Chapter 12 – ‘Time to Level.’

‘He locked it…’ Don said.

The words of their elder magnetized the looks of the youngsters, who looked at him like one would to an older brother or even a father. People naturally turn to those who have the answers, and since Don was not only older but also had been here the longest, he had that effect on people.

‘Locked?’ Kuno asked.

‘Ugh,’ Don said, throwing his head back. ‘He got a pretty strong mage to put a requirement on his diary, which is quite the drag… But it does mean this thing was supposed to be found by one of us…’

It’s only natural that a man as beloved as the Shitman had friends in this realm, strong friends capable of these levels of magic. Kuno wanted to know more than ever who this man was, so he asked:

‘We can’t get to Brain, but maybe Jean or Tyra can read it for us?’

The party shared the same disagreement, with Walt swiftly shaking his head: ‘oh, no, no, no – I wouldn’t trust them with shit, Kuno.’

‘They are far from allies,’ Don said. ‘If they come to know you have this thing, they’ll take it from you and give it to the Order without a second thought. Even if they’d read it, we can’t see the pages, only they can, so they can just lie about the content.’

Kuno puffed up his cheeks. ‘Well, fuck… I mean, you’re A+, so at any time you could reach the S class right…?’

He didn’t like the following silence, even less the expression on their faces. A realization popped into his head before he got an explanation. In each competitive game he played, rising the ranks is initially very easy, slowly getting more and more difficult. The jump from being a master to a world class one, takes maybe longer than the entire journey before it.

‘In order to be S class, you need a certain ability. Jean and Tyra have achieved that level. Brain doesn’t need to, since his vanilla state is already enough to provide a ridiculous amount of value. I’ve yet to ascend to that level…’ Don said.

Kuno slapped his forehead, leaving a read mark. He stood up in anger and began pacing around the room. ‘That bitch is so lucky, dude! I can’t stand his ass!’

Kuno’s expressive nature turns him very transparent. The other party members shared the same feeling. Some abilities are inherently stronger, a reality true to both realms. The fact that Jean and Tyra were not only strong but also carried grand ego’s and a lack of mercy, made it all the more easy to hate them.

‘He keeps getting in my way!’ Kuno murmured, smushing his lips with his thumb and index-finger.

‘Calm down, Kuno… It is what it is,’ Don said. ‘We have to focus on what we can do.’

He threw his arms out, his brows creating ripples on his forehead as he said: ‘you don’t understand! Every fucking where I go, I find this guy opposing me. Even here, in Terra Two!’

The way he spun his words felt odd to Don, who squinted his eyes, standing up as well. ‘Have you seen Jean before?’

Kuno stopped. ‘Who talking about Jean? I mean OppaLovingWaifu16 –or Raphael, whatever he’s called.’

They didn’t skip a beat. ‘Who the fuck is that?’ Don and Walt asked. Sammy couldn’t follow any of it either, just switching her gaze from one guy to the other.

‘The asshole that became the new Brain…’

Kuno just continued dropping bombs, and no one got used to it. The news hit them just as much as the diary, but instead of amazement, their expressions were one more of worry as they broke eye contact and sat in silence.

‘Who else knows about this?’ Don asked, walking up to Kuno and grabbing his arm, a piercing look in his eyes.

‘A-About what?’ Kuno asked, his hands beginning to sweat.

‘About you knowing the Brain.’

‘Uh,’ he said, scratching his head. ‘I mean, he himself does, but apart from him, no one. I think…’

Don closed his eyes. The fact that the Brain wasn’t in the dark about this is the best thing that could’ve happened. He let go of Kuno’s arm. ‘I get the feeling I have to warn you every day… but none of us are allowed to see the Brain, let alone know him. In a mere three days, you managed to put yourself at the biggest risk you could. Please, for your own sake, don’t tell anyone else about this…’

There wasn’t much more Don could do. Even after Kuno gave his: ‘uh, ok, no probs.’ Don and the others kept their worries, for Kuno is a person who could do anything at any time without warning. That’s just the type of madman he was.

‘By the way, I forgot to tell you,’ Don said.

The next morning had come. He didn’t expect to be annoyed, but he still was, hop, skip, and jumping on the shell road with a frown on his face.

‘F+ is still F…’ he said to himself, kicking some shells up. ‘We’ll see who’s F after our next quest. It’s a medium quest… Beginner was a challenge already, to be honest. But I need to rise the ranks…’

The next quest was scheduled six days from now. They were free to train in the palace training rooms, but Kuno had other plans. ‘I don’t need them to tell me how to level,’ he thought. ‘I’m the expert here!’

He saw the TelePole in the distance, almost inviting him over as it glowed its green and blue. With his promotion, he got the funds to buy the spiked boots he wanted. ‘Boots are great for fighting. They hit hard, and don’t come off easily. Maybe even I can deal some damage if I kick with these?’

With a big slam on the pole, he ordered: ‘Vermillion Village,’ vanishing instantly.

‘Nice, I was afraid I would be locked out of this shit as well… Such a pitiful position, F rank is. I don’t have any rights…’ he said with tears, knowing it wasn’t true at all, but he wanted to be a victim and no one was going to stop him.

The blood of both Don and the hogmen had sunk into the earth, feeding the nature that had lent it to them in the first place. Kuno glanced over to the trees he’d crashed into, thinking back to the first time he’d met enemies in this realm.

‘I’m sure the hogmen weren’t even that high level,’ he thought, mentally preparing for today. ‘This time, there won’t be anyone to save me.’

He walked up the hill, seeing Vermillion Village healthy and well. The barn had become one with the ground. ‘They did say I was welcome at any time.’

His arrival was noticed immediately as he walked down the hill. Kuno put his hands in his pants, nonchalantly entering the village, and when the people gathered around him, greeting the Shitman, he gave them a cold ‘hello’ until reaching the front of the church.

‘What brings you here today, Shitman!’ the people shouted. ‘Are you here for business or pleasure?’ the people’s smiles could be heard through their shouts, but Kuno didn’t smile. He took his hands out and clapped above his head.

‘Hospitality check! Someone, give me food and drinks!’ he said, getting straight to business. He had no right to take anything from the people, but he wasn’t going to let this free love go to waste. The people shouted over each other: ‘come to me! You’re welcome at my place! Me! Me!’

The sea of people split at the arrival of the chieftess. She had let her hair down, taking a few years off her age. The gray hair of her blonde hair gleamed in the morning sun. She took her glasses off, saying: ‘the honor will be mine, follow me, Shitman.’

‘Chieftess is the best outcome!’ Kuno thought, saying: ‘my name is Kuno, and sure!’

When a couple of maidens prepared a table with homemade pastries and tea, it surprised the chieftess that the first thing Kuno did was ask for a backpack he could borrow.

‘A backpack?’ she asked. ‘What do you need that for?’

He took a big bite out of a jelly filled Danish looking pastry. ‘I’m going to train where the enemies are,’ he said with his mouth full. ‘This village is at the border, right?’

Her eyebrows slanted upward with her head giving a little tilt. ‘Kuno, that’s very dangerous, don’t you know?’

‘Everyone’s so nice to me,’ he thought, slurping his tea. ‘As they should.’

‘I know, but that’s the point. I need to train- get stronger and stuff- level, you know?’ he said, scanning the table for his next attack. ‘Can you guys help me out? I need some basic materials.’

The chieftess grabbed her tea and watched the wave her motion made in it. ‘We need all the equipment we have. Attacks happen frequent here…’

She looked up to see Kuno present his palm to her. ‘I got you, ma’m,’ he said, already having expected this situation. ‘I’ve seen so many small time villages in anime and games, I could write a book about it.’ He flipped his hand, pointing all four fingers at her. ‘I’ll come and supply you with shit regularly,’ he offered.

A small smile grew on the chieftess’ face, Kuno’s action reminding her of the Shitman she knew. ‘Lord Booker, I suppose you weren’t one of a kind.’

She firmly grabbed Kuno’s hand, saying: ‘monthly!’

‘Shit! I wanted to keep it vague so I could skip as much as I want…’ Kuno thought, shaking her hand as the trade discussion continued. ‘Pfff, fine, but don’t give me your well-worn stuff.’

‘Deal,’ she said, confirming the agreement with one big swing and release. ‘What do you need? I’ll do my best to provide.’

With a filled, sturdy backpack equipped, Kuno stood at the edge of the village. He saw the color of the grass darken in the distance, before going into a forest he was told the Soji Empire began. He looked around him and thought: ‘When the border is as long as pretty much the entire planet, I guess you can’t guard it all even if you tried…’

The chieftess put her hand on Kuno’s shoulder, prompting him to turn to her. ‘Due to our history, the animals have been taught to be merciless against intruders. Please be careful.’

‘What’s your name?’ Kuno asked.

‘Veronica.’

He put his own hand on her shoulder. ‘Veronica,’ he said, a pitiful look in his eyes. He took a breath and sighed.

‘Where I’m from, I’m the best of the best. Don’t worry about me. Instead, trust your boy.’

He left without another word, and although she barely knew him, trusted his overconfident words. But not enough to extinguish the feeling of dread her heart carried. She tilted her head down to look at the ground that had seen a hundred battles. ‘Godspeed, Shitman.’

And thus Kuno set out to the wild.

‘Time to level.’