A man paced around the portal leading out of the Centaur Realm. He kept mumbling to himself, "Decisions, decisions!" a happy little wolf following along.
Jack couldn't help but scowl, perplexed at the choices offered: Rare Centaur lucky horseshoe / Epic Leash of the Unbridled / Mythical Centaur Companionship Spear.
Mythical > Epic > Rare…, or that's how it was supposed to be anyway. But he still had doubts: what if the whole selection was a trick?! Wasn't it too obvious otherwise?!
— Clip! Clop! Clip! Clop! —
He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of galloping as a Centaur he recognized appeared. It was that one kid that had infiltrated Tribe-Gather with him.
The youthful and innocent look he once had was now gone. This was what surviving in enemy territory for a while could do to someone.
"Running away?" He clicked his tongue.
"Not so much running away as leaving. The enemies are defeated. All that remains are for the Centaurs to rebuild and thrive. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Jack shrugged.
"You, you're the one that destroyed Tribe-Gather." It wasn't a question but a statement, the Centaur already clenching his spear tightly. He knew?! Wait, no. This was only a test for—
"Woo?!" (How did you know?!)
The little wolf's surprised face gave it all up. It had considered the "kid" an ally and hadn't been on guard, but that had cost them dearly.
"I knew it!!!" The Centaur bellowed, charging near Mach speed!
His body was enveloped by deadly wind energy, green mana particles seemingly flooding the world. A spell?! This was a spell for sure! When the heck had he mastered this?!
< Eternal Galloping Father's Envoy! Lv 55 ??>
A blessing from a god?! No wonder he looked stronger! "Move out!" Jack cried out, already heading for the portal. If they managed to leave this place, they'd have a chance!
But the enemy was already ready for it…
"I don't think so!" He shouted as he charged to the perfect location to bl0ck their way, his sharp spear ready to impale them both. He was fighting using tips Jack had given him!
He was fighting smartly, but his eyes were completely green. Oh god, was this some kind of partial possession? Reasoning with him wouldn't be possible.
[A Certain Deity Rejoices From Your Upcoming Demise!]
That's when he began his assault. Jack could see remnants of the Brilliant Charge in his spearmanship. The bastard was using his own technique against him!
He couldn't afford to die, or he'd respawn in the Centaur Village. What if they had realized what he had done by that point? They'd capture him for sure! No, he had to survive!
— Thrust! Bam! Splatter! —
Every attack had so much power that Jack couldn't even hope to use his shield to block. Heck, blocking a gigantic battering ram would have been bloody easier!
Jack managed to read the Centaur's body language. Dodging every hit thanks to it. Up, up, down, down, left, right, death kept coming for him from all directions! It was unending!
— Dodge, dodge, dodged! —
But even with his perfect predictions, their physical specs were worlds apart. But the main issue was the goddamn wind. Even as the primary attacks missed, it would still dig into his flesh.
The passive wind blades had long turned Jack into a bloody mess. He was utterly stuck, and it was the same for Moon Moon. The little wolf couldn't help much, the wind dispelling its fire.
"Woo!" (Why fight?!)
The little wolf still couldn't understand why they were trying to kill one another. They had been friends recently!
Jack could only give a sorrowful smile; the answer was obvious. It wasn't just the anger but faith and greed too. 'Kill him, shred him, destroy him….' The wind kept whispering.
The god had been the catalyst of it all. It had given its power and promised some more for sure as long as Jack died. Resisting such attraction was near impossible…
Yet another spear barely missed his head. It blasted the earth open, and the wind blew an ear off completely. Blood gushed out, the Centaur giving a mocking smile.
"Still not admitting defeat? You're 100% outclassed!"
"So what?" Jack chuckled, spitting blood.
Even now, he hadn't given up. As long as he kept enduring, there was always a possibility his opponent would make a mistake, allowing him to slip out.
"Woo!!" (Please Stop!)
The little wolf urged nonstop, but the target literally had a god instructing him otherwise. Could a wolf whimper really go against a godly consciousness? No way!
[A Wind God Thirsts For your Blood…]
Tch— Annoying god! Jack'd come back to wreck his temples someday! But for now, he had to escape that one monster before him. He had to— Suddenly, the Centaur froze.
[A Certain Wind God Is Perplexed!]
"Woo!" (That's it! Just like that!)
"He stopped?! Let's leave before he wakes up!" Jack cried out.
Except Moon Moon protested. There was no way it would abandon its friend to the evil green light! Even if the chances to bring him back were low, it wouldn't give up!
It had taken Jack so much effort to come back here. Getting captured now would be utterly idiotic, and the logical thing to do was to escape ASAP.
He could simply grab the little wolf and—, But he stopped himself. The "logical" thing would be running away, wouldn't it?
"Tch— Fine!" He grumbled.
He grabbed Moon Moon, but instead of fleeing, he dashed toward the opponent, right at the perfect range to be trampled to death. So close there wouldn't be any avoiding it.
"Moon Moon, I choose you!" He directly threw the little wolf at the Centaur as if it were a fluffy grenade. It kept "wooing" all over its flight duration, finally landing on the target.
"Woo! Woo!" (Come back to your senses, brother!)
The little wolf used all its known vocabulary to convince their old friend not to reduce them to a bloody paste. That's when a claw-like hand was extended straight toward the wolf's skull!
"Woo?!"
Death! Or not…?! The Centaur heartily guffawed instead. "Pffft— Hahahaha, you guys really are crazy! Killing you all is god's decree, and yet you're still trying to bring me back?!"
The wind was still howling about wanting Jack dead, the eyes were still green, but all traces of aggression were otherwise gone?!
The little wolf harrumphed, its tiny nose twitching. "Woo!". Of course, they would! They had fought side by side and were definitely allies!
"Welcome back…" Jack whispered, still confused as to how this could have possibly worked.
The Centaur was now happily petting the wolf, the latter showing a comfortable expression. Meanwhile in the background, the wind had stopped rotating at once.
[A Wind God Is Petrified!–]
[A Wind God Is Urging Its Envoy to Murder You!]
The Centaur then turned serious as he turned toward the human. "You've caused great harm to the Centaur tribe, destroying our history just like that…."
He sure had done so, but it wasn't like he could possibly turn back time. He didn't regret it either, for he valued his whole life way more than the Centaur cultural heritage.
"…but I guess it's not all that bad. Since our history's gone, we'll just have to create our own future, won't we? We'll just have to create a City that will put Tribe-Gather to shame, hehe."
Was this the optimism of youth? To see the positive even in disasters could be called foolish, but Jack couldn't help but be impressed.
"This will be a lot of work…."
"A LOT of work!"
"Woo!"
The little wolf was already ready to volunteer to help, but the other two realized that such a thing wouldn't happen. Jack would soon be considered an enemy of the Centaurs.
"Anyway, just go. May we meet one day again." The Centaur declared, ready to shoulder the weight of his race's struggles entirely.
[A Wind God Is Outraged!]
[A Wind God Berates His Envoy!]
But even then, the youngster's smile didn't change one bit, not even when the wind energy around him suddenly dissipated, nor when his name tag changed.
< Foolishly Optimistic Young Centaur Lv 30! >
He had been punished for standing against his god, but his eyes showed no regret whatsoever. What kind of crazy sacrifice was this?!
One could disregard him as just an NPC, which made his sacrifice even more significant. To him, this was the only world he had!
That's when Jack finally made a choice.
"System, give me the Mythical Centaur Companionship Spear."
He raised his hand in the air, violent red energy appearing out of nowhere and gathering toward him. Then the entire thing turned into a resplendent blood-red spear.
The thing had the length of a car, the sharpness of a legendary detective, and the weight of a goddamn tree trunk. Jack could barely hold the item!
He barely glanced at the attributes, the damage making him raise his brow in surprise, the skill making him drool. It had an OP passive buff: +468% Movement Speed, +33% Power.
This thing was crazy strong! Even if no one in the game could currently use it, it would still be worth a small castle just as a collection piece to show off to friends.
It was such an OP weapon, and yet…
"There you go." Jack dropped it at the Foolish Centaur.
"W-what is this?!" The latter was shellshocked. Not only had this thing appeared out of nowhere, but its aura was so overwhelming!
"Hehe, your god abandoned you because you chose to let me go. Just take it as a token of my gratitude." Jack shrugged, acting as if the whole thing wasn't that big a deal.
Just like that, he had given a mythical weapon up. How many would throw blood at their screen once this footage became public? Countless for sure!
"I can't accept something so…" The Foolish Centaur already wanted to give the weapon back, only for Jack to laugh his ass off as he fled straight toward the portal.
As far as Jack was concerned, this outing was a success. not only had they found the wind gem they had come for, but he had managed to upgrade his very soul and they had made a friend.
"If you're ever in the human realm, look for the Demonic Legion! Later, hahaha!!" His laughter seemingly filled the entire realm as he escaped, leaving a shellshocked Centaur behind.
The two were engulfed by green energy as they crossed between worlds.
"Woo!" (That weapon looked so strong!)
"Hehe, more than you can imagine..."
But right now he wasn't focused on what they had left behind, but on what awaited them on the other side. They were finally returning home.
How surprised would the others be? It wasn't every day one managed to come back from another world, haha.
"I'm on my way, you all!"
