Chapter 70: Scoping Out 

“Argh…” I verbally sighed as my quick scope out of my options returned only misfortune for my current predicament. 

How in the stars am I supposed to sneak to the first layer?! 

There were six stations where craft could leave and enter from on the second segment, and after returning back to the first one I had visited, seeking onboard a ship seemed near impossible. 

Thankfully it wasn’t too hard to move around the second segment. My new getup did help greatly with not being harassed by officers and security. I felt like I looked like a punk with my star-shaped mask and jacket, but it rode the line of fashion well enough. 

To stay sneaky, I used the service tunnels that existed on the second, tried to not stay in public areas, and made frequent use of [Star Mapping] for an aerial view of my surroundings. 

If I kept [Star Mapping] size to a small area, it wasn’t even a drain on my resources. With enough practice over the years, I was able to adjust the range and detail on the fly depending on what I saw coming and what I felt was necessary. Effective use of this skill allowed me to avoid people like security but also certain hunters who could be an issue if they decided to check me.

Before I returned to the first station I did a pass by the elevators… and yep… there was no way I would be able to sneak past them. Proper security around each one, not only that, but they were in constant use by heavily guarded groups to move supplies up and down between the segments. Okay maybe I could sneak in with a batch of supplies–which was something I considered–but that was risky and with the amount of armoured people around whose whole purpose was to ensure the correct supplies were going up and nothing else, that would be tough. However, it was potentially easier than sneaking aboard a ship, but that was to be determined.

But back to the issue at hand, my attempt to figure out where I could sneak aboard a ship. 

Every station had a flow of supplies being unloaded from ships and when the transport tunnels opened a large cluster of spacecraft came flying in with tourists coming for the auction. 

If it was just the civilian personnel and some guards, yeah I think I could sneak in somewhere, but the issue was the other groups of people that made segments of the docks their home. 

Mercenaries, freelancers, hunter guilds, and private companies forces. Docks filled with people absolutely ready for combat. I couldn’t tell who was just here to watch or buy, and who was here because they were hired for the job.

The fifth and third docks were the worst off, they were over 80% filled with just outside combat personnel. 

There were some pretty famous groups here as well, Red Roses Hunter Guild, Galaxy E-Y-S Mercenaries, and Apes Hunt Together Guild, to name a few. I couldn’t see any crazy famous individuals, but they were probably in their own rooms by now if they had arrived.

Then there were all the private hunting companies around. I noticed Pelopate was around, it had been a while since I saw them. A common trait with the companies’ forces was there was a lot more heavy equipment–space jets, mini mobile stations, and mechs.

The mechs even had jetpacks equipped. Mechs even with jetpacks and flight tech weren’t the best for large aerial combat, but they would be good for moving different layers of infrastructure, and they were realistically powerful enough to change segments.

So now, I was back at the first dock I visited, it was also filled with too many people on guard. I could only sigh and continue to watch to see and find if there was an opportunity to sneak onboard a ship going to the first segment somewhere.

However, during my scoping out, I let a trio of unassuming individuals get too close.

From my vantage point behind a wall where I was using [Star Mapping], two guys and one girl each in their early twenties came walking up. Each was in casual clothes, but with holographic pins on their clothes to signal what origination they were a part of. It was an orange robin, the Rudzik Fighters. 

I didn’t think they were going to be an issue, but they managed to prove me wrong.

The middle “Hey freaky baby, what ya doing?” 

Who are these donkeys?

“What do you want?” I asked. 

The man chuckled to his friends, “Just asking what guild you are a part of?” 

“Not yours, that’s for sure.”

He said, “Well that’s fine, things can change.”

The female employee agreed, “Exactly.”

What is this supposed to be? 

At this point, I was genuinely confused. I don’t think they were trying to hit on me, considering my features were completely covered by my clothes and armour. So it must’ve been a hiring attempt? I couldn’t tell, maybe it was, but whatever strategy they were trying, it was awful. Not to mention bullying someone into joining an organisation is illegal, pretty much everywhere.

“Okay children, if you are done, the park is that way.” I insulted the trio but what I didn’t expect was for them to have near zero self-control.

The man raises his fist, “A weakling dares to say that!” And swings down.

I slapped the arm out of the way and asked Espoiramissa a question.

What did you do Espr?

(" Just did a small favour, I just adjusted it so any skill that would determine you to be a danger or any appraisal skill wouldn’t exactly work as intended ”)

So what does ‘as intended’ mean?

(" Appraisal will return a fake Soul Page, and any danger skill will consider you mostly harmless to the user ”)

I appreciate it, but why did you do it?

I did really truly appreciate the act, but I had the feeling Espr did it for their own motives.

(" Well I did do it so your journey in the second segment would be easier, but I did hope a situation like this would occur, your luck is awful after all ”)

So, you just did it for your own entertainment?

(" Correct ”)

That sounds about right…

(" Correct again ”)

The woman tried to scream, “You won’t get away with…!” 

Within a moment after I slapped the man’s fist out of the way. I knocked him to the ground, sucker-punched the second dude right in the face and then slapped the woman to the ground.

“Quiet.” I kicked her in the face, then knocked her and the first guy out with a wave of Soul Pressure.

I said aloud, “They really need to add a personality check to the hiring process.”

“Agreed.” I let another individual get close. He initially looked like he was in a rush, but the moment he saw me effortlessly beat up the trio from Rudzik Fighters–From his own badge, it was the place he worked–he slowed down and calmly walked towards me.

“Well, good luck with that then,” I said.

The man extended his hand out, “Can I have your number for later?” He wore his company’s black and orange uniform with comb-back yellow hair. His square build was pretty big, but he reminded me more of an office worker than a frontline combatant.

“No,” I instantly refused, “I’m not about to be annoyed later.”

“I promise we won’t–”

“It’s not my first rodeo. Anyway, may we never see each other again.” I started walking off. The man in question didn’t follow and instead picked up the three children to bring them back to wherever.

I have a feeling the next few days aren’t going to get any easier.

(" Realistically, no ”)

Bloody fan-tastic.

Bobple

Been a rough couple of days and when I finally got time to write, managed to get a headache before I even started. So yeah, that's why the chapters is late. Still got the headache though, so sorry for any grammar mistakes. Thinking is very hard right now.