Barbarian's Path To Multiversal Domination Chapter 9: Best Recruiter In Town

Dennis’ mission took him to Moscow to ‘defend a captain’. He took the long way once again, sprinting over there on another absurdly long marathon. Meanwhile, the other assassin recruits benefited from simply teleporting over there. They had even started the mission without him…

When he finally got there, Dennis finally felt at home. It was Mother Russia… and the city he had been born in - only five hundred years early. Though most of the buildings were completely different, the weather and land were not at all strange to him.

It was more of a vacation instead of a mission… until his senses started blaring. Something felt wrong.

[Failure to protect the captain means erasure for all present assassins… even if they don’t die in battle.]

The game’s ‘system’ gave him a tip, which set him off.

He searched for the captain, finding him in a short few minutes by using his advanced senses and incredibly swift parkour skills. He was practically flying from building to building.

The first thing he saw was the four female recruits overrun by red-armoured opponents. The captain he was supposed to protect was practically on his last legs. That meant Dennis himself was on his last legs, too. If the captain dies… so does he.

Dennis wasn’t going to die on the account of his incompetent ‘sisters’.

He hurled his greataxe from above, the axe dancing in the air at an air-piercing pace. It cleaved right through one of the captain’s assailants before embedding itself into the ground. Dennis tossed three smoke bombs around the captain and took a leap of faith from over forty feet into a haystack. Once he landed, he got right out.

He drew Blackfyre and slashed through a dozen opponents in a fierce, wild yet swiftly efficient manner - carving a path to the captain through the smoke. When he reached him, most of the assailants scattered in fear. He killed the rest without much effort. 

“Go find a box and hide or some shit.” Dennis looked at the captain. “If you fucking die, I’ll find you in the afterlife and kill you again.”

“Thank you for saving my life, Assassin.” The captain said, seemingly ignoring his statement. “As you can see… I am injured.”

“And I’m not a doctor. What do you want me to do about it, dolboyob?”

He fell to the ground. “My men will help carry me to one… but I am certain that there will be more of those bastards coming after us.”

“That’s better… I’ll handle them.” Dennis nodded, turning to his fellow assassins, who were all heavily wounded. “You four should be cooking and cleaning instead of playing assassin.”

"Good day to you, brother." 

They each bowed to him... also ignoring his statement. They weren't programmed to have any lines in reply to that.

"..." Dennis rolled his eyes and tossed four medicine vials, one for each of them. “Heal up and go to the rooftops. I'll handle the rest on my own."

Handle the rest, he did… earning the admiration of his sisters through his combat prowess. 

...

Dennis would continue to go on a multitude of missions alongside the same women across most of Europe, inadvertently training them to be better. Due to sharing his XP with the rest, his progress to the final rank of Assassin had been slowed by a great amount. 

Alas, he eventually reached the requirement, but his ceremony hadn't occurred since Ezio had yet to go to the hideout. Instead, he had been sent on more babysitting missions until they caught up with him rank-wise. 

It was only then that Ezio returned to the hideout.

Dennis entered a cutscene with a new set of robes, similar to Ezio's but white. 

"Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine."

Ezio spoke a language Dennis did not recognise as he stepped up to the fire. They exchanged bows before Ezio took a flaming metal rod and placed it on Dennis' left ring finger - burning a mark. 

"The wisdom of our Creed is revealed through these words. We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins."

"Nothing is true. Everything is permitted."

In the next flash, Dennis took a leap of faith from the top of the Tiber Hideout.

~

Elizabeth suddenly yawned, observing her five new maxed recruits. She had played through a great deal, collecting Borgia flags, doing Romulus Lair missions, completing her group of female assassins and a good amount of the main story... 

It was 3am, and she was tired as hell - deciding to finally turn off the game.

"Tired?" Grace questioned with a chuckle.

"I don't know how you're as energetic as ever." Elizabeth remarked. "Seriously, where is that guy?"

"What guy?"

"Your boyfriend."

"I guess he went home." Grace shrugged. "Family emergency or something."

"Oh... okay. I was thinking something crazy had happened."

"Definitely not." Grace smiled, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it, sweetheart. You get a nice night's worth of sleep."

"Mn..." 

As she went off to sleep, Grace teleported herself into the same world as Dennis.

...

Dennis raised an eyebrow as the entire world turned dark for a minute. Everything froze still in time, glitching out. Rome looked like some strange kind of purgatory. 

[Anomaly occurred... rebooting world.]

'Rebooting? The fuck?'

Everything turned white and was seemingly refreshed - born anew. Dennis suddenly realised that everything felt more... real. Not only that, but he also attained his actual body. 

Since he wasn't being sent on any missions, he could enjoy Roma at his own pace. Though... this enjoyment was mainly done through continuing his Borgia Flag hunting. There was something about them that really triggered something within his soul. 99% of his existence had been spent hunting them, after all...

They led him through the final Lairs of Romulus, where he flew through all the obstacles and slaughtered the Romulus (furry) cult members who stood in his way. This also meant that he collected the rest of the keys for the Armour of Brutus...

His senses led him to the underground tunnels, which stood locked behind a gate.

He unlocked the gate with the rest of the keys and took the finest armour for himself. It looked far better than the Assassin attire... and Dennis found its wolf-like black-red appearance rather fitting. Also, there was the dagger of Brutus which had once stabbed Julius Caesar. He took it as well.

After effectively stealing the Armour and dagger of Brutus from future Ezio, Dennis saw the real Ezio scaling the rooftops in the distance. He decided to follow him. The Mentor was quite fast but Dennis was a great deal faster, catching up to him.

"You are?" Ezio questioned, readying a hand on his sword.

"Let's see just how good you are." 

Dennis drew Blackfyre and dashed towards him.

CLANG.

To his surprise, Ezio managed to block him. Dennis grinned slightly.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

Dennis' eyes widened as Ezio deflected his blow and was about to counter him. Dennis instinctively raised his left hand and erected his hidden blade- blocking Ezio's sword. Afterwards, he kicked Ezio in the chest and knocked him back.

"You're an Assassin?" Ezio questioned.

Dennis took off his hood and showed his face.

"Yeah."

"That is one way of saying hello, Dennis." Ezio smiled slightly. "That armour... you managed to locate the other Lairs of Romulus?"

"Yeah." Dennis nodded. "The armour looked better than my old one, so I put it on."

"You work fast," Ezio remarked. "Since you are here, I will need you to find some recruits for the Brotherhood."

"... Can't you do it yourself?"

"I have some business with Cesare... and I will need you to look after the rest of the Brotherhood while I am away. That means being a leader and turning the people to our side. It shouldn't prove difficult for a man of your talents."

"Turns out you can't send me off all over Europe anymore with that bullshit system... I'm a free man." Dennis raised his sword, pointing it at Ezio. "If you can beat me, I'll do it. But if you can't... then you have no right to order me around."

"What are you talking about?" Ezio raised an eyebrow.

"The game. This game." Dennis chuckled. "No point in trying to explain it... just fight me."

[Equal Parameters enabled.]

"A spar, is it? Very well."

Dennis swung forward with all of his force while Ezio strafed to the side, slashing at his side. Dennis once again raised his hidden blade, but Ezio's slash went lower and faster- cutting through his greaves. It was then that Dennis reached out for his hand and dragged him forward, smashing his forehead against Ezio's.

The mentor staggered back, and Dennis punched him in the face with his left hand, adding a slash with his hidden blade. 

"Are you fighting to kill?" Ezio questioned.

"That's the only way to fight!"

Dennis grinned.

Ezio recovered from his daze and tossed several knives his way at once. Dennis couldn't block them all as they soared in multiple directions - piercing through the weak points in his armour. 

'This guy is good...' Dennis thought as he ignored the pain and dashed forward. 

Ezio clashed swords against Dennis once more.

The two fought at their best, for several minutes... and neither of them gave an inch. What Ezio had for peerless skill, Dennis made up for with his unorthodox and savage fighting style. As they continued to clash, the Borgia rooftop guards rallied and chose to ambush them.

Ten crossbowmen would fire at once.

Dennis suddenly threw Ezio to the ground and took the brunt of the crossbow bolts. While an ordinary person would be well on their way to being six feet under, all Dennis did was laugh as seven of the crossbow bolts pierced him.

The crossbowmen would reload and fire again... yet he remained standing.

"That shit tickles..." He laughed, taking out his own crossbow and shooting one of them dead. "Can't say the same for you, can I?"

Meanwhile, Ezio rolled off the roof and began hunting the Brogia guards one after the other. While they remained focused on Dennis, he managed to kill most of them with ease. Afterwards, they met on the same rooftop.

"Ready for round two?" Dennis questioned, putting his crossbow on his back.

"... Sure." Ezio drew his sword. "I will show you why I am the Mentor."

As they continued fighting on, Dennis' fighting genius began to shine through as he adapted to Ezio's advanced skills. Before long, he began pushing the mentor back... back... and back - until he laid on the ground.

Dennis stood over him, Blackfyre in hand.

He was reluctant to kill him.

More than reluctant, even.

He respected him as a warrior.

"Even though you didn't beat me, I'll recruit some assassins for you." Dennis sheathed his sword and offered a hand. "It shouldn't be too hard for me."

"Will I need to fight you before assigning any new tasks from now on?" Ezio remarked as he took his hand.

"Maybe." Dennis chuckled. "It was pretty fun."

"I cannot say that we have the same idea of 'fun'," Ezio said, smiling. "You almost killed me, bastardo."

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." 

After ensuring that Ezio doesn't kick the bucket from his injuries, Dennis went out looking for recruits. He found some Borgia guards abusing a woman in a dark alleyway - aiming to have their way with her. He effortlessly tossed a few knives and killed all three of them.

The woman looked terrified, glancing at him and then at the three corpses. As Dennis strode forward slowly - like a demon - she turned tail and started running away.

"..."

Dennis blinked. 'Was it like this for Ezio too? Something tells me it's easier for him...'

He chased after her, tackling the woman. He then dragged her off the ground by her arm and let go.

"The liberation of Roma has begun." He said, copying what Ezio had said to him. "If you choose to flee... I'll fucking kill you. But if you choose to fight, then stand with me against the Borgia and help kill those stupid dolboyobs with their silly little red painter hats."

"Messere... I'm... not a fighter... please let me go home."

"I beg your pardon?" Dennis chuckled, raising one hand to raise her by the neck and choke the woman. "You're going to Tiber Island whether you like it or not. Do you understand?"

"... Y-yes..." The woman struggled, wriggling her legs in the air.

"It's good that we're on the same page."

Dennis finally let go.

"If I don't see you in the Tiber Island hideout tomorrow, I'll kill your entire family."

"I don't have a family," she countered, shaking her head. "I have no one."

"Then I'll rape you myself." Dennis grinned slightly. "And trust me... you'll feel it for the rest of your life."

"..." 

"That settles that, then." 

Dennis turned away, continuing his... aggressive recruiting. The next person he found was a young man fighting off multiple guards in the middle of the street. He slaughtered them all with ease, shaking the young man's hand.

"The Liberation of Roma has begun." Dennis grabbed his shoulder. "Join us in fighting these dickheads... which you're already doing anyways."

"Join who?" The man questioned.

"The Assassin Brotherhood," Dennis explained. "Go to the Tiber Island Hideout, and you'll learn about the rest there. Trust me, it's the best career choice for you. If you don't join us... well, you won't be alive much longer."

"Why is that?"

"Because I'll carve you up like a juicy watermelon with my sword." Dennis smiled, increasing the strength of his grasp on the man's shoulder. "Got it?"

"... Yes, Messere."

"Good dog."

Dennis pat his head and went looking for his third recruit. He found a man being chased by five guards. Again, he killed all of them and caught up to the man. He had kept running... which made Dennis grin slightly. He caught up to the man and tackled him to the ground.

"The Liberation of Roma has begun," Dennis said looking over him.

"What are you talking about?" The man questioned.

"I want YOU for the Assassin Brotherhood." Dennis pointed down at him before pointing at the highest vantage point nearby. "Join us, or I'll toss you off the top of that church over there."

"... Are you mad? I am just a thief..."

"We'll make you into a cold-blooded killer, mate, don't you worry." Dennis showed some charisma as he smiled. "Don't be a pussy."

"... Uh... sure."

"Listen, if I don't see you at the Tiber Island Hideout by tomorrow afternoon, I'll find you again and break every bone in your body. Got it?"

"Yes... Messere-"

"On you go, then."

~

Meanwhile, in the Castel Sant'Angelo.

Ezio Auditore had infiltrated it for the second time after using the key he attained from Lucrezia Borgia's lover. He then witnessed Cesare Borgia kill his own father and then choke his sister while breaking her heart. Afterwards, Ezio sought the location of the Apple of Eden before Cesare could get it. Lucrezia told him where it was and so, he went sprinting after it...

But... it would be Cesare nor Ezio who would win the race.

A golden-haired figure had cut them to the chase, retrieving the Apple of Eden for herself. It glowed with power in her palm, shining luminously. Cesare drew his sword while Ezio tried to figure out who the hell that was. In truth, neither had any idea. She almost looked like one of the Isu, a goddess.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Grace pouted slightly. "Did I steal an apple? I hope you can forgive me."

"Guards... kill that whore and retrieve the artefact!"

She raised the Apple of Eden and a golden light shined out, covering the entire courtyard. Suddenly, the guards turned against each other. In hardly seconds, they had killed each other. Meanwhile, Ezio and Cesare were frozen still... unable to move.

"What to do with the protagonist and antagonist?" She mused, tilting her head. Her lips slowly curled into a smile. "Hm... I know."

"Dennis will love this."