152 To Clear A Plague (1/2)

A spark of heated, red plasma melted through my gray armor. It left no mark on my actual skin beneath it. The gray goblin pulled at me, thrusting a palm at my elbow joint. He couldn't budge me. I glanced down, seeing the plasma. If someone peeked through the whole, they might figure out my identity. That was a much more pressing concern than this guy's attacks.

With a flick of my wrist and a clasp of my hand, I pulled the plasma off. I crushed my gray suit over the gap at the same time, keeping me hidden. The plasma splattered onto Khan's knee, singing through his bulky armor.

He let go of me, taking a step back. He howled, his pain resistance unleveled. Three of his buddies unholstered their own weapons at me. I stomped my foot on a telekinetic pad. It transferred the force of the stomp three different ways.

The three waves of force jerked the guns out of his fellow mercenary's hands. The smallest of the three, an Enigmatta by the look of his suit, caught his finger on the trigger. The gun broke his shoulder out of socket. He gasped, but like a trooper, he grabbed his arm and put it back in place.

Without their weapons, they glared at me but couldn't do anything else. With that handled, I looked down at Khan. The plasma ate away at his knee. His howls could've stripped the paint off the walls.

I shook my head, pulled off the plasma with a bit of magic. I swirling the blob of plasma, condensing it into a ball. I turned towards the bar, pulling out the liquid from the mercenary's drinks. I funneled it over the plasma ball, a wave of steam pluming up.

A blue fire exploded from the plasma ball, the alcohol and other parts of their drinks burning up. It siphoned into the gravity well, creating a mini orbit before bleeding away. It all looked like a magic trick.

I walked up and tore a shoulder pad from Khan's armor. I bent the metal over the still hot ball of plasma. It cooled enough that the metal held up. I tore off Khan's other shoulder pad. I put the plate on the bar then the steel ball on top of it. I leaned over towards Khan,

”You have a drinking problem.”

I reached out a hand, flicking him in the nose. His face whipped backward, a bone breaking. He flopped onto his back, unconscious but okay. He'd wake up with a headache, but that was about it thanks to Schema's healing. I stood back up. I looked around, all eyes on me. I put up a hand,

”Are you guys sure it's ok for me to leave now, or does someone else have to shoot me in the knee? No? Good.”

I stepped over Khan and walked out of the guild. From my experience just now, it was more like a shitty pub. As I stepped out, a hand grabbed me from behind. I turned around, utterly pissed off. In my mind, with good reason.

It was another Soldier of Fortune. It was an espen, his amphibian hair tail flowing down his back. Unlike the other espen, his black skin had white marks down his neck. They shaped like rhombuses, but his amber eyes were the same.

What caught my eye were the scars on his face. That and his title.

Iasis Klon, Bloodwielder(lvl 5,000 | Head of Icosah Branch, Soldiers of Fortune

I tensed up without meaning too. He might know my titles and status at such a high level. He frowned at me, disappointment spread out on his amphibian features,

”Hey. I'm sorry about Khan. He's an asshole once he starts drinking. He's never done anything like that.”

I rolled my eyes in my helmet. I moved Iasis's arm off my shoulder, ”I'm sure.”

Iasis sighed, looking back and forth on the street, ”I get it. This wasn't the best first impression by any means. You can walk away anytime. It's just...I saw you walk in and take that contract.”

Iasis stood up, spreading out his carbon fiber covered hands, ”No one, and I mean no one has taken that contract. Period. You just walked in and took it like it was nothing. If you're as good as you look, we could use a guy like you in our ranks.”

I shook my head, ”Yeah, but I don't really need you guys is the thing.”

Iasis bit his lip. He scoffed, ”Ok, you got me there. Here's the thing. We can offer you more than just extra money. Don't take this in the wrong way, you look a bit stiff.”

I raised an eyebrow, ”How so?”

Iasis rolled his shoulders, jostling a white rifle on his back, ”You're all uptight. You look new here, am I right?”

I didn't answer. Iasis raised a finger at me, ”I knew it. You look green.” He pointed at his chest, ”I can help you out in more ways than one. For instance, keeping your identity hidden-”

I leaned over him, ”Are you trying to blackmail me?”

He leaned back, waving his hands, ”Oh no, not all C-138. I know a good investment when I see one. If anything, I'm trying to win you over before someone else does. Threatening you is like trying to threaten Yawm. It's bad business.”

I looked around. The street buzzed with activity, people passing by. No one came near us though. I turned towards Iasis, ”Ok, you've got my attention.”

He balled up a fist, ”Yes! Trust me, you won't regret giving my offer a chance. Look, I can get you to the capital-” He snapped his fingers,

”Just like that. You're a big name. That has to be where you're headed.”

I raised an eyebrow, though he couldn't see under my helmet,

”And if I am?”

Iasis put a hand on his chest, ”I can get you there. I can get you talking to some other big names and get you going in a good direction. Before I do that, I need you to do me a favor though.”

I sighed, ”What is it?”

Iasis opened his status. He flipped it towards me, showing a contract. He pointed at it, ”This is the contract you accepted. See, this is about clearing some silvers nearby.”

Iasis spread out an arm, ”There's been a problem here recently though. Plots of silvers have been popping up everywhere. Nobody knows who is doing it or why. My job is to clean the mess up though. That's where you come in.”

I crossed my arms, ”I get rid of the silvers, you give me some insider connections?”