BXBX NOVEL Chapter 119: CATCHING UP - PART 2
Chapter 119: CATCHING UP - PART 2
Her best friend, confidant,--and sometimes secretly idol backup dancer--Helen, strolled to her side, sighing. "They said that even if we came 20 minutes earlier, it wouldn\'t be any different. The culprit got out here as soon as they came."
"Were there no Rankers here?" Astrid inquired softly as she began marching among the ruins, Helen following her closely.
"Rank 35, Eric Pierce... Eliminated. And it seems he was just passing by. This place is definitely not popular."
"And yet, important enough to hold a Safe Zone," Astrid said, looking at the only building refusing to crumble. A magnificent temple, from which all of its beautifully artistic stained glass windows had been blown to pieces.
Although the rooftop was no more, the system still gave them information about the still-standing place: \'Aarmus Cathedral / Church of Development.\'
One of Hayden\'s churches, huh?
"Did they tell you who the culprit was?" Astrid asked.
"It wasn\'t your old friend the Crimson-clad warrior, if that\'s what you\'re asking. They showed me videos of a person wearing a black cloak. If this was her, she wouldn\'t use a disguise, isn\'t that right?"
Astrid took another long glance at the destroyed city of Aarmus before sighing. Helen, the young woman with short dark hair and heterochromia eyes, stood nearby, letting her friend take in all that she was witnessing for as long as she needed.
"Let\'s reunite with the others," Astrid finally said. "There\'s nothing we can do here."
***
At the city outskirts, a bar in perfect condition stood out, brought by Benjamin Woods all the way from Londorus. Inside, a group of 10 people were sharing a large table as NPCs brought them food and drinks. They then turned their gaze in admiration at the person crossing the door, who walked stoically toward them. One of them even gulped nervously before the young woman spoke.
"Residents of Aarmus," Astrid began, "unfortunately, we got here late. But I assure you that with the combined efforts of Shooting Stars and the Titan Hunters guild, we\'ll do everything in our power to bring your town back to normal as fast as we can. It may take a week or two, so sorry for the inconvenience."
"Don\'t apologize, Golden Comet!" one of them said, jolting out of his seat. "We\'re thankful for all of your help and how quickly you came to our aid. Isn\'t that right, everyone?"
I may puke...
As Astrid received thankful responses and nods of approval, Helen got herself a bottle of beer from the bar before strolling all the way to the back, where the owner awaited. A petite, twin-tailed girl was sitting at his side, drinking from a large stein of beer.
"You don\'t like being in the center of the stage?" Benjamin asked Helen with a smirk, making her wonder if he was referring to the real kind of stages--the ones where idols performed for thousands of people.
Helen ignored the question and took a seat. "Please tell me this in the house."
"It\'s free for them," Ben replied. "But for you? It\'s on your tab."
"I hope this is good..." Helen took a sip and frowned, looking at the beer\'s brand. "\'Karlberg\'? Is this local?"
"One of their NPCs knows the recipe."
"He also knows how to brew \'akvavit\'!" the other girl, Tamara Morin, added, her eyes shining with excitement and a beer mustache on her face. "It\'s quite good too!"
"Tell her to bring me one of those then," Astrid interjected, joining them. "Because I definitely need one."
"Welcome back!" Tamara beamed at her.
"So... now that you\'ve taken a look around, tell me what you think, Astrid," Benjamin, Titan Hunter\'s Guild Master, asked while scratching his short beard. "This is the fifth attack in a month..."
Astrid held her answer for a moment as she manipulated her User Interface and changed clothes, exchanging her deep-blue Battle armor for simple overalls of the same hue and a white shirt. Her hair was now held in a high ponytail, which reached her waist.
"They\'re being hasty. Probably because they\'re preparing for an attack on a larger scale," Astrid spoke, staring at a bowl of peanuts. She grabbed a fistful and munched on them. "Whatever they\'ve been testing for the last six months—crunch—seems to finally be coming to fruition."
"But what could they learn from leveling cities like this?" Benjamin grunted, sinking in his seat. "Aside from proving that they can do whatever they want inside Safe Zones? We undo the damage to properties in weeks, and everyone resurrects the following day. So what? The only loss here is Gold."
"And time..." Tamara added as she wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Who wants to keep doing this for the rest of our life here?"
"Exactly! And what\'s our Administrator of Conduct doing?!" Benjamin raised his voice, slamming the table. "Absolutely nothing!"
"I don\'t think she\'ll ever help us with this," Tamara followed. "She might be taking this as a test for us to resolve."
"You know what? Maybe they\'re the ones involved."
"\'T-They\'?!" Tamara cried out. "Who\'s \'they\'?"
"The Administrators! Suddenly, a bunch of individuals with the power to ignore their restrictions appear out of nowhere, and no one does anything about it? Yeah! Nothing suspicious about that!"
"B-But why would they--?"
Benjamin leaned in toward Tamara and pulled her cheeks. "You said it yourself! They\'re TESTING US! To see if we can overcome any obstacle now that we\'re all the future rulers of the next Earth!"
"O-Ouchie! Okay, okay, I got it! Let go!"
Helen, who had remained silent, glanced at her friend constantly stuffing food into her mouth. "What do you think, Bradford?"
"I won\'t forgive them..." Astrid muttered, but everyone at the table heard her. When she looked up, the texture of her eyes resembled arctic ice. "They\'ve been messing with our homes... Londorus... Unus..."
When Helen heard the mention of the last town, she chuckled. You\'re still thinking about him, huh? Satisfied with Astrid\'s reaction, Helen decided to open her User Interface and indulge herself in the Navinet.
Serious talks bored her to death. And yet, here I am... As if I was some kind of altruistic bitch.
She sighed and consulted today\'s trending videos and streamings. One video caught her attention, titled: \'Soloing a Raid Boss if I get 5k likes!\' She tapped on it, not expecting much, but as soon as the audio and video played for her only, she grinned.
The table\'s conversation continued without her:
"All right, Tamara. Get in contact with the Contractors Guild so they sent--"
"I already did that, and their schedule is full."
"I told you, Astrid. Five attacks in a month. It\'s understandable for the contractors to be busy."
"How quickly can they come then?"
"Don\'t worry about it, Guild Master. I hired an independent contractor. His prices were the same as the guild, but he guarantees to finish in half of the time."
"Bollocks."
"I-I\'ve searched for referrals, and it seems he\'s telling the truth! He\'s getting notoriety for working with hundreds of NPCs, day and night. He\'ll come tomorrow morning."
"Well, that\'s something I\'ve gotta see! Maybe we could stay here a little longer while he finishes the job. I\'ve always wanted to explore the region of Lanmark. Do you know any good tourist traps we could go to, Ben?"
"Well, we could tackle N?xxen\'s Lair solo. I got word that he spawns a rare mate--"
"ARGH! Are you hearing yourself?! Tamara, search for something fun to do in the area, okay? That involves no battles at all!"
"Understood, Guild Mas--"
"NOOO!" Helen gasped, looking at her video screen. "She did NOOOT!"
"What is it, Helen? What are you watching?" Tamara asked, but Astrid did not share her curiosity.
"Please, don\'t show me another prank video..."
"It\'s not that!" Helen said, excited. "Guys, tell me, do you know a Ranker called úna Callaghan?"
"No," the three replied in unison.
"Me neither! But she seems to be cranking up the ranks lately! She went from being a nobody a month ago to reaching Rank 23!"
Astrid let out a loud sigh. "And that\'s relevant, because..."
"She mentions yooou..." Helen intoned, enlarging the video window and toggling the visibility on.
Helen\'s three uninterested companions watched a snowy mountain scenery at first, before a woman with brown skin and green, gleaming eyes like those of a precious jewel appeared front and center. She was wearing a revealing sporty outfit that was definitely not designed for the freezing air currents surrounding her. The wind blew her raven-black, long hair majestically behind her. With a brilliant smirk, she addressed the camera, leaning forward, so that everyone could catch a glimpse of her more than voluptuous cleavage.
"We\'ve reached 3k likes, my wonderful and supportive cattle! And that\'s not all! Special thanks to all the fattest cows who helped achieve the donation goal of 125,000 gold! I\'ll be sending a special photoshoot to the top three contributors. Thank you all, bastards!"
"What the hell is this, Helen?" Astrid asked with a grimace, but Helen said nothing, forwarding the video by 30 seconds.
"So, before I take on the promised challenge, let me tell you a little story of why I\'ve decided to come to this god-forsaken icy rock! Well, you\'ll see, my beloved pigs, half a year ago, a sole User did what no one in their sane mind would do! This person, without warning, challenged J?tnarkungen, one of the Novus\' toughest Raid Bosses known for its extreme defense and durability, and tore it to pieces in less than 40 seconds! SOLO! Can you believe that?!"
Hearing that monster\'s name made Astrid lean forward in her seat. "Wait a minute..." she muttered, catching Tamara and Ben\'s attention.
The stream\'s chat went wild.
----------------------------
Lol, that\'s bullshit
Oink, oink! Turn me into bacon and eat me, Una!
Duuude! That\'s crazy!
Does anyone know who\'s she referring to?
Is she going to do the same? No way
She\'s killing it in that outfit
I can only think of 5 Rankers that could do that
Does anyone know if she customized her tits?
How does she know that happened?
No way in hell she\'ll do the same
Get back to being a cam whore, Una!
Is she going to do Battle Streams now?
-------------------------
"Can you believe such a feat, my dear cattle? Well, it\'s all true! How do I know that? Because I watched it all with my own cute little eyes, back when I was part of the former Storm Crusaders guild! Now known as--who the hell cares! Tee-hee! And that person was..." the streamer giggled, holding onto the information for a little longer while the chat started firing up potential names. "None other than the Golden Comet, Astrid Bradford!"
"Bloody hell..." Astrid whispered, as the young woman named úna smiled at the camera.
Benjamin\'s mouth dropped. "A-Astrid... Is that true? Can you really solo that boss? Tell me, friend, would it be possible to go with you next time you--" He trailed off, as Tamara elbowed him in the ribs. "W-What was that for?!"
"Can\'t you see her expression, you fool?" Tamara whispered in Benjamin\'s ear. "If even I knew nothing about it, that means she didn\'t intend for it to be public." She took a second to glance at her boss, before whispering in an even quieter voice. "Must have been something embarrassing that she did on a whim. You know what I mean? The word that starts with \'T\' and finishes with \'M\'."
"Tantrum?" Ben asked aloud, getting another painful strike to the ribs.
Meanwhile, Helen was already satisfied. Your flustered face is such a delight to see! She giggled, looking at her Guild Master\'s rigid expression. Oh, I can\'t wait to witness your next reaction... Coming... Right now!
The streamer continued, "Well, after telling you all that, you may be asking, \'úna, that\'s an interesting story, but what the hell does it have to do with your promise of soloing a boss?\' Well, my impatient cattle, I\'m an entertainer, first and foremost! So, I\'ll do the same today. I\'ll show you that gigantic turtle\'s beating core myself! But to make it even more interesting... I\'ll do it..." She paused, smirking widely at the camera. Everyone at the table, with the exception of Helen, held their breath. "...In one hit! I\'ll kill this Raid Boss in a single strike!"
"She\'s talking shite..." Astrid broke the silence, prompting the others to glance at her for a moment.
But the woman recording herself was taking the challenge very seriously. After the chat\'s comments made her snicker, she equipped herself with an enormous gauntlet that also covered her arm and torso. Then, she ordered her drone camera to take off and get the best possible angle from a secure distance.
The mountain-sized boss detected úna\'s presence as soon as she entered the chilly valley.
"All right, bastards! For this, I\'ll need your support! I want you all to type \'K\' in the chat, right now! Give me strength! K stands for KILL!"
The chat got flooded with that letter, over and over again, pushing any other incredulous comment out of view.
"Now, type U! You know what it stands for, right?!" she roared through her microphone, as the camera showed her dashing forward at tremendous speed. The 300-feet tall Raid Boss was already in an attack position, exerting a freezing aura that engulfed the entire valley, all accompanied by a powerful battle cry.
The chat was now full of the letter U, multiplied by hundreds.
"THIS IS MY POWER!" úna declared, jumping 150 feet into the air. "THIS IS THE POWER OF LEO!"
Astrid jumped out of her seat, making it fall backward. "THAT FOOL!"
A blinding light covered the entire screen as úna unleashed all of her power, shouting, "REGAL ROAR STRIKE!"
úna\'s Drone Camera was of excellent quality. Not only did it automatically apply a filter to make the image clearer, but it also maintained its position despite the shockwave coming its way.
A cracking sound reverberated through the valley and echoed through the mountains. That was J?tnarkungen\'s neck and spine breaking. Its head retracted as turtles usually do, but this time, the sheer force of the impact pushed it all the way against its entrails, crushing them.
By the end of it, blood ran down like a waterfall, and the shell cracked in two from the inside. The gargantuan creature fell, raising a thick mist of snow.
When the Drone rushed to find its owner, úna stood 100 feet away from the corpse, covered from head to toe by the splattering blood. She discarded the broken gauntlet, revealing that her right arm was injured, probably broken. Despite the visible pain on her face, she smirked as soon as her eyes met the camera\'s lens and pointed her left thumb against her chest.
"To all the people who haven\'t subscribed to my channel yet, have I earned it today?!"
The chat erupted with comments of excitement and incredulity, and new donations started to pop up, one after another. That only made her chuckle.
"What do you say, Comet? Ready to give me your place in the ranks, dear? Wait, hold on, never mind. You can have it! I\'m striving for first place! HA!"
After that declaration, Helen closed the video, getting face to face with Astrid\'s unamused expression.
"Oh, no! Another rival has entered the frame, Guild Master!" Helen intoned, smiling widely. "What are you going to do? Your reputation as one of the strongest is on the line! And now, with all of these terrorist attacks, when will you find the time to become stronger and secure your position? Hmm? Oh, but who am I kidding? You don\'t care about ranks and popularity! Isn\'t that right?"
Benjamin frowned at Helen and tried to say something. Anything. He knew that she was going too far, but Tamara held his shoulder and shook her head, as if telling him in silence that this kind of banter was common among them.
Astrid\'s stone-like expression started to crack. Helen was salivating for it. Would Astrid yell? Would she power up a fiery aura and say, \'whatever,\' before stomping all the way to the exit?
But when Helen observed the beginning of a smile, she froze.
Astrid laughed. Loudly. The kind of laughter that cracked her voice, and yet, she did not stop.
The citizens of Aarmus turned their heads, frowning. What they were hearing did not seem to come from the young woman who had given them hope with a gentle tone and a humble attitude.
No. This sounded as if it was coming from a PSYCHO.
"That it took me 40 seconds to kill that thing?!" Astrid cried in a high-pitched tone, snickering. "Do you think I was trying to break some kind of record?! I was just taking my sweet time tearing that thing, piece by piece! It wouldn\'t be a glorified punching bag if I broke it in one hit! Idiooooot!"
That was the first time Benjamin had seen her act that way. He only remained silent, trying to be as far away from her as possible, but the boot he was sitting on prevented him from escaping.
The blonde girl with shiny blonde eyes turned to him, holding a malevolent grin that sent shivers down his spine. "Ben," she called softly.
"P-Present!"
"I\'m going to need your help. You know what materials every World Raid Boss drops, right?"
"That\'s right," he replied immediately, until a realization made him wrinkle his forehead. "Are you... Are you crafting something?"
"Yes," Astrid responded, turning to Helen with a smirk. "I think it\'s time for me to finally wield a Legendary-grade weapon, don\'t you guys think? It\'s just as Helen said. I have to secure my pride as the Seventh Ranker, and also be prepared for whatever these terrorists may throw at us." She then turned to Benjamin with a gentler smile, but her eyes still held a dangerous fire. "So help me search for the materials, okay, friend?"
This is not what I expected, Helen thought, flabbergasted, before grinning from ear to ear. But... I\'m totally on board! Come on, heir of the Bradford family name! Instill some chaos into this boring Virtual World!