waiting!"
***
While beginner zones are designed to help adventurers starting out, towns are also made to cater to adventurers of all levels and strengths, as towns and villages – beginner zones or not – help adventurers rest and recover.
This is its most important function: an area by which adventurers can take a break from adventuring, and recover their weary bodies and minds from their tasks.
This concept is what Jake discovered during the first wave of the skeleton army – the wall may have come down, the effect may have diminished, but it"s still there.
This was also why Jake"s plan was very much outlandish: literally, even, because a key part of the plan involves baiting a majority of the skeleton army out of town, so the power of their master cannot aid them.
"Is that weirdo out of his mind?"
"I can"t believe it! He"s just letting the skeletons. .h.i.t him while he"s focused on attacking their leader!"
"How does can he stay alive in a fight like that?"
By now, the adventurers of Brino had returned to their new home, and were now witnessing a spectacle: Jake was facing off against the Skeleritter – and he had the advantage.
Finally, he"s beginning to show his true character, so thought the adventurers, as they wanted to see him finally put an end to the Skeleritter.
Once that was done, rebuilding Brino would be their priority.
Jake"s methods, however, were just as weird as he was: case in point, the insouciant manner by which he treated the skeleton army attacking him.
"How can he fight like that?"
"I can"t believe this…." another said, in shock at Jake"s eccentric combat method.
"It makes sense," a third adventurer added. "He"s not taking damage from them anymore, so he just focuses on their leader."
"Should we help?"
"There are still skeletons in town, we should clear them out!"
Despite Jake"s situation, the adventurers couldn"t really come forward and help.
For some, it was out of knowing they were outcla.s.sed, and joining the fight would just be tantamount to jumping into the buzz saw of action and getting ripped to pieces for their trouble.
Some didn"t feel like helping, as they thought that either outcome would be good: either Jake would win, or he would die trying.
If Jake had known this, he wouldn"t have minded; he"d long since known that people are afraid of those who are different from themselves.
Ever since the beginning, Jake had not been an ordinary adventurer.
It"s just human nature.
This was why the adventurers who didn"t bother to take to the side streets and find skeletons out of the Skeleritter"s influence just stuck around and watched.
The clash of swords continued, and battle cries were heard as Jake and the Skeleritter continued to battle.
Only a few minutes pa.s.sed by, but the battle felt like an eternity.
Not long after that, battle cries were replaced with pained grunts, and the adventurers listening began to understand that Jake was beginning to falter.
Despite his excellent physical defense and the village"s recovery effects, Jake was still slowly getting worn down by the Skeleritter"s minions, small cuts beginning to appear around him.
But that was when something happened; a chance to turn things around finally made itself known for Jake.
Jake yelled, and with a mighty swing, he finally felt something in the Skeleritter start to give way.
Instead of the clang he had been used to hearing each time he hit the Skeleritter, something cracked.
"I totally heard something snap! You"re not going to get away from me!"
"Yeah!" Jake exulted, not wanting to halt the momentum he had built up, and continued his onslaught on the side of the Skeleritter which he had been hitting for some time now.
The sight of progress made Jake forget about the wounds on his body, because he was almost there.
And the Skeleritter was bound and unable to defend itself or evade the sword slashes coming its way, all within a small area.
"It"s only a matter of time now!"
The match had now gone into sudden death: the first one to falter will ultimately lose.
Jake"s injuries were now beginning to catch up to him, and the Skeleritter"s side was just about mangled.
It came down to the wire: whoever had the greater determination would be victorious.
Jake continued to hack away, each of his slashes still filled with the determination to give his bed and couch justice.
"This! Is! For! My! Bed! And! Couch!"
The Swiftstone smashed against the large skeleton, its size and weight now more in play rather than its sharpness.
""YOU! PICKED! THE WRONG! BED! AND COUCH! TO f.u.c.k WITH!""
Jake was supposed to be exhausted after all these attacks, but the sheer hatred filling him was keeping him going; and the harder he struck, he started to see fragments come off the monster, and the pull on the Griefen"s chains slowly but surely began to weaken..
"NOW f.u.c.kING DIE ALREADY!" Jake bellowed, redoubling his efforts as he saw the end coming.
One gigantic slash later, and Jake felt the Skeleritter give way, the force holding the monster together beginning to unravel as the gigantic skeleton"s torso clattered to the floor, the chains no longer holding the remains of an already-deceased boss.
He nearly collapsed on the town floor, the sword barely holding him up, and the skeletons around him beginning to come apart as their leader was just slain.
Nothing remained in the town square, just Jake"s heavy breathing.
That was when someone flashed into existence and stabbed Jake"s neck.
***
As soon as they heard the crash of the Skeleritter, the gathered adventurers finally mustered up the courage to approach the scene of the fight.
It was an odd feeling: they had won back the town, but didn"t want Jake to be their savior.
Some of them even wish he had fallen at the same time the Skeleritter did.
"We"ll just have to make sure we make him leave or dispose of him altogether, then tell anyone who pa.s.ses we"re the ones who won back Brino," some of the more opportunistic adventurers thought, but before they could quibble over the details, Jake screamed.
There were many things that came from Jake"s mouth during the fight against the Skeleritter.
But even when injured countless times by its skeleton army, he bore them all silently, instead raising his voice only when striking the enemy.
"What"s that?"
"What"s going on?"
The approaching adventurers were confused at what just transpired, and Jake even began to move erratically while screaming.
To their further confusion, a man shimmered into view in front of Jake, and made a startling declaration.
"Murderer! You thought your deeds would be covered up if you killed me and made me the scapegoat!"
"That"s Emmanuel!" an adventurer exclaimed as the man appeared, just as the Skeleritter fell.
"You"re kidding! Did Emmanuel just attack Jake?"
More and more adventurers arrived at the town square, the end of the Skeleritter allowing them to just slay the skeleton army en ma.s.se and finally return to Brino.
And though they didn"t know how Emmanuel ended up there, they were glad to see a familiar face; even more so, because he just struck Jake with something.
A lot of confusion was in the gathered crowd.
"Guys! He wanted to kill me, and make me a scapegoat for all the murders here!" Emmanuel shouted at them, even louder. "I was able to escape, and now I"ve come back here today to punish this murderer!"
Most of the adventurers gathered responded with more confusion, not quite knowing exactly what was going on.
One of them in the crowd made his opinion known.
"Yes, get him! Punish the murderer!" the adventurer yelled, because while he didn"t always end up teaming with Emmanuel, he still had a pretty cordial relationship with the adventurer.
"I, Emmanuel, will be the one to dispense justice onto this murderer!" Emmanuel declared, and moved to attack the still-screaming Jake once again.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Emmanuel"s attack stopped in its tracks.
***
The adventurers witnessing this bizarre spectacle were now treated to another twist to this series of events.
There wasn"t enough information available, some fact they weren"t made aware of, so the prudent response is to just watch silently until everything is revealed.
At this point, they"re not that eager to become a mob howling for justice, but the possibility that they would become that was now resting on a knife"s edge.
It"s true, they didn"t want to actively question who was right.
Maybe he"s actually a murderer; maybe Emmanuel"s words were true.
Emmanuel has been doing very well among the adventurers in Brino; and if they had to choose between Jake and Emmanuel, most of them would end up choosing Emmanuel.
One thing stopped them, though.
"How did he suddenly appear in battle? I didn"t even see him approaching."
"There"s a hiding skill? Why did he hide it?"
They found it strange that Emmanuel couldn"t be seen at all until he struck Jake.
This is a skill that they have never seen before, even after going out to hunt monsters – and the werecrocodile battle.
The way he hid his skills – even in a life-threatening battle – was more than enough to rouse the suspicion of some of the adventurers… but there were those who, despite thinking that, turned a blind eye to what was going on.
"Something must have happened."
"Maybe it"s the latest skill he got."
Because they weren"t rooting for Jake in the first place.
Now, Jake was completely at their mercy, shuddering after being stabbed in the neck.
But little did they know, that was also something Jake planned for.
"Thanks a lot, Bulletproof Wrap.
By the way, what the h.e.l.l did he do? He got stronger again."
An adventurer noted that Emmanuel"s attack wasn"t meant to incapacitate Jake – it was meant to kill him in a single strike.
What n.o.body expected – even Emmanuel – was that before this fight, Jake used some bulletproof wrap to cover his neck with. It was the only part of his body that was unarmored, and he left it open on purpose.
"Seamus" throat was cut open.
If I leave that part open, the killer is going to strike. I"m going to lure him close."
[Bulletproof Wrap: Very thin transparent plastic wrap. Wonderful defense against skills. It"s very thin, so it won"t hinder your movement. Of course, compared to normal armor it has lower defense, but we prepared it for some of you who don"t like something c.u.mbersome to wear!]
"I bought this armor so I could spring the trap.
It was touch and go, and I had to really do a lot of careful budgeting, but I did it.
Despite the decreasing time of the event and the gravity of the situation, there was still a need for this – and the reason is obvious.
You couldn"t resist going after me again, just when I"m finished dealing with the Skeleritter, you opportunistic little s.h.i.t."
"What… what is this?" Emmanuel asked aloud, looking at his knife in confusion. "I got him! I got him in the neck!"
Jake was right, Emmanuel was caught in the trap Jake had set.
"What"s going on there? He looks fine, though he"s still screaming."
"I thought he got stabbed?"
Other adventurers were still frozen in surprise while Jake was still screaming, drowning out Emmanuel"s literal admission that he tried to slit Jake"s throat.
That was when Jake finally put the next part of his plan into motion.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
The adventurers were taken completely off guard by Jake"s transition from pained scream to hysterical laughter.
And then there was dead silence.
Emmanuel found himself frozen by the intensity of Jake"s stare.
"You f.u.c.ked up," he said plainly.
And before he could use the skill that got him close enough to Jake, Emmanuel found himself bound by a set of magical chains.
"Dammit!" the a.s.sa.s.sin yelled.
"Gotcha, b.i.t.c.h." Jake said triumphantly, as even if he could use stealth to get away, where would he go? His limbs were bound.
He began to take measured steps towards the a.s.sa.s.sin, as the Skeleritter and its army was nothing more than bone dust in the wind, this was just the last loose end he needed to tie up.
Now to more important matters.
"Look, people," Jake declared, turning to the adventures gathered. "If you want to know who killed Seamus and his party, you"re looking at the guy I have trussed up like a chicken. Did you see what happened? He appeared near me out of thin air – and that"s how he killed Seamus. Cut his throat the same way he tried to cut mine."
"No! I"m not!" Emmanuel shouted back, trying to prove his innocence. "Guys, there"s no way I would have killed them!"
"Save me!" he continued, looking at the gathered adventurers and begging for help. "He is the killer! He"s making all this up!"
The adventurers found themselves in a pickle, because finding out who was telling the truth was difficult.
"Then why"d you hide your stealth skill all this time?" Jake asked. "Don"t make the excuse that you got it now – you tried to kill me last time with that skill."
"As much as I want to quietly separate Emmanuel"s head from his shoulders, other adventurers are watching us – this performance is for them. I need something substantial to persuade them."
Several adventurers nod at Jake"s question – it really was suspicious of Emmanuel to hide his stealth skill.
"He… that was for no particular reason!" Emmanuel answered. "I just wanted to have an ace in the hole saved up in a place like this!"
"Then why"d you want to kill me that night?" Jake asked. "Without a single attempt to prove your innocence?"
"You tried to kill me first!"
Even until the last moment, Emmanuel insisted that he was not the murderer, and an adventurer stood between him and Jake – the one who said something about murderers not too long ago.
"You"re not sure yet, are you?" Jake asked. "All right, I"m going to provide you people some evidence."
"What kind of evidence would you have to prove your innocence?" the man asked, and Jake shook his head in disbelief.
He"s trying to keep this b.a.s.t.a.r.d alive?
No one knows what he is going to do!
"Oh, I have just the thing in mind," Jake replied, and he decided to provide the evidence needed himself – in action.