-Using the Over-Break Mode is impossible currently.-
-PS. Don’t be dumb-
Seeing the PS note, Tobs added Cynrik didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
[SIGH, figures. OI Tobs, when did you become so snarky? What happened to not being sentient?]
Lithlen was fuming; not only had he wasted precious resources to bring his fleet out to the boonies, but now the trash children of his son were pushing back against his authority. At this moment, he wanted nothing more than to kill all four of the people before him and leave this garbage dump.
Just as Lithlen was about to raise his hand to strike down the family of four, his eyes shrunk to pinholes, and he kicked off the ground leaving a shockwave in the place he previously stood.
BANG!
Not a second later, a green blur slammed into the small crater that Lithlen had stood previously.
Stunned by the sudden events, Cynrik’s jaw dropped open, and he pointed a shaky finger at the being who had just arrived.
“OI… OLD MAN SAYLIN WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!”
Slowly standing up from a kneeling position and dusting off his ragged and torn robes, Saylin chuckled at the shocked little boy’s reaction.
“If it ain’t the unruly guy who bought random junk from me. Fancy seeing you here.” Saylin gave a toothy smile to Cynrik, who was in disbelief that the shaggy old man recognized him, even though he had been using his Earth appearance during their previous meetings.
“No time to talk.” Saylin turned away and glanced at Lithlen, who was floating dozens of feet in the air. “Now, Lithlen Jetlensr, would you care to explain why an official from the Purist Faction is trying to kill two children who survived Haylon’s atrocities.” As Saylin spoke, Cynrik’s eyes glazed over upon seeing the massive rainbow of Mana particles swarming around who he believed to be an old drunkard who ran a shitty shop.
“Saylin Garn, you filthy Elven hybrid, how DARE you intercede on my personal affairs. What I do with my clan members is my own business, and neither you nor the Naturalist Faction who backs you can interfere.
[OH, OH, NEW INFO, hmmmmm, looks like this Purist Faction is led by some racist bastards like our dear old grandpa.] Shaking his head and listening intently, Cyrnik came out of his stupor and started commentating like usual.
[Cyn, who is this guy.] Brance was utterly confused at the sudden shift in events.
[Hmm, oh, that’s Old Man Saylin, he’s the guy who owns that little shack shop I told you about. Where I got all our gear and the cultivation techniques. Didn’t figure he was actually strong enough to fight against a Tier-5 being. Every time I interacted with him, he was passed out drunk. It’s weird seeing him like this. But what’s even stranger is he recognized me. I never used my Vinestra avatar in the RWTC.] Their conversation was interrupted by Saylin.
“Lithlen, we are both old as dirt; let’s not fight. Just let the kids go. It’s not like you’ve wasted a fortune on coming here. Plus, as a Consul of the Naturalist Faction, I will officially state that it was the Purist Faction who found and took down Haylons Shadow and rescued the missing children.” While he spoke, Saylin summoned a sizeable wooden staff adorned with many different colored gems and rested it on the ground while looking up at the man floating in the sky.
Lithlen stayed silent while calculating his gains; if he chose to abide by this agreement, not only would it bring glory to his clan, but there would be a sizeable reward from both the families affected as well as his faction. The downside was he would have to drop his complaints with the two mutts and his son. Lithlen was an overly proud man, and his ego was affected by the level of disrespect being awarded to him by Cynrik. If it was anyone other than Saylin Garn making this offer, he would have ignored it. However, Saylin Garn was at the peak of the 5th Tier and only a step away from reaching the 6th. This alone wasn’t the only thing stopping him from confronting the man.
Lithlen knew it was an uneven fight to begin within his heart. Saylin was known as the Kaleidoscope Sage and one of the few Bronze-Rank Reavers on their continent. After S-Rank, it was significantly more challenging to continue on. These ranks were known as Metallics. Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Orichalcum. Saylin was known for harnessing nearly a dozen different Elements, and as such, was an absolute nuisance for a close combat warrior such as Lithlen to deal with.
Gritting his teeth, Lithlen waved his hand, signaling his ship to come to pick him up. “Have it your way Elven Hybrid.” Lithlens piercing gave moved from Saylin to Cynrik and his family. “This is not over; one day, you will need me, and on that day, you will rue ever turning against your blood.” He finished his sentence just as his ship came up beside him with its bay door open.
“Yes, yes, just get the fuck out of here, you senile old man, this Young Lords back and feet are sore from the massive achievements I’ve been carrying all night that you’ve stolen.” Cynrik made sure to get the last word in as the door closed behind Lithlen.
SMACK
Hearing what the young boy said, Saylin snorted and materialized a blue Mana hand, which smacked Cynrik upside the head. “Will you quiet down? Look at how worried you’ve made your parents.”
“Oi, what the hell, old man, can’t you see I’m on my last leg as is? What if you popped my dome with that thing just now? Gah, how can someone as handsome and powerful as I am be put in such a state? ”
SMACK SMACK SMACK
Three loud claps echoed in the surrounding area as Brance, Cinyah, and Rikard all took turns hitting Cynrik in the back of the head.
Feeling wronged, Cynrik crouched on the ground, drawing circles in the dirt.
“Mr. Garn, I don’t know how you know my son, but from the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of my family, I thank you for what you’ve done tonight; this is something that can not be easily repaid.” Rikard was the first to speak up after disciplining Cynrik.
Saylin simply waved his hand in dismissal after letting Rikard finish. “It’s nothing, the brat is entertaining, to say the least, and I just so happened to be nearby when I saw that man’s fleet heading over.”
“Oi, old man Saylin…”
SMACK
“HEY! BROCCOLI HEAD, WHAT WAS THAT F…”
SMACK SMACK
“Hehe, he’s quite fun to hit, isn’t he.” Chuckling as he saw several small bumps forming on Cynrik’s head, Saylin motioned for Brance to give it a try.
SMACK
“Yes, sir, it’s like hitting a pillow, fluffy and full of air hehe.”
“WILL YOU GUYS CUT IT OUT? IMA END UP WITH BRAIN DAMAGE!”
Smack
“It’s too late for that big brother.”
Cinyah broke up the Cynrik abuse party by clearing her throat loudly. “Hem hem, Great Sage Garn, it seems we’ve lost our ride home. Would you please assist us? I’m sure my children are both exhausted, and as you can see, they smell, and it’s bathtime.”
“It shouldn’t be a problem; ill just need the coordinates you wish to go, and I can easily open up a spatial rift there.” Saylin simply nodded and responded as if it was an easy task.
“OH, WAIT!” Jumping up from the dirt, Cyrnik suddenly remembered something
“Mom, we found Gabby and Benny, and they’re safe with all the other kids; we should probably grab them before we head back.
The next several minutes consisted of Cyrnik and Brance running as fast as possible with their parents and Saylin trailing behind and arriving at the abandoned office building, which housed all the kidnapped children they had rescued.
Sliding to a stop from a full sprint, Cyrnik walked into the office and was greeted by nearly a hundred pairs of scared eyes huddled all around the first floor like refugees.
“Heyah kids, Adults are here, been nice known yall, where are the two I left in charge.” Seeing the small bloodied child burst into the room, nearly every kid recoiled in fear before relaxing thanks to his words. Scrunching up his nose and moving his pursed lips side to side, Cynrik scanned all the faces in the room before landing on Benny and Gabby. “Oi, cmon you two, time to go. Mom and Dad are outside, while there are ships for everyone else to take back home. We gotta go before that happens, though.”
The two siblings realized it was Cynrik who had burst into the office building like a hurricane and nodded their heads rapidly before jumping to their feet and running to him.
Shooting a glance around the room one more time, Cynrik said his parting words to the children while exerting a little bit of Killing Intent to keep them in place until Lithlens forces could extract them and left with Gabby and Benny in toe.
When they left the office and saw Cinyah and Rikard, Benny and Gabby burst into tears and charged into their Auntie and Uncle’s arms. Unlike Cynrik and Brance, those two were just ordinary children, so it was expected that they would break down and cry when they saw a familiar adult.
Leaving the two siblings to Cinyah and Rikard, Cynrik and Brance walked over to Saylin, who was resting on a pile of rubble with his staff in his lap.
“Betcha, you two ‘ave a lot of questions, don’t you.” Chuckling lightly, Saylin started talking first.
“First off, yes I’m Tier-5, yes sage is just a title, yes I could see through your avatar in the RWTC, no, I didn’t know it was you who was causing the ruckus for Haylons Shadow, and lastly, yes, I have elven blood.” Saylin ended his rapid-fire Q&A by moving his shaggy green hair and revealing a long pointed ear that was previously hidden.
“Oh, and Yes, I can read your minds” Cyrnik and Brance felt a shiver down their spines as Saylin effortlessly answered all their questions without them needing to say anything at all.
“Anyway, there will be plenty of time for conversation at a later date; for now, let’s get you lot home. Plus, you know where to find me, don’t you, little Cynrik Jetlensr.” Saylin couldn’t help but laugh at the two battle-worn young boys who looked like fish out of water due to his little display.
Saylin floated up from his debris pile and hovered several inches above the ground while following the two boys to their parents.
“Alright, remember two things when stepping into the portal. First, Hold your breath, Second don’t jump; you’ll just end up busting your butt on the other side.” Saylin waved his hand and uttered a few strange words, causing a round blue portal to manifest in front of the group.
While their parents and the Sanford siblings stepped through it without hesitation, Cynrik and Brance stopped just at the edge and turned around.
[Well, that went fine.] Cynrik said while looking over the crumbled hotel.
[If by fine you mean we nearly got killed a bunch of times, saw unspeakable horrors that would traumatize just about any sane person, and practically shattered our Codexes and Mana Circuits, then SUUUURRREEE, TOTALLY FINE!] Brance snorted while crossing his arms and taking one last look at his surroundings.
[I mean, too beee fairrrrr, I’m pretty sure physically we are fine it’s just another one of Tob’s weird restrictions. UGH, but 5 whole years, that’s gunna be forever, At at least we have the HBTC so we can accelerate all our progress again.]
Brance stared blankly at Cyrnik before shaking his head and walking through the portal.
“Oi Old Man Saylin..”
SMACK
“FUCK I WAS GUNNA SAY THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP THIS TIME, AND YOU STILL HIT ME!”
“Yes, yes, I’m a mean old man. Now get your ass through the portal.” Saylin used the butt end of his staff to push Cynrik through the portal before closing it up and Turning back towards the hotel.
“Tsk, Haylon did a number on this place. I doubt we would even find it if it wasn’t for those kids. It’s too bad all the credit will go to the Purists. But that’s the price those kids have to pay to leave with their heads attached. Still, two Tier-0 children under the age of 10 kill over a hundred people stronger and older than themselves. So hehe ill have to keep an eye on those rascals.”
Saylin waved his hand and opened another portal, and stepped through, unaware that he had just potentially saved not only his own self in the future but perhaps even his entire race by helping Cynrik and Brance.
END OF VOLUME 1