Tina, Tim, and I sat at our usual table, drinking as the Guild receptionist regretted her decision. She looked like she wished she hadn't offered it, but it was too late.
Noobie had left us because he had other things to attend to.
Tim and Tina both exclaimed dramatically over their tasty strawberry sundae drinks, letting out a loud "Aghhh!" as they commented that the guild receptionist had made them so good.
They both went up to the tavern's counter to ask for more.
While they were at the counter, I started writing in my diary again. However, out of nowhere, a huge hand slapped down just as I had flipped to my most current page. I got mad and looked up. Six adventurers were all around me, squishing me against the wall. My drink and my diary were still on the table.
"Hey, Missy…don't believe I've seen you around here before," the burly man says as he closes in on me.
"She looks kind of cute. Like a rabbit," the hooded man inserted as he sat next to me.
"Please, I don't want any trouble," I stuttered as I put my diary away in my satchel. I tried to stand up when the Burly man touched my thigh. Frightened, I smacked him back in defense.
The hooded man poured my drink and forced it down my throat as I struggled. Suddenly, I felt all sleepy and floaty. My head was spinning. I think they put something weird in my drink before forcing me to drink it, because I started seeing two of everything, then three. I wobbled as I tried to make my way towards the guild receptionist, but my legs felt like jelly, and my body was not listening to me. One of the burlier men grabbed me and carried me quickly outside the guild tavern.
Tim and Tina, who saw the abduction, both dropped their sundaes and pursued without reinforcements. The guild receptionist, who just finished processing a request form for another adventurer group, then turns to my table and sees my gear scattered about, with my satchel and the diary poking out. The guild receptionist immediately gasps seeing Tina and Tim's sundae spilled on the floor.
She quickly tears a scroll, chanting with a magical tone, "GET ME THE PLATINUM ENFORCERS!!"
Tim and Tina pursued relentlessly, as they tailed the adventurers.
The bigger, burlier man was getting burned by dark flames as he was the one carrying me, "H-HURRY UP AND GET RID OF THOSE BRATS!! THIS ONE'S BURNING!!"
Then a battle sequence starts…
A dialogue box appears… AMBUSHED!!!
It's Tim, Tina, and their health bars. The abductors surround them—three in the front, three in the back, with Tim and Tina back-to-back.
"Tim, there are too many of them for us to take on!!" Tina yelled in desperation.
"I know! But we just need to buy time until other adventurers come to aid us!!" Tim yelled.
"Nobody's coming to save you two brats!!" The hooded man said.
Tim and Tina's speed bars appeared, with Tim receiving the first move.
Tim casts "PROTECT AEGIS." He chooses damage mitigation as the shields revolve around him and Tina.
The hooded man stabs Tim as the aegis protects him, reducing damage as a number appears out of Tim's health bar, dropping one-fourth, leaving three-fourths.
Tina's speed bar pings as she casts "Lightning barrage!!" She chooses to cast a spell. From her staff shooting multiple lightning arcs, damaging all six abductors, with the final lightning hitting the one carrying the Boss girl.
Black flames surge and spread to the burly man carrying Boss girl as he takes an astonishing 1,500 in white numbers of damage as he complains once more, "UGH, it's burning! She's burning!!! KILL THOSE BRATS!!!"
The other burlier man hits Tim with his club, damaging him to one-fourth of his health.
A dialogue box appears as Tim kneels on one leg, with his health number highlighted in yellow.
"Tim's passive activates; Guardian of Noa." A green hue surrounds Tim as he's in critical condition.
The hooded rogue shoots Tina from behind, damaging only one-eighth of her health. The hooded assassin stabs Tina once more, damaging another one-eighth of her health. The bandit then uses a skill, "Double Doom," hitting Tina and dealing half damage to her health.
The last brigand then attacks Tim, leaving him with one-eighth of his health. Tim's speed bar pings as he then uses "Beginner's Resolve!" Causing him and Tina to glow in a rainbow hue, with the buff.
"Forget this, we're killing these two brats!!" The hooded assassin cries out.
Tina's bar pings. Tina uses "SOS of the adventurers!" A flare shoots out of her staff high into the sky, causing the abductors to flee from battle.
Battle ends, no experience points are rewarded.
Tim is level 18
Tina is level 16
Tim, battered, is still protecting his sister as the flare flies high into the night, dispersing and making noise that interrupts the night for everyone nearby.
Kit and Exile, who are carrying baskets of fruit. They were talking about how to make fruit cakes for Kit's birthday. Meanwhile, the platinum enforcers are at the guild tavern asking for details from the guild receptionist. Everyone stops upon seeing the flare, which rises and disperses in the sky like a firework.
A SOS!?
Kit and Exile don't question anything and drop their baskets of fruit and head in the direction. The platinum enforcers waste no time and begin mobilizing towards the flare.
Kit and Exile got to Tina and Tim first. Tim is lying next to Tina with his hand reaching out towards the alleyway. Tina is hunched over on the wall of the alleyway, breathing heavily but alive.
"What happened!? Who DID IT!?" Kit barked while holding Tim up.
Tim tries to speak but grunts in pain.
Exile then gently questions Tina, "Who and where?"
Tina points down the alleyway barely, "They took her… the new Omega…" She slumps over to rest.
Exile and Kit stand up as they both look towards the alleyway; Kit picks up Tim and Tina and puts both on his shoulders as Platinum enforcers arrive.
Duncan arrives with his enforcers, "Kit!? Exile! What happened!?"
Exile doesn't turn around, "Duncan…take the kids somewhere safe…"
Kit gently hands Tim and Tina to the enforcers.
Exile puts on his shinobi mask.
Kit then follows suit by unsheathing his great sword.
"You ready?" Exile signals.
Kit doesn't speak; his posture speaks more than his words as he readies himself into his sword stance.
"Summon Noobie…he needs to hear this…" Exile utters in determination.
Exile then casts, "Shadows of the Damned!" Four hell ninja demons spawn from the shadow, as Exile signals to them, "FIND THEM!!!" All four bow and dart in different directions: one up on the roof, another down the alleyway, and the other down the canal. The last one melts into the shadows as it follows the building's walls.
Kit then slowly goes to lead Exile, tracking the blood and traces of Lightning arcs from Tina's spell; there are traces of black flame. Kit looks up at Exile, who nods as they continue with the trail. Kit takes out a teleportation talisman, and it shines, activating.
I was super drowsy at this point. I was staring up at the ceiling, slurring my speech and wondering what the perpetrators were going to do to me.
"I-I can't PUT IT OUT!" The burlier man who was carrying me yelled out in frustration. He kept trying to douse the black flames that were burning his shoulders and his forearms. "What the hell is that crazy woman wearing!?"
I giggled uncontrollably.
"What's so funny!?" The assassin barked as he tried to help his comrade extinguish the flames.
I kept giggling; I didn't know why or how, but they had long necks and funny-looking faces.
"Ha! She's already suffering the effects of the drug!" The rogue then pointed out, "Look, she can't even sit up or do anything correctly!"
The assassin then lays me flat on the table. A loud crash is heard outside, followed by another. It startles the group.
"W-wait YOU CAN'T GO IN THERE-" followed by another crash that shook the room.
The four in the room unsheathed their weapon, ready to engage whatever came through the door.
BOOM!
The door crashes as it couldn't hold back a Phantom knight, a phantom bearing the Right-hand's insignia. The Right-hand phantom knight studies the room, then looks at the four of them. The phantom stood there as Noobie followed right behind him, who put their sword in front and adopted a stance. They both synchronized their form, each placing their first foot towards the four abductors.
"I-IT'S HIM!!" the burlier man yells, terrified. "IT'S THE UNFALLEN!!!" As he scrambles towards another door locked by padlocks.
"Th-THE UNFALLEN!?" The assassin stutters.
Another battle sequence initiates.
The four abductors are facing Noobie and the Right-hand, with their health bars and speed gauges present.
"Sc-screw it, we'll kill him too!" The assassin yelled out. His speed bar pings as he attacks Noobie, resulting in a big fat zero damage.
"Wah-what the!?" The assassin is shocked.
The right hand stuns the burly man, causing his HP to drop all the way to one. The rogue's speed bar pings; the rogue shoots Noobie for zero damage. Then the burlier man's speed bar pings. The other burlier man hits Noobie with his club, using his skill "Power Strike," dealing zero damage to Noobie.
"Wh-why isn't he taking ANY damage!?" They panicked.
The assassin's speed bar pings once more as he tries to flee, prompting a dialogue box.
"Can not flee away from battle…"
Noobie casts, "Unfallen Deed."
BOOM!
A wave of phantom knights hit all four members, reducing them to one HP.
"Ugh, please…don't kill us…we-we surrender…" The rogue weakly surrenders.
Battle ends in defeat.
No exp is rewarded.
Rogue was level 163
Assassin was level 192
Burlier man was level 129
The burly man was level 141
Sequence ends…
The group of four pleaded for mercy. Noobie paid no mind to them as his Right-hand phantom disappeared. He reached me, on the table, still slurring my speech and speaking nonsense to him.
"Noobie, hehe, I like you…" I uttered as I touched his visor shamelessly.
He studied around, then he walked to the padlocked door, cutting the padlock in one go with Mist Edge. The chains sliced as if they were paper, falling off with a huge clang onto the floor.
Noobie kicked the door open as he listened to the sobs, nervous scuffles, and whimpers of girls. He throws the closest torch next to him into the dark dungeon with no light inside. The torch lands on the hard stone floors, revealing once more the cages of captive girls, elves, and demi-humans. Noobie turns to me after throwing the torch. He picks me up, but flinches when the flames begin burning his hand. He curls his hand into a fist and forces himself to pick me up onto his back, piggybacking me as I joked with him and giggled in his ear.
Duncan arrives with his platinum enforcers, as Kit is stepping on the guard outside the door, while Exile has both his hands crossed.
"They're all yours, Duncan." Exile confirms as he and Kit sheathe their weapons.
Duncan nods and signals his soldiers to apprehend the abductors.
"Master Duncan, what of the women in the dungeon?" A soldier asks.
"Take them…we must return them to their homes," Duncan grunted in disgust as he saluted.
Noobie, who walked past all of them carrying me. They opened a path for Noobie and me. Noobie walked by the town's canal system as he slowly made his way back to the Guild Tavern.
"Oi Noobie..if I were 180 levels higher than you, I'd PIN you down on the ground RIGHT NOW and kiss YOU!!!" I slurred.
Noobie didn't answer; unbeknownst to me, the flames had spread from his shoulders to his elbows now. Noobie reached the Guild tavern.
Tim, who was in bandages alongside Tina, was protesting to the Guild Receptionist that he was "FINE" and wanted to rescue Missy, while Tina was trying to reassure her brother that Missy was going to be okay. They both needed to heal, while the guild receptionist assured them both that Missy would return with the platinum enforcers. Then Noobie comes by the doorway with me, slurring declarations.
"Noobie...you're so mean, always leaving me alone. Why can't you see that I'm a girl? I NEED attention too!!"
Noobie stops by the doorway, long enough for Tim, Tina, and the guild receptionist to notice.
"Noobie sir!!" Tim tries to help Noobie.
"STOP! The flames will burn you until you're nothing! STEP ASIDE!!" Noobie shooed Tim away.
He readjusts me to get a better grip, "Al-almost there. Hold on…" he uttered to me.
The adventurers, as well as Tina, Tim, and the Guild receptionist, parted a path to allow Noobie to bring me upstairs.
He slowly made his way to my room and lay me down on my bed as gently as he could. Noobie's eye caught a glimpse of the flower he had given me, and the black flames began to burn it.
He quickly grabbed the flower and cast "Holy Snow Treads," which immediately doused the flames and froze the flower into a crystalline form, protecting it.
Noobie looked at me, sighed, and cast, "Dreamer's Rest!" I immediately dozed off.
Meanwhile, he continued to burn. He glanced at me once more as the flames receded from my armor, and I mumbled incoherently in my sleep.
Noobie then places a tailsman with my diary as he chants, "Guardian of the Unfell grounds." A phantom knight then kneels right at my bedside. He gently closes the door as the flames continue to roar around him.
I mumbled, "I hate you, Noobie," as I turned in my sleep.
The door closes softly.
Noobie heads downstairs, where Tina, Tim, and the Guild receptionist confronted him.
"Is-is Missy going to be okay?" Tina questioned with concern in her eyes.
Noobie nods, flames still burning him.
"N-Noobie, you-" the guild receptionist stuttered.
"Look after her…the phantom will be beside her…I must pay respects per my oath…" Noobie utters in guilt.
The guild reception nods in her most defiant motion.
Noobie meets up with Kit, Exile, and Duncan outside the tavern.
"According to the reports, it's the work of the Underworld clan; they're managing an underground slave trade, as reported by one of my officers." Duncan cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for what you guys had to go through tonight. I'm also sorry that I won't be able to provide any more help, as the Platinum enforcers are short of members now. We cannot afford to be side-eyed by the bigger clans that didn't participate in the raid, Exile. It seems their methods have become cruder; they've begun to resort to using hallucinogenic shrooms to weaponize as kidnapping tools."
"That's fine, Duncan; thank you for taking care of those girls." Exile and Kit bowed in thanks to Duncan.
"Please, it's all in the line of duty. After all, it was Missy who joined us to look for you guys," Duncan praised. "I must return to my duties. Godspeed, Team Omega."
"Likewise, Chief Duncan," Exile saluted him.
As the platinum enforcers leave, Kit and Exile gather their fruit baskets. "You got to go and do your oath thing?"
Noobie nods.
Exile sighs, handing Noobie a stealth Tailisman. "Without that Rabbit ear following you, you're going to have to be careful now. Kit and I will put our chat on the TEAM setting. If you need help, just type it in there so we can see. We're going to bake Kit a birthday Fruit cake."
Noobie smiles. "It's your birthday?"
Kit smiles nervously. "No… not mine, heh, it's Kat's birthday. Fruit cakes are always her favorite."
Noobie smiles and nods. He then takes Exile's talisman as he watches the two enter the Guild tavern, while he heads in the opposite direction.