Far From Vanilla: Modded Game Reincarnation

“So early–” Cody yawned widely with an open mouth.

He was leaning on the largest table of the inn when the creaking of the stairs caught his attention. Normally it would be a medium thud from footsteps from the tall foreigner or the light taps of his lighter grandmother, not an armed adventurer in pristine, shining heavy plate.

It was a full suit of armor made of custom fitted plates, forged and riveted to fit the wearer, thus making it unique to each individual. The already imposing, fierce-looking older brother figure looked even more menacing now.

The thought was strange, as Cody never thought of him as scary, but he seemed more reliable now than he was out of the armor.

“So cool…” He said, looking at Hyun from head to toe, starting from the helmet on his hands.

Hyun did not wear the helmet but instead carried it in his left hand, a thick black glove with intricately shaped metal plates over the fingers in-between spike-pieces for knuckles. Underneath the gauntlets was a sleeve of chainmail, seen through the flared design for mobility, with a bracelet around the forearms for added protection.

 A much larger bracelet was on the bicep in the same design as them, but with the large pauldrons bigger than Cody’s own head shielded, they were partially covered. Cody squinted to see the sleeves of chainmail reveal an inner padding as it went under the breastplate, a great piece of the armor fitting to be called the centerpiece.

“Where are you going, Mister?” He asked out loud, not taking his eyes off of the solid metal buckles that secured the chest and the backplates.

“Something important, why?” The foreigner answered as he made his way over to the seats. When he sat down in the center, the wood creaked, but he paid no attention to it and instead continued to eat.

As he did so, the two thick tassets atop the chainmail trousers ran down almost to the length of the whole thigh, only short of a few inches to reach the knees. In Between the tassets was a fauld to protect the groin but unless one was looking for it, it was obscured by a lengthy black leather surcout– a pleasant  contrast to the shining luster of the fresh, undamaged armor. 

The set was then completed by plates of armor bolted onto thick heavy boots that matched the solid metal greeves with welded-on knee caps.  

“Are you going to hunt some monsters, Mister?” Cody asked once more. “You look like you’re gunna’.” 

“In a way,” I answered back before swallowing a large gulp of mead. My patronage to the inn allowed the grandmother in charge to expand in the many services it could provide. Among those services were alcohol from many of the breweries.

“I’m going to do something else but I’ll have to kill some monsters.”

I pointed to the bludgeoning weapon on my back, hidden partially by a shield, rectangle in shape with the ends of metal bonded onto the wood. With each flex of my shoulders or the slight movement of my arms, the flail’s chains would jingle as the three heads swayed.

I could feel the boy’s gaze burn into my armor, and frankly, I welcomed it. I paid a hefty price for this suit of armor, so some appreciation wouldn’t be out of the ordinary. The original price of the whole thing was twenty-eight gold coins, with the determining factor of the steep cost being the rush order.

If I weren’t in such a hurry for the armor, with two weeks being a short amount of time, even for a whole family of blacksmiths. I believe their smithy put a pause on all other projects to prioritize my armor. Thankful as I am, the heavy weight of the gold disappearing nearly in an instant stung a little.

To make matters worse, the weapon I needed was a display piece, meant to advertise the craftsmanship of the smithy and so to purchase it, I needed to go beyond the value of the item. The silver lining of it all was that the three headed flail was actually very durable– the Journal said so anyway.

But these purchases left me with only three gold and fifty silver coins, with the lesser denomination being used to purchase two potions– a whopping twenty-five silver pieces each. The Journal then ate the remaining of my funds.

I was destitute for the most part, with employment allowing me to look at least like a civilian who worked for their gear instead of a foreigner who pulled it out of his ass— basic common sense would be a tell, however not everyone has common sense — howver because of these expenses, many of my goals would be wrapped up all at once in a neat bow. So it should be worth the price.

My financial needs will be met by the funds I left in the abandoned tower, my strength can be built through my travel there, and by the time I return, I'll be able to pay any of my outstanding debt to Rudolf by assassinating the crime gang leader.

The prep work for such an endeavor was easy, since I still had much credit to leverage with the inn-keeper and her son, not that I would for nefarious means, but I did have them run a couple of tasks.

“So you’ll be gone then?” Cody began to yawn, taking a seat across from me and pressed his face against the surface. “For how long?”

“A week– have you prepared the things?”

“Everything is prepared.” An upset voice came from behind the counter. I turned to the grandmother and nodded, only to be met by a harsh glare. “Just leave already. Adventurers, so early.”

The grumble of exhaustion was clear and I took that as the signal to finish the last bite of my large steak, washing down the rest of the meal with another mug of mead, but their fatigue was soon to be chased away by fear.

Bang!

It was currently somewhere around three or four in the morning, approximately when the average person is the most vulnerable in their sleep. It is also the best time to get out to get an early head start in the day, with most monsters beginning to disappear, who at this time are seeking shelter from the sun.

They completely disappear at six or so, hiding in the shadows or burrows from where they sprouted, but the two hours before that means that their numbers are both weakened, dwindling, and are normally not aggressive. The perfect time to cheese experience points, loot, or just save two more hours on journey in-between walled settlements.

They may not perish in the sun but at even the smallest hint of daybreak, they flee. Monsters don’t die from the sun but they avoid it like a plague, with my guess being how they avoid being touched by the divinity of the Sun being creations of Eve. Morn did value the life of the living. Kindly so.

Although I never really was one to go to church back on earth, knowing there was a benevolent deity watching over us– even if it was just in the daytime –does warm my heart and comfort my spirit, even just a little bit.

But it was unfortunate that the living did not value itself as much as he did.

“Where is he!?” A man bellowed loudly as the heavy door of the inn fell down with an airy thud. “Where is the man that killed our brothers!”

He was muscular in build, but not at the level of Dariel, but he was as bald as the two men that attacked me. I looked at him and then to the other men that followed after him, noting how they were all bald as well. Was that like an initiation wright or something of this criminal group?

“I’m surprised it took you this long to come find me.” I said plainly at the scarred-bald men. It was a genuine remark too, with how I understood the criminal culture of this town. 

As mentioned before the top-dog of Ironhold’s underbelly was Mercury, but with how large the town is, a single gang cannot Control that much territory. Naturally other rivaling factions did emerge and there was constant bloodshed, with the town’s own garrison joining the fray into a three-way war. 

However Mercury’s notoriety and position was not won through such a battle, instead he insightfully and intelligently gained control of every gang in the city to pit against the garrison. To Rudolf’s knowledge, the gangs were mostly controlled through violence, with many of the older gang’s leaders being killed in demonstrative ways, but there were a few that surrendered– some with underlying intentions against Mercury

But at the time Mercury did not know and so he rallied the criminals of Ironhold against the town’s garrison, only to be betrayed mid-way through his own coup through an internal one, by a group that was in cahoots with the garrison.

Rudolf and his predecessors were no fools. They knew that crime would eventually arise no matter how hard they patrolled, scoured, and protected the city, there would always be that one outlier. So instead, they formed a symbiotic relationship of sorts, the other agreeing to an agreement that favored both sides.

What they agreed on is not by business, but while the plan was almost foolproof, it failed because of an unknown factor. I can guess what it is but until I am sure, I won't tell Rudolf anything. 

Somehow, even weakened and injured from the betrayal, Mercury managed to keep the garrison in check, even eventually gaining some of his own spies on the other side. With bribery or blackmail, being my guess. 

And recently, they made a play against the governing family of this town, the garrison's employer. It failed but it was proof enough that the next attack would be fatal, and even catastrophic. That was why Rudolf was so keen on attacking me. They were desperate.

But enough of that, how does all this tie in with the fractured factions within the organization? Simply put, each member of the lesser-ranking gangs are spread out into smaller cells combined with others from other gangs so that any attempt at forming another coup would be difficult. I must’ve killed the members of one of those specific cells, for the others to gather to take revenge like this. 

However because of how Frederick runs things, it took a month and three weeks for word to spread to the original members. Whether or not it can be called effective or inefficient, can be anyone's guess, but with the opportunity laid out before me– it was a blessing for the battle that's coming.

Slowly the heads began to trickle in through the door, Cody retreating to his grandmother’s side. “Whatever you do, don’t run.” I grimly told them.

Although I knew that the door was near them, if they escaped now and a group of the many men went after them, I wouldn’t be able to protect them. So the best course of action would be to make them focus on me. They may be plentiful, but they were only armed with clubs and knives, with the occasional some being only as long as the forearm, so they aren’t that much of a threat to me. Their number on the other hand was problematic... Or as I should've felt.

“Is it you? The one that killed our brothers?” The leader pointed his short-sword at me.

The risk of death is still there however, I am not that foolish, but with my current self armed with both wisdom and equipment, I didn’t even feel the slightest hint of fear or doubt. In fact, I felt insulted at how little they were prepared to face me, as if I were not a fitting challenge. I felt my brows furrow and mouth smirk as I put on my helmet.

“So what if I am?” I replied, my voice muffled by the faceplate of my armor, my body not even rising from the chair I sat on. “You’ll see them soon enough.”

“Attack!”