Still feeling under the weather so I'm kinda late
Also haven't proofread this yet or anything, so... yeah
Anyway, more action and plot starting next chapter
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[ Combat EXP: 40. ]
[ Rescue EXP: 20. ]
[ Total EXP: 60. ]
[ Next level: 250. ]
In the end, the night was drier than Lucian hoped. Then again, he did just round up nearly a dozen people that same night. One thing for another, he supposed.
It wasn't like that tradeoff was bad either, if it could even be called that. After all, he managed to run into Waylon Jones—the Killer Croc. The opportunity presented by the situation counted for far more than any amount of EXP that Lucian could have gathered. Reason being: Waylon wasn't even Killer Croc yet. He was just a man with a nigh-supernatural skin condition, and all the banes and few boons that came with it.
'I even managed to snare him in the same night. Now, I just need to cement his loyalty.'
As an aside, there was also the fact that Waylon personally knew Nicks—that trouble-magnet of a kid that Lucian had saved thrice now. There was even more potential there considering he had survived Gotham for so long with such a cavalier attitude towards endangering himself. Potential yet unknown, but... potential nonetheless.
Disregarding all of that, the lack of action for the rest of the night weighed on Lucian. In the end, he decided that he'd had enough and returned home to turn in early. Though he now needed much less sleep than he used to thanks to how high his Vitality and Spirit attributes have gotten, it was still good to have more rest than less—barring excess, of course.
...
The following morning, Lucian hopped up from his bedding, energized both in body and mind. After all, he had a little something to look forward to. He wouldn't be tackling the gym alone today.
Arriving at his destination, he pushed the glass doors open and strode on through. Maxie was already inside, wrapping her hands in protective cloth near the racks. Her expression was so blank that one could have mistaken her face for a mask—only the intensity in her eyes kept her from looking fully... inhuman.
"Yo!" Lucian approached and raised a hand in greeting.
Blinking, Maxie turned to face him. "Yo," she said back. She even raised one of her hands to around shoulder-level. The gesture was stiff and board-like, as if a robot had made it. The intensity in her eyes also softened somewhat when her gaze fell on him.
'That's a good sign... I think.'
He would have thought her return greeting was made in mockery had it been anyone else, and if he hadn't been so drawn to nearly everything about her.
'Fuck, she's cute. Not that I'd ever tell her that to her face... we're not that close yet.'
"Perfect timing," Maxie said once Lucian was close enough. She motioned vaguely towards his hands, which he held out to her. Just like last time, she wrapped them up all quick-like. "Mind if we skip bag work today? I don't have a lot of time."
"Not a problem," Lucian replied.
They had to use a beaten-up roll-out mat for their spar, since their gym was much too small for a proper ring. Luckily, most other gymgoers weren't early-birds like them. For the next hour or so at least, they would have most of the space to themselves.
Lucian squared off against Maxie, each of them standing near opposing edges on the mat. She was quite a bit shorter than him—almost a full head's worth of difference—and her stance was tight and compact. Lucian, meanwhile, preferred to play fast and loose when he wasn't grappling, so his posture was much more relaxed than hers. Onlookers that didn't know any better could easily mistake it for arrogance.
Lucian's eyes met Maxie's—onyx and emerald—and they both moved at the same time with no need for an external signal. Lucian sank his stance lower to meet hers, and she ducked even lower in turn. Her legs pushed with the same explosive force that her arms did, and she plunged deep into his personal space. She was an in-fighter, it turned out. That made a lot of sense for her stature.
Maxie punched hard—much harder than anyone her size should have been able to. Lucian was already aware of it from previously helping her with bag work, but it still took him somewhat by surprise. Thankfully, he was inhumanly durable himself—he barely felt the blow since Maxie was holding back, considering this wasn't a real fight. As proof of that, there was the briefest widening in her eyes before she dashed away from him to disengage.
"... You're a lot tougher than you look," she said pointedly. All the while, her eyes wandered constantly between his face and body, scanning for something.
Lucian just eased his stance somewhat, priming his fists to lash out as quick as possible to hopefully keep her from closing in again. "We all have our quirks," he responded. "Looks like you finally found your match in me."
To his mild chagrin, Maxie rolled her eyes at him. Then, once again, she dashed into his range, entirely undeterred by his reach. She kept much lower this time, even lower than before. She also used some footwork that Lucian couldn't fully read, snaking left and right to slip past his attempts to keep her at bay.
'Hoo boy, you're gonna be fun to fight,' Lucian mused in his head. 'Hey, Miss P. Can you turn off [Heavy Blow]? I wanna enjoy this spar as much as I can.'
[ Received. ]
[ Processing... ]
[ Temporarily sealed ability: [Heavy Blow]. ]
...
Lucian and Maxie were breathing heavy by the time they agreed to end things, bodies soaked in sweat. Maxie was worse off than Lucian was, however, gasping hard for air. After all, she had coaxed him into going 'all out' towards the end by holding nothing back herself. The outcome was to be expected.
Lucian gulped down the entirety of a water bottle he'd brought with him, literally inhaling its contents into his stomach. Hissing in satisfaction, he then asked, "Having regrets? I told you, you couldn't hold out longer than me."
Maxie shook her head, easing her breaths into slowing down. "No... none at all," she replied. She took a few small gulps from her own water before continuing. "I'm kinda glad I did that, actually..."
Humming, Lucian just stared at her without a word. His breathing had mostly evened out at that point, and his pulse wasn't far behind. "Can I ask why?" He asked when the silence drew too long.
Taking a deep breath and sighing it out, Maxie took a few more draws from her water, each one longer than the last. "First time I could ever really push myself like that in forever. Kinda hard to find people that could match me and not be weird about it, you know?"
A proverbial lightbulb went off above Lucian's head. He nodded to himself, saying, "Ah... yeah, I get it. I don't think you'll be getting a lot more of this, though."
A bewildered noise jumped out from Maxine's lips. "What do you mean?"
"I got a job," said Lucian, rubbing a towel over the sweat that had reformed on his skin as his body settled down. "I start tomorrow, and my mornings won't be free anymore. Sorry."
Maxie hummed and finished off her water. "That's fine," she said. "We don't have to do mornings."
Lucian cocked a brow, prompting her to continue.
"I pretty much only go in the mornings to get this stuff out of the way before everything else," she explained. "If you're free between four to eight PM... I think we can keep going."
Those words put a smile on Lucian's face. "That's what we'll do, then," he replied. "It'd be a bummer tryna find a new sparring partner now that I'm getting used to you."
Snickering, almost snorting, Maxie turned her head to really look at him. "What, did I punch a crush into you already?"
Lucian guffawed, leaning forward a little as if the reaction had been plucked out of him with force. "You wish! You'll have to beat me first for that to even maybe happen."
"I'll put your ass on the floor next time, then!" Maxie shot back, initiating a lengthy exchange of ribbing between the two of them.
By the end of their banter, Lucian and Maxie acknowledged that they needed to part ways. Before she left though, she exchanged phone numbers with him, just to keep in touch.
"We're doing this regularly now," she reasoned. "If either of us can't make it at some point, we need to let the other know."
When she had finally left and Lucian went into the showers, a notification from the Program flashed into existence before him.
[ Notice. ]
[ Your Luck attribute has risen. ]
[ 0 ››› 1 ]
'Damn. Luck boost for getting a girl's number?'
[ Affirmative. ]
[ The creator is a young lady with growing interests. Such things inevitably reflect on her work. ]
Lucian chuckled, starting up the cold shower. Droplets cascaded over him, flowing through his hair and down his chest and back. As his body cooled down, the image of the Headmaster's youngest daughter conjured itself in his mind—a girl alone in her bedroom, kicking her feet in the air as she watched his love life develop.
'I didn't ask to be turned into your soap opera, but... eh. Have fun, bub.'
...
Since he was left alone, Lucian had been struck with... a feeling, of sorts. Back in the gym's shower, he'd dismissed it as lingering excitement from the future prospects he'd been given. He also figured that it could have been the beginnings of a blossoming crush as well. Maxie was exactly his type, after all, considering his weakness for short girls and redheads, and women that could really show people what was what.
This was different from that, though.
The itch was an insistent little thing in the very back of his mind, weighing upon his neck and constricting at his vertebrae. He didn't quite know what it meant, but was keen on following it regardless. Whatever he could figure out about it, told him that it was like a gut feeling. A subtle itching sensation that drove him to do something, 'or else.'
With a sigh, he ducked into an alley and made for the straightest path to reach Iñigo's. He hopped barriers, fences, and walls along the way. Soon enough, he came upon the familiar establishment.
He paid no mind to what was happening in and around the restaurant, and instead approached the side of the building where foot traffic was weakest. Because of that, it was out of view from most eyes and cameras. The chances of being spotted were minimal.
He stripped his clothing there and donned his makeshift 'prototype suit.' Wrapping himself in it brought some relief to the itch... if only because his core knew what was about to happen.
He climbed up the side and went to a corner of the building's rooftop. In there was a large cooler, where he placed his backpack for safekeeping. He didn't expect his arrangement with Iñigo Gutierrez to see any real use quite so soon.
Confirming that his weapons were in the right pockets, Lucian huffed to himself and jumped back down the building. It was time for some daylight vigilantism.
...
Following the itch had been the right call. It turned out to be [ Justice Sense ], and it had been going off like a distant siren, doing its best to reach his senses despite its limitations. There he was, tailing a couple close to his age. He stalked them from the back alleys, letting [ Justice Sense ] guide him through the concrete mazes while the pair followed nothing but straight, open paths.
Nothing looked off about them. Everything was in order. Lucian's eyes disagreed with his supernatural ability, which was very much infallible. But... soon, he caught it. It was the woman's eyes.
Lucian's mind was sent hurtling back to the memory of Maxine. Earlier, her face had been the definition of 'emotionless' for the most part. Only, something behind her eyes burned with far more heat and vigor than was displayed by any other part of her.
The woman that Lucian was tailing, she was anything but. She smiled, frowned, and emoted every which way. She had such natural ease and grace that she might have fooled even the most observant of people.
Closer, more informed analysis of her showed that her eyes were as dead as that of a days-old corpse, despite every other aspect of her being as lively as anyone else.
Reconfirming where he was, Lucian took in his surroundings to figure out the best path for an ambush. He swung himself up stairs and railings, leapt his way across gaps both horizontal and vertical. All the while, [ Justice Sense ] kept him on track. The situation drew ever closer to its maximum tension point the more it dragged on.
'There...!' He exclaimed internally.
The man was leading the dead-eyed woman to a car—there was no telling who or what was inside. Damned tinted windows. Still, [ Justice Sense ] kept guiding him. There were people inside it that promised only danger for the woman.
Lucian needed to act.
– ৹ – ৹৹◎৹৹ – ৹ –
New Chain Quest, Part I: Get Nosy
Description: This whole situation reeks. Rescue this woman from her would-be captors to start getting to the bottom of this.
Objectives:
[1] Prevent the woman from being kidnapped.
[2] Defeat the enemies or chase them away.
Rewards:
[1] Success:
• 25 EXP
• D-Grade Item: "Medal of Valor."
[2] Success:
• 50 EXP
• 1 random D-Grade weapon, or 1 random piece of D-Grade armor.
Penalties:
Total Quest Failure:
• -25% Spirit for the next 24 hours.
• Temporary Cursed Title: "Mark of Shame" for the next 24 hours.
Duration: Undefined.
– ৹ – ৹৹◎৹৹ – ৹ –
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