BXBX NOVEL Chapter 121 121 Mana Orb
Chapter 121 Chapter 121 Mana Orb
He corrected her; "Uhm it's Tayshaun actually."
"Yeah," she shrugged her shoulders; "That's what I said ain't it? Like I said, couple of things- first off, don't ever interrupt me like that again alright? You'll only be cutting your lifespan short."
He gulped, and nodded twice.
"Secondly, I'm not into collaborations. So, I decide what's what. Got it?"
"Got it."
"And finally, don't expect me to do any heavy lifting on this mission. I'm just tagging along for the sake of it. I've got my own thing going on."
Maybe he was starstruck. Maybe it was Monica's domineering personality. Which ever it was, Tayshaun agreed to all her terms without any qualms.
"So, tell me about this mission. What are we hunting?"
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At the far end of the room, both of them sat on opposite ends of the table as Tayshaun explained the details;
"Like I said, it's a B-rank mission. But this mission is unlike what you're typically used to."
She narrowed her eyes;
"What does that mean?"
"I mean–" he paused, searching for the right words, and in the right order; "–it would seem that your first approach is to kill, destroy, and cause things to explode. This is a snatch and grab mission- in and out, quid pro quo. It requires a certain level of finesse."
A confused look strained on her face;
"If I'm not blowing shit up, then why am I here?"
"Your aggression."
"What???"
He explained; "The whole objective of the mission is to obtain a mana orb. D'you know what that is?"
"Talk." she scowled.
"Well a mana orb, just as the name connotes, is a cytoplasmic sphere, that contains pools and pools of organically generated mana. It is potent, extremely hard to find, and even harder to obtain."
"I sense you're going somewhere with this," she rasped impatiently; "So better get on with it. This is not a fuckin' novel. Where is this mana orb?"
He tensed- hesitation rang clearly in his eyes like faint alarm bells.
"Not where, who."
Her eyes flashed warningly. He quickly explained;
"The mana orb is spun within the digestive tracts of a black widow. And I'm not talking about the friendly neighborhood spider. . .black widows are ultra aggressive B-rank spirits. In fact, at the moment, a current re-assessment is going on at the federal bureau of magic to review if in fact it they should now be classified as A-rank. . ."
He paused for a moment.
"In truth, a black widow is more of a monster than a spirit. . ." he leaned in, and clasped his hands together on the table; ". . .they are extremely violent, and downright terrifying. Anything, human or beast, that gets caught in their web, will remain there for a long time. . .the black widow will purposely keep them alive while slicing of bits of their flesh for its daily meal. . ."
He continued;
"It's web contains healing proteins. . .so, it can hold its food captive for a really long time- healing them, and eating them till absolutely nothing is left. And that is the best case scenario."
Monica's expression shimmered;
"Best case?"
"Yeah. If you engage the black widow on a really bad day, it won't consider you as food at all. It will see you as a threat."
"I'm guessing that's not good either."
"No, it's not. The smallest black widow can be as big as that door over there. They have eight legs, all big and sharp enough to shred human flesh repeatedly till every single organ, bone, and tissue has been ruptured completely. . .and of course, their digestive juice is basically acid. . .so, one spray, and. . ."
He let Monica's imagination finish it off. Sighing loudly, she leaned back and crossed her arms across her chest;
"Yeah, that doesn't sound too good."
"Facts. Plus they're spirit monsters, so they can't technically be killed. Not by conventional means anyway."
"Well, I for one am glad the mission is not to kill them. Talk to me about this mana orb though. What is it to them exactly?"
Tayshaun sipped from his tall cup of beer. As he drank from the cup, Monica noticed his bulging biceps, as well as his finely cut square jaw. His complexion was tanned from hours under the sun. The young hunter was ruggedly handsome.
He dropped the cup with a soft thud.
"Honestly, no one knows for sure just how black widows form mana orbs. Not all of them can actually make those. However, those that do form them, do so inside their bodies."
Monica's eyebrows furrowed;
"Inside their bodies? We have to go inside their bodies?"
Tayshaun chuckled.
"No Lady Russell, that would be crazy." he continued; "Once in a while, they occasionally expel their orbs from inside their bodies. And then, recycle them back into their stomachs."
"I see, it's like regurgitation then."
"You could call it that."
The low humming voices from other tables droned on in the background as Monica and Tayshaun slipped into a comfortable silence. Individually, they each moored over the shared information- wondering, and pondering.
Tayshaun's deep groomed voice shattered the resounding silence;
"Just to be clear though, we're not killing them. The main objective is to–"
"Snatch the mana orb. Yeah, I pretty much got that already."
The young hunter grinned;
"My bad, I just wanted to make sure I was clear on that. . .I don't want to give you any reason to turn me down. . .all we need is a small opening. . .just a window of time. . ."
"We?" Monica asked with heightened eyebrows; "I'm not doing any of that. YOU are going to be the bait. YOU are going to act as the diversion to give me an opening. If you fail, there will be no way to unfuck the situation. YOU will be on YOUR own. . ."
Tayshaun had never heard the word used with so much emphasis;
"So, if you're thinking that far ahead, I take it you're on board for this mission?"
Her eyes narrowed- thin as a blade;
"Gee captain obvious, I wonder what gave that away." she sniffled; "Of course I'm in."
The other guy relaxed in his chair, and exhaled a deep sigh of relief. His face practically glowed with victory- as thought the mission was settled already.
Monica eyed him suspiciously;
"What's with that look? You might wanna tone down that optimism mister. The mission is far from over. . ."
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In a short while, after going through the routes, costs, and hunting logistics, the duo headed to the tuck shop to get some supplies. The tuck shop was located just outside the main building of the exchange.
Using Monica's street cred, Tayshaun was able to get a fuck ton of material at good prices.
Monica leaned against the wall, arms folded across her chest, and with her left foot pressed against the wall behind her- watching the young lad as he scooped up good deals.
'Well,' she encouraged herself; 'This should keep me busy for the time being. . .I'm not taking on too much risk. . .I'm not spending a dime of my gold. . .and most importantly, I can call it quits at anytime. . .especially if I finally run into Ni Yang . . .'