Chapter 31: Height

    The Rail took no more than 6 hours to bring plex and I back to the Capital. That meant it could cover a day’s worth of travel in an hour.

    The job had taken just about a week, given all the battles. And the only reason it didn’t take longer was because of my input.

    Considering that this world was using magic instead of technology, I wasn’t sure if I should be impressed by the speed of the Rail or if that much should be expected.

    Either way, when we pulled into the Capital’s junction, I sent out a message to someone who would surely be expecting it.

    And by the time I had walked out onto the city streets, Rayla had already arrived. She found me with a bright smile.

    “John!”

    “Hi Rayla.”

    I chuckled as she ran over, feeling a bit buttery inside.

    She almost jumped toward me, wrapping me up in a tight hug. Unfortunately it hurt though, causing me to grunt as she aggravated some wounds.

    “Oh! I’m sorry! Are you hurt?”

    “No, it''s fine. I just need a bit more time to recover.”

    “We should get you to the hospital.”

    “It’s fine-”

    “No, you still need to get back to the Magisterium. You can’t have any lingering wounds when you go on your next trip, so let’s go.”

    Not giving any room for refusal, Rayla linked with my arm and pulled me along to the Founder’s Market. I just acquiesced, partly because she was right and partly because I needed to see the Patriarch anyway.

    Soon enough, we arrived at the hospital we always went to while doing jobs. Since my face and name were rather famous here, I was quickly given service.

    One of the healers sent Mana throughout my body, fixing any internal wounds while pushing my natural recovery into overdrive. I felt my body turn hot, as if I was working out.

    That process lasted for several minutes before my pain faded away and the healer finished. Then, I sat up, feeling hungry and thirsty but relieved.

    After paying, we headed out and grabbed some food. Rayla knew what healing could do to the body, so she had already picked out a fast food place.

    It was there though that she suddenly asked a question after not speaking for a while.

    “Have you ever thought of using some Crowns?”

    “What are those?”

    I asked back at the mention of an unfamiliar term, prompting her to explain.

    “Crowns are enhancements for the body. Because Warlocks and Summoners can’t strengthen their bodies like Knights can, there was one major advancement made many years ago by a Warlock Alchemist from the Church who went insane. She called them Crowns, and these Crowns could utilize the power of the Scourge and White Crystals to strengthen the human body in special ways similar to Knights.”

    “That sounds dangerous.”

    I nodded while thinking of the implications of such a technology. A woman had to experiment using materials from Scourge beasts and infusing them into her body while trying to squeeze out enhancements. Crystals from the Scourge were poisonous normally, so I didn’t even want to know what putting those materials inside your body would do.

    And Rayla nodded in confirmation.

    “It is dangerous, or was. In short, that Warlock named Madam Tracie ended up deliberately killing herself after going insane and gave her body for her research. The Church utilized her sacrifice and ended up perfecting the technology to some extent. It''s been many years since then, and while getting your hands on a Crown is still expensive, it''s not nearly to the degree of decades ago. For higher level Warlocks and Summoners, these Crowns are extremely valuable enhancements to their strength that can eliminate some weaknesses.”

    “Mm.”

    I hummed while munching down on some food.

    These Crowns really did seem valuable, but I didn’t know enough about them to make a decision right now.

    I responded while finishing my meal.

    “I’ll have to ask Maxwell about them, then.”

    “You should. I’ve known many Warlocks in the Military who have used them without side effects, and there are many that go beyond simply making your muscles stronger. I’ve heard of one that can enhance your vision several times over, something you might like.”

    “That does sound interesting.”

    I smiled while imagining what it would be like to have such powerful eyes. I wouldn’t even need scopes for my rifles.

    Taking note of all this information, Rayla and I made our way over to the Tavera territories, arriving before their headquarters.

    I was welcomed in, and Rayla followed me to the office of the Patriarch.

    “Ah, John! Very good to see you in good health. Congratulations on the successful trip, and thank you for your good work. I’ve received a report from Ignov.”

    The Patriarch stood, the two of us shaking hands before taking a seat.

    I smiled, glad he was aware of everything.

    “Yes, Patriarch. Although we lost some men and cargo, I would say it went rather well.”

    “Indeed. I’m aware that your contributions were a major factor in our success. I don’t have all the details since Ignov is still busy over there, but his praises spoke enough. I believe you have a letter for me?”

    “Mm.”

    I took out the wax sealed letter and handed it to the Patriarch, who broke it open and read through the single page within.

    He took a minute, nodding a few times, before setting it down with a thoughtful smile.

    ......

    “Hah... Hah...”

    With labored breaths, I made it to the top of a small mountain. Then, I suddenly turned around, the barrel of my shotgun humming a tune as it followed.

    A beast screamed from behind.

    *SCREE!*

    *BOOM*

    The empowered slug took off its head, the body falling down the steep trail and crashing into several other corpses.

    After that, I posted up behind a large boulder, taking out my rifle and getting ready.

    A few hundred meters away, I could see around a dozen puppets running their way toward me.

    For the entire time in this barren mountain range, I had been constantly hunted down by small groups of beasts that the Puppet Master no doubt controlled to attack me.

    I used the land to my advantage since I couldn’t hide, constantly battling and running. There was no chance to sit still, because relaxing meant that I wasn’t killing an enemy that was coming toward me.

    *BANG*

    The scoped rifle in my hands accurately felled a monster below. At the same time, I saw a lance of magic appear beside another beast.

    I didn’t so much as flinch when the lance flew and hit the boulder I was on top of. These beasts needed to be much more accurate if they wanted to hit me behind such advantageous cover.

    *BANG*

    I took out the monster that failed to distract me, moving on to the others and letting off more rounds.

    By the time they were about to reach me, there were only three left. So I put away the rifle and took out a revolver in my right hand and a sawed-off shotgun in my left.

    I fired the revolver, letting off all 6 rounds in the cylinder. With those rounds, only one monster died, the bullets not packing a heavy punch and not carrying much of my Psyka.

    Now there was two left, and when the first one dove at me, I fired the shotgun.

    *BOOM*

    It blew its head off, but there was still another. I barely aimed again before firing.

    *BOOM*

    Another shell, but this time, I only took off an arm.

    The monster still lunged toward me. It was big and shaped like an alligator with large claws and a huge mouth. Its tail thrashed violently while it screamed in pain, all the while it was still trying to kill me.

    Just about every puppet I had killed wouldn’t stop trying to kill me unless I put it down. No injury would stop it, not even a blown off limb. That had caught me by surprise twice, and those two incidents were valuable experiences that taught me the difference between humans and these beasts.

    So as I saw the claw of this beastly alligator coming at me, I thought of a few ways to combat it. Two of my guns were empty, and communing with another gun didn’t happen instantly. My next move wouldn’t consist of a weapon.

    But I was a quick thinker, even before Psyka enhanced my mental faculties so much.

    And using that quick brain of mine, I suddenly swung my shotgun.

    *Smack!*

    The alligator’s body was bashed to the side, the claw missing my body. Then, I kept swinging the heavy shotgun, beating its head into a pulp.

    “Fuck. Off. You. Damn. Lizard!”

    *SCREE*

    It let out another loud sound before recovering and trying to attack again.

    But right as it did, in my hand appeared a lever action rifle, which I placed against the alligator''s head.

    *BANG*

    Its body collapsed as a new hole was created next to its eye socket. With that, I sighed and took a seat on the nearby boulder, finally being able to feel the cool breeze across my sweaty face.

    I looked around into the distance. Because I was close to the top of a mountain, I could see the wider world. But that wider world was cut off by some kind of invisible wall, no doubt the bounds of this constructed place. I really wondered what kind of power allowed someone to just create miniature worlds like this one on a whim. Even the puppets were impressive because they seemed just like regular beasts.

    It could obviously only be done by magic, but to think that any level of magic could allow someone to do this was absurd.

    How were you supposed to kill someone like that? Was it possible, even with my guns, to ever pose a threat to that kind of existence?

    It seemed impossible, even more so to think I could ever reach that height myself.

    During my time in this world, I had never truly entertained the idea of reaching the highest pinnacle of power. It simply seemed too far away. For someone like me who came from another magicless world, I didn’t believe myself to be a part of that same system, so I didn’t even think it would be possible.

    I would continue to build my power so long as I could. How far that would lead, I didn’t know. I’m sure I could do great things even if I only reached Authority 8 like Rayla.

    But for now, the notion of reaching something like Authority 12 was completely beyond me. It didn’t even seem like a cool thought. It was just overwhelming, like thinking of every problem I would ever have to face throughout this life and packaging it all into a single box. In fact, I’m sure it entailed nothing less.

    Ambition was good, but only up to a certain point. I could feel that as I thought about these things.

    And soon enough, my time on this hunting ground was finished.

    I was teleported out, appearing alongside several others who had also been hunting like me.