The System

CH- 101: Chaos (XV).

    "Did I miss something, or did you?" The Krantz took a step back. "Aren't you here to kill our king?"

"Let me clarify some basic stuff for you." Tetsu moved forward. "I don't know where I am, why I am here, or give a flying fuck about who your supposed king is, or what he wants."

The troop casually performed an "en pointe," a ballerina's toe stand, to peek at the unconscious men on the floor. To make it seem natural, the Krantz stayed on his toes, holding the side walls for support.

"Sorry about that." Tetsu ignored the bizarre alien and continued, not wanting to startle the alien. "They aren't dead, and I didn't realize I could do... well, that. Damn."

The Krantz's curiosity overtook him, and he tiptoed closer, a burning question in his stomach causing him to forget the pain. "What is that last word you keep using? My translation skill isn't able to translate it."

"You have a bloody skill for—" Tetsu stopped as the alien stepped away, wary of the sudden burst of anger. "Sorry, my bad. I hate it when others get skills for survival while I am stuck with a stingy system."

The Krantz retreated further. "I can't give you my skill," he stuttered, trying to hide, afraid that Tetsu might somehow extract the skill from him.

'Vampires can't do that, can they?' he wonders to himself. "I'm pretty sure they can't," Tetsu wonder aloud, further unsettling the alien. "And I'm not one." His fangs descend, rendering the point moot as he silences another Krantz. No, Tetsu did not kill him; he just drained the Krantz of life to the point of exhaustion.

As another group approaches, the questioning and standoff repeat. This time, he controlled his fangs, but they were more paranoid than the first batch, turning into potions for Tetsu.

After the eighth batch, his fatigue subsided, giving him ample time to hide and scout, but every group found him almost instantaneously, as if a cameraman were still following him around.

Only after kidnapping a Krantz, stripping her, then dressing her back up because it turned out to be a woman, kidnapping a male Krantz on his umpteenth attempt, and stealing his clothes and aura signature later did the scouts lose his tracks.

———<>|*|<>———

"A non-Krantz cannot enter the castle!" a general yells at the scouts. "How did he get inside?"

They remain silent and seething over their fallen comrades, with only Tarah questioning the norm. "He didn't kill anyone? Why? Why is he even here?"

———<>|*|<>———

"Why the hell am I here again?" Tetsu questions himself.

His original goal, before chaos erupted, had been to pick up a week's worth of rations. Once chaos ensued, all he desired was to escape. Tetsu aimed and was certain he moved away from the irrational brutes, yet he found himself at the center of the chaos. Later, more groups joined, and he persisted in remaining in the center, despite his efforts not to. Three free points down, three armies on his tail, and now inside the fourth stronghold.

"Where the hell did it all go wrong?" Tetsu rams into a group of unsuspecting scouts, his weight coupled with the boxers and stolen loot, knocking them unconscious.

Pilfering more potions and marking a few for safety, the castle appeared the best option at the moment, with no way around it. After infiltrating by some unknown means, Tetsu had no clue what to do next, but heading out wasn't an option either. Whether or not he liked it, this castle proved to be the safest place he had encountered since this ordeal began, and he intended on staying until someone kicked him out.