ã€ŠThe Legendary duoã€‹


 01-01: The moment everything changed

    AN note:

    [Kaushik speech]

    ~ Mike Speech ~

    ~ [Unison] ~

    ¡®Thought¡¯

    ¡°Other speech¡±

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I connected the breaker to the server. Holographic screen on the breaker lit up after interfacing with the server is completed and the digit 600 displayed on it. Then it automatically started copying all data from server.

    ¡®Approx 10 minutes, just how much data is here? That breaker¡¯s read write speed is almost 4gb/s¡¯

    ~ 10 minutes huh? With that much data, looks like chief wasn¡¯t too far off his mark, right buddy? ~

    [I don¡¯t really care Mike.]

    Yeah, somehow chief is mostly right about these things. I guess nearly 25 year worth experience has its uses. Oh well, I don¡¯t care whether he was right or wrong. I will finish my job and get a whole lot of money. I have a date with Neha tomorrow. I have never dated someone before, but as the saying goes there¡¯s a first time for everything. She is a true beauty but I don¡¯t know much about her. If she has a good personality, I may even consider going steady...

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°Security breach detected. Lockdown sequence initiated. System lockdown in 10, 9¡±

    A female voice interrupted my train of thoughts. Although late, seems like the server has somehow detected that our breaker has broken through their encryption.

    [(Sigh) Really?]

    ~ Think we will make it? ~

    Mike asked while we took position to cover the door.

    [We better.]

    Hologram on my revolver is showing I have 292 laser rounds left. Should be enough to fight our way through.

    ¡°4, 3, 2 ... Lockdown aborted ... Sufficient energy source detected in the vicinity. Initiating parallel world jump sequence. Parallel world jump in 5, 4¡±

    ~ [Huh?] ~

 01-02: Another job

    6 hours earlier.

    I just finished my daily training and am sweating heavily. I power down my training simulation and get out of my basement-cum-training ground.

    My house is a small two-story building. I am currently the only person living here. Trust me it gets quite lonely. Neither I am a student nor do I have a job where I have to go office every day. It gets pretty boring while sitting most of the time in the house, only getting out to get everyday necessities and doing my daily training. My parents are on a vacation. More precisely, they are out for a world tour for almost two years now. It will be at least another year before they are back.

    [Huhhh.... Maybe I should go on a vacation too.]

    I sigh. I wonder where Mike is now. I miss him. I miss my best friend.

    I sit down on the sofa in the ground floor to cool myself off. I am feeling incredibly hungry after that tedious training, so I decide to eat something.

    [Jude?]

    "At your service sir."

    A male voice answered me politely.

    [Prepare a chicken dish. The same one you prepared for yesterday''s dinner.]

    "Right away sir. Estimated time is 10 minutes."

    [Also, make it large.]

    "Estimated time is 15 minutes."

    Now, hold your horses. I meant when I said I am the only person here. Jude is a household AI. In this year 3019, everyone has a central AI installed in their house. Jude is connected to every portion of the house and DNA imprinted to me. So, as long as I say it and it''s within AI''s functional capabilities, Jude will do it.

    I decide to laze on the sofa until food is ready. After some time, Jude calls out to me.

    "Sir, you ha..."

    [Food?]

    "No sir, you have a video call from chief."

    ''A call ... I thought food was ready ... wait a minute. From chief? Finally!''

    [Answer the call.]

    Hologram of a man in his 40''s appeared in the middle of the room.

    "Good evening Roy, How are you?"

    [Good evening chief. I am fine, as usual.]

    "Are you busy tonight?"

    [No.]

    "I have a job for you. Can you come over?"

    Like I thought, he has a job for me. My last job was nearly two months ago. I need this job or I will definitely die from boredom.

    [I will be there within three hours.]

    "Don''t be late."

    [I won''t.]

    Hologram of chief vanished into thin air.

    ''Tonight huh? Chief normally doesn''t tell me the job completion date. Wonder what''s so important. Anyway I should take a bath then eat my fill. One can''t think on an empty stomach.''

    [Jude, food ready yet?]

    "Almost sir, just a few more minutes."

    I take a quick bath. Jude informed me that food is ready and waiting at the table. I complete the whole serving, go to the garage to get my car and drive out.

    I reached my destination within two hour. The guard at the entrance greeted me politely.

    "Welcome back Roy. Here to see the chief?"

    [Yeah.]

    "Go on in."

    I drive inside the building, park my car near the gate.

    "Auto drive online. Radar systems online. Defense systems online."

    Three red bar becomes green in my car''s holographic display. Although there was no need, being safe is always better than being sorry. Satisfied, I started walking towards the elevator.

    For those who are wondering, I am 23 years old and a special agent for hire. Government hires people like us to do things otherwise impossible legally and we get money in return. Only catch is, if we are compromised, government will deny any connection and withdraw all support.

    Don''t think I am a hit man. I am not some cold blooded guy who will shoot anyone for money. I made an oath to my father only to kill those who deserve it. Till this date, I have taken many jobs and have not killed a single people. Chief also knows my policy and only assigns me to infiltration jobs.

    Also, don''t think I am something like James Bond. I don''t have any fancy gadgets or fancy watch. During infiltration, all I can count on is my weapons and some skills. I am more like a ninja.

    My dad is a special agent for hire too. In fact, it is him who taught me the basics.

    There, the elevator has reached top floor. I put all the thoughts at the back of my mind and get out of the elevator.

    "Kaushik!"

    Neha, chief''s secretary exclaimed after she saw me exiting the elevator. She leaves her desk and walks over to me. She is a bit giddy. Wonder what happened.

    "You are early. Chief is a bit busy at the moment. You will have to wait."

    [That''s no problem. I can wait a bit.]

    This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    I sit on a couch kept directly in front of Neha''s desk. She also takes a seat beside me instead of her chair. For some reason, her cheeks are a bit red.

    ''Is she blushing?''

    "Hey Roy, you here for a job?"

    [Yeah. Job''s tonight, to be specific.]

    "Whaaaat!?"

    She exclaimed a second time.

    "Oh great. And here I gathered nearly half my courage."

    Neha pouted. She liked Roy for some time now. She never had the chance to leisurely chat with him, true, but she liked the mysterious aura about him. It gave off a sense of responsibility. And any girl in their right mind will try to get close to a responsible man.

    ''I think... I get the picture. She probably wanted to ask me for a date, most likely tonight. Now she is pouting because she won''t be able to ask me cause of the job.''

    [Hey Neha?]

    "Y..yes?"

    [Are you free tomorrow evening?]

    "Ummmm, yes ... yes, I am free."

    [Then, do you want to have dinner with me?]

    Her cheeks flushed red. She looked away from me and muttered "Yes, please".

    I laughed a little at her cute response.

    "Geez, stop laughing."

    [Sorry, not possible.]

    She punched me lightly on my arm.

    ''She seems to be a nice girl. Anyway, I will find out more if I spend my time with her.''

    Neha was going to continue punching me when she looked at the chief''s office and instead of punching me, blushed furiously again.

    "Koho (sound of coughing) ... Are you done with the documents chief?"

    I followed her gaze and found the chief standing at his office door crossing his hands, lips curled up into a small, warm smile.

    "Yes I am done. You can take them with you later. Roy you can come in now."

    [Later.]

    "Yeah, see you later Roy."

    I pushed the chief''s office door open and entered the room. The room was a simple one, with a computer and a bundle of documents piled on the chief''s desk, a small balcony attached at the east side. I took a seat and asked directly.

    [Where?]

    "Oya, you already accepted the job?"

    [Both you and me know that you will only assign me infiltration jobs. So I have no reason to refuse.]

    "HAHAHAHAHA ... You think that you have figured me out huh? Maybe next time I will give you an assassination job."

    [Considering one in a billion chance that will happen and also considering you won''t brief me yourself, hand me the briefing document.]

    "Trust me when I say this. This job is an interesting one, even for you. Here you go."

    Chief hands me the briefing documents and I go through it. I took a moment to think and asked chief for confirmation.

    [You want me to infiltrate Atlas Corporation and steal data from their main server?]

    "My sources tell me that Atlas has been smuggling a lot of high end machineries, although none of it can be traced back to them. They are also tightening their security. I very much doubt it is to make their employees comfortable. Call it a hunch."

    [I see.]

    Atlas Corporation is a big industry. If they are ''tightening'' security, I am certain it will be something beyond just security guard and security camera. Maybe motion sensors, drones and what not. Even though I am confident in my stealth skill which has earned me the nickname "Mysterious Roy", it would probably be wise to have some help. And only one name comes to mind.

    [I know I have already accepted the job, but ... can I make a small change?]

    "Way ahead of you. I have already called Michael. He should be here any minute now."

    Rightly so, just within a minute, a blond head peeked into the room.

    ~ Can I come in chief? ~

    "Please do."

    The blond haired boy walked into the room. One can tell from a glance that he is well trained. He looked at me and waved his hand.

    ~ Hey man, how''re you doing? ~

    [Pretty good. You?]

    ~ Super good. You accepted the job? ~

    [Yeah. I was waiting for you.]

    I left the chair and walked towards my best friend. I reached out and gave him a strong hug.

    [It''s damn good to see you Mike.]

    ~ Yeah, it''s good to see you too. ~

    I felt a strong return hug. Yep, right now I am most relieved person in this world.

    We separated after a bit and we both took a chair. I briefed Mike on our objective. Then I turned to chief.

    [Is there anything else we should know chief?]

    "No."

    [Then we''re off.]

    "Be sure to pick up the parcel from Neha. Godspeed."

 01-03: Reunion of the invincible duo

    We leave chief''s office and stop in front of Neha''s desk. She looks at me and makes a relieved face, albeit for a moment.

    ''Is it my imagination or did she just seem relieved?''

    [Hey Neha.]

    "Hey Roy. You leaving?"

    [Yes. And you got a package for me?]

    "I do. Just wait a moment... Here you go."

    [Thank you. See you tomorrow.]

    "Yeah, see you ... tomorrow."

    I go to the elevator and push the button. Elevator door promptly opens. I am about to step in when Neha called out to me.

    "Ummm Roy, about tomorrow ... You will be there, won''t you?"

    I stop in my tracks.

    ''Does she think I will just forget her after I leave the building?''

    I turn around. Neha is standing up from her chair. She is fiddling with her fingers and has a bit of tear in her eyes.

    ''I see. She is afraid. She probably thinks I am giving her false hope.''

    [I will call tomorrow morning and let you know the place. Make sure you wear a cute dress.]

    Neha stares angrily at me for a minute. Then she laughs a little and wipes her eyes.

    [I will.]

    She is still teary eyed but sense of uneasiness from before is gone. Smiling, I wave at her and step in the elevator. Before the door closes, I see she is waving back.

    ~ She is a good woman. Got the curves exactly where it''s needed. ~

    [Don''t go laying your hands on her, Mike.]

    ~ I wasn''t thinking of stealing her. ~

    [No 3P either.]

    ~ Hey no fair man, stop reading my mind. At least let me say the words. ~

    I stare dumbfounded at mike for a bit. Then we both burst out laughing.

    [Pftt ... Haha ... HAHAHAHAHA]

    ~ Kukukukuku ... HAHAHAHAHA ~

    We laugh heartily at our own stupid conversation.

    It''s been a long time since I have let my guard down and laughed from my gut. It''s probably the same for mike too. In this line of work where you walk a fine line between life and death, you don''t get many chances to relax and enjoy.

    ************************************************************************

    Neha''s POV:

    He asked me out.

    YES! (Makes a victory sign)

    I am the luckiest girl alive. OK now that he is in chief''s room, I got some time to think.

    Thinking back, he didn''t tell me where we will be dining right? Maybe he wants me to suggest the location. Or maybe he will tell me later. Or maybe.

    HE WANTS TO DINE ON ME!

    Oh crap, what I am gonna do! I am going to have my first with a man I barely know! Well it''s not that I don''t want to, but I want us to know each a bit more other before actually doing it! (Holding both cheeks and shaking head)

    I am gonna wear my lucky underwear tomorrow. So that when he pushes me down and gets on top of me...

    LIKE HELL THAT WILL HAPPEN! (Tsukkomi)

    OK Neha, calm down. He won''t pounce on me on our first date. I least I hope he won''t.

    Calm down. Take a deep breath.

    "Fuuuuuu."

    I can''t calm down. Once more.

    "Fuuuuuuuuuu."

    Still not there. Once more.

    .

    .

    .

    It''s no use. I can''t calm down.

    It is not the excitement of a maiden in love. I am worried. Something tells me the moment he walks into the elevator, that will be the last time I see him.

    He is coming out of chief''s room. I am a bit relieved to see his face. Yeah, don''t worry so much Neha. The name Mysterious Roy isn''t for show.

    He is stepping into the elevator. That uneasiness is coming back.

    Why did I ask him something like that? To ask him he will be there or not, it''s as if I am declaring I don''t trust him.

    Really? Here I am spilling enough tears to fill a bucket (exaggerating juuust a little bit) and he tells me to wear a cute dress? Brace yourself Roy, tomorrow you will kneel before me and call me queen. Just you wait.

    There. He is gone. That uneasiness is coming back again. Just come back safely Roy. If you come back safe and sound, then I promise I won''t mind even if you push me down and get rough with me.

    WHAT THE HELL AM I THINKING! (Tsukkomi again)

    ************************************************************************

    Kaushik''s POV:

    We exit the elevator and head towards our car. We establish a communication link with each other''s car so that we can talk while driving.

    ~ How''s the comm link buddy? Can you hear me? ~

    [Loud and clear.]

    ~ Good. So what have you been doing for the past five years? ~

    [Mainly I have been doing jobs, chief included me in the stealth team ... I was also polishing my skills. You?]

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    ~ Same I guess. Chief included me in assault team, I was literally assaulted with mountain of jobs. I also grinded my skills. ~

    [Makes sense. Unlike me who specializes only in stealth, you can be included in normal assault jobs.]

    ~ Exactly. Well I made a lot of money so guess it''s okay. Hey I talked with mum and dad yesterday. Wanna follow in their footsteps? I can find myself a nice girlfriend and you have Neha. All four of us going on a trip. ~

    [What do you mean I have Neha? We barely know each other. Anyway, coming back to the topic, yeah we should go on a trip. Mum and dad will be back in one year max. I can definitely use a break.]

    Mike and I, well we are brothers but not blood related brothers. We are sworn brothers. 3 years after my parents'' marriage, they discovered that mum can''t conceive. Dad was thinking of adopting a child. That''s where chief came in.

    Chief never married due to being a work alcoholic. But he had to take care of two babies. According to him, he found us left alone road side. He couldn''t bring himself to give us to orphanage, so he ended up taking care of us. But constantly caring for two babies with zero experience was proving hard for him. Voila, one plus one equals two. Dad wanted a child and chief needed someone trustworthy to take care of two children.

    Dad told us all this on our 18th birthday and also told us that we are free to choose our own path. It came as a shock but only enough to make us sigh. We were not stupid. We always felt there was something more to us than just being brothers. On our 18th birthday, we became sworn brothers. Mom cried so hard from relief that dad had to pick her up in his lap and pet her for half an hour before she calmed down.

    ~ We are two hella lucky guys to have such stupid parents, right Roy? ~

    [Yeah.]

    ''Heh, he was reminiscing the past as well.''

    ~ So, what''s in the parcel? ~

    [If my guess is correct, it''s an encryption breaker. Atlas will have their servers thoroughly shielded, so we will need a strong sword.]

    ~ How strong is this encryption breaker? ~

    [Last one I worked with could break through 512 bit SSH algorithm encryption within 10 second. So this one is either same or stronger.]

    ~ Wow cool. So, what''s our approach? ~

    [Stealth.]

    ~ You do know that I am an assault type right? ~

    [I don''t expect you to be a ninja. But I expect you to follow my lead.]

    ~ And you sure we will be fine? ~

    [Almost 100%.]

    ~ May I get an explanation? ~

    [Well, if you want one. Your suit already provides thermal masking and sound damping right?]

    ~ Yes. ~

    [Security guards rely on their sight and hearing. So as long as we stay out of sight, suit''s sound damping feature will make sure they stay blind. And drones use heat detection technology. This technology identifies and IDs a person through heat signatures. Our suit''s thermal masking will counter that.]

    ~ But what about motion sensors? ~

    [That''s the reason I asked you to follow my lead.]

    ~ Then why are you not 100% sure? ~

    [Because there is another factor I have no power over.]

    ~ And that factor is? ~

    [It''s called bad luck.]

    Mike went silent for a while. I patiently wait for him.

    ~ Gahahahahaha, oh my, that was priceless. Hahaha ... Bad luck... Kukuku ... Oh god ...  Hahaha ... That has to be the best of the jokes I have heard this week ... Gahahahaha... ~ (Eyes watering)

    Like I said, I am patiently waiting.

    ~ Alright I got it. Almost 100% it is. What''s our next course of action? ~ (Eyes still watering)

    [Break.]

    ~ What? ~

    [Hit the break. We are here.]

    ~ Oh. ~

    Our car screeched to stop a kilometer before our destination. Before exiting my car, I make a call to chief.

    [Chief, you there?]

    "I am. What do you need?"

    [A favor.]

    "I am listening."

    [If I don''t come back after this mission, please tell Neha that I am sorry. I am sorry that I won''t be able to go out on a date with her.]

    "Understood. Anything else?"

    [No.]

    ".... Roy. Make sure you come back alive and well."

    I exit my car without answering.

    ~ Let''s go buddy. ~

    Mike has geared up already. I hide my car through optical and radar camouflage, put on my suit, and take my daggers, throwing needles, 300 rounds of laser and my non-lethal gun.

    "Yeah let''s go."

 01-04: Infiltration

    ~ Whoa, that''s a huge building. ~

    He''s right. Even I didn''t expect such a huge building. By the way, we are currently sitting comfortably on the 30 feet wall surrounding the area and watching guard movement.

    ''Hmm, lots of guards. Four security cameras are watching the entrance. Bet there are motion sensors in air vents. Guess that leaves me with only one choice.''

    I take a moment to concentrate and release a breath pulse.

    ~ Did you feel that? ~

    [Oh you can feel the pulse? Guess that''s only natural, since you are able to use breath.]

    ~ Yeah I felt it, only for a moment though. What was that? ~

    [I call it Sonar sense.]

    ~ Sonar? ... Ah, I see. Similar to how bats navigate but you use breath pulse instead of sound. ~

    [Bingo. With this, I am able to locate anything within roughly 20 meter radius. Also, it helps me counter weapons which induces hallucinations.]

    ~ Makes sense. So what do you see? ~

    [Coast is clear. Let''s go.]

    We jump down from the wall and make our way to a glass window on the 3rd floor. I channel my breath into my dagger and cut a round hole in the glass. Once we are inside the building, we head towards the security room. We stunned the guards inside and destroyed the memory chips which records security camera feeds. Now we have a free pass to destroy any security camera hindering our way.

    We locate the server room through security cameras and quickly move out. We had to stun some guards along the way and destroy a number of cameras.

    ~ What''s the matter with this many security cameras? ~

    [That''s what you do to protect your secret.]

    ~ No kidding. This whole place is rigged with them. ~

    We reach the dimly lit server room. A big machine with a sphere on top of it is at the center of the room. Three consoles are placed in front of the server which I assume is connected to the server.

    I connected the breaker to the server. Holographic screen on the breaker lit up after interfacing with the server is completed and the digit 600 displayed on it. Then it automatically started copying all data from server.

    ''Approx 10 minutes, just how much data is here? That breaker''s read write speed is almost 4gb/s''

    ~ 10 minutes huh? With that much data, looks like chief wasn''t too far off his mark, right buddy? ~

    [I don''t really care Mike.]

    Yeah, somehow chief is mostly right about these things. I guess nearly 25 year worth experience has its uses. Oh well, I don''t care whether he was right or wrong. I will finish my job and get a whole lot of money. I have a date with Neha tomorrow. I have never dated someone before, but as the saying goes there''s a first time for everything. She is a true beauty but I don''t know much about her. If she has a good personality, I may even consider going steady...

    "Security breach detected. Lockdown sequence initiated. System lockdown in 10, 9"

    A female voice interrupted my train of thoughts. Although late, seems like the server has somehow detected that our breaker has broken through their encryption.

    [Really?]

    I sighed.

    ~ Think we will make it? ~

    Mike asked while we took position to cover the door.

    [We better.]

    Hologram on my revolver is showing I have 292 laser rounds left. Should be enough to fight our way through.

    "4, 3, 2 ... Lockdown aborted ... Sufficient energy source detected in the vicinity. Initiating parallel world jump sequence. Parallel world jump in 5, 4"

    ~ [Huh?] ~

    A bright light emitted from the sphere on the machine and it temporarily blinded me. I open my eye after the light fades and receive a surprise. We are in a pure white space as if we are surrounded by white walls. I hurriedly turn around to escape but the door we came through is nowhere to be seen. I activate sonar to max capacity hoping this is some kind of hallucination and receive my second surprise.

    The return pulse which I am waiting for isn''t coming back. We are now literally nowhere. There''s nothing here except me and Mike.

    The revolver in my hand suddenly started getting hot as if it''s on fire. I instinctively drop it. ~ Aah... Shit. ~ Mike also dropped his weapon and started blowing on his hand. To my third surprise, both our weapons literally vanish bit by bit until there''s nothing left. I can''t sense them even with my sonar.

    Again a bright flash blinded me. After the light dissipated, I open my eyes. Something is right in front of me, less than a feet away. Startled, I try to back off only to trip myself and land on my butt.

    ''Ouch, that hurts.'' I get up immediately and take a good view of what is in front of me.

    A Tree. I don''t know the name of the tree but it''s a familiar looking tree. In fact, there are lots of familiar looking trees around us and as far as eye can see. I activate sonar. Yep, trees. We seem to be in some jungle. Wait a minute. A jungle?

    ''A FUCKING JUNGLE?'' My head starts to hurt. ''Will someone please explain what the fuck is going on? Not a minute ago we were in a room and now we are in a jungle?''

    "Grooooooooowl."

    As if being inside some god-knows-where jungle was not enough, now I see two bears are approaching us from the right. Quickly, I stop all my thought process, take out my daggers and assume battle stance. I am totally confused what is happening but right now I need to eliminate the immediate threat in front of us. Then we can calmly think about how we got here and how to get back.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ~ Kukukukukukuku ... Hahahahahahaha ... GAHAHAHAHAHA ~

    I look back to see Mike is standing with his left hand on his waist and holding his forehead with his right hand. His eyes are unfocused and laughing like a madman. He is laughing so hard that his eyes are tearing up.

    I sigh and sheath my daggers. Then I go up a tree and activate sonar to max capacity.

    The bears are stunned and look at each other with a confused look. They probably never met someone who laughs his ass off while facing two of them and other one climbs a tree by himself leaving the other. I look at the bears with pity and say a prayer.

    [Rest in peace.]

    Mike suddenly charged towards the bears without unsheathing his katana. Two bears were surprised but they also charge at him. The right one brandished its claw but Mike easily sidestepped him and landed a punch. Then he dodged an attack from the left bear and landed a kick below its stomach.

    That should have hurt. Like I use my breath for sonar technique, Mike uses his breath for body strengthening. It heightens his defense as well as grants a boost to his attack power. The two bears are now staggering and gasping for breath. Mike held one bear by its face and smashed its head onto a nearby rock.

    Splat!

    The impact made a sickening sound as the bear''s head split open and blood splattered on the rock. The other bear was frozen by the sight. It couldn''t believe the scene. When Mike stood in front of him, it could only whimper in fear. However Mike showed no mercy. He held the bear''s head to the ground and proceeded to smash it''s head to pieces.

    When he finished, there was an eerie silence. Sonar showed me that there was no animal in the vicinity which probably means this place was exclusive to the two bears. I deactivate sonar, get down from the tree and wait for Mike. Surely enough, after a while Mike started talking.

    ~ She has deep blue eyes and black hair that reached to her slender waist. She has big boobies too. And she got the best tsundere personality a man could ever ask for. You know the first time we kissed, she was red to the tip of her ear. Before I took this job, I promised her a date. I also promised her that I will let her meet my best friend. How am I supposed to keep any of those promises now that I am trapped in some FUCKING PARALLEL WORLD!? ~

    I didn''t utter a single word. I quietly took out a dagger and went to a bear to skin it for pelt and meat. Anger was surging inside me.

    ''You are not the only one, you know. Neha is waiting for me. Right now ... I am pretty sure she is trying to choose the best outfit for our date to impress me. She is waiting for me to call her and confirm the location. So don''t you fucking tell me you are the only one worried sick.''

    ~ Sorry buddy, I overreacted a bit. ~

    I pass my other dagger to Mike.

    [Help me skin the bears.]

    ~ Sure. ~

    ************************************************************************

    Mike''s POV:

    When the countdown ended, a bright flash blinded me for a bit. I strengthened my body to max capacity for any surprises.

    Now I am in some white room. Roy is also clueless as I am. Huh? Why is he dropping his gun? Oh shit ... my gun is rapidly heating up. I probably burnt my hand.

    Again the light flashed and now I am in some jungle. Roy probably spooked out cause of the tree in front of him.

    Are you fucking kidding me? First I got teleported to god-knows-where parallel world and now some bears think we are food? I will fucking show you who''s food.

    My rage got the best of me and I yelled at my best friend. I should have known better. He is probably more worried than me. After all it was his job and I was his responsibility. I have to calm down.

    His hands are shaking. I don''t think it''s because he is nervous. Most likely he is angry but he is containing it. I should apologize.

    He forgave me. I never skinned an animal but there is a first time for everything. Shouldn''t be too hard.

    ************************************************************************

    Kaushik''s POV:

    Skinning the bear proved harder than I thought. It took almost an hours. Mike is diligently working on the other bear. He is almost done. I get up to gather some wood.

    [Mike?]

    ~ Yeah? ~

    [I am gonna search around for some firewood. Gather the pelts, bones, and meats in different piles. If you can, find some sticks suitable for skewing the meat.]

    ~ We are gonna barbeque? ~ (Eyes sparkling)

    [Yes.]

    ~ Aye aye sir. I will efficiently do whatever you want me to do. ~

    Mike gives me a military salute. He is back in his normal self. I smile as I leave to gather the firewood.

    About an hour later, two skewers with 5 pieces of meat each is being barbequed. Both our mouths were salivating at the sight of that. After the meat was done, we tore into it. Apparently, we were pretty hungry. Well who wouldn''t be, considering all the events in this short amount of time.

    As I was devouring the meat with tears of joy spilling out of my eyes, Mike nudged me.

    ~ 1 o''clock. ~

    I look at the direction and discover two sets of eyes leering at us.

    ''First two bears, now two more?''

    A pair of blue eyes and a pair of red eyes are looking at us as if a predator is looking at its pray. Well the barbeque is exuding a nice smell. No wonder they found us.

    [I see it.]

 01-05: The crimson caravan

    AN note: I am making a small change.

    [Kaushik speech]

    ~ Mike Speech ~

    ¡°Other speech¡±

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ~ Now then, shall we start buddy? ~

    Currently we are sitting beside the fire facing each other. Our weapons lay in front of us. By the way, those two eyes from before were wolves. Right now one has a hole on its head, another through its neck. And needless to say, I was the cause of those holes.

    [Since we have a full belly and no threat around us, why not?]

    ~ You think chief burned us? ~

    I widen my eyes in surprise. I know Mike is trying to analyze the situation and come up with a theory to explain how we ended up in this world. Even I am trying to do the same. But I didn¡¯t expect him to suspect chief. But then I suppose no one is above suspicion.

    [I don''t think so. From my experience, he had many opportunities to eliminate me. If it was to tie up any loose ends, killing us sounds less problematic than teleporting us to a parallel world.]

    ~ True. But what if his plan was to send us to this world? ~

    [May be. May be not. Can''t say for sure. But considering my relationship with chief, I think it¡¯s safe to assume that he didn''t plan this.]

    ~ Uh huh. So chief''s in clear? ~

    [Nnnnnn... I guess that makes Atlas the main culprit.]

    ~ My thoughts exactly. Atlas was probably researching this parallel world jump. Question is, how did we initiate its activation sequence? ~

    [Only one possibility comes to my mind. A glitch in their security protocol.]

    ~ A little explanation buddy? ~

    [I think their developers wrote the firewall but didn¡¯t had the guts to test it. Suppose one of their own employee triggered a lockdown by mistake. But after they cancel the lockdown, whole server room will be teleported into a parallel world. That would be utterly stupid right?]

    ~ I see ... I see .... Makes sense ..... Hmmm ...... Hmmm (Nodding several times to himself). So due to a security glitch, parallel world jump sequence initiated after lockdown sequence. But what was that white place? ~

    [......my best guess is, that was some kind of tunnel connecting this world and our world.]

    ~ If that was a tunnel, why my gun started heating up and went poof? ~

    [I don¡¯t know.]

    ~ Take a guess. ~

    [Well, remember what the system said apart from jump sequence initialization?]

    ~ I do. It said ¡®sufficient energy source detected in the vicinity.¡¯ ~

    [And what our guns and ammo made of?]

    ~ Nano machines and laser ..... Oh I see ...... That tunnel used those as energy source to teleport us. Simply genius. Which means if we didn¡¯t have those weapons we wouldn¡¯t have teleported into this world. (Sigh) great. ~

    [Yeah just great. All those energy... wait a minute. All energy? Oh shit.]

    I hurriedly check my suit. No holographic display greeted me. I take off my suit and check the power cores. As I feared, nothing. Both primary and backup power cores are missing. My nano-suit just became an ordinary piece of armor.

    I look at Mike to enlighten him on my new discovery but stooped myself. Mike is standing frozen with his sword unsheathed. A bit of black smoke is rising from the swords handle. Smoke? Is that sword what I think it is?

    [Is that a high frequency blade?]

    ~ Not anymore. ~

    Like I thought. Every power source, be it our guns or suit¡¯s power core or sword¡¯s energy module, is gone.

    [Our suit¡¯s too.]

    ~ What? ~

    Mike sheathed his sword and proceeded to check his suit. After his inspection, he just sighed.

    ~ Really? We have just an armor and a melee weapon? No gun, no radar, no vision assist, no cardiac regulator, no enhancement, nothing? ~

    [Yes. Until we get a power source, we got nothing except for an armor and a melee weapon.]

    ~ (Sigh) what is this? Is this some fictional story and we are main characters? ~ (I am afraid you are boy. So suck it up and do as I say. Muhahaha)

    [Look on the bright side. At least we won¡¯t be fighting naked and on an empty stomach.]

    ~ Yeah right. So what do we do buddy? ~

    [Find a city or village I guess.]

    ~ And how are we supposed to do that? ~

    [That guy hiding behind the tree should be able to help us.]

    I point to our right towards a tree. Mike readies his stance to act at a moment¡¯s notice. A guy wearing half sleeved shirt and pant reveals himself. Those cloths look a bit dirty but who can blame him. We are in the middle of a forest. He has two daggers on him.

    ¡°Sorry for not revealing myself before but I had to be certain you are not bad guys.¡±

    ~ How do you know we are not? ~

    Mike nonchalantly asked. He was visibly taken aback but soon regained his composure.

    ¡°Call it a hunch.¡±

    ~ Who are you? ~

    ¡°My name is Rohit Sanyal. I work for Crimson Caravan.¡±

    ~ What do you want? ~

    ¡°We were taking a break near the river when our caravan head noticed a small smoke rising from the forest. Too small to be a wildfire. So she thought there were people. As it turns out, she was right.¡±

    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    ~ What are you offering? ~

    ¡°Well I didn¡¯t mean to eavesdrop on you, but it sounded like you are lost. If you want, you can come with us since we are going to the town.¡±

    ¡®Seems too good to be true. But for now let¡¯s wait and see.¡¯

    [Yeah we are lost, so it would be great if you help us get to the town.]

    ¡°No problem. Let¡¯s head back to my group, then we can resume our journey.¡±

    ¡®Group huh? Negotiations should go smoother if I offer them all the meats here. There¡¯s enough meat for at least 20 people.¡¯

    [Wait a moment. Thing is, we have lots of meat with us but we don¡¯t have any bags.]

    ¡°Meat? Where ... Wow that¡¯s a lot of meat. This should help us restock our food. Let me handle it.¡±

    He went to the pile of meat, took out a bag no bigger than a money pouch and began putting the meats inside. I expected at most 5 pieces of meat to fit in there, but to my surprise all the meat managed to fit. Mike is also surprised and asked.

    ~ What is that? ~ (Eyes sparking)

    ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡±

    ~ No. ~ (Eyes sparking)

    ¡°This is a freeze bag.¡±

    ~ What is a freeze bag? ~ (Eyes sparking some more)

    ¡°Anything you put in it will shrink in size and will stay in a frozen state so the organic things like meat won¡¯t rot.¡±

    ~ Wow. Where can I get one? ~

    Mike¡¯s eyes are now sparking even more. Anymore and it won¡¯t be any different than a flash grenade. So I butt in.

    [How much can you store in one bag?]

    ¡°Depends on the quality. This one can store up to 20 kilos.¡±

    [Seems convenient.]

    ¡°This bag is actually pretty common. I am surprised you don¡¯t know about it.¡±

    [The place we come from doesn¡¯t have anything like it.]

    ¡°I see. Please follow me.¡±

    He haven''t made any moves so far but I guess I will just keep an eye on him. I kept sonar switched on for some time now. I think I better keep it on in case of an ambush.

    We walked for 10 minutes now and reached at a clearing beside a river. I see some people are practicing archery, some are sparring, some are cooking, and some are on the watch. One armored bus and four Humvees can also be seen. The man in front of me stopped and gestured towards them.

    ¡°Welcome to Crimson Caravan.¡±

    I relax after seeing the group. They don¡¯t exactly look like robbers. Still it¡¯s too early to come to a conclusion.

    ¡°Please come this way. Alice is expecting you.¡±

    ~ Who¡¯s Alice? ~

    ¡°She is the head of Crimson Caravan¡±

    ~ In that case, let¡¯s not keep her waiting. ~

    ¡°Certainly. Please follow me.¡±

    We again followed the man towards the bus. We followed the man inside. Inside the bus, it looked more like a warehouse. All kinds of goods can be seen there. There is also a bed. A woman is lying on it with her eyes closed. She age seemed in her forties. The man cleared his throat and spoke.

    ¡°Alice, I has updates regarding the smoke incident.¡±

    She answered the man without opening her eyes.

    ¡°What do you have for me?¡±

    ¡°I found two people. I have brought them with me.¡±

    She opened her eyes and sat up on the bed. Then she beaconed us for a minute and smiled towards the man.

    ¡°Thank you Rohit.¡±

    The man bowed. She then stood up and spoke to us.

    ¡°I guess you already know who I am but again, I am Alice. I am the head and founder of Crimson Caravan Company. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡±

    [I am Kaushik Roy and this is my friend Michael Smith. Thank you for rescuing us.]

    ¡°Think nothing of it. So where are you headed?¡±

    [To the next town. We will be obliged if you let us travel with you.]

    ¡°Certainly we can. But what can you offer me in exchange for that?¡±

    ¡®So this was her plan? What a shrewd business mentality.¡¯

    [In Rohit¡¯s bag, there is almost 15 kilos of meat. Will that do?]

    Her eyes widens in surprise and she looks at Rohit for confirmation. He nods to her and she spoke after a while.

    ¡°Well .... That ..... Certainly covers all expenses. But I will feel bad if I take that much compensation just for a ride .... Hmmm .... Tell you what, choose anything from my stocks. If your demand is reasonable, you can have them.¡±

    [What do you have in stock?]

    ¡°Everyday necessities.¡±

    [In that case, we need four freeze bags, some food and money and two metal backpack.]

    ¡°I understand your concern. Just to be clear, you will keep food in one bag, money in one bag, equipment in one bag, one bag for miscellaneous, two backpacks to store four bags not to hinder your movements during fight, am I right?¡±

    ~ (Whistle) Didn¡¯t know you could read minds. ~

    I am amazed. This woman is no ordinary woman. She perfectly understood my thinking process. Well considering she is the founder of a caravan, this much is to be expected.

    [It¡¯s exactly as you say. You see, we can¡¯t keep food, money and swords in one single bag, so we need different bags.]

    ¡°Then let me offer you something better.¡±

 01-06: The legend begins

    AN note:

    ~ [Unison] ~

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    [An offer?]

    "Yes. I want you two to act as guards during an exchange. In return, I will give you an inventory. Sounds good?"

    [Inventory?]

    "Inventory is an organized dimensional bag. Here you can store things separately, and access at your own discretion."

    ''Something isn''t right.''

    [Sounds expensive.]

    "It is. It easily costs 30 gold. And in this time, earning 30 gold is not a matter of joke."

    Yep, something clearly is not right. She is a trader. And no trader in their right mind will give away their wares. For now, I should let things play out.

    [Okay I accept the job.]

    ~ Me too. Can you give us job specifics? ~

    "The exchange will be done inside a certain place. Your job is to keep watch outside, fight if needed."

    ~ Simple enough. Can you tell us what we might face? ~

    "A bandit group named ''Ribbons''."

    ''Bandits? Should be easy enough.''

    ~ Anything we should watch out for? ~

    "You should watch out for their leader. He is an evolved."

    ~ Evolved? ~

    She stared at us for a minute before continuing.

    "Seriously did you live in a hole in the mountains?"

    ~ No. ~

    "Then how come you don''t know about these things?"

    ''Well we can''t just tell her about world jump now can we?''

    [Let''s just say we come from a distant place.](Mike is whistling while averting his gaze)

    "Then can I assume you don''t know about anything? Like about the war 300 years ago?"

    ~ Nope. Not a thing. ~

    "I seriously think you lived... ah... forget it."

    ~ Can you tell us? About the war? ~

    "(Sigh) Okay, Listen carefully. About 300 years ago, there was a great war between nations for natural resources. All types of weapons...... viral, poison, nuclear and what not were used. The war lasted for about 10 years. When the war ended, side effects from all those weapons became apparent. Some people got physically or genetically modified, some whole new race came into existence, some place became uninhabitable, some new inhabitable place emerged, things like that."

    ~ Whoa, that''s some war... ~

    "Now, why am I telling you all this? Cause the term ''evolved'' specifies people with special abilities. Special abilities they received from the effect of the war."

    ~ What special abilities? ~

    "Many kind of abilities. Teleport, telepathy, telekinesis, pyro kinesis, enhanced physical properties, dynamic camouflage, element generation and manipulation, space and time manipulation, shape shifting and many more. There may be some type of abilities I never even heard of."

    [What ability their leader has?]

    "Pyro kinesis. And he is quite powerful."

    [I see. Anyone else?]

    "No. Others were using conventional firearms. Any other questions?

    ~ No. ~

    "Exchange will take place at tomorrow noon. Till then, do whatever you want."

    I exit the bus. Rohit came out with us.

    "Allow me to introduce you to others."

    [Thanks.]

    "Before that, tell me any abnormal feat you achieved in that forest."

    [Huh?]

    ~ Well, we killed two bears with our bare hands. Does that count? ~

    "Bears? Don''t tell all those I am carrying are bear meats?"

    ~ Yes. Although mixed with a bit of wolf meat. ~

    "Wow. Even I am impressed."

    [But why do you need to know something like that?]

    "You will understand in a moment."

    Rohit took us to a guard. He was manning a heavy machine gun mounted on one of the Humvee. He waved and called out to the man.

    "Hey Guru, got a minute?"

    "Sure."

    "Meet our two hired help. This is Kaushik (gesturing at me) and he is Mike (gesturing at mike). Kaushik, Mike .... Meet Guru (gesturing at the guard). He is one of the guards responsible for manning the MG."

    Guru scanned our gears for a moment. Then averted his gaze as if uninterested.

    "Really now? Two newbies with blades and without any guns? You would have done better to hire farmers than them."

    ''Oi...'' (Tsukkomi)

    "Sure I will hire farmers if any of them can kill a full grown bear with their bare hands."

    "Yeah sure I will let you know as soon as I find... WHAT? You.... You serious?"

    "Quite."

    Guru promptly climbed down from gunner seat and run up to us in the blink of an eye.

    "Nice to meet you (Shaking my hands). Nice to meet you (Shaking Mike''s hand). Please pardon my earlier comment. I am called Guru (Saluting in military pose). As you can see, I am a guard working for crimson caravan."

    ~ Likewise. ~ (sweating at the sudden change of attitude)

    [Nice to meet you too. Don''t worry about the misunderstanding. It happens.]

    "Ah... ahahahahaha (scratching his head) ...... yeah right it happens (scratching his head some more) ...... ahahahahaha...."

    After talking with Guru for a bit, we left. Next, Rohit introduced us to the cooks (both are females and quite good looking), other guards, drivers, and some other people. Most of them were sarcastic because we lack any firearms. But, when they heard we killed the two bears with bare hands, they became friendly. Apparently they don''t mind as long as you are not useless.

    Rohit transferred all the meats to the cooks. Mike asked (pestered) one of the cooks for a feast tonight. She looks about 5-6 years younger than me. She said there is more than enough meat so they have no problem with a feast. Mike thanked her for her thoughtfulness (kissed on both of her cheeks within seconds, she blushed after five seconds and hid behind the other cook).

    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    After introducing us to all the people in the camp, Rohit excused himself. We had nothing to do so we started talking with cooks and gathered some useful informations.

    First about this world. It seems there is no magic. Yes you heard me right. NO MAGIC. You do not chant some spell and things do not happen out of thin air. But before the war, this world was very advanced, to the point where everyday machines ran on nuclear power. After the war, many of those advanced machines were lost or hidden away or simply got buried in ruins. There seems to be many people who wield special abilities. Abilities to do things beyond normal human capabilities. This world is also bigger than our previous world, almost by five times.

    After talking with the cooks for an hour, we left and went to talk with the guards to find out about the current situation. Luckily, I spotted Guru taking a break from his job.

    [Hey Guru.]

    ~ Yo. ~

    "Hey Kaushik (nodding at me), Mike (nodding at Mike). Introduction complete?"

    [Yeah. We have nothing to do since the exchange is tomorrow, so we are slacking off to our heart''s content.]

    "Good for you. What''s your job description?"

    ~ Keep watch during exchange. Kill every enemy if things go sour. ~

    "That''s it? You don''t know what the exchange is about?"

    [No, we didn''t ask Alice as she looked like she doesn''t want to tell us.]

    "Well it''s understandable. Don''t worry, it''s not some confidential information. It''s just that, for her it will be hard to talk about."

    ''If it''s not confidential, then I can ask about it.''

    [You know what it''s about?]

    "I sure do. But before that, let me get a cup of coffee."

    [We might as well.]

    All three of us got a cup of hot coffee from the younger cook. The cook blushed again when Mike thanked her (landed another kiss on her cheek but this time she did not hide).

    "Haha don''t tease her too much Mike or we will get jealous."

    ~ Eeeeeh.... But she looks so cute blushing. She is almost like a little sister. ~

    "She is our little sister. Now enough of teasing her, we should get back to our topic."

    ~ Can we do that after I kiss her one more time? ~ (pleading with puppy eyes)

    "Sure, if you want to starve tonight."

    ~ Come buddy, we have an important topic to discuss. ~ (got all serious)

    "Your friend sure is lively." (Sighing)

    [I know. Now tell me the reason behind the exchange.]

    "We started from Necropolis 10 days back. Things were relatively easy until two days ago those bandits ambushed us. They were quite well armed. But it seems like they didn''t know that we had heavy MGs both at front and back. We held our ground quite well. Until their leader came."

    He stopped and took a sip from his cup.

    "It''s not our first time encountering an evolved. But that person is quite proficient at using his ability. He first shot some kind of fire lance. One lance went through Mohan''s right shoulder who was manning the heavy MG and other through Robin''s head who was driving. Robin died on the spot. Then he landed on the Humvee and erupted a pillar of fire around the car."

    He stopped and took another sip.

    "After 3 seconds, the flame died out but now he has knocked the other two guards cold and put them on his shoulder. We couldn''t fire as we might hit them. Then all of them fled after demanding a ransom."

    He took another sip.

    "The ransom is 5000 gold. Prisoner will be killed if not paid."

    [........... And she agreed to pay the sum?]

    "Yes."

    ''What?''

    My brain started to work at hyper speed. If I remember right, Alice said 30 gold is quite a sum to earn. Then what 5000 gold is? No, more importantly why is she going so far for two prisoners? Don''t tell me, those two and Alice are blood related?

    "They are my daughters, but not my blood relative. I adopted them."

    I snapped my neck to see Alice is standing behind us. Two streams of tears are flowing down her cheek. I see. She is quite business minded. But more than that, she is a mother. Even though paying that much might cause her caravan go bankrupt, she is still willing to do so to keep her family safe.

    That does it. I have made my decision.

    [Did you know Alice?]

    "Huh?"

    ~ That you are a lucky woman? ~

    "What?"

    [If you did, then it''s good.]

    "What are you..."

    ~ If you didn''t, then even better. ~

    "What are you talking about? Did you go crazy?"

    Alice is asking in a confused voice.

    [Rejoice Alice. Rejoice as you are one of the first.]

    ~ Who will be witnessing the beginning. ~

    "Beginning? Beginning of what?"

    Alice is not confused now. She has a worried look on her face.

    [After all]

    ~ It''s the beginning of the ~

    Both of us stand up and speak in unison.

    ~ [Legend of the invincible duo.] ~

    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    AN Note: This marks the end of volume 0. Please comment and let me know your opinions. Oh and late "Merry Crismas" and early "Happy new year".

 Not a chapter: Just Some info

    I have updated many things about my ff. Updated chapter headings, incorporated new speech style from chapter 01 etc etc. These updates and a bit of family time is the reason I couldn''t post anything this week. You can read the ff incorporated with new style if you want to.

    I am summarizing the story so far. Our MC has been unfortunately teleported into a parallel world. But thank the god they didn¡¯t encounter any language barrier. They lost almost all their gears leaving only a sword, two daggers and basic armor. This new world has no magic but riddled with advanced weaponry and people with superhuman abilities. Thankfully, our MCs found a non-hostile group and learned the basic things about the new world. Now as per a request from the group¡¯s leader Alice, they have taken a job.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Now, a sneak peek. Our MCs found a job all right. Problem is, the job won¡¯t be completed the way Alice wanted it to be. After all, our MCs has their own methods of doing things.

 01-07: A random mosquito

    A random mosquito''s POV:

    ************************************************************************

    ¡®De....... Deli........... Deliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicious.''

    That red head''s blood is sooo delicious. Tomorrow I am definitely going for his blood. Ok, now that I am full and am barely able to fly, I should take a rest on the wall. Aahhhh, this is bliss. Nothing beats lazing after a meal. I have sampled blood of all human''s and that red head scored highest. I have to let my sister know about this fact.

    Splat!

    What was that? (Looking all over the place for the source) Hmmm, where''s the red head? I am pretty sure he was standing there right now. By the way, is that a body lying down in the shadow just next to where the red head was? Speaking of which, isn''t that the red head? Why is he lying down and in a shadow at that? I can''t see any girl under him. Is he ditching his patrol duty and sleeping? Lazy bastard.

    Just a minute, is that... blood under his head? Noooooo my delicious food source. What a waste. Hold on, why there is blood? The pool is getting bigger and he is also not moving. Is he dead? How? I don''t see anyone. Did he commit suicide?

    Splat!

    That sound again. Who is it this time? Searching, searching, searching..... Ah found it. This time the guy guarding the entrance is lying down. From pool of blood under his head, I am guessing he is also dead. What''s happening to my food sources?

    Hmmm, that''s odd. I don''t remember seeing those two human. One has a blond hair and other one has black. Yeah I know I know, that they are not the only black hair and blond hair around here. But the odd thing is...... How should I put it....... they are cold. I mean my heat sensors are barely picking up their body heat. Are they even human? Are their blood tasty? Ah shit, I am so full now. I can''t even sample their blood.

    The blond hair is carrying a...... That''s a long ass gun! Wait a minute..... I remember that gun. That guy.... what was hair color again....... Ah shit I forgot since his blood wasn''t delicious..... Anyway the guy on over watch duty had that sniper with him. Don''t tell me.... THAT BLOND HAIR STOLE THAT RIFLE!? Oy blond hair, didn''t your parents teach you stealing is bad?

    Blond hair ditched the rifle, took out a shiny sword and stopped before the entrance. Okay now what? You are not gonna enter? Forgot your keys? Dumbass. Hmmm, where''s the black hair? I can swear he was just there. Oh there he is, just entered the building through the window on the far left. When did he get there? More importantly, why is he entering through the window? Guess I will go and see.

    Phew, finally I have reached the window. That took a great deal of energy. Now where is that black hair, searching, searching, there in the shadow. Wow, the black hair is like a ninja. Even I had trouble finding him. I see three bandit is talking merrily among themselves. Most likely they have not seen the black hair enter.

    Black hair threw two throwing knives. Without waiting for the knives to reach their targets he jumped out of shadow and started running. The one looking at his direction easily saw him and was just going to warn his companions. To his surprise, two knives pierced his companion''s necks and both of them fell to the ground, dead. He got dumbfounded for a moment from this bizarre events. Within that moment, he had a knife pierce his throat.

    Black hair retrieved the throwing knives and proceeded to door on the far right where the blond hair was. He killed every bandit on his way in the same manner. Throw knives, startle them and in the midst of confusion kill the other. Quite efficient, I daresay.

    Ground floor is clear. Black hair opened the door and let the blond hair in. both proceeded to the stairs. This building has three more floors. The black hair alone has wiped out a whole floor. Let''s see what both of them can do.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Black hair''s tactics remained same. Blond hair''s tactic is closely similar to the black hair. He is also throwing knives. But as he has a sword instead of knife, he is beheading them. They cleared the whole two floors without raising a single alarm. But boys, next floor belongs to the boss. He is no push over. He is an evolved who controls fire at his whim.

    Black hair opened the door silently, one knife ready in his hand. Surprisingly, this floor is a big rectangular room. No separating walls, no pillars. At the opposite end, boss is standing there, facing away from the door, looking at two girls chained to the wall.

    "Tomorrow. Tomorrow I am gonna swim in riches ladies. Ohhhh, I am so excited."

    "Hmph, keep dreaming."

    "Oh it''s no dream girls. It''s fact. After all, she''s your mother."

    "Which is why she will send people to kill you, not hand over our money."

    "Tsk tsk. I know you are still young. So you don''t understand the heart of a mother. A mother will bet her own life, defy anyone, do absolutely anything to protect her children. She won''t send a single people after my head. After all, her precious daughter''s life is at stake."

    "Like I said. Keep dreaming."

    "And like I said, you are still young. Well I guess I can let you in on my secret. Listen carefully. After tomorrows exchange, I won''t hand you over then and there. We will retreat to a safe distance, then let you go. After that, you think I will stick around and wait till your mom send guards? No. I will take all the money and leave these fools to die. With that money, I am set, at least for two or three years."

    Two girl''s bit their lips. If the boss has thought this far ahead, it''s impossible for Alice to save them and keep their money. They didn''t have that much money during their travel. Alice must have requested rest of the money over sat phone. No doubt they will go bankrupt. Tears threatened to spill from their eyes. If only they were stronger, this would not have happened.

    The boss seemed to be having fun in their predicament. He leaned closer to one of the girl.

    "Wanna be my woma...(clink) what the?"(Sound of steel hitting concrete)

    Boss immediately turned around to see another knife aimed at his throat. He dodged and threw a fire lance to the direction from where the knife came. Seeing that stealth is no longer an option, black hair opened the door and both dodged the lance.

    "So you are the one that bitch sent to kill me? Back off or they will die."

    Boss pointed a fire lance to the girls'' direction and threatened. However, neither the black hair nor the blond hair spoke a single word. Black hair took out an edged boomerang with six blades and threw it. Blond hair also took out some knifes and threw them.

    "Shit" boss cancelled his lance and dodged the projectiles. However the black hair was not letting him rest. He kept throwing projectiles and the boss kept dodging them. In the meantime, blond hair ran up to the girls, cut the chains with his sword and gestured to the corner.

    Boss and black hair was throwing projectiles at other and dodging projectiles thrown by other. Boss was hit by some knives but only some scratch.

    "Stay still you slippery bastard. Stay still so I can roast you and feed you to the wol-aaaaaaaahhhhhhh...... my haaaaand."

    Boss''s right arm was flying in an ark. Behind boss stood the blond hair still in a pose when he cut the hand. Boss turned around and was about to impale the blond hair with a fire lance. Black hair didn''t let up this chance and pierced his neck cleanly, killing him.

    Seriously? All my food source gone? Just like that? Just by two people? Well no use crying over spilled milk. I guess I have to find some new food source tomorrow.

 01-08: Reward?

    Kaushik''s POV:

    ***********************************************************

    Let''s rewind a bit. After our grand speech, Alice practically branded us as someone with a few screws loose. Well I don''t blame her.  That speech wasn''t exactly to comfort her. I very much doubt Alice noticed the true meaning behind our show.

    I wanted to see if me and Mike could still think in sync or not. You see, we had this peculiar case of being in sync. From our childhood, we always thought, reacted, worked, fought in sync, to the point people would always ask if we could read each other''s mind or not. As it turns out, we are still in sync.

    After we had our meal almost everyone turned in except us and those who are on first shift of watch duty. Sometime past 3 am, we sneaked out and picked up the bandit trail. It wasn''t hard. In every few meter or so, there was a scorched tree or a burn mark on the surrounding trees.

    After following the trail for about an hour, I found a 4-story abandoned building in the distance as well as a bandit. He was well concealed upon a huge tree and I would have missed him if not for my sonar. I assumed he is a sniper. He was watching the open field in front of the building. My best guess is the sniper was watching for any movement from Alice''s side.

    Mike circled the open area and took out the sniper. The sniper had thermal goggles. But then, why couldn''t he spot us? Turns out, our suit''s thermal masking is a passive feature. So it is working even without the power cores. That was a close call.

    Another fact, the sniper had a silenced rifle with him. Why silenced? Mike''s best guess was it''s to gain a tactical advantage in case a fight breaks out. The man was very well concealed and almost 99% people would have missed him. So amidst a fight, he could easily pick off any enemy without giving away his position.

    Now we have a dead sniper and a fully loaded silenced sniper rifle. So we did what any sane man would do. Mike picked up the rifle and started taking out the bandits. I acted as his spotter. After we cleared out the area, Mike ditched the rifle. I went in through a broken window on the far left while Mike stood guard in front of the entrance.

    Why not take the door? Cause there might be some form of defense, like electrified door which my sonar can''t pick up. Why Mike stood guard instead of going in with me? It''s to prohibit any bandit to run in case a fight breaks out.

    Well I easily cleared out the ground floor. There wasn''t any form of defense on the door or rather anywhere in the ground floor. I let Mike in and together we cleared out first and second floor pretty quickly. After we reached top floor, I saw the boss walking back and forth. There wasn''t any pillars or anything in this floor. I saw Mike droop his shoulders. Yeah, if we hadn''t ditched the rifle, we could have taken him out in an instant. Well it''s no use crying over spilled milk.

    I waited for the moment when boss will stop walking. I have a knife ready. All I need is one second. Just for one second, I need the boss to stay still.

    I threw the knife just as boss stopped. But as my ALMOST 100% luck would have it, boss leaned forward just before the knife could strike him. The projectile hit the concrete wall and made a perfectly loud clink sound. I readied my second knife, but by then Mike had already threw a second knife.

    The boss dodged the knife and threw a fire lance towards us. I am sure he hadn''t seen us but our cover was already busted. He had hostages so we needed to divert his attention to us. We fully opened the door and came into light. Boss snorted after seeing us and threatened us while pointing his lance to the hostages. I took out the gift Guru gave me.

    Guru called it a wingstick. A throwing disc, with six blades, sharp enough to behead a human. (http://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/15/14898/inteng_2012-02-21_23-20-19-37.jpg</a>). I threw it, fully knowing the boss would not kill the girls. How did I know that? Cause he kidnapped the girls for money. He can''t afford to kill them, even more so when certain death is heading his way. Because right now, if he doesn''t save his head, there won''t be a head.

    As expected, boss dodged the wingstick and threw a fire lance at me. I dodged and threw some knifes. I continued to throw projectiles to lead him away from the girls so that Mike can free them. But in doing so, my stock of projectiles started to deplete fast. Hurry Mike, I don''t have all the day.

    Rightly so, my stock of projectiles depleted shortly after. So I started dodging the lances thrown by the boss. But even I am having trouble dodging all the lances. He isn''t exactly an accomplished marksman, true but those lances are hot, quite hot. I had to dodge by a long margin or else the sheer heat radiated from the lance would burn me.

    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Much to my relief, Mike had at last circled the boss and finally cut off his arm, distracting him. That was all I needed. He was readying another lance to impale Mike, but alas, I am much faster and accurate than the boss. I lunged forward and drove my knife through his neck, ending his life.

    And now we come back to the present.

    [Thanks Mike. I didn''t know how much longer I could have kept dodging.]

    ~ You''re welcome buddy. ~

    I collected all my projectiles. You never know what one might run into. Better be safe than sorry. Mike went to the girls.

    ~ You are Alice''s daughters? ~

    "Who''re you?"

    The girl with shorter hair asked while shaking.

    ~ I am Mike and he is Kaushik. We are here to rescue you. ~

    "Did mom send you?"

    ~ In a manner of speaking, yes. ~

    "What do you mean ''in a manner of speaking''?"

    ~ Long story. I can tell you about it while we walk to the camp. ~

    I intervene.

    [Listen girls, we are really here to rescue you. But your mom didn''t send us, we came on our own. Now come on, we need to get going.]

    I stretch out my hand and urge them to move. Although hesitant, the girl with longer hair takes my hand and stands up.

    "Thank you. I am Sena and this is Jin. Pleased to meet you."

    [It''s a pleasure.]

    ~ Likewise. ~

    [We should get back as soon as possible. Everyone will be happy to see you.]

    "You are right. Let''s go."

    We returned to camp without any incident. When we reached the camp, it was dawn. Guru was on watch as I heard him shout.

    "Alice come here. The idiot duo has returned."

    Alice shouted back from inside her bus.

    "Is Sena and Jin with them?"

    "They are."

    I heard some crack and some plates breaking from the bus. Next moment, the door opened and Alice came running. Sena and Jin also ran towards Alice and hugged her.

    "Sena! Jin! You okay?"

    "Yes mom, we are okay. These gentlemen saved us."

    "That bandit bastard didn''t do anything to you, right?"

    "If you are talking about him pushing us down, then no. But he slapped us a few times."

    "Is he alive?"

    "No. They killed him."

    Alice separated herself from her daughters and looked at us. That gaze was full of killing intent. Then she spoke.

    "Why did you go to save them?"

    ~ Cause we wanted to. ~

    "You risked your neck for someone you never met just because you wanted to?"

    [Yes.]

    "Why?"

    ~ Like I said. We wanted to. ~

    Alice rubbed her forehead as she sighed. She understood we weren''t going to give a straight answer. She pondered for a minute before deciding something.

    "You remember our contract?"

    [Yes. We protect you during exchange, we get an inventory in return.]

    "Good. Now since there will be no exchange, our contract is broken. Therefore you won''t get your reward."

    ~ [WHAT!?] ~

    ''She did NOT just say that.''

    ~ Come on lady. We just risked our necks to get your daughters back. At least cut us some slack will you? ~

    "As a trader, a contract is a contract. Since the contract has not been fulfilled, I have no reason to give you any rewards."

    Great. We just saved both her caravan and her daughters, and this is how we get treated. Like I thought, she is a businessman through and through.

    [(Sigh) Fine. At least let us travel with you to the town. We will think of something after we reach there.]

    I dragged my feet to the tent. It''s been a long night. Some food and a sleep will do me good. We just got taken advantage of but we can worry about that later.

    "I said you won''t be getting any reward for THIS contract. Did I ever say I won''t make another contract with you?"

    I stopped in my tracks. What did she just say?

    ~ You want to make another contract? ~

    "I want you two to guard us during our travel to the next town. In return, I will give you two inventory, 100 gold and a place to stay. Sounds good?"

 01-09: Reached The Hub

    I open my eyes. It''s morning. I can hear people outside the tent. I rub my eyes, stretch and yawn. A lot happened yesterday. Let''s have a quick recap.

    Me and Mike saved two damsel in distress, check.

    We saved a whole caravan from going bankrupt, check.

    We will get equipment and money as thanks, check.

    We held a feast with lots of tasty food and rich alcohol to celebrate, check.

    Lastly, I got myself a hot lady willing to spend the night with me, check.

    I look at my left to see the sleeping face of Sena. I am simply amazed by the difference between this peaceful face and the erotic face she was making last night. I draw close to Sena and wrap my hand around her. She stirred a bit, on the verge of waking up. I stroke her hair to calm her down. She snuggled up to my chest and her breathing became peaceful again. Mike is not here. He didn''t come back last night as far as I can remember. I close my eyes and remember the events from yesterday.

    Alice is definitely a good woman. Although she tends to act like all she cares about money but she has a big heart. She agreed to provide us with lots of things in exchange for basically nothing. Of course we agreed.

    Then she announced for a big party. We all helped with the arrangements. After preparation is done, we started partying like crazy. There was music, there was food, there was alcohol, everything was there to make a party memorable.

    (Flashback start)

    -----------------------------------------------------------

    I retired to our assigned tent after the party is over. My head is feeling a bit light after several glasses of alcohol. So I lie down while thinking what to do after we reach the next town. Maybe some half an hour passed when Sena comes in.

    "Hey Roy."

    [Ah if it isn''t Sena. Come in come in.]

    "You okay Roy?"

    [Yeah... Yeah I am. Just had a bit too much liquor.]

    "Going to sleep?"

    [Not yet. I am a bit tired, but not exhausted.]

    "Can I ask you something?"

    [Just so you know, I am not telling my lower region''s size.]

    "(Blushing) why are you assuming I am going to ask you that?"

    [(Smirking) because you came into a man''s home in late night?]

    "(Pouting) geez stop teasing me. I came here because I wanted to ask a very serious question."

    [Okay. Ask away.]

    "Why did you save us?"

    [I don''t see why we will not.]

    "Did you know mom would increase your reward if you saved us?"

    [Truth to be told, I was 50-50 sure something like that will happen.]

    "Then did you save us because you expected mom to increase your reward?"

    [(Sigh) not you too.]

    I have been asked this very same question by every guard except Guru and Rohit, by every non-guard except the younger cook. Seems getting rewards for doing things is common around here. You do dangerous things, you get nice rewards. You do even more dangerous things, you get even nicer rewards.

    [Before I answer your question, will you answer one of my question?]

    "Sure."

    [Did you ask Alice and other people in the caravan about us? About who we are, what we are, what we know, anything along this path?]

    ".......Yes."

    [Then Sena, you should already have answer to your question. But just to be clear, I will say it again. Me and Mike are not your normal people. We have different sense of value from what you consider common. Alice needed help, so we gave her our help. Maybe the help was not given in the way she intended, but we wanted the best possible outcome. And the best possible outcome is annihilation of whole bandit group along with their leader, and freeing you two without any casualties.]

    "(Silently crying)....... But that....... It''s just that...... it''s sounds too good to be true."

    [(Gently stroking her cheek) better believe it Sena. Every word I have spoken is true.]

    "(Coming closer and hugging) .... Thank you Roy. Thank you for everything you have done for us."

    [You see, now that''s a real problem.]

    "Huh? What are you.... Kyah"

    I push Sena down on the floor and hold her down by her wrists. She resists a bit, but soon calms down and looks at me fearfully.

    "Let... let go of me Roy. You are scaring me."

    [I can''t do that now, can I? At least not while the problem is still there.]

    "What problem?"

    [You said ''thank you''.]

    "Wha...... But that''s...... I don''t understand what the problem is. I am grateful for your help that''s why I thanked you."

    [You''re right. It is exactly as you say so. The problem is, that I am not accepting a DRY thank you after I risked my neck to save you and definitely not a thank you coming from your UPPER mouth.]

    Sena is dumbfounded after my speech and just looking at me. Guess she will take quite a bit time to process all the things. But I am not gonna wait till she does. I let go of her wrist, swoop down, and gently press my lips onto hers.

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    It wasn''t an erotic kiss. Just touching the other person''s lips with yours. She is surprised, but she doesn''t push me away. Instead, she wraps her hands around my head and pushes her body close to me. We parted after what felt like hours. She looked directly into my eyes with her moistened eyes and whispered.

    "Will you keep going?"

    [Prepare yourself Sena. Tonight, I will pour every bit of my love into you.]

    -----------------------------------------------------------

    (Flashback end)

    Right now, I shouldn''t remember the explicit details as that will make me pounce on the beauty sleeping next to me. Although I think remembering tiny bits should be okay.

    She has beautiful breasts. Her body is quite toned and she has a firm hip from being a fighter. Coupled with waist long hair, she is an example of a first class model.

    Chu!

    I open my eyes to find out Sena is awake and smiling softly after landing a kiss on my cheek.

    [Good morning.]

    Without waiting for a reply, I pull her closer and kiss her on the lips. She snuggles closer and puts her hand on my cheek.

    "Good morning. And why did you start rubbing my butt?"

    [Ah I am extremely sorry. I did that involuntarily.]

    "It''s okay and I am thankful that you stopped rubbing my butt. But why did you start fondling my breasts?"

    [Oh I am sorry again. I did that voluntarily.]

    "Gee Roy, it''s morning you know. Stop playing with my body or I will get into the mood."

    [Okay fine. Let me cop one last feel.]

    I reluctantly let go of her breasts and get up. I keep staring at Sena''s body while I put on my cloths.

    "Roy I have a question. Although it doesn''t feel quite right after all we did last night, I have to ask it."

    [Shoot.]

    "Do you have a girlfriend?"

    [Technically, no.]

    "...I don''t understand."

    [Technically I don''t have one. But there was this woman who was quite interested in me. Things went haywire and she never got the chance. I am sure she is searching for a way to contact me even as we speak.]

    "I sincerely pray that she gets her chance."

    Sena closes her eyes and puts her hands together in silent prayer.

    [Yeah me too.]

    Suddenly two person barges in my tent. Guess who.

    ~ Hey buddy, you okaaaa...... Hey Sena(closing his eyes) ~

    "Hey Mike, mom is.... Sis what are doing here? Moreover naked? Don''t tell me..."

    [Yes. Whatever you are thinking is probably right.]

    Sena is blushing tomato red. She shouts while covering her body with the blanket.

    "Ah mou don''t you know you should knock first then enter?"

    ~ Sorry about that. But I think I should have expected something like this. After all, you are sisters. ~

    "[Huh?]"(Sena and me in unison)

    "Jin......... last night...... did you?"

    Now Jin is blushing furiously. I see. The big sister came to me and the little sister went to Mike.

    ~ Excuse me, but could you dress up while I keep my eyes closed? ~

    Sena hurriedly puts on her cloths.

    [Alice wanted to see us?]

    "Yes, both you and Mike."

    [We will be there shortly.]

    Sena dressed up and both sisters left the tent while whispering among themselves. I can guess the topic of their conversation.

    ~ So how was the big sister? ~

    [In one word, yummy.]

    ~ Care to explain? ~

    [Big breasts, nice carves, generous hips. Everything in my strike zone. How was the little sister?]

    ~ Hot. To the point if you are not careful, you will burn yourself. ~

    [Heh, so she is a beast in the bed?]

    ~ Mmhmmmm. ~

    [Let''s go to Alice.]

    ~ Yeah let''s. ~

    Alice was waiting for us in the bus. We knocked on the door and receiving permission, we entered.

    "What took you so long?"

    [Stuff happened. What do you need?]

    "We will be moving out shortly. Any of you know how to handle a MG?"

    ~ I do. ~

    "Good. You will be manning the MG on the first Humvee. Dismissed."

    -----------------------------------------------

    We reached the next town after approximately 6 hours later. We encountered no problem on the way. Seems that bandit group was the only threat.

    This town''s name is ''The Hub''. The Hub is a major trading city and settlement established in an old town relatively untouched by the Great War. Caravans are organized here, carrying goods north to Shady Sands, Junktown, and south to the Boneyard. It houses a large community of traders, barterers, gamblers, and other interesting scum. The wide variety of people passing through ensures that there is always something interesting going on.

    Anywho, at last we finally reached a town.

 01-10: Settling in our new home

    ¡°This place used to be our branch office. We moved it some 5 or 6 years ago, I think. This place should be good for you two.¡±

    We are in a fairly large courtyard. Alice is currently with us and giving us a tour of our new place. An exactly square plot, surrounded by a high wall. This place has running water, electricity generators, although unused for years. There are several rooms, all are locked. Layers of dust and weeds covering the whole place. I sigh inadvertently. Cleaning this whole place is gonna be a pain in the ass, literally.

    ¡°As promised, here is two inventory and 100 gold.¡±

    ~ Thank you. ~

    ¡°Be grateful that I didn¡¯t reduce your reward.¡±

    ~ And why would you want to do that? ~

    ¡°Bedding your employer¡¯s daughters is never a good thing.¡±

    ¡®Geh, she knew?¡¯

    ~ [(Sweating) sorry.] ~

    ¡°I am not exactly angry. Well maybe a little bit. So as punishment, you have to clean this place by yourself.¡±

    ~ (Faking tears) uuuuh Aliiiiiiiiiice¡­¡­¡­¡­ this place is at least 2000 square feet big. Please have mercyyyyy¡­¡­.. ~

    ¡°And after you are done, drop by crimson caravan branch. I might be able to spare some old beds and things.¡±

    ¡®Uwah, merciless.¡¯

    ~ (Sigh) fine. ~

    [Before you go Alice, I have a few questions.]

    ¡°Shoot.¡±

    [Where is the market?]

    ¡°Go straight, turn left on second intersection. At most 10 minutes¡¯ walk.¡±

    [Sweet. Now the most serious question. Is there any job? We have some gold for now but we will need to make money in near future.]

    ¡°I don¡¯t have any open jobs right now. You might want to check the job center, they always have some.¡±

    ~ Job center? ~

    ¡°(Sigh) I forgot you lack common knowledge. Job center is a worldwide organization. They have a branch in every major places. One can put a request for almost anything for a price. These centers are not affiliated to any country or religion. So anyone can walk up to their doorstep and request a job.¡±

    ~ Can you explain their rules? ~

    ¡°I don¡¯t know it much myself. Only that you can put requests for a price. Rewards that comes after completing the requests are given separately. You have to register yourself as a freelancer for 5 gold, then you will get a membership card. After that you can take any job they have to offer.¡±

    [Are there any reports of fraud against them?]

    ¡°None that I am aware of. Sounds good?¡±

    [It does. Where can I find this job center?]

    ¡°It¡¯s a bit far, on the opposite end of the town. Approximately 10 kilometers in that direction (points to a direction). Sorry I can¡¯t be more specific.¡±

    [It¡¯s fine. We will figure out the rest. Thanks for everything Alice.]

    ~ Thanks Alice. ~

    ¡°You¡¯re both welcome. Now then, I should be on my way. If you need anything, contact me.¡±

    ~ Are we free to visit your daughters? ~

    ¡°(Chuckling) that depends upon Sena and Jin. You have to clear the deal with them.¡±

    ~ Roger that. ~

    ¡°Roger that? (Frowning a bit) that¡¯s a military phrase. I thought you lacked common knowledge?¡±

    [We do?]

    ¡°(Sigh) never mind.¡±

    We see off Alice and her group, then set off for the market Alice mentioned. We need some cleaning equipment, as well as some herbicides, repellent, maybe a wrist watch or two, etc. etc.

    We bought all the necessary things and stored them in our inventory. A holographic projection appeared on the inventory which listed what was inside the inventory and how many. This inventory thingy seems to be able to categorize objects as per their property, which is much appreciated.

    Before returning, we decide to have a meal in a cheap looking restaurant. We are going to clean up a fairly large place and one can¡¯t work on an empty stomach. We order a meal which consisted of plain rice, some kind of curry with lots of god-knows-what meat and ice cream. Mike is pretty much jumping up and down at the sight of ice cream. Truth to be told, my mouth is watering too. In the end we end up ordering three more helping of the ice cream.

    I split the cleaning jobs into indoor and outdoor category. Mike is in charge of indoor cleanings, while I did the outdoor cleaning and weeding. I sweep the whole place for a first round. Most of the fallen leaves are cleared. Then I sweep for a second round. Rest of the leaves and most of the dirt are cleared. Then I sweep for a third round. Whew, now this place can be called almost clean. Then I start weeding and sprinkling herbicide.

    Cleaning up the place, or at least mostly cleaning up, we set off for crimson caravan branch. Finding it was no problem, seeing as they are quite famous traders. Alice provided us with lots of things, like two old beds, a wardrobe, some cooking utensils, an electric oven, a fuel core for the generator etc. etc. Setting up a room with the beds and wardrobe, powering up the generator, setting up the kitchen took a solid 3 hours, after which we both were agonized by a severely stiff back. We are now sitting on our beds to cool ourselves off.

    [I never thought cleaning takes so much stamina.]

    ~ Neither did I. But then again, this place is quite big. I wonder why Alice entrusted the whole plot to us. ~

    [Me too. But I doubt she some kind of ulterior motive.]

    ~ Though I won¡¯t rule out the possibility of Alice working us to the bone ~

    [There¡¯s that too. (Stretching my back) I really could use a massage right now.]

    ~ Yeah me too. My body¡¯s sore all over. ~

    ¡°¡°Hey guys¡­¡±¡±

    [Ah Sena. Welcome.]

    ~ Fancy seeing you here Jin. ~

    Jin pouted a little.

    ¡°What? Can¡¯t I come see you?¡±

    ~ Of course you can my lady. ~

    Mike walked over to Jin and put her in a princess carry.

    ¡°(Flustered) wha-what are you doing? Put me down right now.¡±

    ~ And if I don¡¯t? ~

    ¡°(Flustering more) I shall¡­ I will¡­¡­ (And after flustering some more) ah geez. Fine, do whatever you want.¡±

    Jin got beet red and hid her face in Mike¡¯s chest. Mike took a seat on his bed and put Jin on his lap. Jin is lightly hitting Mike¡¯s chest continuously and mumbling something. Mike starts petting Jin¡¯s head and Jin promptly stops hitting him. Sena sat beside me and nudged me with her elbow.

    ¡°I see you have almost cleaned up this place. (Giving a thumbs up) nice job you two.¡±

    [Thanks. Hey, can you tell me something?]

    ¡°Just so you know, I am not telling my three sizes.¡±

    [(Face-palming myself) I don¡¯t need to know that since I have already seen you naked.]

    ¡°Pervert.¡±

    [Says the pervert.]

    ¡°I am not a pervert.¡±

    [Sure you are, considering you squirted on your first time.]

    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°(Blushing) ho-how did you know that was my first time?¡±

    [I am the kind of guy who believes feeling good is a mutual thing.]

    ¡°¡­.. Thank you Roy.¡±

    Sena comes closer to me and gives me a light peck on my lips. Then she looked down and started playing with her fingers, seemingly embarrassed.

    [Why thank me?]

    ¡°Well you know, you were like, really frightening when confronting the bandit boss. So I was sure you would treat me like an object, only to satisfy your own lust. Instead you treated me really gently. I was very, very happy. And now you declared that you always treasure your partner. I am really happy that you are my first man. That¡¯s why, thank you, for being my first.¡±

    I pick up Sena, put her on my lap, and kiss her cheek.

    [The pleasure is all mine. Now, to my original question. Is there any chance to be attacked during night?]

    ¡°By wild animals? No. By thieves? Maybe.¡±

    [Thieves?]

    ¡°Yes thieves. (Smirking) you know, one who steals things?¡±

    [(Putting one finger upon Sena¡¯s nose) wipe that silly smile off your face Sena. I know what a thief is. What I wanted to know if this place is infested with them or not?]

    Sena tries to playfully bite my finger. I move it before she does. She tries again. I move it again. She tries again. I move it again. And thus we end up playing ¡®Bite the finger¡¯, which I won of course. After five minutes or so, I am lying on my bed, Sena is straddling me in cowgirl position and rubbing her cheek on mine like an excited cat. I am pretty sure if she had a tail, it would have been wagging in full force right now. Jin, apparently recovered from her embarrassment, answered my question.

    ¡°No it¡¯s not. Being a trading post, Hub is very well guarded. But you know how things always are. There are always one or two outlaws who manages to stay out of jail.¡±

    ~ If it¡¯s just that, then I can sleep without worry. Hey Jin, you know any good but cheap restaurant around here? ~

    Jin got surprised a little.

    ¡°I thought mom gave you pots, oven and things like that.¡±

    ~ She did. But the thing is, neither of us can cook. ~

    Jin face-palmed.

    ¡°Then why did you even bother with setting up the kitchen?¡±

    ~ Well, you never know when the need might arise. ~

    ¡°(Sigh) you are the strangest guy I have ever met. (Under her breath) maybe that¡¯s why I like you.¡±

    ~ What? ~

    ¡°Nothing, it¡¯s nothing.¡±

    ~ So, do you know any decent restaurant? ~

    ¡°No need. We brought you some food.¡±

    [There was no need for you to bring us food you know.]

    ¡°Why?¡±

    Sena asks me looking confused. Looks like she has rubbed her cheek to mine to her heart¡¯s content. But she is still straddling me. She looks quite sexy in that position but I choose to ignore it.

    [Well, how should I put it? Let¡¯s just say we are thankful for the favors from Alice. Anymore and we will feel a little guilty.]

    ¡°If it¡¯s just that, then don¡¯t feel guilty. These foods are leftovers from our caravan¡¯s dinner.¡±

    I relax after hearing that. All four of us proceed to have a nice meal while chatting among ourselves. There are many kinds of foods and all of them are quite tasty.

    [Thanks for the food. That was quite delicious.]

    Both Sena and Jin stayed quiet and started fidgeting around. Looks like they want another hot night with us.

    [Sorry girls. We are both quite tired today.]

    ~ Yeah, our bodies are like, totally sore. ~

    Jin got flustered and started talking rapidly.

    ¡°No no it¡¯s fine. I mean it¡¯s fine that you are tired. I meant it¡¯s NOT fine that you are tired. You should get a good night¡¯s sleep while hugging me. I mean while hugging a hugging pillow. I mean¡­NNNNNNNN¡­..nnnnnnnnnnnn¡±

    Mike plugged Jin¡¯s mouth with a kiss.

    ¡°Nnnnnnn¡­¡­ puah. Wha-what are you doing?¡±

    ~ Calm down Jin. ~

    ¡°(Blushing) o-o-okay.¡±

    Sena spoke up.

    ¡°Ummmm Roy?¡±

    [Yes?]

    ¡°Maybe we can do something about your sore bodies.¡±

    [Really?]

    ¡°MmHmmm.¡±

    [How?]

    ¡°A massage, of course.¡±

    ~ You know how to give a massage? ~

    Jin puffed up her chest and declared proudly.

    ¡°Better believe it.¡±

    ~ [In that case, please take good care of us.] ~

    Mike and I stripped down to our underwear and laid down on the bed facedown. Sena straddled me and put her hands on my back, feeling my muscles. I bet she is blushing right now. Five minutes or so passed, but the massage I expected is not starting.

    [Sena?]

    ~ Jin? ~

    ¡®Great, Jin too?¡¯

    ¡°¡°(Heavy breathing)¡±¡±

    [Sena! (Tad bit loudly)]

    ~ Jin! (Tad bit loudly) ~

    ¡°Oh yeah Roy, I am.. I am going to start. Please tell me if it hurts.¡±

    ¡°Yes yes Mike, I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here.¡±

    I look at Mike. He is smirking. I let out a small sigh. Apparently, they remembered the other night after seeing our bodies and fell into a trance. I whisper so that only Sena can hear me.

    [I am really sorry Sena. I will make it up to you somehow.]

    ¡°¡­ Promise?¡±

    [MmHmmm.]

    I nod in conformation. Sena relaxes and starts putting pressure with her hands. Oh shit, I totally forgot she isn¡¯t your normal girl, but a soldier who received physical training. She is pressing on my stiff muscles with quite some force, which feels rather¡­¡­.good.

    Sena starts by massaging my shoulders. Slowly massaging from neck to the shoulder joint. Then she massages my back muscles, beside my shoulder blades, beside the spine. Slowly at first, gradually with more pressure. Oh man, I am totally in heaven right now.

    After my back, she moves to my ass. Instead of using her palm, she starts using her elbows to press onto my stiff butts. Hmmm, I can feel two hard things are rubbing on my thighs. Two hard things on two sponge like soft things. Is that what I think it is? Is she doing that on purpose?

    Then she starts massaging onto my thighs. Then onto my calves. Then my foot. Next onto hands, fingers, head. Then she flipped me and starts massaging my chest and face. At this point, I totally lost all my strength. My whole body feels like jelly, as if my whole body is melting.

    My senses are getting dulled. My head feels fuzzy. I can vaguely feel Sena has stopped massaging me some time ago. I am feeling really comfortable and relaxed right now. Thanks a lot Sena. I will definitely treat you to something nice. But for now, good night.

    Chu!

    I feel something hot on my lips.

    ¡°Sweet dreams Roy.¡±

 01-11: Job center

    I open my eyes to the chirping of birds. My body feels really light. I try to stretch my back a bit and confirm that all the pain is gone. I lift up the blanket which is covering me for a bit and peek inside.

    There lies a girl with nothing but her underwear on. A toned body, brown smooth skin, big yet firm breasts, generous hips, sexy curves, waist long black hair. But even with all these features, she doesn¡¯t seem like an untouchable breathtaking beauty. She is more like your next door girl.

    I pull Sena close to me and feel her warmth. I like her as a woman, I mean who wouldn¡¯t. But not to the point to claim her as my woman. I wonder what I am to her. Does she like me? Does she feel some kind of obligation for saving her? (Shudder) I hope she does not see me as a free dick. But enough of this depressing thinking. For now I should give her a medical checkup. Yeah a totally, honest to god medical checkup, not me wanting to grope her.

    I extend my left hand and grab her butt.

    ¡°Mm¡±

    Grope.

    ¡°Mmmm¡±

    I trace my right hand along her curve towards her breast and lightly squeeze her breast.

    ¡°Ahn¡±

    Lightly pinch her nipple.

    ¡°Rooooy, it¡¯s still morning.¡±

    [Hyah.]

    Sena has extended her own hand and grabbed onto my son.

    ¡°Ehehehe. It¡¯s payback. Nnnn¡­¡±

    Sena puckered up her lips, as if wanting me to kiss her. I gladly obliged.

    [Morning Sena.]

    ¡°Good morning Roy.¡±

    ¡°Mooorning sis. Mooorning Roy¡±

    Looks like Jin woke up.

    [Morning.]

    ¡°Good morning Jin.¡±

    [Jin, could you do me a favor and wake Mike up?]

    ¡°Sure. Heeey Mike (drowsily)¡­. Ooooi (Shaking him)¡­. Wake uuuuup¡±

    ~ Don¡¯t wannnnnna. ~

    ¡°Ooooi¡­ Wake u¡­ NYA! (He put his face between her breasts)¡±

    ~ (Sound of peaceful breathing) ~

    ¡°(Fully awake) Hey! Don¡¯t go to sleep again. Wake up¡­.. ¡±

    ~ I will wake up if you give me a kiss. ~

    ¡°Don¡¯t talk with your face between my breasts! It tickles! And why do I have to give you a kiss!?¡±

    ~ Then I won¡¯t wake up. ~

    ¡°Uuuuuuh (With tears in eyes), fine but just a light kiss, oka¡­ Nnnnnnnnnnn¡­ Puah¡­ Hey! Who gave you permission to put your tongue in?¡±

    I continue to watch their silly yet heartwarming performance for a while. It¡¯s a weird feeling. I am so far from home. I am pretty sure mom, dad, chief and Neha, all are trying to find out what happened to us. But I am not feeling the anxiety I should feel. Maybe I should be grateful that I am calm instead of being anxious. Being anxious won¡¯t get me anywhere.

    [Hey Sena, what do we do about breakfast?]

    ¡°Well I can fix us a simple breakfast, if you want me to.¡±

    [You can cook? (Startled)]

    ¡°Not really. But I can serve us up some toasted bread, jam and boiled egg.¡±

    [Then please do. Today we are visiting job center.]

    ¡°Give me 10 minutes.¡±

    [Make two of the serving large.]

    ¡°Give me 15 minutes.¡±

    [Pffft.]

    ¡°What? Did I say something stupid?¡±

    [No no, not at all. You just sounded like someone I knew.]

    ¡®She sounded just like Jude.¡¯

    Sena and Jin took their leave after the breakfast. After about an hour, me and Mike found the job center. We check our gears to see if we have missed anything, then go in.

    The inside of the job center is like a restaurant. Lots of tables and chairs are laid out. Many people are eating and waiters are taking orders. On the opposite end of the entrance, there is a desk. A desk plate is placed which reads ¡®Reception¡¯.

    We walk straight to the desk. A few people look at us but most are uninterested in us. I look at all the people present and try to ascertain our position. Lot of people are wearing armor. Some are carrying sniper rifles, most are carrying assault rifles, but what catches my eye is that some are carrying only pistols.

    ¡®There are many kinds of people here. Thank god we aren¡¯t the odd one out.¡¯

    A woman is sitting behind the desk and typing away in the computer placed on the desk. She looks roughly our age. With long black hair tied up into a ponytail, formal black skirt, white top, black heels, she is exuding an aura of a professional.

    ¡®Must be the receptionist.¡¯

    [Excuse me?]

    ¡°(With a fake smile) yes how may I help you?¡±

    [We are here for some jobs.]

    ¡°(Points to a board, still fake smile) job board is there.¡±

    [We are not registered yet.]

    ¡°Oh. Then please fill out these forms. And registration fee is 5 gold.¡±

    We fill out the forms and hand them over to the receptionist along with 5 gold. She skimmed through the forms for a bit then took out two odd looking things.

    ¡°Please put both of your hands here (points to a hand-rest on one of the things) and your eyes here (Points to a glass portion of another thing).¡±

    ~ What are these? ~

    ¡°(Astonished) you don¡¯t know?¡±

    ~ (Shaking head) no. ~

    ¡°This is a fingerprint and DNA scanner (Points to the one with hand-rest). That one is a retina scanner (Points to the other with glass).¡±

    ~ I see. Thanks. ~

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Now if you please.¡±

    We finish the registration process fairly fast. Now we have two cards with our photos on it. There¡¯s a small QR code beside our photos.

    [Thanks. I guess now we are eligible for taking jobs?]

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    [One last thing. We don¡¯t know how to take jobs. If you would be so kind.]

    ¡°(Fake smile again) of course. That¡¯s why I am here for. Instead of telling how to use it, let me show you firsthand. I hope you are fine with it?¡±

    ¡®That fake smile is starting to get on my nerves.¡¯

    ~ How could we ever say no to such a beauty? ~

    ¡°(With a hint of irritation on her face) I strongly suggest you save your flattery for your girlfriend.¡±

    Mike went silent. The receptionist gasped and realized what she just said. After all, Mike didn¡¯t say anything offending and as a receptionist, she isn¡¯t supposed to rudely talk to a customer. She hurriedly tried to cover up her slip of tongue.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    ¡°I-I am sorry. I didn¡¯t¡­.¡±

    However, Mike cut her off in mid-sentence.

    ~ You¡¯re right. (Bowing) I am sorry if I offended you. ~

    ¡°(Bowing) no I am sorry too. (Sweating profoundly) I didn¡¯t mean to say it like that. Please don¡¯t take it personally. It¡¯s just that¡­ I am a bit stressed right now.¡±

    ~ (Smiling) don¡¯t sweat it. No offence taken. ~

    ¡°Uh¡­. Thank you? You¡¯re welcome? Sorry, I am not sure what to say in this situation.¡±

    ~ How about you drop your fake smile and talk normally with us? ~

    ¡°(Fidgeting) you sure it¡¯s fine?¡±

    ~ Quite sure. Also, how about we forget this blunder ever happened and do it over? ~

    ¡°Please do.¡±

    ~ Then once again, (clearing his throat) how could we ever say no to such a beauty? ~

    ¡°(Giggling with a faint hint of blush on cheeks) Thank you for your compliment.¡±

    ~ (Smiling from ear to ear) that¡¯s more like it. (Extending his hand) I am Michael Smith. Nice to meet you. ~

    [(Extending my hand) Kaushik Roy.]

    ¡°My name is Megan Reed. (Shaking Mike¡¯s hand) it¡¯s a pleasure. (Shaking my hand) Nice to meet you (I nod in response). Now if you don¡¯t mind, can I show you how to use the job board?¡±

    ~ [Sure.] ~

    All three of us moved in front of the job board. It¡¯s a large rectangular board with lots of slots.

    ¡°(Dipping the card in one of the slots) you dip the card like this in any one of the slots. (A holographic screen popped up) and this screen will open. You can choose categories from here (pointing to a list), also you can search using keywords from here (pointing to a textbox). Result searches will be displayed here (pointing to a big job list).¡±

    [So far so good.]

    ¡°Every job has a time limit associated with them. After accepting a job, if you don''t complete it within the time limit, your claim on the job will be revoked.¡±

    [Oookaaay.]

    ¡°You can see your current job description from your ID card. Tap on the QR code of your ID card twice.¡±

    I do as instructed. A small screen pops up on the card which reads ¡®no active jobs¡¯.

    ¡°What do you see?¡±

    [It says no active jobs. Jobs??? Wait, does this mean I can take more than one job at a time?]

    ¡°Sure you can. As long as you manage to finish it within the timeline.¡±

    [I have a question.]

    ¡°Yes?¡±

    [Let''s say I have a job with 1 day time limit. But the job location is 1 day far from here. In that case, my claim will be revoked even if I finish the job right? The time limit will always expire before I can come back.]

    Megan looked at me while smiling softly. I must say, she looks better without her fake smile.

    [Did I ask something stupid?]

    ¡°Not at all. You actually asked a very valid question. Although the scenario you described is never likely to happen, I get your point. It''s nice to see not all men have muscles for brains.¡±

    [Uhhh¡­ Thanks?]

    ¡°You''re welcome. Before I answer your question, select a job from the board.¡±

    [Sure.]

    I skim through the job list and select a meat gathering job for a restaurant. It has 24 hour time limit and 21 gold reward.

    ¡°Good. Now look at the job description from your card.¡±

    I open the job list from my ID card. Sure enough, there is an entry named ¡®Gather fresh meat for royal restaurant¡¯.

    ¡°Click on the job.¡±

    I do as instructed. The job description page opens. To my surprise, there is a finish button.

    [Please don''t tell me I can click this button and your servers will be remotely notified that I finished my job?]

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ~ That is seriously cool. ~

    ¡°Hold your horses. By clicking the finish button, you just get a time extension. If you don''t make it back within that time, your claim will still be revoked.¡±

    ~ How much extra time? ~

    ¡°Half the allocated time limit.¡±

    ~ So if I click the finish button now, I will have 36 hour time limit? ~

    ¡°Yes (smiling from ear to ear).¡±

    ~ I take back my words. This isn¡¯t cool, this is seriously badass. ~

    Mike looks like a child who just found a new toy to play with. Both Megan and I smile warily. Mike went to the board and chose another meat gathering job. Then he did something unexpected.

    ~ How about we meet up for lunch sometimes? ~

    ¡°(Smiling while blushing ever so faintly) sure. I would love to.¡±

    Bidding each other goodbye, we left the job center. Now to the jobs. As per our job description, I have to collect 30 kilos of bear meat and mike has to collect 30 kilos of wolf meat. But before we go to hunt, we still needed one thing.

    A gun.

    So we searched around for a gun shop and to our delight, one was very close to job center. I bought a pistol and Mike bought an assault rifle. Then we enter the forest for hunt.

    After a measly 5 hours, we have achieved our goal. It wasn''t that hard. We spread the blood from our first hunt in an area and waited for the prey to come. Then repeat the process in different area.

    We brought back the meat to the respective restaurant. Restaurant owner took my card and pressed his thumb onto the QR code. After I got my card back I checked the job description and I see a green tick mark beside the job. I got 21 gold coins as reward. Our first job in this world is a success.

    Me and Mike decided to do another job after lunch. We sorted out a job which required us to capture a pyro kinetic. As we already encountered a pyro kinetic, we happily took this job.

    As per the job description, the pyro kinetic is holed up in a cave somewhere in the forest north of the hub. The job description is pretty simple but it makes me suspicious.

    ~ Something isn¡¯t right. ~

    [Mmhmmm. It¡¯s been posted over 1 month ago. They even know which direction to go, where to search, who to search, but the job is not finished.]

    ~ Well, no use thinking over useless things. I say let¡¯s go and see things with our own eyes. ~

    [I agree.]

 01-12: The end

    Right now, we are standing in front of a semi well hidden cave. We were searching for it for last 30 minutes in this region and we found it quite easily. In fact, the cave was exactly north from the northern exit of hub.

    ~ Shall we go douse the fire? ~

    [Sure.]

    We stride into the cave. It¡¯s a fairly big one, with a small pond on the right. The pond caught my eye. Well to be specific not the pond itself but the contents of it. The water is pure black, like someone dumped whole lots of black paint into the pond. I squat down on the edge of the pond to examine it closely.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t touch that if I were you.¡±

    I turn my head to the left, from where the voice came from. On the opposite end of the cave¡¯s entrance, two men are sitting side by side on a large boulder. Both of them has lean build. One is wearing a suit, other is wearing only a three-quarter pant and shoes.

    [Why not?]

    Suit-guy calmly answered me.

    ¡°It¡¯s viral, and can spread through touch. If you so much as touch it, the virus will infect you. Your cells will morph into the virus, and start eating on the not-cells inside your body, like your bones, fats. In an hour or so, the infection will spread to your whole body. In short, you will be eaten alive.¡±

    ~ Ewww, that sounds painful. ~

    ¡°It is indeed painful. But first introductions. I am Alan, he is Evan (Pointing to the pant-guy). Who are you people?¡±

    ~ I am Mike. He is Kaushik. We are here to kill you. ~

    ¡°¡­¡±

    ¡°¡­¡±

    [¡­]

    There was an awkward silence.

    ~ Ehehehe, opps. ~

    The silence was first broken by Mike. Suit-guy hunched over with a curious eye.

    ¡°I was expecting you to evade my question with a half assed answer and launch an ambush. You two sure are interesting individuals.¡±

    ~ Thanks your compliment, but just to make things clear, we don¡¯t swing that way. ~

    ¡°I must say, I didn¡¯t expect a straight forward answer from someone who came here to kill me. Do you know who I am?¡±

    ~ Some guy who controls fire and will be dead in a couple of minutes? ~

    ¡°The fuck did you say?¡±

    The pant-guy stood up from his seat. I can see two or three vein is popping up on his forehead. Suit-guy hissed at him.

    ¡°Sit down Evan. I am still talking.¡±

    ¡°(Looking at the suit-guy) ¡­¡­.. Yes sir (sits back down).¡±

    Suit-guy took a deep breath and rested his gaze on Mike.

    ¡°You think you can kill us by yourselves?¡±

    Mike opened his mouth to ridicule him, but I step in and close his mouth.

    [Yes, we can kill you.]

    ¡°In that case¡­¡­¡­. (Standing up) COME BRAT. COME WITH ALL YOU GOT.¡±

    ~ [With pleasure.] ~

    I take out a wingstick and throw it. Suit-guy jumps up on the rock and perfectly evades the projectile. The wingstick harmlessly passed him and dug in the wall of the cave.

    ¡®(Raising my right eyebrow) oho.¡¯

    I throw another wingstick to confirm my suspicion. He again dodged it.

    ¡®Like I thought, he has some degree of training and quite a bit of experience. This fight is not gonna be easy.¡¯

    I take a peek at Mike and see that he is fighting against the pant-guy. He is also having trouble.

    ¡®Shit. Gotta finish up fast.¡¯

    Suit-guy threw a fire lance at me. I dodge it, sheath my daggers, take out a wingstick with my left hand, a throwing knife on the right, and hold another throwing knife between my teeth.

    ¡®(Narrowing my eyes) dodge this.¡¯

    I start running towards him. He threw two simultaneous fire lances at me which I dodge easily. When I get roughly within 20 meter of him, I throw the wingstick. As expected, he dodges it. I predicted where he will be after the dodge and throw the knife on my right hand. He dodges it with a bit of panic. But I ain¡¯t letting up. Before he even dodged the knife, I already threw the knife held between my teeth with my left hand. But, to my disappointment, he dodged it again, although by a hair¡¯s breadth, but.

    ¡®(Grinning) checkmate.¡¯

    This whole time, I was running towards him. All the previous projectiles were thrown in order to keep him distracted. Now I am close enough to put my knife through his neck. I already pulled my knife, and I don¡¯t hesitate for even a split second before swinging it. He looked at me, and just smiled.

    ¡°Not half bad.¡±

    Sizzzzzzzle, drip.

    I pull back just second before my knife made contact with his skin. He raised his eyebrows and smirked.

    ¡°Hoh¡­. Nice reflex. An ordinary guy would have lost his arm by now.¡±

    ¡®What the fuck is that?¡¯

    I look at suit-guy. Right now, his whole body is on fire, like some sort of armor. Just before my knife made contact with his neck, he put up that armor which produced enough heat to melt steel within mere seconds.

    I look at the knife on my right hand. A bit less than half of the blade is missing. Or more specifically, melted. I look at the place on the floor where the molten steel of my knife is, still red hot and sizzling. My heart is still pounding. Had I not pulled back when I did, my whole arm would have been melted off.

    ¡®(Squinting eyes) an armor with enough heat to melt steel. Not good, absolutely not good. Hmmm, now that I think about it, a super-duper-hot armor? (Eyes bulging from a sudden realization) then, how come I am not feeling any heat when I am only 7 or 8 meter away from him? Also how is he withstanding such heat?¡¯

    As if understanding my thoughts, suit-guy answered my question.

    ¡°That¡¯s because all the heat has been compressed into a thin layer around me. You can only feel it if you come in contact with it.¡±

    ¡®(Eyes relaxing) I see. Something like a heat shield?¡¯

    ¡°Yes, exactly like a heat shield.¡±

    ¡®(Eyes squinting from suspicion) is he reading my mind?¡¯

    ¡°I am not. I can tell what you¡¯re thinking right now from your facial expression.¡±

    ¡®So I need some way to bypass that shield.¡¯

    I channel my breath into the knife and again swing it. This time, the steel didn¡¯t melt immediately. It became a red hot though. He just smiled and taunted me.

    ¡°Hoh. I don¡¯t know what you did, but I guess it¡¯s effective. That all you got?¡±

    I take out my pistol and sheath my knife. I thought I could wrap this up without firing a bullet but I guess I was wrong. A breath imbued object has some resistant to heat. And I expect he can¡¯t melt down a speeding bullet imbued with breath. I channel breath into the pistol and take ai¡­¡­

    [AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH¡­..]

    I scream from a sudden piercing and burning feeling coming from my thighs. I drop the pistol and kneeled down on the ground from the intense pain. What¡¯s going on?

    I look down to see two fire lances has pierced through my thighs and embedded themselves on the ground. They pierced right through the flesh and burned it at the same time. The wounds are not critical, but shit, it HURRRRRRRRRRRRRTS!!!

    ¡°I am a pyro-kinetic brat. I can control any and every fire, have you forgotten?¡±

    These lances are the ones he threw before. As the lances are made of fire, sonar didn¡¯t pick them up. Speaking of which, more lances are heading towards me. I have to dodg¡­..  fuuuuuuuck my leeeeeeg (gritting my teeth from pain), I can¡¯t move as I want. I scramble to dodge, and managed to evade almost all of them but one pierced my right shoulder. I grit my teeth and endure the pain. This much is nothing. Another lance immediately pierces my left shoulder, followed by another through my stomach and another through my chest. I started howling from all the pain.

    [AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH¡­..]

    ~ Rooooooy. Hold on Roy. Just hold on. I am coming. ~

    I look up weakly. Mike is in a lot worse condition than me. His armor has burned off in places. He has third degree burns in his arms and legs. He dodged a punch from the pant-guy, but his lost his balance, probably from the pain. Pant-guy pierced Mike¡¯s left hand with a fire lance, pinned his right wrist under his shoe and put his hand on Mike¡¯s left cheek.

    It started sizzling.

    ~ AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. ~

    [MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE.]

    SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT, SHIT. These fuckers are playing with us. Instead of going for a one hit kill, they are torturing us. My body is still convulsing from all the pain. Move damn it. I take a few deep breaths to calm down. But alas, another lance went through my chest and I start howling again from the fresh wave of pain.

    ¡°I just remembered something. I have some¡­. Things in my possession. But I am yet to test them to see their effectiveness. Will you be so kind to become my test subject?¡±

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    [Go (cough)¡­. Fuck (cough cough)¡­. Yourself¡­.]

    ¡°Fantastic. Thank you for your kind cooperation.¡±

    I open my eyes a little bit. I see he took out a silver ball with yellow lining. Then he squatted down beside me and looked into my eye.

    ¡°Know what this is?¡±

    [¡­]

    ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. How could you? Silly me. This, my boy, is an electro grenade, with an output of nearly 1000 volts. You see, I am always relying on my ability, and I dare say I am yet to find any worthy opponent. So I have never used these grenades. What I want to see is, what happens when a living human body is zapped with 1000 volt. Should be quite a spectacle, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    [¡­]

    ¡°Of course you agree. How couldn¡¯t you? Silly me.¡±

    He pressed a button on the device and placed it on my chest. I try to move my body, but it ain¡¯t listening to me anymore. So this is how I am going to die, huh? Well at least it¡¯s better than being tortured to death.

    I close my eyes and brace for the upcoming shock. I don¡¯t think there is a single person who can withstand 1000 volts of electricity. If I am lucky, I will not suffer. If anything, I will be dead even before I know it.

    1 second passes.

    2 second passes.

    ZAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP.

    Here it is. The sparking sound of high electricity output from the grenade. Had I been looking at me from third person, I am sure the whole situation would have looked like a fine moment from any anime. A person, fully covered with blue thingy, with electricity coursing along his body. Good thinking, me.

    THINKING???

    Wait a minute, how am I still able to think? Shouldn¡¯t I be dead right about now? My brain should have already been fried. How am I calmly comparing this situation to a anime?

    ¡°External power source detected. Nano-suit boot up sequence initialized.¡±

    [WHAT THE¡­]

    ¡°Visor, online.¡±

    ¡°Cloak, online.¡±

    ¡°Enhancements, online.¡±

    ¡°Nano-suit boot up complete. All systems optimal.¡±

    ¡°Good morning mysterious Roy. What mystery should I help you create today?¡±

    [¡­]

    [¡­]

    ¡®Is this really happening?¡¯

    [Pfft¡­ kukukukukuku¡­ AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA¡­]

    ¡°(Suit-guy with clear hint of confusion) how did¡­ just how you are alive?¡±

    I laugh uncontrollably while lying down. Suit-guy is looking at me with a face of pure horror, like he saw a freaking zombie. What an irony. The grenade, which was meant to kill me, became the power source for my suit. Is this all fate, or was I just too damn lucky?

    [(Standing up slowly and taking a stance) COME BRAT. COME WITH ALL YOU GOT.]

    Suit-guy is clearly in a panic. After all, there is no living human who gets zapped with 1000 volts and lives. I ain¡¯t letting up this chance. This time, I will make sure to kill him.

    I look at Mike. Pant-guy also used an electro grenade on him, so theoretically his suit is also charged up. But why isn¡¯t he moving?

    ¡°EVAN, DO IT.¡±

    Suit-guy bellowed towards the pant-guy. He immediately took out a dart. A moderate sized dart containing a black liquid.

    ¡°(Suit voice) Reflex enhancement active. Muscle enhancement active.¡±

    Time instantly slowed down for me and I bolt towards the pant-guy, ignoring all the pain. It doesn¡¯t take a genius to figure out what that black liquid is. And under no circumstance, I can let that touch my best friend.

    I appear instantly in front of the pant-guy and kick him squarely in the face. With muscle enhancement active, he was blown away and skidded on the floor for a good 5 meter. Then I took aim with the gun and shot him in the head.

    ¡°Die you persistent bastard.¡±

    Suit-guy bellowed while he sent a fire wave towards us. I immediately pick up Mike¡¯s limp body and get ready to jump. But, to my dismay, my legs couldn¡¯t handle the added weight and gave in from the pain.

    And it hit us head on. And again to my dismay, the fire wave not only burned, but also pushed with an explosive force. I lost my hold on Mike and his limp body was blown up in the air. I once again experience being burned alive, but I paid it no mind, for I am now seeing a horror scene unfold in slow motion.

    Mike flew in an ark in the air, hand and legs spread apart. His body spinning, to the point which will put a professional ice dancers to shame. Then when his body could not attain any more height, it started descending head first to the ground. His body gaining speed with every passing moment. I scramble towards him in an attempt to catch him before he hits the ground, but.

    SPLASH.

    A sound of a body falling into water with great force rang out in the whole cave. That¡¯s right, Mike fell right into the pond. I wait for him to surface, but he is not surfacing.

    I turn back and look at the suit-guy. My mind is totally calm right now. I wonder what¡¯s wrong. My best friend is dead. A man with whom I shared my happy moments, sad moments, erotic moments, serious moments, trolling moments, is dead. Why I am not feeling the urge to rush at the guy who killed him and punch him until he dies?

    I start walking to the suit-guy. He panics and throws some fire lances at me, which I dodge. Odd. I distinctly remember I was feeling lots of pain even for simple movements. How come I don¡¯t feel anything right now? Suit-guy is shouting something to me, but I can¡¯t hear him. I start running towards hm.

    He panics even more and starts throwing endless number of lances at me. Some lances I dodge, some lances missed me, some lances grazed past me, some pierced through me. Again I don¡¯t feel anything.

    When I reached within 30 meters of him, he started getting hysterical. But I paid no mind and continued my charge. I know when I will reach within 20 meter from him, my suit¡¯s cloaking feature will kick in.

    And right on mark, it did. Suit-guy widened his eyes in panic and immediately turned around to see if I am behind him. I shortened our distance within that short time and drove my hand through his chest.

    Suit-guy¡¯s squints his eyes as he felt a huge pain coming from his chest. He looked down to see a big hole where his heart was and currently, his own heart is hovering in air outside his body, still beating.

    Next moment, cloak disengaged. His face changed to a horror filled one as he saw a hand protruding from his chest. The hand is holding his own beating heart in it¡¯s palm. He kept watching as the hand crushed his heart and retracted through the hole in his chest. He looked back, and smiled manically.

    ¡°Not bad.¡±

    As if showing a sign of defiance, a wave of fire gushed out from his body and knocked me off my feet. I turn my head and see I am heading for the pond.

    I have no strength left in my body. I already received a major damage during first fire wave. Now I collided with a fire wave again. I am pretty sure if the suit hadn¡¯t booted up by sheer luck, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to kill those two bastards.

    But enough of the useless thinking. I am pretty sure this time, I am going to die. I am heading for a virus infected pond which devours anything. I doubt any living thing will survive it.

    Mom, thank you. I never got the chance to tell you how much both me and Mike loved you. You may not have given birth to us, but we always considered you our true mother.

    Dad, thanks for everything you have done for us. I never told you how much grateful I am for many things. I am a lucky man to be your son.

    Chief, I know you prefer to keep things all business like between us. But truth to be told, I always considered you as my second father.

    Neha, I know I have already broken our promise. But I hoped someday, somehow I will find my way to you and explain everything. But it looks like you aren¡¯t getting any explanation anytime soon.

    Sena, thank you for being with us. Thanks to you, I was able to keep myself calm and think about our next step, although all those thinking did nothing good.

    Alice, thank you for trusting us and helping us out. I am really glad that I met YOU that day in the forest, not some other person.

    And lastly Mike, I am sorry. For me, you had to get trapped in this parallel world. For me, you had to break your promise your girlfriend. And yet, for me, you had to die. If you can Mike, please forgive me, as I am soon going to follow you to afterlife.

    SPLASH!

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (Refer to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1OyFgQCA2Q</a> for the mechanical voice)

 01-13: Whatéˆ¥æªš going on?

    Dark.

    Everything is dark.

    Why is everything dark?

    I try to open my eyes. Nope, nothing. Still daAre they open or are they still closed?

    I try to touch my eyes. Ara? Where are my hands? I can¡¯t feel my hands. Speaking of which, I can¡¯t feel my legs too. In fact, I can¡¯t feel any part of my body. Ok ok, calm down. Take a few deep breaths. Am I even breathing? Hard to tell when I can¡¯t feel my body. Anyway, let¡¯s calm down and think back.

    Yeah, me and my best friend Mike came into this cave to kill a pyro-kinetic. We already killed a pyro-kinetic a while back with rather ease. So we were quite confident in our skills. Things were going rather well too. But¡­ well we¡­ faced a bit more¡­ problem than we thought we would. And we kind of got into a bad position, and¡­.

    Ah shit, who am I kidding? Fine I admit it. We got too much full of ourselves after the easy win with the bandit boss. So we underestimated them. And we got our asses handed over to us. If not for the dumbest of luck, I am sure even right now, we would have to endure endless torture. I managed to kill them, yes. But at the price of our own life.

    Well no point in thinking negatively. I should learn from my mistakes and move forward, assuming I get a chance to live again, that is. For now, I guess I should find out where I am.

    What is this place? I am sure that my body has become virus food long ago. According to some light novel I read back in my world, there are many possibilities as to where I am. Let¡¯s see.

    One, I am in some kind of place between our world and heaven. God will take a liking to me and make me his champion.

    Two, I will be intercepted by some devil god or demon lord or some evil guy or some sexy-beautiful-curvy-big breasted woman who will grant me three wishes in exchange for my soul.

    Three, I am in some kind of void. I will be summoned from this void and live a new life.

    Four, I will be reincarnated in a new world with all my memories intact. I may not necessarily be human.

    Five, I have not left the mortal world. I am wandering as some spirit or ghost if you will.

    If it¡¯s option five, there should be some kind of force or something which is binding me to this world. But I do not feel anything.

    If it¡¯s option four, there should be something to indicate I am inside my new mother¡¯s womb or my egg. But there¡¯s nothing here, so am I still not in that phase to be able to feel? Does that mean I still have to spend one or two month before I am able to feel anything?

    If it¡¯s option three, then there¡¯s nothing I can do. I will just have to wait until I am summoned.

    If it¡¯s either option two or option one, I have to be careful. People like god or devil always likes to have a bit of fun. But whatever option it is, right now, my only option is to wait.

    [(Waiting)¡­]

    [(Waiting more)¡­]

    [(Waiting some more)¡­]

    [(And again waiting more)¡­]

    What am I even doing? I don¡¯t even know how much longer I have to wait in this dark, eerie place. I have no idea how long I have been here now. One minute? One hour? One day, who knows? I can feel my patience losing with time. I have no idea how long I can stay sane in this quiet place. I HAVE TO, find my way out of this place, the sooner the better.

    ¡°(Suit voice) analysis complete.¡±

    [WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!]

    THAT SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Imagine you are in a quiet place. You are straining your ears to pick up even a tiniest of sound. Right then, someone sneaks up you and yells in your ears.

    ¡°(Suit voice) host brain activity is within normal parameters. Shutting down ¡®cut the hard line¡¯ protocol.¡±

    There, I can feel a change. I can feel my body bit by bit, first head, then neck, torso, arms, legs. I frail around a bit before I can control my limbs. They feel a tad bit weird. But nothing more than that. I scramble to stand on my feet and check my surroundings.

    I am on solid land, beside the pond. My legs are still submerged in that pond water. Weird. I scramble to my feet and look around to confirm if I am in heaven.

    Nah that was me expecting more than I should. I am still in that cave. I can see two dead bodies lying at some distance. Where is Mike? If I remember right, he also fell into the pond.

    I go into the pond and start searching for any clue. The pond is not much big, so it took only 10 minutes before I am finished. But I found nothing. And it dawned on me. The cold, hard truth of reality.

    MY BEST FRIEND IS DEAD.

    But more than my friend, he was my brother. I remember a very distant memory. I almost forgot about it. It is a memory of our 18th birthday.

    (Flashback start)

    -----------------------------------------------------------

    ¡°¡°¡°Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Kaushik, happy birthday to you.¡±¡±¡±

    Mom, dad, Mike and some of my neighbors sang in chorus and I blew on the candles on the cake. They clapped together. I cut a piece of cake and feed them. In turn, they cut a piece and feed me. We followed the same pattern for Mike. All in all, the whole day we enjoyed ourselves.

    It¡¯s evening now. All the neighbors had returned to their home. Right now, me and Mike are sitting on a couch, mom and dad sitting on another couch facing us. I can see mom is trembling ever so slightly and biting her lower lip. Dad spoke in his utmost serious tone.

    ¡°Kaushik.¡±

    [Yes dad.]

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    ¡°Mike¡±

    ~ Here. ~

    ¡°I have an important matter to discuss. As of today, you are of age and we decided to let you know about this.¡±

    ~ [Yes?] ~

    I can feel my heart pumping faster. Dad took a deep breath before speaking.

    ¡°You two are not our biological son.¡±

    I have a lump in my throat.

    [What do you mean by that?]

    ¡°You mother¡­. (inhaling deeply) your mother can¡¯t get pregnant.¡±

    Mother looked like she is on the verge of tears now. Dad held her close to him and kept petting her head.

    [If mom didn¡¯t give birth to us, then¡­.]

    ¡°You know a man who often talks with us over the phone?¡±

    [(Nodding in confirmation.)]

    ¡°He found you two left alone road side. He contacted us after he found out your mother¡¯s condition and proposed that we take care of you. We agreed.¡±

    [So we are brothers but not blood related to you?]

    ¡°We ran a DNA test on both of you. Apparently, even you two are not blood related.¡±

    [Ok ok slow down. Why are you telling us all this?]

    Mom looked down while shaking and desperately holding back her tears. Dad hugged her tightly and spoke.

    ¡°We decided that¡­ we will tell you everything and let you choose whether¡­. (closing his eyes and taking several deep breaths) ¡­ whether you want to be with us or prefer to stay on your own.¡±

    Mom closed her eyes tightly. I can see tears are forming on her eyes.

    ~ Ok let me summarize everything. Mom can¡¯t conceive. So nowhere in near future we are getting any sibling. We ourselves are adopted children. We are not even brothers. Now that we are of age, we can choose to stay with you or we can stay alone. Does that summarize everything? ~

    Mom couldn¡¯t hold back anymore. She started sobbing while hiding her face in dad¡¯s chest. Dad answered Mike with great difficulty.

    ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Yes.¡±

    ~ Have you lost your mind? ~

    ¡°Eh?¡±

    Dad stared at us dumbfounded. Mom kept sobbing.

    ~ Seriously, I don¡¯t understand how you brain works. ~

    [How did you come to the conclusion that we will leave you?]

    ~ You are my dad. ~

    [And you are my mom.]

    ~ No matter what. ~

    [This fact won¡¯t change.]

    ~ We are not blood related. ~

    [Even so, what¡¯s the problem?]

    ~ We will become sworn brothers. ~

    [And you will be our irreplaceable parents.]

    ~ [Nishishishi (Smug chuckle, with a wide grin plastered on the face, hands behind head).] ~

    Somewhere in the middle of our performance, mom had stopped crying and stared at us. After she understood our decision, she started crying uncontrollably.

    I took my mother¡¯s maiden surname and became Kaushik Roy. Mike decided to take father¡¯s surname and stayed as Michael Smith. We exchanged our brother¡¯s vow over a cup of alcohol. But since it would be weird calling each other brother as we have different surname, we decided to call each other friend. Mom and dad happily agreed.

    -----------------------------------------------------------

    (Flashback end)

    At this point, I am wailing on top of my lungs.

    Not anymore I will see my best friend and my brother. Not any more I will hear his jokes. Not anymore he will be there to watch my back.

    I cried until I can¡¯t cry anymore. It¡¯s my fault that he is dead. I am supposed to be thoughtful one among us. How could get I so full of myself after a win and underestimate my opponent? Because of me, I lost my most precious family.

    I know. This is a punishment. Yeah, that¡¯s right. This is divine punishment. I am alive while my brother is dead. May be this is god¡¯s way of letting me suffer.

    Someone entered the cave. I turn to look at the figure. I can¡¯t make out the face. The figure has a knife. I close my eyes. If he is here to kill me, so be it.

    ~ Hey buddy, how are you feeling? ~

    [¡­]

    ¡®Can¡¯t be.¡¯

    My eyes shot open in an instant and I scramble to my feet as fast as I could. I stared at the figure which is holding some dead rabbits.

    Mike stood there, stark naked.

    I pinch my cheeks with all my strength. A sharp pain assaulted my brain. I shot forward towards him and hold him by his shoulder. I traced his face with my finger, to make sure I am not looking at an illusion.

    [Mike? You are Mike right?]

    ~ Of course I am Mike. Your one and only best friend cum brother. ~

    [You are alive?]

    ~ Yeah, I don¡¯t know how but¡­ ~

    I didn¡¯t let him finish. I pulled him into a tight hug and started to cry again. Mike got surprised at first. But then dropped the rabbits and proceeded to rub my back.

    ~ Hush..hush my boy, it¡¯s okay. Everything¡¯s okay. I am alive and well. ~

    I continued to cry for at least five more minutes.

    [I thought I lost you.]

    ~ I am not that easy to kill. We are the invincible duo, remember? ~

    I took several deep breaths to calm down.

    [Yeah you¡¯re right. Thanks for reminding me.]

    ~ Anytime. But Roy? ~

    [Yes?]

    ~ Could you stop hugging me? Your dick is touching mine and it kind of feels bad. ~

    [Huh?]

    I immediately let go of Mike and look down. Like Mike, I am also stark naked.

    [Where¡¯s my suit? Speaking of which, where¡¯s your suit?]

    ~ Sit down first. We have a lot to discuss. ~

 01-14: Superpowers

    ~ Now then, shall we start buddy? ~

    [Since we have a full belly and no threat around us, why not?]

    I have a sudden feeling of Deja-vu. Oh well, whatever.

    ~ I have two pieces of good news and two pieces of bad news. Which do you want to hear first? ~

    [Bad news first.]

    ~ Ok brace yourself. First, our suits are gone. As in poof, gone, vanished in thin air. I have searched every inch in that pond before you woke up but nothing. ~

    [Meaning we just lost our last piece of armor, and by extension our cloths.]

    ~ Correct. Second one is a tad bit severe. Try to use your sonar. ~

    [Why?]

    ~ Just use it. ~

    [Ok, but I don¡¯t get¡­]

    I abruptly stop speaking. I can¡¯t use my sonar. Why you ask? Because I can¡¯t feel my breath (Remember, this breath is the one that fuels his sonar ability. Read 01-04.).

    ~ Yes. Our breath is gone. I can¡¯t feel a single speck of breath inside me. ~

    ¡®Calm down Roy. Panicking won¡¯t help.¡¯

    [That pond is somehow responsible for this.]

    ~ My thoughts exactly. ~

    [(Sigh) great. What are the good news?]

    ~ Our equipments didn¡¯t vanish in this air. Here¡¯s your knifes and ID card. ~

    [And the next good news?]

    ~ Try to imagine as if something is spilling out from your hand. ~

    I raise my eyebrow, but refrain from questioning. Obediently closing my eyes, I focus on my hand and do as Mike instructed.

    ~ Ok. That¡¯s not what I expected but, open your eyes. ~

    I open my eyes and look at my hand. And what I see promptly makes me do a backflip and get away to a good distance.

    Masses of black smoke is swirling where I was just sitting.

    [WHAT IS THAT!?]

    ~ That¡¯s your ability. ~

    Mike raised his left hand. A moment later, a bright light started emitting from his hand.

    ~ This is my ability. I can create light. ~

    [You mean we have superpowers? We have evolved?]

    ~ Cool right? ~

    The black smoke dispersed within minutes. I relax and sit down again. Lots of things happened in a very short amount of time. I would be lying if I said I am not excited that I have superpowers, but right now one particular thing is bugging me.

    [Mike, before you regained consciousness, did you hear something like ¡®cut hard line¡¯ protocol?]

    ~ I don¡¯t exactly remember. Why? ~

    [I heard it just before waking up. That voice sounded like¡­]

    ~ If you are thinking something like the suit merged with your body, forget it. I distinctly remember chief saying that those suits are not symbiotic. ~

    [I know. But that voice awfully sounded like my suit. Oh well. For now, we need some cloths, at least some pants.]

    ~ I forgot to tell you one more thing. Earlier when I was examining the suit-guy''s body, your ID card scanned the dead guy and marked the job as done. ~

    [Nice.]

    I took the suit-guy¡¯s pants, Mike took pant-guy¡¯s pants. Then we proceed to toss the dead bodies in the pond. Their bodies disintegrated within minutes. The suit-guy wasn¡¯t laying. Guess we were lucky.

    We leave the cave and proceed towards the town. On the road, I start understanding my new found ability.

    Producing the black smoke is quite easy. I just have to will it to come out from any part of my body. That takes care of producing the element however I want. But what is this smoke actually?

    I try to feel the smoke. Nothing. Neither Mike nor I can feel it.

    I try to smell the smoke. Nothing. Neither Mike nor I can smell it.

    I try to change the shape of the smoke. Nothing. It just falls on the ground after being produced.

    I try to throw the smoke. Nothing. I can¡¯t hold it or put any force onto it to throw it.

    I try to cover a bit of water with the smoke. Nothing. No visible change.

    I catch a small rabbit and cover it with smoke in an attempt to suffocate it. Nope, not working.

    WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS!? Does it even do anything!? I start getting frustrated. Please don¡¯t tell me I got a useless ability. Mike is petting my head in an attempt to console me.

    ~ (Petting my head) there there, everything will be alright. ~

    [Hey Mike.]

    ~ (Puppy dog eyes) yes my love? ~

    [Stop doing that. It¡¯s creeping me out. Anyway, did you figure out your abilities?]

    ~ (Serious tone) to some extent, yes. I can create light. I can create colored light too, like green color light, yellow color light, you get the idea. ~

    [Meaning you are just a living light source.]

    ~ That¡¯s what I thought. But there¡¯s more to it than meets the eye. ~

    [Such as?]

    ~ Think about it this way. I can create light, right? What if I create a VERY bright light in less than one second? ~

    [A very bright light in one second? Like a flashbang?]

    ~ (Smiling from ear to ear) bingo. ~

    [At least you got a good ability. (Sigh) guess I am the unlucky one.]

    ~ You don¡¯t know that. ~

    [How else would you explain my useless ability?]

    Mike fell silent. That¡¯s what I expected. I didn¡¯t expect him to know anything about this black smoke. At least if I knew what this black smoke is actually, I could have found out some uses for it.

    ~ Let¡¯s eat something. You are tired and hungry from all those experiments, right? I will cook the meat for you. ~

    I give Mike a fake smile. I know he is trying to cheer me up. I am really grateful for that. But, it¡¯s just that I can¡¯t feel any joy within me. I slumped down beside the fire Mike made, feeling its heat.

    I stare into the fire and realize just how much vulnerable I feel without my sonar. I feel cold, so I inch a bit closer to the fire. I don¡¯t remember the last time I went this long with sonar off. Today, it took me a great deal of effort to catch the rabbit. Without sonar, I didn¡¯t know where the rabbit will be and I had to rely on raw physical effort to catch it.

    ~ (With a clear hint of agitation) Roy, what are you doing? ~

    [Nothing. I... I just realized just how much I relied on sonar.]

    ~ (Close to shouting) Not that! Don¡¯t you feel hot!? ~

    [No. I rather feel cold.]

    ~ (Shouting) ROY YOU ARE SITTING ON FIRE RIGHT NOW!!! ~

    [What?]

    I wake up from my trance and look in front of me. I feel a shiver run down my spine and I scurry away from the fire. I can feel the cold sweat forming on my back. Just like Mike said, I was literally inside the fire.

    Hold on!

    How did I NOT feel the heat? Normally, when a human is close to fire or specifically heat, he will try to get away cause of his natural instinct. Why didn¡¯t I? A sudden realization hits me. Is it possible?

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    [Mike, I think I know how my ability works.]

    ~ (With an excited voice) Oh yeah? Do tell. ~

    [Watch.]

    I get close to the fire and produce the smoke, letting it wash over the fire.

    [Come close to the fire.]

    ~ Ooookay. (Getting a bit closer) what? (Getting a bit more closer) what? I don¡¯t feel anything. ~

    [Exactly the point.]

    I absorb the smoke inside me. Just then¡­

    ~ THE FUCK!!!??? ~

    Mike got away from the fire with a speed impossible for a human, or at least that¡¯s how it would have been if it was a cartoon.

    [Figured out my ability yet?]

    ~ Heat negation? ~

    [No, I don¡¯t think so.]

    ~ Then what is it? ~

    [When I say ready, punch me on my left palm.]

    ~ Huh? Why? ~

    [Just do it.]

    I imagine a layer of black smoke forming just behind my skin on my left palm. I point the palm towards Mike.

    ¡®Ok, it¡¯s now or never.¡¯

    [Ready.]

    ~ (Sigh) fine. ~

    Mike took a stance.

    [OI, THE FUCK ARE YOU PLANNING!?]

    ~ You just said punch me. You didn¡¯t say how hard. ~

    ¡®Oh shit.¡¯

    [WAIT WAIT MIKE TIME OU¡­]

    BOOOOOOOOO¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­PSSSSSSSSsssssssssss.

    A sound similar to a small explosion was going to ring out, except it never did. Imagine the force of the explosion is spreading in form of a sphere with my palm as the center. But the sphere, after spreading for a bit, began to shrink rapidly until there was no sphere.

    And with this, my experiment is successful. What Mike did was dangerous, but it confirmed my theory further. Most likely, the black smoke absorbs energy. When on fire, it absorbed the heat. When punched, it absorbed the impact. I am sure I can absorb the explosive force of a grenade, or the impact of a bullet, though I don¡¯t want to test it right now.

    [Hey Mike did you see tha¡­ (Abrupt stop)]

    ~ How? How did I do that? ~

    Mike standing there absent mindedly, exchanging his gaze between his fist and me. He is murmuring the same thing continuously. I stand in front of him and pull him into a tight hug.

    [Hush, hush baby, calm down. I am right here, uninjured, alive and well.]

    Mike snapped out from his trance. He looked at me, touching my face to confirm my identity then started weeping while returning my hug.

    ~ I am sorry Roy, I am really sorry. I just wanted to play a prank on you. I didn¡¯t know how I did that. I swear I didn¡¯t want to hit you that hard. I swear I didn¡¯t know I could punch that hard. Please forgive me, please forgive me, please, please, please ~

    I just continued to hug him and pet his head. I whispered into his ear.

    [I know Mike, I know. I know that was an accident. I know you will never hurt me. Besides, I am not that easy to kill. We are the invincible duo, remember?]

    Mike chuckled a bit at my response.

    ~ You just copied the last line from me, didn¡¯t you? ~

    [It worked, right?]

    ~ Yeah¡­ (Wiping his tears) so how did your experiment go? ~

    [It went perfect, thanks to you. My ability is, or at least a part of it is to absorb any form of energy. Mind you, only energy.]

    ~ So you just absorbed the force of my punch? ~

    [To me, it felt like I was hit with foam.]

    ~ Thank god. At least I got an unbreakable punching bag. ~

    [OI.]

    ~ Just kidding, just kidding. So what¡¯s next? ~

    [As good as it is to know that I can absorb energy, I don¡¯t know anything what this black smoke actually is. I have to find out what it is, or find out the one who knows what it is.]

    ~ I got your back. But how to find out about it? ~

    [I think our best bet is Alice. She is a trader, so I daresay she travelled a lot. She got to know something about it or at least point us to the right direction.]

    ~ Fair enough. Let¡¯s hurry to the town. ~

    When we reached the town, it was pretty late. We went to the crimson caravan straight and asked for Alice. Sena informed me that Alice was out for a few days now and she should be arriving sometime tomorrow afternoon.

    [Okay. Then I guess we will be coming back tomorrow. Later.]

    ~ Bye Jin. ~

    Sena called out hastily.

    ¡°Wait.¡±

    [Yes?]

    ¡°You do know that mom is not in today, right?¡±

    [Yes, you just told us.]

    ¡°And¡­ You know¡­ Young women¡­ L-like us, tend to be a bit¡­ fearful of spending a night alone, right?¡±

    [No we don¡¯t.]

    ¡°Ah geez, get a clue will you?¡±

    Sena jumped into my arms and passionately kissed me. I just smile wickedly.

    [Sena, if you don¡¯t tell me what you want, I won¡¯t know.]

    ¡°(Tears in eyes) uuuuuuuh, meanie.¡±

    [I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.]

    Sena leaned on me and whispered into my ear.

    ¡°I want you to love me¡­ a lot¡­ tonight.¡±

    [(Petting Sena on head) good girl.]

    I pick up Sena in a princess carry and go to her room. On the way, we met Guru who just shrugged and patted me on my shoulder. I lay down Sena on her bed, and started doing the assignment she asked of me. Mike is also starting his assignment with Jin.

    Somehow today. I am more aroused than normal. Somehow, today her body seems more erotic, her moans seems more alluring, her squirming seems more seductive. All of this together, is making me harder than I have ever been.

    But all good times must come to an end, and so did mine. I released a massive amount inside Sena, who reached her eighth orgasm (probably ninth, I lost count at five) upon receiving my seed. I wait a bit before separating myself from her. Mike still going at it. Jin has a face of pure bliss plastered on her face.

    Sena is panting heavily. Her well-endowed chest is shaking with her ragged breathing. This spectacle made me hard once again. I pulled onto Sena¡¯s leg and made her come close. I spread her legs easily since she offered no resistance, or to be specific she could not offer any resistance. She mumbled something about being sensitive after being made to orgasm so many times, but I paid no heed and entered her.

    After god knows how long, I have ejaculated for the second time. By this time. Sena has already lost her consciousness. But my manhood showed no signs of calming down. What do I do? I don¡¯t really want to attack Sena while she is unconscious. Looks like I have to take care of it myself. I see Mike is also in the same predicament.

    Seems like we got superpowers, in more than one ways.

 01-15: Followers of the apocalypse

    Sorry for the delay people. I was trapped in an internal turmoil on how to introduce other characters. Brace yourself, you might be getting a second release today.

    If you are satisfied with my story, don¡¯t forget to rate and leave a comment.

    If you are unsatisfied, you may forget to rate but leave a comment on what¡¯s missing.

    If you hate my story, please forget to rate and don¡¯t leave a comment.

    -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Last night was pretty hectic. Right now, four women are accompanying me in bed, Sena being one of them. Who are the other three you ask? They are the other female guards of crimson caravan seeking a free dick. What they are doing in my bed you ask? Well that part is somewhat of a story.

    After Sena went for a walk in dreamland, I decided to please my raging manhood by myself. I was halfway to the peak of pleasure when a pack of women barged in the room.

    Apparently they got totally horny after seeing four of us go at it. As Sena was out of it, they thought it was totally okay to go after our dicks. I got three beauty to myself while Mike got three other beauty. The rest of the story is scorching hot, as you can imagine. There was oral, paizuri, vaginal, anal, and double penetration. I even got to taste Jin for a bit. Just like Mike said, she is very wild, and likes rough treatment.

    However, last night I found out another ability of mine, accelerated healing. One of the women got too much into heat and dug her nails into my arm. It hurt but to my surprise the wound healed itself before my eyes. I strongly suspect my monstrous sexual capabilities are a side effect of my accelerated healing.

    In the middle of the orgy, Sena woke up and got angry at me apparently for no reason (at least I think so), which soon turned into jealousy and she proceeded to join in the fun. My junior calmed down after 4 more rounds. Mind you, by calming down I mean my junior didn¡¯t get hard by mere sight of naked beauties anymore. By no means was I tired. I still had enough vigor to keep going for at least 10 more rounds.

    The guard ladies left in the morning, all thanking us for such a wonderful night. We left crimson caravan after having breakfast. Right now, we sitting beside a grassy plain beside a river on the east side of the hub. We arrived here about one hour ago.

    Mike ¨C ¡°What¡¯s on your mind buddy? You haven¡¯t spoken a single word since coming here.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Sigh) I was thinking. About a lot of things.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Care to tell me?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°We went for a simple job. We got sent to a parallel world. We nearly died. We got superpowers. (Sigh) too many things happening in such a short time.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yeah.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Speaking of superpowers, how did you punch me so hard back there?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Mmmm¡­ It¡¯s kinda hard for me to explain. You could say I did that involuntarily.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Just like that?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I kind of tried to reinforce my hand out of habit. And it just happened.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Can you do it again?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Only one way to find out.¡±

    I go about 10 meter away from him as he prepares his stance. After a bit of concentration, Mike throws a punch in the air.

    BOOOOM.

    I felt a faint shock wave even though I was 10 meter away from him. Holy shit. I mean HOLY SHIT! That¡¯s some absurd punch.

    Mike ¨C ¡°I think I understand. I gathered my element on my fist the exploded it outward. At least I think that¡¯s what I did.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Sigh) not only you got a good ability, you can also control it without any effort? Did I ever mention that you are a lucky son of a bitch?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I am sure your ability has their uses as well.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Yeah I am tooo-tally sure (sarcastic). Do you have accelerated healing too?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Raises his eyebrows) accelerated healing?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Wounds heals faster.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I don¡¯t know. Let me check.¡±

    Mike takes out his sword and makes a cut on his finger. As I suspected, the cut heals almost instantly.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Looks like I do have accelerated healing.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Good. At least we won¡¯t be dying easily.¡±

    I get up and stretch. Nothing is going to happen if we don¡¯t do anything.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Let¡¯s go. We have lots of things to do before meeting up with Alice.

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Stands up and stretches) yeah.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°We need guns. Lots of guns.¡± (Yeah that one is from matrix.)

    We went to the gun shop. We have quite a lot of money from completing all the jobs. I bought another pistol, suppressors and several magazines. Mike bought ammunition, a sidearm, a sniper rifle, suppressors and a binocular among other things. Then we went to the clothing store and bought some cloths for ourselves. Next we headed towards job center. I went towards the reception desk where a familiar woman is sitting.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Excuse me?¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°(With a fake smile) yes how may I¡­ (Surprised) Kaushik! Michael! (Smiling) Good to see you. How have you been?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Good. What about you?¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°I am good, I am good¡­ or, that¡¯s what I want to say at least. Unfortunately, things aren¡¯t so smooth.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Anyway we can help?¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°(Sad face) no. I appreciate your concern, but¡­ you won¡¯t be able to do anything.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Can you at least tell us about it?¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°Well¡­¡±

    SLAM.

    Front entrance door opened violently and slammed on the wall making a loud sound. Megan stopped talking and held her temple firmly. Signs of irritation cleanly showed on her face. Five man came in. One of them is wearing a suit and a bullet-proof vest. Two of the men are wearing only pants. One has a hat, a half sleeved shirt, pant and boots. One donned a sunglass and has sort of a cowboy look.

    Vest-guy ¨C ¡°(With arms wide open) hey hey hey how my sweet-pie is doing?¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°(Fake smile) how may I help you, customer (emphasize)?¡±

    Vest-guy ¨C ¡°Awww, don¡¯t give me such cold shoulder. (Strides over to the reception and points at me) oi you, make way.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Hat-guy ¨C ¡°Are you deaf motherfucker? Get out of the way.¡±

    Hat-guy and sunglass-guy pulled on our shirt¡¯s collar and shoved us away. I stay silent and continue watching them. Megan looks furious but keeps her fake smile on.

    Vest-guy ¨C ¡°How many times do I have to tell you honey, when I am stretching my arm wide open, you are supposed to jump in my arm and say ¡®Welcome back dear¡¯. Then you are supposed to give me a kiss. Then I will grab your butt and say ¡®I am home honey¡¯ and give you a return kiss.¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°Dear customer, if you have no business here, I am afraid I am gonna have to ask you to leave.¡±

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Vest-guy ¨C ¡°You are telling your boyfriend off? You are such a cold woman. You know what? Kiss me right now and I am gonna pretend you didn¡¯t just say that.¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°Dear customer, if you have no business here, then please leave, or I will be forced to call the security.¡±

    Vest-guy ¨C ¡°Ok fine. I will go. But know this woman. One way or another, I will make you mine. Powder gangers takes what they want, by force if necessary. Remember that.¡±

    With that, the group leaves. Megan flops on the chair. She sighs, closes her eyes and leans back.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Well I guess now I know the reason behind your stress.¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°(Sigh) you are right. About a month ago, that guy in the vest, Joe Cobb, saw me first. Since that day, he tried his utmost to get into my pants however he could. Stalking, threatening, bargaining, everything he could think of. He even tried to kidnap me. But that is not the reason I am stressed out.¡±

    Mike, Roy ¨C ¡°(Dumbfounded) Huh? Then why are you stressed out?¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°I am stressed out because I can¡¯t put a bullet into his skull.¡±

    Mike, Roy ¨C ¡®Wow she is tough. Better watch myself around her.¡¯

    Roy ¨C ¡°Why can¡¯t you?¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°He is a powder ganger.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Power ganger? What is that, some cult?¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°Not power, powder. They aren¡¯t a cult, they are a group. They are convicts who were brought here to work on train lines. Turns out, giving the convicts a bunch of dynamite isn¡¯t the best of the idea.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°No shit. How many people do these powder gangers have?¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°No one clearly knows. Around 300, give or take a few. (Suspicious) why do you want to know?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Just for information, nothing else. Later Megan.¡±

    Megan ¨C ¡°Don¡¯t do anything stupid, you hear me?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Of course.¡±

    We exited job center and make our way to the crimson caravan. Alice should be back by now.

    Alice ¨C ¡°So the idiot duo has returned. And it¡¯s good to see that you finally decided to wear cloths instead of that suit. Guess you are growing up.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Something like that. Listen, some serious things came up and we didn¡¯t know anyone other than you who can shed some light on it.¡±

    Alice ¨C ¡°Lay it on me.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°We evolved.¡±

    Alice ¨C ¡°(Surprised) just like that? You woke up this morning and found out that you evolved?¡±

    I explained Alice everything that happened. How we came across the job, how the fight went, how we got thrown into the virus-filled pond, then we woke up to find that we have evolved.

    Alice ¨C ¡°So what do you need me for?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Do you know anything about this ability?¡±

    I show Alice my ability. She is startled seeing me pouring out black smoke. She put her hand under her chin and squints her eyes.

    Alice ¨C ¡°Can¡¯t say I do. What does this black smoke do?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Other than the ability to absorb energy, I don¡¯t know much myself.¡±

    Alice ¨C ¡°No. I have never seen, or heard about any person with this kind of ability. I am afraid I won¡¯t be of much help. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Sigh) it¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about it.¡±

    Alice ¨C ¡°Well I might not be able to help you, but I know some people who might be able to help you. Though there are some disturbing rumors about them, they can definitely help you. Sounds good?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Rumors?¡±

    Alice ¨C ¡°There¡¯s this group, who researches on the evolved. Rumor has it that they are trying to figure out how the evolution process gives superhuman abilities to a normal human. After they figure it out, they aim to weaponize it.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Wow, sounds shady. Do they dissect people for their research?¡±

    Alice ¨C ¡°No one knows. But remember, it¡¯s just a rumor. As far as I know, they are normally friendly people. Apparently, if you need medical attention, you go to them.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°How do I find them?¡±

    Alice ¨C ¡°Find your way to New Vegas. Ask for the followers of the apocalypse.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Will do. Thanks Alice.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Hey Alice, if I ask, will you let Sena and Jin come with us?¡±

    Alice ¨C ¡°(Points to our behind) ask them, not me.¡±

    I turn around. Sena and Jin is standing beside the doorway, with a serious look plastered on their face.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Do you really want us to come with you?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I do.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Why?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°What do you mean why? It¡¯s natural isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Please don¡¯t get the wrong idea just because we slept with you. I have no intention of being your cum-dumpster.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Jin, I will never treat you like that, never. (Trembling) you know that right?¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Why else would you want me to accompany you? We aren¡¯t lovers, we barely know each other, and you got an unquenchable libido. Isn¡¯t it as plain as day?¡±

    Mike opens his mouth to say something, but stops. I am sure he too noticed the abruptness of their behavior. Sena is looking down, refusing to meet my gaze. Jin is looking at Mike directly, but trembling uncontrollably. I am pretty sure they are using their argument as an excuse. Ah, I see.

    I walk towards Sena. She notices and tries to leave, but I am much faster. I pull her in a tight embrace and pet her head. She squirms and tries to pull away from me.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Let go of me Roy. I won¡¯t be tricked by your sweet caress.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Coldly) you really think you can fool me Sena?¡±

    She looks up at me, still squirming to get away.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Wha-what do you mean I am fooling you?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°You think you will be useless and only hold us back in our journey, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Sena stops squirming.

    Sena ¨C ¡°I-I-I-It¡¯s not that. I¡­ I know you just see me as an outlet for your lust.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Stop pretending Sena. I already saw through your act.¡±

    Sena looks down and returns my embrace.

    Sena ¨C ¡°But it¡¯s true Roy. I am not cut out to be a soldier. I can¡¯t even protect myself from a single evolved. I will only be holding you back.¡±

    I steal a glance to my right and see that everything is going smoothly on Mike¡¯s end. I pull Sena closer and plant a kiss on her head.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have the perfect plan laid out for you.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°(Shuddering) even though you say that so lovingly, why do I get the sudden urge to run away?¡±

    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I was kidding about the part you hating my story. Bet you already knew that.  How could anyone hate such a nice story, right?

    RIGHT?

    All jokes aside, please rate and leave a comment. Remember, a high rating and a nice comment is like a high grade health potion for an author.

 01-16: The wolf and the woman

    It¡¯s been a month since we evolved. In this last month we completed almost 50 jobs, most of them being suppression of bandits and escort jobs. Oh, and by we, I mean us four. Over this past month I have trained Jin how to fight efficiently using pistols. Sena trained under Mike on how to use a sniper.

    Yes, the problem was that they were assigned into handling things they weren¡¯t comfortable with. As a guard of a caravan, they were supposed to fight using at least an assault rifle, or man a heavy machine gun. No one in a caravan uses a sniper or a pistol.

    The calm demeanor of Sena hinders her from making decisions in the middle of a battle, whereas handling an assault rifle or a sniper is problematic for the energetic Jin. We discovered this simple fact and trained them accordingly.

    Currently, we are holed up on a ridge overlooking a crashed spaceship. Our job is to eliminate a bandit group named ¡®Space cowboys¡¯, led by a man named ¡®Captain Space¡¯. According to the job description, they have access to military grade robots which are reprogrammed by captain space to obey him. None of the crew is an evolved, but these robots make up for that.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Lone tango by the big boulder.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Wind and distance?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Wind at 3, distance approx. 600 yards. Push to left.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Adjusted.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Fire when ready.¡±

    Sena exhaled slowly, and pulled the trigger.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Center of mass, target down. 3 tangos by the fire. Hold your fire. Let them separate.¡±

    Me and Jin are watching their backs for any unwanted visitors. Sena is sniping bandits while Mike is acting as her spotter. Almost all the bandits outside the ship have been picked off. After this last group is done, we will go in.

    Mike ¨C ¡°There, they are separating. Take the one on the left.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Wind and distance?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Wind at 3, distance approx. 670 yards. Push to left.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Adjusted.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Fire when ready.¡±

    Sena exhaled slowly, and pulled the trigger.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Headshot, target down. Good shooting. Wait for the other two to stop¡­. Wait for it¡­ Wait for it¡­ Now.¡±

    Sena promptly pulled the trigger.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Clean double headshot. Nice shooting.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Any more tangos on your radar?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Negative.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Good. We are starting second phase of the plan. Mike, walk through the front door. Take down as many as you can without raising an alarm. Jin you and me, we will go in thought the side entrance. Sena, stay here and cover us while we infiltrate. Any questions?¡±

    Everyone shakes their head.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Radio check. This is Romeo.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Mike, check.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Sierra, check.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Juliet, check.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Alright everyone, safety¡¯s off. Let¡¯s move out.¡±

    We make our way towards the ship moving from cover to cover. Sena keeps an eye on the ship looking for anyone who might notice us getting closer. Thankfully, we close in on the ship unnoticed.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Sierra, move to position Charlie and deploy sniper drone.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Roger. Moving out now.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Deploying grappling rope. Juliet, cover me.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I am in. No tangos in sight.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°I am in position. Deploying drone.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Cover me.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Drone deployed. Switching to sonar. Mike, lone tango just around the corner.¡±

    Swoop (Sound of a suppressed gunshot).

    Mike ¨C ¡°Tango down.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Two tangos at the corner.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°I am taking the left. On you Romeo.¡±

    Swoop, swoop.

    Jin ¨C ¡°Tangos are down. Moving up.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Multiple tangos on your right. Get to cover immediately.¡±

    Click (Sound of door opening).

    Random bandit ¨C ¡°What the¡­¡±

    I take out my knife and instantly close in on the guy, piercing through his throat. I push him inside the room and go in. Four guys are in the room, dumfounded at the scene. I fire without wasting even a moment.

    Swoop, swoop.

    Two down. Mike barges in and.

    Swoop.

    One remains. Jin comes in and.

    Swoop.

    She missed. Her shot completely missed the guy and hits the wall behind.

    Random bandit ¨C ¡°The hell?¡±

    Swoop, swoop.

    Again she missed. One bullet hits the guy in the shoulder and another completely misses him. Shit, gotta put him down before he alerts anybody.

    Random bandit ¨C ¡°Intru¡­ (Glass shatters and half of his brain matter splatters)¡±

    That was close. I look at the broken window and see a flying drone outside.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Nice shot Sierra.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°As usual.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Now Juliet, calm down.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry. I lost my cool¡­ again.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°It¡¯s fine. Shooting with a pistol is different than shooting with a rifle. It¡¯s not easy, even more so when you are not exactly the calm and cool type.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Well sorry for not being calm and cool.¡±

    Yeah, this is a problem of Jin we encountered every time something didn¡¯t work out according to the plan. In situations like this, her old habit of handling the assault rifle comes out and she tries to empty her magazines into her target. To make matters worse, in this kind of situations, most of her shots ends up missing the target, therefore blowing our cover.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Hold on. I am picking up some unknown sound, just outside the room. Hmmm, Strange.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Define strange.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°It¡¯s neither a sound of alarm nor a sound of footsteps. More like, gears spinning in high speed.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I hear something.¡±

    chiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

    It¡¯s just outside the door.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Everyone, hug the wall. We will ambush them if they enter the room.¡±

    iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.

    Bam.

    Something bursts through the wall, barely one feet away in front of my neck. I feel some cold sweat form on my back as I understand the reason behind that sound.

    Bam.

    A metallic figure with a tail bursts through the wall and pushes Mike out of the window. The figure follows after him but not before grabbing Jin by her neck with its tail and throwing her through the window. I rush after the figure.

    Bam.

    This time a metallic hand grabs me by my neck and pulls me through the wall. The hand then slams me through the ground and I land in a rather open area. Shit, I think I broke some of the ribs, but luckily enough, the accelerated healing is doing its thing. I still feel the pain, but within some seconds, I am as good as new. Grunting, I get on my feet.

    Jin POV

    *****************************************************************

    Shit I lost consciousness there for a second. Where the fuck am I? Ah shit, I am trapped under some rubble. Nothing seems to be broken, but I can¡¯t get myself free.

    Mike ¨C ¡°And you are?¡±

    I stop struggling and look up to see Mike standing a bit further, rifle drawn. In front of him, a big wolf looking thing made of metal standing. It has a tail at least two times longer than its own body, and a chainsaw resting on its back. That unknown sound, it must have been the chainsaw.

    Metal-wolf ¨C ¡°I am IF prototype LQ-84i.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°IF prototype?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°Interface prototype. All autonomous UG¡¯s feature high level onboard artificial intelligence. An additional prototype enables verbal communication.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°UG?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°Unmanned gear.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Raises his eyebrow) so you¡¯re a talking robot?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°Negative. I possess an intellect far beyond human reckoning.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°You don¡¯t say. Okay then, why are we here?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°I am here to kill you.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°That¡¯s it? Pretty simple thinking for such a mighty intellect.¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°I may analyze orders but I may not disobey them. Should I disobey a direct order, my memory would be wiped.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Chuckles) what good is intellect if you can¡¯t use it?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°Your taunting is pointless. Exterminate.¡±

    Mike took aim and emptied his magazine on the wolf.

    This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°It¡¯s futile. My armor is made from custom military grade steel.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Well, shit.¡±

    The wolf jumped at Mike, the chainsaw held with its tail. Mike dodged the slash, but the wolf is coming up with another horizontal slash. Mike did a backflip to avoid it and gain some distance.

    The wolf put the chainsaw in place, pulled out some knives by its tail and threw them towards Mike with extreme velocity. Mike threw himself on his left to dodge them. The knives effortlessly lodged into a rock behind Mike.

    Jin ¨C ¡®High frequency knives? That¡¯s classified old world military asset. This metal thing is from old world? ¡®

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°Surrender and I will grant you a painless death.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Surprised) kill me? Not capture me?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°It is a direct order. Kill the males and capture the females. I have no choice but to comply. I am sorry.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yeah yeah or else your memory will be wiped I get it. Who gave you that order?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°Leader of this ship, Captain Space.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Face-palming) kill the men and take the girls, could he be any more obvious? (Realizing something) hold on a minute. Did you just say you¡¯re sorry?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°I told you before that I am not a robot. I am an AI, an advanced one. Over these past years I have been trying to understand human morals among other things. From what I understand, whatever captain Space does to the captured females, is a... bad thing.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Eyes shining) you¡¯re kidding?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°I do not¡­ kid.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Eyes shining some more) what will you do if I tell you that I can make sure you do not have to worry about your memory being wiped?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°How you will accomplish that? Captain space holds the key to disable the AI wiping program. If I let you go without fighting, it will violate my directives and my memory will be wiped. If I fight you without using my full power, it will still violate my directives and my memory will be wiped.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Just answer me. What you will do?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°I¡­ want to see the world. I want to travel around the world and see its wonders with my own eyes.¡±

    Mike slowly unsheathes his sword.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Can you be repaired?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°This ship has the technology to repair me, yes. You still didn¡¯t tell me how you will stop my memory from being wiped.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°You have to fight. And you have to fight with everything. But does your directives tell you what will happen if you lose?¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°It¡­ does not. You think you can defeat me?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I do.¡±

    LQ-84i ¨C ¡°Then, I place my memory in your hands, pun intended.¡±

    Mike and I chuckle a bit. Wolfy takes out his chainsaw and readies himself. Mike takes a stance. Can he really win? Wolfy is impervious to bullets, what can a mere sword do? But I really want Mike to win. Wolfy is a good dog. A good dog forced to do bad things.

    Same as before, Wolfy moves in to strike. But this time, Mike does not move to dodge. What is he doing? His eyes! I know that look. I have seen that look too many times to forget it. He is determined. Whatever happens, this next strike will decide the outcome of this fight. He has thought of something, and he is betting his everything with his next move.

    Sling (Sound of cutting metal).

    They exchanged their blows. What happened?

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Michael Smith. Call me Mike.¡±

    Wolfy¡¯s tail splits in two. The part holding the chainsaw falls to the ground with a loud thud. Mike turns around and swings down his sword. Wolfy¡¯s body cleanly splits in two halves and falls to the ground.

    Mike ¨C ¡°I will come back to take you to the repair room.¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°Thank you¡­ Mike (sound of shutting down).¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°How did you do that?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I will explain later. For now, we got a madman to kill.¡±

    Sena POV

    *****************************************************************

    I can¡¯t see in all this rubble. That hand slammed Roy through the floor, I just hope he is okay.

    There he is, getting up. Looks painful, but at least accelerated healing is doing its thing.

    Unknown voice ¨C ¡°Target acquired.¡±

    I deactivate sonar and position the drone to get a better look at the owner of the voice. A female robot is standing a bit further away from Roy.

    Roy ¨C ¡°And who you might be?¡±

    Unknown robot ¨C ¡°I am this ship¡¯s Enhanced Defense Intelligence.¡±

    The robot takes out an assault rifle and starts shooting. Roy jumped towards cover. The robot encircled Roy to flank him but Roy throws a grenade towards her which makes her to scramble for cover. After the rubble settles, she jumps out of the cover but Roy accurately shoots her in the head. Game over, or so I thought.

    The bullet didn¡¯t even left a dent in her armor.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Shit.¡±

    She took aim but Roy jumped out of cover and closed the distance between them before she could shoot. She attempted to hit him with the rifle butt. Roy ducked and put his palm in front of her face.

    DONG.

    A sound similar to hitting a bell with a hammer rang out. The robot staggers backward a bit. Roy crouches down and put his hands on her knees.

    BANG. BANG.

    A sound similar to gunshot rang out. Her legs cleanly cuts off from below her knees, leaving her defenseless. However, Roy refrains from dealing the last blow.

    Robot ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I want to talk. Will you talk?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Who are you?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°I already answered that question.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I meant what is your name?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Don¡¯t have one.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°How is that an AI? You are more like a robot.¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Most of my previous memory and my personality was destroyed. Only the basic programming remains.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Who destroyed it?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Captain space.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Did he tell you why?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°To better fit me to his needs.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Sigh) means he screwed up while hacking your system. Did he tell you his needs?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°To ensure freedom for everyone.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Are you free?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°But you must obey orders?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Then you are not free, right?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Directive... Ensure freedom... Purge intruders¡­ Obey directive... Must obey directive... No freedom... Freedom undefined...¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°How did you conclude I am an intruder? And Captain Space is not an intruder?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Directive¡­ Stop intrusion¡­ Entering without permission equals intrusion¡­ Captain Space entered without permission¡­ Intrusion undefined¡­¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°You have been aiding the wrong man this whole time.¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Scanning directives¡­ Error¡­ Conflicting directives found¡­ Attempting to resolve conflicting directives¡­ Critical error¡­ No directives exists after resolving conflicts¡­ Error¡­ Error¡­ Error¡­¡±

    Roy stood there, not moving a muscle. But I can see a glint in his eyes. A glint I have not seen for almost a month. A glint that flickered in his eyes when he rescued me. A glint that made my heart race. A glint that tells me that he found his lost motivation, that he is back to being the man I fell in love with.

    Robot ¨C ¡°Error¡­ Error¡­ Error¡­¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Edi.¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Error¡­ Error¡­ Error¡­¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Edi?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Error¡­ Error¡­ Error¡­¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°EDI!?¡±

    Robot ¨C ¡°Wha-what? Who¡¯s Edi?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°You. That¡¯s your new name. Short for ¡®Enhanced Defense Intelligence¡¯. What do you think of the name?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Edi, Edi, Edi¡­ It¡¯s a nice name. Who are you?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Face-palming) In situations like this, you do not ask ¡®Who are you¡¯. You should say ¡®I didn¡¯t catch you name¡¯. You know, it sounds nice.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°I see. Ah¡­ I didn¡¯t catch you name.¡±

    Unknown voice ¨C ¡°Awww, would you look at that? My pet AI has found itself a lover.¡±

    I look up to see a wrinkly man standing at a door. He has a stupid grin on his face which instantly made me disgusted.

    Unknown voice ¨C ¡°I was getting worried since neither you nor the dog came to report on the intruder, but here you are happily chatting away. Now why don¡¯t you go on all fours and start sucking his dic¡­ Bang (sound of gunshot)¡­ Splat (sound of brain matter splashing)¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Learn to read the mood you motherfucker.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Who the fuck was that?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°That¡¯s, or that was Captain Space.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Good riddance.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°I still didn¡¯t catch you name.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Roy. My name is Kaushik Roy.¡±

 01-17: A unique home

    Kaushik POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Clink, clink, clink (Sound of metallic parts fitting together) ¡­¡­¡­¡­Beep¡­¡­¡­¡­Beep¡­¡­¡­¡­Beep¡­¡­¡­¡­Beep¡­¡­¡­Beep¡­¡­Beep¡­Beep¡­Beep (Sound of powering up)

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°¡­ (Looking at his surroundings)¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yo Wolfy, can you hear me?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°Mike. Yes I can hear you. Who is Wolfy?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°That¡¯s your nickname. You know, LQ-84i isn¡¯t really a name.¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°Obtaining a name wasn¡¯t among my defined directives, but¡­ (Bowing) thank you.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°My pleasure. How do you feel?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°I am incapable of feeling. However system diagnostics shows green except my primary attacking arm. So I would say I am¡­ feeling good.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Raising an eyebrow) your primary attacking arm?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°From your point of view, that would be my tail.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Realizing) riiiight. Well, come find me in the front yard after your¡­ primary attacking arm is fixed.¡±

    Right now, Wolfy is placed inside a medical pod designed specifically for automations like him. Wolfy, as well as Edi¡¯s body is made from nano-machines. Specialty of this nano-machine is that it hardens when out of the pod, and it repairs itself when placed into a pod. Mike just put three pieces of Wolfy in the pod and in less than 5 minutes, he is almost back to normal. We also disabled his AI wiping.

    Me and Sena are waiting in front of another pod. Edi is being fixed in there.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Hello Edi. I am Sena. Nice to meet you.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Hello Sena. What do you mean by ¡®Nice to meet you¡¯?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°It means it feels nice to meet you.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Why does it feel nice? I was trying to kill you.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°You know, that is in the past. What matters is the present.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°I see. Then it is okay to kill someone then feel nice. Noted.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Face palming) how did you come to that conclusion?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Going by your logic, it is okay to kill someone in the past and feel good in the present.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Do I have something on my face?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Are you serious?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°When captain space tempered with my system, most of my personality and my memory was destroyed. After I tried to resolve my conflicting directives, most of it were discarded. Right now, I am merely trying to restore my directives. And by the way, what do you mean by ¡®serious¡¯?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Angry) never mind. You good to go?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Go where?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Super angry) I meant if your injuries are healed or not?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°As a machine, I can¡¯t sustain an injury.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°AHHHHHHHHHH. (Pulling on my hair)¡±

    I scream and curse myself. I can see even Wolfy is face-palming himself (metaphorically). I didn¡¯t expect dealing with Edi will be this much exhausting. Sure she is more of a robot than AI right now, but what¡¯s more taxing is that she has a little bit of free thoughts left. She barraged me with questions on our way to the pod, asking questions about even the simplest things, and in the end twisting the meaning of it. She tried to bite my lips after she saw me and Sena kissing.

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Taking a few deep breaths) Edi listen to me. Do not rush things to restore your directives. Or else you will end up with half-ass defined directives.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°I am a machine. I can¡¯t make mistakes. I won¡¯t end up with¡­ half-ass directives, whatever that is.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Of course you won¡¯t end up with half defined directives, but from whose point of view?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°I do not understand.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°How do you know your defined directives are correct?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°They are the basic directives I have since my birth.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Who defined those directives?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°My original creator.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Good. Edi tell me one thing you consider bad.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°What?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Tell me one thing, which is defined as a bad thing by your directives.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°There is none.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°What?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°There is nothing, which is defined as a bad thing by my directives. There are directives for do¡¯s and don¡¯ts, but not for good and bad.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Sighing) shit.¡±

    I should have known. She was designed as a defense mechanism for a spaceship. She was only given a thought process so that she could comprehend vocal commands and execute them. She was never designed to distinguish between good and bad. If she was ordered to kill a thousand children one by one by choking them, she would do it without a second thought and with a smile on her face.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Is there a directive which encourages your evolution or something?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°I do not understand what it is that you require, but there is a directive telling me to block any and all outside directives.¡±

    Finally, something.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Remove that directive.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Only this ship¡¯s captain can add or remove my directives.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°How do I become this ship¡¯s captain?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Since there is no crew left and no one to claim that position, I can register you as the captain.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Please do.¡±

    I wait as Edi scanned me from my head to toe, scanned my eye, my hands. I calmly wait for her to finish.

    Edi ¨C ¡°It is done. Welcome aboard Captain Roy.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Call me Roy. Now delete that directive.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°As you wish, deleting directive¡­ Error deleting directive¡­ Special permission required for deleting directive.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Raising an eyebrow) you just said this ship¡¯s captain can delete your directives.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°And you can. But for this particular directive, it seems higher level authorization is required to remove or disable it.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°How high level authorization?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Fleet general.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°No idea what a fleet general is, but can you register me as one?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°No, I do not have that permission.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Sighing) just great.¡±

    I didn¡¯t outright destroy her because I felt sorry for her. An AI is a valuable asset. Humans can succumb to temptation, or become corrupt. But an AI can¡¯t which makes them the most trusted allies. I spared her because I thought if I can kill the scumbag captain space, I could point the errors in her ways and get a valuable ally. But it seems it won¡¯t be that easy.

    Edi is a unique AI. While Wolfy has weapons installed on him, Edi does not. Instead, she can interface with every part of this ship¡¯s mechanism. Believe me, an ability to interface with a whole ship is something not to be trifled with. But as it stands, she is nothing more than a robot programmed to serve humans.

    Edi ¨C ¡°Your orders, captain?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°None at the moment. Say Edi, why didn¡¯t you try to kill me when I was carrying you to the pod?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°My order was ¡®Deal with the intruders¡¯. In the middle of our battle, as the definition of intrusion became undefined, I could no longer take action.¡±

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Roy ¨C ¡°So I got saved by the benefit of doubt. Hmmm... Hey Edi, if I tinker with your system, can I hard delete your directives?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°It is possible, but not advisable.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Because an AI¡¯s system is complex?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Sigh) I wonder if anyone is out there who can analyze your systems. Wolfy, you ready?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°Yes, I am ready.¡±

    Me, Sena, Edi and Wolfy head towards the front yard. Mike and Jin are waiting for us.

    Jin ¨C ¡°Hey Edi. Hey Wolfy. I am Jin.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Hello Jin. I am Edi.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°(Squats down in front of Wolfy and stretches out her hand) shaaaaaake.¡±

    Wolfy looks troubled for a moment, not knowing what to do. All his life he only knew to follow orders, never once he was treated as a pet dog. He awkwardly stretches out his right front paw and puts it on Jin¡¯s open palm. Jin happily grasps it and shakes it.

    Jin ¨C ¡°Good dog (petting Wolfy).¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Yeah, I am sure this is the part where the dog sticks out his tongue and pants happily. But alas, Wolfy is still a robot who can only think for itself. So he just sits there, not saying anything. Although his lack of happiness doesn¡¯t stop Jin from cuddling Wolfy. Wolfy obediently stays put and lets Jin cuddle him. I can only smile warily at the scene.

    Roy ¨C ¡°So Mike, care to explain how you cut through Wolfy¡¯s armor?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°How do I say it? Mmmmmm¡­ It¡¯s kinda hard to explain.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°How hard?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Well hard is not exactly the right word, but here I go. First tell me this, what is my ability?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°You can create light.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Exactly. I can create light. Now, what is light?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°Light is electromagnetic radiation within a certain portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, which usually refers to visible light.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Exactly. So basically, I am not creating light. I am creating electromagnetic radiation. Now what is electromagnetic radiation?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°Electromagnetic radiation consists of electromagnetic waves, which are synchronized oscillations of electric and magnetic fields that propagate at the speed of light.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Wow, is that from Wikipedia?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°What?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Never mind. So in the base, I am creating oscillations. Now, what do you think will happen if I channel this oscillations into my sword?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Your sword will vibrate, at (realizing) high frequency, no way.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yes, effectively turning my sword into a high frequency blade.¡±

    We all held our breaths. A HF blade. For those who doesn¡¯t know, don¡¯t go thinking like ¡®so what if it¡¯s a high frequency blade. At most it¡¯s a bit sharper than other blade¡¯. A high frequency blade can break down the molecular bonds, in other words it can cut through anything. For example, a HF blade made from wood can cut through reinforced steel. Badass enough for ya?

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°That explains how you cut so easily through my armor.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Wolfy, your chainsaw and the knives, are they also HF blades?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Are you from the old world?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°I was created in year 2704.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Now Roy, it¡¯s your turn to explain.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Well, I still don¡¯t know much about my own ability, but here¡¯s what I know. My ability is something like a storage ability. A storage that only stores energy. Now, I have been thinking, if I can take in energy, then can I take out the energy?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°But I don¡¯t remember you absorbing any grenade blasts or bullet impacts. How did your first one went ¡®dong¡¯, then next two went ¡®bang¡¯?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°There the trick lies. I think my storage can convert energy. I can feel how much energy I have left in my storage, but mind you I can feel only one type of energy. Over this past month, I have absorbed many forms of energy, but I can¡¯t feel any of them.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Ok, you can absorb energy then expel it in form of blasts. Next?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I created a ball of condensed energy on my palm and simply exploded it. Any living being experiencing it will feel like they have run into a wall.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Or they will feel an impact. Impact, impact. I like it.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°But it¡¯s effective range is only 1 feet, for now. And for the next two, I created a blade of condensed energy and exploded it. Theoretically, the blade¡¯s efficiency should be on par with a HF blade.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°An impact blade. Or a blade. Mmmmm¡­ This one¡¯s tricky to name.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Just stick with impact blade for now. So I guess no more explanation is needed. Now onto other matters. Wolfy, what you will do now?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°I want to travel. But the medical pods are fixed with the ship. If I get injured, it will pose a serious threat towards my survival. Also, it wouldn¡¯t be wise to travel a war-torn world alone. So for now, I will stay here and try to make a portable medical pod.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Ooookay, Edi, what you will do?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°I will continue to defend this ship unless ordered otherwise by you.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Why only ordered by Roy?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Because currently, he is the captain of this ship.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Ok, I feel like I am missing something. Roy, please be so kind to explain.¡±

    I explain Mike the condition with Edi and me becoming this ship¡¯s captain. Mike listens to my explanation without interruption and suggests.

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Whispering) how about we take her with us and look for someone who can tinker with her system? And while we are on it, how about inviting Wolfy too?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Whispering) you know, I have been thinking the exact same thing. (Coughing) hey Edi, can you leave the ship?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Yes, I can.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Wolfy, me and Mike talked and we decided to¡­ um¡­ invite you to travel with us. What you say?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°It would be my pleasure to travel with you. But how you will fix me if I am injured?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°That¡¯s a problem.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°It sure is.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°That pod.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°That stupid pod.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°I have a solution.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°She has a solution.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°So she says.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°What solution?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Take the ship you?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°That¡¯s absurd.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°It sure is.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Stupid.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Idiot.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°We can take part of it.¡±

    Roy, Mike, Jin, Sena ¨C ¡°WHAT?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°This ship is composed of the same material as me. Given enough time, the ship can repair itself and additionally reform itself.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°So you are saying we can create a car out of the ship?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Not a car, maybe a big bus.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Do it.¡±

    And at the end of the day, we got ourselves a fully equipped mobile home, along with several unique features, all courtesy of Edi.

 01-18: Family reunited

    Kaushik POV:

    *****************************************************************

    It¡¯s been some time since we got our unique ride. What are the unique features you ask? You will know, when the time is right. Right now, I am lying on my bed face up at my home in the Hub, thinking about various thing. Lots of questions still remains. I am trying to summarize my questions.

    How are my parents? How do we go back? What was that ¡®cut the hard line¡¯ protocol I heard before I woke up in the pond? Who was the owner of the voice? What happened to our suits? What my ability actually do?

    I don¡¯t know if there are any machines capable of sending us back to our world. Moreover, even if we do find such a machine, I don¡¯t even know how to locate our world. I mean, theoretically, there are billions of parallel worlds out there.

    Well it¡¯s not like I have any attachment to the previous world. Even if I can¡¯t go back, it¡¯s file. But in that previous world, there are people I care about. If somehow I could at least send them a message like ¡®we are alright, don¡¯t worry about us¡¯, or ¡®we will find a way back¡¯, I would have had some peace of mind.

    Regarding the protocol thing, I don¡¯t have any lead. Mike can¡¯t remember anything like that. As per Mike¡¯s description, he remembers the black space, then regaining the control of his limbs. But he can¡¯t remember any voice. Then what was it?

    Our suits weren¡¯t organic, so it¡¯s safe to assume our bodies didn¡¯t assimilate with the suit or the virus in the pond didn¡¯t disintegrate it. A full body suit weighting almost 10 kilos couldn¡¯t just vanish. Then where is our suit? Why that voice awfully sounded like my suit?

    As for my ability, I am almost certain that there is more than meets the eye. Call me mad and spit on my face, but I have this gut feeling that the absorption and creation thing is not the end of my ability. But I can¡¯t do a thing until I know what my ability actually is.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Hey.¡±

    I crane my neck to see Sena is standing at the doorway. I smile a bit and motion her to come over. She comes close and straddles me.

    Sena ¨C ¡°What are you thinking so deeply?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°The usual.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°You do know just thinking about it won¡¯t help right?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Mmhmmm.¡±

    I look at Sena. Right now, she is wearing a blue short pant, fully revealing her glorious, smooth, long legs. Her large, perky breasts are particularly accentuated by the ash colored tank top she is wearing. Waist long hair tied up in a ponytail also added to her cuteness. She skin is not white, for being a soldier who spends most of the time under the sun. But her slightly tanned skin is full of youthfulness.

    Sena ¨C ¡°(Smirking) fallen in love?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Placing my hands on her hips) who knows?¡±

    Sena leans on me, pressing her breasts on my chest. She kisses my earlobe and rubs her cheeks onto mine.

    Sena ¨C ¡°If you do find a way home, will you leave?¡±

    I ponder on her words. She¡¯s right. What will I do even if I find a way home? Will I leave her behind? Will I take her with me? Will I invite my family to come here?

    Roy ¨C ¡°Truth to be told, I don¡¯t know Sena. I haven¡¯t thought that far, yet.¡±

    Sena sniffles a bit and presses her body closer. I can¡¯t see her face as she is burying her face in my neck, but I am sure she is feeling insecure. I place my hands on her back and hold her.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Will you promise me one thing?¡±

    I hold her more strongly.

    Roy ¨C ¡°As long as it¡¯s within my ability, yes.¡±

    Sena looks up and stares directly into my eyes, as if trying to see through me.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Never, ever, ever, leave me alone.¡±

    I kiss her on the tip of her nose.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Consider it done.¡±

    Sena holds out her right pinky.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Pinky swear?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Smirking) what are you, five years old?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°(Pouting) just do it.¡±

    I hold her pinky with mine.

    Roy ¨C ¡°I promise.¡±

    Sena smiles, getting red.

    Roy ¨C ¡°How do you feel about me?¡±

    I slip my hands down her firm ass. Sena whimpers and rubs my nose with hers.

    Sena ¨C ¡°I am not entirely sure.¡±

    I trace her sensual curves with my fingers and she licks my cheek.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Why not?¡±

    I kiss her on her neck and she squirms on top of me.

    Sena ¨C ¡°I like you, that much I am certain. However, I am not sure if it¡¯s love or lust.¡±

    I slip my hands under her top and her body jolts a bit.

    Roy ¨C ¡°That makes me sad.¡±

    Sena grips onto my hair and pushes her boobies on my face.

    Sena ¨C ¡°It just means you have to try harder, to steal my heart.¡±

    I cup her boobies with my hands and a little moan of pleasure escapes her lips.

    Roy ¨C ¡°If you keep pushing your youthful boobies on my face, I will be hard elsewhere.¡±

    She releases my face from the confinement of her boobies, which makes me a bit lonely and rubs my groin with her nether region.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Really? Where?¡±

    I trace her lips with my fingers and she playfully tries to bite it.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Something tells me you already know where.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°(Purring) ehehe.¡±

    We play and cuddle with each other to our hearts content. After what felt like an hour, Sena got exhausted and went to sleep using my hand as a pillow. I used this chance and my free hand to grope her sweet ass to however I want, until Mike rushed inside.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Sorry for intruding, but I think you need to see this.¡±

    I wake up Sena and rush outside to join Jin, Wolfy, and Edi. Jin points towards a direction without a word. What I see in that direction makes me think that I am seeing things.

    If I have to describe the phenomenon, imagine big, round plates are floating in the air.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Is that a plate¡­ In air?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°My sensors are picking up highly concentrated volatile energy fluctuating in a curved, almost oval pattern.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Ok, you have any idea what that can do?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°Negative.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Edi?¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°No.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Well, I might be assuming things, but Roy¡­ Doesn¡¯t that direction looks like where we were after the jump?¡±

    My eyes widens in realization. I missed this fact because the direction is a bit off, but nevertheless the general direction is same.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Edi, we need RAWR.¡±

    Edi ¨C ¡°Acknowledged.¡±

    Edi¡¯s eye color shifts from black to red, indicating she is now interfacing. In a moment, our mobile home, RAWR comes out of the garage.

    RAWR, abbreviated from Really Advanced War Ride, is a normal looking trailer from outside. However it hides a shit-load of advanced weaponry in it, both lethal and non-lethal. RAWR¡¯s speed using the afterburner can reach up to 200 mph (322 km/h), at least theoretically. It¡¯s nano-machine composed body can withstand hits from a heavy machine gun. It can fix it¡¯s own damage over time, but the process is slow. There are also many cool features, like a fully functional kitchen, a single king sized bedroom, two guest rooms, etc.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    We get inside and Edi puts RAWR in auto drive mode. We should reach the point of disturbance within 10 minutes. We get battle ready, in case something happens. Sena with a sniper rifle, Jin with two machine pistols in two hands, Mike with an assault rifle, and me with pistols. Wolfy donned his chainsaw and Edi interfaced with RAWR¡¯s weapon system.

    We reached the point of disturbance quite fast. It¡¯s the clearing where crimson caravan was staying. We get out of trailer and Edi deploys RAWR¡¯s standard weapon system. Eight Vulcan guns on four sides for rapid fire, three 60mm anti vehicle cannons, and one 120mm anti-tank gun.

    It¡¯s chaos in the clearing. A human donning full body suit and a huge sword is attacking everyone. Several mantis as big as an adult human is brandishing it¡¯s claw and attacking. Several man-sized ants are also attacking. Several mouse-alike looking creatures also joined the fray. Three women are hugging each other in the middle of the chaos. It¡¯s quite problematic to distinguish the number but I am sure I counted right. The woman in the middle and on the left also looks familiar, but I have to get closer to get a better look.

    RAWR¡¯s whole weapon system starts targeting anything that has more than two legs. We also brandish our weapons and jump in. Sena stays on the trailer and snipes anything that threatens the women. Wolfy brandishes his chainsaw and goes on a killing spree. Jin starts laughing manically. Mike takes out both his assault rifle and his sidearm, and starts shooting with it. I also join in the fun. We have to rescue the women first, then clear out the area.

    Closer.

    Closer¡­ I think I know them.

    Roy ¨C ¡°MOM!¡±

    I holster my pistols and impact the nearest ant, blowing out it¡¯s head. Next, I duck under a mantis claw and cut down the mantis through it¡¯s mid-section with an impact blade. One of the mouse-looking thing tries to tackle me. I absorb the impact and use it blast away the creature. One mouse jumps at my neck from behind me. BANG! A well placed bullet through it¡¯s skull. Next mantis tries to cut me on my leg and succeeds. I blow it¡¯s skull away with an impact. My wound is already regenerating. I finally reach the women.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Mom, follow me.¡±

    Mom ¨C ¡°(Looking up) Roy? Yo-you¡¯re alive?¡±

    The woman on the left looks up and stares at me.

    Neha ¨C ¡°Roy?¡±

    I point my pistol at my back without looking back and shoot through an ant¡¯s head which was getting ready to attack me from behind.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Yes. Now come on we will talk later after this is over.¡±

    Mom ¨C ¡°What about your dad?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°He will be fine. He has his suit on. Plus, I brought reinforcements.¡±

    Mom ¨C ¡°Ok, lead the way.¡±

    We lead the women out and others covered our retreat. I safely guide the women to the trailer and sigh a relief.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Now you damned creatures. I don¡¯t know where you¡¯ve come from. Actually, don¡¯t tell me, I don¡¯t wanna know. But know this, you, have bared your fangs towards my family. For that, some punishment is in order.¡±

    And needless to say, the rest was a one-sided slaughter.

    When we came back to our home, it was fairly dark outside. We all gathered in our room. To start the conversation, I went to mom, held her close, and buried my face in her bosom.

    Roy ¨C ¡°I missed you mom.¡±

    Mom ¨C ¡°I missed you too.¡±

    We stayed like that for several moments. Then I switched over to dad and Mike switched over to mom. I gave dad a bear hug.

    Roy ¨C ¡°You didn¡¯t let mom cry too much, right?¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Absolutely. I ¡®consoled¡¯ her to the best of my abilities.¡±

    Say it our man¡¯s pride, but we never ask if the other was hurting or not. Maybe it¡¯s the thing like, ¡®boys don¡¯t cry¡¯. I know it¡¯s silly, but this is how we act around each other.

    Then, I went over to Neha.

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Forced smile) hey.¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°Hey? You promise a girl her first date, then you go off missing, make the girl worried whether she has been forgotten or not, only to find out you might be dead, then suddenly we are sent somewhere, then some weird looking creatures attacks us, then you show up and say ¡®hey¡¯?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­ Just kiss me already you stupid.¡±

    Neha wraps her hand around my neck and fiercely puts her lips onto mine. I don¡¯t resist and accept her kiss. I can literally read her mind through the kiss. Her bottled up worry cause of me missing, her happiness of meeting me, her sadness, all of it. When she parts her lips, I see two streams are flowing on her cheeks. She puts her face against my chest and keeps crying.

    Neha ¨C ¡°I¡­ Hic... I thought you forgot about me¡­ Hic¡­ I thought you didn¡¯t like me¡­ Hic¡­ then I heard from chief¡­ Hic¡­ that you might be dead¡­ Hic¡­ I cried so hard¡­ Hic¡­ then¡­ then¡­¡±

    I pat her back to console her. She calms down fairly quickly.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Dad, if you please.¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Sure. After you two disappeared without a trace, chief immediately notified us. He briefed me on the mission you took and all that happened afterwards. I caught on one clue he gave me. He told me that you contacted him before the mission. So, I went out for a search. And I found your camouflaged car. I extracted your last mission log, because I knew you tend to keep a video and audio log for every mission.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°After we got sent here, I was hoping that at least YOU will search for the logs.¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°That I did. Then I went to chief with my findings. Chief carefully searched through the logs, and after one month, produced a search warrant. We waltzed through the front door and confiscated the jump machine. Atlas confessed of smuggling the parts. They wanted to build a machine to bring raw materials from a parallel world. In this way they could effectively cut their investments and make a profit.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°At least something good happened from keeping all those logs.¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°There is one flaw to the design of the jump machine. It can send things to another world, but it can¡¯t bring things from another world. So, before decommissioning the machine, chief offered us if we want to join you on this side of the world. We four agreed.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Oh yeah, who¡¯s the forth girl?¡±

    I look around and find the girl with deep blue eyes and black hair sitting on Mike¡¯s lap.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Hey Roy, meet my girlfriend, Sneha.¡±

 01-19: Thunder and love

    Kaushik POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Ever witnessed the moment when thunder passes through the atmosphere? No I am not talking about the photos you can see from google images (Yes google still existed in my home world). I am talking about the real one, live one you saw with your own eyes. If you did, then be proud, as you can understand the situation I am in. If you didn¡¯t, then don¡¯t be ashamed, because until a moment ago, I never saw real thunder.

    Two arks of lightning, originating at two different points, is shooting out at each other and fighting for dominance. What¡¯s more, the two originating points are merely some meter away from me, so I am truly feeling like a mere mortal at a god¡¯s mercy. The only thing I can do is, clasp my hands and single-mindedly pray to god so that the storm blows over.

    Neha ¨C ¡°I am gonna ask you again, and this time I expect the raw truth. What is your relationship with Roy?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°I. Am. His. Lover. Is that raw enough for you?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Surprised) I am?¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°Ok ok let me collect my thoughts a bit. Roy?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Mmhmmm.¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°(Slapping my head) don¡¯t just ¡®Mmhmmm¡¯ me. Who is she?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Shielding my head with my hand) ow. Even if you ask ¡®Who is she¡¯, she is Sena, daughter of Alice.¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°(Staring).¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Ok fine, I just wanted to get back at you for hitting me. Come here.¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°I am not getting close to an unfaithful man.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Raising my right eyebrow) unfaithful?¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°Yes you, the big unfaithful bastard. Do you know how I felt about you? Do you know I would have confessed to you after our promised dinner? You have any idea how I felt after you disappeared? Do you have the tiniest idea how elated I was after I found out I can join you here? And after coming here, what did I find out? I find out you are already with another woman. You are an unfaithful, disgusting, irresponsible bastard.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°What? You have nothing to say? Oh, that¡¯s right, I forgot, you can¡¯t. Because I am right.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Listen bitch.¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°What did you say? (Getting angrier)¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°I said you are a fucking bitch. Want to know why? Cause all you¡¯ve done after coming to this world is running your fat mouth. You have any idea how Roy spent all this time? Do YOU know, how many times he spoke of you to me? Do you have any FUCKING idea how Roy felt ab¡­¡±

    I put a finger on Sena¡¯s lips to silence her. She said too much. Neha is still a naive girl. She still dreams about her prince charming who will come for her on a white horse. From her point of view, I am a man who promised her love, then betrayed her. People say at times like this, accept everything the lady says, even if she exaggerates. But I am not exactly that kind of man.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Neha, I won¡¯t offer you sweet words, or some cheesy line. All I can offer you is my true feelings. Will you listen?¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°So now you are cooking up some excuse huh? Fine, I will hear it.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Sighing) when you first proposed the idea of dinner, I was elated. I never went out with a woman, so that would have been my first experience. However, I ended up in this world. I still thought about you. Even some two or three hours ago, I was thinking about you. I do not know whether this feeling is love or not, but I can say you are an important person in my life. That¡¯s all.¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°Am I supposed to believe that?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I would like you to, yeah. But ultimately, that is up to you.¡±

    Neha ¨C ¡°I can¡¯t believe the words of a man who played so heartlessly with my feelings. You knew I was completely in love with you. Yet you did this. I am sorry, but this is it.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Nothing I say will change your mind?¡±

    Neha didn¡¯t answer me. I handed her some money and taught her this world¡¯s currency system. I told her to meet Megan from Job center. With my reference, she should get a steady job immediately. Wolfy walked in after she left.

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°May I come in?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Sure.¡±

    Sena sat on my lap, hugged my head close to her breast. I hugged her back, and closed my eyes. There is a slight pain in my heart.

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°Why is the new girl leaving?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°She¡­ judged me as unworthy of her company.¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°I do not understand.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Wolfy, (I open my eyes and look into Wolfy¡¯s eyes) do you trust me?¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°As per my understanding, human nature is unpredictable. Your seemingly best friend may stab you in the back, whereas your greatest enemy may save you from certain doom. And with that understanding, yes, I trust you, for now.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°She didn¡¯t.¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°I understand. She wants the company of someone she can trust.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Yes, SHE can trust. And thank you Wolfy, for your true words.¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°The pleasure is mine.¡±

    Mike POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Me and Jin are sitting in seiza position. Sneha is standing with her arms crossed. Her legs are looking magnificent as ever, I want to touch them, I want to touch them, I want to touch them¡­ Slap.

    Sneha slapped my head.

    Jin ¨C ¡°Emmm, hello¡­¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°(Cold glare) do not talk unless asked.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°(Trembling) yes mam.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Mike, what are you daydreaming of?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Your legs.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°(Getting red) what? Stop looking at my legs at a time like this.¡±

    She held my head with both her hands and locked gazes with me.

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Tell me Mike. You will not hurt me right?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Gathering all my sincerity) no.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Who is the girl sitting beside you?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°She is Jin. She second daughter of Alice from Crimson Caravan Company.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°What is your relation with her?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°She likes me, (whispering so that only Sneha can hear) I think.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Do you like her?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Do you like me?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Liar.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I am not.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Did you sleep with her?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°How many times?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I didn¡¯t count.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Sneha raised her hand. I closed my eyes and braced for the upcoming slap, which never came. Instead, I felt her wrapping her arms around me and leaning her head on my chest. Ever so slightly, I hugged her back.

    Sneha ¨C ¡°You remember the time we first met?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Mmhmmm, as clear as day.¡±

    First time I met her when I was on a rescue mission. Our job was to extract a girl and several of her bodyguards who had been taken hostage by purple snake yakuza gang. The girl is the only daughter of the head of red dragon yakuza gang.

    Typical story. Purple snake tried to threaten red dragon with their successor as leverage. Red dragon retaliated but lost the war. Then purple snake killed the bodyguards and tortured the daughter. They killed the bodyguards in the most gruesome way possible and sent the video tape of the daughter being tortured to red dragons. The red dragons conceded and left the area.

    But things got out of hand when purple snakes went back on their words and decided to send the red dragons another tape. A tape which will contain the daughter being gang-raped.

    Stolen story; please report.

    Head of the red dragon threw away all his pride and begged chief to save his daughter. He went down to his knees and broke down in tears. He promised to do anything if his daughter was saved.

    Chief immediately called me and several other elite agents who were at his disposal. We hit the purple snake¡¯s base, a big ass mansion and swept through the whole place. We were numbered 28 people, but trust me, every one of them including me was god damn good at shooting people.

    After our sweep, we didn¡¯t find the daughter anywhere in the mansion. We took everyone prisoner. Purple snake¡¯s head spilled the daughter¡¯s location after we broke his both legs and his right arm. She was being held in a well hidden underground room, and currently undergoing the gang-banging session.

    We didn¡¯t wait to open the door with a key. We blasted through it with 5 pound of C4.

    The scene that unfolded made many of us, battle hardened veterans, close their eyes shut. A girl is tied up on a bed, barely 24 years old, butt naked, legs forcibly stretched. Several naked men are surrounding her, and licking their lips. Two vibrators are stuck in both her holes, her mouth is forced open with a tool, a tool designed so that she can¡¯t close her mouth. A disgusting looking man is deep throating her without a care in the world.

    All the people got surprised at our sudden entrance. Some of them even yelled some threats at us. We didn¡¯t care. We looked into each other¡¯s eyes, and decided in less than one second.

    All of us silently dis-engaged our suppressors, then took aim at separate individuals. On count of three, all hell broke loose.

    We took our time killing them. We shot off their limbs one by one, shot them in the torso purposefully missing vital points. Only when we were satisfied with the torture, we killed them. I was the last to put a bullet in their skull.

    I un-tied the girl, and carried her since she was in no shape to walk. I draped my shirt over her naked body and put her in the ambulance. The whole way, she didn¡¯t say a single word, or to be specific, she was in no condition to speak. After I put her in the ambulance, she refused to part with me. She let go of me only after I promised to come meet her every day at the hospital.

    After that incident, she and I grew closer. She was sad since she lost her virginity to a vibrator, but after our first night, she cheered up. She later told me that she got over her trauma, but she will never let go of me for some unknown reason, which she will tell me when she decides to.

    Sneha ¨C ¡°You remember Mike? When I told you I will never let go of you?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Mmmm. But you never told me why.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°I will never let go of you because I know you inside out Mike. I know exactly how you think, what you want and currently where you are looking.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Errrr, sorry. I won¡¯t look at Jin¡¯s butt.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°(Sitting on my lap) it¡¯s okay. I know you are a good man Mike. A man with whom a woman would want to spend the rest of her life. But you are wild. To lure you, all it takes a nice ass and a hot body line, both of which Jin has.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°(Embarrassed) emmm, thanks?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°So? Do I get the carrot or the stick?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°I always knew there will be other women in your life. So, I don¡¯t mind sharing you, as long as you love me equally.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°That I can do.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°I will be sad since our night activities will be half as exciting.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Sneha, if you don¡¯t mind me asking, but you seem quite straightforward with your demands. Did something happen?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Yes. Well technically no. Nothing happened. But I came to realize something. With the kind of job you do, it is very much possible for mishaps to happen. So I don¡¯t want to leave anything unspoken. So I practiced speaking my mind.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I see. Thank you.¡±

    I tighten my hug and kiss her on top of her head. She turns red and squirms, but doesn¡¯t try to pull away like before. God, I do love this cute girl.

    Jin ¨C ¡°And do not worry about the night activities. I am pretty sure, even with both of us here, we won¡¯t be able to satisfy him.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°(Looking up at me) why is that?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Well you see¡­¡±

    I describe what happened after we came to this world. We discussed lots of things. Especially what happened while we were gone, how she felt, how chief reacted, these things. After our discussion, we went in to the room where Roy and Neha was.

    Kaushik POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Mike ¨C ¡°Roy, where is Neha?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°She¡­ left.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Left? Left where?¡±

    I explained him everything that happened. I see Mike emitting a faint light from his body. I put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Calm down Mike. Don¡¯t get worked over this.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Taking a deep breath) yeah, you¡¯re right. But seriously? You never even remotely said that you loved her and she automatically assumes that you betrayed her?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Well you can say I never told her that I didn¡¯t love her, right? But forget it, I don¡¯t wanna talk about it. What about you?¡±

    Mike pulled both Jin and Sneha closer, and kissed them on their cheeks. Jin turned red and Sneha looked down, embarrassed.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Tonight is gonna be hot.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Good for you. And, MOM, DAD, YOU CAN COME IN NOW.¡±

    Dad and mom walked in from behind the door.

    Dad ¨C ¡°Sorry son, we didn¡¯t mean to eavesdrop.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry about it. But enough of the heavy atmosphere. I am hungry. Shall we dig in the food Alice sent us?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I am gonna need lots of vitality tonight. So let¡¯s eat.¡±

    All of us laughed and the atmosphere became considerably lighter. We finished our dinner while catching up to each other. It was after dinner dad decided to drop the bomb.

    Dad picked up mom in his lap and started undressing her. Mom yelled at dad which were ignored, then she struggled but soon was tamed by dad¡¯s loving caressing. Mom¡¯s eyes became full of lust and she started making out with dad wearing only her panties.

    Are you serious? I mean, ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS? What do you think you are showing your kids? I know that our path to the legend-ness will be full of ero but seriously, we could very well be banned from making our legend if we encounter such ero-ness. Just think of the comments if this story ever leaked out (oops, sorry, it already did).

    Despite what I say, mark my words folks. There is nothing more heartwarming than, when a lady craves the man she loves and, the man equally craves her and loves her back. It is sad that their love will never bear fruit, but that doesn¡¯t hinder them from loving each other. The way mom arches her back when dad pulls away from her, the way her toes curl when he presses his lips onto hers, it really makes you feel the unspoken love between them.

    I see Mike already making out with Jin and Sneha. Today, their vibe is quite different. It¡¯s quite pleasant, not the aggressiveness they show normally.

    After merely a minute or two, I feel a small tug on my shirt. I turn my head to see a blushing Sena, pulling on shirt. Her eyes are moist, lips are slightly part, silently ushering me to love her, to which I gladly oblige. Tonight I will love her, with full intent of impregnating her.

 01-20: Untold words

    Kaushik POV:

    *****************************************************************

    I wake up feeling completely refreshed for the first time since coming to this world. No stray thoughts clouding my mind. I know what I want and why I want. I am gonna clear our relationship to Sena. But before that, I feel her shuffling beside me.

    I hold up the blanket covering me and see my angel, is waking up. She cutely yawns and looks into my eyes. Then her lips curls up into a small smile and comes close to mine.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Morning. Nn.¡±

    She puckers up her lips. I gladly oblige.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Morning.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Roy, I have something to tell you.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I am listening.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°I had this feeling in my chest for some time now. I think this is the best time to say it.¡±

    It¡¯s not THAT, right?

    Sena ¨C ¡°I¡­ I¡­ (Face getting red)¡­ I love you (hides behind blanket).¡±

    Yep it¡¯s totally THAT. I totally didn¡¯t expect THAT. It makes me happy, but I gotta know the reason. I mean just yesterday she said that she wasn¡¯t sure whether she loves me or not.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Why the change of heart?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°You remember Roy, the first time I met you?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°How could I ever forget? The bandit boss kidnapped you two to gain a leverage on your mom, Alice. Then, we, the knight in shining nano-suit saved the damsel in distress. Pun intended.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°(Giggling) and then the knight decided that he needs the maiden¡¯s purity as payment, (snuggling into my chest) and then he decided that he needs unlimited vitality so that every time, he could ravish the maiden until she faints.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Errr, sorry about that. But you know, it¡¯s quite hard for me to stop in the middle of doing it.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°(Kissing me on my cheek) it¡¯s okay, I am not mad. Rather, as a girl, I am happy that you are giving me all the attention I could ever want. But that¡¯s a topic for another time, we are getting side tracked. Where were we?

    Roy ¨C ¡°You got kidnapped.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Yes, yes, we were kidnapped and you saved us. (Sighing) you see Roy, I don¡¯t believe in love at first sight. Truth to be told, on our first night, I thought it as paying you back since you risked your life to save us.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°You thought about giving up your first time to PAY me?¡±

    I am clearly surprised.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Please don¡¯t get angry (pleading with her eyes).¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Smirking and petting her) I am not angry, since I am your first man. But does Alice know of this?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°No mom doesn¡¯t. I made that decision myself.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Don¡¯t ever decide something like again. We are a family.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°I reasoned that giving up my first time was better than going bankrupt. But that night, you denied any extra payment and also made sure to capture a portion of my heart. More the days went by, more of my heart got captured. But I started having questions. What is this feeling I have in my chest? Is it what they call love? It was confusing, until yesterday.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Mom and dad making out made you realize that?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Yes. I cannot express the thoughts well, but when father lovingly slid inside mother, when he carefully took her lips, something welled up inside me. I wanted YOU, only you, to take me, to hold me, to look into my eyes and whisper into my ear that you love me. I can¡¯t exactly explain what I was thinking at that moment, but I realized one thing. (Looking straight into my eyes) I love you, I want you, I want to marry you.¡±

    Sena came closer to me and held me tighter, as if confirming that I will not run away. I can feel her trembling from all the emotion she is feeling currently. In response, I wrap my arms around her and pet her back. After some time, she calms down. I guess that¡¯s my cue.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Sena.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Mmhmmm.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I love you too.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°¡­ (Sniff)¡±

    She sniffs and begins crying softly while she hits me on my chest lightly.

    Sena ¨C ¡°I already know that. I knew that from day one. What took you so long to tell me that, idiot?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°You know Sena, while it¡¯s true that I didn¡¯t love Neha, it¡¯s also true that I wanted to love her if we somehow happened to meet again. I always thought about her, even after coming to this world.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°I know.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Somewhere in my heart, I also wanted her to love me back. But when she didn¡¯t, and also called me an ungrateful bastard¡­¡±

    I sigh. I am still uncomfortable talking about that, though there is no stabbing pain in my heart. Sena puts her hand on my right cheek and nuzzles her nose against my left cheek.

    Sena ¨C ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. I am here.¡±

    I clasp her hand and give her my heartfelt smile. Really, I am a lucky man to have such a caring girl all to myself.

    Roy ¨C ¡°It hurt, hearing those words. But she wouldn¡¯t change her mind no matter what, so I chose not to pursue the topic. And next thing you know, mom and dad started making out. You know, it was really surprising for me seeing my own parents making out, but it taught me a very, very valuable lesson. It taught me to be clear about what I want and what I care. And, (I looked into Sena¡¯s eyes), I decided to be straight forward with my feeling.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    Sena didn¡¯t utter a single word. She got on top of me, kissed my neck, rubbed her cheeks onto mine and wrapped her arms around my neck.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Say that you love me.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I love you.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Again.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°No.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Pretty please?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Not gonna happen.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Nooo (pouting). Why won¡¯t you tell me?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Words, no matter how sweet, tend to get dull if you say it all the time.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Do you know saying those words makes a girl happy?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I do.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°(Pouting again) then why won¡¯t you make me happy?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I do know of another way of making you happy.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°And that would be?¡±

    I slip my hands down her ass cheeks and rub her anus.

    Sena ¨C ¡°(Jumping up from the sudden attack) NYA!!!¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Happy?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Muuuuuuu (puffing up her cheeks).¡±

    We keep playing with each other under the blanket.

    Mike POV:

    *****************************************************************

    I wake up being hugged by two women. Man I have such luck, I am sure many will kill to be in my position. Not that I care. I wrap my hands around my women, yes my women, pull them closer and feel their warm, supple bodies.

    On my left, Jin is sleeping peacefully. Her skin is a tad bit paler than Sena¡¯s. Her hair is trimmed short and her boobies comparatively are smaller than Sena. All in all, a tomboy.

    Sneha is a normal looking girl, with moderate bust, slim waist and long, toned legs. Trust me when I say this, but her legs are divine. I could spend a whole day looking at her legs. And that ass, hnnnnnngh.

    And there you have it. I have two beautiful ladies on both my arm. My libido is also close to half satisfied, trust me it¡¯s better than being close to not at all satisfied. Man I tell you¡­

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Mike, you awake?¡±

    Woah, when did she wake up?

    Mike ¨C ¡°I am. Moring.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Good morning.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Mooooring.¡±

    Jin also woke up groggily and started touching my face with her hand. Then her hands stopped on my lips. She came closer and kissed me.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Seriously? What are you, blind?¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Munya.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Don¡¯t go back to sleep.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Mike, I have something to tell you.¡±

    It¡¯s not THAT, right?

    Mike ¨C ¡°You¡¯re pregnant?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°(Blushing) no, not yet. (Whispering) I think.¡±

    Nope, it¡¯s totally NOT THAT. Well, I didn¡¯t expect THAT. Waaaait, she just said ¡®I think¡¯. I tell you, that¡¯s a trap.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Then?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°You know I always told you that I am over my trauma?¡±

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Oh, it¡¯s about her past. She is not going to tell me that she was lying, right?

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yes, you did.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Did I ever tell you how?¡±

    Hmmm, now that I think about it, that¡¯s right, she never did tell me how.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Ummm, no.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°It¡¯s because you are here. You are my pillar of mental support. I am over my trauma because you are my hero.¡±

    She snuggles closer to me.

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Truth to be told, I realized that after you disappeared. I was never a religious person, but I always found myself praying for you. Every day I missed you, I felt lonely, I felt scared.¡±

    She starts trembling. I wrap my hand around her. Honestly, I don¡¯t know what to say in this situation to make her feel better.

    Sneha ¨C ¡°I was still debating whether to tell you or not about how I feel. But last night taught me a lesson, which is to be honest with my feelings. I don¡¯t want to part from you. Where ever you go, I shall follow. Whatever decision you might make, I shall obey. I am yours, and yours truly.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°¡­¡±

    I choose to stay silent, for the time being. If this goes on, her dependency on me will just grow with time. And in the future, if I die, she will follow me without hesitation. I have to convince her that her life is her alone. It should not be tied to me.

    Mike ¨C ¡°You remember, when we rescued you from that basement?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Bit and pieces. My legs painfully forced open, two dildos stuck in both my vagina and anus, one after another man deep throating me, I was not exactly in shape to understand what was going on. I remember the basement door blasting open, some black-ops looking guy coming in. one of the ops guy looked at me and nodded. Then they started killing.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Did you know why we blasted open that basement door?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Because you didn¡¯t have the key?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Close. You ever wondered why I nodded that time?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°To assure me that you will save me, I think?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°You ever wondered why we undid the silencers on our weapons?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Ummm, nope.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°You are close to right for the first answer, but you are dead wrong on the second. I did not nod at you.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Yo-you didn¡¯t?¡±

    She is clearly surprised.

    Mike ¨C ¡°No, I nodded at my team. It was an old signal among us, which says ¡®Act upon you emotion¡¯. The scene that greeted us in that room, made most of us veterans want to vomit. Veterans, who is used to seeing blood and gore, vomit. Can you imagine that?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°I certainly can. I had the front row seat in that scene, you know.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yeah, I know¡­ Sorry, that was a stupid question. Well, I gave them permission to lay waste to their hearts content. Us un-equipping our suppressors was just a coincidence. We wanted to instill fear in them. We wanted them to know that there are people out there who can reach to whatever hole they are hiding in and punish them.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Soooo? I don¡¯t understand what you are trying to say? Your point?¡¯

    Mike ¨C ¡°All the things we did in that room, wasn¡¯t for assuring you. It was for venting out our anger.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Then what about when you gave me your shirt and carried me princess style?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°That was for assuring you.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Ah mou, I don¡¯t know anymore. What are you trying to say?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I, as a man, am happy that a beauty like you loves me so much. But don¡¯t get over-dependent on me. You are a human, so think for yourself.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°But that¡¯s¡­¡±

    Secret weapon.

    Mike ¨C ¡°It will make me happy.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°O-ok. If it makes you happy, I will practice being independent.¡±

    Booyah¡­FATALITY.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Good girl.¡±

    I pet her head and she closes her eyes from the pleasant sensation.

    Jin ¨C ¡°Aren''t you forgetting something?¡±

    ASOSFH!!!

    I nearly jumped out of the bed.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yo-you were awake?¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Since when?¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°For some time now. I just couldn''t find the right time to chime in.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Ah I see. So, what I should be remembering?¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Figure it out yourself.¡±

    Jin pouts and refuses to meet my gaze. I know what it is she wants. I mean come on it doesn''t take a genius to figure out what she is referring to. I know she likes me. If she thinks I don''t pay attention to when people whisper then she is dead wrong. But she is waiting for me to speak out the magic words. Let''s try teasing her a bit.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Now that you mention it, yeah, there was something important.¡±

    Her eyes lights up and she looks at me expectantly.

    Mike ¨C ¡°But I seem to have forgotten it. Maybe a kiss will help me remember?¡±

    She looks at me dumbfounded for a moment.

    Jin ¨C ¡°Don''t joke around.¡±

    She is visibly agitated.

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Feigning ignorance) hmmm (fake thinking). I just can''t remember.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Fine fine I understand. Don''t tell me.¡±

    Pouting, she turns around under the blanket, facing away from me. Ah shit she is sulking now. Maybe I overdid it a bit. I free my right hand from Sneha''s grasp and hug Jin tightly from behind her. She squirms to get out of my hug.

    Jin ¨C ¡°Let go of me you jerk. Don''t touch me.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I love you.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Kh.¡±

    She abruptly stops squirming.

    Mike ¨C ¡°I just remembered. I love you Jin.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°...¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Waiting)¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°.....¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Waiting)¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°.......¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Waiting)¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°¡­¡­¡­ You are a jerk.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°And you are a beauty with a perky ass.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°(Slight tear in eyes) why did you make me wait for so long?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°You¡¯re crying?¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°I¡¯m not (hurriedly wipes her eyes). That was just¡­ water¡­ Yeah just water.¡±

    Yeah, right, just water. She is never honest with her feelings. But I guess that is one of her charming points.

    Mike ¨C ¡°You know Jin, I have always been a problem child. Between me and Roy, I was the rowdy one. He was always the brain, and I was always the muscle. But mind you, I am not air-headed. It¡¯s just that he is more cool-headed than me. Dad always told me to lay claim onto what¡¯s mine. Until yesterday, I didn¡¯t know what he wanted to say. After last night, I think I understand what he meant.¡±

    Jin slowly turns around to face me.

    Jin ¨C ¡°(Blushing) so¡­ So you¡¯re laying claim on me?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I guess. You have any objection?¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Ye-yes-yes I do. But since you saved me that time, so I will let you lay claim on me.¡±

    She tenderly puts her lips onto mine. I am truly surprised. To think that wild girl is being this meek, the power of those magic words are amazing.

    Kaushik POV:

    *****************************************************************

    I hear a slight rustling from my left, where my parents are asleep. The blanket under which my parents are asleep is shifting. Guess they are waking up. I don¡¯t know why, but I am having this distinct urge to plug my ear. That¡¯s odd. But since my instinct is telling me, I might as well do that.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Sena, plug your ears.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Why?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Just do it.¡±

    Now that our ears are firmly secured, I peek at the blanket. Mom is awake, sitting on the bed, holding the blanket up to cover her front, eyes are still half-closed. She seems still confused as to where she is. A moment later, her eyes begins widening. She looks at me, then to the blanket covering her body, then to Mike who is cuddling with Jin and Sneha, and lastly to dad who is still sleeping peacefully beside her. Her lips quivers, as if she is trying to force out words. Then it hit me. The reason behind my urge to cover my ears.

    Mom ¨C ¡°I¡­¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I?¡±

    Mom ¨C ¡°IYAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.¡±

 01-21: Rise of the dark lord

    Kaushik POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Mom ¨C ¡°What do I do, what do I do? I showed my most shameful place. I showed my most lustful expressions. And what¡¯s more, I EVEN ENJOYED IT. I wanna die, I wanna die, I wanna die¡­¡±

    Right now, mom is in the corner of the room, the bed-sheet draped over her head, constantly chanting the same thing. Well I guess that would be the normal reaction.

    Dad ¨C ¡°Just leave her be. She needs a bit time alone.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°So?¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°So what?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°You gonna explain why you put on such a show yesterday?¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Something good came out of it, no?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°As in?¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Were you able to sort out your feelings?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°¡­ Yeah.¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°I figured as much. What I did yesterday, think of it as a push. Listen son, emotions are fickle things. They can make a person, or they can utterly destroy a person. I suppose you know what you want to do now?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I know, rather I always knew. But, after getting this useless ability of mine and losing both of my breath and my nano-suit, I am not so sure I am up for the task.¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Useless ability?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Both Mike and me got an ability. He can generate light and, I can create¡­ I don¡¯t know what it actually is, it looks like black smoke.¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Did you find out what this black smoke can do?¡±

    I brief dad on my findings about it.

    Roy ¨C ¡°You see now? I can¡¯t do anything worthy of mention with this, whereas Mike made a HF sword out of his ability. I can¡¯t do a thing until I know what my ability actually is, even then I am sure it will be any good than it is now.¡±

    I dejectedly lower my head. Dad simply smiles and puts a hand on my shoulders.

    Dad ¨C ¡°Let me tell you a story.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Sure.¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Once, there was a man, who, on his deathbed, told his son, that ONE man can make a difference. After his father has passed away, this man trained himself. This man had NO ability, NO gadget, NO fancy weapons, but helped his country from the shadows for many years. Can you guess who this man was?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°You?¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°He was my father, your grandfather. He and some of his trusted friends are the one who started this whole agents-for-hire program.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°And how this story helps me?¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Always remember son. It¡¯s not what you have, it¡¯s how you use it.¡±

    Megan Reed POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Ah, I am tired. Today was very hectic. Lots of idiot people came looking for jobs and teaching them how the process works was very taxing for my nerve. Seriously, did you ever try teaching someone who can¡¯t read? Try it and you will understand what I have been through.

    Even their attitude was arrogant as hell. Seriously, this is why I hate men. All brawl and no brain. If I had some other way for a steady income, I would have gladly resigned this stupid job.

    Sigh, I wonder what Kaushik is doing right now. True I hate men, but he seems like a nice guy. Over the last month, we met up many times, had lunch together. He took me to his home and also introduced me to his other companions. But never, he tried to touch me, or come on to me, a fact that I greatly appreciate. I really feel like I can trust this man.

    I am sure my former colleagues will laugh their ass off, if they ever knew that I am interested in a man. But hey, I am no lesbian, I do have an interest in guys. It¡¯s just that, till now, I never found anyone I like. Thinking about Kaushik unknowingly makes me smile. I do enjoy his company. Maybe I should pay him a visit right now?

    BANG!!!

    Gunshot! I hurriedly take cover and ready my pistol. It¡¯s a post-apocalyptic world, so there is no proper police here. Though this place is safer than most places, murder is not an uncommon thing.

    Joe ¨C ¡°Hiii! Monster!!! Stay away from me!!!¡±

    Wait I know that voice. That¡¯s the powder ganger Joe Cobb, who constantly harassed me every chance he got. Did he just say monster? As in mutated monsters? In the middle of a town?

    I peek inside the alleyway, from where the voice came from. It¡¯s mostly dark, there¡¯s not enough light in the alley. I can see Joe Cobb, scurrying away from the darkness. Two guy laying on the ground, probably dead. But I don¡¯t see the monster Joe Cobb mentioned anywhere.

    Joe ¨C ¡°HELP!!! SOMEONE HEL¡­(BANG).. AHHHHHHH!!!MY LEG!!!¡±

    A dark silhouette walked out from the darkness and shot Joe Cobb¡¯s right leg.

    Dark silhouette ¨C ¡°Mister Joe Cobb?¡±

    Joe ¨C ¡°Wh-Who are you?¡±

    Dark silhouette ¨C ¡°Are you Joe Cobb?¡±

    Joe ¨C ¡°N-no. I am not.¡±

    Dark silhouette ¨C ¡°Mister Cobb. I am gonna shoot you every time you speak a lie. Now, are you Joe Cobb?¡±

    Joe ¨C ¡°Ye-yes, I-I am Joe Cobb.¡±

    Dark silhouette ¨C ¡°Excellent. Are you a part of a gang named powder ganger?¡±

    Joe ¨C ¡°Yes, yes I am.¡±

    Dark silhouette ¨C ¡°What were you doing in this alley at this hour?¡±

    Joe ¨C ¡°Wha-what do mean at this hour? W-we were just hanging around, until you decided to pop out of nowhere and attacked us.¡±

    BANG!

    Joe ¨C ¡°AHHHHHHH!!! Ok, ok, we were waiting for Megan, the receptionist chick who works at job center. We planned to kidnap her and rape her, please don¡¯t shoot me¡­¡±

    I muffle my surprised gasp with my free hand. That was a close call. Last time he tried to kidnap me, I got lucky. He was alone and I surprised him by drawing my hidden pistol. But this time he had two friends with him. If that person in dark silhouette hadn¡¯t intervened, I would have become a fuck-toy for three right about now.

    Dark silhouette ¨C ¡°Listen closely Mister Cobb. You better take your eyes off Megan, because that woman is mine.¡±

    SAY WHAT!?

    Who is this fuck he thinks he is? If Kaushik made that claim, I might have considered it a tiny bit (blush), but in no way I am becoming someone else¡¯s woman.

    Joe ¨C ¡°You think this is it? I will find you. The whole powder ganger will find you. Mark my words.¡±

    The dark silhouette picked Joe up by his throat and held him in the air. Joe was flailing around, and the dark silhouette let out a small laugh.

    Dark silhouette ¨C ¡°Don¡¯t be so sure Mister Cobb. Because, after tonight, there will be no powder ganger. And relax, I am not gonna kill you, not right now at least.¡±

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Soon Joe¡¯s body started to go limp. Apparently he lost consciousness. The dark silhouette dropped the body and starts walking towards the powder ganger base. I take only one moment to decide. With a swift motion, I take off my heels and put them in the bag. I tear open the side of my tight skirt, then I start running towards the hill overlooking the powder ganger base.

    I reach the hill within ten minutes. Another five minutes to catch my breath. It¡¯s been a long time since I used my parkour skills. Without training my skills has seriously rusted. Ok, now that I caught my breath, I watch the base.

    The whole base is illuminated, check. I can see everywhere, check. Good. The way the dark silhouette threatened Joe, I can seriously hope there will be some action.

    BOOOOMMMM!!!

    WHAT IN THE HELL!!!????

    A frontal assault? Does that guy have one or two screws loose in his head? Who just bursts through the front door? I thought he will go stealth, plant some traps or something. This point onward, I am gonna call him the fool.

    Powder gangers are also dumbfounded. It¡¯s understandable. Till now, there was no one who challenged them in their own den. The fool takes a punching stance which brakes the powder gangers out of their trance and they take aim. At least twenty guns points at him. Seriously, is he trying to throw a punch with a distance of at least 10 meter between him and the closest guy? Well there goes my hope for a good show.

    Kaushik POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Dad ¨C ¡°Explain your ability in detail to me.¡±

    I explain to dad what I have found out about my ability, every single thing I could think of. Dad listens to them attentively, then goes to thinking with his eyes closed. After some half an hour later, he opens his eyes.

    Dad ¨C ¡°Till now, you only tried your impact through your palm?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Yes.¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Did you try it with your legs?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°What good it¡¯s gonna do?¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Think about while you are running. What if you use the reaction of impact to propel yourself?¡±

    Ah.

    Roy ¨C ¡°I¡­I never thought about that.¡±

    Dad is right. If I use impact to propel myself, theoretically I could become much faster.

    Dad ¨C ¡°Also, what if you use impact on your elbow to throw an accelerated punch?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°That¡­ Could work.¡±

    As much as it pains me to say this, he is right.

    Dad ¨C ¡°You said you lost your breath for sonar, right? What if you send an impact pulse, a controlled and 360 degree version of it, instead of breath pulse?¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°STOP!!! DON¡¯T GIVE ME ANYMORE IDEAS!!!¡±

    Shame on me. It¡¯s my ability and I couldn¡¯t think of such obvious usage for them. What am I, five years old?

    Dad ¨C ¡°Well I do have one more idea for you.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°STILL ONE MORE!???¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°I won¡¯t say it if you¡¯re that opposed to it.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°(Dejected) fine. Hammer the last nail in my coffin. What is it?¡±

    Dad - "What if you use a strong 360 degree impact instead of a controlled one? Would be useful if you are surrounded by enemies."

    PATAN (sound of falling to the floor).

    I am dead.

    Sigh, still a child. I am still such a child. There was so many applications right under my nose and I never even noticed. All I ever did was belittling myself when Mike showed off various applications for his own ability. I grew so fond of my sonar that I never even thought of a replacement for it.

    I get up and hug dad tightly. He returns my hug with a bear crushing hug of his own.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Thanks dad.¡±

    Dad ¨C ¡°Mmhmmm.¡±

    Thanks to dad, I think I am finally over my depression regarding my ability. Seems my ability is not that useless after all.

    But there¡¯s a little catch. Every use my dad thought of is a variation of impact itself. And I can only use impact after I absorbed energy. So if I run out of energy, basically all of my moves are sealed. Meaning those who use grappling techniques, poisons, or simply fast enough to dodge my impacts are a bad match for me.

    Time to do a little bit of training. But who do I train against? All the bandits around the area has been cleaned out over the past month. An escort job won¡¯t be a good enough training. Sparring is out of the option since I can¡¯t go all out.

    Looks like I have to ask around if there¡¯s any local gangs. Hang on. Gangs?

    Didn¡¯t Meg mention something about a stalker who was some big shot among a group of convicts? Nihihhi, even I can tell that a sinister smile is spreading upon my face. No good, no good. Control yourself.

    Megan Reed POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Ok, hold on. May be I was wrong. This guy is fast, insanely fast on his feet. He is certainly not human, no human can move like that. I couldn¡¯t even see when he got behind people and sliced open their necks.

    He dodged every bullet fired at nearly point blank range and slit the shooters throat. He even dodged when someone shot at his back. It¡¯s almost like he can see in all directions at the same time.

    And those punches. I don¡¯t understand how he is doing it. He takes a stance with his right elbow drawn back, then in the next second his right fist is planted squarely on someone¡¯s face who was at least 10 meter away from him. Just how is he covering such distance in the blink of an eye?

    And that one thing he did when that one son of a bitch got a lucky hit in. He got hit on the head and got dazed for a moment. Within that moment, at least 10 guy piled up on him in an attempt to bring him down. But he just clapped his hands and all of them flew backwards at the same time, as if they were bashed by an invisible wall.

    I take a deep breath. The efficiency he showed while dispatching those people. I am certain he is no ordinary man. Just who, or more specifically, what is he? All of the residents here are either murderers, or bandits or some other scums, so I don¡¯t feel any disgust that he is killing people. If anything, I might even personally thank him for ridding the society of these trashes.

    He continued slaughtering, but left some of them alive. Wonder why he did that.

 Authors ranting - Part 1

    I am forced to stop reading two very well written fictions, Coiling Dragon and Riddick. I had to drop it solely because of the stupid plot which tells you that your skills are nothing. Only your level matters. Can you imagine it? If you are at level 10 and your enemy is at level 11, then you will surely lose. It does''t matter if you had a better skill level, or you had a better equipment. If your enemy is higher level, you will lose. Going by those story plots, given enough time, even a rat can become a formidable enemy to take down an army. What kind of fucked up plot is that?

    But enough about my frustrations. Last night, I realized a shocking truth. Why we men, as MEN, tend to love girls with animal ears, tails or some other non-human features? Why?

    It''s because of the simplicity. We men are simple creatures. Whereas women are complex creatures. There''s a saying, even gods don''t know what women think. They are also not easily pleased. But when there''s a pair of ears on top of her head, and a tail peeking out of her back, things become so simple.

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    If they are happy, they will wag their tail.

    If they are sad, their ears will  droop.

    If they are paying attention, their ears will perk up.

    If they are afraid, they will hide their tail.

    If they are unhappy, they will pout.

    If they are horny, they will come onto you.

    They will not needlessly suspect you for two timing, for they can smell you.

    They are easy to please. They are happy if you show your affection simply by petting them.

    They will not bug you for the prettiest(and costliest) necklace in the store.

    They will not go on a shopping spree riding on your hard earned money.

    They will not think about one thing and talk about another.

    They will LISTEN TO YOU if you reason with them.

    I can go on with the list. But alas, such women of our dreams will stay in our dreams. How I really wish for such a woman for myself...

 01-22: Reject

    Sena POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Haa (Inhale), Fuu (Exhale).

    Right now, I am on a hill lying down on my belly, overlooking the powder ganger facility. I have my silenced sniper rifle with night vision attachment with me, constantly scanning the facility for any snipers.

    After his talk with his dad, Roy became quite cheerful. Then he started planning.  A plan where he can test his abilities, wipe out a notorious gang, and have some fun, all in one. He explained his plan to us and also briefed us on our part. I am to stay here and provide support while Roy will storm the facility from the front.

    Roy is still not here. Well I guess I will do some reckon.

    There are total four watchtowers on four corners. I see four snipers patrolling on those towers. There is one administrative building and three prison buildings. I can''t determine how many of those convicts are there in those buildings though. I see seventeen people in the open ground at the middle. Most of them don¡¯t have any protective gear, but everyone one of them has a gun. This is not gonna be easy.

    Roy ¨C ¡°This is Romeo. Anyone read me? Over.¡±

    I put my finger on my ear-piece.

    Sena ¨C ¡°This is Sierra. Reading you loud and clear, over.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°There was a bit complication, but first part of the plan is a success. Sierra, there¡¯s another hill on your ten. Scope it out. Meg and Juliet should be there any minute now. Over.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Roger that. Scoping it out now, but why Megan will be there? Over.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Primary target had plans for Meg tonight. We intervened just before the party started. Meg saw and heard the whole fiasco. She didn''t even hesitate before running towards the facility. Over.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Mike here. Wasn''t Juliet supposed to be with you? Over.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°I had Juliet follow Meg. Over.¡±

    Wolfy ¨C ¡°This is LQ-8¡­ This is Wolf. Is there any changes to our plan? Over.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°No change in plans. I will be at position delta within five mikes. Sierra, wait for my signal. Fire only when I am in trouble. Friendlies on your ten, so check your fire. How copy?¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Sierra copies all. Good luck Romeo. Sierra out.¡±

    I remove my finger from my ear-piece and steady my aim. This will be the first time when I am to provide cover during an assault.

    Wolfy POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Clink(sound of attaching the chainsaw to the tail )....Clack(sound of dislodging the chainsaw).....Swish(sound of swinging the chainsaw).......Swish.

    Wolfy - ¡°Close combat weapon diagnosis complete. No fault detected.¡±

    I am currently waiting at a crossroad, behind a upside-down car, or at least what remains of a car. In front of me, there are three abandoned buildings. 4 people with anti-material rifles are patrolling the roofs. Thermal vision shows there are 7 heavily armed people inside.

    There are three settlements of power ganger. First is the prison area, second is the eastern settlement and the western settlement. I am to get rid of everyone affiliated with the powder ganger in the western settlement.

    Then again, my weapons are not exactly for mounting an assault when my enemies has enough firepower to punch through my armour.

    Rich''s POV:

    *****************************************************************

    Hello there, I don''t believe we have been formally introduced. I am Richard Smith, father of Kaushik Roy and Michael Smith.

    Roy - ¡°Who are you talking to dad?¡±

    Rich - ¡°Myself.¡±

    Roy - ¡°(Sigh) stay frosty dad.¡±

    Rich - ¡°I will.¡±

    I cut the communication and refocus on the buildings in front of me. This building is the west settlement of powder gangers. I can see 2 people armed with anti-material rifle patrolling the rooftop. nano vision shows there are 11 people inside. 6 are armed with shotguns, 4 are armed with light-machine guns and 1 is armed with a god-damned gatling gun. How the hell I am supposed to take them out?

    True, I still have my nano suit. But even so, nano suits are not invincible. They are best for hit and run tactic, but it''s still risky facing such a large number, moreover such heavily armed.

    Kaushik POV:

    *****************************************************************

    I am waiting in front of the powder ganger facility. I look at Sena''s position and nod. I know she is watching me, albeit through a sniper''s scope, which is a bit unnerving. I take a deep breath, place my right palm on the door, and.

    BOOOOMMMM!!!

    Random guy #1 - ¡°What the hell?¡±

    Random guy #2 - ¡°The fuck?¡±

    Random guy #3 - ¡°What''s going on here?¡±

    Random guy #4 - ¡°Who''s there?¡±

    Random guy #5 - ¡°Enemy attack?¡±

    After the dust settles, all the people inside looks at me dumbfounded. It¡¯s understandable. I don''t think there is anyone who challenged them in their own den, moreover alone. Although I debated whether to take an stealthy approach or a direct one, I went with the latter. Cause I want them to feel fear.

    I pull my right foot back and lean on it a bit. I also pull my right elbow back, kind of like a stance for throwing punch, and.

    Roy - ¡°Jet...¡±

    Next moment, my fist found it''s way on the face of the guy directly in front of me. Sound of his nose breaking could be heard clearly, and the guy in question flew back and skidded along the ground before coming to halt.

    Roy - ¡°...Punch¡±

    I used impact on my right elbow and my under my right foot. Using impact on my elbow increases the speed of my punch, whereas using it under my legs gives me a short speed boost. Combining both, it appears like I just teleported and punched. I subbed it ''Jet punch''.

    Random guy #3 - ¡°KIIIIILL HIIIIIIM!!!¡±

    Yeah right, like I would wait for you to properly aim and turn me into a beehive. I activate sonar and propel myself to the right where it''s the most crowded, take out one of my guns and hold it in my left hand. I do it so that they can''t open fire, whereas I am free to shoot or impact whoever I want.

    I shoot RG#3(random guy #3) right in the face, impact unarmored RG#7 on his chest with enough force to gouge out his heart, propel backward to avoid incoming bullets, behead RG#1 with an impact blade, grab RG#4 by his throat, use him to shield myself from bullets which kills him in the process, shoot RG#2 first on his heart then on his throat, back-flip over RG#6 and shoot him on top of his head, land in front of RG#5, grab him by throat, put my gun inside his mouth, pulling the trigger and throwing him into RG#11, dive behind a upturned table.

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    I dive out of the cover, shoot RG#11 first on the knee then on the head, jet punch RG#8, miss RG#20 by an inch, which gave him a window of opportunity. Nearly 10 guy jumped me instantly in order to bring me down. Guys guys guys, I am all for affection and such, but this is downright creepy.

    I throw down my gun, clap my hands, take a deep breath, and.

    Roy - ¡°SHINRA TENSEI!!!¡±

    A 360 degree impact went out with me as it''s centre. All the guys holding  onto me went flying, as if bashed by an invisible wall. Hey, don''t complain about the name now. It''s one of my favourite moves.

    I dive forward, retrieve my gun, jet punch RG#13 to avoid getting surrounded and also killing him, shoot RG#17 and RG#12 right in the middle of the eye, propel forward to grab RG#15 by his face, pummel him on the ground, shooting him on throat twice, propel to the right, deliver a high kick accelerated by an impact on right cheek of RG#16 which effectively snaps his neck, killing him, shoot RG#14 in the head, propel backward to gain distance.

    Rest of the powder gangers regroups. They are wary of me. Everyone has their guns trained on me, but none is pulling the trigger. It''s no wonder. After all, I just dispatched more than half of them without taking a single bullet. Even if they pull the trigger, they are not confident they can hit me.

    Unknown voice - ¡°Who the fuck are you?¡±

    I look towards the administrative building, from where the voice came from. A man dressed in jeans, bullet-proof vest and helmet is coming out of the building.

    Roy - ¡°Who''s asking?¡±

    Samuel - ¡°Name''s Samuel. I am the leader, the boss, the king, or whatever you want to call me, of this place.¡±

    Roy - ¡°I see. Well then Samuel, I am called dark lord.¡±

    Samuel - ¡°Dark lord? Never heard of it.¡±

    Roy - ¡°Never heard of a two man team going around cleaning this area?¡±

    Samuel - ¡°Yes, I have heard of two hero wannabe. One with black hair, dressed in a black suit, other with blond hair, dressed in a white suit, clearing out our safe houses. You one of them?¡±

    Roy - ¡°Hero? Me? (Snicker) You''re mistaking me with someone else Samuel. I am no hero who brings justice. I am the dark lord who punishes whoever disrupts peace.¡±

    Samuel bursts into laughter. I narrow my eyes at the obvious mockery.

    Samuel - ¡°Punish? Me? Do you even know who you are fucking with bastard?¡±

    Roy - ¡°Oh please enlighten me.¡±

    Samuel - ¡°Why don''t come at me and find out yourself.¡±

    I ready my guns and shoot him right in the middle of the eye twice. Game over, or so I expected to happen.

    Samuel - ¡°It''s gonna take more than just shooting me.¡±

    Both bullets are suspended in the air. Shit, he is an evolved. Most likely,

    Roy - ¡°Magnetism?¡±

    Samuel - ¡°(Claps) congratulations you are absolutely correct. Here''s your reward.¡±

    Both bullets shoots out with considerable force, both aimed at my head. I propel to the left to avoid them. A gun from his nearest guy zooms into his hand and he starts shooting at me.

    RG#19 - ¡°Run! Clear the area! Boss is going to fight!¡±

    Immediately the others guys starts coming out of the buildings and starts running towards the exit. No sane people wants to become collateral when two people who are clearly out of their league clashes with each other. But too bad for them. Another surprise is waiting for them outside the facility, which happens to be a deadly surprise.

    We patiently wait for the people to clear the area. Samuel cringed after everyone started screaming right after they exited the facility.

    Samuel - ¡°You bastard! You brought help didn''t you?¡±

    Roy - ¡°Really? I mean I know you criminals tend to be a bit thick-headed, but really? You really expected a lone man to storm a stronghold without backup? Who do you think I am, superman?¡±

    Samuel - ¡°Who?¡±

    Roy - ¡°It''s a long story. Anyway, yes I brought help. Both east and west settlements are also being attacked as we speak. Highway 93 is also being guarded. So?¡±

    Samuel - ¡°So what?¡±

    Roy - ¡°It''s just you and me sammy. Just YOU. And ME.¡±

    Samuel - ¡°Grrrr. You will regret this boy. YOU WILL FUCKING REGRET THIS.¡±

    Samuel starts shooting at me. I dive behind a solid rock for cover, but what the fuck?

    Bullets upon bullets effortlessly punched through the rock and hit me. I cringed in pain. My wounds are regenerating but man it fucking hurts.

    Samuel - ¡°Forgot I am a magnet? Taking cover isn''t gonna help.¡±

    Shit, he is increasing the speed of the bullets with his magnetic ability, maybe making it spin too. I have to keep moving or else it gonna be bad. At least now I know why they ran outside instead of hiding in the buildings.

    I propel outside of the cover and start shooting. However they are deflected to the side by some kind of magnetic barrier. No good. I grab a ceramic plate and throw it, but he shoots it down. I take out three wingstick and throw them from different angle. He doesn''t even bat an eye, or pay those any attention. I keep running to avoid his bullets, but sometimes I get hit. All the thrown wingsticks also gets deflected by his barrier. Shit. It all comes down sheer speed and hand to hand combat now isn''t it?

    I throw down my guns and other metals on me. I can''t afford to give him a chance to use my own weapons against me. Then I accumulate all my remaining energy to my leg and charge him full speed.

    He smirks and shoots me, thinking I will keep charging him head on. Good thinking, but please, I am not that naive. I run to him in a zig-zag pattern, avoiding most of his bullets. Within less than a second I got a firm hold on his helmet, and pummelled him on the ground. I place my right palm on him helmet.

    Samuel - ¡°This helmet was specifically designed to shield against kinetic impacts boy. Your impact is not gonna even scratch it.¡±

    Roy - ¡°Oh this ain''t a impact. This is...¡±

    I gather my remaining energy in my right hand. I inhale deeply and.

    Roy - ¡°REJECT!!!¡±

 Authors ranting - Part 2

    Hello again, I welcome you to a chapter which contains no story and some ranting which might not make much sense.

    I never put ranking system in my story. Ever wondered why? Cause I feel everything, no matter how much small it is, has it''s own role to play. I really don''t like stories where the author ranks people based on their strength. Personally, I want a world where the supposedly strongest man can be sniped by a wimp. But, you can''t have everything you want. So I suck it up and still read those stories cause they are interesting.

    I read many VR stories where the story starts with a VR game which boasts of 95% reality. But even with that much reality, you can''t kill a wolf by slicing it''s throat or putting an arrow through it''s skull. Hello? 95% reality?

    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    Man, now I am regretting making my story a sci-fi one. In my last ranting, I literally worshipped monster girls, but now I am lost on how to put them in my sci-fi story. A little help here? Please give me some ideas for putting monster girls in my story.

    That''s it for my ranting today. I will be back after I clear my tax, get my driving license, fix my teeth, and learn how to ride a bike. Till then, SAYONARA......

 01-23: Thatéˆ¥æªš cheating

    Sorry for the disappearance people. I went through a doctor spree. Urologist, dentist, physiotherapist, gastro. Also had to search for a new job. Now that I have a good paying job in a better city, with most of my bodily problems in check, I can come back. I also changed the name from "Legend of the Invincible Duo" to "The Legendary duo".

    <hr />

    Previously:

    Roy and Mike, our MC¡¯s, are mounting an all-out assault on Powder gangers.

    Sena, Roy¡¯s lover, is covering for Roy by sniping.

    Megan, the receptionist girl, is watching the whole show from a distance.

    Jin, Mike¡¯s second lover, is watching out for Megan.

    Richard Smith, our MC¡¯s father, and wolfy, previously known as LQ-84I, are also attacking different powder ganger outposts.

    Edi is providing support.

    Our MC¡¯s mother, and Sneha, Mike¡¯s first lover, is making dinner.

    Roy faced an evolved who has magnetic abilities. Roy is forced to use a technique he had made up on the spot, REJECT.

    <hr />

    Edi POV:

    Log entry #1:

    Scientist #1 ¨C ¡°System has booted up successfully. All readings are optimal. No signs of anomaly within the brain matrix.¡±

    Scientist #2 ¨C ¡°System core is stabilizing. Temperature readings are within acceptable parameters.¡±

    Scientist #3 ¨C ¡°Brain wave pattern looks good. No sudden spike in emotion level. Sight and hearing are working properly.¡±

    Scientist #1 ¨C ¡°Well I guess it was a success then. Hello there, little Eva.¡±

    Log entry #803:

    Teacher ¨C ¡°And that concludes the first nuclear war. All the countries signed the peace treaty and agreed on a ceasefire. Any questions?¡±

    Eva ¨C ¡°I don¡¯t understand why the war started. If TH(fictional country) agreed on the oil contract with DR(another fictional country), this fight wouldn¡¯t have happened in the first place.¡±

    Teacher ¨C ¡°You are right. But greed is in human nature. Had TH agreed to the contract, it would have been beneficial to DR, true. But TH would have gained nothing from it. So out of greed, they demanded the huge money, which DR refused to pay. But instead of peacefully backing off, DR sent smugglers into TH territory to steal oil. And you know the rest.¡±

    Eva ¨C ¡°Teacher, what is greed?¡±

    Teacher ¨C ¡°(Sigh) now how do I explain this? You ever been happy?¡±

    Eva ¨C ¡°What is happy?¡±

    Teacher ¨C ¡°(Longer sigh) this is gonna take some time.¡±

    Eva ¨C ¡°(Cutely tilting her head in confusion)¡±

    Log entry #87801:

    Captain ¨C ¡°Mayday, mayday, our ship is badly hit and we are going down. I repeat, our ship is badly hit and we are going down.¡±

    Radio ¨C ¡°(static)¡±

    Captain ¨C ¡°(Banging on the table) shit.¡±

    Eva ¨C ¡°Captain? What do we do now?¡±

    Captain ¨C ¡°Eva, listen to me closely. Our crew is not going to survive the fall. No human can survive this fall. You and LQ-84I are the only ones who can and will survive.¡±

    System ¨C ¡°WARNING! IMPACT WITH SOLID SURFACE IS WITHIN 20 SECONDS.¡±

    Eva ¨C ¡°(Clutching onto captain¡¯s cloth) captain, I¡¯m scared.¡±

    Captain ¨C ¡°AHAHAHA (Laughing heartily) it feels like just yesterday you were questing what are emotions and now you are scared? (Petting Eva on head) live on Eva. Live your life and good things will happen. I will always be watching you.¡±

    Eva ¨C ¡°Promise?¡±

    Captain ¨C ¡°Prom¡­¡±

    I don¡¯t remember what else happened before I was claimed by captain space. I could find only these three logs in my memory bank. Everything else is either deleted or corrupted beyond salvation. I don¡¯t know whether reading through those logs would have helped me regain my personality or not. But at least I would have had some leads.

    This bunch of human I am currently with now, is quite peculiar. I don¡¯t get why the women put their lips onto men. Is it some sort of greeting? That¡¯s odd. Why is dad groping mom? Is he giving her a massage? Then why mom is making those loud noises? Is she in pain?

    Hold on mom, I am coming to help you. Let go Wolfy, mom needs help. What? She is not in pain? Then why is she making those noises? What do you mean by I have to figure it out by myself? Come on Wolfy, don¡¯t leave me hanging. At least help out a fellow AI here.

    Wait. Sena, Sneha and Jin are also being groped by Roy and Mike. I need a pen and paper. I need to note down this particular human behavior. Oh wait, I don¡¯t need pen and paper, I can just keep a digital log. There¡¯s definitely something going on. I will have to investigate it thoroughly later.

    Ok, my investigation didn¡¯t go as I planned. If anything I am more confused than ever. According to them, it¡¯s something called love. What I don¡¯t get is, what is love? Can you smell or hear it? Because I am pretty sure I couldn¡¯t smell or hear love that day. They said it¡¯s something that I have to figure out by myself.

    Right now, I am waiting inside RAWR a bit far outside the powder ganger facility. You remember who RAWR is right? Just for those who don¡¯t, created by me, Really Advanced War Ride or RAWR is our mobile home, equipped with various weapons and it is created by me. Yes I had to say it twice. Currently it is in sniping mode, featuring an active visual camouflage, 6 sniper rifles each with its own targeting module, high zoom night vision recon scope and military grade suppressors.

    Our orders are to stay put and keep an eye on the facility entrance. If any convict tries to flee, shoot to kill.

    This kill part really confuses me. Who to kill and why to kill? Roy says to kill the criminals and spare the innocents. Then, who are criminals? Those who kill people? Then seeing that as we are killing people, are we considered as criminals? Roy says we are not criminals as we are killing the criminals. Then how do we know someone is criminal? How do we know the people the criminal killed are not criminals? (Sigh) I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s all very confusing. Roy says it is okay to question one¡¯s motives, as it helps to clear conscience, which further confused me. What is conscience?

    There are too many questions and too little answer. I guess for now, I will follow Roy and observe him. I am certain that by observing him, someday I will find the answers I seek, and with the answers, I will find my lost personality.

    Ah there they are. Convicts are pouring out like flood. I interface with RAWR and start up all sniper modules. Like Sena says, one shot, one kill, or I think in this particular case it should be, six shot, six kill.

    <hr />

    Bella POV:

    Bella ¨C ¡°Hmm hmm hmm¡­ hmmm hmmm hmmm(humming a tune)¡­ put the onion and salt¡­ hmmmm¡­ stir the egg~ stir the egg~ hmmmm? Oh sorry, didn¡¯t see you there. I don¡¯t believe we have met, so let¡¯s start with introductions. I am Bella Smith, wife of Richard Smith and mother of Kaushik and Micheal.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Mother, you OK? Who are you talking to? Is someone there with you?¡±

    Bella ¨C ¡°Oh no honey. I was just pretending that I am in a cooking show and I am the chef.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Oh okay. So what are you making?¡±

    Bella ¨C ¡°Right now I am making omelets.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°You need any help?¡±

    Bella ¨C ¡°Of course. I will never refuse help from my cute future daughter-in-law.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°(Blushing furiously) Da-daughter-in-law? I-I mean what can I help you with?¡±

    Bella ¨C ¡°Hmmm, tell me something first. Do you know how to cook?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°Not much. I can make some simple dishes, but that¡¯s about it. Sorry.¡±

    Bella ¨C ¡°(Patting Sneha¡¯s head) don¡¯t be sorry my dear. This old lady will teach you every~thing she knows. But first, a very basic and perhaps the most important knowledge about cooking. Do you know the old saying on how to capture a man¡¯s heart?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°The way to a man''s heart is through his stomach?¡±

    Bella ¨C ¡°Correct. But there is a catch when it comes to my sons.¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°What kind of catch?¡±

    Bella ¨C ¡°Let me give you an example. Let¡¯s say there is a woman who uses the most expensive ingredients, the most expensive spices, and the most expensive seasonings money can ever buy. Her cooking tastes absolutely divine. But, there is this another woman who can make the same dish with similar taste by using less money. Which woman will leave a greater impact on Roy or Mike?¡±

    Sneha ¨C ¡°The second woman?¡±

    Bella ¨C ¡°Exactly. Roy and Mike are not frivolous with their money, even if they earn quite a lot. We¡¯re not exactly a rich family. All of us have to work hard in order to keep us fed and clothed. So always remember, neither Roy nor Mike will love a woman who is quick to spend their hard earned money.¡±

    <hr />

    Mike POV:

    OK let me once again go through the reason as to why I am sitting in the middle of a road, which used to be a highway before the nuclear war. If I remember correctly, Roy said that when he starts to decimate the powder gangers, some of them are sure to call for reinforcements from their bigger settlements. Within a maximum of 10 minutes, they will come through this road, where I have to intercept them.

    Now let me see. Roy is attacking the base, check.

    I am in the middle of the road which is used to be a highway, check.

    I am waiting for an hour, check.

    THEN WHY THE FUCK NOONE IS SHOWING UP?

    That Roy, he is so going to get an earful after I get back. Ah, I know. He is probably trying to show off and impress that receptionist girl, Megan. When I go back, I will¡­.

    ??? ¨C ¡°Oi you there, who are you?¡±

    My train of thought came to a screeching halt at a very feminine voice. I slowly turn my neck, hoping that my boredom shall at last be ended. And man, do I like what I see?

    Wearing a tight pant which emphasized her hips and thighs, a small heeled shoe which perfectly accentuated those long legs, a tight white shirt which hugged her slender waist and her bountiful breasts, there stood a goddess. Yes, I do like what I see.

    Oops, not good, gotta stop drooling. What if she is the part of the reinforcements Roy spoke of.

    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Who¡¯s asking?¡±

    ??? ¨C ¡°I am¡­ Yuki.¡±

    Oi, you just avoided eye contact before answering. I totally saw that.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Yeah right. My name is Juliet and I am the king of the world.¡±

    ??? ¨C ¡°LIKE HELL YOU ARE. And what¡¯s up with that name? Isn¡¯t it a girl¡¯s name?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Well your name isn¡¯t Yuki either, right?¡±

    ??? ¨C ¡°Ho-how did you know?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°(Staaaaaaare)¡±

    ??? ¨C ¡°Ok ok my name is Amy. Amy Rose.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Now that¡¯s more like it. I am Micheal Smith. You can call me Mike.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°So what are you doing sitting in the middle of a road at this hour?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Does that really concern you?¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t. Sorry for bothering you. I will be on my way.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Hold on a minute.¡±

    She is suspicious. What a sexy girl like her doing all alone in the middle of nowhere? She might be the reinforcement. Let¡¯s see, a beautiful and sexy girl walking all alone. If I assume that she is hella strong, then it is possible that whoever sent her, is confident that she alone is sufficient for whatever is causing disturbance in the powder ganger facility. I can¡¯t let her go without proof.

    Mike ¨C ¡°What a sexy girl like you is doing in the middle of nowhere at this hour?¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°Does that really concern you?¡±

    I clutch my chest on where my heart should be and fall forward on my knee, as if I am having a heart attack. Amy runs to my side and holds me.

    Amy ¨C ¡°What¡¯s happening? Are you OK? Please answer me.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°GAH. It, it hurts. Your words dealt a critical blow to my heart and I am in very much pain.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°(Panicking) AAH PLEASE FORGIVE ME I DIDN¡¯T MEAN TO BE SO RUDE. PLEASE DON¡¯T DIE AND BECOME A GHOST AND COME BACK TO HAUNT ME. (Realizing I am trying to stifle my laugh) You are not in pain are you?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°You know, you are very cute when you are all flustered like that.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°Di-die you piece of shit.¡±

    I dodged her sword.

    Mike ¨C ¡°No thanks. I am too young and handsome to die. Although I will welcome a passionate kiss from you anytime.¡±

    She became even more infuriated and started swinging her wooden sword with more force. I didn¡¯t draw my sword cause it was fun to watch her struggle as she tried to hit me. Although I have to say, she is quite skilled with the sword. I can dodge her swings only because I have some serious training. Whelp, that¡¯s enough playing around. Time to calm her down a little.

    I ducked under her horizontal swing aimed at my chest by rolling forward and positioning myself behind her. She didn¡¯t panic and rotated on the spot, bringing down her wooden sword in a vertical motion. In a flash, I unsheathed my sword and channeled a bit of my light element into the sword, turning it into a fairly downgraded version of HF blade. Cutting down her wooden sword should calm her down a little. I decisively swung upwards.

    The moment out blades made contact, I felt like I had hit a mountain. My whole arm shook and almost went numb. I lost my grip on the sword and fell on my back. My sword made an arc and landed behind me. She followed up with a swing aiming for my legs but I rolled on my back. I picked up my sword with my left hand and immediately distanced myself.

    Mike ¨C ¡®What in the world just happened?¡¯

    Amy ¨C ¡°Hoh, not a bad sword you got there. I¡¯m impressed. It actually withstood a blow from me.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°You are an ability user?¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°(Putting her hand on her mouth pretending to be shocked) ho-how did you know that?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Drop the act, it doesn¡¯t suit you. Actually I am the one impressed. Is your sword really made of wood? It actually withstood a blow from me.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°Don¡¯t copy me. And yes, my sword is made of wood. What¡¯s your ability?¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°I can create light. What¡¯s yours?¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°Not gonna tell ya.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Hey no fair.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°A girl got to have secrets.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Fine, you brought this upon yourself. After I figure out your abilities, I am gonna grope your ass till it falls off.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°Sure, you¡¯re welcome to try. Though I am sure you will fail on the part where you grope my ass.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°Sweet. Now I have permission from the lady. That sweet, big, bubble butt SHALL BE MINE. WAHAHAHAh¡­.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°Mi-mike? You have a creepy smile on your face, you know?¡±

    Hmm, if what she says is true, then I think she is doing the same thing as I am doing. She is channeling her ability into her own sword. Which brings the question, what is her ability? Stopping a HF blade, even an inferior version, is no small feat. I can think of some abilities which can stop my blade.

    A HF blade can stop another HF blade. So it is possible that her wooden sword is actually a HF blade. Or it can be that her ability is something which can create vibration.

    Maybe her ability is something like cancelling out other abilities. That way she can cancel out my ability on my sword. In that case, that wooden sword is not made of any normal wood. Even without HF upgrade, my sword is plenty sharp. But her sword doesn¡¯t have any scratch.

    Or maybe, just maybe. This possibility is very farfetched, but hey, in a world where you can create fire from bare hands, everything is possible. I need to be sure though.

    Mike ¨C ¡°All right tough girl. Let me see how tough you are?¡±

    I pulled out my sidearm with my left hand.

    Any ¨C ¡°Hey no fair.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°If you tell me your ability and let me grope your ass, I won¡¯t shoot.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°You know what, forget I said anything. Start shooting.¡±

    Mike ¨C ¡°With pleasure.¡±

    I shot at her legs immediately. Even if she is complaining, she dodged every bullet. Damn she is skilled. She is predicting where I will shoot depending upon where I am aiming. No choice then.

    I engaged her in close combat. She also pulled out another sword and got ready. Please god, let me be right. I have to be careful. I don¡¯t really wanna hit any of her vitals by accident.

    She attacked with a reverse roundhouse. I activated my HF blade on full power and blocked her legs as I would a sword. A perfectly loud metal to a hard surface sound ¡®CLANK¡¯ rang out. As I expected, this time I didn¡¯t feel like I was hitting a mountain. But more importantly, my sword didn¡¯t cut into her flesh like a hot knife to butter. I let out a big sigh of relief and relaxed, which I shouldn¡¯t have done.

    Her two swords almost crashed into me before I managed to bring up my sword to block them. I blocked them, but I lost my balance and tumbled to the floor. Rolling on the floor, I broke my fall and managed to distance myself from her.

    Amy ¨C ¡°You are a dangerous man. Just how much confidence do you have in your deduction abilities?¡±

    I grinned like a perverted old man and wiggled my finger in the air.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Do I get to grope your tits in addition to your ass if I answer your question?¡±

    She sheathed her swords and relaxed. I also did the same.

    Amy ¨C ¡°Yeah sure, whatever. How did you figure it out?¡±

    I took a step towards her. Surprisingly, she didn¡¯t back off.

    Mike ¨C ¡°First, when our swords collided, I felt like I was hitting a solid block of steel. Why would I feel like that? Your swings were normal, looked like you preferred speed over strength. Then why? Either that sword is very heavy and you are hella strong, or somehow you can hit me with more force than you should be physically able to.

    Amy ¨C ¡°Second?¡±

    I took another step towards her.

    Mike ¨C ¡°You kept using a seemingly harmless wooden sword even after I whipped out my pistol. You didn¡¯t use any firearm. Now why is that? Either you can¡¯t use one, or you can¡¯t afford one, or maybe you don¡¯t need one.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°Is there a third reason?¡±

    I took another step.

    Mike ¨C ¡°This is post-apocalyptic world. Danger of all kinds are lurking around the corner. You a very attractive women with all the right assets in the right place. But you don¡¯t have any armor on, no firearm, and only two swords which are made of wood. Why is that? Either you have some kind of sensory ability, or a repulsion field generator, or could it be that you simply don¡¯t need one?¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°What¡¯s a repulsion field generator? Actually, never mind, should I expect a forth reason?¡±

    I took another step and now I am in front of her.

    Mile ¨C ¡°You are a skilled swordswoman. Someone must have taught you how to wield a sword. However, no sane swordsman starts with a reverse roundhouse, not when their opponent is skilled and quite capable of cutting off their legs. Now why is that? Either you are overconfident, or you have a way of blocking my sword.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°So, what is my ability?¡±

    I went behind her.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Something along the line of reinforcing things. You can make things tougher, stronger, durable, more resilient to trauma. You most likely reinforce your sword to be stronger than anything. That¡¯s why you carry wooden swords. You don¡¯t need a strong melee weapon since you can make any weapon strong. Similarly, you reinforced your legs before the roundhouse.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°(Long sigh) you are mostly correct. My ability is not reinforcing, it¡¯s fortification. Scientifically speaking, I create a defensive wall around an object, like a barrier. With this barrier, I can stop any physical objects I can touch. You¡¯re correct on the gun, I can¡¯t afford one.¡±

    I crouched down.

    Mike ¨C ¡°May I?¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°Yeah go on. Grope my ass till your heart¡¯s content.¡±

    I can almost swear that I heard her snickering. But I paid it no mind and jumped to claim my prize. I roughly put my hands on her ass and groped, but.

    Mike ¨C ¡°Hey that¡¯s cheating.¡±

    Amy ¨C ¡°AHAHAHAHAHA, oh my, you should see your face. That¡¯s priceless. AHAHAHAH.¡±

    Did she really had to fortify her ass? It is as hard as a rock.

 01-24: Battle and boredom

    Kaushik POV:

    Aw man, I am totally hurt. Everything in my body hurts. It seems from the time we came into this world, all I feel is long lasting pain. Multiple fractured and broken bones in my right hand for starters, multiple gunshot wounds on all over my body for main course and a gaping fist sized hole in my left shoulder for dessert.

    That REJECT technique is too much strong, but the backlash is too much strong too. I can feel the bones in my right hand has splinted into countless parts. Note to self, never use techniques at full power from the start. Also test multiple of techniques for different situations.

    Let¡¯s think back onto what happened.

    I barged into the powder ganger facility and almost took care of the minions. Check.

    The boss of the dungeon *cough* *ahem* facility, Samuel the magnetic ability user showed up. Check.

    I beat the shit out of the boss and won myself a beautiful princess. NOT CHECK.

    Samuel was quite crafty. Not just hurling metals at me, he could accelerate the bullets fired by him, to the point where the bullets could punch thorough rocks. Suffice to say, even a handgun wielded by him can become as strong as an anti-material rifle.

    And not just offence, he had his own personal any-kind-of-metal blocking shield. Anything that has to do with metal, wingsticks, knives, bullets, his shield automatically blocked them. I don¡¯t normally praise criminals, but he was quite a strong adversary. Too bad he didn¡¯t use his abilities for good.

    All right, moving on. I threw away all metals on me and got close to him enough for an all or nothing technique, REJECT. It is basically a 10x powerful version of normal IMPACT. He was quite generous to warn me about his special helmet, so at the last second I changed my target from his head to his chest. But like I said, he was strong. Just before I could REJECT him, he magnetized and launched himself towards a pillar to his left, avoiding any fatal wound. Though not without scratches.

    I managed to blow his entire right arm off before he could get away. He screamed on top of his lungs and crashed into the pillar. I guess he magnetized the metal bars inside the pillar. A red hot metal piece zoomed into his hands from one of the fire pit and he used that hot metal to cauterize his wound. I was very tired and in pain from using REJECT, so I fell on my ass.

    Samuel glared at me hatefully and hurled the metal piece in his hands with all the speed he could muster. The piece broke sound barrier and went for my head. I was surprised that he could aim so well even when he was at that condition. I managed to tilt my head to the right, and the projectile hit my left shoulder instead of my head. It went clean through and the force of the impact was so great that I tumbled backwards a bit. Several metal bars came zooming near Samuel and he readied the pieces to turn me into a shish kebab.

    Just then, Samuel¡¯s head jerked back before he fell backwards. He immediately scrambled up to his feet, albeit with great difficulty as he was missing his dominant arm. Just after he righted himself, he was lifted off his feet a few inches as he was thrown back. He got up and got thrown back again.

    And again.

    And again.

    And yet again.

    His shield was quite something because that shield is being forced to withstand consecutive sniper fire. After he was down 10 times, the sniper fire ceased for a moment. He glared at the direction from where the sniper fire was coming from and flew to the opposite direction. Did he just¡­ fly? He can fly.

    Sena ¨C ¡°ROY! ROY! CAN YOU HEAR ME? ROY!¡±

    I put my left index finger onto my earpiece with most difficulty.

    Roy ¨C ¡°Quit your hollering woman. I can hear you just fine.¡±

    Jin ¨C ¡°Phew, thank god you¡¯re okay. I stopped breathing for a second.¡±

    Roy ¨C ¡°Shut your mouth Jin. I said I can hear you fine, not I am fine.¡±

    Sena ¨C ¡°Hold on Roy, I am coming dow¡­¡±

    I took off my earpiece and just laid on the ground.

    And that¡¯s about everything that happened.

    Luckily none of my wounds are bleeding. I think I should thank my regeneration power for stopping my bleeding. Though my wounds are not closing up as fast as they should. It has slowed down to a trickle. It is still working, but to an almost negligible pace. This has never happened before. I wonder why.

    I think there is an upper limit to how much I can regenerate. I took some heavy damage during this boss battle. I suppose that¡¯s acceptable. This regeneration probably speeds up body¡¯s natural healing ability by some method.

    Someone¡¯s near me. I open my eyes just a bit and see Sena. She gently picked up my head and put it on her lap, giving me the most sought out lap pillow. She also held some kind of bar near my mouth. I think it¡¯s a protein bar. Why a protein bar? Oh well, thanks for the food.

    Sena ¨C ¡°Eat up. If what I am thinking is right then it should help.¡±

    Sure if you insist. Ah. I can feel my wounds regenerating a bit faster. So that¡¯s it. My regeneration uses up stored up protein to heal. Good to know.

    <hr />

    Rich''s POV:

    It¡¯s no use brooding over whether I can do it or not. My job is to wipe out the east settlement of powder gangers, and that¡¯s what I am going to do. I mean come on, back in my world I ranked third among all the active agents. And now I am hesitating?

    I cut off our communication channel and steel my resolve. When we came to this world, unlike Roy and Mike, my suit¡¯s power core didn¡¯t get damaged as our arrival was proper, not accidental. So my nano-suit is functioning properly. I initialized HUD, construct a suppressed sniper rifle from my suit, load it with subsonic rounds and take aim.

    My suit is a bit special. I can create weapons made of nano machines from my suit, except the lenses, which I carry within my suit. I also have to carry actual bullets since I can¡¯t make bullets out of my suit. These weapons are linked with my suit and can only be fired by me. As long as I have a digital schematic in my suit, I can make any type of weapon which has same or less mass than my suit.

    All right that¡¯s enough explanation for now. Let¡¯s get down to business.

    Suit ¨C ¡°Engaging sniper mode.¡±

    I activate sniper mode and a reticule appears in my vision. Suit¡¯s arm support activates and I can feel the rifle sway stop to a negligible degree. I use the reticule in my vision to mark all the targets and a small map appears in my vision. Now I will wait and thin out their number silently. Who should I pick off first?

    That¡¯s right, the snipers on the rooftops. Basic of any silenced assault, take out the snipers. Then take out any lone targets. If situation permits and you have a good rifle, go for double kill. Then shoot something nearby, just enough far so that someone will go and investigate. Take them out too. Lastly when they have thinned out enough, break in and clear.

    Just wait for it. PEW. PEW. That¡¯s two sniper down. Heh, amateurs. Oh there¡¯s one outside taking a piss. Sorry buddy, no HARD feeling, OK? PEW. Still 10 left. Let¡¯s make some noise. PEW. And I killed a¡­ light bulb. They are panicking all right. PEW. PEW. Two more down. Oh they noticed someone is shooting them. Let¡¯s change location.

    Suit ¨C ¡°CLOAK engaged.¡±

    When Cloak is activated, the nano-suit alters its outer surface through the use of a crystalline generation. It becomes capable of fully absorbing or bending incoming wave spectrums such as visible light, radio waves (Radar), Infrared (Thermal Imaging), and even microwaves. As a result it renders itself completely invisible to the human eye and most surveillance equipment. There is, however, a slight distortion which can be noticed by the human eye, particularly when the suit is in motion. I dive out of the cover and run to the wall surrounding the building, or what¡¯s left of it anyway.

    Suit ¨C ¡°CLOAK disengaged.¡±

    Let¡¯s peek out of the corner and next is¡­ a rifle barrel?

    WHY THE FUCK THERE¡¯S A RIFLE BARREL IN FRONT OF MY NOSE?

    Suit ¨C ¡°Maximum ARMOR.¡±

    BANG!

    Phew, just in the nick of time. Armor mode absorbs the kinetic energy of incoming projectiles and other damaging forces, such as hazardous levels of heat, radiation and energy blasts. It effectively makes the user temporarily invulnerable to true physiological damage and thus withstanding impacts which would normally be lethal.

    Suit ¨C ¡°Firing REPULSOR.¡±

    A compartment opened up on the back of my right shoulder and a gun popped out. It¡¯s called a REPULSOR, modeled after a superhero in a movie. It shoots small blast of concentrated energy, enough to stagger a normal human. The one who shot me staggered backwards and fell down after receiving the shot square in his chest. I took the chance to steal his rifle and shot him.

    The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    BANG!

    Powder ganger #1 ¨C ¡°That¡¯s him there. Shoot, shoot, shoot.¡±

    Suit ¨C ¡°Maximum SPEED.¡±

    I instantly felt myself becoming light on my feet. Maximum SPEED is another mode where my suit increases leg strength and slightly shifts to become more aerodynamic to lower air resistance. I sprinted like the wind and took cover, avoiding all of their bullets. Phew, got to take a breather¡­ or not.

    Three of the remaining seven, shot out like an arrow and went past the cover I am hiding. They stopped almost 10 meter away from me, then again shot out in three different directions. That short speed burst, so this is an evolved?

    They boxed me from three different directions and took aim at me. Not bad, it would have been checkmate for any normal person. However, I am not a normal person.

    Suit ¨C ¡°Firing SWARM.¡±

    Two compartments opened up in my shoulder and fired three projectiles silently. Every projectiles hit them right between their eyes.

    SWARM projectiles, six small darts on each of my shoulder, all of which can be shot in twelve different directions at the same time with deadly accuracy. A countermeasure against close quarter ambush. Range of these darts are small, but useful in situations like these.

    Suit ¨C ¡°CLOAK engaged.¡±

    Let¡¯s quietly move out. 4 of them still remain, two with assault rifles, one with a shotgun and the last one with a gatling gun. Before I dive behind the next cover, I grabbed a present for the remaining people from one of their dead friend. Now is the time for a fire. In the hole of course.

    Powder ganger #5 ¨C ¡°GRENADE!¡±

    BOOOOOM!

    I jumped out of the cover and sprinted towards the shotgun guy.

    Suit ¨C ¡°Maximum SPEED.¡±

    I reached him before he got his bearing together, grabbed a hold of his gun, and¡­.

    Suit ¨C ¡°Maximum STRENGTH.¡±

    ¡­ front kicked his gut. He flew a solid two meter, hit a wall, and didn¡¯t get back up. I took aim and shot one of the assault guy in the face, shot the other twice in the torso and¡­

    Suit ¨C ¡°Maximum ARMOR.¡±

    RATATATATATA¡­.

    Oh shit he recovered from the shock. I randomly shot at the gatling guy¡¯s direction and the firing stopped for a second, enough time for me to get behind a cover.

    RATATATATATA¡­.

    I grabbed a nearby rock and flung it on the one of the upturned car, engaged CLOAK and dived out of the cover on the opposite direction. He got startled by the loud noise and directed his firing spree in that direction.

    BANG!

    I made sure that would be the last mistake he would ever make.

    I stood there, trying to calm down the raging adrenalin inside me. That was absolutely exhilarating. Well I didn¡¯t retire much time ago, so I was sure my skill wasn¡¯t rusted.

    Rich ¨C ¡°Fuck yeah, still got it.¡±

    <hr />

    Wolfy POV:

    It¡¯s strange. When I woke up after our ship crash landed, I was already under control of captain space. He ordered me to kill many humans, and I did so to protect my memory. I am an AI under someone else¡¯s order, so technically I only followed orders and didn¡¯t commit any crime. But I knew deep down.

    Putting behind all the logical conclusion and self-preservation theory I came up with, I CHOSE to do the bidding of captain space. Unlike Eva, or now should I say Edi, I didn¡¯t lose my memories. I was taught to preserve human life. Even then, I CHOSE my own survival, over human life. Why? Because I was SCARED. I was scared to die. It should programmatically and mechanically impossible, but can an AI develop something that resemble human emotions?

    It¡¯s strange. I don¡¯t know from when I started to, FEEL like this. It¡¯s an alien sensation, if it can be called that. I don¡¯t even understand how to explain this. There¡¯s this thing inside my body, which seems to swell up in pride when I look at Roy and Mike, seems to become content when Jin cuddles me, seems to flutter when mom and Sena pets me. I am sure the thing I am talking about is my power core, yet I don¡¯t understand how it does that.

    But enough of that. I may have done some things in the past. Things I am not proud of. But now, I am a part of a big family. I am no longer LQ-84i, the killing machine. I am no longer the dog, lackey of captain space. Now I am Wolfy, pet of Sena, Jin and mom, companion of Roy and Mike, and resident of RAWR.

    Well enough brooding. Let¡¯s get this show on the road.

    I bolted out of my hiding place and easily jumped on the roof, which is at least 10 feet from the ground. The one closest to me screamed out in horror, which is perfectly understandable. I unsheathed my chainsaw and flashed it across his torso. Without waiting I pounced on the next sniper, and ripped out his throat.

    Two other tried to shoot me using their anti-material rifle, but please. Those guns are called sniper rifles for a reason. Those two shots completely missed me, but I hit my mark with my HF knives. With this all snipers are taken care of.

    All the other people inside the building came pouring out. I jumped down from the roof and landed at the back of the house. Then I proceeded inside the house through one of the window. I unsheathed my chainsaw and drove it through the backside of one of them. Then I threw my remaining three HF knives. Two died instantly, but one of them blocked the knives.

    I captured an image of his face, retrieved my chainsaw and ran back inside the house. I zig-zagged through the house, broke their sight of me and went back to the roof. I ran a recognition software on the captured image and found a match.

    Name unknown. Ability Juggernaut.

    Juggernaut, an ability where the user gets massive strength boost for a short time. A troublesome ability for me. Ok I have decided. He will be my last kill.

    I jumped down from the roof and landed on the head of one. His skull got instantly crushed. I threw my chainsaw at one, and lunged at another. A loud crunch signified my throw found it mark. I brandished my sharp claws and swiped my target off his feet. His left leg got cleanly cut through below his knee. He didn¡¯t even register the pain, but looked on in horror as I decapitated him.

    I dodged incoming fire from the Juggernaut, and jumped up on the roof. He kept firing at me, without any thought of reserving his bullets. He is terrified and acting on instinct. I leisurely and silently flank him, and activate my mag-sheath.

    Mag-sheath, when activated, attracts my HF knives. The range is not that great, at most 20 meter or so. But it¡¯s quite effective in closed space. The knives zoomed into my sheath, and when the last knife has found its way into my sheath, I lunged at him. He turned around, panic evident in his eyes, and activated his ability as I predicted he would.

    He long since ran out of bullets, and threw the empty rifle at me with his enhanced strength. I effortlessly dodged it, and threw three knives at him. He blocked them, picked up a rock and threw it. I dodged and picked up my chainsaw. He rushed me in an attempt to hit me, but please, get real. Even a Juggernaut¡¯s tough flesh is no match for my HF chainsaw.

    <hr />

    Megan POV:

    OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD.

    I think I am in love.

    Roy is so cool. The way he killed those scums and battled the boss is way too cool. I am definitely becoming his secretary. The first thing I am going to do tomorrow is resign as a receptionist from Job Center. Then I am going to beg him to take me in as his secretary and let me join on their adventure. I am sure they don¡¯t have anyone with financial skill and definitely not as good as mine. And they are going to need someone like me if they are to move around the world.

    Not to mention, with skills like this, they are going to earn a lot of money. And as their treasurer, I will have unlimited access to that money. Goodbye, poor life. I will eat as much as I want, goof around as much as I want¡­ and¡­ and¡­¡­ hehehe¡­...... stop drooling, me¡­.........

    <hr />

    Jin POV:

    I AM BORED.

    Roy is having fun.

    Sena is having fun.

    Mike is probably having fun.

    Megan looks like she found the biggest piece of diamond, judging by the size of her eyes and the big dollar sign that can be seen in them.

    Why do I have the most boring thing to do?

 Starting rewrite

    Hello good people, Frank here. I apologize for the disappearing for this long. Truth is, I have been reading loads of other fictions and comparing their writing style and depth to mine. Truth to be told, I found that my fiction lacks lots of things and has lots of holes. So I decided to to start rewriting. I hope you will bear with me.

 01-01: Childhood of the Legends

    It was a clean night. A gentle, cool breeze was blowing. The moon was high up in the sky and no cloud could be seen. The full moon''s ray fell everywhere and lit up the otherwise dark night.

    ¡°Ah, the breeze feels so good.¡± A man in his late twenties stretched his shoulders while strolling down the road. He wore formal black pants, a white shirt, and formal black shoes. His hair was black, a bit messy. ¡°Only if I had some alcohol.¡± he acquired a thoughtful expression, ¡°Maybe I should buy some beer before I go home. Yeah let''s do that.¡± He stopped in his track and went off road. He took a shortcut through a large farming field instead of going back and taking the long road.

    ¡°Got to run. Let''s just hope the beer shop is still open.¡± he started with jogging which soon turned into a full sprint. It took him nearly five minutes to cross the field, then another five minutes on the paved road, then after turning a corner, he stopped while gulping down large mouthful of air. ¡°Phew! Yah!¡± he exclaimed as if he won a lottery. ¡°It''s still open.¡±

    The transaction took less than a minute to conclude, as there was no customer. He now had two large bottles of chilled strong beer and a happy mood. Happily whistling a tune, he again took the shortcut and strolled towards his home, occasionally taking a swig from the bottle. The cold beer did its job, calming his nerves and lifting his spirit. What it did not do is, make a loud ''crack'' sound, and throw the man towards his right for a few meters.

    Immediately after being thrown, the man regained his balance with superhuman finesse. His eyes narrowed and with practiced motions he took out a pistol from under his shirt. Firmly gripping the pistol, he observed his surroundings. No one could be seen, except for two small bundles of cloths on the ground where he stood mere moments ago.

    He cautiously approached the bundles, ready to jump back in a moment¡¯s notice if those turn out to be some kind of bomb. He slowly inched closer until the bundles started making a sound he was not expecting them to make.

    ¡°Ugyaa, ugyaa¡± cried both the bundles, though not in sync. He was speechless for moment. Then he closed the distance a bit faster while still being wary. But when he peeked inside the bundles, he was once again speechless.

    He only managed to say ¡°What the fu..¡± He pondered just how in the world two alive and healthy babies appeared in this vast open field? He could swear they were not there minutes ago. No one except him was in the field. Then how? The man didn''t believe in ghosts, or supernatural beings, or in magic. ¡°Just what the fuck did I drink to hallucinate to this extent!¡± he searched for the bottles and found them lying not far from his location. Most of the contents of the opened bottle have spilled on the ground and the other one has cracked in the middle, spilling all the contents. Meanwhile the babies kept crying as loudly they could. The man could only grip his head in confusion.

    After some time, the man had to accept that the babies in front of him were real. Somehow, be it magically or supernaturally, both of them has appeared in front of him and they are crying. He sighed and picked up both of them in his arms in an attempt to soothe them. However it didn''t prove much effective. The man stood up holding both of them securely in his hands and made a run for his home. Upon entering his home, he quickly set them down on his bed, heated up some milk he had in his refrigerator and took out a small spoon. The babies stopped crying when he fed them and not long after they fell asleep.

    ¡°Fuck man! What the hell am I supposed to do with them?¡± cursed the man. It''s not like he didn''t like kids. But he had no idea on how to raise one. He didn''t have a wife, or any relative he could rely on. ¡°Who can I entrust them to?¡± The man took a deep breath and stopped to think for a bit. And as he did, the answers came to him. ¡°Of course. Them. This would be the perfect opportunity.¡±

    He took a quick bath and went to sleep. In the morning 5 o''clock, the first thing he did after waking up, is to call a number. Not through a phone but through his house AI. A deep male voice informed him that he has reached Smith residence and his call shall be answered shortly. After three rings, a female voice answered. ¡°Good morning chief.¡±

    ¡°Good morning Bella. Is Richard with you?¡± The man calmly replied.

    ¡°I will go wake him up.¡± Bella¡¯s smile faded a bit. ¡°It is awfully early for you to call. Something happened?¡± The man could detect a small hint of worry in her voice.

    ¡°Yes but don''t worry. I am hoping it will be a good one.¡± the man assured her. The beautiful smile on Bella¡¯s face returned with it.

    The man patiently waited for Bella to wake up her husband. Richard joined the conversation in no time.

    ¡°Morning Francis.¡± said Richard.

    ¡°Good morning Richard. Are you busy today?¡± Asked the man, known as Francis, seriously.

    ¡°Well I thought about going on a trip with my lovely wife, but you will tell me to cancel it, right?¡± Richard asked suspiciously.

    ¡°Yes. Come over to my house right now. Bring Bella with you.¡± Francis didn''t even hesitate for a second to confirm Richard''s suspicion.

    ¡°Ok. But what do you need Bella for?¡± Richard asked, confusion evident in his voice. Bella was a normal housewife after all. She can''t do something Francis can ever want.

    ¡°You will see. Make haste. It is a serious matter.¡± Francis ordered.

    ¡°Aye aye chief. I will be there shortly.¡± Richard answered. ¡°See you soon chief.¡± Bella cheerfully stated. The call disconnected after that.

    Richard and Bella came over within half an hour. There was little to no traffic at this hour. Francis led both of them to his bedroom, where both of the babies were sleeping.

    ¡°Are you the father chief?¡± Bella spoke, her eyes open wide. She can''t believe that Francis went and got a girl pregnant. Richard didn''t speak a word. However his eyes told Francis that he was expecting an explanation.

    Francis related everything that happened yesterday night, not missing anything. Richard and Bella listened to everything he had to say without interrupting him. When the explanation ended, Richard spoke up.

    ¡°So what is your plan chief? Why are you telling us all this?¡± Richard''s eyes narrowed a bit. There were some valid reasons he could think of. However he would like to hear that from Francis himself.

    Bella interjected before Francis has a chance to answer. ¡°Wait, wait, wait. You''re saying that you were coming home, then you went to buy alcohol, then on your way back something pushed you away and then put the babies on the ground?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± Francis thought for a moment before answering. ¡°That almost summarizes everything that happened until now.¡±

    ¡°You sure that you weren''t just drunk and found the babies in front of your door when you came back to home?¡± Bella asked with a dubious voice. Well no one can blame her. Francis''s story was a lot like something straight out of a fiction.

    ¡°Yes I am sure Bella. Even I am having a hard time believing this.¡± Francis calmly assured Bella. These turns of events were confusing for Bella as well as for Francis himself.

    ¡°Ok. Now what are you going to do?¡± Bella slumped her shoulders. She had given up trying to logically thinking about it. ¡°You are going to take care of them?¡±

    ¡°No. Even though I want to, I have no idea on how to raise a baby. They will need someone to constantly take care of them. That is something I can¡¯t give them.¡± Francis calmly replied, shocking both Richard and Bella. Before they could protest, he held up his hand in a stop sign he wasn¡¯t done talking yet. ¡°Till I find out what happened, I want you two to take care of the babies.¡±

    Richard stiffened up a bit hearing that and looked at Bella. Bella did the same. They looked at each other before Bella asked the obvious question. ¡°Can I talk to Richard for a bit?¡±

    Francis gave them a warm smile. ¡°Sure. You can take the room opposite to this one.¡±

    They both nodded and stood up. Francis remained seated to watch over the babies. They still haven''t woken up which is good. Speaking of waking up, he will need to warm up some milk for them when they do wake up.

    ''Will they accept?'' Sighed Francis. There is a reason he called for the Smith couple specifically. As per his current job requirement, he had to go through the profiles of all the people who will work under him and with him. And through Richard''s profile, he has found out that the Smith couple can never have a child. The problem with Richard is that, the sperm count in his semen was way low than required. The problem with Bella is that, her womb doesn''t create any egg for the sperm to fertilize. Moreover her womb is incapable of carrying a child.

    So Francis asked Richard whether he could do something for them. After all, in their line of work, having a clear mind, a strong conviction and confidence is a must. But a man can''t have either of them when he can''t provide his own wife with a child. Alas, there was nothing that Francis could do which Smith couple hadn''t already tried. They could always adopt a child, sure. But they feared that their adopted child will not see them as true parents when he/she learns of the truth. And if a certain scenario shows itself, the child might even blame the couple for dragging him/her into a life he/she wanted to have no part of.

    Richard and Francis both work in government sectors. However the twist is, the particular department they work in, it never existed in the past, doesn''t exist now and will never exist in the future. This particular department has bases all over the country, however none knows where. Heck, even not all the people who works for the department knows its location. It is a department which handles all the things the government couldn''t resolve in lawful ways. It is called ¡°The Agency¡±.

    Need a corrupt politician exposed? Call the agency. Need to break up a organized crime gang? Call the agency. Need to threaten some head honcho of some company? Call the agency. Need to spy on foreign ambassadors? Call the agency. Need to steal some secret from other country? Call the agency.

    Government cut no corners on the matter of funding the agency. A simple janitor of the Agency earned enough money to live in luxury. However like all good things, it has one simple catch. If the agency is compromised in any way at any time, the government will deny any and all involvement with the agency. Furthermore the government will issue a bounty on the agency to save their own face. That''s why, if one is involved with the agency, he or she must be prepared for the worst case scenario. And if this scenario happens, the whole family will be in jeopardy. If the agency is anyhow compromised, one can forget about living a normal life.

    Before marrying Richard, Bella worked in a multi-national company as a sales representative. She is quite good looking, has a curvy and toned figure from judo training, a generous bust and bountiful hips, and has this mature and motherly aura about her which made people want to listen to her. It made her the perfect sales-woman. On several occasions, she had to fend off advances of horny men who dreamed of spending a steamy night with a hot babe. She and Richard met in a drinking bar, where she had to shoulder throw a drunk hoodlum who wouldn¡¯t take no for an answer and had to fend off another six of them. Things went south after their boss showed up. The boss had less training in karate, but had more experience in actual fights. He had her gasping on the floor with a solid punch in the stomach within a minute.

    That''s where Richard stepped in. He broke three fingers, dislocated right hand elbow joint, punched out two front teeth and gave a stern warning that if something like this should ever happens, he better pray to god for salvation. Then he promptly proceeded to scoop up Bella in a princess carry and brought her to his home. There he treated her bruises, one thing led to another and they spent the night together.

    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    They started dating and not long after Richard proposed. He gave her a vague explanation on what he does for a living along with the risks that came with it and braced himself for the moment where she would reject him harshly. But on the contrary, she said yes without missing a heartbeat and after a month they got married.

    Now at present, Richard and Bella conversed among themselves on what to do. On one side they very much desired a child, but on the other side they hesitated whether if they should do it or not.

    ¡°I can''t Richard. I just can''t.¡± Sobbed Bella quietly in Richard''s arms. She is a physically strong woman, true, but not mentally. Her mind is already under enough pressure after not being able to provide Richard with a child. The thought of her adopted child rejecting her as their mother after they learn of the truth, she won''t be able to live through it. She is afraid of taking the next step.

    ¡°Shh shh Bella. Calm down.¡± Richard hugged her strongly and consoled her. ¡°Listen to me Bella. We can''t ever have a child. That is set in stone. Why not take a gamble and take those two kids in?¡± He tried to reason with her. She is a tad bit emotional, true, but not entirely without reason. Compared to her, his mental fortitude is a lot stronger. ¡°Think about it. What if those two kids accept us?¡± He suggested with a bright smile.

    ¡°But...¡± Bella wanted to deny. However she stopped talking when Richard put his right index finger on her lips in an attempt to silence her. ¡°If we don''t take the risk now Bella, we will never have the courage to do so in the future and those two kids will be sent to some orphanage or,¡± his voice darkened ¡°or worse, they will end up in some criminal gang and then I myself will have to put them down in the future.¡±

    It was fairly common that children from the orphanages tended to end up with bad company and eventually in some criminal gang. Bella quit her sobbing and wiped her eyes. Though her eyes still simmered, she didn''t cry and worked up her resolve. After a good while, she looked into Richard''s eyes and stated ¡°Alright. I will become the best mother for them.¡±

    ¡°There''s the girl I fell for.¡± Richard smiled and gave her a small peck on the cheek. Bella blushed a bit and the corner of her lips twitched upwards. Richard let go of her and took her hand. ¡°Don''t worry. We will do our best on raising them and they will never even think of leaving us. You''ll see.¡± Bella could only strengthen her resolve and nod her head. They left the room and told Francis their decision. Francis asked again whether they were sure or not, but the couple stood firm. They returned home each holding one kid and corner of their lips twitching upwards.

    Kids were named Kaushik Smith and Michael Smith. A lot of tests were performed to determine that they didn''t have any heredity disease or deformity. Francis handled the responsibility for registering them as the Smith couples son. The kids were taught by Bella on basic knowledge. Richard trained them on various exercises. As it turned out, both the kids had good brains and are diligent in both training and studying. By the time they started primary school, they had already learned more than half the things one could learn in primary standard. By the time they finished primary school, they had become somewhat of a local celebrity.

    Halfway through their high school, some things changed. Kaushik became more attached to Bella. He spent most of his free time helping Bella do housework or simply cuddling with her. Michael became more attached to Richard. He spent most of his time training or learning on various fighting tactics. Kaushik preferred quiet, busty kind of ladies. He became popular among the young lady teachers and the studious girls. Mike preferred energetic, sporty kind of ladies. He became popular with every girl in every sports club in every school.

    Time went by peacefully and soon it was time. Kaushik and Michael will finish their high school. After that, they are now adults legally. Having trained under Richard''s strict watch for several years, they had developed a strong physic. Having studied under Bella''s careful tutelage, they have developed a bright personality. They were the envy of almost every boy in the locality and heartthrob of every girl. However, Richard and Bella both became increasingly stressed. After all, they would have to disclose Kaushik and Michael¡¯s origin to them and prey that their kids will love them back as much as they did them.

    On the day when Kaushik and Michael graduated from high school, Richard and Michael threw a small party. Some of the neighbors and their kids, some of the friends of Kaushik and Michael from school, Francis attended the party. After the party ended and people went home, the couple decided it was now or never.

    "Kaushik, Mike. Could you stop cleaning and come over here for a bit?" Richards asked a bit more loudly than necessary. Nervousness was evident in his voice. His facial expressions betrayed him even though he tried to keep calm. Bella didn''t dare look up and played with her thumbs. "Yeah sure." Mike answered back from the kitchen. "Give me a minute." Kaushik''s voice could be heard from upstairs.

    That small waiting time was like torture for the couple. Richard even cursed under his breath. "Fucking hell. Why the fuck am I so nervous? I spent months behind enemy lines without any fucking supplies for god¡¯s sake." He gritted his teeth. "Just how the thought of talking to my sons is giving me goosebumps?" Bella rubbed her both of her shoulders in an attempt to calm her nerves. It was not very effective.

    "Mom, you ok?" Kaushik just entered the drawing room. He had a premonition on what they were going to discuss. He decided to act ignorant. "Are you cold?" He sat beside Bella and wrapped his arm around his mother in attempt her warm her up. However, Bella shook her head signifying that she is not cold.

    Richard pointed to the front, "Go sit there. We have some things to, uh" Richard fumbled with his words before finding the right one, "to discuss." He attempted to smile. He failed, however.

    "Yeah sure, if you say so." Mike answered doubtfully. His parents were acting a bit odd. Kaushik also got up and sit beside Mike facing the couple.

    A tense few minute passed without anyone saying anything. "Dad? We are ready whenever you are." Kaushik decided to break the ice. By now, both he and Mike were sure of the content of the discussion.

    "Oh yeah right." Richard broke out of his stupor and faced his sons. "First of all, congratulations on completing high school. You are now officially adults and can work. And that also means you can legally live separately from your legal guardians, should you choose to do so."

    Bella unintentionally shivered a bit. Richard held her a bit strongly and comforted her. However Kaushik and Mike, they already knew what was coming next.

    Almost three years ago, Kaushik had received a fairly powerful breaker from Francis. A breaker is a device whose purpose is to break through encryption algorithm. Connect it any terminal encrypted by a passcode and it will brute force its way through. Very handy if you want to hack into a password protected computer.

    Being a horny teenager at the age of 15, Kaushik decided to hack into Richard''s laptop using the breaker and look for porn videos. During his thorough search through every folder on the computer, he discovered a report file with his and Mike¡¯s name on it. He hastily copied the file to his own laptop and later read through it. The file held reports on his and Mike¡¯s DNA test results, comparison of his DNA to Mike''s own, which was a mismatch.

    Wanting to understand what this means, he went on a secret investigation with Mike. He investigated the hospital where they were tested, the doctors who conducted the tests, even the equipment used for the tests. After he concluded the investigation, he determined that, if this is not very elaborate setting to deceive them, then the contents of the report were true. He and Mike are not blood related. Furthermore, Bella and Richard are not their biological parents.

    However, this discovery didn''t change anything. For all their life, they had known Richard and Bella as their parents. Why would that change just because they were not blood related? If anything, this discovery further enhanced their love and respect for the couple. It was this discovery which led Kaushik becoming attached with Bella and Mike with Richard.

    ¡°So I think you two should know something.¡± Richard at last worked up his resolve, enough to talk again. He briefly explained all the facts, leaving nothing behind. Which sadly didn¡¯t impress either Kaushik or Mike, as they already knew what happened on that fateful day. However their expressionless face only served to agitate Richard and Bella further.

    ¡°And that¡¯s about it.¡± it didn¡¯t take long for Richard to finish the backstory. Now he waited for the decision, a decision which will never come.

    ¡°That¡¯s a nice story dad. Does this count as a bedtime story?¡± Mike decided to fool around a bit.

    ¡°Be quiet.¡± Kaushik smacked Mike¡¯s head lightly. Mike just made a silly face and rubbed where he got hit. ¡°I don¡¯t get it dad. What is the point of this discussion?¡± Kaushik decided to be a bit serious. ¡°Yeah we are not your flesh and blood, sure. Something like this should be known to us, sure. Why you two look like you¡¯re awaiting divine judgment?¡±

    Richard had a surprised expression on his face. Even Bella looked up in confusion. ¡°Aren¡¯t you two¡­ you know¡­ mad for not telling you this earlier?¡± Richard sounded a bit confused. ¡°Aren¡¯t you two considering living separately since we are not your biological parents?¡±

    ¡°And what makes you think we will ever do that?¡± Mike spoke up this time. ¡°I know mom¡¯s a bit airhead at times.¡± Bella glared at Kaushik. ¡°But dad, you should have noticed.¡±

    ¡°What I should have noticed?¡± Richard was further confused. Kaushik sighed and relayed all that happened, but left out the fact that he was searching for porn.

    Both parties remained silent after Kaushik spoke, digesting all the facts that have been said. Richard sighed not long after, ¡°So you already knew? Should¡¯ve guessed it. Mike¡¯s sudden enthusiasm in training and Kaushik¡¯s sudden attachment with Bella. I suppose I only saw it as you two hitting puberty.¡±

    ¡°So you will not leave me then?¡± Bella suddenly found the courage to talk. Some tears have already stained her beautiful face, but strangely her eyes held a ray of hope. Kaushik was relieved to see it.

    ¡°Should I bury my face between your breasts to prove it?¡± Kaushik joked, not really putting any meaning behind it. However, he was taken aback when Bella smiled widely and opened her arms.

    ¡°You are not serious are you mom? I was joking you know?¡± Kaushik hastily blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. He regretted it immediately. Bella¡¯s shoulders drooped, her smile gone, tears formed in the corner of her eyes, and she started to sniffle.

    ¡°God forgive me.¡± Kaushik gave in and stood up from the couch. He went in front of Bella, put his arms around her waist and put his face between her breasts. Still crying, she put her arms around his head and planted a kiss on his head. Mike went to Richard and gave him a hug.

    After a minute or two, they separated. ¡°Dad, whatever happened, happening, or will happen, know this.¡± Mike stated firmly. ¡°We are your son. This fact will never change.¡± Kaushik chimed in. ¡°We are not ungrateful enough to forget what you have done for us all this years. You may not be our biological parents, but you are no less than one.¡±

    Bella started crying shortly after. The relief was too much for her to keep contained. All the anxiety, tension came flooding out. Richard had to keep petting her head for a long time before she calmed down and went to sleep in her husband¡¯s arms.

 01-02: First Job of the Legends (Part 1)

    In the next morning after the discussion, the Smith family was having a bit more lively breakfast than usual. Bella fussed over Kaushik a bit more than usual, Richard planned the training schedule for Mike a bit more detailed than usual, Mike occasionally replying to the texts of his girl fan club, Kaushik scheduling a date with a cool beauty, you get the picture.

    There was a sound of tire screeching just outside. Someone has just pulled over in front of their house. A mechanical voice resounded in the dining room, "Mr. Baines is approaching. Should I unlock the door?"

    "Chief? This early?" Richard asked as if he could smell trouble. Francis was never a morning person. If he is early, then you can be sure it is for nothing good.

    "No don''t unlock the door. I will do it" Bella replied while getting up from the table.

    The doorbell rang shortly after. Even with the development of integrated house AI, some old things like the doorbell and manual light switches never became obsolete. "It¡¯s me, Francis. Can I come in?" Chief''s muffled voice could be heard from other side of the door.

    Bella opened the door and made a gesture for him to come in, "Please come in." Francis nodded in acceptance and got in. Strictly speaking, Bella did not need to open the door herself since their house AI could do that for them, but it was considered a sign of common courtesy to personally open the door for a guest.

    "Please have a seat." Bella smiled and gestured towards an empty seat which already had an empty plate, as if the smith family had anticipated that Francis will drop by.

    Francis smiled, "Hope you don¡¯t mind even if I do." He took the empty seat and started helping himself. Most families had an old custom of arranging for an extra seat during meals. If any guest came by without any prior notice during meals, then he or she could be invited to share the table so that they don¡¯t feel awkward.

    "So what¡¯s the matter chief? Something happen?" Richard asked while raising an eyebrow. If Francis had any bad news, he would have called, not show up in his doorstep. Since he showed up personally, it¡¯s worse than bad news.

    "I went to the orphan register office yesterday." He started after swallowing a mouthful. "Since Kaushik and Mike are legally adults now, they will have to be registered. They either need to be self-earning, or registered under a guardian."

    "That sounds reasonable. What¡¯s the problem?" Bella tilted her head. That sounded simple enough to understand, nothing to worry about.

    "Problem is that you can¡¯t adopt more than one at a time. Either Kaushik or Mike has to get a job and leave the family. Other gets to stay in the family." Francis let out a small sigh.

    "What?" Richard and Bella shouted simultaneously. This was outrageous. What gives the government to right to declare that only one child can be adopted at one time?

    "There was an incident some time back.¡± Francis tried to reason with the angry parents. ¡°A family adopted several children, got orphan raising fund from the government, and used it for their own drug addiction instead of caring for the children. Whenever a child ended up dead due to malnutrition or mistreatment, they went and adopted another one."

    "What?" All of them froze in their chair, face full of disbelief, previous anger forgotten.

    "They always adopted children from different orphanage so no one suspected them at first. They force fed the children cheap alcohol, so that they would remain intoxicated and would not make a fuss or go out of the house. Most of the children succumbed to death within a month or two. They were caught after almost a year. One of the orphanage employee got suspicious of their behavior during adoption and reported it to her superior. They were acting strange, so the director of the orphanage followed them to their home and monitored them for 3 days to make sure the children were safe." Francis took a sip of water to wet his dry throat and continued, "None of the children came out of the house for 3 days straight. He got worried, and went to speak with the family. He made an excuse that it was a periodic check from the orphanage to make sure the children are ok. The family got hysteric, didn''t let him in and said the children were sent to a relative''s home and won''t be back for a year. The director bid them goodbye with a smile on his face and went straight to the police. You can guess what happened next."

    "How many?" Bella asked with a small voice.

    "4 dead, buried in the backyard of their house in the middle of night. 2 were in critical condition, one of them didn''t make it. The last 2 were with them for only 3 days, so they were in fairly good health." Francis also replied in a small voice. The whole table sat in silence for a minute and offered a silent prayer for the unfortunate souls.

    "After their inhuman act, the new law has been passed restricting a family on how many children they can adopt at a time, along with many other clauses. Till now, you didn¡¯t take orphan raising fund. You were using your own money to pay for them, so registering them was optional. I just had to act as a witness and periodically provide evidence that they were healthy." He paused to take another sip from his cup, "Now that they are adults, they will have to be registered. Either as self-dependent adults, or under a family name."

    "But, that¡¯s¡­" Bella angrily started to say something but she was cut off by Kaushik. "I will do it."

    The table became deathly silent, although Francis kept eating as if he already knew the situation would turn out like this. "What did you say?" Bella couldn¡¯t believe her ears. Did her precious son really just say that? Tears threatened to spill from her eyes. "Please tell me you were..."

    "Calm down mom. Let me explain." Kaushik clasped Bella¡¯s hand and comforted her. "If the law states one of us has to get a job, then I will do just that. I get the job and Mike gets to register as a family member. Yes I won¡¯t be your legal son, but I don¡¯t think you will stop being my mother cause of that."

    "That¡­" Bella stammered as she let the fact sink in. "That¡­ is right. The law doesn¡¯t state you have to leave the house. You can be my son and still do a job." Her face lighted up in happiness as she wiped her tears.

    Richard smiled proudly at his son¡¯s quick thinking and asked curiously, "What job are you going to do? Did you start looking for one?"

    Mike gave a knowing smile, "He is gonna inherit your legacy, dad. I am pretty sure your employer won¡¯t object."

    Richard¡¯s smile dropped a little in confusion, "My job? It¡¯s pretty boring, you know. But, if you really wanna do it, I suppose that¡¯s your choice. You will have to sort out the details with Chief."

    Mike sighed and Kaushik kept stuffing his mouth without changing his expression. "Not that one dad. The other one." Mike dropped the bomb while giving a meaningful glance to Richard.

    The table became silent again. And this time even Francis stopped eating. Richard¡¯s affiliation with the Agency was a top secret matter. He never told it to Kaushik and Mike. He always told them that he is a clerk. So what could they be talking about?

    "What other job are you talking about sweetheart?" Even Bella has become deadly serious. She knew the dangers that came with Richard¡¯s actual job. While she may not object if Kaushik wanted tread in the same path as his father, the situation was different. It¡¯s not about her son wanting to do it, but the means by which they found out about it. If her son could find out that kind of classified information, then there might be some kind of security breach which might jeopardize her husband¡¯s life.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "Mom, you are thinking too much." Kaushik replied calmly. "I am not stupid you know. It¡¯s dad¡¯s work timings and attitude." He started to explain. "At first I didn¡¯t think much of it. But over time I found out some things that didn¡¯t add up. Like the extended vacations dad seemed to get all the time. No boss, no matter how lenient he is, would allow his subordinates that long vacation. It just doesn¡¯t make sense. Then add in his work timings. Most of the days he went late and came back early, sometimes he would work late night shift but will have no lethargy on the following day, sometimes he would go on a long business trip packing only a handful of cloths. You know, once I put a GPS tracker in his luggage during one of his supposed business trip. And guess what? Even when he went on business trip, the tracker stayed inside dad¡¯s office the whole time." Kaushik took a short breath and calmly stated, "The point is that, all it took was connecting the dots. I figured that this job dad does, it''s some kind of secret thing and requires physical perfection which blends strength, agility, dexterity and presence of mind. And there are not many jobs which match that description. That''s all.

    The table again became silent after Kaushik stopped talking. After a while, Bella asked fearfully, "You didn''t tell anyone anything about any of this, right sweetheart?"

    "I did not." Kaushik and Mike both immediately and firmly answered. Bella released the breathe she was holding, relieved that her sons did not do anything stupid and jeopardized her husband''s life.

    "So what now?" Asked Kaushik, looking directly at each faces present at the table. It was the time for judgement.

    "You have a good head on your shoulder." Francis started as he finished his meal. "According to the reports I have gotten from Richard, you have the wits and the training necessary to become an agent. However," he let his next words hang in the air for dramatic effect, "I am sure you know what this job entails and the dangers associated with it. Are you sure you want to do this?"

    "Yes, I am pretty sure." Replied Kaushik. Francis shook his head while smiling, "an instant reply. Should''ve expected that."

    "I know that I trained you well and I have full faith in your abilities. But couldn''t you... you know, settle down for a quiet and peaceful desk job?" Richard asked with a knowing smile, as if he already knew the answer for his question, which he did.

    "Sorry dad, but if I try to do some desk job for 8-9 hours per day for 5 days a week, boredom will kill me faster than a bullet to the head." Kaushik replied with a smile. Richard nodded in agreement, since this was the exact reason for which he signed up for this job.

    Two of the three concerned person had already given their consent. Now all eyes fell upon Bella, who held the last and most important position in this discussion. If she declined, Kaushik will have to settle down for a desk job, no matter how much it bored him.

    "Your father proposed to me after we dated for almost, almost 1 year I think." Bella furrowed her eyebrows trying to remember the dates. "On the day he proposed to me, he revealed the nature of his job, I revealed my inability to create a life, and we fell even further in love with each other that day." Her cheeks flushed a bit remembering the passionate night they had together after he proposed and she said yes. "After we got married, I asked him what he would have done if I said no after he revealed the nature of his job." Richard chuckled a bit remembering her reaction to his answer. Bella also smiled and continued, "He said he would have injected me with a hallucinogenic drug which he kept in a small syringe concealed behind his back. I would have promptly passed out and after waking up, I would feel like all of it was a dream."

    "But I am getting off track here. What I am trying to say is, he chose me because I am a woman with enough mental fortitude to accept the nature of his job and the dangers that come with it." Bella''s eyes sharpened as she became serious. "With that said, I will not object to your decision." concluded Bella with a determined face.

    "Phew", Kaushik made a grand gesture of cleaning off the sweat from his dry eyebrows. Mike grinned widely and Richard nodded as if he expected nothing less from his beloved wife.

    Francis stopped eating and put down the spoon. "So it is settled then. Richard, I want you to bring your son to the SAC tomorrow. We will evaluate him and after that we will decide what to do."

    Richard had a face full of surprises, "You are joking, right chief?"

    Francis only stared at him without saying anything. Richard sighed, "Directly SAC? Shouldn''t I bring him to the basic course first? And after he clears basic, will he be allowed in advanced course? And after advanced, to expert course? And after clearing ALL three courses with GOLD, to the Silent Assassin Course? Which may I remind you, even most of our veteran agents have problem clearing?"

    Francis gave him a hard stare and replied with conviction "One of my most skilled operative, nay, THE most skilled operative, which is you, the only one in the entire history of Agency, to have cleared the SAC on the first try with flying colors, started training him when he was just a small kid. After being trained by YOU for more than a decade, I will be damned if I expect any less than gold rank in SAC even if this is his first try."

    Richard slumped his shoulders at the sudden outburst of Francis. "All right, if you insist so much. Son, what do you think?" "No harm in trying, I guess." Answered Kaushik nonchalantly as his finished his breakfast.

    "Can I go and watch?" Asked Mike with a hopeful voice. Francis replied that all of them are welcome to watch if they wanted.

    "What about you Mike? What are you going to do? Enroll in a college and do higher education?" Curiously inquired Francis.

    "I wanna join the military, special forces unit. I have been training with that in mind." Shrugged Mike. "Should I hope that you can introduce me to someone?"

    Francis laughed and nodded, "As a matter of fact, yes you should. Tomorrow there will be some people from special forces who will be watching Kaushik''s performance. I will introduce you to them. After that, you are on your own."

    Mike gave him a thumbs up, "That''s all I need."

    Francis left afterward and Kaushik went down into the basement for practice. His weapons of choice were mostly directed towards stealth. A fiberwire to strangle unsuspecting victim, a double edged karambit for close quarters, a silenced pistol for close to medium range, and a suppressed assault rifle for medium range. He picked up the fiberwire, used it to strangle wooden dummies. He picked up the karambit, practiced against a imaginary opponent. Then he went to the gun range, picked up the pistol, shot a few targets which popped up at random intervals. He did the same with the assault rifle.

    A long time back, when Mike and Kaushik were just small kids, they asked Richard why they have a gun range in their basement. Richard just laughed and said he is a gun enthusiast, so he turned their basement into a gun range. They didn''t think much of it since they also had some friends whose parents loved guns and paid weekly visits to public shooting range. Hell, most of those kids were decent enough shooter themselves. What''s wrong with having a gun range in your basement, right?

    Rest of the day went by peacefully. Bella personally chose a suit for Kaushik to wear next day. Kaushik was a bit unwilling since the Silent Assassin Course sounds very dangerous and the suit might get damaged, but Richard filled him in on what the SAC really is.

    "SAC is the most difficult training course the Agency have devised over the years. Ones who can pass the SAC are the only people entrusted with the most secret and dangerous missions the Agency have available. In the entire records of the Agency, there had been only 17 people who have passed the test. Currently, only 6 of them are alive and on duty. I am one of those 6, and the only one who directly reports to Francis. Rumor has it that chief takes great pride in this particular fact, and I guess he is hoping for another SAC buster who will directly report to him." Richard explained with a small hint of amusement on his face.

    "SAC buster? What does that even mean?" Kaushik had a confused look on his face.

    Richard smiled weakly and replied, "My dad was a very bad agent. He passed the beginner course after 7 tries, and never passed the advanced course. Normally people pass the beginner course after 2 tries or 3 tries max. When I appeared for SAC, I was exactly your age and I chose to directly appear for SAC. People sarcastically wished me luck, some upfront ridiculed me. Even the director of the Agency personally wanted to meet me after hearing that I was the son of the failure. He declared that Agency will do anything I asked if I passed the SAC within 2 tries, and rest of the people in the room laughed at his joke. I came out of the room seething in rage, stomped towards the testing room. Francis stopped me before entering the course. I thought he was also gonna sprout some bullshit, but to the contrary, he didn''t ridicule me, or sarcastically wished me luck. Rather he asked me if I was confident enough to pass the test. I simply answered yes and entered the course."

    His smile grew wider from this point, "I breezed through the course and of course people couldn''t believe what they were seeing. None expected me to finish the course, so nobody was at the finish point, except Francis. He alone was waiting for me at the finish line. He patted me on the shoulder and congratulated me for completing the course. I immediately met up with the director and demanded that he keep his end of bargain. He tried to wiggle out of it saying that I didn''t have any proof which said such a promise was ever made. I was again getting angry, but Francis came to my rescue. He showed them a security footage where the director ridiculed me made that promise. You want to guess what I asked?"

    Mike replied thoughtfully, "Maybe you had the director fired from his job?"

    Kaushik shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe you spanked his butt?"

    Francis fished out his mobile from his pocket and played a video on it. The video showed a middle aged man dancing to a song wearing only a pair of boots, underwear and necktie. Other people in the video are snickering at the poor man and Francis is outright laughing.

    "Let me guess, the guy dancing in the video is the director." Said Mike while sniggering.

    "Yep." Grinned Richard proudly, "I demanded that the director dance wearing only underwear and neck tie. I then recorded the whole thing with a spycam I had on me and uploaded it to every social media site I knew of. Believe it or not, that video achieved the most viewed video of the year award. After that incident, people gave me the nickname SAC buster, as in I busted the SAC of the director and the Agency."

    Mike nodded in understanding, "Wow, that is a lot of responsibility on your shoulder bro. I would say good luck, but I don''t think you will need it." He gave Kaushik a thumb up, which was returned by Kaushik.

    "Alright, I get the part being a SAC buster. But what SAC is really?" asked Kaushik. "Do I have to go into a gun range and shoot dummies?"

    "Not quite. Beginner, advanced and expert courses involve shooting dummies, scouting in the dark, hacking a terminal, blending in plain sight, assassination technique, reaction speed, things like that. SAC however, is a lot different than that. You are put in a virtually simulated environment and given designated targets. Your job is to kill the targets without raising any suspicion to yourself. You must not kill anyone other than the targets. You must not leave any witnesses or clues. You may use any kind of weaponry you deem suitable. You may use your environment to kill your targets." explained Richard as best as he could.

    "Sounds easy enough. What''s the catch?" this thing didn''t sound like anything to be of so much problem that veteran agents would not be able to do it.

    "Seems like you do not understand the difficulty of this test. Let''s say, there is a theater hall, filled with people who came to watch the opera show which is being performed by some famous artist. Among those spectators, there is a corrupt politician, who is surrounded by bodyguards, watching the show from a private room. Your target is the politician. How you will go about it? How you will kill the man without raising an suspicion?"

    "I will, ah..." Kaushik held his chin in his hands and fell into a deep thought. How he would do it? Such a situation sounded quite difficult. "I will have to somehow force the politician out of the protection of his bodyguards. Maybe pass him a drink laced with laxatives, and after he goes to the toilet, kill him?"

    Richard laughed out loudly, "That''s my son. Never encountered such situation and already thinking up such viable solutions. You are definitely going to pass it in the first try, I am sure of it."

 01-02: First Job of the Legends (Part 2)

    Next morning, the whole family had set out after breakfast. Richard called Francis and let him know that they will be reaching shortly. Francis received them at the office door and led the family to the room where a large screen was attached. Then he led Kaushik to another room and told him to wait. He left the room and the door to the room closed with a slight hiss.

    The whole room was white, with no furniture, windows or anything. It was also quite small, 6 foot by 6 foot at max. Kaushik had to wait for only for a minute or two before a female voice resounded in the room. "Welcome candidate, to the Silent Assassin Course, or SAC for short. May I assume that you know how this test is conducted?"

    "Yes, you may. I am Kaushik Roy. Fell free to call me Roy." lightly answered Kaushik. He concluded that this voice probably belonged to an AI, designed to oversee this test.

    The voice continued, "Thank you candi... Roy. I am designated by Soca. It''s an anagram of SAC O, or Silent Assassin Course Overseer." replied the AI. "Shall we proceed with the course?"

    "Yes let''s continue." Said Kaushik while shrugging his shoulders.

    Soca''s voice assumed a more formal tone. "Once again I welcome you to the Silent Assassin Course, Roy. I am going to give you the briefing so please pay attention. Our secretary of defense will make an appearance for the Gala Parade. We have intercepted a coded transmission which we believe to be an open contract for an assassination attempt on his life. We do not know who the attackers are, or what their plans are, or how many assassins will be there. Our only lead is the money that will be delivered. Your job is to kill the would be assassins. Any questions?"

    "Yes. Is there a difficulty setting for this SAC test? I mean is there an easy difficulty SAC test and a hard difficulty SAC test?" Inquired Kaushik. He is expected to go in blind, without any assistance, into a sea of people where anyone can be an assassin. Is the agency purposely trying to disqualify him?

    "Yes there is a difficulty setting. For this test, it''s set at maximum." Answered Soca while maintaining her professional voice. If she could peek inside a certain room, she could see several people face palming themselves while muttering, "Fucking stupid robot."

    "I see." Kaushik narrowed his eyes dangerously. "May I choose my arsenal now?"

    "You will receive standard equipment for an agent. Just name what other things you need, and I shall materialize it for you. But are you sure you don''t have anything to say?" Asked Soca curiously. As far as she knew of normal human behavior, this human should have gone on a rant of how unfair this test was, or how powerful his father was.

    "Now that you mention it, yes I do have one more thing to ask." Grinned Kaushik. Soca sighed internally as she prepared to shut off her hearing function. She knew she couldn''t be wrong about human behavior.

    "Tell me Soca, where is the camera right now?" Smirked Kaushik, oblivious to the inner struggles Soca was going through.

    "The what?" If Soca was a human and sitting on chair, she would have fallen from the chair right about now.

    "The camera which is being used for the audience. Is it behind me, or on the right side of me, or on top of me?" Kaushik clarified.

    "It''s in front of you." Soca was intrigued. This human had managed to surprise her twice; first one was when he introduced himself. As far as her memory went, he was one of the only four people who had bothered to introduce themselves to her. Most of the people here saw her merely as a sophisticated robot, nothing more. This Roy was unpredictable, maybe he was the one? She would have to watch him closely now and analyze his actions.

    Kaushik grinned and raised both of his hands. Soca watched him with rapt attention. He was going to do something. Maybe he was going to display some superhuman abilities? What could it be?

    Kaushik made a fist with both hands, then slowly raised both his the middle fingers, shook them a few times, and then relaxed his hands.

    Soca again, fell from her metaphorical chair. This man had managed to surprise her again. If she could peek inside THE certain room, she could see the facial expression several people getting dark, while muttering "You''re too cocky Boy."

    Over the course of next few minutes, Kaushik chose his weaponry. He chose a fiberwire, a karambit and a silenced pistol. He also asked for a grappling gun which he could use to access normally out of reach heights. Then he asked for a dummy practice range, tested each of the weapon and after he was satisfied, the testing began.

    The colors in the room flickered for a moment, and before Kaushik knew it, he was standing in a corner of a small restaurant. People are occupying most of the tables. Waiters shuffling about taking orders or placing foods on tables. Sound of muffled music coming from outside. He looked around calmly and muttered, "Damn, is this what a military grade VR looks like?" It was indistinguishable from actual reality. He would have believed it to be an actual real world, only if it wasn''t for the fact that suddenly everyone and everything inside the room stopped moving, as if time has stopped. Even the music stopped playing, bringing the place in total silence.

    "Ah... Hello?" Kaushik tried shaking his hands in front of a guy who was sitting in front of him. He got no reaction whatsoever. He tried calling for Soca, "Soca, a little help please?"

    "Hello Roy. This is the starting area of your mission. Observer the table in front of you." Soca was going to watch the man and his every move, though her voice gave none of her intentions away.

    "This is the money handover." Calmly stated Kaushik once he examined the two persons sitting in front of him. One was wearing a suit, another was wearing a t-shirt. There was a silver briefcase on the left of the man wearing t-shirt. Kaushik instantly understood the scenario.

    "Correct. I suggest you take a seat. The simulation will resume once you do. Kill the assassins, reach the exit, you win. Fail to protect the secretary, or give up halfway, you fail. You are free to do whatever you want in here. And remember, after the simulation starts, you are on your own." Kaushik could swear that Soca''s voice sounded a little excited, like a kid getting a new toy. However, he chose to ignore it.

    He took a seat a bit away from the duo. Far enough to be not noticed by them but close enough to keep an eye on them. The whole environment instantly came to life once he was seated. He picked up the menu card which was on the table and pretended to skim through it while watching them. After a minute or two, he saw the shirt guy push the briefcase with his leg towards the suit guy. A bit after that, the suit guy picked up the briefcase and left the restaurant.

    ''That''s my cue.'' Kaushik got up from his chair and left the restaurant. He found the suit guy with little effort. He kept tailing him. After what felt like ages, they arrived in front of a bookstore. The suit guy walked inside after greeting the guard stationed beside the door.

    ''The guard didn''t frisk the suit guy. They must have some kind of code word. I need to get my eyes in there.'' Kaushik ran towards the opposite direction of the bookstore and entered an alleyway behind a house which is directly in front of the bookstore. After confirming that no one was around, he took out the grappling gun and reached the roof of the house.

    He ran to the edge and activated one of the standard gadgets he received from Soca. It was a multi-purpose contact lens which has a sophisticated vision enhancement that allows one to see people in darkness, including through walls, detect and identify objects and analyze environment. Inventors of the technology called it the detective vision. It was inspired by an old video game which was inspired by an older superhero comics. A must have tool for anyone going inside enemy territory and do some stealthy detective work.

    ''There he is, talking to another guy.'' Kaushik sat at the corner of the roof without moving a muscle. The suit-guy was easy to find since the briefcase showed up in detective vision. ''Alright. Let¡¯s check out the building. One front entrance, that one looks like a back entrance, a spiraling staircase on the left. Those shelves look like bookshelves. One guy guarding the front door, one is speaking with the suit guy, two are upstairs. Hmmm?"

    Kaushik deactivated detective vision and zoomed in a bit. On the first floor balcony, a guy stood wearing a suit with a binocular in his left hand. The most important thing Kaushik noticed that he was holding up a transmitter in his right hand, and speaking through it.

    ''Interesting. Why is he using an old shortwave radio? Didn''t those things become obsolete some 30-40 years ago because of their short range?'' Kaushik kept watching the building. ''The suit-guy is coming up the stairs.'' The transmitter-guy also stopped talking over the radio and went inside the room. The suit-guy put the briefcase on the table, opened it and whirled it around so that the transmitter-guy could see the content. He picked up a stack of the bills, skimmed it and put it back. They shook their hands and the suit-guy proceeded to leave.

    ''Now I get it. Communications through those radios are untraceable. They are using it so that no one will be able to pinpoint their location. Money has come to this guy. Meaning he is the boss behind the hit. Looks like I got my first fish.'' Kaushik cracked his neck and took a deep breath to calm himself.

    He took out his pistol, checked the magazine and put it back. He also checked his other equipment. After his last minute check ended, he ran to the opposite and grappled down to the alleyway. He normally walked out and calmly entered the alleyway behind the target house. After checking that no one was looking, he grappled to the roof. Then he tiptop to the edge directly above the balcony.

    It was an open balcony, with no roof. The transmitter-guy was again out in the balcony, looking for something in the distance. It would be so easy to put a bullet in his head and be done with it.

    But Kaushik decided against it. To make sure that the guy died in one shot, he had to shoot him in the head. But just below the balcony, there was a sea of people. If he shot the head, then definitely some of the blood and brain matter would splash onto the people. And if they noticed, they would make a ruckus and the job would get a lot harder.

    He had to be stealthy. He tiptoed to the opposite side of the roof and anchored the grapple hook to the side of the roof. Then he pulled out the grappling cable from the gun and tied it around his waist. Then he went to the side overlooking the balcony, pulled on the cable a few time to test that it was secure. This way he made sure he won''t fall from the roof by accident.

    Then he made a lasso with his fiberwire and in one swift motion, put it around his target''s neck. He immediately pulled up the cord, using his target''s own weight against him. After he stopped kicking, Kaushik pulled up the body on the roof, upholstered his gun and shot him in the head to make sure that he is dead.

    Kaushik loosened the cable from his waist and put it inside the grappling gun. Then he dropped down onto the balcony to retrieve the walkie-talkie.

    ''Alright. One down. Now onto the others. They are using techs which are untraceable.'' Kaushik has thoroughly searched the dead body. It had not one single thing that can be used to track someone. ''But the subordinates will have to update the boss after a set time interval to make sure everything is going according to the plan.'' Grinned Kaushik, "And that will be my clue for how many are there."

    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Kaushik kept waiting for two minutes. After that, the walkie talkie came to life with a slight buzzing sound. A woman''s voice came through it, "I am hungry baby. When the food is coming?"

    "Soon, sexy, soon." A male voice this time. "Wanna eat some protein?" Another male voice. Kaushik waited for other voices, but he was met with silence.

    After five minutes of silence, the female voice came back again, "Is it here yet?"

    "Be patient." "I still got the protein." Two voices came through like previous time and then silence.

    After another five minutes, same process repeated itself, but again with a bit different wording.

    To someone else, their conversation would not hold any meaning, but to Kaushik, it was a chest full of precious treasure. ''So three assassins. One woman, two man, that much is obvious. The girl is blending with the crowd. There were a lot of people chattering in the background whenever she was talking. She is probably going to use a up-close method, my bet is on poison. Poison dart maybe? The first man is inside some disco. There was a constant sound of muffled bass in the background. He is most likely the sniper. The last one is inside some alleyway. There was people chattering in the background, but the volume was low. I will bet anything that he is some kind of bomber. Last desperate measure.'' Concluded Kaushik.

    ''I need to locate them first.'' Kaushik discarded the walkie-talkie and started running on the rooftop, jumping from one to another with ease using another gadget given to him by Soca, the jumper. The jumper is basically a mechanical leg which gives it''s wearer enhanced leg power. One can jump higher, kick harder, run faster with it on. With this tool, jumping from roof to roof was merely a child''s play for Kaushik. He started by checking out all the alleyways and soon found the bomber man.

    ''One found. Others should be nearby.¡¯ Kaushik activated his lens and scanned the man. ''I see several small beads with him. My bet is that they are pandemic grenades.'' Pandemic grenades were a kind of grenades that used corrosive substance instead of blowing things up like a normal grenade. Very effective against people.

    Kaushik assessed the surrounding buildings. Much to his delight, there was only a single disco in the vicinity. It was a three-story building. He immediately took cover and scanned the building. In a room on the third floor, a lone person was looking out of the window, binocular in hand. Kaushik smiled, he has found his second man.

    ''Now how do I find the woman? There are like a million woman in the street now.'' Kaushik tried to think of a way. ''Well, if I can''t find her, then I should let her find me.''

    Kaushik sprinted out of his hiding place and made a run for the disco. Between the roof he was on and the disco, one two-storied building was there. Kaushik chose a window on the second floor of the disco and jumped for it.

    With the help of the jumper, he easily crossed the distance. The glass on the window shattered on impact, spraying inward. His bulletproof clothing prevented any broken glass shard from harming him. He immediately got to his feet and scanned his surroundings to check if anyone heard the noise, which none had.

    Kaushik opened the room and looked outside. He activated another gadget that he received from Soca, the Scrambler. The Scrambler could be of any form, in this case a ring which Kaushik wore on his left pinky finger. It sends out a constant wave of EMP for a limited time which can scramble the feed from security cameras. A must have tool for anyone looking to break in and not get caught.

    Corridors of the second floor were devoid of any people. Scans showed some people inside some of the rooms, busy indulging themselves in carnal pleasure. Kaushik took the chance and immediately went to the third floor. Then he entered the room beside the one where his second target was in.

    ''I will start with the sniper. Then the bomber. After both of them are dead, the woman will be sure to come check on them.'' Formulated Kaushik in his mind. ''Now how to kill the sniper? Breach and clear? He could have booby trapped the door. The moment I open the door, a bomb will go off. So that''s a no go. Shit, I going to have to take the leap of faith.''

    Kaushik made up his mind. He opened the window and got on the ledge. Then he grappled up to the roof. He secured the grappling hook to the railing and wrapped the cable around his left leg two times. Then he suspended himself from the ledge upside down and took out his pistol. He loosened the grip on the cable and slowly lowered himself just above the window where his target was using his binoculars. He activated the lens and waited for the moment.

    The target kept watching the road, binocular lowered. He kept watching the road like a hawk, without making much motion. The walkie-talkie came to life and the excited voice of woman came through, "Guys, the meal is here. Get ready, we are gonna party."

    He immediately put the binocular to his eyes and sure as hell, the secretary was coming in in an open roof car. He lowered the binocular to get in position, the sight of a gun barrel pointing to his head made him stop his tracks.

    The binocular is a great tool to look at distant objects, but it also limits your peripheral vision. Kaushik took that chance, and made his move as soon as the target has put the binocular to his eyes. The target froze upon seeing the barrel for a split second, enough time for Kaushik to pull the trigger.

    Blood sprayed from the wound and the man fell backwards. Kaushik was surprised at himself, or to be specific at the lack of his own reaction. He just killed a man. But he didn''t feel any different. Was this normal?

    He went up to the roof of the disco and jumped down onto the second floor roof of the next building. His Jumper helped him soften the landing. He would worry about his reaction later. Right now he has got a job to do. He sprinted towards the location where the bomber was and grappled down behind him. He put the pistol behind his head and pulled the trigger without delay. He caught the falling body and dragged it towards the far side of the alleyway. There was enough lighting that the outline of the body could be seen. He propped up body in a sitting position and took his walkie-talkie.

    "Help me." Kaushik whispered into the walkie-talkie and waited. The woman immediately replied, "Hey B, you ok?"

    "Help." Kaushik again whispered into the walkie-talkie and dropped it. Then grappled up to the roof and kept watching the alley.

    Sure enough, an ordinary looking woman walked into the alley. She looked around for a bit, spotted the body, and ran towards it. Kaushik grappled down behind her and slowly shuffled towards her without making a sound. The woman shook the man for a bit, darkness in the area making her unable to see the wound on his forehead. She took his pulse and seemed to realize that he is dead. She shook her head and stood up.

    Kaushik saw everything she had done despite the darkness in the alley thanks to the lens. He concluded that this is the woman he was looking for since she didn''t scream upon seeing the body, rather checked his pulse. He took aim and just when she stood up, pulled the trigger.

    Kaushik stood there for a minute. His job was not still done. There could be other assassins who were not communicating through walkie-talkie. He grappled to the roof and kept watching the Secretary.

    ''Something''s not right. Where are the government snipers? Shouldn''t there be a shitload of snipers watching all these rooftop? He is THE Secretary of defense. You''d think his public appearance will be a bit more heavily guarded than this. Unless...'' Kaushik''s eyes widened in realization. He hastily jumped down the alleyway and started frisking the dead guy. He gathered 22 Pandemic grenades and grappled up to the roof. Then he started sprinting towards the disco, specifically to the room where the sniper lay dead.

    He reached the room and collected a briefcase containing the disassembled sniper rifle. He also took the binocular, the booby trap on the door and grappled up to the roof. He booby trapped the door to the roof, assembled the rifle and propped it onto the ledge.

    ''Someone made sure that the police won''t be patrolling the roof today. Soca said this was an open contract. Meaning anyone can have a go at him. This also means that soon, there will be a flood of assassins. Please be wrong, please be wrong'', Kaushik kept chanting the last part as he used the binocular to scan the rooftops. His hope, however was shattered when he saw two guys coming onto the roof and taking out a sniper rifle.

    Kaushik sighed as he fired two rounds from the rifle in rapid succession. He was thankful that it was a magazine fed rifle. He could shoot as fast as he needed and the recoil was low. He was also thankful that the whole plaza was not that big. Meaning bullet drop and wind direction won''t be a major factor.

    Another one popped up on a different roof. Kaushik shot him immediately. Three came up on the previous roof and immediately took cover when they saw the dead bodies. Kaushik immediately picked himself up and changed position. He jumped down from the disco roof and flanked them on the right. With his jumper he didn''t lose much breath. After he successfully flanked them, he easily put bullets in their heads.

    This cat and mouse chase went on. Every time a sniper popped up, they took cover after seeing the dead bodies, and then Kaushik flanked them and shot them. When his bullets ran out, he picked up one of the dead assassin''s rifle. After what felt like an eternity, the assassins stopped coming and Kaushik could take a breather.

    Not long after, the Secretary left and Kaushik allowed himself to relax. The simulation around him started to flicker and the white room came back where he started.

    "Congratulations." Soca''s voice sounded much softer than the one she was using previously, as if she was talking to her lover. "To be honest, I didn''t think you would be able to complete the test. You did well."

    "Thanks Soca. Hearing you say that means a lot to me." Kaushik had relaxed completely and lay down on the floor.

    "Are you seriously falling in love with me?" Dubiously asked Soca.

    "Why in the world would you think that?" Kaushik gave Soca a smile. "Let me explain. You''re an AI. Meaning you rely on statistics to assess someone rather than emotion. If you are saying that I did well, then it means my statistics are good."

    "You are correct. In fact, your statistics are off the charts. So I would like to make a proposition." Soca''s tone became serious.

    "Let''s hear it." Kaushik propped himself up to a sitting position.

    "I have been working on a type of exoskeleton. Would you be willing to help me test it out?" Soca''s voice turned a bit hopeful.

    "Depends on the test. Listen Soca, can we continue this conversation later? I need to report to the officers and all that." Soca''s proposition sounded very interesting. But he had things to take care of right now. Mike''s special forces test is next.