"Psst— Wake up! Wake up, sleeping beauty." Jack gently shook the unconscious mage awake. This sure had been one powerful memory wiping spell!
The man's eyes showed confusion, then wariness. Wait, he didn't even recognize him?! How much had he wiped?! No matter.
"You forgot?! You helped me exorcise the Demonic Creature at the origin of the macabre swarm. Great job!"
"H-how can I trust you?"
"Just get another of those silver glowing truth scroll out." Jack instantly proposed, soon taking the test: "We both worked together to deal with the creature!"
Deal ≠ Exorcise
The mage didn't realize as he sighed in relief. That's when the commotion outside got louder, with Jack decisively heading toward it.
There were a dozen players surrounding a poor bloke, beating him up.
Naked Players VS Friendly Monk
But even as he took hit after hit, he didn't give up. They were using their fists to dish out plenty of punishment.
"Please stop!" Pumpkin Girl shouted but was ignored.
Why would they care if some farm girl was pissed? She wouldn't be able to fight anyway. Plus, the man they were beating kept gesturing for her not to get involved.
As they rained blows on the guy, they interrogated:
"Are you gonna talk? This is your last chance before we take our weapons out. Once we do, we'll kill you over and over." A blue-haired lady with a book ?? at her waist threatened.
"Hahaha, then I'll respawn over and over!" The monk guffawed.
"Brother, we just want answers. This concerns the safety of the town. Please cooperate! I swear I'll make them stop!" A green-haired girl with an amber necklace said.
"Good cop, bad cop, is it? How original!" The monk sarcastically praised.
"You won't be able to level up if we put our minds to stopping you. Speak already!" The leader of the expedition coldly declared.
"Guess I spoke too soon: you guys also have hot cop, ugly cop! Neat!" The monk remarked.
"You little! I'll—"
"You guys sure are a lively bunch for losers that showed up after the party was over." Jack nonchalantly commented. He instantly became the players' focus.
Some recognized him as they whispered in their leader's ear. They were all glancing at him with curiosity.
"The Demon King? So you're that rumored Schr?dinger guy that's neither NPC nor player? What happened here?!" Their chief asked.
What was that even supposed to mean?
"You want to know why the rats came charging here? Well, I can tell you! But, you have to keep it a secret!" Jack replied.
They all opened their ears wide.
"You see, I'm very unique…." He lowered his voice, looking at his surroundings warily before whispering. "…I'm way too handsome!" Jack confessed.
"Ah, so that's why! No wonder!" The monk happily played along, with Pumpkin Girl giving a big thumb up.
That's when the players finally realized that they were messing with them. But that's also when they noticed the now dressed mage coming out of the house.
"Master mage, please redress our grievances!" They pleaded. "We're trying to protect the town and—"
"No need! Everything has been handled already, so everyone should disperse!" The mage shouted as he promptly walked toward the town to report that the incident was over.
On his way, he kept shouting at people to go back to their business. Most players left, along with the militia, but the top factions still remained.
They were frowning as they stared at Jack, convinced that he was the root of it all. They were currently tapping the air as they sent messages to one another.
– Right General: He's hiding something for sure! The mage seemed like an entirely different person as he came out. Very suspicious!
– Epoch Amazonesse: I heard it very clearly. That guy that left earlier said the guy created the rats! He has to be scheming to take the town down!
– Best Amber Healer!: Really?! What if the farmhouse is his secret evil lab? We need to check it out before he has time to clean it!
– Right General: Alright, follow my lead!
The man gave an ultimatum:
"Get out of the way. We have some business in that house behind you." He sternly declared.
The house was actually utterly filled with demonic energy at the moment, a residual from the previous ritual. It would simply "incriminate" him.
"Eh, sorry, but this is private property, you know." He apologized.
"To me!!!!" The general shouted, and instantly their reinforcements came running.
Players, players everywhere! That's when they dropped all semblance of cordiality, summoning their weapons.
Back in the Tutorial, his enemies had the terrible habit of rushing at him to get destroyed in one fell swoop, but those guys knew better.
Plus, his mana was completely drained, and even his life energy was in shambles from the earlier ritual.
"Woo!" (Bastards!)
The little wolf adopted a battle stance and burned the face of the evil invaders in its mind. It would make them pay for attacking their home!
"Start the assault!" The general shouted.
The mages in their midst got ready to start the bombardment while the melee classes protected them. This plan was foolproof!— or so they thought.
In their naivety, they had stepped on the farm's ground…
That's when Pumpkin Girl finally made her move. She had been watching and was finally ready to give her judgment.
"All of you bastards deserve death!" She declared.
— Ultimate Pumpkin Growth! —
The entire farmland suddenly turned into a world of level 30 vines. There was no running, no resisting, only death awaiting them!
The players instantly turned pale white. A few instantly used the faction card!
"If you kill us, you'll be in trouble!"
"Ever heard of Epoch?! That's us!"
"I'm from Forsaken, Forsaken!!"
"Hold it! We're in Amber!"
They cried out one after the other. They weren't begging for their lives as much as threatening. Killing them would mean endless trouble!
"Wait, no! Don't kill them!…." Jack shouted in a hurry.
The players instantly sighed in relief, then felt proud. This was what it meant to be in a powerful faction! They were freaking untouchable!
"Don't kill! Restrain them and let them dry in the sun instead!" Jack screamed.
"W-wait what?!!"
"Is this guy for real?!"
"Are you crazy?! Do you know who we—"
But the complaints died down as thick vine tentacles lodged themselves in their mouths. Jack went around observing the neutralized players with a warm smile.
In their eyes, he saw anger, defiance, and a desire for violence.
"Why does it feel like you guys are mad at me? Oh! You really are mad at me!" He pondered for a second.
"You said something about powerful factions, right? One shouldn't fear a powerful faction but a fearless one instead. Do you know why?" Jack gave them a teasing smile.
They shook with rage, sneering inwardly. What kind of drivel was he uttering?!
Jack looked at the night sky before sighing.
"Ah! The sun sure is heavy, isn't it? Moon Moon, make sure that you water them properly. Holding them prisoner is one thing, but we have to keep them hydrated!" Jack instructed.
Sun? What freaking sun? What did he mean by hydrated?!
That's when the little wolf approached them, raised its hind leg, and aimed a yellow stream right at their faces.
"HUMPH?!?" Muffled screams echoed, but the more they screamed, the more Moon Moon watered. Luckily there was plenty of water around to refill its bladder.
Had Jack needlessly escalated the situation? Perhaps.
Was it worth it just to see their faces? Hell yeah!
Now, what would be their next move…
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[A/N] Hype! Feb Mass Release Time! ??
Moon Moon Used Golden Shower! It's super….
