by L. M. Kerr
In a room that was particularly well guarded, at the center of all the men standing guard, two men could be seen sitting around a table. The room looked to be a meeting room of sorts, with a long wooden table and several plush chairs.
On the table was an expertly drawn diagram of the Stardust Cluster, a map that was currently covered in markings outlining various forces.
"Brandon, the newbies have had a solid first day at the branch bases. I think our plan to keep them in training for self-defense will go well, but we'll need to cull the herd eventually. There's always going to be squeamish ones that refuse to do what they need to, to survive." The speaker was one of the two men, a handsome and lean asian man dressed in a sharp looking suit. He had short black hair and piercing green eyes, with a small nose and square chin.
"Yes, Byron, but I think we'll need a more direct approach. I say we take them on a raid against one of the central groups no one cares about. Perhaps the Lasso Killers or Blue Devil Alliance, they're close to us." The other man responded, gesturing with his hands at the map. This speaker was a polar opposite of the other, a great burly caucasian man wearing a set of overalls and a bright white shirt. He had a large square beard and a rough looking face.
Despite his apparent crude appearance, the keen intelligence in his eyes was unmistakable.
"Perhaps. We should also look into the Irregulars that appeared. There's that female one, Sophia, that appeared near us. I also heard there's another one that appeared in this Wave, a man named Micheal. He apparently clashed with the Saru Group already, so he should be a good target to recruit." Byron shrugged.
Just as Brandon was about to respond, a loud knocking at the door interrupted him.
"Lord Byron, Lord Brandon, we've received important news from the Main Cluster!"
The two Pirate Lords, as they termed themselves, of the Black Flag Pirates paused, turning to stare at the door.
"Bring it in!" Brandon yelled out loud a response, curiosity in his eyes. Byron watched everything like a hawk, his expression unreadable.
A young man that looked to be around 20 jogged in, his face covered in a sheen of sweat. It was obvious he had run the whole way here without pause.
"Drink something, first." Brandon threw the man a bottle of water he'd kept stored in his Spatial Bracelet, an Artifact similar to Micheal's Spatial Ring.
The young man nodded his thanks as he eagerly gulped down the water. After a few moments, he finished drinking the whole bottle, panting slowly.
"So, what is the word?" The Black Flag Pirates had men stationed in the Main Cluster, solely to keep abreast of any major events occurring there. It would be dangerous and ignorant to do anything else.
One of the men on rotation had the Ability to send messages over long distances by using magical birds he painted in the air. These birds could just barely travel far enough to reach their Cluster. After all, the Great Bridge that connected to the Main Cluster only appeared for brief periods before vanishing. It wouldn't be feasible to use only that if one wanted to be kept up to date.
As a result, they always had someone on watch in a specific, agreed upon spot, in case one of the birds ever arrived.
"It's about the Godfather Organization!" The young man said, patting on his chest.
"The Head of the Godfather Organization has been fatally poisoned! He's currently half-paralyzed and unable to take action, estimated to be dead within 3 months!"
The two Pirate Lords froze, their eyes widening in shock.
"What?! How?!" Byron's voice cut through the air as he stood up eagerly.
"A newbie Chosen, someone with the Poison Ruler Type Ability, clashed with him over one of the special Golden Morenkai that appeared! No one was aware that the new Chosen had that power, or that he was even strong at all!"
"Bahahaha! Cameron fell to a brand new Chosen?!"
"No way!"
The two Pirate Lords burst out laughing as they heard this, smiles all around. Eager light flashed in their eyes as they went over the information, pleased.
"Is there anything else?"
"No sirs."
"Then you are dismissed. Pick yourself up an Artifact from the Armory on the way out, anything below 5,000 Points." Byron sent the man off with a huge smile, the Pirate Lord internally celebrating.
As the room cleared and it returned to just the two of them, the duo looked back at the map.
"Without their Head, the Godfather Organization no longer has that freakish S Ranker to protect them." Brandon began, rubbing his beard with a grin.
"Indeed. They are spread so thin, in so many Clusters, the only reason they could get away with it was because of Cameron. To think he would fall to poison, from a newbie Chosen…" Byron responded, shaking his head.
"That does leave them vulnerable… with the fighters that they have here, wiping them out should net enough to hit the 100,000 Points Wall for each of us. If we can upgrade our strength again, we should be able to face up against all of the other powers in this Cluster combined…"
The two Pirate Lords began to quietly talk and plan, plotting out the future.
.
Chapter 18: Day 2
The Ki Cultivator Ability had several Tiers, from Mortal to God. Each Tier was further split into three internal stages, decided upon by enough experts that the opinion was generally accepted in the 7 Layers.
'There's the Early, Mid, and Late Stage of Mortal Ki Cultivation.' Micheal thought this over as he chomped on a pair of warm eggs and bacon, his breakfast for the day.
Daylight gleamed in through the window of his room, the bright morning sun slipping over the horizon.
'Right now, I should still be in the Early Stage.' He nodded his head sharply, taking a moment to wolf down some bacon.
'You reach the Middle Stage when your base Strength reaches 3 times the strength of a normal human, or 30 points. You reach the Late Stage at 4 times the strength of a normal human, or 40 points of Strength.' He thought it over in his head.
— - Status — -
Name: Micheal Care
Points: 150
Race: Human
Age: 18
- Stats -
Strength - 23
Endurance - 17
Recovery - 13
Soul - 10
- Abilities - (3/7)
Life Orb Master
Ki Cultivator (Mortal Tier)
Grandmaster Sword Mastery (1/5)
.
'Since I have nothing else modifying my stats, when I reach 30 Strength, I'll truly be at the Middle Stage.' He nodded sharply. His Endurance and Recovery would rise by similar, though smaller, amounts.
An Ability that could be grown without Points to a huge height… it was no wonder this was the most popular Ability in the 7 Layers.
A few moments passed as he finished eating his breakfast. The food settled comfortably in his stomach, tasty and warm.
After that, he washed up slightly. There was a bottle of toothpaste and a toothbrush in his sink that he used, and he washed his face. As he looked at himself in the mirror, he smiled slightly.
'Man, I look like a baby.' He pulled at his cheeks. He was so used to seeing his old grizzled, aged-far-beyond-his-years appearance.
He shook the stray thought for his mind as he finished preparing.
Then, before he left, he sat back down.
'Alright, focus. Life Orb Master Ability.'
As he sat still, he turned his mind to the new Ability he had gained.
Immediately, two floating blue orbs appeared out of nowhere. Micheal reached out and tapped on them lightly, rubbing their surface. They were smooth to touch, giving off a cool and refreshing feeling.
Micheal closed his eyes for a moment. In his head, he could feel a mystical connection to these orbs, one that seemed to meld with his heart and soul.
And, as he focused on this feeling, he could sense something else. A feeling like a tree that was about to sprout, as if he was just about to open somethin
g up. As if a flower was about to bloom.
Micheal felt that sensation and then mentally pushed slightly.
WHOOSH
A third, glowing Life Orb appeared, shining dimly in his room.
Micheal smiled as he saw this. The feeling of something about to bloom, about to sprout, vanished. Micheal assumed this was the daily process of growing a Life Orb, some mystical part of his soul creating it through magical means he didn't understand.
'I've hit the maximum limit of Life Orbs I can currently carry.' As the third Life Orb was borne into existence, Micheal could also feel a very faint level of pressure settle upon his soul. While these three orbs provided him with a feeling of refreshment, they also required a certain level of power to maintain.
'With my average Soul stat, I can have 3 Life Orbs present. That means I can die 3 times and still survive.' His eyes flashed as he considered this. The fact that he could literally have 3 extra lives… it was incredible.
He would've killed for an Ability like this on the 6th or 7th Layer.
While the Ability didn't increase his Strength or give much offensive power, and even had the negative aspect of not allowing a Type, it was so incredibly useful an Ability that he couldn't pass it up. It was also one of the rare Limited Abilities that could be purchased from the Shop. That meant if he hadn't picked it up when he had, it was likely he never would've gotten the chance to snag it.
"Ouch!" As he was considering the Ability, he winced out loud. He quickly stretched his arm as a cramp appeared.
"I'm not in nearly as good a shape as I used to be." He ruefully muttered as he began to stretch. His entire body was aching, sore from all the exertion of yesterday. Even his increased Recovery wasn't able to fully fix him up.
His body simply wasn't used to all of his rapid movements and attacks. It would take some time for his physique to adapt to how it used to be, let alone gain anywhere near its previous strength.
"Still, I have that time to spare. I can't leave this Cluster till the Great Bridge appears in a month." He nodded sharply.
"Should I break one of the Orbs? If it will bring me back to life, does that mean it will heal all my injuries?" He rubbed his chin.
Soreness like his was caused, in part, by micro-tears in the muscles of one's body from using them in ways they weren't used to. Micheal had learned this, and as much information as he could about developing himself, years ago in the middle of the 7 Layers when he was desperately trying to catch up to the First Wavers. These tears would eventually heal and the muscles would become stronger than before, but that took time.
"Maybe I should test it…" He thought it over and then shook his head.
"No, I'm currently too weak. I need every advantage I can get, including the full 3 lives. I'll wait till tomorrow, I'll just have to suffer through the soreness for now." He made his mind up.
After reaching that conclusion, he stood up and began to leave.
When he opened his door, he opened it very carefully, removing the doorstop. He listened to the sounds of the world around him, putting his ears near the ground, where a tiny slit was open between the door and floor.
He heard nothing.
While it might seem overkill, especially with his level of skill, Micheal didn't make it through the 7 Layers all the way to the end by being careless.
He quickly moved through the hallway, not seeing or hearing anyone else. His footsteps were quiet and confident.
In no time at all, he made it to the stairwell. Just as he was about to open the door to go up, he froze.
Faintly, he could hear voices drifting down.
"…It's bullshit, Merkel should've gotten the Points for it. We clearly had it at the edge…"
"…Tommy I know, but the Points go to the person that hits it last, that's just how it is…"
"…it's not fair. We woke up early just to find…"
Micheal could hear a pair of male voices arguing. Two men that had just hunted a Morenkai and apparently had the kill stolen from them, or one of their allies, were complaining as they moved to their floor.
Eventually, the voices faded away as they entered a floor that was several ones above Micheal's.
'So there are other people in this skyscraper.' He frowned. It couldn't be helped, there were only so many skyscrapers in the Cluster, and many more people.
'Still, they sound like a small group. At the least, they don't sound like they are part of any major power. I highly doubt they have this skyscraper locked down.' While the big groups would often lock down entire sectors, the smaller groups or forces that lived in the dangerous central area were less territorial.
Part of it was a manpower issue. They simply couldn't afford to waste time blocking off areas, especially when Morenkai would appear frequently.
Micheal entered the stairwell.
Everything was quiet, for now, anyway. He quickly clambered up the stairs, taking quick steps to get the blood flowing in his sore legs. After a few moments, he breathed out lightly as he reached the top.
He frowned slightly as he saw a small spot of red.
'They must've been injured.' It was blood.
He shook his head. He could remember his own dangerous trials when he was here the first time around.
He put his ear to the door for a moment and then opened it up fully, his eyes cool.
It was the start of his second day here.
'I have 150 Points now after buying breakfast… By the end of today, I want to have 4,000.'
.
Chapter 19: Record
The early morning light gleamed, lighting up the world around Micheal. A few clouds drifted overhead, making for a rather picturesque view.
'Wow, those guys were up pretty early. It's probably barely past 8.' He silently observed. Some people chose to hunt in the early hours of dawn, when most of the major groups would still be resting or getting ready.
He glanced to the left and the right, scanning his surroundings. He could only really make out the four neighboring skyscrapers, but didn't see anyone on them.
'No wait…' His eyes narrowed.
He could make out the shambling figures of two Morenkai moving slowly together across a sturdy wooden bridge, off to his left on the other skyscraper. Apart from that, not a soul.
'In the central region, most people stick to the insides of skyscrapers when they aren't actively looking to hunt.' He nodded. It was more common to see random people in the outer regions as people came up for sunlight or to break the monotony of existence here.
If you weren't obsessed with getting stronger like Micheal was, life could be pretty dull at times.
'Then again, the constant danger of risking your life to hunt, or the horror of seeing people you know die, did spice things up a bit.' He shook the memories aside. He felt like an old man, complaining about how life had been harder back in his day.
Micheal turned to the left, stalking forward. He moved as quietly as possible, concentrating on moving his aching body in smooth motions. The most important part of any battle was often how you entered it. A single strike could decide everything.
In movies or books, Micheal had read about epic duels that lasted for hours.
In the first of the 7 Layers, most direct melee battles finished in an instant. Only fights between long-range experts lasted longer than a few exchanges, and that was mainly because snipers or the like could hide behind the nearly indestructible walls. Other battles, where one was trying to lure a Morenkai to fall, could last longer than an instant, but typically ended shortly after.
Micheal reached the edge of his skyscraper. He tapped on his Spatial Ring, instantly withdrawing his Steelborn Sword. The blade gleamed with the light of the sun, something he immediately shifted as he pointed it down.
'I forgot about how damn bright it is here.' He grumbled, hiding the blade in his shadow.
The two Morenkai, in the meanwhile, had managed to cross the sturdy wooden bridge and were ambling around on the neighboring s
kyscraper. This particular building was a faded green one, with two sheds that opened up into stairways.
After walking around the top of the building for a few moments, the Morenkai began to walk towards a bridge that led to a different skyscraper.
Micheal frowned slightly.
'Life Orbs!'
Immediately, three glowing orbs appeared, floating around his head. He mentally directed two of them to the ground and stepped on them, finding his balance.
He then began to fly alongside his own bridge, hovering just next to it. He moved quickly, as fast as the orbs could fly. Their top speed seemed to be around 30ish miles per hour (50ish kilometers per hour). They accelerated very quickly, making them quite useful.
The maximum speed seemed to increase, slowly, if he moved in a straight line for a long period, but he wasn't sure. He hadn't had the chance to test them extensively yet.
WHOOSH
In just a few seconds, he flew over to the neighboring skyscraper. He didn't fly above the bridge, but instead flew just to the side of it. Flying up high would make him a target to other humans, something he didn't particularly want to deal with.
'Morenkai I can handle, but there are too many weird Abilities or strong Artifacts that exist, even with the Points Wall.' The Points Wall was around 100,000 Points in the First Layer. No matter what you did, you could never exceed that number.
You could spend Points on anything below it, and hit the wall again and again. But it was impossible to go over it.
Micheal had hit the Points Wall before. There was an actual feeling associated with it. A warm feeling would cover your soul, one that was extremely comfortable. When you tried to take in more Points, however, the feeling would tremble and the Points would be rejected. It was like trying to eat something when you were already full.
'Of course, I never managed to hit the Points Wall while here on the First Layer.' He thought, ruefully. He had barely managed to make it to the Second Layer in his first go around.
By this point, Micheal had reached the other skyscraper. He hovered about a quarter of a meter above the ground of it, just barely floating.
'If I walk, I'll inevitably make noise. But if I use the Life Orbs to fly there…' His eyes flashed as he came to a conclusion.
