Hiccup bats his hands over his head, again terrorized by Zaena’s ghost limbs.
“We still owe 70,000 rupees to FeeTwix’s fan who gave us a loan,” she hisses at him.
Hiccup snorts. “Pfft! Every goblin worth his weight in rupees knows the best way to get rid of debt is to ignore it.”
“I’m not interested in your money,” Dirty Dave says flatly. “The Knights are the most powerful guild in Tritania. As a former, lesser member of the guild, you should know this, Ryuk.”
Lesser member?
“You will need to go to Polynya yourself and try to get an audience with Sophia yourself. That said, you should know: because of an attack that took place an hour ago, entry into Aramis, the capital city of Polynya, has been severely restricted.”
“An attack?” Zaena gasps. “What happened?”
“It seems the Shinigami are stirring up trouble everywhere. Only people that are residents of the city can enter. The Knights are overseeing the investigation, which is how, I believe, you could get a message to Sophia.” A sinister grin spreads across his face. “There may only be one way to truly get their attention, and that may be to do something that warrants them coming after your guild. This is just a suggestion. There may be other ways.”
Hiccup’s eyes flash as an idea takes shape in his head. “So we fick the place up, and the Knights and the city guards come. Easy peasy. But that doesn’t answer the question: how the fick do we get in if there’s a travel ban?”
“The continent is brimming with quests that could grant you entry to the city. I suggest starting there. If not there, at least begin at one of the entries to the catacombs.”
Ryuk nods. More quests, easy. He then looks at his two guildmates, and narrows in on Hiccup, who has a finger up his nose. Well, easier said than done, but still doable.
Dirty Dave turns, stops, and looks over his shoulder at Ryuk. “Do you mind if I borrow four of your marbles. I’d like to run some tests.”
“Um … ” Ryuk reaches into the pouches on his belt and retrieves a single black marble, clear marble, sword marble, and a molten marble. He walks over to Dave and extends his hand. “Here you go.”
“Very good. We’ll be in touch soon, after you’ve completed the next leg of your journey. Good luck, and keep your heads down.”
Chapter 4: Special Delivery
Ambient music by Hiroshi Yoshimura pipes in from the small, cylindrical speakers in Kodai’s kitchen. He doesn’t normally spend much time there as most of his meals are specially delivered for him. Most of his dinners, if he eats dinner at all, are eaten at some of Tokyo’s finest restaurants, or at one of his hostess bars.
Today is different. The Yakuza lord doesn’t feel like being disturbed yet, and as the bright morning sun fills his apartment, Kodai actually feels an overwhelming sense of joy.
Today, in less than an hour, his new humandroid bodyguard will be delivered.
Which reminds me… he thinks as the messenger interface on his iNet screen flashes.
Kodai: Please pack your things and leave.
He returns to his automatic espresso machine, watching as two shots pour into an imported demitasse. Once the tiny cup is full, he throws it back and closes his eyes for a moment, ignoring the bitter taste as he waits for the caffeine to take effect.
His attention shifts to the bottom right hand corner of his iNet screen.
Kodai’s Ballistics Mage avatar has hit the level necessary to travel easily to Polynya, and for Kodai, this means to travel in a way that doesn’t raise suspicion from Tritania’s AI, the Sage of Gotha.
He quickly checks his avatar’s stats and skills.
Kodai Matsuzaki Level 15 Ballistics Mage
HP: 830/830
ATK: 213
MATK: 176
DEF: 98
MDF: 105
LUCK: 7
---
Skilclass="underline" Inquisitor
Level Three: Obtain information through enhanced interrogation techniques. Higher levels allow for more vigorous methodology and more effective deception.
Requirements: LUCK > 9
---
Skilclass="underline" Mask Stats
Level One: Keep others from knowing your stats. Works on any player either below or within eight levels of your current level. Higher levels allow for customizable stat-based deceptions.
Requirements: LUCK > 6
---
Skilclass="underline" Breath of Fire
Level Two: Place a molten marble in your mouth and use it to spit flames. Damage increases with level.
Damage: 9% if enemy is less than level 30; 6% if enemy is greater than level 30.
Odds of instakilclass="underline" 6%
Requirements for instakilclass="underline" LUCK > 7
---
Skilclass="underline" Explosive Blades
Level Three: Using three marbles, two knife and one black, cause confusion and pain through an additional shrapnel bonus.
Damage: 19% if enemy is less than level 30; 8% if enemy is greater than level 30.
Odds of instakilclass="underline" 3%
Requirements for instakilclass="underline" LUCK > 8
---
Skilclass="underline" Crucify
Level Three: Using two jagged knife marbles, quickly pin an enemy to an object. The object must be at least the length of the target’s outstretched hands. High levels allow for longer pinned times.
Damage: 3% if enemy is less than level 30; 4% if enemy is greater than level 30.
He senses a presence and blinks his eyes open.
Sarah the Australian stands before him completely nude, the look on her face the same as the previous night, when he was watching her. Her skin is porcelain, her breasts ample, the look on her face undeniably sexy.
Now isn’t the time.
Kodai’s eyes drop from her breasts to the single slit of hair shaved into her pubes. “Where are your clothes?”
“Ohayo gozaimasu,” she says in a high-pitched voice not her own.
“I won’t ask you again.”
Tension spreads across Sarah’s forehead. “You already had me sleep in another room, which is kind of humiliating, you know.”
“And?”
“I was expecting,” she swallows, “I don’t know what I was expecting, but I figured you’d at least have a bloody robe for me.”
“One wasn’t in there?”
“No. Besides,” she takes a step closer to him, “I thought you liked seeing me like this.”
“I don’t, not right now anyway. My delivery will be here soon.”
“Your humandroid?”
Kodai nods.
Sarah’s eyes fill with excitement. “Ooo, I want to see her. It was a her, right?”
“Yes, it is a she, and absolutely not,” he says firmly. “Now please, get your clothes and leave. I will come see you when I’m ready.”
Sarah starts to say something but stops herself. She turns away and purposefully sashays so he can take a long, hard look at her ass, if he so chooses.
Kodai smiles. The audacity of this one. It’s why he likes her, and it’s why he plans to keep her around for a little bit longer.
(0)__(0)
Once Sarah has left his apartment, Kodai moves to the window to take in the view. He can see the glimmering waters of Tokyo Bay, the tops of the trees in the Imperial Garden, the rooftops of smaller apartment buildings, the daytime running lights of the aeros as they zip through the air.