16 C16 - Disappointment

Two men were staring at another in silence.

Just a moment ago, he, Roland Koda got escorted out of the auction venue with no reason given, surrounded by heavily armed guards. And now? What the hell was this?

He let his glance drift across the scene that was playing out in front of him in displeasure.

'What the hell are those two fuckers thinking!'

He was pissed off at getting thrown out by the Golden-Prism already, and wouldn't it have been for the fact that the patriarch of the clan behind them had a good connection to the Ahan city lord, he probably would have ground the entire building into dust by now. And then he had to watch this obscene act of shamefulness. Two people fucking in broad daylight, not giving a shit about spectators! In the middle of the street! That was not giving him, the city lord, any face at all!

He was just about to let them both disappear, but the women, maybe sensing his arrival, turned her face towards him, giving him a scare. He knew that woman! It was his own sister!

"Can somebody tell me... WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?"

He furiously looked at the audience that continued to get bigger with every passing moment while sending out his aura in an attempt to suppress his sister and nephew. Obviously, he noticed that there were several factors at play, and his nephew's behavior was in no way voluntarily. Unfortunately, he didn't realize that his aura achieved absolutely nothing and that a cold, burning eye had locked onto him.

With big strides, Maren walked back to the middle of the plaza, as he was standing behind the lord before. He then playfully turned around, apparently not taking the man seriously.

"Basically..."

He had an amused tone, trying hard to suppress a chuckle.

"...both of them offended me, which was a really unwise choice."

Calmly staring at the city lord, Maren decided to await the man's reaction. But unknowingly, his actions made Roland's heart skip a beat.

'What the fuck, I couldn't sense this brat at all!'

His pupils were the size of needles, but outwardly he showed a calm appearance.

"And who might you be?"

He tried his best to let his voice remain steady, but a slight quiver still sounded within. This brat didn't just scare him. The aura Maren let out let him feel outright terror!

Maren gave a straight bow, an ironic smile on his face.

"Name's Maren Sente, sect elder. Not really pleased to make your acquaintance."

Roland nearly popped a vein. What was up with this brat's uncaring attitude? He failed to control his anger, erupting violently.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER?"

"Huh?"

Maren faced him with a questioning look?

"Uhm... I ripped out her tongue...?"

Was this city lord stupid? Could he not see that his current situation was extremely dangerous?

"BRAT, WHAT THE FU-"

Before he could finish his sentence he felt a slight sting in his neck. The next thing he saw was his vision spinning and Maren entering the auction house, mumbling to himself in a soft voice.

"Seriously, this family is retarded... "

He had enough of the plain stupidity the Kodas showed him and didn't even care about it, just beheading the city lord directly and leaving. After finishing off the arrogant trio, a sound sounded in his ear, confirming that he completed another step of his quest.

'Guess that counts as 'getting in contact', huh.'

To be honest, he completely forgot about his main quest at the moment, and couldn't care less whether the Kodas were important to complete it or not. They offended him repeatedly, and they paid their price.

'But since I'm already at it, why not finish the job.'

He sent out his senses, scanning every person close to the auction. Soon, he found people that perfectly fit his impression of gangster bosses back from earth and he approached them. Obviously, not only righteous factions would try their best to get their hands on the weapons created by a grandmaster, every crime empire would surely rise should they equip their elite force with them!

Those people got quite nervous and even scared when they saw this infamous masked youth approach them. This dude dared to slaughter the city lord after all!

Maren didn't really mind their behavior, it was understandable and didn't offend him. Although he was quite ruthless, he wasn't unreasonable! As long as one didn't touch his bottom line they'd be fine.

"Greetings, gentlemen."

He gave a warm greeting, relaxing the atmosphere immediately.

"Hello, sir exper-"

One of the gangsters wanted to return the greeting, but Maren waved his hands casually.

"No need to talk, I'll just come to the point. You see, my sect recently established a branch on this island, and we are currently trying to develop without the knowledge and attention of the generaö populace. For that, we need 'partner's' if you want to call it that way."

He looked through the circle, not giving them a chance to speak.

"I don't want to waste my time, nor your's holding an unnecessarily long conversation, so I'll just leave you with a talisman of one of our sect elders. You can contact him if you do want to cooperate."

He then turned to leave, the crime bosses still trying to understand what just happened. Just before he entered the crowd again, his footsteps stopped, immediately drawing the attention of everyone.

"Also, for reference... all the weapons in this auction were provided by us."

He didn't turn around and, after dropping this bombshell, left quickly.

*DING*

-mission steps fulfilled

Name: "The second step is easier"

Description: Get in touch with the underground, overlord, and influences of Koda city

Steps completed: (3/3)

Reward(s): 1 free Design - Alchemic subspace, Uma-corn seeds 250x, Fleeting Enlightenment Pill recipe - obtainable at any time from the inventory

'Haaaa, I'm not having fun in this city anymore. The people here are dumb and annoying... '

Although he just got the rewards from the system, Maren's mood stayed down. He came to this city in the hope of having fun, all while completing the mission and establishing contacts for his sect's development, but now it seemed he had to dabble in the mud of politics if he wanted to follow his original plan.

'No fun at all... I'll just let Ato handle this shit.'

With a quick fluctuation of his aura, Maren ordered Niita over, telling her they'd leave the city. Although she didn't like Maren, her reaction was full of excitement. She had never left this town before, and knew nothing of the world!

Maren told her to prepare and buy the stuff she deemed necessary, giving her two days worth of time, during which he tried to convince old man Gayu several more time, only to meet rejection.

His mood turning more sour by the second, he just waited for Niita at the city gate on the day of their departure. He bought two horses beforehand, as, although his speed was extremely fast, Niita wouldn't be able to keep up and he didn't want to carry her all the way either.

Silently helping her get on the horse, he pondered about what he wanted to do next.

'This trip really sucked. I had expectated more of one of the three 'great' capitals... Then again, this island is a remote countryside after all. I shouldn't expect much of it.'

Thinking up to this point, he had a frown on his face. It certainly was right to say that this island was boring, but he had no other alternative! Although he confirmed that a 'mainland' existed somewhere several time, he had no idea where to search for it.

'Sigh, guess I'll have to ask Ato when I get back.'

He looked behind him, at the city that still impressed him just a few days ago. With a glint in his eyes, he remembered the manager.

'I'll finish the business I've begun, I even told Niita I'd kill him.'

A second later, the manager broke down in his office, with nobody noticing. The feather he was holding dropped onto the document he had been working on. Under a closer look one would notice that it was actually his last will. The manager had kids appearantly, and he wasn't dumb. He already noticed Maren's intentions when he killed off the Koda family in cold blood earlier. Thus he prepared to settle his assets with his family, solving potential future infighting.

Like that, Maren and Niita got on their horses, riding towards the sect grounds. Niita had expectations in her heart, while Maren was disappointed by how fast his 'adventure' was over.

One and a half week later, they reached the mountain range. The beautiful scenery stunned Niita, who had grown up behind city walls all her life. Although Maren showed interest on his face too, it was of a different kind.

'Why are there so many people in my mountains?'