The Empire was a dangerous place to be if you found yourself on the wrong side of the law. The military would stop at nothing to hunt you down, and once caught, a brutal punishment was almost guaranteed. It was an autocracy—an absolute monarchy where all power belonged to the Emperor. His word was not just law; it was the only law, unquestionable and unchanging. His subordinates carried out his orders without fail, and nowhere was this more evident than in the capital of the Empire. The city was crawling with soldiers and saints, all zealously enforcing the Emperor's will. It was the worst place to conduct any kind of illegal activity, which was one of the main reasons Michael avoided the capital whenever he could. In that environment, he was always being watched.
The law, though strict, loosened the farther you got from the capital, especially in the southern provinces. As long as you stayed far enough away, you could conduct your activities with little scrutiny. So long as you didn't cause trouble or draw attention, no one would bother you. This was the unwritten rule of survival in the outer regions.
But Michael wasn't like the others who played it safe. Often, he went against this rule, pushing boundaries to achieve his goals. His defiance had landed him in trouble more times than he could count and had placed him on the radar of people who wanted him dead. His face, unlike his name, was recognized by those who had taken a personal interest in him. Known by few and feared by some, his distinctive silver hair had earned him the simple moniker: "Silver."
The name "Silver," along with a rough sketch of Michael's face and his distinctive short silver hair, had been placed on a worn piece of paper. Beneath the drawing were words that made many in the underground take notice: "Wanted: Dead or Alive. Reward: 100,000 Gold Coins." The poster hung in one of the more shadowy guilds for a very long time..., pinned up by an unknown assailant, its origin a mystery to even the most well-connected members.
Yet, despite the staggering reward, the poster had been left untouched for a long time. The bounty hunters and mercenaries who passed by would often glance at it before moving on. The task of locating and subduwing someone , was too daunting for of a task most. His reputation wasn't widespread, but among those who knew, the challenge of finding "Silver" was too great, no matter how tempting the reward.
But fate has a way of shifting things. By a stroke of luck, one of the mercenaries had spotted someone at a local hotel—a man who fit the description on the poster almost perfectly. His silver hair a dead giveaway, after rushing back and confirming at the guild that it was actually him, the man took two of accomplises and decided to take the chance and capitalize on this situation.
If they moved quickly enough, perhaps they could take him down before he slipped away again, leaving them with nothing but the dusty poster and dreams of riches. This was the collective thoughts running through there minds at the moment.
The three men filled with ambition filled and watched Michael for the part hours, waiting to find a suitable moment to strike.
"This us getting us nowhere. We should have attacked him when he was at the hotel" said one of the men
"We didn't have enough time, if sent the night there then this would have been much easier, just keep watching in opportunity will come soon. Answered his team mates, the third man just watched in silence.
I've been thinking about this for a while now and still l, still don't feel like this is the whole, story… thought Michael to himself. If there daughter is actually sic, then as a noble family, they should at least have access to a full potion. Even if a few.
Maybe its something they can't heal with a potion, maybe she was poisoned instead, or maybe it's a curse. Or maybe…
As Michael pondered the situation, a concentrated loon on his face. He was walking towards the very city were this job was being offered. Instead of sleeping he had just decided to walk for the night and device a plan.
As I walked in the quite woods, I suddenly stopped, closed my eyes and raised my head slight up and said to myself in a low voice, "Right… this should long enough" I said as I tilted my head to the left.
BANG!!!Immediately a bullet blast past were my head was. And hit a tree in front of me. Almost immediately multiple gun Shots were fired at me in rapid succession. Bang bang bang. I dodged the bullets fired at me. Catching a whiff of gun power in my nose. This are just Norma guns. I thought to myself.
Ha! Well, better test out the Eagle now shall we. I pulled the Desert Eagle out my cot. And fired a shot at the man firing the gun behind the tress. The man seeing me pull out a gun had a shocked expression and quickly ducked under the same tree he used as cover. Crack…. I fired my gun…filling the knock back off the force in my arm. But it was not enough to detour me. A cracking sound was heard in the forest, no louder than a hand clap. Bang a tree being hit by a bullet was then heard.
Mmmmmmm. Not bad, said Michael to himself with a sly smile. The man who ducked under the tree was shocked, as he looked up, seeing half of the tree missing . The man felt lucky he had missed that shot.
I fired two more shoots him, but booth hit the tree acting as his cover, the third shot seemed to have done for the tree as it could no longer stay upright and fell to the right with a cracking sound.
Without wasting a single second, the second man fired multiple Shots at Michael in rapid succession. Bang bang bang. Michael quickly hide behind one of the tress. And just smiled at the situation going on. With a slight chuckle, he jumped out of the trees with movements faster than anyone the mercenaries could follow, and fired his gun . Crack crack crack .
I fired three shots back at the shooter. Hitting him dead on in the arm and midsection . His entire arm was blown off and a gaping whole was left on his chest, killing him instantly.
The first shooter, seeing his friend just drope dead in a matter of seconds reacted as if out of a trance. Rose up in a fit of rage and fired his gun. Anger written all over his face. Bang bang bang. Aaaaaahhhh!!!!
The man shouted in rage. I quickly side stepped the shoots left to right, the bullets missing me by a few centimeters, until... click click. His gun was out of ammo. In moment before he could even realize what happened to his gun. I was In front of him with my gun raised to his head. A look of fear etched on his face. My index finger on my trigger was gearing to shot. Then suddenly, I raised my arm in the air without shooting at him, the moment etched in a brief silence, as the wind between me and the man blowed rapidly, fluttering both our hair, the man had an obvious shocked look on his face. In between him and I.
A third person was standing there with two enchanted blades, that, in his case, had narrowly missed my arm. "Silverrrrr" the man shouted in rage as he lunged at me with full speed. Crack . The man narrowly blocked the bullet with his blade.
His blade instantly broke in two. From the force. Without giving him a chance to think about it. I fired several more shots at him, each one cracking through the air, but he narrowly dodged and deflected them with his already snapped blade, the metal barely holding together under the impact. Then, with a sharp metallic click, the barrel of my gun swung open—empty.
I glanced down at the weapon, the realization settling in as I prepared to reload. "Tch, out already?" I muttered, quickly reaching for another round of ammunition, my movements deliberate but swift.
After receiving my attack head on with his blade.
The result was a completely shuttered blade and a shot to his right arm and midsection. I then pulled the mag out and was about to reload. The man seeing his chance decided to rush towards me with his remaining blade and aimed for my neck. SWOSH. But all he sliced was air, as there wasn't anyone in front of him. The forest, went quite. And an eerily silence blanketed the previous active forest. The man bleeding from his missing right arm, and the lethal shot on his guts was in pain and trained his hardest to locate silver before they all died.
Turning around to check on his friend to warn him to be on guard. Before he could take a single step towards him. He felt the cold metal of a gun on the back of his head. An expression of fear on his face as he looked directly into the eyes of his team mate. His friend starring right back at him with a shocked expression.
You shoul-
Crack.. the gun fired at point blank range. The full force of the bullet was directed into his head. The bullet sliced through his brain and broke through his inner skull before escaping from the front of his head leaving a bigger whole than the one formed when entering and splattering his brains on the ground.
Because the bullets had escaped the barrel at very high speeds. The air In front of the bullet was compressed, which caused it to heat up causing a bright muzzle flash. Because the gun was fired point blank, the hot gases were directly fired into his head. Instantly boiling the soft brain in side the head causing more damage than the actual bullet.
The man, with a fearful expression etched on his face had died instantly. It wasn't known weather it was the hot gases or bullet had killed him. Or a combination of both. The man slummed forward and fell flat on his face, dead.
I looked up at the first man who shot at me. My expression cold and calm. Caused the man to shutter with fear and hesitantly raised his gun at me and pulled the trigger. But seems he forgot that he was out of bullets. His face twisted in dread as he seemed to be out of options.
The easy job that they were lucky to come upon. It was supposed to a quick job that would set them up for life. That job had been the death of two of his friends and he was soon to follow. In his contemplation .
I arrived in front of him. And raised my gun. I raised my gun at him And asked a short question. My voice knocking him out if his inner thoughts. Were you hired by someone???
His face was still frozen in fear and dread. Without realizing it himself he shacked his head in denial. Without eating much time I fired my gun and the man dropped dead.
I looked down at the gun in my hand, feeling the residual heat radiating from the muzzle. A small smile crept onto my face as I muttered to myself, "Damn, Sally, you really outdid yourself this time." The weapon felt smooth in my grip, a perfect blend of precision and power.
Glancing quickly at the mercenary's discarded firearm lying on the ground, I narrowed my eyes. "Mmm… these guns are pretty common around here," I thought aloud. "Cheap and mass-produced. No wonder even simple mercenaries can afford them." The difference between their weapon and mine was night and day, yet in this region, such affordable weapons were everywhere, readily available to those willing to pay.
In the East, guns were far more common than in the West. Here, you were more likely to come across someone armed with a firearm than a sword. The nation's advanced technology made it a hub for weapons production, and guns—especially non-enchanted ones—were manufactured frequently. As a result, most mercenaries had easy access to them, with the cost and availability making them a standard tool of the trade.
Beyond availability, the practical advantage was clear: it took far less time to learn how to fire a gun than it did to master the intricacies of swordsmanship. For mercenaries, time was money, and a gun provided deadly efficiency with minimal training. Guns had become the weapon of choice, marking a shift in how combat was approached in the East.
After walking for a few minutes in the woods, an idea suddenly struck me. A mischievous smile crept across my face as I hurried toward the location. My thoughts were a jumbled mess of plans, each more devious than the last. This job might just turn out to be more fun than I initially expected.
Meanwhile, back at the site of the fight, Michael had left the bodies where they fell. He had no need for the weaklings' corpses—they would serve as food for the forest's monsters. He did, however, take the mercenaries' guns and the enchanted blade left behind, storing them in his Zero Vault with ease. As he turned to leave, the forest began to stir with the sounds of creatures drawn to the scent of blood, ready to claim what was left.
Michael didn't spare a glance back. His focus had already shifted to the next part of his plan.
After a few minutes of walking in the woods, I suddenly had an idea on how to deal with this request. With a mischievous smile on my face I hurried to the location, my thought a jumbled mess of ideas.
Meanwhile back at the location of the fight. Michael had left the bodies there for the monsters to devour. He had no use for useless bodies like those weaklings and I ky took the guns and the enchanted blade felt behind and stored them in his zero vault unique skill.
Unique Skill: Zero Vault
Description:
Zero Vault allows the user to store objects in a separate void dimension with a fixed radius of 10 meters. Items placed inside can be compressed, drastically reducing their size by shrinking the space within the atoms, specifically the distance between the nucleus and electrons. This atomic-level compression reduces the volume without altering the fundamental properties of the material. Compression energy costs are proportional to both the size and mass of the object. Heavier or denser objects require significantly more magicules to compress and uncompress.
For example, without compression, the vault can hold around 4,188 cubic meters of water (4.19 million liters). When compressed, reducing the atomic space by about 70-80%, the same volume could store up to 14 million liters of water, tripling the vault's capacity for liquid storage. This drastic increase in efficiency makes the ability highly valuable for storing dense materials.
Living beings can also be stored but are not compressed. Instead, they enter the vault in their normal state and are kept in suspended animation for a maximum of 24 hours. After this period, they begin to experience fatal conditions. Unlike inanimate objects, storing living beings consumes more magicules over time.
The vault's storage capacity is fixed, and expanding the void is possible but requires exponentially more magicules due to the increase in volume. Therefore, long-term expansions are impractical. Objects can remain in the vault indefinitely without deteriorating, and retrieval is instantaneous.
Conditions and Restrictions:
Compression costs are based on both size and mass, with larger and heavier items draining more magicules.
The space between an atom's nucleus and its electrons is reduced during compression, allowing for more efficient storage.
Example: 4,188 cubic meters of water can store up to 14 million liters when compressed.
Living beings can only be stored for up to 24 hours.
Expanding the vault requires immense amounts of magicules and is not sustainable for extended periods.