Repercussions

Kirou was currently a few kilometers away from the forest clearing that he had just fought in. He was on his way back to his secret base with a smile on his face. While the actions of Blade Warlord had indeed soured his mood earlier, prompting him to take action and teach the man a lesson, the blueprints he received from Shiroa more than made up for it. This was especially so when he remembered looking at certain blueprints that were in the mix.

Blueprint: Submersible

Player Requirements: <Master Shipwright> (Rank 6+) or Crafting Master (Rank 5+), Level 30

Material Requirement: ???

Description: This is a long-forgotten blueprint design from a distant age for building a vessel capable of traveling underwater for an extended period of time. The materials for this vessel must be crafted by a <Master Blacksmith> and can only be assembled by a <Master Shipwright>.

Blueprint: Seaview Yacht

Player Requirements: <Amateur Shiptwright> (Ranks 2+) or Crafting Master (Rank 2+), Level 20

Material Requirement: Refined Iron Sheet x??, 50-year Redwood Planks x??, etc

Description: A design made by Master Shipwright Seaview during his youth. This design for this vessel was made with the intent to ferry a small group of people across the treacherous seas at a relatively fast pace. Based on the builder's creation process, the finished product will be capable of withstanding a few full-force blows from a pill stage (Level 30-40) sea creature before making its getaway.

Blueprint: Ship Canon (Low)

Player Requirement: Amateur Blacksmith (Rank 2+) or Crafting Master (Rank 1+), Level 15

Material Requirement: Refined Iron x??, Refined Fire Powder x??, etc.

Description: This is a simple design for a canon mount for a ship. Any amateur blacksmith could build this so long as they are patient.

Looking over these three blueprints, Kirou had to force himself to keep calm. While the blueprint for the <Submersible> wasn't something he could touch, for now, it has given Kirou something to look forward to when he gets there. As for the other two blueprints, those were things he could deal with now, or rather when he gets to level 20, which wasn't that far away. At the moment, he was just one exp bar (10%) away from reaching level 19. With the effect of the exp bonus still in play for another day or so, Kirou had plenty of time to reach level 20, especially since he was focusing on gaining levels now.

"I think it's best I only use Shadow Arachne for this run. I plan on moving fast and that spider of mine is the only pet I have capable of keeping up with my speed." Having said his thoughts aloud, Kirou summoned out Shadow Arachne from the <Pet Space>.

Having been summoned out, the demonic spider tilted its head to the side for a bit, waiting for its master to speak. Seeing this reaction caused Kirou to smile as he took out a pair of knives from his inventory and spoke, "Ok, Shadow Arachne. We've got some killing to do and we've gotta move fast. Feeling up to the challenge?"

As if to respond to Kirou's words, the demonic spider raised its two front limbs and did a slashing motion, and moved its mouthparts, sounding out a low growl. Kirou smiled when he saw this as he turned towards a certain direction of the forest he was in. Just as he did so, a few large brown bears entered his sight. Kirou took the fact that they hadn't rushed over yet to take a look at their stats.

Monster: Redwoods Forest Brown Bear

Monster Level: 21

Health: 30,000/30,000

Attack: 100

Defense: 100

Skills: Thick Fur, Heavy Palm Strike, Reckless Charge

Looking at the three brown bears before him, Kirou adopted a feral smile on his face as he spoke, "Try to keep up, my pet." Following those words, Kirou rushed towards the three brown bears before him with just the pair of knives in his hands. Shadow Arachne instead took to the trees and started spitting and wielding its web, completely sealing off the brown bears' future escape paths, as well as constricting their movements.

*******

Blade Warlord was currently in an NPC restaurant, sharing a table with another player. Many times he wanted to say something, anything, regardless of the excuse he could use, but his mouth remained shut. On the opposite side of the table, the player was looking at Blade Warlord with a chilly expression on his face.

This went on for a few minutes before the other player finally spoke, "Tell me, Blade Warlord. Do you have any idea what I'm currently thinking right now?"

Blade Warlord kept quiet, completely unable to say a word. Beside him, a female elf player was also there but she was as pale as a sheet. Naturally, this was Shiroa. She was still under the effects of Kirou's parting glare, though she's much better now as she's able to move. That being said, her paleness was a direct reflection of how dire the situation the duo was currently in.

Seeing that Blade Warlord kept quiet, the player turned his sights towards the pale Shiroa as he spoke, "What were his parting words before he vanished?"

It took Shiroa a moment to take a deep breath and release it, color now returning to her face as she spoke, "He said that the matter is over, but that's the only time."

The player released a sigh of relief at those words. It was already a blessing that the deal was still in place, even after all that had happened. He could only be thankful that Kirou was satisfied with the items he received. After taking a minute to collect his thoughts, the man spoke once more, "As of now, you are demoted to the third team, Blade Warlord. You are to hand over the position as Branch Head of the Assassin Branch to your deputy and participate in the material hunt with the others this weekend."

To those words, Blade Warlord gave a nod while remaining silent. While he was angry, he knew better than to speak now, as it would only make his case worse. That being said, that didn't stop him from being angry about losing his spot on the main team and in the Assassin Branch. For now, though, he could only aim this hatred at the one who made him like this, Kirou.

The player then turned his head towards Shiroa and spoke, "Your actions very nearly cost the sect dearly, Shiroa. In lieu of the situation, however, you shall retain your position as head of the Crafting Branch, but you shall also be demoted to team two."

Shiroa nodded her head at these words. She could already be considered better off as she didn't lose her position as a branch head. That being said, being dropped from team one did hurt her slightly. Unlike Blade Warlord, however, she knew better than to aim any anger towards Kirou. She knows perfectly well, on an instinctive level, that Kirou is not someone she should mess with and she wasn't foolish enough to tempt fate.

Now that the punishments have been dished out, the player shifted the conversation as he spoke to Shiroa, "What were the items that Kirou asked for in exchange for his services, and what did you give him? If I'm not wrong, the main reason why the deal hasn't been broken hinges on one or two of the items he was given."

Shiroa went silent as she thought about the items she had given Kirou. It took her a minute or two before she responded, "Chairman, he asked me for blueprints in exchange for his services. He said that it didn't matter the grade of the blueprint, so long as he got a good amount and that they were of the architectural type."

The player went into contemplation for a few moments before he responded, "And what of the blueprints that you gave him. Even if they were low leveled, I doubt the sect has that many architectural blueprints. You must have given him something else to make up for it, right?"

Shiroa hesitated for a moment before she spoke, "That is correct, sir. We don't have that many architectural blueprints to spare, so I also gave him a few ship blueprints as well. I included the submarine blueprint into the mix since the sect doesn't have an apprentice shipwright, much less a master shipwright. I decided to use it to make up for the rest that we couldn't spare."

The player sat in contemplation for a moment before nodding his head at Shiroa as he spoke, "Very good. If we could use it to secure the aid of that kind of player, it's fine to lose that blueprint. It's not as if we can't find another, should the need arise."

Following those words, the player rose from his seat and went to the door. Both Shiroa and Blade Warlord stood up in unison and bowed to the player. The player stopped at the door momentarily and spoke just loud enough for the duo to hear, "Make sure you both stay away from Kirou. Until the deal this weekend is completed, you two are not to seek out Kirou, regardless of the reason. If you do, you'll face the consequences."

"Yes, Chairman" shouted the two in unison as the player left the room. From start to end, the duo acted servile in the presence of this player. Naturally, there is only one person in the Sanming Sect that would elicit a reaction like this from them, and that is the Sanming Sect's Leader, Guardian Knight.

*******

Somewhere within Thousand Wood Forest, both Navi and Reya were currently busy, harvesting materials for their guild. While the guild was technically a branch, a small one at that, of the Sanming Sect, it was a very poor one so the duo had to be responsible for the guild themselves. Not only that. With all the spies currently in the guild, the duo cannot trust anyone to harvest these materials, without tipping off the other branch heads.

At the moment, both were busy harvesting some plants when they both received a message simultaneously. The sender had no name but they both knew who it was. Seeing that they had nothing better to do at the moment, now that they had finished harvesting their most recent find, both took a seat next to each other, under a tree, and played the video.

From start to end, both kept quiet as they watched the video in its entirety. The video was of Kirou fighting the two players and Blade Warlord at the end. Even with how the final bout went down, both women kept their composure until the very end. it was until then that both women looked up and turned to face the other.

They stayed like that for a few moments before they started laughing. They laughed and laughed hard at the contents of the video. It got so bad that both started to roll on the floor. If there was another person present to see this, they would have thought that both women, both elves were crazy.

This went on for a good ten minutes before the duo finally calmed down and regained their composure. Reya even had to wipe a tear from her eye in the end. With the duo now fully composed, they started speaking, with Navi starting it off, "I regret not being there to see it in person. I really regret it, Reya."

Reya giggled as she heard this before speaking herself, "It seems that Mr. Wolf never disappoints. He truly knows how to get back at people, doesn't he Sister Navi?"

"At first, I wasn't sure what he was planning. It was only after I saw him take out that hammer that I figure it out. That hammer reminded me of what he used during the demonstration, except that one was more comical," said Navi, giggling with a hand over her mouth.

"Really? Now I really wish that I was there, during the demonstration." When Reya said this, she was pouting slightly.

"Don't worry about it, Reya. Knowing Mr. Wolf, I'm sure we'll be seeing more in the future." When Navi said this, she didn't know where she got the confidence from but she truly believed it.

"I'll look forward to that day as well then, Sister Navi." When Reya said this, she pumped her hands into the air.