Chapter Sixteen - Again and Again Unto Victory

I was pissed off, obviously. So many runs, so many loops, wasted.

Was it because I was too slow? But no, I'd timed the Bright Lightning guild's arrival. They didn't get here before I was done, unless something changed that. Which was very possible.

There were alert systems that let guilds and corps know about a recently opened portal. Basically they were magical detectors that some corps spread around the city. There were some owned by the city, but most were the property of different corps, and they used them to find freshly opened portals first. Corps sabotaged each other's detectors all the time, and people stole them too because they were worth a pretty penny, but when they worked, they were supposed to be pretty effective.

They might be able to notice when a portal fluctuated from someone entering it.

And as a solo, I didn't have the right or licenses to pop in and complete the portal. Mostly because... well, it followed the same logic as gun ownership or having a driver's license. Common sense dictated that only trained individuals should be let into a portal, mostly for their own safety.

A licensed person or corp arriving at a portal would announce it. There were public channels for 'claiming' a portal so that two rival corporate teams wouldn't bump into each other mid-dungeon. The application of the law within a portal was... a strange and unclear thing. It didn't help that a closed portal would swallow up any evidence.

I had to focus on the situation at hand. Me, versus a team of armed and armoured D-rankers. I didn't stand a chance.

Did I have to take them all out?

I worked my jaw as I started to come up with something of a plan, but that plan still involved me being pretty strong, or more prepared than I had been previously.

First, though, research.

I didn't have the names of three of the four members of the Storm Chasers, but I did have one of their names. Mizu.

Mizu had a profile on the Bright Lightning guild's homepage. Mizu Aokawa. D-ranker for at least two years. At least. She'd been with the guild that long. Previously a member of the Calm Rivers guild in Japan, but I couldn't tell for how long. She'd moved here about a year ago.

So, a relatively experienced D-ranker.

I stepped into the portal, then out. It was a weird sensation, but nothing too bad. Not as good as the feeling of stepping through the end portal. I found a seat nearby to wait. Meanwhile, I continued my research.

The Bright Lightning guild, like most others, kept a good lid on what their members were capable of. Still, some information leaked, and some was given out for free for PR reasons. Nothing like making a guild seem strong to attract new customers or whatever.

There were videos with Mizu and the others in the group, enough to get some names. I noted those down and looked into them, but really, it was Mizu that interested me the most.

Beating four D-rankers was impossible. It would take a hundred loops. Maybe more. Maybe a lot more. There were videos of some of those people using spells. Summoning and flinging bullets of water around and in Mizu's case, lots of fire. She liked fire.

Beating just Mizu was... maybe possible. For my plan to work, I'd need to be able to do that, and do it with enough style and confidence that there was no doubt that I could take on the others... even if I really couldn't.

It was a bluff.

The guild showed up, as expected, a solid hour before they had in my first response time test.

I... could do it. I could complete the portal, kill the boss, grab all the loot, and be out before they arrived. But it would be a near thing, and going so fast would mean injuries.

As it was, I stood up when the front window was blown in, then turned to face the group stepping over the shattered glass.

Mizu saw me, then stomped forwards, the air around her shimmering with heat. "What're you doing here, breathing my air like you belong?" she snapped.

I flung a fist forwards and almost clocked her in the jaw.

Almost. She was fast enough to duck back, then the time for words was over, and we were brawling.

It was clear from the start that she knew some martial arts. I think. The stance she took and the way she moved her arms, was very karate-inspired.

Normal karate didn't involve setting one's limbs on fire with magic.

I winced as she caught me again, then pulled me in and threw me. That was judo, but a very poorly executed move. Not her martial art of choice, then. She'd still gotten me, my reflexes were way too slow to counter, and a flash of heat at my face had left me flinching.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on NovelBin. Report any occurrences.

I grunted on landing, then before I could face any more consequences, I Reloaded.

Seventeenth try, then... okay. So, what had I learned?

Mizu was a... pretty mediocre fighter. Natalie was outright better. Mizu was also fast and could take a hit. She'd been a D-ranker for a while, maybe more than two years. She had an improved, reinforced body to prove it whereas I was little more than an E-ranker.

Her friends didn't step in to break up the fight, preferring to watch. The leader guy, a fellow called Ryker Mercer, was a pretty calm-minded guy. He was far more experienced than Mizu. Something told me that if push came to shove, he'd want to negotiate before throwing fists.

I sighed, then stretched my neck.

I hated this... but it was also lighting a fire behind me. I wasn't a fight junky by any means, but the thought of putting that Mizu woman in her place was getting me pumped.

But first, training.

The rest of the seventeenth loop was spent taking my time. I'd wasted a bit at the start and so I figured it was a wash anyway. I took on each fight with the kobolds slow and careful, walking backwards when needed, reading my opponents, then trying to learn how to strike quickly and decisively.

If I had no choice but to do this entire portal run quickly then I might as well learn how to do it nearly-flawlessly.

I had caught on to a few things already, but on taking my time and really trying to learn, I caught some other details. They fought low. It's why I'd been bitten in the legs so often. Also, they moved their heads in first, trying to bite where a human would keep their head back and low.

It left their neck a little exposed, and made them easy to bait.

One on one, they were actually relatively weak, and I meant physically. I was able to grab and pin one to the ground without too much issue, except that they liked to reach out and bite or claw.

If I was fast, I could bait out a bite, then grab one by the neck and move their head up or down and all they could do was scramble at me with ineffective claw strikes.

Eighteen, nineteen, and twenty were all practice. All getting to know the dungeon, its route, this time knowing that I could succeed.

I shaved off four minutes the first time I reached the boss room. Seven the next. Then a total of twelve.

I was getting to know each kobold. I imagined it was a little like fighting a dozen martial artists from the same dojo. They had the same tricks and counters baked into them.

The boss was a little different, but I had no intention of making that one a fair fight. Flinging a club at his face, then leaping in for a fatal stab was risky, but fast and successful.

On the twentieth run, I exited the portal fifty minutes earlier than in my first successful run.

The Storm Chasers weren't in the laundromat.

I paused, taking in the air, regaining my balance after an ungainly step out of the portal where I couldn't tell how far the floor was.

I took a breath, then held it as someone bashed the front window in. Damn. I couldn't do it. I couldn't slip through the portal fast enough to evade them.

So, it would come down to four options.

One, I bailed. Took the experience earned and lost whatever magical gains I'd make. At least I would have only lost one afternoon of real time. No risks, no rewards.

Two, I tried to run for it. I didn't think I could outrun four D-rankers, but given a few tries, I figured I could make it.

Three, I fought them. All four had, cumulatively, a decade of time as a D-ranker more than what I had. They had magic and gear, and backup if I took too long. It was tempting, because they annoyed me, but it was also stupid. There would be consequences.

Four... four was what I liked best.

Mizu stomped into the room and locked eyes with me. Hers fiery red, unnaturally so. She grunted, and a wave of heat poured off of her. "Who in the hell are you?" she asked.

Yeah, I liked option four best.

I tossed my loot (now in a convenient bag I'd purchased before the dungeon run this loop) to the side, then made a 'come here' gesture with my now free hand.

She grinned, feral, wild, flaming hot, and charged in while her companions came up behind her.

I wasn't intact this time. I'd still earned some bruises and cuts, and I was a little tired... but next time would be better.

***