Chapter 81: Bits of Discord
———Lynda———
<12: 10 pm>
“Huh? Are you for real?” I asked, bewildered that he is suddenly so outspoken on his problem.
“Of course I am. I have no idea what to do with her.” He said while sounding a bit irritated. “Seriously, why do we even need to go down there? Got dimes for that shit.”
“No idea, why is your sister even like that?” Trener said, about as confused as I am. “Like, I can see the thrill behind fighting monsters, but it’s not like the payout is worth the effort.”
“No idea. She’s being so weird about this. She wants to play and I come along because she might get in trouble, and she’s treating me like a jackass, can you believe it?” In her defense, he isn’t one to be polite or gentle, so there might be some misunderstanding there. “Just once, I joined her out of the goodness of my heart and I got scorned for it. What am I supposed to do, man.”
“Hmm… Well at least you know to get someone else’s opinion for this awkward situation.” I just sorta say it to keep this conversation going.
“The hell are you insinuating?” He said, reading between the lines now of all times.
“How about we try going into a massive group? I heard the Perfect Class is doing it a few times.” Trener suggested. Would that really help with anything aside from just being a massive group intervention?
“...I don’t even know if she’s in the mood for something like that. Can you guys convince her in my stead? I have no luck on that front.” Seriously, why does Histon sound so defeated about this topic? He was never the one to not feel full of himself.
“That bad? I guess I could try…” Trener said, not promising anything definitive. Wouldn’t she figure out if someone who is his classmate made an odd request like that? Is there a way to go about this? Something that wouldn't be traced back to us immediately?
“Why are we suddenly dealing with family drama anyway?” Rousi meanwhile doesn’t seem to particularly care about this ordeal. I’d rather not get involved as well, but I’d also rather not ignore someone’s call for help. Unfortunately, I am not one for complex planning or thinking.
“Well. You guys can figure it out, I’m thinking about burning the calories off.” I said, walking off and aiming for the teleport pad. Time to go to the training room and get that matchmaking going, that’ll help clear my mind of this predicament of my rude friend.
*Beep* *Shine*
Back here again, time to put my stuff down, grab an axe, and then start up the system. Let’s see who I’m getting this time.
“<Match Found. Opponent: Emmie Pennela.>” Are you fucking kidding-
*Zoom*
“Oh? I didn’t expect to see you again so soon.” She said with a sadistic-looking smile on her. Just my luck to run into her again. That giant scythe on her might not be sharp as the real one, but it is still a rather intimidating weapon. “Let’s see how long you’ll last this time.”
“Wait, hold on!” I blurted out, feeling very nervous but something just came to my mind! “Can I ask you something?”
“Hmm…” She seems interested in what she probably thinks is a very audacious act. “If you satisfy me, then perhaps I’ll hear you out.”
“<Three, two, one…>” Well, that gives me some motivation, at least. “<Begin.>”
The barrier lowered and the fight truly began!
*Dash* *Clash* *Clang* *Block* *Parry*
“Ugh!” Just how long am I supposed to keep this up exactly? Each strike I have to intercept makes it feel like my arms are gonna crack! I need to change my approach quickly. What have I never done during our battle that might catch her off-guard? I need to do something risky if I actually want her cooperation!
*Dash* *Evade*
“Get back here!” She said like a madwoman, running at me with the giant weapon like an over-the-top slasher villain. Come on, think of something! You can’t run forever!
*Leap*
She’s jumping right at me! Is she crazy? That’s so heavily telegraphed that I could probably counter her.
*Evade* *Swing* *Parry*
“What!?” She reacted way too quickly and swung her weapon back at me, making me almost lose my footing. That counter-swing is way too strong for me to adjust to!
*Leap*
Before she could try hitting me again, I jumped to the other side of the field. Damn it. While her movements are rather predictable, her reaction speed is too fast for my attack to hit. I need a different approach!
*Leap*
She’s jumping right at me again! I need to do something different… How about-!
*Evade* *Punch*
I dodged the incoming attack and instead of swinging my axe which might be too slow to connect this time as well, I hit her with a left hook to the face. I can even see her expression shift into one of surprise.
*Swing* *Evade*
Using that brief moment of vulnerability, I clumsily swung my axe using my right hand towards her, but she retreated before it could connect.
At this point I need to be even more unorthodox or even impractical!
*Throw* *Dash* *Swat*
I threw my axe at her and she swatted it away with her weapon, occupying just enough time for me to close the gap!
*Grab* *Leap*
I grabbed the axe that was flung away as I kept running and using all the strength in my legs to close the remaining gap between the two of us.
*Swing* *Block*
I did an overhead swing that she blocked with the handle of the scythe, using only my right hand to hold onto the weapon while the left-!
*Swing* *Grab*
“Ah.” She then grabbed my left arm before the attack could connect. I know full well that a similar trick might not work, but I didn’t expect her to anticipate it!
*Swing* *Crash* *Swing* *Slam*
“Argh!” She swung me around like a ragdoll! It hurts everytime my body hits the ground or the barrier, and at some point I lose the grip on my axe.
*Kick*
And a kick to the stomach sending me flying, rolling on the ground and barely able to even feel my body being there at all… I should at least try to stay conscious…
“Didn’t expect you to pull out that move, now of all times.” She remarked, stopping her advance and just stood there as if mocking me. I would like to stand back up and stare at her defiantly, but my body is in too much pain to really do that.
“What the hell does that mean?” I asked, just to at least acknowledge that I can still reply back.
“Your fighting style has been straight-forward and rather predictable. I’ve been taking it easy since I thought you were going to keep it up, but it seems I was wrong, you did learn to adapt.” She explained. So she was going easy on me thinking I can barely improve? I should be mad about this, but this is such an absurd circumstance anyway, and I have something more important to fuss over… Wait. I should say my piece quickly!
“Hey, so can we talk afterward?” I don’t have enough time to say everything here, but this will be enough for now.
“Very well, it seems like you may have something fun in mind.” She said with a smirk on her… Maybe this isn’t the best idea?
*Shine* *Zoom*
———Jeff———
<6: 17 pm>
“...You don’t quite get it?” I asked, having no idea what she meant.
“<Like I said, it seems like Emmie is planning something. No idea what it is, but it ought to be fun.>” Kenni said, not really giving me a good idea of what to expect. “<From the looks of it, she’s probably harassing someone she can use as a punching back.>”
“<It’s strange for her to be so antagonistic, I suppose.>” Malk remarked. She usually doesn't interact with that many people. Now she’s here making fools out of a lot of people. “But we already went over this. She now has a way to indulge in her… desire, I guess you could say.>”
“<Just say it’s her kink, or fetish.>” Kenni doesn’t mince her words at all. “<Being so overdramatic is not natural, but she seems to get a rise out of acting like a sinister psycho… Well, she’s already partially like that, but she’s playing it up.>”
“<That had to come bite her in the ass eventually, right? She’s a strong and smart cookie, but would anyone take her that seriously?>” Useph asked. I have no idea how it will all work out, so I’ll keep my mouth shut for now.
“<That’s gonna be hard to tell, but what have all of you been up to? I know you guys have been doing a pretty historic dungeon run, but that can’t be all, can it?>” Kenni asked. Isn’t she the one who has been keeping it quiet for a while now?
“<Shouldn’t you spill some beans? We all know you’ve been doing some shady stuff.>” Qyunda quickly deflected the question back at her.
“<Hah!? Where did that absurd accusation come from! I’m hurt, you know?>” She replied with an exaggerated tone… You know, she and Emmie are similar in that regard, it’s just that Emmie takes herself more seriously. “<Why would I ever do anything borderline illegal! In the first place, what shady things do you guys think I’m doing anyway?>”
“<Well. I’ve heard that you’ve been flying to different dungeons very far from here, for one.>” Malk starts recounting the suspicious things she has been doing. She has been sighted at other dungeons, and obviously we’re gonna take notice of that since that kind of topic comes up often.
“<You call that shady!?>” She responded before we could even get to the second point.
“<Secondly, there are rumors spreading around about you torturing someone in a dungeon. Admittedly it came from that guy, but we could see you do it.>” Now honestly, we don’t really care if she did that as long as there weren't any permanent life-changing injuries, and how that guy told it you’d think most of his body would’ve been liquified by now, or rather, he’d just be flat out dead.
“<Lies and slanders!>” She denied this one as well, but let’s be real here, it’s hard to believe a guy like that even if he was speaking the truth.
“<Thirdly we got some evidence of you being the main culprit behind the Ice Sword Inci-
“<That was over a year ago! You guys are still hung up on that!?>” She didn’t even let Malk finish recounting.
“<...Final point, three days ago, you were luring monsters to do something most likely nefarious.>” We still have no idea what that was about. She just sorta… lure monsters into an unknown location and it doesn’t look like something came out of it, but we still have no idea what caused that weird event.
“<Aren’t you guys feeling like you’re just throwing words out there hoping something will stick? I’m no criminal, let me tell you!>” She didn’t even address that last point!
“<So are you actually not gonna say anything about that?>” Qyunda said half-seriously. We all doubt she does something truly immoral, but like, that just seems shady as all hell.
“<I’m just being a little bit whimsical is all.>” That doesn’t explain jack! “<I ain’t saying anything! You all can speculate all you want. Just know that I am no crook!>”
Really doesn’t look like we’re gonna get anything out of her. Should we really continue with this? We have more to talk about, if I remember right.
*Ding*
“<Hey Kenni, can I talk to you alone for a bit?>” Karra suddenly came in and basically tried to bail her out.
“<Ah, sure. Well, see you guys later!>” Kenni said while playing up her nervousness, and the two left the voice chat. Well that’s rather convenient for her.
“<...Guess we’ll talk about that later. Didn’t you have something you wanted to talk about, Qyunda?>” Malk changed the topic now that the woman of the hour is gone.
Eh. Honestly I didn’t think it was that important.