Fawks stood with lazy expression.

“Just get me to the docks.” He said

[What is this prince prattling on about]

Kotori didn’t have time to argue with Fawks. Hatake had stood up and was beginning to move towards them.

He was cracking his knuckled and stretching himself off. Kotori could see that under his normal cloak there was a faint sheen of metal. As if his entire body was covered in metal. She used [Status] on him

Hatake Dawn

Race: [Human] Age: 57

HP: 179

Mana: 116

Agility: 68

Strength: 143

Defense: 338

Skills: [Bulwark], [Stone Skin], [Impact Absorption]

Traits: [Rook]

[Good his stats haven’t changed.] She thought.

[Wait.]

There seemed to be a marked shift in Hatake’s stats. They were changing before her eyes.

His defense stat grew while his mana stat fell.

[400, 450, over 500! He had had a mana buff skill too!] Kotori was watching the stat rise. Hatake was converting all his mana into extra defensive stats.

Shu launched a [Rock Bullet] towards Hatake. The bullet sped straight towards Hatake's head and upon impact shattered into dust.

Once the dust had settled Hatake smiled, in contrast to the last soldier that Shu had hit his face was unblemished

“Only kids throw rocks,” He said

He walked towards them with a relaxed gait. It didn’t seem like Hatake had much fear of them.

Kotori gritted her teeth. She wasn’t sure they would able to beat him. They were stat checked. Unless they found a way to get past that massive defense number any attack they landed on him would only be a small fly buzzing in his ear.

Kotori’s party didn’t know that though. They likely had a clue about his defense number but they wouldn’t know exactly.

“We have to retreat,” Kotori told them. Shu, Umi, Layla all gave a disappointed gaze

Fighting Hatake would be something to revisit another time.

“Is there something at the docks?” Kotori said.

“Just take me there,” Fawks said with a Steely gaze.

Kotori nodded. She trusted Fawks had a plan for them.

“Yukio come!” Kotori said

Although Yukio was not part of their group she was still responsible.

Shu punched a nearby wall their party ran out. Hatake was slower than them, and he wouldn’t be able to catch up if they ran right now. They ran in a straight line, smashing through the guild walls. She had no reason to be sentimental about it.

The people who controlled it had just tried to arrest her after all.

Once they entered the large reception hall the receptionist gave a screech.

The other Sea Lord had long since left the premise.

Kotori sighed. It would be much easier to take them hostage and enact her demands.

They sprinted through the building doors and made their way into the main street. It was surprisingly peaceful.

It would make sense. It wasn’t like the high political affairs of the kingdom were something the common folk care about.

Taking Fawks they rushed through the streets.

Kotori could hear a boom behind her. The entrance of the Merchants Guild was a broken hole, and in the hole was a standing lone figure.

[Why is he so fast!]

She watched Hatake bend down, and take a large jump.

[The hell!] The way Hatake was moving was quite bizarre, he wasn’t walking but rather leapfrogging towards them.

It was still quite fast. Hatake was using his superior strength stat to make jumps instead of running towards them. Now that they were out in the open he had much more space to jump.

[That’s not good] Kotori thought watching the figure rapidly approaching them.

Layle shot out two fireballs which blazed past Hatake.

He ignored them and continued to move forward.

Kotori and her group ran with the sound of thuds behind them. It felt oddly similar to Kotori’s fight with King Lizard. But Kotori would not be able to kite the fight like the King Lizard she could only hope that Fawks had something at the Docks that would make Hatake stop chasing them.

They ran through the streets pushing aside the people on the streets. Kotori felt her Karma stat fall while doing it. It seemed like she was injuring a few innocent bystanders.

[Sorry!] She thought.

Several of the normal town guards tried to stop them, but they were easily blasted aside by her party.

Soon the smell of the sea began to approach. And they approached the docks. The sound of thundering jumps getting closer.

Fawks led them past several ships and soon they reached a behemoth of a sailing ship. Something that Kotori would expect Zeng He to pilot.

It was a large ship for the purpose of sailing deep into the ocean.

The man where the ship was docked was also dark-skinned like Fawks.

“Fawks! What the hell is going on” He shouted

[He looks familiar?] Kotori thought before she realized the man was Doran, Fawk’s half-brother.

“Call the royal guard out from the ship,” Fawks said

“Fawks, you know I can’t do that! They are only here once you find her.” Doran said.

“Yes, you can!” Fawks grabbed Kotori’s arm and showed Doran the ring in her hand. It was the slave ring that Fawks gave Kotori.

Doran’s eyes widened and narrowed

“Fawks you know what this means?” He said glaring at him

“Absolutely,” Fawks said.

Kitsura

I wrote this while listening to “ten hour Dochi Dochi” someone send help.