Chapter 178 178: Seeds Of Rebellion [Pt1]
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Keith would not call himself the most observant human. His senses did not catch many things when it came to his surroundings.
But he had to admit that he had become much more sensitive since he had stepped into this world. And as such, his instincts were guiding Keith toward a better path in his life.
So, when his instincts told him to follow the shadow he saw before, Keith decided to follow through.
And now, here he was. Covering his face with a cloak and following the shadow he saw from the upper corridor of Master Hana's palace.
The figure running away from him was fast and effective. He seemed to know where he had to go to escape. Keith would have lost him a few times if not for his instincts. But finally, he managed to follow the other human to a shabby and run-down yard.
The man looked around once, twice, and then pushed his cloak down from his face.
'Shit, a protagonist? I thought I drove him away, but he is back already?'
Keith was not even sure why he felt this shocked. He had been ready to run into a protagonist anytime now. He was lucky that the world had not forced Keith to confront his opponents until now.
"Hey kid, how did the run go? Did you find anything we can use against those dumb guild people?"
In his shocked state, Keith had failed to notice the other cannon fodder surrounding the protagonist. Keith's mind scolded himself for this and he quickly held his breath in so that he would not be found out.
It was a foolish thing to do, but Keith's brain knew his body could not make any noise or he would be found out.
"This town is stupid. I was so sure that I would be able to find at least one weakness of these treacherous guilds. But there is no evidence out on the street. It was a failed effort from my side."
Horas sounded bitter about not finding any flaw in the guild's defense of its territory. Keith felt pride full his chest at the notion.
He might not be the real Grandmaster, but this palace was beginning to become his home as well. As such, Keith was proud of this place and all it had managed to achieve.
"Ah, I told you that you would not find anything against Master Hana in this place. She, along with her order, has a tight and almost hypnotic grip on this town. People are living under a false sense of security and bliss here."
The bald man continued to bad-mouth Master Hana. every word he spoke spiked Keith's blood pressure and made him want to clear the air out.
But he could not leave his hiding spot. He was not confident he would be able to take on a protagonist.
"Tsk. Bastard guild masters and their powers. It is such a pain to expose their true nature when everyone is against you. I am so tired of all this bullshit."
Keith flinched internally once more and his balance shifted from one foot to another. He was not able to keep himself upright.
It caused a small container to fall and Keith cursed himself mentally out in his mind.
"Who is there? Show yourself or I will be forced to attack you."
Horas warned Keith and Keith felt like he had no choice but to step forward and show his face. So, Keith quickly came out of his hiding spot while keeping his head up.
The gang as well as Horas flinched as soon as their eyes fell on Keith.
"G-Grandmaster? What are you doing here? Were you spying on us?"
The scarred extra spoke in a frightened voice. The extras also took a few steps back so that they were not standing in the grandmaster's direct line of sight.
The only one who seemed unaffected by all this was the protagonist. He was taken aback as well but his eyes were filled with reckless greed.
"Ha…hahaha…hahahahaha so you came out here all on your own? Well, that saves me the trouble of having to go and look for you. Now, get ready for your retribution."
The protagonist sounded confident in his win. His hands held his sword tightly and he attacked Keith.
Keith blinked as he watched the protagonist rush toward him. The blue tint was covering the world once more and Keith's body was rooted into place.
[Horas, profession: Protagonist and hero of the weak. Lvl 30. Atk lvl 20]
Keith blinked as all the information flashed across his mind. He did not know what the protagonist had been doing to be this week. But Keith was easily able to raise his hand and erect a barrier.
The lvl 20 sword attack met Keith's shield and threw the protagonist back.
[Requirements met to activate a temporary boost. Antagonist vs the protagonist. User state will be boosted by 200%]
Keith could feel the change in his body after the weird system announced this. He was sure that this condition of his was psychological more than anything else. But he could not help but flex his new powers.
Keith tried to keep his powers in check. But the result of his ability caused his powers to flare and even his basic attacks turned into deadly ones.
"You said that you wanted to 'take care of me,' right? Then, why don't you show me what you can do?"
Keith taunted back but his voice came out calm and nice. He could tell that he was making the on-looker nervous by just standing in his place.
"Y-You think you are such a hot shot? I will show you your place soon."
The man who was backing Horas up since the start yelled and brought out his sword. His companions tried to stop him but the man ended up rushing toward Keith.
Keith looked at the incoming man and quickie raised his shield defensively. But the man in front of him seemed not to care.
He continued to attack the grandmaster, hoping to get a lucky hit back.
But the counter-force of his attack hitting the shield caused the magic to bounce back and hit the attacker head-on.
Before anyone knew it, the man attacking Keith was dead by the force of his magic. Everyone looked stunned when that happened.
"M-Monster. Oh my god, you are a monster in human flesh. You killed someone so easily and without even blinking an eye."
One of the people pointed out as they looked at what happened in front of their eyes.
Keith wanted to point out that it was not his fault. But he was numb after seeing someone die in front of his eyes in such a way. His shield had become a tool for murder.
"G-Grandmaster! As if. You are a demon who will kill us all. We need to kill you first to save our lives. It is self-defense at this point."
The other people in the group were shaking as well. But once their would-be leader pointed the truth out, they all seemed to be of one mind.
They attacked Keith but the result was the same.
Many got injured and just as many died. The only one who seemed unharmed was Horas.
"This is quite a predicament. You, people, will never be able to win against me, no matter what you do. It would be smarter for you to give yourself up."
Keith was not sure how he was able to push those words out of his mouth. Bile was making its way up his food pipe and the smell of blood was making his insides flinch.
But despite that, Keith held his head up as he faced the people in front of him. He owed this much to the people who had survived his attacks.
"Y-You are a demon. Holy, you are truly a demon in human flesh. How else would you be able to kill so many people? You shall burn in hell and-"
The criminal spoke but he did not get too much time to insult Keith.
Keith watched as the criminal's hands and feet were captured in thread-like things and then it captured others as well.
"How bold of you to insult the grandmaster in front of me? I guess people have no fear nowadays. It is a true tragedy to see."
Master Hana walked out of the shadows. She seemed pissed off as she glared down at the foolish man who spoke so much against the Grandmaster.
Her presence startled everyone in the valley and even Keith was forced to look at Master Hana.
"Master H-Han? What are you doing here? Y-You should not be outside today? Y-You should focus on taking over the authority of the grandmaster. That was why we-"
"Oh, so you all plotted this to give me more authority? Well, too bad that I do not need your help or want more power. Now, shall we deal with all of you or not?"