One by one, figures cloaked in deep black outwear dexterously climbed through the open window of Kuya's room. Every single one of them carefully treaded through the space, following the lead of the one with a single bang colored orange peeking from his headcovers.
'Be careful, there may be some people still wandering about. You two, go-'
cough, cough...
The irregular sound of coughing caused all the intruders to whirl around in search of the source. Unable to detect the origin, they simply glanced at their target. The protagonist lay in bed like a sack of bricks, unmoving and uncaring. The masked people heaved a silent sigh of relief. Anthony continued giving instructions to his underlings.
'As I was saying, two of you watch the window for anyone that may be patrolling. You two-'
creeaaakkk
The relatively unremarkable sound of the floorboards creaking seemed deafening to the group of people. They all tensed up in anticipation yet again, keeping an eye out on all entryways along with their target for any movements. A moment passed, and nothing happened. Going back to the plan, Anthony called his team to huddle near him once again.
'...so, you two watch for any movements. We don't want to alert the building to where we'r-'
Achoo!
"Oh my goddess, can you SHUT the FUCK UP."
Anthony's enraged attitude was extinguished by the cold feeling of regret. He sharply inhaled and swiftly covered his mouth in hopes he could take back his actions. He and his gang felt their stomachs drop as they realized what their boss' sudden outburst would lead to. Against their wishes, Kuya groaned awake, unhappy to be woken in the middle of the night.
"....wuhhh... What time is it... I can't see shit..."
The intruders crept backwards as far away from the bed as possible, keeping distance from the protagonist sitting up on his clay bed. Beads of sweat started to dampen their suits while they watched Kuya sluggishly reached into his pocket as he yawned. Anthony still had faith that the mission would be completed successfully as he carefully brandished his short blade.
'That's right, he can't see us because he didn't take a night vision pill like we did. Our eyes have extremely heightened sensitivity to light, so we're able to see clearly even in the darkest shadows. If he tries to light a lantern, we'll just stab him quickly and quietl-'
"MY EYES. MY EEEYYYEEESSS."
The bright flashlight from Kuya's phone suddenly shined into all the intruder's pupils, causing them to scream in discomfort. The protagonist, observed the sight bluntly as his mind was still in the process was waking up. It wasn't until he saw a small dagger drop from the hands of one of the burglars did he put two and two together.
'Oh shit, are they ASSASSINATING ME?!'
Kuya turned up the brightness of the flashlight and continued blasting it at his enemies faces, further disorienting them as he ran out the door for help. Anger fueled Anthony as he fought through the stinging and tears in his eyes to chase after his nemesis. The moment the two opponents left the area, a bedroom door down the hall slowly opened up. Ethereal carefully popped her head out the doorway and scanned the vicinity. Certain that the coast was clear for now, she steadily advanced towards the place where she heard all the commotion. With her blade in hand, poised and ready, she entered Kuya's room ready for an attack. Her expectations were subverted as she gazed agape at the near dozen teenagers writhing on the floor with hands clutched over their eyes.
'What's going on...? Did that boy really take down all these opponents at once?! To fend off against a sneak attack of this scale... incredible...! Not even the best students in the clan can take down this many people of their level at the same time! I must report this to grandfather at once.'
She turned around, bumping into a figure standing in the doorway.
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"STOP RUNNING YOU COWARDLY FOOL."
Kuya responded to the bait by shining the flashlight over his shoulder, blinding Anthony yet again. The "attack" worked, as proven by the cry of pain that resounded behind him. Navigating on the fly, the protagonist opened a door and entered the main hall.
'Shit, this house is so huge that I can't find a single person! And I can't even run that much farther, that guy still caught up to me despite him being unable to see. He must be really strong... so how do I defeat someone like him?! It seems like the light hurts him that much, I might be able to exploit that. This place is perfect for my idea...'
The protagonist quickly covered the light with one hand and put the other over his mouth as he hid behind a nearby pillar. The approaching footsteps became louder and louder as they seemed to get nearer and nearer. Kuya held his breath as the suspense overtook him, his heart rate accelerated until it skipped a beat due to a voice.
"I see you."
The flash of the blade going at the protagonist's throat was countered by the flash of his light that shined as he uncovered his palm. Anthony yelped yet again as he fumbled the blade in an effort to shield his face. A fist slammed into his vulnerable body as Kuya countered the sloppy knife swing. Growing more infuriated than ever, the orange haired teen desperately swung his blade around blindly. The protagonist easily dodged and retreated to a new area of the hall, repeating the process again. Unbeknownst to the two, a conversation emerged up in the rafters between two spectators.
"Hoh, how clever. Exploiting his enemy's weaknesses and wearing them down very slowly. An ingenious strategy that would lead to an easy victory... if he weren't so weak. Tsk, tsk."
"Grandpa, why don't we go help him then? With the three of us, we can defeat them smoothly..."
"Ah, my dear Ethereal, if we intervene in this duel then the fire cultivator may report back to his sect about our efforts, which will lead to a fierce battle. However, that boy doesn't seem to be affiliated with any sect around here, so a fight against a neutral sect won't lead to drastic measures. Believe me, it is difficult to watch our guest endure such hardships, but we must think of the greater good."
The two returned to spectating the duel, placing their hope on their guest. However, the intruder had other ideas. After getting blinded thrice in a row, he felt his way to the center of the hall as he revealed a toothy grin.
"You cowardly brat! You're too scared to face me head on?! Fine, if I can't catch the fish, then I'll just have to drain the ocean."
Kuya's eyes scrunched in confusion, then raised them in panic as he hurriedly dodged the fireball launched towards him. Cackling laughs and crackling fire spread throughout the room. It was only after the third fireball was hurled in a random direction did the protagonist realize what strategy the antagonist was utilizing.
'This crazy idiot is trying to burn down the whole house just to get me! And I can't even land a scratch on him, much less knock him out. Plus, I don't want that old man to kill me for causing his house to burn down! It looks like I have to use this... I hope to whatever deity is in this world that this works....'
Kuya rushed to shove his hand into his pocket as the old man in the rafters shook his head in disappointment.
"Ah, I should have known that it would have come to this. A flame cultivator using his skills in an enclosed area is trouble for all who are near. I don't want my property to be burnt down, so it appears that I'm forced to intervene. Wait here, darling, I'll take care of... this...? Hold on, t-that's-"
A small piece of ginseng emitting its familiar warm energy went from Kuya's palm straight into his mouth.
'Thank goodness I pocketed that piece that I took a bite out of accidentally when I first landed here. It tastes... really bitter... but I feel so strong. I can sense energy moving through parts of my body that I never knew existed. I'm so energetic, I feel like I could run forever. My body feels hot as hell too... oh wait, that's why. Oh, this is my chance to act like a web-novel protagonist! How would they act in this situation... ah, that's right. Without a care in the world.'
With his newfound strength, Kuya brushed off the random fireball that had landed on his chest. Nothing more than a slightly red mark and burnt clothing were the only proof that he had been hit by the attack. He strode coolly toward the hot tempered fire thrower and tapped him on his shoulder. Deranged smile appeared on Anthony's face as he pushed his palms out to his target.
"HAH, I'VE GOT YOU NOW."
A pillar of fire spewed out, encasing Kuya in orange flames and roasting anything behind it into ashes. After a few seconds, the maniacal laughter of Anthony started to die down at the same time as his attack.
'That's... odd. Despite using my strongest move, I still feel as if there's somewhere there. There was also that strange burst of Qi that appeared earlier. Was he... stronger than I thought?! No, that's impossible. Even if he is, then he can't surpass me, a level 3 cultivator! I'll hit him again with my strongest attack and really give it my all!'
With his eyes still closed, Anthony prepared himself to unleash another wave of his hardest hitting attacks. Kuya scratched his head as he pondered on a question that troubled him for the longest time.
'Why does ginseng get better as it ages? Shouldn't it be expired after a few months, let alone ten thousand years? Ah well, it's web-novel logic. Oh, I should probably stop this guy from attacking me again, it kinda stings.'
"JUNIOR, FACE MY WRA-"
A simple smack to the face was enough to knock Anthony out cold. Ethereal and her grandfather gasped in surprise at the sudden end to the fierce battle. Kuya scratched his head as he looked down at the story state of his mighty opponent, along with the huge burnt hole in the wall that could allow him to walk outside easily.
'...maybe I should've let the fight be a bit more dramatic? It kinda ended badly... ah well, the house might've been in a worse shape if I'd let him do his thing. Oh, wait, I should probably take care of the rest of those assassins-'
"Young man, wait. Don't worry about the other hooligans, I've got it under control from here on out."
The elder of the sect and his daughter jumped down from the rafters and landed gracefully onto the floor, alongside a bundle of trespassers encased in a ball of ice. Ethereal gave a grateful smile to the protagonist as she removed the headcover of the lead assassin, revealing a passed out Anthony.
"You see, this boy here wants my hand in marriage. He's been trying for months upon months, to the point where he bribed my parents to force me to marry. Without my grandfather opposing the marriage on my behalf, I would've been long gone. We thank you for your efforts."
"Yeah, no problem. It was only because someone kept making sounds earlier to wake me up, I'd've died without it."
Ethereal motioned toward her grandfather, who beamed with an innocent smile.
"Children, it is not uncommon for the sect master to cast detection seals around their property for situations such as these. Though I am unable to defend myself in this scenario, I could influence others to do so..."
"...ahem, well what do we do with... him?"
Ethereal pointed towards her "suitor" laying unconscious on the floor. His twitching body and shallow breaths indicated some life was still in him, much to the relief of the trio.
"We cannot kill him, or else his sect will avenge him. We shall tend to him, albeit to the bare minimum, then send him and his comrades back to where they came from. Their sect cannot provoke us or demand compensation, as it was them who took initiative to attack first, we simply defended. Ethereal, dear, could you please wake the head maid to prepare this insolent brat back to his clan."
"Yes, grandfather."
Ethereal walked away to follow out the instructions, uncharacteristically happy. The elder revealed a genuine smile as he glanced over to the protagonist.
'You'd make for a good suitor to my grand-daughter...'
"Huh?"
"Hm? I was just saying that you're free to stay here as long as you like, as compensation for this whole ordeal."
Kuya pondered a bit whilst reciting a command to the System in his head. A pop-up only he could read appeared before him.
"Thank you for the offer, but I'll only be here for just one more day."
[Goal: Survive for 24 hours (11 hours remaining)]
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The sun was dawning when a horse drawn cart arrived at the Blazing Phoenix Sect's front entrance. Several newer members were distracted from their training, murmuring about the contents of the cart. A woman reprimanded the slackers as she made her way to the carriage, grumbling in annoyance.
"How impudent, those students would rather look at a horse drawn carriage than cultivate? And who would send a blob of ice and cloth and... and... i-is that...?"
The woman left a trail of fire as she bolted towards the bandaged teenager sitting shamefully on the cart, yet tenderly cradled them in her arms. Anthony locked eyes with the woman with tears streaking down his cheek.
"Mother..."
Her heart broke as she felt her own son faint in her arms. Feelings and flames swirled around her until one red-hot emotion burst forth. Anger. The flames cut devoured the cart, turning the horses into a charred skeleton, and melted the ice the other intruders were trapped in. Through the fire and the flames, there was only one sentence, goal, and thought left in her mind.
"I'LL KILL WHOEVER DID THIS TO YOU."