Days went by without a reply from Brandyn. Carbine had already sent out a mission that he had to complete, and Brandyn's actions really hurt Carbine because he knew what the result was going to be.
Entering the same dark throne room, he met with his boss. Hercules.
"Sir Hercules. I have come here to report a disappearance of one of my newest members." Carbine said, while facing the floor in fear.
"What?! Flavian is with us! Oh, the other boy. Has he been replying to your messages he has a mission to complete by tomorrow!" Hercules said in a more frightening, angry tone.
"No... He stopped answering messages almost a week ago." Carbine said strugglingly.
"You know what must be done. Nobody defies me! Bring him here and if he does not return to the gang, kill him." Hercules ordered, making his eyes glow in the process.
"O-okay, I will do what I must." Carbine replied, lifting from his kneel to exit the room.
****
In a lecture, Brandyn was being taught about tactics when fighting in a group. The teacher was going over several techniques and methods to fight in different scenarios. He was also given overviews on team formations and how to fight as a group. It was something that the school would do and then quiz people on it in assessments.
However, the enjoyable thing about this was that it mattered quite little when it came to your scholarly performance. The effort was mainly stressed on practical work.
Brandyn, who was just sitting alone as he always had been, saw a weird movement in the corner of his eye. It came from the trees beside him that were moving without a breeze. Even Sir Maximilian saw something too.
"Brandyn, did you see that too?" He asked cautiously.
His teacher was very skilled and knew to act as if he hadn't seen anything from out the window. Brandyn kept looking outside but he saw nothing but the woods beside the classroom.
"I swear I saw one of those trees move. Oh well." Brandyn thought, turning back away from the window.
*BANG*
The glass suddenly shattered then, out of nowhere, a student fell off his seat with a bullet wound in his side.
"A sniper!" A student roared out in fear, causing the students to try and run out of the room.
The only people who stayed were Brandyn and Sir Maximilian. It was ironic that the only 2 people that stayed were the only 2 people in the room who had been in many life-threatening situations.
"A sniper?" Brandyn thought, before he realised that the muzzle moved to then aim on him.
"EVADE!" Sir Maximilian exclaimed, which caused Brandyn to drop below the window.
"He's here for me! Go, sir!" Brandyn shouted back after a few seconds of thought.
"There's no need! I'll take him out.." Mr Maximilian said, while taking out his special staff.
"No! He's here for me! He won't hurt anyone if I go to him. Just get everyone out of here and I'll follow." Brandyn explained.
However, Brandyn wasn't telling the exact truth. He had something else in mind.
[NEW QUEST!]
[Quest: Ambush]
[Defeat the sniper in a battle. Resist the forces that have been sent out for you!]
[Rewards: 1 Level Up, 1 Skill, 1 Stat Point]
"I have to fight that guy!"
***
*BEEP*
*BEEP*
The alarms started ringing and Brandyn could hear the halls filling with the hasty stomps of the students. Also, he heard Clark fly right past his door as he was able to soar over the crowd.
Soon, the halls quietened until it sounded like a ghost town outside the room. It had gone from truly chaotic to completely silent.
*dum*
*dum*
Looking out the window, the sniper was gone and he also heard the loud steps of someone from outside the room. He felt more scared than ever, knowing that this person was here to possibly take his life. However, he shoved all of those unnecessary feelings down inside then stormed out of the room with his new confidence.
As he exited the room, a man who stood at around 6'2 faced him. He had two purple axes that were stored in an X-formation and large shoes with heavy kit too.
"So, you're the kid Carbine has been talking about. My name is 'Bruiser'. If you don't come back with me to answer to Hercules, you die." Bruiser said, facing Brandyn with a confident smirk.
"I refuse..." Brandyn replied, preparing for battle by making a boxing stance.
After he said this, Bruiser just started laughing uncontrollably.
"You do know you will die, right? Just because you were put in missions against weaklings, don't think that you stand any chance against me!" He said coldly, revealing his two axes.
The 2 handles were around 80cm in length and each axe head was a metallic purple colour. He also had a thick black jacket on that was clearly made of leather and other materials.
"We're in this!!"
Brandyn revealed his dagger from inside his pocket then, suddenly, Bruiser started to run at him at a high pace. His steps were heavy but explosive, which allowed him to get close to Brandyn in very little time. Using high force, he swung from above with the use of his axe and aimed right for Brandyn's head. However, he retaliated by meeting the axe head with his own dagger. This surprised Bruiser as his dagger was so strong that it didn't chip or break.
"That's a good dagger you have there." Bruiser said jokingly, as the 2 fighters struggled.
*BOOM*
Bruiser just slammed one of his shoes into Brandyn's stomach, which sent him sliding away from him at quite a high velocity. The kick also made him feel like his stomach was about to explode.
"That's how strong he is?! How can I possibly win this?" His kick was something akin to the kick of someone like Luuk or even Elias.
*WHOOSH*
Even with all his equipment, he moved like someone who was half his weight and, again, he struck down with his axe. Brandyn was easily able to evade but had to duck promptly as Bruiser swung his other axe from the side. Brandyn hoped that his axe was wedged in the locker, and it seemed that it was initially.
However, Bruiser just yanked it right out with ease.