Ludvik

The atmosphere stilled with an awkward silence, Neo's lips were curled into a smile, strained to some degree. Roman merely hummed, perhaps curiosity, amusement, or a mere way to conceal his emotions. Adam barely acknowledged such a trivial thing, giving a single nod as he spoke.

"That's fine, he should be safer with the two of you. Just don't cause trouble." The last pointed demand was aimed at Ludvik, the boy merely nodded, his thoughts confused and in jumbles as he tried to process what he had heard.

Him, with Raven?

It wasn't that he felt like she would kill him, it was just that…actually, it was exactly that! The leader of a bandit tribe, stuck with him, in a location far away from any help besides Neo, with the only allies available being said bandits of the tribe leader.

Of course, Neo's presence would ensure his safety to some degree, but not absolutely. A good surprise attack would be enough, the only comfort that he had was that as far as he knew, Roman and Neo hadn't made enemies of the tribe. Or if they did, it was good enough that they wouldn't kill each other on sight.

Plus, it wasn't like he was of any value to someone as important as Raven.

Visibly calming down, Ludvik remained rooted to his spot. Watching their agreement take place, confirmation on the drop area, he took this chance to inspect the rest of the bandits, using his [Thief's Observation] to do so. The results were less than… satisfactory.

Name: Luke Windhelm

Networth: ?

Occupation: Branwen Bandit

Small Secret: ?

Name: Leo Hensworth

Networth: ?

Occupation: Branwen Bandit

Small Secret: ?

[Thief's Observation leveled up! 2x]

Any attempt on the rest were the same, on the plus side, he had leveled up twice with his action. Unfortunately, with another sweep, the effect of the level up did little to nothing in improvement. None that were visible at least.

"Ludvik, come on down from there, you'll be sitting up front with Neo." Roman called for him.

With a sigh, Ludvik stood up, and slowly made his way down the truck, clinging onto the ledge and lowering himself. He fell on his two feet with a slight bend, the numbing sensation was negligible. He would rather avoid any possible damages.

Under the stares of the bandits, some nudged one another, chuckling while doing so, others remained bored and stoic. They were the picture perfect definition of what a bandit would be, all except of course their leader, who was garbed what he would describe for feminine clothes.

Yet, the large ivory skull drew a sense of dread within Ludvik, a dread that overwhelmed him. Not from the object itself, but what was concealed behind it. The lingering crimson eyes, it made him shudder as he moved closer to Neo.

Roman clasped his own hands "Alright that settles it, let's get a move on before the big kitty gets mad at us that we wasted so much time."

Roman concluded, walking to one of the vehicles of transportation as he ignored the annoyed growl of Adam, who was a bit offended at the comment. Just before Roman hopped in, he gave a wink at Ludvik and mouthed 'good luck' with a slight curl of his lips.

Ludvik dryly smiled in return beneath his mask, this was going to be a painful ride.

000

Raven

Silver was the crestfallen moon, round in shape and filled of the ivory color, the mask had done very little in its use for concealment. As much as the boy may attempt to do so, it was futile, there was nothing in the world that could hide the sheen of the weapons that the eyes represented. Whether he was aware of their capabilities or not, she fully intended to find out.

The three rode in the transportation truck, or more specifically, the three hung on the roof of the truck. Raven herself stayed silent, the silver eyed boy that was 'Little White' also held his tongue, yet he fidgeted as the mercenary played with his white locks, humming as she did so.

But it could be a ruse, so she couldn't be sure, Neo's unpredictable personality matched perfectly with her semblance. What she wouldn't do for one of her own men to have such an ability, it would be a vital and valuable asset to their raids and overall strength.

She covered a sigh, the idea of getting Neo into her tribe has long since been thrown out, even if she succeeded, she had a feeling it would be more of a detriment than anything else.

[Ah~ your hair is so soft, you know that? What conditioner did you use Little White?]

The words, although in reverse as they were sent to 'Little White' were still read by Raven, the meek boy answered with a lowered tone, "I just used the ones in the hotel…"

[Hmm, really? It's pretty good, maybe I'll try it.]

Neo conversed casually with the boy, stroking his hair while occasionally gliding through it, it seemed to calm the boy's nerves. For her to be able to soothe the silver eyed young teen, then how close were they? For how long do the two know each other?

Little White's eyes glanced at Raven for a second. Wary, caution, distrust, and uncomfortableness. All perfectly highlighted through the male's eyes, it seemed like the thief duo hadn't had their hands on the boy for too long. To conceal your true thoughts and feelings was one of the first lessons after all.

With but a moment of thought, she reached towards her head and pulled off the Grimm like mask that covered her own, allowing her flowing rugged black hair to cascade down her back once more.

Although the action caused a raised eyebrow from the mercenary, Raven gave no vocal explanation nor reason as she placed the helmet on her thigh, staying silent even as she noted a hint of ease from the boy. He seemed quite a bit scared of the accessory, perhaps a past trauma or common adolescent fear of Grimm?

Her scrutiny was not ignored as Neo's eyes opened, mismatched and mischievous as they pierced into her, she could almost feel them as if warning her. She seemed attached to the boy, just as Roman had as well back at the Red Velvet Bar. Was it sympathy, a sense of likelihood, of tragic pasts meeting one another?

If only the date of the mission was pushed back a little, if only-

Grinding and crushing the grains of pebbles beneath its wheels, the truck came to a slow halt just as the other vehicles followed suit.

"Tribe leader, you may want to take a look at this!" The gruff voice of one of Raven's bandits called for her, Luke the one who was driving, if she could recall correctly. She frowned, had there been an issue with the truck? She quickly grabbed her ivory mask and donned it.

Hopping down, hand on sheath, she noticed a large trunk that stood before the armored and black vehicle; which systematically had caused the pause of all the other transporters behind them, but how hadn't they noticed it when choosing the path?

Both paths had been seemingly scoured by Adam and his organization, albeit, with the help of their tribe, so something as detrimental as a fallen tree would've made them notify Raven to take a small detour. Or, at the most, have the White Fang notify them.

"It's too big to push through, the truck can't do it. We may have to cut the trunk into separate parts and move it, but simply going around might be easier." Luke suggested, opening and closing the truck door as he got off.

They were wasting time, if they delayed then there would be a price to pay for the White Fang, caution and punctuation were the same to them and they were worth their weight in gold. But they simply had no other choice.

Just as Raven unsheathed her blade, her eyes dragged across the oak trunk of the tree until her eyes narrowed and she started to frown. Her hand dragged across the hard oak, stopping at the stump of it where it had started. It was smooth and centered with precision, it wasn't jagged nor did it carry roots with it.

The tree hadn't fallen naturally. It was cut.

Her body snapped into action as it leaned away from a cleaving slice, glint of the sword flashing vertically as she unsheathed her own weapon in response and reciprocated the blow, her and the adversary both staggered back as they clashed.

Raven locked eyes with Luke, one of her Grimm Specialists, as the other bandits maneuvered around them two. Whether they were with her, or against her, it wasn't something that could be discerned.

[Ohhh~ is this a betrayal scene? I love these types of reveals, makes the whole show stand out, you know?]

Beside her, Neo materialized, accompanied by her semblance that shattered into view, large and bolded for all to see. Wasn't her aura exhausted by the constant displays, just how much aura did this woman have?

[Am I interrupting?]

Her bandit shook his head, scoffing as he shrugged "The more the merrier, am I right?" He glanced at the windshield, "Where's the boy? Hiding behind the truck, or, is he already running through the woods to get to papa?"

Neo, pooling her parasol out from god knows where, simply smiled.

Even Raven wouldn't be able to say where the boy was, for all she knew he could be right beside them and they wouldn't notice. Or, is Neo really just buying time so the boy could escape? It was a possibility, helping was uncharacteristic for a mercenary, especially for one like the ice cream girl.

"Nothing to say, tribe leader? No questions, like, why did we betray you? It almost hurts, it makes it seem like you don't care for us." Although his words would be mocking, his tone and expression was of genuine politeness. Luke was always the polite and gentle one, well, polite and gentle as far as a bandit could get.

Raven shook her head, almost disappointed,"Isn't it obvious? All bandits will fall to their greed, be they kind or depraved, it only determines how long they'll last before they give in."

An uproarious laughter erupted from the woods, Raven didn't react, only glaring down at Luke without a tinge of curiosity. Bandits weren't known for their honor, a distraction might even cost her the first and true initial strike.

But she could still hear the voice of the man of which the laughter belonged to.

"Right you are Raven, right you are. It's the reason why they make perfect hires, give them enough cash and they'll be willing to swallow any shit you throw at them. Even betraying their so-called leader."

The man agreed, his voice sounding oh so similar to Raven, cocky and arrogant with the hints of an inferiority complex, how lovely.

The man agreed and explained, his voice sounding oh so similar to Raven. Cocky and arrogant with the slightest of hints of an inferiority complex, there wasn't any mistake, it belonged to one of Lil' Miss Malachite's caporegime, Hunter.

The Spider had actually gotten involved, it ensured a war against the White Fang, was the price for Roman that high?

"Or maybe their piece of shit leader was the cause of it, heard you were overbearing as hell, not allowing your men to have fun with women at times as it may put your little tribe in danger. Tsk tsk, you can't just repress the urges of your men like that, at least, if you are going to do so, help them out a little"

The caporegime named Hunter continued, adding depraved insults and sneers as he disparaged Raven. Neo, beside her, raised an eyebrow, looking confused as she casually turned towards the man. She showed no care for the added step a bandit close to her took.

[...Who are you supposed to be?]

"Well if it isn't the famous Neo, you're quite the popular name back at the organization, you know? Lots of murderers look up to you. I'll even make you a deal, join us and hand over Roman, and I bet our leader can offer a comfy high ranking position to you, what do you say?"

Hunter offered, Raven's knees bent as Neo rotated her weapon.

[I'm good, thanks. The least I can do for your generosity is offer a painless death.]

He sighed disappointedly. "That's too bad, I would've earned quite a huge prize for obtaining Roman's head and recruiting you, but hey, you can't blame a guy for trying."

Silence permeated through the air as more of his grunts appeared from the forest, five, ten, twenty. Soon, excluding her own, it amounted to over thirty men, armed with sharp blades, loaded artillery, and even some that were bare handed that were most likely semblance focused fighters.

[Wanna split it up? 50/50?]

[I can't let you have all the fun to yourself, even a girl like me needs to stretch a little, you know?]

Messages appeared in her view, almost making her think Neo did take the deal. But the fact she hadn't found a blade that had appeared randomly, embedded into her skull nullified that thought… to some degree.

Raven didn't break focus, only nodding minisculely at the request. Her body leaned forward, her bent knees unloading like a spring as she sprung forward with incomparable speed, becoming that of a blur as she swung her blade.

She was an unstoppable warrior, feet dashing and moving in sequence with her attacks, no man was capable of handling her for too long as she broke through their defense. Her blade raptured the air as it hummed with a compulsive red energy, blowing back two of the men near her.

A few yards away, Neo effortlessly handled the assaults, doing somersaults in the air, vanishing and appearing out of thin air. Sometimes there was one Neo, or at others, it seemed there were multiple. The fight was disoriented and messy, but in the perspective of Raven it was akin to a marionette playing with her puppets for a dazzling play.

Raven barely reacted in time as her blade deflected the round of a bullet, Hunter shrugged from a distance, holding a red rifle in hand, "Like I said, it was worth a try." shifting forms, the red material deconstructed and reconstructed into a sharper and lengthier weapon that represented a spear.

'Just where is he…'

000

Ludvik

Watching the scenery of battle before him, Ludvik held his breath, almost as if he was afraid of being heard during the commotion of combat. He watched as blood spilled, sometimes Neo's, which only vanished into particles, but mostly enemies. And unlike the woman, their blood didn't vanish, unlike her, they didn't seemingly heal.

Their aura, which was supposed to be their natural defense, was unfortunately not automatic and couldn't be timed with the agile blows of the mercenary. Even the attempts of a consistently placed shield of aura did little good, merely used as toys as she chipped at their defenses.

A performance, and as he locked eyes with her for a brief second, he knew it was a performance meant solely for him.

He could do nothing but engulf in the display, unable to leave due to his instructions, he could only sit and witness. Those were the orders that she had given him, to hide in some nearby bushes and wait.

But the problem wasn't if he could endure until then, the problem was if she could endure until then.

Although it isn't noticeable, for Neo to fight in such a fashion with such a large group of people, it would take a considerable toll on her aura. And that was without considering the fact she was hiding him with her semblance on top of his own attempt to conceal himself.

He gnashed his teeth, there was nothing he could but sit there like a little pet and lower his head, waiting to be saved and helped.

Even after his training, even after obtaining the Gamer System, in this second life of his, he was just incapable as he was in his past life. He felt just as restricted and bounded. Pathetic, utterly pathetic.

That's not true, host! There are lots of ways you can help and do in the meantime while they are fighting.

'There were?'

Yes! And quite a bit too if I may add. For starters, it would be a good time to check out the "Map" feature of the Gamer System.

'Menu'

The command echoed within his mind, prompting the menu of the system to be in full view.

Ludvik Vallsgarde

Class: Marauder (2) [0/150]

Lvl: 2 [130/200]

HP: 100 [20 Per Minute]

MP: 2 [22 Per Minute]

AP: 3,100 [300 Per Minute]

[STR: 10] [END: 10] [DEX: 10] [INT: 10] [WIS: 11] [CHA: 10] [LCK: 10]

Skills Inventory Perks Map Shop Settings

Attribution Points: 15

Lien: 10

There hadn't been much of an improvement besides his increase of attribution points and lien, his class level up was hardly noteworthy. Compared to the display of combat as Raven dodged and wavered through the arrays of slashes, it wasn't much. Perhaps, his [Lock Picking]increase was the only thing to take note of.

Ludvik clenched his palm, [invisibility] was similarly also useless at the moment, even if he could land a sneaking attack it would be so insignificant it couldn't even be worth mentioning. Not to mention [Theft] which was arguably his best skill, even then, he was horribly outclassed as the chances of success were pitiful.

May I remind you dear host, for what you entered the menu for.

'Right'

Pushing his thoughts away, he clicked on the Map option, further expanding what was a little small map at the corner of his vision into a large unfolding map that extended all the way to the corner of each kingdom. Vale, Atlas, Vacuo, and of course, Mistral were all displayed with their own corresponding flag. It was like a 3d projection of a map displayed for him, it was nothing short of incredible.

To zoom into a specific area, please top on one of the kingdoms. Do take note that when viewing a landscape, you can tap on said landscape, if they are not connected to a kingdom.

Though, it needs to be said that it isn't omniscient, as you can only view the basics, such as locations, names of places, their appearance, etc. Such things as number of people, huntsman, Grimm, danger levels, are not to be viewed until the user has explored siad area.

'So, google maps but better?'

…Sure

Clicking onto Mistral's green name, the 3D map zoomed into the kingdom, showing nearby trails and towns. He was happy to see that he was represented with a white dot, while everyone else was red.

To mark an ally on your map, click on their dot and switch their status to ally. It will be a permanent change unless you, the host, change their statu again through the same process.

He did as so, clicking on Neo's name and changing it to ally, her dot that represented her became blue. He zoomed away only to find Roman, causing his hand to freeze, surrounding him and another red dot, who Ludvik assumed was Adam, were other red dots.

'So, it was a coordinated attack? If they're doing this, it must mean they hold some confidence in being able to beat them…'

Besides their presence, he could even see their condition, names, and position, which was quite handy. Overall, Ludvik was pleased with the map feature.

Now that you know about the Map, there is one more thing you have gained that you have yet to explore! Please check your inventory.

Just as he did so, opening the large black like grid to be in full view, he happened to notice that there were two new objects that weren't there previously. Clicking on it and the other, they happened to be… Two of Clubs and Two of Spades? How did poker cards get into his inventory?

He had briefly remembered seeing the One of Clubs as the prize for accomplishing the quest, but he had forgotten about it in the midst of the mission and added pressure by the presence of Raven and Adam. He only briefly remembered seeing the latter as the reward for the bonus part of the quest. What even were they?

These can be called "Skilled Cards" with each different type of poker card corresponding to a different category. Diamonds corresponds to defensive styled skills, Clubs corresponds to perk/passive skills, Spades correspond to offensive skills, while Hearts are tied to healing and support skills. The higher the number, the higher chance for a higher tier skill.

A game of luck within the system, how fun.

Reaching into his inventory, said storage space rippled as his hand sunk in and pulled out the cards and placed them on a respective palm; they weren't anything special, they didn't shine with a splendor, they weren't regal, they were but simple playing cards that bended, plastered with a simple Clubs and Spades design at the front, and a crescent moon at the back.

They were just that, nothing out of the ordinary for the average pair of eyes, and yet they could arguably be said to be the most vital part of Ludvik's strength.

It hadn't truly hit him until that moment that the Gamer System was simply that, a Gamer System. Coupled with classes and skills, he had the potential to achieve what were mere daydreams and bring it forth into his second life.

'How do I even use it?'

To use the cards, simply envelop them with a tiny bit of your mana. Fortunately, this process takes a total of a single mana point to be finished, allowing even you to be able to use the cards despite your lacking mana.

Ludvik didn't hide the look of sorrow on his face at the mention, his Mana Points were a sore subject, as they stood at whopping two. Not quite something to be proud of, even if it was used to power genuine magic.

"..."

'Quick question, how do I use my mana?'

Mana is thriving within your body, albeit not much, it is there. To expel it out and use it, you will need to gather it and push it out, which can be done by simply gathering what feels like traces of maneuvering streams of heat in your body and pulling it out.

Ludvik did as so, commanding the mana with his body to move. It came out as soft blue wisps that sluggishly pulled from his finger and dragged itself into the Clubs card. A notification popped up soon after.

[Two of Clubs used!]

[Skill: Light Steps, gained!]

[Light Steps] -LVL 1/100 (0%) [Novice]

The user is able to soften any noise from their steps, even through large jumps and heavy running.

Cost: 10 MP (Per Second)

"..."

As you remember, skills go into two categories, this skill would go into the Magical Skills category, as such, unlike your Class Skills, it only uses Mana Points as its fuel.

'How am I supposed to use it? Even if my class reaches level ten, I would only be able to use it for a second. System, is there any other way to increase my Mana Points besides leveling up my classes?'

There are quite a few ways actually, one is through the use of accessories, certain ones can allow for a permanent increase in Mana Points. Another use is items, such as Mana Elixirs that also permanently increase your Mana Points. Some potions can temporarily do the same effect.

If you're lucky enough, you may be able to gain one of the few perks that can increase your mana and aura.

Those were far more options than what Ludvik assumed he had, but each of them sounded like things that were far above him, where would he even begin to obtain an elixir? As for a perk, the chances of that were higher, but he could only dream of having such a thing.

Shaking away his wishful thoughts, Ludvik concentrated the remaining Mana Point into Two of Spades. Unlike the Two of Clubs, it shone with a golden light, it was that of a small star coming into life, shadowing everything with its brilliant light, undying and pure in essence. For fear of even being able to escape Neo's cover, he hid it under his shirt.

[Two of Spades used!]

[Skill: Precise Aura, gained!]

[Precise Aura] -LVL 1/100 (0%) [Novice]

Through the circulation of the host's aura through their body, they are able to create a moment where their aura is in a state of condensed frenzy, allowing for an attack of where the aura combusts on impact for an explosively powered attack. It should be noted that the explosion is miniscule unless more aura is fed into the skill, and of which the skill's power will rise similarly to it.

Cost: 10 AP (Can be stacked)

Ludvik beamed with a smile, wasn't the skill just perfect for him? Besides making up for the fact he held no offensive skills in his arsenal, it was one that took up his Aura Points rather than in favor of using Magical Points. He couldn't have gotten any luckier, and not only that, it was a rather powerful skill.

Perhaps…

His eyes began to loom into the massacre of a fight, ruthless as it was, the scenery of the previously beautiful representation of nature was now dyed in the color of war as blood littered the ground, seeping between the cracks and soil on the ground.

Luminated by the humble light that bore down upon Ludvik, the copper-like scent of the warzone assaulted his nose, the screams of pain and defiance rung within his own ears, even the sight of stumbling and pierced bodies would forever be imprinted by the scene of ruthlessness laid before him.

Raven fought like a cold and calculated warrior, precise with each slash as she kept pace with Hunter, each and every move seemed to be able to counter his own as she kept pace with the other bandits and criminals. There were no moves wasted, simply clean and cold. It was a fighting style befitting of the small things he had heard about her from Neo.

Speaking of the little psychopath…

[Awww, I really expected far better from the infamous Branwen Tribe and The Spider, especially after how much Roman warned me about you guys... Come on, don't die on me just after a few light pokes.]

The bandits and crime syndicate members were forced to mesh their teeth together and bear the insult, to Ludvik, it seemed to be out of shame. Shame of being bested, shame at the fact that their limit was merely to entertain her.

But he could tell, Ludvik saw the truth in the matter, the whole uncaring and sadistic attitude was a cover. Her chest heaved ever so slightly, traces of sweat were forced to vanish before anybody could notice.

She was running out of aura and stamina, she couldn't keep it up for much longer. Damn show off, if she hadn't been doing such techniques for the purpose of showing him, then she wouldn't be in her situation. She could only count on Raven to deal with Hunter and the Grimm Specialists but…

"Come on Raven! You can't tell me that the infamous Tribe Leader is falling to a simple ambush, just how fucking pathetic is that?!" Although his attitude was rude and vulgar, Hunter's slashes and quick transformation shots were quick and deadly, enough to reduce the number of casualties from Raven to a minimum.

He hacked away as he continued to push her, at times leaning back to dodge a blow, but he always sprung back up and continued to push.

Hunter continued hacking away, pushing back against Raven as he drove in his spear, rotating it for an upper leveled shot, only marking Raven's chin with a red line as she flipped away from the attack and dashed in a piercing motion with her katana.

Hunter cursed as he shot at Raven, disrupting the fluid and straight motion as the red eyed woman twirled her blade in the air, dissuading the bullets from their original target. Using the continuing momentum, she swung downwards at Hunter, her attack was blocked by the staff of the already transformed spear.

Ludvik, who was watching with rapt attention, studied the two without moving his gaze away. It was simply amazing, to see two humans engage in such combat that was often seen in fantasy, the word amazing couldn't ever hope to describe it.

Their figures blurred before Ludvik, oftentimes being too fast for his young eyes to see, and the spear and sword clashed with a light ringing, causing a burst of orange sparks to fly from their engagement.

But as the fight continued, despite his nearly jumping amazement, he began to realize that Raven's movements were continuing to slow down. As bullets, from both bandits and criminals, whizzed through the air some even managed to nick Raven.

Ludvik watched as bullets whizzed through the air, both from bandits and thugs, and unlike earlier before they even managed to nick Raven's body. Soon, the sleek ivory of the mask began to crack, lightning bolt patterns had covered it, small crevices even formed at where her left eye would be.

Between Raven's slowly and ever degrading situation and Neo's falling stamina, the situation looked grimm. He clenched his fist, the fact his life and state was held in the hands of others bothered him more than it should have.

Unless…

If he was correct, then it would be entirely possible to maintain both [Invisibility] and [Precise Aura] for a period of time, long enough for him to do something to the current battle taking place at least.

Correct, seeing as how Invisibility is only 100 MP/AP and Precise Aura is 10 AP, then you could do some damage to one of the bandits with the proper timing. This is without accounting for your AP regeneration

Thirty seconds… no, twenty seconds of invisibility if he had to account the cost for the other skill. It was enough, barely enough, for one single target but who? Whose death would allow for a qualitative to the battle?

"Cut by cut, blow by blow, even your strength will slowly drip down. I'm truly pitiful though, to think that I held such expectations for the infamous Raven only to be disappointed in this way." Hunter, from some distance away from Ludvik, lamented as he continued to duel with Raven.

Although, it was anything but a duel, with five of her own bandits and who knows how many thugs intervening with every opportunity, it was really pushing against her slowly but surely. And the lead of it all was…

'Hunter…'

It seemed as if he had already gained an answer. He was the leader, once he fell, then most would be sure to follow without his support. He was the main powerhouse, the sole reason why they were capable of dwindling Raven's strength.

He gulped, but could he really do it? Kill Hunter? Or was it enough to merely cripple him? Was there an alternative? A deal they could make?

Host, the time for negotiation and compromise had long since been thrown out the window. If you don't strike, then Neo, the one who had helped you since your transmigration, will die in the hands of the ambush. Or worse.

The words of the system solidified his thoughts, there was no other way, he had to do it. He had to kill.

Somehow, his decisiveness had caused him to calm down a bit, the confirmation and encouragement system soothing his nerves. Why should he hesitate when the target was a criminal who wanted to kill one of the few who cared for him? Even if her way of showing it was twisted.

"Neo, take off my invisibility."

Ludvik whispered the words, but as he did, Neo's eyes met his for a second before a message popped up in front of him.

[You sure?]

He nodded, he almost thought that Neo would deny his request outright. Contrary to his exceptions, Neo accepted without many words. Either it was because she didn't care, or that she couldn't argue in her current citation. She desperately needed any aura she could scrap.

[Okie Dokie. Done]

Just as the message had appeared, he immediately called upon the aura inside his body, the 'door' that laid inside his body only allowed for even smaller fragments of aura to be released.

'Why does it seem like I had much more aura before I gained the system?'

Ludvik pushed the thought away, it was something for later.

"How do I use a skill?" It sounded dumb, but he couldn't just say it's name, he never needed to. At least, not with Lock Picking.

To use the skill, you'll simply need to visualize using it and you'll automatically trigger said skill. I suppose saying it within your mind would help.

Ludvik did as he was told, causing his skin to turn transparent and then completely invisible in a matter of seconds before anybody could notice. Well, Neo did, but she only had a moment of shock before she was forced to dodge an attack.

He only stayed still for a moment, still in a moment of moral conflict, before he took a deep breath and charged at Hunter as silently as possibly. As long as he didn't think about it too much, then it would be fine.

But, it was a bit odd to… not see himself or his body.

'Is it possible for me to be translucent only to myself?'

Of course, as it doesn't really add anything to the skill or enhance its capabilities, this change is small and viable.

His request was met immediately, the previously invisible skin of his turned transparent, and just like before nobody had noticed him. He was growing to love the system very quickly.

And while he did internally geek out about having the power to turn invisible he still initiated his plan, approaching Hunter slowly while counting down inside his mind. He gained a bright idea.

'Can you set a timer for twenty eight seconds?'

Done.

He smiled as a visible timer was placed in the left corner of his view, onyx and circular like a stopwatch. Yup, he definitely loved the Gamer System.

Cloaked in his invisibility, he continued to approach the battlefield, passing some trees and stalking through the grass, not so worried by Neo who directed the shower of bullets with a spin of her weapon.

Now, he stood a few feet away from both Raven and Hunter, near some of the bandits and thugs who circled up. He swallowed his saliva, was he really going to do this? He questioned himself again, if what he was doing was right.

Warning, if there is any further delay, the host will lose his chance to change the situation.

Ludvik drew in a sharp breath, he took in the system's previous advice and called on the technique in his mind 'Precise Aura'

The aura pumped through his body like a wild stream that was predicted, swirling and passing through every node of his body. From the head, to his chest, to his abdomen, and then to the sole of his feet.

Every nerve in his body was electrified in energy, pulsing with energy, it was addictive, mind numbing, the power that traveled through his body was almost pleasurable. But he beared with it, controlling the flow and directing it to his right fist.

It's important to not lose yourself to the power, Host. As pleasurable and addictive it might be, it's a dark path Host, one that nobody has ever returned from.

Ludvik took note of that, remembering to keep such a thing in mind, he wouldn't want to end up on such a path of blood and death. Also remembering his current situation, he drew himself back into reality as he got closer to his target, looking at the timer from time to time.

His hand trembled for a second before he steeled himself. Standing a few yards away from his target, Hunter, who engaged in a heated clash with Raven continued to struggle. They were at a standstill. It was perfect, the thugs were reloading and the bandits stayed around to make sure Raven didn't retreat or if there was a time for intervention.

It couldn't get better.

You're stalling, if you are to miss out on this opportunity, then the battle will only continue to spiral downward in their favor. You keep repeating the scene over and over, but until you take action, nothing will get better. Just jump, do it without thinking.

'I get that!'

He understood it perfectly, he was hesitating, he was stalling, he was anxious, but the thought of killing someone sickened him. Be it criminal or not, can he really do it? Can he really rip someone's life away, just like that?

Sweat covered his palms, his heart began to twist into a knot, and his stomach began to churn, sickened at the thought and lack of choice he had.

He raised an onyx aura covered hand, standing right beside Hunter, the invisibility ticking from four to three, and from three to two. There was nothing else he could do, he wasn't strong enough to get involved in the conflict, at least to appease both sides.

And for that fact, he was sorry.

000 000 000

AN

Yes, I am alive and not dead, surprise surprise. Mostly due to procrastination and part relaxation after finals, but anyways, I'm back to writing and hopefully getting the ball rolling. And yes, another short chapter, I just hope I'll get a bit of a handle on my procrastination soon lol

It is truly unfortunate that I had to make a character to take up the role of a caporegime since we don't know a lot of characters in The Spider. I even read the novel Rwby; Roman Holiday, and can confirm that besides the twins and the already established Lil' Miss Malachite. Of course some other characters too {that don't even have a wiki page and were mere grunts), but nobody really cares for them… oh well.

Oh, and if you want to chat with me and a bunch of other great authors, then feel free to enter the discord server 'owned' by Shiro and company. Be warned, stupidity, degeneracy, and porn are guaranteed

discord .gg/wd3tUYWVCd

That's all, have a great day everyone!