This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

Chapter 217 41.2 Active Time Maneuver?

MARUKI

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Maruki kept his cool. Inwardly, however, he had no idea on how to respond. Shade had been the one to make all the arrangements for their stay back in the Portmaster's office, and he was sure that the others, baring perhaps Moriya and Lady Guidance even knew what truly happened during that time. Of course, while he could simply say it to this interloper, he couldn't do so just for the sake of seeing how he would respond. No. It would be too much of a security risk for him to reveal more than what was already discovered about them.

And knowing that, he knew full well that he had to eliminate this man as soon as possible.

"Not going to talk, huh," the rotund man sighed, taking another bite out of his sandwich before speaking once more. "And here I thought I can try and see if this was all a misunderstanding."

The tank took another short breath as he eyed his opponent. The man had already called off his Marquean contraption, electing to simply hold onto his dagger in a way that looked far too out of place for someone as wide as him. Still, based on the man's stance alone, Maruki could tell that his earlier attempts at attacking him had simply been pokes and feints. His current disposition was far more solid... more threatening as he lazily held onto his weapon.

"Then again, I suppose I can expect this from paranoid sellswords," he sighed, shaking his head as if he wasn't even fighting someone threatening. "Very well. I'll get my answers the old-fashioned way."

Maruki's grip on his shield tightened as he prepared himself for a rather speedy attack. But what he didn't expect, however, was how quickly the bearded man had come behind him.

His eyes widened, his shield arm desperately moving to intercept the slash coming his way. Unfortunately, it was too late.

[*SLASH!*]

Rolling backward, Maruki hissed as his armor failed to prevent the dagger's attack from reaching his flesh. Taking a glance, the wound screamed orange as the metal on his armor melted, heat radiating off the side of his abdomen as he then eyed the dagger that did the deed in the first place.

Was that it? Was that his [Manifest]'s power?

Gritting his teeth, Maruki raised his shield, his power flowing through him as the dull blue glow of his [Manifest] began to show itself. Covering his entire body, a barrier of blue shimmered all over his skin as he announced his [Move.]

"[RAMPART!]"

"A Somatic then," the man smiled. "I haven't had a decent fight in a while, kid. Have at it."

With all pretense of stealth gone, Maruki shouted as he charged toward his enemy with his [DUTY!] facing forward. Lining up another [Move], he wound up his shield arm right in front of the unmoving man.

"[BASH!]"

[*WHOOSH!*]

"Too slow."

[*CLANG!*]

The tank was quick to respond this time, his sword moving to intercept as he spun on a dime using his failed [Move]'s momentum. The stalker's dagger clashed against his sword, the force of the man's blow almost threatening to push him back yet again.

"Word of advice, kid: use everything in your arsenal."

At the rotund man's words, Maruki could barely follow his movements as the bearded man then did a somersault that shouldn't even be possible for a man of his size. Following his movements, the tank raised his shield just in time for yet another slash to be blocked.

[*CLANG! CLANG!*]

With a shout, Maruki promptly pushed the man back, his [DUTY!] glowing with power as he took a short glance at his sword. It was getting lighter somehow, and sure enough, some parts of its edges had melted off, effectively reducing his sword into a mere bludgeoning stick without a decent edge.

"I think it's clear that you're going to lose here, kid," the man patronizingly smiled, his dagger flying in between his fingers as he played with his weapon. "You don't want this fight. Just give me some answers and I'll even give you a few Chips to buy a replacement for that sword of yours."

Maruki went through his options. He was thoroughly outclassed. And even if he had foregone his weapon in favor of using his shield as his weapon, there was no way that he'd be able to keep up with this round man and his surprising amount of agility. He even took another bite out of his sandwich like it was nothing, casually eating while making sure that he was completely pinned.

"I cannot do that!" Maruki declared aloud, his sense of duty far too strong for him to act meek. "The safety of... the many outweighs my own!"

"I see," the bearded man shook his head in disappointment, finishing off the sandwich he had been eating all this time. "Well, not like it would matter..."

Before Maruki even knew what was happening, the man had already moved once again. Standing right in front of him, his shield did nothing as he was deftly disarmed, his dagger guiding his [Manifest] away from him while the man's other fist was already reared back into a fist.

"Nothing personal, kid. I'm just doing my job."

[*THUD!*]

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Reaching the [Rig], the first thing that I noticed was the fact that Shade was standing right by the deck overlooking the docks. He was already frowning even before he saw us, his brows even furrowing further as his eyes clearly took count of who we were.

"Where's Maruki?"

"I thought he was with you?" I asked aloud, my instincts already kicking into overdrive for ignoring my previous gut feeling.

"He wasn't," Shade ground out from aboard the [Rig]. "He was tailing Shizu when I last saw him."

Oh dear... "That's alarming."

"You think?!" Shade yelled out. "I can't go look for him earlier knowing that you all were right on my tail. I didn't expect him to get held up by anything that isn't important, so he's probably still out there."

I frowned, my mind already moving as I turned to the others. "Shen, go and escort Nicole here into the [Rig]."

"Gotcha!"

"Shade, you'll be security here!" I shouted back to the man onboard. "Shizu, Guidance, and I will go out and look-"

"Ah... So this is where you all went."

The foreign voice froze me up for all of a second before I drew my [Manifest] and aimed them at the newcomer. Sure enough, the worst-case scenario had actually happened. Maruki was slung over this fat man's shoulder, carrying our tank around like a sack of potatoes even as he smiled at us.

"Let him go!" Shizu threatened aloud, her fists already balled up as Shen quickly pulled Nicole into the safety of the [Rig].

"Don't worry, lass. I was about to do so anyway."

I kept my eyes peeled even as the man gingerly laid Maruki's unconscious body down on the ground. Even from a distance, I saw the way his armor had melted off in some place, his sword completely mangled while his [Manifest] was thankfully still pristine in its sheen.

"Looking to rob us like the others?" I called out, Guidance already prepping her keyboard for what was surely an inevitable fight. "I bet you're also the stalker from earlier."

"Me? A stalker?" the bearded man laughed, his massive belly bouncing as he pulled out what looked like a sandwich from behind his back. "Not at all! I'm simply doing my job, is all."

"Your job, huh," Shade scoffed, his rose having already transformed into a whip as he stood on the edge of the deck. "We've been fending off random thugs since the moment we got here!"

"Oh, that? That's not part of my job, unfortunately," the man shrugged, his tone actually sounding apologetic. "What I'm here for, however, is the fact that your paperwork is far from adequate."

We all collectively flinched at his words. I resisted the urge to look at Shade as I kept a careful eye on this far man. If he saw something in our papers that warranted suspicion, then it only made sense that Maruki would try and stand his ground. This man had probably had his eye on us from the very beginning, possibly looking to see our true identities and reason for being here while we were stupidly relaxing and having fun buying stuff.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance. Shouldn't have let our guards down, huh...

Still, I felt like he was telling us everything yet...

"You were looking at Nicole earlier," Guidance spoke aloud, her tone pensive as she spoke. "Are you planning something?"

This time, the man simply laughed at us, even holding onto his gut before he gave us a level glare. "I should be the one asking you lot that question. I'm here to ensure that everything that happens in this port town is up to standard, and suspicious foreigners trying to usurp potential Marquean technology falls into my purview of duties."

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