Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended [Part Two]

CHAPTER 253: Club Justice

▪︎ Strength +5

▪︎ Knockback Chance +85%

Conditions of Use: Lvl 16+ | Strength 60+ | Stamina 25+]

"Now that I think about it, I haven't used this since the last one shattered," he muttered. "Guess this is the perfect chance to christen it. Just don't break on me halfway through, alright?"

He slipped on the Stygian Abyss mask. Then, keeping low, he moved from his hiding spot toward the building, ducking behind barrels and crates as he moved. Unfortunately—

Shadow Veil's still on cooldown. Guess we're doing this the messy way.

From within the yard, a deep growl rumbled. Three Bearhounds sniffed the air, then snapped their heads in his general direction, foaming at the mouth like they'd skipped dinner for a week.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."

And just like that, discretion was off the table.

Daisuke exhaled slowly. "Here we go."

Behind the dogs, slave traders with swords and torches spilled out like ants from a kicked nest.

One of them shouted, "You there! You're not supposed to be—"

WHAM!

Daisuke swung the club like a batter at home plate. The first dog went flying into a fruit stand, crashing into it with a wet splat. Apples and bananas flew everywhere.

"...Sorry, Fluffy," he muttered, eyes wide. "Didn't mean to send you flying that far away."

The other two mutts went down just as effortlessly, then two men charged together.

WHACK-WHACK!

A perfect double play. They went spiraling in opposite directions, limbs flailing like inflatable tube men.

One of the slavers lunged with a sword. "Get him!"

Daisuke blocked with the club, winced at the screech of metal on wood, then retaliated. The club's knockback effect activated, sending the bastard airborne. He flailed like a ragdoll before crashing into the second-floor balcony and hanging limp like laundry.

"...Okay that might've been too much," Daisuke muttered, grimacing. "Sorry! I thought you were sturdier than your mustache made you look!"

Another tried to sneak up behind him. Daisuke instinctively swung backward like he was swatting a fly.

THWACK!

The man did a full backflip and crashed into a pile of crates.

"...I didn't even aim that one," Daisuke muttered, slightly alarmed. "Am I getting stronger, or are these guys just made of breadsticks?"

The chaos continued. One man tripped over a knocked-out Bearhound and face-planted. Another tried to run but got knocked out by a random flying boot.

A lone Bearhound lunged at him and got sent skyward with a clean swing. Again, the club's knockback effect activated with a booming thud, and the canine soared like a shot-put into the sky, disappearing with a fading yelp.

Daisuke flinched. "...Okay. I keep saying I'm going to dial it back a bit, but it's harder than I thought."

After the last scumbag groaned and went limp, he made his way toward the entrance of the building, stepping over groaning bodies like a mailman dodging garden gnomes.

Kicking the door open, he darted inside and skidded to a stop in front of a hallway lined with cages. Behind rusted iron bars, bruised and terrified demihumans stared back—parents, children, elders—all wide-eyed with fear. From the looks of it, they'd been illegally snatched from the slums.

One trader twitched on the floor nearby, likely knocked out cold when the doors burst open. Daisuke knelt, plucked the key ring off the guy's belt, and spun it on his finger.

"Alright, everybody out. Don't ask any questions. Just get out of here quickly."

A dog-eared boy blinked. "Wh-Who are you?"

"Part-time liberator, full-time club enthusiast." He unlocked the first cell and handed the key to a responsible-looking man. "Free the others then get out of here. Go, hurry!"

The man nodded firmly.

As the freed captives bolted like cats from bathwater, Daisuke turned toward the stairs. On the second floor, the halls were cleaner and quieter. A pair of guards emerged from a side room.

They charged.

A burly man swung an axe. Daisuke parried with the side of the club, then bonked the attacker's helmet with the top of the weapon like a judge smacking a gavel.

BONK!

The man dropped instantly, face down, twitching slightly.

"...I'm starting to like this thing," Daisuke muttered as he stared at the club.

A second guard leapt while screaming, sword raised high. Daisuke caught the bastard mid-air with an uppercut that sent him smashing through the roof and flailing skyward like a firework, his limbs pinwheeling until he vanished into the night sky.

A long silence followed.

Then a faint clang came from several blocks away.

Daisuke didn't look up. "That... sounded expensive."

He found a lavish room at the end of the hallway—oddly clean, overly fragrant. A bed sat in the center, and lying atop it was a pale girl with seafoam green hair.

"Whoa... she gets the princess suite?" Daisuke murmured as he stepped in, removing his mask. Her ears were long and pointed. "An elf? Wait. Is that why they're pampering her?"

He crouched beside her and gently tapped her cheek, but there was no response. She was unconscious. There were no visible wounds, and her breathing was faint but steady.

He took out an HP potion, then an MP potion, and fed them to her carefully. But still there were no changes in her state. With a frown, he activated the Eye of Verity and her Status Window appeared.

[Name: Silvestia Dravenhart

Species: Fae Hybrid

Gender: Female

Level: 1 | EXP: 47/156 (30.13%)

Age: 14

Current State: Coma]

Daisuke sighed. "Of course. Because things can never just be simple."

Scooping her up into his arms, he turned and left the building. Outside, with the moonlight casting long shadows, he moved quickly. But in the darkness, something tugged at his senses—a presence, and his eye flared in response.

Pausing, he slowly turned toward a nearby alley. There—shrouded in darkness—stood a lone figure. Unmoving. Quiet. Watching. But what caught his attention wasn't their posture.

It was their aura.

Rose gold. Warm. Gentle. Fascinating.

Daisuke narrowed his eyes in curiosity. He considered confronting the mystery stalker, then glanced down conscientiously at the girl in his arms. Finally, his gaze drifted back toward the faint rose gold aura flickering within the shadows.

"...They're not hostile," he whispered. "But definitely not ordinary either. Whatever the case, I can't deal with that tonight," he murmured before turning his back and walking away. "This girl, Lumielle, and Lynn are my priorities right now."

As Daisuke slipped farther into the distance, Fay emerged from the shadows, her crimson eyes fixed on Silvestia's fading silhouette. Meekly, she pulled her scarf over her mouth and cautiously began to follow.