Author's Note: Just a heads up, I'm going on a trip on the last week of April. If I don't have the next chapter out by next Wednesday, then it won't be out till sometime in the first week of May.

Major Author's Note (13/04/2016): I only just realized this a few days later but I fucked up a window section by putting in the wrong information. I have updated this story to use the correct information. Considering that the window is spoilers if said here, I have a post chapter note to say what it is exactly.

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Chapter 14: Consequences

The four Marines followed Wu into a different training ground than what they have been using for the last couple of days. Instead of the sterile white floors and walls, the room was tan in colour. The ceiling was also at least several times higher than the previous room.

"Power level currently at forty percent," Wu announced after tapping a few times on his tablet.

The four Marines briefly jerked in their movement as their suits activated. They were quick to adapt to the sudden change.

"Today we are changing the current training regiment."

The room started to rumble as parts of the floor began to shift. Vertical cuboids rose up from the ground and formed into different heights all over the room.

"Originally you were all tasked with simply running to adapt to the change in power," Wu reminded. "I have analyzed the data and deemed you all ready for the next step. Adapting to additional power to your movement is just the first step. The next is being able to control that power. Your exercise is simple. Each platform is marked with a number. You are to jump from platform to platform in order starting from number one. The tallest pillar is twenty-five feet off of the ground. The lowest is ten feet off of the ground. As you get used to moving from platform to platform, we'll increase the power and complexity of the layout. Staff Sergeant Garza, please step up."

Laura approached Wu who stood next to the pillar marked with a large black number "1". She bent her knees until she was in a squat position. Laura then launched herself into the air. The sudden speed and power of the jump caught her off guard as she found herself at least ten feet above the platform she wished to jump onto.

"Wah!" she yelled as gravity took effect. Laura landed on her feet, lost her balance and fell forward onto her hands and knees.

"You okay, Ma'am?" Chris asked.

Laura slowly got to her feet and brushed herself off.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I'll try the next platform now."

Laura mentally did the math and adjusted herself for the next jump. The second platform was five feet higher than the current platform she stood on. She slightly bent her knees and leaped. This time she correctly estimated the power she needed. Laura jumped from platform one to platform two with more grace.

"Excellent," Wu said. "Next up."

One by one, the Marines entered the course. While sloppy in their movement in the beginning, they were quick to improve.

"Tell me, Wu," David groaned as he jumped down to platform fifteen. "Is this training program actually planned or are we just improvising?"

"A little of both," Wu replied.

"Excuse me?" Sam said.

"For all intents and purposes, the suits you're wearing are prototypes. We haven't been able to properly test them before your group. I have been gathering data from your training sessions to help improve your training. This data will also serve to create a more cohesive training program for future soldiers who will join this program."

"About that," David said. "Does this program have a name yet?"

"It won't have an official name until the Unity Protocol is voted upon in a few weeks. For the time being, everyone has been calling this the SLAYER program."

The door to the training room opened and a worker dressed in a black suit walked in and approached Wu. He whispered to him enlisting an "oh?" from him.

"Really?" Wu said to him.

"Yes, sir."

"I'll tell them. You may leave."

The man in the black suit briskly walked out of the room after delivering the news.

"Everyone!" Wu called out. "I need you all to come back down. I have some news that may interest you all."

The Marines stopped their training and jumped to the ground from varying heights.

"What is it?" Garza asked.

"I was just given some news you four would be interested in," Wu answered. "El Muerto is dead."

"How?" David quickly muttered.

"Our mutual friends, Thunder and Aurora. In a very interesting manner, he teleported the giant fire breathing lizards that appeared in China to the drug lord's estate. The reptiles annihilated El Muerto's private army and he went in and killed the army Commander and El Muerto himself."

"What reason did he have to go after El Muerto?" Sam followed up. "I thought this guy was busy fighting monsters."

"I have no idea," Wu replied. "It was obvious he was after some information that El Muerto stored on his servers. He was cooperative enough to notify your CO that the estate was cleared out, at the very least. Though he vanished after notifying him of his actions. They were able to go in and recover all of El Muerto's data and documents. I thought you four would like to be notified that the mission you originally had in Columbia has now been accomplished."

"That's nice and all, but this raises some very serious questions about this guy's motivations," Chris said. "What does a drug lord in Columbia have to do with the recent appearances of monsters?"

VVVVVV

Tom sat at his computer desk in his recreation room. Near the desk was an L-shaped couch and a five-foot long foot rest that sat in front of the large 4K screen. To the right of the desk, next to the window, was the plant that was growing from the Mother Tree Seed he had found. At this point the plant had sprouted from the dirt as a small three leaf plant. It was barely a centimeter in height.

Tom pulled out the hard drive he got from Colombia from the drawer in his desk. He connected the drive to his computer. A window popped up on his screen notifying him that the drive was encrypted.

"Shit," he muttered under his breath. "Okay, okay. I can deal with it."

Tom opened up his decryption program which he had "acquired" through certain means to deal with the drive's encryption. The program went to work and a window appeared showing a progress bar.

Decryption 1% complete...

Tom stared at the window on the screen for several minutes while tapping his index finger on his desk. He leaned back in his chair and then forward.

Decryption 2% complete...

"Alright then," he groaned.

Tom glanced to his right and saw the Mother Tree plant.

'I haven't given you any mana today, have I?' he thought.

Sacred PlantMaturity2.7%Status 1:The plant is contentStatus 2:-Daily Mana Need0/40[/tr]

Tom rolled his chair towards the plant. He held out his hand and said, "Eat up."

Blue energy emanated from his hand and was pulled in by the plant. It didn't take long for the plant to get its fill.

Daily Mana need fulfilled

"Awesome," he said. "Glad to be of service."

The Sacred Plant wants a name

"What? A name? Seriously?"

The Sacred Plant wants a name!

"Okay, okay," he defensively said. "A name, huh? Hmm... I don't know. How about Audrey?"

...

The Sacred Plant understands the reference and is not pleased with the joke. Choose again.

'Wh- How?' he yelled in his mind.

A couple days ago, Tom had played the movie "Little Shop of Horrors" while he did some translation work on the Xoth Bestiary. He always liked background noise when he worked on his computer.

'Is the plant that aware of its surroundings?'

Another thought immediately popped in his head.

'It can understand English?'

"Okay, a real name," he said. Tom shook his head. "I'm always terrible at coming up with names. How about... Amber."

...

The Sacred Plant likes this name.

Sacred PlantName:Amber EverettMaturity2.7%Status 1:The plant is extremely happyStatus 2:-Daily Mana Need40/40[/tr]

"Why did you take on my last name?"

No new windows appeared before him.

"Don't want to talk any more? Alright... That's fine. Not like you can go anywhere. I'll be here when you're ready to talk."

Reia walked into the rec room while stretching her wings and arms. She loudly yawned.

"Morning, Tom," she greeted.

"Morning, Reia," Tom replied. "So apparently the Sacred Plant demanded I name her."

"Really?"

"I named her Amber. What's weird is that for some reason she took my last name. Have you ever heard of anything like this before?"

Reia shook her head. "No. I can tell you for certain that this is not your average Mother Tree seed. It's something special. Most seeds just outright say what they are in their description. Mana Fruit Tree seed, Welcker Nut Tree seed, and so on. The fact that it keeps on calling itself a Sacred Plant means something. I just don't know what. Ugh." Reia suddenly groaned and reached for her left shoulder to rub it.

"You alright?" Tom asked.

"Yeah. I'm just a little sore from our mission last night."

"Would you like a massage?" Tom asked.

"Massage? What's that?"

"It's a form of therapy where I rub your muscles to help relieve tension and stress in your body."

Reia crossed her arms, cocked a brow and smirked. "Sounds like an excuse to touch me all over my body," she said teasingly.

"Madam, you wound me," Tom said, feigning offense. "I would NEVER use physiotherapy as a cover to do illicit things to your body."

Reia giggled at Tom's response. "Alright, you have my attention."

"All you need to do is to lie down on your stomach on the foot rest over there," Tom said while pointing to the foot rest. "I'll take care of the rest."

Reia lightly jogged over to the foot rest and laid on her stomach. Tom walked over and leaned forward over her. He began the session by rubbing her shoulders. Reia moaned pleasantly in response to the shoulder rub.

"That's really nice," she said.

Tom moved downwards from the shoulders along the shoulder blades. The back of Reia's shirt was similar to every shirt she had modified with her magic. A square hole in the back just large enough to surround the base of her wings. Below the hole was two sections of the shirt that buttoned together. This allowed her to slide on her shirts and button up below her wings.

"Do you need me to undo the back?" Reia asked.

"If you want..."

Reia reached behind her and undid her bra strap and the buttons on the back of her shirt. Tom paused for a moment to admire her bare back before going back to work. Shoulder blades. Mid back. Base of wings. Lower back. Biceps. Forearm. Thighs. Calves. Feet. Each part of her body that Tom massaged elicit a different moan of pleasure from Reia.

"Where did you learn to do this...? Mmm..."

"I do a lot of info dives on the internet," Tom replied. "Kind of an addictive habit of mine. Everything from history of airplanes to how to cook certain foods to how to give beautiful women excellent massages."

The joke got a chuckle from Reia. "I think I might just melt... Mmm... I could get use to this."

Notice (Tom)Due to your "handy" skills, you have unlocked the Massage skill.

"It seems you may have to," Tom said. "I just unlocked the Massage skill."

"Really?" Reia said while looking back.

"Yeah. Let me just check it out. Massage Information."

MassageTypePassiveRankCLevelBeginner 1 (0%)Buff10% increase in Stamina Regen, 10% increase in benefits received from HealingBuff Timer5 hoursMassages are great at relieving tension in muscles and joints. It allows the receiver of the massage to recover their Stamina faster and heal more from healing spells.

"It's actually a really good skill!"

Notice (Reia)You have received a buff from Tom's Massage skill. For 5 hours you will recover Stamina 10% faster and will recover 10% more health from healing spells.

"I just got a buff from your skill," Reia said. She reached behind her back and did up her bra and shirt.

Reia sat up and stretched.

"I feel so much better. Thank you. It seems we have another skill for you to level up." Reia placed a hand on Tom's cheek. "I don't mind volunteering."

Tom stole a kiss before saying, "I'm sure you don't."

Looking over her shoulder, Tom saw that the decryption was complete.

Notice (Tom)Computer Skill has reached Beginner Level 10.

"Oh, the decryption finished," he said. "Now we can get some information on Phoenix."

Tom walked over to his computer and opened the hard drive folder. Reia stood behind him as he worked. Tom was surprised at how straight forward the folder system was. This organization would make his work that much easier.

"Let's have a look at financial records," Tom said.

The records were kept in a spread sheet format and had many notes on the many transactions.

"Hmm. Interesting. These are very detailed records."

"What?" Reia asked.

"Well... according to the records in this file, the Phoenix organization has hundreds of millions of dollars in funding. Majority of it attained by hacking and stealing from offshore tax havens. Clever. Oh! This makes sense. They are also responsible for the Bitcoin crash."

"Bitcoin?"

"An online currency. Use to be worth a decent amount before the crash of 2018. Now it's worth about as much as monopoly money. Phoenix apparently mined Bitcoin to the point where they devalued the currency. It was a two part plan to acquire for funds for Phoenix while destroying the online economy."

"Anything we can actually use against Phoenix?" Reia asked. "Just knowing they steal to fund themselves isn't enough to really do anything."

"Here's something," Tom said. "A recent funds transfer. El Muerto made a shipment of weapons to Russia. Hold on. This shipment has an ID and this ID has a file associated with it."

Tom switched over back to the folder and clicked the file labelled with the same shipment ID. The file opened up and Tom started reading it.

"The weapons were shipped to a small village in central Russia. About a thousand kilometers east of Moscow. Why there?" Tom scrolled down further down the file. "Oh. Oh, no."

"What?"

"The weapons are going to be used to attack a military convoy. Shit."

"How long?"

NoticeDue to your investigation, you have uncovered a Phoenix plot. A quest has been provided to you.

Quest:Born from AshesDifficultyAGiver-Time Limit30 minutesA Russian military convoy is transporting extremely important classified documents. Phoenix is planning to attack this convoy and steal those documents.[tr]Reward2000 EXP

5000 fameConsequence For FailurePhoenix will gain access to the classified files

"Oh, god," he shuddered under his breath. "We need to get suited now. We just got a quest from this investigation. We need to stop Phoenix from attacking the convoy."

VVVVVV

It was early night in central Russia. While the area was mostly a desolate, rocky and mountainous wasteland, it was peppered with deciduous tree croppings. The sun had recently went down. Tom and Reia appeared on a ridge that overlooked a wide valley. Tom was in a panic as he scanned the area as quickly as he could.

"There they are," Tom said as he pointed to the valley below.

Down in the center of the valley was a column of military vehicles. In the front and the back of the column were several armoured personnel carriers. To the sides were additional armoured jeeps with manned machine gun turrets on top. In the center of the entire column was a multi-wheeled cargo truck.

"Whatever they are transporting, it must be extremely important," Reia said.

"Indeed," Tom said. "We need to get down there and warn them of the attack. Come on."

The two moved down the side of the ridge towards the center of the valley. The loose rocks and pebbles made it difficult to move down the valley.

"Almost there, almost there," Tom said in between breaths.

Reia grabbed Tom's shoulder, stopping him from moving forward.

"What?" Tom asked.

"Look," Reia replied while pointing. "The shadow ahead of the convoy."

Tom looked in the direction she was pointing at and saw a very slight purple ring of light in the shadow.

"What the fuck is that?" he muttered under his breath. "Why doesn't the convoy see it?"

Once the convoy got within twenty feet of the purple ring, the ring moved towards the convoy. It was fast as it travelled through the shadow of the valley towards the line of military vehicles. It move unnaturally fast.

The ring travelled under the vehicles. Every vehicle that had the purple ring travel under it, had its wheels popped. The rapid and continuous explosions of tires made it sound like machine gun fire. Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang! Each vehicle in the military convoy stopped and prompted the Russian soldiers to get out of their vehicles with their weapons drawn.

"Phoenix is already here," Tom concluded.

What Reia and Tom saw next shocked them. Soldiers started to emerge out of the purple ring. Each of them armed with the weapons that El Muerto acquired for them. The Phoenix terrorists opened fire on the Russian soldiers.

Caught by surprise, many of the Russian soldiers were gunned down before Russians could take cover or fire back. The machine gun turrets were the first to go down, followed by close to two dozen soldiers.

"We need to stop them now!" Reia said.

The two moved in and drew their weapons. The Phoenix and Russian soldiers were still unaware of their presence. The Russian soldiers took cover behind their vehicles to avoid Phoenix gunfire.

"Chain Lightning!" Tom yelled as he launched a lightning bolt at the Phoenix soldiers.

The lightning chained between three of the Phoenix soldiers, electrocuting them. They screamed as smoke wafted off of their bodies. The lightning dissipated and the three fell to the ground.

You inflicted 45 damage

You inflicted 51 damage

You inflicted 49 damage

Phoenix Grunt Michael Walt is dead

Phoenix Grunt Abbas Adel is dead

Phoenix Grunt Fang Li is dead

Party gained 6 EXP

"Wind Blade!" Reia announced as she fire a blade of Wind magic towards two Phoenix soldiers who were turning to fight Tom and her.

The blade of energy went through their midsection cutting them in half. They fell apart onto the ground and spilt blood on the ground which was quickly absorbed by the ground.

You inflicted 62 damage

You inflicted 54 damage

Phoenix Grunt Zack White is dead

Phoenix Grunt Tamas Nagy is dead

Party gained 4 EXP

The Russian soldiers were finally made fully aware of Tom's and Reia's presence and had their weapons aimed at them.

"We're allies!" Tom yelled in their language to stop them. "We came here to try and warn you about the Phoenix ambush, but we were too late. We are here to help you defend your convoy. That's it. Please let us help!"

'Please don't shoot at us, please don't shoot at us,' Tom repeated in his head.

The soldiers looked at one individual among them. Seeing how differently he was dressed compared to the other soldiers, Tom assumed he was the Commanding Officer.

"Alright," the man said.

The CO's decision gave his fellow soldiers relief as they lowered their weapons. Their moment of calm was interrupted by more gunfire.

"Fuck, more of them," one of the soldiers yelled out.

Tom and Reia took cover behind the vehicle with the Russians. As they took cover, a fireball exploded in the place where they were.

"What was that?" Tom spurted out.

"I think that was a fireball spell," Reia answered.

"What? How?"

Tom partially looked out from his cover and saw an individual dressed in tactical gear while wearing a face mask. On his chest was the logo of Phoenix.

StatusNameNicola SidorovLevel7Experience423/490ClassMageRaceHumanAlignmentEvilCurrencyEuro124,672.41Xoth0 platinum 0 gold 3 silver 70 copperTitlePhoenix Commander, Human-Born Monster, Mass Murderer, ArsonistBuffs--Debuffs--Health210Health Regeneration/min2.5Mana650Mana Regeneration/min6.0Stamina270Stamina Regeneration/min2.0Fame0Infamy1500Strength27Intelligence65Wisdom60Perception21Endurance27Vitality25Agility20Luck29Unallocated Points0

ResistancesPhysical10%Disease20%Fire100%Plant10%Ice10%Earth10%Lightning10%Water-50%Wind-20%Spirit10%Light-10%Darkness10%

SkillsIdentifyBeginner Level 9Explosive CreationIntermediate Level 2FireballBeginner Level 5Pistol SkillIntermediate Level 1Assault Rifle SkillBeginner Level 10Explosive SkillIntermediate Level 9StealthIntermediate Level 2Language ComprehensionMaster Level 10

Nicola lifted his right hand and fire formed in it. The Phoenix soldier flung his arm forward, launching a fireball. Tom ducked back behind the vehicle to avoid the magic attack.

"A mage," Tom said in frustration. "Phoenix has a goddamn mage." Tom bit his lower lip.

"That would mean he has access to the SYSTEM!" Reia concluded.

"Mage? SYSTEM?" the CO repeated.

"Thunder, we need a plan with dealing with Phoenix," Reia said to him.

"Okay, okay," Tom replied. He turned to the Russian CO and said, "Sir, can your men give me and Aurora cover fire?" Tom looked to Reia. "Aurora, take on the magic user. Your Wind Shield will be strong against his fireballs. I'll take on the Grunts."

"Got it!"

"You ready, sir?" Tom asked the CO.

"Yes," he replied.

"Now!"

"Fire!" the CO ordered.

The Russian soldiers popped out of cover and fired upon the regular Phoenix Grunts and the magic user. Tom and Reia ran out from cover towards their respective targets.

"Wind Shield!" Reia yelled out.

"Fireball!" Nicola yelled out.

The fireball hit Reia but did minimum damage thanks to the magic shield she deployed.

[table=#800000]

[tr]20 Damage[/table]

Nicola was surprised to see the magic he used against Aurora do very little damage. He had previously used his magic to immediately incinerate any regular person. Nicola saw the dragon woman charge at him with a spear. He side-stepped the spear thrust.

Reia didn't let her strike go to waste and quickly swung her spear to the side to strike Nicola's side. The Commander screamed as the blade end of the spear slashed his side.

You inflicted 23 damage

Nicola grabbed his side. The cut wasn't deep, but it was enough to partially hinder his movement.

"Bitch!" the man growled. He reached for his side arm pistol and unholstered it.

Reia stepped to the side to avoid the gunfire. She spun her spear and knocked his pistol out of his hand. Nicola resorted to close-quarter combat and tried fight back with punches and kicks.

Reia was used to unarmed combat due to the times where Tom used his Mixed-Martial Art skill against her. Compared to him, this terrorist's combative skills were similar to a toddler swinging his fists around in a tantrum. Her speed made it next to impossible for the Phoenix Commander to land a blow.

Nicola jumped back knowing his skills were not good enough to do any damage to her. "If guns or fists won't do then I'll use fire. Fireball!"

Reia spread her wings and flew into the sky. Nicola kept launching his fire balls trying to land his most powerful attack on her. Reia's flying speed was far beyond her ground speed. She was able to dodge his attacks with ease. Nicola grew more irritated as his attacks kept missing the dragon woman.

"Just die!" he screamed. "Fireball! Fireball! Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!"

'That's it,' she thought. 'Keep throwing your magic. Just a little longer.'

Reia kept avoiding Nicola's attacks. At this point, the man was babbling incoherently as he repeatedly cast his one magic spell.

"Fireball!"

"Windblade!" Reia yelled.

Reia's energy blade went through the fire ball, splitting it in two, and it impacted the ground near Nicola's feet. Nicola fell onto his ass from the attack. He rushed back to his feet.

"Fireball-" Nicola stopped his incantation and fell to the ground. A massive pain shot through his head. He screamed in pain as the headache felt like his head was ready to explode.

Reia noticed the Commander on his knees in pain.

'He's out of Mana!'

All Reia had to do to defeat this man, was to wait him out while he used his magic. Eventually he would suffer recoil from his lack of Mana as he tried to cast another spell. Reia landed on the ground and rushed him.

"Power Strike!" Reia yelled as she thrust her spear through his stomach and lifted him off of the ground.

Nicola could no longer feel the pain in his head. Or any pain. He looked down and saw the spear through his stomach.

You inflicted 152 damage

Reia held her spear with her left hand and counter-balanced it under her armpit. She lifted her right hand and said, "Wind Blade."

The energy blade launched out of her hand and went through Nicola's neck. His head flung backwards and landed on the ground. Reia lowered her spear and gave it a shake to get the man's body off of it.

'I did it!'

You inflicted 610 damage

Overkill

Phoenix Commander Nicola Sidorov is dead

Phoenix Commander Nicola Sidorov dropped a M1911A1 Pistol

Phoenix Commander Nicola Sidorov dropped 20 .45 caliber bullets

NoticeBy committing more than double the damage needed to kill your enemy, you gained 20% more experience from your kill.

Party gained 270 EXP

Notice (Reia)Power Strike Skill has reached Beginner Level 10.

Notice (Reia)Spear Skill has reached Intermediate Level 8.

"Okay, now to get back to Thunder," she said to herself.

Reia looked over in the direction of where Tom was and saw many spells being fired.

VVVVVV

When every tire in the convoy blew, the soldiers inside the center cargo truck took a knee and had their weapons aimed towards the back of the truck. Behind all of them was a man in a black suit holding a suitcase with a handcuff attached to his wrist and case handle. The gunfire that began shortly after their tires blowing only served to make them feel more uneasy.

After waiting for several minutes, the doors to the back of the cargo truck flung opened. The soldiers fired immediately upon the doors opening.

"Hold fire!" one soldier yelled.

The Russians stopped shooting, seeing that there was no one there. The soldier gave a hand gesture order to each soldier to reload their weapons. They breathed heavily as they kept aiming at the opened back. As crazy as it sound, the soldier could swear that the shadow in front of them darkened.

"Ah!" one of the soldiers screamed as he sank into the shadow.

The soldier stopped screaming in an instance and his torso fell over showing he was cut in half. The soldiers went into a panic seeing their comrade dead. They aimed their guns downwards and fired at the floor.

One after another, the soldiers sank into the ground and were killed. The man in the suit was terrified by what he witnessed. Each of these soldiers were Special Forces and they were slaughtered within seconds. The man in the black suit had his pistol out and aimed towards the direction of the mysterious force.

"That won't help you here," a female voice said to him.

A hand emerged from the shadows and grabbed his wrist. A woman emerged from the shadows up to her shoulders. She grabbed his throat and pulled his head into her shadow. The man in the suit struggled as he head was submerged in the shadow. The man then went limp.

Rika lifted his body and to reveal his head was gone. She threw his body to the side and rose up from her shadow. Rika grabbed the hand cuff chain and pulled it apart using her hands. She grabbed the metal suitcase and smiled.

"I actually got it," she said to herself. "Inventory."

A blue screen appeared and Rika tossed the suitcase into it.

'Mission accomplished.'

Outside of the cargo truck, Tom had little trouble in dealing with the Phoenix Grunts. Each one only gave him a couple EXP each. Unlike any creature Tom faced before, Since these Grunts were not connected to the SYSTEM, they were unaffected by his Loot Collector skill.

Tom needed to check on the cargo truck to make sure that the item that Phoenix was after was still safe. As he approached the back of the cargo truck, he noticed a fluid dripping out from the back of the truck. Getting closer, Tom saw that it was blood. He heard a noise inside the truck.

"Get out of there," Tom ordered. "I know you're in there."

Tom heard footsteps inside of the cargo truck. Each step made a small splash sound. There was that much blood inside the back of the truck. A figure stood at the opening of the cargo truck.

"It's you..." he said in surprise. 'Identify.'

StatusNameRika DarmaLevel8Experience591/610ClassRogueRaceHumanAlignmentEvilCurrencyCanadian$130,971,111.74American$420,914,062.14Euro350,199,412.14Bitcoin740,146,022Xoth0 platinum 0 gold 4 silver 0 copperTitlePhoenix Leader, Human-Born Monster, Mass Murderer, PsychoticBuffsAgent of Mordiggian1.1x experienceDebuffs--Health350Health Regeneration/min3.5Mana410Mana Regeneration/min2.4Stamina800Stamina Regeneration/min8.5Fame0Infamy39200Strength35Intelligence41Wisdom24Perception25Endurance80Vitality35Agility85Luck31Unallocated Points0

ResistancesPhysical10%Disease42%Fire10%Plant10%Ice10%Earth10%Lightning10%Water10%Wind10%Spirit10%Light-50%Darkness100%

SkillsIdentifyBeginner Level 9Shadow CreepIntermediate Level 4Shadow ManipulationIntermediate Level 2Pistol SkillIntermediate Level 3Assault Rifle SkillIntermediate Level 4Dagger SkillIntermediate Level 9Explosive SkillIntermediate Level 10Heavy Weapons SkillIntermediate Level 1SabotageIntermediate Level 4Computer SkillIntermediate Level 2StealthIntermediate Level 9Language ComprehensionMaster Level 10

"Rika Darma," Tom said.

"And you are Thunder," she said back. "I wasn't expecting you to show up here. How did-"

"Lightning Strike," Tom yelled as he quickly fire his magic at her.

The impact of the attack sent Rika back into the cargo truck.

You inflicted 72 damage

NoticeLightning Strike has reached Intermediate Level 2.

"If that's how you want to do things, so be it," she said.

Rika sunk into her shadow and rushed out of the cargo truck. Tom saw her merged into the shadows and the purple ring of light appear. He realized the reason why only Reia and he could see the light and the soldiers couldn't was because of their Perception stat.

The purple ring went towards Tom. He jumped up before it could reach him. Tom landed on one of the APCs.

"You can see me?" Rika said after seeing his eyes follow her. "Interesting. It still will not help you. It is night time and everything is covered with shadows. You cannot dodge me forever."

The ring crawled up the APC. Tom jumped back to another APC.

"You'd be surprised," Tom said. "Lightning Strike!"

Lightning shot out from his hand directly at the center of the purple ring. The ring kept moving unaffected.

"You cannot hurt me while I'm in this state," Rika declared. She moved back onto the ground and towards Tom.

"You can't have infinite Mana," Tom yelled back.

"This skill doesn't use Mana."

'Fucking bullshit overpowered skill,' he cursed in his thoughts. 'Okay, she cannot be hurt while in that shadow. What if I kicked her out of it?'

"Fireball!"

Tom's attack impacted the ground in front of Rika. The attack exploded against the ground and created a fire. The light of the fire eliminated the shadows around it. As he hoped, once the light reached the purple ring, Rika was expunged from it and tumbled on the ground.

"What?" she muttered.

"Lightning Strike!"

Rika rolled out of the way of the lightning attack. She ran towards one of the APCs and dived forward into the shadow underneath it. Tom scanned his surroundings trying to watch for Rika's purple ring.

"Shadow Manipulation!"

The APC that Rika went under launched upwards. Tom saw a shadow tower underneath it. The shadow bent backwards and flung the APC towards Tom. He jumped out of the way of the APC and landed on the ground.

"So long as I have shadows, I cannot be defeated," Rika stated.

Tom saw Reia running towards him. She was within fifty feet of joining the fight. He was happy to see she was able to take on the Phoenix Commander by herself without trouble.

"You're done here, Rika," Tom declared as he fired another fireball. "Aurora and I killed the team you brought in. We killed your Commander."

The fireball created a new light source forcing Rika out of her shadow. She had a big smile on her face.

"Did you think I would only bring in a dozen soldiers for a mission?" she said. "Or that they would be armed with only pistols and assault rifles?" Rika looked off into the distance. "This group of soldiers were meant to create a distration while I stole the package. The other team covers me for extraction. Ah! They're in position."

Tom saw a rocket fired from behind a rock to the side of the valley. The rocket streaked towards Reia.

"No!" Tom screamed as he ran. "Lightning Strike."

Lightning fired from his hand and missed the rocket. His spell was not accurate or fast enough to strike the speeding rocket. "Reia! Your right!"

Reia looked to her right and saw the rocket flying towards her. She lifted her arms to block the attack. Before the rocket could strike her, Tom jumped in its path.

The rocket impacted him and exploded. The shock of the explosion sent Reia and him flying. They were thrown behind a large boulder.

[table=#800000]

[tr]913 Damage (Tom)[/table]

[table=#800000]

[tr]104 Damage (Reia)[/table]

Reia struggled to sit up after the massive attack. When she sat up, still dazed, she felt a liquid run down her face. Reia wiped the fluid with her index and middle and looked at it. It was blood. She was covered in it. What terrified her was that it wasn't her blood.

Reia felt a weight on her lap. She looked down and saw Tom who had a hole in his side. Tom was bleeding out from the attack and he had burns on his chest and face.

[table=#800000]WarningTom has been inflicted with the debuff "Bleeding". He will lose 32 HP per minute until you heal yourself.[/table]

[table=#800000]WarningTom has been inflicted with the debuff "Shellshock". He will be unable to focus or hear anything.[/table]

"Tom!" she cried out.

Tom moved slightly after hearing her voice. For him, all he could hear was a ringing noise. His vision was blurred and he couldn't focus. A humanoid shape was looking down at him and its mouth was moving. A blue aura surrounded him and the sound of glass breaking was heard by Tom and Reia.

NoticeYou have freed yourself from the debuff "Shellshock".

NoticeUnbreakable has reached Beginner Level 5.

Tom still felt extremely weak from the attack, but he was able to hear Reia calling out his real name. He could see her crying over him. Reia's tear drops landed on his cheek. "R-Reia...?"

"Yes, I'm here. Tom you are greatly wounded and there are many more Phoenix soldiers. I can't heal you properly on the battlefield. You need to fast travel us home. Now."

Bullets were fired at the boulder they were behind. Reia kept her head down to kept out of the way of the weapon fire.

"But... the mission..."

"Forget the mission!" she yelled at him. "You'll die if I don't treat you right away! Take us home now! Please!" Desperate and saddened, Reia made a terrifying ultimatum to him. "If you die here... If you die here, I'll die here! I'll give up and take my own life."

Tears came to Tom's eyes hearing her say such things. He felt his own heart tear apart.

Notice (Reia)Persuasion has reached Intermediate Level 2.

"Fast Travel... Home," he said in a weakened voice.

Tom and Reia vanished out of the area just before the Phoenix soldiers walked around the boulder.

"They're gone," one of the soldiers yelled to Rika.

"That's okay," she told them. "We got what we came for and he understands now what he's up against. Thunder will think twice before interfering with our plans. And if he does try again, well... I will ensure he will not walk away from it."

"Darma we have the surviving soldiers," another chimed in. "What do you want to do with them?"

Rika turned and approached the remaining five Russian soldiers. They were on their knees while several of the Phoenix soldiers had their guns aimed at them.

"Which one of you is the highest ranked soldier here?" she asked them.

"I am," one of them quickly replied.

Rika pulled out her gun and fired four shots in quick succession. The other four soldiers around the soldier fell to their sides with bullet holes in their heads.

"You have failed your men," Rika told him. "You get to live and tell your government what happened here. No one is safe from Phoenix."

Rika left the man and approached another one of her soldiers. "Did you get the footage?"

"I did," she replied.

VVVVVV

Tom and Reia reappeared inside his kitchen. Reia rested Tom's head on the floor and immediately went to work.

"Heal!" she said as she laid her hands against the hole in his chest.

Notice (Reia)You have removed the debuff "Bleeding" from Thomas Everett.

The hole closed up but Tom stopped moving and his eyes closed.

[table=#800000]WarningDue to the trauma and heavy damage from the rocket attack, Tom has stopped breathing. He will lose 20 HP per minute.[/table]

[table=#800000]WarningDue to the trauma from the rocket attack and the lack of breathing, Tom's heart has stopped beating. He will lose 25 HP per minute.[/table]

"Tom!"

---------------------------

Post-Chapter Note: So I realized I used the wrong status screen for Rika Darma. I made the mistake of using her first incarnation of her status screen (pre-soul axis) instead of her second incarnation (post-soul axis). For the main characters, I have more or less avoided this problem because I have created character files for each of them so they are consistent from chapter to chapter in their development. I didn't do this for Rika Darma. I have now created a file to store her stats so I don't make this mistake again. Once again, I'm sorry for this error as it may have impacted the chapter's quality.

Character Stats:

Spoiler :

StatusNameThomas "Tom" EverettLevel22Experience13320/13850ClassMagic BladeRaceHumanAlignmentGoodCurrencyCanadian$10,688,241.11Xoth0 platinum 4 gold 66 silver 30 copperTitleClever One, Determined, Giant Slayer, Vaccinated, One Of The First, Sole Survivor, Generous Healer, InterpreterBuffsAgent of Kara2x experienceBestiary of Xoth+10% damage towards the creatures of XothBrief History of Xoth+10% persuasion chance and friendliness towards the inhabitants of XothDebuffs--Health1150Health Regeneration/min30.9Mana1090Mana Regeneration/min37.2Stamina1090Stamina Regeneration/min8.2Fame3900Infamy0Strength115Intelligence109Wisdom120Perception58Endurance109Vitality103Agility82Luck90Unallocated Points0

ResistancesPhysical39%Disease/Toxin86%Fire39%Plant39%Ice39%Earth39%Lightning39%Water39%Wind39%Spirit39%Light39%Darkness39%

SkillsIdentifyMaster Level 2PersuasionIntermediate Level 1Language ComprehensionMaster Level 10Book LearningMaster Level 10TeacherBeginner Level 4NonchalantMaster Level 10Lightning StrikeIntermediate Level 6Lightning EnchantIntermediate Level 6Lightning ShieldIntermediate Level 3HealIntermediate Level 4PurifyIntermediate Level 5Sword SkillIntermediate Level 6DisguiseIntermediate Level 8PrayerMaster Level 10Hero's CallMaster Level 10Fast TravelMaster Level 10Loot CollectorIntermediate Level 3Magical RepairMaster Level 1TacticianIntermediate Level 3CookIntermediate Level 4Mixed Martial ArtistBeginner Level 8Club SkillBeginner Level 2Trap MasterBeginner Level 7UnbreakableBeginner Level 5FireballIntermediate Level 1Fire EnchantBeginner Level 9Bow SkillBeginner Level 9Power StrikeBeginner Level 10Enhanced BodyBeginner Level 10Enhanced MindIntermediate Level 1Chain LightningBeginner Level 3Group HealBeginner Level 4Enhanced SpellsBeginner Level 8Enhanced ResistanceBeginner Level 9SM TransferMaster Level 10Computer SkillBeginner Level 10MassageBeginner Level 1--

StatusNameReia ZyerLevel20Experience8835/8865ClassLancerRaceNagaAlignmentGoodCurrencyCanadian$0.00Xoth0 platinum 4 gold 45 silver 14 copperTitleUnknown, Giant Slayer, DeterminedBuffs--Debuffs--Health1400Health Regeneration/min7.7Mana450Mana Regeneration/min4.5Stamina1010Stamina Regeneration/min8.6Fame3100Infamy0Strength140Intelligence45Wisdom45Perception53Endurance101Vitality77Agility86Luck89Unallocated Points0

ResistancesPhysical24%Disease/Toxin100%Fire24%Plant24%Ice24%Earth24%Lightning24%Water24%Wind24%Spirit24%Light24%Darkness59%

SkillsIdentifyIntermediate Level 8Weapon RepairIntermediate Level 6Armour RepairIntermediate Level 3Weapon CraftingBeginner Level 9Armour CraftingBeginner Level 10Accessory CraftingIntermediate Level 1Spear SkillIntermediate Level 8Clothing ReformMaster Level 3Ice SpikeBeginner Level 6Wind ShieldIntermediate Level 3Wind BladeIntermediate Level 6HealIntermediate Level 2Club SkillBeginner Level 1Sword SkillBeginner Level 9PersuasionIntermediate Level 1Power StrikeBeginner Level 10Enhanced ResistanceBeginner Level 8FlurryBeginner Level 1