William cursed. 'How did I already forget about these guys?'
He turned around, not surprised to see the two old men from before standing outside his balcony with tired eyes and their spells at the ready. Behind them were over a hundred guards.
Even Fowley and the Head Array Master were present, but they seemed defeated and couldn't help William escape from this situation.
William was nervous, but he laughed. "Did you stay up all night waiting for me? I slept like a log in my room, why didn't you break in and arrest me?"
The old men frowned. Was the kid really sleeping? No! "You must have spent all your energy creating traps in that room of yours. You should come with us quietly or we will increase the punishment."
William didn't like where things were going. If he went with the guards, he would probably waste a year sitting in jail, but if he fought with them he would have to leave the City. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NoveI(F)ire.net
"I don't plan on going to jail. Obviously killing someone was a mistake, or I would have finished off all the guards last time." William spoke calmly.
The old man didn't plan to give William a way out. He smiled sinisterly while keeping his Ice Spike trained on William. "You have no choice on this. Come with us or die."
William had other plans, he quietly spent 30 Points to upgrade his Hard Skin Talent, feeling a numbing sensation from his entire body for a moment. There were no visual changes to William's skin, but the cells felt like they were packed together in a tight formation, unwilling to let anything through.
He wouldn't be able to put up an Advanced Barrier before the old men launched their spells, so William instantly raised an Intermediate Barrier, then covered himself with the Earth Element.
The old men saw many things happen within a split second and realized they needed to act now. The first broke the Intermediate Barrier with his sword, while the other shot the Ice Spike at William.
The spectators anticipated William's quick death. Fowley closed his eyes while the Head Array Master felt a tinge of pain in his heart. He had finally found a talent worthy of replacing him, but the boy was hot blooded and decided to fight recklessly with the City guards. It was truly a shame.
A few seconds passed. Fowley opened his eyes, but they widened in shock when he noticed the scene was not what he expected. William was perfectly fine, with an Ice Spike lodged into a chunk of Earth that protruded from his skin.
William quickly created a Spell Reflection Array, launching back another Ice Spike that was heading in his direction. The old man didn't expect this, and a massive hole was formed in his chest, bleeding profusely. If he wasn't treated soon, the old man would die.
William dodged the sword from the second guard Captain with his insane speed, then prepared a giant fireball that created severe burns on the old man's chest. William dashed forward, delivering a punch to the old man that knocked him out.
Both guard Captains were unable to fight. William didn't want them to die, so he used the Plant Element to tie them up, then the Life Element to stabilize their injuries.
--Unlocked Title: +3 Potential Points
-Honorable (Rare): You have spared ten individuals who had some intent to kill you. +1 Permanent Humanity.
The entire fight, the other guards weren't able to do anything. They watched as William utterly trounced their Captains in a one versus two fight.
Fowley was already aware of William's many Elements, but no one else in the room knew. The Head Array Master knew William had the Lightning and Fire Element from the Arrays test, but Will just used the Earth, Plant, and Life Elements. 'Does that mean the kid has..five Elements?'
The other guards had similar thoughts. William had just used four Elements in one fight, making him one of the most talented individuals they had ever seen. Given the fact that William had just beaten two Core Formation Realm Cultivators at the Void Core stage and that Will was also an Array Master, that instantly moved him to the number 1 spot.
William knew he had shown too much, but it was too late now. 'So much for hiding my strength.' he sighed.
He turned to look at the rest of the guards. "Isn't this a bit much? Aren't you creating more trouble for yourselves by trying to hunt me down over a small matter? Let me leave, there are more benefits from keeping me out of jail."
Flip realized he was one of the only remaining senior City guard members. He knew William wasn't unreasonable, but he had to be punished somehow. "So you don't want to go to jail, perhaps you would be more interested in an alternative punishment?"
William looked at him weird. Why does that phrase sound so...
He shrugged it off, "Like what?" William asked.
"As you've killed a guard and evaded capture for 16 hours, we could sentence you to clean up the Magical Beasts in a nearby danger zone. You surely have the strength for it."
William was interested, this was actually exactly what he needed. He forced out an indecisive tone, "If it's too much then I'm not willing, how many beasts would I need to kill?"
"We ask that you clear out Section 4 of the Foam Desert, which is probably around a hundred beasts in the Foundation Establishment Realm and a few dozen in the Core Formation Realm.
The Foam Desert separates Blue Moon City from Far East Capital, so the route needs to be cleared regularly. Your help would reduce the number of casualties on our side." Flip finished.
William felt this was a great option for him. He accepted their offer and even decided he would leave the same day. Flip was relieved, as he felt the chase to catch William would take a large amount of manpower.
The City didn't have many Golden Core or Nascent Soul experts, so sending one of them to catch a kid without Cultivation would be humiliating. A peaceful resolution was the best option, and the guards could even claim to have successfully apprehended the criminal.
William took a trip to the Guild Hall. He spoke to Sara and Rui, "Are there any Quests that are looking for beasts or materials from the Foam Desert?"
Rui spoke with a smile, "We have a few of these, I will bring them out for you to look at." she spent a few minutes behind her counter organizing papers, then laid a stack of 8 Quest sheets on the table. "These are all we have for right now, the Alchemy Hall is also always looking for Marauder Scorpion tails, so be sure to keep an eye out."
William nodded and took the Quest sheets. He looked at each of them, depicting different beasts, their habitats, and desired drops. William felt it was better to accept all the Quests and go back later if he didn't complete them.
"I'll accept all of these, is that alright?" he asked the duo.
Sara smiled while shaking her head, "Two of those Quests are too difficult for you." she pointed to a pair of quests that requested heads of a Poison Panther and legs of a Core Formation Realm Sand Newt. "If you want these Quests, it's better to wait until you are a Platinum Rank Adventurer." Sara finished.