In his battle or rather, last beatdown from Rumm. Stephen learnt two things.
One, there were definitely people in this world that could trouble him physically, people that weren't there in the original game, and with confirmation that the Mage Knights worked for the kingdom, he knew for a fact that list was probably long.
And the second, magic was annoying to deal with.
Even if he could stand toe-to-toe with them in hand-to-hand combat, the existence of magic complicated things and it was a complication he didn't quite understand fully yet, since he couldn't use it.
Like, how much mana was taken per spell?
Or, how much mana was expended if you constantly released your mana like Verre did in the brothel?
There were so many questions he needed to answer in order to have the upper hand here, but since he didn't have them. He needed to deal with what he could.
"System, what are my current stats?" Stephen whispered.
"As it currently stands or as it should stand had you had full health and mana?"
"The latter." Stephen replied, and a blue screen appeared in front of him.
[Multiple stats have increased]
[New passive skill acquired!]
[Host: Stephen Eldoria]
[Age: 16]
[Level: 69] +39
[Class: Knight]
[Rank: Commoner]
[Current Love interest: Claris Grandbelm]
[Reputation Meter: Convict (Capital)]
[Strength: 1350/99999] + 1230
[Speed: 700/99999] + 500
[Toughness: 600/99999] + 200
[Magic Points (MP): 3000/99999] + 2000
[Health Points(HP): 8000/99999] + 7000
[Stamina: 7900/99999] +900
[Intelligence: 570/9999] + 360
[Luck: 185/9999] +100
[Charisma: 420/9999] + 300
[Active Skills: None]
[Passive Skills:]
[Adaptive Charisma]
Gain +10 Charisma for every successful business pitch, seduction, or public stunt. This bonus stacks infinitely, but resets at the start of each day.
[Lucked Out]
Every action has a 5% chance to result in an unexpected but beneficial outcome. For every 1000 Luck points, this chance increases by +1%.
[Skill acquired: Information Analysis]
Accurately decipher, read and write magical text, allowing for the creation, and replication of magical abilities.
__________________________________
"Is that it?" Stephen said, staring at the last line.
"What do you mean, is that it?" the system muttered. "Were you expecting something else?"
"Three months of getting my ass handed to me and this is all I get?" Stephen nearly screamed.
"Look, I'm not the one who grants you abilities, alright. It's my job to show you what new stuff you got and allow you easy access." The system sounded annoyed. "But that's a useful skill, I don't really understand what's wrong with—"
"What good is being able to read and write spells if I can't USEMAGIC?!" Stephen shouted, and from outside, footsteps scuffed the ground.
"Check that haystack, will you?" Hara's voice called.
"Crap," Stephen muttered.
"You've been found," the system said. "What will you do now?"
"I'll kill myself before they can kill me," Stephen mumbled.
"STEPHEN!" the system yelled.
"I have a habit of making jokes in bad situations, I'm sorry!" Stephen bolted from the haystack and slammed against the wooden stable just before two bullets punched through the straw.
Smoke hissed from the charred hay as moonlight washed over the scene. Stephen glanced back at the gap he'd just scrambled out of.
"If I'd still been in there..." he thought.
"He dodged," Vivi said, casually.
"You were actually planning to kill me?!" Stephen asked.
"I'd rather not," Vivi replied. "But if you resist too much, I could accidentally shoot and it'd land between your eyes."
"I would suggest you don't do that, please." Hara stepped closer to Stephen. "The last time an official was killed I had to submit a report to the king myself. It wasn't pleasant, I'll tell you that much."
Stephen glanced at the both of them, staring straight at their clothes under the moonlight. Hara was unarmed, or at least it seemed that way. Thankfully he knew that wasn't the case, as in the brothel it seemed his hands could disintegrate whatever he touched.
Vivi on the other side held a shotgun in her hand, the large thing almost as tall as her. And while he could feel mana emanating from Hara, he couldn't from her.
Stephen exhaled softly.
If he could take-out Vivi, Hara might've been the easier fight. Especially since he seemed reluctant to actually kill him.
"Still, I'd rather get going before Verre's posse finds you. That woman is creepy," Hara said, then nudged his head. "Restrain him, Vivi."
Vivi stepped forward, flipping the gun so the butt led the way.
"This won't hurt too much," she said, closing in.
Stephen stared at her, glancing at her arms, her feet, her movements. Basically any area he could exploit, even though he didn't exactly want to hurt a young girl. He couldn't exactly give her a love tap either.
She took another step closer, her shoulder opened up as an inviting target and Stephen settled on it, he'd take her down quick once she got close enough.
And she did.
"All this for a woman you've known for a few months!" Stephen snapped, lunging to grab Vivi's arm and swing her over, but just as he did.
He felt a ball of bile crawl up to his throat.
He instantly stopped, holding his chest like he'd been shot.
"Stephen? Are you okay?" the system's voice asked. "What's wrong with you—?"
Its question was answered shortly after, as mana bled through the air, thick and suffocating. With Vivi standing to the side as the culprit of the attack.
"I'll let you know. I probably have more mana than Verre," she said, flicking her gun around. "So if you think you can beat me, be my guest."
Stephen tried to tune her out and focus, to coil his own mana into a ward. He glanced up and saw Hara doing the same, his mana negating the spread of Vivi's power where he stood. If Stephen could mirror that, he could slip free.
[MP: 500/99999]
"Crap," he muttered, and pushed, but the warding failed.
Vivi closed the distance. The butt of the shotgun hovered at his temple.
[MP: 400/99999]
She brought the stock down in a single hit. The impact slamming against his face and Stephen crumpled to the floor, black blooming at the edges of his vision.
"He's out?" Hara asked.
"Like a junebug in May,"
"Alright, drag him by the legs or something." Hara said as he turned. "I'm tired of this place already."
"Me too." Vivi said, then flipped the shotgun up and slung it over her shoulder.
Just as it latched onto the leather hook, the ground shifted beneath her, and as Vivi glanced down, Stephen was already up. His arm cut through the air, slamming into her face and sending her flying back, crashing against the ground a few meters away.
Hara glanced back, his face turning sour.
"Why make this any harder than it has to be?" Hara muttered, watching Stephen rise, the glow of mana bleeding off him.
Stephen didn't reply. Saying any words would've broken his concentration, and his veil would've collapsed.
Instead, he surged forward, faster than he'd been even in his fight against Rumm, barreling toward Hara with a kick.
Hara brought one hand down, ready to catch his foot, but Stephen pivoted sharply mid-strike and kept running, darting down and toward the brothel.
As much as this was a fight, he didn't have the time or energy for it.
His mana was bleeding out faster than expected, and if he didn't leave with Gila soon, the effects of their mana would crush him again.
[MP: 320/99999]
Hara exhaled, turning from Stephen to Vivi, who lay sprawled on the ground with a bruise forming across her cheek.
"For Dawn's sake, why did he do that?" He sighed, crouching to shake her. "Vivi, you okay—"
Before he could finish, Vivi shot upright, shotgun already snapping into her grip as she bolted toward the brothel.
Hara watched Vivi dash away, her stance had shifted completely. Her movements much more rapid, her mana surging with a force far stronger than before.
She seemed like an entirely different person.
"Why did you have to hit her, Stephen!" Hara groaned before shouting after her, "Don't kill him!"
"Where is he?" Lyna's voice cut in as she walked toward him. Hara only glanced her way.
"Do you think he even heard me? I really don't want to write a two hundred page letter of apology again." Hara held his head, traumatized.
"What?"
"Oh, I'd suggest you sit this one out," Hara said, rubbing his temple. "Vala doesn't exactly know how to stop collateral damage when he fights."
"What are you blabbing about?" Lyna snapped. "Where is he!?"
"Toward the brothel," Hara muttered, watching her bolt off. "Don't say I didn't warn you..."
Another sigh slipped out as he trudged after her.
Stephen burst through a window of the brothel, or more specifically, a narrow ventilation frame leading into the changing room, where the girls were huddled together in fear.
"Who's that!?" one of them screamed, and in turn the others did too.
Stephen lifted a hand, shielding his eyes from the sudden glow of candlelight while his vision adjusted.
He scanned the room quickly, then clicked his tongue. He'd forgotten about the girls, and now being here only put them in greater danger.
He pushed to his feet and made straight for the door.
"Wait, what's happening?" one of the girls cried out. "We heard gunshots and explosions!"
"We're scared!" another shouted. "Are we going to die?"
Stephen froze for a moment. He didn't have the time for this, but they were innocent, dragged into something they had no part in. The least he could do was give them some reassurance.
"You'll be fine," Stephen said, meeting their frightened eyes. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this. But for now, just keep your heads down and you'll be safe... I doubt they'll go out of their way to hurt you."
Stephen turned to the door, hand on the doorknob.
Then, just before it opened, one of the girls dashed toward him. Her dark hair catching the candlelight.
"Don't leave us, please." She beckoned, pulling him in closer. "We're scared."
"I know," Stephen replied with a smile, "but again... you'll be safe here, I doubt they'll want to hurt you—"
He was wrong.
Vivi slammed down through the ceiling and with her shotgun already raised, a bang echoed through the building.
Stephen couldn't react quickly enough and the girl next to him fell to the ground, blood spilling down to the sole of his boots.
Screams echoed through the entire building, the girls all screaming at the top of their lungs but unable to move, her mana crippled them from doing so.
Stephen glanced down, to the blood gathering underneath his shoes, clinging to the ends of his pants.
He wanted to vomit.
Vivi was already coming closer.
But he didn't notice, his eyes stuck to the body. Bile rising to his throat as she lay there lifeless.
Her footsteps touched the bloodstain.
Stephen glanced at her, the shotgun now just a few meters away from him. The silver barrel glinting underneath the fire.
"Why did you kill her?" Stephen asked. "She wasn't apart of this... she was an innocent—"
Another shot rang out, and Stephen dashed to the side, crashing through the door and onto the next hallway.
She had shot him and even though he'd evaded a brunt of the damage, his hand had gotten hit and it hurt like hell.
[HP: 2/99999]
"Stephen! You okay?" the system screamed.
"Barely," he gritted, staring at his ruined elbow. "I can't move my arm."
"You need to heal, Stephen." the system insisted. "Get out. Leave Gila, now!"
"But Tello won't be my friend anymore!" Stephen snapped back.
"This isn't a game, Stephen. This is life or death. If you don't leave she'll kill you!"
"And if I leave without her, Tello won't talk to me again."
"Are you comparing a friend hating you, to you losing your life?" The system asked, befuddled.
"Of course not!" Stephen said. "Tello hating me is worse than death in every way possible!"
The system had no words to respond with.
Instead, footsteps echoed through the hallway. Vivi walking up, then just as she stepped forward. As if stepping on a loose chord, a singular light above the hallway flickered to life. Going on and off in irregular intervals.
"You look angry." Stephen said, glancing at her reddened eyes and bruised cheek. "I'd apologize for hitting you, but you were going to do the same to me."
"So you've come back to life, dad." Vivi muttered to herself. "After hurting me for all those years... even after I killed you, you keep on coming back!"
"Ehh?" Stephen muttered, looking at her.
"But its alright." She said with a large, almost eerie
smile. "I'll just kill you again."
"Wait... wait! Timeout." Stephen threw up his hands in a useless 'T' gesture, buying time. "What are you—"
Another bang echoed through the room.