"Am I supposed to clap, Constantine?"
Zypher said as he mocked. In truth, he is now low on Stamina, Hex, Mana, and Health, that he can barely walk.
But, he is recovering, and he knows that he can win if he were given time.
"You lost, Zypher."
"How so?"
"A criminal can only act outside of jail, but when he is inside jail, he cannot do anything." Putting his hand on his sword, Constantine is now ready to pummel Zypher.
"Criminal? Aren't you the criminal?"
"How dare you!"
"Ayaka! Don't say anything!"
As Zypher decided to play mind games, Ayaka was the one to react, but Constantine stopped her from saying anything.
This gave Zypher a bit of time to work on.
"You were the one that was so arrogant, flaunting your name, letting all of your team become complacent, and now, they saw what happened to you. You are now behind the bars."
"You piece of turd."
"Why? I'm correct, right? Kyulaff is like freedom to you, and now, you're just jailed in Arkrai, and you do not know when you will see Kyulaff again."
"Stop, I know what you are doing-"
"Too late. Raijin Pace."
First step, second step, third step, fourth step, fifth step.
And he was gone. He crossed the two in an instant, leaving them in the dust.
But, instead of being angry mad, Constantine is maddeningly happy.
This was Omadd, and it is Corin's territory. He can wreak havoc here, and let them experience the things he experienced.
Right now, he has to make himself stronger. Although he knew where Zypher is gonna go, he has no power to pin him down.
Also, he doesn't want to strike a sick person down. He doesn't want to help his family that laughed at him, and make a laughingstock out of everyone.
Now they know what kind of enemy are they facing. It will be a battle of wits between him and Zypher.
All the others are pawn on his chessboard.
Or so he thought.
Zypher, sitting atop one of the buildings of Omadd, looked at Constantine.
He is smart, and a genius, but he is beneath him right now. He lived two lives, and he knows how everyone acts. That's why the Constantine now can't hold a candle to him.
Omadd is a city he has been eyeing for a while now. Except for the dungeons, he can find something more valuable in this place.
He then went down the building, and walked to a small inn. The inn is like a small antique store, and does not look like an inn at all.
"Protagonist Inn."
That's what they called the inn in his past life. NPCs here are either Bleaks, and has a chance to have Prisms.
In his past life, two Prisms were found here, and they were able to get to the 3rd Apostle, but that was too long, that almost everyone helped during the said stage.
But, that's not what Zypher came here for.
Omadd, has a Bleak NPC that he found in one of the days Caelestia were ruling the land. This was irrelevant to him, but nowz he finds it good to have it.
"Hello, Ma'am. Can I invite you for a drink?"
"Oh, no. I'm taken."
"Ahh. I always hear those words nowadays. I guess I am just ugly that women don't care about me."
"....."
"....."
'No?'
In his past life, this is the way how he got the quest, but now, he is a bit stumped that the NPC stopped talking.
"No, kind Sir, I am just engaged and I am waiting for my confidante to come and take me home."
"Is that so? Where's your fiancé right now?"
"He is outside Omadd, and is fighting against the Goblin settlement that appeared a month ago."
"Do you miss him?"
"I do. To be honest, I sew him a new shirt today, and I want him to wear it as soon as possible. Oh no, it seems I overshared something."
"No, Ma'am. It looks like you are plagued by a problem. I am a mercenary, and I can give the shirt to your husband."
"Are you sure?"
[Ding! A linked quest has been issued.]
[Maiden's Touch.]
[Issa, is missing his fiancé which is outside the city. She wants him to wear the shirts she sewn for him. Deliver the shirts to Anjelo.]
Rewards:
Linked Quest 2
+1000 EXP
+10 Stat Points
+10 Ability Points
'Gotcha.'
"Sure, I can."
"Okay, meet me at the gate three days from now." Issa said as she smiled brightly.
She ordered two more rounds of drinks, and then she moved out of the inn.
They say lonely ladies are like barren lands, ready to accept any sign of rain, but Issa is different. Pure, innocent, and is still longing for her fiancé.
Three days is ample preparation, and so, Zypher created a list of what he has to bring in that said place.
First, he came back to a place he is most familiar.
Birds Of A Feather Dungeon.
Last time, he took the Wind, and Lightning Skills, but now, he has to take a few more to upgrade his kit.
First, is to elevate the Stab Ability to at least the Unique Rank.
Like classes, the Ability Ranks are Common, Uncommon, Rare, Unique, Epic, and Legendary.
Now, he has to at least do 1,000 Stabs to unlock the next Rank.
Although a bit of a stretch, this can help him with this quest.
In his last life, he almost got thrown out of the game many times, if not for his ingenuity, and his decision-making, but that only gave him a B rating, meaning he did not do good in the quest.
Although he got the final reward, he is still greedy for more, as this story is still in it's fresh point.
And, he has to find a way to use the Chakrams and the Dagger in tandem. One for long range, and one for short ones.
Chakrams, in it's sense, is used while revolving, and that revolution can be used like a shield, like a saw, like an orb that can be thrown or like a second dagger in the hands.
This creates a complex balance but simple uses. The complexity outpaces the uses, and it's not a good weapon to master, but Zypher found an interesting mechanic to it.
As he approached the Nest of the Ice Peadoves, he equipped both weapons on his hands.
Using the first skill of Greed Chakram, he split the weapon into two. He then used his Aether to rotate it.
Again, Mana is used for Elemental Skills, such as fire, water, earth and wind, on the other hand, Aether is used mainly for weapon energies.
Mana can be used on weapons too, but the use of Aether makes it sharper. In short, Mana on a weapon is like cheap oil in a car, it is useful, but has limits. The same goes the other way around. Hex can be used to substitute mana, but is limited.
As the Chakram spun, he urged his aether to fly towards the nests.
Hanging like peapods on a tree, the Chakram made a clean whooshing sound as it cut through a nest.
"One down." Zypher said as he ran with a nest in tow. Just like how he made things last time, Zypher took five eggs from a nest.
Running for a while, he took the Ice, Fire, Sound, Earth and Metal Peadove Eggs. He also took five from the past Peadoves he victimized, the Wind and Lightning.
Now, only Water Doves are the safe ones.
Planning ahead, he crushed the eggs one by one, and he ran to lose the Guardians who were ganging up on him.
His haul of skills were overflowing. Last time, he used Missile to take down these birds, but now he has Greed Chakram, he can kill them all without much hassle.
He will throw out the Chakram first to lure the enemies, then he will throw a tiny slime at them. Once the tiny slime becomes a neutral target, Zypher will control his Aether to hit the incoming Peadove, and he will pincer it with Charity Dagger.
One hit through the Chakram, one hit by the dagger, and one attack through the slime. The third attack stacks with the fourth, which targets both the slime and the Peadove.
As he lost the guardians, he made his way to the Water Peadove's nests, which was heavily guarded by now. They are the last ones that will be attacked, so they better prepare themselves.
As Zypher made his way through, he saw the situation and smiled. Although they are smart birds, they are dumb in a way.
Breaking each egg was for him to lure the birds. Each time he breaks one, the guardians will come rushing in, trying to kill the one that harmed their children.
So, he kills one from time to time, to just bait them and hide from them.
But now, the other force is ready, and he can't run, but at the same time, it is a way to cause chaos.
Getting one egg out, he aimed at a nearby Water Peadove. He threw it, and it hit the dove right at its beak.
"Bullseye!"
He muttered as the Water Peadove got confused on what hit him.
Suddenly, large clamors were heard in the nearby place, and at once, the guardians, and other Peadoves came in droves.
As the smelled the remains of their young ones on the beaks of the Water Peadoves, they exploded in anger.
As the Water Peadove that was the target of Zypher, he didn't even know what hit him, but he forgot to breathe, and within a second, he is not breathing anymore.
This chaos was the beginning of Zypher's way into the Nests. He took five eggs, and crushed them as he took his time to also throw other eggs in other places to ensure the chaos continues.
He, also, like a grim ripper, kills the others who escapes and takes their skills and other loots.
By the end of the day, he saw a big leap on his kit.
First, is the Eight Boundless Steps. Kuraokami, Higutsuchi, Raijin, Fujin, Susanoo, Suijin, Haniyasu and Kanayago. These are the Eight Boundless Steps that represents each other.
Kuraokami Slide, is a skill so soft and silent that no footsteps can be heard or seen, just an afterimage.
Higutsuchi Trek, a skill which leaves destruction on it's wake. It explodes into motes of fire that damages the surrounding.
Raijin Pace and Fujin Step are the ones he got before.
Susanoo Boost, is a sound based skill that boosts his next three steps, and adds shockwave to his attacks after each step.
Suijin Walk, a silent yet repeating steps that come like waves. It raises the speed of the user by 100% and attacks have a chance to inflict confusion.
Haniyasu Stomp, a one stomp skill that inflicts fear. Although it is just for a moment, these small moments make a big impact in a fight.
And lastly, Kanayago Skip. It is a sharp jump that makes the user almost fly, but makes a deep impact when it drops.
These eight steps are from the Peadoves, but that's not done yet.
As he killed the guardians, for sure, the mother of all the Peadoves will be awakened.
As he killed the Fourth Elder, a sad cry rang out of the mountain.
It was a grieving shout that made the whole valley shake.
As the cry got louder, Zypher saw a large wing cover the sun above.
As it got close, two antenna like horns grew from its head. It's eyes are like hawks, with mane like an eagle.
It's wings spread wide, and the feathers are colored in different hues, and all of them are shining bright with the mana he uses.
The Boss, King of the Birds of a Feather, Saxon.