The air hung heavy and humid around the pirate camp, carrying the stench of stale alcohol, unwashed bodies, and the distant, muffled sounds of depravity. Alex crouched beside Olvia behind a thick, thorny bush, the larger pirate barracks glowing faintly with flickering torchlight.
"Tonight's the night, then," Olvia murmured, her voice a low, steady current in the darkness. "We strike fast, hit hard, and then we're gone. The goal is to cripple them, not to get bogged down."
"Right," Alex whispered back, his heart thudding a nervous rhythm against his ribs. He felt stronger, certainly, but the thought of facing so many still brought a knot to his stomach. He focused on Feral Diversion, aiming the command at his summon frog. "Find their food and jump in it."
With a soft, almost imperceptible plop, the frog detached from its hiding spot within his shirt pocket and, using its newfound Agility (a small but significant improvement from its previous flopping), silently hopped towards the main barracks. Its mission: to introduce a rather unpleasant surprise into the pirates' shared meal or drink.
Their immediate task, however, was clearer. Fifteen patrolling pirates, divided into five groups of three, moved with a drunken lethargy, their movements sloppy. Two of these groups were now actively searching for their missing comrades, the three pirates Alex and Olvia had already dealt with.
"We take them out quietly," Olvia instructed, her hand already on the hilt of a hidden dagger. "Target the farthest group first. Silence is key."
They ghosted through the darkness, following the outermost patrol. Three burly figures, grumbling about their missing friends, lumbered down a makeshift path. Alex motioned to his summons. They were no longer the pathetic creatures he'd first conjured. Each had absorbed some of his growth, gaining new purpose.
"Go," he breathed.
The Brick Golem, surprisingly agile after its stat allocation, charged low, a squat, waddling menace, slamming into the lead pirate's legs. The pirate grunted in surprise, stumbling forward. Simultaneously, the Robust Rat, now a truly formidable little beast, darted from the shadows, its enhanced teeth tearing into another pirate's exposed ankle with a sickening rip. The pirate bellowed in pain, collapsing as muscles tore. Alex darted forward, grabbing a discarded rusty cutlass from the ground and plunging it into the fallen pirate's chest, a surge of grim determination hardening his face.
On the third pirate, the two Common House Rats, no longer merely sniffing, swarmed his shins, their bites incessant and annoying, pulling his attention downwards. From above, the Small Green Bat, now a more agile flyer, swooped down, distracting him with a flurry of wingbeats and tiny, sharp nips to his face, while the Tiny Scorpion scurried up his leg, its tail poised to strike.
Olvia moved with lethal grace, a blur in the dim light. She slipped behind the golem-stunned pirate, a swift, silent knife thrust to the throat. The man gurgled, collapsing. The pirate swarmed by the rats, bat, and scorpion thrashed wildly, distracted just long enough for Olvia to appear from the shadows, a swift chop to his neck ending his struggles.
They quickly dragged the bodies into the bushes.
"Next group," Olvia's voice was calm, devoid of any emotional tremor.
They repeated the deadly dance. The second patrol group, further inland, met a similar fate. The Robust Rat tore open another ankle, Alex's new cutlass (he'd picked up a better one from the first pirate) found another chest, the Brick Golem tripped another foe, and Olvia's blades were swift and unforgiving. The remaining summons engaged the last pirate, ensuring a swift, quiet end. Six pirates down.
[YOU HAVE DEFEATED A PIRATE!]
[YOU HAVE DEFEATED A PIRATE!]
[YOU HAVE GAINED A LEVEL!]
[LEVEL UP! +10 FREE STAT POINTS TO ASSIGN.]
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: SWORD PROFICIENCY (BASIC)]
Alex's body surged with a newfound power. He quickly navigated to his 'STATUS' page, his hands trembling slightly, not from fear, but from the raw energy. He felt a shift in his perception, a clearer understanding of how a blade might move.
[BLAZE D. ALEX - CHARACTER STATUS]
Name: Blaze D. Alex
Race: Human
Class: Summoner
Level: 3
Strength: 2 (+0)
Agility: 3 (+0)
Endurance: 4 (+0)
Intelligence: 5 (+0)
Luck: 1 (+0)
Charisma: 2 (+0)
[FREE STAT POINTS: 10]
Skills:
Beast Bond (Base Class Skill)
Sword Proficiency (Basic)
Feral Diversion
Active Summons:
Robust Rat
Brick Golem
Common House Rat (1)
Common House Rat (2)
Small Green Bat
Tiny Scorpion (Frog)
As they silently stalked towards the third patrol group, their senses were assaulted by a sickening, guttural moan from a nearby, half-collapsed hut. The source was clear: the hulking Vice-Captain, whose fists were like bricks, was busy committing an unspeakable act against a nurse. His two grim subordinates stood guard outside, keeping a nervous distance, wary of his volatile temper but unwilling to intervene.
Alex and Olvia exchanged a grim look. This was their target group: the Vice-Captain and his two subordinates. They advanced, quiet as shadows.
Suddenly, just as they moved to engage, another group of three pirates—the fourth patrol—who had been on a nearby side street, drawn by the sickening moans and the faint sounds of the earlier skirmishes, quickly rounded a collapsed hut from an unexpected flank. They saw the fresh corpses nearby and the figures of Alex and Olvia, and lunged.
Now, Alex and Olvia faced three pirates: the Vice-Captain and his two subordinates, and the three from the newly arrived patrol.
The Vice-Captain, his face contorted in a sneer, spotted Alex. "You're the little runt that killed my men, aren't you?!" he bellowed, his voice echoing. Before Alex could react, the VC was on him in a blur, a gut-wrenching punch sending Alex sprawling, spitting blood and sand. Another crushing blow landed on his ribs, followed by a knee to the gut. Alex coughed, agony blooming through his core as the VC's fists hammered him relentlessly. He was beaten badly, every breath a stab of pain, but a desperate thought sparked in his mind. "Feral Diversion!" Alex roared, scrambling back, using his newly acquired speed, pointing a trembling finger at the Vice-Captain.
The Brick Golem bravely waddled straight for the Vice-Captain's legs, attempting to trip him. The Robust Rat, now a truly formidable little beast, darted from the shadows, its enhanced teeth tearing into his ankle with a sickening rip. The two remaining Common House Rats swarmed him, their bites incessant and annoying. From above, the Small Green Bat zipped past the VC's face, distracting him, and the Tiny Scorpion scurried towards his boot, ready to deliver its venomous sting.
The Vice-Captain roared, kicking out. One of the Common Rats was flung away, hitting a wall with a sickening thud, dead. He stomped at the other, but it scrambled away. The bat, bolder, actually managed to nip his Adam's apple, eliciting a surprised grunt, before he swatted it mid-flight, crushing it with a meaty fist. The Robust Rat, however, managed to sink its teeth in, causing him to snarl in pain.
Meanwhile, the three other pirates descended on Olvia. She fought fiercely, her daggers a silver blur, but their combined attacks were relentless. A clumsy club blow glanced off her arm, forcing a grunt of pain. Another pirate managed a shallow cut across her leg. Olvia was getting hurt, her movements growing strained.
Alex, despite his own battered state, saw Olvia's struggle. His vision swam, but the sight of her in danger fueled a desperate surge of adrenaline. He hurled his cutlass at one of the pirates pressing her. The rusty blade struck the pirate's shoulder with a sickening thud, making him howl and stagger back. Then, before the third pirate could react, Alex tackled him low, slamming him to the ground. The startled pirate, along with Olvia, stared for a brief, crucial moment.
Olvia, bleeding but seeing her opening, twisted, a flash of steel, and the pirate she'd been directly engaging fell, his eyes wide in shock. The remaining two (the one Alex tackled and the one he'd hit with the cutlass) were now badly wounded and disoriented. Alex, recovering his cutlass, lunged at the tackled pirate, his swing blocked by a desperate forearm. Before he could follow up, Olvia, despite her pain, stabilized herself. With a swift, precise movement, she plunged a dagger into the tackled pirate's back, ending his threat.
The Vice-Captain, meanwhile, was a maelstrom of curses and brutal swings. The Robust Rat kept nipping at his legs, forcing him to keep moving. The Brick Golem stubbornly rolled into his shins, chest, and arms, attempting to knock him off balance. The Tiny Scorpion had managed to sting him twice more, its venom, though slow, beginning to work. The Vice Captain caught the Robust Rat as it lunged again, crushing it in his fist. He then stomped the Tiny Scorpion into the ground.
"You damn pests!" the Vice-Captain bellowed, but his vision was starting to blur. The poisons from the scorpion and bat had worked on his vital points, hindering him completely. His furious movements, while still powerful, were less precise, his coordination degrading.
Olvia, breathing heavily, clutching her bleeding leg, drew a small, compact handgun from her belt. Her face was pale with pain, but her eyes were grimly determined. "The frog's poison is working!" she gasped, her eyes scanning the main barracks. Sounds of drunken revelry were now punctuated by violent coughs, gags, and confused shouts. "They're weakening. But the Captain... he's too strong for us in a direct fight right now, not with him barely touched!" She saw the immense, brute strength of the Vice-Captain, still a terrifying force despite the poisons. "Alex! You have to summon! Now! In a hurry! Before it's too late!"
With a grimace, Olvia aimed her handgun at the struggling Vice-Captain. Three shots echoed in the night, precise and brutal. The Vice-Captain staggered, a look of disbelief on his face, before collapsing, a dark pool spreading beneath him.
Alex's eyes darted between the hulking, now dead, Vice-Captain, his fallen summons, and the sounds from the main barracks. His mind raced, recalling the most powerful catalysts he had. The Fresh Seaking Meat. He needed more. He looked at the Vice-Captain's body, then his gaze fell on a grim sight near the barracks entrance – the violated body of the nurse, abandoned by the pirates. A cold fury replaced his fear.
He knelt, quickly gathering the catalysts. The bloody, bruised body of the nurse. The enormous, pulsating slab of Fresh Seaking Meat. And, grimly, a piece of the Vice-Captain's bloodied body. He channeled his energy, pushing it all into the catalysts. The air shimmered, the magic circle on the ground blazing with a furious, golden light.
A surge of raw, untamed power erupted. In a flash of light, a woman appeared, staggering slightly. She had golden hair, a severe expression, and pristine. Her eyes, though weary, held an immense, latent power, and her movements were stiff, like someone recovering from a long ordeal. She was still weakened, clearly taxed by the summoning and the meager energy she was drawn with, but the sheer presence emanating from her was overwhelming. She looked down at Alex, bruised and battered, surrounded by dead pirates and his fallen summons. Her eyes widened, a flicker of raw pain in their depths. This boy... he reminded her too much of her younger brother.
"You scum," she snarled, her voice like grinding stones, her gaze falling on the final patrol group. Three pirates, still stumbling, saw the new figure and froze.
Before they could even draw their weapons, Tsunade was a blur. A single, monstrous punch, imbued with a fraction of her monstrous strength, pulverized the ground and sent all three pirates flying into the air, their bodies exploding into red mist against the camp's distant rock face.
[YOU HAVE GAINED A LEVEL!]
[TSUNADE HAS GAINED A LEVEL!]
[NEW ABILITY GAINED: CHAKRA (Tier 0 - Incipient)]
[BLAZE D. ALEX - CHARACTER STATUS]
Name: Blaze D. Alex
Race: Human
Class: Summoner
Level: 4
Strength: 2 (+10)
Agility: 3 (+6)
Endurance: 4 (+7)
Intelligence: 5 (+0)
Luck: 1 (+0)
Charisma: 2 (+20)
[FREE STAT POINTS: 20]
Skills:
Beast Bond (Base Class Skill)
Sword Proficiency (Basic)
Chakra (Tier 0 - Incipient): Gained a minute portion of Tsunade's Chakra when she was summoned, capable of subtly boosting physical attributes (Str +10, Agi +6, End +7, Cha +20).
Feral Diversion
Active Summons:
Robust Rat
Deceased Summons (from Chapter 2):
Common House Rat (1)Common House Rat (2)Small Green BatTiny ScorpionBrick GolemFeral Diversion (Frog)
[TSUNADE - SUMMON STATUS]
Name: Tsunade
Title: Great Beast of Myth (Sannin of the Leaf)
Level: 2
Power Status: Severely Weakened (Due to insufficient strength/catalyst for full summoning and continued sustain)
Strength: 50 (+0)
Agility: 40 (+0)
Endurance: 45 (+0)
Intelligence: 60 (+0)
Luck: 10 (+0)
Charisma: 70 (+0)
[FREE STAT POINTS: 10]
Abilities:
Medical Ninjutsu (requires significant Chakra)
Creation Rebirth Technique (requires Hundred Seal, currently inactive)
Strength of a Hundred Seal (Empty)