The white-robed challenger wore a long, black ponytail and black leather gloves covered in numerous razor-sharp blades. He arrogantly placed both hands behind his back and walked to within speaking distance."Who Art That Guy?" Barza asked, looking to Taree for answers.
The little girl spat on the ground, shattering Barza"s perception of her. From the way Tamaki talked, he"d thought that Taree was their family"s princess and would act prim, proper-- or at the least, would act less like a thug than he did.
"His name"s Yos.h.i.+o. He"s an absolute loser who"s raised the Stone Body technique to its peak level. "Cuz he"s a little b*tch!"
Barza struggled to respond in a nonchalant manner. "Oh. Most Well. This Yos.h.i.+o Hast Nothing On The Chosen One"s Greatness."
"What"s the Stone Body technique?" Pale asked, his eyes rapidly scanned the treetops. Yos.h.i.+o wasn"t their only opponent.
"Yos.h.i.+o"s body is like a suit of armor. And if your strength isn"t high enough, arrows and swords even explode when you hit him."
Barza had never heard of such a ridiculous defensive skill. And all he"s done in his offtime was go to the pub and listen to stories about adventurers. He made a decision in his heart; he needed to find the earliest possible opportunity to reject the mantle of Chosen One.
…
Tycon had slithered back up the ma.s.sive, gnarled tree to where his friends were waiting.
« System, Cancel Snake-Form. »
[Snake-Form Cancelled. Returning to Human-Form.]
With the System"s welcome a.s.sistance, Tycon had created a mental shortcut to changing forms, designating his Human form as his base. With the System override, any effect or spell that would revert him uncontrollably into a handsome, majestic snake, would be rendered useless. Also, it was much faster to use a mental command than to try to will various body parts to shrink, disappear, transform, or whatever.
Tycon lightly tossed Wroe"s sword back to him.
"Thanks, Boss."
"I may have been at fault. Don"t mention it."
Dragan was below the branch, casually doing pull-ups as if falling a couple of hundred fulms wasn"t an issue. "Boss, I didn"t know you could turn into a snake."
Wroe nodded, "Your Snake Form is beautiful."
"Mister Wroe, I"d prefer you to keep your philanderous affectations outside the guild."
Tycon didn"t even spare the spellcaster a glance. The blue-haired half-angel, Tarquin Wroe, smiled sheepishly in embarra.s.sment.
"Haha. Sorry, Boss."
"Gentlemen, what have I missed?"
Wroe offered the first thought, "The two beat the Gann. It looked like it was about to use a Fire Blast, but it hesitated..."
"Good eye, Mister Wroe. I used an interrupting Skill."
"Ah, that makes sense, then! Boss, can I use the next Skill?"
"No, Mister Wroe. Anything else?"
Dragan heaved himself atop the branch with one arm, seating himself between Wroe and Tycon. A few moments prior, Tycon had noticed Dragan doing pull-ups several yalms away. His skill at climbing, even using just his arm strength was commendable.
"Mister Dragan," Tycon acknowledged.
"Boooosssss! We were thinking…"
"A shame."
"Barza should get a nickname. Like how we call you "Boss". And we call Bucket "Bucket"."
Tycon kept a steady demeanor, though inwardly, he was stunned by the information, "Is Bucket not his actual name, then?"
"I dunno. It doesn"t sound like a real name."
Tycon turned his head to Wroe, who answered with uncertainty.
"We"ve been calling him Bucket for so long, does it really matter?"
"I think we should call him Queer," Dragan proudly suggested. "I mean Barza, not Bucket."
Wroe frowned at the suggestion, "Won"t that make Guild Invictus sound h.o.m.ophobic?"
"Woooow! WOOOOOW, TARQUIN!! That was pretty freakin" h.o.m.ophobic!"
Tycon pursed his lips. It was a low-stakes argument without much thought put into it. He would just ignore it and hope for the best.
"Suggestion denied. But he can claim a name if he so wishes… When he rates, anyroad."
Dragan chuckled, "It"ll take a while for Gear-Queer to rate."
Tycon shrugged as he kneeled down to examine the battlefield once more.
"Our opinions differ. You call him a coward. I think he approaches high-risk situations with an appropriate level of caution."
"Ha ha? Um, Boss, I uh… We never called him a coward. That was you?"
Tycon cleared his throat, ignoring him. "Take a look. New challenger. White robe. A Martialist?"
Dragan looked down, "Looks stronger than the rest. Looks like he shot that archer guy. And there"s bad guys in the trees around us, too. Ninjas, maybe."
Tycon examined the transparent red ???"s floating above several a.s.sa.s.sin-types wearing dark clothing.
« System, change display setting: change the unknown variables to approximate cla.s.ses. »
[Understood.]
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In Tycon"s vision, the transparent red ???"s were quickly rewritten as "Hidden Scout"s. The white-robed youth below was marked as "Arrogant Ruffian."
« There"s that stupid ruffian cla.s.s again. System, inquiry: Power level of that guy in white? »
[System response: Yos.h.i.+o, Bronze-Rank Martialist]
The "Arrogant Ruffian" t.i.tle changed handily to "Yos.h.i.+o". How convenient. Tycon turned to Dragan.
"I see 11 scouts in dark clothing in the trees... Why hasn"t anyone spotted us yet?"
Wroe raised his hand, "I"m maintaining a Shadow Veil on us. I"ll keep us hidden unless we"re attacked or have to move."
Both Tycon and Dragan nodded, impressed.
"I hadn"t noticed. Well done." "Pretty cool skill, Bub."
"Thanks guys." Wroe accepted the compliment without fanfare. Tycon considered the small action reflective of a high level of trust and camaraderie between the three.
Tycon pointed down. "Wroe and I will clean up the guys in the trees, while you, Dr-"
Dragan held out a hand, "Hold on, Boss."
Tycon retracted his pointing finger. "You rarely interrupt me during planning, Mister Dragan. Have I missed something?"
"Yeah, man. I wanted to help during the Gann fight, but we had to do it all stealthy-like."
"An impressively imbecile way to paraphrase, but yes. Get to the point."
"I think the two can handle this on their own."
Tycon took the thought into consideration.
"Mister Wroe, your opinion."
Wroe nodded, "I can maintain the Shadow Veil as long as we don"t move."
Dragan smirked, "But it"s your call, Boss. I wouldn"t mind cuttin" up some ninjas."
Tycon crossed his arms. "We"ll observe, only to move if necessary."
Tycon again took a knee to observe the battlefield and the green names only he saw.
Barza Keith. Bucket. Kimura Taree. Kimura Tamaki.
"Show us your strength and conviction. Show us the pride of Invictus."