Lockeroom's Pandemonium

Chapter Four: Achilles' Heel

Alina Vandergaugh, even tired—and a bit irritated—continued explaining something to the man she helped earlier when a three-headed snake tried to eat him.

“I can't buy that, Miss,” said Silver Cassano as he continued shaking his head, disapproving from something.

‘This man!’ she thought, annoyed.

“But it's the only thing that we can do!” she rebutted, trying to explain him the plan. She has been explaining it for multiple times already, but still, Silver does not accept it.

The wisdom tooth that she looted from the Sabertooth she accidentally killed before meeting this man, was actually a rare item. It was an equipment towards gearing advantageous knowledge.

As she placed the hairclip at her hair, lights started to emit from it, shaped like a modern and highly-advanced glasses.

Wearing an eyeglass made of light is one the coolest thing she had ever wore. But what makes it extraordinary, is the letters that started to pop from the lens of it.

Her eyes discovered a world were letters, number, and statistics were naturally floating in the air.

Those words, numbers, and letters blinking in her eyes were hidden information of the whereabouts of the beasts and even of the players.

She looked at Silver. From the screen, she saw tiny line pointing his arm, particularly at his own wrist.

Numbers and letters started to appear beside him.

****

Player: Silver Cassano

Level: 2

Skills:

A. (Personal skill): Parkour

B. (Acquired): none

Items:

Muse of vine's blessed whip

(2) Healing potions

(1) Food bag

****

“But that's a crazy plan, miss! I haven't trusted you yet even until now. You might have been actually planning to trick me. You may have plans to kill me or let me become the bait to that snake,” said the man whom according to the Sabertooth's wisdom, was named Silver.

‘Coward,’ she thought.

But then she can't blame him.

If she was in the same situation with her, she would have done the same thing that this Silver is doing.

“Listen, Silver. If you want, I'll let you—”

“Holy s**t!” Silver blurted, panicking. “How did you get my name?! Y-You're a creep!” he said, eyes are wide, hands are covering his chest as if he was being sexually abused.

‘Wow, I wanted to hit him in the head. Hard one,’ she thought.

“I told you, Silver. With this glasses, I can see everything. That three headed snake,” she pointed the creature outside. “That's what you call feloxcohious. I don't know how it got it's weird name, nor its proper pronunciation. I got it all with this glasses.”

“Creep,” Silver muttered, looking outside where the snake is still coiling itself.

Alina sighed again. She had lost count of how many times she had done sighing, the moment she met Silver.

Then, she detached the clip from her head.

“Here,” she said, giving the clip to Silver. “You try this.”

“Why would I wear that?”

“Oh come on! Stop being whiny and just wear this!” Finally, Alina snapped.

She cannot take the whine of this man anymore. She had lost her patience.

Had she only have the gut to kill another man, she would have done it just for her to have a safer and peaceful life.

But then she knew killing isn't a normal thing. It was not as normal as eating, or drinking, or dislodging the stinky feces out of your anus.

It was not the same as breathing.

And she believe she don't have to take and kill another life anymore.

Silver, even with hesitation, grabbed the Sabertooth's wisdom. He awkwardly clipped it to his hair, embarrassed that he looked girly, yet awfully cute.

Soon as he's done clipping, light started to form near his eyes. Seconds after, it was already formed as glasses.

Alina saw how amazed Silver is. He looked childish, yet she cannot deny how attractive his face is, especially the mesmerized twinkle of light found in his eyes.

“H-hey, this is cool. But it's kind of overwhelming. There are lots of numbers and letters."

“Look at me,” said Alina. And when he did, Alina wished she hadn't told it.

The greenish eye looked at him in full focus. His eyebrows were colliding, forehead were scrunched, and his stare . . . though he had this childish expression . . . were piercing her too strong that she felt the urge to cover her face out of embarrassment.

Then, Silver smiled at her. Slowly. And she finds it attractive.

Alina wanted to slap herself, for she found that smile really attractive: that slow moving of his lips curving upward, doing a very beautiful smirk. His eyes were still looking at him intently.

“Alina,” he called.

“Wh-What?” she said, trying to hide the unwanted blushing of her cheeks.

“Your name is Alina,” he said.

“Yeah, I am.”

“Wow! This glasses were really cool.” Then he removed it. “But I'm afraid I can't use it well. This one's real pain in the head. I don't do numbers, math, and overwhelming texts.”

Silver handed the clip to Alina.

“I bet you really don't.”

Alina clipped it back to his hair. The frame of the glasses moved and formed to her again.

When he looked back to Silver, she saw him looking at the snake.

The hiss, howl, and scream were still reverberating their ears. The three heads of the snakes are having their own cries.

“Let's do it,” said Silver.

“I'm sorry, what?” asked Alina.

“Your plan.”

Alina's eyes suddenly widened in delight. “Are you sure?!” she told, excited.

Silver looked, then nodded. However, the childish look and the twinkling eyes were now gone. He was back being serious, being calm, being dangerous.

“I saw the possible number of loots the snake could give us. I don't want to be greedy, but if loots are items we can use to survive, then I will willingly extract it even from the most dangerous snake I ever met.”

Alina nodded. “Me too.”

“But promise me, Alina. You will not kill me.”

Alina, for a second, stood frozen, feeling frightened.

Silver's voice and tone when he told those words were not in a reassuring tone, nor asking, nor pleading.

He autonomously told it, as if he have the power to give that kind of authority towards her.

That he was threatening Alina not to do any unwanted trick, or else there will be something unwanted that will happen to her as well.

Alina then, nodded. “Count on me.”

Then, she immediately get the tiger's cloak from her screen.

****

Tiger's cloak:

+25% swift and agility

+10% defense

+5% stamina

Skill: Stealth (10 s)

****

Alina read it. Then, as it physically appeared in her hands, he immediately gave it towards Silver.

“Here, take care,” she said.

“Take care of me too,” Silver said as he started wearing the long cloak that Alina gave.

Alina nodded. She prepared her bow.

After few practice and few releasing of the strings, she had gone used to it.

In fact, her accuracy were astounding that she can hit even the smallest bird flying from above.

She realized that the more she pulled the string, the more it will become powerful.

She was not confident with her strength, knowing that she just learned the Airbow just this day. However, when in strength, she can rely to Silver.

And she is here to support him.

“Are you ready?” asked Silver.

“No, are you ready?” Alina corrected.

“I am.”

“Then we will go.”

Silver nodded. Then, they started marching going to the exit of the giant dome of vines.

Alina stopped. “Silver.”

The man he called turned towards her. His expression were still the same. Cold, stoic, strong—away from the childish look he had shown earlier.

‘This man,’ Alina thought. ‘He is very mysterious.’

“What is it?” asked Silver.

“I just wanted to assure you that I will really not kill you. I hope you don't do it to me as well.”

Silver nodded. “We might kill each other after getting the loots.”

“We can have the other plan. Fifty percent of loots to each of us. Then we'll separate.”

Silver nodded. “Not if you will pull a trick.”

“I swear I won't.”

“I'm going,” said Silver. He readied a running position of his body.

Alina sighed again. She started pulling the string of her Airbow.

“I'm ready too.”

As soon as Alina told it, Silver was now nowhere found in his place.

He swiftly moved towards the three heads of the snake. He popped at its front.

Then, he wildly slashed his whip.

The heads of the snake screamed in pain.

Before they could attack back to him, he immediately disappeared in the mid-air.

The tiger's cloak had a special skill.

A ten second stealth.

When someone who is wearing the cloak had activated it, it could move incredibly fast without being able to noticed by other people. Or monsters. Just like what was happening to her.

However, it was just only for ten seconds. And, the refreshing period of the skill is twenty four hours.

Silver pretty much knew about it.

Without wasting any seconds, he slashed the whip towards the gigantic fangs of the king cobra's head. The s***h made were sharper than a sword. Its left fang were decapitated with just a single s***h.

Alina then saw how the cyclops-headed snake went to Silver's back, then launched its revenging attack.

Without wasting any time, Alina immediately released the string of her Airbow. Air flew fast to the space until it hit the head of the cyclops. The pressure was two strong. Portion of the head bursted and torn from the wrath of the air.

Silver felt the commotion that happened on his back. When he saw the cyclops-headed snake, he immediately whipped it with the use of his weapon. The gigantic head, then, were almost severed in half.

The king cobra-head and the smiling woman-head of the snake immediately attacked him.

‘No time for playing, Silver! Get them killed,’ Alina thought.

As if Silver heard it, he used the remaining two seconds of his stealth to come exactly at the head of the King Cobra.

The literal King Cobra.

Just like what Alina explained from her plan, the Cobra-head of the snake has one small golden crown attached to its head.

Its size were of a normal crown. However, because of the gigantic size of the snake's heads, this was almost not seen, almost not minded.

Yet, this was the weakness of this giant reptile.

This is its Achilles' Heel.

When Alina saw that the smiling woman-head of the snake was about to attack Silver, she immediately shot it with her weapon.

The long, agonizing pulling of the string made a strong effect for the wind that the bow had shot.

The head was almost torn. Half of its face is where the flesh and green blood exploded, half remained the same, but now shocked and with a face of disbelief.

However, both Alina and Silver knew that even though how many times they will attempt to reap and torn the snake’s body into pieces, it will soon regenerate. Just like the cyclops head of the snake.

The only thing that it can fully die, is when they found its weakness.

Good thing, Alina had this Sabertooth's wisdom. It was an instant knowledge. It was an instant advantage for her. For them. It was an advantage over the snake, an S-class beast.

With one final s***h, Alina saw how Silver broke the golden crown sitting at the King Cobra's head.

A loud booming sound shattered the whole forest.

Then the loots started to rain over them. It exploded, it snowed the whole place.

Alina and Silver cannot hide their weird, greedy laugh as they welcome the snow of marble like lights floating in the air.

Finally, the loots.