My eyes snapped open as thousands screamed out in terror before silence. Moka’s sleepy red eyes fluttered open and glanced at the time. We had taken a nap after training when the alarm went off; I was going to put her rosary back on. But instead, I threw the blanket off me, revealing a Kurumu in her underwear clinging to my side. She, too, glanced blearily at the clock and looked confused.

 

“Someone is burning my fields,” I said and pulled on a pair of gym shorts and an old t-shirt.

 

Moka growled behind me. “Who would dare attack our property?”

 

Whoever it was could control blue flames. The younger plants couldn’t stand up against them, but the old second-generation plants were different. Not only could they tank powerful flames, but they could unleash hell themselves. Those that survived this onslaught would be much stronger for it. A part of me wanted to hold back to see what happened. But that went against my farmer’s spirit.

 

“It doesn’t matter; if they want to pick a fight with me, I will give them one. Thanks to Kurumu’s cooking and your sparring, I’m much stronger than I was before. I hope they don’t run away before I get to them.” 

 

Moka snorted. “I’m still coming as backup; your weak human eyes can’t well at night.” But, unfortunately, she wasn’t wrong; my eyesight didn’t match hers at night.

 

“Fine, but I’m taking the lead,” I said, leaving for the door.

 

The fire could be seen from the ship and the dorms. I shot off towards the fire, where I sensed a mix of different powers. Multiple monsters were on the scene, and one was powerful, even for an S class. He felt like wildfire, and my garden surrounded him. Through their primitive eyes, I could see the glee on the man’s face as he burned them. Their ashes covered the soil, giving back nutrients that the others would quickly absorb. Powerful vine whips swept through the air, but none could deal any lasting damage to the monster. All of it was illuminated by the fullest moon I’ve ever seen; it was perfect for harvesting at night.

 

A troll blocked my way. He pointed at me and grinned. “Arakan, right? I heard you were strong; you even took down Gin after he juiced. I’m not here to stop you, but Kuyo is strong and has his whole gang with him. Do you think you and a girl, even a vampire, will be enough?”

 

My aura crackled around me. Kurumu’s cooking had done an excellent job boosting my qi reserves. I could hold it for a few minutes with my current recovery. Then, the green aura surrounding me blasted up into the heavens as my wrath poured into it.

 

Quest: Save The Farm

Bonus?

Bonus?

Bonus?

Reward: 2 Gotcha

Failure: Farm’s Destruction

 

“I don’t care if he has an army. He’s attacking my farm in the middle of the night like a coward. This means war.” I said.

 

There was time to talk; my garden's strongest were holding out well enough. And the damage was mostly already done. Not many of my crops survived, but those that did would have plenty of room to reproduce. Their next generation would be even stronger than this one. Wildfires wouldn’t be much of an issue either. Those that survived to pass on their genes deserved to survive.

 

Over half of the blueberry bushes were destroyed, leaving only the strongest survivors. My yield would be a lot lower than I would like, but with time it would recover. This would not happen again; the survivors wouldn’t allow it.

 

“I see, so he committed a taboo against you. Go then. I won’t stop you.” The troll said, and let us pass.

 

A tall man wearing a trench coat tried to hide from me, but I knew exactly who this guy was. “What are you doing here?”

 

The man smiled. “I’m ensuring Kuyo holds up his side of the bargain. We don’t need to hand the drug out freely anymore. Well, you and your girlfriend are an exception.” The man said.

 

“Pass, so you had him attack my garden in exchange for a pill.” I cupped my hands and formed a sphere of aura. The man’s eyes widened before I shot it at him. He threw himself on the ground at a human level and rolled to avoid it. I nodded my head and confirmed what I thought to be true.

 

“You’re human, so why are you helping monsters get stronger. Doesn’t that sound a little counterproductive.” I said.

 

“Oh, I thought you were worried about your garden?” There wasn’t any time to waste, but I wanted answers. “I think he’s earned a sample of the drug. I’ve already confirmed something about you. You’re also human but not one of our agents. So, you must work for another organization trying to bridge the gap between humans and the monster in this world. Are you one of the exalted children or first men?”

 

“No, I’m merely superhuman,” I said.

 

The man chuckled. “Interesting, a natural without a sacred gear, genetic engineering, or an evil piece. Well, I wonder what the drug would do to you.”

 

“What do you mean I’m not a monster?” 

 

“Indeed,” The man said and vanished. But, no, I could feel him moving farther away at a breakneck speed. Somehow the man was much faster than Gin.

 

“Great, there is a human conspiracy here; if we report on it, there will be a witch hunt,” I said.

 

“No one would believe you’re a human, and if anyone asks, we can gaslight them or tell the truth in a way that makes them believe otherwise. Humans can’t do the things you can.” Moka said.

 

“Moka, I think I lo,” Moka pressed a finger to my lips.

 

“We still have to save the farm. Your blood tastes best after you’ve had a slice of pie.” Moka said

 

I grabbed her waist and pulled her in close. Moonlight reflected from her hair, and I could get lost in her red eyes.

 

“You’re right; there are still foes to fight, so let’s enjoy our night,” I said and sped off toward my farm.

 

Ashes and smoke filled the air while blue flames still burned monstrous plants. My crops had spared students to the point of sacrificing their own lives. Some of the monsters were restrained, but my crops were chopped apart by other students. In the distance, a glowing fox man battled a gestalt blueberry bush with tens of thousands of tentacles and a water barrel wrapped in its roots. Moonlight glowed upon its leaves brighter and brighter before it unleashed a massive beam. The attack struck the fox monster made of flames, but the attack cut off before it could finish the monster. The flames around Kuyo gathered around the fox, healing its wounds. I moved quickly between the PSC and knocked them out with nonlethal blows.

 

Moka held make waiting saving all her energy for the boss fight. Then, with the students no longer a threat, the other blueberry bushes moved to join the gestalt form the majority shared. Kuyo turned his attention to us and glared.

 

“You are the one who violated school rules and grew these monstrosities.” I drew my sword and struck him with a powerful air slash. He only laughed before flames from my burning crows returned to him. Not only were his wounds healed, but he was even stronger than before. He was absorbing qi through his flames. “Soon, I won’t even need that drug. I’ll become a Daiyoukai like the great Yasaka.” Kuyo said.

 

I instantly pulled the qi from the burning crops on the ground, recovering my reserves. Even the blue flames went out as I took the power fueling them.

 

Qi control was the backbone of most of my skills. With it at a master level, this was easy. My reserves increased far beyond what they had been before. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything about the qi Kuyo had already absorbed. The blueberry bushes finished combining and rose nearly 50ft in the air. Long tentacles wrapped around each other forming massive limbs. One swiped down, knocking Kuyo aside.

 

Blue flames blasted the kaiju-sized blueberry bush, but its body didn’t catch fire. Instead, it tossed dirt on its burns to put them out. Its leaves glowed silver again, with a much brighter attack coming from a massive green beast core in its center.

 

Kuyo PL68

 

It was an impressive number a month ago.

 

Arakan PL65

Moka PL70

 

I snapped my fingers, and the blast died down. This was the perfect opportunity to test myself against a different opponent. My qi reserves had increased by quite a bit. I stepped in and blasted a few aura spheres his way. His eyes widened as he tried to parry the first one with his hand, and it exploded.

 

“This isn’t youki.” Kuyo roared and created an erupting geyser of flames. Wall of blue blame after wall of blue flame appeared hotter than a welding torcher and just as bright, but I had more eyes than my own to see from. Finally, aura surrounded my body, and I stepped around the attack, taking my sword in both hands and swinging.

 

An air slash crossed the distance and bore down on him. He threw some flames up, but it wasn’t enough to stop my attack. Fire wasn’t great at defense. His tails lashed out, striking like snakes, and I caught each one with the flat of my blade.

 

My zanpakuto chose that moment to speak. “This is fun. Can you feel your blood pumping? He’s tough, but he’ll never see my blade coming. Youkai are spirits, but they can’t see me in this world because there is a system in the way. They can’t see me, but those few who the system is supposed to benefit can. So, if you find someone who can see me, you have a connection to the system in the way. Also, you need to learn my name. We’re partners, and partners know each other’s names am I right.” My zanpakuto.

 

“Fine, what’s your name?” I asked as I blocked another wave of tail slaps.

 

“It isn’t that easy, but I can help you use one of my powers. You were already using it, but there is a right and a wrong way for these things. I’m the power you need, not really the one you want. For anyone else, I would be totally useless. So put as much power as you want into my blade and see why we’re partners.”

 

I did what my sword said and started pumping power into it without a care in the world. My sword’s size hadn’t changed, but it was getting heavier to the point where the weapon would be impossible to use for a normal person. I adjusted my qi enhancement to meet the weapons requirements. It really was a true partner.

 

My next swipe tore through Kuyo’s tails and unleashed a massive air slash that decapitated trees in the distance. I braced my legs against the weight of my weapon and swung again, slicing a deep wound across Kuyo’s chest. The kitsune clutched his chest and fell to a knee. His flames went out, and I was sure he was ready to be hauled off to the headmaster.

 

A web shot out of nowhere, sticking to Kuyo before dragging him out of the fight. I slashed down with the intent to kill. Then the drug dealer practically teleported in and grabbed Kuyo and the kitsune’s rescuer before blasting away with speed.

 

“Why are you only reacting instead of actively hunting them down?” Moka asked.

 

“I’m always watching for an attack on us, but I didn’t think they would target my farm, and it won’t happen again. Besides that, this fight was unsatisfying. Despite Kuyo’s power, I could have destroyed him in seconds if I had gone in hand to hand. Then there was the drug dealer and this mystery monster enhancement. Despite my power, they can hide from me. I only know where they are when they do something that draws attention, and actively looking for them will make them hide more carefully. So, I’m using familiars. I already know where Kuyo’s headquarters are, but I want to force him to make a public move against me. Then when I crush him, I’ll be in the right.” I said.

 

“No, crush him tomorrow; he probably already has the drug and this time aims to kill,” Moka said.

 

“Alright, if nothing comes up tomorrow, I’ll crush him. “

 

My anger burned like the fire of a thousand suns at seeing my farm burned nearly entirely to ash in the moonlight. Seeing new green growth poking out of the soil helped only a little. A second generation was already growing, but it wouldn’t be the same. Kuyo would pay for what he did. Moka was right; I shouldn’t let my anger cool. He burned my farm and cost me yield. That’s like stealing my lunch for months; he would pay in blood for every crop burned.

 

I stared down at my very heavy sword. “So, does this technique have a name?”

 

“Nope, you’re pumping me full of energy, and I’m using it to make myself denser. If you want the good stuff, you must at least learn my name.” My zanpakuto said.

 

Quest: Save The Farm

Bonus: Capture Kuyo Failed

Bonus: Save 50% Of Farm Failed

Bonus: Confront Drug Dealer +1 Gotcha

Rewarded: 3 Gotcha