Book Two – Interlude – Part Two – Enemy & Friend, Side by Side

The two rounded a corner and encountered another group of enemies. This time it was nothing but rats: two with black fur and two with brown.  They turned to face the two Humans.

“Let me take care of this.” Without moving, four swords appeared from behind Servi. All at once, they launched out towards the enemies, cutting and stabbing and slashing until their blood overflowed into the nearby running river of sewage.  Once their task was finished, the bloody swords flew in a small circle above their prey.

“So I notice you only used four swords,” Fisher commented as he and Servi walked closer to the corpses. Once they were within four meters, the rats and swords disappeared, and Itarr began skinning them.

“I have a max limit of five or six, but I can do more if I focus hard and don’t make any complex movements. Any more than that, and my head starts to hurts,” Servi sighed. “You know, it’s difficult hiding my strength. It feels good being around someone who knows my secret. I don’t need to hide it.”

"Our secrets may not have been comparable, but I understand how taxing it can be to keep something to yourself.  Have you decided when to tell Momo?”

Servi nervously giggled. “About that… I wanted to tell her on the way home, but then she spoke about wanting me to use my full strength if we had to fight each other in the tournament. I figured if I told her then and there, she wouldn't be able to focus.  So, I decided to put it off. I think she knows I’m hiding something, but it’s not what she thinks.”

“And what is it do you think she knows?”

“Right now, I'm as strong as eleven Humans.  As far as I know, that number can only get higher and higher. She probably knows about my physical strength since it’s hard to hide that, but she has no idea about my skills. I don’t see how I can tell her that I can Skill Stack.”

“What’s that?”

Servi stopped and used Shadow Shot one time.  “You see one, yes?”

Fisher nodded.

The one Shadow Shot became two, then two became four. Four made way to eight, and eventually,  32 Shadow Shots were floating around Servi like a malleable armor of darkness. “Skill Stacking allows me to use skills multiple times to increase their effectiveness. It applies to every skill I can use. I just have to learn them. And I can learn and acquire skills in two different ways. One is by Warden, and the other one is a bit of a secret.”

“I’m interested in knowing this secret way, but please, continue.”

“You know the skill Stonehenge, yes?”

“I know of it, but I haven't learned it. It's one of the strongest skills out there against a single target, but it takes a while to chant.”

“I can use it instantly without chanting. And I can use it more than once at the same time. Right now, my limit is 994 times. Imagine how much destructive force is in one Stonehenge, and then add another thousand Stonehenges. If not that, then Protection. Here, it’s better to show you.”

Servi used Protection on herself and stood back. “My body is nearly invulnerable to damage right now. I have 994 stacks of Protection, and each one is level 94. Which I know by your lecture is enough to stop a boulder.  Take this and swing it at me.”

A nadrium sword appeared in front of Fisher. “Are you sure? You know nadrium is the hardest material in the world, right? And the sharpest? And I’m not exactly weak.”

“I know you aren’t. So here, try to take off my arm,” Servi raised her arm and leaned against the sewer wall. A hideous blood spray was right next to her, the remains of the four swords' most vicious slaughter, but she ignored the gruesome sight.  "Even if you do manage to chop it off, I can heal it back up by Skill Stacking Remedium Lux."

“Very well. If that’s what you want.”

Fisher gripped the sword with both hands and took a stance. With the sword held high, his body was following his muscle memory. This one attack, a downward slash, was performed hundreds and thousands of times in the past by Fisher. Both to strengthen his muscles and to behead those he considered his enemies. But that was then, and this was now. The current Fisher Jin overcame his demons, and as of right now, he had no more enemies. His only goal was to make a better life for himself and his family by making Canary a better city for everyone living in it. Admittedly, it was a giant undertaking, but he was ready to throw his entire being into achieving that goal.

Focusing his core, he swung the glowing blade down. The moment it made contact with Servi’s arm, the sword shattered. Such a thing was supposed to be impossible! Nadrium was supposed to be unbreakable to everything but another nadrium weapon.

“Right now, my body is harder than even nadrium. I could stand in the middle of the city tied to a post, and no one would be able to kill me, let alone injure me. Honestly, even a mountain falling on me wouldn't even damage me. And if it did, I could just use a few hundred stacks of Remedium to heal myself.”

“Gods above…” Fisher muttered.  For the first time in a while, he was taken back by surprise, but he hid it well. He bent down to pick up half of the blade that broke off.

“Yeah. It's surprising, isn’t it? As long as I have my Protection on, I can’t die. I don’t know how I can tell Momo any of this.  What I'm capable of goes against what a mortal can do.”

“Servi, I’m sorry,” he held out both parts of the sword. It disappeared from his outstretched hands.

“Don’t be. I have a lot more.”

“Er… No. Not the sword, but I am sorry about that too. I meant about your situation. It has to be hard.”

“Thanks. And it is hard. But, as long as I don’t find myself in a situation where I’m forced to use my true power, I just have to worry about my physical strength. And that I can probably explain that better. Well, better than say, ‘Hey look, I can make 1,000 Greater Fireballs appear at the same time.’"

Servi sighed again. “You know, it feels good to have someone I can say this to. For over two months, I’ve had to keep everything inside, and I feel like a ton of weight's just been lifted from my shoulders.”

“You’re welcome. I know I felt a lot of relief when I finally told my wife. But I see how you and Momo are. She cares a lot for you, you know. I’m sure when the time is right, and you tell her, she’ll understand.”

“Thanks, Fisher. I appreciate that.”

Before he could say anything in return, his instincts, grown strong by a decade of battle, alerted him to the forthcoming danger.

From the rushing, foul-smelling river of waste to their left, an enormous monster leapt out and landed on the walkways. Fisher immediately jumped backwards, pulling out a sword and a shield. Dimensional Storage was something he always had at the ready. The next instant, he took a defensive stance and started to chant as the icky water rained down on him.

Almost at the same time, Black Croc opened his deadly mouth, revealing a set of teeth so rotten and diseased that Servi didn’t know how it ate, and clamped down on Servi’s head. Her vision instantly darkened and brightened. She never felt the feeling of teeth tearing and ripping flesh because it didn’t happen.

Fisher wanted to stop chanting and rush over to help, but he remembered what had just happened.  There was no way the teeth of a monster could be sturdier or sharper than nadrium.  Upon realizing that, he continued with his chant.

Black Croc made the mistake of thinking the girl was a regular Human, with skin and bones as weak as the rats it fed on. It never expected to bite into something it couldn’t break. After all, Black Croc was the unofficial king of the sewers. Nothing could stand up to it!

Or so it thought.

It stumbled away with fractured and chipped teeth, blood dripping from its open mouth. Its black body shook with fear, and its mind rushed to figure out how it could survive.

“I would say sorry about that, but I won’t.” Servi used her hands to wipe a few teeth off of her shoulders and hair.

It turned to run, but it was useless. The moment Black Croc tried to jump back into the river with its strong and powerful legs, it found itself floating in mid-air.

“Sorry, I can’t have you escaping again.  I wanted to kill you earlier, but I had Momo with me.  Black Croc, your luck ran out. Fisher, kill it.”

“Got it. Lightning Orb!” Fisher pointed his sword at the helpless creature.  Yellow lighting crackled around the silver blade until it pooled together at the tip of the sword.  After slicing the air and leaving the electricity behind, Fisher sheathed his weapon as a small yellow orb materialized from the floating lightning.  With the speed of a turtle, it floated towards the immobilized crocodile.

Once the yellow orb touched Black Croc’s black, durable hide, it exploded into a small flash of light before becoming an electrified net made up of lightning. Since his opponent was immobilized, Fisher had no trouble directing the net to wrap around its body.

He snapped his fingers, and the net came to life, electrifying Black Croc to death. Its primal screams of pain and desperation filled the sewers and even reached the city above through the ceiling grates. There was no doubt that quite a few children ran to their parents crying because a monster's dying scream scared them awake.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the arena around them as Black Croc finally perished. The beast was once a legend in its own right. After being slaughtered by a man with a sinful past and a girl with a Goddess's powers, the monster would soon vanish from memory until a new one could be spawned. But who knew how long that would be?

Servi let the beast down, and the Lightning Orb and net disappeared, prompting the girl to ask Fisher something. “If it’s called Lightning Orb, then why the net?”

“Honestly, I do not know. Maybe because the orb makes the net? Or maybe the net was being held in the shape of an orb? If you ever reach Rank 4, I highly recommend you take it.  If you can wrap it around an enemy, then the fight is won.  Well, it's not so useful on rock golems or monsters that are immune to lightning, but those are pretty rare.”

“I see. Here, take it,” Servi used Telekinesis to float Black Croc’s corpse over to Fisher and sat it on the ground.  Steam continued to rise from the charred body.

“You don’t want it?” he asked.

“Nah. I don’t have a use for it. Besides, your attack killed it. Sell it, eat it, I don’t care. I don't know if you'll get much out of it.  You kinda fried it to death.”

“Thank you, Servi.  I'm not hurting for money, but my daughters have been eyeing a new stuffed animal." crouching down, Fisher said a chant for his Dimensional Storage skill and tapped the corpse. It disappeared.

“Well, I think I’m lost. Do you know the way back?” Servi asked. She wasn’t keeping track of where she was going since her mind was occupied by sweet relief. Just having someone to tell her secret to was something Servi yearned for.

“I do. Follow me,” Fisher stored his gear inside his Dimensional Storage. "I suppose I don't need to tell you this, but I have some advice for you."

"What is it?"

"When adventuring in a place where it is easy to get lost, make a map as you explore.  Write down landmarks you see and use that to find your way back.  Unless you have experience, don't start with making a mental map."

"That's a good idea.  I'll bring it up with Momo," Servi thanked Fisher, and they kept walking. The way back wasn’t anything eventful. Other than a few rats and a single roach, which were taken care of by Shadow Shot, there was nothing of note.

Once they were back outside, Servi took a deep breath and unconsciously let off a small smile.

“Thank you for going into the sewers with me. I think I have a decent grasp on what you can do, but I feel like there’s more,” Fisher knew for a fact that Servi wasn't telling him the entire truth about her power. He had an inkling of suspicion. If it wasn't a spirit possessing Servi, could it be a Goddess? Perhaps that was the truth, even as outlandish as it sounded. Or maybe there wasn't anything at all inhabiting Servi's body.  Fisher did entertain the idea that Servi was just naturally gifted, considering much of the world was unknown and mysterious.

“There is. It’s something that I don’t want anyone to know, but you know most of what I can do,” Servi replied. She sat down in a wooden chair she retrieved from her ring.

“Be honest with me. Can you destroy the world?”

Servi laughed, prompting him to ask why.

“It’s not the first time someone asked me that. Right now, no. I can’t. But eventually, I probably would be. It’ll take a long while, considering I get stronger, but I’ll eventually be able to. As of right now, I don't plan to destroy the world. Momo is my best friend, and I don’t want to destroy the world she lives in.  Nor do I even want to do that.”

“I see.”

Servi continued speaking to the one person who she could trust with her secrets. “Did you know Albert Crysalerek?”

“I did. We weren’t well acquainted, but I did know Albert. We shared a cup of tea a time or two when I had business at the Governor's mansion.”

“I saw him fight during the attack. He was a master warrior. It was two on one, and he still had the upper hand.”

“...”

“He only died because one of the two took an attack head-on, and the other one stabbed his weapon through her body to land a fatal blow on Albert. It almost came at the cost of her life, but I managed to heal her. But Albert…. He was so experienced and had such a mastery of his skills and weapon... If we were to fight, I would lose.  The 497 experiences in my body would lose to him."

497 experiences? Does her body learn from each fight? That doesn't make any sense.  Then again, nothing about Servi makes any sense.  Fisher racked his brain and tried to figure out what she meant by it.

“I’m only as strong as I am because of my ability to Skill Stack. If I didn’t have that, and we would’ve fought, Albert would've been the clear winner. Even my level 94 Protection would be useless against him if I couldn't stack it. Who's to say in the future, I might encounter something that can prevent me from stacking skills?”

You know, when you take away my Skill Stack, I’m just a weak girl.  Sure, I'm immortal, but that's all.  If someone sealed me up at the bottom of a volcano or trapped me in a cube of nadrium, I don't think I would be able to escape... I won't die, but.....

“They say he was in a party with Virin Keywater back in the day, but I don’t know if that’s true.”

“It is. Albert told a summarized version of his life before the fight broke out,” Servi answered.

Fisher took a sip of his flask. “I see.”

Servi got up and absorbed her chair before putting on her leather armor. “I guess I should be going back to my room. I’ll see you at the headquarters, then.”

“Good night, Servi.”

“Night, Fisher.”

Servi walked back around the building and entered it. There wasn't anyone in the lobby other than Warden employees.

Once she got back to her room and locked the door, she spoke to Itarr. “When do you think I can tell her? Or I guess, when should I tell her?”

I’m sorry, Servi, but I don’t know.

Taking out the fancy bed, she stripped naked and crawled underneath the covers. “I can’t do it tomorrow or the day after. I want Momo to be in the best possible condition for the tournament, and telling her the truth would shake her.   And I… I don’t want her to hate me. I don’t want her to say something like I ‘betrayed’ her. If I heard it in her voice, I don’t know what I would do…” Servi curled up into a ball and sighed.

I’m sorry, I can’t help you. I wish I could. I love you, Servi.

“I love you too, Itarr. Maybe I’ll have an answer if I sleep on it. Good night,” Servi closed her eyes and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

Good night, Servi.

A few hours later, once she was absolutely sure Servi was asleep, Itarr got to work on correcting her mistake. She didn’t know if it was impossible to fix completely, but she would do her very best for the girl she loved.

I used to think what I was doing was wrong, but I felt so happy when I saw you smile. More than ever, I’m convinced what I’m doing is right. If it makes you happy, then how can it be wrong? I don’t know, and it doesn’t make sense.

And just like how you can’t tell Momo, I don't want to say anything. If I ever heard you say that you hated me, I have no idea what I would do.

But if that’s the case, then is it wrong? If I’m afraid to tell you, then it must be, but I’m happy when you smile. I’m so confused, and I don’t know how to sort out these emotions.

Is it possible to do something right and wrong at the same time? And is it possible for something to be more right or more wrong while also being the opposite? Every time I try to think about it more, I get confused, and then I feel sad. I’m just so confused….

But I think this is the best way. Until I understand more, I’m going to think of what I’m doing to be correct. As long as I can see you smile and be happy, I’ll do anything and everything possible. When you’re excited, giggling, and laughing without a care in the world, that's when I smile and know everything is alright.

I love you, Servi. I love you a whole lot, and this is how I can show it to you.

If she cares for you as much as I do, then I’m sure she loves you deep down. At least, that’s the feeling I get from watching you two.

I wish I had a body so I could hug you. I don't think Momo would leave you, but if she did, you wouldn't have to worry about a thing because I'll be right there for you. I won't ever let you be alone.

What I’m doing is right. It has to be. I refuse to acknowledge it couldn’t be!

Sweet dreams, Servi. I love you.