Hidden Powerhouse?

Joe was currently walking on the street in the direction of the Accumula Hotel. He thought it was probably the safest place for him to be right now.

'In the hotel, I can contact the Nine Towers.'

With this thought in mind, he started walking even faster.

He looked even more suspicious than before. A pale faced man walking, nearly running, somewhere while limping.

It took a while longer for Joe to reach the hotel. He got inside, and quickly talked to the nearest receptionist he could find. The hotel was still open at this time to make a profit from random people who needed a place to stay.

He asked to speak with the Nine Towers, and the receptionist left and came back with a shell-shaped device. The receptionist pressed some buttons on it, and handed it over.

Joe heard a familiar voice through the shell. It was Josh, the receptionist.

"Hello, you're calling the Nine Towers, who is speaking?"

Joe breathed a sigh of relief before speaking into the shell.

"Hey, Josh, it's me, Joe. I need reinforcements."

"Didn't Amelia tell you that no reinforcements were available? Also, you spoke as though it was just you over there."

Joe fell silent when Josh pointed out the nuance in his statement.

The short silence ended when Josh responded with an, "I see."

He spoke again, with a much softer voice this time. "Well, I suppose I can skip work for a few days and come to help you out..."

Joe quickly responded in joy. Even though he didn't know how strong Josh was, he was still happy someone was willing to help him. "Yes! Thank you!"

However, Joe realized a nuance in Josh's sentence this time. "Wait... Did you say a few days?"

"Yep. Did you read the expedition guidelines? It quite clearly stated that if you were dispatched somewhere, you had to head back on your own."

"N- No..."

He heard a sigh from the shell, before an exasperated voice rang out. "Well, since you don't seem very prepared, I'll bring a map when I come over so we can find out way back."

"Yes! Thank you!"

The call abruptly ended after that, leaving Joe with the question of what to do before Josh got there.

'What do I do? Should I gather resources? But he would probably bring some of his own... But having more never hurt anybody! If we can't carry them all, we can just leave some!'

Joe was stuck in this train of thought for a minute until the receptionist realized he wasn't talking on the shell anymore and reminded him to give it back.

After giving it back, he sat in the lobby, waiting for Josh to get there. Nothing happened for a while. After waiting a few more minute, Joe got impatient, but he wasn't going to let it show.

Half an hour later, Joe heard footsteps coming into the hotel. He expectantly raised his head, only to see a random middle-aged man. Upon noticing it wasn't Josh, Joe quickly turned away his expectant gaze, and put his head down.

After several minutes, Joe fell asleep.

…

Joe was awakened to the sound of slapping, for the third time. Opening his eyes, he saw Josh slightly crouching in front of him while lightly tapping his face.

When he saw his eyes open, his face brightened. "Ah! You're finally awake!"

Joe put on a bitter smile as he asked, "When did you get here?"

"Just this morning!"

Joe's face showed apparent surprise as he shouted, "Morning!?", attracting several gazes from people in the lobby.

Joe quickly quieted down before asking again. "What if my pursuers found me before you got here? What would happen to me?!"

Josh put on a thoughtful face at that statement. "Well, tough luck."

Joe was speechless at that, but quickly shaking off his shock at his response, he asked him some more questions.

…

After a round of questioning, he had realized that Josh had prepared very thoroughly to help him out. He had brought a lot of food and water, a map, and a few weapons.

He had also brought a lot of the world's currency, racks. A Small Rack had the purchasing power of about a cent, while a regular Rack had the purchasing power of about a dollar, and Large Racks were about a hundred dollars. They had a peculiar shape, with a small bump in the middle of the coins.

"Thanks. You really prepared a lot for this."

When Joe extended his heartfelt gratitude, Josh just brushed it off with an, "It's nothing."

This warmed his heart, but it also made him feel as though he were useless. His friend and partial disciple had died, while he had to be saved.

'I'll make my life as safe as possible. I don't want to be in danger anymore, and I don't want to put anyone else in danger either...'

Josh took the lead in directing Joe with his map in hand while making small talk.

"So, Joe, what happened to you? Who did this? They were probably the murderer right?"

Joe nodded before saying, "It was the Axiom family."

Josh tilted his head side to side for a while before turning his head back to face Joe. "Well then, I guess we should go take them out right?"

Joe put on a face of shock before replying. "Are you sure you can handle them?"

The tired and bored receptionist he usually saw in behind the desk was nowhere to be seen, instead replaced with a happy-go-lucky demeanor and confident bearing. "Of course I can take them out!"

Joe only nodded silently before following behind him.

Upon reaching the gates, the gatekeeper stopped them again. It was a different gatekeeper this time. His face was hidden underneath a cap, while he was wearing rather bulky clothing.

"Excuse me, but you shall not pass. The Axiom family has fallen ill, and shall not accept any visitors now."

The gatekeeper's crisp voice slightly echoed. His domineering aura was much stronger than the previous gatekeeper's.

Upon hearing the announcement, Joe felt slightly dazed.

'Fallen ill? How could that be? They were fine yesterday!'

He checked with the gatekeeper to try and confirm how they fell ill. "They've got food poisoning. Nothing very serious, but they are not fit to entertain guests right now."

'Did they poison themselves? But how?'

In reality, Croft Axiom's genius was not very frightening. He poisoned himself because, by replacing the salt shaker with his own filled with poison, he had poisoned a quarter of people in the mansion, including his family.

Luckily, due to his family eating more slowly, the poison didn't take effect immediately, allowing time for an antidote to be administered. However, a bunch of servants were also poisoned, including the previous gatekeeper, and they had to take a few days off.

Joe was soon brought back to reality by an aggressive voice. "So, I take it you won't let us in?"

The gatekeeper replied ferociously, although his head was down. "No. I won't let you inside."

Josh spoke with a confident demeanor and an excited smile. "Then, I hope you won't let me down."

"I hope the same."

Suddenly, the gatekeeper flamboyantly tossed off his cap and ripped open his heavy clothes, revealing a thin build.

Josh revealed a momentarily stunned face, before reverting back to normal. "I see. You must be the murderer. Hell, you're even nearing rank eight. I won't have to go easy on you then!"

And so, a vicious fight began, or so Joe thought would happen.

Joe only felt a massive gust of wind in front of him, blowing up his shirt and rustling his pants before he saw Josh holding up the handsome man with steel gauntlets.

Josh kept the relaxed look on his face before tilting his head a bit. "I'd say Qi Gathering stage eight from your powers. No wonder those two couldn't take you."

Joe's eyes widened as Josh quickly crushed the man's neck and dashed into the courtyard. The body was left behind on the ground.

Joe looked downwards at the body, before being suddenly startled by some large explosion sounds. He looked up, only to see the mansion burning up in flames, as debris was blasted everywhere.

Servants were rushing out of the building, hoping to put out the fire, but he didn't see the Axiom family anywhere.

In just a minute, Josh returned to his side, along with a strong gust of wind, making him narrow his eyes.

"Well, since the job is done, we should start heading back right? Good job finding the murderer. It saved me a lot of time."

Josh smiled as he walked ahead of Joe, while the latter was still in shock.

The former turned around and spoke. "What are you waiting for? You've gotta pay my salary for the days I'm out you know?"