******

  Loading Environment…

  Loading Environment States…

  Loading Actors…

  Loading Actors States…

  Loading Actors Memories…

  Generating Distant Actors…

  Simulation Ready.

  Simulation Starting in:

  3

  2

  1

  ******

  “Alright! Break—”

  A loud crunched echoed.

  Umbra crushed through the roasted giant bone with his jaw.

  “Fuck… you sure we want to knock that guy out?”

  “Just fuckin’ try, alright?”

  The mercenary steeled his stance and opened his mouth. “Ho, Umbra! Tristia! Break’s over! Get your asses here.”

  With a sigh, he put his gears back on and grabbed the roasted bone alongside while keep munching on them.

  Tristia stood, with quite an ease, without relying on her arms.

  The sound of bone splintered under his sharp teeth, then grounded to pieces. It was less of a man eating and more of a beast feasting on its prey.

  “Fuck me… that was Stone Bear’s thigh bone. I can’t even cut them with my poleaxe. What the bloody hell his jaws made of?”

  “L-Let’s just go…”

  They continued on their way. Soon, a path started to form. “Okay, keep your eyes peeled!” the archer shouted. “Ain’t want to get ambushed by the fuckin’ rebels.”

  However, instead of joking around, they just geared up and went on.

  Tristia sighed. She knew it was because of her, but she didn’t seem to care either. What matter for her the most was that Umbra did not run away on his own..

  Similarly, Umbra did not think that much either. It was not the weight of his shoulder, there was still a thorn in his mind, distracting him.

  Once again, his mind started to drift elsewhere. His eyes started to become hollow. He kept tracking and following any movement, even his legs stopped when needed. However, he was not there.

  As they stopped for the night, Umbra just slung everything down and started a fire. He did not notice that the other mercenaries started another fire not very far from his location.

  Tristia walked towards him.

  Even as she was standing close to him, he still did not look up. His eyes kept staring at the bracelet.

  “Uh… hey…” she called.

  No reaction.

  “Uh… hey, Umbra?”

  “Aye?” he looked up.

  “You mind if I join you?”

  “Go ahead.”

  “Alright…” she sat across of him.

  The fire continued to crackle as Umbra fed it more branches.

  “So… you don’t eat bones again?”

  He glanced at her. “You’re worried that I leave with the hides.”

  “Fuck…” she sighed, “guess it was that obvious, eh?”

  “Very much so.”

  “Still… call me curious, why did you take this hunt? Can’t believe an Infernal running around as a hired sword.”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Out of curiosity, perhaps?” she leaned back. “You don’t seem to be the type to hoard… I doubt you’re married, too… no offense…”

  “It is… a fun story,” he scratched his temple.

  “Same reason you’re kinda off?”

  “Aye, it kinda get into my mind,” he grunted.

  “Wanna tell me, then?”

  “I supposed it’s alright,” he sighed. “I got a bit too drunk… well, a bit might be an understatement.”

  “So, I guess you’re now on the run cause you plowed some seed into a noble’s daughter or some big fish? Hm… s’pose not be possible since your kind was kinda sterile… was it?”

  “Aye, we’re bit hard to make spawns but no, not that… I ain’t fuckin with those peacocks, eh? Too soft for my taste.”

  “Worse, then?” she opened her canteen.

  “Depends on how you see it…” he grunted. “I… accidentally hired the whole cathouse… that includes… uh, Big Madam who’s… their pimp.”

  She coughed, bursting some water from her mouth.

  The others mercenaries also coughed, some even wheezed.

  Umbra glanced to the mercenaries, then to Tristia. “As I say… a bit drunk might be an understatement.”

  “Y-You’re fuckin’ with me!” she wiped her mouth. “Hell, you ain’t seem the drinking type either!”

  “I am the drinking type, but—”

  “You’re a fuckin’ Infernal!” she cut him off. “I see your kind drink fuckin machine oil and alcohol like bloody water!”

  “I know, it’s just…” he sighed. “I don’t fuckin’ know how, alright?”

  “Then, drugged? Like… what kind of drugs worked on your kind?”

  “Ain’t sure, but that’s…” he paused.

  “What?”

  “Know this saying… to drug an Infernal, be an Infernal?”

  “Aye?”

  “Well… that pimp is a bloody Infernal…”

  “Okay… but, like why? Why the bloody hell she drug you?”

  “I don’t know why either.”

  “And…” she stared at him, “how the hell you have money for this expedition?”

  “Well, I sold my armor… and some of my weapons.”

  “You sold your… what?”

  He lifted up his coat, revealing the same black scale covered most of his torso underneath his long coat. “Have… or had a baton and a spear before…” he grabbed his short saber. “Sold them… and the rest just enough to buy this one saber. Anyway…” he exhaled loudly, “you asked why I am here… paying the rest of my drunken debt.”

  “No, like seriously… that can’t be the truth…”

  “Think as you want…”

  She paused. “Wait… wait… back at Gambit when we met… you’re gone for like a whole night… is that when you fucked the whole whorehouse?”

  “No… it was before I accepted this hunt. I rather not mention where…”

  “So, where were you back at Gambit?”

  “I was drinking with some Metal Men… then, some other business…” he shrugged. “Odd fellows and quite a pair of chippers, too, but, they ain’t that bad.”

  “Yeah… drinking machine oil,” she scoffed.

  “I could, but no, they have rice wine… a bit sweet for my taste, but it’s alright.”

  She shrugged. “As you say…”

  “Look, you damn broad…” Umbra rubbed his nose, “You don’t fuckin’ have to believe my story, eh? There’s a reason why I prefer to start my own fire.”

  “Fine…”

  “Good.”

  “But…” she let her words trail.

  “What again?”

  “If you story true… then, those whores… I bet most of them wouldn’t able to walk… right?”

  “So, now, you believe me?”

  “Just a passing thought,” she shrugged.

  “Aye… which double my debt…”

  “I could see that… your kind are huge,” she rolled her eyes. “and… you’re kinda tall even for an Infernal… wait, was it your mating season?”

  “You know a lot about my kind,” he glanced at her. “Ever hook up with one or something? Or a friend with one?”

  “Well… not a friend… more like, my former colleagues… she did hook up with a Fire Infernal…”

  “That can’t be good…”

  “Oh, boy… they ain’t stop till morning… oh, she’s a War Born, by the way…”

  “That kind of explain why she was still alive…” he sighed.

  “Yeah… she’s a bit tall for a War Born, and that Fire Infernal is on the shorter end…” she scratched her temple. “So… was it your… heat?”

  “I am an Ice Infernal. I don’t go into heat.”

  “Oh… well, that also explains your height…”

  “How about you, then? Why are you here?”

  “Well… it’s much more mundane? Simple? Not as… grand as yours… like, at fuckin’ all…” she racked back and forth, sighing.

  “Nothing wrong with that,” he shrugged. “Wanna tell me, then?”

  “I guess… well, I kinda want a house.”

  “A house?” Umbra looked up to her.

  “Not like the entire building, but like… just a place of my own… not rent, not loan…” she looked up. “So… even if it’s just a room in a shared building… as long as it’s my own room…”

  “There’s still taxes, though.”

  “Ah, fuck… right…” she grunted.

  “Any idea where?”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Nope,” she shrugged. “Gambit looks pretty nice though. A free city basically… lots of works or hunts… but ain’t know yet…” she looked at him and shrugged, “Don’t want to rush it…”

  “Understandable. It is a lot of Shells drained…”

  “Aye…”

  Umbra then looked up, briefly catching some gazes shot towards them. He expected it to be an awkward averted gaze or just a bit nod since they heard everything. This time, however, he noticed a glint of bloodlust in their eyes—fear, envy, some hesitation, but more importantly, malice.

  The mercenaries had noticed his gazes, trying to hint to one another with their eyes. They looked at one another, then to Umbra. Then, they hissed and glared at one another.

  Umbra slowly reached for his weapons.

  They, too, noticed his movement.

  The tension was so thick that Tristia could sense it. She slung her crossbow forward and cranked it slowly, hoping not to attract attention.

  The crossbow’s gears made a loud clattering sound.

  Half of the mercenaries sprung up and rushed them, the others half followed a beat slower.

  Umbra snatched his weapons, then reached for his helmet.

  Just before Umbra managed to grab the helmet, an arrow struck his steel helmet. The arrow threw it aside with a loud clattering sound as it kept rolling away into the darkness.

  The mercenaries quickly moved around, as the archer picked another arrow from the quiver.

  Umbra and Tristia stood up, standing back-to-back.

  Tristia put the bolt in her crossbow, but did not aim at them, yet.

  The mercenaries had completely surrounded them.

  “You want the hides?” Umbra brought his backpack forward with his right hand. “Go on ahead, then.”

  “What? Are you nuts?!” Tristia hissed.

  “So, you rather die here?”

  “No, but…”

  The mercenaries looked at one another. They did not think if both of them just forfeited the hides entirely.

  But, one stood forward.

  “That is a bit too late, pal…”

  “Hm… is that so?” Umbra grabbed Tristia’s left hand with his right hand for a brief moment.

  Tristia could feel Umbra’s arm tensing. Not just his arm, but also his legs, like he was preparing for a large burst of energy. She poked his back with her elbow. “You lead…” she whispered.

  “Well…” Umbra tilted his head. “We ain’t got nothing else—” suddenly, he threw the heavy backpack to one of them, hoping to distract the mercenaries. He made a feint to the front, before immediately rushed to the other side.

  The mercenary did not expect the sudden throw and was knocked down by the sheer weight.

  However, just before Umbra started his momentum, two bolts struck his right knee and bounced. “Gh…” but, the sudden pain weakened his footing as he stumbled forward. He braced his fall with his left leg. He tensed his right leg, forcing himself to move again, but another bolt struck the side of his skull.

  The bolt bounced against his skull, barely even cutting into his skin, but it was enough to knock some wind into him.

  The mercenaries who was about to brace his charge fell back to their formation.

  “Fuck…” Umbra shook his head several times.

  The downed mercenary then stood up as they dragged Umbra’s bag out of the way.

  Umbra touched the side of his head.

  A small tint of blood.

  Knowing that they were trapped, Tristia quickly aimed at them, but not raising her crossbow yet. She knew she had to time it perfectly.

  “Nothing personal—”

  Tristia flicked her arms forward and pulled the trigger.

  The heavy bolt pierced through the mercenary’s helmet.

  “FUCK!” but the metal plate had slowed the bolt down so much that it barely have any power left to pierce anything inside the skull. “DON’T JUST STAND THERE! SURROUND THEM!”

  It was not even a fight, it was a hunt.

  The mercenaries used a three-layered formation. The first layer mostly consisted of the Grass Walkers in steel armors supported with some Mountain People. The second layer was the opposite, almost entirely Mountain People with the Grass Walkers in steel armor. With the last and third layer are the archer and crossbowmen who actively circled around trying to find an angle.

  Umbra could not move away without endangering Tristia. Even if Tristia could match his pace easily, he couldn’t even break through the first layer.

  Umbra lunged forward with a quick snap of his right wrist as he extended his arm, almost doubling his range in less than a second.

  Tristia noticed his movement and followed along.

  The mercenary did not even bother to block and dove deeper into his range, aiming for a double.

  Umbra’s saber bounced against the steel plate as he deflected the poleaxe with his left saber, but ended up being stabbed to the right side with a spear and a poleaxe glanced against his left side.

  Tristia used her back-up sword to deflect the poleaxe, but the sheer mass still broke through her uneven posture, but enough for it to miss Umbra’s chest entirely.

  Umbra thrust his tails forward to the mercenary.

  An arrow struck his forehead and bounced, briefly disorienting him and leaving another small puncture wound.

  The mercenary just fall back as his serrated tails glanced through his plate.

  The tempo was reset and Umbra was merely draining his own stamina.

  The mercenaries returned to their formation and just stood there.

  Tristia elbowed his back again and slung her crossbow forward.

  He nodded and used one of his tail as her shield around her.

  “The broad! Focus on the broad!”

  “Tch…” Tristia cranked her crossbow as fast as she could as Umbra tried to block every arrows and bolts heading to her with his arms.

  “The bolt…” unlike when against his skull or knees, the arrow and bolts have enough power to stick to his skin. “Don’t bother his skull or bones! Shoot the meaty parts! Arms! Legs!”

  “Not him! Shoot the damn broad!”

  However, Umbra could not provide a full coverage for her with only one tail.

  Tristia raised her crossbow, blocking a spear thrust from the side while drawing her sword and attempted a quick counter.

  The spearman stepped back. He noticed a brief movement to the right side and swatted his spear to it, deflected a heavy tail that whipped towards him.

  The durable metal limbs of the crossbow deflect the spear to the side, without harming the weapons. However, Tristia had to start reloading it again.

  The spearman grunted, his right hand trembled due to the concussion caused by deflecting Umbra’s tail. His solid steel spear, luckily, was barely damaged from the impact.

  “Rest,” another spearman stepped forward, replacing him.

  “Alright, thanks…” he went to the second layer of the formation.

  Umbra and Tristia froze. They couldn’t win, not without taking a big risk. This fight was mathematically impossible for them.

  Umbra stared at his saber, his grip tightened. If only he did not sell his spear or baton… perhaps, they still had a chance.

  Umbra eyed the Mountain People on the first layer of the formation. Surely, they would not be risking to dive into his range when he attacked. If only he could break through one of them. This time, he just tensed up his left leg, hoping that Tristia would notice without any hint.

  The mercenary did not seem to notice him tensing his leg.

  Umbra pivoted his feet towards a female spearman. Her smaller stature and her race disadvantage in terms of strength made her the weakest link possible. Even then, he could probably take the hit against her imperfect wooden spear if she decided to stand her ground.

  With a sudden burst, Umbra lunged forward to the female spearman, hoping to break through her spear or forced her to move.

  However, she just drove the blunt shaft of her spear against the ground, then aimed the spearhead to him.

  Umbra stabbed his tails to the ground, hoping to stop the momentum, but it was too late.

  The spearhead pierced through his skin and fat tissue right where the scale did not protect him, but it was not enough to pierce his muscle.

  The wooden spear shaft broke under the pressure, forcing the female spearman to retreate to the second layer while brandishing a sword.

  Another mercenary stepped in to replace her.

  The encirclement moved to the side where Umbra dashed, keeping him at the center.

  Luckily, Tristia was quick enough to follow him.

  Umbra grunted as he pulled out the broken spear from his torso. The spearhead was mangled and bent. Out of frustration, Umbra threw the broken spear at the mercenary who just swatted it away with his poleaxe.

  What they could do at the time being was to wait for the mercenaries to make blunders and only if they made a huge blunder.

  “H-Hey… you okay?” a mercenary in armor approached her.

  “Yeah…” the woman grunted.

  “Good… so, uh…”

  “OY! Get a move on!” another mercenary shouted. “Get to your fuckin formation!”

  “Right… I’ll go get a couple of rocks to throw…”

  Now, the mercenaries became more active, forcing them to static block. They attacked at almost at the very same time, making sure that Umbra could not react to everything at once.

  Umbra would throw a quick counter that often missed, but then, a bolt hit Umbra’s shoulder while a poleaxe punched through his left trousers.

  If Umbra focused on blocking, he would also be in a disadvantages. Even if he had four limbs, he could not see in all directions, and would ended up getting stabbed somewhere else.

  In some desperate attempt, Umbra parried a strike with his off-hand and lunged forward with a stab with his right saber. He tried to put more strength and his body weight to his strike.

  However, the lighter nature of his sabers did not carry too much blunt force behind them. Even if he went for a stab, the saber just bent against the steel plate.

  The best damage that he could do were few mere dents on the steel armor. Even if somehow he managed to clip his saber at the armpit or necks where the steel plate did not cover him, the chainmail stopped the blade and the thick under armor padding will disperse most of the blunt force.

  He might be able to punch through the chainmail with a stab dagger with his brute strength if somehow he got into grappling distance. However… at that distance, would it be faster for him to just crushed through their helmets?

  On the other hand, Tristia had to rely on Umbra as she did not have enough room to dodge. She couldn’t draw her crossbow without risking another rush and more injury. The best she could do was to parry some attacks to ease up the burden on Umbra’s durability. But, for how long?

  Umbra also kept his tails close and made them as a defensive or countering tools, instead of offensive. He could lash his tails for an attack, but he would risk more counter attack.

  Their choice of lighter armors was even worse as they were forced into static block instead of bobbing and weaving around.

  As the day grew darker, exhaustion started to strike Tristia. Her legs were shivering as she was forced to stand for hours now. She had to gamble something.

  Tristia parried another attacked as Umbra shielded her from a bolt with his saber. She briefly heard two soft thud from his body. Then, an arrow which probably hit Umbra skull, dropped at the side. She looked around in a hurry.

  All three crossbowmen were reloading.

  She knew it was a chance, “Brace your shoulder!” she sheathed her sword and put her arms above his shoulders.

  “Wha—” Umbra almost fall over as she jumped her legs to his waist, but quickly stabilized as he stabbed his tails to the ground briefly to anchor himself.

  She quickly climbed on top of him and sat on his shoulder. Her hands swiftly cranked the lever on her crossbow.

  “Shoot her!” the mercenaries rushed in swiftly, trying to shake Umbra down. However, they still made sure to be aware of his counter.

  Umbra ignored some of the attacks and raised his left saber to shield Tristia, making sure to keep an eye on the archer.

  The mercenaries pressed forward even bolder, knowing now that Umbra would not be able to counter, but they did not dare to overstay. A quick dash in followed by an attack then a quick step backwards were all they could do.

  That was not enough for Umbra to even flinch.

  “He wouldn’t fuckin move!”

  “ARCHER!”

  The archer aimed his arrow to Tristia instead of Umbra. Yet, he had no clear view due to the saber blocking his sight. He ran around, trying to get a clear shot, but Umbra kept tracking his position. “I can’t fuckin shoot!”

  “Why can’t you shoot?!”

  “The saber blocked my aim!”

  “Just fuckin shoot!”

  “Fine!” he released the string.

  As expected, the arrow bounced against the saber.

  “What the hell did I tell you?!” he grabbed another arrow from his quiver, “Bring that saber down, would you?!”

  “Crossbows! Where’s your fuckin shots?!”

  “Still reloading!” most fumbled under the pressure. Unlike Tristia’s crossbow that used crank, they had to manually pulled the string.

  “Reload fuckin’ faster, then!”

  “OY! Protect the backline!”

  The armored mercenaries in second layer quickly moved in to guard the archer and crossbowmen.

  Umbra blocked forward and to the side with the remaining saber and tails, but ended up getting stab at his back, yet, they barely even made him move.

  It was a square hit. “What the…” but it did not feel like stabbing a man.

  The spear didn’t even manage to pierce through Umbra’s scale.

  “Fuck!” he had to dashed backwards, avoiding his tail. “He’s not budging!”

  Another full-plate mercenary dashed in for a quick thrust to his front torso where it was injured with her polearm.

  The spearhead skipped through his scale, pierced through his fat, and stopped at his muscle.

  She flinched, as she could even barely passed through his muscle. As even at his gaping open wound, it barely felt like stabbing flesh. The fat felt like a dense layer of leather, and the muscle seemed like trying to pass through a tight-woven fiber.

  She immediately jumped back, but Umbra managed to lash his tail to the left side of the weapon.

  She managed to hold the weapon, but the sheer force yanked her arm to the side, accidentally hitting another mercenary.

  “Watch it!” luckily for them, the steel plate stopped the polearm at its track.

  “Sorry!” she grunted, feeling the strain on her right shoulder.

  “Go to the—”

  That gave enough time for Tristia to fully reloaded her crossbow. She looked around quickly, noting a crossbowman just reload the bolt.

  “DOWN!”

  “Done!” the crossbowman aimed at them, not knowing Tristia has got him on her sight.

  “Down, you fool!” one heavily-armored mercenary pushed the crossbowman down.

  Tristia’s heavy bolt bit into the back armor, but even then, it simply did not have enough momentum to go through.

  “Fuck!” Tristia quickly reload her crossbow, only to see that another crossbowman was aiming at her. “Shit—”

  Umbra’s tail coiled around Tristia’s torso and pulled her down as the bolt barely missed its mark.

  Tristia quickly gained her footing and returned to stand back-to-back against him.

  The mercenary stepped back and maintained formation. “Good! Take it slow now!”

  “Don’t move…” another mercenary pulled out the bolt out of his friend’s armor. No blood was visible on the bolt’s tapered tip.

  “Uh… appreciate the assist, but you okay, mate?”

  “Dandy… I have this made thicker than bloody average steel suit, mate,” he slammed the steel chest plate, “ain’t no bolt gonna pierce through.”

  “It pierced your armor…”

  “What?!” he ran his hands across the back plate, feeling a hole in his armor “What the hell is that crossbow!?”

  “You’re harmed or not?” another asked.

  “No! But, this—”

  “That’s why we need to get the broad first, aye?”

  “Fuck… yeah…” he looked around. “Oy! Make sure you ain’t reloading at the same time!”

  “Aye!”

  The tempo of the battle slowed down to a crawl, once again favoring the mercenaries.

  What Tristia had done just wasted more of their energy and made her opponents learnt. “Fuckin hell…” she grunted, drawing her sword again.

  ******

  Research Log 2.

  Agent: [REDACTED]. Code name: Creep. Class: [REDACTED]

  Subject 0 is in cathouse debt, huh? We will have to note whether the simulator still remember about this in the future. And, Subject 1 wants a house…

  Somewhat… each have a believable motivation… debt for Subject 0 and stability for Subject 1…

  Moving on…War— I almost forgot.

  The simulator currently has a feature to run the scenario at several times speed, up to ten times… but currently, it does not support that due to hardware limitations…

  (Chair’s wheels rolling)

  It is a shame, I know, but we are still testing this new simulator… if the result is promising… then, I can write a proposal to [REDACTED] for upgrade.

  Okay… back to War Born.

  (Finger tapping)

  Note to future self or future Agent. Is this race original from the simulator? Or just another new variable mixed together?

  Moving on to the combat. I must say that it is good. The math and the gears matched up quite well, and I do not expect for the simulator to treat the nameless mercenaries the same as the primary Subjects.

  What I do have a problem with is Subject 1’s climbing maneuver. That is very much a death sentence in real life. But, they are not normal humans, aren’t they?

  All in all, I suppose that the new simulator is indeed working quite well.

  I must say that I will not be surprised if the simulator will have to find another subjects to be its primary point of views after the next session.

  Though, I prefer new controlled subjects rather than a random generated character being the primary point of view. There are several reasons why we always choose hardy model races instead of common humans.

  Nevertheless, I have sent a proposal to the [REDACTED] for clearance of adding new Subjects. Shall Subject 0 and Subject 1 expire in the future, we are ready to continue.

  ******

  ---□h?is ?s█?our l??t c???nce t?? leav??---