Bastard Homunculus: Reborn in the Corpse Pit

"So, where exactly are we going?" Inquired Raven, as he follows Aster through the forest.

"It's been six days since we began training you as a Brawler, and tomorrow, we'll finally be making our move. You've progressed at an incredible rate, so it's time to put it to the test...I spotted a dangerous Monster nearby a couple of days ago, and you'll be fighting it today. If you can defeat it, then you should be ready to fight the Knights and Inquisitors if and when such a scenario arises," Aster informed him.

"I see...what kind of Monster is it?"

"A Scythe Mantis, a High Level Threat...it's categorized as both an Insect-Type and a Humanoid-Type Monster, it tends to possess a lot of speed, it has a strong exoskeleton for defense and bladed arms for offense, and it can also fly, so it should make for a good opponent," Replied Aster, as a cave came into sight.

"Okay, that's good...I would've felt kinda bad about attacking a creature unprovoked, but bugs don't count. I have no problem killing Insect-Type Monsters, most of the others I feel conflicted about," Responded Raven sheepishly.

Besides Threat Levels, Monsters are also categorized by six different types; Mammal-Type, Reptile-Type, Bird-Type, Insect-Type, Aquatic-Type, and Humanoid-Type. Some Monsters fall under multiple types, and one Monster species, Slimes, don't fall under any type, they're just sort of their own thing.

"Ah, you're just like Celia, then. I certainly don't think it's a bad thing, but you should be careful not to be too soft...that's a mistake that could easily end up being fatal. Alright, we're here...it should be inside this cave, though I suppose it could've gone out to hunt or someth-...," Began Aster.

"No, it's in there, or at least, something is...I can smell it, and it's noticed us too, I can sense its intent to attack," Raven cut him off as he stared at the cave entrance warily, fully transforming.

"I see...okay, then, I'll step back and leave you to it. I'll intervene if it looks like you're struggling, so have at it," Aster assured him with a pat on the shoulder, as Raven nodded and stepped forward with his guard up, his instincts telling him that there was a serious threat before him.

He then unleashed a wave of flames from his jaws towards the entrance of the cave, a green blur rapidly zipping out of the cave before the flames could reach the entrance, as Raven swiftly shifted his gaze up, narrowing his eyes at the Monster.

It was fairly tall and slender, its body covered in a gleaming green exoskeleton that was segmented around the creature's joints, and it had curved, razor sharp blades for forearms. Its wings fluttered rapidly as it hovered above Raven, who spread out his own wings and took off into the air, firing out intense, piercing beams from his eyes.

The Monster swerved across the air to evade the beams, before it shot towards Raven rapidly, swinging its right arm across at his chest. He turned his body across in mid-air with an angled flap of his wings, the bladed-arm of the Monster grazing the front of his chest with immense speed as it sliced through the air in a rapid blur, drawing out trickles of blood.

As it shot past him, it suddenly spun around and slammed its left foot onto his side, Raven grimaced in pain before swiftly grabbing the Monster's leg and unleashing a burst of lightning from his hand, his eyes widening in surprise as the Monster didn't react, before whipping its left arm at his head.

He quickly let go of its leg and flew back, narrowly evading the swing of its arm as the tip of the blade-like appendage whizzed past the front of his face by a whisker, before unleashing a blast of flames towards it from his mouth, the Monster swiftly swooping down to evade the blazing wave of heat.

"This thing's really tough...it's so fast, and its exoskeleton is seriously durable. The spot I grabbed and hit with my lightning has blackened a bit, but it didn't actually hurt the Monster, its exoskeleton protected it...and it swings its arms with so much speed that they're able to cut through my scales without much resistance. One wrong move and I could get sliced to pieces," Mused Raven with a grimace, as the Scythe Mantis came zipping up towards him.

It weaved across as Raven turned his gaze down and fired out his piercing beams towards it, evading the attack and zipping up to his left and swinging both of its bladed arms inwards at his side.

Raven flew across to his right as fast as he could, a stifled cry ringing out as the Monster's arms inflicted a couple of shallow gashes across his hip, gritting his teeth in pain before using Heal to close the wounds, swinging open his jaws as the Monster shot towards him, before unleashing a sharp, high-pitched sonic screech, severely dazing the Monster, which came to an abrupt halt and struggled to maintain its flight, hovering shakily and unsteadily before starting to plummet.

Raven swiftly swooped down after it, drawing back his right fist as he chased after the Monster at top speed, closing in on it right as its back slammed onto the ground, before driving his fist down with all his strength.

A sharp screech rang out as Raven's fist slammed onto the middle of the Monster's chest, cracks spreading out across its exoskeleton before it shattered and caved in, a light green liquid spraying out through the cracks as the Monster screeched and writhed in pain.

Raven quickly flew back up as the Scythe Mantis whipped its arms up at him, a couple of shallow cuts appearing across his chest as he failed to fully avoid the slashes, as the green liquid continued to spray out of the Monster's cracked, caved-in chest.

Its pained chittering began to grow quieter and quieter, before its body went limp and it slumped against the ground, as Raven let out a quiet sigh of relief and healed himself.

"That was pretty impressive...you did a lot better than I expected. High Level Monsters are estimated to be around the same level as First-Class Knights...and while there is a big difference between fighting a person and fighting a Monster, the fact that you managed to defeat a High Level Threat without sustaining any serious damage is pretty remarkable," Spoke up Aster, as he approached Raven with an impressed nod.

"It wouldn't have gone that well if I hadn't caught it off-guard with that sonic screech. I doubt I could've landed a direct hit otherwise, it was way too fast," Sighed Raven, wiping away the blood trickles across his chest.

"Yeah, I was surprised at how easily it was able to cut through your scales, the speed at which it swings its arms is quite lethal. Oh, speaking of armor, I almost forgot...your battle gear should be ready by now," Aster informed him.

"Huh? Battle gear? First I'm hearing of it," Responded Raven in bemusement.

"What? But I told Tacitus to tell you about-...ah, right, should've asked literally anyone else, that's my bad. So, the outfits we were all wearing when we first encountered you, those were our battle gear...they're articles of leather armor that have been tailored to look like normal clothes, we get them custom made in Garnet City. While wearing those, we can walk around in public without drawing suspicion...at least, before our faces were put on the wanted posters. And since Tacitus is the only one who isn't on a wanted poster yet, we had him go order one for you. I designed it by the way, and I have to say, it's gonna look pretty cool," Grinned Aster smugly.

"If this outfit is for me, how come I didn't get a say in designing it? Well, I suppose I don't really care what it looks like, so that's fine. And thinking back, yeah, the outfits that the others were wearing did look like normal clothes...except yours. Your outfit definitely looked like battle gear," Recalled Raven thoughtfully.

"Well, uh...yeah, I might have focused a bit too much on the cool factor when designing mine," He admitted sheepishly.

"You didn't do that with mine, did you?"

"Now that I think about it, well..."

"Come on, man, I stand out enough as it is. Just how conspicuous is this outfit going to be?"

"Well...only one way to find out."

...

...

"Wow, you look awesome in that outfit, it really suits you," Remarked Celia, as Raven walked out in his new battle gear.

"O-oh, uh...thanks, I appreciate it," Replied Raven awkwardly, feeling a bit flustered.

The outfit consisted of a sleek black leather-armored, skintight top that was sleeveless over the right arm, with a short sleeve on the left arm. It had a high collar that wrapped around Raven's neck, and a jagged red pattern down the middle of his torso.

It also includes a pair of black leather-armored trousers with a black belt that had a pointy dark purple flap which fell over the right hip, and flexible black shoes. The outfit also had slits on the back to accommodate Raven's wings and tail.

"What did I tell ya? It's pretty cool, isn't it?" Smirked Aster, looking pleased with himself.

"...okay, yeah, it's pretty cool, I'd be lying if I said I didn't like the way it looked," Admitted Raven with a wry smile, before adding with a slight sigh, "But it could be a bit more subtle, I definitely can't walk around in this like I could in a normal-looking outfit like what the others are wearing. Like this red pattern down the front of the middle, the red is a bit too vibrant. And this flap over my right hip, it doesn't really serve a purpose."

"Yes, it does! It makes the outfit cooler!" Argued Aster indignantly.

"Another thing, why is the right side sleeveless while the left side has a sleeve? My left arm still looks human, but my right arm decidedly does not...if you wanted to go for an unsymmetrical sleeve design, wouldn't it make more sense to have a right long sleeve and then the left side sleeveless? But you went for a sleeveless right side and a short sleeved left side, which exposes my inhuman right arm and-..."

"Alright, alright, I get it...and you have a point, I could've designed it to be more practical. But then, it doesn't really matter, since you're going to have to wear this cloak anyway," Pointed out Aster with a slight huff, as he tossed a dark brown, hooded cloak at Raven.

"Heh, he's totally pouting...you're way too sensitive about this, man," Smirked Colt, very clearly trying to taunt and provoke Aster.

"How pathetic...you're a grown man, aren't you embarrassed at acting like this at your age? And you call yourself our leader, talk about sad," Added Lexia with a disdainful look on her face.

"Great, the sadists are ganging up on me, just what I needed," Grumbled Aster dryly, before clearing his throat and composing himself, before adding, "Alright, let's get down to business. We'll split up into two groups of three, one group will head to Ruby Village, and the other to Garnet City. The group to Ruby Village will consist of Raven, Celia and Tacitus. And the group to Garnet City will be me and the sadists."

"Tch, don't put me under the same label as this pervert...unlike him, I don't have a masochistic side," Protested Lexia with a huff.

"Mm, insult me more," Grinned Colt, shuddering slightly with a tinge of red across his cheeks.

"Ugh, you revolt me."

"Mhm, Mhm...what else?"

"Just stop talking, you're playing right into his hands," Celia sighed in exasperation, as she placed a hand on Lexia's shoulder to calm her down.

"Ahem, let's please stay on topic. The Ruby Village group's task will be to gather information about Raven's sister, and eliminate any Inquisitors you come across after interrogating them. Celia, Tacitus, I'll leave it to you to inform Raven on which Knights are targets and which aren't," Remarked Aster.

"What do you mean by that?" Raven inquired curiously.

"Well, while the Knights are our enemies, we only target those who are prejudiced against Commoners. It'll only hurt our cause if we kill any Knights who do not discriminate...they may not be our allies, but we don't consider them our enemies either. If you do end up in a fight against a Knight that isn't in our list of targets, aim to retreat. We've studied the Knights extensively over the last year or so, and we've compiled a list of those we should target. Honestly, we should've had you memorize that list a lot sooner, but we were so focused on your training that it slipped my mind.

Now, as for my group, our goal will be to assassinate the Noble in charge of Garnet City, Viscountess Stagra Garnet. She's a vile old hag who isn't exactly subtle about her hatred for Commoners, she goes out of her way to make life harder for Commoners in the city, with heavy taxes and the like. Cardinal Bain Garnet, the leader of the church in Garnet City and the younger brother of the Viscountess, is also a target...he puts on a front and acts like he's neutral and doesn't discriminate against Commoners, but he works behind the scenes with his sister to make life harder for Commoners.

All the Knights in the city are also targets, Garnet City is under the jurisdiction of the Third Squad, overall the most deeply prejudiced against Commoners of all the Knight Squads. But our primary target is the Viscountess, followed by the Cardinal, and then the Knights...since the Captain of the Third Squad is posted in Garnet City, we shouldn't push our luck. After all, we've avoided attacking any of the cities thus far precisely because the Knight Captains are posted there," Pointed out Aster cautiously.

"Right, the Commander and Vice-Commander are in the Capital, the Captains are in the cities, their Vice-Captains are spread out across the towns and around First-Class Knights are in charge of each of the villages, with the remaining First-Class Knights spread out across the cities and towns. In other words, we're not going to encounter more than one or two Knights in the villages who are genuine threats, while there could be three or four, possibly even more, such Knights in the cities," Surmised Celia objectively.

"Right, that's exactly why we need to be careful...the cities have a larger number of Knights in them than the towns and villages do, so we can't afford to get careless. Seriously, you two, keep yourselves in check," Aster warned Lexia and Colt.

"Hmph, you don't need to tell me. I'd be more worried about him...I wouldn't put it past him to attract the attention of the Knights to inflict pain and have pain inflicted on him," Huffed Lexia as she gave Colt a narrowed side glance.

"Come on, while that does sound nice, I don't want to die, you know. I'm not going to do anything stupid, I promise," He replied defensively.

"You two really don't inspire a whole lot of confidence...alright, this will be the biggest move we've made so far, we've only launched small-scale attacks in a few of the villages so far, but now, we're taking our operations to the next level, by actively targeting people in positions of power. If we succeed today, we'll have dealt a major blow against our enemies. So, let's ensure that we succeed," Declared Aster with a smile.

"Done with the pep talk? If so, can we go already?" Spoke up Tacitus with a sigh.

"Why do you always have to be such a wet blanket, man? Fine, whatever, let's head out...you got the Teleport Spell Cards?" Inquired Aster, a deflated look on his face.

"Yeah, here you go. These will teleport you one kilometer forward in the direction you point it in when activating it, I've made six in total, so we each get one," Replied Tacitus, handing him three of the cards.

"I still can't believe you're so skilled at a task that's as tedious and complex as formulating Spell Cards," Remarked Raven in bemusement.

"I really wish I wasn't good at it, especially since no one else here knows how to make Spell Cards. Teleport Spells are especially a pain to formulate, I can only manage fixed distance Teleport Spells, I still haven't figured out long-range teleportation or Spells that teleport you to a specific location, so these will have to do to," He sighed wearily.

"You said these teleport us one kilometer at a time, right? What if there's, like, a large tree or something exactly one kilometer ahead? We won't end up getting teleported right into the tree, will we?" Inquired Raven warily.

"No, that won't happen. If there isn't an open space a kilometer ahead, it'll simply teleport us to an open space as close to the one-kilometer-mark as possible."

"Don't forget to give Raven the list of Knights that are and aren't targets. Now, then, Lexia, Colt...let's head out, shall we?" Suggested Aster, handing the two of them one of the Spell Cards.

"Sure, I'm ready. Let's do this," Nodded Colt with a grin, as Lexia nodded as well, before the three of them teleported away.

"Alright, guess we should head out too. We'll teleport close to Ruby Village, take a break for Raven to memorize our list of targets as much as possible, and then begin. Come on, let's go get this over with," Sighed Tacitus, as he handed out the remaining Spell Cards to Raven and Celia...