“There’s quite a lot to talk about,” I said and sat down in my usual spot.
I missed this. The eating together with the few people I considered family and friends. Just then Edge rushed into the dining room and then smiled apologetically and was about to leave.
“Edge?” Mark called after him. “What is it?”
“It can wait, boss.”
I raised my hand for Mark to stop, and took over.
“Come sit with us. You’re part of the leadership, so you’ve got a place at the table. Go get your wife as well so we can finally meet her.”
“Oh, alright. We’ll be right back,” Edge said excitedly and rushed out, storming off across the front yard.
Chapter Twenty-One
“So you’re Trish?” I asked the tall blonde who stood next to Edge.
“Yes—umm, how should I address you?” she asked sheepishly and offered me a smile.
“Viktor or Vik. Please sit, both of you.”
Edge and Trish took their place across the table and sat. Rita pulled two more glasses from her subspace and another pitcher with what was presumably alcohol. Edge nodded his thanks as I stared with a grin on my face. The older woman had finally managed to integrate herself enough to start using things like subspaces.
“What? Do I have something on my face?” she asked with a smirk.
“No, sorry, I’m just glad to see you guys are getting the hang of things,” I replied and bowed my head slightly toward the woman. “I’m glad you guys are still around, is all. Things haven’t been the best lately, so—you know. It’s just humbling to come back here every now and then.”
“That’s good. Means you haven’t forgotten us yet.” Donald laughed and offered me his hand for a high five. I pressed my hand against his and squeezed just hard enough to exert some pressure.
“Thank you, Donald. Rita. Mark, Sarah, and you too, Edge and Trish. All of this is far beyond me. I just don’t have the time to take care of anything else but keep putting out fires and killing… things.”
“The pleasure is ours,” Mark replied.
“And our daughter has the best childhood ever,” Sarah added. “She’s growing up with people who love and take care of her. She has access to everything we could only imagine, so it’s we who need to thank you, Vik.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Sarah. I mean it. We’ve gone through all kinds of hardships, all of us together, but everything should soon be done. I’ve only got three more issues to take care of, and all of this will end one way or another.”
“Oh? Which ones?” Edge asked. “If I can inquire, boss,” he added hurriedly.
“Yeah, you can. We’re here so I can tell you all,” I replied with a nod. I straightened my posture and went on. “We’ve been called in to take care of the Green Dragon Gang’s base. Once that’s over, I need to hunt down the last remaining rifter before I have to fight the Zanoxian.”
“Quite a tall order,” Donald said, his voice almost a whisper. “Think you can handle it?”
“I can. Especially after opening the second tower and with the bows we got our hands on. I think I could even punch a hole into a zone’s barrier given enough time.”
“Oh?” Mark asked excitedly. “Really?”
I nodded. “With my new upgrades, I can probably hit over a hundred thousand points with my bow. Especially against a shield.”
He snorted and coughed violently as some of the alcohol he’d been drinking got stuck in his throat. “Are you fucking with me? It felt like yesterday when we barely did a thousand damage!”
I shrugged and handed him the bow. “Check it yourself, and keep in mind the arrows give a 1.7 modifier. Higher arrows even more once I get my hands on some bones.”
“We got some, didn’t we? From the basilisk?”
“Oh, right. Guess we’re around 2.0, then.”
Mark studied the bow and nodded with a big smirk on his face. “I want one too,” he whispered. “Think you can make me one?”
“When I’ve taken care of the greenies, we’ll go out hunting. I’ll take you guys there and kill the bosses so you can loot their corpses. Can easily make several weapons out of them.”
“Nice. Damn. I can’t wait to get my hands on them!” He laughed and handed back the bow. “But tell me, what did Veles want?”
“Nothing serious. She just gave me a heads-up on what will happen after the Zanoxian and—well, both Scar and Lana will get a free-of-charge reincarnation attempt. I gave her about two hundred monster cores, and she’ll try to sacrifice them so they can reincarnate.”
Rita looked away, and Donald wrapped his hand around hers, comforting the older woman. I knew she was on good terms with Lana, but we couldn’t do anything about it.
“When will—?” Rita started to ask, but I cut her off.
“I think it’s already done. Veles said they were dying. Their souls weren’t able to cling to this world or something like that, so she wanted to give them a chance beyond death.”
Rita nodded her head slowly before she leaned into Donald. We’d give them all the time they needed. Any kind of loss was something horrible, even though they would get a new chance, unlike us. I wasn’t jealous or mad about it, no. I was happy for Lana and Scar. One thing that I regretted was not asking for more background on who I used to be, but it wouldn’t have changed anything anyway. It was probably for the best, as knowing all that would have only opened me up to more pain.
“Why don’t we talk about better things?” Melina asked. “Surely something good must have happened over the last several days, right?”
“Oh, yeah, it did. Hold on,” Mark said and got up. He disappeared outside.
“Edge, how are the guys and girls holding up in the tower and around it? How’s the farming in here going?”
“Good, boss. Everything is going as expected. People mostly respect our orders and keep in line, but when they don’t, we teach them that it’s a stupid thing to try to be an asshole. Most of the altercations are attacks on our people, but we’re decently geared.”
“Any deaths?” I asked and leaned in closer as if I’d be able to hear better.
He let out a sigh and nodded once. “Seven since we created the association. Most of them were at the start, but there have been two deaths over the last two weeks.”
“Better than expected,” I replied with a somber voice. “I thought there would be many more attempts on their lives, in all honesty.”
“You did?”
“I did. People don’t like authority, especially unofficial authority.”
“Anything we can do about it?” Melina asked.
I turned to her and nodded. “Go in groups of three. Recruit more hunters, promise handsome pay, but make sure that anyone who abuses their power dies a horrible death. There won’t be any second chances or pardons.”
“Yes, boss. We’ll release a statement over the next day and set the interviews for—how does two days from now sound?”
“Sounds good,” I replied as I stuffed one of the dumplings into my mouth. I wasn’t able to wait for Mark any longer, so I started. No one would bitch about it anyway, so why not? “What’s with Trish? It’s Trish, right?”
She gave me her warmest smile and nodded. “Yes, Viktor. It’s Trish,” she replied as the corners of her lips curled upward.
She took the pitcher in front of her and poured Edge and herself a drink, then put it back down. It looked pretty elegant if you asked me, and I was sure there was something more behind her. She’d probably worked in—no, that was none of my business.
“You have the kind of face and presence that could be associated with a big company or organization. I want you to do the press release and call on all hunters to come for an interview in a few days. I will be there personally to help push it along.”
“Oh?” was all she said, but when no one added anything, she perked. “Wait, you were being serious just now?”
“I’m always serious when it comes to things like th
is, Trish. Edge is already a very important figure in my eyes, and you, as his prettier half, should have such a position as well. I want you to cultivate, to absorb Enma and crystals, to learn how to fight with a weapon, and to become strong. Our women won’t be victims. Not even easy targets.”
My eyes switched from hers and landed on Edge’s. I picked up my glass and held it up.
He stared at me worriedly for a long moment, but then did the same and raised his glass. “To Viktor. May he live long and give us peace.”
“Hah! I’ll join you in that, Edge!” Mark laughed as he dropped down with a big box in his hands, passed it to Melina, and then raised his glass. The rest did so as well, and soon we were all eating and drinking merrily. The mood was the best it had been in a long while. I let Trish and Edge iron out the details about the press release, as she’d be doing it in front of the association and not me personally.
Melina wasn’t able to hold her curiosity back and opened the box, only to find several smaller boxes inside. They were testers. So she had hurried it up and delivered. Smart woman.
“What are these?” she whispered and looked up at me.
I winked and pressed my finger to my lips. “Upstairs when we’re done.”
She frowned and pouted, but closed the box and put it in her subspace.
About an hour later, we were in the tub and enjoying some peace when she pulled the box back out. She pried one of the smaller, colored boxes out and opened it.
“Chocolate? Really?” She chuckled.
“All different sorts. They made a special line just to come up with the best possible combinations for us.”
“And you didn’t have to threaten anyone to make it happen?”
I looked away and scratched my beard. “Maybe a little bit. I didn’t harm her though. At least I don’t think I did.”
She rolled her eyes and pulled one out from the red box.
“How is it?”
“It has a rosy fragrance to it and a soft caramel taste, but it’s more than that.”
“Remember, we can use Enma and crystals to make things now. The process remains the same, but when you add just a tiny bit of Enma into that chocolate, it can keep rose extract in a semi-solid state. She might have mixed it into the caramel for all I know, but I’m just giving you an example.”
“Hah, you should have been a cook and not a fighter.” She chuckled.
“Maybe in another life, love. Who knows?”
She picked another one out and moaned, then another, and another. I helped myself and checked if Semira had done a good job. It turned out she’d done a marvelous one at that. I’d have to visit her and give the woman a gift. I never was one to threaten people and do things needlessly; no, whenever I did something, there was a reason. They had threatened my relationship with Kade and what I’d built in Sylmar. Why? Because they wanted to rake in some profit. Well, not as long as I lived.
We got dressed and went to bed early. I had gotten a sudden headache, one that I couldn’t get rid of no matter how much I focused. Pain wasn’t something we should ever feel aside from when fighting and getting wounded, but the headache was very much real.
The next morning all the pain was gone. I made a mental note to ask Veles about it. If things were happening to me, to my body or my soul, I wanted to know as soon as possible. My body was strong, but my soul was much stronger. It only showed that I had been neglecting it for a while. I’d have to get up to the third realm, but not before I rearranged the rest of my bones. I made another mental note to do that when we were back from dealing with the Green Dragon Gang.
“You sure you want to go with me?” I asked Melina once I was dressed in my finest kimono.
“Didn’t you promise that I could?”
“I did, but I’m asking you now if you still want to go or not.”
“If I have a choice, yes. I want to go with you and see that bastard for myself. I want to put an arrow between his eyes and see it rip through the back of his skull.”
I opened my mouth to say something but stopped. When had she become so violent? Or had started getting violent thoughts? Not that I cared, since she deserved to do to Anton whatever she wanted. And I would make sure it happened.
“Alright. Wear something matching, alright? I want them to know that you’ve moved on and are with me now. Let them wallow in regret as they die.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The city was in chaos when we arrived. Buildings were burning all around us, and the streets were littered with the dead. I grabbed the halberd from my subspace and looked around frantically. Soldiers and hunters were fighting with monsters I had never seen before.
They were bipedal and mostly green, though some of them were somewhere in between green and gray. Their skin glistened in the light of the flames, but I knew right away that it probably served them just like armor would. It was tough, and the nearest creature to me had a deep gash running down his left arm. The green skin was at least an inch thick and bristled with muscles.
The monsters wore armor that looked like the bone set I’d gotten my hands on during my first days inside the rift. Their weapons were made of steel. I had no idea what kind of steel it was, but I was sure of it. Long, ugly faces stared back at me with sharp, thick teeth. A single one of them, a slightly reddish creature, had tusks that grew from its cheeks.
“Mel! Stay close!” I yelled and charged the first monster, swinging my halberd in a downward arc.
Its shield absorbed part of my blow and deflected it slightly, but I wasn’t giving it any time. I pulled back and hit it again. The second blow passed through its shield and down its chest, drawing a deep wound that spewed green blood that stank to high heavens. I wanted to throw up but quickly jumped back and out of the stench’s reach.
Damage Notification:
You have inflicted 5,887 damage to Orc Soldier.
You have inflicted 7,224 damage to Orc Soldier.
It dropped onto its knees and sat there for several seconds as it tried to look up at me. I stepped within reach and caught it, swinging my halberd sideways. The orc soldier’s head flew off its shoulders and landed next to the feet of another of its kind. No, there wasn’t just one of them, there were a good dozen.
“Can any of you speak my language?” I asked despite knowing what the answer would be.
None of them spoke, and instead, they readied their weapons. More gunfire erupted around us and overhead as several drones strafed the group. Three armored personnel carriers slammed into the orcs and sent them stumbling into each other. A familiar face popped out from the driver’s window.
“Corporal Fowler?” I yelled. “What the hell is going on?”
“Brief you on our way, sir. Please get in!” he yelled back and motioned with his hand for us to board the vehicle.
I declined his offer and shook my head. “People need me right here and now, Corporal. Give me a few minutes!”
I pulled my bow out and leaned the halberd against the nearby wall.
“Need help?” Melina asked as she stepped up to me. “I can shoot too.”
“I’ll take the darker and gray ones. They seem stronger!”
We yelled to be heard over the running engines and the ruckus of battle. A second group of orcs joined in from the other side. I gritted my teeth and nocked an arrow, targeting the closest enemy. The rank two arrow flew true and slammed right into its head, passing through the shield and blowing the head clean off. I nocked another and another, taking care of several stronger enemies.
“I have your back,” Melina said from my side. “Clean them up quickly!”
I nodded and ran towards them as I nocked another arrow and used my Arrow Shower skill. Several ethereal arrows appeared out of nowhere and surrounded the single nocked arrow just before I released it. Seven of the orcs died on impact, and one survived. He caught the arrow on his shield, and it was only then that I got a good look at him. His face turned even uglier as he glared at me.
“I do
n’t like the look of this one,” I said as the soldiers started taking potshots at him with their guns. Several of them had their rift weapons out, but they stood no chance. We all knew it.
“Viktor!” Fowler called from the APC. “That thing is like a leader to their groups! It’s much, much stronger!”
“No worries!”
Before I even finished my response, I nocked a rank four arrow and used Shadow Hunter.
Damage Notification:
You have inflicted 21,331 damage to Orc Captain.
Its shield crackled, but that was about it. I frowned. I didn’t like this at all, even less when I couldn’t scan it.
“What the fuck?”
“Oh? Are you surprised?” it asked. “You shouldn’t be, human. You knew this was coming.”
“You can speak?” I asked and stepped back, changing the bow for my greatsword.
I put it up in a defensive posture and took the orc captain’s presence in. It glowed with Enma, and not just a shield like all of the other monsters. No, it was different.
“I can, but can you listen?”
“What did you mean, that we knew this was coming?”
It took another step toward me, raising a curved blade, and readied its shield.
“Don’t play me for a fool, human. I might just be a third-tier orc, but I’m a leader nonetheless. You knew this was going to happen. Why are you acting so surprised? Why do you look at us as if you’ve seen monsters?”
“’Cause you are monsters, orc,” I snapped. “What’s with the dead civilians? What’s with the burning buildings?”
He shrugged as if it didn’t faze him at all. It probably didn’t. “Stop wasting my time, human, and come. I will prove to my chieftain that I deserve this rank and even more!”
He charged, and his blade started glowing red. It struck my greatsword and sent me staggering backward.
Damage Notification:
You have received 2,879 damage from Orc Captain.
You have received slow debuff. Duration: 5 seconds.
Crossroads: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 3) Page 17
