Master and Apprentices: Rise of the Cheat Potion Maker #2
Master and Apprentices: Chapter 18

Istudied the man named Andros, the Black Knight, and leader of the Black Cross, suddenly losing a little confidence just standing in the aura of this guy. You mean to tell me the Peace Spawner is way stronger than this freak? I’d have to go all out just to survive and even then, our goofy ass plan wasn’t guaranteed to work.

Andros was a man roughly as tall as my six feet, wearing pristine black armor which emitted aura of its own. His other men wore their helmets, but he didn’t, revealing his long black hair, gray eyes, and overall, a frame like that of a middleweight UFC fighter.

“Why are you doing this, Andros?” Ramon asked coldly. “Executions of people who had nothing to do with this? And for what? The orders of some selfish girl?”

“We of the Black Cross do not question our superiors,” Andros said, his tone flat, but also mocking. “We are swords, tools, bound by an oath someone as pathetic as you cannot possibly comprehend. If we cannot follow orders, who would? Now, are you going to surrender quietly, or force us to apprehend you? The quicker we can return to the capital, the better.”

“That does not answer my question,” Ramon said. “I asked you why execute anyone at all?”

New idea. I definitely had to rob this guy after we took him out. Someone had to pay for the Black Knight’s destruction and it sure as shit shouldn’t be us. If I found a spirit coin or two, no one would have to know I confiscated it for research purposes.

“I think you’ve stalled me enough,” Andros said, raising his aura. Thankfully the people used that time to get as far away as possible, though most still watched from a distance. “If you don’t want to surrender to the Black Cross and stand trial, we’ll drag you. Then add the charge of resisting arrest to the list. You and… whoever these masked fools are.”

“We’re the Cheat Force,” I said. That was the first thing that came to mind. It served its purpose, however.

“You sure you aren’t just the hero’s party in disguise?” Andros said.

I raised my aura, which caused even the hero to wince. “Are you sure about that, Black Knight?”

“I see,” he said. “You ditched your party and I presume hired this one. I can quadruple your—”

“Are you fucking seriously trying to recruit me, Black Knight?” I said, still playing the role. “Do not insult Raider.”

[Enemy analysis.]

Andros the Black Knight, leader of the Black Cross.

Magician rank: 9th realm of the lesser dragon.

And here came the problem. This guy was not only multiple realms above me, but likely had a spell book that could boost him further. The only thing I had were my classes as well as the mysterious third class.

We were probably fucked. Still, I’d go all out, give it my all and hope for the best. I’d consumed some potions, after all. Thankfully, the Black Cross were significantly weaker. The hero’s party could subdue them while I handled their boss.

“Black Cross, capture the so-called Cheat Force,” Andros said. “I’ll handle Raider.”

[Boss fight, begin! Danger! Danger!]

As I took a stance, my companions scattering to begin the plan, Andros unsheathed a long steel blade. And we’re talking about really fucking long.

“Okay, discount Sephiroth,” I said as I retreated into the shadows, barely dodging his swipe. Or rather his sword light. It cleanly sliced off the roof of the building I stood on and while I felt bad for the people, it’d be up to the Red Star to handle the repairs after the threat was neutralized.

I emerged from Andros’s side, launching a kick to his face. He blocked with one arm. For some reason, I sensed that going back into the shadows wouldn’t be possible. I learned from the hero’s fight that relying on that too much was dangerous. So as the sword moved toward my face, I jumped, landing on top of the blade.

Aiming a hand at Andros, I fired a quick Dragon Magic Burst into his face. He shrugged off that shit as if it was nothing, returning with his own spell. A red lightning burst.

I couldn’t dodge or slip into the shadows; however, not only did I have strong natural defenses, I also wore the outfit the A-ranked dungeon awarded me. It turned out that S-ranked items were not only impossibly rare, but very, very few people could make them. An outfit was almost impossible.

[Phoenix Feather-infused Black Outfit. Item rank: S. Item quality: Incredible. An outfit with special defensive properties.]

Taking the red lightning, it hurt like fucking hell, causing my muscles to convulse some. Not only that, but the force of the spell threw me into a building, back-first. If it weren’t for my gear protecting me, well, that would’ve sucked, to say the least.

“You’re an anomaly,” Andros said as he walked toward me.

I actually struggled to my feet, ignoring my protesting muscles. To think this was just one attack from this guy. Goddamn!

“You’re a master magician, but without the centuries of experience and training, that much I can tell. I… just don’t know how this is possible. Other than the real possibility of you holding back, it seems like I stumbled upon something worthy of being a research subject of that madman. Or the Peace Spawner, should he replace you first. So, the offer will be handed to you once. Surrender quietly, and I’ll let you live.”

The red haze burst around me. “You get in one attack and believe you’re hot shit.” I blurred in front of him, launching a punch, but slipped into the shadows, appearing behind Andros with a kick. The feint didn’t work, his sword greeting me as he blocked. It stabbed into my shoulder.

Despite the pain—I’d had some worse than this—I pushed on, capitalizing on this opportunity. His eyes widened, but it was too late. The Dragon Magic Burst blasted him off the roof.

Andros righted himself and landed on his feet, his sword flying away. He didn’t bother retrieving it. I was impressed that he didn’t let the distraction of the losing Black Cross take his focus off me. I almost counted on that. The gamble only halfway worked. While counting on the man’s minions to be a joke, I honestly wasn’t sure how to go about getting the sleeping potion jammed down his throat.

Knowing he waited for me to go back into the shadows, I leapt toward him instead. The moment he moved, I twisted my body, aimed my hand and fired another Dragon Magic Burst. He took the time to dodge, clearly not a fan of getting hit by the attack, but that gave me a little time to emerge in front of him with a fist. This time it connected to his jaw. I followed up with more, though Andros was only pushed back a little. He caught me with a spin-kick. I tried to block with an arm to no avail. It threw me back at least five meters.

Despite the soreness of my arm, I didn’t have time to gather my bearings as Andros fired more red lightning in my direction. Not wanting to die to that, I dove to the side. He waited for me with a kick. But I wasn’t dumb enough to take that, slipping into the shadows, emerging ten meters away from him to take a breather.

If things kept going on at this rate, he’d just wear me down and slap me with anti-mana handcuffs. I did take notice of our nearly ruined surroundings, people even further away, and the Red Star helping the Cheat Force fight the Black Cross. Most of them were already out cold and doused with sleeping potion, meaning they wouldn’t be waking up for a while.

Andros wasn’t even at full power and yet I struggled against him. I took this as a lesson to be careful when it came to people multiple realms above me. Not unless I knew what I was doing. He pointed out my flaws damn near immediately. My only experiences with fighting were through mixed martial arts and some street and bar fights. Even juiced up, I wasn’t going to pretend that I could fucking take down the Black Knight.

The adrenaline of meeting my match actually made me grin. Winning every fight just wasn’t possible, but if I was going to get my ass kicked anyway, I wanted it to count.

Wiping blood off my lip, ignoring the wounds that were probably scattered across me, I focused. The cold anger emerged, which brought back the mysterious red haze, a surrounding aura that didn’t show any details on my stat page.

I first inspected Andros’s armor as he walked toward me at an unhurried pace.

[Superior Black Cross Uniform. Item rank: C. Item quality: Excellent. Armor fitted for the captain of the Black Cross. Engraved with defensive and offensive boosting enchantment charms. Only the worthy could dream of wearing it.]

I could down a health potion or get Nuwa to heal me, but in a situation like this, there were problems. The first being that if I showed this guy even a moment of weakness, he’d capitalize on that. Second, Nuwa would draw attention to herself, and I wouldn’t put it past Andros to kill her instantly. Any captain of an elite force should know that killing the healer first was a priority.

Although why he didn’t assume the Cheat Force was the hero’s party and did that anyway could be anyone’s guess.

Suddenly, Andros vanished. I made the mistake of searching for him by sight. Then I felt it. A sense of dread that almost made me tremble from within.

I had no choice but to dive into the shadows, and a good thing too. A sword light the size of a van crashed down on my prior spot.

Luckily, Andros wasn’t waiting for me when I remerged, giving me the chance to survey the widespread damage.

“Holy shit,” I said softly. An entire fucking city block was turned to rubble. The sound of injured people caught my eye, which included children crying. Gwen’s emotions were palpable, and I just knew this could’ve potentially damaged our emerging partnership. Her murderous intent wasn’t directed at me, but at the Black Cross and its leader. Not that she could do anything about it. Whether the hero was here or not, the Black Knight would’ve caused some kind of ruckus. The public execution he planned wasn’t likely his only tactic. The man clearly proved himself to be ruthless.

“You’re a slippery one, Raider,” Andros said. I… flinched, noticing the fucker standing right beside me, satisfaction in those eyes as he surveyed his own work. “If you become my apprentice, I can teach you how to tap into your real power. Destruction like this is just child’s play to me. You’ll learn why. This world isn’t kind to those without power, those without the conviction to make everything around them tools, including their friends. The softness you have towards mere casualties is why you’ll always be weak. As you are now, you’re a fragmented master magician, someone whose powers are too chaotic and pulling each other apart instead of working together. But you aren’t beyond saving. There is a ruthlessness somewhere inside of you. If you join me, I’ll not only spare these people, but teach you what it means to become a real magician. Maybe someday, you’ll gain the means to evolve. What say you?”

I gaped at him as the mass of words he tossed at me had enough meaning to muddy my reality. In the end, we were just two different thinkers. He had good points in regard to my powers. It wasn’t like I knew how they worked.

I couldn’t see myself ever trusting someone casually eliminating the lives of innocents just to follow the orders of a spoiled brat. And this world had a lot of them.

“I’m afraid things will never be as straightforward as you’re making them,” I said. “From the complete disregard of human lives, to being nothing but some girl’s whipping boy. You don’t replace anything of this destruction messed up, do you?”

Andros paused, before nodding. “It is unsettling. But what do you know about me? You do not have a leash with a twisted owner at the end of it.” He casually aimed a hand at me. The charge of magic threw my danger senses into overdrive, and I figured slipping back into the shadows should help me reset for a better position.

My eyes widened when I received a prompt instead.

[You have been purified. Shadow potion is no longer active.]

Bright light covered my vision, but I wasn’t going down without putting up resistance. I unleashed a quick Dragon Magic Burst before Andros could blow me the hell away.

Staying in this area was just too much of a risk, so I took off toward the gate exit. If Andros decided to not give chase, then I’d have plenty of time to recuperate and come up with a different battle plan.

Too damn bad. He first went back to pick up his sword, took the time to sheathe it, gave me an ample head start on purpose, before giving chase.

Wasn’t the hero his target? How the hell did I get myself into this shit? Fine. I didn’t want this to be easy, anyway.

Pulling out two vials, Masking and Speed, I downed them both. Within minutes, I dashed through multiple streets, bobbing and weaving, and thankfully lost him. Knowing damn well the dick-nugget could just fly into the sky, I found a shop and dashed inside. The feeling of nausea finally made me collapse, only briefly since I didn’t go past my limits.

As I rested, ignoring the terrified shop owner, the ground began to shake. Imagine the sinking feeling I had, almost a cross between fucking bubble guts, childhood panic knowing punishment awaited, or getting pulled over because of a taillight.

Resting period cut short, I rushed out only to catch the sight of a building being cleaved in two and falling apart. A little girl and her younger brother tripped as they tried to flee with the others. The building seemed to fall in slow motion as it came down upon them.

Flooded with the red haze, I blurred over there, scooping them up and moving. I handed them off to a crying woman before turning to face Andros.

My mask was cracked and one of my eyeholes torn, though my outfit had not a scratch on it.

“You’re back and realized there is no escape,” Andros said. “I decided to do this kingdom a favor and remove you before you become a problem. How the hero found such a chaotic thing is nothing short of an oddity.”

Backed into a corner, with the icon of death smiling at me, I had no choice but to resort to my aces, body be damned. Andros was simply too strong. But before I could pull out another vial from my storage ring, the sound of a lute began to play, and in those notes came immense power, thankfully not being directed at me.

“Wha… What is this?” Andros snapped, looking around.

“Up here, smashy lad,” Chenzu said. Floating at his side was a spell book. He turned a few pages, nodded his head, and then played what seemed like a calming song. However, digging past the surface, I could tell it was weakening Andros somehow. “Take your chance, don’t wait, for she may run away, she’s hard to get.”

I tuned out the song as I aimed both hands at the Black Knight, charging as much of my mana as possible into the biggest Dragon Magic Burst I could muster. Andros tried to move, but Chenzu’s overpowered and amazing spell had him pinned down.

Snarling, I released my magic, firing for everything I was worth. The red building-sized energy ball smashed into Andros with the force of a train accident. Smoke and dust briefly covered everything.

I fell to a knee, panting, and waiting for the smoke to clear, hoping I did some damage. My body seemed to want to protest at the thought of me moving. Moments passed, giving me hope that we actually beat this fucker. His voice collapsed that line of hope.

“To think I’d be caught off guard by a measly F-ranked spell book,” Andros said. The smoke burst away to show a completely unscathed Black Knight. He wiped a bit of blood from his forehead and grinned. “Even if you’re about to die, I think you should take this learning experience before entering your next life. An F-ranked spell book floats, shows its spells and instructions, and acts as additional magic and mana control. Every magician should acquire at least that much. The fact that you stalled me this long without owning one only attests to just how frighteningly powerful you are, Raider. Master magician may be an understatement of your potential. Let me show you what a proper spell book is like. It’s only a D-rank, not that I’ve heard of anyone lucky enough to replace a C or higher. Now… Collapse! Come forth, Yukihara!”

The immense aura almost caused me to black out, but I forced myself to not give in, for I had to see this for myself. What made a spell book so special.

Andros’s black tome burst into existence from a mote of red light, growing to be the size of a card table, the biggest I’d seen yet. Most were the size of the Harry Potter books. Goblet of Fire, that is. Floating above it was a fairy with dark hair, a black dress, and a deadpan expression. She briefly looked at Andros, skepticism in that gaze before turning back to me.

“Seriously? You feel the need to go all out on… this duckling?” she asked.

“Shut up,” Andros said. “Before I send him to the next life, I’m providing the knowledge of what a real spell book is like.”

“Tch, that’s an excuse to finally summon me after so long,” the fairy said. She turned back to me. “Greetings, duckling, I am Yukihara.”

[Warning. You are being confronted by a SUPER BOSS. Danger! Danger!]

Gee thanks, System. You’re a real fucking gem. A diamond in the rough, being as helpful as possible.

Well, being fucked was an understatement. Spell books were apparently sentient beings now. That wasn’t all. Andros had a long pale staff with golden star-like designs in his grasp. His eyes glowed. A thick gray aura outlined him.

My ace versus whatever the hell I was looking at. The odds of winning felt unknown. Or very slim.