“Gas mask,” Chu Hwang said as they stood in front of the door to the fourth floor, the group barely having finished packing up their camp before he held out a hand to Chris.
“Uh, what?” Chris blinked as the other man glared at him in annoyance.
“Give me a gas mask,” the man growled, muttering something in Chinese.
“Oh, okay?” Chris nodded, touching his Carry-All-Bag and checking the contents, finding a set of gas masks inside, “Huh, didn’t know we had those.”
“How else are we to traverse a gas filled swamp?” Chu Hwang scoffed, grabbing the offered item from Chris’s hand and quickly putting it on.
“I was just going to make an air bubble around us to keep the gasses out,” Chris shrugged, blinking as Chu Hwang sneered at him from behind the mask on his face, “Okay, hold on, what exactly is your problem?”
“What problem?” the man growled, stomping towards the door, “We’re leaving now.”
“No, we aren’t,” Chris shook his head, the others remaining silent as they watched the confrontation, “Not until you tell me why you’re being such a brat.”
“Brat?” Chu Hwang blinked, ripping off the mask and throwing it down, glaring at Chris in anger, “Who do you think you are calling a ‘brat’?”
“You,” Chris replied flatly, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared right back at the other man, “So stop acting like one.”
“I am Chu Hwang Kong!” the man shouted, drawing his sword, “I am the proud first son of the Kong family! You shall not speak to me in that tone!”
“If you’re going to act like a spoilt brat, I will talk to you however I want,” Chris shot back, “You’ve been nothing but abrasive and rude to us since we met, and I’m tired of it. So, either you start acting like an actual person, or you can stay on this floor forever for all I care.”
“Are you threatening me?” Chu Hwang snarled, pointing his sword at Chris, “You have no right to even speak to me, you commoner! I have only tolerated your presence at the orders of my father! But no more! You shall taste my sword!”
“Oh dear,” Ayla sighed, “He’s about to get his ass kicked.”
“What?” Xiu Ming blinked, “But isn’t Mr. Sanders strong?”
“I wasn’t talking about Chris, Xiu,” the woman laughed, “Just watch.”
Chu Hwang shot forwards, sweeping his blade in a complex pattern through the air. Chris remained motionless, making the other man smirk as he mocked him.
“So, the commoner cannot even see through my most basic of techniques?” Chu Hwang laughed as he stabbed his sword forwards, “Of course not!”
There was a grating of metal as Chris’s hand shot out, grabbing the blade as it shot towards his gut, stopping a good inch from even touching his armor. Chu Hwang blinked in surprise, trying to pull the weapon back, finding it stuck fast in the other man’s grip.
“Serpent’s Bite Sword,” Chris said as he glanced down at the blade, “Rank B. It can inflict a stacking poison effect for each time you cut an opponent, dealing one poison damage every ten seconds. That means you would need to cut me at least ten times to outpace my Self-Regeneration Skill.”
“Release my sword, you filthy beast!” Chu Hwang roared, reaching behind him and drawing his second sword, the red metal glowing as he swung it at Chris’s neck.
The weapon stopped short once again as Chris caught it as well, seemingly unaffected by the heat coming off the blade.
“Searing Sword,” Chris hummed, “C Rank. Does extra fire damage.”
“Let go!” Chu Hwang screamed as he tried to yank the blades back, flailing wildly when Chris released them, sending him stumbling backwards.
“My armor is Rank S. Items of any Rank cannot even be damaged by anything two or more Ranks lower than them. In other words,” Chris continued speaking as the other man steadied himself, still glaring at him, “Even using both of your weapons, you would die of old age before you had a chance to even hurt me.”
“Say that when your head is not exposed, fool!” Chu Hwang shouted, Chris just smiling.
“Is it?” he asked, the golden band around his head suddenly shifting, unfolding until it formed into a full helm over his head and neck, Chris’s voice reverberating menacingly behind it, “How about now?”
“I didn’t know his head band thing could do that, did you?” Jessica gasped, looking at the others, who all shook their heads, “Wow, that’s pretty cool!”
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Coward!” Chu Hwang shouted, “You know you cannot face me in skill, so you hide behind a false strength! I shall cut you down now and make your sister one of my women!”
The silence hung in the air for a moment as Chu Hwang grinned, everyone looking at Elizabeth as she blinked in surprise.
“Uhm…no?” she said, “Sorry, buddy, but I’m way too gay to bother with a brat like you.”
“You are…gay?” Xiu Ming blinked as the girl nodded in confirmation.
“Tch,” Chu Hwang clicked his tongue, “That matters not, you will have no choice in this matt-!”
He was cut off as the armored fist slammed into the side of his face, throwing him into the door at speed. There was a sickening crunch as he collided with the immovable jade structure, before sliding down it, his eyes rolled back in his head as blood poured from his nose and mouth. Chris stomped over to him, lifting him up and tossing him aside like a rag, before turning to look at the rest of the group from behind his helmet.
“Heal him,” he growled, “I need to go kill something to…I don’t know.”
The others remained silent as the armored figure stormed off, a large fiery explosion rising above the trees a moment later.
“Gotta love that protective older brother instinct,” Elizabeth chuckled nervously as Ayla leaned down beside the unconscious man, using her magic on him.
------
“I am truly sorry,” Xiu Ming said as she bowed to the group, Chris still off causing explosions in the distance, “I can only apologize for my elder brother’s words and actions today.”
“It’s fine,” Elizabeth said, smiling at the other girl, “It’s not your fault your brother is a brat.”
“What was he talking about though?” Jessica asked, “He was saying something about Beth not having a choice?”
“I…” Xiu Ming said softly, looking away in shame, “I suspect that may have been my father’s doing. He has always ensured that Chu Hwang has had whatever he desires, so long as he followed our father’s orders. It would not surprise me had our father ordered him to attempt to seduce you, Miss Sanders.”
“You can call me Beth, Xiu,” Elizabeth said as she got up from where she was sitting, walking over to the other girl, who flinched back as she took her hands, “This isn’t your fault. We’ll explain everything to Chris when he gets back, and I’m sure it will be okay, alright?”
“I…I cannot,” Xiu Ming muttered, fighting back the tears in her eyes, “I cannot allow that. This is a shame upon our family, and it must be repaid.”
“Shut up,” Elizabeth said as she pulled the other girl into a hug, Jessica quickly joining her, “You don’t have to repay anything, just saying sorry is enough for me.”
“And me!” Jessica added as she hugged her tightly as well, looking back at the other two.
“None of my business,” Ayla said as she held up her hands, Alan chuckling as he nodded.
“See, they agree,” Elizabeth hummed to the shaking girl, “It’s okay to cry, you know?”
“I’m sorry,” Xiu Ming suddenly sobbed, burying her face in Elizabeth’s shoulder as she cried, “I am truly sorry!”
------
Chris growled as he unleashed an explosion, annihilating another swarm of the bee-like creatures that inhabited this floor, storming deeper into the woods. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been doing this, but he still wasn’t feeling any better.
“That brat,” he snarled, “Thinking he can just say that about my sister? He’s lucky I held back with that punch, or he wouldn’t have his useless fucking head anymore!”
The sound of buzzing filled his ears as he pushed through a particularly thick layer of bushes, looking around for the source as he emerged. Chris’s eyes went wide as he spotted the massive structure in front of him, completely hidden by the trees and undergrowth until you were almost directly on top of it. It was, in a word, a beehive. Except it was thousands of times larger than any Chris had ever seen on TV.
He didn’t have much time to marvel at it before the swarm of giant bees came hurtling towards him from the entrance, Chris reacting immediately. Fire shot from his hands, cooking the bees alive before they had the chance to reach him, his head starting to pound as he realized that he was on the verge of running out of Mana. Pulling back, Chris let the flames die, amazed by how many more bees there were, seeming like the entire swarm had come to protect their hive.
Then they charged.
Grabbing his mace, he quickly set about defending himself, beating back the monsters as they rushed him. Carapace cracked and shattered under his strength, stingers and mandibles sliding harmlessly off his armor as he continued to swing his mace into the growing swarm as it closed in around him. He growled as he beat down another bee, before the air around him suddenly cleared, a new, deeper buzz filling his ears. Looking up, Chris couldn’t help but let his mouth drop open as he stared at the creature in the air above him.
“Honey Hoarder Queen,” he gasped, “Rank…S.”
The massive monster was also flanked on both sides by more giant bees, though these ones were also stronger than the rank and file he’d been mowing through until this point.
“Rank A, Honey Hoarder Soldier,” Chris muttered, looking at the creatures, which were like smaller versions of the Queen, but had long pointed front legs, looking more like lances than anything else, “And there are ten of them…fuck.”
The Queen suddenly gave a screech, the Soldiers swooping down towards Chris as he dodged around their coordinated attack, swearing as he tried to use magic, his head just pounding in pain.
“Back to the basics it is then,” he growled, looking around as the Soldiers came in for another multi-pronged attack.
Chris dodged as best he could, which wasn’t quite good enough as several of the Soldiers managed to stab him with their elongated front legs, piercing partially through the weak points in his armor, making his gasp in pain. He reached out, managing to grab one of the Soldiers by its neck, swinging his mace at its head, blinking when the weapon just bounced off harmlessly.
“Oh, right,” he muttered, “It’s only Rank C…double fuck.”
The Soldier then lashed out at him with its front legs, Chris swearing loudly as both pierced through his armor, tearing into his flesh.
“Fuck you!” Chris shouted as he grabbed one of the lances with his other hand, slamming the Soldier down as he pulled on the limb, the creature squealing as he ripped the appendage free.
Yanking it out of himself, Chris spun the lance around and stabbed it down into the monster’s head, piercing straight through the hard carapace and twisting it, killing the monster. He panted as he looked up at the other Soldiers and the Queen, letting out a wordless yell as the bee beneath him dissolved into honey.
“Come and get some, you fucking bastards!” he roared as the Soldiers swept down to attack him again.
