Chương 90: Esha and Violence

As evening fell, Joe found the ladies gathered around a fire at the edge of a lake about a mile south of his house. The faint scent of Volduran wine drifted through the air, and he groaned. At least it wasn't anything stronger. Approaching with caution, he noticed that Varaiya spotted him first. She stumbled to her feet, swaying slightly as she pointed an accusatory finger at him.

"You! You touched my cousin! And you did it while I wasn't around! No fair!" Joe groaned inwardly. Dammit, Corel. She really needed to learn how to keep secrets; that night hadn't been his fault. It had been hers.

"Varaiya, I think you're drunk. Why don't we relax and settle down, and Corel can explain everything tomorrow?"

"She already explained it. I know what she did! But it's still your fault! My beautiful cousin! Without me!"

"Wait… Are you mad because you weren't there?" Joe asked, baffled.

"Yes! Corel said next time I can join…" Joe didn't let the drunk little Voldura finish that outrageous sentence. With one smooth motion, he scooped her up and dunked her straight into the lake. Corel and Esha roared with laughter as Joe held Varaiya under just long enough to sober her a little, careful not to let her drown. How strong had the alcohol been to get her like this? He shook his head. Corel regularly dosed him with hallucinogens potent enough to make him forget entire days…

getting a slim, lightweight Voldura tipsy was probably child's play in comparison. He helped Varaiya back up and plopped her down beside her cousin.

"We need to have a talk later, Rel. About oversharing," he said firmly, using the private nickname he reserved for their quieter moments to drive his point home. It wasn't his fault the Voldura had… well, something akin to a heat cycle, which had flared unexpectedly while he'd been alone with her. She still hadn't explained what triggered it. The passionate aftermath was something he had assumed they would both take to their graves. Apparently not. [Sorry.] - Corel, her cheeks flush with shame.

Joe shook his head, glancing at the tipsy Voldura. Corel wasn't the problem he'd come here to deal with tonight. That honour belonged to the short-haired, muscular woman currently jabbing him in the side with a stick.

"Esha Bakshi," Joe said through narrow eyes.

"What in the world do you think you are doing?"

"Oh, you remember my name? How convenient for you, Farmer. Suddenly, now you care?" Wait a minute… that sounded like… wait, was she upset with him for neglecting her?

"Esha, my friend. My bestest friend in the whole world. Come here and give me a hug." The small woman launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around him with such ferocity that he swore one of his ribs cracked. She was clearly drunk out of her mind.

"Rel, give me a barrel of whatever the hell you're drinking. And Gao, please get Esha off me before she squeezes me to death." Joe tried to pry her off, but failed miserably. Gao laughed, louder than Joe had ever heard her laugh, before she gently peeled Esha away. After imbibing enough alcohol to drown an elephant, the night passed in good cheer. They caught up on recent events, traded gossip, and simply enjoyed each other's company. A nice, quiet night of laughter before the inevitable storms of the future.

Two days later, Joe sat perched on one of Yggdrasil's vast branches, gazing down upon a… concerning sight. Alice and Felicia had settled in quickly, and with the help of a Volduran craftsman Corel had brought from the main village, they were constructing a house… far too close to his own. With a scowl, he leapt from the branch like a falling meteor, landing lightly on the ground below. Fire burned in his eyes as he strode toward the construction site.

"Felicia. Alice. A word, please," he said, his tone leaving little room for argument. The two American women approached timidly, sensing his mood.

"I know I said you were welcome to stay," Joe began, "but I didn't expect you to build a house right next to mine." The women exchanged a worried glance before Alice spoke up.

"We tried to protest. I told them it was too close, but… Corel and Esha practically ordered the house to be built here without our consent."

"God dammit. I should have known." Joe turned on his heel and approached the Volduran craftsman, whom he identified as Goral Co Cartheno.

"Goral, my good man, could you stop and relocate about half a mile south of here?" The craftsman blinked, confused.

"... the Seeker…" Joe raised a hand, cutting him off.

"It's fine. I'll deal with the Seeker. But I must insist… half a mile south." Goral hesitated only a moment before nodding. Soon, the materials vanished into his storage ring, and he departed to set up a new site. Joe gave a polite bow to Alice and Felicia as they followed after Goral, then pulled up his minimap. He cursed under his breath when he couldn't find Corel, Esha, or Gao. Corel had cloaked all of them from his skill. He was definitely going to have words with her about that… probably.

He Space-Jumped high into the air above Landradad, scanning the trees below. A flicker of movement caught his eye. Gotcha. He vanished, landing directly in front of Esha as she and Gao walked toward the teleportation array.

"Farmer, we were… Aaahhh!" Esha yelped as Joe scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder, Space-Jumping straight back into the sky. Somehow, Gao had moved fast enough to latch onto his arm, so she was dragged along for the ride. As they appeared high above the ground, Esha gagged once but didn't vomit, much to Joe's disappointment. He quickly sent a message. [Rel… where are you?] - Joe. [Close by…] - Corel. [Relllllllllll, where are you?] - Joe. … No reply. [Fine, we will talk later. For now I'm going to punish Esha.] - Joe. [... I'm at the tent outside the gate.] - Corel. Falling back toward the ground, Joe vanished, reappearing just above the earth near the gate where he had dropped off his four guests earlier. He landed lightly on his feet, just as Esha's knee slammed into his stomach. He grunted, releasing her as she scrambled to her feet. Gao wisely stepped back, watching as Esha doubled over in laughter.

"Enjoying… your new neighbours?" she managed between fits of giggles. Joe was not amused. In fact, he was livid. He barely noticed Corel emerging from the nearby tent.

"You know, I've been very patient with your little quirks, Esha. But you had to interfere in my haven, the one place I can go to rest, to get away from the weight of the world." He let out a slow, steady breath.

"I think it's about time you learned the pecking order here." The smile that split Esha's face was nearly as wide as her head, her eyes shining with excitement.

"About time, Farmer. I've been saving some new skills just for this moment." Joe had to suppress his own grin as he pulled out a teleportation scroll. An array lit up beneath them, glowing brighter and brighter until all four of them were whisked away from Landradad. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. __ Sarah shot to her feet the moment she felt four figures appear in the middle of the new fighting arena she'd just commissioned.

Four names scrolled across her city list, and she groaned.

"Julius, notify the city repair team and send them to the arena immediately. Tell them to bring everyone," she ordered, already knowing her shiny new arena was about to be destroyed. __ Joe moved into the centre of the Arena just outside the walls of Heliopolis. It was an impressive structure, an enormous circular coliseum of stone that could easily seat a hundred thousand spectators. A true marvel, reminiscent of the great gladiatorial arenas of Rome. Right now, though, it was empty.

At least until Sarah appeared beside him, her arms crossed and her expression that of a very disappointed mother.

"Today? Of all the days you decide to pull this stunt? Today?" she scolded, hands on her hips.

"I can't take it anymore, Sarah," Joe said flatly.

"Someone has to teach Esha, and I don't see anyone else stepping in. Her ego is out of control, and besides, I needed an excuse to let loose anyway."

"You're fighting Esha?" Sarah asked, her eyebrows climbing as she glanced toward the far side of the arena where Esha was stretching and warming up. In the next instant, Sarah vanished. Joe took her disappearance as a green light.

"It's not too late to apologize, Farmer. I'll even let you off with just a small punishment," Esha called, a cocky grin spread across her face. Joe didn't bother dignifying that with a response. He adjusted his breathing, steady and controlled, as a ripple of Aura spread out from him. Esha answered in kind, unveiling hers in full force. The weight of it pressed against the air, and Joe had to admit she was strong. Very strong.

She was currently the third-highest levelled human on the world leaderboard, outranked only by Hakeem and Devotion. Gao sat in fourth, with the Divine Sword fifth. Thanks to the crown Rose had gifted him, his name didn't appear on the rankings at all. It not only hid him from identification skills, but it also masked his standing on the world leaderboard. In truth, he had already caught up to his friends in level, yet the world still had no idea. Joe raised a hand, signalling to Corel.

Her voice rang out across the arena, just as he'd instructed her through party chat.

"Ladies and gentlemen. We are gathered here today, for a…" she stopped, her voice echoing with mana.

"Joe, I'm not saying all of this. There isn't even anyone here." Joe just grinned at her. With a sigh, she continued, "Today we witness a spar between Esha, the cloak of Shrouded Dominance, and the Farmer." Joe blinked. Cloak of Shrouded Dominance? Was that Esha's new class? He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd used Identify on her. Naturally, he did so now. Natural Identify: Esha, Human (Grade E), Cloak of Shrouded Dominance level 151. 1 Hidden stat, No Bloodline. Huh. Over level 150 already?

He really should keep track of these things.

"Did your class upgrade when it evolved?" he asked.

"It's Legendary now," Esha replied with a boastful smile. Well, wasn't that something? Joe was about to press further, but had to move as Esha blasted toward him in a sudden explosion of speed. He stepped back, surprised by her acceleration. Even more shocking, he had to block. Her glowing fist slammed into his forearm with enough force to make him grunt. Ripples of mana detonated inside his arm, tearing through muscle like miniature explosions. He was forced to jump back, eyes wide as he shook out his aching limb.

"Tch," Esha scoffed, glaring at him.

"The last person I hit with that punch, their arm exploded."

"Wait…" Joe exclaimed.

"Did you just try to blow up my arm?" Esha only shrugged, then blurred forward again. This time, she vanished, flickering around him as she attempted to strike from his blind spot. Unfortunately for her, Joe didn't really have blind spots. He activated Mana Sight, tracking her every motion with perfect clarity. He didn't even need to turn his head as he leaned smoothly out of the way of a vicious strike. He flowed through her flurry of kicks and punches, dancing just beyond reach with a chuckle.

When he smiled at her, the expression made her growl in pure frustration. The spar continued in that rhythm for several minutes, Esha pressing hard, Joe gliding away, until he finally decided to retaliate. Timing her charge, he lashed out with a kick aimed at her midsection. She didn't dodge. Instead, she activated a boosting skill, knocking his strike aside before pulling a baton-like weapon from her storage ring. Mana pulsed along its length as she swung it straight toward his head. He made a split-second choice.

Instead of dodging, he tanked the blow. The baton cracked against the side of his skull with a resounding smack, but in that instant, he caught her in an iron grip. Esha roared, feral and defiant, but she was overpowered. Joe yanked her forward, swung her over his knee, and… Smack. Her eyes went wide in disbelief. Smack. Smack. Two more humiliating strikes echoed through the arena as Esha screamed curses at him, thrashing in outrage. All restraint ended there.

Esha's eyes burned with pure rage as she slipped free of his grip, taking a stance opposite him while rubbing her backside tenderly.

"You'll pay for that, Farmer," she hissed through clenched teeth.

"I owed you one," Joe replied with a grin. Her lips twitched, then she smiled and even laughed.

"Okay, I deserved that. But are you ever going to show me what you can really do?" She winked at him.

"Really? You want me to go all out?" Joe asked, suddenly serious. She nodded. Joe turned, glancing toward Corel, Gao, Sarah… and Julius, along with several more who had at some point appeared while they sparred.

"Rel! Drop a shield. I'm going all out!" Corel pulled out a small device and tossed it at her feet. A translucent barrier shimmered to life around the gathered onlookers. Joe winced the moment he recognized it, one of her best defensive shields. That thing had cost a million credits. He was definitely going to have to replace it.

"Okay," Joe warned.

"But don't complain afterwards, got it?" He flexed his arm and drew in a deep breath. Then he pulsed. His Aura erupted in its full, unrestrained glory. At the same moment, his body started to steam as he activated his Mana Stream. A thick violet vein of mana spiralled around his torso like a sash, flowing clockwise in a ceaseless current. The air shook beneath the pressure, trembling from the raw density of power.

Purple light blazed from his eyes, flooding past his sunglasses as the ground rippled and began to smoke underfoot. One pulse cracked the arena floor and drove Esha to her knees, a force like a mountain pressing down upon her. The sky dimmed as the mana in the atmosphere bent beneath his dominance, casting a shadowy veil over everything. Cracks began to splinter across Corel's shield, and Joe noticed a few of the spectators collapse from nothing more than the weight of his Aura.

To her credit, Esha remained upright, but she could not move. He drew his arm back as silence fell, the swirling stream of mana peeling off into a concentrated bubble that wrapped around his fist. He smiled faintly, then thrust his hand forward. The arena exploded. Joe appeared inside the protective bubble beside Corel, an unconscious Esha cradled in his arms. Rubble rained down harmlessly against the shield around them as his Mana Stream faded and his Aura folded back into silence.

He grinned as he handed the limp woman over to a stunned Gao, his eyebrows dancing with barely contained mirth.

"Damn, that felt amazing." Gao looked up at him, still wide-eyed.

"What level are you?" she asked, her voice tinged with awe. Joe gave a slight shrug and waved his hand. His status screen materialized in the air, visible only to Gao and Corel.

Status Name: Joseph Theodore Caldwell Age: 29 (30 in Multiversal years) Race: High Human (Grade E+ - Rank 0) Alignment: High Human (World Ranked 24) Heritage: Path of Light (Golden Heritage) Class: Absolute Farmer(Unique Class 0) Level 138, Absolute Space Farmer(PseudoUnique Class 0) Level 138 Professions: Nature's Halo(Legendary Class 0) Level 156 Bloodline: Light of the Eternal Spark(Purity 10/10) (Grade E+, Hidden Grade - Unawakened) Titles (100% Max) (1% Bloodline): World (43) Progenitor; Integration Forerunner Joe watched Corel closely as she stared at his status screen.

This was the first time he had ever shown her, or anyone, his complete information, stripped of all concealment save for the raw numbers of his stats. Slowly, she turned her head to look at him. They stood in silence, eyes locked. A faint blush rose across her cheeks, but she didn't look away. He winked at her. She rolled her eyes.

"What does E+ mean?" Gao asked.

"It's the hidden grade between E and D. It means I receive triple the stats with each level up instead of double." Gao slapped a palm to her forehead.

"Esha told me not to ask you things like that. She said I'd regret it…" With a sigh, she hoisted Esha's unconscious form onto her shoulder.

"I should start listening to her. Goodbye." Her skyboat shimmered into being above them, and she leapt aboard, sailing away at speed toward the Kunlun teleporter. Joe turned to find Sarah staring at him like she wanted to burn a hole straight through his skull.

"Do you have any idea how long it's going to take to fix the damage you just caused? Did you really need to do that here?" she snapped. She whirled on her entourage before he could reply.

"If any of you breathe a word of what you just heard… I'll have your heads. Understood?"

"Yes, Mayor," they chorused, before vanishing in a puff of mana.

"While we're here, the item I commissioned should be ready. Want to go pick it up?" Joe asked. Corel hopped onto his back, and he carried her piggyback toward Heliopolis.

"Is this the birthday gift you mentioned?" she asked. Joe chuckled, his eyes sparkling with excitement.