[Check Out My P4treon For +30 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! And get chapters before publishing them here for free on my p4treon][p4treon.com/echotales]
===
We were all in our armored suits. Ciri even tried, out of curiosity, to cut mine with her sword, which she did with great difficulty. To be clear, she tried to cut the broader weave, not the suit itself, but she was still very impressed. A suit made of that material was much lighter and more comfortable than the usual clothes she was used to from her long years of training, and after...
And we had been camping out at the dump for three days now. Right where Ciri had appeared in this world...
By the way, Ciri got more than just an armored suit. I also ordered her lenses that help with weapon aiming, as well as a miniature earpiece that allows her to communicate with us.
"It feels cold..."
"You feel cold every two hours... Becca, don't try to raise our vigilance here. We're all alert enough to everything around us as it is."
I looked at Becca with disapproval. She was starting to get annoying with her "it feels cold." It even brought back a demotivational poster from my past life, where some show I never watched was described with five pictures and the phrase "Winter is coming."
"Well..."
"What?"
I glanced at Ciri.
"Actually, I feel something strange too..."
Ah, now that made me tense up. I don't know what Ciri is feeling, but her premonition when it comes to problems...
"Stand by! Readiness Level One for everyone!"
Another twenty minutes passed, and now I, too, was ready to say that it had gotten quite cold around us. And about ten minutes later, a portal appeared in the space, and figures clad in plate armor started stepping out. They were coming out at the exact spot where Ciri had appeared, but while she had materialized some distance above the ground and could have been injured by the fall, their portal appeared right at ground level.
" gibberish in an unknown tongue"
"What did he say?"
I gave Ciri a questioning look after what looked like an orc in armor with a skull for a mask and a bone crown said something. I knew, of course, that he wasn't an orc, but honestly, you expect sophistication from elves, and this was...
"He offered for me to surrender, and then you won't be harmed."
"Oh..."
I shook my head.
"...that orc who can't speak a civilized language is talking about surrender?"
The elf growled softly in anger.
"I understand you, human... and you won't succeed in provoking me. If you are here to hand over the Swallow, then just leave, or else... don't leave, and then you will die."
"Oh dear, oh dear..."
I shook my head.
"I'm so scared!"
"You should not incur our wrath upon your world. We are terrible in our anger, and..."
"Orc-ling, you're terrible in your anger? Don't make me laugh; my balls are rolling around, so it's inconvenient to tickle them. What can you, with your antediluvian knowledge, do to us? But I can do this..."
I demonstratively raised my hand, taking it off my rifle, and immediately switched to the girls' comms.
"Whiz, the one with the staff, first."
"Copy that, Silent..."
I snapped my fingers, and at that very moment, I gave Judy the command.
"Now."
Nothing seemed to happen. But at that exact moment, just as I gave the command over the comms, a clean hole appeared in the orc's helmet, and he simply fell onto the garbage-covered ground.
"You!"
Furious rage was palpable in the voice of the main orc.
"Me..."
I smirked.
"How do you think you, with your antediluvian magic, can stand against my art?"
"I feel no magic in you..."
"Because you're weak..."
My grin widened.
"I'm on a completely different level of existence, and you will only feel my power if I want you to."
"You... lie..."
Uncertainty was in the elf's voice. I switched to the girls' comms.
"Mentor, Cherry, Snowflake, the creatures that look vaguely like dogs, on my command. Whiz, get another armored one in your sights, the one with the mace, for example."
"Got it..."
I demonstratively snapped my fingers again.
"Go!"
A snap, and holes appeared in the heads of three creatures. Another snap, and the command was given over the comms, and three more creatures fell with bullet holes in their heads.
"So, you piece of trash... what brought you to our world?"
"Grrr... Zirael... give her to me."
"And why should I do that?"
"Even by killing all of us, you only delay the inevitable. Our bodies are not here... this is only a dense illusion with armor and weapons, and we are safe. We will come here as many times as it takes... and in the end, we will take her, killing you and many others..."
"Judy..."
I snapped my fingers and named her, and the orc with the mace fell to the ground with a hole in his head.
"You're threatening me, but you haven't been able to do anything yet. You're afraid to take even one step, and yet you're losing your subordinates..."
I shook my head.
"You're nothing but a piece of trash."
"Give me the Swallow!"
"Over my dead body."
"You chose this yourself..."
He grabbed his sword, and I immediately gave the command to the others, including Ciri, over the comms.
"Leave the main asshole for me. Zero out the rest."
"Got it!"
I, meanwhile, slung my assault rifle over my back and drew my tonfas, immediately activating their energy blades. I also activated my Sandi, accelerating myself so that this main asshole would become an easily manageable opponent for me. I don't suffer from a big ego, after all, and I understand that a sentient being who has dedicated hundreds of years to the art of the sword would zero me out if I didn't surpass him in speed enough to render his technique useless.
I met his first lunge with an energy blade and noticed that his sword didn't start melting, which meant the metal alloy was very, very interesting. Ciri had demonstrated something similar earlier when we tried to touch her sword with the energy blades of my tonfas. Of course, it was just the tip at first, and only after that did we start sparring at full power, no longer worrying about her blade.
Although we didn't have much time for sparring, I managed to fight her only twice... but even then, I realized that she was much better than me in that art.
I slightly corrected the direction of his sword and struck his armor in the stomach with the tonfas.
Hmm... the armor is made of the same metal, but the force of the blow was such that my opponent was thrown back. He wasn't expecting that kind of force from a frail-looking guy, and he couldn't take countermeasures, literally tumbling away from me.
"Alright..."
I deactivated my Sandi. Only about ten seconds had passed, and almost all of that guy's subordinates were dead. I wonder if he'll realize that I'm not a mage or not? Or will he prepare for the next battle with a mage who surpasses him in every way?
"You're a failure who just dressed up in artifacts..."
"You..."
A raspy voice came from under the Wild Hunt leader's helmet.
"Why do you want her?!"
"Why?"
I grinned.
"Don't you know what girls are for? Look at her..."
I nodded toward Ciri, who was finishing off another monster.
"...we've known each other for less than a week. She doesn't even suspect I'm a mage, and now she'll never find out, because I've already influenced her mind. You know... I have to thank you..."
"Thank me?"
"Yes... you hunted her down so badly that when she ended up here, her mental state was severely compromised. It was so easy to influence her mind..."
I shook my head.
"And now, even if someone tells her to her face that I brainwashed her, she won't believe it... she's mine now..."
I grinned.
"You!"
"Me..."
I grinned.
"I'll kill you!"
The orc-ling lunged at me again. I calmly activated my Sandi and, taking a step to the side, I positioned the energy blade of my tonfa right under his neck.
CRACK! (for the sound of the blow)
The orc-ling's head was literally torn from his body. The body took a few more steps and then collapsed onto the garbage that covered the ground at the dump. The head flew about five meters and then fell to the ground, but it didn't stop. It bounced a couple of times and tumbled another couple of meters.
The fight around me froze...
The Wild Hunt representatives couldn't believe that their leader had been dealt with so easily.
"Girls, that's enough. Finish them off..."
One command given over the comms, and now the girls stopped dragging out the fight and quickly dealt with the opponents. We decided not to use the minigun in this fight, saving it for the future, so we couldn't finish it too quickly. It took the girls another two minutes to kill all the Wild Hunt representatives.
"Is that it?"
Ciri was stunned by how quickly and easily everything had ended.
"It's all about preparation, friend..."
Becca patted her on the shoulder.
"Honestly, even if we hadn't prepared, it wouldn't have been that hard... David would have handled all of them without a problem."
"You know... I'm starting to believe that we can handle the Wild Hunt..."
Ciri gave a slightly strained and uncertain smile.
"By the way, you asked me to keep a straight face and not be surprised by anything, and you said you'd be saying all sorts of crazy things... but was all that really necessary?"
"Yes..."
I closed my eyes.
"Considering that you can't jump between worlds with a specific destination, and we'll still need the help of mages..."
"And how will your words help us?"
"I assume David thinks that the person who's in charge of them will decide to contact your Geralt, Yennefer, and Triss."
"Exactly..."
I nodded.
"You know how the saying goes: if you can't do it yourself, get someone else to do it. I think your mentor and his friends will soon be fed information that you're in deep trouble... maybe that elf-boy who was traveling with you will even do it..."
"Hmm... and he can bring them here..."
"Exactly. And if I can believe your words about Yennefer and Triss, they don't trust outsiders enough to walk through an elf's portal, which means he'll have to tell them how to build inter-world portals and at least give them the coordinates of your world and this one."
"But..."
Ciri started helping Becca and me collect the armor that was left on the ground, while the illusory bodies dissolved.
"...they might try to solve everything themselves..."
"They might... and they probably will. But they won't get to you, so sooner or later, they'll contact your loved ones, hoping that when they find out you're in trouble, they'll rush to save you. And after your loved ones deal with us, they'll come for you and take you away from a more familiar opponent."
We collected the armor. Panam, meanwhile, drove the car over, and we loaded the armor into it.
"Alright, ladies, as we agreed, Becca, Judy, and Lucy will stay here and watch over everything. We'll relieve you closer to nightfall. We'll do this for the next week, or longer if needed..."
"We get it... come on... get lost..."
I grimaced a little at Becca's words. Nevertheless, we all loaded into Thorton 2 and headed to the camp, all except those I left on watch.
"Alright, Ciri... is it time for a serious talk?"
"Well..."
She nodded with doubt.
"...I guess I'm about to find out what exactly you want in return for saving me?"
"Uh-huh... first and foremost, teachers. For fencing and for magic. I don't know if we're capable of magic, but fencing teachers will be enough, at the very least. Because in our time, that art has somewhat... lost its lethality, and as a result, those who can truly wield a sword have almost vanished. And my fighting style..."
I shrugged.
"...in short, I prefer these little clubs with energy blades."
"I wouldn't say the art has lost its lethality..."
Kiwi joined the conversation.
"More advanced ways of killing your neighbor have just appeared."
"Is that all?"
"No, of course not, but the rest..."
I looked out the window thoughtfully.
"...will have to be discussed with your loved ones, because without their help, we won't be able to set up a stable portal, or register us in your world as something like Witchers..."
"Huh???"
Ciri was in shock at my words.
===
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 120 on my p4treon, go check it out
Gain access to exclusive 18+ character images, early chapters, and so much more. This is your chance to get a ton of exclusive content while supporting my work.
p4treon.com/echotales
if you want more updates == supports with power stones
Every 70 Power Stones == Bonus Chapter
every three 5-star reviews == Bonus Chapter