GLITCH

Overwhelming the Odds

BLUE TOWN

Wednesday, November 10, 2500 9:50 AM

I managed to save Mrs. Lyn and a child who looks like their son and Reme's younger brother from those madmen. The family that once took care for me before I ran away in dismay reunited once more, but this time I'm not running away. The three of them hugged me so I embraced this moment of heartfelt reunion. After a while, I wiped my tears of happiness and the four of us let go of our seemingly out-of-place group hug.

"Please excuse me for a moment. Let me and Sven take care of the madmen for now. I'll have a very long conversation with –"

"I know Rylai", Mrs. Lyn took my hand and looked at me with her ever gentle eyes.

I'm glad to make it on time. But above all else, I'm relieved to see that Mrs. Lyn didn't despise my presence now that we're all together.

"Mama, Papa…who is she?" the curious little boy asked his parents.

"You can call her your big sister Blake. She's the one that we're talking about before. Now, let's go and seek shelter so that we'll not get in their way okay? Dear, will you assist Rylai?" Mrs. Lyn smiled after she said that.

"Of course! I'm roaring to wage into battle these pests with my daughter!" Mr. Locke said while showing off his biceps. The both of them were still the same as before. I want to talk to them a lot more but I'll save it for later.

I should focus the matter at hand.

"Sven, can you escort Mrs. Ly – no, Ma and my little brother to the bunker will you? Also tell those Glints there to stay away from the incoming wave; the three of us are enough."

All of them looked surprised. Even I am too. I stated boldly as if I have the highest level from the three of us, and er…yeah I addressed them as Ma and Pa when I'm still with them. I think it's harsh to not address them as that since the issue is somehow resolved.

"Oh come on, let's move! Look, they're approaching!" I said while pointing another wave of madmen coming straight towards us from afar – estimated time before contact: two minutes – destroying anything that they cross.

That's a lot of collateral damage that you've done madmen.

Also, I find it hard to digest to see that the Glitch manifestation process still not finished. In short, from the void of spiraling clouds, madmen appeared above keep falling like rain. This phenomenon would likely be "Glitch Loop". This kind of manifestation occurs rarely, and it won't stop until a boss-ranked monster will be slain.

Now where is this boss-ranked monster by the way? It's already solved. I saw it in the wave coming at us. But this is the first time that there are three bosses instead of the usual one. So yeah, scratch it; there ARE boss-ranked monsters coming right at us.

"R-Right…! Let's go Mrs. Lyn, little Blake."

Sven tagged along with Ma and Blake and went to the bunker. Meanwhile, I took a peak at my Pa's status.

Locke Array *Traveling Merchant / Glint

HP: 5540/6000 (10000-4000) MP: 320/400 (800-400)

Mantle: CQC Master Lv. 0020

Strength: 46 (+10) (-10)

Dexterity: 37 (+10) (-10)

Constitution: 40 (+10) (-10)

Intelligence: 30 (+10) (-10)

Skill:

TAUNT [Active]

- Taunts the surrounding enemies

SLASH SPIN [Active / Temporary]

- Unleashes slashing in a spinning movement, lasts two seconds

STAT BOOST [Passive]

- Adds 5 on the base status

DEMERIT [Temporary]

- A debuff taken if the weapon is inappropriate of his Mantle

STRIKE FRENZY [Active / Skill Inaccessible]

- Strike foes with a barrage of punches and kicks; user becomes invulnerable from five strikes; once hit on the fifth time, the frenzy will stop

WHAT'S WITH THIS TOTALLY DISORIENTED STATUS?

"Uh, Pa? Don't use a sword, it doesn't suit you."

"What…!? My daughter's reprimanding me!? Ah, it feels so nostalgic; back then, you'll always scolding me whenever I made some mistakes while I'm doing the chores", Pa said with his twinkling eyes gazing me.

Urk…! Pa…

"Er…please stop messing around, and just use these instead."

From my G-watch inventory, I pulled out a pair of equipment that will surely be great for Pa. One of them is a pair of fingerless black gloves, with the capability to not let the user's fists sting or hurt as he/she battles; the other is a pair of metal sole boots, made of lightweight metal and serves as a nice blunt weapon for small fries. Same as the gloves, the boots also prohibits the user experience pain while using it.

In short, they're like safety cushions.

"Wow, what are these for Rylai?"

"I looked at your stats and it clearly shows that you're not a swordsman. You're better off fighting without a sword."

"Ah?"

"I know thanks to my eye. Just wear those and you'll see."

"O-okay. Well then…"

"Oh, drink this…"

I gave a life potion to him, since he needs replenishment for his health and mana.

Pa equipped the gloves and boots.

"Perfect! Now Pa, let's go and s*******r these fools who tried to hurt our family."

Sven got back from escorting Ma and Blake. He told us that the remaining madmen at the entrance were killed successfully. He also did what I asked him earlier. Now with that matter settled…

"Of course Rylai", Pa said while sharpening his senses as the two of us were just a few meters more from us.

It's time to turn the tables.

"So, here's the plan: let's kill the boss-class within that horde. We can easily tell which one of them is the supposed to be boss. It's seen as a madman with a unique skin color; the normal ones are the same as humans, but the boss is pure red skin in color. Moreover, there are three of them. So let's take them down; 1vs 1. One will be for you, one for me, and one for you Sven. I'll go in first as I'll launch an attack to remove some fodders along the way."

"Will you okay Rylai?"

"Don't worry Pa, I got this."

Pa nodded. I then sprinted towards the madmen. With a lot of them swarming forwards, to someone's eyes this is more like a suicide. I heard a lot of people from the bunker's entrance jeering at us. I don't care anyway. The only thing that matters is the complete annihilation of these insolent pricks.

A few seconds before contact, I jumped high and put my arms forward and my palms open.

"100% Burst Shot…!"

A dense shockwave is released, and burst the unfortunate madmen's innards that got caught by my attack. With the recoil, I was thrown at the opposite direction and rolled on the ground. I killed most of the fodders, but it's not enough to pave a way for my two companions. Thanks to my experience against that skeleton general, I made modifications on my tech gloves and separated the 100% burst shot's energy source to three sub-tank that serves as a receptacle. The main power source, the power gem, is steadily recharging these whenever I use a burst shot in its full capacity. Every one of the three sub-tanks fully recharges every two minutes after usage.

I raised my arms again and fired a second shot.

"Here's another one! 100% Burst Shot…!"

With the second shot, the path is now clear; the three boss-class madmen can now be visibly seen. With that, the madmen eventually stopped their movements; changing their trajectory from the bunker to me. With twice the recoil damage I got, my arms which were not totally recovered, suffered from intense pain. I staggered as I tried to use it for the third time, but the madmen, with their egoistic behavior, dashed towards me to rip me to shreds but then Sven and Pa rushed to my aid.

Pa, with his original stats recovered, started punching and kicking madmen in a swift and ferocious manner. He seems energetic. Looking at him, he's using his [Strike Frenzy] skill and started his retaliation. Seems like his vigor is back, and just doing some light exercise; he's smiling while beating the crap out of those beings effortlessly. As for Sven, he used the tech sword and dealt with the madmen who's about to assault me. With a huge horizontal swing, he cleaved across seven madmen and used his [Knight's Assault] skill to deal a great air pressure and blow away the foes and slice some along the path.

"Don't fire another one Rylai. Looking at your state, if you fire another one, you might further injure your arms", Sven said while acting as my shield.

I smiled and just closed my eyes and nodded in agreement. As for Pa, he's…

"HIYA…! TOU…! DIE…!"

His agility and reaction speed is frightening. I'm glad that he's on our side. Whew.