"On to your next concern. If you haven't caught it yet, I've already explained how I got banged up, but now I'll explain why I did it."
——
Ryker stumbled outside the house of Lyne Robock, who he met on the trip to Lexicon six days ago.
He let his head smash into the door and began moaning naturally as normal humans would.
The woman heard the noise, grabbed her blade, and cautiously moved to the door.
"If you're here to kill me, I hope you know I'm an S-class Scythe!" Lyne yelled.
"Ughhhhhh. Lyne…." Ryker moaned.
"Ryker!? Are you alone!?" She asked hesitantly without lowering her guard.
"Yes…. I just got beat up…." Ryker moaned awkwardly. He genuinely couldn't speak well with his broken jaw, which increased the effect.
"Low-grade Scythes… taking out their frustrations—"
Thud!
He allowed himself to collapse and hit his head on the ground, smashing his jaw in the process.
Lyne closed her eyes to scan the area for [intent] and [blessing], two indications of power Scythes and monsters contained.
Once satisfied enemies weren't present, she threw open the door.
"Ryker!" The woman gasped.
Lyne had a fashionable pixie cut, with grey hair and brown streaks moving through it. It was perfect for battle and fashionable, but it wasn't indicative of her age.
"I'm fine…." Ryker coughed, "But I think that they might have poisoned me. They forced an orange liquid—"
Her eyes shot open. "We need to get you to the emergency room, fast!"
The woman immediately scooped him in her arms and ran to the Scythe Corps. It was 11:15 PM, and she had no choice but go to the private ER.
If it were Lazo Poison, he'd suffer irreparable damage, and healing potions wouldn't work on his wounds. He needed aid immediately.
Luckily, Lyne was an instructor and had access.
At 11:21 PM, she burst into the emergency care unit with Ryker in her arms.
"We need a Lazo treatment here, immediately!" Lyne demanded.
The doctors winced. No patients were present, and for a good reason.
While they wanted to tell her to let him die elsewhere, Lyne wasn't someone they could refuse.
"I don't know what's going on here, but just give him the antidote and let him go. No need for checking!" The instructor barked.
"Yes… we'll do that. Phil, go get the antidote, fast!" A doctor barked, then he turned to Lyne.
"We'll give him the antidote. Now there's something… sensitive going on. So you need to leave immediately.
We'll send an escort. If you don't immediately go home, we won't administer the aid. We'll take full responsibility. Now go, there isn't time!"
Phil ran into the room with the antidote.
"Fine. I'll go home." Lyne scoffed, "I can't believe I have to leave because a little man won't admit he has ED."
The doctors winced and trembled in fear.
"If you don't treat that boy, I'll tell everyone I learned about it from you." She warned while running out of the room.
The hospital was shut down because Mario Manega was showing up to get erectile dysfunction medication clandestinely.
If he found out someone knew, let alone someone high up, the man would kill them. So they immediately decided to act.
"Phil, administer the treatment and let the boy go. Now!" The doctor barked.
Ryker grinned internally as he felt his body lifted to an operating table and a needle stuck in him.
A hot pulse assaulted his body, and the world felt clear a moment later.
"Now give him a sling for show and get him out of here. He can walk to Ms. Lyne's house and get a health potion if he wants to live." The doctor barked, "We've done our part!"
Phil complied, picked the teen up, and brought him to the door. Then he put Ryker down and threw his arm into a sling to make it look like they cared.
"I… can walk." Ryker groaned when the man tried getting a wheelchair.
Phil wanted to sit him down and run out of there, but Ryker proved that his walking was unhindered.
"The… treatment… restored my energy. My legs… are fine. Can you tell me where… a… bathroom is?" He asked.
Phil breathed a sigh of relief. His young face already had wrinkles, and his eyes were bloodshot in panic. So he nodded and pointed to the left.
"There's one right down that hall. Stay clear of this area once you're done, or someone will kill you." He explained.
Thu-dump.
Ryker's heart beat once at the reminder of death, but his expression didn't change. He nodded gratefully and limped to the door, and pushed his way inside.
The second he was out of sight, he immediately took out a healing potion and downed it in three gulps.
CraaaaCKaackCKaaCCCK!
The teen groaned as his body's bones and muscles snapped into alignment, healing in real time.
He checked his arm to ensure it was working and immediately began thrashing his face again.
This time he didn't crack any bones to prevent him from speaking.
Ryker then took out a cosmetic kit where he plastered up his arm to make himself look injured. It didn't have to look believable, just enough to satisfy those who saw him at a distance.
He took a deep breath before checking his interface.
Thu-dump. Thu-dump.
—
Revenge Game Duration: 133:02:01
Target Arrival Time: 00:02:03
[See Map]
[Target Arrival Details]
—
Thu-dump. Thu-dump.
Ryker quickly reviewed details and then checked the map as he limped out the door and moved on a roundabout route to his target.
He pulled out the butter knife and hid it in his pocket along the way.
Thu-dump! Thu-dump!
Mario Manega was still outside the hospital, and Ryker wanted to meet him outside to prevent the man from deciding to kill him.
Unfortunately, he didn't make it in time.
As Ryker was leaving the hospital, the man walked in.
Thu-dump! Thu-dump! Thu-dump! Thu-dump!
His heart began beating, but his mind was sharp and focused. Ryker let it beat, pumping him up like a war drum.
Mario Manega wore a grey suit with an ugly red tie, far too thick to be fashionable.
Scythes didn't age normally. However, they started aging when they began life as a hunter.
The man became a Scythe when he was forty-three. As a result, he retained his balding appearance for almost a century.
He was pushing to become an A-rank to get anti-aging resources, which was his driving factor in life.
Mario was [that guy].
He narrowed his eyes, and the pressure in the room intensified when he saw Ryker Snow—a witness.
Ryker winced internally. He immediately changed his tactics and put the butter knife forward to show off how amateurish he was.
Blink!
The teen gasped for breath as Mario held his throat. He was there one second and gone the next.
To a weak superhuman, a strong one moved at speed far beyond human comprehension.
Now he could see the man's hand gripping his throat with a beating heart.
THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP! THU-DUMP!
CLANG! Clang! Clang, clang, clang….
Ryker let his weapon drop to the floor, bouncing around on the tiles.
Mario looked down with astonishment in his eyes. Then he looked back at the teen he was choking eight feet above the ground.
He burst into laughter and dropped Ryker to the floor while doubling over laughing.
Thu-dump! Thu-dump! Thu-dump! Thu-dump!
"What the hell is this!?" Mario roared in laughter, "A butter knife!? Are you serious right now?"
"I… had to…." Ryker wheezed genuinely. There were finger marks on his neck that were already bruising.
"The other Scythes… they said… that they'd kill me next time…." He coughed, "If their subscribers didn't see me stab you with a butter… knife."
Mario burst into laughter at the teen's words.
Every Scythe had a camera on their neck, and people outside of Lexicon could watch their monster hunting activities and daily lives in non-private locations.
There were exceptions, of course. However, it was part of an interstellar government racket that brought in profit with so many zeros they looked like infinite numbers.
It also allowed Scythes to get paid more and could earn gifts from their subscribers.
So Ryker told them that the thugs that beat him up, promising their fans that he'd attempt to stab the man with a butter knife. It was a subscription by association ploy.
"Well, that would be pretty damn entertaining!" Mario laughed, "Hell, I could get some gifts, too."
The man forgot that Ryker's camera was on but wouldn't care much either way.
While everything was recorded, the Scythe Protection Act closed off Lexicon from society, and other hunters couldn't see the footage.
No one knew where they were at the moment. So it wasn't much of a risk.
"Yes…." Ryker replied, "They said I couldn't hurt you, even with a real knife. So [even a passive pansy like me could do it]."
Mario burst into laughter again. "They had to explain that to you?"
"Yes… I got here last week. I'm Level 1, and they said it was enough for you to feel it scratch—"
"Boy, you could take a common-grade sword, slash at full strength, and it wouldn't touch my suit fibers!" Mario roared.
"Don't you kids watch the feeds [before] you show up?
Wait! If people like you exist, it's probably entertainment gold to show people what happens when the weak attack the strong in Lexicon."
Ryker trembled in fear with bloodshot eyes. On the inside, he was cackling in delight.
"Boy, get up. I'll let you stab me at full strength once." Mario grinned, "If that knife touches a suit fiber, I'll let you live."