Out in the grassy forest. Naomi and her girls were squatting in the bushes, eyeing the stage that had been built for the games. It was a large round stage that faced rows and rows of metal seats. Nineteen name slots, filled with all the dragons selected for the games, adorned the wooden platform above.
Behind the stage was a small storage shed. It was a basic wooden structure. Four walls and a flat roof. It looked like one of the outhouses from basic training. There was one guard standing in full armor in front of the door of the shack. Including the pointed metal helmet that full guards had to wear.
"Alright, girls. It appears that only one guard is blocking our path. He's wearing a full plate. Therefore, we will primarily choose high-impact blunt weapons. I'll provide a distraction. Amaya, Sadie. You two should position yourselves on either side and prepare to jump him. Tess, do you have any javelins on you?"
"Yuperoni!" The bubbly blonde pulled out a pointy metal stick from the sheath on her back.
"Good. When I give the signal, throw one at that idiot so he thinks I'm stupid and charges me. That's when you two jump him."
"What do you mean 'thinks'?" Darla quipped as Amaya and Sadie got into position.
"Quiet, Darleen. Before I order you to go out there with your sword and stab him in his chestplate." Naomi smiled as she delivered a quick retort.
Darla smacked her lips. "I told you my full name in confidence…" The girls with green and white hair positioned themselves on either side of the storage shed. Signaling they were in position.
Seeing the two ready to go. Naomi stood up and walked out of the shrubbery. As soon as she emerged from the forest brush, the guard came to attention and drew the lance that was customary for the guards to wield. "Halt! Who goes there? This is holy ground! And property of the Celestial Dragons! Leave this place!"
Naomi walked forward with a hand raised. "Hey. Relax, guy. I'm a personal defense unit. My Dragon just sent me over to make sure things were in proper order." She stopped about ten feet away from him so he had room to charge with his lance.
The guard didn't let his guard down for a second. "A wonderful try. But I am placed here to defend the holy ground with my life. From all possible dangers!"
"You mean like that javelin?" Naomi spoke a little extra loud to signal Tess for the throw.
"What have—" Before he could finish his question, a pointed metal stick attached to a wooden pole hit the helmet of his suit. "You knave!" Getting the lance into position, he began the trained charge to skewer an insubordinate civilian. As soon as the clang of the javelin sounded, the two girls exited the vehicle to confront the guard.
Amaya held out her shield as she ran. She banged her mace against the shield to get his attention. Drawing his attention to his right. And making him look away from his left. Where Sadie was winding a two-handed swing with her morning star. As he turned to face Amaya and moved to stab her. Sadie let out a full swing to the back of his helmet with her metal ball on a stick. THWAM!
The smack against the back of his head made him drop instantly. His lance stabbed the ground at an angle. Immediately as he fell, Naomi walked over to grab the key in his back pocket. "Good work, girls." Tess and Darla came out of the woods. Following Naomi, all while the guard groaned as he slowly escaped life. "Amaya put the poor idiot out of his misery."
"Yes, Ma'am!" A loud metal thunk impacted the dent that Sadie had already created. Followed by a familiar jingle. [Your party has gained 145 experience points.]
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Lance walked back into the lobby of the hotel wearing his new clothes. He pulled up his status page and looked at his defense rating with everything on.
His normal clothes would usually only have an armor rating of 1 if he was lucky. Each of these new clothes provided several points of defense. And his shirt got a bonus when he wore the undershirt along with it. As he admired his dress shirt coming down the stairs. Abigail approached the stairs. Tyrus, Lance's father, was behind her.
"Lance. It is good to see you, Son." Tyrus walked towards Lance with his normal black suit coat and dress clothes. What was surprising to Lance was the small mustache his father had begun growing. It was a thin line of hair on the top of his lip. Lance had always assumed that his father intentionally chose intimidating clothing. But the mustache made him look…evil.
"It's wonderful to see you, Father!" Lance met his father's hand for a firm handshake. The closest thing he had ever gotten to a hug from his father.
"What you're about to do is something only a few of the Celestial Dragons will ever have the chance to do." Lance's face grew a little sour as his father went straight into business. "That's why I had these made for you." Tyrus set a briefcase down on the table. Tyrus opened it to reveal two hand axes made of a tempered steel that almost glowed blue. With eyes wide with wonder, Lance picked up the two axes.
[You have found a High Steel Axe. Damage: 11-20. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Shining. Durability: 99/99.]
"Woah." Grabbing one of the axes, Lance gave it some practice swings in the empty air. "I was disappointed when you guys didn't let me take my old axe on the trip. I thought you were just going to have it repaired. This stuff is awesome though!" Each swing of the axe let him feel how perfectly balanced it was in his grip.
"I know you've found yourself more proficient at dual wielding. So I had the smith forge the two as a pair. See what happens when you grab the second one." Now more curious than ever before. Lance grabbed the second axe from the briefcase. After he grabbed the axe, another prompt appeared in his vision.
[You have found a High Steel Axe. Damage: 11-20. Item Class: Uncommon. Quality: Shining. Durability: 99/99. This axe is a partner to another axe that you have already found. When wielded together, their attack speed is increased by 10%. And their damage is increased by 10%.]
"Holy crap! These two are great!" Lance began attaching the loops for these axes to his belt. While Lance was attaching the loops to his belt, Tyrus clapped him on the shoulder from behind.
"Lance. I know you can do this. You are a Duval. This means that overcoming any obstacle only requires you to take the first step. Do you understand?" Lance finished by sliding the two axes onto his hip.
"Don't worry, Dad. I've had a month to realize exactly what position I'm in." Lance gave a warm smile up at the cold embrace his father looked down at him with. "I won't let this opportunity go to waste."
Tyrus didn't offer an ounce of warmness at his son's response. Before he could respond, a horn blew outside the hotel area. "The games are beginning. Let's head to the arena."
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Back up in the room. Mary was cleaning with a vacuum cleaner. "Stupid Lance. I've watched him dress all of his life. And now suddenly he wants privacy?" Mary opened the door to Lance's room and began cleaning it. "Thirty days he's gone. And the one thing I want before he leaves. What does a girl have to do around here to get a look at some coc—huh?" As she moved around the bed with the vacuum cleaner, she saw a letter on the pillow.
She immediately picked it up and read the front. It was written in cursive. "To my girls~."
Girls? Plural? Mary's eye twitched as she saw that she didn't even get a letter. Now fully committed, Mary peeled open the sticker on the front of the letter. She had a scowl on her face as she read what he had left behind for his groupies.
"My dear girls," Mary gave a deep sigh as she crumpled the letter a little in her grip. "Pull it together, Mary. Someday you'll be his main piece while they're on the side." She gave a soothing breath before she continued.
"If you're reading this, then you'll realize that I haven't come back…" Mary's eyes scanned the page quickly. Becoming more frantic as she went. "Oh my god…" She threw the note away, exited the hotel room, and ran towards the location of the games.
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If you enjoyed it, please leave a review or comment! Let me know if you want to see more of the Harem Pirates. And if we get to 100 stones, I'll drop the first cover story.