Party Members

January 10th, 2022

***

['Crieger Level 9' killed. 5 copper awarded. 15% XP awarded]

['Crieger Level 9' killed. 15% XP awarded]

['Crieger Level 9' killed. 15% XP awarded]

Richter read through the notifications on his way back, flipping through the store for potions.

"Status."

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[Name: Richter Maier || Mana: 55%/100% || Level 10: 75% XP || Unused Attribute Points: 3]

[Class: Swordsman (intrinsic)]

[Attributes: Strength: 21 || Agility: 22 || Constitution: 15 || Magic: 18 || Intelligence 13]

[Abilities: Transcendent Bloodlust (innate), Transcendent Sense (innate), Swordsman's Tenacity (passive) || Skills: Sunder]

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His copper reserves dropped to twenty-four. Richter was tempted to run back out and hunt a few Dowuls to level. It would hurt his soul to waste a Mana Potion; he wanted to avoid that if possible.

His sense tracked Reed and Koga on their shortcut, sprinting back to safety. He didn't know all the details of what happened, but between their item drops and now this — they seemed like very lucky idiots.

Several minutes later he arrived back in town. The old stoic gazes of strangers welcomed him.

Considering his experiences, Richter believes traveling with others is a bad idea. So he set off to see Wesley, and leave a day early.

His mind spun on the way there, thinking about the best ways to grow. Skills were at the top of his list. Their obvious strength is only held back by mana limits. Still, waiting felt like the right call to make. This time, he wanted to wait till he found a shortcoming, even though he was lacking a defensive skill already. But in Richter's eyes, those are pointless if you don't plan to get hit in the first place.

Halfway to the governor's office, the Mage from before picked up his trail. To Richter, this was incredulous. He wondered if she had a sense like him. In reality, it's because she had a small information network dedicated to tracking. They notified her each time a person of interest left or entered the town. Such intent wasn't considered 'malicious' so his sense didn't single out these individuals.

He tried his best to ignore her and jogged the rest of the way, smirking when she struggled to push through the crowds.

***

Wesley motioned towards the window, where the sun began its descent.

"You know it'll be dark before you make it right? It's several hours to reach the closest city."

"It doesn't make much of a difference in my case. Fighting in the dark won't hurt my senses. "

Wesley sighed, "I know, just thought the rumors might have affected you."

'Hmm?' Richter leaned forward on the sofa.

"What rumors?"

Wesley took a puff from his cigarette, surprised.

"The hills have eyes..." he waved his hands mysteriously. "Rumors of strange hill-monsters that are slaughtering people. No one has any proof, but I'm almost certain they exist. The number of people has noticeably decreased the last couple of days. If there were corpses or blood-stains this would be easy, but not a single body has been found so far."

Richter nodded, matching the description with his experiences.

"They're called Criegers. And they 'are' pretty hill like."

"You've killed one??" he exclaimed.

"I've killed several. Four in a dungeon, and three more to save a couple idiots."

Richter grabbed a notebook from the desk and tore out a sheet of paper. He scribbled down a rough image and some notes about their capabilities.

"This should do it. Make sure to spread it around, should improve morale quite a bit."

Right after collecting the note, he got a call from his secretary. Whatever it was brought a smile to his face.

"Heh, your timing is perfect Richter. Two of your party members just happen to be here."

He yelled out toward the door. "Come in!"

Two men turned the creaky handle and stepped into the room-

"Richter, meet Koga and Reed."

At this moment, Wesley was the only one smiling.

'Of course it's them.'

Koga and Reed's boisterous demeanors melted instantly. His expression told Wesley everything. But Richter spoke out loud to reinforce it.

"These are the two idiots I saved earlier."

And things were about to get worse, as another call came through the line. This time, the person didn't wait before waltzing in; The young Mage had arrived.

From the moment she entered, her eyes never left his body. Wesley kept calling her name to no avail. All of her attention was dedicated to analyzing the mana circuit Richter developed. This was her first close encounter with him, and it allowed her to see just how complex it really was.

Her other observation was that he had improved it since this morning. The speed of his mana flow had almost doubled. Her mind was at risk of a nuclear meltdown, trying to accept the difference in ability.

Richter stepped toward the three.

"Well, anyways, I'm Richter."

Koga and Reed juggled his name in their minds, looking for a connection. Meanwhile, the Mage seems to have taken his name and shoved it right between her legs. She whispered it endlessly, taking a seat on the sofa.

The name didn't ring a bell to her. She referenced it against every unknown ranker in the top five-hundred. Nothing was adding up.

*cough* *cough* Wesley cleared his throat. "Uh, this is Rio, a Mage." He then pointed at the two men.

"And Koga and Reed are both Guardians."

The atmosphere was awful. Wesley looked at Richter with a pleading expression.

'Fine.'

"I'm a Swordsman."

A loud chime rang out from the town square, Wesley had found a way out of this situation.

"The work day is over! You'll have plenty of time to catch up on your journey."

He rushed them out the door and locked the building. Koga and Reed decided to head back first, anxious about tomorrow. Before leaving, Wesley briefly mentioned the fourth member of their team. A Berserker named Brent, possessing a quiet and reserved nature. Richter bust out laughing at the juxtaposition. Nothing would surprise him anymore. Together (begrudgingly), Richter and Rio headed back to Pleasure Inn.

On the way, he decided to confront her about the mana circuit. His only hope was that she'd leave him alone if she succeeded.

"-You know, all you have to do is guide the mana through your veins and arteries."

Rio yelped at the sudden conversation. His tone and general demeanor made her feel bad. Like he was talking down to her, which was exactly right.

Now, Richter doesn't mind helping others. Otherwise, he'd never have taken up the mantle at his dojo, where his job revolves around nurturing youths. Seeing Rio work so hard to copy him put a smile on his face. He thought back to the days when his disciples would watch him warm up and try to follow along.

Though it always ended the same way, with a solid smack to their heads.

"I don't want your help, I'll figure it out on my own."

"Sounds pretty stupid, considering you're literally trying to copy mine. Besides, I'm pretty good at teaching stuff."

"YOUR way is not the ONLY way." she sassed back.

At this point, Richter was contemplating between his hand and his sword. His gut reaction to backtalk was a swift physical response. His disciples preferred to call it SPAW, short for Swift Physical Ass-Whoopin'. — In their opinion, a much more accurate term.

By now, Pleasure Inn was in sight. Rio sped ahead of Richter while hurling insults at him. At the very least, it seems his goal was achieved.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared, a new aura entered his sense. One completely different from any human or monster he had scanned before. It came through the forest, displaying impressive reflexes as it scaled the roof of a nearby building. Richter paused and turned toward the new arrival.

The cloaked figure realized that their target had found them, but that wouldn't change anything. They were confident at this type of stuff. A familiar blue energy poured forth into their arms.

'Mana...'

His eyes narrowed as he drew his blade from its sheathe. Moments later, an alarm sounded in his body. A blazing blue projectile shot straight toward Richter's head. Something deep inside told him that dodging was a bad idea, and he trusted it. Richter brought his sword up in front and planted his feet.

[Mana Surge – 25%]

He braced his body with mana and took the projectile head-on. A loud screeching played as the projectile fought his sword for dominance, but ultimately the sword won. It sheared the projectile in two, each half digging deep into the asphalt on both sides.

The cloaked figure couldn't stifle their shock. Unfortunately, this brief inaction led to their downfall. They didn't possess any kind of superior vision, instead relying on the street lights to mark him.

[Sunder - 3%]

There was no delay between his defense and his attack. The small orb was near invisible in the darkness.

[Mana Surge - 6%]

A perfect swing batted the orb straight into their unsuspecting chest. In their final moments, they registered the familiar sphere, calling the name of the skill in their mind. Time slowed to a crawl for this individual, replaying the events that just happened. There were so many red flags for him to notice, but he got overconfident. The result? Death. The sphere floated closer and closer, until...

'Sorry Mom. Sorry Da-'

Collision.

His entire chest caved in from the small explosion, disregarding his armor beneath the cloak. His ribcage was now exposed and his insides were no longer inside. The ragdoll was tossed backward off the roof, into the forest.

Richter took a second to examine the wounds on the asphalt. Both halves formed arcs, each curving toward Richter's position. He was glad he didn't dodge.

The alleys in this area didn't empty straight through. He was annoyed at the prospect of having to climb over the buildings to investigate. But to his pleasant surprise, a ding played in his ears. He opened the notification.

['Daul Stadz – Human – Level 19' Killed. 140% XP awarded.]

'What the-'

Before he could even ask, a second notification appeared.

[You have slain your first 'being' from a rival planet. You are the first person on Earth to achieve this. Your contribution has been recorded and sent to allied planets. Continue fighting for the sake of your planet]

Looks like he could hold off on the investigation. If the body ended up gone by morning then so be it. He could feel the sleep coming on and he didn't want to lose it.

He looked up to see Rio running toward him, dressed in pajamas. She looked stressed, whipping her head around in all directions.

"What's going on?? I heard a loud bang and a screeching sound earlier."

Richter sighed, "A human from another planet just tried to assassinate me."

But Rio was fed up with his attitude. Insulting her lack of talent was one thing. But lying about a threat in the city? Rio killed two guys for up-skirting her but even she drew the line somewhere. "Fine! I shouldn't of even bothered coming out!" She screamed and stormed back to the Inn.

By now, other people had poked their heads out to see what happened. In their eyes, it was just a violent lovers quarrel. They were none the wiser that a human carcass lay behind a store less than a hundred feet away.

Richter ignored their looks and followed Rio.

'Should of used the hand...'

***

Indeed, just like the System said, his contribution was sent out to every allied planet. On one such planet, was a strange alligator-like creature, enjoying his time in a hot spring. A torrential downpour flooded the entire landscape without end. He sat back, took a drink-

*ding*

And nearly choked as a screen popped up in front of him.

'Hmm?'

[Ally 'Earth' has achieved its first kill]

[Class: Swordsman || Name: Richter [REDACTED] || Level: 10 || Kill: Daul Stadz – Level: 19]

Each notification sent his drink deeper into his windpipe. But the final one really almost killed him.

[Skill: Sunder]

'HMM??' He stood up and rushed to find his companions.

***

On a different planet, high up a lavish penthouse — sat the thickest man you've ever seen. His entire body rippled beneath his clothes; he was so big he used two chairs. Unbelievable amounts of muscle were etched into his existence. He sat at his desk, working on a crossword puzzle. One of his favorite pastimes.

On a mantle across the room, dozens of colorful orbs were arranged neatly. A breeze passed through the room. He glanced up at the mantle. One of the orbs was flickering. He stood and approached the collection.

The flickering orb violently shook, humming with energy, before shattering into dust. The man stared at the pile in his hands with a mixture of anger, disappointment, and sadness.

'One of my sons died?'

***