Chapter 21: Explorers-Part Two

Meisatsu got into a low crouch, then he dashed at it, Glock taking aim—

WHIP!

A heavy tail struck him like a whip. He crashed into a tree, and he clutched his stomach instinctively.

If not for BULLETPROOF I’d probably be dead... The pain was dampened, but it was still there. I can’t rely on it for everything.

“I’ll say you have about two hits left!” Umare called out from his spot. “Judging by the looks of it!”

Meisatsu could feel it too. His defense could still use some work.

Alright then, I’ll go all offense! He took swift strides, closing in on the serpent while firing several shots.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

They all grazed the creature’s scales with sparks, leaving only small dents across the surface.

Dammit, my attack power too?!

CRASH!

The lumbering tail crashed down on him, causing the ground the crack and rumble, sending birds scattering from the trees—

“MUZZLE ENERGY TRANSFER!”

“Hiiiiisssss?”

The tail was pushed up a little, and Meisatsu leapt out from underneath, panting heavily.

BANG!

He shot the serpent’s eye. It hissed wildly, baring its fangs as it trashed about.

“Crap! I only grazed it!” Meisatsu tried to circle around it—

“Kid!!!” Umare called out, panicked, ready to intervene.

“Huh?!” 

The gaping maw of the serpent was mere moments away from devouring him whole.

Not...the tail?!! That was the only thought that ran through his mind.

With no other option, Meisatsu did the only thing he could...

HE PULLED THE TRIGGER!

BOOM!

He now stood afar from the serpent. No gunfire. Just like that time with Gaspard.

“Hiiiiisssss?” The serpent shook its head, stunned.

Umare then leaned back against his tree. “Better wrap this up. I felt a huge spike in your magical output.”

Just now...he moved way too fast for his level. One of his abilities? Judging from sight alone, Umare could tell his own speed was still greater—but not by a wide margin...

Meisatsu had a vague understanding of what had just happened.

He moved fast—extremely fast. It was like the world had twisted into a blur of colors, and he just warped there forcefully.

“Don’t worry, just give me a minute!” Meisatsu called back to Umare as his finger slowly tightened on the trigger . 

The serpent lunged—

BOOM!

Dirt and leaves blasted from where Meisatsu had stood. The dust settling to reveal Meisatsu straddling the serpent’s head, with his legs clamped tight and both arms cocked back.

“It’s you or me, pal!!!”

“Hiiiiiiiissssssss?” The snake began trashing about, in a desperate attempt to knock him off. But his legs only tightened—

“GUN MARTIAL ARTS: RAPID BULLET PUNCHES!”

Targeting the center of its skull, his fists rained down, each blow filling the air with the gruesome sound of battering flesh.

Saliva dripped from the serpent’s gaping maw as Meisatsu paused, drawing a deep breath.

And With his chest puffed out, he roared, “MUZZLE ENERGY TRANSFER!!!”

Umare’s eyes widened in surprise, watching as Meisatsu’s body glowed with a faint red for a moment. Is he planning to combine the two?!

“OOOOOOORRRRAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”

Faster, stronger, far more lethal punches bombarded the serpent’s cranium. His left hand would land, only to be replaced almost instantly with his right hand holding the Glock—over and over...

THUD! THUD!! THUD!!!

The onslaught of punches ceased, interrupted by a sharp sickening—

CRACK!

The muzzle of Meisatsu's Glock had lodged deep into the serpent’s skull. Thick, sticky blood oozed out from the crack as Meisatsu eyes gleamed with a devilish glint—

He whispered, “I... win…”

BANG!

The Giant Serpent’s massive body went stock still. Then it collapsed unceremoniously to the ground. Meisatsu tumbled off its head, sprawling out beside it, facing the leafy foliage above.

In his grasp, the gun shivered lightly. “I actually…killed it?!”

“Bwahaha!” Umare laughed, nearly doubling over. The fight he'd just watched was one that he wouldn't believe even in a dream. “Ever heard of finesse?”

“Like you’re one too talk…” Meisatsu groaned as he struggled to sit up. “The way you sliced up that snake was kinda nasty.”

Umare spared a brief glance at the fallen thing. “A dud, huh?”

His attention shifted back to his own foe, still hissing violently at him with the last of its strength. Drawing his sword—

“Hmph!” In a quick thrust, the blade plunged into the monster's temple, silencing it for good.

FWHOOSH!

The body began crumbling apart in flaky shards as thick black vapor gushed upwards, enshrouding the area. Then a beam of white pierced through, shooting past the forest canopy

After a short while, the vapor dissipated, revealing a multi-colored crystal that slowly descended into Umare’s open palm.

“Whoa...!” Meisatsu exclaimed, attempting to stand. “What is that?”

Umare gestured for him to stay down. “We call this, a magi-crystal.”

The crystal was just a little wider than his palm, measuring about twelve inches across. Within it, laterally segmented strips of seven different colors gleamed brightly—arranged in the order of a rainbow.

“This one'll fetch a good price at the Guild.” Umare inspected it closely, holding it up to his eye. “Most mid- and high-level monsters drop them sometimes. The more colors, the better.”

“I got a...dud?” Meisatsu glanced over the serpent’s corpse lying beside him.

“Ya sure did!” Umare chuckled, tossing the crystal to him. “Keep it, kid. Already got plenty of those.”

As Meisatsu sat, he sweated heavily, struggling to breathe. “I don’t feel so good…”

“Of course ya don’t!” Umare plopped himself on the ground. “That’s why I kept warnin' ya!”

“Oh...the magical output thing?”

“Lemme make this clear. You overdo it, you die.”

“Ehhhhhhh?!” Meisatsu quickly wrapped his hands tightly around his neck. “Why didn’t you warn—Oh...”

Umare's right brow arched in annoyance. “Not everyone can draw out magic. So, those of us who can gotta be careful. The stuff’s tied to our life-force, after all.”

“Mine didn’t give me anything…” Meisatsu sulked as his eyes wandered over to the corpse again.

“Sometimes ya get a crystal, other times—a lifeless body.” Umare placed an elbow on his knee, head in his hand. “It’s just a big ol' gamble.”

Shifting his focus back to the colorful crystal resting in his palms, Meisatsu inquired, “Does this ‘magi-crystal do anything...special?!”

“Not by itself. The Guild refines it into other items. Artifacts that Mages use to increase their own magic,  slime taming crystals—that kind of thing.”

“Cool…”

As if a heavy rock had struck him on the head, Meisatsu suddenly flinched remembering Umare’s earlier display. “I never knew you could use magic like that!!!”

“Well, ya know.” Umare stroked his chin proudly . “I ain’t the Fifth for nothing!”

“So your kinda like...a Mage mixed with Swordsman?”

“That’s about half-right. We Explorers aren't called jacks of all trades for nothing!”

“Cuz of all those abilities?”

“See, we can learn 'em from any Role,” Umare responded evenly as he lectured. “As long as our level's high enough, and we see the skill in action,with some practice—we can do it too.”

“Isn’t that cheating?!” Meisatsu couldn't help but blurt out the question.

“To be fair, not everyone can hold more than three at a time. On top of that, the ones from Royal Classes suck far too much magic.” 

“When we first met, you said you were Level 25, right? How many you got?”

“Fifteen total. And guess what? One of them's a spell from a High-Mage. My trump card!”

“Tell me! Tell me!!” Meisatsu was now overcome with curiosity as he leaned forward, practically twitching. “What's it do?!”

“No can do. That’s a secret, kid!” Getting up with a smirk, Umare pulled out a small glass vial, containing a clear liquid. "All I can say—it's like a backup me."

With his flick of his thumb, he popped it open and began emptying its contents on the monster Meisatsu had slain.

“But I can tell ya some of the others. Let’s see… One of lets me control lightning—got that one from your sis. Another heals wounds. There’s Empower—already used that. It’s a physical enhancer…”

SIZZLE!

The serpent’s blue scales started melting rapidly, exposing its innards which quickly dissolved as well. “Can’t leave this lying around.”

“Acid?!” Meisatsu jumped up with a yelp, backing away from the corpse. “What if you splashed me?!”

“Relax, it only works on monsters. It’s a potion we call, a Melter.”

These potions were mandatory for Explorers taking any quests above low-level. The corpse of a monster of such strength could end up adversely affecting the forest and its wildlife, wrecking the ecosystem.

“A Melter…” Meisatsu muttered, slumping as the words left him.

✦✦✦

Before his eyes, a glowing Scroll hovered within the void—

GUN HERO: Level 3

UNLOCKED: VELOCITY SHIFT

“I...levelled up?!” Meisatsu pumped a fist in the air. “Freaking awesome!”

“That was pretty gnarly dude,” Scroll said,  perfectly mimicking the tone of a streetwise skater… “Rad.”

“Could you please talk normally…”

“Sure thing, bra!”

“……”

Scroll cleared his—figurative?—throat. “You seem to be doing fine, leveling up and all. How was your first big kill?”

“Don’t put it like that. And how do you even know what goes on outside… This?” Waving his arms around at the empty void. “Some kind of screen or something?”

“I dunno, I just…know.” Scroll quickly changed the subject. “So, how do you like VELOCITY SHIFT, hmm?”

“Should I be honest?”

Scroll made grunting noises, suggesting that he nodded. “Yeah, brutally honest!”

“I freaking love it!!!” Meisatsu shouted at the top of his voice, flinging his head back. “To think I’d get super speed!”

“Technically, you're controlling your velocity. And for now, it’s limited to the top speed your bullets can travel.”

“Same diff,” Meisatsu scoffed. “And it also costs me a bullet, right?”

“Yup. No gunfire. But raising your level would take care of all that.”

“A-alright. G-guess I’ll be going then!” Meisatsu stammered and his eyes darted. “See ya—”

“Scared of the pain, I see.”

“Oh, shut-up!”

Groaning, he peeked through half-closed eyes. He could see the forest floor moving below him.

He was being carried.

“Finally awake, huh?”

Umare had slung him over his shoulder, carrying him out of the forest with his party members trailing behind. “Next time, take it easy on that output.”

An uninvited gust of wind swept through the group. Kiku clutched her wide-brimmed, crooked hat, purple accents fluttering...leaving her skirt...

Unguarded!

A pair of supple thighs, and a spotless, snow white lingerie came into view.

“Eeeeek!!!” She shrieked, quickly holding down the fluttering piece of clothing with both hands.

Behind, Kurito’s face burned red as he smiled lecherously. “Ooh…lace! Great choice!”

Akito—red faced—looked away, as his arms became stiff at his sides. It was not polite to peek at a lady, no matter how tempting... A gentleman!

“Wind Scythe!” Kiku cried, with teary eyes and even redder cheeks.

“Whoa, Kiku, relax!” Kurito hid behind poor Akito, who was so close to fleeing—dragged back into the drama. “Think of the example you’re setting for Akito here!”

Shocked at his sudden direct involvement, Akito gawked. “Huh?!”

“Mm…” Shizuka simply vanished.

The scythe promptly chased after the two…

Meisatsu chuckled over Umare’s shoulder, earning a grin from the older man.

And group arrived at the Guild some hours later.

“Oh, Satsu! How I’ve waited!” Ayame dived, Meisatsu avoided.

CRASH!

Ayame sprawled out on the wooden floors of the Guild, Umare laughing at the sight.

“So, um. I got this…” Meisatsu placed the crystal on the glowing desk.

“A fully developed crystal?” Akane picked it up, inspecting it carefully. She adjusted her glasses.

The term "fully developed" in this context, meant  all seven colors were present. It is far superior to those having only two or three.

The she set it back down gently, shifting her glasses astutely. “Fifty thousand gold.”

Akane's hand reached under the desk, returning with a heavy looking pouch.

THUD!

“Just for that?!!” Befuddled, Meisatsu turned to Umare, who just shot him a smirk, then winked.

“What a day!” Umare stretched his muscular arms over his comrades' shoulders. “Let’s have a drink!”

“Yeah!” Kurito flung both hands into the air—they were bandaged?! “Kiku got me good!”

“Serves you right, hmph!” She sniffled.

“Mm…”

“I’ll catch up,” Akito called out after they began their exit.

He walked over to Meisatsu, asking, “So, what’ll you do with all this, Hero?”

“Get myself a Magi-Mobile!”

“Of all the things, why that?!”

Meisatsu stoically replied, “For a race.”

Some time later, standing outside the Guild, he and Ayame watched Akito run off to rejoin his party.

“What now?” Meisatsu asked. “We've got the funds.”

“We’re going to Bac,” She answered with a spin. “Were we’ll meet the best Craftsman in all of Asturia!”

“Whoa…!”

“Last one home is a rotten man-go!” Ayame shouted, sprinting past him.

“Oh no you don’t!”

Meisatsu was about to chase after her when something perched on his shoulder.

“Yo,” It was the butterfly! “To keep moving forward in the face of insurmountable hardship... That’s the essence of perseverance."

“Huh…”

“My job here...is done!” He flared his wings. “Weeeeeeeeeee!”

Still feeling his body reverberating from the butterfly’s deep voice, Meisatsu watched it tear through the evening sky—leaving him once again questioning his sanity...