Headed by a Snake

The white-robed challenger wore a long, black ponytail and black leather gloves covered in numerous razor-sharp blades. He arrogantly placed both hands behind his back, approaching without fear.

"Who Art That Guy?" Barza looked to Taree for an answer.

The little girl spat on the ground, shattering Barza\'s perception of her. From the way Tamaki talked, he\'d thought that Taree was their family\'s princess and would act prim, proper-- or at the least, would act less like a thug than he did.

"His name\'s Yoshio. He\'s an absolute loser who\'s raised the Stone Body technique to its peak level. \'Cuz he\'s a little b*tch!"

Barza struggled to respond in a nonchalant manner. "Oh. Most Well. This Yoshio Hast Nothing On The Chosen One\'s Greatness."

"What\'s the Stone Body technique?" Pale asked, his eyes rapidly scanned the treetops. Yoshio wasn\'t their only opponent.

"Yoshio\'s body is like a suit of armor." Taree explained, "And if your strength isn\'t high enough, arrows and swords are useless against him."

Barza had never heard of such a ridiculous defensive skill. And all he\'s done in his offtime was go to the pub and listen to stories about adventurers. He made a decision in his heart; he needed to find the earliest possible opportunity to reject his mantle of Chosen One.

…

Tycon had slithered back up the massive, gnarled tree to where his friends were waiting.

« System, Cancel Snake-Form. »

[Snake-Form Cancelled. Returning to Human-Form.]

With the System\'s welcome assistance, Tycon had created a mental shortcut to changing forms, designating his Human form as his base. With the System override, any effect or spell that would revert him uncontrollably into a handsome, majestic snake, would be rendered useless.

...Anyroad, it was much faster to use a mental command than to try to will various body parts to shrink, disappear, transform, or whatever.

Tycon lightly tossed Wroe\'s sword back to him.

Wroe caught the blade by the hilt, "Thanks, Boss."

"I may have been at fault," Tycon shrugged. "Don\'t mention it."

Dragan was below the branch, casually doing pull-ups as if falling a couple of hundred fulms wasn\'t an issue, "Boss, I didn\'t know you could turn into a snake."

Wroe nodded, "Your Snake Form is beautiful."

Tycon didn\'t even spare the spellcaster a glance, "Mister Wroe, I\'d prefer you to keep your philanderous affectations *outside* the guild."

The blue-haired half-angel, Tarquin Wroe, smiled sheepishly, "Haha. Sorry, Boss."

"Gentlemen, what have I missed?"

Wroe offered the first thought, "The two beat the Gann. It looked like it was about to use a Fire Blast, but it hesitated..."

"Good eye, Mister Wroe. I used an interrupting Skill."

"Ah, that makes sense, then! Boss, can I use the next Skill?" Wroe grinned. With a blink, his blue eyes turned pitch black.

"No, Mister Wroe. Anything else?"

Dragan heaved himself atop the branch with one arm, seating himself between Wroe and Tycon. Within the span of a few moments, the Titanblood had crossed a considerable distance underneath the tree limb. The man\'s climbing skill, even using just his arm strength, was commendable.

"Mister Dragan," Tycon acknowledged.

"Boooosssss! We were thinking…"

"A shame."

"Barza should get a nickname. Like how we call you \'Boss\'. And we call Bucket \'Bucket\'."

Tycon kept a steady demeanor, though inwardly, he was stunned by the information, "Is Bucket not his actual name, then?"

"I dunno. It doesn\'t sound like a real name."

Tycon turned his head to Wroe.

Wroe shrugged, "We\'ve been calling him Bucket for so long, does it really matter?"

"I think we should call him Queer," Dragan proudly suggested. "I mean Barza, not Bucket."

Wroe frowned at the suggestion, "Won\'t that make Guild Invictus sound homophobic?"

"Woooow! WOOOOOW, TARQUIN!! Thaaaaat was pretty freakin\' homophobic!"

Tycon pursed his lips. It was a low-stakes argument without much thought put into it. He would just ignore it and hope for the best, "Suggestion denied. But he can claim a name if he so wishes… When he rates, anyroad."

Dragan chuckled, "It\'ll take a while for Gear-Queer to rate."

Tycon shrugged as he kneeled down to examine the battlefield once more, "Our opinions differ. You call him a coward. I think he approaches high-risk situations with an appropriate level of caution."

"Ha ha? Um, Boss, I uh… We never called him a coward. That was you?"

Tycon cleared his throat, ignoring him. "Take a look. New challenger. White robe. A Martialist?"

Dragan looked down, "Looks stronger than the rest. Looks like he shot that archer guy. And there\'s bad guys in the trees around us, too. Ninjas, maybe."

Tycon examined the transparent red ???\'s floating above several masked assassin-types wearing dark clothing.

« System, change display setting: change the unknown variables to approximate classes. »

[Setting change complete.]

In Tycon\'s vision, the transparent red ???\'s were quickly rewritten as \'Hidden Scout\'s. The white-robed youth below was marked as \'Arrogant Ruffian.\'

...There was that stupid Ruffian class again.

« System, inquiry: Power level of the gentleman in white? »

[System response: Yoshio, Bronze-Rank Martialist]

The \'Arrogant Ruffian\' title changed handily to \'Yoshio\'. How convenient.

Tycon turned to Dragan, "I see eleven scouts in dark clothing in the trees... Why hasn\'t anyone spotted us yet?"

Wroe raised his hand, "I\'m maintaining a Shadow Veil on us. I\'ll keep us hidden unless we\'re attacked or have to move."

Tycon nodded, "I hadn\'t noticed. Well done."

Even Dragan was impressed, "Pretty cool skill, Bub."

"Thanks guys," Wroe accepted the compliment with a tilt of the head and an angelic smile. Tycon considered the small action reflective of a high level of trust and camaraderie between the three.

Tycon pointed down. "Wroe and I will clean up the guys in the trees, while you, Dra--"

Dragan held out a hand, "Hold on, Boss."

Tycon retracted his pointing finger. "You rarely interrupt me during planning, Mister Dragan. Have I missed something?"

"Yeah, man. I wanted to help during the Gann fight, but we had to do it all stealthy-like."

"An impressively imbecile way to paraphrase," Tycon twisted his lips, "--but yes. Your point?"

Dragan shrugged, "I think the two can handle this on their own."

Tycon took the thought into consideration... "Mister Wroe, your opinion."

Wroe nodded, "I can maintain the Shadow Veil as long as we don\'t move."

Dragan smirked, "But it\'s your call, Boss. I wouldn\'t mind cuttin\' up some ninjas."

Tycon crossed his arms. "We\'ll observe, only to move if necessary."

Tycon again took a knee to observe the battlefield and the green names only he saw.

Barza Keith. Bucket. Kimura Taree. Kimura Tamaki.

\'Show us your strength and conviction. Show us the pride of Invictus.\'