Earth: The Second

The First Confrontation

The next day after Adma’s journey to the city, Sister Mia and Anne asked for him to fetch water from the fountain again. With how capable Adma is when it comes to carrying those buckets of water, the Sisters seem to be loosing their striction about water usage in the orphanage. Previously, they just take a bath three or five times in a week, but now they are doing it almost every day.

Therefore, it is easy to imagine, one water reservoir is not enough to clean dozen of children. While this is just an easy task for Adma, he wondered does a water pump machine already exists yet? Or does isn’t there any alternative method to bring clean water without sacrificing so much workload to the children? Adma thought that while carrying the buckets that strapped with a plank. This time, he bought two of them, so he is able to carry more water.

Adma walked to the path he previously takes on the village plaza until he realizes there is something wrong over there.

Today, there are even more people that leaving the fountain in the direction of farms. Now is not just the adults carrying farming instruction, but the children, women, and elderly walked to the farm silently.

This raise question on Adma’s head. Do all of the villagers have the business to attend to the farm at the same time? Like festival maybe? But if that is the case, everyone’s expression seems not matching to the image of a cheerful festival.

While curious, he still walked towards the fountain to finish his job, but when he arrived, the plaza condition is definitely empty, except with some people that are sitting on the edge of the fountain. These people, however, is not an ordinary citizen. Some of them wear the armor of steel and leather, carrying a weapon on their own, and each has a body that ideal for work that involves combat.

Soon after, Adma’s mind relating them to the adventurers that causing trouble at the outskirts, and hired by Udeka to repress the people who wanted to rebel. Still, Adma just approached them silently, just to fetch the water from those fountains.

In total, the group has 5 members, one woman, and the rest is male. One guy that wears steel armor has a huge shield on his back, probably a shielder, according to Kiki. Other than that, the rest of them seems to conceal their weapon.

Adma quickly notices that one guy that he just met yesterday, the one that he gives Karate chops right to his shinbone. His weird hairstyle that looked very punk-ish is hard to forget after all.

“Hey! You are the person from yesterday aren’t you!?” screamed that man towards Adma.

“Oh, so that is the man you have talking about, Toby?” now is the huge man that sits on the edge of the fountain. One look at his face, and you probably agree that he is the eldest in this group. He seems friendly with a smile on his face, and a loud bold voice, but looks can be deceiving.

“Yeah Boss! I remember it correctly! It was really him!”

‘The Boss’ then got up, and approach Adma.

“Good morning sir! It is a nice day to fetching up water ‘innit? I wondered where did everyone go in the day as beautiful as this?” said Boss to Adma, He is just bluffing though. When everyone else already leaving the plaza, only people who do not know the state of this place that still do their job when these adventurers are around. 

“Yes, good day to you too. But if I may ask, are there any activities going to happen in the plaza?” Adma tried to go with the flow.

“What do you mean?”

“The day has just begun, but everyone else seems to stay away from the plaza. Aren’t they supposed to working, trading, or cleaning right now?”

The Boss just laughed at Adma’s response. “Hahaha! Isn’t it!? I also think so too! Where did they go I wonder? Not all of the villagers are men that working in the fields, some are women, and they usually the ones who clean clothes, do the dishes, and cooking. But every time we come to the village, they all fleeing like chickens!” 

I already figured that out. Thought Adma again. Indeed, these people are the ones that become enemies of the outskirt. Is that mean that they are adventurers? Seems more like a band of mercenaries according to Adma’s mind.

“So then, can I do my job now?” asked Adma again, showing four buckets that he carried.

“Of course! Sorry to hold you back! There you go!” Boss letting out his arm on Adma’s shoulder and let him fetch the water. Those people that are the same group as that man also giving way for Adma to the fountain.

The Boss’s position is right behind Adma, and Adma showed his back toward him. He started to bent his knee and scoop the water using his bucket, when suddenly, Navigator warned him about the oncoming contact right behind him.

Adma moved his back to the side, right before Boss’s hand make contact with his body. Those hands are touching nothing, and with how hard The Boss wanted to push Adma, that leader of Black Claws is losing his foothold, and his body just moves forward.

SPLASH! The sound of the upper half of his body that submerged underwater can be heard. At the same time, his companions are screaming.

“Boss!!”

All of that, while Adma spins his body out of the reach of those people. He leaves his bucket though, but it can’t be helped.

Toby, the weird hairstyle guy, and his companion Oddy panicked. They quickly take the Boss out of the water, while Kaina and Boran showing ‘i know this would happen face’.

Out of their expectation. Their Boss just started laughing.

“What a reaction! I knew you are able to do something like that, stranger! Those rumors are really true!” said Boss, laughing heavily.

***

Yesterday, soon after Udeka commanded them to ‘steal’ from someone that posses Artifacts, an idea come to Boss’s mind. He remembers that Kaina told that rumor of someone that able to kill a bear with a bare hand. Of course, this is some kind of difficult, and even impossible thing to do. Usually, adventurers need to team up to take down a Bear that heightened two and a half meters. Either he is fighting a cub, the story is exaggerated, or it was a complete lie. 

Their investigation began from the carriage rider. Fortunately, they found the rider who previously takes Adma and Kiki from Kuliana. Even more, they also meet the couple that talked a lot with Kiki on their journey.

The result that they get, is that this ‘powerful person’ that been talking about, is probably located outside of the city right now.

“What a magnificent speed! How come you did that? Even in my entire life, I never meet someone who can see what behind their head!” screamed Boss.

“Well, now you see, how about that?” replied Adma coldly. Unconsciously, Adma showed a fighting stance with right feet forward and left feet backward. His hands are raised, prepare to defend himself from the upcoming attack.

“No. Humans can never look behind their back, and your head is not even turned around. Do you have the devil’s luck? Or do you hide something that you can not reveal?” asked Boss.

Well, I can’t say that I’m not human after all. Adma not saying that openly, since they will attract them a lot more.

But without talking himself, Boss and his companion started to showing their caution and slowly proceed to surround Adma.

“What do you want from me?” asked Adma.

Boss did not answer, he just showed a large grin before unsheathing his sword, and run toward Adma.

“Combat mode engaged.”

That man’s sword raised and slashed downward right into Adma’s face. He easily moves his body to the side and answering Boss’s s***h with a punch to his face. It is almost a clean hit if Boss is not moving his left hand to shield Adma’s attack. Still and all, Boss has to pay the price of the impact that put him to the ground. 

Another attack comes from behind. This time is Kaina that flew forward with twin knives in her hand. Her aim is to stab right to Adma’s shoulder and immobilize his chance to fighting back. Adma is responding to that warning by moving backward and dodging Kaina’s slashes. Once he sees that he got the chance, he attacks with jabs and hooks, the only problem is that Kaina has much experience in empty hand combat, and can predict which blow will land on her body. She easily dances her way out of Adma’s attack and successfully stabs her knives into his shoulders.

Through Adma’s vision, he can see a notification, along with a glimpse of the humanoid figure that represents his body condition. Red blips are appeared on the figure’s hand, indicating Adma’s shoulder that has been damaged. 

“Damage to the hand will decrease punching effectiveness by more than 25%” reported Navigator.

Adma looked at his surrounding, Boss got up with a smile on his face, while his companion is prepared to attack again.

“Oh! How weird it is!” shouted Boss toward Adma. “Even though Kaina had just stabbed your shoulder, why don’t you seemed hurt? Even more, why don’t you bleed?”

Adma just realized that altogether. He does not feel pain right after Kaina successfully stabbed him, and no bleed has shed from the hole in his shirt.

This may turn up worse than I expected. Think Adma. 

“Give it up, and just leave your Artifacts to us!” Boss scream as he lunges forward, followed by Kaina, Toby, Oddy, and Boran. All of them using sharps weapons such as knives and swords.

Just as Navigator said before, Adma’s punching power decreased heavily by those attacks that caused damage to his shoulder. This time, he received more of them, which tore his clothes apart, and damage his skin surfaces.

More cuts and more slashes, as Adma tried everything that he can to repel those attacks. In the end, Izanagi’s clothes that Adma previously wear had torn to pieces, showing what underneath them. A body that seems similar, but in some sense, different from an ordinary human’s. The body that not made by skins and blood.