RING OF BLOOD AND THE AFTERMATH (SOLO, FAUSTEIN/KUROFAUSTΩ)

Some more time had passed after the latest adventure after his recent rank up from B-class to A-class mage that Faustein had gone on, this one being another co-op job he had undertaken with two fellow Elysium guild members. One of those had been a man named “Odhran Aegisbane” and the other had been a girl called “Seika”, both mages of course. The job in question had involved a contract which he and his compatriots, Odhran and Seika, had been hired to complete by a somewhat mysterious organization which was allegedly known as the “Black Blood Brotherhood”. The prime directive of said contract was the capture and public execution of a certain Magic Council official called Representative Thompson and his family consisting of his wife and his only daughter. Needless to say, thanks to the combined skills of Faustein, Odhran, and Seika, the job was completed successfully. Since then, Faustein had returned his daily routine once again which entailed his profession as a practicing physician-scientist and of course, his responsibilities as the next heir to the CEO position of the business conglomerate owned by his clan, the branch of which he had been ordered to set up in Fiore. Additionally, he had also immersed himself deeply in his ever-burgeoning, continually ongoing mad science research and so, with all of these various engagements, he remained fairly preoccupied and was able to make considerable headway in each of these areas.

Time had marched on for a while with no real jobs coming his way, so he had been able to focus his mental and physical energies on his three main pursuits mentioned above. However, this period of calm and peace was abruptly shattered when, one day, as he was about to enter his mansion, he had noticed the mail delivery magical stork with the uniform of the West Fiore Trading Company flying in a circle above his mansion, which was the usual protocol to signify there was a message to be received from someone. So, he raised his left forearm up, prompting the magic stork to swoop down and land on it before waiting for him to take the message scroll from the holster tied around its leg.

Hmm, a new job request eh?

Faustein mused silently as he perused the exterior of the rolled-up scroll which had a seal that was clearly Disiertan in origin. He then let the stork take off again before heading into his mansion while breaking open the seal on the scroll and reading it.

So this one is to be an investigation and retrieval as well as a punitive mission then…and all of this will be occurring in the vast deserts of Disierto, no less. How intriguing indeed.

He smirked briefly while contemplating the contents of the job request silently and then headed into his bedchamber where he then readied himself to leave as quickly as possible. Of course, as was his usual preference, he decided to use his professional garb of the physician-scientist consisting of the stereotypical long white lab coat, a white formal shirt underneath with a crimson red tie, dark colored formal pants secured by his tactical utility belt, and his patent black leather formal shoes. Besides this, his outfit also consisted of various holsters strapped onto various parts of his person and which contained the various tools of his trade that he was in the habit of carrying into any situation. Of course, this outfit was actually one that had defensive powers on par with any legendary armor while maintaining its light weight.

As a result, he was not worried about taking any heavy armor since he was sure that his armor which was a custom order piece would serve him well in protecting his person against most of the enemies he would be facing on this job. After that, he scanned his International Passport with his [iLac[/i] and then headed off to Hargeon Town where he chartered a private ship and had it take him to Disierto, the land of sand, all the while wondering who this client was that he was supposed to meet first before beginning the job in order to get the rest of the details not mentioned in the flyer. It took him quite a while due to the distance, but eventually he did get there and came ashore at one of the ports of entry in Disierto by which the country was connected to international waters. Once there, he made his way through the port and into the gateway where he was required to produce his International Passport and so that was what he did, and in short order the guards present scanned the image of this entry document with their LacrimaTek scanners and then waved him inside after the usual security check. Once that was complete, he collected his equipment again and headed off after securing all the various pieces in their designated slots across his person, whether that be his tactical utility belt or the various holsters strapped to his pants or to the load bearing equipment belts affixed to the interior of his long white lab coat.

After exiting the gateway building, he found his client’s chauffer waiting patiently for him alongside what seemed to be an imported, rather expensive looking, vintage magic mobile, specifically a hovercar type which was presumably chosen due to its ability to travel through the deserts of Disierto as well as elsewhere in the country in question.

Quite an ostentatious client this one is, I perceive. How amusingly quaint.

Faustein mused silently with a smirk on his thin lips and then tipped the chauffer generously before getting into the vehicle. The chauffer than drove him to the client’s residence after which he was dropped off and left to his own devices. Then, Faustein strode into the client’s residence and was met by a series of maids who welcomed him inside and attended to his needs while he awaited the arrival of the client. Thankfully, he did not have to wait for very long since about three or four hours after he arrived, the client came out to meet him as well.

“Thank you for coming, and I presume you’ve perused the flier and my request contained therein?”

Faustein had done that already before even arriving in Disierto, so naturally he nodded while replying, revealing his voice to be a rich, resonant baritone but hypnotically melodious voice which

“Indeed.”

The client smiled, causing his portly face to look even more repugnant than it already seemed, causing Faustein to recoil visibly, but luckily the client did not seem to notice that.

---

OOC:

WC: 1101 / 5000

“Excellent!! Well then, the only other thing you need to know is that you cannot attack the target arena from the outside as it will teleport away in response.”

Here, the client paused for a bit, maybe to collect his thoughts before resuming

“And in the event that happens, we would lose our only chance to rescue my dear nephew. That would be unacceptable as you can probably surmise from the situation. Lastly, please endeavor to at least bring him back to me alive and if possible unscathed as well, sir.”

Faustein raised an eyebrow and shot the man a quizzical look before responding in his usual obliviously blunt manner

“You do realize that this is an arena of bloodthirsty gladiators and all manner of other egregiously violent, sadistic participants and patrons, do you not? So, it would not be prudent to be very ambitious with your hopes for while returning him to you alive is certainly possible, bringing him back completely unscathed is a completely different matter, and one that is actually Sisyphean in nature and far too idealistic of an expectation considering the task before us.”

The client sighed and now looked visibly deflated as though the hope was draining away quickly from him. Faustein of course, did not really care either way as to him, this was simply another contract. So, he waited patiently for the client to finish his pre-job introduction which luckily for him, the client did in short order after recovering

“You’re right, sir. My apologies for putting unrealistic expectations upon you. Here is my VIP pass, and you can use this as an all-access pass to gain entry into and thus infiltrate this slaver ring and their organization easily. Lastly, here is my money pouch which contains a king’s ransom. Do not worry though, it has been magically enchanted to shrink its contents down for ease of carriage and can be restored at any time with a simple mana charge put into it.”

Faustein merely nodded and took the VIP pass and pocketed it after which the client summoned his chauffer and then had him drive Faustein to the current location of the arena where the retrieval target, aka the client’s nephew was supposedly being held captive. It took a while for them to reach their destination due to the need to stop once in a while and wait for the various sandstorms and sand laden whirlwinds to pass over them in order to avoid losing their bearings. Upon arrival, Faustein was dropped off by the chauffer who then bowed to him and took his leave. Once that was done, Faustein headed over to the mercenary-like guards who were posted on either side of the entrance to the arena and who were checking each patron as they came up in a long line. These were apparently the normal patrons and not VIP status holders, as Faustein could deduce from the long-winded procedure they had to follow for gaining entry.

They certainly ARE cautious and thorough and can be given credit for that much at least.

Faustein mused silently as he approached the guards and flashed the VIP pass which he had received from the client at them, which caused them to stand at attention immediately.

Interesting, so VIP status holders are treated quite differently than the plebeians, eh? This looks as though it will become quite amusing indeed.

Then, the guards ushered him in while clearing out the regular patrons to give him space to leisurely stroll inside, so Faustein took them up on that and stepped inside while smirking smugly at the rest of the patrons who still had to stand in line like the commoners they were in reality, well compared to him anyway. Once inside, the guards summoned a veritable army of voluptuous servant girls who were all about Faustein’s apparent age or perhaps a few years younger at 27 or 28 years old, or at least that was what it seemed like to him anyway. These girls were dressed in the usual skimpy and rather flashy outfits which were designed in the usual Disiertan style. Of course, this had absolutely no effect on Faustein whereas the other patrons were salivating at the mouth upon beholding the feast for the eyes. This was, of course, because of two reasons, the first being that Faustein’s brain which operated on cold, detached logic rather than effervescent emotion simply did not comprehend the allure factor and the second being that Faustein simply had no interest in anything and anyone else besides his mad science research and his magical research and development as well. So, he merely let them lead him to the special, super-luxurious VIP seating in the arena with a completely nonplussed, impassive, and inscrutable expression on his face. Upon arrival, Faustein sat down and began to watch the proceedings go forward. The first thing he had to confirm was the status of the retrieval target, namely the client’s nephew who had been moronic enough to get captured by this slave ring.

Luckily for him, a few of the servant girls whom he had seen earlier wearing those strange, but exotic outfits had come up to him a few minutes after he had sat down and one of them handed him a program brochure which according to her detailed the fights and other such spectacles which were going to happen along with the participants, one of which was his target aka the client’s nephew.

Ah there he is, so he will be frog-marched into the arena and made to fight this behemoth eh? How quaint.

Faustein mused silently as he let the other servant girl provide him with refreshments in accordance with Disierto’s cuisine while her companion sat by his side, massaging him occasionally. The remaining two sat on his lap for some reason and engaged him in banter to which he obliged as currently he was meant to play the role of a VIP patron, but since they were not threat to him, he did not order them away, but merely let them do as they pleased for the time being. So, for now, he let the events unfold since he was intent on gathering the data he needed before he made his move. As he watched the various fights proceed along with the carnage that came with them, he was not fazed in the least and simply took a few bites of the Disiertan fruit and a few sips of Disiertan wine which the servant girl on his right was offering him in her practiced manner.

---

OOC:

WC:

• Post WC: 1097
  
  
• Total WC: 2198 / 5000
  

While he did, he also perused the brochure some more and noticed something truly intriguing, so he focused his attention on the subject, musing silently once more as his mind started to take notes as was its usual protocol whenever it was confronted with important data

So the winner of these fights gets a wish granted by the overseers of this ring, eh? And it can be anything at all? Furthermore, it seems as though anyone can register and enter these fights whether they be patron or slave or anything else even. Now that brings an idea to my mind.

Thus, he began plotting and soon came up with a feasible plan for acquiring his target which was the client’s nephew

The most direct route to the goal here would be to enter myself into these fights and then upon winning them all, the final step would be to request the lad to be transferred into my possession. There is no guarantee as to what physical condition he will be in, but my magic should be able to cure all his ills once he shows me his face.

It was a rather more simplistic plan that the ones he was accustomed to concocting in his battle preparations usually, but then, this was supposed to be a stealth operation and so, he could not waste time on convoluted strategy. With this plan in mind, he continued letting the four servant girls tend to him as they pleased, exchanging witty banter with the two on his lap, letting the one on the left give him a full body massage and the one on the right ply him with drink and food which were both traditional in Disierto, all the while having that same nonplussed, impassive, and inscrutable expression on his face. It took quite a while, but after all of the carnage, the client’s nephew was shown at long last, and as the program brochure described, he was indeed whipped constantly while being frog-marched into the arena, much to the amusement of the other patrons who seemed to enjoy such sadistic torture. The boy was set up to face a giant of a man who was armed to the teeth while the boy was far less equipped for the impending duel. There was even an overseer taking bets who came by to collect Faustein’s wager, and of course, Faustein obliged in order to keep up appearances and thus, dropped a considerable amount of Disiertan currency he had received from the client into the large earthen jar resting in the overseer’s hands.

After that, the fight began in earnest and lasted only a brief while as the boy was thrashed soundly and was bleeding all over by the time the spectacle was over and with the angry red whip marks and other marks of torture evident on his portly frame. Then, he was marched back out of the arena and presumably taken back to the dungeons. It was then that another of the overseers came to make the rounds and this one was collecting entries for the battles from among the patrons, some of whom were quite enthusiastic about signing up for the fights, but who looked very incapable of holding their own. So, Faustein signed himself up for it as well and then waved the overseer away. After that, he resumed letting the servant girls attend to him as they pleased while observing each of the fights and gathered data on the combat capabilities of each of the fighting parties as they went at each other with the rather brutish intent to kill. Faustein sighed as he realized this was going to take a lot of effort by the end, considering that there were so many to wade his way through to his target for the job.

After several hours had passed, bringing with them a great deal more carnage, it was finally Faustein’s turn at long last. So, he arose from his seat while lifting both of the servant girls, one in each arm effortlessly and after setting them back on the seats, he then disengaged himself from them which caused them to look pouty, a sight that amused him greatly. Consequently, he gave them all head-pats and deposited a significant amount of cash in each of their laps before stowing away the magical money pouch in his white lab coat. Once that was done, he headed off to the waiting area where he saw the rest of the participants in his match block. He nodded to them and then sat down, waiting patiently for the announcer to summon him to the arena and start his gladiator’s gauntlet. He did not have to wait too long for a couple of hours after his arrival, the bell sounded the signal for him to step up to and then into the arena. With that, he arose again and headed off to the arena, walking slowly and leisurely as he was not worried in the least about the opponents due to having done his research on them whilst observing them fight earlier.

This should be quite amusing indeed.

He mused silently as he tapped his smart holographic glasses once to increase the polarization of the lenses in order to prevent the harsh, blindingly bright sunlight from hurting his eyes. Then, he waited for the first of his opponents who came en masse, this being a group of 10 slavers, none of whom looked particularly powerful or skilled, just brutish and incapable at best. As they came into the arena, he saw them use their magic which seemed to be requip based, judging from how they produced a variety of melee weapons seemingly out of thin air. However, once they caught sight of him, they stopped short with looks of apprehension on their faces, probably due to them sensing his level of magical prowess.

This seems as though it is going to be a rather prolonged match if they come at me one by one. Well then, perhaps it will be prudent to incite them to action.

Faustein mused silently as he devised a plan in his mind while sweeping his imperious gaze over the slavers and then remarked

“Well, what are you waiting for, gentlemen? Attack me, lest you gain infamy in the historical records of this hallowed arena as nothing more than a group of cowardly pieces of trash!!”

While he was saying this, he silently activated one of his favorite defensive spells, this one being “Body Manipulation Art: Needle Hair Cocoon” as well as his scanner spell called “Medical Art: Diagnoscope”. In the first one, he focused his mana into his hair to cause it to increase explosively in terms of density, tensile strength, length and volume and then, it fanned out all around him to form a giant, translucent dome with long, slender, and razor sharp spikes all over it with him in the epicenter. Then, he extended his hands outward at the slavers while focusing more of his mana into them in order to form a targeting reticule hologram in the space formed by his hands which he held in a diamond shape. Then, he turned on his heel while beaming the rest of the mana which was charged in his hands at the slavers who had surrounded him with angry looks on their faces and with bloodlust in their eyes.

---

OOC:

WC:

• Post WC: 1232
  
  
• Total WC: 3430 / 5000
  

Excellent, these imbeciles do not realize that they have walked into my trap. They will learn the consequences by experiencing them first hand.

He mused silently, smirking at the slavers and waited to see what they would do next. Naturally, the slavers charged at him, attempting to close the 50 m gap between him and them as quickly as possible in an effort to overwhelm him. However, since they were within the counterstrike range of his special shield, it fired off all the spikes on its surfaces in a veritable hailstorm of throwing needle like, magically enhanced hair at the slavers and blasted them backwards while also inflicting several penetrating wounds all over their bodies which caused them to look like human porcupines due to all the needles sticking out of them. As if that was not enough, the ten slavers lay there bleeding out from their wounds and looked as though they were struggling to get up. The sight of Faustein handling the large group of slavers so easily caused a collective gasp to issue from the lips of each person in the crowd while the servant girls who had been assigned to attend to him cheered loudly. So, Faustein waited for the slavers to get back on their feet and watched as they charged again like the Neanderthals they were, which of course led to them getting blasted backward again due to another round of rapid-fire needle hair hailstorm from Faustein’s shield. Consequently, they now lay dead in pools of their own blood all around him at which point, the overseers called the end of the match and declared Faustein the victor.

“Well now, that was mildly entertaining. Who shall be my next opponent, eh?”

He said to the overseers who smirked before ushering in the next opponents who also came in a set just like the slavers. This group consisted of some of the patrons he had seen lining up outside and there were five of them in total

“Perhaps the lot of YOU will pose more of a challenge for me. So come, let us do battle and the victor shall walk away with the spoils of battle while the loser shall dine with Hades.”

While uttering this challenge, Faustein silently activated some more of his spells, this sequence being “Medical Art: Defibrillator Palm – Double Spears”, followed by “Body Manipulation Art: Dragon Claws – Reaper’s Dance”, and finally “Medical Art: Mana Threads - Constriction Ligature”. For good measure, he also activated a couple of additional defensive spells, these being “Body Manipulation Art: Skin Reinforcement” and “ Medical Body Manipulation Art: Healing Ecdysis” and with that he was ready to face his enemies. Due to his “Medical Art: Defibrillator Palm – Double Spears”, Faustein’s palms started glowing and crackling with a deafening sound like a thousand birds chirping simultaneously as a massive amount of mana turned into high voltage electricity gathered in them. Then, due to his “Body Manipulation Art: Dragon Claws – Reaper’s Dance”, his finger and toenails grew explosively in size, length, and sharpness till they resembled dragon claws and talons and long, visible blue threads of condensed mana turned into ethernano began to issue forth from his fingertips. After that, due to his “Body Manipulation Art: Skin Reinforcement”, his skin turned metallic purple in color.

Finally, thanks to his “ Medical Body Manipulation Art: Healing Ecdysis”, another full body layer of metallic purple colored dermal armor formed over his person, ready to block enemy attacks and heal him as well if the situation called for it. Needless to say, the patrons grew visibly incensed and summoned their weapons via their requip magic before charging at him with mad looks of glee on each of their faces unlike the nonplussed, impassive, and inscrutable expression on that of Faustein. Due to their impulsiveness, they were all blasted backward due to yet another round of rapid-fire hailstorm of the spikes all over his shield’s surface.

Those who do not have the intelligence and wisdom to learn from history, are doomed to repeat its mistakes. How amusing.

Faustein thought silently with a smirk as he noticed the battle-crazy patrons stumble backward, covered in penetrating injuries all over due to the spikes on his shield. Then, from within the safety of his shields, he whipped his arms forward and tore at each of the five patrons with his electrified dragon claws, causing brief, blinding flashes due to the impact of the high voltage electrical current coursing through their bodies and the deafening sound of a thousand birds chirping simultaneously echoed around the arena each time for five times. Consequently, the patrons also met their gory and untimely ends, becoming nothing more than charred, bleeding, and unrecognizable corpses by the time his spells had worked them over completely. This of course led to the bloodthirsty and violence-crazed crowd to cheer for him once again, louder than they had the first time. The overseers were clearly disturbed, but in the end, they somehow overcame that and merely summoned the next in line for the gladiatorial gauntlet. This next group were only three men, but they looked to be far stronger than either the slavers or the battle-crazy, but completely naïve patrons from earlier.

Professionals this time, eh? Well, good. Now, perhaps this will be more entertaining for me.

Faustein thought silently as he recast his “Diagnoscope” spell in order to examine the weaknesses of the three. It did not take him long to find the chinks in their armor and so he was ready to face them. However, he wanted to take their measure first and so he waved a hand towards them in a silent “bring it on” gesture and then stood back to see what they could do in order to gather more specific data on them. So, the professional gladiators demonstrated their status as seasoned veterans of the arena by how they positioned themselves in a triangular formation while surrounding him. Then, they materialized their weapons and armor via their requip magic and sent their weapons hurtling towards Faustein simultaneously from their three positions at the vertices of the triangular formation. Faustein was not worried of course and calmly watched as the weapons cut right through his spiked shield which was the first layer of his defenses causing it to shatter but not before it counterattacked by showering them with the needle hair hailstorm, causing them to look like human porcupines due to the many needle like spikes sticking out of their wounded bodies. However, this did not slow them down in the least as apparently, they called their weapons back in preparation for a second round of attacks.

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OOC:

WC:

• Post WC: 1113
  
  
• Total WC: 4543 / 5000
  

Impressive, that hailstorm usually blasts my enemies backward and causes them to stumble and falter in their attacks, but these three are continuing through the pain of their injuries. What is more, their weapons seem to have some sort of barrier breaking enchantment or ability, judging from how they could cut through my barrier so easily.

Faustein mused silently with a smirk as he made mental notes on the abilities of the three trained gladiators. Their prowess truly did impress him, and that was something which was not too common due to his incorrigible superiority complex towards others. However, he had more pressing matters to attend to, like the fight before him. So, he refocused his attention on the gladiators and watched as they charged at him and swung their weapons out in an attempt to strike him down, but thankfully, he had recast his body shield, so the weapons clashed with that first, causing a flurry of sparks and a metallic clang each time and then his body shield also broke and vanished into nothingness. The three gladiators withdrew their weapons and backed off once more, presumably in preparation of their next attack. After a few moments, they charged again and this time, their weapon attacks caused him to be hurled backwards and slam against the far wall of the arena, which in turn caused him to cough up blood briefly, though he still managed to get back on his feet, despite the bleeding slash wounds across his body. Thanks to his physician-scientist’s outfit being a legendary level armor, it had taken the brunt of their attacks and so, his body only showed shallow slash wounds.

“Not bad at all, you lot. So, come on then, finish me off, if you can, of course.”

He said in an attempt to provoke them and that worked apparently since they charged again, but this time, Faustein waited until the right moment and then activated his teleport spell “ Medical Art: Xénosómectomy” and managed to move out of the way just in time to make the gladiators miss striking him. As a result, the gladiators clashed with each other and ended up hacking each other to pieces, and this greatly weakened them and left them open for Faustein’s counterattack. So, he recast the same spell sequence from before and then whipped his electrified dragon claw equipped hands at them to finish them off, leaving the three of them dead around him, once again so charred and shredded to ribbons that their corpses were barely even recognizable to the audience, causing them to gasp collectively once again and the servant girls cheered for him even louder than they had in all the previous times. In contrast, the overseers groaned as they realized that the pool of betting money which they had been collecting was probably going to go to Faustein in the end, judging from how successfully he had been progressing through the gladiatorial gauntlet thus far. However, it seemed that, from how they started to whisper amongst themselves, there was one final challenge for Faustein to face before he could face the owners of the slaver ring and make his wish.

“Well done, Mr. Kuroyakushi. However, would you be up for one final challenge before reaching the finish line, perhaps?”

Faustein sighed as he heard this, but despite how much he wanted to just cut loose and destroy everything and everyone in sight with his magic, he could not do that as this was primarily a covert mission and he had been assigned the role of VIP patron and honorary gladiator.

---

OOC:

WC:

• Post WC: 600
  
  
• Total WC: 5143 / 5000
  

NOTE: 5K/5K MINIMUM WORDCOUNT FOR RING OF BLOOD A-RANK NEUTRAL JOB COMPLETE. REST OF WC THAT FOLLOWS HEREAFTER IN THIS THREAD IS USED FOR ACCOMPANYING B-RANK NEUTRAL FREEFORM JOB

NOTE: THIS IS THE START OF THE ACCOMPANYING B-RANK FREEFORM JOB

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Well, at least this is the last of the challenges, according to these overseers anyway. However, it would be prudent to keep my guard up as this last enemy will probably be the strongest among all who have faced me today.

With that in mind, he closed his eyes briefly and focused himself on the final confrontation and thus, he cast his “Medical Art: Mana Recovery” and then cast his “Body Manipulation Art: Needle Hair Cocoon” as well as his “Body Manipulation Art: Skin Reinforcement” defensive spells and even his “Medical Body Manipulation Art: Healing Ecdysis” just to err on the side of caution. It turned out to be quite the wise decision on his part as just moments after he had finished recasting his spells, a giant oak tree trunk complete with roots and branches came sailing out of the opposite end of the arena where his opponents had been entering from and collided with a loud thud against his shield spells and it had apparently been thrown with so much force and was so incredibly massive that it actually pushed him back several meters from where he was standing at present. However, it was a simple tree trunk and not some magically enhanced one, so his barriers held steady, albeit with a severe degree of damage and looked as though a few more hits like that one would bring them down through sheer brute force alone. After that, a strange enemy stepped out onto the field, one that Faustein thought could be a good guinea pig for his research. It had two heads and skin which looked thick enough to actually be dermal armor.

My, now this will make for a challenging enemy indeed.

Faustein mused as he examined the beast before him which had materialized another tree trunk and was waving it around effortlessly as though it were a toothpick while uttering guttural, blood curdling roars which caused the audience to recoil visibly with terror written all over their faces. Of course, Faustein was not fazed as he had seen far worse than this beast in the past. However, just to be safe, he decided to maintain his distance and instead activated another of his spells, this one being “Body Manipulation Art: Muscular Reinforcement” which caused his entire body to bulk up considerably, mainly focusing on his upper limbs. Then, he lifted the giant tree trunk which lay at his feet and then hurled it with all his might at the anomalous two headed beastman to take an accurate measure of its strength, reflex time, action speed, and other such physical parameters. As would be expected from such a behemoth of a beast, it was slow to react, but its herculean strength seemed to be more than sufficient in making up for its snail’s pace as it allowed said beastman to knock it away almost effortlessly.

Hmm, maybe a straightforward strength versus strength contest is not the most prudent option then. Maybe teleportation followed by strangulation then?

With that in mind, he recast his “Medical Art: Mana Threads – Constricting Ligatures” spell which generated the same piano wire like threads of hyper-condensed mana from his fingertips as well as his “Medical Art: Defibrillator Palm -Twin Spears” spell to concentrate electrical element mana in his palms for additional damage. Then, he teleported behind the beastman and slingshot himself onto its back, staying in the center so its arms could not reach him. Then, he controlled his piano wire like mana threads to flow around the beastman’s unprotected neck and constricted them while channeling the massive charge of electricity that he had built up in his palms through the mana threads and into the beast man’s body. This ended up causing a brief blinding flash of light and the same shrill, piercing noise resembling the simultaneous chirping of a thousand birds as the electricity superheated its body enough to radiate an electric blue light and coursed through it from head to toe. As a result, the beast man howled in excruciating agony and roared while trying to extricate itself from Faustein’s ligatures. In response, Faustein cast his “Medical Art: Diagnoscope” spell to further increase the damage by detecting the weak areas in the beastman’s body and channeled more of his mana into the threads, causing them to constrict tighter still. The beastman tried to flail this way and that in an effort to shake Faustein off its back, but Faustein did not let go and simply focused on inflicting as much damage as possible. Due to the beastman’s durability and vitality, it took several hours of constantly chipping away at its life through asphyxiation and electrocution, but ultimately by the time the sun had set, he was finished at long last and actually managed to slice the beastman’s head right off its body while charring the rest of it as badly as he had all the rest of his enemies till then.

Upon seeing this, the overseers finally decided to give up the gauntlet and declared him the victor after which they ushered him towards the owners of the arena and the slaver ring. It was at this time that Faustein demanded his prize of them

“My wish is to procure that slave boy who was taking part in the fights earlier. I am willing, ready, and able to pay handsomely for him.”

The owners were loath to comply, but they had no choice at all since those were their own rules and if they broke them in front of all of their patrons, they would not be able to attract such crowds and thus lose out on their major cash flow. So, they had the boy in question, namely Faustein’s retrieval target and the client’s nephew, to him and then Faustein excused himself to leave the premises. However, before he could, the owners had drawn the curtains and summoned their guards to surround Faustein, so he sighed in exasperation before slaughtering them all with that same nonplussed, impassive and inscrutable expression on his face, causing the boy to shudder in terror as he beheld the carnage unfold all around him. Afterwards, he was even more terrified when Faustein, covered in blood all over as he was, turned on his heel and while looking him in the eye, instructed him with a chillingly calm, ear to ear smile on his face

“Well then, this has been a most pleasant evening, has it not? Let us be off now, your family awaits you.”

Then, Faustein started heading off and the boy did not dare to run away from him as he had seen what Faustein was capable of earlier in the gladiatorial gauntlet. As they exited the premises, however, they were attacked by the overseers of the match who apparently did not want to let go of their cash cow, aka the client’s nephew and so Faustein slaughtered them too.

---

OOC:

WC:

• Post WC: 1151
  
  
• New Total WC: 1151 / 2500
  

Once that was done, there was no one else to stop him, so he freed all of the servant girls who flocked to him as he was about to exit and after collecting some useful looking weapons from the arena’s armory, he led them to the magic mobile and the chauffer who was waiting for his return. The chauffer was undoubtedly surprised by the sheer number of passengers, but nevertheless he agreed to transport all of them since his young master, aka the client’s nephew, had vouched for their character. After that, the group got into the mobile and the chauffer drove them off to the client’s residence where he dropped them off and then excused himself.

The client had apparently waited with bated breath for their return, as Faustein could surmise from the way he literally bounded up to them with his corpulent body flouncing about in a rather repulsive manner. Upon meeting up with them, the client hugged his bruised and battered nephew tightly while Faustein looked on with a blank, bored face. The servant girls on the other hand gushed over the poignant nature of the scene before them. After several minutes of unnecessary emotional display, the client had calmed down enough to give him an audience. As Faustein listened, the client asked him about how the job had proceeded

“How ever did you manage such a feat, Mr. Kuroyakushi? Please! You must regale me with the details!”

So, Faustein replied, providing the report in his usual blunt manner with his usual impassive and inscrutable expression on his face

“Entry method was successful, and the welcoming party…”

He gestured towards the army of voluptuous servant girls behind him briefly before resuming

“…was adequate. Upon being asked if I wished to participate in the fights, of course I agreed as I realized that I could simply ask for the return of the job target after winning all the fights in the gladiatorial gauntlet.”

The client was visibly surprised upon hearing that Faustein had opted for such a straightforward method and asked him with a wide eyed, slack jawed expression especially once he had looked at Faustein’s tattered attire and all of the numerous wounds and bruises on his body

“Y-You mean you took on the challenge of fighting ALL of the opponents in the gladiatorial gauntlet?”

Faustein merely nodded at this and replied

“Indeed.”

The client’s jaw dropped even further while his eyes rose even higher, causing his eyebrows to nearly disappear into his hairline, but he had to ask

“Y-You slaughtered them all?! S-Singlehandedly no less?!”

Faustein merely nodded at this once again and replied shortly as before with a bored expression starting to take shape on his visage

“Quite so.”

The client was silent for what seemed like several moments and then an expression of utter horror started to form on his face and he actually collapsed to the ground before remarking

“Egads! Y-You did not slaughter any of the patrons, did you?”

Faustein raised a quizzical eyebrow at the man’s reaction to his report

Was there any reason to avoid slaughtering them? How curious…

He mused silently thus before asking the client who was now sweating bullets and visibly having an ever-burgeoning panic attack

“There were a few who faced me in combat and died trying to best me.”

He replied while stroking his strongly set chin and defined jawline with one hand and his head tilted to the side while having a thoughtful expression on his face. This only served to exacerbate the man’s rising distress at which point, he just barely managed to speak

“Good heavens! Were any…of them…aristocratic in appearance?!”

Faustein recollected the events earlier in the day, but could find no such relevant data in his memory

“No, as far as I could perceive anyway, there were no Disiertan aristocrats among those patrons I killed today.”

The client calmed down a bit upon hearing that and after breathing an audible sigh of relief, he spoke

“Well that is certainly good to hear, for otherwise if that travesty had come to pass, it would have been a diplomatic debacle and an international geopolitical nightmare!! You would have become a wanted man here in Disierto and most likely executed without even a trial!!”

Faustein was not fazed in the least as he heard this as he had unsavory run ins with the law on several occasions before, so he replied with that same calm manner as before

“Well that is certainly reassuring to know. Now then, about payment for services rendered, you need not worry about that, for I have already collected it from the arena’ armory. Furthermore, I have also destroyed the owners and all the other staff of the slaver ring and that arena as well.”

With that, he fell silent and mused thus for a while before making a closing statement

“However, you may want to find some gainful, respectable employment for all these young ladies as they are currently without a livelihood due to the destruction of their workplace.”

The client nodded with a relieved smile and replied

“Well done. Now there will not be the risk of diplomatic action taken by Fiore against Disierto for having executed ex-Fioreans. Regarding your suggestion, that is a very kind thing to do, sir. I shall see about making the requisite arrangements.”

Faustein chuckled and retorted with a smirk

“Oh, it is not kindness, I assure you. It is simply out of a desire to avoid the prospect of having these girls follow me all the way back to Fiore.”

With that, he disengaged himself from the group embrace from the servant girls who had been clinging to him ever since he left the arena and stepped back while resuming

“Now this task is complete, so it would be prudent of me to take my leave.”

The client nodded, but then suggested a means of easy transport

“Whatever you say, Mr. Kuroyakushi. Oh, please feel free to have my chauffer drive you back to the gateway port town.”

Faustein nodded and then the client called over his chauffer who gave a salute to Faustein and opened the door of the lavish magic mobile from earlier which was the client’s own personal transport, apparently. Then, Faustein got in and the chauffer began driving him off to the gateway port town where Faustein could charter a private ship back to Fiore. As was the case when Faustein had arrived in Disierto earlier, they had to make frequent stops due to the series of sand-laden whirlwinds which crossed paths with them. The reason, of course, was to not lose their bearings.

---

OOC:

WC:

• Post WC: 1107
  
  
• New Total WC: 2258 / 2500
  

After the sandstorm passed over, they had set off again for the gateway port town and after several more hours of traversing the desert-dominated landscape of Disierto, they finally made it all the way to their destination. Upon arrival, the chauffer dropped Faustein off at the entrance to the town upon his request even though he had found it to be strange. However, Faustein had not made this request simply out of eccentricity, but for an actual purpose.

“You can come out of your hiding places now. I know full well that you have been following me from the arena to the client’s house and now you have followed me here to this gateway port town.”

Upon hearing that, several men emerged from the desert sands with weapons at the ready. Upon closer examination of the men, Faustein noticed that they were the guards who were posted at the gateway of the arena.

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this encounter with you gentlemen?”

The guards scoffed and remarked in an aggressive voice

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what you did!! Thanks to you, we are now out of a job!!

Faustein smirked as he heard that and replied

“It was nothing personal, to be sure. On the contrary, it was merely part of my business deal with my client. However, if you are still dissatisfied with this outcome, you may attack me if you so desire.”

The guards uttered an enraged war cry before pouncing on Faustein only to be strangled, electrocuted, and slashed to death by him and thus became food for the denizens of the desert sands. Afterwards, Faustein yawned as he felt the exhaustion set in and headed into the port town, chartered a private ship once more and headed off to Fiore, intending to get a nice long rest once he returned to Magnolia Town.

---

OOC:

WC:

• Post WC: 314
  
  
• New Total WC: 2572 / 2500
  

NOTE: 2500/2500 WC NECESSARY FOR B-RANK NEUTRAL FREEFORM COMPLETE.

(FAUSTEIN'S EXIT)

THREAD SUMMARY:

• THREAD OBJECTIVES OF RETRIEVAL OF CLIENT'S NEPHEW NPC AND PUNISHMENT OF EX-FIOREAN CRIMINAL SLAVER RING COMPLETED IN FULL.
  
  
• 5143 / 5000 WC IN THREAD USED FOR 1X A-RANK NEUTRAL STANDARD JOB AND 2572 / 2500 WC IN THREAD USED FOR 1X B-RANK NEUTRAL FREEFORM JOB. OVERALL WC TOTAL: 7715 / 7500
  
  
• HEREBY GIVING UP JEWEL REWARDS FOR BOTH JOBS IN EXCHANGE FOR 1X LEGENDARY WEAPON FROM A-RANK JOB AND 1X STRONG+ WEAPON FROM B-RANK FREEFORM