Chapter 3: God of Combat: Chapter 2
A/N: Hello there, welcome back to God of Combat! Hope you enjoy this new chapter. Nothing to say for now, so let's hop straight into the story!
(Crossposted on Wattpad, Fanfiction, and QuestionableQuesting under the same username.)
—
[3rd Person POV, 2nd Floor]
*BOOOOOM.*
A large explosion engulfs Team Brown and their boat. From the bushes in the forest, five figures walk out onto the beach.
"Haha! I told you my baby would do the job!" Said a female holding a rocket launcher on her shoulder. She was average looking, dressed in a black tank-top and sweatpants. On her back, she has a large backpack filled with even more weaponry.
"Yeah yeah, you proved your point Stella. Not like we had any other option anyway." Said one of the males. He had droopy black eyes, a cheap black suit, and black hair.
"I still think we could've taken them head-on." grumbled another male: a tall bulky man with no shirt on and some shorts.
"Though those twins standing on the boat seemed strange to me. I thought relatives were separated in the beginning of the Tower?" Questioned one more male. This one was dark-skinned, with a black shirt, pants, and a sword on his back.
"They probably traded with another team earlier, as they did have 6 members. Though it was strange that the twins had the exact same clothes on…" Said the leader at the front of the group. She's a pretty woman, wearing a light brown jacket, matching pants with an explorer's hat, and dark brown gloves.
"Eh, our job's done anyway; no use stressing over unnecessary details," responded Stella.
An object falls in front of her at this moment: the burnt head of one of Team Brown's members, Michael. The brevity of his death is portrayed on his face; his eyes are wide, and his mouth is open in surprise. A haunting image that could easily shake the soul of a normal man.
"Ew," Stella on the other hand, casually kicks the head away in disgust; completely unbothered by corpse's expression. The head flies towards the large, smoking crater caused by her weapon.
"Alright, let's go get our boat and claim another island. With the death of this team, this island should be ours any moment now." Said the leader.
Stella, hyperactive as she is, responds: "Yes! I can't wait to use my other toys! Hopefully we find another team to—" The team hears a loud noise come from the middle of the island:
*BOOOM.*
They all turn towards the center, but then a large amount of dirt, plants, and other foliage blasts into the team from the same direction. Everyone has to shield their arms in front of their face, and they nearly get thrown back from the force of the tidal wave.
*KWHOOSH.*
Trees and other plants are sent into the ocean from the initial tidal wave:
*SPLASH.*
Once the dust clears, all the team sees in front of them is a flattened path of destruction that leads straight to the flag. Even the forest around the path is in shambles.
If a force of nature could be personified in one scene, this would be it.
"What the hell?!" Exclaimed the droopy-eyed Regular. Every Regular there has a baffled expression on their face; very similar to the recently deceased Michael.
*SPLAT.*
Landing in the middle of the team, in a pool of blood from its headless corpse, is the severed head of their teammate, Stella.
"*Hmph.* Seems you guys aren't very lucky."
A deep, menacing voice comes from behind the group. The team slowly turns towards the new voice.
Standing in front of the charred crater, with his back turned towards the enemy group, is a tall figure. Most of his body is covered by his black coat, but the team could see the black scarf around his neck, alongside black combat boots going halfway up his shins.
Due to the wind pressure from his rapid dash toward the group, the hood of the coat has fallen from Jun's head. Now, his long, scarlet locks of hair flow freely down his back.
"After all…"
A hair tie then appears, with a small flash of light, in Jun's right hand. He then quickly ties all of his hair in a single neat ponytail, as he slowly turns towards the team. A frigid sensation travels down the spines of the Regulars as they gaze upon's Jun face.
"You are face to face with death."
—
God of Combat
Chapter 2, 2nd Floor:
Death
—
The team is utterly stunned by this "new" opponent. After all, didn't they already kill two people who look exactly like him?
Jun just narrows his eyes at his enemies. Currently, his pupils and sclera are glowinga fiery orange. Even though his face is completely neutral, the group can feel a weight pressing onto their bodies from Jun's glare; the weight of a savage predator staring down at them, as if they're mere food for his consumption.
"Don't worry, this will not take long." Jun says, as he slowly walks towards the petrified Regulars.
"RAAGHHH!" The shirtless man of the group is the first to snap out of his stupor. Due to his fight-or-flight response being triggered by Jun's menacing presence, he forces through the invisible weight and charges at the redhead.
Unconcerned with the fruitless endeavor, Jun continues walking. Once the bulky man gets within 3 feet in front of Jun, his head is suddenly sent flying from his shoulders.
*THUD.*
Jun's stride isn't even broken as he calmly walks to the group, even stepping over the man's body. No one saw how it happened, but they easily deduced it was something the Outsider did that caused their teammate's death.
"AHHH!" The dark-skinned male's response is to choose flight, and tries to run away towards the forest.
*SNAP.*
Unfortunately for him, a clone of Jun appears from the trees in front of him and snaps his neck. A flinch comes from the last two members at the violent sound.
*THUD.*
*POOf.*
As the man's body hits the ground, the clone is dispelled by Jun, and disappears in a puff of smoke. Jun is confident no one else will try to run away.
Now, the only sound heard on the island is the footsteps of the redheaded Outsider:
*STEP.*
*STEP.*
*STEP.*
The last two Regulars of the team shake violently; increasing in intensity with every step they hear. When Jun finally reaches them, he towers directly over the leader; staring her down with his fiery eyes. The palpitating fear is visible on her features, as even tears start leaking from her brown eyes.
The last man of the team, standing to the left of the leader, cannot even move to protect her; as him and his leader know they cannot do anything to this monster. They just pray that he shows mercy on their poor souls, and forgives them for their transgressions; even though that will definitely not happen.
"I only need one of you."
From the perspective of the stunned leader, only a brief gust of wind flows by her face before the severed head of her last teammate falls on the floor; Jun unmoving.
*THUD*
What really happened was Jun using a simple iaijutsu (quick-draw) technique, using his katana that he put on his waist earlier when the large man tried to attack him. His arm just moved too fast for the woman to see.
"Now that we have no disturbances, tell me the location of your boat. It must be hidden in the forest somewhere, and I do not want to waste time looking for it since mine is currently… decommissioned for some reason."
The woman just shakily points in a specific direction in the forest. Jun then narrows his eyes in that direction, and locks unto the boat with his stellar vision. He then turns back towards the frightened woman.
"Ah, good. You gave it up without lying to me. I would hate to have to punish you for something so foolish. Now, your death will also be quick."
Jun then draws his sword and beheads the woman in front of him; completely annihilating an entire team by himself.
*DING*
On the pocket, all of the teams and their point totals are shown. One of the teams, Team Grey, now has a skull next to their name instead of their point total. The other teams with points currently, besides Team Brown, is Team Black with 5, Team Yellow with 20, and Team Green with 5. Jun's eyes then go back to their silver brilliance as he looks at his pocket. He then slowly looks around him.
All around the beach, leaves, dirt, plants, tree branches, and wooden chips dirty up the sandy shoreline; alongside a massive charred crater from Stella's rocket launcher. However, charred body parts of Jun's teammates are also strewn around the beach. The corpses of Team Grey, on the other hand, are littered around Jun.
The scent of burnt flesh, blood, and urine (probably from a petrified member of Team Grey), penetrates Jun's nostrils. While not disgusted, nor bothered by the stench, Jun does curse his impressive sense of smell.
"*SIGHS.*"
While not close to his team, he does find it sad that they went out in such a violent fashion; especially at the start of their journey. As Jun sees the head of Michael staring back at him in front of the crater, his eyes harden in preparation for the difficulties to come in the future.
Jun then sheathes his 3ft blade, which has no blood on it, and makes 3 clones. They then start gathering up the body parts of Jun's teammates for burial. As he walks away into the forest, Jun bids his team farewell: While I couldn't prevent your untimely ends, may your souls find peace within the afterlife.
—
[? POV, 2nd Floor]
When I came into the Inner Tower, I expected to be faced with many challenges and difficulties. I expected death, deception, and all other atrocities before I finally reached my own goal; all things that are common, if I take into account master's account of his climb.
What I expected the most, however, was to meet other Regulars who are ruthless, and will do anything for their goals; similar to me.
Yet here I am, with this… circus of a team: a giant blue oaf, a purple-haired arsonist, and some drunkard with a gourd full of alcohol. At least the leader—Edas, Adan? I forgot—is sensible; the main reason I chose her.
Maybe it's because I'm only in the 2nd Floor, or maybe it's because my luck isn't very good; regardless, I just want to get through this damn test already. I'm getting a headache just hanging around these buffoons.
"The flag is fully erect! I've done it." The drunkard—Su, Gru? Whatever—calls out to our group from the center of the island we just landed on, while waving to us. The rest of the team is sitting in the raft as a precaution while the alcoholic put in the flag.
The leader yells out: "Good job!"
The arsonist on the other hand says: "I mean, Good job; but now I think other people will see it." Referring to the massive black flag standing tall from behind Wu.
"That's kind of the point. Not like Wu can control the size of the flag." Says the leader to our purple-haired teammate.
*DING*
Then, a message pops up onto the screen of everyone's pocket:
—
+5
Total: 5
—
"Seems to be a millimeter island," says the blue giant; mirroring my own thoughts. Maybe there is something in that head of his besides empty space.
"Ugh, this is one of the smaller ones?" Complains the leader. To be honest, the island isn't even that big. There are 3 palm trees, some boulders, and sand everywhere; not indicative of an island worth many points.
The leader and the blue guy then start searching for other islands. When this happens, another noise comes from everyone's pockets:
*DING*
Hmmm? It's pretty early in the test; did something happen already? Everyone looks at their pockets, and sees the scoreboard of the test: Team Yellow is currently at the top with 20 points, Team Brown is next in line with 10, Team Green and our team, Black, is next with 5 points, and all other teams have zero.
Then, Team Grey's zero vanishes, and in its place is a skull with crossbones.
"Oh my." Says my leader.
"Did a team just…die?" Questions the arsonist.
"Seems that way. Looks like this test is more dangerous than we might've thought." I say to the group, as I pull out the time remaining for the test:
—
2:35:00
—
Damn. An entire team is gone, and the test hasn't even past 30 minutes.
"Whatever, or possibly whoeverdid this, is strong, and dangerous. Hopefully, we don't run into it." Responds the leader. I can see the minute shake of her hands from fear.
The purple-haired Regular shakily replies with: "Y… Yeah. I would rather not run into…whatever that is."
The blue giant on the other hand is eerily quiet, staring at his pocket. The gourd guy is still on the island, but now seems more serious than before as he walks back towards the boat.
Looks like I spoke too soon earlier; I can already smell the thick stench of death.
—
[Floor Ruler POV, 2nd Floor]
Another day, another batch of promising Regulars to potentially ascend the Tower. Other people consider this job boring or monotonous; I consider it therapeutic.
What's there not to love about seeing the humble beginnings of future Rankers? Seeing the way Regulars they start off, and thinking about the way they could grow in the future is what keeps me alive. Eternal youth and a long life isn't all it's cracked up to be without a purpose; similar to life in general.
It's times like this I remember Adori Jahad, back when she passed through the Floor of Tests. I could tell she was special the moment I saw her. Hearing about her today, and the person she has become, only fuels my drive for this job even more. You never know when greatness knocks on your door; it's why I'm more involved in tests, as opposed to my fellow Rulers on higher Floors.
And right now, I am hearing the knock of magnanimity on my door once again.
Here I am, in the observatory room for tests, looking at 2 lighthouses. In the room, there are numerous lighthouses packed together, each one following a separate team across all 10 of the King of the Seas tests we have going on right now. I am currently looking at two of the screens designated for Game 1; specifically the lighthouses following Team Brown and Team Grey.
A few minutes ago, Team Grey landed on the same centimeter island as Brown in the Northeast quadrant. Unknown to the members of Team Brown, Grey decided to hide their boat in the island foliage and survey the rest of the island carefully through the cover of the forest.
While most of Team Brown left to look for other islands, separated from their leader, they were secretly spotted by Team Grey a couple minutes after the island was claimed. With the opportune moment to get rid of an entire team, Grey sprung their sneak attack.
To be honest, the Grey Team's stealth skills and careful approach to the test was commendable; though a sizable portion of this achievement was due to the leader's fantastic coordination and leadership. Unfortunately for them, they came face-to-face with a beast.
Unlike with Adori Jahad, I had no reason to pay attention to Jun from the beginning of the test. After all, there wasn't anything interesting about him from the descriptions Headon sent over about every Regular; unlike the Regulars in Team Black, for example. Jun wasn't a notable figure like a Jahad princess either; another reason as to why I thought of him as unimportant. Honestly, he was lucky to even be put in Game 1 in the first place; without being one of the first Regulars in the batch sent to us by Headon, he would normally have been in a different Game group.
When I saw him however, that previous notion went out the window. It was just a feeling, similar to when I saw Adori; as if my instincts were telling me: "This guy is special." My instincts never doubted me before, so I listened.
Now, seeing Jun annihilate an entire group of Regulars with ease, and seeing his strange skills only reinforced that feeling. I wonder why Headon didn't consider Jun notable in his description of the redhead. Hmmm, maybe Jun was hiding his abilities? Regardless, this test is practically over with someone of his caliber participating if he plays his cards right; especially if he captures the middle island.
I normally wouldn't assume the outcome of a test this early, especially with a one man team, no matter his/her strength, but those clones of Jun provides versatility that's rare to find even among Rankers. Not only that, but he's clearly an experienced warrior, so I don't doubt he'll know how to use them properly. That's not even taking into account any other hidden abilities the redhead may possess; overall, he's an absolute nightmare for the other Regulars.
"Regulus!" Yells out the Fisherman teacher, Scopio; snapping me out of my thoughts. That's unusual for him. Scopio was watching the other teams in Game 1 when I last saw him, while the other Administrators were observing the other Games.
"Hmm? What is it Scopio?" I ask him dazedly.
"Excuse my disturbance, but I've been calling your name for the last minute. Is there a problem with the tests? You seem a bit put off at the moment." Answers Scopio.
Then, the notification of Team Grey's demise rings out on the scoreboard of Game 1, which is located at one of the top lighthouses in front of us. It's also in the center of the scoreboards we have for the other games in session.
"Interesting. A team died this early in the game?" Scopio says curiously, while looking at the time left for all the games; located above the scoreboards:
—
2:35:00
—
"Scopio." I call out to the former Jahad soldier.
"Yes, Mr. Regulus?" He answers to my call.
I then point to the screen of Team Brown, and say: "When he passes this test, assign this Regular to your Fisherman class." Scopio raises an eyebrow at my statement. He then takes a look at the lighthouse screen.
For the first time since I've met him, I see Scopio visibly startled by what he's seen. Granted, it was only a minute widening of his eyes, but I could easily tell he was surprised by the scene shown on the lighthouse; Jun standing victorious over the dead bodies of Team Grey, with a large trail of destruction through the forest behind him.
Scopio then turns to me, and asks vehemently: "This Regular did all of that… by himself?"
I just smile at him, and respond with: "Yes indeed; though that crater with the charred bodies around it is the work of Team Grey. Everything else is his handy work. Impressive for a Regular, wouldn't you say?"
Scopio just closes his eyes, takes a calm, deep breath, then looks back to Team Brown's lighthouse. I just chuckle at him in amusement while I also look at Team Black.
"*CHUCKLE.* Don't get too excited Scopio, there are still other Regulars you must look over."
A bit annoyed by my chuckle (based on the slight twitch of his brow), he then turns towards the lighthouses showing the rest of the teams in Game 1. Scopio is always serious, especially when working; which is why I don't mind his attitude and turn back to Team Brown.
"Do you know where this Regular comes from?" Asks Scopio. Hmmm, that's a good question. It didn't say on Headon's description, but that's not an uncommon occurrence. Looks like I have some digging to do later. While I'm at it, I'll also look into Team Black as well; they also seem interesting. Especially Khun Jeong. If any of them are too dangerous however, it's better I get rid of them quickly.
"No, but I will no doubt look into it when this test is done." I say to Scopio. He just nods his head, and resumes his duties as a Test Administrator.
As I look at the lone redhead of Team Brown, a strange new feeling washes over me: the prelude of change, that will be brought upon by the waves of the new generation.
I can only hope this change will be for the better, or I will be forced to do everything in my power to stop it.
—
[3rd Person POV, 2nd Floor]
[A Few Minutes Later]
The middle island was further away than Jun thought it would be; as it took an annoying 30 minutes to actually reach the island. Fortunately, his clones didn't come across any other boats while they were rowing. Though there was an incident with some eels in the water trying to eat the paddles, which took up a few minutes for the clones to deal with.
Jum, on the other hand, was meditating for the entire trip to the middle island. With his chi sensing not being up to par, Jun decided to make an attempt of acclimating to the shinsu through meditation, as it allows him to focus at a higher level than normal.
With the information given to him by Headon, Jun knows about the potential of shinsu, and even got a demonstration of shinsu control. While the redhead finds the prospect of using the divine water interesting, for now, he finds it better to get used to feeling it out first.
With the 30 minutes of meditation, Jun was able reclaim 100 meters of sensing range. He can even feel out shinsu in the same range; though with far less detail and ease than chi.
During that time, Jun's island was taken by Green, which leaves his point total at 0; not that it matters when Jun takes the middle island.
Now that Jun has made it to the middle island, he dispels his clones that were rowing the boat. He then gazes upon the massive island in front of him.
The middle island easily dwarfs the centimeter island the Outsider was on before, which was already of a decent size. There isn't even a beach on this island, just some sand before a large forest. From the shoreline, Jun sees a giant mountain in the middle of the island.
With his impressive eyesight, Jun looks for ways to get to the top of the mountain. He sees two dirt paths that are surrounded by trees of the forest: one, is a steep trail that leads directly to the summit, and the second one spirals around the island, though it is not nearly as vertical as the first.
After considering his options for a moment, Jun comes to a decision, and carries his boat into the forest. He then makes some clones, and sends them to bury the boat a few meters away from long path towards the peak of the mountain. They also have the job of capturing any Regulars that land on the island, after they are done with the boat; unless the Regulars are too troublesome, in which they are executed. The original, on the other hand, takes the steep trail towards the center of the island.
With his speed and skill, the redhead easily climbs the mountain in 5 minutes, and stealthily observes the scene before him from the treetops: a flat, grassy plain, with a large hole at the end opposite of Jun, about 100 feet away. Then, a small noise comes from Jun's pocket, drawing his attention:
*DING*
On the screen, the scoreboard with all of the teams appear. Then, Team Light Blue gets their 5 points replaced with a skull, and Team Black gains 5 points.
Jun just turns back to the area in front of him, as the pocket notification does not concern him currently.
Finding no enemies or monsters in the field, but sensing something's chi in the hole, Jun carefully makes his way across the field; as the hole is the only other place which would have the capture platform for his flag.
While animals and people may not have chi sensing capabilities like Jun, they can still feel it in the form of a living being's "presence." This is why, On Jun's short journey, he completely masks his chi, while also using impressive footwork to silence his footsteps. When he makes it to the edge of the rocky hole, he peers down into it, and sees the same platform that allowed him to capture the centimeter island. On the other hand, he also sees a large creature sleeping next to it.
"ZZZZZZZZZZ."
This creature looks similar to a bipedal ant-eater, several times larger than Jun, but with a humanoid jaw filled with sharp teeth, and no tail. The creature is sleeping on its back, with its arms and legs spread wide open.
The creature, called the Salt Licker, is actually a suitable guardian of the middle island for the purposes of this test. The creature's ability to sense other creatures very well, alongside its great hearing and thick fur, would make most sneak attacks against it null and void; even if the Salt Licker was sleeping.
With the creature also being strong for normal Regulars at this stage, it would require a strong team, or one with decent teamwork and planning, to take it down. Unfortunately for the creature, Jun is not your standard Regular.
'That won't be a problem,' thought Jun as he observed the Salt Licker. Then, his katana appears with a small flash of light into his left hand, and the Outsider unsheathes the blade. 4 kunai then appear in the same hand, and Jun throws 2 of them into the creature's eyes, and 2 into its neck; each kunai sinking deep into the monster's flesh. Blood squirts out in pints from the kunai stabbing through arteries in the beast's neck.
"ZZZZ—RAAAAAGGH."
The monster then wakes up, and starts flailing around from the pain inflicted by the Outsider and its loss of sight. Once the creature sits up and tries to rip out the kunai from its neck and eyes, Jun flashes right beside the beast and beheads it with a single slash.
*FLASH.*
"RAAAAG—"
*SWOOSH.*
The head flies into the cave wall:
*THUD*
…
The island is completely silent once again as the beast's body falls on the ground, into its own pool of blood.
*SQUELCH.*
Jun just looks at the body, sheathes his katana, and narrows his eyes.
"Disgusting." He says as he also gathers his kunai; not in a repulsive manner, but as if his statement was a mere fact. A thick piece of brown cloth then appears with a small flash of light into Jun's right hand, easily big enough to cover the hand. He then proceeds to takes the cloth, and wipe away the blood on the kunai. Once he is done, the redhead simply throws the cloth on the dead body of the Salt Licker, with his sheathed katana and kunai disappearing on his left hand in the same manner they appeared.
He then walks to the capture pedestal, and sticks his flag into its hole. The flag expands, but not to the same extent as last time: only to the height of Jun. Then, the scoreboard of the test shows up on Jun's pocket, and a massive change occurs after congratulatory noise emanates from the pocket:
*Ceremonial Trumpet Noises.*
Team Brown, with no points, is now at the head of the list in 1st place, and has a crown in place of points. Currently, Team Green and Team Yellow are next in 2nd and 3rd respectively, with both having 35 points, Teams Black and Dark Blue take up 4th and 5th with 20 points, 6th and 7th are Orange and White with 5 points each, and Team Pink is in 8th with 0 points. Teams Grey and Light Blue are identified as dead, with skulls put in place of points.
The King of the Sea has been decided at this moment.
—
A/N:
BOOM! Another chapter to add into the collection. Hope you enjoyed yourself as you read God of Combat, as I had fun writing it! I was actually planning on making this chapter longer, but this just felt like a good place to end it.
Now, if you were wondering, I didn't really find a suitable place to give a proper explanation on chi without it feeling…long and boring, and I still have to fine-tune any kinks with the mechanics. So, I'll leave that exposition at a later date, as chi will be a custom power system that will be an important part of the MCs power progression.
Oh, and excuse me for any inconsistencies concerning the format between chapters, as I'm figuring out what feels comfortable with my writing; which is why I will update previous chapters to have the same format as this one. Also, there probably won't be a chapter next week as I need to study for exams that are coming up.
Not much to say for now, but thank you for reading! While this A/N wasn't too long, I'll still put some future scenes in here; something special for you special people ;)
—
"Excuse me, but I bow down to no man or woman weaker than I. If you truly want me to show you any type of respect, you'll prove yourself on the battlefield. We're all Regulars here; your nobility means jackshit in the grand scheme of the Tower.
—
What is this? I knew something was wrong with her but…her chi does not lie; she is not human. Not entirely, anyway. I've never seen this before. It's like she's a parasite inhabiting the body, with her chi not fully synced up with the rest of the body. It's both disgusting and fascinating, but she's no doubt a dangerous entity to be around. I'll have to keep my eye on her for now.
—
"Fuck me." _ says in a lustfully needy tone.
Jun feels something snap hearing her like this; the normally strong, supportive, and ferocious pillar for her teammates and friends, now in dire need of his presence and touch. Jun feels his own rationality ebb away, as his desire to hear her needy voice scream his name takes over Jun's mind.
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