12 Deal

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Why react like that if you haven't heard the name?… He mentally sighed.

"What group are you from, if you don't mind me asking?" Micheal began to wipe the edge of his blade on the ground of the roof. Some of the blood from the Morenkai had landed on it after he cut through it and released his Grandmaster Sword Mastery Ability. He couldn't maintain the cutting layer of energy for too long at his current level of strength.

"Uh, not at all, sir! We are humbly part of the Mayoral Alliance! My name is Lana, a Third Wave Chosen! How should I address you, sir?" The woman hobbled over and picked up a handgun she had dropped as she spoke, nodding at Micheal respectfully.

Lana felt a subtle feeling of raw danger whenever she looked at him. The man had the eyes of a vicious predator, breaking down anything and everything in sight. She felt at her very core that if she tried to attack him, she wouldn't stand a chance. The man before her was an expert. As a result, she didn't dare act out of line.

She pulled out a small red pill from her pocket as she finished, swallowing it whole. Micheal recognized it as a Low-Tier Healing Pill, a magical medicine that could boost one's Recovery stat temporarily, allowing one to heal from injuries at a much faster rate.

"You can call me Micheal. Oh?" As Micheal heard the name of the group, memories flashed into his mind.

Back in his first year, when he was still on the First Layer, Micheal had constantly been out grinding up Points so he could purchase the Ki Cultivator Ability. He had made some friends after a few months of constant training and work, but none that he truly trusted. They were more allies of convenience, working on the same Hunting Team. He'd never felt that feeling of camaraderie or trust that he felt with Shin.

Most of them had died well before the final battle took place. He couldn't even remember most of their names, though if he saw them he'd recognize them.

His first year had been an incredibly lonely one. As one of the weaker humans in the First Layer, his original run had been brutally hard. He had experienced things… seen things… things he would never allow to happen again.

And as his mind flashed back, one memory, in particular, showed up. The memory was a bit vague, but Micheal could remember the conversation, if not the faces of everyone in it.

He had been talking to one of his 'friends,' an overweight Middle Eastern man named Karif. They were hiding down in a skyscraper, a group of them hanging out together and playing poker with some cards they'd found in a drawer.

Karif had shared some gossip he'd heard.

"They damn near cleaned ship with em', the bastards. Not that I care much either, mind, the runts the Godfather Organization saves are a waste of space. But someone's got to take em in. Not good to kill so many of em." He leaned over and spat again, shaking his head.

"Hmm?" Micheal had been surprised to hear that. The Godfather Organization had quite a bit of influence. They could be found all over in thousands of separate Clusters. Their strength, however, was spread extremely thin as a result.

All of the truly strong experts would remain in the Main Cluster, trying to tackle the stronger Morenkai that could be found there to gain Points or move up to the Second Layer.

Conversely, the Black Flag Pirates were a band of reprobates that declared the old way of life was over, embracing a new philosophy of freedom. It really just meant they robbed and killed to survive, led by a pair of muscular brothers that feared nothing. Well, they said they feared nothing. The fact that they had stayed behind in the Stardust Cluster for 3 years while their peers moved ahead told a different story.

The heads of the Black Flag Pirates were First Wavers, and had taken full advantage of their several years head start to build up quite a bit of strength.

"How did they catch them by surprise?" Even if the Godfather Organization was spread thin, it still had a number of capable fighters within it.

"Turns out one of them smaller teams infiltrated the group, pretending to join. I think they called themselves the Mayoral Alliance? Their leader is a Fire Caster named Abel. I heard it was an inside ambush." The talk from there had devolved to other unrelated gossip as everyone their bemoaned their lives and tried to put their minds off the hellish existence they were living.

Micheal hadn't thought much of it at the time. After all, what could he do? He certainly didn't have the strength to butt in.

Now… however…

His eyes flashed as he made a grim, mental promise. If he had a chance to encounter either of those two parties… The Black Flag Pirate Brothers or the Fire Caster Abel, Head of the Mayoral Alliance, he would kill them both directly.

He was here to save humanity, but that didn't mean he was soft. Some people were better off sleeping in the warm embrace of the earth than alive and spreading pain.

He would take them out if he was strong enough to handle them, that is to say. After all, his body right now was still very weak compared to where they would be at. He had only just arrived while they had been here for years.

He pushed these unpleasant memories to the side as he returned his focus to Lana. He glanced at the other parts of the trio, an idea forming in his mind.

"Say, Lana… I can see that you and your friends here aren't exactly skilled in hand to hand combat. I'm guessing all three of you have open Ability slots, right?" He gestured at them, his voice commanding. His every moment was full of powerful intent, giving him a strong force of presence.

The trio nodded passively, none of them responding out loud. They all kept looking at Micheal in respect and a bit of fear. In their eyes, he was a powerful expert that could easily wipe any of them out.

"I've got an offer for you. If you accept, I'll teach all three of you how to achieve Basic Sword Mastery without spending Points. With that at your disposal, you should be far stronger at defending yourself when it comes to close combat."

Basic Sword Mastery was an Ability one could buy in the shop. It cost 10,000 Points and gave one a decent edge in melee combat, an Ability that Micheal was well aware could be trained to higher levels.

It was possible to achieve this Ability without paying for it. However, very few people actually were capable of that or had the knowledge on the steps to do so.

"What would you ask of us, Swordmaster Micheal?" As Lana spoke, she clenched her fists, an eager light shining through. To her, this felt like a lucky chance to break past the deadly pattern of monotony she had settled into. A chance to rise above the daily dangers of surviving in the central area and no longer have to live in fear.

Micheal smiled,

"Nothing demanding. Just use every source you know to help me find a woman named Sophia Morgan, an Irregular that has the ability to create illusions."