《Re: Level 100 Farmer 》Chapter 28: The Twins
Advertisement
Riviera felt dead quiet.
As Li walked the streets of the main square, he felt like was walking through a ghost town. The food carts had disappeared, and the shops had all closed. A few suspicious souls sauntered about, their heads covered in hoods as they shifted through the bare streets.
Strange. Riviera had a bustling nightlife, what with how many university students it had. There were plenty of taverns open, with the higher end ones using enchanted signs that glowed alluringly in the dark. Many of these establishments also dabbled in the illegal, and it wasn't uncommon for a tavern to supplement its income with tax-free 'labor' from its barmaids.
Some food vendors took advantage of alcohol-fueled hunger to set up their stands at dark, making sure the sizzling of their greasy wares was audible to all that walked by. It wouldn't have been surprising for Li, as he snaked through this and that path, to find a prostitute, or flower girls as this world called them, walking up to him, their hips swaying from side to side.
And yet instead of the bustle of night, there was an eerie silence. The type of nightlife out tonight was not that of students and fun, but professional criminals and business.
That was why Li had a smile on, his face uncovered by hood and out for the world to see. He would be easily recognizable, and sooner or later, someone would lead him to Black Vine. He had ensured that Old Thane was safe, putting both Zagan and the myrmeke in charge of the farm's defense.
Zagan was level 80. There would be precious little in this world that could challenge him: he seemed to be on one of the highest totems of power here, a being of legend that would require an entire army to stop. Li did worry that there might be existences out there that matched his own power, but he seriously doubted it.
There might be beings that were level 100. The four gods that this world worshipped came directly from Elden World and were all level 100, after all. But not all level 100s were made equal.
Elden World was unique among MMORPGs in that it possessed a New Game+ system. Once finishing the main campaign, a player could restart it all with much higher difficulty while maintaining the same levels, skills, spells, and items. Each new game cycle unlocked additional content to the campaign and even unlocked mechanics such as the highest tier of spells and items on top of unlocking the stat cap.
Advertisement
It could easily be said that a player at New Game +7, the maximum amount of times to replay the campaign before there were no new bonuses to benefit from, was a level 100 among level 100s. A concept like New Game+ simply just didn't fit with this reality. There was no way to restart a game when the game was real life.
And logically, judging by how beings like Zagan reacted to Li, he knew that he was at the absolute pinnacle of this world. Now, there was a question as to whether there was another player such as himself here, for after all, if he could be summoned, what stopped another of his kind from being here?
But a being of his power, unless they actively tried to remain unnoticed as he did, would have made powerful ripples across this world. And if that hypothetical player tried to be as incognito as Li, then there was little chance he or she would confront him.
That was why Li could wander around with absolute confidence, waiting for a Black Vine goon to accost him.
And as Li came by towards the alleyway that he had slaughtered the four thugs at, he found what he looked for. Two hooded men. They were kneeling at the alleyway, their heads turned down in concentration.
Li clapped. "Hey, looking for your pals?"
The two men looked up. Their eyes were blood red, glowing in the night with a luster not quite as fiery as Zagan's, but glossier, more organic.
Vampires.
"The foreigner, yes?" said the vampires in unison as they stood up warily, their muscles tensed for conflict.
"I didn't know vampires were nearsighed," said Li. "Yes, I'm a foreigner, as you can obviously tell, and most likely, I am 'the' foreigner. Now take me to your boss."
The vampires moved in a flash to Li's sides, flanking him. A trail of shadowy mist followed them and their fangs extended as they bared cruel smiles to Li.
"Come with us. No sudden movements, or else you die."
Li shrugged. "Sure, now let's stop the chit chat and start on the walking."
The vampires led Li towards the docks. Here, the smell of briny sea salt hung heavy in the air. The darkened silhouettes of caravels swayed as the water rocked them. In the distance, Lord Lys's galleon, the Azure Dove, loomed, dwarfing the small ships that dotted around it like puppies to their mother.
Advertisement
Li soon found himself in front of a pharmacy. It was a three-story building of white brick, built with a geometric precision that homegrown shops such as Li's would never quite have. Embedded in its great oaken double doors were the words 'Black Vine', a rune of sealing glowing with a lavender strength right underneath, as if underlining the words.
One of the vampires placed a ghostly white hand on the rune. The lavender glow faded, the rune deactivating as it become nothing more than a fancy symbol. The vampire opened the heavy door with a quick and easy thrust of his arm. His comrade pushed Li from behind, beckoning him to go inside.
"Easy now, you shouldn't be in such a rush to die," said Li as he came inside the building.
The vampires chuckled. "You're a funny one, foreigner."
"Strange, because that wasn't a joke." Li carried on, his nightvision scanning his surroundings.
The first floor was a reception area modeled much like that of the city hall's, except much smaller in scale. People would come here for their prescriptions of tell of their problems, and then a clerk would arrange a meeting with an herbalist or give them their medication.
But of course, the floor was barren. The reception counter was completely empty and bars of crackling magical energy sealed it off from the outside, preventing intruders from stealing the herbs and elixirs within. The only strong thing in there was the smell of disinfectant and herbs, their sterile stench lingering on every surface.
The vampires closed the door behind Li and the rune clicked into action oncemore.
"You ever heard of the Ripper Twins?" said the vampires. One of them stood in front of Li, arms crossed. The other had his back pressed to the door, blocking it off.
"Sorry, but the news bores me." Li went to a bench and took a seat, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned back. "I'm guessing that's your, uh, 'street name?'"?
"Some say the Ripper Twins are demons, clawing out the wombs from ill-fated wenches," the vampires continued in unison, ignoring Li, obviously eager to get their backstories out. "None know when they strike, but all know that upon every full moon, the gutters flow with the lifeblood of the innocent."
"Oh, I get it," said Li as he nodded. "That's why the city was so quiet. Because you goons were crawling around and disturbing the peace."
The vampires drew closer. Their arms were out to their sides and their fingers were shifting, elongating as they became bonier and the fingernails extended into claws.
Li nodded. "I thought I said to lead me to your boss. Did you plan on just executing me here?"
"You are not worth his time."
Li uncrossed his legs and leaned forwards. He put his fingers together, as if he was in deep thought. "Both of you are immortal creatures. You have an eternity to appreciate. So I was thinking – why waste it here? I'll give you one, and only one, offer. Lead me to your boss, and hopefully you'll still have an eternity to enjoy."
The vampires started on a raucous laugh, their clawed hands over their bellies, and Li joined them. In a split second mid-laugh, they swung their claws, aiming to sever Li's head from his neck.
The vampires stood back as their laughs faded and their smiles disappeared.
Li stood up as the shattered remnants of claws scattered around his feet. He cracked his neck. He thought he felt something, but he wasn't really sure. "I'm disappointed. Here I thought immortality opened up one's perspective."
Advertisement
- In Serial9 Chapters
Journey of a Skeleton (undergoing rewrite on different account)
Alderon is a self-proclaimed genius skeleton, summoned from the first layer of the underworld by a mighty lich who seeks to destroy the world because of a broken engagement. Happy to finally serve a worthy master, Alderon is expectant to brilliantly perform his duties. However, due to various circumstances, he finds himself sent away to a castle in the eternal wastelands to serve one of the mighty lich's disciple's disciple. And to add on that, the skeleton also discovers himself having received a strange ability that causes blue boxes to appear from repetitive actions!
8 221 - In Serial23 Chapters
Omega System
Important Notice!: I’ve started writing a new novel, so please go check it out! It’s called The Power of Systems. Go check it out guys! One minute, everything was normal, the next minute, Earth became like a fantasy novel. Unique powers called skills awakened in the residents of Earth. The day the world changed was called Omega. A few years after, people decided to found schools that taught children about these skills and how to control them, along with how to deal with monsters and physical training. It was all for the sake of a safer future. These schools were named Academies. Join Damon Zellar as he experiences life in The Royal Academy in England, while constantly seeking strength. One particular day, he stumbled across a unique system so impressive, that it could shake the power balance of the world, but no one knew about this mysterious power. What is the origin of the system, and why was he granted such a treasure? An unknown organization is also after his life, causing Damon to discover even more about his past. Will dark secrets await, or a truth so unbelievable that Damon himself wouldn’t even believe it? What will be Damon’s destined fate? To die or to live? *** Authors Note: He receives the system after a few chapters, just if you wanted to know!
8 61 - In Serial16 Chapters
Fallen from the Moon
What is a person to do when you wake up and find yourself in a totally foreign environment? And worse still, a completely different body? One moment, Elise was in her castle lounging about, and the next, she finds herself in a life threatening situation and stuck in the body of a stranger. How did she appear here? Why has this happened to her? And what is the body's identity? Even though Elise is plagued with questions that she is unable to find an answer to, and forced into a body with a mana amount much lesser than what her original body, she is still determined to find a way back home. However, she will soon find that home is a place faraway and more difficult to get to than she imagined as she gets increasingly tangled up in difficult situations. "You will regret looking down on me." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's note: Please drop comments or reviews to let me know what you think of the story or how I can improve. :) *On hiatus*
8 119 - In Serial31 Chapters
In Z Finite
This is the story of Zarco, a young guy with a magic stone and not much else, and Caelum, a wingless "angel". "Caelum-That's stupid... Zarco-Eh, it is..." Ahem, anyway, a lot of action & adventure awaits them, as they are forced together on a journey in search of some magic stones of legendary power. "Zarco-Liar! We're currently doing a lot more of "trying to survive" than rock picking around here! Caelum-Yeah, that is pretty misleading." Ok, screw this, I am out, if nobody read this story it will be your fault. "Zarco-The hell are you talking about, you're the one who wrote this... Caelum-Since our writer is unreliable, I will finish this. This story at its core is just a fun rump, focused on action, adventure, and a lot of comedic dialogue and exchanges. If you had at least a chuckle reading this then you will probably enjoy the story. Zarco-Yo, thanks for reading till this point, we will meet again at the pages."
8 87 - In Serial17 Chapters
The Exciting Arrival
This is a revival for the AU that I have where my OC for The 7D shows up in Jollywood and decides to live there permanently.Songs:1. Life's A Happy Song (The Muppets) - All2. Don't Stop The Music (Rihanna) - The 7D and Empathy (my OC)3. Gypsy Bard (My Little Pony) - Empathy4. One Week (Barenaked Ladies) - Bashful, Sleepy and Sneezy5. Bones Shatter (Hedley) - Doc and Grumpy6. Who I Am Hates Who I've Been (Relient K) - Empathy and The 7D7. Miss Murder (AFI) - The 7D, Empathy and Queen Delightful8. Ready to Go (Panic! at the Disco) - The 7D and Empathy9. Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing (Tori Kelly) - Empathy10. Victorious (Panic! at the Disco) - The 7D and Empathy11. Circles (Post Malone) - All
8 122 - In Serial21 Chapters
YEARS , naruto uzumaki
❝SHE WAS THEFLOWER GODDESS AND HE WAS SUN GOD.❞ [narutoxoc]
8 107