Starting from Zero - Vol 4 Chapter 103
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Vol 4 Chapter 103

Book 4, Chapter 30

Mutation

           On the other end of the battlefield, Pa.s.serby

is intercepted by several griffins, causing the cannon to fall and finally

crash on the ground. It shattered into several parts. A bullet went off and

flew in the direction towards the G.o.ddess City!

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    We

didn't give it much thought since we're pretty far off from the city and the

random shot probably won't do anything. However the sh.e.l.l precisely landed on

the city gate, pulverizing it, while causing dozens if not hundreds of people

to get buried alive.

           Right. Innocent bystanders always get into trouble.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Oh

s.h.i.+t! Why me again??"

            My Evilness rose! It was Tank who caused the

griffins to drop the cannon but...do they have to count ALL the deaths on my

head??

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Jesus

cakes. All those people must have received messages that I attacked them. I

just made a second ma.s.s-kill accident! I didn't mean it!!

           Since

I'm already the top criminal, the system didn't announce my honorable deed

again. This won't cause TOO much of an issue since I have my Masking Wheel

bracelet, compared to last time.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    The

griffins all retreated when the cannon is destroyed. They hurt Phiona badly before

they leave, Rosa saved her from a fatal crash. γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€  

           We

began to wrap up the whole fight since the enemies are gone. Rose is the busies

one. She's the only healer in the team. Yuri can heal people but she died just

now, which means Rose's first task is

to revive Yuri before she gets teleported back to the city by the system due to

time limit.

           Rose used her skill three times at Yuri's body before she can bring

her back. Fortunately she only lost one level. Rose could really make a fortune

by selling her skill on the battlefield.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    They

soon returned everyone to their full state. I looked at Zirai, who's sulking at

the remains of the crystal cannon. I walked to her and patted her on the

shoulder.

            "Don't worry. We can always try again."

            I feel as if I'm

comforting myself. This is strange.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "What's

the plan now?" Razor asked me. "Do we do it again when the city is in a

mess, or wait and save up strength?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Before

I can respond, Elfy yelled and startled everyone.

            "Ziri, your pet!! What's

he doing?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Hm?

"

            I turned around and saw Tank munching on something. Oh good lord, he's

covered in griffin blood while tearing on a griffin corpse!

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Ew.

I don't want to look at that." Gold Coin pointed at the griffin shreds.

"Where did you find this freak?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "He's

not a freak." I retorted. "You have no idea what he can do when he

grows up enough. He's invincible!"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Zirai

recovered her spirit. "You don't say?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Yes.

When he's still an enemy he can knock Lucky away like he was nothing."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "...The

bug can knock a dragon away?" 

           "You should check his status. Maybe eating corpse is

something he learned." Elfy suggested. "I know some monsters that can

heal or strengthen themselves by doing this."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Good

point."

            I read through Tank's description and my mouth instantly dropped

open.

            "He--he--"

           

            "What?" Rose finished her work and ran to me. "He can heal up

like that?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    I

shook head. "He's not healing."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "What

is it then?" γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€   

            "It's

a special skill. He can learn the skill of whatever he eats!" γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€   

            "You

serious??"  Gold Coin squeezed to my side. I opened the window for everyone to

see.

            "...[Fire

Bullet](Griffin). Yeah that's one of their skills. Good G.o.d, what happens if he

eats a dragon? He can breath fire?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Merciless

answered this one. "Oh he doesn't need to. The bug can already breath fire.

And it's powerful."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "How

do you know that?" Gold Coin turned to Merciless. γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€  

           "I

was killed by it. I'd say that fire is just like dragon fire." γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€  

           "A

little less than that but close." I added. "Lucky was in a breathing

contest with it, and he lost. Though that was probably because Lucky's level

was too low."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Tank

has finished his meal during our discussion. He slowly crawled away when no one's noticing.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Where

did it go Ziri?" Elfy is the first to notice the missing bug.

           She turned

around and saw Tank just behind her, still biting on something.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    I

went over to check. "Geez how many griffins do you--"

           Then I stopped, which

caused all the others to look towards Tank as well.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "The

sc.r.a.ps! I mean, the cannon--"

            Tank is munching on the remains of the

crystal cannon. There are only a few screws and springs left on the ground!

            But, but

he eats CANNONs??

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Ziri,

check his skill!"

            I didn't close the window, Violet saw something new.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "[Crystal

Cannon Shot]? Wait wait wait you're not saying--"

            I told everyone to step aside and

started to give orders to Tank. "Hey Tank, that hill over there, do you

see it? Use [Crystal Cannon Shot] on it!"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€     No

response. 

            "What happened?" I

asked Phantom.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Give

me a moment." Phantom went silent for a while. "He says he can only

use that skill with full HP."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Rose,

heal him up. Looks he needs a full HP bar to use the cannon skill."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Rose

filled up his HP soon, when Tank turned towards the hill I mentioned. He fixed his six legs deep into the dirt and lay low.

           The wing-case on his back opened

up. I thought he's going to display his wings again. Instead, a pipe-like

cavity organism stuck out from the middle of his back and pointed at the hill. The

alien object is obviously part of Tank's body now.

           The long, light green barrel

began to glow. Poom! It kicked back in the same manner when a cannon releases a

sh.e.l.l. A bullet like the ones we saw before went towards the hill. The only

noticeable difference is that this one is green colored.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    It

landed on the tip of the hill, causing a shock wave that can be seen by bare

eyes. The tip part disappeared from our sight, silently. It was when the shock

wave reached our position when we were finally met with the thunderous

explosion and terrible ground shake. We all had to crouch on the ground to

avoid all the debris.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    When

the whole scene calmed down, Tank fell sideways and almost crashed on top of me,

if not for my quick reflexes. I looked at his attribute again -- HP 1,

MP 0. All skills are grayed out. A half transparent message is displayed on top

of the window: 

           [Exhausted. Cannot act. 72,000 seconds left (online time)]

           And

the time meter is slowly going down.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Everyone

gathered up with their bodies covered in dirt. Violet commented: "We

should-cough! Should have picked something farther away! Cough! I wasn't

expecting that kind of power."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    I

showed them the countdown. "Pity. It got a really long cooldown."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Coin:

"Totally legit. That was like a nuclear missile. If you can use it without

any limit you might as well go fuc up j.a.pan on your own. You know, just stand

there, and give five or six shots, that's enough to blast a medium-sized city

into plain ground."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Elfy:

"Nice. A portable cannon. Now we can really call it a 'Tank'." γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€   

           "I'd

prefer 'Self-propelled Howitzer', if that counts as a name." Pa.s.serby

commented.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Merciless

looked at the now strange-shaped Tank. "Apart from the speed...there's another

problem." γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    

           "What

is it?" We all looked at him.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "The

cannon is actually a skill right? And using it means Ziri's companion will have

to drop out of any actions for a while." Merciless paused a little. "It

may be powerful but there are not many chances we can use it for real. Close combat is

absolutely a no. As you see, the attack doesn't distinguish friendlies. If we

shoot in the middle of a fight we'll bring everyone down with it."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Violet

spoke: "We can use it during city siege. A shot like that on the city gate

or among the city defenders will solve us a lot of problems." γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€   

           "That's

right. But did you notice how long it took him to expand the cannon?" Merciless

gave us the cold water again. "He needs to be at top status, and a full

minute to prepare the shot. If anyone manages to touch him, the skill gets

interrupted. The skill is really impressive on the looks, but not very

practical, if you ask me."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    We

lowered our heads. That made a lot of sense. As he said, the kill power is

really good. But I can only use it at somewhere really far away from the team.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Oh oops...sorry for that. It's better than nothing at least." γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    

           "Agreed!"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    

           "So...what's

the plan? We go fetch another?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Not

now." Hawk shook his head. 

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "I

agree with Hawk. We should wait for the night or wait till tomorrow. If we go

now we'll run into their main force again."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€   

γ€€γ€€     Gold

Coin held her chin. "I have an idea but...It's just a matter whether you

guys got the guts to do it." γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    

           "Well

shoot. We tried to take a city defense cannon for real. Is there anything else we

can't try?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Do

you know how the three major system cities got their t.i.tle?" 

           She got us

hanging. And I don't think she's going straight if we don't play along.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Why?

Cause they're big?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Nope!"

She looks satisfied. "The major cities are not the biggest ones. I've seen

cities bigger than the G.o.ddess City but they're still not major cities. The

reason is the three cities have imperial palaces in them."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "You

mean, the inner city?" Hawk nodded. "I see what you meant. Only major

cities have those palaces in the center. But what's important with that? They

never allow players in there. Anything worth taking?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Coin

waved her index finger. "There are five crystal cannons in each city."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Duh,

we all saw that."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "What

you didn't see is the biggest cannon is located inside the palace area." 

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Can

you make it simple?" γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€   

           "Okay,

the simple question. Are you willing to lose a level to get that cannon?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "How

do we do that?" I still don't catch up with her.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "It's,

well, maybe a minor system bug. The bug doesn't mean anything to common players

but we can use it."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "System

bug huh?" I perked up. Never thought I'd encounter any bugs in [Zero]. This

is big news, I'll go tell my father later. 

           "Tell us already!"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "It's

a strange system setup. I noticed it by accident. There's one point when I stole

something and was cornered. My only choice then was jumping into the inner city

area. Guess what next?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Yes?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    

           "The

NPC guards all retreated. They can't get into the palace." γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    

           "That

doesn't look 'minor' to me!" I yelled.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Let

me finis.h.!.+ City guards can't get in, sure. But there are imperial guards inside

the palace, level 900, led by level 950 captains! These imperial troops will

come after you instead."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Hawk

shrugged. "No bug for us then. Those level 900 guards will be way harder to deal with."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Coin:

"Wrong again! I survived for a while thanks to my speed. The imperial

guards only try to kill you, instead of taking you to prison. And I found a

problem: there are very few of them, and they don't resp.a.w.n. In other words, they're

short on hands. So what happens if we attack from several different locations?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Even

they don't have enough men, they can still kill us before we can bring the

cannon outside the palace." γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€   

           "We

don't have to! Actually, we don't do that in the first place."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Now

we're not going to steal the cannon at all?" γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€   

           "The

ordinary city guards left me alone after I was killed. I sneaked back into the

palace again, guess what I found? The items I lost were still there on the

ground. I tried several times more and this is my conclusion:

            First, the city

guards don't care if someone enters the palace. They only go after thieves and

criminals. 

            Second, items left in the palace will not get cleared up. The

imperials don't check what you dropped.

            (In [Zero], items don't disappear on themselves but pa.s.sing monsters and NPCs will try to take them away. Remember how Hawk and Elfy witnessed a dragon s.n.a.t.c.hing a gem away from a group of fighting players?) 

            And third, when I went back for my items, the imperials came after

me but they stopped at the palace boundary. The outside city guards never

showed up again either. So, the imperials either try to kill me because I

trespa.s.sed on forbidden ground, or because I have stolen items on me. Either

way, they can't go outside bounds. The city guards won't care if I go back

again and retrieve the stolen items I lost. You see the bug now?"

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Okay,

so, for whatever reason, imperial guards only attack intruders inside the

palace, and city guards will stop pursuing anyone after they're killed once. Neither

of them actually care about the stolen items." Elfy gave her own sum-up.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "Close. The city guards do care about the items, but they don't try to

take them if they can't. Normally they will take the items from the thief and

give them back to the owner, but since they can't reach the items dropped inside

the palace, they'll leave them there. Even if I take them out again they won't

do anything."

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    "How

does that help with our plan?" Pa.s.serby asked.

γ€€γ€€

γ€€γ€€    Someone

still didn't get it so I explained: "Coin wants to say that if we move the

palace cannon, the city guards will gather outside the palace and try to kill

us to retrieve the cannon. Here, we move the cannon near the gate and let the

imperials kill us. Then all the NPCs will return to their original positions, we

revive, go into the palace again and take the cannon. In this

case, neither the imperials nor the city guards will come after us. We can just

carry the cannon through the city gate under broad daylight!"