Chapter 5 - The Scientist

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The streets were flooded with people, all different in species. Some were weak, others strong, and some average. There were many food stalls and stores set up along the path. Carriages pulled by horses creaked against the cobblestone road.

I looked over at Hideo who was close to my side, and was gazing in wonder towards the surroundings. His hat which was tilted down and his face mask his his identity well. I should use 'Character Profile' on him…for good measure.

[Would you like to activate the ability:

*Character Profile*

On 'Takahashi Hideo'?]

'Yes.'

[Ok. Processing…]

Then, a screen containing his information appeared before me.

———

Name: Takahashi Hideo

Age: 20

Species: Dog/Human

Attributes:

-Camouflage -LVL 3

-Coward's Escape -LVL 10

-A Swift Being -LVL 6

-Muscle Enhancement-LVL 2

-Royal Charmer -LVL 5

-A Prince's Cunningness-LVL 4

-Hellblaze from the Unknown -LVL 1 -(Not Fully Unlocked by Character Yet)

-Puppy-Dog Eyes -LVL 9

-Ball of Cold Fire -LVL 7

-A Dog's Loyalty -LVL 6

{Character is able to obtain more skills}

Description: Takahashi Hideo. The Third Son in the Royal Family of Retania. He holds an overwhelming envious grudge towards his older brother, The First son, who is first in line to becoming the king after the death of his father, the current king. Despite this, he is tall and charming, and capable of attracting any lady. Though, he can be a coward.

———

'Coward's Escape -LVL 10'? Why is it level 10...? Anyways, the real reason I need him is his attribute, 'Hellblaze from the Unknown.' I need to help him awaken it, and quickly.

Besides that, I really want to pet his dog ears hidden under his hat…

"Are we here yet?" Hideo groaned, sulking. We took a turn into an isolated pathway.

"Actually, yes." I smirked and pointed at the sewer drain right in front of us.

"Seriously…?"

"Yep." There were quite a selection of ways to arrive at the destined place but this one happened to be the closest, and the easiest.

"I'm a prince you know…you can't expect me to do that."

"Well, whether you choose to come or not doesn't affect me. I'm going in." I lifted the lid and climbed down the ladder.

"Wait! Hinata-chan~!"

He gulped and groaned. "Well…I guess I'm going in…"

With one hand pinching his nose, he jumped in.

***

Hideo slowly opened his eyes in a daze, as if he just woke up.

"Mmmhhh…huh..? Hinata-chan?…where-"

"Shhh." I pressed my finger against his lips. "Quiet."

"Mmph…mmm?"

"Yes yes, I know. This is where we have been searching for."

He pulled my finger off his lips and spoke "Um…why aren't we in a sewer, but in this place?"

We were hidden behind a white, long pillar in the middle of a big marble room.

"The sewer drain was not what it appeared to be. It actually leads to this place."

"So a portal?"

I nodded. "And you better be grateful, because I had to drag your heavy mug all the way to this place to hide."

"Oh- Yes, thank you Hinata-chan~" He placed his hand on my head and ruffled my hair. I glared at him and he pulled his hand away in a sweat.

"You know, your not as cute as you seem." Hideo complained.

"I'm literally a full-grown 21 year-old man." I don't think that I'm "cute." I think I'm pretty fierce-looking if you ask me.

"But still…" He pouted.

Like he could talk. He's 20 years old and acts like a puppy. Wait…isn't this guy half-dog?

Suddenly, I heard a door open.

"Yuuuuukkkiiii~" A beautiful women in a white-lab coat and glasses entered the room.

"Wh-"

I slapped my hand against his mouth. "Shhhh…!"

"Mmm…mmph…"

I pulled off my hand and whispered with aggression.

"Idiot…! Don't speak so loud…" Do I have to keep silencing this guy!?

"S-sorry…" He muttered in response.

I stuck out my head from behind the pillar and stared at the women.

She was tall with a nice body, and had long pale-mint-green hair accompanied by her captivating emerald eyes. I knew exactly who this was, but I was hoping not to run into her this soon.

Kita Yuma, 23 years-old. A character in the book who was an extremely talented, but crazy and obsessive, scientist. Unfortunately for me, her abilities didn't stop there. Along with her good-looks, her abilities and attributes were nothing to laugh at. She was one of the people who accompanied the main character in the original novel. During the main storyline, as the protagonist was after the Third Son, he stumbled upon this lab and a certain scientist; Kita Yuma. After a short-lived battle (the winner obviously being the main character), Kita feigned a strong interest in said protagonist and from there on out, aided him on his journey! Her and the main character were one of the many popular ships among the fans, but alas, it never came to be.

I observed her as she knelt down and pulled out a drawer. She took out a container and set it on the counter, where many lab tools resided.

[Let…meeee….outttt!] I heard a faint voice squeaking and automatically knew who it was. Yuki.

"Quiet, little one. I'm just going to run a couple experiments on you…that's all…" Kita Yuma cackled and proceeded to pull out a rather sharp-looking scalpel.

"Ok…and…..Now." I signaled and ran out from the hiding place, pulled out my dagger, and threw it. It barely scraped past her and hit the wall. I intentionally didn't hit her.

"Oh~? What's this?" Kita turned around to face me and smirked a devilish grin. I felt a shiver go down my spine. Hideo looked up at me as if I was insane.

I pointed to the container which contained Yuki. "That fox you have is mine. Hand it over."

She chuckled. "Why should I?"

I rolled my eyes. I don't have time for this…the protagonist should be arriving to this place soon, and I do not want to run into that emo bastard just yet!

"Or I'll have to kill you." I threatened her, although it was a lie. I wasn't looking to kill her at the moment. I also don't know how well I'd do in a fight against her.

She took a step closer to me and widened her hysterical eyes. "What makes you think you'd be able to?"

I shuddered from the immense pressure she was emitting but held my ground. I looked over at Hideo who was shaking in his shoes, then activated 'Sound Transmission.' A skill which allows the user to interact with others through their minds.

-Hideo.

-Huh…? Hinata-chan?

-I'm going to distract her. Sneak over and take Yuki.

-What!? I don't think I can do it…

I smiled. -Of course you can. I know you can.

-Hinata-chan…

He gulped and then continued. -Okay. Then I will do it for you.

With a slight nod of appreciation, I turned back to Kita. Sweat dripped down my face and I subconsciously reached out my hand to wipe it. I opened my mouth as she slowly, and threateningly, made her way over to me.

"I think I'm perfectly capable of overpowering you! I mean, come on. Let's be real here!" I said with fake confidence. Who am I kidding! Of course I can't! I don't even know how to use my powers!

The psychotic smile on the other's face suddenly turned into one of displeasure. Her face darkened and she halted her steps.

"Foolish man! How insolent…!" She snatched a strange vial from her right pocket. A dark, gloomy purple substance coated the inside. I squinted and closely observed the goop. Inside, there were holes which resembled faces. They screamed and wiggled menacingly.

Her lithe hands proficiently opened the bottle without a strand of hesitance.

Oh god. I might as well pray while I can. I leave my life in your hands, God!

"You will regret this, you low-life!" Telling by the direction this whole situation is going, she may be right!

I adverted my eyes to the side, where Hideo was stealthily (read: conspicuously) crawling over to Yuki. The mint-haired girl followed my gaze to the not-so secret human-dog.

Kita scoffed and outstretched her hand towards said man.

[The player 'Kita' has activated the attribute 'Toxic Blast']

A sudden wave of green waste shot out from her palm.

"HIDEO, DODGE!"

In a flurry of panic, Hideo covered his face with his arm in a flimsy act of self-defense. Suddenly, the ceiling above caved in, and the rubble crashed upon Hideo. With a light scream, his body laid limp under the rocks, and with that, he was knocked out. With wide eyes, I redirected my attention upwards towards the towering man on top of the pile of debris.

We took too much time!

Behold. The ultimate cliche stereotype! The embodiment of a love-sicken girl's fantasies! The cold-hearted (and emo) man who has smoldering, unfair attractiveness! The protagonist, Kai Ishioka!

***