“Coming!” Regina shouted back.
"Lend me your ears because I don’t like to repeat myself,” Marius said. “We'll strike Friday evening. Until then, I want everyone to rehearse a role I will give you. I want you to become that persona. Let's start with you, princess," Marius turned toward Regina. "Sexy cheerleader, talking a lot, engrossed only in her priorities. Make a reproach to Peter using that tone."
"I have no reproach to make Peter. He's perfect," Regina retorted. "I mean… he'd be… If only he'd buy non-aluminum antiperspirants. And maybe read fewer books and pay me more attention. Who reads books nowadays? You can see the movie, right?" she puckered her lips.
You bastard!
"Atta girl!" Marius beamed. "Now, Ariana. I want you to be a Karen."
"But I don't want to be a Karen; I want to be the sexy bimbo!" Ariana yelled.
"That's the spirit. Naomi? Happles nerd, distracted, always phasing out."
"Sorry?" the girl raised his eyes from the journal she read.
"Perfect. Just perfect. The other Peter. Unhinged bank robber."
"Hands up!" Peter from Two roared. "Put the money in the sack if you want to live!"
Marius frowned, grabbing his chin. "Too direct. The unhinged is missing. Keep to the prompt. Yell like you'd be five feet tall, frustrated and compensating with a big gun, waving it all over, to assert your superiority."
"G-gi…me… your m-money!" the doppelganger shouted with a shrilled, sharp voice, his body trembling.
"Better. Rehearse with the mirror."
"What about me?" Peter asked. "What role do I have?"
"You and Will have special parts. We’ll talk separately."
Pretending to be someone else for two days was so tiring that Regina slept like a log. Peter didn't see any 'action' during that interval. Finally, the time to 'strike' came. Marius and Peter Two were the first to go out, and then William and Peter, five minutes apart. The girls had their own schedules later.
Peter had memorized the city's plan and rehearsed his moves in his mind countless times. Wearing casual clothes, wide sunglasses, and a baseball cap, he walked to a café across the bank. He ordered an apple pie and a smoked black tea. That was one of the things Cultivators did best.
On the street, passersby went to their businesses, moving between shops. Few cars were allowed in that residential area; some were magical, some normal. Ten minutes later, on the clock, Ariana—with Shredder at his minimum size on a leash—entered a haute couture shop next to the café.
Soon enough, her scream reached Peter: "What do you mean we can't pay with gold?"
"Please, Your Highness, we cannot take gold directly. The bank across the street can change it for you at an advantageous price. I'll accompany you." A shop clerk rushed to open the door for her. Taking Shredder in her arms, Ariana crossed the street with steps that could put to shame any fashion model, ignoring the cars slowing down around her.
Peter could see everything through the bay windows, albeit the sounds were muffled. Entering the bank, the girl went directly to the desk and cut the line. "Change this for me," the girl threw a bar of fifty ounces of gold on the counter."
"She's a visiting princess, from…" the clerk pointed a finger upward.
"Bambolina Hohenstuff," Ariana forwarded her gloved fingers to be kissed by the bank's clerk.
She's winging it.
Around Ariana, a commotion started, and many patrons petted Shredder or commented about his cute appearance. Except for Peter, the pup was the only one allowed to use a magical skill, and it was about charm and charisma.
Yet the charm didn't last long. A car stopped abruptly in front of the bank, with loud brake noises. Dressed in his leather biker suit and helmet, the doppelganger rushed up the stairs with a huge gun in hand. There were two guards at the entrance. Peter Two pistol-whipped them before they had the time to react. Both collapsed unconscious.
The crowd on the street dispersed, everyone running for their lives. The ones in the bank hit the floor. Peter threw a coin on the table and hid in a nearby alley.
"Put everything of value in this!" Peter Two threw the bank's clerks Peter One’s backpack. "Only gold. DO IT!" he screamed.
"What do you think you're doing, halfling?" Ariana—the only customer standing up—boomed. "I was here first!"
Peter Two shot her. The girl fell backward, with a spray of fake blood erupting from Shredder, who was now in her arms. The real Peter gasped, even though he knew the bullets were blanks.
"Noooo…. My baby… My baby!" Ariana screamed, falling on her knees and trying to do mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on the pup.
"Hurry!" Peter Two yelled at the clerks. "Show me the director's office."
It was Peter's signal to move. He entered Stealth and Warped up to the highest floor. There was a balcony, and William was supposed to open the door. He peaked through the curtains. Naked, William was servicing a curvacious lady in her forties. Or a hundred and forties, one could never know with Cultivators. Judging from her moans, the deed had just finished. A phone rang. The woman took it from the nightstand and answered.
"We had a robbery, Madam," a faint voice said. "A male halfling with a gun, he just left. I called the police; they're on their way."
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
"What did he take?" the woman asked.
"Gold, four hundred ounces or more… and the art, Madam… The Monet in your office and the statuette."
"Bloody thieving halflings!" the woman hissed. "That art is priceless… I'll be down in a minute… You have to go," she said to William.
"I can wait," the man said.
"Here, buy yourself a present," she shoved a handful of Cultivator-issued banknotes in his hands. "Dress. I can't leave anyone alone in the apartment. Company rules."
Although maintaining Stealth in broad daylight was consuming Mana-like sponge water, Peter kept it on and ate a Mana Pill to prolong the duration as much as possible. Finally, William and the woman were gone. He entered the room when a gust of wind pushed the curtain away. If there were cameras, nothing would seem suspicious.
It was a studio, not a big one. Not a home, a place to relax during lunch break or spend the night after a long day of work. On a desk was a sort of laptop. Peter touched it with his index.
So fast?
Going back to the balcony, Peter Warped to the second tallest building in town, then to their hotel on the terrace of their apartment. The bay windows had been left wide open. As soon as he arrived, he entered the suite, exited Stealth, changed his clothes hurriedly, and returned to the terrace, wearing only boxers and holding his phone.
The buzzing of the mana bolts below was resoundingly loud. The police here were at least of rank six. On the largest avenue, a convertible car was reversing at full speed. Marius—a racing helmet on his head—was driving it with his feet, sitting on the top of the chair, and shooting two guns simultaneously at the pursuing flying Cultivators. Next to him but facing the other side, Peter Two was shooting his weapon into the asphalt, making cars swerve out of their path.
The car intended to make a hard left, but at the last second, a tire exploded. The momentum made it go up the stairs, then through the hotel lobby, skimming over the infinity water pool, missing a few patrons by inches, and then plunging into the abyss of the waterfall below.
"Hey, watch your driving!" Regina shouted, dressed in a swimming suit, running out of the water. A Cultivator law enforcer landed nearby to ensure everyone was safe, and the two others descended parallel to the waterfall to check the car.
The following hours were hectic. The news showed footage from the bank, but instead of concentrating on the money, it was all about how the puppy's collar saved his and Ariana's lives. The wounded guard, taken away by a flying ambulance, had his own moment of glory. Swimmers from the pools were interviewed. Regina, most of all. Her two-piece suit made her splendor shine, and the news reporters spent much time asking her questions just to be around her. Peter offered the police his phone footage, showing the car and two silhouettes falling to their doom into the ocean's depths.
Finally, when the night came, they gathered in the living room with a glass in hand.
"Cheers," Marius toasted. "Impeccable. Congratulations, everyone. And thanks for beaming us up so fast, Peter. I must say… the hardest part was trusting you with our lives."
"You’re welcome," Peter said, raising his glass.
Peter choked, and Regina had to pat his back a few times. What class?
You're kidding me! Is that such a thing?
I guess stranger things had happened.
"Why are we still here?" Regina asked. "We cleared the quest, haven't we?"
“Maybe stealing secrets means learning them,” Peter suggested. “We have no idea what we stole yet.”
“Naomi?" Marius gestured an invitation. “Do you have something for us?”
"S-sure," the girl nodded. "I have looked at the data. It’s bad.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“The Sect who rules us has two main factions. The one in power is the Martial faction. Body and Spirit cultivators focused on combat. They aim to train a human army and raid other sects and planets for valuables.
"The second faction, the Trade party, whose data we stole, opposes that. They’re mostly Mind cultivators, have a lot of money, and would like to stick with the status quo and do business around the galaxy. They're willing to offer us more freedom, and some governments secretly collaborate with them."
"So, they're better, right?" Regina asked.
Naomi shook her head. "They control all major Colleges except ours. The Culling is their idea. There are fifteen hundred pairs of students involved. The data is scheduled for Halloween, but a few test subjects are already killing their doubles."
“Why does a trade faction train assassins?” Marius asked.
"For a coup against the Martial sect,” Naomi said, visibly shaken.
“This is stupid,” Peter from Two said. “How can a bunch of kids kill high-ranked Body cultivators?”
“They’re not so soft. One is ranked five in Body already and has killed her doppelganger’s family in a pilot test. And they’ll strike soft targets to create diversions. Melinda is the first on the targets list."
"Oh, no!" Ariana gasped. "She's Grandmaster Master Li’s daughter.”
“The guy with the lightning?” Peter asked.
“Yeah, the strongest Cultivator. He’s a prick but loves her. When she was a kid, Li’s brother paid a Rogue faction to poison Melinda and her mother. Melinda survived. Grandmaster Li killed his brother and every Rogue in retaliation. We should let her know!" Ariana stated, clenching her fists.
"Woof!" Shredder agreed.
"Not so fast, boy," Peter said. "Let’s hear the whole story first. Go on, Naomi."
"The Martial cultivators are as bad. They were the ones behind the students' deaths on the first trip."
"And they have assassins hunting Resistance," Peter remembered the man he killed.
"There’s more. Soon, they'll make us compete in duels in an Arena. They’ll randomly pick a tenth of the matches to be to the death."
"Pff…" Peter sighed, letting his head on the backrest in disappointment. “Both factions are really bad…”
"Not really," Peter Two said. "The Trade faction is better. Their method is bad. We should ally with them and convince them to call the Culling off. The Resistance could take care of the diversions."
That’s a long shot, buddy. If you ask me, we should find a way to leave the tower and go to one of your planets. Your big brother will know what to do.
"I think we should explore the fog further before taking any decision," Peter said. “I don’t feel comfortable allying with assholes. If they’re willing to make students murder other students, they won’t rule with kindness and flowers once they take control.”
Peter from Two shrugged, then nodded. There were signs the rest approved Peter’s plan, either through nods or Yeahs.
Sometimes, I wish you talked less and read more. It’s Machiavelli.
Shut up and let me read the blue text.
Quest cleared. Prepare for teleportation in one minute. Each participant will be transported to a location best suited for them. Please be sited to avoid nausea.
General rewards: Priceless art. XP. Share of gold. Bonus for showmanship: +2 APs in every stat.
Bespoke rewards for Peter Hillden:
+ 20 in Luck. Your Luck has reached the Master tier. +5 levels. Two Epic skills unlocked in the Elemental domain: Glide (Air Domain, Novice)*. True Aura (Lightning, Novice).
* This counts as your only possible skill unlockable in this domain.
Next quest: Deal with Fafnir. You’ll be summoned in due time.
What the heck?
A second after Peter read the text, the light came. His group was transported back to the campus, mixed with the students returning from the field trip. Kostel gave them a thumbs up and, when asked, confirmed that no one had noticed their absence. They spent a quiet evening around the campfire, and the next morning, they returned to Earth.