《The Earth After Rebirth》


 Chapter 1: Death

    Chapter 1: Death


    In a particrly run-down street which was usually lively by day, with vendors yelling at the top of their voices to get customers to at least buy one thing or another.


    This area however was a ghost town by night. If you were seen walking at night, people would assume you were up to no good, therefore the first instinct would be to run away from you.


    At a distance, a man could be seen running. He couldn''t have been older than 35. The way he breathed, and the sweat drenched vest he was wearing could tell you everything about how long he had been running. Four silhouettes were on his tail like hellhounds.


    ''Why can''t they just give up? It''s not as if they need the money,'' he thought as he manoeuvred through the buildings.


    Though he didn''t dare to stop and ask, because he knew. The only answer he''d receive would be broken bones and maybe his very thin neck.


    The weather was chilly, if it weren''t for the clouds the sky would''ve been riddled with countless stars. The area wasn''t a pleasant one, even the street lights didn''t work properly.


    You could hear the rain starting a beautiful hymn through the roofs of the surrounding buildings, one look at the sky you could tell it was ready to violently beat down the asphalt road.


    It was apparent on his face that the thin tall man was running for his life, he was yelling for people to help him but it was futile.


    "Help me! Somebody, they''re gonna kill me!"


    None of those desperate cries prompted anybody to help, instead, they avoided him like the gue. Some pretended to not hear him, some surmised that it was a trap!


    ''If they were going to kill me quickly I''d have let them, but I know, I know they''re gonna torture me first,'' he thought.


    He turned his head, hoping he could see that they''d stopped chasing or he ran so fast that he lost them. s, he could see the pursuers gaining on him, closing the distance at frightening speeds. He cursed himself because, if only, if only he had taken care of his body, maybe he''d stood a chance against these men.


    But he wasn''t fooling anyone. He was but a slum rat that had to work 15 hours a day for the bare minimum. He wouldn''t have the time to care for himself even if he wanted to.


    He took a turn at a corner and without thinking, took a left. He immediately felt regret, because he found himself in a dead-end back alley and it was toote to turn back.


    This was a very dangerous neighbourhood but he loved it because it was also his home.


    Anybody who saw anything strange would never stop and ask, because the danger might be directed at them.


    The four men were ted at having caught a rat like him, it was always easy trapping and chasing them to their deaths. He owed them a lot, but they were also pissed off that he made them run.


    The year was 4015, the earth had changed dramatically since the days of the past, the technology was advanced but human nature remained the same. gued with greed and the need to suppress and murder those they deemed inferior. Humans had evolved physically but mentally and psychologically, they were still infants.


    They still held on to their violent, primitive ways. They bowed and cowered to the strong, while they treated the weak like anyone would treat an old and outdated toy.


    ''Hypocrites! They''re all hypocrites!'' The man screamed internally.


    The man who was the leader ran his hand through his hair and heaved a sigh. His stature looked calm but his eyes made him liken a wild animal that had been caged and deprived of its very nature.


    His eyes didn''t just look cold, they looked savage, he was a monster wearing human skin. A psychopath.


    ''Why are his eyes like this?'' The man cowered, and he lost the will to fightpletely.


    "You don''t want to pay back my money. Now, now you make me sweat? Are you a b*tch?"


    The man was grief-stricken, his eyes were already dead, and he was taken aback by this man''s line of questioning.


    ''What does he mean by this?'' But he remembered his eyes, the eyes of a cold-blooded psychopath, he shuddered and didn''t dare to make him wait.


    "No, no I''m not a¨C"


    He couldn''t even finish his sentence and the man''s fist was already nted in his abdomen. The thin tall man had never felt such pain before, well, physical pain.


    He stood there, clenching his stomach, he felt like he was losing the ability to breathe. It was painful. As he was gasping for air, another one hit him square in the face. Which caused him to fall and bite his tongue in the process.


    "If you''re not a b*tch, why are you making me sweat?"


    The man didn''t bother answering this time because he knew he''d be beaten anyway. The leader snapped his fingers, and the other three jumped him. Without so much of a warning, they started aggressively stomping his whole body. They''d especially aim for his hands.


    Their stomping from afar, seemed as if a group of four people were just dancing in a dark alley. At least that''s what those who had a clear view of the alley chose to believe. As they didn''t want to be implicated, they quickly drew their curtains and switched off their lights, pretending they were not home.


    The man being stomped to death couldn''t take it anymore. His hands were broken, and he was sure he had no teeth left either. His mind was starting to y tricks on him too, one minute he''d feel like he was in his room.


    The one he had when he lived with his family. Just when he was getting used to such a warm feeling, the pain would sear through his every muscle, jolting him awake from the hallucination.


    "Organs, take my organs," he said in-between tired ragged breaths. As though he''d been running for thest 5 hours. He was so tired. Tired from getting his ass beaten.


    The boss sneered. "Organs? We live in such a world where organs can be printed, what the hell are we going to do with your musty organs? They''re useless!"


    For the next 30 minutes, they were having a field day torturing him. He could not even open his mouth now, because they had broken his jaw. Seeing and smelling that much blood would make many convulse but he was used to worse smells than this.


    The leader ordered them to pick him up, and with some effort, they made him stand up straight. The leader then came closer. The man involuntarily flinched. The leader was pleased with the reaction.


    "Where''s my money? Where''s my money you little sh*t? It''s been over two years since I let you off. You think I''m your father? No such thing as a free meal in this world," he said with disdain in his voice.


    "A man should be able to take care of his business. You''re a man aren''t you?"


    The leader continued to taunt him, knowing very well that, they were the kind of people to borrow people money who couldn''t pay it back. They enjoyed hunting and killing idiots, it thrilled them to see their eyes dead with no will to live.


    The man was heaving now, in pain, he tried saying something but his jaw had been broken so he couldn''t utter a single coherent word. This somehow angered the leader even more, as if he was not the one who caused it.


    He tossed him to the ground like a ragdoll and started bashing his head with his foot.


    A crazed look could be seen on his face, the man''s face contorted weirdly, making his smile insanely creepy.


    So creepy, even hisrades flinched.


    ''It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! Dammit, I can''t even scream but I want to. Please let me die already, I had a sh*t life anyway. I have nothing to live for.'' The man thought as he couldn''t speak.


    Suddenly a wave of warmth washed over him, the kind of sensation you get when you''ve been working all day, and when your head finally hits your pillow everything goes nk and you absolutely and utterly surrender yourself to your bed.


    He was losing consciousness. He was dying. Atst. He cursed his life, he cursed his creator, he cursed anyone that came to mind.


    The pain was fading, though, slowly.


    As the man pleaded for his death to the gods he never quite believed in, blood trickled from his head to the asphalt road but the rain, which was now pouring, would quickly wash it away.


    The man watched pitifully as even his blood was being erased. He snorted as thest act of defiance. Nobody would care if he died.


    He was a peasant in this society, and only the rich were prioritised. He had lived a painful life, the man was d he was dying, he''d been a coward before about taking his own life. But at least now ¡ª at least now someone else was doing the job for him. He just wished it wasn''t so painful.


    ''At least, at least the heavens are crying for me.''


    ''Mum, Dad, I''m sorry. I was a failure until the end.''


    Those were hisst thoughts when the god of death finally gave in to his plea.

 Chapter 2: Rebirth

    Chapter 2: Rebirth


    ''Warm. So warm. It doesn''t hurt anymore. Is death supposed to be this warm? I suppose everything we''ve been told was a lie.''


    ''I can''t believe I don''t feel any pain, just a second ago I was in a hell of pain. Oh right, I''m dead, I don''t have a body, so why would I be in pain without nerves.''


    ''Mm? Then how am I conscious? Isn''t death supposed to be thest destination? Doesn''t it end with death? Holy hell. Don''t tell me there''s truly a god.''


    ''I''ll definitely be sent to hell, I never even believed. That''s probably what the warmth is, I''m slowly descending the pits of hell.''


    ''Well none of that matters. I died with so many regrets, only to be conscious after death and continue the feeling of those regrets. How is that even fair? Tch, this god is probably just having a doozy.''


    ''Hahahaha. What a pathetic life I led. I could me the society of course, but I truly did nothing to change my situation.''


    Of course the man was severed from his body, he was just a wandering soul now. In a vast dark, waiting room. He assumed he couldn''t see because he didn''t possess eyes, but that was human thinking. A soul needed no such to see.


    The darkness in the room was just so dense, that not even sound leaked in. It was as if he was floating in a vum of space, only there were no bright stars. Definitely no light at the end of the tunnel.


    The man chuckled to himself. He couldn''t help himself, in his world religion wasn''t big but it was there. They did believe in the light after death concept, the amount of times they''ve harassed him trying to convert him. He wanted more than anything to appear before them, and tell them how much of a sham it all was.


    ''Petty.'' A voice scoffed in his mind, only, it wasn''t his voice.


    ''Huh? Who''s there?'' Even if he had a body, he wouldn''t have been able to jump, not because of how startled he was. There didn''t seem to be an up or down in the ce he was forcibly put in.


    ''Dammnit, don''t just do whatever you please. Are you the one who trapped me here? For what reason? Send me to hell or kill mepletely,'' he said trying to sound brave.


    Albeit the voice never spoke again. That made him more unsettled, he felt like he was being watched. He felt so vulnerable, so alone, so fragile. There was nothing he could do but wait, wait for whatever this was out.


    He was just a wandering soul, he didn''t have something like his body to defend his essence. At least a body was a bag of meat, with a cage of bones. But he was just a soul now. And that scared him.


    Beep! Beep! Beep!


    The rm went haywire. Even though the room didn''t seem like much, the rm itself was advanced because it didn''t stop croaking until it sensed movement and the change of breath. Announcing that he was awake.


    A boyid sprawled on the bed, sleeping peacefully. The same couldn''t be said for the nkets, as they littered the floor. His eyebrows furrowed at the unweed sound.


    ''So damn noisy,'' he thought.


    The sound felt familiar to him, as soon as he moved to announce he was awake, the rm stopped.


    ''Am I still in that dark room? no, this feels a tad bit different. I feel, heavier.''


    The boy slowly opened his eyes, his head throbbing in pain. He tried to move, but his body wouldn''t cooperate. He struggled to remember what had happened.


    He had borrowed money from loan sharks to invest in a business that had failed miserably. They hade to collect their money, and he had nothing to give them. They had beaten him mercilessly and left him for dead.


    Even though this happened a few minutes ago, it felt foggy to say the least.


    He now found himself in a room he hadn''t seen in years. It was his old room from until he was 17 years. He was finally able to sit up, feeling disorientated and confused. He looked around, and everything was just as he remembered.


    The same old posters on the walls glued with gum, the same old bedsheets, the same old books on the shelf with torn pages and broken spines.


    ''But what am I doing here? Is this part of a journey to the afterlife or something. Is this the life shing before my eyes concept?''


    He didn''t understand what was happening, his confused mind attempted to make sense of everything. He couldn''t.


    But this was definitely the room, with its dirty walls and the smell of mould. The tiny window that seemed to have been crafted to at least get the sunlight in. The ceiling that''s almost caving in.


    The four walls that were so close together, they''d be enemies to a ustrophobic person. The bed that was hard, almost as if it were concrete. Yeah, this was definitely the childhood room he shared with his younger brother.


    He quickly got up to see what was happening, whether his parents and siblings were still alive. He almost fell losing his bnce, the sudden dizziness forced him to sit right back down, he tried getting up again slowly this time. Luckily the dizziness had gone. Just as he was about to run past the mirror, he saw it, it couldn''t be. He quickly doubled back.


    ''A younger me?''


    He stood there for a solid minute, like a statue, transfixed, shocked beyond imagination and not being able to process or fathom what was right in front of him. He had definitely read these absurd stories from the old earth, but it couldn''t be, this must be a dream.


    ''Do we regress back to our younger selves in the afterlife?'' That was the question that gued his mind. He didn''t believe in any god, but this experience was slowly making him doubt everything.


    There in the mirror stood a boy of about 17 years old, staring back at him. Brown smooth skin, tall, sharp facial features, deep blue eyes and dark brown curly hair and he was a bit malnourished.


    This was without a doubt his 16 year old self, the virtual calendar on the wall reminded him that he was yet to be 17. Though it wouldn''t be long before he did.


    He couldn''t believe what he was seeing. He kept touching his face making sure he really did have a physical younger body. He was astonished that he once looked like this.


    He looked so rested and stress free. No dark lines under the eyes, no looks of despair could be seen. Still so oblivious about how the world works. He chuckled at how na?ve he once was.


    He stumbled to the door and out of his room and immediately his nose was attacked by a wave of a familiar aroma. Something he hadn''t smelled for more than 7 years. His knees grew weaker, he couldn''t walk properly, so he used the dirty walls to support himself. Like a man possessed he had to see it.


    Their house was extremely small so it didn''t take a second for him to walk into the kitchen from his room, where everyone but his mum were seated.


    There she was, standing by the stove, preparing breakfast or dinner for everyone. He wasn''t sure, he was so out of it he couldn''t tell whether it was night or day. But it was evening, the rm must''ve sensed his abnormal heart speed, so it woke him up.


    His mother looked as beautiful and as old as he remembered. Her ck back length hair, her big Hazel eyes that seemed to carry all the hope in the world.


    "Mum¡ª" His voice came out so soft it was almost a whisper. He felt his face bing hot, and it was hard to swallow as a huge lump took residence in his throat.


    His mother turned around, smiling and humming, but her expression changed with knitted eyebrows when she saw her son. Who looked so depressed, she swore he had woken up from a grave.


    "What''s wrong baby? Shouldn''t you be sleeping, the viral shot should still be very active in your body," she said, her voice full of concern.


    "Viral Shot?" He asked looking confused at first.


    Then he remembered, everyone when they came of age got a shot. The world wasn''t what it once was, the shot ensured they lived longer and healthier in the new world. He now understood why he was feeling groggy. But that all didn''t matter to him.


    That voice. It was her voice alright. It''s the voice that was warm to him but also cold when he was being a bad son, the soft yet sharp voice that scolded whenever he wouldn''t wash his school uniform or when he left the dishes in the sink without washing them. The voice that was gued with concern when he was sick and bedridden for days.


    ''Am I dreaming? Is this, heaven?''


    Though he didn''t really care what this was, he could feel pain, that meant one way or another this wasn''t a dream. All that mattered was that, his family, was here with him. Sitting at the same table they always had.


    Ensuring they ate together at every meal, whenever they could. Something that became tradition in his family.

 Chapter 3: Family

    Chapter 3: Family


    The boy couldn''t get a word out. He tried, but he couldn''t, the lump was making itself known that its there to stay. He clutched his chest trying to make the feelings go away.


    He turned his gaze away from his mother, itnded to his father. Now tears were welling up to his eyes. ''Dammnit, don''t cry.'' He attempted to console himself. His father had been fixing something up until his son came in with a sad expression, with an eyebrow raised.


    "What''s wrong, son? You should be resting." He said with that deepmanding voice, it''s just as he remembered.


    Now tears trickled down his face as the past memories came rushing back, he was trying his best not to cry but he couldn''t stop them.


    His mother walked over and hugged him, that somehow made the matters worse as the boy wailed, snot and all.


    His little sister was too young to understand, if she saw anyone crying, she''d cry too. So, she began to cry while walking towards her eldest brother.


    ''Her smell, its really her, and she has a physical body.'' He squeezed her tight while crying on her shoulder. He thanked whoever had given him this second chance, whatever it was, whether it be god or a science experiment.


    He was sure he wouldn''t waste it.


    His parents looked so old for 35 year olds. It''s a wonder the boy didn''t notice it in his previous life. Their wrinkles told a sad and depressing story, while their eyes were happy their smiles were full of despair. They were too fatigued.


    After a good 5 minutes, he had stopped. He was now holding his little sister trying to get her to stop. He knew he''d have to make an excuse about why he just caused a scene here.


    Emotions ran rampant, but after a while everything was calm, with an attempted smile, he said, "I had a bad dream, you all were dead."


    It wasn''t exactly a lie, he did just wake up from a life he''d lived where they had died. His dad shook his head at this, his mum gave him onest hug. His younger brother looked at him like he was an idiot.


    This was the Waynworth family, although they were dirt poor, they had 3 kids. Kiro Percival, the eldest son at 16 years old soon to be 17. The middle child, the younger brother Loki Wilfred, at 12 years old. The youngest child, a little sister Alora Layana at 5 years old and their parents, Freya and Sekani.


    For that reason they had to work 20 hours a day just to make sure their children had everything they needed and a little of what they wanted.


    They looked too old for their age, but that only made sense, since they slept 4 hours in a day. He startedparing how he faired at 27pared to his parents, and was greatly depressed when he realised that, there wasn''t much of a difference. If he wasn''t killed by those loan sharks, overworking would have.


    His parents never onceined to their children or anyone for that matter, but about 3 years from now they''ll die from overworking andck of sleep.


    ''If I don''t right my wrongs of the past, I''ll unfortunately live the same hell. But I swear it. I''ll change my fate, I''ll change my path. I''ll do it all. I''ll be filthy rich in this life time. I was a bastard of a son ¡ª'' Kiro was thinking about what his next steps should be when he was interrupted by his brother, stomping on his foot.


    "motherfu¡ª" He stopped himself before he could say the whole thing, but s. His parents may be poor but they weren''t idiots. They went to school and have degrees. They were both engineers, at a well knownpany but since they''re from the slums they''re overworked and underpaid.


    "Kiro Percival Waynworth, where did you pick up such foulnguage?" His mum said, her voice so high pitched, it was practically a scream.


    He''d done it now. He regretted it the moment it came out of his mouth. His mother never used his full name unless she was really furious. He put a hand on his mouth, hiding a half smirk. Kiro found this kind of amusing, he held back the impulse of telling her he''d lived almost as long as her.


    It also warmed his heart that, he gets to be scolded by his mother. He hadn''t had someone to scold him with care in 7 years, those were his most rough years. So he felt happy and warm with just this.


    He cleared his throat, "I was gonna say mother father. But but, I''m sorry for the misunderstanding." He said, apologetically.


    "That smart mouth of yours." His mothermented. She didn''t know whether to be mad or impressed.


    "So then, are you ready?" It was his dad who asked.


    "Ready for what?"


    His mum and dad just looked at each other and then at him. Wondering whether their child had hit his head this evening.


    "I told you he''s not ready, should''ve waited for me to be 17 and send me instead. Big brother isn''t reliable at all." Loki said.


    Kiro held back the urge to p the back of his brother''s head. His parents ignored their young brat and said in a chorus,


    "The academy, has the shot affected your head?"


    His face soured. ''oh. There''s that.'' He wasn''t exactly happy about this.


    "Is the academy tomorrow then?" At his question, they all looked at him concerned.


    "You''re graduating tomorrow, the academy doesn''t open for applications until next week. Do you seriously not know?"


    "Of course, I know... it just, slipped my mind."


    Kiro med the fact that he was out of sorts on the dream he had and the shot. Luckily they seemed to have taken his word for it. Alora was awfully quiet after her emotional turmoil. Loki on the other hand was making faces at him. Kiro couldn''t even be mad, he missed this.


    Kiro gave his parents what he thought was a reassuring smile, a smile that told them they shouldn''t worry he''ll buy them a house soon and get them to retire for the rest of their lives. His mum was much the wiser. She gave him a look that questioned his whole entire existence, which caused him to sweat buckets.


    The family was having nice conversations, Kiro pretended he was listening but his brain was thousands and thousands of kilometres away. He knew the future of his family rode on his sess in this life, he had future knowledge, he''d be a damn fool if he''d die poor in this life too.


    He was reluctant to go to the academy. He didn''t want to leave his family when he had just gotten them back, but he had to. It had be done.


    He found himself thanking the gods or whoever, he still didn''t believe in them but he figured a much higher power allowed him to regress and keep his memories. Even though his previous life felt like a dream now, it was still a vivid one.


    ------


    Freya kept looking at her son. She thought he was acting very weird. Change didn''t happen so drastic, just yesterday Kiro was the same old. No confidence,cked better judgement, couldn''t stand firm on his opinions and beliefs.


    She was d that this change had taken ce before the academy but it was sudden and frightening all the same, her son exuded a different kind of energy. She couldn''t exin it, but she could tell.


    ''What could be wrong with him? First the crying. As if I''d believe that, that was all because of a dream or a shot. He forgets he has to go to the academy. Now his mind seems to be elsewhere.


    ''Has he any idea how much we sacrificed to send him there? I hope he''s not thinking of not enrolling.'' Freya thought to herself. She couldn''t very well voice her thoughts, it was the parents'' job to support their children.


    Freya gave him a stern look, he smiled back at her. Which melted her heart immediately, he always did have a nice smile.


    Kiro may not know this, but whenever he was hiding something he''d have that smile on his face. But his mother knew. She decided to let him be. Their parenting style was that, don''t pry too much.


    "Okay, go prepare for your graduation. The car leaves early tomorrow. You won''t have time in the morning, you know you''re not a morning person." Freya told him.


    Kiro thanked their mother for the food before he left the kitchen. His siblings followed him shortly after. Freya was left pondering the events that just took ce, she looked at her husband, who didn''t seem like he was bothered by Kiro''s actions.


    ''Am I overreacting? I''ve been known to be overprotective.'' She pondered to herself.


    "Darling, do you think something is wrong with Ki?" She finally asked.


    Sekani looked at her confused at first. Kiro was really a replica of his father. You would swear he was a younger clone of Sekani. If Sekani wasn''t so old and wrinkled people might have mistaken them for identical twins.


    To Freya''s question Sekani just smiled, got up from his chair, held his wife close to his chest, and said, in a calm and deep voice


    "He''s a growing boy, it would''ve been strange if he didn''t want to change. He''ll be a man soon, he''ll have his own family, I''m sure there''s a lot going through his mind."


    Sekani started to lead his wife to a slow dance, she gave in immediately. He knew exactly what to do, to relieve stress from his wife. Slow dancing. That was her weakness. Being held by arms she felt safe in, and just drift away.


    As poor as they were, they were happy with each other. Both felt strongly that they wouldn''t change that for all the money in this world. For that, they swore to continue to work hard withoutining, break their backs to ensure their kids are not starving and are taken care of.


    But worry never left her face, Sekani immediately noticed that.


    "it''s okay Freya, he''ll be fine. He has us as his parents. He''s stronger than you think." He said calmy, and gave her a forehead kiss.


    Feeling utterly defeated, Freya sighed and nodded.

 Chapter 4: Graduation

    Chapter 4: Graduation


    The Waynworth household was tiny. Just 2 bedrooms, Kiro shared a room with Loki and Alora slept with their parents. Now that the eldest son was embarking on a journey of real world experience. Loki and Alora would share this room, no doubt. Sekani and Freya would finally, have some alone time.


    Walking into his room, Kiro was thinking about how bad of a son he was. He was truly ungrateful in his past life, he never even took care of his parents. He got a job at 19, right after graduation. Never bothered to send money back to ease their stress and the very next year they died.


    His job wasn''t well paying so he couldn''t take care of his younger siblings. Everything just fell apart after that. They died one after another. His little brother joined a street gang and was killed trying to protect their sister, Alora, from being assaulted.


    In his past life, there was this virtual reality game called Asgard Online: Fallen Heroes, it changed the real worldpletely. It was spected that some billionaires invested in it, causing the in-game currency to be usable in real life. He couldn''t y it in his past life, he couldn''t afford the Head Gear, or the Pod they will release months from now.


    Kiro was obsessed with the game nheless, he''d watch streams, read about various sses and quests, also bugs.


    It had around 100 million yers and he wasn''t one of them.


    He took out the ck suit he''ll be wearing the next day on his graduation. It wasn''t new, but it was clean. Their parents always hammered the importance of education to them, as a matter of fact, his school uniform was always in good condition.


    It helped a lot that in this earth, kids started school at 13. Then at 17 it was the academy, a higher level of learning. Kiro''s parents may have calcted, because the gap between the 3 siblings was too much of a coincidence.


    "Ki, are you alright? Why did you cry just then?"


    Kiro was jerked out of his thoughts by his younger brother. Loki had always been the type to act like he didn''t care, but would absolutely show it when he thought something was wrong.


    "Ha, you''re worried about me, champ?" he said with a smirk, while ruffling his hair.


    "Let go you jerk, and I''m not worried. Why would I be worried about you."


    "I''m d you''re my brother, Loki."


    "Wh-what? Stop saying weird things." He was obviously embarrassed.


    The door creaked open, "What about me big bro Ki?" Alora walked in, pouting. She didn''t want to be left behind.


    Kiro picked her up and swung her around. "Especially you, Freckles." She giggled.


    --------


    The next day, the family woke up early and prepared to leave for Kiro''s school. Today was an important day. The school was a walking distance, but Freya and Sekani hired a car just for that day. They didn''t have much, but they weren''t frugal when it came to their kids'' special events.


    Kiro and his dad were wearing suits. Loki didn''t own one yet, so he was in jeans and sneakers. Alora was wearing a beautiful purple dress. His mother was elegant in a ck in dress, Kiro honestly had never seen a woman prettier than her.


    Alora loved her big brother, which is why she could be seen in his arms walking out the rusting gate. The car wasn''t much, but Kiro was happy about it nheless. Of course he''d been through this before, but unlike then, he appreciated every little thing more now.


    The driver tipped his hat and they got in. The car drove through the neighbourhood. You could tell that, if the buildings were well maintained, this ce would''ve been a great futuristic-like city. But instead, the buildings were worn and torn.


    Of course this was because Kiro lived in the lower district. There were 3 districts in this world, Upper, Middle and Lower. The lower district was the least taken care of, people there fended for themselves or died trying.


    10 minutes passed and they arrived at the school. The school wasn''t anything special, a building that housed sses and faculty offices. Right next to it was a big hall, clearly erected for events such as this one.


    There weren''t any sport fields, kids just yed on gravel if they chose to y and kids from the lower district loved sports.


    They separated, his family went into the hall, Kiro walked into the building, and to his ss. He walked in with an air of confidence they''ve never seen before. He was ss president, but they chose him as a joke, since he was a pushover andcked confidence.


    They thought it''d be funny to put someone who was wimpy in that authoritative seat.


    "Who''s that?"


    "Looks like Kiro."


    "Pres the wimp? No way. Why''s he so different."


    "Haaa, what do you mean different? Still looks like the same scrawny nerd he always was to me."


    The whispers couldn''t be contained. Kiro simply smiled, smugly. No one in this ss was a friend to him, he was the ultimate outcast of this ss, matter of fact, of the entire school. Not like he was bullied physically or not anything, but they did pick on him.


    But the way he was today, he really fit the title they forced upon him. Even the teacher was surprised, in a good way. She was the kind that never wanted to give up on anyone, and likewise she never gave up on Kiro. Though his marks were really good, his character was verycking.


    That''s why she didn''t push the idea of him being president away. She thought, maybe it''ll help him gain confidence in himself.


    "Mr. Waynworth, thank you for joining us."


    Kiro smiled, "Thanks Teach."


    ''Goodness. Even his words aren''t wavering. Good. Good. You''re just in time for the academy.''


    They were all seated in the same seats they''ve been using for the past 4 years. The ss was old, but it didn''t have any holes or leaks, it was clean.


    "I''m not going to be long, the ceremony will start soon. I''m just here to congratte all of you, for studying so hard and reaching this point. But don''t get tired, go further, you''re our leaders of tomorrow. So do your best. I''m proud of all of you, I think this is the best ss I''ve ever taught. Continue being great. Let''s go."


    She got the apuse of the century from her ss.


    They all wore their graduation gowns which is what they really came here for, and followed their teacher who had hers on too.


    The hall was decorated beautifully. Families were sat in round tables. The faculty staff were seated at the front, in a long table. Each student would sit with their family. Each table had snacks of all kinds, they really went all out.


    It hadn''t been that long since the families got there, but Loki was already full. Though that didn''t stop him from eating, but it was obvious he was forcing himself.


    "If you don''t stop, you''ll blow into smithereens, you know." Kiro said to him, taking a seat besides his mother.


    He understood why he would do this, they don''t have much at home but this was embarrassing. As though his ears had wax, Lokipletely ignored his brother.


    "Mum, Dad, why''s your son such a pig?" He said with such a serious tone that they both blurted outughter.


    Loki''s retort was dyed by the food in his mouth, when he finished chewing the principal had already taken the podium and was weing the guests.


    His wee speech turned into a congrattory one. Which made it so long that by the time he finished, everyone, more or less were yawning.


    "Now, it''s time to announce the best performance. The student who defied all odds and stayed at the top of his year, for 4 years. Kiro Waynworth,e on here."


    His family, including him were shocked. He was shocked because he had forgotten all about this moment. 7 years of living hell in his past life could make anyone forget about trivial things such as these. Even though he worked hard at school, came out on top, that never helped his situation.


    His mother got up with him, gave him a squeezing hug. Previously this embarrassed him, but now, he appreciated any kind of affection. He hugged her right back, and got the smooch of his life on the cheek.


    ''Right. I''m supposed to give a speech. What am I supposed to say? F*ck you all, and I hope you burn in hell for the treatment the past 4 years?'' He contemted as he reached the stage.


    He shook hands with the principal and his vice and so he took the podium.


    "Firstly, I''d like to thank the families who came far and wide to celebrate with us. The staff who worked tirelessly for the past 4 years to ensure us a good education. Especially our teacher, Miss Eldridge, you never gave up on any of us, thank you very much teach. I promise your efforts toward me won''t be wasted.


    "I wish I was that good at this motivational stuff, as the Pres of ss 3 I should be, but s. To my peers, as teach said, don''t be fatigued, the marathon is still on-going this is simply a rest stop. In a week, we will be obligated to run again, go on and refill your energy so you''re ready for the next chapter. Thank You."


    He got a thunderous apuse and whistles.


    "What a sharp tongue you got kid, I feel bad for your parents." The program director jokingly said, and the joke was well-received.


    Arriving at the table, his parents hugged and kissed him. One look at their faces you could see how proud they were. Alora of course wanted to be picked up by her older brother, which Kiro did.


    The ceremony came to a close. Pictures were taken. The after party was just a way for the school to wee them to adulthood. Which meant someone of age received whiskey as a takeaway, of course, anybody who wasn''t 17 yet couldn''t be given one even with parents around.


    ''Curse being born in December.'' Kiro screamed internally. He couldn''t hide how bitter he felt. Underage drinking was rare in this society, the rules surrounding it were too strict.


    You could just be walking down the street, and the street sensors would pick up that you have alcohol in your system. That would warrant a severe punishment.


    "Don''t worry, on the 13th of December, even if I have to fly to Eden, we''ll drink together." Sekani saw his son''s solemn face, so he tried to cheer him up.

 Chapter 5: Preparations

    Chapter 5: Preparations


    It was raining heavily in the afternoon. Kiro was walking back home. He had asked his parents to go on ahead in the car. He loved the smell of rain, beating on dry soil. So he didn''t pass up the chance and his nose was grateful.


    He also needed time alone. As much as he wanted to spend every waking minute with his family, he had a lot on his mind. He couldn''t shake the feeling that something was eerily strange. But he couldn''t wrap his head around the eeriness. He was doubting that this was reality, his regression was way too suspicious.


    ''Tch. I guess I have to live and find outter. I hate being yed.''


    He walked on, taking in his surroundings. Even on rainy days like this, people from the lower district couldn''t afford to lounge around, waiting for the rain to tone it down. The streets were as busy as they were in the morning.


    The rain didn''t do much to evolved humans anyway.


    The poption of the current earth was 500 million because of the great catastrophe that happened in the year 3000 which changed everything.


    Nearly a thousand years ago, it''s all recorded in the current history books. Some books im it was ragnarok, literal gods were fighting for the spot to rule the universe.


    Some say the earth''s climate couldn''t take it anymore so the continents broke into pieces ofnds, that eventually got swallowed by ocean water. The people of the current earth have no idea which version is the correct one.


    The only continent that somewhat survived was then known as Africa. And stress on somewhat, because even it didn''t escape unscathed, most of its poption was wiped from the face of the earth. Most of itsnd was intact though and its resources were usable for hundreds of years.


    When the great catastrophe happened it quickly became apparent that the only continent that will survive was Africa. It was also a very specific location that wouldn''t be affected, the upper part of the equatorial line.


    The world prepared to migrate there but only a fraction were able to reach it alive.


    Most weren''t so lucky. Different races lived together for a thousand years, so everyone in the current earth is all mixed one way or another whether it shows or not. In this society the concept of racism didn''t exist. Even though skin colours did vary.


    After some time, humans started to evolve the current humans were now much stronger and faster than their predecessors, which helped a lot when ying VR since it could be strenuous to normal humans if yed for long hours.


    Humans also gained something precious, biologically, humans could now live up to 170 years old. In this technologically advanced world it was rare for people to die of diseases.


    Albeit that is the case, when you''re 16-17 you must get a viral shot. The great catastrophe left the atmosphere in a bad shape, so to protect themselves, humans created the shot.


    The African continent was renamed to Sanctauri, which meant ''a ce of refuge'' in some oldnguage of the old earth. Sanctauri had a total of 3 "countries."


    Sanctauri was seen as a country with those 3 countries just being bigger provinces. These provinces were bigger than the biggest countries in the previous earth. They all had their own schools, but the most prestigious of schools was Eden Academy. It was right at the centre of the 3 districts.


    Most parents couldn''t afford to send their kids to Eden Academy. Kiro''s parents broke their backs to pay for him to get to this academy, a million creds (Sanctauri currency) per year, 500k creds per semester. That money was enough tost you a lifetime if you lived frugally.


    Kiro entered his house soaked but somewhat happy.


    ''I''ll have to take some of the tuition and buy a Head Gear, Pods aren''t out until months from now anyway. By then, I''d have made millions in-game. I hope.'' He thought while smiling blissfully.


    The game didn''te out until a week from now. That''s about the same time he''ll have to leave for EA.


    "I''m home." he announced as soon as he entered.


    Immediately, Alora threw herself in his arms. She had been anxiously waiting for him to return. Kiro was worried now, what would she do when he''s away at the academy?


    "Whoa there Freckles. You''re gonna get wet!" He said, taking off his shoes.


    Shefortably settled on his shoulders. Hugging his neck with both arms. She clung onto him, so he just stayed with the wet clothes. It didn''t even take 10 minutes, and she was fast asleep.


    "She''s 5 after all, the day must''ve been a long one for her." Freya said attempting to remove her but failed.


    -------


    Kiro spent the next week with his siblings. Freya and Sekani still had to work. They left before the little ones could wake up, and came back when they were already in bed. Though Kiro made it a point to wake up early making them breakfast, and waiting for them to return.


    He vowed to do everything to lessen their burdens. Although this wasn''t much, it wasn''t much at all, there was a lot they were carrying on their shoulders and he just removed but a speck of it.


    Though shocked by his behaviour, his parents were absolutely grateful.


    The week was sweet and short. It ended so abruptly, not even Kiro was ready. Though he spent the week trying to convince Alora not to cry when he leaves, that he''ll be back, he doubted it worked.


    Kiro packed his belongings, which made him depressed when they all fit in a small backpack. There wasn''t much to pack, they were poor and he didn''t own much clothes. All his clothes were bought from thrift stores, they looked shabby.


    This made Kiro more anxious, the academy was full of filthy rich brats. In his past life, he was bullied by them. Unbeknownst to him, living with his past memories in the present, having died the way he did, had changed the air around him.


    --------


    The next morning, he put on his best clothes, a navy semi formal trouser, ck formal shoes, a ck round neck shirt. He put on his chain that had two feathers as its pendant, one gold and another silver. It also had a silver padlock that didn''t seem to have originally been part of it. He''d been given this chain at 5 years old by his grandfather.


    It was a family heirloom, he was told. The chain was silver in colour, even though it was hundreds of years old it remained shiny. It had ''Waynworth'' engraved on the two feathers. Kiro had never taken this chain off since receiving it, he only took it off when he had to shower.


    His grandfather was a prominentwyer in the lower district. He tried all he could to fight the corrupt governments, until one day he disappeared without a trace working on a case, his colleague tried asking questions.


    But his body was found mutted on the streets. As if to warn others who wanted to question thewyer''s whereabouts. That was more than 10 years ago. That memoryid forgotten at the back of Kiro''s mind.


    Kiro proceeded out of his room, he looked back, as if to say, ''We will never see each other again, thank you for the 16, technically 17 years.''


    He still had 40 minutes left, the station was 10 minutes away from his house. He walked into the kitchen, to see his mum and dad dancing. It was a different kind of intimate, it was still awkward for Kiro. Who had never known a woman''s touch.


    He gave them a side-eye and wondered why they were in such a good mood, was it because he was leaving? Happy they''d have their room all to themselves?


    "Ahem¡ª" He started by clearing his throat, but they didn''t stop.


    "What is it?" Freya asked.


    "Could you, if you''re not that busy, give me a haircut? Just a little trim, tactfully please."


    "You''re trying to charm those rich girls aren''t you? Well, don''t do anything stupid, I''m not expecting a grandchild out of you yet." his mum advised, she couldn''t even contain the smile that was already forming.


    "Ma!!!"


    She giggled, anyone could tell she was genuinely happy to tease and embarrass her eldest son. She didn''t really mind if Kiro wanted to marry at this age, because she and Sekani married at 18 too.


    "You''re a handsome boy. The spitting image of your dad, if he managed to charm me, there isn''t a girl you can''t charm." She said in an almost serious tone.


    Kiro looked at his dad pleadingly, "Your wife is bullying me, do something."


    He shrugged and said, "Take it like a man!"


    Kiro sighed with a smile, and sat down so his mum could get started on the haircut. In the past he ignorantly med his parents for their poverty stricken lifestyle, so he never tried being close to them. This is a conversation that never happened in the past, his heart felt like it was walking on the clouds. He was happy.


    His parents didn''t own a car, so he''d have to walk to the train station, and seeing that he didn''t have much luggage, he had to do it alone.


    Contrary to popr belief in the past earth, the unevolved humans, believed that the future would have hovering cars. But that''s not the case. There was no hope that they would ever make some either.


    The future was VR gaming anyway. The realism was astounding, watching gamey was akin to watching a film. But it was so expensive that anyone from the lower district couldn''t afford the gear or pod. Most those who yed in the lower district used public gaming rooms.


    Most of everything from the previous earth got lost during the catastrophe, only a few things survived. This world didn''t know much of the previous world, how they lived, what they believed in. Some books and films survived. That made the current world''s knowledge about the previous world extremely limited.


    Despite that, there were things that were passed down. Things that Sanctauri practices as a country. Like governments, social standings, the poor and the rich. There were some, cultural sameness'' too. Though it was an amalgamation of many.


    Freya only needed 20 minutes, and she was done. He looked in the mirror. ''Ma could really be a professional hairstylist.'' Kiro thought to himself. His curly hair wasn''t so easy to groom, but his mum did it like it was nothing.


    In his past life, his confidence was sockluster. So much that he never groomed himself, he''d always walk downcast at the academy. Trying to keep himself lowkey. Walking for the sake of it, thinking ''let this be over already.''


    But this time, a wolf cub was born the moment he was reborn, he knew he couldn''t act less than a rich young master.

 Chapter 6: Travelling

    Chapter 6: Travelling


    Out of nowhere. The youngest, Alora tugged her older brother and said,


    "Big bro Ki, bring me a gift, something nice when youe back." With the brightest smile she said, giggling cheerfully.


    Kiro had to lie and say he''ll be back the same day, otherwise it would''ve been a war.


    Unlike Kiro who had their father''s rare deep blue eyes, that seemed to have lightning in them and curly dark brown hair, both Loki and Alora had hazel eyes and ck hair, which they took after their mother.


    On top of that, Alora was the only child in their household with freckles, which went on the bridge of her nose and right under her eyes. They weren''t much just a couple of dots. This made her cuter in everybody''s eyes.


    "A gift, like what?" Kiro asked her, he was pretty tall, so he had to get on one knee to talk to her face to face.


    She made a thinking face then said, "a flower, a rose." she giggled at her own silliness. She had only ever seen a rose in books, where they''re from it was rare for life to spring up.


    Kiro chuckled. "Okay Freckles, that''s a promise little one." She then hugged him, he squeezed her back.


    He turned to his bratty brother, "anything you want?"


    Heughed, "With what money? Save it." He said while walking out with a skateboard under his arm.


    A bulging vein could be seen at Kiro''s temple. Loki was sneering. He knew that''d piss his brother off, he did it anyway.


    ''I swear. I will p your head senseless one day.'' Kiro thought to himself and was a bit relieved he didn''t say it out loud.


    "Hey! Be safe at the park." Kiro said trying to sound nonchnt. The lower district was extremely dangerous and with the dense poption, it was easy to disappear without a trace.


    "Of course." His bratty brother smirked.


    ------


    Sanctauri didn''t have a lot of cars, not that the roads were unmaintained or anything, in fact beneath the asphaltid a mineral that could charge a car while its running. Cars didn''t run on fuel in this world.


    The higher-ups decided long ago that the best way to travel was by bullet train, to avoid traffic for the most part. Another was to decrease idents, which it did since not many cars were on the roads. Some rich folks used private jets. This society may not have hovering cars, but they did have hovering trains.


    Of course they still needed to be in stations, because the mineral used to make the trains hover is too dangerous for anyone who would directly be engulfed by it.


    This material was mined right outside the habitable zone of the. They nted it deep under Sanctauri, deep enough it wouldn''t cause harm to civilians, but also shallow enough that it influenced the whole country. It advanced the technology by 100 fold. The train could only hover by a few inches though.


    Thanks to the mineral, a lot of basic things like electricity, water and the Inte were free. Wherever you were, you could ess the Inte within Sanctauri as long as you have a device.


    The great catastrophe damaged a lot of things, as a result nobody alive knows the oceans, they''re outside the habitable zone and dangerous. Though reservoirs and a certain river exists within Sanctauri.


    Bullet trains were much faster than the previous ones. The technology in this time was superior after all, its speed was 1060km/h. So it would take Kiro approximately 4 hours to reach the academy. They could make them faster than this, but it was tested and deemed extremely unsafe. Better get there fast and alive, than lightning fast and in a body bag.


    The districts in Sanctauri were segregated by their societal ranks. Upper District, Middle District and Lower District. Each district had its own areas, which in total were numbered from 1 to 50.


    Upper District had 5 Areas. Area 1 to 5. It was home to all billionaires and some millionaires in the country, it was so luxurious, houses there cost hundreds of millions. The security was also tight, nobody would dare try to rob them, so there was also that.


    The poption was just 50 million. Even though they had great schools there, no school in this entire country bested Eden Academy because every District contributed to its upkeep.


    The Middle District had 15 areas, from 6 to 20. It housed most of the millionaires and those of the working ss that could afford luxury. The poption was 150 million.


    The Lower District had 30 areas. From 21 to 50. It housed the working ss and the poor who lived from pay check to pay check. The poption was 300 million.


    The rich had the absolute nerve, even though the lower district was the poorest with a poption of 300 million, and by no means a great ce to live in, it was still expected to contribute towards Eden Academy.


    Yet they set the tuition so high, that kids from the lower district could only dream of getting in. These districts can be counted as countries, therefore they have their own economies and the rich try by any means necessary to stay rich.


    Of course Kiro lived in the lower district, even it had its middle ss, those who can afford this and that, but Kiro lives in the slums, the lowest of the low. Area 50. That''s how poor his family was. His family really got the worst end of the deal. Racism may not exist in this world but ssism does.


    The poor were treated worse than animals. They were often called rats, now usually young people from Area 50 called each other rats as a term of endearment.


    Though, never let that get your guard down, nobody is your friend in Area 50. The moment they see a chink in your armour, they''ll throw you under the bus without a seconds hesitation. Just act friendly here, but don''t show any weaknesses.


    Heaving a sigh, Kiro waved his family goodbye and headed to the station. As it was the first day of autumn, he could feel a light breezebing through his hair. It felt great, peaceful.


    Now he could''ve asked his mom sandwiches for the road, but he knew if he did that, they''d have to suffer, they''d have to give him their own lunches, when they already didn''t sleep like normal people.


    Kiro smiled bitterly with great shame. He remembered how he basically screamed at them about how they expected him to get through the train ride without food in his previous life.


    ''I wish I could back in time, where that me exists, so I can beat myself senseless.''


    Stations were a walking distance, no matter where you lived. That''s the bonus of living in a technologically advanced society. Even the cheapest smartphone had great specs. Kiro''s parents decided to buy him one as he''d have to live in the academy dorm. They prompted that he call them every single day. But the little bastard won''t have time after the game starts.


    It was ironic how clean stations were even in the slums, if you got off here from another country, you''d swear Area 50 was the most advanced city, that''s until you actually step out of the station and see the buildings.


    At a distance, a guy could be noticed running desperately as if his life depended on it. He was being chased by cops. This was pretty normal drama in this Area. The stories Kiro could tell about his Area, could turn the happiest child to suicidal thoughts.


    Everything worked on phones in this society. Even banks were virtual. No money was printed physically, you just used your virtual bank to pay, for anything. That''s why Kiro could be seen scanning his phone in the ticket machines, buying a virtual train ticket.


    He had never rode a train in his entire 16 years alive. It was not really cheap. Tickets started at 200 creds. That kind of money would be enough for groceries, for a single person of course, for the whole month. That''s how expensive these damn tickets were.


    The train was truly majestic. It was an amazing sight to see. A big chunk of metal, just hovering a few inches off the ground. Not even tilting back and forth. The mineral was truly a strong force, it kept it rooted in the air.


    It was made of a very thin metal, thin but extremely strong. Another side effect of the great catastrophe. The thin metal made the train the more majestic.


    The train hovered above obsidian steel ss, there were no train tracks, just two parallel ss lines that contained a blue-like liquid.


    Kiro looked around for an emptypartment, and luckily found one. Even the train had different sses, and obviously all he could afford was the cheapest ticket, meaning no free meals for the entire way. Also meaning that withpartments you share with 5 other people.


    The middle ss in the train didn''t havepartments, just seats in rows, with TVs at the back of the seat and Head Gear. Kiro was green with envy at this little information.


    In the luxurious ss, people booked whole carriages to themselves. Unlimited food and entertainment for them. If you wanted to sleep there was afortable sofa around.


    He was not really looking forward to the academy, rich brats were a thorn on the side. He remembered in his past life, all the kids from poor families were bullied, especially him. He was told that a poor slum rat like himself, had no business having a handsome face. That''s quite literally the only reason.


    It pissed him off thinking about it, like he chose where he was born or what features he was born with. Though he suspected that they were just angry that their girlfriends at one point looked his way.


    Just as he was thinking about the bitter past, thepartment door slid open interrupting his thoughts. Kiro sighed because he really wanted to be alone. Tsk.


    A pale kid about his age walked in. His hair appeared ck at first nce but it had a hint of red. He had green eyes. He sat opposite him.


    He heaved a sigh of relief, it looked like he had been running. His breathing was ragged and uneven. For 5 minutes straight, he sat there trying to even out his breath. It was an awkward silent breathing moment for 5 minutes.


    When he finally calmed down, he reached out his scrawny, sweaty hand and nervously introduced himself.


    "I''m Misaki Hiroto, but you can call me Hiro. Please call me Hiro. I''m from Area 50¡ª" he trailed off, realising what he had just said, and mumbled "obviously."


    After a moment of what looked like he was berating himself for being a dunce, he looked at Kiro expectedly. He looked like a good kid. Kiro wondered if he was also going to the academy? But why was he so pale, was there no sun in the area he lived in? And what''s with the clearly rehearsed introduction?


    "Nice to meet you Hiro, My name is Kiro. You can call me Kiro." He shook his hand while wondering if he should say his surname, but decided he should. "Waynworth Kiro."


    He smiled as if he''d said the coolest thing he has ever heard, and said, "It''s cool that you introduce yourself by your nickname. I should try it some time."


    Kiro looked at him and shook his head, "That is my name."


    "Just Kiro?"


    "Just Kiro."


    Of course the kid, Hiro, didn''t quite believe him at all. The name didn''t sound like a name to him, at least not one he''s ever heard before.


    Kiro just looked at him and shrugged, "It''s Kiro, not short for anything. I''d show you my ID but you''re a stranger."


    His straightforwardness made Hiro embarrassed. He flushed red and said, "I believe you."

 Chapter 7: Eden Academy

    Chapter 7: Eden Academy


    Hiro sure talked a lot or tried to, because he was awkwardly trying to make conversation as if he was forcing himself to but Kiro didn''t hate it.


    The train ride wasn''t as boring as Kiro remembered, now that he hadpany he was d Hiro chose hispartment. He wanted to apologise for ever having an attitude the first time the pale scrawny kid walked in.


    He found out that Hiro was being sent off to the academy as well. He was also dirt poor. They talked for the most part. They instantly clicked and became friends. It felt like they''ve known each other for years.


    Kiro unconsciously clenched his chest. ''This isn''t a bad feeling. Not at all.'' He thought to himself.


    They even held a littlepetition about who was the poorest. Hiro divulge about his personal life, this was how much he felt like he could trust Kiro.


    He had a sister, who was two years younger than them and a little brother who was 7 years. His father was a victim of the strings of missing persons that''s been happening in the lower district. They haven''t seen him in about a year.


    Hiro had a sandwich, two slices cut in half. He even gave Kiro the other half without a second thought, which Kiro was grateful for. It was apparent to him that, everybody in the lower district, especially Area 50, was untrustworthy. But Hiro was different.


    Before they knew it, they had arrived at the middle of the three districts. Eden Academy. To say the view was beautiful would be an understatement. Completely different from his rundown previous school. It was absolutely breath taking. Luckily neither of them had a lot of luggage, in fact you could say they had none at all.


    The campus was big, it was divided into 3 parts. First year campus, second year campus, third year campus. The buildings towered, as if they were beasts ready for war. The fields for every sport imaginable were green in good condition, you could tell that they spend millions per week to keep maintenance.


    The buildings weren''t chipped like the ones in Area 50, the windows were spotless too. They were so clean, if they were big enough Kiro reckoned he''d walk right through them. Eden Academy was akin to a University in this earth, maybe that''s why the tuition was so steep.


    With their shabby, ragged clothes, they really looked out of ce. Kiro stood at 190cm, and Hiro at 188cm. They were pretty tall andnky guys, so it wasn''t hard attracting unwanted attention. Soon people around them started whispering. Only, their whispers were whispered to be heard.


    "Look at them, what are they doing here."


    "I swear, the academy is getting worse each year, epting rats like them."


    "Maybe they''re hired help."


    "They smell too. Suddenly my lunch is ruined."


    This was followed by a wave of giggles and sneers. Looking at them with the ''what are you going to do about it'' looks. It was frustrating. But Kiro didn''t wear his heart on his sleeves, he was his parents'' son after all. He didn''t die and regress just to be hurt by such trivial taunts.


    Kiro noticed that Hiro was paying too much attention to these animals. He was usually pale, but his neck up to his face were crimson, anybody who paid enough attention could feel the anger welling up inside of him. Kiro thought at any moment, he was going to explode.


    He thought it was too weird that, Hiro had little to no problem sparking a conversation with him as a stranger on the train, but all he could do when he''s supposed to be vocal was standing there looking like a red street light.


    He didn''t want to question him so he decided to turn back and usher him in.


    "Don''t worry buddy." He said, his voice as loud and unrestrained as theirs, without a care in the world, "they have nothing better to do. Gossiping is all they''re good at. Without their family money, they wouldn''t amount to anything."


    This got a lot of gasps and stares that could kill, maybe if Kiro was made of paper, he''d have shrivelled up and withered away by now. But he didn''t care much, he was not going to be bullied and stay silent. Not in this life.


    So he turned around and flipped them off. Kiro figured he was paying as much as they were, he wasn''t here on a charity schrship, he''d be damned if he caved to their need to validate their sick insecurities.


    They walked to the admin office to register this semester. Even though Hiro''s mood improved, he was still exuding a depressing air around him.


    "You must have thick skin when you''re poor like us. They have nothing better to do, we''re here trying to make our lives better, they can''t stand to see us strive for more. Maybe, afraid we will surpass them, and they''ll have nothing to feel superior about." Kiro eximed trying to fix the ruined mood.


    Hiro smiled at this, they''ve known each other for not more than 4 hours but they both felt like they have created a strong bond with each other, a brotherhood that goes far beyond just blood.


    Kiro was truly excited having a friend in this life, but he didn''t want to show it in fear of driving him away. So he lingered between the state of excitement and indifference. Little did he know, Hiro was just as excited. This was his first friend after all.


    "That''s a pretty good philosophy kid." A deep voice said behind them.


    They were both so startled and the flight instinct instantly kicked in. The man simply smiled and walked away.


    "Who the bloody hell was that?" Hiro said with a voiceced with worry.


    Kiro simply shrugged, he was as new as he was. But man did that frighten him, it triggered a lot of bad memories from his past life. Which he tried so hard to suppress. He tried to calm his pounding heart, the storm raging in his gut couldn''t be calmed though. He was simply too broken to be fixed, he thought.


    They got to the admin office, there was ady sitting at an open window. Even their offices looked like a sort of heaven, the ce was spotless. With tiles on the walls.


    "We''re here to register for the semester." Kiro said.


    "You could''ve done that on your phone." Thedy replied, not looking up even once.


    Kiro didn''t understand why she was telling them this so he simply replied with, "oh."


    But they didn''t leave, they just assumed that it was customary for them to tell new students this. They were absolutely not trying to be disrespectful.


    Thedy could feel that they were still standing there. She looked up and saw how they were dressed, in tasteless ragged clothes. Upon seeing this, ever so slightly, her nostrils red.


    Kiro noticed and screamed internally, ''I hate it here.''


    "Get in through that door, you can use theputers here. Don''t enter with your shoes."


    How rude. Both of them thought. As if they didn''t know a simple etiquette of not wearing outdoor shoes indoors.


    Even the staff were like this, it''s no wonder these rich kids were rotten to the core. They didn''t only feel power at home, they''re given the same power in ces like these. ces that were supposed to be for learning and equality.


    ''Can I hurry up and be filthy rich. For some reason, I''m less tolerant in this life time.'' Kiro thought to himself.


    They were helped to log onto the schools intr. Kiro obviously had to pretend he didn''t know anything. Which was excruciating to sit through.


    There were quite a lot of sses,


    Music, Technological Advancements, Virtual Reality Sciences, Theatre, Fashion, Architecture, Finance, Politics, Space Exploration, Archaeology etc¡­


    You had to choose only one major, and you''d study it for 2 or 3 years. Kiro had previously chose Finance, that was truly one of his biggest regrets. Because right after he graduated, a program that could do finances was introduced.


    Anyone who did finance, or was already in finance found themselves in the gutter. Literally. No professional job. Nothing. The worst thing about this society is how they invent these AIs to take over human jobs, but still have humans who barely survive starvation.


    This time, Kiro chose VR Sciences. Virtual Reality was the future. Even 10 years from now, Asgard was an iconic game. Luckily, his new friend, Hiro, also chose VR Sciences. Kiro wasn''t going say anything even if he chose finance, so ruled this out as fate. And took it as a ''make Hiro rich too'' sign. And maybe it was because he chose finance previously, that they never met.


    Kiro scanned his phones bank app on the screen, and it epted the payment. 500k creds, that was quite a lot of money. His parents had given him a million, so now he was left with next semester''s tuition.


    What''s good about this school is that, the 500k creds included food, school uniform&supplies and shelter. Otherwise, Kiro doubted his parents could really afford it, even if they didn''t sleep at all.


    Just like that, they were officially students at EA, they were given student IDs. The IDs didn''t have a photo, just a number that could be scanned all over this campus. Kiro was d for this.


    "Don''t lose these, they''re your money and means to survive at this academy. You pay your lunch with them, you pay your train tickets with them, you buy school supplies with them. Lose these and you''ll have to pay 200 creds for them to be remade, understood?" Thedy said with scorn.


    Kiro thought it was ridiculous that the student IDs weren''t virtual. I mean, it''d be harder to lose a virtual ID. Little did he know, the school only did this to limit screen time for them.


    They both simply nodded and left. They didn''t want to be in the presence of thisdy anymore. She was visibly annoyed while she was helping them, as if they weren''t going to pay tuition!

 Chapter 8: Head Gear

    Chapter 8: Head Gear


    EA was huge, housing fifteen thousand students per year and epting five thousand new students every year. The campuses had a lot of departments as well. Each student had their own dorm room. No sharing.


    Each room had its own shower. It was only one room not counting the shower room but it was spacious, a bed could be seen in the corner, a book case in front of the sofa, a student desk and a smart TV.


    Which was a device that was 5 inches long and thick, you simply pressed it and a big virtual screen appeared. You''d simply swipe left or right to change the channel and since it had a sensor there was no need to touch it.


    Each room was packed with this and because they both went to register at the same time, Hiro and Kiro became neighbours. Which they were both grateful for.


    Outside the campus grounds was the student town, simply called Student Town. On weekends, many would go there to have fun, go on dates, clubs, buy things they need or want. Ranging from snacks, clothes or tech devices.


    Kiro couldn''t believe he was here, again. But he was also grateful that it was now before the game was released. His lips curled into a smirk. He knew he''d have to use a portion of the next semester''s money to buy the head gear.


    sses still had two weeks to start. The Game had 3 days until it''sunch. The next day was a beautiful one, as if they were transported back to the July sun. First night on campus for both boys. Kiro strangely woke up early. Maybe the bed was too soft, it was toofortable. He was used to his concrete bed. This was new territory, which made him a bit restless.


    "Shouldn''t these beds be ufortable so that we don''t sleep in and miss sses? This dorm is a scam." Kiro mumbled to himself.


    After waking up, he showered, put on his clothes, went down with Hiro to breakfast.


    There was too much variety in foods. For slum rats like them, they weren''t used to this many choices. Hence they just stood there, having difficulties processing their dilemma. They had no idea what they wanted to order, so they kind of ordered each of everything.


    Kiro sighed. Rembering how he scolded Loki, but now he was doing the same thing. ''I guess siblings aren''t too different after all.''


    The staff looked at them like they were crazy. And to be honest, they were, mixing all these kinds of foods wasn''t good but it didn''t look like that bothered them at all.


    They were poor, so they wanted to take advantage of this ''order whatever you want'' style buffet, they don''t get to eat like this back home, they don''t get to eat like Kings at all.


    Eating every bit of the food made them the topic of the whispers as usual, dorms were mixed, girls and boys, so it wasn''t a surprise that there were some girls at the cafeteria, who were the main source of the whisperings.


    There were a total of 45 dorm buildings, each campus with 15 and each building housing around 330 students. That''s how big this ce was. Naturally, the scrubs sat alone. It looked like they were the only ones from the lower district in this dorm building, so naturally they had the table all to themselves.


    After breakfast, Kiro convinced Hiro to apany him to student town. He was sceptical, but he agreed in the end.


    They walked to the station just outside the campus gates, the security told them, even though the school hadn''t officially started. The curfew was 10pm, not only will you sleep outside if you''rete, you''ll also be punished severely. How strict.


    Kiro never went to student town in his past life, he didn''t have the courage of using his tuition fees as he did now, so without money to spend he never set foot there. He only ever ordered school supplies from there, and they were delivered to him.


    It took 10 minutes for the train to get to the student town. Hiro and Kiro''s mouths were open wide if it were the slums a fly would''ve surely went in. The scene was mesmerising. ''This was, isn''t this a whole city?''


    Sky scrapers, Billboards, 3D screens advertising things. They had never seen these kinds of 3D screens, the people inside of them seemed to be able to walk or jump from one screen to another. It was a beautiful illusion.


    They were just rooted there in ce, for like 2 minutes, staring at the cleanliness and beautiful architecture in awe.


    Coincidentally, the big screen was advertising the VRMMORPG Asgard Online: Fallen Heroes.


    ''Asgard, the home of gods and fallen heroes. Even fallen heroes stand up to fight, do you dare pick up your weapon?''


    This was the coolest ad they''ve ever seen. It was visually pleasing, everything here was. Hiro''s eyes started to water. Kiro wanted to tell him ''I know man, I know''


    Instead he shook him out of his stupor with the words,


    "Let''s buy head gears and y Asgard Online together."


    Hiro looked at Kiro incredulously, as if he had just spoken the most ridiculous thing and Kiro understood. He was basically telling them to court the prettiest, richest girl in this academy.


    But Kiro was adamant to be listened to, he wanted to make his case. He wanted to convince his new friend. He wanted both of them to make it out of the lower district. ''I know the future'' he thought to himself. Though he couldn''t really tell him that.


    They were poor. They had no business wanting something that cost 100k creds. They couldn''t as much as rob a bank. That was a useless endeavour. You''d think virtual banks would be easier to break into. Not in Sanctauri. The security was insanely tight. It was made to not have a single weakness, so it didn''t.


    "Are you insane? We can''t afford that. Head gear is like 100k creds, EACH." The stress he put on the ''each'' made Kiro almost feel bad for the word. Hiro wasn''t done, so he continued, "I could earn that, only in my pipe dreams. There''s just no way. No way." He added matter-of-factly.


    ''Good, at least he knows the price of the gaming gear. Meaning even though he can''t afford it, he''s been eyeing and obsessing over it. Now all I have to do is make my case sound like convincing nonsense.''


    Kiro smirked, he was definitely going to manipte him. He had to, otherwise he''d remain poor.


    "We have money for next semester, we could borrow from there and work out a n. Come on man." Kiro pleaded.


    Anybody walking by could tell Hiro was tempted by something, they could tell he was about to be scammed or something close to that. When he thought about how hard his parents worked to send him here. He was painfully dragged back to reality. His expression went from dreamy to unconvinced.


    "We can y for 5 months and if we don''te up with a n, we can always resell them for 90k creds and take a loan or work for the 10k creds. This is a sweet deal. We can always return it if it doesn''t work out." He told his friend, trying to convince him.


    Originally Kiro didn''t n on including him in this endeavour, but seeing as they''re both dirt poor. They both needed this more than anyone knows.


    Hiro looked at Kiro and licked his lips. He closed his eyes turning his back on him. He, looked up at the sky, put his pale skeletal-like finger on his pink lips, opened one eye. Making a thinking face. He then tilted his head and stared at Kiro once more.


    ''Holy sh*t, I have a pretty dramatic friend.'' Kiro thought, holding downughter.


    "Are you sure this is going to work? Well if you say so, lead the way." He said, tried as he did to hide the excitement from his voice, anybody with ears could hear it.


    Kiro was left speechless. He could only burst outughing.


    "Come on Hiro, let''s go be rich for one day."


    "Mum''s going to be pretty happy when I tell her I made a friend here. Thanks for being my friend Kiro." He said abruptly, which caught Kiro off-guard.


    Kiro shook his head, "You''re my friend too, no need for thanks."


    "Although she would beat you senseless if she found out about your idea." Hiroughed at this, he realised how easily conversations flowed with Kiro. He felt grateful he found someone he could befortable around.


    "My parents would either watch or join in."


    They chatted andughed about different scenarios Kiro would be in until they reached the VR shop.


    They entered and browsed through. There was just onedy at the counter. Unlike everybody else in this ce, she didn''t look at them like they''re the four horseman. Which both boys appreciated.


    They got the Head Gear they came for. Luckily it was 10% off. Since they had nned on spending 100k creds, they decided to even pre-order the game. So that when ites out, it would be automatically installed in their head gears.


    They checked out and thedy said, "Thank you for your patronage."


    Hiro sped his hands together and bowed and as though Kiro was hypnotised, he followed suit. Hiro looked at him like he was an idiot, Kiro gave him a ''she''s the first person here to treat us like people, let me do whatever I want'' look.


    They wanted to go back, but they couldn''t. They had to buy snacks. And the expensive kind of chocte bars, just for today they thought. ''Don''t we deserve a treat for registering sessfully?'' They thought.


    Just then, Kiro''s mother called, a video call too. If it was Kiro from the previous life, he would''ve ignored the call. Sighing deeply,


    "Hello M¡­ Family?"


    They were all talking at the same time. Some were asking why was he already breaking his promise of calling every day.


    Some were asking if he was settling in okay, Some were asking about a ck rose.


    First she wanted a rose, now it had to be ck? Kiro couldn''t help butugh at how cute she was being.


    "I''m sorry everyone, I was gonna call but registration took a long time and well I was tired after that so I had to sleep." He lied, when he realised they weren''t buying it, he quickly continued, "today I came to check out the student town, with my friend Hiro. Hiroe say Hi."


    Hiro was extremely hesitant, but he came and greeted. Now Kiro''s family''s attention was on him. ''Diversion sessful.'' Kiro thought with a smirk.


    They asked him a lot of questions, turns out Hiro lived 20 minutes away from where theye from and yet they have never even met, not even once. The universe was a mysterious ce.


    After promising that both of them will study hard, they ended the call.


    "Your family is great. Quite lively too."


    "You have no idea!"


    Kiro was curious about something so he asked. "That day on the train, why didn''t you ride at your station?"


    "Woke upte," Heughed at how idiotic he was. He was so used to the rm that he could sleep through it. "I had to run from my station to yours."


    Kiro wanted this to be a serious moment because they wouldn''t have met if the train left him. But his guts twisted, as he wasughing hard.


    "So," He said, in-betweenughs, "do I have to wake you up every morning?"


    "I''d appreciate it." He said with the biggest grin.


    Kiro shook his head as they entered the candy shop. They walked to the most luxurious looking section, the most expensive chocte bar they had was 20k creds. They almost choked on their saliva. What the actual hell? Their egos were deted right then and there.


    At the end they went to the cheapest snacks, bought plenty too, all kinds for 100 creds. 2 hours had passed, the day was still young they could stay for a few hours longer but they decided to leave student town. If they stayed, they''d end up using all of this tuition.

 Chapter 9: Release Day

    Chapter 9: Release Day


    They got through the school gate just fine by scanning their student IDs. Though at their appearance the guard''s faces soured. It looked like even the person with the lowest power thought of themselves as the king of their small world. It could''ve been the fact that they looked unhealthily thin or their ragged clothes.


    Unfortunately for them, the whispers and stares would never stop, they''ll always be about something or another, the only way to get rid of them was money. Fame and Money. That''s just how this society operated, it was quite saddening.


    "Do you want to run here every day? Morning and Noon. To keep our bodies in shape?" Kiro suddenly asked Hiro.


    Hiro looked sceptical, he didn''t like exercising at all. He deemed it a waste of energy. If only he knew, the academy forced students to at least take one physical extracurricr. Apart from Phys Ed. They required a person to y at least one sport. Right now they looked like immature men, Kiro wanted them to have some fat and muscle.


    "We don''t exactly look that sharp. You do know that ying sport is required here?"


    Hiro flinched at this. He thought of many different ways in which he could skip out on sports and everything. Though he did like some he wasn''t much a fan of ying, he retired beforeing to the academy. Realising he couldn''t see a possible way out, he finally gave in.


    "Fine, fine, fine. We will do it your way. I do want the whispers to stop. I don''t have thick skin like you do."


    It was settled around 3pm that day, 2 boys could be seen at the track field running like their lives depended on it. One lookedzy and unmotivated at first but soon picked up his pace to properly work out. It was a sight to see, as the sun set, they were both engulfed in a beautiful orange hue.


    Little did they know, someone was watching them. Someone beautiful, pale with red hair. Their green eyes transfixed on one of the boys.


    After the exercise, Kiro felt so good about himself and his body felt somehow light.


    ''I think I''lly off snacks for a while.'' He gave himself a mental note.


    It was already dark when they walked off the field. It was around 6pm, supper was strictly eaten at 6:30pm, they quickly went to shower then went down to eat.


    The cafeteria was noisy as usual, Hiro and Kiro sat at their table. It was their table now because nobody dared to seat where slum rats had seated. Even after a good exercise they were tempted to buy all sorts of unhealthy foods but since they''vemitted to training their bodies, they bought a nutritious meal. Kiro gave themselves a mental pat on the back for this.


    Just then in the middle of their meal, a girl sat at their table right after they did. She had red back length hair, green eyes and skin paler than Hiro''s. She was the most beautiful girl Kiro had ever seen, he just knew that wherever this girl walked people turned and followed her with their eyes.


    Kiro was visibly shocked, he never once thought anybody would match his friend''s pale skin. She had headphones on, they both dismissed her ignorance on the noise cancelling headphones. She must have no idea where she is sitting, right?


    As if she had felt the gaze of both boys, she looked up, and caught them staring with an amused look on another boy''s face, while the other just looked shocked. She frowned but didn''t say anything, she went back to reading whatever she was reading.


    ''Girls are scary.''


    Her face flushed, but none of the two boys noticed this, as they immediately wolfed down their supper, they were extremely famished from the workout.


    Her sitting there caused quite themotion. Most of the cafeteria looked at the table that was gued by vermin, whispers again, pointing and all sorts of things were said.


    "Why''s she sitting there."


    "She''s a Silva, has she no dignity."


    "If she were my child, I''d disown her so fast she wouldn''t know what hit her."


    "Good thing she''s not your child then." said one girl, who had caramel-like skin.


    Kiro couldn''t help but look back because the voice that defended them came closer than he anticipated, he saw her, she was sitting right behind them.


    ''I suppose not all rich kids are the same?'' Kiro questioned the life he had lived in his previous life. Nobody ever stood up for him then, was it because of the different course he took this time around?


    The girl seated opposite them didn''t seem to have heard the conversation. If she did hear them, she chose to ignore them. She gave Kiro that kind of vibe, the vibe that she did whatever she wanted. Societal standards be damned.


    ''I don''t hate it. For a rich snot nosed brat, it''s not bad at all.'' Kiro thought to himself.


    Rich people made a lot of time for trivial things, they''re always worried about nonsense. Such as their appearance. They wouldn''t survive a day in the slums, it''s survival of the strongest there, not richest. At least this pale girl sitting opposite them had a spine, it seemed she did whatever she liked not caring what others think. Not bad at all.


    Just like that, 3 days had passed. The table incident had not been forgotten because the girl sat there every time now, without even saying anything.


    In these 3 days they hadn''t missed a day of exercise, they could run 20 kilometres now, and lift 20kgs worth of weights. It wasn''t bad at all. For evolved humans, this was neither good nor bad. But it had been 3 days, it was still impressive.


    The gameunched, as they preordered it, it was automatically added to their gaming gear and they immediately dived in. The first thing that appeared was thepany logo the earth of old, the one that had all 7 continents, how daring. It was done beautifully though, along with the abbreviation "DG" which was thepany name, Divine Gaming.


    It was strange, but thepany didn''t exist before releasing this particr game. Yet the game took the world by storm.


    There was only one rule here in Asgard, you cannot alter your appearance. The race you choose may alter the ears, the eyes or height but beyond that, your avatar looks like the you in real life, that''s why you could only y humanoid characters, which many thought was a scam.


    Many wanted to game anonymously, so that they could cause all kinds of havoc in-game. But now everybody would think twice about doing something. While facial recognition wasn''t readily avable to the public, with enough money anybody could ess it.


    The only thing you could customise were the clothes, or the style of the hair. Otherwise nothing changes. Before the system could say anything, He skipped everything about character customisation.


    Then almost immediately, a change of scenery which became a nk white room. He waited for a while, but nothing happened. He realised he had all his goods out, which was embarrassing.


    "Hello?" His voice echoed. ''Tasteless.''


    [Not so loud...]


    A voice said, looking around, he couldn''t see where it came from. In his past life he started watching the game after the academy, so he had no idea about this part. But it sounded to him like the system was sassy.


    "Tsk."


    [Noob, wee to Asgard Online. Where only the gutsy reign supreme. If you want to leave behind your weak husk, choose a race.]


    Kiro knew this was just part of the code, it was just doing what it was designed to do but somehow it got under his skin. This reminded him of the real world, didn''t he get into this game to escape the real world?


    [If you don''t like it, log out. Anyway, here are the 4 races that reside in Asgard.]


    ''Can it read my mind?''


    Elves (Archery and Priest sses)


    Humans (Knight, Warrior, Assassin and Mage sses)


    Dreki (Sagehood, Swordsmanship and Necromancy sses)


    Dwarves (Craftsmanship and Guardianship sses)


    Elves were fair skinned with their pointed ears. Humans were, well, humans. Dreki were descendants of dragons and something else that the game made very unclear, their ears were less pointy than the elves but they were nheless. Dwarves were short, ill-tempered and bearded whether young or old.


    Elves were great at magic to the point of being able to contract spirits, even their archers incorporated magic into their archery. Humans were brutes that advocated for strength and hardwork above all. Dreki were well-rounded and bnced. Dwarves were great at crafting, even so, their sturdy bodies made them great for tanking.


    There were also subsses but they were all greyed out. You only received a subss in-game, from a quest if you''re lucky. It was rare for people to trigger a quest for a subss, so it was a long shot.


    Kiro had an abundance of knowledge of these sses and races. So he noticed right away that, Dreki never existed in his past life. This was an entirely new race. Now he was worried, didn''t he go back in time? Was he in an alternative world? What else had changed?


    Though he could recognise all the sses. It still worried him that something had deviated from the original plot. What if, everything wasn''t the same about the game? He took a deep breath, and looked through the races. Originally he was going to pick human, but since sagehood was now under Dreki...


    It was a dilemma, for him. He wanted so bad to choose human, but sagehood ss was way too interesting so he chose his race. Dreki.


    [Atst. Thank you for picking Dreki, you''re the first to choose it, I was worried. Now you can only pick from the 3 sses under the Dreki race.]


    He ignored the system and selected sagehood. He didn''t even look at necromancy, as much as he''d never admit it but the ss creeped him out. The swords were too crude for his liking. He liked being a sage because it meant using a staff and martial arts.


    Ding!


    [Noob, please choose your in-game name with haste.]


    He pondered for a bit. ''Should I use Ki? Or just Waynworth?'' It took him 5 minutes to make a choice only to choose Kiro at the end.


    [Hold, while we upload your avatar to the cloud, you''ll be transported shortly to Beginners Vige. Don''t die too much.]


    "F*ck off, holy sh*t. are you self-aware or something? you''re annoying." Kiro blurted out.


    The system just made a "Hmm" sound. Kiro continued his rant, calling the system with every name he''d learned living in the slums. Names, if his mother heard, would immediately wash his mouth with soap.


    The cloud storage wasmon amongst many games, so then even when you lose your hard drive, even your game characters are safe. Thats just how important VR gaming was in this society. Nobody loves losing their progress.


    Before he knew it, he was enveloped by a blue light, the body glitched and disintegrated into particles and poof, he was gone.

 Chapter 10: Beginners Village

    Chapter 10: Beginner''s Vige


    The streets were bustling. The mood festive, the different food aromas would actually make anybody''s stomach growl. Virtual or not. Street stalls selling all sorts of things, hagglers bargaining for prices.


    Children were running around ying all sorts of mundane games. This seemed like any busy street in a suburban area.


    Then without warning. Kiro appeared abruptly in the middle of the street. He was absolutely naked in that white room so he instinctively hid his goods. When he noticed he was now fully clothed he was relieved. Nobody batted an eye at his sudden appearance, which was a reminder that this was a game and they were all NPCs.


    The weather was beautiful, the air softly brushed through Kiro''s hair and skin. ''Isn''t this just a bit too realistic?'' He thought to himself. He was in tattered cloth armour for beginners, he had no weapon. Which was strange because, he should at least get a beginners staff.


    He was sure other sses got something. "System, where''s my weapon?"


    Ding!


    [You need to buy one. sses like archery, mages and sagehood only get armour at the beginning.]


    Kiro noticed that it wasn''t the same voice as before. He was d that, that rude thing was only at the character creation stage.


    Kiro tested the reactions for this game and head gear, he sent amand to his brain to clench his fists, and it worked. He jumped, spun around, yelled. Okay, everything worked almost as it would in real life. There was a second''sg, but it was so trivial it was barely noticeable. Kiro was too excited! Theck of a weapon was now something he pushed at the back of his mind.


    This was his first time ever ying this game, and he was already obsessed. The interface was not user friendly at all, as he wanted to add Hiro but couldn''t find anything suggesting how to do that.


    "System, how do I search for someone in-game?" He said, trying his luck.


    [Who do you want to search for?]


    The voice replied, in his head instead of out there, like how the world voice would. Which caused him to jump and look around. When he realised what it was, he sighed.


    "Hiro" He said simply.


    [Found, do you wish to add the Dwarf Hiro to your friends list?"]


    ''He chose the Dwarven race? I was so sure he''d pick an Elf. But its not a bad idea, although Dwarves can''t fight that well they are sturdy tanks. I''ll be the damage dealer and he''ll be a tank, all we need is a priest for healing and our party will reign supreme.'' Kiro was already so far in the future he didn''t consider anything else.


    More than this, Dwarves were craftsmen. He''d craft weapons and armour. Alchemy was also part of the deal, for potions and everything. He could sell these.


    ''He''ll sell weapons and I''ll sell information. We''re gonna be rich. Hahaha'' Kiro thought to himself, delighted. He had forgotten all about the setback, of possibly being in an alternate world.


    "Yes Please!" He answered the system.


    ------


    On the other side of town. A dwarf could be seen walking around with his mouth agape, walking aimlessly. He was taking in the view and the realism of it all. He couldn''t believe how amazing this was. It was enough to qualify it as a second world!


    ''I wonder why Kiro isn''t done yet with his character creation. This thing was pretty straight forward, I never took him for a slow learner.'' Hiro thought to himself.


    "Well, the system did try to argue with me about choosing a dwarf. Maybe he''s in the same situation." He mumbled.


    He then decided to go to a beginner''s training ground. This may be his first time in a game but even he knew that there should be something to get beginner''s stronger.


    LET THE JOURNEY OF ME BEING A GOD OF CRAFTSMANSHIP BEGIN. He shouted internally.


    "But how to get to the beginner''s training ground? Why did they make this damn interface so hard to navigate anyway!"


    "Map! I need a map!" He yelled not expecting anything to happen. But the map for the whole kingdom sprung up, the parts outside beginner''s vige were greyed out. He then asked for a more specific ce, it showed him where the grounds were.


    He cursed himself for saying the system was hard to navigate. Yellingmands was pretty convenient in anything really.


    Just as he was about to enter the training grounds, the system announced a new notification.


    [The Dreki, Kiro wishes to be friends with you, do you ept?"]


    Finally, "yes!"


    Soon after Hiro received a call, "where are you?"


    "I''m about to enter the beginner''s training ground."


    "No, don''t go in yet. Go to the smithy and poach some quests. Once we''re level 5 we''ll be eligible to enter the D ranked Labyrinth. These are only avable in beginner vige."


    The call disconnected before Hiro could ask him anything. He deeply sighed, and decided to trust his friend. He looked up on the map where the smithy was, it was on the edge of the vige, just where he''d been. He mumbled a curse.


    There were no transports in Asgard, you either have a travelling skill that takes you from one ce to another, a return crystal which are extremely rare or you walk. So that''s what he did, he walked. Navigating through the busy streets, getting hungry at the smell and sight of virtual food. Too bad he didn''t have money.


    He finally arrived at the smithy. The shop wasn''t at all impressive he didn''t have any hopes that he''d get any stronger here.


    He knocked gently on the door, "Hello?"


    A voice growled from the inside, as if to saye in. Hiro however didn''t catch that, he didn''t catch what the voice had said, so he knocked again. The door flung open, a dwarf was standing on the other side. Already looking annoyed.


    "Of course it''s my kin, do you have wax in your ears greenhorn?" The man growled. He was as short as Hiro was, his beard was long and red, he was bald!


    Hiro just stood there, extremely surprised how real it all felt. For a second he forgot this was a game, he shook himself out of his stupor.


    "Please take me as an apprentice. I want to learn craftsmanship." He said so abruptly that the dwarf was shocked in turn.


    The old dwarf snorted and turned around, at least he didn''t shut the door in his face. That was good sign. He went inside, the ce was really quite small, it was dingy and hot. It was hard to even breathe.


    ------


    Kiro went to the other side, to the vige chief. When he got there, the chief had a worried expression on his face.


    "Hello Chief, what can I do to ease up your worries?"


    The chief looked at him. He didn''t believe the kid could be of any help. He thought the kid was weak, but he was a hero chosen by the gods, surely there was something special about him.


    "Kid, this old man''s worries are beyond your reach."


    ying hard to get then? "This kid may look weak, but he is skilled. It would be a shame to not use a hero sent by the gods themselves."


    The chief gave him a second nce, he sighed and started, "the vige has been gued and terrorised by mountain ducks. We''ve prayed to the gods and they''ve sent you, the hero. Please kill them all and make my vige a ce where fear doesn''t exist anymore." the chief said solemnly.


    Ding!


    [Mountain Duck Quest: the chief has entrusted you with the security of his vige. Kill a 100 mountain ducks and make the vige safe again and you''ll be rewarded handsomely.


    Ranked: F


    Failure: your rtionship with all NPCs in power will reach a negative number


    Do you ept?]


    "I ept. I''ll do my best chief, rest assured." Kiro said.


    He walked out, he knew he couldn''t just go out there in the field, he didn''t have a weapon. He hadn''t learned a single martial arts skill, so he was more of a sitting duck than the mountain ducks. He decided to first weigh his options, he was d that, the quest didn''t have a timer.


    "Status Window"


    Name: Kiro


    Level 1


    Race: Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: -


    HP: 50/50


    MP: 50/50


    Attack: 30


    PDEF: 20


    Strength: 5


    Vitality: 5


    Dexterity: 5


    Stamina: 5


    Intelligence: 5


    Equipment: tattered cloth armour.


    Skills


    Staff Wielder


    With a staff you can do things many can''t. The skill gives you 20% more damage.


    Sages started with 5 on all attributes since they''re all about bnce. Other sses depended on what they excelled at. Every level up gave 10 AP (attribute points) and 5 SP (skill points) on the first quest. After that, every level up gives out 3 points.


    ''Then, shall we go around fishing for quests in that busy street?'' That was his n to earn money and gain strength. He needed either one, if he got both, even better!


    Every NPC could give out quests. It could be to fetch them some water or anything trivial like that, you just needed to know how to talk to them.

 Chapter 11: Trivial Quests

    Chapter 11: Trivial Quests


    Kiro left the vige promising the chief to get the job done, he left for the market. It was fully packed, shops, stalls not just for food, for medicine and herbs too.


    There were also street performers. People who danced with tamed beasts, young men ying dice, an artist offering to paint you in 2 minutes for a gold coin. He found himself d he didn''t have any money, because these merchants were pretty convincing. Various people could be seen buying things they didn''t even need.


    He continued to walk in-between the shops and stalls and everything else. To an outsider it looked as if he was walking aimlessly. But this was a strategy to trigger a herb collecting quest. Which would raise his favour of the NPCs, making a few give him more quests.


    Though it wasn''t easy triggering this. As you''d have to wander around the market for about 2 hours, looking interested in the things they''re selling. Most yers would look around for an hour at most and leave.


    Finally, something happened after 2 hours. It had been a long, rigorous 2 hours. It even raised his stamina by 0.2% from all the walking around.


    "Young man, you seem famished, I have all kinds of foods here for lower prices of course."


    Kiro smiled, caressing the back of his head. "Haha, I don''t have any money Miss. I''m walking around here looking for ''odd jobs''." His smile turned into a grin, those were the trigger words for the quest.


    "Well, if it''s odd jobs you want, I''ve plenty. But you look so scrawny and unreliable. I don''t think you can handle it."


    "How can a hero sent by the gods be judged by appearance." He said nonchntly, the woman was shocked. He attempted an awkward smile, but when the shock didn''t leave her face he continued, "Rest assured Miss, I''m more than capable."


    "Alright, alright. I need these herbs right here. Collecting them is a hassle, the field is infested with low level monsters."


    Ding!


    [You''ve been given a quest to collect herbs at the nearest field where the lowest of monsters live. Note that this won''t count as your first quest, as you''ve already epted one. So the rewards will be as though you''ve already done your first one, if you choose to ept.]


    "I ept." Kiro said taking the piece of paper and bag for herbs from the woman, he left immediately.


    He never bothered to watch this quest in his past life, so he had no idea what kind of monsters to expect. He got bored watching it because 2 hours of watching someone doing nothing but walk was not it.


    There wasn''t a single person, which was understandable since its been mere minutes the game released. Kiro practically ran to the field, when he got there he saw plenty of herbs but no monsters. He shrugged, "My luck I guess."


    Picking herbs wasn''t hard, you just needed to be extra careful as to not take out the root or ruin the stem. You had to cut it perfectly at the bottom of the stem. Kiro was crouched down, picking them one by one, even humming.


    He made the mistake of plucking one herb from the root. The minute he did, liquid flew into his eye as if the flower had spat. It burnt horribly, he threw herb far away.


    Ding!


    [You''ve been contaminated by the paprika spit. Your speed will be greatly reduced for 30 minutes.]


    "F*ck! Talk about being careless."


    Just as he was nursing his very red eye, he felt a cloud over his head. It was a rtively sunny day, so when the shadow blocked the sun he noticed. When he looked back, a bee about the size of his head was staring him down. "Kyaa." He instinctively fell back, but toote. As the bee jabbed its sting, andnded on his face.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered and are being attacked by a Bumblebee. It''s a low level monster with 30 HP, it''s stinger can be deadly. They usually roam in groups.]


    It missed his eye by an inch. He couldn''t pay attention to the system message as he was busy dodging. The bumblebee was faster, he only dodged 1 out 5 attacks. "Holy hell, what the actual hell!" The bee was unrelenting, as it stung him in various ces.


    He finally got fed up from being bullied by a damn bee, and closed in throwing a punch, but the bee was smarter for a low level monster. As it just put its stinger on the way.


    Kiro was infuriated. He didn''t even have a weapon. He decided to retreat for now. It was lucky that low level monsters can only inflict 1 damage, otherwise, he''d have died, his HP sat at 30 now.


    "Great job man, being pushed back by a bee, real ss act." He berated himself. He was so embarrassed but d at the same time, because there weren''t yers nearby. So nobody saw this embarrassing moment.


    Though his face was a lot swollen. He happened to have a herb to help tone down the swelling in his person. He felt like this was a joke by the devs, why would he be tasked to collect herbs to be stung, only to use the very herbs he was on a mission to collect?


    There was a river on the other side, so he walked there. Looked for two rocks, got a bit of water and started grinding the herbs to make the medicine.


    The river looked deep and serene, but there was something eerily ufortable about it. Which made him grind faster so he could get out of there.


    Ding!


    [Your grinding is impable. Maybe you''ll get a herbalist subss!]


    "Don''t you dare give me something so useless."


    Even though he said this, he knew the subss wasn''t useless. He just didn''t want it. Herbalists are a lower level version of alchemists, if he wanted a ss, he wanted the best not a lower version of something.


    He started applying the medicine on his face and various parts of his body. 5 minutester he was alright, the swelling had gone down. Then he heard a sshing from the river, when he looked, nothing was there. There weren''t any ripples either, he hastened out of there.


    "I definitely need a weapon, I can''t fight those bees without one. The system did say they hunt in packs right? I was lucky there was only one that time..." he was talking to himself as he went.


    Then he had an idea. He found a sturdy tree and climbed it, he started cutting, with the knife for picking herbs, he started cutting a branch that was long and thick and to his liking. That''s right, he was making his very own staff. He didn''t just stop there, he mutted the tree, taking chunks of its bark.


    He reckoned if the tree could talk, it wouldin and curse him with every disgusting name in existence.


    He sat cross legged below the tree and started shaping his staff. When he was satisfied with the results he tried it.


    He practiced swinging and since he was a sage he at least knew basic moves. He swung and speared the air.


    Ding!


    [Or maybe your subss will be craftsmanship, you sure are good with your hands yer. Congrattions on creating your own staff, something no one has ever done as a noob. The achievement will be recorded in the hall of fame. Congrattions once again, for creating an umon staff.]


    Umon weapon? That was insane. Every beginner started with amon weapon and here he was with a wooden stick, that ranked higher! His luck may be bad, but it wasn''t heavenly defying bad.


    Kiro continued to swing, getting used to the weapon. It felt, right. He could finally use the staff wielder skill. But he wasn''t done yet. He took the bark, and started crafting a mask. He had enough of being stung in the face. Then he crafted shin, elbow and shoulder guards. They didn''t look like much, but it was an okay defense.


    Now, he was ready for war, more or less. It was hard walking with his armour, but he made it work. He knew his movements would be heavily restricted, so he''d have to depend on his eyes and reaction speed.


    He somehow made it to the garden of herbs. He started picking them off, ording to the list he was given and cing them in the little pouch he was given. It was hard doing all this with his man-made armour but better this than getting stung again. Then he heard the hum, when he looked, right there at the horizon an army of bumblebees could be seen.


    He gulped. They were the size of his head, how will he fair? "Come at me you sons''a bitches!" He shouted his warcry, and without hesitation they dipped down to attack him.


    Two wereing right for him, but unlike before he was ready. He swung his staff as hard as he could and flung his guarded arm at another bee, they fell at the same time.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on killing a bumblebee for the first time, you gain experience.]


    "One shot, one kill?" Kiro wore a crazed smile on his face, he couldn''t move all that well but this made him happy. They were low level monsters after all.


    He ran forwards, and picked off the bees one by one. Some prated the tree barks, some were lucky and got his skin. But at least this time he was able to kill. It was him who was relentless this time, before he knew it he had taken them all down.


    Just as he was about to take a breather, a notification rung.


    Ding!


    [You''re being attacked by sonic rats. They''re little creatures that live underground, you''ve disturbed their peace so they''re showing their frustration]


    Kiro couldn''t see where or what the attack was. "Can''t this damn game be normal? you didn''t even give me time to rest. Now I have to fight invisible foes?"


    Just as he wasining, something shot out of the ground, and hit him straight in the face. He may had a mask on, but that was tree bark, the impact hurt him, it didn''t protect him at all.


    Like a meteor shower, many of them shot out of the ground, some missing, some hitting their mark. Kiro was simply too slow for them. He took off the mask, and guards. He felt 10 times lighter.


    "Then, let''s try this again, shall we?"

 Chapter 12: Trivial Quests, II

    Chapter 12: Trivial Quests, II


    The sonic rats were fast but he was definitely faster. Luckily they were punchable unlike the bumblebees. They screamed a strange sound. He supposed that''s why they had sonic in their name. It was meant to stun whoever it hit but Kiro simply dodged. He reckoned if they were high level monsters, their sonic attacks would''ve been detrimental.


    But he was having a good training here, hitting the sonic rats like a baseball. And like the bumblebees, it was one shot, one kill. It was all thanks to his staff wielder skill, as it gave him an edge, 20% damage.


    He felt a little bad that he was bullying the weak, but he was also weak, so he needed them to get strong. ''s little ones, be my stepping stones!'' he thought while pushing forward. Massacring every single one.


    [Congrattions on decimating sonic rats and bumblebees. You''ve levelled up. You''ve received 3 Attribute points]


    Kiro


    Level 2


    HP: 100/100


    MP 70/70


    He looked at his status window with a very satisfied expression, the fruits of hisbour. He hadn''t expected to level up, so this came as a very nice surprise.


    "Time to go back!" He said and walked back to the market, he had collected all the herbs on the list. His protective gear was left forgotten on the field, he had no use for them now that he had this staff. The chances of encountering another bumblebee or a monster like it were very slim.


    He noticed more and more yers as he went along. Everyone going for the weaker monsters to level up. He let out a big sigh of relief, imagining if they saw him the first time. He was d it was empty before.


    "I''m back Miss and here are your goods, as promised!" He said cheerfully.


    "Oh, young man, you may look unreliable but you sure do know your business."


    [Congrattions onpleting the quest. You''re rewarded with EXP, 5 gold coins and a meal. Enjoy.]


    ''A meal? what is it talki...''


    "Here you go, I''ve packed you a meal. You must be very tired, eat up." She had a very motherly aura about her.


    He took the meal, and ate it, sceptical of what might be in it. Surprisingly, it gave him an increase by 1 on all his stats.


    Whoa. "Miss, do you sell these meals?"


    "It''s a one of a kind, it can''t be replicated. Go to the equipment''s shop, the owner there will want some help."


    Kiro thanked and bade her farewell. This low level quest truly was worth it. He not only levelled up, but he also got a rise on his attributes. The embarrassment he suffered was well, worth it now. He walked into the equipment''s shop a little chirpy.


    The door bell rang as soon as he opened the door. The owner looked up, and his smile broadened.


    "You must be the youngd Rosa talked about. Pleasee on in."


    "Thank you, Mister?"


    "Harrison. I need you for this work."


    "I''ll do anything just name it."


    "As Rosa said, you''re resilient and hardworking. I''ll need you to clean up some equipment in the shop."


    ''ANYTHING BUT THAT...'' He screamed internally.


    He wanted to fight monsters. They were good practice, he had just gotten the hang of it. He didn''t want to sit here, for however long, polishing equipment for customers.


    As much as he hated it, he put on an awkward smile for Mr. Harrison, he didn''t want him to recognise the disappointment. This was a quest after all, it must have rewards, no matter how mundane.


    Though it didn''t seem like the old man would have noticed. He was too ecstatic. Kiro shuffled his feet to the back following the old man, the room was full of rusty and dirty equipment, all waiting for him no doubt. He sighed and sat down to get started.


    There were a lot of weapons and equipment. From rusted swords to dusty bows. Chipped armour that would need a smithy to fix, Kiro was no expert, so all he could manage was get the dust and rust off.


    With weapons, such as swords, spears and arrows, he used a rock to sharpen them, thereby removing the rust. It was a shame a staff was nowhere to be seen amongst the weapons. He was starting to think this game had it in for him. Why was anything rted to sagehood so damn difficult?


    -------


    Hiro was extremely nervous. Seeing the smithy, he knew just how good and experienced the person in front of him was. Although they were the same height, in skill the chasm couldn''t be closed even after a few years.


    "Want to be my apprentice do you, you think I just take in any greenhorn that walks in my shop? do you think you''re worthy?" His voice was cold and uncaring.


    "I''m worthy." Albeit nervous, Hiro said without a moments hesitation.


    "Good. At least you didn''t hesitate. I''d have thrown you out if you had. Craftsmanship requires a mind that''s as stubborn and sturdy as the ground you stand on. A hint of hesitation is a great weakness."


    "Yes master."


    "Look at you, so quick and obedient." Heughed heartily as if he wasn''t the cold grouch he met a second ago. "Well kid, you can watch me for now, I''ll give you a hammer shortly."


    He started, making a shield. He was pounding nonstop. The me was being controlled at a very steady pace, he knew when it needed a little more or a little less and adjusted ordingly. To Hiro, that was something he saw as a miracle, a mountain to climb if you will. He didn''t even have a fire skill yet.


    ''How does he do that with the fire. How does he pound so quickly at a steady, even pace. He must''ve pounded the iron hundreds of times yet his pace hasn''t slowed or quickened.'' Hiro was watching attentively but he couldn''t understand anything.


    ''It''s like, he''s one with the iron his pounding. He knows exactly what it needs and when.''


    After a while, the shield was beginning to take shape. It looked so majestic even though it was yet to be finished, which spoke more of the dwarf''s skills.


    "Wow, master is so great!" Hiro meant it, it was truly astounding.


    "Then, what did you learn from watching the greatest to ever do it?"


    "Well, that..." He trailed off, he hadn''t learned a thing! There''s no way he expects him to be able to learn like this right? right?


    "Tsk. You''re a slow one then."


    "I''m not amazing, but I work hard, so I''ll need master to exin things to me."


    The dwarf looked long and hard at him. "You''ll have to subdue and tame mes in order to be a true craftsman."


    "How?"


    "Well, you''ll know. Work the iron. Here''s your hammer."


    Hiro was dumbfounded. He had heard that geniuses were crap teachers. But he never expected it to this extent. At this rate, he''ll never tame the me, he''ll never be a true craftsman, all because of a bad teacher!


    He shook off his inner turmoil. A hammer on his hand he started hammering the iron, mercilessly, as though taking out all of his frustrations.


    "That''s not how you caress iron. You need to be gentle yet rough. You''re only rough!"


    "Well then tell me how to!?"


    He had been doing this for a few hours now, his arms were about to give out and his so-called master wasn''t helping at all. Instead of teaching him what''s right to do, he just pointed out what he did wrong. Which made them bicker.


    Both master and student were stubborn as mule. Hiro may be the quiet type, but he''s also the kind that doesn''t take well to bullsh*t. When he''s had enough, he has no troubles at all expressing his grievances.


    Hiro wasn''t scared of him anymore. He was too fed-up to care, so he expressed his frustrations right back. The old dwarf didn''t seem to mind his attitude either. He just kept fanneling the me that was Hiro''s obviousck of patience.


    ------


    Kiro wasn''t fairing any better. No matter how much he cleaned them, they didn''t seem to lessen. He was starting to suspect that the owner secretly put more equipment as he cleaned along.


    He dusted, polished and sharpened for a few days without rest. He worked so hard that his stats were increasing.


    Ding!


    [Janitor for subss!]


    "Is there no way to turn you off? I''ve never heard of the system acting like this before. You''re starting to creep me out."


    The system made snarky remarks, now and then, but then wouldn''t reply back when Kiro shot back. He shook his head and made a mental note to ignore this in the future. He wouldn''t bicker with a system, he was saner than that.


    Ding!


    [Pfft...]


    A vein popped at Kiro''s temple. He promised himself that he''d definitely report this to the devs. There''s no way this was legal. Right?


    He was finally grinding on the stone his final weapon. A spear. It looked ancient but it felt powerful. It was too bad he couldn''t brandish a spear, he would most likely ask the shop owner for this one.


    "You''ve worked tirelessly, thank you. Thanks to you, my business will continue as usual, I won''t have to close."


    "Mm. Its a pleasure Mr. Harrison. I hope we meet again." NOT. DEFINITELY NOT.


    "Great young man, I don''t have much to give you."


    Ding!


    [Congrattions onpleting the quest. You''ve received EXP and 100 gold coins.]


    ''Guess that''ll be it for the rewards.''


    "This is something I acquired long ago. I have no use for it, take it."


    It was a dirty tattered book. When he took a closer look, it was an actual skill book.


    Ding!


    [You''ve acquired the ''Hurricane Punch'' skill book.]


    ''Hurricane Punch? Cringe.''


    "Thank you Mister."


    After that, Kiro was thrown at NPC after NPC for mundane quests. One woman lost her beast pet, another requested to buy her groceries at the market, another requested their child be apanied to school.


    Kiro did them all, withoutint as they weren''t that hard for him. He levelled up to level 3. His stats reached 7. His HP reached 150 and MP 100. He also had 6 AP to spare.


    It was finally time to kill some mountain ducks!

 Chapter 13: Hunting Duck

    Chapter 13: Hunting Duck


    With all the quests, he had about 500 gold coins on his person. He was like a child, walking merrily. He''d find himself skipping at times, and would stop himself.


    Before he could go to hunt some ducks, he went to have some armour and boots tailored. He walked into the shop, it was by far, the cleanest shop he''s been in.


    "Wee treasured customer, what can I do you for?"


    "I need cloth armour and boots tailored."


    "Rank of the armour?"


    "How much would be rare?"


    "800 coins."


    Kiro gulped, so expensive. What the hell?


    "Then, what about umon?"


    "300."


    "I feel like you''re scamming me."


    "The prices are on the wall." The tailor said and got back to the book he was reading, at the reaction of the customer, he just knew he wouldn''t afford anything here.


    Kiro obviously didn''t take his word for it, he went to check for himself and sure enough they were the right prices. Its not that he wanted to game frugally, he just knew that, in the near future these coins will be his real-life riches. He had to be careful spending them.


    He paid in full. With one eye opened. He couldn''t believe how expensive armour was, he couldn''t wait for Hiro to be a fully fledged craftsman. Because then, he''d make him armours for free as long as he provided materials!


    The middle aged man took his measurements.


    "You''re quite thin."


    "I''m working on it." He said through gritted teeth, irritated.


    NPCs were programmed to be able to reply in any situation. It gave the game more sense of its realism. Since Kiro was malnourished in real life, it showed in-game too.


    It took the tailor about 40 minutes to finish up. Kiro just sat there waiting, twiddling with his thumbs. The boots added 2+ dexterity. The armour added 20+ defense. They felt reallyfortable, no wonder they were 300.


    "Well thank you Mister."


    "No, thank you customer, for your patronage."


    Kiro headed straight for the field with mountain ducks. He had made them wait long enough.


    Mountain Duck


    Level 1


    HP: 50


    Kiro didn''t waste any time, he went straight to the first one. These ducks were pretty weak, maybe it was the fact that he was level 3 now but this wasn''t a satisfactory battle. These ones were solely made for noobs to level up. Weak as they were, they could somehow use their beaks as a knife. So if one wasn''t careful, they could get fatally wounded.


    -30


    -20


    -50 critical hit.


    Ding!


    [You''ve killed a mountain duck for the first time, you''re awarded EXP]


    The ducks dropped a couple of coins and it''s feathers, nothing else. He wondered what he''d do with these, so he decided to keep them.


    ''Better have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.''


    The ducks were now aware that they were under attack. Thankfully, Kiro''s weapon could be considered melee but also at the same time, it could be semi long ranged. As he could hit something that''s a few meters away without losing his weapon.


    He didn''t dare to be careless, he kept his distance. He didn''t want to be stabbed. He figured it was best to take it slow and not die, than be impatient and get mauled by a flock of ducks.


    He swayed majestically from left to right, and would hit any duck that dared to lunge at him right in the gut. He continued like this until he killed a 100 of them. The rest all ran with their tails or beaks? between their legs.


    Kiro had Levelled up 2 times. This was definitely a perk of a first quest. With 30 AP and 15 SP. He used up all his AP immediately. He added 5 for each stat. Sagehood was all about bnce. So he tried his best keep his stats bnced. After using the AP, only 5 was left. He decided to put the rest on strength.


    He quickly went back to the vige chief''s abode. He smiled brightly at his appearance.


    The chief waited expectedly without saying anything. Kiro took out the feathers and gave them to him, hesitantly.


    "Young man, not only have you grown stronger, but you''ve also managed to drive those cursed animals out of our vige. As a thank you, it''s not much but here are my gifts to you. Continue to grow strong."


    Ding!


    [You''ve received a ''Blink Step'' skill book.]


    Skill: Blink Step, a skill that could be used by many sses. Anybody who learns it will be able to blink in and out of existence.


    Rank: S


    Mana points per second: 20


    Evolvable.


    Kiro quickly consumed the skill. He regretted not using the remaining 5 points on intelligence. MP was now more important than ever because of this evolvable S ranked skill!


    "Young one you are truly skilled. Can I bother you some more?"


    "Anything Chief!"


    "We can''t fetch water anymore, there''s something wrong within the river. Can you investigate what it is?"


    Ding!


    [The chief has entrusted you with something important. Go the river, east of here and investigate the anomaly.]


    A shiver ran on Kiro''s spine when he remembered that, he had experienced something supernatural in that very river.


    "I ept." He said unwillingly.


    He arrived at the river, cautiously walking by the river bank. He noticed that the water was murky, while the river felt serene before, now it felt in chaotic.


    "Setting up a stage for my quest, I see."


    As he walked along the river he noticed that, his were the only footprints there. He concluded that the monster''sir was the river and it never leaves it, unless it could levitate.


    "Well, the mission is to investigate, not fight." He reminded himself.


    He practically forced himself to get closer, as he did, so did the horrible stench that seemed to being from the deepest parts of the river. He noticed them as he got closer, about a hundred fish floated above water, dead.


    The closer he got, the more he saw many kinds of monsters. Some weren''t even marine life forms, which ruled out the fact that it couldn''t leave itsir. Kiro had a panicked expression on his face.


    All the monsters eyes were carved out, but were left uneaten. Clearly this monster was a sadist, it enjoyed torturing.


    "It feels way too human! I won''t be susprised if this is some old human witch."


    When he noticed that the monsters that were tortured to death were either residents of aquamarine life, or they resided closer to the river. No monster from afar was there.


    He felt relief, he could always run if something abruptly turned up. Given he could outrun it that is. He had trust in his new skill, blink step. As he had 100 mana, he could use it 5 times before depleting itpletely. Though that wouldn''t be wise, since mana depletion meant aatose state.


    The further he went the murkier it got. Not just the water, the atmosphere as well. He wanted to turn tail and go back, but he couldn''tplete the quest without knowing which monster resided there. So he was basically using himself as bait.


    There was a low rumble, as if someone was blowing bubbles in the water. But when he looked nothing was there. Not a single ripple.


    All of a sudden, without warning, the river instantaneously stood 4 meters tall. Kiro gulped. Could he possibly outrun water? The river was in the shape of a serpent. The entire river was the monster. Kiro recognised it, he was baffled that a monster of such calibre was in a beginner vige.


    "HYDRO SERPENT!" He shouted instinctively. For a moment he was paralysed, with fear.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered a monster you shouldn''t have.


    Level 60


    HP 70 000


    Try your best to survive.]


    The serpent didn''t waste any time, it shot water balls at the intruder that came willingly to its territory. It liked the dumb prey even more, they wandered willingly to its abode only to be tortured.


    The attack was just inches from his face when he shook himself out of the stupor, and immediately activated blink. Blink step allowed you to travel fast, it wasn''t a teleportation technique, though to slow people it could seem like it was.


    As much as it made the user blink, it was just really fast footwork. The serpent didn''t lose to it, it chased down the intruder. It wanted to torture, it''s never tortured a humanoid before, it was excited knowing it would catch him.


    Kiro had used blink 4 times already. "Log Out!!!" He was out of options.


    Ding!


    [You can''t log out in the middle of a quest. You can always die and try again.]


    "F*ck!!!"


    He was somehow able to dodge the water attacks, but barely. He didn''t want to blink a 5th time, as that meant he would be out ofmission for a couple of hours.


    Just then, the water ball grazed his left arm and it immediately went limp.


    -50


    "Sh*t!" He immediately blinked, being out for a couple of hours was better than dying and losing some progress.


    Luckily, he was close to the forest so he blinked right behind the trees. The hydro serpent seemed to be bound in that ce, so it couldn''t chase any further than that. Frustrated, it went back empty handed.


    Kiroid there unmoving. He was still. conscious but he couldn''t move due to his mana being depleted, and as a penalty he''d beatose for 3 hours. As still as his body was, his heart was beating a thousand kilometers an hour, his blood was racing as well.


    ''What a rush! Though, let''s not do that again. Haha.''


    Ding!


    [You know, there are monsters around these parts. It''d be a sight to see, watching you get mauled, while in that defenseless state.]


    The system remarked. He wanted to tell it off, but it was right this time around. He was way too careless, now he was vulnerable to any kinds of attacks.


    Luckily 3 hours passed without incident, maybe it was because of the hydro serpent that the monsters avoided these parts.


    He slowly walked back to the vige. He was exhausted. He recounted everything to the chief about the monster, what it does and how it does it, and just what kind of monster it was.


    "Very troublesome. I''ll need to write a letter to the capital, asking for help with the subjugation."


    The Chief then rewarded Kiro two mana potions and one health potion.


    Kiro had noticed that the chief''s worries were far from over. So he didn''t leave immediately. He didn''t level up, he needed at least to be level 5.


    "Chief, is there anything else I can do? It''s no bother!"


    "Are you sure? Well, in the nearby forest, where we collect our fire wood. There are goblins who have erected a vige of their own. They kidnap or kill anybody whoes close."


    Ding!


    [You''ve triggered a tedious chain quest. Go to the goblin vige and kill them all, rescue the vigers taken hostage and you will be rewarded.


    Rank: D


    Failure: Your rtionship with the chief will decrease to a negative]


    ''Just what do you mean tedious! You made the quests!'' He remarked internally.


    "I ept, I''ll bring back the vigers!" Kiro said excitedly. Goblins were low level monsters, so this was his forte.

 Chapter 14: The Goblin Village

    Chapter 14: The Goblin Vige


    After a bit of resting as he was tired. He headed to the goblin vige. He had to be careful this time because there were hundreds of them. Strength in numbers.


    Ding!


    [You''ve entered the Forest of wonder, where beauty is unimaginable and danger lurks deep within.]


    "What a chilling message. Beautiful but dangerous." Kiro mumbled to himself.


    The forest seemed peaceful and healthy. Trees as tall as skyscrapers from the real world could be seen. Birds were singing. If you walked quietly enough, or stayed hidden, animals such as squirrels, deer, showed themselves. It was truly a beautiful sight.


    The forest made it clear that these animals were harmless. So attacking them was futile. The developers made it so that they couldn''t be killed or physically attacked by yers either. This was just their work, to show off the beauty of nature.


    Kiro decided to scout first, checking their daily routines for 2 days. The goblins hunted in the forest they set up their vige in, their vige was guarded, and they took turns to stand at every corner. Their weapons were quite shabby, they had stone spears and clubs.


    Everyday hunters would go out to hunt, others would collect fire wood, while others fetched water. Kiro found himself mesmerised by their organised society.


    He started by installing traps close enough to their vige but far enough that he wasn''t detected. He climbed a tree nearby and bided his time. He found himself hoping he had chosen the elven race because then he could have the archery ss. He would just sit here and pick them off one by one if that were the case.


    Goblins didn''t suspect a thing, they went about their day. When none of their hunters or woodcutters returned they assumed the goblins got too arrogant and went too far into the forest, only to be killed by stronger monsters. They paid it no mind, instead they''d keep sending more.


    This went on for a few days, they''d send new hunters and Kiro''s traps would spring up, he''d go down and take care of the rest that weren''t killed by traps. He had killed over 80 goblins. He was now at level 4. He used all the AP he gained on intelligence. It looked like the skills he got so far use magic points.


    He even unlocked an AOE skill called Vibrations upon reaching level 4, basically he had to hit the ground with his staff and the affected enemies would be stunned while losing HP at the same time. Stunned for 10 seconds, the cooldown was 1 minute and it used 50 MP.


    Name: Kiro


    Level 4


    Race: Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: -


    HP: 170/170


    MP: 130/130


    Attack: 50(+50)


    PDEF: 30(+20)


    Strength: 15


    Vitality: 10


    Dexterity: 10(+2)


    Stamina: 10


    Intelligence: 13


    Equipment: umon cloth armour and boots and umon staff.


    Skills


    Staff Wielder (Rank A, can''t evolve) 20% damage


    Vibrations (AOE Rank A, can evolve)


    Consumes 50MP, 1 minute cooldown


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 20MP per second.


    Hurricane Punch (Rank B, can evolve)


    Kiro looked at his character sheet with a satisfied look. After killing them, he''d set up new traps and go back to his tree.


    On the 4th day however, the goblins came out of their vige. Hundreds of them. They knew something was wrong. So they mobilised all their fighters and started marching towards the forest, Kiro knew now that he had no choice but to fight them head on.


    ------


    At a dingy little smith shop, one dwarf could be seen doing his usual, crafting weapons. While another was trying his best to be one with the fire, he had been doing this for days on end. He thought he''d get normal monster yer quests like the rest of everyone else. But¡ª


    "You''re not doing it right!"


    "You''re not teaching it right!"


    "I told you, I cannot teach you this. I can only stir you in the right direction!"


    "This is the right direction?"


    "No! You''re not getting it all. At this point you won''t be a master craftsman. This profession needs you to wield fire like it were your fifth limb."


    Initially, Hiro thought craftsmanship and alchemy were just armour, weapon and potion creation. He didn''t realise that, these two things go back way before electricity had been discovered. As the times changed, they also evolved in their own ways.


    Unless he grasped the concept, he''d have to just quit and be your run-of-the-mill craftsman. He didn''t want that at all, he hadn''t levelled up once since he got here. He hadn''t cleared the first quest the old dwarf gave him.


    His master wasn''t at all that good at teaching. So they bickered a lot, while Hiro used him of being a bad teacher, and the dwarf, Rufian, would use Hiro of being a slow witted student.


    He sat there again, and tried to listen and be ''one'' with the fire. The fire seemed to resonate with him more when he felt passionate, he did feel passionate about craftsmanship that''s why he chose VR science in real life. To create VR hardware one day. To be the greatest engineer in Sanctauri.


    The old dwarf''s lips curled into a smile. He felt pride he had never felt before. This is a person who had crafted thousands of legendary items, but he had never felt this proud in his life.


    This was his first student after all. He almost teared up. The young dwarf was enveloped in fire, but he wasn''t getting burnt. ''That''s right. That''s how you do it. You breathe together with it!''


    Ding!


    [Congrattions you''ve attained a skill, fire maniption.]


    [Fire attacks will be nullified up to 90%]


    [You can conjure mes. The skill uses 10 MP per second]


    [You''ve cleared a quest, you''re awarded 10 000 EXP]


    Level up x6


    60 AP, 30 SP.


    [You''ve unlocked, Purify, Crowd Control and Alchemy infusion]


    Purity: can purify certain materials into the best of their version they can be.


    Alchemy Infusion: allows you to infuse alchemy with weapons.


    Crowd Control: allows you to draw the enemies enmity.


    [You can rank up some these skills to use their more advanced versions.]


    Hiro heaved a deep a sigh of relief. He thought he''d have to quit this game once and for all. But his persistence paid off. He knew craftsmen needed strength above all else, which is why 20 AP was attributed to strength. He then put the rest of it to other attributes excluding dexterity. He kept his skill points.


    Name: Hiro


    Level 7


    Race: Dwarf


    ss: Craftsmanship


    Subss: -


    HP: 150/150


    MP: 150/150


    Attack: 100


    PDEF: 100


    Strength: 25


    Vitality: 15


    Dexterity: 5


    Stamina: 15


    Intelligence: 15


    Equipment: shabby armour.


    Skills


    Fire Maniption (Rank S, can evolve)10MP per second.


    Purify (Rank A, can''t evolve)


    Alchemy Infusion(Rank S, can''t evolve)5MP per second


    Crowd Control (Rank A, can evolve.) 50 MP per second.


    "I can finally be proud that you''re my student. Aren''t I a great teacher?"


    "Shameless old man, don''t take credit for my hard work!"


    The real work started now, Hiro started his journey of learning different kinds of materials, herbs and ores. He''d spend the next week brewing potions, learning various concoctions and creating weapons and armour his new master deemed worthy.


    ------


    At the same time, the war between one Dreki and many goblins was about to begin in the forest.


    Kiro knew he had no chance unless he used every skill in his arsenal. He wielded his staff, standing on a tree he could see about a hundred goblinsing for him. It was a chilling sight, for a second he questioned whether or not he could beat them all.


    He jumped off the tree, their eyesnded on the man who justnded on the ground, as if on queue both sides started running toward each other, it looked like they were being pulled to each other by an invisible thread.


    Just before they could be at arms length with each other, Kiro made his move. He hit the ground with his staff as hard as he could, activating vibrations. Every goblin within 200 meters of him was affected, he didn''t waste time as he jumped over the stunned ones. Tap dancing on their heads, until he reached the ones that weren''t.


    He started killing them mercilessly. The staff was a blunt weapon, but the damage it could inflict was equally deadly. He must''ve killed 30 when he realised he had beenpletely surrounded.


    He then activated blink step, he blinked outside the circle that they were using to corner him. He was in mid air, and decided to try out hurricane punch, so he activated it.


    A gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and descended on the goblins that had formed the circle, killing them instantly and denting the ground.


    "P-powerful."


    Hended at the dented spot and charged forwards. Killing the goblins without prejudice.


    Before they realised what was happening, his MP bar was at half. He activated vibrations once again.


    -50


    -20


    -90


    -15


    -100


    Kiro was having a field day. Even though these goblins were level 5s, they weren''t very smart. So he took advantage of that, and toyed with them. Forcing them to use their brains only to make them more confused, thereby disrupting their battle formation.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on clearing the quest.]


    They dropped a lot of useless weapons and armour, and some gold coins. Kiro quickly put those up for sale on the forums, he figured a newbie would buy them.


    Before leaving he went around the goblin vige to see if he could find anything worthy, but there was absolutely nothing of value. Not even the kidnapped vigers. So he started towards the beginner''s vige.


    The chief was delighted when he saw Kiro returning from battle victorious. Albeit sad that there weren''t any survivors from the kidnapped batch.


    Ding!


    [You''ve received 12 098 EXP]


    [You''ve received a skill book]


    Martial Arts skill book: Learn the ways of the sage. This skill will help you learn martial arts skills easily.


    Levelled upx3


    [You''ve unlocked a new skill, Chi. You can borrow energy from living things.]


    More than these, Kiro was ecstatic that he would finally, finally go to thebyrinth now that he was above level 5. And all of this grinding took 15 days in-game. Which was 15 hours out there.


    He called Hiro, and they decided to meet up in an hour because even he was done with his business. Apart from the fact that he looked beaten up, Kiro didn''t think much of it. He had no idea how craftsmen levelled up. But the way Hiro was, it didn''t look like a walk in the park at all.


    He went to war with goblins, but he still looked better than Hiro. He had forgotten that, sometimes, mental fatigue is all it takes to break a manpletely.

 Chapter 15: The Labyrinth

    Chapter 15: The Labyrinth


    "Why do you look so dead?"


    "You know what I did for the first 5 days?"


    "What?"


    "Tried to be one with fire. Try that and you won''t have to ask why I''m so dead inside."


    "Will you be able to fight monsters?"


    "I''m a tank, I just have to stand there right? Besides. This will wear off soon." He said hopefully.


    "You also have to draw the aggro. So that I have an easier time attacking?"


    Hiro didn''t seem to be listening. He was in a world of his own, in his mind. He wasn''t quite ready to leave his master, but his master insisted that he was ready to fly out of the nest or something like that. Hiro didn''t feel enough, he felt there was still a lot to learn.


    He wasn''t exactly wrong, although Rufian was a master. There was truly no mastering craftsmanship, there''s always something new to learn, something to make better, something to modify, something to discover.


    Hiro had no idea where they were going, so Kiro led the way. Kiro attempted to exin the Labyrinth as much as he could without giving away that he knew too much.


    As they reached the clearing, two girls could be seen at the entrance. Kiro cursed internally, how are they already here? When he saw they were still level 4 however, he understood that they must be here in passing. If he didn''t have a goblin war to deal with, he''d have been long here too.


    When they got closer, the girls seemed a little familiar.


    ''It''s that girl who sits at our table during meals and that girl who stood up for her that one time.''


    The odds of meeting two dorm mates was too much for them. The two boys lightly greeted without stopping. Their walks were almost mechanical, for almostpletely different reasons. Kiro didn''t want to unnecessarily offend rich folks, Hiro on the other hand was smitten.


    "Wait, how are you entering?" one of them asked


    Kiro simply pointed at the top of his forehead which revealed his level.


    "Only level 5s and up."


    The girls were distraught, but they left nheless. They had to hurry up and grind.


    [Congrattions for being the first yers to enter the Labyrinth. For the next 5 days EXP and drops will be doubled.]


    Even though this was called the Labyrinth it wasn''t really, it was a tower shaped like a pyramid, each floor had about 10 mini floors of the same monster at different levels.


    The first 10 floors, were, slimes. They were simple monsters, and easy to kill. But there were poisonous ones and acidic ones. If one wasn''t careful they could get killed by a bloody slime.


    Hiro had his shield which his master gifted him, it was still very stamina consuming to use as it was a legendary shield.


    With his 25 strength, one sh with slimes caused them to pixte. Kiro was quite agile, slimes would spit and he''d dodge and with one blow would send them to Valha.


    On the 10th floor, there was a boss slime.


    Slime


    Level 7


    HP: 200


    Despite having killed hundreds, they had yet to level up. That''s how low level they were, even with a 5x booster. They did drop quite a lot of herbs and ore. Which were all taken by Hiro, he could recognise every herb by this point.


    The boss slime wasn''t much of a challenge for both of them. They quickly ended it and went to another round of monsters. Which were goblins.


    Level 8


    HP: 400


    Kiro had attributed 6 points to STR, and 3 to INT. His strength was way above a level 8 monster. 1 of every 3 swings of his staff would one shot a goblin. He didn''t need to use his skills yet, he was grateful for that. He didn''t need to waste his MP on lowly monsters such as these.


    Hiro was also a great tank, he apparently unlocked a crowd control skill. So drawing aggro was a piece of cake.


    Goblins dropped a lot of coins, and low ranked health potions. Anything that was for beginners was useless to them, they''d immediately put it up for sale.


    "Kiro, why did you choose the sage ss?"


    Hiro had been curious for the longest time. Kiro didn''t seem like a staff weapons kind of guy. If he''d guess, he''d guess that his friend liked sharp things to go with that sharp tongue and bad temper. But now both of them brandished dull weapons.


    "I closed my eyes and randomly picked." Kiro shrugged, it wasn''t exactly a lie. He did gamble taking on a ss that was rarely explored in his previous life.


    Hiro was shocked at this but didn''t pursue the matter further because this sounded like a very Kiro thing to do. They were on the 15th floor when finally they levelled up twice. Kiro immediately put those APs on INT. He knew he''d need the MPs at the higher levels.


    They ran into a goblin shaman, the thing was quite cunning. It made them run around with its spells and dark magic. Hiro''s shield was impable, as it took everything that was thrown at it. The problem was the wielder, he wasn''t quite, strong enough.


    "I need to create better shields than my master." He smiled bitterly and shook his head.


    "I couldn''t agree with that statement more. Now what?"


    "I''ll have to take a low level one out. Though it won''t be as durable, it still needs a bit of work."


    So after defeating the goblin boss. They took a break on the 20th floor, and Hiro started working on his shield. Kiro was utterly amazed by how he conjured mes out of nowhere, and how the mes never lost their power as if they were being fuelled by something, some divine power.


    ''So that''s fire maniption. Isn''t Hiro simply too OP? If he can just take his shop anywhere he goes!''


    Kiro watched Hiro as he diligently hammered away at his shield. It seemed like the shield would be broken by the hammer at any time, but it never did. Instead it was moulding the shield into something beautiful and new. Craftsmanship was amazing!


    He finished and they entered the 21st floor. It was Kobold territory.


    Level 9


    HP: 400


    Fierce fights broke down. At this floor, the kobolds could somehow hold their own against the two intruders. Anybody who was watching would''ve ran into battle with them the way they handled themselves was majestic. They never once cowered or backed down even though they were being ughtered by a shield and a staff.


    Kobolds dropped a lot of weapons, items, coins and skill books. The weapons and skill books weren''t suited for either of them, so they quickly put them up for sale except for the skill books. The skill books were a rare phenomenon, they had gotten 3 in 20 floors. Their worth wasn''t known yet it was better to sell them when the real exchange system was introduced.


    There were two items, a ring for strength +5, and ck studs for Vitality +5. Hiro demanded the strength ring, so Kiro wore the earrings. On top of these, they levelled up twice again.


    Name: Kiro


    Level 11


    Race: Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: -


    HP: 220/220


    MP: 200/200


    Attack: 100(+50)


    PDEF: 100(+20)


    Strength: 21


    Vitality: 15 (+5)


    Dexterity: 15(+2)


    Stamina: 21


    Intelligence: 21


    Equipment: umon cloth armour and boots and umon staff.


    Skills


    Staff Wielder (Rank A, can''t evolve) 20% damage


    Vibrations (AOE Rank A, can evolve)


    Consumes 50MP, 1 minute cooldown


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 50MP per second.


    Hurricane Punch (Rank B, can''t evolve.)


    Martial Arts (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    Chi (Ranked A, can''t evolve)


    6 AP


    33 SP


    Kiro contemted on using his skill points and decided against it. He''d use them when he needed them. Let them stack up. He did however add the 6 AP to stamina. The Labyrinth was a 50 floor tower. He needed the stamina. Hiro did the same.


    As they entered the 31st floor, it was dark, damp and humid. It smelled bad, but for kids from the slums, this was nothing. Kiro knew from his past life that this was the snake pit floors. There were various snakes, poisonous and nonpoisonous. The boss for this one was a Basilisk!


    "Hey Hiro, use your SP on skills you can use for battle. This isn''t going to be easy. I have a bad feeling about these floors."


    "What, why?"


    "What lives in a damp, dark, humid ce?"


    "Snakes?"


    "Bingo."


    At the same time, Kiro attributed 15 SP to each of his two skills.


    Vibrations: [AOE Rank S, cannot evolve] consumes 5MP per second. No cool down.


    Blink Step [Rank S, can evolve] consumes 10MP per second. No cool down.


    Hiro did the same, except he dumped everything on Fire Maniption as it was his only skill that could evolve.


    Fire Maniption: [SS rank, can evolve.]


    Both content and satisfied. They moved as fast as Hiro could move, and as cautiously as possible. It wasn''t long before the little devils showed themselves.


    Suddenly, a cobra spit its poison directly in Kiro''s face area, it was headed straight for his eyes. He saw the spit, he heard the hiss but he couldn''t react in time. Instinctively he activated blink, and appeared right behind the bastard, and killed him with one blow. He heaved a huge sigh.


    "That¡ªthat was too close." He said out loud.


    After some time of killing snakes, they were walking in a tunnel-like passage. The smell was putrid, it was so warm, they had difficulties breathing. When suddenly the ground became squishy.


    "Hey, Hiro what''s going on, why does the ground not feel like concrete anymore?"

 Chapter 16: Basilisk

    Chapter 16: Basilisk


    They had no idea, but they had just entered the mouth of a gigantic snake. It liked sitting there with its mouth wide open, while it''s dark nobody would notice a thing. Rats and everything else found themselves stomach acid in a matter of minutes. This is the way in which it finds food, it baits the unsuspecting.


    "It''s a mouth! Fall back!" Kiro shouted rembering something.


    They ran as fast as they could to the edge of the mouth. It was closing, they had to make it. Kiro hit the walls of the mouth with his staff and activated vibrations. The snake took the full st and was stunned, it was losing HP rapidly. They finally made it out of its mouth, without wasting any time, Hiro used his shield to sever the snake''s head while it was still stunned.


    This was the tunnel to the 40th floor, the boss room, the basilisk. The two boys sat there in disbelief, they had almost died. They actually took damage while inside the snake they drank some low level potions to recover. And just sat there disbelieving. They had been toox and careless!


    They both regained theirposure and started walking towards the boss room. Only this time they would asionally hit the ground to ensure they weren''t entering another mouth. Hiro couldn''t use his fire maniption, he would use it when they were battling the boss.


    "Try not to look it in the eye." Kiro said coolly.


    "What do you¡ª"


    Hiro hadn''t finished his question and it appeared. ''Why would that thing be here!'' He felt cold, his stomach dropped. His back was attacked by buckets of sweat. He gulped.


    "Hey Kiro, we entered the D ranked Labyrinth right?"


    "It''s C. Didn''t I mention that? This one has better rewards with 50 floors."


    Basilisk


    Level 17


    HP: 1000


    "You conveniently left that part out." Hiro muttered nervously.


    "Hey, at least it''s not true to the legends. It''s stare doesn''t kill you, it just stuns you for 2 seconds. As long as one of us stays unstunned while the other is. I believe we can beat him!


    "I also have a stunning skill. Mine is a lot stronger than his."


    "I''m just a craftsman!" Hiro bellowed.


    "You look sturdy enough to be a tank, you also have a fire thing going on. Quit whining, let''s kill this bastard."


    Hiro wanted to retorted that the ''fire thing'' was for crafting but Kiro didn''t give him a chance to talk back.


    He didn''t waste any time and activated vibrations. To stun it for 10 seconds, it''d consume 50 MPs. But he didn''t mind. The skill was acquired to be used. Upon stunning it, it began to lose HP too. 5 per second. It wasn''t much, but it was something.


    They also didn''t just stand idly, they attacked it like their lives depended on it. Which, if we''re honest, did depend on it.


    -30


    -60


    -70


    -120


    -200


    After 10 seconds, it had lost over 20% of its HP. Without a warning that vibrations was no longer in effect, Kiro was stunned by the basilisk. As quickly as it stunned him, it swarted him like a fly with it''s tail, right in the chest. He flew 10 meters up, and mmed on the floor hard. Losing 50 of his HP. The basilisk pounced to finish off its prey.


    Hiro of course saw this, but since he neglected his dexterity, he couldn''t get there in time to save his best friend. Luckily, he got there for the second attack, which would''ve been poison. This guys poison was still too much for this apprentice alchemist. He blocked its head with his shield.


    He was grateful he had focused more on strength now, because the basilisk couldn''t even move him. Tried as it did. It banged countless times on the shield, In turn it just received a lot of damage. It was down to 60% HP now.


    Kiro got up, and got ready to activate vibrations once again. He was careful this time not to even look at it.


    ''Not taking my own advice of not looking at it, may be the most embarrassing thing that''s ever urred in my life.'' Kiro thought to himself.


    The two boys used the same strategy to chip away at the Basilisk''s HP. The overgrown snake knew it was outmatched, so it tried to escape. This was absolutely unheard of! A boss monster trying to run away.


    This was a cunning ploy for them to give chase, so it could turn right around and spit poison. But s to the basilisk, with his future knowledge, Kiro knew exactly what it was trying to do.


    He knew that its defenses were especially low now that it was concentrating all its might to spring poison on its enemies. Kiro activated Blink, he appeared, right in front of the basilisk.


    The monster was visibly shocked by this sudden turn of events. It froze for a second. But that was enough, without wasting any time, with all his might, Kiro hit it right where its neck should be. Though it was a staff, itpletely severed the head from the body.


    The loot was abundant. The skill books they''ve gathered in this set of floors alone were around 5, unfortunately none of them could be used by them. They were both visibly frustrated, as they wanted a new skill as soon as possible. Nobody would say no to a skill book. Instead it dropped weapons they couldn''t equip, swords, bows, spears. At least this time, the boss dropped a rare ranked shield.


    Which Hiro equipped immediately. It was inferior to his master''s shield but it was still superior to the shield he crafted. There was also rare steel armour and rare cloth armour. Both of which they were grateful for. Both armours had 100 defense.


    This boss didn''t even drop a single mana potion. It seemed like the devs were stingy. They got up and went to the next set of floors, which was thest.


    The monsters there were a mix of Orcs and High Orcs. High Orcs were an evolved version of Orcs.


    Orcs


    Level 15


    HP: 700


    High Orcs


    Level 16


    HP: 1000


    Since they levelled up twice in thest floors. They were now level 13. Kiro didn''t waste any time, he attributed the 6 APs to dexterity.


    Name: Kiro


    Level 13


    Race: Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: -


    HP: 500/500


    MP: 350/350


    Attack: 100(+20)


    PDEF: 100(+100)


    Strength: 21


    Vitality: 15 (+5)


    Dexterity: 21(+2)


    Stamina: 21


    Intelligence: 21


    Equipment: rare cloth armour, boots and umon staff.


    Skills


    Staff Wielder (Rank A, can''t evolve) 20% damage


    Vibrations (AOE Rank S, can''t evolve)


    Consumes 5MP per second, no cooldown.


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Hurricane Punch (Rank B, can evolve)


    Consumes 10MP per second.


    Martial Arts (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    Chi (Ranked A, can''t evolve)


    0 AP


    9 SP


    Kiro felt a ping in his chest. It really hurt that they went through all this and he couldn''t get a single skill he could use. Not even a decent weapon.


    They fought Orcs. Orcs were a bit smarter than the previous monsters. They had strategies. They had archers, tanks and damage dealers. Hiro found himself thanking the developers for not giving them healers too. That was just too much!


    Their best bet was to keep stunning, and beating them into a pulp. They dropped a lot of decent things, which both boys agreed to put up for selling. They already had rare armour they didn''t need more.


    Orcs were also dropping a lot of intermediate mana potions, which were gratefully received. Kiro''s weapon was starting to wear. It was just an umon weapon after all, a weapon he crafted off random tree bark! And he dared to challenge a C ranked Labyrinth with it!


    After killing a wave of Orcs and high Orcs alike. They took a break, and Hiro started to hammer on Kiro''s weapon and since it was a wooden weapon, he used a wooden hammer.


    No matter how many times he had seen it, Kiro was always mesmerised seeing someone control mes like this. He just conjured them out of nowhere. It seemed that they were fuelled by his hard work. Kiro started calling them hell mes.


    Even though it was a wooden staff, they didn''t burn it into ash. Which was an amazing feat.


    When he was done with it, the staff looked like the first time he equipped it.


    "Ahh, Hiro, my best friend! You''re pretty great."


    "Thank me when I can create a mythic weapon. Repairing is just childish stuff. You made this staff? Not bad."


    They opened the door to the final boss''s room. It was quite majestic. There was even a throne. Both of them half expected for the Orc King to say something, anything. But a monster was a monster in the end.


    Orc King


    Level 20


    HP: 3000


    Both boys didn''t bother with courtesies, they full on rampaged from the very first step. The Orc king was visibly livid. As if to say, ''You dare enter my castle, kill my foot soldiers and now you''re disrespecting my own private quarters.'' It brandished an axe.


    The orc king basically flew to them enraged. He lunged and aimed at them with his big axe, swinging mercilessly.


    CLANK!


    Hiro stood his ground, he didn''t move an inch. His shield met with the axe once more. Still, the dwarf was rooted in ce. Kiro was not standing idly either. He jumped up high and hit the king with his staff right in the head.


    -200


    As if to swat a fly, the king waved his hand which hit Kiro in the face. That was clearly careless, Kiro didn''t seem to care. He had HP potions after all.


    -50


    Orcs were huge and clumsy. Kiro had put those points on dexterity for this reason. If he was faster it was better. He knew that stuns wouldn''t work on him, he had a resistance. That''s why he hadn''t bothered to use vibrations.


    Instead he used his dexterity and spammed blink tond in clean hits. Hiro wasn''tzy either. He used his shield to smash onto the king, which caused a lot of damage.


    90%


    60%


    30%


    3%


    1%


    They had suffered more than they liked to admit. But they conquered their goliath.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions for beating the final boss and clearing a C ranked Labyrinth. You''ve been rewarded 500k EXP]


    [For being the first to clear the Labyrinth you''ve received 2 million gold coins]


    [World Announcement: Congrattions to yers Hiro and Kiro, for being the first yers to clear a C ranked Labyrinth]


    [You''ve gained the king''s axe and 3 skill books.]


    Hiro took the axe, which was a unique weapon. Of the 3 skill books 2 were usable for Kiro.


    Palm Crashing: [Ranked A, can evolve] Some people need weapons to crash their enemies but you only need your palms!


    Bending Kick: [Ranked B, can evolve] The skill is powerful, once it reaches its peak, its a kick that can bend space itself.


    The world announcement would''ve caused an uproar if, and only if the game was popr. But this was only day 1 of its release, it would blow up in a few days!


    Kiro and Hiro levelled up to 17. They weren''t done with this Labyrinth yet. They had to umte all they needed to because the double booster wouldst for 5 days, which was only 5 hours in real life.


    So they went for another run, and another run, and another run. It was getting extremely difficult to level up at this point. By the time they were done. They had been level 19.


    Kiro had 27 SP, 18 AP. He poured 20 SP on the two skills he had just received. Bending Kick went from rank B to rank A!

 Chapter 17: Wilaces Quest

    Chapter 17: Wce''s Quest


    After 5 hours was up, they came out of the Labyrinth. They were somewhat relieved when they saw that nobody was there. They logged out for a few hours. Mostly because they needed to eat and workout.


    They decided to meet back by the beginner''s vige. It was time to trigger the quest. Hiro had gone ahead to the beginner training ground because Kiro was a bitte.


    Kiro walked into the training grounds he could see a really short, bearded Dwarf hacking dummies. The game was still unpopr hence not a lot of people were around, it would sore through the roof in a few days though.


    The training ground didn''t look like much, it was a run-down ce, with dirt for grounds. Nothing shiny that stood out at all. Which reminded Kiro of home.


    ''I should monopolise as much as possible.'' Kiro thought to himself. He was still just with his thoughts when he was suddenly interrupted.


    "Well young one, it seems like you''re just getting started on your journey. This is the perfect ce to start at, before adventuring around.


    "Asgard is a very dangerous world, monster infested and maybe even gods lie hidden. Train and train to your heart''s content," he said with an almost mechanical smile.


    Wce didn''t seem like the kind of guy who talked a lot. The developers must''ve been having a bad joke about him. He seemed like the brooding and groaning type.


    "I will do my best Sir!" Kiro yed along. They had to, to trigger the quest.


    There were various dummies, those that were still and unmoving, those that could move at different speeds and those that were both wood and steel. They were scarily human-like, with the height too. So Hiro looked a bit ridiculous.


    Kiro obviously picked the moving ones, so he could sharpen his fighting and instincts.


    Hiro wasn''t sure he''d need fighting skills as a craftsman, so he went for the unmoving ones. Hecked speed anyway. Instead of a shield, he used the axe he got from the orc king.


    It was hard at first but they got used to it pretty fast. They kept this up for 2 days without proper rest. Wce woulde now and then to give them dry bread and water.


    He grew to care for them as he watched them working diligently. He was reminded of his good old days. He''d even strike up conversations, telling them he was once a royal knight. After 20 years of service, he retired in this small vige.


    "Young ones, it seems basic training is no longer a real challenge for you. Don''t you want to be stronger? Increase the difficulty to intermediate."


    Ding!


    [Would you like to increase the difficulty?]


    "Yes sir!"


    They noticed Wce would go around saying the same thing to other yers, some epted, some felt they were ready to hunt monsters.


    They worked for 5 days straight on intermediate difficulty, their stats all rose by 1+. Health and magic rose by 100+. Now they were interested to know how they''ll change in master difficulty, so they raised it up.


    Wce was impressed that they decided all on their own without being pressured.


    They kept this up diligently for 10 days (10 hours). 3+ on all stats. Heath and magic rose by 200.


    Wce came over with a prideful smile, proud at how hard these twods were working. Mostly because they were the only yers left from the first batch.


    [Your rtionship with Wce has increased by 40+, friends]


    "You both are working so hard keep it up," Wce told them.


    "We will, it''s the only way to be favoured by the ''gods''," Kiro said. He knew the word god was the trigger and your rtionship should be on friends and above. Those were the two requirements.


    In his past life he didn''t quite watch the journey of this quest, but he didn''t want to leave any stones unturned.


    He figured he''d grown strong enough for a beginner''s quest. Usually, yers ignore the training grounds because it''s not a requirement or they just spend a day then go hunting.


    So usually the average stats for a beginner were between 10 and 12.


    Wce looked visibly touched at Kiro''s words. He then said, "could you both do something for me, a favour?"


    "Yes!" They both said in a chorus.


    "My wife was abducted by true blooded folks, who live in the forest of the damned. There are all sorts of monsters in there, I have tried everything to rescue her myself but it was too dangerous for me, so I deemed it a suicide mission.


    "Would you both be so kind as to do that in my stead? I don''t have much but I''ll definitely reward you"


    [Triggered True Blood quest.]


    Rank: B


    Brandish your weapons brave heroes and fight your way into the forest of the damned, rescue Wce''s wife ande back alive.


    Seed and you will awaken your true blood.


    Failure:


    Character erasure. Won''t be able to create a new one for a month (real time).


    If declined, you will no longer be eligible to awaken your true blood.


    Limited to: Child of the Dragons, Kiro and the child of the Earth, Hiro.


    ept?


    ''B ranked quest from the get go? Is Wce secretly evil and trying to kill us? I mean if we seriously didn''t grind to level 19 this would be mission impossible.'' Kiro pondered silently.


    He then looked at Hiro, he nodded.


    "We will do it Sir Wce, we will bring your wife back."


    [Quest epted,


    Time Limit: 2 days]


    2 hours wasn''t much. What''s worse was that, Kiro never bothered to watch the journey in his past life. He did know that, once triggered, this quest isn''t easy to trigger again.


    Even he couldn''t tell how many awakened their true bloods in the past. While some bragged, most were secretive about their strengths.


    They prepared for their second adventure. They bade Wce farewell and took off.


    They reached an open field and were shocked by how many yers there were this time around. There were a lot of yers trying to fill their parties too.


    "A priest needed for our level 10 party. They must at least be level 7. Please don''te if you don''t have the qualifications."


    "Level 8 archer, looking for a party to attempt the world boss."


    "Damage dealers needed, we already have healers and tanks."


    Hiro and Kiro almostughed when they heard these announcements and saw their levels. People were still that low on levelling up? It can''t be! Didn''t they know of the two Labyrinths?


    As a newbie, you couldn''t hide your level. So it wasn''t a surprise when people flocked to them asking to be carried and that they''d pay money!


    "I can offer you anything you want, you just have to join our party."


    "Don''t be so shameless just because you have money!"


    "So what if I am? I''m only using the resources I have to get ahead," the kid defended himself and turned back quicker to convince them yet again, "I can offer you up to 100k creds!"


    Kiro was deeply conflicted, money was everything after all in their society. But he reminded himself that, getting stronger in this game will allow him billions. The 100k would just be spare change to him.


    With a heavy heart, he declined. But the kid was persistent as he kept raising the price. Kiro was tempted to blink out of there, but then he''d be leaving Hiro behind. He considered blinking with him, but he wasn''t confident.


    "Seriously dude, you''ve got to learn a footwork skill." He whispered with the side of his mouth.


    "If I had known, I would''ve," Hiro whispered back.


    After much threats to the crowd, they managed to slip away. Time was running out, they had a quest toplete.

 Chapter 18: Forest of the Damned

    Chapter 18: Forest of the Damned


    They made haste toward the forest, just at the mouth of the forest, they saw slimes. The weakest monsters known to fantasy worlds. Kiro strolled towards them casually, bored out of his mind that he had to kill slimes again, Hiro was right behind him.


    Peeew¡ª


    That made him stop dead. Hiro collided with him and staggered backwards.


    "Ouch. What''s the big idea man?"


    "Ha. This slime''s acid actually does damage to me. Although it''s just one."


    [Warning, you''ve been affected by slime acid, you''ll lose 1 HP per 10 seconds for the next 10 seconds]


    Sneaky son of a gun. Kiro just nonchntly walked over to it, and beat it senseless with his staff.


    Ding!


    [You''ve killed an acid slime, you''re awarded 10 EXP each]


    10 EXP was nothing at all to them. It was akin to a drop in the ocean. But they figured this was also part of the quest, the appetiser before a big banquet.


    [You''ve killed more than a thousand slimes, you''ve gained the slime race''s enmity. Wherever you meet them, they''ll be extremely hostile towards you]


    By the look on Hiro''s face, he also got the same notification. His face was full of despair as if someone took his candy away. Then he could be heard mumbling¡ª


    "But I wanted one as a pet."


    Kiro couldn''t help butugh. His friend indeed had strange tastes.


    They continued killing slimes, and the slimes continued toe at them like they were their number one enemy. Like they were on a mission that they couldn''t fail.


    The slime massacre was aplete waste of time, as they didn''t drop anything. Not even herbs.


    The moment they entered the forest, it became dark as night. The only source of light was the full-moon weirdly positioned in the sky. It was eerily bright, as it bathed the tree lines.


    They both took a step back at the same time, the change in environment and atmosphere was too abrupt. But as soon as they stepped out it was day again.


    "The forest of the damned alright," Kiro mumbled.


    "I don''t really like the dark," Hiro remarked.


    "What do you do at night?"


    "Uh, keep the light on?" He said, confused, as if that was the most obvious and normal thing to do.


    Kiro was bing unsure of the quest now, but failure was not an option. So he checked his character sheet, to psych himself up.


    Name: Kiro


    Level 19


    Race: Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: -


    HP: 800/800


    MP: 510/510


    Attack: 150(+100)


    PDEF: 150(+100)


    Strength: 25


    Vitality: 19 (+5)


    Dexterity: 25(+2)


    Stamina: 25


    Intelligence: 25


    Equipment: rare basilisk cloth armour, umon boots and umon staff.


    Skills


    Staff Wielder (Rank A, can''t evolve) 20% damage


    Vibrations (AOE Rank S, can''t evolve)


    Consumes 5MP per second, no cooldown.


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 10MP per second.


    Hurricane Punch (Rank B, can evolve)


    Consumes 10MP per second.


    Martial Arts (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    Chi (Ranked A, can''t evolve)


    Bending Kick (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Crashing Palm (Ranked A, can evolve)


    18 AP


    7 SP


    "That didn''t help at all!" He screeched in frustration, "let''s go then." He egged Hiro on.


    They walked on, they still had a rescue mission toplete. As soon as they stepped in, they were yet again enveloped in darkness that was slightly more moonlit than a typical night. There wasn''t a single star in the sky, just darkness and the moon, dancing together.


    This forest gave them a bad feeling, it felt like, everything here wasn''t anything good, even the trees. Which Kiro thought was strange, what could a tree do?


    Likewise the weather became a bit chilly, not cold enough to make them shiver but they could see mist as they breathed.


    They hadn''t walked far when they heard chains being dragged. They couldn''t pinpoint where the sound came from exactly, it felt like it wasing from all directions.


    Then four silhouettes appeared, surrounding them, dragging chains. About the human height, but they''d asionally walk on all fours. As the monsters got closer, they could clearly make out what they looked like. They had a sickly greenish hue for fur, the moonlight seemed to make them the more sinister.


    Their eyes were nk, pearly white. The moon had nothing to reflect on. Which made a chill run down their spine.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered NightWalkers. Though it''s always night in the damned forest, they''re the only creatures who have been damned to walk all corners of this forest. They know every inch of this forest, they may be weaker but don''t underestimate them.


    NightWalkers


    Level 15


    HP 1000]


    Kiro took out his staff, Hiro took out his shield and axe. The NightWalkers were a few meters away when they attacked first, throwing the chains at the same time with no emotion as if to say ''it''s just business.''


    Kiro used his staff and palm crashing to stop two of the chains. While Hiro used his shield and axe. One chain intergrated itself with his staff, the monster tried to pull but it wasn''t quite strong enough. So Kiro did that job for it, it flew at a great height toward him.


    He activated bending kick, and crash the monster''s skull where it flew.


    "They''re too weak. It can''t be this easy."


    As if he had jinxed them, another NightWalker took the ce of the dead one.


    ''Crap, there''s more than 4.''


    Another one ran on all fours and lunged at Hiro, thinking he was the weak link, which wasn''t very smart as he simply swung his axe and split it in half. Albeit, another one reced it.


    "Is it just me, or they''re not decreasing in numbers?" Hiro asked, in a panicked voice.


    "It''s a tactic."


    It truly was a tactical strategy. When you wear down your enemy not just physically but also mentally, you''re guaranteed a win. That''s if they can be worn out that is. They hid their numbers to make the fights seem like an endless loop.


    The darkness didn''t help either. As it would make anyone more paranoid that there was something in the corner, lurking, lying in await to pounce and kill.


    Kiro quickly exined this to Hiro, so he didn''t panic more than he already was. He tried his best to calm his nerves, but to say he wasn''t wavering would be a lie.


    The young dwarf stood his ground nheless, he was unmoving and simply blocked and decapitated all the NightWalkers that dared to attack him.


    Kiro initially tried vibrations, but it didn''t seem to work. Some monsters were clearly gifted the ability to repel stuns.


    He was spamming hurricane punch, uprooting trees from a distance, not knowing whether or not they hit their enemies.


    "Hiro, hold on a bit longer, I think we''re almost done," He said breathing unevenly.


    "Easier said than done." Hiro wasn''t fairing any better.


    A drum resounded menacingly throughout the forest, but looking closer it was just the NightWalkers hitting their chests. The ground was littered with theirrades, Kiro and Hiro were standing on those corpses bleeding with yellow pus. As emotionless as they seemed, this felt like it was their way of crying for their fallen soldiers.


    After the drumming, they came running in faster, which killed off the tempo they were fighting at. The two boys couldn''t react fast enough, as gashes with a glint of red appeared on their faces.


    "Dammit Kiro, you said it was almost over!"


    "It was an estimate, we must''ve killed hundreds of them already!"


    They forcibly picked up their tempo. They had no choice but to fight until they couldn''t anymore, even if it meant running out of mana in this danger infested forest.


    Luckily, when Hiro killed one, none reced it this time. After the final one was killed, they fell where they stood. They didn''t care if it was disgusting lying on corpses that bled yellow pus, that''s how drained they were.


    They downed potions for both magic and health.


    "We almost failed! Wce is a menace," Kiro bellowed.


    "Is this really a B rank quest?"


    "I''m not sure anymore," he said getting up and cleaning himself, "but we epted, nothing else is more important thanpleting this quest."


    After their 5 minute break, they trudged forward. The moonlight was bright enough that they could see just a couple of meters. That was a great feat considering how dense the trees were in there.


    Just as they were minding their business, they encountered yet another monster at a closer distance than they thought was possible.


    It must had stealth on its skill set. Kiro hushed Hiro who was singing, apparently war songs. As if he''d ever been to one.


    The monster didn''t add anything flowery to the forest, it was deathly pale, sullen skin, hair that looked like some parts were ripped out. It had dark lines under its eyes like it was cursed to never know sleep in its entire life.


    Ghoul


    Level 20


    HP: 2000

 Chapter 19: The Damned

    Chapter 19: The Damned


    "We''re never gonna catch a break are we," Hiro said solemnly.


    The ghoul walked in a weird manner, it''s side was to them and it was getting closer by the second.


    "Hey, Hiro. Let''s do how we did it in the Labyrinth. Let''s show these monsters they aren''t anything special." Kiro whispered to him confidently, he nodded.


    He used speed to gain in on the ghoul, it took a mere 2 seconds to reach it, yet it saw through that and blocked his staff with it''s shabby club. Its eyes were as dark as the forest it lived in.


    He quickly withdrew behind Hiro, at that Hiro put up his shield to take the attack of the ghoul head-on.


    nk¡ª


    The sound reverberated through out the entire surroundings. The moment the club met the shield, Kiro quickly stepped forward and activated Staff Wielder. It connected! The ghoul stumbled back, he didn''t take the risk though, so he quickly went to hide behind Hiro.


    The ghoul was a nasty one, it changed directions and appeared behind them at frightening speeds, Kiro didn''t lose, he also could speed up, as he blinked to the opposite direction.


    "Turn!" He yelled to Hiro, who didn''t question him and did as he was told.


    No matter which direction the ghoul saw itself, Kiro would also use his speed and directed his friend to turn left or right.


    They fought the ghoul with this strategy. They were weaker than it, so they had to be smart. Never once did they get impatient and charge in recklessly, they knew this was a long game, a test of stamina much like thest monster.


    It took 30 long minutes to finally finish the ghoul off with their cowardly strategy.


    The strategy came as something unexpected for the ghoul. It had fought before but not quite like this. That''s why it couldn''t do much, its brain was confused.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on defeating a level 20 monster, the ghoul. You''re awarded 10 000 EXP each]


    [You''re the first to discover and kill a ghoul, 50 EXP]


    To top it all of, it dropped 2 skill books and 10 000 coins. One skill book had to do with dexterity, the other had to do with strength.


    They each took the skill that suited them. They split the coins 50/50.


    Ding!


    [You''ve consumed a dexterity skill book, dex stat permanently increases by 10]


    Kiro''s eyes lit up at the permanent increase. That was amazing, because it was extremely rare to have a book that increased stats.


    As they were walking further into the forest, they saw a clean river, the moon reflected on the water quite beautifully. They decided to stop there, and eat the in bread Wce had given them, and drink the river water with it.


    The forest was still eerily creepy. Neither of them could put their finger on why. There were no insects or butterflies. Which was strange because there were flowers and trees. They decided to stay away from the flowers, lest they had mouths and razor sharp teeth.


    Even with his past knowledge, he couldn''t know anything about this forest. Simply because he was toozy to watch a beginner''s quest.


    None of the beginner quests were interesting in any way, so Kiro assumed this one was one of those boring ones. Though he did read about it in passing.


    They sat by the river, eating and chatting. They chatted because the silence was louder, to not even hear crickets at night was peculiar.


    "Really d you convinced me to get this game."


    "You''ll be more d in two weeks."


    "Why? what''s happening in two weeks?"


    Ding!


    [Warning. Your shadow has been attacked by a Strangler, you will choke to death]


    -50


    -30


    -20


    Kiro was tapping his shoulder trying to get his friends attention. But Hiro was rambling staring at the river, mesmerised by the moon and asional ripples.


    Kiro had tried everything to get it to stop, touching his neck, trying everything he could to get ahold of this bastard. He instinctively used palm crashing and cracked the ground where they sat. Only then did he get Hiro''s attention.


    He turned, horrified to see his best friend struggling for his avatar''s life. He panicked, as he got up and asked, "what to do, what to do? What''s happening?"


    "Strangler¡ªwater¡ªgo."


    "Huh?"


    When he turned he saw something in the river. A body of a pale bony woman, with darker hair than the night.


    He was confused about how he didn''t notice her before. Without another seconds hesitation Hiro jumped high to get a better view of the river then threw his axe in.


    Kiro stifled augh seeing a Dwarf jump that high was a sight to see, but was jolted back to reality by pain on his neck, that was squeezing the life out of him. It reminded him of how serious the situation truly was.


    The moment the axe hit the water, the strangling ceased. Kiro got up, like a man possessed retreated far from the river, so did Hiro.


    "How do we get my axe ba¡ª"


    He was interrupted, because the Strangler threw the axe right back at a very frightening speed. It embedded itself into the closest tree. Missing them by a breath''s hair.


    It took Hiro 3 panicky minutes to get his axe free from the tree trunk. They bolted out of there. Stranglers were level 50 water monsters. Two mere level 19s stood no chance at all. What could they possibly do other than getting killed?


    ''What''s with me and water monsters?'' Kiro wondered.


    His HP had drained to the 50s. But it was regenerating 1 HP per second. They hoped to not run into any monsters until it was full. He didn''t want to waste his potions, they still had true blooded folks to fight.


    They walked away from the river, further and further into the dimly lit forest. If something were to happen right now they''d both be doomed. Kiro''s HP was still recovering slowly but surely and Hiro could only block so much!


    "What the hell was that?"


    "It''s called a Strangler, its a level 50 water monster. No idea how it''s even in the beginner''s vige. It attacks your shadow, after it''s done with you, you''ll die of strangtion. Really, a terrible monster."


    "What are the devs thinking putting a level 50 monster where level 10s roam? Are they trying to kill us on purpose!"


    They chatted like this, while ranting, and taking out their frustrations on the forest around them. Moreover they couldn''t help but feel strange about the whole forest. The air was weird, everything just seemed, off. His HP had climbed to the 300s and then they saw it, a werewolf!


    It howled upon seeing them, as if they intruded in its territory. It''s skin was charcoal, and too close to it''s bones, which made it look skeletal.


    "Wouldn''t be a full-moon without a werewolf huh," Kiro joked.


    "At least it''s not a pack."


    "Hey, don''t jinx it!"


    "How good is our luck?" Hiromented.


    "It''s not called the forest of the damned for show." Kiro retorted.


    They didn''t have time to waste, it was a level 25. Its HP was 9 000. This was the fight to use vibrations and blink!

 Chapter 20: Rotten Luck

    Chapter 20: Rotten Luck


    For a minute, they just stood there staring at each other. Both boys hoped it''d just, you know, walk away. But s, it didn''t wait any longer as it leapt forward crazily growling. Hiro stood his ground with his shield up.


    The werewolf lunged at his shield.


    Screeeech¡ª


    Every nerve in Kiro''s bodyined, as the metallic-nail sound reverberated from every inch of his body. As sturdy as Hiro was, he was pushed back, but thanks to the skill he acquired from the skill book, his muscles started bulging and he stood his ground. The werewolf couldn''t move him any longer.


    Kiro jumped from behind Hiro to behind the werewolf. He activated Palm crashing. Before it turned to him, it was distracted, Hiro had used his axe and hit it square in the face, it flew a couple of meters and banged against a tree.


    -400


    -200


    It seemed like they had made it angry, its speed suddenly increased. But it was futile, Hiro and Kiro had gone through thick and thin inside that Labyrinth and inside this forest, they came back from being almost swallowed by a snake and everything else!


    They decided to do a back to back, so that whichever way it went, it would be within their eye peripheral. It attacked with it''s gaping maw, Kiro simply blocked it by his staff. He was surprised the staff didn''t crumbled, he used bending kick it flew backwards.


    Whenever it got close to Hiro he''d hack with his axe, and whenever it got close to Kiro he''d use his staff or his palm crashing.


    Palm crashing was extremely useful. It didn''t need for the opponent to be touched. You can strike in the air, and the waves of the attack will reach the enemy, carried by the wind. Stronger than ever.


    They continued this until they saw how exhausted the werewolf became, without wasting time, Kiro activated Blink Step and appeared right behind it, at a perfect distance to decapitate its head. Without a seconds hesitation, he beheaded the bastard.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you''ve killed a werewolf. 50 000 EXP rewarded each]


    [You''ve discovered and killed a werewolf for the first time, 50 EXP awarded]


    Both of them had finally reached level 20. After this quest they would no longer be able to enter the beginner''s vige.


    Kiro''s HP was now just 50 all over again and MP was almost zero. Fatigued, they sat down for a while before looking through the loot. They both were hoping for another skill book but this overgrown pup dropped potions.


    [You''ve received 10 Health Potions and 8 Magic Potions. You''ve received 50 000 coins. Equipment Received: Ordinary Shield]


    The shield went to being sold without question. They split the rest 50/50. Now that they had more potions, the game was a little bit fair. Kiro quickly downed 1 Health potion and 1 Magic Potion. The results were almost instantaneous, the MP and HP saw a full bar in a matter of seconds.


    After 10 minutes of resting, they walked on.


    "Do you think we can clear this quest? What if we can''t and our characters get erased." Hiro asked.


    Kiro was just thinking about what Hiro asked. ''Can he read minds or something.'' He held back the urge to p him senseless.


    What''s he being wimpy for? If they can''t clear this quest they''re doomed for sure. Goodbye mansions at the upper district.


    The middle district wasn''t so bad, but Kiro wanted the upper one, specifically because of their security. Kiro had to shake the negative thoughts, he had to get through this and seed, for his family.


    The Crow Mafia Gang that killed him in the past yed this game too, even opened up a guild, that''s how they got to be loan sharks in real life.


    ''I''ll be stronger here just to make their gaming experience a misery!'' Kiro made the promise to himself.


    He wanted the upper district to ensure his safety in real life, while he messes with their business in the virtual world. Enough to make sure they never be loan sharks in the lower district. Ever.


    Kiro hadn''t forgotten how they treated him, and how his brother and sister died at their hands too. How could he simply forget about it and move on? His revenge will be sweet.


    ''I''d be an idiot to have all this past knowledge and not make them feel the pain that I felt.''


    Just as Kiro was consumed by his happy revenge thoughts, they heard a crunch.


    Not like someone stepping on dead leaves, no this was different. Both have never heard a sound like it before, but the closest to describe it was that, someone was stepping on dead leaves. The¡ª


    Crunch¡ª


    Crunch¡ª


    Crunch¡ª


    It was, it was the trees, they were standing up! They were alive! They turned their heads, the trees at a distance weren''t moving at all, so it must have been just these ones. Just these ones must be special.


    There were 2 of them, each at level 25.


    "Buddy, we''ll have to fight each of them by ourselves. We''re stronger now, we can do this." Kiro reassured Hiro, hoping that his nerves receded and that he sounded convincing enough to his friend.


    "Don''t worry about taking hits. You have potions, use your rare shield and axe, hack that son of a gun and let''s turn them to fire wood."


    Hiro smirked at this. Kiro could tell his confidence was creeping in bit by bit. Then it started. An all out war, with mere trees.


    Making tree monsters was ingenious! Basically getting them to lower their guard around trees, who would think trees would just get up and kick your ass? Nobody! Suppose this was their test for how people could react in an unpredictable situation.


    The trees were incredibly strong, but their defense was weak. Though their dexterity was stupid high. Kiro wondered how could they be so big while their speed was on par with his. They were too broken!


    Luckily Kiro had good reflexes and Hiro''s shield was holding on, though he was taking a full st to some attacks as he wasn''t fast enough.


    "Really need to get my dexterity up!"


    "You think?"


    His staff was reaching it''s limit. He secretly hoped the trees would drop a staff.


    The thing attacked Kiro with every branch it had, He would slide, parry, jump but never backed down, only moved forward to hit it with the staff a couple of times. He activated Palm crashing, at the same time Bending Kick.


    -200


    -400


    His attack damage was really high so it didn''t take long before the Tree monsters health was downed by a lot. Hiro''s shield bashing was bing effective as an attacking skill. They were both doing serious damage to these tree monsters. Though not without a few scrapes, at times Kiro and Hiro would be sent flying.


    Kiro refused to use blink on anything that wasn''t a boss from now on. Unless it was life threatening, he just wouldn''t do it. They could be seen every so often switching opponents, in order to get this done quicker. It was amazing how synced they were. They could possibly be the best duo this game has ever seen.


    [Congrattions you''ve defeated two Elder trees. Rewarded 120 000 EXP]


    [Discovered and Killed Elder Trees for the first time. Rewarded 300 EXP]


    [Item rewards, 2 skill books. One ordinary sword. Elder Tree Bark for armour. 200 000 coins]

 Chapter 21: True Blooded Folks

    Chapter 21: True Blooded Folks


    Developers were sweet on gold coins at this point in the game. Even they didn''t predict that billionaires would take such an interest in their games and make a real world exchange system.


    ''Oh that is sweet, after this I should force Hiro to go mining for coins. Coins will no longer be avable in mines once the patch is up''


    1 gold coin would be exchangeable for 100 creds at first. Then as months go on, it will stabalise at 1 coin = 10 creds.


    They looked at the skill books, one was about necromancy and the other was dual wielding. Neither of them won at this time. They''ve stacked up around 20 skill books already. Kiro decided to sell them once real money exchange was introduced. That''s when the game will have millions and millions of yers.


    These skill books alone will sell for millions. The auction was a better bet. As people will raise the price by themselves.


    The further they went, the more they ran into the same kind of monsters over and over again, but they were stronger now, so it felt like they were bullying them a bit. Nheless they were able to level up 4 times. And just as they reached level 25¡ª


    [World Announcement: Congrattions to yers, Hiro and Kiro for being the first yers to reach level 25]


    This was extremely embarrassing, and there was no way whatsoever to make it shut up. That''s the downside of this game, nothing gets hidden!


    Levelling up was getting more harder. The next level needed 2 000 000 EXP!


    After walking and fighting for so long in a moonlit forest, they finally reached an eerie Manor. It looked well-maintained, but it gave off a bad feeling, it looked almost abandoned.


    They didn''t go in immediately, they decided to sit outside the shrubbery wall fence and replenish their strengths and stamina. Sharpening weapons.


    They had drunk 3 Health potions so far, and only 1 Magic potion. So the total number of health potions they had each was 2 and 3 Magic potions.


    Going through all these battles without so much as a break, was mildly mentally exhausting. Evolved humans were no doubt stronger and more resilient but because of the second''sg, it put more strain on the brain causing mental exhaustion sooner than it should happen.


    "Kiro, what do you think is in that Manor? I can''t help but get a chill from just looking at it."


    "Vampires I reckon!"


    "Wh-Wai-What?" Hiro stuttered, badly.


    "Think about it. Blood and vampires go a long way back. In the earth of old they were always portrayed as these rich scoundrels who lived in manors.


    "And I bet you anything, we will fight with 15 or so low levelled vampires. Since they''re also known to sire subordinates, so their master would be the final boss." He exined.


    Hiro looked dejected, as if he''d just been told that his mother had passed.


    "My stomach is churning," he said.


    "Same," Kiro tried reassuring him.


    He was nervous too. So he didn''t want Hiro to think he was weird for feeling like this. And the stakes were real, character erasure and a month of not ying. As people who will capitalise the game, they couldn''t have that much of a setback.


    Yes this was just a game, but its realism was what drew people in! A small setback will guarantee their loss.


    Even though the game could get too much sometimes with it''s realism, like the smell of blood and rotting corpses. It was popr.


    If these two weren''t from the slums, they would''ve emptied out all of their stomach''s contents by now, but they''re used to smells that were way worse. Rotting corpses were things they were used to.


    They soldiered on. And entered the Manor''s courtyard. Just then, a wave of Vampires showed themselves. 30 or so it seemed like. Kiro cursed at their rotten luck. But if they did survive this, this was hundreds of EXP. This thought kept both of them from just quitting.


    True Blooded Monster Level 27


    Race: Vampire


    HP: 10 000


    Skills:


    Blood Drain[Intermediate Level]


    Rank: D


    A skill that affects you from 2 meters away. If you can keep yourself 3 meters away you won''t suffer, but if its close enough, it''ll suck you til your HP is dry and you''ll die.


    Hypnosis [Basic Level]


    Rank: C


    A vampire can entice your mind and put you under hypnosis for a mere second. But a second is everything on the battle field. Depending on how high your magic defense is, this skill will affect you for half a second.


    They both took a stance, showing off their readiness to fight them, Kiro knew he had to kill as much as possible because his best friend was a tank and he''d be affected the most by the blood drain spell.


    Drawing the aggro was also not an option in this fight, as he''d die immediately. Kiro was fast, but not that fast.


    He ran forward, like a rocket propelling upwards to meet the moon, that had turned bloody when they entered the courtyard.


    He swung and fell two vampires, thanks to Staff Wielder it gave 20% more damage.


    The damage Kiro and Hiro could inflict had increased greatly for noobs. So they needed tond a couple of hits topletely destroy the foot soldiers.


    Kiro had managed to keep them at least 3 meters away with his long staff, anything that got close would either get a staff, palm crashed, bending kicked or hurricane punched. Of course some broke through to 2 meters, and he''d suffer some HP loss but they''d die right after.


    Kiro was so much in his head that he messed uppletely, he was too used to fighting in sync with Hiro and the strategy of having each others backs, that he went too far in theirir. He forgot that he was alone.


    The vampire general came at high speeds from behind, it lunged with it''s fangs aiming at his exposed neck, he fortunately saw it by the corner of his eye and instead of panicking, he side stepped to his right.


    The vampire stumbled forward having missed its mark, he didn''t waste any time with his staff on his left hand, he swung forwards, detaching his head from his body.


    He retreated for a bit, to see how Hiro was doing. He wasn''t doing too badly. His HP was almost half, but he was holding on.


    "I''m still¡ªstill fine," he heaved.


    "You should be. You have no choice. There are still half of them to kill," Kiro told him nonchntly.


    "Wouldn''t¡ªkill¡ªyou¡ªnic¡ª"


    He was interrupted by one that missed his neck with its fangs by a hair''s breath. It missed because it couldn''t time the height and the attack right.


    "What the hell Hiro, be careful!"


    He gave a brief nod. And they went at it again, this time Kiro didn''t dare get far into theirir! Before they knew it, they were surrounded.


    This didn''t look good at all. Kiro used every attack skill in his arsenal. So did Hiro. But their HP was draining faster.


    He panicked and activated Blink, and appeared right behind them, and didn''t waste any time swinging at the remaining ones. They finally killed them all, both of them just fell on their asses and took a breather.


    "They¡ªwere¡ªweak¡ªbut¡ªstrength¡ªin¡ªnumbers." Kiro said in-between breaths


    Hiro nodded in agreement. He couldn''t get a word out.


    [Congrattions on defeating true Blooded minions. Rewards 4 700 000 EXP each]


    [You''ve discovered and defeated true bloods for the first time. 10 000 EXP reward]


    [Rewarded Equiment: rare Armourx2, unique Swordsx3, rare Shieldx2. 2 000 000 coins. 1 Skill book]


    They both levelled up twice. They were almost at 30!


    [Calcting¡ª]


    ''Oh, I know this situation. This is bad''

 Chapter 22: The Master

    Chapter 22: The Master


    Kiro knew exactly what the system was doing. A quest will always change ranks when those doing it are too strong. They''d levelled up too much and were too strong for the boss.


    "Unbelievable luck!" Kiro said loudly.


    "What do you mean?"


    [Calctions done, due to your strength rising above the Master of this Manor, the system recalcted the rank of the quest.


    New Rank: S]


    Nobody thought Hiro could get any paler than he already was, he was white as a sheet. And Kiro just stared at nothingness dumbfounded.


    "From B to S? I knew it, this quest is impossible. Wce was trying to end us after all?!"


    ''Personally I can''t admit defeat here, I have too much coins, that''s enough to get me a mansion in the upper district. I cannot mess this up!''


    "Hiro, let''s look at the equipment we got." Kiro said trying to break them from their stupor.


    Armour [Rare]


    Material: Dragon Newt Hide


    Physical Attack Defense: 400


    Magical Attack Defense: 800


    They quickly equipped the armour. Although the ones they were wearing were rare too, rare had different levels. This dragon newt armour was clearly better!


    Shield [Rare]


    Material: Obsidian Steel


    Defense: 1000


    Attack: 100


    Both of them lost their marbles looking at the shield. Hiro was smiling like an idiot at it. He quickly equipped it.


    Sword [Unique]


    Material: Lesser Obsidian Steel


    Attack: 200


    Defense: 100


    Kiro found himself wishing that the sword could turn into a staff. He couldn''t equip any other weapons. A staff was the only weapon a Sage or an apprentice Sage like himself could use.


    "Don''t worry Kiro, once my smithing career takes off I''ll go mining for high grade obsidian steel and make you the best staff this world has yet to see." Hiro noticed the mncholic expression on his friend''s face.


    "Deal."


    What Hiro didn''t know was that Kiro was nning to drag them into the mines once they were done with this quest and mining would be their first priority until the game was patched.


    They decided to check out the skill book. But it was yet another disappointment. They couldn''t use the skill at all.


    Undead Skill [Rare]


    Necromancy skill that''s able to control the undead beings of higher intelligence.


    "What''s with these necromancy skills!!! We''ll have to auction them. We''ll also auction the third and second shield.


    "Hey Hiro, once we''re established yers. Let''s create our own guild. Well not a guild per se. Just a group of mercenaries. Taking jobs to help people clear dungeons for money.


    "We can find trusted individuals, or we can do it just the two of us. Of course we''ll need a plot ofnd to build our base. So the sooner we buynd the better."


    Lands right now were cheap, but they would sore after the update because the game will have millions and millions of yers who''d want to create their own guilds. So it was better to buy a spot right now.


    Hiro grinned and gave him a thumbs up.


    "It''s a deal!"


    After equipping everything, they drank HP and MP potions, and their bars were full again. Kiro practiced hitting in the air. He didn''t feel it but the staff was too ordinary and was holding him back now.


    After a short break, they got up, and entered the Manor.


    Ding!


    [You''ve entered Drac''s abode, be careful lest you''re killed before you even know it.]


    "What a chilling message," Kiroined.


    The Manor was creepier inside. The moment they opened the door, a wave of blood attacked their senses. This was truly a vampires abode. It was bigger than the outside lead on, as if expansion magic was used, there were dark portraits on the walls of pale men with red eyes, ck hair and fangs.


    "Hey Hiro, look at your other family." Kiro said jokingly, pointing to the portraits.


    Hiro knew immediately what he meant andughed manically, hissed and said "Give me your blood, mortal." While faking an ent, pretending he had fangs.


    They burst outughing. That seriously made the mood more cheerful. The Manor didn''t feel frightening to them anymore. They weren''t even afraid of meeting the master of the ce, if he talked like that, it''d be a cherry on top.


    ''Developers please, let him talk with that ent.'' Kiro thought pleadingly, as they went up the stairs.


    The stairs were long and curved. There was no shortcut, they had to climb all the way up.


    Name: Kiro


    Level 27


    Race: Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: -


    HP: 1000/1000


    MP: 1010/1010


    Attack: 600(+100)


    PDEF: 500(+900)


    Strength: 35


    Vitality: 30 (+5)


    Dexterity: 35(+2)


    Stamina: 35


    Intelligence: 35


    Equipment: rare dragon newt cloth armour and boots and umon staff.


    Skills


    Staff Wielder (Rank A, can''t evolve) 20% damage


    Vibrations (AOE Rank S, can''t evolve)


    Consumes 5MP per second, no cooldown.


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 10MP per second.


    Hurricane Punch (Rank B, can evolve)


    Consumes 10MP per second.


    Martial Arts (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    Chi (Ranked A, can''t evolve)


    Bending Kick (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Crashing Palm Palm (Ranked A, can evolve)


    25 AP


    15 SP


    Kiro found himself bowing four times to his S ranked skills. They''ve helped him a lot until now, he had been both lucky and unlucky with gaining skills. Although he didn''t have much, he didn''t have a skill below B ranked. Quality over quantity, indeed.


    He also noticed that physical and magical defense werebined into one stat, which he thought was strange since they were two different things.


    The stairs were fairly long, but they made at it the top drenched in sweat. It had taken them hours. There were many rooms at the top.


    They opened and closed a lot of them looking for Wce''s wife. Luckily they hadn''t run into the Master either. Now it just felt like they were together, that they''d just open one door and find him feeding on her.


    ''Would we even clear the quest if the woman died or was turned into a vampire.'' Kiro pondered.


    As if on queue with his thoughts, the door they opened next had two silhouettes in it, but it was too dark to tell so they turned on the light.


    The Master of the manor was right about to feast on her, when the light turned on, he looked at the ones who dared disturb his majestic meal and hissed. Kiro panicked, thinking about how this meant they failed the quest if they were toote.


    ''We can''t lose our characters because of something the game intended. How''s that fair?'' Hiro thought to himself. He was too panicking.


    "We aren''t toote are we?" Hiro asked perplexed at the situation.


    "Let''s hope not. You, monster get away from her." Kiro shooed the Master.


    The vampire smiled and started, "this is my meal, I caught it, therefore it''s mine. You have killed my minions. Leave while I am still being generous."


    Hiro and Kiro looked at each other, they roared withughter. They couldn''t hold it in anymore. Kiro was on his knees unable to contain himself. Drac was speaking exactly how Hiro imitated.


    Upon their tant disrespect, Drac was fuming, but the two boys in front of him didn''t care, they just found this situation extremely funny.


    Kiro slowly got up and looked at Hiro and asked, "how did you know?"


    He grinned and answered, "old films!"


    "Man it was spot on, the ent and fangs and everything it¡ª"


    Drac was furious because the intruders had totally ignored him, so he yelled "ENOUGH!!!"


    Ding!


    [You''ve made Drac angry, all his stats are increased by 1+"]


    "Damn it, how''s that fair system! Okay Hiro, let''s beat this overgrown bat before it gets angrier and gets more buffs."

 Chapter 23: The Master, II

    Chapter 23: The Master, II


    Monster Level 40 [Weakened]


    Drac


    Race: High Vampire


    HP: 30 000


    Skills


    Hypnosis [Advanced]


    Depending on your Magic Defense, this skill can put you under hypnosis until Drac is done feeding on you. Can only be used on one person at a time.


    Telekinesis [Basic]


    This skill Grants him the ability to move objects with his mind. Drac can lift one thing at a time considering the level of the skill.


    Pyrokinesis [Advanced]


    Drac has control over fire and can summon heat and fire with his mind and hands.


    They were simply speechless! Isn''t this boss a bit too broken! On top of that, it was weakened? Nonsense!


    But they consoled themselves with the fact that there were two of them. Drac sneered at their shock and difort.


    "Well, Hiro, the fire skill should be yours to handle."


    "Roger."


    "You, You dare. I told you, you unworthy peasants to leave. But you insist on being my human toys. Prepare to die!" Drac said, the malice was so thick you could almost taste it in the air.


    "We''re dead if we walk away," Kiro said, pretending he wasn''t bothered.


    "You''re dead either way," he said with somehow more malice than hisst words.


    "Well, if we leave its certain death, but it''s not certain in this situation who is gonna be the victor. It could be us who''ll be granted the privilege to stand on your corpse," Kiro said with more confidence than he actually had.


    His eyes glinted dangerously. Without warning, he must''ve cast a fire spell, because Kiro was hit. Luckily for Hiro, his shield blocked it. He quickly went to hide behind him.


    Ding!


    [You''ve been hit with a fire curse. You''ll lose 20 HP per second for the next 20 seconds!]


    "That''s ¡ª that''s brutal!"


    A spell that can steal 400 HP in 20 seconds. Both of them only had 1 HP potion each. If they were not careful they would die here. 20 seconds passed and Drac was still trying to burn a rare ranked shield.


    ''What a dunce.''


    "Is this how the Master of this Manor fights? What a let down, I thought you''d be better than your minions but you''re far worse," Kiro mocked.


    Even though he knew that making him angry could increase his stats, but this guy had no technique, he had no strategy. He was consumed with anger right now and seems to have lost his sense of reason.


    It was especially hard to go near him since he was casting a fire spell nonstop. As if he had an abundance of magic.


    ''If I were him, I''d cast hypnosis on Hiro or make him move, and attack me endlessly.''


    But he was so too much in his head, that he was not using any strategy. He was just mindlessly attacking, and someone like that, no matter how strong they can be bested.


    "YOU DARE?!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.


    "I dare!" Kiro said nonchntly with a voice full of mock, all the while hiding behind Hiro.


    "Hiro, while we''re like this, let''s get closer to him, when you''re close enough, hit him with your shield and I''ll try to sneak an attack."


    [You''ve enraged Drac. All his stats will increase by 5+]


    "Sh*t, I''ve done it now!"


    Hiro nodded. So it began. The mission to get to Drac, it was slow but they got there eventually. Hiro bashed him 5 times with his shield. Kiro peeked from behind him, and hit the vampire senseless, his arms were moving so fast that the skills buff damage increased to 40%.


    The damage he could cause now ranged in the upper hundreds. Hiro used his shield to bash him, simultaneously Kiro was hitting him especially in the head. His HP was about half, that must''ve knocked some sense into him.


    Suddenly, he used Telekinesis! He tossed Hiro far to the other side of the room, Kiro knew that his fire skill must be on cool down at the moment, he spammed it too much. The only danger was hypnosis!


    ''As long as I avoid his eyes, I think I''ll be okay?''


    As he was thinking that, he was suddenly embraced by a warm feeling that rushed over his entire body and mind. He felt safe. He felt this was a true paradise.


    Suddenly, he was in a white room on a bed, naked women all over him. Then as fast as he was thrown into that ''Paradise.'' He was suddenly jerked out of the scenario. When he came to he was on the floor with his HP less than a hundred.


    ''What the hell happened. But I didn''t look it in the eyes!''


    As he thought about how to avoid hypnosis, he quickly downed a health potion, in a matter of seconds his bar was full.


    He couldn''t find a better exnation though, he was under hypnosis and Drac racked his HP to a dangerous level. Kiro had no idea that, this skill couldn''t be blocked. It affected anyone, but depending on how high your magic defense was, the duration would differ.


    He got up quickly, Hiro was attacking the Master with his shield. Kiro activated Blink, and appeared right at the front of the vampire. With all his might he pushed his palm forward, and followed up with the bending kick.


    -900


    -500


    It was enough to give him damage but not enough to kill him. His skills were on cool down, but not for long, before they could dent his HP any longer. He whipped Kiro aside and cast Hypnosis on his friend. Kiro could do nothing but watch from across the room as Hiro stood there dumbly.


    "Damn it," he muttered


    He was low on magic so he didn''t want to use blink unless it was at a crucial moment, that''s why he got up and ran toward them, and just like that, Drac performed dual casting.


    The infamous fire spell, Kiro quickly side stepped, avoided most of it but he still got affected. It grazed him.


    This time, it was 400 damage.


    ''He grazed me though? I''d have died if I took that one head on!'' He thought solemnly.


    The damage reduced his HP to 500, but he didn''t stop, he still ran to his friends side. Kiro jumped when he arrived and poked Drac right in the eye.


    -999


    That broke his concentration. Hiro came to.


    When he realised where he was, his face flushed. Kiro shook his head. He stood behind him, and asked.


    "So, what did you see?"


    "N-n-n-one of your business," he stuttered badly.


    The tips of his ears were bright red. Even in-game? The game was simply too realistic.


    Hiro went closer to Drac, and started the previous strategy again, bashing him with the shield and Kiro hitting him with palm crashing and the staff. They did this until they finally severed his head off.


    They breathed a sigh of relief. Then, Drac''s voice could be heard.


    "You think you''ve won? I know your smells, I''ll find you wherever you rats hide. You killed my puppet!"


    That exined a lot about why it kept getting buffs. It was unfair having a strong benefactor. The voice came from the head, it was still rumbling about how much trash they were and how it''d find them, or how they should sleep with one eye open because he''s lurking about. They had enough. Kiro walked over.


    "Shut it!" He stomped on the head causing it tobust. "You know our smells? What a weird fetish."


    They just sat there, because they were on theirst HP and stamina. They both felt sick. When your HP and MP runs dangerously low, avatar''s start having side effects. Like feeling as if they have a fever. Or being immobile like Kiro previously was.

 Chapter 24: First S Quest Clear

    Chapter 24: First S Quest Clear


    [Congrattions you''ve killed Drac''s puppet. Reward 3 485 689 EXP rewarded]


    [You''ve killed an S Ranked quest boss for the first time 200 000 EXP]


    [Items: 20 health potions, 10 mana potions. 2 True blood awakening potions. 10 000 000 coins. 5 skill books. 1 Staff. 1 Axe.]


    With all that EXP. They levelled up once.


    After catching their breaths, theyughed joyfully! They couldn''t quite believe they did it, they cleared an S ranked quest. Beginner''s vige felt like a million years ago. They were still noobs when they left it.


    [World Announcement: Congrattions to yers Hiro and Kiro for being the first yers to clear an S ranked quest]


    They just scornfully ignored the system. And decided to divide the loot. 3 of the skill books were for alchemy, smithing and mining respectfully. Hiro had a haul this time. The 2 others were for priests. Life seemed unfair to Kiro. But since they finally gave him a staff, he was satiated.


    Ding!


    [You''ve unlocked a new skill, Regeneration. S ranked and cannot evolve. The skill regenerates 100 HP And MP per second.]


    This brought a smile and happiness to Kiro.


    "What do you reckon the true blood awakening potion does?" Hiro asked.


    "I guess it awakens our true blood, I have no idea what it could mean otherwise." Kiro answered.


    They looked at each other, and smirked.


    Both at the same time, "In 3. 1,2,3." They downed the potion. At first nothing happened, then they could feel painful pricks all over their bodies. Not so much that you''d wanna end yourself, but enough to feel difort.


    [You''ve drunk a true blood awakening potion.


    Awakening in progress: 72 hours (not in-game hours)]


    "72 hours?"


    Hiro nodded.


    Kiro looked at the staff he got. He wasn''t sure of the material it was made of, it looked like iron but also stone.


    Staff


    The staff of a certain king.


    Rank:???


    That''s all the system gave him. He took a much closer look, it looked like it was made from obsidian steel from one angle, and just ordinary stone from another.


    It was very thin, and only a few inches taller than Kiro. It stood at 2 meters. Kiro quickly equipped the staff, it felt natural in his hand.


    They then turned to the woman they came to rescue, she was in aa or something. She looked liked something out of a painting. Wce was sure lucky. They shook her. She jolted awake.


    "Let''s go, Wce is waiting."


    She was wary, so before she asked they told her all about her husband, what he looked like, where he stayed, his work, everything. She seemed to believe them.


    "Did you get bitten?" Hiro asked.


    "Yes. I''m vampire now," she said nonchntly.


    They both jumped out of instinct, and stood in defensive stances. Though they didn''t attack immediately, if they killed the person they came to rescue, wouldn''t they fail the quest?


    Even though the announcement was made, the system had an attitude, so they were it could revoke their ''mission apished'' status.


    "Rx, I''m still sane. I haven''t had human blood, never will. I''ll settle for animals. That''s all. This was done against my will, surely you cannot judge me for it."


    Reluctantly, they put the weapons down. She immediately bared her fangs at them, she turned pale and her eyes turned red.


    Kiro was about to activate palm crashing when sheughed heartily. She was apparently teasing them.


    "You should''ve seen your faces," she said in-betweenughs.


    "Honestly, I could''ve killed you!" Kiro remarked, his heart still going haywire.


    "Yeah, sorry, sorry, thank you for rescuing me," she said with the most sincere smile.


    They went outside the Manor, Hiro took out a return crystal Wce had given them. And they used it to return to the vige instantaneously.


    The joy in Wce''s face was a sight to see. He was so happy, he was stupid crying. He didn''t care that his wife was a vampire now, what mattered to him was that she was alive. Well, more or less.


    "Thank you, thank you Odin!"


    "Ahem!" Kiro cleared his throat.


    Wce slowly looked at him.


    "Brat, I know you helped too but Odines first," he said as he stood up, wiping his tears. He gave each of them a bow.


    ''Unbelievable, this guy. It wasn''t Odin but us fighting out there.''


    [Congrattions. You''ve rescued Wce''s wife and brought her back alive, or undead. 5 000 000 EXP rewarded. 1 000 000 coins rewarded.]


    "As I promised, here''s the reward, I''m sorry its not much. Its a sword skill, I never was able to learn it maybe you could," Wce said.


    As soon as Kiro looked at the skill, he wanted to strangle Wce. But he held back his fury. This skill was once again useless to them. It was sword aura!


    They had levelled up to 30. They''ve made history in this game, nobody else would leave the beginner''s vige after gaining 30 levels. Usually the requirement to leave was level 20. After level 20, you''ll be automatically kicked out.


    [World Announcement: Congrations to yers Hiro and Kiro for being the first to reach level 30 at beginner''s vige. All achievements will be recorded in the hall of fame]


    "We should log out before people start resenting us," Kiro said.


    "Good idea. Good bye Wce."


    They both logged off, unbeknownst to them, they''d caused an uproar within Asgard''s online forums. It was chaos, people were furious, some admired. How can these two people be so good at a new game!


    "Did they perhaps discover a bug? First the S rank clear. Now level 30? It''s so hard levelling up!"


    "Yeah, levelling up is a pain in this game. All they give you are these useless gold coins."


    "They must''ve cheated. This game has no bugs."


    "Seconded! Developers do something about this!"


    And so theints never ceased. But the developers properly ignored all of them.


    ------


    They had been ying this game for days without proper rest. Their bodies felt a bit stiff. So they went for a jog before dinner. Kiro went and knocked on Hiro''s door, after showering and getting ready.


    He came out ready to go to dinner.


    "You showered right?"


    "Of course. What do you take me for."


    "Just making sure!"


    They walked together, chatting about their game y, unaware that the academy was full of yers who now knew their names. But nobody knew what they looked like, as nobody had ever met them in-game.


    They were shocked when they heard a couple of people talking and their names popping up but decided to just ignored it because maybe there''s another pair who are Kiro and Hiro. Who knows.


    They ordered fried chicken and burgers, they felt they deserved to be spoilt today. They sat at their usual table. They were still talking about the game.


    "Hey, we should go mining next, after buying a lot outside beginner''s vige."


    "Mine? Thought we''d do that far into the game?"


    "Do you trust me?"


    "Of course!"


    "Then, our next mission should be mining. You''re a craftsman for hells sake, you should be happy a Sage like me wants to dabble in the dirt with you." Kiro said with arrogance.


    Even flipping his hair, at least attempted to, the hair was too curly and too short to be flipped at the moment. While He had asked his mum to trim it only on the sides, she felt rebellious and did the top as well.


    Hiro rolled his eyes. "Please stop, you''re scaring the rich folks."


    They enjoyed the goodugh!


    They were so busy chatting, that they didn''t hear or see somebody sitting across from them. So the voice startled them.


    "You''re them aren''t you? You''re Hiro and Kiro."

 Chapter 25: Isla Silva

    Chapter 25: I Silva


    They looked at the voice, it was the pale girl with red long hair, green eyes and apparently soft voice. The girl that only sat with them but never said anything. The most beautiful girl Kiro had ever seen, apart from his mother and sister.


    "Mm?" Kiro said dumbfounded.


    "The game. Asgard Online. Every world announcement was about you two. The forums are in chaos."


    "Oh? Is that so..." Kiro said, taken aback, still had no idea what else to say.


    "Please don''t shout it, I doubt I want anybody else to know." Hiro quickly said.


    "Do I look like someone who would do that?"


    "You do." The boys both said, at the same time, without batting an eye.


    She rolled her eyes, "how did you get an S ranked quest?"


    "Luck, I guess," Kiro said and he wasn''t exactly lying, it was a B ranked quest at first and changed during the quest.


    "Is the the quest re-doable?"


    "Nope."


    "How do you know?" She eyed them suspiciously.


    "Go to the beginner''s training ground, you''ll see that Wce''s wife is there." Hiro replied.


    "Oh, bummer. I won''t be able to go back to beginners vige. I''ve already surpassed level 20."


    This girl had sat at their table every meal for days. She never spoke a word. Who would''ve guessed she was this talkative.


    They were shocked by more than one thing. This girl didn''t even seem like a gamer. But turns out she was a game addicted teenager, just like them.


    "What do you y as?" Kiro asked her.


    "Elf. Archer. You?"


    "Dwarf Craftsman, Dreki Sage." They said, almost at the same time.


    "Are you guys telepathic or something."


    "No." again, they said at the same time.


    "That''s not helping your case."


    Kiro noticed a smile appear on her face but as quick as it was to appear, it disappeared. Which was too bad, in Kiro''s opinion, she had a nice smile.


    "You don''t avoid us like the gue like your peers. Why''s that?" Kiro asked her.


    "I don''t care about stuff like that. Its my family''s money. Not my money. Anyway, wanna join my family''s guild?"


    "Nah, we won''t join any guilds. But you can hire us as mercenaries." Kiro told her.


    She nodded vigorously.


    He then turned to his friend, "I think I''m gonna change my in-game name from Kiro to my surname or something."


    "Waynworth?" He said loudly.


    "Don''t yell it. The idea is for people not to know." Kiro scolded him.


    "She will." he pointed at the pale girl. "And to be honest, that''s not fair, why do you get to have a switcheroo and I don''t."


    "Well you could mix up ''Misaki Hiroto.'' Something like Himi?"


    "Stop you suck at this!"


    "Akiro then?"


    His eyes turned into stars, he nodded while nothing coulde out. While Hiro was having his moment, of receiving his first ever nickname from a friend. Kiro could see someone walking towards them at the corner of his eye. He recognised him as one of the brats that bullied him.


    His heart skipped a beat in fear. This scoundrel really left a mark on him. And this pompous ass did somethingughable, he bowed to the pale girl.


    "I," he spoke.


    Kiro snorted. "This brat is so pretentious!" He said to Hiro, enough to be heard.


    He gave him an ice cold look, Kiro didn''t back down he gave one right back. That made him look away. As much as Kiro''s heart wanted him to run and get swallowed by the earth, he wouldn''t be worth anything if he showed it.


    ''I''ll stand up for myself and Hiro no matter how scared I am.'' He made a mental note, as if to strengthen his resolve.


    The atmosphere at their table was weird and unbearable. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Hiro gestured them to leave, Kiro gestured for him to stay seated. Not because he was afraid his legs would give out or anything.


    The pale girl, no, I looked up at him.


    "Isaac," she said simply.


    Then Isaac went on a rant. It was as if the feelings were bottled up for a long time.


    "Why are you seated here? There''s a good table over there with us?"


    "And what makes a table good exactly?"


    "Huh? Because it''s not infested with hoodlums like those two. Let''s go, you''ll dirty yourself."


    "Isaac, we are not friends. Our parents may do business but that doesn''t make us friends. You''re a pathetic human being. You think I don''t know the bullying you do around this school? Acting like you own everything," she said coolly. She never raised her voice once.


    Isaac was now red in the face. He couldn''tprehend what was happening. Clearly he''s a kid who has never been told no.


    "To think you''d defend these rats, these savages¨C"


    Hiro was red at this point, not the ear tip blushing red. But the whole face to neck i''m going to kill you red. Yes, he was going explode with anger.


    Kiro put his hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down and looked up at Isaac.


    "Oi, don''t call us savages." He was just saying at this point, they''ve been called worse.


    Isaac just looked at him and sneered. Grabbed I''s hand and tried yanking it. Kiro got up so fast. He didn''t know what he was thinking either.


    ''Don''t get me wrong I am not trying to defend her or anything,'' he said as if to convince himself while putting himself between I and Isaac.


    He got so close to him, their noses were almost touching, his eyes straight to his. With a look that said ''Get lost or I''ll blind you.'' Isaac was taken aback.


    Nobody in the cafeteria could see it but Kiro did, his eyes told him everything, the kid pretended to be the predator when he was nothing more than prey. He may have pissed his pants with Kiro''s re, but he did walk away without saying anything.


    Kiro sat down, and sighed. "Pheew! That was close, I almost beat him senseless. I would''ve been expelled for sure. My little brother would''ve killed me before my mum could."


    The cafeteria was so quiet when he said this, they were still processing what had just happened. At his nonchnt words, the cafeteria roared withughter.


    "Dude that was so badass," Hiro said.


    "Thank you," I said.


    "I''m I Silva by the way." She held out her hand.


    This was really interesting. In his past life He never actually met her. He obviously saw her around the campus and was quite smitten by her, but they were never at close approximation with each other.


    Let alone being on a first name basis. He never met Hiro either. Of course in his past life hecked so much confidence that I wouldn''t have thought twice looking at him.


    "I''m nice to meet you¡ª" He realised what he had just done. He wished the earth would swallow him whole.


    I giggled, it was cute.


    "Waynworth Kiro." He cleared his throat and extended his hand.


    Her hand then went over to Hiro.


    "Misaki Hiroto." Hiro shook her hand. "But you can call me Hiro."


    She got up to leave, but turned and said, aloud.


    "Oh by the way, changing your names, Kiro and Hiro in-game isn''t going to do much. Since your faces won''t change." She turned and left.


    At that the many that heard her caused chaos. All were trying to get a look at this Hiro and Kiro of Asgard Online.


    "What the hell was she trying to do!" Kiro couldn''t help but be a little frustrated.


    She turned back onest time, and gave them a ''I''m sorry'' face.


    They quickly tried to slip out.

 Chapter 26: Through The Looking Glass

    Chapter 26: Through The Looking ss


    I Silva has always been a recluse. Not because she was shy but because her family''s social status was very high and it had been used against her before.


    She absolutely despised high society, because of it, she grew up a child of a multi-billionaire who constantly had to question whether someone was talking to her because they wanted to be friends or they needed connections.


    As the saying goes, ''its lonely at the top.'' I felt this through and through. She hated those who approached her under false pretenses, she''d rather someone was honest. She wouldn''t mind helping someone gain something, but don''t pretend to be friends.


    When her father told her she was to attend Eden Academy. She initially rebelled. She felt it was a waste of time as people will try and suck up to her instead of just trying to get to know her. They''d never reprimand her, they''d be busy praising whatever she did. So she felt that the academy was a waste of time, if she couldn''t grow as a person there, why bother.


    Upon her father asking pleadingly to at least check out the campus before making a decision. She finally agreed, but only to check it out. She demanded to ride the train instead of a private jet. Her father agreed on the basis that she would need to buy the luxurious ss ticket. That was apromise she was willing to meet.


    "Well Rosie, be a good girl, " her father said at the station.


    "Aren''t I always?"


    Her father stiffled augh. I had 3 older siblings, she was absolutely the naughtiest of them all. He saw to it that she was safely inside her carriage, and left when the train did.


    On her first day on campus, it was everybody''s first day too. But she noticed that people were saying atrocities to two boys who seemed to havee from the lower district. She rolled her eyes and felt disgusted that she was used to these scenarios.


    Then something that''s never happened, happened. The boy spoke up. He spoke up loud and clear and stood up for himself and his friend. I was pleasantly surprised.


    Suddenly the brown skinnednky boy was dreamy in her eyes. For her, it was love at first sight even though it was what he said that made her like him.


    I had never liked anyone before, her family at one point even thought she wouldn''t like boys. But who knew the first boy she liked wouldn''t get a stamp of approval from her father. She cursed at how unfair life was.


    She watched as the boy and his friend walked into the school. Every stride carried unparalleled confidence, he may not know this but he radiated it, she reckoned it was because of this that these rich people showed envy and disgust.


    Even though he was from the lower district, he walked around with his head held up very high, I admired that. She immediately took out her phone and enrolled, and hoped they were at least in the same ss.


    From then on, I would be seen almost anywhere the two boys were. She didn''t mean toe across as a stalker, she wanted to approach them but would get cold feet every time. She even started sitting with them during meals, nobody knew but she''d adjust the noise cancelling option so as to at least hear what they would talk about.


    The first time she sat there, she felt a sudden burn all over her body. When she looked up, deep blue eyes were staring right at her. The boy wore a half-smile, half-smirk as if amused. The eyes likened the ocean, deep with a surge of danger. I quickly went back to her book, afraid if she looked any longer she''d be lost in them.


    She usually stole nces of envy at them. She wanted what they had. The more she sat with them, the morefortable she was, the more weed she felt. Even though no words had ever been exchanged.


    On a particr day. She heard them arguing about changing their in-game names, so to ward off unwanted attention.


    ''Were all boys dumb? Their appearance won''t change. It doesn''t matter what their name is.'' I thought to herself.


    She now had something to talk about with them, since she was also a gamer they can all just dicuss gaming, she didn''t care. So she pretended she didn''t know and asked them if they were the famous Kiro and Hiro. The conversation was short and brief, it made her happy nheless. She was deep in thought when she heard a very, annoying voice. Her mood soured immediately.


    ''Why the hell is he bowing?''


    "I."


    She honestly didn''t want to talk to this boy. But she was taught to be hospitable, he did walk all the way here just to talk to her after all. She internally cursed at the high ss etiquette nonsense.


    "Isaac," she said coldly.


    Then he started questioning her like she owed him anything. Or that she was his pet and he owned her. She didn''t like his tone, not at all.


    "Why are you seated here? There''s a good table over there with us?"


    "And what makes a table good exactly?" She asked knowing exactly what he was going to say.


    "Huh? Because it''s not infested with hoodlums like those two. Let''s go, you''ll dirty yourself." He said with a smirk, as if proud of what he had just said.


    I didn''t know why, but she panicked at his words. She became hot and sweaty, even her armpits started to itch. For some reason, she wanted to make it clear to Isaac that not only does she not like him, she also didn''t care about the sses society puts them in.


    "Isaac, we are not friends. Our parents may do business but that doesn''t make us friends. You''re a pathetic human being. You think I don''t know the bullying you do around this school? Acting like you own everything."


    Isaac was visibly fuming, but she didn''t care. They were essentially equals when it came to the social ss.


    "To think you''d defend these rats, these savages¨C"


    Her eyes fell on them, and noticed that the boy, Hiro, was getting really ufortable.


    ''How do I diffuse this situation?''


    "Oi, don''t call us savages." Kiro said.


    I was used to Kiro''s no nonsense attitude but her eyes widened in surprise. This boy was really fearless. Then out of nowhere, unexpectedly, Isaac put his hands on her and tried to pull her toward him.


    She didn''t even notice Kiro get up. But in a split second, he was face to face with Isaac. He stood before her with his back turned. He was too tall, his back felt like a protective wall. She stepped aside to get a better look.


    His deep blue eyes looked so dangerous. Like the ocean, but it was not the calm collected kind, it was as though a storm was brewing within them. It was as if he was looking down on prey. Prey that he was ying with before devouring.


    I unconsciously titled her head, she couldn''t understand how he looked so dangerous yet so attractive? He didn''t say anything to Isaac, just stared at him. Those close enough could actually hear Isaac whimper. The cafeteria was quiet and watching at this point.


    Isaac left with his tail between his legs.


    ''What a coward. He''ll try using his father to suppress him, no doubt. That''s how he works. He''s likely to let it go though, it''d be embarrassing for him that he was suppressed by someone he deems inferior.'' I sighed, relieved at her deduction.


    Then, just then, Kiro said something so unexpected.


    "Pheew! That was close, I almost hit him senseless. I would''ve been expelled for sure. My little brother would''ve killed me before mum could."


    The whole cafeteria was filled withughter at his words. What a guy! People of the lower ss than Isaac were starting to look at him with admiration. Even though he was lowest of the low, he stood up to someone who was one of the highest in society.


    "Dude that was so badass," Hiro said.


    "Thank you," I said.


    I realised that she never actually introduced herself to them. She''d just sit with them listening to their conversations until they left. This was also the first they were speaking, she couldn''t possibly let this opportunity slip by.


    "I''m I Silva by the way," she said and held out her hand.


    "I''m nice to meet you¡ª."


    ''How cute, handsome and innocent. The more I get to know him the more i like him.'' She giggled.


    "Waynworth Kiro."


    His hands were, awfully rough. Clearly he''s worked a lot using his bare hands. But she didn''t hate it. Then her hand turned to Hiro.


    "Misaki Hiroto. But you can call me Hiro." Hiro shook it.


    She was feeling really overwhelmed, in a good way. She got up to leave, but remembered their argument earlier and aloud, she said,


    "Oh by the way, changing your names, Kiro and Hiro in-game isn''t going to do much. Since your faces won''t change." Then turned and left.


    She was at the door when she realised what she had just done. She turned again, with a pleading face. ''I hope you forgive me, both of you!'' and then ran off. Leaving them to deal with the aftermath.

 Chapter 27: The Journey

    Chapter 27: The Journey


    They had barely escaped the cafeteria. They immediately went for an hour long jog. They still stayed true to their training, no matter what.


    When Kiro got into his room, he showered again, then put the head gear on. Good thing school hadn''t started yet. They could game for days without worry.


    Immediately after logging in, they were just outside the beginners vige. There were no portals from there to the capital, every newbie had to walk there. For a real experience of how it was before carriages were invented.


    And sure enough, they didn''t have their levels hovering over their heads.


    Ding!


    [Wee! Asgardian. You''re now a seasoned yer. You can take on mature responsibilities. Like buyingnd, crafting weapons and armour, creating a guild, take on quests that threaten the very existence of Asgard. Are you ready? Good Luck!]


    There weren''t many yers going to the capital. As they walked toward the capital, they bumped into a girl they knew. I Silva! Kiro couldn''t decide which was more beautiful, the game her or the real life her.


    The journey would be about a month long.


    "Can we join you guys? Ah, this is Saanvi Khan. She''s a priest." I said and introduced herpanion.


    "Yeah sure, the more the merrier." Kiro said.


    "I''m Hiro, this grouch is Kiro." He attempted an awkward smile, "he''s a Sage, I''m a craftsman." Hiro continued.


    The view before them was truly majestic. The forest ran as far as their eyes could see and beyond that forest, was the capital of Asgard, the capital of gods. It would take them almost a full month, in-game time to get there. The journey wouldn''t be easy. It would be a hard perilous one.


    It was apparently winter outside the beginner''s vige, as everything was white, as though covered in snow but with a closer inspection, this was their ''natural'' state.


    Kiro had a feeling this wouldn''t be easy, it was Asgard after all, it wouldn''t be it without lurking dangers. This was too part of the game, it was akin to a quest. Only you don''t get special rewards just monster loot.


    The real world didn''t have this many trees. It was refreshing to see and smell. They walked as if tourists. Taking in every scene, every scent. They knew that, soon enough they''d have to fight whatever dangers were in that gigantic forest. So they made the most of their none monster time.


    "How''s life in the lower district? I''ve never been there." Saanvi inquired snapping them out of their hypnotic state.


    "Count your blessings. Life there ispletely, and utterly disgraceful. How''s life in high society, living it up?" Kiro asked, slightly bitter and agitated.


    "Money isn''t everything you know. There are more important things." It was I who interjected, she sensed the bitterness in his voice.


    Kiro rolled his eyes, snorted and said, "you know, you can only hear that from rich people. Usmon folk need it to survive." He stopped and let them digest what he had just said and continued, "you see. The house I grew up in is so small, that you can hear anything happening from every other room.


    "My parents had to work 20 hours a day since I was born. Just to save up enough to send me here in this academy. The streets in the lower district are even worse, people like us don''t deserve hospital treatments. You get shot on the streets, your body will likely rot there. Ever smelled a rotting corpse? That''s life in the lower district."


    Hiro side-eyed his friend as if to tell him ''stop it.'' Both girls were quiet. Clearly shaken at the story. More than anything, I was visibly furious that there are actual human beings living like that. She was at a loss for words, but even with this story, she knew there were more important things than money.


    "I won''t pretend like we don''t need money to survive. Humans are just inherently greedy, and once taken over by that greed, they don''t share at all, they lose their humanity.


    "I''d lost count about the times people pretended to befriend me, only to use me as a connection. It hurts. Money reveals people and their nature. There are a very few people who can remain humble while they''re at the top. I absolutely hate this lifestyle. I hate this society and how most of our poption are treated as scum."


    I hadn''t intended to give a lecture but ended up doing it. By the end she was exasperated.


    "Still sounds like rich people problems to me. Try living in a mould infested house." Kiro said nonchntly.


    The two hadn''t noticed that their going back and forth, had totally left Hiro and Saanvi out of the conversation. The eyes of the two kept going back and forth, asionally nodding to both of them in agreement.


    "Then, would you give your family up for money?" I asked.


    She really had him this time. In his past life he would''ve probably said yes. Knowing everything, having seen everything. Kiro knew that nothing was more important than family. They were both right in their arguments of course, but Kiro''s argument was destroyed here as I provided him with something that was more important than money.


    He simply shook his head at the question, he couldn''t say anything else. He couldn''t refute. He was on a mission to get his family money after all.


    He didn''t see it, but I smiled and blushed at his answer. It seemed her like for him deepened. Not only did he not cower before her, he attempted to put her in her ce. She appreciated that he wasn''t sucking up to her.


    Kiro internallymanded the girl. Not many rich folks can have a sound argument without getting defensive and calling the poor,zy people who just won''t climb thedder. Her points were actually valid. So were his. In life, problems will always follow you.


    He found himself admiring I. She had opened his eyes to something else entirely, ''money reveals people''s nature.'' This part especially stayed with him. He wondered what kind of human will he be once he was at the top. He promised himself to share with the poor once he''s at the top, though he hadn''t the slightest clue as to how.


    "Uhm, so then, if you''re so poor, how''d you afford to y this game?" Saanvi asked.


    I sighed deeply at her question. The girl was truly tactless. She was innocently n?ive to a fault, but she was also slightly curious about how they managed to afford the game.


    "Easy. We borrowed from our next semester''s tuition." It was Hiro who answered her.

 Chapter 28: The Journey, II

    Chapter 28: The Journey, II


    The girls stopped walking, while the boys walked a bit further and stopped and turned to see what was the matter. Both their faces were sour and kind of angry.


    "So, let me get this straight, you took the money your parents worked so hard for and bought a game?" I was livid, but she didn''t show it. The boys didn''t notice, so they just nonchntly nodded.


    She took out two dummy arrows, and shot at both of them. It would sting but they wouldn''t take any damage. She took out more and started shooting at them.


    "Ouch. Cut it out. We''ll pay it back. Obviously! We''ll take on a part-time job and pay it back. Calm down! Hey!" Kiro shouted in vain, as she hadn''t stopped raining arrows down on them.


    After a good 5 minutes, she finally calmed herself down and stopped.


    "You do know we''re stronger than you right?" Kiro said, amused.


    The girl had guts. It was as simple as that. Kiro didn''t seem to hate her bossy nature. He liked it quite a bit. He never wanted to shy away from a challenge he liked, unlike in his previous life.


    "Obviously. That''s why I used arrows that didn''t inflict any damage," I said matter-of-factly.


    Outside the beginner''s vige, yers could PK each other. If a serious fight broke out here, they could fatally harm each other. Kiro was impressed that she factored that in before attacking them.


    They walked far and wide, until they reached the mouth of the forest and took a break. Saanvi was too tired to continue, apparently she used all her attribute points on intelligence and ignored everything else. Much like Hiro who prioritised strength.


    So her stamina was quite low, she couldn''t walk for long distances without wanting to take a break. Originally, Kiro offered to carry her on his back but she was too embarrassed that she cut him off before he could exin.


    Kiro noticed that I was visibly nervous, she was fidgeting. It seemed as if she wanted to say something, but she was contemting.


    "What, what''s the matter? You guys can''t fight?" Kiro enquired.


    She was a little surprised that her thoughts wereid bare to be seen by Kiro. Although he was right that something was bothering her, he was wrong about what.


    "We''re both level 25s, what do you mean, can you guys fight?" She asked almost irritated.


    "Well, I see somethings bothering you, if it''s not this then what is it?"


    "I¡ªwell, I was wondering if I can just pay back the money you two ''borrowed'' so you don''t have to look for a job and just focus on your studies," she said, her face crimson, as she said this her head was downcast she couldn''t even look at them. This was the most embarrassing thing she''d ever had to do.


    Kiro noticed that Hiro''s eyes gleamed, but quickly he shut her down. "No, we can manage."


    She quickly looked up, "but why? I''m just trying to help."


    "Yes I know you are. But I wouldn''t like our friendship''s foundation to be like this. Remember you said people used you in the past for money, I don''t want to be like that," Kiro said.


    As considerate as this was of him, I didn''t hear a word after Kiro imed her as a friend. She was ecstatic, as this was someone she''d go as far as to say, was her first friend.


    She knew Saanvi but they weren''t all that close, they happened to live in the same neighbourhood and they chanced upon each other in-game and decided to be in-gamepanions.


    He hadn''t the slightest idea, but this made I extremely happy.


    Kiro didn''t want to be indebted to rich people either, as much as be liked I and wanted to be friends, there was still some lingering feelings telling him to hold his horses. Rich people were dangerous, it may not be her but her family.


    After the short break was up and Saanvi could move, they finally entered the forest. Kiro was walking nonchntly with his staff on his shoulders, his arms hanging on it. They were all walking in silence, well Hiro was whistling.


    It was a strange but a beautiful feeling. The snow, its texture didn''t feel like snow, at all. Felt like, soil. White soil. Which caused the ''greenery'' in the forest to grow with a different colour, white.


    Kiro had a funny feeling that even the animals would be of the same colour.


    "I can''t get used to this view. Why would anyone think making trees white was a good idea," Imented.


    "People do have peculiar aesthetics," Saanvi answered back, looking at Kiro then I.


    "You, hush."


    Saanviughed merrily. She may have been naive but her instincts seemed to be really sharp.


    The farther they walked the more the fauna had colour about it. Some had a tinge of pink or purple. It looked like a forest straight out of a fairytale, Alora, Kiro''s little sister, would love.


    Kiro of course prepared for this little adventure. He had told Hiro to buy things for survival too. Though it seemed the girls had no idea, they had nothing.


    "How did you both know that you''d need all these?" Saanvi asked, I stood there nodding at her question. It was too suspicious.


    "Does it even matter? You''re able to eat because of how prepared we were," Kiro answered, they had already erected the two tents. They were just sitting around a fire, roasting fish.


    "Well, I guess." Saanvi shrugged at Kiro''s answered.


    They had to camp, they walked until dusk. The white forest looked absolutely stunning with the orange hue covering it. Although Kiro had prepared for the journey, he wasn''t entirely sure how long it took to get there. It''s a detail he had forgotten, the food would definitely not be enough for 4 people for 30 days.


    So, they''d have to hunt at times. It was strange though, because they hadn''t run into any animals. The trees too, they didn''t bare any fruits.


    The sat around the fire, chatting and getting to know each other. Telling each other stories about the districts they lived in, unlike before there were no debates, just listeners eager to know about the others different worlds.


    With the crackling wood apanied byughter and happy chatter, the night wasted away.

 Chapter 29: The Journey, III

    Chapter 29: The Journey, III


    The girls took one tent. Kiro didn''t think anything would happen since there weren''t any animals around, so he went to sleep as well. Nobody was on guard. Sure enough, the night died without incident. He was however woken up by footsteps attempting to musk their sound.


    When he looked at Hiro, he was still sound asleep. So he decided to follow, alone. The footsteps were already out of his earshot when he finally got out of the tent but he knew the direction they went. The sun was on the verge ofing but it was still dark.


    The further he walked, the more he could make out a sound of sshing water.


    ''Not another water monster, please.'' He pleaded.


    As he got close he could make out a silhouette, it looked like a human taking a bath. There was steam however so he couldn''t tell at that distance.


    ''Wait, are there sirens in this game? I''m dead, I''m dead, I''m dead.''


    He approached with caution, as if he were a predator navigating the long grass slowly so as to not be noticed by the prey. But when he reached the river bank, he saw a familiar face.


    ''She''s ¡ª''


    He didn''t finish his thoughts, he couldn''t turn on time, he couldn''t react at all, as the arrow met with his armour. If it weren''t for the fact that he was seeing a woman bathe ¡ª fictional or not ¡ª he could''ve reacted better.


    "It''s me, goodness!" He shouted as he turned around.


    ''It''s not real, but still, it''s modelled after her. Never thought my first time seeing a naked woman would be a virtual one.''


    "I know," I replied coldly, "why are you sneaking around? Are you a perv or something?"


    "Please don''t get a big head, I just ¡ª"


    Another arrow zoomed dangerously close past his cheek.


    "Look, I''m sorry, I didn''t know. I heard footsteps and followed them. I thought you were a siren, swear." He was talking with his back turned to her.


    "Oh, sorry for the misunderstanding then."


    Kiro''s heart nearly jumped out of his chest, as the voice sounded closer than he expected.


    Though he still didn''t turn around. He could take her in a fight, he was levels above her but he''d rather not.


    "You can turn around."


    So he did, there she was. Her red hair still wet from the bath, her skin was kind of crimson.


    "Is the water that hot?"


    "It is, apparently you can adjust it with sheer thoughts."


    "Why''d you choose steamy hot then?"


    "To keep pervs like you from peeking." She joked.


    "Haha, very funny."


    Kiro felt sorry for her skin though. It looked too delicate to be under that much pressure. He didn''t really understand people who bathed with extremely hot water. His mum did too.


    Kiro noticed that she had something stuck in her hair, it looked like seaweed. He didn''t really know what to do, so reached out his hand.


    "You have¡ª" He was about to reach in and grab it.


    But she beat him to the punch, and removed it quickly. She smiled awkwardly. She had seen the thing through his big blue eyes. As dark as it was, a perk of elves.


    Right behind her, the sun started toe out. Kiro couldn''t choose, his eyes darted from her to the sun. They were both beautiful. I noticed his weird eye movement and turned to look, she was entranced by the view.


    "Beautiful," she said looking at the sun rising.


    "Yeah," he replied, looking right at her.


    She turned to look at him and their eyes met. For the first time they''ve known each other, they felt like, at that moment, they could truly see each other. They could just tell the others intentions ¡ª which caused both of them to smile.


    Kiro didn''t notice before but the water in this river was clear. It was almost translucent. You could see every rock lying on the river bed. He quickly sshed water over his face.


    "That''s about it? You''re done bathing?"


    "Don''t tell me you''re tryna get me nude, Miss Silva?"


    "Wh-whaat are y-you¡ª" She couldn''t find the words, which made the heat she was feeling worse.


    "Haha. Let''s catch some fish. We need to catch food when we can."


    She still hadn''t found her voice so she simply nodded.


    Kiro was about ready to strike some fish with his staff.


    "Wait, can I try?" She asked.


    He gestured forwards, as if to say, ''be my guest.''


    She took out her bow and arrow, and unconsciously embedded her mana on the arrow.


    "Wait, are you tryna¡ª" It was toote, the arrow travelled at amazing speeds, the moment it touched the riverbed, it exploded. Causing the water to rise and fall on them.


    Kiro used his hand to wipe the water from his eyes.


    "You''ve done it now, Princess."


    "I, uh, sorry."


    The fish weren''t just dead, they were charcoal. Which was strange in Kiro''s opinion since it was just mana.


    "Do you have a fire affinity perhaps?"


    "I don''t know?" She nervouslyughed, "at least now you''re fully bathed?" She joked.


    "Gee thanks, I needed that."


    Kiro got down, scooped some water, and sshed her.


    It was ice cold, so she was frozen in shock. She did the same, and soon it became apetition of who could make the water colder to ssh their ''nemesis.'' Shouts andugher echoed throughout. They were fully in the river, the water was knee deep.


    "Hey that''s not fair, you can''t use your skills."


    "And why the hell not?"


    Kiro was using palm strike to get a better and bigger effect. He felt like a kid, for the first time in a long time. He was genuinelyughing and having fun.


    "What are you guys doing?" Hiro called out from a distance.


    They stopped, looked at each other, "bathing" they said in a chorus. They couldn''t contain theirughter when they saw the reaction on their faces.


    "Together?" Saanvi asked.


    "What''s the big deal, it''s virtual."


    They all walked back to the camp, after Saanvi insisted on taking a bath too, while Hiro just sshed some water.


    They took the rations the boys had prepared. Thanks to I they couldn''t use the fish at the river. They downed their breakfast, packed the tents and continued forwards.


    It was a good thing that there was only one road, so as to not get lost. If you wanted to explore the forest, you could deviate from the road and it won''t be hard to find the road again.


    Hiro and Saanvi were walking at the front. They seemed to have grown close over the morning they were left just by themselves. Hiro was conversing with her, although he seemed nervous and strained.


    Kiro saw a flower with turquoise hues on the petals. It was the odd one out, so he picked it. Without thinking, he just...


    "Here." He first gently tucked her hair back behind the ear, then inserted the flower.


    "Knew that''d look good on you."


    I didn''t breathe the whole entire exchange, she still couldn''t. Her face was red, her eyes popped out in a drunken shock.


    Only then did Kiro realise what he''d just done. He liked the girl, and he didn''t want to spook her either. To top it all of, they were two people who were worlds apart.

 Chapter 30: The Cave

    Chapter 30: The Cave


    "Sorry." Was all he could manage.


    "T-that''s okay... It''s pretty. T-thanks."


    They awkwardly walked in silence. Kiro had no girl experience, so he was sure he f*cked that one up.


    "Hey, look, a cave." Hiro''s voice up ahead could be heard.


    They hurried over. The mouth of the cave was huge, it made them feel like ants. They contemted whether to go in, they couldn''t fathom the monster the cave housed.


    Ding!


    [You''ve discovered the cave of the Ancient One. Find the ancient manuscripts for rewards.]


    Kiro noticed that, ever since he left beginner''s vige, the system lost its sassy side. He was somehow sad, he kind of missed its snarky remarks.


    "Should we?" Saanvi asked.


    "Of course." Kiro passed them entering the cave.


    They all followed.


    [Warning. Warning. Intruders. Intruders. Exterminate. Exterminate.]


    A robotic voice sounded. Red lights shed, acting as a silent rm. Kiro was already in his fighting stance, so was Hiro.


    "Saanvi, stay behind Hiro." Kiromanded.


    "How, he''s so short..."


    "He''s sturdy, and his shield will protect you," he said without taking his eyes from the shaking ground up ahead.


    He had to be cautious, he had no idea what the enemy will be. Nobody in his past life found this ancient cave. Which instilled more doubt in his mind, he now more or less thought he was in an alternate world. How could anyone not have seen a huge cave like this one?


    "Princess, climb that rock over there. The further you are the better." He continued giving out orders.


    She didn''t quite like the nickname, it sounded like he was mocking her because of her rich background. But she obliged nheless, because the thundering footsteps could be hearding closer and closer to where they were. She couldn''t afford backtalking.


    Now they were just, anticipating whatever it was, to appear before them. In front Kiro held his position. He was the only one who could fight in close quarters.


    Then, a big chunk of metal entered the room. It was not even twice their size, it filled the room. It had long metallic legs and arms, a sphere for a body. A body that was also it''s head. It''s eyes were almost falling out.


    [Three. Three. Four. Four. Intruders. Extermination will begin.]


    "H-how are we supposed to beat that?" Saanvi asked.


    "It''s just a chunk of metal we¡ª"


    Swoosh¡ª


    It threw a punch from that distance. If Kiro was any slower to dodge, he''d have been crashed to death. Possibly.


    "You were saying?"


    Kiro quickly blinked, leaving Saanvi staring at nothingness. He appeared in front of the robot, and swung his staff has hard as he could.


    ng¡ª


    The two metals met, and there were a bit of sparks. The robot didn''t barge, instead, it got down on its arms and swiped its foot causing kiro to fall on his back.


    "Hey! Are you alright?" I panicked.


    "When are you even going to shoot? I''m fighting alone at this point."


    The robot once again, threw its arms, aiming for Kiro''s abdomen. He quickly activated Hurricane punch. The impact made it stagger backwards a bit.


    I joined in the party, and rained arrows on the robot. It roared in anger.


    "About time, Princess," he remarked and quickly got up, falling back.


    "Shut your mouth, don''t call me that." She was angry and took it out on the robot, the arrows went one after another.


    "Do you want to run out of mana?"


    "Saanvi is here for a reason." She snapped back.


    And sure enough, Saanvi started healing her. Ignoring Kiro who got hit by the robot. She healed himst. But the robot didn''t wait for them to finish up.


    It was struggling to knock Hiro over. When it realised banging the shield was futile, it jumped over him. It was agile. Itnded behind him, right in front of Kiro and Saanvi.


    Kiro instinctively activated vibrations, though it didn''t give him much time. As the robot was already moving half a secondter. He palm struck it before it could move towards them again. Saanvi was already behind Hiro once again.


    "Okay, let''s do this rusty."


    They both ran toward each other. The robot threw a punch from a distance, Kiro dodged by jumping up and as he was falling back down, he pinned the spindly arm with his staff on the ground.


    Now the robot was stuck. He continued forwards and activated hurricane punch, and got the robot right in the gut, if it had one.


    It flew back and almost hit I. As it crashed closer to her. She quickly changed positions.


    "Are you tryna kill me? I didn''t mean to shout at you!"


    "I''m not a petty person..." He made a thinking face, "well I am, I''m just not that petty."


    The robot got up, it was feeling ominous than before. Though it looked like it had shrunk, it looked more dangerous. That''s when it disappeared from where it was.


    It appeared right in front of Kiro, he was still in the middle of smirking at I, the punch the robot threw connected. He flew a couple of meters away, falling shot of being thrown on the wall.


    -200


    I shot a few arrows at it, but it totally ignored her. It seemed to have locked in Kiro as its enemy.


    Kiro got up from the rubble, the damage wasn''t enough to kill him but it was significant.


    "Hiro, this would be as good a time as any to use your crowd control."


    "You think I haven''t tried? It''s not working."


    "Dammit. And you''re too slow to follow it around."


    Kiro wasn''t sure he could beat it alone. Now that it focused only on him, the pressure was on. It didn''t wait for him to make a move, it was already throwing another punch. He dodged, but barely.


    Kiro was certainly not going to stand around, he swung his staff, it connected but it was less effective. It seemed the robot shrunk and got stronger in the process.


    "Don''t think too much, there''s still me. You aren''t fight alone."


    ''Oh right. I can keep chipping at its HP while I avoid getting killed and wait for the perfect moment to strike a finishing blow.''


    Kiro was getting a pummelling of his life. At least they had a priest, so he didn''t have to waste any of his potions. He could dodge some attacks, but others were impossible. He noticed its speed was drastically decreasing, and its punches were losing their fire power.


    It threw another punch, he blocked it with his staff, and struck it in the eye. It fell a few meters back.


    Kiro didn''t wait for it to fully get up, as he ran to it and used his staff to jump much higher, he almost reached the cave''s ceiling. Hisrades watched in awe, as it looked like he was flying without wings.


    He was then dropping again, fast, he activated bending kick, andnded with a kick right ontop of its head.


    The robot exploded into fragments. Kiro originally had his hands in the pockets when he was dropping for a kick. His posture was still like that after the fact.


    "Cringe." Saanvimented


    "Thank you, for your unsolicited opinion," Kiro said, and fell where he stood. He was exhausted.


    It felt like the time they fought those vampire foot soldiers. It dawned on him that, the monsters out here are much more stronger.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on defeating the ancient guardian. Rewards will be given once the manuscripts have been found. Happy hunting.]

 Chapter 31: Ancient Manuscript

    Chapter 31: Ancient Manuscript


    "Happy hunting? What a psycho." Kiro was livid, why couldn''t they just get the rewards now? It wasn''t easy going forward without any form of encouragement.


    He hoped they wouldn''t run into another guardian monster. He wasn''t confident that they would defeat it a second time, especially after fighting one.


    I came down from the mountain she took refuge in, everybody stopped cowering and rxed a bit. Hiro looked a bit down.


    "That kick was something."


    "Wouldn''t have done it without you," Kiro said, taking a sitting position.


    "I was useless this time. It wasn''t like our usual fights at all." Hiro mumbled to himself.


    But since they were in a cave, his words echoed and were heard. His eyes popped out in shock at the thought of being heard saying something so pathetic.


    "You kept the healer girl safe, that wasn''t useless. If it weren''t for you my friend, that guardian would''ve ate her for breakfast and we wouldn''t have stood a chance."


    "My name is Saanvi by the way." Shemented coldly.


    "Sure," he said, with a bored and indifferent expression.


    Something rubbed him the wrong way about Saanvi, he couldn''t really wrap his head around it. The girl irked him. He just didn''t buy the ''stupid innocent'' act she always put on.


    They had to wait for quite some time, Saanvi had to replinish her own mana since she used a lot during the fight. She couldn''t rush drinking potions either, Priests ran the risk of mana overload.


    Kiro sighed. He knew Hiro liked Saanvi, it was obvious. So he also had to like her, to appease him. He walked over to her.


    "Ever tried meditating?" Kiro started the conversation.


    "I don''t really have the skill."


    "We''re just waiting here, wouldn''t hurt to try, who knows, you may unlock it."


    "We can unlock skills?"


    "You can''t?" He asked confused, and looked at I and Hiro, "you can''t?"


    They both shook their heads.


    "I mean for me, the times that happened were my first mission..." Hiro tried thinking of other times it happened, he couldn''t.


    Kiro was shocked to learn this. "I guess every ss is different?"


    "Do you have the meditative skill?"


    "Uh, no. I''m a sage, has to be inherent, doesn''t it?"


    Saanvi rolled her eyes at his answer but sat cross legged, imitating Kiro nheless. She had just downed a mana potion and she had to wait for her body to take it all in before taking another.


    Priests were different like that. It was a way to make sure they didn''t be immortals in the game.


    They had sat face to face for 30 minutes, and Kiro was in deep, he saw a door sealed shut. Saanvi on the other hand was just, seated. As rxed as it made her feel, it didn''t help her one bit.


    It didn''t help Kiro recover either, it was his first time, so it felt like walking with 1000kg per limb. But he never stopped, he walked toward the sealed door until he was standing before it, then he came out of the state.


    "At least one of us had a great session."


    "Hush." He couldn''t really retorted, he was mentally exhausted.


    He was properly confused, as meditation was supposed to make you feel lighter. His shoulders felt like they were carrying a heavy burden.


    They didn''t really want to leave without Saanvi at full mana bar, that''s why they stayed put. After hours of taking a break. They walked on. There were many rooms in the cave.


    With what seemingly looked like ancient tombs. As if this was once a burial pce. They had tried removing the stone coffins, to see what was inside, but it was so heavy even if there were 10 of them, it wouldn''t have moved.


    They didn''t notice when they entered, but there were carvings on the walls. Little drawings that seemed to tell a story of a certain war, against giants and normal sized humans. This war was obviously won by giants, but the humans inflicted irreparable damage.


    "This is amazing," I muttered.


    The war between the two may have looked childish from an outsider perspective. Why on earth would humans fight giants? Well, when you consider the fact that they managed to inflict great damage, proved that even at that size, they were nothing to scoff at.


    This story sounded familiar to Kiro. Though he was sure he''d never heard anything about it before.


    As luck would have it, there didn''t seem to be any traps in the tombs, but Kiro was ready. He didn''t trust this game anymore, it could very well be a different game from the one he remembered. Thankfully, his senses were sharp sinceing out of the meditative state.


    He only hoped the currency exchange worked. That was his priority. Making tons of money, to prevent his entire family from their untimely deaths.


    They were all wary. Looking left, right, back and even up. They didn''t put it past them that, this could just be another trap, and soon, another ancient guardian would spring up on them. Then they could see light up ahead.


    When they walked out, it was yet another forest. They were not impressed, it felt like the devs liked forests, quite a lot. No creativity whatsoever.


    "Did we miss something?" Hiro asked.


    "I don''t think so, this forest isn''t the same as the one on the other side. This one looks normal." Kiro answered.


    As tired as Kiro was of seeing forests, he admitted to himself that they were always beautiful. Nothing in real life couldpare.


    ''Except maybe my mum and sister.''


    Just at a distance, there was an arch, beyond it, a podium was erected. They walked slowly and cautiously towards it, they crossed the arch and stood by the podium. There were parchments.


    Tons and tons of them, looked like someone was writing a letter but they kept getting it wrong so they scratched, crumpled and took out a new spreadsheet, dabbing ink and scribble once more.


    By the way the papers were, it was apparent that this process was repeated about a hundred times.


    They looked through the parchments, looking for one that was actually finished and coherent.


    Buried deep within, was a brown parchment. It was long, it smelled ancient, the paper had turned brown because of age. Old as it seemed, the ink gleamed as if it had just been written.


    Sure enough, this was it, this was the ancient manuscript they had to find.


    --------------------------------------


    A/N: Hello everyone, if you''vee this far with me and this story I''m trying to tell, thank you very much. Your support has paid off, and I''ve finally gotten contracted today.


    That means this novel will be eligible for golden tickets&gifts and of course, receiving these things will be a great motivator for me to even release bonus chapters.


    I''m also eligible to go premium, so, when do you guys want me to lock chapters, 40, 50, 60?

 Chapter 32: Guardians

    Chapter 32: Guardians


    "To the one who will find this manuscript, I hope it finds you well. I''m sorry, but you will be burdened by everything I ask of you. You will have to carry the load that I''ve failed to carry. Believe me when I say, I am ashamed that I couldn''t wait for his return.


    "I am a servant of the nameless god, he created me, this universe and this world with patience and love. He was once a mortal, that lost everything. In his road for revenge, chaos and wrath trailed behind in his footsteps until the day he became the nameless god.


    "As a mortal, he entered battlefields and provokes unimaginable fear, causing every single man to freeze where they stood. He didn''t take sides, he simply shed and decapitated every warrior that was unfortunate toe face to face with him. He hated war above all else, it was war that took everything from him after all.


    "He set out to end wars by killing those who participated and incited them. He knew he was inciting more damage than the war would''ve but his heart had long died. So the consequences were trivial to him.


    "When he ascended to godhood he again became the most ruthless and merciless of the gods. He never intended to create anything, but s, he did. This devastated him greatly, as he could create worlds but couldn''t bring back what he had lost all those eons ago because he''d forgotten the feeling, so much that he went on a slumber for millions of years.


    "You may be confused by my first deration that he created all this with love. But in a way, with a heart as dead as night, he did what he did for love, the love that was robbed off him, the love that was absent. In a way, he did, he killed for love.


    "His slumber wasn''t a short one, even for me. He left me to guard his worlds. But he has been gone for too long, I''m afraid, I cannot hold on any longer. So I''ve created this temple, for anyone worthy to find it. If you''ve defeated the guardian, that means you shall be the new one. Of course you won''t be bound to this ce, your job would simply to be a guardian of Asgard.


    "You have no choice in the matter, I''m afraid. The moment you defeated my ancient guardian, you''d already set the wheels of fate in motion. It''s toote for regrets, I hope you ept the job with a lighter heart. Asgard is in danger.


    "Its in danger of being invaded by other universes. Your job, together with your forces is to fend them off. Fight them to the death. That is the only way to keep this world well and intact.


    "Of course I won''t be sending my sessor to war with nothing. In the box, there are 4 vials of blood awakening potions. You need to be stronger, you need to protect this world.


    "I leave it all to you. My precious sessor. Even though we will never meet, I know you''ll be great because anyone who could find this cave, should be. Good Luck, my apprentice."


    "Just 4? How convenient." Kiro remarked when I stopped reading for a while.


    "Wait, what does this mean? Guardians?"


    "You read the damn thing, he said whenever there''s an attack from other universes or whatever, we assemble, I guess." Kiro answered, a bit agitated because they''d already drank a blood awakening potion. So this meant, they didn''t receive anything of worth.


    "Well, let''s each take one," Saanvi said opening the box.


    The box had collected dust over time, but the inside was clean. They each took one. The girls drank theirs, and watched warily as the boys didn''t do the same.


    "Don''t tell me this poison." I held it up and pointed at the empty vial.


    "Oh no, we''d already got these on our S Ranked mission." Hiro answered.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, guardians of Asgard. The title will give you buffs based on your race and ss. You will be summoned wherever there is danger threatening the world, and it''ll be your job to uproot it.]


    They were enveloped in a golden light. Their stats were raising, HP, MP, Attack power. Everything.


    [Reward for defeating the previous guardian, 20 million coins. 40 million EXP forpleting the guardian quest.]


    Of course the rewards were split 4 ways. Kiro and Hiro levelled up once. I and Saanvi levelled up twice.


    "I feel like, I''ll never level up again. How can 10 million do this little." Hiroined.


    Kiro felt the exact same.


    "It is a pity. But at least we got the the potions, they''ll sell for high amounts."


    "Or we can recruit people, who knows what the threat will be. Can we take care of it just the 4 of us?" Hiro reminded him.


    "It''s just a ga¡ª" He didn''t finish his sentence, as concerning thoughts invaded his mind. Was it really just a game? It certainly felt different from the one he knew. He never yed the previous one, but this one felt different. "Okay, we will do it your way."


    They walked back the way they came. They were right at the mouth of the cave when there ground started shaking violently.


    Realising it was about to copse, Kiro scooped up Hiro and activated blink. He came back for Saanvi just in time. I was an elf, agility was one of her gifts, so she didn''t need saving.


    "This game is trying to kill at every turn." Hiro remarked a bit shaken.


    They dusted themselves up and started towards the road to the capital. They found the road without a problem.


    It was only then I found her voice, "what does the potion do exactly?"


    "Turns you to the best version of your race." Kiro answered.


    "You took the potion, yet I don''t see anything different from when we saw you at the Labyrinth." I wasn''t trying to be annoying, but she was confused.


    "Well we haven''t evolved, there''s still time before we do."


    The sun was setting, it wasn''t as beautiful as it was the first day they saw it. They had been in that cave for the whole day, that perhaps distorted their aesthetics.


    Many days passed without incident. They weren''t out of food yet, they were deep within the white forest. Some animals started to show themselves and luckily could be hunted, the only downside was that, they were also white.


    They didn''t know what it was. But there was something shameful hunting an animal with a milk colour. But they had to keep eating, lest their avatars die from starvation. That would be a waste.


    They walked, camped for 28 days straight. All this time spent was them getting to know each other better and training.


    After spending outdoors together for nearly a month, they finally saw a separating line of the white forest and a normal one. They could see a gigantic structure at a distance. Though they couldn''t tell whether it was made of stone, grass or steel.

 Chapter 33 DONT UNLOCK THIS CHAPTER, SKIP IT.

    33 DON''T UNLOCK THIS CHAPTER, SKIP IT.


    This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry.


    This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry.


    This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry.This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry.This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry.This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry.This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''


    m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry.This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This cha


    pter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by it deleted soon. This chapter was upd


    ated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorr


    y. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have


    it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry. I''ll have it deleted soon. This chapter was updated on volume 1 by mistake, so if you ignore the title I''m so sorry.

 Chapter 34 Swamp Dwellers

    34 Swamp Dwellers


    They entered the forest and abruptly, their noses were attacked by the foulest smell, so foul it caused even Hiro and Kiro to gag. They hadn''t realised that they had walked into a swamp.


    They were amazed that the two forests were so close together, yet the moment they crossed the line, the smells vastly differed. Even the way their senses perceived it was not the same. The other one was peace and serenity, this one was pure chaos.


    That''s when Kiro realised, this was the swamp, the swamp that harboured swamp apes. And the boss was usually 2 meters tall. These creatures weren''t very smart, but they were bright enough to set up traps.


    "Don''t move!" Kiro gave the order.


    Immediately everybody stopped dead on their tracks. But it was toote, Kiro had already triggered a trap. Arrows came raining on them.


    "Hiro protect both of them!" Kiro gave yet another order.


    Hiro didn''t hesitate, he grew to trust his friend''s way of ying this game, they''d never failed with his instructions, so he had no reason to refuse him.


    Though he was a bit worried about how he could turn into a human skewer, if his n turned into a disaster.


    ''What is his n anyway?'' Hiro watched attentively, ready to step in if he had to.


    Kiro was a bit panicky, he didn''t want to experiment while hundreds or so arrows were aimed at him.


    But he had an idea, he figured he could activate staff wielder and spin the staff with his hands, while it''s spinning 100 kilometres an hour, he would activate palm crashing and hurricane punch.


    Something that would increase the damage it can cause by a hundred fold. Thus driving the arrows far away with the wind pressure.


    The probability of this working was 50%, at least that''s what Kiro had calcted and theorised before trying it out for the first time in battle. Kiro had always been a brainy kid, but in the society he lived in, being smart wasn''t enough.


    He started spinning the staff, within 2 seconds it picked up speed and eventually you couldn''t tell it was a staff. It resembled a lightning fast fan. Then he activated palm crashing and hurricane punch.


    The results were almost instantaneous, the nearby trees shook, the iing arrows were blown away in an instant. They couldn''t even reach within 10 meters of where they were standing.


    The three hiding behind the shield were shocked by what they witnessed. All of them were sure they couldn''t produce a skill of that calibre.


    "When did you get that skill?" Hiro asked


    "So this is really your weapon?" I asked, as she didn''t think a staff suited Kiro, it was too uncool for him, she thought.


    She originally thought it was just something he carried around to show off, even fighting off the guardian, she was more or less expecting him to take out his real weapon.


    Kiro turned to them and smirked, "Of course this is my weapon, why else would I carry a steel-stone rod around?"


    Ding!


    [You''ve sessfully used three skills to enhance each other, would you like tobine them?]


    Kiro immediately answered yes, the skill was just too overpowered to let go.


    [You''vebined three skills, gaining one. Please name the skill]


    Kiro thought for a moment, "Whirlwind." He answered.


    [Whirlwind


    Rank: B


    Can Evolve


    Uses 100 Mana Points per second. No cool down.]


    Kiro was kind of depressed with the B Rank, but was thankful that it can evolve all the same. So he checked his character sheet. He saw that he had 30 AP and 15 SP. He dumped 10 on Vitality and the rest on other stats equally. He poured the 15 SP on his new skill, which raised it to A.


    Name: Kiro


    Level 30


    Race: Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: -


    HP: 5000/5000


    MP: 4500/6000


    Attack: 1000(+100)


    PDEF: 2000(+100)


    Strength: 50


    Vitality: 50 (+5)


    Dexterity: 50(+2)


    Stamina: 50


    Intelligence: 50


    Equipment: rare dragon newt cloth armour and boots and ??? Staff.


    Skills


    Vibrations (AOE Rank S, can''t evolve)


    Consumes 5MP per second, no cooldown.


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 10MP per second.


    Martial Arts (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    Chi (Ranked A, can''t evolve)


    Bending Kick (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Regeneration (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    The skill regenerates 100 HP and MP per second


    Whirlwind (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Uses 100 Mana Points per second. No cool down.


    0 AP


    0 SP


    Kiro was satisfied, but cursed in his heart because even though the skill ranked up, the MP used per second didn''t decrease. He had a bad feeling that, it''ll never decrease.


    Hiro looked at him expectedly. He knew he''d never let it go.


    "I''ll tell youter." Kiro winked at him.


    Saanvi rolled her eyes at how happy Kiro seemed, "who made you the boss anyway, the leader? You''ve been bossing us around since we started."


    Hiro was about to say something but Kiro shook his head, and said, "I did. Problem?"


    Kiro didn''t believe it, weren''t they sort of getting along now? They even meditated together.


    Saanvi flinched at how hostile the words out of his mouth were. "No problem, just thought we''d vote on it that''s all."


    Kiro raised an eyebrow, "Who said this was a democracy?" He massaged his temple and continued, "okay, fine, let''s vote on it. All those in favour of me being the leader raise your hands." Kiro''s hand shot up first.


    Saanvi was dumbfounded at how shameless he was, to be the first to vote for himself. But Kiro didn''t care, he didn''t think this was necessary at all. Saanvi raised her hand next, the two others soon followed.


    "Okay, it''s unanimous. Let''s go. Be careful this swamp has monsters. The traps would not have been a coincidence."


    So they walked on, in silence. It was so quiet, their senses seemed like they were enhanced, they could hear each others breathing. Kiro could hear his heart beating, even though he was not frightened or nervous. This made him a bit paranoid.


    Just then, a small army of swamp apes walked out of the swamp and the trees. As if the trap was an rm for them that an intruder was here.


    They looked to be 150 centimetres tall. They were brown in colour, with red eyes, they had fur all over except for the eyes, nose, lip area. They brandished spears with no shields.


    ''How brave.'' Kiro thought.


    Swamp Ape


    Level 20


    HP: 5 000


    Now then, let Volume 2mence!


    Arrkein

 Chapter 35: The Maze

    "Why are they so weak?" I asked, though she couldn''t hide the nervousness in her voice.


    "Strength in numbers!" Kiro bellowed, he stepped forward and gave orders, "Princess, stay far away don''t even think about getting close, pick them off one by one while you''re on a tree or something. Healer don''t leave Hiro''s sanctuary. Stay there, and heal me and I. Hiro, don''t let our healer die. I''ll take care of the main attack."


    His ability tomand them was enchanting. It was as if he was a war veteran or something close to that.


    Nobody questioned anything, they did exactly as he said, they did vote for him after all, thanks to Saanvi. Kiro started his attack with whirlwind, about 50 swamp apes got caught up. I had yet to attack.


    "Any time now Princess, they''re disorientated, they''re easy targets. What are you waiting for?" Kiro said, while carving a path forward.


    That shook her out of her stupor. She was nervous, but this was something else. Kiro attacked too fast, she honestly couldn''t keep up. She was supposed to be the race that was blessed with agility, but here she was, losing.


    She immediately took out her bow and quiver, and started her own attack. Arrows rained on the army of the apes, luckily I could fully control her attacks so she didn''t make the mistake of hitting Kiro.


    Down there Kiro could be seen causing havoc. The apes were weaker than him, but he didn''t dare take it easy, he was smashing them with all his might as he would any boss monster.


    He looked like a merciless god. That he could turn a blunt weapon, into one of the sharpest. The swamp apes were losing heads one after another.


    "Healer, don''t wait for my HP to be so low to heal me. What if I get one-shotted?" Kiro said, he couldn''t hide his agitation.


    "Yes, my liege." Saanvi said, rolling her eyes.


    Even though the atmosphere was like this, they didn''t hate it. As it meant everyone was being honest, and speaking their mind. This had be their new normal.


    The small apes didn''t stand a chance, after 10 minutes of battle, they were all defeated triggering the boss to appear. He was over 2 meters tall, he had armour on, his weapon was the same as his minions.


    Boss Monster


    Level 30


    10 000


    "Hiro, I''ll need you tanking this round. Healer don''t leave from behind him. Princess do your best. We can beat him."


    As soon as he finished, he activated vibrations, the boss ape was stunned. He shouted for I to rapidly attack with her arrows, so she did. Hiro was already at his feet, bashing the boss ape with his shield.


    Kiro was smashing the boss ape, all over his body. Apparently it''s body was too sturdy to be sliced by a blunt weapon, so in a way, he was tenderising its meat. Though it didn''t work quite as he nned as the stun took way less than it should''ve.


    Suddenly the ape swatted Kiro to the side. His body didn''t just hit the trees, it broke them on impact. I was about to jump down to help him.


    "Hey, don''t you dare. What did I say. No matter what, attack from afar," Kiro shouted from the clearing he had created.


    He had no idea how he knew that I was about toe down, because he was still out of sight, but he did.


    The more he pondered about it, the more he realised that, his skill vibrations didn''t just stun enemies but it could sense vibrations.


    Ding!


    [You''ve realised the hidden use of a skill.]


    "This damn game man, why''s it ying hide and seek." Kiro grumbled.


    He couldn''t understand why it had to hide these things. It reminded him of real life, of how you couldn''t reap benefits until you''ve understood martial arts moves.


    He got up, activated blink step and whirlwind, aiming for the arm of the boss ape, it was focused on Hiro as he attracted its aggro. He cut it off cleanly.


    Right after this, Hiro used his axe to cut off its leg, which he had been trying to do for the past minutes.


    Just as the monster was shocked at the turn of events, a surge of mana could be felt from behind, when they turned they could see mana travelling at amazing speeds, aimed at the monster. It exploded on impact. Its head was gone.


    I looked visibly frustrated.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on defeating the swamp army and its boss. You''re awarded 10 000 EXP]


    [Common steel armour. Rare Spear. Common boots. 10 000 coins]


    "Lame rewards, the biggest reward was actually uncovering that my skill can do more than stunning." Kiro mumbled to himself. He looked at I expectantly.


    "Before you say it, I''ll say it, I made a mistake trying to rescue you back there. Your orders are absolute. Never going to happen again. It was just impulse. Sorry." I acknowledged her mistake, "however never speak to me that way again."


    Kiro was dumbfounded. He tried to think of what he said exactly but couldn''t remember because whatever he said, was a spare of a moment thing. His adreline was so high that some things even though they happened they didn''t? In a way.


    He was just really amazed by her arrow, that''s why he was looking at her in the first ce.


    He shook his head, "I''m sorry." He said unsure, one thing he was sure of was he couldn''t ask about the magic arrow attack now that things were a bit awkward.


    Kiro made a mental note to never be in the zone too much lest he does something worse. At least after he apologised, I went back to being herself.


    They divided the loot equally. Then started walking forwards. They could see something at a distance, Kiro knew it was a maze, abyrinth of terror. They had to go through it, to get to the capital.

 Chapter 36: The Riddle

    The Labyrinth was huge, to say they resembled ants before it would be an understatement. It towered over everything at the forest. They walked around looking for the entrance. Every single one of them could feel that, the maze was almost alive. It made their skin crawl.


    Apart from how gigantic it was, it was beautifully trimmed and green. It had flowers weirdly positioned, growing within the hedges. It wasn''t natural, it was as if somene had plucked them from somewhere else and put them there in a disorganised manner. They were different species of flowers.


    This caused Kiro to look at I. Sure enough, the flower he nted on her hair, was still there. He smiled, if only a little.


    From time to time it''d let out a growl as if it was one humongous beast, sleeping and having an ufortable dream. The very growl jerked Kiro out of his daydream. The very wind, changed when they entered its vacinity. As though it was breathing and controlled the air around it.


    As ufortable as it made them feel, Kiro found himself more than once walking towards it, he felt that something in there attracted him. Although he''d snap out of it every few seconds.


    "What do you reckon this thing is?" It was Saanvi who asked.


    "Terror." Kiro said simply.


    He had never yed this game before, even from watching he could feel the horrors of this ce. There were some yers whose spirits were broken from trying to figure their way out.


    It was known as thebyrinth of terror, but the terror wasn''t anything physical, it was the mental attacks that drove some insane. It differed from person to person, the thing made you face the skeletons in your closet. If you only have unicorns and rainbows in there then it''d be a breeze, but if there''s trauma, you''ll have to relive and face it.


    And if you die while reliving the trauma, thebyrinth will start it over.


    Kiro was dreading it, he knew he had a bad past. He wondered whether the maze would be able to draw out the horrors from his previous life. He hoped with all his heart it couldn''t, that it couldn''t reach out from another life and bring forth every terrible thing he had witnessed and went through. He caught himself more than once trying to run away.


    Everybody was on edge. They could feel what he felt, the maze just exuded a terrifying aura. Kiro stilled his heart, he reminded himself of why he was doing this in the first ce, he found that, that made him less frightened.


    Before they even reached the entrance, they were weed by a silhouette that seemed to have given up. The closer they got the familiar he seemed to Kiro.


    The boy wasn''t taller than Hiro, he had nk ck eyes, long ck hair tied into a ponytail. His skin looked tanned. He wore a ck sleeveless armour, with fingerless long gloves that went to his elbows, ck pants and boots. On either side he had a dagger sheathed.


    He recognised him as the famous streamer, Niki. He yed assassin, he was one of the most popr streamers from his previous life. He was especially popr, not only for his amazing game y, but for banning anyone who donated.


    He never talked a lot, but on his first day of streaming he dered ''I don''t need your money. If you ever donate I''ll ban you.'' And he kept to his word, before Kiro regressed he had banned over fifty thousand people.


    "Why are you just sitting here and not going in?" I asked.


    Silence. Niki didn''t even look up to see the guests that had arrived in his little abode. He seemed too much into his head, like he was weaving the threads of fate. That''s how serious his face looked.


    "He can''t answer the riddle." Kiro said nonchntly.


    Niki looked up for the first time since they arrived, this piqued his interest. His dead dark eyes met Kiro''s deep blue eyes.


    "How would you know?" He asked simply. As simple as the question was, his voice came out cold and mocking.


    "That''s clearly a sphinx, head of a woman, body of a lion. Sphinx are known for their riddles and they kill anybody who can''t answer." Kiro replied with an air of superiority in his voice.


    "Then why''s he still here? Why isn''t he dead." Hiro asked.


    "That''s because I did die." He answered, and turned to Kiro, "Are you any good at riddles?"


    Kiro shrugged, "I can try."


    He had no idea what the riddle would be. Rumour had it in his past life that the riddle changed every month.


    "This many heads are better than one." Kiro concluded.


    Niki''s eyes lit up at such wisdom, he was convinced. This kid to him felt like a ma, he couldn''t help but be attracted toward him. He felt like, he wanted to follow him, if he followed him he''d achieve a lot.


    But the glee disappeared before anybody noticed, that''s just the kind of person he was. He sucked at showing emotions and hated showing them just the same.


    "I''m Niki by the way." He introduced himself. Everybody else did too. It was obvious that Niki was one of the rich kids, because it seemed he already knew I and Saanvi.


    "I have a thundering roar, and a hurried gait. I perpetually run yet in a sole ce I wait. I have an endless mouth that runs deep. I lie in a bed, but cannot sleep." Niki repeated the words, as though they''re the only thing that existed in his head at the moment. It seemed the words had been haunting him for a while.


    Everybody was silent trying to think of what the answer could be.


    "Could it be thunder? You know, clouds as its bed?" Saanvi asked clearly excited.


    Everybody just shook their heads. Thunder couldn''t possibly fit. They were all in their own heads, trying to figure out the riddle. Hoping the Sphinx hadn''t changed it, otherwise their preparations would''ve been for nought.


    They agreed that anybody who brings an answer, should exin it well as to why they think it would be that answer.


    Otherwise they''d die, one wrong answer spelled death to the Sphinx and nobody could escape it''s death, that''s how instantaneous it was.

 Chapter 37: Labyrinth of Terror

    Hiro just sat down and started pounding on his shield. Kiro started practicing some moves, with his staff he could slice a couple of trees before his breath got a bit ragged.


    I was sharpening her arrows. None of them but Kiro, had any idea how ironic what they were doing was. Nobody knew that the enemy that they will be facing isn''t one that could be damaged by physical attacks. If they knew, they''d be working on their mental fortitude or break downpletely since there was no stat for that in-game.


    Saanvi walked over to Hiro, she watched as he pounded a beautiful shape back into his shield. She was utterly impressed. She''d never seen a Smithy work before, it was bewitching to her.


    She sat by Hiro''s side, "What''s his deal?" She asked, while corking her head toward Kiro.


    "What do you mean?" Hiro asked confused.


    "You know, his cold and hot temperament. I can''t figure him out at all. One minute he''s Prince charming, the next he''s like a beast lying in wait for its prey."


    "You''re better off not trying. Kiro let''s people in he wants to let in. Trying to figure him out will just make your brain explode. You''re better off figuring out this riddle before you figure him out. I''m his best friend, and even I don''t know everything. There are parts he keeps hidden."


    "And you don''t mind?"


    "I don''t. He''s genuine. That''s all that matters to me. A man has his secrets."


    "Even you?"


    "Well, have you figured out the riddle?"


    "No."


    Hiro''s answers became more and more one-worded. He wasn''t trying to be rude. He was just too shy to converse with a girl he didn''t know that well. He had spent 30 in-game days with her, but he was still stiff.


    He remembered the train ride to Eden academy and wished he could be like that every time, back then he had been experimenting.


    He wanted to change his quiet nature, so he promised himself he''d talk to anyone he rode with, and he ended up with the greatest friend. Somehow he''s never been able to do that again. But he''d like to, with Saanvi. She didn''t seem like a bad person.


    Hiro''s train of thought was interrupted by Kiro. It had been a whole day since they arrived here, they had agreed to think then regroup and share their thoughts.


    "Well, everybody. Its time."


    Kiro had already broken the code. It took him a whole half day to figure it out, but he didn''t want to stand out too much so he waited. The wait had been long and excruciating, but it was finally over.


    Each of them came up with their own answers, except for Niki. He had exhausted his brains trying to figure it out, Kiro found himself feeling sorry for him. He cursed the devs for straining their mental strength at the start of something that needed mental strength.


    Amongst them, only Hiro had an answer that was usible. His answer was fire, he figured that fire could run wild while it didn''t have legs, it could spread far and wide while it''s still rooted in the same ce. The mouth could be the fact that fire devours anything in its wake. But it didn''t have a roar nor a bed.


    They were excited at Hiro''s answer, while Hiro''s face was sour. However everybody wore a face of disappointment when they realised that not every part of the riddle fit.


    All but one had given their answers, they all turned their heads to the boy sitted on the far left. Their gazes said it all, he had to get it right otherwise they''d just give up.


    Kiro gulped loudly. The pressure their gazes carried was unfathomable. He found himself sweaty with a dry throat, and then he realised it was just him wanting to prolong the inevitable.


    Realising he''d never be ready for what''s waiting for him inside, he wiped the sweat, stood up and looked toward the Sphinx.


    It looked so big and domineering. Kiro was sure anybody couldn''t help but cower before it. The nature surrounding thebyrinth was truly something. The sun was drowning, everything was bathed in a red-orange hue.?


    Kiro was peacefully watching this phenomenon, which he had never taken the time to appreciate in real life. He made the mental note that he''d love to watch a setting or rising sun one day.


    Without looking at hispanions, he softly said, "River. Its a river." The words came out as a whisper, yet everybody''s ears caught them.


    Without looking at them still, he waited. Waited for them to digest the answer. After what seemed like an eternity, their faces looked excited. Kiro wished he could share their excitement, but he knew what figuring out the riddle meant.


    As they were getting closer to the sphinx, Kiro went to walk by his friend''s side.


    "No matter what happens in there. Stay strong, mentally. Can you promise me that?"


    "Kiro, what are you talking about?"


    Kiro couldn''t exin any further so he just smiled and shrugged, "You''re stronger than you think Hiro." Without waiting for him to say anything else, he walked ahead.


    Hiro didn''t have time to ponder about his friend''s peculiar actions. It hadn''t been ten seconds after their conversation and they were already standing in front of a monster. Head of a woman, a body of a lion.


    The monster had an air of wisdom about it, at the same time it felt murderous. It felt as if the riddles were a simple game to trap fools into an eternal torture.


    All of them shuddered, thankful that this was just a game.


    It looked at all of them one by one, its piercing gaze would kill if it could.


    "You''vee before me," It said with an ominous voice. "If you wish to go through answer my riddle correctly, answer it wrongly and you''ll suffer the consequences."


    None of them dared to say anything, it seems their words were caught in their throats. As though in queue, they all nodded.


    The Sphinx didn''t understand but took their silence as consent all the same.


    "I am a devourer of all things. I am constantly moving forwards yet I have no legs. I cannot be stopped. I do not age. I am existence."

 Chapter 38: Bloody Reunion

    Everyone froze where they stood. It had changed. Kiro was the one in front, so this was his riddle to answer.


    They all looked at Kiro solemnly, they didn''t know what to do or how to react. They didn''t step up either though. So he was like, theirbrat. He shook his head.


    ''Don''t panic, calm down. Use that big brain of yours, you can crack this. It''s not hard, it''s just a game.'' He thought, trying to convince himself.


    He stood there for half a minute thinking hard. He didn''t particrly like the idea of dying, as it would cost him a lot.


    "If you don''t answer in the next 30 seconds I''ll smite you." The Sphinx spoke joyfully. Clearly this had a time limit, and it was a minute.


    He wore a panicked face, as the seconds ticked down. The sphinx'' eyes started to glow red, and it''s mouth started to open unnaturally wide.


    ''Ah, right it must be...'' With all the confidence he could muster, he stepped forward, "time, it''s time." He dered, with greater confidence than he actually had.


    The Sphinx seemed to be pondering the answer given. By the looks on Niki''s face the answer was the right one, because previously it didn''t even think before killing him.


    The Sphinx cackled before saying, "right you are!" Itughed manically, then swiftly it got out of the way, revealing a way into thebyrinth of terror.


    They quickly walked in, but before they werepletely engulfed by the darkness, the Sphinx''s words echoed. "Careful of what you''re afraid of." Followed by fits ofughter.


    Before long, the darkness embraced all of them at the same time. Kiro tried to say something, but there was no sound. It was the most unpleasant feeling, having a voice but not being able to use it.


    He remained in what he thought was a seated position, he realised that he was falling so fast it felt like he was standing still. Before he knew it, he fell face first on the hard ground. He grunted.


    "At least I didn''t feel any physical pain from that fall." He mumbled.


    He was still a bit dizzy, his eyes were still blury. Every one of his senses were dulled, so he couldn''t hear where he might be either.


    After 30 minutes his senses had started toe back to him. He was in a forest, he couldn''t understand what was happening. He was sure that his fear wasn''t a forest.


    The forest trees were taller than his eyes could see, the sky was, grey? The sun, or suns, were white. The trees were a colour the human brain couldn''t fully fathom, no matter how long he looked at it, he couldn''t process what the trees looked like.


    The animals in the forest weren''t better off either. He had never seen these kind of species before, he simply didn''t have the words to exin them, this made him realise how limited the humannguage truly was.


    At least the animals weren''t hostile, they minded their own business as the boy walked, albeit cautious, amongst them. Kiro tip toed his way through, and then noticed a waterfall, that was, flowing backwards.


    "I wonder if calling it a waterfall is even the right thing anymore," he said to himself.


    Thews of physics didn''t seem to work the same way he was used to. There wasn''t even air, yet surprisingly he wasn''t choking to his death.


    He walked through the forest for days, until he saw a single door that looked out of ce. It was just rooted in ce, as if inviting him inside.


    He was hesitant to enter the door, he was used to the forest that was safe for him. He had no idea what awaited him beyond that door, it could be his skeletons. That made his heart waver a bit, but he quickly stilled it.


    He grabbed the door knob and turned it, it made a nking sound and the door opened wide. The door felt alive, and that it wanted to swallow him whole, still he allowed it and walked through.


    With his eyes still closed, he tried opening his eyes but the room was so white, it felt like light was directly pointed at his eyes. He could do nothing else but keep them shut.


    He walked around with his hands in front of him, trying to not bump into anything. This felt dangerous, what if he was walking toward a monster''s mouth, were the thoughts that were running rampant in his head.


    Then he heard them, voices. He quickly made way to where the sounds were. The closer he got, the more he couldn''t understand what was being said. He felt he recognised thenguage but couldn''t understand it.


    He stood close but far enough. He concentrated on what was being said, and like a veil was lifted he could make out what was being said.


    "You''ve done it again, haven''t you?" said a grumbling voice.


    "I had to. I gave my word. The line would''ve ended with him. This was thest chance," said a voice innocently. "Besides, you know as well as I do, he has to be the only one capable, we''ve looked. How many worlds have ended because he died every time?"


    "But you could die, don''t you understand the consequences of your actions?"


    "I know."


    "The more you use it on him. The more he gets drawn towards you. I''m sure you know what that means."


    "Yes. Don''t worry, I left a perfect guide for him this time. He won''t fail. Besides, the Omega Universe is unstable. They will attack soon, either we find proxies or we fight our¡ª"


    The two were conversing nonchntly until they noticed they were no longer alone. Someone had actually prated the imprable space, this would''ve defied logic, if this wasn''t just a consequence.


    "Hey, you shouldn''t be here."


    Before Kiro could protest, he was once again. thrown into the abyss of darkness. He assumed he was once again, free falling. He wasn''t even given a chance to ponder about what the conversation meant exactly. He couldn''t think in this hell.


    As sudden as the darkness weed him it spat him out just as quick. He found himself in his childhood home. The conversation between the unknown beingsid forgotten at the back of his mind.


    He looked at the dingy, mould infested house. He felt warm, he felt safe, he felt at home. He never thought he''de back here. His thoughts of wonder stopped when he realised he was not his size.


    Kiro was sitting on the kitchen table, his mother was cooking. He looked to be about 4 years old. He had forgotten all about these memories, how he loved sitting there watching his mother cooking, and how the smell of it all mesmerised his young mind. How it brought happiness to the 4 year old that was him. Times were certainly simpler then.


    Kiro was watching his life through the eyes of his toddler self, as if it were a story in a book. He was 5 years old, sitting on someone''sp.


    "Here you go Ki, don''t ever take this off, you hear? It''s very important."


    "What''s this gran papi?"


    "A very important family heirloom, see that, it has our family name inscribed on it. We were once a prestigious family you know."


    "Petigus?"


    The voiceughed without exining further. But the boy took the chain and hugged it to his chest.


    Kiro''s heart clenched at this scene. He had forgotten all about it, he couldn''t believe he forgot about his grandfather. Someone who visited them on a daily basis, then one day, he disappeared. His parents never wanted to talk about him again.


    As if a page turned, Kiro was now 10. ying with his 5 year old little brother, Loki, outside in the dirt. They couldn''t afford much toys, most were built by their father.


    Wire cars could be seen, baseball bats with tattered balls and race carts made from wood. This made him smile, his childhood wasn''t perfect but it was a good one.


    Another page turned, Kiro was his current self. He was helping his mother slice up some meat in the kitchen. Dinner was served, and they were eating. He was halfway through his te, when he noticed something amiss. He wiped his mouth, and blood stained the table cloth.


    His heart leapt from his chest, his breath quickly became ragged. He took slow counted breaths to calm himself. He looked down at his te, 2 live hearts were half eaten. He quickly looked at his parents, there were two holes on their chests, their hearts were perfectly carved out.


    ''Oh no, its starting.''


    "We''re dead and it''s all your fault," both of them said, in an eerie amalgamated voice.

 Chapter 39: The Disappearance

    Kiro''s words left his mind in disarray, he couldn''t figure out their meaning, even if he wanted to their arrival at the Sphinx didn''t give him much time to consider.


    The aura around the Sphinx didn''t help much either, it was as though it didn''t allow anybody to think anything else.


    As they stood in front of the Sphinx, others kept their distance to Kiro. Hiro stood closer, he didn''t doubt his answer, but he was ready with his shield anyway. Ready to protect his friend should anything go wrong.


    When the riddle changed however, it froze the atmosphere. He stood there, with baited breath. He was ready to die.


    Kiro however gave an answer, luckily the Sphinx cackled and mocked them, while sliding to the side to let them in.


    He sighed feeling the air push his lung, he heisted taking a step forward, he didn''t trust his legs to carry him inside.


    "Careful of what you''re afraid of."


    Is thest thing Hiro heard, which rang throughout his mind, before he was zapped into a very familiar house. He looked around, it was the same old house with a terrible smell but it felt like home to him.


    When he saw his father sitting opposite him at the dinner table, his young body couldn''tprehend theplex emotions he was feeling, so he just wailed.


    His parents quickly attended to him, asking him all sorts of questions. He cried so much while holding onto his father, speaking was impossible. Even though his mind didn''t know this was a game, his subconscious did.


    There was just a warm feeling his father''s embrace exuded that made him feel vulnerable. His dog, Max, couldn''t stop wagging her tail. He had forgotten that he had a dog, in real life it had to be put down because of rabies.


    Every single day he''d stand outside, waiting for his father toe home. Waiting under a crescent moon ying fetch with Max. When his father dide back, he''d spend every waking moment with him. They''d do all sorts of things, building bird houses, dog houses to sell.


    As the time went by the simple houses turned into actual robots that could do a bit of chores, but they were limited because they couldn''t very well waste money on parts. Hiro loved buildings things with his father. He admired his father, he wanted to be just like him.


    Just like that, days turned into weeks, weeks into months, months into years. Hiro''s subconscious had forgotten that this wasn''t reality, though the fear that he''ll lose his father didn''t quite leave him.


    When he turned 16 the feeling got worse and worse. He couldn''t ignore it, he couldn''t shake it. It interrupted his thoughts unannounced, it didn''t even have the etiquette of knocking first.


    "Dad, you aren''t gonna leave, are you?"


    "Where do you reckon I''ll go?"


    "I don''t know, disappear?"


    "I won''t. I have a family which I love very much. I''ve worked hard to get you into that school, just focus on that and make me proud."


    "Please be careful."


    His father looked at him warily, Hiro could do nothing but smile sheepishly.


    On the 3rd day of that week after their conversation his father never came home. Everyone in the Misaki household was devastated, they had reported to the officials but it was all in vain. Reports from the poor were never taken seriously.


    Hiro started to lose parts of himself. He became more quiet and reserved around the house. He wasn''t the bright, curious child anymore. He lost his passion for building and only did it out of obligation, he didn''t want to disappoint his father.


    After a month of no news. His mother and sister''s attitudes changed. The cold air around them didn''t make them feel like living human beings. While his little brother was nowhere to be seen.


    They had also started changing the way they cooked, meat in this house was often well done, buttely, Hiro noticed blood still oozing as if it was freshly ughtered.


    Finally on the fourth day, he grew tired of eating almost raw meat.


    "Mum, why aren''t you cooking the meat well?" He demanded.


    "Stopining and eat your food, you made your father leave and now I have to work very hard to keep you nourished." His mother shot back, her voice not quite hers anymore.


    "But, you haven''t gone to work since father disappeared. Then where..." It suddenly dawned on him, he hadn''t seen Max or his brother all these months.


    He hadn''t heard her bark either. He suddenly felt nauseated.


    "Isao he¡ªMax¡ªmum, don''t tell me, you..." He didn''t get to finish the sentence when his stomach contents were emptied on the floor.


    His mother got up, held him by the head and shoved him down on the floor that was full of vomit.


    "You''re gonna eat it all. You''ll lick it off the floor if you have to." Her voice had grown husky. It didn''t sound like anything that was living.


    He could, by the corner of his eye, see his sister crouching on the table eating something raw. He knew then that he had to escape, somehow.


    He didn''t want to but he had to, "I''m sorry mum." He muttered, then elbowed his mum square on the face.


    He wasted no time as he ran to his parents'' room. He knew his father kept a gun hidden in there.


    He bolted the door behind him. The thing on the other side was already banging at the door, maybe if the house wasn''t so tattered it wouldn''t seem like the thing was about to break the door off it''s hinges.


    Hiro found the gun and stopped dead on his tracks, the banging faded into the background, suddenly it didn''t seem so important anymore. He could just end it right here.


    He took off the safety, put the gun in his mouth with his eyes closed shut. Tears could be seen on his face. He contemted ending it right there. He didn''t want to suffer anymore, he didn''t want to live in a world without his family.


    ''You''re stronger than you think.'' He heard a familiar voice in his head. The voice was enough to dy him from pulling the trigger, at the same time the thing had broken through the door. Hiro had no time to think, he dove out of the window and sprinted out of there.


    For the first time in his life, he was d he was poor, the fall from the window didn''t hurt him at all. As the house was a single storey building.


    The creature didn''t follow him, it was as though it was bound to that house. As he left his familiar neighbourhood, Hiro vowed to look for his father first.


    He was 17 and still investigating the whereabouts of his father, Misaki Jin. There were zero clues, it was as if Jin had disappeared off the face of the earth. Maybe somewhere out there, somebody snapped him out of existence it couldn''t be known.


    Hiro slept from back alley to back alley, he didn''t have enough money to rent a house. So he had no choice. He didn''t look any different from homeless people now. You''d smell him before you saw him.


    One cold night, he had started a fire and tried to keep warm. When suddenly, something resembling a portal gate opened, it didn''t look like those gates that took you to fantasy worlds.


    This gate was dark and red not in colour but in feeling, the energy it let out wasn''t one of happiness and excitement. It exuded despair and cmity, the feeling was ominous. Which is why Hiro took a step back, and then several more.


    A figure stepped out, looked at him and scoffed. "You''re supposed to be my son? Pathetic." The voice came out cold and thunderous.


    "D-dad?" Hiro could barely mask the many emotions in his voice.


    "You''re a disappointment. Get out of my face."


    "But, I spent all this time, looking for you." Hiro was taken aback, he couldn''t understand what was happening.


    "You''re the reason I left, you weak, pathetic weasel. You''re no son of mine." The man said, stepping out of the shadows and into the light.


    Their eyes met, Hiro saw that, there exists nothing in those pearly eyes. They were dead, this was not his father regardless of this thing wearing his father''s skin.


    "You''re not my father." Hiro said in a shaky voice, he was smiling but he was crying.


    He slowly took out the gun and pointed it at the man who won''t im him as his son, the man wearing his father''s skin.


    "You? Shoot me?" Theughter that came after those words, almost caused Hiro to drop to his knees.


    They became Jell-O but he stilled himself, he strengthened his resolve. He couldn''t exin how pure evil theughter sounded. ''This thing couldn''t possibly be human can it?''


    "Dad, if you can hear me in there. I''m sorry I couldn''t save you in time. I tried."


    Then, 3, 4, 8, 10 shots reverberated throughout the alley. He never let go of the trigger, fearing that his finger would freeze after the first shot. The gun had a total of 10 rounds. He fired them all at the thing.


    The thing in front of him, formed into ck smoke with a face. It turned to him and zoomed straight for him, he ran in zigzag frantically. Hoping against all hope he could beat it, but it was smoke, it was carried by the very wind that casually brushed his skin one minute and toppled mountains in another.


    The ck smoke went through him, and at that exact moment, he was enveloped in bright whiteness.

 Chapter 40: Facing Fears

    "No, no, it wasn''t my fault. It, it wasn''t..." Kiro stammered, although he managed to say that the words choked him beforeing out.


    His parents both cackled. It was a wonder to him how they could remain seated without hearts keeping them alive. Having no hearts didn''t seem to slow them down at all, they were as normal as Kiro with movements.


    "Oh but it is, son. We should never have had you. At the end, our hard work didn''t pay off. You were a failure until the end," said the mum, while the dad nodded in agreement.


    Kiro was guilt ridden, he could barely hold the tears that made his whole face feel hot. "But, but, I''ll change it this time, I-I-I''ll seed for sure." He said between sobs.


    "There are no second chances. We are dead." The father said mockingly.


    "I went back in time and ¡ª" a piercingugh resounded before Kiro could say anything else. That stopped him dead on his tracks, he knew this wasn''t real, but his feelings were.


    He did feel like a failure, he did feel like he had let his parents and siblings down. He didn''t feel worthy of their love. Ever since he came back, he had suppressed this feeling, this trauma to the back of his mind.


    But this mere game, this, this thing was dragging all his skeletons into the light for all to see. He didn''t want to feel this, he didn''t want to deal with all of it. It was better when he pretended it didn''t bother him.


    "Time? Time can''t be rewinded or forwarded. You were simply ced in another universe. We are dead and nevering back, this should rest on your conscience." The mum said cold, and sneering.


    Kiro knew this wasn''t real either. This was a theory he had, amongst many. He did suspect that he could''ve been plucked by a higher power and put in a different universe, for a second chance.


    This is one he had hoped wasn''t real, because then, that would mean his past deeds did happen, somewhere in another universe he did fail his parents.


    "Kill yourself, kill yourself and atone for your sins, you unfilial son." Both voices sounded.


    This depressed Kiro greatly, even though he knew this was a game, they still said what he felt.


    "I know you''re angry, but I promise to make our family part of high society this time around. I love you both. Wait for me a little longer." He said solemnly as if talking to his real parents.


    Before his parents could say anything else, ck liquid could be seen escaping their lips. Their words were incoherent and mangled. They just startedughing, augh that resembled a shrill.


    Kiro was on the ground now, attempting to shield his ears from the loud shriek. He closed his eyes shut and waited. After a while, he let go of his ears, only to find out that, his ears still rang, he couldn''t hear anything. He opened his eyes and found that he was inplete darkness.


    He attempted to get up, but staggered and fell on his back. He stood up once again, and started walking whichever direction, he wasn''t sure.


    He took two steps forward, when suddenly, giant lips appeared to his side, he quickly side stepped and faced them. They curled into a snarl, the teeth were chirped and yellow, the breath was enough to make him gag.


    Out of nowhere, without warning, the thing took out its tongue and licked Kiro on the face.


    "Why the fu¡ªahhhhhhh." As he said, he staggered backwards and just, fell.


    His face stered on the asphalt road. "I hate this game!" He bellowed.


    He didn''t move an inch for a minute, then he raised his head, he could see a familiar neighbourhood. He turned his head, he was in front of an alleyway.


    Several people were standing there having an altercation. Most of them looked to be men, one girl was on the ground, while others were watching.


    Kiro was not mentally ready for this, he was so anxious he could hear the pulse in his neck pounding violently. His temple started to hurt, his knees got weak even though he wasn''t standing. He forced himself to stand up and walked closer to the crowd.


    "If you can''t sleep with us, and I mean all of us, then you can just die with your pride!" Said a stout man.


    The girl looked up, Kiro wouldn''t mistake that face for anything or anyone else.


    "I''d rather die. Make it quick." The girl shot back, seemingly fearless.


    "This b*tch thinks she''s all that huh." It was a girl this time, she seemed to be pretty but all that make-up made her look like a clown. She may as well have left her house with just her panties on, the skirt was simply too short.


    "I don''t think that, but I''m not sleeping with random men for security."


    "You know we can just forcefully have you?"


    "You can try. I''m not going down without a fight."


    The bulky man pped her square on the face. She wasn''t moved by the p, she sighed, blood trickled down her nose. But this was thest straw for Kiro as he jumped between the man and his sister.


    What happened next surprised even Kiro, it was his sister who lunged her right arm, it went through Kiro and connected to the stout man.


    Kiro stood aside and examined his body, nothing suggested he was transparent, he tried picking up a stick and couldn''t. It suddenly dawned on him that, he''d have to watch his sister and brother die.


    The game was too cruel, was it mocking him because in his past life, he couldn''t do anything either?


    Kiro had a bitter look on his face, his heart dropped far into the pits of his stomach as several men jumped his sister.


    He had his fair share of beatings in his life, he hated physical pain but at that moment he wished more than anything to switch ces with her. He''d do it in a heartbeat given the chance.


    But the gods didn''t humour him this time. He was an invisible force watching from the outside. He couldn''t interfere, he couldn''t do anything to change their fate even though he knew it wasn''t real, he wanted to do anything. What stumped him was the feeling of helplessness. He never wanted to feel this ever again.


    As he helplessly watched, he noted each of their faces. He remembered them from a police file in his previous life, he wondered why he had suppressed this information. These people were now part of his revenge, he''d make them suffer in this life. They were clearly not good people.


    He didn''t care about being a hypocrite, he didn''t care about the morality that you shouldn''t y god, that you can''t decide who lives or dies. Kiro knew that, with money, he will y god. He will have people dancing on his palms, and throw away anybody not worthy to live, by his standards!


    He didn''t care about anything else, he was livid. Hatred was consuming him, watching this was changing him bit by bit.


    He watched as his brother got involved. He was begging for them to stop while theyughed at his face. Once he figured that they wouldn''t listen to reason, he brandished his bat and went to a war he knew he couldn''t win.


    The men beat his siblings ground beef, their faces were beyond recognition. Kiro''s eyes appeared icy and cold, something in him died that day. Humans were never to be trusted, they were vile and cruel, not unlike the monsters they fight in this game. They would always, always look out for number one.


    He scoffed at how humans have managed to pretend their nature is apassionate and empathetic one. But Kiro saw something today, he saw it with those loan sharks too.


    Humans were animals, and at times the suppressed primal instincts rise to the surface and people witness the true nature of humanity. A monstrosity, capable of great cmities. Kiro wouldn''t be surprised if he was told that, the earth of old ceased to exist because of humans.


    He watched as his brother took hisst breath.


    "Brother, I''m sorry I couldn''t protect our little Freckles. Please live on and be happy." He said coughing up blood.


    Kiro almost cried at those words, Loki had always pretended he didn''t care about anything but skateboarding but as it turns out. He loved his family, more than he let on.


    The people gathered scoffed at his words. They spat at him.


    "You should''ve just been a loyal dog."


    "Your death was totally on you, Willy."


    Kiro''s head was all over the ce, as he remembered that those were his gang members. His kid brother''s nickname had been Willy back then with his friends. Their parents always called him Freddy though.


    He had no idea why, but Freya and Sekani loved nicknames, he had always hated his. But grew to love it when he lived more than 7 years with nobody who would call him ''Ki.''

 Chapter 41: A Past That Refuse To Be Forgot

    Little Niki grew up in a big estate. His father had 5 wives, and the 4th wife was his mother. His mother came from nothing, she had never fit in with the rest of the wives.


    So without question, she was outcasted by them. They constantly reminded her that she didn''t belong. But she had to be strong because she had a son. His father did little to change the situation.


    He was a rich proud man, a great businessman but a terrible father and husband to Niki and his mother. He was truly cruel.


    Arnold ck didn''t marry his mother out of love, he did so out of lust. The worst thing about lust is, it has an expiry date. So when he was done with her, he tossed her aside like a used diaper.


    For the longest time, his mother shielded her son from the kind of monster his father was. Since Niki had the ck blood coursing through his veins, the pride his father had didn''t allow to toss him aside and disown him as well. He just figured he wouldn''t survive the battle of the heirs.


    "Mum, why does father hate me?" Niki at 5 years old asked.


    "He doesn''t hate you. He''s just too busy. I''ll always be here, to love you for the both of us." She dered, while squeezing her son close for a hug.


    When Niki turned 7, he was introduced to his aid, Felix, who was also 7. Instead of treating him as a servant, the two boys became friends and inseparable. Niki had never had friends in his life, so he was d for this one.


    Tried as she did to shield her son from the terrible person his father was. That all changed when he turned 10 years old. In the middle of the night, little Niki was woken up by amotion.


    The doors to his room burst open, it was dark, the only light the room allowed was that of the full moon, even though he was half asleep he recognised the person to be his mother.


    She knelt beside his bed, "quickly Niko, my baby boy, out the window. Don''t let them get you. Run. Run as far away from here as you possibly can. Don''t look back. Survive."


    Just as he was about to retort, aser bullet pierce his mother''s neck. Cleanly. Niki violently shook, he listened as his mother gurgled the word ''run.''


    He quickly got out of bed, half his mother''s face was illuminated by the moon. A tear streamed down her cheek, a smile on her face.


    Niki scrambled for clothes, as it was winter and took off out the window. He figured this was probably the battle of the heirs, since he didn''t have a high status in this family they wanted to permanently erase him.


    He run through the snow until his lungs gave out. He couldn''t run anymore, so he climbed a tree, to sleep. He realised it was dumb, since high altitude meant colder air, but he couldn''t risk getting caught while sleeping.


    The next morning he continued running. This time it was his legs that gave out. He wished he had ran with Felix, he didn''t like being alone, in this vast unknown world.


    Now that his mother was dead, the world felt lonely. It didn''t feel like a world he wanted to live in, but his mother risked everything to tell him to survive.


    He set up traps to catch rats or squirrels. Tricks he had learned from Felix. Before he became his aid, he was pretty much useless. But for 3 years he had taught him survival skills, which he was grateful for.


    He started a fire waiting for the trap to spring up. After 5 hours, it finally caught something. A rat. He killed, skinned and roasted it. It was no means a feast, his stomach wouldn''t be full with just this, but he was still thankful. At least he wouldn''t die from starvation.


    On his 7th day on the run, he realised that nobody was actually chasing him. He even considered going back, but decided against it.


    With his mother dead, he had no one. His father never showed interest in him, not even once. He never stood up for them, when his mother was alive why would he start now.


    On his 20th day, he was sure he''d die of starvation. The further he walked, the harder it was catching anything. It was then that he smelled it, it smelled like roasted pork. He''d been on the run for 20 days, he still hadn''t lost his sense, he knew what pork smelled like.


    Maybe from hunger, he ran toward the bewitching aroma not paying attention to any of his surroundings. He saw a campsite that looked abandoned, he was so hungry he didn''t think anything of it. He sat by the fire and started wolfing down the meat.


    He ate it until only bone was left, he still hadn''t had enough, so he was chewing on the bone while looking around.


    "You''ve taken what is not yours, you''ll pay with your life." A chilling voice said from nowhere.


    Niki was startled, he fell from where he was sitting, he got up quickly and started to run. Then something hit him on the neck, it didn''t take a second before his body bounced on the floor with a thud.


    The man came out of the trees, and cackled. He couldn''t believe his luck, he had found a seemingly strong young boy. Niki was caught by an underground ve trader. And was sold to the other end of the world, far away from his home.


    very was absolutely forbidden in Sanctauri but there''s always a dark side to everything. It was a small ring that some rich people took part in. It was absolutely underground, that many people had no idea it was going on.


    Niki now regretted not going back. At the same time, he didn''t know what awaited him if he did. He still didn''t want to be a ve, but he had no choice. He was sold to a fat guy named Fr¨¦d¨¦ric Zoltok.


    At the tender age of 10, Niki had to do things no human should ever have do. For the first few nights, he tried to escape, but he''d be caught and beaten until he was ck, blue and red.


    After months of trying he stopped. Like a horse whose spirit had beenpletely broken, he just sat there obediently and did as he was told.


    The master of this house, Fr¨¦d¨¦ric, was perverse. He did things to young Niki, terrible things. He even ordered the child to never cut his hair.


    His master had monthly meetings, which were secret. He''d let slip when drunk and bragging that he was part of a secret society. A club for prestigious wealthy men. Niki didn''t care much about it, but had to pretend he cared or else he''d get beaten.


    2 years passed and Niki finally realised that, every servant in that house were men forced to dress and act like women. He was even told by others that once he reaches maturity, his manhood would be cut off.


    That''s when he decided he''d escape again but this time he had to n it right. He still went to his monthly visits with his Master. His hair was extremely long after 2 years of not cutting it. Every once in a while he''d have to sleep in throughout the night.


    3 years passed in a blink of an eye. His n to escape was ironed out. His hair was waist height now. He looked like a girl even at 15, he was lucky he was ate bloomer. Otherwise things could''ve been dire for his manhood.


    The night to execute came. He went as usual, this was the night he had to sleep in. He had hidden a small de in his mouth. He made careful incisions on his wrists and throat. Luckily he cut through his vocal cords. Fr¨¦d¨¦ric woke up, eyes widened in shock.


    Niki watched in satisfaction as his masterid there still, he couldn''t move or shout. He was bleeding out. It was a slow and terrible death, something he deserved. He smiled wickedly at the man''s pleading eyes.


    "Don''t grow soft on me now, Master. You''ve created this monster, you should be proud."


    Like that he left the room, and hid himself amongst garbage that would be taken out the next morning before the master was woken up.


    Thebyrinth was truly cruel. Niki had originally thought he had dealt with his past fears but reliving them triggered a trauma he didn''t know was still there.


    After escaping that hell hole he lived in for 5 years, he went back home, to find that his siblings had died in their greed for power.


    Even when his father weed him with opened arms, he didn''t reciprocate, he didn''t care about his father''s approval as he once did.


    He had killed a man, a terrible man, a man nheless, at just 15.


    Arnold ck didn''t push it. He saw that his son had grown cold and dangerous. His dead eyes told him everything he needed about what he''d went through.


    He found relief within himself that he at least put a headstone for his mother. Otherwise this meeting would''ve been dangerous for him.


    Niki vowed the day his mother died, that if he ever came back here, it''d be to destroy the ck family.


    He wasn''t in a rush, he had learned from experience that, great ns took time.


    He kissed the headstone, "So it begins." He mumbled absent-mindedly.

 Chapter 42: [Bonus Chapter]Buying Land

    Kiro sat there staring at his brother''s life snuffed before his eyes. His sister had long died, probably from internal injuries and bleeding, he wasn''t sure but it was clear she died from the beatings, like his brother.


    "So this is how my siblings died. Or at least how I imagined they died." He breathed a deep sigh, before he could think of anything else he was suddenly enveloped inplete whiteness.


    As if they were waiting for each other, at the same time, the Labyrinth of Terror spat them out on the other side. Hiro looked dead in the eyes, Niki was on the ground rocking back and forth, Kiro was lying on his back staring nkly at the blue sky, that didn''t seem to match the mood.


    ''At least be gloom. It''s so damn bright.''


    The girls were, somehow, okay. They didn''t look shaken, or traumatised. So they wondered what was wrong with the boys for them to be in such a sorry state.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions for surviving the Labyrinth of Terror. Each of you gain 5 levels for your mental fortitude. Each level rewards you with 10 attribute points and 5 skill points.]


    Before they could do or say anything, "don''t ask." Kiro warned.


    He ignored the notification, he felt like, 5 levels were nothingpared to what they''ve gone through. But he also felt that that APs and SPs were kind of worth it.


    Level 35


    AP 50


    SP 25


    At his words both the girls heads turned to look at Kiro, he hadn''t moved an inch. It was as if he had sent them a mental message, because his lips were already sealed shut. The girls had no idea what to do, so they just sat and waited.


    After 2 days of just processing what they''ve just gone through, Hiro was surprisingly the first one to snap out of it.


    "How is this even a game!" He cursed loudly.


    One by one, the boys started to gain their sanity back. The fog clouding their minds and hearts started to clear.


    The first thing that came to Kiro''s mind was the fact that he dered himself a god to be. He face palmed and cringed. His heart was stilled in revenge, but he wasn''t going to y god, an eye for an eye is all he dared to ask for.


    After this experience, he was more wary of humans. Although he knew what human greed was capable of, he underestimated just by how much.


    They got up and walked in silence. They could see the capital ahead. It was a few hours away by foot.


    "So, what happened to you all?" Saanvi asked.


    Kiro simply shot her the deadliest of looks. She flinched. The many days in the Labyrinth had made her forget about how cruel looking Kiro could be. She immediately regretted that she asked, at this rate, Kiro was going topletely hate her.


    "Gods! I''m sorry, I''m sorry, I was just curious." She quickly tried to mend, but it was already broken. Hiro shot her a sad smile and they continued to walk on.


    "Kiro, Hiro." It was surprising, but it was Niki who spoke, so they all stopped walking. "Are you guys in a guild?"


    "No, we aren''t looking to join one either so don''t bother recruiting us." Kiro answered uninterested.


    "No, that wasn''t quite... I was wondering, could I join you? I''m assuming you''ll start a guild." It seemed this had weighed on him heavily and he had thought it through.


    Kiro''s eyes bulged in surprised. ''The famous Niki, wants to join, us? The famous Shadow King?''


    "We''re not starting a guild, but a mercenary group."


    "That''ll work too. I''m an assassin, so that fits."


    "We''re poor, slum rats, you''re okay taking orders from a peasant?" Kiro asked, stressing on the word peasant.


    Niki noticed what he was trying to do, he flinched at the word ''peasant,'' he smiled if only a little. He had been a ve after all. "That''s okay I don''t mind at all."


    And so, the party of two, became three!


    "Okay, first order of business, let''s securend."


    They reached the capital, and because they were yers above level 26 they were allowed inside without a hitch.


    They quickly need to buynd. Upon entering the city the two groups went their separate ways. The boys were mentally tired, they couldn''t wait to log out of the game, but Kiro stressed on how important it was that they securednd first.


    They couldn''t even admire how beautiful the capital was. The buildings were made of white stone, except for the bank, which was blue marble. The building looked like a chunk of frozen water.


    There was a water fountain, that had a statue of the god Loki, pissing the water fountain out. It suited him, ording to legend, he was the god of mischief after all.


    Another shiny shop could be seen, it had Mjolnir as its logo and some thunder slightlying out of it. That was most likely a smith shop.


    The capital was big and beautiful, it went on as long as the eyes could see. The streets were busier than the ones at the beginner vige. There were even carriages on the roads. So people didn''t just walk aimlessly here, lest they get run over.


    "Anyway, when are we gonna put those things up for the auction?" Hiro asked.


    "When we''re done with this we''ll talk about that. But we''ll sell the skill books when the game has more yers. More money that way." Kiro answered him.


    Niki was quiet, he just followed. He clearly had a lot on his mind.


    "Niki, you look our age, are you also at Eden academy?" It was Hiro who asked.


    "Yes, at the technological advancement department. Thought you two were ''peasants''?" Niki was astonished.


    He never thought poor people coulde in this academy. He knew how unfair their society was, so he wasn''t expecting this.


    "Poor people get lucky sometimes too." Kiro shrugged. He thought for a moment, and decided to amend his previous statement, "Well, luck isn''t the right term for it, is it Hiro? Our parents worked tirelessly to send us here."


    Niki put on a thoughtful expression, while nodding profusely in agreement.


    They went into the bank, it was empty as no yers had gotten to the capital yet, they were the first ones.


    It was amazing how they could see everything happening outside, yet they couldn''t see anything from the outside. There were just NPCs inside. They walked up to the teller.


    "We''d like to buynd."


    "Names?"


    "Kiro, Hiro and Niki."


    "How many acres do you wish to buy?"


    "100."


    "Please signal where you want thisnd to be."


    Kiro looked at thends, most were outside the capital. A very few were inside. It was an obvious choice and he obviously picked a plot inside the capital.


    "Here."


    "Your thumb print please to process payment."


    And just like that he paid 500k coins. His heart sunk, a bit. He wanted to scream because this would be quite a lot of money when the conversion system is introduced.

 Chapter 43: [Bonus Chapter]A Break

    He looked at both Hiro and Niki. They looked at him expectedly, as if waiting for orders.


    "You''ll both have to pay for the building of the base. I just paid 500k for thatnd. Building a base will probably cost around a million, so split it.


    "Can we also discuss what kind of base we want? I was thinking a Manor, but fortified like a castle. You know, so it''d be hard to get attacked and taken over."


    Hiro simply looked at Niki, who just nodded, then at the NPCdy, "what he said!" Niki didn''t argue either, he nodded in agreement.


    Hiro and Niki paid half each, luckily theirs cost 900k in total. Land and buildings were still very cheap now. It was going to be in the millions in a week, once they introduce guilds and everything else.


    "Your Manor-Castle will be finished in 2 days. In-game time. Please only go there once it''s been 2 days exactly."


    They thanked the NPC and quickly got out of the bank. Kiro was d they finally got this one thing out of the way, now all he needed was rest. That''s when he got a system notification.


    [I wants to be your friend. ept? Y/N]


    It took Kiro a whole 10 seconds to figure who this was. The time at thebyrinth had messed with his head, so much that it felt like he hadn''t seen her at all aftering out of it.


    The road to the capital after the Labyrinth felt a bit hazy. It was like watching an unfocused film. It was honestly, all a blur.


    He quickly clicked ept. Immediately after, he got a call from her. Why didn''t they incorporate texting in this game? Even calls are just video calls. What a pain! Kiromented internally.


    "Hey," he said


    "I respected your wishes back then, but I''m worried. Are you okay?" She asked, concern gued her voice.


    Kiro was confused. Were they that close? But he could tell, just from her voice that she was genuinely concerned for him. Then he tried to remember the time before thebyrinth, as mentally exhausting as it was, he put together the fragments.


    ''So we are, kind of close.'' This scared him a little bit, how could a game make you forget something like that?


    "Hello?" I impatiently iled her arms across the screen.


    He had zoned out without really meaning to.


    "I''ll be fine. Don''t worry." He gave her a reassuring smile.


    She sighed and smiled, "what are you guys nning? a dungeon run? can Ie?" She asked.


    "No. We aren''t going to a dungeon. We''re going to take a break from this game, maybe two days, we''re really mentally strained, when wee back we''re going to the mines for coins and minerals.


    "I suppose coins aren''t something you''re very interested in," he said nonchntly, as if it was the most obvious thing.


    "oh." She felt a ping across her chest.


    ''Why does she look dejected? does she need coins?''


    "We just came from the bank, we boughtnd. You better also go and buy some. There aren''t many left that are inside the capital. They''re very cheap too." He tried to change the subject.


    "You already boughtnd? Just how fast is the service."


    "Yes. Even we need a base. They''re pretty quick, well it may have something to do with the fact that we were the only ones."


    She shrugged, "thanks Kiro. Later."


    She hung up. Hiro was staring at him dumbly.


    "Why do you get to be the only one added?" He asked with a tinge of jealousy. Getting closer to I, meant getting closer to Saanvi.


    "I don''t know. Probably because my name is easier to remember, besides, isn''t it Saanvi you like." Kiro said absent-mindedly.


    "I do not!"


    Kiro ignored himpletely. They stopped in front of the bank, Kiro looked through the skills they amassed over the quests and monster killing back at the beginner vige, there were about 50 skill books.


    He contemted whether or not to give Niki some, they had about 3 assassin skill books.


    "Hiro, what do you think, should we give Niki some skill books? Since he has joined us and all."


    "I don''t see why not." Hiro shrugged, he didn''t seem to care, he had no idea how much money they truly were.


    Niki looked a bit surprised. He had never seen a skill book before, I mean he had in other games, but in this one, they were quite rare.


    "How did you guys get skill books?"


    "We were the first to enter the C rankedbyrinth at beginners vige. We also cleared an S ranked quest." Kiro answered as if it wasn''t a big deal.


    "THAT WAS YOU?" Niki couldn''t help but shout.


    He couldn''t believe he never put 2 and 2 together, this was the Kiro and Hiro, the two people who broke the forums with world announcements, and he somehow joined them?


    As aloof as Niki was, he paid attention on things that mattered. This one slipped through his fingers for sure. He was utterly amazed and d he asked to join them.


    "Haha, yeah, buddy, calm down." Kiro pat him on the back and handed him the 3 assassin skill books.


    Niki didn''t waste any time and quickly consumed them. He immediately checked them out, one could mask his presence. He could be one with shadows, he could go in and out of shadows.


    One was dual wielding since he was a dual wielder he appreciated this one. The other was killing intent, which caused even multiple NPCs to freeze with fear at its activation.


    Kiro felt envious because to him it seemed like no other ss required understanding before using a skill. When he really thought about it, he realised that even regeneration hadn''t been usable. If it weren''t for potions and a healer, he may as well have died.


    "I''m sure none of you will be against this. How about we take a two day break? I''m mentally exhausted."


    At Kiro''s words, both Hiro and Niki heaved a deep sigh of relief. As if they were also thinking this. They both gave Kiro a look of appreciation.


    "Great leader."


    So they all logged out.

 Chapter 44: Dorm Life

    As they agreed, they didn''t dare log in. They enjoyed the time away from that hell, people call a game.


    Kiro knocked on Hiro''s door, this was now their signal that breakfast or dinner was ready. They had slept for 13 hours straight and woke up the next morning. They were rested but not quite ready to dive into Asgard just yet.


    They quickly walked down to breakfast, when they entered the hall, it smelled great as always. Hiro thought he''d faint, he ran out without a word, Kiro quickly followed him.


    He entered the toilet, after 5 minutes Kiro entered as well. He had vomited everything out, at this point he was puking out a translucent liquid.


    "What''s the matter?"


    "The smell of meat."


    Kiro didn''t have to think too much, he knew what had caused it. Just a few days ago, Hiro was someone who could eat a whole bucket of meat.


    "Its about what you experienced huh? I understand." He sighed and sat beside his friend, whose head was in the toilet.


    "It was a nightmare Kiro, it was all great at first then everything changed when dad disappeared. Mum even cooked my dog and¡ª" At that thought, his head quickly went back to the toilet, but nothing came out.


    "I also saw something terrible. My family died right in front of my eyes and I couldn''t do anything. I tried but I couldn''t save any of them." Kiro said with a heavy heart.


    It was as if a faucet had been opened, they started opening up about their fears and nightmares. It surprisingly made them feel better.


    "You saved me you know." Hiro said abruptly.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I was ready to blow my brains out when I heard ''You''re stronger than you think''."


    "You may have had to do the thing all over again. Lucky you, that you have me." He attempted to flip his hair in an arrogant manner.


    They looked at each other and chuckled, just then the door burst open. Isaac and his goons walked in with the biggest grins both of them had ever seen.


    "You should''ve blown your brains out." He said thinking he was being clever.


    Kiro stood between them and Hiro, he hadn''t stopped smiling from feeling confident about what Hiro had said.


    "What do you want? What was your name again?"


    Hiroughed and stood up to stand beside his friend. Isaac was visibly fuming.


    "You think you''re hot sh*t now that you''re popr in-game? You''re still poor, matter of fact I challenge you to a PvP, I don''t think you''re all that strong, you must''ve cheated somehow."


    "Can''t you see I''m busy? I''m having a heart to heart with my buddy here. Besides, get to the capital first then you can have the balls to challenge me."


    "Aren''t you the best yer? scared of a noob like me?"


    "I never proimed myself as the best, though its good that you realise you''re a mere noob. Nheless thanks for naming me the best in Asgard, I''ll wear this badge of honour."


    "Well you heard it here folks," he looked around with his arms opened wide, "he''s scared of me. Got a little popr and now you''re acting like you own the ce. Pathetic!" Isaac sneered. His goonsughed.


    Kiro got closer to Isaac. But this time he talked, while he was face to face with him. "Unlike you, the money I will make will be mine, if I run out, I will make more. I won''t run to daddy.


    "Keep making a fool of yourself and we will see just who will have thestughed in the end." He said in a whisper, ensuring nobody but him heard it.


    Kiro had his hands in his pockets, he didn''t want anybody to see that they were slightly shaking.


    He had originally thought the stare he gave Isaac in the cafeteria had broken him, it was now apparent that it would take more than that to beat the arrogance out of him.


    "From now on, if I ever see you in-game, ever. I''ll activate PvP and beat you to a pulp. I''ll make you lose levels faster than an SSS ranked quest ever will. And when I''m done with you, you''ll fear even logging into the game." This time he said it loudly that anybody who was walking outside could''ve heard him.


    He noticed that Isaac was taken aback. But he quickly recovered and sneered, he snapped his fingers and his goons held him down.


    Isaac nted his fist right on his sr plexus. That drained all the air in his lungs, he struggled to do anything as he couldn''t breathe. He wanted to kneel down, but they held him up.


    Then they started beating them up. They tried fighting back, but there were just too many of them.


    Kiro and Hiro were both beaten down, they were on the floor trying to catch their breaths. Isaac walked over and knelt besides Kiro, and held him by the hair.


    "We will see who has thestugh? You pathetic arrogant little slum rat. I''ll show you real power."


    Kiro chuckled, he hated physical pain but he had went through a lot that he was almost numb to it.


    "You''re kneeling right now to your King, sucker." He said mockingly and spat a mouthful of blood on Isaac''s face.


    Isaac was shaking with anger, he smashed Kiro''s head on the toilet seat hard and broke his nose. He immediately lost consciousness but weirdly enough, he was still smirking.


    When he came to, Hiro was visibly concerned and panicking. He had tried to get up but his ribs had broken, so he stayed seated while asionally kicking his friend to wake up.


    "You look like sh*t." Kiro said in a kind of a whisper.


    Hiro''s face rxed a bit, "have you looked in the mirror."


    They bothughed, but it was so painful that they had to stop. They were pretty banged up, Hiro had a ck eye, a few broken ribs. Kiro''s lip was busted with a few broken ribs and a broken nose.


    "Man, who angered them at 7 in the morning."


    "Your mouth." Hiro said, narrowing his eyes. "But I''m notining." He smiled.


    He was happy he had a friend that could take a beating together with him. If he had been alone, they may have killed him, he was sure of that.

 Chapter 45: Dorm Life, II

    They limped out of the toilet, fortunately nobody was outside, they were all at breakfast no doubt. They didn''t really want to be seen all banged up by a bunch of brats.


    They walked toward the medicentre. It was a struggle climbing the flight of stairs. The medicentre was definitely positioned strangely, it was as if they wanted people to suffer more before they get cured of their injuries.


    They finally reached the metallic door, they had no idea whether to knock. As they were still contemting, the door opened all on its own. It had sensors.


    It was very spacious inside. Countless chambers were in the room, each with their own monitor for the medic to check a patients vitals. Onedy sat at a corner desk, working.


    She had caramel skin, obviously dyed green hair and it seemed she even dyed her eyes, red. She had piercings in most ces on her face.


    She was extremely beautiful. Kiro wondered if this world was just, made up of beauties, or money made them good looking.


    They greeted, she ignored them and just required their student IDs, they handed them over and payment was processed for curing their injuries.


    They were instructed to enter the two chambers on either side. With their injuries, it''d take roughly 2 minutes topletely cure them.


    "Unbelievable. sses haven''t even started and there are already fights to this extreme." The medic mumbled.


    "Wee Student. It seems this is your first time using the medi-chamber. I''ll scan your DNA first, please hold."


    They both received the same instructions, so they waited to be scanned, luckily it wasn''t a painful process.


    "Done. Wee Kiro Percival Waynworth. It seems you have a few broken bones. I''ll fix you up momentarily."


    Kiro had never been to a hospital before. All hospitals required money, and that didn''t grow on trees.


    "All done. Be careful next time. Your body is malnourished, please take care of it."


    ''Who the hell asked you?'' Kiro was extremely self-conscious about his unhealthy body, as it was a reminder that, he was poor.


    After two minutes passed, they got out and felt great. Their ribs werepletely mended, though the ck eye was no longer swollen, the ck spot would vanish all on its own.


    They bowed and thanked the medic profusely. She looked at them awkwardly, nobody has ever thanked her before. She wasn''t expecting it either, as this was her job. She smiled wrily.


    "Hiro, I''m signing up for Kickboxing. For the nopetition sport of course."


    The medic overheard this and shook her head. Wouldn''t it be wiser to stay away from fighting? Now the medicentre will be something like a home for them.


    "I think I''ll take up swimming, for nopetition."


    The medic nodded in agreement, she was eavesdropping. ''Atta boy. Swimming is better than kickboxing.''


    "What about apetitive sport? Which do you think you want to join?"


    "Uh, Cricket?" Hiro wasn''t quite sure.


    "You''ve read my mind!"


    They looked at each other incredulously. They couldn''t believe they liked the same sport. Now their friendship looked like something woven from the strings of fate.


    They walked out of the medicentre and were hungry, lucky for them, the time was still 8:30am. The cafeteria opens between 6am and 9am for breakfast. Then opens at 1pm to 2pm for lunch.


    They went down, Hiro didn''t want to go in, so Kiro went in to buy them some cereal with milk on the go, with some nutritional chocte bars.


    Kiro immediately noticed I sitting at their usual table. There weren''t many people at the cafeteria, so he didn''t think it''d be embarrassing to holler.


    "Yo, Princess!" Kiro yelled, which caused a few to turn their heads.


    She raised her head, she had an idea who it was, only one person called her by that godawful name.


    She smiled awkwardly, and walked over to him. He was already buying their breakfast. He bought the cereal and chocte bars, and decided to get a drinking yoghurt too.


    "You guys made me sit alon¡ªwhat happened to your face?" If it were somebody else, they wouldn''t have noticed, the differences were subtle, very subtle but somehow, I noticed.


    "Huh? Oh, how can you tell? We were already cured by the medic!"


    "I just can." She shrugged


    "Your boyfriend called his friends and beat us up. It was amusing."


    "I don''t have a boyfriend," shemented in the coldest voice, even Kiro doubted it was hers.


    "Mm? I''m joking, don''t be so uptight Princess. But don''t worry, you should see them."


    "I did, like 30 minutes ago, they were fine."


    "Well obviously, it was 10 against 2."


    I couldn''t help butugh.


    ''She''s too beautiful.'' Kiro thought.


    She walked him out, she was surprised to see the dark circle under Hiro''s eye. She shook her head.


    "I''d say report them, but we all know how that will end up."


    They both thought for a second and nodded in agreement with her. The school wouldn''t do anything against someone like Isaac. They''d pretend to reprimand, they''d go as far as victim ming.


    So they just let it go, well on the surface Kiro had let it go. He still nned on beating that good for nothing into a pulp, in-game.


    They sat outside and devoured their breakfast.


    "Why are you eating outside anyway?"


    "Hiro can''t stand the smell of meat anymore. Don''t ask."


    I rolled her eyes, she was getting tired of him telling her not to ask. But she let it go anyway.


    After breakfast they went to sign up for extracurricr activities. They went to the swimming club first, and Hiro signed up, then the Kickboxing club,stly the Cricket club.


    "Princess, have you signed up?" Kiro asked.


    She wasn''t quite used to being friends with them, so it was still very awkward walking around the academy with them.


    "No, am I forced?"


    "It''s required."


    "Ah. I don''t really like sport. I guess tennis seems interesting."


    So they went over to the tennis club, apanying I.


    There were many differences between the earth of old and the current one. One of the greatest fundamental differences between the humans now was that, as long as you take care of your body, it doesn''t matter if you''re a female or male in strength.


    Everyonepeted together in sports, for fun of course. Professional sports weren''t a thing in this world. Teams often had a mix of both.

 Chapter 46: Royalty

    Isaac keson had always been a spoilt brat, he always had to be the centre. If it were up to him, the earth''s core would be him. From a very young age he had been taught that he was better than everyone else.


    His father instilled in him these values, that the world bows to the kesons not the other way around. His father wasn''t a very affectionate man, but that''s all Isaac ever knew so he thought that was normal.


    He grew up in his own little bubble, where he was a Prince in the empire of high society. His father always told him stories from the old earth, that there were Kings and Queens and that they, the keson family, are descended from royalty.


    It was obvious that Isaac took this to heart, as he''d read all sorts of stories, whether they be fiction or history. The history of the old earth wasn''t well documented as almost every got lost during the great catastrophe. So most of the things he consumed were warped ideas.


    As he grew older, he grew to see the world as his vessel, and the people in it, his subjects. He grew to be a good looking guy, though his father became more and more disappointed as he grew.


    He realised howcking his son was. Isaac paid no mind to the sudden harsher treatment, he took it as just his father pushing him hard to be the best version of himself he could be.


    He had never been told no before though his father started getting firmer with him, but everyone else he met treated him as people in the stories he read treated their Princes and Kings. With respect and fear.


    He was 6 years old when he saw the prettiest girl he''d ever seen. It was on a high society function where parents would bring their own children, when they were ready for the public. The girl also seemed to be his age too.


    He was too shy to approach her then, so he did what he always did, ran to his father and told him he wanted to own the girl.


    His father wasn''t happy when he learned that the girl was from the Silva family. The Silva family was one of the most prestigious families in their world. He couldn''t just offend them.


    "Don''t you worry son, when I stand at the top of this world, you''ll have every toy you desire." The father reassured his son, smiling, revealing teeth as white as snow.


    The smile was far from a pleasant one. It radiated, greed and a viinous aura. It would''ve made many adults flinch yet the son, innocently smiled back.


    Ever since then, Isaac had been obsessed with only one girl. He waited for his father to stand atop of the world, waited for him to be the King, that''s when he''d have her.


    He even managed to be acquainted with her, thanks to their families whom had a lot of dinners together due to business.


    When it was time to attend the academy, Isaac was extremely excited. To him, that was just another ce to practice his tyrannical reign. He loved making people feel miserable with his power. Since he was raised the way he was, he didn''t see anything wrong with it.


    He even made it a point to investigate whether or not that particr girl would be there at Eden academy, and what courses she would be taking, when he found out, he registered for the same course. Even bribed the staff to be put in the same dorm building as her.


    He tried everything to get close to her, nothing, absolutely nothing worked. His ego was heavily bruised when she started getting charmy with the kids from the slums.


    He watched her watch them. He felt disgusted, he couldn''t believe he had been attracted to this girl. The expectations she had of her came crashing down. She was a dirty wh*re in his eyes now. But, he still wanted her, as his y thing.


    The day he grabbed her hand and backed down when that peasant dared to stare in his eyes, he was embarrassed and angry. He couldn''t very well tell his father about this ordeal.


    When he reached his table, he uttered 4 simple words, "No one can know." His goons simply nodded.


    They would jump off a bridge if Isaac ordered them to. They knew he was a bit of a coward, but they also acknowledged he was a coward backed by a powerful person, so they followed him blindly.


    After I Silva didn''t give him the time of day, he directed his anger at Kiro and Hiro. When he saw them running into the toilet, he knew his chance to act had presented itself. So he gathered his goons, and went after them.


    What pissed him off most of all about this Kiro guy was that, he didn''t seem to be scared of him. All his life he was feared and respected by people higher than him, but he made it a point to provoke him.


    ''But he should be, he should fear me.'' Isaac thought to himself blissfully.


    ''I''ll show him that he has no ce in this school.''


    "Sir Isaac, should we, should we bring blunt weapons?"


    "No, not yet, just teach them a lesson this time. At my signal, hold them down."


    Being the loyal dogs that they were, they did anything he asked, this time was no different. He was visibly happy when he heard fists and flesh collide. His lips curled into an evil smile.


    The smell of fresh blood was a weed blessing to his nose. It was too bad they couldn''t bless his ears with their desperate cries.


    Not even the wimpy Hiro wasn''t screaming. It was just thud, thud, thud. The sound of fists to flesh.

 Chapter 47: Out For Breakfast

    Theck of their desperate cries made him bore easily. Their silent screams made more of a statement than his beating ever did.


    He signalled them to stop. He went and knelt in front of Kiro. Then he dared to say something so ridiculous, him, a King? That made Isaac see red.


    He was so angry,  the mouthful of blood on his face and the blood stained suit seemed like a trivial matter.


    His father told him appearance was everything, so Isaac was almost always wearing suits or semi formal clothing. But this morning in particr was special, he was headed to breakfast with his father.


    He quickly went to his dorm room, for a change of clothing and took a quick shower. It was a pity because the blood stained grey suit was his favourite, they were a rare design so he didn''t have another one.


    He was more or less satisfied with how today turned out. The moment he smashed Kiro''s face in the toilet kept reying in his head, smiling in the mirror, he fixed his tie. He then headed out to meet his father.


    He was about to enter the luxurious train carriage when the security guys stopped him dead on his tracks. He gave them the most deadliest of looks.


    "Sorry, this carriage has already been booked." Thenky onemented with a deadpan face.


    "First of all, get your dirty peasant hand off me. Secondly, do you know who I am?"


    The guard was taken aback, "sir, I understand your frustrations but the carriage is booked."


    "I''m sure Gilbert keson would love to hear about how you treated her son." He took out his ID and showed them.


    They stood frozen in ce, they couldn''t even breathe. They eyes popped in surprise. At their reaction, Isaac gave them a sinister smile.


    They had been told by their boss which families to never cross, and keson was one of the families. They didn''t know what to do, so they stiffly bowed.


    "Sorry sir, you may enter."


    He scoffed and bumped into them as he entered. He took his seat, feeling like the king of his world. It didn''t take long for the train to arrive at student town.


    His father was already at the restaurant. That was apparent with the 5 bodyguards standing outside. Two of them escorted Isaac in and even pulled the chair for him. He unbuttoned his jacket and sat down.


    The waiter poured him a ss of red wine.


    "You''rete." His father growled.


    "Sorry father, there was a hitch and I took care of it."


    "Good, that you take care of your own business. But don''t make me wait again." He said dangerously.


    Isaac clenched his jaw, sipped his wine and said simply, "of course. Never again."


    "Now I wanted us to discuss thest business  we''re going to buy. It''ll be a multi-billionaire corporation in a year or 2."


    "What do they do?"


    "They''re attempting to create Artificial intelligence superior to humans. If they seed this''ll be quite the fortune.


    "Thepany making it is still a small one, they''ll need funds. Making this investment will mean the keson family at the top of the world."


    Isaac grinned wildly, "So then, what are we waiting for, let''s buy it."


    "Are you idiotic? Not yet. We want them at their most desperate time, they''lle begging, so that we get most of thepany at a low price." His father said scornfully.


    "That''s very smart father." Isaac said, grinning, "then, when all is said and done, our family will take their rightful ces as royalty."


    His father nodded rigorously. Isaac felt really great about himself, he was absolutely nothing without his father he knew that.


    He was basking in his shadow and brilliant mind, but it would be all worth it when they can do as they please.


    Isaac found himself imagining the things he''d to Kiro and that Silva girl. He''d enve them both, and whip them all day and night. That thought alone brought immense joy to his heart.


    That''s all he really cared about and his father knew this, that''s why he always tried to make him see the bigger picture.


    He had to make him the perfect sessor, to ensure their families reign for the next thousand years. So once in a while he had these meetings with him, to teach him one thing or another.


    His father didn''t know if he should curse the heavens or thank them. They had given him the perfect puppet. In doing so, they''ve also given him a very weak minded son.


    But he didn''t mind, since he pulled the strings, Isaac obeyed his every order. He nned to instill this in him until the day he dies, so that even beyond the grave, he''d be the puppet master.


    The father sat back, rxing a bit. Their breakfast arrived. He truly looked majestic, exuded that kind of air about him the same, the waiters in this restaurant were nervous around him.


    He liked their nervousness, so he would simply give them a smile, one that didn''t quite reach his eyes.


    But that was charming all the same. He was a handsome man, a blonde mane for hair with green eyes and a neatly trimmed beard.


    Isaac didn''t hold a candle to how good looking his father was, if it weren''t for the inherited blonde and green eyes, people would''ve denied that they were even rted.


    Isaac wolfed down his breakfast without a care in the world. He was however thinking about how to make Kiro suffer some more.


    ''That''s right, I''ll look for him in-game and show him how strong I truly am.'' He smirked, he was feeling real good about himself.


    "You should eat more elegantly than that, what are you, a dog?" His father asked in disgust.


    "Sorry father. I just got too excited."


    "That shouldn''t mean you must throw away etiquette. Who''s going to serve someone they don''t fear or respect? Nobody."


    "Yes father." The scolding didn''t bother him one bit, Isaac was on cloud nine.


    Not only did his father bring such good news, his family''s reign was imminent. That excited him greatly.

 Chapter 48: The Return

    The two boys kept to their word and went overboard. It was the 5th day since their break from the game. Their mental health was much better than it was after thebyrinth, though scars would forever remain.


    Kiro even considered never going back to the game again, but when he reminded himself about the money he would be able to make, he stilled his heart.


    For these 5 days, they''d been training nonstop. Aspetitive sports hadn''t opened yet, Hiro went swimming everyday, while Kiro went kickboxing.


    Every morning, they''d go their separate ways and do 5 hour sets each. Thene back for lunch, then do some running and lifting weights.


    This was their routine for thest 5 days. They had gained some weight and turned it into well defined muscles. They were no longer scrawny slum rats, they weren''t too muscr either. Just lean muscles.


    Kiro''s precious goal was to workout to the point of gaining an 8-pack abdomen. That dream was quickly drowned when his kickboxing instructor told him he only had potential for 4. He waspletely dejected.


    On an extremely hot day, Kiro and Hiro decided to y some basketball outside for muscle training, just the two of them.


    Kiro quite liked the sun soaking in his skin and his shirt was drenched in sweat, so he wasn''t wearing one. Hiro was however wearing one.


    The two of them were pretty good at sports, because that was pretty much the only cheap thing parents could afford for toys in the slums.


    Just buy your kid a ball and be done with it. But since they were malnourished, they could never really gain muscles.


    They were ying a 1 on 1, when I and Saanvi joined them. As realistic as the game was, it didn''t do any justice to their beauty in person. This made Hiro stare at Saanvi like she was something he desired.


    "You guys seriously haven''t logged in Asgard at all, since that day?" Saanvi asked breaking Hiro''s awkward stares.


    "Well, no, our mental health is more important, don''t you think?" Hiro replied before Kiro could.


    "But we''ll dive in tonight, so don''t miss us too much," Kiro said smugly.


    "You should put a shirt on," I said, choking on her own words.


    She was immensely surprised that they had gained so much muscles in such a short time.


    "Charmed?" Kiro said, trying to sound cooler than he actually was in all that sweat.


    "Don''t be ridiculous," Her face turned red, though nobody could be sure whether the cause was the sun.


    "Let us y too, teach us," she said trying to change the subject.


    Rich folks didn''t pay much attention to sports, they rather teach their kids businesses, so that when the parents die, the kid can carry on the family fortune or possibly branch out and start their ownpany.


    Saanvi teamed up with Kiro, I with Hiro. The boys knew the girls couldn''t y, so they took it easy. Hiro''s mark was Saanvi, Kiro''s mark was I. The universe was cruel, as the boys realised that they each had soft spots for their marks.


    They hadn''t really thought it through, they thought by ying like this, not having someone you like on your team would make you perform better. But s, it was worse.


    It was then that I tried to tackle, yes, aggressively tackle, Kiro. He simply side stepped and shot for a 3 pointer, which went in.


    But she fell pretty hard on the ground. Being the gentleman that he was, Kiro quickly turned back to help her up.


    He offered his hand, she took it, he must''ve tugged way too hard because she staggered awkwardly forwards and they almost hugged.


    Before that could happen however, Kiro quickly held out his arms and stopped her in her tracks.


    "Are you okay?" He asked, both his hands on her shoulders.


    ''I never noticed before, but his eyes look like they have electricity in them. I''ve never seen such eyes before.'' She thought to herself. She didn''t hear anything else, I was in her own world.


    Kiro''s other arm was now iling in front of I''s face. It took a while but she eventually noticed and looked at him again.


    "Princess, are you okay? Do you need to go the medicentre?"


    "Yes, No. I don''t need a check up."


    When he confirmed she was okay he started with his snarky, yfulments.


    "Geez Princess. This is basketball not rugby. I think you signed up for the wrong sport. They need you in the football team."


    Good thing she wasn''t a snob, because sheughed. "Instinct! It was pure instincts!"


    She liked her school life, she made a mental note to thank her father for being so persistent. If she hadn''t gone here, she would''ve have never met him.


    They continued to y, they somehow tied. I and Saanvi were kind of useless, so the boys were the only ones doing anything decent. But they had fun, so it wasn''tpletely a waste of time.


    After showering and dinner, they decided to go back to ying. Kiro especially wanted them to go mining.


    Before going online, he called his parents for the first time since he arrived here. They weren''t very happy with him. He apologised and promised to call more often, and made them promise to take it easy at work.


    After that call he dove right in.


    Ding!


    [Your Manor-Castle has finished building. You can choose to be transported there every time you log in.]


    Ding!


    [You have a friend request from the human assassin, Niki. ept? Y/N]


    Ding!


    [Congrattions you''ve awakened your true blood. You''re descended from dragons and the monkey King. Your new race is High Dreki.]


    [You have unlocked a subss, beast tamer, and because you''re High ranked most tamable beasts cower before you.]


    [You''ve unlocked two new skills, Meditation and Lightning maniption.]


    [As a result of your awakening, you''ve unlocked a new stat called Constitution. Common swords can do nothing to your bare skin now.]


    [Due to being a descendent of the monkey King, the mythic staff, Ryu has awakened. But because you''re still weak. You can only wield 10% of its power]


    [All stats are raised by 10]


    ''WHOA! Am I Overpowered now? Hahaha.'' Kiro quickly epted Niki''s friend request.


    Before checking his character sheet. He noticed that Constitution was at 30, so he added 30 attribute points to it, so it can also be at 60.

 Chapter 49: First Encounter

    Name: Kiro


    Level 35


    Race: High Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: Beast Tamer


    HP: 9000/9000


    MP: 9900/9900


    Attack: 2000(+100)


    PDEF: 1000(+100)


    Strength: 60


    Vitality: 60 (+5)


    Dexterity: 60 (+2)


    Stamina: 60


    Intelligence: 60


    Constitution: 60


    Equipment: rare dragon newt cloth armour and boots and Ryu the Staff.


    Skills


    Vibrations (AOE Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 5MP per second, no cooldown.


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 10MP per second.


    Martial Arts (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    Chi (Ranked A, can''t evolve)


    Bending Kick (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Regeneration (Ranked S, cannot evolve)


    The skill regenerates 100 HP and MP per second


    Whirlwind (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Uses 100 Mana Points per second. No cool down.


    Meditation (Ranked D, can evolve)


    Lightning Maniption (F ranked, can evolve)


    Uses 200 Mana Points per second. 5 minute cool down.


    30 AP


    25 SP


    Kiro couldn''t believe his eyes, Vibrations went from can''t evolve to evolve. No matter what he did, the system couldn''t answer why it had changed. He figured it was because of his blood awakening.


    So he checked out his awakened staff Ryu.


    Ryu


    Mythic Rank


    Attack Power(10%): 2000


    You can resize the staff, you can also recall it, but these options are avable if it recognises you as the master.


    Kiro''s eyes almost fell off his head. It was 10%, but, but, 2000 damage? This must be a joke, he figured there was a glitch in the system somewhere. He''d never seen a weapon this overpowered, not even in his previous life.


    ''Wow, awakening your true blood was worth it after all.''


    He finally snapped out of it and looked over at Hiro who was now glowing, wait, was he gaining a bit of height? He seemed taller than an average dwarf.


    "Dude, you''re taller than a regr dwarf!"


    "Hey! Your ears are pointier than before!"


    "Did you get a subss too?"


    He looked deted, "yeah, Architecture and an alchemist skill." He said with disappointment.


    Kiro looked at him incredulously. "Do you not get what this means? You can design and charge all those guilds that haven''t been built. The game charges 900k per design. You can charge 500k. You''ll be rich!


    "What''s the skills rank? Dump all your skill points on it, if it can evolve."


    His disappointment turned into a smile immediately. Kiro seemed to have had a bad influence on him, he loved money as much as he did now.


    "The skill is B rank, it can evolve. I''ll do as you say and evolve it then make some in-game money," he said excitedly.


    He knew this was just in-game currency, but it excited him nheless. The more he thought about it, the more it was apparent to him that, gamers spend tons of real money in games they love. Since he was a craftsman, selling armour, weapons and potions for real money wasn''t totally impossible.


    He caught a little bit of glimpse to what this could mean for him, though his dreams were much lower than Kiro''s since he didn''t think he''d make billions. His thoughts were still just, the middle district, which was still a kind of paradise to people like them.


    "Then, what subss did you get?" He asked curiously.


    "Beast Tamer. I can tame them, and I bet I can sell them after that too." He noticed how dejected he looked, he must have wanted this kind of ss, so he quickly said, "don''t worry, I''ll catch you a pet. It''s a promise."


    As they chatted, Kiro noticed someone. It was Isaac, his stupid face pissed him off, but what made him more furious was the fact that every time he saw this guy, his heart would rummage inside his ribcage.


    His essence would travel him in time, to the world he suffered under Isaac''s reign. It was an instinct that refused to disappear.


    He had to remind himself that, he wasn''t in that ''past'' anymore. He was no longer Kiro the wimp but maybe, the wolf? The trauma of his past bullying didn''t leave him so readily. And he hated the vulnerability it caused him. It was a true inconvenience.


    So once again, he gave himself a little peptalk and went over to him and activated PvP. He had no ns of letting him weasel his way out of this, that''s why he activated it before he even said anything.


    The rich brat had his back on them as they approached. He was startled by the notification of a PvP, so he turned around to see who dared to challenge him.


    "Sir Isaac! I can''t tell you how good it is to finally meet you here, in Asgard, your majesty." Kiro said and bowed mockingly.


    Hiro understood that he was taking a jab at him, for bowing to I before. He roared withughter. This infuriated Isaac even more. He didn''t know where both of these rats got their confidence from.


    "A slum scum like you dares."


    Isaac was a mage, a spell caster. He looked at how normal Kiro seemed, even his armour was cloth. His weapon was a simple rod? He sneered.


    "You''ve been strutting around the academy like you were something more than that you are. Today I''ll put you in your ce!" His lips curled into a smile.


    Kiro did not intend to go easy on him. He wanted to use his absolute full power, to scare him senseless. He wanted to inflict the same kind of damage he carries because of him.


    What''s more, he was going to wait for him every time he died, so he could kill him again. He''d keep killing him until he stopped logging in. He wanted to chip his arrogance away.


    He didn''t give his opponent a chance to speak again, as he activated blink and with all his might, he smashed him hard on top of the head. With a 2000 attack power plus 40% of staff wielder, he didn''t stand a chance. He immediately pixted, Isaac''sst expression was that of anger and shock.


    Those who watched were perplexed. People started recording the person who one-shotted someone who was above level 20. How strong was that guy? Was everybody''s question.


    They weren''t stupid enough to provoke him to find out. They saw that he didn''t leave, so a crowd gathered.


    "Well, let''s go mine!"


    "Not yet." He smiled innocently.


    "What are we waiting for?"


    "Him." He said pointing at the spot Isaac died at, just then Isaac came back online.

 Chapter 50: Ill Wait and Wait

    He stifled a nervousugh, "You caught me off guard. I must apud you for that, peasant." He pushed back his blonde hair and straightened his clothes before equipping his armour.


    "Your most powerful ability must be running your mouth." Kiro said coolly.


    The crowd gatheredughed at this. This agitated Isaac by a huge amount. He couldn''t stand being embarrassed by someone he deemed inferior, which was really everyone since he saw himself as royalty.


    He cast an ice spell, chunks of ice fell out of the sky. Kiro rxed, and then started smashing them with Ryu. As it turns out there were way too many for one person, so he activated Whirlwind, and then Vibrations.


    Isaac was stunned in ce. Unable to move and losing a ton of his HP. When every ice block was smashed into pieces and blown away, Kiro slowly approached Isaac. Since Isaac couldn''t move he had an expression of fear in his eyes.


    ''Good, be scared. You''re nothing but amb to me.''


    As though he timed it, he reached Isaac just when Vibrations'' effects were wearing off. He activated Bending Kick andnded it right on his neck which made a loud crack noise. Once again, he pixted.


    The crowd went wild! They had been recording the whole thing. When they saw that Kiro had no intentions of leaving, they got more and more excited. This was entertaining to them, they started liking this game a bit more.


    "Just who is that kid? He''s too strong!"


    "What is he anyway? I''ve never seen a race like his."


    "Looks simr to a Dreki but also different?"


    "Oh, what''s his ss. I wish I''d have picked it."


    "Sagehood ss, it''s not as easy as he makes it. Probably worked hard to have those moves."


    Everybody turned to look at the speaker, he was also a sage. Though he didn''t look as majestic, he looked ragged and dirt poor, which caused for people to ignore him.


    "How can two people of the same race and ss, be so different?"


    "Haha. Its not even just difference in strength, its also a big difference in looks."


    The kid was extremely embarrassed, so he shrunk back.


    The crowd chatted amongst themselves. They didn''t dare ask the man in question. He looked too majestic to be approached by nobodies like them.


    Isaac logged in again, he was extremely red in the face. He was so angry people could actually feel the heat his body produced. But nobody moved, they knew Kiro was fast as lightning, you blink you miss it.


    "You little shi¡ª"


    Immediately, Kiro activated Lightning Maniption. He hasn''t used this skill since he unlocked it, so he wanted to see what it could do. He had over 9000 mana, so he could keep up with this skill for quite some time. As soon as he activated it, the town grew a bit dark, a dark cloud hovered over Isaac''s head.


    "Your parents should''ve taught you better than that. If they didn''t, don''t worry, I''ll act as their proxy and teach you a thing or two."


    Then lightning rained on the poor boy''s head, which extended to his body. Asgard was so realistic that you could feel at least 10% of the pain your character feels. Sure it won''t cause any physical damage, but some mental damage. Isaac was burned into a crisp before he pixted again.


    Isaac kepting back, Kiro was bored at this point. He''d just assimte Ryu with lightning or wind, and cut his head off before he could do anything. Swift and clean.


    The crowd was torn between feeling sorry for Isaac and cheering for Kiro. His ruthlessness was something that was weed, but also they felt sorry because Isaac was losing his progress everytime he died.


    Ding!


    [Because you''re merciless to your enemies, the mythic staff, Ryu is amused and has recognised you as its master. You can still use only 10% of its power.]


    Kiro clicked his tongue at thatst sentence.


    ''A sentient weapon, how nice. I hope it doesn''t talk at the end. I wouldn''t want a talking staff, that''d be too weird.'' Kiro thought to himself.


    When Isaac logged in again, Kiro simply yelled, "Ryu resize."


    Somehow the staff knew that he wanted it to grow longer, so it shot forwards and hit Isaac square on the face. He fell hard on the ground, his nose was broken and bleeding.


    He slowly got up, pinching his nose. "Hit me again, and I''ll ruin your entire life and everyone you love."


    Kiro''s eyes glinted dangerously. Bits of lightning could be seen dancing within them. He summoned lightning into Ryu, and threw the staff right at Isaac''s neck. It pierced through. Ryunded and got stuck on the ground behind Isaac.


    Isaac was sure a stubborn cow, because he logged in again.


    Coldly, Kiro muttered, "Ryu,e!" Again the staff flew through Isaac''s body, through his heart and into its owners hand.


    He died once again. The crowd was dumbfounded at this point, they didn''t understand why Isaac was so adamant on being massacred.


    What made Kiro infuriated was the fact that he attempted to drag his family into this. It was just a game, but he was willing to go so far? He''d never let anything slide, when it came to his family.


    But, 10, then 15, then 20 minutes passed and Isaac was nowhere to be found. Kiro smirked in satisfaction, he had hoped that he imparted the same level of trauma on Isaac as he did to him in the past.


    He had an inkling that this wouldn''t be the end of it. Isaac had a superiorityplex, he wouldn''t just let this shame go. Kiro didn''t care one bit though, he epted the unofficial challenge.


    The crowd cheered loudly at the spectacle their eyes had just feasted on. They had somehow caught the names of the duellers. Now they understood that this was the Kiro who made world announcements while everyone was still at beginner''s vige. The videos of the massacre were posted online.


    "Oh my god! That was the most insane and brutal fights I''ve ever seen."


    "Better than any film fights I''ve ever seen."


    "Aren''t you guys exaggerating a bit?"


    "Yeah, this wasn''t a fight, it was a one-sided massacre."


    "So what? That Isaac fe was too arrogant, going against a mountain when he''s an ant."


    Hiro was ecstatic. Yes he''d been in fights alongside his friend, but it was the first time watching as a third party. Hemanded how brutal he was. Remembering how Isaac attacked them back then, he was satisfied with the beating he received.


    Kiro looked at him, and saw the satisfied look on his face, "you can''t be satisfied with just this, we must absolutely destroy that kid."


    He smiled sheepishly, "yes, yes."


    Kiro smiled and nodded to Hiro for them to leave. On their way to the mines, Niki called.

 Chapter 51: To The Mines

    "Niki, what''s wrong?"


    "You guys went radio silent for 5 days, so I thought I''d imagined the whole thing."


    "Haha, oh no, after thebyrinth we took a break, the break was so good, that it was extended, unintentionally."


    "Have you been to the base? It''s pretty amazing."


    "Not yet, we''re headed to mine. Hiro is a craftsman, so he needs materials if we need him to make us stuff." He looked at Hiro who was minding his own business, then whispered, "for free."


    Hiro heard that regardless, and chuckled.


    "Okay, I''m on my way. Challenging a dungeon on my own would be pretty stupid anyway."


    "We''ll wait by the mouth of the mine then."


    They walked through a in field. Both of them were grateful there wasn''t a forest. They''ve had too much of forests tost them a lifetime.


    A lot of yers could be seen challenging world bosses. A world boss appeared outside a dungeon, it wasn''t as dangerous but it could kill arrogant yers.


    "Hey! Don''t attack so recklessly while I''m in front of the boss!"


    "What, you think I can''t control my own magic?"


    Many yers suffered from not being able to sync up with each other, since they weren''t used to each other''s fighting style. So bickering amongst themselves was a pretty normal thing.


    World bosses appeared once in a while, there wasn''t a pattern, nobody knew when it would appear. So usually thezy yers who don''t do dungeon runs would wait around for one. It was worth it though, as the rewards for world bosses were more. They were divided by contribution too, not equally.


    "Can I ask you something?" Hiro suddenly said.


    "Shoot buddy."


    "Do you know Isaac? I mean, prior to the academy. The anger you feel for him feels like something that''s been umted for years."


    Kiro''s heart stopped dead in its tracks. ''How perceptive.'' Should he just tell him? Would he believe him if he did?


    Heughed nervously, "I''m actually from the future. I died before, and regressed. I have no idea how, or why."


    Hiro stopped walking, and gave him a weird look, "how imaginative, you could''ve just said you don''t want to talk about it you know."


    ''BUT I''M TELLING YOU THE TRUTH?'' Kiro screamed internally.


    He sighed, and opted for another truth, "I just hate his kind. People who think everyone is beneath them because of some riches their family has. Besides, he beat us ck and blue, why wouldn''t my anger for him feel like a thousand years worth?"


    "Yeah, I suppose that''s true. Aren''t you afraid he''ll rope your family into it?"


    "He can try. If he seeds I can only rain cmity on his family." Kiro said these words, with undiluted confidence.


    And because of that, Hiro couldn''t help but believe him. They walked the rest of the way in silence, it wasn''t awkward or anything. Each were thinking of how to deal with Isaac if he were to decide to take this fight to the real world.


    They finally got to the mouth of the mine. Some goblins were there. At the sight of intruders, the goblins raised their weapons and pushed forward to kill the unweed guests.


    As many as there were, they were massacred because they were just level 20 monster fodder in the presence of the two. They couldn''t do much in front of absolute power even with numbers.


    Even Hiro with his low agility was able to hold his own. He had his axe, and he was absolutely abusing the low level monsters.


    They dropped some pretty average equipment, so along with that rare shield. Kiro put them in the auction.


    "Remember when we Levelled up with every kill? Now we just killed 50+ goblins but nothing." Hiro solemnlymented.


    "With great power,es slow progress. Unfortunately." They bothughed.


    Hiro nodded, "wise. Very wise."


    Niki arrived and was bummed that he arrived after they had defeated the enemies. He''d never really seen the duo in action before and he''d love to. Sure he watched the video circting online, but he didn''t consider that a fight, as it was too one-sided.


    They entered the mines. There were a lot of routes. It was dark, cold and smelled damp. The ground was gravel so it made a lot of noise as they walked. Hiro took out a torch from his mining starter pack. It wasn''t much but at least they could see where they were going.


    The walls were obsidian. Like the mine was put under hot extreme pressure. They reached the inner walls of one route where they could mine. It was dimly lit.


    They could barely see anything, they each bought shlights that came with a protective head gear.


    So, they started their mining spree. They used Hiro''s beginner tools for it. It was expensive upgrading them, so they didn''t bother.

 Chapter 52: Mining

    It took a lot of digging to mine for ore and coins. The treasure was usually buried deep within, so they had to be patient, but sometimes they''d dig and there wouldn''t be anything.


    "I saw the videos on Talkalot. You''re stronger than I thought Kiro." Niki started a conversation.


    "He is."


    "I am." Kiro said smugly.


    The twoughed and shook their heads at Kiro''s asional arrogance. His wasn''t overbearing, it was funny and innocent.


    "But what''s Talkalot?" Kiro asked innocently.


    "What the¡ªit''s a social media tform, you can post videos, pictures and everything. Your video is posted there. You should create an ount if you don''t have one."


    "It''s online already? How fast are they?" Hiro was shocked, it hadn''t even been a minute since they left the fields.


    "Why should I get an ount?" Kiro asked with an eyebrow raised.


    Niki pinched the bridge of his nose in disbelief, "just do it."


    "Okay, okay. Hiro, you heard him, we should." Hiro simply nodded, he didn''t understand why they needed a social media tform.


    Niki noticed that they were confused, so he gave a brief exnation. He sighed deeply.


    "It''s the best tform to amass a following, with your gamey it won''t be hard and with a big following, you have a lot of people that trust you, you can let them hire us as mercenaries. That''ll bring us quite a lot of money. Posting our dungeon runs there too will be good."


    As soon as he said he could mise this social tform, he had gotten his undivided attention.


    "Wow, I had no idea. Say no less." He thought hard trying to remember if that was such a thing in his past life, nothing came to mind.


    He was ecstatic, he was grateful for Niki. If they hadn''t met he wouldn''t have known this perfect strategy.


    They mined all sorts of things, though more than half of what they dug up were coins. Ores were rare. They did this day and night. Rain or shine. 30 days in-game timeter, they had amassed great wealth.


    "Hey Kiro, do you like anyone at this school?" Hiro abruptly asked.


    "Yeah, you." He answered absent-mindedly.


    "Not like that, y-you dunce!" He shouted without meaning to.


    "Whoa buddy, rx. Do you like someone? careful around these rich snort nosed brats. You''re too good for them." He said, and looked at Niki, and added, "no offense Niki."


    Niki simply shrugged. He knew how bad rich people can be. He knew it very well, the two had no idea but Niki was a victim of the rich too.


    "I know, but Saanvi is different. She doesn''t sound like those typical rich brats." Hiro said in an almost sing-songy voice.


    Kiro just snorted and shook his head.


    "I don''t have the luxury to think about those things at this moment. Let''s mine, be rich and then we''ll talk." Kiro said trying to shove the feelings he had for a certain girl, deep deep down.


    "You''re saying that as if we will be rich in real life. Its just a game."


    Kiro didn''t say anything, this would be a pleasant surprise for him. He was probably going to be speechless!


    "Hey, Hiro. What other skill did drinking the true blood potion give you?"


    "Apart from the Alchemy skill, it''s a Force field or something like that. Apparently my shields will be able to exude a force field kind of energy. But it uses a stupid amount of mana. So I can hold it up for a few minutes. What about you?"


    "That''s a nice skill, really. I got Meditation and Lightning Maniption."


    "What about whirlwind?"


    "Oh, I just fused threepatible skills and it was born."


    "You can do that?" Niki was shocked.


    Kiro shrugged, "apparently."


    They were busy mining. And just like that 2 weeks passed and sses started. Asgard Online had over 20 million yers now.


    The new update would be in 5 days if everything went ording to the future he was familiar with. Where coins will be usable in real life.


    They sold the rare shield for 20 000 coins. While the goblin equipment went for 50-100 coins. Hiro had done over 5 designs for various guilds. His reputation in-game was starting to pick up. With 2 weeks of just mining, Hiro got a lot of ore.


    They managed to mine 30 million coins each. Kiro was satisfied! Niki was dumbfounded, he had no idea what he would do with that many coins.


    Kiro looked at him concerned, "Don''t waste those, they''lle in handy."


    Kiro thought about the true blood potions they had, "oh, I almost forgot, here drink this."


    "What is it?" Niki was confused.


    "A potion to make you stronger¡ª"


    He didn''t need to hear anything else, as he downed the potion in one gulp.


    "You didn''t even let me finish. What if to get stronger, you''d die a few times losing progress?"


    "As long as I''ll get stronger. It doesn''t matter."


    Kiro couldn''t be sure, but he sensed a trauma there. Somebody who hated being dependent, somebody who chased strength so that they can never be helpless, somebody like him.


    Nheless, he told him that, drinking that potion meant he was a guardian of Asgard more or less. They recounted what happened on their way to the capital.


    "WHAT?"

 Chapter 53: Class In Session

    The school had a uniform system. This was about the only good thing this society had ever done for the poor.


    The colours were grey, navy and maroon. The Jersey/Cardigan was a V neck with the colour grey. The tie for girls was a maroon bow-tie, for boys it was a in navy neck tie and trousers/skirt were navy .


    The zer was maroon with the schools amblem on the left breast. It had a Griffin brandishing a shield and spear. Which was ironic in a world of advanced technology. The shoes were white sneakers for outdoors, and slides for indoors.


    Kiro didn''t like the Jersey so he tossed it aside. Wore the zer instead. He realised his uniform was a bit small, but figured they just gave him the wrong size. He hadn''t realised that eating healthy and exercising makes people grow.


    Since he had noputer that could take notes for him, a notebook, a sketchbook and pencil could he seen in his hand as he left the room. The rooms didn''t need keys or locks, they automatically locked themselves and they could only be opened by the owner of the room.


    He knew there''d be a time he would be bored in ss, he''d just start doodling when that happens. He always liked drawing.


    He was someone whose attention wasn''t easily acquired ever since he was a child. So drawing while listening to a lesson was the only way he wouldn''tpletely fall asleep.


    He headed out and met with Hiro. He was surprisingly also wearing just the zer.


    ''We didn''t discuss it, I promise.'' Kiro thought to himself.


    Upon getting into the department building, they were assigned lockers that could fit their uniforms, a bunch of shoes and a bag.


    Naturally they took off their outdoor shoes and put on slides, that were ck in colour. It seemed girls were given white ones in colour, it was a weird distinction but Kiro paid it no mind.


    They entered the ssroom, it was already half full. They didn''t give the students that much attention, they were just chatting andughing, they werepletely oblivious that all eyes were on them.


    It was too quiet, so Kiro turned his head to the ss. It took them a second to quickly look away.


    ''How weird.'' Kiro thought.


    They still hadn''t checked what the onlinemunity was talking about this week. Kiro''s fight with Isaac was trending number 1 on socials. So his fame at school changed overnight.


    Kiro and Hiro decided they should sit at the back, they didn''t want any body''s eyes burning at the back of their heads. The teacher came in. She looked to be in her mid 30s.


    "Good morning ss. I''m your professor, Dr. Ramirez. I teach VR Sciences. Who here can tell me what Virtual Reality is?" She said in a well-practiced voice, as if magical the white board started writing her name as she said it along with the subject she was teaching.


    ''Wow, straight to the point.''


    Nobody raised their hand. It was understandable, they were all new here, everybody was still on edge. So Kiro raised his hand.


    "Yes. Mr.?" The professor said, pointing at him.


    "Waynworth, teach," he said giving her a genuine smile.


    "The word Virtual in itself meansputer generated. The word reality means something that actually exists in real life. So virtual reality is aputer generated world, that mimics real life one way or another.


    "Often people say that virtual reality is a ''fake world'' but in my personal opinion, its gotten to the point where it could actually be a second reality and I say reality, without the virtual," he concluded, transfixed at the white board. He was hopeful that it''d write whatever he said, but it never did.


    After a second Kiro took his seat, he could see the professor was taken aback. He narrowly stopped a smirk from forming.


    "Ahem." She cleared her throat, "just as Mr. Waynworth said, VR is aputer generated world. But what''s strange is that, our bodies evolved to amodate VR. We don''t need to sleep or eat as much as our predecessors.


    "Not only do our brains process information ten times faster, they also reach full maturity at 16. We can be inside the VR world for 10 days at most, without having slept, drank or eaten. Beyond that, it''s not a physical strain you''ll feel it''s a mental one."


    The professor looked around, to see if anybody would dispute. When nobody did. She continued.


    "In this ss we''re not only going to learn about what VR is, but also why it affects us the way it does, if there''s a corrtion at all to our evolution and VR. Finally, how to create a VR of your own, should you choose to be a game designer. So this ss will both have theory and practicals."


    This went on for an hour and a half. Kiro listened for as long as he could for the first 30 minutes. Beyond that he had been sketching on his book.


    This ss wasn''t that important to him anymore, he won''t be a game designer, he wasn''t sure whether he cared about their evolution either.


    Then the professor said, "there''s 30 minutes until ss is over, but at this moment, everyone should introduce themselves. ss President and Vice need to be elected too."


    She pointed at the first person by the door, so he stood and started the introductions.


    "Chase Ronald."


    "Son Aiden"


    "Hyuk Jin"


    "Khan Saanvi"


    At that moment, the tips of Hiro''s ears went bright red.


    ''He really liked this girl huh.''


    "Silva Rosabel I"


    "Bryce Atticus"


    "Naidu Brian Ishaan"


    "Zheng Shin"


    This went on for a whole 5 minutes.


    "Rodriguez Felix Alexandre"


    "keson Isaac"


    For some reason, he didn''t have the arrogant air he usually had.


    ''Did I break him?'' Kiro wondered in silence. It was finally their turn. Hiro stood up, his legs were actual Jell-O.


    "Mi-i-isaki Hiroto!" He shouted.


    Kiro couldn''t help himself so heughed at his best friend. So much that when it was his turn he had to stifle theugh and pretend he was smiling like an idiot.


    Standing up, He said, "Waynworth Kiro."


    The teacher looked at him, "Aren''t you forgetting anything?"


    Tch, Kiro clicked his tongue. "Waynworth Percival Kiro."


    The ss had a total of 50 students.


    "I didn''t know you had two names." Hiro whispered.


    "Stupid tradition." Kiro said, more to himself than Hiro.


    "Nice sketch by the way." Hiro said chuckling.


    It was Kiro''s turn to feel like the sun was right in front of his face. I was sitting not too far from them, so he''d sneak nces at her and draw.


    The drawing wasn''t bad, if art meant anything in this world he could''ve made a fortune as an artist.


    "Great. Now that we know each other, you will write down the name of the person you''re electing as your president. Begin," the professor said, cutting their whispering short.


    Kiro smirked he had an idea, and scribbled ''Misaki Hiroto.'' Somehow he knew that this would freak him out, hearing his name called.


    The teacher went around, and people put their papers in a basket. The teacher took a single paper, opened it and said,


    "Misaki Hiroto."


    His eyes were wide open, he looked at his best friend, his nose was pink! Kiroughed and gave him an apologetic look.


    Then, the second name was also his. The third, the fourth and fifth. He was sweating now, profusely.

 Chapter 54: Youre The President

    Hiro was already dying in his chair, he absolutely didn''t want to be president. He wasn''t ready to get himself out there, he stillcked confidence. His head was spinning dangerously.


    ''Which of these idiots are voting for me,'' he thought, and was d he hadn''t said it out loud.


    Then Kiro''s name was called. He groaned louder than he intended. Hiro felt relief and joy it wouldn''t be him. He felt bad for his friend but was d nheless.


    The votes alternated between Kiro, Isaac and I. Hiro got 5 votes, Isaac got 10 votes, I got 16 and Kiro got 19. He looked around, with ''what is wrong with yall'' face.


    ''I''m just a poor peasant, I don''t want this responsibility!'' he thought to himself and shook his head.


    ''What''s with me and people making me president?''


    He couldn''t believe his bad luck. It was happening, all over again. Though he hadn''t the slightest inkling whether they voted him in as a joke, but he bet they did. They were rich kids after all, ying with others was their favourite pass time.


    He didn''t want this responsibility. He raised his hand. Before he could even say anything.


    "The results are final. There''ll be no negotiations," Dr. Ramirez said, sternly.


    How cold. He let it go. He had to. Or she''d eat him alive it looked like. The next vote was for the Vice President seat. I won it by an overwhelming victory, 38 votes.


    Somehow Kiro''s heart skipped a beat.


    Both of them had to go to the front, stand side by side and take the oath that they will uphold the rules of the academy, with no favouritism and that they will not bring shame to the academy.


    The oath was bogus. If they actually upheld it, poor people wouldn''t be shunned and bullied. For some reason, I was shy and stiff during the entire oath. Kiro thought it was unlike her.


    Their duties included making sure students alternated cleaning duty, this was more for grounding them, making them take responsibility otherwise cleaning AI''s were already invented.


    Now that Kiro was president, no poor kid would be forced to clean every single day. Kiro supposed that the power wasn''t so bad after all!


    The teacher took their phone IDs, she''dmunicate with them when she cancelled the ss, or when they had a test uing and many other things.


    "Hey, Princess Rosabel, create an Instamessage group. Take everyone''s ID and add them to the group ss. Add me too, and make me an admin."


    She flushed. Her eyes darted about. She was red in the face. Kiro intended for this to be a joke, he used her middle name purposely. But he hadn''t expect this kind of reaction.


    ''Why''s she acting like this? Does she perhaps, like me?''


    "Why should I do all that? You do it yourself, Percival," she said with a very cold voice, which made him doubt that she actually liked him.


    "I''m the president and I''m delegating the task to you, my vice, Bel," he said gently, in a manner that made sure she knew that he wasn''tmanding her around.


    Despite the weather getting cooler since it was autumn, she was feeling the heat.


    ''Did he just give me a nickname.'' She tried to calm herself down.


    "Okay, that''s fair." Then as an afterthought she said, "Percival." She finished with a cute smile, so Kiro didn''t mind it.


    At the same time Isaac and the people that voted for him were fuming. They wanted a re-election. But as Dr. Ramirez said, she had no time for nonsense and the results were final. So she left like that. They couldn''t hide their fury so they attacked the ss as a whole, with words, obviously.


    "This academy is going to the gutter."


    "Going? It''s already there!"


    "30 people voted for slum rats, imagine that!"


    "30? can''t even count can you," said one girl


    "A slum rat more handsome than you. Imagine that," said another girl''s voice, though it was unclear which, because all the girls at that corner had defiant looks on their faces.


    "Say that again, I dare you!"


    "Or what?"


    Another voice which was different from the first one.


    "So you voted based on looks? pathetic!" Isaac couldn''t hold it in anymore.


    This time it was I, "I voted for Kiro. He has good character, he''s smart and cool headed. He also has great leadership skills if you know him from Asgard Online, you''ll know what I mean."


    There were murmers.


    "So he''s that Kiro, and he''s that Hiro."


    ''Huh? She voted for me? I voted for you too.'' He almost blurted that out. Close call.


    "I''ll circte my phone, put in your IDs, you''ll be added to a ss group," I said when nobody dared dispute her previous statement.


    Her phone circted around and ss 2 First Year''s group was created. She quickly made Kiro admin.


    "Group rules, respect everyone, this isn''t a personal chat group, if it''s not about school keep it to yourself. I''ll ban anyone who breaks this rule.


    "Doesn''t matter to me how high up in society''s hierarchy you are. In this group my vice and I are thew." He typed and sent to the group.


    People reacted with thumbs up and hearts to signal that they understood. Kiro had originally thought that he''d be met with defiance, he thought he''d have to assert some dominance by banning a few people, but nobody rebelled.


    ''Why are they so docile?''


    sses at Eden Academy started around 10am. Then after your major''s ss, it was Physical Education ss. PE would go on for an hour.


    I had always worn baggy tracksuits every time she had bumped into Kiro or sat at their table. Now in her uniform her figure was well defined, more so in PE clothes. Kiro stole nces every once in a while. She was curvy with a chest that was big, but not too big.


    Little did he know, I stole nces at him too. Although he had seen him shirtless before, she couldn''t get enough. His muscles were more defined than a week ago.

 Chapter 55: Viral

    The two boys were able to keep up with the PE training just fine. They weren''t left behind, their breaths weren''t ragged either.


    "If it weren''t for you, we would be failing this ss on the first day!" Hiromented.


    Kiro grinned and said, "never doubt me again."


    The PE ss was over. They were taking a shower in the boys locker room. It was a really awkward atmosphere, many were still pissed Kiro was elected president. On top of that he dared to boss them around with that group message.


    As they were dressing, a chubby boy walked over and he introduced himself.


    "President Kiro, Hello. My name''s Ishaan. I look forward to your reign as President. I hope we can eventually be friends," he said, hand outstretched and a smile on his face.


    This was confusing, Kiro didn''t sense any malice in his voice, or mock in his smile. Was he a good actor or was he genuine? He couldn''t tell, this was a bit dangerous. He didn''t really want to trust rich people, he didn''t want to stereotype them either.


    Kiro shook his hand, "pleasure to meet you Ishaan. You can call me Kiro, none of those formalities matter to me. And sure let''s y Asgard Online and hangout in student town some time."


    He beamed. He also shook Hiro''s hand and left. Promising that he''ll add them in-game as soon as he got into his dorm room.


    "I left my sketch book in the ssroom, I need to go back," he said to Hiro.


    "Can''t you just leave it and get it tomorrow?"


    "Well no, I don''t want people to see what I drew!"


    "I''ll wait for you at the entrance of the dorm then."


    Kiro left in a hurry, running to the ssroom. He was getting sweaty so he stopped running and quickened his pace instead. He had just taken a shower after all, he didn''t want to sweat all over again.


    He opened the door, he was d that there was no one there, but when he looked closer, a redheaded girl stood where he had been seated, she was admiring something.


    ''Oh crap.'' he cursed internally.


    The girl had turned when she heard the door opening. Her lips curled into a naughty smile. Which made Kiro both ufortable and weak.


    "Percival!"


    "Don''t call me that, please, Bel. Its a family name."


    "Family name?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed.


    "Yes, a name passed down to the first sons or daughters of the Waynworth family. My father has it, I have it, my first son or daughter will have. Its kinda weird getting called by it." He exined, almost in a single breath. He just wanted his sketch book back.


    "But you called me Rosabel though," she said, descending the steps that were connected to the chairs and desks, with the sketch book in hand. She blushed, "and now, Bel."


    "I know you know I was teasing you with that," he said and smiled nervously. "And well, Bel suits you. You don''t like it? It''s a nice nickname or you prefer Princess?"


    "So it''s only fine when you do it? Tch. Mr President. Bel is fine. Princess made me look like a snob," she said pouting.


    Of course she liked the nickname, it was the first time ever she was given one by someone who wasn''t family.


    Kiro looked at his sketch book, he hoped she hadn''t looked, but he knew his hopes fell on deaf ears, they were in vain. There was no way she didn''t look.


    "Then, can I call you Ki?"


    That jerked him out of his thoughts, he looked at her suspiciously. Is she spying on him? For what reason? Were the thoughts flooding in his mind.


    "How did you¡ª?"


    "What''s with that look? It''s from your name Kiro. I just figured, since you gave me a nickname. But it''s fine if you don''t want it." She cut him off.


    Kiro was taken aback. ''Would she be devastated if she knew that my family called me Ki?'' He wondered.


    But he wasn''t a monster, so he smiled and said, "it''s fine, I like it."


    She smiled awkwardly, and almost walked past him in a hurry. Then stered the sketch book on his chest.


    "Don''t worry, I didn''t look at the girl you sketched." She giggled and left.


    Kiro simply closed his eyes embarrassed, while taking in her scent at the same time. She smelled really good. He wondered if it was perfume or just soap.


    When he walked out of the department door, I was walking towards the dorms. He hung back, so that he wouldn''t run into her again. Once was enough. When around 5 minutes were up, he started walking too.


    There were a bunch of trees inside the campus, so as he was about to walk through a clearing, he heard an altercation. He decided to hide and listen.


    "What do you see in him anyway?" Said a very familiar annoying voice.


    "I don''t need to exin myself to you. The fact that you think you can have me is hrious. Who do you think you are?" Another familiar voice said.


    "Well, just you wait, just you wait and you''ll be mine."


    "I''m not a thing you can own, stop being a creep."


    "Don''t walk away from me!"


    "Let go of my hand!"


    Kiro had heard enough, he couldn''t believe Isaac. At first he thought he was just a kid who needed direction, but this proved to him that, no matter what, he''ll always think of himself as a superior existence.


    "Let her go or else." Kiro said coldly, appearing out of nowhere.


    Isaac''s eyes fleshed with fear, it gripped his cold foolish heart and for a moment he wanted to run. Realising they weren''t in-game, that this was real and he had the real power here, he smirked and said, "or else what?"


    I however wasn''t having it, she punched Isaac in the nose so hard that he staggered and fell, he wailed in pain.


    "If you ever touch me again, I''ll kick you that hard some ce else," she said, visibly furious.


    Kiro was taken aback, "haha I guess I should''ve stayed hidden." He mumbled to himself.


    They left Isaac there, and walked together to their dorm. Kiro realised that, I was stronger than he originally thought. The girl didn''t need a knight in shining armour. She could take care of herself.


    "That was badass." Kiroplimented.


    "So don''t mess with me," she said jokingly.


    He casually held up both his hands in resignation. As if to say he didn''t want to be kicked hard some ce else.


    Although she was nervous she didn''t show it. She had no idea how much Kiro had heard. He may have been there from the start of the conversation and knew that she liked him. She was both d and furious that he hadn''t said anything about it.


    Even though Kiro hadn''t caught the name of the person I liked, he saw this as an opportunity to tease her right back.


    Casually he said, "don''t look so worried, I didn''t hear who it is you like." He wasn''t lying, but the way he said it implied he heard everything.


    I looked defeated. She was at a loss for words, she absolutely had nothing to refute that with, so she stayed stiff and silent.


    They reached the dorms and went straight to the cafeteria, it was almost time for dinner. Kiro and Hiro decided to create the ounts Niki told them to. But the tform was so new to them, that they abandoned their ounts right after creation.

 Chapter 56: So It Begins

    As much as they abandoned their Talkalot ounts upon creation, people realised who they were because of the trending videos, people started tagging them, and they were getting a lot of scrutiny and followers.


    Even though they opted to not upload photos, they still had a few admirers amongst those active.


    [Are we sure this is them?]


    [It has to be. I mean, I think talkalot uses the tech where you can''t create a fake ount.]


    [You think? Then we can''t be sure.]


    [Why aren''t they saying anything?]


    [You guys are dumb, fame has clearly gotten to them.]


    [You''re right, they''ll see us as lessers now.]


    [They''re mere slum rats, I''d like to see them try.]


    [Hater alert, the haters have discovered this thread.]


    [You can continue kissing slum ass.]


    [We just admire their gaming style. Are you confident you can take them in-game?]


    [I''m confident I can take them in real life!]


    [lmao, a rich young master has entered the chat.]


    .


    .


    .


    .


    These arguments continued on for days, of course the boys were oblivious to the happenings. They had no idea they were being attacked, or that they had people defending them.


    Days passed, and the Isaac vs Kiro videos were still trending on Talkalot. Now, even people who weren''t interested in gaming were paying attention. Simply because Isaac keson could be recognised being humiliated.


    This made smaller news outlets, those that chased poprity, no matter the stories. It was a weird segment, that they reyed the videos every night, they wanted to ride the wave.


    Isaac''s father was furious. His family name by extension was being smeared on the inte. He couldn''t believe how useless his son was.


    Not only was he a useless thing in real life, that he had to train him at every waking moment of his life, but even inside virtual reality he was hopeless.


    Raising Isaac started feeling like a chore, he didn''t know when he started feeling like this but it was not recent.


    He decided to call his good for nothing son. He cringed at the thought that, this was indeed his seed.


    Isaac picked up the call, and his father''s expression scared him to death. So he stammered. "F-f-father."


    "Never be scared of anything, haven''t I said this to you?" His voice unintentionally rose, which made it sound like thunder.


    "You have father, but the Silva girl is smitten with that slum rat boy."


    "When I say anything, I mean anything, even high society families. We''re of the same status, nobody can tell us what to do.


    "Stop being so weak. As long as we don''t cross the line for now, we can''t be touched. I''m merely telling you, to not be afraid. Act like a keson."


    Isaac was silent. He didn''t see how his father would shield him if offended the Silva family too much. They were more or less equal in society, neither family wanted to have an all out business war with each other.


    He got a little scared when he remembered, on more than one asion, he put his hands on I.


    ''Was that crossing the line?'' He had a pathetic look on his face, that his father took pity on him.


    "So weak. What''s this boy''s name?"


    "Kiro Percival Waynworth, he''s from the lower district."


    His father''s nostrils red at the mention of the lower district. He''d been there a few times because some of their warehouses were there.


    He absolutely despised his visits there, just the air alone in those areas was heavily polluted. This made him more furious that a rat from the slums dares to bully his son.


    Isaac''s father did not realise how much of a hypocrite he was being, because high society continued the gap between the poor and the rich.


    They capitalised 90% of the wealth, and then gave scraps to the rest, keeping them alive just to survive every day.


    He quickly searched something on hisputer. A frown could be seen on his face, Isaac was quite used to that, it was his concentration face.


    He''d learned it the hard way to never even make a sound when he was that focused. A lesson he learned at just 7 years old.


    The frown quickly took another shape, it turned into the most evil grin. As if the elegant man from the restaurant was simply an illusion.


    "keson Tech seems to have two engineers with the name of Waynworth, they''re both from the lower district in area 50, seems to be husband and wife. Most likely his parents.


    "Or rtives. But that all doesn''t matter. I''ll fire them immediately. That kid won''t be able to stay at that academy for long. And that girl will never see him again. I can''t do everything for you Isaac, so do your best."


    Just like that the call ended. While Isaac was relieved at the turn of events, his father was disappointed greatly in his son. He wished he had taken more wives and had more sons, that way he would''ve had more heirs.


    He pondered the idea, he was extremely amused by it. He was still just in his 50s, if he dies of natural causes it would take another 100+ years to end him. That''s enough to father a lot of children and teach them. He decided to get a more wives.


    He didn''t have one at the moment. He''d been a widower for most of Isaac''s life. Though not taking another woman wasn''t because he was so torn and heartbroken over his wife''s death. He simply found the whole marriage thing, tedious.


    Isaac on the other side wanted to prove his worth as a keson. He didn''t quite like his father''s expressions of disgust and disappointment, he wanted to change his view about him.


    He had a brilliant idea of what to do, his next devious n could go smoothly if he could y it right. He just needed a girl he could use, although he was smitten with the one he was currently seeing, he deemed impressing his father more important.

 Chapter 57: First Meeting

    Their Manor-Castle was huge, and thend surrounding it was even bigger. The Manor had 15 bedrooms a big kitchen, a dining hall, training grounds inside and outside, a craftsmanship shop. Even had ake of its own.


    Thend was 100 acres after all. There was even a mini forest inside of it, which they decided to keep so that whatever beasts Kiro tamed would have a ce to stay. The forest had all kinds of trees and nts. Kiro thought it was the most beautiful forest because there weren''t monsters lurking about, naturally there were birds and bugs but that was about it.


    Kiro hadn''t tamed a single beast since he got the subss but that would change soon as he nned to go hunting for some. He had no idea what kind he should get, though he figured a beast that could grow alongside him would be the best he could possibly ask for.


    Designing was also going great for Hiro. 10 guild bases had been designed and built, he had made millions of coins at this point. He somehow felt guilty because his friend wasn''t earning as he did, his whole ss seemed to be centered around making money.


    If he was not building bases, he was creating equipment. Equipment were a huge part of the game, so he could sell them until the game is no longer popr.


    Everyone had set so that every time they log in they were ced in their base, they suddenly appeared inside of it. Niki was already there and took them on a tour.


    There was sort of something like a portal by the door, it could fit up to a 100 people. That''s what the game used to transport them into their base every time.


    It couldn''t be used to travel around Asgard, the developers made sure of that. They didn''t want to make the game too easy, so grinding for anything was it''s charm.


    Though return crystals existed, they were rare. Even for them, they only had one because of the S rank quest.


    They both raced to pick their bedrooms, they felt like such kids but they didn''t mind. They deserved to mess around sometimes and just enjoy the moment.


    Niki shook his head at this. He couldn''t figure out his leader, he seemed childish and carefree at times, but at other times, you would swear he was a different person.


    From the first time they met, Niki felt a closeness to him. He felt that they were the same, more or less. He confirmed it when they exited thebyrinth, he was as shaken up by his past as he was, but beyond that his eyes were hungry, for carnage.


    That''s when he decided to join them. He just had this darkness, this sadness but also a spark. It was a charm he''d never seen before.


    Kiro decided to call their first meeting, they sat at the meeting room. It was spacious, with just the 3 of them, it felt empty.


    "So what are we calling our little group?" Hiro asked


    "I don''t know yet to be honest. But once they announce that people can register guilds officially, we will need a name to register."


    "Thought we weren''t a guild?" Niki raised an eyebrow and asked in confusion.


    "We aren''t. Also, I''ve created the groups bank ount for funds, I''d like each of you to pour in a million. so that when the group needs something, nobody has to take their personal money into it."


    "You don''t want us to pour more? we''re pretty rich, filthy rich." Hiromented.


    "No, not more than that, from now on, whatever we receive, half of it is for our group. Understood?"


    They both nodded.


    "So it''ll be just the 3 of us?" Niki asked.


    "No, we need other sses. Especially a Priest." Kiro answered him.


    "Too had Saanvi joined I''s guild." Hiro meant to mumble to himself but he was heard nheless.


    "You guys talk?" Kiro asked, a little surprised by the turn of events.


    "Uhm, what? No." Hiro said awkwardly.


    His lie was so tantly obvious that the atmosphere changed in the room. It was kind of funny. Kiro decided to not prod him any further.


    "Ahem," He cleared his throat, "Hiro, we will need you creating weapons, armour, potions for us. But I don''t need a weapon, so don''t waste any materials on me."


    Hiro was dumbfounded, "What do you mean you don''t need a weapon? Didn''t I promise to make you a mythic staff?"


    Kiro smiled, "This is enough." He said holding up Ryu.


    "But, I thought that was just a normal rod¡ª"


    Kiro had quicklymanded his staff to expand, it understood that he wasn''t an enemy, so it stopped right before Hiro''s eyes.


    Even Niki was shocked, "Whoa! Now that I''m seeing it, you used it against Isaac, I remember."


    Kiro nodded, "This is a mythic ranked weapon. Ryu these are mypanions. Guys this is Ryu."


    They looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Why was he introducing a weapon like it were a person? Just then, the staff vibrated. As if it were acknowledging the people it''s master calledpanions. Both of them were lost for words.


    "Yeah, he''s a sentient weapon."


    "That''s cool. I''ll need some time to refine my skills though."


    "Not a problem. I''ll be going out soon. To y and capture."


    "Want us with you?" Niki asked.


    "No, no, just refining my beast taming subss. I''ll see you guys, whenever."


    He left just like that.


    Niki was left pondering hisst sentence. ''He has a subss?'' He was shocked beyond belief, he''d never heard such a thing, nobody he knew had a subss.


    Hiro noticed his confusion. "You''ll soon too have a subss, the potion you drank, it''ll give you one."


    Niki was happy at his words.


    Kiro left for the fields, forests and mountains. He wanted to look for the perfect beast that''d fight along side him. Preferably, one that could evolve.


    He wished there could be a mask in this game, because now he was famous. Wherever he went he was recognised. It was such a pain. People would turn and point fingers. He''d activate blink once in a while to avoid the crowds.


    He entered a field known as Canine. It was called this because there were a lot of the canine species residing there. On the other side, there was a mountain that was called feline mountain.


    Kiro rolled his eyes, ''so original.''


    "President Kiro!"


    Kiro turned around, it was the chubby boy, Ishaan. Though he had to think a little where he knew him from, he quickly remembered.


    "Ishaan, hey."


    "You know I added you but¡ª"


    "Oh right, right. I was distracted when I came in, so I forgot to check some notifications." He gave him an apologetic look and epted the request.


    Ishaan yed a human mage. He was abat type by the looks of it. He brandished a spear. Armour was a steel one.


    "Are you in a guild? I want to join your guild."


    "It''s a Mercenary group."


    Ishaan seemed hesitant now. He had originally wanted to join a guild and chill. Mercenary groups were always booked, he wasn''t sure he wanted that kind of work.


    Just then, Kiro received a notification.


    Ding!


    [The Elf Priest, Felix sent you a friend request. ept? Y/N]

 Chapter 58: Felix

    Kiro looked at the notification incredulously, he figured the heavens were answering him. Just not too long ago, he had said they needed a Priest and now one was dropped on a silver tter. He quickly ept, a second didn''t even pass and the other party called him.


    On the screen, a boy about his age popped up. He had messy ck hair, pale skin with dark lines under his eyes. His eyes were dead ck, he had bandages all over his arms. He looked like someone who has lived a thousand lives but was sick of it.


    Kind of reminded Kiro of the monsters that roamed the forest of the damned. He held backughter, barely.


    ''What are you, a mummy?''


    For 5 seconds neither said anything, this agitated Kiro for quite a bit. He reckoned, if you initiate contact, at least be quick about what you want. He was about to tell him off...


    "Niki told me you needed a Priest. I want to join your mercenary group," he said, his lips barely moving.


    Kiro looked at him amused, this person, no matter how he looked, had a certain charm about him. It was truly, strange.


    He was like those who despised talking with every fibre of their being that much was clear from his demeanor, but texting would have taken a longer time. That would be a lot of socialising for his liking, though he hated calls, he liked how fast they could get the message across.


    "Oh," Kiro said dumbly, "how do you know Niki?"


    "Does it matter?" The kid asked expressionlessly.


    A vein popped at Kiro''s temple. How can someone so cold be a healer? He was more aloof than Niki! Unbelievable. He wanted to reject him on the spot, yes he wanted a priest, but he also wanted a priest that wouldn''t enjoy watching him suffer.


    But because he was rmended by Niki, he figured he''d just go along with this, if it doesn''t work out they could always get another priest.


    "Guess not. Are you okay taking orders from a peasant like myself? Because I''m the leader."


    "That shouldn''t be a problem. I''m not a rich kid. My father works for the ck family," he remarked again, deadpan.


    "The ck family?" He enquired confused.


    "Niki ck''s family."


    "Oh, right. right. How much coins do you have?"


    "About 5 000." He shrugged.


    "Okay, you''ll be allowed to join if you go mining for the next week, real time, whatever materials you find are for the group. Any coins you mine, keep. Don''t waste coins, understood?"


    He nodded.


    "Oh and go by the base, Hiro is there, I don''t know where Niki is though."


    "I''m at the base right now."


    "Oh, congrattions fourth member."


    He nodded and hung up. What a cold dude!


    ''That was exhausting.''


    "I want to join too!" Ishaan said.


    Kiro had forgotten all about him, so he internally jumped a little when he heard a voice so close to him.


    "I don''t know. A mage, I was thinking an archer."


    "Please, I''ll do anything!" He was on the verge of tears.


    "Come with me," Kiro said with the most twisted grin.


    So much so Ishaan felt a chill down his spine. But Kiro wasn''t nning anything that bad, he''d just use the kid as bait at times. He had fought a mage once, he didn''t think they were that strong, Isaac crushed his expectations of mages. And beasts here were levels 35 and up.


    "What exactly are we doing?"


    "Hunting."


    Ishaan could tell by his voice that he wouldn''t borate further, so he didn''t prod. He just went along, because he truly wanted to join the Mercenary group now.


    Ding!


    [You''ve entered the canine field. Happy hunting.]


    The field was in, with little to no trees. They had walked for about 2 kilometres, they still hadn''t encountered any canine beasts. Kiro was surprised that Ishaan was able to keep up. He didn''t look that tired either, his stamina must''ve been good.


    Kiro asionally stopped, closed his eyes and concentrated hard to tap into ''Vibrational Sense'' at least that''s what he called it. Something was amiss, he couldn''t sense anything through vibrations. He remembered clearly that this field was beast infested in the past.


    Then he remembered that he started watching streams after the patch was made. Maybe this was how this was before the update? He had a bad feeling about this. He preferred a bit of noise than this deafening silence.


    They walked a couple of more meters when Kiro noticed some tracks, he had no idea what monster or beast it was but he came here to tame, so carefully he signal for Ishaan to follow quietly.


    Ishaan did as he was told, he didn''t want to question him since he wanted to be part of the mercenary group.


    The tracks went on for a few minutes and they found themselves at the mouth of a cave. Kiro signalled Ishaan to follow from behind him.


    "Do we really have to?" Ishaan was hesitant now, even though this was just a game to him, he didn''t want to lose his progress all the same.


    "You''re a mage, you''ll be alright."


    "What does that even¡ª"


    Hisining was cut short when they heard whimperinging from the cave. Kiro didn''t waste any more time and went in. The cave was damp and dark, the smell wasn''t fresh by any means but it wasn''t too bad.


    The ground was uneven, they''d stumble and stagger, it couldn''t be counted how many times Ishaan fell. Fortunately for Kiro he had a staff, he used as a walking stick, Ryu was not happy about that.


    Kiro could feel him, but he had no choice but to be whatever his master needed. That was above any pride a sentient weapon had.


    They walked further into the cave, it was deeper than they thought. Just then, at the end of it, they could see a pup. It was about 10 centimetres in height. It had purple fur. It was injured.


    Hellhound puppy


    Level 50 (weakened)


    HP 10/5000

 Chapter 59: Mountain Bear

    The Hellhound looked more like a wolf than a dog to Kiro. Nheless he wanted to tame it. How can it be a puppy but be already at level 50?


    Kiro activated taming.


    Ding!


    [Taming failed. The beast may be weakened but it''s extremely proud, it bows to no one.]


    Kiro sighed loudly.


    "Hey, pup, you either ept me as your master or be lunch for whichever monster did this to you."


    He activated taming again.


    Ding!


    [Taming failed...]


    This went on for an hour, trying to tame was exhausting. The hellhound''s HP had dropped to 5. It took a lot to refuse being tamed, if a beast can''t afford it they submit, but not this one. It was stubborn.


    Just then an ear piercing warcry could be heard from the mouth of the cave. Kiro used his vibrational sense to see what it was, a bear, a mountain bear. This was not good. His lips curled into a smile though.


    "He''sing for you, if you won''t submit I''ll let him kill you. Choose."


    The hellhound didn''t move an inch, it locked eyes with him, looking at him dangerously and cautiously. Kiro knew this little thing wouldn''t give in, and for a moment he thought about just leaving it. But the fact that it was so stubborn made it a little special to Kiro.


    The mountain bear had already reached where they were, it growled dangerously as though they were intruders trying to steal its cub.


    Kiro took a fighting stance, "hey, chubby, hit it with your best spell."


    Ishaan was kind of pissed at the nickname, but he didn''t say anything. "Hellfire" he said.


    Wild purplish mes could be seen roaring, speeding towards its target. They were fist sized balls of mes, it rained hellmes on the bear.


    The bear was bombarded by a myriad of fireballs. When the spell ceased, it seemed to not have done much damage, other than pissing the living hell out of the bear.


    "That''s it?" Kiro spat.


    Mountain Bear


    Level 50


    HP: 30 000


    "Uh, well, it worked on goblins." Ishaan said, unsure of what else to say.


    "What did you do with your skill points?"


    "Spent them all on the force field spell." He shrugged.


    Just then the bear lunged at them, like a tortoise sensing danger, Ishaan cast his force field spell on him and Kiro. The bear''s paws couldn''t even leave a scratch on it. Kiro nodded in approval.


    "Not bad. You aren''t useless after all."


    However Kiro quickly found out that, he couldn''t use his staff or any skill within the barrier. It was truly infuriating as it meant he''d have to leave a safe haven, to fight the beast. The skill was truly a cowardly one, maybe a means to escape with your life.


    Kiro sighed, and huffed loudly, "keep that ungrateful hound safe, I''m going out."


    As soon as he stepped out the barrier, the bear swiped at him, he activated blink to evade the attack, at the same time he hit the ground with his staff activating vibrations. But s the bear wasn''t stunned at all, so he hit it with whirlwind.


    It was strange that, as big as the bear was, it was as fast as Kiro was. Since vibrations couldn''t work, he had to fight it in close quarterbat risking his life. He went in for a bending kick, but the bear grabbed him by the leg, and pummeled him to the ground.


    Left, right, left, right, then it tossed him to the side as if he were nothing. Kiro coughed a mouthful of blood, he had lost more than half his HP. He had to change his strategy, he opted for semi rangebat.


    His staff connected with the bear''s ws, as they exchanged blows. Kiro with his staff, the bear with his ws. It seemed they were evenly matched. Neither of them wanted to back down. 3 minutes passed and the bear was getting careless.


    Kiro aimed at its head, as soon as it''s hands were raised to block his blow.


    "Ryu!"


    Ryu understood themand, the staff shrunk itself, Kiro quickly positioned it at the same level as the bear''s stomach, just in time for Ryu to regrow. Pounding the bear right in the gut.


    It was sent flying backwards. It crashed on the wall, but nothing seemed to be broken. Its body was sure sturdy.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions user. You''ve achieved perfect synergy with the sentient staff, Ryu. Your usage has risen to 10.5%]


    "Just a 0.5 raise? What a joke!"


    The bear got up and stood on its two legs and roared louder, before it took off straight for Kiro. He quickly summoned lightning, but unlike with Isaac the bear had thick skin. He couldn''t possibly have hoped to burn it into a crisp when the skill''s rank was so low.


    He went to punch the bear, it blocked him and swiped, creating a gash with its ws right across his chest. He crashed into the rocks nearby Ishaan. His chest looked like freshly ughtered beef. Bones could be seen amidst the red and flesh.


    "Hey, let me in. My HP is extremely low." He had to crawl to reach them.


    Ishaan didn''t hesitate. Kiro was banged up pretty badly. But he didn''t get inside the force field just to lick his wounds, he decided this was the time to enter meditation properly.


    Before that, he decided to put all 25 of his skill points to lightning Maniption. Which raised its rank to C.


    Satisfied and in pain he sat, cross legged and concentrated, hoping something woulde to him.


    "What are you doing?" Ishaan asked surprise on his face.


    "Shhhh."


    "But¡ª"


    He didn''t finish that before Kiro opened his eyes and stared at him coldly. He immediately erased everything his mind wanted to say and kept shut.


    Kiro went back to his meditation, he couldn''t concentrate well because of the pain, so he breathed in and out slowly, hoping he could concentrate on the breaths and not the pain. It seemed to have worked because 5 minutes of this, he had entered the meditative state.


    Almost immediately, the Chi skill activated and he was gathering energy from the surrounding living things. nts, water, animals.


    The energy umted would then be stored in his mana veins, as soon as the mana veins had some energy, the regeneration skill activated, as it purified that energy into Mana and feeding it into his body to heal.


    It was a sight to see, as the wounds from his chest were slowly but surely closing.


    This shocked Kiro, he almost lost concentration. In his past life, nobody had mana veins, or nobody publicly bragged about having them.


    He concluded it was due to awakening his true blood, as people who awakened in his past life were few and far between.

 Chapter 60: Tamed

    It was a peculiar sight inside the cave. As a bear could be seen, frantic, pounding on the force field that protected the trio. None of those inside showed any signs that they could hear the pounding, the bear was however relentless. It wanted its prey, and its eyes glinted dangerous.


    It was as if it would swallow the force field whole.


    Kiro was hard at work, or rather the regeneration skill was, it was healing him 100 HP and MP per minute. He was amazed at how his skills seemed to be connected, one way or another. He wondered if other sses had these perks, or it was just his.


    Since meditation was low ranked, the skill took a long time using Chi to collect energy and then fine-tuning it into mana. He now regretted upgrading his lightning skill first.


    Although people could rank up through repeated use of a skill, this method was long and rigorous. He didn''t have time for that now, as he had a worthy foe to defeat.


    It took him 5 long hours in-game to fully heal. The bear hadn''t given up once and Ishaan was running low on mana. Kiro opened his eyes, and lightning crackled within them. He took some mana potions from his inventory, and tossed them to Ishaan.


    "Use them wisely. I''m going out."


    Without back talking, Ishaan let him out. He was perhaps, getting too used to Kiro''s attitude. Or he was grateful for the potions, because he was already turning pale from fear.


    Kiro stepped out, the bear quickly came running as if he were a snack. He closed his eyes, stood in a fighting stance. The bear was galloping towards him, it''s strides as massive as it was. A crazed look in its eyes as it spent 5 hours in a rage.


    ''Why the hell does he have his eyes closed, is he crazy?'' Ishaanined, though he didn''t dare say it out loud.


    Kiro activated Vibrational Sense. He had this idea while meditating, he thought perhaps, since everything vibrates at a certain frequency, he could use that to predict movements.


    He had his eyes shut so that they wouldn''t disturb him. Eyes could be fooled, vibrations not so much.


    Through vibrational sense, he ''saw'' the direction in which the bear''s ws were aiming. It was his neck. The ws were sharp, the bear would most likely have to hit Kiro twice to decapitate him.


    If it weren''t for everything he went through in life, he probably would''ve flinched and broke concentration. But he didn''t survive thebyrinth of terror to be scared of a mere bear. Kiro stood motionless, biding his time. He knew that one mistake could spell his death.


    When the bear''s vibrations were so close that he could feel them on his skin, he took a step backwards and with his staff at the ready to block the ws.


    CLANG!


    The ws and staff connected. Ishaan had a look of shock and admiration. The hellhound was also watching apprehensively.


    The minute they connected, thatpletely broke Kiro''s concentration. He took a few steps back. Even though it was extremely hard to concentrate using that skill, he was grateful that his theory was correct. He knew he couldn''t use the skill now, not in battle anyway, not yet.


    He immediately blinked behind the bear while it was still disoriented from what had just happened. He attempted to pierce through it, but it''s fur was simply too thick. It did nothing but chip away at its HP.


    The bear quickly turned and swiped at him, he dodged but barely. The ws still grazed him on the side of his face. He didn''t waste time and activated bending kick, which connected with the bear''s stomach. It flew about 30 meters and crashed hard on its cave wall.


    It stood on all fours now, and ran toward Kiro as if a bull seeing red.


    "Whirlwind." Kiro said coolly.


    The bear was blown backwards, the winds were so strong that they were leaving cuts on it''s very hard body. It roared in fury, everytime it ran to its prey, it would easily get blown away.


    Kiro summoned lightning, it came as a shock when the lightning cloud didn''t appear. Instead, the lightning seemed to be in his body. It was still weak, but he could now enhance blink with a bit of lightning.


    He could coat his staff with lightning without a cloud hovering about. He went at the bear at full speed, the bear saw everything but couldn''t react in time as Kiro''s footnded on its chin, sending it to the roof of the cave.


    Kiro had an evil grin on his face, the bear felt that it was no longer the predator instead, it was being preyed on by the man it thought they stood on equal footing.


    The bear was pure white with a ck spot over its eye. But now it was banged up pretty badly, cuts here and there, causing its pure white fur to be stained with crimson liquid.


    Ding!


    [You''ve fought valiantly against a mountain bear. It has lost all its will to fight with you. You have the option to tame it, if you do, that gash across your right cheek will heal but remain a scar. Tame? Y/N]


    Kiro didn''t care about scars. That''s why, without thinking he responded with Yes. A golden light enveloped the bear and Kiro.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on your first tamed beast. Careful what you tame. The spots are extremely limited. Please name your beast]


    He looked over at the bear. Its details changed a bit. The slots for beasts he could tame at a time were 50. He didn''t think it was so bad. But he knew that, selling them now was out of question.


    "Let''s see, Frost, let''s name you Frost."


    Their bond seemed to deepen.


    "It''s safe toe out now, chubby."


    If anyone had walked in that cave at that moment, they''d call facy to any ims that the bear was ever violent. It had be so obedient and docile.


    Ishaan''s mind was too mesmerised to say anything. He quickly lifted up the force field. The hellhound was now scared of Kiro, since he had beaten the only thing it was scared of.


    Kiro walked towards it and crouched in front of it. Lightning crackling on his finger tips.


    "Last chance pup, if I can''t have you I''ll have to end you right here."


    The hellhound whimpered. And so Kiro tried to tame it onest time.


    Ding!


    [You''ve tamed your second beast. A hellhound. Please name him.]


    "You''ve done well." Kiro smirked mockingly. He thought long and hard to find a fitting name for a stubborn hellhound.


    "I ought to call you a dunce, but I''m not that cruel. I''ll call you Hubris."


    He cursed under his breath when he realised that he wouldn''t be getting any EXP. So he looked through his beasts'' sheets.


    Frost [Mountain Bear] rare


    Level 50


    HP: 100/10 000


    Able to evolve


    Hubris [Hellhound] - Legendary Beast


    Level 50 weakened


    HP: 500/5000


    Able to evolve

 Chapter 61: Taming Spree

    Kiro widened his eyes in disbelief, the bear''s HP significantly dropped! It was almost the same as his now. He cursed at how unfair this game was sometimes.


    Though he didn''t dwell on it too much, because he had just scored a legendary beast that could evolve. This was worth more than anything in this game, except for his staff Ryu of course.


    Since he tamed Frost first he was defaulted as his mount, he quickly made Hubris his mount. Which significantly increased their bond.


    Even though he had 50 slots, that only meant he couldmand 50 beasts at a time. But he could only have one mount. A mount was a beast you shared even your feelings with.


    Though if the beast was low level, feeling and deciphering feelings would only confuse it to the point it would underperform. There was also a ownership transfer option, it was made clear that even if he gave away a beast a slot wouldn''t open. Unless he set it free.


    Kiro noticed there wasn''t an option to unsummon a beast, which was a downside because walking around with one would be too conspicuous.


    "System, can''t I unsummon tamed beasts?"


    Ding!


    [Can''t be done. This is to give you a more realistic experience, apanion that''s always there, like a pet.]


    ''Dumb.''


    Ishaan couldn''t even walk with shock. "I never saw the taming ss back when I created my character, how did you get it?"


    Kiro''s heart jumped from his chest, ''dammit, he''s forgettable!''


    He was about to tell him everything when realised, he didn''t know him therefore he didn''t quite trust him. It was nothing the kid did, Kiro just didn''t trust anyone. Especially the rich that he hadn''t spent much time with.


    "Well, it was a quest reward." He shrugged.


    "What kind of quest, I want to do it too!"


    "Sorry chubby, the quest was at beginner vige," he said turning his back to walk ahead when he saw his expression through his peripheral vision. "Even if you lost experience on purpose and went back, it''s one of those quests you can only trigger once."


    Ishaan was disappointed, he liked being a mage but he reckoned raising beasts was a lot more fun.


    Kiro walked out of the cave with a fat smile on his face. Utterly thankful for the rewards. He was in such a good mood, even if Isaac jumped them again it wouldn''t ruin it.


    He made Ishaan carry the hellhound, saying it was part of the test, to test whether or not he was the right guy to let join their group. This was obviously bogus, as none of the joined members had to go through tests.


    After they left the cave, they went deeper into the canine fields. Kiro vibrational sense was clearly still low ranked, its radius wasn''t that big as they finally found some canine beasts.


    The most appealing amongst the beasts were noirwolves. They had long ck fur that was dark as night. Pretty golden eyes. They were taller than average wolves.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered noirwolves. They''re proud rare beasts that aren''t easily tameable, even for you awakened one.


    Noirwolves


    Level 35-40


    HP 15000-25000]


    Kiro picked the leader out of the pack and ordered Ishaan to use the force field to imprison the rest of the pack so they didn''t interfere.


    "Okay then doggy, let''s do this."


    It growled and pounced at frightening speeds, readying both its ws and maw. Ready to kill it''s enemy.


    ''Fast, but not enough.''


    Kiro simply jumped up, andnded on its head with the least brutal kick. He didn''t want to activate bending kick, that would utterly crash it''s skull.


    Even with this weak kick, it lost half of its will to fight. They fought tooth and nail until hepletely lost its will and was tamed. Kiro named it, Fang.


    Surprisingly, taming a leader meant he''d gained the whole pack, for one slot. He was over the moon with joy. The pack had a total of 10 noirwolves including their leader. He scored big.


    They walked far and wide, most of the beasts he saw weren''t up to his standards so he''d just kill for EXP. Of course he asionally used Ishaan as bait. His force shield was simply too perfect to draw out beasts.


    They eventually crossed over to the feline fields. Cats were proud creatures even amongst their own, they were loners who preferred fending for themselves. So Kiro doubted he could get a group of them here.


    He did however encounter a mother with two little ones following behind. He decided to take the 3 of them. He fought the mother. He underestimated the mother, so he got 3 scratches on his face.


    "Dammit, guess I''ll be harder on you then."


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered the white tiger, its speed is unmatched.


    White tiger level 40


    HP 25 000]


    "Is that why your notification is sote?" He asked through gritted teeth.


    [...]


    He fought more seriously with the white tiger and eventually broke its will but unlike the pack he couldn''t get the 3 of them for one slot. So with his one eye opened, he tamed all 3 of them.


    Ding!


    [You''ve tamed 3mon white tigers that can evolve. Please name them.]


    "Let''s see, the mother, should be Envy. The little ones, Yin and Yang."


    Heughed at his terrible sense of naming. Because the little white tigers were male and female, he just opted for yin and yang.


    He tamed a couple more beasts after that, they numbered to be about 10. He wasn''t in a hurry, but he figured their forest in the base was empty and therefore he would dump them there.


    By the time they were done, Ishaan was as tired as a dog. To make matters worse they had to walk to their base and Kiro promised to let him join, that''s why he didn''t log out.


    Reaching the base, he released the beasts into the forest. Except for Hubris, who now liked staying by his side. Though they were different species, they had one master so they didn''t dare fight each other.


    "Hiro, could you ask your girlfriend to look at Hubris? Tried feeding him some potions and it just won''t help his weakened state."


    "Girlfriend?"


    "So, with everything I said. That''s all you heard?"


    Hiro simply clicked his tongue. He had been working for the past days, he''d made a lot of armour, weapons and potions. He was beat and ready to logout.


    "I''ll give you a pet bear."


    "Deal."


    Ishaan joined the group and the group quickly becamerger with 5 members in total.


    Kiro could''ve obviously asked Felix, they had a priest too now, but he didn''t want to disturb him. As mining was very important to someone who had nothing like them.

 Chapter 62: Business with Saanvi

    Ishaan was tired from being used as bait, he couldn''t believe he didn''t die once. He was extremely grateful to his force field skill. Since there was nothing to be done as a group, he excused himself and logged off.


    "Have you given Felix the true blood awakening potion? I can only imagine what carnage an awakened priest can cause." Now that Ishaan was gone, he asked. He didn''t want him feeling left out.


    "Well, I didn''t want to act alone. I''ll send it to him." Hiro didn''t even look up, he was busy crafting something.


    Asgard was convenient like that in this aspect. Items could be sent using the system, as long as you had the person as a friend and some coins. You could send them almost anything.


    "What are you making anyway?" He was curious now.


    "It''s a surprise." Hiro answered mysteriously.


    "Is it for me?" His eyes popped in excitement as he asked.


    "No."


    "Tch."


    Kiro didn''t want to logout. He felt like, if he did, Hubris would die. His weakened state hadn''t improved, he couldn''t very well let a legendary beast slip through his fingers.


    "I''ll be in the forest, let me know when Saanvi gets here or send her to me."


    Hiro simply nodded.


    He left Hiro to his devices, he was like a crazed animal. Working on his craftsmanship like there was no tomorrow. Kiro had asked him why he was working so hard without taking breaks. He simply said, ''I have a mountain to climb. If I don''t start now I''ll never be able to reach the peak.''


    Kiro was a bit worried that his friend was taking the game way too seriously. He could tell that he had a different kind of love for crafting and since in real life he couldn''t afford materials to create, the game gave him plenty.


    As much as he wanted them to have plenty of money. He also didn''t want his friend to get so lost in Asgard that he can''t tell reality and virtual reality.


    Kiro walked into their mini forest. The other beasts had already chosen their territories and made themselves at home. Since they had one master, they had to get along. Attacking each other was made impossible by the system.


    "Hubris, let''s see what you can do. Impress me."


    Even though Hubris could feel Kiro wouldn''t harm him, he was scared. Remembering the fight in the cave gave him a chill. He had never quite seen a being as daring as Kiro, even amongst hellhounds.


    This made him feel conflicted. As a hellhound, he had his pride. But what''s pride against absolute power?


    That''s why he could be seen, trying his best to conjure hellfire even though he was weakened and that would in turn injure him.


    He coughed as if clearing his throat, all that could get out was dark smoke. He looked at Kiro as if he''d just did the most amazing thing.


    "Is that all you can do? I guess in your weakened state you''re useless." He looked at him pitifully.


    "Well let''s try this again." He took out a rubber ball, "Fetch this, will ya?" He threw it far into the forest. He wanted to test his speed.


    Hubris didn''t move an inch. He was a hellhound not a dog. He''d die before he did something this embarrassing.


    "I thought I''d scared the cheek out of you. I guess you need a beating. I suppose Frost didn''t give you enough beatings." He didn''t even wait for him to make a move.


    He didn''t use his staff, afraid he''d kill him. He used his fists. He beat him to an inch of his life, then gave him a potion and then did it all over again.


    He looked like a crazed maniac beating on a harmless pupp the way he was. Anyone who saw this, would be sure Kiro was an abusive owner.


    Hubris had been fed the potion for the 3rd time when he decided to bite the bullet. He ran like the wind, and disappeared into the trees in an instant.


    "At least you''ve got speed!" He shouted after him.


    He wondered why even though he tamed Hubris, it was still not following his orders blindly. Was there a glitch in the game?


    Ding!


    [That''s because he''s a legendary beast. The times when it epts you as a master arepletely rare, so to avoid getting killed, always be stronger than it.]


    "So you can read my mind? That''s unsettling."


    Ding!


    [I''m not interested if it''s not about the game, rest assured, Asgardian.]


    Kiro was a bit concerned about the revtion of taming a legendary beast. He didn''t think it was worth it if its going to turn around and maul him to death.


    Ding!


    [Hubris isn''t just a legendary beast, he''s a legendary beast that can evolve.]


    "What does that even mean?"


    [...]


    ''I just have to be stronger than it, right?''


    Hubris came rushing back from the forest and gave Kiro the ball. He noticed that running didn''t affect his health at all, so he threw it again. Without hesitation this time, Hubris lunged after the ball. He surpringly caught it before it went too far.


    "Wow that''s nice pet. I want one too."


    Kiro looked back, it was Saanvi.


    "Hell will freeze over before Hubris admits to being a pet."


    "It''s aware? That''s cool."


    She did nothing and stood there silently. Kiro didn''t quite like Saanvi, her quirks were too much for him. But since Hiro liked her a lot, he was learning to too.


    "Well, can you help him? Of course I''ll pay you, whatever you want."


    "I know you like money, so how about a million." She said teasing.


    "You know, that''s a horrible way to y. You said you wanted a pet, I captured more beasts. I can give you one," he said trying to get this conversation as far away from money as possible.


    "Deal," she said smiling, as if that was her goal all along.


    "Hubrise here boy, be nice to thisdy, she''s here to treat you."


    Hubris growled. He wasn''t about to let some unknown human touch him. But when Kiro showed his fists with an awkward clearly angry smile, he immediately became docile and willing.


    "ah, seems like he''s cursed."


    "What? Can you fix him?"


    "Calm down Waynworth, I wouldn''t be much a priest if I couldn''t."


    Kiro looked at her dumbfounded, ''did she just call me by my surname like it''s the most normal thing?''


    She started doing some chants, incantations, Kiro couldn''t be sure but he watched in apprehension.


    After 30 minutes of mumbling nonsensical words, a golden light enveloped Hubris. For the first time, he howled since he was just a little thing it wasn''t an impressive howl.


    "Is he in pain?"


    "Of course he is."


    It took about an hour, Saanvi was drenched in sweat at this point.


    "Done, that''ll cost you a beast."


    Kiromanded them toe out the forest. Saanvi chose the white tiger Yin but didn''t take it right at that moment since it was still little.

 Chapter 63: Omen

    After his business with Saanvi he logged out, it hadn''t been even a minute after he was out of the game and his phone rang. He checked and it was his mum. He had like 5 missed calls from her too.


    "Hello." He immediately didn''t like what he saw, his mother seemed to be in a very bad ce, she looked dishevelled as if she''d been walking through hell.


    "What''s wrong?" Kiro quickly asked.


    His mum was silent. She didn''t know whether to burden her son with adult things. She thought she could hide her misery, but Kiro saw right through it.


    "Mum, talk to me." Kiro said, pleadingly.


    She broke down. Crying and saying incoherent things. So Kiro just watched in silence, realising that asking questions now won''t bare him any fruit. His heart ached at having to see his mother like this, his mother was a strong woman, not a lot could actually break her to this point.


    His mother finally calmed down after 10 minutes on the phone with her oldest.


    "Both your father and I lost our jobs."


    Silence.


    Kiro didn''t know what to say. How could that be possible? Both of them at the same time?


    "How? You both are really great engineers."


    "We were fired," she said through her almost blocked nose, a deep sadness in her voice.


    "On what grounds?" Kiro was fuming at this point, he tried hiding it but his shaky voice gave way.


    "Oh my innocent baby, high society doesn''t need a reason to toss people like us like nothing. I''m just sad we won''t be able to pay for you, for another year. I''m so sorry Ki. We''ve failed you." She started sobbing again.


    "Whichpany was it?"


    "Why does it matter?" His mother then looked up to see her son''s eyes, that were determined to know the answer. "keson Tech."


    There were still 2 days before the game''s money can be changed to real currency. Kiro wasn''t angry that they got fired, he was angry that the rich did as they pleased. His family wasn''t in a unique position, he was sure many families go through this everyday.


    "Where''s dad?"


    "Out. This stresses him out more than I."


    "Don''t worry Ma. I have a part time job here at school. I''ll send you 500 creds every week. I don''t need food or shelter, the tuition covers everything."


    His mother was hesitant at first, but with a bit of persuasion, she ended up agreeing. Of course Kiro didn''t have a job, so he''d just take from the tuition money and send it home.


    After 2 days, he''d be well off anyway. But he didn''t like that they made his mother cry. So he went down to the library, sat in front of aputer and started researching this keson Techpany.


    It didn''t take long before everything fell into ce. Isaac keson. Kiro''s disdain for the rich increased by a margin, if they can just turn your life upside down over simple matters that are games and standing up for yourself with just the snap of a finger, what else could they do?


    He found himself doubting I too, maybe she wasn''t like this, but her family was, probably. They''d surely never approve of a slum rat like himself, to make the problem disappear they could make his entire family disappear.


    He was rethinking everything. A girl was certainly not worth losing his whole family over. His whole second chance was to give his family the best life imaginable after all.


    keson Tech was thepany that will make gaming pods in a few months, they''llter invest and have a majority of shares in the AI techpany. Of course Kiro knew this because that''s the samepany that made his academy education null and void.


    His lips curled into an evil grin.


    "I may not touch their current wealth, but I''ll buy thatpany before they do." He mumbled to himself.


    ''You dare make my mother cry? Nobody messes with my family.'' A storm was raging within him.


    As he left the library, he wired his family 500 creds with the text "Feast to your hearts content and take it easy, I''ll take care of everything." attached to it.


    His heart was still a raging storm. He walked around aimlessly. His brain must''ve  known that if he would see Isaac, he''d do a lot of things he''d regret.


    So it just made him walk as far away from their dorms. He wasn''t thinking anything, he was just angry. He tried stilling his heart time and time again.


    "Ki?"


    A voice jerked him out of the whirlwind of emotions raging inside of him. His eyes rested on I.


    "Great." He mumbled. "Hey," he said coldly.


    He knew it wasn''t fair to take out his frustrations on her. He knew that it wasn''t her fault, but emotions are a funny thing, they can be irrational.


    Feeling the coldness I asked, "What''s wrong? Are you okay?"


    "What''s wrong?" Kiro sneered, "This world is what''s wrong. Leave me the f*ck alone."


    Like that he walked away. I was left not knowing what to feel exactly but she knew there was nothing she could do about it, so she walked the other way.


    He stayed outte and missed dinner, he went straight to his room to sleep. His anger had subsided greatly. Just as he was about to turn in, there was a knock on the door. He walked toward it hesitantly.


    Hiro stood on the other side when he opened it.


    "I''ve been looking for you all day, where were you?"


    "Mm."


    Hiro noticed his friends sour face. This wasn''t like him at all.


    "What''s wrong?"


    He came in and sat down on the sofa. Kiro sighed, because he did not invite him in. He just decided all on his own.


    "Well?"


    "Both my parents got fired from keson Tech. Isaac''s family''spany."


    Hiro was lost for words. He had no idea what else to say, but he just knew this was not good. He knew that this was not fair.


    Kiro did nothing but stand up for himself, and in turn he gets told to stay down like a loyal dog because the rich can do whatever they want.


    "I''m sorry man." Hiro said, it was all he could muster.


    "I''m going to destroy them Hiro."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Nothing."


    Hiro kept his friendpany until midnight, it was only then that he left for his room. His friend''s mood had shifted, so that was something.


    They both walked to breakfast the next morning. Kiro saw Isaac, at least now he didn''t feel like punching his face until it was unrecognisable. But he still bumped into him pretty hard, on purpose.


    "Watch where you''re going slum rat," Isaac said loudly as if to quieten the morning chatter around the cafeteria.


    "At least I don''t get beaten in-game and run to daddy to make other people''s lives hell." Kiro shot back.


    "Oh you admit your life is hell." Isaacughed.


    "You''ll know hell, soon enough. Now run to daddy and tell him to be ready, because I''m about to topple high society." Like that he walked away.


    Isaac couldn''t retorted so he snorted. There was something chilling about the words Kiro had said, they were heavier than Isaac thought. But he didn''t want to admit it. He thought his confidencees from the Silva family. Maybe they were his backers.


    Everybody in the cafeteria heard the conversation, those smart enough could deduce what had happened.


    Kiro noticed I sitting at their usual table. So he bought a drinking yoghurt to take on the go. Hiro didn''t ask and did the same. They walked out of the cafeteria to prepare for ss.

 Chapter 64: Here But There

    "You know I isn''t like Isaac right?" Hiro asked his friend.


    "So?"


    "So, as much as you''re going through something, you''ll regret it if you take it out on her."


    "Just whose side are you on?"


    "Obviously yours," Hiro said, drinking the yoghurt. "But you know, I know you took quite a liking to her. I don''t speak much but I do observe."


    Kiro ignored him. He didn''t want to admit that he was right. He had no time to think about other people''s feelings at the moment. He drank the yoghurt silently.


    -----


    ss was in session. Kiro was far, far away in his thoughts. He couldn''t get his mother''s expression out of his mind. She looked so desperate and utterly dead. That broke him. He couldn''t help but feel guilty.


    Maybe he should''ve let Isaac do as he pleased?


    He sighed, ''well, at least the game will do something about this situation.''


    Now everything absolutely rode on the game. This never happened in the past, so he had nothing to reference, he''d have to wing it. There was no other choice. The thought of his family''s future being on the uncertain scale made him unsettled.


    He was in and out of focus during the lesson. Though he couldn''t tell you exactly what Dr. Ramirez was doing for today''s lesson. He was also unconsciously sketching on his notebook.


    It was unknown to him but I and Hiro were watching him. Both were worried for him, I was furious about before when he shut her down but overhearing the conversation in the cafeteria made her blood freeze.


    She wanted to approach him, but at the same time she knew, because of her societal status, that alone made Kiro unapproachable.


    This made her incredibly sad. They were just starting to get close and something, beyond her control ruined that. It stung.


    Kiro was oblivious to the ones who were worried for him, he didn''t have the luxury to think about others at the moment. His mind had a lot going on as it was.


    He kept unconsciously sighing. Dr. Ramirez of course noticed this, but news in this academy spread like wildfire, so she knew what was going on with him. More or less. So she let it go, just this once.


    She was also originally from the lower district, she knewing out of there was next to impossible. It depended more on your luck than your skills to go out of there.


    She''d worked with lower district scientists who were better than her before, but surprisingly she was positioned as their boss.


    Of course, oneint out of her and she would see herself back where she was born. She had simply worked too hard, and even then she didn''t have real power, just a pawn.


    Just a sheep whom does what they''re told, fearing what they''ve worked for could be stripped at a moments chance.


    She was well aware of the unfair happenings in their society, but like a good pawn, like any good pawn who is controlled by fear, she didn''t question.


    "So, that''ll be the end of ss. The dean asked me to remind you, the weing ceremony is tonight. There''ll be alcoholic drinks, those who are underaged are urged to not do anything they''ll regret." She said sternly, looking at them through her thin sses.


    "But Dr. Ramirez, why not just ban alcohol since there are those who are underage? Seems fair that everyone celebrates with the same state of mind." A boy said with his hand raised.


    "Yeah. Agreed. It doesn''t seem right."


    "He''s right."


    "It''s unfair to the few of us."


    "You''re a dunce if you think we have to suffer because you guys are younger."


    "Yes, just go there, sit in a corner and drink lemon juice."


    The ss was properly divided. As those who were already 17 scoffed and told them off. Of course this conversation was happening just as background noise for Kiro.


    Dr. Ramirez was well too familiar with their reaction, she had been through so many of these in her 8 years of teaching.


    "I don''t make the rules. You should practice self-restraint." Dr. Ramirez said with finality.


    Kiro was not really in the mood to party, but every new student was required to attend. Which was an absurd rule, people who didn''t want to attend should be given that right.


    But he supposed that''s how it is in a society ruled with ssism, only those in power decide what qualifies as a human right.


    This irked him. He wanted to stand on his desk, and scream at the top of his voice, scream until his own lungs were shredded in pieces. So they would know that, that''s exactly how he felt.


    "Kiro?"


    "Yeah, what?"


    "ss is over, let''s go."


    When he looked around, the ss was almost already empty. He found himself d to have Hiro around. Who knows how long he''d have sat there, thinking.


    "Oh wow, time''s already flown by this much. I guess I daydreamed more than I should''ve."


    "Day nightmares more like."


    For the first time in forever, Hiro saw a smile on his friends face.


    "So, how are we gonna handle that punk?" Hiro asked.


    "Don''t worry, I can handle it," Kiro said, getting up from his seat.


    Hiro didn''t like his answer. He wanted to help as much as he could. He wanted his friend to know he could rely on him.


    He had no idea however that Kiro said that for him, he didn''t want his family implicated. He wanted to minimise the damage to just him, and as much he hated it, to just his family too.


    I was somehow still seated where she was. Kiro just passed as if she didn''t exist. Her mouth was agape, she wanted to say something but choked on her words when she realised Kiro wouldn''t acknowledge her.


    Hiro gave her an apologetic look and mouthed, ''give him time.'' He knew his friend woulde around eventually, he was just naturally worried for his family.

 Chapter 65: Welcome Party

    The hall was well decorated. They did a great job making it look like a real club. The floor looked to be ss and water beneath it. Neon lights shed violently across the dance floor. There was food, snacks and drinks.


    There was no DJ or speakers. In this society, speakers could be incorporated with the house structure, if you asked for it. At the same time, every building was soundproof.


    There were no professors around, the party would absolutely be unsupervised. Which Kiro thought was insane, they were still teenagers after all. As much as evolved human brains matured at 16, evolved teenage hormones still ran rampant.


    The music sted so loudly, he could feel it vibrating in his chest. Kiro cursed internally. His first party had to be one where he couldn''t even enjoy it. He started to think that whoever sent him back here, was having fun with his life.


    This party''s purpose was so new students knew each other and formed connections and bonds. Kiro and Hiro felt really out of ce. They just really thought they could''ve been using this time killing monsters, taking stress out on monsters seemed like a good way to go.


    Both of them felt that they didn''t belong. The rich kids were wearing grand clothes, while theirs paled inparison. Of course they weren''t the only kids from the slums in the freshers batch.


    There were 4, including them. But it looked like the other 2 were errand boys of the rich, so they didn''t get the chance to mingle with them.


    "I''ll go get us some drinks." Hiro shouted. He knew his friend was in a pickle, so he had to be the one who took initiative tonight. He was already of age, but he wouldn''t drink when his friend wasn''t.


    Kiro simply nodded. He stood rooted in one ce. He felt that this was only necessary because rich kids had to establish rtionships. He felt sick at how everything was centered around rich people.


    ''I feel like I should have a grander goal,'' he silently pondered. The society he lived in wasn''t a good one, change needed to happen.


    A dark skinned girl walked over to him, she was almost the same height he was. So she had no problem reaching for his ear as she whispered.


    "My name is Ursa, what''s yours?"


    ''Personal space much?'' He was startled, when he noticed how she was dressed he got a bit agitated.


    He was also suspicious as to why a pretty girl like her would talk to him, he replied nheless.


    "Kiro."


    He looked around to see whether Hiro was anywhere near, to save him from this. Not only was his mood sour, he had no idea how to talk to girls who weren''t I or Saanvi.


    The girl was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, but Kiro didn''t care about that right now. The girl had two drinks in hand and gave one to Kiro. He was unsure but he took it anyway, and gulped it down. He then realised there was alcohol in it.


    "Hey what are you ying at? I can''t drink."


    "Oops. I won''t tell if you won''t," she said giggling and winked at him.


    He frowned. ''Who is this girl and why did she just feed me alcohol? she knows how strict thews are.''


    He was scared to death, he had heard stories about underage drinking they weren''t pleasant at all. The drink seemed to make him rx a bit, the drink had a kick that shouldn''t be served at this party.


    "You''ll get me in trouble," he said feeling a little light. The burden that weighed on him seemed to vanish.


    "What''s life without a little bit of trouble."


    Kiro scoffed. A little bit? She must be a rich brat. His troubles at the moment were a mountain. Though thanks to the drink they didn''t weigh him down.


    Ursa leaned closer to him, the action alone made him sober up a little bit.


    "What are you doing?"


    "Kissing you obviously. You have such pretty blue eyes, wish I could look in them forever." She leaned closer and smooched his cheek because Kiro looked the other way so his lips weren''t avable.


    "Thanks. I guess?"


    He thought nothing of this strange behaviour, he talked with Ursa about a lot of things. Turned out she was from a rich family, she lived in the middle district.


    The middle district housed a lot of millionaire families, she was one of them. She lived in area 8, which meant her family was high up there.


    Kiro didn''t reveal much about his life. As much as he was out of it, his brain refused to air out his dirtyundry.


    Hiro came back 30 minutester and saw that his friend had loosened up and was talking to a girl, so he walked right past to find Saanvi again.


    He didn''t notice anything amiss, he was just d his friend was having a bit of fun. Although he found it strange that, the girl that sat with him wasn''t I. He shrugged it off.


    Kiro hadn''t seen I the whole night, he didn''t know whether to feel sad or relieved. He had treated her poorly, he felt a tinge of regret. The alcohol made him think things like these, he found himself missing I and he didn''t know what to do with that.


    ''Are we even so close that I''d even miss her?'' He wondered. He''d been avoiding her for days. ''So I guess it''s normal?''


    He didn''t know it, but I had been watching him from afar. It felt like the first time she met them, as she couldn''t approach him this time either.


    Around midnight, he wanted to turn in, the girl offered to apany him. She wasn''t as hammered as he was. Getting up was a struggle, his legs felt like wet spaghetti. He only had that one drink but he was out of it.


    ''Strange. Is alcohol supposed to be this strong? If so, I don''t think I''ll ever drink again. I hate not being in control.''


    The girl helped him to his room. He still had to be the one to open the door and it was a real struggle. She put him on his bed.


    She looked at the kid who was now passed out cold, whom she had drugged him.


    "Nothing personal Kiro Waynworth." She started stripping him.

 Chapter 66: The Plan

    [Days ago, before the events of the weing ceremony...]


    Isaac was left fuming, he was bleeding and ontop of that he had a broken nose. He watched I as she walked away smiling with that Kiro boy.


    "That b*tch. She''ll pay." He mumbled to himself as he staggered towards the medicentre. "I''ll¡ªI''ll gut her. Just you wait¡ªI''ll destroy them all."


    Isaac wanted more than anything to get his fathers approval. He knew suppressing those two would make his father acknowledge him.


    His father didn''t think much of him he knew this from the bottom of his heart, and now he was hearing rumours that he was looking to marry.


    Isaac had never questioned his mother''s death. He was told, she died in childbirth, but when he was 6 he overheard the maids talking about his mother having a really healthy pregnancy. About how strange it was that she died after giving birth.


    He didn''t understand much back then, but as he grew older he realized what had happened. He didn''t care though, he''d never met his mother, and his father was warm to him. Up until he was old that is.


    ''Father does love me, I''m the failure, I just have to make this right and put that rat in his ce, back into his hole and father will see just how useful I am and he won''t need any more heirs but me.''


    He had a scheduled call with his father that very afternoon. He knew it''d be about his humiliation in Asgard. So he quickly wanted to hide the other humiliation that was, his broken nose. He was d it was something that they could fix in a minute.


    He walked quite a distance and could see his ''subjects'' waiting for him. He wasn''t happy with them at all. The air around them was a happy one, which made him more furious.


    "Where the hell were you?" He asked when he reached them.


    "You told us to hang back because you wanted some alone time with her, sir." One boy said.


    Isaac pped him across the face. Pushed him to the ground, and continued to assault him. With all the moving his nose started paining, so he stopped. The boy curled on the ground. His eyes glinted dangerous, and his fists tightened.


    He got up and was ready to fight back, he was held back by one other. When he looked at him with eyes full of fury, he shook his head. Isaac hadn''t noticed, but some within his trusted circle were growing tired of his attitude.


    They didn''t have a problem following him, but they didn''t like that he treated them as ves. There was only so much they could endure, and they were tired, Ronald Chase in particr was absolutely up to his neck fed up.


    Yes his father was powerful. They received benefits being in their favour, but it was not worth this kind of humiliation. Ronald calmed himself down and fell back.


    "You all are idiots, that didn''t mean you should hang back this far out, so much that you didn''t even see me getting my nose broken by... by¡ª" The name couldn''t get out of his mouth, he was embarrassed that a girl got one over him.


    Even though, physically girls could be as strong, Isaac''s thinking was thousands of years back. He saw women as nothing more than trophies. He truly was, body and mind, in the monarchy era.


    Isaac walked forwards, Ronald put his hand on the boy who stopped him from beating up Isaac and held him back.


    "Alex if this happens again, and you stop me¡ª" He tightened his grip on his shoulder, "I''ll rip your arm out and beat you senseless with it."


    "Ron, man, calm down. Do you want to be on their bad side?" Alex said, a bit scared of his friends sudden change of attitude.


    "I don''t mind following this bastard around, but I won''t be humiliated. We''re not his ves or servants for that matter."


    He noticed that his friend was ufortable with whatever he was saying. He didn''t want to make him do anything he didn''t want to. They bothe from the lower end of the middle district.


    Even without real power their families were well off.


    "Look, Alex, I''m not saying do as I do. Just don''t stop me. I''m not going to be pped around. Our rtionship with that punk has always been give and take. I''m not going to settle for subservience."


    He didn''t wait for him to digest what he had said, he didn''t wait for his reply either. He walked away, towards the medicentre of course.


    Isaac was already talking to the medic inside. She was absolutely shocked, this was the third student toe here in a span of a week. It seemed to her, this year would be the most violent. She wouldn''t bex as she once was.


    "Wee, Isaac keson. I''ll scan for any problems your bodyhas, momentarily, please wait," the robotic voice said.


    "Broken nose. Starting repairs. Please wait."


    It didn''t take half a minute to repair.


    "Stress detected. Isaac keson, manage your mental health better. Goodbye."


    "What do you know, you cranky machine." He said annoyed with this thing.


    Isaac got to his dorm room, somebody was standing on the door outside his room. He sighed. He wasn''t in the mood forpany. Besides, his father would call, he didn''t want to show that side of him to anyone.


    "Pleasee backter."


    "Yes."


    He got inside his dorm, took a shower. He had just gotten out when the phone rang. It was obviously his father. He was so nervous that he stuttered when he answered.


    The call wasn''t exactly great, but he felt like, it wasn''t bad either. His father just gave him a head start, suppressing Kiro would be easier now that his parents would be getting the boot.


    Feeling good about the phone call, he texted the person toe over. He felt like havingpany tonight.


    It was forbidden to have another student sleep over at your room. Students did it anyhow. The academy turned a blind eye, as long as you didn''t tantly do it in their faces.


    So campus romance was something that was very ordinary.


    Not even 10 minutes passed and a knock on the door could be heard. The door flung open.


    "Ursa,e on in."


    Ursa smiled. She was dark, tall and beautiful. If she were part of high society she would''ve been a goddess. She wouldn''t be short of suitors, every boy would throw themselves at her.


    Even then Isaac didn''t like her that much, he was just using her, it was lust, nothing more. She was just another toy avable for him to y with.


    Ursa was madly in love with Isaac though. It wasn''t the money or status or that he was good looking, she just loved being bossed around.


    It was already in the early hours, they were lying in bed.


    "Are you ready to tell me what happened to your nose?"


    Isaac didn''t say anything. He wasn''t in the mood to talk or think about I.


    "I can tell, even if you''ve been treated. I can¡ª"


    "Will you just let it rest? Be a good girl and do what I want to ask you."


    Isaac was hot and cold with her. She had hoped he''d fall in love with her in return. Though she knew, her status, meant it was never going to happen, she was hopeful.


    "Anything for you."


    "I want you to drug someone, and frame them."


    "Who?" She knew better than to ask why.


    "Kiro Waynworth."


    "But he''s from the slums, he''s dirty, don''t you care for me at all?"


    Isaac ignored this. "If you seed, I''ll tell father to make it a point that you''re elevated in status."


    Her eyes sparkled. Gaining status meant she could be with Isaac out in the open. The sneaking around wouldn''t exist anymore. They could finally, act like an actual couple.


    "Then, we''d be together officially?"


    Isaac stopped himself from almost groaning. He had no ns whatsoever to get serious with Ursa. She was but a stepping stone for him. Everyone was.


    But if he showed disdain at the idea now, Ursa may not be motivated to do this. His n would fail, and he''d be back to square one with his father.


    "Yes, we''ll be together once we''re equals." He ridiculed the idea of ever considering himself equal to her.


    She smiled. "Okay then, I''ll do it."

 Chapter 67: Execution

    Kiroid on his bed, buck naked and blissfully unaware of the events that were taking ce in his dorm room. Ursa and Isaac''s n was to get him expelled or even better imprisoned. Underage drinking was no joke, sexual assault was even a much bigger deal.


    The drug she used wouldn''t be detectable even with the technology as it was. She had gotten it at a dark market, the price was steep but she wasn''t the one paying. Even if there wasn''t proof, authorities always sided with the one that had a higher societal status.


    If she was caught, she had Isaac keson as a backer, so she didn''t care much about getting caught.


    Kiro was sound asleep, he had no idea of the predicament he was in. If this seeded, his life was over.


    The girl was a cunning one, she''d throw anyone under the bus if it meant marrying Isaac one day.


    Even though she had been promised higher status by Isaac, that didn''t matter much to her. Their rtionship mattered more and she had no problem stepping on someone whose life wouldn''t go anywhere anyway.


    She saw this stepping stone as chance to help Kiro realise how this society worked. No matter how hard he worked, climbing to the top was nigh impossible.


    She loved putting out people''s burning lights of hopes. Snuffing the light in people''s eyes was something she enjoyed watching.


    This seemed to be a popr trait on rich people. Power wasn''t enough, so they wanted more, ying with people''s lives.


    She looked at the unconscious boy, she thought he was handsome. She touched his muscles, they were hard and sturdy. Clearly Kiro''s hard work paid off. His face had sharp feature, his lips were full and red as if he had lipstick on.


    She thought it was too bad that she couldn''t see his eyes, there were plenty of blue eyes in their world but she''d never seen quite like his. They were, unique.


    Admiring the beauty before her. She couldn''t help but think that, if gods sculpted humans, this human right here would be one of those moulded by gods hands themselves, she was certain.


    It was too bad he was born at the most bottom of the barrel. In their world, where you''re born decided your destiny and fate, his were looking bleak.


    ''As it should,'' she thought to herself.


    She kept looking back, nervous that someone would walk in. Not that was scared to be caught, she just didn''t want people seeing her doing this to some scum, it was too embarrassing.


    She couldn''t use Kiro to lock the door, she had to get out as soon as this was done. And it would be a hassle moving an unconscious body back and forth.


    She first got him excited so she could do the deed well. She flipped her already short skirt. She had prepared for this as she wasn''t wearing any underwear. As she was about to mount him.


    "What are you doing?"


    At her hurry to finish the job, she hadn''t realised she had left the door ajar. It was dark in the room, so the girl couldn''t see who the person was.


    She quickly gathered up her things and attempted to run from the door. The figure blocked it.


    "What in the devil are you doing?"


    When she got closer, Ursa realised this was I Silva. Her stomach dropped, why couldn''t it have been an unknown person? Nobody would question I if she chose to expose her. Her legs were visibly shaking, but since it was dark I didn''t notice.


    "Jealous? He''s the one who called me up here."


    "Then why is he unconscious? Who put you up to this? It was Isaac, wasn''t it?"


    Stunned at the spot on guess the girl bit her lip. She quickly gained herposure though. Ursa was a bit taller than I.


    She pushed her way through and she somehow managed to slip through and ran out of there. I didn''t give chase. She just shook her head and entered the room.


    She turned on the lights, then saw Kiro waspletely naked. She flushed red, and quickly stumbled on the lights to turn them off again. She walked toward the silhouette that was passed out cold.


    "Wonder if you were drugged," she said pulling the nkets over him, "dummy." She mumbled, her voice shaky and sad.


    She couldn''t locked his door, so she simply closed it and slept on the couch. There was no way of knowing if that girl wouldn''t sneak back in. It took her over 2 hours to fall asleep, she wasn''t used to such difort.


    -----


    Kiro woke up the next day feeling terrible. He got out of bed and realised he was naked.


    ''What the?'' he thought to himself.


    His head was throbbing, he thought it''d explode. He went to the toilet and took headache medicine. He sshed some water on his face.


    He then heard snoringing from his couch, he quickly put on at least underwear and saw that I was sleeping there soundly.


    He tried rememberingst night, he couldn''t, the only thing he remembered was a girl called Ursa who gave him a drink. After that, everything was a blur.


    "She must''ve drugged me. F*ck!" He cursed loudly and angrily.


    His shouting woke up I. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by a still naked Kiro.


    "Goodness. Why are you still naked!?" She did not want to see this, although she didn''t mind at all.


    "Still? what do you¡ªdid you¡ª" He stammered, his brain was going 100 kilometres per second.


    "What? No¡ª"


    I then remembered how cold Kiro had been to hertely. She got up and shuffled to the door. Kiro quickly put on his shirt and pants, but he still felt naked, as those eyes had already seen him with nothing on at all.


    He thought no amount of clothes he had on, could make that feeling go away.


    "Wait I. Bel, please." he shouted after her.

 Chapter 68: Me Not You

    She waited by the door for him to speak. He took out a snack bar and motioned for her to take a seat. So she did. She was a bit hungry, so she sat and ate the chocte. She didn''t say anything.


    ''She just woke up, but she looks really good,'' Kiro thought, fascinated. Apart from his sister he''d never seen a girl unprepared, even his mother woke up so early that he missed her most mornings. So this was new territory for him.


    They both didn''t say anything. They just sat in silence. Kiro contemted on what he should say, he didn''t want to make her angrier than she already was, he was choosing his words carefully.


    "Look, I''m sorry," he finally said, though he felt it was a very weak apology.


    "For what?"


    She yed dumb, she was really going to make him say everything. She didn''t think they were all that close, but she wanted them to be. She understood his situation but she also couldn''t stop being mad at how he was towards her.


    She wanted to be someone he ran to when he felt vulnerable, not someone he pushed away like she was nothing at all.


    "I know you''re nothing like Isaac. But when he had my parents fired for something so insignificant, something shifted in me.


    "Not that I''m saying you had anything to do with it. It was really just me, not you. I was an ass." He trailed off, when he realised he was rumbling a bit.


    "You were an ass, go on." She attempted to help him.


    "I..." He smiled a bit.


    "I understand then. You don''t want to befriend a rich person, in fear that their family goes after yours. I''ll stay away." She pouted, teasing him.


    "That''s not what I want."


    "What do you want?"


    "I want to destroy this society."


    I raised an eyebrow, not quite sure what to say or how to react but she knew more than anyone that this society was rotten, it needed a thorough cleansing.


    Maybe Kiro was the person to uproot the status quo. She still didn''t get what''s that got to with her.


    "Oh? Where do I fit in all of this?"


    "We''re friends, I want us to continue to be, I will never take anything out on you ever again. I''ll only judge you by your actions, not your family''s or associates. It was immature, unfair and stupid of me. I''m sorry."


    "I''m gonna be honest with you, I was the happiest when you called me your friend and when you started ignoring me, that stung. You hurt me a lot, I hope you don''t do it again," she said taking a bite of her chocte.


    She smiled solemnly and continued, "I was genuinely the happiest when you imed me as a friend, I don''t know if it''s greed, but I wonder why that no longer feels adequate?" She questioned, more to herself than Kiro.


    "What do you mean?"


    "No, nothing, thank you for this." She smiled, genuinely. "And your sofa was really ufortable, I think I need more rest."


    "You know, the bed was big enough for the both of us?"


    "Wh-h-h-at?" She choked on the chocte, she was coughing uncontrobly.


    Kiro quickly ran to get her some water, he kneeled in front of her, "here, slowly."


    After about 3 minutes, she had calmed down.


    "That was seriously a bad joke."


    ''I wasn''t joking though,'' he internally said, "well, sorry, sorry."


    Kiro had thought about it, he didn''t need more enemies so there was no good reason to push away an ally that readily wants to be in his good books. A powerful ally at that.


    He was left pondering thest thing I had asked before he made her choke. He couldn''t figure it out, as he wasn''t well-versed in love. All that brain was for logic and calctions, not feelings.


    It was on his mind nheless, puzzles he couldn''t put together were always a gue that didn''t quite go away for him.


    There was silence for a while.


    "So what happenedst night?" Kiro asked, still embarrassed that I had seen him nude.


    "Well, I''m not sure. But that girl was about to vite you, while you were unconscious," she said, barely a whisper, she looked ufortable with the whole idea.


    Kiro frowned. He was truly thankful for I, if she hadn''t walked in, he may had his first time and not even remember it. He smiled awkwardly.


    "But how did youe to be here?" Kiro was curious.


    "I''ve seen her in and out of our dorm, I''ve seen her with Isaac. When I saw you together at the party¡ª" She shifted on the chair, saying something like that annoyed her for some reason, "when I saw you two together, I knew something was up.


    "So I attempted to follow you guys here, I was almost toote, she had already stripped you¡ª"


    "You saw, me?" Kiro''s deduction was confirmed


    "No, I didn''t." She denied.


    "Sigh. Thank you for saving me. My Knight in shining armour," he said with a genuine smile.


    "You better never forget who your knight is." She said without thinking.


    She had never seen his smile before, at least not like this one. It was warm and weing, the opposite of his nature. She was no longer sure which was his nature, maybe the warm and cold were both him.


    "I swear." Kiro promised her.


    I nodded and got up to leave, Kiro walked her out. He was standing at the door way when I turned, she tip toed and kissed him on the cheek, as if to mark her ''territory.'' She turned with speed and started walking really fast.


    "People are gonna get the wrong idea you know?" He shouted after her.


    "Don''t ruin the moment!" She shouted back scurrying away.


    Kiro stood at the door watching her go, he was absent-mindedly touching the cheek I had put her lips on. And unaware, he was smiling.


    "Why are you smiling? Why''s Iing out of your room in the morning?"


    Kiro looked back, Hiro stood at his door, amused to the highest degree. He was d he wouldn''t have to be their mediator anymore, it was exhausting.


    "Get that smile off your stupid face, it''s not what you think!"


    He filled in Hiro about what happened on their way to breakfast. They didn''t have ss today, because of yesterday''s party. Hiro felt immense guilt as he was the one who left him thinking he was having fun with that girl.


    "I''m sorry man. My fault for leaving you with a snake."


    "Not your fault."


    Suddenly a voice sounded throughout the dorm.

 Chapter 69: Aftermath

    Kiro almost pissed his pants at the announcement. Have they found alcohol in his system? But he drank so little. He couldn''t help but curse the strings of bad luck that have been following himtely, all with one source, Isaac keson.


    After the announcement, a red light appeared on the floor, directing him to the dean''s office. Since he was a first year, he wouldn''t have known where it was. The school had taken this into ount and installed these in the first year campus.


    Hiro gave him a solemn look, he started to walk forward. Hiro followed him, he had a really bad feeling about this. Even then, he didn''t want his friend walking into a lions den alone.


    Kiro couldn''t even feel himself walking, his mind was spinning. His parents worked very hard to send him here, he didn''t want to disappoint them. Especially when they''ve lost their jobs, wouldn''t these news break thempletely? Wouldn''t this cause them to die prematurely?


    He tried to calm himself down as he entered the waiting room to the dean''s office, Hiro was also allowed to wait with him.


    The secretary told them to wait there, so they waited. The room was painted with a light blue colour, as if to calm the nerves of anyone who waited there.


    But s, that didn''t work for Kiro. They left him with his thoughts for a whole 3 hours. Kiro was starting to lose his mind with the thoughts that were forming. For these hours he did nothing but think, of all the terrible things that were about to happen. He didn''t have a good feeling about this.


    Hiro saw this, but didn''t really know what to do, or how to help.


    ''Are they trying to break me before kicking me out or something.'' Kiro was too much in his mind to even notice Hiro was there with him.


    "Hello Mr. Waynworth," said anky man, his voice sounded agitated, he looked too viinous to be the school''s associate.


    He had dark short hair, pale skin and an expression that told anyone that he didn''t get much sleep. "I''m the vice dean, Mr. Ridley. Please, this way." He motioned for him to enter another room. "You can''te in." He told Hiro.


    This man had a way of speaking with etiquette, yet at the same time you could sense the hostility and disrespect in his voice, it was conflicting.


    On the inside it looked like a boardroom. There were several people already inside. With different varying expressions on their faces, some angered and some disgusted and none happy. The room was dimmed, which fit the mood.


    He took a sit before them and waited. His stomach was churning, he hadn''t had breakfast that morning, but he wanted to empty out the contents of his stomach.


    At the same time, he wanted to go to the toilet, his stomach was acting up. He also wanted to pee. He was sweating a little. Everything was happening all at once.


    He looked at each of the board members, there were 12 of them, including the dean and his vice. All from high society no doubt, they were very intimidating.


    "Do you know why we''ve called you here, Mr. Waynworth?" The dean asked.


    It was the same old man that startled them at the beginning of the semester. When they hadn''t even registered for the academy. Up close he looked intimidating, old and wise.


    Kiro tried to calm his nerves, if he didn''t speak with confidence here, it would be all over. He knew the game will announce the currency exchange soon, but he didn''t want to stress his parents further, lest they copse or worse die.


    "I can only assume dean. Is it because of yesterday''s party, the fact that I was drugged, and almost sexually assaulted?" He enquired boldly, he sat back on the chair and crossed his legs.


    This deration was met with scoffs, whispers and an air of anger. The atmosphere seemed to get thicker. The people were angrier than when he got in.


    ''Huh, was I too bold?''


    "Well, the problem Mr. Waynworth¡ª"


    "Please call me Kiro, my father is Mr. Waynworth."


    "No."


    "...."


    "As I was saying Mr. Waynworth," It was the vice speaking, the stress he put on ''Mr. Waynworth'' made Kiro flinch. He was clearly hostile. "The problem is, not only did you consume alcohol yesterday, you even had the gull to attempt to assault a youngdy."


    Kiro''s heart was beating at abnormally fast speeds. He knew Isaac was cruel, but to this extent? If he was found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in prison or worse, disappear without a trace.


    "Those are all lies¡ª"


    "Is it a lie that you have alcohol in your system?" The vice couldn''t hide his hostility anymore.


    "No, but¡ª"


    "So you admit you did drink?"


    "Yes, but¡ª"


    "Well that''s all."


    "What was the point of this, if you won''t let me exin?" Kiro was shaking with anger.


    "We just wanted to confirm."


    "Confirm what, when I have yet to tell the side of my story?" Kiro involuntarily smirked, "it''s funny, now that I''m not saying anything in my defense I''m not being interrupted."


    "Behave yourself kid, you''re the one under investigation," said a burly man, sitting across at his far left.


    Kiro couldn''t see his expression, his whole face was shrouded in darkness.


    "Would this even qualify as an investigation, if I''m not allowed to recount events as someone who was there?


    "Why not watch the camera at the hall, you''ll see that I drank that drink unknowingly. I''m not an idiot." He was saying anything now, he had to.


    Of course Kiro hasn''t the slightest clue whether or not there were cameras on campus. But he deduced that a school where billionaires send their children must have tight security and that included cameras


    .


    Even though his guess was spot on, whether or not they''d allow for him a fair trial and get the video was another matter entirely.

 Chapter 70: No Evidence

    The dean was utterly amused by Kiro. He had met people from the lower district, but no one quite like this boy. Well, if he counted that man, there was one other.


    He looked fearless and daring, he wasn''t afraid to question them, even though they were higher than him in society. He knew how their world is run, yet he questioned it all the same.


    As much as this excited him, it also scared him. He knew how quickly people like him disappeared, Kiro reminded him of a particr friend he had back then. This made his heart ache. As memories of him during the academy years came rushing back.


    ''I guess the apple doesn''t fall far from the tree after all.''


    The dean smiled at his thoughts, and cleared his throat.


    "You waited that long because I had been trying to get the video you mentioned. You''re right there are cameras at most parts of the campus and they are always on, recording, even if you don''t see them.


    "It was a hassle getting this exact moment and also in such a short time. We really do need to upgrade our system," he said, while pressing something and a screen appeared.


    On the screen, Ursa could be seen approaching Kiro and handing him a drink. He could be seen downing the drink in one gulp, then a dissatisfied expression on his face.


    Since the music had been really loud, it didn''t pick up on what they were saying exactly.


    Had their system been up to date, they could''ve been able to filter out the sound. But as bad luck would have it, the government was always slow at implementing these things.


    Ursa was seen almost getting intimidate with Kiro, that''s when the dean decided to pause the tape. He certainly didn''t want to see what young people get up to these days.


    "This doesn''t prove anything of his innocence, you had alcohol in your mouth, how could you not have known?"


    "Yeah, you should''ve spat it out."


    It was as if they were wild animals the way they didn''t want to think logically, they''d already decided that Kiro was guilty. The dean raised his hand to shut up the people who were talking at the same time.


    "This doesn''t prove anything yes, but it does prove that this kid was given the drink, he didn''t get it himself. His look of dissatisfaction also ys an important factor here," the dean said.


    At his analysis everyone went quiet. With just this he won the crowd over. Kiro understood why he was the dean, he was indeed a charismatic leader. He wasn''t too pushy but he also had a firm hand.


    "This may exonerate him from underage drinking, but dean, it says nothing about the girl who ims she was assaulted by him and I''m afraid there aren''t cameras in the dorms."


    The vice was sure relentless. Kiro wondered if Isaac had bribed him or something. It was hard to believe that someone would fight this hard for something they knew was false, unpaid.


    "Mr. Ridley is correct," the dean said.


    At those words, the vice could be seen sneering. Kiro''s heart dropped, his stomach lurched, but he couldn''t give up now, he had to fight for himself at least.


    "So then, if there aren''t cameras in the dorms, it''s my word against hers." Kiro dered.


    "You have no word against those in high society brat," said another man in disgust.


    "So, that''s it then, I''m being found guilty on something I''m innocent on."


    "Can you prove that you''re innocent?"


    "Can you prove that I''m guilty?"


    "Why, of course, her word is enough proof."


    Kiro was visibly angry. He knew this society was uwful regarding the lower ss, but he underestimated just how far they were willing to go, so they didn''t lose the feeling of being superior.


    Amidst the anger and sorrow he was feeling, something came to him. Of course, I, she was a witness.


    "There was a witness," he said calmy.


    The vice looked at him with eyes full of disgust, "if there was one, naturally they''de forward."


    "I Silva," he said, ignoring the vice.


    "You dare use the name of¡ª" The vice had already taken strides towards Kiro, he was held back and cut short by hispanions.


    ''What is up with this guy? does he have a hard-on for high society?''


    The dean looked at him, "unfortunately, I has gone home for the next few days. You should be expelled¡ª"


    "Expelled? Preposterous," Kiro shouted, he was frantic now, "You know dean, I thought you were alright. I never took you for someone who bowed down to high society dean, then I''ll take my leave." He finished and got up.


    "If you''d let me finish Mr. Waynworth." He motioned for him to sit down. "You should be expelled, but you''ll be suspended for the next 2 days, your hearing will be on Monday," He said with finality, and dismissed everyone else.


    The board left dissatisfied, they didn''t hold back letting their thoughts known either.


    "What is the dean thinking?"


    "He''s always had a soft spot for them, he''s just dying the inevitable at this point."


    "Yes, that girl was so scared too. I believe her."


    "To think he''d use the Silva name to try and get under our skin."


    "He''s daring, I''ll give him that. I bet the Silva''s young miss doesn''t even know him."


    There was only Kiro and the Dean left in the room. Kiro didn''t quite trust his legs to carry him safely to the door, so he waited for a bit.


    "Sir, the next two days are the weekend."


    The dean chuckled and winked at him, then left without a word.


    He sat back and rxed. "The dean is a good guy after all. That was really close. I should contact I."


    Then he realised he didn''t have her phone ID saved on his phone. He could send a message through the ss group, but that was too much.


    What''s more, in this society, you couldn''t just take someone''s phone ID just because you were in the same chat group. They had to be the ones putting it in your phone, the phones had sensors like that.


    Since everything was almost all virtual, it was for protection. But that put Kiro in a bind.

 Chapter 71: Needing Her

    He contemted and decided to ask Saanvi. Worstes to worst he''d use the ss chat, this was an extremely important matter of life and death, in a way.


    When he found Hiro, he told him everything. While they were working out. He didn''t leave a single word that was spoken, and how it was spoken.


    "Good thing the dean isn''t a greedy leech like the rest of them."


    "Agreed. I''d have been expelled right then and there. I can''t believe that little witch Ursa."


    "You seriously don''t have I''s phone ID? I have Saanvi''s, if you move that slow others will snatch her."


    "Wh-what? Don''t say weird things. They can snatch her. More importantly, call Saanvi for me."


    Saanvi was visibly annoyed when they called her. Especially upon realising that it wasn''t just Hiro.


    "I thought you said you were on good terms." He mumbled to Hiro.


    "I don''t have I''s phone ID, why would I?"


    "Uh, because you''re friends?" Kiro answered confused.


    "We aren''t really that close. If that''s all, goodbye." She dropped it.


    "Wow, your girlfriend is something."


    Hiro turned red, "well, not yet."


    "Not yet what?"


    "She''s not my girlfriend yet."


    Kiro simply shook his head. He had more to worry about than academy love life drama. If I doesn''te back Monday, he was doomed.


    He decided to send through the ss chat.


    "I, I need you, for school purposes, where are you."


    After an hour she replied, "I''m home, but I should be back soon."


    Soon? Soon could mean anything from 3 to 5 days. He didn''t have that long, he needed her right now.


    "It''s urgent. Noter than Monday. Please."


    I sensed the urgency, "I''ll try."


    ''Try, will she? My life depends on you!'' he wanted to scream, but he let it go.


    It hadn''t been a day since Kiro was called into the dean''s office. Yet the whole academy already knew what the meeting was about.


    It''s true what they say, bad news do spread like wildfire. Everyone was giving him weird looks. He was extremely grateful that it was the weekend, he didn''t really want to face his ssmates.


    As much as he didn''t care for them much, they did vote for him to be their leader. He didn''t want to experience how fast they would turn on him if they saw him now.


    He quickly ran to his room.


    ------------


    I was in her room packing, absentmindedly doing so. She couldn''t stop reying the moment her lips met with Kiro''s cheek.


    ''Why did I instinctively kiss him? Is it because seeing him with another girl upset me?''


    She had seen people doing stupid and irrational things for love, she never thought it''d be her one day.


    She hated and liked the feeling at the same time. It was conflicting.


    She left her dorm, and went straight for the station. She rode to student town where her families private jet was waiting. Taking the train to the Upper district would take hours, taking the jet however was just 30 minutes.


    "You look so happy, what''s up with that? Last we checked you didn''t want to go to the academy." Her brother, Dion,mented when she arrived at the private jet.


    "Yeah, she''s in love. she''s glowing." Tiana teased.


    Wace just sat there, observing and quiet. He was the eldest of the siblings, he rarely got in on the siblings squabbles.


    "Wh-wh-what?" She stuttered badly, the memory of kissing Kiro wasn''t helping either because that''s all that was on her mind. She was bright red, embarrassed.


    "I didn''t expect you to guess it right, T."


    "Our little Rosie has grown." At her obvious reaction, they surmised to have guessed right.


    "I''m not in love," she said, as she quicklyposed herself.


    They didn''t stop teasing her for a while, until they reached their estate. They had alle home for their father''s birthday party on Sunday. The Silva children all had red hair. Wace was 27 with brown eyes. Tiana was 25 with blue eyes. Dion was 23 with green eyes like his younger sister.


    They were weed by the maids, I quickly went into her room. She wanted to get far away from her siblings as possible. She only had to put up with them for a couple of days, but she was already annoyed.


    There was a knock on the door, "dinner is ready, young miss."


    She was going down for dinner when she saw she''d received a text some time ago, from the ss chat, she saw it was Kiro.


    "He needs me and it''s urgent?" Butterflies ran rampant in her stomach, but she yed it cool and replied with indifference.


    She sat down with her family and they started to eat. They were just having table conversation, I wondered what would be so urgent that Kiro sent a text on the ss chat.


    "Dad?"


    "Yes Rosie?"


    "Do I, absolutely, have to, be at the party on Sunday?"


    Her father clenched his chest, pretending an arrow had pierced his heart, "even my youngest doesn''t want to celebrate this old man."


    "She''s in love."


    "T! No I''m not!"


    "Then why were you smiling at your phone just now?"


    "Huh? None of your business. Forget I ever said anything."


    She wanted to take this conversation as far away from love as possible. She wasn''t the least bit embarrassed by Kiro, but her family may do what Isaac''s did.


    And she couldn''t bare the burden. She was also sure, her father wouldn''t approve. As much as she can marry anyone she wanted, her father''s approval meant everything to her.


    She flushed embarrassed at the thought of marrying Kiro.


    ''Okay, I, cool it. This isn''t the usual you. y it cool.''


    She noticed her father wanted to dig deeper. He couldn''t bare the thought of her youngest growing up, because then, he''d have no one to baby.


    "So, where''s mum anyway?" I asked trying to stir the conversation elsewhere.


    "Making preparations. She reckons my 50th should be grand. She''ll be back tomorrow night."


    The conversation strayed far from I''s love life, which she was grateful for. She had missed her family, once she got here, Kiro was suddenly not the only thing on her mind.

 Chapter 72: The Hearing

    Kiro was having a fit. He was absolutely freaking out, he had managed to stay out of sight for the whole school. But today was Monday morning, and I was nowhere to be seen.


    "Calm down, she''ll be here, she has to be." Hiro tried to console him.


    "Right, because bad things never happen to good people." Kiro snapped, he didn''t mean to, everything just got on his nerves.


    "Sigh. I''m on your side, you know."


    Kiro looked up at him, "yes, I''m sorry."


    The news of course had spread through out the campuses. It must''ve been Isaac and Ursa, because nobody else knew. People treated Kiro harshly at the news, nobody even believed he was innocent. Niki and Felix had tried to console him in-game.


    He logged in, but didn''t do much gaming. Just yed with his beasts, busking in the sun,zying around. Being depressed.


    He entered the hall and realised that, there''d be an audience today. That only made the pit in his stomachrger.


    ''Isn''t this just a trial and not a hearing? Why would they do something like this?''


    Ursa was there, so was Isaac, and everybody else who was interested in the first year campus drama.


    "Quiet down," Mr. Ridley, the vice, started, "we''re here today to hear the real story and catch the culprit."


    Kiro snorted. ''Man I hate this guy.''


    They obviously started with Ursa, she recounted events that were absolutely different from what had actually happened.


    She imed she had meant to give him a nonalcoholic drink, with a sprinkle of crocodile tears, the crowdpped it up. They believed she made a mistake.


    While Kiro didn''t exactly remember what happened, he was doubtful that he did all that to her. Half of the things she mentioned, were things he didn''t even know existed. Which made him feel sad about how inexperienced he was.


    When it was Kiro''s turn, there were boos and remarks like, ''go back to the slums, rat.''


    Kiro didn''t let this get to him, he had already calmed his nerves, so his expression was stoic and uncaring. He didn''t show a drop of emotion at their taunts. He recounted everything up until the point he cked out.


    The crowds though didn''t let it slide.


    "Look at his face!"


    "It reallycks regret."


    "How can we even be going to school with psychopaths like him!"


    Kiro almostughed. It wasn''t as if, they''d have believed him if he cried. Ontop of that, he vowed to never cower in this life, so he wouldn''t show regret and shame to something he didn''t even do.


    "Pretty convenient that you cked out." Mr. Ridley remarked trying to dismiss him as a liar.


    "Well, it is what happened."


    "Where is the witness you promised us?"


    "I guess she couldn''t make it."


    "Then we have no choice but to find you guilty."


    The dean looked ugly, he didn''t like this one bit but his hands were tied. As much as he hated it, this society favoured the rich. There was nothing he could do about that. He''d already lost too much trying.


    He tried to buy time nheless, "Miss Derengar, are you absolutely sure that this is the man who assaulted you?"


    "I''m sure, it''s him."


    "Well you''ve heard it dean," Mr. Ridley said walking to the front, facing the crowd with arms wide open. "This boy is guilty. Sentence him. Expel him. He has stained the good name of our academy.


    That is a grave sin."


    Just then the doors flung open, I came in like she was being thrown in. She looked out of breath, she had been running from the station.


    "Thank goodness, I finally found the right one. Sorry this witness iste," she said between uneven breaths.


    Her entrance was met with whispers. Ursa was frozen in ce, she even forgot to continue crying. Isaac''s face was drained of its colour.


    When Ursa told him what happened, he originally wanted to scrape the n, but upon remembering the birthday of her father he decided to go along as nned.


    He never expected I to return this early, just for him.


    I had heard about this through Saanvi, it turned out she had her phone ID after all she was just being difficult. When she realised how serious the matter was though, she contacted I immediately.


    I recounted her side of the story which coincided with Kiro''s. The crowd now was confused.


    "So then, why were you there Miss Silva?" Mr. Ridley asked, he was relentless.


    Kiro thought he respected high society, but he was now questioning I, which solidified the idea that he was bribed.


    "Why was I there? Why was she? That''s my dorm, Mr. Ridley."


    He cleared his throat in embarrassment, "of course young miss." He sat down and never spoke again.


    Ursa broke down then and there, she imed Isaac put her up to it. Isaac denied to ever having a rtionship with her. That was a wake up call for her, as she realised she meant nothing to him.


    "Well then, you''ll be suspended for 2 weeks Ursa Derengar, for purposely giving Mr. Waynworth a drugged alcoholic drink and attempting to assault him and use him." The dean dered.


    "Excuse me, but that''s not enough." Kiro spoke up, he was d to be exonerated, but wasn''t she just getting a p on the wrist? "If I''d been wrongfully charged, I''d have spent my whole life in prison for something I didn''t do. It''s not really fair that she walks away, just like that."


    "What would you suggest?" the dean asked him calmly.


    "Brat, count your blessings. You dare try and dictate how your superiors should be punished?" Mr. Ridley asked proudly.


    "I don''t care what this society says, nobody here is my superior. You''re not better than me just because you have a little money. If you were so high and mighty, why am I here? why is it that I''m studying where, the elite are supposed to?"


    The dean let this yed out. He was amused. He was quite smitten with this kid, Kiro. He was interesting to him. He didn''t if it was the nostalgia, or the fact that he seemed to carry that person''s will.


    The vice was shaking with anger, so much that he couldn''t get a word out.


    "Okay, that''s quite enough of that. I understand your frustrations, Mr. Waynworth, but with the status quo it cannot be done. You know what to do." He said with a finality.


    Kiro pondered hisst words. ''I know what to do? What does he mean? Crazy old man.''

 Chapter 73: A Terrible Moment

    Kiro wasn''t the type of person to let his debts go unpaid. So he walked up to Ursa, everybody was watching, surprised.


    They were face to face, since she was sitting down, he lowered his head and whispered in her ear.


    "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, you''ll regret it for the rest of your life." With a voice so calm, so cold and dangerous.


    Ursa was stunned in ce, the voice sent chills down her spine. She couldn''t understand how someone so low in society could exude such a strong immense pressure.


    "I''m a forgiving god, so I''ll let it go this time, but if you cross me again..."


    Just like that he walked away, he left the rest to her imagination. She was visibly shaken, she quickly stood up and left the hall. She couldn''t do much, since even Isaac abandoned her.


    Everybody was curious about what he said to her. But they could only guess because wouldn''t say.


    "Hey, I¡ª"


    I wasn''t used to her name,ing out of those lips, in that voice. She didn''t hate it, but she didn''t quite like it either. She liked it when he used a nickname.


    "What happened to Bel?" She interrupted him.


    "Thanks." He smiled, and thought about returning the kiss from that particr morning, but decided against it.


    "What are friends for!"


    ---------


    It had been days since the incident. He checked in on his parents every day. The game currency conversion was finally here ording to his past information.


    The patch would be at 2pm sharp, so they logged in for the few hours left before dinner. Breakfast and Dinner were mandatory, lunch wasn''t. Kiro put his head gear on, and dived into the game.


    But 2pm passed and no announcement of a patch was made. Kiro felt a ping. He felt that the walls were closing in on him.


    "ying with my damn life. F*ck!" He shouted.


    It felt like it''s been forever since he had a break from bad news. Every waking moment it was something else. He started to seriously consider the alternate world theory.


    "What do you mean?" Hiro asked him.


    "Well, nothing, I''m going out."


    He decided to just go and y monsters, maybe that''ll take his mind off things. He hoped against all hopes that, this was just a slight dy.


    "I cane with."


    Kiro searched his face for sincerity, even though he seemed torn, it was clear to him that he wanted to stay there and hone his craft.


    "It''s alright man, work on your thing, I''ll take Hubris with me."


    Hiro wasn''t exactly happy with that response, he wanted to be there for him but at the same time he wanted to craft and be useful for their group. He figured he needed the time alone anyway, so he let him go.


    He reached the gates of their base, and called for Hubris, he didn''t need shout and Hubris appeared before him at lightning speed.


    Saanvi had done a great job healing him. He was now taller and less wimpy. He looked majestic, with little purple mes for fur.


    Kiro suddenly p both of his cheeks to wake himself up from the depressive mood. If he couldn''t make money like this, he could always try the Mercenary route.


    Sure guilds weren''t announced yet, but he was almost certain they would be. That''s where the money was, guilds were often from big organisations, helping them win guild wars would give him bank.


    There were also small groups of rich people, like the kid who begged him with money back then. He could always use them too. He could even put his beasts up for rentals.


    "Just live in the moment, you''ll be alright." He told himself.


    He entered the capital, it was as busy as always. But everything was just background noise to him, he went into the tailor shop, he wanted to go to Sun''s Mountain, so he required a change of gear.


    It would be a perfect ce to level up, but the weather there was extreme. It was absolutely the opposite of it''s name.


    "What can I do for you, hero?"


    "I''d like a winter cloth armour, price doesn''t matter." He answered sincerely.


    The price didn''t matter now that it couldn''t be converted, not that he''d plunder his riches. He just reckoned, honing his fighting skills was a better route right now.


    "That''ll be 300k coins for an Epic ranked armour."


    When the tailor saw Kiro''s eyes widened, he quickly exined further, "it''s suitable for any condition, you can wear it wherever and it''ll detect the weather and produce the right temperature for you."


    "Oh, exins the price then. I''ll take that."


    The tailor nodded and started taking his measurements. They didn''t stock up on anything, they made everything to order. Which was really good for business, as there wouldn''t be wastes.


    Hubris whimpered, looking at Kiro expectantly.


    Turning to him he said, "you''re such a pain Hubris," he then turned to the tailor, "sir, where can I buy food for beasts?"


    The tailor directed him, it was on the other side of the capital. He watched the tailor work in record time, weaving fabric like it was y dough. It hadn''t even been 10 minutes and he was done.


    Kiro looked at his work impressed, "wow mister, this was too fast, you''re sure it can handle the extremities of Sun''s Mountain?"


    "I''m offended you need to even ask. My work is the best in Asgard, not to blow my own horn or anything."


    "Way to be modest."


    He immediately equipped the armour, it also came with boots. It was obsidian, with scales, it was also kind of tight. He didn''t like that, but he shrugged it off.


    Ding!


    [You''ve equipped a dragonic scale armour of the epic rank.]


    Hiro had made him straps so he didn''t have to carry his staff, so his staff was ced well on his back.


    "This armour is too tight..."


    "It''s the only way it can keep you safe from extreme weather."


    "Don''t you at least have a robe with a hood you can throw in, for the same price?"


    "That''ll cost you an extra 20k."


    "Not even a discount? Bad for business. I''ll take one, preferably green in colour and tailor, I want it to have a hoody."


    He didn''t need his measurements this time, he simply started working on it. It took him around 5 minutes to finish the robe.


    "What''s so special about it, that it costs 20k?"


    "Made from great lizardman pelt. It''s also indestructible, not to say attacks won''t hurt you, they just won''t destroy it. You can be burnt into cinder, while it woulde out unscathed."


    "Holy sh*t that''s useless to me. But I''ll take it."


    It was a pity Hubris wasn''t big enough to be mounted. So he had to walk to get him food. He bought 10ks worth, for himself too.

 Chapter 74: Finally, Them

    Walking around the capital with a beast brought him more attention than the fight with Isaac. It was the most embarrassing thing, good thing he had a hood over his head. So people barely recognised who it was.


    Theughters from NPC children, how carefree they were, ying their games, made Kiro forget a little about the outside world. He wished he could stay here forever, a game that didn''t have consequences. Can''t do it? You can always try again until you can.


    "Wishful thinking." He mumbled, taking in the fresh air.


    He was about to leave the capital''s square when two figures walking in front of him caught his attention with the conversation they were having.


    "It''s absolutely crucial we get the loot from the world boss, otherwise boss wouldn''t be very happy," said the skinnier of the two.


    "Sometimes I wish I didn''t join the Crow Mafia Gang¡ª"


    The other one quickly covered his mouth, "you idiot, you can''t just say that. You don''t know who might be listening."


    "Haha, yeah, sorry sorry. Me and my big mouth. I just don''t like how things are run you know. You can''t even leave without paying a steep price for it," he said pointing at his eyes.


    "I know what you mean but talking about it isn''t gonna get us anywhere. Let''s just get these supplies and go back to the field."


    "Hubris, waif for me here." He used blink to follow them.


    Hubris did as he was told. It''d be a pain for Kiro to try and follow them stealthily if there was a hellhound following him around. Hubris didn''t have a stealth skill unfortunately.


    He followed them all around the capital shops. They were getting weapons, ropes,s and the like. Everything they could use against monsters. Kiro only scoffed at their naivety,s wouldn''t do anything against boss monsters.


    He couldn''t believe he finally met them, the ones who dealt a great damage to him and his family. They came at a perfect time too, when he was feeling murderous rage.


    He wanted to do what he did with Isaac and torture them, but doing it the same way would raise suspicion, that woulde back and bite him. He didn''t want his family affected again because of his carelessness.


    He had no idea yet how far their influence reached this early in the game. He had to be cautious.


    He followed them to the fields. The boss hadn''te out yet, so Kiro went back for Hubris. Of course he could''ve called him, but he didn''t really want to stand around. The adrenaline coursing through his body didn''t let him. He wanted to mess them up right then and there.


    When he got back to the fields, there was amotion, a lot of yers were angry while some were attempting the world boss. Kiro remembered that in his past life, there were lots ofints about groups that did this, though he never paid it any mind.


    "You can''t monopolise world bosses!"


    "Yeah, you guys are scum."


    "There are dungeons you can go to if you want to hunt with just your guild mates!"


    Kiro didn''t care much about theirints, this was pretty standard in games. People used their strength to monopolise resources, that''s how it worked in real life too.


    He was here for a different goal. Under the hood, his lips curled into a sinister smile. He had an idea.


    "If you''re so bold, then do something about it. The Crow guild knows your faces though."


    "..."


    Silence.


    "Didn''t think so, shut your traps if you''re so cowardly."


    Nobody wanted to argue anymore. Clearly this gang had a reputation even at these early stages of the game. Kiro hadn''t looked at his stats in a long time, so he checked, just to see whether he can sabotage them.


    Realising he had some skill points, he put them all into lightning maniption, which raised it to A.


    He felt something crackling and charging up in his belly. He felt like the pits of his stomach were being electrocuted. It wasn''t exactly an ufortable feeling, it was just unusual. It stopped as fast as it came.


    ''That''s new.''


    Name: Kiro


    Level 35


    Race: High Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: Beast Tamer


    HP: 9000/9000


    MP: 9900/9900


    Attack: 2000(+100)


    PDEF: 1000(+2000)


    Strength: 60


    Vitality: 60 (+5)


    Dexterity: 60 (+100)


    Stamina: 60


    Intelligence: 60


    Constitution: 60


    Equipment: Epic dragon armour and boots, robe and Ryu the Staff.


    Mount: Hubris the Hellhound


    Skills


    Vibrations (AOE Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 5MP per second, no cooldown.


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 10MP per second.


    Martial Arts (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    Chi (Ranked A, can''t evolve)


    Bending Kick (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Regeneration (Ranked S, cannot evolve)


    The skill regenerates 100 HP and MP per second


    Whirlwind (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Uses 100 Mana Points per second. No cool down.


    Meditation (Ranked D, can evolve)


    Lightning Maniption (A ranked, can''t evolve)


    Uses 100 Mana Points per second. 1 minute cool down.


    30 AP


    0 SP


    He was ecstatic when he realised that, his defense and dexterity skyrocketed. He reallymanded the good buy, it was a great investment.


    "Epic rank is no joke," he said with a smirk, "Hubris, do you think we can finish off that earth slug with a couple of hits?"


    Hubris howled, which turned everyone''s attention to them. He was basically telling his master that he was ready for blood. Since they shared emotions, he could feel hesitation toward hismands.


    "I''m not reallyzy to give you another good beating Hubris." He mocked.


    They walked closer to the boss and got in its range of attack. The thing was huge, it towered over everything nearby, it was nearly translucent, with a bit of a dirty colour. Clearly it lived underground. It had no eyes, so to speak. Just a hole at the top to squirt attacks.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered a world boss for the first time, a Dirt/Earth Slug. Since you''re a guardian it is your job to protect Asgard anyway.


    Earth Slug


    Level 35


    HP 15 000]

 Chapter 75: The Massacre

    Kiro activated lightning maniption, people would''ve thought it impossible, but that turned his eyes bluer. He had bits of lightning zapping through out his entire body, making his brown skin more prominent.


    Of course nobody could really see his skin, but the eyes, underneath that dark hood they shone brighter than a full moon on a dark night.


    People had one thought in their minds, ''god of lightning.'' Which was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was rare to get such an elemental maniption in the game, so they weren''t far off either.


    It was a shame that he could only use his lightning skill in such a mediocre way. He could make himself faster, he could coat lightning with Ryu, he could turn foes to charcoal.


    But lightning maniption was much more than that. It had more to offer, and unless Kiro figured it out himself, the skill would stay hidden.


    "Hey you! What are you trying to do, do you know who we are?" A short and plump man shouted, though his voice denied his size.


    "That''s exactly why." He said coldly and unwavering, he activated blink.


    Hubris wasn''t left behind, he was on Kiro''s tail. More than anything, he loved chaos. So he was truly feeling happy.


    Everyone couldn''t see him travelling, but Hubris could. When he appeared in front of the slug, they thought he had teleported.


    Kiro didn''t want to use Ryu, he deemed it an insult. He didn''t hesitate and used bending kick, mming the earth slug a few meters from where it was rooted in ce.


    Hubris was already there, with his sharp ws ready and sliced the earth slug into pieces.


    "Tsk, was that really a boss monster?"


    Ding!


    [Earth Slugs are no match for a guardian like you. This was a low level boss monster. Don''t be too smug.]


    "Shouldn''t you be giving me EXP instead of preaching nonsense?"


    [...You''ve received 10k EXP and 200k coins.]


    "System, why doesn''t the title show on the status window?"


    [Titles don''t exist in Asgard.]


    "Isn''t that a contradiction?"


    [...]


    The Crow guild members were livid, they hadn''t even scraped half of the boss monster''s HP when Kiro killed it, seemingly easy.


    Since rewards were distributed by contribution that meant they would receive less. They had worked hard to keep people from this boss, but it all ended in mere seconds.


    "You idiotic brat! You''ve cost us, and you''ll pay."


    "I''m neither idiotic nor a brat, but no matter how this turns out, you''re the one who will pay for your sins."


    Kiro didn''t recognise any of them, but he was sure they were from that demonic gang that killed his siblings and him.


    "Hubris, you can have as much fun as you want, kill them slowly. If you can''t beat them all, no food for you, for a week."


    Ryu vibrated as if to announce his excitement. Clearly the weapon loved blood and gore.


    Though Hubris seemed hesitant, that was enough motivation. If anyone paid close enough attention, they could tell that he didn''t act because he wasmanded, but because he loved torturing and killing.


    ''Why''s my every collection in this game hungry for blood?'' Kiro wondered.


    In the next second Hubris'' teeth were already sunk in another''s man''s neck whom talked a lot. Kiro was shocked to notice that, the man was a priest.


    ''Was that on purpose? Interesting.''


    The man fell, he didn''t die immediately. His guild mates were rooted in ce, still unmoving from the shock of how this turned out. He didn''t wait for them to wake up from it, as he gutted and decapitated some.


    Blood and guts riddled the ground they stood at. Hubris was intricate in his art, as much as he gutted them, he knew exactly how to do it so they bled out slowly.


    Shrills could be heard echoing across the field, as Hubris unleashed his hellfire upon his master''s foes.


    The mes had a peculiarity about them, they were bright orange, no matter what the men did, they couldn''t be put out. They could only writhe in agony trying to put them out.


    Hubris took care of all but one, he was caught off guard by a yer who was a knight. He had a sword for a weapon, he used the time hisrades got put out ofmission to get closer.


    Sure enough, it worked. He shed with all his might, he wanted to slice the beast in half but s, he could only wound him greatly.


    Hubris couldn''t musk his surprise. He wasn''t bleeding, but the wound was a deep one. With just one sh, his movementsgged and he was no longer faster than the yers he was torturing to death.


    The knight''s smile curled into a smug one. He closed in intending to gut him just like he did with hisrades.


    CLANK...


    Kiro put himself between the knight and Hubris. The knight was visibly annoyed, as this person stopped his kill. He had forgotten there were two enemies.


    "Well, Hubris, no meals for a week." Kiro taunted him.


    He took out a health potion and emptied it''s contents in Hubris'' mouth.


    "Make that 2 weeks for wasting my potions," he said grumpily.


    He spun his staff around, aimed at the knights neck and connected. He didn''t use all of his strength, he wanted to beat this person to death if possible.


    He kept poking, and smashing his joints, cracking his bones faster than he could react. The knight was now on the ground, with most of his bones broken, he couldn''t really stand up.


    "You''ll regret this!"


    "Doubt it. You don''t even know what I look like." He nted Ryu on his neck, the knight pixted.


    Luckily for Kiro nobody had recorded the fight because of how fast everything concluded. They didn''t really recognise Ryu from the trending videos.


    People watched how good the fighting was, they didn''t obsess over the weapon he used. So nobody guessed it could be him.


    Kiro had thought about the dangers of what he was doing. He was simply tired and just wanted to vent his anger. He only hoped he was cautious enough this time.


    The men Hubris had tortured, finally pixted when they became nothing but bone.


    "If you''ve healed. Let''s go."


    Hubris was earnestly unhappy, not only did he fail the assigned mission, he wouldn''t get food for 2 weeks, some would say Kiro was just exaggerating but Hubris knew better.


    People moved aside to make way for them. They watched, as the mysterious young man, and his beast walked and entered Sun''s Mountain.

 Chapter 76: Kiro vs Hubris

    The mountain was a giant, it towered over everything in the surrounding area. You could barely see its peak from the ground. Despite the fact that, it''s surrounding area was green, it was coated with snow. This made it stick out like a sore thumb.


    There were two ways to get to the peak, either by climbing or trekking through the treacherous narrow roads. Climbing was rtively easier but Kiro liked his skull intact, he wasn''t good at climbing, he didn''t possess a skill for it either. So he chose the road that was monster infested.


    He needed to level up anyway, he wasn''t here on vacation.


    "You know, if you can''t keep up, I''ll leave you behind." He told Hubris.


    He was walking using blink, it used mana, but this was another way to rank up a skill, continous use. Besides he had stocked potions and filled his storage space, which wasn''t big but it wasn''t small either.


    "Howe you never showed me your mes before?" Kiro shook his head, "not like you can answer."


    Hubris stopped dead on his tracks, which caused Kiro to do the same. He looked like he was about to do something stupid.


    "Don''t do it, not this again."


    Just then, Hubris started walking toward Kiro like he was eyeing prey. He was feeling a bit of confidence, since he took out a lot of enemies in a short time. Even though he eventually failed, he still felt stronger.


    So he felt rebellious. He didn''t have time y house with Kiro, he had to leave.


    "What are you doing, you stupid dog?"


    Hubris did nothing but growl, as he was circling Kiro. Waiting for a chance when he dropped his guard, a chance when he saw an opening, so he can pounce and go for the kill. Because then, he''d be free.


    Hellhounds were proud creatures, they didn''t just bow down to anyone, that rang true especially for him. He''d been embarrassed by the whole situation, but maybe now, he could break free from the shackles that forcibly bound him.


    Kiro didn''t bother taking out his staff. He didn''t want to kill his mount after all. The system did warn him that, these would happen asionally. Kiro wasn''t taking it seriously, as he didn''t think Hubris could''ve grown stronger than him in such a short time.


    He wasn''t wrong of course, but...


    Because of his nonchnt attitude towards Hubris'' rebellion, he couldn''t do much when he lunged at his neck with his ws at great speed.


    He barely got out of the way, he still got the full st of the attack. Fourrge gashes appeared on his neck, painted with red liquid.


    "You dumb mutt!" He growled touching his neck in disbelief. "You ungrateful twat!"


    Kiro immediately blinked and appeared in front of Hubris. He nted his foot on his muzzle, he kicked him so hard that he flew a great meters to the skies.


    Hubris didn''t just wait around to be pummelled either, while in the air, he released his fire. It was more coordinated than before.


    Small balls of purple mes threatened to burn Kiro to the bone. Kiro watched their descent impressed, he admired at how much of a quick thinker his mount was. Thought he''d be damned if he''d lose to him.


    "Whirlwind," he muttered.


    The balls of mes were sent back to which they came. Hitting Hubris in various spots, most missingpletely. Courtesy of Kiro, he directed most of them far away from him.


    "Do you understand it now, mutt? I could kill you right now."


    That seemed to have lit a fire under his belly. Every time Kiro referred to him as a dog, that enraged him more. For the first time, Hubris had a look that said, he didn''t just want to defeat Kiro, he wanted to kill him.


    At Hubris'' expression, Kiro''s stomach dropped, he felt dread, not for himself but for his mount. He didn''t want to have to kill him, but if he couldn''t make him submit, the only way would be to send him right back to hell.


    "I don''t want to have to kill you, Hubris. But if I have to, I''ll do it with these hands. No weapon."


    Hubris took that as a challenge, he zigzaged his way to Kiro. Attempting another swipe with his ws, Kiro blocked it and punched him in the stomach.


    He activated blink and appeared behind him, he used both his hands to hammer him to the ground.


    After that, the hound never quite got up. Kiro sat nearby and didn''t give him many potions.


    After a while, Hubris got up with his tail between his legs.


    "Pretending to be obedient isn''t gonna cut it, I swear, if you do this again, oh so help you gods."


    Even though he never got answers, he knew Hubris could understand him. Without notice, he started travelling using blink.


    Hubris couldn''t keep up at first but the more he chased the better he became even though his breathing grew tired and ragged. He didn''t want to disappoint the man who was his master, he didn''t want to seem weak.


    He prompted them to stop for a bit. He didn''t want to overwork his mount. He''de in handy in whatever happens at this mountain. Kiro took out some food for him, which was raw meatced with health potion. Apparently it was good for a mounts'' growth.


    Of course he hadn''t forgotten about the punishment he had given him, but since he was injured from their little squabble, he didn''t want anything to catch them off guard.


    He took out mana potion for himself and rested for a bit to regain stamina. Just then they heard a buzzing sound.


    He suddenly felt an itch on his neck, which he scratch while frantically looking around for where the sound hade from. He thought he had seen something behind the rocks, but it wasn''t there anymore, so he figured it was just a figment of his imagination.


    Despite that he couldn''t locate where the sound wasing from, he was still able to here the low buzz.


    Then as if on cue with the blister that was already formed on Kiro''s neck, the monster showed itself with a sinister smile. It was tall and skinny, it walked on its hind legs though it seemed unnatural doing so.

 Chapter 77: Dangers

    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered an Insecti. They''re a species that reside around these parts. Although this one is way too far from home.]


    "And you didn''t detect it when it bit me?"


    Ding!


    [It has a good stealth skill.]


    "Useless." Kiro mumbled. "No matter how I look at it, that''s just a humanoid mosquito."


    Kiro was a bit tired from fighting it out with Hubris, he gave him dirty looks. Hubris simply looked away.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered the King of the Squito.


    Level 55


    HP: 30 000


    You have sh*t luck guardian.]


    ''Are you even allowed to talk to me like that? sigh.''


    "Who are you calling an insect, kid?" It said ominously.


    Kiro darted his eyes, to find this mosquito but it wasn''t where it originally was. A surge of panic washed over him.


    He remembered that it had a stealth skill that even eluded the system. He then felt a change in the wind, by instinct or skill, he narrowly escaped it''s kick from above.


    "I-it can fly!" Kiro remarked a little taken aback, "it can talk!"


    "Not bad, kid." It said,nding where he had stood with it''s spindly legs. "But I''m afraid it''s gonna take more than that."


    It hadn''tnded for a second before it was already on the move. Towards Kiro, it threw in a punch, he blocked it with both his arms. He was pushed backwards.


    "For a gangly insect, you sure have a lot of strength." He remarked with a smug smile.


    His smile however turned into a frown when it''s footnded cleanly on his face, he crashes between two rocks half a kilometres away.


    He hadn''t gained hisposure yet when the humanoid mosquito was already in front of him punching him senseless.


    He activated vibrations and it was stunned in ce. It was surprised by the turn of events, Kiro used bending kick which stole a chunk of its HP.


    When it regained control of its body, it''s eyes darted cautiously this time. "I was careless, but I won''t be bested again."


    Kiro hadn''t expected it toe out of being stunned so soon, he lunged at it nheless throwing a punch, hoping to get a clean hit. His fist however met the mosquito''s snout.


    Ding!


    [You''ve been inflicted with bleeding. You''ll lose 100 HP for the next 10 seconds.]


    "Dammit, why didn''t you tell me something so importa¡ª"


    Ding!


    [That''s a perk for noobs. You should know better than attacking an enemy head-on, you know nothing about.]


    "F*ck!"


    Kiro tried tapping into his vibrational sense but the insect didn''t give him the slightest chance to concentrate. He had never fought a monster so intensely before, he realised then and there that he was stillcking.


    "Hubris, are you just gonna stand there? Dumb mutt, if I die you die too."


    Hubris hadn''t wanted to act but the beatings were still fresh on his mind. He was still a pup, grown as he was, he hadn''t unlocked most of his skills. His best bet was his naturally fast speed, and hellfire.


    Kiro on the other hand hadn''t wanted to use blink, just to fight hand to hand. Something he has never done, but that was clearly a mistake. He now had Ryu in his hand.


    Activating blink and lightning, both he and Hubris flew to their enemy''s spot from both ends. The king just smirked and disappeared from where he stood. Hubris couldn''t stop himself, he was about to crash into Kiro.


    Kiro was quicker, as he nted Ryu into the ground to stop the momentum and propelled himself upwards, only tond on Ryu with one foot.


    Hubris skidded his way and bumped into Ryu. The staff didn''t move an inch, as Kiro was safely ontop of it.


    Hisnding on Ryu was aplete fluke, even then he looked majestic standing on a staff.


    "Such pity tricks," the king scoffed.


    "You''re the one hiding," Kiro said searching where the voice came from.


    Hubris breathed fire on the direction the voice came from, his senses were keener. But it didn''t seem he hit anything.


    Kiro used the little time to try and tap into vibrational sense. Just like in the cave, he could ''see'' it, everything invisible to the naked eye.


    He noticed a gangly silhouette just a distance from him, it would take him one blink step to reach it. He had his eyes closed, in case he got distracted.


    He blinked in front of the squito king, and activated whirlwind. It was peculiar, the skill didn''t expand, but it remained just on his palms, pushing his palm forward, the king took a full st of whirlwind right on his chest.


    It created a huge hole, the squito king stood there disbelieving.


    "but how¡ª" he fell with finality.


    His corpse didn''t pixte, the shock of his final moments were still etched on his face. Kiro stood there cautiously, thinking it would get up at any minute, monster''s pixted in this game if they died, and they get revived for the next yer, but this was strange.


    He stood there with his eyes closed, after a minute of waiting, the corpse shrivelled up and whithered away.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you have defeated a Harbinger. Your rewards are still being calcted, wait a moment.]


    "A Harbinger, just what do you mean?" Kiro said, confused by the choice of words the system used.


    But the system didn''t answer, Kiro just sat crossed-legged and entered both the meditative state and vibrational sense.


    He wanted more than anything for it to be his sixth sense, so he didn''t have to stop mid battle to enter the state.


    This used a lot of his mana, but fortunately for him, he had mana veins and chi. So he replenished it, albeit slow but it was better than nothing.


    Hubris stood guard, his pride was greatly bruised by the earlier fight as he couldn''t do much to help, ontop of that, he felt a little guilt. They almost died because he attacked Kiro.


    Kiro remained in the same position for several days, just as he was about to enter a space beyond the door he saw the first time, a space riddled with stars ands, he was forcibly pushed out of the meditative state.


    As though he was hit by a divine power, his chest almost caved in, he coughed up blood. His HP went from the thousands to just ten. He quickly downed potions, andid on the ground breathing heavily.


    "I almost died, I shouldn''t have tried to use force to enter that door. Haha." He said in-between breaths.


    He heard a crackling sound, like bones breaking. When he looked back, Hubris was engorged or in the process of it.


    "Hubris, why are you getting fat?"

 Chapter 78: Under The Mountain Sky

    Ding!


    [Your mount is going through metamorphosis]


    "Huh? It''s evolving?"


    Kiro watched the excruciating process, he figured it must''ve been since he could hear every one of his bones cracking and mending.


    All Hubris was capable of doing was groaning and moaning.


    This was unheard of, usually the tamer would go through a lot just to get it''s mount to level up let alone evolution. But here was Hubris, the great shame he suffered turned into a trauma, which turned into his greatest strength and triggered an evolution.


    An evolution his body wasn''t quite ready for. This why this moment of supposed celebration, became one of pain to him, his body was still too weak.


    Kiro decided to ignore him, he figured he deserved at least this for almost getting themselves killed.


    Even though they were at the bottom of the mountain, the cold weather could be felt as it was nearing dusk. The sun was well, hidden behind the mountain, only it''s orange hue could be seen.


    Fortunately for him, he made a great investment with the armour, as it kept him warm enough. He went in and out of vibrational sense, it still felt awkward.


    It didn''t feel like something as natural as breathing. He still needed to concentrate, albeit the time was cut significantly in half.


    Entering the state became more troublesome.


    The more he entered the state the more it made him feel like someone who had been living in a dark underground cave for thousands of years.


    Someone who has never known light, to step out into it for the first time, that would no doubt make their every sense ufortable.


    It was the same for him, he wasn''t yet used to sensing vibrations this way, so it was still very much a difort. He couldn''t exactly exin where the difort came from.


    Upon realising this he quit for the time being, and took his staff to practice some moves. He was, in his way waiting for Hubris to finish his evolution. He didn''t exactly know when it would finish, so he couldn''t very well bezy and do nothing.


    With perfect fluidity, he swung his staff from left to right, with asional pokes. He hadn''t noticed but the more he swung, the more he was in charge of the direction the wind went.


    The wind in the vicinity moved at his says so, he listened to it in return, he didn''t force the movements he listened and moved it where it intended to go. It was a beautiful sight, even though Kiro wasn''t aware. He was in the zone.


    Ding!


    [Due to continous uses, staff wielder has increased to 50% damage.]


    Kiro didn''t stop at the notification, he kept this up until he was drenched in sweat. Which despite having the armour, made him a bit chilly.


    "Fraud, this armour was definitely a fraud," he mumbled, realising he hadn''t looked at Hubris for several hours, he took a peek.


    The hellhound was glowing, enveloped in purple mes. It was a spellbinding spectacle.


    ''When is this gonna end?''


    "System, where are my rewards, for killing the Harbinger?"


    [...]


    "..."


    "You''re ripping me off aren''t you? Unbelievable," he remarked with scorn.


    Ding!


    [Guardian, your rewards are still being calcted¡ª]


    "It''s been several days!"


    [Due to the great number that the EXP came to, the EXP is being converted into levels. In the meantime, here''s a skill book the Harbinger dropped and 100 million coins.]


    Kiro didn''t hear anything else, he took the skill book eagerly and went through it, it was SSS ranked. It was the stealth that alluded even the system.


    [May I make a suggestion?]


    "No."


    [The skill book would be more useful if the Demihuman assassin Niki had it. You''re all guardians, it won''t be a loss.]


    "Dammit. Stop giving unsolicited advice, now I can''t ignore it!"


    Kiro''s eyes bled with tears. His heart was heavier. He couldn''t believe the first SSS ranked skill he obtained, was a skill he must give away, for free.


    "Sigh..." he took the skill and sent it to Niki with the message ''use it well.''


    Niki immediately sent back a skill called ''absolute senses.'' With a really lengthy message, telling Kiro he was at the north of the Kingdom, roaming abandoned temples for a quest and that he shouldn''t leave him behind next time.


    Absolute Senses


    Rank F


    Can Evolve


    500 MP per second.


    Enhances all of your senses, depending on its rank.


    Ding!


    [You''ve learned absolute senses, due it''s low rank you can only choose one sense to permanently enhance. The more it ranks up the more sense enhancements you''ll receive.]


    ''Sh*t. An F ranked skill? I didn''t win at all.''


    "I choose my sight." It was a no brainer for him, sight was the most important thing, he thought.


    When it finished repairing his vision, he could see about 5 kilometres away. Beyond that it was fuzy, he could barely see the field. The best it could do beyond that were outlines, of people clearly fighting monsters.


    Even though it was getting dark, his vision didn''t get duller, it instead got sharper. Kiro went around collecting fire wood. He didn''t really want to stop training just because of a bit of sweat.


    After starting a really big fire, he started without a staff this time. He motioned sublimely, punching and kicking and moving with the wind this time.


    He summoned lightning from within. His eyes glowed blue, with bits of lightning dancing within them. He concentrated the lightning on his palms, bits of lightning spheres appeared.


    He tried pushing them out to st a far away rock, but the moment they left his hands they disappeared.


    ''Bummer.''


    He continued training his punches, reaction speeds and kicks. Before he knew it, he''d entered a meditative state, while training like this. He saw himself standing in front of that same gigantic door. He could feel a whole universe beyond it. But unlikest time, he didn''t push his way through, he sat in front of it.


    Ding!


    [Warning. Your mount is dying. The evolution is too much for him to handle.]


    "Am I cursed? because I feel like I am cursed."

 Chapter 79: Crafting

    As he was left to his devices, Hiro put every negative thought at the back of his mind. He didn''t want it affecting his rtionship with the steel that was beginning to take shape on the steel table. So he kept them at bay, far away.


    His attention was entirely on what he was crafting. He didn''t even know how many weapons he''d crafted so far, his shop was littered with metal. From weapons to armour, even concoctions.


    The warmth the room exuded was something he tookfort in. He remembered the first time he walked into a craftsman''s shop, he could barely breathe. Now, the hotter the better it was for him.


    He loved the shop he had in their base. It was far better than his master''s, as better as it was, it didn''t make him as good as Rufian. That frustrated him greatly. He wished there was a way to go back to that small vige, and continue craftsmanship under his tutge.


    Not that he was doubting himself, he just knew that there was more left to learn. Proof of that were the weapons that were on the ground.


    Ever since he started crafting, he hadn''t crafted anything worthwhile ording to his standards. Onlymon and umon weapons and armour, the only thing he excelled at were potions. He could concoct various, for strength, restorative, even poison mist, something Niki specifically asked for.


    He wished smithing was as easy as following recipes. There were no recipes in creating weapons, you either do it right or you don''t. Even when you do it right, a great weapon isn''t guaranteed.


    So more than anything, experience was the most important thing if you wanted to craft a legendary weapon.


    Which is why Hiro was working day and night, burning through materials, and producing useless armour and weapons but never giving up.


    "Dammit. Anothermon weapon. At this rate I''ll run out of materials," he mumbled to himself and quickly put it up for sale.


    That was another thing about being an apprentice craftsman, you couldn''t reuse materials. That was something experienced craftsman could aplish.


    He wanted nothing less than legendary weapons and armour for hisrades. That''s why he was under pressure, why he didn''t want to rest, he only wanted experience so he can be a legendary craftsman. That was his goal, he wanted his craftsmanship to be known all around asgard.


    "That ore is not nearly enough, should I go mining? Ah right."


    He remembered something, and poked around in the interface. He was making a call.


    A pale face, unlike his own, appeared on the other side. Droopy eyes that seemed worse than he remembered. He felt sorry for the kid, Kiro hadn''t told him to stop. It seemed he liked followingmands exactly as they were given, no exceptions.


    "Have you gotten any rest at all?"


    "No, Kiro said to mine for the next days..." Felix answered.


    "I doubt he meant that literally."


    "..."


    "Do rest when you get the chance, but I''ll need you in the mine for however long you can be there. I need materials, for practice."


    "..."


    "I''ll craft you a priest staff."


    "Okay."


    That was the most enthusiastic reply he could get from Felix. He found himself interested on why he turned out the way he was, not that there was anything wrong with him, he was just too asocial even for Hiro.


    Just like that, Felix hung up and sent Hiro a lot of ore he had gotten the past days, he also sent him mountains of herbs.


    Hiro had never met someone as asocial as Felix, it was almost as if, he didn''t even want to try to get to know people. He found himself d he had Kiro, at least he had a social life.


    He took some of the ore, carefully ced it on the steel table. He conjured his mes, which integrated themselves with his hammer, making the hammer go from looking dull to a red blush.


    He put the ore in the furnace, to smelt it. The process always fascinated him. Extracting the iron from the ore, and when it was metled, it didn''t look like steel at all, just orange gel.


    Hiro carefully poured it into a bar that was shaped like a sword, he put it back in the dimmed furnace, and waited for it to cool down. While waiting, he started on his alchemy.


    He took out a cauldron, it was on a stand of its own. It looked noble, it was green and gold. He started putting in ingredients, he had to mass produce the poison mist for Niki.


    He had sent him 2 prototypes, he loved them so much that he asked for more.


    Hiro had no idea when they''d start their mercenary work, but he wanted his group to be fully prepared when the timees.


    He conjured his mes once more, and integrated them with the cauldron. It became hot, at just the right temperature.


    ''It was worth buying you for a million,'' he thought as he nodded at how brilliant the pot was.


    Poison mist required a lot of poison herbs, it also required to be brewed without the lid. As purple smoke fell out, Hiro didn''t pay it no mind.


    Though he didn''t pour any water, it was bubbling. After exactly 3 hours and 2 seconds, he banished the mes whence they came and poured the mist in 3 different vials.


    He breathed deeply in relief. Before he perfected this recipe, there were explosions after explosions. If the mist happened to leak, even one drop, you''d be shrouded in an explosion. So the trauma for him to do this right was still there.


    He turned to his iron which was now cooled. He first sent the 3 vials to Niki, which he replied with a bowing 2 second video.


    Hiro lifted the now light iron to the table, and started pounding. The sound was music to his ears, he was extremely focused.


    Remembering what Rufian taught him.


    ''Be aggressive but also gentle. That''s the mark of a craftsman.''


    Those words rang in his head, as he pounded the iron. He hadn''t noticed, but his mes came out, as they felt his passionate heart resounding together with his hammer.


    They were subtle, so to someone as focused as Hiro, he didn''t feel them at all, but if someone were to walk in, they''d see him glowing, a bit.


    The hues of orange and red, dancing within his green eyes, as he mercilessly pounded the iron with both aggression and gentleness.


    It began to take shape of a staff radiating majestic aura.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you''ve created your first rare weapon.]


    Hiro was still bathing in his sess when he received a call.

 Chapter 80: Lost Temples

    Niki was a bit dejected as he walked around the capital. He had wanted to see Kiro in action. He''d already experienced how fast his brain worked, but now he wanted to experience him fighting. When he got to the base, Hiro told him he was already gone and he had no idea where.


    Hiro had told him to give him alone time. As much as Niki understood, he''d also heard about the incident that almost got him expelled, he still wanted to fight with him.


    ''Well, there''s plenty of chances in the future I guess, I need not rush anything.''


    Niki didn''t know what it was, but he felt a strong connection with Kiro. He thought it strange though, because they lived worlds apart, what could they possibly have inmon?


    He first went to the tailor''s shop to buy an assassin''s robe. He wanted a ck one, but he was told that fabric of colour didn''t exist. So he chose the closest thing to ck, which was dark grey.


    It was a one piece robe, came with boots, it was baggy but not by much. It also came with boots and a hood, with either a sword sheathe or dagger one. He obviously chose thetter. He paid a hefty price, not as hefty as Kiro''s though.


    He walked into the quest hall, that was called Valha, Asgard wasn''t like other games. Once you''ve graduated from beginner''s vige, and into the capital, you were eligible for real world quests. That were often found in this particr hall''s bulletin.


    Of course people could still fished for quests the old way, buttering up NPCs. But most yers liked the convenience of Valha, so very little of them took quests from NPCs outside beginner''s vige.


    The building somehow looked out of ce. It was the only futuristic one in Asgard, with thetest tech their world has. Even the bank wasn''t this advanced. The bulletin was a huge screen, you swiped left to right, looking for a quest that best suited you.


    There weren''t any queues, as the screen covered every inch of the four walls inside. Though not everyone was standing by the walls, swiping. The hall was also used as a yer hangout zone.


    So you could imagine how big the building was, it was made to hold millions and millions of yers at the same time. There were a lot of floors, just for this.


    Niki felt like a bug entering the lobby. He felt like a big serpent had swallowed him whole and now he was just stomach waste in the deepest part of its bowels. He chuckled at how silly this was.


    Everything was self-service. There were rules however, no fighting inside, no trashing the ce. If you eat or drink, kindly put your trash in one of the bins installed inside. They were always empty, as they swallowed anything that got in there.


    If you break any rule, you''ll be automatically ejected and restricted from the Valha for 30 days, real time.


    Niki causally swiped the screen, he couldn''t find anything he was interested in. He then stumbled on a quest simply written ''Lost Temples.''


    He meant to click on it and to make it bigger so he could read the information about it, instead...


    Ding!


    [You''ve epted the ''Lost Temples.'' quest. Help a young monk find his father''s remains. The location of the lost Temples is said to be north of the capital. Bring his father back home.


    Rank: A


    Duration: None]


    "Ah, I didnt intend to ept this..."


    He was frustrated, as the quest sounded boring. When he looked at the rank however, he knew this wouldn''t be easy.


    "Well, let''s see shall we. I''m an assassin, gathering and finding things should be my forte, no?"


    With those words, he left the hall to find these temples that were lost in time. And since he was an assassin, his movements were quiet and calm. He casually used sh stepping, by the looks of it, it was definitely better than blink step.


    He walked far away from the capital, and deep into the northern mountains. A ce no humans walked into anymore, the road was almost closed up because of that.


    He should''ve sensed it but he didn''t. He stepped into a trap, that split the ground he was standing on into two. It didn''t take long before he reached the bottom, he managed tond on his feet. Fortunately for him, the pressure didn''t shutter his legs.


    "Such a great assassin, can''t even smell traps." He berated himself, he was frustrated.


    But under all that anger, his heart skipped a beat when he saw ruins of temples. Clearly nobody was meant to find this ce, but he did so by sheer luck. The ce was dimly lit withnterns.


    Immediately when he entered it''s gates, a huge force fell from the heavens, by instinct he used the shadows to travel far away from the attack. A huge hand stamp appeared on the ground where he previously stood.


    He huffed at how close that was.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions you''ve awakened your true blood. You''re descended from humans and the legendary creature, the basilisk. Your new race is Demihuman.]


    [You have unlocked a subss, Shadow King. You can manipte and assimte with shadows/darkness]


    [You''ve unlocked three new skills, Death Stare, Poison Dagger and Deadly Bad.]


    [As a result of your awakening, you''ve unlocked a new stat called Constitution. Common swords can do nothing to your bare skin now.]


    [sh step has been changed to shadow step.]


    [All stats increase by 10.]


    [Congrattions on being a guardian.]


    Niki''s eyes sparkled, he didn''t regret much drinking the potion now. This was a great boost in strength.


    He felt the energy and strength course through out his entire body. He had even forgotten where he was and what he was there for, he was absolutely immersed at his sudden growth.


    Just then, Kiro sent him a stealth skill which he used immediately and felt obliged to send him a lengthy message about his whereabouts and what he was doing.


    Ding!


    [You''ve consumed a stealth skill, the current one will be overriden since it''s lower in rank.]

 Chapter 81: The Last Remnants

    He checked his character sheet and couldn''t close his mouth at how strong he had be, especially the skills he had gained.


    Name: Niki


    Level 40


    Race: Demihuman


    ss: Assassin


    Subss: Shadow King


    HP: 8000/10 000


    MP: 9000/9000


    Attack: 1000(+500)


    PDEF: 800 (+300)


    Strength: 70


    Vitality: 40


    Dexterity: 80 (+90)


    Stamina: 60


    Intelligence: 50


    Constitution: 30


    Equipment: Epic rank Armour robe and boots.


    Skills


    Dual Wielding (A ranked can''t evolve): Wielding two weapons gives you an edge, the wielder does much better when both their hands are. upied. The skill is passive.


    Killing Intent (B ranked can''t evolve): Allows the wielder to turn magic into a poison cloud that can chok anybody at close approximate. Uses 200 mana per second.


    Shadow Step (A ranked can evolve): Allows the user to move in and out of shadows at will, making it look like they''re teleporting from one shadowy ce to another.


    Stealth (SSS Ranked can''t evolve): A great skill that was taken from the Squito King, it was originally so strong that it even eluded the system, but it''s been nerfed. Uses 500 mana per second.


    Death Stare (S ranked can''t evolve): Thanks to the user''s true blood, his eyes will cause paralysing effects on their foes. Uses 100 mana per second.


    Poison Dagger (C ranked can evolve): A skill that allows the user to tap into their basilisk bloodline, and transfer poison into the daggers wielded. Careful, if the dagger is less than a legendary weapon it could be corroded depending on the rank of the skill.


    Deadly Bad (B ranked can evolve): The user''s whistles are deadly to any enemies that hear it. The skill can only be ranked up through fear. Enemies should be scared of your shadow before they set their eyes on your physical body, they should writhe in hopelessness as soon as they hear your whistles. It causes internal bleeding, as its a sound that vibrates their very being.


    The extremity of injuries depends on the rank. Uses 50 mana per second.


    Niki was at a loss for words at the skills he obtained.


    He hadn''t evene out of his shock when he heard foot stepsing from deep within the ruins. So he took out his daggers, and hid in the shadows.


    "Come out intruder, I can smell your filth."


    The monks didn''t even look human. It was as if they were awaken from the dead. They were skeletal, eyes burned crimson with robes that didn''t fit them anymore.


    "It''s amusing you''d call me filth, have you looked in the mirror?" Niki scoffed from the shadows.


    He could sense well over 5 of these things. He had a myriad of skills now, he could attack from afar with deadly bad. So he tried it. He whistled, using his song of death.


    The sound came out beautiful and almost lulling, but the damage it would cause was the opposite of how it sounded. Unfortunately for him, they didn''t have much of insides to be crashed. So he didn''t know how well it was actually doing.


    "You dare to try and crash our souls." The voiced spoke closer than he had anticipated, then it looked straight where he was hidden, with a twisted grin or what it should''ve been, it continued, "found ya."


    It used the same technique that almost crashed him when he entered the ruins, luckily the ruins were riddled with shadows as startled as he was, he was able to jump from there to another ce.


    He decided to start his attack now, hiding wouldn''t do him any good. He activated the stealth skill, and walked up to them, using poison dagger he started shing indiscriminately.


    His daggers felt like they were shing metal and not bone, he couldn''tpletely cut them.


    "Come out you treacherous intruder and receive your punishments for the sin of desecrating this holynd."


    Niki had no choice but to oblige, this skill used an insane amount of mana and he wasn''t nning on running out.


    The moment he showed himself, he was bombarded by punches and kicks that made him cough out blood.


    "So, this is why it was ranked A," he said drowning his insides with a health potion.


    They didn''t wait for him to digest it, as they closed in, in unison. Two of them aim for his head with punches, while the others went for his legs, there was another at his back.


    Their synchronised attacks were truly irond, they must''ve trained years together to be able to read each others minds without doing so. Niki couldn''t be mad at that, he admired it.


    He dissipated into darkness using shadow step, he was moving so fast that he created darkness as a tail. The monks were too slow for the shadows, their eyes followed and attacked the tail that trailed behind him.


    Niki moved behind the ones who handled the frontal attack, he used poison dagger to scratch them, on the surface it looked like his scratching was child''s y but since the wounds weren''t deep the poison worked slowly to corrode them.


    "You guys can have a perfect match up, what''s the point if you can''t catch me."


    Just as he was about to embed his dagger on one of the monk''s eye, it held his arm firmly blocking the attack.


    "You think just this¡ª"


    Niki however had already lifted his other one to destroy the other eye. The eye exploded in its socket, ck goo came out of it.


    "I have two, dumbass."


    The monk was immediately out ofmission, so Niki attacked the rest with one goal in mind, destroy their eyes.


    It was not exactly easy to take out multiple enemies, with a single tiny weakness which was their eyes. But he did it, not without damage, he receive plenty of his own. He sat there drinking potions and recuperating.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you''ve cleaned the lost temples of their shame. The monks thank you profusely for your mercy and ask that you take the remains of their leader back to his family.]


    Niki walked back to the capital, he was d the remains weren''t an actual corpse. He was holding an urn that had the leader''s ashes, he had been cremated. He was grateful for that.

 Chapter 82: Evolution

    "Dammit Hubris. Why evolve if your body can''t hack it?"


    The purple mes ran chaotic in his eyes. They had reced thempletely. He looked more like an undead hound now as the mes danced in his eye sockets, he groaned in pain.


    Ding!


    [The mes are burning his life force fast. He is estimated topletely go berserk in 2 minutes and die in 5.]


    "I thought hellhounds are supposed to be immortal?"


    [...]


    Kiro scrumbled for the interface, and quickly called Hiro. He was the only person he knew that could brew potions, maybe there was a potion for this too.


    ''Come on,e on, pick up.'' The call hadn''t rang all that long, it was a mere second but it felt like a kind of eternity to Kiro.


    "Miss me already?" Hiro answered and teased.


    "How many restorative potions do you have?" Kiro had no time to banter with him.


    Hiro sensed the urgency in his voice, so he stopped fooling around, "Let me see, oh I have one."


    "Send it quick, and make more, how long does it take to work anyway, hey don''t just stand there send it." He was saying everything at once which made Hiro the more confused.


    "What¡ª"


    "Hubris is dying, hurry!"


    He immediately got the notification that the potion was sent. He grabbed the potion without hanging up, he ran to Hubris. Hiro was also scrumbling on the other side for herbs, trying to make more.


    Luckily, since he asked Felix to mine for him, he had more herbs in abundance so he wasn''t running low on that. He quickly conjured his mes and tried to keep focused.


    Kiro reached Hubris in a few strides, he didn''t care if the mes hurt him. He just didn''t want to lose anything else at the moment. He couldn''t take it if he did, even if that thing was just a coded mount that only existed in this virtual space. He had to save him.


    Upon reaching Hubris, he forcibly opened his maw and made him drink the potion. Nothing happened. He wasn''t sure if it would work either but he had to try something. At the veryst second.


    Ding!


    [The potion has slowed his death by a huge amount. It''s fighting to restore him, but the mes are quite stubborn. You need more of them to bnce it out so he can continue his metamorphosis.]


    Hiro was already brewing. He heard the message somehow the system was able to broadcast that to both of them. But he couldn''t lose his concentration. While he had perfected this recipe, mistakes happened. And one mistake spelled another thing his friend would lose.


    "Hubris, you damn fool. Why do you have to be so stubborn all the time? Remember the time at the cave, you refused to submit to me, until the very end.


    "I had to use fear to make you submit, twice. That''s something I''m not exactly proud of. I don''t like reigning like that. I just want us to berades who fight side by side. Be stubborn onest time, please don''t die."


    Hubris was clearly in pain. He''d groan and moan once in a while. Upon hearing Kiro''s words, he whimpered.


    Hiro sent 5 restorative potions and was immediately starting a new pot. He had no idea how much was needed but he liked nothing more than feeling useful to Kiro.


    This was the guy who took him in, in a way. He couldn''t imagine how his academy life would be like, if Kiro weren''t his friend, his best friend.


    Kiro fed Hubris the potions in a span of 10 minutes. He had originally wanted to pour all of them at once, the system and Hiro advised against it. So he had to do it one potion at a time.


    The fire he had made because he wanted to train, had long been nothing but charcoal, as nobody was there to feed and tend to it. As they were still on a mountain, that made the area colder, but Kiro didn''t even notice. That''s how worried he was for Hubris.


    The 5 potions seemed to dim, but just a little, the mes in his eyes. The restorative potion seemed to be helping him with his evolution, albeit slow. The purple mes were as stubborn as Hubris was.


    Kiro continued to pat him. He didn''t want him to feel alone, lest he was really going to die.


    He was visibly shocked that, something that didn''t even really exist would make him so sad. He reminded himself that, Hubris was special. While he could get another white tiger, he doubted he could get another Hubris.


    He was also takingrge amounts of damage from the purple mes. About 100 HP per 5 seconds. And because his Health was so high, he didn''t notice at first. He noticed because the mes were eating the flesh from his hands.


    His hands had be boney, now they both resembled the undead. He looked at them with fascination.


    "Maybe we will burn until we''re both the undead, buddy." He attempted to joke.


    As much as he was being hurt, he refused to leave Hubris, he felt like if he left him, he''d die. It was the second time he felt like this about him, only this time, he cared more about this stubborn pup.


    "We''ll be alright, just focus on your evolution. Uncle Hiro here will make you better." He downed a health potion as his HP ran dangerously low. It was restored in the blink of an eye.


    They worked for days without rest, trying to cure Hubris. It was working, but slow. Hiro had brewed around 100 potions already, he looked like a mad scientist. His hair was usually tame and straight, but now it was wild and frizzled.


    His skin had ck soot all over it, as someone who had been brewing for days without rest it was understandable.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you''ve seeded in bncing his violent mes. His metamorphosis is at 99%]


    Both boys fell where they stood. They may be avatar''s but they did feel fatigue, depending on how high the stamina was.


    Kiro slept for 2 days straight. When he came to, he was lying on something fluffy and warm despite the fact that he fell on the mountain floor when he passed out.


    "Wee back master."


    Kiro wanted to scream but he couldn''t find his voice. Hubris lookedrge and intimidating, he looked like a ferocious dragon but at the same time, he was still a hound. His fur were just purple mes, but this time they weren''t hurting him.


    "You can talk?"

 Chapter 83: Hubris

    Hubris looked at him stupidly, but didn''t say anything.


    "Must''ve imagined it. That was strange."


    "Haha, it wasn''t your imagination master. Thank you for working tirelessly to save me. From now on, I, Hubris, the King of the underworld will be at your service."


    Hubris felt really grateful to Kiro. He saved his life after all, and the way he was concerned for him, and nursed him without rest, he was touched to the point he unconsciously epted Kiro as his true master.


    Gaining a Hellhound''s loyalty to that extent was no joking matter, as they would even w their intestines out if their master ordered them to.


    "King of the what now?"


    "Of the underworld, I was put here because there was a rebellion that took my father''s life and because I was too young to rule, instead of being killed, I was banished here."


    Kiro was astounded. Even mounts have backstories, just how thorough were the devs. He was fascinated by the backstory.


    "Let me guess, you want your revenge?"


    "I did, but now my life is yours," he said, bowing his head to him. "Before, I couldn''t be loyal to you because I was loyal to my home, but now you mean more to me than my home ever will. So my loyalty is yours, it belongs to you alone."


    ''Why do I feel like I''m being confessed to.'' Kiro blushed a little.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, your legendary hellhound mount has evolved into the ancient rank. You''ve also obtained it''s absolute loyalty, even when you''re weaker than it, it''d die for you before it''s loyalty ever wavered.]


    Hubris


    Race: Ancient Hellhound


    HP: 30 000


    MP: 100 000


    Skills:


    Perfect Senses:


    Eyes that can see death. Once it has your scent you can never escape. Ears that can hear through dimensions. ws and fangs that inflict wounds that don''t heal.


    Soul Collection[can only be used against Harbingers.]:


    It can tear flesh to shreds and steal your essence. Turning your soul into energy for the user.


    Fear Inducement:


    Weak beings can die from it''s presence alone. It can make most things cower.


    Hellfire breathing:


    Able to breathe Hellfire that can burn until the ends of time.


    Probability Maniption: [Locked]


    If the user encounters those he sees as enemies, they''ll be affected by great deaths and extreme bad luck. This skill is passive.


    Precognition: [Locked]


    Can see glimpses of the future, especially people''s deaths.


    Superhuman Intelligence: Easily able to intercept, predict attacks and counter them.


    Cannot be tricked and nigh impossible to distract.


    Teleportation: [Locked]


    Can dematerialized and disappear at will, ability to make the userpletely invisible but those around can still feel the sinister presence it exudes.


    Affliction:


    Can inflict savage, excruciatingly painful wounds that are slow to heal, if they heal at all.


    Shape-shifting: [Locked]


    Can turn to a different species of their choice. Using their transcendental sight, the user can turn into any peak version of a species.


    Intangibility:


    Gives you the ability to go in and out of the ethereal state. Maintaining the ethereal state is extremely difficult.


    All this information hit him like a ton of bricks. Everything about this shocked him. He had never even heard of a rank called Ancient.


    Maybe because in the past that may or may not have happened, Hubris was never saved. Therefore this rank never really made it to light. Or people simply hid their strengths.


    "So everything is okay now." Hiromented on the other side of the line, the call hadn''t disconnected.


    "Whoa, don''t scare me like that," he said startled. "Thanks to you, he''s fine now. Thank..." he trailed off, "but why aren''t you shocked about Hubris being able to talk?"


    "If I couldn''t do this much for my friend as an alchemist, I''d be a totally useless decoration. oh and, I woke up way earlier than you."


    "Curse it. So you''re more resilient than me."


    "I wouldn''t be much of a tank if I wasn''t."


    Hiro was bing more of a true craftsman, despite having worked for days without rest, he only needed a couple of hours to be back to his top condition.


    After their 3 day call, Hiro finally hung up. Leaving the master and his mount to their newfound rtionship and abilities.


    Now that Hubris was a rank higher, he had his own mana cirction, he didn''t need to borrow from Kiro anymore. Which was a bonus for Kiro, he appreciated that.


    "Hubris, you have quite a lot of overpowered skills, though some are locked, these are insane." Kiro said, scrolling through his stats.


    "I have to be strong, for you Master."


    Kiro looked at him amused, "why are you so docile all of a sudden? I suddenly miss your rebellious attitude." He remarked, a little take aback by Hubris'' new attitude.


    "In any case, let''s put that nose of yours into test. That thing we just defeated, can you smell more of it?"


    "I can, though it''s elusive," Hubris said, and bowed down since he was too tall now. "Get on, I''ll take you there."


    Kiro didn''t waste any time. This was why he wanted a mount in the first ce, to travel on it. Hubris ran like the wind. The road was a treacherous one, but the way Hubris ran through the mountains, it was as if it was a straight well-maintained asphalt road.


    As ufortable as the road was meant to be, sitting ontop of his mount didn''t feel like that at all. He felt like Hubris was faster than the train he rode to the academy, yet he wasn''t ufortable. The wind didn''t vite his face either, the me that was his fur protected him.


    Without having stopped, Hubris suddenly shot a fist sized ball of hellfire up ahead. Kiro had watched him grow, his mes went from orange to purple, they also evolved from being wild to something concentrated.


    As small as the ball was, he could feel the power within it. It was nothing to scoff at, sure enough, it levelled a small hill of rocks on impact.


    Trolls came rushing out. Kiro was astonished that Hubris sensed them before he could.

 Chapter 84: Family Affairs

    When the call dropped, Freya immediately regretted calling her eldest. She had promised Sekani that she wouldn''t, they wanted him to entirely focus on school. But she couldn''t hold it in anymore, she thought she was going to explode if she tried.


    She was extremely surprised by how calm and well Kiro had taken the news. He even offered to send them money, 500 creds wasn''t a joke and weekly at that?


    "Do you think he''s gotten himself involved with a bad crowd?" She asked her husband, concern in her voice.


    "If he wasn''t, he is now." He reprimanded sternly.


    "Well, what''s that supposed to mean?"


    "We promised, and you broke it. Kiro is out there worried now, doing gods knows what, figuring out how to be the man of this house, so we don''t starve."


    "Kiro is part of this family, he deserved to know."


    Sekani simply ignored his wife. If he said anymore, he was afraid he''d say things he would regret. He still loved his wife, he didn''t want a dumb argument to drive a wedge between them.


    But he was still mad at her all the same. ording to him, she had no right informing Kiro without so much as a word to him. She went behind his back and broke a promise but she won''t acknowledge it. That made him hot with anger.


    Just then, his phone''s notification rang. He ignored it, a second notification made him take it out and look through what the fuss was about.


    His stomach dropped when he saw it was from Kiro and he had really sent the money.


    "What in the devil... what''s that boy doing over there!"


    His wife came closer and looked at the screen, sure enough, it was the money he promised them. Her mind wentpletely nk, she had no idea what to make of the situation.


    She had originally thought Kiro was just trying to console her, she never expected for him to actually have this kind of money. She had never been to the middle of the 3 districts, so she had no idea how things worked there.


    She surmised since it was a rich people area, student jobs paid that much and more, but even this reasoning sounded ridiculous to her.


    The fact that he could''ve been using his tuition money never even crossed her mind.


    Sekani got up, pulling his jacket from their wardrobe. Putting on hisbat boots, his wife watched him dumbfounded.


    "Honey, what are you doing?"


    "If he''s in a gang, I have to get him home. Do you have any idea what they have kids doing in those damn gangs."


    "Calm down, this is your son, Kiro, do you not trust him?"


    "He''s a teenager Freya, they make dumb decisions all the time. It''s my job as a father to set him straight."


    Freya walked to her husband, he was visibly shaking, clearly scared of what might transpire if Kiro had joined a gang. His thoughts were full of his own father, he reckoned Kiro would disappear just as quick.


    Freya slowly put her hand on his cheek, and caressed it gently like he was a wounded beast. He closed his eyes at the touch and warmth of the hand. This was something that always calmed him down.


    "Don''t do anything rush, we can''t afford to lose you, all of us." She pronounced, caressing both her husband and her belly.


    He gave a deep sigh, and sat down on their bed. His face buried deep in his hands. He had to find a job, he had to man up and find a job for his family.


    "What are we going to do, darlin?" He said with a muffled voice.


    She walked closer, and stood between his legs and made him embrace her. He kissed her belly, and looked up at his wife.


    "We''ll manage," she told him with a genuine smile on her face.


    He smiled back, "you''re so beautiful."


    She kissed his forehead and pulled him closer for a hug, putting her arms around his neck, and just like that they diffused a ticking time bomb that threatened to incinerate their family.


    The door creaked open, Alora was standing at their door with her staffed animal in hand. She was in her violet bunny jumpsuit pyjamas. She yawned, rubbing her eyes.


    "What''s wrong sweetheart?"


    "You guys are noisy. Is it morning yet?" She yawned again.


    They both chuckled andughed, seeing their cute nonchnt daughter, they felt silly that they were at each other''s throats a moment ago.


    They had told both Loki and Alora about theiryoffs. While Loki pretended it didn''t concern him, Alora was happier as it meant, the ''bad jobs'' wouldn''t keep them away anymore.


    It was morning, but it was still dark out. She climbed their bed, without so much as another word and fell asleep. She''d been having troubles with the transition.


    She wasn''t yet used to sleeping in her own bed, even though they bought her a new one since Kiro''s wouldn''t have been friendly on a small body such as hers.


    They bribed her with everything within their means, things that wouldn''tpletely break their wallets but nothing worked. Most nights, she came to them and fell asleep quicker.


    Sometimes they''d carry her back, sometimes they''d just let her sleep over.


    Since it was already morning, they let her sleep and prepared for the day ahead. Sekani would go out, just like he had been doing since losing his job, go out looking for jobs. This time, he''d have to do grocery shopping too.


    It was extremely hard finding jobs when you were fired by a bigpany such as the one they worked for. It was even harder getting menial jobs, as they''d be told they were overqualified.


    They both showered and prepared breakfast for their kids, it was as if the fight never even ured between them, as they were dancing and all over each other, making breakfast for their family.


    "Are you okay?" He asked her.


    "I am, thest time I went to the doctor, she told me I should rest a lot. So I suppose what happened to us was a blessing in disguise."


    He smiled, pulling her closer, "everything is a blessing with you, Freya darlin."


    "Don''t be gross." Lokimented as they were about to kiss.


    He walked into the kitchen and sat down, grabbing the toasted bread, eggs and sausage.


    "We should show you nothing but love my son, this is how you treat women."


    "Sigh. What''s the special asion, why is the breakfast this nice today?"


    They both looked at each other andughed. She lovingly ruffled her son''s hair. Loki tried his best to get his mother to stop.


    "I ought to give you a haircut!"

 Chapter 85: Family Affairs, II

    Sekani walked out of their house before his daughter woke up. He knew, if he waited even for a little bit, once she was awake it''d be difficult to leave the house.


    Ever since they informed them of the situation, she didn''t want any of them to leave the house. But her father needed to be out there, looking for jobs.


    He walked down their street, none of their neighbours were out. Either they were still asleep or they were off to work already. He was quite used to waking up this early, he had been doing it since Kiro was born after all.


    He was headed to town, he decided to walk the distance. The train ticket wasn''t exactly cheap, he needed to save all the money he could for his family.


    It''d take him roughly 2 hours to get to town by foot. The further he walked, the more clean the neighbourhoods became. Their Area 50 was by far the dirtiest.


    Even his nose breathed with a bit of freedom. Not like it bothered him, not really, they were used to it, but the air down there was really polluted. He had no idea why the government left it be.


    "Mr. Waynworth, Mr. Waynworth!"


    An excited voice called out from a damp and dirty alleyway. Sekani was too familiar with the young man, his name was Philip, he lived in that alley. He usually gave him usableputer parts to sell for food.


    "Philip, how''s it going?" He shook the youngman''s hand firmly without so much as a change in facial expressions, despite how dirty thed was.


    "Not so good sir, now that you''re out ofmission. Things are pretty dire, but we live to survive," he said wearing his boyish grin, revealing yellow and dirty teeth.


    His once white skin was ck with soot, clearly he hadn''t bathed in a long time too. The clothes he wore were getting too big for him. His trousers were stopped from falling by a rope around his waist.


    "We can only hope."


    "That kid of yours, the eldest, it''s Kiro isn''t it?"


    "Yes," Sekani answered sceptically, his heart raced as he thought of the potential that his son had joined a gang. Did Philip know something about it?


    "Strange coincidence..." He trailed off.


    "Speak Philip, what do you mean?"


    "Ah, a Kiro was mentioned in the billboard news yesterday, has to do with some game. Don''t you watch the news?"


    He sighed with relief, "no, I don''t watch the news, they never cover anything about us in Area 50, why should I bother?"


    Philip told him all about what he heard on the news and what this Kiro did that made him standout and how popr the game had be, that it even made news.


    "My son is busy with school, he has no time for games." Sekani chuckled. "The name Kiro isn''tmon, but he can''t be the only one in our world with one." He shrugged it off.


    Sekani beckoned the man to follow him into a nearby pub, he at least felt like he needed to buy him breakfast. He had 20 creds on him, apart from the money Kiro gave them.


    Pub food was pretty cheap but also absolutely delicious and they weren''t picky of who their customers were as long as they could pay. So all sorts of characters came in and out of there.


    Sekani paid 5 creds for egg rice with soup and beer for Philip and himself. They sat at a round corner table. Philip devoured his food, as though he hadn''t eaten in weeks.


    Sekani wasn''t the kind of man to take in strays, but Philip was special to him. He was a junior he worked with at keson Tech. Young people suffered a lot from their sharp tongues, it got him fired, that''s why he ended up in the streets.


    He was also not that old to Kiro. About a 6 year gap.


    Since he was under Sekani, he felt personally responsible for the kid. He couldn''t just abandon him, he couldn''t bring him to his home either, so whenever he could, he gave him something, so he didn''t starve to death.


    "Why haven''t you found a job yet Philip? It''s been 3 months."


    "I''ve given up. You''ll get why soon enough."


    "Come on, clean up and let''s go job hunting today."


    "Okay, pops." Philip said with a toothy grin.


    He was quite fond of Mr. Waynworth, if it were up to him, this would be his father. His life had been tragic ever since he could remember though, he was abandoned at birth and never got lucky enough to be adopted.


    Sekani was also aware of how much the young man sitting across from him, admired him. He slipped out a lot and called him pops. Which is why he wanted to push him out of here, this was no life for a promising brainiac like him.


    He waited while Philip used the pub''s toilet to clean himself up. He came out looking confusing, he was clean but his clothes were still dirty, so he still had the homeless look about him.


    They walked around shops giving their credentials, most shops chased them out the moment they saw the experience they had. Some tried their luck, offering wages way less than the rmended wage.


    Once they realised that, these two knew thew surrounding sries and wages, they got chased out.


    "What did I tell you Mr. Waynworth? They''ll never hire us."


    "Well, we wouldn''t have known until we tried."


    Just then, another Asgard video came into the billboard, sure enough it was Kiro vs Isaac. Sekani couldn''t be sure however, he squinted and squinted to get a better look but he concluded that it wasn''t his son. It couldn''t have been. The game was too expensive.


    A dreadful feeling seeped in, when he thought, just maybe, he joined a gang and was able to afford one. He shook his head.


    "Not my Kiro." He mumbled.


    It was about time to go home, as the sun was already at bay. He did groceries for that week, since Kiro told them he''d give them money weekly. He used 250 on groceries that wouldst them 2 weeks.


    He gave 50 creds to Philip and scolded him not to waste it. He had to keep the extra 200 for emergency funds, he couldn''t know what might happen.


    He rode a taxi home. It was cheaper than trains, but it was still not worth it if you didn''t have luggage. But he did so he called for one.


    He hadn''t even opened the gate, when Alora opened the door and ran outside yelling ''daddy''s home.''


    She didn''t care that he was carrying things, as she jumped for him to catch her. So he did.


    "Wee home, daddy," she said with the most innocent smile.

 Chapter 86: Family Affairs, III

    It was already dark out and of course Loki wasn''t home yet. His curfew was 7pm, he still had an hour to get home. But knowing him, his parents expected he''d bete. They didn''t know what to do with him anymore.


    Alora clung to her father like she was afraid he''d disappear like Kiro did. She waited for him, for a week before she gave up.


    Sekani greeted his wife and put away everything he bought, she started on cooking and he helped her chop up some vegetables.


    "Guess who I ran into?"


    "Oh, no wonder you smell of beer." She teased.


    "I had one darlin, Philip isn''t doing so good though."


    "That poor child, he''s still alive?" She was cleaning the fish.


    "Homeless." He attempted to take a bite of the carrot.


    "Why didn''t you invite him here then?" She paused what she was doing, looking a bit furious.


    "Freya, will you ever stop being impulsive? We are both out of jobs, we have kids, one is keeping us afloat." He sighed thinking about that bit, it was embarrassing, "though I did give him 50 creds."


    Sheughed, pleased. She knew Philip, not all that well. They worked for onepany after all at one point, but since he was under Sekani, they weren''t all that close. She lead her own unit, had no time to get to know other people who weren''t part of hers.


    But she was aware of the rtionship between the two. So by extension, she cared for Philip.


    "You know honey, I was thinking, why don''t you finish the Kiro Project?"


    Sekani made a thinking face. It took a while for him to remember what it was exactly. He remembered that when Kiro was born he started a project, he''d hoped would turn into apany that would feed his family.


    Unfortunately, he asked the wrong man to invest on his hard work. As he stole it and made it his own, and because he was rich and high up, nothing was really done.


    Sekani knew going to court wouldn''t do anything, so he epted the job offer they gave him with his wife. Though it wasn''t much it was enough to save up for Kiro and send him to school. Obviously they hadn''t known they''d have more than 1 kid then.


    keson Tech took his project, even though he still had wanted to improve on it they didn''t allow it thinking he''d sabotage it instead, they took out of his hands and gave it to their trusted engineers, who did nothing to improve on it.


    They didn''t even change the name he gave it, it was widely known as the head gear. There was no way of knowing how big it would get, but now almost every youth wanted one. It bothered him at first, but he grew to ept the world as it was.


    This is a story he never told his children, he didn''t want them to give up on life before they even tried.


    "But darlin, that''s as good as a dead engine." He smiled bitterly.


    "Come on, put that big brain of yours to good use. You can do something better than they took. Yours was still unfinished back then, you could finish and improve it."


    He thought about it seriously, "I don''t know, it requires money to build the hardware."


    "Then don''t build the hardware¡ª"


    "What?" He asked dumbfounded.


    "Work on the software for now, while you save all this money Kiro sends us. We surely can survive with 500 a month including rent."


    "That''d be cutting it close," he said, checking her belly out.


    Alora was sitting obediently listening to theconversation, she kept looking from one to the other. But they were speaking anguage she did not understand.


    "We will be alright honey, we raised 3 kids after all and think about when it''s sessful."


    "Alright, alright, I''ll start my work after this." He said, giving up on arguing any further.


    "Now." She gave him a cheeky smile, "shout if you need any help."


    She looked at her daughter, "now then Freckles, help mommy with cooking."


    Alora got up and ran after her father, "I''ll help daddy." She shouted.


    She sighed. Nobody liked cooking but her in this house, though there was no way she''d raise kids that didn''t have a basic survival skill. Kiro went through the training, so did Loki, Alora was next.


    The door to the house opened wide, Loki came in. He was a whole 30 minutes early, this shocked Freya.


    "Sweetheart,e help me cook."


    "Yes Ma''am." He suddenly became the most obedient boy in the world.


    His mother wasn''t scary, but in the kitchen, so help you gods. She became a demon, that felt like it could whip you at the slightest mistake.


    He rarely washed his hands without being hassled, but he did it this time. The teachings were ingrained at the top of his head. He put on an apron and started helping.


    "Why are you back early anyway, fought with your friends?"


    "You''re always on my as¡ª" He realised his mistake immediately, the look his mother gave him didn''t help either, he quickly amended, "my case, case, about this, shouldn''t you be happy?"


    "Don''t be such a smart mouth, I heard that you know."


    He attempted to smile sheepishly, giving her an apologetic look.


    "In any case, I don''t want you to be like your brother, he didn''t have any friends. The time for you to start school is nearing too."


    Loki rolled his eyes, as if to say ''don''t remind me.'' Of course he did so when his mother wasn''t looking.


    "Are you having apetition with me, letting your hair be that long? When are you going to let me cut it."


    "I''ll have it cut when you guys can afford to send me to a barber." He said with the biggest smirk.


    Freya shook her head. His sons always thought they were so smart, but with the money Kiro will be sending them, they could squeeze Loki in for a haircut no problem.


    The depressive mood around their home the past couple of days was undeniable. They hadn''t noticed much, but Loki woulde back early because of this.


    Today, he saw the smiles and hopeful conversations from his parents he thought were gone. He breathed heavily, his heart came out light as a feather. He was happy.

 Chapter 87: Ice Mountain Trolls

    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered Ice mountain trolls.


    Level 30


    HP: 10 000]


    The ice trolls were made of ice, but neither of them expected for them be so tiny that they wouldn''t even reach Kiro''s knees. To make matters worse they were faceless.


    They looked like faceless garden gnomes. They made a grunting sound, asionally. The trolls had a grotesque charm about them, they were very hard to look at.


    "This will be troublesome."


    "Why? They''re so small, we could crash them with just our feet."


    "That''s exactly why! They''ll have an easier time dodging attacks."


    "Not if I use my mes." Hubris said more to himself.


    He didn''t wait for Kiro''smands, as he took strides toward the closest troll and sliced it in half. It exploded into a tiny pieces.


    Kiro was impressed that Hubris could fight while he was sittingfortably on his back. He took out his staff, and started helping his mount. He felt like support, but it wasn''t too bad.


    He stood, bnced ontop of Hubris, while swinging and poking his staff. He resembled a war general on his war horse. Without a doubt Hubris was more ferocious than a war horse, as he was the main attack in this fight.


    "Hubris, be honest, you have gravity maniption don''t you?"


    "No."


    "Then howe I''m not falling while you''re rampaging like this?"


    "Beats me." He really had no idea.


    Kiro was suspicious, he didn''t put it beyond the system to give Hubris hidden skills that weren''t visible in his character sheet. It did hide his skills'' true uses after all, most of their uses are things he had to discover all on his own.


    As he was in his head, several zoomed his way, some hit, some missed he was almost knocked off Hubris'' back. Thanks to Ryu he was somehow able to hold the bnce.


    They shot out of the ground in great numbers, releasing ice particles in the process. The atmosphere in the mountain was more frozen than usual, Kiro was grateful that he had bought the armour.


    He held Ryu up like he was a baseball bat and started swinging like his life depended on it. The trolls exploded on impact, that''s how strong his staff was. They''d leave only blue dust behind upon their deaths, which made killing them very satisfying.


    He wasn''t yet used to fighting while ontop of Hubris. So he jumped andnded on the ground and activated blink, he started swinging from left to right graciously, alternating Ryu from both his hands.


    He could simultaneously attack with his staff, fist and even feet. His martial arts skill made this very easy andfortable, because of this, the trolls had a much difficult time even breaking through his multiple attacks.


    But the ground was more slippery than he imagined, Hubris made it look like a piece of cake. As much as it made it easier to move forward, it made it harder to stop or control his own body. He used his staff to stop himself before he crashed.


    He didn''t use any of his skills except for bending kick and staff wielder. He could almost see a curve in the air whenever he kicked one and they would explode on impact.


    "Whoa, that is kind of cool." He mumbled to himself admiring the effects of his kicks.


    Naturally he wasn''t one-shotting them, thanks to Hubris''rge scale attack earlier, it drained their HP greatly, so now they were easy pick offs. Though getting careless wasn''t an option as they still had the numbers.


    It came at no surprise when the ice trollsnded some of their ice magic on him. The big ball of ice hit him right on the chest, he staggered backwards using Ryu to break the fall.


    He looked at his chest shocked that it was bigger than the being that sent it.


    And it packed a bigger punch, as he lost a quarter of his HP. That pissed him off more, he swung his staff, shattering the troll that gave him damage.


    If it weren''t for his armour, the attack would''ve frozen him where he stood but instead, it did what it was meant to do, absorbed the temperature to nothingness.


    Hubris was moving swimmingly, despite his size, he didn''t lose when it came to speed. He was like a shadow moving with the wind, the purple mes were blinking in and out of existence.


    It looked like he was getting the hang of using his intangibility skill. One minute he was solid, the next he was ethereal. It was an enchanting sight.


    Of course, he didn''t need to show off this much, fighting level 30 monsters. But he was just using this for training. This was after all his first fight after his evolution.


    "Could I fight them, all by myself?" He asked, remembering the embarrassing fight from before, somehow he wanted to redeem himself.


    "You''re sure?"


    "Yes, please get on my back, Master."


    The ice trolls may have been small, but they weren''t cannon fodder. They used their small size to dodge iing attacks, they could easily conceal themselves in the snow too.


    However, Hubris'' senses were too keen to be eluded by low level monsters'' petty tricks. To say it was a massacre would be an understatement.


    Hubris jumped up high, opened his mouth and tiny balls of hellfire rained on the mountain floor. The attack was simply too powerful, it even bore a hole on the ground and left a big crater.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on annihting Ice Mountain trolls. You''ve gained 10 000 EXP and coins.]


    "I wonder how you fair against something like, the harbinger, you''ve grown so strong." Kiro couldn''t hide his surprise.


    "The thing we fought before? I could take it." He replied, smugly.


    "You know, I haven''t forgotten, you still have a no meal for 2 weeks punishment." He looked at the famished Hubris with a wicked smile.


    He just had to bring him back to earth.


    He whimpered, but epted his punishment all the same.


    "Now then, forwards we go."

 Chapter 88: Rivalry

    The mountain was truly a big one. Hubris wasn''t the one failing, his speed was too fast but the mountain was simply too great. As much as he covered more ground, Kiro felt like they were, at most, running in circles.


    "Hubris, don''t exhaust yourself, we don''t know what we will run into next."


    But that only fuelled his desire to get to where Kiro wanted to go. He didn''t slow down, instead he picked up speed. Kiro shook his head at his unbelievable stubbornness.


    They heard a deafening roar that stopped Hubris on his tracks. He looked around to see what it was, and one by one, the rocks started getting up.


    They were well camouged. They had the same colour as the mountain they resided in, which was a great way to get unsuspecting travellers. Kiro and Hubris had already been surrounded by the time they noticed.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered a pride of stone lions. They always hunt in packs, they set traps for the unsuspecting and devour them before they''vee out of their state of shock.


    Stone Lion


    Level 35


    HP 5000-15000]


    Kiro immediately jumped andnded at the back of Hubris. They were surrounded, he had no time to be coddled by his mount this time.


    "Well, Hubris, you will be my Hiro."


    "Master? I don''t understand."


    "We will have to fight back to back this time."


    "I can take them by myself."


    Kiro ignored his very arrogant statement. There were more stone lions than he could handle alone, besides, he was here to level up, he couldn''t let Hubris do all the work.


    The lions didn''t attack immediately, they kept circling the duo while asionally letting out frightening roars. They clearly had all the patience in the world, they also quite liked inciting fear before devouring their preys.


    But they had met their match, as neither of the two showed any fear in their eyes. Instead their eyes were calm, cautious and waiting.


    One grew impatient and lunged at Kiro, he swerved and shed it with Ryu. That''s when he noticed that, they weren''t just called stone lions, they were actually made out of stone. All long, he thought it was just a lion with white fur.


    Hubris let out a low growl, the pride was very sceptical attacking him. They concluded the weak link was Kiro, that''s why one attacked him directly. But they were soon disappointed when one of their kin was sent to an early grave.


    That didn''t deter them from attacking. Two jumped from opposite directions, one had it''s maw wide open, while the other trusted it''s ws more. When they were close by a hair''s breadth, Kiro activated vibrations which stunted them midair.


    His lightning already activated, but he was too slow, Hubris had already reached them with his ws, shuttering thempletely with just a fistful coated with hellfire.


    "Quit stealing my kills!"


    Hubris simply gave him an apologetic look, one that said ''you snooze you lose.'' He didn''t think these monsters were worthy for his master to fight them.


    For Kiro, it was a strange sight seeing stones bleed a red, seemingly warm liquid. The more they killed, the more savage and defiant they became. Their pride was as big as they were.


    Hubris pounced from stone lion to another, some were so weak that he was able to cave their skulls in, with just his paws uponnding on their heads.


    Kiro and Ryu weren''t losing either, he made kebabs out of a lot of them. They never stoppeding.


    Lunging at him with it''s maw wide open, Kiro could''ve sworn it was a ck hole in there. It looked dark and like a bottomless pit. They weren''t that big, but he was sure if he could be swallowed, he''d be lost in there forever.


    He swerved to the left to avoid getting lost in a ck hole and nted Ryu right in its stomach, he savagedly caused an incision that left its stomach free falling,pletely detaching itself from its owner.


    The back-to-back strategy wasn''t working with Hubris because he would steal his kills, so he gave up fighting with him like that.


    Activating blink, he flew to the nearest one and decapitated it with his lightning coated hand. It''s head flew up into the dark sky and got lost in the stars.


    "Heh, that''s new," he said amused.


    He used his staff as a crutch, to propel himself upward and met another stone lion that was attempting to attack Hubris while his back was turned.


    He used bending kick topletely destroy it, one side raced into the deepest parts of the abyss, while another fell on the mountain floor with a thud.


    He activated whirlwind, which caused a gale of wind that manged to uplift his enemies, with no ground to stand they started to panic.


    Hubris didn''t let the chance slip away, as he pounced from one stone lion to another, gutting them as he went. He unleashed fire balls when he realised he wouldn''t be fast enough for all of them.


    The more they fought together, the more in sync they became and the more theypeted amongst themselves, neither of them wanted to lose to the other, so they stole each others kills.


    Theirs wasn''t a rtionship of a servant and master, although Hubris would always treat Kiro with that much respect, but he also liked how casual it was most times. He witnessed first hand how caring his master was, despite having a heavy heart.


    Kiro would speed to the ones Hubris attacked but couldn''t kill in a single attack and finish them off. Hubris would do the same when he activated vibrations, he couldn''t be at all the ces at once, so he took advantage of that.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you''ve defeated a pride of stone lions. You receive 100k EXPs and 20k coins.]


    Kiro noticed the significant drop in the coin giving by the system and wondered if the patch was closer than he thought.


    "System, who killed more stone lions, him or me?" Kiro asked, lying on the mountain floor breathing heavily.


    [...]


    "Come on, be our referee, not like you have anywhere to be."


    [This round goes to Hubris.]


    "Sh*t."

 Chapter 89: A Good Plan

    Hubris was ovee with joy. He wasn''t even tired anymore, he was busy celebrating the victory over his master.


    "This surely means, you revoke my punishment?"


    "We had no such deal!"


    "Can we wager on that then?"


    "Fine, when we conquer this mountain, if you win, I''ll revoke your punishment. If I win, I''ll add to it."


    Hubris nodded in agreement, he didn''t exactly need to eat, but he liked it. It healed him faster than his natural body did. 10 seconds may seem like not a lot, but it could decide the victor on a battlefield.


    Kiro decided for them to stay there for the night, the blood and guts were already gone. The only proof that this was ever a battlefield were the broken down rocks, and the craters on the ground.


    He didn''t need to start a fire, Hubris was warm enough for the both of them, he cuddled close to him. He looked like a flea taking refuge on a dogs body, that''s how much the me fur devoured him whole. He thought this was morefortable than his dorm bed.


    Heid there, eating a dried and cured meat. They were tired, Kiro was sure they''d run into another kind of monster if they went ahead without rest, so it was better to go ahead when they were in their best shape.


    Charging forward whilst tired would be stupid, this was a marathon not a sprint. He was a bit familiar with Sun''s mountain, courtesy of having lived in the future. He didn''t really remember every detail, but he knew the mountain was full of monsters, therefore great for levelling up.


    The sky looked too close from how high up they were. There was no moon tonight, just beautiful stars, poking holes at the very dark night sky.


    "Hey Hubris, how was your home like?"


    Hubris was silent for a long time, so much that Kiro thought he was too tired and slept the moment they decided to take a break.


    "I was young, I don''t remember much about those days, but I do remember that it wasn''t this peaceful," he said softly, finally.


    Kiro didn''t want to pry further, he and Hubris did share emotions after all, so he could feel how painful the topic was for him. Even though Hubris wasn''t quite real, his emotions felt very real to Kiro.


    He didn''t know why, but he felt like he wanted to help him as best he could. If Hubris wanted to exert revenge, he''d willingly go to the pits of hell and help him.


    They were a two man army, but they were hell of a strong one, that was proven against those stone lions. He found himself excited, he couldn''t wait for what Sun''s mountain had in store for them next.


    The weather was cold but between his armour and Hubris, he rested without any diforts. Looking at the star riddled sky, he found himself missing his family. Especially his little Freckles, she would''ve absolutely loved this beautiful sky.


    It felt like such a long time since he spoke to or seen them. Of course it had been just a few weeks since he left home for the academy, but with everything he went through during those few weeks. It felt like years.


    He couldn''t be bothered to tell them about the happenings either, he didn''t really want to worry them much. He didn''t want to add the entirety of his world on their shoulders to bare.


    But he hoped the currency conversion happened soon, because if it didn''t, this would only mean he was prolonging the inevitable. They''d find out sooner orter.


    He crossed his arms under his head for a makeshift pillow. He sighed deeply at his thoughts. He needed to make money, at the very least, he could make some to move his family to the middle district. While investing in thatpany that put him out of work in his previous life.


    If all else failed, investing in thatpany would be his greatest asset. Thepany will meet great sess in the not so distant future.


    There were plenty of rich brats who had no problem plundering their parents'' money on things such as this game. Getting quick money through dungeon runs for them was a bright idea. He wondered what would they pay to rent a beast, he left a mental note to train his beasts to prepare for that.


    He fell asleep with these positive thoughts.


    The next day wasn''t sunny at all, the heavens woke up on the wrong side of the bed. The sky was very grumpy, and there was a little drizzle, with a great fog, which was an impediment for Kiro.


    But he wasn''t too worried since he had Hubris who could see beyond dimensions, as per the description of the skill.


    He felt very rested, like those positive thoughts cast a spell upon him, he felt a lot lighter than he was. Everything didn''t feel like it was suffocating him anymore.


    He breathed in deeply the fresh air, "let''s go Hubris."


    He was in a better mood than when they started this journey, he felt like everything will workout, he felt good about life. They started their journey once again.


    He was resting atop of Hubris, dried meat in one hand, Ryu in another. Ready for when or if they get ambushed just likest night.


    Unlike then, Hubris wasn''t running at full speed. Ontop of the slippery snowy mountains floor, it was raining. He didn''t want to take any chances.


    As they moved near their destination, it was getting warmer instead of colder. They both noticed at the same time at the change of atmosphere, that they had entered a monster''s abode.


    Ding!


    [You''ve entered a space that is controlled by Earth Golems. If you''re lucky, there''ll be only 3 of them.


    Earth Golems


    Level 40


    HP 15000-25000]


    The closer they got, the hotter it became. It was almost suffocating.


    "Hiro would love this." He absentmindedlymented.

 Chapter 90: Earth Golem

    Hubris slowed down and eventually came to aplete stop. It wasn''t just the suffocating warmth anymore, the fumes alone were a choking hazard.


    Kiro remembered a little about this, you''d have to fight and defeat the golems while in this hazardous environment for the path to be created for you.


    If they went beyond the point they were rooted in, if they took any steps further they''d  either burn to cinder or choke to death. Kiro also noticed a hot spring nearby, he had to fight the urge to take off his armour and soak in there.


    Not so long ago it was raining but it didn''t quite reach the surface of the space they were at, it evaporated before it could. They hadn''t noticed it before but just at distance, there wasva.


    It wasn''t moving, so they weren''t at that much of a risk as long as they stayed away. Neither of them had a skill that made them impervious to fire.


    Though Hubris could withstand most fires, he had a feeling this one would burn him to the bone.


    Just then, two silhouettes rose from theva. They were as big as Hubris was. They were made entirely of rocks, unlike the stone lions who looked like smooth sculpted stone. The golems were full of huge cracks.


    Every step they took made it seem like they were at a risk of breaking apart but clearly something stronger was holding them together.


    "I guess we''re lucky." Hubris chimed in.


    "What do you mean?"


    "There''s only 2."


    Kiro used vibrations in hopes it could stun them, but they continued to walk forward. He abandoned that idea and activated vibrational sense and lightning for speed.


    He used Ryu to jump higher than he should''ve been able to. As he descended, he blinked above the head of the one he marked as his kill.


    He nted Ryu right on its shoulder, he bounced right back up and nted his heel on its head with bending kick.


    With these, he was able to make it kneel on one knee. He then sted it back where it came from with whirlwind. There was no system notification, so he knew he didn''t really finish it off.


    As if to mock him, it got up and closed the distance between them at frightening speeds, it threw a punch at its enemy, Kiro blocked it with Ryu and connected another punch on its leg breaking it offpletely.


    Without a leg to stand on, it fell to the ground with a deafening sound. Kiro didn''t wait for it to collect its thoughts, as he kicked it right on the face.


    But a new a leg was already formed, seeing that, Kiro fell back creating distance between him and the golem.


    "Ah, why did I think this was going to be easy?"


    The golem had already closed the distance he created, it faked a punch and swiped him at his feet, he fell to the ground. It raised its gigantic arms, intending to squash Kiro like the bug he was. It missed however when he swerved to the right.


    Then he kept backing away, because it hadn''t stopped, he was followed by a barrage of attacks that left the ground dented.


    He directed his palm to the ground and used whirlwind to hoist himself up and push himself back by several meters. He was finally on his feet, he blinked and thrusted Ryu right in its rocky chest.


    He felt a weird sensation, almost like vibrations on his hands.


    When he attempted to take him out, Ryu was stuck. He could''ve sworn he saw the thing cackle, before it threw it''s punch right between his eyes.


    It wasmandable that Kiro refused to let go of Ryu, he still darted dangerously close to theva with his staff in hand and with a broken face. He quickly downed a health potion.


    Hubris on the other hand was putting on a show too, he wasn''t losing to his opponent. His battle was way more messier, as he''d often w his way into the inside of the thing, he was disappointed to learn that there was nothing there, nothing butva.


    It had almost burnt his ws off when he instinctively used affliction and cancelled out the process that had already taken ce.


    He breathed fire to it, which didn''t seem to do much since his opponent was made of rock. His best bet was turning it into molten rock, but his mes weren''t hot enough to turn anything intova.


    He didn''t give up, as he used fear inducement, he noticed that though his master''s vibrations didn''t work to stun them, he could momentarily stun them with fear.


    The window was a small one, so he galloped forwards to his enemy, with all of his ws out he sliced it''s head using affliction. That didn''t make it fall, instead it threw a punch aimed at Hubris'' muzzle.


    He used intangibility, so the punch went straight through him, causing the attacker to stagger and fall into theva which it came from.


    "Master, I beat you again."


    Kiro saw the thing jump out of theva through his peripheral.


    "Watch your back, you idiot." He yelled.


    He had already acted, as he threw the lightning that was already zapping through his entire body. It reached the Golem in less than a second. Six lightening bolts hit it at the same time, causing a great explosion.


    Which left the air more noxious, Kiro couldn''t see much, so he squinted, zooming in on the explosion that happened midair near the volcano.


    Rabble was raining in the drought ridden atmosphere. Kiro had absolutely obliterated the golem, nothing of it was left except for the rabble. Which also fell into the volcano, erasing it''s existencepletely.


    "That''s--that''s new."


    Hubris waspletely dumbfounded, but they had no time to celebrate or be shocked. As the other golem was going through a metamorphosis of its own.


    They tried attacking it while it was evolving, but nothing worked, it was as if it was protected by an invisible shield, a shield that they couldn''t break.


    "I was careless, sorry master."


    "Let''s just focus on this thing first, then we will talk."

 Chapter 91: Earth Golem, II

    Luckily the golem didn''t get any bigger than it already was. Its level didn''t rise either. Instead, theva inside of it became active. The once ugly obsidian cracks, were bright orange.


    The bright orange and ck made it look majestic. It look like something that sprung up out of a painting, that''s how beautiful he thought it was.


    Which made Kiro wish he could tame it. The obsidian rock andva made it irresistible to look at. It was like looking at the sunrise at night, it was hard to exin the kind of situation it was for him. It was just alluring for him.


    But he knew he couldn''t tame this, in Asgard, there were monsters, then there were beasts. This thing in front of them was a monster, something the game made to be yed. He wondered if his taming could be strong enough one day, to tame monsters.


    Ding!


    [It''s a possibility...]


    "How?" He was used to the system reading his mind so he didn''t freak out much. He just wanted to know how to go about taming monsters.


    [...]


    The system, like always, didn''t give him answers head on. He felt frustrated but at the same time understood that it was probably just it''s code.


    "Well, Hubris, we have to work together here."


    They waited with bated breath, it felt like eternity. Kiro couldn''t stop the fear welling up inside of him. No matter what it was, the thing in front of him looked like a titan of sorts. The ones from stories of gods.


    Of course he''d never seen one, but the fear he felt at that moment told him this was something that birthed even gods.


    Even though it wasn''t bigger, it felt more intimidating than before. Then everything went quiet, Kiro swore he could hear his blood boil beneath his skin, it sounded like waves crashing onto his bones.


    "Goosebumps."


    The ce where it had eye sockets suddenly lit up with a bright red. Kiro thought orange eyes would make it more attractive, the red made it look evil a bit.


    It made its first move by punching the ground, shaking it uncontrobly, making Kiro lose his bnce.


    The ground shook with earthquake level turbulence, as he always did, Kiro used Ryu to ensure he didn''t fall. Though this little trick didn''t seem to phase Hubris, even a little bit. He was standing still, watching their foe with interest and caution.


    With a single stride, it closed in the gap between them, and packed a punch that drained all the air in Kiro''s lungs. He remembered the feeling all too well, with Isaac. It felt exactly like this.


    If Hubris'' fire tickled it before it didn''t do anything this time around. It was instead being absorbed fuelling it''s strength, not the mes per se, just the heat it exuded. The more heat it consumed the stronger it seemed to get, Hubris gave up attacking it with his mes.


    The weather was peculiar where they were. The rain happening outside, caused a mist that alluded Kiro''s senses. The only one who could see through it was Hubris, but neither of them had the time for Kiro to be coddled. The golem attacked at crazed speeds.


    It attempted to elbow him, Hubris quickly melted into his ethereal form and fell back, he was however followed by erupting volcanoes. The noise they blessed his ears with made them ring with great pain, as if the little explosions attacked not just physically but with sound as well.


    Fortunately for him, he had perfect sense. If he couldn''t use his ears, he could just use some other sense topensate for the inoperative one.


    All this happened in a span of a second, Kiro had just swallowed a potion. He blinked right in front of it, it was already aiming to crash his skull when Hubris activated fear inducement and it was stunned in ce.


    Even though they were just redva, Kiro had seen a panicked look in its eyes, they darted from left to right pretty fast. Clearly it was thinking of a contingency n but no matter what it did, it couldn''t move.


    Kiro remembered the only thing that worked back then was lightning. But for some reason, he could not produce the same lightning he did back then. Tried as he did, he failed. He opted for bolts as his makeshift fists, he pounded the thing none stop.


    With every punch, came a thunderous roar. He wanted to destroy it''s torsopletely. It was working too, with each of his punches, he left dents and hot orange liquid trickled out of wherever ce his fist found.


    It didn''t take it another second and it was out of its trance, it swatted Kiro to the side his body crashed on the other side of the mountain. He was tired of being thrown around like he was nothing, for a moment he considered not getting up at all.


    "Sh*t, Hubris use affliction." He shouted activating blink and whirlwind.


    "I''m trying, it''s not, working!" He yelled back.


    He appeared in front of the golem with his palm ready to strike, it dodged and he missed it by an inch. It threw ava coated punch, it was the heaviest thing he''d ever received from this game. His insides were burning.


    It''s punches could transfer the heat from its fists to whatever it was punching. Causing a slow but progressive corrosion on the inside.


    Another punch followed it, and rendered his arm useless. Hubris pounced on it with his maw wide open, hended on its shoulder and refused to let go no matter what.


    Kiro quickly drank a restorative potion from the leftovers Hiro made for Hubris. His insides and arm were restored.


    He activated lightning once more, this time the lightning he wanted showed itself. It looked like lightning rain coursing through his fingers, he condensed it into a ball that hid his palm entirely.


    Hubris was still attached to the golem''s shoulder. This would be a perfect time to sneak an attack. He blinked in front of them, and drove his lightning palm through its chest.


    It was sted into smithereens, not before taking his whole arm with it. Kiro fell on his behind taking a deep breath.


    "This--mountain--is--dangerous."

 Chapter 92: Hot Spring

    Ding!


    [Congrattions on defeating earth golems of Mt. Lava. You have been awarded 400k EXP and 50k coins. The path to cross theva will be open for the next 5 hours after that, you''ll have to fight to get through again.]


    Just then, a bridge-like thing built itself over theva. It looked sturdy enough, it wouldn''t break under Hubris.


    "Nova skills? Seriously? Dammit."


    Kiro looked at the hot spring, then at the bridge, then the hot spring again.


    "The gods have spoken." He announced while taking off his robe and armour, he safely put them in his storage space.


    There was cold air, even with the volcano there. He quickly jumped into the hot spring. He felt like each of his muscles were being massaged by an invisible force. It felt too good.


    "This must be part of the reward. Not sure 5 hours will be enough. Want to fight them again?"


    "No, thank you."


    "Why aren''t youing in? It''s amazing!"


    "Bathe? With my master? Don''t be ridiculous."


    "Hubris, stop your nonsense ande in." He activated whirlwind and caved in the edge he was standing on, he fell right in.


    Hubris didn''t both fighting it, as the water felt so great, then he floated around on his back. Feeling rxed with his eyes closed.


    Kiro had to constantly wake himself up so as to not fall asleep. He couldn''t afford fighting another one of them, the water was however hot and rxing. It seemed to wash away every problem, every worry he''d ever bared.


    "Ahh this hits the spot doesn''t it."


    They stayed until the veryst second, when it was time to go, Kiro didn''t even bother putting his stuff on, he scrambled and ran as is. The volcanic ground was a bit hotter for his bare foot, so he wore his boots as he ran to the other side of the mountain.


    When they crossed the bridge, Kiro almost froze to death. He would''ve if it weren''t for Hubris. He quickly wore his armour, the hot spring was now nothing but a bitter memory.


    He was once again, back to this gods forsaken mountain. He sighed. They walked a bit of a distance and decided to wait for the rain, it was pouring hard now.


    Kiro picked some wood, and they entered a little cave, he started a fire while in there and started on their food. He decided, Hubris should eat, the mountain wasn''t exactly safe, depriving him of fast healing would be dumb on his part.


    "System, who won thatst round?" Kiro asked with a chip on his shoulder.


    Ding!


    [Hubris...]


    "What? How?"


    [...]


    "Damn, unfair system." He mumbled


    Hubris was dumbfounded at the system, he had no idea how it calcted the scores but it was clearly wrong this time, he didn''t pay it any mind since it was helping him win.


    "Do you think the system is cheating master?"


    "Of course it''s cheating!"


    "Do you want us to call off the bet?"


    "I don''t go back on my word." He said, but clearly he was sulking.


    The rain was something Kiro liked, and the game devs captured the sound of it, the smell of it against soil really well. He felt like he was back in the real world, the rain was always a kind of peace for him. The smell especially, it embraced him. When nothing made sensed, he listened to it because it always did to him.


    He remembered that it was raining, pouring hard like this the day he died too. He wondered whether that was a coincidence or gods really did exist, and they just knew what to pull to make that moment the more peaceful for him.


    The cave also kind of reminded him of his room back home. Dirty and dingy. Exactly the room he shared with his brother. A room he now shared with Alora.


    He even had raw meat on his storage space. He didn''t want to cook, so he grilled the meat with some veggies. The storage space was great in that, everything stayed fresh no matter what.


    He grilled plentiful, he wanted Hubris to have a feast. He fought well after all against the Earth golems, without him by his side, he wouldn''t have done much. In a way, this was a way topensate him for being such a good sport.


    It smelled so divine, Hubris'' maw was watering. He couldn''t wait to dig in, literally. Kiro bought a lot of seasonings, with all the hell training he went through back at home, he knew just what to do.


    The scent of the food was so good, that it attracted some small animals. The first animal to show up was a squirrel. That caught Kiro off guard.


    "What kind of squirrell eats meat?"


    The system exined to him that this was a omnivorous squirell. He didn''t even want to pat it, he didn''t trust it not to swallow his hand whole.


    A doglike animal joined them too. He was familiar with dogs, but he wasn''t idiotic enough to pat it. He just tossed them some meat when he was done grilling. He wasn''t scared of them, with Hubris there he wouldn''t even have to lift a finger. He just didn''t want to kill unnecessarily.


    Hubris ate to his heart''s content. He wasn''t eating to heal anymore, he wanted to fill the ck hole that was his stomach. The food was also a bigfort for him, which made him swear then and there, that he had to win the bet and hoped the system would continued to cheat in his favour.


    After they were done eating, their guests took their leave without so much as a thank you. Kiro scoffed. He hadn''t expected them to talk, but maybe a little bow to show appreciation but no, they just left.


    He was full, warm and a bit tired so, he snuggled with Hubris. He was knocked out immediately.


    "I have to make money soon, I wonder how they are." He mumbled in his sleep, turning to the other side.

 Chapter 93: Psychedelic Nightmare

    He was walking in a forest, famir yet not so familiar. Everything wasn''t anything his little brain couldprehend.


    But he understood one simple thing, walking forward, with caution, the ce sent his every danger senses haywire. It''s not like his instincts were wrong, there was something terribly wrong with the ce he was in.


    He felt the wind behind him change, he started pacing himself. He thought the winds in these wilds would get him if he stopped for a second. It felt alive, like it would cut him up to pieces and swallow him whole. He had no idea where this fear wasing from, it was just there.


    He started running when the feeling refused to leave him, he felt like he was in danger. No, he was sure of it. Not just him, but the entirety of his universe. He wondered whether this danger was the same one he saw in that door of dead stars.


    His stomach lurched. He usually couldn''t feel his stomach''s temperature, but here it was ice cold. It wasn''t a feeling that went away either, it pronounced that it was here to stay.


    "Hubris, run."


    But there was no Hubris there, just him, alone, in an unknown environment. Darkness, full of trees he couldn''t understand, the paranoia got to him before whatever he was running from caught up to him. He ran until his legs couldn''t carry him anymore.


    He was sure his lungs were about to explode. The sharp pain shot more than his relief breaths came. He held on to his knees, calming himself down.


    When he could more less breathe on his own without forcing it, he looked at his surroundings. Nothing but trees surrounded him. He cursed atwhy he didn''t run the other way, now he just felt trapped.


    At a distance he noticed a witchlike figure. Crouched back, short, big nose with eyes popping out. It was just like he had seen in story books. It was just standing there, cackling and pointing at him.


    "Why''s this part of the game? This is confusing, nothing, absolutely nothing makes sense about this!"


    He was suddenly uprooted from the ground, he flew dangerously close to the sky. The witch was clearly levitating his body, bouncing him in the sky like he was a new toy to y with.


    Without warning he plummeted back to the ground since the figure stopped waving its finger, he had nothing to keep himself afloat. He closed his eyes and protected his skull from the fall.


    ''Stronger.'' He heard the wind whisper to him.


    Just when he hit the ground, he jerked awake, sweating profusely. The pain from the fall didn''t go away just because he was awake. Though it wasn''t as intense as what he felt when he was asleep.


    He''d never heard anything about the game generating scary dreams for you in his past life, then again, maybe people weren''t crazy enough to sleep here. They''d just logout like normal people and let their avatar rest.


    "A dream, that felt so real." He took a deep sigh massaging his neck.


    It felt cranky, since he fell head first. Sure he protected it with his arms, but that wasn''t enough to cushion the fall. He reckoned his dream self was done for.


    The rain had already stopped outside. The sky was clearing, night bugs could be heard singing unsightly songs, ording to Kiro.


    After that bizarre dream, he couldn''t sleep anymore. He just waited for morning, so they could continue their journey up the mountain.


    He wondered what was up there, it would probably be stronger than that squito king he fought and if there were more than 1 of them, Kiro was ready to lose some progress. He had an eerie feeling about these things, the system won''t tell him about.


    "Harbingers..." He mumbled. ''What are they?'' He wondered.


    The next day, they continued their journey up the mountain. Kiro opted to not ride Hubris, he''d been riding him since they started this mountain climb, he didn''t want to overexert the newly evolved beast, lest his body was still a bit fragile.


    The higher they climbed, the less vegetation there was. As much as it was a mountain the lower parts contained some nts and trees, but the higher ces were absolutely without any shelter, just a rocky thin trail to follow. Needless to say, Kiro was using his footwork skill, not that he wanted to deplete his magic, he just hoped to one up it from continous use.


    Since his evolution, Hubris had been slightly faster and significantly stronger. Now, it was Kiro who needed to keep up. It was great for him that hubris chose to be loyal instead, he had no idea how he would''ve forced him to subdue, being an ancient beast and all.


    They were so fast that they nearly didn''t see it, Kiro swerved to avoid the collision. He made eye contact with it nheless, the eyes were ming crimson. The moment their eyes met felt like a kind of eternity for Kiro, that one moment slowed down.


    It felt like neither space nor time existed in that, singr moment. He didn''t understand, the momentsted but a second, though he swore he saw the life of the thing in its eyes, its whole life. He flinched at the savagery.


    "I may have watched the game in my past life, but ying it is a whole different experience. This is so unreal." He couldn''t help himself as he said excitedly. The game never ceased to amaze him.


    They didn''t stop to admire and y with the monster though, it gave chase immediately. It couldn''t really keep up with them, but it was right at their tails.


    It didn''t attack either, as if it was herding them somewhere. That didn''t really matter to them, since there was only one road, if there were more of these up ahead, they''d run into them whether or not they stop to think.


    "There''s more up ahead." Hubrismented.


    "Way ahead of you buddy, about a hundred." Kiro said having activated vibrational sense.


    "127, Master."


    "Show off!" Kiro spat.

 Chapter 94: Crimson Fur

    The mountain suddenly felt like an insurmountable foe. Not because of the bloodbath that awaited them in a few seconds, but something beyond that.


    Whatever Hubris sniffed at the foot of the mountain, they were finally going to be face to face with it. It leaked out its horrid disgusting aura, Kiro wasn''t sure they were ready for it. But seeing as they had to take of this first, he put it out of his mind.


    They climbed atop a little mountain top. Instead of the white ground they''ve been walking on all this way, it was red, red with all the crimson monkeys.


    Ding!


    [You''ve achieved something no one has. Conquering Sun''s mountain is a great feat. This will be recorded in the hall of fame.]


    "This can''t be it? What about the many monsters this mountain is supposed to have?" He clicked his tongue, remembering he  started watching this game after the patch.


    Kiro knew that beating these minions wouldn''t be the end of it, he wouldn''t have had conquered Sun''s mountain because what he feels beyond this point is even more sinister. So he didn''t understand why the system couldn''t detect it. Maybe they were still out of its reach.


    [You''ve encountered Fire Monkeys. They''re impervious to any kind of fire. They''re a very agile bunch.


    Fire Monkeys


    Level 40


    HP: 10000-25000]


    The one that was chasing after them, didn''t bother to climb the mountain top, it simply jumped over it andnded in front of its troops. It started banging its chest like it were a drum.


    The troops followed with stomping their feet. At first nce it sounded like random chaotic sounds, but it was actually rhythmic. He couldn''t make out which song it was, though he concluded this was their warcry of some kind.


    The monkeys had crimson fur, like a rapid ming forest fire. This is where their name came from. Their fur covered most of their face, it was trimmed so well it resembled a beard. They were awfully humanlike, they weren''t hunched like normal monkeys. They stood up straight, looking at their enemies, well one of them, right in the eye.


    Kiro wasn''t going to wait for them to stop, so he appeared in front of their general and aimed his foot for his temple. The monkey general reacted faster than Kiro predicted, he didn''t just block his attack, he grabbed his leg.


    It cackled, mocking him. Kiro drove his palm aiming for his face, his palm was apanied by a twisted gast of whirlwind when the kick failed him. It let go of his leg immediately, started it''s countermeasures and dodged, jumping backwards as it did.


    The little distance it created meant nothing, Kiro had already blinked to where itnded, he nted his fist, square on its face. It was pushed back, fell between it''s allies, grazing the mountain floor and  creating a path as it went.


    Every monkey there acted at the same time, they jumped, attempting tond on their enemies to overwhelm them with numbers. As if connected by telepathy, both Hubris and Kiro activated fear inducement and vibrations, respectively.


    They stunned the ones in their vicinity, it was a sight to see. It was raining monkeys in slow motion. They were stuck midair without anything to defend themselves with.


    Hubris started wing his way into the deepest parts of their stomachs, gauging out intestines as he went. The weakest part on their body was the torso. He was very surprised to learn that, although they could move, their defenses were almost nonexistent.


    Kiro didn''t have the chance to join in on the fun Hubris was having, as their general wasn''t affected by the stuns because of the distance Kiro''s attack put between them. He ran straight for the one who embarrassed him in front of his men.


    It ran with the wind, causing a small gust of air as it went. The air around it denied it''s name, it was colder than anything they''ve felt in this mountain. But it was too bad it had run into these two.


    Kiro kicked some of the stunned monkeys to distract the one charging for him. They fell ontop of him one after another, it swatted them to the side without betting an eye, killing some of them.


    He suddenly understood the savagery he saw in its eyes. For them, power was everything. The alpha could do as it pleased with the rest of its followers. This reminded him of the real world, a bit. Which angered him greatly, causing him to wee its challenge, he ran straight for it.


    It threw a punch as it came face to face with him, he dodged and nted an uppercut right on its chin. It flew in the air but managed tond on its feet, he was already in front of it, getting on his knees and elbowed it on the sr plexus. Draining its lungs of the very thin air that was in Sun''s mountain peak.


    Kiro never gave it the slightest chance to breathe. He used it as a proper punching bag, preparing for the real challenge ahead. They had a real challenge with the golems, these monkeys weren''t enticing enough.


    Hubris didn''t even use his mes, the way these monsters were so confident not so long ago, made this one sided death sentence something humourous.


    "Master, don''t you want to take a break?" He asked decapitating one after another.


    "So you can win? Very sneaky Hubris!"


    Hubris was having too much fun to think of something as insignificant as the bet. He had forgotten they were inpetition with each other, he was just being a loyal mutt to his master.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you''ve reached the peak of Sun''s mountain and conquered it. This will be recorded in the hall of fame.]


    [You''ve defeated the fire Monkeys. You''ve received 300k EXP and 50k gold coins.]


    [You''ve levelled up]


    "Wow, I still can level up? I bet the next one won''t be for a very long time."


    After that, the system didn''t give out anything else. Kiro was suspicious that it was failing to mention something that was there. Hubris could sense, he also could, but not the system.


    Kiro stood atop Hubris, looking at the beyond. They had no idea what to expect there. They still wanted to go. Ryu was safely strapped on Kiro''s back.


    "Are you ready, buddy?"


    Hubris didn''t answer, not with words anywhere. He instead took thergest leap he had ever taken. He ran faster than both thought he was capable.


    Kiro simply smiled at how obedient his little mutt had be.

 Chapter 95: The Lair

    Hubris covered the distance of a kilometre in under a second. They didn''t encounter a single monster on their way. The closer they got the thicker and more suffocating the aura was. One thing that was great about reaching the peak was, although the road was still treacherous, it was at least level.


    Kiro could see a boulder at a distance. It was blocking their path. He was about ready to st it open when Hubris skidded into a stop.


    Now that he was close to inspect it, he realised they stood in front of a cave-like opening. Except the opening was closed by a big boulder. A poor attempt to hide the mouth of the cave.


    Kiro leapt off Hubris, he reached the boulder while walking cautiously as not to envoke any traps or possibly wake up the monster that exuded the aura they''d been sensing since entering Sun''s mountain.


    He carefully inspected the boulder, using vibrational sense. For the first time ever, he couldn''t believe what he was seeing.


    ''Is vibrational sense functioning well?''


    Kiro sted it with whirlwind, rubble shot up and rained on them. It was a tiny pieces so it didn''t do them much damage. The inside was surprisingly bright and warm. With about a hundred eggs inside.


    "My, they really were nesting here, a hundred of those mosquitos would seriously spell trouble. Goodness, look at the size of that thing." Kiromented, looking around the cave as if he were a tourist trying to buy a souvenir.


    Hubris nodded in agreement with his first statement. Remembering how useless he had been in that fight. He shuddered and swore to never be that helpless again.


    Ding!


    [You''ve discovered an Insectiir. Destroy every inch of it and you shall be rewarded.]


    "Thatst line isn''t the motivation you think it is. You still haven''t given me my levels." Kiro scoffed, the system was truly useless in his eyes. If it weren''t able to detect these things unless they found them, how much can''t it detect in its own game?


    He walked into the cave, cautiously looking around. The sizes of the eggs varied, some glowed, some looked rotten and dead. For a cave used for nesting, it didn''t smell so bad. It wasn''t as big as the one they encountered on their way to the capital, but it was still huge.


    "Hey system, instead of squito you said insecti, does that mean there are different species of insects here?"


    Ding!


    [There are different races, yes. Their species being Insecti.]


    "Doesn''t this just count as a mass genocide, I don''t know if I''mfortable with that." Heined, more to himself than anyone.


    Ding!


    [If the guardian wishes to wait for their hatching, and until they''re at their peak that is also eptable.]


    Kiro thought back to the Squito King and cold sweat broke onto his back. There was no way he could take hundreds of him.


    "Naturally, I won''t wait for them to be stronger, what do you think I am, a pacifist?"


    While Kiro was arguing the system, Hubris was busy sniffing around the cave, deciding whether or not the eggs were his delicacy but with his nose, he could smell their very essence and it wasn''t tasty.


    He wondered if he could collect their souls, he''d never used the skill before. He activated it immediately, a white light zoomed from one egg and shot through Hubris to be a part of him.


    Ding!


    [Your hellhound has collected a soul from the harbinger''s eggs. It''ll strengthen his spirit by 0.001]


    "Hubris! You could do that, keep eating my pup!"


    "These things smell foul and they taste even more disgusting. Please don''t make me do this." Hubrisined, getting used to his master''s food had spoiled him greatly. If his master forced him, he wouldn''t have a choice but to do.


    "They smell just like you." Kiro teased, he wasn''t going to force hispanion to have anything he didn''t like.


    Hubris took a quick whiff of himself, he got scared for a second because the smell in the cave masked his. But he eventually found his and was relieved.


    "That''s not very funny, master."


    "Will you drop the master thing? it''s embarrassing."


    "What else¡ª"


    "I have a name." Kiro interjected while poking the eggs with his staff.


    "I''d like for the Supreme Lord to¡ª"


    "Hubris¡ª"


    "Understand that it would be against my code of honour to call you by your name." He looked at his master and noticed the weird face he was making, "I''m sorry, my Lord."


    "Sigh. Everything else is fine, just don''t call me a supreme lord, gods Hubris, I''m not some cruel ruler."


    Hubris thought back to the men he was ordered to kill slowly. He thought of the darkness buried deep within his Lord''s heart, and he disagreed.


    To him, his Lord was a ruthless one and he didn''t hate it. One must be merciless against their foes. That''s how you make others think twice about bing yours.


    "Yes, my Lord." He made a chuckling sound.


    "Quit teasing me, and let''s destroy these eggs."


    He didn''t need to be told twice, though he couldn''t use his hellfire, lest it all caved in on them. His ws were sufficient, the eggs had a very hard exterior to protect whatever was inside but Hubris cut them easily like a hot knife through butter.


    Kiro wasn''t having a hard time either, Ryu had a pretty high damage, he only needed to poke once to kill the insect embryo inside.


    It took a while to finish them all, the moment all of them were destroyed the cave lost its warmth and brightness. It was now just a regr dark and damp cave. But both of them had no problem seeing in the dark.


    Ding!


    [You''ve killed all the eggs and have angered the Stag Beetle Queen. Her anger will not cease even if she eats your heart herself.]


    "That''s disturbing." he mumbled to himself.


    CRACK¡ª


    They both looked at where the sound came from.


    "That doesn''t look good."

 Chapter 96: The Queen

    The ground opened up without warning and threatened to devour them whole.The noise it made caused both of them to cover their ears. Hubris simply let down his ears as he couldn''t exactly to what his master did.


    Kiro tap danced to the other side, and eventually climbed a small rock hill on the other side of the crack. The opened ground immediately gave the cave it''s light back, a reddish brown light.


    He immediately felt stupid, as he went to the side that would take him deeper into the cave instead of getting out of there. Hubris had already leapt to stand by his side. It was already toote to go back, the chasm had gotten too big.


    "Sh*t"


    Kiro felt like hell was rising, but Hubris was looking at the big crack cautiously. As a hellhound, he was familiar with hell and this was but a fraction of it, to get him scared. This made something inside of him shift, it all felt familiar.


    "This, this is definitely the final boss of this mountain, or something?" He attempted to joke.


    Likeva, ck liquid started leaking out of the cracked ground like it was at its boiling point, it smelled worse than the eggs. Kiro found himself d he didn''t choose to enhance his nose, he felt bad for Hubris.


    The liquid left the ground with scorch marks, it threatened to burn everything in its wake. It was bubbling and popping as it did. Both were d it was far enough from them, they weren''t affected.


    It started to give off a sulfuric scent, Kiro realised it was blood but it was ck. He wondered whether hell was anything like this, because if it were, he wouldn''t wish to set his foot anywhere near it.


    The ck liquid started taking shape, they didn''t know what to do so they just stood there dumbly, waiting with bated breath. It took a humanoid shape, then curves started forming and a big chest, eventually the head but it wasn''t quite right.


    The head wasn''t that of an attractive woman at all, there were no eyes or any human features. Just a weirdly shaped head with antlers protruding from it. Then on its back, two wing cases manifested.


    The body was the most attractive thing Kiro had ever seen, it looked like it wore a ck suit but that was just its skin. Skin made from ck blood. That attractiveness faded the moment he looked at its face.


    "Man, can''t we at least get some beautiful monsters in this game?" Kiro remarked, dejected of being robbed fighting an attractive monster.


    "You have weird tastes, master."


    "Do you want me to make it a whole month?"


    Hubris gave an apologetic look, he didn''t want to be starved more than he was being. He didn''t want to argue either, seeing as he was the one winning the bet.


    The ominous feeling didn''t leave the air, Kiro felt like he had exhausted his luck and that whatever was forming in front of him would destroy them. They beat the previous one with sheer luck, he didn''t think they were better equipped for a stronger one.


    "System, this would be a great time to give me my levels."


    [Guardian, you should understand that killing a harbinger isn''t child''s y, if the previous one wasn''t so cocky as to underestimate you and your mount, you wouldn''t have made it¡ª]


    "Holy sh*t, so what? I won didn''t I? Give me my damn rewards." He was getting grumpy by the second, he didn''t like how the thing made him feel.


    [As it happens, recalibration is done. You''ve received, 10 levels.]


    "What? 10 levels?" Kiro couldn''t hide his disgust, "you spent all that time, calcting 10 levels? That only puts me at 46, still levels lower than the Mosquito that was level 55."


    [...]


    You''ve levelled up!


    You''ve levelled up!


    ....


    Kiro was pacing back and forth. He epted then and there that he was going to lose progress. He remembered in his previous life, the penalty for dying in Asgard was great. Depending on your defense, you could lose a whole 10 levels.


    He wasn''t exactly confident in his defenses against, what looked like, a monster that reigned in hell. He didn''t like his chances, their chances at all.


    "I''m gonna die, I''m gonna die, that mosquito was just a jokepared to this thing in front of me right now. I''m royally screwed."


    "My Lord, calm down, it''s using fear inducement to make your mind out of sorts."


    "It is? But I can''t think straight, how am I even supposed to fight it." His mind was jumbled.


    "Close off all your other senses and use vibrations."


    "Oh, right, I do have that."


    He tried entering the meditative state, although he could easily do it back then it was difficult now. The queen''s skill was clearly a top tier one.


    The state required ones mind to be calm, it required for the mind to enter a state of nothingness. How could Kiro achieve a state of nothingness when his mind was riddled with irrational fear.


    He tried anyway.


    Ding!


    [The Stag Beetle Queen has finished it''s manifestation. It''s in its perfect state.


    Level 60


    HP: 50 000]


    "You think I''m going to let you?" It said with a shrill voice that suited it''s head perfectly.


    It was clearly listening in on their conversation, even though it was nothing but ck blood it had its ways.


    "It''s very rude to eavesdropdy." While his eyes were closed, Kiro stated through gritted teeth.


    It spat something that zoomed faster than the speed of sound Kiro''s way. It met with Hubris'' hellfire ball and exploded in the air. He wasn''t about to let his master be disturbed.


    "An ancient beast working for a puny inferior being, this is a disgrace, why don''t youe work with me, beast?"


    Hubris simply growled, it dared to call his Lord inferior?


    He stood still and waited for its next attack, the thing simply made a weird sound. It wasughing.

 Chapter 97: To The Death

    "It''s too bad that you chose that thing I can break with only my thoughts to be loyal to, now both of you will perish here." It proimed, disgusted.


    "I''ve been through thick and thin with my Lord, you''re just an obstacle we need to squash like the bug you are."


    Kiro was now sat cross-legged, he was channelling his vibrational senses together with lightning maniption. The moment he finally entered the meditative state, he got that idea that maybe, lightning can protect him from mental attacks, since his brain was made of neurons.


    He could hear the conversation going on out there. He couldn''t believe how loyal, and how much trust Hubris had in him. This made him involuntarily smirk.


    "Well then beast, you shall die, along with your master today."


    Hubris had situated himself between Kiro and the beetle queen. He was a great mountain, that Kiro was basicslly insivible. The beetle no longer had the intentions to recruit the ancient beast. It thought it was too bad, an ancient beast would''ve made a great foot soldier.


    So it started it''s attack, like it''spanion it didn''t have a weapon. The crack on the ground had no indication that it will ever close, the case on it''s back opened and a pair of wings appeared.


    It slowly rose above. Hubris watched with great caution, he couldn''t just leave his post and attack, he had Kiro to protect. It tested Hubris'' reaction, using speed flying straight for him in zigzag.


    With his eyes, Hubris could see it clearly. He could follow the beetles every move and, every trick. As it was about to stick it''s antlers on his maw, Hubris swiped his left w that was coated with hellfire, it missed the beetles face by a hair breath.


    "Not bad beast, not bad." It cackled mockingly.


    Hubris however didn''t stop swiping his ws in the air. Eventually creating des of both wind and hellfire that zoomed at crazy speeds to the direction of their enemy.


    Its antlers went haywire upon realising the imminence of the dangering it''s way. It swayed majestically from left to right, attempting to dodge the attacks that would have otherwise been invisible to those without good sight.


    The beetle had no eyes though, Hubris surmised that it used those antlers to sense. The wind des missed, but one managed to cut off one of its many limbs. Even without a face, you could see the fury imbeded in its face upon realising that it would have to take this seriously in order to take out these, inferior beings.


    Hubris had expected for the limb to grow back, and sure enough it did. As he was protecting his master, he couldn''t jump to the enemy and corner them.


    ''That regeneration will be troublesome.'' Kiromented internally.


    He was aware of everything happening thanks to vibrational sense. He was still an amateur when it came to using vibrations, he hoped he could eventually make the skill passive. That would help him greatly when it came to these kind of confrontations as that meant he''d have to shut off his other senses.


    He had a bad feeling that, this was just the beginning, that he''ll be fighting these harbingers for maybe months toe. The beetle on the other hand was attacking very fiercely than before.


    It figured if it could move Hubris even for an inch it couldunch an attack on Kiro. The best way to get to a loyal servant is through their master. It threw punches that looked like a thousand fists, Hubris managed to fend them off but only just.


    He used everything including his tail to attempt to swat the beetle queen back to the crack it came from.


    "You dare kill my eggs, invade my home, now you''re attempting to kill me." The anger couldn''t be missed in its voice.


    "Please, as if you weren''t nning to create an army and invade ournds." Kiromented behind the safety of Hubris'' back.


    What Hubris supposed to be a mouth, snarled into a sinister smile. It appeared right in front of Hubris, he was way too shocked to react on time as the fist nted itself on his face.


    Though, that didn''t move him an inch. A barrage of punches and kicks rained on Hubris, he still held his ground. asionally sending a hellfire ball the beetles way. He missed all as he couldn''t concentrate on everything all at once fast enough.


    The beetle queen didn''t allow itself to even be grazed by the hellfire balls. It could sense the danger the ball of fire represented. It pped it''s wings creating a gust of wind that threatened to uproot the entire mountain they were on.


    Hubris buried his ws on the ground, so that he wasn''t blown away. It closed in on Hubris, kicking him right on the neck. In his rush to protect his master he was bested, though he was relieved that his ws offered to let him stay rooted in ce.


    Landing on the other side, the beetle quickly raced toward Hubris, it wanted to get him since he was still sort of disorientated from the wind. It reached him within seconds, and threw another punch, Hubris dodged but he was still punched.


    As thousands of punches seemed to enter his peripheral, he could see them all but his body was a bit on the slower sidepared the beetle queen. Hubris unleashed his hellfire which turned his fur wild, life-like, like snakes.


    Which served as a temporary armour. Some of the punches were absorbed by the mes, some did some damage. He was now sure he couldn''t beat the beetle alone, he activated affliction and scratched the beetle queen across the abdomen.


    "What did you do, you stupid canine!" The pain it felt wasn''t anything it ever felt before.


    Despite it''s great regenerative skill, this wound was taking forever to heal. Which prolonged the pain experience. The beetle queen flew toward Hubris and gave him a kick to the gut with all of its might. Hubris flew back a few meters, leaving Kiropletely exposed.


    "Hahaha." Itughed evily, "what do you say now, beast?" It didn''t waste any time as it sent a st Kiro''s way.


    He was instantly sent flying into the wall of the cave, which caved in on him.

 Chapter 98: To The Death, II

    As much as Kiro was aware of the happenings around him, he was also concentrated on what he was trying to do. It wasn''t long before the door materialised in front of him.


    The door was truly a mystery, it beckoned him yet if he forcefully tried to enter, it would most likely mean death. The door however felt less threatening this time around, even then he didn''t try to enter it.


    He sat in front of it, and focused on making vibrational sense passive. He could sense every inch of that world, but amazingly he couldn''t get anything from beyond the door.


    He sat there sensing every speck, every dust and every star. Everything vibrated at different frequencies, but they were more or less the same.


    He heard a creak, it was the door it was opening, except it didn''t open all the way, it was just left ajar. Kiro''s conscious mind got up from where he sat, and creeped towards the mysterious door.


    As he neared closer he could see it, but not entirely just a fraction, it was a graveyard. All of what he could see was dead, everything. It was a graveyard of stars.


    He slowly held the knob and pushed it just then he felt a cold drop in his stomach, like a hand had reached in. and jerked his guts out.


    He was pulled out of the meditative state.


    When he finally became conscious, he couldn''t see or hear anything, he could only sense. He realised he was under rubble, suffocating, quickly activated whirlwind, the rubble shot at every direction.


    Hubris hadn''t noticed anything, he was having a rampage. Which made fighting him easier, the beetle queen was toying with him when she noticed something beyond the huge beast.


    Kiro''s eyes were nk, he no longer had pupils, or eyes of anything normal. Lightning took residence in his eye sockets. He had somehow seeded in making lightning and vibration work together harmoniously.


    The beetle queen tried to attack his mental again by using fear inducement, but it bounced off him like water to a duck''s back.


    "Then, insect, shall we dance for a while?" He mocked.


    He had Ryu in his hand, he blinked next to Hubris. He was badly hurt, he caressed the bottom of his muzzle.


    "You did great, thank you for protecting me."


    Hubris simply whimpered in response, he didn''t feel like he did a very good job. But then was shocked at Kiro''s next actions, as he took out some food for him, he looked at his master unmoving.


    "But, my punishment¡ª"


    "Your health is more important, once you''re back to your old self, we can start again, if you want?"


    "That''s¡ª"


    Kiro had already blinked to the queen, he poked his staff upon arrival, it was blocked. A punch was sent his way, he dodged it but then a knee came rushing to his face. He blocked it with his other free arm, the moment his arm met with the queen''s knees, he could feel a fracture on his arm.


    ''Sh*t, it''s stronger than I thought.''


    It didn''t give him any time to recover, as it held his staff tight, it used it''s thousand fists technique. Kiro tried getting Ryu free but the thing, its grip was amazing.


    He was knocked back a couple of meters, he didn''t think he could take any more of those punches. He quickly drank a health potion, he didn''t want to take any chances. Since his regenerative skill needed him to concentrate, it was useless at the moment.


    "Ryu!"


    He called out to his weapon, with all it''s might, it pulled and ended up detaching the queen''s arm from it''s socket. It zoomed back, safely in its master''s hand.


    Kiro didn''t waste any time, he shed the queen across the chest. Activated bending kick, his leg rose up then with every bit of strength he let it down on the queen thin shoulders.


    If it weren''t for the fact that, the kick bent space, Kiro could''ve broken his leg doing that. The beetle queen fell to its knees, unbelieving.


    "That''s one powerful kick, kid. It shall be mine when I gut you from limb." It let out a shrill as it said.


    Sound travelled to where Kiro was, it knocked the air out of his lungs, he was also pushed a few.


    "You know Hubris, you aren''t on vacation." He yelled at his mount.


    Hubris had originally thought he was done fighting, so he enjoyed the meal slowly. Hearing his masters calls, he swallowed the meat whole. His injuries were healing faster.


    "I''m ready if you are," he said and got to his four legs.


    They both ran toward the queen, they kept appearing and reappearing until they reached the queen. Hubris went in and out of intangibility, as the queen attacked them with her thousand fists. They kept getting blown back by the fists.


    "Hubris, I''ll take the insect from behind."


    He blinked behind it, and closed in. He was about to deliver a punch when a punch of its own nted itself square on the face. He fell several meters away from the beetle.


    He activated whirlwind, which pushed it inches and broke it''s concentration, Hubris took that as an opportunity, he sent tiny hellfire balls, they exploded upon impact.


    Kiro used Ryu to propel himself upwards, youcould see lightning coursing through his entire body. His veins were basically lightning, he felt super charged up as he descended throwing a punch at the beetle, it connected and it flew straight for the cave wall.


    The cave wall shattered revealing the outside, and it''s dark sky, the crescent moon tried giving light to the surroundings but it was just not enough.


    The beetle queen stood up, infuriated. It was regenerating slower thanks to Hubris'' affliction but they still couldn''t take it for granted.


    Kiro mounted Hubris, and he ran straight for the beetle queen. As they were reaching it, he jumped off aiming at its neck with bending kick. While Hubris was aiming at its guts with his ws.


    Both their attacks connected, though Kironded on its neck severing the headpletely. Its punch, which went through him cleanly,nded on his abdomen.


    "Sh*t, I was careless," he said with a mouthful of blood, he staggered backwards then fell into the crack that was on the ground.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions you''ve defeated...]


    That''s what he heard as he fell head first.

 Chapter 99: A Brush With Death

    Hubris didn''t waste any time, he dove after him. He doved right into the unknown just to make sure his Lord didn''t die alone or he could cushion his fall and it''d be him that was doomed. Either way, he was fine with it.


    As he entered the crack, he looked back to see the beetle queen close its eyes with finality, as bad as the situation they were in was, he found the time to sneer. It had disrespected his Lord one too many times. He was a hound with honour, but he wouldn''t have minded desecrating its body.


    After his momentarily internal victoryp, he concentrated on the problem at hand. The chasm was quite big, so much that it didn''t take a second before Hubris was devoured by it, not even his tail was visible.


    The inside of it was pitch ck, but it was not darkness Hubris couldn''t tackle. His eyes saw right through everything. Only thing he couldn''t see was whether they''llnd on a good terrain or not.


    The air inside was noxious, if it hadn''t been for his perfect senses, he would''ve suffocated for sure. Which made him frantic about how his master was doing. It looked like they were entering an atmosphere of a very familiar world.


    For some reason, the pressure wasn''t burning or freezing them, Hubris was concerned nheless. He swum through the impossible winds, he wanted to get faster, he could see that Kiro was unconscious.


    He was heavier than Kiro, so he was dropping in faster, he eventually got under his lord and gently scooped him up, heidfortably on his back and so continued their unprecedented descent.


    The air up there was so thick, Hubris could see it. He reckoned if he had time at all, he would be able to touch it as well.


    He could see the bad wound, the hole that decorated Kiro''s abdomen. As intelligent as Hubris was, he was scared, he was panicking. To make matters worse, he didn''t have any restorative potions on him.


    He couldn''t make calls either, he couldn''t even reach to his master''s magical storage space as he wasn''t a yer.


    Hiro was far, far away from them. More than they thought. The descent was ufortable for Hubris, he didn''t like not being in control of whether his legs are grounded. As for Kiro, he was too unconscious to care or offer an opinion.


    Though his avatar was definitely dying unless something happened to save him from it, he would die from the wound the beetle queen gave him as a parting gift.


    Hubris finally sensed that they were about to touch down. He was d for this as while he could see, he couldn''t see the bottom, so the descent haf-blinded him.


    He fastened and coddled Kiro, holding him like he was a baby. He didn''t want to put him on his back, incase they had an unpleasantnding. At first he couldn''t see anything but a big body of water.


    The water was so vast and great, for a minute though they were mountains, until they washed to shore. He saw his chance, and propelled his entire weight to the other side.


    Hended hard on his hind legs.


    The ground was softer than he initially thought. The five moons reflected on the ocean water nearby. The waves were violent against the rocks. They made a lot of sounds and with great height they could stand, caused Hubris to be paranoid a little bit.


    He solemnlyid his master on the sand, and started looking around for any clues to go back. He didn''t dare to go too far, lest there were monsters about. He couldn''t risk it when his Lord was rendered useless at the moment.


    He gathered that, they must''ve been in some ind. There was ocean water, as far as he could see. Nothing else. No sounds of people or civilisation, just waves crashing onto the rocks.


    "Master, what should I do?" He cursed that he was a hellhound with no powers to heal, just ones of destruction and cmity.


    He went to nearby trees, and started destroying them with his ws. They were surprisingly cleanly cut, he started creating shelter at the edge of the sand, where waves wouldn''t reach them. He figured that was one of the things his master needed. Since he couldn''t provide medicine, he could try with this.


    He wasn''t particrly skilled at building things, only destroying them, but he wasn''t doing too bad. The structure stood, he used pine leaves for walls and a roof.


    He used leaves as well for a bed for his master, heid him there. It was the least he could do since, he couldn''t do anything else. He was no healer, he wished he could get in touch with Hiro somehow but knew that was a useless endeavour.


    He stayed outside, standing guard. He was d he had eaten before falling here. Hellhounds didn''t need much nourishment, so he''d be fine for months toe.


    Kiro was speaking incoherent nonsense in his unconscious state. He mentioned every single member of his family, and some. But what exactly he meant to say, couldn''t be known.


    He felt excruciating pain, as he attempted to mend the big hole on his abdomen. He couldn''t feel mana anymore in this ce he was forced into. But there was a energy in the atmosphere that resembled something that was simr.


    That''s the energy he was trying to harness, while at the same time, trying to stay alive. He couldn''t push himself, the wound was too grave. If he forced the process, he was sure he''d die.


    The energy however was too chaotic and too stubborn to submit. It reminded Kiro of Hubris, he cursed his luck as it seemed every thing he acquires required an amount of hard work to finally be his.


    But he couldn''t very well force it because it may backfire and kill him right there and then. So he was more patient than he ever was, heid there and meditated instead. Though no energy gathered to him, he did it anyway.


    He had nothing to do, he was half dead, this was his only chance to save himself if he wasn''t already a lost cause. He didn''t really want to lose his progress, it wasn''t easy levelling up when your level was as high as his.


    While he was meditating, he used mental images to generate fights. Especially against the beetle he had just fought, it was the toughest opponent he''d ever fought. It was even tougher in his mental space.


    He must''ve fought it 20 times, but he died in all those times. It was pitiful. Every time he died, his wound would be like it was fresh again, and he''d scream internally which woulde out as nothing but a groan on the outside. Kiro realised that, without Hubris, he would''ve been dead 20 times over.


    ''Log out.'' He thought and nothing happened. He was still in that light deprived space.


    Though he became more and more aware of his surroundings. At times, he could hear Hubris walking around. He tried activating vibrations but couldn''t. He gave up after some time, and focused on getting stronger fighting the figments of his imagination, also trying to harness the chaotic energy.


    Neither of these went that well for him. He never gave up though. Because giving up meant death, and death was thest thing he wanted. If he could get stronger here with this energy, that''d y a big role with his in-game power.


    Hubris on the outside was panicking, it had been a whole week and his master hadn''t woken up. He just asionally groaned, which was a good thing, pain meant he was still alive.


    Despite the fact that the nights were chilly wherever they were, Kiro would sweat profusely sometimes, so Hubris had turned into his very own personal nurse.


    On the first night, the tides almost reached them, so he had to move the shelter further away from the dangers of the mountainous waves. They still could hear the waves, but fortunately they weren''t reached by them.


    Hubris went out to hunt sometimes, but there were no animals to be seen, neither were there fruit on the trees. The ind was dead, but it felt alive all the same.


    What was even more mysterious for Hubris was the fact that he could sense the same energy his home was made out of. He didn''t get the chance to learn to harness it, since he was banished, so he couldn''t be sure. To make matters worse, he lived here 200 or so years ago.


    But the energy in the atmosphere of this world felt very familiar to him however long it was.


    Hubris cleaned Kiro''s wound every single day. After a week of doing that, he finally saw improvement, albeit small. The nerves on the wound were attempting to reattach themselves. It was an amazing feat, considering no magic could be felt in this world.

 Chapter 100: Purgatory

    2 weeks had passed, Kiro was still unmoving in hisatose state. He was semi conscious, but for the life of him he couldn''t move any of his muscles.


    He was holding Ryu, watching the beetle queen form for the hundredth time. The body always got him until the face formed, and he''d involuntarily groan.


    He didn''t wait for it to fully form, he blinked and kicked hard on the abdominal area with his space warping kick, which did nothing but crack his foot. It was the hundredth run, but the results were always the same.


    He fell back,nding on his unfractured leg, and smirked.


    "A human like you, thinks he can break my armour? Laughable."


    "Well, they say, do it again and again, and you''ll eventually be good at it."


    He held his stance, making sure he didn''t put weight on the fractured foot and he gestured for the beetle queen toe to him instead.


    It felt disrespected and was therefore livid, it didn''t even use it''s wings as the wind took it right in front of Kiro. It threw a punch at its arrival, Kiro side stepped and smashed it with Ryu on the hand. That caused it to stagger forwards and almost falling on its face.


    It was still crouched when it''s head turned, just it''s head and it radiated a sinister aura that was almost simr to the chaotic energy that Kiro was failing to harness.


    "Wait, that didn''t happen in the real world, do you have a will of your own in my own head?"


    "I''m in your head? You pompous little brat!"


    Kiro could sense kaos energy because he now was acquainted with it, in the world he fell in, he was practically bathed in it. He originally couldn''t sense it, when he was fighting with the beetle queen, that''s why he was taken aback by this tiny detail.


    The beetle queen appeared self-conscious because that''s how Kiro''s mind perceived it as. That made him paranoid if anything, but the queen was long dead on the surface.


    It took the queen a single step to reach Kiro and end him the same way, though this time it was his heart that got severedpletely from the line of organs keeping him alive.


    "Sigh. You''re a tough one aren''t you."


    Kiro started the simtion all over again. This time he didn''t rush in, he waited with bated breath. The beetle queen looked at him warily, when it was apparent that he wouldn''t move an inch from where he stood, the beetle queen came to him.


    It started with a massive kick, something that was unusual for it. Kiro blocked it with Ryu, he flipped its leg using his staff, then hit it at the ribs area. A crack sound was heard.


    "Well, if my body is too weak to attack you, my staff isn''t."


    The beetle queen was livid. It was fast, but Kiro could follow it''s movements what''s more, fighting it hundreds of times paid off, he could react to it''s speed.


    Although it was a close one, it seemed like that they were on equal footing. He started walking towards it, spinning his staff. When he was close enough, it stopped spinning and striked it on its face, which fractured it''s cheekbone.


    Kiro''s hands were starting to blister, hitting the beetle queen was like hitting steel with steel, while he could do it, it still took a toll on his body.


    He made a crouching stance and poked it right in the neck, his arms vibrated. The beetle queen staggered backwards choking on its own saliva. It didn''t take it a second to recover from it''s shocked state, it closed in with a punch.


    Kiro smirked, and inserted Ryu in the way of the punch and intercepted it, but s, it was a fake out as its other arm nted itself right on his chin. He had a fractured jaw, and broken teeth.


    "F*ck! Not again. I got a little cocky there."


    He died once again. He never stopped materialising the beetle queen, and every time, he''d die. He persisted, he had nothing to keep himself entertained with anyway. Training here was the only thing he could do.


    It took him thousands of tries, and deaths to finally stand on the beetle queens corpse. He stood atop of it and screamed victoriously. He saw his reflection on a puddle on the ground, andughed at how ridiculous he looked.


    He was still not satisfied with the results. He wanted topletely overpower the beetle queen, as it stood now he was slightly better than it. But he wanted more than, he wanted one strike from Ryu to be able topletely render the queen useless.


    So he didn''t waste time summoning it again, and again. It took him another thousand tries to be able to truly one-shot the queen. He fell on his behind, gasping for air, even though it was just in his head. The fatigue could be felt, though he couldn''t be sure whether it was mentally or physically or both.


    Hubris on the outside was eager to go explore, he didn''t know why or how, but the space they fell in felt like home to him. As much as his loyalty was with the man in aa now, he couldn''t help but be excited at the uncanny feeling.


    "Master, be better soon, there''s so much to do, there''s so much to see." He looked out of the makeshift door, watching the ocean waves sway dangerously back and forth.


    He didn''t know what it was, but the tide seemed to have a strong pull. If he didn''t evolve into an ancient beast, he knew he''d enter the ocean voluntarily.


    The nights were quiet, with the exception of a beautiful melody that was carried by the wind to the beach. Or the rapid waves that crashed the rocks, which was a sound Hubris was too used to. So he wasn''t really conscious about it. The beautiful melody however was, new.

 Chapter 101: Purgatory, II

    Kiro was bored senseless after he could one-shot the beetle queen. He had no reason to keep summoning it now, he didn''t have battle experience with anything stronger, even Hubris was weaker than that queen.


    He spent his days in his head, bored out of his mind. He tried countless times to move the eyelids, he failed every time. He was faintly aware of the outside world, the most ufortable was when Hubris cleaned his wound.


    It felt like, somebody was cleaning it with a knife, that''s how ufortable his ws were. Which made him more defiant since he couldn''t move or express his frustrations. He vowed to make Hubris pay no matter what when he gets out of hisa.


    He sat the same way he would when meditating, and tried to enter the state. Like before, he couldn''t. The Kaos energy was too wild to be tamed, it raged like fire in a forest. Kiro felt that, it liked to be courted and rejecting all the same. It was a strange sensation.


    "I''ve never courted a single girl, but here I am courting an imaginary energy. Pitiful." He spat.


    He didn''t want to die though so he thought back to when Hiro told him it was hard taming mes and being one with them, it must''ve been something like this.


    "That''s right, maybe, maybe I shouldn''t try to tame it, but be one with it?" He tilted his head, trying toe up with ways to be one with this very stubborn energy.


    He became the most patient and obedient boy in the world when he thought this might be the way to do it. He had nothing else to do anyway, his wound was healing, he could feel it but at the rate it was going, it would take years.


    He had already taken revenge on the one who made him like this, whether or not it was his imagination it mattered a little. To him, it was as real as everything else in Asgard.


    "Now, how to be one with energy?"


    He wrecked his brain trying to to think of a way. He suddenly felt why Hiro looked the way he looked when he came back from the craftsman apprenticeship.


    It was infuriating how one minute he thought he could grasp the concept, the next it had gone, slipping through his fingers.


    He closed his minds eye, took deep breaths and allowed the energy to run rampant inside of him. It was chipping away at his mental fortitude, bit by bit. Of course Kiro was aware of its savagery, he could always mend his mental, he wouldn''t allow it to grind it down to zero anyway. He wasn''t mad.


    Having the Kaos energy inside of him was different from magic. Magic was calm and docile, this one felt hot and chaotic, it didn''t care if it drove the owner insane.


    As if to say, ''I don''t want to be used by the weak.''


    While people chose magic, it was the other way around for Kaos. It chose you, through the most savagery and gruesome test of eating away at the mental fortitude of the one who dares to challenge it.


    If you''re strong enough, you can use it. If you waver, even if a little, your sanity will forever belong to it.


    "It kind of tickles." Kiro joked, it was in fact excruciating having your mental eaten.


    He had to remind himself that, this was all just a game. His body, his real body was back at his dorm room. Safe and sound, nobody could truly hurt him here. The worst that could happen would him losing his progress.


    Though the fact that he couldn''t logout unsettled him. He concluded that he couldn''t logout, or call out to the system because he was in this state. That was the only logical answer. Everything else defied all logic. There was no way this was real life, and he was really hurt?


    These thoughts were ones he pushed back, so as to fortify his mental state. Going up against an energy that seemed to have a will wasn''t all that easy.


    So he sat there, doing nothing else but meditating.


    After a month of ying mind games with an energy, he still hadn''t be one with it though it was close. It had stopped eating his mental, it tried its best to exhaust him but ended up bloated first. It greedily ate without thinking much.


    Kiro was very satisfied, as that meant he was closer to healing his wound quicker than how it was going right now.


    While he appreciated Hubris cleaning his wound from time to time, he didn''t like the pain that came with it. He was simply a bad nurse.


    The Kaos inside him started feeling familiar, he was reminded of how bad his life was going at the moment. But that didn''t make him waver, if he had to sell all 50 of his beasts to make money, that''s what he''d do.


    "So you thrive off negative energy? That''s dangerous."


    The energy was making him remember the pain so that when he falls into despair it takes him whole, that was also a way in which it could make the wielder more powerful.


    The deeper the trauma the more powerful it was. This was dangerous in that, if the wielder got lost in the negativity and trauma, it''d win one over the wielder. It was greatly disappointed when that didn''t work.


    As much as Kiro felt his past traumas and regrets to the bone, he thought giving up would be more pathetic. He gave up life once in his past life, miraculously he was given a second chance. He''d rather die than live another pathetic life.


    His resolve was much more stronger, it would take the end of the world, the death of everyone he cared about to truly despair. As long as they were still kicking, money was something that can be made. Life of luxury can be bought.


    When the Kaos sensed his resolve, it backed down a bit. Not that it would give up, it would just lie in wait for the day the boy lost everything, if that day shoulde.


    Kiro tried to channel it through the mana veins but they were too weak to hold it, they burst the moment it entered their passageway.


    So he gave up on that option, and just took in the energy to course through his entire body.

 Chapter 102: Kaos Energy

    The experience wasn''t afortable one, it felt like his insides were being frozen, melted and healed, and the cycle repeated itself.


    The energy felt extremely hot, but at the same time somewhat cold. Hubris was in a pickle out there, one minute his master would sweat like a pig, the next he was shivering like his life depended on it.


    He didn''t know whether to start a fire or fan him for cold air. The changes happened at speeds he couldn''t keep up with, so he sat there and hoped for the best.


    He wouldn''t be much of an ancient beast if he couldn''t see the energy running rampant inside of his Lord. But he surmised that, since magic didn''t exist in this world, his master decided to tame this energy to rece magic.


    But he knew, deep within his heart, even if the energy was attempting to kill him, there was nothing much he would be able to do. That brought back the feelings of hopelessness that he hated more than anything.


    If he had tears, if he was able to cry, he was sure they would be pouring right now. He promised himself to never let himself feel hopeless again, but this situation was forcing his hand. He could do nothing but watch, as his master suffered.


    While Hubris seemed to have been experiencing an existential crisis, Kiro continued to consume the energy into his body, the minute he felt bloated the energy looked for the next strongest thing to be stored at, which were his bones.


    He wanted more than anything to store it in his mana veins, but he didn''t know how to create them. The ones he had were given to him by the game system, but they were no longer avable since the energy destroyed them into nothingness.


    There was also no time to figure it out, the energy wasn''t a very patient entity. If he had known that the veins would be useless, he would''ve tried thinking of a way to make them stronger first, but it was toote now.


    The Kaos energy was already snaking through all his 206 bones. Forcing it''s way into the deepest parts of his bones. The transition was the most painful thing Kiro had ever had the displeasure of experiencing. It felt like someone was breaking his bones with a hammer over and over.


    He knew very well the pain of broken bones, he was very experienced in that field. Even though that was something that happened once before his death, he remembered it all very well.


    You''d think that''d make him used to it, but there was no getting used to pain, especially when it was just as painful if not more. His body''s vitals reached dangerous levels. The temperature of hot and cold, caused him a high fever.


    His mental image selfughed, as he was sure his avatar would die of pneumonia. Something that was easily treatable in his real world, so easily treatable, it was akin to a scraped knee. The irony was just too funny for his liking.


    "I''m not even sure what dying would mean for me in this foreign space. Let''s try to avoid that at all costs." He consoled himself.


    He tried to avoid thinking about what he was feeling. He distracted himself by counting from a million backwards. When that didn''t work, he imagined himself with I. That worked, but only for a little while.


    As the pain shot through his ribs, his physical body involuntarily spasmed. Hubris saw this too and instead of despairing, he was hopeful for the first time they''ve set foot here.


    Kiro kept distracting himself with his family and I. He did anything that would stop himself from listening to the excruciating pain he felt from this kind of metamorphosis he was going through.


    "Hubris, is this what you felt when you were evolving too?" He wondered.


    But it wasn''t anywhere near close. Although Hubris had almost died, though his pain was heightened, it wasn''tparable. Magic was more forgiving than Kaos.


    He experienced that pain for another month before it settled well in his bones, the pain finally subsided. He took a deep breath, both of them did. His body started going back to normal and he started using Kaos to heal his physical body.


    His astral self felt lighter than before. He summoned the beetle queen to test out how better this self was from the previous one. It wasn''t even a contest, he finished it off within 0.1 seconds.


    He was faster, stronger. His skills were enhanced by a high amount. He felt sad that he couldn''t look at his character sheet just to see how broken he was now. Though he was strongpared to where he came from, it was a different story from where he currently was.


    He started mental image training. With just Ryu, he reinforced his kicks, palm strikes and punches. He had his eyes closed, using vibrational sense as if it were his third limb.


    He started messing with the particles in that space he was in, and by sheer will, a world, vast and beautiful appeared before him.


    "Whoa, did I create this with my mind, within my mind?"


    He still had his eyes closed but he could see everything clearly. There were even monsters in there that he had fought before.


    As enchanting and exciting as it was, creating a world, though it was just a figment of his imagination, he didn''t stop training.


    He used Ryu to formrge gusts of winds, that uprooted the trees and even threatened to change the course of how things worked in that world.


    "Too powerful."


    His staff was of legendary rank after all. He summoned lightning within his being, his eyes turned to lightning just like before. His fingers were now also made of lightning, he went from one tree to another. Leaving them with scars that will never heal.


    Every single thing he attacked with his lightning corroded and died. He noticed his lightning was no longer a blue hopeful colour, it was purplish ck.


    "Am I like Hubris now? Dammit."


    He was busy testing his newfound powers when he heard a creak behind him. He didn''t even need to turn to know what it was. He felt like some kind of god, he knew everything about the world he created, it was in his mind after all.

 Chapter 103: The Void

    Despite knowing what it was he turned, he wanted to meet it. With his eyes opened now. While vibrational sense had be passive thanks to the new energy, he still felt good seeing through it with his eyes closed.


    There it was, standing in front of him, the door that always appeared in his mind, it had materialised and opened wide. It was basically inviting him in.


    Now he could see that, it wasn''t just a graveyard for stars, some were being born amongst the chaos that ravaged what seemed to be another universe.


    The death and the birth seemed to have been divided by an invisible line. Neither bothered the other, or attempted to cross it. Even though the other side was pure chaos with all the rubble flying around.


    "This all looks really interesting." He eximed, excitedly.


    Kiro tiptoed, afraid to set off imaginary minefields. For him, this experience wasn''t just in his head, it felt too real. He took a step forward and entered cautiously, he was prepared to fall but even though there was no ground to stand on, he could walk and stand on nothingness.


    Even though the nothingness he was walking on felt sturdy, he was still creeping like he was walking on egg shells, afraid he would break itpletely. Or it was a bridge, and it''d shake violently, tossing him to the pits of this strange world.


    The chaos ensued as far as his eyes could see. He walked amongst millions of lifelesss, as he walked he touched some and they crumbled at his touch. As childish as it was, that made him feel like an invincible god that could destroy worlds with a simple touch.


    "I wonder what happened here..."


    He remembered the stories of his world, of how it was reduced to a single continent. Even though his world didn''t know which of it was the truth, gods or human greed. Both were usible but Kiro had his suspicions. He wondered whether this was a battlefield for gods.


    "Maybe, the battle of the gods isn''t just a legend even in my world?"


    He couldn''t think of anything that could''ve caused such destruction, humans were chaotic but not at the level he was witnessing.


    Somes were ground to dust, while he knew he was just in a game, the atmosphere beyond the door was somehow different. Which is why his brain immediately fell on gods, instead of a code mods made.


    He initially felt a great energying from this door back when his chest was almost caved in, but it was dissipating just like the stars were.


    It didn''t feel like magic or kaos, but it was also not anything he could harness so he didn''t even try. It was something divine, that was out of his reach even he wanted it. Absolutely the opposite of the aura the beetle queen gave off.


    Even though thes were destroyed beyond recognition, Kiro swore that, the that was in the midst of the millions of shards of rocks was his earth. Of course he couldn''t be sure because it was almost entirely mantle.


    It wasn''t what he saw, it was what he felting face to face with the that was reduced to rubble. It felt like, home. His heart was warm, peaceful and then sore, at the loss of it.


    He was afraid to even touch it, because everything he touched crumbled as if it was made out of dust instead of space rocks. He didn''t want to be apliced in destroying his home, even if it were not real.


    The destroyed side depressed him a little, he had no idea why he felt sad for worlds he didn''t even know. So he decided to turn to the one side that was full of hope, there was nothing he could do for the dead stars anyway.


    The little lights were growing, right before his eyes, the process took a second but also eternity.s were forming in the blink of an eye, but also took billions of years for them to form and sustain some kind of life.


    It was a peculiar feeling, it made his head disoriented a bit. He felt like he was travelling back and forth in time, between and after the stars'' conception.


    "What the hell?" The time dtion wasn''t so kind to his puny brain that couldn''t fully fathom what it was witnessing.


    He walked further into the starlit path, it felt warmer as he went. He never paid attention to cosmology, but he thought space would be cold. He concluded that this one was warm because it was a fake one and ontop of that, this was all happening in his head.


    Then he saw it, the Earth, not his own but the old one. The one that had all 7 of its continents. It was bewitching to look at, all those lights across the imperfect sphere took his breath away.


    Back when the world had billions of humans alive at the same time. Yes it was an imperfect world, as some history had shown them, but it was a world Kiro wished to see nheless. For without it, he wouldn''t have existed.


    His Earth was just one continent, so the lights were only limited to the part with active electricity and humans. The rest of the was shrouded in darkness, he''d never seen something quite as gracious as this.


    He couldn''t keep his eyes off of it. He tried touching it thinking maybe he''d be transported there, but it couldn''t be touched, as if it were a hologram.


    He was still watching a world he lived in but was also estranged to, when every light went out and huge clouds of smoke appeared on some of the continents. This was also when he was jerked out the door by an invisible force.


    "No, wait, that''s the war isn''t it, wait, I wanna see. Wait!"


    He fell on the other side of the door, he got up quickly to enter again but the door closed shut with a loud bang, which surprised him so much that he woke up from thisa.

 Chapter 104: Reflection of Self

    I walked back to her dorm with Saanvi after Kiro''s trial. She felt very exhausted, she did run around the 1st year campus looking for the trial after all.


    "You did well telling me."


    Saanvi gave her a sinister grin, "I Silva, liking a boy. That''s very rare."


    In their previous school, I had been confessed to more than she cared to remember and she had shot every single one of them down. She never grew interest in the opposite gender until she came here, to Eden Academy.


    It was a new and strange feeling, she often wondered why the first boy she liked wouldn''t be approved by her family, and most of all, Kiro never showed any romantic feelings towards her. Even after she kissed him. She thought it may be karma since she rejected all of them before.


    "Well, whatever, it''s not like he likes me back. I don''t want to push it either, Kiro doesn''t trust rich people."


    "That''s his loss." Saanvi rolled her eyes with an annoyed expression.


    "It''s with good reason though, look at what Isaac did to his family."


    Saanvi looked a bit ashamed, she had forgotten all about that. That was her main w, if a problem wasn''t hers, it was not rare that she''d put it out of her mind. She also didn''t know why, but Kiro reminded her of her older brother, that''s why she got the urge to bicker with him all the time.


    The campus around them was lively, thanks to the trial that just ended. Everyone was discussing, gossiping about Ursa and Isaac. Even though Isaac distanced himself from the incident, people had their suspicions. Everyone had seen them together on campus, on asion.


    Nobody was bold enough to speak up though. That''s just the kind of power and influence Isaac had over this school, thanks to his family''s status. The gossiping only ended in whispers nothing more.


    Just then, her phone rang. She groaned seeing who it was, she bit her lip and contemted whether or not to answer. She decided to answer, if she didn''t, she''d be on the news in a matter of days.


    "Dad," She said attempting a smile.


    "My little Rosie, where are you?" Concern gued his voice.


    He couldn''t see where she was because phones had a feature that blurred out backgrounds. It was automatic, so you''d have to manually press a button to undo it.


    "I''m at school." She smiled and pressed the button, sure enough, Eden academy 1st year campus was in the background.


    "Rosie, you ran away from home, just to go to school?" He was taken aback, I didn''t like this school, thest he checked. He was surprised when she decided to stay, he thought she just wanted to make him happy.


    "Uh, there was a crisis that needed my attention. Sorry for leaving without saying anything but dad, I''m of age now, you can''t say I ran away from home."


    He cleared his throat, suddenly the tie on his neck felt like it was strangling him to death, so he loosened it a bit. He wasn''t quite ready for his youngest to grow up, he wasn''t ready to let  her go.


    "Rosie, I''m your father, I''ll always worry. What crisis? Don''t tell me your siblings were correct," I momentarily blushed, it was subtle but her father noticed it. "This is about some boy?"


    "No." She quickly got Saanvi in front of the camera, "see? I''m with Saanvi."


    Her father waited for her to exin what the crisis was, what was so important that her daughter had to leave right after his birthday celebration.


    "The keson''s. They''re harassing people here, even my friends. One even almost got expelled because of Isaac''s shenanigans, as I was a witness I had to make sure that didn''t happen."


    "This friend of yours, who is she?"


    Saanvi almost burst outughing. Even her father didn''t imagine his daughter was helping a boy she really liked.


    "No one you know dad, can I go now? I''m safe at school."


    Jes¨²s Silva was no idiot, he could tell something more was up but he didn''t pry any further, he''d just do his own research and find the boy that had captured his innocent daughter''s heart.


    "Good bye Rosie, be well."


    The call ended, I could finally breathe freely. She didn''t want any more rich dad''s going after Kiro. She felt like, it was her responsibility to protect him from high society and that''s what she''d do.


    "Dodged a bullet," she softly said.


    "I know, you know, he won''t let it go. He''s probably researching the incident right now." Saanvi reminded her.


    "I know, I know." She sighed, and started thinking of countermeasures to protect Kiro from even her father.


    I hadn''t yed the game in a while and since school was out for the day because of the trial, she had time now. They both walked into their dorm rooms and wore the gear, logging in.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions you''ve awakened your true blood. You''re descended from great spirits and high elves. Your new race is Sprite.]


    [You have unlocked a subss, seducer. You can use speech, dancing and music to bewitch anyone. The music you y will be carried by the spirits of the wind and whispered into the target''s ear. Your dancing will hypnotise anyone you target.]


    "Seducer? What the hell, this is embarrassing!"


    [You''ve unlocked three new skills, Elemental Maniption, Illusionary arts and transformation.]


    [As a result of your awakening, you''ve unlocked a new stat called Constitution. Common swords can do nothing to your bare skin now.]


    [Due to being a descendent of the spirits, there''s not a single spirit that can defy you. You can have every one of them at your mercy.]


    [Congrattions guardian on awakening your true blood, when Asgard is in danger, you''re the first line of defence.]


    "How ominous."


    I started to see the world differently. What was once invisible for her was clear as day. Colours she didn''t know could even exist, the atmosphere was full of tiny little lights. At first it was blinding but gradually, she got used to the brightness.


    [All stats are raised by 10]

 Chapter 105: Reflection of Self, II

    She felt herself get stronger. Though some gained new physical changes, nothing about her features changed, she just felt it. She looked through her character sheet and used all her stat points on the new stat she unlocked.


    Name: I


    Level 33


    Race: Sprite


    ss: Archery


    Subss: Seducer


    HP: 6000/6000


    MP: 11000/11000


    Attack: 3000


    PDEF: 900


    Strength: 50


    Vitality: 80


    Dexterity: 70


    Stamina: 60


    Intelligence: 90


    Constitution: 40


    Skills


    Mana Arrow (Rank A, can evolve)


    You have no need for physical arrows, as you''re able to use magic as an arrow. It consumes 300 magic per arrow.


    Enhanced uracy (Rank B, can evolve)


    Able to urately hit a target no matter how far it is. 1 out of 3 arrows will hit. Uses 100 magic per usage.


    Mirror Image (Rank S, cannot evolve)


    Able to move so fast that you leave after images of yourself, so much that most enemies wouldn''t know which one is real or fake. Uses 200 magic per second.


    Elemental Maniption (Rank A, cannot evolve)


    As a descendent of the lost race of spirits, you''re able to manipte the 4 elements. They listen and move to yourmands. 50 magic per use.


    Illusionary Arts (Rank S, cannot evolve)


    You''re able to feed minds Illusions, it could be beautiful dreams or horrendous nightmares. Mastering this skill means you will be able to bring your Illusions to life, in a way that they will be able to affect reality. Uses 500 magic per second.


    Transformation (Rank SS, cannot evolve)


    You can transform into a spirit, which will give you ess to every skill they use. Mastery of this skill means you will be able to keep your height when transformed and for longer periods. Uses 1000 magic per second.


    I looked at her sheet unbelieving.


    "All I did was drink a potion? This is amazing!"


    Saanvi on the other hand was taller than she had been. She towered over I.


    "High Priestess is it, I even gained attack skills! But I need a staff, they call it a sceptre. Can''t believe I''ll have the same weapon as your boyfriend."


    I simply grinned, she liked the sound of that, "well, you can ask your boyfriend to make you one." She teased her back.


    "Wha¡ªwait, I don''t like Hiro like that!" She stummered and geared into self-defence mode.


    "The fact that you knew who I was talking about." She smiled, smugly.


    Theyughed and gossiped. They had their guild''s estate inside the capital, thanks to Kiro''s advice. I named it, "Dragon Tail." Even though guilds weren''t official, she named it and recruited yers. They had over 30 members already.


    She was in the middle of designing their insignia. Which will be embroided in the guild members armours, weapons or clothing. She also decided their colours would be maroon and green.


    "Well then, let''s go to the meeting hall, it''s almost time."


    "Yes, guild master." She answered seriously.


    They walked through the massive manor. It was designed by Hiro, it was every bit different from theirs. Everywhere he went, he wanted to create something unique. Here, the stairs seemed to be floating in the air with no support structure.


    The material he used to hold them together was thin but also very strong and almost invisible to the naked eye, which created an illusion that they were floating.


    The hall was even bigger, it was made to host at least 300 people in total and since I chose those colours for their guild. The stone Hiro used for the manor was green marble, he left the decoration to them.


    They entered the hall, the other 30 odd members were already there. Every game race and ss mixed in. Those who were priests had their mouths agape at seeing Saanvi so different from them.


    It wasn''t just the appearance either, the very energy she exuded was heaven and earthpared to them. They felt small, and that drained their confidence to a minimum.


    "Thank you foring everyone," I started, as she took the leader''s seat. "I''d like to wee you all to Dragon Tail, you''ve obviously came here because you were interested about a thing or two. Even though guilds aren''t announced yet, the fact that we can buynds asrge as these gets you thinking that, soon, they will."


    They all nodded, and murmured in agreement.


    "Our guilds foundation should be loyalty. If you''re here, be sure that you''re 100%. I will not tolerate anyone who even thinks about betraying us, I want to build a family here and family should stick with each other through any perilous challenges."


    Once again they simply nodded, but one had their hand up, seemingly wanted to say something but didn''t dare to interrupt. I nodded his way.


    He was a big guy, beard and all. He was clearly a human knight, his sword was sheathed on his waist. He stood up and cleared his throat.


    "I hope my question will not offended you, but, will Kiro and Hiro be joining this guild? I''ve seen them fight, they''d be a great asset to us."


    Saanvi gave the guy the coldest of looks, that sent shivers down his spine and he regretted ever asking. He didn''t even mean anything disrespectful by his question, he just wanted to give them the suggestion.


    But Saanvi was mad at that, they had already tried recruiting them, but they refused.


    "Name?"


    "Von, ma''am."


    "Well Von, I won''t lie to you but there''s no chance of those ever joining any guild. I tried recruiting them myself, they ensured me they won''t join any. They''ll just create a Mercenary group that''ll work with guilds who want to work with them."


    Von nodded. He thought it was a pity they couldn''t join, he admired them a lot and would''ve loved to be guild mates with them.


    I prompted for everyone in the room to introduce themselves, and what they''re good at. They had 5 priests in total, including Saanvi. They didn''t have a single dwarf, which was a pity because they needed a craftsman as a guild, to flourish.


    She wasn''t too sad though, Hiro was there at their disposal as long as they paid him, he''d create anything they asked for.


    "Being part of a guild means you need to take missions, for the guild. The rewards will go toward guild maintenance, obviously you will be paid a monthly sry. Which will entirely depend on your contribution, though it won''t be lower than 5k coins."


    No one raised any hands, they understood that a guild needed upkeep and besides, they wouldn''t pay for their own weapons, armours or potions, that would be the guild''s job.


    "Now that, that''s out of the way. I want us to attempt a low level dungeon, not all of us can go. I''ll need Von for main attack, Luka for tanking and drawing aggro, Wisteria for a backup Priest and Erik to support the main attack with me."


    Luka''s ss was warrior, so he was well equipped. He looked young but his big muscles gave him a tan. Erik was an archer not quite like I. He was tall and thin.


    "I prefer Wis." She interrupted while her hand was up.


    "Right, Wis." She smiled at her, and continued, "We will be attempting the Werewolf Crypt, it hasn''t been done. Dismissed."

 Chapter 106: Werewolf Crypt

    The members got up from their sits and went their separate ways. Everyone had a room of their own within the estate. I required every single one of them to choose their guild''s headquarters as a starting point whening online. They all obliged.


    There was a big kitchen, a shop for a craftsman, a lounge. There were training grounds for every ss, a training hall too. Those who were going to be attempting a dungeon went on to train.


    "We need potions, weapons and armour." I looked at Saanvi hopefully.


    "Call him yourself." She shooed I away.


    "But he has a soft spot for you, maybe he won''t charge you much!"


    "Look at you, you''ve grown a lot since getting into the academy."


    "Fine, I''ll do it myself."


    The call rang for a long time and it wasn''t answered. She tried Kiro, his wasn''t answered either.


    "Think they''re busy, in a dungeon?"


    "Wouldn''t put it past them."


    Just then, Hiro called back. On the other end, a dwarf covered in soot appeared, he grinned and apologised for not being able to answer their call sooner.


    "That''s okay Hiro, I need to order armour, weapons and potions."


    "What kind of weapons and what sizes would you require for the armour?"


    I counted, and told him everything they needed. Nothing fancy, things to get them through a low level dungeon.


    "Seems I already have everything you need, except for a sceptre. I''ve been trying to make one for Felix, it''s a tricky one. When do you want it?"


    "Today, if possible?"


    "Impossible."


    I smiled wryly, "well that''s understandable, this is a short notice. How much will you be charging me?"


    "Well for a friend, of course I''ll give you a discount, everything will cost you 200k coins." He said, nonchntly looking through the many armour he''d made.


    I didn''t evenin, it was a lot for 6 people but she didn''t know anything about how rare the materials were to create these things, so she epted without bargaining. She quickly wired Hiro the coins through her own personal funds, she hadn''t had time to make an ount for their guild yet.


    Hiro sent the 6 armour, weapons and a whole lot of potions. He even threw in the rare restorative potions, about 30 of them. He really did cut them some ck and charged them less.


    "Not to be rude, but it was a pleasure doing business with you. If you find any materials in there, don''t be shy. I have to go."


    "Thanks Hiro, you''re the best."


    He hung up. I noticed that none of the armour and weapons were below rare rank. There was even an Epic ranked bow for her, she smiled like a little kid. She couldn''t wait to try it out.


    Their armour now didn''t have their colours because it was short notice, but in future, she vowed to make a proper order.


    Saanvi was sulking a bit, because she didn''t get a weapon. She wanted to try out her attack skills, but without a sceptre, she was just an advanced priest.


    "Come on, now that he knows, I''m sure he''ll work tirelessly to create you a perfect sceptre." She tried to cheer her up.


    She walked to the table that had their order, there were two robes for priests, one was emarald, that''s the one she chose. The other was yellow. They were both rare ranked.


    I put on the rare ranked cloth armour, and they sent the left overs to each of the people they were going to attempt the dungeon with.


    There were 150 potions in total. Each would get 25 potions, 5 restorative, 10 Health Potion and 10 magic potion. With all of this, they were ready to take the war to the werewolves.


    "By the way Saanvi, which subss did you get? I got a weird one, called seducer."


    "Chef," she said, a bit agitated.


    "Well, that can''t be too bad, maybe the food you''ll cook will have healing properties." She shrugged and left.


    She walked out of the meeting hall, and into the training grounds. She wanted to try out some of her skills before going out to challenge a dungeon.


    The archer''s training ground was majestic, Erik was already there shooting at the targets. His aim and uracy wasn''t too bad, though it seemed like he wasn''t able to do magic arrows just yet.


    I stood at a very far distance, she shoot three at the same time. They zoomed past Erik which startled him a bit, one of the 3 hit the bullseye. While the other two didn''t, but they didn''t miss either.


    "So, only one can have a critical hit, though the others aren''t totally useless."


    She walked closer and activated mirror image,  4 of her appeared, all drawing their arrows and shooting. The other 3 disappeared when they reached the target, while only one nted itself right at the middle of the target.


    Erik looked at her like he wanted to say something but the words were stuck in his throat.


    "You can speak your mind." I noticed


    He simply shook his head and admired in awe.


    They stayed and practiced for a few hours before I had a sense of her skills and was ready to go kill some werewolves. A crowd had already gathered in their training grounds, watching their guild master showing off some incredible skills.


    "Wow, guild master, you''re truly a godsend. My sword was rusty, so was my armour. Joining this guild was no mistake." Vonmented while they were walking out the gate, headed to the werewolf Crypt.


    "This is just the beginning. Better not bite the hand that feeds you."


    "Never," he said with a boyish grin that made everyone doubt he was even that old.


    The dungeon they were headed for had been avoided by yers until this point. Nobody was confident that they could take on a pack of however many werewolves there were. Everyone had just graduated from beginner vige after all.


    The only thing they were excited for were the missions, and just living their best lives in-game. Asgard was great like that, yers didn''t need to go fighting monsters they could just live like normal NPCs. Though that won''t stop other yers from bullying them since they would be weak.


    They stood in front of what seemed to be a portal. Nothing could be seen inside but a dark abyss.


    Ding!


    [You''re about to be the first ones to attempt the Werewolf Crypt. The dungeon is full of dangers, it''s a B ranked dungeon. Your party seems to be a tad bit weak, but what do I know. Happy hunting.]


    This message chilled them, but I wasn''t going to give up now, they had to see this through. They had to establish themselves as a powerhouse in Asgard.


    And so, with nervous anticipation, they walked into the portal.

 Chapter 107: Werewolf Crypt, II

    The sensation was warm and weing, an absolute opposite of what awaited them on the other side. It didn''t take a second before their view changed, like a book page had been turned.


    What greeted them was unweing vast darkness, the territory was only illuminated by by the full moon. It was close to a barrennd. The trees, even the soil were dead.


    The trees were without leaves, it was dark but the moon illuminated them well. They were ck as night, at odd angles they looked like shadows, making the party paranoid.


    It was as if a higher being plucked them from somewhere, hoping to make the soil here fertile but the opposite happened. The soil managed to kill them but also kept them standing.


    "This isn''t creepy." Erikmented.


    "Just, don''t touch anything." I ordered.


    They walked amongst the trees, they were creaking and oozing ck liquid as if toin of their old age or that they were being forcefully being kept alive.


    There was nothing but death as far as their eyes could see. No buildings or signs that there was ever a civilisation, just a world that belonged to monsters, ravaged and treated cruelly until it couldn''t bear life.


    They continued to walk forward, cautiously. Kiro had told them of the story with fighting trees, so their minds were sharper than usual. Their guild mates didn''t quite understand when no monster was in front of them but they followed orders nheless.


    Wisteria was the shy and quiet type, but she was also very clumsy. It came as no surprise when she tripped on her own feet, I had spent a good amount of time with her so she was kind of expecting something dumb to happen with her.


    As clumsy as she was, she was the most talented priest amongst those recruited excluding Saanvi. That''s why I chose her for this, experience would do her good, she thought.


    Everything happened in slow motion for I, Wisteria''s face was inches away from the tree bark and the mysterious liquid. I acted faster, using wind to push her back. As she wasn''t used to it, she knocked her a couple of meters away, shended on the soil with her behind.


    "Ouch!" She eximed


    "I am so, so sorry. Are you okay?" I was already by her side.


    The other members were stiflingughter. Attempting to be as serious in this situation like their guild master was. I was genuinely concerned for this shy and inexperienced girl.


    But luckily, her spirits didn''t sense an animosity. The wind spirits didn''t knock her hard, they even cushioned her fall.


    She got up, smiling and nodded. She was thankful that I had saved her just now, from whatever the tree liquid could do.


    "I mean, that''s what you get for being so clumsy Wis, why do you have your own gravitational field¡ª" Luka paused because I gave him a death stare, he grinned in return to apologise.


    A howl resounded throughout the area, they looked around but couldn''t see anything, then another howl sounded far from the first one. Like a domino effect, there was a howl, one after another.


    They saw a pair of red eyes before they saw its body. It walked on its hind legs. It was crouched a bit, clearly it could run on all fours if it wanted.


    The closer it got, the clearer they could see it. It was humanlike but also clearly a monster. It''s skin was white as a sheet, riddled with a lot of ck, unhealthy veins. It was thin and tall. With hair here and there. Instead of a


    mouth, it had a muzzle.


    It howled once again, as if to alert the others that it had found the intruders.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered a stray werewolf. They usually roam in packs, but some are too chaotic to y by the rules in packs so they separate.


    Stray Werewolf


    Level 40


    HP: 8 000]


    "Luka, you''re our first line of defence. Priests stay far away from the battle. Von, you''re our main damage dealer. Erik and I will support you from afar." I barked orders.


    Nobody talked back, they just did what they were told. Luka activated his berserker state, his already big muscles bulged into even bigger ones. And they felt like he was an unconquerable and unmoving mountain.


    Just his back gave them a sense of security. It was big and it radiated hope within the death that surrounded them.


    The werewolf had eyes for only Luka, as it lunged for him. Unlike Hiro, Luka didn''t use a shield, but his bare fists and body to pummel anything that dared to approach him.


    He threw a right hook, it connected beautifully on its maw causing it fall a few paces from them. I was already ontop if it, as arrows came crashing down on it.


    It attempted to block them out by putting it''s hands up, but it wasn''t enough. The arrows were dangerous and livid, they pierced through its boney arms.


    Everyone waited with anticipation, the werewolf revealed it''s face, with an almost sinister grin on its face. The arrows started melting and dripping like they were its blood.


    They blinked, and it was in front of Luka. It swiped for his armour, but thankfully it was rare ranked, it didn''t leave so much as a scratch on it. Luka held it''s arm, and punched it on the jaw, nting it''s thin face on the dead soil.


    Von was already at the scene with his sword, he pierced it through the heart. It howled, with a more somber tone. The howl was cut short by the gurgles of blood that drowned it''s vocal cords and it fell with a finality.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on defeating your first ever werewolf. You''re awarded 120k EXP and 50k coins. Don''t get smug just because you defeated this one with ease. Happy hunting.]


    "That was surprisingly easy, was it really a level 40?" Erikined.


    "You need to polish your senses more," I scolded and she continued in a serious tone, "we''re surrounded."

 Chapter 108: Werewolf Crypt, III

    "Surrounded?" Luka asked unsure.


    They all looked around but they couldn''t see anything. Nothing moved, there was silence except for the asional creaks of the trees.


    "That''s not very funny guild master." Von eximed.


    But I wasn''tughing, she was looking, she could see things they couldn''t thanks to her spirits. She counted and there were about 6ing their way, they closed the huge distance in a matter of seconds and reached where they had taken refuge.


    "Get ready to fight, there are 6 of them and they are pissed off." She warned.


    Sure enough, a pair of 11 red eyes presented themselves. One them had their eye gauged out, it was clearly their leader.


    "I thought the system said that little shit was a stray?" Erik questioned.


    Ding!


    [Yes it was. These ones are as well. An alliance can exist within strays, there''s nothing surprising about that. Good luck.]


    "That would''ve been useful before we fought that thing though?" Von argued


    But the system never replied back. It wouldn''t be much of a game if yers were told everything, once a yer graduates beginner''s vige, they were on their own. The system would not help in any way.


    "No useining about it now let''s fight. Luka, you''ll have to be our meat shield. Of course the priests will prioritise you above us all here."


    Luka understood, he nervously nodded. He stood at the forefront and activated his berserker mode. s, he could only draw in about 4 of them.


    One lunged at the two priests, but Von was already there with majestic sword skills, he cleanly cut the thing''s muzzle. It was frantic.


    I didn''t waste any time, as she nned to use a magic arrow. She took a deep breath, moved her shoulders around to rx, then aimed with her new rare ranked bow.


    The first arrow was light and thin, it travelled even faster. The werewolf dodged, but barely. I was mad, but there was no time to busk in her failure, the werewolf had already reached her.


    She activated mirror image to confuse it. Sure enough, it couldn''t tell which ones were the Illusions. All of her were aiming yet another magic arrow.


    It zoomed straight for the thing''s chest, at first nothing happened it looked as if the werewolf had absorbed the arrow, but like wild fireworks, it turned its insides into mush. Completely decorating the area with it''s guts, flesh and blood.


    Luka on the other side, while it was 4 against 1, he was holding his own. He was rampaging, he kicked and punched. At the same time, he was scratched and bitten. He wasn''t worried though, the two priests were hard at work, healing him.


    His berserker state had no indication that it would slow down any time soon. He looked like an absolute beast out there. His fists were coated in a red, very violent aura. It took about 5 of his punches to cause a single werewolf to back down. But it was still drawn to him because of aggro.


    Von was dealing with the leader, it was a difficult foe. But as a strong knight, he managed to keep it at bay with his sword aura.


    The werewolf released a sound his way, which caused him to be disoriented. It lunged at him with its right arm, and sent him flying a good distance away. It went straight for the two priests.


    Erik had already aimed his arrow, iming the leader as his next victim. The arrow was carried by the wind, it didn''t notice since it was enraged and was sure it would reach the two that were being protected. Its attention was jerked in his direction when a metallic arrow entered one of its good eye.


    It cried out in a way that wasn''t a howl, Von was already behind it and sliced its neck with his sword, decapitating it.


    Luka had already tired out most of his foes and killed one. I was picking them off from a safe distance, one by one.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you''ve massacred the stray alliance. You''ve gained 500k EXP and 100k coins.]


    "Is it me or the system has be more stingy with the coins?" Erikined.


    "But how long have we been here? Yet there''s no sign of dawn breaking." Luka talked over Erik''sint.


    "Maybe nights are longer, it''s werewolf territory after all." Saanvi logically exined.


    Ding!


    [Days don''t exist in this world, only nights with the full moon always.]


    "Useless." Von muttered under his breath.


    Their victory was short lived, as I saw an army of theming their way.


    "Everyone, don''t panic, but there''s an army of theming."


    "An army? How many?"


    "About 30, give or take."


    "30?" They all eximed, at the same time.


    "Don''t panic, I have a n. Get ready to attack, kill as much as possible at my say so." She ordered.


    They knew better than to doubt her now, she was right about the pack of strays after all. So they all waited for her order.


    I summoned her wind spirits, a dust of light invisible to everyone else gathered around and embraced her, she weed it waited the enemy to show themselves.


    Although there was light, it wasn''t bright enough to see far into the forest. Not even the moon managed to do that. The seconds felt like an eternity to them, they weren''t even breathing.


    Then, they saw the red. I quickly activated illusionary arts andmanded the wind to carry it to the enemy, so they did. It was akin to fairy dust, the moment the werewolves breathed in the air, they were under her illusion.


    She opted for beautiful dreams instead of nightmares, that would calm them down making them easy pick offs to kill. The moment they entered their vicinity, they stopped marching forwards.


    They were seeing things they wanted the most, they stood dumbly enjoying their dream state.


    "Now, kill them all." I''s voice resounded through the forest.


    They didn''t need to be told twice.

 Chapter 109: Werewolf Crypt, IV

    Von was decapitating werewolves one after another. He was covered in ck liquid that he assumed was blood, he had no idea how I got them in a trance but he wouldn''t question it. He trudged forwards, carving a path and leaving dead bodies as he did.


    Luka on the other side was on a rampage, without them even moving, it was easy to punch holes through their hearts. He''d at times punch a hole and squeeze their hearts, he liked feeling them exploded on his palm. His berserker mode, made him love blood more than be liked to admit.


    Of course the two archers weren''t standing by idly. Several arrows rained on the werewolf army, injuring and killing some. The two priests were hard at work, healing all 4 of their guild mates, ensuring that they didn''t waste potions on foot soldiers. Saanvi was a bit jealous, she wanted more than anything to attack but without a scepter it wasn''t possible.


    I didn''t need much arrows, she used the wind to make the arrows seem like they were alive. They''d go through one and onto the next. She smiled at how convenient it was to have spirits at ones disposal. Seeing the skills he didn''t have, Erik was also a bit jealous.


    It was then he noticed that he was still very green. He didn''t know magic arrows, he didn''t even know how to manipte the wind to work in his favour. He reckoned they were skills I acquired and learned, and that they weren''t inherent for all elves.


    He wasn''t exactly wrong in his deduction, I was no longer of the elven race, she was a sprite, even though her physical appearance was the same, her skills were heaven and earthpared to his.


    After 10 seconds, her mana veins wereining. So she released the illusionary arts, but they had killed them all except for only 2.


    When they came to, and say themselves standing on the corpses of theirrades they turned tail and ran. I wouldn''t let them though, she released a magic arrow that pierced through the first and onto the next one.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you''ve killed the werewolf King''s elite army. You''ve angered it greatly, it weeps for its fallen children and it won''t rest until every one of you are its meal.]


    "A king?" Wis said, barely a whisper. She was out of breath from all the healing.


    "It wouldn''t be much of a dungeon without a boss." I shrugged, cleaning her precious bow Hiro made for her.


    Everyone else was cleaning their weapons, to keep it from rusting and dulling.


    "This B ranked dungeon wasn''t anything special, we should attempt A ranked next." Vonmented, pride in his voice. He couldn''t believe how easy his guild master made the dungeon be.


    The other two boys nodded in agreement.


    "Let''s deal with the boss first, then we will talk." I scolded.


    They had to walk a bit of a distance to reach where the boss was, it was right at the centre, at the heart of the forest. When they reached it, it was as if it was waiting for their arrival. It vastly differed from its subjects. It was huge and majestic, it towered over all of them. It stood on all fours, its fur seemed thicker than any of the armour they had on.


    I tried illusionary arts on it, but it didn''t work. Erik shot an arrow, which it dodged with too much ease.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered the king of this world, to clear the dungeon, you''ll need to kill it.


    Werewolf King


    Level 50


    HP 20000]


    It walked low, and cautiously. It growled at them, its eyes were fire. It looked at them with such rage and contempt.


    It took only one giant leap to reach Luka whose muscles were already engorged. He tried to block its attack but he was sent several meters away. It didn''t waste any time and attacked Von next.


    He managed to block its teeth with his sword. It swiped across his chest with its ws, damaging his armour badly. Erik felt absolutely useless, as the thing moved so fast he couldn''t aim well.


    Thanks to her uracy skill, I didn''t face the same problem. She was able to urately pinpoint where it wouldnd next, like a strand  of strings. She shot three arrows its way, 2pletely missed while one grazed it a bit.


    She quickly summoned the Earth spirits, she knew its next target would be the priests, so she quickly drew the earth spirits from the soil and made an invisible wall which shuttered at the arrival of the werewolf king.


    That was enough time for Von and Luka to once again stand between the monster and their priests. They quickly downed health potions as that would be faster than getting healed by another yer.


    The werewolf was visibly annoyed as it sank its teeth on Luka''s shoulders. He screamed in agony. Von already used his sword to impart a wound, all that did was make it even more angry. It pinned him on the ground with its big paw.


    It let out a roar that left him paralysed, I ran into the battlefield, she couldn''t stay away any longer. She activated mirror image to distract it from mutting herrades.


    It worked, as it saw about 12 more people and about as much arrowsing its way. It dodged but luckily the real one hit. It was over for it, but not before lunging at Erik and cutting his head off cleanly.


    After that, the arrow liquidated its insides and exploded. Nourishing the soil with its blood and flesh.


    Erik pixted and died.


    "Dammit! I didn''t expect I''d lose a single member, it''s a B ranked dungeon, thought it''d be a cakewalk." Iined.


    Nobody talked back, they were simply too tired and too shaken up by how unprepared they were going into this. They absolutely attributed their victory tody luck. If I didn''t have those deadly skills, they would''ve likely been unable to clear this dungeon.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions yers, you''re the first ones to clear a B ranked dungeon. You''ve received 1 million coins and 20 million EXP. The king dropped its pelt, it is epic ranked.]


    I breathed a deep sigh of relief, she thought she''d need more potionsing into this dungeon, fortunately they saved a fortune.


    "Now then, shall we run this dungeon again?" She grinned, asking hopefully.

 Chapter 110: Realm Of Shadow

    After a very long time, Kiro opened his eyes. He couldn''t see at first, his pupils were dark as the abyss he came from. They looked ready to devour weary travellers. He blinked rapidly, the vision started toe back to his eyes.


    ''What''s happening, where am I?'' He was disorientated, he couldn''t tell where he was.


    For a second, it felt like he was lying on his bed back home. He could feel the warmth in the atmosphere his home always brought him, poor as they were his parents made that little ce a home for them.


    He smelled his mother''s cooking from where he was. He could even feel the texture of his bed, the stinking feet of his younger brother. He tried getting up because he was hungry, and the breakfast smelled really delicious.


    He groaned, as he couldn''t get his body to get up, but he could move his eyes. The vision was clear now. They darted from left to right, he couldnt recognise the room he was in, but he concluded it was a makeshift house, made by a very inexperienced builder.


    He wanted to move his hand to feel the wound that had him sleeping for a very long time. He could feel it was still there. But because his body refused his everymand, he failed to.


    Heid there, thinking about the experience he just went through. He tried to make sense of everything he saw but couldn''t, it bothered him how real it all felt.


    ''Oh right, I was in that room. What happened in there, why did I get ejected so fast, was that war something I shouldn''t have seen, perhaps. What a mindbender¡ª''


    His thoughts were disturbed by a burning sensation in his bones. There was only one foreign energy that took residence in his body, so he didn''t need to crack his skull to know what was causing the pain.


    By the looks of it, it was overflowing, it wanted to be used. It gave him a feeling he didn''t quite like, he wanted to kill. He was thirsty for blood, not just murder too, the torturous gut wrenching kind.


    His lips moved into a smirk, he couldn''t believe that, even though he subdued the energy, it was still this suggestive to him. It awaited for any moment of weakness to snatch away his sanity.


    It was unfortunate for it, because that was one thing Kiro refused to let go. Even in his past life, he never let his sufferings take away who he was. It was a priceless thing, something his parents gave him that nobody could forcibly take from him. If he did lose it, it would be out of his own volition.


    His resolve had always been strong, he just needed a little push to get himself out there. Self-confidence was something hecked back then, but it was something he gained now and it was irond.


    Kiro noticed at a distance a big shadowy figure, lying on the ground with his muzzle on his paws, his body was moving at a slow even pace. He smiled, seeing his beast by his side made his insides all jittery.


    Though the times when he nursed him came to mind, he unintentionally recoiled. It was the most painful thing, but he d for him. He was d to have someone there for him no matter what.


    "Hubris," he said, his voice barely a whisper.


    "Master, you''re awake." Hubris was napping, but he heard the whisper, he got up really fast and went to stand by his side. He couldn''t help himself, he was too excited, as he licked Kiro on the cheek.


    Kiro attempted tough, but it came out as a smile instead. He was truly happy for apanion, he couldn''t imagine how this experience would''ve been if he was all alone.


    "My wound, how is it?" He asked as he couldn''t see or touch it himself.


    "Completely healed." He couldn''t hide his excitement and relief.


    ''Huh? Is this what they call phantom tail?''


    "It''s probably hard to move because you''ve beenid like that for 6 months, at least that''s what I''ve counted."


    "6 months¡ªyou''re kidding, Hubris? Where are we?"


    "I don''t know." He said suddenly sheepish.


    Kiro was still out of sorts but he knew this must still be the game, why else would Hubris be there if it wasn''t. He also sensed hesitation and a slight deception in Hubris'' answer, even then he didn''t pry further, he figured he''d tell him when he''s ready.


    "System, are you there?" He held his breath in anticipation, hoping the sassy, full of attitude system would answer back.


    Silence. His heart dropped to the pits of his stomach. If this was the game, then where was the system? The more he thought about it, the more none of this made any sense. He reckoned it must have been a dream, maybe he''s back at his dorm room, sleeping and will wake up and go to ss.


    "System... Status...Call Hiro¡ª"


    He tried different gamemands but none of them worked. His body was getting used to the idea of him being awake now, slowly, he got up. Using Ryu as a crutch. He walked toward the shabby door, every step carried unfathomable anticipation.


    He felt like a baby just learning to walk again, the shelter Hubris built wasn''t all that big but it took Kiro everything in his being to just reach the door. The view was well worth the trouble, he thought.


    He was in awe of what was before his eyes. The sky looked like it was riddled with clustered dust instead of stars, the dust had different colours. The sun was just at the horizon about to rise, the 5 moons were fading in the background since the sun was just about toe out.


    "Hubris, where the hell are we?" He asked again, hoping this time, he''d tell him a bit of truth.


    "Home... I think."

 Chapter 111: Dealing with Demons

    No matter what he did, he couldn''t contact the system nor log out. He was stuck in a realm he knew nothing about. He had tried using his game skills, they all worked. It was a confusing dilemma he was in.


    Though he noticed they worked through the energy he absorbed, not the magic he was used to, so they were more violent. Lightning no longer had a light blue colour, it was pure ck with a tinge of purple.


    He was sitting around a fire they had made at the beach, when Hubris dropped from the sky unannounced, the fact that Kiro wasn''t phased meant he was used to it.


    "Found anything yet?"


    "Nothing."


    Hubris went around looking for anything that would prove this was his home since his master was awake, Kiro stayed behind to get his body used to being awake and attempting to get used to the foreign energy. That''s what they''ve been doing the past 15 days.


    Kiro was starting to feel like his old self again, he could do anything he used to except vibrational sense. It was a strange sensation, he couldn''t feel anything vibrating in this world, or maybe his skill was still too weak to pick up on anything.


    The beach was soothing, the waves were music to his ears and the salt smelled divine. He wished to stay there forever but also knew be had to get to the bottom of this and go home.


    "Sigh. I wanted to stay here a little longer, creepy as it seems." He muttered more to himself.


    The ocean was more violent today, the waves brought dirt to the sand that the ocean on the other side had taken in. So the beach was a bit dirty. Kiro had already lit a fire, when something amazing happened. Two figures came out of the water like it was the most normal thing.


    They started eating the dirt the ocean had vomited out when they noticed the fire and the two beings sitting around it looking at them in shock.


    "Yhw od ouy etullop rou Emoh!" It eximed in a groggy deep voice, it had moved so fast that both of them had failed to react.


    "Seof, llik." The other took a fighting stance.


    They were both on their feet now, "Hubris, is this world a mirror of the one wee from?"


    "I mean just the oceans, you''ve noticed? You catch on quick."


    "Well, ournguage is ournguage even if it''s backwards. Even my idiot brother would know."


    These were the ugliest monsters Kiro had ever seen. Their eyes were so far apart that they may as well have rested on each side of their temples. They had slits for a nose. No gills to tell them apart fromnd monsters, that didn''t matter here.


    Their bodies looked malnourished. Skin almost attached itself to the bone. The ribs were clearly drawn on its sides, the stomach was the biggest thing it had. Tall andnky, thanks to being too skinny, the head was a bit heavy for them to walk normally.


    Living in salt water had turned their skin very pale, so they were blinding to look at. Kiro thanked whoever that the fall of dusk was nearing. Maybe under a moonlight they wouldn''t be so hard to look at.


    Memories of this realm shed in Hubris'' mind, he couldn''t make sense of them at all since he was very young back then.


    Hellhounds aged a little different, Kiro found him before he reached his peak maturity, meaning he''d been banished for at least 200 years.


    He would''ve been at his peak for another 200 years or so, but because of the forced evolution that almost killed him, that was sped up really fast. It was strange though, it was as though the memories were locked away. So they came to him in random puzzle pieces.


    "Sirens. They''re called Sirens." He absentmindedly muttered.


    "It''d be greater if you remembered their abilities too."


    Hubris simply gave him an apologetic look. He didn''t remember, if he did, his mind was a scattered library. It would be a useless endeavour to try and go through everything, they were face to face with some of the most dangerous creatures of the Underworld, if underestimated.


    Kiro blinked in front of them, they were caught off guard by how fast he moved. He used a lightning palm strike, which worked as he nned. The things were water creatures, they must''ve been weak to lightning.


    Kiro noticed a significant change in which he was able to use the skills, he didn''t have to activate them, they were like an extension of his body.


    While the thing was electrocuted, it simply melted to jelly and sprung right back up with the most ear shuttering scream. Kiro having no way to turn off vibrational sense suffered a great deal.


    He was still new to how the skills worked. He couldn''t minimise sensing vibrations on time, the attack caused his ears, eyes and nose to bleed. It was as if his insides were being crumbled like a thin wet piece of paper.


    Even though that was happening in his body, what he heard was theplete opposite. The melody was almost seductive, he didn''t want to stop listening to it. It seemed to wash away every problem of his, it embraced him and weed him with both arms wide open.


    Hubris pounced, cleanly removing the head of the one that was seducing his master with such a ratchet sound. But unlikest time, the number of Sirens doubled. They had a gemino effect to anybody who could cut them.


    "Master, snap out of it. This is going to be troublesome."


    Kiro ignored him, while he downed a restorative potion. There were only 5 left. The mana potion was plentiful but was useless for Kiro, useful for Hubris. He also had 4 Health Potions.


    ''I don''t need you to tell me that?'' he roared inside, intending for Hubris to feel his emotions.


    When the potion took it''s effects, he jumped up high, brandishing Ryu, screaming like a maniac. With all of his strength he struck one of the sirens on the head, which cleanly cut them in half.


    "Oops."

 Chapter 112: Sirens

    "Master..."


    "Yes yes, I''m sorry, I''ll be careful next time. I just haven''t used Ryu in a long time."


    "Then use it as a lightening rod of some kind."


    "Ryu doesn''t like your suggestion at all, but it''s a good one."


    There were like, 6 of these things now. Kiro strapped Ryu on his back, deciding to use his hands and feet. He ran straight for it, but this time he was anticipated, long tendrils made up of entirely ck water shot forward to pierce and stop the enemy in front.


    Kiro was tap dancing, trying to avoid its watery elongated arms. They seemed to be acidic, as they punched through rocks they left it with a big hole and dripping. He had a bad feeling that, that would be him if he let himself get hit.


    It wasn''t even a second after the thought had formed, the thing''s tendril sowed right through his shoulder. It had used that one split second distraction tond its attack.


    It left a big hole on his shoulder, but the difference was, his meat wasn''t dripping like the rock did. His healing skill kicked in immediately. He refused to use a potion this time, while the skill was faster than before, it was still detrimental on the battlefield.


    But he vowed to use a potion only when the injury was great and his situation dire. A shoulder was nothing he had another, he thought.


    Hubris cut in, using his hell fire like a methrower, hoping he could burn them into a gaseous state. While his mes were extremely dangerous, they couldn''t burn anything that was at molecr level. He was only able to reduce them into such a small level, which they could easily grow out of.


    "Are you really an ancient beast if you can''t even burn them into nonexistence?"


    "That''s not very nice master, I''m still very new at this. Most of my skills are still locked. Despite being home."


    Kiro shook his head and turned away from his mount, his fists were suddenly bubbled by dark hellish lightning. His lips quivered into a smirk, as his shoulder wound closed up.


    The wind carried him to the enemy base. He threw a punch, which was too fast to be dodged on time and he buried it on one of the siren''s face.


    It hadn''t even darted, before Kiro already rooted his foot on another. The third one tried to sneak a frontal attack, he used lightning to propel himself up, somersaulting a few more times before nting his heel on the back of its head.


    Each had 3 to deal with, they were very careful not to cut them, they didn''t want to trigger the curse, they also wanted to finish this much earlier. The 3 Kiro had suppressed, looked like they had swallowed a very bitter medicine.


    "Rehtegot nem! llik mih!" It angrily proimed.


    They all ran to him, they abandoned theirzy demeanor out of anger. Kiro grabbed Ryu, and stood his ground. Both him and his staff were crackling with lightning.


    With vibrational sense, blink and lightning, his reaction was something others would call goldly. He was surrounded by 3 of these things, he had drawn a circle around himself so that he could keep them at bay. They looked like they were dancing.


    Kiro dodged and blocked each and every one of their elongated spindly arms attempting to gauge his very being. Keeping them just outside of his circle, he was actually having fun.


    Hubris on the other hand was in a dilemma, he couldn''t use his ws or fangs. He was growing bored and tired at just using fire, a fire that didn''t even destroy thempletely.


    He used speed to elude them, he''d never done it but his tail was also useful. Hitting them like there was a prize to be won.


    One came from behind to sneak an attack on him, then it was frozen in fear. At his frustration Hubris used his ws, with affliction. Fortunately, it gave the siren a slight wound.


    "Master I did it! I can now fight better!"


    But Kiro did not answer back, Hubris used his peripheral vision to focus in, on where his master was. What he saw was unbelievable.


    He had been caught in something, there was a big bubble over his head. His eyes were opened widely, his mouth shut and his body showed no indication that he was breathing.


    It took only a stride for Hubris to reach him, he swiped with left w to bust the bubble. His w however moved threw the bubble at a snail''s pace. It was as if time itself protected that particr space.


    Then he noticed that he was still alive, he didn''t breathe because he didn''t want to inhale whatever was made of that water bubble.


    Kiro was suffocating, he wasn''t sure how long he could hold onto his breath. He got a little conceited thinking he knew everything there was to know about their abilities, only to be struck by something that was fighting to steal his breath.


    Though the bubble of water was clear, transparent almost, Kiro couldn''t see anything happening around hum, just nauseating darkness. That''s why he was standing still, afraid if he moved he''d be tipped into the abyss of darkness.


    He tried every skill in his arsenal, but nothing seemed to be able to bust the bubble.


    Hubris wasn''t standing still, he found his own way to fight these things, which was affliction. It worked better than he thought.


    He pounced from one siren to another, hoping to kill one and hoping it would break the curse as he did. While affliction worked, it was extremely slow, it only slowed them down. This made him somehow angrier, as he repeated the attacks, wishing they''d just drop dead.


    Just then, the sand shook. Everybody there, including Kiro stumbled. It felt like a big sized earthquake taking ce, or a volcano nearby erupted.


    But, countless ocean creatures zoomed out of the ocean,nding with sunken teeth on the duo. Which made Kiro the more uneasy.

 Chapter 113: Sirens, II

    Before the time Kiro was trapped and marine life came rushing out of the ocean...


    "Rehtorb, ew lliw eid. Nommus."


    "Woh ynam?"


    It looked at its brethren with unfaltering determination, "!"


    The sirens were top of the chain in the ocean, they were the most intelligent marine life. As fate would have it, they had one other ability, to control everything inferior to them in the ocean.


    While Hubris was distracted by Kiro having his head swallowed by water. They used this chance to summon marine creatures, to win this odious battle.


    They all started chanting in anguage that was foreign even in the Underworld. The water started to fight violently against itself.


    The ground started to shake violently as if the world was shouting at the top of its lungs, telling every creature that crawled on it that it was tired. It sounded like it was going to crack in half, but it never did.


    Aquatic life zoomed out of the water and straight for the beings that were foes with their masters.


    Dusk hadpletely fallen by this time. Naturally the lighting was different, but the 5 moons made every night, everywhere shameful. It was as though the sun never drowned beyond the horizon.


    The 5 silhouettes seemed to have been watching the battle that ensued under them with great anticipation. One of the 5 was even slightly red in colour, as if to bleed in the stead of the brave fighters on the ground.


    The spectators made Hubris paranoid, as he looked up, one was so close he could practically touch it, if he jumped high enough, he thought.


    They must''ve deemed Hubris the bigger threat because the more dangerous and intermediating looking ones all aimed for him.


    "I don''t have time for this, my Lord is dying." Hemented with a thunderous voice that sent chills on every creatures'' spine.


    If they had sense at all, they''d have turned tail right then, and ran for their pathetic lives. But their instincts weren''t strong enough to get them to do that. Even if they did, they were being controlled by unwavering and senseless sirens.


    In his frustrations, Hubris unwittingly used his ws to sever the thing that looked like a whale with razor sharp teeth''s membrane in half.


    Time seemed to stop as he waited, anticipating for the aquatic creature to multiply. He cursed himself as to how he let anger get the better of him.


    A second passed and nothing suggested it would multiply, a sinister grin formed on Hubris'' maw. For the first in his life, he really looked like a hellhound.


    His anger was so great that he could glimpse a move before it even happened. Whether it be his or his enemies, he had unknowingly unlocked precognition.


    The thing shrieked an ear piercingly loud scream seeing Hubris dominate its minions. Hubris simply aimed on the inside of its mouth with a hellfire ball, the ball didn''t even touch on its tongue it zoomed straight and settled in the pits of its stomach. Its eyes bulged with unbelieving panic and fear and just then it exploded from the inside out.


    Hubris didn''t have the tone or the voice but anybody could tell that he wasughing maniacally.


    At a distance, dark lightning threatened to pierce the sky in half. Like that, Kiro had freed himself from the prison ofplete darkness.


    A small fish had embedded itself on his shoulder, he held and jerked it away, it was so attached that it came with a chunk of his meat. He wasn''t worried though, as the energy was already mending what was broken.


    He threw it on the sand and stepped on it, with a crack, it was done for. Many of itsrades didn''t just lock onto Hubris, since there was another enemy. Great white sharks, whales, all looked unnatural to Kiro.


    He didn''t bother unstrapping Ryu, maybe because of the trauma of splitting the enemy, making it multiply but he preferred using his bare fists coated with lightning.


    It was a disgusting and unsatisfactory experience. He didn''t quite like his bare skin entering their insides, it felt slippery and mushy. With barely any bones.


    Hubris on the other hand was having too much fun. He jumped from one fish to another, only needing one swipe from his w to kill one.


    The duo managed to kill their minions in a matter of seconds, the sirens were livid. One travelled at insane speeds to reach Kiro, took it a single breath to reach him just to be met with a fistful of lightning.


    Almost immediately it melted into nothingness.


    Then something amazing happened, which left the two dumbfounded, the three that remained ran. They picked up and ate the trash as they did. Then submerged themselves into the ocean.


    "Did they just run? I''d expect this from any monster, but not an Underworld monster. I thought you guys would be tough and stubborn."


    "Why would you think that?"


    The sand was full of raw, perfectly good meat. Kiro wasn''t about to let that go to waste, he was raised better than that. So he was picking them up one by one.


    "Maybe because the first Underworld beast I acquired is tough and stubborn?"


    Hubris made a chuckling sound, remembering those painful days made him cringe but was d his master thought nothing of them. He just treated it as normal rebellion, as a teenager would.


    He looked at his Lord lovingly and quickly followed from behind, also picking up the fish. He knew how good his cooking was, the more the merrier.


    "Hubris, you should go get wood, the fire we had is all but done."


    "Are you sure?" Hubris was hesitant, he wasn''t sure his master could carry all these by himself.


    "Who do you think I am? Don''t worry, I''ll carry as much as possible. You''ll eat to your hearts content."


    His tail involuntarily wagged. He ran into the forests. When he came back, he had more wood than they would need and Kiro had more fish than they could eat.


    They sat around the fire eating.


    "Those things, won''te back right?"


    "They onlye out when the ocean burps out trash. That happens once in a while."


    Kiro decided to trust hisrade, and rxed a bit.

 Chapter 114: At The Beach

    Kiro wasn''t particrly tired, he felt refreshed after the battle. But he wanted toze around nheless. He reckon he deserved to rx after spending 6 months trying to wake up. It was a call for celebration.


    He roasted every fish they collected and seasoned it, this alone took him hours. So much so, he was alreadyining about teaching Hubris how to do this. But after all that, it was time to feast and feast they did.


    "Too bad there''s no drinks!" Kiroined.


    Without a word, Hubris ran to a tree, cutting it cleanly and making makeshift mugs for them. Then scooping some ocean water, and returning in record time.


    Kiro looked at him like he was crazy, "I''m not drinking that. When I said drinks I didn''t mean ocean water. Ocean water is dirty and salty."


    "My Lord, trust me, please."


    Kiro hesitantly took the mug, taking only a sip. The taste was bittersweet, what''s more it made his insides burn, in a rxing kind of way.


    ''Is this, alcohol? I sure hope they won''t be able to detect it through a virtual game.'' He thought that and took a swig off his mug and finish it one gulp, it hit the spot.


    Hubris had already ran to the forest yet again, to make a makeshift jug this time. Once he determined that his master liked it, he didn''t want to be an errand boy running to the ocean every second. Not that he minded, he just wanted to enjoy the delicious meat too.


    "Wow, who would''ve thought oceans here tasted this great!"


    Hubris nodded. It was just something he happened to remember at the spare of the moment. He wished he could remember it all and not in the fragments he was being given. He was sad but he didn''t want to show it, but that was useless because Kiro could feel it.


    He could use his power as his master to make him spill his guts but he thought that would be cruel. Hubris would surelye to him when he wants to.


    Ever since he said this may be his home, he didn''t want to borate further, even then Kiro gave him some space for his mind to wrap around everything. It was just him who fell into an unknown world, Hubris too. What was worse, Hubris was familiar with the world but at the same time unfamiliar with it.


    "Master, where are you from?"


    "Huh? From where we came from I guess?" He answered absentmindedly.


    "No, I mean, where are you really from. I''m also a foreigner up there but I''ve spent 200 years with them, your kind had really just arrived.


    "The things your kind can do are scary. The natives up there wouldn''t even dream of doing half the things you guys do. So I''m just curious."


    Kiro was at a loss for words, was Hubris a self-aware code, wouldn''t this be dangerous if that were the case. If that were the case, why was it still loyal to him? Wouldn''t it depress him if he called him aputer code that had no free will?


    "Ahem, I''m from the dimension above that one. My world had already face an apocalypse, so I guess we''re here to help this one.


    "We have advanced technology, we use something to jump in here, though I doubt we can use it to jump something out of here."


    Hubris nodded in agreement. He was excited, he wanted more than anything to visit his master''s home. Kiro knew he would want to, that''s why he closed it with, there''s no known way to travel from here to there.


    But s, Hubris took that as a challenge. He figured if so many cane from there, there surely must be a way for only one toe from here, it just hadn''t been discovered yet. Just like they haven''t discovered leaving this realm.


    Thinking about it like made him the more excited to look for ways. Kiro didn''t even need to feel his emotions, they were painted all over his face. He decided to let him be, if this was his dream he''ll let him have it. If he really does find a way, it would be problematic but he could handle it.


    "I have a family too you know." Kiro blurted out.


    "Oh, you mean Hiro?" Hubris had no idea why he was telling him something he already knew.


    "I guess you could say Hiro is my family too. But there''s more, my father, mother, brother, my cute little sister. And now you, Hubris."


    If he had tears, he''d be crying right now but his emotions made up for that, they were in turmoil.


    They had finished eating they were just drinking and enjoying the warm fire, and the beautiful tune the waves made.


    They were watching the sun set while having these conversations. The sunset here was the most beautiful thing, it gave off different colours that Kiro couldn''t describe with his very limitednguage. He thought it made sense, since this was a different world, there ought to be things he couldn''t describe.


    As it was setting it gave off a warm that was lulling Kiro to sleep. His alcohol tolerance wasn''t very high, even in-game. So he was just rumbling about everything and anything.


    They had finished eating they were just drinking and enjoying the warm fire, and the beautiful tune the waves made.


    Though as soon as Kiro said that he was knocked out cold. Hubris was to put him back in the shelter he made, but he didn''t want to move. He was still basking in the fact that, his master saw him as one of his family. He wanted the moment tost as long as possible, he felt like if he moved an inch it''d be lost in the oceans.


    He stayed like that for hours until the waves threatened to take them, that''s when he decided to move. Taking his master far away from the dangerous waves in an instant.


    Kiro slept very peaceful that night, nothing disturbed his dreams. Nothing about being in a foreignnd made his sleep uneasy

 Chapter 115: Foreign Land

    Kiro woke up the next day with a splitting headache. He didn''t even want to move his head, the best he could do to let hubris know that he was awake was groaning. Not too loud, as that would disturb his sleep.


    But Hubris didn''te, there was no sign that he was inside the shelter. He didn''t bother with him anymore, as the pain demanded to be listened to.


    ''I''m gonna die here isn''t it.'' He thought to himself, he''d never experienced a hangover, even if he had, it would''ve been child''s ypared to this.


    Hubris walked in like he was being chased by demons.


    "Master, you''re awake. Went to catch this shellfish for you, apparently it makes you better after a night of ocean fun."


    "Ocean fun?" Kiro couldn''t help but chuckle.


    He took the shellfish nheless, he didn''t waste any time and started eating them. There were 3, so finished them quick and after 30 minutes, it was as if nothing was ever sore.


    "Wow, this is the best medicine." Heplimented.


    He looked through his storage space and It was by luck that he had stocked up a lot, he had even halted Hubris'' punishment, everything seemed to work, even the storage space. He just couldn''t get ahold of the system.


    "I think we ought to leave this campsite tomorrow. It''s not like we can go back the way we came."


    "But, what if this is home, my home?"


    "Then you''re home."


    Hubris gave Kiro a solemn look, even though he had said his home didn''t matter to him back then, it did. He wanted to liberate them from the tyrannical King that now sat where he was supposed to.


    But he knew this would require for another King in the stead of the previous one. He couldn''t just topple a kingdom without a proper n, else he''d see the end of his people.


    This was something he needed to think long and hard about, if he does interfere he''d have to stay and be King. But now that he had tasted freedom, being imprisoned in a chair wouldn''t satisfy him. It was a dilemma.


    The next day''s sky was a sight to see, it was actually, on fire. The sky looked like bright orange burning coals, the grey clouds looked like grey smoke escape every bits of the burn to be free, one with the wind.


    Except, it didn''t have the suffocating smell fires always carried. So, by Kiro''s standards it was the most beautiful thing.


    He was rooted in ce looking at it.


    "Hubris, the sky, the sky is burning."


    Hubris wasn''t paying him attention, he was in his own head, having his own shbacks to when he watched the burning sky with his father.


    ''Cerberus, everything here, from the greens to the burning skies, will be yours.'' His father told him, looking proud and majestic.


    Hubris was of course, still too young to grasp any of the sayings his father attempted to ingrain in him. He had even forgotten he had a name.


    He scoffed at the pitiful memory, he wouldn''t discard his name, no, but his true name now was Hubris. He served only one master and that was the man looking dumbly at a sky on fire as if it was the most valuable thing.


    "Hubris, this is your home isn''t it?" Kiro asked him, not taking his eyes off the sky.


    "Yes." He answered honestly, there was no point in lying since they could more or less feel what the other felt.


    "Do you want revenge?"


    Hubris didn''t answer, he was torn between two ces. He didn''t want to drag Kiro into his personal vendetta. He''d already sworn loyalty to this person, therefore, he couldn''t do anything about it.


    "Remember what I told you when you were dying? I want us to berades, if you need help, you only need to say it."


    He didn''t wait for him to reply, and started his walk forward. His eyes were still disoriented from looking at mes for a very long time, he walked nheless.


    Hubris said nothing in response, in all honesty, he was still pondering about what his next step should be, he had no idea whether he wanted to help or not.


    He wanted to think about it thoroughly, he was relieved that Kiro wasn''t pushing him in any other way. He just left it all up to him.


    They could no longer hear the waves now, they were deep in and neither knew anything about. Even the native was tossed out before he could know anything.


    They had no idea what to expect of the environment they found themselves in. But there was much to explore, so they went. It was the direction Hubris didn''t explore in his 15 days.


    He had encountered unfathomable dangers on his journeys. He woulde back sometimes wounded, he had told Kiro all about the possible attacks, from animals to the trees, to the birds that you wouldn''t suspect had the ability to dig into skins.


    Kiro had used a lot of potions for him, he was almost running out. It was a shame he couldn''t even contact Hiro. If he said this didn''t scare him, he''d be lying. ording to Hubris, he''d been in thata for 6 months.


    6 months in-game was more than 6 days in real life. That would mean he''d missed a lot of school days. He wondered what the real world was doing about it?


    He knew one thing, he was in his room, the system wouldn''t allow anyone in his dorm room unless Kiro''s vitals were detoriating. That''s the only emergency the system would allow anyone in without Kiro''s DNA.


    The system wasn''t coded to understand urgencies such as school sses, only when the owner of the room is close to death will it rm others.


    So he was almost at ease because of that, nobody would enter his room and jerk the head gear out of his head. Which was a dangerous thing to do, as its connected to your brain nerves, being forcefully removed could cause brain damage.


    While everyone knew that, it would also be the only way to awake the yer. As much as they were evolved, they still needed nutrients. He hoped it didn''te to that.

 Chapter 116: A Strange Forest

    They pretty much walked in silence. Both of them with heavy luggage to think about. They saw themselves in front of a forest, that seemed way too unnaturally small, so small they could see the other side, but barely. Kiro shrugged and entered it wasn''t as if he could take another route, so did Hubris.


    He wasn''t barefoot but he could feel how soft he grass was. Everything about this ce was weing.


    The forest felt too peaceful for an Underworld forest. Kiro half-expected the grass to be made out of des, or the ground to grow a mouth with razor sharp teeth, but to his dismay, none of his imagination came true.


    The birds were singing beautifully to the warm sun that blessed them. Everything was healthy, the trees were just the normal height, but too clustered together which would be why the forest was supposedly so small. It wouldn''t take them 15 minutes to get to the other side.


    Every animal in there wasn''t shy toe up to them, brushing against them lovingly. Birds flying to his shoulder and arm, at random intervals. It was strange, something Kiro wasn''t used to. Animals tended to be more cautious, they were scared of people.


    "Anythinges to mind about this ce?" He asked Hubris while crouched down petting a dark furred rabbit.


    "Unfortunately, nothing. Not even a glimpse of a puzzle master." He said in an apologetic tone.


    "That''s alright Hubris. No need to beat yourself up for it. We''ll figure it out, we always do." He assured his mount, who seemed to be losing self-confidence by the second. It was worrying.


    The natural, fresh and clean air, the winds that brushed their hairs asionally was rejuvenating to say the least. Kiro had never felt such a rxing state while not meditating, his life had been constant stress ever since he came back, even before that, he didn''t remember having a single good day.


    So, naturally, he was enjoying himself, probably more than he should have. Not to say he wasn''t cautious, he had Ryu on hand, in case anything jumped them, he''d quickly kill it.


    The walked further, but the rabbit was still hopping right behind them trying to catch up. Kiro didn''t really want to leave it behind so he scooped it up, it settled on his arms perfectly well, it gave a low happy growl.


    "Are you sure about picking up that thing? I don''t feel any animosity from it but still..." Hubris raised his concerns.


    "Yes, yes, it could be a very dangerous monster, but if you can''t sense anything wrong with it, then I trust you!"


    Kiro was being extra nice to Hubris to boost his confidence, his self-doubting self wasn''t fun to be around. Kiro wanted his confident self back as soon as possible before he loses his mindpletely. Hubris was usually his crutch, if his crutch was gone, he was screwed three times over.


    "Ahh, Mushrooms, these are good, though you don''t want to have them raw." He told Hubris, as if the beast should learn how to cook.


    Hubris looked at him incredulously, dumbfounded at the abrupt teachings. He listened nheless, he did so attentively, lest he gets quizzedter on, he couldn''t take another punishment.


    Kiro walked around, picking all kinds of wild ingredients he didn''t have in his storage space. As someone who loved his food and loved cooking just the same, this was heaven for him.


    But the happy-go-lucky attitude was cut short when he realised they must''ve been walking for way more than just 15 minutes, yet the other side still seemed 15 minutes away. They weren''t travelling in circles either, the ce they were at wasn''t anywhere they had been since entering the forest.


    "Hubris, what''s going on? How long have we been walking for?"


    "2 hours? Give or take. I reckon it''s a trap."


    "That eluded your so-called perfect eyes?" Kiro regretted saying this the moment it left his mouth, that seemed to have hit Hubris where it hurt.


    "It was really subtle before we entered, I couldn''t sense the illusion until we were trapped, I tried getting us out before you noticed though but that didn''t work, it''d require someone who is a master at illusionary arts." He said solemnly.


    "Sorry bud, didn''t mean to me you."


    They had fallen for a rat trap. It was embarrassing, Kiro felt like a very unintelligent animal, wandering into a trap just to get that slice of cheese. He cursed under his breath at the analogy his brain quickly provided him with.


    The Underworld was no joke, no matter how innocent something seemed, especially if it presented itself as harmless, avoid it at all costs unless you have the countermeasures tobat whatever unknown dangers it offers.


    "I should''ve known something was up the moment the sky wasn''t on fire anymore." Kiro kicked the ground as he said, he sat on a log.


    As if it say, what''s the point of walking if they won''t reach the other end anyway. Their best bet was waiting, armed, for their enemies toe fetch their caught in the trap meat.


    Hubris felt bad that nothing about this ce was in his memories, usually ces he knew felt familiar, but not this forest. He was clearly never told about it. So, now, he had no idea what kind of monsters they should expect.


    Kiro made a fire, started chopping up different kinds of vegetables and herbs. He finely chopped the mushrooms they got along the way. He put them all in a pot, seasoned it.


    "We would be eating ckie if we didn''t have any meat." Kiro showed Hubris the rabbit, which made Hubris chuckled.


    He took out some meat from the storage space, threw some pieces in the soup and closed the lid shut.


    It cooked for about 30 minutes, the aroma was divine. It wafted throughout the forest. Even the rabbit wanted some, Kiro dished out for rabbit too. They began to eat their meal.


    Every time Hubris ate something Kiro made, he always thinks it''s the best thing he''d ever tasted. This time wasn''t any different either. The only difference this time was that, after they finished their meal, they were all knocked out cold.


    A silhouette could be seen walking closer from a distance to where they were camping.

 Chapter 117: When Apart

    Hubris jumped waking up from his forced slumber, he looked around, he was still where he had been, but Kiro was no where to be found. Only the dark furred rabbitid peacefully on the log, hest saw his master on.


    He tried sniffing, using his ears to hear, his eyes to see, nothing seemed to work in this particr space. He roared in anger.


    "I''m to protect a whole kingdom? What a joke. I can''t even protect my Lord, who is one person!" He berated himself.


    His anger was so hot, it threatened to burn the entirety of the forest. He took small deep breaths. Calming himself down, he knew anger wouldn''t get him anywhere, hence, he needed to calm down. Maybe if he was calm, he could think logically and find his master.


    He put the anger aside for when he meets whoever kidnapped him. He swore to incinerate, not just them but their entire tribe. The price to pay when you have offended a royal hound in the Underworld was a hefty one and they weren''t getting away, Hubris made a silent promise.


    He howled, which woke up the rabbit. He was already running forward when the rabbit positioned itself ontop of him, gainingfort it had never known. Hubris was too much in a hurry to care, he just went with it.


    He was faster than he originally had been, but even that wasn''t enough. It didn''t feel like he was running in circles, or that he was running in the same ce. It felt like was moving, but the clearing of the forest seemed to be moving right along with him.


    He couldn''t stop, he didn''t want to, not until he runs into Kiro and rescues him. He had a lot of thoughts in his head, what if he''s already dead? He didn''t even know which monster took him, or how dangerous and impatient they were.


    Just as he was running, his precognition let him see something. Kiro was in some sort of cage, locked away, and he was unconscious. But the skill wasn''t showing him where, or which road to take.


    That made his brain melt. He was about to give in to the hopeless situation when he felt a gentle nudge from his neck fur, stirring him in a certain direction.


    "You know the way? Why didn''t you just say so, you stupid rabbit!"


    ----------------


    Kiro slept, blissfully unaware where he was or that he was a captive. He was even having nice, lewd dreams. When a ruckus jerked him out of his wonderful dreams.


    He first felt iron under his skin, then realised his arms were tied behind his back. He opened his eyes and looked around, it was the edge of the forest, he couldn''t see anything else.


    He slowly rose from his sleeping position, getting to his feet, luckily the cage was big enough to amodate him.


    "Why the f*ck am I naked? Where''s my armour? Ryu! Come!" He shouted at the top of his lungs but nothing happened.


    Then a demon, that looked exactly like a human walked out of a cave and started making monkey sounds, Kiro gave up on attemptingmunicating with them, they were clearly doing to eat him.


    "Damn savages!" He turned the other way, "Hubris! You better get here or you''ll die of guilt!" He started shouting.


    More of the humanoid demons starteding out, some with wood, some with arge pot, some with vegetables. They all hit the cage ad they went, as if to startle their prey. It was working because Kiro started sweating, as if he was wearingyers uponyers of clothing.


    Then they started doing some sort of ceremony around the fire, dancing and hitting each other til they bled whileughing. Whether it was to offer him up as a sacrifice, or thank their gods for the meal was unclear.


    They just kept up their weird dances, and painting themselves with the others blood. Kiro tried using Kaos to break free from the cage, but the rope and the cage seemed to have been made from Kaos, so it was useless.


    They started lowering him into the boiling pot. Now Kiro knew he was impervious to heat to a certain point thanks to constitution, but just which point that is something he never bothered to explore, so this descent frightened him.


    Just then, something zoomed through the cage out of nowhere and shuttered itpletely. Kiro used whirlwind to avoid getting into the pot andnded safely on the other side.


    "Ryu!" Kiro eximed excitedly, picking up his weapon.


    He had travelled from across the forest, because he was summoned, he made it back by his master''s side safety.


    Another duo arrived a secondter, just in time. The tribe of cave demons were still confused about the weapon that travelled on its own, now the two who broke their illusion.


    Hubris ran straight to his Lord, "my Lord, I''m so sorry, I was careless."


    Kiro caressed his underbelly, as if to tell him, silently, everything was okay now. He involuntarily wagged his tail.


    He happily took some of his fur to cover up his master''s important assets. He then, coldly turned to the things that kidnapped him.


    The cave demons weren''t that dumb, they knew the price they''d pay if they messed with a hellhound which is why they went for the human that they pegged for a ve.


    Hubris wasn''t in the business of negotiating, as he let out his fire balls run rampant in their abode. It levelled the ce t. Those who didn''t die instantly, would soon be.


    But Hubris wasn''t going to give them an ounce of hope. He pounced from one to the other, using his ws and fangs to make sure the little light they held onto was properly snuffed out.


    When he was done with them, his anger was still not satiated, he wanted more. Kiro jumped on his back which startled him a bit.


    "It''s okay now Hubris, I''m okay, we can go." He said hugging him from behind his neck.


    That calmed him down immediately, and they walked out of the forest and into a desert. The sky was still on fire.

 Chapter 118: Cruel Nature

    While they walked, the rabbit didn''t go beyond the forest. It bowed a little to them as if to thank them for something, watched them as far as it could and it ran back into it''s home.


    The desert was very bare and scorching, the sky didn''t make it better. Kiro kept his mind upied with happy thoughts, of how much everyone who was his friend was freaking out right now. He made up scenarios in his head, funny ones to keep himself entertained.


    Hubris was walking at a slower pace than usual, depressed. But Kiro ignored his feelings, he''d already said everything he wanted to say and he meant it. Hubris only needed to say his piece of mind.


    So Kiro kept himself sane by making up things in his head, he didn''t want to think about the possibility of being stuck here forever. Nothing even hinted to the fact that, there was a way out.


    But heforted himself in that, Hubris made it out. They made it in. Somehow, there must be a way out, even if it requires bloodshed, he was ready to fight.


    The sand went as far as they could see. It was a barrennd, though the further they walked the more the sand looked deathly pale. Bones of unknown monsters protruded from the bowels of the sand.


    Dead, devoured and slightly buried. The sand felt like a monster of its own, it felt alive but it the same time dead, reduced to just a graveyard for bones it couldn''t properly devour.


    They walked with grace and caution. Neither wanted to let their guard down, they were after all, in the Underworld ording to Hubris anyway.


    The heat was getting unfathomably hot. The mirage told them all they needed to know about the conditions they had just set their feet on.


    Kiro being mostly naked felt it the most, but he wasn''t too ufortable thanks to his high constitution and mnin.


    He looked over at Hubris. He didn''t seem to be bothered by it, he looked right at home. Instead of baking, his fur me resonated with the the sky as one.


    As they walked, he felt burninging from his shoulders, when he looked he noticed that a drop of fire had eaten through his skin, it restedfortably on his corbone.


    He instinctively looked up, drops of mes were falling from the sky, this area was deserted, so they''d have no way to run in a shelter.


    "Would''ve been nice for you to mention this Hubris!"


    "Sorry for my ipetence master, I simply do not remember anything about this world."


    Tried as he did to maneuver out of harm''s way, the me drops pierced his skin like hot knife through butter.


    They didn''t pity his delicate skin, as they ate through it. He screamed in agony, it was a pain he''d never known. It was as if, because he was in the unknown realm it was multiplied. The scorching desert was nothingpared to the fire that fell from the sky


    The pain he felt while being beaten to death, paled inparison. Hubris quickly pounced andnded over Kiro to protect him.


    He had already instinctively taken the fetal position. Without mana he didn''t think he could survive this. Just then, red, purplish energy served as a shield around him.


    Which caused for Hubris to be expelled as if he were an enemy attempting to attack. Kiro slowly opened his eyes and looked at the energy protecting him.


    "Of course, this, I have this here."


    He had absolutely forgotten that he had subdued a new type of energy, that epted him. Which he knew it was called ancient kaos, he had no idea how or why but he just knew.


    It was strange that it came from deep within his bones. But at least now he could withstand the sr rain.


    "Hubris, are you alright?" He ran to him, he didn''t know what to expect. He not only knocked him out, there was also this sr storm happening.


    "Yeah, the me doesn''t hurt me, your energy did though. Suppose it thought I was attacking."


    Kiro had subconsciously called upon the kaos energy. He felt that the mes would kill him if he did nothing, so when he thought mana he envoked Kaos.


    "Hubris, howe you use mana and not this, if you were born here?"


    "That''s energy you get, only through hard work master, it''s not something you''re born with even for us."


    Kiro started to feel sorry for his mount, just how young was he when he was tossed out. He remembered how much of a scared and stubborn pup he was back in that bear cave. He almost chuckled at the thought that, an ancient beast was almost devoured by a rare ranked beast.


    He wondered why Hubris could still use magic but he couldn''t. He concluded that, it was just coding. Hubris was coded for this to be his home, his code was written, therefore life predetermined.


    Whether Hubris went and got revenge in the future that Kiro wasn''t part of, he didn''t know. He knew one thing though, if he dide back, he would have been using magic even then.


    "Hubris..." Kiro called out while they were walking through the graveyard of unknown monster bone.


    "I don''t know."


    "Huh?"


    "I don''t know what monsters were these or what we should expect."


    Kiro clicked his tongue, ''is this what superhuman intelligence is?''


    "You didn''t read my mind did you?"


    "I wouldn''t dare, even if I could."


    Kiro was liberated for a bit without the system, but now he had Hubris who could deduce what he would ask. He felt, undeniably dumb.


    "How does the rain feel for you?"


    Hubris didn''t cut him off this time, he wouldn''t do it again, since his master didn''t seem to like it very much.


    "It feels like the hot spring we used back then, except, slightly hotter. It feels great for me, it''s like, nourishment."


    "How unfair, I thought my soul would burn to cinder."


    They walked days and nights, with asional unhelpful rests. Since it was a desert they couldn''t do much to help anything, the sr rain took as many days. Hubris wasn''t sure when it would end, it took a whole week.


    Kiromanded the energy that protected him, he never once ran out. But he could feel it depleting. He fainted nheless, his body wasn''t quite used it to it. Hubris carried him most of the way.


    While out of it he could feel it being replenished, seeping into his bones once again. It wasn''t painful this time, just something that was foreign to him. Unlike thest time he fell into aa, this time, he woke up after 3 hours.


    "Hubris, am I going insane, or is that a shrine?" He asked in a hoarse voice, he got up to stand on top of his mount.


    He used his hand to cover the sun that was blocking his view from seeing what he thought could never be in the middle of a desert.


    "I, see it, too."

 Chapter 119: Sacred Temple

    They both thought it was just a mirage. It wasn''t the first one, but at a time, they saw different things. They just thought this time, the illusions have gotten better. To the point it let''s two people see the same thing.


    They wouldn''t believe it until they stepped on its solid ground. Until then, they''d treat it as just another imaginary ce their brain made up.


    When they reached it''s first solid stair, they were ecstatic. For the first time in weeks, their feet didn''t sink with every step. Which is why the stood dumbly, at the first flight of stairs, unbelieving.


    The structure was made of pure gold stone. They thought twice about going in, that''s how pristine it was. They felt they would dirty it, if they''d set their foot on it.


    It didn''t look worn, nothing suggested a sr rain happened for a week. As if a protective barrier was protecting it. They walked up, expecting to be repelled by an invisible force but that never happened. Instead it looked like it was weing them with arms wide open.


    The sun reflected on the gold stone brightly. Kiro thought if it were real life, he wouldn''t have been able to look directly at it. It was blinding.


    Despite it''s pristine and godly condition, it''s decor was, grotesque at best. It was as if someone was mocking the holy and sacred aura the ce was exuding.


    Just at the top of the stairs, there were two gargoyles that stood rooted in the golden stone floor, in-between them there was a fountain. The colour of the water was none Kiro had ever seen, he had no words to describe it.


    The water also offered no reflection of his, he was growing a bit suspicious, he hadn''t seen his reflection anywhere since he fell in this world. Not even in Hubris'' eyes.


    Standing side by side with the gargoyles they looked around, they didn''t dare carelessly take another step incase there were traps. They realised that, the sacred golden temple had no doors. It was just a four wall structural building, doorless but pristine nheless.


    "I guess we need to find a door, there''s no way I''m going back to the desert." He concluded, slowly walking to the fountain.


    "Mmm."


    Kiro cautiously touched the gargoyles, they were cool and rough to the touch, the opposite of what the whole temple looked like. It looked smooth, the floor too. He half-expected them toe to life, but nothing happened, just tranquility.


    He approached the walls ready to fight if he had to. He used Ryu asionally to poke the floor before stepping on it. Being careless is what got him into this mess in this first ce, since he couldn''t contact the system death here could mean, death.


    He couldn''t exin everything but he just exined where he was as an in-between that the system can''t cross but beasts and characters can. Needless to say, this was just a way tofort himself and make sense of what was happening.


    He touched the gleaming golden wall, it was too smooth, it couldn''t be climbed. He felt it up, hoping to spring up a secret doorway. He tried this for a while but it didn''t work.


    He noticed there was a shrine just at a corner he was walking to, as if this was used as a ce of worship, a very long time ago, when people actually visited the ce.


    Now, they''ve abandoned their religious beliefs it seemed. That''s something that can happen, the ce they were in wasn''t a friendly one at all.


    "Oh, what if they all died and their bones are scattered all over the desert. Then the bones we saw?" He could only theorise, nobody was there to give answers to their questions.


    No one was there to worship or wee them there but it looked well-maintained. Like every day people came to clean the stone and sweep the sand. There was sand all around it but not even a speck of it on its stairs, or its floors.


    The new guests didn''t even track it from whence they came. Kiro felt the impulse to go back down the stairs to see the magic of how it kept the sand out of its vicinity when Hubris distracted his train of thought.


    He was standing, not helping Kiro look for a doorway, extremely still and stiff. Not out of fear but out of anger it looked like. His face asionally, involuntarily spasmed.


    His eyes looked dangerously cruel. Kiro thought this was how a hellhound should look like, majestic but also unapproachable.


    "Hubris?" Kiro called out scared to invoke something in him.


    It took him a while toe out of the trance state he was in. When he noticed where he was and who was in front of him, he was extremely embarrassed.


    "Ah, sorry Master, you saw my unsightly side." Hemented quickly walking over to the other side to help look for a doorway.


    "I asked you a question you know!"


    "I don''t know what it is, but I was suddenly overcame with great anger. If I hadn''t evolved, I think I would''ve lost my sanity here.


    "I don''t even remembering up those stairs, it''s all foggy. I think I almost lost my essence just now master."


    "Howe I couldn''t even feel it then?" He asked confused, he thought they shared feelings.


    "Master, I''m not lying."


    "I know." Kiro said and absentmindedly caressed Hubris'' underbelly.


    He didn''t understand this ce any more than his mount did and it was his home. This was indeed a frustrating experience for him.


    The water didn''t have anything living in it, at least, as far as he could see there was nothing. He lowered his hands and scooped some, the desert journey made him dehydrated and hot, so he first sshed the water over his face and washed up.


    He scooped again and raised his hands to his mouth, he stopped at something unfocused at his peripheral. A door had materialised, or it was always there.


    "Hubris, dip your head here!"

 Chapter 120: Inside

    Hubris did as he was told, he dipped his head in the fountain for a good 5 seconds the water was surprisingly cold. When he emerged from it, he saw it too.


    "I can''t believe this benign trick fooled my senses!" Hubris was appalled.


    From where they were, they couldn''t see inside, it was dark as night. The closer they got, the darker it somehow got.


    "Well, after you," Kiro said.


    "Master..."


    "Together then."


    At the same time, they crossed the gleaming door frame. Kiro had great expectations, seeing the outside, the inside must''ve been heaven, but...


    "What the F*ck?"


    The door disappeared behind them, there was light inside the temple, though they couldn''t tell where it wasing from exactly. There were no torches,mps or electric lights. There was just, light.


    The ce was infested with dark webs, spiders had clearly imed it as theirs. Just that one step they tooking in caused the dust to create a mist before them.


    The stone wasn''t as gold as the one outside, this one was covered in dust and soot, time hadn''t been kind to it. Yes it did seem like it was pristine once but it was well beyond it''s prime now. The stone had cracks, Kiro thought it may copse on them at any time.


    Neither of them moved from where they stood, they didn''t trust the floor to carry them across. They''ve already experienced falling once, they wanted to hold off on that as long as possible.


    "Now this is how an abandoned building should look like," he said while poking around with Ryu making sure the floor was sturdy.


    He beckoned for Hubris to follow in his footsteps. He argued against this originally, he wanted to at least lead, he didn''t trust any of it, he hated the feelings this temple gifted him.


    They didn''t seem to be his, but they were thousands of years of animosity he felt, for a ce he''d never even been in.


    [Step to the left.]


    "My lord, did you say something?"


    "No?"


    "I hear echoes directing me to the left." He said, almost in a whisper.


    Kiro bit his tongue, he was hearing voices too but his were telling him to go to the right. What reason did the temple want to split them? He didn''t know. To make matters worse the echoes were very enticing, it was almost impossible to say no.


    "Hubris no matter what happens don''t listen to the echoes." Hemanded disorientated.


    "I don''t know if I can refuse them any longer." Hubris was fighting hard, but he felt like he was fighting a losing battle.


    He didn''t know what it was about this ce, that made him weak-willed. Even Kiro, who was not as evolved as he was could keep the echoes at bay, but only just.


    He reminded himself that Kiro wasn''t just a somebody, he was someone who tamed not only him but also the energy of his home world. That alone spoke on how much of a strong will he had.


    [It''s your father Cerberus,e to me.]


    "Father?" He stopped walking and jerked his toward the echo.


    "Hubris? Hubris, wait ¡ª don''t, stop!"


    He had almost deviated from the path Kiro was leading. Kiro''s cries stopped him and gave him a bit of courage to continue on.


    "I hear them too, but it''s not them okay? It''s not, it can''t be." He trailed off unsure, unable to even convince himself, how was he going to convince a hellhound.


    As much as they''ve walked over an hour, they were somehow still at the same ce they were when they started. They were walking forward but, also, not.


    "Master, I can''t¡ªI can''t see."


    Hubris was frantic, he couldn''t see anything his vision was pitch ck. Kiro had never seen him so vulnerable. Even when he was dying, he wasn''t this distraught. This temple drained him mentally and emotionally.


    "Hubris, you have vision that can see through dimensions..."


    "Master, please help me, please."


    He took a good long look at his mount, he wasn''t his usual self. He was frightened. That made him look smaller than he actually was. Kiro walked over to him, he helped him to the floor and started caressing his chin to calm him down.


    "It''s going to be okay buddy, I''m here, I always will be." Kiro tried tofort him, he wasn''t sure how else he was supposed to talk down a hellhound.


    Naturally, he was going through a hell of his own in his head. At first, he heard his family call for him, the more he ignored them the more aggressive they became.


    Now he was listening to his family call him by every bad word that existed under the sky, whileforting Hubris. If he was him from the past, their words would''ve absolutely crushed him, but now he was stronger than that and as his master, Hubris was his responsibility.


    Kiro''s words were able to calm him down. So much that he was able to focus more than he was since he got to this world.


    "There''s something I''m trying to grab, but it keeps slipping away." Hemented. He saw it, it was right in front of him but eluded him every time.


    "Just stay calm like this big guy, you''ll get it, I believe in you."


    Kiro tried his luck and tried vibrational sense, it was a stillness and quiet that made him ufortable, so he avoided it just as quick.


    ''How can existence be without sound. How am I hearing and conversing with Hubris if this world doesn''t have vibrations?'' He pondered.


    But there was no system here to answer his many questions, he found himself missing the system. As terrible as it was, at least it made sure they knew about the world around them. Even if the information was almost always iplete.


    Nothing about this world or temple made any sense to him, he had to remind himself that, he wasn''t back on earth. This was just a coded world, so anything was possible here, even breathing in space shouldn''t shock him.

 Chapter 121: Trap Room

    Kiro sat still, listening to Hubris breathing slowly. His heart rate was insanely fast a minute ago, but now it was slowly going back to its normal rate.


    He took that time to look around, he didn''t see them before, but the room they were in had trunks, things Kiro had never seen even in books. He got up slowly and walked towards one.


    Opening it, he found a bunch of clothes and potions. He removed the dust, before trying them on. They fit him well. It was a monk robe, along with ck formal shoes. He almostughed at how mismatched he looked, but beggars couldn''t be choosers so he took them. Anything was better than being naked.


    He walked to other trunks, they had more or less of the same things, he put all of them in his storage space. He didn''t know if he''d need other clothes so he took more just in case.


    He heard Hubris walking toward him.


    "You can see now?"


    "Yes, thank you." He said with a tinge of shame in his tone.


    They continued their long walk, they were reminded of the forest. It was as if they were back there again, the room didn''t even have hidden passages, but it was huge, so huge they didn''t know whether it had corners or not.


    "Master, I''ve got it... This temple uses illusionary arts. So we''re in for a wild ride." Hubris blurted out, finally grasping what he couldn''t get ahold of earlier.


    "Do you have any idea what await us?"


    "No clue. Whatever erected this tower is multiple times more power than I." With a tone full of disappointment, he told him.


    As if on cue with what he was saying, the room atmosphere changed. Clouds gathered, it was as if they were outside but at the same time not.


    "That''s not ominous." Kiro said sarcastically.


    An arrow zoomed Kiro''s way just after saying that. It missed his head by a breadth''s hair. He could feel his entire bodily hairs stand up. He stood still and listened, that''s when he realised that, he could feel vibrations in here and the room they were in was infested with traps.


    He didn''t even turn to ask why Hubris didn''t pick up on this. Ontop of being more powerful, the temple seemed to know which buttons to press to set Hubris haywire.


    He took a stance, ready to protect himself and his mount. Hubris had also already caught on and his ws and fangs were out.


    "Master, I''ll protect you."


    "We will protect each other." He said, not taking his eyes off the front.


    While Kiro could see the traps, he couldn''t see a way to avoid them. It seemed no matter where they set foot, something would spring up. They had little choice but to go forward.


    A shower of arrows came threatening cmity on their lives, Kiro summoned a shower of his own, lightning crackled and formed from nothingness. Like rain, it went down on the arrows, burning them to cinder.


    They hadn''t even had time to celebrate their win when 3 swords came to im their heads.


    Kiro was quicker to draw out Ryu, while Hubris had already blocked two of the three swords, they shattered on impact. But that didn''t matter because the two that shuttered were quickly reced.


    They both started running forward, as if theymunicated it. Their the pursuers didn''t dare let them think they''ve escaped, they weapons were already on their heels. Threatening to sever their feet.


    Kiro slightly let his feet off the ground, allowing the sword to enter under them and then lightly tapping it using his strongest kick. Breaking it in half cleanly.


    More of them rained from the makeshift sky. It was as if he was dancing with them, he swerved from left to right, he was followed by countless swords digging into the floor as they wouldpletely miss him.


    He''d also use palms and kicks to any that got too close be dodged, that caused destroying thempletely. They were still enjoying theirplete dominance when another trap sprung up, it was the ground this time.


    The hole meant to swallow Kiro but it missed himpletely and devoured Hubris instead. He quickly turned, and grabbed his mount by the paw.


    "Hubris, hang in there, I''ll put you up."


    After he finished saying that, the two swords buried themselves deeply on his shoulders, causing his strength on his hands to weaken dramatically.


    "My Lord, it was a pleasure to serve with you but let me go."


    "No!" Kiro retorted stubbornly, "I''m not losing another thing. Not ever."


    Hubris didn''t know what else to do, he could forcibly let his self fall into whatever was down there, but he also didn''t want to go. He wasn''t quite ready to be separated from him. But if he kept being this selfish, Kiro would fall to his death with him.


    Kiro''s shoulders had swords protruding from them. Crimson liquid painted his new monk robe red. He was holding onto Hubris like he was thest salvation on earth.


    "Master..."


    "I know what you''re gonna say Hubris, shut your stupid mouth. I''m not gonna die, you''re not gonna die, because I''ll pull you out of this stupid trap."


    His determination resounded from the room. He was still pulling, trying to pull his mount up. The more he pulled the more it put a strain on his shoulders, he couldn''t feel anything because of adrenaline. He couldn''t feel that he wasn''t exactly aplishing anything.


    Hubris was absolutely touched. He was the one holding on, Kiro''s strength had long since failed, which is why he let go of his hand.


    "I''m sorry my Lord, let me be the sacrifice." He said already given himself up.


    "You''ll die, when I tell you to, you stupid mutt."


    Hubris quickly opened his eyes, shock and fear dawned in his unknowing eyes. Kiro had purposely fell into the trap, the same way Hubris did when Kiro fell into this world.

 Chapter 122: Gravity Room

    As they were falling, Kiro could see giant spikes waiting for them at the bottom. He just closed his eyes because his shoulders weren''t healing fast enough. The moment they met prickly iron spikes the room changed atmosphere and they were in front of a door.


    "F*ck. I thought I was done for!"


    Hubris didn''t even offer up ament. They justid there, taking a breather. Kiro didn''t want to stay in there any longer though, so he got up and twisted the doorknob and as the door to the mysterious room creaked open, a rush of anticipation filled the air.


    Outside the room were more doors than Kiro could count. As soon as they stepped inside, their bodies were forced on the dirty floor. They tried and failed to get up.


    "Must be gravity. Dammit."


    The ce was unlike any other they''ve ever been in, a chamber where thews of physics seemed to bend and twist at will. It was a new experience which Kiro didn''t readily ept.


    It was painful. It strained his muscles to the maximum, he thought any second his muscles would explode because of the pressure. Just when he was ready to be turned into ground beef, the room would shift.


    The walls twisted and turned at odd angles, and the floor seemed to curve away into the distance. Making them nauseated for just looking at it.


    Each step they took felt like stepping into another dimension. They could feel the gravitational pull shift at all times, sometimes sideways, sometimes upwards and sometimes even downwards. It was disorienting, to say the least, as the room defied their sense of bnce and spatial awareness.


    If there was furniture in there they''d use that to clung on to any kind of stability. Kiro didn''t like the fact that, up and down didn''t seem to exist here. They were floating weightlessly one minute as if gravity had abandoned them and smashing into the walls as if gravity demanded their very being in another.


    It was a surreal experience, one that challenged his understanding of thews of physics. He couldn''t believe the devs created something so, evil in his own words.


    The room seemed to toy with their perceptions, distorting their sense of direction and orientation. Even Hubris wasn''t safe, as he said, this must''ve been created by a being that was much stronger than he was.


    One moment, they would be walking on what they thought was the floor, only to find themselves suddenly floating towards the ceiling. The room yed tricks on their minds, constantly shifting their reference point for gravity.


    As they cautiously explored further, with much difficulty, they discovered that certain areas within the room exerted stronger gravitational forces than others. It was as if there were invisible pockets of gravity scattered throughout, each with its own unique pull.


    Stepping into one of these newly discovered gravity pockets was like entering a different world, where gravity obeyed different rules. That took a great amount of strain on their physical and mental body, as they were experienced differentws within a very small amount of time.


    Kiro quickly realized that they needed to adapt their movements and strategise to navigate the room sessfully. He rummaged through his storage space and fortunately for him since he was going to explore mountains he bought supplies, climbing supplies and everything. They could never be too safe even if he knew he wouldn''t use them, he bought them just incase.


    He used ropes and grappling hooks to anchor themselves to the dirty worn down walls to secure their footing when the gravity suddenly shifted. This helped but only a little, as they would be jerked whenever the gravitational pull shifted.


    "Hubris, it''d be a great time to awaken your gravity abilities." Hemented almost out of breath.


    "Your belief in me is oustanding Master, but I don''t think I have it." He said as their faces nted on the ceiling.


    "F*ck. That hurt!"


    They got up, moving slowly but surely, testing each step beforemitting their entire weight. It was a dance of caution and adaptability withdy luck, as they ventured deeper into the puzzling realm.


    It was strange for both of them, their enemy wasn''t a physical one per se. They couldn''t fight back, they only needed to brave the storm. Kiro much preferred fighting monsters than an invisible force that he couldn''t even stop.


    After what felt like an eternity, they finally reached the heart of the gravity room. Here, the forces of gravity seemed to converge and intertwine, creating a whirlwind of conflicting pulls. It was a bewitching sight, but also a frightening one. They had to be careful not to be sucked into one of the gravity vortexes that emerged spontaneously creating geysers.


    In the center of the room, they discovered a hidden altar. Resting at the top of it was a glowing green crystal, pulsating with an otherworldly energy. The same divine energy Kiro met with in that mysterious room.


    The enchanting crystal was the source of the room''s gravity maniption, the key to unlocking its secrets. Kiro knew they had to retrieve it, despite the risks.


    Their journey from the door to the centre, Kiro noticed things. Even though it seemed the gravity shifted at random times, in random ces. There was a pattern, though slight. They could with certainty, avoid about 40% of the gravity geysers. The restid withdy luck.


    With great care and coordination, they worked their way to reach the altar in one piece. Hubris used not just his speed, but also his intangibility skill to avoid getting the full st of the geysers. With his keen senses, he reached an almost 60% avoidance.


    Kiro on the other hand, had blink, it was strange using these skills with another energy that wasn''t mana. But it seemed to strengthen them, so he was faster than he would''ve been if it was mana. He also activated lightning to increase his speed, his lightning came out ck and ominous.


    It turned his eyes dark blue, it didn''t just course all over his body, it put up a thinyer of what looked like shield around his body.


    He saw that Hubris was about to be turned into a pancake. He was running straight for the geyser, he must''ve miscalcted where it''d appear next. Kiro noticed that he was looking at through his vibrational sense.


    "Hubris, left, left, turn left!"


    Whether it was on purpose or by a lucky mistake. Kiro managed to charge the particles  in the room with his lightning skill. That weakened the gravity geyser greatly. Hubris was still sted to the roof, but it wasn''t too bad since Kiro managed to move him slightly without having touched him.


    "I could do that? What did I just do?" Without the system to exin everything to him, everything was going at a snail''s pace.


    They finally made it to the centre of the gravity room. Kiro stood there for a minute, transfixed at what was right in front of him. The crystal gave off a warm and wonderful feeling.


    He kneeled on both of his knees, partly because he was tired from carrying the weight of what seemed to be the universe'' burdens. He gently picked up the crystal, as if afraid he was going to break.


    The moment he picked it up, the room died, it went back to be an ordinary room.

 Chapter 123: The Power of The Crystal

    "That was something."


    "Yeah."


    With the crystal securely in Kiro''s possession, their minds were buzzing with anticipation. They knew that this seemingly ordinary crystal held extraordinary power, but its true nature and purpose remained a mystery. As they regrouped in a nearby chamber, they examined the crystal, searching for any clues hidden within its greenish radiant glow.


    The crystal emanated a soft, pulsating light, casting a bewitching spell on them. Its surface was rough but wless, with sophisticated patterns swimming within, as if gxies were trapped within its rough exterior. It seemed to whisper promises of secrets waiting to be unveiled.


    "That thing seems dangerous, but alluring at the same time?" Hubrismented.


    "It''s the mystery, buddy." Kiro smirked.


    With cautious curiosity, they both tried to study the crystal from every angle, hoping to decipher its mysterious properties. As they focused their attention on the crystal, a series of images and sensations flooded their minds.


    Visions shed before their eyes, like fragments of a long forgotten past. They saw ancient civilizations harnessing the power of the crystal, using it to shape the very fabric of reality.


    They witnessed cities floating in the sky,ndscapes transformed by the crystal''s power. It became clear that this crystal possessed the ability to manipte not only gravity but reality itself.


    Eager to uncover more of its secrets and the great potential it had, Kiro began experimenting with it. He leaked his thoughts and intentions toward specific oues, hoping to harness its power.


    To his amazement, the crystal responded, subtly altering the surrounding environment in ordance with his thoughts'' desires.


    "It¡ªit can''t be this easy, right?" Kiro was puzzled.


    He focused on levitation, and the rock debris began to float gently in mid-air. He then concentrated on altering the flow of time. Seconds seemed to stretch andpressed around them.


    "Whoa, isn''t this too overpowered? Is it okay for me to be able to do this?"


    "Of course, master can do whatever he wants."


    Yet another thought sought to control the elements, and wind swirled and lightning rained at hismand. The crystal seemed to act as a bridge between his intentions, innate abilities and granting him newfound control over the world around them.


    Excitement mixed with caution as the he realised the immense responsibility that came with wielding such power. At the same time, he was grateful that this came at a time when he was thrown into an unknown realm.


    As he continued to delve deeper into the crystal''s mysteries, he once again concentrated and more images from the crystal shed before his mind''s eye.


    The images showed an ancient prophecy, foretelling a convergence of worlds and the many deaths of the chosen one. How he would try and fail to stop the convergence, how the failure would lead to cmity and destruction of his world. It also threw in hints about the existence of other unexplored realms.


    "Well, that much is obvious. Since I''m in another realm right now." He sighed.


    Armed with this newfound knowledge, Kiro knew his journey had only just begun. He had underestimated how deep the lore of Asgard Online was, but this was another level of world building. If he was impressed before, he was simply dumbfounded now.


    He had acquired a powerful game item, one he has never seen before even in his past life, so its true purpose extended far beyond his immediate understanding. Nobody had ever discovered a secret underworld realm either.


    "Are we finally moving forward?"


    "I mean we should, the temple does look like it''ll fall on us any second. We should hurry and get out of here."


    They stepped out of the gravity room, only to be greeted by more doors. Kiro''s head pounded nervously. He simply took a sit on the ground, he wasn''t quite ready for another gravity room. He just knew that, beyond those doors were more tests and trials or whatever it was that was attempting to kill them.


    Even if they were armed with the crystals power, he wasn''t sure his body could take it. He felt sore everywhere, from being banged against walls and pulled and forced down floors. He didn''t buy that the crystal didn''t require anything in return while he used it''s power, it was too good to be true.


    As he nted himself on the floor, the crystal was affected and it broke in half. Immediately losing it''s colour and glow.


    "Sh*, sh*t, sh*t, Hubris what have I done. How can it break so easily!"


    He tried glueing it together, to no avail. Although it''s light had dimmed, he could still sense the divine power within it. He attempted to leak his thoughts into it, but nothing happened.


    "Know what? F*ck it. Let''s just have something to eat."


    Hubris was way ahead of him, as he started collecting wood from the temple. As it was run down, they weren''t going to miss the wood anyway. He used two rocks to spark the me, while Hubris had mes, his weren''t really suitable to roast meat.


    "Master, I''ve been thinking..." He paused, nervous of what was on his mind and reaction would Kiro give him.


    "Go on."


    "I want it." He paused again, for a long time but Kiro didn''t disturb his train of thought this time, he just let him stew in his own thoughts. "I want revenge."


    "As expected."


    "If master doesn''t want to get involved, that''s understandable, I only need you to allow me to get my revenge."


    Kiro was humming while roasting the meat, he was suddenly in a better mood. He was d this hellhound chose him, he was d to find out that, his Hubris wasn''t a coward. That he was the kind to pay back those who messed with him.


    "Of course I''m going to help, we''rerades after all."


    Hubris'' pounding heart slowed. He was relieved and ted, this had been weighing on him heavily. Just then, the broken crystal glowed more than it was when it was whole.


    The two shards levitated and shot to both their chests. There was no pain, but the shock caused involuntary movements. Kiro expected the system''s notification to exin what the action meant. But silence.


    "That was anticlimactic."


    The two halvesid doormat in each of their bodies.

 Chapter 124: The Fighting Arena

    Hubris slowly looked at the ce the shard disappeared to. He didn''t have time nor the speed to react to it.


    "Do you think this will cause us problems?" He asked, unsure of what to make of it.


    "Maybe it''ll explode. Maybe we will be able to control its powers. Don''t worry about it too much." Kiro said nonchntly biting onto the chicken leg he was holding.


    After their little rest stop they ventured deeper into the temple, they found themselves in a vast, dimly lit chamber. The air crackled with a cold anticipation, and the ground beneath their feet felt solid and sturdy. It didn''t feel like it would crumble at any moment, but they were still expecting it, they didn''t trust this temple at all.


    The sound of distant echoes filled the room, like long lost warriors battling it out but they couldn''t be seen, this was hinting at a challenge awaiting their arrival.


    In the center of the chamber, an imposing stone door stood tall, decorated with borate carvings of warriors in fierce battles, just like the ones they were hearing but could not see. Though nothing suggested that, the carvings would move to entertain them if only a little.


    Kiro didn''t know what the temple was, but he got a gist that these were tests and in order to get out of here, they had to adhere to whatever was thrown at them, to reach the end they had to y.


    With determination etched across his face, he slowly approached the stone door. As he reached out to touch it, a surge of energy coursed through his veins, and the room transformed around them.


    They found themselves in a vast arena, surrounded by towering walls, with spectators lining the stands, their eyes fixed upon them with great anticipation, as if they even refused to breathe.


    Before them stood a towering figure, a mythical creature with gripping muscles and eyes gleaming with fierce determination to kill. This was clearly a challenge in the form of a mighty duel, pitting them against a formidable opponent known as the Titan.


    They figured the name because now the crowd cheered louder than ever, singing its name as if it were a battle warcry. The duo felt out of ce.


    The Titan''s voice boomed, resonating throughout the arena, even with the crowd making a noise they could hear him very clearly. "To proceed forth, you must prove your worth inbat seed of the monkey king and King of the Underworld. Defeat me, and the path shall be yours."


    Hubris was confused as to why he called him that, he was no king, at least not yet.


    They steeled themselves, drawing from their inner reserves of strength and strong wills. They hade a long way together, this too shall be an obstacle they climb over.


    The sh began, the Titan''s movements were fluid and powerful they denied his size, its strikes akin to thunderbolts. Kiro with Ryu met each blow with unwavering determination, showcasing his own agility and skill. Showing the titan he may not have been in many battles like him, but he had his fair share of experience.


    The duel intensified, the sound of shing weapons reverberated through the arena. Hubris was working as Kiro''s mount, since he could now go in and out of intangibility with his master, he had taken the position of defense.


    Kiro channeled his instincts and honing hisbat prowess with the new Kaos energy, finding his rhythm amidst the chaos.


    They fought with unwavering resolve, using both that strategy and physical prowess to counter the Titan''s overwhelming strength.


    As minutes turned into hours, fatigue threatened to seep into their unbreakable fighting style. But with Hubris feeling useless all the time his determination burned brighter, fueling their resolve.


    The crowd was in awe of their battle strategy, nobody had eversted this long with the Titan, they started to think the Titan was going easy on them. They couldn''t understand how his swings were met with a tiny staff that couldn''t be broken in half.


    With one final, mighty effort, Kiro sent a flurry of strikes the Titan''s way, his weapon connecting with the Titan''s defenses. Together, Kiro sent a lightning rain while Hubris sent hellfire.


    A resounding roar filled the arena as the Titan staggered backward, it had never been moved by any warrior from where it stood. That seem to have made it angrier.


    Silence fell upon the arena, broken only by Kiro''s tired breaths. An indescribable feeling washed over, they knew that, if they didn''t find a way to subdue the Titan they''d be utterly destroyed.


    The Titan showed off its speed and lunged at them, Hubris wasn''t any quicker, as the huge axe grazed his behind but managed to escape with intangibility. He could see the glimpses of the future, but avoiding it was another matter entirely.


    Their weak bodies was their undoing, after hours of dancing with a legendary creature, fatigue stole the victory from them. Fortunately the Titan wasn''t out to murder them as they believed, as his axes turned to dust as it sliced through them.


    The crowd erupted into thunderous apuse, their cheers and chants filling the air. They had just been gifted a spectacle, and the path forward for the two was revealed.


    Not having won, they were confused about the treatment. It boosted their confidence nheless, with the newfound sense of confidence, they pressed on, leaving the arena behind.


    It seemed like there was no next challenge, but the door to leave this arena room was far filled with towering walls, treacherous pits and the like.


    "Isn''t this just criminal after fighting that big thing?" Kiroined, he was about ready to get out of the room but the room wasn''t quite done with them.


    It seemed to have been wanting to test not justbat, but also endurance. The climbed walls, jumped over pits and travelled to the door, when they reached it, Kiro was drenched in sweat.


    He could feel his entire physiology changing, the fatigue weaved into his muscles as a new strength, he felt tired but he felt good.

 Chapter 125: Mysterious Library

    As tired as he was, he didn''t want what he was feeling to disappear. So he twisted the door knob without taking a break this time, Hubris didn''t ask he just followed right behind his heels.


    They entered a mysterious room bathed in a soft, ethereal hue. It was very warm and weing. Right by what should''ve been a window stood a big ancient table, with two chairs already set on each end.


    Atop which rested a chessboard, in the not so usual ck and white colours but in ones Kiro couldn''t exactlyprehend but to him they looked red and ck, that''s the best his tiny brain coulde up with. A glowing orb was hovering, gifting the whole space light.


    Curiosity and determination surged within his heart as they approached the table. Kiro didn''t particrly like chess, but he liked the mental stimtion it gave him if he yed with someone good enough and where he came from there weren''t a lot of those.


    They reached it, he gingerly put his finger on each piece, they always gave him the same feeling of zeal, he couldn''t wait to get started.


    In that moment, a surge of energy coursed through his veins the same feeling he''d gotten before being transported into an arena, and sure enough the room transformed around them.


    They found themselves in a great library, books spanning as far as the eye could see. Each book whispered secrets and knowledge waiting to be unraveled. He walked for a distance feeling the spines of the books as he went, enjoying the smell of old books the same.


    With the chessboard at the beginning and now books, he didn''t have to think hard about what the next challenge would be. They''d clearly pick his brains to see how good they are.


    Just then a series of riddles and puzzles presented themselves, designed to test his intellect and awareness. The first riddle appeared before them, etched into the very air they breathed, the words were floating.


    "I am the beginning of everything, the end of time and space. I am essential for life, yet can bring destruction. What am I?"


    Kiro furrowed his brow, contemting the riddle. He repeated the riddle to himself, making sure he understood every word, every sybles.


    Time seemed to stretch as he picked his brain, taking apart the riddle and putting it together in the strings of sentences.


    Doing this made it easier to decipher for him, so it wasn''t a sudden surprise when a spark of realization ignited within his eyes.


    "It''s the letter ''E''," he eximed, his voice echoing through the great library.


    This took him back to the first trial of the game, when they had to answer the sphinx, only this time, he had no idea what would happen if he answered incorrectly.


    As soon as the correct answer was spoken, the books lining the shelves shifted, revealing a hidden passage within them.


    With a mixture of excitement and anxiety, they both stepped through, their heart racing with anticipation. The room beyond unveiled a seemingly endless hall, decorated with intricate tapestries depicting great philosophers and thinkers throughout history.


    "Who are these people?" Kiro asked, admiring their intimidating demeanour.


    "Owners of this establishment, maybe." Hubris shrugged


    "They don''t look human."


    They had little horns protruding from their heads, most had sses on, all of them were reading books and standing besides a pile. They all had the same tired look.


    He was about to pass the first when it sprung to life, he had already attacked with his staff but it went through the thing as if it were ghost.


    Unlike when it was in the painting, it looked old and dishevelled, like a bag of meat time had forgotten. "Why is time so important?" It''s voice was the opposite of how it looked like. It was strong andmanding.


    "Because time is existence." He blurted out without thinking.


    The thing went back to its painting, opening up the path ahead. Yet again another of the paintings block their way.


    "Can life be meaningful without friends?"


    Kiro thought back to his previous life, he didn''t have a single friend, no matter what the answer was here, he knew having nobody to share life with was the biggest p in the face he''d ever gotten from the universe.


    "No," He started, "no man is an ind."


    The path opened up once more.


    "What is knowledge?"


    "epting that you know nothing." He said, after much deliberation.


    "Do weapons kill or is it people?"


    "This one is just silly. Of course people kill, a weapon would never drive itself into a man''s heart, it needs another man to hold it."


    There were a lot paintings, they couldn''t pass them without answering their questions. Kiro long realised that, there were no wrong answers, the questions were philosophical, they could be debated based on ones perspective.


    Time seemed to lose its meaning as he delved into the depths of his own philosophical perspectives. Some questions even made him seriously reconsider his life.


    Some confused him, nhless he emerged from the hall with newfound rity and a sense of enlightenment. There were no more paintings, just the road ahead. Hubris was enjoying the free ride of not doing anything, he could''ve of course answered some with his brain but decided he would only interfere if Kiro asked.


    They found themselves standing before a colossal chessboard, each piece emanating an aura of ancient knowledge. Across from them stood a figure d in a robe, their face obscured by a hood. The ancient Chessmaster, the guardian of the room it seemed, spoke.


    "To proceed, you must defeat me in a game of chess," the Chessmaster proimed with a voice that carried an air of wisdom.


    Kiro had no choice but to ept the challenge, the pieces at their disposal mirrored their mental prowess.


    With every move, the Chessmaster disyed cunning and great foresight, attempting to outmaneuver and corner Kiro early on. The game wasn''t only a battle of intellect but also of intuition and adaptability.


    Minutes ticked into hours, Kiro and the Chessmaster were focused and engaged in the dance of wits, each move calcted and deliberate.


    But as the game reached its climax, Kiro''s perception sharpened, unveiling the delicacies of the Chessmaster''s strategy. With a final decisive move, he checkmated the Chessmaster, ending the duel.


    "Congrattions young one, you''ve bested me. As promised, the path is yours to take."


    After those words, everything disappeared, only the door remained. A door to an other side that they weren''t quite ready for. Every door they walked in, hadn''t been kind to them. Although thisst bout was by far, Kiro''s favourite.


    He twisted the doorknob.

 Chapter 126: Monkey King

    The chamber they entered next was unlike the ones they''ve entered so far. The current chamber seemed to be in a space of its own, it was exactly the same as the outside temple.


    The walls and floor were adorned with the same golden hue, with intricate drawings all around it. The chamber was hollow though, that made it lonely.


    With the exception of a flying orb, giving the room a faint light that wasn''t too blinding to look at it, it wasfortable.


    Kiro looked at his mount, Hubris looked at him, they both nodded at each other before crossing the line and entering the pristine chamber that looked to be out of their league.


    The second they touched the golden floor, all the physical and mental fatigue disappeared. Kiro felt like someone who has trained for 13 years but also let their muscles rest for just as long.


    He walked around, too close to the walls, observing the drawings. Touching them, the drawings felt like they would jump out ande alive, but nothing of that sort happened.


    "Just how obsessed are the devs with battles, this isn''t the first or second time I run into something like this."


    Kiroined, remembering all the end battles he was shown, of every civilization that''s extinct now. Nothing seemed to end well for the little guys in these battles.


    He wondered how he and his friends faired if one came knocking at their door. He figured the way they were, they''d be obliterated.


    "How can I bring them here? Surely Subduing Kaos is better than magic." He pondered.


    He knew making Kaos your own was hard, and it''d even mean losing their sanity but this was just a game after all, maybe the penalty would be, you can''t login for a month. It was still all worth it in his eyes.


    "Master, there''s nothing here." Hubris called out from the other side, jerking him out of his wishful thinking.


    He was already imagining an elite army of guardians who can use Kaos energy. He liked what he saw, they''d be too overpowered and harbingers wouldn''t stand a chance.


    The chamber was truly empty, Kiro was confused. Was this another challenge? Was whatever this was, testing his patience now? For what reason was he even being tested. He wanted to know, he was hoping by the end of the challenges there''d be answers.


    "I suppose we wait, there''s no other door other than the one we entered from."


    He took out a sleeve from the robe he was wearing and started cleaning his staff. Despite the hardships they''ve went through since entering this world, Ryu seemed as new as when he first got it. He still felt inclined to clean it.


    After that, he nted his behind on the floor and started meditating. He saw himself back in the world he created back then, he was surprised it didn''t crumble the moment he stepped out of meditation. But the door, the door was nowhere to be felt or found.


    "Is this world just always so beautiful and peaceful?" He wondered, as he has never seen it any other way.


    But this was his mind, it only reflected his state of mind at the moment. If his state were to be in shambles, so would this world. But the sun was too nice for him to worry about such trivial things.


    Just when he thought he couldn''t be amazed anymore, Hubris dropped in. He had felt where he was master was, when with his perfect vision, saw where he was, he had to be there too.


    He had no idea it would work, but thanks to their connection he was transported without a hitch, his consciousness anyway.


    "Goodness Hubris, don''t just drop by unannounced!" He had already jumped backwards with the sudden appearance of his mount.


    "I''m sorry my Lord, I had no idea it was going to work." Hemented walking around inplete awe, "I haven''t been here a second but my astral body has gained unimaginable strength. Is this why you''ve been so strong willedtely?"


    "What are you talking about, I''ve always had a strong will."


    Hubris thought back to when he had managed to make Kaos energy his own. He nodded his head, but also could recognise that this space made them stronger mentally. It exined how calm Kiro had been since entering the temple, while Hubris'' mind was at the brink of utter madness.


    "Uh, Sir, Master, my Lord, is it okay to train here from now on? Of course if it doesn''t strain you at all."


    "You needn''t ask Hubris, you get stronger, I get stronger."


    Hubris nodded his head in agreement and started exploring the vast world that was in Kiro''s head. Kiro wasn''t interested in exploring, so he stayed back and worked on his martial art form without using Ryu.


    He didn''t really like making a fist, that''s why most of his attacks were palm strikes, in addition those palm strikes sometimes had somethinging out of them. Mostly it was wind, but now even ck lightning.


    He thought back when they were dodging gravity geysers, and how he was able to control Hubris using the electricity in his brain, and how he was able to charge particles in the air and weakened gravity.


    These skills were two he couldn''t let go, they were simply too strong. They would give him an impossible edge, he was already imagining an army of monsters, controlled by him.


    An hour passed, and he had already grasped the concept but it wasn''t as easy in practical as the theory made it seem. It used a lot of mental fortitude, and as much strong as his was strong, it was still farfetched controlling something as big as Hubris.


    The best he could do in his mental world were birds, which probably meant something even less in the real world.


    "Who dares uses my chamber without permission?" A thunderous voice sounded, making their insides lurch and twist.


    They were immediately knocked out of the mental world and brought back into the golden room, nothing was there.


    "I said, who dares?"

 Chapter 127: Inheritance or Not

    Kiro craned his neck in different directions trying to pinpoint where the voice hade from but he couldn''t see anything. He was more pissed that this thing interrupted his breakthrough. He was this close from using lightning to control a bigger animal.


    "Who dares interrupt my training?" He shot back.


    At first nothing happened, but a gust of wind appeared out of nowhere. Blowing both of them and nting their faces onto the walls with such unbelievable speed they couldn''t dodge.


    "Dammit, that hurt!"


    "Are you supposed to be my descendant? How disappointing." The voice said again.


    But now, a figure appeared before them. He was a feast for eyes, an extremely beautiful man with fair skin, but he had a tail. He put the golden room to shame by how divine he felt. He was tall, so tall Kiro had to prop his head up just to look at him in the face.


    "You''re an interesting one, you''ve tamed the king of the Underworld yet you''re weaker than it. How cunning." He said amused.


    "Hubris and I are bonded by something you could never understand, I didn''t trick him to ept me." He said, putting too much stress on each syble, he propped himself up. "What are you anyway? What do you want?"


    "Are you blind? I''m your ancestor, you dimwit and this is my space, of course I don''t use it anymore but I don''t like people ying with my toys, even those I''ve tossed aside."


    Kiro looked at the thing in front of him, he couldn''t believe it was way stronger than Hubris. He thought they could take it. It was him that created the temple which messed with Hubris the most. Even now, he didn''t have to look at him, he could feel how restless he was.


    "Why is my mount so restless in your presence?"


    He looked at Hubris greatly amused, Hubris looked like he was attempting everything in his power to cling onto his sanity. With much pitty, he did something with his hand, and immediately Hubris looked like he''d been relieved of a longstanding inner conflict.


    "It can''t be helped, his people and I have a millennia old conflict. Hellhounds will naturally hate me and I the same,


    "It''s a wonder how you, my descendant was able to tame one. It shouldn''t have been possible.


    "Of course, I myself had exceptions, like his father, the kid never really hated me. We evenpeted on a godhood fruit once, naturally I won it, that only raised the hatred between me and them though." He said with his eyes closed, as if reminiscing to the good old days.


    Kiro looked at the man that imed to be a god, in all honesty he had every right to im he was a god. He had the looks, demeanor and most likely the power. But what made him dumbfounded was the fact that, he was his ancestor. He had to remind himself that, this was just a game.


    "Then, why the challenges? why did I need to do them?"


    "You didn''t really need to do them, but I suppose since you want out of here, there wasn''t any other way.


    "I don''t know what else to tell you kid. I made those challenges for people who were nosy and wanted to study my temple. But you''ve beaten every test, your will is strong, your loyalty to each other is unwavering, your strength isn''t bad. Your wisdom is great..."


    Kiro could sense a buting, "but?"


    "You''re an idiot. So much so that I don''t know whether to be disgusted or impressed with you. How can you store Kaos energy in your bones?"


    Kiro didn''t know what to say, he thought letting it settle in his bones was one of his smarter choices.


    "Maybe you don''t feel it now, but you will, your bones should be starting theirint now." He said, materialising a chair and sitting on it as if this conversation had exhausted him.


    "Then, where am I to store it? I have no where else." He said searching himself with his hands as if that would help find it, he wondered if his brain was big enough.


    "Don''t even think about it young one, it would explode within a second of Kaos entering it." He told him sagely with his eyes closed as if he was taking a nap. "To answer your trivial question, create energy veins of course." He said like it was the most obvious thing.


    "How?"


    "Same way you subdued the energy which I created."


    Kiro stopped himself from almost rolling his eyes. This god in front of him wasn''t helpful, he was only good at bragging and telling him stories that feed his ego. He sat down, intending to meditate.


    "I''ll give you the temple by the way, call it your inheritance or whatever descendants receive from their ancestors."


    "Do you mind? I need to meditate." Kiro didn''t exactly want this rundown temple, he had no idea what he''d do with it, most of all, he wanted to go home.


    He looked at him pitifully, "can''t you do one thing impressively? Why do you need that much concentration just to enter the state of nothingness?"


    Kiro ignored him, as he showed off, going in and out of the meditative state like he was switching a light, on and off.


    When Kiro entered his, the monkey King couldn''t help but be impressed. As unorganised as the kid was, he managed to create an actual world within his mental space.


    That was by far the hardest, he was an awe about how he wasn''t able to create energy veins all on his own, that was the most simple thing.


    What was amazing was the fact that he wasn''t sitting anymore, he was standing yet he was able to slip into a meditative state. He didn''t waste any time and got to work immediately.


    He watched his blood stream, watching how his natural viens acted, carrying his blood to various ces in his body. He was observing everything they did, in hopes he could replicate and create his own veins.

 Chapter 128: Well of Memories

    Hubris didn''t quite trust the monkey King, so when Kiro entered the meditative state, he didn''t immediately go into his mental world. He wanted to train his astral body, but also wanted to protect his lord from potential dangers.


    The monkey King looked at Hubris like he was a party. He was thoroughly entertained with how the hound was carrying himself. It was still quite unbelievable that this hellhound, was hellbent on protecting the boy. It was unheard of, so naturally, it intrigued him.


    "You don''t have to be so on guard. I can quite literally feel your anger, I''m not going to do anything to your master. Even if I did, there''s nothing you could do."


    "I don''t care, I''ll die before I let you do anything to him." He spoke for the first time in a long time, that''s why his voice came out raspy and hoarse.


    "You know, I knew your father. Bright kid, brave too."


    "So?"


    "So, you can trust me. We had a healthy rivalry, your father and I. Me, the only one from my tribe to ever exist, him, being the next in line for the crown. We both had our burdens, maybe that''s what we bonded over, despite being natural enemies."


    "If you were such good friends, why did you let my uncle win, why didn''t you help, why did you let his only son to be tossed aside in a foreignnd."


    Hubris was out of breath when he finished talking, he was clearly very angry. The monkey King looked at this erratic behaviour with pitiful eyes. The kid in front of him wasn''t like his friend at all, he was too much of a hothead and a stubborn one at that. He wasn''t letting out any hostile aura, yet the hound was restless.


    "As you know, I ascended to godhood. I don''t know if you know this, but you should have an inkling, gods are absolutely forbidden from interfering. Something, an invisible force, physically stops us.


    "So, even if I wanted to, I wouldn''t be able to. Your father was a prideful hound, he didn''t ask for help, even in his dying breath. His only regret was that, he didn''t teach you enough." He finished softly, this seemed to have reached darkest, deepest parts of his heart.


    Hubris saw his anger melting like butter. He didn''t quite remember his father, so hearing these things about him made him feel closer, if only a little, to him. Although life would''ve been different if he hadn''t died, he wouldn''t have met Kiro, that was the only qualm he had about it.


    He had gotten so close with him, he couldn''t imagine a timeline he wasn''t following him around. He didn''t want to imagine a time when he wasn''t able to share his feelings with Kiro, as much as his father''s death was a tragedy, finding a truepanion made him believe it was all fate.


    Thinking about these things, only made his resolve for revenge stronger. He knew he just had to take revenge, he had to dirty his hands, he had to kill his own uncle and be king. He didn''t know what that would mean for his rtionship with his master, but he trusted that, no matter what happens, they''ll always berades.


    "Mr. Monkey King, how did my father die? He was supposed to be the strongest amongst my people, but my uncle was able to defeat him in a royal battle, how?"


    The more he thought about it, the more it didn''t make sense. The royal battle was put in ce so that the strongest of the pack would be the leader. Although it''s chosen by bloodline, Hubris'' bloodline was the most special amongst hellhounds. His bloodline would always have an edge, if the fights were fair and square.


    So it didn''t make sense that his Uncle, with a secondary bloodline, won the royal battle. These details only came to him now that the person in front of him was telling him about his father, to exert revenge he needed to know everything. To avoid falling into his uncle''s traps like his father.


    "Your father was down to earth, very nice, very fierce hellhound. Even though he was stupidly nice, he loved fighting. That''s how we became the best of friends.


    "We met at the river lephe, the rumour back then was that, the river lephe harboured the strongest monster in the Underworld. So as a youth who loved fighting, we gathered there.


    "We were the only two who had the guts to go all the way. A monster did make itself known, it came out of its home and faced the intruders, who were us."


    Hubris was happy hearing all of this. As he was being told, the images were also nted in his head. It was as if he was watching a slideshow of his dad, and his then best friend. The way he fought was also different, it was quick and concise.


    He didn''t waste any moves, every move had a purpose which it achieved. He was entranced by his fighting style, he wished he could pick it up. But he knew it would take him a few good years to be as good as that. Seeing his father fighting only set to solidify that his uncle cheated somehow.


    "We defeated the monster together, from then on we became inseparable. Of course the elders in your tribe didn''t approve of our rtionship, but your father was a stubborn one. Without a good reason, he refused to cut ties with me.


    "I think that''s even why his position was questioned. A lot of the elders weren''t on his side to take the crown, they favoured your uncle.


    "It came down to fighting for it. Naturally, your father won it. He didn''t think anything of it, it was natural for leaders to be challenged. His first mistake was not letting his trust for your uncle waver even after that."


    Hubris wasn''t even angry at the ounts of things, it was as if his heart was cleansed of the anger that clouded his judgment, his resolve just continued to to be strengthened as he listened to the tale he wouldn''t have known about had it not have been for the man in front of him.


    Just then, a violent glow came from Kiro.

 Chapter 129: Pathways

    Hubris got up in a panic. Looking at how calm the monkey King was, he had to talk himself down.


    "Well, help him, what are you doing!" He demanded.


    "He''ll be fine. He doesn''t need help, this is a normal path for those creating energy veins, he won''t die."


    He decided to trust him. He had no reason to lie anyway, if he wanted them dead he could''ve done it with a snap of a finger. Unless he was a sick individual who enjoyed ying with his food before eating. He shook his head, as if to physically shake off the thought.


    "Then, what happened?" He sat down and listened attentively.


    "When your father ascended to the throne, was around the same time I ascended to godhood. That''s why we''ve never met, me and you, otherwise, I''m your uncle.


    "Anyway, that''s also around the time they started poisoning him, subtly enough so that even their King wouldn''t notice anything. Of course the subtleness made it so the poison worked extremely slow. But they were not looking to kill him with it, just weaken him.


    "When you were born, itplicated everything. Of course by this time, I could only watch from afar..." He trailed off and paused.


    Despite being a god, that''s supposed to be unfeeling, this one memory did a number on him. It was the first ever incident, when he had to watch the person he loved the most in this world suffer, without being able to help. Back then, he even renounced being a god because he wanted to get down there and cause havoc but that was obviously rejected.


    If he had to fix one regret he had in life, if he could go back. He wouldn''t have looked for the fruit that made him a god, he would''ve stayed by his friends side because then, he would have been able to protect him and his offspring.


    All this feeling of despair and regret happened in a span of a second but to a god that could very well be an eternity. Despite how quick he was topose himself, Hubris felt it. He saw it. The sadness he carried because he had lost something precious.


    "Are you¡ª"


    The monkey King stopped him from finishing the sentence by raising his hand. He hated how he could''ve shown his nephew his pitiful side. He stilled his very cold heart, he owed it to Hubris to at least tell him the truth about this.


    "It had been a lot of years since the poisoning when you were born. I was sure you''d die, because of that poison you were born weak, I''m surprised you were able to go against heaven''s fate and became an ancient beast, something not even your father achieved.


    "After 200 years of weakening him, they finally made their move. When I tell you, every elder there was against your father, I mean it. None were on his side.


    "After his death, we were finally reunited though it was a very brief victory and celebration, because your uncle had intended to kill you too.


    "But I''d be damned if I let that happen, I used half of my life energy to bypass the force field between the physical realm and the god realm, just to nt the idea into your uncle, that he should banish you to another realm instead."


    Hubris looked at him like he was a very fragile being, like any moment he would break.


    "I''m so sorry you had to sacrifice so much for me." He said solemnly, looking down in shame.


    "It was nothing kid, I''d do it all over again if given the chance. Your father has been pestering me all this time, he sends his greetings."


    Hubris was extremely confused, his father was still alive? His spirit? He smiled, as beautifully as a hellhound could.


    "How?"


    "He''s an angel in training, my angel in training but he''s still very young, so he can''t show himself."


    Hubris wondered if, should he die, would he also be so lucky as to be reunited with his father and possibly work under him as an angel in training.


    "Don''t even think about it kid, your father would be extremely angry. So you better live long."


    He nodded. Craning his neck to check his master, who was glowing with a beautiful, calm red hue.


    "Was it a coincidence, that we fell into this world and we found your temple?"


    "There are no coincidences." He said with a mischievous grin.


    Hubris was now worried, he''d grown close and attached to this strange man, he hoped he didn''t use his other half of life energy just to get them here. That would''ve been a waste he thought, he could''ve lived his whole life without knowing the whole story.


    "Don''t worry about me, I''m not going to vanish any time soon. We n to go on a trip with your father, rumour has it there''s a mysterious medicine for my condition.


    "Though it''s never been found. But if anyone can find it, it''s your father and I. If it were up to your father, he wouldn''t want you to avenge him but he gets the sense of how stubborn you are."


    "Of course I''ll avenge him. I decided this even before we met you. The story only strengthened my weak resolve. I also have my master by my side, we''ve been through thick and thin together, nothing can deter us."


    The monkey King nodded. He''d seen first hand of their loyalty to each other. It was unwavering and the most beautiful thing to watch, it reminded of himself and his friend.


    Kiro had heard everything while creating his energy veins. He turned around sobbing hard, he couldn''t believe how far the devs went with creating Hubris and his backstory. It was too real and it was too sad.


    "Who''s cutting onions here." Heined, attempting to wipe the tears but more just came pouring out.


    Since he was pretending not to be, the beings in the room pretended he wasn''t either. The monkey King instead focused on his energy veins, they were perfectly made, he had noints.


    "You''re kind of impressive kid. Well, I''d toss you aside if you weren''t at least this good."


    Kiro simply shook his head, he didn''t understand why he didn''t justpliment him normally.


    "You guys have a war to start. You can get the hell out of my space."


    "Uh, you gave this to me."


    He thought back, "I did, didn''t I. I''ll still need it for another 18 months."


    Kiro gave him a whatever look and started using his pathways to store Kaos.

 Chapter 130: Sparring With The Monkey King

    The pathways wererger and stronger than before. He didn''t think it possible that, it would feel this refreshing. Storing Kaos in his bones made him feel bloated and his bones creaky, of course he didn''t realise all this until he emptied out his bones.


    The monkey King didn''t kick them out as he pretended he would. They stayed at his space with him, training. Kiro wanted more than anything to get used to the new pathways. It didn''t take him long before he was using them like a third limb.


    This coupled with vibrations, he felt really unstoppable. Though he still felt inadequate, as vibrations outside the temple didn''t quite exist the way he was used to. So he asked the monkey King about it.


    "Everything vibrates at its own frequency, this rings more true when you enter another world. You just need to listen more attentively, when the world youe from is more loud. But I expect you''ll be able to detect them soon, you''ve subdued Kaos and created pathways."


    He told him this and at the same time, toned down vibrations in his tower to match the world around it, in order for Kiro to train at a safe and secure location. Since then, he hadn''t been able to feel or hear anything through vibrational sense. That didn''t stop him from listening more closely than he usually did.


    Hubris was not cking either, he wanted to surpass his father immediately. It was a wonder to him that he evolved into a higher creature, yet when he used his eyes to discern his father''s strength, he wouldn''t have stood a chance against him at his prime. Absolute strength meant nothing if one had no idea how to use it.


    Hubris was still just an empty vessel with all these skills. He needed to sort through them and learn how to use them effectively. But it wasn''t easy painting his very nk canvas, but he knew that, if he couldn''t get it done he''d lose against his uncle.


    Kiro was walking around the room barefoot. He figured shoes would slow down the process. Not to mention, the monkey King promised to spar with them when they reach their mini goals.


    Being given the chance to go at it with a god, pumped them up. It was a great motivator. Days turned into weeks, which in turn, stretched into months. Their rigorous training hadn''t stopped, not even a little bit.


    "I got it, I got it..." He was iling his arms in the air when a replica of Ryu came zooming for his head.


    He touched off the ground with his toes and made an unbelievable jump from the ground and into the air, he thennded on the staff that resembled his own. They were both still midair, as he used vibrations to keep himself suspended in the air.


    He effortlessly was able to detect the attack and most importantly, was fast enough to avoid and render it useless. He was still in the air, when he kicked the staff back whence it came. Although he was barefoot, kicking it back didn''t hurt him one bit.


    "Not bad kid," he said with a little smirk, impressed. "I''m obviously not going to use my power but do your worst." He beckoned him to attack.


    He wasn''t up for taking a break either after training for months. He took downward strides, running for the god in front of him. The air acted like solid ground wherever he would step, but he could feel a chunk of energy being drained because he was condensing air in his little domain.


    Which is why he ran downward, descending faster to reach the solid tower ground while at the same time gunning to connect a palm strike on a god.


    He hadn''t reached him but he was close enough, his palm was extended, ready to strike when space seemed to warp right before him, twisting his arm and throwing him on the floor at the same time.


    He was jerked back to reality sooner than he''d have liked. He was sparring with someone who was leagues above him, even without power, he was powerful.


    "Are you sure you didn''t use any power there?"


    "This is purely martial arts kid."


    "Well, that''s not very fair is it."


    The monkey King saw ws brush through his being. Though he was faster, as Hubris'' attack connected with an afterimage, he''d already reached the other side of the room.


    ''Dammit.'' Kiroined internally.


    He had hoped distracting him with a conversation would work and Hubris could actuallynd a finishing blow but s, his cunning n didn''t work.


    "That was a good n, but you''re far fromnding any kind of attack on me."


    Kiro had already used blink to close the gap, if he couldn''t take him by surprise, his best bet was a barrage of attacks and hope one actuallynds.


    All else failed, even his bending kick was no match for gods. He didn''t feel like he was fighting a harbinger, at least with them it felt like he had a chance. The chasm between him and the monkey King was unbelievably immeasurable.


    That didn''t dampen either of their moods, as they continued to attack. Kiro even had Ryu out now, but every one of his attacks were parried beautifully.


    Hubris attacked with his fire balls, multiple of them went straight for his nemesis. The monkey King smiled, as this reminded him of his friend. Though, as reminiscent as the moment was, he didn''t let a single fire ball slip through.


    It was as if they were being swallowed by an invisible ck hole. Nothing seemed to go through to touch his skin, his defense seemed irond and he wasn''t even trying hard to protect himself from the barrage of attacks he was receiving.


    Kiro could feel that he was almost at his wits end. He decided to act while the monkey King was busy with Hubris'' fire balls. He summoned lightning and coated Ryu with it and disappeared where he was, appearing right behind him, pushing Ryu through the invisible defense and into his neck.


    A golden like liquid dripped from it.

 Chapter 131: Encounter With The Rebels

    "I''m ¡ª I''m so sorry, I didn''t mean to, I thought you''d block it for sure ¡ª I thought..." Kiro''s mind was all over the ce.


    He didn''t think his attack would connect, now not only did he wound his ancestor, this was also a god-like figure. He was frantic, his mind raced forward, he thought about the prison they put people in, in the god realm.


    "Arrogant, you think you can wound me?" He asked,ing down from the ceiling.


    The thing in front of them melted into nonexistence. Kiro now remembered the legends that, the monkey King could make copies of himself, thousands of them. He didn''t even notice when he split himself into two.


    "So, that''s the difference between a nobody like me and a god. Amazing!"


    "The fact that you were able to do something to a copy of mine is an already impressive feat, be happy about that."


    Kiro shook his head, thinking about harbingers, "it''s not enough." He mumbled to himself.


    He fell where he stood, tired to the brink, he had drained every inch of his new pathways, though they were being filled up, quicker than the bones. That didn''t chase away his fatigue though.


    The monkey King snapped his fingers and a table appeared, along with chairs and a variety of foods.


    After training here for months, it was finally time to move on, they''ve learned everything they needed to overthrow Hubris'' uncle, hopefully it was enough.


    They sat at the table and began eating, they ate to their hearts content, the table was full of every dish known to man, by the time they were done, the dishes had nothing but bone.


    The food was a bit special, it didn''t just cure physical fatigue, it also strengthened mental fortitude, which Hubris was very grateful for. To make it more amazing, no matter how much they ate, the food seemed to be stored somewhere else instead of their stomachs.


    It was delicious nheless.


    "It''s time for both of you to leave, you''ve bothered me long enough."


    "You seem to have forgotten that you gave me this temple, which is useless since I''m nning to leave this realm, you should give me something I can leave with."


    The monkey King scoffed and then that melted into a genuine smile, "I already did."


    "What? What do you mean you already did¡ª"


    He shouldn''t have blinked, because that moment was enough to blink out of the tower. They were outside once more and the tower was nowhere to be seen, they weren''t in the desert either.


    "The nerve of that God, tsk!!"


    "Calm down Master, at least he let us train there for free."


    They were in front of a forest. Kiro had his misgivings about entering yet another forest in the Underworld but he had no choice, he could feel a city on the other side.


    He was still barefoot, surprisingly, walking on the ground wasn''t hurtful at all and since he was scared he''d lose the vibrations, he opted not to wear them. They sceptically entered the forest.


    As expected, the forest was monster Infested, but because they had been training with a god, they were basically moving swimmingly through the forest. Nothing that popped up was a match for them.


    The encountered snakes with 7 heads. Lizards that were too overgrown, Hubris called them wyverns. Hell Pixies, that used their dust to make people see Illusions, since they were used to god level Illusions these ones were childs y.


    Something unexpected happened, upon defeating the pixies they dropped a flute. In Kiro''s mind, this solidified that, they were in fact, still in a game. He tried to y it but a horrible sound came from it. He didn''t want to throw it away, so he put it in his storage space.


    They continued their not so dangerous journey through the forest. Their happy attitude was disturbed by an ear piercing screaming from the left of where they were walking.


    Both used a skill that could let them assess the situation from where they were standing. They saw around 5 beings, surrounded by sirens. They couldn''t believe their luck, they could take revenge finally.


    It was a race to get there, when they arrived they didn''t even ask. As Kiro used his lightning to st them into tiny particles. Hubris was doing the same with fire ball, he had learned from the temple, now his fire was able to burn them into nothingness.


    It didn''t take them a minute, and the whole area was clean off sirens. They had taken care of their enemies in a matter of seconds.


    "Wow, we''ve gotten so strong since thest time, what the hell did that God do to us!"


    "Master, we should be grateful."


    They turned to the 5 beings, he immediately recognised them. 3 of them were of the arachnid race, they were humanoids. The other two were hellhounds, Hubris didn''t quite expect to run into them so quickly.


    The arachnids and hellhounds recognised Hubris right away. They bowed, so low their noses practically touching the dirt ground.


    "The heir to the throne, the rightful heir, we''ve always hoped you''de back Sire and fight for your people, fight for us."


    Hubris was stunned in ce, he didn''t know how to respond. Most importantly, he didn''t know if these two weren''t in on the poisoning of his father. It''d take him a while before discerning who was loyal to his father and who wasn''t.


    "Tell me why I shouldn''t have your heads right now. You allowed the coup to happen and have been bowing down to the false king to survive?" He said, anger consuming him once more.


    Kiro decided to stay away from it, he watched amused.


    "There''s no way Sire, we are the rebel army. We have been opposing the current King for hundreds of years to no sess. We''ve heard word you were dead, but we were sure you weren''t." The speaker''s head was still buried in the ground, he didn''t dare look up.


    "What made you so sure exactly?"


    "When the previous King died, the current one paraded his corpse all over the kingdom, but yours was missing. We have been waiting for you, Sire."


    Upon hearing this, about his father''s corpse, Hubris'' anger seemed to deepen.

 Chapter 132: The Rebel Army

    "Is that so? How many hellhounds oppose my uncle?"


    All the 5 of them were shaking with fear, they could sense how unfriendly he was towards them. They could sense the anger that seemed to be buried deep within him, it seeped out with every syble he spoke to them.


    "There¡ªare¡ªmany of us Sire, though most are those who can no longer fight. Both the Old and young generation." Said one of the two that seemed to have sense, though he stuttered badly at the beginning, his speech gradually became better.


    Hubris didn''t seem to care about the rambling the hound in front of him was making, he just wanted a number, an estimate. He knew how cunning his uncle was, he''d naturally use his people as meatshields before he falls from grace.


    "How many?" He asked, impatience leaked out from his maw.


    "About, 300 Sire. But with more than a thousand on his side, we didn''t stand a chance."


    "And what did you think one hound could do? I am just one, was your intention to lure me in and get me murdered?" He didn''t put anything past his uncle, Kiro understood his line of questioning.


    The Hellhound didn''t answer. He''d heard of the blessed bloodline of royalty, so he didn''t doubt it. He didn''t think he''d lose against a thousand hounds, that''s why everyone, believed in him. That''s why the current King spreads false information that he was dead.


    "What''s your name?" Hubris asked him.


    "Sire, I''m not worthy of the rightful heir to know my name. I am your subject,mand me however you please."


    Kiro stopped himself from bursting outughing. It came out as a slight cough, he used his fist to hide his mouth and cleared his throat, making a very serious face.


    "I won''t repeat myself to you."


    "I am Belial, Sire, you can have my head for my insolence."


    Part of Hubris wished he could walk away from all of this. He wasn''t quite used being treated the way he was. Kiro gave him a knowing look, as if to say, ''See? This is what I meant.''


    He understood them, because he also had a master he respected beyond anything. He would die if it meant saving him, so he understood a little. That didn''t stop him from being annoyed by the treatment.


    "Belial is it? No one must know that I am back. At least, not yet."


    "You''re not exactly inconspicuous Hubris, you''re huge even by hellhound standards."


    The 5 on the ground looked at Kiro like he was the biggest idiot. He spoke so casually with him, most of all, he was speaking as if they were equals. They were ready to kill him, if their King ordered it.


    "Master is right, I suppose we cannot leave this forest, for now."


    Manners be damned, their necks mechanically turned their heads, looking at Hubris in shock and fear. They didn''t understand why he was calling this low level creature, Master. Unless his name was, Master?


    Noticing their reaction, Kiro joked, "You better refrain from calling me master Hubris, otherwise the following you''ve gained will dwindle into nothingness."


    "My Lord, I could never." He turned his head to look at the 5, who had their mouths agape, shocked at the conversation. "Problem with that? This is my master."


    They were lost for words, but they shook their heads to answer him nheless. They didn''t understand anything but they weren''t about to question it either.


    "Where''s your base?"


    "In the city," He noticed that Hubris was looking at him like an idiot. "It''s to hide in in sight."


    "Dumb." Kiro didn''t mean to, but the word just came out of his mouth involuntarily.


    "How dare a being with low level¡ª" The dumber of the two said with a disgusted face and tone, but he didn''t get to finish his sentence though.


    Hubris had already reached his ignorant self and pinned his head to the ground. Which caused more damage to his skull, it absolutely crushed.


    He felt like the whole world was resting on his head. He was sure this would be the end of him. He never knew the strength of a royal hound, but today he was not just a witness but also a victim. He didn''t even attempt to fight it, he justid there and epted his fate.


    Kiro reacted faster, the hound Hubris had pinned down didn''t have long to live. He quickly pushed Hubris off him and made him drink a restorative potion.


    "Hubris, you stupid pup! Now you owe me a very expensive potion."


    Hubris suddenly looked like a child who was being scolded, he really let his anger get the better of him. Especially when they couldn''t contact Hiro for more of these.


    "So sorry master, this idiot was disrespecting you." He then turned to the hound that was on the ground just lying there, not because he was injured but his legs were so weak he couldn''t get up.


    "I didn''t think this needed to be said, but this is my master. If he is my master, he is your god. If you bow down to me, you decapitate your head before you even think of talking to him without permission."


    As shocked as they were, they didn''t dispute. They had originally thought Kiro was just a ve their King obtained on the way here but they didn''t imagine he was their King''s superior.


    They had seen his strength with their own eyes, the way he easily pushed Hubris out of the way made them think they were more or less were equals in the battlefield.


    "Yes King and God, I''m so sorry for my brother. He is as dumb as a knob." Belial answered in an apologetic manner, his whole face was now buried in the dirt.


    "Hubris, fix this, I don''t want to be called a god."


    Hubris ignored him, he didn''t think the title was misced.


    The hound he pinned down lost all its confidence it had its tail between the legs. That was arguably the most embarrassing thing for a hellhound to experience.

 Chapter 133: Underground Base

    "So you don''t have a base?"


    "I mean, we do, it''s in the city."


    "Do you know why my master called that idiotic? You have erected your base in enemy base. My uncle is cruel and cunning, I''m sure he keeps tabs on everything you hounds do. No wonder you haven''t been able to topple his monarchy. He has been leading you all by the nose. Useless!"


    He was breathing heavily with anger. He couldn''t believe how stupid his kin were, originally he thought they were really smart beings. The anger felt hotter when he thought back to when they looked down on Kiro.


    "Hey now, don''t do anything stupid. Don''t make me bring back your punishment."


    He was still frustrated but he obliged. He didn''t quite want things to go back to when food was foreign to him, he was too used to this newfound delicacy.


    "What were you doing here in this forest anyway?"


    "We just came here for wood. As you say Sire, the current King suspects us, so energy in the city was cut. We depend on the old ways to survive."


    Hubris told them to stop bowing. It was awkward talking to them like that, he wasn''t quite used to being a King of anywhere. While they stopped, their heads were still downcast while talking to them.


    "It''s okay Hubris, we will use this forest as our secret base. They can continue alluding your uncle, pretending they''re the main force. We will stay here, you''re experienced in building shelter aren''t you?"


    Hubris nodded in agreement. He made sure to hammer the fact that nobody can know that they''re in that forest, not even their own allies. He knew that there was no way his uncle would''ve let them stay in his city without nting spies within their group.


    He''d never met his uncle not in memories he remembers anyway, but knew better than to underestimate him.


    "Now then, leave us. Live as you normally do, pretend you''ve never met us."


    He had to chase them away, they didn''t want to leave. As if this encounter to them would all be a dream if they stepped out of the forest, but Hubris forced them to leave. It would raise suspicions if they started living in the forest. So they left, albeit hesitant.


    The minute they left Hubris started working on a base. Since a structure above ground would be too conspicuous, he started digging.


    "Command me Sire." Kiro said jokingly.


    "Master, I''ll need your whirlwind to get the dirt out of the hole."


    Kiro obliged. He was growing tired of sitting around and doing nothing anyway. Hubris would dig, and he was right behind him, transporting the dirt from the hole to the surface of the forest.


    Hubris dug for days, then changed direction and started digging a straight line to the city. Their rabbit hole was a big one, it went on for a long distance. Thousands of people wouldfortably live there without a problem.


    He even installednterns, preparing for when people who can''t see in the dark need a hiding ce.


    He went back to close off the hole in the forest. Just enough so nobody could tell that there was a hollow tunnel underneath. He then created an almost invisible door, that could only be seen by him and Kiro.


    It took them a week to finish the underground base and they were properly tired as they didn''t take a break doing everything. Since they couldn''t start a fire underground without venttion, they decided to have a cookout at the forest.


    Smokeing from the forest wouldn''t draw attention, so they didn''t bother trying to hide it. Kiro took a week''s worth of meat, and started grilling.


    "We haven''t heard from them in over a week, I''m a bit worried." Hubris finally shared his concerns, he''d been brooding the past week, not saying anything, but the sour mood didn''t fool anyone.


    "It''s just been a week, I''d understand you if it were a month that passed. Your uncle is good, but he''s not that good."


    "What do you mean?"


    "There''s no way he knows we''re here. But we should operate under the assumption that he knows. We can''t only rely on the element of surprise, it''s too much of an unknown uncertainty to rely on it." He told him, while poking and turning the meat. It smelled divine, his own mouth was watering.


    "So then, what''s your n?"


    "You''re the king, I''ll just follow yourmand for now."


    "Then mymand is, what would your n be."


    Kiro looked at him with an amused expression on his face. He couldn''t believe that Hubris had no ns going into this, he had to apud him for how stubborn he was, he was too thick headed. But he promised he''d help him, so that''s what he will do, through and through.


    "I''d scout the enemy first. Ensure I know their strengths and their weaknesses, create small chaotic problems to see how they would react to them. Essentially, you can gauge a government''s strength through a crisis that needs immediate attention." He finished, while taking a chunk of a bite on the still very hot chicken leg.


    He listened to the taste, it was juicy and spicy. It was as if he were eating the real deal. As hot as it was, he couldn''t help but go for anotherrge bite.


    "So, create a crisis." Hubris interrupted, still chewing on the words his master said.


    Kiro simply nodded, and dished out what he had cooked. They dug in immediately, Hubris was in his mind, trying to think of a way to create a crisis. He didn''t want Kiro to think of everything. Kiro noticed the dilemma Hubris was in.


    "Don''t worry, we will scout them first. Surely that will gauge what the current King holds most dear, then that''s what we will attack. Information is very important in a war."


    Hubris nodded, impressed and made a mental note to never, ever be at odds with Kiro.

 Chapter 134: Special In A Way

    He ran through the trees at amazing speeds. Using every skill in his arsenal that helped with speed, he didn''t even leave after images, every tree he passedined because of the gust of wind he created. He was practically insivible as he went.


    He kept looking back to see whatever it was that made him run this fast.


    The forest was huge, so he wanted to explore it while they waited to see how they could infiltrate the enemy. Butzying around and just training bored Kiro to death, on the same day he decided to explore he went in too deep and discovered translucent beings.


    He had no idea whether they were weak or destructive but he didn''t stick around to find out. He wasn''t really scared of them.


    He just knew that causing a ruckus here would attract troublesome flies. That would absolutely blow their cover. That would make Hubris angrier than he was at the moment, so Kiro avoided using any of his shy skills to avoid being detected.


    Lately, Hubris had been a very foul mood. He didn''t even allow Kiro to go out to explore, fearing that they would be caught, causing their whole mission to fail.


    Kiro was no assassin but he trusted his stealth skills, so he was shocked when these beings saw right through his skills and gave chase.


    He didn''t feel any kind animosity from them, they felt like children who just wanted to y tag.


    So, right behind him, was a monster on his trail, he tried all he could to shake it off, but it was right on his tail without losing its target.


    He didn''t want to attack it though, it didn''t seem harmful to him. It wasn''t attacking either just chasing.


    Its yful aura triggered the child in Kiro, he didn''t want to be caught either. This made him miss his little sister immensely, she was the one who loved ying such games. He missed how he''d let her win, and without realising it he slowed down.


    The moment he did, the thing devoured him whole with the biggest embrace. He fell t on his back, after a little while it got off him and ran to the other side and waited.


    "You want me to chase you too, huh, buddy."


    Kiro spend the next hours ying with them, a lot joined them after that one time. He even learned they were called spectres, he didn''t know he knew this but the knowledge just made itself known in his head, and it was too harmless to question it further.


    Spectres were spirits of dead children, that''s why they were so yful and not vengeful. Kiro wondered why were children in the Underworld, was it some kind of heaven for them? But when he took a look at the forest that was their domain, he didn''t see anything torturous.


    Just a home of wandering spirits of children who had nowhere else to go but here and they lived well, and peacefully here. They rarely had visitors, so when they encountered Kiro, they jumped at the chance of ying with a non-spirit.


    Kiro wasn''t sure at first either, but when he discerned that they were harmless he had no problem ying with them. It was a good training, he was getting better at alluding them.


    The more he yed with them, the deeper their bond and more he could understand them. They didn''t talk, but he could understand what they meant.


    They told him all about themselves, they didn''t remember anything before they died. They didn''t even know they were dead until Kiro introduced that concept to them.


    They could tell Kiro was being bothered by something so they offered a helping hand. Kiro thought he could use them for information gathering but he''d have to train them first.


    He walked to the base, with new friends that day. Friends that were more than happy to give him a helping hand and because that''s what he needed at the moment he didn''t dare say no.


    "Master! Where have you been? You didn''t think I''d notice that you went missing the whole day?" Hubris was frantic


    "I''m sorry my mount, I got a bit bored just being here. But look, I brought new friends!"


    "Oh, that doesn''t matter so long as you brought new friends!" He snapped back.


    Kiro was at the brink ofughter but he managed to keep it at bay, "look at them, we can use them to gather information around your kingdom." He said, trying to calm down his mount.


    "Well, okay, but I can see them, if I can, they can."


    "That''s not a problem, they can camouge rather fast,e on show him." He turned to the closest one and gestured for it show Hubris their neat tricks.


    It jumped in front of a tree and disappeared. Then the part of a tree that was it moved to the orange sky, still disappeared. Then it did the same thing to the dirt ground. It could copy the colours of whatever it set its eyes and change into it.


    "Okay, that is impressive."


    "See? I wasn''t cking!"


    "As if, you found them by mistake!"


    They started bickering. None of them backing down, as they thought they were right. Ever since Hubris had been nning this coup, he had started to treat Kiro as an equal. Something Kiro had told him to do from the very beginning, but it was happening now, naturally.


    This made Kiro''s heart melt. He hated how Hubris called him master, or Lord. He just wanted arade that had his back not because he was its master, but because they were loyal and loved him like a brother.


    Hearing about his father, spending time with the monkey King, the casual rtionship his father had with a god made him look at his rtionship with Kiro differently. But he was still very far from calling him by his name.


    "My Lord, there''s a secret knock on the door. They must''ve gotten our message."


    "We still have a long way to go huh." Kiro mumbled with an eyebrow raised.


    Hubris jumped at the chance of going to open the door on the other side of the tunnel. It took him a couple of strides to reach the other end. Kiro and his spectres stayed behind, Kiro started a fire to cook some.


    For a great change, he didn''t grill the meat, he took out pots that Hubris made. He took out a knife and some veggies he picked around the forest when he explored. He started on dinner. He could only make chicken soup, there was no rice where they were so they had to make due with what they had.


    Luckily he had stocked up on bread, so they would have soup with bread. He was in the middle of chopping ingredients when their guests arrived with Hubris. But they were way less than when they ran into them in this forest. It was only Belial and another arachnid.


    "Why are they so few of them, did they get caught and were killed?" Kiro asked jokingly.


    Belial and the arachnid said nothing to Kiro but bowed so low to greet their master''s master. Kiro nodded in acknowledgement, he felt weird about it, Hubris giving him such respect was more than enough. He didn''t need more.


    He went back to cooking. He couldn''t deal with beings who took their work way too seriously. He chatted up with his spectres, obviously not the normal way. He didn''t know how, maybe through telepathy but it felt like a different way tomunicate.


    After some silence, Hubris broke the ice, "actually master, you were right on the money. One of the arachnids was killed. That''s why they didn''te for so long. Chaos broke out within the walls of the city, the people are tired and impatient now."


    Kiro didn''t know what to say, how was his guess right on the money? The city was too far to sense with vibrations, so he chucked it up on a lucky guess.


    "Let me guess, our ns need to be pushed up by a lot because now people are restless. What were they waiting for all this time? So annoying."


    This made him angry, he didn''t understand what they were acting up for all of a sudden, their ns weren''t ones that should be rushed. They needed to act with immacte conditions, to ensure they absolutely kill and destroy the current monarch. But now they were putting them on a pedestal, and Kiro didn''t like it one bit.


    "Master, we have no choice. How long would it take for the spectres to gather some information?"


    "I was nning to train them first, they''re just kids, they won''t know what they''re doing. Give me a week." Kiro continued his stubborn rant.


    "I doubt we can..." Belial''s mouth closed itself when he realised he was butting in a conversation that didn''t really concern him.


    "Master, 3 days!" Both Kiro and Hubris ignored Belial, they were looking at each other like they were at a battlefield.


    "4 days."


    "Deal."

 Chapter 135: Training

    As they agreed, Hubris let them train. He was busy with things Kiro refused to get himself involved in, which was paperwork. He wasn''t dumb or anything, he just didn''t like sitting around pushing papers. He didn''t get this game to do all that, his body liked to be active so that''s what he did in here.


    The spectres he was training were children, so they were naive and small-minded. There were things they didn''t understand, things like why they wanted to go to war with a king. To them, a king meant someone good, overlooking and taking care of people.


    They had no concept of bad, just good. Kiro had to teach them from scratch, he hated breaking their innocent spirits but this needed to be done. Not just for the mission they have, but also for their safety.


    If someone, who wasn''t Kiro had run into them, someone who wasn''t as kind and understanding. They would''ve surely been incinerated. This will teach them that, beingse in good and bad. They were learning how to differentiate between the two.


    Kiro made sure they would tell, even if someone was subtle. It wasn''t just what a person said, it was also their demeanor, the aura they let out into the world.


    It was difficultmunicating all this without speaking, but it was doable, albeit slow.


    Kiro didn''t really want to teach them to fight, but they insisted. Seeing himmand Kaos, seeing himmand the direction in which the wind blew bewitched them. They wanted more than anything to be able to do, the ''magic tricks'' he was capable of. That''s what they refer them to as.


    Kiro didn''t mind, although they wouldn''t be able to control Kaos, they still had their camouge skill that was useful. They could also use their entire bodies to move the direction of wind if they pleased.


    Since they were spirits, that floated. They were capable of causing havoc if they were fast enough.


    For their graduation task, Kiro had set up paint traps all over the forest, and sent them to collect information on certain monsters within the forest. If onees back with paint as its colour, it wasn''t quite ready for real world experience.


    Kiro felt strange, like they would alle back painted. They were kids after all. So he stayed behind to train some more, in case they fail, he''d have to be the one to go into enemy territory. He was definitely less conspicuous than Hubris.


    He hoped the two days he spent with them was enough. Not just for this mission, but for also the future. They had to break their naive spirits and mature a little if they wanted to survive in the Underworld.


    As much as Hubris was busy nning a revolt in the city,ing up with strategies that will make the beings within the city walls angry enough to cause the greatest chaos imaginable. He took a break on thest day.


    He was looking at his target straight in the eye. It had been a while since they looked at each other like this, like the other was the enemy.


    But this time it was just a friendly bout. Neither wanted to kill, but they were sparring seriously. They had to dig deeper into their secret base so that nobody would notice.


    Kiro had put down Ryu thinking it would be an unfair fight.


    He attacked with lightning bolts, but Hubris was faster, as he disappeared from where he stood, appearing right in front of Kiro, he swiped with his ws, missingpletely, as Kiro blinked from where he was, appearing ontop of Hubris, he gently nudged him with bending kick, but that sent him crashing a couple of meters away.


    "You''re still just a pup to me." Kiro proimed confidently.


    "But you have to admit, I''m closer than I waspared to back then."


    He wasn''t wrong, he had evolved but he needed a bit of time to get used to his skills and befortable with using all of them effectively.


    The chatter ended, when Hubris sent a couple of fire balls Kiro''s way. He managed to dodge all but one. He was hit right in the chest, but something amazing happened, he was not pushed back like they thought he would.


    Instead, his chest had a glint of gold, glowing but faintly. There were scales that reced his flesh. He was a dragon descendant after all, even he was surprised by the abrupt skill gain as he had never used it before.


    "That''s cheating!" Hubris cried.


    "Well, I''m stronger than you now, but maybe in the future..." he trailed off, seeing Hubris was a bit hurt that his attack didn''t connect. "Don''t be so impatient!" He advised.


    "I do have to fight my uncle, of course I''m restless."


    "That''s understandable, but you can''t afford making mistakes. Be as cunning as he is, be calctive, bide your time."


    "That''s actually sound advice." He said, mellowing from his bitter mood.


    "Well of course it is!"


    They continued to spar, it went on for hours. Neither wanted to admit that they were tired. The master was as stubborn as his mount. By the time they were out, they couldn''t even stand.


    Kiroid there thinking of home, Hubris being home and fighting for his made him miss his. The fact that he was fighting to regain his home, made Kiro not regret any of his prior decisions that messed his academy life.


    He chuckled at the thought that, a game made him learn to stand for his convictions. With an unwavering heart, he could achieve anything. That''s what he thought as he absorbed the Kaos energy.


    "Hubris, are you able to absorb magic in this ce?"


    "I tried, but I can''t."


    "Stupid pup, why didn''t you say so?" He asked while taking out a mountain of them, they were useless to him.


    Hubris had to take about 10 magic potions for his magic to be full again. Kiro couldn''t believe how much of a ck hole he was, but at the same time, he understood. The fact that he hadn''t run out of magic until now spoke a lot about how big his tank was.


    Now he was not sure if he can contend with him, on stamina.


    "So what did you decide to do, how are you going to create a riot within the city walls?"


    "I''m going to reveal myself."


    "Hubris, are you sure about that? I mean, that will no doubt work, but the element of surprise."


    "I''ll make it a rumour, I''ll reveal myself to certain individuals, who will absolutely gossip about this to others and eventually it''ll create a chain, that will hopefully give people hope."


    "You''ve thought this through huh, it''s not a bad n." He said getting up.


    They walked out of their training hole. To find that the spectres had returned, all but one had paint all over it. Kiro could tell that, it was the one that chased him first, when they first met.


    The others were impressive though, they had gathered all the information Kiro would need. He knew this because he had encountered these monsters before when he was exploring the forest and their information gathering was spot on.


    "Except for him, all of you spread throughout the kingdom, gather information about the current King. In a few hours, there''ll be chaos within that city over there. Ensure you are able to assess how they will be dealing with everything."


    Kiro looked at each of them, "Make sure you aren''t seen!"


    After that, they dispersed, except for the one. There were many of them, so being at every ce at once wouldn''t really be a problem.


    "Do you think they''ll be able to do it, Master?"


    "We shall see. Shouldn''t you be going to the city then?"


    "Not yet, I wouldn''t be let in if it was just me. I need those hounds who are already known at the gate."


    They hadn''t even finished their dinner when the city''s entourage arrived at the door with the secret knock. Kiro decided to go with them, if anything went wrong he would at least be there to help Hubris.


    It took them mere seconds to reach the other side, when they opened the door the hounds were already bowing down, burying their heads in the dirt.


    "Subjects greet the rightful heir and his master!" They shouted as if rehearsed.


    Kiro wasn''t used to the treatment, all he could do was chuckle, smiling with great amusement.


    "Let''s go." Hubrismanded.


    They didn''t waste any time and followed behind. They weren''t as fast the two, so the two had to slow down a bit. Even then, the others were running after them just to not be left behind.


    Arriving at the gate, there was a long line to enter the city.


    "This city is quite popr then." Kiromented, he thought the city was just a rundown one.


    "We managed to get word out that something was going to happen although we didn''t mention what. We are curious beings, they''ve walked to see what is so great."


    Kiro nodded. He didn''t take Belial as a hound that could think, but he was proven wrong.

 Chapter 136: The Rightful Heir

    They stood in line for an hour before they were assessed. Everyone had to be checked because of the chaos that happened a few days ago.


    The gatekeeper looked at them one by one. He noticed the two that were not quite visible, they had robes over their bodies. One''s stature was extremely small something he thought he could swat with just his tail, while the other wasrger than him, he felt like a mountain was standing before him. This was definitely suspicious in his eyes.


    "Belial, what''s going on, what''s this? There''s more of you than when you left the city walls." The gatekeeper asked.


    Kiro was impressed. He couldn''t believe how attentive the guards were at everything. It was impressive that, he remembered the exact number of Belial''s entourage. He thought this would be as easy as with human cities, humans didn''t pay much attention to detail. Ontop of that they were corrupt, so you''d only need to bribe them.


    "Well that, is, well, I..." Belial suddenly became tongue tied.


    Kiro noticed what he wanted to say, but couldn''t bring himself to say it. "We''re family."


    "Yes, Sir. They''re my family from afar, I went to pick them up."


    His speech was still a bit stiff. This was his King after all, calling him family was a taboo. He wished he was dead right there formitting such a crime, he may as well be because his heart stopped for a while, along with his breath.


    His friends were just as stiff. They felt for him but d all the same the burden didn''t fall on them.


    They were all born under the current King, they never knew Hubris'' father. So the only authoritarian they knew was the cruel ruler. And with him, every mistake required death by beheading. The only reason he let the rebels run around was because he could still control them, ontop of that, he didn''t want tomit mass genocide.


    "Is that right? Which city are these folks from?"


    Kiro was dumbfounded, he didn''t know they had names for cities here. He didn''t take the chance to learn about the culture of the Underworld.


    "City of Hades." Hubris blurted out.


    His memories were still there after all, even though they weren''t in a particr order, he still remembered some things. He just hoped that, after hundreds of years, they didn''t decide to change its name. Though his hopes were shattered when he looked at the hounds that came to get him. They looked absolutely defeated, as if he had just dug their graves.


    "I respect that you insist on calling it by the old name. I was young but I still remember the good old days under King Cerberus and I fight for those days toe back to us."


    Hubris was extremely confused. Wasn''t Cerberus his name? He quite remembered that that''s what his father referred to him as. Or was it just what he remembered his father was called, but because his memories were all jumbled, he thought that was his name? He shook it off as a misremembering.


    "Yes brother, we shall continue the fight and win, for our people." Hubris said in a dangerous voice that made the gatekeeper believe him.


    The hounds sighed in relief that despite the mistake everything turned out well. Although the city was full of rebels, there were certain individuals that were put there as surveince for the current King.


    "Long live Naberius our lost and only true King." He let out a war cry.


    "Long Live!" The others cried out just the same.


    Clearly this was their way of keeping the hope alive, and continue fighting the ruthless regime their people were tossed in.


    The gatekeeper let them in no problem. He seemed to be in a better mood than when he started questioning them. He was more chipper, as if they''ve rejuvenated a me under his belly.


    "Master, I think my name is Naberius..." He finally said when they were out of earshot of the gatekeeper.


    "Then that''s your name." Kiro said, trying to not sound hurt that he''d have to abandon the name he had given him.


    "But it''s also Hubris. I don''t think I want to change it." He said solemnly.


    "Hubris that''s a name your father gave you. He gave you life you know."


    "Yes, I know. This is also a name my master gave me, who also gave me life. Without you, I wouldn''t have been able toe back here. I would''ve probably died by that bear."


    "Probably?" Kiro interjected.


    "Okay, definitely. All I''m saying is, this is also an important part of my identity. It''s who I am now, I don''t think I want to let that go."


    "Why are you pretending like this isn''t bothering you?"


    "It''s not!" He eximed so fast and so loud that the crowd around them stopped their chatter and looked at them.


    They continued walking awkwardly silent.


    "Hubris, I can feel what you feel."


    "Okay, yes, it bothers me a little. But I''m truthful when I say I don''t want to change it. I just wish I could take a part of my father you know."


    "You can, take his name and make it your surname."


    "What''s a surname?"


    "A family name, families use their ancestors'' names as their family name. When you have children they''ll have names and then a family name that binds them to your family."


    "You are so wise master!"


    As he said this, the other hounds nodded in agreement. They didn''t have the concept of family names here so this was new territory for them, but they were impressed nheless. Although they couldn''t be vocal about it, they thought it rude to interrupt such people of high status while talking.


    "Then I''ll be Hubris Cerberus?"


    "Hubris Cerberuson. It simply means the son of Cerberus."


    His eyes lit up, all the anxiety and depressive feelings disappeared immediately. He loved it. He wanted to yell to the world that he was now Cerberuson, although he knew better than to do that right now.


    "Thank you master, thank you."


    Kiro nodded. The other hounds now understood why their King had a master. He seemed to care deeply for their King. Even though they tried not to eavesdrop, it couldn''t be helped.


    They heard everything, without Kiro their King wouldn''t have returned home, without him he would''ve died. They had a sudden newfound respect for the one who had found their lost King.

 Chapter 137: The Rightful Heir, II

    They were so immersed in their conversations, that they didn''t take the chance to look at the city around them, the environment, the beings that lived within it.


    Now that they walked in silence, they could see it all. The city was well beyond their expectations, Kiro didn''t think the city would be this futuristic. It didn''t hold a candle to the ones in his world but this was still impressive.


    He suddenly understood where Hubris got his natural building skills from, although they were shabby he was still able to erect usable shelter.


    The city had buildings he wasn''t famir with, they weren''t skyscrapers, but the design was very advanced. It was the first time he saw them, as the wall surrounding the city engulfed itpletely, making the outside world oblivious of what was inside.


    There weren''t cars or anything, but the streets were very busy. It wasn''t just hounds living there, many species were there but it was pretty clear that hounds were at the top of the food chain.


    Just like they were told, there was no source of energy. Lanterns were installed on every building so that the streets weren''t dark. The beings that dominated the city were hounds and arachnids, Kiro didn''t see any spectres. If they were around, they hid themselves very well.


    Arachnids were obviously the working ss, as they had installed stands in front of buildings selling things. Most shops had hounds to tend to them.


    Instead of hopelessness, the city was bustling with joy and chatter. There didn''t seem to be bad blood between races, they lived in peace. That''s at least the picture they showed anyone passing by.


    The arachnids were a race evolved from hell spiders, they were humanoid, but still had their many limbs. They walked on twos, they weren''t very pleasing to look at either as they had many eyes.


    Every time they talked, their fangs clicked, which was an annoyance Kiro couldn''t get over so he tried to avoid them the best he could. They were there for business anyway, not as tourists. But he let Hubris enjoy his home.


    He was like a child in a candy store, pouncing from one to another and letting Belial buy him everything that was food that interested him.


    "Master is still the better cook." He said enjoying, what looked like a dragonfly skewer.


    "Hubris, I''m not your cook. You better learn how to soon." He told him, he knew that, once they defeated his uncle, his people will want him to stay, he didn''t have the heart to ask him to go with him.


    But Hubris was in a heaven of his own, he didn''t think that far ahead yet, if he did, he was hiding it very well from Kiro.


    They entered what looked like a dingy pub, they were weed with open arms and chose a table at the very corner of the establishment. While Kiro wanted to drink alcohol, he didn''t want to here as it was unknown territory, he couldn''t trust anything yet.


    They sat there chatting, for the first time in a long time, they felt rxed. Ever since they started this journey, it seemed like it was one problem after another, but today it didn''t feel like that, while they knew they still had a big thing to carry out, today they didn''t really want to think about it.


    "Sire, I rmend hellfire whiskey, it''ll quench your thirst while it lights a fire within you that makes you all warm." Belial suggested.


    He was apparently a trusted customer there, since they entered they asked him if he''d have the usual, he shook his head and asked for a table instead. Telling the owner they''ll sit around for a moment and orderter.


    The pub was small, but it was packed with different races. Ones that made Kiro think back to harbingers, he guessed they were lesser versions of them. He didn''t sense any animosity from them, so that made him rxed a bit.


    Belial went to get them their drinks, they were shocked when Hubris downed it all in a single gulp. As if he''d had it before and was used to it, but it was his first time. He was still an infant when it came to these kinds of things, so he didn''t really think about the consequences of doing what he had just done.


    Like Belial said, he felt a strong kick of fire burning his insides. He was immediately out of it, but surprisingly he wanted more. Whether it was stress of having to fight his uncle, Kiro had no idea but he let him be, he was there after all if anything happened.


    "Master, you''re the best thing that''s ever happened to me," Hemented and burped while at it, "I don''t ever want to leave your side. I am so sorry I made you go through a lot back then."


    "Don''t worry about it buddy." Kiroforted him while asionally using vibrations to make sure everything was going smoothly.


    He had 3 sses and was out cold after that. He was snoring ontop of the table, luckily his robe was still covering the whole of him.


    Kiro found it strange that none of the people in this city could use Kaos. While Hubris did say, you had to work hard to get it even for them. He didn''t understand why they didn''t try, maybe they were too afraid to go insane, which was cowardly in his eyes.


    "Why can''t you all use Kaos energy?" He finally asked.


    "We are not worthy, Sire. The energy only chooses a few. Even then, it mostly chooses royalty, usmon folk can only dream of using it."


    "But I can use it, I''m not royalty, I''m amon folk just like you."


    "There''s no way Sire is amon folk, no hellhound would take you as a master if you weren''t already amazing." He was very careful with his words.


    "I doubt that, you guys are just cowards. I''ve had the hardest time trying to harness Kaos, but I beat it in the end, with nothing but¡ª"


    It happened so fast, a hound at his back tried hitting the knocked Hubris with poison darts but Kiro stunned him with vibrations before he could even try. Hubris jumped from where he sat, connecting his paw with the hound''s neck, causing him to fall on his back.


    It was as if he was never drunk or asleep. Kiro knew for a fact he was, he even snored. He got up from his seat, to take a good look at the assassin. Hubris was now revealed, his robeid forgotten where he had slept.


    The assassin couldn''t move a muscle, as vibrations was effective and Hubris'' weight was nothing to scoff at.


    "Who sent you?"


    "Long live King Azazel."


    He then turned to dark liquid. The pub had stopped whatever they were doing, to look at themotion. Nobody in there needed to be told that Hubris was royalty they could tell. When they turned to look at the silence, everyone was on the floor bowing.


    "I think, we''ve been betrayed." Kiro said still looking at the hound that had turned to ck liquid.

 Chapter 138: The Rightful Heir, III

    While he was furious at the sudden ambush, Kiro was also impressed that he didn''t sense the enemy, not even when he was right behind him. He didn''t let out any bloodlust, he only assumed he was just another customer in the room. The only thing that gave him away was the poison dart that he took out, which Kiro saw through vibrations.


    The assassins of the Underworld were very outstanding in his eyes, he hoped they''d drop the skill so he could pass it on to Niki. That would make their group more overpowered and more likely to be hired as mercenaries. But he didn''t put too much hopes in that, as much as he got a useless flute, nothing else he killed here dropped any items.


    When he turned around, imitating the ones he entered with, he was greeted by another sight that he didn''t quite like. Every being had their heads on the ground, showing respect and gratitude to the King that came back for them.


    "Who dared¡ªburp" Hubris attempted to speak, but he was still very much out of his mind. The burp came out loud and smelled terrible, which was an immediate impediment to his speech.


    It was a funny moment, but nobodyughed. The seriousness of Kiro''sst words made everyone in the pub freeze and forget to even greet their King. They were surprised by more than one thing, so their brains couldn''t process the information fast enough.


    "Belial, who was it?" Kiro''s words rang throughout the establishment, they came out cold and poisonous.


    "S-sire. I¡ªit wasn''t me. I have no idea. I don''t know." He said his head downcast, not daring to look him in the eye. While he knew Kiro wasn''t his King, he feared him as such, he couldn''t even begin to imagine how amazing of a person he was.


    "Someone in your group is a rat, and you don''t even know? I thought you were smart, I thought you could use your brains, but I guess not. Or was it in fact you, are you the rat?"


    "N-n-never Sire. I''d never betray my people for a King that cares little of whether I''m dead or alive. I''ll do everything in my power to find out who was it, I swear, I swear I will and I''ll bring them to you."


    "You''ve done enough." Kiro spat, disgusted. He knew there were spies but he didn''t think word would get out so soon, before they even had to enact their n.


    It made him especially furious because he thought they wanted freedom, all of them, but every revolution had those few individuals whom didn''t want the status quo to change. They''ll always be the burden that drags everyone down with them.


    "S-sire¡ª" He was cut short before he could say anything else, Kiro wasn''t interested in excuses. He just wanted to do what they came here for.


    "Spread the rumour." Hemanded. "Although it seems your work has been cut out for you." He said, more to himself.


    Even though it wasn''t his ce to boss them around, Kiro tookmand, Hubris was already passed out again. Belial knew better than to question him. He bowed and silently got lost in the crowd.


    Kiro walked up to Hubris, "You should never drink again." He said while putting him on his shoulders and blinked out of there.


    They left the pub in disarray. Everyone had held their breaths when all of this started happening. When the two disappeared, they finally let out breaths as if they were being choked, gasping for air to not die.


    "He''s back! The rightful heir is back. Our king is back!" The owner of the club shouted at the top of his lungs, and everyone cheered.


    Kiro was already at the wall with Hubris sleeping soundly on his shoulders, he was heavy but it was nothing he couldn''t handle. He jumped in the air, and ascended, stepping into nothingness like there were invisible stairs erected by the city wall.


    He reckoned they couldn''t get out through the normal means, so he used what he had to sneak out of the city. Hended safety on the other side.


    "I''m too cool." He admired the skill of his that enabled him to walk on air, it was energy draining though.


    That didn''t stop him from blinking into nothingness, arriving at their base in mere seconds.


    Oblivious that they had left the city inplete chaos. News that the rightful heir was home and he was home to fight for his people and take the throne, spread like wildfire.


    By morning, the whole kingdom had already heard the news. Those who had been waiting took to the streets and the wilds, with their king by their side, they were confident that they could topple the current cruel ruler.


    "We have to go now and help them." Hubris said getting up from his drunken sleep, he didn''t need to be filled in as he remembered everything.


    "Hold your horses, we have scouts. They''re working tirelessly to bring us information. Information is the most crucial thing in a war." Kiro reprimanded.


    Hubris had already jumped forward, ready to leave their base and go to battle, Kiro jumped in front of him with his arms wide open. He was prepared to pin him down if he had to, he wasn''t going to let his mount walk into his death.


    "But, I can''t just let them be murdered like this."


    "You''re not. You can''t just waltz in there and expect to win without a n. Casualties are inevitable in a war. This is something you need to win, there aren''t do overs." He could see that Hubris was not quite convinced, "do you trust me?" He asked, ying on the sentimental side since the logical one wasn''t working.


    "But..."


    "Do you trust me?"


    "Of course, I''m offended you have to ask."


    "Then let''s wait and prepare."


    He quit being stubborn and followed orders. They didn''t really have a map for the terrain, they had to wait for the spectres to return. All they could do right now, was fight it out. So they did.

 Chapter 139: The King Of the Underworld

    The castle was pristine, it was erected on a rocky hill, with violent waters under it. A very thin bridge went from the isted hill to the maind. Clearly the King had always been paranoid, so he isted himself, making his ce of hiding impossible to invade with arge army.


    He ran the whole kingdom at thefort of his castle, asionally sending soldiers to forcibly restore order. Although it was rare, he also on asion showed himself, just to reignited the fear his people had for him.


    He was someone who believed in ruling with fear and gaining respect through those means, instead of being admired. He deemed thetter a stain only the weak wore as a badge of honour. He believed a ruler was above his subjects, and that they were just chess pieces he could knock off the board as he pleased.


    The castle was made of obsidian marble stone, for a normal hound it''d take them about an hour to reach the top of the hill and into the castle, from the foot of the hill. Even if they were running at full speed, though it''d take Hubris mere seconds to climb up there.


    At the top there was a level ground, that was too big for just a single castle. The wall erected wasn''t that tall, he didn''t want to build something that was akin to a prison, as he saw them as prisoners not himself.


    Two figures were walking in a hurry through the arched hedge gate,ing out of the castle. Their descent was quicker, it took them way less time to get to the foot of the hill, clearly they weren''t normal hounds.


    "Where the hell is he? He''ste." The older of two growled.


    "Any time now sir, things are a bit, chaotic there at the moment."


    "Didn''t we send soldiers to take care of that?"


    "Another one sprung up sir, his royal highness told us not to worry about it."


    "Not to worry about it? That kid seems to forget what I''ve done for him. He''s still wet behind his ears." He said in an agitated panicky voice.


    "Sir..." The young hound had no idea what to say, while he was loyal to Ammon, he was still respectful toward the King.


    Ammon was his uncle, he was an elder that was very close to the King. He didn''t know the whole story of what happened back then as he wasn''t born yet, but he knows his uncle yed a pivotal role in gaining the crown from a treacherous previous King. He was proud of that.


    His father died during the war, so he didn''t know anything about him. He was raised by his uncle, he raised him well considering he believed the propaganda he had fed him over the years. He was also a stubborn young hound who couldn''t be swayed in his convictions, so he waspletely loyal to his uncle.


    They waited for about 15 minutes before a hooded figure came from the other side of the bridge running towards them.


    "See, I told you sir. There hees." He said with a smirk.


    Ammon ignored him, he had already waited long enough. He was old, he didn''t have the luxury to be sitting on his hands doing nothing with his time.


    "Gage, you dumb idiot, you''rete."


    "I know sir, I''m sorry. Things are a bit hectic in the city." He said bowing slightly, paying his respects.


    "What the hell is happening there?"


    "Belial told people that something big was to happen within the city and you won''t believe this." He paused to make sure they''ve heard every word.


    "Well, speak, I don''t have all day!"


    "The rightful heir is back." The arachnid started his story from when they encountered the hound in the forest. He told them everything, he didn''t leave out a single thing he knew about the situation.


    "That snort nosed brat Naberius came back? Such nerves. We did him a favour by not sending him to an early grave with his father and he actually dared toe back, here? To reim the throne? Hahaha.


    "He has a master does he? Like father like son. Always prioritised outsiders more than his people. That Wukong fe poisoned our previous King, now this Kiro person came here to stir up some more problems?"


    The two didn''t understand a word he was saying, they didn''t know the full story, so they couldn''t piece whatever he was saying together ande up with a coherent story.


    "Uncle, are you okay?"


    "Just a thorn on the side that needs to be plucked out."


    He then walked up the hill, he turned and nodded to his nephew. Who understood almost immediately what he meant by that.


    "Spin it however you like, but don''t breathe a word of this to anyone, now take care of it." He continued up the mountain, leaving his nephew with Gage.


    Gage didn''t see iting, as ws were buried deep within his neck. His eyes bulged in shock and murderous rage, he couldn''t believe what was happening, was he the thorn on the side?


    "Eligor, why, I thought we were friends." He said in-between gurgles of ck liquid that had adorned his ugly hairy face.


    "Traitorous bastard. You think I would keep around someone like you, who jumps at whoever is in power? No. My uncle admires loyalty more than anything.


    "We weren''t friends, you were a simple convenience, that''s no longer useful. Naturally you''ll be disposed of. Don''t look so surprised. Think about your actions, while dying in this pool of blood. Maybe in your next life. You''ll learn to be more loyal to yourrades."


    He had said all this, but the light in his eyes had already dimmed. His body only spamsed involuntarily.


    Ammon''s face was ugly, as he opened the castle doors. He headed straight to the King''s hall. He announced his arrival and waited for the King.


    "Come on in, Ammon, my old friend." A voice said from the other side of the door, a deepmanding voice that sent chills down his spine.

 Chapter 140: The King Of The Underworld, II

    Ammon''s heart slightly skipped a beat. Not because he was scared of the hound within the hall, but because of what was possiblying. King Azazel didn''t scare him, he may have been the face ruling the people, but he subtly pulled the strings from behind.


    It was easier to manipte someone who had grown up in the shadow of his brother. Though he was the first born, he had no chance to catch up to histe brother, Cerberus.


    Cerberus had a very kind heart but he also excelled at everything he did. Be it gaining a following within the kingdom, or fighting. He''d always been number 1. He was charismatic, even when he his brother showed him animosity, he never stopped loving his only brother.


    Azazel being the older brother, that birthed an envy engulfed in hatred within him that he couldn''t hide or wipe away. He outwardly hated his younger brother, but because he couldn''t beat him in a one on one he didn''t even try to get things to escte on a physical level.


    Until Ammon came into his life. Ammon had always been an ambitious old hound, he could tell from the go that he and Cerberus wouldn''t get along. He wouldn''t have agreed with the way the kingdom was currently run, so he went and used Azazel''s insecurities to drive the wedge against his brother that was already paper thin.


    To the point of murder. Committing the highest form of treason known in the Underworld. He lead him think everything was his n, he continued to. The other elders were meek, if they saw anything, they pretended they didn''t.


    The current king didn''t frighten Ammon, to him he was just a pup with insecurities and possibly guilt ridden that his brother died by his hand.


    Ammon''s end goal has always been the throne, to pass it off to his own bloodline. So the re-appearance of the rightful heir could ruin his ns, he had worked so hard on for hundreds of years.


    A smile formed on his face, as he realised he could use this situation. Let Cerberus'' offspring take revenge, taking out the only obstacle was in his way to ascend the throne. Surely, nobody would question it if both hounds died in battle.


    "Go to the city of Halo, and attempt an assassination on the hound that has graced our presents. I''ll escte their ns for them." A devilish smile appeared on his face,


    "It''s most likely an imposter though. I don''t know who would dare impersonate royalty." He said to himself before opening the doors of the King''s hall.


    As if a shadow of his detached itself from him something dark jumped out of the ground, it was fast as it heeded themand given by its master.


    He entered the dimly lit hall, it was cold and lonely but that''s how the King liked it. He hadn''t even taken a queen, he didn''t have an offspring, which made things easier on Ammon''s side.


    "I feel restless, what''s going on within my kingdom?" Azazel said, walking down a flight of white stairs.


    "Your highness, nothing but the rebel army I''ve sent some hounds to ensure order is restored." He said sharply.


    Azazel wasn''t in the greatest of moods. It was as if he could feel that his nephew was home and he wasing for him, to make him pay for his sins.


    He lunged for Ammon,nding his veryrge paw on his head. The target didn''t blink or flinch. That''s how important he felt he was in this Kingdom, without him, he was sure it would fall.


    "Have I loaned you too much freedom? Why don''t you greet your King properly, Ammon? It doesn''t even seem like you''re afraid of me." He growled in a murderous rage, looking at the enigma that was his subject.


    He could tell that, this wasn''t about some greeting. He hadn''t bowed to him for years now, he could feel it in his bones. He could feel that, maybe, his time hase and he would die by his nephew''s hand. That would make anyone grumpy and restless.


    Though, as old as Ammon was, he couldn''t quite forcibly make him bow to him. Ammon looked him straight in the eye, as if to mock him for how helpless he must''ve been feeling, but that happened for a split of a second. Even then, Azazel noticed the defiant look.


    He hastened to bow down to his King, his maw touching the stone floor. He never quite liked the room, the temperature was too low for his liking, the Underground was almost always hot. A ce where fire rained, so naturally, it''s habitants would prefer heat over the cold.


    "I''m sorry your highness, I''ve grown old and sinile. Forgive me, my lord. You can have this subject''s head if you deem me worthy." He said in the most sincere voice.


    He knew he wouldn''t really behead him. He was just being his old self, enforcing his authority making sure he was still the King at the top.


    "You have, and I don''t like it. If you do that again I''ll really have your head." He let go of his head and turned around to go stand by the wind.


    Looking at the view, the grey clouds were covering up the sun. Which was a belief in the Underworld that, something big was to happen, an inevitable change was upon them. It was an omen. The sky was just like this when he fought his brother the second time.


    "Ammon, give me the full report. I''m not the idiot you think I am."


    Ammon quit ying dumb. He knew he''d been caught in a lie, it was useless to keep on the act. As much as he knew he was valued, he also knew how cruel their King can get and he was sure, that, right now, he couldn''t take him in a fight.


    So he spilled the beans. He told him almost everything he knew. But also told him he had already sent an assassin.


    "Who ordered you to make such big decisions?"


    "Your highness, I thought..."


    "If you were thinking at all, you wouldn''t have moved on your own. After the crisis has been averted, you''ll no longer work so closely with me. You need to be reminded Ammon, you''ll never be King."


    These words didn''t have the effect the King thought they would. He was sure he''d throw a fit, but he simply bowed and waited for him to dismiss him.


    "You''re dismissed." He said with a disgusted look on his face.


    Ammon no longer looked him in the eye, he walked backwards to the door, still bowing.


    "Oh and Ammon, prepare the army, we''re attacking first."


    "Yes, your highness."

 Chapter 141: Reporting Back

    "Hubris, why are all your attacks frontal? That''s dumb and unstrategic. With your speed, you shouldn''t just run straight for the enemy. Your attacks are way too easy to read!" Kiro reprimanded him for the hundredth time.


    "I''m trying, it''s just hard to beat what I''m used to master."


    "Well, try harder. We don''t have time here."


    They hadn''t stopped training since. Kiro realised that Hubris relied too much on easily readable patterns and just pure strength. If he had a chance to win, he should be unpredictable.


    "Can''t you use your precognition to predict your opponent''s moves, like I do with vibrations?"


    "I can, but it consumes quite a lot out of me."


    "We have potions, you better use that in battle, okay?"


    He nodded. He continued to attack randomly, there was zero strategy but it worked. Kiro''s muscles were screaming for him to take a break, but he persisted. He had to, the luxury toze around ended when they stepped out of the tower. He was prepared to lose his entire character progress to help Hubris.


    After what seemed like days, Hubris was finally getting it. He was properly using his speed, with his attacks effectively.


    He thought about using precognition just once during this to get the hang of it. It seemed like they were dancing around each other, as they avoided attacks, slightly able to predict where the other would attack.


    Kiro was thoroughly impressed as he couldn''tnd a single attack as he previously could. Hubris was starting to look like a king, but he could feel that he would lose as he didn''t have a pool asrge as his. It was inevitable, but he stubbornly persisted.


    Hubris managed to fool Kiro''s vibrational sense, using intangibility and appearing at his blindspot on his left side, just as fast. He finally managed to connect an attack that sent Kiro flying and crashing into the nearby trees.


    "Master!" He ran to his side, "what happened? I thought for sure your golden armour would block it, otherwise I wouldn''t have..."


    Kiroid on the dirt, he didn''t even attempt to get up. He was feeling giddy, so he startedughing. Hubris was sure he had hit his head way too hard because of the strange behaviour.


    "I''m okay, I''m okay. I think I''ve depleted my energy that''s why it didn''t activate."


    "You''re quite weak when ites to stamina, master." Hubris joked.


    "Look at you, making jokes." He sighed deeply, "good use of your skills there, keep it up and you will soon have your revenge."


    Kiro waspletely beat, but he noticed that, every time his energy drained, his pool got a little bigger and his absorption speed bes faster. So, in a way, this was a huge gain for him. He wasn''tining at all.


    He looked at the sky, he didn''t notice it before but grey clouds were gathering throughout the Underworld sky. He didn''t pay it much attention, but he was sure the sun was always out in this realm. But not today.


    The sun didn''t go down without a fight, it tried melting away the clouds but it eventually lost the fight, it seemed like, they were here to stay.


    "It may just rain. I''m scared to even find out what kind of rain this world gets. Probably some acidic liquid."


    Hubris chuckled, "I may not remember much about this world, but I do remember that, it never rained. Except for the sr rain, no water falls from the sky."


    "Then, how do the oceans and rivers not dry?"


    "Beats me. We should''ve asked the monkey King." He said drinking a bunch of potions to ensure that he was ready for action.


    Just then, a gust of wind appeared out of nowhere. It blew for a while until Kiro realised that the spectres were back. The one that was left behind, zoomed ining from the underground base, to join his brethren from doing gods know what.


    After a while, the winds calmed down and they startedmunicating with Kiro about everything they''ve gathered so far. Hubris was listening attentively but he still couldn''t hear anything.


    Curiosity and anticipation caused him to notice that his breathing was louder than usual. He could hear his own heart pumping within his chest, keeping him alive. He could hear insects crawling under them.


    He had concentrated so much that he heard things he normally wouldn''t. But he still couldn''t hear them, it was frustrating.


    "Your uncle''s castle is South of here, about a 5 hour walk even with our speed. He keeps himself isted in a sort of an ind."


    "Coward!"


    Kiro ignored his distasteful hatred, "they have told me that, your uncle is being manipted by a man named Ammon. Rings any bell?"


    "No!" He bellowed, "it matters little to me whether he''s being controlled. His blood is already in my hands."


    "That''s likely what this Ammon wants, but I agree with you. Your uncle has to die along with his loyal subjects."


    Hubris looked at Kiro and nodded, he calmed down a bit.


    "The traitor who told them about your return was one of the arachnids, the one who died under suspicious conditions. That Ammon sent that assassin after you, to speed up our ns."


    "How cunning!" Hubris interjected, disgusted at this old hound who thought he owned the Underworld. "But is that all, master?" He noticed that Kiro had stayed silent for some time.


    "His castle is difficult to reach, bringing an army there would prove problematic. But not to worry, he chose to move first, his army is already marching towards us."


    Hubris nodded in understanding. "Master, get your things, whatever that is. We need to go, I''ll gather my people and we shall meet them half way."


    "That''s my line, the spectres have discovered an advantageous field that we need to get to quickly. If we leave within 5 hours, we will get there in a day before they do."


    Hubris went and gathered his people, with Kiro by his side. The rumour people have heard of was right in front of them, begging them to fight with him. He was taller, bigger and stronger than them, most of all, he was their found King. They wouldn''t say no even if they wanted to.


    With that, the hounds that could fight followed right behind the hound they imed as their King. Most were adorned in battle leather armour. Marching forward, to reim their home.

 Chapter 142: Marching To Inevitability

    The road ahead was a long one. Hubris wanted to leave early because he knew they couldn''t rush it. They still had a battle at their destination, he didn''t know how long the other army would take to get there but he couldn''t risk it.


    The chatter amongst the hounds didn''t die down, the more they walked the more they seemed to have a lot to say. The excitement that filled the air couldn''t be described with just words.


    It was a beautiful atmosphere that snaked through Kiro''s every muscle, and made him feel enthusiastic. He''d never been in arge scale battle before, he''d never been part of a battalion, so he had no idea where the feelings wereing from.


    But this felt right, like he was made to do this one particr thing.


    ''Can a game even give you feelings your real self doesn''t have?'' He wondered.


    He didn''t know the answer, but he also didn''t quite care. He wanted to bathe in this feeling as long as possible. It gave him hope, it gave him a sense of justice, he didn''t hate it.


    They''d managed to scrape up about a thousand hounds to follow them into this madness. They''d meet up with other races on the road, that''s when their army would beplete. Hubris had already asked Kiro to lead one or two battalions. He couldn''t exactly say no to him, so he agreed.


    The only ones that were required to stay behind were the elderly and the young, of all races. They had nothing much to offer than being meatshields of the strong. So their task was to hold the fort while the strong were out to fight.


    They couldn''t go at full speed, the two would leave the rest in the dust and the rest would arrive tired at the field ahead trying to catch up.


    "S-sire," Belial said almost out of breath.


    He when they looked behind them, the army wasn''t exactly marching, they were fast walking just to stay close enough to their King.


    "Just how weak are they?" Kiro whispered to Hubris disappointed.


    "I''m sorry to interrupt Sires, but it''s not a question of our weakness, you''re just too strong. If you could, lessen your pace, I''m sorry for asking for something so shameful." Belial answered, with the most sincere voice.


    "It''s fine, we got carried away for a second." Kiro shrugged it off. "By the way Belial, it was your dead pal Gage who betrayed you guys." He told him slowing down.


    Belial took the news with a grain of salt. Though they were different races, he thought of him as a brother. And for a brother to betray him so easily he didn''t quite understand.


    Kiro saw his hurt confused face, "Greed will make anyone do terrible things. Don''t feel too bad."


    Belial nodded, but the words didn''t bring him anyfort. He still didn''t understand how Gage could throw away their brotherhood like it didn''t mean anything. They grew up together since they were infants, so the hurt wasn''t unwarranted.


    "Sires, I''m so sorry for Gage. I''ve been his older brother and he was my responsibility, I feel like I''m part to me for his rebellion that almost cost us the battle." He said, his head downcast, his voice sincere. Kiro was sure if Hellhounds had tears, his would be running down his face.


    "That''s okay, I have a little brother, he''s a rebellious little sh*t. I can''t fault you for his actions, the same way I wouldn''t want to be faulted for his actions." He took it upon himself to pat him, to make him feel alright.


    At first, it made him uneasy beingforted to such an intimate level by his superior but he epted at the end since he couldn''t say no to him anyway.


    "You never told me you have a brother." Hubris said, envy painted all over his face.


    "It never came up. Don''t be like that!"


    That didn''t help, as he continued to sulk but Kiro didn''t think he should spoil him by enabling such behaviour so he ignored him.


    "Belial, how do assassins train in this world?"


    "Train, Sire? They don''t?"


    "Huh? Then how did thest one alude my senses? I couldn''t sense his Killing Intent at all."


    "That''s because we''re such beings. Even if one of uses at you, intending to kill you, they won''t exude any negative feelings." He said proudly.


    "That''s... Psychopathic, you mean to tell me, you guys are devoid of such emotions? To the point you made it a weapon?"


    Belial didn''t even need to answer, as Kiro looked around he really saw them, he paid attention enough to notice that even though they were heading to battle there was zero bloodlust.


    He couldn''t believe he never noticed until now. He was used to Hubris who leaked killing intent like it was his life line.


    Though Kiro didn''t fault him too much. Hubris was very young when he was tossed in another realm. He had to learn to fend for himself, alone, without his people. Naturally he''d evolve and grow differently from them.


    "How is this trained?" He asked interested, he had to bring this to Niki somehow.


    "Formally? There''s no training Sire. I suppose the environment we grew up around and the culture makes us how we are now."


    "So any of you can be assassins? That''s pretty amazing."


    Belial smiled and lightly bowed. Kiro thought it was too bad none of them could use Kaos. It was strange but then again, the monkey King did mention that the energy was created by him. It''s only natural for the hounds to care little about it, since they were natural enemies.


    But if that was the only reason they didn''t even try to harness it, that would be an illogical reason. Seeing as that would be beneficial to their strength. If an enemy creates something that every can benefit from, that''s not really an enemy. That''s an ally.


    He thought back to the report, ''Ammon is it? I hope you die by my hand.''

 Chapter 143: Marching To Inevitability, II

    "Hubris, you ought to learn to hide your killing intent like your brethren." He said, hoping Hubris could figure it out since he was a hound anyway.


    "It''s toote for me." He answered nonchntly.


    "But, it''s beneficial."


    "I don''t want it, I want to be like you."


    He didn''t mean to say that, but it just came out. He thought it was embarrassing to say the least. He noticed that, at the back of his mind, he was thinking about the fact that, after sessfully taking over. He was obligated to stay and rebuild.


    For the longest time, he didn''t want to feel what that thought brought. But now it wasn''t asking permission, everything was all too real.


    He was jerked out of the well of emotions when he felt someone sit on top of him. Sure enough, it was his master.


    "It''ll be alright, don''t worry about it. Everything will work out."  He said that while caressing his neck, his statement purposefully ambiguous.


    Hubris stilled his heart and strengthened his resolve. This was no time to waver, it was time to kill and rebuild. He still had his master by his side, he had little to worry about, for now.


    The hounds behind them, looked at the spectacle in front of them with shock. They didn''t understand the rtionship between the two, initially they thought he was a ve but, that all changed when he could be carried by their King.


    They wanted toin, but they couldn''t find their voices. Belial tried to warn those who were close enough to him, they heeded his warning but still had their skepticism. They had never really seen Kiro in action, they just saw his small build and underestimated him.


    Kiro was too much in his mind to care about themotion. Fortunately, he could now sense vibrations even with his feet off the ground. So he wasn''t just resting up there.


    "It''s River Lethe! Get ready, don''t swallow anything!" Shouted Belial from the front line.


    Kiro had no idea what that was, and as if on cue with his thoughts, Belial started to exin.


    "I know most of you know, but some of you don''t. This is the river of forgetfulness. A drop, a single drop, will not just make you forget who you are, you''ll forget to even breathe."


    Kiro scoffed, there was no way someone would forget to breathe. That was one thing every species didn''t need to learn, it came naturally. But here was Belial, saying that anyone who drinks here will forget basics from nature.


    Although he was tempted to drink, he decided against it, if Belial was correct that would be the dumbest way to die.


    They got to the river bank. That''s when it started, a thirst Kiro had never experienced before in his life. His mouth was devoid of saliva, his throat was dry. Any saliva his oral nds made, dried up quickly before reaching the throat.


    He felt a strangling sensation, suddenly the water and forgetting didn''t seem such a big deal anymore. He wanted to quench his thirst, that was priority. If he didn''t, he''d die.


    "Remember everyone, this thirst we''re feeling isn''t real. It only serves the river. It wants to you to drink so that it can im you as its victim. Persist." Belial said with motivation in his steadfast voice.


    The water didn''t make it easy, on top of the thirst, the water asionally formed fountains of water, to make it easier for them to drink without any hassle. They''d only need to open their mouth and their thirst would disappear along with their memories.


    Hubris continued to walk, he wasn''t exactly affected by the thirst. As an ancient beast, simple spells such as these couldn''t make him falter.


    Kiro was d for it, his calmness seeped into him too, making him calmer than he would''ve been without Hubris.


    The hounds on the ground weren''t having an easy time. One had already drunk the water,ing out of his bewitched state he couldn''t remember why he was there.


    That''s when he pounced at the closest hound. Sinking his fangs deep within his neck, others were too thirsty and tired to lift a hand and help. He ripped his neck open, his maw was bloodied, his teeth with bits of flesh.


    That''s when he started gasping for air. At the same time, the hound he killed fell with him in the river. The river was dyed in red for only a second. It was as if it were a sponge, that cleaned away anything that was polluting it''s beautiful transparent body.


    The river wasn''t deep, but their bodies were swallowed whole. They could see them falling into the darkest, depths of the river.


    ''What the f*ck. What a dangerous river. Is everything just so dangerous in this world?'' Kiroined from within, he didn''t want to open his mouth, not even to yawn.


    ''Stupid energy, why aren''t you helping me, aren''t I supposed to be overpowered with you within me? Look at Hubris, unaffected yet he uses magic.'' He sighed.


    ''Yes, yes, I know. He''s an evolved hound. I''m evolved too though?''


    Kiro continued his inner dialogues as if he was talking to someone. Just to pass up the time. The river wasn''t particrly big, it would only take them a few minutes to get to the other side.


    He regretted it a little telling the spectres to stay behind. He''d have people to talk to right now.


    ''I wonder why we can''tmunicate telepathically, Hubris?''


    Nothing.


    ''Hubris, Hubris, can you hear me? Hear me Hubris!''


    He shouted in vain, he thought eventually he''d just feel that he was talking to him but there was no such.


    When a second hound fell, Hubris ran to the other side at full speed. Then went back to carry others. He especially targeted those who seemed particrly weak to the witchcraft in the river.


    By his 5th trip, there had been some who already made it to the other side on their own. Belial was within them.


    Hubris made a 100 trips before he was done. It took him several minutes too. But they had lost 50 already. The world that was their home was a cruel one, it didn''t care that they were marching to fight for it, it just wanted blood.

 Chapter 144: Lethe River

    The moment they were far enough from the river, the thirst that had held their necks hostage disappeared.


    "Is it me or the river was more aggressive this time?" Said one hound.


    His statement caused an uproar, with mostly those who didn''t see much of a difference. Kiro thought about stepping in but he thought it useless, even the argument they were having felt useless to him.


    "That''s because there were more people. The more people there are, the more aggressive the river bes. I''ve always thought this was a legend, can''t believe it true."


    "I heard the 3 headed basilisk lives here, every time around these times the water bes unforgiving because its eggs are hatching." Another countered.


    It was the battle of conspiracy theories. Which were interesting in Kiro''s eyes but he did think they were doing this at the wrong ce, wrong time.


    Most, if not all races of the Underworld try to avoid the Lethe River by all means. They know what it is, they just didn''t know how tobat it. But as years went by, it became just a legend to some.


    So it wasn''t a big surprise that there were hounds who were out of their minds with shock. Kiro looked at them with pity and understood why they had yet to harness Kaos, their minds were simply too weak. Their will wasn''t much better.


    They walked a little bit, making sure to put a great distance between the river and themselves. They stood between the river and an eerie forest. They decided that would be their ce to take a breather, fortunately Hubris had taken breaks into ount. This was also the ce where Arachnids, Hellizards and many more races would join them.


    Kiro was d when they took out cooking materials and food, they started on cooking the great feast. He was too used to being made the cook by Hubris, that this came as a relief.


    "Did you see King Naberius moving between us and those waters like it was nothing?"


    "Idiot, it''s King Hubris now."


    "Haha, oh yeah, slip of the tongue, I''m too used to the other name. I''m jealous of those who got to be helped by him."


    "You manage to say dumber things by each passing minute, are you sure you are able to chop those up?" Said the younger of the two mockingly.


    "What do you mean? I''m jealous!"


    "I mean, not being helped by king Hubris is actually a good thing. He helped only those who he thought couldn''t make it on their own."


    "So?"


    "So, dumbass, with your strength, you can be the next guy to be picked to be the King''s personal guard." Hemented with a hopeful face, tending to the fire.


    "Oh, you''re those delusional ones." He chuckled.


    He looked at him dangerously, "you just wait, I''ll be amongst the strongest hounds in our world."


    "Yeah sure, but they don''t ept just anyone there, you have to prove yourself." He shrugged.


    "Haa, we''ve already proven our little worth by crossing the Lethe River, dumbass."


    "Who are you calling dumb? I''m older..."


    The back and forth went on for quite a while, while they were cooking. Neither wanted to back down from their convictions.


    Unfortunately for Kiro and Hubris, although far they could hear the conversation loud and clear. They cursed their perfect senses, it was too embarrassing to listen to. Although Hubris decided then that, that''s the criteria he''ll use, when choosing a trusted guard.


    The first priority would be those who crossed Lethe River with him and still stuck with him withoutint, like the two hounds who saw the incident as an opportunity. He''d pick them first, they''d have had went through whatever he was about to encounter in the battlefield with him.


    He watched them create a lot of tables from scratch. They also built two throne chairs in record time. He thought if this were apetition for building, they''d have won without a doubt.


    The others arrived not long after the cooking began. They introduced themselves to their King, apologising profusely for not bringing any kind of gifts for him. Hubris scoffed at this, he thought that if this was what it was to be King, with everyone just trying to kiss his behind, it''ll be pretty boring.


    "We may not have gifts for the rightful heir, but my daughter insisted on creating a suit of armour for Sire Kiro." The arachnid said, kneeling with it''s many legs.


    "Oh?" Kiro simply said. He didn''t know how his name had travelled so far so soon. But he didn''t get up, nor open his eyes. A souvenir couldn''t be that useful, he thought.


    "That''s fine armour," Hubrismented, holding it up, having a feel for it. "As I understand it, arachnids have a very natural talent for sewing. So durable that theyst hundreds of years."


    Kiro''s ears and eyes twitched, he opened them with great interest. The thing Hubris held was made from their spider web. It was obsidian in colour. Though he thought it''d be too tight for his liking, he got up to take a closer look.


    "Ah, such praise Sire. You may have been lost, but you have some knowledge about your home, I''m humbled."


    He tried equipping it, but as usual that didn''t work. He sighed,zy to take off his robes. Eventually he did. The beings around him were whispering, seeing his many scars. They didn''t understand, maybe because they had fur covering their bare skin.


    Kiro didn''t exactly care, as he put on the new armour. It wasn''t as tight as he thought it would be. He started moving around at incredible speeds, just to see whether the armour could keep up with him.


    Something unexpected happened. As he was moving from one side to another within seconds, a big tear sound could be heard. Then the armour exploded.


    "Huh, that''s new." He said as he was stepping down from the sky.


    The armour wasn''t cheaply made. It just couldn''t keep up with his energy. Kaos was a different breed, that coupled with his dragon scales, the armour was destroyed within seconds.


    "M-master!"


    "Haa, sorry Hubris, sorry. I suppose I can''t just wear anything."


    He looked at the robes he stole from the monkey King''s tower. Nothing about them imed to be special.


    "You must be special then."

 Chapter 145: Learning Kaos

    The arachnid that brought the armour had a weird expression, but he didn''t cause a fuss. He apologised for his daughter''sck of ability. Which Kiro corrected him with, ''It''s not your daughter, it''s me.''


    But the arachnid didn''t have the courage to agree to that. Kiro was too strong in his opinion. He had used his ability to check just how strong, he was almost lost in his pool of strength. It was a dark, bottomless abyss that almost swallowed him whole.


    He couldn''t be measured. That''s why he didn''t want to be on his bad side. So with those words, he simply smiled at him like an idiot, neither nodding nor shaking his head.


    A few hours passed and they were sat. The two throne chairs were upied by the two with the most strength and influence amongst the groups.


    Hubris especially felt weird sitting on a chair, that''s something he wasn''t used to. Thinking back to his journey with his master, chairs were never part of it. He''d just sit on the ground, but not here. Here he had to be presentable, he had to act like a King.


    With just a bite of the meat, Kiro''s body vibrated and then split. His body and astral body had split, but they were still part of one essence.


    He looked and examined the meat, but concluded it was a coincidence that it happened just when he took bite of it.


    He was split into two, meaning he could do different trainings at the same time. He quickly went into his mental world. While at the same time, he was out there holdings conversations.


    There wasn''t even the slightest bit of interruption. He was there but also here.


    ''Suppose I should name this world I created. It''s always so beautiful, it makes my mental fortitude stronger, so I suppose you''re a Paradise of some kind.''


    The moment he said it, lightning struck the sky with the loudest thunder he''d ever heard. He smiled, acknowledging that the world operated itself to a certain extent. The fact that it epted his name, said a lot.


    There were only a few who sat with Hubris and Kiro, Belial being amongst them. Also the arachnid that brought Kiro the armour.


    Kiro didn''t want to admit it, but he didn''t quite like them. Especially when they talked, the clicking got on hisst nerve, so he made sure to be quick with his supper.


    He felt something brush against him, when he turned, nothing was there. But he heard something, the spectres had followed them here. Kiro reprimanded them, telling them to go back.


    But they stubbornly lingered, only saying sorry but not considering going back. Kiro didn''t really want them to witness a war, they were kids after all, but when he couldn''t get them to leave, he epted that he couldn''t shield them forever.


    ''Since you''re here, tell me, what have you noticed.'' He asked, they were invisible and had an aerial view advantage, they saw it all.


    ''Huh? There were assassins following us, but you killed them all? How?'' Kiro was dumbfounded at the information. He sighed deeply at the fact that he didn''t notice them again, he didn''t know how else to tell assassins apart if they didn''t let out killing intent.


    ''You made wind des?'' Kiro askedughing internally which came out as an arrogant smile there, ''who even taught you that? That''s still impressive. But I want you guys to be more careful, can''t afford to lose you.''


    They promised him they''d stay out of his way, and that they''ll stay out of harm''s way. Kiro nodded, he didn''t think this was too bad. They could tell him what and how to avoid trouble ahead.


    Nobody else seemed to have noticed their presence. He was amazed by their ability to hide their selves. He was only worried about the yful one, who could possibly, unintentionally, let their position known.


    "Men!" Kiro bellowed standing up from his sit and walking amongst the many tables.


    Every head turned to look at him, wondering what he had to say.


    "You live in a world with abundant Kaos energy. I don''t understand how none of you can use it. I don''t want to understand it."


    There were various murmers from all the races. Some nodded in agreement.


    "Cowardice isn''t a pretty feeling from ferocious beings like yourselves. Yes the energy is vicious, but if I can harness it, you can too." He said, taking a swig of his water.


    "If I may sire," interrupted the young one who had hopes of being a King''s guard. "I agree with you, it''s just, most of our people don''t even consider it. For what reason I don''t know."


    Kiro knew what the reason was, even if they didn''t. The monkey King created this, their enemy, therefore the older generation refused to use the energy, now the younger generation was just imitating the older one.


    "Noted. I''ll need only those with strong wills. Those who seek out to fight, those with strong convictions. The energy only bends to fighters. If you''re not a fighter, don''te, you will lose yourself."


    About a hundred got up to follow the strange man. A mix of hounds, arachnids and hellizards.


    He arrived at a spacious spot and asked them to sit cross-legged. They did. He told them to attempt to enter a meditative state, they didn''t understand what that was but they tried anyway.


    "Master, we don''t have time." Hubris whispered to Kiro. "It took you months."


    "That was something foreign for me, these guys have lived here for a very long time. It won''t be that bad. Give me 3 hours." He assured his mount.


    "I''ll give you a taste of Kaos, by injecting it. Hold on to that tiny feeling until you can sense it in the atmosphere, try to drag it into your body."


    They nodded and waited. He injected the energy to all, at the same time. One immediately lost his marbles.


    "Remember, you''re not taming it, you''re bing one with it. It''ll try to fight you, just show it who''s boss." He reminded them while severing the connection with the one who went berserk. He lost consciousness immediately.


    He watched them with great interest and caution, as they dragged the energy down from the skies. There were ripples that could only be seen by a few.


    Kiro could see in that young hound, important bulges on his body, showing that he wasn''t just dragging the energy into his body but he was also creating pathways.


    ''That''s very interesting, he''s a talented one.''

 Chapter 146: Left Behind

    This wt on for over  hours. Kiro wasn''t cking either, he wanted to catch anyone who sumbed to the ergy''s cunning.


    He dedicated his 0% conctration for over  hours, overseeing everything. But of course his astral body was active with something else within his mtal, but that didn''t deter his conctration.


    The sky was an amazing sight to see. Every colour known and unknown to Kiro asionally shed out in a strange orderly fashion. The ripples seemed like they would crack the world into two equal halves but nothing of that sort happed.


    Kaos ergy was just going haywire up there. Seeing so many beings grab at it at the same time, made it the more vicious. Nothing of this sort has ever happed before to it, it was a surprising first and it didn''t quite like it. It wanted to cause damage as much as it could.


    And because of that, out of the 0 that followed Kiro back here, about 30 were already unconscious. He knocked them out before the ergy could im their sanity for itself. It was a game of cat and mouse betwe Kiro and the stubborn ergy.


    Of course, his most talted studt was still at it. He was almost tirely done creating his pathways, while some of the others weregging behind, they were also doing the same.


    Some were not doing so great, as the most they could muster was just holding onto the essce Kaos was attempting to rip from their bodies. They couldn''t do anything else, but fight to keep themselves intact.


    "Master, I don''t think they can be done in an hour." Hubris said with a tinge of jealously.


    "Leave us and we will catchup." Kiro said, not taking his eyes off them.


    "I-I can''t, how could you ev ask me that."


    "Hubris, we can''t be dyed. Take the army and leave us, we will get there evtually. What''s happing in front of me is a beautiful thing that cannot be stopped, it would be a crime if I cut them short." He told him still not taking his eyes off them.


    Hubris scoffed, "fine, we will do it your way master." He turned on his heels to leave.


    Kiro shook his head as he saw that he was sulking. He was doing this for him after all, the more powerful his soldiers are, the higher the chances of winning against his uncle.


    He knew Hubris understood that much, but because winning would lead to their inevitable separation, he was most likely hesitant. So, Kiro had to show him, he had to make him follow through with his convictions.


    ''Can you guysmunicate from afar?'' He asked the spectres.


    ''Good, all of you go with my mount except for him, I know I know he''s clumsy, but he''s better off with me. Without him there won''t be the possibility of getting found out. Now go.''


    They dispersed immediately, awaking a bit of dust as they wt.


    "Hey, Hubris." He shouted after him.


    "Yes Master?" He answered hopefully.


    "Leave with these unconscious bodies, they''ll be a burd wh we want to catch up to you."


    He turned fast and walked away without a word. He informed his army what needed to be done, why they were leaving them behind and everything. Th 30 of them could be se going out of their way to pick up those who were unconscious.


    Kiro could only hope that they would make it, that they wouldn''t stay in the vegetative state for too long. He wasn''t a master either wh it came to this ergy, he was just doing what he could to boost their battle strgth.


    Hubris left, but with great skepticism. He wasn''t quite sure he could do well without Kiro by his side, but if he showed such weak hesitation,  of these followers would respect him for that. So he held his head high and walked forward, leading them to the unknown.


    4 hours passed and Kiro was still overseeing them, since th only  had lost consciousness. Kiro took that as a huge win. None of the rest showed any signs of sumbing to the Kaos.


    ''68 over a 0, that''s a pass in my books. It''s not great, but it''s not nothing.'' He said internally, he was scared to ev make a sound, scared that would rob them of their conctration.


    Just th, the atmosphere a the kid that excelled calmed down a bit. Kiro was so proud, he wanted to pummel them into nothingness. He understood they couldn''t quite grasp Kaos, but if only they tried, ev just a little, they could''ve done it.


    He watched as his body cooled and naturally absorbed the ergy. It was impressive. The ripples also calmed down a little, the fact that they acknowledged the fact that he was done, spoke a lot about how great he was amongst his peers.


    He oped his eyes slowly, and for a second, they glinted purple. He breathed out, which cause a bit of mist.


    "Congrattions. You''ve seeded." Kiro said in a whisper.


    The kid looked a, wh he saw that nobody else was done and some were unconscious, he grinned.


    "Hahaha, I knew it, I''m kind of special." He said happily jumping in their air.


    Kiro couldn''t help butugh. The kid was arrogant, but it was an innoct kind, not the overbearing kind. He liked him, he liked him a lot.


    "Kid, what''s your name?"


    He turned so fast, he didn''t know that someone was behind him. Ev the whispered congrattions didn''t reach his ears, he was too excited.


    "Oh, ah, excuse my rudess sire." He bowed so low, but not all his limbs were down which caused for his behind to be in the air.


    Kiro chuckled at this. ''What a clumsy kid. He''s full of happy ergy though, so I guess that''s good. He won''t betray Hubris.''


    He heard the sound and saw that Kiro wasughing at him. He noticed that it was the way he showed respect, and quickly fixed his posture.


    "I''m so sorry Sire for my insolce, please have my head." He said, embarrassed to the core.

 Chapter 147: A Success

    "That''s alright kid. I''m sure you don''t ev mean that. You''re young, you still have so much to do. Are you sure you want me to have your head?"


    "That..." He trailed off thinking, he didn''t really want to be killed, who would willingly choose death? "If Sire spares me, I''ll be the most loyal hound, to you and to the rightful King." He said proudly.


    "Oh sure, ev before this, I don''t doubt that your loyalty was already reserved for Hubris."


    The kid flinched at hearing the King''s name bare, without a title.


    "What is your name?"


    "Achyls, Sire."


    "Well, Achyls, you''re quite talted. I ought to make a squad, containing all of you, of course you''d be in the front lines, are you up for that?"


    "I move with yourmand Sire." He blurted out, he didn''t know whether to be scared or excited.


    This would be his first time in a war, much less being the main attack, lead by someone who ranked higher than his King, ording to his King. There''d surely be a lot to learn, but he also thought, what if he would die. His face was hard to read as these thoughts ran through his mind.


    "If you die, you die. This is a war, there''s no time to think about these things. Death is ever prest, just do your best to beat it every time."


    "Sire, that''s not veryforting."


    "I wasn''t trying tofort you Achyls, just the truth of a war and especially a world as cruel as yours, this should ring more true." He shrugged looking at the others who were almost done familiarising themselves with Kaos.


    "You''re right Sire, I''d be honoured to be part of your squad."


    Kiro smiled and nodded in satisfaction. He decided to y a game with Achyls, they''d guess whoes out next. As fate would have it, Kiro got all 66 of them.


    ''He''s good, but his sses suck.''


    "Ahhhh, I was going to get thatst one!"


    "Your problem is you only guess, without using your sses."


    Achyls looked at him pouting and like he was insane. "There''s just no way, I can''t see the future."


    Kiro gave up.


    "Congrattions, all of you for making it this far, about 50 of you were able to create pathways, the rest tried and couldn''t finish thempletely.


    "That''s not really a loss. You could work on it while we walk to catch up to the main army. The rest of you, who have created pathways, learn to use Kaos effectively. I''ll carry those two, so rest easy and train while we walk."


    Just like that, the training was short and a sess, ording to Kiro. They walked toward the forest, Kiro hoped that there was nothing weird about this forest. He''d se ough to not trust trees that were clustered together.


    He was carrying the two on one arm, like they were nothing. Kiro initially thought he could train his muscles carrying them all the way, but they weighed nothing at all. His currt body was just that strong.


    ''Hey, anyway what''s your name? I can''t just keep say hey wh I want to say something?''


    ''You don''t have one? Uh, how about R? Okay R, where are the rest ask them.''


    He waited for the answer while R attempted tomunicate with his brethr. They were already walking through the quiet forest, the atmosphere was thick. Walking through there felt like running in water with great mass and pressure.


    But because they had the Kaos ergy coursing through their bodies, it was easier than it should''ve be. Kiro wondered how the army wt through this much pressure, it was most likely Hubris who helped them get through.


    ''Thanks R.''


    Kiro had just gott word that, the army was almost at the field they were marching for. Everything was still going great for the other side.


    Though he didn''t want to put his guard down, he wanted to be there as soon as possible. He wish he could run, but those walking with him would be left behind and who knows, maybe there are assassins tailing them ev now. He found it chilling that they couldn''t be ssed like that.


    But now, everyone else was far in front of them that anyone who shows up from behind them, would absolutely be an emy.


    "Sire, I have a sudd urge to go that way." Achylsmted.


    "Ignored it and focus on your training kid, the forest does have a weird pull toward that ce. I wonder."


    Kiro put a mtal note toe back here and check this out after they win the war.


    ----------------------------


    "Have you checked? Are they back there yet?"


    "I''ve checked Sire, they''re still nowhere to be se."


    Hubris sighed. He could see the field, they were getting closer. It had a small crack that broke it in half. Hubris decided they should stop there, he didn''t really want to cross the crack.


    It wasn''t long before they had erected various shelters. Hubris felt out of ce, these were his people, but they were so differt from him. Apart from reiming their home, he didn''t know what else they had inmon.


    He wasn''t ev sure most of them would want to be lead by a grehorn like him. But he stilled his nerves, they had no say in the matter after all. He was royalty, they were bound by some invisible unspok rule to respect him.


    He spt most of his time th thinking about the kind of King he wanted to be. He hoped he could be half a leader his father was, he wasn''t there but ev after hundreds of years there were people waiting for his son. He must''ve be one hell of a leader.


    Th as if the crack on the g splitting, a crackling sound reverberated across the field. Hubris acted faster than any of them, it was only by instinct, he pounced theless and the dome that covered their camp missed him by an inch.


    "Sh*t!" He eximed.

 Chapter 148: Unexpected Arrival

    Hubrisnded a few meters away from the crack that slightly threated to break the field into two.


    He could sse arge army beyond. They were still pretty far but they had just tered his domain.


    He swiped the air with his ws, 4 wind des flew at a distance and cut clean the emy that was hiding beyond the tree line. His eyes bulged in surprise. He couldn''t understand how he was found out, he fell as the light dimmed from his eyes.


    "Your highness, we can''t get through!" Belial cried from the other side.


    "I know that much and Belial, don''t call me his highness, I hav''t be crowned yet. I was lost but I still remember this much." He said not taking his eyes from the emy he had just tak down.


    He''d never be in a serious fight before, he''d always had Kiro by his side. It would be a great lie if he said he wasn''t nervous at all.


    "I''m sorry Sire, slip of the tongue." He bowed with sincerity.


    He forgave him. It was treason to call someone who wasn''t crowned like that. Although they were in such a state as a kingdom, Hubris still wanted to uphold thews and rules his ancestors put in ce.


    "So, th, Sire, how do we hope to get rid of this structure that has trapped us in?" He asked, looking a.


    "You''ll be d to be in there wh they arrive, trust me." Hubris answered him, without a care.


    "No way Sire, I want to protect you with my life! There''s no way I''d be d I''m not there. I''m not as big or as strong as you are, but I think, I''m not tirely useless." With determination swimming in his very ck eyes, he said proudly.


    Hubris examined the dome, it wasn''t anything he''d se before. He tried attacking it with hellfire, but it just bounced off like it were rubber. While his ws did a lot of damage, it healed itself just as quick.


    "What a pain!" He bellowed, annoyed that something as simple as this wasn''t his match.


    The feeling of hopelessness was starting to seep in through his essce, but he managed to shrug it off. He made a promise after all, that he will never let himself feel like that ever again. He nned on keeping it.


    He''d try his damnedest to break the barrier. He just hoped he didn''t run out of magic, before his master arrived with some potions. Though he believed in Kiro, he believed would arrive, so he didn''t hold back, as he attacked the barrier.


    His next attack was affliction, if it was a self healing barrier, he''d make sure that it healed slow or not at all.


    "Belial, tell them not to panic, I''m here."


    "B-but Sire..." He said in a frantic voice.


    "I know, but believe in me."


    Belial nodded, looking at the tree line, he could see silhouettes that were not exactly in hiding. He concluded that was no doubt their emies. Which made him scared for Hubris.


    They had just gott the rightful heir back, they didn''t want to lose him in a sseless way. He berated himself as to why he was so weak, looking at Hubris, he understood why though.


    They were two hounds that were many kilometres apart. In fact, Hubris was better than any hound a here. The differces wer''t appart but they were there, he was bigger, stronger and faster.


    With skills  of them ev knew. If anyone could do it, if anyone could rescue them from this hell, it''d surely be him.


    "Oh and Belial, tell them not to attack the barrier with Hellfire that''ll just bounce back. ws are good. Quit freezing in ce and get going."


    He hadn''t meant to freeze up, his limbs just refused to carry him to the others. What he saw beyond the tree line frighted him. There were thousands of soldiers,pared to their little army. They made up only a quarter of them.


    "I''ll say this for thest time, quit freezing up, time is of the essce. That army is nothing. All of you would only need to kill 3 soldiers at maximum to defeat them, now go."


    With that irond logic, it didn''t sound too bad. So he bit his tongue, blood rushed out and he immediately came out of his stupor. He forced his limbs forward, at first, he could only walk, but evtually he ran full speed toward hisrades.


    Hubris was wary of them at first, but as time passed they wer''t moving or attack. He of course still kept his eye on them, while at the same time fighting to crack the barrier op.


    It seemed as if it were made of ss but also stic, it was hard to burn it, it was harder to shatter it. But he persisted, this took a dt on his magic but he had no other choice. He attack for about an hour without rest, it had cracks, but that''s all it showed.


    The army beyond started walking forward, headed straight for Hubris and his trappedrades. They were lead by a thin, almost sickly looking hound.


    ''Surely, that can''t be the King? Why''s he so thin.'' Instead of feeling the hatred he had felt for hundreds of years, seeing the man that killed his father, he just felt pity.


    Make no mistake that King Azazel looked frighting from the perspective of a normal hound. But Hubris, at that momt, could see through more than just flesh and it wasn''t pretty.


    ''Can he ev fight?'' He stood with more confidce than ever. ''Master, you better get here before they start this fight. I''m confidt I could buy time, but I doubt I could defeat thousands of them.'' He said a little silt prayer.


    The other party stood close, but far ough. The distance betwe them was about half a kilometre.


    King Azezel''s face turned into a twisted grin, "Are you the imposter who ims to be my dead, dear nephew?"


    A thunderous voice came out of the body Hubris thought to be frail, they didn''t match with one another at all. Clearly the King was still very much strong, but not in the eyes of an ancit beast.

 Chapter 149: Unexpected Arrival, II

    Hubris looked at his uncle pitifully, "are you supposed to be the king of the Underworld? Are you supposed to be my uncle?"


    Azazel noticed the tone voice that was full of pity and mock. He growled at his question.


    "How dare you question¡ª"


    "No," He cut him off with urgcy, "how dare you question my lineage, uncle?"


    His voice was dangerously poisonous that the people on the other party flinched. Hubris looked at them, one by one. He didn''t really want to kill his own kin, his father wouldn''t want something like that. But at the same time, he couldn''t force them to be loyal to him.


    He was not nning on it, he wasn''t going to force anybody to be loyal to him. That would only backfire in the future, he could possibly d up the same way his father did.


    "You can try and dy it uncle, but each and every one of those hounds can feel that, I, Hubris Cerberuson, is the rightful heir to the throne."


    "You little sh*t." Azazel said through gritted teeth.


    He regretted not killing him wh he was just a pup, he tried thinking it over but couldn''t remember why or how it happed. He vividly remembered that they had nned to murder him too, but somehow, they released him to another world, another realm.


    He didn''t dwell on it, he didn''t try to find him either. Only because, he was sure he''d perish in the hands of another cruel world. But here he was, standing in front of him, not only stronger but also evolved into a slightly differt hound than the rest.


    "My people, I now speak directly to you," he said, his voice slightly adjusted, every one of them could hear him.


    "You have be used and abused, you have suffered under the rule of my uncle. My father didn''t just lose, he was poisoned. But I am not going to dwell on that.


    "I am here to avge him and take my ce as the rightful King of the Underworld. I''ve be lost and misced, but I have returned to my home world and to my people.


    "That is why I implore you, let me take my revge, let us ter the royalty battle, it''ll just be me and him. No need to spill any more blood.


    "I ask that youy down your weapons and walk far away from the tyrant that is my uncle. If you don''t, I''ll treat as emy number , if you don''ty down your weapons now, I will not show you any mercy ev if you beg for it."


    Nobody moved an inch, no sound came out from the battlefield, not ev breathing. Hubris didn''t rush them, he let his words marinate in their minds. He understood this was a big decision, if he were to fail they''d be in trouble if they chose his side or neutrality.


    Of course they didn''t know this, but Hubris had no ns of losing. But he was just an outsider to them, someone who had came to cause chaos within the status quo, someone they wer''t famir with. Ev if he said it, they would not readily believe him.


    He was expecting resistance, and to be honest, he wouldn''t trust them if they didn''t show any kind of hesitation. They served this king for many years, if it wasn''t loyalty it must''ve be the years they dedicated that would make them think twice.


    "I''ll give you as much time as you need, but if you attempt to cross this crack right here, I will d you without any second thought." He proimed confidtly. ''Master, pleasee sooner.'' Hemted internally.


    He wasn''t that nervous, he just didn''t trust that his magic would carry him until the d of this army.


    "Bold of you to think any of my subjects wille running to you." Azazel sneered and snapped his ws.


    Two hounds lunged and ran toward Hubris. They didn''t look exactly like themselves, they growled as they wt with their tongues out. Saliva with a bit of foam dripped from their maw.


    They hadn''t ev made it half way through the distance betwe them, Hubris had already swung and st invisible wind des that decapitated them within a second.


    "I''m not someone you can defeat easily uncle, no, Azazel." He said, stressing every syble of the name.


    "How dare, you, treason!"


    "You''re no King to me."


    Just th, a few hundred hounds walked off, separating themselves from Azazel''s army. They were giv looks of shock by the rest that didn''t want to leave, those that couldn''t decide whether they wanted to.


    "Get them." Azazel ordered.


    There was no hesitation from some, as they ran toward the traitors with their ws out. The traitors stood their g, ready to fight. But by the grace of their new King, the attackers didn''t make it to them alive. They exploded into a tiny pieces of flesh, blood rained where they stood.


    "Nobody can touch you if you decide to stand with me. Rest assured."


    After this spectacle, about a hundred more joined the others. But after that,  else betrayed their King. It was too bad, there were still more than Hubris would''ve liked.


    He shrugged, "sigh. I guess it can''t be helped."


    Azazel looked at him with contempt, "I suppose whatever you were trying didn''t work. I still have more soldiers than a brat like you can imagine."


    "Oh dear uncle, more doesn''t always mean better."


    "Charge!" Azazel said without wasting another second.


    Their running at the same time made the g shake a little. Hubris looked at them, he knew he couldn''t take them all but he''d die trying at least. The momt was as if it was in slow motion, he could see how their every muscle worked as they ran but it was just him conctrating more than usual. His perfect sses immediately kicked in.


    He released a few hellfire balls, they killed a couple of them on impact. Some managed to avoid, but the army was just toorge to decimate them all at the same time.


    They had just arrive by the crack, wh a silhouette came running from the other side. As he couldn''t walk through the barrier and found going sideways to be a waste of time, he used wind to hoist himself up.


    Hended gtly with one foot right on top of the barrier. He touched it but barely, his target was the army ahead. This was a simple tactic but it managed to push him upwards and off he wt.


    Leaving the barrier in tatters as it shattered. Wh he touched the barrier, he had unwittingly used bding kick, which was more than ough to destroy itpletely. Thanks to Hubris'' earlier attempt, it was a piece of cake.


    As he flew in the air, he summoned lightning from within, his whole body was veiled with dark purple lightning


    Hended right in the middle of emy territory. As soon as he did, the lightning let out arge explosion, burning to charcoal every hound within the 00 meter radius.


    "Sorry I''mte Hubris, the forest wasn''t exactly easy to navigate." He tossed him a bunch of mana potions.

 Chapter 150: Not Worth Fighting For

    Azazel managed to dodge the lightning, as he pounced to the side. He had a confused look on his face, as if he wasn''t expecting Kiro to arrive here.


    "Don''t look so surprised King of hounds. Your assassins aren''t a match for us."


    They had been ambushed countless times in the forest. But of course, none of them were a match for Kiro and hounds who could use Kaos. He didn''t know how the King knew their n, they probably had another traitor within their ranks. He put that aside forter to deal with.


    ''Oh? You tried to warn Hubris but he couldn''t hear you? That''s okay. Good thinking formunicating with Ren and guarding us here. Ren? He''s the spectre that was left with me.''


    Kiro noticed that the others were sulking about not giving them names, ''I''ll give you names, butter.''


    He didn''t think he had enough names within him to name them all. This was troublesome, more troublesome than the battle in front of him.


    He wanted more than anything to take these guys back with him if this world would allow it, and if they agreed.


    "Master, anyte, I would''ve been a goner!"


    "If you would perish by them, you wouldn''t be worthy to be my mount."


    "But... there''s thousands of them..." Hubris was dumbfounded.


    But Kiro didn''t care. He''d gone through a lot with Hubris for him to only die by the hands of mere hounds.


    "Sorry about your barrier by the way, I didn''t know it''d break."


    "Ah, that wasn''t mine, they erected it to get me first. If they got rid of me they''d have an easier time overwhelming myrades."


    Kiroughed maniacally, "they thought they could get rid of you? What a joke."


    Just then, the hounds Kiro was travelling with jumped to his side at insane speeds, they resembled shadows. Just like that, he had 68 elite hounds tomand.


    Azazel was infuriated, they had ignored himpletely, and were having a full conversation right in front of him and his army. He wasn''t moving because of the shock, his army wasn''t moving because they were wary of the purple lightning.


    "Like father like son indeed, you have a master? Hahaha. How are you going to lead your people while you bow to someone else? Your father was just the same, no pride, befriended outsiders, now you''ve brought an outsider to a Kingdom war. Shameful!" Azazel blurted out.


    "Is that why you killed my father, Azazel? Yes, I have a master. My people will have to ept that. That man, like my father, gave me life." Hubris proimed proudly.


    "Gave you life?" He asked confused.


    "Enough!" Kiro bellowed, "we''re here to kill each other, this talk is making me nauseous." He unstrapped Ryu from his back. "You haven''t blood in a while right?"


    Ryu vibrated in return. As if to tell his master off, for keeping him out of battles for so long. He''d been thirsty for blood, wars were his favourite thing. That meant his whole body would be showered in blood.


    "Go then my weapon, ki¡ª"


    "Master, wait. Don''t touch the ones standing further from this army, they decided to betray Azazel and join us."


    "Right. Ryu, do your worst, have as much blood as you want."


    Ryu zoomed from Kiro''s hand, piercing everything in his way. Hounds fell one after another, some managed to dodge, some too shocked to even move. They''d never seen a weapon move on its own before.


    The hounds by his side didn''t need to be told to attack, they rushed forward, yelling their King''s name as they did. They were slightly better than their counterparts, Kiro smirked at his creation. He wished he could take them back with him, but knew Hubris would need them more to rebuild his kingdom.


    "Well, my mount, I''ll leave the King to you. If you want the throne, take it with both your hand¡ªI mean, paws."


    Hubris gave him a brief nod of appreciation. The hounds that were trapped in the barrier came in running, to join theirrades, to fight for their home or to die trying.


    Achyls had three surrounding him but he was surprisingly handling them well. They swung and bit, but they couldn''t connect their attacks, he dodged each one beautiful while embedding his own ws that were coated in Kaos.


    The energy made it easier to rip through them. Guts spilled on the ground, blessing it with warm fresh blood, the other had its neck snapped with his fangs. He let the other feel his new and improved hellfire, which burnt it to cinder.


    He wasn''t satisfied with just that, he didn''t even stop to be proud of his 3 quick kills, there was a mountain waiting for him, so he went.


    While the other hounds had trouble defeating their enemies, them being trained soldiers, the ones with Kaos shaved the burden by a hundred fold. They danced in the battlefield, breathing only chaos.


    It wasn''t long before the King hid behind a mountain of his soldiers. Making it difficult for Hubris to fight him, he''d have to plough through the many hounds that protected him to get to him, but he didn''t mind.


    The spectres were causing a havoc of their own. Creating winds that caused the enemies to miss their step,nding on Kiro''s foot, decapitated them immediately.


    They were pretty weak by Kiro''s standards but since there were many of them, it''d be a battle of stamina. The rate in which he refilled his energy was quicker than when he started, but not so quick that he wouldn''t run out.


    Ontop of the many he was fighting, he also had to dodge asional attacks from the King who was standing at the back notying a finger to help his subjects.


    Some attacksnded on his enemies, some sted even his allies. He just didn''t care about anything other than killing Hubris and being the respected king once again.


    He certainly lived up to the cruel ruler title. Hubris was fuming with anger. He hoisted up one hound that lunged at him and ripped him into two.


    "Is this the King you''re fighting for?" His voice could be heard throughout the battlefield.

 Chapter 151: The Power Within

    Kiro was zing through the hounds like they were made of paper. He was busy dealing with the two in front of him, when one slipped in,ing out of nowhere. The hound managed to leave a scratch on his abdomen.


    But he wouldn''t live to tell the tale, that infuriated Kiro so much that he didn''t hold back kicking him on the chest. He inhaled abruptly but died before he could exhale. Kiro had shuttered every bone in his body. The hound fell on the ground, making a weird ''plump'' sound.


    Kiro turned to the two with the same fury, as this kill was too quick and that didn''t quite quench his thirst. He used whirlwind to bring them much closer as they attempted to flee.


    Their limbs were slightly in the air, he walked between them, and buried both his hands in each of the chests, and ripped their hearts from their chests. They immediately fell to the ground. Crushing the hearts, he went on.


    Causing damage to even thend in his path.


    His body was sizzling with lightning now, he figured he wouldn''t get any more scratches, but if he did, he reckoned that would rejuvenate him even more. He didn''t like admitting it but he liked fighting strong opponents, he liked the pressure of being driven into a corner.


    That made him go beyond his limits. It made him stronger. But the strength of the army was only in their numbers which he appreciated but only a little.


    A crowd came gunning for him, they realised it was useless either way so they just attacked inrge crowds. Kiro used whirlwind to take off from the ground.


    He stood far enough out of their reach, but close enough to rain lightning on them. The lightning came out looking like ck rain, this time hemanded the lightning to not burn them but instead electrocute, that''s exactly what happened.


    They fell on the ground, writhing in pain, growling and howling. That was his only goal, torture.


    ''I think I might be enjoying this a little bit much.'' He thought, without an ounce of guilt within his conscience.


    On the other side, Hubris was pouncing from one hound to another. Dodging their attacks beautifully as he did. He only used affliction at this point.


    Not only was he angry that he had to spill blood of his kin, but he wanted to spend as less of time as possible fighting them. Affliction was perfect, since it would weaken them, since he wasn''t fight alone it was beneficial.


    Belial and the others refused to let him be alone, although the attacks from Azazel were hard to dodge it wasn''t impossible for them. They were here to protect their king.


    Hubris didn''t drive them away either, he figured he''d weaken those at the front of him, leaving them for those behind him, his only goal was to reach Azazel without breaking a sweat.


    But it was proving difficult, the number of hounds seemed to not be decreasing, like they were being pumped from somewhere and they were stuck on an endless loop.


    "Is it just me or they''re not decreasing in numbers? Sire, I didn''t think a battle would be this difficult." Belialmented.


    "They''re decreasing but because there are many it seems like they''re not. Do you want to turn tail and run then?"


    "Never! I''m not a trained soldier but if dying in this battle is my fate, so be it." He said with resolve he himself had no idea where it came from.


    Seeing his King making it seem so effortlessly gave him a strength he had no idea he had. He was all bruised up and cut. But nothing fatal.


    Most of those who couldn''t use Kaos had a much more difficult time contending with trained soldiers, but none wanted to give up. They pushed on, even when they saw theirrades fall right in front of them. They didn''t stop.


    Hubris had to be tactical about using his hellfire balls, as they would not only kill enemies but also his allies, that''s why he decided to only use his fangs and ws. asionally throwing hellfire far into the distance.


    Kiro wasn''t far off from Hubris, as Ryu flew too close to Hubris forcing him to dodge, it was just friendly banter from two beings that served the same master so Hubris didn''t take it to heart he simply scoffed.


    Kiro held out his hand and caught him. He was drenched in blood and in a much lighter mood. The grip was a bit slippery, he used his robe to clean him. Before running across the sky,nding in the midst of enemy territory.


    Hisnding was followed by him burying Ryu on the ground. It took effect immediately, he didn''t n on it to work so greatly but also so terribly.


    Every thing on the battlefield was stunned in ce as vibrations travelled through every hound, arachnid, hellizard on there. Except for Hubris and the 68, himself and Azazel who was too far to be affected everything else stopped moving.


    "Hahaha, oops." He looked around, none of those who could move stopped to ask. "Well, you have around 10 seconds, I reckon that should be enough to shave away this army."


    Nobody batted an eye, as they moved through their enemies leaving only corpses on their trail. The ground wasn''t visible anymore, it was only littered with the dead.


    It was then that Hubris unlocked his teleportation skill. He was already fast but now he could blink from one ce to another in an instant. Every second counted and he had just bought himself more time.


    When the skill''s effects wore off, they had reduced them to a mere hundreds. But their stamina was so low, they were sure they''d just dug their own graves.


    "Well, soldiers, it was fun while itsted." Kiro said through gritted teeth.


    The enemy didn''t attack immediately, surprised that they had been reduced by more than half in mere seconds.


    Their stupor was broken by their king shouting after them. Then a barrage of attacks made their way to their enemies. Even with his body of steel, Kiro still felt and was damaged by the attacks. Coupled with his depleted stamina, he had a harder time dodging them all.


    This went for everyone else. Especially the 68 that wasn''t quite on their level. Their damage level was much higher.


    Kiro looked over at Achyles, he was beaten ck and blue, he was about ready to give in.


    "Hey kid, if you die, I''ll ki¡ª"


    Kiro didn''t get to finish his sentence, as one hound ran through him hitting him on the stomach, which drained the air out of his lung. He flew a good distance andnded on corpses.


    He tried using Ryu to stand up, but he slipped and fell again. He startedughing.


    "I sure hope this is the game. I''m not ready to die a second time."

 Chapter 152: The Power Within, II

    The atmosphere started to change. Kiro felt the coldness wrap around his heart, then his entire body was veiled in it. He felt death itself hade knocking on his door. It was something he was all too familiar with.


    ''Oh no, oh sh*t it''s this sensation again. I don''t want to die.'' His stomach dropped. He was absolutely frantic, but he couldn''t move.


    Even when his body refused to do whatmand he could give it with what little brain activity he had left, he still attempted to move his head to the side where hest saw Hubris.


    But s, his body was failing him. He couldn''t hear a thing, he didn''t even feel like he was breathing anymore. His entire senses had failed him too.


    Just then, Hubris and Kiro started glowing. A blinding glow that caused their attackers to fall back. The light was physically hurting them the closer they were.


    His hopes didn''t fall on deaf ears after all, as the crystal shards within them started working and re-arranging both their physical and astral bodies.


    Bit by bit Kiro could feel his brain activity returning, along with his senses and warmth in his body.


    A sudden sharp pain shot through his head, he screamed aloud. Realising he could move, his head, albeit heavier than he remembered, it bobbed in Hubris'' direction.


    The light may have been blinding to others, but not to him. He could see his mount glowing, faintly. He looked at his body and it was the same.


    "Hubris what is happening?"


    At his question, the hounds around the battlefield attempted to shield their ears, the sound that came out was deafening. It was as if a god was speaking directly to them from the heavens.


    But of course to Hubris, it came across as just his normal voice.


    "Knowledge, we''re being given ancient knowledge from the crystal. I think, it''s giving us instructions on how to use it''s power. It''s fusing with our bodies."


    Being the only of the two with perfect senses, his brain processed information faster. Kiro was still in the dark, he just felt like his head was splitting.


    With all the information, crammed in his tiny brain, it wasn''t a wonder that it hurt him. This bruised his ego a little bit, he had always thought he was smarter than average, but now, the game, a mere game was saying otherwise.


    "Haha, I guess you''ll tell me what it says." He shrugged, taking a sitting position.


    "I think we''re getting different information, master." Hubris said concentrating on deciphering the information more than having a friendly chat.


    At the back of the field, far into the distance. King Azazel was barking orders. He demanded that his soldiers attack the two, but they couldn''t. It''s not like they didn''t want to but the light refused them the pleasure of serving their King.


    "Your highness, it''s physically impossible, we can''t get any closer."


    "Then attack the traitors, kill them all, they dared to defy me thinking this puny little hound would be their saviour." He growled.


    "Your excellency, we can''t move."


    Azazel was pacing where he stood. He was far enough that he wasn''t affected by whatever was going on in the battlefield. He had never seen something such as this ur before, he didn''t know what it was, but it made him nervous, he hated that.


    "Ammon, quit hiding and do something. You''re my shadow, now the time for the shadow to act hase."


    "Of course, your highness."


    Ammon entered the battlefield with much confidence, he didn''t feel what his King felt. He may have been ambitious and cunning but he wasn''t very intuitive.


    He passed the soldiers and went a bit further before noticing that his very essence was burning up. He quickly took a step back. He attempted to examine the light.


    Instead of being scared, it fascinated him. Now that he felt how strong it was, he only wanted to have it for himself. Harness it. Surely it''d help him get his people in line when the throne was his.


    He felt pity that he couldn''t get any closer. He imagined how stronger he would be with this within him. In his greed, he didn''t realise something crucial about everything urring right before his eyes.


    The very power he desired came from two of his enemies. He was bewitched, drunk in a power he had yet to possess. The dream of being that powerful had him by the neck.


    Although he had always been someone who yed the long game, he had always been shortsighted at best.


    Then he did something nobody on that battlefield expected, he bowed to the light. In hopes of attaining its favour if he showed it a bit of respect.


    "Great light of gods and goddesses, I am as of today your humble servant, use me however you please." He said with the most sincerity he could muster.


    Azazel watched this disgusting scene with much fury in his heart. He had always known the greed of Ammon, but he never thought he''d be so bold as to take up a new master in front of him. This level of disrespect was uneptable.


    "Soldiers, kill him."


    They just stood there dumbly. Not being able to move was a thorn in their side.


    Kiro watched this spectacle, with great amusement.


    "What is that idiot doing? Does he actually think we are gods?" Heughed as he said.


    He didn''t know that, they couldn''t see anything, the light was too bright for them to see anything standing orying beyond it.


    Just then, the information started to make sense to him. He couldn''t believe Hubris was actually correct, he gave him a look of envy but not for long as he came to understand the power the crystal was bestowing upon him.


    "Hey Hubris, which power are you getting?"


    "Strangely enough, it''s gravity, master can you see the future?"


    "Haa, why?"


    "You once asked if I possessed this power, you don''t remember?" Hubris questioned a little agitated that the conversation was going on longer, he didn''t want to miss a single detail.


    "I guess I did. Reality Warping sounds pretty cool."


    "That''s what you''re getting? Not fair!"

 Chapter 153: Great Carnage

    Kiro listened attentively as the knowledge dwelled in his mind. They were flying around, in a very organised manner.


    As abruptly as the light came it turned off. Leaving the world slightly darker, as everyone blinked their eyes to get used to the sudden shift of brightness.


    It took them several minutes, where the light had been, stood two beings. A master holding his staff with his mount by his side. For a brief moment, everyone held their breaths at the seriousness of the moment.


    "Ah, f*ck! I knew there''d be restrictions that came with this reality warping thing. So many stages to unlock, it is so unfair." Kiroined as thest piece of the puzzle fell into ce.


    "Hahaha," Hubrisughed heartily. "Well of course you can''t be too powerful, I''m the one who should be, to protect you."


    Kiro looked at him and smiled, "you''re still just a stubborn pup I have to protect to me, you always will be."


    Hubris wished he could drop dead where he stood. Thinking about those days was something he didn''t want to be reminded of, they were simply too embarrassing for him. But was d nheless Kiro took pity on him back then, otherwise he would''ve been bear poop by now.


    Ammon got up, a little bit ashamed by his behaviour. He had just bowed to the rightful heir and his master, it was utterly distasteful. He couldn''t even go back to his previous master, he knew too well how Azazel operated. He had zero tolerance for traitors.


    "What do we have here, didn''t he offer to serve you Hubris?"


    "Well, maybe he was offering himself up for you."


    It wasn''t long before the battle resumed. This time, Hubris ordered for everyone injured to sit this one out, he couldn''t bare losing any more. Everyone injured, was, well, everyone except for them.


    Just the two of them, against hundreds of hounds. They stood defiantly beyond the crack on the ground. In front of them wasplete darkness, hounds as far as their eyes can see.


    "This should be a piece of cake." An evil smiled formed on Kiro''s face.


    They both felt better than when they started this battle. The crystal merged with them sessfully, healing thempletely and giving them bodies that were far stronger.


    Kiro held out his fist side-ways, to where Hubris stood.


    "What''s that?"


    "You''re supposed to bump it with yours, dummy."


    The hounds behind him were quite shock at how casually Kiro insulted the rightful heir. But that was something they''d need to get used to.


    Hubris bumped his fist.


    Kiro instantly disappeared where he stood. In a blink of an eye, 20 hounds were felled by the same fist.


    Hubris wasn''t left behind either, he used hellfire balls, as many as he could muster. Since the hounds before him were all his enemies, there was no holding back.


    Now, it was apetition between them of who could kill the most. Kiro used Ryu to shoot out lightning bolts. He didn''t know what it was but using Ryu made them thinner and more concentrated.


    Soon, the battlefield was bombarded with explosives the enemy couldn''t hope to survive. In mere minutes, they had taken out the armypletely. All that was left was Azazel and Ammon.


    "Hubris, I leave him to you."


    "Of course." He bowed slightly.


    Azazel was still in a bit of shock, but he came out of it faster than Ammon. Hubris hoisted him up using his newfound ability, and dragged him through the air,nding right at his ws.


    He mmed him on the ground and waited for him to get back up. He disappeared to the back of him and yanked his tail out with his fangs.


    Azazel cried out like a wounded animal. "No, not my tail. You stupid brat, do you know what this means? You''ve doomed me."


    "That''s one thing I remember. You''ll die and never join our ancestors, that''s what you deserve you traitorous scum." He spat on the ground.


    For the first in his life, he formed a fist in battle. Something his master taught him not long ago, before that he''d never have thought of using these means. But he wanted a slow terrible death for the hound in front of him.


    He used gravity once again, to drag him closer to him. He used it on himself and made his fists heavier and he started pounding on his flesh.


    The second fist caused for all his teeth to fall out. His eyes were all red from the blood that was quickly travelling to his head. Even then Hubris didn''t stop, his fists carried an anger he knew nothing about.


    He had never been this angry, maybe deep down, he had hoped his uncle was a good guy, someone who had no idea how his own brother died. But here he was, smiling like a maniac, without an ounce of regret on his swollen bloodied face.


    "Killing me won''t return your father you know." He mocked, as if to motivate Hubris to pound him to death.


    Hubris stopped for a while, "you know uncle, you robbed me of my childhood and a life with my father. I don''t remember much about those days, but you''ve also given me something of equal value." His voice came out cold and calm, looking at Kiro as he said.


    His next punchpletely shuttered his chest, it looked like a hole had been dug. He was still smiling as his body finally hit the ground.


    Hubris walked away.


    "Thank you, nephew." He whispered as he drew his final breath.


    It was a whisper from a dying hound but he heard him clear as day, but he didn''t turn. He thought that would make him appear weak. The crowd behind them exploded in cheers and howls.


    The King that reigned thends terribly for hundreds of years was finally defeated. Even the sun came out, marking a new dawn for the realm.


    Hubris smile wryly as the cheers turned into bows. Thanking him foring back, for fighting with them when he didn''t really need to.


    "Hubris, are you ready to take your kingdom?" Kiro asked him looking conflicted.


    "I should be." Was the only answer he coulde up with.

 Chapter 154: New Dawn

    Hubris looked around the battlefield awkwardly, he was feeling conflicted a little but, he didn''t know whether to jump for joy or be sad at the sight that was in front of him. He didn''t know them, but they were his kin after all. The victory was bittersweet in his opinion.


    His goal has always been to avenge his father, now that was done with, he didn''t quite know what to do with himself. He half-expected for when this was all said and done, that he''d at least feel different, like a different hound, but it wasn''t a life changing experience as he thought it''d be.


    He was still the hound that had to take responsibility for his actions. He had just killed their king, they had no one else but him, he also didn''t know the first thing about running a kingdom. But he wouldn''t let himself abandon them.


    Kironded gently on his back, "you''ll learn, don''t worry too much about the future, bask a little in your victory." He said gently, caressing his fur that was growing rather uncontrobly longer.


    "Our victory, master." Hubris corrected, taking a deep sigh.


    "Yes, yes it is. By the way, what are we going to do about that little weasel?" Kiro jerked Ammon''s way.


    Hubris shot Ammon a disgusted look. He was still standing there dumbly, even if he ran he had nowhere to hide. The whole kingdom was now in the hands of someone else. He may be able to avoid capture for a couple of months.


    But he''d be caught eventually¡ªunless, unless he ran to thends his kin had deemed too dangerous to colonise. That would be an option, but the hound was too much of a coward. So he took his chances here with the young pup in front of him now.


    ''Maybe if I show my usefulness, they won''t totally kill me.'' He showed a slight, friendly smile.


    "Sire¡ª" He started but didn''t get to finish.


    Hubris forced his mouth shut using gravity, "Shut your dirty mouth." He said coldly, "I''m not my uncle. BOW!"


    He bellowed, the cheers quietened, now everyone was watching the show their new King had blessed them with. In a way, Hubris was making an example of Ammon in front of them while at the same time showing off his great power.


    As if to say ''Betray me, I dare you.'' Everyone watched with great anticipation.


    Themand he had given Ammon was coupled with gravity to force him to the ground. Heid t on his stomach on the many corpses that he helped trained. He felt like the whole universe was ced on his shoulders. It was particrly difficult to breathe.


    "You made sure didn''t you, you made sure you''d kill off 2 generations of the royal line. 3 if you counted me. You''re a treacherous little scum who doesn''t deserve life or death. You deserve nothing but endless suffering." He spat.


    He disappeared and appeared at the back of the hound lying on his brethren, that had a look of absolute terror in his eyes. He knew then he couldn''t be saved, he wished he could''ve taken his chances out there in the wilds.


    "You''ve been scheming for a long time. I''m sure my father and uncle weren''t the only ones who fell victim by your cunning hand. I didn''t imagine you''d be this terrified to die. You should be embracing your punishment with arms open wide."


    Hubris swung his ws, aiming for his tail and cut it cleanly off. Ammon shut his eyes as if to say a little prayer. If hounds could cry, tears would be streaming down his gaunt face.


    "This is how traitors are punished, you must know."


    He increased the invisible weight which he had burdened Ammon with. His muffled screams could be heard, as his bones started to crack, one after another.


    Kiro looked at his mount, both proud and terrified. He had always looked at Hubris as the soft puppy he met that time, he didn''t really think about it. But now he could see it clearly. Standing before him was the King of the hounds, the ancient beast that had been hispanion all this time. He''d miss him. ??§â?#§Ô*?-§Ö$§á?!?-#


    Ammon on the other hand eventually died by his own weight that was made to be a thousand times more than it was.


    Hubris didn''t need confirmation from him but he knew in his gut that, while his uncle wasn''t innocent, he''d have suffered the same fate as his brother with Ammon by his side.


    With all the rage that was pumping in his veins that time, he''d noticed toote that he had poison within him, although it was still in its early stages it had made irreparable damage. If he had known, he would have just given him the painful death he deserved, he wouldn''t have cut his tail too.


    But it was toote for regrets now, there was nothing be could do but hope that the brothers would meet again and mend their rtionship.


    "Sun Wukong, Cerberus, I''ll leave the rest in your hands." He said under his breath and walked off the battlefield.


    The stench was starting to smell unbearable as the sun blessed thend more than it usually did. The rotting was already starting to happen.


    "Sire, thank you so much!"


    "Sire, will you be using the hill castle as your pce?"


    "Sire, what shall we do next?"


    Everyone was too excited, and were asking questions all at the same time. Having seen the power of their next King, nobody had any doubts in their mind that they could potentially enter the greatest time of their Kingdom yet.


    "Geez, give the man some room to breathe. He just killed his uncle you know." Kiro reprimanded.


    They sheepishly apologised.


    "It''s okay, heal the injured first." Hubris gave his firstmand as their leader.


    "We''ve done that Sire. Should we burn or move the corpses?" Belial asked.


    "Leave them be, they should be nutritious for the soil. Just pour some some soil over them."


    "Right away."


    A team quickly assembled.


    "So, Hubris, are you going to live at the hill castle?"


    "Hell no master, I''ll destroy that whole ind."


    He disappeared from where he was and instantly arrived at where the castle was erected. Both master and hound shot at it with their strongest attack. It crambled to nothingness, as the body of water swallowed it whole.

 Chapter 155: New Dawn, II

    They arrived at the battlefield before anyone knew they were even gone. Kiro was envious a little bit towards his mount, his blink would take him a couple of steps, his reality warping wasn''t quite strong enough either.


    The hounds were busy covering up the dead as they were told to do. Some were making stretchers for the heavily wounded, Kiro looked around for a while.


    He was looking for Achyls, thest he saw him was when he was almost at death''s door. He hoped against all hopes that the kid didn''t perish, he was too promising and too much of an asset for the future Hubris hopes to achieve.


    "Oh by the way master, what can your new abilities do?" Hubris said breaking his master''s concentrationpletely.


    "Just simple things for now, I can change some properties on things. Like making liquid water ice or gas, I could temper with the temperature of this world and make it warmer or colder right now. I could make this ground a slippery mess of mud.


    "In simple terms, I can only slightly tweak anything as long as its notplicated."


    "Sounds cool enough, though I doubt it''s as cool as gravity." He heartily said wagging his tail unconsciously.


    "Oh, stop it Hubris, if you want to make it apetition, wait for when I unlock this many stages that restrict me from using the full power." Kiro shot back without missing a beat.


    "Hahaha, there''s only 3 restrictions for me." He happily said, he hadn''t teased his master in a while and he was enjoying this more than he should''ve.


    The hounds around them watched him, as he wagged his tail for Kiro, they were surprised. They''d never seen a royal hound doing something like this, even amongst regr hounds it was a rare sight.


    This tail showed vulnerability, happiness. Something hounds shouldn''t experience. It was survival of the fittest here, the slightest weakness would be your own downfall.


    But here was their future King stronger than any of them.bined, showing his vulnerability, his happy ce to everyone else. Looking at the person that made him this happy, even if they wanted to try something, he was just too strong.


    It was then that they came to understand the bond between the two. It was a rare beautiful sight to watch.


    "I could still beat you in a fight though." Kiro said seriously.


    Hubris wasn''t sure. But then something came to him, he thought back to when they dealt with gravity in the monkey King''s tower and how his master used vibrations to almost nullify gravity.


    "Ha-Ha." Heughed dryly. "Yes, yes you can." He gave up before he even tried.


    "The monkey King imed he couldn''t get involved with the physical world, yet he gave us the crystal. He''s too careless, letting such a power in the world." Hubris wondered.


    "He didn''t exactly give us did he, it was just in his tower, which we happened to stumble on, and we found it in one of his rooms." He shrugged, getting down from Hubris.


    "That was really smart of him. He didn''t strike me as a smart guy." He retorted mockingly. ?§ß$¦Á-§â?#§Ö§ñ--?¦Ò?§ñ?¡é?*-#?#¡Ì??#§®¦Ñ*?§Ô


    "I reckon he can hear that and will avenge himself soon."


    Just then, a lot of hounds walked up to Kiro and Hubris. Kiro could sense that there were 60 of them. Some were limping, others had little no injuries, even with the sadness that borrowed their hearts, they all wore expressions of gratitude.


    ''So we''ve lost 8 huh.'' He could feel his face hot but he held his emotions down, he hadn''t spent a lot of time with them but he was fond of them nheless.


    They were being lead by Achlys. It seems he had taken it upon himself to make himself the leader of the unit. Upon arriving they bowed to their King first, and then bowed to Kiro.


    "Please, teach us more Sire." Achlys said, none of their faces had left the ground.


    He didn''t know the first thing about being a teacher, especially because this was also his first time using Kaos, he wasn''t exactly an expert.


    "Where are the rest of you?" He asked the supposed leader.


    "U-unfortunately, they died in battle Sire." Achyls choked on his words, he had lost a friend.


    "I''m not staying, but I''ll do what I can while I figure out how to go back. Never let your men die again." Kiro certified his position with those words.


    Suddenly an incredible sadness washed over Kiro, he then noticed it was from Hubris. They had never exactly talked about leaving, it was a hot topic that both of them avoided.


    Since Hubris decided to take revenge it became a veryplicated topic. Hubris would stay, Kiro would leave. They knew it but they still chose to ignore it.


    Hearing it for the first time envoke feelings Hubris shouldn''t be feeling since he had just liberated his people.


    Kiro turned to Hubris with the most sincere smile he could muster, "don''t worry buddy, if I can leave, I can return. I''ll find a way, you know I will."


    Hubris nodded, feeling a little, only a little bit better. The hounds that were putting the soil on the dead were done, they walked back. With higher spirits than when they came.


    With newrades, making their new numbers around a several hundreds. They had decreased by a lot in number, but this was much preferred. They sang all the way, to the City of Halo.


    Nobody lost their lives at the lethe river as Kiro used his new power to freeze the waters. He would''ve preferred drying up the river but he was told no by more than one hound at the same time, so he obliged.


    It was a different wee than when he first entered the city walls. The guard was smiling like an idiot, he couldn''t believe the person he had talked to was the rightful heir. He praised his instincts for making the right call.


    "The rightful heir felled King Azazel. All hail Hubris Cerberuson, our rightful King. Our true King." Belial bellowed.

 Chapter 156: New Dawn, III

    The news of a new King travelled faster than the news that Azazel was not only defeated but he had died in battle. People were also gossiping about the disappearance of the castle on the hill. Nobody knew what happened, and Hubris refused to indulge them.


    There were way less people mourning and more people celebrating. The whole city was out on the streets, the festive mood wouldn''t die down for a couple of weeks. Jobs were tossed aside, more hounds travelled to Halo, to see with their own eyes the rightful heir.


    Halo City was widely known as the Rebel city. Not one being there was mourning the death of their dead king, mead was made in record time. As the celebrations continued. There was suddenly more meat than the city usually had.


    Young and old, it didn''t matter. Everyone was out of their houses, in celebration of their newfound liberation. The soldiers who went to war, were treated with much respect. They would no longer be looked at as normal citizens.


    "Man, these guys love their meat and alcohol." Kiro said taking a swig of his hell whiskey. He didn''t get to taste it thest time, he''d be damned if he missed it again.


    It tasted very smooth to the tongue, the chaos started when you swallowed and it reached your insides. The burning sensation wasn''t ufortable, but it burnt more than anything Kiro had ever eaten, and he loved spicy foods.


    The burning sensation came with a warmth he couldn''t exin. Since the Underworld had high temperatures already, it made his armpits itch.


    Hubris on the other hand had learned a terrible lesson, he wasn''t drinking. Only eating the meat. Besides, he didn''t trust that everyone here had good intentions, someone could take advantage of the chaos and try to assassinate his drunken self, again.


    He didn''t quite believe that everyone left didn''t have any lingering loyalty to Azazel. He wasn''t paranoid, just extra cautious. He promised to be a smarter King than his father, and a kinder King than his uncle.


    The people needed someone who was in-between, someone who had a firm hand but was also merciful. Of course mercy was only for lesser crimes, anything treasonous would require death without a second''s hesitation.


    "Hubris, you should drink a little,e on, you''re an ancient hound. Surely you can handle and hold it down?"


    Hubrisughed a little. His master absolutely out of it. He wasn''t sure if he''d be useful if anything happened. He had to be the sober one.


    They had originally been made a table of their own, but refused it to sit with the rest of the town. There wasn''t a table for them per se, they just sat in the streets, striking conversations,ughing. Doing everything happy people do.


    They have been through so much, they deserved this happiness. Hubris wished he could freeze the moment, so itsts forever.


    "Sire, the celebration has gone on long enough. Your coronation should be held soon, we are currently without a King." Belial whispered in his ear.


    "You don''t think they deserve a little bit more time? They''ve been through so much already. Let''s give them another day." Hubris told him, hiding the fact that, he himself wasn''t quite ready to lead a Kingdom.


    "At yourmand, Sire." Belial bowed, and was about to leave his side when Hubris gestured for him to sit.


    "I couldn''t, sit with you Sire? That''s, uneptable!"


    "Who decided what''s eptable and what''s not?"


    "The royal family Sire."


    "That''s right Belial, me, now sit."


    He took themand with a grain of salt and sat beside his future king. He didn''t say anything for a while, they just say there in silence, watching the festive happening.


    "What do you think?" Hubris finally broke the silence between them with the question.


    "About what Sire?" He asked confused.


    "The spectacle in front of you, what do you think of it?"


    "We''ve been oppressed for so long, especially in the Rebel City that it''s utterly strange seeing this. I know it''s a happy moment, I''m supposed to be happy, but we''ve been carrying heavy burdens for so long that I think we don''t even know what to do with joy.


    "We don''t know how to show it. We''ve been numbing ourselves with whiskey or mead for the pain we''ve suffered, that we don''t exactly know how to act when it''s coupled with alcohol."


    Hubris looked at him mesmerised, "you''re quite the depressing guy."


    experience-MVLeMpYr


    "Haha, I''m sorry Sire. It''s just the truth. If you see anyone acting awkward, don''t be too rmed, we''re just a people used to suffering, transitioning will take us some time."


    "You''re smart too, have you drank at all these past couple of days?"


    "I''m drunk as we speak, but as I said, we''re used to it, it doesn''t knock me out, like it did to Sire."


    Hubris smiled a little. He didn''t know it felt so good to be teased by someone who looks up to you, his master always pretended he didn''t like it, so he decided to do the same.


    "Quit teasing me!"


    Belial could tell his tone wasn''t hostile so he chuckled.


    He noticed that a lot of female hounds would pass by them, some would do it twice even three times. He looked at his Sire, who was oblivious to the obvious flirtatious behavior.


    He felt sorry for him, he had a big job to do, if he died now, his line would end with him. He had to fulfil the job of restoring his line. That would obviously need him to take a queen.


    But with how clueless he was, it would be difficult. He sighed deeply. He would have to be the guy to force it, he''d be his wingman, to make sure the royal line continued on.


    "Belial, you''re very smart." Hubris abruptly interrupted his train of thought.


    "You overestimate me a lot Sire, but I thank you very much for such a highpliment. Knowing you think highly of me, grants me great pleasure." He beamed.


    "You should be my advisor, what do you think?"


    His eyes almost fell out of his skull. He didn''t feel worthy, yet he couldn''t say anything. He didn''t want to refuse.


    "Yes," He said softly.

 Chapter 157: New Dawn, IV

    The celebrations finally ceased after several days, but the festive mood was still alive in the city. Races had travelled far to pay their respects so the city''s economy saw a huge rise. The day of the coronation had already been set.


    Hubris had decided they should build his ce within the city walls. It only made sense that he lived in a city that never lost hope that he was alive, a city that waited for his return and for his liberation.


    The city was busy with construction, the city wall was demolished to make the city much bigger than it was. To also make the new pce fit. Kiro and Hubris were given a temporary residence, they had all to themselves. It had a big yard. It was fenced by a great wall too.


    They even pleaded to change the name to Hubris. But refused, on the ount that, the name was ancient and his ancestors came up with it, so he wouldn''t feel good about changing it, they understood.


    Every city reverted back to their old names. It was only Halo that refused to be changed. It was the Rebel City after all. They''ve longed been proud of who they were, even if that meant being punished for it.


    "I''m going to the smithy, master." He shouted opening the gate.


    Kiro was busy training. He had a new ability he wasn''t used to, he never liked not being used to his own skills. So he was out in the yard, changing everything he could find, his astral body in Paradise was also doing the same.


    He figured that would be twice the training for him, meaning the experience he gained would be two times more. He heard Hubris but didn''t answer him.


    Hubris walked the streets, he could''ve used teleportation but he wanted to see the progress they''ve made so far and it extremely fast.


    His pce walls were already standing tall. The new city wall had already been done, and that was all in 3 days.


    "That''s too fast." He mumbled to himself.


    Everywhere he passed, he got a slight bow. He had to remind himself every time that, he would be their King, so he can''t bow back, a simple smile would suffice.


    He arrived at the smithy, who was already working on something. The knock at the door annoyed it him slightly, he grunted.


    Opening the door, he fell to his knees. He''d never imagined that a King would grace his small and dirty shop.


    "I''m so sorry for my impertinence, Sire."


    He invited him in. He stood by the door dumbly, he didn''t know what to do. Then ran around the shop, attempting to tidy it a bit but failing because the mess was too great.


    "It''s alright you can rx, I understand your line of work, I''m not someone who would visit someone''s abode and tell them how to run it."


    "Ha-ha." He gave a half-heartedugh, grinning from ear to ear. "You''ll be a great King." He blurted out.


    The being was a hellizard, stockier than his people who were usually lean. The smithy noticed Hubris'' gaze upon him, he was used to it by now. He moved to this city because nobody would care.


    "I''m a mixed race hellizard. That''s why I don''t look like my kin exactly." He exined without being asked. "People usually have a problem with that, I''m sorry."


    "It doesn''t matter, if you can do what I came here for, I''d even hire you as a royal cksmith."


    His eyes popped in surprise. He wasn''t someone who was given many chances in this world because they were prejudiced against those of mixed race.


    "I-I would be honoured Sire, I don''t know if I''m worthy."


    "First, continue to work on what you were working on. The steel will get cold, and as I was told, mining for these isn''t easy."


    He was surprised that he knew something so trivial. He never thought people of high status bothered with knowing such information about his profession. He was almost moved to tears as he grabbed his hammer and started.


    "I want you to create a statue of my father. It should be big, tall and majestic. He''s someone this Kingdom should revere and remember forever."


    He took out a piece of parchment with a drawn look-alike of his father from his memories. Using his new skill, Kiro was able to rummage through his memories and draw the picture. Hubris was amazed at how multi-talented his master was.


    "It''ll be ready in a day or two Sire." The cksmith answered looking at the drawing as he hammered, shaping the weapon he was making.


    "The coronation is in two days, so that would be perfect."


    "Thank you, thank you for trusting me with something such as this Sire." He thanked him as Hubris left.


    Every King had their own throne chair designed to their liking. He had tasked his people to find his father''s, he couldn''t remember what it looked like. Kiro also couldn''t find anything in his memories.


    They turned the whole kingdom upside down and still couldn''t find it. Even at the King''s vault it was not there. Hubris reckoned his uncle destroyed it, he couldn''t very well sit on a chair of someone he hated and murdered.


    "The vault should be moved within the city Sire, I can feel it my bones that there are still Azazel''s loyalists." Belial advised him.


    He nodded in agreement. The vault would, for the first time in history, be part of the pce. It was a new dawn, and Hubris wasn''t looking to run the Kingdom the same they had. Their ways failed, he wanted to try something else entirely.


    Days came and went and it was finally the day of Hubris'' coronation. Celebrations picked up from the ground once again. Construction across the city was done. The statue of his father also arrived, it was perfect.


    It was ceremoniously erected at the centre, the heart of Halo.


    Things from the vault would take days to transport. Since they were important artifacts, Achyls'' squad volunteered to escort them.


    The castle was made of a reddish purple stone. It towered over the buildings around it. In front of it were newly built houses for ce workers and soldiers.


    Hubris came out to the King hall''s balcony, he had to be seen by all. He only needed to sit on his throne and he''d be officially the King.


    Kiro was standing beside the throne like some kind of bodyguard. He was sensing everything with vibrations.


    The moment Hubris sat, cheers broke out. He was officially their king now. Each and everyone in the crowd bowed to him.


    "I''ll now introduce you to my advisor, Beliale here." His voice spoke over the cheers.


    Belial stood at the front awkwardly. He introduced his personal guard, which were the 60 beings that could use Kaos. He also introduced the royal army, the beings that went to war with him.


    "Now I''ll introduce you to the man who made all of this possible, my master, Kiro."


    His nameing from Hubris felt strange but was d nheless he knew his name. He stepped forward, and grinned.

 Chapter 158: The Power

    The ceremony was short and sweet, without any interruptions. Just like that, the city that was known as the Rebel City, the city that was looked down on by many, became the new capital of the Kingdom.


    Many races applied to move there, it had be much bigger than any city in the Underworld so it could amodate them. The many applicants causedll a mountain of paperwork to be done. Hubris shoved it all on Belial.


    Belial reminded him that, although he could investigate and screen each and every applicant, he stamp of approval still needed to be signed off by the King.


    With work being more than he could handle alone, Belial had already asked Hubris to allow his team to be part of his administration. Which he allowed, with a warning.


    "If they betray us, you''ll be in the hot seat."


    So Belial couldn''t just take anyone, with his own brother betraying them it was a difficult decision for him but he had no choice. The only people he trusted the most were within his group of friends, so he hired them for such minial tasks.


    Belial also advised Hubris to at least 5 soldiers in the pce. Against his advice and better judgement, Hubris refused. That''s why he built them houses outside the pce.


    The only person he trusted the most was Kiro, he also wanted to make the pce a home for himself not something that was riddled with work rted issues.


    Hubris was walking around the pce, he needed to know every inch of it. They even built a secret tunnel for when there''s a rebellion and the King needed to be escorted to safety.


    "Ha, useless." Hubris scoffed.


    If there was a rebellion he wouldn''t run, he would squash it before it even reached the capital. He noticed Kiro up ahead, doing the same exact thing he was doing.


    "Master, where have you been? I haven''t seen you in days. I was about to ask my personal guard to go find you."


    "Around." He smirked. "This castle is huge, I can''t believe they built it within a week. Hiro would have a tightpetition here."


    "Sir Hiro is definitely more talented, there''s nothing he can''t do. I don''t reckon I''ll need more potions, but I do think I need to keep some, incase." He said, hoping to know what was on his master''s mind.


    Kiro didn''t say anything. His mind was hot, thinking of everything at once. His main priority now, was going back. He was still trying to decipher the crystals information, as his mind was much slower.


    "Master, what will happen when you go back? With Kaos and all, will you not be able to use it anymore?"


    "That would be a serious downgrade, I''m used to this chaotic energy now. Magic is good, but it''s not better than this. I have reality warping after all, I''ll figure something out." He shrugged.


    They were outside now, walking in the garden.


    "Hubris, you should learn Kaos. Imagine an ancient beast with Kaos, that would be something."


    "But I already have magic?"


    "Sure. But who said you can''t learn another energy ontop of that one?"


    "That''s, a really good point."


    He grinned, "well of course it is, I''m smarter than you sometimes."


    Hubris chuckled at howpetitive his master was, "so then, when do we start?"


    "How about now, let''s go the courtyard, the sooner, the better."


    Hubris was sitting in the courtyard, eyes closed shut. As instructed by Kiro.


    "Now, you have to find the Kaos in the atmosphere, concentrate like your life depends on it. It''s subtle but it''s there, it''s just waiting for you to find it."


    He exined the best he could. Of course he could do what he did then and inject it, but he wanted to see if Hubris could find it on his own first.


    Just then, Achyls entered the courtyard and bowed. "Sire, we''ve been hunting for the past days as instructed. Hunting spectres wasn''t easy, but it sharpened our senses. I''m happy to report that 5 of us were sessful."


    "Great, those 5 will be leaders of their own squads. Each squad will have it''s own speciality, I''m busy with your King right now, I''ll contact youter."


    "Sire!" With that he left.


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    Hubris was so concentrated he didn''t even hear the disturbance. He could actually see particles and everything else in the air, but no Kaos. It was as if it were ying hide and seek with him, and it was hidden very well.


    He kept removingyers of where it may be hiding but he still couldn''t feel it. He persisted, he didn''t want to fail this one, as it may be thest mission Kiro ever gives him.


    He sat there for days and Kiro didn''t interrupt him, he had information he still needed deciphering so he was doing his own kind of training while Hubris was still trying toplete this mission.


    He didn''t understand why it was so hard for them, they were residents of this world and the energy was everywhere here. While it took him months to finally subdue it, it didn''t take him this long to feel the energy.


    ''Wait, Jump? The information I have been trying to get to was just, jump? What a useless ability this is. If I want to jump I can just use whirlwind or my staff!'' He shouted internally.


    He noticed a character he wasn''t used to next to the familiar word jump he didn''t know what it meant so he moved on to the next piece of information, he hoped this was better than thest.


    It took him just as long to understand what the next piece said. He was excited for this one, it was clear as day. It read that, he could maintain a metaphysical rtionship with realms he had visited.


    "Now you''re talking crystal! That''s the kind of power you be giving me!" He yelled out loud in his excitement.


    He quickly shushed himself and looked over at Hubris, he was glowing with a reddish colour.

 Chapter 159: The Power, II

    "Oh, he''s done it. The real work begins now Hubris." He whispered looking at him proudly.


    He didn''t need to hear him to know that. He understood very well the difficulties of trying to harness and subdue Kaos. It was fighting him more than it had fought against Kiro or the others.


    It was as if, it were out to get him specifically. While Kiro just had his mental eaten, Hubris was also experiencing hallucinations. Making everything more real and harder to handle.


    It knew his weaknesses as if it were a living supreme being and it used that to get his mind to copsepletely.


    "I''ll leave you because you have been a terrible mount Hubris. You have been dragging me down since we met. I''ve been trying to find an excuse to leave you behind forever." A hallucinated Kiro said.


    It spewed all sorts of terrible things that would create a dent on Hubris'' pride. It was hard hearing all these things, especially when they wereing from someone who he admired the most.


    But he wouldn''t be an ancient beast if he sumbed to such taunts. It wasn''t easy, but he knew that, those were just words of self doubt. He was the one doubting himself, not his master.


    He''d be lying if he said it didn''t get to him, it did, but not enough for him to be swallowedpletely by Kaos. He kept it just at bay, a safe enough distance away from his mental.


    Even his father appeared. Telling him how ashamed he was, that he was his son. That he was a mass murderer, who killed his own kin just to get the throne.


    ''How ruthless.'' Hemented.


    He knew he did what needed to be done. At the end, he did give them an ultimatum, which they refused. There was nothing he could''ve done, he couldn''t force them to be loyal to him, not in a hundred years.


    Training in the world Kiro created helped him too. The Crystal also helped fortify his mental. He didn''t think he''d make it on his own without these power boosts. He didn''t know that his experience was different, but hemanded his master who was able to make the Kaos his without these power ups.


    Little by little, the energy was seeping through his body. It first tried to devour magic, but when it realised that, the magic wasn''t even fighting back, it stopped and considered it a boring endeavour.


    A yin and yang circle created itself at the pits of Hubris'' stomach. One side was light blue with magic, the other was reddish with Kaos. The energy finally settled down, he was only absorbing it in his body now.


    He understood why he had a different container, and not pathways like the rest. He had 2 energies after all, he couldn''t wait to try them out. But he was heavily reminded of his King duties, he couldn''t very well go out just to hunt monsters like he did with his master.


    But he wouldn''t let that deter him, he''d eventually find a way, an excuse to do what he loved the most, hunting. If he had to, he''d make it an Underworld sport.


    The Kaos side of his core was full. He opened his eyes slightly to his master jumping around.


    "What are you doing?"


    "Huh?" He turned while in the air, which distracted him seeing Hubris'' eyes glinting with a crimson colour.


    He used whirlwind to cushion his fall. "Don''t scare me like that!"


    "Well, you were doing something strange, trying to catch the sun?" He mocked trying to get up but because he had been sitting for weeks his limbs failed him.


    "Something like that." He answered embarrassed. He was just trying to see how far he can jump with the skill but it was much moreplicated than he anticipated.


    "I did it master, I did it, it was extremely hard. It''s amazing how you were able to do it all on your own without power ups." He looked at him with eyes of admiration.


    Kiro''s ego was stroked by thisment. He swelled his shoulders, "well, I''m your master after all."


    During Hubris'' training, Kiro had already met up with Achyls''rades. Observed their different powers with the help of the spectres and grouped them ordingly.


    Some spectres joined the squads too. More of them joined the Intel squad, that''s what they excelled at anyway.


    Some refused to, they didn''t want to be a stereotype, so they went to other squads that offer them a challenge, Kiro didn''t stop their ambition. Some assassins, some shadows that protected the King from his shadow, some soldiers that the people would usually see.


    Three of them didn''t think they were suited to be in such squads so Kiro temporarily took them under his wing. The three were Ren, Gin and V. It was hard but he managed to name them all.


    Hubris finally managed to get off the stone floor. He felt an overwhelming surge of energy sweep over him but he stood his ground. The core had sessfully created itself, he didn''t even mean to create it.


    But both the energies were in harmony, they were opposites but they behaved well within his body. He wondered how it would work. So he made himself incorporeal, the change was more smooth. It didn''t feel like a skill he had to activate but just an extension of his self.


    The energy gave off a violet-like colour, with the amount of docile and violent bnced. Surprisingly the energies worked together, that meant Hubris would have a long way before his magic waspletely depleted.


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    "Master, thank you! If it were not for you, I seriously wouldn''t have considered learning Kaos."


    "I know better after all, I can see your situation is a little different. I don''t see pathways."


    "Ah yes, I''m using both magic and kaos, I reckon the energies decided on something that would make them separated."


    "Makes sense."


    Just then, a hound appeared out of thin air,ing out of Hubris'' shadow.


    "Sire, a leader from another Kingdom hase." He informed him like it was the most general thing to know.


    "There are other Kingdoms?"

 Chapter 160: Guests From Afar

    "Ah, yes Sire, there are three including our own." The informant was confused at how his King wouldn''t know something so trivial.


    "Nobody told me this!"


    That was entirely his fault. He ditched his own work, didn''t bother to learn about the world he was part of. He figured he''d have all his life to do that, he didn''t know that, the world he refused to be acquainted with woulde knocking so soon.


    He tried to look through his scattered memories but didn''t find anything. He was probably too young for his father to tell him about the politics of their world, so he understood a little.


    "Where is this leader, and what kingdom are they from, do we even have a name for our kingdom?" He was besides himself, he couldn''t contain himself from asking many questions at once.


    "The King of Ichor kingdom is just outside your castle, your highness. We can''t let him enter without your permission. Our Kingdom is called Abaddon." The shadow said in one breath.


    "Abaddon? That''s kind ofme." Kiromented, inserting himself in he conversation. "What does he want?" He was kind of mad hisst days with Hubris were being robbed by one thing or another.


    "That... Sire... I don''t know, he couldn''t say, he needed to speak with the King, he said."


    "Let him in the meeting hall then, I''m sure a King hase here with his entourage. I don''t want beings I don''t know in my King''s hall."


    "As youmand." He disappeared where he had been kneeling.


    "Official business is starting, your highness." Kiro said teasingly.


    "It''s a shame, I didn''t think this King business would be this much of a hassle." He sighed deeply. "Please be there master, I beg you."


    "Sure, sure, no need to beg. I''ll only be there to certify the power of Abaddon. A subtle threat for them to not try anything."


    They left the courtyard for the meeting hall. Hubris instructed his shadows to tell Belial to ensure he was present during the talks. He needed someone who knew the world they lived in after all.


    "Shouldn''t we make them wait, just to test where their mental is at?" Kiro questioned.


    "That''s a dangerous game master."


    "But we can take them, I can feel them through vibrations, they''re nothing special." He shrugged.


    So they took a detour and checked out the city. It was more brighter than when they first saw it. The city was lit, since it was no longer under its discrimination era. The young ran around the streets, ying all sorts of games.


    It was a beautiful sight of peace. Businesses had skyrocketed in profits, as tourists kept pouring in, every single day. Whether to see how the city has changed, or the now popr tourist attraction that was Cerberus'' statue.


    In just a couple of weeks, there were already theories that if youe to the statue and pray, your luck will be greater than the heavens themselves. So it wasn''t strange that people came especially for this one thing.


    "Look at what you''ve created Hubris, don''t for a second doubt whether or not you''ve made the right choice." Kiro told him proudly.


    "We, master. The peace we created." Hubris corrected him once again.


    "Ah right, I yed my part but don''t forget that I wouldn''t have lifted a finger if you didn''t want to fight for them."


    "Thank you, master."


    Like the first day they came here, they went from shop to shop, from stall to stall, trying all sorts of foods. Only this time, Kiro was also eating, he had gotten used to their delicacies and he thought they were absolutely delicious.


    content-source-MVLeMpYr


    Instead of hell whiskey they decided to go for something weaker. That was mead. Instead of the smoothness of the whiskey, it tasted rough and bitter. Clearly something that''s made quickly without much care.


    Originally when they entered the pub, the owner told them he would close down his establishment so they could eat and drink in peace, away from prying eyes. But they refused his kind gesture. They wouldn''t feel good about robbing him off his profits.


    At first, the people were scared to even drink at the same room as their King but as alcohol burned though their bodies the difort waned. But they still acted in a respectful way, nobody started fights for no reason, it was just a good time all round.


    They drank away the day andpletely forgot that this was just a detour. They were having too much fun at the market and pub, maybe it was because, deep down they knew they will go their separate ways, sooner rather thanter.


    So spending time together was every bit of a priority as any King''s business in Hubris'' eyes.


    They both liked that mead didn''t have a much stronger kick. So even though they drank for hours, they were just slightly drunk.


    Hubris had instructed his shadows to not follow him, so nobody in the castle knew where they were.


    Though that didn''tst very long as Belial burst through the pub''s door. He looked around and his eyes locked on the corner table, the didn''t even notice, they were just chatting,ughing, having a good time.


    Anybody could tell how angry Belial was, but he still kept his respectful demeanor. It was his King after all that was misbehaving, not a teenage son.


    "Your highness, what are you doing? We have important guests at the pce!" He said with the most respectful tone he could muster in his very angry state.


    They both looked up and simply smiled, then they went back to their conversation.


    "Your highness! The King of Ichor is waitinge on, let''s go." He gestured to the door.


    "Ah yes, we have guests. Come Belial, sit down, for a little bit. I promise we will go right away."


    Belial couldn''t very well refuse his King, so he took the seat, besides Kiro. He wouldn''t dare sit side by side with his King.


    That''s thest thing he remembers, when he woke up the next day, he had a splitting headache and was safe in his bed.

 Chapter 161: Guests From Afar, II

    He tried to remember how it got to be like this but there was nothing he could recall. Absolutely nothing came to him.


    "Ahhh, am I allowed to kill my own King? I''ve been tricked!!!"


    He got out of bed faster and headed to the castle. Luckily he didn''t have to walk too far as their housing was pretty close. They let him in at the gate.


    Right away, he saw Kiro and Hubris on their way to the meeting hall. The guests hadn''t met Belial yet, so they''d use him as an excuse of why they couldn''t make it yesterday.


    "Your highness!!!" He shouted when he reached them.


    "Hush, your head will split even further if you make any noise. My poor advisor has been sick for the past 3 days, you should be in bed or something." Hubrismented, trying to convince himself.


    ''Huh? What is he talking about?'' When he looked to his left, he saw the guests waiting to enter the hall with them.


    "Ah, yes your highness, I feel a bit better today." He said catching on.


    Seeing that Belial was in on it, he turned to his master. "By the way master, don''t you want some shoes? Isn''t it strange walking barefoot?"


    "You''re walking barefoot."


    "That''s because I''m a hound?"


    "Hound, Dreki, what''s the difference."


    Belial chuckled and whispered, "loads."


    Kiro shot him a look that said, ''I heard that!''


    Belial ran forwards to open the door for the guests. They entered first, Hubris entered and offered Kiro the leader''s seat which made Kiro look at him like an idiot.


    "Hubris, you can''t shove your leader duties to me, I''ll sit besides you though." He whispered.


    Hubris gave a disappointed sigh. This would be his first meeting as King, he didn''t know how well he''d do. He didn''t even know he''d do well.


    The King of Ichor Kingdom sat on the left side with his people. Hubris'' sat at the leader''s chair, while his people sat on the right. His people being Kiro and Belial.


    The guests were humanoid. They had very pale skin, with red glowing eyes. They all had the darkest hair Kiro had ever seen, which was probably why their paleness was so out there.


    They looked elegant with their ck suits, ck shirts and red ties. None of them had any muscles, they were very thin. Which reminded Kiro of his poverty days.


    They sat in silence, Hubris waited for them to introduce themselves. He wasn''t quite sure what they were waiting for, as he already saw this as a waste of time.


    "Ah, sorry for yesterday. I was quite sick you see, it was also abrupt, I thought I was better but I was wrong." Belial broke the silence.


    "Then, why weren''t we told? We waited here for several hours. This isn''t how esteemed guests should be treated." The one who said this wasn''t the one who was clearly their leader.


    Kiro scoffed, which caused every pair of eyes to fall upon him and then he broke into fits ofughter.


    "Sorry, sorry. I''m just, what you said is quite funny." He said still grinning.


    "What''s particrly funny about disrespecting the Kingdom of Ichor?"


    "I don''t know, the fact that you dropped at our gates unannounced? You expect the King of Abaddon to drop everything he was doing just to amodate guests that arrived here without prior notice?


    "Belial, if you''re going to be my mounts advisor, you better not make him apologise for things that aren''t his fault.


    "You should be thankful you were received a dayter."


    "But the previous¡ª"


    "The previous King is dead, this isn''t the previous King. If you had some kind of deal with Azazel, that doesn''t hold with Hubris here. If you hope to continue a rtionship with Abaddon then show some respect." He finished exasperated.


    The King of Ichor saw that his underling was about to retorted so he held up his hand which quieted him.


    "You''re correct, in our hurry, with the news, we didn''t do the current King the courtesy asking to be invited. For that, I deeply apologise." He slightly bowed to Hubris, his underlings followed suit.


    "Tsk." Kiro eximed, calming down a bit.


    "I''m King Aenon of the Ichor Kingdom, our kingdom is a depleting one. We are a race of vampires, we have a treaty with Abaddon, rather, we had." He finished their introduction.


    "I''m the rightful heir, the son of Cerberus, King Hubris. I came back here to liberate my people and that''s what I did."


    Kiro was still on the fact that they were vampires. "Howe the sun doesn''t hurt you?" He asked confused.


    "Hurt us? We feed from the sun."


    "Huh? What about blood?"


    "Thats part of our diet too."


    Hubris gave him a nudge. He saw that he was about to ask yet another prying question. Like a child who''s been refused a candy bar, he deted on his chair.


    "It''s a pleasure to finally meet the offspring of Cerberus. He was a great King." Aenonmented. MVLeMpYr-novel-source


    "He was. Knowing my uncle, he didn''t just agree to the treaty, what did he have you do for him or what trade deals did you strike with him?"


    Aenon looked a bit ashamed, but he wanted to be honest. It was not secret after all. "We used to punish hounds that were out of line by his standards. Hell whiskey is also a product of our Kingdom."


    Hubris and Kiro smiled. Hubris didn''t want to dwell in the past, these guys did what they had to survive his uncle after all.


    "Then, in return, what did this Kingdom offer you?"


    "Premium meat, silverware and even these suits. Also protection from our enemies."


    "I know it was for survival, but my people cannot just forgive, incentive should be on the table for your crimes." Hubris informed them.


    Aenon wore a thinking face. He wasn''t particrly weak, but seeing the two in front of him, he knew he didn''t have a chance. Ontop of that, they gave out the same familiar energy as the sun.


    "We have plenty of mines in our Kingdom, how about we gift you three? Of course the mining will be done by us and we will send you the resources." He suggested.


    "That doesn''t sound too bad, it''s a dilemma, I don''t think I trust you guys yet." Hubris pondered, they could halve the resources before sending them.


    "My Kingdom''s science department¡ª"


    "Sire! No! You can''t!" His advisor tried to shut him up. But the King shook his head.


    "They are on the verge of technological a breakthrough, they''re creating doorways that will transport you anywhere in the Underworld within seconds. When they achieve sess, Abaddon will be the second Kingdom to have them installed, the first one will be free."


    "Okay, when that happens, we will mine our own resources."


    "That''s not a problem!" Aenon said, excitement in his voice couldn''t be filtered out.


    "Then let''s go drink, to the new friendship!"

 Chapter 162: At A Dingy Pub

    Everyone they passed on the streets had the same looks of skepticism, they knew very well who was walking with their King. As previously known as the Rebel city, they received the most punishments from the beings that walked in their city like they had no prior crimes.


    But they trusted Hubris and Kiro, the two who went to battle for them, couldn''t possibly collude with the Ichor Kingdom to resume the punishments. They''d probably make them pay for their past deeds instead.


    Kile, Aenon''s advisor, looked at the establishment with much contempt. It hadn''t been renovated, so it was still the old, small dingy pub.


    "This is part of its charm." Kiromented with a wide smile, seeing the expression on his face.


    His expression quickly turned into an awkward smile. He involuntarily reacted, they were beings who admired beautifully built buildings. Especially those in pristine conditions. Compared to theirs, this city was on the dirty side. But they weren''t here to judge.


    "Of course!" He answered still smiling awkwardly.


    They sat at the same table, it was the only table that wasn''t taken. Seemingly people have now reserved it for Hubris.


    The owner set their table with the usual, it was as if they were regrs there now.


    "Excuse me," Aenon called out to the owner. "Do you have bloody whiskey here?"


    "Of course sir we do,ing right up." He answered in a forced respectful tone.


    "They do not like your kind here at all." Kiromented,ughing at the situation.


    "It''s... well, understandable."


    Aenon was a bit ashamed of their past deeds. But because they didn''t want their kingdom to perish, they did what they could.


    "You mentioned that your kingdom was on a decline, why is that? Can''t you just sink your fangs on other beings and create more of you?"


    They all looked at Kiro with bewilderment, they were both shocked and disgusted by his creativity. They didn''t like that he thought they. would be created, like products in a factory. On the other side, Kiro was just acting on the information he knew about vampires in his world, nothing else.


    "I''m sorry to say, but that''s idiotic, how can we procreate by biting other beings?" Kile chimed in.


    Kiro didn''t really like this twig of skin and bones. He reminded him of Isaac, though Isaac''s arrogance was tant, this one''s was subtle. Which he thought was way worse.


    "Speak to me like that again, and your head will be detached from your body." Kiro said, pointing Ryu for his neck.


    Aenon hit his advisor at the back of his head and smiled apologetically at Kiro.


    "That''s not how we procreate. To make matters worse, it''s hundred times more difficult for uspared to those in other kingdoms. There hasn''t been a birth in a hundred years."


    Kiro nodded in understanding. He decided to keep his mouth shut about all the misconceptions he had about vampires. Clearly those from hell were very different from the ones he had fought in Asgard.


    The table was filled with meat, both grilled and raw. Kiro watched as they poured a bit of blood on their already raw meat and almost gagged.


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    "You guys just wander around with blood in your pockets? Not weird at all." He mumbled to himself.


    "Right, there are other kingdoms, could you tell us about them?" Hubris interrupted his master''s mumbles.


    "There''s only 3 known Kingdoms in the Underworld. The biggest, which is Abaddon, the most treacherous which is Kanine, and ours Ichor.


    "Kanine has every bit of bad beings living within it. Werewolves, Kobolds, Gnolls, you name it. They are always attempting to expand theirnds. So naturally, they''re Ichor''s enemies. That''s why we can''t do without an alliance with Abaddon."


    Aenon took a bite of his bloody meat, and drank some bloody whisky like he were some noble. Taking a breather from all the talking, others were doing the same, not talking just listening to the history lesson.


    "Our Kingdoms are close together, but it still took us several days to reach Abaddon. That''s why we decided to create something that was instant transportation.


    "Anyway, our 3 kingdoms didn''t get along in the past. Until your father brokered peace between us, that''s also when our first treaty happened, but the king of Kanine was too proud. While he ceased attacks, he wouldn''t join any alliances. Though after your father''s demise, he started moving, asionally.


    "We''re also surrounded by vastnds, of course it''d be pompous to think we''re the only ones around. Thosends haven''t been ventured into, so we have no idea what lies ahead."


    Kiro and Hubris were the only ones who didn''t know this information at their table. Others were bored out of their minds listening to something they''d been taught since the young age.


    "Why haven''t you guys ventured outside your kingdoms?" Kiro asked.


    "We nned to, when the doorway technology was finished, but of course the new King isn''t obligated to take up the promise of the old one."


    Hubris didn''t say anything right away. He chewed on those words, going further than they were was unknown territory, so they could only assume it was dangerous.


    But this was also the opportunity he wanted, exploring dangerous trenches to test his newfound power.


    "I hear that, I think we should continue the ns to explore outside of our Kingdoms." He said, trying to contain his excitement.


    He may have been able to hide it from those sitting at the table, but Kiro could feel it. He''d never felt such hunger and desireing from Hubris. He was stung by jealously.


    He''d like more than anything to go and explore with them, but he had to think of his home, his body. He didn''t know how long the time out there had passed, he couldn''t really risk it as much as he liked it here, he had to find a way to go back.


    He had a nagging feeling that, the jump skill wasn''t as useless as he thought. He had started to think, maybe, just maybe it was his ticket to going back. He was still envious nheless.


    He promised himself then, that, if he found a way to go back and forth. The Underworld would mostly be where he came to get stronger.


    "That''s great to hear King Hubris, we''re truly grateful that you didn''t decide to terminate our alliance, I hope we continue to work together without any obstacles."


    They toasted to that. They drank until the early mornings. Belial was already passed out, going at it two nights in a row wasn''t something he was quite used to. He was tired more than anything.


    King Hubris'' first official business was a great sess.

 Chapter 163: Asgard Again

    Several dayster, after signing new terms of the treaty, which Hubris made sure the citizens were witnesses of, the guests left the kingdom.


    Hubris didn''t want the citizens to be in the dark about decisions that affected them as a kingdom. That''s why he wanted to include them, to make sure there weren''t anyints and diforts.


    Fortunately there weren''t any. They were especially happy about the fact that the vampires offered reparations for their past atrocious deeds. They were truly happy that their King had thought of this before hand.


    Just like that, the kingdom went back to its new normal. Hubris was busy stamping papers, approving and rejecting citizens that applied to live at the capital. It was a long and tedious process.


    He had once again tried to shove it all on Belial, but he got an earful instead. About the importance of overlooking his kingdom himself so he knew what was happening. So he caught any corruption before it even rots the peace he has created.


    It was brave but good advice which Hubris took with a grain of salt. The consequences of his revenge were these, he didn''t think they were too bad, but he did think the paperwork was beneath him.


    Kiro on the other hand was entirely focused on getting back home. He had done about a thousand jumps after days, it still hadn''t activated.


    Heid on the stone floor, about ready to give up. He didn''t know what jump could mean otherwise, the crystal had done a terrible job exining.


    "Thought this information was supposed to be straightforward." Heined.


    "Master, what are you doing lying on the floor like that? Know, I could''ve used your help approving citizens for our capital." His face was way too close to Kiro''s as he looked down at his master.


    Kiro didn''t open his eyes, he instead let his arm rest on them, "I know we don''t want to think about it, but I have to go home Hubris."


    "Or, you could stay?" Hubris said jokingly.


    "I can''t..." He didn''t know how to exin it to him, that he was just a code developers created to entertain humans.


    Though to Kiro he was much more than that. The bond they had created was as real to him as friend Hiro back in the real world. He figured even if he''d exin it to him, he wouldn''t understand. Coded characters only have knowledge about what they were coded for.


    Hubris'' was probably to die at that cave, or survive ande back to im the throne.


    "I know master, Hiro would definitely still need you by his side. I wish you could stay, but I know you can''t. Let''s just hope you can find a way, an easier way to go back and forth. Or even me, I''ll miss hunting with you."


    "Stupid hound, you''re tryna make my eyes sweat?" Kiro didn''t like that he was kind of a sentimental guy, so he held down every emotion that was attempting to reach the surface.


    Hubris lightly chuckled. Even though he seeded in making his face expressionless, he tried to shove down the emotions, they still managed to leak onto Hubris. He knew exactly how much it hurt his master to leave him behind, he knew what he meant to him. That was enough for him.


    Kiro unstrapped Ryu from his back, and went straight for Hubris. He dodged him using teleportation.


    "That''s a nasty skill!" He spat.


    "You have one too!" He wasn''t angry at the sudden attack, he understood immediately what he was trying to do.


    "I just move fast, I don''t teleport." He caught Hubris as he was about to, and made the ground he stood on mushy.


    He fell, but he wasn''t going to fall alone. He used gravity to tten his master to the ground.


    "Hubris, that was too mean!" He said, his nose still touching the ground.


    "We''re sparring aren''t we, expect the unexpected." He answered letting him loose.


    He didn''t even see him get up but he was already in front of him with a palm strike. Hubris used gravity to make his body lighter he floated into the air, barely dodging Kiro''s dangerous strike.


    Kiro used whirlwind to get up there, he was weed by a barrage of hell fire balls, which he managed to dodge. Some he sent back to where they came, using Ryu.


    Hubris used intangibility to ensure his own attacks went through him instead. He was quicker and he appeared in front of Kiro, still mid-air. His ws were out, ready to slice his stomach into several pieces but it was blocked by Ryu.


    Kiro smirked, "Seems like we fight evenly now."


    "I can just do this." He increased gravity that caused Kiro to fall from where they were, he was nted once again on the floor.


    "Is that right?" He said through gritted teeth.


    He was now using vibrations to shift the very particles that were in the atmosphere. With not so much as a thought, he started, little by little breaking through Hubris'' gravity, making it weaker.


    Hubris didn''t attack him, he wanted to see how this would end. Kiro started by lifting his head, then his body, followed by legs. He stood there at a gravity that would have been impossible for anyone else.


    Just then his body itself started vibrating, at incredible speeds. He looked at his hands, they looked translucent.


    "What the f*ck, Hubris what the hell is happening?"


    "I-I think you''re jumping."


    "So, this is how it works, goodbye buddy, I''lle¡ª"


    Whoosh¡ª


    He was gone. He disappeared right in front of him. It still felt surreal, just a second ago they were roughhousing, now he was gone. He didn''t even know when he''d see him again.


    "Goodbye, master."


    Kiro on the other side, his travel took but a blink of an eye. He suddenly saw himself in an environment that was both familiar and unfamiliar. He had been gone for so long, he barely recognised Sun''s Mountain.


    [the beetle queen. Your rewards are being calcted, please be patient. You''ve been rewarded 500k coins.]


    "What? The beetle queen? That was months ago. Wait, No time has passed?" MVLeMpYr-content

 Chapter 164: Amazing Stats

    He looked around and sure enough, the queen''s body was syed on the ground it hadn''t shrivelled up, it was still a bit warm. He passively used vibrations to sense that.


    "Wait wait, huh?"


    None of it made sense. He''d understand if maybe half the time had passed, but none at all? It was very strange.


    Then he remembered the feeling of jumping. It was absolutely horrendous, as if his body was being assembled and disassembled with the highest pain intolerance in the entire universe.


    "Haha let''s avoid jumping if we can."


    He suddenly felt light headed, which made him take a sitting position. He could feel his energy had been sucked dry. He had a look of panic on his face when he realised he couldn''t  absorb the game''s magic.


    As if to calm him down, Kaos started entering his pathways. He sighed deeply andid on the dirty ground. Thanking Wukong for blessing him with the crystal, his character would surely be erased without magic. But Kaos was keeping it alive.


    "System, you son of a b*tch where have you been?"


    [...]


    "Tsk." He didn''t have the energy to argue so he just let it be.


    This was now a mystery for him, if he wasn''t exactly in a game, then what was the Underworld. Were there realms like it, would he have died for real if he died down there? This was a question he wouldn''t even experiment on to find out.


    Maybe he could catch Isaac and drag him to sun''s mountain, drop him in there and wait for the results.


    "Maybe." He quite like that idea.


    "Oh, is this why it''s called Sun''s Mountain? Sun Wukong? Wow, that took me way too long to connect the dots."


    He waited on the ground, while thinking about random things. Absorbing Kaos across realms was extremely hard and difficult, it was a slow process. He reckoned it''d get better when he gets better at his reality warping skill.


    Just then, he was attacked by a gust of famir wind. It didn''t threaten to cut him to pieces or anything, but it felt like some kind of greeting.


    "Ren! Gin! V! What the hell? How?"


    When they noticed he was disappearing, they piggybacked off him, not thinking it''d actually work but fortunately they crossed over along with him. V almost lost an arm because of the heavy load he was carrying, but he managed to squeeze it through.


    "Oh, oh, this is amazing. That means I could take things from there. I should''ve taken Hubris. Who am I kidding, he''s too big and powerful, I''d probably manage just his tail the way I am."


    He was so excited, he was saying everything at once. He had many goals, and he added this one to the long list of them. Unlocking more stages for reality warping, so that he can act as a doorway for Asgard and the Underworld.


    "Man, you guys still can''t speak? That''s a bummer."


    Ding!


    [Warning, you have been cursed¡ª]


    "Cursed? By what?" He said getting up and looking around, taking a fighting stance.


    [Ghosts, you have ghosts lingering around you.]


    Kiro rolled his eyes. It was his turn to ignore the system. After months of not having it constantly barking in his mind, he wasn''t sure he needed it. He survived the treacherous Underworld without it''s guidance after all.


    His energy was only half way through after hours absorbing it.


    "Okay guys, I''ll attempt to tame you don''t fight it, this just means we can work together more efficiently."


    They all understood what he meant. So when the energy entered they bodies attempting to subdue them, they willingly epted.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, you''ve turned your curses into your little army. You''ve tamed 3 ghosts¡ª]


    "They''re called spectres and their names are Ren, Gin and V." He cut the system short before it asked for him to name them.


    "Okay my beautiful spies, your first mock mission is gathering information about this mountain and the monsters that live in it. Come back here within 2 hours." Kiro didn''t waste any time, he had to train them so they were perfect.


    They also didn''t waste time, as they left before Kiro could even breathe after saying hisst word. Clearly they wanted to prove their worth, especially the clumsy Ren.


    The taming had taken a big chunk of energy from his pool. He saw himself back to square one once again, he sighed and sat down.


    He was surprised that the time dtion wasn''t messing his head or body up. But he was grateful nheless, he spent months training over there, only for the time to have stood still around asgard, it was a win.


    Even though no time had passed, to him, mentally he hadn''t seen his friends in months. It was the only thing he held onto that made him rule out the fact that the Underworld might have been simply a hallucination.


    Even then, he didn''t think he had such an imagination to make up everything that happened down there.


    Ding!


    [Your reward level calction is done. Congrattions on receiving 20 levels, job well done Guardian.]


    He remembered that there such things, levels and character sheets, something he was without for a very long time. He brought it up and was amazed by what he saw.


    Name: Kiro


    Level 90


    Race: High Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: Beast Tamer


    HP: 30 000/30 000


    ??? : infinite


    Attack: 7000


    PDEF: 10000


    Strength: 300


    Vitality: 300


    Dexterity: 360


    Stamina: 350


    Intelligence: 300


    Constitution: 500


    Wealth: 500 million coins


    Equipment: Ancient Sun''s Robe, Legendary Staff Ryu.


    Mount: Hubris the Hellhound


    Skills


    Vibrations (AOE Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 5?? per second, no cooldown.


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 10?? per second.


    Martial Arts (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    Chi (Ranked A, can''t evolve)


    Bending Kick (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Regeneration (Ranked S, cannot evolve)


    The skill regenerates 100 HP and ?? per second


    Whirlwind (Ranked A, can evolve) find-more-stories-on-MVLeMpYr


    Uses 100 ?? per second. No cool down.


    Meditation (Ranked D, can evolve)


    Lightning Maniption (A ranked, can''t evolve)


    Uses 100 ?? per second. 1 minute cool down.


    Reality Warping (Ranked ??, can evolve)


    132 AP


    44 SP


    Kiro rubbed his eyes to make sure he saw that right. There was just no way, everything about the game was confusing.


    "Hubris? He''s still listed as my mount? How? Is the Underworld part of Asgard or not?"

 Chapter 165: The Warmth Beyond

    He vaguely noticed so many question marks in ces of mana. He reckoned it wasn''t coded in the system to know some things. He smirked at the fact that, there were things he knew, the system didn''t.


    It wasn''t all knowing after all. Back then, it was even able to tell what was on his mind, now he was perfectly capable of blocking it out. It couldn''t prate his defenses at all. And most of all, that didn''t seem to break the game, it didn''t even seem to have noticed the anomaly.


    "System, can I rename the things you''ve question marked?"


    Ding!


    [Maybe the queen gave a few hits too many to the head guardian, there are no question marked items.]


    The system had always been kind of useless he didn''t readily expect for it to be suddenly useful. He was still half-expecting. He still double checked just to be sure he didn''t imagine them. Sure enough, they were there.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on going above level 50 and unlocking the wealth stat. It keeps your wealth safer, depending on how much experience you lose after dying, your wealth may stay intact. It''s not full proof, so don''t go dying on purpose.]


    "Huh? Wealth stat? There was something like that in the past? I don''t quite remember." He took a closer look.


    In his hurry, he looked over everything else andnded directly on the fact that Hubris was still listed as his mount, meaning one way or another Asgard and the Underworld were connected. After seeing his mount nothing else really mattered.


    He took a closer look at his stats this time, he could see how strong he had be. He couldn''t believe the system was so weak that it thought his kaos energy was infinite. If it were he wouldn''t be sitting here right now.


    "I''ve gotten quite strong. Ancient robe? Holy sh*t! The monkey King strikes again!" He proimed looking at the heavens, excitedly.


    With each and every stat he looked at, it surprised him greatly. He was even level 90, no one could hope to catch up to him now unless they discovered the same thing he had.


    "Hold on, system, howe I''m level 90? I was level 46 and you gave me 20 levels!"


    [...]


    It wasn''t being sassy this time, it truly had no idea what he was talking about. To it, he''d always been a level 70 and adding 20 meant 90.


    "So, I did level up while down there? That''s amazing and confusing."


    He stopped trying to figure out how all of this worked and focused more on healing. While at it, vibrations was always on, only this time he was able to handle the vibrations that attacked his senses. He was able to filter out frequencies that were too annoying for his liking.


    So heid there, his physical body feeling the world around it and healing, while his astral body was working tirelessly in Paradise. Practicing jump.


    What he liked the most about the training in the astral ne was that, none of the side effects came to his physical body. They were experienced by him, but not by him, at the same time.


    He could even sense the queen''s body shrivel up at a distance. He tried going further, maybe, just maybe he could sense other realms, specifically the Underworld. He was connected to it already anyway.


    But s, except for the energy he was getting from there. He couldn''t sense it, much less opening a doorway. He gave up, for now.


    "Oh, you guys are back? Lay it on me what did you find."


    Since Kiro was pretty familiar with the mountain having fought it''s monsters too. Their report was pretty spot on, except for some little missed important details.


    What impressed him the most was the fact that the clumsy Ren wasn''t so clumsy anymore. He took the leading role in this one mission and sessfully lead them to safety.


    While they were invisible with semi-ethereal bodies, they weren''tpletely free from attacks. But with his leadership, they managed to hidepletely in in sight and observe.


    Kiro got up, and stretched his body. He felt really refreshed, He stepped once at the stone floor and disappeared, appearing at the foot of the amount. Just a minuteter, the spectres caught up. -official


    "You guys are a bit slow." He mentioned with Ryu in his hand hanging on his shoulders, he was still walking barefoot but it was sofortable, he didn''t notice.


    There were still yers attempting a world boss. It was the same earth slug. It looked like a fire-breathing creature made entirely out of mud. He caught a glimpse of the same group, hoarding the monster to get most of its rewards through contribution.


    He had never tried this before, but he threw Ryu into the air. He followed with a jump, so heigh that he was able tond ontop of his staff. Surpringly, he didn''t fall he had perfect bnce ontop of his weapon.


    He hovered above the monster, changing it''s properties bit by bit. It went from a mud monster, to frozen mud, to crystallised and eventually, it shattered into thousands of shards.


    A naughty smile appeared on his face, he disappeared at the crime scene before the system even gave him a notification.


    With a single breath, he was at their home base. After months, it hadn''t changed a bit. But reminded himself no time had passed.


    "Okay gang this is where you''ll be living, but before that, I need to go scouting. There''s a dungeon called Armageddon, also, collect information on the crow mafia gang." He finished thoughtfully.


    He knew the dungeon from his past life, it was ranked S. But knowing how almost everything was changing in this game, he couldn''t trust his past knowledge much. He didn''t even need it with his strength currently.


    He still liked being prepared. He walked into their base, and went straight for their shop. He could hear the hammer going at it, even before opening the door.


    He creaked the door, darkness was all the room was, except for the furnace that kept the room alive. A little light entered from him opening the door, he peeked, seeing his friend he hadn''t seen in months.


    He simply watched him, creepily, as he worked on whatever he was working on.


    "Kiro, the light is disturbing. Come in." Hiro invited him in, he truly preferred being closed off while working.


    Kiro entered but he still didn''t close the door. Hiro hadn''t looked up once since his friend got here.


    He annoyingly took his goggles out, instead of anger, at Kiro''s appearance, shock and concern gued his face.


    "The hell happened to you?" He asked with a warmer tone than he intended.

 Chapter 166: Growth

    Kiro attempted a cheeky smile, "It''s a very long story."


    "You''re not even wearing shoes, just what the hell!" He was still pretty short so it wasn''t that hard to notice.


    Kiro sat him down, and started his story from when he left their base. Hiro had a very annoyed and very bored expression on his face.


    Kiro knew starting from the very start would annoy his friend and that''s why he did it anyway. Things got a bit interesting when he mentioned Harbingers. He got even more interested when Kiro told him about the Underworld.


    Everything he said was too detailed for it to be a lie. His face was a mix of shock and curiosity. Kiro didn''t leave out a single detail. It took them hours to go through the story in its entirety.


    He told it within just hours, but the experience was months of battle and hardwork. He was starting to feel like, time was a great scam.


    "Hubris got left behind?" He asked a little surprised.


    "He''s the king after all. His people needed him more." Kiro shrugged.


    "So you use a different energy from our magic now, Kaos is it called?"


    Hiro kept asking questions to make sure he got the details down to the bone. He got excited as if he was the one who was there. The fact that there may be more worlds Kiro could tap into, intrigued him. He wanted to travel too.


    He wanted to be plunged into an unknown realm, specifically, one where crafting is the epitome of society. So he could learn everything he needed to know about craftsmanship.


    "Earth to Hiro?" Kiro snapped his fingers in front of a daydreaming Hiro.


    "Yes yes." He replied, as if he was all there. "You spent months there? No wonder you look like a homeless person from the lower district." He joked.


    They had a goodugh. "But why didn''t you take me with you?" Hiro abruptly asked, threatening to sulk. He wanted a sweet power up too.


    "Eh, I asked you before but you didn''t want to go..."


    "You should''ve dragged me with you!"


    "Don''t regret saying that Hiro, because that''s exactly what I''ll do the next time you don''t want toe with me."


    They continued chatting while Hiro was working on a strange sceptre. He was doing it as a favour for Felix, who also evolved into a sprite with a higher priest ss.


    "You know, Felix is still at the mine? Because you told him to be there for a while. But good thing, because he keeps sending me resources." He motioned to the corner where there was a pile of raw materials that still needed to be purified.


    With his alchemy though, it wouldn''t take a long time to purify any material.


    "Ah sh*t." He scratched his head not knowing how to to reply, he only told him to go there because he had expected for the game currency to be convertible.


    If it were up to him, he''d be at the lower district, egging on other kids to y asgard so they can get coins. But it was useless for now. He had to think of another way to help his district crawl out of poverty.


    ''Ah, that can only happen if this conversion happens.'' He found himself saying a little prayer to Sun Wukong, as a ridiculous as it felt, he still did it.


    Kiro looked at his friend as he held up a really a strange weapon, "isn''t that just, a chain with saws?"


    He put a bit of mana in it and it solidified into a sceptre. It kept changing from chains to sceptre.


    "Wow, you can create such weapo¡ªwhoa are you insane?"


    Hiro had whipped the chain at Kiro''s direction, it almost hit him too but it changed into a sceptre as soon as it reached out.


    "So I can still be caught off guard? Useless! How are you even using a weapon that''s not made for your race?" He asked a little bit agitated.


    Hiro lightlyughed, "To answer your second question, thanks to my alchemy infusion, I''m not restricted." He gave him a smug smile, "To answer your first, this is my domain, the fire has in a way, dulled your senses, you can''t have your guard up."


    "What?" Kiro was dumbfounded.


    Hiro simply threw a toy ball, which hit him right between the eyes and sure enough he couldn''t react in time.


    He was about to get mad, but realized how strong his friend had be even though he had barricaded himself in his shop.


    "That''s some amazing stuff Hiro, when did you get that? How many days have I been gone? I mean, thest time you saw me."


    "Haha well you aren''t the only one getting stronger, a couple of weeks I think? I can''t be too sure as I''ve been here all that time, never set foot outside. So time for me is also warped." discover-stories-NovelBin


    He was going to be petty and freeze the room, but decided against it. He had to remind himself he was back from the hellscape that was Hubris'' world. Except for some weaklings, nobody was really out to get him.


    "The weapon is done, want to log out?"


    "Yes, please, I''m tired. We also have ss tomorrow."


    Hiro immediately sent the weapon to Felix and they logged out. It was already night, so the best he could do then was just sleep.


    Sleep came easier than on any other night. He slept through the night, and almost through the morning. He woke up with a banging on his door. The person on the door was threatening to break it off its hinges.


    When he looked at the time, it was already 9:50. The rm tried and failed to wake him up. Even though it wasn''t his real body, he could feel the toll, it was psychological if anything.


    He sprinted to open the door, Hiro stood on the other side of it. Already in his school uniform.


    "I know, I know, don''t lecture me."


    He sprinted to the bathroom and took a 2 minute shower. He wore his uniform in record time. Hiro had already gone down for breakfast and bought a drinking yoghurt for his friend.


    They ran to ss, and got there with just a few seconds to spare. But s Dr. Ramirez was already there.

 Chapter 167: Beast Rental

    The ss was a bit dark, lights purposely dimmed because they were already watching an old film. About the very first VR gear attempted in their world.


    They tiptoed, manoeuvring through the long desks, hoping the teacher stayed ignorant. But she had already seen them, she waited for them to be seated.


    "The president should be at least 10 minutes early, set a stand-up example for others here." Shemented having paused the film.


    "I didn''t ask for this." Kiro mumbled a whisper that wouldn''t reach his teacher''s ears.


    "What was that Waynworth?"


    "I''m so sorry Teach, I overslept. It won''t happen again." He said with an apologetic smile.


    Dr. Ramirez shook her head. He cut him some ck this time, remembering that, just yesterday, he was on trial. As much as they wanted to call it a hearing, it was definitely a trial.


    In his hurry, he forgot to grab his sketchbook. So, ss was a never ending nightmare. The film was about some project they did some two hundred years ago.


    They were exining in detail the effects VR had two hundred years ago. Making predictions of how it would look like in future years, times that they were no longer a part of.


    Kiro had to give them credit, they knew what they were talking about. Their predictions were spot on, down to the second''sg the VR head gear now has. This piqued his interest if only a little.


    ss was usually an hour, but today was a long history lesson. His stomach was starting to growl every other minute. The weeks living here made him forgot the pains of hunger.


    As soon as the words appeared from the screen, it announced the ending of the film, Kiro''s face lit up.


    "I''m sure that was long and boring," Dr. Ramirezmented with a smile upon seeing how out of it the ss was. "Due next week, will be a 6 page report on what you''ve just watched."


    Kiro''s hand shot up first, he was given permission to speak. "But teach, you''re not being specific, should we write on the project as a whole or just the lead scientist, should we give our own opinion on what they were doing or simply write about what they were doing?"


    Dr. Ramirez looked at him with resignation, "If only you would''ve been a bit patient, I wasing there." She paused for a very long time.


    "Ah, yes yes, sorry teach you can continue haha." Heughed lightly, realising that she was only stalling to punish him.


    "Right, whether you choose to write about the whole project or lead scientist is up to you. But most of your words should be opinion rather than narrating what they were doing." She finished and walked out the door.


    "I thought she''d never leave, I''m so hungry I can''t think straight."


    "Too bad it''s PE right now, the cafeteria will open midday for lunch." Hiro reminded him.


    I walked up to him, handing him a chocte bar. "I''ve been meaning to pay it back." She said coolly, she knew Kiro was struggling, so she didn''t want to add on by finishing foods she didn''t know what he saved for.


    He didn''t think too much about it, he devoured the bar and it was gone in just 3 bites. It was better than nothing, it would certainly hold his stomach for now.


    "You''re a life saver Bel, thank you!"


    The ss was still seated around the ss just chatting. Isaac and his goons looked like they had stuff attempting toe out of their behinds.


    Kiro was d for this, as long as they left him alone. He didn''t mind doing the same. He''d been gone for so long, that the events weren''t so fresh in his mind.


    He obviously would still take his revenge, just like his mount, but, he wouldn''t rush it. He wouldn''t let it rule him like he once did.


    discover-NovelBin-novels


    Thinking about this made him remember something, so he took out his phone and went to talkalot. I and Saanvi hade to sit with them, for some reason.


    "What are you doing?" Hiro asked him looking at his screen, recognising the app they abandoned some weeks ago.


    "Money." Kiro shrugged.


    He looked at his screen with anticipation as he typed. His eyes involuntarily followed his thumbs as they rushed through the phones virtual keyboard.


    "Huh? You''re going to rent your beasts to other yers? For 100k creds per use? Haha I doubt there''s an idiot who would waste money like that!" Hiro was very sceptical.


    "Oh, Hiro my friend. You underestimate the ego of rich people. I''ve made renting this expensive, meaning regr folks can''t get to them, making this experience exclusive. Rich people love exclusivity." He exined the phenomenon to his friend.


    He turned his head when he realised he had two more friends who were the people he was talking about, he smiled apologetically, "No offense."


    "None taken, I already have my beast from you." Saanvi smiled in a very creepy way that gave Kiro chills.


    Before they knew it, it was time for PE. Kiro quickly posted the advertisement, along with his gamer tag and in-game address. He put it away and went to exercise.


    He saw the redundancy, after this it would be lunch and then they''ll have cricket practice.


    "Is exercise even necessary anymore?" Kiro asked.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I mean ours. If I hadn''t overslept I''d have woken up and gone to kickboxing, we have PE and cricket! Too much exercise."


    Hiro agreed. They agreed to only go to lift some weights. The ss took about 30 minutes. Kiro practically ran into the cafeteria with his PE clothes still on. He ate until his hunger was satiated.


    The others joined him after showering. He pulled out his phone, and was surprised to see the attention the post had gathered.


    He posted some 50 minutes ago but he had ten thousand likes and about a thousandments. The post had been shared multiple times.


    "Just what is this sorcery!" He hadn''t checked his profile before posting, clicking on it he saw over a million people followed him.


    "Huh?"

 Chapter 168: Talkalot Chaos

    [Do you guys see this? Seems like the rumour about a beast taming ss were real! Somebody borrow me 100k!]


    [Just how lucky is this Kiro? I mean, world announcements have quieten, but still why does every good thing fall on hisp?]


    [Why indeed! Didn''t he assault a girl at his academy?]


    [Truly, bad news travel faster. You''ve heard about that, but not the fact that the girl was a lying sack of sh*t?]


    [He''s probably a young master of some rich family and paid for that girls silence lol]


    [I''m a second year at Eden academy and I can attest that''s not true. I saw him and his friend on their first arrival here, people gossiped about how poor they were.]


    [So just a slum rat then.]


    [People always focus on the wrong aspect of this. Whether he''s a slum rat, he''s getting your 100k if you''re crap at this game.]


    Thatstment in particr got a lot of likes and replies. Kiro was scrolling through, this was new territory for him. He didn''t quite know readingments was a bittersweet experience.


    Seeing the Ursa incident brought up again, he was angry all over again. It brought up emotions he thought were dealt with. It seemed like his character would be questioned wherever he went, he was forever stained he thought.


    "Wow, you''re quite popr." Hiro said peeking through his arm, fixated on the screen.


    Kiro almost karate chopped him on the head, "dude, don''t scare me like that, and why are you so close!?"


    "Yeah, your insecurity isn''t unfounded, you do stink." He shrugged being honest.


    "Shut up!" Kiro said running out of the cafeteria to the showers. "I''ll see you on the cricket ground."


    Kiro thought it was a waste of time to shower when he was going for practice anyway, and after that he''d be sweaty again. But he didn''t want to seem as a pig, especially not in front of I.


    He had just turned the water off when he heard two people enter the boys locker room.


    "So you''re just giving up Isaac? That punk Kiro has won?" An unfamir voice sounded throughout the locker room. They surely thought they were alone.


    "Of course not. I''m a keson, I never lose. That doesn''t mean I can''t lie low and bide my time, now quit bothering me. I have to go to practice." Opening of the locker could be heard, then 5 minutester, the door of the locker room sounded.


    Kiro came out. "Biding your time, are you. I''ll show you." He quickly put on the cricket training kit given by the school.


    At 2pm sharp, they walked into the cricket field. The field was unlike anything they''d ever seen, it was clean and clearly well taken care of.


    Already in their kits, which were the school colours. Compared to others both Kiro and Hiro noticed the kit was a bit small for them.


    "Did you give me the right sizes?" Coach Smith asked.


    "I think so, maybe we''ve grown a bit, since we got here. I don''t know, sir." Kiro answered.


    "I''ll have to measure you anew, don''t worry."


    Kiro cursed under his breath when he saw Isaac and that stupid girl Ursa had joined cricket too. But his mood recovered when he noticed two familiar faces, Niki and Felix. They were standing awkwardly by the fence, by themselves.


    story-by-NovelBin


    He nudged Hiro and pointed to them, they walked up to them with bright smiles. They hadn''t seen each other in a while in-game, especially for Kiro who has been missing for months, on Kiro''s end.


    As they got closer Kiro noticed Felix''s bandaged arms. He had originally thought they were just game essories and he wore them to appear cool or something. They reached the pair.


    "If it isn''t our leader." Niki said first.


    Kiro smiled and nodded in acknowledgement, "The one and only." He said, arms wide open as if to soak his entire being with thepliment.


    Even though they went to the same school and they were at the same campus, they rarely saw each other. Especially because they didn''t study the same thing, weren''t even in the same dorm building. The only real time they got was through Asgard.


    "You know Felix, I thought your bandages were game essory."


    "Well, I wear them because my many scars make people ufortable." He replied meekly.


    "Why not get them healed?" Hiro asked dumbly. He knew there was nothing their technology couldn''t heal, well except for death.


    "I didn''t know you cared what people thought." Kiro mumbled which made Felix smile, for the first time they''d known him.


    "I don''t really have money to waste like that but even if I did, these scars are important to me. I don''t wish to erase them." He said simply.


    Why were they important was anybody''s guess and since he didn''t exin further they didn''t pry. That''s all they got out of him, Felix never spoke again about that.


    "By the way," Kiro said while they were walking closer to their coach. "You don''t have to be stuck in the mine forever. Come out if you want."


    He nodded.


    "Which subss did you both get?" Hiro inquired.


    "Shadow King." Niki quickly replied as if embarrassed to say the words in real life.


    "Butcher." Felix said nonchntly walking forwards.


    Everyone stopped, "huh??"


    Felix turned and gave them a very naughty smile. As if to tell them he knows exactly what they were thinking.


    Before they could say anything else, the coach called for them toe closer. He introduced himself.


    "I don''t take crap from greenhorns like you. Right now you''re still dirty and unpolished but when I''m done with you. You''ll be as good as new."


    The first year''s team was pretty timid, most of them had never yed sports before. But this wasn''t a big problem as evolved humans adapted pretty quick, especially when something was physical.


    Coach Smith asked if anyone volunteered to y a certain positions, Kiro and Hiro volunteered to be bowlers. Felix wanted to be the wicketkeeper. Others who had never yed were picked by the coach.


    There were 18 yers in total. So ying a game with each other was how they would practice, even though that number wouldn''t be enough to break them into two teams they''d have to make due. In 3 months time, the coach would announce his first string.


    Luckily Isaac stayed out of their way and didn''t cause them any problems. res were all he could manage.

 Chapter 169: Second Year Campus!

    The coach made them do a lot of drills. The right way to throw, to catch, to bowl and bat. And the many rules of cricket. The rules were straightforward, so nobody was being left behind.


    Everybody was breathing heavily though, for the past hour. It had been nothing but running and catching balls whether in the air oring straight for them.


    The coach was only allowed to keep them for a full hour, except if it were an official game. The academy was still the academy after all, they needed the kids to have enough time for their homeworks and projects.


    So at exactly 3pm, coach Smith pped his hands, "good job everyone, you''re probably the best set of first years I''ve ever received." He said encouraging them a little.


    "Now, don''t forget to hit the showers. You don''t want all that sweat to be sticky, making you dirty and cold. Dismissed."


    Everyone dispersed. They left the field chatting with whoever they befriended during the hellish training. Kiro noticed that Ursa and Isaac didn''t even look each others way. Even now, they left through opposite directions.


    "Tsk. Probably an act." He mumbled to himself.


    "Guys, let''s not go to the locker room, I have the perfect ce. A hot spring!" He excitedly proimed whispering.


    Niki jolted Kiro out of his thoughts about the couple ying the same sport and pretending to be broken up.


    "Where?" Kiro asked.


    "Second year campus, I know this secret way to get there." Smugly, he said.


    "But won''t we¡ª"


    "Let''s do it!" Kiro cut Hiro short. "Let''s rebel for once men, to the hot springs!" He whispered with valour, he was still much under the influence of the Underworld.


    Hiro rolled his eyes but he followed them nheless. As much as he wanted to uphold the rules, he also wanted to experience campus life with friends.


    They ran behind the dorms, they were already in their normal clothing now. They walked until they werepletely hidden by trees. They must''ve walked for 20 minutes and reached the other end of the little forest.


    There was a really long fence. It looked like those imprable fences they usually had in schools or government facilities.


    "Ah this fence! We''re screwed!"


    "No we aren''t." Niki said with much confidence.


    He started tapping the fence in a strange sequence. At first nothing happened, then a creak appeared on the fence. Niki pushed it open, and a little hole appeared on the fence.


    "Haa, what the actual f*ck?" Kiro eximed.


    "I don''t know how it works either, suppose something a senior did, for what, I don''t know. We have this now." He entered as he said.


    The others followed him, they only walked for 10 more minutes and they were soaked in the hot spring. It was heavenly bliss. It was still a bit early, so time wasn''t a problem.


    It felt better than the in-game one, Kiro felt all his troubles disappear.


    "Why don''t we have one too?" Hiro asked at the brink of passing out because of how good it was at massaging their muscles.


    "Who knows! That dean is a bit of mystery." Niki shrugged. "He''s a good guy though."


    "Won''t we get caught?" Felix asked, he had entered nude but left his bandages on.


    "They rarely use it during the week." Niki clearly knew more about this ce.


    More than Kiro, the person who regressed. Not even back at school did he know about something like this. It wasn''t something the teachers here told students, they let them find out on their own.


    Naturally, Kiro never found out about this in his past life. It stung, but at least he was here and now, that''s all that mattered. The past him didn''t matter, it wasn''t important at all. He was here, now, and he had friends.


    "By the way Felix, you said your subss is butcher?" Kiro suddenly remembered and asked.


    "Haha, yes." He grinned, this one thing in particr seemed to always tickle him. Experience more on m,vle,mp _yr.


    "Why does this make you happy?" Hiro asked him.


    "Let''s just say I like cutting things up, and now I even have the power of healing them back up to health. It''s obviously a happy moment for me."


    They all shuddered. They didn''t know if they could trust a priest with a butcher subss that loved cutting things up. Won''t he purposely heal them slowly, that was the question wandering in their minds.


    Won''t he purposely cut them just to heal them and repeat the cycle. Of course it''d  be a good addition to the team''s strength. The torture side of it was enticing but when it was directed at them, that frightened them a bit.


    They all could totally see Felix pushing them down a cliff then healing them again. They gulped and decided to let it go, the most important thing was the fact that he wouldn''t let them die.


    They had a really good time in the springs. Chatting up and discussing their next n as a group, whether they should do a dungeon run for others or themselves.


    "Let''s run them first, when we''ve gotten they of thend, we ask them money to be carried by us." Kiro suggested.


    The suggestion was sound. They all agreed on this. They''d only ept a mission if the giver allows them to explore first.


    The time was nearing 5 o''clock they decided to dress up and leave. Kiro felt the cleanest he''d ever been, like the water scrubbed on every single corner of his body.


    "Oh, I saw your post on talkalot, I can''t believe how popr you guys are. It''s insane how much traction your post got."


    Kiro shrugged smirking, he didn''t know either.


    They suddenly saw a dancing sh light in the distance, "Hey, you, kids, freeze, don''t run."


    "As if!" Kiro yelled back.


    It was security for the second year campus, they bolted out of there. The security was right on their tail, not wanting to give up the chase. All of them seemed to be very adept at running.


    They managed to keep the distance they gained because they stupidly used a shlight. The early start was essential in their escape.


    Because of the early start Niki was able to tap the secret code to close the holepletely without getting caught on how they entered.


    Kiro didn''t understand what part of science this phenomenon was, but he was intending to learn. It was too useful not to.


    They bolted through the mini forest, and only stopped when they were in front of the dorms. They looked at each other nervously, breathing heavily from all the running and then they burst outughing with relief.

 Chapter 170: Pandemonium At The Gate

    The vibrating on his leg made him jump with fear. Realizing it was just a phone, he calmed his nerves.


    "Man, that was great. I can still feel my blood pumping!" Kiro said attempting to take his phone out of his pocket.


    "We should absolutely do more things like that!" Nikimented excitedly.


    He looked at the screen and sure enough, it was his mum calling. He hadn''t talked to her in months, of course that was a time only he experienced. He walked a bit further away from the rest and answered the call.


    "Mum, Hi, what''s up? Are you guys okay?" He asked concerned.


    "Yes, thanks to you, we''re managing well. You never call Ki, but you promised." She pouted.


    "I''m busy with work, I''ming back from work right now! I''ll call more I promise." He could tell the excuses fell on deaf ears.


    The background was very noisy. His little sister was clearly ying with someone. thank you for using mv _l _e _mpy _r


    "Loki is ying with Alora?" He asked a bit surprised.


    "Ah, no that''s Philip." His mum answered nonchntly.


    But Kiro''s brain travelled way too far, way too fast. He was thinking about all sorts of things, where was his father in all of this, who was Philip? When he heard his father''s voice in the background, he sighed in relief.


    Sekani had been working tirelessly on his VR gear. Making improvements on the already existing one. Of course he didn''t want Kiro to be told about this until it was sessful.


    He even called Philip over to help him with a few things. 2 heads were better than one after all. Philip had be part of the family, he lived there while they worked.


    "Mum, I may be able to send more money but we will see." He told her.


    She was looking better than theirst call. She was looking better than she''d ever seen her, her face wasn''t boney like it usually was when she was ving away at keson Tech. Her face looked fuller and healthier.


    Kiro was getting emotional thinking about the past, that''s why he brought up money to avoid feeling all that.


    "Are you sure baby? You should focus on yourself more, buy yourself new clothes, look nice and bring home a daughter-inw."


    "Mum!!!!" He shouted embarrassed, he pouted and said, "You guys are also important, if your daughter-inw doesn''t like me the way I am, they''re not deserving of your son, right?"


    He could see his mother''s eyes twinkling with tears, "Sekani, you should hear how grown your son sounds!" Freya had also noticed how healthy his son looked. She could see his broad shoulders getting more pronounced.


    His father popped on the screen and then a secondter it was Alora hogging the phone. Demanding for Kiro toe back this instance.


    "Holidays are around the corner, I''ll see you soon Freckles." He smiled at her genuinely.


    "No! Come back now Ki! Leave school, school is bad." She wasn''t going to let him fool her again.


    "Alright Freckles, I''ll hang up the phone and hitch a ride on the night train, I''ll be there by morning."


    "Yay! Good bye." She kissed her hand and blew it to her brother.


    "Goodbye everyone." Kiro hung up and took a deep sigh.


    "You''re definitely going to hell! Lying to that precious little girl like it was nothing." Niki chimed in.


    "I''ve already been to hell." Kiro joked.


    Having told the two he had just been stuck in an underground world, theyughed at his dry humour.


    They entered their cafeteria. Niki and Felix decided to eat here for the night. It wasn''t really against any rules, people of any dorm could use any cafeteria as long as the people of said dorm didn''t have a problem with it.


    I and Saanvi had already been seated when they entered.


    "You guys, where have you been?" Saanvi asked.


    "Sorry, it''s an After Dark secret." He winked at his fellow mates.


    Ishaan showed up from behind startling them, "then, why did I get left behind. I''m part of the group aren''t I?"


    "It''s not really our fault you have different tastes. We didn''t n this, it just happened because we were ying cricket together." Niki answered him.


    Kiro zoned out of the conversation. Paging his phone, he was bing more obsessed and more used to talkalot and sure enough, the post had gotten even bigger. It was trending.


    They sat around the same table and had a lot of fun eating together and talking about their in-game adventures. They didn''t quite believe Kiro''s Underworld stories at first, but being borate and detailed won them over.


    They all wanted to visit Hubris'' world despite the dangers.


    Not like he didn''t trust them, but he told none of them about where to find the portal exactly. He wanted to keep one thing for himself, this was the one he chose. To ensure nobody went there willy nilly.


    "Ah I, I have something to give you in-game. You said your subss was seducer right? Maybe it''ll work well with you, couldn''t get it to y!" He said in-between bites of his well made steak.


    I looked at him with awe, a bit of red painted her cheeks. "For how much? What is it?"


    "It''s a flute and it''s a gift." He nonchntly smiled as he said.


    The rest looked at him strangely. As if they were waiting for their own set of news about gifts. They couldn''t quite believe he''d just gift only I, that was too obvious!


    He shrugged and sighed, "sorry boys, but monsters down there don''t drop, this flute was pure luck. They did give me levels though."


    They gave up after a while of pestering him. After eating, they all walked out the cafeteria, apanying the two that didn''t live there.


    "What do you think these Harbinger things are?" I asked Kiro.


    "I don''t really know, but if I had to guess. They''re beings from other realms, maybe attempting to destroy Asgard Online and it''s a job of guardians to stop them." Fighting them that''s the feel they gave him.


    She understood and didn''t ask again. They came back quicker because the dorms weren''t too far apart. Each one going into their rooms to login, it was almost an addiction at this point.


    Feeling really good, Kiroid on his bed and put on the head gear. The time was still 7pm, so he had at least 3 days of in-game time.


    They were transported into their castle, but themotion outside made them run outside to check, thinking they were getting attacked. At the gate, there were about a hundred people in line.


    Kiro remembered he''d given them his in-game address. "Oh Sh*t."

 Chapter 171: Business Booming

    Kiro walked closer, with his robe on, it was hard to tell who he was. He didn''t get too close, he didn''t want to be recognised, not really. That would drag unwanted attention and it will definitely get him in trouble.


    Kiro noticed that Isaac was also in line. This was a pretty funny sight to see. He was the 5th one from the 1st.


    He cleared his throat which caused a silence that was too instantaneous to be real. He tried using his reality warping abilities to change his voice and appearance, but he was met with an error message every time.


    ''fuck.''


    "I suppose you guys are here for beast rental," He said with an obviously fake voice. "I''ll need the first 10 of you to transfer the 100k to the ount holder AD."


    He had already created another bank ount for this one thing specifically. He could never use his real one. He imed it was a newpany at the bank, and they told him it''ll be closed down in 3 months if there was no activity.


    Even though some suspected that he was Kiro, some like Isaac thought it wasn''t. His post was also not very specific, it only imed that, if you want to rent beasts this was where you needed to go. It never said Kiro himself was the beast tamer.


    But he didn''t care about their debates and theories, he was only here for business. To make money. Enough of it to gain him respect in his society, enough for him to hold a powerful position because only with power do people actually achieve the chance to inject real change.


    He''d be idiotic if he thought he could destroy the current status quo without any real influence. So, albeit small, this was the start.


    They, without hesitation wired him the money. His lips were trembling, he wanted to burst outughing but he held his emotions. He even managed to even keep the smile at bay, not like they could see him under the ancient robe.


    "I have beasts with the ranks from B to S. Firste, first serve. It''s also important to not choose it based on rank but based on your skills, if you choose one that''s S and your skills aren''tpatible, you will fail miserably.


    "You can choose to ignore my advice of course, I don''t really care since you''ve already paid me. Also this contract will be valid for one dungeon run, and you won''t even have toe here to bring them back, they''ll be summoned here when their jobs are finished."


    He then let the first 10 into their mini forest, they picked their beasts. None asked which beast ranked what, they took his advice way too seriously and chose based on howpatible they were with said beast.


    He managed to stay out of Isaac''s way. He still observed him from afar. He was a mage and chose the bear that almost killed Hubris.


    ''Interesting choice. Give him a good dungeon run, Frost.'' He smirked moving on to observe others.


    He only had a handful of beasts to rent. So after giving them all and running out, he told those at the gate to give him a few hours. Since they wanted to do dungeon runs, they waited.


    Kiro went hunting for beasts to tame. Making sure to get B to S Ranked ones only. He didn''t want weak ones either, that would he bad for business and sure enough, he managed to amass around 30 in a span of a few hours with his newfound power it wasn''t hard.


    He went back to his base in an instant, seeing that some that left earlier had came back, his grin was uncontained this time, it spread throughout his thick lips.


    He helped them in groups of 10s. He didn''t want them to cause havoc within his base. By the time he had helped them all. He had made millions.


    ''I shouldn''t waste this money, lest in-game conversion isn''t introduced, I can use this money to buy those share.'' He was very happy, things were starting to look up for him.


    "I wish I could make real life money like that!" Hiro said, envious. m|v|l|e m|p|y|r original content


    "But you can?" He shook his head, his friend didn''t have a knack for business. Kiro himself also picked up some things in his past life because he studied finance.


    "Mmm? Nobody would pay real money for guild buildings."


    "Maybe, but you create weapons and armour sell those with creds and you won''t be envious of me."


    Like that, a light bulb descended from the heavens and into Hiro''s head. "Goodness, you''re right. Why didn''t I think of that? It''s so simple."


    He had also made plenty of rare to epic weapons and armour since then, and very few legendary ones. None were ranked ancient though. He quickly snapped some pictures, using the game video camera.


    He made a profile for each weapon and armour, it''s rank and insane stats. The moment his friend gave him the idea, everything fell into ce for him.


    Him and Kiro worked tirelessly creating a website for their businesses. They simply named it After Dark, it would also help in the future. People can contact them through it.


    They created three sections, one for weapons and armours. The prices ranged from 10k to 200k creds. The other was for beasts, with detailed information about each of them.


    The site helped in that, nobody had to go waiting at the gate anymore. You can rent beasts using the site and just collect them with proof.


    They shared their website on talkalot, on both of their ounts. It didn''t go as viral as thest one, but it still got a lot of attention.


    Hiro''s products were selling like hotcakes. Their selling point went hand in hand, people would buy weapons and armour, then rent a beast, feeling a little bit overgeared they''d go on dungeon runs.


    There was also information on the site that After Dark offers mercenary work. That''s what the third section was for. They listed the five members not by name but by race and ss. Starting with the leader, and the first to join by ascending order.


    So naturally, Ishaan wasining about being thest one.

 Chapter 172: Student Town

    While they were gaining money they''d only ever see in their dreams, they also had to use a good portion of that money to keep the website operational.


    Though, Kiro didn''t mind much. A business had its expenses after all and if they were not taken care of properly their profits would dwindle and crash quicker.


    They had decided to keep their names out of it. To protect their identities from any lurking dangers. Which prompted for imposters popping out everywhere in Asgard Online.


    Though they were quickly unmasked, as they didn''t have the beasts or the skills to create weapons at Hiro''s level.


    Kiro woke up early in this particr day. Money had been pouring in for weeks, as the game was also picking up on poprity. It had been a little under 2 months since it was released.


    The media attention had caused a lot of yers to flock to it over the past weeks. Though his profits saw arge boom, they steadied as the days went by and settled on an average profit.


    He woke up to shower. It was a Saturday morning, this was also the day I was dragging him to buy himself some new clothes.


    He put in his jean, which hovered over his ankles. It was a bit chilly and winter was knocking at the door. He wore a shirt that tightened him more than before and a jersey that was clearly quite small.


    "If I''m honest, these clothes still fit me, I don''t know what I isining about." Heined, looking in the mirror and messing up his hair a little.


    He was obviously a little in denial, he didn''t want to waste money on trivial things such as clothes. But of course, he didn''t say no to spending a day with I.


    They didn''t even go to breakfast, they would get in trouble for this but they decided to spend a day in student town and skip school meals.


    Hiro and Saanvi decided to tag along. Hiro had grown quite a bit too, unlike Kiro, he wasn''t in denial. He knew he needed new clothes. Especially with wintering.


    ''Is this a double date?'' He wondered.


    The security let them out, smiling like idiots when they say I and Saanvi. Their expressions slightly changing when they looked at the two boys.


    On their way, by train, Kiro decided to send his family a couple of thousands. With the message ''Don''t call me, I''m on a date.'' He knew it would be the only thing his mother wouldn''t want to be in the way of.


    It worked, as the train pulled up at student town, his mother hadn''t called but sent him a winking smiley.


    "Where to first?" Kiro asked the girls. He wasn''t adept at shopping for new clothes after all.


    Seeing their smiles turning into wide grins, he quickly said, "Nowhere expensive please. I''m not buying a 1000 creds winter coat?" He had after all survived winters back at home with second hand clothes.


    "Tsk. Tsk. He''s so stingy it''s ridiculous!" Saanvi eximed.


    "Nothing a rich brat will understand!" Kiro shot back.


    She could do nothing but stare daggers at him. If it were up to her, she would fight him. She decided to enjoy the autumn sun instead.


    I and Hiro shot each other looks and shook their heads.


    I scanned the area andnded on a shop that was usually cheaper than the rest. That''s the one she chose, so they entered it. It was called Zoned. A popr brand amongst student.


    The store was nice and clean, a bunch of customers buying this and that, even some students were already there.


    Trousers and shirts went for 200 to 600c. Shoes from 400 to 1000c. Winter jackets/jerseys from 500 to 2000c. They got both got a bit of everything.


    The girls encouraged them to throw away the ones they were already wearing and wear new ones, since they''d be spending the day in student town. They obliged.


    It was the first time owning new and branded clothes for the both of them. Hiro nearly cried, as they entered the fitting rooms. He made a mental note to thank Kiro for forcing him to y the game.


    Hiro came out wearing blue jeans with a ck knitted jersey and white sneakers. He looked elegant and innocent. The jersey was a bit oversized but that was on purpose on his side.


    Kiro came out wearing a ck id trouser with white sneakers. He had tucked in the white vest, on top of it was a ck short sleeved button-up shirt that wasn''t buttoned. His ne stuck out like a sore thumb.


    ''Wow, they both are wearing just cheap clothing but they wear them good.'' Saanviplimented internally.


    The autumn weather was by no means warm. But I felt every bit of heating from every direction in the store. She couldn''t even speak, they stood there awkwardly waiting to be told if they looked alright.


    She simply gave them a thumbs up and they decided that''s what they''d wear. They went to pay, they asked for the rest of their clothes to be delivered at school and left the shop.


    ''Is it okay for me to give him this gift?'' I had bought him a Zoned watch. She was still contemting as they were headed for breakfast.


    Coming out of the restaurant they intended to eat at, was her father. It looked like he came here for business. Their eyes locked, and then Jes¨²s smiled.


    "My dear daughter, running away from me only to run into me!" He said smugly.


    I quickly shoved the watch in her pocket, and smiled awkwardly. Kiro froze in ce, so did Hiro. They didn''t really want to mess with rich people unless necessary but here they were, taking their daughters out for breakfast and possibly lunch.


    "Dad, what are you doing here?"


    "Is that what a daughter should say, seeing her dad after such a long time?"


    Stay tuned to m,vlemp _yr.


    She sighed rolling her eyes, "It''s so good to see you daddy!" She hugged him.


    "My little Rosie!" The lion had suddenly turned into a cub.


    The three just stood there dumbly, watching this scene that was supposed to be cute and full of love, but everyone except for Saanvi and Jes¨²s, were ufortable.


    "Hey, who are your friends here. Of course I know Saanvi." He shook her hand and waited.


    "This is Hiroto Misaki." Her dad sped Hiro''s hand and shook it violently.


    She was nervous. Her stomach wouldn''t settle down as she realised she''d have to introduce Kiro to her dad.


    "T-this is Kiro Waynworth." She berated herself for the stutter.


    Kiro put on a genuine smile and held out his hand to shake his. "Nice to finally meet you, sir."

 Chapter 173: Fancy Restaurant

    Jes¨²s looked at Kiro''s hand for the longest tie, Kiro was starting to get tired of smiling and so it came out as an awkward tired smile.


    The father in front of him looked at his daughter, then the kid wanting to shake his hand then his daughter again. He was clearly thinking about something. It was written on her face as clear as day that she liked the boy.


    He didn''t like how this kid seemed to be an inch taller than he was too. Now he was making his only daughter act strangely?


    He had already done his research on the kid the moment he dropped the phone on his daughter, all those weeks ago. At first he dismissed himpletely, a kid from the lower district wasn''t good enough for his daughter.


    He knew how their society operated, the chances of someone from the boonies to make something out of themselves was very slim. He didn''t want anybody to drag down his daughter.


    But new data revealed itself as ofte. He didn''t believe it when he was given the file some days ago, the kid was using his own two hands to w out of the lower district.


    Taking advantage of the game''s and his poprity. Making it a profitable business was admirable. The business side of him couldn''t help but impressed, the father side on the other hand...


    Kiro didn''t seem like he was just a slum rat to him anymore. The business he put together from nothing through a game made him see potential in him. Great potential. But he still wasn''t that impressed, he needed to see more so he decided to y hard to get.


    His daughter deserved only the best after all. Even the keson''s weren''t enough for him for different reasons. Even with Gilbert always pestering him to marry off his daughter to Isaac, he didn''t approve.


    "This is the boy, is he?" He looked dead serious all of a sudden.


    Kiro broke into a nervous sweat. I smiled awkwardly as if to tell her father to stop, that he was embarrassing her to death but he never did.


    Kiro held his own and looked him straight in the eye without any implications he was scared, his hand still out to shake his.


    ''What the hell is up with this old man? Shake it already!''


    check out m-v-l-e-m-p-y-r


    Jes¨²s'' gazended on Kiro''s neck, he looked at the ne he hadn''t seen in a very long time.


    "Interesting..." He said and walked away. "That''s something you''ll have to earn, kid." Just like that he left without shaking Kiro''s hand.


    He slowly withdrew his hand and slid it in his pocket. He suddenly felt like he wasn''t hungry anymore.


    If it wouldn''t have been too embarrassing for him, he''d be on the ground right now, in a fetal position. The whole interaction had drained him, he didn''t know why.


    "That¡ªwas¡ªintense." He said instead.


    Hiro pushed him toward the restaurant door. You could see it all over his face that he was, with much difficulty, holding downughter.


    "I''m sorry about my dad, he can be a child sometimes." I said looking back seeing her father''s back, but her father never looked back, not once.


    "Let''s try to enjoy the rest of the day, I think Kiro almost soiled his new pants." Saanvi roared withughter.


    "I did not!"


    Everyone else startedughing, he smiled a bit, looking back and chuckled nervously and they entered a fancy restaurant they''d never hoped to eat at.


    "Ah the lighting here is so good,e let''s take some pictures!" Saanvi suggested.


    The first ones to take them were of her and Hiro, she insisted on that. She was all close and touchy with him, although the quiet shy boy took over making him look ufortable, he didn''t hate it.


    Next was Kiro and I, they stood way too far apart. Saanvi kept telling them to get closer and they would take a small step towards each other and still leave a gap in-between.


    They were doing this at a lobby, there was a line before them. They''d still need to be checked in and given a table, so Saanvi saw this as a perfect opportunity to pass time.


    "OMG you two, what the actual hell, link arms! Get closer!"


    They did as shemanded, Kiro couldn''t even look at her at first. So the first picture came out with him just looking at the ceiling as if it was the most interesting thing.


    As he got morefortable however, he posed with her properly. Saanvi didn''t even need to tell them what to do once they gotfortable.


    "Look at you! So cozy with each other all of a sudden!" Saanvi teased.


    "This is what you wanted isn''t it?" Kiro shot back with a shrug.


    She didn''t get the chance to answer back as it was their turn to get a table. They reached the front desk, the man''s expression went from a friendly smile to wide eyed terror.


    "I''m so sorry Miss, I didn''t see you there, why did you note up, you needn''t have waited." He said in an apologetic tone.


    "That''s alright, my friends didn''t mind waiting." Saanvi answered, clearly embarrassed that they were giving her preferential treatment.


    The others nodded, giving the worker reassurance.


    This was a chain restaurant her father owned. So naturally, the employees would know her. Though this man felt like he hadmitted a grave sin not recognising her right away.


    He kept apologising and Saanvi kept reassuring him.


    "What the hell do you all do with misbehaving employees, torture? Why''s he so on edge?" Kiro whispered to Saanvi.


    She didn''t answer him, simply shooting him a deadly look. Which caused him to retreat with his hands in the air.


    "I don''t know what to order, I''ve only ever seen most these foods on TV." Hiro said looking through the menu, which was helpful because you only needed to click on the meal and it would show you a picture and ingredients used.


    Kiro ordered a normal breakfast of sausage, eggs and bacon. He wasn''t going to break his bank because of fancy food, and he wasn''t quite ready to start new foods, in case he didn''t like them.


    The others ordered some seafoods. Hiro wanted to properly spoil himself.


    "Those eggs look great, can I have a taste?" I was seated next to Kiro, she was somehow more bold after the pictures together.


    Kiro didn''t mind, he didn''t think about it much. His sister used to always do this so he''d asionally feed her from his te, and he unconsciously did the same thing with I.


    She was a bit surprised by his willingness to do this, but she obliged nheless. Saanvi used this moment to snap some pictures while he was obliviously feeding her.


    Her teid forgotten on the table, as they finished his food in record time.

 Chapter 174: Stargazing

    They exited the restaurant and headed straight for the ausement park. The girls offered to pay for the park tickets, Kiro didn''t quite like that, but this was saving him money so he agreed, albeit sceptical.


    Dragon ride was their first choice, it was a roller-coaster, whose railway tracks were far longer. They also had gaps, making it possible for the train to jump from one side to another.


    It wasn''t the best ride in the park, but it was the most popr. So that''s what they started with. Kiro made a mental note to bring his siblings to something like this in the future. Loki especially, would love these dangerous things.


    Their dragon ride ended without a hitch. Their next one, which I said was her favourite, was called stargazing. They had no idea what to expect, they thought maybe, they''d pull out telescopes for them.


    After standing in line for 15 minutes, they were let in. There were a lot of transparent capsules. It seemed one could contained two people only, any more than that it wouldn''t do what it was meant to do.


    It was their first time here so their bodies didn''t adjust immediately, they were feeling adrenaline rush from the roller-coaster.


    "Kiro,e on, ride with me." She shouted beckoning him forward.


    They entered the capsule and sat down, it wasfortable enough and they were strapped down. They sat across from each other.


    Then without any warning or exnation, the capsule shot up straight for the sky. Kiro almost jumped off his seat, if it weren''t for the belt keeping him on the chair he was sure he would''ve fallen over.


    While I was smiling, sitting gracefully as if not affected by the decreasing air pressure as they went up into the atmosphere and then, out of the. They settled in the earth''s orbit.


    The seat belts unstrapped automatically, he unconsciously got up from his seat. Theck of gravity caused for him float.


    "Please tell me there''s a way to turn that off? I don''t like not being in control of my own body!"


    "You''re such a baby, zero gravity off."


    Hended on his behind ungracefully, he got up looking at the breathtaking sight before him, to say he was entranced would be an underestimated. He had forgotten where he was or who he was with.


    He thought, not even the mysterious door in-game did this ce justice. They were shot from the other side of the that wasn''t habitable, he could imagine how it was before something destroyed their world.


    His thoughts were disturbed with a camera snap, when he looked. I had already taken a picture of him, she couldn''t help herself.


    "So, this is your favourite thing in this park? I like your aesthetics." Heplimented.


    "Of course, I have good taste." She smiled, pushing her hair to the back of her ear.


    They were standing side by side watching the universe.


    "Good taste? Like your breakfast." He nudged her a little on the shoulder.


    "Pfft," sheughed, remembering how she left it uneaten.


    The capsule was made so that they could see very far aways, I seemed to know each and every one of them. She wasn''t shy sharing the information either.


    Kiro made sure the phone was on silent and the camera sh was off and stole a snap as she turned, wearing the most beautiful smile he''d ever seen on her face... He took a few more of thes around them as to not raise suspicion.


    They only had 30 minutes up there but it felt like a lifetime for both of them. A lifetime neither wanted to end.


    I''s hand rested on the capsule as she looked beyond with much excitement, Kiro put his ontop of hers. That startled her but she rxed after, butterflies gently mming on the insides of her stomach. He had gotten so close from behind her, she could lightly feel his breathe on her skin.


    "So... Bel... I¡ª"


    "Please take your seats, the capsule will descended to the park in 60 seconds."


    They were both jolted back to reality by the robotic voice. Kiro cursed at its impable timing, he cursed himself for stuttering, he didn''t think he''d be courageous again as to touch her again like this.


    Against their desires, they obliged and sat, but they were side by side now. They were quickly strapped in and the descent started.


    I took out her phone and snapped a picture of them since they were closely sat together and the background was pretty remarkable.


    "This was truly a great time, I think it''s my favourite thing to do too now." Hemented.


    She locked their pinky fingers together which surprise Kiro at first, "I''m d." She told him.


    It was silence the rest of the way, they were about to touch down when she remembered something she meant to give him before her father disturbed the moment.


    "Ah Ki, here." She took out the watch. "I bought it at the store for you, I was just waiting for the right moment to give it to you."


    Kiro was speechless, "Me? Except for this ne I don''t think I''ve ever received a gift. Thanks Bel." He quickly put it on to show her he was appreciative and that it suited his tastes.


    It was silver in colour which he appreciated, that meant she put a lot of thought and considered his ne before buying it.


    "Hey Ki, don''t get any taller, okay?" She blurted out as they exited the capsule. She didn''t hate it, but now she wasn''t growing and his cheeks were getting further away from her reach!


    He chuckled, she was being cute with him which he didn''t hate. He promised not to get any taller.


    ''Does this mean she''s my girlfriend or something now?'' He blushed at the thought, this would be his first, ever.


    Her father''sst words to him crashed him back to reality. ''What did he mean by I have to earn his handshake? Are old people all the same? Stupidly cryptic?''


    They saw their friends standing from across the field. Hiro was every bit of pumped, perhaps even more than I. Kiro wondered about that, he just hoped Hiro didn''t make a move first. That would absolutely destroy him.


    I was already walking towards the two when Kiro pulled her by the arm. She hadn''t seen the in-park vehicleing from her blindspot. He pulled her too close and too quick, they ended up in a hugging position.


    story by m|v_l,e,m,p,y,r


    "Can I have your phone ID?" He whispered, remembering he didn''t have it.

 Chapter 175: Incident At The Park

    They spent the little time they had left on food stalls. It was overall a sessful day, they had great fun at the park.


    It was gettingte and colder, but Kiro was still feeling the warmth of idently forcing I to hug him. He didn''t regret it one bit. The choices were between pushing her forwards or pulling her to him after all.


    He may not have been well versed in rtionship. But he knew pushing her to fall on the other side wouldn''t have been smooth at all. To make it even better, she gave him her ID without a second thought and asked him for his.


    "Ah, I have to take a leak, I''ll be back."


    They all decided to, they''d been eating and drinking juice all day after all. As they approached the toilets, they heard voices inside, having a heated argument.


    That caused them to freeze by the entrance.


    The toilets were both at the same building, but designed with a passage before entering into the men''s side or the women''s side. The voices came from the passage.


    I was about to walk in when Kiro pulled her away once again, and put his index finger on her lips as he noticed she was about to speak up.


    "I''ve always known you didn''t like me like that, I knew about your obsession for her, I always thought, maybe I can change him... I can''t believe you''d just abandon me like that." The female voice echoed throughout the area.


    Though nobody stopped to listen, the park was packed and very noisy. You''d only hear this, if you wereing to use the toilet.


    "Will you lower your voice?" The male voice shouted back.


    "Afraid daddy will hear how much of a failure his son is? Hoping they let you in the sanctum? I know you know they won''t."


    "What did you just say?"


    Thud¡ªThud¡ªThud


    They could hear the fists pounding on flesh. Kiro and Hiro didn''t know what was going on, or who those people were, that''s why their bodies moved on their own.


    The scene in front of them, a woman was lying on the ground in a fetal position, protecting herself. The guy continued stomping, they felt his rage before they could even see it.


    Kiro tackled the guy to the floor and pinned him down. The lights came on in the passage, as the girls switched it on.


    "What the? Isaac?" Kiro said with a tired sick tone.


    .


    Suddenly his day was ruined. He had just saved Ursa, the girl who had no issue ruining his life. He was conflicted, but took sce in that, his mother would probably be proud of him.


    But the moment he recognised the stupid face, he reacted by instinct and twisted his arm more than he should''ve.


    "Get off me you rat, this is none of your business." He wriggled around trying to break free, but Kiro was able to stop him from getting up.


    "You''re right it''s none of my business, but not on my watch. Do it in your dorm next time, you dumb coward."


    This was when he realised that, the anger for their shenanigans hadn''t left him, he''d just shoved it down. It was threatening to climb back out, as he wanted to bash his head on the floor.


    "What you did to my friend isn''t great." Hiro said, helping Ursa to her feet. "I''m not obligated to help you, I don''t want to, but my friend here is, a better man than me I guess. Please get out of here." He said smiling coldly.


    Kiro watched this scene with pride in his heart, Hiro''s shy personality was fading by the minute. When they first met, he''d blow up with anger before he said anything. But now he could at leastmunicate his anger.


    "Sorry, thank you." She quickly ran out of the toilet.


    ''Sanctum? What is that, should I force her to tell me and say that makes us even?'' Kiro wondered letting Isaac loose.


    "Hahaha, you''re dead meat rats, you dare put your dirty hands on me." Heughed maniacally lying on the floor. "Buying nice clothes won''t rinse the smell and dirt youe from."


    "Oh these?" Kiro pointed at the new clothes he was wearing, "you paid for them." He smirked seeing the horror on his face.


    "W-what do you¡ªwhat are you talking about?"


    Kiro passed him without another word, he was really pressed, his dder was full.


    When the girls saw they resolved this without beating Isaac senseless. They entered their toilet.


    "Waynworth, I''m warning you¡ª"


    "Warning me with your dad''s power?" He asked washing his hands. "I''m not afraid of you Isaac, not even a little bit, your power is only borrowed it''s not really yours." He came face to face with him.


    "I''ll be the family head, to say the power isn''t mine is a delusion, rat." He said proudly.


    "What are you still even doing here? Asserting your dominance? The girl you could overpower is gone. Without your goons, I''m afraid you''re just a weakling." Kiro walked away after saying that.


    They decided to wait for the girls at the door. Being in the same space as Isaac suffocated him for some reason. He didn''t trust himself not to punch him in the mouth.


    Isaac rushed forward and purposely bumped into Kiro.


    "Oops." He said without stopping and continued toward the door.


    ''Calm down Kiro, don''t be stupid, they already implicated your family, they can probably do way worse. Calm down.'' He tried to calm himself down.


    Isaac hadn''t gone out the door when he noticed Iing out of the girls toilet. His face lit up, he didn''t notice that they arrived here at the same time.


    She had heard half of the things Isaac said to Kiro, she knew he was probably about to blow up with anger. So she went and linked his arm with hers.


    Kiro''s anger melted immediately. He didn''t know what it was but the aura that I radiated gave him a peaceful state of mind.


    So they left Isaac, who was still as a statue, dumbfounded at what just transpired.

 Chapter 176: Sleepover

    They walked to the station. They''ve had quite enough of the park, Isaac being their cherry on top ruined the experience, if only a little.


    It wasn''t all bad as Kiro scrolled through the pictures of I he had stolen. He had his phone up to his face so that nobody would see.


    "Do you know what the sanctum is?" He asked I who was still attached to his arm.


    "Mm? Never heard of it." She shrugged.


    Saanvi shrugged too. It was the first they''d heard about it when Ursa mentioned it just a few minutes ago.


    "Well if two rich brats don''t know about it, it can''t be that important." He jokingly said.


    mp-y,r.


    "Jerk!" I punched him lightly on the shoulder while sheughed.


    Even Saanvi wasughing. Kiro was seeing a rare sight right in front of him. Which caused him to stare a little, he shook it off before she could notice though.


    "Are you alright buddy?" He asked Hiro who seemed out of ce ever since the toilet incident.


    He lightly chuckled and stroked the back of his head, "yes, yes." He boarded the train first.


    Kiro could tell something was amiss with him but he didn''t ask any further. He reckoned he didn''t want to spill his guts in front of the girl of his dreams.


    They arrived at school a little over 5. Winter was almost here so the sun had almost already set at this point.


    All they could talk about was how great the park had been and how they should visit it again some time. They decided to skip dinner too, they expected to get in trouble for this, since they skipped breakfast they may as well go all the way.


    They said their goodbyes to the girls and walked the rest of the way together. In silence.


    "Ready to talk?" Kiro asked him as he stood in front of his room.


    "Can I crash here tonight?" Hiro smiled awkwardly as he asked.


    Kiro gave him a questioning look, he couldn''t read his face at all. He opened his door and gestured for him toe in. He did. They sat on the couch, Kiro put on some TV.


    [... It''s been reported that over 30 million citizens of Sanctauri are now ying this game. It''s certainly taken our world by storm.]


    [No doubt about that Nancy. There''s even people capitalising on this game, they''ve apparently gotten really lucky in-game and received a rare ss, they call themselves After Dark, apparently they offer a service for guilds...]


    "Holy sh*t Kiro, they''re talking about us!" Hiro was obviously excited, this seemed to elevate his mood a bit.


    "What a strange turn of events!"


    They talked about the ingenious idea for over 15 minutes. Praising the individuals behind it, who''ve kept themselves hidden. The two listened attentively, basking in the manypliments they were showered by not only the reporters but also some Inte people.


    "I think, I was fine when I didn''t know my way through the Inte. I don''t like how they can make me feel this good about myself." Kiromented absentmindedly watching.


    Their segment was finally over, and it was covering regr old, boring news about this and that. It was pure fortune if they ever reported on the lower district, it was always some stupid middle or upper district story orck thereof.


    "The sanctum¡ª" Hiro suddenly said, Kiro turned to look at him, he took a really long pause as if he were contemting or trying to remember something.


    Kiro waited for him, he didn''t want to disturb his train of thought. Even though he was apprehensive, he did just mention the mysterious sanctum.


    "I don''t know what it is, so don''t look so hopeful." He chuckled. "Anyway, I don''t remember much, but when I heard that girl say it, I remembered my mum and dad arguing one time, this sanctum word was thrown in the mix before my brother disturbed them and they remembered where they were so they stopped."


    Kiro searched his friends face for more answers, he couldn''t find any. He sighed. "Is this also around the time your father disappeared?"


    Hiro simply nodded.


    "Clearly this is no coincidence, it can''t be." Kiro mumbled, putting his thinking hat on.


    Since Isaac wanted to be part of it as per Ursa, then it can only be for the rich people. The fact that he can''t join yet, could only mean, it was for rich adults. These thoughts were swirling inside Kiro''s mind.


    ''They have a secret society? Of course they do!''


    Kiro didn''t share his conclusion with his friend. Scared he would freak Hiro out. Scared it wasn''t safe to say it out in the open like this. He was better off believing he could still find his father and maybe he still can, he''s been lost for just a year after all.


    His grandfather on the other hand, it had been over a decade. He had zero hopes that he was still within the realm of the living. He smiled wryly, touching the ne he had given him all those years ago.


    ''Rest in peace grandpa.'' He said a little prayer. He didn''t know if gods were real, but if he could go back in time, then they must be and maybe heaven was also real.


    He patted his friend on the back. "Don''t worry, I''ll help you get to the bottom of this. I¡ªwell¡ªI also had someone disappear without a trace, my grandpa."


    Silence filled the room for the longest time.


    Hiro smiled, wiping a single tear from his eye. "I''ll go get my headgear, it''d be a waste not to y on the weekend."


    Coming back as promised they entered the game and Kiro stayed with him to help around the shop. He could use the extra hands to sort out the unending materials Felix kept on sending.


    Just like that, weeks turned into months. In a blink of an eye, it''d already been 3 months since entering school. They had already sat for their quarterly exams, they were waiting for results and they''d be off to holidays.


    The weather wasn''t so kind, snow had already fallen. It was December after all. Kiro was d he had bought a jacket and dropped his stubbornness back then. This winter seemed to be colder than any he''d ever experience. Maybe it was because they were somewhere else.


    Even after months, their business was steady. Though they hadn''t gone to a single mercenary job, nobody seemed to trust them enough not to sell their information to other yers.


    Kiro was sat at his dorm couch with his best friend, when a breaking news signal showed on the TV and it automatically switched to the news channel.


    [Breaking news. The game, Asgard Online has introduced real life currency conversion!]

 Chapter 177: Game Goes Live

    [The mysteriouspany that created the online VRMMORPG, that has taken Sanctauri by storm has just released an update within the game. It''s still unknown where thepany hails from, but they''ve managed to make Asgard a second world that has its own currency.


    Now that currency is something that can be exchangeable for real creds. It''s rumoured that 1 in-game gold coins will be 50 creds which is a massive gain...]


    Kiro stood there dumbfounded. He didn''t even notice when he took a standing position. His knees were growing weak, he wanted to cry in relief.


    3 months! 3 whole months the game made him wait. He had given uppletely on the conversion, he was starting to save money from his beast rental business. But this surprise was the best one he''s received in a long time.


    "Ki, did I hear that right? Is that saying what I think it''s saying?" Hiro called out. Influenced by I, they''d started calling him Ki now. Even Saanvi.


    "Hiro, this is real right? Pinch me."


    So he did. He could feel the pain. That''s when he started jumping for joy. Things were finally looking up, his ns would move with much fluidity the more money he had.


    "F*ck Hiro, we''re rich!" A twisted grin was pasted on his face.


    Hiro looked at him suspiciously. His friend has always been particr about spending gold in-game, he''d always warn everyone not to waste them, did he perhaps knew this was going to happen?


    "Ki, did you know this was going to happen? Is that why you made us mine for many days, why you told us not to waste gold coins?"


    Kiro looked at him warily. ''When did he get so sharp?'' He thought about what to tell him, he''d already told him he was a regressor, he didn''t believe him. There was no point in attempting it again. So he lied.


    "Dummy, of course I didn''t. How would I have?"


    They were so happy that they had forgotten they were supposed to log into the game, the rest of the guys were waiting for them on the other side.


    -----------


    ''Why aren''t they here already? Didn''t Kiro say he has some information about a dungeon, what could possibly be dying them now. We need to show these people not trusting us was the wrong move.'' Niki thought to himself.


    They had created a group chat for after dark and agreed to login at 2pm but both of them were waste. But just then, a notification sounded.


    Ding!


    [Update. The game has been updated.


    PvP rules have changed, your opponent will have the choice to ept or reject your challenge.


    Guild Wars will be held once a month. If a guild is challenged, they will have no choice but to participate. Failure to do so will lead to the inevitable, losing your base to the enemy.


    More dungeons and monsters are now avable. Asgard is in even graver danger, it needs you heroes to step up and defend it.


    New sses avable. Go to the game''s website to see them all.


    In-game currency can now be exchanged to creds. 50creds are 1 gold coin. We the developers hope you continue ying. Thank you for the great support.]


    ''Mm? what do they mean by this.'' Niki was still pondering the new updates.


    "Does this mean we can use coins out there, in real life?" Felix was the only poor guy between the two, so with everything else that is all he saw.


    "Oh yeah, you''re right, there it is, it says you need to link your real bank ount s it can be easier." Niki said perusing through the additional information.


    "Yo, idiots!" Kiro shouted as they walked through the portal.


    "Leader you''rete. You''re not setting a very good example for us." Ishaan said imitating Dr. Ramirez.


    Kiro gave him a good smacking, "you''re not in ss now, be responsible for your damn self."


    Niki really appreciated Kiro, he may not know it because he''d never tell him this but the guy, albeit with strange ways, he wasn''t a bad leader for them.


    "In-game currency can be exchanged for dens!? we''re rich! we''re rich!" Hiro shouted as if it were warcry.


    Everyone there roared withughter. As they discussed their way forward.


    "It still stands, I expected they won''t be as generous with coins now that it can be used as money. But whatever you make, half of it still belongs to After Dark. This applies to in-game coins." He told them seriously.


    They nodded in understanding.


    "So then the information about a dungeon?"


    Kiro was unhappy all of a sudden with Ishaan''s line of questioning. I mean, they had just received good news but all he wanted to talk about were dungeon runs. this chapter is NovelBin|le|mp|y r


    He sighed. Understanding that, the kid was just, a rich brat. He didn''t jump up and down like them in the presence of money, he was used to it.


    "Ishaan, we will get to thatter. Us paupers need to get rich first, alright?" He answered him while linking his bank ount with his game ount.


    He wasn''t being dismissive or anything, but his spectres weren''t back yet with information. He wasn''t worried, he could feel that they were still alive.


    "Okay, okay. I have over 500 million coins, let me convert a 100 million and see how much that is." Kiro mumbled to himself.


    Hiro could hear his friend''s rumblings. He was still dumbfounded by the turn of events, he couldn''t believe this. He could buy a house for his sister, brother and mother now! Not anywhere shabby either, like a real luxurious house!


    "How much, how much do you think we should cash out?" He asked nervously


    "I''ll do 100 million, and leave the rest for game y." He answered.


    "Okay, I''ll do 100 million as well!"


    Kiro was d his suspicion receded. He could tell him the truth if he would believe it, but he didn''t want to bring it up unless he could prove it.


    He realised they had some skill books left which he quickly put up for auction. He left some skill books for Felix and Ishaan. Then they cashed out their money.

 Chapter 178: An Uproar

    Since their banks were now linked with the game, as soon as they transfered to their real life ounts, they could see the billions of creds their ounts were suddenly topped by.


    "It¡ªit really came in. I¡ªI have billions in my ount."


    Kiro nodded slowly, patting his friends back who thought this was all a dream. Felix also stood dumbfounded at the bnce, he had been at the mines all this time until now, he had a good haul.


    Enjoy reading at m-vle-.


    "I know what I said, in our group chat, but my P.Is haven''t returned yet. We need to show these guilds that they need us, in order to do that is through information!" Kiro said passionately.


    "You just want to go spend your money don''t you?" Niki asked shaking his head.


    "Haha, it''s obvious then? You rich folks wouldn''t understand. You can''t."


    "Leader, I expect that we y every day for the 2 weeks we will be off from school." Niki demanded.


    "I promise, I''ll make it up to you."


    Just like that, he let them go. They all decided to log out. Since school was to be out in a few days anyway, they''d agreed that, ying while at home would be more rxing.


    They were also waiting for their exam results. There was also that bit of stress.


    "Ki, I don''t know what to do, what should we do. This is a lot of money, I feel like it''s a trap, won''t they arrest us as soon as we use it?" Hiro asked.


    "You have an overactive imagination Hiro, but I don''t me you, I wouldn''t put it past our society to do something like that. But let''s go look at houses?"


    They hurried down to the library, theputers were there, they had to use them as they didn''t have personalputers of their own. In this society you could buy anything, including houses online.


    They started browsing through the upper district, the district was huge. They were now confused more than ever about which neighbourhood to buy from.


    They didn''t know the ins and outs of the upper, they never really bothered to learn about it to such an extent.


    "Need help?"


    They looked up, it was Ishaan.


    "Are you following us?"


    He roared withugher. Quickly stopped when the librarian gave him the most vicious stare.


    "No, but I can see you''re struggling to get a house. My street built 5 new estates in the past year. Though each estate costs 500 million creds. As thend is about 50 acres."


    "Oh, that''s doable. I thought you''d say 100 billion or something!" Hiro said wearing a relief expression.


    "Haha, well then I suggest my street. It has some of the richest people in Sanctauri. So it''s security is second to none. But the downside is that, Isaac also lives there, I know you two don''t get along."


    Hiro looked at Kiro expectedly. He was ready to follow his best friend wherever he decided to go.


    "We don''t mind. We don''t care about that little brat. As long as he doesn''t bother us, I won''t bother him." He said with conviction.


    ''That''s if they can survive my revenge.'' He added internally.


    Then they looked through Ishaan''s neighbourhood. Somehow Kiro hoped that I also lived there.


    They each bought their estates. The houses were huge, with 10 bedrooms, 8 of which had their own toilets. A big kitchen, a dining hall, a lounge, a theatre room where you could watch films with 20 people, a VR pod room, a gym. A pool and a garden outside.


    Thends had a huge garden and a lot of trees nted all around the estate.


    At the back there was a big two storey building, with units numbered from 1 to 10, in case the owners wanted their help to live within the estate. The building had stairs on each side.


    Each unit had 3 bedrooms, 2 toilets, a kitchen and a lounge, so it was spacious. There was even ake. Hiro picked one that was next door to Kiro''s. He said no matter what he wanted to be next door to him.


    These estates were so big that your next door neighbour would be 10 minutes away, by foot. Kiro put the house in his dad''s and mum''s name. He couldn''t own a house before they did.


    When he exined his reasoning to Hiro, he did the same, even though his dad was missing. Officially the houses were owned by their families, they could move in immediately. The title deeds were emailed to each of them.


    "It feels like I just did something heavy, like scratching an itch that has been bothering me all day, and now the heavy burden has been lifted. I suddenly feel so light!" Kiro went on a rumble.


    He continued to browse the Inte. He kept getting pop ups about the state of Sanctauri. Apparently there were riots in some parts of the country because of this game.


    People who couldn''t afford it wanted to y it too, so they wanted to take it by force. Kiro didn''t judge, he understood them.


    "What do you think of this?" Hiro asked.


    "A mall? That''s not a bad idea. Go on, buy it! This is something we will never stop needing as a society." Kiro shrugged and went back to his browsing.


    Hiro saw that the owner wanted to sell the building, he was barely breaking even. He just wanted to take what he can and leave the business world. 100 million wasn''t a bad deal, so he bought it.


    "You''re investing in apany like this? You''re still very green, you can''t just trust them!" Ishaan eximed, seeing Kiro inject over a billion of his money in a newpany nobody has ever heard of.


    He had bought over 60% of thepany, it now belonged to him. Not entirely, but he didn''t want to own all of it after all.


    "I''ll be alright." He gave him a wink.


    Within 5 minutes thepany sent him a lengthy email, thanking him for believing in them. Kiro put on a smirk, he couldn''t wait for the chaos this one decision will cause.

 Chapter 179: Upper District

    They had to be patient little boys, waiting for the exam results toe out. Constantly going to the gym, spending most of their hours working out. They had well defined muscles.


    Compared to 3 months ago, they looked like Kings. They''ve grown taller, gained great weight that they turned into lean muscles that suited their heights.


    Most importantly, they made friends. Great friends that didn''t have a problem of their low societal status before they got billions.


    During this waiting period, they both called their families, they had to get them to the upper district somehow. So they told an innocent lie. That the academy was holding an end of the term event, they were all needed to attend.


    They went as far as to say the school''s private jet will pick them up the morning after the schools were closed. They only needed to get to the airport at such and such time. They wanted the surprise to be perfect.


    While Hiro told his mum the same thing, his mum didn''t readily believe him, he spent an hour trying not to spill the beans to her. She finally relented when he asked I to convince her. Being a recognisable Silva made it easier.


    "You''re a life saver!" He sighed with relief. "My mum is always so suspicious, not that I me her, but she''s too much sometimes."


    "Any time!" I smiled massaging his shoulder to relieve the stress.


    The school had been in a state of chaos since the exams were done, especially since the announcement by the game. Guilds were already asserting their dominance, fighting for dungeons and marking them as their own.


    "How''s your guild doing by the way? Our group isn''t doing so great. While people know our capabilities, they don''t trust that we won''t distribute their information. It''s a hassle!" Kiro struck up a conversation with I.


    "There''s already a guild that challenged us, we can''t sit out the first guild wars no matter what." She said as she seasoned her chicken and put tomato sauce on it. "Maybe we should hire you guys, you can do it for free to promote your group."


    Kiro ignored her weird foodbination and really thought about her suggestion it wasn''t exactly a bad one. He looked at hisrades, they weren''t far so they heard everything, to the suggestion they all nodded in agreement.


    "It''s unanimous!" He shouted louder than he intended.


    Just then, as they were seated at the cafeteria, the announcement that results were out sounded. Each person''s results appeared right in front of them, along with their first year campus ranking.


    "I''m number 2? That''s a first!" Kiroined. He was too used to being first at his old school. "Higher education really is a challenge." He mumbled.


    "I always knew I was better than you, hehe." Saanviughed mockingly.


    Kiro peeked at her virtual sheet, and sure enough, she was number 1 in their campus. He looked at Saanvi, then the sheet, then Saanvi again.


    "Unbelievable!"


    The people sitting around the table looked at them with much surprise and prejudice.


    "So you guys are smart?" Niki asked a bit shocked. Kiro showed a bit of promise within his judgement, but Saanvi? She did not give him that impression at all.


    The four nodded in unison. As they weren''t even part of the top 20 students. They wouldn''t have guessed that, these two were the cream of the crop.


    Instead of being congratted they were shamed by their friends, about how secretive and stingy with knowledge they were being.


    read on NovelBin,em,pyr


    "Ask for help and it shall be given, right Ki?" Saanvi asked her second inmand with a smug tone.


    "Of course of course, firstdy!" Kiro yed along.


    The group hauled more insults their way for their arrogance. They didn''t know when they''d see each other again, so they made the most of it.


    It was veryte by the time they decided to leave for their rooms, so they could pack up for the holidays. As tomorrow by 11am they were required to have all vacated the premises of the academy.


    It was already 2am, they decided to sleep instead of gaming.


    In the morning they took the earliest flight. Kiro and Hiro hadn''t told the rest about buying houses, they thought it''d make for a good surprise. They didn''t question them either when they chose a jet, they had money after all.


    "You guys are just going to ride with us? I thought they had different jets for different districts?" I asked a bit taken aback.


    "Haha, Bel doesn''t want us to see her neighbourhood!"


    "N-not true!" She blushed imagining Kiro at her house.


    They arrived within minutes. It was the fastest thing the two had ever ridden. Faster than the theme park capsule. Since they were with rich kids, the experience inside the jet wasn''t bad at all.


    They were treated with a respect they''ve never received from people of power before, it was new and weed.


    They got out with them. Rode from the airport with them. Surprisingly they got off the same street as I, Saanvi and Ishaan. The others lived on the next one.


    "Is this your weird way of spending holidays in our houses?" Saanvi with her sharp tongue, asked.


    "Actually, we bought houses here." Hiro shrugged.


    "Shut the front door, not you didn''t!?" The excitement in her voice couldn''t be contained.


    I was in silent happy shock.


    "You don''t have to be so excited that I''m moving in Saanvi." Kiro joked.


    "Pfft." She couldn''t even be mad, her happiness at that moment was genuine.


    They said their goodbyes and promised to visit, while they got into their ck cars with tinted windows.


    The two decided to walk towards the houses they had bought. The stop from the airport wasn''t really that far off. They got there 10 minutes and couldn''t believe how big 50 acres was.


    The real estatepany had already registered the Waynworth family as the owners of the estate. So there weren''t any troubles. Entering through the gates, the system recognised Kiro.


    "Wee, Kiro Waynworth!" The soothing voice sounded.


    They looked at each other with shock. "A smart house?" They blurted out at the same time, they''ve only ever read about them.


    They walked towards the house, the walkway was made of stone, with endless grass and trees to the side.


    The grass was short and green, the nts and trees were very much alive as if someone had been taking care of thendscape.


    Kiro twisted the doorknob, it took 1 second to scan him and the door opened.


    The ce was clean, with thetest models of furniture already installed. Suppose that''s why it was that expensive? They toured Kiro''s first, then Hiro''s. They were simr.


    "Ki, this is the best day of my life." He said excitedly.

 Chapter 180: Area 1

    Not that they could''ve been bored in those big houses, as there was a lot to do and explore but they decided to explore the neighbourhood first.


    They noticed how quiet the streets were. They weren''t used to something like this, back where they came from streets were filled with kids, ying all sorts of mundane games.


    This was a strange and ufortable sight.


    They noticed that there was a mall also a walking distance. Apparently every neighbourhood had its shopping mall. It was very conspicuous, with it''s light blue see through ss walls.


    "Bold of them to make walls ss!"


    "That''s a really strong ss, stronger than steel apparently." Kiro shrugged.


    "That''s just what they want you to think, I used to build things with my dad, there''s a specific way to cut through it."


    "Now, how is that you didn''t make top 5?"


    "Haha, well," he was embarrassed to even say it. "I kind of just freeze in there, I can''t exin it. Ever since my father''s disappearance, I just can''t do anything that reminds me..." He trailed off.


    "That''s alright Hiro, I understand. You don''t want to do it, but you also want to do it. A dilemma."


    He nodded.


    They walked to the mall and decided to go on a shopping spree for proper clothes. They could order everything online and it''d be delivered but they wanted to experience this.


    Walking through the doors, they expected it was empty but it wasn''t. There were quite a lot of kids.


    ''So this is where these bratse to y?''


    Though their clothes weren''t as bad, they were still considered lowly in Area 1. They were met with whispers and scoffs. Which they ignored.


    Most customers inside were just kids. Clearly the rich granted their kids freedom from an early age. Kiro couldn''t imagine allowing Alora toe here alone.


    They entered a winter store, there were rows upon rows of warm clothes. They smiled gracefully, as now they didn''t really have a limit.


    "Sorry, you couldn''t afford whatever is being sold here." The worker said with an annoyed expression.


    "How do you reckon?" Kiro asked her politely, slightly amused.


    "You''re probably part of some lower district school, touring the upper district. I don''t wish for my time to be wasted!" She shot back, getting angry that Kiro''s tone was mocking.


    "I don''t like conflicts," Hiro started walking towards the worker. "Where''s your manager or boss, for you to treat customers like this..."


    "My boss will tell you the same thing."


    "Call him." He demanded.


    Kiro watched from behind, he was getting prouder of Hiro by the second. He preferred his assertive personality more.


    "What seems to be the problem here?" The manager walked in 15 minutester, with a subtle disgusted look on his face.


    Hiro was right about the fact that he didn''t like conflict. So he shoved the title deed of the mall in his face.


    The manager''s reaction was almost instantaneous, he started sweating, his body was involuntarily shaking. He attempted to smile but it came out robotic, almost forced.


    "I¡ªI¡ªsir, what can I help you with?"


    "I know for a fact that the worker didn''t act on her own, she was probably told by her superiors to be prejudiced.


    "If it were up to my feelings, I''d kick you out of this lot. But this is business. Though I could just raise your rent." Hiro made a thinking face as if he was considering it seriously.


    In all honesty, he had already decided to raise the rent. He''d looked at the business'' financial books and with Kiro''s help, they noticed that the reason the previous owner was barely breaking even was because of the rent.


    When they asked him about it, he simply told them he didn''t want to lose anyone by raising the rent. If he did, he would be making a loss, so he instead allowed the status quo.


    Kiro was surprised at his weak excuse, entering the business world meant taking risks. He understood that the risk should at least be calcted, but he yed it way too safe.


    "Please Sir, I''m sorry for my insolence, don''t throw us out, please don''t punish us." He begged.


    The worker was astounded, she didn''t know what the man showed her boss, but she could see his boss begging which was something she''d never seen before.


    "I''ll raise the rent by 10%, of course you can leave if you don''t want to pay it. Maybe also tell the rest of the shops here, because of your insolence they have to pay extra." Hiro was enjoying this more than he thought he would.


    "Yes sir, I''m sorry sir. You''re too generous sir."


    "Pfft, you''re only sorry because he has power over you." Kiroughed as he said.


    "I''ll change I''ll treat everyone with respect, you can buy everything here, discounted by 50%. Just to extend my sincere apologies."


    He didn''t think they''d take him up on his offer, rich people in this society would consider this an insult. But...


    "Don''t mind if we do!" They said at the same time.


    They went around the store taking one of everything. There were various winter jackets and boots. Jerseys and sweaters and hoodies. They took a good chunk. The owner almost contracted a heart attack right there.


    His face was very bitter as he helped them checkout. Discounting everything by 50%. They were kids from the slums, they wouldn''t turn down saving money no matter what.


    They left the shop with broad smiles on their faces. With Hiro telling him, he''ll draw up a new lease for next month. He waved them goodbye, telling them toe again, albeit hesitantly.


    They hired a mall cart, that would follow them from store to store. They only had two hands and they were nning to buy a little more than they need, especially when they were even given a discount.


    They bought a lot of branded clothes and shoes, the final price for clothing was in the 100 thousands. They bought both formal and casual wear.


    They didn''t encounter any crude attitude from the rest of the shops. They were only given god level respect and customer service.


    As soon as they left, the owner of the winter shop warned the others. He still thought the rent was raised because of him, he didn''t want it to be raised again.

 Chapter 181: Area 1, II

    "We''ve bought every clothing avable, I doubt there''s any clothes left that I like!" Hiro was already tired, he wasn''t a fan of shopping.


    "I''m not going to lie, I''m tired too. Let''s grab some foods, I noticed there weren''t any at the houses."


    The whispers targeted at them ceased the moment they realised that they could afford to buy within that mall. The fact that they hired a mall cart proved that they could afford a whole lot.


    Now they were getting genuine smiles, even greetings here and there. They were d nobody knew who they truly were, they''d hate to swarmed by pretentious rich kids.


    "I''m kinda hungry, aren''t you?"


    They went to a food court, luckily it was buffet style. They dished all they could eat and paid 100 creds for it.


    They decided to buy a week''s worth of food and ask for it to be delivered within that hour. They walked out of the mall and it was slightly getting darker, they didn''t notice while inside.


    "Sh*t, your mall is a scam, seriously. We have not been here for hours, no way!"


    They walked through the door stepping outside, they enjoyed the air that seemed so different to what they were used to. It was a bit cold, but it felt clean and fresh. They did not noticing the eyes that watched them with much curiosity.


    Even with luggage it didn''t take them long to get to their homes. They each went to their houses to put away the things they''ve bought and packed some for school. As early as it was, they couldn''t help themselves.


    Kiro went to the street to wait for Hiro, they decided to use one house for now and they chose his. He could''ve absolutely opened the gate for him from inside but he was hoping to see someone.


    Just then, He got a video call.


    "Cruel of you to leave me here while you go shopping! Why didn''t you invited me?" She enquired.


    "So sorry Bel, I imagined you''d want to spend your first day back with your family. Didn''t want your dad to hate me more than he does."


    ''How does she even know?'' He thought internally.


    She blushed at the nickname she would probably never get used to, but recovered quickly.


    "You know, I heard from Ishaan even before you told us about buying a house. Though he lied, saying he didn''t know which street..."


    "You knew Ishaan? That big mouthed..."


    "Every rich kid know each other."


    "Sounds nd." He shook his head.


    Sheughed. Then, "you''re part of us now, you know?"


    Kiro faked gagging and puking, which made herugh harder.


    "I didn''t get to see which house you got, I''ll visit soon though." As soon as she got to their neighbourhood stop there were already cars waiting for the rich kids.


    "I got Number 10. We live across this flowery house."


    "That''s my house..."


    "I love gardens and flowers." He replied stiffly.


    She giggled this time.


    "Do you happen to have a ck rose? My little sister asked me for one. I think I''ll be doomed if I disappoint her."


    "Sure. I''ll ask the helper to bring it. Later." She hung up.


    Hiro looked at him and shook his head, "You''re going to pretend you don''t like her? Look at you, you''re smiling like an idiot."


    "Huh?" He was startled, he didn''t even notice Hiro arriving where he had been. "I don''t!" He said quickly and fixed his smiling face.


    Hiro shook his head solemny, "I''m d someone managed to pierce that hard exterior you built around your heart."


    "How poetic!!!"


    Not even 5 minutes passed and the door bell rang. Kiro opened and the person, said the funniest thing.


    "Hello, I''d like to speak with the owner, President Waynworth." She said peeking inside.


    "I''m the owner, well, my parents."


    She looked at him, she couldn''t hide her surprise. Kiro was still wearing his ''lowly clothes ording to Area 1 standards'' so he didn''t fault her.


    "oh, uh, uhm, huh¡ª"


    "Its okay, Bel sent you?"


    "Bel?"


    "Prince¡ª I mean, I."


    "Oh yes, young miss did."


    Then she handed over a bouquet of ck roses. He smiled, "thank you so much!"


    After the person left, they sat in the lounge and logged in the game.


    [Your skill books sold for 80 million coins]


    "Whoa! Hiro! The skill books sold for so much!"


    They divided it up and tossed half of each to the group''s ount. Immediately cashing it out.


    ''This is what life is supposed to look like.'' Kiro thought to himself.


    Felix and Niki came online too, minutes after they did. Niki was ecstatic, as this meant they could attempt a dungeon, or do anything. Anything at all.


    "Hey Felix, here are some priest skill books. Use them well."


    "Thanks." The bags under his eyes made it seem like he was ving away.


    "Sir Kiro, you told me to mine a lot, and I did. I thought about it, a lot since. Did you know?" This shocked everyone, even Niki. Felix wasn''t one to start a conversation.


    "Say I did. You should be grateful and don''t call me Sir." Kiro said nonchntly.


    "I am. I managed to collect 200 million coins."


    "Well I know that you made sure to give Hiro the materials, great job, and put a million into the group''s ount. From now on, whatever coins you get, half of them will go into the group. Understood?"


    "Yes!" He grinned awkwardly. He added "Should I pay for these skill books?"


    "No, they''re my gift to you. All you have to give me is your loyalty. Never betray this brotherhood." He shrugged.


    Felix nodded in understanding.


    Hiro went to work on his crafting and alchemy skills. And Kiro decided to go and help him. He figured he needed an assistant. For the whole afternoon and night of Thursday they spent time making weapons, armour, potions.


    Next time they log in though, it will be dungeon time. Kiro promised Niki. They couldn''t stay up today, because their families would arrive the next day.

 Chapter 182: Family Arrives

    It was almost time for their families to arrive. They didn''t want to go to the airport, so they hired a driver to pick them up and waited outside on the street. Since their houses were 10 minutes apart, they yelled while chatting.


    "Do you reckon we''re making noise? This neighbourhood is a ghost town."


    "No, they have soundproof houses, maybe."


    Then a voice from across the street childishly said, "no we don''t!"


    The gate opened from the flowery house and an old man came out. Like, he was really old even by their standards. Kiro was sure he''d insult them.


    "But it''s good to hear some noise, this neighbourhood is too quiet, I thought I had cacti for neighbours. Keep it up!" He encouraged.


    Kiro grinned, what a carefree old man. "Sure gramps!"


    They watched as the old man entered the liquor store at a distance, and their attention shifted to a car pulling up by Kiro''s house and Hiro ran to stand beside him.


    Their families got out of the car, shock and confusion could be seen on their faces. They had printed the title deeds, so before they said anything they gave it to them. Instead of being happy, they frowned!


    "Kiro Percival Waynworth, what is this?"


    ''Huh, why''s she mad?''


    "Why are you mad? It''s a house, your house, our house." He stuttered as he failed to exin properly.


    "I see that, are you selling drugs? are you in a gang? I didn''t raise you to be that kind of a person! Have you gotten taller?" She asked, touching him frantically, as if it''d be written on his body that he was doing something shady.


    His mother couldn''t collect her thoughts properly. She wanted to reprimand her son, but looking at how healthy he looked, she couldn''t help butment on the changes also.


    "Bro! How unreliable!" Loki chimed in.


    He didn''t want hear this from him. He joined a gang at 18 in his past life!


    Hiro didn''t fair any better, he was getting an earful. His mum told him to take back the money or she''d call the police.


    ''Amazing! So righteous! Righteous and poor. Goes well together doesn''t it. The rich are ruthless. They don''t mind stealing from the poor.'' Kiromented internally.


    He wouldn''t dare say that out loud though.


    "Everyone,e see, this money is very legal. This is how we made it." He showed them a trailer of the game, and how in-game coins could be exchange for real money.


    It was slowly just sinking in, Freya''s knees went weak. Sekani caught her just in time.


    "I''m sorry I kept it from you, but it absolutely had to be a surprise. I expect both of you to never work a day in your lives. I expect that you won''t so much as clean this house. I''ll hire help.


    "I want you to rest for the rest of your lives, focus on your health. Please, sleep, eat and bezy to your heart''s content. Your son will do everything from now on."


    Freya hugged her son and sobbed, Kiro could''ve sworn he saw something watery in his dad''s eyes. Which he quickly wiped away.


    "You''ve gotten taller after all, and sturdier." Freya said in-between sobs while hugging her son. "You''ve grown so much in only 3 months."


    Kiroughed a little, he knew the growth wasn''t a result of just 3 months. It was growth of experiencing another life entirely.


    Kiro didn''t feel he was that tall, he guessed gaining muscles made him intimidating.


    When the emotions calmed down. Hiro came over with his family.


    "Kiro, Kiro''s family, this is my family the Misaki''s. Our mother is Kiyoko, my sister Yuri and my little brother Isao."


    Kiro shook their hands and bowed at the same time.


    "This my family. The Waynworth family. Our father is Sekani, our mother is Freya. My little sister is Alora Layana and that little brat is Loki Wilfred."


    Kiro was reminded that he had Alora''s gift. He took the flowers out from his pants, he had stashed them in the back pocket by the stem.


    He knelt down, "ah Freckles, that reminds me.e here." She stood in front of him.


    He took out the roses and gave them to her. Her reaction was priceless, her smile was so cute it melt his heart.


    ''Yup this is what I live for. I live for this smile right here.''


    "What about me?" his brother asked.


    "I seem to remember you said, I should keep my money?" Kiro could see he wanted to curse himself, he looked dejected.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll buy you whatever you want. No head gear though. You must be 16 and older to use one." There was no such rule but he was making one for their household.


    Kiro didn''t know he could smile like that. It shocked him. He was sure he''ll buy all kinds of skateboards, instead of hoverboards.


    Then Loki did something more surprising and hugged his brother, but it was brief, he quickly let go.


    "Thanks." He coughed.


    The two families said their goodbyes and went their sperate ways. Kiro gave them the tour. There were two master bedrooms, he took one and the other was for his parents. His siblings chose their own rooms, he made sure they chose ones with their own toilets.


    They called Philip who was left at the house and let him know what was happening. They instructed him to box certain things and tell thendlord they won''t being back, to do whatever with the remaining lease.


    Kiro bought a ticket for Philip, he didn''t know why but he reckoned his parents would tell him why they needed this Philip.


    "Wow Ki, you''ve outdone yourself, this house, thisnd, at the upper district, where did you even get the money to buy head gear?" Freya asked him.


    Kiro could tell her ''mama senses'' were tingling, "now, don''t get mad, I used next semester''s tuition."


    She didn''t know how to feel, she was so angry, no words came out.


    "But but, everything worked out. I took a risk, it paid off, now we live here, that''s all that matters!" He defended himself.


    "He''s right darling." Sekani rarely defended the kids against their mother, but he did this time.


    Freya sighed, "yes, I guess you''re right! I''m proud of you."


    Kiro breathed a deep sigh of relief, he almost died just now. He mouthed a thank you to his father. He smiled.


    They spent the next hour looking at the house and itsnd. Kiro decided to take them to the same mall, Hiro tagged along with his family.


    They limited each family member to a million creds. They wanted to buy them whatever they wanted, but they were also not wasteful. They were business men now after all.


    They bought so much clothes that they needed 4 carts this time.


    Freya and Kiyoko bonded over what foods they should buy. They both loved cooking it seemed. Promising to give each other secret recipes, they got carried away and bought ingredients worth well over 10k.


    "Oh by the way Mrs. Misaki, your son here owns this mall!"


    "Hiroto, is that true? You didn''t mention that!" She was beyond shocked.


    "Haha, not enough time." He gave Kiro a deadly stare. Which he returned with a naughty smile.

 Chapter 183: Business Plans

    They came back from the mall quicker than when they went alone. The kids had bought every toy under the sun they could get their hands on.


    They were from the poor district, so they only ever seen most of those toys on TV screens. Alora quickly took a liking to Isao, even though he was a year older than her.


    She''d already invited him to y with her new toys, in her new room. It was absolutely strange, she''d even forgotten the sin Kiromitted a couple of weeks ago of lying.


    When they got to the gate, Philip was there, sitting at the pavement. He got up when he saw them approach, Alora ran to him and hugged him.


    Kiro looked at the scene before him with much jealousy. This guy didn''t seem to be that much older than him.


    "This must be the Ki I''ve heard so much of, nice to finally meet you!" He extended his hand.


    "It''s Kiro." He shook it.


    "See youter, Ki." Hiro shouted as they walked further to their house.


    "See ya!" He shouted back.


    They all walked to the house with a lot of luggage. They had to make another trip to the gate, since Philip brought boxes of his own. It was just Sekani and Kiro though.


    "What''s in this? It''s so heavy!" He was breathing a little bit heavier.


    "I guess those gained muscles are just for show?" Sekani teased.


    Kiroughed. "I can carry it no problem, don''t worry." They walked, slightly enjoying the winter cold. "Who is that guy dad?" He finally asked since they weren''t exining anything to him.


    "Oh right you don''t know him. That''s Philip, he worked under me at keson. He got fired though, he couldn''t get his temper under control, young and hot-headed, kinda like you."


    "We are nothing alike!"


    "Haha, you''re my son, I know you better. Anyway, he was homeless before your mother convinced me to finish a project I started when she was pregnant with you."


    Sekani figured Kiro was old enough to be told this story. So he told him to put the parcel down, and they sat on the kerb. He told him everything, he didn''t leave out a single detail.


    To say he was angry would be an understatement, a vein popped on his temple and it was breathing. He couldn''t believe how ruthless Isaac''s family was.


    ''Do they have a thing for us or something? His father screwed over mine, now the son is attempting to do the same to his son? Hehe'' He scoffed dangerously.


    "I''m so sorry dad, I didn''t know."


    "You couldn''t have known." Sekani consoled him.


    He thought at how hard working his parents were. It must''ve hurt his father''s pride every day he had to wake up and work for a man that stole from him.


    "I''m happy you''re deciding to finish the project, please don''t call it Kiro."


    Sekani simply coughed aughter.


    "Dad!"


    He totally ignored him.


    "I bought shares from apany too." He told him.


    Sekani took a long look at his son, the eyes that were his, the face that was his. The hair. The spitting image of him. He was filled with so much pride it was threatening to leak out.


    "I don''t know much about businesses, I build after all, but I know you wouldn''t make a decision that wasn''t smart." He ruffled his hair.


    "Yes!" He smiled, the anger in him disappeared at seeing how proud his father was of him.


    They got up from the kerb, it was getting dark andte, "oh, by the way, your mother is pregnant with twins." He mentioned it so casually.


    "Huh?" He was about to ask how, but realised how much he didn''t want to know that.


    His mood shifted with the cold wind. He looked like a wounded animal suddenly, he felt worse. He thought he had worked on the guilt, but this made it so much worse.


    ''So then, I didn''t lose just them, then?''


    "Ki, are you okay?" His father was concerned, he''d never seen such an expression from his son.


    "Ah, yes." He wiped his wet eyes. "I''m okay, I''m happy." He looked at his father who didn''t buy his answer, "just don''t give us any more siblings, please." Heughed, Sekani joined him.


    "That''s going to be a bit difficult, your mother¡ª"


    "Dad, you are treading dangerously close to the fire here. That''s my mum you''re talking about!" He cut him off before he could give an exnation, he did not need to hear.


    "Hahaha, I''m your father too you know."


    They started walking toward the house. At a distance, Freya was standing at the door. She got a bit worried that they were taking too long toe back, but she saw that her boys were just catching up.


    It was a sight she couldn''t get her eyes off exactly. So she stood there until they arrived at the doorstep, she let them in.


    "That took you way too long!"


    "You should be sitting down, I don''t wantplications with my siblings." Kiromented.


    "You told him?" She was shocked, hitting her husband on the shoulder. Sekani simply smiled.


    They took the parcel into the garage, and Sekani opened it up. Kiro waited with anticipation. It looked like a coffin but it wasn''t. It was more, sophisticated.


    Kiro slightly touched it, it felt like marble. It was a pristine white in colour. He thought it would break if he pounded hard enough. The inside felt very soft andfortable.


    "It''s not going to break, its sturdier than it feels. But obviously this is just a prototype, I couldn''t afford the good stuff." Sekani told him, as he saw how delicate he was being.


    "Can it turn on? Can I try it?" He excitedly asked.


    "Mm, okay get in."


    Kiro did as he was told. Sekani closed the ssy door. Darkness quickly enveloped him, he thought for sure the ss would let him see the outside.


    [Wee, the pod has no games please install them.]


    The blue screen before showed him an interface that he could control by a simple thought. He had tried touching but that didn''t work. He tried using his thoughts and it worked.


    Since there was nothing to y, hemanded the Pod to open and it did.


    "Impressive, you figured it out. I thought for sure you would panic and hit the ss door like Loki." Heughed thinking about it.


    "Nevermind that! Dad, this is amazing! It could potentially fix the second''sg the headgear has!"


    "Not potentially, it will."


    "And you managed to make this with scraps?" He looked at him with admiration. He now understood the obsession Hiro had of building things. He vowed to take VR sciences seriously, to help his father on his new venture.


    Sekani smiled, proud that his son was proud of him.


    "Thepany, what''s it gonna be called?" Kiro asked.


    "Maybe, Waynworth Enterprise?"

 Chapter 184: Unexpected Visitors

    Kiro didn''t want his mother to work. So he took Loki and Philip to prepare a unit for Philip. Kiro understood their rtionship now, though he still didn''t want him living in their house, he had 2 siblingsing after all.


    Loki was wearing some dumb shoes that made him slightly float. He wasn''t helping at all as they cleaned the dust off, moving some things, getting Philip ready to move in.


    He just kept jumping from the top floor of the building, and the pressure from the shoes would stop him frompletely touching the ground.


    "This is so cool!" He shouted.


    "Hey don''t be a brat,e help!" Kiro shouted back.


    But he was ignored. He didn''t really want to be alone with this guy. He didn''t think he was a bad guy, but he just came into his life so abruptly, he didn''t like it.


    "You don''t like me huh? I get it! Suddenly being the younger brother when you were the older one, must suck." Philip said cheerfully.


    "I''m still the older brother." Kiro said defiantly.


    He plumped himself on the couch, he almost fell asleep immediately at howfortable it was. He then took out some beer from a small square bag. He tossed one at Kiro. It was extremely cold to the touch.


    "I''m still 16!" Heined, remembering how he''d broken thew about 10 times in-game.


    "Ah right, you really are younger." Philipughed. "Your dad is a great dad, even though he didn''t have to, he took me in and gave me a job. Gave me a second chance at life. But don''t worry, I''ll keep the boundary you''ve set." He took a swig off his beer.


    Kiro couldn''t be mad at that. The whole reason he wanted to be rich wasn''t only to make sure his family livedfortably, it was topletely wreck the status quo. Make sure the lower district wasn''t poor anymore.


    He got up from the couch and tossed the beer back at Philip. "Give me one on the 13th of this month."


    He was about to cross the door''s frame when Philip yelled to him, "Sure, you got it little bro!"


    "Don''t push it old man, dinner is probably at 7."


    He felt conflicted, he''d never considered having a big brother before. It wasn''t really a bad feeling, he just wasn''t used to it.


    He saw his brother on the railings about to jump so he helped him a little and pushed lightly.


    "Ahhhhhhh¡ª" While he tried to keep his bnce, making sure the shoes were faced down, he still broke the bnce halfway down andnded on his butt.


    "That''s what you get for not helping."


    He didn''t even cry. It would take more than that to hurt an evolved human. He justughed it off, lying on the cold grass. "I''ll get you for this!" He yelled as Kiro bolted past him.


    He attempted to run after him but in his shoes, fell again instead. "Tsk!"


    They really ate at 7. It went by without any troubles. Kiro was asked a lot of question about his academy life, though he omitted a lot including Isaac''s animosity against him, or that the reason they were fired was actually him.


    He focused on the learning aspect, even telling them he was second in the entire campus. He was expecting to be scolded but they were actually proud of him.


    "In a school full of elites, you did great." That was Freya''sment.


    Alora was at the brink of blessing her te with her face. The day was long and tiring for her. She was 5 after all. After they finished, Kiro took her to her room. Put her in her new sleeping garments, then her own bed.


    "Nighty night Freckles." He kissed her forehead. She was too out of it to even know.


    Kiro slightly left her room door open, she woke up early, he didn''t want her crying in there.


    He considered logging in for a minute, but fell asleep in his bed while contemting. He was woken up by little feet asionally jumping on him.


    "Freckles, how did you even get in here?"


    "Loki!"


    ''I''m gonna kill him...'' But he remembered there was much to be done, he had to hire help. He''d like to interview them himself if he had to.


    "What time is it?" He didn''t want to open his eyes incase it was still 4am.


    "60 60." She said proudly.


    He decided to wake up when he heard the time. That meant it was 06:06am in her brain, it''s somehow like that. They brushed their teeth and then went on a run.


    Alora didn''t want to be left behind, he dressed her up warmly and then took a long run around the estate. When they returned, she was sittingfortably on her brothers shoulders.


    "Morning."


    They were all having breakfast, he ran up to shower, when he came down they had already done. His father and Philip were working on the prototype, Loki and Alora were ying with their toys, dressed warmly outside.


    "Leave them, I''ll wash them myself." Kiro walked in on his mum doing the dishes.


    "Ki, I''m pregnant¡ª"


    "I know what you''re gonna say, I know, you''ve 3 children and never did the rxing thing, that''s only because you had to provide for us. Now? Now you get the chance to rx, please do. Please." He begged.


    She obliged, sat at the lounge and put on some TV.


    Kiro called the domestic help and butler agency. He told them he needed 2 domestic helpers and one butler.


    "I know you want to be there for interviews, but are you sure, sir? It''s quite a long process."


    Kiro didn''t want to let just anyone get close to his family, so he needed to be there just to get the feel of their aura, or something like that.


    Since he requested ones that would live in their estate, he had to be extra cautious. He told the agency even if they have kids, they coulde live with them here. This was a bargain for them, as it meant they wouldn''t have to worry about renting.


    The interviews were scheduled for 2 days from then. He was happy with the service and thanked thedy on the other end.


    Around 1pm, the door rang. When he answered it, he was pleasantly surprised.


    "Bel? what are you¡ª Ishaan? and uhm, uhm." He pretended her name totally escaped him. "Firstdy!"

 Chapter 185: Hangout Session

    "Saanvi." She said, she had sses on.


    "You look awfully different with sses." Kiro smiled awkwardly attempting to annoy her even more which was working rather well.


    Saanvi rolled her eyes. She liked wearing her sses at home. She''d wear contacts anywhere else though. As advanced as their technology was, they still hadn''t been able to cure bad eyesight.


    He invited them in, and quickly called Hiro, to tell him that Saanvi was in his house. 6 minutester, the door bell rang, he opened it whileughing.


    He ran all the way! 6 minutes when it should have taken him 10!


    "For your sake you better hope this isn''t a prank, I''ll smack you!" Hiro entered, as he was about to close the door, Yuri showed up as well with Isao.


    ''Okay, full house.''


    He walked into the lounge, I had already introduced herself to his family. And was actually telling them that he was ss president. It slipped his mind, his mom gave him an ice cold look.


    "The girls in ss say they voted for him because he was handsome! Unreal!" Hiro said shaking his head.


    "He never even bothered to tell us."


    "Slipped my mind I swear!" He prayed that his friends didn''t let slip about his and Isaac''s situation.


    "But of course my baby boy is very handsome. Now that he has money, girls will flock to him no doubt!" Freya said, ignoring his son all the same.


    "Ma! Dad, your wife is doing it again. Please do something!"


    Sekani was taking a break from working, on Kiro''s orders. He simply shrugged in defeat. And mumbled ''take it like a man.''


    Kiro ushered his guests to the home theatre before he was embarrassed any further. While texting Niki, telling him they''re at his house and he gave him his address, in case he wanted toe there.


    "Don''t you want a new phone?" Freya asked astounded that her son didn''t buy himself a new phone.


    "The one I have works just fine."


    "But when we bought that one, it was the cheapest one. I''m sure it''s not that great." Sheined.


    "That''s why I''m keeping it Ma. If it dies, I''ll buy a new one."


    Kiro was the sentimental type through and through, he didn''t like to admit it but he was. This phone was very special to him, his parents bought it for him when they had nothing. It was more valuable than the most expensive phone in Sanctauri.


    Freya smiled and shook her head. She knew her son, but not to this extent. She felt emotional and just wanted to hug him but didn''t want to embarrass him, so Kiro hugged her first.


    She didn''t let go so easily though, which made Kiro regret taking the initiative to hug her first.


    "Oh by the way mum, if there''s a Niki and Felix at the gate, please let them in."


    He was finally let go and so he entered the home theatre. The screen stretched from one corner of the wall to another. The chairs were plentiful enough. They were also leather and veryfortable to sit on.


    "So, what do you guys want to watch?" Kiro looked around and his eyes fell on Yuri.


    "Old films!" Hiro quickly said. He was a great fan of old films, he thought they were genius.


    "Yeah old films are great." Saanvi agreed.


    "But don''t they have a super bad resolution, 32k was it?" Ishaan countered.


    "It''s still watchable." I countered.


    "Isn''t Yuri too young to hang with us?" He whispered to Hiro.


    "She is, but I don''t know. She''s quite stubborn, she''ll turn 14 next month but she seems to think she''s already at academy level." He whispered back.


    This was totally unnned. But the first row had Yuri and Ishaan but seated far apart, the third row had Hiro and Saanvi who were closer to each other, thest row had Kiro and I.


    Kiro put on a film, its genre was horror, he quickly went to get snacks, when he passed them around he noticed that Loki had snuck in.


    He was seated at the front next to Yuri. Kiro sighed but didn''t say anything. Everybody had to share with whoever they were sitting with.


    What was unbelievable about all this was the fact that, Hiro was actually talking to Saanvi. His ears, even from all the darkness, were red.


    Kiro looked at him with eyes full of pride, ''my boy has grown so much.''


    The film was pretty violent. At one point, I was so frightened she unknowingly held Kiro''s hand tightly. He looked at her, she looked at him.


    Kiro swallowed and nodded. So she didn''t let go of his hand, until the light announced the end of the movie. There was no longer a chair between them, I had upied it.


    "More movies!" Loki yelled from the front.


    "Your brother is really cute." I chuckled.


    They were very different from each other, not just looks their personalities as well. Kiro looked more like his father and acted like a bit of both from the impression she got meeting them. Loki looked more like his mother and acted well, like none she''d ever seen.


    "He''s the perfect example of a kid from the slums, rebellious and all."


    His phone rang and it was Niki.


    "We''re at your gate."


    "Then enter?"


    A couple of minutester they were here. Felix looked as tired as always but also quite rxed.


    ''Does he even sleep?''


    They seated themselves on the second row, his mum came in bringing more snacks for them. This was the paradise Kiro hoped for, for his family. He wanted to freeze this moment forever.


    They watched 2 films back to back, one action and one romance. Kiro wasn''t a fan of films so he was already burnt out from watching so much in a short amount of time.


    They were walking out of the theatre when Niki gave him a dirty look.


    "Hey, I know I know, but there''s still a lot to be done around here. We have 2 weeks out there''s still plenty of time, it''s my birthday in 3 days and¡ª"


    "What?" They all said at the same time.


    "Leader why didn''t you say so?"


    "Ki, how could you hide this from us?"


    They made it out like it was a huge deal. Kiro didn''t see what the big deal was, it was just a birthday. Then he remembered that they were frompletely different worlds.


    While kids from the lower treat birthdays like they''re just another day, upper kids throw the biggest of parties.


    Especially when one was turning 17. Kiro stood there embarrassed, Loki had his eyebrow raised. The kids from the slums were all dumbfounded at the others excitement.

 Chapter 186: The Agency

    They begged Kiro until he relented and promised to throw a party. But his mind wasn''t there, it was on the interviews that he''d have to attend the next day.


    He had of course told his parents about this, his father promised to go with him. He didn''t turn him down because he was quite nervous about the whole thing.


    Philip had joined them for breakfast on the eventful morning, Freya insisted on it. He could start eating by his self once he settled in, she told him while convincing him that he was not imposing.


    "You have a lot of friends Ki, it''s surprising." Freyamented, having had a full house.


    "Why''s it surprising?"


    "You didn''t really have friends at your old school."


    Kiroughed bitterly, remembering that, he didn''t have friends at the academy either in his past life. He gained these ones through sheer luck and newfound confidence.


    "Loki will start school next year, I should hurry up and apply for him." She said, more to herself.


    "They''ll beat the rebellious stage out of him, I cannot wait." Kiromented excitedly.


    Loki shot him a deadly look. He smirked in return. Freya broke their internal fight with just a stare. They pretended to be friendly smiling at each other.


    "Well Ki, we must go, we don''t want to bete." Sekani told his son.


    While his father was wearing a ck suit. He wore a ck turtleneck tucked into his ck trousers, with a beige coat on top. He didn''t forget the watch I bought him.


    They were going to the interviews after all so they dressed ordingly. Freya looked at them with so much pride and joy.


    "My handsome boys." She wet her thumbs to fix up both their hairs. Kiro''s hair particrly had gotten longer after the 3 months of no haircuts.


    "Men." Kiro corrected her.


    "I Silva was it? Is she the one who told you, you''re a man now?" She teased.


    "H-h-huh?"


    Mnated as he was, he was bright red all of a sudden. Freya gave him a naughty knowing smile. She liked the girl, she seemed nice enough.


    Sekani basically had to drag Kiro out of there. He was stiff as a statue after thatment. They had hired a driver, he already drove in and entered the estate, he was waiting by the front door.


    The car was ck with tinted windows, clearly thepany car was one in the upper district.


    The driver stood by the door, eyes upfront and didn''t make the mistake of making eye contact with them. He held the backdoor open for them. Kiro felt weirded out by the whole experience, he wasn''t used to it.


    "Hey man, having a good morning?" Kiro struck up a conversation, the guy didn''t seem older than Philip.


    The man''s eyes widened, his whole demeanor was broken by the question. He was used to rich people who didn''t even acknowledge a driver''s existence.


    "I''m doing well, sir." He recovered quickly from his initial shock and replied. "I hope you''re doing better."


    Sekani shook the man''s hand and thanked him for doing this for them. He smiled awkwardly, as he was just doing his job, he didn''t expect to be thanked for this but it still felt nice.


    The car travelled extremely fast. Clearly the driver was experienced, within 20 minutes they arrived at the heart of the upper district. Kiro had never seen so many buildings in one ce before.


    Some were in the process of being built. This was where business operated in the upper district, there were a very few shops. Most were headquarters of bigpanies.


    "By the way dad, have you registered Waynworth Enterprise? Have you received your patent for the pod?" Seeing all these buildings reminded him of thepany his father started.


    "What do you take me for? Of course. We even have a bank ount. We just need headquarters in all 3 districts but of course in due time.


    "What''s most important now is to build various production nts for mass production around Sanctauri, that will create more jobs right?"


    Kiro''s mouth was agape, "you''ve really thought this through haven''t you you. I thought you didn''t know much about business?"


    "Haha, live long enough, you learn a few things."


    Though they didn''t see it, the driver slightly nodded at Sekani''s insight. He didn''t mean to, but the warmth they showed him made him want to know more about them, so he listened to them talk.


    "How much start up capital do you think it needs?" Kiro could estimate but he wanted to hear it from his father.


    "Mm let''s see. To build at least 3 nts for mass production, for marketing the product, a headquarters, hiring qualified people. It probably rounds up to 6 billion." Sekani sighed.


    ''5.5, but that''s still impressive.'' Kiro admired his old man.


    He''d give him the start up. But he wasn''t going to say that in front of a stranger. He stopped asking questions about his venture, and looked out the window, admiring the heart of the upper like a child in a candy store.


    Finally arriving at the agency. They were well received.


    "Wee Mr. Waynworth, pleasure to have you both here." The woman said extending her hand to shake theirs. "I''m Kiana, please follow me."


    Kiro thought she was cute. As old as she was, she didn''t have the elegance, beautiful old people usually had. She maintained her youthful cuteness.


    It didn''t take long, 5 minutester the interviews started in the boardroom. It was the two and just Kiana conducting the interviews.


    Kiro felt bad that so many people wanted jobs, he felt ashamed he was only hiring 3.


    "Can''t we hire 4 at least? or 5..." He whispered to his dad. "The yard will be too big for just the 3 of them, I think."


    Sekaniughed shaking his head, seeing right through what his son intended to do but he refused to indulge him. They were going to create jobs anyway.


    "There''s you, and your siblings. The yard will be just fine." He whispered back.


    Clearly not intending to spoil their children into not doing simple chores around the estate.


    Most of the candidates weren''t at all impressive. But 3 managed to catch Kiro''s attention, although the butler mentioned he had a granddaughter around age 12. They both didn''t mind.


    His name was Wilfred Jackson, 45 years old. Already a senior to his parents. His father was a bit sceptical hiring someone older than him but there was no better candidate.


    The second was a 25 year old and her name was Vada, nost name. Thest one being 40, her name was Angelina Sullivan.

 Chapter 187: A Day Out

    "Are you sure these are the 3 you want to hire?" Kiana asked.


    "Of course, my son agrees with my gut instinct too. If we couldn''t trust our gut, life would be a little messier." Sekani said, taking a sip of the tea they''d been served.


    Kiana nodded, "Alright, they will be there today at the earliest, tomorrow morning at thetest. Please take a look at the papers and sign them when done, I''ll just be out there."


    They looked at the lengthy contract. Listed everything a helper should and shouldn''t do. Where to get in touch if there was a problem.


    Kiro didn''t feel good about this, it seemed like modern very on a silver tter. It felt like they were buying these people, and should call for a new one if they''re defective.


    He shuddered at the analogy his brain jumped to. But he still read everything, contracts were legally binding and they took them very serious in this world.


    "Dad, a house maid is typically paid around 6k creds, a butler around 8k. What should we do?"


    Sekani thought for a moment, he knew a chunk of that money will go to the agency. They''d have to buy their own groceries and clothing, only thing they won''t worry about was rent.


    "How about we raise each sry by 2k? That should be an at least for them."


    Kiro nodded in agreement, "by the way, dad, I''m thinking of transferring thepany''s captial¡ª"


    "Son, I wouldn''t ask that much of you." He cut him off.


    "Dad, listen, this is a familypany, that means it''s mine too, and it''ll also be your grandchildren''s. I''m not just helping you out, I''m helping the Waynworth family as a whole, throughout different future generations."


    "I didn''t think about it like that¡ª"


    "Think about it. Grandpa would be so proud. By the way dad, what did grandpa mean when he said the Waynworth name used to be prominent?" He asked remembering what the game forced into his memories.


    Sekani looked at him with wonder, he didn''t know that his son would still remember his father. He disappeared when he was still very young, but the two were really close to each other. So he thought the bond between them was just that much stronger.


    "Your grandpa was full of stories Ki, but even I don''t know anything about that. You''re sure you remember correctly?" He asked his son, unsure of what to make of this.


    "Maybe I don''t. I don''t know. Nevermind." He couldn''t say for sure, since the memory was rekindled by the game.


    They walked out of the boardroom, having signed and filled out the form. They left it with Kiana who thanked them profusely after seeing how much they were willing to pay.


    The interviews had taken the whole day, the sky was a bit grey. It looked like it would pour that night. When they walked out they were he greeted by the driver who drove them here.


    "You''re still here? I thought that''s not how thepany works?" Kiro asked astounded. They''d nned to eat first and then call for another driver.


    "Haha, it''s not. I asked thedy how long it would take for yall to finish in there and she gave me an estimate. I did my rounds and came back just in the nick of time." He was more talkative than in the morning.


    "Oh, why?" Kiro''s wary nature kicked in.


    "To be honest? I''ve never been treated with the respect you two gave me. I wanted to experience that again, you truly made my day."


    Both understood the guy. They were experienced on being treated as rats all their lives. They knew exactly how bad it can mess you up mentally, they couldn''t imagine what it was like for drivers like them.


    Working at the upper district, constantly having to drive ungrateful rich people around. Constantly surrounded by things they could only afford in their dreams.


    "What''s your name?" Kiro asked him.


    "Raul Menes." He grinned wider as nobody cared enough to ask for his name before.


    "Nice to meet you Raul, please take us to a restaurant we could eat at!"


    "Right away!"


    He drove them to a seafood restaurant. Kiro wasn''t a fan of seafood but he didn''tin. They invited Raul to the table with them, he refused at first but they managed to convince him.


    He''d been waiting for them for a really long time, this was the least they could do, to say thank you to the kind stranger.


    He ate to his hearts content as they told him to. Kiro took out his phone, he had put it on silent since they were busy.


    And he had a mountain of notifications. They were from different people and different apps. But that''s not what he wanted, he still had 400 million game coins left. So he converted 200 million, and wired the money to Waynworth Enterprise.


    His father saw it immediately and smiled at him nodding in appreciation. He was shocked but didn''t show it. He had put 10 billion in thepany''s ount, that was more than he needed but he''d put it to good use nheless.


    Raul drove them to the house and refused payment but they insisted. He left right after and they were home atst, Kiro felt beat. He wasn''t sure about the party the next day.


    They were greeted by the helpers, they arrived here 2 hours before they did. Apparently the agency didn''t want to make people who were willing to pay wait and they had already settled into their units.


    "Hi, I''m Lillian Jackson." The granddaughter introduced herself. She was extremely cute and bit on the tomboyish side.


    She extended her hand to Kiro, "you can call me LJ!"


    Her grandpa squeezed the bridge of his nose and sighed. His granddaughter always had this kind of a bubbly personality which was part of the reason why most rich people dismissed him from his post.


    Kiro smiled, "Hello LJ. I''m Kiro, nice to have you in our home, please take care of us."


    Wilfred didn''t expect everyone in this family to be so unbothered by her rowdiness. But he was d nheless as this meant he wouldn''t be dismissed.


    "Master Ki¡ª"


    "No, no, no, absolutely not." The only person he''d allow to call him master was Hubris, only because it was in-game. It was cringe to him otherwise.


    "Please Wilfred, use my name, if that''s too much, Sir Kiro, Mister Kiro will suffice." He didn''t wait for him to answer and went straight to bed.

 Chapter 188: Birthday Party

    He woke up the next day to amotion downstairs. Of course he barely heard them, as the house was big but he still heard it. The house was usually very quiet in the mornings, the difference wasn''t so hard to notice.


    He hopped into the shower and wore casual winter clothes. There was a slight knock at the door. When he opened it Wilfred stood on the other end.


    "Ma¡ªSir Kiro, your father is asking for you at Philip''s unit. He said, and I quote, bring your guts."


    He was about to turn and leave when he remembered something, "Oh by the way Sir, congrattions on being an adult. Happy Birthday."


    "Thanks!" Kiro grinned.


    He knew what wasing, he ran to the kitchen first before heading out, Yuri and LJ were there chopping things up.


    "Good morning lovelydies." He greeted, they greeted back. Wishing him a happy birthday.


    He quickly had eggs and sausages. It was the fastest he''d ever eaten. He knew drinking on an empty stomach would be his own undoing.


    He ran to Philip''s unit. Thend was pure white, it clearly snowed during the night.


    The sky was clear though, it was sunny but it gave them as much warmth as a winter sun was allowed to give.


    He got there and they were seated on the couches, there was so much alcohol on the table that he doubted there was even a table there to begin with. They had the TV on.


    [Singer Jaen is in trouble with...]


    "Yo, happy birthday Ki!" Hiro saw him first, the talking drowned the TVpletely.


    He hadn''t even sat down when Philip threw him the same beer. "It''s the 13th." He said simply.


    "Very reliable." Kiromented with a slight chuckle.


    He downed the beer in one go, it was bitter but it was a nice kind of bitter. They thought that would make him stagger or anything, but he stood there sober as when he first walked in.


    "Are you sure it''s your first time?" Sekani. enquired.


    "Haha its actually a funny story..." He took a seat.


    Sekani raised an eyebrow, his face told him, he''d be in trouble if he did.


    Since he''d drank drugged alcohol before, his immune system made him sturdier. Not that he couldn''t get drunk, but it''d take more than this.


    He decided to just tell them about Isaac, about everything that went down in the academy. About how he almost got expelled because of it.


    Hiro asionally chimed in too, if he forgot a single detail. They were telling them this story that seemed to be straight out of a film, the story sounded more funny than serious with alcohol in their system.


    "So we got fired because of you?" Sekani couldn''t contain hisughter. "While this would''ve been disastrous, I''m proud you boys stood up for yourselves."


    "That''s my little bro." Philip was even prouder.


    They sat there for most of the morning, drinking and chatting about what it meant to be an adult.


    Then there was a knock on the door. Wilfred entered with I and...


    ''Her dad?'' Kiro was getting a bit drunk but the sight sobered him up. Hiro gave him a cheeky smile.


    "Sorry for thete introductions. As I understand it you moved here a couple of days ago? I''m Jes¨²s Silva, I live across from your estate. This is my daughter I Silva." He entered, offering his hand to Sekani.


    "Of course I''ve met I, lovely girl. I''m Sekani Waynworth, pleasure to meet you, Silva." Sekani epted his hand.


    "Haha, I can see where your son gets his height from."


    "He took it and some."


    Jes¨²s made it a point to shake Philip''s hand too. "Also yours?"


    Philip was about to answer with a resounding no, and his life story about how he ended up being picked up by a nice family.


    "Yes." Sekani interjected.


    Philip could use a father figure and Sekani didn''t mind being one for him, as long as he didn''t stray from the right path, he was more than willing.


    Jes¨²s was wearing very casual clothes. Kiro had seen him once but he could tell he didn''t wear those very often, he even looked out of ce wearing them.


    "Of course I''ve met Kiro and you Hiro." He took out a bottle of gin, "here''s something for the birthday boy."


    He still didn''t shake his hand though. He took a seat across from Sekani and they talked like old friends, they instantly clicked. It was mostly business, but also just family.


    I seemingly didn''t like drinking, so she didn''t. She just sat between Kiro and Hiro. Annoying them about dungeon runs with her guild.


    "Don''t y games too much and forget to live." Philipmented.


    "If we stopped ying games, wouldn''t you be out of business?" Kiro attempted to shut him up.


    "Haha, I guess that''s true. But there''s also this saying, don''t sh*t where you eat. We can''t very well get high on our own product?" He said sagely.


    Kiroughed at this, it was indeed spot on. He nodded in agreement.


    "I didn''t know you had an older brother?" I whispered.


    Kiro thought for a moment. "I do." He smiled looking at Philip. Who was just a carefree idiot, which is probably why his father took a liking to him.


    "Your son is something else, have you seen the business he created, capitalising from the recently popr game?"


    "His brain works surprisingly well when money is concerned." Sekaniughed.


    Another knock disturbed them and Wilfred brought in Saanvi, Niki and Felix.


    "Everyone''sing here but nobody is bringing a gift, what kind of rich people party is this?" He enquired.


    "Our gifts were left with your mum at the main house, don''t take us for fools." It was Felix who answered while he poured himself some whiskey and downed it in one go.


    They started ying all sorts of drinking games. Since I was the only one who didn''t drink, she was in charge of making sure the rules were followed. She also took a lot of pictures of them doing stupid things.


    Of course these games were yed by the kids. The dads were in a heated conversation. Jes¨²s was intrigued by thepany they just started. If he was shameless he''d attempt to worm his way in, but he knew better.


    I was in love with Kiro anyway. While he had a say, there was nothing he could do to stop her, there was really nothing he could say against Kiro as the kid he''d proven himself.


    It was just naturalw to not like the kid who wants to take your daughter away.

 Chapter 189: Birthday Party, II

    What impressed him the most was his brain for business. Yet he chose VR sciences. He supposed that was vastly his father''s influence on him.


    He couldn''t believe this monster of a kid would''ve been buried in the lower district. If he hadn''t wed his way out with two of his bare hands, with the help of the game of course.


    He wouldn''t have made it out, his potential and hopes would''ve withered when he was hit with he reality that he couldn''t make it out because of where he was born.


    He could only admire him as a business man but as a father he couldn''t help but be stubborn.


    It was around 1pm when the door sounded again. Wilfred appeared, two silhouettes walking behind him.


    "Some nerve you have keson, toe to my house." Sekani bellowed, it wasn''t the alcohol talking as he quickly sobered up.


    "A child''s 17th is very important, I thought I shoulde down and offer my best wishes." Gilbert said with a sly smile.


    "You aren''t wee here, neither of you are." Kiro dangerously said. His voice came out really cold, like he wasn''t the kid drunk out of his mind a minute ago.


    "Come on¡ª"


    "After all you and your son had done, you can''t hope for some kind of rtionship, get out." Kiro had taken a step forward at this point.


    "That was just boys being boys, and I must admit, I acted rushly as a father. I shouldn''t have done that." He said smugly.


    Sekani walked forwards, and came face to face with him. "Firing me and my wife was the best decision, of course for you it was a terrible one but for us, out of it opportunity was born."


    He turned to Wilfred as he went to sit down, taking a swig of his drink, "I don''t like acting like I''m better than others, but Wilfred, ensure these people never set foot in this estate again."


    "What shall I do with their gifts, Mr. Waynworth?"


    "Throw them in a bin, far away from the house as possible."


    "Yes sir, sorry for letting them in. Forgive my blunder."


    He gave him a genuine smile, "you couldn''t have known."


    Gilbert threw his hands in the air, "fine, don''t touch me, I really just came here in peace. Silva." He left acknowledging Jes¨²s.


    The troublemakers left. Kiro thought it was strange, how quiet and meek Isaac had be in front of his father, it was almostughable.


    "Ki, are you alright?" His father was already taking strides towards him. He didn''t notice he was still standing there clenching his fists.


    Sekani examined him, seeing the fear and fury in his eyes, he almost chuckled. ''Just like your grandfather, then.''


    "He''s always been a thorn on the side even for us, I hope you don''t take it too personally." Jes¨²smented on the awkward scene he''d just witnessed.


    As time went on, more of Kiro''s ssmates showed up. At this point Philip chased them out of his apartment, they were trashing it.


    The party was taken outside on the snow. They decided a braai would be greater, since the sun was out. They brought out all sorts of meats.


    The seasoned meat on the coal, wafted and carried the air throughout the neighbourhood. The two fathers were handling the meat.


    While the kids decided to y. The kids from the slums took initiative, teaching the rich ones every game known in the lower district.


    Alora ran to Kiro from inside the house. He picked her up, she was followed by Isao.


    "Ki, tell him, tell him I can''t be his best friend! Because I''m your best friend!" She pouted as she said.


    It took everything in Kiro''s body to notugh. Hiro was snickering behind his hand, which he positioned perfectly so he couldn''t be found out.


    "Freckles listen, it''s important to have a best friend that''s not your family! I''m your brother right?"


    She nodded.


    "Isao is not, so he can be your best friend too!"


    Understanding this new knowledge imparted on her, she got down from Kiro and ran to Isao, to im him as her new best friend.


    Kiro''s ears fell on the braai area, where his father and Jes¨²s were tending to the meat, drinking and chatting the day away.


    "You don''t have a driver? That''s preposterous! I can get you one." Jes¨²s was clearly tipsy at this point.


    "No, but you can do me a favour. I''ve already found a driver I like."


    "A favour you say? I''m all ears."


    "Research ''Raul Menes'' for me, he''s an official driver. He seemed to take a liking to us, but before hiring background checks are essential."


    Kiro rolled his eyes, he thought he''d hear something interesting. Then, his arm was nudged by someone. It was I.


    "Nice watch." Sheplimented.


    "It was a gift." Kiro grinned.


    "I expect there will be more of them in there." She pointed to the mountain of gifts he''d received.


    "But this is the only one my wrist will ever ept." He pointed at the silver watch.


    She blushed. They stood side by side watching the others ying tag. They were not only drunk, but they also had to run on the slippery snowy ground. So it was messy.


    Kiro noticed 3 peopleing in from the direction of the gate. "Who are they." He jerked his head toward them.


    The second I''s eyes fell on them, she involuntarily put some distance between herself and Kiro.


    "S-siblings!" She said barely a whisper.


    "You must be Kiro Waynworth. I''m Wace Silva." He shook hands with him.


    "Dion." He simply raised his hand as a greeting.


    "Tiana." She got too close to Kiro, he could practically feel her breath.


    She made him hold her hand, and slowly rose it to his lips. Kiro knew her intentions, he didn''t want to do it though. He looked at I, who gave him a ''if you have to'' defeated look.


    "I''m just ying, you really are handsome though. Especially your eyes. Too bad my sister saw you first." She slowly touched his cheek, tracing her finger down to his lips.


    "T!" I shouted, she couldn''t watch anymore.


    She looked back at her bright red sister, "I''m only teasing him." She walked into the house.


    For the first time since he regressed, he could feel that his trousers were filling up. Something was rising in there.


    ''Oh sh*t!''


    He bolted into Philip''s apartment to take a very cold shower. That always helped him.

 Chapter 190: First Kisses

    Kiro was in the shower for 2 minutes and everything started to calm down. He sighed deeply.


    "That was too close." There was nothing shameful about it, but he''d kill himself first before letting I witness that, if it wasn''t her that caused it.


    "Ki, are you alright?" A knock sounded on the other side.


    "Ah yes, I just needed a quick shower. I was feeling a bit sick from the alcohol." He lied.


    They walked out of the apartment, his hair was damp and it was obscuring his view a bit. In his hurry, he didn''t see it, but there was foam on his hair.


    "Very sorry about my sister, she''s a bit, forward. She teases everyone a lot." She apologised while unconsciously fixing his hair.


    Kiro was thankfully saved before he could get soaked into the moment. They were finally called to the dining hall. There was every bit of food Sanctauri had to offer.


    Kiyoko and Freya with the help of theirbined maids, had cooked every dish they knew. People sat in their designated seats. With Kiro sitting where the head usually sat, it was a one time thing but he still felt weird about it.


    He wasn''t someone who particrly liked attention, and this put him on the spot.


    Meat was brought inside. People started dishing for themselves, helping themselves to whatever and everything.


    They had great conversations with great food and wine to go with it. Kiro was d they decided against doing a toast, that would only shine the spotlight on him more.


    Gifts were something that, while part of the party, they weren''t. Guests would bring them, but the person would open them when the guests had left. The custom evolved into this throughout the years.


    After dessert which was the birthday cake, some left. It was already at night and it was winter so it was a lot chilly outside.


    But his friends stayed. They decided they''d sleep over, chat about their way forward with After Dark.


    Of course this didn''t concern the girls, even if it did. Their fathers would turn blue before they allowed their kids to sleep over at some boys house.


    "See youter Kiro." Tiana said with a naughty smile.


    Kiro gave her an awkward smile. He didn''t even want to think about what transpired earlier which was caused by her.


    They were taking a walk around the estate before the girls could leave. Kiro was walking with I, they kept a little distance between them and the rest. They were enjoying each otherspany.


    Kiro wanted to confess here and now. They were both adults in their society. If he couldn''t muster the courage, he''d be a coward forever.


    "Uh¡ªeh¡ªBel¡ªI¡ªwell... " Kiro''s voice came out more high pitched than he intended. The words were stuck in his throat, tried as he did to let them out he couldn''t.


    He was confident but this was something else entirely. ''Wait, why''s this so hard.'' He gave I a genuine smile and was about to say nevermind.


    When she took initiative, "Happy birthday Ki!" She kissed him.


    She''d thought long and hard about a perfect gift for him. But since he had all the money in the world, she gave him something money couldn''t buy. I Silva''s first kiss.


    "Huh?" everyone said at the same time as they turned around and were met with the spectacle.


    But he paid them no mind, he just looked at I. She was flushed crimson with her eyes closed and so goddamn beautiful.


    He didn''t close his eyes immediately as she looked like a goddess to him.


    When he finally did, he gave himself up to the feeling. He saw fireworks, his stomach was fluttering. It was a warm feeling. This went on for 5 seconds, the field they stood on was filled with apuse and whistles.


    Then they stopped, for what felt like eternity to them. They just stood there staring at each other, smiling. Kiro had never realised before, but I had dimples. They were cute, he thought.


    Kiro stood at the same spot, dumbfounded. He couldn''t believe he had his first kiss and it was this amazing.


    Everyone else was already walking towards the house, it was veryte after all.


    "I reckon you both need to talk." Hiro said wisely, as he nodded at I''s direction. Who was now with Saanvi.


    "It was!" He suddenly said to Hiro.


    "Excuse me?"


    "My first kiss was majestic, you dunce!" He was over the moon.


    Hiroughed and shook his head, "so was mine."


    Kiro gave him a crazy look. "When?"


    Hiro wore a ''I''m your elder brother'' expression on his face. Kiro didn''t like that, he didn''t like it one bit.


    He smirked at his friend nhless. "I admit defeat, this time."


    Kiro decided to walk I home. It was silent for a while then she said abruptly.


    "We can''t date¡ª"


    That put a damper on the perfect moment that took ce just seconds ago. He didn''t understand rich people, he wasn''t sure he wanted to.


    "Why, because you''d dad wouldn''t approve? I didn''t take you for someone who acts as high society expects them." Kiro said with a tinge of agitation and mncholy.


    "Is that why you like me? because I rebel sometimes?"


    "Yes, at first anyway. The first time you sat at our table I noticed, and thought, this pale girl really is daring. I like it.


    "Then we got to talking, you were opinionated, strong willed, beautiful inside and out, didn''t let peer pressure dictate what you do.


    "Then today, we kissed. We kissed and it felt like nothing else mattered." He said all that in one breath. He already had his back turned to her.


    "I feel the same but¡ª"


    "I get it. You probably have a fiance or something. I understand." Kiro didn''t mean what he said, he was just saying all this to cushion his fall.


    She grabbed his arm and turned him around, their lips met once more. Then she put her finger on his mouth to keep him quiet.


    "You can be a real talker, you know that? I was saying, we can''t date yet, because dad has to approve.


    "I''ve seen the way he looks at you. He admires you and your brain, he''s just being a bit stubborn. So please Kiro, wait for me a little longer."


    "Oh. Okay. I''ll wait." He was relieved. "I met your grandpa earlier. Nice guy." He said trying to change the subject.


    "You met my grandpa and he didn''t shoo you away?"


    "Nope. Hiro was over there, and I was by my house. We were talking, well, yelling. He said the noise is weed and we should keep it up."


    "Your charm is amazing! My grandpa doesn''t like anyone." She turned to leave, "See you tomorrow or in-game."


    He waited until she was safely behind her gate. Then ran home for a second cold shower that day.

 Chapter 191: Ready or Not

    Days came and went. The party was just a memory now, a beautiful memory Kiro relived over and over in his head. He spent most of his days holed up in his room, in Asgard. He could''ve used the pod gaming room but it was useless, he preferred his bed for now.


    His beast rental business had spiraled out of control because of the game''s poprity following the currency conversion announcement. He thought it was too bad that he could only tame 50 at once.


    But there was nothing he could do about the slots. While it irritated them, people still waited. Most had already experienced what it was like having apanion that will not require a split of the rewards. So they kepting back for more.


    Hiro was also selling more than he was currently able to create. He even thought about taking an apprentice, but that failed when he saw how bad most of them were.


    More yers wanted to join After Dark for the benefits it offered. But Kiro rejected every one of them. He wasn''t sure if they should take any more people. He was a force to be reckoned with even without Hubris.


    He also didn''t like the potential of being betrayed, that would increase the more they were within their group. So he put that on hold.


    Everyone in the estate was doing their own thing now that they were settled and gotten used to living in such a house, or that they didn''t have to worry where the next meal woulde from.


    The new additions were doing their jobs pretty well. Of course the kids were still required by their parents to at least clean their own rooms, which they didn''t evenin about since they were used to it.


    Freya finally got the hang of resting. Her stomach bump was finally showing but it was only by a little. Even though she was far into her pregnancy, which wasn''t strange in the world they lived in. She was due the very next month.


    "Ma''am, you should rest your feet up, it''s no good sitting like that and im you''re resting." Angelina always worried and fussed over her.


    "Nonsense, nonsense, I''m not an egg, I''m tough as nails."


    Despite her protests, her feet still went up, Vada snickered and brought a light nket for her.


    There was nothing to do around the house, so they sat with her, kept herpany. Gossiping and watching some shows on TV.


    On the other hand, Waynworth Enterprise''s creation was going steadily. Sekani had received his patents and the go ahead of mass producing their pods. They''d already built 6 nts, 3 in each of the districts excluding the upper.


    The upper district would harbour their headquarters. He had initially thought about making 3 headquarters across the districts, but decided against it. The other districts would just have branch offices, less wasteful that way.


    The work ahead made him exhausted to even think about. Hiring people wasn''t a joke, extensive background checks would be needed.


    He was half ready, he had already made several blueprints for each nt. He knew that, to dy even a little would make him miss out. He had insider information on keson tech after all, their pod would be ready for sale in a couple of months.


    He had to finish before then. So that he canpete with them head on. A slight dy would be disadvantageous for a newpany like theirs.


    He decided long ago to keep Kiro out of it for now. At least, force him into thepany after he graduated school.


    At least he wouldn''t be alone when he''s climbing the mountain that awaited him, Philip and Wilfred would help him with everything.


    "Wilfred, have we gotten word from Silva about Raul?" He asked taking a sit in his new study.


    "Not yet Sir." Sekani could sense the hesitation in his speech and eyes.


    "Speak your mind." He demanded.


    "In the future, I''d hope you''d trust me more Sir, I could''ve done the same job more fast and efficiently."


    Sekani took a long look at him, he didn''t seem like someone that dangerous. "Is that right, what else does the agency have to offer?"


    He smiled shyly, "That..." He seemed to be thinking carefully of what to say next. "Those are skills I have acquired to survive the treachery of our world. I''m not proud of my youthful days but they were necessary to put food on the table for my family."


    He took a long pause, his face appeared very bitter and full of regret. Sekani could tell the horrors he''d endured and inflicted. Even with him being evasive about what he did exactly, he just knew.


    "I''m sure you''re wondering how I''ve avoided punishment and gotten a job with the horrific past I carry on my shoulders, but that''s just part of the set of skills I have. It wasn''t easy, but it''s doable. My daughter died you see, absolutely my fault.


    "As ways to appease my guilt. I left that life behind and swore I would raise her daughter, as cleanly as I could."


    "You''ve raised her well." Sekaniplimented.


    He wasn''t one to judge. Given the chance, he''d have done worse things to ensure his family was alive and well. Wilfred''s past didn''t worry him, the fact that he came out and told him without being prodded proved that, he wanted to give him his loyalty.


    Besides, the regret he seemed to carry around, the love he had for his granddaughter wasn''t something that could be faked. Sekani always trusted his gut, so he did.


    An atrocious sound came from his pocket, it was his phone ringing. ''I need to change that ringtone.''


    Wilfred gave a slight chuckle.


    "It came with the phone." He felt the need to exin even though he said nothing.


    "Philip?" He answered.


    "Hey there pops, the nts have been built, take a look."


    He pointed his phone camera on a particrlyrge building, it look sturdy enough.


    "Wait let me put experience mode." Philip frantically punched something on his phone.


    Within seconds, it was as if Sekani and Wilfred were there in the nt with Philip. They couldn''t touch anything, but walking around, seeing everything like they would if they were there in person.


    Going inside, they saw a lot of machinery, already installed ready to be used to create their pods.


    Sekani wanted the best of the best, he wanted the hardware to be sleek in design but alsofortable. He wanted it to be perfect. His software was perfect after all.


    "Next up, interviews to hire employees. I''ve already put up ads, both on the streets and Inte." Philip reassured him.


    Interviews would be conducted in each district, to make it easier for the citizens to reach without using money they didn''t have.


    "We will be there shortly." He took his winter coat and they both left the study.

 Chapter 192: Levelling Up

    "You really must do something about these queues, it''s harder to go out!" Nikiined


    "It''s not really my fault is it? I told them to use the site and note waiting at the gate but none of them listen. It''s as if someone will cut in front of them or something." Kiro sighed.


    "I think, you should end the business, you don''t need money like that anymore." Felix chimed in.


    "You''re right I don''t, no such thing as too much money though?"


    They all groaned.


    "Fine fine, I''ll put it on hold, we have a dungeon to go to after all."


    "Finally!" Niki could''ve danced then if he knew how.


    The spectres finally returned. Apparently they didn''t just check out that one dungeon, they checked every single one that was hidden. That''s why it took them a long time to return.


    They gathered all sorts of information. The climate within the dungeons, the chances of it evolving while they were inside, its current ranking and the monsters it harboured, it was harder to tell how many there would be and how long it would take them to clear it.


    Those were the two unknowns. Kiro couldn''t trust his previous information but he factored it in nheless.


    Since guilds were introduced, they officially registered their group. There weren''t much options, it was either guild or other and so they chose other and were officially After Dark within the game.


    Kiro was very excited about dungeons, he hoped he could strategically put his past knowledge into practise. To say he knew every hidden dungeon would be an understatement.


    He even knew how to beat most dungeons on hard difficulty. Of course the theory in his head, won''t be easy to put into action, but he didn''t think it was going to be hard. That''s if, nothing changed about dungeons.


    Since they''ve never really fought together as After Dark, attempting a higher hidden dungeon would be suicide. These dungeons were very unpredictable and unstable.


    He decided before hand to go on easy difficulty dungeons, to work on their coordination and to see how well they could take instructions during battles, also to level up for the hidden dungeons.


    "So, what levels are you guys on?" Kiro asked, not expecting much.


    "40...43... 41...38" They said at the same time.


    Kiro''s face soured. He couldn''t believe they weren''t even half his level. He felt bad for them, he absolutely considered taking them to the Underworld to raise their stats, but as bad luck would have it. After the update, the crack was no longer there.


    "Why''s your face like that? What''s your level?"


    "Trust me, you''re better off not knowing." Kiro shook his head.


    "90...Level 90..." Hiro blurted out.


    Their eyes fell out of their sockets. They could barely get a word out. While he told them about his Underworld adventures, he didn''t tell them about his newfound abilities. Only Hiro knew.


    He put his index finger on his lips, "It''s not a big deal. We need to go level up the normal way first."


    He searched his past knowledge for a dungeon that would be perfect to get hisrades to at least level 70. There was a hidden one in particr, it gave those that stumbled upon it 10x the rewards.


    But it was also A ranked. Meaning Kiro would have to be the main attack, but since rewards were split evenly he decided to have them go in their own modes. This would make levelling up faster, rather than to have them split 5 ways.


    A dungeon had 4 modes. Hell, Hard, Medium and Easy. He nned to enter with one on hell difficulty, while hard, medium and easy would be entered by them alone with one or two beasts. Naturally since they were from the same team, Kiro didn''t charge them for beast rental.


    "The weakest one here is Ishaan, so I''ll enter hell with him. Niki you''ll enter hard with Frost and Kel. Hiro you''ll enter medium with Wen. And Felix, you''re entering easy with Hue."


    Those were the beasts Kiro trusted the most. The bear that almost killed Hubris and a flyer that was a predator bird. Hiro and Felix both got the white tigers. The cubs had grown considerably since thest time he tamed them.


    Everyone nodded in agreement. They couldn''t deny that they needed strength, especially when they weren''t looking to take up more members.


    Kiro had given them every bit of information about the dungeon and the monsters within it, what climate they should expect, they felt more than ready.


    "Let''s go!" Kiro yelled.


    "Aren''t you gonna wear shoes?" Hiro asked him.


    "I like it like this."


    Hiro took out geta sandals, "how about these? Made them myself."


    He put them on and moved around their base. "They''re not bad. At least they don''t disort vibrations."


    Only Hiro and Niki seem to react to how fast he''d moved. The other two never saw him move, he was just rooted in ce for them.


    Felix was already inseparable with his chainsaw changing sceptor. Kiro felt bad for the monsters, as they would be tortured more than anything.


    Standing in front of the dungeon, "please, remember that levelling up is our priority." He was looking right at Felix as he said.


    "Yes yes, I won''t waste time torturing them." Felix said, almost robotic, as if his mind wasn''t even focused on what Kiro was saying.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on discovering the hidden dungeon ''Wintry'' you may not be familiar with the new dungeon additions, so I''ll exin. Dungeonse in various modes...]


    "Okay gang, this is information I''ve told you about. No need to wait around, go on..."


    There was a button for each difficulty. Felix didn''t waste any time and pressed easy, a beam of light engulfed him and Hue, and they were gone.


    Everyone else did the same and they were transported into the same dungeon, but with different modes.


    The cold air whistled in the atmosphere. Two silhouettes stood in the middle of a really bad storm.


    "Well, Ishaan, I hope you''re ready."


    "Y-yes!"

 Chapter 193: Wintry

    Ishaan slowly took out his sword. Hiro had crafted it for him, he wasn''t quitefortable yet, he didn''t know which weapon best suited him. Battle Mages were versatile like that, they weren''t limited.


    Kiro grabbed to his left instinctively, but there was nothing there. He smiled at how silly that was, Hubris was running his kingdom, not by his side.


    He took out Ryu, this was still hell mode, he wouldn''t make the mistake of underestimating it.


    "These penguins, are they strong?" He asked masking his fear.


    "Obviously!"


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered deadly penguins. They''re small in size but aren''t to be underestimated. Capable of fighting other A ranked monster with impable ease.


    Deadly Penguins


    HP: 74 000


    MP: 65 000]


    Ishaan waited in anticipation, his sword at the ready. His weapon was thinly coated with magic. He tried to sense where the enemy wille from, but he couldn''t.


    "Below." Kiro said simply.


    Several penguins shot out from the ground, breaking the thick ice on the ground with surprising ease.


    He pushed himself back using whirlwind andnded behind Ishaan.


    "If you fail, we might have to reconsider your membership."


    Kiro would step in if it got too dangerous. But he needed to push the kid a little, his wimpy nature was an annoyance if anything.


    Ishaan stilled his resolve. He stood in a fighting stance, with his sword aligned with his jaw and waited.


    One enemy reached him, he swung and swerved to the side. In his hurry to dodge, he also missed his target.


    "Come on, don''t be afraid of a little pain. We have potions here too. Get roughed up a bit."


    That''s when Ishaan truly let loose. He was someone who was afraid of pain, but he also didn''t want to lose the friends he''d made so far, so he went head first.


    shing and swinging, missing and dodging, stabbing and getting hit by a spell, that was frostbite. It would dig into his skin but he would endure.


    Kiro stepped in whenever it got too dangerous, giving hisrade a chance to breathe and gain his HP back.


    He was growing more proficient with the sword. His senses seemed to be getting sharper too. He was even using magic to enhance his body, making him faster and stronger than before.


    Until finally...


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on beating Wintry on hell mode. Your rewards a will be 10x the norm. 1 million EXP and 5k coins]


    Level up. Level up...


    "I levelled up! Twice!!"


    "Great, I don''t mean to be a downer but you need to be level 70 at least. So, again..."


    This grinding went on for over 30 in-game days. Ishaan truly looked like he''d been through hell, 50 times over. But that also came with an unwavering resolve. He didn''t avoid fighting now as he did back then.


    Kiro even forbade him from using his defense shield in this dungeon, just to make him used to fighting, head-on.


    They grinded for 60 days straight without so much as rest. With all this, Kiro hadn''t once seen a notification telling him he''d levelled up.


    But the 60 days was enough to reach new heights for hisrades. They left that particr dungeon, frostbitten, cold and having achieved their mission.


    They headed back to the base. They equipped new weapons and armour and took some potions and headed out. Kiro quickly put his SP on meditation, which raised its rank to A.


    The n was that, Hiro, Kiro and Niki would make a triangle-like formation. While Felix the healer and Ishaan the mage stood at almost in the middle. Felix''s job was that of a healer so he needed protection the most.


    Hiro was at the front, since he was a tank and guardian, Kiro was on the side as the main damage dealer. Niki was on the other side as the secondary damage dealer.


    Ishaan''s most important job was to absolutely protect Felix with his newly acquired battle strength, if things went dire, Kiro gave him permission to use the force shield.


    It was great that his healing could be used inside the barrier. It seemed like it only restricted physical attacks.


    Felix did not like that, he wanted more than anything to be at the forefront fighting but understood all the same the importance of a healer.


    Before long, they arrived at a mouth of a normal looking cave. As soon as they set foot in it.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions After Dark. You''re the first to discover a hidden dungeon ''Armageddon.'' 3x EXP and loot drops for the next 5 days.]


    "How is it that Kiro always finds things a normal yer would overlook? Are you a developer?" Ishaan asked.


    "Kiro can see into the future. You can neverpare him to a mere normal yer." Hiro replied, with such a serious tone, Kiro burst outughing.


    He couldn''t help butugh, "Guys, I have my ways if gathering information no need to throw around conspiracy theories."


    Dungeons normally had ranks, from SSS to B. From his past knowledge, he''d never seen a ranking beyond SSS. But then again, in his past life there were no harbingers either.


    There was zero information about SSS ranks, even in the game''s website. But it was listed as the greatest threat.


    Kiro thought this was the Lizard dungeon, he had no idea what Armageddon was. But his information from the spectres said ''undead.'' He didn''t remember there being a dungeon like that. When he saw it was S ranked he started to sweat buckets.


    In his previous life, this dungeon was A ranked and monsters that dwelled there were lizardmen. He couldn''t help but think this change had everything to do with his return to the past.


    Once a dungeon is entered, it couldn''t let you out unless you kill the final boss. There wasn''t even a time limit for this, which made him more nervous.


    "Are you okay man?" Hiro asked, he knew his friend. He didn''t look as rxed as he usually does.


    Kiro sighed deeply and stilled his heart, "I''m alright. Let''s go."


    The cave had a long tunnel. A different entrance than the Wintry dungeon, they could see the other side as it exuded light. They reached the other end, what greeted them was truly unexpected.

 Chapter 194: Armageddon

    They all just stood at the other end of the tunnel. Each of them were puzzled, they didn''t imagine a dungeon would be like this, it was, a whole world? It looked like a city, but it was in ruins.


    The buildings that once towered the skies resembled a dead army of nothing but littered skeletons. The nts were about the only things they could see alive.


    As they clung tightly on the already fallen buildings. Some were stubborn as they just leaned to the side, refusing to fall, the nts clung onto them all the same.


    "This is a dungeon? Let''s go back." Ishaan said in a whisper, but it was so quiet his whisper was heard loud and clear.


    "We can''t. We have to clear the dungeon before it can let us out." Kiro told him. He had never seen this in his past life, so this was confusing for him.


    As if on queue they all took a step out of the tunnel and into the ruined city. They figured standing around will not help their case, the sooner they clear this, the sooner they can get out of it.


    Ding!


    [You''ve entered the ruined city of the student town. The city was attacked by a deadly virus. Humans couldn''t do anything to stop it so they perished. This dungeon is about survival. Good luck.]


    "This is the student town?" Niki asked dumbfounded.


    "More importantly, the system didn''t tell us about the monsters here." Hiro said, looking toward Kiro.


    "Let''s just walk on, be ready to fight at any moment. It''s a survival dungeon, danger will lurk at every corner." Kiro said taking charge.


    The grass was tall, what was strange about all of this was that, there wasn''t even a sound of birds, crickets or anything.


    The only noise now was their feet marching through the grass. They were walking in their triangle formation, Kiro ordered Ishaan to not use his force shield unless they were engaged in a dangerous fight.


    Nothing jumped out to attack them, which made them the more paranoid. Where were the monsters? Navigating through the city wasn''t easy, they had to use weapons to cut down the nts at times. They had to be quick on their feet since the rubble would fall where they stood.


    "We need to find shelter." Kiro said looking around at the dead city.


    "You mean, we can''t clear this dungeon today?" Ishaan asked.


    "There''s no time limit. That much should be obvious." Felix said coldly. He didn''t like Ishaan''s cowardly nature and he didn''t hide it.


    "We could be here for months. Let''s split up and investigate." Niki chimed in.


    "That''s, not a good idea." Ishaan said sternly. "You''ve seen the horror films right? Splitting up could be deadly!"


    "We''ll cover more ground that way, you have a force field shield, what are you so scared of?" Kiro scorned him.


    Kiro summoned Kel. Unfortunately he could only summon one beast at a time. Kel was overjoyed as this was his first time being summoned by his master, he pecked Kiro to show his appreciation.


    The flyer looked like a hybrid, between a wolf and a bird, his fur still as dark red as when Kiro found him. They had tried to imprint Frost to Hiro so that he could summon him, but it wasn''t easy.


    "You have a bird dog?"


    "It must be nice having a beast tamer subss..."


    "..."


    The flyer looked at him with the deadliest of eyes. As if to tell Ishaan to shut his mouth before he could swallow him whole. Kel didn''t speak but he was aware and didn''t like being reminded of that he was a halfbreed.


    "Hey now Kel, calm down." Kiro could sense his deadly aura shot towards Ishaan. "We''re all on the same side here."


    Ishaan broke a sweat. Even with all the levelling up he wasn''t invincible. He could however sense Kel''s animosity towards him that made him somewhat docile again.


    Kel scoffed, he was liking Ishaan less and less. And was d when his master waved him away from the kid.


    It was decided that they went in pairs, Hiro with Ishaan, Niki with Felix and Kiro with Kel and his spectres though nobody knew they were there, and so everyone went their separate ways.


    Kel was smaller than a wolf but bigger than a bird. It was a great addition that his wings could carry his body, so flying wasn''t a problem for him.


    Because he was a halfbreed, he gained abilities from both the species he hailed from, Kiro thought it was too bad he couldn''t evolve. He couldn''t imagine how strong he''d be if he could.


    He had a very strong beak that could pierce even steel. Kiro had previously tested a lot of materials, there was nothing in Hiro''s shop he couldn''t damage.


    His ws weren''t as strong, they could still rip flesh into shreds though. His speed was also impressive. Wings gave him an aeriel battle advantage. Making his field of vision unparalleled to most monsters and some yers.


    He had a very sharp nose, this made it impossible for him to forget a scent, he could chase you to the ends of the earth with just this.


    Originally, Kiro didn''t like that none of his beasts could talk but he got used to it quickly. Which made him more d they couldn''t, he wasn''t looking for a Hubris recement.


    What he couldn''t get used to though was the fact that tamed beasts didn''t have their own mana, so they used their owners. He had forgotten that''s how they started with Hubris before he evolved.


    It wasn''t a problem that they needed mana and Kiro had kaos. Somehow, the game converted the strange energy into mana when the beasts absorbed it.


    Kiro tried to use vibrations to sense they of thend, but the world was simply too vast to feel everything. He didn''t want to push it, lest he jumped to another realm. He wasn''t aplished yet with using his reality warping abilities.


    The closer he got, the more familiar the buildings became. He was here not too long ago with his friends after all.


    "Well, let''s go."

 Chapter 195: Investigating Ruins

    Kiro walked down the grass infested asphalt as if he were scared to wake up the grass or even the buildings that surrounded them.


    Like they woulde alive and start attacking, he thought back to when they were ambushed by trees, he didn''t want to rule anything out. The devs were definitely a sketchy bunch.


    At a distance, he noticed a rundown shop, that looked like the one he went to the first time he dragged Hiro to buy the head gear.


    He slowly approached, and opened the door so slow he didn''t even notice holding his breath. Then a bell sounded from the door opening, something that didn''t exist in the real world.


    It startled him but he quickly rxed. "What a dumb addition." He mumbled as he stepped inside.


    The inside looked like space rubble. It was aplete mess, as though animals had been inside here throwing the biggest rage of the century.


    Many head geary broken on the ground, that made Kiro''s heart sink. All he saw was money, as fake as this was it was still heartbreaking to see.


    Every step he took, there was a crunchy sound, announcing the breaking of more head gears. The white walls were now painted in red, blood sttered all over, even the ceiling.


    "I wonder where did the bodies go? Surely the blood didn''t just, grow on the walls on its own." He mumbled to himself, he did not however expect an answer.


    "It seems, they were made ground beef. Bones and all." A cheeky voice sounded.


    "Huh, who said that?" He looked around and saw nothing.


    "Come on master, if you spent more of your time within you''d know it was me."


    "Ren? What the¡ª"


    The spectres also didn''t know why their voices were suddenly audible. Kiro theorised that, maybe because they were in the realm of the undead, their realm, it made it possible. He was sure when they cleared the dungeon it''d go back to radio silence.


    "Well, can you smell anything?" Kiro asked, he felt idiotic he didn''t consult them before.


    "Yes, besides blood and guts? Death." It was Gin who answered.


    "What does death even smell like?" He asked with an eyebrow raised.


    "Like darkness. You''ll probably ask what that smells like, but even if I exined, it just wouldn''t make sense to you. It''s more of a feeling, terror, horror and the like."


    "So you''re scared?"


    "Wh-what¡ªwho¡ªwhat¡ªme?"


    Despite the scene before them, Kiroughed at his stupid stuttering. He couldn''t exactly see Gin''s face but he could tell he was embarrassed.


    They walked around the store, it seemed whatever caused havoc here was long gone. There was only silence and death in the air, he could sense nothing that was a threat.


    He then signalled for them to investigate in the backroom, possibly a staff room. As they got closer to the counter, the sulfuric and rotten flesh smell got worse.


    What greeted Kiro behind the counter wasn''t something he expected, just there a rotting corpseidfortably in the pool of its own blood.


    "Strange, there''s a corpse. Why was this one left in particr?" Nobody there could answer his question.


    They couldn''t tell who the face belonged to, there was a hole instead of a identifiable face. It looked like somebody shot her in the face and possibly ran out with it, because they couldn''t find a gun anywhere.


    What was eerie about the situation was the fact that there were no flies harbouring the body, no maggots biting the skin from bone. The body was starting to rot, it had a ck colour about it.


    Slowly, Kiro opened the backroom door. Their noses were attacked by a sulfuric smell. The moment he opened the door, they were soaked in warm crimson liquid.


    Kiro jumped back by instinct and stepped on the corpse destroying more of it, but he couldn''t escape the blood, he was already bathed in it.


    "What the fu¡ª"


    He was interrupted by a growling Kel. He looked dead in the room, slouching down, his wings pushed so low they seemed to be part of his fur.


    He was looking at something like he was ready to attack. Kiro noticed the shadow, which disappeared immediately.


    "Do you have it''s scent?"


    Kel nodded slightly. Nothing could fool his nose.


    "Good boy." He turned to the spectres, "do you know what it was?"


    At his master''s praise. Kel''s ears shot up. He wanted to be more than just useful, that would mean he won''t be discarded and forgotten.


    "Creatures of the night." V said proudly.


    "Vampires?"


    He took their silence as confirmation. Kiro sighed.


    "Well let''s go back, maybe others found clues too."


    Soaked in blood, they left the little shop. When they got to the spot they separated, nobody else had returned. So Kiro collected some fire wood, he reckoned they''ll need it during the night. The weather was changing from the warm sunny day, to a vicious cold infested night.


    Hiro''s team arrived first, with a luggage of food and water. In-game food and sleep recovered stamina after all, so this was smart of them.


    Kiro quickly washed his face and hair. Kel was a bit depressed that there wasn''t enough for him too. But he didn''t despair and decided to wear the blood as a badge of honour.


    Just before dark Felix and Niki arrived. It didn''t seem like they were attacked by anything but they did look exhausted. The fire was alive at this point, Ishaan was roasting some meat for their dinner.


    "Took you guys long enough!" Kiro said.


    They simply smiled and nodded in agreement. Kiro didn''t ask them anything, they were famished. They must''ve encountered some creepy things too along the way.


    He decided they should talk after a meal. Which didn''t taste that great, Kiro regretted tasking Ishaan to roast. He was a rich kid, why did he think he could cook.


    The poor taste showed in everyone''s faces. Kiro was a great cook but he wasn''t a miracle maker, even he couldn''t salvage their dinner.


    So they had to put a sock in it and eat what was prepared. Though Kiro vowed to do it himself the next time.

 Chapter 196: Around The Fire

    It was now time to share their exploration stories. Kiro told them first, he recounted everything he saw. Including the corpse and the vampire they saw in the backroom, now everybody understood why they were soaked in blood.


    "Vampires?" Hiro whimpered. "Do you think it''s Drac?"


    "It''s likely."


    "Who''s Drac?" Niki asked.


    "Oh, just some Vampire Lord, Kiro pissed off."


    "We probably should''ve mentioned that we were being hunted by a crazy Vampire Lord." Kiro said andughed sheepishly.


    Everyone looked at the two incredulously. Ishaan especially was visibly frightened. Kel however wore an expression of amusement. The more he knew his master, the more he liked him.


    Ishaan and Hiro had nothing to tell that was out of the ordinary, they couldn''t even find shelter. When they couldn''t find anything they just went into a store that was caved in, and collected the food and water that was undamaged.


    "It was uneventful for us too." Niki said, looking at Felix. Felix looked at him as if to tell him to say it all. Niki rolled his eyes and sighed.


    "Well, Felix has a theory. Zombies. We ran into a boarded up movie theatre, inside, there was rumbling and humming, almost like bees really." He shrugged as if he didn''t believe in what he was saying.


    "Zombies huh, it''s possible. This might be the dungeon of the undead or something." Kiro said as the dots connected.


    This must''ve been what the spectres meant when they said undead. Maybe this dungeon harboured every bit of an undead monster.


    This made Ishaan ufortable, he was fidgeting and almost choked on the meat he was still eating. The conversation made him too aware of his surroundings that, he thought he was seeing moving shadows.


    "Why did you even pick abat mage if you''re so scared of everything?" Felix asked with a tinge of annoyance.


    "It''s just a game, I didn''t expect it to be this realistic." He said unconvinced by his own words.


    "That''s what it is Chubby, a game. Your body is safe in your own room. You''re not gonna die."


    "Kiro, don''t call me that!"


    Kiro just ignored him. They continued to chat,ing up with ways to deal with zombies and vampires and everything else that may be lurking.


    They had to prepare everything, it was better than not being prepared they figured. Hiro and Kiro told them everything they knew about the vampire they fought, the skills it had, the way it fought.


    The night was extremely cold, but the fire made it at least possible for them to camp outside. Though they vowed to find shelter the next morning, because the silence of the night, of the world, was unsettling. It made each of them ufortable.


    Kiro offered to be the first watch after they finished their food. They all couldn''t just sleep while vampires roamed thend. He used Kel as a pillow, he was surprisinglyfortable enough and made sure the fire didn''t die out, so he fed it wood once in a while.


    He spent the time to enter his mental world, Paraside. Hoping to run into Hubris somehow. But he never did. He instead spent the time using his reality warping abilities to change certain things in his world.


    He even figured the frequency he had to vibrate at to be able to jump. Of course it was all theory, it was all happening in his head after all.


    Thest time he jumped, it had drained all his energy, he knew that he''d have to expand his pool in order to safely make jumps. At the moment that was his priority.


    He was jerked out of the state when he heard shuffling. Opening his eyes he saw Felix had woken up, followed briefly by Niki.


    "You should probably rest too, leader." Niki said, yawning.


    "I''m okay, I''m not really tired." Kiro said looking into the distance, he could''ve sworn he saw something in the darkness.


    The three boys just sat in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the fire. The buildings looked peculiar in the dark, as if they had moving shadows.


    "Dad, no, please, dad!!!" Hiro suddenly shouted, which startled the three. Niki and Kiro with their weapons at the ready. Ishaan didn''t even move, he was absolutely out.


    Hiro shot up, breathing heavily. He looked around when he realised where he was, relief could be seen on his face and then embarrassment.


    Kiro went up to him.


    "Same dream?"


    He nodded. While his mind was healthy, he asionally had bad dreams about what happened to his dad and the trauma from thebyrinth made it more real for him.


    He would sometimes dream of that day, his father trying to kill him. It was, terrible.


    "You know my papi, I mean grandpa, disappeared too." Kiro said trying to make him feel better, to let him know he wasn''t alone.


    He continued, "I was probably 7 when he did, but nobody tried looking for him, not even my parents. It''s strange how I''d forgotten until that stupidbyrinth reminded me."


    Hiro looked up at him nodding because he''d told him about it before, "Where do you reckon they went?"


    Niki and Felix were as still as water, they didn''t want to miss a word of the conversation.


    "I have no clue, but I bet it isn''t a coincidence. I''m sure, you know, the strings of missing persons in the lower district." He answered, almost absentmindedly, caressing the game version of the ne his grandfather gave him.


    Hiro nodded. After his father''s disappearance, his mother didn''t let them out of the house much. So he understood what Kiro meant.


    There was silence for a long time. Each of them seemed to be thinking about one thing, Kiro''sst words lingered in their minds, putting them in a trance-like state.


    Niki looked to be battling a demon inside of him. He couldn''t decide whether to say or not. He knew more than they did, that much was certain, but he was ashamed of what happened to him all the same.


    "I may know something about that." He finally said, choking on his own saliva.

 Chapter 197: New Allies, Same Goal

    They both jerked up and looked at him, they slowly made their way towards him and sat closer to him. They looked at him expectedly. He didn''t say anything. He didn''t really want to let them know he was a ve, that was a topic he hated to be reminded of.


    "Come on Niki, this could be crucial information to save Hiro''s dad and find out what happened to my papi." Kiro said with a pleading voice.


    Niki looked up and closed his eyes, he took a deep breath and started, "when I was a kid, something happened at the ck Estate. Mum woke me in the middle of the night, telling me my life was in danger." He paused remembering the kind eyes and smile his mother showed him that night.


    He told them almost everything. He purposely left out some parts. Those were his secrets to keep, he didn''t intend to divulge them to anyone, not even Felix. Every man had their own after all.


    "So my guess? very exists in our society, it''s so well hidden that the general poption doesn''t get suspicious. I reckon everyone who disappears gets enved and especially in the lower district, nobody would bat an eye if anyone there went missing."


    They couldn''t process the information fast enough. very? Most of all, Niki was a ve? There was silence for a while. Kiro had nothing to say.


    "I''m sorry man." Kiro tried to say, he was simply shocked.


    "I''m not. This experience opened my eyes to a lot about our country. To top it all of, the person who bought me, always talked about a secret society that he was a part of, I reckon they''re the rich. Puppeteers of everything bad happening. What did he call it again? Century?"


    "Sanctum." Kiro''s mouth moved on its own.


    If a rich kid could be sold to very, then who were they, was what was on their minds. As heavy as this was, it was something.


    For the first time in his life, Kiro felt a sense of immense responsibility to find out the truth about his grandfather and this at least pointed them at a certain direction.


    "Were you also enved Felix?" Hiro asked looking at his bandaged arms.


    Felix simply shook his head. Niki looked at him, Felix nodded.


    "Felix, well, he was introduced as my aid when we were both 7. But we became the greatest of friends. So when I disappeared he felt responsible.


    "For 5 years, to punish himself, he made cuts on his arms. He definitely became a masochist after that but at least he stopped self inflicting."


    All of this information made the two''s heads spin. The illusion they had about this society had just been toppled after all, they didn''t in their wildest think rich people could, suffer like this.


    Ontop of that, their society allowed very, albeit in the shadows. This made Kiro more motivated to destroy it.


    "How do you two have a sadder life story than these kids from the slums?" Kiro said jokingly, attempting to diffuse the tension.


    Even Felixughed at this. His heart ttered with happiness. He was d they didn''t look at him as if he was a creep, he truly felt epted. It was only then that he feltfortable around the two.


    "I''m gonna destroy this society." Kiro mumbled. As much as he mumbled, they heard him.


    Niki smiled, "same." He said simply.


    Hiro nodded. Felix did the same. They definitely felt closer than they did at the start of their dungeon journey. Especially now that they had the same goals.


    "First order of business, let''s try to find out how they operate, how they transport victims and where." Kiro said, taking charge once again, voting himself as the leader.


    They all didn''t care much. They shrugged and nodded.


    "And please, if we ever want to talk about this business, we do it here. It''s safer than out there. It has to be." His trust for the outside world only widened, he didn''t think anywhere was safe out there. Especially if their goal was this.


    They all definitely agreed on that. They then changed the topic entirely and talked about other things, normal things teenage boys talk about. It was a wonder that Ishaan slept through all that.


    All of a sudden, Kel growled at the night. Those blue eyes glinted dangerously, as if he was warning something to stay away. It must not have taken his warning seriously, because it showed itself.


    It looked like a ghost, translucent but at the same time it resembled smoke. Dark thick translucent smoke, that made it look like it was just a cloak wearing itself.


    "Dungeon of the undead." Kiro said through gritted teeth. "Kel, if you can defeat this thing, you would''ve proven your worth to me."


    That single line winded his ego, he pounced hungrily at the ghost faster than it could react. With his indestructible beak, he pierced the thing only to go through it like the smoke it was.


    That didn''t deter him, thinking quick on his feet he used his ws to attempt slicing it but s it wasn''t flesh.


    "Okay, I may have been too hard on you, clearly this is a very bad match for you little one." Kiro attempted to console him.


    It looked like it was sucking their magic as it stood in the air motionless not even attacking them physically.


    Then a whistling sounded in the dead of the night. Niki was using his skill, knowing that physical attacks were useless. The ghost slowly dissipated until there was nothing but air.


    "Sh*t Niki stop that, are you trying to kill us?"


    When he looked back, his friends were on the floor writhing in pain. He quickly stopped and smiled boyishly.


    "Haha, I didn''t think it''d affect you guys, sorry sorry. I don''t have control over it yet."


    Ding!


    [Congrattions for killing your first Wraith. They''re vengeful spirits that have gued this entire town. EXP received 100 000. Coins 3 000.]


    The game was obviously now stingy with coins. The EXP was split 6 ways by the system automatically. It counted Kel as part of After Dark.


    "That was a cool skill though, what is it?" Kiro was curious.


    "Deadly bad, it''s called. A simple whistle could be my greatest weapon if I can master it."


    Kiro thought about it, and decided he would attempt to get Niki over to Paradise, that way he can learn without hurting anyone. But that was for when they''ve left this ce.


    Kiro walked over to Kel, and started scratching his chin, which quickly melted his anger away. "Don''t be so down, you tried your best." He made a purring sound to show his happiness.


    After that incident none of them could sleep. Clearly the shadows they''d seen were Wraiths havoring around the ruins.


    Ishaan was still asleep. They all gave him strange looks at how he slept through all that noise.


    "What a crazy guy!"


    "Tell me about it."

 Chapter 198: A Small Army

    The sun hadn''te up when the warm fire lulled them to sleep.


    Kiro hadn''t the slightest clue why, but from the little sleep that stole his conscious mind, he dreamt of his grandfather for the first time since he could remember.


    Not even thebyrinth triggered something of that sort, he supposed the conversation they had lit fire under his belly and he was hopeful.


    It was just the same memory it was back then at thebyrinth of terror. His grandfather giving him the family ne and telling him they were once a prestigious family. For the first time since he remembered, he pondered about those words.


    Unlike back then, he could now understand what those words meant. But they didn''t make sense as Kiro grew up poor as far as he remembered. Even his father grew up with nothing and he never heard stories from his father, no stories he told Kiro anyway.


    The things he had to uncover seem to grow by the day. It was honestly exhausting for him at this point, as he just wanted to enjoy this lifetime. He was given a second chance after all.


    Since they were sleeping outside with no means of shelter, the heat of the sun violently woke them up very early. Luckily they had water, so their characters wouldn''t die of thirst. They didn''t even bother with breakfast. They just walked on towards the movie theatre with zombies.


    "Kel, take to the skies. Tell us anything unusual up ahead." Kiromanded. ''You guys too.'' He added. He didn''t mean to say it internally, he was just used to doing that with them.


    Withoutint, he spread his wings and flew away. From up there, he couldn''t see any movements. The town was truly dead.


    "He can even fly like a bird? Can you get any more cooler?" Hiro said, with sparkles in his eyes.


    Kiro lightly chuckled, "He''s the cool one in this case!"


    They walked for a while and Kiro noticed familiar buildings. ''How is this possible?'' he thought to himself.


    "Is it just me or the buildings moved."


    "What do you me¡ª"


    Hiro was interrupted by screeching from the skies, Kel swooped in andnded on Kiro''s shoulder.


    But because they were not that well bonded, Kiro couldn''t understand his frantic pecking.


    "You''re headed the wrong direction. This is the direction we went yesterday." Gin came to the rescue.


    Everyone froze in ce as they heard a voice but didn''t see where it wasing from. They quickly went into battle formation.


    "Who, what?" Niki stammered.


    "Rx, they''re my uhm, ghosts in a way?"


    He then exined to them what they were, how he found them and how they came over here with him, so he tamed them.


    "There''s no end to the amazing things you''ve done is there." Felix scoffed.


    "Stop being impressed. How''s what they''re saying possible? You mean the buildings can move?" Ishaan practically screamed the question.


    Nobody paid him any mind though. Panicking wouldn''t do them any good. Waiting for the spectres to exin.


    "We went up ahead and saw the movie theatre, we have to take a right instead of a left. We do have to go back. I don''t know how but the buildings seem to change their fixed positions." Ren exined.


    "It is very strange. We don''t sense that the buildings are sentient or possessed, they''re very normal buildings." V chimed in.


    Withoutint they walked back to where they came from. It was especially annoying because of how hot it was there, though Kiro didn''t feel any difference. He was too used to the heat of the Underworld.


    Hiro was lucky too, fire was his speciality after all. The rest were almost dragging their feet, they had walked a good distance and there was no means of transportation but their own two feet.


    The weather change in the weather was sudden, it was a clear sky not a second ago but dark clouds were gathering fast.


    Ding!


    [You''re in the domain of a Lich King. These undead wizards are a wicked breed and are able to control a small army of skeletons.


    Lich King


    Level 60


    HP: 30000


    MP: 35000


    Skeleton Minions


    Level 40


    HP: 5000


    MP: 7000]


    "Something is definitelying!" Hiroined.


    They quickly went in formation and waited, they didn''t have to wait too long, as they heard them before they saw them. A low sounding march, like wood getting thrown on the ground.


    Then they saw them, bones that were ck as night that was approaching them sooner, they seemed to be stuck together by glue. They made a great job making them look creepy but their eyes wereical to say they least.


    They brandished all sorts of weapons. They didn''t ask questions, as they started running towards with crazed looks on their faces.


    Hiro put his shield in front of him, one of the skeletons went straight for it, exploding on impact.


    The splinters from bones flew too close to Ishaan''s eyes which made him panic and he instinctively activated his force shield.


    "There''s just no way you used that against level 40 monsters." Kiro scorned him.


    "Instinct! It was purely instinct!"


    Kiro groaned, he was about to attack but that waspletely intercepted by his ownrade. He lightly used vibrations and broke out of the shield, he had Ryu and his fists and that was enough.


    It took Ishaan but a second to get rid of the force shield but the damage Kiro had done was already impressive. He loosened up a little, and glided towards the enemies.


    With his level and the sword Hiro had made for him, it took just a single strike topletely destroy his enemies. It wasn''t fun, because every time they died, they somehow exploded.


    Even though he had thick skin in-game, this still gave him a scare. He charged on nheless. He was starting to look like a warrior, so the rest of them stood back and watched him decimate a small army, an army nheless, alone.

 Chapter 199: Lich King

    As hard as Ishaan was working, the skeletons weren''t reducing in numbers. Clearly, the Lich was summoning more as one fell from his de.


    Kiro was tempted to not interfere and see just who wouldst longer in the battle of stamina but within hours, Ishaan was starting to lose his ir. Everyone watched this always scared kid with a newfound respect but only a little because at that moment he copsed making his moment a little less cool.


    "Felix, you dunce! Why weren''t you healing him." He said while using vibrations to stun them in ce.


    Felix didn''t reply, he simply wore a sadistic smile on his face and shrugged. He started healing him then, his mana was almost entirely drained, another second and he would have been in aatose state.


    ''Yeah, a masochist through and through.''


    Niki didn''t need to be told as he sted through the formation and into enemy territory. He didn''t want to use his death bad, because that wouldpromise hisrades. He stuck with his dagger. Poisoning them as he went deeper.


    Hiro just stood there, standing guard while Felix was doing his job.


    Vibrations caused a disturbance in the atmosphere, the Lich couldn''t hope to summon more. So they dwindled in numbers, and Kiro was able to discern where the culprit had been hiding.


    He must''ve known he was found out because he sent a spell of dark mes. Kiro uses Ryu to fuel the damage whirlwind could cause.


    The spell was sent in different directions, the impact on either side was devasting, rubble shot through the air falling on them like a summer''s rain.


    Hiro used his shield to protect themselves. While Kiro used his speed, fists and staff. Niki did the same.


    "I must say, I''ve been bested here it''d be idiotic to stick around." The Lich King proimed in cheerful voice.


    His body started to liquidify, attempting to escape in one of the drainages nearby.


    "Oh no you f*cken don''t you little weasel, just like your master."


    Kiro pressed hard and reversed his liquid state, slowly turning him back to a solid undead. But it wouldn''t be easy, the Lich King was fighting. So he went back and forth from liquid to solid.


    The others watched in amazement as Kiro defied thews of reality as they knew it. I mean, he had told them he had acquired these abilities, but it was still bizarre to watch.


    They didn''t move a muscle, scared to be caught up in all of it. He was quickly losing chunks of his energy, he knew he wouldn''t be able to hold on forever.


    "Niki, don''t just stand there, kill it."


    Niki was pulled out from his trance state, he was ways away from them, it still took him a single second and he was in front of the blob that couldn''t decide which state it wanted to be in.


    He pushed through his dagger, but just then an explosion sounded which sent him back to where he came from.


    "Sh*t. He escaped."


    Ding!


    [You''ve defeated the Lich King''s army and caused him to flee. EXP 100k. Coins 500.]


    Kiro thought if they defeated the Lich, the sun woulde back out. It was now dark, their only source of light was the weirdly shaped moon and stars.


    Of course all of them could see almost perfectly in the darkness. They walked back to camp immediately feeling a little bit defeated, Kiro ordered his beasts to guide them from the skies to avoid taking the wrong route again.


    Upon arriving, there wasplete silence. No humming, or sound of beesing from inside the movie theatre. The ce looked as dead as the rest of the city. Though it was strange that, it hadn''t fallen, it did look abanonded. nts did cling on it, but that was about it. It was not nting like the other buildings.


    "Are you guys sure it was this one?"


    "Positive." Felix answered Hiro.


    Kiro took a look around, but he couldn''t see anything from the inside. The windows were boarded up, the door was also locked with a chain and a padlock, they''d have to force it to get it to open.


    "Spectres, can''t you feel anything?"


    "Death?" they said at the same time, more of a question than certainty.


    Kiro paced, scratching his head. He was almost out of energy from using his energy consuming abilities. He was absorbing but it wasn''t fast enough.


    He stopped and looked at Kel, "Can''t you look through the walls?"


    Kel simply looked at him dumbly. Kiro was just asking, he didn''t expect an answer, he knew his skills and they didn''t include X-ray vision.


    He cursed whoever brought him back, just to change the dungeons of this game, now his future game information was pretty much useless. He found himself hoping that, this was just a dungeon that wasn''t discovered in his past life.


    He wasn''t too mad though, he had already made a lot of money from the game, which was his goal in the first ce. Now, his responsibilities only grew longer. There was much to do.


    His real objective for a while had been to destroy the way his society operated. With the new information from Niki, it only served to strengthen his resolve. He was almost certain his grandfather was no longer alive, but he wanted to uncover what he died for.


    "Can''t we just break the door down?"


    Kiro was jerked from his thoughts by Ishaan''s question.


    "We at least need to be prepared, for that we need to know what we''re dealing with." Niki answered before Kiro could. He nodded in agreement.


    "I''ll have to use vibrational sense to see what''s going on inside." Kiro proimed.


    Kel looked at him with a expression that said, ''if you could do that, why did you have to ask me to see through walls?''


    Kiro noticed this, but he paid him no mind. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate hard on absorbing faster.


    He sat cross-legged and within seconds unwittingly entered the meditative state.

 Chapter 200: Eternal Darkness

    Several minutes passed and he was still sitting cross-legged. Meditating while sensing vibrations. The kaos absorption was working exactly like mana did, it went through many of his skills, but it was greatly faster than he remembered.


    He noticed that his energy pool had gotten bigger. That made him excited and unintentionally let out kaos, which coated his skin.


    "Is he okay? Why''s he glowing red." Ishaan asked with concern.


    Not one person answered or even showed interest to the speaker. They were all worried for their leader but none of them had answers. They just waited and hoped for the best.


    Felix clicked his tongue. He especially hated this situation, as Ishaan was ordered to protect him. He didn''t trust the kid with anything, much less his life. He didn''t know it yet but he was starting to warm up to him, the fight he showed was impressive.


    Nobody knew but Felix didn''t actually mean to stop healing him, his fighting put him in a trance. He always enjoyed watching things get hurt. But it wasn''t like, he''d let them know that.


    "Okay then, let''s stand guard until he''s done." Hiro said taking charge.


    Even though it was nevermunicated they didn''t really question him. They''d always just seen him as a vice leader of some kind. Maybe because he took care of their needs when it came to weapons and armour.


    So they stood around Kiro, straining their eyes into the distance, ensuring they could see an approaching enemy from afar. It was dark, so they couldn''t tell whether it was just the night or an undead was hiding in in sight.


    They''d only be able to tell if the shadow moved, but no shadows were moving here, which made their brains the more paranoid. Making them more or less see things that weren''t there.


    While Niki was a supposed king of shadows, pitch darkness didn''t give him an advantage over the undead, so he waited. Blending in the shadows, bing one with them. But he couldn''t feel anything out of the ordinary.


    "Heh, you guys don''t have stand so close. I''m not totally open while in my meditative state." He said his eyes still closed.


    "Better safe than sorry." Niki shrugged.


    After 2 hours, Kiro had already absorbed enough. He was satisfied with how fast it all took.


    He began to sense the vibrations in the abandoned movie theatre. It was truly a nightmare, hundreds upon hundreds of what seemed like zombies. They weren''t moving at all, he figured they didn''t move because they were too clustered together.


    Since the zombies weren''t going anywhere and it was night, he decided all on his own that tthey had to camp out here for the night.


    So he wasn''t in any rush to get off his meditative state. There was something in there within, with him, something that was right in front of him, but tried as he did to grasp onto it, it just slipped through his fingers.


    But somehow, he knew if he didn''t grab this opportunity it may nevere again and he might regret it for months toe.


    So he sat there and endured the yfulness it radiated, sound from the outside waspletely blocked. The skill was truly amazing, he couldn''t wait to see what it can do once it evolves again.


    He couldn''t exin what it was that he saw or heard or felt. He couldn''t exin which sense was it, or it was all of them. If he had to guess though, the peculiar object felt like vibrations but more vicious and refined.


    He didn''t dare break the concentration in fear that it would disappear from his senses forever. So he kept at it and endured.


    Even though he has never done it himself, he has seen it in films before. This hide and seek the object yed resembled a lot a scene of a young man trying to court the woman of their dreams.


    The woman would be uninterested at first but as he showed how gentlemanly he was, they start falling head over heels. He was very patient, and radiated love towards it.


    Slowly but surely, it broke out of its shell and let Kiro absorb itpletely. The feeling was peculiar, it wasn''t a temperature he was used to, if he''d have to exin it. It was extreme cold and extreme heat at the same time, blended together. All at once he was hit with knowledge about it.


    He could feel it, he now could sense, through vibrations, everything at once. No matter the difference in frequency. It was like a radio station that had all it''s stations under a single frequency. The noise was definitely a bit annoying for him, but it was nothing he couldn''t handle.


    ''This is fun. I bet if I worked even harder, I could sense the whole universe vibrate!''


    Ding!


    [Congrattions. You''ve understood your vibration skill a bit more. It has evolved.]


    Just then, he once again allowed sound toe back to his ears, the movement from within the movie theatre was somehow louder. The rest couldn''t hear it because it was subtle, it couldn''t be heard by just listening.


    Then, hesitantly, he opened his eyes. The deep blue eyes crackled with electricity, if only a little.


    It was still dark which was strange, he noticed that everybody didn''t look very happy to be just sitting around waiting.


    He just smiled and said, "why the long faces guys?"


    "You are kidding right?"


    "Some nerve."


    "Don''t ever do that again, leader."


    "About damn time, what took so long?"


    They all said, almost at the same time. Kiro didn''t me them. He didn''t mean to take all day either. But he wasn''t feeling too bad, since he had gained more than they know. Kel and the spectres were the only ones who didn''tin, time to them wasn''t anything special. Whether they had waited a month, it wouldn''t have mattered or made any difference.


    "There are definitely zombies in there, hundreds of them." He told them nonchntly.

 Chapter 201: Creating Stars

    They waited for him to exin further but he never did. He just looked at the strangeness of the darkness surrounding them. He was trying to get a sense of what was going.


    His eyes told him it was dark, his other sense told him it was day.


    "Well, why can''t we hear anything." Ishaan said impatiently.


    "I don''t hear anything." Hiro eximed


    "It''s not something you can hear, no offense buddy." He said smugly.


    "But we should be able to hear something, Niki and Felix did hear movement inside at night."


    "That''s because it''s not night, not really. That lich must''ve done something." He shrugged.


    Even though the sun wasn''t there, Kiro could still tell that, this darkness wasn''t naturally urring. It was as if the sun was carved out from the sky, leaving them in unending darkness.


    "Well, can''t you use your abilities to bring the sun back? I don''t enjoy the heat by any means, but I''d still like to see without straining my eyes." Nikiined.


    "If I do that, it''ll drain my energy and I mean all of it."


    "We waited for a day, we can wait another."


    Kiro could see well in the darkness, but he still agreed. They needed everyone at the best of their abilities to clear the dungeon, most of all, he thought the zombies were weaker during the day. If they had that to their advantage they could clear it faster.


    He started immediately, warping space and time, attempting to reverse whatever curse the Lich King had blessed the dungeon skies with.


    The others watched him with caution and curiosity. They''d never seen anything like this being done before, so they watched in apprehension.


    Though their entertainment was rudely interrupted. Hundreds of Wraiths hovered in the air, threatening to bury them with the city.


    "Oh no, they''re back."


    Ding!


    [You''ve gained the animosity of wraiths. They''ve brought many because of the one you''ve killed. You cannot hide your scent from them, you can only elimate each and every one of them.]


    "Ishaan, quickly use your force shield to protect Kiro and Felix, Niki, let''s try our best." Hiro gave out orders.


    They couldn''t risk having Kiro be disturbed by something trivial as this. Especially when he was doing something so great for them.


    Ishaan did as he was ordered, the only difference was that, the shield only covered Kiro, Kel and Felix. He had purposely gotten out of there, he refused to just watch while the two fought for him.


    Hiro didn''t ask, he understood.


    He let out a storm of mes. They couldn''t see much, they mostly depended on the guidance the spectres gave them. His fire luckily worked on them and it left some them as nothing but smoke.


    Niki depended on his poisonous daggers. His death stare didn''t work, since his enemies had no eyes to stare into.


    Ishaan on the other hand, had since been able to use sword aura, so he had no problem cutting through their thinly veiled bodies.


    "To your right!" Ren shouted.


    Ishaan shed his sword there a split secondter, connecting with one that dissipated immediately.


    The three of them didn''t dare to separate, they stood at the centre of it all. Having their backs turned on each other, with the spectres guidance, they moved like well oiled machine cogs.


    Hiro used his shield, his axe waspletely useless, being of lower rank it couldn''t hope to inflict any physical damage on none solid beings. He vowed to make himself a better weapon. Though the shield was serving him well.


    Their magic continued to get drained, since they were surrounded. Felix wasn''t cking off this time, he understood the seriousness of it all. He continued to replinish their energies.


    While taking restorative potions to replish his quicker.


    "Guys, is it too painful when I do the death bad?"


    "Yes, it''s as if my insides are on fire. I can''t stand it even though I have a special bond with fire."


    Ishaan didn''t have time to answer. He used his long sword to stab one that glided over to them. For the first time ever, he felt useful. Like he was finally part of after dark.


    On the other side of the force shield, Kiro was sweating profusely. There was but a little shift, it wasn''t visible with the naked eye, so he could only feel it.


    He had failed to reverse the curse so he was creating a sun of his own. He figured if he had a whole world created in his head, how hard could creating a single star be?


    He found out just how hard it was. His every muscleined, his eyes popped out like he hadn''t slept in months. He was beginning to lose weight, like he would shrivel up and disappear with the wind.


    His energy wouldn''t be enough, so Kaos was draining his HP to make up for it. For the first time since he tamed it, he was reminded of how cruel the energy could be, he hadpletely forgotten.


    "Felix, give me a restorative potion, quick." His voice sounded hoarse.


    Felix had to leave his post and down the potion in Kiro''s mouth. The potion only replenished his his HP, it couldn''t restore his Kaos, which Kiro thought it was still a win for him.


    He continued like this, while hisrades fought with the energy stealing vengeful spirits. Kel looked worried for his master, but there was nothing he could do to help the situation, so he stood there helplessly.


    Just then, light started to fill the world. It was but a small, tiny fracture through the sky but he had done it. He had created a sun, before it could turn into a much bigger disaster.


    Kiro quickly gave it more mass and eventually made it grow bigger. At first it was the size of a dot, then it expanded rapidly.


    The moment light adorned the dead city, the wraiths disappeared into thin air. Making it seem like they were fighting nothing but wind.


    They fell to the ground, a bit relieved and exhausted.


    Hiro took out a restorative potion and finished it in a single gulp. The two followed suit.


    "I know this is a waste, kind of, but we don''t know what will spring up on us next. Better stay rt and ready for anything." Hiro said, lying on the ground and enjoying the warmth the light brought them.

 Chapter 202: Consequences

    Kiro had the time to look back, just to see whether his friends were fine. The moment he saw that they were, darkness weed him like an old friend. He fell face first making a deafening sound that startled the 4.


    They went and stood over him, looking at his unmoving body.


    "Is he alright?" Hiro asked.


    "He looks pretty dead." Ishaanmented.


    "He''d have pixted." Niki answered.


    "Yes, Right."


    Felix knelt down, pressing his hand on his chest. He was frantic as he couldn''t feel anything there, then realised his bandages were in the way.


    He had gained a skill that let him be able to sense others mana and HP with a simple touch. But it was still low ranked, so he had to use his bare hands.


    For the first time, he unwrapped his bandages in front of people. He wasn''t thinking about that, not at all, he just wanted to save Kiro.


    Everybody saw his scars he had given himself, they were horrible. But none of hisrades winced or looked away in disgust, they were silently cheering him on. Niki had never seen the expression of fear on his face before.


    ''He knows it''s just a game right?'' Niki said to himself.


    He gently pressed his hand on his bare chest, he couldn''t sense a single ounce of mana in him. Which made sense because Kiro didn''t use that kind of energy.


    He continued to search to no avail, but he could finally breathe a sigh of relief as he saw that he had only 1 HP left.


    "Quick, a restorative potion, I''m all out." He ordered.


    Hiro quickly handed it over. Felix slowly made him drink it. Though it was hard since the person he was feeding it to was in aa.


    After a while, he could feel that his HP was rising, fast. That''s when he fell on his butt besides him, relieved. Now they had to just wait for him to wake up, hopefully it wouldn''t take a long time.


    Hiro decided to make more potions while they waited, so he took out his materials and started working.


    Several hours passed, Kiro finally opened his eyes. He was first confused about where he was, for a second he thought he was back in his concrete bed, back in the lower district.


    "I don''t ever want to experience that again." He spoke up, he still couldn''t quite move.


    "You''re awake!"


    The mood was joyous between them once again. They frantically checked if he didn''t have any more damages on his body, asking all sorts of questions as if they were doctors.


    "You should thank Felix for his quick thinking." Hiro told him, he looked around and whispered. "I''ve never seen him that concerned about anyone before."


    Kiro smiled, "thanks man." He yelled.


    Felix simply nodded. Now that Kiro was alive and well, he was back to his aloof self.


    It was starting to get dark, again. The star he created worked wonders, though it was slightly bigger than the original one.


    It still covered thend with a beautiful orange colour, as it was being swallowed by the night. The moon slightly shone in the sky.


    "We finally heard something in the theatre. You must''ve been out for 4 days. You were right, they are weaker when the sun is out." Niki informed him.


    They slept gratefully, trusting his spectres to watch over them. Kiro however decided to meditate all night. He was uneasy about what awaited them behind that red door. They may be weakened during the day, but they had no idea what to expect.


    It wasn''t long before he waspletely embraced by nothingness. It wasn''t frightening, it was calming for him. He felt a sensation he''d never felt before.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions, Meditation has evolved to S rank due to continuous usage. You''re now able to meditate while awake and or fighting.]


    A smirk could be seen on Kiro''s face. He reckoned this was a jackpot. He could enter meditation while he walked, he didn''t have to halt everything by sitting down to concentrate.


    He heard footsteps approaching, he opened his eyes, the sun wasn''t out today, grey clouds littered the sky and Niki was standing right in front of him.


    "About time to go in don''t you think?"


    "Haa... Yeah." He stummered, usually, assassins could mask their footsteps but now to Kiro, nothing could stay truly hidden.


    He slowly got up, he was too aware of his own body, it was off-putting. His own footsteps thundered on the ground as if they''d leave footprints on the concrete that wouldst a hundred years. He could hear that his blood ran in his vein, he was reminded of a river.


    His very own heart was beating at amazing speeds, the organs tossing and turning were a little gross to him. ''I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.'' He internally chanted the mantra.


    He was meditating while awake but it was proving difficult, but he wouldn''t let that deter him.


    "Hiro, wanna do the honours of breaking the stupid padlock?" He said breathing unevenly.


    "First of all, are you okay? You don''t look so hot." Hiro countered, seemingly worried about his best friend.


    "I''m¡ªfine. Come on, we haven''t got all day."


    He gave him a solemn look and shook his head.


    ''Well, it''s just a game anyway, he''s not gonna die in real life.'' He reminded himself


    He walked forward, brandishing his shield and axe. He swung as hard as he could muster, and he totally broke it off in one swing.


    They all stared at him dumbfounded. He gave an innocent chuckle, and then shrugged. The red doorpletely taken off its hinges fell on the ground, revealing a really revolting sight.


    Though their noses were attacked first, they didn''t know what death smelled like, but they knew the wafting smell was death itself.


    There was nowhere to go in. The zombies hadpletely closed off the way in, they were standing.


    Looking up, their eyes were bloodshot. Skin as white as a sheet, that seemed to have been sshed with an almost green colour. ck roots, or veins, could be seen all throughout their bodies.


    Kiro listened carefully, they didn''t have hearts or organs. It seemed as though they were hollow shells, awaiting to be filled up. Their heads however had brain activity, feint as it was, it was there.


    "Ryu, go!" As if he was long awaiting for amand, anything, he sprung up and zoomed towards the zombies.

 Chapter 203: Den of the Undead

    He pierced through the first head at amazing speeds, which caused the zombie to turn into mushy liquid. He continued tob forwards. Turning anything he made contact with to mush, at the same time he was creating a way in for his master.


    Ryu was not a sharp weapon, but there was nothing he couldn''t cut or pierce. He was a mythic staff after all. Kiro felt immense joy that he was the one who stumbled upon it, and most of all he was able to awaken him.


    As if Ryu felt his master''s feelings, he blitzed faster and reached the end of the hall, and continued on another row of zombies until he got out of the same door he came in.


    Kiro caught him, the goo was disgusting to say the least but he didn''t show it. He took out a tiny cloth and cleaned his staff.


    A way in could be seen now, but the zombies were no longer looking up. They were looking at them with eyes full of resentment, yet at the same time lifeless. It seemed they couldn''t get out of that building, even though the sun wasn''t out.


    "Formation!" Kiro yelled, they quickly got in formation. Hiro was the tank so he was at the front, Kiro and Niki were at opposite sides. While their healer Felix was protected by Ishaan''s force shield in the middle of their triangle.


    "Felix, your priority is to heal Hiro and Niki, I should be the least of your worries." Kiro told him, he had meditation after all, so he didn''t need healing much, maybe for stamina but beyond that he was good.


    "Yes!" Felix didn''t question, he knew Kiro enough now that he wouldn''t make demands he couldn''t meet.


    Like that, they walked in the movie theatre.


    Ding!


    [You''ve entered the den of the undead. Kill them all or suffer the consequences.]


    Zombies


    Level 50


    HP 20 000


    Kiro rolled his eyes at the system''s message. It was cheeky as always, was the system self-aware? Was the question in his mind, if had to be but he didn''t have time for that right now, as hundreds of zombies lunged at them.


    "Whirlwind." He said softly, they were all either blown away or cut into pieces. None of them took the advantage for granted, as they started hacking the ones that fell closer.


    As if they sent each other a mental message, each of them broke formation and went their separate ways.


    The zombies were slow and weren''t much of a threat if one was careful enough, there were just many of them. Each going to their own corner Kiro and his spectres remained at the centre of it all, they would surely cover more ground and kill more of them.


    Niki''s des were as sharp as his senses. He didn''t need to pierce their heads twice, once was enough.


    The whole house was full of shadow, so this was his forte. His shadow skill was more useful in a situation like this, as he could be everywhere at once, at a blink of an eye. And since he was an assassin fighting head-on was his weakness.


    Kiro and the others were mesmerised by the way he fought, they hadn''t really seen him use his skills before. To them it looked like he was the shadow, or controlled all of the shadows.


    He''d be across the room, then in an instant he''d be back where Felix and Ishaan stood, before the zombie he killed even turned to dust.


    "Felix, heal him, his breath is bing ragged!"


    Felix looked at Niki who seemed fine, then looked at Kiro again. He wasn''t trying to question his orders but he didn''t see anything peculiar with Niki''s breathing. Kiro could feel his hesitation.


    "I can sense things you can''t, we can''t have him running out of mana. Quickly!" He shouted themand at Felix.


    Felix didn''t think twice again and started the healing process, when he was done, he was dumbfounded that almost half his mana was gone.


    He vowed to be a better healer from then on, he quickly downed a mana potion to replinish his so he could continue healing.


    Kel was having more fun than he should have been having. He was never part of their formation, so the moment they entered he went far and wide.


    It seemed like he didn''t have any strategies, he was just causing havoc. He wed, pecked and used every skill he had. Kiro let him be, he deserved to let some steam off.


    Hiro on the other hand was still on the testing stages with his guardian subss. He didn''t have anything to tank, so he took on a role of a 3rd damage dealer. This ss made him a protector, thereby allowing himbat prowess.


    He had his shield and axe on his back, and he was actually using his fists and feet, short as he was. It looked as though he was on par with a Kiro before kaos, when it came to martial arts, it was a sight to see.


    The zombies were a lot slower, so that gave him the perfect situation to practise on. One zombie appeared from his left, he elbowed it, another from the front he decapitated it''s head with a simple kick. He stopped for a while, taking in thebat power he was not used to, a smug smile could be seen on his face.


    He felt one trying to ambush him from behind, so he jumped up and did a ck flip, while it was still looking around for where its prey had gone, Hiro descended on it, his knee met its skull and a huge crack sound could be heard across the room.


    "Wow Hiro, is that your subss? Feels like a cheat." Kiroined.


    "You''re the one to talk, you had Hubris, Ryu and now spectres and kaos!" Hiro shot back, grinning like a madman.


    Kiro chuckled. His friend had really came a long way, he was now more expressive and that made Kiro happy.


    He also wasn''t left behind, as he was using every skill in his arsenal to kill as many zombies as possible.


    Killing them was so much easy that he let his guard down. He was enjoying himself as much as Kel was, the feeling of cutting through heads with his staff made him feel, powerful.


    He hadn''t realised it, but that made him drunk on power. It made him feel invincible, as though nothing can stop him.


    Crunch¡ª!

 Chapter 204: Zombie Kiro

    Kiro didn''t have to even turn his head to know that he screwed up. He could feel the metallic teeth sink deeper, through his skin and into his bones.


    ''How the f*ck?'' He couldn''t believe that his very hard skin was prated by a mere zombie.


    He felt a cold chill run up his spine. For a second he was rooted in ce, not because he was poisoned or anything but because he was shocked. There were never any zombies, he could remember in his past life, he had no idea how this would affect him.


    His thoughts were disturbed by a vibrating Ryu. The staff almost exploded with anger, it was furious that a mere undead dared to sink its teeth on his master. Kiro quickly acted, and pierced the head of the zombie with his staff, it immediately turned into mush.


    Ding!


    [You''ve been infected by the zombie bite. You will turn into a zombie, the effects willst a single minute. Have fun.]


    "Guys, get¡ª" He felt his tongue go numb, his vision was starting to go awry too. It was as if his eyes were covered with fog.


    His worst fears were recognised, when he lost his ability to think. He looked through his eyes, as though he was looking through a foggy window. He could see his friends had now noticed his blunder.


    The changes were visible to them too, he had turned pale with roots for veins stered all over his body. They stood there dumbly not knowing how to react to the situation.


    They all had expected at least, to be Ishaan who made such a stupid mistake. But, they were greatly disappointed, as their leader came rushing at them.


    He wasn''t like the other zombies, what made him terrifying was the fact that he had retained all his skills. He was now a brainless killer machine for a whole minute.


    "Fall back!" Hiro shouted which broke their trance and they started heading for the door.


    Though they didn''t make it, Zombie Kiro was at the door. With a dumb smirk on his face. Hiro however didn''t stop, he went straight for his friend, his shield ready to st him out of the way.


    He was however met with the strongest kick he''d ever felt in his entire life. It sted him through the room and right at the centre of enemy territory.


    While zombie Kiro was still walking at a snails pace, he''d asionally blink, making him really faster than the rest.


    Ishaan was quick on his feet and activated his force shield. Protecting everyone. He had a bad feeling that, if they were also bitten by Kiro they''d turn.


    They had no idea of the duration the state would take. They just knew Kiro was faster and stronger, therefore he could infect them all without a problem. Ishaan''s only prayer then, was that, his indestructible shield would remain so.


    Zombie Kiro walked slowly towards them. It looked like the body was fighting itself. Kiro could not control his body, he was like a prisoner in his own body. But he could asionally impede its movements.


    He decided to reserve his energy, for when the thing attempts to bite his friends. That''s when he''d have to put his all into stop that from happening.


    At the back of the shield, a swarm of zombies had reached and were pounding at it with all their might but none of them looked back to see, their only concern was the zombie in front of them. The zombie with great skills.


    "What the hell are we gonna do?" Niki asked.


    "We can''t beat him, I know for sure. Especially now that he has no limiters, we can only hope the time he has to be a zombie is little, otherwise we''re doomed." Hiro answered him.


    Zombie Kiro disappeared from their field of vision. He appeared overhead. The 4 inside the shield started darting their eyes, looking for where he''d be attacking.


    He hadn''t heard the shatter yet, but he shouted, "Get down everyone!" They did as hemanded.


    He jumped upwards, with nothing but his shield as his weapon. He was ready this time, this time he''d be sturdier than thest time, that''s what he thought anyway.


    His fist and the shield met, and Hiro was sent plummeting to the concrete ground. That disturbance helped, because a secondter there was yet another force shield.


    "Please, Felix, keep healing me, I think we will have to y hide and seek with Kiro like this." Ishaan made his thoughts known, and it was amand.


    One that Felix didn''t very much like, but they were in a bind. So he let it go and went on to feed him more mana.


    "I thought your shield couldn''t be broken into?" Niki mocked.


    Ishaan simply smirked. If it was him from the past, he would''ve taken offence but he''d liked thinking he''d grown from that. It was him after all keeping them from getting bitten by Kiro.


    "You should be thinking up countermeasures instead. He will break in again. Here hees..."


    With a single bending kick, the force shield cracked. Then the energy ball shattered and disappeared into nothingness.


    "Is it me or there''s absolutely no time between him attacking and activating his skill?" Niki asked, jumping from one side to another to avoid the full effects of bending kick.


    "How do you guys not know that Kiro doesn''t need to activate his skills, they''re just like breathing to him..." He took way too long exining and he had no hopes of dodging the man that was already in front of him.


    Hiro stood there dumbfounded, waiting for the attack to annihte himpletely. He could sense it from afar, palm crashing had definitely evolved into new heights, and the attack that would make contact with his chest in a millisecond from then would shatter his every bone and turn him into mush.


    He instinctively closed his eyes readying for the worst. He felt something hot burn within his chest, he figured, that''s what it felt like. He''d never died in-game before, so he wouldn''t know.


    The heat travelled from his chest to the pits of his stomach, then everywhere in his body. He felt a bit numb.


    He heard a loud nking sound in front of him.

 Chapter 205: First Base Cleared

    He expected to have his consciousness stolen from him, but that never happened. But the sound startled him so much that his eyes shot open.


    There was a snake-like chain in front of him thatpletely stopped zombie Kiro on its tracks. His entire body was on fire. He took a closer look, it was familiar, his fire hade out to protect him when he''d all given up.


    Felix had saved him just in the nick of time with the same weapon he had created for him. He didn''t need to be told twice, as he quickly took steps back, creating a great distance between him and the zombie.


    "You know, I''ve always wanted to dissect a zombie." Felix said innocently.


    "Hey, don''t get too excited, he''s still your leader." Niki chimed in.


    "So? He''s an enemy now. He''s clearly stronger than us, we shouldn''t hold back."


    He didn''t wait for them to reply. He abandoned his priest duties and became a battle fiend with his butcher subss. Kiro watched from inside his body impressed.


    Felix threw his chain, aiming for his achilles tendon. Kiro understood immediately, as the zombie him was about to jump to avoid the attack, he took control of that foot which didn''t leave the ground. His tiny saws managed to grab ahold of it and severed the tendonpletely.


    His body was that of an undead, decayed, so he couldn''t heal it. The zombie however didn''t let that stop him, he had a limp but he was still just as fast.


    There was suddenly a gust of wind, he had used whirlwind to create de winds that flew straight for them. Felix was a very agile one, he managed to dodge every one. The worst he got were tiny cuts on his face, which didn''t make him bat an eye.


    The des went straight for the others, Hiro used his shield to cover himself. Ishaan used his force shield to cover himself and Niki. As hard as the force shield was, it couldn''t keep all of them at bay.


    Ishaan was dealt the worst hand, 3 des pierced his leg. One had already reached his eye when Niki put his hand between the two, taking the hit for hisrade.


    "Sh*t. Why''s he so strong!" Ishaanined.


    "That''s what we need to catch up to." Niki reminded him.


    Ishaan looked up at him with ssy eyes, he''d never had friends like these before in his life. People who would put themselves at harms way to ensure he wasn''t dead.


    "Thanks." He murmured.


    Kiro came at Felix aiming for his neck with the sharp teeth he now had. Hiro was faster to get there, instead of putting his shield between them he used it to bash his head, causing him to fly back and ram into the nearest wall.


    The spectres and Kel stayed out of it, they dealt with the zombies that surrounded them. They were doing a better job keeping them away from the fight. So they were surprised when the fight came to them instead.


    Zombie Kiro got up looking furious as hell. Lightning crackled from his entire body, it was ck and ominous. Even with his limp, it took him but a second to reach them again.


    He was practically flying to them, his lightning fist ready to turn them all into charcoal. The others could feel that there was nothing in their arsenal that could contend with this next attack, but they still stood their ground, ready to defend.


    They were all within Ishaan''s shield, though they knew that, to Kiro''s abilities that was akin to a paper thin wall between them and that fist.


    He was meters away, his fist was about to hit the shield when he suddenly stopped. He stood there for a second, as a statue. The others took a step back, and then another.


    Ding!


    [A single minute has passed, the effects have worn off, your body is yours again. Be careful next time, guardian.]


    His vision was quicklying back. He slowly regained his colour, and the ck roots receded until they couldn''t be seen anymore. His consciousness went back to the driving seat, whatever was controlling his body was nowhere to be seen.


    "Ahhh¡ª" He screamed in pain.


    He couldn''t feel anything while he was an undead, but that pain seemed to have umted and as his body was rejuvenated, he felt every bit of it. It wasn''t the worst pain he''d ever felt but it was still something unbearable.


    Relief could be seen on their faces, realising the effects that were binding him had worn off. If they weren''t surrounded by enemies they would fall to the ground and celebrate their survival.


    There was no time to do that though, they immediately took Kiro into the force shield and Felix started healing him.


    "Don''t, you''re wasting good mana. Use it for others, I''ll be fine." Kiro told him.


    Felix nodded. He was a bit embarrassed that he had attacked Kiro seriously just a moment ago. Maybe if he''d waited for a few seconds, the effects would''ve worn off shortly.


    Kiro noticed the bitter expression he wore, "don''t be. If you''d waited, you could''ve all died. I was actually impressed, the way you took charge and connected the attack."


    Felix smiled slightly, turning his back on Kiro and focusing on the ongoing battle with the zombies and healing his friends.


    Kiro felt like he was dropped from a high distance and dragged throughout the entire world. His tendon had already healed, the effects of being under the zombie bite was taking a toll on him though.


    He watched them cleaning out the movie theatre. Sad that he couldn''t join them immediately. He was most impressed by Ishaan, amongst the 4 he''d grown the most. He was previously wimpy but now, he looked like a real warrior and that made him somewhat proud.


    Clearly the battle mage ss wasn''t so bad, it all depended on the person and how serious they took the game. Ishaan was very serious about getting stronger, he didn''t like being a burden to them.


    And before he knew it.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions After Dark, you''ve survived a zombie attack. The theatre is just one of many, good luck on your endeavours. Rewards will be distributed after the final boss has been defeated.]

 Chapter 206: All The Bases

    The mush on the theatre floor was cleaned in mere seconds by the system. The monsters would respawn after clearing the dungeon. At least that''s how it worked in his previous life. Now that they had shelter, at least.


    "Sh*t Ki, don''t ever turn against us again. That was exhausting!" Hiroined.


    "It wasn''t on purpose." Kiro threw his hands in the air as if to surrender.


    He slouched on the only seat that was avable in the building. Others gave him dirty looks for this, they didn''t im the chair under the impression that, since they would fight over it none should get it. But Kiro was oblivious to their unspoken agreement.


    "So what was it like, being brainless and taken over?" Ishaan asked that with an air of confidence and mock.


    "Need I remind you, I scored better than you in the exams?" Kiro shot back with a smirk.


    Ishaan clicked his tongue. Kiro admired his newfound courage and battle prowess. He thought it was too bad they didn''t have true blood potions, so he could also be a guardian.


    "The system, it said this was one of many, so what''s our way forward?" Niki prodded.


    "We obviously hit them all until thest boss shows itself." Hiro answered him absentmindedly.


    Kiro agreed. But he also needed a bit of rest, so they didn''t immediately go searching for these undead bases.


    As tired as he was, he didn''t make the mistake of letting Ishaan cook their food this time. He did it himself, he didn''t quite trust the rest to be any better than him either. So to avoid eating less than appetising food, he did it himself.


    After a few hours, they decided to head out. Buildings moved, so Kiro ordered Kel and the spectres to scout from the top and guide them from there.


    It wasn''t long until they ran into ghouls. Unlike the zombies they weren''t restricted by bindings on the door. They just stood there, in the middle of the street, as if waiting for them to be found out.


    Ding!


    [You''ve encountered aimless ghouls. They walk around the town, with no particr goal in mind. They are extremely dangerous.]


    Ghouls


    Level 65


    HP: 40 000


    MP: 20 000


    No one waited for the other. As they all went full attack on the ghouls without a care about their formation. Including Felix, he had so much fun fighting Kiro back then, he didn''t want to be a healer in this round.


    "You guys will have to use the potions Hiro brewed. I need to be acquainted with my subss." That''s what he told them at the movie theatre, they didn''t argue and simply agreed with him.


    They were more than likely to run into stronger monsters. The stronger they are with battle prowess, the easier their raids would be. Especially for them, since they were guardians, they''d run into creatures such as Harbingers.


    Kiro knew that it wasn''t the end of them, he''d see more of them in the future. He just needed onest potion to boost Ishaan up, he wasn''t sure he''d keep up with them if they didn''t find it.


    They decided that, Felix would be the main attack while they supported him. And he didn''t disappoint them.


    The weapon he asked for was peculiar, but it seemed to work well with its owner. He danced around the ghouls, decapitating their heads and limbs as he went.


    When there was one he''d missed, the support team would help him. He went deeper and deeper into their little army. The rest followed from behind.


    Felix fought more sadistically the more he killed, he didn''t like the one shot one kill the weapon seemed to offer him. So he used it to gently cut their tendons. He was practising for when he was fighting against other yers.


    Undeads may not feel pain, but they still were decent target practice for him.


    "Oops." He eximed, as he cut too deeply, causing for the thing''s stomach to fall out.


    His teammates looked at him funny. ''Let''s never get on his bad side.'' Was written all over their faces. As though they''dmunicated telepathically, they all nodded at the same time.


    It was a second time they''d fought these kinds of creatures. Kiro didn''t remember them being so weak. Their every move was slow and clumsy. He''d think they would be given insane buffs since they weren''t at beginner''s vige anymore but they were just a bit strong.


    He could predict their every move through vibrations which made the fight less fun. He didn''t even need to use Ryu, and Kel was on vacation. He wasn''t fast enough to keep up with them and go for kills.


    "That''s alright Kel, you''ll get your shot eventually. Don''t be so depressed, you''re killing my mood."


    They didn''t have a deep bond as Kiro reserved his main mount spot for Hubris, even though they were realms apart. He still could slightly feel what he felt.


    Ding!


    [You''ve defeated ghouls and angered the boss a little more. He vows to cut you up and sew you back together, making you a new species of undeads.]


    "That''s not a bad idea actually. I''d like to meet this boss and cut him up myself." Felix murmered.


    The undeads didn''t have a chance against their strength. The more they fought together the well coordinated they became. One could''ve sworn they couldmunicate somehow, but they just used their skills to judge situations better.


    Kiro felt like they were ready to take Asgard by storm. So he started recording the dungeon run.


    They encountered banshees, nightwalkers and more wraiths would show themselves asionally. Kiro started to feel like an A ranked dungeon wasn''t so special after all. But it wasn''t like the dungeon was weak, they were just that strong.


    "Well, I suppose the boss is in that big mansion." Ishaanmented as they walked towards it.


    They hadn''t taken a single break since the movie theatre. That''s how easy they had it with the rest of the monsters.


    Luckily, none of the undeads that they encountered had the ability to bite and infect them. Of course they didn''t defeat thempletely unscathed. They had at worst, bruises all over.


    They entered the dark mansion. No lights were on, but they could see nheless. It wasn''t as sophisticated as the castle in beginner''s vige, there was a hall with a single chair inside of it.


    There was a silhouette of a man sitting on it. Drinking what seemed to be tea to them.


    "You''ve killed every single one of my children, for that you shall pay and act as their recement." The ominous voice sounded throughout the room.

 Chapter 207: Trouble Brewing

    The queue snaked through the newly built building. There were thousands upon thousands of people who showed up. Some cleaned up pretty nicely to make a good impression, while some, tried as they did, they still had an air of homelessness about them.


    But that''s not something they would consider while hiring. Looks meant nothing, skill was all that mattered, even those with the most basic of skills, they could be trained.


    Sekani walked out of the rented car with Wilfred. The noise quickly died down as people saw the man himself walking toward their direction. They saw a familiar face but they couldn''t exactly pin where they''d seen him before.


    He had cleaned up nicely. Living in the lower district, he didn''t care much about his appearance. Now he''d not only shaved and put himself in a suit, he''d also gained weight from his previous gaunt look.


    Philip quickly showed them their way in. Sekani slightly bowed to the people as he walked by, a greeting that surprised them. Usually people like him, didn''t acknowledge people like them.


    "I don''t think they recognise you." Philip chuckled.


    "I''m sure they do, they probably think I''ve changed to a menacing rich person or something of that degree." Sekaniined.


    They entered a big hall where the interviews would be held. They''d take 10 candidates at a time. So that they could walk faster.


    They intended to hire most if not all these people. They had nts in the lower and middle district after all, a nt would need all sorts of workers not just those who will be building the pods.


    The office will also need people who''ve done the business side at school. All in all, they were here to check their skills and designate them ordingly.


    Wilfred was in charge of calling out candidates outside and ushering them inside the building. They were grouped by the same set of skills they studied.


    10 minutes after they''d entered the hall, Wilfred called out for the first 10 to enter. Just like that, the interviews begun.


    The first batch were a bunch of youngsters, who looked like they''d just graduated from an academy. This was for office workers. Some offered coding, some finance, some marketing and the like.


    "So, where did you attend your academy." The question was directed to the redhead who was first in line.


    She cleared her throat, "Ytrw Academy." She answered nervously thinking her chances of being hired here went up in smokes.


    Sekani nodded.


    "I know the reputation it has, but I promise, I can deliver on whatever I''m tasked to do." She spoke up for herself, hating that the reputation of where she studied may ruin her chances of a good job.


    "I went to Ytrw academy as well, so it''s really fine." Sekani said trying to calm her down.


    That seemed to make matters worse, she hyperventted. She couldn''t fathom how someone from a sh*tty academy was able to climb and w out of the lower district.


    "Wilfred, please bring her water."


    They moved on to the next candidate, as the girl was still in a shocked state. Still trying to understand the situation. The rest were also caught in the same dilemma as she was. But they did a better job at hiding it.


    These interviews dragged on for seventy two hours. All 3 of them looked like zombies by the end of them. They''d underestimated therge number of people that were unemployed and looking for work.


    Sekani had built an automated phone call message software. Which called them all at the same time, to announce the good news that they were expected toe for training the next day.


    The news brought a joyous mood in the lower district. Celebrations were in the air. Though some were dejected that they would have to work in the middle district. Getting up very early so that they don''t miss the train, knocking offte and having to travel a good distance were concerns amongst many.


    Sekani was ahead of them though, he''d hired a train for hispany that would act as transportation for employees working far from home. He was also not a cruel boss, he wouldn''t let them ve away and make them unable to spend much time with their families.


    He had experienced it first hand and vowed to do better. So work would start at 9 am until 4 pm. It wasn''t exactly a bad deal.


    When they read these conditions on their contracts, they were ted. Plus the wages were well way above the living wage. They''d be paid starting at 5k every 2 weeks, depending on their jobs.


    "Before signing, please read them carefully, don''t just get excited over the wages. Who knows, maybe I''m a big bad wolf in sheep''s clothing. Always read these carefully, you know how serious thew takes such contracts." Sekani advised them.


    He saw the excitement they had, even though he meant them no harm, they shouldn''t readily sign anything without reading. They could be selling themselves as ves for all they know.


    His only goal now was to elevate the standard of living in the lower district. Once the government catches wind of this, they will have no choice but to take care of the lower district as they do the other two.


    "This guy looks like he will be a good boss." The employees were chatting amongst themselves.


    "If I''m honest, I don''t trust rich people. But we will see how well he takes care of us."


    Trust between districts was nonexistent. Sekani understood that too, he wouldn''t force them to like him, or anything like that. He''d just let his actions speak for himself and with time, hopefully, the broken trust can be mended.


    Training would take 3 weeks at most and after that they''ll finally be able to start business. The training was held by the 3 of them. They didn''t have anyone else, but they felt better doing it by themselves.


    Wilfred trained those who would be working in offices, cleaning and the like.


    While Philip and Sekani showed them how to create the pods and how to install the software into them.


    "Mr. Waynworth, there''s a phone call here for you. ims to be the keson Techwyer, they want to talk to the owner of Waynworth Enterprise." Wilfred told him, holding the phone in his hands.

 Chapter 208: Dracula

    The three froze in fear. The atmosphere in the room changed drastically the moment the silhouette opened his mouth. The killing intent wafting through the air was hazardous.


    Their bewitched state was disturbed by fits ofughter. They instinctively looked to the side, only to see Kiro and Hiroughing maniacally. The intent didn''t seem to bother them at all.


    "Oh man, he still talks like that." Kiro said in-betweenughs.


    "Never gets old, never." Hiro agreed.


    "You, you dare mock me once again, mortal?" Drac said with a voice full of contempt.


    "Oh shut up. We will embarrass you once again, let''s do this."


    The room gained a bit of warmth as thenterns on the walls lit up a bit, giving the room some light. Revealing a thin, tall man dressed like he was to attend a ball that evening.


    "Is this him? Is this Drac, the vampire you infuriated?" Niki whispered.


    Hiro nodded, with a dumb smile on his face. For some reason, the way he talked amused them to the highest degree.


    "You''ll pay for that dearly."


    Ding!


    [You''ve annihted his creations, that he calls children. He''s never been this furious in his thousands of years alive, you''ve envoked fury under the vampire, Drac. He won''t stop until he''s had your head.]


    Drac


    Level 100


    HP: 80 000


    HP: 60 000


    Kiro smelled the blood before it even happened, Drac flicked his hand using the thumb''s nail. Tiny drops of blood flew up, he made hand gestures before they fell and the blood slowly turned taking shape.


    He still had the ss on another hand, and he downed whatever he was drinking in one gulp. He smirked mockingly as he watched them surprised, at the weapon forming in his other hand.


    The blood turned into a beautiful sharp crimson sword. He used his hand to beckon Ishaan to him. As if mind controlled, Ishaan was already strolling through the hall when Kiro acted and held him by the scruff of his neck, threw him backwards.


    "Yall be careful. He''s a vampire, he has weird seductive powers. I''ll try my best to stop you from falling into his hands."


    He warned them, remembering that one vision Drac showed him back then. And if he was honest with himself, he didn''t actually mind going back there.


    But Kiro wasn''t affected the same way they did. He had fought Kaos after all, his mental was stronger than the rest. Even Hiro had a somewhat weak resistance.


    "I can juste to you." He said already in front of Niki.


    Kiro was already there, with his bending kick that warped the space in front of Drac, sending him flying a few steps back. Hended on his feet though.


    They could basically taste the fury he exuded. Kiro remembered how clumsy he was, fighting while angry. So his n was to keep him in anger mode so he could possibly end him sooner.


    "I''m not my puppets, I shall end you right here."


    This time he went straight for Kiro with his sword he thrusting it. He parried it with Ryu and poked him on the stomach. He felt it but didn''t show it, he threw a punch that almost connected. Kiro dodged it by a hair''s breadth.


    Hiro used his me to attempt to burn him to dust. But he let out a slight chuckle instead. Fire was also one of his many skills, thus he was impervious to fire, more or less.


    Niki appeared behind Drac, he attempted to cut his feetpletely clean off with his poison dagger. He was however met with a heel kick that connected with his chin. Hepletely missed sinking his dagger into his skin.


    Felix wasn''t sure what to do. He couldn''t decide whether to stay as a priest or go help as a butcher. This decision he had to make was why he couldn''t make a move until now. He decided to y both roles.


    "Hey dummy, you aren''t equipped to y both. You''ll just run out of mana quicker." Kiro reprimanded.


    "Potions exist!" He shot back, not wanting to see reason.


    "You know potions are only good when you aren''t trying to take down a boss, for priests anyway. You know it doesn''t replenish your mana within seconds!" Kiro didn''t wait for him to reply, he blinked to the other end of the room.


    That''s where Drac was, slightly cornered by Ishaan. Though the smile on his face told everyone that he was just toying with him. Ishaan took it seriously though, he wanted more than anything to get his hands on that blood sword.


    He could feel how powerful of a weapon it was. So he used all his strength, to dodge and eventually he was able to cut Drac. He looked at Ishaan incredulously.


    Kiro was already there and connected his palm crashing. That sent Drac across the hall.


    "Great job Ishaan!"


    Kiroplimented him. That made him turn a slight colour of red. He didn''t remember thest time Kiro used his actual name, instead of ''chubby.''


    Just then, Drac used telekinesis faster than Kiro could react on time. But he was still blinking right behind Ishaan. When he was at a closer range to Drac, the hall with his friends disappeared.


    He entered a space he never thought his eyes would see. Just every bit of a woman was there, beckoning him forward, touching him in all kinds of ways.


    Out there, Ishaan stood dumbly in front of Drac.


    "Tsk. He''s so careless sometimes." Kiro said dropping a kick on Drac''s shoulder.


    He gracefully moved slightly to his right, avoiding the kick altogether. Good thing he did because the moment his foot connected with the ground, it left a small crater on the ground.


    Kiro wasn''t going to let him toy with them. Even then, he was just one person. He stuck around to ensure that Drac didn''t attack Ishaan while he''d put him under hypnosis.


    He threw his hand, intending to rip Ishaan''s heart out and eat it. Kiro didn''t think he''d make it, then a sound of metal sounded, which bound Drac where he stood.


    Giving Kiro the chance to use bending kick with all his might.

 Chapter 209: Ominous Appearance

    The effects surprised even Kiro. He blew through Drac and left him two equal halves. That immediately broke Ishaan out of his hypnosis.


    They saw his dumb smile quickly turn into that of embarrassment.


    Everyone started celebrating. Though that was quickly thwarted, as they noticed that something was amiss. The system hadn''t notify them that, they''d cleared the dungeon.


    "What''s going on?" Ishaan asked.


    "I don''t know..."


    Kiro double checked, to see that Drac''s two parts were still just two parts. Then he heard a strange noise, as if someone was loudly eating, instead of drinking blood.


    "Can you guys hear that?"


    "Hear what?" They enquired.


    The sound was way too loud. The slurping was very disturbing to say the least. Neither of his friends could hear it but he could. What was happening was at microscopic level.


    "Hiro burn the body." Kiro demanded.


    "But he doesn''t¡ª" He stopped talking when he saw Kiro''s face telling him to do it regardless.


    He sighed and started. As he expected, nothing was happening. His me was clearly too weak to burn a level 100 monster even though it was close to dying. This made him feel bad about himself.


    Kiro then saw it, vibrations showed him a demon creature wing it''s way through Drac''s dead body. It didn''t feel like anything Asgard had to offer, but it was familiar. He''d definitely fought two of its kin before.


    ''Harbinger!'' He thought to himself.


    He absolutely had no hope that they could take it. This one felt stronger than the queen. It was a wonder to him that the other couldn''t feel it yet, but everything that was happening, hadn''t been a reality in Asgard yet. He was just seeing something on a less than molecr level happen.


    "Guys, don''t freak out but I think a harbinger is being born out of Drac''s body."


    They all stood frozen in ce. Not able to process what they were being told about the situation. They all had a panicked look on their faces.


    "I just said don''t freak out. I have an idea..."


    He ordered for Hiro to keep using his me to burn the body. Hiro didn''t know what good that would do but he didn''t argue and did as he was told.


    Kiro slowly searched his memories for the strongest fire he could imagine. He had seen many fires, but one that was truly stronger wasn''t Hubris''. It was the one that rained from the skies of the Underworld.


    He imagined the red fiery skies, he remembered how the fire felt like on his skin. He slowly tempered with Hiro''s fire. He didn''t think changing fire to another type of fire would be difficult and require much concentration.


    But here he was, concentrated like the day he had created stars. Slowly the fire gained a new colour and within minutes, it had changed colour. Now it wasn''t just burning the body, the air around the body was as good as a goner too.


    It didn''t take long before Kiro could see the good results. The thing was no longer wing out, it was slowly dying. Its pitiful cries fell on deaf ears with him.


    He sighed deeply, as he just escaped another death offered by none other than a harbinger. He didn''t even want to know what they were or what they wanted, he didn''t want to know. Knowing wouldn''t help them at all. They only needed great and unyielding strength.


    "I-is it over?" Ishaan asked, not meaning to stutter.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions After Dark. You''ve defeated the boss of the Armageddon dungeon. 1 billion EXP received divided 6 ways. You''ve received 2000 coins. You''ve received Drac''s blood sword.


    You''ve received several necromancy skills. You''ve received a recipe for the true Blooded potion. You''ve received... You have defeated a harbinger hatchling, your rewards will be calcted.]


    "Wow, this is truly an A ranked dungeon. The drops are insane.!" Nikimented.


    The loot was boundless. They levelled up a couple of times, only Kiro didn''t. A warm light wrapped around them before they could clearly look at the things they received.


    "A whole recipe for the true blood potion? This is unbelievable! We don''t even need money at this point..." Hiro trailed off from his excitement, looking at the recipe intently.


    "This will probably take me months to master, this is soplicated." He scratched his head as his excitement deted.


    "If anyone can figure it out, you can." Kiro patted his back, consoling him.


    They divvied up the loot, giving all the pelts, materials and the recipe to Hiro. They decided to put all the 2000 on the groups bank. Kiro couldn''t believe beating a whole dungeon gave them such little coins.


    He didn''t remember well, but he was sure in the past, it wasn''t so stingy. But then again, maybe he misremembered, he never yed it after all.


    "What''s the true blood potion anyway?" Ishaan asked.


    Kiro was about to exin with his mouth wide open, he decided against it. "You''ll find out soon enough."


    Ding!


    [World Announcement: Congrattions to After Dark on discovering and clearing a hidden dungeon. This will be recorded in the hall of fame.]


    "At least it doesn''t use our names anymore." Kiro smiled shamefully.


    Hiro nodded aggressively. The attention was unwanted but Kiro would alleviate their standing and poprity once again. He quickly posted the dungeon run video he had taken on his talkalot ount.


    The dungeon disappeared the moment they stepped out of it. Kiro thought it was too bad, he wouldn''t have minded going in there for more practice. They''d gained a lot as a team.


    ---------


    "Kiro must absolutely not find out about thiswsuit. I want him to focus on his school work and being a kid." Sekani told his wife.


    "You can''t keep it hidden from him forever. What happens when it''s on the news?" Freya enquired.


    "It''s absolutely forbidden to get it out there before everything is settled. Only those involved can know. He''ll find out after it''s all said and done."


    "I don''t like it, it feels like we''re lying to him."


    "We''re his parents. He doesn''t have to fight our every battle."


    Freya sighed. Kissing his hand, she nodded in agreement.

 Chapter 210: Found Out

    The door to the bedroom creaked open. Kiro entered with a confused expression. His parents jumped, startled at his sudden appearance.


    "Not tell me, why not?"


    "Why were you listening in on our conversation?" Freya asked him sternly.


    "I mean, I didn''t mean to eavesdrop... Hey don''t change the subject!"


    Freya simply smiled. As if to say, ''well it was worth a try.'' Kiro looked at his parents expectedly but none of them wanted to say anything. Kiro had already been through a lot in their eyes, especially with the academy incident. They wanted to protect him.


    But Sekani realised it was well beyond that now. He was already exposed and there was nothing they could do to change that, even if they wished it were not true.


    "Ki, listen, I don''t want you involved in the familypany until after graduation, can you let your father handle this bit?" He asked him sincerely.


    Even with his realisation, he still wanted to be his shield. A parent will always be a parent after all.


    "Dad,e on. I''m old enough, you can''t make the decisions for me. I want to be involved!" It came out like a yell, he didn''t mean to, but he didn''t care about that now.


    "Hey hey, speak respectfully to your father. We raised you better didn''t we?" Freya chimed in.


    Kiro apologetically nodded. He didn''t think it mattered much, but his parents raised him better than that, the world he had experienced made him less patient though.


    "Are you sure, Ki? I want you to be sure." Sekani pleaded.


    "I''m sure, I''ll drop out of school if I have to." He regretted it the moment the words rolled out of his mouth. Freya was already red.


    "Get out!" She yelled. "Out, out of my sight. We''ve worked so hard for you and, and you just..."


    "I''m sorry, I was just... it was for emphasis, I didn''t mean it literally mum, of course I wouldn''t drop out." He tried to mend.


    "Leave us for now, I''ll be out in a minute." Sekani told him, he looked at his wife who was furious. He looked at his carefree son and whispered, "I''ll defuse this, so just wait for me in the lounge."


    Kiro practically ran out of there. His heart was pounding faster than it had been when he met the harbinger. He preferred fighting monsters than being in the same room as his mother when she was furious.


    "Good day!" He greeted Vada and Angelina.


    He peered through the window and Philip was ying with Alora and Loki in the snow. He watched and wished he could join them.


    ''I should try to not live too much in the game. I''ll miss many moments with my family.'' He made the mental note.


    His train of thought skidded into a stop when his father called out to him. They went to his study. He''d never been there before, it was cozy and dimly lit. With book cases all around, papers litterd the table, clearly his father had been working a lot. Something he didn''t wish for him.


    But he wasn''t going to reprimand him about this. It was his dream after all, he didn''t have the heart to tell him to slow down, besides, he was looking healthier by the day. Clearly, he wasn''t overworking himself.


    They sat across from each other, Wilfred poured them a drink. Kiro waited for his father to fill him in.


    Sekani instead gave him a stack of papers. He figured he''d show him instead of talking for hours. Kiro sat there, reading, drinking the whiskey and asionally making snide remarks at the audicity the kesons had.


    "How bold, they have no case here." He clicked his tongue. "This is just a waste of time and resources."


    "You reckon?" Sekani of course knew this, he just wanted to gauge his son''s knowledge and how good he was discerning harmless fancy words.


    "Of course, they don''t own the gaming gear tech. You made your own, with a very different, better software. Otherwise, why would they have approved the patent?"


    "Good question."


    "They probably have someone high up, they probably want to ruffle some feathers, make you back down."


    Wilfred nodded. He wasn''t part of the conversation, but he could hear everything he was in the same room as them after all. That''s what he and Sekani concluded too. He could now see why his parents were so proud of him.


    "That''s about the gist of it."


    "Are you backing down? Is that why you came back?"


    "Of course not. I''ll be leaving first thing in the morning. I won''t be back until, maybe, around Christmas morning? Everything needs to be settled."


    They sat there and chatted for a while. Sekani told him everything they''ve done for Waynworth Enterprise up until this point. Kiro just sat there impressed by his father, he was warm inside. Not because of the whiskey, but because he was happy.


    "I hear you spend hours ying games? I know it made us what we are but Ki, your mother is pregnant. You can''t spend all your time in there."


    "It didn''t make us dad, that''s a weird way to put it. But yes, you''re right. I''ll cut my time. I promise." He smiled. "When''s the hearing?"


    "After Christmas, they decided." Sekani thought for a while. "We''ve never had an extravagant Christmas day. We should, for Alora."


    Kiro simply nodded. He agreed. She was the youngest, who still believed in all sorts of fairytales. Now that they could afford things she usually asked for, it was the perfect time to spoil her rotten.


    "Could I,e with you, to the lower district? It''s as good a time as any, to start learning the ropes. Besides it''ll be good for me, I''m doing VR sciences after all." He convinced him by leaning towards learning for school purposes.


    He told him he''d talk it over with his mother first. He also wanted Hiro toe, it''d be a dream for him to be surrounded by every material he couldn''t afford back then, in real-life too.

 Chapter 211: Legacies

    "So dad, how did everything go with the hiring I mean?" Kiro changed the subject, he wanted to be on the loop about everything.


    Sekani sighed as if the thought of it drained himpletely. "It went rather well. We managed to hire thousands. I''ll have to go back tomorrow for training them, they''ve signed contracts and were happy with it."


    "You did all that within a few days of being gone?" Kiro asked impressed.


    "We would''ve done more, we actually started the training too but it had to be halted because of thiswsuit. I had to make sure you guys were okay."


    "So, you''ll need me to stay behind?"


    "Yes, and not in-game either, you know what they''re capable of, I need you very much aware!" Sekani was d he didn''t need to exin the details to him.


    Kiro nodded. He''d taken kickboxing for a few months, he had no idea how he faired against professionals but he was willing to find out if it meant protecting his family.


    "I''ll stay behind then."


    Sekani knew his wife wouldn''t like it if Kiro went with him, so he came up with countermeasures to ensure he willingly stayed behind. Both mother and son were quite stubborn.


    Just then, an atrocious ringtone sounded from Sekani''s pocket. Kiro chuckled behind his hand, Wilfred looked away wanting tough but holding it in.


    Sekani gave them a warning expression. He checked his phone and saw that it was Jes¨²s Silva. The man had good news for him, turns out his driver was as clean as a sheet.


    Silva gave him everything. It was a little too much, he even knew 4 generations of his family. Sekani was a bit taken aback by the whole investigation, he was tempted to investigate the keson family.


    But that thought quickly washed away from his mind, as he remembered something Kiro had told him. A story his father told his son about his family, with a potential rich history.


    "Kiro." Sekani nodded him to the door. Kiro knew that, when his father used his actual name, it was serious so he didn''t argue and went out.


    "Wilfred, I need you to do something for me."


    Wilfred put his right hand on his heart and bowed slightly, "anything for you sir." He had a slight smile on his wrinkled face.


    "I need you to do an extensive background check on the Waynworth family." He said, barely a whisper.


    "Sir?" Wilfred didn''t quite understand.


    In all his years, he''d never had someone ask him to look for their own family name. It''s always about digging dirt on enemies. This was easier and new territory. That''s what he thought anyway.


    He had no idea that, this would prove difficult. It''d be the most difficult job he''d ever epted. The information was buried deeper than anyone could hope to go.


    Sekani didn''t repeat himself or exin what he meant. He figured Wilfred was experienced enough to know that when someone is asking for his own background, that meant they suspected foul y, one way or another.


    "Of course sir, right away."


    Kiro walked out of the study with his mother getting ready to leave the house. When he enquired, she was off to her checkups. Apparently she''s never gone ever since she found out about the pregnancy months ago.


    They didn''t really have that kind of money back then, they did now though. Kiro offered to go with her instead of Angelina. Vada offered to go with them as well.


    Angelina was left preparing supper for that night. When they walked out of the house, Kiro was d Alora was nowhere near here, she''d also stomp her stubby feet and want to go with them.


    Kiro''s mum clutched his side, holding him around the waist. He didn''t know what it was but it embarrassed him greatly. He didn''t however have the guts to say that it was.


    "You''ve really grown." Sheplimented, she now had her hands wrapped around his arm, and rested her head on it while they walked.


    "I remember when you were this tall," she made a short gesture with her other hand. "With snort falling down your nose at times. You''ve always hated winter, thought it was strange you did, when you were born in winter."


    "Mum!!!"


    Vada stifled augh to what Freya had said about the handsome man he was seeing in front of her. She couldn''t imagine Kiro as a kid who had a snort nose, bruised knees. He looked majestic if she''d have to describe him.


    "No, really. You hated winters. I''m expecting you to get sick any moment now."


    "Not that, well, nevermind, I''m not getting sick. I''ve trained and I''m healthy." He said proudly puffing his chest.


    They had called a cab, and it was already waiting outside the estate. He opened the door for her, and helped get in, Vada hopped on the other side and they drove to the hospital.


    Kiro thought about it, but he doesn''t remember even seeing a hospital. Maybe when he was born, but beyond that it was nk. He''d seen a couple of medicare pods at school, even entered one.


    The cab drove for a few minutes, stopping in front of a veryrge building. It was cleaner than anything he''d ever seen in Sanctuary. The smell of medication and blood mixed in the air.


    It was exactly full, this hospital didn''t just take anyone in. That''s why a nurse ran to them the moment they entered the doors.


    "Good morning madam, what can we do for you today?" The apparently nice nurse asked, with an obvious fake smile on her face.


    Kiro didn''t fault her. She''s probably forced to receive guests in such a friendly manner. Nobody is always in the mood for such things.


    "I''m here for a check up."


    "Right this way, your son? There''s some resemnce." She tried making conversation.


    "Right." Freya said, she wasn''t trying to be rude but Kiro looked nothing like her, that bothered her somehow.


    She entered the pod. She''d been here before, so her DNA had already been scanned.


    [Wee Freya Waynworth. Thest time you had a checkup was almost 6 years ago. You''ve been great to your health since.


    Oh look at that, you''re pregnant. Congrattions. There''s 3 of them too.]


    The system rumbled on about how much of a blessing this was in their society. Freya just lied there, waiting to know whether her kids were healthy. What time and date should they expect them toe.


    1 Jan 4006

 Chapter 212: Anger Within

    The weather was great outside. The sun shone brightly, the wind blew a little cold. Indicating that it was still winter.


    In a certain office, Gilbert keson sat at his chair. His window weed the afternoon sun, so did he. He enjoyed this time of the day, his office was in a spot that only in the afternoon would the sun warm the office but only just.


    Of course Mr. keson could''ve switched up the heat in his office. But he wasn''t a fan of heat, he liked the cold better.


    That''s where he felt at home andfortable. He smiled at the thought of winter and snow. The only sun he enjoyed was the autumn and winter one, because it came with a bit of coldness.


    The office didn''t look like a sentimental one, just a standard office. No personal photos. Nobody would guess it was a boss''s office that''s how basic it looked.


    He was a firm believer in not bringing family into the office, his personal and work life should remain separate.


    The office had book shelves with heaps of books. If you looked closely you could tell that none of them were wrinkled, meaning they hadn''t been touched since they were purchased.


    He was done with work for the day, he was looking through eligible wives for himself. The women seemed to be in their early twenties, they were all brtes with pale skin, they were slender built. The man clearly had a type.


    He had already taken 2 and nted his seed but he wanted more. Much more. That way even if he''s thwarted, he can safety leave his estate on hands other than Isaac''s.


    He looked through, his eyes full of lust and greed he was practically drooling. At one point he wondered if he could just have them all. But quickly banished that idea, he was doing this for a better heir not pleasure, just two more should suffice, he thought.


    Ever since he fired the Waynworth''s he had been in an extremely good mood. Showing his power and using it fed his already swollen ego. And when Isaac came to him about the idea to get that idiot student arrest for sexual assault, that was the first time he''d ever been proud of his son.


    He was starting to act like a true keson, but he still had no ns of stopping in getting other heirs. Incase Isaac''s cunning was a simple fluke. He couldn''t risk anything.


    There was a light knock on the door. If Gilbert heard, he pretended he hadn''t heard, because he continued with what he was doing. The knock never sounded again. After 5 minutes since the knock he finally chose two women.


    He cleared his throat, it resounded in the room like a lion roar. Like that, the door opened. This was the rule for his employees, they only had to knock once and wait. He made that very clear to them. It didn''t end well for anyone who broke this rule.


    A young woman walked in, she had brown long hair. Long beautiful legs and tan skin. She was wearing a skirt that was just above her knees, a shirt and zer. Heels that made her even taller. This was clearly his secretary.


    "What is it?" He asked unconcerned.


    "I''m here to report, Sir." She said sceptically.


    "Go on."


    "We''ve yet to find good recements for the engineers we fired¡ª"


    "Am I supposed to do everything myself? What is your use?" He said in amanding voice.


    "I''m doing the best I can, Sir." The girl said in a tired voice, indicating she hadn''t slept in a while.


    "Clearly your best isn''t enough, if I do your job for you, what use do I have for you?" He retorted mockingly.


    "Forgive me, Sir."


    He snorted. He handed her the two photos of the women he chose.


    "These two, I want them."


    She nodded lightly but didn''t leave.


    "Anything else?"


    "I''m to remind you that the meeting of the sanctum is tonight, the usual ce and time."


    There was silence for a while. The young woman was visibly nervous, she didn''t want to say the next piece of news. She saved them forst because she knew how short-tempered her boss was. She sighed internally and prepared herself.


    "Thepany we were looking to invest in this week, is¡ªit''s no longer in the market."


    His eyes glinted dangerously, the secretary instinctively took a step back. She could feel the fury that wa brewing in the air, she could''ve sword the air was a choking hazard for her.


    "What the hell do you mean?"


    "Somebody, they wouldn''t say who, bought the majority of shares. 60% of thepany belongs to this unknown investor."


    Gilbert didn''t move for a second. His ns came crashing down. All that waiting and work. He flipped the table, punched the walls, threw the chair at the window.


    If the window wasn''t bullet proof, the chair would''ve flown right out but it just bounced back. The secretary was already by the door now. Watching her boss unable to control his rage.


    He attempted to calm himself, he breathed deeply and brushed his hair back since it riddled his face from all the moving around.


    "Leave me. And get somebody to clean this up."


    She jumped at the chance and obliged. Nobody in thispany wanted to be in the line of fire when Gilbert keson was angry. The young woman was lucky nothing was thrown at her.


    "Wait," He shot at her.


    She stood frozen in ce, she was sure this would be the end of her.


    "Thewsuit, how is it?"


    "They aren''t going to back down." Her hand was already on the knob, but she was facing him.


    "What about the judge?"


    "Yes, it seems judge Khan is overseeing the trial."


    "Good."


    His anger hadn''tpletely gone and his phone rang. When he saw who was calling his mood didn''t improve at all. He chose to ignore it.


    Isaac was just another one of his bitter disappointments at this point. If he had seeded in getting that Waynworth brat out of the way, things would''ve been smooth sailing now.


    But his own offspring couldn''t even take care of a slum rat. He sighed disappointed at the results, though there was no time to wallow in his pitiful failures.


    He left with his coat for the meeting. Things were not going his way at all. Everything seemed to be falling apart. His mood was sour all the way.

 Chapter 213: The Sanctum

    The Sanctum was a a secret society. That was started more than 500 years ago, it had 12 prominent families, each representing the animals of the zodiac. But the 12 dwindle down to 8, it was not known why.


    Originally the purpose of this secret organisation was to help the masses, it was for the people. It spread justice far and wide. It dismantled corrupt governments and ensured order and equality was achievable, in one way or another.


    The known co-founder was Frederick Silva, it is not known about the other founder. Their informationpletely disappeared from the face of the earth, therefore nobody knew anything about this mysterious being, not even his family name. As time went on though, the once great organisation for justice lost to human greed and took to controlling the citizens it once vowed to protect.


    The organisation was now no more than asserting dominance over others and ruling them. The power it came with was akin to a second government that was corrupt. An utter embarrassment to its original purpose.


    At a somewhat sophisticated warm room, Jes¨²s Silva sat at a lounge cross-legged. Whiskey in hand. His daughter looked a bit him. He sat there enjoying his ownpany with his drink. There was a lot on his mind this particr day, but all of his thoughts were questions instead of answers.


    He was the first to arrive in their weekly meetings. He was a punctual man, he preferred arriving anywhere at least 5 minutes early. One by one, the members of the secret society arrived. They didn''t seem to like each other much, but came here anyway.


    He looked at each and every member that came in, with a hasty greeting, they''d go straight for the bar. These men clearly couldn''t leave without a great numbing drinking.


    Several minutes passed, Gilbert entered like he was being chased by the grim reaper, the butler poured him the usual whiskey, he gulped it in one go and a second and a third.


    His anger was beginning to calm down, when he noticed Jes¨²s just sitting there doing something on his phone, asionally taking a sip of the drink his hands tched.


    He snorted, remembering that his son''s ns were ruined because of his daughter. Isaac attempted to put them me on her when he told him about his failed n.


    He walked over and sat across him.


    "When are you marrying your daughter to my son, Silva?" He asked with a mocking tone.


    Jes¨²s didn''t immediately look up, he surmised that Gilbert was in a mood to start an argument, he wouldn''t indulge him.


    Once he was finished with whatever business he was doing on his phone he looked Gilbert dead in the eyes. He had never liked this man, but for the sake of appearances he had to act civil, not nice, but civil.


    "My daughter isn''t a thing to be given away. I''ve raised her with pride, she has her own brain." He told a man that didn''t understand a thing about free will.


    Those words were enough, they didn''t need exining. But Gilbert didn''t let up, he wanted an outlet to channel his anger. And he had found the perfect scapegoat.


    "Pride? I heard she''s doing gods knows what with some slum rat."


    "Like I said, Sir Gilbert. She has a brain, if this boy has ambition, I don''t see the problem." He said with finality, as he took a swig of his whiskey.


    Gilbert was about to retort, when Arnold ck said something that drew his attention away from Silva and to him.


    "Heard some Waynworth family bought the AIpany..."


    Gilbert shook where he sat, he didn''t hear anything else after that, everything became muffled. He couldn''t believe what he was hearing, weren''t they just peasants? Most of all how did they know thepany will make billions in the future. He had spent a fortune researching the probabilities.


    "How''s that possible? They''re mere slum rats. How could they afford such arge sum?" He shouted loudly than he expected.


    He couldn''t understand how they got money to buy an estate at the upper district, while having enough to buy apany and start a new one. He was red with fury.


    "I forgot, you were nning to buy their shares? The Waynworth beat you to it." Arnoldughed, not truly grasping the situation.


    "Don''t you watch the news Gilbert? Some game made it possible for their currency to work in real life. Now a few lucky people scored big." Mahindra Khan chimed in.


    "Yes, and the general poption thinks we''re behind the game. But I reckon none of us invested in it?" Nathan Naidu asked, not expecting an answer and his question was met with silence.


    A game? Gilbert remembered how this Kiro character humiliated his son in that very same game. How could he not remember, the videos were viral for days.


    "We can just buy the game, can''t we?" Gilbert asked reluctantly.


    "We''ve tried, but thepany is nowhere to be found. Everything is a mystery." Arnold shot back.


    "Haha, ah yes." Jes¨²sughed lightly, which rubbed Gilbert the wrong way. "The Waynworth moved in our street not too long ago. I suppose my daughter has an eye for ambitious men after all." He wanted to grind his gears for worse.


    Gilbert waspletely crimson. Whether it was anger or the alcohol or both, it couldn''t be known. He cursed under his breath, the people he had fired were now his greatestpetition. It was absolutely atrocious.


    "So your daughter is close to them..."


    The conversation went on like this. They were investigating anything they could from Jes¨²s. But he had met the boy only a few times, so he didn''t know anything either, he was as much in the dark as they were. Even if he did know more than he let on, he didn''t really want divulge information here.


    "Gentlemen, gentlemen, let''s start the meeting. Gossip isn''t going to get us anywhere." Jes¨²s said with finality.

 Chapter 214: With Good Friends

    It was lively at the Waynworth estate. Hiro hade over with his siblings. The noise the kids made wasn''t something they were used to, but it was weed nheless.


    There was only two of them but they demonic fiends. Running around, screaming at the top of their voices. None of them had the heart to tell them to stop.


    They were kids, this was new to them. They''d like to spoil them as much as possible.


    Sekani, Philip and Wilfred left very early in the morning for the lower district. Not even Kiro caught them. His father did leave him a message, to go checkout their headquarters in the upper district, which was a few minutes drive.


    Kiro felt grateful for that, that meant he had epted that he wanted to be involved. So he left him to oversee not just their family but the building of their headquarters.


    He wasn''t in a hurry though, he wanted to hang around his house as much as possible. He didn''t trust the kesons to not try anything to use as ckmail for his father.


    As much as he knew that the houses in the upper district, especially area 1, were full proof. He didn''t want to put his 100% trust on it.


    "So Isaac''s is really suing your dad?" Hiro asked unbelieving. He didn''t know much about everything but he did know something about patents.


    "They''re so dumb, they probably think they''re going to win. This fight isn''t just against lower district people anymore. They can''t be tant with their corruption." He clicked his tongue as he finished.


    "Of course they think they''re above thew. They probably think they''re the kings of this world." Hiroughed.


    Kiro snorted, "I doubt they''re that delusional. But I can''t put that past them. Exins their superiorityplex."


    They were sitting outside while they chatted about this and the possible oues if they''d really tantly break thew. It was mid December and very cold. Yet they were outside, not even a shiver escaped their lips.


    This was one of the perks evolved humans received. Nobody in their world had suffered frostbites, or a heat stroke. Their bodies was resilient to a lot of things that humans from before suffered from.


    They were just enjoying an afternoon with some drinks when I walked up to them from the gate, with Ishaan and Saanvi.


    Saanvi was ufortable for some reason. She couldn''t sit still, both Hiro and Kiro noticed her strange behaviour. Saanvi was the warrior type of girl after all, this didn''t suit her at all.


    "What''s up firstdy?" Kiro poked at her.


    She didn''t so much as chuckle or say something clever in return. Something clearly worried her and she was thinking about it deeply.


    She sat down, took a bottle from the snow, that Kiro buried deep to keep it colder. She started drowning her throat with it. It was one gulp at a time.


    She stopped and sighed when she couldn''t drink anymore.


    "By the way, my father will be overseeing yourwsuit." She said as if that was the most obvious thing, and went back to drinking.


    "So?" Kiro asked confused.


    Then something appeared in his mind. He remembered the name Khan from his past life, a fearsomewyer, prosecutor or whatever. Who never lost a single case, no matter how possible the situation was for his clients. He always, always, pulled through.


    "My father never loses."


    With those words, silence fell between them. I suddenly found the snow especially interesting, she kept poking it. She wanted to stay out of this conversation, there was nothing she could do after all.


    Hiro had been drinking the same drink he had been when they arrived. He was taking small sips, as afraid to break the silence, as if they''d ask him for a solution.


    Kiro remembered this Khan guy now. He was a well-known figure, famous for his winning streak and the treacherous way he fought anyone who wasn''t a client of his. He just never imagined Saanvi was his daughter, surnames didn''t mean anything at all. From what he remembered, they don''t even look alike to him.


    "There''s unsurmountable evidence this time though. Surely that will not be ignored?" Kiro asked a bit unsure himself.


    "You don''t know my dad Kiro, you should be very scared!" Saanvi shuddered at the thought.


    "So, when did you and Hiro kissed, I''ve been meaning to ask?" Kiro thought talking about this wouldn''t help, so he drastically changed the subject.


    Each and every one of them were caught off guard by the 180 turn. I finally looked up with a smile on her face, Hiro lightly coughed. Saanvi on the other hand was dealt the worst hand.


    Kiro said that while she was still gulping one down. She entered fits of coughs, some of iting from the nose. Kiro sat there with a dumb smirk, trying not to think about the apparently king of thew, Mr. Khan.


    "Wh-what are you saying?" Saanvi asked trying and failing to mask her blushing.


    Hiro didn''t say anything. Simply smiling which confirmed Kiro''s suspicions even further.


    "So, you guys a thing now?" Kiro was just messing with them, he didn''t expect an answer of any kind.


    "Yes." They both said softly.


    It was Kiro''s turn to cough up the whiskey that was already settling on his throat. His eyes went wide with surprise. ''Hiro had a girlfriend before I did? Shit?''


    "That''s¡ªthat''s¡ªcongrattions, I guess." He stummered andnded on a congrattions, he absolutely had nothing to say. This had shut him up, possibly forever.


    "I''ve never had a girlfriend." Ishaanmented.


    Kiro looked at him. He was even a short guy because of how chubby he was. He reckoned some would want him, if he lost a little bit fat and made them muscles instead.


    "Do you go to the gym?" Kiro blurted out while looking at him.


    "Never." Ishaan shrugged.


    "Okay, starting from today. We make up at 5 am and run around the block." Kiro told him, patting him on the back.


    "The block is pretty huge though?" Ishaan looked at him confused. He''s never done a day of exercise in his life, he just ate and ate whatever he liked.


    "That''s why it''ll be affective!" Kiro tried to encourage him. "This isn''t a ask, it''s something every after dark member will do from now on."


    Kiro figured it''d make him feel a lot better when he didn''t know that he was the target for this training. He also quite hated it when the systemmented on how underweight he was.


    He could imagine how girls, who were very superficial, looked at him. It couldn''t be a pretty thing. Besides, some girls weren''t scared to speak their mind. Before his confidence waspletely destroyed, Kiro wanted to do this for him.


    "Okay leader, I''ll bemitted." He said with so much pride Kiro believed that after dark was more than just an in-game group.


    Kiro managed topletely turn the depressing mood Saanvi brought to them into a happier one. Their drinks and conversations went into so much better directions.


    The biggest was them discussing their own ideal world. Every one of themmented about how they would love to demolish the status quo of their world, the unfairness made the skin irk.


    Kiro was tempted to recruit them, but he remembered that they promised to never talk about these things outside of the game, lest their every move was being monitored. So he just smiled, nodded in agreement.


    "By the way Kiro why do you still wear that ne? It''s so old it even has a padlock attached to it?" Saanvi enquired. He didn''t understand why he bought everything new, but didn''t change that one thing.


    Kiro smiled. He wasn''t offended. Maybe she was someone with shiny family heirlooms and didn''t understand something of sentimental value.


    "This?" He started touching it, still smiling. "I guess you don''t know the story? We weren''t close enough for you to know, firstdy." He joked, trying to break the thick atmosphere the others had created when she asked.


    "My grandpa, who was a fiend forw by the way, could''ve given your father a run for his money. He gave this to me, when I was, really young. I never go anywhere without it." He finished with a sip of his drink.


    "Oh, I''m sorry, I can be insensitive sometimes."


    "You knew?" Kiroughed, looking at Hiro. He was sure, he was the one who told about this and it stuck with him.


    "What happened to him anyway? Your grandpa I mean?"


    Kiro looked at her with a saddened look, "Well, I''ll find out soon enough."


    Saanvi didn''t understand. She was about to ask further when I shook her head, telling her to stop. Only then did she have the sense to stop prodding questions. Though Kiro didn''t mean, it was still considered rude.


    "So, who''s ready for school?" I asked them a little chipper.


    They all groaned in protest. They didn''t want to think about that hell. They wanted to enjoy their holidays, that''s all they intended to do. Have as manyzy days as possible.

 Chapter 215: A Surprise Call

    Kiro was sitting around the kitchen table with his family eating breakfast. Though he wasn''t all there, the conversation he had with Saanvi worried him more now that Christmas was nearing.


    ''My father never loses.''


    Reyed inside his head over and over. He was thinking all kinds of what if scenarios. He knew worry never helped anyone, only action did. But he had no idea how he would even begin to act to ensure their win.


    "Are you okay baby?" Freya noticed that his mind was far away.


    "Huh? Yes I am, why?" Kiro asked, acting dumb.


    Freya didn''t say anything, instead gave him a piercing gaze, that made him awkwardly shift from his chair, attempting to escape out there.


    "I''m okay for real mum, just thinking about how dad is doing now."


    That''s what he said instead of running away. What good would running away be when they lived under the same roof.


    Just then, his phone rang. He was d his phone saved him from this terrible moment he was about to suffer.


    "Yes?" He answered getting up from his chair and walking straight for the door.


    He''d never been called before, other than his family. He had already concluded something bad happened and his dad was in the hospital, or worse, dead.


    "May I speak to Mr. Kiro Waynworth?" The voice on the other end spoke, politely.


    "This is he." He said quickly so the other person could tell him whether this was bad or good news.


    The other person must''ve sensed his haste, "don''t worry Sir, it''s not anything bad." He quickly reassured him.


    "Oh, okay? What''s up?" He still didn''t know who he was talking to, for all he knew it was the keson telling them to give up.


    "I''m the president of Future Inc. Jon Scott, thepany you invested in, or should I say bought the majority shares of?" Jon introduced himself to his benefactor.


    If it weren''t for him, they would''ve failed as apany. He didn''t just give them a little bit just so they could keeping back to beg for more. He gave them enough tost them 2 years on research and establishing their standing in society.


    "Of course, nice to finally meet you Mr. Scott." Kiro said with relief.


    "Oh no Sir, no need to use an honorifics talking with this lowly being." Heughed lightly trying to butter him up.


    "Do you know how old I am? I wouldn''t feel right if I didn''t, Mr. Scott."


    Heughed nervously. He didn''t know how old he was. He didn''t know much about the book side of the business, he was in charge of creating the AI.


    So everything with paperwork was always delegated to his vice. But today, he was told that this was a matter of utmost importance, so he had to be the one to speak to this person.


    Instead of reading about his shareholders and learning more about them, he spent the entire night working on perfecting the AI. When he came to, it was already time to make the dreaded phone call.


    "I''m sure you''re wondering why I''ve called you today. Tomorrow we''d like to invite all of our shareholders, for a meeting. We''d like to keep our people on the know about everything." He said, as if reading from a pamphlet.


    Kiro gave a slight chuckle. He could tell the kind of person this was and he didn''t mind. He didn''t have the mind of a politician, he had the mind of a creator, a crazy scientist if you will. That only meant to him, thepany was in very safe hands.


    "I see president Scott, isn''t this a bit of a short notice?" Kiro asked, testing his power within thepany.


    There was silence for a while. Kiro reckoned they were telling him what to say.


    "We can reschedule Sir. Anything that suits your schedule."


    "Let''s see..." Kiro pretended he was flipping some papers, "Okay, I can be there by 12 tomorrow."


    "Perfect, perfect. I''ll email you the address."


    Kiro hung up because president Scott wasn''t. He involuntary threw his hands in the air for celebration. He couldn''t believe he procured the onepany that will take over his world, this alone would''ve been enough to make them filthy rich.


    But with his father building up apany of their own, that will make them, unmatched, possibly. It was a scary thing to think about.


    ''Well Kiro, this is what you wanted isn''t it? To reign as if a god?'' He told himself.


    "What are you so happy about?"


    His mother''s voice brought him back to reality. She was poking out her head from the door, with a smile. Her pregnancy was barely visible, which was insane to Kiro. He thought having 3 would make her have a really huge belly.


    Then something unexpected happened, Alora poked her head out too with a smile on her face and asked Kiro the same thing their mother had asked.


    They both couldn''t help butugh. The only one who wasn''t, was the imitator. She didn''t know what was so funny about what she had just done.


    ''This, their happiness is all that matters. Everything elsees second.'' Kiro mentally patted himself on the back.


    "Actually..."


    He trailed off, realising he''d only told his father about buying shares from somepany. His mother loved overreacting, so he wanted to be very particr about what he says.


    "I have a majority shares in somepany that, will, possibly, be worth billions..."


    ''Great job champ, way to give it to her straight.'' He sighed. Expecting an earful.


    He instead felt warmth surrounding his entire being. When he opened his eyes, his mother had embraced him. He didn''t know what it was, he guessed it was the pregnancy making her emotional because she started lightly crying.


    Alora got out too, hugging Kiro''s leg. Which made the moment more funny than a sentimental one.


    "You''ve worked so hard for us." She told him, holding onto his right cheek. asionally caressing it. "Thank you."


    The warmth in her voice made him hot and his eyes twinkled, an imaginary stone stuck on his throat making it hard to swallow. That''s all he ever wanted, to make them proud.


    "Thank you, mum."

 Chapter 216: To The Middle District

    His mother woke him up early in the morning thinking his appointment was in the morning. He had failed to give her all the details, that''s why he could be seen groggily eating his breakfast, with almost his eyes closed.


    Sitting next to him was Raul. He had joined them after Sekani got the information about him, he''d called him immediately. He was more than happy to take a job, after realising he''d be a driver for them as long as he wanted, he was more than just happy.


    He moved in one of the units at the back and found it veryfortable to what he was previously used to. He didn''t have any family, just a kid who was abandoned at a very young age. He had to be someone who had street smarts from a very young age, that''s how he survived until this point.


    He was older than Philip, and around Vada''s age.


    None of them were allowed to bring over girlfriends and boyfriends in the estate. It was a security issue. Unless they''re married to the person, they can''t spend time with them within the Waynworth estate.


    Even with marriage, extensive background checks would be done. They couldn''t afford to let in someone who meant them harm, it was too dangerous.


    Because of this, most rich people preferred their workers to be old and single. That way, they wouldn''t be much work for them.


    Unlike Kiro, who had his eyes almost shut. Raul was used to waking up this early. Freya smiled at them apologetically, she only thought she was helping.


    She even took out Kiro''s clothes and ironed them herself. Which earned her a reprimand from her half asleep son, telling her she should be resting and that he could dress himself.


    Kirozed around the house until it was time to go, driving to the middle district would take them a whole 2 hours. So they had to leave before time, Kiro didn''t want to ride a jet, he preferred a car or a train if he was honest with himself.


    It was still winter so he had a ck turtleneck beneath his maroon suit. Raul opted to dress the same way but with a suit and tie. He looked very clean, cleaner than he''d ever been in his entire life.


    He was surprised at the generosity of the Waynworth family. They were all down to earth, which made him swear, internally, in his heart that he''ll always be loyal to them. He had originally thought they were just faking it, but the more he spent time with them, the more real it felt for him.


    So he drove their eldest son, to his first meeting. The car was flying on the way. There was no traffic, most used the train, some used jets, a very few used cars.


    Cars weren''t something people liked, because they were less modified to fit a futuristic world. They were just faster than a normal car, and it was fueled by the mineral they had buried under their country. It still had wheels, maybe people would go crazy over them if they were hover cars.


    "We weren''t always rich in case you''re wondering. We lived in the lower district up until this month." Kiro told him, he was bored so he was making conversation.


    "Really? Then how?" Raul was shocked finding this out, their niceness suddenly made sense to him.


    "I took a gamble, used my tuition money to y the game. I''m sure you''ve heard of the currency conversion."


    "Of course I''ve heard of it, you were really lucky Sir Kiro. To have parents who sent you to such an academy in the first ce, without that you wouldn''t have been able to y the game." Hemented with a tinge of jealously.


    He''d never had a parent''s love after all. He yearned until there was nothing but survival within himself.


    Kiro acknowledged his parents'' roles in all of this, as he nodded in agreement to what Raul had said.


    They chatted like this for the rest of the way. They got to know each other, Kiro had heard about his past but it was much bettering from the horse''s mouth.


    He was impressive at how he survived the streets of the lower of district. There were orphanages down there but they weren''t so great, as soon as he was old enough, Raul took it to the streets. iming it was better than living in the orphanage.


    "I''m d I did that too, maybe I wouldn''t have met you if I chose to stay there. Maybe I wouldn''t have been alive to tell my tale here like this either." He said as they pulled into a building.


    The middle district didn''tck muchpared to the upper district. It was clearly also another yground for the rich. The streets were busier though, people going in and out of restaurants as it was already lunch time.


    Kiro got out of the car and entered the building. Raul followed right behind him, feeling very important.


    The building wasn''t the most amazing thing, it was clear that it was owned by apany that was still crawling.


    "No kids allowed." The security told him sternly.


    Kiro simply smiled, "Kiro Waynworth." He extended his hand to shake the security''s.


    His eyes went wider than Kiro thought possible for humans.


    "I¡ªSir¡ªsorry, right this way." He quickly shook his hand, it as firm which made him freeze in ce.


    Entering the building, he saw someone he''d been dreading to meet. It was none other Mahindra Khan. Kiro walked up to him, he was a short man. He looked very mean on the face, he didn''t look like Saanvi at all.


    "Mr. Khan," He said as he reached him extending his hand to meet his. "Kiro Waynworth, I go to school with your daughter, it''s a pleasure to meet you."


    He was shook in ce, he hadn''t exactly expected to meet him like this.


    "Even though I''ll be going against your dad?" He smiled shaking his hand.


    "Of course sir. You''re just doing your job, though I''m thinking, this may be your first loss." He chuckled at how silly he was being.


    Though he didn''t take it to heart. He heartilyughed, thinking that, the brat in front of him had more guts than anyw enforcement in their world.


    "Well, Kiro Waynworth, I wouldn''t want to hold you up from your meeting today. It was a pleasure to meet you."


    This time, it was him who offered his hand.


    "Of course. Sir."

 Chapter 217: Someone Unexpected

    Kiro was still smiling from meeting Mahindra Khan. He expected for the man to be scarier than what he presented, he didn''t want to believe it. So, he chucked it up as a mask he wore in public. He couldn''t be that friendly and be a notoriously renowned person in their society.


    "Who is he?" One female worker asked another.


    "Probably a kid of a rich family. Don''t even think about it." The other reprimanded.


    "But he''s so good looking... He''s just my type. Do you think I have a chance?"


    "Not in a million years."


    Their whispering wasn''t enough to mask their conversation. He could hear everything but Kiro ignored it, the walls in front of him suddenly became an interest to him.


    Raul let out a softughter. He''d have thought Kiro was more experienced by now, but judging by his reaction to their conversation, he could tell he was still very green.


    He got closer to him, "sir, are you okay?"


    He was startled a little and mistakenly elbowed him in the gut.


    "Raul, y it cool." He told his driver.


    "Right, I should be the one ying it cool." He said sarcastically.


    Kiro stilled his nerves and went up to them. The closer he got the more he heard their stifled giggles. No one else was on this floor, he was surprised nobody was there to receive him. They were however 30 whole minutes early.


    "Good daydies," he started with a smile. "I''m here for the meeting, the name is Kiro Waynworth." He said smoothly.


    "Greetings Mr. Waynworth, the president wasn''t expecting you until muchter, but I''ll call him shortly." She said in a very professional voice, that denied she was the one gossiping a moment ago.


    ''Scary. Girls are scary.'' He thought to himself.


    "Excuse my colleague''s rudeness. I''m Lily and she''s Rosia." She introduced themselves, Kiro shook their hands as any gentleman would.


    He also introduced Raul to them.


    They heard distant running footstepsing down from the stairs. When the person reached thending, they quickly stopped. Pushing their hair backwards, evening out their breaths and walking towards the pair.


    Kiro could see sweat trickling down their face, which they awkwardly wiped away. Kiro reckoned this was the president, he was wearing a white coat, underneath he had normal brown pants a white shirt and a pullover.


    He was as tall as he was. He looked disheveled, with permanent dark lines under his eyes. Despite how tired he looked he was very clean.


    "Sir, hello sir, we weren''t expecting you so soon sir." He sounded like someone who had been alone for so long that they''d forgotten to speak properly.


    He used sanitiser on his hands, twice. He extended his hand for Kiro''s.


    "Not a problem president Scott. I felt like driving today, I didn''t take a jet. The car was very unkind to the road, that''s why we''re here way before time." Kiro epted his hand offer as he said.


    He once again sanitised his hand after shaking his hand. He noticed they were looking at him weirdly, he may be socially inept, but he could pick up a thing or two.


    "Apologies. I''m a germophobe." He smiled awkwardly as he shook Raul''s hand too and doing it all over again.


    "That''s cool, I guess. Say President, why didn''t you take the lift?"


    "I''m also ustrophobic." Heughed nervously as he lead them up the stairs into the boardroom.


    He told the girls to order coffee and biscuits for the guests as they were waiting for the meeting to finally start.


    It was a ten-storey building. Instead of sitting in some boardroom Kiro asked for a tour. The president was more than happy to indulge him.


    Each floor had its own use and offices. The ground floor was admin. The next one was research, the other was where the president worked on the AI and so on and so forth. He had a whole floor to himself.


    He almost never left it. Everything he needed he could order and it would be delivered here, which gave him more time to perfect his project.


    When he talked about his dream as a child and building the AI finally to realise it, he was more confident. He didn''t stutter once, this was clearly where he was mostfortable at.


    He was bad at first impressions, but Kiro was starting to like him more and more. He found that he was more than d exining social queues to the president.


    ''So this is the thing that put me out of work in my previous life? How utterly embarrassing.'' He thought to himself.


    As he saw different parts being strewn together, trying to make a body for it, or at least a head.


    What the president wanted was that, it would be safely in their headquarters, while it could be uploaded online, buyable and usable for various people who chose to use it. But they''d be unable to study or copy it''s code, since it was just a virtual footprint. It''d be operating from within their building.


    "That''s something president Scott, you''ve really thought of everything!" Kiroplimented.


    "Why, of course I have! I''m d you can understand my way of thinking Mr. Waynworth."


    "It''s brilliant."


    "You''re younger than I anticipated." The president blurted out.


    "That''s because I am, I''m 17." Kiro told him proudly.


    "And already with a great sense for business. You''re going ces Mr. Waynworth."


    Kiroughed and blushed. Raul was following slowly from behind them, he couldn''t help but hear the conversation going on. He was amazed at how rxed the president was around his toys.


    Before they knew it, an hour had already passed. They, at the same time checked their watches. Their eyes turned into saucers as they realised they were 30 minuteste, so they started running up the stairs again.


    "Being 30 minutes early, only to be 30 minuteste." Kiromented through heavy breaths.


    The president lightlyughed. They finally reached the door to the meeting room. Jon Scott threw the doors open and entered like he was notte at all.


    There were people already sitting around the table. They were having a conversation but it was rudely interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Silence filled the room, as Kiro''s eyes fell into a familiar face.


    "Felix?"

 Chapter 218: Meeting Adjourned!

    "Leader? What are you doing here?" Felix was shocked.


    "No, what are you?" Kiro was surprised too.


    "The meeting?"


    "Same."


    Felix was able to clench 10% of the stake. He didn''t know anything, he didn''t receive any forecasted information, he just took a risk and winged it.


    He looked strange in a suit but he didn''t look bad. He was a handsome boy after all. He still had his bandages on, they were peeking out from his suit.


    "Oh great, you guys know each other! Perfect!" The president was relieved to have two other less people to introduce to each other.


    "We go to the academy together. We''re best buds." Kiro imed him.


    Felix simply nodded in agreement.


    A short, fat and balding man sitting in the leader''s chair scoffed. "Academy? Are we here to babysit? Where are your parents?" He said with much contempt in his voice.


    Kiro was used to arrogant people by this point so he didn''t take it to heart. He just simply felt exhausted, he didn''t really have the heart to exin it to him that he basically owned thepany.


    "By the way Felix, let''s go have a drink after this, it''s been a while." Kiro said, purposely ignoring the fat guy.


    "Brat, are you ignoring me?" He pointed his chubby finger at him, that had turned pink with anger.


    "Mr. Oisen, please. Calm down. I''ll introduce these two." The president said more calmly than he usually was.


    Clearly the time he spent exining his work helped him be more confident about handling people. Kiro didn''t know that he could have such amanding voice, it gripped even him.


    "This is Kiro Waynworth, he owns 60% of thispany. You should show him more respect." He paused to see whether Oisen would say anything, but his mouth was left agape. Shock and shame on his face.


    "This gentleman is Felix, he owns 10% of thepany. I own 20%, you lot are split with the 10% remaining. The arrogance is unwarranted." Jon Scott finished, taking charge of the meeting.


    Kiro wanted to whistle, p him on the back and congratte him for being so stern. Nobody said another word. Nobody dared to look down on people who can buy them out. Oisen slowly slipped out of the leader''s chair and went to seat on the ordinary chairs.


    When the president noticed that nobody was speaking out of turn. He introduced everyone in the room. His vice wasn''t there, which he apologised profusely for.


    He silently offered Kiro the leaders seat, which he silently and politely declined, pointing out that he was the head of thepany.


    They had even prepared slides. They showed them the inception of the idea, from when it was nothing, up until now, when it was almost done. He exined the things it could do, and the things it had potential to be.


    "You mean to tell us, this AI, could potentially rece the current one?" Oisen asked a little shocked, none of them here knew what they were getting themselves into when they invested.


    Hearing about the unending possibilities it could go was very tempting.


    "Yes, this code I''ve written. This software I''ve created has the potential to make our banks safer than they already are, they say they''re imprable now, but they''ll be god level imprable with this.


    "Trains will move faster than they currently are. It was tested before and was deemed unsafe, but this tech makes it possible. We could reach the middle of the districts in just an hour if all goes well.


    "Of course, the main job of this AI is finance. But it can do so much more. It can help our society with so much more, everybody loves security and this offers that.


    "Naturally, I''ll have to tweak and rewrite some things currently. And all I''m asking for is patience really."


    The president finished, he was almost out of breath. This was obviously new territory for him. He''d most likely never given a presentation.


    Kiro on the other hand was shocked beyond belief. This was absolutely new information for him, in his past life thispany only offered one thing to the public, not everything the president was listing.


    But he quickly reminded himself that, where the keson''s were concerned, something will always be amiss.


    "That''s amazing president Scott. You have my full support to do and release this when you feel it''s ready, you''re the creator after all." Kiro told him.


    He smiled warmly, "Of course Mr. Waynworth, thank you sir!"


    Felix nodded in agreement too. The others reluctantly agreed. They were greedy, they likely wanted to see the fruits of their investments sooner rather thanter.


    Jon Scott acknowledged their agreements. That''s when Kiro''s hand shot up, he couldn''t help but smile, Kiro was truly still in school. He pointed at him.


    "I''m just wondering about the name? Is that all this is? Future Inc.?"


    "Oh right, we''re here to change that too and hopefullynd on something we can all agree on."


    The race to getting their own names chosen started. The only person who didn''t participate was Felix. They kept saying all kinds of names, which weren''t even to their standards. A whole hour passed and they still were struggling.


    "How about Kismet Inc.?" Felix''s voice sounded very hoarse and tired. He was bored out of his mind and wanted out of there, it was nearing 4pm.


    They all looked at each other and looked at Felix. "Great Job." They sung in a chorus. They somehow liked it. It was, new, different.


    "By the way president Scott, why was Mahindra Khan here today?" He had a vague idea but he still wanted him to confirm.


    "Oh, you know Mr. Khan?"


    "How could I not? He''s a renownedwyer." Kiro answered impatiently.


    "Is he? He''ll be ourwyer. He charges 20 million per month. I''ve already set aside 240 million just for him, in case we run into a hup."


    They all nodded. It was a good idea to always be prepared for the worst. Now they had the bestwyer in their corner, and Kiro didn''t quite know how to feel about that.


    "Meeting Adjourned!" Jon said, proud of himself.


    They started walking out. Raul was sitting on the ground floor with Lily and Rosia. Felix decided to hitch a ride with Kiro since they were going the same direction.


    Though their first stop would be a restaurant, the food they served at the meeting wasn''t enough for a growing boy, so they were famished.


    "Hey Kiro, don''t be rmed. But we''re being followed."

 Chapter 219: Apprehended

    "The two blokes who''ve been behind us since we left the Kismet Inc. building?" He had noticed too, but he didn''t think much of it.


    He was no stranger to being chased. He thought it strange than instead of panicking, his heart was very calm.


    "Let''s get ourselves captured." Felix suggested.


    "Yes." Kiro agreed. Raul was about to say something but Kiro cut him off. "Walk to the other side of the street, to ensure that their targets are really the two of us. You can follow meticulously behind them and figure where they''re keeping us."


    Raul didn''t argue. He ran to the other side of the street, carried by the cold winter wind that blew through the now almost empty streets. Sure enough they didn''t follow him.


    Kiro doubted they would just take them in broad daylight. It was winter, but it was still a little past 4pm, so the sun was still out.


    Felix lead them to an alleyway, they pretended to be taking a leak there. They were chatting nonsense, speaking loudly, to ensure they masked their footsteps, so when they were grabbed, it''d be an honest surprise for them.


    They didn''t want to tip them off about anything. They had to keep believing they were in control.


    Darkness swallowed both of them as bags adorned their heads. The ck bags had a gas inside of them, so they were knocked out cold before they could do anything.


    Kiro''s consciousness lingered in the dark for a while. He was unaware whether they were being transported by foot or vehicle. To him, it felt like, he was back in his bed. Comfortably sleeping after a very long and busy day.


    That was until shock jolted him awake, he stopped a scream from escaping his lips. He didn''t want them to think whatever they were doing was effective. When he opened his eyes, his vision was still in darkness. A blindfold was over his eyes.


    "Now that you''re both awake, I need you to answer a few of my questions. Why are you investigating the Sanctum and what do you know about it?" The voice asked with a sinister tone.


    "Who are you?" Kiro asked, the voice was a little familiar to him, so he wanted to keep him talking as long as possible.


    "Wrong answer you dumb pubescent boy." The voice heaved and nted something on his abdomen.


    Kiro choked on his own saliva, though he refused to scream and give the torturers satisfaction. The most important thing now was, how did they know about their ongoing investigation.


    ''Does this Sanctum really own the game then? I don''t remember any of us speaking about it, while outside the game. Or do we have a traitor? But who?''


    It was a wonder that his brain could even work when the man was attempting to fry it. He almost passed out because he wouldn''t remove the taser gun from his abdomen.


    Felix was as quiet as a mouse. He didn''t so much make a sound, he didn''t want to talk either.


    "I''ll ask again, how do you know about the Sanctum?"


    "If we know about it why would we be investigating it?" He answered curtly.


    He could feel the man was buzzing with anger. He''d dealt with rich brats before, one thing they had inmon was they were afraid of pain. One taser shot was enough to make them scream in pain and sing whatever information they needed.


    The other quiet kid amazed him even more. He didn''t so much as flinch. He just sat,fortably so, like he was enjoying a hot spring bath or something.


    The next thing Kiro felt was a punch connecting with his face. He spat a mouthful of blood.


    "Answer the question you damn brat! Or I''m gonna kill ya." He said as heughed maniacally. "I''m gonna cut ya up nicely, and have my way with your body." He licked his lips.


    "You punch like my 5 year old sister." Kiro egged him on.


    Whenever he was close to discerning who the voice belonged to, it slipped through his fingers. It was the most frustrating thing, he was sure if he''d get the blindfolds off, he''d recognise more than one person in that room.


    The man''s footsteps could be heard walking towards Kiro with great heavy strides. He had went to get a knife from a cab across the room, he was ready to dissect Kiro so that maybe Felix would say something.


    He stopped right in front of Kiro. He was about to make an incision then giggling could be heard from the room, it wasing from none other than Felix.


    "What are youughing at, freak?" The man had heard it up to his neck with these two.


    Felix didn''t bother to answer him as he continued tough. The man walked up to him next, and made an incision without saying anything. He was the quiet one after all, maybe torturing this one would make the talkative one, talk.


    "Felix, are you..."


    Kiro''s question was cut off by anotherughter from Felix. He couldn''t help himself but he was enjoying this. It wasn''t any thing sexual, he just felt really rxed when he was being hurt.


    He realised how weird that was, if he considered the rest of the humans. But different wasn''t always bad. Though he hated showing anyone this side of him, but here he was unable to stop himself from doing it with Kiro there.


    ''He''s enjoying this? Pain is the worst thing, how does he do it!'' Kiro thought to himself, he was impressed if anything.


    "You two are a strange pair, I''ve never quite met someone like him." He said pointing his knife at Felix. "I wonder how many cuts would it take topletely break him." He mocked.


    He unwrapped his bandages, so that he could have more skin to cut. What met him however made him drop his knife, he fell to the ground and couldn''t find his voice.


    "Wh-what, are you a monster?"


    He''d never seen anything quite like this before, it took him by surprise. It dawned on him that, whatever he did, there was no way this kid would divulge information this way, he had to think of something else.


    However, on the other hand. Kiro had pinpointed his voice atst. He couldn''t believe his luck, this was the perfect time to take care of them once and for all.


    "You''re him aren''t you? Phinix, leader of the crow mafia gang?" He said with the most sadistic smile, as if the man in front of him were a mouse caught in a trap.

 Chapter 220: Shock and Despair

    His eyes went wide with utter andplete shock. How did this person know him, to top it all off, his gang was still very new. He was doing these jobs to raise their reputation.


    "How, did, you..." He couldn''t finish his words.


    Kiro was smiling satisfied at his spot on guess. The man responsible for his death, the man who beat him to death, the man responsible for the death of many of his family members, he meets him atst.


    Even though he was tied to the chair, he managed to slightly get up. As if in sync, Felix did the same thing.


    Phinix quickly grabbed the knife and thrusted it Kiro''s way. Aiming for his head. Kiro had already jumped backwards, he fell on his backpletely destroying the chair.


    He could hear the thunderous footsteps approaching him. He waited for the man to attack first, he didn''t have his eyes, so that was his best bet.


    He could only hope his ears worked better and allow him to dodge. Holding the knife with both his hands, he nted it next to Kiro. He''d already swerved to the side to avoid getting stabbed.


    The knife got stuck in one of the wood from the chair that littered the floor.


    Felix on the other side managed to break his too. Phinix only seemed to have eyes for just Kiro, the person who knew who he was. It was a frightening thing to experience, so he wanted to end the one who knew him first.


    Felix managed to take off his blindfold. He was cuffed, but it wasn''t difficult jumping over his hands to ensure they were in front of him instead of behind.


    He noticed that they were in some sort of steel container, there was only one source of light. The second guy who helped Phinix kidnap them was nowhere to be seen.


    "You son of a b*tch, stop moving around and let me stab you." He shouted at Kiro who was embarrassing himpletely.


    Felix rammed himself against him, he fell a couple of meters away. Giving Kiro the chance to position his cuffed hands in front of him. He finally took out the blindfold and stood besides his friend.


    "Hey Felix, you look like sh*t." He joked.


    "Have you looked in the mirror?" Felix uttered his first words, for the first time since they''ve been captured.


    Phinix knew he was screwed. So he banged the container wall, no less than a minuteter, the door swung open. His partner walked in there. His eyes as wide as slits, he couldn''t fathom how everything went so wrong.


    "Felix, I hope you can fight. But first, who hired you clowns to abduct us?" He asked taking a fighting stance. He wasn''tpletely clueless, he couldn''t use much of his hands but he could use his feet.


    ''Thank gods I took kickboxing!''


    "Like I''d tell you anything, you miserable little f*ck. I''ll kill you right here." Phinix said, spitting blood and running for Kiro.


    He was still brandishing a knife, so he had to be careful. He threw his whole arm attempting to stab him in the chest, Kiro used the chain cuffs to wrap the knife and steal it away from Phinix.


    He held the knife in his hand and kicked up his knee to meet with the man''s ribs. He staggered backwards, holding firmly where it hurt.


    Felix looked like a damn monkey. He''d already pinned down the other guy, choking him, using his two legs. The guy was suffocating, his face was turning green.


    "Please¡ªI''ll¡ªI''ll talk, please. Stop." He was already giving up. Felix wanted to strangle him a little bit more so he didn''t let up.


    "You idiot, if you talk, I''ll kill you myself¡ª"


    It was no sooner than those words left his mouth, that Kiro was already in front of him with another kick to the rib.


    He ran closer, hooking his neck to the chains, giving him a taste of what it was like to be strangled. There was something inherently fearful about suffocation in humans.


    The moment he thought he couldn''t gasp for air, he imed he''d also talk. Kiro wasn''t exactly interested, even if they knew who sent these goons to them, that would be little help to them.


    "Your¡ªgrandfather¡ª" Phinix said through choking sounds.


    Kiro immediately let him go. He massaged his neck, as he cough uncontrobly for a few seconds. Kiro had to lightly kick him to get his attention.


    "What about my grandfather?" He asked, anybody could feel how sinister his voice sounded.


    "He knew something about the Sanctum that''s why he disappeared." He answered still massaging his neck. Bruises were starting to form all around his neck.


    "That''s something even I concluded. Is that why you went after us? You think maybe my grandfather told me something about it?"


    "Yes!" He said whimpering.


    Kiro was relieved that, at least none on his team were traitors. "Sick bastards. I was only 7 when you took him away. What would he possibly tell a 7 year old?"


    "There''s an area that''s uncounted for. Area 51, this is where they keep undesirables. Though I don''t know where and how to get there." Phinix was talking like he had drank a truth serum.


    He had even soiled his pants. He was just saying anything that was on his mind.


    "The Sanctum is very real. They see all. They know all." He continued to rumble.


    Felix had already snapped the other guys neck. He was standing side by side with Kiro. Looking at the pitiful man in front of them.


    Kiro didn''t feel the slightest bit sympathetic towards this terrible man. He knew things about him, not even he knew about himself. That''s why he couldn''t let him live, he had to cut the head of the snake right here and now.


    He had been given that chance. He couldn''t waste it knowing the tragedies he''s set to cause in the future.


    "Let''s go¡ª"


    Felix couldn''t finish the words, as shock seeped through his entire being. He never thought Kiro was quite capable of something like this. But here he was, having snapped a man''s neck with a single kick.


    ''This isn''t a game. It''s real life. Never getfortable with this feeling.'' He reminded himself.


    He dialed his phone and called the police about the crime before them. They sat and waited.


    They were questioned but it was ruled out as self-defence, since they were kidnapped and there were signs of torture on their bodies.


    ''Area 51? I wonder where it is. I wonder what you knew grandpa. I wonder if you''re still alive.'' His thoughts were far away as Raul lead them to their car.


    He had the most difficult time finding them. The ce where they were taken had thousands and thousands of containers.


    ''Hang on tight grandpa, I''ming.'' Heforted himself as he fell asleep at the back of the car.

 Chapter 221: No Place Like Home

    It hadn''t been 30 minutes since he napped but he jerked awake. Raul checked on him through the rear view mirror.


    "Are you okay Sir Kiro?" He asked a little bit concerned. He felt like an utter failure that he couldn''t find them in time.


    "It''s okay Raul, no need to me yourself." Kiro said while propping himself up on the seat. He looked over at Felix and he was sleeping soundly.


    Kiro had always assumed Felix never slept. The dark lines that were always under his eyes made him think so, now he just thought he had some kind of condition.


    "But Sir, if things had gone awry..."


    "They didn''t though, stop being such a worrywart. My body aches a lot though." Heined. He shook his head before Raul could suggest the hospital.


    His mind quickly wandered to the Sanctum, area 51 and his grandfather. For some strange reason, Phinix had lit a me of hope within him. He couldn''t help but want to believe that his grandfather was being kept somewhere, in this area 51. Now all they needed to do was find out where exactly that is.


    Which proved more difficult the more he thought about it. He knew the map of their world by heart, and he couldn''t see, notice any unupiednds that could be the 51st area.


    Anything beyond there were mines, and very poisonous air for them to breathe. They weren''t allowed to go further than that line, as it was not inhabitable.


    He thought his head would crack into two, thinking of ces they could hide a whole area from the public. An area that had its own poption of kidnapped individuals. He couldn''t wait to tell Hiro the good news, his father was likely also there.


    It may not have been the final answer but it was something, it was hope and that''s something his best friend could use right now.


    "Sir, did you..."


    "Kill that guy? Totally self defence." Kiro answered nonchntly.


    Raul didn''t know what to make of this. Kiro didn''t seem like a scared sh*tless kid who had just killed someone. He seemed way too rxed, his eyes were unwavering.


    "I could take the me for you if you''d like."


    "It was self defence, there''s no case here. Besides a very bad man died by my hands, I have no reason to feel guilty." He shrugged.


    "He''s right, they were going to kill us first if we didn''t." Felix chimed in waking up from his slumber, he yawned, stretching his limbs.


    Raul nodded, convinced at their answers. He realised he was questioning him because he felt guilty about abandoning him. He swore to be better next time, he also wanted to take fighting lessons.


    He figured he could be a driver and a bodyguard. He didn''t mind expanding his resume.


    "I thought we''d arrive before I even woke up." Felix mumbled.


    "Why? Don''t want to be stuck in a car with me?" Kiro rolled his eyes.


    "I mean, it''s not that, I''m not really talkative and people make me ufortable for that."


    "Oh." Kiro didn''t know what else to say.


    "What are we gonna do? Regarding that thing?" Everything was starting toe back to him, the things that stupid man confessed, they were deeper than he thought his world was.


    "We will discuss it, at that ce." Kiro told him curtly.


    Felix understood to drop it. Raul had grabbed them something to eat while they slept, so he gave them some food.


    They were both very hungry and grateful. They devoured their dinner and wished he had bought them more food.


    There was something about being tortured that made them extremely famished. Kiro couldn''t wait to get home, he was sure they had cooked.


    "Could I sleep at your house tonight?" Felix blurted out. He wasn''t the type to ask things like that, so Kiro didn''t bother to question him. He simply just nodded allowing him to.


    He could guess more or less why he didn''t want to go home and he wouldn''t probe him until he himself said something about it. They finally pulled up their street, and the street was littered with people. This was certainly a peculiar sight.


    "There theye!" Voices of unknown people shouted as they were swarmed by a small crowd.


    Getting out, he realised it just his family, Hiro''s family, I''s family... Kiro had already concluded they must know what happened.


    "They know." He whispered with the corner of his mouth to Felix.


    He was shocked to see even his father amongst the people who wereing up to him. He must''ve really worried them if he made him fly over here again before Christmas.


    He expected to be questioned and put on the spot about the events. But when his parents reached him, they looked for wounds all over his body, ensuring their son was fine before they embraced him.


    "Don''t worry us like that again!" Freya cried.


    When she was sure Kiro was fine, she moved on to Felix, checking if he was okay. Felix was ufortable with the whole thing, he was stiff and didn''t know how to react. But he didn''t hate having someone fuss over him like this.


    They were both d there wasn''t media around. Area 1 was great like that, none of them could enter without permission.


    Kiro knew he''d have to tell them something even if they don''t ask. He didn''t know how much to tell them exactly.


    "What exactly did they want?" Jes¨²s asked.


    They were all standing in a circle-like manner, in front of the Waynworth estate. Nobody wanted to really ask them, so Jes¨²s took the bullet for them.


    "They questioned us, wondering what we knew about the Sanctum." Kiro said, not taking his eyes off Jes¨²s, he was searching for something, anything that told him he was guilty.


    He couldn''t trust anybody rich, even if it meant they were the father of the woman he liked. He had to expose the society nheless.


    "The Sanctum? What the hell is that?" Sekani asked.


    Kiro didn''t immediately answer, as he was still having a stare down contest with his possible father-inw.


    "Beats me dad, that''s why they tortured us because we didn''t know but they didn''t believe that." Kiro shrugged finally letting up.


    They told the modified version of their truth. They were so much in sync that it surprised even both of them, they didn''t even discuss the story before hand but they were able to discern what to tell and what to leave out withoutmunicating at all.


    Hiro wished he was there with them. It was scary but it was also kind of exciting in his eyes. He didn''t know how he''d fair against them but he was convinced to start learning how to fight.


    Even Kiro had an irond resolve to learn more about fighting. They had a long and perilous road ahead of them. If they wanted to defeat the people who thought their world was a yground, they needed strength. He saw himself wishing he could be his avatar in real life.


    That would make everything easier for him. He shook his head to get rid of the dream that threatened to consume his thoughtspletely.


    They were sitting at the kerb while the adults talked about this incident and how to better avoid such situations in future. I softly caressed Kiro''s palm, it was surprisingly calming for him.


    "Was it scary? Doing all that?" I asked, vaguely.


    "Of course it was, but you have to realise, they were bad men. If we didn''t fatally attack first, they would''ve ended us." Kiro reassured her.


    He didn''t want her to think he was some kind of monster. He only punished the bad after all, couldn''t be that bad right?


    I wanted to cry thinking about it. Tonight could''ve been the day she lost Kiro. Waiting for her dad to approve him was something she no longer had the patience for. Kiro could tell how uneasey she felt.


    He didn''t know what to do, or how tofort her. So he started gentlybing her hair with his fingers. Hopefully it could tell her everything was okay now.


    "We don''t have to wait." She whispered to him.


    She was resting her head on his thigh. Not even looking at his face.


    "We can." Kiro whispered back in her ear which startled her a bit.


    He continued, "I know what just happened was scary, it made you question a lot of things but I''m not gonna die."


    "You can''t promise me that..." She trailed off.


    Kiro thought about it and he really couldn''t promise her that he wouldn''t die. He''d died once after all. He thought for a moment.


    "Then how about this, before we go back to school, I''ll talk to your dad, how''s that for apromise?"


    That made her turn her head towards him. Their foreheads met, she held onto his neck with a really beautiful smile.


    "Really?"


    "Really." He reassured her.


    ''you''re so damn beautiful.''


    The others were looking at the spectacle with a tinge of disgust.


    "Okay lovebirds, we''re still here." Hiromented.


    "I don''t want to hear that from you." Kiro shot back. He was dating Saanvi and didn''t even tell him.


    "How did the media even get ahold of our names?" Felix asked, more to himself.


    "My guess? The person who hired them leaked our names, to cause panic within our families and it worked." He said looking intently at his father.


    His brain started to put things together. ''What if we weren''t exactly the target, what if we were the distraction?''


    He looked around slowly zooming in each and every person who was on their street. Nobody seemed out of ce, nobody seemed to be snooping.


    ''Okay, don''t be so paranoid champ.'' He consoled himself.

 Chapter 222: At The Plant

    Sekani woke up early that morning to fly to his new employees. He was still concerned, but somehow he trusted Kiro to take care of their family while he was away.


    "Are you sure you don''t want to see them before you leave? You know how much Alora loves you around." Freya asked her husband unsure.


    He smiled and kissed her on the forehead, "She''ll be alright for a few days. I''ll be back before she notices and please, take care of yourselves." He emphasised looking at her belly.


    Freya smiled brushing her stomach and gave him a ''are you serious right now'' look. They both knew the first thing Alora would ask was ''where''s daddy.'' Sekani replied with more kisses then ran off to take care of business.


    He felt good and grateful to his son for giving him the opportunity to realise his dream that he was sure had died. He gave himself a mental note to thank his son when he next sees him.


    ''Now that I have money and standing, I could potentially look for my father.'' He thought to himself. ''Surely, they can''t bury me before I even act, since my family lives up there now?'' He wondered.


    He had three kidsing, that would add up to a whole half a dozen. And only one from his six kids knows his father, it was sad. Sad that this world took something so precious from their family.


    He never looked before fearing for his family, now that fear was slowly waning and he had a strong wish to look for his father, dead or alive he wanted to bring him home.


    He rode the jet with these thoughts swirling through his mind. There was a lot on his mind, not just one thing. A truly troubled man.


    When he got there, Wilfred told him to get some rest, he noticed he didn''t look so good. But he wanted to get things done immediately. There was no time to rest now, get the job done and restter.


    So he was ushered to a hall thousands of his employees upied. They had waited, that''s how much they needed the jobs. Everyone obviously caught wind of thewsuit, nobody knew how, so there were concerns amongst them.


    Sekani suspected that the kesons had something to do with leaking thewsuit to his people. He also knew that, the media outlets wouldn''t be allowed to run it, so he was rxed in that aspect.


    He took to the stands and stood in front of them, he looked at how worried and dishevelled they all seemed. They clearly hadn''t had a wink from the previous night.


    "They look so dead." He whispered to Philip.


    "You should''ve seen them yesterday, how are things at home?" He whispered back.


    "They''re good, doesn''t seem like keson''s have the guts to attack head on but I''m grateful for their cowardice nheless."


    Philip nodded, and pointed his eyes to the crowd. He turned to look at them once more, they looked like people who had lost theirst hope to live. It wasn''t pretty.


    "I''ll take questions if you have them, sorry for making you wait." He spoke in such amanding tone, it grabbed their undivided attention.


    Nobody wanted to ask. They were too used to rich people doing whatever they wanted, none of them wanted to offend him and risk getting fired before they even started. So they stared at him, their eyes and lips unmoving.


    "No one will get in trouble for asking, rest assured." He was too used to them, he was once one of them after all. He learned to keep his mouth shut to keep his job.


    That was the reality of their society. Even Philip lost his job for speaking up for himself, ended up on the streets for it too. The worldcked empathy. That was another thing Sekani wished to change.


    Apathy was the worst thing a society could have in his eyes.


    He looked around, they were all just looking at him not saying anything. He sighed. The mistrust ran deep after all, they wouldn''t just take his word for it. But he decided not to force them, he had already decided to be a different kind of boss.


    "I know you''ve heard about thewsuit, I won''t ask how. But I can assure you, we''ve done nothing wrong. We own the patent, they''re likely trying to scare us.


    "I want you guys to focus on nothing but your training. It''s crucial. We have to be done with this mass production within months. I want your all, your mental to be in this 100%."


    "Yes sir!" They all said at the same time.


    "Now, I want you to rest a bit. You''ll need to be focused for this next part." He told them as they nodded to him, "Come back next thing in the morning. You''ll being in as if you''ve already started, of course you''ll be paid."


    They filed out of the hall one by one. Going home for a full days rest. Their heavy burdens felt lighter, the concerns they had a minute ago had gone from their shoulders.


    They even had the energy to chat amongst themselves as they went.


    "He doesn''t seem like your typical rich guy." Onemented.


    "You''re right, I was so scared to even utter a single word but he seems alright."


    Over the next few days Sekani and Philip were in charge of training them in how to build the pods from scratch. It wasn''t too hard, since most of them had experience building electronics.


    Installing the software was a bit tricky, so they both decided they''d personally be doing that themselves. They couldn''t afford having problems with the software while they were already in stores.


    Wilfred was cleaners, cooks and security people. He was very strict, the people he taught often looked more tired than those who actually built the pods.


    "What do you do to them?" Sekani asked.


    "Light training." He smirked.


    [Breaking news, a kid from area one has been kidnapped. It''s said he was walking with his friend in the middle district when they were snatched off the road. Details are currently unknown... Wait, we''re getting something... We have names, Kiro Waynworth and Felix¡ª]

 Chapter 223: At The Plant, II

    "I heard that wrong, right?" He asked absentmindedly.


    "Sir, calm down." Wilfred tried to hold him down.


    His eyes looked crazed. Like an animal ready to kill anything in its way. For a split second, it scared even Wilfred. He''d seen a lot in his life, and those eyes, he''d never encountered those eyes in his life.


    "I''m calm, but I heard that wrong right?" He repeated like a broken record.


    Wilfred knew that, even if he tried to stop him from flying back, it wouldn''t work.


    "I''ll go with you." He offered himself up.


    "I need you right here."


    His voice was calm but chilling. Wilfred decided to not argue, he simply gave him his coat and he was gone like the very wind was chasing him. He couldn''t feel anything, he was numb.


    Wilfred watched dumbly as his strides surprised him. It hadn''t been long and his silhouette was out of view. He sighed deeply.


    ''I''d probably be the same way if it were LJ, I shouldn''t be too surprised. But that man, how is he so scary? I don''t smell any blood on him.''


    He pondered. He always had a kin nose for killers and Sekani, in that moment was as scary as one but he could tell he''d never killed before.


    "Nature is amazing." He chuckled to himself. "I''m d I took this job, I''m probably going to see things I''ve never seen." Hemented walking out of the office he was in.


    He walked into their temporary sleeping quarters. Philip was watching some cartoons asionallyughing like a maniac.


    "Aren''t you too old to be watching things kids watch?" He asked with a disgusted look on his face.


    "Old man, this isn''t for kids. Where''s pops? Don''t tell me he''s still working, he should take it easy once in a while, we''re ahead of schedule."


    He considered telling him the truth but he didn''t know how he''d react, for all he knew he''d run to the upper district leaving him here alone to manage the whole thing.


    "He had to step out for a while, he''ll be back." He answered, taking a seat besides him.


    A few hours passed and now Wilfred was watching too, heavily invested to the story. He noticed the show was too violent and moreplex in its story, it couldn''t have been for kids.


    In all his life, he never imagined he''d enjoy something like this.


    "See old man? I told you, this isn''t for kids." He said just as someone was getting sliced in half.


    "Indeed, young Sir."


    Wilfred got up from his seat to make some tea. He was old after all by his standards, and that''s something that was hisfort. He hadn''t taken a single sip when he heard noise from outside.


    "I''ll be back."


    Philip didn''t even look up, he didn''t want to risk missing anything.


    Wilfred walked around in the dark, his footsteps as quiet as an assassin''s. He could barely see in the dark, but he had been living here for over a week, he knew exactly where to walk so he didn''t run into machinery.


    "Hey, idiot, why did you make noise? There''s probably people inside."


    He heard whispering from outside the door.


    "It was an honest mistake, even if someone is there they couldn''t have heard. Just do your job and pick the lock." The other voice whispered back.


    If it was a normal person, they wouldn''t have been able to hear the conversation but Wilfred wasn''t an ordinary butler.


    "Pick the lock? What are you, a 21st century idiot?" The other asked, taking out a small device and moving it across the door. "It''s¡ªit''s not working."


    "So we came all the way for nothing?"


    Wilfred quietly unlocked the factory''s door, their security was top of the line. It couldn''t be broken into. But he still wanted to catch these two and question them if possible.


    "Try again."


    Just like that they were able to get in. They looked around, they were clearly after something, possibly the blueprints and the software. Or they were petty thieves that wanted to steal and sell the expensive machinery.


    They hadn''t walked far when Wilfred appeared behind the.


    "Good evening gentlemen."


    Shock hadn''t even left the pit of their stomachs when their heads smashed against each other and immediately losing consciousness.


    Wilfred picked them up, one on each shoulder. If he was the type, he''d be happily skipping to his torture chamber. He felt excited for the first time in a very long time.


    When they came to they were tightly tied up. Naked. Hanging from the ceiling.


    "Please, don''t kill us, we weren''t gonna do anything." One shouted at the brink of tears.


    "That will be the least of your worries, I reckon, when I''m done with you, you will be begging to die." Wilfred said innocently.


    There was only a hand drill where he had taken them. They were in the basement, so whatever screams that left their bodies would be unheard.


    "Do you use your right or left hand?" He asked them both.


    "Right hand." They answered quickly.


    After that, he didn''t ask them anything else. He went straight for another''s left ankle and started drilling. The shrill he let out scared the other one senseless. He passed out when the drill did its job, leaving him with nothing but a hole there.


    "So weak." Hemented with disgust in his voice.


    He started walking to the other one.


    "I''ll talk, what do you want to know!" He screamed the words.


    But it wasn''t the time for that now, Wilfred didn''t even consider his words and he started drilling again.


    "Philip, can you get my back to the basement?" He called. "You can pause your show."


    Philip groaned but hepiled. What he saw getting there made him dizzy, if he wasn''t a slum kid, he''d have emptied the contents in his stomach.


    "Old man? What the?"


    "Intruders. Probably sent by the same people that kidnapped Master Kiro¡ªdon''t tell him I called him that."


    "That''s what you''re worried about? Wait, kidnapped? Is that where pops is?"


    Wilfred didn''t answer him, as he took out his tools. Unwrapping all kinds of torture tools on the floor.


    The two woke up still wailing from the pain. Wilfred was getting started though, he gauged out an eye from each of them. Plucking out nails and teeth too.


    "keson. He sent us. Please. Stop. Please."


    They begged and begged but he didn''t let up. He intended to torture them into insanity. He wasn''t going to kill them, no. Making them lose their minds would be much worse.

 Chapter 224: At The Plant, III

    ''He''s crazy, but I guess they deserve it. How dare they kidnap my little bro.'' Philip thought to himself as he watched the gruesome scene happening in front of him.


    Both the intruders were no longer screaming now, they had screamed so much that they lost their voices in the process. The way Wilfred was unbothered by what he was doing made Philip realise he''d done this multiple times.


    He noticed instead of a crazed look on his face, he wore an elegant saddened smile. He couldn''t discern whether he was even enjoying what he was doing. But he was, Wilfred didn''t want to be consumed by the demon within him, it was just his way of not forgetting his humanity.


    His bag had all sorts of crazy tools, including ones to pump blood. To ensure the ones being tortured didn''t die from blood loss.


    ''I''ve never seen someone so prepared to torture in my life.''


    While he had left that life behind, when Sekani ordered him to investigate his family''s past, he reckoned he''d need them so he took them out once again, he became that person once again.


    "What are we gonna do with the bodies?" Philip asked, breaking the silence of dripping blood.


    "What bodies? I''m not going to kill them." He said not looking up once.


    Philipined that they''d talk once they release them. Wilfred exined what his intentions were, after that he had nothing to say, he was simply lost for words that anybody was capable of taking someone''s sanity away.


    The torturing took hours. Philip then saw something amazing, Wilfred was cleaning them up, patching them nicely.


    "What the hell?"


    "It''s so they don''t die, I want them to live long enough to suffer and know the world doesn''t care for them one bit. Are you sure you''re as smart as Master Waynworth says?"


    "Huh¡ªI, of course I am." He stuttered as if not believing in his intellect anymore.


    "Well then, help me clean this up. We can''t let Master see such a mess."


    "Are we hiding this from pops?"


    "Not really, I''ll tell him there were thieves sent by keson and I took care of it. No need for all the details."


    Philip quit pestering him with questions and started cleaning up. The blood made puddles on the floor like it was raining, he didn''t mind doing dirty work but this in particr made him feel like a henchman and he didn''t like that.


    He vowed to never be left alone with Wilfred again, this job wasn''t for him. He''d seen worse but he couldn''t help but gag asionally.


    "You missed a spot." Wilfred said as he was done with the thieves.


    "Yes sir." Philip answered mechanically.


    They drove to the streets of the lower district with two guests at the back who were still like a bunch of mannequins. They seemed so out of ce that they''d forgotten how to speak. And it would be like that for a while for them.


    Philip knew all the bad spots around here this was once his home after all. So he was directing him where to go. Wilfred didn''t protest, he was confident that he knew every inch of Sanctauri. He didn''t want to make the kid absolutely useless in the matter, so he let him lead.


    They dumped them in a very dirty alleyway. They didn''t even react, that''s how broken mentally they were.


    Philip grabbed a few beers on their way back. He had to wash away the stench of it all with alcohol, he always thought himself to be tough, but now, Wilfred had showed him his limits.


    The next day, workers filed into the factory. It was of course cleaned, nothing was amiss, it was as if this wasn''t a torture house just a few hours ago. Philip didn''t get enough sleep, and he already had to oversee the workers. But he wasn''tining, it was his job after all.


    A call came from Sekani right that morning.


    "How are things going there?"


    "There were intrudersst night, courtesy of keson." He chose to be direct about the matter.


    "Don''t tell me..."


    "Yes Master Waynworth, they used the kidnapping as a cover toe here and steal, possibly burn the ce to the ground." He paused, to let him savour the news.


    Sekani pinched his nose, he''d told Wilfred never to call him a master, they weren''t ves just employees. He''d told him so many times, that he was giving up at this point.


    "Then, is the nt okay?"


    "Of course, I took care of them."


    "By that you mean?"


    "I took care of them, Master Waynworth." That''s all he was willing to say.


    Sekani understood that he didn''t want him implicated. Should the keson''se around knocking, demanding justice, Sekani would have deniability.


    "I understand Wilfred, thank you for taking care of things while I was away. Kiro got away fine by the way, you won''t believe what they did to get away..."


    Sekani told him the story, of how the two boys were tortured and managed to get themselves loose, killing their kidnappers.


    Wilfred couldn''t help butugh. The parallels were just too great to be a coincidence. Sekani watched with great interest from the other side as he''d never seen Wilfredugh before.


    ''I may have underestimated Master Kiro. Now the eyes from his father make more sense to me. The apple doesn''t fall far from the tree.'' He thought to himself.


    He noticed that his master was looking at him strangely, he quicklyposed himself.


    "Sorry sir, I''m just surprised is all. Master Kiro is quite resourceful isn''t he."


    Sekani nodded in agreement.


    "LJ is doing fine too by the way. We offered for her to stay at the main house but she refused, stating she was old enough and can take care of herself." Sekani smiled as he said.


    "Kids... So sorry for her insolence master, she''s still young. She doesn''t know a lot about our world."


    "Nonsense. Let her be. I''ll be arriving shortly, please continue to look over our business there."


    Like that he dropped the call. Which left Wilfred wondering what he ever did to deserve such a good boss that epted his silly granddaughter wholeheartedly.

 Chapter 225: First Official

    Kiro slept like a baby that night. Even though he chose the floor, giving Felix his bed. That''s just how he was taught, you treat guests better.


    He would''ve minded if the floor wasn''t so soft andfortable to sleep on though. It had only been a couple of months, but he was too used to his soft beds now. He couldn''t even imagine how his previous one felt.


    He wasn''t going to pry but he guessed why Felix needed time away from the ck estate. Now that he had money, he could afford to buy himself and his father a house. But that would feel like he was leaving Niki behind.


    That''s how deep his loyalty ran.


    He also knew that Niki wouldn''t want to leave the estate, that''s where his mother died, that''s where she was buried. He wouldn''t mind taking him with wherever he wanted to buy the house, but he had every problem with leaving behind with just his father.


    He was lying on the bed, thinking about this. Even though he was away from them, for a whole day, he still hadn''t reached a decision. He sighed deeply, he didn''t mean to but it filled the room.


    "If you''re awake, make my bed." Kiro told him.


    "I''m a guest, shouldn''t you make it for me?" He asked with a stupid smile on his face.


    Kiro simply threw a pillow which hit him square on the face. While he could''ve easily avoided it, he was too tired from thinking to try.


    "Doesn''t the hired help clean your rooms and make your beds? I mean even if you were originally from the lower district, surely you want to be treated like royalty."


    "Not in this household. Everyone is responsible for their own space. Also, do you always talk this much in the mornings?" Kiro mocked him.


    He simply smiled and mimed a thank you. He got up and made the bed. They went down for breakfast, and Felix ate it like he was being starved.


    Kiro was checking his phone under the table as they were strictly forbidden on the table while they ate by his mother. He was lucky she was still asleep, as days neared to the birth of their siblings her sleep routines have gotten longer.


    Their dungeon video had gotten a lot of attention. The good mostly, but there were bad ones using them of using cheats though they couldn''t exin how.


    "Are you on talkalot? Hehe, they im we cheated on ourst dungeon run."


    "Idiots." That''s all Felix could manage, he was having the best breakfast of his life.


    It wasn''t like he was starved where he came from but they didn''t cook this amazing. Alora came down, already bathed by Vada for the day.


    She ran to Kiro''s side and whispered,  "who''s this?"


    While it wasn''t Felix''s first timeing to the estate, they came inte. So they never really met Alora. Andst night, she was sound asleep.


    "That''s rude Freckles, why don''t you ask him yourself?"


    So, that''s what she did. She was frightened by him, but she gathered her courage and asked.


    "I''m Felix, nice to finally meet you Alora."


    She came closer as if she was inspecting an exotic species known to have gone extinct. She was also greatly fascinated by his bandages. She thought he was handsome.


    "Why do you have those on your arms?" She asked innocently.


    "That''s because, I''m a mummy." He said, dramatically putting his arms out to grab her.


    She ran out of there while screaming and giggling. Screaming for Loki toe help her.


    "Cute kid."


    "A handful too."


    All that morning, Alora would follow them around in the shadows, at least that''s what she thought.


    "Dude, if my sister has a crush on you I''m gonna kill you."


    Felix simply threw his hands in the air in resignation. They were waiting for Raul to take Felix home.


    Kiro was still busy on his phone, he was creating a file that could only be opened by buying it with in-game coins. It was information about the Wintry dungeon. People would love this one, as it was great for anyone who wanted to level up.


    He posted the document on their website then shared it on his talkalot ount to gain more downloads, meaning more money.


    Felix left. He told him at what time they should all login so they could talk about business.


    They were seated in their meeting hall in-game. Ishaan was runningte, as usual. They had started training and heined about sore muscles a lot.


    "Ishaan will just catch up, I don''t even know which side he''s on anyway." Kiromented on his tardiness.


    "What exactly happened? Felix didn''t exactly fill me in on this." Niki asked.


    Kiro yed out the exact events that happened, leading up to them murdering the two guys.


    "Area 51? Of course there''s another area, why didn''t we think of that!" Hiro cried out.


    "But guys, I know the maps, I''ve double checked even, there''s no freend within Sanctauri." Kiro said, trying to let him down gently.


    "So, then, outside?" Niki threw the theory on the table.


    Though they all shook their heads. There was nothing out there but barrennds. They had seen them, at least what the government had told them.


    "Maybe they''re lying?" Hiro tried to get them back on track.


    "But why would they? It makes no sense, there''s too many unknown variables. Let''s say we go there and they didn''t actually lie, wouldn''t the air there kill us?" Kiro was trying to be the rational one, even though he wanted to go and check it out.


    He wasn''t willing to take that risk. He hasn''t been with his family long enough, they came first to him, he didn''t want them to be taken away from him, should he die.


    "Kiro is right, we shouldn''t go there blind. Let''s gather information first, to know enough that the air beyond Sanctuari isn''t toxic." Felix let his thoughts known finally.


    "But how?" Both Niki and Hiro asked, almost at the same time.


    Kiro thought for a moment.


    "I think, I might know someone."


    The eyes were all on him now, waiting in anticipation for him to reveal the mysterious someone he knew.

 Chapter 226: Hard Truths

    The doors to their meeting flew open, revealing Ishaan from the other side.


    "Sorry I''mte, are you guys okay? I only heard this morning, I was worried sick."


    "What do you know about the Sanctum, Ishaan?" Kiro asked him, looking dead in the eyes.


    "Wh-what? do you mean..."


    "Holy hell Ishaan! You do know!" Niki chimed in.


    "Why didn''t you tell us?"


    Ishaan had a genuine confused expression on his face. He was also a little lost for words, nobody should know what the Sanctum was but a few people. So few it was only their fathers and the children they''ve chosen to take over for them once they''ve left.


    Niki and Hiro were just about ready to pound him, they''d gotten up from their seats with crazed looks on their eyes. Ishaan wasn''t fast enough as he was still in his state of confusion.


    They however froze just as they were about to reach him, Ishaan already had his eyes closed shut ready to receive the blow. Kiro used vibrations to specifically stun the both of them.


    "Both of you calm down, Ishaan exin." He had to be the calm leader.


    "I was told never¡ª" When he saw Kiro''s eyes, he decided to betray his father, they already knew anyway. "But, it''s a stupid club for rich people. They just go there to discuss which new businesses they should endorse.


    "They basically n out everything, so that they never go into wars with each other. Whatever is decided in those meetings, is final. That''s all. I''m supposed to take over for my dad once he''s too old."


    Kiro then let the two hotheads go. Instead of embarrassment they both had a defiant look on their faces, as if to say ''speak sooner if you have nothing to do with them.''


    "So their sons are pawns who know nothing about the evil side of the Sanctum?" Felix asked finally joining the conversation.


    "We can''t assume that, Isaac''s father probably hasn''t told him everything because he knows his son is a bragger." Kiro said thoughtfully.


    "The evil side¡ªwha-what do you mean?" Ishaan was obviously very confused.


    They didn''t mean to do it but theypletely ignored Ishaan. They were talking amongst themselves, not whispering, he could hear them clearly he just couldn''t make sense of what they were saying. His father? In cahoots with evil people? That wasn''t possible in his eyes.


    "Hey, you can''t just ignore me!" He shouted.


    That grasped their attention. Kiro sighed looking at him, he felt sorry for Ishaan. He was an only child, he only had his father as his family. Now he was possibly going lose him to this.


    "Well, then the thing is Ishaan..." Kiro started.


    He tried letting him down gently, he started narrating everything they knew and were hoping to achieve. Ishaan almost didn''t believe them, but when they told him the reason for their kidnapping he was forced to rethink what he was told by his father.


    He sat there, dumbly unbelieving of the atrocities the Sanctum, his father''s pride, were being used of. He wanted to believe his father was innocent. His reaction was normal, no child wants to believe their parents were evil beings.


    "I can''t believe it..."


    Kiro patted his back, sitting him down. He could understand, more or less his pain. He couldn''t imagine how distraught he''d be if one of his loved was actually a bad guy.


    "There''s no way... I have to ask him..."


    Kiro only gave him a slight tap on the cheek but it sounded throughout the meeting hall. Jerking everyone''s attention to him.


    "Hey, howe you get to beat him!" Nikiined.


    "Listen to me, Ishaan," He started, ignoring Niki and holding Ishaan''s neck so he could look him in the eye.


    "If you breathe any of this to anyone, at all, for whatever reason. You''ll be an enemy of after dark and when do take down the Sanctum, we will not be meeting you as an old friend. I don''t know what will happen but it won''t be pretty. So, think very carefully about who you want to be allied with."


    Ishaan truly heard and understood Kiro, the shock hadn''tpletely clouded his judgement.


    "But he''s my dad..." He said softly.


    "He''s your dad so he gets a pass? Hiro doesn''t have a dad right, he''s missing because of the shenanigansmitted by the Sanctum. My grandfather has been missing for 10 years, his body has never been found. Do you truly think the status quo is right as is?" Kiro was now getting angry, Ryu was egging him on.


    "I understand you Kiro I do..."


    "If you wouldn''t like to participate, that''s fine just don''t get in our way." Kiro shrugged with finality.


    "No..." He said and paused for the longest time, "I''m his son, I''ll clean up his mess. Count me in, I''ll find out what I can."


    Kiro silently looked at him, his eyes were unwavering, his voice was resolute. They had unwittingly gained a 5th man for their mission, that made him happier.


    He didn''t want to lose none of them he''d grown fond of the after dark members and he wanted to keep it like that.


    Ding!


    [Not to interrupt the emotional meeting but a harbinger is currently wrecking Havoc at the capital all guardians shall be transported there immediately. Kill it or suffer the consequences]


    Everyone in the room except Ishaan started glowing and they were gone. He hadn''t heard the message so he started panicking as his teammates disappeared before they could even fill him in about what was going on.


    They arrived at the scene instantaneously. Every yer that wasn''t a guardian was locked out of the game, which caused an uproar in the forums.


    "Sh*tty game, this is a sh*tty, I''ve always known that much."


    "Anybody know why we can''t login?"


    "I was fighting a boss monster too! They better reimburse me for this!"


    Theints poured in like rain on a summer''s afternoon. But nobody answered their cries, they had no idea that some yers were stuck there fighting to keep Asgard safe.

 Chapter 227: Guardians of Asgard

    Kiro looked around and saw a creature that resembled the araknids of the Underworld. Only it was bigger and it felt a lot stronger, it was indiscriminately destroying the NPCs and buildings around.


    "What''s going on?" I asked, she was also in the middle of levelling up when they were transported here without much warning.


    "Isaac and Ursa? This day just keeps getting better doesn''t it. What the hell are they doing here!" Kiro was livid.


    Isaac simply smirked. Ursa was standing far away from him, they were clearly not on speaking terms.


    Ding!


    [You are all guardians fighting amongst yourselves isn''t going to achieve anything. As guardians you have one job, getting rid of harbingers around Asgard, whether you like each other is irrelevant.]


    The system chimed in, Kiro wasn''t having it. None of them were willing to cooperate with a weasel like Isaac. By the looks of it, he wasn''t willing to fight with them either. He instead charged alone.


    Kiro looked at him incredulously, hoping he''d receive a deathblow from the go. He''d clearly learned a few skills sincest they fought, otherwise he wouldn''t be so confident to think he''d take it alone.


    He was however swatted to the side like the bug he was. That made Kiro happy a little, as hemanded his group to charge forward. They had no time to waste.


    I was already shooting her arrows that were proving to be useless, Saanvi and Felix were ready to heal. It was too bad Ishaan wasn''t here with his shield to protect their two healers.


    She started with the mana arrows, they were much better. They dealt damage that they could actually notice.


    Kiro arrived first, with Ryu in hand, he hit the thing on the chin. It flew upwards from the strike, he was already up there with bending kick, striking it down, sending it to his teammates.


    Niki had his poison des, he was ready he jumped. Not having the patience to wait for it toe to him, he sliced it''s arms, notpletely just enough for the poison to seep in.


    On the ground it met with Hiro''s shield. He pounded it like a pancake to the ground. It disappeared where it was and headed straight for their healers.


    Felix was no pushover, he whipped his scepter turning it into the chains that wrapped around the araknid and mmed it down to the ground.


    Kiro was already there with his fierce punch that threatened to put a hole on its chest but it managed to roll out of the way. It again disappeared from where it stood, aiming for the Isaac that it couldnd an attack on.


    He surprised everyone when he produced aura they could see. It was on his fists, he managed to dodge the attack, punching the creature meters away from where he stood. It hit a nearby building, wrecking itpletely.


    Ursa was also an archer, she didn''t let up. Her mana arrows zoomed with the wind, reaching the harbinger before it wrecked the building.


    "Leader, should we heal them?"


    "Don''t."


    Kiro was petty. He didn''t understand the consequences should they fail to kill the harbinger yet. Above everything, he didn''t feel like they needed the two of them, they seemed to be handling it seamlessly.


    "Hiro, stay behind and protect our healers. Niki, let''s go."


    They didn''t want to let it have a single breath of fresh air. It hadn''t even gotten up and they were already there, having cornered it.


    Kiro threw his wind des using whirlwind, giving it multiple cuts on its body. It was too strong to turn it into mince.


    "You lot are a strong bunch, I should''ve brought more of us. My arrogance will be my undoing. Curse you Qamata, you''ve prepared well." It said for the first time ever, the others hadn''t expected the monster to speak, even though Kiro had told them they could.


    Before they knew it, it was right in front of Niki. It punched hard in the gut, he flew a couple of steps back butnded on his feet. The rubble around created bits of shadows, he started using them to attack.


    He appeared here and there, attacking the harbinger. All his attacksnded. It didn''t matter where it ran to, he was there as the shadows around carried him.


    Kiro didn''t even bother using vibrations. He knew it wouldn''t work. This one was far stronger than the queen, but so was he. And he had a whole team this time.


    Isaac triednding hits but they were all dodged, he was on the slower side. The first punch hended must''ve been because it took him for granted, therefore surprised even it.


    I was back there, ontop of a building. Waiting for the right time to attack. She kept feeding magic to the arrow, instead of it growing bigger, it was growing denser by the second, she however didn''t shoot right away. She wanted to get just right.


    This required a lot of patience and concentration from her. She noticed that her teammates had surrounded the harbinger and it was right in the middle.


    She breathed, letting the arrow go. It was faster than anything she''d ever witnessed with her own eyes. It connected beautifully, hitting it straight in the head, causing a bigger explosion than before.


    The araknid''s head spaghettified, as if it had entered a ck hole before exploding. Leaving it''s brains raining on her teammates.


    "Bullseye." She shouted excitedly.


    "You did that on purpose didn''t you?" Kiro shouted back, wiping his face that was smeared with araknid grey matter.


    She didn''t answer, she simply smiled at him with a naughty innocent smile.


    Kiro took a few strides towards the body. He didn''t trust that it was dead, with just his hand he was able to break through its chest, squeezed its heart, which exploded within seconds.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions guardians. You''ve conquered your first mission and gotten rid of a being that threatened the existence of Asgard. You shall be rewarded with 10 levels, 50k coins and herbs worth 500k coins.]


    [World Announcement: Congrattions to Kiro of After Dark for being the first yer to reach 100 levels. This will be recorded in the hall of fame.]

 Chapter 228: A Stilled Heart

    "That''s it? That''s the great power of a harbinger?" Niki mocked.


    "Pipe down, it was his blunder this time. Are you confident we can take an army of those things?" Kiro reprimanded him.


    Niki shrugged. He couldn''t hide his disappointment. He had expected the fight to be as grueling and exciting as the one Kiro had vs the Queen.


    "Most importantly, system why the f*ck would you give those two true blood potions?"


    Ding!


    [I''m not your personal search bar for answers, guardian. I didn''t give them anything, it''s up to ones luck whether one finds these or not. Shut up and do your job.]


    Kiro wished he could get a moment with the system, so he could pummel it into ground beef. Ursa and Isaac started walking towards them, they clearly hadn''t the slightest clue about harbingers before this.


    He was a bit mad that the system didn''t transport them back where they were. The system was just all sorts of disrespectful.


    Then, like magic, the fallen rubble started moving on its own. Inserting themselves on the fall buildings, slowly the buildings started to rise once again.


    "I know what I did was wrong..."


    "You do, do you? Great job." Kiro dismissed her before she could inflict her poison.


    "I''m really sorry doing what I did, I do regret it even if it seems I don''t. I''m not asking us to be friends or anything like that, but it seems we have to work together anyway." Ursa finished her thoughts, she didn''t let Kiro deter her.


    "You have some nerve." I chimed in, putting herself between Ursa and Kiro, as if to protect him from her poisonous words.


    She was a bit weak from thest attack, he noticed that much but he let her do as she pleased.


    "I''m not asking for forgiveness," she was now directly speaking to I. "I know what¡ª"


    "Maybe you do know, but I don''t think you understand the repercussions of your actions had you seeded." She looked her up and down and then at Isaac with contempt. "None of you do."


    "I¡ª"


    I had already formed her mana arrow, aiming right at them. She didn''t think they should trust them, they were too self-centred to care about anybody else but themselves. That''s what she believed.


    "You aren''t weed in this space!" She shouted.


    Isaac, like the coward he was, was the first one to log out. Ursa followed shortly after. I''s arrow decipated into thin air before she fell, in Kiro''s arms.


    "Are you okay?" He asked concerned.


    "I am now. Just a bit tired." She smiled a little.


    She was being held by her favourite person, of course she was okay to an extent. Kiro couldn''t help but chuckle. He''d really gained am exquisite partner, he wasn''t sure how to really keep her happy but he''d grown up in a household with two parents that were madly in love even after a decade of marriage. How hard could it be?


    "Saanvi, your friend is dying here, why aren''t you doing anything?"


    "Right..." She started healing her.


    "You''re pretty careless, you almost went into aa because you drained your mana." He whispered to her, ying with her hair a bit.


    "It was worth it, I think." She smiled blissfully, as this was a kind of heaven for her.


    It didn''t take much time, just several minutes for the capital to be back in its original state. But it was a ghost city, no NPCs or yers on sight.


    When he checked the system and what he could do in-game, there was only one option, which was to log out.


    "Well, that''s a bummer, having this world to ourselves, to do as we please would''ve been great." Kiro said as I was done being healed.


    They decided to all log out, there was nothing to be done after all. The game was going through a patch.


    When he got out of the game his phone was blowing up, he had over 50 missed calls from Ishaan and just as many messages asking what was up, whether they were okay. He called him to ease his nerves.


    It was already their time for the afternoon training so he didn''t tell him a lot, he figured they''d talk while doing sets. They lived far apart, especially with Niki and Felix.


    So their ingenious idea was that, they''d use their own house gyms, while on call with each other, to ensure everyone was doing their day''s work.


    They did this from 5 in the morning to 7 and from 4 in the afternoon until 7. They all told Ishaan what happened, which made him more left out of the group. He didn''t feel like he was part of after dark unless he was also a guardian.


    "Don''t worry, I have a potion recipe for it. I''ve been working on creating one thest couple of days." Hiro told him, trying to console him.


    "Oh and Ishaan, I don''t know if we''ve said this already but speaking about that thing in real life is strictly forbidden." Kiro told him.


    He simply nodded, as if that lit a fire under him, he started to do everything faster than the rest. They didn''t ask him to slow down, instead they worked harder to catch up to him. They understood his pain after all.


    After the workout, Kiro asked them if they wanted to tag along as he had to check out their headquarters, he received a message that afternoon that it was finished.


    They all passed, Ishaan wasn''t in the mood. The other two were busy with other things, only Hiro agreed to apany him. He didn''t take that as a loss, he understood they had lives, especially with Ishaan, he had a lot on his mind.


    "Well you guys, we''ll see each other soon. We should prepare for the guild wars next month, it''s going to be a lot of work. I''d prefer we didn''t choose a strong or already known guild."


    They dismissed themselves. Freya had her concerns letting her son out of the house after the incident, but Kiro managed to calm her down. He''d have to leave for school after all, they can''t keep him there forever.

 Chapter 229: Dreams Can Be Reality

    "Can''t I go with you?" Alorained.


    "I''ll take you to the mall when Ie back, this is a bit dangerous for you. You should stay here, protect mum and Loki." Kiro told her.


    She puffed her chest, proud that she was left in charge of protecting their household. That made her look so cute, Kiro couldn''t help but hug her.


    Hiro walked up to their house, he was being followed by Saanvi, I and his siblings. His siblings wanted toe over and y with their respective friends. Yuri with LJ and Loki, Isao with Alora.


    "I hope you don''t mind, when I mentioned where I''d be going today, Saanvi wanted toe."


    Kiro simply shrugged, giving him a naughty smile.


    "Don''t even..." Hiro wanted to wipe the smile off his face.


    "I didn''t say anything." Heughed.


    Raul offered to drive them. They took a bigger car that could fit 4 people at the back. Snow still gued the ground but the sun was out, so much that they weren''t wearing muchyers. Jeans and sweaters, all of them.


    "Thank you Raul, I know how much you wanted to stay in today." Kiro would never stop treating him decently, even though this was his job.


    "That''s alright M-Sir Kiro." He corrected himself when Kiro gave him a stern look.


    Raul prayed to whichever god that would listen, he wanted today to be very uneventful, he still had guilt from the other night.


    Alora came running, "I!" They had met at Kiro''s birthday party, and she took a liking to her. She''d never seen a pretty girl like her before she imed.


    "Little Princess!" I took her off the ground, giving her an embraced.


    "Ki doesn''t want me to go with you." She pouted.


    I put on a pretend thinking face, "we are going far, how about this, when wee back I''ll take you out?" She understood the fear of not wanting his younger siblings to be out of the estate at the moment.


    She wrapped her arms around her neck, giving her another embrace. "Deal!" She gave a toothy grin.


    They were already in the car, it was speeding towards the headquarters. Raul even closed off himself so he didn''t see or hear whatever they were doing at the back. He smiled like an idiot thinking about it.


    ''A double date huh? Go Master Kiro!'' He rooted for him silently.


    Kiro realised then he hadn''t told I about the Sanctum, but that wasn''t something that should be discussed there. He was sure though, that her father was a part of it.


    He promised himself to protect her from him if needed. He only hoped, I would choose the good side. But from the time they''d spent with each other, he was sure she would.


    They were seated on the same row, deciding to put a film while they travelled. TVs in cars were installed on the seats, the entire seat became a virtual screen. The windows were tinted, so no sunlight got in, they could watch perfectly.


    I was cosily lying on his chest, making him breathe unevenly because he wasn''t used to things like that. She had chosen the film they were watching but she dozed off.


    As soon as the game was yable again, she went back in and gamed some more, so she didn''t have enough of sleep when Saanvi woke her up in the morning.


    Before they knew it, they had arrived but I hadn''t woken up. Kiro told them they could walk around and check the ce out, he''d wait until she woke up. He could tell she was tired.


    He felt like a creep watching her sleep so he drowned in his own thoughts. About everything that was happening and how he could hopefully put an end to it.


    Then it hit him, the memory the game made him remember, when his grandfather gave him the ne, it never had a padlock.


    He wrecked his brains trying to remember where he had gotten it and why he decided to put it there and nothing came to him. So he called his father on a whim.


    He tried his best to hide the girl sleeping on his chest but Sekani could see a piece of hair that was barely visible.


    "Dad, where did I get this?" He asked holding out his ne.


    "Your grandfather of course." He answered confused why his son asked him the most obvious thing.


    "I mean the padlock dad, please I don''t remember how it got here. I remember grandpa giving me this, but I don''t remember the padlock being a part of it." He said as silently as he could, it was a wonder Sekani heard him at all.


    "About a month before he disappeared, he came over to see us and said it was originally part of the ne, he just had been fixing it up. Why is it important?"


    "I don''t know. Thanks..." Before he ended the call, I started snoring.


    "Ki, are you¡ª" He dropped the call before he could even ask.


    He didn''t know why, but he was just embarrassed. His parents weren''t all that strict, but he still didn''t want them to see him do such things.


    He held out the padlock, examining it but he couldn''t find anything about it that was particr. He still prodded it, believing maybe it was some kind of clue but nothing happened. That''s when he felt something wet on his chest.


    "She drools and snores? I Silva isn''t perfect after all." He chuckled, it was strange but that made him feel closer to her.


    That woke her up. She quickly wiped it away, staring at Kiro intently. "If you tell anyone about this I''ll kill you Kiro Waynworth."


    "About what? The drooling or the snoring?" He saidughing.


    She looked at him smiling in defeat. She''s been told she snored, but she always fought that im with all her might, but she couldn''t find the words now.


    "It''ll be our little secret." Kiro smirked.


    That earned him a kiss on the cheek. "So will this." Which made him blush.


    They got out of the car, joining their friends to take a good look at the newly built headquarters, it was as tall as the other buildings. It had a blue colour about it, windows and all.


    The inside was even better, it was already ready for people to move in and work. The lobby,puters, furniture, everything was already installed.


    "They sure work fast." Hemented, pulling out his phone to show his dad his dream that had be a reality.

 Chapter 230: A Day At The Mall

    The next day, Kiro and I did as they promised by taking Alora out. I had never had a younger sibling, she was a younger sibling, so this was a nice change of pace for her.


    They ran up and down the entire ce, Alora wanted a bit of everything. She dug deeper into both of their personal bank ounts. Kiro wasn''tining, his sister deserved the entire world in his eyes.


    He felt sorry for I though, she found herself buying her stuff. Alora was the princess who decided who buys her what next.


    "Ki, buy me this ce." She said with an enchanting voice.


    So enchanting Kiro almost said okay.


    ''Dangerous!'' He thought to himself.


    "We can''t, Hiro owns this entire ce!"


    "So Hiro does, I''ll ask him to give it to me for my birthday!" She thought that was the smartest idea in the world.


    "He''s more likely to give it to Isao." Kiro said chuckling, but stopped realising he''d done more damage. "But he might give it to you, both of you." He amended.


    That put her in a better mood, as she skipped ahead of them. She felt like a princess and this entire ce was her pce.


    Kiro noticed before it even happened. But his feet weren''t fast enough to carry him there. A man in a rush bumped into Alora, sending her to the ground. He didn''t even stop to look whether she was okay.


    Kiro was livid, but took sce in the fact that he was walking straight for them. He didn''t even stop him to ask, he nted his right fist on his nose, sending him to the ground.


    I had already ran ahead to ensure Alora was alright.


    The man''s nose was bleeding, it looked like Kiro had broken it.


    "What the hell is wrong with you, nutcase?" The man asked, pinching his nose to make it hurt less.


    "I''m a nutcase? Don''t make me punch you again, you bump into little girls and don''t even show them any courtesy. Who the f*ck raised you?" He was beyond angry, he wanted to go for another punch but didn''t want Alora seeing him like that.


    "Apologise to her!" I demanded.


    "Bi¡ª"


    The word hadn''tpletely left his mouth, Kiro''s fist made him swallow it. As much as he didn''t want to be violent in front of Alora, he also didn''t want her to think people could walk all over her as they pleased without consequences.


    The man spat a mouthful on the really clean floor, he put his hand up in the air as if to shield himself from the monster in front of him.


    "I''m sorry okay? I''m sorry!"


    Security was already at the scene. They, by now knew who Kiro was so they apologised on the guys behalf too. Asking whether they would like him to be banned from the mall.


    "That''s alright, but he should clean this up."


    The man got up, his pride squashed. He''d originally been so confident because he was from around here, but not in Area One. He usually strutted around the mall as if he owned it because his family had a designer shop squatting in one of the plots.


    When he heard the security threaten to ban him for these people, he quickly became obedient.


    "Spineless." Kiro mumbled.


    "Are you okay?" I could tell his knuckles were a bit bruised.


    "Dammit, punching in-game isn''t this painful." He said massaging his knuckles. "Are you okay Freckles? I''m sorry you had to witness this."


    "I''m not a kid, he''s a bad man!" She proimed. Even though she scraped a knee she acted brave and tough. She was a kid who was used to harsher conditions after all, it''d take a lot to dumpen her mood.


    Even after that incident, she continued to drag them throughout the mall. Kiro left the guy to the security trusting them to make him finish his punishment.


    On their ride home, I was rubbing some stuff on Kiro''s knuckles, even though he told her, he was fine. She didn''t believe his tough guy act, and applied the medicine. Something she always carried around in case of emergencies.


    The car was full with everything Alora bought. She fell asleep on Kiro, it had been a very long day after all.


    "She''s really nice, makes me want to have kids at this point in my life." Imented almost a whisper.


    "You want kids? Today was fun, but imagine today, being every day!" Kiro countered, he wasn''t sure yet he wanted kids.


    "You''re such a big baby. With Alora as my child, everyday would be an adventure."


    Kiro shook his head, he couldn''t believe how naive I was when it came to this. He was about to argue but stopped himself when he remembered she was thest born, therefore never had the burden of taking care of younger siblings.


    "You''ll find out, soon enough." He said with more confidence than he had.


    "Oh yeah, you''re the one who''s going to make me find out?" She joked.


    "So what if I am?" He didn''t know where this was going but he wasn''t going to stop it.


    I turned red, she was saved by the car having arrived at her house. She quickly hopped out of the car.


    "Tell her I had fun today because of her." She walked away, not waiting for an answer. Kiro watched until she was inside her estate and told Raul to drive them home.


    "Why did you leave me behind?" Loki enquired seeing everything Alora bought, it may have as well been the entire mall.


    Kiro clicked his tongue, "Freckles loves me and respects me, what about you?"


    "I¡ªdo that too."


    Kiro lightlyughed, because Loki blushed as he said this. He''d nned to open up an ount for him and give him a monthly allowance, since he''s starting school next year, he''ll need it amongst rich kids.


    "Ki my baby boy, we need to talk."


    Kiro knew she wanted something, when she used such soft words to melt him, making him want to agree before she even said anything else.

 Chapter 231: Blakeson Estate

    Gilbert sat at his study, with a drink in hand. Bottles littered the floor, this had been his way of coping thesest couple of days. Nothing seemed to go his way ever since his son brought the Waynworth troubles into their household. Everything was going swimmingly before he learned of this ursed surname.


    The table had papers all over it but he was seated on the couch. He was someone who loved the cold but he found himself liking fires recently, he foundfort in the warmth. He didn''t know if he was going senile with age.


    He didn''t waste any time nting his seeds on the women he chose to be his. The estate was once again full of life, he didn''t quite like that.


    He never thought it was a problem, but he''d always been attracted to women he''s never touched. Once he was done doing what he wanted, his interest waned.


    The same way they were waning regarding his son. He wasn''t useful to him anymore, he had no use for him anymore. If he didn''t have his blood, he''d be d to get rid of him.


    He sighed deeply, taking a sip from his ss. He was waiting for good news, this time, he was sure he''d y his cards right. Nothing could possibly go wrong.


    That didn''t stop him from getting nervous, he was losing a lot these days. Nothing was going his way. None of the people he had sent out were answering their phones, which made him more paranoid.


    There was a knock on the door. He didn''t say anything for a while and ordered them to enter after a few minutes. He was visibly annoyed when one of the women that were now living in his house entered the room.


    "What do you want?" He asked, not hiding that he was annoyed.


    "Dinner is ready, honey."


    He cringed at thest word, he didn''t know why people insisted on calling their partners with pet names. Maybe he was the peculiar one, but to him, women existed only to please men. Therefore he thought it was unnecessary for them to try more than he asked.


    "I''m not hungry." He said dismissively and obsessively stared at his phone.


    "You haven''t eaten in days, you should at least eat something. We don''t want you dying on us." She said with a warm smile, she was used to his erratic behaviour, she also quite liked it.


    "Vivia¡ª"


    "Please don''t call me like that." She demanded.


    This woman''s nature was both a sore thorn on the side and attractive to him, he didn''t know which side won him over. She was also the first woman who didn''t seem to be scared of him at all, she was obeying but alsomanding.


    It was a thrill he''d never experienced before, even though he had his ways with her, he found himself wanting more of her.


    "Viv, you know I''m doing something important, I have no time to eat. I won''t die if I don''t for a couple of days." He said with finality.


    She left. He was relieved that she listened without sneaking in an argument between them. He didn''t want to get close to these women, he was nning on abandoning them as soon as they gave him what he wanted from them.


    Not even a minuteter, Vivian walked right back in without knocking. A te of food on hand, she sat on hisp before he could explode with anger and started feeding him herself.


    This has never happened to him, so he found himself unable to tell her off. He was dumbfounded and a secondter, he was being fed food by a woman. He didn''t protest, he let her have her way, for now.


    "You''re quite handful." He said between chews.


    "And you like that, don''t you?" She giggled like a silly schoolgirl.


    "I don''t." He denied.


    But the rising under his pants said otherwise. He couldn''t believe how easily this petite woman got him in the mood, a small woman that he could easily crush. But here he was, acting like a lovesick puppy.


    She hadn''t even finished feeding him food when she attended to the other problem she had caused.


    They were on the floor panting when she was done with him.


    "Get out." He said in-between breaths.


    She didn''t argue, and just kissed on him the cheek before taking the unfinished food, leaving the man on the floor with his thoughts.


    "That damned woman, I''ll kill her first." He said as another knock sounded on the other side.


    He didn''t immediately get up, he enjoyed the few minutes on the floor, thinking about what had just transpired. He didn''t understand his own self if he was honest with himself.


    He got up and dressed, took a seat on the couch and poured himself another drink. He was more calm then.


    "Enter."


    Anky old man entered the room, he could smell what happened here but he showed no signs that he had. His facial expression didn''t move an inch.


    "Yes? What is it Trent?"


    "Master, I''ve gotten word. It''s not pretty."


    He told him everything he knew about the fate that met with the four men he had sent to different parts of their country. Trent knew his master too well, he was ready to be punched and beaten, but none of that happened.


    His master appeared more calm hearing that they had failed yet another endeavour. Gilbert couldn''t help but wonder, who was behind the Waynworth family that made his every move useless? It was iprehensible.


    "Call Khan will you? I need him to be in shape for the uing trial, it''s something we cannot lose by all means."


    "About that Master, he called before I came in here, I''m afraid it''s more bad news. He says he cannot represent you, since you hadn''t hired him as awyer. If he were to take your case, it''d be a conflict of interest."


    "What?" He was foaming on his lips, veins suddenly appeared on his face. Even Trent had never such anger in his life.

 Chapter 232: Blakeson Estate, II

    Trent was ready to receive a beating of his life and clean up after his master was done with his rampage. He''d been with the keson family for all his life, he served his father before him.


    During his youthful years, Gilbert had a very weak will ording his father anyway. He was full of life and innocence, his mother was able to shield him from his father''s cruelty until she died unexpectedly.


    That''s when everything changed for him, his father made it a point to beat that weakness out of him and it worked rather well. Trent watched as he was robbed of his loving and carefree nature, turning into an ever angry monster that was always hungry for more.


    Of course he was just help, there was nothing he could''ve done to stop the change. That''s why he never left, that''s why he endured everything thrown at him because he felt guilty. Maybe Gilbert didn''t remember those days, but he did.


    He vowed to stay besides him, no matter what he did. He felt responsibility, he may not have created the monster in front of him but he did nothing to stop it from festering either.


    But something unexpected happened in that moment of rage, Gilbert let out a patheticugh of defeat.


    He sat down on the couch, one hand covering his eyes and justughed his never ending troubles, hopefully away. He couldn''t believe he had to admit yet another defeat.


    He was sure he''d win with Khan by his side. He wasn''t his personalwyer or anything, but they always helped each other when in a pickle. None of the rich needed contracts to bind themselves to each other, it was more of an unspoken rule, a rule Khan was willingly breaking without a second thought.


    "Why is he refusing to help?" He asked his voice barely a whisper.


    "He mentioned something about obtaining a client that would make it impossible to represent you." Trent answered, he was still shocked. This new attitude didn''t suit his master no longer.


    "Is that right. That boy got to him then? Clever. Ever since they got into my peripheral they''ve been nothing but annoying bugs. The Waynworth seem to be moving my goal posts with each turn I take." He sighed, drinking from the bottle instead of the ss.


    "Master, surely you''re not giving up? Your father¡ª"


    The ss missed him by an inch. It shattered right behind him, the ce smelled more like alcohol now.


    "My father? He''s dead. Don''t ever bring him up again. Get me another bottle, instead of trying to make me act rashly, I need to think." He didn''t miss a beat as he said.


    He bowed. He didn''t argue and ran out to get him another bottle of gin. Upon his arrival, he cleaned up the ss shards that littered the floor and quickly left the room without another word.


    "Is dad in there?" Isaac asked, he needed to see him.


    "Young master Isaac, now is not a good time, give him some space." Trent warned him.


    "But I need to see him, he never has time, now our house is taken over by wh*res?" He couldn''t ept that his father was indeed attempting to rece him, like he was nothing.


    "Sir, if you walk through that door and spark an argument with your father right now, I''m afraid you won''t be able to walk out intact."


    "I''m already broken, I''ve done everything to please that man and he doesn''t include me in anything, I''m sick of it."


    The argument was now getting heated outside of his study room. He could hear everything, with every word it felt like he was chewing on ss.


    The door creaked opened, the argument ceased abruptly. A chill ran down both of their spines, Gilbert appeared at the door.


    "Can''t you hear that you''re causing a racket? You," he said pointing at his son. "If you''re courageous enough, enter."


    He didn''t wait for an answer, as he retreated to his study once more. He could hear more than one set of footsteps approaching.


    "Can I be present, master?" Trent asked.


    "No. I''m not going to kill my son Trent, now leave us."


    He hesitantly bowed and left the room, closing the door behind him. Isaac stood there dumbly, he''d be lying to himself if he imed he wasn''t scared. His father was too calm, something he wasn''t used to.


    "Are you just going to stand there like an idiot or take a seat? Or did your anger towards me suddenly disappear now that you''vee face to face with me?" He mocked.


    Isaac''s anger started bubbling up once again. He approached carefully, sitting opposite to his father. Rejecting the drink he was offered. They sat there in silence, Isaac didn''t quite know where to begin.


    "Why are you trying to rece me?" He didn''t mean for it to happen, but his voice came out shaking.


    Gilbert simplyughed, "is that all you want to know? Don''t you see with your own eyes that you''re a failure?"


    "What happened to my mother?" He asked ignoring his previous statement.


    The mood quickly changed in the room, even his father was a bit shocked by what he chose to ask next. Though the expression quickly changed to one that was unreadable.


    "You''re sure you want to know?" Taking his nodding as consent, he continued, "i killed her, with these two hands."


    Isaac had suspected but hearing him admit it so nonchntly made his face hot and he boiled with anger. He didn''t remember much about those days, but he remembered the feeling, it was warm.


    "Why?" He choked, on the verge of tears.


    "Just a keson tradition, you want your son to trive, take care of his weaknesses. That worked poorly for you, I''ll admit, I''m to me for being so easy on you." Gilbert didn''t intend to hide anything from him, what''s the worst he could do anyway, throw a tantrum?


    "Didn''t you love her?"


    "I loved you more, that''s why you''re alive. I''ve spoiled you too much Isaac, that''s why you''re being reced. You can no longer be my sessor."


    "Then why don''t you just kill me too?" He asked defiantly.


    "I have my weaknesses I surely need to work on, I can''t do it because I''m too weak."


    Isaac shook were he sat. He couldn''t understand, he thought family was everything to this man who sat opposite him. His world waspletely tossed upside down, part of him wished he had never gathered enough courage to want to know.


    He got up to leave the room.


    "Oh and Isaac, don''t walk around causing me more trouble than you already have."

 Chapter 233: The Padlock

    Freya sat her son down. She didn''t know how to go about asking what she was going to ask. It wasn''t exactly afortable conversation for her, she should be the provider after all.


    "Mum, you''re freaking me out, say something already." Kiro was no longer sure what to think.


    "Loki will be starting school soon, I haven''t called to arrange things for him. Unlike yours, the schools around here require students to live in the dorms."


    "Uh, so?" Kiro didn''t understand where she was getting at.


    "As you know, or may not have known, LJ turns 13 too next year. Wouldn''t it be awkward if she was home schooled while Loki went to a proper school?"


    "Oh, I understand. But mum, is this really something you even needed to get permission for?" Kiro''s mind had travelled to thinking something was wrong with the pregnancy or something. He sighed in relief.


    "The tuition isn''t exactly cheap..."


    "Well, that much is obvious. Wilfred is a crucial asset for our family, as much as I hate saying it like that, he''s almost like family with everything he''s done so far for us. Sending his granddaughter to a good school will make him happy." He shrugged.


    "What has he done?" Nothing ever got past Freya.


    "Huh? Took care of things and everything." He said trying to be evasive.


    His father told him what transpired at the nt, but told him not to breathe a word about it to his wife. She didn''t need the stress.


    "What are you hiding?"


    ''So damn intuitive, I only said one thing, why''s she picking it apart!''


    "Dad had to travel here two times now, who do you think took care of everything back at the nt? By the way, you should call the school soon, it won''t be easy securing two spots." He finished, stirring the conversation to what it originally was.


    Freya didn''t waste any time and called the school to enquire about a lot of things. Once she was satisfied that the school was indeed a good one, she enrolled the both of them and paid tuition for their first quarter.


    She delegated having their uniforms bought to Kiro. He had to once again travel to the mall with both of them to get their sizes just right. LJ fought tooth and nail when she heard she''d have to be in a skirt.


    Of course Freya had a feeling that this would happen, she already asked the school if girls were allowed to wear a boy''s uniform, she was informed that as long as it was neat there wouldn''t be a problem. She just forgot to ry that message to Kiro.


    So Kiro was in distress trying to convince LJ to wear a damn skirt!


    "It''s not gonna bite,e on."


    He gave up after 10 minutes, calling his mother who exined everything to him. She apologised profusely for leaving that tiny important detail out.


    "What''s your deal anyway, why don''t you like dresses?" Kiro asked her.


    "You don''t like them either, so what''s the problem?" She shot back.


    "Well, I''m a boy, a man really. I can''t wear dresses." He shrugged.


    "Says who? The society that''s treating more than half of its poption worse than animals?"


    Kiro pinched his nose. She was somewhat right, they shouldn''t be taking moral standards from such a society. But there was no way in hell he''d wear a dress, but this also made him understand LJ a little bit more.


    "You win. You win." He threw his hands in the air.


    They didn''t only shop for uniforms, but also some things they''d need at school, plus some things they really just bought to show off. Kiro let them, he could afford to waste money once in a while after all.


    LJ was very reserved at first to take anything she didn''t need, Kiro however managed to convinced her that it was okay.


    "Okay, time to go home." Kiro shouted before they could dig deeper into his pockets.


    Christmas day was nearing. The household was busy preparing for it. Decorations around the estate were already installed, Freya much preferred these ones than the artificial ones that one could turn on with a single click.


    They all wanted to make the holiday special, usually his parents had to work even on that day. They never had much days to just themselves, so this was one opportunity they wanted to hang on to.


    "Since you bought Freckles everything she wanted, what the hell are we going to buy her for presents?" Freya reprimanded.


    Kiro didn''t think it through. He thought he was just spoiling his sister for the first time in her entire life, he couldn''t say no when he could afford to.


    "I''m sure she has forgotten some of the things, should I take them and wrap them up?" He asked innocently.


    "That''s actually not a bad idea, get on with it."


    Kiro did as he was supposed to. Wrapping the presents in his room, his mind circled back to the mysterious padlock. No matter what he did, he couldn''t understand what it did, but he had a feeling his grandfather didn''t just give it to him for nothing.


    "Open sesame." He said trying his luck, sure enough, nothing happened.


    He sat on his bed, the presents were already wrapped. So he decided to tinker with the padlock instead.


    He tried getting it opened but it never let up. He said all sort of words like, ''prestigious'' or ''Waynworth'' none of them were able to do anything.


    "Grandpa, what were you trying to tell me by giving me this?" He mumbled to himself.


    He tossed it on the bed, and looked for ces to hide the presents, he found just the perfect spot in his closet.


    He looked up to the roof, "Eldric Waynworth, your family needs your guidance right now." He said a little prayer to his grandfather. He wanted to believe that, like Hubris'' father, his grandfather was out there training to be an angel or something.


    Then something amazing happened. His bed started glowing with a blue hue. He walked closer with caution. The source of the light was none other than the padlock.


    The blue light then condensed forming a human shaped miniature of his grandfather. He blinked, looking at it unbelievably.


    "Grandpa?"

 Chapter 234: Instructions From Beyond

    The blue miniature didn''t move an inch. Kiro didn''t move either from shock, he couldn''t believe the padlock was really more than just a decoration. He was apprehensive from how quiet, the thing became.


    "Grandpa, it''s really you isn''t it? Where are you? Are you okay?"


    Silence echoed his voice. He couldn''t understand what he needed to do in order for whatever the gimmick was made to do, do it. It was peculiar, the only unnatural thing about the miniature was how blue it was.


    Everything else was as he remembered. A bearded old man, who looked strict but he wasn''t. His very blue eyes matched his entire body now, he was just a projection.


    Kiro found himself waving, anything that could catch his attention.


    "Hello thereddie."


    Kiro''s eyes began to form tears. He didn''t know what to make of this yet. His voice was deep but soft, it was as he remembered.


    "You''re probably wondering how am I doing this. Don''t get your hopes up, this message ispletely automated.


    "I had to leave something behind, incase you were at all like me, in which case if you''re listening to this. You''re more me than your father.


    "I want you to know that, this path isn''t for the weak but of course you''ve probably gathered that much since you''re looking for clues like this.


    "You''ll have to take over for me, I''m probably dead or worse..." The recording paused, he didn''t want to overload his grandson with information, so he gave him time to take it all in.


    Kiro was sniffing and nodding as if he could see and hear him. He couldn''t find words, even if he did, the recording wouldn''t answer him. Thosest words made him nervous, he didn''t know what was worse than death.


    "This world is very dangerous, especially to people like me and you, people who want to see change. You will be burdened with the job of making it safe, I failed but I hope you can seed in my ce.


    "This conversation is directly being echoed into your mind, so don''t worry about anything getting leaked, I''ve thought of everything, that''s who your papi was." He gave a heartyugh.


    Kiro blurted outughter, which caused snort toe out. He quickly wiped it away.


    "There are some people, good rich people who helped me along the way. I won''t mention them here, if you''re worthy, they''ll show themselves to you and work together with you, I don''t want you to trust them too much though. You can never know a man''s heart.


    "Look at me, I''m rumbling. Don''t be sad when I''m gone, I live forever in the stories you tell about me. Tell your father I love him, will you?


    "Now onto other important matters, this padlock is a document within it is information that is encrypted, it''ll help you in finding Area 51..."


    Eldric went on to exin to him what he needed to do and how he''d need to do it, he exined everything including the mistakes that got him caught. He specifically told him to write the instructions down.


    He taught him how to decrypt the information and how to build aputer that would be untraceable by their technology, aputer that would be safe to read all about Area 51 and where it was located and what it was used for.


    Kiro of course jotted this down. He nned to learn all this and then burn the paper after, he had to, he didn''t want any hups with the n. If change didn''te with their generation, he wasn''t too hopeful there were more people who could take over.


    His brain started to believe gods were real and that his grandfather was sent from the beyond to help them, he was immensely grateful.


    He could feel the love his grandfather had for them, he was only sad that he wasn''t here to witness them thriving, he wasn''t here to get to know his other two grandchildren.


    "I hope wherever you are, you are able to witness how well the Waynworth family has established itself in the world that took you away from us. We love you." He told the protection.


    "Well Ki, that''s all I have for you. I''m so sorry I left this up to you, I don''t know how old you are now but I''m sure you''re a fine young man. I love youddie."


    Just like that, the light dimmed from the padlock until it wasn''t visible anymore and it returned to its original state. He looked at it for a long time and then locked it onto his ne.


    "Now then, let''s begin shall we." His voice came out hoarse, clearly of someone who has been sobbing.


    He took the piece of paper he had written the instructions on and started learning code-cracking and buildingputers that were invisible to their society''s technology.


    He realised just how dangerous this was if it were to get out, so he decided then that he wouldn''t tell anyone about this. Not even Hiro, it wasn''t a matter of trust, but if they can be kidnapped for information the less people knew the better.


    "I wonder where grandpa learned all this." He muttered to himself.


    Learning things had always came easy for him, so it didn''t take him long before he understood the instruction in its entirety.


    It took him the entire night, something he wasn''t proud of because the instructions were only a single page long but he took the win nheless.


    Immediately after understanding everything he burnt the paper to a crisp and wet it after it was nothing but charcoal. He wanted to make sure that, this never got out by any means.


    "That just happened didn''t it?" Kiro''s head threatened to explode.


    It was only now that he understood the gravity of what just happened. He couldn''t quite believe his grandfather achieved something of this magnitude.


    Sleep didn''te easy that night, heid in bed, wondering how to go about buying everything he needed for theputer. He also didn''t want to sleep, in case the padlock came alive again, he didn''t want to miss it.

 Chapter 235: Christmas Day

    Kiro spent the next couple of days ordering different parts from different shops. He didn''t want to be easily found out. At least this way, he would give whoever was snooping a runaround.


    Some parts weren''t avable in regr shops, so he gave Wilfred a call, who willingly helped him out.


    "I don''t think I can build this myself." He muttered to himself, although he understood the instructions, he soon realised that theory wasn''t so easily turned into practical.


    He didn''t waste time and called Hiro who helped without asking too many questions. Building things from scratch was his forte, even in the real world.


    "I personally don''t understand why you want us to build a very ancient model of aputer, this thing won''t run most of the software we have now." Heined, but he was excited to be a part of this.


    "Just help me out, you''re my best friend aren''t you and I can hear the excitement in your voice, you aren''t fooling anyone." Kiromented and helped out here and there.


    He was watching intently, he was more than willing to learn to do things his grandfather was able to do. And another thing was that, this was part of his course, he needed to know not just how a machine functions, he also needed to be able to create one from scratch.


    They were holed up in his room for days. Hiro made a couple of mistakes along the way, but only a couple. Which Kiromanded because the tech they were putting together was outdated, something that was used by humans before them.


    It was by sheer luck that they didn''t burn the room down, considering the asional explosions that urred in there. Freya would asionally go check on them, giving them an earful, but they never stopped.


    "This is it, it should turn on this time." Hiro said as he punched the start up button.


    It did, it had ''Hiro and Kiro'' at the start up screen, a detail Hiro decided to add just for fun. He was too excited and jumping for joy, both of them were.


    Kiro decided to let it run without inserting the padlock, he wanted to make sure it was working well, he didn''t want it to fry the only information he had. He decided to deal with it after Christmas day.


    The day they''d been excited for finally came. There was even a tree in their living room, the presents were put there after Alora went to sleep.


    "Don''t scare santa away!" Was thest thing she said before going to bed.


    She urged everyone to go to bed early, so that santa would visit her first. She was too excited to finally get presents from father Christmas himself.


    She was always an early bird. She woke up around five am, tossing and turning in her bed until she couldn''t anymore. She went to wake up Kiro, then her parents.


    She ran around the house yelling, "santa came, he came, he came!"


    Kiro was recording all this, intending to show her when she was around Loki''s age. He reckoned that, this would embarrass her to the core, and what were siblings for if not to embarrass each other at every chance they got.


    Their father had gotten back the day before with Philip and Wilfred. Philip looked more chipper than usual, which made Kiro question whether he really did witness Wilfred torturing people.


    Kiro knocked and opened his father''s study.


    "Are you okay? You seem beat." He entered without being told to.


    "Haha, well, I am, but it''ll be worth it in a couple of months."


    Kiro didn''t know how to bring up the padlock or how safe it was here to bring it up. His troubles seemed to be endless.


    "I had a dreamst night about grandpa, he told me to tell you, he loves you."


    Sekani looked at him confused, and nodded as a thank for rying the message. They were never raised religious, so Kiro didn''t know exactly what his father believed in.


    "I got great news this morning." He told his son changing the subject.


    "Oh yeah?"


    "Yeah, keson is dropping thewsuit. He was likely trying to scare us, or something he believed in disappointed him."


    Kiro gave a knowing smirk. He didn''t know what changed Saanvi''s father''s mind but it was blissful. The best Christmas gift they could have ever received.


    "That''s indeed great news dad, take it easy, I don''t want you dying on us."


    "I''m sturdier than I look." He said pinching his arms to show him he had quite the muscles.


    Kiroughed, shaking his head. Wilfred was standing by the door,ughing at his master too. He didn''t think Kiro needed to worry about him, he would carry half the weight if he had to.


    "Ki, I''m not going to tell you how to live your life. That girl you were with the other day, is she trustworthy?"


    "Yes, sir." He said stiffly.


    "Good then, have fun."


    Kiro quickly dismissed himself. He didn''t know what he would say after that awkward question his father asked him.


    He sat in the lounge, watching Alora blow through many presents. She''d really forgotten about them, she was ecstatic with every reveal.


    His phone rang, "Bel, hi."


    "Wanna hang?"


    "Aren''t you spending today with your family?" He asked confused.


    "Why?"


    As it turned out, rich people never cared about this holiday. So, to her, this was just a regr day. None of her family members stopped their busy days, to spend it together.


    "Come over, you''ll see just how this day should be celebrated." Kiro told her.


    She didn''t hesitate, she wanted to hang with him after all. She had no idea it''d be a family hang out session though. When she got there they yed all sorts of games, opened up presents.


    Kiro had bought her a beautiful ne, he intended to give it to her the next day. Giving it to her today was the most embarrassing thing, but she didn''t want her feeling left out as no one knew she''d being.


    "Ki buying her girlfriend a gift but not me." Freya shook her head and sighed.


    Kiro didn''t think it were necessary, they had everything they ever needed and wanted after all. He made a mental note to not forget it next time, maybe they wanted just anything from their kids.


    The meal was great, the day was even better. Everything was going well for this estate, even thewsuit was dropped. At that moment, nothing could deter anyone''s mood. As they ate andughed together.

 Chapter 236: Between Noble Men

    It was a particrly cold night, snow fell harder as if to say goodbye atst. The lower district knew just how to celebrate holidays, but this part of the country was almost dead.


    Two hooded figures could be seen standing in front of a pir, with both their backs to the pir and to each other.


    It was a suspicious scene, but nobody seemed to be there to witness it but themselves.


    "Why do we need to be in cloaks again? Nobody is here." One of the menmented.


    "Can never be too safe. Turn on your sound distorter, even though only a few words trigger the system they''re always listening."


    An atrocious sound wailed across the vicinity. The other figure had an urge to close off his ears to the sound.


    "Are you sure this sound it makes can''t be heard from anywhere else?"


    "Affirmative. Have we ever been caught before?"


    "Where did you even get this?"


    "Then, where are we, with the investigation?" The man asked instead ignoring the question he deemed unnecessary and stupid.


    "Far from discovering anything worthwhile, they''re very careful. They don''t let anything slip in our regr meetings, however drunk they get."


    "You''re within their ranks aren''t you? How hard could it be?"


    The other man sighed, "why does it feel you''re putting the me on me? we had the information, Eldric is the one who went and got caught with the proof."


    "Crying over spilt milk isn''t going to take us anywhere." He reprimanded. "Why are you bing childish the older you get? You were never like this during your academy years." He mocked, trying to get a rise from him.


    The man chose to ignore the insult, if he were to start an argument over it now, that''d prove the insult right. He didn''t know what it was, but he was no longer patient like he was in his youth. He''d lost too many friends to this struggle.


    "Have you met the boy? He embodies the spirit of Eldric, though I don''t know whether that''s a blessing or a curse." He instead changed the subject.


    "I''ve obviously met him, to be honest I don''t know either. But he does seem to know things we don''t." He said reminiscing to when he had met the boy, it was truly a wonder.


    "Yes, he''s wise beyond his years. The way he took thepany right under keson''s nose, I have to say, he gave us a win here. I couldn''t have imagined how much more powerful Gilbert would''ve gotten had he acquired thatpany."


    "Oh right, thepany I told you to seize a long time ago? But couldn''t because, he''d already called dibs? You rich folk are a strange bunch." He wanted to p him senseless.


    "Why does it seem like you''re excluding yourself, you yourself are a part of high society, are you not?"


    "Regrettably." The man spat, disgusted that he had helped shape the current society, one way or another.


    "Regret has never undone the regretted. Only through out actions can we prove that we''re truly against the status quo. But we''re stuck, the boy seems to be our only hope."


    "Didn''t he get kidnapped just a few days ago?" He asked, not exactly wanting to put all their hopes on a single boy.


    "Escaped, having murdered the culprits though. He''s very capable, who knows what Eldric left him with."


    Heughed bitterly, "poord, I feel bad that he has to go through so much."


    "We had to go through so much, besides he seems capable and knows what he''s doing. Should we reveal ourselves to him?"


    "Not yet, with everything that''s been going on I''m sure he trusts no one, this will only rm him. Let''s continue protecting him from the shadows."


    The snow''s downpour had seized at this point. The two men continued their conversations, trying toe up with countermeasures.


    They didn''t want the past to repeat itself. Losing Eldric was the biggest blow to their goal. Although not rich, he was their pir as higher ups who wanted change.


    They realised toote that, they''d dangerously put him on the spot. And the man was too much of a courageous one to ever back down from a fight.


    When he was exposed to the evils of their society, they couldn''t do much to save him. One of them was even present during his capture, unable to do anything because if he openly opposed, that would raise suspicion.


    They wanted to clean their society without causing a war of some kind. It had to be clean, just the people who were rotten should pay, leaving the society intact and without chaos.


    But this was more difficult to achieve than any of them anticipated. They started this as young boys and recruited along the way, but they''ve yet to show the fruits of theirbour, that''s how difficult and cunning their opponents were.


    "Eldric would kill us if we let his grandson die, we better do a better and cleaner job than the one 10 years ago."


    The other man sighed, nodding in agreement as if his partner in crime could see him.


    "People continue to disappear every day, it''s an embarrassment that we can''t locate where they disappear to."


    It was truly awful, it seemed like instead ofing here for good news, they just came here to count their many failures. They thought that, this was theirst chance, if they failed now they didn''t deserve anything good.


    "Roger. Well, I''m off." The man started walking off, his heavy footsteps digging deeper into the snow.


    "If you have nothing the next time we meet, I''ll beat you to a pulp, kid." Hemented solemnly.


    Heughed at this, he had no idea where he''d look next. Every ce he looked turned out to be a disappointment, if he was honest with himself, he was tired.


    "Yes, yes." He waved his hand and disappeard into the night.

 Chapter 237: Data Extraction

    The Christmas dinner went really well. Everybody had great fun, the Waynworth family was eventually joined by the Misaki family. They offered toe over themselves, Kiro didn''t want to impose and invite them over himself. But to his surprise, they suggested it.


    Of course Hiro arrived with his family a little over 3pm in the afternoon, Saanvi was with them too. They also did the opening presents tradition first.


    They had great time together, as people who came from the slums together, they thought they could spend this time together.


    It was also an emotional time for Hiro and his family. They missed their father, and Kiyoko her husband. They still had a great time though. They tried to believe it in their hearts that he was still alive and one day, he''de back to them.


    Kiro vowed to turn every stone possible to find Hiro''s dad. He didn''t have hope for this grandfather, when he mentioned something worse than death, Kiro only hoped he had met with the end he wanted.


    But they made it a point to enjoy this with their newfound friends. Hiro especially had hope, he had hope they''d find whatever the Sanctum was hiding and hopefully his father amongst the things, alive too. Even though they never talked about it, he shared Kiro''s sentiments.


    They were all experiencing this Christmas dinner for the first time, as wealthy as I and Saanvi were, this was also their first experience.


    The next day, Kiro woke up very early before anyone else, well except their workers. He sat at his desk, intending to finally crack the information. He took out the padlock and stuck in the port.


    "Well then, let the games begin." He cracked his fingers.


    The clicking sound made his head hurt, it wasn''t anything that he could get used to. Theirputers now had a virtual keyboard, this one didn''t. He put music on, to drown the sound that would surely invite his parents to his room.


    He started doing everything he had learned to ensure the information came out well and unbroken. He was instructed to not look away because the machine would asionally crash, and he''d have to punch in codes to stabilise it.


    He soon learned the pattern, it happened every 30 minutes. He couldn''t be away from it for more than 30 minutes or the data would be lost.


    He decided to not even show his face to his family, incase his mother found him something to do, she was like that sometimes when she saw someone doing nothing.


    They were used to him being in his room, gaming for hours, so it wouldn''t be suspicious.


    But by the looks of it, getting all the data would take him days, weeks even. That''s how slow theputer was. He tookfort in the fact that, the unstabilised stage would take at most 2 days, after that he could leave it unattended for hours.


    But he kept sighing every hour, the percentage that told him the amount of information he''d decrypted didn''t seem to be moving at all. Which made him sigh and groan.


    He couldn''t believe how slow the software was back then, he couldn''t understand how they survived at all with something that uploaded and downloaded at a snail''s pace.


    Days came and went, he still hadn''t left his room. He was disturbed by a knock at the door. He slowly got up, shuffling his feet. On the other side was his father.


    "What''s up, I thought I told you to not y games so much? Your mother is pregnant, what if I wasn''t here right now." He asked sternly.


    ''You are though.'' Kiro said internally, though he was sure if that left his mouth he''d be in bigger trouble.


    "I''m not ying games¡ªI''m¡ªwell, I''m studying. Studying. Yes, that''s what I''m doing." He said, as if to convince himself and not the person in front of him.


    "Ki, I''ve known you for all your life. You don''t study. I know you pass, but you never really study, not this seriously anyway."


    "Turning over a new leaf?" He gave a toothy grin, hoping that made him believe. "Why are you still here anyway, the nt, what about it?" He tried changing the subject.


    "I can''t leave, your mother is about to give birth. Since that''s the case, I''ll be here from now on, to annoy you I''m sure you think that." He said, with a questioning smile.


    Kiro thought about telling his father the truth, about everything. But he also didn''t want to drag him into such a mess that was their society, his most important goal was to ensure his family lived well without much worry.


    He contemted for a few seconds and decided against telling him. It was simply too dangerous, if anyone deserved to die first in this time, it was him. That''s at least what he believed.


    He couldn''t see himself going through the same thing of losing everyone. He''d rather be the first one to go, he understood how selfish that was but sometimes selfishness was important.


    For his mental health, he''d rather not go through such a loss. Although he didn''t know what toll it''d take if his grandfather was truly dead.


    "Honest dad, you cane in and look, I even built an oldputer with Hiro. So we could be good at practicals when they start them at the academy." He told a half-truth.


    His father craned his neck, seeing theputer he''d just mentioned. He nodded in agreement, he was an engineer. He hoped his son woulde to him for help with these kind of stuff.


    But it didn''t seem like he needed much help, that made him jealous a little bit. Made him sad. As this would be a father-son thing, they didn''t have something like that, just the two of them.


    "I can see that, good job. Don''t miss dinner tonight, or else it''ll be your mother you''ll have to deal with next." He whispered and advised his son.

 Chapter 238: A Complication

    Thest few days were an excruciating waiting period for Kiro. He was yearning to read whatever was on the document. New years was fast approaching, it wouldn''t be a special day, or so he thought.


    Because around midnight, there was a banging on his door. He had fallen asleep on the chair, looking at the data getting closer topletion. He didn''t need to dress up, he sprang to the door, it was Wilfred.


    "Madam has to go the hospital, it''s about time she gave birth." He said, urgency in his voice.


    "Is she okay? Why are you breaking a sweat?" He asked concerned.


    "Well, Sir, there seems to be a bit of aplication, we don''t know yet, stick around and take care of your siblings. News will be ryed to you every hour."


    "I''m going, don''t both to try and stop me Wilfred." He ran past him, he could hear the slight noise downstairs, so he headed there straight.


    His father looked like he wanted to beat him within an inch of his life for being so stubborn. But this wasn''t the time to argue about who stays and goes, Kiro quickly helped getting his motherfortably into the car.


    Wilfred decided to stay behind. Along with Vada and Angelina. Philip went with them to the hospital too.


    They didn''t even feel the road with Raul going faster that he usually did. Freya felt the most excruciating pain she''s ever felt, she''d had 3 pregnancies in her life. But this was something else. She didn''t know what it was, but if it came to choosing, she hoped her husband would do the right thing and choose the kids.


    She of course was in so much pain, she couldn''t even tell him that message. She from time to time screamed at the top of her lungs.


    Kiro and Sekani both held each of her hands. She''d painfully squeeze them whenever the pain got too intense. Neither flinched, they both wished they could take the pain instead.


    While their technology was advanced,plications during birth were an urrence, a rare one, but one nheless. This was one of those unfortunate times.


    Kiro was pacing in his mind, he couldn''t lose his mother, not like this, it was too soon. He''d done everything to ensure they didn''t die from exhaustion, it seemed like the gods of fate were justughing at his poor attempts to have a peaceful life with his family.


    "You''re alright mum, you''re alright." He kept muttering. asionally stroking her hair.


    Sekani was quiet, but you could see how sad and helpless he felt. His usually calm handsome face was bitter and ugly from what he was witnessing.


    Philip felt like an outsider, he regretted why he even chose toe here. This was a family matter, sure they saw him as part of the family, but did they really? He didn''t know what to, how he could help to ease their suffering.


    All 3 men felt something, but helplessness was the cherry on top.


    The vehicle arrived 5 minutester, they called ahead of time, doctors were already outside, ready to tend to her.


    They sat at the waiting room, well really, they were pacing. An hour had passed and nobody had told them what was happening.


    "Sh*t, I thought the upper district had the best medical care in the country." Kiromented, he didn''t care that his father could hear him swearing, this wasn''t the time to care about that.


    Sekani looked at his son for the first time since they had gotten here. He could tell how scared he was, not many things scared Kiro but this one, he couldn''t even hide it. Sekani felt ashamed that he was all caught up in his thoughts, that he didn''t stop to consider their son.


    That''s why he walked up to him, holding by the neck, he pulled him closer to his chest. Hugging him. He wanted to tell him everything was going to be okay, but could he really make such a bold promise?


    "It''s alright son, she''s strong, your mother is strong."


    That was the final straw for Kiro. He thought he''d overcame his trauma, but this showed him there was no oveing it. His father''s warmth made him feel somewhat safe, he let out a few tears, making his chest a little wet.


    Sekani hold on to his son, he wanted to sob himself, but that was no time for that. He had tofort his son, if he were to turn into a mess now, who would take care of the kids?


    A few more hours passed, there were still no news. Dawn broke outside, the doctors had been working on her the whole night. Sekani wanted to scream, he saw it as very unprofessional that they weren''t even bothering keeping them on the loop.


    The door opened to their waiting room, they were hopeful but it was just Kiyoko, Hiro and I. She practically ran to Kiro and hugged him.


    "She''s gonna be okay." She said, the hug went on longer than any of them anticipated.


    When she finally let go, Hiro did the same.


    ''Right, I have friends in this life. I''m notpletely alone.''


    After another round of hours, the doctors came in. Everyone in the room held their breaths, preparing for the worst kind of news. If the problem was minor, they wouldn''t have worked on her the whole night.


    "She''ll be fine." The doctor started with the good news, he had to let them breathe first. "Although, I doubt she''ll ever be pregnant again." Hemented with a very stoic expression.


    Sekani didn''t care much about that, they had a lot of kids as it is. They didn''t need more, as long as his wife was alright, nothing else mattered to him.


    "Are the kids okay?" He asked, not really wanting to know.


    "Perfectly well, we are attempting to help her give birth right now. It''s a struggle but, everything should work out well."


    He breathed a sigh of relief and hugged his son, kissing his head. Kiro hugged him right back, happy this was just a false rm.


    "What caused theplication doc?" Philip asked.


    "Years and years of fatigue caught up to her, the pregnancy made her more vulnerable. She''ll have to do weekly therapy from now on for 3 months. This is verymon amongst women who are worked to the bone."


    Kiro thought if any keson would walk in right now, he''d strangle them to death.


    "Can I be present?"


    The doctor was a bit hesitant, but since she could do with moral support, he let it happen.


    "Yes, but only the husband."

 Chapter 239: Four More Rascals

    Kiro sat there, with both his hands on his face. He couldn''t believe the fear this incident instilled in him. He was shaking, but only slightly. Relief flooded his entire body.


    "Thanks foring, both of you." He told his friends.


    "Of course."


    "Not a problem."


    Both of them decided to stay, he may have received good news but they could tell that he was still not okay.


    "I''ll get us something to eat." Philip said walking out, Hiro went with him.


    "You know, it''s okay to show that you''re hurt or sad, when you are?" I could tell that he was ashamed to have showed them a vulnerable side of him.


    "Of course I know that." He said annoyed with himself, "I just, don''t like showing it. I''ll work on that."


    "Saanvi couldn''te, she sends her concerns though. You two are always at odds but I think that''s just weird, friendly banter."


    "Yeah." He smiled for the first time.


    He didn''t like her at first, but she grew on him. They asionally took jabs at each other but he''d be lying if he said he didn''t care for her one bit.


    "Hate to bring this up now, but the thing of meeting my father, you don''t have to, really." She''d calm down since then and realised she was putting too much pressure on Kiro.


    "No, I want to. You can''t back out now Bel. Invite me for dinner some time. Though I have to say, I''m a bit scared of your sister."


    "T? She''s harmless." She gigged, remembering the time at his birthday party when she messed with him.


    She was harmless for the most part, she just loved teasing people. She''d pretended she didn''t see anything, but she noticed how excited Kiro became, that he even needed to take a shower.


    She wasn''t jealous, not one bit. That only meant Kiro was a healthy young man.


    Kiro looked at her sceptically, "I wouldn''t be so sure."


    She smiled and shrugged. Tiana wasn''t into younger men, so she didn''t care that much but it would still be ufortable witnessing her doing it a second time. So she nned to invite him over when she wasn''t avable.


    The two returned with more food than they could eat. They started eating and ying card games, they yet again had to teach I the rules. These kind of inexpensive games were great for passing time in the lower district. But they were games the upper didn''t bother with.


    The mood in the waiting room improved greatly. Laughter could even be hearding from inside. They yed until midday, when the doctor came in to announce the birth of Kiro''s siblings. The mood was even better now.


    Kiro and Philip were allowed to go see her and the children. They walked up to the room, his mother was now stable, and out of the pod. She was in bed, her husband by her side holding on to two infants. She was holding two more.


    "Wait, I thought there were only 3?" Kiro said in surprise. He didn''t mean for that to be the first thing to say, but it just came out before he could stop it.


    "Can the medi pods even get that wrong?" Philip was shocked too.


    "Apparently, one was hiding, well enough they weren''t detected."


    To Kiro, this made no sense. Unless the medi pods weren''t as capable as they paint them to be. How hard could locating four heart beats be? It was strange but he didn''t dwell on it.


    "Two boys and two girls. I think, this should be enough for our little family, shouldn''t it Freya?" Sekani asked, holding his two children with immense love and joy.


    "Why does it feel like you want more?" Freya gave him a knowing look.


    "I wouldn''t dare." He gave a heartyugh.


    "Mum, are you okay?" Kiro broke the conversation between them, it seemed they even forgot there were other people in the room.


    "I''m okay baby,e here." She gave him the biggest kiss.


    Kiro wanted her to stop calling him baby, but he didn''t think this was the right time to bring it up. He wondered if there will ever be a right time to bring that up.


    "What''s their names anyway?" Kiro asked, looking at his siblings. They all seemed to be resembling their father and him.


    But he didn''t think that wouldst long, kids tended to change appearances as they got older. Their tiny hairs seemed to be curly though.


    "The girls are Liyana and Gaia, the boys are Caspien and Rian." Freya answered lovingly.


    "What, no second names?" Kiro enquired.


    "We ran out."


    They all bursted outughing. It was a good moment, it made them all feel light considering Freya almost died a couple of hours ago.


    Kiro realised just how easy it was to lose someone he loved. He didn''t know if it were possible, but he wanted to remain as anonymous as possible when it came to uncovering the secrets thaty hidden in their society.


    He didn''t know how he''d do it yet, but his first priority was to protect those close to him. Cleaning up their society was second, if he could do that anonymously, that would ensure their safety.


    He held one from those his mother held, Philip held another. They were so small, he''d never held a child as small before, they even had their eyes shut. He wanted to see whether they shared his eye colour or not. He was overwhelmed with a sense to protect them, with every fibre in his body.


    He never had them in his past life, they weren''t supposed to be alive as per how things went in his previous life, he didn''t know how they''d turn out to be. He wanted to protect them nheless.


    Seeing them so tiny and fragile only served to strengthen his resolve. He wanted them to know a world where the Sanctum existed no longer.


    "Hello there Rian, I''m your big brother Ki, say hi to your big brother."


    Of course the kid didn''t say anything back but he cooed and Kiro took that as him greeting his older brother. A broad smile could be seen on his face.

 Chapter 240: Not Alone

    His mother was required to stay for another day before she was released, incase the pods missed something when they diagnosed her. His friends left after some time after seeing the newborn babies.


    It was also time for them to leave. Kiro was a bit envious that his four new siblings had a birthday that fell on a national holiday.


    When they arrived at the estate, Alora was throwing a tantrum that they left without her. Tried as they did to exin to her that she was asleep when they left, she didn''t want to see reason. But when she saw 4 infants, that were introduced as her new brothers and sisters, she calmed down a bit.


    Loki was a bit shocked, he wasn''t told about the pregnancy and he never really suspected anything. Everyone was happy about the new additions, but most didn''t quite understand the work that went into taking care of newborns.


    It would be a while before the Waynworth estate gets some peace and quiet.


    The children would sleep with them for a while before they got them cribs. Their bed was big enough to amodate all. That''s what they believed in, they thought that served to strengthen their bond and besides, that only meant they needn''t go far to attend to them when they woke up crying at night.


    Those who went to the hospital were very tired. Kiro didn''t even look at theputer, he figured it hadn''t finished yet, so he went to sleep. He couldn''t believe he spent new years in the hospital, but it wasn''t a bad day overall.


    The fatigue he had was from the previous nights he didn''t sleep well, looking at theputer. So tonight, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and woke upter than usual the next day.


    "Slept well?" Vada asked him.


    "Yes, isn''t it too quiet for a house with newborns?" He didn''t quite remember how it was with Loki but Alora was an angel as a baby. She didn''t make a fuss.


    "You slept through that, huh... They just went to sleep, your parents were up all night."


    "Why do people have kids, seems like a not so worthy sacrifice." He mumbled.


    "Beats me, I don''t want kids either."


    Kiro nodded in agreement. He didn''t hang with Vada much, she never talked a lot either. But he found himself admiring her sense on things.


    He remembered he still had a mission, so he quickly ate breakfast and ran up to his room. Wilfred waited at the top of the stairs.


    "I saw yourputer." He said unprovoked.


    "You went into my room? Wilfred that''s a vition!"


    "Of what?"


    "I don''t know, of something?"


    "You left in a bit of a hurry, none of thedies were willing to go in and clean, I had to. Sorry if I overstepped Sir." He said sincerely.


    "That''s¡ªthat''s alright." He said trying not to seem guilty.


    Wilfred gave him a knowing look, and smiled, he bowed slightly and left him to his devices. Kiro quickly ran into his room, he was worried that, maybe the thing was done and Wilfred saw something.


    When he got there however, it was at 99%, he didn''t know whether to celebrate or feel disappointed.


    He sat at his chair, twiddling with his thumbs. All sorts of thoughts ran through his mind. He didn''t know what information this will be, but could he really, keep to himself?


    He contemted telling, at least Hiro. He was having a whole debate in his head, going through the pros and cons of telling someone else about this.


    He decided to tell him. He didn''t need to do everything alone, his argument was that, had his grandfather trusted someone else with this information, his death or capture wouldn''t be in vain.


    He''d have left someone else who knew what he knew. Incase Kiro was captured, Hiro would be the one leading them into the unknown realm the Sanctum had set up.


    Besides, he thought he came back for a reason. He had friends in this lifetime for a reason, he had no one to confide in his previous, but in this one he had loads of people. He wanted to take the first step into letting only the close ones in, and not try to do things all by himself.


    He wasn''t some chosen one that had to walk the road of a hero, this wasn''t some story, it was real life.


    With that, he called up Hiro toe hang. Hiro arrived wayter than he anticipated, as if he was busy with something or someone.


    "What''s up?" He asked as he entered without knocking.


    "You can''t just enter without knocking!" Kiro reprimanded.


    "Why not?"


    "Who knows who I have up here with me and what we''re doing?"


    "Haha, as if!"


    Kiro pinched his nose, he couldn''t believe theck of belief in him, his best friend had.


    "Anyway, I had something important to show you, it''s about that thing, so don''t forget we can''t talk about it here."


    Hiro nodded, confused what he meant. Though he could see theirputer, and he could see the data being extracted and he didn''t really connect the dots.


    They waited for a few more hours, chatting about the girls in their lives and how they didn''t want to go back to school now that they lived here.


    But neither wanted to disappoint their parents, so they had to rough it out, they only needed to stay for 2 years and they''d be graduating and done with school.


    Just then, a bunch of information showed itself on the screen. It was a lot, no wonder theputer took days to decrypt the data. It was a wonder to both of them that, theputer hadn''t crashed.


    It seemed like his grandfather really knew what he was doing. They both looked and read the screen with baited breath.


    "Who?" Hiro saw what it was and asked subtly.


    "My grandpa." Kiro simply said, pointing at the ne that was now missing the padlock.

 Chapter 241: Secrets

    They didn''t read out loud, they understood the consequences of being heard. Their eyes went wider with each sentence.


    The file read,


    "These are the ounts of my findings, I won''t say where I found this information incase it gets intercepted by the enemies.


    "The Sanctum is made up of the 8 most richest families in our country. I won''t bother with the history of why it was originally created, that doesn''t matter at the moment, what matters is what it is now.


    "These families act like a second government, they''re in the shadows, they rule our country with the most inhumane actions. I''ve managed to gather their atrocities, this will surely get me killed but I felt it was my duty to do this.


    "The Sanctum hides a big secret. They have a whole city that is unknown to the public. This is where they take undesirables to work them until they''re dead.


    "The mineral that''s used to power our entire country, who do you think mines it? They are abducting our people from the lower district, turning them into ve miners.


    "This is part of the big reason why alcohol is so cheap, and why it has one of the harshest punishments. They need young and strong people, so whoever breaks thisw, instantly goes there.


    "Anyone who gets too close to the truth, disappears without a trace. They''re most likely sent there or killed.


    "Nobody knew the location until now. It is beyond the upper district, they''ll tell you it''s dangerous to venture outside of our country, that''s partially true, but that''s where the mine city is.


    "It''s just at the edge of our country, but underground. Nobody has been able to find it because it''spletely down under. If you''re reading this, you''re onto them.


    "If you''re reading this, you''re likely my grandson. Please, don''t be careless like me. Don''t go out there alone, be prepared.


    "The families part of the Sanctum are, Silva, Khan, keson, ck, Whitmore, Hale, Fritzman and Naidu.


    "Maybe there''s more but those were the ones I was able to confirm. What''s more, there''s an illegal ve trade happening within our country. Some people keep ves in their houses.


    "There''s also an illegal fighting ring, where rich people pay to watch lower district ''ves'' kill each other.


    "These are very dangerous waters to tread in. Whoever you are I emplore you to be very careful, they are a cunning bunch, they will do whatever to keep themselves out of trouble."


    The file went on and on, naming their crimes, with hard evidence. The list was endless. Eldric clearly did an extensive research, even petty crimes were part of it.


    "Isn''t our dean, Whitmore?" Hiro asked in a bit of daze.


    "Uh, yes, yes he is." Kiro answered in a state of his own.


    "Khan and Silva, we''re royally screwed, aren''t we?"


    "It was to be expected." He answered absentmindedly.


    The file even told them how they transported those that were kidnapped. There was apparently a train station below the real one, built specifically for this purpose, no wonder people disappeared without a trace, they could be transported within minutes to this area 51.


    "What now? We know almost everything, but it feels so hoplesss." Hiromented.


    Kiro felt the same way. They were just kids, they had no idea what awaited them there or how to even approach it. It felt unreal. They''d been longing for a break for a long time, and it was here but they found they didn''t know what to do with the information. They didn''t know where to begin.


    "Do you reckon we should tell someone else?" Hiro asked.


    "No, the less people know the better. I was sceptical to even tell you about this but I didn''t want to make the same mistake..." He held his tongue before saying the same mistake as who.


    Hiro understood though. It was his grandfather after all that left him this information.


    "We should train more seriously in fighting, this will be our biggest challenge yet. Dang. I wish I had my spectres in real life, it''d be so easy scouting the enemy base before we go in." He mumbled thest part more to himself.


    They had only a week before the schools opened. Kiro asked Wilfred to train them for battle, he wasn''t too keen but he obliged nheless.


    Fortunately, Kiro didn''t need to help out with the newborns. With Vada and Angelina there, his parents could asionally get some rest. So he had time.


    Only Philip was sent down to the nt to oversee things. Sekani decided to stay behind with his wife. The close call of her almost dying made him lose interest in working immediately, he took on most of taking of their little children. Letting his wife rest.


    For the next week, Kiro and his friends were being trained by Wilfred. They''d all moved into the estate and upied one of the units at the back, when Kiro mentioned how important it was and what it was for, nobodyined and willingly gave up their holidays to go under intense training.


    Wilfred taught them all sorts of things. It wasn''t anything Kiro had learned in kickboxing, there, they taught discipline. Wilfred taught how to kill and win using everything in your surroundings.


    He originally wanted to know why they needed to be trained killers, but Kiro shut him down immediately and made him promise he wouldn''t tell his parents.


    With every cardio he''d done over the holidays, Ishaan was beginning to stretch out. He seemed taller and less chubby. He was the most motivated amongst his friends. In the past he''d tried going to the gym, but gave up because it was too much work.


    This time was different, he had a world to save and his father to clean up after. There was no room for cking.


    "Isn''t this too intense?" Hiroined.


    "If you can still talk, that means I''m not being too hard on you. Four more!!!" Wilfred shouted like a crazed lieutenant.


    They gave Hiro eyes that could kill, he smiled shyly, deciding not toin anymore. Sleep was foreign to them.

 Chapter 242: The Silva Estate

    Even though she had nowhere to be, I woke up early that morning. It was the day Kiro told her he could only be free in. She didn''t really understand, as he''d not told her anything yet.


    He was still unsure how much to tell her, so he kept to himself and after dark.


    I was smart enough to not start an argument over something she didn''t fully understand, so she decided to wait. Her phone rang and it was Saanvi.


    "What?" She answered.


    "Are you ready?" She smiled asking her.


    "I am, but also I feel like throwing up frogs. My stomach isn''t at all still." She was more nervous than when she decided to kiss Kiro.


    "Of course you are, you''re such a daddy''s girl." Saanvi shook her head.


    "Well how about you, has Hiro met your dad?"


    "What for?" She rolled her eyes.


    I didn''t answer or ask any further. Clearly they had different views on this matter and she didn''t really want to spend the entire day debating with Saanvi about this.


    "I''de and offer moral support, but figured the less people there, the better."


    I nodded in agreement. It wasn''t like he was asking to marry her, she rxed a little. And enjoy the rest of the day, gaming.


    It was a bit dangerous running a dungeon when she had nster on, as the game didn''t allow you to logout when one was attempting a dungeon. But it was one she knew very well, it was the one Kiro sold on their website.


    Her only concern was levelling up. Even though she was the one who produced the killing arrow against the harbinger, she felt she could''ve done much more. So she vowed to get more levels and get stronger.


    "Bossdy, we''ve been going at it for days, can we catch a break?" One of her teammatesined.


    "I told you not to call me that, as it happens, I have ns in an hour so I have to log off. You all better be working harder, you don''t want to get left behind, especially with guild wars around the corner." She didn''t even wait for them to argue back, she was instantly gone.


    She took another bath, quickly.


    The door bell rang throughout the entire house. I was already at the stairs when that happened, opening the door. Kiro stood beyond it with what seemed to be a gift.


    ''Well done, you''ve done proper research.'' Imanded internally.


    Kiro almost missed a step as he walked in. At first, he couldn''t recognise the person standing atop of the flight of stairs.


    I didn''t pay much attention to dressing, not to say she didn''t dress nicely, but tonight she dressed to kill. The long dress made her look very mature and sophisticated, she even was even wearing the ne had gotten her.


    Her red hair was let go, not tied. She slowly walked down. Kiro stood right where the steps, admiring the sight before him.


    She was almost at the bottom when he offered her a hand. She smiled and took it.


    "Did you get taller? And your muscles!" She couldn''t say what about his muscles, she thought they were harder than thest time she fell asleep on his chest.


    "Your eyes deceive you, I didn''t get tall at all, maybe muscles, I''ve gained some, but I''m still lean." He shrugged.


    "Are you ready?"


    "I have to be." He sighed.


    Kiro wore a simply ck and white tux. But I was charmed all the same. The slightly longer curly hair and blue eyes had be a sight to see for her.


    They walked in the dining room. I almost yelled in shock. Each and everyone of her family members were present. Even the siblings who were almost always busy for such things.


    Kiro was taken aback. I told him it would only just be her mother and father. Tiana was already presenting a broad smile at their appearance, Kiro wanted so bad to let go of I''s hand but he held it in.


    He walked with her, and seated her first before he took a seat of his own besides her. He smiled awkwardly, and greeted them as he sat.


    "Oh right, you''ve never met my mother before, this is Marian Silva."


    Kiro stood to shake hands with her. I was the spitting image of her mother, only she had ck hair. She immediately epted.


    "I''ve heard so much about you, finally great to put a name to a face." She said approvingly.


    "All good I hope. I''ve heard great things about you." Kiro didn''t know how else to approach what she had just said.


    The grandfather from before was also there. Seemingly minding his own business, drinking the night away.


    It was awkward silence for a while until the food arrived. There was nothing they didn''t ask Kiro. From asking how did he hear about the AIpany, to his kidnapping, to his father starting a gaming podpany.


    Kiro''s answers were all calcted and brief. He didn''t know who the enemy was yet, so he had to especially watch what he said.


    "You''re very well-spoken, everything you say leaves me wanting more." Marianmented.


    Kiro choked on the red meat he was swallowing as she said that. He took a ss of wine to properly swallow everything. He didn''t know whether every mother had a sixth sense, but this to him was proving that by the hour.


    Her questions were very calcted and precise. So Kiro asked ones of his own.


    "The Sanctum, what is it?"


    He watched the eldest son shift ufortably in his seat. Clearly he knew something about it. Before his son ruined it though by asking a dumb question, Jes¨²s stepped in.


    "You''re asking because the kidnappers asked you about it aren''t you? I wish I knew though. It''s interesting that some dark things are happening in our society without the knowledge of many." He took a sip as he said.


    ''Was that actually a threat?'' Kiro wondered.

 Chapter 243: The Silva Estate, II

    After that stone cold answer. Kiro didn''t poke the bear anymore. He''d figured what he wanted to know, they knew something about it. But he wasn''t here for that, ironically he was here, eating the food of his supposed enemies.


    To ask if they''d let him date their daughter. Kiro thought this was too old school, but if it was something wanted, he''d do it.


    "What do you know about the Sanctum anyway? What did the kidnappers tell you?" Jes¨²s however wasn''t going to readily let go of this.


    "Unfortunately, nothing. The two men didn''t betray their master, they were loyal to the very end." He lied without missing a beat.


    To say I and the rest were confused would be an understatement. Of course they heard about the kidnapping, but what the hell was the Sanctum?


    But the two speakers didn''t dwell on the. subject for very long. As soon as Jes¨²s confirmed what the boy imed he knew, he let it go.


    The grandfather was uncharacteristically quiet. When Kiro met him, he thought he was an outspoken kind of person.


    "So, how do I do this? Do I just blurt it out?" Kiro whispered to I.


    "I don''t know either, you''re my first." She whispered back.


    He sighed slightly. This was his first too, he didn''t know how these things went. He thought blurting out would be embarrassing, especially with a full table like this.


    If there wasn''t Angelina back at home, he''d be very impressed with the food. But it wasn''t anything he''s never had before, Angelina was stop ss, so was this. So the taste wasn''t that far apart. He still thought Angelina''s was better, of course this couldpletely be a bias.


    His armpits were starting to itch, because the night was almost at its end and the topic hadn''t yete to the table.


    Tiana looked at them with admiration. She thought they were courageous, most importantly she thought they really looked good together. She had no problems with Kiro, she quite liked him.


    The boys were just being protective older brothers. They gave him cold looks asionally, Kiro didn''t me them, he''d do the same with any boy that wanted to take his sisters out.


    The parents were unreadable. The grandpa couldn''t careless. Kiro thought it was a funny dynamic. The family was so different, as if they were raised by different people.


    Jes¨²s got up from his chair. Kiro was about to say something when he beckoned for him to follow right behind him.


    Even though he didn''t trust his legs to carry him over, he did as he was told. If he was going to threaten him tantly, that''d only eliminate him from the good rich people. He''d count that as a win.


    They reached the study, it wasn''t really different from his father''s, as if these were all built by one person who was bored, thereforecked creativity.


    He offered him a drink, which he declined. He wanted to be sober for this. He took a seat, not showing that he was nervous. His breath was even, but his insides were burning.


    "I understand that Rosy is quite smitten with you." He said and let it marinate in the atmosphere.


    "Yes, sir." Kiro answered, ufortable with the silence that followed.


    "Do you feel the same about her? Be honest. I''m a father after all, I can''t just let any dog to take her away." He looked at him intently.


    Kiro didn''t look away. He looked at his intense eyes, with an intensity of his own. He wouldn''t let anyone tell him no with whatever he wanted.


    "I feel the same. I like her quite a lot, sir." He said with sincerity and respect.


    "Would you, protect her from anything, including me?" He knew it was a strange question, but he wanted to know where this kid''s was at.


    "Of course, I''m prepared to shield her from anything, including you." He said truthfully.


    This was something he vowed even before he had this talk with her father. If he turned out to be a bad guy, he was prepared to do whatever it took to put him down.


    "That''s good then." He smiled sadly.


    Jes¨²s offered him his hand, Kiro''s eyes went wide with surprise. But took the hand before he changed his mind. It wasn''t bigger than his, but it was rougher.


    Clearly he''s lived longer than he had. Even with his past life, hecked the years. It was a wonder.


    "Well, Kiro Waynworth. I approve of you, of course, it''s still entirely up to I whether she wants to engage you as a love interest or not." He said shaking his hand.


    "Yes, thank you sir for the blessing, even though the choice was always hers, I knew how important your approval was to her."


    They stayed at the study room for over an hour. Talking about all sorts of things, Jes¨²s figured he could give him advice about everything.


    Kiro didn''t feel like a prisoner, they were bonding instead. With how much they had inmon, he gave him a benefit of a doubt. He hoped against all hopes that, Silva was at least one of the clean families.


    When they walked out of the study, it was already toote. Most had gone to bed, the table was cleared. Only I awaited by the door.


    "I''ll see him out." She told his dad.


    "Of course, Good bye Kiro." He bid him farewell and immediately went up.


    "What the hell kept you two in there? We have to go back to school tomorrow and you spent most of the night with my father?"


    "You know, this and that. He approves of me, you know?" He said with biggest grin I had ever seen on a person.


    They were walking through the walkway. The gate was still pretty far but they were not in a hurry.


    "Of course he approves, your charm is unparalleled." She blushed.


    The walk seemed to end pretty quickly. It felt like it took a second to them, they were happy in each otherspany.


    "May I?" Kiro asked, holding her chin this time.


    She simply nodded. He leaned in for a kiss.


    "I''ll see you at school, or maybe we will ride the train together..." He left, d this was over, he could now focus on destroying the Sanctum.

 Chapter 244: Back To Schools

    Kiro was walking down the hall, when he heard Wilfred thanking his father profusely.


    "Thank you very much sir, my silly granddaughter failed to mention that you were also sending her to school. I''m truly grateful, is it really okay? I can forfeit my sry here and work for free."


    He rolled his eyes hearing this. This man was ever dramatic, with everything, he never wanted anything for free. Suppose that was the price to pay for the life he''d lived so far, he didn''t trust anything that came easy.


    He believed that hard work equalled to great benefits. Kiro could still feel his aching muscles from the training, they didn''t really hurt, it was just a phantom pain, that lingered. Wilfred told him, it''d disappeared after a while.


    "No, that''s okay Wilfred. LJ is part of this estate, so are you, we should look out for each other." He patted his back.


    He nodded. Bing more emotional than he intended.


    "Thank you, sir." He finally said, his voice high pitched than usual.


    It was a stupid tradition, at least that''s what Kiro though but every time schools opened, specifically after new years, every student was required toe back in their full, school uniform.


    That''s why, all three of them were in their respective uniforms as they sat down for breakfast.


    "Damn LJ, you look just like a boy." Lokimented.


    "So what, you idiot, what''s it to you? Not hoping I''d date you, do you?" She shot back.


    "What? of course not, you''re like my sister." Loki said, disgusted at the idea.


    "Good. Better remember that Willy." She said with a grin.


    Kiro sat there listening to their very dumb conversation. They were now having a back and forth because Loki hated that nickname.


    Alora was beyond sad, as this meant she''d be left here, in this huge pce, alone, with no siblings to y with. She wanted to hurry and be old so she could go to school too. Having new siblings was great and all, but they were still too young to y with.


    "I want to go with you." She said even though she knew it wasn''t possible.


    Kiro put on a thinking face. "Well Freckles, where I''m going, everyone''s as big and tall as me. They''d walk on your like you were nothing. You can''te."


    "You can just carry me always." She suggested.


    "I could but my arms would get tired, then what?" Kiro had to entertain her thoughts and stoop to her level otherwise she wouldn''t understand.


    "Then Hiro would carry me." She answered delighted.


    "But Freckles, if you go, Isao will want to go too." He cornered her.


    She pouted, folding her arms. "Fine then, promise you''ll call me every day? I don''t have a phone but mum does!"


    Kiro agreed, he admired how mature she wanted to present herself. Loki shook his head, at the dumb conversation he''d just listened to.


    "You know Loki, most likely those kids know about our history, living in the slums. They''ll most likely bully you for it, but..."


    "I should take it, is that where you''re going with this?" He cut him off before he could say it.


    "Actually, I was gonna tell you, if anyone gives you crap, give it back a hundred fold."


    Loki looked at his brother dumbfounded. As if to search whether this was his real brother or not. The Kiro he knew was timid, even though he''d done all this for them, that image of him never really left his mind.


    He stared at him unable to reply, at that moment, the Kiro he knew or the image he had about his brother was slowly crumbling in his mind. A new one, he had no qualms about admiring, was starting to form.


    "Yeah, okay." He nodded, still unable to wrap his mind around what just happened.


    This made him relieved, he wouldn''t have to take responsibility for a lot of things now that his brother had a firm hand. He was happily d to be a younger brother, he didn''t like to take charge anyway.


    Money wasn''t a problem for them no longer. He could do anything he wanted. Slowly but surely the hard exterior he had created to survive the lower district was shedding. Though the menace within him could never truly be gone.


    "Don''t give them too much trouble, you don''t want mum or dad to have to answer to the school for your antics." Kiro reprimanded when he noticed a smile creeping into his lips.


    "Of course. Cross my heart." He said with a menacing smile, while crossing his chest.


    Kiro shook his head, feeling sorry for his parents. They were about to unleash him to the outside world, it was embarrassing to think about the things he could do.


    They all had big luggage. Kiro wasn''t quite used to having so much stuff. Raul offered to drive them to the train station, but Kiro refused.


    I had convinced his father to let them take their private jet. And he agreed readily. So they''d meet up at their street when it was time to go, Niki and Felix had to travel all the way here.


    Loki and LJ said their farewells in their green and gold uniforms. Raul drove them to the station. Freya felt sad that he couldn''t go with them, the doctor didn''t only tell her to take it easy but she wasn''tfortable leaving the little ones.


    Kiro stood at his gate, 5 minutes before. Niki and Felix arrived next. The rest were a bitte.


    Originally Kiro couldn''t wait to ride the train, he thought maybe they could look for clues for the underground station. But soon realised if it could be heard from above, a lot of people would''ve. Unless of course the peculiarities would reveal themselves because they were looking for something.


    He wasn''t in a rush, Wilfred stressed the importance of more training once they got to the academy. They weren''t intending to ck off either. They knew the risks of doing so.


    "Well then, let''s go shall we?"


    Hiro yanked him aside, even though he trusted the girls, he didn''t trust their families yet.


    "Are we sure about this?" He whispered with the corner of his mouth.


    "We''re sure." Kiro whispered back without missing a beat, he didn''t even look back at his friend. He just entered the jet.

 Chapter 245: Back To Schools, II

    Kiro understood his friends concerns. But he also had conversations with I''s dad, while he couldn''t discern whether or not he was a good guy, he could tell he cared for his daughter.


    He wouldn''t let her borrow the jet intending to blow the two into bits, or whatever the Sanctum did to those who found out their dirty secrets.


    "Why are you two always whispering?" I asked, she''d noticed the two ever since a while back.


    They didn''t notice it themselves but they did it quite a lot. They knew things others didn''t after all, the need to talk about the next step or what to do itched at them.


    "I mean, can''t we have secrets? We''re best friends after all." Kiro immediately went into defensive mode.


    I looked at them, Felix was grinning from ear to ear making things seem more suspicious but since it was just Kiro and Hiro who spoke in whispers, it didn''t register to her.


    "But look at Ishaan." Saanvimented.


    "I bet the girls will be throwing themselves at him. Why didn''t you lose the fat before the academy anyway?" I asked him.


    They were teenage girls, if they said looks didn''t matter when choosing a mate, they''d be lying to themselves. Their society was also one of superficiality, so this was very normal.


    "Huh? I was toozy I guess. But having these guys showed me I can''t be cking." He said with confidence he didn''t quite have before.


    The girls continued to tease him, thereby hyping him up.


    Kiro took onest look at the neighbourhood he''d now grown fond of. Before the jet zoomed through the skies, faster than any train they had in Sanctauri.


    Everybody minded their own business, they were all on their phones. Talkalot has Infested their little group, they were a little bit addicted to the social tform, like any regr teenager should.


    Nothing seemed to fly above the rumours of this app. There was already gossip about the youngest of the Silva estate dating the up anding rich young master of the Waynworth estate.


    "How did they even? This is creepy as hell." Kiroined,ing out of the jet since they''d arrived in the middle of the districts.


    I wasn''t sure what to make of the gossip in one hand her father did approve, the other though, Kiro had yet to ask her out.


    To Kiro, she was already his. The kiss he asked from her confirmed that. They were usually good atmunicating, but this time, they were both very dull.


    Kiro put his phone away, as he pretended to do pushups, wanting to hear whether the underground train could be heard from above. They were at student town station, people looked at him like he was a lunatic.


    "The hell are you doing?" Niki asked him.


    "Oh you know, stretching out my muscles. The workout Wilfred gave us still gives me chills."


    Hiro brushed his face, ashamed. He knew exactly what Kiro was trying to do, so that he didn''t die in shame, he joined him.


    The listened attentively, but nothing. Not even vibrating could be heard. It was just utter silence. They quickly got a carriage and arrived at school, atst.


    Everyone was in uniform, not a single soul defied this one tradition. They bumped into Isaac, who seemed lost and out of ce. He didn''t seem like himself at all, the light in his eyes waspletely gone.


    He wasn''t going around bullying and telling people what to do, he stood there, transfixed. Kiro thought he still had the most punchable face, he hated the guy with his all, so even though he seemed sad, his first instinct was to hate him not console him.


    Ursa could be seen away from Isaac, talking to who Kiro supposed were her friends. She didn''t seem to care that her ex-lover looked like he could drop dead any second.


    "Oh, we''re back to this hell." Kiroined.


    "At least, it won''t be bad as thest term. We had a pretty rough timest term." Hiro consoled him, remembering the beatings they''d received a couple of times.


    Though if anyone dared to even want to throw fists with them, it''d be easier than throwing out garbage. Their training with Wilfred was deadly.


    "Only use this in a matter of life and death." That''s what Wilfred told them over and over during the hellish week.


    Those words wouldn''t be forgotten so easily. They were woven into their brains, the same way those skills were into their muscles.


    Every student was required to stand at the first year campus square. They figured it was a wee to the second term of the year or something close to that.


    Sure enough, the dean walked across and stood in front of them.


    "Who''s that?" One first year asked.


    "Beats me." Another answered.


    Kiro realised that this man wasn''t exactly known, he only got to know him through the hearing incident too. It wasn''t like he was absent from the campus, for some reason people just chose to ignore his presence. It was amazing. It reminded him of assassins.


    He cleared his throat and everyone went quiet.


    "Wee back students. It''s always the tradition of this academy for the dean to show himself to new students after exams.


    "I don''t know why myself, it''s silly but don''t quote me on this. I''m your dean, Grey Whitmore.


    "I hope my academy treated you wellst term, and so did the holidays. I''m happy all of our students returned safe, as I''m sure you''ve heard about the two of our students.


    "It''s dangerous out there, be careful everyone. Don''t go looking for things that will put you in even more danger.


    "There''s still a lot to be achieved before the year ends." He stopped and took a deep breath.


    "Achieve it." He said with an impressivemanding voice.


    He then dismissed them.


    Kiro didn''t take his eyes off of him, not even once. He remembered that his family was part of the Sanctum, unless his father was still alive, he was most likely the one calling the shots within the Sanctum.


    And this speech to him smelled like a threat, disguised as a weing for all the students.


    "They''re everywhere aren''t they." He sighed and said with gritted teeth.


    "They, who?" I was too close, she could hear his heart beating.


    "Haha, what? Crowded, I''m not used to crowded ces anymore." He lied, hoping she''d believe him.


    She obviously didn''t, she wasn''t an idiot. But she was also smart to know that, this was something Kiro wasn''t ready to talk about.

 Chapter 246: First Day

    The snow was melting from the ground, making it more slippery and wet. The melting snow made it colder than it was when it was snowing. Even as evolved as they were, they could feel the piercing winds.


    "Kiro Waynworth, right?" A brown skinned boy said, a shade lighter than Kiro, extended his hand. "I''m Nathaniel Whitmore, and no, the dean is just my uncle." He destroyed their thought process before it even formed.


    "Right, Nathaniel, nice to meet you." Kiro hadn''t a clue what he wanted but he knew he couldn''t trust anyone with those surnames.


    He understood his hypocrisy very well, most of his friend group was made up of people he didn''t want to trust. He was almost certain that Niki and Ishaan were on his side, he wanted to believe the girls would be too.


    "I''m a second year, academy president. I''ve heard quite a lot about you. If you ever need anything, don''t be shy toe straight to me."


    ''Aren''t you a chipper little bird.'' Kiro sized him up, he nodded brusquely at his offer trying to match his enthusiasm. Intending to never act on it though.


    Their slum rat status seemed to have changed across all three campuses. Kiro was especially more popr since he was even on the news about the kidnapping.


    Almost everyone they passed stopped them to ask the gruelling details about the kidnapping. They were mostly just interested in gossip. Of course he refused to indulge them, a simple smile, a slight chuckle was enough to get away without having said a single word.


    Felix was very tempted to tell the tales, while over exaggerating the details. Making it more gory and scary, just to shut them up, that would most likely make them unapproachable. Niki red at him before he even started his antics. He smiled as innocently as he could muster.


    Almost every girl was flirting with them. It was awkward since they had the girls they liked walking right with them but these girls didn''t care, people who treated them badly before the schools were closed, were suddenly nice.


    ''Ah f*ck. I hate how money can do this to people.'' He thought to himself.


    Money and looks were pivotal in their society. Someone can tolerate you if you have one of the two, but neither was considered uneptable.


    That''s why Ishaan was being showered with attention he wasn''t used to. People who never looked at him before couldn''t take their eyes off him now.


    It didn''t help that he had a new attitude. Instead of his happy go lucky attitude from before, he became a little distance, and brooded a lot. Which was a hit with most of the girls.


    He was the ''idiot'' girls tolerated but never really liked. He was always the one taking the first step making conversations with them, but now, he couldn''t care less. He had more important things to do.


    Destroying his own father was slowly eating away at him, but it was something that needed to be done. He understood that much. That''s what made him seem like apletely new person.


    "I more or less expected your poprity to rise, but this is above and beyond." Imented unable to decide whether she should mark her ''territory''.


    Kiro put his arm around her, "don''t get too jealous Bel."


    Instead of denying that it was getting to her, she blushed. They all walked to their respective dorm rooms with much difficulty,bing through the crowds. Niki and Felix bid them farewell as they stayed somewhere else.


    Kiro was about to enter his room when he remembered something, "Hiro, I need you for a bit. Put your bags away ande here."


    He left the room open. He was still unpacking when Hiro walked in. Dumbfounded at what he was witnessing.


    "You brought it? Are you insane?" He reprimanded.


    "I had something to do regarding that thing, in case something happens to us? Besides I''ve made some great changes." He said proudly.


    "Y-you did?"


    "Why sound so surprised?"


    "Well, you''re good at theory aren''t you, while I''m better at practicals."


    "It wasn''t that hard. If anyone who isn''t us tries to get into it by force it''ll self destruct." He shrugged.


    "You did that?" Hiro couldn''t exactly hide his surprise.


    "I''m not dumb you know, I can do one thing or another."


    "Yeah, I can see that..."


    "Now then, help me stabilise it, I couldn''t for the life me get it 100% right."


    Hiro looked at him incredulously, he had a strong urge to smack him senseless. It was too careless, this was akin to a ticking time bomb.


    "You can be an idiot sometimes." Heined while tinkering with the parts.


    "Yes, yes." He said as if to tell him to reprimand himter, this was more important.


    It took Hiro a few hours to be done with theputer. Even though he wanted to reprimand his friend, he couldn''t help but admire how brilliant the idea was, the execution could''ve used some work though.


    "This was really a great idea, though your practicals could use more work." He shrugged deciding to give him half apliment instead.


    "Tsk. Thanks, I mean I have you, why not teach me more of your ways, master Hiro!" He said, bowing to him respectfully.


    The next day they woke up very early to do Wilfred''s training. All of them were present, showing how serious they were. They used the forest that would lead them to the second year campus.


    They were at it when Kiro''s phone rang. He saw that it was Loki, that was strange, he never called him before and he never would unless it was emergency.


    "Bro, hey, I''m trouble here." He said smiling innocently.


    Kiro couldn''t believe it hadn''t been a day and he was already in trouble with the school, he could picture what had happened clearly.


    "What the hell Loki, what did you do?" He whispered.


    "Some stupid kid, he thought I''d take his crap, so I showed him. He was a bully Ki, he was bullying me and my roommate?"


    "Did he hit you?"


    "Uh, he was gonna, eventually." He said trying to sound as innocent as possible.


    Kiro pinched his nose. His breath evened out from the trouble his little brother was dragging him into.


    "I mean, it''s kind of your fault. You did tell me to retaliate a hundred fold." He said when he saw his reaction.


    "That''s fair. Have you told our parents?" He asked.


    "No!"


    "Good, don''t. Take me to your principal!"


    Loki dropped the call, telling him he''d have to ask permission first, exin the situation to the principal if she agreed, he''d call right back.

 Chapter 247: First Day, II

    Loki and LJ stood at the front of a giant gate. The words ''Merit Prep School'' written across it. The school looked great, but Loki couldn''t help but think this was like a prison of some kind.


    Kids about their age and older were walking through it. Everyone was in uniform, neat and clean. Bags on their hands.


    The dorms at this prep school were simr to the ones they had at Eden Academy. So boys and girls were mixed in. The only difference was that, they had roommates. It was so that they learned to be interactive.


    This prep school didn''t just ept anyone. If you weren''t from the upper district, the chances of being taken in were almost zero. With the exceptions of kids who were family to a helper. But even this was rare.


    "Are you ready?" LJ asked nervously.


    "Pffft." Lokiughed at her instead.


    His brother gave him free reign to get whoever bothered him back, while his mother insisted that he''d be in a lot of trouble if they had toe here because he misbehaved.


    He didn''t know which of the two to listen to. He didn''t want his mother to be worried about him, especially with her frail body at the moment. It was a dilemma.


    "Yuri! Hi!" Loki became excited all of a sudden, it didn''t register to him that Yuri would have toe back to a school, transferring from her old one.


    She smiled and waved. They were separated by ss. Since she''d be a second year, she was in the second year row. He never thought about how she was a year older, but this school made him recognise that.


    "Students. Wee to Merit Prep. I''m your principal, Mrs Hale."


    A witchy looking woman stood in front them. She was wearing all ck, the very pale skin didn''t exactly help her case. Loki stood there in wonder, how could someone who didn''t look so presentable demand that they wear their uniforms neatly?


    "We should wee our new students. Thank you for choosing us. We promise to ensure that knowledge is adorned on all of you before you graduate.


    "We always achieve a very high passing ratepared to other schools around the country, which is 100%.


    "This is achievable because kids listen to their teachers, so you''re advised to do the same. Disorder will absolutely not be tolerated.


    "In orderly fashion, go to admin and get your room key. Wee once again and enjoy!"


    The key they were given was like a card, it didn''t only open the doors, it also bought them food around the school. Unlike academies, schools weren''t divided by years, so there was naturally one cafeteria and two dorm building.


    The school had around 300 kids, there weren''t many around the upper district, so the numbers were always on the lower side and this is what they preferred, it gave them an exclusivity status.


    Their rooms were huge, it could''ve been a whole apartment. Two rooms and a lounge for studying.


    Loki opened his shared room, and could tell someone was already there but they didn''te out to see who it was that came in their room. He entered the side that wasn''t closed, the room was much smaller than his bedroom back at home. It even had a shower room.


    The bed wasfortable enough. He started unpacking. At his peripheral vision he could see someone peeking out of the door, on the other side.


    "No need to hide, I don''t bite." He shouted.


    The kid stared at him for a very long time before opening his doorpletely and stood at the passage. Loki walked out to him, he had a very small build, he had really big sses that almost covered his entire face.


    "I''m M-M-Matthew Cvan, N-n-nice to meet you." He said nervously.


    "Loki." He said simply.


    The kid looked at him expectedly, Loki wasn''t quite used to introducing himself, so formally.


    "Waynworth. Loki Wilfred Waynworth."


    Loki would shake the kid''s hand, but he didn''t trust where it had been, so he simply nodded at his attempt.


    Their first awkward meet didn''tst very long as both boys needed to unpack and sleep, getting ready for tomorrow.


    Breakfast was eaten at 6, it was torture but the principal was obsessed with order and controlling her students. Since the students mostly came out disciplined, the parents didn''t mind much either.


    It was hard waking up early, but he managed it. This was something he''d have to get used to now that he wasn''t living with his family anymore, he never thought himself as the sentimental type but he was homesick right the next morning.


    But he ignored the feeling and got dressed. His mother had bought him 4 trousers for school, on Fridays they could wear whatever they wanted, which meant everyone didn''t wear uniforms.


    He walked out of his shared room, Matthew was following right behind him. LJ was designated in another dorm building, so they weren''t together.


    Loki bought a nutritious breakfast, if it wasn''t for Angelina he''d be eating junk right now but his love for healthier foods was born thanks for Angelina being a great cook.


    "Oh look, it''s mousey, hey mousey, buy me a drinking yoghurt!" Some kid with a very punchable face yelled from across the cafeteria.


    For a moment Loki thought he was talking to him.


    "Wh¡ª"


    "Y-yez!" Said a voice besides him, it was none other than Matthew.


    Loki gave them a dirty look.


    "What are you looking at, freak?"


    "Talking to me, punk?"


    Just then, a teacher came in, themission died down. Loki went to sit down by his self,ter joined by Yuri and LJ. Matthew went to his bullies. That gave Loki the irk for some reason.


    After breakfast, they were all seated in ss quietly waiting for the lesson to start.


    "Oh look who it is, what were you looking at?"


    Loki had no time to dilly dally with the kid, he got up from his sit and held him by the jersey and punched him in the eye.


    "F*ck, do you know who I am? I''m James Fritzman!"


    Loki didn''t care nor did he know what that meant, as he gave little James a second ck eye.


    He was sitting at the principals office, trying to convince her that his parents wouldn''t be able to make it, but his older brother, who attended EA was avable. She finally caved.


    Kiro answered, already dressed up for ss. The principal fidgeted on her seat, she thought his face was familiar.


    "Hello Mrs. Principal, I''m Kiro Waynworth, the older brother of that rascal. I''d like to apologise on his behalf."


    "Aren''t you a fine one." She mumbled under her breath.


    Kiro heard her but pretended he didn''t. Wasn''t she married? What the hell was she ying at.


    "I see, but your parents..."


    "About them, they just had four newborns, mum is very tired. Dad is helping out. They really can''te."


    "Just this time then, you''ll be forgive just this time Loki Waynworth." She said wearing a naughty suggestive smile.


    One that put Kiro out of his appetite, he quickly dropped the call.


    Loki didn''t know it yet, but he''d certified his ce amongst the first years.

 Chapter 248: Chaos Within

    Within the walls of the Waynworth estate, chaos reigned. The quadruplets made them work to the bone, their favourite thing to do was crying.


    Sekani was helped by Angelina and Vada, with Freya asionally helping and breastfeeding them. Sekani had to basically force his wife to step down from taking care of their children.


    Though he regretted that as soon as she agreed, he promised to never go back on his word. His wife almost died, she needed as much rest as possible.


    Alora was an absolute sweetheart about the whole ordeal. She didn''t throw tantrums that the new children were getting more attention, it was as if she understood what was going on without being told.


    "Thinking back, Loki is the only child besides these ones, that was this fussy." Hemented, hoping they don''t turn out as troublemakers.


    They loved their son, but he was a handful that was a fact that couldn''t be disputed. It was a wonder to them that they haven''t been called by the school. They knew that, there was no way he was behaving. He wasn''t someone who easily fell in-line.


    "It''s like they canmunicate with each other, the way they just cry at the exact same time is spooky." Freya chuckled at the thought.


    They were getting ready for her next therapy session. Sekani was absolutely going to make sure she went at each and every one of them, until the doctor throws them out, telling them she was fine.


    Getting ready was no peace of cake with 5 children. Alora would''ve thrown a fit if she got left behind again, so, they decided to take her with them. That made her truly happy. Angelina and Vada would have the house all to themselves, which they were skeptical about.


    They suggested that the little ones get left behind, but Freya thought the outside could do them good. It''d be the first time since they came, leaving the house. Maybe that was why they cried at every chance they got.


    Sekani''s phone rang, clearly he''d changed his ringtone since thest time. This one was actually good, soothing even.


    "Philip with the weekly report, sir!" A voice sounded from the other line, Philip tried to keep a straight face after saying that but failed miserably.


    Which made Sekaniugh even more. That release made him more rxed and less burdened.


    "I hope nothing bad?"


    "Nothing pops, it''s all going great. The employees have settled in well, and they are surprisingly fast learners. I''m still the only one installing the software though."


    "You look so tired, have a rest, will you?" He told him, he was concerned. Blood didn''t matter here, he still saw him as a son that needed a strong father figure.


    Philip simplyughed, "have you befriended any mirrorstely pops? You look like an undead."


    "Your siblings are quite the handful." He said absentmindedly, he realised toote what he''d just said. "Philip... I¡ª"


    He suddenly didn''t feel tired anymore. It was the first time that he said it instead of showing it. He didn''t know how he''d take it. Philip''s eyes twinkled for a split second, but he controlled his emotions better.


    "I''m sure they are. I can''t wait to spend more time with them." He had a big grin as he said.


    Sekani smiled, d that Philip didn''t make the moment awkward. He wouldn''t need to walk on eggshells the next time he felt like acting like a father to him, it was unspoken but their bond strengthened then.


    "Well then, we have to go, Freya has her appointment. Take a break!" Hemanded before hanging up.


    He hurriedly attended to his wife. They had a hovering stroller for the little ones. What was great about it was the fact that, it didn''t hover away too far from the parent it was locked on.


    It also bounced up and down gently. Lulling the kids to sleep instantly. Sekani felt like this was a great creation. They had never used it before but now he knew what to do when they cried nonstop.


    The waiting room was lively. They left their kids with some nurses at a nursery. Sekani didn''t want Freya to go in there alone.


    "I see you''ve been resting, your condition has improved. Improvement doesn''t mean out of the woods." The doctor said, scolding her.


    "Yes yes, I''ll rest for three months if you demand it." She jokingly said.


    "Please, rest for three months." He told her with a serious face.


    "Surely, you''re joking? I have four newborns and a 5 year old, how do I do nothing with them around?" She was perplexed.


    "Honey, we have help and you have me, it''s doable. Philip can manage on his own for a few months." He told her holding her hand to calm her down.


    He knew how irrational his wife could sometimes be. She didn''t need to be rushed, just let down gently. The only way she listened was logic without making her feel stupid.


    "Yeah, that''s¡ªthat''s actually a good idea. I don''t need to do everything by myself anymore."


    Freya was used to being a mother and an engineer, without these things she didn''t quite know who she was. While the move was great, it left her questioning her ce in the world.


    Kiro was doing his thing, Sekani started a wholepany. She felt out. It made her sad, but happy at the same time because it was people she loved dearly that were achieving these feats.


    "That''s my girl." Sekani gave her the biggest kiss on her forehead.


    She blushed like a school girl.


    "I already agreed, no need to butter me up." She said this but she quite liked it when her husband was all cute with her.


    "I''m going to give you a shot, to ensure that you don''t give any more births."


    "Is that really necessary?" Sekani asked, not wanting to do anything irreversible for his wife.


    "Don''t worry sir, this ispletely reversible."

 Chapter 249: To Give In

    Gilbert slept soundly in his bed. He looked to be at peace. The bed felt great, the sheets and nkets were clean. He was the type to sleep nude, because he was the kind who sweated a lot while sleeping.


    He didn''t look as dangerous, he looked defenseless and vulnerable. Heid on his back, his chest was almost entirely visible.


    His chest rose at regr and even intervals, but the breathing was slowly picking up. Within minutes his breathing could be heard from outside the room, the pillow was drenched in sweat.


    He awoke at the same time as when his door opened. He was still disoriented, but he knew, that the dream had gotten the better of him again.


    "Are you okay, Master?" Trent asked him. He already had towels at the ready as if this was a regr urrence.


    He grabbed the towel annoyed. "I''m fine." He confirmed wiping himself dry. They were happening more frequently than before and he exined it away by the fact that he was getting old.


    "Same nightmare?" Trent asked.


    Only this time, Gilbert didn''t feel like talking, so he ignored his helper. He didn''t know why he always dreamt of her, it was the same dream every time and he couldn''t save her, every time. It was maddening.


    "Master, if I may be so rude, why did you lie to young master Isaac?"


    "What?" He was still delirious from the dream, so he was a bit slow.


    "His mother, master, you said¡ª"


    "You shut your mouth. Leave!" He shouted so loud his voice threatened to uproot the room they were in.


    "Yes sir, should I make you some tea?"


    "Yes!" He shouted again, he was still angry so he couldn''t help himself.


    The tea was about the only thing that calmed him down when he had a rough night. He got up and got dressed, it wasn''t morning yet but he knew he wouldn''t be able to sleep again.


    He sat at the couch in his study, attempting to work but he couldn''t concentrate. He was already drinking the tea, but that wasn''t it. Trent''s question roamed his head without permission like a mad man.


    He knew exactly why he lied to Isaac, what he didn''t know was why that ate at him. He didn''t have time to coddle him, so to make him mature quicker was to do what his father did to him.


    But he did it cruelly. Even his father never admitted to him straight that he''d murdered his mother, though it was true for his father. He had lied to his son.


    He was taught that weakness was a disgusting trait. That was instilled in him, seeing it festering within his son drove him mad. He had to do something, he had to lie that he''d killed his mother.


    But that wasn''t exactly the case. Gilbert met his mother during his academy years, he was already aware of the fact that he was someone who lusted and discarded women after he had his ways with them.


    Isaac''s mum was different, he wanted her not just intimately but also in his life. That''s why he never wanted to have sexual rtions with her, since he knew he''d lose interest after.


    That''s why they had Isaac well in their early 30s. He held off as long as he could but eventually gave in. And it was as he feared, after the deed, he was no longer interested.


    But he clung onto the feelings he once had for her. They weren''t there in his heart, but he could still remember in his mind and that was enough to have a lingering care for her, but he still treated her poorly. Something he regretted as he became older.


    So much so that he became weaker when it came to Isaac. He tried to be harsh to him, but his hand was always weakened when it came to his son. And now he regretted even this, because someone''s son had asserted the dominance he wished his son could.


    Isaac''s mother suffered from the pregnancy, the doctors long told her that, it was either the pregnancy or her life. She chose the pregnancy of course. Gilbert pretended he didn''t care, but it ate at him.


    "I''d rather be gone from a world where you no longer cared for me." She said with the brightest smile.


    "Do what you want."


    Those were thest words they exchanged with each other. Monthster their son was born and she no longer breathed the same air her loved ones breathed.


    The dreams came to him right after. The regret in his heart was insurmountable, he wanted to hate the child but it wasn''t in his heart, he couldn''t do it.


    He didn''t cry when his mother died, but he did when she died. Even though his face seemed hard and unemotional, tears streamed down the stone cold face. His mind reminded his heart what it wanted to forget.


    "Master, I''m sorry for my insolence earlier, that question was out of line. Punish me however you see fit." Trent could see how absent his master was.


    "You were out of line." He was angry he was made to remember the sacrifices he continued to make for Isaac who seemed forever ungrateful. "I''ll forgive you this time, don''t do it again."


    "Are you giving up going after the Waynworth''s sir?"


    "A good soldier knows when he''s defeated. The Waynworth''s have won the battle, but I''ve still won the war. There''s so much going on within our society and they have no idea." He shrugged getting up from his couch.


    Wallowing in his defeats wouldn''t allow him to achieve anything. So he put on azy outfit and headed out with Trent.


    Their car stopped in front of a beautiful building. keson was written on it, in bold. But they didn''te here to work, the elevator took them down instead of up.


    They travelled straight, stopping by a door, when it opened. An uproar attacked their ears as they entered.

 Chapter 250: A Second

    Kiro''s week would''ve been uneventful if he didn''t have a little brother. He didn''t get in any more trouble, he just called him a lot, entirely because someone or another didn''t believe that he was brothers with Kiro Waynworth.


    And since Kiro didn''t want him getting in anymore trouble, he entertained his wild thoughts since he didn''t want to talk to the weird principal again.


    He didn''t mind much, if his reputation meant Loki had a better standing at the school, that was even better.


    The weekend fast approached, they hadn''t had fresh air to breathe with all the academy work that was being thrown at them. Clearlyst term was just a wee, this time, the work was in piles, they couldn''t even game that first week back.


    "Ki, you promised!" I said through gritted teeth.


    "Did I really? But you surely understand? Winning the guild wars must not be that important to you?" Kiro wasn''t willing to back down.


    He''s forgotten that when nobody wanted to ally with them, he was willing to ally with I''s guild. Not that anyone was lining up to partner up with them, trust hadn''t been built yet.


    "But it won''t be as effective, we are close, so obviously I''ll never disclose your information to others, it has to be people we don''t even know."


    "You can''t even say she''s your girlfriend?" Saanvi chimed in.


    "Girlfriend then, my girlfriend!"


    "I am?" I asked a bit confused.


    "You''re not?" Kiro was even more confused.


    "You never asked. Good luck." She walked away from the group.


    Kiro felt bad, he thought by getting her father''s approval everything else was set in stone. He beat himself up for not thinking he should ask her before they were official. He wanted to beat Saanvi senseless, she set him up good. She walked away with a stupid grin on her face.


    "Sure you don''t want to go after her?" Hiro asked him.


    "She understands, she''lle around. Anyway, have any of you found a perfect guild for us to exploit?"


    "When you put it like that, you make us sound like viins." Niki shook his head.


    Not a single one them could convince guild masters to hire them. They were all sceptical of this group, most didn''t want to trust them even though their abilities spoke for themselves.


    "Okay then, we game all weekend." Kiro had a feeling that, the guild wars would start then. He didn''t want to be too sure since the game went at its own pace, different from his previous one.


    After all was said and done, they entered the game. With the sole mission of convincing smaller and unknown guilds. Ensure they won the war, so nobody doubted them again.


    Ding!


    [World Announcement: Wee yers. Fighting monsters is important, but other things are too. Like fighting amongst ourselves to determine who the champions are. The guild wars are eminent, they''ll be starting in 8 hours, in-game time. Prepare and good luck.]


    They looked at each with awkward smiles. They couldn''t participate on their own because they weren''t registered under guilds.


    "So it begins..." Kiro murmered to himself.


    Just then, they noticed a group at their gates. They weren''t more than 10, they looked shabby and disorganised. They opened their gates, and soon they were at their door.


    "My name is Jorge, I''m the guild master, I heard you guys are mercenaries that we can hire participating in the guild wars."


    "I''m Kiro, the leader here, I guess you could say. We are looking to be hired, but the list is long, so why should we consider you." Kiro bluffed.


    Jorge was a small guy, he was clearly an assassin judging by his footsteps. He had hair that covered his eyes, he looked no older than Loki.


    "As you can see, we''re a small guild, we''d be swallowed before it even starts. We need the manpower, of course we will pay whatever you want.


    "There''ll be payment now for taking the job, and paymentter if you get us a win. I know money isn''t all that important to guys like you, I can''t ask that you trust us either because we just met and to be honest we''re also taking a gamble here."


    Kiro was impressed by his speech. He decided not to y with them anymore, and just ept the job. There wasn''t an endless list after all, he just wanted to seem like they didn''t need the job. A show of desperation wouldn''t be a great look on them.


    But before he could agree, one of the 10 was saying something to their leader, something they couldn''t hear. But the leader smacked him from behind his head.


    "Shut your mouth, we need this." Their voices were rising by the second.


    "But boss, I don''t trust them, please let me fight their leader, to ensure that they''re the right people for the job." He said.


    The guy who spoke was a sage just like Kiro. But he wasn''t evolved like him, there were minor differences. He undermined them, especially Kiro with his robes and walking barefoot.


    Jorge pinched the bridge of his nose. It was clear that, this person always opposed and he was a hot head that wanted to fight to ascertain whether to respect someone or not.


    "Lyle, are you tryna get them to kick us out?"


    The conversation went on for several minutes. Felix was bored out of his mind, he started to take out his scepter, wanting to attack the kid with the biggest mouth.


    Kiro stopped him however, he was amused by this. Someone wanted to fight him, it was hrious.


    "Lyle, was it? I''ll fight you."


    "Kiro, you don''t have to." Jorge intercepted.


    "It''s alright, it''s natural to want to test others strengths. I''ll happily oblige. Given hepletely falls in line after he loses."


    "After I lose? If I lose!" Lyle eximed.


    Kiro liked his confidence, but he also thought that could be his downfall. Arrogance wasn''t a really good trait.


    "Then, let''s go outside."


    They walked to the training grounds outside. His teammates weren''t so sure about this, they didn''t want him to ruin the only chance they had in participating.


    "Kiro, are you sure about this?" Niki asked him.


    "Rx, I''m not even gonna use Ryu here." He said with arrogance, that annoyed the living hell out of Lyle.


    "Please use your full strength, don''t take pity on me, don''t go easy on me." He said with contempt.


    Kiro didn''t intend to use his full strength. This was nothing but child''s y to him. He could tell the kid was strong, but he was ways away from contending with him.


    Kiro stood still, he didn''t intend to move where he was. Lyle gathered that quickly that pissed him off even more. He basically flew to where he stood, Kiro could see himing, vibrations was passive now, each of his skills were, which made fighting weak people boring.


    Waiting for the attack felt like an eternity. He finally reached him throwing a punch that was blocked, then a kick, that was also blocked. Kiro lightly put his palm on his chest, pushing him to where he originally was.


    Lyle was now fuming, he took out his staff and raged forward. Kiro swerved, his feet remaining where he was, Lyle staggered forwards and stood behind Kiro.


    "Why are you just toying with me? Fight me seriously!" He demanded.


    "You''re right, I''m wasting precious time." He said, yawning.


    Lyle hadn''t even moved from where he was when he was attacked by an invisible force. Kiro had used bending kick, but he measured it. He didn''t want to kill him, that would make him lose experience and levels.


    They would soon be on the same side, so he didn''t want to overdo it.


    The kick sent him crashing kilometres away from where they were. When they got to him, he was in aatose state. He had used all of his mana to protect himself from the attack.


    "At least he has good sense." Kiromended.


    "Yes, he knew he could not block it entirely so using all his mana instead of dying and losing levels." Niki nodded in agreement.


    Felix was smirking in disgust. He couldn''t believe a mere yer even had the guts to challenge a guardian, though yers in general had no idea what that was.


    Hiro wasn''t all interested in this. He was already measuring them with his eyes, deciding which armours and weapons he should give them.


    "Well, Mister guild master, that should about prove my strength?"


    Jorge looked at him dumbfounded, he knew they were strong but he didn''t imagine it was by this much. He felt bad that his airhead of a vice decided to pull a stunt like.


    "Yes, sir Kiro sir. You''ve more than proved yourself, I''m so sorry for his insolence."


    Kiro nodded. Hourster, Lyle woke up. At first, he was in a state of confusion then realised what had transpired.


    He went on both of his knees and cried, "MASTER, PLEASE TEACH ME!"

 Chapter 251: Chasing Madness

    Kiro looked at Lyle amused. At least the kid wasn''t blindly arrogant. He could admit his faults and shamelessly beg.


    He noticed that Jorge wanted to kick him senseless for how embarrassing he was being and the fact that he dared to challenge people who were willing to help them.


    "You never even revealed the name of your guild. Who are we allying ourselves with?" Kiro instead said, ignoring the mutt that was begging to be taught.


    "Oh, so sorry, sir. Itpletely slipped my mind. We are Chasing Madness. It''s just a small guild that has nothing at the moment."


    Kiro''s brain went haywire after hearing that name. He''d heard it countless times in his previous life, and here he was meeting the monster that would be Chasing Madness.


    He''d heard stories about how they started from the very bottom of the game. And slowly rose up, and within a year, they were part of the great guilds in Asgard.


    He couldn''t believe he was meeting a guild he was so much of a fan of in his previous life. He loved that they started from the bottom. They were underdogs that surprised everyone. They were people who gave him hope that one day he''d w out of the lower district, but that was just wishful thinking.


    ''So this is Chasing Madness at its lowest point, I wonder if my butting in won''t cause any problems in the game? After all, we''re gonna make them rise the ranks quickerpared to the previous life!'' He was getting excited but slightly showed it.


    "Is that right? Well, our craftsman will give you guys armour and weapons free of charge. A show of good faith." He said, trying to sound nonchnt.


    "Is that really alright? We can pay for everything." Jorge interjected, not wanting to be indebted to anyone.


    "It''s as you said earlier, money isn''t everything. If we can trust each other even for a little bit, we will be able to work better with each other."


    Jorge nodded in agreement. All this happened while Lyle was still on his knees. Though he wasn''t saying anything, he didn''t want to disturb his guild leader and new ''master''.


    His guild mates wereughing at his behaviour. This was clearly a norm in the Chasing Madness guild. He always made trouble that came back to bite him in the behind, and he wasn''t shy about admitting to his faults.


    ''Ren!'' Kiro shouted from within, but there was eerie silence.


    Ding!


    [Tamed Beasts can''t be used during guild wars to ensure that this rule is followed the feature to use and summon beasts have been restricted.]


    Kiro wanted to scream curses at the system. His spectres would''ve been great for scouting and bringing them much needed information. He didn''t like relying on his previous life''s information, so he''d have to do it himself.


    "F*ck!" Was all he managed to get out from his anger.


    The others looked at him expectedly, but he never said anything, and they didn''t ask either.


    "Then, shouldn''t we hurry up and head over to our guild building? I''ve yed my fair share of games, and I know this means attacking each others bases!" Jorge proimed confidently, sharing his much unwanted experience by the looks of After Dark''s faces.


    "That won''t be necessary," Kiro hushed him before he could disturb him. "I know what I''m doing. This is when you''ll have to trust me." He finished simply.


    "Okay then, as a show of good faith, I''ll put my trust in you." He told him sincerely.


    They spent the remaining hours discussing tactics. Doingst minute training for those who didn''t have enough faith in their abilities, none of those were part of After Dark.


    Kiro''s tactics surrounded the stages the guild wars would be in. It wasn''t his favourite thing to watch them in his previous life, there was nothing fun about watching yers fighting other yers.


    But he watched them all the same. That''s how boring and pathetic his previous life was. Jorge wanted to ask him why he chose these certain strategies, but knew better than to ask. He just nodded and went along with it.


    The most important thing to him was getting reputation for his guild and build an empire within the game that would be feared amongst yers.


    In Kiro''s previous life, he managed to do just that. Kiro was just pushing him a lot earlier than when he was supposed to blow up.


    "You''re doing it wrong still, a sword should be like a romantic partner. You can''t just hold it anyhow." Said one of the guild mates scolding a junior that was also a swordsman.


    "Do you have to put it like that when you know I don''t have a lot of experience with that?" He whispered, but his voice was still heard nheless.


    Kiro felt a ping in his heart, he didn''t have experience either. From either life. He was a virgin through and through. But he hoped that would soon change.


    "Are you sure you don''t need any shoes?" Hiro asked him, he''d given him geta sandals but soon discarded them, saying they weren''tfortable enough.


    It was too bad that, Hiro hadn''t reached a stage where he pumped legendary and ancient ranked products. Kiro was well, at that level. Even the shabby robe was something special.


    "I''ll be fine, don''t worry about me, worry about them." He pointed at the shame that was in front of them.


    Chasing Madness was too disorganised. Kiro thought it was a wonder that Jorge was able to take this and make it into something legendary. Something people fought and killed to gain a spot for.


    "Yeah, they really look bad don''t they. They should let us do the work for them." Felix shook his head, butting into the conversation uninvited.


    "And then what? What happens when we''re not allied with them anymore?"


    Felix''s lips stretched into an evil grin, "why, of course, so they can keeping back to us for support. That''s how business goes."

 Chapter 252: Tartarus

    Kiro knew Felix was right, if they did this, Chasing Madness wouldn''t have their own legs to stand on. They''d be too reliant on After Dark. Kiro though had a soft spot for them, he didn''t want to be a crutch for them, he wanted to see the once great guild again. A giant amongst giants.


    Besides, after they help a nameless guild to win, business would not be so scarce. People wille running and they''ll have the list they pretended to have, to choose who they should work for.


    "About the payment, I''ll wire you guys 1 million coins and the bonus of 3 million after you help us win, with the exception that, you get no spoils in this war."


    Kiro thought about it for a second, guilds that won were always given preferential treatment, but them being guardians, it wasn''t as if they needed to be coddled by the system more.


    "Deal!"


    Ding!


    [Are you sure you want After Dark to ally with Chasing Madness in this month''s guild wars?]


    Kiro clicked yes immediately and forfeited rewards given should they win. He didn''t mind much, they weren''t a guild after all.


    They were now all adorned in new armour, ranging from rare to legendary. Their weapons too. They were ready for this war, at least After Dark was. Most of the members of Chasing Madness didn''t quite understand the gravity of the situation.


    Asgard didn''t really have seasonal weather, that''s why it was snowing and a bit sunny at the same time. The mods must''ve wanted a bloodstained ground.


    It was also a good thing that Kiro and his mates were immune to the coldness. Chasing Madness, not so much. There were a few who contended with the cold including their guild master and his vice, so Hiro had custom made them armours that would work well in extreme weather conditions.


    With the amount of things they equipped, they felt guilty that it was all free. They felt heavily overgeared, they felt thankful to havee here. Jorge promised himself then that, no matter how this turns out, he''ll always maintain a high level of friendship with these guys.


    They were just in their feelings when the system message sounded. Silence fell upon the grounds.


    Ding!


    [World Announcement: guild wars will start in 1 minute. yers who don''t log in within these seconds will be disqualified, their guilds will have to do without them this time...]


    There was chaos in the game, as yers scrambled to get in touch with their teammates. But they had a rude awakening when they realised that the game was locked, nobody would be able to logout until the end of the wars.


    [The game will be locked. They say the early bird catches the worm, they''ll learn to be earlier next time. Yes this wasn''t announced, purposely. Along with how the wars will be conducted.


    The first trial will be survival. yers of every guild will be transported to the big forest, the South of here, also known as Tartarus. Don''t be rmed, it''s only a tiny bit dangerous.


    You won''t only have to fight each other but the monsters that roam in the depths of that forest. If you don''t fight each other, remember this, you will only be making things harder for yourselves in the next stages. The less guilds make it, the better it will be for you.


    Your goal is to eliminate as many yers as possible, gathering their keepsakes and monster cores. Walk through the forest and make it to the other side.


    Eliminated yers, either by fatal injury or death will be transported to the arena everyone here will walk through Tartarus to get there. How the next stage will be conducted will be announced then, happy hunting.]


    They hadn''t even gathered their thoughts when a bright yellow light engulfed and stole them where they stood. The next second they opened their eyes, a greenery scene was in every direction.


    The ground was slightly littered with snow. The forest was eerily dead, silence that they couldn''t even hear any wind blowing yet the tree leaves blew through the sky.


    "This feels dangerous already." Kademented, one of Chasing Madness'' archer.


    He wasn''t wrong, even Kiro felt nervous about this. Through his vibrations, he only sensed fear and death. He wondered what monsters roamed in here, while this was the exact replica of the first stage from his previous life, he''d never heard of Tartarus.


    It hadn''t even been a second that they got there and Kiro threw Ryu into the distant trees. Niki was grateful for the trees and sun, as that meant he could travel the forest using them.


    Sure enough, he was right behind Ryu with his two weapons already out. Ishaan had his shield covering the rest.


    They sensed the ambush before it festered into something dangerous. They acted without even consulting each other, that''s how used to each other they were.


    Ryu pierced through countless yers, Kiro and Niki were right behind him.


    Niki used his des to slit throats, blood sttered everywhere staining the pristine white ground.


    Kiro was envious of Niki, his killing style seemed to not be too much of a hassle. He was also drawn to the blood.


    It only took him one hit to kill these yers, their bones would shatter the moment his attack reached them, and they would cry in agony for a few seconds before a red light stole them, apparently transporting them to the arena.


    When the guild realised that they had messed with the wrong people, they used devious ways to run away from the scene.


    "Should I give chase?" Niki asked.


    "No need. If the monsters don''t eat them first other yers will. We''ve managed to seriously cut down their numbers."


    Ryu came spinning from above, Kiro caught him with one hand. Took out his little cloth and started cleaning the blood off him like he didn''t just kill people. It didn''t bother him in the slightest.


    "Th-that was amazing!" Lyle managed to say.


    His entire guild looked at the spectacle that just transpired with a mix of fear, admiration and tion.

 Chapter 253: Tartarus, II

    Kiro sensed around for any more ambushes that could be lurking about but he couldn''t find anything hidden beyond the thick and dark trees surrounding them.


    ''Weird, this forest gives me the Underworld vibes. Strange as it is, scary as it is, it feels like home.'' He thought to himself.


    He''d after all spent more time down there than in Asgard. Almost a full year, it wasn''t peculiar that he felt like Hubris'' home was his.


    These thoughts opened up many more memories with Hubris. Kiro found himself missing him and very sad that they were realms apart, which made him promise to focus on working on his jumping skill after this.


    He wanted to see his big, fiery mount. He wanted to fight with him more, they didn''t get much time together.


    "Sorry if I will sound out of ce but, shouldn''t we be fighting with you?" Jorge asked after his initial shock wore off.


    His train of thoughts were disturbed, as he nodded, agreeing with Jorge.


    "Yeah, sorry, it was pure battle instinct. I can''t promise it won''t happen again, so can I make a suggestion? How about we deal with monsters, all of us.


    "While yers will be dealt with by After Dark? Monsters are straight forward, while yers can be very dangerous with their cunning. Unfortunately we don''t have time to sync with you guys. I''m sure this is fair?"


    Jorge pondered over the suggestion. It was a fair suggestion, after all they''d just met a few hours ago, they couldn''t hope to sync well with just a couple of fights that haven''t even happened.


    "Okay, yes, that''s very fair."


    They still had to fight, experience was the most important thing to gain during this war, ontop of that winning would take them working well with After Dark.


    There was no time linger about, so they walked on. The forest reeked of animosity, Kiro was sure if they were any weaker, they''d suffocate from the mere atmosphere alone there.


    "Why did you guys be mercenaries anyway? Isn''t a guild much more helpful?" Kade asked.


    "Depends how you look at it." Felix answered shrugging. Which surprised everyone.


    "Depends?"


    "Yes, we aren''t looking to buildmitment in-game." He said simply without exining.


    They only needed the game for the money, the real standing was out there. They wanted to reach insurmountable influence out in the real world instead of ying warrior in the game.


    They needed that after all, with everything they were nning to do to the current status quo of their society. They needed every bit of power they could cling onto.


    "Okay, that''s understandable, I guess." Kade gave up trying to convince them. They''d clearly made up their minds.


    As they walked, Kiro couldn''t help but notice a change in sounds through vibrations. It sounded like a rumbling stomach, but he couldn''t see any animals or monster within 200 meter radius of them.


    "Can you guys hear that?" He asked them in a hushed voice, as if the sound would disappear if he spoke any louder.


    "Hear what?" Hiro whispered back.


    "The rumbling, like a hungry animal or..."


    The possibility of what it could be hit Kiro like a ton of bricks. He''d realised that the sound didn''te from anything that was breathing, at least not in the conventional sense. It came from the forest, it was alive.


    The further they walked the closer they got to its ''stomach''.


    "I''ll need you guys to be careful now, and I need you not to panic to what I''m about to say. The forest is alive..."


    "Of course the forest is alive, trees are living beings aren''t they?" Lyle asked dumbfounded


    "Yes, but you could count this one as a monster too. Be careful, Hiro and I encountered something simr in the past, only then we were attacked by two giant trees." He exined.


    JJ one of the priests from Chasing Madness was already pacing back and forth. He didn''t like the sound of being inside a monster, he was ustrophobic, so even though before he saw this as nothing but a forest with an entire sky over it.


    It soon dawned on him that, they had entered a living being and it could close them off any time, he didn''t mean to but he was panicking.


    "Okay, what did I just say?" Kiro asked rolling his eyes.


    "He can''t help it," Jorge answered understanding his guild mate. "He''s ustrophobic." He answered then looked away from Kiro and directly to his man.


    "Okay JJ, rx, that''s, that''s still the sky, this is nothing but a forest. Yes it''s a monster but it''s a very big monster, if you had wings you''d probably fly out of here.


    "We aren''t restricted. That''s why we are travelling to the other side, we''ll be able to get out of here as soon as we reach the other side." He tried to reason with him, and he seemed to calm down too.


    "A-are you sure?" He stuttered.


    "Yeah, buddy, I promise."


    Kiro rolled his eyes. This was just a game, he didn''t understand why this JJ was acting like this. With those thoughts he quickly reminded himself that, fear can sometimes be irrational.


    He sighed deeply, he started running forwards. They watched, thinking he was abandoning them. He skidded in front a tree, and threw his staff to the skies. It flew deeper into the skies, leaving the forest as if it were nothing.


    "See my staff? Jorge is right, no need to be that worried." He turned to face them as he said, Ryu came back just as fast, Kiro didn''t even need to turn around to catch him.


    "Thanks guys. I know I''m too much right now but thank you for putting up with it." He told them sincerely.


    Kiro couldn''t say he cared much about them, but he also didn''t want someone panicky ruining this one mission but he let JJ think what he wanted. It wouldn''t do them any good if he were to remind him that this was just business.

 Chapter 254: Tartarus, III

    They had just finished the demonstration when a white tiger walked of the shadows and towards them. Kiro cursed himself, while he was too busy calming that kid down, he got a little distracted.


    While vibrations was passive, he still needed some level of concentration. It didn''t make him omniscient, so of course some details were very capable of slipping through.


    The tiger let out an ear piercing sound. Which prompted some of them to close off their ears, they didn''t want to receive damage if it worked like Niki''s whisper.


    One thing that was great about the wars, there was no system to annoy them. The other news were bad though as they wouldn''t know how strong a monster was.


    Kiro didn''t think that mattered, he didn''t think there was anything in this forest that could contend with 5 guardians unless it was a harbinger, a much stronger harbinger.


    ''Fingers crossed.'' He thought to himself.


    The tiger was crouching down, it was wary of the intruders that were in his home. He had a pair of blue beautiful eyes that contended with Kiro''s, with an entire body that was striped.


    What was most peculiar about Chasing Madness was the fact that most of the 10 were priests. They were a small guild, that needed power. Jorge decided that power could be achieved with a strong foundation, which were priests.


    So when the tiger appeared most of them were ordered, by Kiro, to take refuge under Ishaan''s force field.


    The force field had evolved a lot since the first time Kiro saw it in that cave, it could cover more people. Most importantly, Ishaan could cast it and have the freedom to go fight without worrying that it would dissipate.


    "Great job Ishaan, men! Let''s take this kitten down!" Kiro bellowed.


    It was all of After Dark together with Jorge, Lyle, Kade and Brutus. Thest one was a swordsman. Excluding Felix, which he was mad about. Kiro ordered him to be the lead healer.


    The thing was hell of nimble and fast. More than Kiro thought possible. It seemed to be able to evade even him but slightly.


    It also had a very annoying, lightning fast attack that it let out with its mouth. It was a good thing that the attack seemed to have a cool down.


    "Don''t attack it from behind, can''t you see the shape of its tail?" Kiro shouted from across.


    The tail was that of a scorpion, it was toote for Brutus, the stinger would''ve went right through his chest if it wasn''t for the armour Hiro had made. He instead received a lot of damage.


    If he had been alone, he''d be dead, butdy luck was with him as hisrades came running at the tiger, not giving it an opportunity to attack him a second time.


    "Dammit Brutus!" Jorge yelled as he was face to face with the tiger. The others had gone to retrieve him.


    They had no idea whether the tiger had its friends with it, so they wanted to move in groups, especially with an injured patient. Kiro was the one who picked him up, he blinked once, twice and reached where Ishaan''s force field was.


    Ishaan was right behind, as he opened it up so they could throw Brutus in. They immediately turned back.


    A fierce battle ensued when they returned. Jorge and Niki were fighting side by side, keeping the monster at bay. They were assassins, it was a wonder how they were able to fight it head on.


    An assassin''s strong suit was sneaking up on unsuspecting targets. Though it wasn''t the monster that broke concentration first, it was Jorge, he''d never been in an intense battle such as this before, fatigue was slowly befalling him.


    The monster pounced, its giant ws leaving gashes on Jorge''s face. He fell to the ground, it was impressive that he refused to scream. He just used his quick feet to fall back.


    "Are you alright?" Niki yelled from the front lines.


    "Yes yes, don''t worry about me, I''m already getting healed." He yelled back without missing a single beat.


    Now Kiro understood how he took this pathetic guild and turned it into something golden. The kid had guts and he was able to hold his own.


    They were all using different kinds of skills. Their strategy was that, those with long ranged attacks, attack first, leaving the monster disoriented and confused for the close range attackers.


    Kiro was both. Him and Kade were great help. Kade was hiding up a tree. He asionally left his position to confuse the enemy, the tiger was smart enough to discover it otherwise.


    Their attacks werending in perfect sequence. Not all but most, the fact that tiger hadn''t died proved how much mana and HP it had. Also injuring two of their members was quite the feat.


    Kade did something that was simr to I, and shot a mana arrow, but it never exploded even on impact. Kiro figured this was his chance, along with lightning, he used bending kick that didn''t even sever its head, though it broke its neck.


    "Next time I want to fight!" Felixined while the others were happy celebrating the victory.


    "What about your priest duties? Felix, you''re a priest first!" Kiro scolded him, not intending to even look at the loot, since they promised all of it to Chasing Madness.


    "I think having 7 priests is absurd." He countered.


    "Well you''re the one with the most experience."


    "So, I should suffer?"


    Kiro sighed and looked to Hiro for help, but instead of doing that, he nodded to let him do what he wants.


    "We have enough potions. And I''ve brought ingredients with me."


    "Mighty thoughtful of you." Kiro was annoyed, he liked being healed while he fought. Drinking a potion would waste precious seconds in his eyes.


    Little bugs started to swarm around them, Kiro remembered them as bug eyes. He quickly used lightning to burn them into a crisp, sure enough, it worked.


    "What the hell was that about?" Lyle asked.


    "We havepany." All of After Dark were already in a fighting stance.

 Chapter 255: Tartarus, IV

    "What do you mean? I don''t feel anything!"


    Jorge hadn''t finished his thought process when tendrils came shooting from the darkness. When Kiro inspected them closer, they were tree roots.


    The forest was alive and didn''t like that they causing havoc within its body, so it was attacking the ones who disturbed the peace.


    Kiro felt a vibrationing from behind him, when he turned to look it was just Felix. His excitement couldn''t be contained.


    These things attacked the same way he did, before the tendrils could knock anyone out, he threw his scepter, it turned into a chain as he did. It didn''t wrap around that, it cut them in half.


    A few arrows zoomed, hitting a few roots that had almost reached the healers. Ishaan quickly summoned his force shield once again, before heading to where the battle was.


    His sword cut through them like a hot knife through butter. He had gained a legendary sword from Hiro, even though he felt less since hisrades were all guardians, he held up his own.


    Kiro sat this one out and watched, as Felix wrecked havoc through the forest. He wasn''t underestimating the monster, he was just watching the fun Felix was having. He wondered why he had chosen priesthood when he clearly enjoyed cutting things up so much.


    Felix had a crazed smile on his face, as the root hit him across the face. He didn''t flinch, he grabbed the root instead, pulling it from its treepletely.


    A sharp terrible noise sounded all around the forest, it hadn''t cried when they were cutting it, but pulling from the root gave it a pain it had never felt before.


    Now the forest ground was slightly shaking, it threatened to swallow them whole but no crack ever appeared, Kiro was very ready, he''d been in a simr situation before. He reckoned they should be ready in case a harbinger showed itself during the wars.


    "Felix, I get your excitement, but that''s a bit dangerous. We don''t want to be swallowed by the earth now." Kiromanded from the back.


    Felix heard but didn''t give a sign of confirmation that he''d heard him. He obliged and didn''t do it again nheless, remembering how the harbinger that almost killed his leader appeared.


    The roots became fewer as the minutes ticked by. The forest was slowly realising that, it couldn''t do much against this group, so it was slowly retreating.


    The forest was designed to attack yers too, there were stages, each stage was more stronger than thest, but there was fortunately time before it could attack the same team again. This time, only Felix and Ishaan from After Dark fought.


    The rest stopped fighting when they saw their leader wasn''t taking the roots all that serious. So Felix was in a way, leading the attack.


    "That was awfully easy? I want to fight on the next one too." He proimed.


    Kiro knew better than to stop him, he''d let him do what he wants but if they die because he couldn''t heal them, he''d give him hell for that.


    "Fight, knowing that your first priority is healing us. You''ll be in serious trouble if we fail this Felix." Kiro told him seriously.


    He nodded in agreement, "I''ll take care of myself I know my limits, I promise we won''t fail this."


    Kiro decided to believe in him, he wanted to be a leader but not an overbearing one. Hisrades could have all the freedom, as long as they knew their priorities.


    Chasing Madness on the other hand was all banged up but they survived nheless without the help of healers. They celebrated, After Dark didn''t see the need to, they were too used to fighting and this monster wasn''t all that strong. It only took two of their members with the help of the others to take it down.


    "Well then, let''s go, we can''t wait around here." Kiro told them.


    "I mean, can''t we rest up a bit? There''s no time limit on this survival quest." Jorge suggested.


    He''d forgotten that they weren''t on par with them, so they''d be tired from fighting the tiger and the tree roots.


    "Okay, rest up for only an hour. After that we leave."


    Jorge was thankful for Kiro''s consideration. Their healers quickly took some potions to replenish their mana.


    Chasing Madness was feeling a little confident that with this alliance they could actually win the guild wars. The way they fought wasn''t anything they''d seen, of course they''ve watched the videos online but seeing it upclose was another matter entirely.


    Jorge was checking his guild mates one by one to ensure that they were fine. He didn''t prioritise himself although he was a bit injured himself. Kiro admired that, he understood now why his guild grew the way it did. He cared for his people, that was a rare and beautiful thing, especially with the society they grew up in.


    "What''s the news on the sanctum?" Niki whispered.


    They were standing a but further away from their allies so it was safe to whisper amongst themselves.


    Hiro looked to Kiro, he already knew everything but wasn''t sure if they should share the raw details with the rest either.


    "There''s something, a lead. I can''t say where we got it from, but there''s a hidden area uncounted for." Kiro whispered back.


    "And?"


    "That''s where they take those they abduct, we know the location and how they get transported there. The problem is reaching it."


    "Is that why you had Wilfred give us that hell training?"


    "Yes."


    Niki had a dangerous and excited look in his eyes. He couldn''t believe, after so many years there was finally a direction, not just a direction, an entire location to expose and possibly fight the upper echelons of their society.


    "Is this information trustworthy?" Ishaan whispered.


    This whole ordeal had been eating at him since he found out, he wanted it all to be over. He wanted to stop his father frommitting any more crimes.


    He knew that, once everything was out in the open, the possibly that he would get ostracised was great. Just by mere affiliation, this would surely dirty his surname. He was set to live a cursed life, that''s what he surmised. But even then, he was willing to see it through.


    Being a social pariah wouldn''t be muchpared to those who have suffered under the hands of the sanctum.


    "It''s trustworthy, but it''s also really old information. So there could be changes here and there."


    "How old?" Niki enquired.


    "About 10 years..."


    "Your grandfather then?"


    Niki figured it out so easily. Kiro had told them about his grandfather and his disappearance, Niki always suspected the sanctum had everything to do with it.


    But with this, his suspicion was now certainty. If he had so much information about them and they found out, of course they''d want him to dissappear.


    Kiro simply nodded to his question. There wouldn''t be a point of lying now when he''d figured out so easily, he never took Niki for a thinker. But he was proven wrong here.


    "Your grandfather sure was an amazing man." Heplimented.


    He couldn''t believe that he managed to gather all this, knew they were after him and found ways to get the information to the next generation that cared enough to put a stop to this.


    "You guys, how are we to get there?" Ishaan asked.


    "Let''s focus on training for now, I know what you''ll be thinking ''but we know their hideout'' so what if we do? We''re just a couple of kids, who aren''t immune toser guns. Surely the security is tight over there." Kiro exined to them why he didn''t want to act immediately.


    They understood, they had to be ready in every way possible in order to take down an entire society that hid deep within their society.


    "Sh*t, we shouldn''t have entered the guild wars then. An entire weekend will be wasted, we could be training as we speak." Ishaan was erratic when it came to this topic.


    "Patience is good." Niki told him.


    He had experience. After all, he waited for years just to escape the estate that held him as a ve. He could attest, he knew exactly what he was talking about, patience would never fail them. That was his belief.


    "Niki is right." Felix chimed in.


    Ishaan was bummed but he agreed to be patient with them. After he''d heard about the sanctum, he started snooping around his estate looking for clues. Either his father was very good at hiding things or the proof wasn''t hidden on their estate.


    Kiro felt relieved that they didn''t feel betrayed that he chose not to tell them right away and when he decided to, he didn''t give them everything. They understood that secret information shouldn''t be shared so easily, in case one of them ended up like Kiro''s grandfather.


    Kiro walked away and went to Chasing Madness, "well then, are you guys ready? An hour is up."

 Chapter 256: Lazarus

    They walked a good distance with nothing of interest happening. There were asional sounds, though whether it was screams or the forest making strange noises was unclear.


    While they walked, Kiro had entered a meditative state, he was in Paradise training his jump skills. That''s the kind of training he preferred when the skills were just too dangerous for the game world.


    This time, it was Niki who spotted them first. For some reason, vibrations was acting up he couldn''t get a perfect read, he surmised someone amongst those had a skill that could potentially cancel out vibrations. It was a scary thought, as he was already used to sensing things that certain way.


    But he also epted this as a challenge, he didn''t want to depend entirely on one skill. That would be a detrimental mistake.


    "Well, well, well, look what we have here, just a couple of mutts we can easily defeat!" The one at the forefront said, wearing a stupid smirk on his face.


    Kiro looked around with pretend confusion, "wouldn''t it be fitting to call you mutts, since you reek like a pack of wild dogs?"


    His expression changed to one of contempt, "this one has quite the mouth on him, you''ll be the first to die then."


    Kiro hadn''t even taken the chance to reply when something flew right past his peripheral vision. Itnded on the talkative guy''s neck, coiling itself around it like a snake. Felix then yanked the man towards him.


    This caused his head to do somersaults in the air. His shock was still etched on his face as his lifeless body hit the ground with a deafening thud, immediately when it did the light came for him too.


    Hisrades were still in shock when Hiro took two more from their rankings, with his shield and axe.


    That shook them out of their stupor. The ground rumbled as if an earthquake was attacking them. Kiro noticed the drop in his HP when this happened, he was about toment when several skeletons broke out from the concrete ground.


    "That was impressive, but this will truly be your end. You''ll pay dearly for that." The necromancer said in a voice full of malice.


    Kiro looked at him impressed that even his summoning was siphoning at their HP, in a way that it was noticeable. He wasn''t a fan of the ss but he wouldn''t mind if they recruited one now that he saw the damage it was capable of causing.


    Kiro''s vibrations were still acting up, so he couldn''t react in time when one of the skeletons got ahold of one of the Chasing Madness healers, breaking her neck instantaneously.


    ''Ha. This never happened before. But I suppose necromancers have a way to meddle with my vibrational sense?'' He pondered this.


    He was in time for the second one though. Using his kick it dissipated immediately. He then used whirlwind, pushing them back to their summoner apanied by wind des.


    That gave hisrades much needed seconds to act. Ishaan already had Chasing Madness under his protection. They were in shock, it wasn''t the first time they''ve lost someone during quests.


    But they naively thought this time would be different. Jorge was the first one toe out of it.


    "Kiro, let me fight please." He yelled through the force field.


    He wasn''t acting out of emotion, he genuinely thought he could help. As far as Kiro was, his vision was impable. He could see the resolve in his eyes, he didn''t sense anger but growth. That''s why he nodded to Ishaan who let him out without questioning.


    After several minutes it was a wonder how they were still standing. The guild was definitely a big one, most likely an alliance and none of them were weak.


    Kiro didn''t mind who they were fighting, but he preferred monsters if they were in numbers. Humans had functioning brains, they weren''t programmed, they were unpredictable. At least monsters had a pattern that could be learned.


    "Felix, I think we need you more as a healer at the moment, please be reasonable." Kiro yelled from the other side, he had one of the people in a chokehold while kicking the rest.


    He didn''t need to be healed, but hisrades did. He had his own ways. He doubted any of them had regeneration abilities like he did.


    Felix saw and could hear the pleading tone. He decided to stop being stubborn, he retreated to the back of the line, but not without lynching about 3 of their members first.


    The necromancer Kiro wanted to kill with his bare hands was hiding at the back of the many members. He was clearly only good at long range with his summons.


    He couldn''t reach him at all, not that, that was causing a hindrance in hisbat skills but the constant disturbance was like nails on a chalkboard. It ground his gears. He was too used to sensing everything so this rubbed him the wrong way.


    Nobody understood why he was so annoyed in the battlefield but no one wanted to ask either. He looked really pissed.


    Him and Ryu werebing through the defense with difficulty but they were doing it nheless. He had to remind himself every time not to use anything to alter reality, thatst time of creating a whole star almost killed him. He didn''t want to take his big guns, not for this.


    Of course he wasn''t doing this alone, his team was right behind him. Niki used the shadows to get to impossible distances at an instant.


    As he got closer to the necromancer, he wasughing maniacally, muttering gibberish. Then something, an invisible force repelled Kiro. His chest felt heavy as he flew to the air, he managed to stop himself midair using whirlwind.


    The peculiar guy startedughing loudly now, "I am Lazarus, leader of the Grim Reaper guild. Your defiance and participation in the guild wars is hereby revoked." Heughed as he said.


    "What a delusional guy!" Niki cried.


    "An atrociousugh too." Hiro agreed.


    Kiro stood in the air, looking closer, now that he had an aerial vision to the ground he noticed a thinyer dorm surrounding Lazarus.

 Chapter 257: Tartarus on Fire

    Kiro attacked from where he stood with wind des. They were repelled before reach him. He was sure if he could get any closer, he would be able to dismantle protective shield he had.


    The guy was willing to sacrifice hundreds of his men, while he sat at the back safe behind a thinly veiled protection, asionally doing summons.


    He threw Ryu right at him, he travelled faster than his minions could get in the way and stop him with their bodies. He reached a very dangerous distance before being repelled back to his master.


    Even Lazarus was shocked at how close he got, a mere staff managed to almost break his defenses. That made him furious if anything.


    "This has been fun, kill them all!" Hemanded.


    "The fact that you think they weren''t trying is hrious." Felix shouted from the safety of Ishaan''s field.


    He was right. His guild mates were absolutely wrecking their bodies, pushing them to the limits just to carve a few gashes on their bodies. Gashes that would be healed by Felix and the group of healers in minutes.


    "Leader, help us out. Summon that!" One of his man suggested.


    "Idiot, that''s for emergencies, don''t order me around!" He spat.


    "This is an emergency, we haven''t killed a single one of them and our numbers are dwindling!" Another shouted from across the field.


    They were usually scared of their leader, it took their all to question his methods this time. They wanted to win, but if it continued like this it would only be their leader left and they''d surely lose.


    "Does anyone else feel like these two?" He asked smiling boyishly.


    No one supported them. This conversation happened while they fought, they could use that as an excuse but they could hear clearly what was happening, they knew better than to question Lazarus.


    "Good!" He screamed. The two that defied him went on their knees, gasping for air that was quickly leaving their lungs.


    They held their throats helplessly whispering for Lazarus to stop and that they were sorry but he was too arrogant to let anyone who questioned him go unpunished.


    Kiro looked at the man before with contempt. He reminded him of the rich in their society who did as they pleased with the lives of those they deemed lesser.


    He slowly descended and stood right above. He summoned lightning, up there he looked like a god that was here to condemn his creation. The lightning answered his calls, burning most of the area in the forest.


    He didn''t want to use something as devasting as this, but what he''d just witnessed pushed him. He didn''t know what the forest would do if they caused such damage within it and at this point, he didn''t care.


    Grim Reaper members cried as they were burnt into charcoal. Kiro touched the ground with one foot, he changed the air to be hotter and the forest to be drier, and caused quite the forest fire. Just this little use of the skill put him at a quarter of his kaos energy.


    After Dark along with Jorge didn''t waste time, they didn''t ask, they plowed through the fire that wasn''t burning them because Felix had put a protective mana coat over their bodies.


    While they were receiving damage from the fire, they used their weapons to put them out of their misery.


    Lazarus was livid. Kiro was slowly gaining his kaos back, heughed at how scared he looked. He''d never seen someone as cowardly as he was, he thought he was even more cowardly than Isaac.


    They were definitely two sides of the same coin but this Lazarus seemed to irk him even more.


    Kiro''s kaos was already at a halfway point. He blinked from where he stood, appeared in the midst of the fire infested battleground. He disappeared as quick as he appeared.


    He thought he could use this opportunity to attack their leader but s, he was once again repelled.


    "Niki, use deadly bad!" Hemanded with an annoyed voice.


    Niki wanted to say ''but my sess rate is still on the lower side.'' But he noticed how irritated his leader was and decided to nip it in the bud and hope for the best.


    The whistling started almost immediately, Niki had to tune in to the right note so that hisrades weren''t affected. And so far, he was doing a pretty good job.


    Lazarus was smiling, taunting the people in front of him on the fact that they couldn''t get to him. The sound made that expression to turn into an ugly one. He could feel something was moving his insides.


    He tried to cast another undead spell, but his concentration was entirely stolen by the fact that the pain inside of him refused to subside no matter what he did. Fear started to seep in.


    He started to panic and Kiro saw when the veil lifted. He was now unprotected, he blinked right in front of him within a second. He didn''t waste any time and shoved his hand right in his chest.


    His whole arm pushed through and appeared on Lazarus'' back. His heart was still pumping while he held it, but it quickly died as it was severed from its arteries.


    "Remember my face." Kiro told him as he fell and the light took him.


    Jorge was tired as a dog. He was at the brink of mana exhaustion. His breathing was uneven as heid on the fiery ground, he wasn''t afraid though, he was smiling from ear to ear.


    This was the rush. This was it, he wanted to experience almost dying in the game, every time. Fighting monsters was great, but their predictability made the fights uninteresting. Fighting yers was entirely different, he loved it.


    This made him more sure that, he wanted to form a strong bond with After Dark. He watched as he fought, Kiro was a dangerous species. Who could summon mes and walk on air.


    "Just, how strong are you guys?"

 Chapter 258: Master and Student

    Jorge was amazed, it even crossed his mind to leave his group or just join After Dark all of them. He had to calm his racing heart, that made him think irrational things.


    "Hey, don''t move around too much." Kiro told him.


    "Why? I feel fine, I could take on a mountain right now." Jorge shot back.


    "That hole on your thigh must be an essory then?" Hiro chuckled as he said.


    With the adrenaline pumping him up, he hadn''t noticed that he was badly injured. He couldn''t even say when and how he got it, but when he saw it his brain started to make it hurt. He couldn''t even stand anymore.


    "Felix, what are you doing! Attend to him." Niki reprimanded him.


    Felix felt annoyed at how useless the Chasing Madness healers were. He found himself doing half the work, when there a whole 5 of them. He couldn''t believe just how weak unevolved priests were.


    He started healing him withoutint, because his hesitation was met with Niki''s deadliest stares.


    "How are you guys so strong?" Jorge wanted to know their secrets, not only are they fighting machines, Felix''s healing was faster than average priests.


    Kiro shrugged, "we got lucky I suppose."


    Of course he didn''t believe that their strength was mere luck, but he also understood that was Kiro''s polite way of telling him it was none of his business so he put a lid on it.


    Amongst the people there, Hiro was the only one who didn''t want to be there. He thought this was a waste of time, he could be in his shop right now, working on mastering the true blood potion.


    He hadn''t stopped looking at it since he acquired it. It seemed easy at first nce but it was reallyplicated, it required many steps that needed a master''s hands. It frustrated him that he could brew it but it never came out right.


    Naturally, Kiro noticed this about his friend. He thought he''d go mad if he stayed cooped up, so he dragged him here. He believed a change of scenery would give him fresh ideas. Though, whether that works will only be clear after this war.


    It took only several minutes to have Jorgepletely healed. His guild mates were starting to wonder why they were even there, by the looks of things, this After Dark had everything under control.


    All except for Lyle wanted to give up, this motivated him even more. He wanted to be the next guy who yells out that he wants to fight, he wanted to be as strong of a sage as Kiro was.


    "Master Kiro, please, teach me your ways!" Thats one thing he''d never stopped pestering him about, whenever they had a little break he''d mention it.


    "I don''t know how to, have you unlocked meditation?" He asked having given up telling him not to call him a master.


    "Yes sir, but it''s not easy to concentrate. I''ve only entered the meditative state once. My mind can''t seem to be cleared enough to enter it."


    "Yeah, because you talk a lot."


    Kiro ordered him to sit cross-legged and close his eyes, so that''s what he did. He sat behind him with his hand on his back.


    "This may feel ufortable but don''t break concentration, I''ll help you a little."


    Kiro was at a point where he could split his concentration, so he didn''t need to be semi-unconscious to meditate. He was still aware of his surroundings, as he took Lyle on an adventure of his own.


    He slowly injected him with kaos, the game would convert it into mana before it entered his body. Otherwise it would be deadly for the non-kaos user.


    After several minutes, Lyle was deep in his meditation. Fatigue and everything slowly washed away from his shoulders, he felt lighter than he''d ever been in Asgard.


    After rxing in nothingness for quite some time Kiro took him to paradise. He almost broke concentration as this was his first ever mental world he''d been in.


    "Calm down."


    "What''s this ce?"


    "My mental world I guess you could say."


    "Wow. So beautiful, can I also make something like this?"


    Kiro wasn''t sure if he could. He used a different energy than he did. He also created this space because of Kaos.


    "Maybe?" He shrugged.


    "You''re very impressive master Kiro."


    He could feel the longer he was there, the stronger he was getting. Kiro took out Ryu and stood in a fighting stance.


    "Well then kid, let''s spar."


    Lyle smirked taking out his staff. He wasted no time and rushed Kiro with a barrage of attacks, that were blocked. With every single strike missed he became erratic and careless.


    Kiro would simply swerve to the side and hit him on the butt, making him more angry that he couldn''tnd a single attack and he was being handled pretty easily.


    "You''re impatient. When your attacks don''tnd, you be irrational and make unnecessary movements that burn your stamina faster. You don''t have to be that wild, sages are a sophisticated bunch that use the very air to attack."


    He advised as he swung his staff that created a gust of wind, blowing himpletely out of the way.


    Lyle got up, he looked like he was about to cry. But he listened though, he didn''t rush him this time. He listened, looked and waited. His staff at the ready.


    "Better!" Kiro yelled and blinked in front of him.


    And because he was listening and looking, he managed to react just in time and blocked Kiro''s attack that would''ve most likely killed his mental self.


    Kiro was obviously not using all his might, this was a spar against a weaker person after all. He didn''t need to overexert himself.


    Lyle''s movements were bing more pronounced, he stopped wasting his energy like a brute. This made Kiro smile, the kid was a fast learner and now he thought being a master wasn''t so bad.


    He was having more fun than he thought he would, and 9with his power at little over 30% so he was a little stronger than Lyle.


    "Master." An echo voice sounded.

 Chapter 259: Another Attack

    Kirp stopped what he was doing and looked around. He couldn''t see anything, he wasn''t sure if he even heard what he''d heard.


    "Did you say something?" He asked Lyle unsure.


    "Uh, no." He said a little bit out of breath.


    Kiro strained his ears more, but the sound never came again. He thought it must''ve been his imagination. So he decided to ignore, and they continued for a couple more minutes and then stopped.


    Lyle wanted to keep training. Since he was tired, Kiro refused and reminded him that patience was the most important characteristic.


    They came out of the meditative state with everyone else sitting around, with their hands on their cheeks. Bored out of their minds that they had to wait.


    Lyle slowly opened his eyes, he weirdly didn''t feel tired, he felt refreshed. His staff was on his hand, so he swung it the other way, a gust of wind came out, though it wasn''t as strong it still made the trees shake.


    "Th-that was amazing, thank you master!"


    Jorge showed his deepest gratitude that Kiro took his time to teach his vice a thing or two. Something that wasn''t even part of their agreement. He offered to pay for the lessons, but Kiro declined.


    "Let''s go."


    The forest was darker now. Not even the moon illuminated their path, they entirely depended on their own eyes and senses. Kiro was d he had vibrations back to work normally.


    He didn''t know whether he wanted to encounter another necromancer, but maybe it would be for the best. Figure a way to work around vibration disturbances.


    The winds around were cold, but thanks to Hiro''s creation, they couldn''t feel it. Kiro had his robe that showed his chest a little.


    "Aren''t you cold?" Kade asked, since he was also walking without shoes.


    "Not even a tiny bit."


    Lyle was still in his head, excited for what he''d just experienced.


    "Master Kiro even has a mental world, it was so realistic and amazing and everything." He blurted out to one of his guild mates.


    After Dark shot him dirty looks, he has never taken them there. Kiro looked away embarrassed, he''d never thought to do it either. He didn''t even know whether those without meditation or those who aren''t bound to him could even enter the space.


    "I''ll try to when we get back." He said curtly when they didn''t stop ring at him.


    He was walking at the forefront, so when he hit the ground with his staff that startled everyone. He released vibrations through his staff, a countless giant spiders fell from the trees, stunned.


    "That, might have been a dangerous ambush!" He cried.


    Their shock died just as quick. They swiftly attended to their enemies as they couldn''t move. They didn''t want to hang around and find out just the kind of abilities they had.


    They managed to quickly get rid of them. As soon as they did, the tree roots attacked once again unexpectedly. Two tendrils shot at one of the priests, piercing through him on both the throat and stomach, he died immediately.


    "Sh*t! Be careful, we can do this!"


    They once again fought tree roots. They were more aggressive and stronger than the ones before. That''s why yet another priest was taken before Ishaan could put up his protective shield.


    The trees seemed to be smarter, going after priests mostly was a good start for any opposing team. Once a team had no healers, they were doomed if they were not strong enough.


    Brutus had meant to jump and dodge in their air, but he was much too slow as he was whacked on the face, caught by a tendril before he got too far and smashed back onto the ground. This single mistake cost him a life as the red light stole his body too.


    "Dammit Jorge, how are you training these guys!?" Kiro didn''t think his main attack would be this weak.


    Jorge couldn''t even answer, he was dying from embarrassment. If they didn''t pull their weight here, if they didn''t prove their worth he doubted After Dark would want to be allied with them in the future.


    So he gritted his teeth, as an assassin his movements were swift. He could dodge the tree roots no problem, he just didn''t have the strength topletely overpower them.


    He used short swords now, but Kiro vividly remembered him using a scythe. He was even nicknamed the Grim Reaper.


    "You still have a lot to learn." Niki shouted appearing from the shadow next to him. "Assassins don''t depend on strength, they depend on tricks, tricks that work. We don''t need to be the strongest, we just need to be swiftest."


    He said all this while throwing his poison daggers to the roots. He threw in a mist potion for good measure.


    The trees whose roots were affected died instantly. They shrivelled up and disappeared from where they stood, leaving the spot empty and snow filling it up.


    "Poison? I don''t have any poisonous skills."


    "You should, maybe Kiro has some. Ask if he can''t sell you some."


    He disappeared just as quick from the shadows, appearing on the other side, repeating what he''d done.


    The trees retreated, having been defeated by this one team twice now. They didn''t wait around much, they continued walking. They weren''t exhausted in the conventional sense, but since there was no sense of time in this forest, that made them tired.


    They encountered a few more beasts, which they defeated without losing anyone else. The drops for Chasing Madness were sweet too, they had so much at this point that they had already put half of the drops to the auction.


    Since the game was locked, nobody would be able to buy until after the wars and he didn''t mind much.


    They eliminated a lot of guilds along the way. Kiro''s biggest fear at that moment was running into I''s guild. He didn''t want that no matter what, she was still mad at him and he didn''t know if he''d be able to eliminate her when push came to shove.


    He wasn''t soft on her, okay maybe a little, but he did break a promise and he felt bad for it, a little.


    "I think I hear the cheers from the arena!" Jorgemented excitedly.

 Chapter 260: Confusing Echoes

    "Where are these voicesing from?" Kiro asked genuinely confused.


    The others looked at him like he was an idiot. Then they proceeded and pointed at different directions.


    They started barking amongst themselves, each wanting their senses to be the right ones. They were about ready to fight it out when Kiro used vibrations to stun them.


    The voices were poisonous, clearly they were made to turn teammates against each other. If Kiro didn''t have an insanely strong mental fortitude he wouldn''t have been able to stand between hisrades and stop them from killing each other.


    But he was just himself, not that he couldn''t wipe the floor with them, but doing it while holding back so he didn''t kill them would prove difficult. His best hope now was using stun after stun until he figured something out.


    "Okay, let''s see. Where exactly is it, which way is the correct one?"


    The echoes were strong enough to contend with his vibrations, he couldn''t discern where the voices wereing from exactly. It was the most frustrating predicament.


    "Sh*t I don''t even have Ren and the gang." He cursed under his breath.


    He couldn''t understand why the system would restrict just him. As far as he knew, everyone else was able to use their sub-ss, he was the odd one out. He was always the odd one out.


    The stun wore off after a while. Instead of fighting each other, they now ran for Kiro. He was the only one capable of stopping them from doing what they wanted to do, which was to murder each other.


    Despite having their brains controlled by the echoes, they were able to think logically just fine. They hadn''t even taken a second step when Kiro activated vibrations once again. Niki was caught in half as he was about to travel through shadows.


    His lower half waspletely out of the picture. As they stood unmoving, their eyes full of anger and hatred that Kiro had no idea where it wasing from.


    He listened carefully from the echoes, he heard them from every possible direction. It was a very confusing experience. It made him hit his head asionally. As if that would get rid of the voices.


    As he listened closer, he noticed that these weren''t cheers. They were voices of people, possibly in battle and dying in the worst way possible. So they were crying, for some reason their cries sounded more like cheers.


    He was no longer sure whether they were close to clearing the forest or not. The results he could get from sensing vibrations was dead static.


    Tried as he did but failed, the only thing that worked was the stunning. Something he was doing every time it wore off. He also had potions to drink, so he wouldn''t run out of energy that quickly.


    He turned away from vibrations since they were failing him deeply. He started using his sense of nose, at first there was nothing distinct. Every path smelled like a regr forest. Dirt and trees.


    He slowly walked around, sniffing like a dog looking for an old bone. This was definitely embarrassing, he was d nobody was there to see him do this.


    "This is not it. Sensing through vibrations is so much better." Heined, annoyed that hispanions were so weak. Also berating himself for never taking them to Paradise, because surely their mental would''ve been strong enough.


    "No use crying over spilt milk now." He consoled himself.


    The more he smelled, the more the different paths had a distinct smell about them. One was blood, a strong metallic odour attacked his nose which caused him to wrinkle it.


    One path were rotting corpses. The odour wafted through the air and into his nostrils causing him to enter a fit of coughs. He''d smelled worse but it was unexpected.


    Another smelled of burning meat, Kiro surmised that either someone was having a roast or they were the roast.


    Thest path was odourless. This was the one he chose, if it was the wrong one, s to hisrades, they could fight to the death and try again next month. He smiled arrogantly.


    He waited for vibrations to wear off. There was no way he''d waste his energy and carry them over. It was better if they all chased him to the path he had chosen.


    It hadn''t even many minutes since he waited and they were behind him like a pack of wild dogs. Kiro wanted tough, even the priests were able to keep up with him. He wondered just how high their agility was. He''d heavily underestimated them.


    As soon as they entered the path, their minds received an awakening. Each of them skidded into a stop. Looking around, confused.


    "What happened?" Hiro asked.


    "Man, you guys are a b*tch and a half to work with. Why are you so weak, mentally? I almost died protecting you!" He exaggerated.


    "Oh? What did you do?"


    Kiro walked in front, his staff on his shoulders. His arms hanged on it. "Saved your assess for one. Honestly, you guys were attacking me. The echoes were affecting your minds."


    "You really are the leader!" Jorge said in admiration.


    "Are we going the right way?" Niki asked.


    "Yes, the arena is right up ahead."


    Kiro had gotten his wish, and he didn''t run into I in the forest but as soon as they stepped out of the forest, he was face to face with her.


    She looked at him, suppressingughter. Then out of nowhere, unprovoked, she sniffed the air not breaking eye contact with Kiro.


    Kiro furrowed his eyebrows. ''She wasn''t around was she?''


    She nodded. As if to answer his question for him. He could die of embarrassment at that moment. He decided not to focus on that, what was done was done after all.


    She looked absolutely beat. Her hair was all over the ce. Her beauty was still hers though. Saanvi looked worse. Like she''d walked an entire desert, all alone.


    She looked like she was at a brink of losing her mind. Kiro counted their members. I had around 40peting, they had about half left now.


    ''Not bad.'' Heplimented.


    He wasn''t sure how strong her guild was, but the fact that she survived the forest with so many members spoke volumes about their ability as a team.


    "I." He greeted.


    "Kiro." She greeted back.


    She understood why he chose someone he didn''t have a rtionship with. After all, there would still be doubts, unless they worked with someone they have never even met.


    She understood this much, but she couldn''t help but sulk. She was determined, now more than ever to win the guild wars this time.


    Just to prove to Kiro that, she wasn''t someone who needed him to carry her around.


    They were still the only 2 teams there who''ve made it out. The forest was like a maze, its either you get lucky and get a shortcut or you get extremely unlucky and not only run into monsters but also take wrong turns.


    Wrong turns that would make the path longer, making it more monster infested for those unlucky fellows. Some guilds were already eliminated by this point because of that mostly.


    As they stood there with nothing to say to each other, more and more guilds started to fill the front of the arena. The cheers would erupt with each reveal.


    The ones who died, the ones who didn''t participate were all here to watch and support their favourites.


    "We shall bask in their support then." Kiro said abruptly, enjoying every moment of this.


    The atmosphere was euphoric. Those who died didn''t dwell in their failures, they instead looked forward to their teammates or the new guilds they''ve chosen to support.


    Jorge was smiling like an idiot, feeling more important than he actually was. There were still a lot of guilds, the pouring of people didn''t stop until 3 hourster since Kiro and his team had arrived.


    "Pheew, that waiting period was tiring." Lylemented. He looked at I and pierced Kiro with his elbow, "is that sister-inw?" He asked honestly.


    "What the hell are you on Lyle? We aren''t even rted!"


    "But you''re my master, so I''m like your younger brother right now." He proimed proudly.


    "Hey, idiot, my adopted brother would be more amazing than you!" Kiro joked.


    "He''d wish to be!" Lyle said with the biggest grin.


    The general public was starting to get restless. There were guilds that wanted to show off their strength by beating on tpeople they deemed weaker. Kiro wanted to spit on their faces.


    To him, the fact that they made it through the Tartarus forest meant they were capable enough but he guessed there''d always be an Isaac somewhere with much arrogance.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions yers, guilds. You''ve made it to the second round of the guild wars. The next stage will be versus fights against guilds that challenge you. Of course guilds can be challenged once.


    Out of thousands, only 200 survived Tartarus. Maydy luck be with you.]

 Chapter 261: In The Arena

    Everyone stood there a little confused. The system hadn''t exactly exined how the second stage would conducted.


    "System, can''t you be a little bit specific? Do we fight all of us, or it''ll be a one on one with the said guild?" Niki found himself asking.


    Ding!


    [The challenger will decide the way in which they fight their opponents. Yes, the system will not match you guys, you surely have grudges with each other. It would be a shame if I got in the way, wouldn''t it? There''s 200 guilds here right now, meaning a 100 guilds here are responsible for taking out the other 100.


    Amongst the guilds up to 10 champions can be chosen if the choice is to do it one on one. I hope that''s clear.]


    "Is there a guild you have a grudge against?" Kiro asked Jorge.


    But it was Lyle who answered, "of course we do, those guys, illusionary Insanity, they say we''ve copied their concept. I don''t even know what they''re talking about! We didn''t even know they existed until they came with these stupid usations."


    "Your nemesis are some guys who are fighting you for an in-game name? That''s quite, quite something." Felix found himself saying.


    When Felix said it out loud it sounded silly to the rest of them. Which made them embarrassed about the whole ordeal.


    "Huh, I guess we don''t have any deep hatred for anyone then."


    "That''s quite alright, we do." Kiro said spotting Isaac.


    "Is it just me or Isaac doesn''t look, quite himself?" Hiro enquired looking for confirmation from his friend.


    "It''s not just you, that little sh*t is more reclusive now. Something definitely shifted in him. I don''t care what it was that clipped his wings, he deserves worse." Kiro said with contempt.


    He had no idea what it was that made him like that. But his hate for Isaac spanned over two life times. Even if he dropped dead, he''d celebrate on his grave. That was how he felt at the moment.


    What the system said caused a little uproar. Arguments were about a lot of things, ranging from who to challenge to what kind of challenge should be issued.


    Kiro''s eyes kept falling on I''s guild. He wasn''t sure if she wouldn''t issue a challenge to them. He hoped she wouldn''t. Otherwise he knew that he wouldn''t be able to hold back. Holding back would be bad for business.


    ''Haa. Maybe her challenging us wouldn''t be so bad after all.''


    Jorge wanted a one on one, Kiro insisted on an all out battle for their first fight. If they could be able to beat another guild in a few minutes, that would leave an evesting impression. An impression that will solidify their ce in this war.


    "I understand your logic, but is it really worth it? What if we don''t seed?" He asked concerned.


    "What if we don''t seed? What if we don''t seed?" Niki was utterly offended.


    "A sphemous thing to say." Hiro agreed with Niki.


    After Dark knew that they were very much stronger together, they''ve fought monsters, cleared dungeons together. Even fought a harbinger once, so they were hundred percent sure about their teamwork.


    Not that they were less trusting of their individual skills. But to finish up quicker they''d have to all be in the battlefield andpletely overpower their enemy. Nobody nned to hold back amongst After Dark, they were going all out from the very beginning.


    It was quite the spectacle in front of the arena. Different people were seated, nursing their wounds, nobody had yet issued a challenge, they figured they needed to be in their best shapes.


    Seeing how the system wasn''t rushing them, they decided to take their sweet time. Most survived hell in Tartarus, they didn''t want to rush into action.


    Ding!


    [Since you''ve yet to act, you''re officially being given an hour to rest up and this rest will also be deducted from your time in another task. Good day!]


    That caused an even biggermotion.


    "What do you mean it''ll be deducted from our time!" One yelled.


    "Yeah, there wasn''t even a warning, not even an instruction on what to do!"


    "This game acts like we aren''t the customers, like we need it to survive. Isn''t it the other way around?"


    "After this guild war, I''m quitting!"


    They were all mostly making threats, but the system simply scoffed at those. Which almost caused a riot. The system didn''t exactly care, it intended on noting those who imed would quit and remind them when this was all over.


    This was its favourite past time after all, pestering yers until they wanted to pull their own hairs out of their skulls.


    Kiro thought theints were futile, they fell on deaf ears. The system never really entertained such thoughts, that were almost threatening.


    Theints went on for the entire hour they were given. Kiro was scouting at this time, he didn''t want a strong guild but he didn''t want a weak one either.


    He figured since they wanted an all out war, they should be the ones to challenge. So they could pick their own way of fighting.


    "That guild seems alright!" Jorgemented looking at I''s guild.


    "No." Both Kiro and Hiro said at the same time.


    This tickled Niki and Felix to the bone. It was peculiar seeing Felixugh to Chasing Madness. They hadn''t seen him do nothing grunt and be in a sour mood.


    "System which guilds are avable here, please rank them by strength."


    The system obliged and showed him a list, ranking the two hundred guilds.


    ''Oh this is nice.''


    Kiro was a bit surprised that they were ranked below I''s guild. But they were in the top three so that was still damn impressive considering they were put together at thest minute. He decided they should bully number four.


    He discussed it with them briefly, Jorge decided to trust him and not argue this time. He simply nodded to his guys, Lyle was absolutely obedient when it came to Kiro. He saw him as his master now, he''d follow him to the ends of the earth if he was told to.


    "We challenge Evil Spawn to an all out battle."


    The system asked them to confirm if this is what they wanted. Several minutes passed, and the ones who were challenged received notifications. Most of the battles were one on one, very few chose to fight it out once and for all.


    "Dammit, we''ve been challenged to an all out war, you guys took too long to decided. This isn''t something I wanted!" The leader of Evil Spawnined.


    They were walking into the arena. Those who died filled the stands, they looked like NPCS trying to fill the numbers of chairs avable. Even then, they couldn''t fill all of them that''s just how huge the arena was.


    "Next time, I won''t ask for your opinions, I''ll just decided all on my own. Let''s finish these guys quickly." He was stillining.


    Those who were to fight were seated at the front of the stands. Divided by a big fence that stopped the spectators from climbing over. If anyone aggressiveness tried to climb they''d be penalised, the system wasn''t clear about how but none of them wanted to find out.


    Ding!


    [Greetings again yers, stage two is about tomence. The order in which this will happen is totally random. Give the spectators a battle they shall never forget. Stage three will begin after this.]


    Everyone was seated and waited for their names to be called. Sure enough, the first battle was against to unknown guilds, the challenger had chosen a one on one.


    They quickly entered the stage, Kiro wasn''t entertained at all but the crowd seemed to be enjoying the fights. They cheered with every strike.


    The first two were swordsmen, with his vibrations he could see their moves miles and miles away that''s why his attention was focused on something else.


    "We fight them like we fought monsters and other guilds in the forest. Our strategy wasn''t bad in there. And Felix..."


    "Yes yes, I''ll be the healer." He said not taking his eyes off the battle, he''dpletely given up arguing about what it is that he should focus on.


    "We will need you as a butcher." Kiro said grinning from ear to ear.


    "Really? I really can fight this time, and you''re the one suggesting it?" Thatpletely sucked his attention off the boring battle he was watching.


    "Of course, just don''t overdo it, remember you''re a healer before you''re a butcher!" He reminded him as he saw how his eyes sparkled at the mention of allowing him to fight.


    "Yes sir, I''ll remember that." He even saluted, he didn''t know what he was doing but he was excited.


    He could barely sit on the chair now, he wanted it to be his turn already. But two hundred guilds, and most of the fights were one on one, his only hope now was the random draw. He wanted their names to be drawn next!

 Chapter 262: Dragon Tail vs Dragon Slayers

    Ding!


    [Doubtful that this needed to be said, but for peace''s sake. With every guild you beat, you''ll be eligible for theirnd, whether you take it as it is or sell it for coins for its value. This applies to the previous stage. Happy hunting.]


    Kiro didn''t think this would cause a ruckus, that was what guild wars were all about. If you lose it wasn''t just a loss, you stood to lose more, your base.


    He was surprised that people stillined about how the system keeps information hidden until the veryst minute.


    This made him look around with contempt. How could they not have known that the consequences would be much dire than losing levels.


    Next up was I''s guild. They were the first guild amongst the ones that already went up that chose an all out war.


    ''How daring!'' Kiroplimented in admiration.


    Kiro noticed the flute he''d given her, hanging around her waist. She looked meaner and serious than he''d ever seen her. She was clearly taking this more seriously than Kiro had initially given her credit for.


    "Your girlfriend sure looks fiesty!" Hiro whispered to him.


    He gave him a deadly stare which made him retreat with his hands in the air. As if to show him that he was unarmed and he needn''t attack him.


    When he turned, the battle had already begun. Dragon Tail was challenged by Dragon yers, a guild that was in the top 5. That was probably why I seemed to be in a sour mood.


    Kiro had missed it due to Hiro''s banter but I had already killed two with her dangerous arrow. There were no mountains she could use as her hiding spot, so instead there were countless mana spots in the air.


    She had created mana steps, she was watching the battle from above, like a goddess of some kind. She asionally shot her arrows, while her guildmates were attacking their enemies vigorously.


    "Look at her go!" This was the first battle that had him excited. So he blurted out what he said, he didn''t care about the looks that earned him either.


    He looked away from I for but a second, but she''d already grown stronger than he''d ever imagined. Saanvi wasn''t cking either. Her agility was too good for a priest, they unfortunately didn''t have someone like Ishaan on their team, so the healers learned to be active on the battlefield.


    They were moving fast enough so as to avoid most of the attacks by their enemy.


    "You little b*tch,e down here and fight me properly, like a man!" Dragon yer guild leaderined.


    Kiro almost flew where he stood, if Hiro hadn''t been there. This could''ve been their shameful moment, as they would getting banned from participating for 2 months.


    He didn''t know either why it got to him, but his blood was boiling. He was d nheless that his friend stopped him, it would''ve been the most embarrassing way to be kicked out of the wars.


    I didn''t seem phased though, she simply smirked at his immature taunts. She knew better than to mindlessly attack at close quarters as an archer.


    "Childish and stupid!" She bellowed.


    Her words were followed by a mana arrow, instead of dodging and getting out of the way. The guild leader wanted to prove a point that he was stronger than her. He didn''t know that it would explode the moment it touched his de.


    The impact was great as he was almost blown out of the fighting stage. He received a lot of damage. He got up, looking at I with unbelievable hatred.


    "You b*tch, you better pray I never run¡ª"


    He hadn''t finished his sentence, two more arrows were already on the way to him. He knew better than to block them this time, he dove to the other side and the most amazing thing happened.


    The arrows didn''t dissipate after missing their target, they came back around to taunt him. He was now running around the battlefield, trying to avoid them at all costs. He knew if he was hit, even once by it, he wouldn''t be able to keep those at on the ground with him at bay.


    He quickly grabbed on of his teammates and held him in front of him, making him a meat shield. The crowd went crazy with his strategy. Some admired his survival instincts, some called him a coward for using his teammates that way.


    "He truly has no business calling himself a leader!"


    "What a shameless leader. I even applied for his guild once, I''m d I got rejected."


    "I''m cancelling my application."


    Though others didn''t really care that he was doing this. They wanted to join his guild even more now. They could understand why he decided to do what he did, they would''ve done the same if someone was weaker and they were the only chance for their guild to move up.


    The arrows reached them, while the member had a look of surprise on his face. He hadn''t, in his wildest dream imagined his leader would''ve done something like that. It made him angry, but he was weaker, so he couldn''t free himself from his grasp.


    The explosion was bigger since it was two arrows. The leader smiled when he realised that, he didn''t receive a single damage. While he was running around, Dragon Tail wasn''t cking. They were cleaning up most of his guild members, I up there could pick them off one by one easily.


    Von had his sword, it was bloody, so was he. He waspletely merciless, their leader stressed the importance of winning this first war, so none from Dragon Tail came to y.


    "I guess we havepetition here, I didn''t know there was another strong guild." Jorge said, taking notes, incase they had to fight them.


    "You were naive to think otherwise. They''re number two in the rankings after all." Kiro scolded him.


    Two of Dragon Tail were guardians after all. Their strength wasn''t anything to look down on.


    "I has gotten too strong, don''t you think?" Niki was utterly impressed.


    He wasn''t lying. Thest time they''d fought together was against the harbinger and then, she wasn''t this strong. She must''ve spent the entire school holidays trying to get stronger. It was damn impressive.


    Felix watched with the goal in mind, he wanted to fight I more than he wanted to fight Kiro. He didn''t think she was stronger than him, but he did assess that their strengths weren''t too far apart.


    This was the first exciting battle the crowd has seen so far. None of them could shut up. Everything was happening at once, they didn''t even know where their focus should be.


    Von was soon getting a new nickname ''The destroyer.''


    His new fans were chanting his name as hebed through enemies like they were level 1 monsters.


    "What the hell is I feeding them?" Hiro asked.


    It wasn''t anything special, but she made them go on dungeon runs at every opportunity they got, which was almost everyday during the holidays. They went until they couldn''t anymore, which even then they were forced to.


    I was a scary leader. She told them if they lose the wars, they''d go on even more dangerous dungeons every single day for hours on end. So this motivated them, none wanted to be stuck in-game and not live their lives.


    It was an amusing sight as not even the priests were getting killed by Dragon yer members. It was an embarrassing moment.


    Just then, the leader of the other group popped something into his mouth. He could see that they were losing, so he ate something that he was told it would ensure him strength.


    It didn''t take a second after he''d eaten it, his muscles started to bulge. ck veins appeared on his skin, they were everywhere. He looked like some type of monster. He had a stupid grin on his face.


    I could sense the danger that was growing in front of them, she sent three mana arrows his way. He didn''t even attempt to dodge, he already knew they''d follow him, he just stood there. The arrows hit their target perfectly, an explosion sounded. Cheers from the crowd erupted, but they soon quietened when they saw it.


    The arrows hadn''t left a single scratch on him. Heughed maniacally.


    "Oh, he was right, this makes me a god."


    He disappeared where he stood and appeared in front of Von, the kick he gave him caused him to fly to the edge of the battlefield.


    The tide was turning or so it seemed. Dragon Tail was being destroyed by a single man. They even lost a priest.


    I slowly descended her mana steps. The flute on hand, for the first time since she got it, she started using her seducer subss. She yed music with the flute, she''d practised this a lot. So she knew what she was doing.

 Chapter 263: A Sweet Victory

    She continued her slow descent until she majestically touched the ground. She looked like an angel doing it, the speed of the wind slowed and sang with her.


    The crowd waspletely silent. Mesmerised by the sound, nobody moved an inch. All eyes were on her. The leader of Dragon yers saw that she had finallye down as he wanted.


    It took him but a second to reach her, but the moment seemed to have slowed down to those who were strong enough to take their eyes off her.


    It was an amazing feat, as she was able to subdue thousands upon thousands of yers with just her flute.


    The music was mncholy, it made most of them sad without knowing why. Some even shed tears, but they were silent. Tears just trickled down their faces, though they were unaware it was happening.


    As the leader reached her, he suddenly stopped. Like invisible chains bound him where he stood. He tried to fight it, but he was eventually beaten. He couldn''t move anymore, he looked like a child whose candy was jerked from the mouth.


    He was starstruck, he was absolutely subdued. The pill that made him insane was starting to wear off because of the flute. I didn''t know the extent to its effects, she was surprised that this was happening. Even she didn''t expect it.


    She just hoped to subdue him while her teammates took care of the rest. One by one the ck veins were being undone.


    The guild master screamed in agony. His eyes were bloodshot, he was now on his knees begging I to stop.


    The song was burning his essence, it was only targeted at him so he was the only one feeling its sinister effects. He felt like his insides were on fire, it was an itch he couldn''t get to. He resorted to squirming on the ground.


    I didn''t pay him no mind, she just kept ying. Even when he wasn''t moving anymore, she didn''t stop.


    When she finished the song, it had drained her mana to the lowest point. She almost went into aatose state, she fell on her behind, breathing heavily. That''s when Saanvi quickly acted and healed her leader, it was her first time hearing this too so it had grabbed her undivided attention too.


    "That was a little dangerous, don''t you think? At least make it so that we aren''t affected." Sheined.


    "Well, I''m still working on that." She said weakly, her voice was shaky.


    She was a bit angry that a guild that was ranked below them made her use her secret weapon. Now, all her cards were out in the open. She didn''t have anything that would surprise them.


    The rest of her guildmates came to her. They looked ashamed that they couldn''t subdue one guy and forced Isa''s that almost killed her. She did mention it to them that she had a secret weapon, that she didn''t want to use at the beginning stages, even at theter stages she''d use it as ast resort.


    "I''m so sorry we''re so weak." Von said barely a whisper.


    "That''s alright Von." She said with a sinister smile, "Though this will be punishable, ten times thanst time." She finished through gritted teeth.


    Her breathing was bing steady by the second. They were having their banter as a team. Though Von understood that, the punishment part was serious. He wasughing but a vein popped on his temple.


    The crowd went wild seeing the leader syed on the ground, I right besides him getting healed.


    "Did you see it, did you hear?"


    "Oh my words, she''s a goddess!"


    "The goddess of asgard!"


    There were manypliments, but they made her embarrassed to say the least. She didn''t even look at them as she got up.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions to Dragon Tail on defeating Dragon yers on the first ever, all out war.


    Because the Dragon yers guild leader colluded with a notorious ouw of asgard and used a berserker pill. He should be executed, but I''m a lenient system, so, he''ll be temporarily banned from the game for 3 months and temporarily banned frompeting in the guild wars for 6 months.]


    "Notorious ouw? Who is it?"


    "So he only got to where he was by doing things that were against the game? The nerve of this guy!"


    Even those who initially didn''t care that he used a teammate as a meat shield were turning against him. It was entirely different to have the system intervene in your actions.


    "What do you expect from a guy who used his own teammates to deflect an arrow?"


    "Look who''s talking, didn''t you say you were joining him nheless?"


    Kiro and Hiro both jumped to the battle stage, they figured they were allowed now that they''ve already won.


    I wasn''t talking to him though, tried as he did to sweeten the pot. She wasn''t even mad, she just liked the attention at this point.


    "You did great, better than I thought you would actually." Kiro said thinking this was apliment.


    "Is that right?" This was about the only thing that made her talk, a backhandedpliment. "Thought we''d be lost without you, did you?"


    "Bel, I don''t know why you''re giving me a hard time but I know you understand my intentions. Now seriously, are you alright?"


    "I''m alright, thanks for your concern." She smiled wryly.


    "Are you guys even allowed up here? Aren''t you overshadowing our win here?" Saanvi asked almost annoyed.


    While she was almost annoyed she was half smiling. Niki, Ishaan and Felix had joined them They wanted to congratte their friends from the amazing win too, though Chasing Madness wasn''t too used to them so they decided to stay behind..


    "You''re terrible at hiding that you love us." Kiro told her.


    Saanvi simply gave him a tired smile. Which he returned with an enthusiastic smile. He congratted them with all of his being. He was truly proud of them. They were walking off the stage,ughing and having great conversations.


    Ding!


    [After Dark don''t leave the arena your war is up next.]

 Chapter 264: Too Late For Regrets

    Kiro sighed, stopping on his tracks. He looked to where they were seated and beckoned Chasing Madness to the arena. He wasn''t sure whether the message was ryed to them.


    "Pretty dumb for the system to have all out war battles back to back. They''re the most entertainingly, clearly." Kiro mocked.


    He didn''t really want to go next, he still wanted toze around. He wanted to stay and recharge some more, so he didn''t mistakenly end the fight within a few minutes of it starting.


    He wanted to give the crowd a spectacle, much like I''s guild. He wanted to entertain them to the highest degree. After Chasing Madness got into the arena, Evil Spawn was right behind them. There were about fifteen of them.


    "Ah sh*t, I think, we will have a problem, how many necromancers is that? Seven?"


    "Oh right, they''re like Master''s worst enemy and there''s like 7 of them!"


    Kiro sighed deeply. Out of all the guilds he personally chose, it had to be the one that would handicap him to a certain extent. But he wouldn''t let this deter him, he didn''t even bother activating vibrations this time.


    "Kiro sure knows how to pick them, I''m tired of fighting undeads." Ishaanined.


    "This is apetition you don''t get to choose who to fight." Kiro shot back.


    "Actually..." Hiro was cut off before he could finish.


    "Yes yes I know. Now quit whining and let''s give them a show."


    They were still unknown but Kiro and Hiro had their fans, whether from renting beasts or building them bases, so there were cheers that threatened to shake the entire arena.


    They stood, waiting for the system to give a go ahead. The system was sneaky like that, maybe it could get them into trouble if they acted on their own.


    "Okay team, they don''t look like much. So let''s end this quickly." The Evil Spawn guild master proimed louder with his impressive voice.


    He knew the two''s reputation, after all, most of the world announcements were about them. But seeing them in person, he didn''t think they were all that.


    It wasn''t strange that he thought this, Kiro was in tattered robes and barefoot, carrying a staff that most in the game thought it was the most low level weaponpared to swords, bows and the like.


    Ding!


    [What are the two guilds waiting for?]


    The system mocked. There wasughter from the stands. Kiro clicked his tongue at its sassy attitude.


    "Ishaan, give protection to our healers. Attackers, let''s go."


    Kiro blinked where he was and appeared in the midst of enemy territory, he drove his staff through one of the necromancers. They were all taken by surprise, they hadn''t expected him to be so fast, so they suffered a huge blow.


    Their teammate died immediately. They didn''t make the same mistake, they quickly summoned their undeads, jumping away from where Kiro was. Leaving him in a pool of undeads.


    "I sure hope you''re ready, I know they don''t bleed, but bare with it." He knew his staff better than anyone, Ryu liked blood and hated fighting undeads because of that.


    Ryu responded positively, he vibrated albeit weaker.


    He wasn''t alone anymore, his team had arrived just in time to be greeted by the army. Niki had a more difficult time moving, there weren''t a lot of shadows around.


    He''d still be damned if he couldn''t beat low level undeads, when he''d cleared a whole dungeon of them before. With his two daggers, on both of his hands. He moved through them cutting them to pieces while his poison corroded the skeletons.


    Jorge was slowly walking into his shoes. He admired Niki greatly, they were in the same ss and he was far better than he was, he reckoned there''d be a lot to learn from him.


    Kiro found it strange because even in his past life, Jorge had a deep admiration for Niki. Though it wasn''t at this stage of the game. So he was a bit taken aback by the whole fate thing.


    Since he took him to Paradise and sparred with him, Lyle was much better focused. He was utilising his staff much better than before too.


    He moved quicker between the skeletons. Each strike breaking their skulls. He was feeling amazing too. He asional threw punches and kicks, which were effective to an extent.


    Felix being allowed to join the battle. He stood still, right besides Ishaan''s shield. Nobody could see it but his body was vibrating with excitement. He didn''t move where he was, he simply threw his weapon.


    It snaked through the undead army, if he didn''t know better he''d say that his weapon was sentient because it listened to him, it went wherever hemanded it to go and turned where hemanded it to turn.


    Nobody expected his strategy, not even their enemies. They were standing before the army, waiting for Chasing Madness and After Dark to be tired so they could have an easier time.


    One of their main attacks, who was a Knight, dodged the chain toote, it still wrapped around his long and thin neck. It took just a single pull from Felix''s side to detach his headpletely.


    The crowd went absolutely insane, some were grabbing their friends by their clothes and shaking them. Unbelieving that a priest was also in the attacking line up. Most of all, their sceptre that turned into small chain saws, so sharp that it could cleanly cut someone''s neck.


    "Oh my god! Who are these guys?" One shouted at the top of their lungs.


    "Definitely looks like After Dark, they''re a mercenary group, they must''ve found a group to ally with."


    "Sh*t! My dumb guild leader didn''t want to hire them, I even knelt down, begging!"


    "Some people can''t see gold when it''s staring them in the face."


    Most guild leaders who were watching the impable fighting of After Dark were pulling their hairs. They were deeply regretting not giving them the time of day, they were being too careful for stupid reasons.

 Chapter 265: Natural Enemies

    ''He''s such a show off. Well, he can rampage all he wants, it''s not hurting us in any way.'' He thought to himself while giving Felix a grin and a nod of approval.


    That seemed to have lit a fire in his belly. He didn''t attack the ones who hid behind the undeads, he knew the element of surprise was gone. They''d know what to expect, so he helped his team in getting rid of the army in front of them.


    "Kiro, they seem to be endless." Jorgeined not knowing what to do.


    "Just breathe, rx, remember that keeping these summons is draining them too. If you''re gonna lose in terms of mana and stamina, you may aswell drop dead right now." He yelled, he was right next to him but with the noise he didn''t think he''d be heard.


    "Right!" Jorge stilled his heart and forged forwards.


    Kiro looked at his opponents pitifully, they didn''t quite grasp what they''ve gotten themselves into. He wasn''t nning on using all his power, since that would end the battle before it even entertained anyone.


    He was barely dodging with the power he was using. He didn''t care about impressing anyone that was there, winning this would do that better.


    Hiro had his shield and axe. He was shorter but effective, he hacked while using his shield to block. His axe wasn''t yet at the level he wanted it to be, but it was enough for the skeletons. They weren''t sturdier than the ones they''d fought before, so if anything, they saw this as tedious work.


    "Leader, they''re breaking through easily, we should attack with the army!"


    "Just keep summoning!" He shouted.


    "But, we''re going to run out of mana at this point."


    "We have potions don''t we? I''ve bought plenty."


    "They have potions and so many healers, if its a battle of stamina we won''t do much well."


    "I''m not gonna repeat myself!"


    It was nothing but fear talking, his guildmates were no longer certain of their victory. The leader however was a littleid back, in his mind, he still maintained that they''d win.


    It was then that he showed his hand, strong winds blew in the battlefield, after the gust had settled two giant skeletons stood at the centre.


    They were exuding a purple kind of energy. Their footsteps slightly shook the ground. The atmosphere in the arena shifted, if only a little.


    "My children, go and bring back victory." The leader shouted in an impressive voice.


    Sure enough, the giant summons did as they were told. They marched forwards, their only goal was to destroy their master''s enemies.


    "Careful with those two, they''re poisonous." Niki warned as he was the one who dabbled in poisons, he could smell it ways away.


    Felixunched his attack first, his intention was to get one to fall on the ground. His weapon positioned itself perfectly around its leg, he yanked with all his might.


    But nothing, he was instead pulled into the air when the thing rose its foot to step forward. Kiro used whirlwind to cushion his fall.


    "Well, that was dangerous." Hemented actually smiling.


    Kiro summoned lightning, he hoped it would burn them into ash, instead it gave them a bit of damage. Niki''s poison daggers weren''t working either. The two poisons cancelled out each other, making the damage zero.


    "Hiro, I''ll leave the feet to you."


    He nodded in response, his attacks were much better than the rest. He was even able to halt them from advancing with his shield, but only for a few seconds before he was pushed back.


    His axe managed to dig deeper into their bones, though he noticed that, his axe was suffering too. The poison was also digging deep into his weapon, he had a few hits before it was corrodedpletely.


    His shield was holding up well, there were no signs that the poison was eating at it. It was a legendary item after all.


    Kiro threw Ryu up there and followed right behind. There were gasps that, there was another who seemingly could walk on nothingness.


    "Where the hell are they getting skills that let''s them walk on air?" Oneined, implying the game yed favourites.


    "You don''t pay much attention do you?" Another shot back, intending to silence his ignorant self.


    "What are you talking about? There have been only two yers able to do this one thing."


    "That''s just the thing, it''s not one thing. This skill vastly differs from the first one. The goddess used mana to walk up there, in an untrained eye it could seem like she was walking on nothing. But this guy? He''s not using anything, he''s just walking up there. I bet the air wherever he steps is condensed, what a fascinating guy."


    He wasn''t even listening by the end of it. He didn''t like smart people who showed off their knowledge when they were not even asked. So he shut his trap and watched the match.


    Kiro was up there causing havoc with Ryu on their skulls. While Hiro was down there, asionally stopping their movements and hacking their bony legs.


    The rest were now attacking the other team, they couldn''t do summons anymore. The potions their leader was so proud of and depended on depleted not so long ago. They clearly underestimated After Dark and Chasing Madness and stocked up very little.


    Ryu was extremely frustrated that he couldn''t decapitate the giants in one single attack. Kiro released a vast amount of wind blinds at the same time Hiro was pushing them back with his shield. They wobbled for a while and fell on their backs.


    The impact was extremely noisy, it shook the ground and almost broke it. Kiro summoned lightning once more, and released more wind des. He didn''t want them getting up.


    He threw Ryu down, he travelled between the two giants. Pinning them to each other and to the ground by their bony shoulders. Kiro showed a smile, he was very satisfied with the oue.


    He then propelled himself downwards andnded on the two skulls with a great force that rivaled bending kick. A big crack sounded. He held onto his staff for bnce, before pulling Ryu out of the ground. He gave slight vibrations, showing his excitement.


    The leader of Evil Spawn had his eyes wide open in surprise, as his biggest trump card was crumbling under barefeet.


    The crowd went wild, with just his barefoot, he was capable of breaking skulls of an A rank summon. That was something nobody in the arena was capable of doing, Kiro was seemingly like a god in their eyes.


    Everything Kiro did seemed to be an impressive feat that left people''s mouths agape in shock. They found themselves wanting his strength, not knowing it was gained through almost dying. He had to go to a very cruel ce to gain this much. What was even scarier was the fact that he hadn''t even scratched the surface.


    Because his summons were dying, it affected him too. He coughed up a bit of blood, seeming weaker than when the fight started.


    "Sh*t, front line, attack now."


    He was busy focused on the two summons that he didn''t realise that, his front line was already busy warding off attacks. They had dwindled to just two, and every necromancer but him had been bested.


    "Your arrogance was your undoing." Jorge proimed driving his short swords through his throat.


    "Im-mpossible. It should''ve worked." He said with gaggling sobs, before the lightpletely took him.


    The two dead summons dissipated right after their summoner died. There wasplete silence before cheers erupted in the arena. The two allied sides quickly became one of the favourites in this war.


    "Oh my gods, did you see that? Did you see Kiro killing those two giant summons with just his barefoot?"


    "Holy sh*t that guy is too broken, he can walk on air and his strength can take out not one but two A ranked summons!"


    "He''s not even wearing armour or boots!"


    Of course nobody knew that, that shabby robe had more protection than their low level armours. It was ranked ancient by the system after all.


    "I want to join After Dark, are they taking any underlings?"


    "You should''ve joined before this, after this I''m sure they won''t be taking anyone in. Anyone who looks to join them now doesn''t have pure motives." The smart guy gave his two cents again.


    "Dammit Braun, will you shut the f*ck up?"


    The celebratory mood didn''t die for a long time. People were excited for the next match, they hoped it was also an all out war. One on one didn''t bring this much excitement. Some secretly hoped that the system would force everyone to only one form of fighting.


    One on one''s took way longer, even though the two teams were required to choose 10 champions to represent them. They had yet to see even 5 fights in a row making them this rejuvenated.

 Chapter 266: Unwarranted Break

    Kiro decided to rile them up even more, he tossed Ryu into the air and rode him around the arena. The people watching went wilder, those who were sages attempted to do the same, which didn''t exactly end well for them.


    "Oh, very mature." Hiro rolled his eyes while they stepped off the battlefield.


    "Ohe, you aren''t impressed, not even a little?"


    "To be fair? When ites to you and this game, there''s nothing that can surprise me anymore. I''ve watched you create the freakin sun Ki, there''s nothing, absolutely nothing that can top that."


    Kiro''s answer was a knowing smile. He knew something that would break his mind, he was living proof of the phenomenon after all.


    "I guess I''m just too amazing." He said with a smug smile.


    The others weren''t quite used to this side of Kiro, they didn''t know whether tough or hide their faces in shame. Lyle, as he always was, was the only one cheering him on to do more impressive stunts.


    He was like a very loyal dog that could see no wrong on its master. Jorge was starting to get more paranoid, he didn''t want his vice to end up quitting and doing something even he''d be tempted to do, that is to join After Dark.


    He could tell though that, even though they were strong and he would love to join them, they had already created a bond that he couldn''t hope to reach.


    He wasn''t their age, he was much younger. Also mostly knew about Kiro through talkalot and nothing else. He first admired the guy when he heard what he''d done to his kidnappers. He was a little envious of people close to him.


    "Hey kid, don''t daydream, the stage isn''t ours anymore. Let''s go." Kiro shouted after him.


    Ding!


    [You''re required to take a short break, no the game will not be unlocked, it will remain as is. Don''t walk far from the arena, that will get you a punishment.


    The battle ground is, as you can see totalled, it needs some repairs, so take this time to do stretches or something. Happy hunting.]


    "This is kind ofme, why does the battle ground need to be repaired." Kiroined, he couldn''t think of a time in his past life that they stopped the wars to fix something.


    He just exined it away, with the fact that, with every different decision he had made so far, he also created vast differences between then and now.


    Nothing was fixed, it can all be changed, everything. His newborn siblings proved that much to him.


    "Hi, how are you holding up?" He walked up to I and yelled from behind.


    Which almost earned him a punch in the nose, it was a good thing he had good reflexes, and that I wasn''t a close quarterbatant. So he was able to stop the first with his palm.


    "Sh*t. Sorry, ever since that stupid match, everyone seems to think it''s a good idea to sneak from behind me, ying some idiotic game of who could capture the goddess." She sighed deeply, this clearly had been going on for some time.


    Kiro noticed her very pink knuckles. He gave her a toothy grin.


    "How many noses did you break?"


    "About six."


    "Eight actually." Saanvi inserted herself into their conversation.


    "Is it? Lost count." She said with the biggest ''I''m proud of myself'' smile.


    Kiro gave anyone who dared toe close to I a death stare, they ended up not approaching altogether. He was proud of her, making herself a name and all, but the yers were taking it too far. It was strange.


    "Dammit, you guys are just stronger huh. We thought we''d caught up to you. This fight was something else." Saanviined.


    The rest of Dragon Tail looked at them with eyes full of hopes and dreams. They were already fans but their battle just now, made it more extreme.


    "I-i-i just want to say, Hiro, sir, I admire you a lot. Even though you''re a dwarf, you have strength that far surpasses my own." Vonplimented, hoping he''d ept his words and also his big outstretched hand.


    Hiro was unsure at first, he thought maybe he was mistaking him with someone else. He didn''t particrly stick out during battles, unless someone was specifically watching for him.


    And for Von, it was something like that. He''d thought that, since he was a dwarf, he was only there to fix their weapons and brew potions. He was very surprised when he drew his shield and axe, and charged in.


    That''s the first thing that drew his undivided attention to Hiro. Even though he was Knight and many people might tell him that he could take on a dwarf, he knew that with this one, it was different.


    Hiro epted his handshake, albeit sceptically. Von bent closer to his ear.


    "Make me an armour and a weapon will you? I admire your craftsmanship as much as your fighting abilities." He asked hopefully.


    Kiro had long excused himself, he was sitting at a corner. Lyle had joined him when he realised what he was trying to do. He wanted to enter the space with him again, even if he didn''t spar with him this time, he knew the benefits of entering Paradise.


    He entered at almost the same time Kiro did. He didn''t need to be dragged this time, he did it all on his own. The scenery there always managed to take his breath away. The atmosphere was also nothing he''d ever experienced before, it was just impressive.


    "What the hell are you doing here?" Kiro asked, slightly annoyed.


    "I piggybacked off of you, neat huh?" He grinned.


    "Haa, I guess so." Kiro made a thinking face. "Do whatever you want, but I can''t y with you this time. Don''t interrupt me." He finally said.


    "Every time I see this world it''s as if for the first time, what did you mold it after? Can I also be like you one day, create my own mental space?"


    Kiro pinched his nose. It hadn''t been a second since he said not to be bothered but this kid was already pestering him.


    "I molded this after the Underworld I once explored. If you''re a good boy, I''ll tell you all about it and my mount Hubris." Kiro said, that hushed him up.

 Chapter 267: The Great Giant

    Kiro was searching within himself, to understand more about the powers the Underworld Crystal had given him. He understood that, there were a lot of stages to unlock. Though he didn''t know how to go about doing that, there wasn''t exactly a manual.


    His best bet was continuous use. But he was still far too weak to continously use reality warping. He also noticed that, after creating that sun, using the powers exhausted him, like the life was being sucked out of him.


    He wanted more answers to what the hell was going on. So he entered another state of meditation within his metaphysical world.


    ''Should call this deep space or something?'' He joked, hoping Lyle wouldn''t disturb him.


    But Lyle was a good boy, he didn''t stick around and went to explore the world instead. He wanted that Underworld story no matter what, so to ensure he didn''t disturb him, he went far away.


    Kiro looked within himself and realised that the information that had been brewing inside of him had finally finished. He was a slower being, so the extent to which the game made him wait to receive this was ridiculous to say the least.


    He noticed the door he''d opened before, he had no desire to enter it this time. And because of that, it stayed shut. His will determined and focused on what was going on around his world it seemed.


    The information appeared in front of, like an enormous interface. He swiped, first looking for ways to which he could unlock the stages. But s, he couldn''t find anything.


    He saw a file with the writing ''Stages within Reality Warping.'' He clicked faster than his brain could react.


    "They sort them in colours? Isn''t this a bit ridiculous." He proimed, as he read on.


    White - This is the first stage of reality warping, this stage would allow the user to run on walls, bend without breaking the rules of reality. Altering other people''s perceptions.


    Yellow - This is the second stage. This stage allows the user to alter forces of nature, ontop of the abilities of the first stage.


    Gold - This is the third stage. The user can control the rules andws that govern reality and they can manipte it into whatever it can and can''t be.


    "Wait a second, if I''m only in yellow, how the hell did I create that sun?" Kiro pondered, stopping to read for a second. He couldn''te up with an answer, and decided to quit wrecking his brain.


    Blue - This is the fourth stage. The user is able to control most existences. Users could be considered nigh-omnipotent at this stage.


    Purple - This is the fifth and final stage. The user has almighty control of all realities and existences. They are able to manipte every aspect of reality from beginning to end, physical or metaphysical.


    WARNING: Should the user get a temporary boost, which will allow them to skip to the final stages, they will lose their ability to use these powers for a little over six months. Continously using this power while this consequence is in y will only add more months.


    "F*ck. Six months? I hope they mean in-game months?"


    If he had another pair of hands, he could beat himself up for being too careless. But it wasn''t as if he waspletely useless without the powers, he''d fought many harbingers without them. He was very capable.


    He decided to leave Paradise. When he came to, Lyle was still there.


    "That''s weird, get out of my head dumbass, I''m awake now, this is weird." He kicked him in the shin.


    Which woke him up.


    "Ouch! Master!"


    They were just in time, as people were filing into their seats. The battleground was ready to be used. It looked better than when they first got here. The system must''ve used stronger materials to ensure this break thing didn''t happen again.


    Arge stout man entered the arena. He was a human warrior. He was barely wearing any armour, he wasn''t short but he had some big muscles. He carried abrys for a weapon.


    That was a very rare weapon around Asgard, you couldn''t get it unless from a special event or a once in a life time quest. He walked with big confident strides.


    "Asgardians," he started with a voice that wasn''t impressive so not everyone had paid him their attention.


    "You cheered like idiots when those rats were pulling dumb stunts around this arena. But when a real warrior walks over, you people don''t even pay slight attention." He spat on the ground showing his disgust.


    "My name, actually nevermind, you don''t deserve to know. Ie representing Valha. I''m the guild master of Valha. The number one guild in the previous stage."


    People started booing him. They didn''t understand why he was so talkative instead of just starting the fight. Most of all, his arrogance was a thorn on the side for many. Nobody liked arrogance, they only tolerated it, only if you were high up in society enough.


    "System," the leader of Valha bellowed. "I, Viktor Scoville, will be the only championing from my guild. All the 10 fights are mine, the other guild, if you dare, ept my challenge!" He cried.


    Now everyone was quiet. He was introducing a very interesting idea after all. He had grabbed everyone''s attention with his promation.


    Ding!


    [That''s very interesting kid, I''ll allow it.]


    The guild they were up against was Greek Gods. They were furious at Viktor''s challenge. He dared to think, all ten of their strongest would be defeated by one tired guy.


    They soon found out how wrong they were. Each of them tried to take him out, without a single use of any potion, without the help of priests to heal him. He proved them all wrong.


    His only friend was hisbrys. Which served him very well. He was a big guy, his movements weren''t great, so he suffered some hits but because he was a big guy his swings were detrimental to all those who faced him.


    He didn''t need to do much, just swing and the opponent would be done for.


    ''This is interesting? That''s the giant isn''t it? Viktor the great?'' Kiro couldn''t contain his excitement a bit ofughter escaped his lips.

 Chapter 268: The Challenge

    After defeating each of the ten champions the opposing guild had chosen, he stood and never left the battleground. It looked like he had every intentions to rebel against the system.


    His eyes travelled through the crowds in the arena, piercing each individual theynded on. He was looking for something or someone.


    Everyone who met with his sinister angry eyes flinched involuntary. Except for when theynded on Kiro, he looked at him for quite some time. Kiro was now intrigued.


    ''Why am I meeting all these people that will be great in this game in the future?''


    Kiro couldn''t quite believe it. It was as if he was a bright light and they were moths. They just kept revealing themselves and being attached to him. And already so far he''d made friends with two of them.


    Though he didn''t quite like the giant, he was a hot head, whom when he rampaged, he didn''t see enemies or allies, logic or reason. He killed everyone indiscriminately. He was one person Kiro didn''t wish to have a close bond with.


    But as their eyes met, neither wanting to be the one to break free first from the staring that seemingly turned into a contest. Kiro felt something, a familiarity he couldn''t quite exin. It was strange.


    "Who''s that monkey that showed off poor stunts from before?" The giant bellowed looking straight into his eyes.


    "Is he referring to me?" Kiro whispered not having taken his eyes off him, he was utterly amused.


    "The way he''s staring at you, I''d say yes, yes he is." Hiro wasughing as he answered him.


    Each and every person who was seated with him, which were his teammates were snickering, pathetically hiding their amusement behind their hands.


    "I can still hear you, you know!"


    That onement sent them into fits ofughter. They were the only group in the crowd that wasughing instead of being petrified with fright.


    As much as he was annoyed by the behaviour and wanted to scold them, his eyes remained locked onto the man that called him a monkey. He slowly got up.


    "Hey giant idiot, that''s monkey King to you." His voice covered the whole of the arena, as he imed half of his bloodline in front of thousands.


    It would''ve been a big deal if they knew anything about bloodlines in Asgard, but nobody caught it. The only ones who had goosebumps were guardians. Everybody else just thought he was spinning the insult and calling himself a king in the process.


    Kiro didn''t know it yet but from then on, he''d be notoriously known as the monkey King throughout Asgard. A title he was hesitant to fall into given he''d met the real one, but a title he epted after so many battles.


    His staff resonated with him. Ryu vibrated more than Kiro had ever seen him. It was a beautiful moment.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions guardian. You''re now able to use more than 20% of the legendary staff Ryu. He greets his master with much power and tion.]


    ''Oh. Why don''t you just jump to 100%? Let''s just wreck havoc in this world, me and you.'' Kiro tried to encourage him into giving him more power.


    With however Ryu tried, he couldn''t purposely unlock his full potential. He let out a steamed sigh, showing his anger.


    "Almighty System," Viktor tried buttering up to the system. "I''d like to fight that little sh*t over there! I''ll show him how a real King fights."


    Ding!


    [While I hear you yer, this isn''t the time. Guild wars are supposed to be in orderly stages. But then again, maybe a little deviation and chaos won''t harm anybody? Your proposal is very interesting.


    I''ll let the people of Asgard decide. A simple click on the pop up that will appear right in front of you is your decision. Vote well and let''s have fun.]


    The system finished with a sinister tone. As if it wanted the fight to go on. Kiro was annoyed, he didn''t know why the guy had chosen him but he was d nheless.


    Everyone else would most likely crumbled at the sight of this giant guy. His teammates looked at him, not sure how they should vote. He sighed and nodded at them. Giving them a go ahead if they were a little bit curious about the fight.


    "I won''t get mad, go on and vote. I just know that I won''t be beaten by that idiot." He said through gritted teeth.


    Ding!


    [While the voting takes ce, please get off the stage Viktor. Let''s have a continuation of the fights. Next guilds, please take to the stage.]


    It was only then that Viktor broke his stares and left the stage. Kiro was relieved as it meant he could blink again. His eyes were starting to get sore from the never blinking stare contest they had in those few minutes.


    The two guilds walked onto the stage, they weren''t exactly sure that this was what they wanted to do. They figured they could''ve just went after the two big people fought.


    Now, the crowd would be impatient and scrutinise every tiny movement they made. If their fights were on the boring side, the tension would even be worse.


    "System, is it possible to change to an all out war?" The leaders discussed and decided this was best for them.


    Ding!


    [As long as both parties agree, I don''t see the problem.]


    They both nodded, so their fight was changed to an all out one. They didn''t trust themselves to be entertaining so they chose a easier way to go out.


    Their war wasn''t so bad, it brought cheers into the arena. It wasn''t the most entertaining thing they''d ever seen, but it was better than one on one''s.


    Their battle went on for an entire hour, and both parties were exhausted to the brim. The crowd thought this would be the first ever draw. But the leader of Hellbound was quicker to act, his sword ended up slicing the throat of Killjoy''s leader.

 Chapter 269: Underwhelming Anticipated Fight

    "Are you sure you want to ept this guys challenge?" I hade all the way because she was a little concerned.


    "What choice do I have? Won''t I bebelled a coward if I don''t?"


    "Since when did you care what others think?"


    "I mean, I don''t, not really, but if what they think is what I think, then I would care, no? The guy is a bit arrogant. I want to nail him back to the floorboards, show him there''s bigger fish or something like that."


    I nodded, still unsure of what to make the situation. Everybody knew who Kiro was in this game, so she found it odd that he''d get challenged if the person didn''t have the means to properly fight back.


    "Well, be careful." She warned, nonchntly walking away.


    He pondered I''s worries for a while before it was time to enter the arena. The votes were in and 99% of them voted that they should fight.


    The excitement in the air couldn''t be quelled by anything other than the fight between the two. One side chanted ''The great giant'' while the other side with their thunderous roars, chanted, ''The Monkey King.''


    Kiro jumped from where he was seated. He nned on entering the arena on his invisible steps. He started walking just above people''s heads.


    These little things seemed to make Viktor even more agitated. As if Kiro was using his mana to do any of it, the way he looked at him wasn''t pretty.


    ''What the hell is wrong with him? Was he actually this annoying in the previous life, I can''t remember him being this too extreme.'' Kiro tried searching his memories but nothing came to him.


    "Come down here you plebeian, I''ll crash you into mince."


    Kiro almostughed, did he actually think he was some viin in a film? He felt embarrassed for him with whatever he was doing. He looked to be older than him too, probably just graduated from an academy.


    "Before we start, let''s take this opportunity and make the most of it, if you win my group will forfeit. If I win, yours will forfeit. Those are my terms." He said taking a seat in the air with a smile on his face.


    Ryu zoomed right below him and settled on his butt, he was now sitting on him instead. He didn''t care, he just wanted to appear cool.


    "So, 20% means you get to act on your own, with my best interests at heart? That''s pretty nice." Hemented to himself, talking to his staff.


    "I ept the terms. Let''s begin." He shouted.


    The system took note of the term they agreed upon. There were no rules except for that they''d only be fighting each other, anyone from outside was forbidden to jump in.


    The giant smirked, he figured he''d have to cut Kiro''s wings first and he''d have him on the ground, at his mercy.


    He blew the air with his weapon, a gust of wind travelled faster than Kiro could react but Ryu was faster as he dashed out of the way. The wind was so thick Kiro could physically see it with his well adjusted eyes.


    Kiro did the same with whirlwind, he sent the wind right back, stronger than what he''d anticipated. While it did push him to the edge of the battlefield, that''s also when the power of the attack started to die off and eventually, he was able to handle it.


    "Very interesting." He walked towards the centre, he wasn''t a particrly agile or fast guy. As he was big, he focused on other things. Like strength and constitution.


    Kiro leapt from Ryu, and grabbed him as he went down. He intended to smash the giant''s skull into pieces, but his attempt was blocked by Viktor''sbrys.


    The power which Kiro used to ensure the blow reached the man seemed to be getting sucked in by the very strange weapon.


    "Yes, my weapon doesn''t absorb mana it absorbs strength of other weapons." He said, sending the attacking back to its owner.


    He hit his staff like he were hitting a baseball. Kiro flew in the air, stopping just short of the big fence that separated the participants and spectators.


    "Interesting." He licked his lips that were bleeding. "I can''t remember thest time I bled in this game. Your 20% is something else Ryu."


    Kiro regretted that he couldn''t use his weapon here and now, though he didn''t strap it in, he used it to move around, it was very convenient.


    He flew close to Viktor throwing palm crashing. Viktor underestimated the impact the skill would have, he was sent flying a couple of meters away with a few broken bones.


    "F*ck!" He cried using a potion to heal the bones.


    But s, Kiro had already blinked in front of him, he kicked him on the neck as he was about to swallow the potion. The space on the part of the neck seemed to bend right with the neck.


    If his constitution wasn''t so high, his head would''vended on the stands by now. But he was on his knees, coughing since he was caught with something in his throat.


    "You bastard," he tried getting up but fell again, his voice was hoarse from receive a full st of bending kick.


    -l-em,py-r


    Kiro started pounding him with his two fists. He didn''t just want to beat him, he wanted to humiliate the kid. His arrogance was too much, he had no absolute reason to challenge a guardian to a fight.


    His muscles were quite hard to crack, but he used not just Ryu but his fists and elbows too to soften his entire body.


    "Ah sh*t, I thought this fight would be the greatest thing ever. Isn''t The Monkey King just too strong?" Onemented.


    "I also thought...Good thing I didn''t actually put a bet out. I would''ve been so wrong." Another looked in horror as the giant was being bloodied.


    The Monkey King was mercilessly beating on his enemy. He wanted to make a statement, so that anyone who wanted to challenge him in the future to think twice.


    "Can I kill him?" He asked the system innocently.


    Ding!


    [If you so desire.]

 Chapter 270: Tartarus Again

    Kiro didn''t intend to kill him quicker, he wanted him to remember to think the next time he challenges people because he fet like it.


    He wanted to remove the chip on his shoulder that made him feel important, like everyone and the world owed him everything.


    He was using the poor guy as a sandbag. He was still resistant, asional throwing of punches here and there and trying to avoid Kiro''s attacks. But he was too slow to seed in either of the two things.


    "Oh wow so you need to be fast to beat opponents that are slow and all muscle heads."


    "You always say the dumbest things. Of course being just fast isn''t enough, if he wasn''t strong his hits wouldn''t be making such great damage." The smart of the twomented, admiring Kiro all the same.


    He was naturally right. Kiro was faster and stronger, the great giant couldn''t hope to keep up. Though this didn''t make him want to work on his speed.


    He was more stubborn than that, this only served as a failure to him, a failure that he wanted to face head on. This meant he needed to increase his constitution and strength even more and to greater heights.


    This was the kind of guy he was. He never sumbed to other people''s ways, if his ways didn''t work, he made them work anyway.


    As he took the beating, he hadn''t given up yet. He knew resisting was futile but he did it anyway. He didn''t regret challenging Kiro, in his mind this was going to happen sooner orter.


    He was happier the wake up call happened way earlier into the game rather thanter when he thought he was the king of the world.


    Kiro was sitting cross-legged on Ryu, they dashed around, giving Viktor a taste of a very bitter medicine. The fight had been going on for a few minutes and he decided to end it with a bending kick.


    Hepletely caved his skull, the cracking sound was heard throughout the arena. The great giant did something amazing, he talked with a skull in the process of being shuttered.


    "Haha. Monkey King is it? Thank you for showing me how weak I am. Let''s fight again..." He was cut off by the light, his arm outstretched, trying to reach Kiro with a fist bump. But it never quite happened as he was whisked away by the light.


    Kiro didn''t know this, but this nuisance he was trying to get rid of, he''d created a bond with that would follow him everywhere when he thought he could beat him. They''d have more fights with each other than the in-game monsters.


    "What a weird guy. May we never meet again." He proimed, feeling satiated now that he''d beatenthe arrogance out of him.


    ''I guess I should get out of the battleground.'' He thought while yawning.


    Ding!


    [As promised, the winner of this battle was Kiro and so Valha you''ve all been disqualified from participating further into this war. You also forfeit your number one spot. Number one is now taken by Dragon Tail.]


    Valha wasn''t even given the chance toin, the light took them faster than they could react. Theyined in the stands, they didn''t exactly agree to their leader''s abrupt decision, they also didn''t think he''d lose, so they didn''t raise their concerns sooner.


    "No point inining now. Leader, next time, be more responsible." The vice advised.


    "Sure, sure." He said not showing signs that he''ll stop being irresponsible any time soon.


    Dragon Tail watched the matches in a much better mood. They didn''t know what benefits number one would get but they figured it''d be an edge they needed and everything else against After Dark.


    The next matches weren''t eventful, they were average and less. People''s attention span were no longer in focus with the matches, instead they were discussing amongst themselves. The guilds they thought would win.


    "I thought it''d be Valha for sure. It''s disappointing the leader decided to do something so stupid."


    "You''re still disappointed with The Monkey King having shown his crazy skills?"


    "After Dark and Chasing Madness are great and all, but they aren''t as well rounded as Valha. You watched them too during their time at the forest, didn''t you?"


    "I guess that''s true, but the unpredictability of The Monkey King''s team is something I trust in deeply. If these two shed in an all out war, I bet you my entire life that they''d win."


    I was sitting rather close to them, the only thing that separated them was a fence after all, so words were easily conveyed.


    She couldn''t believe her guild was tossed aside in these talks, but she wasn''t mad either. It was often the underdogs that made people surprised in good way. Plus, she expected thising stage here topete against After Dark.


    "Oh, don''t worry about it. We entered the war to defeat them didn''t we?" Saanvimented seeing her friend''s very worried expression.


    "Yes, but can you see how strong Ki is? Just him. Isn''t he being favoured by the gods of this ce a little too much?" She wasn''t too worried, she just couldn''t believe that every time she thought she caught up, Kiro took a giant leap.


    "Don''t forget, before we even knew them, they were already miles ahead of us. The world announcements were also almost always about them."


    Saanvi pondered herst statement, being favoured by gods was looking more and more usible when she said it out loud.


    "Wow, okay. They are favoured."


    I nodded in agreement, d she wasn''t the crazy one who saw things that weren''t actually there. People would most likelybel her an envious rich brat if she had this opinion alone.


    Stage two fights were finally over, people waited for what was next. As it stood, there were 99 guilds left. Since Valha eliminated one and then got themselves eliminated by something totally unrted.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions to the guilds that managed to beat the two stages. The next andst one is information gathering. You''re tasked to enter Tartarus once again, but this part of Tartarus is unchartered.


    So you won''t only travel throughnd unknown, you''ll also be required to make a map and write notes on everything happening there.


    While there''s 99 guilds here, survival of even two of you isn''t guaranteed. If you all die, thest one to die will be the winners obviously. Though if thest ones don''t have information they''ll forfeit to those with more information.


    This part of the forest has been explored before but none have returned alive. They don''t know what it is, whether they die or can''t find their way out. Your job is to find out why. While there is no time limit, keep in mind that the whole event is supposed to take only a weekend of real time. Happy hunting!]


    Everyone had a confused look on their face. They thought for sure, the next stage would be yers fighting out and killing each other.


    "Ahh, how boring, we only need to map through a forest?"


    "Do you have wax in your ears or are you an idiot? Did you miss the part that nobody returns?"


    "I heard it, but it can''t be that bad? They probably just sent in NPCs right?"


    The guy next to him sighed and didn''t answer him. He couldn''t believe there was someone who didn''t know that there were NPCs in Asgard at 200 levels, meaning they were stronger than any yer. If they sent those and they didn''te back, they were all screwed.


    If it was something that detrimental, then this final stage was just gathering as much information as possible and preferably dyingst.


    The system told them they had only an hour before they were transported to different entrances of the part that wasn''t known to the general public of Asgard. Each guild would have their own entrance.


    There were initially 100 entrances, but since there were only 99, that one was closed off. It was automatically closed by the system.


    99 entrances of just a part of the forest. This was how big Tartarus was, it was a world of its own, with an ecosystem different from that of Asgard.


    "Be careful, okay?" Kiro told I and Saanvi.


    He knew something was off about the game, so he didn''t know how their deaths would affect them while in this unchartednd. He''d been to another realm after all, although he managed to not die he was sure something bad would''ve happened if he did.


    So his worries weren''t unwarranted here.


    "Worry about yourself." Saanvi shot back.


    "Hey, why are you fighting?" Hiro stared at Saanvi demanding an answer but she never gave him one. She simply rolled her eyes and walked off.


    "What''s eating her. Well, to be fair, something is always eating her." Kiro joked.


    "I heard that number two." She shouted from the stands.


    It didn''t even give Kiro the chance to talk back, and they were suddenly in a very dark, tree densely popted area.

 Chapter 271: The Side Unknown

    "Is everyone alright, can everyone see?"


    It was too dark. Even the highly favoured Kiro couldn''t see well in the midst of dense trees. He however had vibrations, so he was fine.


    Hiro had infused his eyes with the special fire he possessed. Making it easier to see, he was the only one who could see in their group using his eyes.


    His was now called Purifye, it was the most pure fire Asgard had. It was white in colour, with purple hints on the sides. It forced his hair and eyes to be the same colour as it.


    He did not decide to use it on his hair, it just did all on his own when he activated it. The fire was kind of sentient, it decided all on its own that, its master and his mates needed light.


    It didn''t shine bright, but it was enough. Little by little vision came back to their eyes. Seeing Hiro''s pure white hair they almostughed, but then the eyes, the eyes were very frightening. They swallowed their mocking thoughts immediately.


    "We can now." Niki said, suppressingughter.


    "Let''s go." Hiro said in a deeper than usual voice.


    Kiro looked at him and chuckled. Amused his friend was taking the role way too seriously. He knew that his personality hadn''t changed, only his voice. But he''d taken the voice into ount and acted ordingly, to maximise his authority.


    "Where do we enter? the system said there''d be an entrance, so where is it?" Jorge asked still blinded by Hiro''s me.


    He was grateful for the light, but he made the mistake of looking right at it which caused him temporary blindness.


    Blind as he was, he wasn''t wrong. The trees made it impossible for them to go through and there wasn''t a portal like some of them expected there''d be.


    At his question, they all looked to Kiro. He was their leader after all, and they didn''t know what else they could do. Thanks to his vibrations, Kiro could see that a portal did exist, it just was invisible to normal eyes.


    Even with his enhanced eyes, he couldn''t see anything. But nothing could ever fool vibrations, unless it was a necromancer.


    He simply walked up to the trees, specifically between the two, and shoved his hand through and sure enough, his hand disappeared.


    "Here. The portal is here." He said and didn''t wait for them to be impressed, he just passed on.


    One by one, they went through. Hiro was thest to enter since he was their light. When he got to the other side, they hardly needed his me anymore. His eyes slowly gained their original colour, so did his hair.


    There was no sun, there were multiple moons in the sky though. They fully lit as far as their eyes could see, which wasn''t that far since trees were also clustered together here.


    The atmosphere wasn''t a good one. It was suffocating the rest of the priests that weren''t guardians. Jorge and Lyle were hanging on alright, but the rest were hanging by the thread.


    It threatened to steal the air right out of their lungs. They had to gasp, and grab for the air in order to just breathe.


    "I don''t know how much longer we can hold on."


    "We''ve been here less than a second, I know it''s hard but hang in there." Jorge scolded his guildmates who were seemingly just ready to give up.


    "Don''t be too hard on them, I''m stronger than all of thembined, no offense, while I''m stronger I''m also suffering. How much more for them?" Lyle said seriously, trying to sound like a good vice leader.


    It took everything in everyone''s power to notugh at the seriousness and the fact that he was stroking his ego while at it. Jorge simply nodded, afraid if he said anything he''d just make fun of Lyle.


    "Can''t Ishaan use his shield to protect them from dying?" Felix suggested, not wanting to fall back into being a healer. He didn''t hate being a healer, he chose it because he wanted to be great support for Niki.


    Niki had asked him about a hundred times if he was sure it was the ss for him and every single time, he answered yes without hesitating. He didn''t think the game would allow torturing other yers the way he liked.


    And now that he had a subss that allowed him to be on the offensive, he found that he favoured that more than being at the back lines, supporting and healing others.


    "Can''t be done, they''d just suffer more." Ishaan answered him briefly.


    "Can''t we just¡ª"


    "No we can''t. We''ll recruit a healer once we''re out of this, so please bare with it." Kiro cut him off before he could argue more.


    It may not be time limited but they were wasting time just standing there arguing about things they couldn''t do anything against.


    Kiro''s promation made him happier. He didn''t care if they got a weak healer, he''d personally train them no matter what. He''d even receive a true blood potion if Hiro ever managed to make one.


    When they started walking, winds picked up and got stronger. They were being pushed back as they tried to walk forwards, as if the ce didn''t want them exploring and finding its secrets.


    "Curious. I''m receiving damage from just the wind." Kiromented, albeit in a whisper. "I think we will need your shield after all Ishaan. The ones who will perish, I''m sorry, but if we want to win this, sacrifices should be made."


    When they stopped walking, the winds also stopped. It was a game of cat and mouse. Kiro wondered how I''s guild would manage, he surmised that most have been crashed by the atmosphere or the winds themselves.


    What was worse was the fact that, they couldn''t fight wind. It was wind! Kiro tried whirlwind with Ryu at first but it didn''t work cancelling out the wind, he knew it wouldn''t work since the damage it caused was significant enough that he noticed.


    Ishaan didn''t wait for the rest to agree. Kiro''s word was final to him, they were all covered within his shield in seconds. The ones who were heaving had a temporary fix and then suddenly they didn''t have air to breathe anymore.


    "We''re sincerely sorry we weren''t strong enough leader. We will work harder to be stronger next time. See you on the other side." One said with hisst breath.


    Jorge nodded at him, sadness written all over his face. These were the guys who believed in him, even when they couldn''t recruit members, they stayed by his side. Believing that he''d take them to greater heights.


    They died within seconds of each other and the light took them immediately. Only two were left from Chasing Madness now, this made Jorge panic a little. He didn''t want After Dark to do all the work, he wanted to reach the finish line with them.


    He stilled his heart and steadied his breathing and they started walking. Kiro logged notes from his status bar, of the moons, the winds and the atmosphere of the ce. He didn''t trust anyone else to do this, this was a very crucial part of winning. So he used his brains and eyes to observe the peculiar forest.


    They weren''t affected at all while inside Ishaan''s shield, they could walk however fast. They had to keep feeding him potions so they shield didn''t dissipate.


    The wind got more and more angry it seemed, it was howling. They could almost here itsints, it clearly didn''t like that it couldn''t get to them anymore.


    Everything it threw at them bounced right back at it. The very ground they stood on was now shaking. The trees were making strange noises.


    "No wonder nobody hase back, this isn''t easy." Nikimented.


    They hadn''t ran into a single corpse or bones in there. They wondered how that could be, surely, they weren''t alive. So then, where were their remains?


    The trees were being rooted and thrown at them, but Ishaan''s shield persisted. The first tree that hit them scared the life out of the two that weren''t used to an almost indestructible shield.


    "I have a very bad feeling about this." Kiro unwillingly let out.


    He was feeling dread he hadn''t felt in a very long time. He didn''t know what it was, he preferably didn''t want to find out. But he could sense that they were drawing nearer to the trouble.


    There were strangely no monsters that pounced to attack them, it was just a strange forest that didn''t want visitors.


    "I feel it too, I''m very scared for absolutely no viable reason." Hiro answered him.


    When the two shared their feelings, the others stopped holding back. Previously afraid that they''d be judged and deemed weak. They also freely raised their concerns. Kiro was recording everything, including what they were feeling or what the forest made them feel.


    They hadn''t walked long after being sentimental when they were abruptly stopped by a giant cocoon, strung up on the trees. It was alive, the heart beat within it could be heard by all.


    "What the f*ck?"

 Chapter 272: A Mysterious Find

    They looked at it with both great fear and amazement. They were like stupid moths that couldn''t help but be drawn to a me.


    Every time the thing inside''s heart pulsated, they could see the cocoon slightly moving and their own hearts would skip a beat, in the most painful way possible.


    "I''ve never had a heart attack but I imagine it would be like this." Niki joked clutching at his chest, in hopes of calming his racing heart down.


    If they weren''t in a pain of their own, they could''ve perhapsughed but no one did. Not even Kiro. He was more scared than he''d ever been in-game, what was in front them was more dangerous than anything they''d ever faced.


    If push came to shove though, Kiro admitted he''d have to use the powers that were on a couple of months cool down. Only if they''d let him though, he didn''t think he had much of a choice in the matter.


    He didn''t know what other adverse consequences he would harbour if he''d forcefully use them, he wasn''t sure whether it was worth it or that he wanted to find out. They weren''t fighting for themselves here either, they were just hired mercenaries.


    Kiro walked with calcted, deliberate footsteps. He wanted to end this before it even started, but he had a very strong urge to not attack. Even though they were all dreading what was inside, it still gave them a feeling that, they shouldn''t attack.


    Themand was so strong that they were actually fighting against it. Their will wasn''t quite strong enough.


    Though Lyle surprised them all, he somehow managed to copy Kiro''s whirlwind, it was weaker, far weaker but he was able to create a strong wind towards the cocoon. But s, it did nothing to move it.


    "Come on you guys! This is nothing, you can''t tell me I admire a guy who can''t even attack at the moment." He bellowed, bringing them back to their senses.


    It wasn''t anything amazing that made him stand out from the rest, he was too much of an idiotic stubborn person. His will was almost impossible to break or sway. His idiocy helped him this time and he was quite proud of it, the fact that he had something his master didn''t.


    "Don''t get to carried away, you''re still an idiot." Jorge joked, having bitten his lip which was now bleeding.


    "The pressure here is definitely something even I, am struggling against." Kiromented with a half hearted chuckle.


    He had an idea what the cocoon would reveal but he didn''t want to admit it. He instead focused on the fact that the system wouldn''t have sent normal yers in here if that were the case.


    But the thought kept gnawing at the back of his head, it wanted to make itself known, w its way out of the depths of his brains. It was loud, but Kiro wanted to ignore it. He had to.


    He didn''t want to spend this time afraid out of his mind, he wanted toe up with countermeasures and that couldn''t possiblye into fruition if his mind was in constant fear mode.


    "Come out with it, what are you thinking?" Hiro asked his best friend, seeing the concern mixed with a dreaded expression on his face. He knew him enough by now to know that this face meant their odds weren''t great.


    At Hiro''s enquiry they all looked to Kiro as they did when they wanted to enter this ce, that turned out to be hell. Now they were looking to him, to hopefully get them out of the pickle they found themselves in.


    "Well?" Ishaan chimed in impatiently, since Kiro was quiet and not answering.


    "Well nothing! I don''t know either, I''ve never encountered this before, I have a theory you won''t like though." He said his face souring, thest words felt like he was chewing on ss.


    He''d deliberated with himself and decided to just tell them, the thought won at the end, he wanted a different perspective, he wanted someone to tell him he was barking mad.


    "It''s a harbinger isn''t it?" Niki said, having studied Kiro''s face, he couldn''t imagine anything else that could scare him to this extent.


    "Yes, but worse. Worse than the Queen that almost killed me back then." Having a conversation like this took them everything just to string the words together. It wasn''t easy.


    "What the hell is a harbinger?" Lyle asked in ce of Jorge, he was about the only one who had seemed to have a very good resistance against the thing.


    Kiro had forgotten that there were two people who weren''t guardians, well, three if you counted Ishaan. He wasn''t sure whether the system would like that, but he didn''t really care at this point.


    They were about to face their worst enemy yet, Kiro was hundred percent sure that they''d lose this one. He was ready to lose the levels, he decided against using reality warping until the cool down was up.


    "It''s these powerful monsters that can only be fought by guardians of Asgard. I don''t know exactly how the system chooses them, or if it''s entirely up to the luck of the individual but there are a few already." Kiro exined without missing a beat.


    Jorge pondered at this, he wanted to soak in the information, all of it, before asking questions. He didn''t want to waste his words on inane things.


    "I''ll assume since you know about them, you''re a guardian? Then if you know, why does this scare you so much?" He was exasperated by the end of the question.


    "Kiro fought two by himself some time ago, one almost killed him, we fought one together that threatened the game world. But neither of us felt something this great, this one is much worse as he said, we may not survive." Hiro exined to him sincerely.


    Kiro let a lightugh slip. He didn''t mean to, but the optimism in Hiro''s words amused him somehow. He wasn''t hopeful, not at all.


    Just after the conversation, the cocoon started making crackling sounds.

 Chapter 273 : The Unexpected Encounter

    Their attention waspletely captured by what the cocoon was doing. The sound was horrible to say the least. Tiny cracks began to show all over it, a gold liquid came dripping out.


    They were almost right above it, at the drip they quickly moved out of the way. Afraid that the liquid would be toxic to them.


    But when it touched the ground, there was no acidic effect to the grass or the soil. They still didn''t trust it, though a beautiful aroma hit their noses.


    "Is that honey?"


    Nobody wanted to get close to find that out. It could be possible that the liquid wouldn''t be harmful to the nature around here while it could give them great damage. They didn''t want to stupidly do something that would cost them, that and well the fact that they were scared.


    "Just, don''t touch it." Kiromanded a very curious Lyle.


    He gave him a stupid apologetic smile, appearing as if he was curious enough to do it. Jorge didn''t have the words, he simply shook his head.


    The cocoon was now opening, it bloomed a beautiful colour of indigo, like a flower everybody refuses to pick. This happened from the top of the cocoon.


    "Sh*t, it''sing to life, what to do, what to do?" Jorge was panicking at the sight of the thing.


    Nobody had answers, so his question was met with silence. They could only watch their doom manifest right in front of them.


    Kiro threw his staff right at it, hoping it could do something better. Now that it wasing out of its shell, they found that they could move better. He followed up with whirlwind when Ryu bounced right back to his hand.


    That didn''t work either. Niki threw his poison daggers, at the same time Felix was throwing his weapon. They all failed to even dent the cocoon.


    Kiro wasn''t just going to give up though, he summoned lightning, at the same time Niki used his deadly bad. At first it was hurting hisrades, but he tuned it just right and focused on the enemy ahead.


    They knew it wasn''t working, but they kept it up, pushing the boundaries, hoping they could at least hurt it before it finished its transformation. But their hopes fell on deaf ears, the monster in front of them was growing stronger instead.


    "This is just a waste of mana, don''t you think?" Hiro told them.


    But they were stubborn, they didn''t want to hear that all was hopeless. They had potions, they had a healer to ensure their mana didn''t deplete, or kaos in Kiro''s case.


    The monster didn''t seem like a monster, its energy was serene. The body inside started blossoming into a solid form they could see. Its head peeked out of the broken top of the cocoon.


    It stretched until it was as tall as the trees there. It looked like a humanoid wasp. Its face had vague human features, but you could tell it wasn''t entirely human.


    Instead of falling to the ground, the cocoon brightened and turned into a loose robe for the being that it helped birth.


    Nobody was breathing now, they didn''t know it but they held their breaths in anticipation. A few seconds passed with neither of the two sides moving.


    Then slowly, it opened its eyes. They were bright red, there were no irises they could spot. The whole eye was just a ball of bleeding red.


    "Who are you and what are you doing in my home?" It asked with an impressive thunderous voice, that threatened to shutter their sense of hearing.


    "Uh, we''re here to kill you, I guess?" Lyle answered dumbly.


    It had a confused and angry expression when it firstid its eyes on them. Then a sound they hadn''t expected came from its persed mouth. They assumed it wasughing, even itsughter was not an appealing sound.


    It was hoarse and groggy, like it had never made the sound in its life. Like it was imitating something it had heard previously.


    "You? Kill me?" Its expression changed just as fast, it asked with a disgusted voice. "You couldn''t even prate my robe¡ª"


    It didn''t finish its sentence, its eyes fell on Kiro. It regarded him quietly, a smirk appeared on its monstrous face.


    "You, where did you get that robe?" Kiro had piqued its curiosity.


    Kiro didn''t know what to say, so he told the truth. "It was a gift from my ancestor." He thought that answer would be enough, he didn''t want to give much away.


    "Who might that be?"


    "I wouldn''t like to say." Kiro was feeling a little defiant now. He knew their fate, there was no point in trying to butter up to this thing.


    "Is that right? Then you can die along with your little pride." It said mockingly.


    "Then die, we shall." He stood in a fighting stance, clutching at Ryu.


    Lyle and Jorge were still surprised that it could talk. They''d never met a monster in this game that could, their shock was much more than the others. So they stood dumbly, not ready to fight at all.


    "So, this is a harbinger." Lyle nodded as he said.


    It appeared right in front of him, clutching at his throat. "I''m not just a harbinger, I''m a general, you impertinent lower being."


    Lyle knew it was over, his spit flew from his mouth to the monster''s eye. It didn''t retaliate, it burned with anger. It snapped his neck effortlessly.


    This all happened within a millisecond, Kiro had already turned and used blink. Niki jumped into action, using the shadows to travel there faster.


    Ishaan left Felix inside his shield, he was bit on the slower side so he couldn''t get there as fast as others. Hiro decided to stand between it and Felix with his shield and axe.


    Jorge wasn''t out of his shock. He couldn''t process how fast everything was happening around them. So they locked him up with Felix.


    After Dark stood defiantly, knowing that they would get killed for sure but they wouldn''t wait for that toe to them, they''d go and find it themselves.


    Kiro bent space with his kick, and the general easily blocked it with its forearm.


    "Okay, I felt that one." Itmented lightly and punched Kiro so hard that he broke the first few trees he made contact with.


    When he got up, Niki was gone. So was Ishaan.

 Chapter 274 : A Fight To The End

    His ears were buzzing from all the crash that just urred and from the shock of his two guys that were gone with the wind, within the seconds he was down.


    Only Hiro and the ones who were within Ishaan''s now shattered force shield were left. Kiro couldn''t quite believe the spectacle right in front of him. He was insulting the system with every insult under the sky.


    How could it possibly give them this impossiblest task, was it trying to kill them, or was the system oblivious to some facts about the game. He pondered thatst option very well. After all, the system couldn''t detect his Kaos energy.


    Even with Harbingers, they seemed like monsters the system couldn''t control so they needed yers for that, not just ordinary yers though, ones it was willing to make stronger than most through the true blood potion.


    This all started to seem like a ploy by the system. Harbingers were like a virus that attacked the game, in order for that to be stopped the system needed yers. This was about the only theory that made sense to Kiro.


    ''So then, what is the system and what are Harbingers, why are they seemingly at war with each other?'' Kiro had a lot of thoughts swarming his brain.


    He felt like he was being attacked mentally by the information that seemed to fall into ce to him. Though this freedom to think up a theory didn''t pass without consequences, only Hiro was left. Even he was at his wits end.


    His legendary shield was bent out of shape. He wanted to cry or scream, this was a special shield that his master had gifted him before he left. It wasn''t like he could ever see him again, he was back at beginner''s vige and he couldn''t enter there due to being many levels above.


    You could tell that he wasn''t fighting because he had anymore strength within himself. He was fighting out of pure unwavering rage. His hair was pure white, not even a tinge of purple could be seen.


    His eyes pearly white, showing absolute defiance against the being that dubbed itself a general. But to them, he may as well have been the King of gods themselves. They''d have believed him if the being lied and said that instead.


    "Oh, we have a very fiesty one here, don''t we?" He looked at Hiro impressed.


    He was utterly impressed because he hadn''t held anything back while pummelling the person in front him. Instead of the creature perishing, it just kept persisting.


    Kiro appeared right next to his friend before the general could do anything else. He touched his hair and ruffled it. As if to free him from his unbearable pain. Telling him it was okay, he had done his part, he could now let go.


    In his almost unconscious state, Hiro understood his friends intentions and he immediately dropped to the ground without so much as a word. The light appeared out of nowhere, Kiro felt that it was warm and he took sce in that. It embraced Hiro''s now lifeless body and made him disappear.


    Kiro felt rage he''d never felt before. In his mind this wasn''t a game anymore, to him, he had lost his best friend. He saw red, kaos started embracing that state of his mind. His body was glinting with a brilliant light of red.


    Ding!


    [Warning! Warning! You''re entering berserk mode, if this continues your body will enter aatose state, for a time even I can''t calcte.]


    Kiro couldn''t even hear the message the system was giving him. He was totally lost in his conscious unconscious mind.


    The general looked at Kiro incredulously, it knew the moment it set eyes on the boy that he had a special lineage.


    "This isn''t fun, this isn''t fun at all. The bodies disappear and I can''t even feed off them, Qamata sure excels in trickery." The generalmented, intending to devour Kiro before it killed him.


    "You even use the energy many cannot tame, what a strange little fellow. Well, this will be your funeral, give me your body now boy."


    The general had human features because it ate every Knight they had sent to investigate the forest. The more he ate, the more human he seemed. He felt that, eating the boy in front of him would do the trick.


    The general wanted to integrate with Asgard''s society without people screaming at it that it was a monster. That was its mission from the ancient ones it worshipped.


    Kiro suddenly split into two, both bodies carried the same amount of strength. He then split further into a third of himself.


    Ding!


    [You''ve unlocked gemino. Like your ancestor, you can make copies of yourself, how many depends on your strength and how high the skill is.]


    This was yet another message that failed to make it to Kiro. He wasn''t himself anymore, there were three berserkers in front of the general and all carrying the magnificent staff.


    The harbinger still felt that this wasn''t enough to kill him but the three Kiro''s didn''t wait for him to think any further. All three closed in with bending kick, if he could feel a tingle before, he felt numb this time.


    The general silently apuded the rise in strength. Though all three were blocked, and sent them flying in different directions. It quickly took charge and followed the one that it thought was the original.


    All three Kiro''s were chanting a mantra, "kill." It was a word that swirled in his mind, it was the only thing that he could see.


    Just when the general reached the one that it went after, he disappeared from where he was. Another appeared at the top of the general, using palm strike with the greatested force on its head.


    Its neck almost caved to its chest, before it quickly retreated. That was the first time its brain had rted it with the danger signal.


    "You''re certainly a dangerous one, aren''t you? Well, the time to be nice is over. I''ll fight you seriously."


    The words hadn''t sooner left its mouth when an army of wind des came dashing past it, none could even pierce its very hard skin.


    All three Kiro had it surrounded, attacking with Ryu and being parried all the same. Kiro was putting up a fight, it wasn''t much, but it was one nheless.


    He asionally used vibrations to throw off the senses of the general, it worked but only for a millisecond.


    Kiro felt his life force being drained by the second. The berserker mode wasn''t a joke, but he wanted to at least wound the thing before it ended him. He had to get him, for Hiro.


    All three of them started spinning their staff. Creating winds so strong that the very trees were rooted from where they had been for probably thousands of years.


    The general noticed his feet were being taken off the ground. The air around started getting thinner making it difficult to breathe even for it, then it felt a blow to the head.


    The most excruciating pain entered its body for the first time. Not even the ancient ones it worshipped inflicted such pain on them, when it looked up, another Kiro had used his staff with all his might to inflict the damage.


    "Enough of this. It doesn''t matter if I can''t devour you." A growing energy on its hand showed itself.


    It never stopped growing, the three Kiro''s never stopped attacking either. It was the size of the sun from the earth, when it suddenly exploded, levelling the ground they stood in and Kiro had disappeared from there.


    "Too bad. He could''ve made it so much easier." The general heaved, and took a seat on the charred ground.


    All the trees within a 500 meter radius had disappeared. It had be a barrennd. Its eyes scanned the area, it sighed and shrugged.


    "I guess I can''t hibernate for a long time now? My master will not ept this answer. I should just wait for them to grow and hope they bring more of those stupid knights." Itid on its back on the dirt ground, contemting whether it should report what had just happened.


    Kiro was in darkness. A familiar darkness, it felt like the one that he had walked in during his rebirth. He simply sat and didn''t bother walking around this time.


    He didn''t quite remember what happened, he surmised that, something must''ve happened during the battle and he died, maybe this was a passage all yers walked when the light took them.


    "Why? Why are they so eager this time? Isn''t it a bit early?"


    "It is, I don''t know either but none of them are ready. It''s such a shame."


    "A shame that you will die and all for nothing!"


    "No need to rub it in, I know my fate and I''m ready."


    Kiro heard these voices, he was sure he''d heard them before. But before he could ask anything. They''d found out that someone was listening in and pushed him back to the game. When he opened his eyes, he was in the arena.

 Chapter 275: Undisputed Winners

    He was disorientated as he woke. The uproar in the arena didn''t help the case, he felt his head was about to split in half if he dared to even move. But he dared, his hand raised to rub his eyes that seemed to be seeing in a blurred vision.


    He rubbed them a lot, perfect vision only returned to one of his eyes. He looked around, he was surrounded by a mob of very unhappy yers. All expressing their frustrations at the same time.


    Most of them have yed games simr to this one, and they''ve been part of guild wars before. The way these ones were held were nothing close to what they were used to.


    They''d strategised ording to their past information of other games, only to be halted by a long, impossible to climb wall. Telling them they knew nothing.


    ''What the hell happened anyway?'' Kiro tried to search his mind to fill the nks that had took residence in his mind. Nothing came to him.


    Ding!


    [You were enraged fighting the general Harbinger, you entered berserk mode, which I do not rmend for you to do again. It''s a wonder that you can still move at all. Usually the penalty for using it is the character being suspended in theatose state for quite some time.


    What exactly are you, guardian? It seems like the penalty was all sent to your left eye, hence you can''t see properly with it. It could be permanent or temporary, even I''m not sure.]


    With the system filling in the pieces of the puzzle, he started to remember that he''d gone mad because he saw his best friend died. He got up quickly trying to find him, he felt weak. Combing through the crowd wasn''t easy. But he did it.


    He noticed them frantically looking for him around where the light had dropped them off. He tried calling out to them, but his voice totally failed him, the noise buried his voicepletely.


    With the little strength he had, he sent a little gust of wind to make them look where he was. It worked, they came rushing. Kiro fell on the chair nearby.


    Ding!


    [Don''t push it guardian, just because you were able to survive berserk mode with a p on the wrist doesn''t mean you''re in the clear now. You even unlocked a new skill, do you remember that?]


    "Shut your filthy mouth and exin what the hell is this game? Why did you send us to a fight that you knew we were gonna lose? Just what are you?"


    Ding!


    [That''s beyond my knowledge, this is a game and that was the guild wars. If you have questions, take it up to the people who created this world?]


    "You sure are talkative all of a sudden? Everybody knows that the developers of this game never answer anyone, whether they be inane or seriousints, it''s like, they don''t even care."


    [...]


    "Tsk."


    Kiro sat there, feeling like there was definitely more to this. Two of the harbingers mentioned a Qamata, he didn''t care about it the first time, but a second time meant that, this name meant something.


    He feltpletely drained, he didn''t have the time to explore the mysteries of this game. He had a society to fix and fight for. Now this, this mere game was making him think, cracking his skull as he did. He didn''t like it at all.


    The game wasn''t like this in his past life, there no harbingers, not ones he knew of. Unless they appeared after his death. If that were the case, it should be another 7 years or so before they show themselves. So then, why were they there this early?


    He pondered but no answers readily fell on hisp. His friends arrived just at the perfect time, he could feel himself, he was about to lose his mind, so the distraction was weed with open arms.


    "Dude, you didn''t tell us you could copy yourself? We watched the whole thing. You put up way more fight than when we were together." Jorge was more excited than the rest.


    Kiro almost teared up as he saw his friend was safe and sound. He stopped himself from jumping him and embracing him with the tightest of hugs. This was when realised just how special Hiroto Misaki was to him. He was like a brother, no, he was a brother that was his age he never had.


    Kiro didn''t know what to say to Jorge''s question and statement, so he just gave him a brief but warm smile.


    "Master, you''re truly my master, you were thest to return from the 99 guilds." Lyle said proudly.


    "I''m just d you guys are okay." He said, his eyes falling on Hiro for a lot longer, then to each of them.


    They noticed he seemed weak, they wanted to pry and ask for more but they didn''t want to tire him out. So they refrained from asking him what really happened, they had watched the match after all.


    "Ohe on guys, you''re gonna treat me like some kind of egg? I entered berserk mode, apparently a dangerous thing ording to the system. That''s also why I can''t see anything from my left eye, considering I shouldn''t be standing here and talking, I''d say I got off lightly." He exined.


    He could tell that they were curious, so heid it out for them. Not leaving a single detail from the skill he acquired and the fight, they also were more free to ask questions. He left out why he went into berserk mode though, this wasn''t something he wasfortable letting them know. He wouldn''t tell even Hiro.


    For a moment there, this didn''t feel like a game to him. He didn''t know why he felt like that, he felt silly to have even considered that Hiro was really dead.


    ''I''m a bit dramatic, aren''t I?'' He chuckled.


    The system didn''t say anything until the yers had their frustrations out of their system. They shouted into nothingness until they were tired that nothing was talking back to them.


    The game wasn''t unlocked either, the time for guild wars wasn''t over yet, not until the victors were announced.


    One by one, the yers took their seats, exhausted. Kiro was sometimes amused by the way the system did things, it pretended it wasn''t avable for the tasks. But now that things were filling the nks in his mind, he could see that the system had warned him away from entering berserk mode.


    The sensation of not being in control was a peculiar one. He wasn''t watching the battle or anything but he could feel it. He only remembers being chauffeured by an unknown entity that took his fighting into another level.


    He didn''t understand why the game didn''t let yers tap into that insane amount of power. It could be very helpful for those who could harness it.


    Ding!


    [It cannot be harnessed. This mode is very dangerous, as it doesn''t only drain the mana of a character but also their life force. You were lucky to have only been penalised with an eye and 10 levels. 10 levels are a standard for any yers. That''s right guardian, you''re no longer in the hundreds.]


    Kiro clicked his tongue. He didn''t know why the system seemed to always answer questions you don''t ask directly. Just a moment ago, thousands of yers were asking questions, not a single one of them got answers. It was kind of amusing.


    His eyes unwillingly fell on I''s face. She looked extremely furious like the rest. But unlike them she wasn''t interested in saying anything.


    Like she could feel someone staring at her, she turned around lightly and her eyes met with Kiro''s. He smiled and waved at her, she rolled her eyes and focused in front of her.


    Kiro let out a tired howl. She absolutely had no idea what he''d just gone through, if she had a clue, she would probably be making a bigger fuss out of it.


    She was still a little mad, not just at the game for being so unfair. She was sure that they hadn''t beaten Kiro''s group. That''s all she wanted, she didn''t care if she was number one or not.


    Ding!


    [There were problems that weren''t foreseen by even the developers. This guild wars was interrupted by something much, much sinister. Something that wasn''t supposed to be part of the challenges.


    This was a failure on our part. s. But, this, this is something that can''t be redone. The guild wars can''t be redone no matter what. Now that, that''s out of the way, I''ll announce the winners.]


    Nobody argued, they all knew that, no matter what they said, they couldn''t really change the decision the system had already made.


    Bysting longer, thereby obtaining more information than most, After Dark and Chasing Madness were the undisputed winners. People didn''t feel bitter about the win, they''d seen and watched their progress, they truly deserved the win.


    While I had a big lump on her throat. She still made the decision to get up from where she sat and congratte them properly.

 Chapter 276: Mysteries Within

    All of Chasing Madness were feeling something indescribable. Happiness and screaming, mostly by Lyle. Jorge was still seated on his chair, unbelieving of the announcement. All of After Dark were nonchnt, as the rewards wouldn''t really go to them.


    Ding!


    [I don''t know if this is clear or not. But guild wars here are a little different. The number one guild will be the only one eligible for rewards.


    Only the top 5 guilds will be eligible for the title of ''greatest of asgard'' ''second of greatest'' and so on and so forth. Anything else, if you want it you''ll have to fight for it the next time these games are held.


    Remember this one crucial detail, the next ones will vastly differ from these ones. So it will be useless to work on strategies based off the stages from this first guid wars.


    Now then, onto what those who only contend with gods, have won, our great champions...]


    As it turned out they gotnd within the capital, along withnd of the guilds they''ve eliminated. Jorge wanted to give Kiro one of thosends but refused him.


    "Remember our deal, we don''t get anything from the rewards, we only get the coin rewards you give us after we''ve made you the champions of Asgard." Kiro reminded him, punching him lightly on the shoulder.


    Jorge smiled lightly. He understood why he turned it down, they had to be mercenaries of their word else nobody would give them the time of day. But he deep down wished they''d epted the gesture, he''d hoped that their friendship went on.


    "What Kiro means is, he enjoyed working with you and would love another coborationter on." I couldn''t exactly help herself, he exined to Jorge because Kiro was being vague and causing unnecessary misunderstandings.


    Jorge nodded at I, "nice to meet you, sister-inw." She hadn''t expected that toe out of anyone''s mouth, she flushed red and no longer had an interest to converse with either of them. She robotically walked away from the situation.


    While Kiro could hear their funny argument, he was once again in his mind. It was thest thing the system had said about guild wars.


    In his past life, guild wars were always the same. Just two guilds having an all out war and the loser lost everything. From their base, to their bank, to their armour, everything. This would go on until there was only one guild standing.


    This thing of having three stages of the war, most of all, making it so that each month has its own stages was very different and weird to Kiro.


    All this started to feel like drills, like the system was creating soldiers out of them. And it was obvious for what, harbingers have most likely infested the whole of Asgard.


    Probably why they had given Hiro the true blood potion recipe, hoping to make more guardians to fend off the danger that was still very unknown to them.


    Did the system not understand that, people were generally selfish hoggers. Nobody would willingly give away their advantage, so that everyone was at the same starting line.


    Kiroughed at its stupidity. They''d obviously never just give away Hiro''s hard work to people they didn''t even like. If they however wanted to spend millions of coins, it could be considered. But even then, it would be very few and specific people.


    People like Chasing Madness. Kiro liked them but not enough to give them free potions that were worth probably more than his life.


    But he still didn''t like that they were being used by something within a supposed game. A bunch of coded data, nothing but aputer was ordering them around. That didn''t quite sit right with him, but he didn''t feel like he had a choice. He now wanted to see where this was going.


    "Thank you so much After Dark, we wouldn''t have done this without you."


    That was the only thing Kiro heard from Jorge''s winner''s speech. He walked down the podium. He looked at him weirdly, he hadn''t expected that there would be something so formal from winning. Regardless, he had given them credit in front of most yers in Asgard. That in turn gave them exposure.


    "Dammit. That could''ve been us if our guild leader was more lenient!"


    "You mean if your guild leader was a logical thinker at all? I mean, I don''t really understand the concerns around privacy, and we''ve all seen After Dark fight."


    "Better shut your mouth kid!" He didn''t think his guild leader was being logical either but he didn''t want anyone else to insult him.


    "Better, your guild leader didn''t give him the time of day. What about mine? Who straight up challenged him and got his behind handed to him¡ª"


    The speaker wasn''t done yet, but he was cut off by a hand chop on the neck, making him choke on his own saliva. When he looked up to tell whoever off, he continued his coughs realising it was the vice guild leader of Valha.


    "Mind what you say in public." He scolded elegantly.


    "Of¨Cof course sir, of course I''ll be more careful¡ªI mean, I''ll never do that again sir. Gossip is beneath the greatness of Valha."


    "You had better remember that!" Just like that he walked away from the problem that was their lower rank in their guild.


    ''System what happens when we can''t defeat a harbinger?'' Kiro asked not expecting anything in return. There was silence for a long time, then.


    Ding!


    [The next time you have to fight one, don''t, or lose on purpose. You''ll find out just how dire not ending those things is.]


    ''Pipe down there, I''m just asking. As part of guardians of Asgard, don''t I at least deserve to know?''


    [You make a fair point. But that''s not up to me, I don''t know anything. I was just programmed to tell you that, the consequences of failing to kill a harbinger are undesirable.]


    ''Hah, so the system isn''t the boss around here. It answers to someone or something else too. Something that wants us to fight these harbingers off. Maybe something bad will happen or maybe it won''t?'' Kiro pondered,pletely blocking out the system from reading his mind.


    Weak as he physically felt at that moment, he still had quite the impressive mental fortitude. Whenever he didn''t want a prying eye, he put the walls up so high that not even the system could prate through.


    ''I don''t know if you know this, but we failed to kill about 99 of them?''


    [The guardian doesn''t need to worry about this situation. You were there, no wonder you don''t know that only two guilds encountered harbingers.


    Yours and Dragon''s Tail. You both put up quite the fight. The others were just in the normal final stage of the guild wars. They were just too weak. Some couldn''t do anything even against the winds in the beginning.]


    The system sounded very annoyed as it said. Kiro thought it chatting way more than usual. He wasn''t sure what was happening.


    Now Kiro understood how they won against I''s guild. They were both facing a nightmarishly strong foe. One, neither couldn''t seem to do away with.


    [In case you''re wondering, which I think you are. There won''t consequence this time. The forest unknown is some kind of protective gate.


    When everything that shouldn''t, enters Asgard, that''s considered too strong for guardians is immediately transported there. They think they can leave, but they really can''t. That''s why knights are sent there asionally, to test the limits to their power.


    If a Knight of a certain level were to return, that would be the equivalent of the harbingers strength, well, generals.]


    Kiro didn''t care that it didn''t seem like their system. He liked this quite well, the previous one was too stingy with information.


    ''So, what are you preparing us for?'' Kiro decided to ask a very daring question. He wasn''t expecting an answer, he figured he wouldn''t lose anything by asking anyway.


    [...]


    As he expected, nothing came. He thought it was a bummer. It could be much easier if they knew what they needed to do, as of now, they couldn''t entirely focus on this game. Not when they didn''t even know what was at stake.


    ''Well, then, keep it to yourself.''


    Kiro felt that these warscked by a margin whenpared to the ones from his previous life. Even the rewards were kind of crappy.


    "Well, are you guys ready?" Hiro said more excited than he intended.


    Kiro couldn''t wait to get of the tired body that was his character. He felt like if he didn''t, the exhaustion would transfer and it would be a mental issue. He was the first to log out.


    He was lucky, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary on his real body. It was Sunday morning, he knew they''d get punished for skipping meals but he was willing to take it. He stretched and yawned.


    ''Well then, let''s start with the mysteries within our world, shall we?''

 Chapter 277: Underground Fighting Ring

    The ce was dingy and smelled of sweat and blood. But the lights shone brilliantly at the fight below. The only thing that separated the shrieking crowds from the two people going at it in the caged ring, were fists to flesh.


    One of the men looked like he could''ve been sculpted by the gods themselves. He was big and fit, he would''ve been the perfect diator in the olden days. It looked like he was born for this, the way he seemed to enjoy caving in skulls.


    While the other looked skinny and unappealing. Anyone would''ve thought that the match up was unfair, but there was nothing fair about the fight ring. Fighters were totally chosen by the crowds.


    If you were not a favourite of theirs, they''d match you up with the greatest of monsters known in the fighting ring. Of course most fights ended without any fatalities, but some, some did. There were a very stubborn people who didn''t concede even when they knew their fates.


    There were those who preferred death than to be made an entertainment for high and middle society, so they''d purposely not concede. This was a favourite oue amongst the crowds.


    The prisoners weren''t the only ones caged. Every sick bastard that paid to watch something so primitive and vile, had their own demons caged in society. While they actually showed their true nature within these walls.


    Every blood sttered was cheered for, every bone crunching. Every cries for help were met with boos,ughter and spitting.


    Bets of course were inevitable. They had all the money in the world to waste, some even bet on prisoners, knowing that they''d lose, just for the fun of it.


    The skinny man was obviously out of his depth, he was being dragged all over the caged ring. His punches, when they managed tond didn''t seem to do much to the diator.


    He didn''t seem to even avoid his punch, he weed the pain and possibility of being drenched in blood. People certainly had their weird fetishes in this ce, but nobody here judged or even bat an eye.


    The skinny man was breathing unevenly, announcing his end on the perilous road. It was excruciating, every time he''d been called to fight he thought it''d be hisst time. But he was too much of a coward to let himself die, so conceded each time.


    This time though, he didn''t care how many punch were nted on his bony body. He didn''t care if he couldn''t take the pain at the moment anymore. He reminded himself that, if he conceded now, this pain would continue on, it would be his life.


    He had his teeth clenched together so that it would be difficult to say anything. The diator wasn''t merciful, he never liked finishing his opponents quickly. He loved smacking them around for a while before dropping the finishing blow on them.


    This fight was no different. He mostly went for his arms and legs, careful not to damage his organs before he was tired of ying with his toy.


    "The diator sure loves to y with his food." One manmented from the stands. He wasn''tining, the longer the fight was, the better for those watching.


    They hade here for entertainment after all and they were getting it.


    "Yeah, your skinnyd is about to die, why did you bet on him again? This was obvious from the start who would win." Said another betting man, shaking his head.


    "What can I say, I love the unexpected. I can only hope that one day I''ll get it right." He shrugged.


    The man had always put his bets against the diator. He had a thing for underdogs. He never liked anything that was obvious, the subtlety made things exciting after all.


    "You''re a strange man Arnold."


    "I know you haven''t been part of this for long, but we don''t really use names here. So don''t do it again."


    The man apologetically smiled and nodded his head. It''d only been a few weeks since he was allowed in the inner most of the secret society''s doings, he didn''t want to mess it up, not for anything. He was naturally told of the rules, but it was easy to slip up when you were new.


    Their conversation was interrupted with a roar from within the cage. Which only riled up the crowd even more, that was the cry the diator used when he was ready to y his opponents.


    They watched as he picked up the skinny man above his head and dropped him to his knee. The crack could be heard, despite the fact that it wasn''tpletely silent. As if on cue, the crowd imitated his roar as he let it out once again.


    He jumped, dropping his knee directly to his head. The man underneath didn''t have time to cry out this time, as death immediately took him as one of his own. Blood and his brain were on the floor.


    Which made the crowd go even wilder, they had never seen such a spectacle before. They didn''t know if it was because the diator was too strong or the man was simply too weak.


    The diator roared once again, and begun hitting his head as a form of victory. He then walked to the gate, his hands in front of him. Handcuffs zoomed out of nowhere and bound his hands together.


    The gate then opened for him. He stepped out, not even daring to look at the crowd, he walked straight to his cell. Usually, prisoners shared a cell amongst themselves, but he was special around here. He had his own quarters and he could eat just about anything he wanted.


    You could tell the man was a stallion in his past life, but this ce hadpletely broken his spirit and now, he was something else. The animalistic instinct kicked in when he realised that, this was something he had to do in order to survive.


    He entered his his cell, which locked behind him. He sighed and walked to a wall with many lines crossed, he used the cuffs to draw another line and crossed it.

 Chapter 278: A Masters Feelings

    Gilbert watched this spectacle with a very bored uninterested expression. A drink in his hand, a countless empty and full bottles on the table. This was the VIP box that was only privy to him and whoever he deemed worthy to be up there with him at the time.


    But he didn''t feel like he wantedpany these past days, so he sat there alone, drinking and watching the bloodbaths happening beneath where he was sitting.


    Both the exterior and interior were made of hard beautiful ss. One that let those inside see what was happening, but those outside couldn''t see anything, not even a silhouette moving about inside.


    Trent stood by the door, formally like a butler should. Though his face was conflicted, he didn''t know whether to say something or not. He remembered how exciting his young self was when his father took him to this ce.


    But his love for it slowly faded away as the years went by. He only realised toote that he did these things and enjoyed them because his father told him to.


    He was the same for his son until a certain point, that''s why he told him what he did. To hopefully push him far away from the family business, he now even regretted taking in more woman to have more children.


    It was toote for him, but there was no need to rope in any more of his kids to this kind of life. He sighed deeply, thinking about what his next move should be.


    The Waynworths, as much as they were a thorn on the side for him, they were now akin to his arch nemesis. He had to strike back, otherwise he would lose much respect in their society if some unknown n could walk all over him with not much consequences.


    This good for nothing n had forced his hand into acknowledging them as worthy foes. He knew that there wasn''t enough space to breathe at the top for the both of them, he needed to act, but he just didn''t have any idea how to.


    There was one other option he didn''t want to consider. Offer them a seat at the table so that they''re part of the sanctum, but it had never been done before. It''s always been generational, no n has ever join since its conception.


    His eye caught the diator crunching the kid''s skull, making his brains stter all over the stone floor. This made him flinch but only slightly.


    Even though the lights were dimmed in the room they were in, Trent noticed it every time when his expressions shifted. His reactions weren''t of someone who was enjoying what they were watching.


    "Sir, if I may be so bold as to step out of line, it has been close to a week and you haven''t gone home, don''t you think we should?" As he asked, he stepped closer to his master.


    Gilbert simply grunted at his question, like it was a stab on the leg. He didn''t like others analysing his emotions, he hated it even more when he was told what to do. He prided on the fact that he could hide what he was feeling very well, but it seemed that he slipped once in a while in front of Trent. Or it was the simple fact that he knew him very well.


    Trent could sense his hostility but he pressed even further, "Sir, you don''t even like this ring why do you even bothering back? I know for a fact Mr. ck would dly take it off your hands."


    His anger red, but he quickly tookcontrol of it. He took a gulp of the drink that was half full, and tossed it on the floor. It didn''t break, it simply bounced andnded far from where he was seated. Itnded by the door.


    "Go pick that up." He ordered, with a very unfriendly voice.


    Trent dly walked up to the ss, he had just picked it up when he heard his master tell him.


    "Stay right there and keep your mouth shut."


    He didn''t know either, he didn''t know why he kept this ce running. But it was instilled in him that, what was important to his father, was important to him. So this ce, must''ve been important to him, somehow.


    "Master, I''ll dly take my punishment for my insolence. But I cannot watch you waste yourself away like this. You haven''t gone home in about a week, surely that cannot be good for you or your health?" Trent continued to press on.


    He''d watched this kid grow, he understood his bad ways. But he wasn''t willing to watch him throw away everything. Good or bad, this was still his master. But if he lost both, what would he be?


    "Trent, I''m not going to tell you again¡ª"


    He hadn''t finished his words when he noticed a fiery defiance in Trent''s eyes. He clearly wouldn''t let this go, he could feel that he was slipping by being at this ce for so long. Hell, he could feel it too.


    "The estate doesn''t need me, they''re doing just fine by themselves. Can''t I just, rot here? It seems fitting." He let out a sigh that he finally said what he wanted to say.


    "That''s not true, Master. You''re the head of the estate and it still needs you. The keson name must live on. If you want to change things about how you operate, you don''t need to stop and think.


    "I''ll follow you to the ends of this world. I''ll pick up the pieces and glue them back on if I have to. I''m just a simple loyal man, loyal to you and the keson name. So please Sir, don''t let this beautiful n die with you." He finished so gracefully, he had his head slightly bowed as he said.


    Gilbert let out a sad smallugh. He didn''t know where his father got this man from, but he was about the only right thing he''d ever left for him. He felt d to have had him by his side all this time.


    He''d been a strong anchor for him, even when he didn''t know it. He''d never once judged him for his evil ways, instead he followed and did as he was told.


    He got up from his chair, feeling a little dizzy. He stumbled a bit before finding his feet.


    "Let''s go home Sir." Trent said, with his jacket already on his arms.


    Gilbert nodded.

 Chapter 279 : The Dreaded Punishments

    "Everyone who missed meals thest couple of days should directly go to the auditorium. I repeat..."


    They had just finished a really good breakfast when the voicemanded them. They could tell that it was the robotic version of the vice''s voice, which earned it a fewughs across the cafeteria.


    While Kiroughed too, he was dreading the punishment. He never missed a single meal in his past life being poor and all. He didn''t really have friends either so he didn''t know what the punishment would be. But knowing the principal, it would be something insane.


    As they walked towards the auditorium, there were more than Kiro thought there''d be. Stepping inside the building shocked him more.


    ''Isn''t this like, half the school?''


    It was more or less half the school. Second and third years too had been summoned here, since first years weren''t allowed in the upper campuses. Their facial expressions weren''t happy ones, as if they knew the cmity that had befallen them.


    None of them would''ve willingly missed meals, they just had no idea that the game would lock itself all weekend. Which they admitted to themselves that it was dumb of them to think otherwise. I mean, it was a war after all, if it wasn''t locked, it''d be chaotic with peopleing and going.


    Kiro was just surprised at the poprity of the game amongst the students. Its poprity in the past didn''t start at schools, especially not this prestigious one. His impact was that great, not only appearing on the news but also uploading their dungeon runs, made more students yers.


    They were made to wait for several minutes, stewing in their anxiety. Nobody was really in the mood to hold up a conversation once they saw the faces of their seniors.


    ''Just what does that old man do, why are the seniors so meek all of a sudden?'' Kiro wondered, not brave enough to voice his question.


    He figured anybody who asked dumb questions now was in danger of receiving their punishment tenfold or something close to that.


    "Why do they look like there''s something stuck up their butt?" Hiro whispered, pointing at his seniors.


    Even though he whispered they still heard him, which caused them to turn their heads and released a cold, suffocating aura that sent chills down their spines.


    Kiro elbowed his friend in the stomach, it was toote but it had to be done. Hiro wanted to p him senseless but he also realised his blunder so he let it go. Felix was sniggering at the scene, which surprised most of the first years there. It wasn''t exactly a side he showed.


    He was a little less scary to them now.


    There was a clearing of throat, that caught their attention. They hadn''t even realised when the dean walked up to the podium, silence immediately fell in the room. They waited for their sentence with bated breath.


    "I hope you''ve had a splendid weekend, breaking academy rules." He paused to let them savour the fact that they weren''t here to be praised.


    "To first years, we''ve been lenient on you, thest term but that won''t be happening anymore. To ensure that you can follow rules, you''ll be given different punishments for your misbehaviours."


    One of the first years hand shot up, the seniors immediately grunted. They had hoped nobody asked anything, that they''d keep it quiet until the dean was done, and even after, they''d just take their punishment withoutint.


    The dean immediately pointed at him with a smirk on his face, he seemed to like it when he was challenged.


    "But sir, we were never told of this rule, at any point since we got to the academy." He said, seemingly proud of his impable observation.


    "I''d say ten for excellent observation skills, but the fact that you failed to read your eptance letters makes me doubt how you were even epted here.


    "It''s right there. There''s no way you could have missed it unless you didn''t deem the letter important. You have good manners so I won''t add too much to your punishment but I''ll times the punishment by 2 for everyone, because your fellow student doesn''t like reading."


    ''Hoho, dean 1, students 0.'' Kiromended the man, he couldn''t help but be impressed.


    "Now, since we''ve established that you don''t read. Breakfast and dinner are mandatory, nobody, not even us are allowed to skip them. When you do, you bring problems I don''t wish to deal with."


    He wasn''t azy man, but he hated paperwork, most of all, he hated paperwork that could be avoided. There was no way he''d let these kids do whatever they wanted, thereby forcing him to do work. If he had to work, they had to work. It was that simple.


    "But if we don''t eat, we still paid for it, what''s the problem? It''s still just our choices at the end." Some clueless rich brat blurted out. He thought he''d get unwavering support but he was met with ufortable silence.


    Kiro immediately knew that this was a big mistake, even before their seniors shot him with the deadliest of eyes.


    The academy rules weren''t about whether you paid, they were in ce so you could follow them without fail. Especially ones that had to do with the food.


    "You must be Fritzman, aren''t you? You know, I taught your father. I knew your grandfather too."


    He didn''t say that to brag about knowing some big shots of high society. But he wanted to instill in them that, there was nothing he couldn''t do to them that their parents wouldin about. He had experience, he''d been a dean since even when their fathers were around. There was absolutely nothing he could tell him.


    "I''ll tell you this, young master Fritzman," he said with a mocking tone. "Your father followed these rules. You will too. One thing I will not tolerate, and that''s the waste of perfectly good food. Those people cook for you and you don''t eat? Outrageous.


    There are people who are dying of hunger in our country, and you''re missing meals because of a stupid game?"


    His tone was no longer yful, it was hard and digusted. This reminded him of the atrocities their society continued to cause. This made him very angry.


    Kiro thought he was overreacting, either that or there was more to his ranting. Regardless, they were at fault for doing something that wasn''t allowed in the academy.


    "Now for your insolence young master Fritzman, everyone here can thank you because the punishment will be multiplied by ten."


    The kid was red in the face. Nobody was sure if it was shame or anger. But his words caught in his throat at once. He didn''t say anything else.


    After the dean dismissed them, they were told where to start first. Which were the dorm toilets. While they could be automatically cleaned by themselves. It seemed the dean knew that this would be needed, so he shut off the auto clean option on Friday.


    It was now Sunday, they couldn''t imagine how bad they were. They hadn''t even walked in when the stench weed them. Each person was designated in their own dorm building.


    Kiro was with Hiro, I, Saanvi and Isaac. Tackling one toilet. Kiro had no idea why Isaac volunteered to go with them, but he didn''t imagine it was for innocent reasons.


    As always the rich folks couldn''t help but gag, Saanvi however was the worst of the bunch. She couldn''t hold it in, her breakfast came right back out.


    "Great. One more thing to clean up." Kiro joked.


    None of them could understand how students could''ve kept using these toilets while they were this dirty, and the smell was suffocating. It was a wonder.


    "Why aren''t you cleaning, punk?" Kiro noticed Isaac just stood by the door while they got their hands dirty.


    "I figured you''d feel right at home and wouldn''t need my hand?" He shot back, not int he mood to be doing any of this.


    "Gods Isaac, will you ever not run out of those old insults? We live right in your street, that would mean you feel right at home too." Hiro chimed in before Kiro made anymore trouble.


    "You may have moved to the upper district, but the stench that came with it didn''t really scrub off, did it?"


    "Daddy issues?" Kiro smirked at him as he asked.


    "Don''t you dare speak on my father." He balled his fists, stepping closer.


    Kiro walked forward, intending to meet him halfway. He was itching to beat the living hell out of him.


    "Look here Isaac, nobody here is scared of your dying n. I''m sure it''s only a matter of time before your father discards you, you aren''t doing yourself a favour making more enemies. You should be licking my feet on this dirt filled toilet." He poked the bear, and he was ready to pound him into a pulp.


    But before they could, the speaker screamed at them to get to work before they were given more to do.

 Chapter 280 : More Punishment

    They started on the toilets, unwillingly, that included Isaac. It wasn''t an easy thing to endure, especially with Saanvi asionally dirtying the ce with her stomach contents.


    She wasn''t used to it, none of them were. But her stomach was particrly more sensitive than most. Even then, she wasn''t allowed to pass on the punishments. She had to do her time and learn the lesson that came with it.


    They were watched closely to ensure that everything went the way they intended as the school. The dean loved this part, he loved watching rich kids doing something they knew nothing about.


    While some groups that were ordered to clean the school, had some lower district kids, there wasn''t a lot of them. It was a kind of true entertainment for him. As he watched them evene to tears because of the smell of toilets.


    He of course knew about the game and the event that would''ve taken the whole weekend. He took a risk, turning off the automated cleaning, but it seemed that this decision panned out.


    On the other side, Isaac had started cleaning, albeit slowly and clumsily. It was clear that this was something he''d never done before. But this somehow rubbed Kiro the wrong way. He didn''t put it past him to pretend not to know anything so that they would clean, mostly because the girls were doing a much better job than he was.


    "If you don''t want me to beat you senseless, and use you as a mop for this ce, you better pick up the pace." Kiro yelled from the other side of the toilet, looking right at him.


    Isaac wanted to hold himself back, especially because his father had told him not to cause any more trouble for him. He figured going after Kiro would just be asking for trouble again, that''s why he had been a reclusetely.


    But his ears were burning, his insides felt like they were on fire. He was being disrespected by someone he deemed inferior, it was the first time in his life that he even contemted retaliating, that made him angrier than he''d ever felt.


    The other three decided to ignore the pair, even if they were to fight, they weren''t sure that they wanted to get in the way. Their hatred for each other felt like something that has spanned a few life times, they weren''t sure they should get in the way of something they saw as nature taking its course.


    "Hey sl¡ª" the words died in his mouth when realised that, calling Kiro a slum rat would make him one too. He didn''t just live in the upper district, he lived in area one, right on his street.


    So he couldn''t help but choke on those words, which gave both Kiro and Hiro a deep level of satisfaction, seeing Isaac fumble his words, like the idiot he was.


    ''Wait, am I the bully now? How the tables have turned, I can''t say I like it but I don''t mind if it''s Isaac that''s on the receiving end.''


    Kiro couldn''t help but wonder. The fact that he stopped to think was clear that, his mind was very sober doing what he was doing.


    But he didn''t wait for long, whatever was holding Isaac back was nothing but a thread that easily broke. He charged at Kiro with the mop he was holding. The other three stopped working and watched, they had no intentions to get involved.


    Hiro especially new that, with their training, this would be a piece of cake for his friend. But he didn''t ount for the dirty, slippery floor.


    Kiro tried to swerve gracefully to the side but was caught by the slippery floor, which gave Isaac enough time to tackle him to the ground.


    Hended on his back, and Isaded on top of him. He didn''t ask, he just threw punches at his face, Kiro used his forearms to block the iing attack.


    ''Ah sh*t, I thought I was in-game for a second.'' He was so used to fighting in-game that he attempted to blink.


    He wanted the earth to open a crack for him, so it could swallow him whole. It was truly an embarrassing feat, that his mind wouldn''t let him forget, not any time soon.


    "I thought Kiro was the better fighter?" Saanvi asked chuckling.


    "He is!" Hiro and I both said, looking at the pair in anticipation.


    None of Isaac''s punches were connecting. He was getting impatient and more aggressive, there was a bit of open space between them now. His knees were on the floor.


    Kiro jumped,nding back hard on the concrete floor. Isaac bounced together with him, when he came down, a punch was waiting for him as a wee.


    He didn''t expect it, so he unwittingly bit his tongue. He passed out immediately, lying on the dirty floor that he would never dare to be lying on, if he was awake.


    "That was crooked, but smart." Saanviplimented with a nod of appreciation.


    "Fairness will never get you justice." Kiro told her, getting up from where he was.


    He was about to wash himself when the dean himself walked in, his face wasn''t at all pleasant. He didn''t want to show it to them, but he quite enjoyed the little squabbling. That''s why he arrived just after Isaac was passed out. Of course the three didn''t know that, they froze in ce at his appearance.


    "You two, follow me."


    "Uh. He''s passed out?"


    "You made him like that, make a n. If you arrive a minutete in my office, you''ll regret it."


    Kiro wanted to pull his hairs out. He couldn''t believe that even an unconscious Isaac was trouble for him. He didn''t bother to think it through, he grabbed the guy by his legs and started pulling.


    Everyone, even the dean was surprised. But Kiro wore a grin of absolute bliss. The dean never told him how he was supposed to be there, but that they weren''tte, there was no way in hell he''d put Isaac on his shoulders. So this was the only way.


    The dean shrugged and followed the pair. He wasughing on the inside, he couldn''t believe how much he was like his grandfather and the unconventional ways of solving problems, just about everything.


    If Kiro had been born the time he disappeared, the dean wouldn''t have any problems believing reincarnation was a real concept.


    Luckily for Isaac, the path the dean lead them to didn''t have any lurking students that would''ve otherwise taken videos. It was apletely abandoned path.


    Isaac woke up being dragged through a corridor, he violently moved his legs. Kiro let them go and theynded on the concrete floor with a thud. Which made Isaac let out a howl.


    "You two, what the hell am I going to do with you?" The dean took his seat, prompting them to stay standing by his desk.


    "Sir, he started, you saw it. He started it." Kiro started with his weak defense.


    "How do you know I saw it?" He asked seriously.


    "Huh? Because that''s thest thing you said, how else would you know I was the one to make this brat faint?"


    Isaac''s anger red. Not for being called a brat but to being reminded that he fainted, with a single punch. He didn''t question why his father wanted to rece him, he was utterly useless, that''s what he thought.


    "I see. But you also provoked him, I watched the whole thing. You knew he''d be aggressive saying the things you said to him, why?"


    "Why not?" Kiro blurted out with a dumb look on his face. He didn''t think the dean didn''t know about their hatred toward each other. He wasn''t going to waste time exining and making excuses.


    The dean said a name under his breath, as if he''d dealt with this before and he was already exhausted.


    Kiro''s eyes widened. His ears strained in hopes of hearing more of what the dean had said, but he said nothing else. He didn''t repeat it either.


    ''No, there''s no way, I, I definitely heard wrong. It can''t be.'' He thought to himself, and studied the dean with the most curious eyes.


    He bore into him with his eyes, as if he could prate his mind and read it but no such event urred which frustrated him a bit. He decided to let it go.


    "Kiro Waynworth, you can''t provoke people just because. Isaac keson you can''t bully people just because they''re poor and you think they''re beneath you.


    "Our society is one machine, without the lower districts there''d be parts of the machine that would stop working, making our country fall apart in all sorts of ways. We need each other, whether you acknowledge that or not.


    "I don''t see you as an idiot, you must learn and unlearn in life, don''t take what you''ve been taught as the one truth."


    Kiro wanted so bad to yell out that Isaac was indeed an idiot, but he stopped himself when he realised that Isaac was actually listening, like he was getting what the dean was saying.


    "I wasn''t going to punish you for this, but after you finish with the toilet, the forest and the fields, you''re going to the kitchen. You''ll be the ones cooking dinner tonight."


    "WHAT!?"

 Chapter 281: James Hale

    They tried to fight the decision, but theirints fell on deaf ears. The dean chased them out of his office, he had to threaten them with more work, that''s the only time they walked away.


    They went back to the toilets. Only this time, they weren''t in the mood to be at each others throats. They simply cleaned without saying anything to each other.


    "Well, Dean Whitmore certainly knows how to handle the both of them." I was impressed.


    So was Hiro and Saanvi, as they nodded. Agreeing with I''s statement.


    Kiro didn''t bother telling them he had yet another punishment added to his ranks. But they didn''t need him telling them that, his very sour face was confirmation enough.


    "Yeah, we have all the time in the world to do this." Kiroined under his breath.


    He thought this was a waste of their time, since they had a much bigger mission to aplish and for that, they needed to train.


    It was definitely a hypocritical way of thinking, considering they spent the whole weekend not training but instead ying games.


    Both of them, including Isaac were cleaning faster and more precise now. Which made the three stop and watch, whatever the dean had told them, clearly rejuvenated both of them.


    They asionally bumped into each other but instead of getting into another fight, they''d forcefully smile at each other then continue with the work ahead of them.


    "I think the dean broke them." Saanvi whispered as though she was scared that the dean would burst open the door if she was heard talking.


    After leaving the toilets sparkling, they moved to the forest. Kiro and Isaac disappeared right before they finished, neither of them wanted to be seen doing something like that, especially together.


    Kiro having been trained in cooking, he hadn''t thought the next punishment would''ve posed any difficult problems. Until he realised just how tired he was from working all day.


    ''Sh*t, and here I thought this would be a piece of cake.''


    But at least, it wasn''t the whole campus they had to cook for. Just the dean and their dorm building. Though this was still a lot for just two people. Usually the workers, were about 10, tackling the same job.


    Kiro started by cleaning the dishes and the station they''d be using to cook for everyone. Isaac stood dumbly by the door, he''d never been in the kitchen before.


    "Start on those dishes," he said leaving the job for Isaac, and walking up to chop up some ingredients.


    Isaac was clearly a little heartbroken that he was being given orders, by him, of all people. But he''d never set his foot in the kitchen, at least not a time he remembered, so he decided to nip in the bud and did as he was told.


    He couldn''t help but be impressed with Kiro and his knife skills. They weren''t amazing or anything, but he was skilled enough to not chop any of his fingers. Which was something Isaac couldn''t do even if he tried.


    They cooked rice with a lot of side dishes, this had never been at their school. They usually had a variety to choose from, from junk foods and healthy ones.


    But they were just a two man team, they only made rice, the variety was in the side dishes. Kiro figured this would take much less time, they were given just three hours before it was dinner.


    They were also the ones dishing for the studentsing. It was embarrassing but they took it with a grain of salt. Kiro put Isaac on dishing the rice. While his job was dishing the side dishes.


    Peopleughed looking at them.


    "Oh how the mighty have fallen, is that Isaac dishing out school food?"


    "That''s Kiro besides him, what a strangebination!"


    "Yeah, are they friends now?"


    Both cooks wanted to yell no, but there were too many customers to attend to, so they let them specte and hoped they didn''tnd on anything very strange and wrong.


    Their friends walked in, even Niki and Felix came to eat at this cafeteria, it was one thing they didn''t want to miss. They couldn''t help butugh at the spectacle.


    "Our cooks, great job!" Saanvi said first, she was amused to the highest degree.


    Kiro had scrambled things together, he cooked what he knew. Most of the dishes they''ve never seen before, they were very skeptical to eat things that weren''t posh. But they were soon lining up for seconds though.


    He was very satisfied that his mother''s cooking didn''t fail him here. Isaac wore an expression of utter shock. Only after they were done serving the students, were they allowed to eat too.


    After that, they had to do the dishes and leave the kitchen clean. Both of them were on the verge of death. Kiro didn''t know why this drained his stamina so much, he''d been exercising for months after all.


    After they had done, they left. It wasn''t even a minute after that the dean entered the kitchen with another man.


    He was tall and lean, he looked around the kitchen, as if to look for small fires the pair would''ve started. He sighed deeply relieved that nothing seemed to be amiss.


    "They even cleaned, I didn''t tell them to do that." The dean said with a toothy grin.


    "But Sir, don''t you think you were a bit hard on them?" The man asked, he wasn''t happy to have given up his sanctuary to the kids.


    He was passionate about cooking, so the kitchen was something he held to the highest standards. He grew up around fires and knives after all, it was all he knew, and he was quite proud of it.


    "I told you, didn''t I, Mr. Hale? Your kitchen is even in better condition. And no, their crime fit the punishment. I did this mostly for young Isaac, he''s lost, he does need to find his own path." He said sagely.


    "Sir you needn''t call me that, you know as well as I do that I have since denounced that name." He reminded the dean, disgusted that he was even rted to them by blood.


    "Ah, yes, I''m old, I forget these things but you know James, abandoning the name does not erase the crimes." He said eating some of the leftovers, clearly enjoying this delicacy.


    James knew this, but he just didn''t know how to fix their wrongdoings. He''d been approached by the dean as a student here, learning about everything and confirming from his family. He decided that, that was not anything he wanted to involve himself with. That''s why he came here to Eden Academy, to be a chef for the students.


    "I know Sir, but it''s the least I can do, for our countrymen that have suffered in their hands. I''m just one man." He knew these were excuses, but he said them anyway.


    "Son, it''s not the least you can do. There''s plenty. But I have no intentions to drag you along if you don''t feel like it''s your calling. It''s always been the kitchen for you." He told him sincerely.


    "Then, is that why Sir? Is that why you still keep your name, you intend to fight?" He was bewildered.


    He''d never met anyone quite like the dean, but he also never thought he would have the courage to take a stand and fight.


    "Intend to fight? Oh James my son, your naivety will be the death of you one of these days. Do be careful, I must best be going, a lot of paperwork awaits these old bones."


    James didn''t stop him, he didn''t say anything else either. He watched as he walked out of the door. He never thought he was naive, but if the dean had said it, maybe he was a little.


    He hadn''t the slightest clue that, the fight had been going on for decades. But because it wasn''t in his face, he never imagined that, there were people fighting. The dean hadn''t confirmed it, but he was sure now.


    What he wasn''t sure about was whether to involve himself and if he did, how on earth could he help. He wasn''t trained inbat, the only thing he knew was cooking but the fact that the dean had approached him all those years ago must''ve meant there was something the dean saw that he didn''t.


    But would he be able to kill his family, when the time came that they were face to face? He didn''t know, he wasn''t sure. This made him scared, scared that his resolve wasn''t as strong as he thought it was.


    Abandoning his surname was easier, it was much easier than the options that were staring right at his face. The options that didn''t exist just a second ago. Before this conversation with the dean, he was content with his life but now, what he''d done seemed too insignificant.


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    "Maybe, maybe I could?"

 Chapter 282: Lokis Games

    "If you get caught don''t squeal, or else you''ll forever be the outcasted idiot of our great school." Loki gave the tiny transfer kid in front of him a naughty smile.


    It hadn''t even been a month since he started here but everyone was already bowing to him and his antics. Part of it was because he was Kiro''s brother but most of it was the fact that, he had a rebellious nature.


    Kids from that age were the same everywhere. Although rich folks clipped it sooner than most poor folks. Instead, they mostly taught their kids superiorityplexes.


    But here was Loki and LJ toppling the status quo that existed within the school, making rich kids relearn the ways their parents advised them against.


    Thanks to being the younger brother of a ''famous'' person within their country, they didn''t mind making him their leader. Loki''s roommate, Matthew was amongst the kids who followed him around.


    Even though it was like this, he didn''t treat them like they were lesser beings, his brother had longed warned him to never let this luxurious life get into his head. It was one of the things he promised himself that, he would do.


    And because there were so many kids who wanted to be part of his inner circle, he devised a n. Since he didn''t want to outright reject them, he made it so that they had to pass various tasks he would personally assign to them.


    The other kid who bowed in front of him, receiving his task introduced himself as Jason Whitmore. Loki had insisted he stopped bowing but he refused him every time. Since he was bulkier and seemed way older than thirteen, Loki let him do whatever he pleased.


    "What did you say your name was again?" He was referring to the transfer kid.


    "I''m Julio Kyi, a second year and would love to serve under you sir." The kid repeated without missing a beat, he''d clearly practised well beforeing here.


    Loki gave them the task. They were absolutely forbidden going around the school at night. Loki ordered them to break into the library and bring them a very specific book. They disappeared the moment he told them what to do.


    Amongst the things he''d bought back home, one of them was a little drone, the size of a fly. He decided to use that, to see if they followed through.


    "You think they''ll pull it off?" LJ asked looking at the small screen, showing two individuals walking like they were paranoid.


    "I bet you anything that Mrs. Hale will bust them, there''s no way they''ll be able to pull it off. I don''t even know if the book exists, I just made up a name on the spot." He said grinning.


    LJ licked her lips, impressed. Her eyes never leaving the screen.


    They were simply kids, they were easily entertained by extremely dumb things. He let Matthew join him as a courtesy of being his roommate, he couldn''t leave LJ, they fought a lot but they were like bread and butter. They were very good at causing havoc together.


    Walking in a crouched manner, Julio decided to take the lead. Jason was simply too big, hecked the stealth and agility to perform what Julio could.


    He''d be faster to get out of the way and hide in small spaces if they encounter someone they shouldn''t.


    The school felt very dead and strange at night. The lights, all of them were off, in the corridors. Their only source of light was the onesing from the rooms they passed.


    "Warning. Warning. Warning. Students out of bed."


    A shrieking sound rmed the whole school. It wasn''t anything they anticipated, they at most guessed that there would be a human caretaker, not a robot.


    "Wh-what should we do?" Jason asked stuttering, he looked back from where they came. Red lights came and went, he wasn''t sure whether to abandon the mission.


    "You can go back, I''m seeing this through." Julio didn''t wait for his partner to convince him otherwise, as he sprinted forwards.


    It didn''t matter now if their footsteps were heard, the principal wasing. The rm masked them well though, it wasn''t something they needed to worry themselves over.


    "Jul¡ªthat damned idiot. Dammit." He said through gritted teeth, following suit.


    He could faintly hear footsteps hurrying behind him. That''s when he decided, he was going to go through with it no matter what. He sprinted after Julio, who was already turning a corner.


    They were still very new so they weren''t sure where the library was. By a stroke of luck, the door to it stood right in front of them. Julio was working hard to pick the lock.


    "Hurry, hurry, they''re here already."


    The lock clicked, they quickly entered, closing the door behind them shut. They didn''t stop running until they were behind giant book shelves. They waited.


    They weren''t sure that someone wouldn''t enter here while they were looking for some book. Sure enough, the principal and her people didn''t want to leave any stones unturned, they opened the library.


    "Show yourselves, I know you''re in here. Your punishment will be much harsher if we have to go through the whole library to look for you." She threatened, standing at the door, in her night gown.


    Jason was ready to give himself up but Julio held him back and slowly rose a finger to his mouth, telling him to shut up.


    They couldn''t even hear themselves breathe, their hearts were rummaging in their ribcage, as if they were at risk of dying from too much blood pumping in that lone moment.


    "Noting out, are you? Then I guess I''ll just have toe in and find you myself." She warned.


    When her threats were met with absolute silence, she sighed heavily, not wanting to give up but the thought of going through the giant shelves just to find a couple of rebels seemed like a lot of work for her. She wasn''t even sure they were indeed in there.


    "Maybe they''re not here." She whispered to herpanion.


    "Maybe, the door was locked. I don''t know any rich kid who can pick locks." A much deeper voice responded to her, seemingly tired and angry that they had to wake up for this.


    "You''d be surprised." She licked her lips, as if reminiscent of something that happened a long time ago.


    Like that, they closed the library door back up. The fading footsteps didn''t convince them to start moving.


    A whole five minutes passed before they could breathe freely. They sat on the library floor,ughing. The rush of almost getting caught was absolutely addictive, they felt more alive than they''d ever felt in their lives.


    "I thought my heart was gonna explode!" Jason said in a much better mood.


    "Same here, that, that was something. Hopefully, this is something that awaits for us, as we''re being inducted to Loki''s faction." He said breathing heavier.


    "Faction? There are factions in this school?"


    "Yes, and Loki''s is the newest one. I''m sure others don''t like that, but they can''t do anything about it, he''s Kiro''s little brother."


    "Kiro? That rumour is true?"


    "I think it is." He shrugged, helping himself up by pushing against the big shelf.


    They started looking. They had no idea how the library was set up. They started checking by alphabetical order.


    But they soon realised that, the books were put there by genre and in alphabetical order. They realised that, they had no idea what genre the book was.


    "You take that side, I''ll take this side." Julio told him.


    They split and started looking. It was nearing midnight when they finally stumbled upon ''Dawn at sunset''.


    "Isn''t this an erotic novel?" Jason was confused.


    Julioughed maniacally, Loki didn''t seem like the type that would read such novels, so this was surprising in a good way. He was truly a rebel through and through in his eyes.


    "You sent them there to get an erotic novel?" Matthew''s sides hurt fromughing at the scene unfolding at the small screen they surrounded.


    "I didn''t even know it existed." He said, his face crimson from blushing too hard.


    He may know what happened in those kinds of books, but his mind was still very immature to think about those things properly. So he was red from shame, and utter embarrassment.


    "Didn''t you say they''d get caught?" LJ said giving him a sinister smile.


    "Hehe." That''s all Loki managed to get out.


    The pair in the library contemted opening the book but they decided against it. It was now time to head back, they supposed the rm would ring again, but they figured they could just run like madmen.


    Julio did the same thing, he picked the lock and a minuteter they stepped out of library. Feeling very aplished.


    "Okay, we have to be careful, maybe there''s a way not to trigger the rm." Julio whispered.


    "I wouldn''t be so sure about that!" A stern voice said from behind.


    They were both frozen where they stood, they couldn''t even turn their heads. Their legs betrayed them as they refused to move from the fear of getting caught.

 Chapter 283: Incident At School

    "I know that little sh*t Loki Waynworth had something to do with this, juste clean and you won''t be in trouble."


    They looked at each other, looked at the scary adults in front of them. They didn''t get the chance tomunicate prior, but they had an unspoken agreement, that no matter what, they won''t speak about why they were found out breaking school rules.


    This frustrated their interrogators. That''s why they were using foulnguage, because they weren''t getting what they wanted. They knew it wouldn''t reflect well on them. They absolutely wanted to impress the principal.


    "You kids have no idea, you have no idea how far we are allowed to go with physical punishments."


    Loki, LJ and Matthew watched this from the safety of their headquarters, which was just the pair''s room. Loki was quite sure that they''d tell on who put them up to this.


    They were surprised when the two of them took the beatings the three guys were giving them. They looked in horror as there was even a bit of blood.


    "Are they even allowed to do that?"


    "It doesn''t matter, we will have all of this recording. Maybe this school will have a change of its own." Loki smirked, impressed that the two would rather be beaten ck and blue instead of throwing Loki under the bus.


    His mouth widened at seeing such loyalty from people he didn''t even know prior, people who''ve only heard about his little influence and decided they wanted to follow him to the death, it was strange, but he allowed it.


    He wasn''t the idiot everyone thought he was. He''d done some things and ended up eavesdropping on his brother and his friend one time.


    He had unwittingly learned about the sanctum, not the name itself, no. Just that there was definitely a secret society that ran their world in the shadows. And that his brother was nning to destroy it from the roots.


    That''s why he was kind of recruiting, only the most loyal of the bunch. Only those who were absolutely without a doubt, trustworthy. Nobody but himself knew within his group of friends and he didn''t intend to tell them.


    He wanted more than anything to help Yuri by bringing their father back. He obviously wasn''t sure, but the fact that there was a glimpse of hope made his insides warm and grateful.


    His brother didn''t know it but there were ways to get around the house without getting caught and their rooms seemed to be connected more than any other rooms in the estate. So he always had to pass there before going on his dumb adventures.


    He''d noticed his brothers change of course but he wasn''t exactly too interested in that. His adventures turned into something else the day he overheard Kiro and Hiro, speaking in code.


    It was not easy for him to catch on, but the more he heard their many conversations the more it made sense to him. And the more he wanted to do something about it.


    The things he did in school may look like random mischief to people who weren''t him. But he knew that, the secret society must have people high up in society controlling everything, he wanted to investigate who those people were.


    Though seeing the kids being tortured for simply being out of bed when they shouldn''t be made Loki skeptical about principal Hale. He didn''t suspect her before, but he did now.


    He was also sure that getting the tape out to the world would do little to help. As the principal would simply just me her henchmen, and deny any involvement whatsoever.


    ''She''s definitely a smart witch. She was present when the chase took ce, but now that they need to torture for information she steps out so that this doesn''te back to her.''


    "Oh my words. There''s blood, Loki, do something!"


    Loki didn''t know what to do, if they went out now they''d be caught, making the hard work of not talking Julio and Jason had umted over the hours useless.


    But one thing was on their side, the sun was rising. They''ll soon be able to go out of their rooms, and not breaking any school rules.


    "We will leave to them the moment the clock turns to 7."


    No student was allowed to be out of bed and about before 7am. They were very strict about this, their only saving grace was this. Loki was sure of it.


    Thanks to his drone the size of a fly, he knew exactly where they should go. He knew they''d look suspicious finding the ce but he didn''t care about that now, they hadn''t talked. He needed to rescue the two allies that were still refusing to talk.


    They still walked the halls with utmost distrust. Even though it was well past 7 in the morning, they couldn''t be sure that this wasn''t a trap either to catch him.


    The torturers clearly wanted to bust Loki, a Waynworth. There was definitely something amiss, something much more to what met the eye.


    They arrived at the door and dumbly opened it.


    "Oops, I thought this was the¡ªwait what is this?" Loki asked, pretending this sight was foreign to him.


    "What the hell, kid, go back if you don''t want to be in the same position as them!" The man was angry and tired and sleepy. So he snapped at the first sight of other kids.


    "You''re, you''re torturing them!" He yelled louder, still pretending.


    "There are intruders!" LJ yed her part too, and she hit the rm which went haywire.


    Most within the school, whether they be staff or students, were still just waking up around these times. So the sudden rm awoke them right proper.


    Running outside thinking there was truly an intruder. The three men ran out of the window, their cover was blown so they had to y the part of being the criminals they were being used of being. This would make it easier on Principal Hale.


    Sure enough, she arrived right after their escape. She was already barking orders, on the phone telling, what Loki supposed were fake policemen, to find whoever snuck into the school and tortured some students.


    He was grinning from ear to ear, satisfied that it turned out in his favour. He quickly ran to therades that refused to run their mouths, he untied them and saluted them for a job well done.


    "Are we, are we now part of your brotherhood?"


    "That''s not what it''s called, but you went through all that, that''s really the first question you want to know?" Loki was shocked.


    "Of course, we endured because of it after all." Julio shrugged.


    "Alright, yes, you''re part of us. We are also a part of you. We are now one, nothing can separate us but ourselves. Loyalty was the first test, but can we endure what life throws at us?" Loki whispered a little motivation, hoping they didn''t run away when the time came, when the real time came.


    "Yes sir!" They both cited.


    "By the way, if we aren''t the brotherhood, then what are we?" Jason asked confused.


    "I don''t exactly know, I guess that then?" Loki looked to LJ, thinking she would be against such a name but she nodded agreeing.


    "It''s settled then."


    -------


    "Isn''t that Loki''s school on the news?" Freya asked concern gued her face. She almost dropped the two children that were clinging for dear life on their mother''s arms.


    "Goodness, can''t our kids be safe anywhere. I thought the school was a really safe ce!" Sekaniined, with a bitter and annoyed expression on his face.


    They watched as the news told them what happened and how it happened, as exined by their principal. While she ensured every parent that none of that would ever happen again.


    That she was upgrading the security system. To ensure that their kids were safe, so they needn''t worry, or try to get their kids out of the school.


    Freya sighed. She wasn''t sure what to do anymore, she was certain though that, getting them out and homeschooling them was a much bad idea. So they decided to take a chance at the school again.


    Plus Loki told them he wasn''t going anywhere when they called and told him their thoughts. They decided to respect their child''s wishes. And let him enroll for a lot longer.


    Sekani was happy at home with his wife and his four new children. He wasn''t sure if he wanted to ever go back to work again. Philip was doing a much better job, taking care of the nt and the employees.


    Their butler, Wilfred, asionally went there for him to check if Philip wasn''t messing up and bringing in girls. But Philip was very grateful for his second chance at life, he wasn''t going to ruin it for anything at all.


    So he diligently worked to better the nt and its employees. This gave Sekani a very much needed break to take care of his wife and children.

 Chapter 284: Found Out

    Kiro watched the news, unbelievable that this happened at his brothers school. When he came to, because he was still tired from the night before, he shook his head.


    "That idiot, what is he doing over there!"


    No student names were mentioned but Kiro knew his brother. He knew just the kind of troublemaker he was.


    "Oh my, do you think Yuri is alright?" Hiro was looking at same screen Kiro was looking at.


    Though he wasn''t quite sure whether his sister was behaving over there. Yuri had her mood swings, sometimes she was nice, other times, not so much.


    "What are you talking about, Yuri is an angel! Those two on the other hand!" Kiro countered.


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    Hiro shook his head, he''d known Yuri for a little while so he didn''t know just about everything about her.


    "Those two? You mean Loki and LJ?"


    "Who else? Those little rascals!" Heined, praying there wouldn''t be any phone calls from the principal this time.


    He almost fell from where he sat, when his phone rung. The sleep from the night before refreshed him to the highest degree, but seeing who was calling drained him quickly.


    "Speak of the devil." He sighed hoping the phone call would''ve been a mistake, but it never stopped ringing.


    When he finally answered, he saw the rarest most sincere smileing from his brother. He was clear utterly proud of himself. Kiro had a frown at first but couldn''t help but smirk seeing his little brother''s expression.


    "What are you so happy about?" He asked, a little bit agitated.


    "Don''t think I didn''t see that you smiled because I''m smiling." He bragged.


    "Tsk. What do you want?" He quickly shot at him, he didn''t have time to entertain his younger brother.


    "Can''t I just call my favourite brother in the world?" He smiled innocently.


    "Loki, what did you do? Most importantly, I''m the only brother you have." Kiro had his eyebrow raised.


    "Not anymore, Philip exists now."


    Kiro felt a a pang in his heart that he''d totally forgotten that Philip was an existing entity. Having an older sibling wasn''t something he was quite used to, and Philip would understand that too. It would take some getting used to.


    "I just want you to know that, I know what you''re doing and I''m in full support of it, more than you know." He said winking, as if Kiro was supposed to understanding his very cryptic message.


    "Okay, thank you for that little brother, is there anything else? I need to go..."


    Loki frowned looking at his brother''s confused expression. Kiro wasn''t usually this slow, but he absolutely didn''t think anything of what Loki was trying to tell him. He didn''t expect him to know anything about it, most importantly he didn''t expect him to even care. So nothing connected in his mind.


    "I guess I''ll have to spell it out for you?" He sighed, thinking of a way to say it without saying it.


    So he reminded his big brother of the day he had Hiro in his room and vaguely acted out some things that happened that day, so as to jog his memories. It didn''t take long for him to realise.


    "Oh...ohh...no." That''s all he managed to get out, he didn''t want his kid brother to get involved in this, especially not LJ. Wilfred would kill them.


    "Ah. Yes. Yes. Our rooms are somehow connected, though I won''t tell you how."


    "Air vents, I''m not a dunce." But his focus was entirely within himself. He was biting his thumb, thinking of ways to convince Loki otherwise.


    "I know I can''t convince you away from this, but, Loki, this isn''t a game." He said seriously.


    "I know that, I..."


    He was cut off before he could brag about how grown he was, and just how much he could handle on his own.


    "No, Loki, you don''t. You don''t fully understand the gravity of it all. If you did, you''d be scared right now not excited. This is extremely dangerous, they could go after mum or our siblings. I almost died that time, so please, don''t do anything stupid, I''d prefer if you dumped all the work on my shoulders. Just like you always have."


    Loki could see his brother''s perspective. If he was honest with himself, he didn''t quite think that far. He also thought that their family was safe in the upper district.


    Kiro knew that they were but he also didn''t want to take the word of a very rotten society. He still wanted to leave a hole for doubt. That''s why he insisted on acting in the shadows, he didn''t trust that his family was truly safe. Especially against high society.


    But he could also see the disappointment in his brother''s face. Like he''d taken one of his favourite toys and smashed it with a hammer right in front of them. He remembered how excited he was when he first shared his aplishments.


    "Loki, I see you. Keep elevating your standing at the school. It''s important." He gave him a toothy grin and a thumbs up. "I''m really proud of you."


    Even though he was still taken aback by him finding out about their biggest secret mission. He was still proud that the first thing he thought of was helping them.


    He was extremely happy that it didn''t seem like the money they now had, had gone to his head and made him more of a menace. He was just his normal self, though he felt a little bit sorry for the principal. A normal Loki wasn''t any better.


    "He knows." He told Hiro.


    "Knows what?" He asked not having paid attention to the call, he was busy wrecking his brain toe up with ways to master the potion.


    It was the strangest thing. Even out in the real world, he was still working. Something told him, he had a faint feeling that, they didn''t really want to find out what happens when a harbinger isn''t defeated. The game already felt too real.


    "That little rascal found out about that, he spied on us back at home."


    That''s when it clicked for Hiro. He looked really scared and concerned. He hoped they would do this all undercover without their families finding out.


    "Don''t worry, he won''t tell." Kiro put him at ease.


    "Then, what does he want?"


    "To help us." He smiled slightly.

 Chapter 285: The Storm Within

    Isaac woke up with muscles aching. He''d never had to do chores a day in his life, and that put him in a foul mood. But he was still pondering what the dean had said. He was still very much in denial. That''s why the more he thought about it, the more it ground his gears.


    "What does he know anyway?" He said getting up from his bed, his voice tired and angry.


    Tried as he did to get the words out from his mind, since he had nothing better to do and he especially didn''t want to think about his home situation. He had little choice but to upy himself asking the bigger questions, about what it was he quoted to do with his life.


    Before the talk with the dean, he never really thought of the lower district people as people like himself. He still didn''t want to believe that they were.


    He was after all taught that, his family was more important than all. Which everyone and everything else was his to use as he pleased.


    He didn''t understand it either how the dean''s words seemed to be battling something that''s been instilled him ever since he was born.


    "Maybe because I think he has a point? No that can''t be it. Probably because if my father wasn''t my father I would''ve done him in, with both my hands?"


    He wanted to understand the conflict raging within him but he couldn''t. His brain couldn''t wrap around the dilemma and that made him more angry.


    He never thought he was a bad person for anything he had done. He concluded the feelings within him were because he wanted to hurt his father so much that he considered what the dean had said, seriously.


    His thoughts were stopped by a knock at the door. He groaned, he didn''t like being disturbed especially when he thought he was about to grasp whatever it was that was eating at him.


    Opening the door, he was greeted by his twockeys. Ronald Chase and Alexandria Rodriguez. Ronald seemed to be in a foul mood, while Alex was smiling awkwardly at Isaac.


    "What do you two want?" He didn''t hide his annoyance, he''d told them time and again to never disturb his morning peace.


    "We were worried about you, since we got back from the school holidays, you haven''t been the same." Alex started. Ronald simply nodded. Readtest stories on m_v-l''e-NovelBin


    Isaac looked to both of them, confused that mereckeys were worried about him. He''d never once thought of them as friends, he never had friends. He didn''t need them, at least, that''s what he thought. Creating bonds with people only served as a weakness, a weakness he couldn''t afford. That''s what he was taught, and that''s what he knew.


    "You, worried about me?" He asked in an undermining tone.


    Alex was a bit hurt by his tone, Ronald simply scoffed at it. He didn''t intend to hide that he was fed up with Isaac, acting like some kind of Prince from a farawaynd.


    "This was clearly a mistake Alex, I told you didn''t I? Let''s go." He said turning to his friend, now ignoring the Isaac that didn''t even invite them in.


    Alex looked to be torn between the two. He liked them both, he considered them friends. The only difference was, Isaac didn''t consider him as one while Ronald did.


    "Ron,e on man, we''ve known each other for many years. There''s clearly something that''s bothering him." He tried to reason with him, but by the looks of things it wasn''t exactly working.


    Ronald stood with his arms folded. He decided to not say anything anymore. He looked to Isaac, prepared for him to chase them away with all kinds of insults thrown at them.


    But what he saw surprised him, the kid who used to walk around the school like he owned it didn''t seem like himself. He looked hurt, sad and tired. He didn''t have the majestic air about him anymore, he was clearly going through something of his own.


    "Thanks for your concern, but I''m fine." He told them, trying to sound brave and unbothered but his tone this time was a little bit shaky.


    The two looked at each other, eyes as wide as saucers. They''ve known Isaac for a long time, he never spoke like this, the usual him would''ve thrown a fit and even went as far as beating on them.


    "Come on Isaac, there''s no one at this school who is on your side but us. You can trust us." Alex prodded.


    Isaac wanted to scream, he wanted to let it all out. The thing that was eating at him had bore a hole that he doubted could be fixed, but he still wanted to say something. Only the words couldn''t make their way out of his mouth.


    They were perfectly stuck at his throat. There was no way he could trust these two with everything that he knew. He reminded himself once again that, he was Isaac keson, he didn''t need anyone but himself.


    Having friends would only slow him down from being the best version of himself he could be. He had to brave the storm himself, create the sun to chase away the demons that lurked in the shadows if need be.


    ''Ha. I don''t need friends? Is that my opinion or my father''s?''


    He let out a small chuckle. The pair in front of him didn''t know what to make of the situation, they were almost certain that, the Isaac they knew was long gone. Reced by this imposter who stood in front of them.


    "Isaa¡ª"


    "It''s fine, I''m fine, it doesn''t hurt at all. I''m fine." He said more to convince himself than the people in front of him.


    Ronald took a couple of steps closer to Isaac, and pped him senseless. That woke him up quickly. He held the side that was burning, no doubt red. His mouth agape, as he never been pped before.


    Alex stood there dumbly, not sure what to do or how to go about diffusing the situation. He was now sure that Isaac would absolutely shut himself off from them.


    "Look here you punk, we are either your friends or we aren''t. We aren''t your servants." Ronald raised his voice, holding him by the shirt he wore.


    Isaac just broke down crying. For the first time since he could remember, he cried.

 Chapter 286: Trouble That Follows

    The tension in their meeting hall was rather thick. Each of their faces with panicked expressions, except for Kiro. There was only one missing within their ranks, Hiro. They could all guess where he was and that didn''t seem to be the main concern of theirs.


    "That little brother of yours knows? We''re screwed then aren''t we?" Niki asked, this wasn''t something that was within their expectations. Especially because Loki was very young, they were skeptical that he could hold it in.


    "Royally." Ishaan agreed.


    Felix didn''t have much of an opinion on the matter, but concern could be seen on his face nheless. He tried to y it cool, but any idiot could see it.


    "Calm down, will you? Loki is my brother, I know him better than anyone. If I say he''s not going to talk, he''s not going to talk." Kiro was slightly annoyed, if they couldn''t trust Loki, then they could trust him.


    But those words weren''tforting to any of them. This was a matter of life and death, if the sanctum were to learn what they knew before they were ready, they''d no doubt be killed.


    "You just have to trust me." He didn''t think he was any good with words, he was sorry he couldn''t say something that would break them out of the concern and motivate them.


    "What''s done is done, we don''t have a choice." Felix finally said something, shrugging it off.


    "How can you be so nonchnt, this could risk everything!" Ishaan''s voice shot through the roof, he''d always been erratic when it came to this topic.


    "Hey, idiot, discussing this now won''t undo what that little brat already knows. Suck it up, life is one big inconsistency, if you can''t handle a small hup such as this maybe you aren''t ready to take something this big." Felix shot back with a mixture of insults and hard truths.


    Ishaan was red in the face. He didn''t think it was fair that Felix could insult him at a whim. Worse of all, he didn''t think that he respected him much, so he was ready to fight it out.


    "Oh I dare you to unsheathe your sword little pup." He mockingly provoked him.


    Niki got up from where he stood and ced his hand on Ishaan''s chest who was already charging forwards. Alliance be damned, he was sick of being treated like some second rate warrior.


    "We can''t fight amongst ourselves." He said looking to Felix and then Ishaan. "They''re right, there''s nothing that can be done, we just have to prepare like we always had. Nothing''s changed." He said thatst line more to himself, trying to convince himself that this could still work.


    Felix retreated immediately when Niki intervened. Ishaan had grown on him, so he got annoyed the most when he started showing signs of his old useless self.


    Niki gave Kiro a piercing gaze, wondering why he didn''t stop them before it escted to the point where the pair wanted to fight each other.


    "Duking it out is sometimes much more effective than words." He shrugged, disappointed that he didn''t get to see the fight.


    Felix was always hard on Ishaan so Kiro wanted to see just how Ishaan would fight a guardian, even though he was just a priest. He thought it would''ve been an interesting duel.


    Niki wanted to agree with his words but he didn''t want to show it. Someone had to be the responsible one when their leader allowed such things to happen.


    The fight could''ve went really good or really bad. They couldn''t afford resentment building within themselves, they had a much bigger fish to catch.


    "Why''s Hiro hot here for such an important discussion anyway?" Niki asked, trying to peddle them as far away from the explosion that was brewing. Discover exclusive tales on m,v l''e-NovelBin


    "Mm, ''I have more important things to worry about'' is what he said."


    "What?" Ishaan''s anger hadn''t yet subsided, so he figured this could be a good outlet for it, just to make him forget their predicament.


    Kiro noticed the anger in his tone, "I''m just the messenger man, but I don''t mind sparring with you. You seem to have a lot of anger bottled up."


    Ishaan considered Kiro''s suggestion for but a second, he was clearly still in his right mind because he shook his head violently.


    Kiro gave him a sinister grin. Just then Hiro walked in, he looked like he hadn''t slept for months. His hair stood up, all frazzled and charred. He''d most likely survived a lot of explosions in his shop.


    "Which dungeon did youe out of?" Kiro joked.


    "Yeah, what the hell were you doing in there?" Ishaan''s anger dissipated at the sight, he couldn''t hold backughter.


    He looked like a truly tired old man, who had endured thousands of years in battle. But Hiro paid them no mind.


    "I was so close." He kept muttering, in a zombie like state.


    "I think the potion defeated him once again, Hiro zero, potion hundred." Niki chuckled in-between his speech.


    "Maybe it needs legendary herbs, but where the hell would I get those." Hiro continued to ignore their taunts.


    It wasn''t so much as ignoring them, but he was in a zone of his own, he couldn''t hear anything they were saying.


    ''Look at him go, he looks more like a mad scientist. If we don''t help him I''m afraid he''s going to lose his mind.'' Kiro thought to himself.


    He wasn''t sure why his friend was so focused in sessfully brewing the true blood potion, but he could guess, theirst fight left them all a kind of scar. The harbingers were clearly much stronger, he didn''t want to imagine how strong the ancient ones they worshipped were.


    "Hey buddy, I think I know just where to get legendary items, probably even ancient ranked."


    That was the only thing that managed to break him out of his unconscious state. Life was even returning to his eyes, though he still looked absurd.


    "I''m sorry, did you just say ancient ranked? there''s a rank above legendary?" Felix caught that immediately.


    ''Oh sh*t, I''ve done it again.''


    He tried to smile as to not look guilty, "what do you think this robe is?"


    "That shabby looking thing is ranked above legendary?" Ishaan was skeptical.


    "I''ve been in how many fights in this? Ever seen it scratched?"


    Now that he mentioned it, the durability of that robe was really suspicious. While they had to give their weapons and armour to Hiro after battles, Kiro didn''t do the same.


    "Never mind about that! Let''s go collect some legendary herbs." Hiro spoke to them for the first time since he entered the room, his voice was loud andmanding.

 Chapter 287: Welcome To Your Hell Training

    "Are you going too, in that state?"


    "Of course I''m going, I don''t trust you guys to be able to collect them the way they should be." Hemented, washing his hair and removing the soot from his face.


    "Yeah, because collecting herbs is so difficult." Kiro rolled his eyes.


    "Of course it is!"


    Kiro didn''t understand that, herbs were very delicate and should therefore be handled by someone who knew what they were doing. Thest time he picked herbs was back in beginner''s vige. Where he pickedmon ones.


    From rare upwards, it needed a steady hand, a professional one, that was something he didn''t know despite having watched the game in his past life.


    In his defense, he never followed around any craftsmen. He was more into fighters, and the ss didn''t have anybody who stood out from the rest back then, so he didn''t care much about it. Hiro was clearly a very unique person, who was lucky to have bumped into Kiro.


    They all stood and watched as Hiro frantically cleaned himself up. Drinking potions to get rid of the fatigue, something he was extremely against, because the side effects weren''t his favourite. Experience more tales on m v|l e''m,p| y- r


    This particr brew was different from stamina potions in that, it recovered everything. From physical to mental, so it took only a few seconds before the Hiro they knew was standing right in front of them, ready to leave.


    "You should take as many of your tamed beasts as possible. This mission is something we absolutely cannot fail." He suggested, in a rathermanding tone.


    Kiro was quite proud of how far his friend hade. When he met him he was just a kid from the slums, much like himself, who doubted everything about themselves. But now he could give out orders, in a stern voice.


    Though as much as he admired his newfound confidence, he wasn''t going to bring a single beast. He''d worked hard to level them up, he didn''t want them returning to their low level selves.


    ''Dammi Hubris, you''re the only one!'' He cursed internally, he''d never found a beast of his level. He wasn''t sure he wanted one, it felt like some kind of betrayal.


    He was sure they could take the mountain, being guardians and everything. He was also certain that his beasts would perish, so instead of bringing dead weight, he chose to leave them behind.


    "I''m not bringing them, we''re enough." He didn''t give him a chance to retort, as he blinked out of there and waited for them to catch up by the gate.


    "What was the mountain called again?" He mumbled to himself, wrecking his brain, nervous that he may have give Hiro false hope.


    He remembered that there were titans, a lot of fire and some illusions to trick whoever dared to challenge it. He couldn''t for the life of him remember the name.


    Ding!


    [It seems what you''re looking for is Mt. Prometheus. It''s a treacherous mountain even for you guardians, but I suppose it''ll serve as a great training ground for the lot of you.


    Thank you guardian, that''s quite a splendid idea. And for this idea you''ve given me, I''ll reward you. First the location is South of here, secondly you don''t have to worry about travelling there, I offer my services.]


    "Huh? Why?"


    [...]


    Before long the others joined him, dragging him out the gate, surprised he was just dumbly standing there when he was this excited to leave for the legendary mountain.


    "Wait, the system offered us a ride, stop tugging too hard, hey!"


    Hiro suddenly had great strength. He was dragging Kiro by his robe from the neck, he however stopped when the word ''ride'' registered in his mind.


    "That''s awfully nice of it, what''s the catch?" Ishaam asked.


    Ding!


    [Oh, the yer cannote. The teleportation would shred his normal self into a tiny pieces before he lost all his experience.]


    The system could now be heard by all of them. Ishaan''s face soured, he didn''t want to miss out on another guardian adventure. He already didn''t feel like he was really part of the group, he didn''t need the game isting him any further.


    "No, he has toe. If you can''t help, then we don''t need your help. We will just walk there, this is an After Dark convoy." It was Kiro who spoke up.


    Ishaan could''ve wailed right there and then. He felt warmth rising up from within, it was then that he felt truly epted. Which he quickly reminded himself that he was being ridiculous before, these guys made a training regime just for him.


    Of course they didn''t know that he knew, but he knew. He didn''t understand his own self sometimes, his emotions went up and down, making him doubt some things in his life. And this only happened when he found out about the sanctum.


    Ding!


    [You think...I suppose he could use his shield to avoid the damage. I''ve analysed it, it has a 99% chance of working.]


    "What happened to the 1%?" He cried.


    [...anyway, let''s get started. Time''s of the essence here.]


    "Fine then, but I don''t trust you so we will all be within Ishaan''s force shield to ensure you transport us all."


    Kiro didn''t put it past the system to leave Ishaan behind on purpose, then im it was a failure, since there was a 1% that it wouldn''t work. He didn''t want to take any chances, this was a perfect time for After Dark to level up after the fiasco that was the guild wars.


    [Tch...]


    ''So it was thinking to do that, the cheeky system is back then.'' His lips curled into a smirk as he thought he''d checkmated the system this time.


    They all gathered around Ishaan and he wrapped them all within his shield. The dome had a beautiful purplish hue about it now, clearly it ranked up.


    ''Ren, you guys stay close to me. Don''t wander around in there.'' He told his spectres, he thought they could at least help since they were basically ghosts.


    They only blinked and the scenery had already changed. They could smell the heating from Mt. Prometheus, they couldn''t see any active volcanoes or fires just unbearably noxious heat.


    "Is that Ursa and Isaac?" Hiro waspletely devoid of words to describe how this made him feel.


    "I and Saanvi too." Felix nodded in the opposite direction.


    Ding!


    [Wee to your hell training guardians.]


    "F*ck!"

 Chapter 288: Prometheus

    Kiro closed his eyes. It was his turn to feel a burning sensation within himself. The others new his dire rtionship with Isaac, so they expected for him to blow up any minute. They slowly retreated and left him standing there alone.


    "System, where do you get off hijacking After Dark''s chances to level up? I take it back, I don''t want your help anymore. Bring us back to our base, we can just walk." He said as calmly as he could, through gritted teeth.


    His friends were impressed that he could appear that cool headed, when they could smell the anger from where they stood.


    Ding!


    [I''ll think about it. For the time being, you''re stuck together. It may take me a while to process your request and it''s unfortunately toote, even if you stand there waiting, the monsters will surelye to you. Happy hunting.]


    It was a peculiar feeling, but he could feel the system''s joy when it rubbed that to his face. He didn''t thinkputers had feelings, but this sure felt like it did.


    This was supposed to be just about them, he was looking forward to fighting with hisrades without third parties, especially not Isaac. But the system turned it into something else and it made it abundantly clear that there would be no room to wiggle out from this.


    Kiro took a few slow breaths, calming himself down. There would be no point in fighting amongst themselves, when there was Prometheus right in front of them.


    It was called a mountain but it was more of a valley, a valley with different giant peaks on it. There weren''t much trees, but those that were, were almost dark red in colour.


    So were the stones. It looked like they were heated up with something that made them gain a very unnatural colour but at the same time not damaging them at all.


    Everyone else but After Dark was surprised that they were transported against their will. The system gave them no warning before plunging them into a split second darkness. They marvelled at the sight, as unnatural as it was, it was beautiful nheless.


    The game seemed to excel on the side of capturing nature and giving it a twist of fantastical beauty. The atmosphere though wasn''t pleasing, it wasn''t a choking hazard per se, but it was.


    "What the hell is going on? Hell training, nobody asked for this!" Saanvi cried, but that too fell on deaf ears.


    Kiro had already calmed himself down, so he was his usual self. If he couldn''t convince the system otherwise, he had no choice but to roll with its madness.


    "Don''t tell me you''re a little scared?" He asked in a mocking tone.


    "Me-e? Scared? Don''t project, number two."


    Then they witnessed a sight none of them thought possible. Isaac giggled, he stopped himself toote and looked away awkwardly. They''d already heard, so all eyes were on him now.


    He could feel their piercing res, he wished it in his to make him believe that he didn''t care. But a part of him did.


    After a talk with his henchmen, or friends, he seemed to be doing a lot better. Though he felt strange about the game now, as he suddenly had an urge to log in only to be tossed in a room with the people he despised the most.


    Discover stories at m,v l''-NovelBin


    Everybody else had been doing their own thing in-game when this happened to him. So they didn''t exactly share his feelings.


    "Funny you should call me number two, we beat your asses in the guild wars." Kiro said breaking the awkwardness Isaac had caused.


    "To think you''d bring that up, you''re a shameless slime Kiro Waynworth." It was I who shot back to defend Saanvi.


    Kiro was proud of his name, but at this particr moment it felt like he was chewing rocks. This reminded him of his mother when she was frustrated with him when he''d done something wrong.


    "Still?" He didn''t have the energy to form a full sentence but I understood him anyway.


    "Still." She gave him a side look, then turned to face the mountain that looked like it was on fire.


    Hiro couldn''t say he didn''t care that Isaac of all people, gatecrashed their quest, courtesy of the system but he was more excited about finding what he was looking for.


    The more he looked at the mountains, the more he knew exactly why they''d find what he was looking for. The mana was very dense and they hadn''t stepped foot in the territory. It was an exhrating feeling, the density of mana in each herb determined its rank.


    He bet they''d find a herb at every corner. And he intended to pick every single one them, whether he needed them for the true blood potion or not.


    "Are we just gonna stand here or go in already?" Ishaan asked, buzzing with excitement that he was finally included in a guardian convoy. Even though he wasn''t one.


    Ursa walked closer, she didn''t really know what to do. She wasn''t speaking to either Isaac or the group. She felt truly alone to the point she wished to have never drank the potion. Because then, she wouldn''t be here right now.


    "This will be a little more dangerous. Especially for you Ishaan, don''t be reckless. Felix, he''s your responsibility." He barked orders.


    Felix groaned. But he understood nheless why he had to babysit Ishaan. He nodded sceptically, epting the mission assigned to him by their leader.


    "I don''t need a babysitter¡ª"


    He was cut off by Kiro''s deadly stare. He''d forgotten just how strong he was, despite not being able to see from one eye. The killing intent was very clear, and it was only directed at him, it sent shivers down his spine. He decided to shut his mouth and obey.


    ''Impressive. With just one look he was able to convey everything and made him submit. I wonder if I could do that¡ªwhat am I saying? I can''t admire that filth.'' Isaac stopped himself fromplimenting andparing Kiro to himself.


    "I don''t know how you guys want to handle this, but if you have a problem with me leading, you can split up from us." He raised his voice to ensure he was heard by all.


    Saanvi and I didn''t have a problem with that, they''d done this before after all. They were actually looking forward to it.


    "I don''t have a problem with it." Ursa said for the first time.


    Isaac gave a ''I don''t care, do what you must'' expression.


    "Let''s clear Prometheus then."

 Chapter 289: Prometheus, II

    Kiro vaguely remembered he had unlocked a skill during his berserk mode. It never made it to the front of his mind until now, he wasn''t as excited about checking his stats as he once was at the start of the game.


    Mainly because he was just that strong, there was almost nothing that could contend with him that was part of the game, harbingers were of course an exception. With that, he found it useless to check his stats until now.


    Name: Kiro


    Level 92


    Race: High Dreki


    ss: Sagehood


    Subss: Beast Tamer


    HP: 60 000/60 000


    ??? : infinite


    Attack: 10 000


    PDEF: 14 000


    Strength: 500


    Vitality: 550


    Dexterity: 600


    Stamina: 700 Enjoy new adventures from m-v l''e|-NovelBin


    Intelligence: 450


    Constitution: 900


    Wealth: 700 million coins


    Equipment: Ancient Sun''s Robe, Legendary Staff Ryu.


    Mount: Hubris the Hellhound


    Skills


    Vibrations (AOE Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 5?? per second, no cooldown.


    Blink Step (Rank S, can evolve)


    Consumes 10?? per second.


    Martial Arts (Ranked S, can''t evolve)


    Chi (Ranked A, can''t evolve)


    Bending Kick (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Regeneration (Ranked S, cannot evolve)


    The skill regenerates 100 HP and ?? per second


    Whirlwind (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Uses 100 ?? per second. No cool down.


    Meditation (Ranked A, can evolve)


    Lightning Maniption (A ranked, can''t evolve)


    Uses 100 ?? per second. 1 minute cool down.


    Reality Warping (Ranked ??, can evolve)


    Gemino (Ranked A, cannot evolve)


    The skill consumes 100? per second.


    150 AP


    60 SP


    He clicked on the skill to get a better understanding about how it works. He was a little disappointed that it was only A ranked and couldn''t evolved. The game had spoiled him, as it had given him more S Ranked or lower level skills that could evolve.


    He also noticed his meditation went from D to A, which wasn''t surprising since he created a whole world within his mental space.


    Gemino (A Ranked)


    A skill you have inherited from your bloodline. You can make duplicates of yourself, who will retain the same power as your original self. This skill can be activated by thought with the use of your legendary weapon. It has no timer or cooldown, as long as you have ? you''ll be able to maintain it for however long.


    ''So I can make five or even ten of me? That''s insane!''


    Kiro was very impressed. For a minute, he didn''t think harbingers had a chance at defeating them now, but then it hit him. He had made duplicates in Tartarus, but that general still managed to kill him quite easily.


    "It''s like I have one bloodline, what''s my dragon bloodline doing just not giving me boosts?" He whispered to himself andined.


    Ding!


    [You''re really not that sharp guardian, it''s surprising since you''ve elected yourself as the leader. Why do you think your constitution is so high? Why do you think you can see in the dark?]


    "Right. But it''s just so unimpressive. Why are they passive skills that aren''t part of the skill set? It''d be cool to have a ''dragon eye'' skill or something like that."


    [Childish...]


    Kiro was used to the system''s taunts, he wasn''t going to let it bother him. So he simply scoffed at that remark. He just couldn''t wait to use his gemino skill, if they weren''t in the middle of a dangerous quest, he would''ve activated it right away. But he was smarter than that.


    He also decided to be a leader. They were all in the same boat, casting out the two wouldn''t do them any good. He figured this could be good practise for their next harbinger kill, they needed to establish their own strategies.


    They had two archers, battle mages and priests. With Kiro, Hiro and Niki being the odd ones out. As a tank, Hiro would have to be at the forefront. While the two battles mages were at the back of his two sides.


    The priests weren''t allowed to hide behind Ishaan''s shield, they''d have to avoid getting killed in the battlefield using their own skills. Which Felix saw as a bonus, he didn''t want to be stuck inside a dome anyway.


    The atmosphere wasn''t so bad that they couldn''t handle it, even Ishaan wasn''t sweating too much. They walked on a thin trail up the first mountain, everybody was still sulking that they were plunged into this without their consent. But they knew better than taking it out on each other.


    "The monsters here, what are they?" I asked.


    Most eyes fell on Kiro. He was the one who seemed to have inside information about this game, most of all, he was the one who rmended this ce to them.


    Kiro knew, but he wasn''t going to tell them. He couldn''t raise their suspicions any further. So he shrugged at her question.


    There was also the possibility that none of the monsters from his previous life were here so he didn''t want to tell them information that could easily flip on them. Even he was ready for anything.


    From the information previously, he knew the mountain was ruled by some monster that called itself a god. Fire was its speciality hence the heat it exuded. There were also titans that answered only to this god. The mountain was also riddled with all kinds of illusions.


    "This red was strange at first, but it''s kind of beautiful isn''t it?" Saanvi said excitedly.


    It was only Hiro who answered her. Nobody else was bothered, they were all apprehension about what they would be fighting here.


    Hiro though suddenly jumped forward, stopping in front of a blue flower. With everything else red, it was truly a thorn that stood out. He gathered his equipment, and slowly dug around it. Picking it from its roots.


    "Not what we came for, but this is good for a poison potion. I''ve never seen it this high levelled before." He proimed, excitement couldn''t be contained from his voice.


    Niki was also ecstatic, he was the only one out of the bunch that dabbled in poisons, so this was music to his ears. He even walked besides Hiro.


    "Need help?" He asked.


    "That''s okay." Hiro didn''t even look up as he said, if he dared to remove it from the soil it would quickly die.


    That''s one of the many things he''d learned as a craftsman apprentice. He finished what he was doing and carefully ced the herb in his inventory space. He quickly wiped the sweat that was forming on his forehead.


    Everybody had stopped walking to watch what he did. You could tell they were bored, just then the mountain rumbled and shook just enough for them to lose their bnce.

 Chapter 290: Prometheus, III

    Kiro was already adorned with lightning. His entire body zapped and shone a beautiful purplish colour, it emanated lightning it was a sight to see. His lightning didn''t stop at him, even ryu in his entirety was coated with it.


    Even though he had lost sight from one of his eyes, it wasn''t an impediment. He was getting used to not seeing from one eye by the second.


    None knew what wasing but they imagined it wasn''t weak, something that made even them lose their bnce, so they didn''t need to be told. Everyone was ready, in a fighting stance. Luckily, Isaac wasn''t stubborn, he followed the formation Kiro told them to take.


    The rumbling stopped abruptly, but I turned with eyes hot with rage. Her target was Kiro, she arrived in front of him faster. Kiro was too paralysed by the emotions he felting from her.


    That''s why the punchnded right on his face. Usually he wouldn''t feel the pain, but there was something in that punch that made it sting more than it should''ve.


    "What did you just say?"


    "What?"


    From I''s perspective, Kiro''s lips moved and they again uttered unfathomable words, she could feel herself break a little.


    "Now that I have all the money in the world, I doubt I need this little wench anymore. Don''t make it hard, just move out of the way." A sinister toothy grin appeared on his face.


    She hit him again, harder than thest punch which caused him to fall down. Kiro was extremely dumbfounded, he didn''t realise immediate what was happening.


    Most of all, he didn''t want to fight her. Not about something he wasn''t sure, so he wanted to know what terrible thing he did that he was being beaten ck and blue. That''s when he saw I''s lips move with some of the most sinister words.


    "Did he really think I liked him back? I approached you as nothing but a joke, you''ve been an entertaining pass time. You may have bought a luxurious lifestyle but you''ll always be a slum rat."


    Isaac may have enjoyed the scene before him, but he was also starting to hear things he didn''t want to hear. Ursa was telling him how useless he was, and how it was a great thing that his father had tossed him aside and decided to rece him.


    Everyone in the group was hearing things, things that they buried deep, insecurities they didn''t want to see the light of day. The game was once again, toying with their real life emotions.


    Kiro wasn''t sure this was legal. Even though he had just figured out that these were just some illusions cast by the god of this mountain they''ve trespassed, he couldn''t help but be bothered by the things he was hearing.


    His mental fortitude couldn''t entirely shield him from the attack, he didn''t get the full st like the rest of his teammates but he couldn''tpletely escape the nightmare. Nothing could really stop him from hearing such harmful words.


    He couldn''t imagine what I had seen him say for her to be that angry at him. But at least he was sessfully dodging her attacks now.


    Looking around, he saw just how dangerous the ability was. As teammates were fighting each other over things neither of them said, he was the only one truly awake from the nightmare, they were all unaware.


    Like zombies, they were mindlessly attacking each other. Blissfully unaware of the havoc they were causing not just to their surroundings but to each other as well.


    Ishaan was the odd one out, his insecurities weren''t directly linked to any of those around in-game. So instead, he was heavily attacking an innocent tree that took shape of his father, spewing all sorts of nonsense at him. Making him doubt himself.


    "You? My son? Going against me, us, our family? I''ve raised quite the pathetic son. What do you think is going to happen if you expose me, that you will move on and live happily? Society will shun you just for being my son.


    The society you want to fight to protect, they will turn their backs on you."


    "Shut up!"


    His ears were buzzing, he knew the chances of being ostracised was astronomical. He''d already made the decision to live like a social pariah if it meant to stop his father frommitting any more atrocities.


    ''So then why? Why is my heart full of doubt? Why am I hesitating? Maybe I am pathetic!'' He cried internally, never stopping the attack on the tree that he assumed was his father.


    No matter what he did, he couldn''t beat the thing down. Not even a scratch, then suddenly it fell down with the most grotesque form. Ishaan was shaking a little, he was watching his dad taking his final breaths.


    "Dad? I''m so sorry, I didn''t mean to, I''m sorry." Tears trickled from his cheeks, he couldn''t quite believe he had it in him to do such a thing.


    The fake corpse showed a sinister smile suddenly. Ishaan couldn''t see because he''d covered his eyes with his hands, silently crying.


    "See? Killing me isn''t the answer is it, you''re shrouded with guilt. You aren''t ready, you never will be. Join me son, join us." Continue reading on m|v-l''e -NovelBin


    When Ishaan looked again, it was as if he hadn''t done any damage. He simply screamed his lungs out, he wanted it to stop. All of it. He was about ready to turn his de to himself, to end the doubts, to end it all.


    Kiro wasn''t having fun either. He couldn''t think of a way to get out of this. He didn''t have the power to undo a god''s power. This was something beyond his current abilities.


    ''Maybe I should use that? No, that will set me back by months yet again.''


    He touched the floor with his foot once again, as I had followed him to the skies. She absolutely wanted to end him. He listened carefully using vibrations, he wanted to figure out the source of the illusions that mentally attacked them.


    ''Come on,e on. I''m strong but if I don''t fight with her seriously she''ll cause unimaginable damage.''


    And I was right at his tail, turning when he did. She suddenly had a sharper eye, which Kiro would''ve appreciated if it wasn''t aimed at him.

 Chapter 291: The Illusions Heart

    The moment he touched the ground with a singr purpose, which was finding the heart of it all. He sent vibrations all throughout the area, though he could not stay at one ce since I would catch up within a second of blinking to another area.


    ''When did she get so fast, or is the anger fuelling her strength to the max?''


    Nothing could answer his questions, he could only assume that was so. Nevertheless, he had workid in front of him, finding the source and deflecting I''s attacks in a way that didn''t hurt her.


    Something Kiro thought was fair was the fact that, everything that happened, the conversations, they were happening in the person''s head. So in a way, their insecurities remained their own.


    The effects of their consequences though weren''t so much the figments of their imaginations, that part was very much real, as real as it could get in the game.


    Niki and Felix weren''t having a splendid time either. It would be appropriate to call them brothers, since they''d been inseparable since they were little kids until Niki was forced to flee and eventually forced into very.


    "You shouldn''t havee back, you''ve ruined everything! We were so much happier without you, the ck estate was at its peak and you had toe with your revenge ns!"


    This was something Niki had contemted for a long time whethering back was such a good idea, whether Felix and his father were honestly d that he was okay and safe and back to the only home he''d ever known. He imagined staying away would''ve made their lives easier.


    He felt pathetic even feeling in such a way. The way they weed him back, was as if a long lost son came home atst, but those feelings were never really gone no matter what he did.


    They were feelings he was ashamed of so he tucked them away. He was surprised out of his mind when they wereing out of Felix''s mouth, his greatest of friends.


    Even though Felix was a simple priest, he was able to hold his own against Niki. Each attack from each other was either dodged or blocked.


    "You''re nothing, no one but a servant boy. Did you really think I''d have any deeper feelings for someone who was hired to be my aid? A little bit of money will never change that you''re beneath me. You don''t even have a surname, that''s how unimportant you are."


    A shrill ofughter sounded as the words marinated in his head. This was truly something he feared the most, that Niki never regarded him as an equal.


    He didn''t bother letting his anger form into words, his weapon snaked through the distance between them. Niki easily parried it with his two daggers, he used shadows to get behind his friend, he stuck both of his weapons where Felix''s head should''ve been.


    Fortunately, he was nimble enough to dodge the obviously fatal attack, and elbowed his friend in the gut. Causing him to retreat several steps back.


    "You''ll always be that little boy to me. Pathetic and unable to do anything on your own. I made you." A mockingugh escaped his lips.


    Kiro on the other hand didn''t have the luxury to watch as his friends attempted to tear each other apart. But the scenes happening couldn''tpletely escape his vision, he saw glimpses and immediately regretted not training them in his world.


    It had slipped his mind and now they were suffering. As much as he was also affected, it wasn''t so bad. He heard the words and knew they were just another mind game Asgard loved making its yers go through.


    Most of all, he didn''t have a second to spare to put them in vibrations. He had a nightmare of his own to deal with and it was right behind him, if he stopped for a second, he knew he''d be badly hurt.


    As much as he wanted to himself between them and stop the fights, he knew nothing would change, they weren''t in their right minds, which they would have been, had he remembered to train them. So his best bet was finding the heart of it all.


    If he had a set pair of legs aside, he''d be kicking himself right now. He felt the full responsibility of the situation, he''d grownx and underestimated the game because of how badly developed the wars were. As their leader, he should''ve prepared better.


    While he regretted his nonchnt attitude, self-pity wasn''t going to get them out of it. He kept up the charade until he could something faint from afar, but he wasn''t sure how he should attack from where he was.


    The supposed heart he''d found was a good distance away. It exuded nothing but malice, it felt like it had emotions of its own and didn''t like one second that some lowly being was searching for it.


    With the running around, dodging and blocking I, Kiro couldn''t take the risk of running up there to where it was.


    There was no guarantee that what he would find there wouldn''t be a trap, his stamina was running a bit low. While his kaos was replenishing, it was slower than the rate he was using it at.


    ''So, there you are, what to do, lightning? No. Ryu? Not quite.''


    He, himself, hadn''t meant to, but something incredulous happened. The next time he touched the ground with his bare feet, his vibrations were fixed in a singr point. Which was the ce the heart was.


    Like a bullet shooting out of a barrel, they shot out of him. He watched, the right word would be sensed, with his vibrations as the densely vibrational bullet paced to where hemanded it to go.


    That one unattentive split second, was enough for I to catch up. He didn''t have to turn to face her to know that, whatever he did then would be futile. He hoped his ancient robe was enough to absorb most of the damage.


    He still turned around, he didn''t like the idea of being attacked while his back was turned. I arrived justte enough for him to have his arms covering his face, so they''d take the full st.


    His eyes grew wide in panic when he realised that, it wasn''t a punch that wasing for him but the arrow mana that exploded on impact.


    "Ohe on!"

 Chapter 292: A Voice From Nowhere

    ''Is she insane? if she''s that close and attacking with mana arrow, she''ll get the full effects of the explosion too!''


    He could sense the power and danger that resided within the arrow. His every muscle screamed at him ''danger''. But there was absolutely nothing he could do to avoid that.


    Just as it was about to reach him, he managed just another tiny step backwards hoping that would slow down its impact and be favourable to him. All he needed at that moment was fordy luck to be on his side.


    The vibrational attack he''d sent arrived at the heart just in the nick of time. Though he doubted that would change much, since he could already feel the attack on his very skin. Find adventures at m_v l|e-NovelBin


    He first felt a warm sensation that he thought he could wee if that was all there was to it. Then a sharp pain wove itself between his flesh and bones. It felt a tiny thousand needles were actively prodding at his skin and bones.


    ''Ah f*ck. What''s this robe good for, if it can''t even protect me from attacks like these. Ancient my ass.'' Heined as he sted through the air and onto the rocks, which broke on impact.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions. You''ve discovered the heart which Prometheus uses to toy with unsustainable travellers. You''ve absolutely destroyed it, hence angering him. Any hopes of striking a harmonious rtionship with him have been squandered. Good luck guardians, and you.]


    Kiro coughed from the distance, attempting to get up without using his very numb hands. While everyone seemed as if a veil was lifted, they still couldn''t forget the words they''ve heard.


    "There was such an option? To make him our buddy? This system is atrocious!" He cried, he couldn''t believe they were robbed off that good option because the system purposely failed to mention it.


    Even with his cries, none of hisrades turned to look and enquire what he wasining about. They were no longer attacking each other, but the animosity for each other in the air couldn''t be denied.


    I too looked at him strange, he tried to shrug it off by giving her his best smile which didn''t seem to work. He sighed deeply, not believing that his hard work didn''t achieve much.


    He immediately understood why the god of this mountain used such tactics, ying on people''s insecurities, even if it was an illusion, the lingering feelings will still remain. It was absolutely unfair, ording to Kiro anyway.


    And even now that they were no longer under the illusions clutches, they were more aware of their feelings which they buried deep, not wanting to deal with them. To make matters worse, the poisonous words were said by some of the most people they trusted or liked.


    It seemed the game''s mental gymnastics were far from over. The challenges in this game weren''t only physical but also mental, which Kiro thought was strange, it wasn''t this extreme in his past life. The only one he remembered vividly was the passage from beginner''s vige to the capital.


    Not unless yers chose to hide it. Hell, there were no guardians, or even harbingers and there were even less true bloods in his past life, no gods either.


    While the changes set him on edge, he appreciated the deep rich lore they''ve given the game. The Hubris storyline was also quite something special.


    ''Hubris, are you a good king? I wonder.'' This whole ordeal, the uncertainty of it all reminded him of the Underworld.


    He managed to stand, his arms were still numb from taking the st. His energy was cut in half, he realised that the moment the heart was destroyed, I managed to minimise the damage but barely. Even though she did that, she was still eyeing him different.


    "Okay, everyone, drop your guards. You''ve just experienced a nasty mindf*ck but I managed to break it. I''d appreciate it if we didn''t let this deter us, as we have a mountain to clear." His words didn''t seem to pierce through their hard exterior they managed to quickly shield themselves with.


    Being a leader was starting to wear him down. Especially when he didn''t ask for four more additions for this particr quest.


    "I can''t stop you from ring at each other, but I swear, I''ll level down anyone who attacks another. I know what you heard, but instead of ming the person you''re facing, look within. The game is messed up, no doubt. But it forced all of us to face things we wanted to keep at bay. Be guardians for f*cks sake.


    Take pride in that and let''s topple this mountain." He was exasperated by the end, as he didn''t mean to give them a speech.


    Their eyes were starting to light up when a wave of heat hit them. Then it sounded like the sky itself was speaking to them, there was no sun just crimson clouds with asional lightning bolts roaming around.


    That coupled with a thunderous voice from the skies, made it seem like the mountain itself was a being and the sky was its mind, while the earth was its body. It was a new experience, one Kiro wasn''t sure they were ready for.


    ''I have a feeling, I''m going to regret dragging them over here!''


    "Topple this mountain?" The voice with an invisible body echoed throughout, itughed as it said.


    They couldn''t help themselves, they all took their eyes off each other and looked at the sky directly. There was something charming about it, almost hypnotic. In a way that didn''t calm them, it only served to terrorise their minds a little more.


    "I''d like to see you try, genuinely. You''re very amusing, and I smell that stupid monkey from you, no doubt you will be entertaining. If you make it to my throne room, I''ll spare you. But don''t think traversing this mountain will be easy."


    Kiro loved a good challenge, his lips were already quivering. He wanted to smile but he was stopping himself at the same time, which gave him a crazed look.


    He wasn''t the only one who epted the challenge in their heart, Felix was buzzing with excitement. Kiro could feel him, despite the distance between them.


    It couldn''t be said that what they''ve went through had disappeared but it was well in the back of their minds. They had a clearer goal, which was reaching the throne room, wherever that was.

 Chapter 293: Endless Horde

    "I have a feeling we''ve forgotten why we came here," Hiro said, jerking his axe out of some monster''s eye. It was buried deep, so it took him a few tries.


    Instead ofing out normally, the axe went through the skull and severed one of the thing''s horns, beforeing outpletely. Hiro winced at the spectacle.


    "We haven''t forgotten, can''t help that the boss keeps these minionsing. Besides you''re getting the legendary herbs, aren''t you?" They''ve had the argument for some time, he wasn''t in the mood for another round.


    Hiro didn''t think he should''ve epted the challenge without everyone''s input. Not that he cared about that, the only thing that was important to him, was getting the legendary potion ingredients and possibly some crafting material.


    Kiro on the other hand, was almost certain that not epting would''ve been more detrimental for them. If this thing was truly a god, which he didn''t doubt it was, since it knew the monkey King, it had all the power to summon stronger monsters to fight them.


    For now, they''d had low level monsters, it was as if it was testing their strength. The minotaurs they were fighting now were the first monsters that leaned more on the stronger side, but they were still not a match for them.


    What made the monsters seem more weak in front of them was the fact that, they didn''t value teamwork. They were stubborn, independent bulls. They moved and attacked as individuals.


    Which was a strategy that waspletely destroyed by the guardians. Even though their teamwork was very new, they still were very strong and the more they fought, the more they got used to each other, and were starting to look like a well oiled machine.


    "Mm." Hiro answered.


    He thought this would be a breeze, almost, and if it wasn''t, they''d spend more time collecting than fighting, but it was turning into a fighting frenzy by the minute.


    The minotaurs didn''t have special skills unless if you get the full st of their horns, not only stunning but bleeding effect thatsted for over 5 minutes.


    If it weren''t for Saanvi and Felix, but mostly Saanvi. Ishaan would''ve died a couple of times. He didn''t have as much of arge mana pool as the guardians did, so that 5 minutes was a death sentence for him.


    But they were well equipped, so the 5 minutes passed as if it were nothing. One thing that threw them off about the minotaurs was the fact that they could speak, not always a coherent sentence but they did anyway.


    "Crash, eat, stomp."


    Those were about the only words in their vocabry. As thick as they were, their strength and constitution was something that should be admired.


    It still made not much of a difference. With Hiro, Isaac and Ishaan in front, forming the triangle formation they seemed to be unstoppable. Even with one of them not being a guardian, the side he was defending wasn''tcking at allpared to others.


    It took all of them a couple of hits to make a single minotaur disappear but that didn''t seem to be the solution, because they appeared as quick as they were to disappear.


    "Any minute now, number two!" Saanvi yelled, escaping almost getting sandwiched between two bulls.


    And since they weren''t too good at partnership. They ended up mming into each other, one of them wasn''t so lucky as the other''s horn drove through their forehead. And it spent quite some time trying to get itself free before Isaac severed its headpletely.


    "What the hell do you mean?" Kiro asked with an eyebrow raised. Your next chapter is on m v|l-e''-NovelBin


    "Don''t act confused, you''re the one who always figure this game out, this horde keeps growing." If she wasn''t too busy trying to avoid getting impaled or crashed, she''d have rolled her eyes.


    "So?" Kiro wasn''t going to let her off easily. He knew what she meant but he yed dumb on purpose.


    "Serious number¡ªI mean Ki. Are you seriously gonna make me say it? You''re the smart one, figure out an end to this nightmare, I don''t know how long I canst." She said seriously.


    "Oh. But I thought I was just number two?" He grinned, majestically punching the bull in the gut. Holding it by the hairs ontop of its head, then pulling really hard.


    Everyone gasped in surprise when the head came out. Nobody was dumb enough to try it, they understood that, for some reason, Kiro''s constitution ranked even higher than the minotaurs''.


    "Dammit Ki, just spit it out." It was I this time who yelled from atop a big rock.


    Kiro still wanted to y around, be petty for once. But when he saw how tired their archers were, he felt sorry for them. He didn''t have a n, there was no beating them fast enough before they reappear.


    "This is just what I think, there''s no strategy, I think the voice is testing our stamina here. So hang tight as long as you can." He said with much confidence, not looking at them or stopping what he was doing.


    They all groaned. It wasn''t that hard killing them but it was still a hassle. One that they might be doing for days if they don''t drop dead first.


    "In that case, we should all stop using potions. It''s not a limitless stock everyone." Hiroined, not knowing when this charade will disappear from their face.


    "Oh but it is, we have you and an abundance of herbs surrounding us." Kiroughed as he said.


    "Hiro isn''t your servant!" Saanvi chimed in, joking around.


    But not everyone was used to that side of Saanvi, so the likes of Ursa looked at her painfully. She noticed this but chose to ignore it. Saanvi had nothing toin about, she thought for sure Ursa and Isaac would be dead weight, but she was surprised that not only were they getting kills, they were keeping up.


    "You know Saanvi, in a way, your boyfriend is our servant, we''re his servants too. In After Dark we''re servants of the group." Kiro exined, proud to havee up with something like that on the spot.


    Saanvi snorted in return, she didn''t want to challenge whatever Kiro was trying to normalise.


    The horde kepting, the fight seemed infinite in their mortal eyes. Just as they were at their ends wits, the minotaurs stopped reappearing.

 Chapter 294: A Misunderstanding

    The heat was bing more pronounced. The farther they went, the more the ground looked like slightly molten rock. There were many cracks, shining with a brilliant colour of orange.


    They all feared it would crumble with the slightest touch of their tired and rough steps, but no such thing happened. It was as firm as any ground they''ve ever stepped on.


    After the seemingly endless fight with the minotaurs, they took a long, well-deserved break. From fixing their weapons and armour to replenishing their mana and strengths, when they were good to go, they journeyed forwards to the unknown vastnd before them.


    Unsure what awaited for them in thesends and the throne room. Danger seemed to lurk at every turn, the atmosphere being the worst of the bunch. The heat didn''t damage them at all, but it still made it hard to breathe.


    "Is that wormwood?" Isaac said, before he could stop himself from asking.


    They all turned to look at him, then directed by his eyes to where he was looking. He had his hand on his mouth as if to silence it, he didn''t intend to make small talk or try to get along with them so he was a bit upset with himself that he said anything at all.


    After examining the nt from where he stood, Hiro had a confused look on his face. He slowly turned towards Isaac, not sure if he wanted to address him.


    "You know about herbs?" That question escaped his lips before he could hold his tongue.


    Isaac nodded curtly, "kinda have to be knowledgeable about them. Since my subss is potion making."


    "Oh, right." He replied dumbly, not having realised that awakening ones blood gave them a second ss, he''d received one himself.


    He walked closer to examine the wormwood, it was strange looking. It didn''t have its usually green colour. Hiro thought it''d be stranger if it did, it grew from this hell after all, of course it would be a lot different.


    He was more surprised that Isaac was able to spot it before he did. He wasn''t angry, but that didn''t sit well with him nheless. He tried not to show it, but his friends could see it. That''s why they could be seen snickering from the safety of their hands.


    Tried as they did to hide their amusement, Hiro could see it. He snorted at their immature taunts, he went to the herb, trying to figure ways to pick it. He didn''t know whether to pick it like the normal nt, since it had differing properties.


    "Youugh now, but we will run into another monster and I hope you can fix your own weapons." He gave them a satisfied smirk, as he worked around picking the nt.


    The snickers died down immediately. Kiro was the only one who didn''t care, as his staff and robe never needed tuning.


    "You''re so petty, I like it." Kiro continued to mock. "Need help?"


    "Just be a good guard dog and make sure I don''t get attacked while my back is turned." Hiro shot back.


    The sets of insults continued for a very long time. Though it wasn''t anything bad, it was just banter amongst really good friends. This made Isaac and Ursa, people that weren''t used to their bickering, ufortable. Isaac half ming himself, thinking they were actually at odds.


    Then, all of a sudden, while Hiro was crouched finally getting the nt out. It was exuded much heat, so it took him a while even though he was almost impervious to mes. An arrow missed him by a hairs breadth, he could even feel the speed at was going at.


    It embedded itself on the tree in front of him. Kiro turned and knew who shot it and saw that as some sort of threat, he didn''t ask questions as he jumped for Ursa.


    She had him pinned on the ground in less than a second. She couldn''t think, she couldn''t talk, she couldn''t even avoid him. She was utterly at his mercy.


    "What the hell are you ying at?" He asked, unable to mask his distaste for her and everything she''d ever done to him. "If I don''t like your answer, you will die right here."


    Ding!


    [You can''t just¡ª]


    "Shut your fancyputerised words." He spat, not taking his eyes or hands off Ursa.


    "I was¡ªjust¡ªhelping." She managed to say in-between choked out words, clearly Kiro''s grip was more hardened than he initially thought but he didn''t care.


    "Help? By tearing his head off?" In his anger, he didn''t really see it.


    "Ki!!"


    "What!?" He turned and saw it.


    Just before Hiro, where there was once nothing, something began to appear as if it were glitching. Until finally, it revealed its limp body. It was very short and ugly.


    When he saw it, it took him a while for his grip to loosen. He was utterly wrong and embarrassed. He wondered how this thing escaped his vibrational sense. Could it be some monster''s can''t be detected through vibrations? It was very wrong in his eyes.


    "Right." He got up and tried to dust off the soot from his robes but that didn''t help.


    He didn''t turn to see if Ursa was alright, instead he walked forward. Wanting to examine the monster that he seemingly couldn''t sense, while some archer could. He didn''t look down on archers, just Ursa.


    Getting closer, he noticed that the monster was an Imp. They were weak creatures but had great hiding skills, and an abundance of mana. Elves were loved by mana, so he concluded that, that was probably why Ursa could sense it.


    He remembered that, these creatures, although weak, gave many yers trouble. Be they elves or not.


    ''Maybe awakening their blood made the rtionship between them and mana more pronounced, but why did I not sense it?'' He turned to I with a questioning look.


    As if he expected her to read his mind, he asked the question in his head but she delivered.


    "I could sense it too but I wasn''t sure if it was hostile, therefore couldn''t react faster. Sorry."


    Kiro wanted to p his face but held himself. ''Not hostile? Where are we?''


    He didn''t intend to apologise for his blunder. He never asked to be teamed up with them, he didn''t trust them, it was only natural that, that was his first response considering their past deeds.


    "Aren''t you gonna apologise?" A voice sounded at the back, Isaac observed and asked.

 Chapter 295: On A High Horse

    Both Kiro and Hiro gave him looks that could kill. They didn''t quite believe this wasing from him, of all people. After everything he''d made them go through, everything he had yet to apologise for. But here he was, acting righteous.


    They were both ready to cripple the high horse he was riding. The anger they felt burnt through their cores. Just when they thought Isaac had shed his superiorityplex, he goes to show them that old habits die hard.


    "Can you believe the nerve of this guy?" Kiro expressed not wanting to address him directly just yet.


    "Go back in your little corner big guy."


    But it didn''t seem like Isaac was going to back down. His eyes glinted dangerously with a sense of justice. Which made the both of them snort in response, what did Isaac keson know about justice? Read exclusive adventures at m_v-l''-NovelBin


    "Aren''t you supposed to be the better people?" He asked finally breaking the staring contest that they were all ying, unwillingly.


    "Says who? You have no shame!"


    "Come here, I''ll show you better." Kiro wanted to put his hands on him once again, clearly thest time they fought didn''t teach him anything.


    Ursa looked at each of the spectators, hoping they would stop the iing fight. Her gawking was only met with shrugs, as if to say ''we can''t stand in the way of destiny.'' She caused the mess, therefore she should be the one to break off the fight.


    She knew it would prove difficult, she had no idea what prompted Isaac to say what he said. It wasn''t as if he cared for her. She still held a level of disdain for him, she''d been in love with him ever since she could remember and maybe she still was, but he discarded her like she was nothing.


    That fact stung more than anything for her. But she didn''t need him standing up for her when he never did at the moment she needed him the most. She gave him a look of disgust.


    "What?" He asked her before she could say anything to him. "You shouldn''t let anybody treat you like that."


    "Nobody but you, I suppose?" Ursa spoke for the first time.


    Isaac was about to jokingly say yes but could feel the animosity etched into her very being. He shook his head meekly.


    "Funny that you should say no now, you''ve already done. I never asked for you to stand up for me, the second you didn''t back then told me everything I needed to know," she was getting closer to him by the minute.


    "And you know what? It was heartbreaking at first, but I''m actually quite d you abandoned me back then¡ª"


    "I didn''t abandon you." He mumbled more to himself.


    "Speak up, Isaac keson!"


    He closed his eyes and sighed. The way she had said his name, made him feel like he was chewing on stones. He didn''t like it, but he''d created this mess, most of all, he was confident that Ursa would be easily lured back into his life once the incident died out.


    He thought he could say some sweet nothings and he''d be back into her good backs, this was the realisation that struck him. He''d really screwed up with her, badly.


    Even after everything, even after he could admit to himself that he was in the wrong. He couldn''t bring himself to admit that to the others, he couldn''t make himself apologise.


    So he did what he always had done, cut the limb that made the whole limp and walked away from Ursa and the group, intending to go his separate way. But he was met with a surprise, his path was blocked by Kiro.


    He had Ryu at the ready, aiming for his neck but he didn''t attack, not yet. Isaac almost soiled himself, remembering thest time Kiro had tortured him. Killing him over and over until he had to start over his character. That fight almost made him choose a different ss.


    But since he was hot-headed back then, he was set for revenge so he chose the same one. Intending to destroy Kiro in-game with it, make him suffer the same humiliation he had. Though when he saw him next, his hopes of ever catching up were crashed. Even as guardians, there was a clear hierarchical system of strength.


    "You can''t even admit it to your little girlfriend there? You''re as cowardly as ever Isaac," Kiro spat on the ground, showing his disgust for the guy. "We will never get along, you and I, but I promise you, if you walk away right now I''ll be the one hunting you down."


    They didn''t know yet what the consequences were, if they couldn''t defeat a harbinger. He had a feeling that it wouldn''t be pretty. As much as he loathed knowing it, he wasn''t thick headed enough not to admit that they needed everyone here.


    Especially when it came to strategies and formations. They needed as much practice with each other as possible, so that when they encounter a stronger harbinger, like the general, they at least had a fighting chance.


    As much as this bruised his ego, he had to swallow it and act like the leader he had appointed himself to be.


    Isaac didn''t think Kiro was bluffing but he wasn''t sure he cared. He could just quit the game altogether, though he''d tried before, but since bing a guardian, the game was almost irresistible. It was like a drug he needed once in a while.


    He decided to surrender. There would be no point in fighting someone he knew he couldn''t win against, so he just shamefully turned his back and walked back to them.


    Kiro looked at Ursa, for a brief moment, their eyes locked. Even though he was blind in one eye, he could see the tiredness of her real self seeping in, into her character. He couldn''t imagine the hell she''d gone through to please Isaac. So, he gave her a small nod.


    Whether it was acknowledgement or an apology, Ursa couldn''t quite figure that out. But she appreciated it nheless, at least now, he wasn''t treating her as a ghost nobody could see.


    ''System, where the hell are my spectres?'' He asked a little agitated, they could be helping a little by scouting ahead.


    Ding!


    [Hell if I know.]

 Chapter 296: Titans of Prometheus

    Felix watched this drama unfold infront of them with a mixture of disgust and excitement. But the excitement soon waned when he realised Kiro didn''t intend to beat the living hell out of Isaac, just to assert some dominance by making idle threats.


    "We''re not going there." Seeing his face Kiro quickly shut off any hopes he had.


    He wanted more than anything to do it, but if another enemy popped out of nowhere and they were a man down, that would entirely be his fault. He wasn''t prepared to fail a second time as a leader, the wars showed him something against the general.


    As they went on, more imps attempted to disrupt their teamwork and since Kiro couldn''t sense them through vibrations, he wasn''t all that interested. They were also weak, which meant he only needed to do the bare minimum.


    Ever since his one eye went blind, using eyes to sense had been a bit strainuous. He figured he only needed to get used to it, before he could fully take advantage of it all. Though his other sensespensated if he focused hard enough.


    He could hear their little feet scuttling about trying to avoid the mana arrows that were sent their way. Which made him d they had more than one archer. Tried as they did to avoid them, they weren''t fast enough, this was a field day for their archers.


    Just then Kiro got an in-game call and it was Lyle, he snorted not intending to ept his call but identally epted instead of rejecting it.


    "Master! I''m at your base gate, please let me in." He eximed loudly and excitedly.


    At his way of addressing Kiro, everyone there turned to look at him. Those who knew were having augh, those who didn''t gave him judgemental looks. He waved their critical expressions.


    "Know, I told you not to call me that. In any case we aren''t there."


    "You''re in a dungeon aren''t you? Without me?" He pretended to cry, but the hurt wasn''t pretence.


    He still wanted to learn more from Kiro, he thought that he''d consider him when he went to such things of ying monsters.


    "Lyle, you''re a vice guild master, act like one." He whispered through gritted teeth.


    "I know, but.."


    "No time, I''ve got to go," he dropped the call, not giving him a chance to make him promise anything.


    That didn''t stop Lyle. He was quite passionate, he continued to harass Kiro with multiple messages saying a whole lot of nothings.


    "I am gonna beat the sh*t out of that kid when I get out of here." The thought was still fresh on his mind when something disturbed him, he could feel something more than just imps.


    "Something ising, formation!" He yelled.


    "Yes. Master!" After Dark members teased.


    He''d haveughed too if he wasn''t too focused trying to figure out what wasing and in which direction. It seemed to being in all directions, at the same time.


    "An army?" Kiro questioned, not to anyone in particr.


    But it wasn''t an army. Three incredible titans showed themselves, they''d initially thought they were just part of the ground, a couple of mountains but they just awoke as if from a long slumber.


    They weren''t made of rocks, it was most peculiar. They more so resembled giant dying trees, viney and darkened. With an orange colour gleaming behind those viney darkened roots.


    If they had faces they didn''t know, their heads towered over the grey clouds. They were well hidden in that regard, as big as they were, their movements were quite fast.


    "Oh man, we''re in trouble here. From imp to this? Kind of a huge jump isn''t it?" Saanviined not sure if it wouldn''t take a single step to bepletely squashed under these things.


    "Main attack take on the middle one, the rest of you, do what you can."


    Hiro, Ishaan and Isaac quickly formed their three man formation. None of them were sure of what to expect, or how the titans would fight when they were so far up the sky they couldn''t be seen.


    The two archers retreated to their highest points they could reach. Saanvi went with Kiro, while Niki and Felix took on another one.


    The closer they got, the more the ground seemed unstable to stand on. Suddenly, geysers shot up from the ground, forcing them to dance between them, avoiding getting hit.


    Ishaan instinctive put his shield up. The back line didn''t hesitate, as they rained down arrows, albeit giving the titans little to no damage. They soon realised that, their normal arrows would do little to help them. But mana arrows weren''t something to be used rapidly, so they mixed the attacks.


    I suddenly transformed into a beautiful spirit. She called upon them to help her out a little, though this ce was almost devoid of them and they were mostly just fire spirits.


    And these weren''t really her favourites. The way they made her feel extremely dry after she let them intertwine with her body was a sensation she was sure she''d never get used to.


    Though she lost half of her height her strength doubled, making her normal arrows very dangerous. They could inflict the right amount of damage now.


    Kiro smiled slightly, "That''s my girl." He whispered to himself. As he avoided the geyser but barely since he was distracted by what was happening behind them.


    Ursa didn''t want to be beaten, not this time, so she quickly transformed. She was only a centimetre shorter than I but that seemed to make all the difference in the world.


    She didn''t take the game that seriously, not like I did, so she was naturally on the weaker side. This was when she began to take offence, not that she med anyone but herself. Before she knew it, she was in a rivalry with I Silva. A girl she once despised because Isaac was obsessed with her.


    The back line was faring better than the front one. Because of the geysers they had troubles getting closer as close quarterbatants. Kiro used his air steps to get a better look at what they were and possibly inflict as much damage.


    He got there with much difficulty, horror greeted him though as they didn''t have anything. Just necks, just necks and giant bodies. They didn''t take too kindly at him peeking, so a chunk of ice started raining from the clouds.


    While he was busy dodging those, a hand came out of nowhere and swatted him to the ground. He hit it faster than he could use whirlwind to break his fall.


    "That was embarrassing!" Heined, eyes widened when he realised the vibrations he felt were for something else entirely.

 Chapter 297: The Bolt In The Sky

    He may have been too slow to break his fall, but he wasn''t quite ready to be turned into human roast by the geysers that were fast approaching from the deep underground.


    He didn''t think he had time to use his limbs, so a gust of wind was created and it carried him up and away from the danger. As he was pulled away, he was face to face with it. He could feel its intense heat and knew that, those titans weren''t here to y.


    "Holy sh*t, they don''t have any faces!" He screamed.


    "What do you mean?" Niki enquired from the other side.


    "Just that, they''re walking headless bodies. They have no heads, just a weird neck that seemed to be burnt from the top to keep whatever was inside, inside." He exined as best he could.


    "What?" This only served to confused Niki further.


    "They don''t have heads." He said with finality, not willing to say anything more.


    He wasn''t frightened of the thing, he just encountered something really unexpected. The sight took him by surprise, so he was utterly surprised.


    The titans kept the chunks of iceing, only now it seemed they had minds of their own. They also grew wings, with big fangs to go with them. They resembled bats, only icy and much bigger.


    Hiro wasn''t using his axe, he had his shield in front of him. He''d concocted a binding liquid, which he used to clean his shield back then. It wasn''t guaranteed it would work, he let them hit his shield in hopes they will pile up on it, stuck.


    Although it worked, he could feel that it wouldn''t hold them off for very long. There was nothing he could do other than mming his shield on the ground to kill them. But he was hesitant, this was a special item, he didn''t want to give it unnecessary damage.


    It only took but a split second, a mana arrow jerked him out of his train of thought. Surprisingly it didn''tpletely incinerate him and his surroundings, just the targeted enemies.


    "I, that was dangerous!!!" He yelped.


    She grinned in reply not having stopped taking the ones in the sky, a bunch of them at a time. In the form she was in, she could control the arrow down to its particles.


    If something wasn''t the intended target, it wouldn''t harm everyone else. They could''ve been standing side by side, it still would obey. I was very happy with the skill, but sad at the same time that the form drained too much mana so she didn''t have the luxury to be impressed.


    Far in the front of the line, the trio was too close forfort. So much that if anything were to happen, if the titans could drop a skill they hadn''t seen, they''d have difficulties falling back.


    Ishaan had a couple of bites from the bats-like monsters. Every time they sunk their fangs into his hard but soft skin, he felt a numbing effect. Which was quickly banished by a simple heal from mostly Saanvi.


    "The effects of the fangs are close to paralytic effects." He yelled warning his teammates.


    What he hasn''t realised was the fact that none of them were getting bit. Not even the priests. He was the only one who wasn''t a guardian amongst them, and he''d forgotten.


    They didn''t try to correct him, they heeded his warning and made sure that they weren''t bit. Isaac had two weapons, a sword and a staff.


    He only took out the staff when he realised having two weapons on both hands would be much useful. His staff was very simr to those of priests, since he was a battle mage.


    He was embarrassed to be seen working the staff. As that would look like he was copying Kiro. But nobody there paid him any mind, nobody wondered how he used two weapons. They either didn''t care or knew that it had to do with his subss.


    Nheless, he was moving smoothly on the battlefield. Ensuring he didn''t stray too far since he was part of the triangle formation. For some reason, he was taking this more seriously.


    They arrived at the perfect distance to attack the titans. They left the ice creatures to their teammates, and they started attacking indiscriminately.


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    Isaac looked majestic as he swirled in the air, attempting to cut up their tendons but failing miserably. Their skins were too thick, and the sword wasn''t all that great.


    Hiro took out a legendary de and without a word, threw it at Isaac. He caught it and was surprised to realise what it actually was, he had a grateful look. Though Hiro didn''t wish to hear it.


    "Bring it back when done." He said curtly, focusing in front of him. He now has his axe on his hand.


    Isaac nodded briefly and started his strategy again. The de was light yet its blows were very heavy. It didn''t obstruct his movements like the old one he used.


    The archers were aiming for the torsos now. Kiro used air step once more, but this time he remained at torso level. He could feel their hearts working, the blood was flowing keeping these things alive.


    He summoned lightning, the clouds became much greyer, they almost made the entire area dark. Then, lightning descended on the unsuspecting targets. But this did nothing to damage their hard exterior, it only served as entertainment since it tickled them.


    "What''s this god ying at? If it''s not an endless horde, it''s three beings who may just be as powerful as gods. What the hell are we supposed to do in this situation?" He asked the question to himself, nobody could hear hisints.


    Hiro looked up, astonished out of his mind. The minute Kiro''s lightning lit up the skies, he saw something. A lightning bolt roaming the skies. He watched it go from left to right, to almost disappearing and shining back bright like a beacon again.


    Nobody had taught him how to infuse the elements with the things he created, he just thought it''d be a really good boost for the weapons and armours. And he wasn''t wrong.


    "I must have it."

 Chapter 298: The Bolt In The Sky, II

    He examined the light from the ground and it didn''t think he was mistaken. The light was something very special, nothing he''d seen before.


    "Dammit. There''s so much I can do with that. Kiro do you see that?" The craftsman in him couldn''t be hidden, he''d even stopped fighting imagining the perfect weapon that could be produced out of that lightning bolt. Experience tales at m v|l e''-NovelBin


    "Huh? I can make lightning too." Kiroined sensing the excitement in his friend''s voice, he thought, no, he knew that it would be him that would have to go and retrieve it.


    "It''s not the same, no offense buddy."


    Kiro knew it wasn''t the same. The properties that lightning bold was made of, were out of this world. Something he''d only ever seen in that realm, when he entered a graveyard for stars.


    "How the hell am I supposed to catch lightning?" He thought about throwing Ryu right at it but that didn''t work in his mind.


    Hiro threw him a small vial. "There, it''s made of everything that attracts lightning, be careful."


    He caught the vial, looking at his friend with a dumbfounded look. Surely, Hiro didn''t put his trinkets above him, did he?


    "Hey, this will be dangerous." He murmured.


    "You''re a guardian, what are you so scared of?"


    Kiro sighed. His friend was something akin to a mad scientist now, he just wanted to perfect the next big thing. He was sure the lightning wasn''t part of the true blood potion, but he saw something else and wanted to have it.


    He threw Ryu to the skies and jumped on him. He understood what they needed to do, they left the others to fight at the bottom. The titans weren''t going to make it easy for them though, any of them.


    Suddenly, strained elongated arms tried to reach for Kiro. He didn''t even need tomand his staff, with the unlocked power crossing a quarter mark, he could do what any sentient weapon could for its masters.


    They were in sync, Kiro swerved whichever way Ryu went. Avoiding the limbs wasn''t easy, counting all of them, Kiro knew there should''ve been only six but there was much more than that.


    The titans started ignoring those on the ground and focused on Kiro. There was clearly something in the air that they didn''t want him to find, thest time he was up there, they didn''t take so kindly to his distraction.


    ''Feels like I''m riding a broom, like those old wizards in old films. Kinda cool.'' He thought to himself, as both him and his weapon avoided a near the fact attack.


    It was a very strange experience. The things arms seemed to stretch for kilometres, it didn''t matter where Kiro flew to, the hands were right there to grab at him and attack him.


    He wanted to throw the vial into the deepyers of the clouds, but had a bad feeling that, the titans would reach it before the lightning bold did.


    He navigated through the dark, red and sunless sky. Finding the lightning bold proved to be different, he figured he needed to at least see it before attracting it.


    On the ground, Niki had started humming his song of death, before long, the entire area was covered in his whistle of death. He had a much better handle than thest times he''d used it.


    He didn''t need to concentrate very hard for it to only affect his targets. They all watched in awe as the icy winged creatures bust into millions of shiny shards, one at a time.


    ''After Dark was it? They''re very strong.'' Isaac couldn''t help but admire. He was d nobody there could read his thoughts, as this would be a fatal admission if anyone ever found out.


    I had longed turned back into her original self. She was no longer standing on a mountain, but her mana steps. She casually tapped the flute that hung on her side with her middle finger, which made a beautiful unexpected sound.


    This caught the attention of the titan. They divided their hands, the others would go after Kiro while the others would take out the woman in front of them.


    I had a thin smile on her lips. She did multiple backflips in the air to avoid each arm that attempted to throw her off.


    ''Are we really the same race and ss?'' Ursa enquired internally. She was sure that, this wasn''t something she could do.


    Stepping on air was something, but fighting like that while ensuring the air was solid enough to stand on, was something else entirely.


    She moved in a very astute way. She was wearing a half smile and half smirk. The flute was knocked into the air butnded on her back hand and never stopped spinning, then she turned into her palm.


    It quickly touched her lips, she pushed just the right amount of air into it. A beautiful sound buzzed out of it. Because Niki had destroyed the icy bats and since the three titans were solely focused on I and Kiro, the rest on the ground had nothing to do.


    Which was perfect because the melody that came out gripped all of them. I had yet to perfect the seducer ss, she still affected those who weren''t the intended targets. But she was d that, the effects wouldn''t be detrimental for them.


    She continued to y while dodging the many arms that wanted to rip her to tiny shreds. Nobody could miss the fact that, the arms were getting slower by the second.


    "What a goddess, she''s an absolute beast." Kiro said, seemingly the only one who wasn''t affected this time. Clearly spending more time fortifying his mental wasn''t a waste.


    Kiro still stopped to stare. He wasn''t sure which of her he preferred. The silent but deadly or loud but still deadly. This version of her was still fascinating in his eyes.


    He saw a beacon of light at the corner of his eyes, making him turn with the greatest of speeds and approached it fast before opening the vial. A silver light came rushing for him, he didn''t let go of the vial.


    The next thing he was waking up from the ground, still gripping the vial tightly in his hand. The only difference was that, before, the vial was translucent but now, it was filled with a silver liquid like substance.

 Chapter 299: Which Base First?

    He could sense that the titans were no longer hostile. Hiro came running to him, grinning from ear to ear. He thought for a second he was concerned for him, but he snatched the vial examining it closely. His eyes had a light he''d never seen before.


    ''Not even money made him like this.'' He thought to himself, smiling while shaking his head.


    "It''s even better than I anticipated, too bad it''s so small. We should look for more." He beamed.


    The titans no longer moved, they no longer attacked but they were still physically there. Standing still like ancient statues. The lightning bolt was, in a way, their essence. The very thing that made them sentient beings.


    They didn''t know that catching it would cause for this to happen, in Hiro''s greed they found a way to disable the threat that was no doubt going to decimate them.


    "Wow, who knew Hiro was smarter than all of us." Saanvi teased.


    They all shared a goodugh. The alliance between them and the two of their enemies didn''t seem so bad now that they had amon enemy. Kiro wondered if this was the systems n all along.


    There was no way it could have known their life outside the game but Kiro hadn''t exactly hidden his distaste for the two, so he concluded that''s how the system made the decision.


    ''If even the system is forcing us to create a solid team of strong soldiers, I don''t imagine it has any control over harbingers. What are they anyway?'' He asked questions that he knew nobody would answer him, especially not the system.


    Ding!


    [You can rest up for a while, I don''t imagine the king of this mountain is quite done with you yet.]


    At the notification bell, Kiro''s heart leapt. He thought for a second, the system would indulge in his theories but no such thing happened.


    Hiro had brought a stand to roast meat, all they had to do was look for wood. It wasn''t easy, as trees were far and few between. It was the strangest thing, despite the fact that the whole area was on fire, most of the trees were moist and had too much water. Making them unusable for what they wanted.


    "It''s insane, we should have more dry wood instead." Iined.


    "True, but nothing in this ce seems to make any sense. We shouldn''t take it the same as our world." Niki interjected.


    They had conversations like this, looking for the dry ones, they eventually found them. Ishaan volunteered to make the meat, Kiro however rejected his offer before he could make his whole case.


    Thest time they did this, it wasn''t pretty. He promised himself that, never again. He had no idea that Ishaan had been practicing and he''d gotten the hang of cooking. He was dejected by his rejection but understood why, but he also felt a very strong urge to prove himself.


    "Hiro, don''t go out too far. You don''t know what''s lurking behind those shadows and trees." Kiro warned him.


    "I''ll tell you what''s lurking, herbs, everything and anything I''ll ever need. I don''t understand why we need to take a break, we should be gathering." He scolded, picking the herbs in their surroundings.


    The titans were disabled, but he had a bad feeling about them, so he avoided getting any closer to them. At least his erratic behaviour didn''t eradicate his sense of fear. Fear was after all, an important emotion in a warrior.


    Everybody was minding their own business, having dinner cooked by someone Isaac would consider a peasant. Ever since they''d been punished to cook together for their dorm, that one time, Isaac had fallen in love with the lower district''s foods.


    The different, strong tastes were every fascinating. They were overwhelming at first, but after a few spoons, he couldn''t get enough. So, for him, this was a perfect excuse to eat his cooking without ever asking.


    They may have bee guardians in the battlefield and a team, but when that was said and done, they went back to their shells. Isaac sat far from the others, Ursa was the same. I and Saanvi sat together, telling everyone that, they had important guild stuff to discuss.


    That''s why After Dark was seated in their own corner, and that''s why they were able to talk about what they were talking about.


    "We''ve been training for quite some time, I think we''re ready to hit one of their bases." Kiro whispered, asionally looking over his shoulder as though paranoid that they''d be heard.


    "I don''t know...Guns, can we handle them?" Niki was hesitant, which struck everyone with surprise. He was one of the people were ecstatic about their mission, it wasn''t like him to question like this.


    "Why? What are you so scared for? You''re not thinking of withdrawing are you?" Kiro never left his face with his piercing gaze.


    "It''s not like that at all, I just think...I just know that all of you are very important to me, you''re like the family I never had, I''d hate to lose any of you. That''s why...that''s why I want us to bepletely ready." He stated his case, still holding on the meat that was now lukewarm, he wasn''t in the mood for eating.


    "That''s understandable, but we''ve lost too much because of them. All of us. If we don''t take a stand now, then when? Are we ever going to be truly ready?" Kiro was prepared to be the big bad wolf here. It had to be done.


    "He''s right. You can never say you''re truly ready for something. ns often go awry. Plus, the information is over 10 years old, if they aren''t conceited, a lot must''ve changed." Felix chimed in, he was the kind of person that was always ready for some chaos.


    "I want to bet my life that, nothing has changed. That''s just how arrogant these people are, they aren''t scare of anything, they''re so sure that they have our society in the palm of their hands." Kiro retorted.


    Hiro nodded curtly, "then, which are we going to hit first? I just hope my father is alive. I can handle anything else, even if he doesn''t remember me, I just want him to be alive."


    Kiro put his greasy hand on his friend''s shoulder and squeezed. He understood his hopes and wishes. He also hoped his grandfather was alive, but his case was more hopeless. Hiro''s father disappeared a year ago, while its been over ten years for his grandfather. It was looking bleak.


    "We should hit the underground ring first. I''m sure a portion of those kidnapped are taken there, I also think it wouldn''t be heavily guarded like Area fifty one would be."


    "You reckon?" Niki asked.


    "Yes. Think about it, the ring is just used for fights. Area fifty one is a gold mine. Literally. They have people mining over there, it should be more heavily guarded."


    They thought about his reasons and nodded. Ishaan was awfully quiet throughout the conventional, the illusion he suffered back then had put a dirty ck spot on his honour.


    He thought he was ready, he thought he wanted to make things right. But this, this game made him doubt himself. He hated it, more than anything.


    "Ishaan, are you okay? You''re looking rather pale."


    It didn''t help that his skin wasn''t white, yet there he was looking pale. He''d always been vocal about wanting to destroy the sanctum, and now that they were about to do it, he found himself sick to his stomach.


    "Will...Will I have to kill my dad?" His voice came out somber and low, they almost didn''t catch what he was trying to say.


    "Is that what''s eating you? It''s alright. We will avoid killing you guys'' families. Our main goal is to attack the bases and expose them." Read new chapters at m_v-l''e|-NovelBin


    "I will want to kill mine." Niki said, absentmindedly.


    His intrusive thought was met withplete and utter silence. They didn''t judge him though, they understood why he felt so much anger against his father.


    They weren''t ones to judge. The only person who knew what his father deserved was him, Niki ck, his son. The son he abandoned and abused and chased out of the family.


    The son that went through hell because he neglected him. It was a wonder to them that, Niki was still able to smile and love genuinely.


    Most of them came from that pain, they all had their baggage that was too heavy for them to carry around. They were d that they had at least each other, to use as a crutch.


    "Of course. You can have him if that''s your judgement." Kiro told him.


    "It is."


    His mind raced to when he was young, to when his mother was still alive. He never understood why his mother shielded him from the man his father was, but at that moment he understood. She most likely didn''t want him turning into another cruel man that hurt the innocent.


    ''I promise you mum, I will protect the innocent while punishing the guilty.''

 Chapter 300: The Third Obstacle

    "What are you guys whispering about?"


    Their skin almost jumped from their muscles when they heard the sudden interruption. Their necks mechanically turned and it was I no less.


    Abrupt panic jolted within Kiro. He didn''t know how she''d heard and that she was ying dumb. He didn''t know how long she''d been standing there, for all his focus was on their conversation and the fact that Niki dered he''d be killing his father.


    He admitted he should''ve been more vignt as there were outsiders there too, but regret wouldn''t turn back time no matter how much he felt it.


    "It''s rude to sneak on people, what if we''d attacked!" He didn''t know what else to say.


    "Attacked? Yeah right, you should''ve seen your faces. You were so scared you couldn''t even move!"


    They didn''t answer her this time, they were lost for words. She surveyed the area and the mood, it didn''t seem like they were having casual conversation clearly what she disturbed was more serious than that. It was a pity she didn''t hear anything, and she wasn''t trying to.


    "Why are you so¡ª"


    "It''s nothing, did you want something?" Kiro quickly tried to amend.


    Reading her face, he knew she didn''t hear a word of what they were saying. Which also confirmed that, she had just arrived at where they were seated.


    She was now more curious, they were trying hard to hide whatever they had to be secretive about. She wanted to pry, but held her tongue. There was still an awkwardness between her and Kiro, she didn''t want to spend more time than she had to speaking with him.


    "Sorry for the disturbance, but we''re done so we can move." She said in the most professional ent she could muster.


    Kiro wanted to say something else but she didn''t give him the chance as she turned on her hills to join Saanvi at a distance.


    "I screwed up again without knowing it didn''t I? Rtionships seemplicated, why did I want one?" He sighed, giving himself a mental pat on the head, as if to say it''ll be alright.


    "Not really. You just need to be better atmunicating. Girls, they need that." Hiro told him, patting him on the shoulder.


    "You''re an expert all of a sudden? This really sucks." Hemented through gritted teeth. "Anyhow, no time to think of that now. This weekend then?"


    They all nodded in agreement. Their n was to leave the academy on Friday, travel to the upper district. They''d have to carry out the mission on Saturday.


    Now that there was a date to cripple the sanctum, Kiro felt more anxious. This was something he''d wanted to do for a long time, in his previous life he had no power but in this one, in this one he could do more than his past self could.


    He let out a deep long breath, telling himself that it would all work out. They''d definitely seed, but after this, the sanctum may suspect someone was out to get them.


    Which is why he wanted them to wait a while before they attacked another. That would no doubt lull them into a false sense of security, and even assume that the attack was just pure luck. This was something he hoped would happen anyway.


    He was no seer, but with how arrogant the upper echelons were, he was almost certain that this would be their reaction.


    "Well then, let''s go!"


    They walked for quite some time not encountering any monsters. Their only enemy was the seemingly growing heat which made it more difficult to breathe.


    Hiro didn''t seem to notice, as he was too excited with how many legendary they''d collected so far. He had plenty to do trial and error, thereafter stock up to sell. Nobody else shared his ecstatic state. He was more resilient to heat than most, so to him, this was a breeze.


    "It''s like he''s trying to suffocate us before we reach the agreed goal." Nikimented.


    "That''s exactly it, he''s probably thrown everything at us but didn''t think we''d reach this far." Saanvimented thoughtfully.


    Kiro couldn''t believe Saanvi''s naivety. The thing called itself a god and if that was true, which he didn''t doubt it was, it could throw more than just heat and titans at them.


    As if their inanements had been heard, a cold breeze washed over them but only for a second. They enjoyed it nheless, but that one singr moment of relief ended just as quick.


    The breeze hadn''t been alone, it had brought with it a veryrge creature, not asrge as the titans but still, for their size it was something.


    It had the body of a male warrior but the head, something was very wrong with its head.


    "Is that a muzzle?"


    No sooner than he''d asked, it howled. The howl didn''t have a sense of urgency within it, it didn''t seem like it was calling for friends, it looked excited that it would finally be receiving a meal after thousands of years of starving.


    It''s eyes darted from person to person, this was also the first time, since he regressed that he felt like prey. A sense of dread washed all over them. Kiro cursed under his breath, this was most likely the god of this mountain showing them that he was far from being done.


    It''s eyes had a darkness in them that would swallow anyone whose will wasn''t strong enough. Saliva dripped from the corners of its muzzle, revealing razor sharp teeth.


    It had no weapon, just hands that had very long dark ws. They had no doubt that, those would slice up their bodies with no problem. Read new chapters at m_v-l''e|-NovelBin


    "He''s thrown everything at us has he?" Kiro gripped Ryu tightly. He slightly vibrated in return as if tofort him.


    Saanvi didn''t bite, he knew Kiro was taunting her. She''d said what she said, there was no reversing it now.


    Kiro didn''t shout anything this time. He knew whatever formation they chose, it wouldn''t be enough to take this thing down. He was surprised that, hisrades took up the formation without being told.


    This sparked a senseless hope and confidence within him. He felt that if they could withstand this, they could probably take on a harbinger general.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 301: The Third Obstacle, II

    Though, reality was often more maddening than imagination. With imagination you can have everything you want. It was then Kiro felt silly for ever having a speck of hope.


    The creature obviously specialised in speed. He could see his movements clearly thanks to vibrational sense, but blocking and attacking was another matter entirely.


    Even when he could tell where the creature wouldnd, he was still simply to slow tond any attacks on it. It had yet to attack them, like it was ying with its food before it devoured them whole.


    Kiro promised himself to never feel like this a dozen time over. But it seems once in a while, he encounters something that makes him remember hopelessness, and it was a game no less. He took sce in that, that this wasn''t real, it was just a game.


    Out there he wouldn''t feel like this, even if it came knocking he would refuse it. Out there he had a little power, though out there didn''t mean anything now, in the face of this man dog.


    "Do you reckon this is the king or god of this mountain?" Saanvi asked.


    "Please, no more from you." Kiro simply said.


    He knew Saanvi speaking didn''t actualise anything but at that moment, it seemed like her mouth was cursed. He didn''t want to have to deal with this god,  ontop of the monster in front of them.


    Saanvi smiled dryly. A vein popped on her temple. With just that single sentence, she understood what Kiro was trying to convey and she didn''t appreciate it.


    The thing continued to taunt them with its speed. Kiro had brought in lightning, he''d brought in whirlwind, vibrations to stun the thing, absolutely nothing worked.


    I and Ursa originally attacked with mana arrows, even with their enhanced shooting they missed. Nothingnded, so they defaulted back into regr arrows which made no difference. They didn''t want to run out of mana, they figured theirrades wouldn''t do much if the creature decided to taste theiratose bodies.


    "If nothing works, then I guess I''ll go all out."


    Everybody looked at him strangely. They had been doing their best up until this point, now they find out Kiro was not even doing his best. It was something they didn''t want to admit.


    Kiro focused on his essence, within him. He could see it, a thin thread split into three. Out of nowhere, he brought Ryu above him and with much strength hit the ground with the other end.


    Then, Kiro''s doubles appeared. Each with Ryu on their hands. Though they''d seen it before they still gasped in shock, when they did, it was behind a screen, seeing it live was even more amazing.


    In a matter of seconds they couldn''t tell who was the original. The trick was, there was no original or copy. They were all him, they were one thing split into three powerful beings.


    The creature in front of them stopped moving for a while. Watching, wary of the new development but when it realised that they all had the same strength it made a very raspy sound. Which they all assumed wasughter.


    All Kiro''s disappeared from where they were. One appeared where the creature was, he''d obviously dodged to another point but another Kiro was there to wee him with open arms.


    With vibrations, they could almost predict where he''d go next, so when he once again disappeared. He was met with a bending kick from the third Kiro on the other side.


    He flew to the nearby rocks, stopping himself just in time before he crashed into them. He was also on his feet, he touched the spot was kicked at with gentle care, as gentle as ws could do.


    "Hahaha haha. Good. Good. This is exciting. It''s no fun eating meat you didn''t work hard for. Food always tastes better when it''s hunted." The creaturemented, its voice cold and piercing.


    "Oh great. It speaks. What the hell are you guys waiting for? He''s not invincible, I got him once I can do it again." Kiro bellowed.


    This awoken hisrades from a slumber they didn''t know they were in. Arrows flew, Swords nked. Niki moved with the wind, using the the very thinlyyered shadows to move around, hoping to alsond a hit.


    Felix knew this was beyond him so he settled to being a healer this time, which made him angry more than anything. He was stuck with Saanvi under Ishaan''s barrier.


    The people in the triangle formation wouldn''t get much action unless the creature came to them. They didn''t have speed to chase it around, so they simply waited for the opportunity they doubted woulde.


    The only people who went after it hard were the three Kiro''s and Niki. The two people who fought well at close quarters and the people whose speed was more than they could dream of.


    The four of them didn''t just have to catch the creature they also had to dodge the arrows that would miss it and came for them instead.


    Kiro wanted to yell at them to aim better but they didn''t have vibrations, they didn''t have a skill that could let the predict, so he kept it shut.


    The creature was utterly amused, until he wasn''t anymore. Kiro didn''t know what else to do, so he pulled the same strategy and seemed to get him every time. Only this time, a few arrows would reach him and soon after Niki.


    Niki was right in front of it when Kiro sense a change in its vibrations, it was clear to him then, while they were using everything in their arsenal, it wasn''t. Its power quickly rose.


    "Niki, get out of there." He screamed at the top of his lungs.


    The warning would''ve been enough if they were facing something normal, the words got to him sooner but moving was the difficult part.


    The creature swiped its ws, a gash appeared on his chest soon after. It had tore through the armour and through his skin. White and red were visible as he disappeared into another shadow, appearing right next to Kiro then copsing.

 Chapter 302: A Wager

    "F*ck, Niki, are you alright?" He screamed his question not taking his eyes off the enemy.


    The creature in front of him didn''t move. It relished from the fact that its ws had dug deep into flesh, for the first time in a very long time. The blood smelled divine, closing its eyes it took deep calcted breaths, then it did the unthinkable. It brought its ws to its mouth and licked them.


    Its tongue came out more crimson than before, it was performing the act very slowly as if afraid that the moment would disappear and it would''ve all been a dream. Its ws were marinated in not only blood but also bits of Niki''s flesh.


    That was also something it enjoyed apparent, as it chewed like it was the most amazing, premium meat that had ever graced its teeth.


    "Excellent." It growled lowly. "You will do about as well."


    Kiro could feel the power boost it had gotten, a single slip up would mean game over for them, he had no choice but to watch the very disgusting scene in front of him.


    Niki didn''t answer his question, though he grunted. He took that as a yes that only meant he was still alive, and began moving towards their enemy.


    Leaving him at the hands of their healers. They could quickly took him inside the doom. They felt idiotic thinking it would be any safe under there, but it gave them a sense offort. It made them heal in peace, so they started on Niki.


    "You''re an active little one aren''t you? I bet you taste even better. I guess you''re next, the others will just be sheep since they can''t put up a fight against me." It bragged.


    Kiro had a sickening feeling deep within the pits of his stomach. He wanted more than anything to beat this perverted creature impeding their path to the throne room. His stomach dropped however when it disappeared from where he was headed and appeared right in front of him.


    He was still airborne, he had no hopes of turning at that moment. He could see clearly the ws aiming for his stomach, he had great armour and a great constitution. He just wasn''t sure they''d hold up against those.


    Just in the nick of time, two of his other selves appeared side by side and used both of their staff to block the ws from reaching Kiro. Ryu didn''t have a scratch on him, though he vibrated ufortably at the meeting of those ws.


    This was something he''d never done before. It was as if he was warning his master of how much stronger the thing in front of them was, he was scared just ufortable, not wanting to ept yet another defeat.


    That''s when the staff did the unbelievable, he shot out of his master''s hands. Headed straight for the godlike being. All three of them starting fighting, blocking and actually bruising it with the strong strokes.


    "You can control your weapon from afar? Just who the f*ck are you kid?" It growled clearly being challenged by the three Ryu''s, albeit they weren''t doing much damage. Enjoy new adventures from m-v l''e|-NovelBin


    "Just a nobody descended from a certain monkey." Kiro proimed proudly.


    The sky rumbled and lightning stroke Kiro. His entire bodies were covered with it. His very blue eyes were more pronounced because of it.


    The monster couldn''t help but be confused at the promation. The only monkeys it knew were ones it could eat for snacks, not even a full course meal. And it wouldn''t have known, as it wasn''t a god. it still pondered the statement.


    Kiro didn''t waste much time, as all of him appeared at the front, at the back and at the top. Each with a different attack and because the Ryus were distracting, all the attacksnded. He could hear its bones crunch beneath that tough exterior it presented.


    They didn''t stop pounding it until it disappeared from where they were. One of the Kiro''s was however already there, he didn''t get so lucky this time as he received a knee to the gut. Causing him to empty his stomach of the meat he''d had earlier, it was painted in red.


    One of him received internal bleeding. Before the two could arrive, his neck was already snapped, the creature was starting to munch on him when he disappeared from its dangerous clutches.


    "Dammit." It cursed, it was sure the one it had gotten was the real one. "A real neat trick kid."


    It turned just in time to wee them. It was like their previous attacks were all but null, it didn''t seem injured which frustrated Kiro even more. No matter what they did, it didn''t seem to work, but he''d be damned if he gave up now. He didn''t want to be dinner for some low level being.


    "You act so highly, but you''re just sh*t stuck at the bottom of your gods shoe." He began his taunts, hoping that would at least serve as a great distraction, he was sure he could decapitate it given the chance.


    Its expression shocked him. It grinned, revealing its sharp teeth. It had lived for a very long time, stupid taunts would have a better chance working on ants like Kiro, not it.


    "You''ll have to do better than that." It''s smile didn''t leave its muzzle. As it punched the weapons out of the way and went straight for their wielders.


    "Okay, I''ve seen enough."


    The creature skidded into a stop. It wanted to pull the hairs off its head. Because it had failed here, it would be punished for a very long time.


    It and its master had a bet, it was absolutely sure it could do a better job than its brethren, the titans. But Prometheus told it, it was impossible but being the stubborn mule it was, it had ended up in a wager. A wager it had lost.


    The others were petrified by the voice that seemed toe out of nowhere. But they recognised that it was the same one that talked to them at the beginning of this turmoil.


    Kiro was a bit infuriated. Clearly the god of thus mountain was toying with them, using them as some sort of entertainment because he was probably bored. That''s something he didn''t appreciate.


    Though he appreciated being alive, he was d he wasn''t being turned into mush by stomach acid right about now.


    "You cane in, congrattions, against all odds, you''ve made it to the throne room."


    They all walked slowly towards the door that was opened from nowhere. Nobody wanted to be the first one to cross over, as their leader Kiro stilled his racing heart and crossed.


    The other side wasn''t anything amazing. It was just a normal dingy room. Reminding him of his old house, a vein popped at his temple. Surely they didn''te all this way just to enter something so dirty, most of all, where were the rewards?


    "I haven''t used this ce in a while, sorry I wasn''t expecting guests." The voice said.


    Kiro chuckled. ''The hell does he mean not expecting guests? He knew we wereing!''


    "I''ll be honest. I didn''t think you lot would make it this far, my creations have failed me."


    ''Wait, can he actually read my mind?''


    "Yes."


    Kiro tried his best to stop thinking but it didn''t seem to be working. He was thinking all sorts of inappropriate things, like how he wished to beat the sh*t out of Prometheus.


    "I''m Prometheus the god of fire and illusions. I''ll let you ask me one single question and I''ll answer honestly."


    "What are Harbingers?" Kiro''s mouth worked faster than his mind. He couldn''t stop those words from rolling out of his tongue.


    "Hey!!! Shouldn''t we have discussed this first? Howe you get to ask!" Isaac was a little furious.


    Though nobody could believe that it was him that actually spoke up they all agreed. Nobody wanted to be the one who agrees with Isaac though, so they just red at the room, finding it very interesting all of a sudden.


    "Actually, I think it''s more fitting that he gers to ask. He''s the one with the most contribution out of all of you." The voice retorted.


    "Tsk." Was all Isaac managed to say. He wasn''t sure what he''d have asked, but asking about Harbingers was such a waste in his eyes.


    "Let''s see, harbingers? They''re bringers." The voice said proudly with his summarised version of things.


    "That''s it? Bringers of what?" Kiro scratched his head confused.


    "That''s two questions now, and you''ll have to do this all over again to find out."


    He didn''t need to see his face, but he could tell by the tone that it was one of tion and pride. Kiro stopped himself from almost telling it to drop here so he could kick its ass.


    He looked back at hisrades, they had the most fierce and angry expressions on their faces. Except for Hiro, he saw this as an opportunity to collect more herbs.


    "What do you guys say? A few more runs?"


    They all groaned in reply.

 Chapter 303: A Game Of Cat and Mouse

    The only reason they agreed to do it again was because Kiro said they could ask a couple of questions they wanted to ask too. He didn''t know why apart from After Dark they weren''t more curious about harbingers. And that meant running the mountaining a couple of more times to receieve answers.


    They didn''t know it, but the more they repeated the process the stronger they got and the simpler it was getting to the throne room. The game system had deactivated their notification sound, so they wouldn''t know when they level up.


    It figured this was a good thing for them, for Asgard. And wanted to believe that, if they knew how stronger they were getting they''d get too arrogant and cut the training short.


    Although Prometheus could''ve made his monsters much stronger, he waited until they were just strong enough and continued to whip out monsters that were just strong enough to challenge them.


    He wouldn''t admit it, but he enjoyed thepany. Being a god was rather lonely, them keeping oning back made him feel again. It was strange, he never thought he''d miss being a mortal. He gave them vague answers on purpose just to bring them back again.


    Hiro was over the moon, with their every restart, they were met with different kinds of herbs and ore. It was a good thing their storages were limitless, as they could store anything and everything, which is what they did, on Hiro''s orders of course.


    "Holy hell, is that an ancient ranked ore? I could fix my axe and shield with these." Hemented, his hands slightly shaking with something so invaluable on them.


    "Don''t get too hard over materials." Kiro said with with a skeptical usatory smile.


    The others couldn''t hide theirughs, they understood his excitement but he was overly so. He just gave them a wide grin, he couldn''t even be mad at them for that joke.


    They went back and forth slowly trying to get information, not just about the harbingers but also the game. Questions about the game were met with very vague riddles, which none of them could even solve.


    It was frustrating to say the least. "The flow is clogged." Prometheus said one time with the biggest grin they''d ever seen. He''d stopped hiding after a while of the back and forth and they always found him at the door staring at the heavens.


    He wasn''t at all as they expected him to be. They expected a burley man, who exuded manliness. With a beard and muscles, armour and everything, but he was very skinny almost no muscles. With very long blonde hair andpletely white eyes.


    Those milky eyes and his deep thunderous voice were the only reminder to them that he was a god and that they couldn''t just up and attack him as they pleased. He also exuded a kind of energy that wasn''t mana or kaos, something Kiro was sure he''d felt before.


    They didn''t doubt that if he were a real person, he would''ve caused havoc within their society, as even the boys were a bit taken by his very feminine appearance. But they quickly got over it when they realised how cruel and how unforgiving the being was.


    With all the information Prometheus withheld, they managed to find out what harbingers were, and ording to him, the god fire and illusions, they were simply bringers of death. That they were sent by ancient ones to pige the whole of Asgard and some.


    "Then, is the game system in control of them since they''d be considered monsters within Asgard and what of ancient ones? are you one of them?"


    These were their questions, which were met with nothing but riddles that seemed farfetched and didn''t make sense no matter how hard they tried to figure them out.


    So whether or not the game had control over them they didn''t know, it was clearly something Prometheus wasn''t willing to give out. They spent about three restarts trying to get the same answer, but gave up after the third time realising they were only making fools of themselves.


    "How many times are we gonna do this?" Felixined, which was very unlike him.


    "I don''t know." Niki shrugged.


    Even Hiro''s excitement had died down once new herbs and materials stopped appearing and there were just duplicates of things he already had.


    "Can''t we just stop now? I''m tired." Saanviined.


    "Don''t you guys get it? The more we challenge this mountain, the easier it bes. We''re bing stronge!" I argued.


    They couldn''t argue with that, they themselves noticed a change every single time. Though they wondered how that could be when their levels didn''t go up. They concluded there was some kind of glitch within the system.


    Even with the duplicate materials, Hiro couldn''t stop himself from picking them. The craftsman in him didn''t quite allow him to just walk past them without picking them.


    "Say, Ursa, what''s your subss? Everyone has used theirs but not you."


    Ursa''s eyes widened in shock, she never, in a million years did she think Kiro would ever strike a conversation with her first. Now that she wasn''t invisible to them, she wished she was. As all eyes darted between her and Kiro.


    "Probability Maniptor." She answered in a whisper.


    They all had to strain their ears to hear her. It was their turn to stretch their eyes as far as they could reach. Not believing she''d said what she had just said.


    "Excuse me, what?" They said in a chorus.


    "Some stupid ability I can''t even use yet, it''s useless. I can''t use it for anything!"


    She was clearly not someone who was exposed to games. Most of them pped their faces disappointed, it was Probability Maniption after all. With that kind of power on their side, they''d eat harbingers for breakfast.


    "I don''t think you understand the gravity of your power." Niki shook his head in envy.


    The boys all nodded in unison. She was definitely insane to them if she thought this was a useless ability. She seemed confused by it.


    "In the simplest of terms, its like manipting luck. You can lower or raise the probability of something happening in your favour." Hiro tried to exined as simple as he could.


    She nodded in understanding. They challenged the mountain once again, their only goal was for Ursa to actually use it. But s, with all the pressure, she crumbled.


    And before they knew it, they were in front of Prometheus once more.


    "What happens when guardians fail to contain harbingers?"


    "A crack in the realms will widen until the ancient ones can cross over to Asgard and it''ll be more trouble for you than you think."

 Chapter 304: Unexpected Message

    "What did you think he meant?" Hiro asked both to himself and those who were present. The statement wasn''t all that bad, but it felt ominous, so much so it was hard to ignored.


    "Prometheus?" Kiro asked dumbly, not really paying attention.


    Hiro looked at his friend shaking his head, "who else?"


    Kiro shrugged nonchntly. What Prometheus said was very vague, it could have meant a thousand different things and he wasn''t in the mood to mull it over. His focus was entirely on that weekend.


    Compared to that, the game''s riddles and warnings seemed less important. They were dering war on the Sanctum, a notoriously unknown society which ran their country however they wanted. They were challenging it with their real bodies, not in-game avatars. A lot could go wrong.


    That''s what was mainly on his mind. Ways to avoid getting any of his friends killed, he didn''t want to lose any of them, he''d grown too fond of them. But of course, that''s something he wasn''t willing to admit.


    They were walking down the mountain, feeling very aplished. The game finally unlocked the notifications and they came pouring in. They all felt a very big jump in strength. All were now over level 100, even Ishaan.


    Which caused the system to do the unthinkable. They supposed it was finally time for it to let the entire popce of Asgard know that greater and better things were up for grabs, to anyone who was lucky enough.


    [Congrattions to the battle mage, Ishaan, for being the only non guardian yer to cross levels above 100.]


    Ishaan was bright red after hearing that. He''d always been envious of world announcements, and felt some kind of way that he''d never really triggered one. But now that it was happening, he didn''t know whether to hide or feel a sense of pride in his aplishments.


    He froze on his way down, basking in his glory though still embarrassed. Each one of After Dark pat his shoulder as they passed him, as if to say they were proud. That made him a tiny bit emotional and appreciative.


    The doubts he had about taking on his father when he started challenging this mountain were washed away. Reced by a newfound courageous heart.


    He was surprised that, an aplishment in-game made him gain such confidence. He knew how strong guardians were, so to achieve something that hasn''t been achieved by a regr yers put a chip on his shoulder. A chip his friends thought he deserved to have.


    The others who weren''t close to him didn''t understand the emotions he felt, the turmoil that ran rampant within him. Which he defeated right then, he took a long look at the mountain behind him and smiled a little, in his heart he was thanking the god of fire and illusions. He realised then that, this was a good test for him, one he needed.


    To that world announcement, the system didn''t exin further after that. The general public assumed guardians meant some really strong NPCs. They''d only ever seen NPCs with that much levels, that meant to them, this Ishaan was some kind of god.


    When people found out he was actually part of After Dark, it caused a whole lot ofmotions. Anything amazing that happened in the game seemed to be centred around Kiro, Hiro and their mercenary group. Which evoked a lot of skeptics.


    "This is too much, isn''t their luck a bit too much?" Onement read.


    "Luck? I''m convinced they''re using hacks. There''s just no way. I''m ways away from reaching level 100."


    "Yeah. The more you level up the harder it is to reach the next stage without dying. There''s definitely something amiss."


    "This forum is always full of crybabies. You''re really ming others for your own ipetence?"


    "How much did they pay you? lol."


    "Haha, I also wanna get paid to say nice things about them!"


    The reviews were very mixed this time. Not that any of them knew this, they never really checked social media, it wasn''t something they were used to. Kiro especially was taking a break from it, he didn''t like how it sucked him in and made him obsessed with it a bit.


    But even if they were aware, there was only much they could do. Their minds were on something else, something more important than having online wars with strangers. Strangers that were using them of the impossible.


    Thepany that created may have been unknown within their society, but one thing was for sure, hacking Asgard Online was impossible. Many have tried and were met with their stats reset.


    I let out a softughter looking at a small blue window in front of her. "They think you guys are cheating, it''s kind of funny, these arguments."


    Then one by one everyone''s window popped in front of them, except for After Dark. They really didn''t care to join in on the forum wars.


    "Let them think what they want." Felixmented, his annoyance couldn''t be hidden.


    "But, this...shouldn''t you do damage control? After Dark is a business isn''t it?" Saanvi asked with knitted eyebrows.


    "That would make sense wouldn''t it? But I doubt we will need to do that. If anything people will want to align with the hackers to be carried." Niki said sagely.


    Kiro nodded vigorously, "yes. No such thing as bad publicity."


    One thing that frustrated them was the fact that, although the system was eager to nt them here in an instant, bringing them back was a whole other challenge. It refused to answer when they called on it, which forced them to walk back to civilisation together.


    They parted ways once they reached the capital. There were so much materials, Hiro''s shop was teeming with them. He had to beat down a wall connecting to the other room, creating a doorway and a storage room at the same time. He was very satisfied with the result.


    They decided to call it a day and focus more on their mission out there. Hiro, albeit skeptical, agreed. He wanted to spend more time perfecting the potion but he also understood the importance  of their mission.


    When Kiro logged out, his phone had a lot of missed calls and one email from the president of Kismet Inc. Jon Scott.


    "Dear Mr. Waynworth,


    I hope this finds you in good health. I''ve tried calling but there was no answer. I''ve finished the prototype of what we talked about, please get back to me at your earliest convenience."

 Chapter 305: Lessons Learned

    "Huh? Isn''t it way too soon for him to be finished? Aren''t the events progressing rather fast?" He was a bit taken aback by the speed in which everything was going.


    ''Maybe the keson''s had something to do with how slow thepany was in the past? That''s the only viable option. Regardless, this is perfect timing, we can go there under the guise of going to Kismet. Then slip away to the underground ring?''


    He was suddenly in a bad mood when he realised they''d have to ask for the day off on that Friday. And for that to happen, they''d have to ask the dean. The dean seemed like a carefree old man, but at the same time very stern. It was a 50/50 chance, they could either get severely punished or let go.


    A knock at the door dragged him out of his mind. When he opened the door he wasn''t surprised to see all of After Dark, ready to go for another training session. They decided to push themselves, break every limit their bodies had before they had to leave.


    They decided to use the forest behind their dorms. The path they used to get to the second year campus, it was far enough from curious eyes, nobody would catch them there.


    "Come on Ishaan, why are you slower?" Kiro asked with a sinister mocking smile.


    Ishaan looked at up at him with utmost distaste, he was kneeling on the ground. He spat a mouthful of blood.


    "I''m not slower, you''re faster all of a sudden." Heined through gritted teeth.


    "That''s a bad excuse. This is for your own good, this will be dangerous, I don''t want you dying on us." He told him sincerely.


    "I know that," he told him, still very much feeling pressured. "It just feels weird, using my fists."


    "You mean, you need a weapon? I suppose that''s not a bad idea."


    Kiro thought about it, he didn''t feel strange using his fists. He also didn''t understand why Ishaan thought they were faster than usual, each of them besides him. He looked up to Niki to confirm.


    He shrugged, "I don''t know. But weapons are a good idea. I have no connections though, so don''t look at me."


    He didn''t answer and simply climbed up a tree, and dropped a couple of branches on their hands. They were within the academy, so these would have to do.


    "By the way Felix, did you get the email too?"


    "Yes. Though I don''t know when we can."


    "I have an idea." He told him and didn''t exin any further.


    Each of them took a branch, each of them unconsciously crafted weapons they use in-game. They were nothing like the real thing, but they were simr.


    Niki didn''t think much of it before, but now that he was holding two short branches on both of his hands, it felt just right.


    Ishaan made a makeshift sword. The easiest was making a staff, which all three, Kiro, Hiro and Felix made.


    "Do you guys think, the game influenced us, like, the real life us? I mean, with this makeshift staff on my hand, it almost feels like Ryu." He couldn''t take his eyes off the branch, he was almost admiring it.


    "That''s not possible." Niki retorted, though his voice was full of uncertainty.


    Ishaan grinned looking most like himself now. The speed was something he couldn''t do much against, but at least then, he had something to block Kiro''s nasty attacks.


    "Where do you reckon Wilfred learned martial arts anyway?" He made conversation in the middle of the spar.


    "Hell if I know, better focus on this first." He said almost cracking his skull with the branch, luckily he jumped out of the way just in time to avoid it.


    "Dammit. Do you have to be so hard?"


    "We''re walking into a den of fighters, who''ve no doubt killed. They won''t wait for you to catch up to them to attack!" He scolded.


    "Yes, but...they''re...they were kidnapped, surely they will be on our side?" He asked hopefully.


    "We don''t know that. I reckon, getting kidnapped and forced to fight and kill for survival changes people. Let''s not expect any help from them, you hear?"


    He nodded lightly. When the others noticed that Ishaan was getting the hang of it, they joined in. The n was to attack anyone and everyone. All of them could subconsciously think of attacking the same person and they were ordered not to stop by Wilfred.


    He told them, it was a way to teach them the unthinking, the unexpected. A soldier in battle should always be prepared for anything, and never rely on any solid nning.


    Unlike in fictional stories, the battlefield was a very dangerous ce. It was no ce for those who couldn''t follow through with their decisions, no ce for people who can''t think faster than they could move.


    That''s what Wilfred taught them ontop of how to move, how to incapacitate and how to kill an enemy. He scolded them every time, telling them killing should be the absolutest resort. That''s something they were required to scream out loud while he was training them to death.


    And because of that, those three rules were ingrained deeply, not in their minds but in their hearts.


    At first they thought the rules were ridiculous. That they would essentially make them weak, when they couldn''t beat Wilfred however, while ganging up on them. They learned to shut up and take the lessons.


    Which is why the four could be seen going for Ishaan. He couldn''t block them all, he had two hands and a shabby weapon after all, mostly he didn''t have his in-game shield.


    "That''s not fair!" He cried.


    "They''re just branches man."


    "Yeah, alls fair in war." Felix winked at him.


    They continued like this until it was time for dinner. They were all in a sour mood, looking all dishevelled and beaten up.


    Walking into the cafeteria, it seemed there was a bit of a scuffle. When Kiro noticed who was at the centre of it all, he wasn''t surprised.


    "He''ll never change." He scoffed.


    "Actually, those kids started it. And why do you guys look like that?" I''s voice came from behind, almost sending them into aa.


    "Roughhousing." He gave her a toothy grin as they went to sit down.


    ''So I suppose the kids at this school don''t see him as a messiah anymore? I''d feel sorry for him, but it serves him right.''


    "So, when are we seeing the dean?"


    Kiro was fished out of his thoughts and simply grunted at the question.

 Chapter 306: To the Deans Office

    "Okay, we have to be very sure about our story. We shouldn''t lie too much, a bit of truth spread out into a believable story should be enough?"


    They were standing right outside his door, whispering to themselves. It was still very much winter and the winds weren''t so kind to them from where they were standing. Your next journey awaits at m v|l-e''-NovelBin


    "Remind me again, why do we need to apany you guys?" Niki asked.


    "Obviously we have to leave together Friday morning." He answered a bit agitated, this was clearly getting on his nerves.


    The door swung open. The dean was standing right at its frame, his eyes looking from student to student. For a moment, they thought they saw a relieved expression on his face. His tense body slightly rxed too.


    "Are you going to keep whispering outside my door? I have so much work to do. If you have no business with me, get!" He shooed them away.


    "Sir, please, we have business with you."


    He sighed, as if already exhausted by whatever they were going to ask him. They entered the office, unwillingly but they knew it had to be done.


    "Absolutely not. Can''t this be done on Saturday?"


    "It''s important Sir, it cannot be done on Saturday." Kiro said, showing himself the email.


    He read through it rather fast. He was impressed that the young Waynworth cub managed to snatch thepany right under keson''s nose. Seeing the email, his heart softened, but only a little.


    "I don''t see why you need bring an entourage with you, are you trying to get me fired?"


    "Well Sir, I''m sure you know that I was once kidnapped..."


    "And you handled that well." He cut him off.


    "I actually almost died back then. If it wasn''t for Felix I would''ve been a goner. To ensure that it doesn''t happen again, I do need my friends with me. We can protect each other."


    ''He''s a decent liar, his story isn''t too exaggerated but he''s still a greenhorn. I''ve lived so long it doesn''t take much to see through lies, well crafted or not.'' He mused.


    ''There''s definitely more to this than it meets the eye. Did Eldric really leave something to this boy? Is this his first step to a revolt?'' He stopped the smile from forming before they could catch on.


    He cleared his throat, and put on one of his best stern faces and voice. "I could get in trouble for this, if I so much hear that you guys did anything other than this, you will regret it."


    "Does this mean?"


    "Yes, you can have Friday off but I want you back immediately. Monday better not miss the lot of you." He said seriously.


    They couldn''t look relieved yet. They had to keep up the act until they were out of his office. Kiro attempted a smile and uttered his thank yous. They didn''t want to linger, the atmosphere in that office was too thick so they excused themselves.


    ''Better put someone on them, in case.''


    When the door shut, they finally let out sighs of  relief. Now that, that part was done, the only thing left was to train without missing dinner or sses. Everything else rested on their shoulders now, it was a heavy burden but it was one that was shared amongst friends and they were grateful for it.


    "I thought I was gonna choke to death." Ishaan said, having tried to make himself invisible in the room.


    "Yeah, why''s that old man so scary anyway? He exudes a kind of pressure, I could only describe as supernatural." Kiro said thoughtfully.


    "Maybe he''s a god?" Ishaan suggested.


    Causing the others tough and make fun of him for saying something so ridiculous. If gods were real, why would they choose to spend their days babysitting children, was their thoughts. And when they put it like that, it made Ishaan embarrassed.


    "Time for ss, see you twoter."


    They parted ways, running to their sses so as not to bete. They walked in a secondte, which Dr. Ramirez forgave them for, asking them to be better next time.


    "Tardiness at your age isn''t a very good, well respected trait. If you don''t clip its shackles from which it binds you, I''m afraid you won''t make it far in this society." She may have forgiven them, but she made sure to teach them the lesson anyway.


    "And I see you guys have Friday off? Unbelievably shameless!" She shouted.


    ''Already? The dean is fast.''


    They looked at each other surprised, then at their teacher, giving her apologetic smiles. They took their seats and listened to a very boring lesson. The lesson was about the people who invented virtual reality.


    It was obviously something that happened before their time, but books somehow survived the storm their world suffered from and many yearster they were still learning about them.


    Kiro didn''t understand why they had to learn technologies of the past, when their was much more advanced. He didn''t think they had anything to learn from the old people.


    The only reason he didn''t drop out of school was his parents. And the fact that studying this course would make him a great asset to Waynworth Enterprise. So, in a way, he was stuck there.


    "Can''t wait until we learn how to construct our own pods." Hiro said under his breath.


    "Very true, that part seems to be more interesting." Kiro agreed.


    They listened attentively, well as attentively as they could. By the end of the ss they were fatigued. Kiro had been scribbling on his sketch book for quite some time.


    "We''ve done the theory. The next part would be a project. In groups of fives, you''ll sort yourself. The requirement is to construct a gaming pod, it doesn''t have to work, you''ll be graded whether the right parts are used and in the right ces. Good luck." She didn''t wait for them toin, as her heels reached the door before anyone could utter a word.


    Kiro quickly beckoned I and Saanvi to their group. He didn''t want anybody new. The getting to know each other stage wasn''t something he fancied. He much preferred the known.

 Chapter 307 : Passionate To A Fault

    People in their ss looked at their seemingly tight group with envy. Most regretted treating the pair badly now that the tables were turned. If they didn''t talk down to them, they did nothing to stop those who did.


    Trying to get close now would seem insincere at best, so they just watched from afar and tried to be as nice as possible.


    Days came and went, there was a festive kind of mood from Kiro''s ss. Having been made to create their own gaming gear, it made them feel like taking this ss and going to this academy wasn''t a waste of their time.


    Most of the kids that went to the academy were after all well off, they most likely wouldn''t have chosen a career in creating technology for gaming. This was just some kind of business ethics their parents were reinforcing upon them, most of them would just take over their families businesses and live the rest of their lives without worry.


    Though that kind offort wasn''t exactly guaranteed now that Kiro and his friends were nning to do away with the current society. A new hope was burning, far enough nobody felt iting.


    "Really Hiro? Do we need all this equipment? Dr. Ramirez said..."


    "I know what she said, I''ll be damned if I construct anything that doesn''t work."


    The girls were perplexed at how seriously he took this. They wanted to argue some more, but caught Kiro shaking his head, telling them to let him be.


    He was the only one who knew just how much this meant to Hiro. This was one of the things he did with his father after all, his diligence was that, he didn''t want to disappoint him. Wherever he was, whatever he was doing, he wanted to make him proud.


    ''We''re so much alike. Even I, back then, when my parents died, I wiggled and fought to make them proud. Only to fail miserably at the end though.'' A smile he couldn''t stop slipped onto his lips.


    He couldn''t help but admire the simrities. Because even in this life, everything he''d done, everything he will do, all will be for his family. Everything else came second, even if he didn''t want to admit that to himself. They were his first priority, even if it meant he would be fodder for them.


    "Hiro, calm down, this goes here! You know this!" He shouted walking over to their designated workstation.


    "I''m surprised you caught that, but if I really want this to work, then, the cements are just fine." He shot back not looking up once.


    They obviously helped him here and there, but he was very strict so he preferred working on it by himself. They had to pull him back to earth, remind him that it was a group assignment. And they promised he could do the final touches.


    That''s why he was basically redoing almost everything up until Dr. Ramirez came in to assess their work.


    Although she told them not to worry about making the gear work, nobody would hand in something that couldn''t be used. Their egos didn''t quite allow it, everyone had working gear, one way or the other.


    "Since you guys are sopetitive, I''ll grade for a working one," shemented walking around amazed at what she was seeing.


    ''These kids are something else. I''ve never had a dedicated ss such as this one before.''


    The usual ssroom was turned into a workshop. Each ground assigned their own workstation, Dr. Ramirez would go around and they were required to present their work to her.


    She was overall happy with the results. But nobody was happier than Hiro in that room. Their little gadget could actually y games, old games, but games nheless.


    "This very impressive, you guys did all this?"


    "Well yes, until Hiro took it apart and fixed it." Kiro wasn''t trying to be funny.


    But that gained fits ofughter in the ssroom. He just didn''t want to take credit for something Hiro clearly did alone. Though Dr. Ramirez simply gave this a knowing smile.


    It wasn''t her first time running into a very passionate student. She understood how stubborn they could be, so she decided against docking marks from their project.


    "You did very well, all of you. This one is definitely number one though, full marks. Test on Monday."


    It took but a second for that to sink in Kiro''s head. They would be gone the whole weekend, they absolutely had no time to study or anything. If it were theory he wouldn''t have a problem, but practicals were a bit tricky.


    But looking at his friends faces, they weren''t the least bit worried. Hiro excelled in practicals so he had nothing to worry about, he doubted Ishaan was any better than him, so it was a wonder to him that he didn''t appear worried.


    "So, why aren''t you guys not gonna be at the academy on Friday?" I held herself from prying until she couldn''t anymore. Curiosity got the better of her.


    "Oh that. We have a meeting with apany Felix and I are a part of, but sincest didn''t go so well our friends here offered to escort us." He lied nonchntly.


    Hiro shook his head jokingly and silently telling him ''already lying to her.'' Kiro decided to pay him no mind, because he''d have to lie too if Saanvi asked.


    "I see, I guess that makes sense. Can I¡ª"


    "Absolutely not. Do you want your father to have my head should anything go wrong?" He didn''t allow her to finish her thoughts. He knew exactly where she was going with this.


    "I was only going to ask if we could go to the amusement park some time, when you''re free. I didn''t know you felt so strongly against it." She said with a deadpan look.


    "Oh, uh, well, I thought..."


    She walked away. Kiro was absolutely furious with himself. The misunderstandings between them kept on piling up and he didn''t really have the time to attend to them, not that he didn''t think she was important.


    "Dammit!"

 Chapter 308 : Kismet Inc.

    Friday finally came, and they were all on the train to the middle district. Looking very grim as they neared closer and closer to their mission.


    "Oh man, I think I''m having stomach cramps." Hiroined.


    Ishaan was even worse. He''d been to the toilet a couple of times. Training was one thing but going into battle waspletely different. Dread couldn''t help but rattle the boat they had sailed, making them seasick.


    Nobody tried to give a motivational speech because not a single person in that cart didn''t know what had to be done, and they were going to do it, stomach cramps be damned.


    They also paid for a normal cart, they thought it would be more inconspicuous. Thest thing any of them wanted was drawing attention to themselves and what they were trying to do.


    Since they were going for a business meeting first, Kiro explicitly told them they should adorn formal wear and they obliged. Even those who had nothing to do with thepany were looking like smart businessmen.


    Before they knew it, they had stepped foot into the middle district. The pair hadn''t been here since their kidnapping, but they weren''t worried about that right now.


    "Mr. Waynworth, Mr. Felix and their entourage, wee, wee to Kismet." President Jon Scott said, shaking their hands in an exaggerated manner.


    "Thank you for having us Mr. President." Kiro and Felix sung in a chorus.


    "Not a problem, not a problem, I''m the one who asked you here. Please follow me."


    He was very pale from never leaving hisb. The guy was a hermit through and through. It was clear from the untidy unshaven facial hair that he hadn''t had a wink of sleep in a while, so grooming would''ve been thest thing on his mind.


    Entering the building, the vice president gave him an earful that he had met their guests looking like that and apologised on his behalf.


    "I''m very sorry, he''s a genius but also an idiot with zero social etiquette." He slightly bowed apologising.


    Kiro was amused. Felix was a bit bored, the others were uninterested. They were ushered into a huge hall, there were already some board members seated.


    The two entered and the atmospherepletely changed. Theirst encounter remained with them, making them doubt these two were really so young. Naturally, they had gained unimaginable respect.


    "Is it okay if my friends enter with us?"


    "With what happenedst time to you two? Of course please stay together. But they''d have to sign an NDA."


    The three nodded. It wasn''t as if they hade from families of journalists or were hungry for attention that they would post this online for it.


    "These refreshments, have them to your hearts content."Jon Scott told them, tinkering with a screen in front of him.


    "Thank you foring, thank you for investing in our littlepany, believing in me and giving meplete creative freedom to do whatever I please." He started, clearly a speech he''d practised many times.


    He cleared his throat, "Introducing Kiz, an AI that will be anything you wish for," he said showing a little marketing video.


    The video had an advertisement. It was about a guy with a very tight schedule, everything made him unbelievably fatigued until...


    "Get yourself Kiz, I was always tired from before..."


    The scene would warp and another person would show up, this time, a kid that had the AI assist him with homework was over the moon that he''d gotten a passing grade. The AI also acted as a tutor for kids.


    ''Wow, this will be immensely helpful in the lower district. Where parents have to work day and night, and cannot afford to hire tutors for their children.'' Kiro happily thought to himself.


    Unsure why they never introduced this feature back then. Probably something Gilbert keson blocked from happening, Kiro had no doubt in his mind.


    Another person had it installed in their cleaning gear, sitting aroundzyly while it did all the work for her while she sat by the pool sipping what was no doubt alcohol.


    Another scene showed a very fast train passing the screen making it feel like it was right in front of their eyes. It was faster than anything they''d seen. Possibly faster than the jet that was within their society. The ad was a little bit...but they didn''t stop them from being impressed.


    "So it''s truly a one in all." Mr. Oisenmented, greed oozing out of his very being.


    "Yes, Mr. Oisen. We live in a time of great technology, anything of our is connected online one way or another. This should be a great aplishment not just for Kismet Inc but for our country as a whole."


    "I noticed the sensation of watching that speeding train, it was as if, I was there, is this another one of the many things it can do? Making cinema realistic?" Kiro asked.


    President Scott simply nodded, happy someone had caught that little detail. The video eventually came to an end, a thunderous apuse resounded from the room. Making Jon Scott blush, quite a lot.


    He managed to satiate some of their concerns. The biggest being the selling price and when it could possibly go on shelves. Kiro knew it would be expensive, but he spat out his drink when the President told them the potential price for it.


    "Then, isn''t this just catering to the upper district? what about the lower?" He asked, he wasn''t about to have apany that neglected where he came from.


    "Can''t we make the rich pay more while those who can''t afford it pay less?" He asked again, when the president went silent trying to put on his thinking cap.


    "That wouldn''t reflect well on our business, but if we set the price to overcharge them while being lenient to those who are poor could work." He said thoughtfully. "Those who are poor could bring their papers to prove that they couldn''t afford it and they''d be given a huge discount."


    Kiro smiled at the genius idea. But it was quickly wiped away when he heard those who were greedy and so, naturallyined.


    "What are we? a charity case?" It wasn''t Mr. Oisen this time, it was Mrs. Terez.


    "You know, I''d be d to buy you out, name your price?" Kiro spat.


    That shut her right up. The payout would be great, not as great as the ie she would generate once everything was on the market.

 Chapter 309: Armed and Dangerous

    The meeting took a little over a minute. They stayed behind a bit, talking things over, one by one the slipped away until it was just the president, Kiro and his friends.


    "I''m sorry if I''ll be forward here President Scott, but isn''t there a prototype? I really want to try it now." Hiro softly said from the back.


    "I''m afraid it can''t be done yet." He saw the disappointed look in his eyes, he grabbed his hair and pulled it a little bit. "Give it a month, at most." He tried tofort him.


    Kiro walked over to him for a private conversation. He wasn''t certain that it was a good idea to ask, but he slightly trusted the president. He seemed like a very impartial person, he didn''t care about the politics of their world, he just wanted to create.


    And the fact that Kiro''s suggestion of giving a discount to the poor wasn''t met with resistance instead he helped the idea bloom into something amazing.


    "Say President Scott, don''t you tinker with things that, you know, explode or are sharp?" He whispered attempting to ask in a very casual and yful way.


    "That''s a very peculiar thing to be into." He was an awkward man, but he still joked around sometimes.


    This earned a chuckle from Kiro. He didn''t know the President could be yful. He much preferred this side of him.


    "Haha very funny. Well do you, have them?" He asked again not willing to let it go.


    "Why do you want to explode things anyway?" Sighing deeply he asked unconcerned, turning off the the screen in the boardroom.


    "Boys being boys?" His statement was in question form as he made a very weird innocent like face.


    Just as they walked out the door and into the corridor, a girl was standing there. She had tanned skin, dark as night hair with pretty brown eyes.


    "Misha! I told you to wait in my office when you arrive..." He was expecting an answer from her but realised he wouldn''t. "Right."


    "This is my daughter, Misha Scott. She''s only a year younger than you lot. She''s a little shy, doesn''t speak when there are strangers nearby."


    Even before the president introduced her, the resemnce to her father was uncanny. She was too young to be his sister, so they knew right away she must''ve been his daughter. Kiro never took Jon Scott as a romantic, therefore never thought him to be married.


    "Hello Misha, I''m Kiro Waynworth I work with you father." He said from across the hall, he wanted to keep the distance she had put between them, he didn''t want the girl to feel overwhelmed.


    His friends also shouted their names from afar. She was quiet all throughout the introductions, but her eyes were still fixated on one person particr.


    The girls eyes went wide when realisation struck her, as if she was seeing something she never expected to see. Her father never really mentioned it to her, she was more less dumbstruck.


    Of course, like many her age, Kiro was a little known amongst them. So she couldn''t quite believe she was meeting the boy that made headlines at least a couple of times.


    And to make matters worse, her anxiety seemed to spike when she figured out who that was. She wanted to acquaint herself but at the same time, wished for the ground to crack open so she could hide.


    ''Come on stupid mouth, move, say something, tell him you admire him.'' But nothing came out, instead her muddled raging thoughts reflected as a transfixed expression of shock and embarrassment.


    "Okay, honey, you can wait up in my office. I''ll be with my guests a little longer." He said attempting to usher her with his hands.


    Although she couldn''t exactly speak, she shook her hand vigorously. Hoping her dad would understand that she absolutely didn''t want to go anywhere, other than follow them around.


    He wasn''t particrly a fan of letting his daughter  be involved in the business side of things, but figured it would be alright since they were almost her age.


    President Scott turned to his guests, "well then, shall we?" He lead the way.


    He wasn''t nning to turn thepany into arge producer for weapons, he just loved creating things, even if it meant they wouldn''t see the light of day.


    "I call this the armoury, don''t worry, I don''t n to release any of these things here." He opened the door and they were greeted with a veryrge pristine room.


    It had all sorts of weapons, everything they''d never seen, ones they''d seen had been modified into other things. Kiro looked around, so did the others. He couldn''t help but think that these would blow their cover wide open.


    The weapons wererge and conspicuous. They would be very hard to hide. They would only be good if they were going to the ring guns zing, but they needed they of thend first before attacking.


    "Aren''t you afraid someone might break in and steal all those?" Niki couldn''t help but voice his concern.


    "Not really? This building is about to be the most secure in our world in theing day. In any case, what I would be afraid about is the AI being stolen." He nonchnt answered.


    "Well, are you?" Ishaan asked.


    "Not in the slightest. Now, which weapon?"


    "Aren''t you even gonna ask why we want these?" Kiro was a bit taken aback, he''d have lied to him, but he already cooked up a story.


    "I could but then I''d spend my days worrying. So I prefer I didn''t."


    ''What a strange, good man.'' Heplimented internally.


    Misha seemed to be in her element. She was morefortable around guns, which made them question just how Jon Scott raised her.


    "Do you have anything that won''t draw attention? Something easily conceble?" Felix asked, not thinking they could take any of these.


    "These aren''t much but they''re something."


    They all turned surprised at the new voice. She couldn''t keep eye contact with them but she was pointing at a far away table, they all gathered around it to see what she was talking about. Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin


    There were many brilliant baton tasers. They were  foldable, and could fit in the tiniest of pickets. Stretched out they were almost the same height as Kiro. They were also given all kinds of bombs.


    Though they weren''t ones that could turn a building into rabble. Just smoke, sonic and light bombs. They were the size of a nail.


    "These, these will do."

 Chapter 310: Tales From The Ring

    One man and a woman were pitted against each other. They weren''t given any weapons, so they had to be creative about ways in which they could inflict pain and maybe even death upon their opponents.


    "I''m sorry Lil, but I suppose this shall be the end of this miserable life for you." The man said with great confidence.


    "I could always forfeit, but you''re an idiot if you think you have a chance, Zak!" She bellowed, dodging his punch and nting one right on his ribs.


    While Zak grunted at the pain that shot through his entire being, nting itself in each of his cells, he made it a point to get an attack in. The crack he had hearde from within didn''t deter his great resolve to win against Lil.


    His fist raised quickly and hammered down on Lil''s shoulder, her arm immediately went limp with a dislocated shoulder. If the attack inflicted any kind of pain, she didn''t show it. Her expression was absolutely deadpan, she was clearly used to more excruciating pains.


    She instead retreated, falling back to the far ends of the ring. Zak didn''t follow, he was still nursing his fractured or otherwise broken ribs. It wasn''t the first he''d had his ribs broken, Lil always went for them, he''d been through this many a times but the pain wasn''t something he could befriend. It was too much to inflict on a man.


    Lil did the unthinkable, she was clearly a very flexible girl. The way in which she moved, proved that agility was her strong suit, but it surprised everyone when she used her two feet to fix the dislocated shoulder.


    With a very loud pop, she managed to pop the bone back into its right ce. She was breathing a little heavy, their fight had been going on for several minutes. It was almost an hour, anybody who hadsted that long was the diator. Not like he had trouble with the opponent, it was because he enjoyed the torturing.


    Her shoulder was now better than it had been. She ran toward Zak, there was no way he could fix a fractured rib right now during the fight. He previously thought he was used to the pain, but experiencing this made him realise otherwise.


    That didn''t stop Lil though, she jumped up high. Zak made a small movement, a pathetic attempt at getting out of the way. He wasn''t just tired, he was exhausted, he was a bit older so it was only natural.


    Lil wasn''t so merciful, shended on his shoulders and started strangling him using hernky legs. The grip was a monstrosity. Zak tried to grab and pull her off of him, but that didn''t work. It never did.


    For a moment, Zak considered letting her choke him to death. Life in the underground ring was no life for anyone to live. He''d been there for years and nobody has evere to try and rescue them. It was safe to assume nobody knew about the ce.


    He was sure the rich people that came here made sure of the fact that this ce remained a big bad secret of theirs. Every time he would be hopeful, then fall back into the dark abyss of hopelessness. He had no idea how many times he''d given in to death, but death never really took interest in him.


    ''I don''t think dying would be all that bad.'' He thought to himself. ''Death, you c*nt you better make room for me.''


    He could feel his consciousness leaving his body, darkness threatened to embrace him whole. It didn''t feel cold or warm, it felt weing. He wasn''t sure if he were ready anymore, but ''do it now you''ll never be ready'' were words he lived by.


    He reached out a hand, and felt warm liquid dripping on his face. As ast act of defiance, he opened his eyes wide. Only to see Lil crying. It was clear she didn''t want to do this, but at the same time, she respected that Zak wanted to escape their life.


    That didn''t stop her from being sad about it, she tried stopping them. But like a tsunami, it was nature''s call, there was nothing she could do about it.


    They had lost way too many friends in the ring. She wasn''t sure she could remain sane if Zak left too. They were the first batch from 10 years ago, so they''d naturally grown closer being together for so long.


    "You look majestic even when you''re ugly and crying." Zakmented, lightly tapping her thigh to tell them he forfeits.


    Lil quickly got off him. Zak unfortunately had lost much of his oxygen already, so he fell, losing his consciousness all at once. Lil didn''t have the strength to run up to him, but she could see his chest slowly falling and rising asionally so there wouldn''t be any need to do so.


    "Dumbass, pretending like you could beat me." She said tears still welling up.


    She was crying but her heart was feeling warmth. She was d that Zak didn''t leave her alone in this ce, she knew it was selfish but she didn''t want to die, not in this ce anyway. She wanted to see her family onest time.


    For Zak, it was easier to give in because he didn''t leave anything behind. But his bond with Lil was so strong he couldn''t bare to leave her behind.


    This was also the reason they''d never been pitted against the diator. Some of the rich folks got a hard on seeing them fight. It got some of them all excited, that they even imagined them as lovers who were at odds with each other.


    That''s why even though there was no blood sttered, the entire room exploded with cheers. In their eyes, this was the best one yet. They never went so far as to make the other faint.


    "Oh that fantastic!" One man yelled in a high pitched voice, his cheeks were bright red.


    Lil got cuffed, while emergency personnel entered the ring to examine Zak. When they found that he was okay except for a few broken ribs, they made him swallow a liquid and tossed him into his cell.

 Chapter 311: Tales From The Ring, II

    Her back was turned to the bars of her cell. She slowly dropped to a sitting position. Legs slightly shaking. It was only hitting her now that she had almost murdered someone she hoped to go out for drinks with.


    Since she had family outside, or hoped they were still alive, she had to be a little ray of sunshine amidst the madness that they had to endure all throughout those years.


    "Hey idiot, are you awake?" She yelled from across her cell.


    Though her voice was drowned out by the chanting of the crowd. "We want the diator. Our hunger satiator." The chorus was only two lines but it was simple and catchy.


    "Zak! Zak! Don''t you dare die on me! Zak!" The silence the met her cries made her the more paranoid. She couldn''t help but think she probably went too far.


    "Will you shut it?" A deep voice from the other cell sounded.


    "Is that right? Am I disturbing your moment of glory, diator?" She mocked.


    The bars from the other cell rattled, which sent bits of electricity as warning. "Don''t call me that!" He bellowed.


    "Why not? You broke your promise. You weren''t supposed to kill anyone."


    His jaw clenched. Anger coursing through his veins, mixed with bloodlust, Lil could practically smell it.


    They were the oldest there but the diator was the strongest. He could snap them into twigs if he so chose. The sad part about it, he wasn''t always like that.


    Lil remembers clearly when he first came to the ring. He was thin and tall. Although he was in a predicament, the light in his eyes didn''t seem to dwindle, not for anything. He had told them he nned to escape and get back to his family.


    This was also when they made the pact to never kill each other. Something the diator took to heart and was insanely grateful, since he wasn''t much of a fighter.


    But everything changed after a month upon his arrival. The change was most strange, it wasn''t gradual, one minute he was a normal man trying to get back to his family, then he just became a killing machine. The light behind his eyes didn''t exist anymore. There was no reasoning with him, not anymore.


    He lost his outgoing personality and became reserved. The first kill was hard on everyone, regardless of how much they begged for him to stop, he never relented. He was a man on a mission and he intended to see it through.


    This made him the least popr amongst the prisoners, though it made him very popr with the clients that came to watch. He gained privileges the others didn''t have through this.


    Although he wasn''t keen on using them. It was all useless in his eyes. He did enjoy the food, which was first ratepared to what others ate.


    They despised him with every fibre of their bodies. They had started to doubt that he was one of them, someone from the lower district the way he sucked up to their oppressors.


    "You don''t know a damn thing!" He cried.


    He wanted to rip his chest open, so they could see his bleeding heart. He couldn''t talk, not about anything he''d went through. If he tried he would be killed before the thoughts even escaped his lips.


    None of the prisoners knew his suffering. They just knew the product of it. Which was a terror to be reckoned with, nobody wanted to be pitted against the diator, it was a sure death sentence.


    When he arrived here more than a year ago, he was prodded and tested. He was the closest thing they were looking for amongst those who were there, of course there was a chance he could''ve died like many before him.


    But the upper echelons of the ring were willing to take the risk. They couldn''t have possibly create a super killer without involving themselves in some of the most atrocious studies in human history.


    He was the unfortunate one to almost tick every box. They drained him of all emotions, crippling his spirit so it was beyond repairing. The injections also gave him muscles while he maintained his height.


    They were all more amazed when he refused their orders to kill. But promised they''d let him go to his family once he was done here, from then on they didn''t need to tell him twice.


    That''s when they noticed that, they couldn''t truly erase a humans emotions. Especially one that was a strong bond between families.


    Of course the prisoners didn''t know all of that, all they saw was a product of murder. He killed seemingly without remorse, he tortured, everything on the outside seemed like he did emotionlessly.


    They also didn''t know that, with each of his kill, he carves a line in his cell and crosses it. It was his way to pay respects, to show remorse. But he couldn''t express it in words.


    "Let him be Lil, it''s every man for himself in here. He doesn''t owe use anything." Zak sounded very tired from the other side.


    "Are you okay?" She quickly turned the other way when she heard the familiar voice.


    "I''ll live, most importantly you tried to kill me." He teased.


    "Huh? I¡ªI w©\would never..." She blushed.


    He got up grunting, clearly still in pain. "The medicine seems to be working rather slow."


    Lil had a worried expression on her face. It wasn''t the medicine, he was simply getting old. While they were much evolved and had a longer life span and stronger bodies, fighting almost every day had its own effects. Especially those who had been doing for over 10 years.


    "Don''t look at me like Lilias, I''m not dying any time soon." He smiled briskly.


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    The fights in the ring still went on, but the main guy everyone was anticipating had yet to grace their presents. The diator sat far from the bars now.


    He had his elbows rest on his thighs, his hands supporting his head,fortably resting his chin. He waited, he knew this was about the time he went on. And sure enough his cell bars disappeared, signaling for him to get into the ring.


    He slowly got up, sighed deeply and just as he stepped out of the cell, a voice with a name he hadn''t heard for a year called to him.


    "Jin! Kill him!" Lil cried.


    This match was a little special, it was most unusual, but one of the rich volunteered themselves to fight the diator!

 Chapter 312: Tales From The Ring, III

    There was an awkward pause, he looked straight into Lil''s eyes and snorted. Turning his back on her, he couldn''t believe her hypocrisy. She was always against killing, but if it was convenient for her she was clearly all for it.


    Of course Jin wasn''t going to give into her primal needs. He had his self and family to think about, he couldn''t imagine what they''d do to his family if he killed one of them. He''d been selfish all this, why would he stop now.


    "Did that idiot just snort at me, hey!! Dammit!" She was fuming. With Jin ignoring her, it only made matters worse.


    "Lil, calm down will you? You know his situation, no matter how much you want to ignore it." Zak told her sagely.


    "Oh yeah? If he wants to be understood he can say something!"


    Their conversation wasn''t heard, fortunately for them. The crowd drowned out anything that wasn''t cheering for the diator or the rich brat brave enough to enter the ring.


    "No son of mine is a wimp. Come on, go on." The father shouted proudly as his son hesitantly entered the ring.


    Although he''d seen this before, the diator wasn''t exactly allowed to fight with all his strength against other rich people. He was still very nervous going up against a technologically advanced human being, the first of his kind.


    Though he wasn''t allowed to fight with his all he was still required to give them a show. Let a few hits in, make it seem like a real challenge.


    He remembered the first time this was sprung upon. He also saw it as a chance to hit them where it hurt, but that didn''t work well for him. He spent the next days in the hole, with a warning that if he did anything of that sort, his family was at a greater risk.


    That''s also the time hepletely give in to them. If his defiance threatened his family''s wellbeing, it wasn''t worth it in his eyes.


    He stood on the other side, waiting for the boy who walked slowly towards him as if he''d already soiled his pants. When he realised however they the diator was rooted on his spot, he gained a little bit of confidence.


    His steps towards him quickened and when he was close enough, he poured his right hook with all of his being. Jin didn''t even try to get out of the way as it connected with his jaw.


    He didn''t expect for it to pack a punch, he staggered backwards a little. He could taste metal in his mouth, he didn''t expect the force so he didn''t clench hard enough.


    For some reason that got on hisst nerve. He charged the young man, his arms around his face, he spat on the floor before punching him on the nose. He could hear a crack, that satisfied him. But the young man wasn''t impressed.


    "F*ck! My nose, I think its broken! My nose! I''ll have your head for this." He furiously spat. The pain wasn''t anything he was used to, so he said all that in-between sobs.


    It was hard to take him seriously. The crowdughed at his miniscule threats. They understood his anger because he grew up sheltered, he never experience such pain.


    "Come on nowd, it''s just a bloodied nose." His father yelled from the stands.


    He didn''t care to impress his father anymore. It was then that he understood how barbaric the thing he loved the most was, it was certainly better when others engaged in fighting and he watched. Participating wasn''t fun, not at all.


    His threats fell on deaf ears, Jin didn''t stop. He didn''t give him a second to breathe, his fist met with his eye. The crowd would''ve went wild if it wasn''t their own that this thing happened to.


    His eye exploded upon impact. The pain was slower to reach him, so instead of screaming his lungs out, he looked around dumbly trying to ensure the darkness that had embraced his senses was temporary. But no matter what he did he could see nothing through his right eye.


    The crowd was now silent, they didn''t know how to react. The killer they had made was actively mutting someone from the upper district, something he was absolutely forbidden to do.


    Like a cub looking for its mother in a forest infested with predators, a shrill that made the ears of all those present itch sounded from the ring. The pain had caught up with the young man.


    "Do something, stop this!" There was no excitement or joy in the father''s voice any longer. It was reced with inexplicable fear.


    All thise stationed to guard the ce were now running towards the ring. Every other prisoner on there were shouting for Jin to finish him off and quickly before he was stopped.


    He didn''t need to take many steps before he reached the young man, he swerved from left to right connecting his punches on both sides of his ribs. The kid could do nothing but cry, he was now coughing up blood.


    He cursed his father for convincing him to take part in this charade. He wasn''t even a decent fighter by Sanctauri standards, he just took up the challenge to impress his father. And of all the times the puppet killer diator to go rogue, it was when he decided to show off.


    He''d stopped shielding his body, he''d stopped trying to dodge. Then he felt a pain shot up through his spine, he tried to turn but he couldn''t. His legs felt like he was standing on spaghetti, they gave up trying to hold his impossible wait.


    His body fell and went limp on the ground. The guards reached Jin, but he didn''t stop for them. He felt like a different kind of being when they approached him, like he wasn''t all there.


    "Dammit. Hold him down!"


    "I can''t, he''s too¡ªahhhhhhhhh." His arm was ripped from its socket.


    The others ran out of the ring and locked the gate behind them. They were able to buy enough time to get the young man out of there, as for their colleague, they said a silent prayer for him. As he screamed, each one of his limbs getting ripped from his torso.


    "This ce is disgusting." Kiro whispered.


    They were at the very back of the crowd. Hiro had his eyes wide open, it didn''t seem like he was breathing either. Tears trickled down his face.


    "That''s my dad." He said softly.

 Chapter 313: Tales From The Ring, IV

    They left the middle district feeling great and confident about what they were going to do. Instead of leaving the middle district that same Friday, they travelled the next day, to avoid the urge of going home when they reach the upper district.


    It didn''t take long before they entered the upper district. They didn''t want to draw too much attention to themselves and walking would do just that, they instead rented a car under a fake name.


    ording to the texts his grandfather left behind, there were only two entrances to the underground ring. One was directly through the keson building, another was kilometers away from town. Deep underground.


    There were old sewage drains that connected to the underground ring, and they decided that was the best option for them. They couldn''t just walk in through the front door, it''d be too daring and reckless.


    They drove towards the end of the town, parked the car there and carried on, on foot. They decided to leave it there, because a car out of town would''ve been really suspicious to anyone who saw it.


    "Ahh, it reeks." Ishaanined as they pried the sealed tunnel open.


    They didn''t bring tools for this, but the weapons, the batons which the president gave them were strong enough to open the thing. Warm and disgusting air wafted, attacking their every senses.


    "What did you think it''ll be? Breakfast on Christmas morning?" Felix, with his nose wrinkled, giving Ishaan a peculiar questioning look.


    Everybody elseughed a bit. They one by one entered and started walking towards their goals. Despite not being used by their country for many years, the tunnels were moist, they could hear rodents scuttling about.


    Moss was embedded deep within the walls, the stone wasn''t visible anymore. The ground was riddled with very stubborn vines that grew through the concrete ground.


    "Homey." Kiro joked.


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    Though nobodyughed, the darkness left much to be desired. Most of them weren''t scared, but it was still unsettling. The dark was a friend to no one, and the game left a scar or two in their mental. And they didn''t have armours and skills here.


    They had shlights though, but decided to walk a good distance before turning them on, they didn''t want to risk being found out. As expected, Ishaan was the one who was mostly paranoid.


    They walked a good distance and turned on the light, the vines weren''t green as they would''ve expected. They were darkened, maybe because they grew in these darkened tunnels. Within minutes of being inside, they encountered their first obstacle.


    There were simply too many tunnels. Each going to their respective direction, it was unfortunate that his grandfather didn''t draw out the exact map of the underground. Kiro was a little pissed, but d nheless that they had at least the whole day to look through each of them.


    "We can always split up." He suggested.


    "That''s a terrible idea! Tell him guys!" Ishaan countered.


    "I mean, that is a splendid idea, we would cover more ground." Niki said thoughtfully.


    Ishaan was at the brink of tears. Going inside this ce with other people was one thing, investigating it alone was something else entirely.


    "Okay guys, quit teasing him." Hiro said. "We should start with the first one."


    The farther they walked, the less it resembled what they left down there. They could also see train tracks, something that they''d ever seen in history books.


    They must''ve walked for an hour when they stumbled upon a big boulder closing the path tightly. They didn''t want to risk tearing it down lest the whole underground came crashing down, they figured if they didn''t find any other way they''de back here.


    It wasn''t a race against time yet, they still had a whole day and another if it came to that. They could leave on Sunday night if it forced them to.


    One by one they entered the different tunnels, with nothing great but the terrible smell happening. If they weren''t trained, even as evolved humans this would be a hard thing to do within two days.


    "I''m hungry." Ishaanined.


    "Eat the chocte bar then." Niki advised.


    "Man, I''d do anything for roasted chicken." He said dreamily.


    "How can you be thinking about food, in such a disgusting ce?" Kiro asked him, Ishaan seemed less and less of a young master the more he knew him.


    "How can I not? Thest thing we had at yourpany was snacks!" He shot back.


    They were entering their fifth one while arguing about this. Then a foul stench hit their noses like a ton of bricks. It was only Ishaan who was oblivious to what it could be.


    As kids who grew up in the lower district, they knew that distinct rotting smell, they could pick it out from any. Niki and Felix had their fair share of a hard life, they were a little familiar too.


    At first it seemed like another boulder. The closer they got the clearer they could see the mountain of corpses. Some old, some new, some already nothing but bone, some still with flesh that was eaten away by the second.


    "What the f*ck¡ª" Ishaan didn''t get to finish his sentence, as bile made its way to his mouth and he just let it go.


    "I thought your stomach was empty?" Felix teased him. "Why, never seen a rotting corpse before?"


    "Of course I haven''t! What kind of lives have you guys lead¡ª" He was interrupted by another round. It went on until there was nothing but translucent liquiding up.


    "I think we found our way in." Kiro pointed at the small hole that was enough to fit the tallest person in their world.


    Kiro lead the way, with Hiro at his heels. Ishaan was helped to walk by Felix and Niki. They walked for many hours and finally reached a well made underground arena.


    People were making so much noise, their sudden appearance drew no attention. They quickly blended in the back of the crowd. Even as far as they were, they could see well the ruthless fight going on in the ring.


    A very strong and well-built warrior was absolutely destroying a kid that looked to be a few years older than them.


    Hiro stood, transfixed, shocked at what he was seeing. There was no way, there was absolutely no way that was who he thought it was.


    "That''s my dad." He said softly, sound already escaped his ears. He couldn''t hear anything.

 Chapter 314: Tales From The Ring, V

    An ufortable silence fell onto them for a minute. Not because the big hall was quiet, they were hauling every insult at the man in the ring. Despite their noise, despite Hiro speaking softly they heard him clearly.


    And silence just warped around them. The words coiled themselves around their necks nearly choking the life out of them, like a boa constrictor to its prey.


    They expected everything under the sun, but not this. They all looked horrified at the man Hiro called his father. He never talked about him much, so they had no idea he looked so wrong.


    They may not have known what he looked like before, but what was in front of them was something else entirely. He had a resemnce to Hiro, but it was almost all gone. His eyes looked dead and that of a cold-blooded killer.


    It was impossible to fathom because they had met every member of the Misaki family and they were about the nicest people out there, but here was their family head, ripping people''s arms like they were nothing.


    "That''s your¡ª" The word refused toe out of Kiro''s mouth.


    "Father..." Ishaan said with his mouth agape looking at the strange man, who was a bit of a giant no matter how he looked at it.


    "Are you certain?" Niki asked dumbly, not knowing what else to say.


    Hiro silently sobbed. No sound came out, just silent tears carving his bright red cheeks. Kiro was surprised at how good his friend was handling this, until he remembered that, this was how his friend showed anger. Discover exclusive tales on m,v l''e-NovelBin


    Silent but deadly. A storm was brewing within him, he was only petrified because there were many things inside of him at once, emotions and thoughts alike. His brain couldn''t work fast enough to process the mountain that stood in front of him.


    "Hiro, I need you to calm down. Don''t do anything that''s going to draw attention to us." Kiro tried to calm him down.


    He''d never seen what happened when he got truly heated. It was one time he''d seen him like this, back when they arrived at the academy, he managed to calm him then but he wasn''t so sure this time.


    He knew just how much he was asking of him, but rampaging now would not help them or his father. That would only cause their n to go south. He hoped Hiro wouldn''t take it the wrong way.


    He sincerely felt for him. Seeing what they''d done to his father, he was secretly d his grandfather was nowhere to be seen. He had no doubt in his mind that, once upon a time, Hiro''s father was as down to earth as the rest of his family.


    This ce clearly changed him, in his opinion it would change anyone. Being forced to kill people, people who were in the same predicament, people who were kidnapped and enved like he was. He felt sorry for him.


    But whatever he said wasn''t something that registered within Hiro. All sounds were gone in an instant, he felt like he was falling down a bottomless pit. He couldn''t feel himself breathing, he was just, falling. The darkness that threatened to snatch him, frightened him a little.


    But he wanted it, he felt like, he needed it. He reached out his hand to wee it, let it takeover, to let it run rampant and punish anything and anyone. Because the man that was in front of him was but a shell of his father.


    That''s when he felt a squeeze on his shoulder, that jolted him back to reality. He looked back with eyes unseeing because of the tears that filled them, but he could see who it was nheless.


    It was none other than his best friend, the person who''d saved him more than he''d ever count. The person who stood with him through it all, the person who willingly agreed to be his friend.


    "Kiro...what did they do to him?" He asked in-between sobs.


    Kiro was lost for words, he didn''t know what to say nor did he know the answer to that question. He couldn''tfort him with words, so he instead hugged him.


    Knowing there were people in his corner calmed him down a little but he still couldn''t stop the tears from falling.


    "Dammit. They won''t stop." As soon as he wiped them new ones appeared.


    "We''re here to make them pay, and pay they shall."  Kiro said scanning the crowd that was still frantic about the man whom was rebelling, who was now rattling the cage violently.


    "The game..." Hiro let out thinking of something.


    "What about it?" They were all confused as to why he''d mention it, this wasn''t a time to be thinking about games, they wondered whether this was too traumatic for him so he was rambling.


    But Hiro wasn''t rambling, for the first time sinceying his eyes on that man, he was thinking clearly. And this somehow scared him more than anything.


    "Do you think it''s prophetic, the game I mean?"


    They all looked at him funny. They now had no doubt that he was losing his mind. Hiro saw their expressions, he sighed.


    "I mean, remember the first task to enter the capital? I told you my experience within thebyrinth. What I saw as my father then as the closest thing to it now, just like in the game, he''s forgotten himself."


    The thought that the game could tell the future, their future, was exhausting for him, he fell onto the nearest seat. His mind going thousands of kilometers per second. He couldn''t make up an excuse as to why or how the game could''ve predicted this.


    "Must be a coincidence." Felix said in denial.


    "Must be." Kiro agreed with him.


    Their words weren''t convincing to anyone, not even themselves. The game certainly seemed like an entity that was self-aware, it was bone chilling to think about.


    Especially with the strange experiences Kiro has had. Like the space with dead stars, he clearly saw his world then but then again this wasmon knowledge for anyone who lived in their country.


    It didn''t exin the voices he''d hear asionally though, that seemed panicked about something that wasing too early. Now that Hiro said it out loud, it made him realise how strange it all was. He believed his friend but it simply wasn''t the time.


    "Let''s talk about itter, we have cleaning to do."

 Chapter 315: Through The Door

    The revtion took them by surprise, and that exhausted them before they even started causing the havoc they came there for. But they couldn''t grow timid, they were already there, they may aswell exhaust every ounce of it.


    "Okay guys, masks on." Kiro gave the order.


    They each took out a small bug-like gadget, made out of silicone and pressed it on their faces, it sprung to life growingrge covering their whole faces, with two small holes for the eyes. There were no holes for breathing, at first Kiro thought that it would be a problem, but it was surprisingly breathable.


    "President Scott sure ys a lot, what would he have needed these for?" Niki asked dumbfounded, though nobody could read the expression his face carried.


    "Be thankful he''s the man he is, they simply can''t know it is us that are doing this. We don''t want this biting our ass before we''vepletely rendered them incapacitated." Kiro told him nonchntly.


    Their conversation wasn''t in whispers, because of the noise that surrounded them. Even though he shut Niki up with that, he also wondered, just what was President Scott''s game. Someone couldn''t just randomly build weapons unless they were preparing for something.


    His train of thought was disturbed when his eyes fell on Hiro, he was still seated, looking at the man in the ring whom was acting like a feral animal. The sadness in his eyes was immeasurable, he couldn''t see his face but he somehow knew the face he was making.


    "Are you okay buddy?" For some reason he didn''t want to ask, afraid he''d start crying all over again. Something he wouldn''t me him for. He''d probably be worse if it were his own father.


    "I-uh, yeah." He got up from the seat, ready to bring the entire ce down.


    Because they had started this trip with a business meeting, it didn''t dawn to neither of them to pack casual clothes, so they were all in ck suits. Which was great because that meant, they didn''t stand out from the crowd.


    They were about to sneak around when the speaker made a squealing noise, causing the uproar that was about to descend immediately to cease. With everyone covering their ears, the only ones who didn''t were the five.


    "Huh? This acts as protective gear too? Aren''t we just in a game then." Ishaan said excitedly, he could barely contain it. He imagined just what the other things did.


    "Hush!" Felix whispered.


    "Gentlemen, gentlemen..." The voice said through the speaker. He paused, like he knew they''d scramble to act civil like a pack of wild dogs. Anger was still evident on their faces though.


    "Not to worry, the diator will be severely punished for his insurgency. As for all of you, you''re men of status yet acting like degenerates." He continued, showing his disgust through only voice. Which Kiro thought was impressive.


    "Nobody forces the elite to enter the ring, this is something you decided all on your own. If you''re a man, show some responsibility for your own decisions before I drag you out myself by the scruff of your neck."


    The silence was enough. They were clearly scared of the owner of the voice and if they tempted him enough, he would''ve done what he said. They meekly took the reprimand.


    "That''s what I thought, and your son will be fine. Our technology is great after all, now then, send in the dogs." He gave the order.


    The five who had no idea what that may be searched each other for answers, when they couldn''t find any, they scanned the crowd. Neither their expressions nor bodynguages told them anything of value.


    Three men in what looked like war gears walked into the room. Carrying what seemed to be weapons.


    Hiro involuntarily jerked forwards, he couldn''t let it happen. He couldn''t let them take his father away yet again, they''d already robbed him off his sanity, now they wanted his life? Not on his watch.


    "What are you doing?" Kiro naturally stopped him, grabbing him by the arm.


    "They''re gonna kill him, let me go Ki." His voice was cold and unwavering.


    "So your n is to get us all killed?"


    "So I should let him die? What if it were your dad then?" He was fuming, he could barely keep his voice a whisper.


    "I''d probably be standing in your shoes trying to get in there, and you''d be standing in mine, trying to stop me." While it angered him greatly, he had to be the voice of reason.


    He was starting to soften when Ishaan went and said something really dumb considering the situation. He thought it would beforting but he was met with a vicious question instead.


    "I think they won''t go as far as to kill him." Enjoy more content from m-v l''e|-NovelBin


    "You think? This isn''t Asgard Online where gambling with your life means you only lose levels." He spat.


    Ishaan sheepishly retreated. He regretted saying anything, even to him it seemed like Kiro had a handle on things but he just wanted tofort him too.


    "Calm down, we can''t be fighting amongst ourselves, you know he didn''t mean it like that." Kiro was still grabbing his arm, not trusting that his friend wouldn''t run to the ring.


    The men entered, and immediate they were attacked but Jin was just one man. These individuals the voice called ''dogs'' weren''t exactly normal either so they started giving him a good beating.


    "See? There was nothing to panic about gentlemen. We can handle the people we own no matter how strong. Now all we need to do is retrain and tame him." Thatst sentence was uttered with such a sinister tone it made their skin crawl.


    After he was no longer fighting back, they shot the guns which earned audible gasps around the room but they were just tranquillisers. Kiro sighed in relief, he didn''t realise he was holding his breath.


    The crowd exploded in cheers.


    "Let''s go now, through that door."


    They scuttled toward the door, after entering and closing it shut the silence was deafening. It was as if the previous room was something out of their imagination.


    They were greeted by a long hall with many rooms.


    "What are we looking for anyway?" Niki asked.


    "Proof first, then we can find a way to release the prisoners." Kiro told them taking the first step to the unknown.

 Chapter 316: Origins Unknown

    Each of them entered the first room. They considered splitting up, but decided against it. Remembering the burly men that beat up Hiro''s dad. If one of them were caught by them and cornered, they''d have no chance. But together, well, they could try.


    They trusted the training they endured until this point, but they also understood the dangers that could ur, being cautious wasn''t necessarily a bad thing.


    "I guess this is some kind of storage room." Ishaanmented seeing piles upon piles of boxes.


    "You know, I''m surprised at how arrogant they are." Kiro couldn''t help but chuckle at his realisation.


    "What do you mean?" Hiro asked him feeling a little better now that they were away from what they witnessed.


    "We haven''t detected any cameras, the security around here isx. They must really be confident that nobody would ever find this ce."


    Of course Kiro was partially correct, the decision to make it so was sewn to their arrogance but also their caution. They didn''t want anythinging back to them.


    Whether it''s paper or a digital footprint. The less people knew about the underground ring the better it was to maintain its secrecy and so far it had worked for them.


    Though the keson would have a hard time exining why an illegal very den was beneath theirpany building. Even then, it would be easy to make that go away.


    The boxes they were looking through had papers, documents that seemed to be detailing people who live in the lower district. Their lives, homes and families. The work they did, the routine of their daily life.


    They targeted various families, and whichever member was chose had a red circle on their face, something they confirmed because they stumbled upon the Misaki family''s file.


    "Wow, they''ve really thought this through. I can''t believe how organised this all is. Just how sick are these people? Dedicating your whole life spying on people you''re gonna enve?" Niki''s question was rhetorical, he knew exactly how sick. He had his father forparison.


    They all understood his question was just from shock and disgust, that''s why nobody bothered to answer him.


    Kiro took out a pen, clicking it, a red beam ofser came to life and started scanning every documented he pointed it to. This was another prototype of President Scott.


    They came prepared for everything, even bugs entirely made of machine of course, that could crawl on walls and disable any cameras it could detect. And Jon Scott assured them that nothing could hope to escape it''s sharp senses.


    "Kiro, there''s your family too here." Felixmented, dreading his response a little bit.


    He practically flew to where Felix was, it was fortunate he still remembered where they were because even though his strides wererge ones he tried his best not to make any noise.


    "Bastards." He muttered, he was met with his entire family, including his grandfather. There was a rising anger within him, one that reminded him of a reality he wished to forget.


    Strangely enough, none of them were circled. He perused the file, every detail was correct, well as correct as 10 plus years old information could be. But he noticed something peculiar at the bottom of the page.


    "Waynworth origins redacted? What does that even mean?"


    This was something other documents didn''t have. He didn''t even understand why these needed to have the back history of every family they were nning to steal from.


    "Maybe your family''s origins are so deep not even the rich from our society can reach?" Nikimented standing over his shoulder.


    "Deep? Suppose that''s why we lived in poverty my whole life?" He mocked, slightly annoyed.


    If that were true, that meant they were once prestigious just like his grandfather once told him. But he didn''t want that honour. Something that was stripped by notorious rich people in his society wasn''t anything he wanted to reimed. He much preferred creating his own.


    "Maybe you descended from the royalties of the old world we read about?" Ishaan suggested.


    "I think that''d fit the kesons more."


    Theyughed a little, for a moment forgetting where they were and what they came here for then they heard footsteps and something being dragged on the floor.


    Kiro ced his finger on his mouth signaling them to quieten. Silence fell in the room they were in, they strained their ears. The dragging suddenly stopped.


    "Hey, did you hear that?" Something fell with a thud on the other side, they could hear them just outside.


    "Huh? Just keep dragging this idiot. I can''t do this alone." The other was clearly annoyed.


    "I could''ve sworn I heard sounds in there."


    Kiro slowly reached for his inside pocket, taking out the baton taser and extending it. The others followed suit. They crouched down as they did, trying to hide behind the boxes.


    "It was your imagination. Now let''s get this over with."


    "The boss said to always to check whenever something felt amiss."


    The other man audibly groaned. They could now hear the footsteps drawing closer and closer, then the door was opened.


    The other rolled his eyes, he was about to turn when hispanion pointed on some of the open boxes.


    Kiro sighed, showing himself. In their panic they''d forgotten to tidy up, but even if they did remember he doubted they would have had time.


    "Wh-who are you?" The man stuttered.


    One by one, his friends showed themselves. Kiro was much closer, and he acted immediately before they got over their shock.


    He closed the door before they had the chance to run out for reinforcements. He used the baton to hit one of them on the knee as hard as he could, and he heard a crack.


    The man wailed, shooting insults in rapid quick session.


    Niki and Felix lunged at the second one. He blocked their attempt but he was outnumber, as the other three ced their batons on different parts of his body and released an electric charged.


    He fell to the ground immediately, spasming asionally. He was clearly still alive. They looked to the one who was still conscious.


    "You assholes! My boss will have your heads for this."


    "Who''s your boss?"


    The man clenched his teeth as if to say they''d have to beat it out of him if they needed to. Just as he raised his weapon, the door opened which startled everyone that was there.


    A man stood at the door frame, looking anxious. A man they were familiar with.


    "The cook?" They all sang in a chorus surprised.

 Chapter 317: Morals

    They stared at each other for a moment without a word. Kiro didn''t know what to think, his first instinct was that, their school cook was part of this insanity.


    "Don''t be rmed, I''m here to help." He said politely, hoping they would drop their guard.


    "Even if you say it like that, it''s still suspicious. How did you know where to find us?" He asked standing between their acquaintance and his friends.


    "That''s because I followed you from the academy, through the tunnels and into this room. The dean sent me." He saw how rmed they were, lying would only bear animosity. Thest thing he wanted was a brawl against five clearly capable students.


    ''The dean sent him, why?'' Kiro searched his face as if he would be able to tell whether he was lying to make them drop their guard and then attack when they least expected it.


    "In case a repeat of yourst kidnapping happened." He continued.


    "And what exactly were you gonna do to them? Cook for them?" He wasn''t trying to be rude, but he didn''t like that they were found out and tailed so easily without detecting it.


    He had to remind himself once again that he wasn''t in the game, where vibrations would''ve proved useful in this situation. He sighed regretfully.


    "Quite funny, no need to beat yourself up about it. There''s no way you could''ve detected me, I''m a professional in more than just cooking. I''m James Hale by the way." He said without a hint of hesitation. He''d finally listened to the dean and taken his advice.


    "Hale?" He''d memorised all of the ns that were at the front of the sanctum, he wouldn''t miss their disgusting names at their mention.


    "Then, you must know about the sancum and the families that head it."


    They flinched and panicked at how easy he was able to read them. Most of all, this was something they absolutely didn''t discuss outside the game.


    "Don''t be concerned there are no listening ears and seeing eyes in this ce. It''spletely isted from the technology of the outside world. And I''ve abandoned that family a long time ago." He reassured them.


    Niki understood the man in front of him more than anyone. Their stories may vastly differ but it resonated with him a lot. He too abandoned his and was nning to destroy it, though it wasn''t much since it was only his father who was alive.


    "We will talk shortly, we have business with these gentlemen." He stepped forward intending to shock them to death.


    "Why kill them?" James asked a bit sceptical. He wasn''t sure such young kids should have blood on their hands.


    "Why not?" Felix retorted annoyed at the fact that he was looking down on them.


    "Felix is right. If the roles were reversed they''d do much worse, they already are. They don''t deserve to be part of our society, they do nothing but dirty it." It was Hiro who shared his thoughts this time.


    Kiro nodded vigorously at the support of his friends. They knew what they came here for, they wouldn''t let some cook talk them out of it.


    "Are you gonna y god, Kiro Waynworth?" His voice sounding cold and threatening.


    "I suppose I am. If we leave them be, they''d no doubt try their best to get word out that the ring has been breached.


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    "We''re still working in secrecy right now and that''s perfect for us, collecting evidence right now is more important. And I''m willing to y god to ensure that we purge this society of idiots like them.


    "Maybe to you this is crossing the line, morally questionable if you will but I could care less, I''ve longed decided that I would do whatever it takes to clean this society, we all came here prepared to kill. Maybe your morals won''t allow you, but ours do."


    Niki almost pped at the speech Kiro gave. He was d to have met him, someone who won''t judge him when the dayes to kill his dad, nobody in this group of friends judged him for having killed a man before either.


    James looked at Kiro''s very serious and unwavering expression. He''d ever only met Eldric Waynworth once in his life, but those eyes, he''d never mistake the eyes the boy in front of him embodied with his entire being.


    He pinched his nose, knowing there was nothing he could do or say to sway them. He was a cook and a diplomat, trying to talk things out no matter what was something he preferred. In his opinion violence should be thest, the absolutest resort.


    ''Maybe this is ast resort?'' He pondered, their society has been in the clutches of the sanctum for far too long. Maybe a war is something that was needed.


    He knew starting a war over something that can''t be proved wouldn''t be easy. The gathering of evidence on their part was very clever.


    Kiro and his friends were prepared to fight James too if he attempted to get in their way. But he threw his hands in the air, a clear sign of resignation.


    Kiro nodded at the man in appreciation, he turned his back to their enemy, "I''ll ask you one more time, who is your boss?" Kiro asked coldly.


    The man had hoped whoever opened the door was his saviour but the disappointment crashed him. He no longer had any will to fight, he was prepared to die there, having heard what the little brat in front of him said.


    "What would be the point? I''m going to die anyway!" He screamed.


    "Oh, there are worse ways to die. Slow and painful, Felix here specialises in that." As he grinned, the mask stretched with his muscles.


    Felix took a step forward, before he even did anything, the man started talking. If he was going to die, he didn''t want to be tortured.


    "Tsk. No fun."


    Their masks had built in cameras, whatever they saw was recorded. With the fight from earlier, the confession of the worker, they were quite satisfied with what they''ve gathered so far.


    With blunt force to the head, Niki and Kiro took the lead in taking the lead to kill the two men. They nodded to each other signaling it was time to move on.


    "Where to next?" James asked.


    "Preferably the control room."

 Chapter 318: Beneath The Hatch

    "How many rooms has that been now?" Ishaan asked believing they were wasting time.


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    "Seven." Hiro answered nonchntly.


    The hall was a long one, they''ve been in and out of rooms for several minutes. Each room having having more useless garbage they couldn''t use as they went on.


    "I don''t think we will find any other thing, I mean they''ve all been empty so far." He persisted.


    "Can''t know until we try. Besides, we haven''t been caught, what''s the rush?"


    He mumbled something about not wanting to bete for the academy and that they should strike while they were still ahead. Which everybody ignored.


    Kiro didn''t want them to leave any stones unturned, if it took the whole night to go through the rooms, so it must be. Though he admitted to himself he didn''t prefer it that way.


    He believed they needed just one more thing, if they could find just one more, it would end as a perfect raid. James followed behind quietly without giving an opinion orint.


    Although it may have been because he was sulking a bit, because of the interrogative manner in which they asked him any and every question. Some he didn''t always wanted to answer, but again to avoid any fighting he just went with it.


    After deciding they should trust James Hale, they gave him a mask of his own, which he epted, albeit reluctantly.


    They navigated through, finding themselves standing in front of thest door of the corridor. But this door was a bitrge than the other, it was also a lot different.


    "This one is metallic, it seems to have a lock too. Hiro, can you try and open it?" He was the only one he knew that was pretty good withputers.


    "It seems a bitplicated but I can do it." James Hale said atst, walking towards the door.


    "No, stop. One wrong attempt will cause for the door to explode." Hiro warned, his voice sounded solemn, almost reminiscent.


    "Kid, I''ve done this a lot. There''s no lock that I couldn''t open, you only need to bypass it manually." James sounded more confident than he actually was.


    "Yeah, and I''m telling you that''s not going to work. This needs to be hacked not pried open. I know this because, because it''s the work of my dad."


    At thatst sentence, silence fell in the hall. His friends looked away, not willing to get into talking about his dad again. With how awkward everyone suddenly acted, James decided to fall back and let Hiro do his best.


    It was something he hadn''t seen before but he wouldn''t mistake his father''s work for anything. He was the one who helped him every time, they''d be outside their house working on one thing or the other.


    Ever since he was little this was their routine. So much that Hiro picked up the skills and vowed to be like his dad. That''s why he went for VR sciences in the academy.


    He stood in front of the little virtualputer. He took a deep breathe, trying his best to get rid of all the negative emotions he was feeling, trying to focus in the now. When he opened his eyes he had the same look, dwarf Hiro had.


    He started hitting the keyboard with great precision and superhuman speed. Even his friends were shocked at how good he seemed to be at whatever he was doing. They couldn''t hope to understand how he would bypass the first security they''d encountered but they were rooting for him.


    The moment his finger touched the keyboard, a 2 minute timer started counting.


    "Is that, an explosive timer?" Kiro gulped, he believed in Hiro but he was also scared.


    Hiro didn''t bother to answer. He was focused on what he was doing to care about anything else. If he failed, they''d all die, instantaneously.


    Everyone else was not looking at Hiro anymore, they fixed on the ticking time, that seemed to be speeding through the already short minutes. But Hiro seemed rxed and not panicking to them.


    He couldn''t show it to them that he was feeling the pressure. He''d almost cked out while standing there, trying to disarm and open. Clearly his father had learned new tricks, tricks he either gained after he had gone missing or he never really taught him everything.


    He unfortunately couldn''t hide all. His expression temporarily showed the emotions within, and Kiro noticed it by sheer luck.


    "Hiro, you''ve got this, right?"


    "Of course."


    Seeing his friend slightly panicking but keeping it together so that they didn''t panic was something Kiro respected. His fake calmness was contagious, before long Kiro''s heart was stilled.


    "You''ve got this buddy." He encouraged.


    Hiro gave him a faint smile. Only thirty seconds were left on the clock, Ishaan was about to say something extremely stupid, but Kiro''s stares were like threatening daggers, so he swallowed hisints and prepared himself for the death.


    His eyes darted from the clock to the screen every second. And every second he did, it felt like he lost about 10 seconds. Of course it wasn''t so, time really went fast for anyone who wanted it to slow down.


    "Haa! Done with 10 seconds to spare, you''re really something dad." He was sweating a little, he moved away from theputer as the door clicked open.


    His back was supported by the nearby wall, his legs were shaking. They couldn''t support his body, as soon as the pressure left his body, the relief rendered him weak.


    ''Dammit. That was really close.''


    The door opened, the room looked empty, nothing was there. No boxes, no papers, no machines, certainly nothing about how to open the prisons.


    "Wait, there''s just no way!" Niki was shocked.


    "Right? How could the security be tight for an empty room." Ishaan was just as dumbfounded.


    "Look, there''s something in the middle of the room." Felix pointed out.


    They walked closer, with Hiro walking slower than a snail. They stood around the hatch on the floor, they got to work work immediate, prying it open with the limited tools they had.


    It opened within a few tries, their eyes almost dropped from their skulls when they were presented with what was inside.


    The door was small, but the hole seemed a lot spacious. It was dark and damp, it was a wonder though, how they all fit in there.


    "Are those, are those kids?" Ishaan stammered.

 Chapter 319: Zombie Children

    Looking down at the scene beneath them, made their stomachs churn. There must''ve been thousands of kids under there, some lying on top of another because of theck of space. As big as the hole was, it wasn''t meant to house thousands of kids.


    The moment they opened it, unparalleled heat wafted throughout the room. Even at them open the hatch, none of the kids moved or acknowledged their presence.


    "They take kids too? The files didn''t have any..." Hiro trailed off and sighed, everything about this was exhausting and ridiculous.


    The stench that came with the heat from below was something even the kids from the slum weren''t used to. The smell was something else. It seemed they didn''t give these kids baths. Just tossed food from where they were standing from time to time.


    They were clearly underfed with how skinny and sickly they looked. They reminded Kiro of those zombies he''d fought in-game once before, it was a truly terrible sight to witness.


    "Dammit. If they couldn''t take care of all of them, why take them in the first ce?" Ishaan asked subconsciously touching his nose that was hidden by his mask.


    "What you''re trying to understand right now are things that are way beneath human understanding." Kiro said with utmost contempt.


    They''d learned about the little history they could about the old world, and this reminded them of the period of barbarians. Old humans loved wars, even if the enemy was just themselves, killing and stealing wad their favourite pass time.


    The most disturbing thing was that, it didn''t matter if you were a child, if you were old enough to work a weapon you''d be plunged into the battlefield and hope for the best.


    Even though their society loved telling them that they were far evolved, it was apparent that, this part of humanity will remain, primitive, as they liked to call it.


    "What are we going to do?" Hiro asked absentmindedly, he didn''t see a way out for the kids and that stressed him out.


    "Rescue them of course!" Kiro said not having looked at him, surveying the hole and how better to get down there. He was prepared to jump, until James came rushing getting him out of the way and pushing down thedder that was almost invisible.


    "Won''t this jeopardise our mission?" Hiro could truly not see another way, if they died today, the information, everything they knew would be buried with them. That was a scary thought. They couldn''t afford a single mistake.


    "What?" Kiro looked up for the first time, the kids and every prisoner were their mission, so he didn''t quite grasp where Hiro wasing from.


    "There''s thousands of them, can''t exactly guide them through the path we came from." With the mask that hid his face, his expression waspletely unreadable, making his words colder than he intended.


    "That much is obvious, so what?" Kiro could see the expression on his friends face even though it was hidden. "I get that you want to rescue your father but we can''t leave these kids here. What if Isao or Freckles was one of them?"


    Hiro gave him an expression that told him ''that''s not fair.'' Kiro replied with one of his, asking him ''so? what is it gonna be''


    He couldn''t imagine leaving his siblings and his friend''s siblings down there to rot so he yielded. Comforting himself with the fact that, his father would have never been happy if Hiro sacrificed so many lives for him.


    ''Hang in there dad, just a bit longer. I''ming.''


    "Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but how exactly are we transporting so many of them without being seen?" Niki chimed in.


    "I don''t know..." Kiro shrugged, looking around for anything useful, for any doors that could have been hidden in the walls.


    "Then Hiro was right? It''s useless trying to save them!" He cried.


    "No, I was wrong. I shouldn''t have even thought about that. Our goal is to have a better society for them, if I start thinking right now that they''re disposable then I''m not better than my father''s captors." He was feeling more content with himself now.


    Fully prepared to transport these kids to safety, though there wasn''t a way yet, he wanted by all means to try.


    Kiro used thedder James found, to get a closer look. The way the kids looked inhuman, he looked over his shoulder now and then to ensure nothing wasing to attack him from behind.


    Navigating through the stacks of tired and worn out bodies was a mission of its own. The bodiesid lump on the floor, the only sign that they were alive was the slow breath they took at irregr intervals.


    "Anything down there?" James shouted, which earned him a hush from the rest. Remembering how they got caught thest time.


    "Come on guys, this room ispletely soundproofed." He shook his head at how ipete they could be sometimes.


    "No nothing. I don''t think there''s a way out down here, I may have an idea, though I doubt any of you are gonna like it." He shouted at the top of his lungs.


    "We may as well try."


    The others nodded with James'' answer. Having him there made them all feel more secure, whether they wanted to admit that or not.


    "We need to dig a hole through this wall right here. Then insert one of President''s explosive, surely there''s a tunnel on the other side?" He concluded with a question, he wasn''t sure either but it was worth a try.


    "Why won''t we like that idea exactly?" James was confused, so where the others.


    "If I''m wrong, we may explode through a heavily secured room, thus making our presence known?" It was a gamble, but it was the only one.


    "Let''s do it."


    Kiro turned a bit startled the voice was closer, James hade down. It was a mess down here, and they started working.


    Some had to remain at the top in case someone came in. Making a hole in the wall was very difficult without a drill. But it didn''t take them long before it was there.


    Kiro inserted the explosive, then they tried to move the kids that were in front of the wall, as far as the space allowed them.


    Kiro did the honours of pressing the button, a big explosion sounded, sending debris all around the ce. The smoke was in the way, they couldn''t see what was on the other side.

 Chapter 320: Ready For Carnage

    It took a long while for the dust to settle. As zombified as the kids were, they couldn''t stop themselves from entering fits of coughs, they even had enough energy to rub their eyes trying to get rid of the dust filled air.


    They treated it as if it were a bother, not something that was a sign of their freedom. They were very pitiful, but understandable that their spirits were broken. They were kids, they didn''t know any better.


    "Hey, what''s your name?" Kiro pointed at one kid he thought looked strong enough to lead the others out of there.


    He looked up once, then mumbled something that sounded like ''Micah''


    "I know it''s hard, but I''ll need you to do as I say Micah, you have to take everyone out through that tunnel, follow it until you see the outside. Wait for us there." He instructed hoping he would be in his right mind to take the orders in.


    Just then, his phone rang. Electricity zapped through his body when he saw it was I. He contemted.


    "Don''t answer it." Niki warned.


    "She''ll never talk to me again if I don''t." He quickly put his phone on nket mode, meaning everything else but him would be concealed.


    "Hey, what''s up?" He''d hoped she''d forgotten about their previous fight.


    "What''s wrong with you actually, why are you so dirty? Didn''t you go to a work thing?"


    The others stared daggers at him. If looks could kill, he''d have dropped dead a million times over. Although Kiro knew the phone could backfire, he still didn''t want to raise suspicion.


    "President Scott is quite a strange man if you ask me. He took us to an excavation. I''m sure still there, that''s why I disabled most of everything so that thework wouldn''t be affected."


    His friends'' attitude suddenly changed when they realised what he was trying to do. Creating them an alibi incase things went extremely wrong here. They were excavating with Kismet workers, and I calling, made her more or less a witness.


    "That''s really not fair, that sounds really fun." She said sulking a little. She had to stay behind after all, being vice president wasn''t fun either people bothered her with the tiniest of things. Especially because Kiro was almost always nowhere to be found.


    "Digging in dirt? I can assure you it''s no fun." Kiro could see she was in a sour mood, but he didn''t have the luxury of asking what was wrong, and this call turned into a two hour one.


    "We should go to that park next week. How does that sound?" So instead of prying, he gave her something to think about.


    "I''ll think about it." She flushed red.


    "Haha please tell me of your answer. I''ll see you soon, I need to go." His heart was racing three times the normal rate.


    He''d just asked a girl out and it was his first time doing so. He did under these circumstances too, he hoped this wasn''t something akin to a fetish of his. Because although he was nervous, he was able to calmly say what he wanted to say. That was new for him.


    She simply smiled and dropped the call. Kiro breathed in relief. His friends gave a hearty mischievous whistle.


    "I didn''t know you were that smooth." Ishaan started.


    "He''s very stiff usually, I guess my teachings have been getting through somehow." Hiro followed suit.


    "Alright enough with the banter, let''s get back to work." James reminded them.


    They managed to remove some of the ruble, the hole fortunately went through the tunnels something they hoped for.


    "Okay, Micah as I told you, this will be very hard but you''re in charge. Take everyone through that tunnel and don''t forget to wait."


    He didn''t respond at first, as if Kiro''s words reached him slower than a regr person. He slowly nodded, his head bobbed from his neck, making everyone almost burst outughing.


    "Be very careful. Trust nobody but us. I''m Ki, don''t tell anyone alright?"


    He nodded again.


    "I''m Shaan." Ishaan followed introducing himself second.


    "Niko."


    "Fe."


    Hiro understood they were trying to hide their real names and using some kind of nicknames or code names. He was already known by his nickname so it was a bit difficult toe up with something on the spot, though eyes were all on him.


    It was more pressuring the fact that all of his friends seemed to have came here prepared to give fake names. They introduced themselves faster, so much that his silence was met with awkwardness. He felt like, he didn''t get their memo.


    "Saki." He quickly said, taking thest two sybles from his surname.


    James simply said that he was J.


    Kiro knelt before Micah, he didn''t want to meet his eyes so he forcefully held his chin and turned his head.


    "If you do well, you''ll get to go back to your families. This is important." He couldn''t stress it enough how important it was that he didn''t stray from the path.


    Micah mumbled something about being an orphan, or that he was pretty sure most here didn''t have families. Kiro promised to build them a proper orphanage, that brought about tears in little Micah''s eyes.


    It was the first Kiro had seen a hint of emotion in them. They previously didn''t have any light behind them, but this act of kindness from a stranger melted that, if only a little.


    Micah nodded, he beckoned the thousands of kids. They didn''t say anything but formed a line walking towards Micah, who was walking towards the hole.


    "You think they''ll be alright?"


    They watched as thest one disappeared inside the hole. They sighed, relieved that they at least did this one thing right.


    They left the underground, closing the hatch behind them, leaving things as normal as possible so that nobody would be deployed to go after the children.


    "Now what do we do?" James asked, he promised himself he''d take a backseat and just go along for the ride.


    "Well, now? We cause carnage. We bring this ce down."

 Chapter 321: A Commanding Voice

    Gilbert was sitting in his work office. Deep in thought, he hadn''t gone down for a while, he appreciated the break he''d given himself over the week. Trent had volunteered himself to be the one who asionally went down there to foresee and ensure it operated well.


    He wasn''t someone that trusted others so easily, he didn''t know whether it was because Trent raised him or the fact that old age was making him soft but Trent was an individual he trusted the most.


    Initially, only registered kesons could go down there, butlers like him would only go if their master wanted it so. But Gilbert broke that rule and registered Trent so that he would go down there without him.


    If his father knew, he''d be turning on his grave right now and he probably was, but that was of little matter to him. He had his own demons that were threatening everything he''d ever built.


    "Are you sure sir?" Trent asked, thinking his master should take more time. He didn''t want a repeat of him breaking down.


    "That''s quite enough Trent, I''m not a newborn made out of ss." He wore an annoyed expression, he despised it the most when Trent treated him like a child.


    He understood why, he''ll probably always be a child to him but he didn''t have to like it. Something so insignificant always managed to put him in a foul mood.


    Trent was about to reply, saying he may as well have been but was d nheless that the inte interrupted him from uttering those ursed words, he almostmitted a grave sin, he held his tongue and listened.


    "Sir, you have a visitor. Its your son, and some friends..."


    The inte sounded. Gilbert wasn''t in the mood for any of this. He''d tried his best to distance himself from his son, but he just won''t take the hint. Even lying about the death of his mother wasn''t enough to break him away.


    If it was enough, he wouldn''t be here at hispany building, for no reason at all unless he came to take his life which he weed with open arms. He wasn''t suicidal, far from it, he wasn''t ready to die either. But for reasons unknown he''d let his son do him in.


    Something Trent scolded him for on multiple asions. To him, young master Isaac was many things, he didn''t wish him to add murderer to the list. It just wasn''t right.


    "He even came here with some of his followers? How daring." He waspletely amused. He''d told his son not to bother him again, but here he was.


    "Sir, surely you''ve heard? The receptionist called them his friends, no followers. That''s an interesting detail isn''t it?"


    Gilbert paid him no mind, whatever they were he didn''t intend to let them stay for very long, so he decided to meet them at the door of the building.


    "Trent," he turned to see his butler with a very determined face following briskly from behind him. "Nevermind."


    He knew he wouldn''t have been able to sessfully make him stay up here. Some may see this as some sort of rebellion from a mere worker, but Gilbert hade understand his butler.


    He would do anything for his master, even when the master didn''t see the benefit. He would do anything that was in the best interest of his master, while convincing him that this was the best course of action. Of course, he didn''t push too far, like any servant, he knew his ce.


    His first impression of Isaac was that, he looked rxed and much more calm than thest time they spoke. He didn''t bother pondering what would have been the cause.


    It was a shame that Isaac looked nothing like his mother. Gilbert''s father''s genes were ridiculously stronger than that.


    "What is it?" He asked, he was sure he''d done something he needed help with. That''s just the kind of person his son was, always running to daddy after every hup he encountered.


    "Can''t a sone see his father during a school break?" He asked giving him a rather sinister smile, seeing the confused look on his father''s face warmed him.


    Gilbert didn''t like that at all. His expression changed from cold, to something else entirely. He didn''t have time to be babysitting Isaac. Most of all, he knew his son very well, he wasn''t the type to do such things because of nothing.


    "You''re here to waste my time?" It was the deepmanding voice that made him appear as the leader of a pride, Isaac''s yfulness faltered if only a little.


    "If I''m to inherit this ce one day, then I should be learning to ropes more closely, right?" He initially intended to let the yful air simmer for a while but his father''s voice forced his intentions out of him.


    Gilbert searched his son''s face for any dishonesty. Isaac felt utterly andpletely helpless, his father''s piercing gaze made him feel very naked and very seen. He didn''t like that at all. The vulnerability that forced its way out made him sick.


    "Is that right? You have siblings on the way,petition won''t be as easy as when you were an only child." He told him honestly, his voice deepening by the second, as if he was trying to scare him away.


    "I''m willing to put in the work. They''re my younger siblings, I want to be the man they''ll follow around with admiration." Isaac answered, he''d clearly thought about this very carefully.


    Gilbert stopped a smile from forming. It wasn''t pride, but it was something positive he felt towards Isaac. It was something he never thought he''d feel again about anyone.


    "Then, why did you bring your followers here?"


    The air suddenly shifted to awkward.


    "They''re my friends." He announced proudly.


    But to Gilbert, it was one and the same thing. He was about to retorted when his phone rang. It was one of the security people from under them.


    "Sir, there''s been an explosion. We can''t pinpoint the location exactly but it''s fair to assess that, the ring has been breached."


    Little prickles all over his body made themselves known. This wasn''t a good time for the ring to be under attack. This was also a first time, they didn''t really have countermeasures.


    "Trent, let''s go."

 Chapter 322: Besieged

    Kiro made it a point to ask President Scott to secure him a building in the middle district, before anything else. Something that would be big enough to fit all the kids. He agreed without asking questions.


    "The President really is a strange man." Niki couldn''t help butment when he overheard the conversation. Kiro simply shrugged, d he wasn''t the kind to ask questions.


    Their n was to go back to the room where they watch fights and beat everyone there, but s, their explosion didn''t go unnoticed.


    It was fortunate that they had already left the room, and closed the door when a barrage of soldiers came from the front and back in the corridor. They were grateful that, they wouldn''t exactly know which room they came from, giving the kids much needed time.


    "Hey you, you''re trespassing, that''s illegal you know." Shouted one man from the reinforcements, he seemed to have been their leader.


    His eyes looked dead, it was clear he''d killed more than any of them could''ve guessed. He had a strong decent build.


    "Sir, there''s six of them, all wearing masks we can''t tell what their identities are." He mumbled that on his hand. Trent hade down alone, he managed to convince Gilbert to stay up there in case the people who broke in were professionals.


    Looking at their attire, he surmised that they were. He was d his master wasn''t stubborn this time. The six in front of him looked young and strong, he was sure he would die here.


    "Alright. Be careful out there Trent. Come back alive." Gilbert ordered him through the tiny radio they weremunicating through.


    "Yes sir." He answered with confidence and certainty he didn''t have.


    While the boss seemed to be busy giving orders on hisms, James saw this is a chance, "Kiro, I doubt your code name Ki will be difficult to trace back to you." He whispered.


    It was important that they had names that wouldn''te back to bite them in the ass. And Kiro more or less knew this, which is why it didn''t take him long before he blurted out.


    "Perce!" He grinned, he never thought his second name would evere in handy, he was never a fan of it.


    Trent jerked his head away from his wrist at the sound of Kiro shouting something. For a second his heart had frozen, thinking it was a surprise attack. He was d and amused that these people seemed to have manners and honour.


    But this was a wrong interpretation of their actions on his part. Apart from Kiro naming himself anew, they were observing the people that cornered them. Trying to think of ways to break through their encirclement.


    All the soldiers that surrounded them were adorned with an all-ck attire. Some had bats for weapons, some with brass knuckles. Of course it wouldn''t be a fatal fight without sharp weapons, some had knives and short swords.


    It was really fortunate that, none of them carried a gun. They all knew it wasn''t because there was ack of them, they weren''t given much of a choice to ponder these further as their closed in.


    "Well, this is mostly what we came here for. This is what we''ve trained for." Kiro shouted proudly, he then lowered his voice, "let''s give them hell, After Dark, and uh, James, J?"


    James rolled his eyes.


    Thatst line gave them power they didn''t know they had. With their baton tasers out, they all went their different ways, screaming, hoping that they shall return as victors.


    Quickly reaching the front of the line, Kiro used great force swinging the baton which struck one the men, square on the face causing him to momentary copse.


    He didn''t have the luxury of waiting for him, he used his knee to solidify his blow,nding on the man''s jaw. He''d already broken through the first guy but more wereing.


    Between taking kickboxing at school and training with Wilfred, he wasn''t suffering too much. None of them were.


    Niki was using two batons. One on each hand, it was easier than using his fists. Him and Felix were the two of the group with a very solid stamina, given their past. They were also fighting back to back to each other.


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    And they were the only ones, while they''d had countless fights in-game, fighting synchronised, this was a tad bit different, it could get dangerous and fatal really fast. So they decided against fighting together like they usually did in the game.


    Kiro''s long legs flew in the air, kicking several heads. He''d be lying if he said it didn''t sting a little, it was like kicking concrete but he wouldn''t be a man if he didn''t grit his teeth and did it again.


    Just then a knife crossed too close forfort, he saw it in time to slightly move his head out of the way. It was apparent that the man drove the knife too forcefully, so he staggered forwards trying to find his bnce.


    Kiro was still a little bit vengeful, because this guy made him see his life sh before his eyes. As far as he was, he only needed to stretch his alreadynky leg, and nudged the guy who was stumbling on his ass.


    If the man hoped to find some bnce, he was toote now. His head was head straight for the concrete, the only thing that broke his fall was the sound of his neck when his head hit the floor.


    The crack carried itself around the battlefield, it was enough to cause a slight change in the favour of those who had their first kill. It was clear from their reaction that, they weren''t professional soldiers.


    They screamed, yelled and let out anger and sadness for their fallenrade. Kiro wanted to drop dead, it would''ve been better if they were the kind of people that used their friends as meat shields, but this fight wouldn''t be that easy.


    James was facing Trent. For a cook at academy level, he was impressive, holding the upper hand. Though it was clear that, Trent was only suffering because of his old age.


    He narrowly escaped two batons to the neck, as he jumped to the other side he tapped his wrist and screamed orders.


    "Get the diator to the main corridor right now."


    The person on the other end didn''t have time to exin that he was still being retrained but since it was only a few minutes from being finished, he pulled the plug.

 Chapter 323: Reinforcements

    Trent brought his wrist to the mouth once again, "don''t just let the diator in here, tell every prisoner they''ll gain their freedom if they help us here."


    The person on the other side wasn''t too sure, their hesitance to do what they''re asked wasn''t hidden well. So Trent shouted one more, which made them scramble for controls.


    Their only advantage was the fact that they had numbers on their side. With the prisoners fighting alongside them, their win was basically guaranteed, at least that''s what he concluded anyway.


    They were getting their asses handed to them by kids he surmised weren''t much older than Isaac, it was embarrassing to say the least. If it were his prime days, he could''ve handled all these people by himself, but here he was, struggling against just one.


    One that seemed to have an eye for the battlefield, James didn''t appear strong to him but he fought strategically. Using their incordination against them, confusing those who were fighting for the first time in their lives.


    ''I should''ve trained them, I grew too rxed, thinking this ce would never really be found.'' He thought to himself while avoiding one of his men, who was stumbling backwards almost colliding with him.


    He glided forwards trying to catch James off guard, but his seemingly omnipresence saw himing from the very first step he took. His pathetic attempt at a punch was met with a block and a nasty kick to the ribs.


    Nobody could see it but James had a crazed smile on his face, he never thought for a second there''d be something he''d enjoy more than cooking but this was it. He found himself d he took the dean''s advice and joined the fight that had been going on for decades without him ever knowing.


    Just at the corner of his eye something caught his attention, "Fe! Behind you!" James shouted from afar.


    The name in itself sounded weird to everyone there, but Felix seemed to immediately understand that the voice was shouting for him. He was too excited, too immersed that he was leaving himselfpletely open. But his agile nature made him a force to be reckoned with.


    This was another thing that made them shine in the battlefield, the fact they warned each other, the fact that the warning wouldn''t go to waste because the person warned would react fast to parry the dangers.


    Wilfred would''ve been proud, they were his underlings after all and he trained them well. Though he''d show his pride by training them harder, he wasn''t someone who appreciated menial mistakes.


    Felix quickly turned but just his head, he was still dealing with ones in front of him, two were charging him from behind. Instead of attending to them, it was about time to use one of the explosives they''d gotten. He didn''t need to turn this time around, he''d already seen their position, he just threw the little metalic ball to halt their progress.


    They jumped back a little, trying to get away from whatever he threw but when nothing happened they charged in. The moment they got in its vicinity, they could feel gravity failing them. Their bodies felt heavier, they started dropping to the floor.


    Nobody understood why they were screaming their lungs out, begging for Felix to make it stop. Some of theirrades came rushing to help only to be ttened like pancakes as well.


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    The gravity surrounding that one ce didn''t stop increasing, some saw to their consciousness escaping them, some soiled their pants. Those who were a bit resilient made unbelievable shrills.


    They couldn''t help it, their skin was tearing from flesh and muscles, their bones were breaking. Everyone in the room had stopped fighting, watching closely but very far from the spot.


    Trent watched this nightmare unfold in front of him, eyes wide open with fear he''d never known his entire life. The only thing on his mind now, was how to escape and hopefully take the kesons out of the building above them.


    He couldn''t imagine what otherworldly technology these people had, it would be pretty stupid if he fought something he knew nothing about.


    Though he noticed the bodynguage of their enemies, their demeanor showed him that they were just as surprised, as if they had no idea that would happen.


    Hisrades were now nothing but liquid of flesh, blood and bones. Their eyes had fallen off their skulls, their screams were heard no more. Unbelievable silence gued the corridor.


    "What the f*ck, the President is absolutely crazy!" Felix shouted breaking the unnerving silence, "but I like it!!"


    The others could do nothing but nod in agreement. He''d given them a really big edge. Now they wondered what else were these explosives capable of, they didn''t know whether it was appropriate to call them that though.


    "You, demons, what have you done!" Trent found his voice, Felix''s shouting woke him up from his involuntary slumber.


    "Us? Demons? You''re the one to talk, old man." Kiro said as he unfastened the tie that threatened to strangle him. "Whose bright idea was it that we wore suits?" He turned away from the hypocrite that called them demons.


    "You seem to have forgotten that it was you two who made us wear these because you had a business thing." Niki shot back, unbuttoning some of his shirt buttons.


    They''dpletely destroyed their enemies by now, Trent was left with less than five people on his side even they weren''t in great shape.


    "You call us demons, but what of the atrocities that you peoplemit in our country? Did you think they''d go unpunished, do you think we aren''t watching?" Ishaan surprised everyone, he sounded nothing like the sweet, forever wavering boy.


    "Just, who are you? why now?" Trent''s trembling voice couldn''t be contained as hard as he tried. He wasn''t fearing for himself, he was a loyal dog to the end, he just wanted his master to be out of this ce.


    "Who are we? That''s a good question. We are insurgency, an uprising that will destroy the monarch the rich have created." Kiro answered when nobody else was.


    "Are you sure about that?" A deep voice sounded from down the corridor.


    Their heavy footsteps carried great weight, everyone could feel it. He was close, now, with an army behind him. It was the diator, Jin Misaki, Hiro''s father.

 Chapter 324: Two Sides, Similar Goals

    Hiro didn''t know who had talked until he turned around to see his own father starring them down. His voice was deeper than he remembered, it also had a tinge of coldness that was very new for him.


    The prisoners all wore expressions that could kill. You could see it in their eyes, they were all hungry, different starvation but one nheless. Some licked their lips wanting to kill, some were ready to do the same for their freedom.


    Hiro couldn''t recognise the man standing before him anymore, his kind eyes were no longer there. He just looked like a tired warrior, one that''s fought thousands of battles not wanting to give and one that''s killed thousands of enemies.


    That''s one thing he didn''t want to think about, his father being a senseless killer. But he still wanted to save him, deep down inside of him, he didn''t want to lose hope that he could still be saved.


    It wasn''t intentional, but his feet carried him forward, towards his father. He hadn''t uttered the words ''dad'' yet when he felt hands yank him back by the scruff of his neck.


    He fell behind the person.


    "What''s the big idea¡ª" He swallowed his words when he noticed that, in his dreamlike state of walking towards an enemy, they''d already attacked.


    Kiro had saved him, he was blocking the man''s arm but he was clearly outmatched. His strength was monstrous, he was somehow holding his own but it was clearly hard as his knees were fully bent under the monster that would kill him without a seconds thought.


    "There''s no time for sentimentality, I know what I''m saying is hypocrital but Hiro, he is different. He''s clearly killed many people, don''t put his blood on your hands too." He managed to say with much difficulty.


    "Shut up! I know, okay? I know, but..."


    "I know alright, just try your best not to get killed by him. Imagine his horror if he realises he''d killed one of the very people he''d been fighting to get to?" He tried to reason, he knew it''d be hard reasoning with emotions but he hoped his friend would see his point, even if a little.


    Hiro didn''t need to think about it, he knew his friend was right but it wasn''t so easy to just fight your own father, trying your best not to get killed by him and if he was honest with himself, he didn''t want to kill him either.


    For a moment, he considered taking off his mask maybe his face would remind him of what he had yet to lose. But he managed to shoot down that idea quickly, that would put not just him in danger, his friends, his family and their families.


    He quickly got up, running towards his friend with his baton out. He ced it ontop of Kiro''s. They used theirbined strength to push Jin back.


    Trent had a huge smile on his face, their odds looked great but he didn''t want to stay here to find out. He figured the ring was already done for at this point, all they needed to do was damage control.


    It''d be easier tobel the group in front of them as terrorists who came to attack the kesonpany building. They already had bombs that could minor damage to the building to sell the story, the underground ring would obviously get buried, that was a win-win for them to the public''s eye.


    "As you''ve heard fighters, kill these guys and your freedom ispletely yours. They''re a terrorist group that has infiltrated this ring to take you guys as ves." He said with a sinister smile.


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    Of course his goal was to slip away while they fought, once he got to the building above, he''ll evacuate only the important people and set off the explosives. He didn''t intend to give any of them their freedom, they were only there to buy the kesons time to escape.


    Niki burst outughing, all eyes were on him now. Trent didn''t appreciate the interruption, but the story was so ridiculous to Niki that theughter came out as a reflex.


    "Us? Terrorist vers? Surely this lot isn''t going to believe that?" He finished pointing at the crowd before them.


    He was clearly very wrong because most of them looked at him like he was the evil that put them there in the first ce.


    "Why have youe then?" Lil asked, her voice small but confident.


    "To put a stop to this madness of course. This is but the beginning of the sanctum''s fall." Ishaan answered, annoyed that their good intentions were being twisted.


    "We''re supposed to believe that?" Zak snorted, he''d been a ve for ten odd years, he''d seen it all.


    "Look old man, believe what you want, we don''t have time to dilly-dally. Our only goal is to destroy the ring, don''t stand in our way." Kiro said pointing his weapon right at him.


    After thest reveal of what the President''s toys could do, he was a little confident. He didn''t want to be one of those people who killed innocents to move for a better world, but if it was necessary, if it was needed, it could be done.


    "We only ask you don''t stand in our way. Our target are the kesons who have been kidnapping and keeping you enved in this ce." James gave his piece.


    "Okay then, I''ll fight with you." Lil said, the story Trent had given them sounded off to her.


    "Lilian you idiot,e back here." Zak scolded her.


    "Think about it Zak, we''re doomed either way. I won''t believe someone who has kept me in this ce for ten years." She said breaking away from the initial group, to join the other side.


    Zak sighed. He was hesitant, but he walked to where Lil was. They''d been together all this time, he didn''t want their possiblest time alive fighting against each other.


    "Jin, don''t be an idiot, I know what they''d done to you so you don''t have to fight for them anymore." Lil voiced her thoughts once again.


    Hiro''s heart skipped a beat at the mention of his father''s name by strangers. This is also when it sunk in that this was truly the man whom he looked up to and admired the most.


    "Fight for them? I''ve never fought for them."


    He said with finality, taking a fighting stance against those who stood in the way of his freedom.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 325: Strength Unknown

    Lil had a frustrated and digusted expression aimed at Jin. But Jin didn''t reply in kind, he looked at her with indifference which fired her up even more.


    "I''ll take Jin, you lot deal with the rest." Lil proimed proudly.


    "Are you an idiot¡ª"


    "I''ll do it." Zak was interrupted by Hiro volunteering to take on his father. "Obviously not alone, Kiro, please help me."


    Kiro''s face that was already hardened, his heart had already prepared yet another speech, all began to melt. He chuckled to himself and nodded, giving his friend a thumbs up of approval.


    "Just the two of you won''t be able to take on Jin, I''ll help." Lil offered, she knew this Jin better than Hiro after all.


    Hiro was very hesitant. Partly because he didn''t want anyone fighting to kill his father, he''d asked Kiro for a reason, he was someone who understood him, someone who could indulge to his irrational demands.


    He agreed, albeit sceptical.


    "Don''t worry about me, I don''t use weapons." Lil rejected Kiro''s offer of giving her one of their batons.


    She crunched her hands together. "Today, we finish the match we never got to finish." She said, jumping from side to side like she wasn''t a person like them.


    "You know very well I would''ve broken your back in half." Jin mocked, unmoving from his initial position. His eyes were very sharp though, they were staring at Lil''s movements like a predator ying with its prey.


    Instead of fighting, Zak looked to Lil and Jin, then back to Lil again. He felt like a lost little animal looking for its mother. He''d never fought Jin himself, but Lil had before and she came out of it alive. An impressive feat.


    Like a feral animal, Lil jumped up high attempting to reach Jin''s face with her fists. She instead received a very nasty blow to the head.


    She plummeted to the ground, almost hitting with her head but used her hands to break the fall. At the same time, she used them to spin herself, getting Jin to his knees. She used them to propel herself upwards, using her knee to meet Jin''s chin.


    He wasn''t expecting something like, extremely fast too. He clenched his teeth a little toote, he''d already bitten his tongue. He used his hand and feet to jump backwards, retreating from the woman he underestimated.


    "I don''t remember you being this good." He mocked, spitting a mouthful of blood.


    "I don''t remember you being this terrible." She cheekily answered.


    Kiro and Hiro had been watching but not anymore, they were running on opposite sides, their baton tasers reader for some action. But s, Jin held both of them, he tried to use his strength to crash them together.


    Kiro however used his foot to tap his shoulder, doing a backward flip andnding on the floor. Hiro was still being held hostage, so he didn''t hesitate.to attack his knees with the electricity crackling from the baton.


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    He must''ve shoved the weapon way too hard because it was swallowed by Jin''s leg, the baton pierce through his flesh, eating his tender tissue with electricity as it went.


    He felt something he''d never felt in years, excruciating unimaginable pain. The only thing the people he fought with did, was scratch him, never this deep.


    Jin immediately threw Hiro to the concrete floor. His fist flew to where Kiro was, he pulled the baton with all his might but it was buried deep. He let go of it quickly and tried to seel cover, but the iron fist was already at his peripheral.


    He used both of his arms to try and minimise the damage. His body glided throughout the battlefield, only being stopped by a wall. He could feel his body alreadyining.


    "Are you alright?" Hiro yelled from the other side. He gave him a thumbs up, trying with much difficulty to get up.


    At the corner of his eye, he noticed Trent sneaking away. But he was too far to give chase or to stop him from escaping there.


    "J!!! He''s trying to escape." He warned, James was the only one close enough, though it seems Felix had seen this and decided to give chase. It didn''t seem like he''d make it in time, that''s why Kiro yelled for someone else.


    He was surrounded but he managed to slip through, albeit hard. Felix at where James was and decided to take his ce.


    James ran towards Trent who was already hitting the buttons to the lift rather aggressively. asionally looking back to see if he needed to take a stand and fight.


    James galloped like a horse running for its life. His heart rummaged within his rib cage, he wanted to stop this man no matter what, he had to pay for his wrongdoings.


    Thest thing he saw as the doors closed before he could reach was Trent smiling mockingly, and waving him goodbye. He managed to stop himself before he crashed into the lift doors.


    "Dammit." He uttered, breathing heavily.


    He heard footsteps behind him, he clearly wasn''t the only one who was chasing, someone was also chasing him. His mood had suddenly grown sour from failing to apprehend Trent.


    He turned sharply, his fist connecting with the jar of one of the prisoners. A loud crack sounded, the man who received the blow didn''t see himself get up again.


    James had been holding back, ensuring he didn''t cause permanent damage on people who were also victims but something shifted within him, he didn''t care anymore.


    Hebed his way to the front where Jin and the others were. The trail he left behind was a bloodied one, all those who knew him as just a cook were shocked to the core.


    "Get behind me, I got this." He told Hiro and Kiro, he knew that the biggest fish was Jin, so he came to take him out.


    Hiro had a panicked expression on his face, he didn''t know how to react. Seeing James causing havoc, it wouldn''t be a stretch that he would give his father a proper fight and he even had the chance to win.


    "Don''t, we can handle him." Kiro said, his voice pleading.


    James didn''t understand, but if he took everyone out, he vowed toe back here and there was little they could do to stop him.


    As if Jin was angered by Kiro saying they could handle him. None of their attacksnded, but they were being pummelled by one guy. All four of them.

 Chapter 326: First of His Kind

    Trent felt his heart jump out from his body, as the person chasing almost caught him. The door closed just in the knick of time.


    He breathed slowly, calming himself down, at the same time proud he managed to escape unscathed.


    His palms were moist with sweat, he stood as dignified as he could, and wipe them on the back of his zer.


    "That was close, who were they anyway? They even knew about the secret organisation, this is terrible news indeed."


    He practically leapt out of the lift as soon as the doors opened, he was old but it wasn''t too demanding as long as he wasn''t fighting like he was still a youth.


    He immediately noticed his master, pacing back and forth. Not seeing Isaac or his friends in sight, he was washed over with relief.


    The doors didn''t go unnoticed, Gilbert saw, for the first time, a dishevelled and badly hurt Trent. His eyes were concerned but he didn''t want to express it. He waited to be filled in, on what the devil was going on down there.


    "Sir, this is going to sound really bad, please bear with it, don''t get too frustrated." He tried to cushion their fall first, knowing that it wouldn''t work but he was hopeful nheless, he''d seen his master react very different from what he expected.


    Gilbert listened intently, without interrupting, to him this sounded more like a solution than a problem. If he was honest with himself, he saw the underground ring as a worrisome burden that his father left.


    If someone came here to destroy it, he wouldn''t really feel bad about it. He''d wee the two birds with one stone method he was represented with open arms.


    "So they just want to destroy the underground ring? Let them." He said nonchntly, gathering his things, preparing to be as far from this ce as possible.


    "I, I wish that were all¡ª" Trent stammered, he didn''t have time to drag this out but he couldn''t exactly help it with the way Gilbert was now looking at him.


    "Well, spit it out." He told him finally.


    "Well Sir, I was thinking of detonating some explosive around very specific spots in this building that connect to the underground."


    Gilbert''s confused and questioning look wasn''t a surprise. His butler seemed to be rambling, saying just anything.


    "Explosives? Stop being dramatic Trent." He couldn''t hide his annoyance.


    "What I meant Sir was, the intruders, they know about the sanctum. Finding the underground ring couldn''t have been a coincidence, right?" He was unsure himself.


    "They do, do they..." He was thrown in the deepest pits of his thoughts. "It may be a coincidence, inform the others first."


    "But sir, the explosives? We have to hurry, those people have technology I''ve never seen." Trent was dumbfounded at his master''s nonchnce.


    "Sure sure do that first. The building won''tpletely copse right?" He asked with a wicked idea in his mind.


    "Sir, you can''t leave anyone within the building." Trent scolded him.


    "But if we don''t have any casualties, then it''s not going to be a believable story?" Trent looked at him like he may just smack him in the head. "Right right. I suppose the prisoners will serve as our casualties?"


    "Yes, yes they will."


    Gilbert shook his head. It was unbelievable how hypocritical humans were, Trent had no problem having the prisoners die but when his master suggested casualties within theirpany he almost physically attacked him.


    Gilbert found it strange. As he was even ready to have his son injured a little to make this whole ordeal believable.


    "Well then, I''ll go get my idiot son and his friends."


    Sweat broke on Trent''s forehead. ''Surely he wasn''t going to use his son as bait?'' He had no time to ask, even lesser time to ponder about this as he sprung into action.


    Going from corner to corner, installing the explosives on the concrete floor. If there was a way to detonate them without damaging the building, he would, but he knew they''d have a lot of work after this. The building won''t be reduced to rubble, so they''d have bits of piece to put togetherter on.


    Gilbert on the other hand was telling his employees to go home. It was the weekend anyway, there wasn''t much work to be done, he only brought them in because it was a longstanding tradition.


    "You lot, out, something came up the building is being shut down." He told his son who was in one of the conference rooms.


    "But you said we could stay, does this have to do with Trent leaving earlier?" His father merely looked at him, his expression not giving anything away. "I deserve to know."


    "You deserve only what I say you deserve, if I tell you to leave now that''s something you should be jumping at the chance for. Do what you''re told, and stop asking question."


    But the dean had told him, whether it was direct or indirect, to always question. Never take anything at face value even when it was from your parents, yes our parents helped by shaping us but the decision remains with ourselves at the end.


    Isaac opened his mouth to talk back but was met with a very sinister aura from his father that made him croak in fear. He wasn''t sure anymore that he was ready to question everything his father had taught him.


    "Come on guys, let''s go." At the end, he obeyed him.


    His friends followed closely behind. Gilbert was a little disappointed that his son didn''t fight him this time, if he didn''t fight for his life, he''d end up just another keson puppet, like he was.


    They met up with Trent in the lobby. He had done his rounds around the building. Gilbert was impressed, despite his very old age, he managed toe back just when they were. Read new chapters at mvl


    "Trent, are you alright, what happened?" Isaac saw the bloodied state he was in and that drove him to want to know more about the situation.


    Questions kept pouring out of his mouth, each one was met with silence. They walked out the door and onto the streets.


    Trent looked at his master, who nodded as a way to allow him to detonate the explosives. The little button was resting on his hand, inside his jacket pocket.


    He was very nervous as his thumb moved closer to the little red button.

 Chapter 327: Its Me, Your Son

    After just five minutes of running around, trying to avoid Jin''s punches and kicks and headbutts. They were all bloodied and tired. Kiro had a distinct cut over his eye, though it didn''t worry him much, with the money they had, he could afford getting rid of it.


    Ishaan was a little bit used to his smaller build. His previous one wouldn''t have let him move the way he did, he could imagine how much of a target he would''ve been.


    Though this body didn''t give him much of an edge, he was covered in cuts. He was sure if it was his previous self, he''d been dead by now.


    "Hey kid, stop moving around so much and let mend a hit." Said one of the prisoners Ishaan was up against.


    He was stockier than Ishaan had been so his movement were greatly hindered. But his strength was monstrous, Ishaan had suffered under his grip already, he wasn''t nning on it for a second time.


    He unfortunately couldn''t stay away if he wanted to defeat the guy. He didn''t trust President Scott''s  toys. The fact that none of them knew what they would do, made them more dangerous.


    "Come get me, if you can." He mocked running circles around the guy.


    He went straight for his spine, connecting with his weapon. He activated the electricity, causing the man to scream in agony.


    "This isn''t the game, it''s real life." Ishaan muttered to himself.


    The man turned to look at him, a crazed look on his face. His brain was clearly almost,pletely fried. He was drooling involuntarily. He jerked backwards just in time to avoid his ws that desperately wanted to w his skin.


    It was evident that, it was just the guy he fed electricity every chance he got that was losing his mind. Wilfred prepared them for everything except the mental toll this all took. In his defence, there was no time.


    Though even with time, he''d have told them the best way to earn mental fortitude is through experience in the battlefield.


    "It''s not the game, it''s real life." Ishaan muttered, reminding himself again.


    This line was like an anchor that yanked him back so he didn''t go too far. He was killing people, but he still had to remind himself that they were victims, therefore he should do it as humanely as possible.


    This fight in particr made that impossible for him to do. So, bit by bit, he had to remind himself. Keep himself grounded, remind himself why he was doing this in the first ce.


    He breathed heavily, it was clear that the baton was made to torture more than giving fatal blows. It proved difficult to this guy in particr because of how big was.


    He took the baton and ced it on his belt. He took a stick, that was extremely shorter than the baton itself. This was met by a smirk from his opponent.


    "Giving up already? Juste a little closer, I''ll only break your neck."


    Ishaan wasn''t amused at all. He pressed the short stick, which turned into a handle for a short sword. He was grumpy, knowing that he''ll be soaked in blood using the weapon he was using.


    He walked closer because he was tired of running at this point, the man didn''t waste time his arms stretched to where Ishaan was, attempting to catch him by the neck, that was his favourite part in a human body.


    "This isn''t the game, it''s real life." He murmured swerving to the man''s left and out of his reach.


    He twirled his feet,nding his short sword right in the man''s neck. He didn''t take it out immediately, blood dripped to the stone floor. The man''s eyes starred at the boy in front of him, unbelieving.


    He tried lifting his hands to Ishaan''s neck, he reckoned he still had a little bit of strength left to squeeze the life out of him but for the first time in his life, his arms were extremely heavy, too heavy for him.


    He attempted to speak but it just came out as gargling noise. Ishaan was careful, he didn''t want blood all over himself, he slowly retreated his de from the man''s neck.


    He hadn''t done the job when he was tackled from behind, causing the sword to bury itself deeper into the man''s neck. The worst of it all, Ishaan and the man fell on the ground, with Ishaan ontop of him.


    "F*ck." He muttered.


    The blood sttered on his face, he wanted to die right there. He didn''t want anyone to find out that he was, in fact, afraid of blood. He tried to y it cool, but he was clearly shaking ontop of the corpse.


    The woman who''d tackled him hadn''t stoppeding for him but he was still frozen on the floor.


    Fortunately, Felix came to his rescue. Putting the woman on a chokehold and then immediately breaking her neck. He was about to say some snarky remark when he realised that Ishaan was actually shook by this.


    "Here. Come on." He offered his hand.


    Ishaan took it, getting up.


    There was still a lot of prisoners to take care of. Hiro and Kiro with the help of Zak and Lil were doing a poor job at suppressing and maiming Jin. The four were fighting to maim, but Jin was clearly fighting to kill them.


    He grabbed Zak by the scruff of his neck while he was trying to a sneak attack. Beating him within an inch of life before the others managed to free him from his clutches.


    "Dammit. We can''t win here, that weasel that ran away can''t be up to anything good. We need to wrap this up, we''ve gotten almost everything?" Kiroined.


    All of them were quite tired. They hadn''t had rest since they left the academy. If they didn''t have James, they would''ve lost, that''s what they thought. They were grateful to the dean. Discover stories at §Þ??


    Hiro made the mistake of attacking too close to Jin. He was caught the suit he was wearing. He held on the suit with a monstrous grip and started pounding him with the other hand.


    "Sh*t, sh*t, sh*t." Kiro uttered, going straight for the man''s arm, but he received an elbow to the mouth which pushed him back.


    "It''s me," Hiro said weakly, "dad, it''s me."


    But Jin didn''t stop. If he heard him, he didn''t show any signs.


    Hiro lifted a finger to his face and gently pressed, the mask gently disappeared. Revealing his face, a face that would''ve been in bad shape if it weren''t for the mask.


    "Dad, it''s me, Hiro, your son!" He shouted so loud that the heavens should''ve heard him.

 Chapter 328: Father and Son

    Jin''s fist stopped just inches from Hiro''s face. His expression was unreadable. His fistpletely melted, his fingers stretched out and stopped short of caressing Hiro.


    He didn''t feel worthy, with everything he''d done, he felt like he''d be contaminating his son. He want to cry, but he''d grown so inhumane, he was incapable of doing so in that moment.


    His other hand was still gripping him tight by his suit. Hiro moved his eyes to look at the hand that was now shaking, clearly contemting whether to touch his son or not.


    Hiro didn''t want to make sudden movements, so he just, waited for him to make the move first.


    Those who were farther away from them didn''t know what was going on, so they continued their fights.


    Hiro then looked his father straight to the eyes. His kind eyes were gone, reced by an imposter''s, someone who stole his father''s essence and now was parading in the shell he once was.


    "Dad..." Hiro said gently, giving him the most innocent smile. Tears were streaming down his face, he couldn''t believe it was happening again, he couldn''t stop them.


    "Hiroto," Jin muttered as if the name was familiar albeit distant from him.


    His mind was covered in a mist, one that cloaked a lot of things, but it could never truly get rid of a father''s love for his children. That much was clear from his demeanor, that suddenly changed at being reminded of them.


    "Yuri, Isao." He continued as though he was waking up from a dreamless nightmare.


    Hiro slowly moved his head closer to his shaky hand and it didn''t feel as warm and as loving, the way he remembered it. His father''s hand was now caressing his son''s cheek. His expression was still unreadable.


    "You''ve grown up so much since thest time I saw you." He suddenly said, attempting a smile that came out very wrong.


    Those who stood to watch grimaced at the sight but Hiro didn''t mind it. This was father no matter what he''d done and he found him, that''s all that mattered to him.


    Hiro jumped at him with a very tight embrace, so tight that he almost suffocated himself on his chest. The tears certainly didn''t help the matter. Jin stood there for a second, not knowing how to react.


    His arms were spread out from his sides. Kiro and his eyes met, he nodded to him, as if giving him permission to ept the love his son was still giving him despite everything he''d done.


    It was multiple of things that made him hesitate, the fact that he was a murderer now and that, he was scared if he let his emotions get the better of him, he''d squeeze the life out of his once fragile boy.


    He realised that Hiro wasn''t going to stop clinging on him any time soon, perhaps he feared he''d just disappear again if he let him go. His arms slowly reached out, and held him in an embrace.


    He felt something warm rush up from the pits of his stomach. It was something foreign to him, something he''d lost through the months he was the ''diator'', familiar yet unfamiliar, it made him very ufortable like he was going to be sick.


    Tried as he did to pull away, Hiro''s grip on him was nothing short of amazing. He was losing strength by the second, slowly giving in to the feeling that let itself known and was refusing to disappear no matter what he did.


    In time, he let it consume himpletely, thereby unlocking memories he had no idea he had. Memories of his home, as poor as they were, the feeling of love thinking about them made him jittery.


    All this time, he''d been driven by the need to go back, but he never understood why until this moment. He felt very blessed, at the same time very angry that they took this away from him. It was one thing to kidnap him, but making him forget was utterly unforgivable.


    Hiro hadn''t stopped crying, saying incoherent things. Jin finally managed to calm him down, caressing his back, making him less upset by the second. The embrace was broken, Jin stared at his son, who was now different in every way. He look healthier than his memories gave him.


    "I''m so sorry Hiro, I''m so sorry." He finally said, gaining back his ability to cry.


    One of the prisoners looked in digust. Jin was someone respected amongst those who were terrible within their hearts, even their kidnapping was somewhat a salvation because that meant they could kill without worrying about thew. Enjoy new stories from §Þ??


    So he ran towards the duo, intending to kill Jin where he stood. Anybody who showed weakness in their prison was subject to being murdered.


    "Sorry for what?" Hiro asked, oblivious to the oing dangers.


    Jin''s senses were way better, as he caught the man before he could do anything by his neck. He felt a ping of guilt that, this much excited him. He was excited that he was about to kill someone, in front of his son, it broke him a little.


    He didn''t waste time and snapped the man''s neck, even with the crack and his lifeless body dangling in the air, he didn''t stop squeezing until blood sttered out.


    "I''m sorry that I am not the father you remember." His smile was better than the first one, though this one carried a lot of sadness with it.


    "Tha-that''s okay dad, we just need to get you out of this ce, I''m just d I found you." Hiro replied, excitement couldn''t be masked from his voice.


    "I can''t." He said simply.


    "What do you mean?"


    "Hiro, I''ve murdered so many people. I couldn''t hope to raise my children as the murderer I am, worst of all, I don''t even feel guilty about my deeds." He said knocking out another nosy prisoner who decided to disturb them.


    "Yeah well, you had to. You''re a victim in this too. You didn''t have a choice." Hiro tried to reason.


    "You always have a choice kiddo¡ª"


    Hiro was livid at this point, "don''t you dare say that to me. I''m a murderer too then, because that''s what my friends and I decided, to clean up this society."


    Jin didn''t answer. He simply smiled, a smile Hiro recognised. He was utterly proud of his son, he fought for a better society for all, he killed for that. While he did everything for selfish reasons.


    "Let''s finish this first and talk about it more, okay?" He pleaded.


    Hiro nodded.

 Chapter 329: Impending Doom

    If they were struggling before, the tides quickly turned in their favour when Jin join his son''s side. Some prisoners looked at him as if he were a traitor, as if he owed them loyalty.


    But they all knew there was no such thing in the underground ring, it was every man for himself. That didn''t stop them from feeling the betrayal however, mostly because their numbers were dwindling by the second.


    They never thought about it before, but now that it was staring right at them, death was indeed a scary thing. They''d given it so many times, something that lulled them into a false sense of having conquered death, what they were experiencing however yanked them right out of their delusions.


    They were basically sitting ducks and Jin knew that they couldn''t be let to live, as they''d already seen the face of his child, so he was an absolute merciless beast.


    "I thought we were friends." One spat, on the ground almost begging for his life. "We trusted you, all of us."


    "Don''t make your problems mine." Jin said coldly before striking the life out of the man.


    Lil kept looking over the shoulder, she didn''t trust Jin one bit. They''d been through hell because of him, it was only natural that she was sceptical.


    She was one of the people who watched and listened to the father and son reunion. She couldn''t quite believe a son as handsome and as gentle as Hiro was the child of the brute called Jin.


    ''I guess apples do fall far from the tree sometimes.'' She mused as she moved through thr few prisoners that were left.


    "That should be thest one, man I''m beat." Ishaanmented, attempting to clean the blood that had stained him.


    "What about him?" James pointed to Jin, he looked like he wasn''t done yet. It was understandable since they were too busy fighting to witness his change of heart.


    Jin gave him a curious look, as if daring him to make a move. Hiro saw this and quickly stood between them, his arms wide protecting his father.


    "He''s alright, he''s my father. I suppose you wouldn''t know, since you weren''t here before..." He trailed off, not wanting his father to know that he''d been watching him ever since the ring, where he lost his humanity and ripped people apart.


    But James didn''t seem to understand, he hadn''t stopped looking at the veryrge man. His body never quite rxing.


    "Stand down James, this is our mission remember? You don''t tell us how to conduct it." Kiromanded him.


    James didn''t like the tone of his voice, he grunted and took a seat nearby some corpses to tend to his wounds, saying something under his breath about trusting easily.


    Every one of them werepletely exhausted. They knew they''d have to train their bodies harder than before. A rat did manage to slip away, so their attack would obviously be a hot topic in each of the sanctum meetings.


    It was clear that they would heavily guard the next ce they were intending to hit. The President having such weapons was a plus on their side, though it was probably wise to know what each of them did.


    Kiro stepped away to make a phone call, the time to rest was not now. Law enforcement would do nothing to help them, so that was out of question.


    "President Scott, is there a way to transport hundreds of kids, secretly?" His breathing was still uneven, so the President could hear the urgency in his voice.


    "I don''t know, maybe? Send me your coordinates." He was a guy who never liked asking questions. "What the hell are you doing all the way out there?"


    "Thought you didn''t ask questions?"


    "Tsk. Whatever, someone will be over."


    The call dropped. Kiro looked around, for a moment he was proud of their aplishment. Moreso seeing Hiro so happy to have gotten his father back, they were seated all alone, chatting.


    But he had to keep himself grounded, he didn''t want to get too excited. There was more to do ahead of them, he was just very d they didn''t lose anyone in this fight.


    He noticed that Hiro and his father were walking towards him. This made him very nervous for some reason, more nervous than when he had dinner with I''s family.


    Kiro didn''t know what to do with himself, he was standing awkwardly taking his hands in and out of his pockets.


    "Dad, this is my best friend, Kiro Waynworth. If it wasn''t for him, we''d never have found this ce." Hiro introduced his friend very proudly.


    Jin had a very serious and thoughtful face. Like he was digging something deep from his memory, his face hardened then slowly softened. Enjoy exclusive adventures from §Þ??


    "Waynworth huh? Interesting." He was still very much in his thoughts when he said this.


    "Why''s that interesting?" Kiro asked his guarding back up.


    "Eldric Waynworth, I knew him. I did some work for him, more than 10 years ago I think. I was still fresh out of the academy, but I couldn''t forget the man..." He trailed off.


    He remembered how Eldric was also once a prisoner here. He remembered how he''d begged him to put him out of his misery, he remembered how he took hisst breaths on his arms.


    Assuring him to not worry, that his grandson woulde one day. Of course Jin yed that off as an old man''s dream, on hisst dying breath. But he couldn''t have imagined he was right.


    Jin felt a ping of guilt for the first time in forever. This boy, who was his son''s best friend, he''d brought him misery by taking his grandfather away.


    "Look, kid¡ª" He couldn''t keep it in, he wanted to say something about it, anything, he was stuttering a lot though, a nervous demeanor that didn''t quite suit him.


    Kiro looked him in the eye, he didn''t know exactly what he was going to tell him but he could tell that his grandfather wasn''t part of their world anymore. He felt relief that he wasn''t in some prison somewhere, getting this kind of closure wasn''t something many could have.


    "It''s alright, it''s good to meet you sir." Kiro said, extending his hand.


    As old as Eldric was, Jin could see him in Kiro. He looked so much like him, it was uncanny.


    "No, you don''t understand¡ª"


    His speech was interrupted by loud bangs. The underground they were in started shaking. Nobody needed to be told, they ran out of the exit, afraid it would copse on them.


    Jin was thest one to get out of the corridor, making sure everyone was safe including his son before bolting for the exit himself.

 Chapter 330: Tragedy Strikes

    Jin looked back, he couldn''t help it. Even though it wasn''t ideal, this was his home for the past 12 or more months. He wasn''t sad by all means to leave, but his newfound feelings brought about sentimentality to him.


    The underground ring shook violently as they pushed through it. A rambling could be heard as though the ce wasining. Threatening to swallow anything under it whole.


    Now that Jin was faced with a possible death, he wanted to live. He''d been reminded of his family and he wanted to do anything to reach them, he could spend his entire life making amends for the souls he''d took.


    He had shame before of how he could go back with all the blood on his hands but his son somehow got through to him, not with words but the goals he was working towards to achieve a better world for everyone in their society.


    The roof started copsing as they sprinted on, at first it was small stones but they got bigger by the minute. The tunnels seemed to be getting longer they farther they ran, the dust and ruble was right on their tails. Discover exclusive tales on §Þ??


    "Come Ishaan, this is nothing." Kiro was right behind him, he was slowing down by the second and he tried to encourage him.


    Ishaan was simply tired, fighting and now being forced to run all the way out was wearing him down. He felt a very sharp pain coursing through his chest, he kept blinking more than usual. He thought if he didn''t, he may just pass out.


    As much as he trained, his body was still adjusting to its new weight and height, he had never stretched it to these kinds of limits before and it showed.


    "Don''t make mee back there and carry you." Felix shouted from the front, the noise surrounding them wasn''t enough topletely keep them from hearing their voices.


    It wasn''t rare to see the two of them at odds with each other, so Ishaan did what he always did, tried to prove Felix wrong whenever he said something against him. He ran faster than he had been, desperately trying to pass him.


    Kiro smiled at their little rivalry, in his past life he didn''t have people like them. Friends who would push you to do better, so for a moment, he appreciated them just a little more.


    Their escape wasn''t entirely uneventful, they had to dodge some big rocks, as even the tunnels were starting to copse. There were some that couldn''t be dodged, so nobody was getting out unscathed.


    The falling roof started catching up to them rather fast. At a close distance they could see their hope atst, reaching it they leapt out as the whole thing copsed behind them.


    Breathing heavily on the ground they noticed all the kids they rescued waiting for their saviours, they looked bony, even though they were no longer imprisoned, their eyes were very dead. They didn''t look at all like people who''d just been rescued, it was as though it made no difference to them.


    "Did everyone make it out okay?" James cried from the ground, he was exhausted aswell, he''d been just a cook until recently so he was rtively unfit.


    It wasn''t long after James had said that, they heard an earpiercing scream, apanied by yells.


    "Dad!!!" Hiro sobbed, desperately shaking his father.


    Jinid between the entrance and the outside, his lower part from the chestpletely under the roof of the tunnels. Kiro instinctively ran to his side, seeing him, be knew he was done for.


    He coughed, blood sttered from his mouth, he almost choked on it too considering he was lying on his back.


    "Dad, please, dad." Hiro pleaded but Kiro knew it was in vain.


    "Don''t cry," he forced himself to say and continued coughing, "I''m just d I got to see you onest time."


    "If I had been faster, if only I had been faster, you wouldn''t have needed to push me out, it''s my fault, dad..." He lowered his head to meet his, his eyes shut, ming himself to the core.


    Jin managed to get his one hand free from small ruble that covered it. He touched Hiro''s cheek with great difficulty.


    "Nonsense, you''re my son. I should protect you, myst act was a noble one, I''m happy." He tried to smile but another set of coughs interrupted him.


    "Don''t speak like that! You aren''t going anywhere, you''ll be fine, the hospital, yes, the hospital."


    Kiro didn''t know what to say, he simply shook his head. He was almost in tears himself, he couldn''t hope to imagine what his friend was going through.


    "I love you Hiroto, more than you know." He managed a smile this time. "Waynworth kid, I''m the one who took your grandfather''s life, I''m very sorry."


    His confession was hisst words. Life disappearedpletely from his eyes, but he was still smiling. Hiro couldn''t ept that, he shook him, beating him with his fists hoping that would jolt him awake.


    But no matter what he did, no words coulde out of Jin''s mouth. He shrieked like an animal for ughter, his heart waspletely cold and broken.


    Kiro on the other hand was still hung up on what Jin said. While it surprised him, he was even more shocked to find that his heart wasn''t enraged by the confession.


    He simply walked closer to Hiro and held him back from damaging his father''s corpse. It was very difficult separating the two of them, Hiro stopped to look at Kiro for a second.


    He could see so much rage in his eyes, he just leaned on him and cried. Kiro embraced him, patting him on the back, telling him he understood his rage without saying anything.


    "We can''t just leave him here." He finally said.


    "I know." Kiro continued caressing his back, hoping it helped.


    Lil and Zak started removing some of the rocks. They too didn''t like the sound of just leaving him there, knowing the people that imprisoned them, they could make him the scapegoat.


    The others got up to help too, that''s also when suspicious buses that were usually used by a very few deliverypanies showed up to the site.


    "Hey, hey, you''re okay. We''ll figure this out." He told his friend forcing him to look him in the eye.


    Hiro just nodded with a defeated look on his face.

 Chapter 331: Outskirts Of The Middle District

    Kiro managed to calm down his friend, but he couldn''t hope to get rid of his guilt-ridden and broken self. While his father told him it wasn''t his fault, he knew it''d be almost impossible to convince him otherwise.


    So he left him seated on the ground and approached the iing buses. But someone was already meeting him halfway, his heart almost fell out of his mouth when he saw the familiar face.


    "President Scott? I didn''t think you''de here yourself, aren''t you too busy?" Thest thing he wanted was to drag him into this, it was fine when he helped them indirectly.


    Kiro was sure that he was not known in the past because the kesons made it so. But he was prepared to give him freedom to invent whatever he wanted and he''d already proven his genius with the explosives and weapons he provided them with.


    "It sounded interesting, I was curious." He said way chipper than the current mood that gued the field they stood on. "What''s with the mood, who died?" He jokingly asked.


    Kiro gave him the deadliest of looks. He quickly checked Hiro, who was still like a zombie and wouldn''t have heard the President''sments. He then nodded to where they were attempting to take the body.


    "Terrible timing to be social President."


    "Ha, yes, I see. Sorry."


    He still didn''t ask the details. He just helped them load up the kids to the buses. His idea was that, if they used such transportation they were less likely to be stopped by nosyw enforcement. Packaging was something of a sacred thing, it couldn''t be easily tempered with, unless it was believed to be a threat to society.


    "Hey kid, Micah, it''s time to go." Kiro told him, he was staring into the night, rigid and unmoving unlike hispatriots.


    "Don''t have family, don''t have home, Micah stay." He spoke for the first time.


    It was clear now that most of these kids were taken quite young, their etiquette in speech hadn''t quite developed yet and once they were prisoners, it was impossible to teach them anything since they just needed them as fighters for entertainment.


    "Don''t worry little guy, there''s a new home for all of you." He said looking hopefully at the president.


    He nodded, "quite right, managed to get an abandoned estate in the middle district. Since you called earlier, there have been renovations. They should be done by tomorrow."


    Kiro gave him a look of appreciation. He wasn''t someone who liked getting involved but he went above and beyond for him. It may have been because of the fact that he was a major shareholder but he noticed he was a man with a big heart.


    "Come on Hiro, it''s time to go."


    Their biggest obstacle now was getting Jin home. Hiro''s mother would obviously need answers as to where they found him and how he died.


    "What are we gonna do?" Hiro asked, suddenly emotionless. Kiro could feel that a part of him died today, he knew his friend will never be the same again.


    "Well, we can''t exactly tell the truth."


    The vehicles flew on the roads, nobody was talking, time felt like it had stopped for most. Ishaan was fast asleep, Kiro was fighting to stay awake.


    Even though they had won this battle, it felt like a loss. They didn''t know Hiro''s father that well but they knew Hiro, and his grief was shared amongst them, it leaked and eventually reached them too.


    Everyone was grieving for him but Hiro was too busy ming himself to actually appreciated the unspoken sadness they radiated for a man they didn''t know.


    Kiro felt himself falling, only it wasn''t the kind that would jerk you awake when you hit the ground. As he never quite reached the ground, just free falling into the abyss that was his mind.


    "If you have managed to buy them time, why aren''t you using this opportunity to make him understand?"


    Kiro heard the familiar voices that would have indecipherable conversations. But he thought these were just game mechanics, thest time he checked, he was not logged into Asgard.


    ''Wait what, I thought...what is going on?'' He meant to say but his voice failed him so he thought it instead.


    "Look at that, he''s found you again." The other voice said clearly mocking.


    "Yes, but it''s not yet time."


    Kiro felt a swirling feeling in his head, it was so fast that he awoken by falling from his seat to the bus floor. He looked around disoriented, for a time he didn''t know where he was because the bus had stopped.


    He felt a burning sensation in his stomach, he tried getting up quickly but his legs failed him, that''s when he emptied the contents of his stomach on the bus floor.


    He hadn''t eaten anything in a while so what came out as just a translucent liquid. It came out in buckets as though his stomach was made of only that.


    "Hey, man, are you alright?" Niki touched him on shoulder.


    He felt like his touch was striking his very soul as gentle as Niki had been, it didn''t trante well for Kiro. He felt his every cell screaming at him, as if this was his fault.


    He didn''t understand why his sensory shot up for no reason at all. He jumped away from Niki, and touched his own shoulder, but nothing happened.


    "Touch me again." He pleaded.


    Niki was clearly confused but he obliged and nothing happened.


    ''Maybe I imagined it? The pain? But the conversations, what could they all mean anyway?''


    The bus was empty, he''d slept through the ride. He was stepping out of the bus when he suddenly blurted out.


    "The game, I think it''s real."


    "What?" Niki was even more confused, "you sure you''re alright? You made quite a mess in there."


    He shook his head but quickly realised what they could that have meant, "I''m alright. It''s nothing."


    The estate was quite big, everyone else had already gotten inside. The building was massive, with workers all over it, and some building extra buildings on thend to amodate every child.


    The first floor had already been done, and the President has made it a point to get them sleeping bags for now. The food was ordered in and they sat on their bittersweet victory, sharing a meal with children that didn''t quite trust them yet.

 Chapter 332: A Reasonable Proposal

    James had already told the dean that they wouldn''t be able to make it back in time and they were pardoned for sses for a while. Though he didn''t dare to spill the details on the phone, incase someone who shouldn''t be was listening.


    It was the crack of dawn, most people were still asleep. Kiro spent the whole night thinking about the game and the conversations that invade hisscious mind sometimes, it was impossible that it was a coincidence.


    It was a different experience since he''d never felt nauseous in-game after the trip but it was definitely the same voices.


    He got up from the sleeping bags, he tiptoed his way out of the first floor of the building. The sun was just rising, he was met with two silhouettes outside, apparently watching the sunrise.


    As he got closer he realised it was Zak and Lil, he had no intentions of joining a time that seemed to be between lovers, but they called out to him.


    "You know kid¡ª" Zak started.


    "It''s Kiro." He interrupted him, he didn''t like the idea of being called a kid.


    "My bad, Kiro. Thank you very much for everything you''ve done for us." He told him sincerely.


    "It''s not a problem, it''s just sad we had to lose someone."


    Neither were looking at each other through this talk. Zak just wanted to see the sun rise, it was strange the things one missed when they were deprived of them. This was one of those things.


    "You know, you shouldn''t be too angry at Jin or his son." Zak tried to advise him.


    "Hiro is like a brother to me, why would I me him for something his father did?" He wasn''t in the mood for this anymore, he came outside to be alone but Zak didn''t seem like he was done with him yet.


    "You know, even with Jin. We were there, so we''d know."


    "Don''t get cryptic with me now, spill it out!"


    "You see, your grandfather had been begging Jin to take his life for weeks before Eldric was sneaky about it.


    "Jin used to use a weapon in those fights. One time, he was pitted against your grandfather. Don''t get me wrong, your grandfather was a beast of his own, that''s why he survived so long, he was no pushover.


    "But that day, he was tired of being used. He was afraid that they would seed getting into his head, so when he was fighting Jin, he purposely closed in on him, with the intent of meeting the weapon with his gut before he met the man."


    Kiro wouldn''t stop the tears from falling. He quickly wiped them away. The sacrifices his grandfather made for this world were much greater than he''d originally thought.


    Driving yourself into another man''s weapon, in fear that they may invent technology that could read minds. If they were to seed in that, that would''ve put him at risk, as the information was given to him.


    "You guys will need to stay around here. The kids need someone that will take care of them, of course I''ll hire more so that you aren''t overwhelmed." He said changing the topic.


    "Look, Kiro, we''re grateful and everything for rescuing us, but we''ve always wanted to leave that ce to go back to our respective families." Lil finally joined in.


    Kiro understood, but there''s no other way. The agency could always be bought to do something around here, he needed people who he could trust wholeheartedly, so that he didn''t worry when he wasn''t around.


    "Those kids need you, I don''t see what choice you have. Besides, what will happen when the keson learn you''re back in the lower district, where security is very bad.


    "He could kill you to prevent you from talking. Believe me, I don''t want that either."


    Both had looks of shock on their faces, they were so stuck in the underground for so long that they thought they could just waltz in back into their old lives, they didn''t think about anything else.


    Kiro saw their sour faces, he didn''t want to be the one to snap them back to reality but he had another goal. These kids were the future of their world, they needed to be helped and taken cared of.


    "But that being said, I could make some calls. Give me your old addresses and names of the families you''re looking for, I''ll ask someone to find them if they''re still around. And maybe bring them here to live?"


    They both nodded in agreement, it was certainly a  better option than going back to the lower district to be likely killed for something they wouldn''t do anyway. They gave Kiro smiles of appreciation, not only did he save them but he was doing it again giving them a secure ce to live.


    The sun hadpletely came out, the snow had almost all been melted. The second month of the year was around the corner and spring was showing off its beauty, melting the cold away, blooming flowers and greener trees and grass.


    "The President has already called the agency. There''s exactly 808 children here, with the two of you about 50 more helpers will be hired, so you''ll have all the help you need.


    "The buildings will be expanded to cater for all those living in the estate, a building for the kids, a building for those who are raising them, a school, because let''s be honest, they need that the most.


    "Also a technology building, where there''ll beputers for everyone, also gaming pods once they''re avable." He finished, as if he was reading this in his head.


    "What, all this nning in such a short time?" Zak was shocked beyond belief.


    "He even sent me a document on it!" He said, more to himself.


    Since he couldn''t sleep, he was doing everything with his mind including reading what the President had nned for the estate.


    He originally wanted to call it Waynworth Estate, but got chewed out by Kiro so much that he just settled to call it theirpany name.

 Chapter 333: The News Interview

    The building was more lively, even from outside. The kids seemed to be melting much like the snow outside, they had the first great sleep ever since they could remember.


    Also the meal was nutritious, something that was a foreign concept even before they were kidnapped. They were seated in their sleeping bags, talking, albeit still a lot reserved.


    They had been served breakfast, the adults were the only ones who weren''t eating. There wasn''t much to eat yet, but they weren''t hungry anyway.


    Kiro''s phone rang, and it was President Scott.


    "I think you''d like what''s on the news channel right now, well like is a wrong word, it''d interest you."


    Kiro bolted to another room, the others saw his sense of urgency, so they followed suit. There were no televisions around, so he used his phone.


    A holographic screen appeared in the air, along with the news report the president was talking about.


    [BREAKING: keson Tech has been attacked by a terrorist group of masked men, luckily, nobody hot hurt. Everyone had gone home but Gilbert keson and his son Isaac. We have a reporter at the scene right now with the CEO of keson Tech, over to you Matt.]


    "Thank you Jill, I''m here with Mr. keson who agreed to answer a few questions. What do you think prompted this Sir?"


    "As a bigpany, you get threats every day. Of course we''ve never imagined that this time they''d actually do something about it, it wasn''t expected at all.


    "We''ve received such threats before but they never went anywhere. I hopew enforcement are able to chase them down and bring them to justice, it''s a pity we couldn''t see their faces, they all had masks on, all six of them."


    The reporter had a bit of a confused look because it seemed to him that Gilbert wasn''t going to answer the question, but he quickly recovered.


    "Did they give off anything?"


    "As a matter of fact they did, they called themselves insurgency, what that means is anybody''s guess, I''m just d my son is okay."


    Gilbert pulled Isaac close and gave him a side hug, his expression seemingly grateful. Isaac understood, and gave the camera an innocent smile.


    "Do you think they''ll keep doing this?"


    "I think they will, I doubt they''ll stop until they''ve ravaged our society. Their goal is a very bleak one, maybe they''re just some lower district scum who are unhappy andzy to make it out on their own with hard work."


    He knew bringing up the lower district will gain him favour in the eyes of the public. Nobody liked the lower district, they had a stigma about them, that they were poor people by choice and that they didn''t want to work as hard as everyone else.


    But of course that couldn''t be far further from the truth. They were some of the most hardworking people in their society, they were taken advantage of however so they could never really climb thedder out of there.


    "What an asshole." Ishaan found himself saying.


    Hiro was heavily invested in this now, he didn''t want to think about his grief, he figured the only way to get over it is by working so much that he didn''t have time to think about it.


    "We should edit and upload the videos in retaliation, the people must know." He suggested through gritted teeth.


    "But why did they choose yourpany of all others?" The reporter asked.


    "I''m one of the most influential people in our country, destroying those at the top is a very easy way to cause chaos and unrest in any society. That''s my guess." He finished he''s very rehearsed story.


    Him and Trent spent the entire night preparing for damage control. He had answers to almost any question they assumed the reporters would want to know.


    "That makes so much sense, thank you for your time Mr. keson. Jill over to you, you''ve heard the man, we should expect more of these in the future."


    The room was silent for a while, now was their chance to get the citizens on their side. If they couldn''t make them sceptical of the rich, then they would''ve failed. As much as they could clean the world on their own, they still needed the populous for support.


    "Hiro is right, we should work on the video. It''s unfortunate that the storage for these recorders were full before we could capture that guy''s face.


    "But we have to do with what we have, most of all we shouldn''t just upload these online as there are ways to impede people from seeing it. We should hack the national system." Kiro was hopeful that they could do it.


    "That''s impossible." James rained on his parade. "The system was made to be invulnerable, so it is. The best we could do is hack the news and people''s devices, making the video y on their devices." He advised something achievable and simpler.


    Kiro nodded and recognised that he was being too ambitious. He was d there were people around him that could keep him grounded to make better decisions that wouldn''t raise any rms.


    "Okay that''s a fair assessment, can you do it? I''ll help." He asked his best friend.


    "Of course!"


    "Don''t toss me aside, I know a thing or two." Felix said.


    So the three of them moved to another building, the one that would be for technology. There were a very fewputers in there, they sat at one and started editing.


    "We should blur out the fighters." Kiro suggested, not wanting Hiro''s father''s face to be out there, they weren''t sure yet if this would work. He didn''t want to risk it.


    Hiro didn''t want to say anything about this, so he was immensely grateful when he wasn''t the one who suggested it. The only faces they would blur were those of prisoners and the kids they encountered in that hatch.


    Everyone else who was watching the match and cheering was fair game.


    It took them a few hours to edit the video down to just 15 minutes. It started at the entrance of the tunnels, right until they had to fight at the corridor.


    Now came the hard part, hacking people''s devices to y the video and make it so it couldn''t be interrupted until the 15 minutes were up.

 Chapter 334: Spread Like Wildfire

    Kiro was on the phone with the President the whole time. He was instructing them on how to do it exactly, because after many attempts they failed every time. Two heads weren''t better than one in this case.


    "No, that''s not how...Dammit, bring me closer so I can see." It was the first time they were seeing him at work, and they wished to never again work with him. It wasn''t easy satisfying him.


    He was definitely someone who preferred doing things by himself. ''If you want to do it right, do it yourself'' Kiro reckoned that was his motto.


    "Maybe I shoulde there?" He suggested excitedly.


    "President Scott, calm down, remember, you can''t be involved in this directly. Please trust me." Kiro reminded him respectfully.


    He sighed and continued giving them instructions, as hard as they were, they could at least get it the second time thanks to Hiro, who was surprisingly focused.


    After hours of looking directly into a screen, they had finally done it. All Hiro had to do was click enter and everything, ording to the President, would work out.


    "Well, what are you waiting for?" Kiro nagged him.


    "I don''t know, it''s so anticlimactic isn''t it? I thought maybe someone would spring out and try to stop us, wasn''t this too easy?" He let his thoughts known.


    "Mx, stop screwing around. None of this has been easy, we literally spent a whole day fighting. Quit ying." Kiro scolded him.


    Hiro smiled a little then pushed the button. Even their own cellphones weren''t safe from the hack, as their devices started vibrating with a nk screen.


    Exactly after 15 seconds, the vibrating stopped. Immediately showing five perspectives of people running in a dark tunnel. Going through many routes, as if looking for something.


    Then the first gruesome scene appeared, stacks of bodies ontop of each other, not making the tunnels any more decorative than they were. They''d managed to alter their voices too, so the voices in the video sounded nothing like them.


    It went on to show the fight with Jin''s face blurred. The final scene was meeting the children and ordering them to follow the tunnels out and wait.


    Kiro with the mask on his face and the voice altering appeared in front of the camera.


    They had made the video during the editing stages, they figured leaving it to spection would be more dangerous. Guiding the citizens in the right direction was what they were trying to achieve.


    "Dear citizens of Sanctauri, we are but humble servants of this beautiful country. We''ve seen the invisible struggles of all, we''ve heard the silent cries and now, we fight.


    "You''ve no doubt heard from the rich of the country that insurgency is a terrorist group, my people, this couldn''t be further from the truth. We only fight for insurgency, for liberation, for the poor.


    "This country has been wrong for so long. The lower district citizens being used of beingzy when they work harder than everyone else to make a fraction of what the two districts make.


    "Of course we''re not ming those who work for their money. Only those who work tirelessly to keep us divided, by keeping the gap of wealth between citizens wide.


    "We''re not asking for you to fight but being on our side to create a better society for all would be greatly appreciated.


    "We''re not asking you to believe us, but we''ve shown you the proof. This is what was happening under keson Tech. In an attempt to silence us, they blew up their own building, hoping we would be buried under but we made it out, and to the sanctum that wishes to silence us, this is only the beginning."


    With that, the video went nk. People''s devices went back to normal.


    "Damn man, how did youe up with that?" Felix whistled, he was greatly impressed.


    "Good huh? I''m not all empty in there." He grinned giving him a thumbs up.


    "You''re not empty at all, didn''t you get second cest semester?" Felix gave him an annoyed look.


    "Second ce? I really am an airhead then." He said seriously and panicked.


    Unexpectedly, Hiro bursted outughing. Heughed so hard, he was clenching his stomach and tears streaming down his face.


    The other two looked at him for a second and saw that he was genuinelyughing. One thing aboutughter, one way or another it was contagious, so they joined in.


    "It''s how you''re so dumb but so smart at the same time." Hiro said wiping the tears off his eyes.


    "Hey that''s not apliment!"


    ***********


    While insurgency was in hiding in the middle district, the country was in a turmoil as a whole. Nobody was vandalising or anything but the change in the atmosphere couldn''t be denied, everyone was ready for the change.


    The streets were bustling with people of every ss. Talking and discussing the gruesome video they''d seen and the wonderful speech they received. The online tform, Talkalot, didn''t miss a beat. People were discussing any and everything.


    The topic and insurgency were already trending number 1 across the country.


    "I can''t believe what happened..." One user wrote.


    "What, you blind? It''s there in the video."


    "I didn''t mean that literally dumbass!"


    "The sanctum huh? They owe us millions. Come on rich folks, I want to buy a pod." One entitled user wrote.


    "That''s not what insurgency is about. It''s about creating a society of equality or something close to that. Don''t be dumb."


    "I f*ckn hate smart people!"


    He disappeard after that.


    The whole country was taken by storm and surprise. Some of course didn''t believe them iming the video was edited somehow but when it was proved that the video was not tempered with, they found other excuses.


    "Whose to say they didn''t nt these things themselves to frame the rich?" One conspiracy theorist wrote.


    "F*ck off, we are so deep into this problem because of people like you. Anybody who doesn''t see anything wrong with our world is blind!"


    "Yes! We just needed someone to prod us and lead us to the right direction, we''ve been awake."


    This was the hot topic, while the rich hid from the public eye.

 Chapter 335: In Our Midst

    [...to the sanctum that wishes to silence us, this is only the beginning.]


    The furniture within the keson estate would need to be reced. Gilbert was on a rampage once again, Trent was safely retreated to the corner of the dining hall. He''d seen his master do this more times than he cared to admit.


    "How did you miss that they had cameras? Don''t I just look like an idiot, going in front of the country?" He shouted kicking the door in.


    Trent fidgeted in the corner, trying his best to avoid getting the full st of his master''s anger but it was proving difficult.


    "Sir, they had peculiar technology, I already told you..."


    "Don''t you dare patronise me Trent. Call an emergency meeting." He ordered him, he''s anger not subsiding at all.


    The women he took in were told, strictly by Trent to stay away, fortunately they listened. There was no way they could''ve survived his wrath, he thought.


    He was just making the phone call when one of the women walked into the dining room, without even announcing and knocking first.


    "Not now, Vivian, go back." He rejected her before she could even say why she was there.


    She walked up to him all innocent looking, she stood in front of him fearlessly but never said anything to why she had graced them with her presence.


    Gilbert gave her quite the annoyed look, he obviously liked her but she didn''t know when to stop sometimes and he''d never really drawn a boundary for her.


    Her warm hand reached his cheek, caressing it asionally. Gilbert closed his eyes, the moment would''ve been a great one if they weren''t going through the biggest change they''ve ever seen.


    He grasped her hand rather harshly, "I told you to leave." His voice was deep andmanding.


    Instead of doing what she was ordered, Vivian leaned on for a kiss. Trent didn''t know whether the woman was brave or stupid or both.


    But to his surprise, his master didn''t stop her, they just kissed and he stood there awkwardly calling people telling them of the urgent meeting.


    He cleared his throat but neither of the two people paid him any attention.


    "Sir, the meeting will be in an hour."


    Trent awkwardly waited for his responsible, his face turned away from the pair that didn''t seem to mind being watched. He cleared his throat once again.


    "Okay, leave us."


    He did as he was told, he closed the door behind him and went straight to his master''s bedroom. He took out a suit for him, with a coat. And started cleaning it.


    "Unbelievable. That woman is unbelievable!" He mumbled to himself, not hearing the door of the room opening behind him.


    "Trent?" A voice sounded from the shadows of the entrance.


    "Young master¡ªdon''t scare me like that, I''m not so young anymore."


    He was still jumpy from fighting the group that was unknown to him. The things he saw them do scared him, as much as he''d never admit to it.


    "I saw the video Trent, the secret is out. I''m ready, I''m ready to join the sanctum."


    "That may be so, but it''s no ce for children."


    "I''m not a child!" He shouted back, surprising himself and their butler.


    "You must forgive me sir, but everyone is a child to these old bones. Your father would have to be dead or induct you in and he steps down." He exined, trying to calm him down.


    "I know all that, and I''m ready!"


    "Ambition is good young master but being overly so will be detrimental to your growth. There''s no need to involve yourself in these affairs." He told him with finality, hoping he could see reason.


    If he could help it, he didn''t want Isaac ending up like his father. Being like him would only drive the keson name six feet underground.


    But Isaac didn''t understand any of that, that''s why he was looking at Trent with contempt, his nose practically producing smoke.


    It wasn''t long before he excused himself that Gilbert walked right in. In a hurry, and Trent could see he was in a better mood than when he left him.


    ''Well, maybe this woman is good for him after all.''


    He put his coat, "you''re noting with me."


    Trent was prepared for that, he simply bowed opening the door for him, and watched him get into a car he never really drove.


    He stopped in front of a rundown building. There were already cars outside, he waste by a few minutes but he didn''t really care.


    Entering the building he was searched for any sort of surveince he may have on him. They didn''t find anything of course, so they ushered him to the next room.


    Everyone was already seated when he entered, Jes¨²s was looking at his watch, seemingly agitated that they were made to wait.


    "Somewhere to be, Jes¨²s?" Gilbert mocked.


    "We aren''t your footsoldiers, the least you can do is respect the time your butler set."


    "Fine, I''m sorry. Now, what to do, we''re in quite the pickle." He said, pouring himself a drink.


    The only people in the room were the members of the sanctum. Nobody brought their drivers or butlers with them, the security breach was that bad. Everyone suspected everyone.


    "What could be done?" Hale asked, he was a very feminine man with a thunderous voice.


    "That''s what we''re here to find out, isn''t it?" Ishaan''s father chimed in.


    Gilbert took a swig of his drink, then poured himself some, he downed that in one go. He could feel heat within himself, he took a seat.


    "I know a little rat that''s been a pain to me and my family since the school year started." Gilbert suggested.


    "Kiro Waynworth? How would he know about anything." Whitmore asked, doubting an academy brat would be knowledgeable enough.


    "Think about it, his grandfather was Eldric, we''ve always suspected he had information he shouldn''t have had. Whose to say he didn''t manage to give it to his grandson?" Gilbert reasoned, clearly having put a lot of thought on this.


    Jes¨²s knew he was trying to bait him to defend Kiro. But he wasn''t going to bite, it wasn''t worth getting found out over.


    "It''s either that or we have a traitor in our midst." Silva finally said.


    He had to by all means take their interest off Kiro, he clearly had Eldric''s intell. Protecting him became his new goal.

 Chapter 336: No One To Trust

    They all looked at him curiously. Like he was the madman for even suggesting they started doubting each other, after years of working together harmoniously.


    "How dare you even suggest that?" Gilbert''s disgusted face made most of them flinch but Jes¨²s had a boyish expression, that told anyone who looked close enough he didn''t care.


    "Why not? It''s more usible than a 17 year old who has thwarted you at every turn." He said with a smirk.


    Everyone else in the room was quiet and simply looking from the two men who didn''t hide the fact that they hated each other guts.


    "Are you trying to protect that brat because your daughter''s heart lies with him?" Gilbert asked, a vein popping at his temple.


    "I wasn''t saying anything for sure, but to ignore that one of us may be a traitor would be quite stupid!"


    "Why, why would anyone here betray us? We trust each other here."


    "A very childish view. We don''t trust each other, we never have, that''s why there are unrted men outside who make sure none of us have brought something we shouldn''t have.


    "Why would anyone betray us? Putting all the me on the rest while taking the whole pie for themselves?"


    Mahindra Khan was on his feet because Jes¨²s being carried by the moment stood up to be face to face with the man that thought himself to be their leader.


    He stopped him just inches away from Gilbert. He didn''t fight it, just obediently went back to his seat. The atmosphere was thick, it threatened to poison everyone in the room. They were seriously considering the option that there was a traitor amongst them.


    It was exactly as he had hoped, the attention to Kiro hadpletely vanished, now they were looking at each other sceptically.


    "It''s not going to help us or anyone to suspect each other without proof." Fritzman finally said, he looked like a man who was entirely made out of muscles.


    He was big and intimidating to those who didn''t know him, but the people in the room had known him for years, the new under that hard exterior was a bug softy, so his interruption was met with nothing more than just scoffs.


    "Fritz is right. Nothing wille out of using people without proof, that goes for the Waynworth brat. For now, let''sy low, ensure better security in the mines." Hale seemed to be the only reasonable one in the room.


    "So we''re just going to let that kid go? scot-free?" Gilbert couldn''t believe his eyes, in the past they didn''t need proof to deem someone guilty, so this was new to him.


    "Just admit you hate the kid because he always seems to have one over you." ck who had maintained invisibility until now finally shared his thoughts.


    "No¡ª"


    "Yes, we''re under much scrutiny right now, we can''t be as free as we used to be. We have to be careful in everything we do. Thest thing we want is to get the public to be against us more than they are now." Whitmore advised sagely, interrupting Gilbert.


    Jes¨²s hadn''t said anything since. He satfortably in his chair, drinking whisky. Watching the mood he''d created manifesting into something even more beautiful than he anticipated.


    The most he did was nodding in agreement. A big smile stered on his face. He was enjoying the moment even more because of how sour Gilbert''s face looked.


    It wasn''t as if he didn''t understand their concerns, but Gilbert was angered by the fact that they had to do what Jes¨²s initially suggested. They didn''t like each other to the point of never wanting to admit when the other was right. A beautiful rtionship, indeed.


    "Then if this was all, I''d like to go back to my house. Just being here is making me a little paranoid, I''d like to be paranoid within the safe walls of my estate." Khan said gathering his things, getting ready to get out of there.


    "I''m inclined to believe you''re the traitor, Mahindra Khan. Unbelievable that you chose to work with that kid over me?" Gilbert wasn''t going to let this go easily.


    This caused amotion in the room, the men were talking at the same time, shouting, making it hard for anyone toprehend what was being said.


    "Shut it!" Jes¨²s screamed, his deep voice prative and was actually sessful at getting them to stop. "You''re grown men, act like it." He reprimanded.


    "Suppose you think you''re all that don''t you Silva?" ck taunted him.


    But he would be an idiot if he let that get to him, he though. So he ignored him.


    "Let me just say, we aren''t friends Gilbert. Even if we were, this is business. I didn''t be the best in our country because I chose friendship over making good business deals." He finished already walking towards the door.


    Jes¨²s was right behind him. They had talked over what they wanted to address, there was no point from sticking around, especially when Gilbert wanted to purposely start fights.


    "Can you believe the nerve of that guy?" Khan spat as they walked out of the building.


    "I actually can, I''ve told you this before, you guys have let him go nuts for far too long. Now he thinks his words matter more, somebody needed to clip his wings." He told him opening the door to the car they both drove here.


    "But it seems like a pain in the butt that it was the kid, Kiro Waynworth, who clipped his wings. Now he seems like he''s lost his sense of reason, it''s pathetic." He satfortably in the passenger seat.


    He''d never learned to drive, so Jes¨²s was his personal chauffeur today. He didn''t hate it. As soon as they got into their car, the rest of the men piled out of the building, entering their own vehicles.


    "Does he look like a man with clipped wings to you? He seems to be flying even higher, I don''t mind being the one to stomp him back to the ground."

 Chapter 337: Going Back Home

    Even with the information out in the open, the trouble the five boys plus James went through to get the proof that rich people weren''t just purposely keeping the poor in poverty but they were enving and using them for entertainment purpose.


    Despite all of this, the country was divided into two factions. This caused unrest amongst citizens, those who defended these notions were met with violence, something none of them had taken into consideration.


    "You''d think this would unite them more with amon enemy." Ishaan shared his thoughts.


    The mood in the room was sour, as news after news reported various violent outbursts, luckily there were no reports that anybody was fatally harmed.


    "I guess we should''ve expected this much." Niki sighed, throwing himself down on a sofa.


    "It pisses me off, we''ve risked so much and lost some," Kiro said his head turning to Hiro as he said. "They''re like loyal dogs, happy for scraps and would bite anybody that goes against their masters." He finished, feeling rage instead of disappointment.


    "That''s a really good analogy, but how do we fix this?" Felix asked seriously.


    "We can''t, this needs to happen. Changees at a cost, always. There are always those who will resist change no matter the facts, they''lle around at the end, we just need to brave the oing storms." James advised.


    Everyone nodded in agreement. There was nothing that could be done by them, they''ve done everything to let them know what was going on within their society, it was up to them what they did with that information.


    Their next goal was the mine, but to exterminate the current status quo they also needed countermeasures in ce, to rece the old, otherwise the cycle would just repeat itself with new people in charge. It was too much for young men like them but they were content in carrying the burden on their shoulders, as long as they had each other.


    "By the way Hiro, what are we gonna do with him?" Kiro asked, unsure if this was the right time to bring it up.


    "My dad you mean? I''d like for him to be buried on our estate." He said absentmindedly.


    "What are we gonna tell your mum?"


    This was the problem, they couldn''t just tell their families the truth. Some lie would have to be brewed for their protection.


    "I¨CI don''t know."


    The body had left with President Scott to preserve it from rotting until they were ready to take him home.


    The dean had also ordered them to return as soon as possible, so time wasn''t a leisure they had.


    They had fixed up the estate exquisitely. Now all that was left was building the extra buildings to make the estate livable, so the kids didn''t have to go outside its gate until they were ready.


    It had taken them quite some time to open up and befortable in a new environment, though some were still not speaking. Micah was also outspoken, you could tell he had a bubbly personality before his life was turned upside-down.


    They got ready to leave, just as they were about to, the batch from the agency arrived. Kiro hoped to stay longer to monitor them, but at least they were leaving Lil and Zak with them, so it wasforting.


    "I can''t even begin to express my gratitude to you guys, I thought I''d die in that ce but you saved us. To think you''re still just in your first years of academy. Please never stop fighting for the underdogs." Zak surprised everyone with his emotional speech, he was holding back tears too as he said.


    "I hope you''ll remember this ande to our aid when we need you." Kiro extended his hand to meet his.


    "Of course." He took it, his hands were rough but he was just the right match for a kid who didn''t grow up coddled. "You have quite the grip." Heplimented.


    Kiro simply smiled as he moved on to the others to thank them. Lil on the other hand jumped to hug him, he almost dodged her too.


    She wasn''t the emotional type, but seeing them leave made her a little sad. It was strange too because they weren''t that close, but she still felt the way she did.


    Kiro felt something tugging him from behind, looking back, it was Micah. Tears were streaming from his eyes, without the dead look, he had quite the beautiful eyes, they were hazel and big but now they had a tinge of red.


    "Sir don''t please leave." He said between sobs.


    "Don''t worry kid, I''ll visit now and again, I have school but if you want to see more of me listen to Lil and Zak, and work on your school work." Kiro didn''t know what to do, this strange kid had taken a very deep liking to him.


    "Sir..." He bit his lip trying to hold back tears that refused to be silenced.


    Kiro ruffled his hair, "I promise I''lle visit, maybe with a few toys if you behave?"


    He nodded, the lump in his throat didn''t allow him any more words. He watched painfully as the men walked out of the gate and got into a car that waited for them on the other side.


    President Scott had hired a car for them with the body. The ride back to the upper district was a very sad and quiet one. Hiro kept looking at the dead body as if it would spring back to life, but at least he wasn''t crying anymore.


    "I don''t think I can lie to her, can you do it instead?" He said barely a whispered.


    His mother was already informed that Hiro wasing so she was already outside when they pulled up.


    "Good day Mrs. Misaki," Kiro said seriously. "I''m afraid we have very bad news."


    "No, not Yuri." She was already losing feeling on her legs, she couldn''t guess anyone else if Hiro and Isao were here, only Yuri came to her mind.


    "I''m afraid¡ª"


    "It''s dad, mum." Hiro said cutting off Kiro.

 Chapter 338: Stronger Resolve

    She looked at them dumbfounded. It didn''t register to her yet what her son was saying, Jin had been out of their lives for so long that she never expected to hear about him again.


    Not that she had lost hope, all the lower district people knew about the mysterious disappearances and once someone vanished they were never found again.


    "Jin? It''s not Jin, it can''t be him." She said mechanically, not really in control of what she was saying or thinking.


    "I''m so sorry mum." He moved in to hug her, but she was still processing it. Everything had gone nk for her.


    All of them wore gloomy expressions. Like children being scolded, they didn''t quite know how to insert themselves into the conversation but they decided to leave it to Hiro. As much as he said he couldn''t lie to her, he was doing a pretty good job keeping himselfposed.


    "Jin isn''t dead, he''s just missing, just missing." She said her mind not all there yet.


    Hiro didn''t like seeing his mum in that much emotional distress, he wanted to cry with her but it wasn''t the time. He''d had his fill, now it was time to hold his mother while she grieved for her husband.


    "You won''t recognise him at first, but it''s him." He told her softly, guiding her to the back of the vehicle.


    "I''m sure you''ve been watching the news, I''m sure you saw the video about what has been going on, well mum dad was part of the kidnapped. They did something to his body so it''s bigger than you remember.


    "He died trying to save as many kids as possible. In a way, it was honourable. He was the Jin you loved and married until the very end." His eyes were teary at this point.


    His friends simply watched without saying anything. Niki was especially emotional at the scene before him, he''d lost his mother way too young but he still remembered her love and her death that was right in front of his eyes.


    He caught himself shedding a tear, which he quickly wiped away. Felix saw this and squeezed his shoulder for support.


    They watched as Hiro opened the back of the car and then the transparent casket Jinid in. It took her a second to absorb it all, then everything hit her at once, a blood-curdling scream that tore through their hearts was heard.


    Hiro tried to hold on to her but she pushed him away, trying to walk towards the body on her own she fell on the thinly veiled by snow asphalt road.


    He stumbled towards her trying his best not to cry, seeing his mother like this shattered his heart into a thousand pieces. He knelt down in front of her and held her into a tight embrace. Doing what Kiro did for him, trying to calm her down.


    Kiyoko''s cries didn''t die down once. It was a wonder the neighbours couldn''t hear, though it was expected, the estates were veryrge and people mostly kept to themselves.


    It took her several minutes to want to get up again, Hiro helped her up and walked her closer to the body. She extended her hands to touch his body, it wasn''t anything she remembered because it was hardened but his kind expression was still there, she wouldn''t mistake that for anything.


    He looked really bad, it was clear he''d went through a lot. The gashes, the cuts, old and new made him look like a different person.


    "He''s not dead, he''s just resting, right?" She asked unconsciously tears streaming down her face.


    "Yes mum. He''s resting now." A lump cought itself in his throat as he said.


    Hiro nodded to his friends, he walked towards their house, ushering his mum. He didn''t trust that she could do it on her own.


    Kiro called his mother over first, they then held the casket together and walked towards the Misaki estate. It would be a hard weeks or even months ahead for them, but this was closure instead of never knowing where he ended up.


    "Ki, why aren''t you at school, what''s happening?" Freya clearly ran because she was almost out of breath.


    "Something bad happened, she needs you." He pointed to the house.


    She looked at the house, then the casket, then her son sceptically. She walked in anyway and understood immediately when she saw the state Kiyoko was in.


    "You can go baby." She told Hiro while embracing him.


    Hiro left them. They had to prepare to bury him, his mother wouldn''t be able to do anything, he was sure of that. He felt relief that Freya came, he was just a child too the emotions were too much for him. He was d Isao wasn''t there at the moment.


    Jin Misaki was buried in the estate the next day, dying at just 35 years old. Yuri had to be pulled out of school for the funeral. The only families apart from the Waynworths that came were Khans and Silvas.


    The funeral was kept concealed for many important reasons. The most important being that, the man who kept Jin and experimented on him lived in the same neighbourhood as them. Finding out about this would prove difficult for Kiro and his friends, there would be questions and suspicions.


    "I can''t believe he''s really gone." Hiro sighed, standing next to Kiro having a drink.


    "This will sound cheesy but as long as you remember him, he''ll still be alive for a long time." He said taking a swig of his drink.


    "You''re right, that was cheesy." He chuckled.


    Kiro smiled, d that his friend could still crack jokes despite what him and his family were going through. They stood at the balcony of the backplex building, looking down at the service that was done by now, people were just helping tidying up.


    "Hey Ki, about what my dad said, about your grandfather¡ª"


    "It''s okay," he cut him off, he didn''t need to hear an apology not from him. "Lil and Zak told me that it was something my grandfather wished for." He tried to soothe his guilt not wanting anything to change between them.


    "I don''t want you to doubt my resolve. This experience makes me want to do more to ensure someone else doesn''t go through this." He mumbled.


    "I know you do!" He hit him on the back.

 Chapter 339: The Deans Office

    After a day full of emotional turmoil it was time for the boys to go back to the academy. Freya promised to take care of Kiyoko, so Hiro was a bitfortable leaving his mother behind.


    "Are you gonna tell Saanvi?" Kiro asked as they stepped out of the train.


    "I mean it''s impossible to tell her without revealing too much." He pondered, he hadn''t thought about telling anyone about his father.


    "You can just tell her what you told your mum, I don''t know if you can really keep that from her without creating distance between the two of you."


    "Who are you and what have you done with my best friend? The Ki I know sucks at this love thing," he asked seriously shocked. "But she''d see right through me. She''s too smart."


    "She''ll see right through you either way, girls can sniff out secrets." Ishaan offered his own advice.


    They all looked at him strangely, never expecting Ishaan to have any sort of experience with girls. But when your family is part of the richest in the country, people of a lower status tended to suck up to them.


    "What would you know?" Felix was quickly on his case, giving him a look of wonder.


    "I''m not a virgin like the rest of you."


    They could literally feel his pride swell up, his shoulders were suddenly broader, his stride more damaging to the concrete floor. There was finally something he was ahead of and it brought him immense joy.


    The other four looked at him dumbfounded, though Hiro and Saanvi were very close even they hadn''t gone that far yet.


    "Dammit, spill, how was it?" Kiro was truly the most curious of them all.


    "I don''t kiss and tell." He smiled broadly.


    For a moment, they were just teenage boys messing around. Chasing Ishaan through the station to force the answers out of him.


    He tried his best to run away but he was still very much behind on fitness against them, that''s why Niki lunged at him. He fell on his stomach, and Niki on top of him.


    And it just happened, the rest of them just jumped ontop to make a pile. There wasughter from them, while people looked at them strangely, never having seen young adults act the way they were.


    "Okay, I''ll tell, get off." Ishaan shouted from the bottom of the pile.


    Slowly they got up, still grinning andughing. Ishaan remained on the group, joining in theughing too.


    "Ahh, I think I cracked a rib." He said rubbing the side of his stomach gently.


    Chapter Read:


    "We''re minutes away from the medicare, you''ll be fine. Now spill."


    He wasn''t direct about everything, nor was he explicit. He kept it PG but told them to always have condoms on them if they didn''t want kids. That''s why they could be seen leaving an adult shop after an hour of browsing in there.


    Of course they''d all been taught about safe intercourse but they didn''t think they needed them because they weren''t active, and were without girlfriends, most of them.


    But Ishaan told them that anything can happen that''s why they needed to be prepared always. As someone with more experience than them, they listened.


    Hiro was very d of the distraction, the images of his father dying gued his mind, they clung on his very being like a parasite that wouldn''t leave him no matter how much he tried to get rid of it. Maybe one day he''d be able to live one with them but at the moment, they were a bother for him.


    They didn''t need to produce their academy IDs at the gate, the security had gotten extremely friendlier since the first time they''d met him and they didn''t hold a grudge against him.


    "How''s your business doing by the way?" Kiro asked him.


    "Pretty great, I can''t believe the money I''m raking in monthly. To think I was poor not even two months ago, I''ll always be grateful to you thay you forced me to buy the game."


    They hadn''t even settled in when they got word that the dean wanted to see them. They were confused as to why because James should''ve filled him on everything. Tired as they were, they decided to go see what he wanted.


    When they entered his office, it was turned into a conference room. James was already there, at the dean''s left side. They quietly sat and waited, they were so mentally tired they forgot to even greet the man.


    "There''s one moreing but I think we can start without him. Do you mind telling me about everything?" He started.


    "Sir, I thought James would''ve filled you on everything?" Kiro wasn''t quite sure what the dean wanted.


    "Yes but that was just his perspective, most of all how did you get to have such information?"


    "First of all you invaded our trust by putting a tail on us, now you''re interrogating us?" His anger was definitely misced, it was anger he didn''t know he had.


    He wanted badly to me them for his grandfather''s death. They knew he was a lower district citizen but they allowed him to risk his life the way he did for information, this pissed him off.


    "That''s quite¡ª"


    James was interrupted by the dean''s hand, telling him to remain quiet. The atmosphere suddenly changed in the room, Jes¨²s Silva couldn''t have picked a worse time to enter the office.


    "I understand your anger¡ª"


    Kiro''s eyes fell on I''s father, he was feeling more cornered now. He didn''t understand what was going on, he thought the Silva were part of the sanctum and as the elderly male in his family, he was probably in their midst.


    "You don''t understand anything old man." He spat. "What''s he doing here? Isn''t he part of the sanctum?"


    "We''ll get to thatter, but I do understand your anger. You feel we should''ve done more to protect Eldric, but I don''t know how much you remember of the man, he was quite stubborn."


    "Don''t tell me what I remember." He retorted, realising how childish he was being but he couldn''t help it.


    "He was a man who didn''t trust anyone, that''s why the information fell into your hands instead of ours." The dean continued.


    "He clearly trusted someone." Kiro mumbled.

 Chapter 340: The Deans Office, II

    The dean heartilyughed at Kiro''s deration, which shocked almost everyone in the room. No matter how he looked at it, Kiro was Eldric''s incarnate, it was uncanny. It was peculiar that they didn''t only look alike but their personalities were also very simr.


    "He chose well." Heplimented. "As to why Jes¨²s is here, he worked together with us and your grandfather. He''s something of our inside man."


    "So even though there was an inside man, my grandfather was the one who got his hands on the information you couldn''t?" Kiro almost rolled his eyes.


    A little bit of respect he had for them crumbled. They had all the money, all the resources but they yed it safe, while his grandfather got reckless getting himself killed in the process. This didn''t sit right with him.


    "It''s very unpleasant to admit but yes." The dean admitted to their failures.


    "Then, aren''t you guys a bit of a joke?" Niki chimed in, he couldn''t believe their nerve of asking them for information they weren''t trusted with.


    Information they would no doubt have gotten if they had pushed a little bit harder and didn''t y so safe.


    They all looked defeated with that question, they couldn''t exactly refute it. It was true, they had failed where Eldric had seeded.


    "We initially didn''t want to show ourselves to you but your sudden trip made me think about the possibilities of what you could be nning and that''s why I had James go with you, truly sorry to have done so without your knowledge." The dean seemed sincere enough.


    Kiro thought back to the information, his grandfather did mention some rich people that worked with him. His biggest for him now, was why he didn''t trust the information with them instead of burdening his grandson. He sighed, not understanding a thing the man was trying to aplish.


    Hiro looked to I''s father, "if you''re part of the sanctum why didn''t you do anything about the underground ring?" He was surprisingly calm but the usatory tone in his voice couldn''t be hidden.


    "Gilbert keson and I don''t see eye to eye, he doesn''t trust me, I don''t trust him, we''re always at odds. The underground ring was a keson thing not a sanctum one, so naturally I had no idea about its whereabouts." He said taking a seat next to the dean.


    They simultaneously shook their heads, when they entered the underground ring there were so many spectators. He couldn''t turn one of them to be on their side and reveal the location.


    With this, Kiro was understanding little by little why he didn''t leave the information with them. It wasn''t that he didn''t trust them, he just didn''t trust that they would take the necessary risks.


    "No matter how I look at it, you guys are cowards." Kiro concluded.


    "You dare? What do you know¡ª"


    "A whole lot apparently. Nothing can be achieved at thefort of your thrones. We are just kids, we have families, we are risking not just our lives but their lives aswell doing this." Hiro came to his friends aid.


    "That''s right. I have to fight my own dad, how do you think that feels?" Ishaan had been quiet for a while but he asked something very valid that left all the adults unable to answer.


    The dean leaned back on his chair, stroking his white beard and pondering their grievances. Of course he knew they were right, they''d been fighting for decades and hadn''t gotten anywhere but these kids had this information for probably less than a year and they had achieved more than they could.


    "Yes, it''s quite hard. You''re right of course, we''ve been fighting in ourfort zones. I always thought more is less, its clear now that to make real change something big should happen."


    "Yeah you''ve done great, we''re eternally grateful."


    "Tsk. Don''t speak like we were doing this for you specifically, we just don''t like how the society operates." Felix said looking to the side, trying to hide his annoyed expression.


    "I told you they were too matured for their own good." James sighed, they were definitely losing this one.


    "Yes you did. About the information¡ª"


    "I''m sorry dean Whitmore, but I''d like to respect my grandfather''s wishes. I won''t divulge what was in the file and it''ll be useless to hassle the other guys, I''m the only one who knows." Kiro said with finality.


    "That''s fair, how about this though, in your next expedition include us too. I''m sure James was a great help to you lot." The dean understood, he didn''t want to push them away further so he suggested something that could work.


    They looked at each other intently, none of them seemed to be against the suggestion. Without James there, they weren''t sure they could''ve gotten out with just scratches on them.


    Their unspoken agreement, the ability to read each other proved just how much closer they had grown. It was a pleasant feeling for all of them.


    "We think that''s fair." Kiro answered.


    "You won''t discuss it with your friends?" James asked confused.


    "We already did." Felix answered. "And before you ask, yes we did, just now."


    James wanted to prod further but the dean stopped his train of thought. He was still very much immature, just like them.


    "If you don''t mind me asking, how did Eldric do it, how did he leave something untraceable behind?" The dean was genuinely curious, no ulterior motives.


    Kiro thought for a moment, "it was in this," he pulled out the ne his grandfather gave it to him. "It was a USB drive, but the old version, so we had to build an oldputer to ess the data."


    He looked at them unsure. If they could already buildputers, he wondered what the academy had to offer for them. He reckoned nothing.


    "If you can do that, why are you still in school?" James blurted out. Chapter Explore:


    "Our families would kill us otherwise." Kiro and Hiro said almost at the same time.


    This earned them anotherugh from the dean, he was truly a carefree old man. Any other teacher would''ve scolded them and lectured them on the importance of school.


    "What''s the next step?" Jes¨²s asked. "In your ns I mean."


    "Taking the mine!" They proimed in unison.

 Chapter 341: Sport Festival

    The dean was left thinking as they walked out of his office. He wondered where their confidence came from, maybe it was because this time they didn''t lose someone within their friend group.


    "Aren''t they too conceited?" James asked.


    "They''re fine, they''re young and they''ve done amazing." The dean answered longingly, hoping they had been bold enough to do what they did.


    Kiro couldn''t wait to sleep, he practically jumped to hug his bed and pillow. The fatigue from the past days was catching up to him, he was falling in and out of consciousness when he heard a knock on his door. He groaned, not getting up immediately until the fifth knock.


    He shuffled his feet towards the door, he was surprised to see Hiro on the other end. Smiling awkwardly and looking all nervous. He didn''t say anything and waited for him to talk.


    "Can I, can I sleep here tonight?" His expression was pained, as if asking this embarrassed him greatly.


    Kiro got out of the way without saying anything and gestured for him toe in. He didn''t need to ask why, he could tell the pain from his voice and he reckoned the memories must be haunting him.


    "I''ll take the sofa." He suggested, thinking maybe somethingfortable will ease his nightmares.


    "I couldn''t do that to you, I''ll¡ª"


    But Kiro was already on the sofa and fell asleep as soon as he hit it. Hiro smiled sadly, feeling waves of guilt taking thefort away from his friend. He took a nket and pulled it over him and just his friend, he fell asleep quickly too.


    The night was a long one for Hiro as he couldn''t escape his thoughts, they followed him to his dreams. He woke up twice in the night, sweating and shaking. But every time, he managed to go back to sleep.


    The next time he opened his eyes he was greeted with breakfast on the table. Just a sandwich and a drinking yoghurt, he looked around and there was no one in the room.


    "Sh*t, I''mte for ss! Ki, you idiot you should''ve woken me up."


    Kiro saw his friend sleeping peacefully after very rough days and decided to let him rest, he thought sses could wait, he needed time to adjust and get his mind right.


    He scrambled and got into the shower and got out two minutester. He was feeling very hungry, so he was grateful for the sandwich and yoghurt, he ate while getting ready.


    Just then the door swung open, Kiro was with I and Saanvi.


    "Dammit Ki, why didn''t you wake me up?" Heined having difficulties to swallow everything he was chewing.


    "You were sleeping so soundly," he looked at him and chuckled. "You know, even if you were ready in time, you wouldn''t have been able to open my door?"


    He gave him an annoyed side eye.


    "Don''t torture him, sses have been suspended. They''re preparing for the sport festival." Saanvi tore through Kiro making her to Hiro''s side.


    He startedughing and falling back into the bed, forgetting he still had food in his mouth he was choking. Saanvi panicked, she was hitting his back. Kiro stood backughing.


    "You''re the idiot, you should swallow first."


    "Look who''sughing, didn''t even wish I her 18th yesterday!" Saanvi shot back, shutting him up immediately.


    "I-What, uhm, I didn''t, why didn''t you tell me?" He turned to her.


    I gave him a shy smile. She wasn''t someone who liked her birthday, mostly because her family would throw these huge events but nobody asked her what she really wanted. So without even meaning to, she preferred hiding it.


    She tiptoed and looked over Kiro''s shoulder giving Saanvi an icy look, "you know I don''t care about these things, stop trying to make him feel guilty."


    Kiro searched her face, he wasn''t sure he knew anyone who didn''t like their birthday. But shrugged it off, he was supposed to take her out on that weekend anyway, he could spoil her then.


    ''January 30th? I better remember next time.'' He made the mental note.


    "Why did youe back anyway?" Hiro asked still seating on the bed.


    "Coach Smith wants us to go for practice, we signed up for cricket remember."


    They walked to the field, the snow hadpletely melted, so the ground was good to go. The sun peeked out of the clouds a little. They all went their separate ways.


    They quickly changed to their gym clothes and joined their teammates, the coach was absolutely ruthless. Eden Academy had been champions for the longest time, beating every neighbouring academy.


    "You lot are the worst I''ve ever coached, you better give it two hundred percent." He screamed, even though they were spreadout, they could hear him well.


    Some were catching the balls, some were hitting them. Coach Smith rolled his eyes when he saw how Ursa was using her bat. He walked up close to her.


    "Why did you choose this sport?" He asked her.


    "Because I had to sign up for something?" She answered annoyed,ing face to face with the Coach she saw how unhappy he was with the answer.


    "Well, it''s the truth. What do you want me to say? Rich folks don''t bother with these things."


    He couldn''t refute. She was right. Something he''d fought for, for years. He at least wanted to coach people who knew the basics, it was a pain starting from scratch. But he was rejected, that didn''t stop him from submitting the request every year.


    "Look, kid. This is how you hold a cricket bat. Your dominant hand should be at the bottom of the handle, your knees should bend just a little. No, not like that, your legs shouldn''t be stuck together!"


    He was still fixing her, when he saw someone else bowling like this was baseball.


    "Hey, that ball can do damage, that''s not how you do it, you don''t throw it!"


    In the past he''d taught them different types of bowlers, it seemed like that information came in one ear and out the other. It had always been the kids from the slums who did better on these things.


    "Kiro, Hiro, you''ll be my little helpers." He shouted, seeing them bowling to each other.

 Chapter 342: First Date

    Kiro didn''t need another authoritative position within the school, but the coach wasn''t asking for his opinion on the matter, they were better than the rest. Their job, as per Coach Smith, was to help everyone who wasn''t.


    He was one person, whom couldn''t tend to everyone that was there. So the help was very much wee to him.


    "We need to win this cup, we can''t lose to those beneath us." He shouted as if preparing them for a war.


    "What makes them beneath us..." Kiro mumbled as he was helping Niki. His cheekyment earned him aughter from his friend but a frown from the coach.


    "What did you say smart mouth?"


    "Nothing Coach." He gave him an innocent smile.


    Though Coach Smith didn''t buy it, so he walked up to him. "Don''t just help your friends, the entire team needs you. Go help that kid." He said pointing to Ursa.


    Kiro gave him a look of confusion, wondering if this man was just out to get him. In any case, he didn''t have the voice to defy him directly. So he slowly walked towards an Ursa who was struggling with the bat.


    She''d obviously heard what the coach said and was intently listening to the footsteps that were nearing and eventually stopped in front of her.


    "You''re bending your knees too much." Kiro said mechanically. "Honestly, do these rich brats never even watch sport?" He muttered to himself.


    "To answer your question, we don''t, it''s deemed a waste of time which is ironic since we''re forced to y these things here...and you don''t really have to do this?" She told him politely without looking up once.


    "Oh really? I suppose I''ll just waltz over to coach and tell him I don''t have to do this."


    He kept pointing out her mistakes and trying to fix them. At one point he had to hold her hands together to show her how a bat is held.


    As soon as he touched her, she felt her heart racing out of her chest. She was suddenly having difficulties concentrating, and the winter sun that was melting the snow made her feel dizzy.


    ''Come on Ursa get ahold of yourself. He''s a good looking guy but there''s no chance.'' She scolded herself firmly.


    But the matters of the heart were alwaysplex and difficult to convince, which is why she couldn''t stop the butterflies that were rummaging inside her stomach.


    "Are you even listening?" His voice came out more high-pitched than he intended.


    "Y-yes!"


    "Hey Waynworth, mind your hands."


    They were disturbed by a very familiar voice to both of them. Kiro wished he could mess him up, with everything his father had done but calmed down, reminding himself that the sins of the father aren''t the son''s.


    "Tell your boyfriend nothing is going on, it''s just practise." He instead addressed Ursa not trusting himself to hold back if he were to get into it with Isaac.


    "B-boyfriend? And so what if something was happening, he''s not my boyfriend." She proimed loudly and proud.


    "What the hell do you mean, there''s nothing going on!" Kiro didn''t want anyone getting the wrong idea.


    The coach walked by, causing them to stop the chatter. The training was taken more seriously, as they spent almost all day on the field, breaking only for meals.


    It was like a training camp of some sort, it would go on for the rest of that week, then the next week the three academies would arrive andpete with each other in a pool of four.


    The next couple of days were tough but they managed to survive it all. Kiro was impressed that Hiro could keep up, considering his soft nature he expected that he wouldn''t be able to even get out of bed.


    But his friend was showing him what it meant to have strength, though he was still sleeping in his bed, not anything he minded. He''d do anything for his best friend.


    Another thing that pulled a rug under his feet was Coach Smith agreeing giving them Saturday off. None wanted to jinx it so nobody asked a thing, they just nodded gratefully.


    "Are you sure you''re gonna be okay? I could cancel." He asked him for the thousandth time.


    "Ki, I''m okay, I''m not a child." Hiro reassured him again.


    "You may aswell be mine." He frowned, he wasn''t tired of having his friend over but he also didn''t want him lying about how he was.


    "I''m fine, I can take care of myself. Go, leave!" He pushed him out of the door.


    "Don''t lock or you''ll be locked in or out."


    He was wearing very casual clothing but they were still very expensive. He decided to take her to student town. There was nothing else.


    Despite not looking too fancy by the standards of the upper district fashion, he still managed to turn a few heads as he walked past. There were whispers too, and he did what he always did, ignored them.


    He walked through the cafeteria doors and immediately his eyes fell onto the girl he was here to pick up. She was wearing a cute short dress and the ne Kiro gave her.


    Her hair was styled in a bun, with a bit of loose hair that fell over her face. This scene cause Kiro to choke on his own saliva.


    "You can''t die yet." Saanvi said hitting him hard on the back.


    "Hiro is in my room, don''t do anything." He warned her.


    Instead of getting into it with him, Saanvi simply gave him a naughty smile and turned on her heels, walking in the direction of his room.


    They were both rooted to the floor, staring at each other other. They''ve had a lot of misunderstandings these past couple of weeks. Kiro wasn''t sure if this date would go well.


    Naturally he was nervous, he let out an anxiousugh before saying,


    "You look great." Heplimented.


    "You too." She felt a little shy.


    He offered his hand, she took it, folding it back and linking their arms together. They walked out of the cafeteria together with one goal in mind, to make the other their significant partner.

 Chapter 343: Saturday Off

    She was looking forward to spending a day with Kiro but at the same time, she felt like it would be the same as if she were at home. They''d string her along iming they were celebrating her day.


    While the day would most likely be just another day with rich people trying towork with each other. She could only hope he had something very different in mind.


    Student town was as busy as usual. But today it had more kids their age roaming around. Someone bumped into him, when he turned around it was another kid.


    "Kiro Waynworth right?" The kid beamed.


    He looked to be around their age. He was almost the same height as he was, he was darker than him inplexion. His eyes were ck as night.


    "I''m Aeron Kel, I''ll be ying you next week." He continued his excited demeanor.


    Kiro forced out a smile, "great, excuse me."


    "Hey Bel, what do want to do today?" He instead focused on why they came here, he didn''t want to think about useless cricket games at the moment.


    I''s face lit up. Nobody had ever asked her that question before. They always told her what would happen and what her ce would be.


    "Really? I get to choose?" She was unsure.


    "Of course, it''ste but we''re celebrating your birthday."


    She got all excited all of a sudden. Kiro shook his head, while he loved her outfit, he didn''t think it was that hot for her to wear a stripped dress without any coat.


    Before he could voice his concerns, I had grabbed his hand and was running, leading them to some ce else.


    They left the kid looking sour and dumbfounded. He was looking forward to meeting Kiro but it was simply not a good time, they left without exining so he didn''t understand.


    The moment he was out of his sight, he forgot that there was someone who introduced themselves. So that was at the back of his mind, as he was dragged through student town.


    They swiftly moved through the crowds that threatened to swallow them but I was a really good navigator. She skidded in front of what seemed like a fancy restaurant.


    "Today is on you right?" She tried for it toe out innocent but the smile came out naughty.


    He looked at her his head cocked to his left with a frown, then look at the restaurant. He couldn''t recognise it even with his past knowledge.


    "Yes." He answered.


    Not knowing that he should''ve probably said no. He could afford to eat there but thought it was a waste of precious money. He came out of the brunch regretting the choice of wearing a hoody, he was feeling a little hot.


    "That was fun, I always wanted to try this but I thought it''d be too boring to try it with my own money."


    "Haha, let''s not do that again." He mumbled.


    He wasn''t sure that he should''ve given I the reigns. But that''s how his parents raised him, on their birthday, a person should at least choose what to do.


    His mood got better when she stopped in front of the amusement park. There was much to do, but it was all up to I on where they went next.


    The market was split into two parts, one side was food and the other were games. Since they''d just eaten, I dragged him to the game side.


    "I''ve never came here, this side." She said excitedly.


    "Then you should probably start with the easy stuff?" A random manmented.


    It look like a shooting range. The guns looked real, but the man assured them they weren''t. The rules were straightforward, shoot the targets within the specified time and win a prize. Kiro used his phone to pay credits for the game.


    The targets were a good distance away from them. As soon as the credits were inserted, the targets started moving on their own and the timer counted down. I was clearly very bad this, because she was missing everything.


    "Wow Bel, are you aiming for the spaces?" Kiro teased.


    "Oh shut up, think you can do better?" She gave him a daring look.


    "I know I can, which prize do you want?" He asked taking the gun from her and inserting more credits.


    The man didn''t mind their little banter, they were paying customers to him. Not many could hit the targets, nobody had ever gotten the first prize too.


    "I like the key chain!"


    "So, how many targets for the key chain old man?"


    "About 20 in 10 seconds. That''s our second prize though, you''re sure about that?"


    "Are you calling her tastes second rate?" He gave him a cold look.


    The man shrugged and gave them an apologetic smile and kept his lips shut. They didn''t seem like simple children, he couldn''t afford to offend anyone.


    Kiro on the other hand wasn''t even thinking about that, he took a deep breath through gritted teeth. The gun felt real on his hands, it was a bit heavy too, he caressed the triggered a little with his index finger. Not enough to fire though.


    ''Okay, what did Wilfred say. Rx your shoulders. Breathe. Zone in and keep distractions out. When ready, shoot.'' He thought back to their hell training.


    He did as he was told, time seemed to slow down for him as he mmed down each target unbelievably fast. Theser bullet was only strong enough to knock them down, proof that it wasn''t the real thing.


    As each target fell, he was counting, he didn''t want to mistakenly get her the first prize, something she didn''t want.


    "20," he muttered and gave the man a crooked grin.


    The man looked absolutely terrified. If the kid wanted, he would''ve gotten first ce, but what terrified him most was the fact that, he got all 20 with six seconds on the clock. He spent the other four preparing.


    "Well kid, you''re good." He took the key chain and shoved it in his hand shooing them away before they wanted his first prize.


    "You know Ki, you can tell me if you''re a sniper assassin." She said, looking at the key chain she''ll never really use, since their doors didn''t really open by old keys.


    "Haha. You''re funny." He said nervously.

 Chapter 344: First Time For Both

    They spent most of their day mostly inpetition with each other. Driving virtual dirt bikes and racing on really unfriendly terrain.


    The virtual bikes were very realistic. On the first round they were normal ones, racing at insane speeds on the dirt road.


    "Oh Ki, I didn''t think you were this terrible at driving!" She eximed.


    "I''m just warming up, just warming up!" He made his excuses that he didn''t quite believe himself.


    This made I giggle. The scenery suddenly changed, the virtual world went from beautiful and sunny to grumpy and thunderous.


    The wheels on the bikes disappeared into its stomach, thrusters appeared that levitated it to the skies. It was clear that their next battle would be amongst the grey skies.


    The timer went down and a big go appeared. At a blink of an eye, the bikes were no longer visible from the group as they navigated through the clouds.


    The goal was to get to the finish line, but there were obstacles. They had to dodge lightning and blocks of ice that were thrown their way.


    The wind was even less friendly but I was content and dedicated to winning. Seeing her drive, Kiro wondered why he never learned himself.


    He was distracted by this when a big sh appeared before his eyes, striking his bike in half. His virtual self was free falling from the skies, he knew it wasn''t really but it was still not ideal.


    That''s when I scooped him back up. Hended safely on the back of the bike.


    "This way, we can both win?" She teased.


    If I wasn''tpetitive, Kiro would purposely lose to her but it was very different. It was as if she was making up for being so terrible at shooting. She was definitely the better racer seeing as how she was destroying Kiro.


    He didn''t have a fragile ego, so he took the losses like a man. This was her day, it wasn''t bad that she was good at games. Then he remembered that the only reason they started a friendship was because of a game too.


    They spent the entire day ying around the park like this. asionally grabbing things to eat along the way.


    The sky was painted orange after a while, the sun was sinking down beyond the horizon. It was finally time to go back to the academy. I had a great time, she was starting to warm up to birthdays.


    They were walking through the gates when Kiro felt something crawl up at the back of his neck. Something he''d been feeling throughout this date but was ignoring it.


    He suddenly turned, grabbing an unknown man by the arm and mming him on the ground.


    "I''ve been watching you watching us all day, who are you and what do you want?"


    I waspletely taken aback. The Kiro infront of her right now didn''t seem like someone she recognised, but she didn''t say anything, she decided to observe.


    The man was mumbling something when Kiro realised he had his whole face kissing the ground. He let him up, give him a little room to breathe and talk.


    "Mr. Silva told me to, please I meant no harm." He said quickly, he was in pain and wanted to make himself appear as less of a threat as possible.


    "Dad did?" I was confused.


    "Look, tell him he doesn''t need to worry, I can take care of everything down here. This will only make people wary." Kiro told him, helping him to his feet and offered an apologetic shrug with a smile.


    "Ki, what''s going on?" She couldn''t quite put it all together.


    "With everything going on, rich people are in danger. Your dad must''ve found out about this somehow and got worried." Kiro exined as they walked towards the train tform.


    I never thought about it this way. She was happy that they were exposed but didn''t consider that some people won''t just me the rich, but her family and by rtion, her too.


    "Don''t be too worried, I can protect you."


    "Sigh. It''s not that, I just didn''t think I''d get the me too, to the point I needed bodyguards?" She thought back to the footage that popped on her screen and wondered how she''d go about joining the group that was helping her country to the right direction.


    They made it through the academy gates with just one minute to spare. Kiro casually locked his hands with hers, thinking she was besides herself with what just happened. In his way, he was calming her down.


    "Hey, I''ve been meaning to ask," Kiro started, both of them standing by her dorm room door. "We like each other, I think, so I was hoping, you know..."


    I just stood there, silently waiting for him to say it. She wasn''t going to help him, if there was anything she was patient for, it was this.


    He took a deep breath. ''Come on man, it''s not that difficult.''


    After what seemed like an eternity. The words finally left his mouth.


    "Will you do me the great honour of entering a rtionship with me?" It didn''te out exactly as he wanted and he wanted to strangle himself for it.


    I giggled, taking his hand and pulling him closer and he unwittingly entered her room. He didn''t know why he expected it to be girly, but it was elegant. There wasn''t much personal touch.


    "First time¡ª"


    I shut him up with a kiss to the lips, and he didn''tin and just went with it. He felt like the first time they did it, this was a feeling he never wanted to lose.


    Then she did something he did not expect and started taking her clothes off. His heart was now travelling at the speed of light, he was surprised it didn''t explode in his chest.


    He didn''t show he was nervous though and just went along with it. If he had to admit it to himself, she really looked really great without her clothes off.


    "Are you okay, are you sure about this?" He asked her.


    She nodded, "are you?"


    "Yes!"


    He suddenly felt very excited, his body was too.

 Chapter 345: A Request From The Dean

    Kiro slowly opened his eyes, he''d slept like a baby after what happenedst night. He thought he was in his bed, he was about to get up when he realising someone was sleeping on his chest. Snoring a little.


    Heid back down and started reminiscing to everything that happenedst night. It was bliss he''d never thought was possible feeling, he couldn''t believe he waited so long to have a taste at the tree of life.


    ''Now I kinda understand why my parents have so many kids.'' He chuckled, waking up I in the process.


    But Kiro was unaware that she was, he was still spending the seconds with his thoughts. He was jerked out of his mind when something unexpected happened.


    "Bel, do you know where you''re holding onto?" He almost jumped out of bed.


    "I''m not an idiot." She gave him a naughty smile, her eyes still closed.


    She got up and took a sitting position ontop of him. Kiro swallowed, he was sure he still had it in him despite the demanding exercise that was yesterday.


    "Maybe we should go down for breakfast." I suggested.


    "Maybe..." Kiro parroted dreamily.


    His heart was beginning to take off, he was sweating a bit and he was starting to get aroused with her sat on him like that.


    [Attention students, sport days have been cancelled effective immediately. Because of the sudden change of the weather, the storm is predicted to rampage throughout the week.


    Now, our guests had already arrived in student town. They were going to stay in hotels until tomorrow, but since the storm will only get worse we will be hosting them throughout this week. Be hospitable.]


    It was the vice dean''s voice. Kiro hadn''t heard from him since the trial when he wanted to force him to be guilty. His voice hadn''t changed at all, it still carried a superiority tone to it.


    "Looks like we have all the time in the world."


    [Anotner thing, meal times are still enforced. There''ll be no sses for this week.]


    I sighed, getting off the bed and going into the shower, they didn''t haven''t time to wait for the other to finish so they showered together.


    They were having so much fun bathing together. Kiro wished he could freeze the moment and live it forever. But it couldn''t be even if he wished it so, there was much to do.


    "You know, since we won''t be attending and there''ll be a storm the whole week, why don''t we just crash in my room?" Kiro asked drying his hair.


    "That''s not a bad idea, I''ll grab my head gear and a few change of clothes." She said happily.


    They walked into the cafeteria together, there were still a very few people. Their friends were amongst the few, walking towards them, they were whistling and cheering.


    It was an embarrassing moment, they were both d the cafeteria wasn''t packed yet.


    "Will you guys keep it down!" He scolded them.


    "No way, I can''t believe you let me sleep by myself. Bad friend." Hiro pretended to be mad.


    "I''m not an idiot, I know Saanvi slept there. I just hope you changed and washed my sheets."


    It was Hiro''s turn to flush red. He gave him an apologetic expression, Kiro shrugged. He didn''t mind much.


    Ishaan sat there dumbfounded and lonely, feeling like a spare wheel. It was a pity that Niki and Felix didn''t live in their dorm building, because then it wouldn''t just be him looking at couples.


    Before they even finished their breakfast, there was another announcement. It was more directed to Kiro and his friends, the dean wanted to see them. They were summoned to go there as soon as possible.


    "Did you lock in my room?" He asked Hiro who shook his head in return. "Please go on ahead, we will be back soon."


    They met up with Niki and Felix entering from outside. Even though they hadyers uponyers of clothes, they could still feel the coldness the storm brought over.


    Everybody thought summer was closer only to be hit by the biggest storm any of them had ever seen. It was starting to snow, but it was still very light.


    None of them could guess why the dean wanted to see them. Soon enough they were face to face with his office door, which surprisingly opened without them knocking.


    "Ah boys,e ine in. Our guests are on their way." His demeanor had changed since thest time they were here.


    "Why don''t they just go back now, the snow is still very light." Ishaan asked, already sensing where this was going.


    "They can''t, they wouldn''t make it. The weather will get bad real soon. Anyway, there''s a vi within the school, that''s where they''re going to stay." He paused to let them soak in his request.


    "Surely you don''t mean¡ª" Kiro started.


    "I don''t think so." Niki chimed in.


    "It couldn''t be." Hiro added.


    Dean Whitmore pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn''t need to be asking them this, but he much preferred them out of everyone else in this institution. Maybe because they''ve done things his revolution failed at.


    "Wouldn''t this be better for you too? Security is more tight at the vi. These are kids your own age, we need you to host them, make them feel wee." He told them pleadingly.


    They thought about it for a while. Kiro looked at each of them, they all had the same expression, boredom mixed with annoyance.


    "I guess we will do it. But if I Silvaes with." Kiro stated his condition.


    "Saanvi too."


    The dean had no choice but to agree and had them move there before the storm got more violent. The vi was huge, bigger than anything they''d ever seen. It could probably fit all first years.


    "Why don''t they just have first years live here again?" Kiro asked.


    "This is for guests only. It was built to amodate other academies, for asions just like today." Saanvi answered, she had her sses on which was very rare.


    Kiro just wanted them to arrive as soon as possible. It felt like an eternity since he yed Asgard, he was starting to miss it.

 Chapter 346: Old Acquaintances

    The ce was built beautifully. Each room was spacious enough that it had up to three bedrooms and bathrooms, with a lounge too. Each bedroom had up to two beds.


    They didn''t choose their own, the dean had already designated where they''d be staying. The two couples chose two of the bedrooms, while the three boys would sleep in the third one.


    All of them had brought their head gear, now they were just waiting for their guests so they could enter the game uninterrupted.


    The TV was on, ever since they exposed what was happening in their society that''s all the news talked about. Different theories and guests every day. It was scary how some theories were very close to reality.


    They didn''t have to wait for long because an hourter, the main door opened. About 45 students filed in, looking at the building in awe. They were all from the three academies they were going to y with.


    Luckily, the students who y other sports arranged for themselves to arrive on that day so their trip was cancelled before it even started.


    Kiro nudged I to wee them, but she mimed ''You''re the ss president.'' And took a few steps away from him so he couldn''t persuade her any further.


    "Uh, wee to Eden Academy. I''m not the president of the academy, I reckon they should be the ones weing you. This is where you''ll be staying, a single room has over three bedrooms, so you can sort yourselves.


    "We''ve been asked to be your guides, if that''s the correct term. So, here we are."


    There was whispering amongst the students. Some nodding, some frowning. They weren''t sure about this arrangement.


    "Questions?" He was already annoyed but did a good job hiding it.


    "What about food?" One student asked.


    "I guess we will cook for you," He said through gritted teeth, a vein popped on his temple. "That was a sneaky one, dean." He whispered to himself.


    "We?" Felixined.


    Just then, the door swung open and James appeared. Kiro never thought he''d ever be so d to see James in his life. He liked cooking but thinking back to his punishment with Isaac, he didn''t want to experience something like that again.


    "Sorry I''mte, I''ll be your cook for the week."


    He said his respects, and walked straight to the kitchen. He was the only adult amongst them, but here he was, refusing to take responsibility for them and take a leading role.


    "Is that Pres the wimp?" A voice sounded from within the crowd.


    "Definitely him, fancy seeing you here." Another said.


    Kiro''s skin threatened to crawl off his body. His entire being went numb and cold, that was a nickname he hadn''t heard in a long time. He didn''t turn, he was content to ignoring whoever it was.


    "Kiro Waynworth," said a different voice. "We met in student town, I''m Aeron Kel." He introduced himself again, extending his hand.


    "We did?"


    "Yes, I reckon you were busy then. I''m sorry for disturbing you it wasn''t my intention."


    Someone else nudged Aeron out of the way before he could mutter ''Hey'' inint. A girl now stood in front of Kiro, and he recognised her. She was really relentless in bullying him back then. It didn''t seem like she''d changed much.


    "Surely you recognise me?" She said pointing at herself.


    "Sure. But I can''t say I know your name."


    "Who would''ve thought you''d turn out to be so fit and handsome." Sheplimented, touching his face.


    Kiro was too slow to get out of the way, but I was quicker at swatting her hand off his face. She sized her up, appearing really annoyed.


    ''Who does this girl think she is touching what''s mine...'' She thought to herself, pouting.


    "I''m Mary-Anne, nice to see you again wi¡ªKiro Waynworth." She said, pretending I had done nothing.


    Nobody in that room could deny her beauty. She was definitely someone who turned heads wherever she went, but Kiro''s interest in her was nonexistent. Even if she didn''t bully him in the past, he didn''t feel like she was his type.


    So he just nodded at her introduction, his attention turning to Aeron Kel. The memories of meeting him back at student town wereing back to him.


    "Aeron Kel is it? Nice to meet you, again. Sorry about earlier but I was one a date." He said offering him his hand.


    He quickly shook it, "great. I knew it, you weren''t arrogant. I''ve met your father, he''s a delight, my father works for him."


    Kiro was hung up on thosest words, it felt strange that anyone was working for his father. He wondered how thepany was going, he made a mental note to check in, he hadn''t since he was back home.


    "If you y Asgard Online, add me. Here''s my ID. You''ve brought your head gear I hope."


    Aeron looked around nervous, relieved that there wasn''t their coach in sight. "Yes, I wasn''t supposed to but the game is kind of addictive, and of course I''ll add you. After Dark is really famous within the game."


    "Say, Aeron what''s your ss?" Felix asked hopefully.


    "I''m a priest." He said excitedly.


    Felix looked at all his friends, one by one, with what was supposed to be an excited expression but instead came out as a grimace.


    Niki shook his head, "you can''t just expect him to leave his guild and join After Dark. You can be a dunce sometimes Felix."


    Aeron looked at them confused. "What do you mean, join After Dark?"


    "We have a priest, who doesn''t like being a priest, so we''re looking for another priest." Ishaan answered looking at Felix mockingly.


    "Yes. I''ll leave my guild." His face was feeling hot. "To say its my guild is an overstatement though, I haven''t been epted to join. My application has been pending for over a month." He said, sadness in his voice.


    Kiro was originally not going to let him join if he was willing to abandon his guild for something better. But since he wasn''t officially in any, he felt a bit easy letting him join.


    "Okay, but you''ll be on probation."


    They all went their separate ways, the guests had to get settled. Kiro''s group went up to their room, and they settled in the lounge, all of them had their head gear in hand.


    "You guys ready?"

 Chapter 347: True Blood Success

    It felt gooding back to Asgard, it had only been a week but it felt like thousands of years to them. But none of them were allowed to go out yet, Hiro was back to being obsessive over the true blood potion and ordered them to help.


    Kiro thought a week away from the game would mean his reality warping abilities would be free to use. But it seemed to be going at a very slow rate, when he was offline that rate would go to zero. It was a bummer but at the same time, he didn''t want to depend on them.


    It wasn''t long before Aeron knocked on their gates, along with a crowd that was there to rent some beasts. Kiro thought of stopping that side of business, but it was free money and who could say no to that.


    "Now you guys know not to queue here, the website is there for a reason." He reprimanded them, able to take this little break because he had to let Aeron in.


    "The website is a hassle, it crashes because a lot of people are using it. This is the only way in which we can get ahold of you." One voice reasoned from the crowd.


    "I hear you, but I''m busy at the moment. Hiro would throw a fit if he saw me handling business here." He gave them a genuine smile.


    "But boss, there''s only 10 of us here, just make it quick. Please."


    He took a look at their base, then his eyes fell on the queue. It didn''t seem like a lot, he could finish giving them in mere minutes. He decided then to just do it.


    "Aeron, you saw nothing."


    Aeron simply gave him a shy smile. He wasn''t ready yet to get involved in the squabbles of the group. As a new member, he wanted nothing more than to impress them.


    Dealing with his customers took more time than he anticipated. Mostly because new ones would appear out of thin air. He regretted starting, but now that he''d started he couldn''t stop.


    He was only saved by the fact that he had a very limited number of beasts to give out. He apologised briefly, but when he walked away most of them didn''t leave.


    "We''ll wait."


    That was all they gave him. He stopped himself fromughing out loud and calling them idiots, he knew that he wouldn''t see the daylight until Hiro was done.


    ''Hiro''s gonna murder me.'' He sighed, entering the heat riddled room. Everyone else was doing this and that, sweating to the bream.


    "That took you long." Hemented without looking up once.


    "We ran into a small problem at the gate." He said trying to seem small.


    "Mm...Hold this." He turned giving him a small vial that looked to have nothing in it. "Don''t shake it, it''ll explode if you do and kill us all."


    When he sensed closer with vibrations he could feel that there was something in there, a liquid that was invisible to the eye. How Hiro could see it was a wonder to him.


    He was now very careful with it, he didn''t so much as move, you could''ve sworn he were a statue. Hiro smirked at this satisfied and continued his cooking.


    Aeron certainly came at a bad time to be a member. He wasn''t used to the heat so he had to be excused a couple of times. The others were used to much worse. After many days holed up in Hiro''s dungeon of madness, his lips finally cracked a smile.


    "It''s done!" He shouted excitedly. "Finally, it''s done,e on Ishaan, drink, drink."


    Ishaan took nervous tired steps forward. He couldn''t believe this was finally the moment, this was finally it, he was going to be a guardian. The fatigue wore off immediately as he stood in front of a potion with a brilliant colour of red.


    He took a spoon off the table and before Hiro could say anything, he scooped a spoonful of it. His trembling hand attempting to feed him.


    "Idiot. That''s not what you use for it."


    Sure enough the potion burnt through the spoon and fell onto the floor. Hiro was on the brink of strangling him, if there wasn''t a pot of it he would''ve done it.


    "Oh." That''s all he managed to say before looking hopefully to Hiro to give him instructions.


    "Hold on, why am I still holding this?" Kiro broke the tension.


    Hiro had forgotten about that, he slowly walked up to his friend. Took the vial off his hands, shook it before opening the thing and then downed the contents within.


    "You didn''t need this did you?" He wasn''t even mad about it, he just epted that he fell for his antics.


    Aeron was in luck, as a new member, he would also get some boosts through the true blood potion.


    "You know, its a bit unfair he gets to drink it this early. I had to wait for months, he should experience fighting with monsters like you, at least once." Heined looking at the potion that was in a vial now. "This won''t burn through my stomach?" He asked with a nervous chuckle.


    "What do you think I am? Drink."


    "You should count your blessings Ishaan, don''t make this newbie go through all that. He''s a priest, have you no shame?" Felix took his shot, although he was on the ground due to how tired he was.


    They both were the first ones to drink from a yer made potion, and both received notifications that they''ll awaken in a few days. Ishaan was a bit bummed by having to wait, he was ready to use his newfound power now.


    All dungeon rted activies were halted, they decided to resume them after the two had awakened. That was fair, since they wanted to challenge high levelled dungeons.


    "Wow, these are all your beasts? I wish I could awaken beast taming." Aeronplimented.


    Kiro was outside, training his beasts. None of which were up to his standards, he just wanted his Hubris back. He wasn''t just his mount, he was one of his best friends and he missed him.

 Chapter 348: A Better Option

    After Dark was in their meeting hall, they all looked tensed up. Clearly something serious was being discussed, something that divided them.


    "We have to sell these, they will make us serious money and I know you all know we need all the resources out there." Niki argued.


    They couldn''t talk freely with Aeron there, something they didn''t think of before asking him to join in. Now that he had joined, it would be pretty awkward to kick him out again.


    They thought it would be alright as long as they were cautious and subtle when bringing up the matter. Having someone finding out that they were the group that caused havoc would be detrimental not only to them, but their families as well.


    "I hear you Niki, but I think we have enough money. There''s the President too helping us out, wouldn''t it be great to rule Asgard as guardians? We have all this power, why share it?" Kiro shot back.


    He''d seen first hand what people were capable of when they were given a taste of power. The game would be unbearable, and he couldn''t have that get in the way of finding what the game was exactly. He hadn''t forgotten about the voices he''d dreamed in the real world.


    None of his friends understood of course because he hadn''t told them. He for sure thought they''d think he was insane, they''d try to exin it away as a hallucination of some sort.


    "But Ki, we have no use for the potion now. We''re all guardians, I didn''t work for months to keep these in storage."


    Hiro just had the mind of an inventor, he wanted to show off, witness people wanting his product and only then will the fruits of hisbour be rewarded.


    Kiro understood his friend''s perspective, but there was an itch that bothered him. He couldn''t quite reach to scratch it, he didn''t know whether he was just being stubborn or he was indeed onto something.


    "But what happens when a vast amount of people are given power? You''ve seen it first hand what humans are capable of." He felt dirty bringing this up.


    "Dude, it''s just a game." Ishaan said.


    "Is it though?"


    Aeron on the other hand was quiet, not because he wanted to be but because he was very confused by the conversation. He couldn''t follow anything beyond that some were on one and others on another.


    "Kiro is right. We shouldn''t make any rash decisions, we should think this through, a thousand times over if need be." Felix felt awkward being at odds with Niki, but since meeting Kiro, he was set on being on equal footing with him.


    They were disturbed by Ishaan''s loud gasp. He was concentrated on something in front of him. With the days that passed, everybody in the room knew just what he was looking at¡ªhe''d awakened his true blood.


    His grin faded and his face was unreadable. They waited for him to say something but he was in a world of his own, oblivious to the eyes that stared daggers at him.


    "What?" Hiro asked a bit agitated.


    "My subss, I''m a necromancer. My main ss has an addition to it, dark¡ªI''m a dark battle mage." He mumbled as if not proud of the boosts he''d been given.


    "So it worked? Why are you so sour about it." Felix was confused as he asked.


    Kiro didn''t exactly like necromancy because it seemed to have effects on some of his skills but he had no qualms having one on his team. Maybe having one would be advantageous in that, it could potentially cancel out the skill that seemed to always make his vibrations useless.


    "Not scared of ghosts are you?" Kiro teased him.


    "Me¡ªwhat¡ªno¡ªof course not." He didn''t sound very convincing.


    Afterughing at him for a good minute they turned to Aeron expectedly. He wasn''t too sure what his was, so he was still reading up on what it did exactly.


    "Uh, it says Saint. I don''t know exactly¡ªwait, there''s more details here." His eyes darted from left to right, he was under pressure having to figure what this did with all those eyes on him.


    "Ahh, I give buffs, apparently. It seems I also won''t need potions to replenish my mana, it gave me a skill that can do that a thousand times faster." He said finally.


    Kiro''s eyes were crazily focused on him, they were widened. As the ghost of Christmas past haunted his mind.


    He remembered there was someone who gave buffs to hispanions in his past. Though he didn''t standout since he was just support. This skill made them formidable enemies, not invincible but good enough they were known, but he could only bask in their glory since he wasn''t the one ying monsters.


    Though Kiro couldn''t be sure whether that someone was Aeron. He was so forgettable and it seemed that he didn''t like spotlights either, since he never onceined about them taking the limelight.


    "That''s amazing." He managed to finally say. "Let''s run a dungeon right now." The earlier argument was long forgotten to him.


    "Ahem! Have you forgotten, the potions?" Hiro reminded him.


    "Oh."


    Ding!


    [Gods, you people are insufferable. Can''t even decide on a simple matter? And you lot are supposed to...]


    "To what?" The system went quiet for a while, so they couldn''t help but ask in sync.


    Ding!


    [I''ll suggest something¡ª]


    "No." Kiro quickly replied.


    Ding!


    [It''s¡ª]


    "Thest time I let you fool me, you ended up ruining our raid by adding other guardians into the mix."


    Ding!


    [You''ll find that, in the near future, that was helpful if anything. How about this? Firstly, Decide who to give these to ording to only your liking. Secondly, hold a tournament in-game and maybe say the top 50 gets to win one?]


    It wasn''t a bad idea, not at all. Kiro was surprised that the system could actually be helpful. Unfortunately, this only solidified his suspicions. There was definitely more than meets the eye with this game and he was focused on getting to the bottom of it.


    "Okay, that''s not half bad. We get to limit who gets the potions, while Hiro gets to be praised for his hard work. Win-win."

 Chapter 349: Valhallas Guild Master

    Since they''d postponed going into another dungeon, Kiro was walking around the Capital''s market. He was there to buy his beasts some nutritional meals, they''ve been worked to the bone they at least deserved a treat for it.


    Aeron offered to tag along, so he was being dragged from one shop to another. He wanted more than anything to be friendly with his father''s boss''s son.


    "Why are you barefoot?"


    "Why not? They don''t get dirty." He shrugged, picking up a second staff and trying dual wielding.


    This made Ryu protest in anger, with a higher vibration than ever, he threatened to shake the entirety of Asgard.


    "Calm down buddy, I''m not gonna rece you. I''m just trying something out."


    Though that didn''t seem to calm him down and Kiro identally dropped him. The staff continued to vibrate, until there was two of his weapon.


    He scratched his head, "I didn''t know you could do that." He went to pick him up. "Though I have to say, I don''t like how possessive you are."


    ''Is he talking to his weapon?'' Aeron was starting to think Kiro wasn''t all in there.


    Kiro noticed how he was looking at him, "I''m not insane, he''s a sentient weapon. He understands, watch."


    Hemanded his staff to expand and Ryu didn''t disappoint. Happy that his master was giving himmands.


    "Wow!" Was all he managed to get out, he''d never even heard of such. "Wait, watch out." Aeron attempted to push Kiro out of harms way so he could get the full st of the attack.


    But with his senses, little managed to go unnoticed. He quickly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yanked Aeron back to safety, while using his other hand to block the weapon.


    "Stupid idiot, you almost killed him!"


    "Good to see you, my nemesis." He pushed back his weapon, Kiro nearly moved.


    "Can''t say the same." He let out an exasperated breath.


    Viktor seemed to materialise out of thin air. It was almost as if he could sniff out Kiro''s scent wherever he was. It wasn''t the first time he''d done this after the guild wars, while he didn''t mind the challenges they were annoying at times.


    "This time it''ll be¡ª"


    "Shut your mouth." He put his all onto his fist, the second it connected with his head he was knocked out cold. "Dammit, if you''re so weak don''t do this!"


    Hot mist came out of his nostrils, he still wanted to stomp him, possibly to death but Aeron was able to get him away from the unconscious body to cool down.


    "Uh, should I help him?"


    "No¡ªYes."


    Viktor got up from the ground after Aeron''s help. He was extremely embarrassed, the gap between them never seem to close. Every time he thought he caught up, Kiro had somehow gotten even stronger.


    "You''re a monster." He said sheepishly, his arrogant attitude thwarted.


    "That, I am."


    "How do you manage to best me every time?" He asked seriously.


    "You think while you''re off levelling up, I''m just waiting for you to catch up?"


    His shoulders slumped, he felt idiotic to think that Kiro would remain stagnant while he was growing stronger. He wanted to punch himself in the mouth for never considering something so obvious.


    Kiro pulled up his screen and made a call.


    "Hiro, how much are we selling those potions for again?" He thought he may have forgotten the details.


    "We didn''t¡ª"


    He cut him off immediately, "Oh what''s that? fifty thousand gold? Send me some. Remember that goof who challenged me during the guild wars? I think he''s a perfect candidate."


    Hiro chuckled at his apparently good business sense.


    "Sure. You should also consider those guys, Chasing Madness."


    A cold sweat ran on Viktor''s temple, the way Kiro looked at him made him uneasy. Like he was a piece of meat, he knew it in his heart, he was about to be exploited. He backed away slowly, tripping on his own feet andnding on his behind.


    "Why are you running? I''m not gonna do anything to you." He said smiling innocently, walking towards their first customer.


    But Viktor wasn''t seeing an innocent smile. He felt like prey, and this predator was going to swallow him whole if he didn''t escape.


    "Wait, I¡ª"


    "Do you want to be as strong as me?"


    Viktor''s demeanor suddenly changed. He quickly got up from the ground, dusting himself. A serious look on his face.


    "You better not be ying around."


    Kiro whipped out one of the potions, dangling it in front of him. His eyes darted back and forth, following the vial whichever direction it went. It looked so small and uninteresting, he couldn''t see how this would make him stronger.


    "And for only fifty thousand¡ª"


    "Clearly a scam, not interested." He answered coldly.


    "Hey Aeron, buff him."


    Viktor was never one of the fastest yers in the game, but he jumped back rtively fast thinking that meant an attack. He was surprised to feel power welling up inside his entire body.


    Kiro blinked in front of him, intending to shatter his jaw with his knee. But thanks to the buff, Viktor dodged the kick and blocked the oing punch.


    It surprised him how he was able to see everything clearly, most of all react to it in time to withstand Kiro''s hits. He could tell that he was barely holding back, his hits were much stronger than he remembered.


    But here he was withstanding all of this, though he didn''t have enough power to fight him on equal footing, he was still able to dodge and block.


    "Convinced yet?"


    Kiro was d Aeron wanted toe along, now selling these would be a lot easier when they could give the people they were selling to a taste of the power the true blood potion could grant them.


    "Fifty you said? I''ll take two!" He was already eyeing it dangerously, ready to rip it off Kiro''s hands.


    "No, just one. Taking this means taking on heavy duties around Asgard, sometimes you''ll be transported wherever you''re needed.


    "The potion also takes about 72 hours to awaken your true blood, so you''ll need to take my word for it. We aren''t selling these to just anyone, so don''t go around being an idiot about it."


    "You''re suddenly a talker, just give it."

 Chapter 350: Quest Of Punishment

    When Kiro offered the potion, he practically snatched it out of his hand and downed it immediately. As though someone was going toe and steal it from him or that Kiro would say he was joking.


    "Huh, I expected something to happen." He said turning his hands, thinking maybe he''d see something.


    "Were you hoping to get instant powers so that you can fight your way out of paying? Pay up!" Kiro eyed him warily.


    "A man can only try." He shrugged, transferring the gold half-heartedly. Now that it could be exchanged for real money, it wasn''t easy to just buy anything, especially when it was expensive.


    But Viktor figured he could use the power boost, that will enable him to earn more than fifty thousand rushing dungeons. He liked those odds, so he wasn''t too hurt.


    "You''re such an idiot, how did you even be a guild master, I told you it took 72 hours. What school do you go to?" He wasn''t trying to insult him but his attention span was that of a gold fish.


    He started to doubt his better judgement, maybe he made a mistake giving someone such as him that much responsibility.


    "School? Kid, I''m a paying member of society!" He shouted proudly, banging his chest.


    Kiroughed at the joke, waiting for him to take it back but when he didn''t theugh died abruptly. "You can''t be serious?"


    "Kid. I have a kid!"


    "Wha¡ªwhy are you somehow dumber than my little brother, what is he 13, 14. Dammit, how old is that brat again."


    Kiro was simply astounded. He thought he just had a crazy growth spurt. He never imagined that this person in front of him was older, with a child even.


    "I have the most beautiful wife too." Though older, he didn''t care for the insults Kiro wasying in on him. He was carefree like that.


    "Tsk. I have the most beautiful girlfriend." He tried to hide being embarrassed saying that, he didn''t know why he was trying to have one over this guy.


    "You''re what? 15? What do you know about women and beauty." Viktorughed a little, his eyes reminiscent of the past.


    "Shut up! Why are you following us?"


    They''d been walking all this time throughout the market, but Viktor had stuck to them like gum. Not willing to leave until he got his money''s worth.


    "Oh, I figured I''d follow you guys around until I gained these new powers. I''ll need someone to test them on." He looked at Kiro hopefully.


    Even though Viktor liked acting old, he was only three years older than Kiro. He could afford fooling around now and then¡ªwell almost all the time.


    "If you have a daughter, why are you wasting your time here?" Aeron finally joined in on the conversation.


    "It''s pretty obvious isn''t it? Ever since these babies could be exchanged for real money, this became my full-time job. Meaning you guys are taking fifty thousand from my daughters mouth."


    "You''ll be fine, if you could afford the head gear before the money exchange, you were well off to begin with." Kiro understood the hypocrisy in his statement.


    He wasn''t well off but he was here too before the money exchange. That was only thanks to his past knowledge, he wouldn''t have dared use his parents'' money otherwise.


    "Can''t argue with that."


    They were just walking out of the market, Kiro felt the meat he''d gotten was enough tost them for a few weeks. There was yelling behind them, when they turned a capital officer was waving for them to stop.


    Kiro knew better than to run away from the NPCs that upheldw and order within Asgard. They were capable of doing more than just punishments to one''s character, the heftiest fines he''d witnessed back then was them taking a characters levels like they physical scout badges attached to them.


    "Could we help you Sir?" Kiro said before the two could say something dumber that''d get them into more trouble.


    "By thew of the King, fighting within capital walls is forbidden. yer versus yer was created for such matters."


    The insane, never been seen before Asgardian King. Nobody had ever seen him, he just let his footsoldiers handle the business. A famous theory in the past was that, the King wasn''t real. It was just the system giving out orders.


    Having experienced the system''s very bad attitude, Kiro had no doubt that, that theory was right on the money.


    "Thest I checked, roughhousing wasn''t a problem. We weren''t really fighting you see, we were just sparring." Kiro exined sincerely hoping they won''t have to be in deep trouble.


    "Even that, requires the space the PVP offers. If every warrior started fighting on the streets, what do you think would happen to the citizens? This is their safe haven." The capital officer exined the gravity of the situation since they weren''t able to grasp it on their own.


    "We''re sorry, we didn''t know." He forced out a smile. This NPC was kind of arrogant and he didn''t take kindly to that.


    "I''m afraid even so, you''ll have to pay the price."


    "Okay, how much?" Viktor asked.


    If it weren''t for the fact that they were in trouble not only because of him, but because they were fighting¡ªKiro would''ve loved smacking him around¡ªjust to knock some sense into him. No matter how old he was.


    "Bribes?" The officer looked absolutely disgusted.


    "He didn''t mean it like that, he thought by price you meant we had to pay in gold." Kiro tried to mend.


    "I see. As Asgardians, it is your duties to rise up when your Kingdom needs you. There''s a remote vige, 4 hours out of the capital. Overnight, a tower appeared in the middle of it. Its causing, problems, your job is to investigate and eradicate the threat."


    ''Okay, a quest. Still better than having your levels stolen like they were nothing.'' Kiro sighed in relief.


    They agreed to do it, the only rule was they went only the three of them, since it was their collective punishment and they had to leave immediately, that''s how urgent the matter was.


    Aeron was ecstatic, this wasn''t his first quest but he was sure it would be his most exciting one. He''d of course watched the viral videos, so he was a fan.


    "Well men, forward we trudge."

 Chapter 351: Tower Of Death

    "This vige, just how far away is it." Aeronined, they''d been walking for hours already.


    The farther they walked away from the capital, the mistier their surroundings got. It didn''t seem like a naturally urring mist but rather something the mysterious tower came with.


    "It''s about the journey not the destination, cheer up." Viktor tried to cheer him up.


    "Is it really?" Kiro questioned, not expecting an answer.


    They couldn''t see that far but the vige soon came into view. Nobody was at the gates to ensure everyone who entered wasn''t a thief.


    That was strange because viges around Asgard were quite strict about this. Every vige had its own little militia to deal with destructive yers who didn''t like following the rules¡ªbut here they were entering without proving their purpose of visitation.


    As they entered the gates the entire ce felt lifeless, devoid of anyone roaming the streets and they didn''t need to look hard to notice the giant structure that was erected at the heart of the vige.


    It seemed to be beckoning, daring them to go inside of it. Kiro, more than once had to yank the two away from its temptations.


    Entering with little to no knowledge would not be smart on their part. His mental fortitude was still as strong as ever¡ªnot once was he enticed to do what he didn''t want.


    "What the hell are we doing? Let''s just enter and get it over with." Viktor was already drunk with power, he wanted to experience the buff again.


    "I think it''d be better to find someone to talk to first, we know nothing." Kiro tried to silence him.


    "Why are you the leader anyway? I''m older I should be."


    "I don''t know, I just always am."


    They walked around a house and noticed a man pressing his face onto the window. Looking at them with curious and hopeful eyes.


    "Help us!" He croaked.


    "What exactly happened here? Your¡ªour King sent us to help." Kiro exined to gain a bit of trust from the dishevelled man.


    He looked to be young, but aged a lot due to stress andck of food and water. He had dark circles under his eyes due to sleep deprivation. The man was clearly at the end of his rope.


    "Praise the gods, praise our king!" His excitement caused him to enter a fits of coughs and then copsed.


    The three were very surprised by his sudden show of vitality. Instead of using hisst breath to give them information, he instead died praising the gods and his king.


    "Well, that was productive." Viktor joked.


    Kiro groaned, this wasn''t at all part of his n. He''d hoped they could finish this sooner, but now they had to look for yet another person and hope they could divulge something useful.


    He much rather spend his time investigating Asgard, although if he was honest with himself, he had no idea where and how to start.


    They walked around for a while, but there were no curious faces on the windows of the many houses that looked abandoned but closed shut. That''s also when Viktor yelled at the top of lungs.


    "We''re here to help, show yourselves!"


    The two stood back, watching the windows for any movements. It took a while but there was finally something peeking out at one of the windows, when they moved closer the person backed away, like they were scared.


    "Please don''t shutter the window!" Their voice was muffled but it could be heard through the concrete wall.


    "Just tell us what happened, we''re here to help."


    "It''s the damned tower, it''s killing us. We can''t go out there, everyone who tries has died." He sounded panicked.


    "Then why aren''t we dying?" Aeron asked skeptical.


    "I don''t know, maybe because you can use mana? That''s what the chief told us before sending our militia to the tower, but they¨Cthey never came back." He said, at the verge of having aplete mental breakdown.


    "We haven''t eaten or drank anything in about a month. This thing appeared out of nowhere¡ªwe thought it was good at first¡ªthen the mist came. Then our death toll skyrocketed, we didn''t know what was causing it until someone pointed it out."


    Kiro picked his brain but there was nothing about towers in his memories.


    ''So much for being an omniscient being from the past who knows the future?'' He thought arrogantly calling himself a being of the higher ne.


    "So people can enter the tower? Is there anything you''d like to add, something useful?" He asked the man, Viktor nudged him for being insensitive.


    "I don''t know anything."


    "You''ve angered no one? There are many viges in Asgard, why was yours chosen?"


    The man began to weep silently. He never uttered a single word again no matter how much they tried, they even threatened to break down his door¡ªwhich did nothing but make him slump on the nearby chair already epting his fate.


    "I suppose we won''t get anything from anyone here. That was a waste of time, I should''ve¡ª"


    "Listened to me? I know." Viktor finished the sentence for him.


    Letting him have his moment, they walked towards the tower. There was only one door, the top of the tower was unseen from the ground.


    It waspletely windowless. Kiro touched the obsidian marble stone, it was burning hot. He could feel that the tower was a living and breathing organism. The anger it permeated was incredibly weakening to those close enough to it.


    Kiro was scared for Viktor because the guy was a hothead, someone like him in the tower, he wasn''t sure that was a good idea. He was less worried about Aeron, he was a guardian after all.


    "Viktor, don''t touch. This tower seems to be angry at something, but our job is to save the vige no matter what."


    They both nodded, serious expressions on their faces. When they didn''t ask questions, Kiro put his hand on the door handle, slowly twisting it.


    It went all the way, until a click was heard.


    The inside was more surprising, they looked at each other confused.


    "Isn''t this just a whole other world?"

 Chapter 352: Tower Of Death, II

    As much as what they saw was another world entirely, something was wrong with it. Kiro wasn''t surprised seeing a world within Asgard, he''s experienced something simr before.


    His twopatriots however had their jaws on their knees. They could tell that, this was different from a typical dungeon.


    It was vast and opennd, nobody would call it beautiful. It was bombarded by millions of trenches on its body, telling a long tale of the things it had gone through. With all its scars, it still carried itself with dignity.


    Mountains higher than those of Prometheus. But the world was devoid of life, so naturally, no trees, no nts to appeal to those who admired beauty.


    The sky''s were grey, cloudless but grey in colour. No sun to illuminate the chaos on the ground that aged it by at least a million years, but light was still there. The source of it was unknown.


    The three boys entered at the same time, the world weing them with open arms. Happy to have other victims willingly walking into its bowels.


    "What the hell is this?" Aeron found himself asking, he didn''t know whether to cry or continue to stare in awe.


    The atmosphere changed with their presence acknowledged.


    The bloodlust was unbearable. It didn''t want to talk, it didn''t want to reason, it wanted blood¡ªwhose was still the question no one was around to answer.


    "You guys, this is not gonna be easy." Kiromented nervously.


    The entrance door behind them disappeared¡ªif they were having second thoughs about taking on the tower, it was toote now.


    None of them trusted that the ground could withstand their weight. The cracks were too deep and toorge. Kiro had unwanted shbacks to when he fell through one them. Back when he still had his favouritepanion.


    "What now?" Viktor asked, his head turned towards the entrance that no longer existed.


    "Now? We walk around, defeat the tower or something of that degree."


    The second they touched the many cracks with their feet, the entire worldined. It started to shake, but not violently enough that they couldn''t walk. It was a low rumbling shake.


    "The anger you felt, doesn''t seem like it''s directed at us." Viktor said matter-of-factly.


    No sooner had those words left his mouth than they lost their bnce, Kiro held on to his staff for dear life. The trenches on the ground pushed out boulders, that didn''t waste any time attacking them.


    "Ryu, multiply." Kiro shouted, throwing the staff between Viktor and the enormous rock that was about to crash his face.


    One turned into tens of him, while the original weapon flew back to its master''s hand. The copies went on to protect the two. Especially Aeron.


    While he was an awakened¡ªa guardian. The system didn''t like him very much, both his ss and subss were nobatant.


    ''Dammit. I see the importance of Ishaan''s protective dome now.'' He thought to himself.


    He wasn''t sure if he could fight while protecting Aeron. He appreciated that Ryu took initiative. The boulders were nothing to scoff at, but he was also a very powerful weapon¡ªeven if they were just copies.


    Turned out, the skill was very simr to Kiro''s, the copies didn''t lose the original power. It was beautiful watching them crash a boulder, one after another.


    Viktor had gotten over the initial shock, he tipped his head to Kiro for saving him. He was holding his weapon with both of his hands.


    "Hey gangly fe, gimme some of that boost." He yelled after Aeron.


    Aeron was quite fast on his feet, he''d clearly used his skill points on just agility and intelligence. You could tell he wasn''t strong, but he was pretty damn good dodger.


    "I''m trying¡ªnot exactly easy on the move like this."


    Kiro on the other hand wasn''t paying attention to them, he''d asionally throw Ryu forwards while he used his fists to break the boulders.


    This was the most fun he''d ever had in any dungeon. That seemed to rub the world the wrong way, because underneath the footings, a bright red shining liquid peeked the surface from the pits of the tower.


    He thought theva would attempt to attack them the way it rose to the surface with asdional explosions but instead, it snaked through the cracks, like it would mend them.


    But its mission wasn''t the trenches, no, its mission were the broken down boulders that Kiro and Ryu had ground down to dust, more or less.


    The ground was almost red in colour thanks to its interference. So the ground was scorching, that''s why Aeron and Viktor couldn''t stick around the same spot for long.


    "You know, you''re definitely cheating. How are you barefoot but can withstand the heating from the beneath the soil?" Viktor voiced his jealously.


    Kiro didn''t pay him any attention, his was stolenpletely by what was forming in front of him. Theva seemed to weirdly have a face and a mouth.


    Voices came out of it, voices of young and old. What they were saying couldn''t be discerned but it was clear that they were very unhappy¡ªunhappy about the world, unhappy about their intrusion.


    "Sh*t, why did I leave my spectres again? This seems like ghostly business, vengeful spirits. This is their territory." Heined.


    Blinking from where he stood and appearing in front of the vengeful spirits that were now moulded into a fat statue statue of a man with three heads.


    The stone man had eyes all over his arms and torso. He was fat, but he stood a foot taller than Kiro. Which made him ufortable, he was used to look down or straight, talking to people.


    Ding!


    [Wee to the tower of death. Nothing lives and nothing is alive here. A ce born out of hatred from vengeful spirits, you can either purge them or set them free. Time is of the essence, if you fail to do one of the two, you be one of them.]


    Kiro cringed at the thought of bing a spirit, especially with Ishaan as a necromancer. His face soured realising that he could be Ishaan''s puppet.


    "Let''s purge!" He shouted, already on the move.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 353: Vengeful Spirits

    "Well Rocky, let¡¯s do this."


    But ¡¯Rocky¡¯ wasn¡¯t done, theva in his body dispersed in very specific parts. Making the arms, the legs and the heads to burn bright with a purple and crimsonbustion.


    ¡¯Rocky¡¯ must not have felt his own weight, because Viktor only blinked, when his eyes opened again his sight was blocked by this giant assembled chunk of rocks.


    If he were a person who didn¡¯t go to countless battles already he would¡¯ve no doubt been startled into making mistakes. Instead, he held his ground, holding his weapon firm, ready to block the oing onught.


    His confidence was also in the buff Aeron was able to bestow upon hisrades. He was sure that he could take anything with that kind of strength.


    A shadow at his peripheral caught his attention for a second, it wasn¡¯t long before Kiro appeared out of thin air¡ªbetween the two of them. He twisted his leg, and delved in for a kick, nting his entire leg on one of the heads.


    ¡¯Rocky¡¯ was uprooted from where he appeared, he zoomed to the opposite direction. Landing hard on the trenches from the ground.


    "Aeron, dummy, buff him." He gave the order, waking Aeron up from his stupor.


    His attention was gripped by the thing that formed right in front of them. He stared in awe, he waspletely mesmerised that he forgot that this was a battlefield.


    "Y¨CRight!"


    He got onto it quickly. ¡¯Rocky¡¯ simply bounced off the concrete ground a couple of times, chirping as he went, leaving a trail of his makeshift body.


    He managed tond on his feet, the moment he did, the trail he left behind came zooming towards the original body, patching up whatever was broken.


    "Revenge. Kill."


    "Oh great, you can talk. I¡¯m not usually a diplomat but¡ª"


    ¡¯Rocky¡¯ materialised right in front of him. Kiro¡¯s eyes widened in rm, his eyebrows jumped back further into his forehead.


    In that moment, time froze. He never thought there would be anything that could surprise him, he had vibrations, he could sense things miles away before they reached him. But here he was, shaken to his core by a bunch of a vengeful spirits.


    He was forced to abandon his spot, using whirlwind to carry his body back. Everything was happening in a very extremely slow manner, like his two feet were stuck in quicksand.


    As quickly as the time slowed down, it elerated two times faster than what they were used to. The shift was unexpected, that¡¯s why ¡¯Rocky¡¯ was able to nt his fist right on Kiro¡¯s face.


    He fell with grace, doing his best not to fall into the cracks on the ground. Landing on his feet, he scanned his surroundings, almost certain that the rock filled vengeful spirits would pop out of thin air.


    "Is it me or Rocky can manipte time?" He said, wiping his lip of the red liquid. His lip was busted, the metalic taste was no stranger to him.


    "It¡¯s just you." Viktor cried, jumping forward. His weapon raised above his head, ready to slice ¡¯Rocky¡¯ into a million shards of dust.


    Kiro watched as his fast movements, gradually went from fast to slow to still. He tested it, and his movements were normal, it was clear that, one had to be at a close distance to be affected.


    "WHOA, I¡¯ve never encountered a monster with time Maniption before." Aeron seemed to be the type to have joined the game just to look around, admiring all things beautiful.


    "Keep moving or you¡¯ll die. You¡¯re lucky that oaf has its aggro right now." Kiro advised, mulling over how best approach ¡¯Rocky¡¯ here.


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    He couldn¡¯t run to save Viktor, he was a willing guinea pig, so he¡¯d dly used his sacrifice for the good of humanity, at least that¡¯s what he thought.


    Aeron wasn¡¯t just watching, he was already healing Viktor but before the fist connected with his jaw, sending him many ways away.


    Kiro summoned lightning. A shower of them descended on ¡¯Rocky¡¯ each and every eye on his body widened in utter terror before he disappeared from where he was.


    He appeared on the other side of the sky, Kiro was however already there waiting for him. Being far away from him made it easier for him predict movement through vibrations.


    ¡¯Scared of lightning? Let¡¯s see what else.¡¯


    He was using his air steps, ¡¯Rocky¡¯ noticed him immediately and closed in. The first punch went for his jaw, he used his left arm to block it. His body was strong, but even he could feel his bonesining with that impact.


    The second one came for his rib, he pushed himself back to avoid it. Not wanting to be very close to ¡¯Rocky¡¯ for long periods of time. The distance was enough but he couldn¡¯t close it further, he was right at his tail.


    "Ryu, expand."


    And so he did, the tiny staff turned into a thick and long monstrous pir. It was surprisingly still very light, Kiro swung it, catching ¡¯Rocky¡¯ by surprise andnding it on the ribs.


    Like a rocket re-entering the atmosphere, his body¡¯s mes coated his entire body, as he plummeted down to the ground. With a big bang, hended, creating a small crater.


    Kiro had thought about how to use vibrations next. Like many times, this would be another experiment. He used a particr frequency to vibrate his body, not as intense as when he used the jump skill to leave Hubris¡¯ kingdom.


    But enough to feel aforting buzz, his body was producing. It was a wonder how his body was able to withstand something so damaging¡ªbut then again, those were the perks of having a dragons constitution.


    He didn¡¯t give ¡¯Rocky¡¯ any time topose himself. As he appeared he threw a punch to his eye filled abdomen, it was pretty because the moment he did, the eyes exploded¡ªunable to endure the high vibrations his punch came with.


    But he was still too close, he wanted to get in as many punches. He understood that, that was limited, as he was about to retreat he could feel it.


    The effects of time changing, it was toote to retreat. It was toote to do much, as ¡¯Rocky¡¯ ran his now sharp arm straight through Kiro.

 Chapter 354: Child Of Destiny

    He tried to say something but blood splurted out instead. Kiro gave the two who had their eyes wide in shock a cheeky smile. Almost apologetic.


    He entered fits of coughs before the enemy in front of him ran his arm through him, splitting him into two equal halves. His two bodies hit the ground with a deafened thud.


    His tworades didn¡¯t know how to react, he was supposed to be the strongest one amongst them but he was turned into a kebab pretty easily.


    Viktor in particr was finding the scene before him hard to swallow, he¡¯d fought Kiro before. He, better than anyone, knew his strength. The time in his vicinity seemed to slow, not because ¡¯Rocky¡¯ was there but because he was processing all of this.


    Just as he entered slow mode, he was pretty quick to bark orders.


    "Shit, shit. Kid, fall back... We gotta fall back now." Viktor scrambled backwards. "Fuck. I should definitely level up agility." He noted, as he was having a hard time moving quick.


    Aeron being an elf priest, now saint, he had no troubles moving around. He considered grabbing Viktor for a second, then realised he didn¡¯t have the strength to carry an oaf like him.


    ¡¯I should level up my strength.¡¯ He also noted his weakness.


    The previous groups he challenged dungeons with never took up levels higher than theirs. So he didn¡¯t need to worry about being strong, joining After Dark and going through this tower has changed his mind unexpectedly.


    Aeron realised if he wanted to survive being a member of After Dark, he at least needed to be above average in fighting. And he wasn¡¯t exactly wrong, with him being a guardian he had a perilous rode ahead.


    The sky was grey¡ªnot much of a difference between it and the clouds that looked like they were paint thrown on a nk canvas. But for a moment the dull heavens sparked so bright that it caused them to shield their eyes with arms.


    "Ryu!!" Kiro¡¯s voice shouted from above,pletely concealed by the dull sky.


    Hearing the familiar voices, both of them defied the need for their eyes to be covered. They wanted to see, they didn¡¯t trust their ears¡ªit could¡¯ve been a hallucination.


    Their eyes took a while to adjust and they saw it. A brightet falling from the skies, threatening to destroy everything within its radius with its impact.


    Ryu epted the lightning Kiro was channeling through it. Both of them were coated with it, they travelled at amazing speeds, going straight for ¡¯Rocky¡¯¡ªhe quickly became aware of the impending danger.


    He tried moving out of the way, but Kiro had nned this out quite well to have failed again. ¡¯Rocky¡¯ had realised toote, as a lightning shrouded Ryu and Kiro fell ontop of him with great force.


    Ryu ran through the rocks, from heads to toe, then expanded causing for ¡¯Rocky¡¯ to explode to things less than dust.


    Viktor and Aeron looked to be confused. Didn¡¯t they just witness him die? But they were d he wasn¡¯t nheless, Viktor¡¯s heart was the most sated. He knew his rival wouldn¡¯t die so easily.


    "You guys forget so easily, or I guess you never saw it? I have a skill that can split me into a number of, well, me." He exined, feeling the adrenaline rush throughout his body.


    "Okay, I¡¯ve heard about this. But I was participating in the war, I didn¡¯t know they were talking about you. That¡¯s pretty neat."


    "Yeah, just when we think you can¡¯t surprise us anymore, you go and do just that."


    Kiro felt good about his sess, if vengeful spirits were scared of lightning then this was the skill he was going to spam until they made sense of this tower.


    His smug smile faded, "get ready to fight." He stood up, readying for the oing attack.


    They heard howling at a distance, then a pack of skeletal wolves showed themselves. It was a strange sight for all of them, their teeth seemed to be as sharp as when they were alive. Their eyes burned crimson.


    "Aeron. I¡¯ll need you to continuously heal me. My regenerative skill can¡¯t keep up with this lightning form." He ordered before blinking away to the midst of enemy territory.


    "You have a regeneration skill? At this point, it¡¯s a question of what exactly does Kiro not have?" He mumbled to himself and heeded the orders.


    At his arrival, the wolves seemed to want to avoid him at all costs. The fear of lightning must¡¯ve been real for them, but Kiro was too fast¡ªusing lightning to further enhance his speed, the monsters¡¯ pathetic attempts to evade only brought them to deaths door, again.


    Viktor didn¡¯t want to be left behind, so he went straight for them. Using hisbrys to ground the bones to dust, he wasn¡¯t getting off unscathed. He didn¡¯t realise, but the fangs were poisonous and he¡¯d been bitten a number of times.


    Kiro and Aeron noticed this immediately, he used whirlwind to push back Viktor far into the safe zone. Killing any wolf that tried to go after him.


    "What the hell are you doing?"


    "Saving your life! Be grateful!"


    Aeron didn¡¯t need to be told, he immediately focused his attention on the wounded giant in front of him. He first siphoned the poison out of his system. Before closing the scratches, which didn¡¯t leave a single scar.


    "Damn kid, what¡¯s your secret!" He was impressed.


    Kiro at the far distance waspletely destroying the vengeful spirits in the form of wolves. The scenario was clearly designed for the intruders to be the prey, but he was the predator in this situation. Experience tales at NovelBin.C?m


    However he could feel his conscious mind slipping away from him. He was sure he wasn¡¯t bitten but it felt like poison was coursing throughout his body.


    He was trying is damnedest to stay awake, but like a child ovee with drowsiness, he couldn¡¯t stop the wave that wasing.


    He was fighting, then the next minute it was dark.


    "Wee, child of destiny."


    "That voice." He couldn¡¯t see anything but he wouldn¡¯t mistake that voice for anything. It was the one that¡¯s been showing up at random moments.

 Chapter 355: A Face to the Voice

    His eyes couldn''t adjust fast enough, he wanted to see the person who had been haunting his unconscious mind for months now. The one who drew him in and threw him out as he pleased.


    He kept blinking them but the vision seemed to be getting worse, not better. Especially for someone like him, seeing through only a single eye. This caused panic to swirl up within him.


    It wasn''t that he was afraid for his life, this was still the game if remembered correctly. But it was about what the ce made him feel, there was nothing like it. The closest he couldpare it with was when he was dying, on the streets, alone.


    Apart from feeling worse than death, he wanted to see before he was thrown out again, maybe if he could see he could make sense of things. He could make sense of why the game followed him in the real world.


    "Okay Kiro, calm down." He tried talking himself down a notch.


    His other senses however were failing him. He''d never experiencedplete silence before¡ªhe''d never experienced a ce with no odour either.


    The panic got much worse when he realised that the people he came in with were all left alone and he had no hope that they could take care of business alone.


    Viktor was one hell of a warrior but he was not strong enough yet, Aeron was very excellent at keeping his feet moving but he doubted he could keep it up for very long. He was only a healer after all, one mistake would see the end of him.


    "Send me back, send me back right now." He bellowed, iling his arms around, hoping to touch something¡ªpreferably a door.


    "Calm down." The deep voice spoke to him again, the moment it did Kiro''s anxiety was smoothed. "You don''t need your eyes to see."


    Kiro groaned in annoyance. He knew that better than anyone but he wanted to see with his own naked eye. The ce he was in made it semi impossible for him to truly see through vibrations.


    The brightness made it grainy, like he was watching static¡ªor worse chewing on ss. He couldn''t exactly exin it but it was very ufortable, it made his entire being pained.


    "It wouldn''t do you any good to have your sight in this ce. But if you insist, I''ll make it easier on your human eyes." He''d only heard the voice a couple of times, but the familiarity made it feel like he knew the person.


    Like a veil had been lifted, the blurriness was fading rather slowly. He''d read about heaven from the books of the old earth, if what was before him right now wasn''t heaven, he didn''t know what is.


    He didn''t know why he was so scared before, this ce was beautiful. Not only that, it made all his worries disappear. For a moment he didn''t even know why he was there in the first ce, he was happy being here for all of eternity.


    The being in front of him sighed in irritation, this veil was something enticing for lesser minds. He wanted to believe different about his chosen one, but he was just a human after all.


    He unveiled the ce for only but a millisecond, it was enough to knock Kiro out of his dream state. He was shaking with fear, he was quickly drenched in sweat. He changed his mind about this being heaven, maybe hell?


    "It''s not hell or heaven, gods you humans are one dimensional." He said bitterly, clearly a great grudge against humanity.


    "Then¡ªwhat¡ªthe¡ªhell¡ªis¡ªthis," he said in-between heavy breaths, attempting to get up but his knees failing him miserably.


    He managed to look up, seeing the man before him made his heart take strides in his chest. He thought he was perfect in every way¡ªtoo perfect¡ªtoo beautiful.


    "You can''t be real." He said catching his breath atst. "You''re nothing but a programme in the game called Asgard Online. Why does the system keep pulling me in these weird ces?"


    The man did not answer, he instead looked at him amused.


    "It''s neither this nor that, it''s neither here nor there." He opted to answer his first question first, he smiled at his only hope. They only had one chance and it was this one.


    "I must say, you''re more human than I thought¡ªbut of course you are."


    Kiro didn''t say anything. He was scanning the ce for a door, he hadn''t heard much but it was enough for him. He wanted out. He nned toin about the game on its official site¡ªhe was aware that thoseints would fall on deaf ears as many had.


    "Before, you called me a child of destiny, why, what does that mean?" His mind was starting toe back to him, he couldn''t find a door so he figured talking with this person will grant him passage back.


    He even tried to log out but the system wasn''t responsive which was very strange. This only happened once before, that''s when he fell into Hubris'' home world.


    "Yes you are, you''re the only one capable. But first, let''s take a sit. This will be a long talk, I doubt your human body can withstanding that position for long." He offered him a chair at the table.


    Kiro could''ve sworn there was no table or chairs before. This garden they were in had only beautiful floors before, but the chairs didn''t even materialise out of thin air. He didn''t see theme into existence, they were just not there and then they were.


    He sceptically walked to the table and sat on the chair. The man poured him tea, with snacks on his other side. Another thing that wasn''t there and then it was.


    "I''m sure those will be to your liking." He chuckled nervously.


    Kiro wasn''t going to eat anything from this ce. Now that he''d seen what the ce actually looked like, whose to say the snacks weren''t the same thing.


    The man noticed this but he didn''t wish to prod him any further about it.


    "There''s no easy way to say this, but the game, I created it." He said apprehensive.


    "Oh so you''re the creator? Dammit just say so from the beginning. This must be your avatar then? Be honest you made it so only you can tweak your looks?" He was feeling more it ease.


    "No, Kiro. You don''t understand, the game isn''t a game."

 Chapter 356: Truth Behind Asgard

    Kiro looked at the being in front of him, as if waiting for him to say the big reveal. Because the one he had said must''ve been some kind of a joke.


    His face once again contorted into one of panic. If this wasn''t the game, then where was he. He understood what the being told him about this ce, but he was just a human, the urge to know the where and how were very strong.


    "It''s not a joke." He reassured him.


    The appearance he put on was definitely easy on the eyes. If he hadn''t seen his true self, he would probably be admiring how chiselled, yet seemingly soft his facial features were.


    "Who are you?" He asked coldly, he wanted to get up but didn''t trust that his legs would carry him.


    "Time god, Chronos." He said simply as if that was the most obvious thing.


    "Gods are real?" He croaked.


    "Who do you think turned back time with your memories intact? Huh?"


    "You¡ªit was you?"


    The man nodded, unsure whether Kiro was ready for it all. But it wasn''t up to him anymore, things were progressing too fast.


    He had observed them for many years, if you counted the times he''d turn back the time¡ªit would round up to a few centuries. They''ve never, not once, have been this impatient, maybe he was to me.


    He got too involved, he gave this boy in front of him too much power. The power to know the future and how best to navigate it for the best results. He gave him a gift and then he went and made great changes in his life¡ªhe didn''t fault him for this of course it was hisck of instruction that was to me.


    Chronos didn''t know how, but they somehow knew what he''d done and they were acting sooner. He wasn''t nning to meet Kiro this soon, they were forcing his hand.


    He watched Kiro get up from his chair, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He''d never dealt with his Lord''s creation before and they were quite, impulsive.


    Kiro started pacing around the garden, mumbling, a way to process these thoughts that were being thrown at him faster. He felt something rise from within him¡ªit was burning, hot, raw anger.


    "If you could do that for me, why couldn''t you make the world below you a better ce for all?" He practically screamed. "Where were you when your people needed you, huh? Wasting time bringing me back!"


    "Sit down!" The manmanded. "For you? None of these were done for you, humble yourself a little. Yes you''re very important, but this is for humanity."


    As much as Kiro was fuming, he recognised that, this being''smands couldn''t be disobeyed. He went and sat obediently, totally against his own will. His eyes were still very violent, thinking of everyone that died, thinking of the children they kidnapped and kept as ves.


    "Your thinking is very shallow, as per usual. Acting on emotions, isn''t it tiring?" He mocked. "But I do like your spirit, very strong. Maybe that''s why..."


    "What?" It came out as venomous as he intended. Did this god just call him shallow minded?


    The god before him acknowledged that he was treading on thin waters. They weren''t enemies, he was intending for them to be allies.


    "All I mean is, this is bigger than your world. Me turning back the time for you wasn''t a waste. I''ve done this a thousand times already.


    "Besides, all I can do is turn back time¡ªthis memory intact thing was just a theory gone right. I had no business interfering with master''s business. Now I''ll receive my punishment." He said thosest lines with great sorrow.


    "You mean you''ve brought me back a thousand times? You''re a god but you answer to someone else?" This mellowed his anger a little, if he wasn''t the creator then maybe it was out his control.


    "Yes." He answered both his questions.


    "And? What happens to me?" Kiro was more interested in his own life, if he was honest with himself.


    "You died every single time, before you did anything significant. This incident of yours snowballed into many that eventually ended your world and everything else."


    "Huh?"


    "You''re what they call a constant. Without you, the world crumbles into nothing but dust. Why you were chosen is beyond me, I guess the Lord thought it would be amusing to have a human as a constant." He tried putting it in simple terms.


    This was naturally a lot to take in. Not only is he finding out that gods are real and apparently don''t care about being worshiped, he was finding out that he was somehow chosen by their supreme god to be a constant.


    He couldn''t believe he''d died a thousand times and couldn''t remember any of them, except for thest one.


    This burden was too much, his shoulders were just human. He wasn''t sure that he could carry the entire universe on them.


    "My memories..." He trailed off.


    "Yes, this time I decided to bring you back with your memories and I have to say, that took a toll on me." He said coincidentally coughing.


    "W-what ends the world?"


    Chronos looked at him knowingly. He didn''t say anything, if the chosen one wasn''t smart enough to figure it out maybe their universe was doomed to be eaten whether he was there or not.


    "Harbingers? No, Ancient ones? Is that why you created the game?"


    He nodded, "good boy maybe there''s hope for you yet. I''ve created this game so that you humans can safely fight them. I nned to get this going for as long as possible but they''re pushing through harder than I''ve ever seen them push."


    He thought back to that room of stars being born and dying at the same time. It made sense to him now, the god of time was showing him many possibilities that have yet toe and already passed.


    Kiro looked at him incredulously, "wouldn''t it have been better to just give us power?"


    "You think we haven''t thought of that before?" He said leaning back on his chair, lighting his tobo pipe. "Why do you think your world has only one continent now?" He puffed.

 Chapter 357: Back To The Past

    Kiro sat there dumbfounded, he was engulfed in smoke but he sat there quiet and seemingly calm on the surface. But his mind was going thousands of miles per second. He was trying to process all of what was being thrown at.


    "You mean to say?"


    "That''s right," He answered taking a break from his smoke. "You remember the cave you found on your way to the capital?"


    "The one that gave true blood potions as rewards? Yes."


    "The writings there weren''t all lies, just stretched out bits of truths. Our Lord is in a deep slumber right now, but before, he thought it would be helpful to give humans power to fend for themselves."


    Chronos didn''t have to exin anything further, he understood how humans were. He understood how they could get once they were drunk in power. But still...


    "I can''t believe it..." He murmered to himself.


    He never once imagined that their world was in ruins and more than half of it inhabitable because humans couldn''t behave with that much power given to them.


    "The powers you see in game, those were the kind our Lord adorned them but they took his kindness and spat it in his face." His voice was bitter, rightfully so.


    Kiro was about to say something when Chronos violently coughed, this time it seemed to go on for a lot longer.


    "Are you okay?"


    "Nothing you have to worry about. I think it''s best if I show you the events of the past, what your kind are capable of."


    "Show¡ªyou can do that?"


    "I''m not a time god for show."


    ''Right!'' He thought to himself, for a second he''d forgotten he wasn''t just a man like himself. This was all still very new for him, it would naturally take him time to get used to it.


    "Now this isn''t going to be painless, maybe prickles?"


    "Wha¡ª"


    He couldn''t finish hisint before the world around warped into nothingness¡ªhis body following suit.


    He felt like he was being stretched beyond his limits, at some point he felt like he exploded in the process. The pain was unimaginable, he almost lost consciousness.


    Kiro witnessed his body go through various stages of life. Merging and disintegrating at the same time¡ªdeath and rebirth.


    A new ce was finallying into view, he fell t on the hot asphalt road. He didn''t feel like getting up¡ªhe didn''t want to.


    "You call that prickles?" He shouted at the man standing besides his corpse-like body.


    "Ahh, I may have downyed it a little bit, I''m a god you see¡ª"


    "A little bit?" He cut him off. "If you are done swinging your d*ck around help me up. My everything hurts." He had no regard of whether the man could snap him out of existence, he was just beyond pissed.


    "I think it''s best if youid there for a few minutes, it''ll wear off eventually." He advised.


    "Fuckin gods man!"


    He was starting to calm down, that allowed him to hear the noise all around him. Without moving too much of his muscles, he strained his eyes to look around. Nothing about this ce was familiar, it was simply too different from the earth he knew.


    There were people everywhere, cars too. Chatter, car honks and clearly very polluted air filled the atmosphere. He noticed slight differences, the biggest one being height.


    Evolved humans were a lot taller and muscr. The people walking past them seemed very fragile in his eyes, this made him fearful. Scared that these beings managed to ravage the world as they knew it.


    "Okay. Let''s set out now."


    Kiro tried getting up, it was still painful but he was damned if he proved what little the god thought of them right. With his legs shaking, he managed to stand on them. Taking steps forward was a bit difficult but he made it work.


    "Can''t we just fly or something? Use your powers, let''s travel with style?" He suggested.


    Chronos simply scoffed. He was content with travelling like this, nobody could see them but he didn''t want to use his powers unnecessarily, he had bigger things to worry about.


    "This is just when they''ll be bestowed powers."


    As if on queue, a thunderous voice could be heard talking in the sky. Causing panic and screams, the voice was so loud it made everyone cover their ears. Chaos ensued in the streets, as cars crashed one after another.


    "My children, don''t be afraid. You face great danger ahead, I''ll give you gifts to fend it off yourselves. Prove to me you''re worthy as my creation."


    That was the start of it all, the nightmare. Humanity wasn''t bestowed a gift, it was a curse¡ªa curse that would destroy the world.


    Like a page from a book was turned, another scene showed itself. It looked to be a meeting amongst important people in that world.


    "We should work together."


    "Of course you think that, your powers are next to useless."


    "Discrimination now isn''t going to get us far."


    "Maybe it will, maybe it won''t. It''s thew of the jungle now¡ªthe strong make the rules and the weak follow them." The man said with a sneer.


    Kiro knew before his name was called out, who the man was. The resemnce was uncanny.


    "keson, hold your tongue!"


    Kiro shook his head, "just when you think maybe something went wrong down the line only to find out this shitty attitude of theirs runs in the family."


    "Why should I do that Mrs. Waynworth? The world has always been run by the rich, this is no different." He looked at the woman with disgust.


    Kiro moved faster than he intended. He couldn''t recognise the woman because there was nothing on her that resembled his. Not the blue eyes, not the brown skin, not the curly hair. He surmised she must''ve married into the Waynworths just like his mother.


    "Why''s this woman even here? Percival should be. She''s as useless as those who received lesser gifts." Another man chimed in.


    "I''m still in the room, you know? And I won''t stand for your insolence."


    "Or what? Gonna send your husband. Percival is strong but he can''t take on all of us."


    The woman shrunk in her seat. She knew they were right. She was one of the 1st percentile that didn''t get any powers, but because of this her husband was blessed with terrifyingly strong powers.


    "Tsk. How dare they talk to my great great times hundred grandma like that!"


    Chronos didn''t answer, he instead changed the scene to something else.


    And Kiro couldn''t believe his eyes.

 Chapter 358: Back To The Past, II

    "Wait, what is this..." He trailed off.


    "I think you know, you''ve encountered a scene like this before. Yes Asgard is just a game for most of you but it was inspired by the events of the past."


    What was before them was a nest, the game had replicated this one perfectly. He remembered walking into that cave with Hubris, he remembered destroying the eggs and then the queen came out to fight him.


    "Dammit, while they''re busy arguing about who gets the seat at the top these things are getting stronger by the day. Can''t we help?"


    "I''m afraid not. This happened,  I cannot change it."


    "You''re a god of time aren''t you, there''s nothing you can''t reach that''s within time?"


    "Yes, but I can''t. It''s been thousands of years already."


    "Then, why didn''t you help back then?"


    "Strict orders from our Lord. He told us there''ll be a child who will be the hope of the new world."


    "So he just gave¡ª"


    Kiro swallowed those words when Chronos shot him the deadliest of looks. His body broke into a sweat, for a second, maybe even less than that,  Chronos showed his true self.


    "Don''t overstep. The fault here is in humanity, don''t shift the me, they''re the ones who refused to see the bigger picture." He said with finality, making it apparent that he won''t take any of his nonsense regarding his Lord.


    Kiro was too busy recovering from being suppressed to even argue. For humans it was much easier to me something above their understanding, instead of closely looking at their own action.


    Not too long ago, he was also a victim of this. He wanted to me the dean and I''s father for his grandfather''s death.


    "Please, don''t do that again."


    "Entirely depends on you."


    Kiro wanted to scoff¡ªto roll his eyes but decided against it. The eggs, albeit the same, they were a lot different. These ones seemed to be on thete stages of gestation.


    This back to the past ordeal was strange to him, he could smell the putrid decaying of the eggs, he could hear all the noises this earth had to offer. He could even taste the death that was in the air¡ªbut he couldn''t touch anything, never touch.


    The scene before him warped and they were back on the streets, but this time they weren''t bustling with crowds. Not a single happy looking human was in sight, everyone seemed tired but not tired enough to fight with each other.


    The idents the voice in the sky caused looked like child''s ypared to the scene. The beautiful asphalt road hadrge craters and cracks¡ªthe buildings were falling off¡ªkids were crying for their mothers¡ªa civil war had kicked off.


    An entity blocked the sun from the world, flew over the city at great speeds, asionally swooping in to save one civilian or another from the falling debris.


    It was the most amazing team work Kiro had ever witnessed. Because the unknown man would toss whoever he scooped up to hisrade, who would do the same and eventually the person ended up on a ship that hovered slightly above.


    "They seem put together." Hemented, impressed.


    "Are they?" His voice was clearly one of mock.


    This scene turned into ck smoke and was blown away. It was the man they''d seen before, the man who was mocking one of his descendants, the keson man.


    He was standing in front of a crowd, they were all wearing hoods over their heads. They were going around terrorising the people, with the powers they were given to protect their own.


    Kiro marvelled at the order of things Chronos was showing him. Giving him hope and then crashing it. He felt like a sinister devil tugging at his heartstrings, he felt foolish to have hope knowing exactly how this would end.


    "Shit, this is hard to watch."


    "You have to."


    Kiro didn''t think he did, he''d seen enough. He didn''t want to see people dying, he didn''t want to see the world going the same way. Yet he couldn''t quite look away.


    Another scene unveiled itself, this time, it was much dire. People were reduced to shells of their previous selves.


    "Do we know where they came from?"


    "No, no we don''t. From this moment forth, we are going to create a special unit forbat the aliens that have invaded. It''ll be called the sanctum."


    Kiro''s blood ran cold at the words of his predecessor.


    "So, that''s what it was created for? And they¡ªthey fucking¡ª" He choked on his own words, as brief sadness washed over him.


    "Yes. Percival, what a great man. You know, you exist today because of him?"


    "Great observation!" He answered sarcastically.


    "I don''t mean it like that¡ªwell you''ll see, soon enough."


    The meeting was taking ce in a great hall, full of those with powers and those who were willing to fight. Percival, with his charisma managed to grab the attention of the entire room. Kiro could see a few faces from the previous meeting, including keson.


    "Now, the upper part of Africa has been evacuated, soon those without powers will be stationed there. If we fail, they''ll be responsible for ensuring humanity doesn''t end here."


    "Of course kids under 18 will be forced to leave whether they''re powered or not. We don''t want unnecessary casualties, together we can do this."


    Cheers erupted from the hall. If you looked close enough, you could spot a few that weren''t very happy with the decision. But as they say, majority rules. They were greatly outnumbered.


    "See? This is him ensuring that his line continues. He doesn''t have a lot of kids but they''re all under 18. He''s kind but cunning, a very strangebination."


    Kiro was saddened just thinking about it, his sacrifice almost made no difference, since he died and every Waynworth in existence. If it wasn''t for the god standing next to him, it would''ve ended like that too.


    That quickly left him though, his father was doing a better job at expanding the name.


    The scene once again shifted, this time, it was the war that almost destroyed their world.

 Chapter 359: The War

    "Healers, make sure you stay back there we don''t want to lose you any time soon." Percival barked orders. "Shields up for them, now! They''re here, I can feel them. Don''t be afraid." He bellowed trying his best to sound confident.


    These things had taken advantage of their weakness. They were too busy fighting each other that they couldn''t sniff out the enemy lying in wait¡ªand now they were paying dearly.


    Kiro noticed that the only difference between these harbingers and the ones in-game was that these ones didn''t seem to talk¡ªif they did theymunicated vastly different from humans.


    He was also impressed that the human side had various weapons, obviously crafted after they were gifted powers, they were without a doubt inspired by fantasy.


    Unlike him, his predecessor was a swordsman. A damn good one at that, he''d never seen anything like it. He was ying harbingers like they were child''s y, he remembered his first time and how he almost lost a lot experience.


    ''Ah right, the queen was actually my second. The first was the idiot who underestimated us.''


    The sanctum had about thousands of members, all broken down into smaller groups, that would fight with each other and have each others backs. Of course the coordination was a bit off, it was apparent that the teams were created not too long ago.


    Percival moved with the wind and as far as it would carry him. He only one person on his team, just a healer. He was the leader, so he''d do it with style.


    His de moved through the thick dense bones like they were a thinyers of paper. It hadn''t been much time since the encounter but he was already doused in ck blood.


    He was clearing the road with the healer right behind him, safely surrounded by some kind of dome. It looked awfully simr to the one Ishaan had.


    "Hiei watch out, duck!" Percival yelled from across the city, which was now levelled and turned into a battlefield.


    Kiro''s eyes carried him from Percival to the person he was talking to. He squinted his eyes because of how far they were. He noticed a pale man, wearing gauntlets, smashing harbingers with his bear hands and they died on impact.


    He didn''t need to turn to be elusive to the oing attack. He''d known his friend for a number of years, since they were both in diapers. The fact that he said both words was also code, telling him the danger was above him.


    Using his boots that had thrusters to propel himself up, one fist in the air to meet the danger half way. He slightly jerked his head out of the way, the fist grazed his cheek¡ªhis gauntlet however ran straight through the harbinger''s torso, causing for the guts to spill out and the blood to shower those below.


    Nobody on the ground stopped to wonder, instead of looking up, they looked forward to the enemies in front of them. Instead of being frightened of the ck blood touching their skin, it seemed to drive them to fight more fiercely if anything.


    Kiro was too far to make out what they were shouting, if he had to guess, it would''ve been a warcry.


    "Can''t you make it so we can see the battle, all of it? And hear everything?"


    Chronos looked at him incredulously, "what do you mean, you can''t?"


    Kiro nodded his head, not looking away from the battlefield. He was afraid he''d miss the turning point of this war, he knew humanity lost but what he was seeing made him doubt that, a little more.


    What he watched was peak humanity. Treating harbingers like nothing but rag dolls. Since receiving their powers, they were on another level, making Kiro consider his future civilisation as a downgradepared to what was in front of him.


    They''d always considered themselves, the evolved humans. That belief couldn''t have been further from the truth. Yes they evolved naturally to survive their environment, while this humanity was tossed a bone by a god to survive a wave of destruction¡ªthe end of humanity¡ªthey were still better in every way.


    And they were utilising the opportunity given to them brilliantly.


    Chronos on the other was trying to figure out why exactly his powers were threatening to malfunction. It was simply too soon.


    He ran a full body diagnostic. He recoiled at what he saw, his health had detoriated to something he could not hope to recover, ever. He thought he''d made perfect calction, going back into the past and giving Kiro this tour.


    ''Dammit, and to think I wanted to wait longer. It would''ve been toote by then.''


    Even with great calction, even with the god of time, there were still things unknown to him¡ªthings at the horizon he couldn''t hope to reach for and this was one of those things.


    Kiro''s vision suddenly changed. He could zoom in and out of specific fights. He could hear everything in the battlefield. Kiro turned and gave Chronos a thumbs up and a mimed thank you.


    He saw this just in time as his sight pulsated and then went dark. He gave the boy an awkward smile, and wipe the purple liquid that was dripping from the corner of his mouth.


    The times he''d seen this war were countless. He didn''t need sight, not for this. But the boy needed to see¡ªhe needed to be ready¡ªhe needed to understand¡ªhe needed to take Asgard a little bit serious knowing the consequences of treating as just a game.


    Kiro watched, the more humanity purged the streets of harbingers the more he felt like this was a calm before a storm¡ªgiving them hope by tossing ahead weak footsoldiers, in a twisted way raising the enemies morale just to throw them down with unimaginable force.


    "You''re right about one thing," Chronosmented having read Kiro''s mind. "This is the calm before the storm, but those Harbingers aren''t weaklings, humanity was just that strong."


    "Then, what happened?"


    "Time to find out."

 Chapter 360: Death Within A God

    Kiro braced himself for the jump¡ªthat''s what he decided to name it, it was eerily simr to his jump skill. He expected to be transported out of the battlefield but that was not happening. He remained rooted where he stood.


    He looked over his shoulder for a brief second only to see Chronos wincing. He looked to be having troubles with something, was his skin colour always that pale? Kiro couldn''t be sure.


    He wasn''t willing to leave the war anyway, he wished he could watch it until the very end. But now he was noticing a god malfunction, tried as he did to hide it, his eye was keener and it caught him.


    ''How do you go about asking whether a god is okay?'' He wondered expecting Chronos to read his mind, but that never happened either.


    He was battling demons of his own, he had little time to mess around in the boys mind. The effects of using his abilities to meddle in the world against his Lord''s approval were catching up to him¡ªto be fair he didn''t know whether his Lord would agree with this decision.


    He was still in his slumber, ever since the near extinction of humanity he''d been weakened. But the world managed to be saved, no matter how little that world was now. Something that came at a steep price, a godless world.


    Chronos knew in his heart that his Lord would approve of this. He risked his own life to protect the world and he, Chronos, was doing the same.


    Though he couldn''t run away from the fact that he was a corpse within. Only being held together by strands of time and hairs of fate, ones his oldest friend gifted to him.


    ''Why am I thinking of that idiot of all people? He''d only say, I told you so. Making me feel like crap even more.''


    Kiro could see the being was deep in thought, even though his eyes were unseeing he could see the dilemma in them. But he wasn''t about to ask him what was wrong, this thing he was doing must''ve been important enough to sacrifice himself like this.


    He swore in his heart that Chronos'' sacrifice wouldn''t be for nothing. He was however curious about gods dying, it was a strange concept. The things he knew from the old earth told him gods were immortals, beings death didn''t dare to interrupt.


    Chronos awoke from his stupor with Kiro staring at him. He sighed, not really wanting to exin what was going on with him, he didn''t want this kid to carry even more of the burden. He may even me himself for what was happening to him.


    "I''m fine, just a setback." He made his excuse and Kiro epted it without a moment''s hesitation.


    The battle was still going on, taking a look at it Kiro hadn''t missed much. Humans were actually driving the enemy into a corner.


    They were emitting a noise Kiro had never heard before in the game. Probably because he hadn''t had many encounters with harbingers.


    "Creating such a thing based on this, creating Asgard Online as the middle ground, giving us unlimited power, power we lose when we go out into the real world ensuring this doesn''t happen again. Chronos, you''re a genius." Kiro found himself saying, it was all very impressive.


    He was wrong before, gods never gave up on them. They instead gave them a medium where humans couldn''t possibly affect the real world while fighting to save the real world, it was simply genius.


    "It''s not, I''m not even in the top ten smartest. It''s just umted life experience." He said solemnly.


    "What happens if Asgard is overrun by Harbingers?" He asked, for the first time since they came here they were focused on each other instead of the war.


    "They''ll be able to get into the real world, in which case you guys will be screwed."


    "Royally."


    "You have such a strong spirit Kiro Waynworth, don''t take that for granted. It was annoying when you gravitated towards me a lot and you''d eavesdrop." He chuckled.


    "Not like I could understand anything, but now I guess it makes some kind of sense."


    Kiro didn''t think distracting him would work, but it did. He seemed back to his old self, well the self Kiro knew anyway.


    After a few seconds, the scene before them morphed into nothingness. Revealing a cave with a grand entrance.


    "Is this?"


    "You have quite the observant eye."


    "Uh-huh. Yes."


    It was the same cave they encountered on their way to the capital. Only the entrance was even bigger. He wondered why they needed to make the entrance so big, harbingers were only a few meters taller.


    "Ancient Ones, imagine something insanely big, now imagine it bigger. They don''t have a fixed physical appearance, they can be as tall and as big as the universe itself or they can be the size of a particle."


    Kiro couldn''t imagine fighting such beings. Something that can change its size at will couldn''t have been an easy enemy to fight.


    ''When I get back, definitely we should work on this true blood potion tournament. Holding one weekly should also be a good idea. We can''t choose just anyone, it may just be a game but if we fail in it the real world will be doomed.''


    All sorts of thoughts were swirling within him, while waiting for the scene they were here to see. It wasn''t long until they saw the hooded people, going into the cave.


    Kiro groaned, predicting exactly where this was going. He walked closer to the entrance. He was about to enter when Chronos stopped him.


    "This isn''t part of your world."


    "None of this is!" He was confused.


    "That cave, it''s not, how do I put this, earthly? It''s akin to a pocket dimension. It''s like their very own spaceship or something. If you enter that, even though it''s in the past, I can''t protect you."


    For a second, he had a very dumb idea. Entering this cave and possibly changing history.


    "You''ll be smited before you can even breathe in. Remember,  you''re a normal human right now, you''re not your avatar."

 Chapter 361: Alls Fair In War

    Kiro couldn''t help but admire this little trap ancient ones put in ce. Chronos exined it to him further, the cave emitted echoes, attracting only the bad apples within the bag of humanity.


    A story that was confirmed to be true when he realised the hooded figures must''ve been keson and his entourage.


    "There are two ways to bring ancient ones over to worlds that aren''t their own," he paused letting him digest it before continuing.


    "The most obvious one is for hatred to grow within a world, to greater heights, so high that those emotions are able to reach the higher nes. Causing a crack between worlds, a crack harbingers can use to cross over, once the world is ran over by them, ancient ones are able toe over."


    Kiro thought back to the system''s answer to what Harbingers were, "bringers, they''re really bringers. Not just bringers of death, but they''re the gateway for ancient ones to obtain a world. Say Chronos, what''s their goal, why do they want to attain other worlds?"


    "Great question. I suppose they want to be supreme rulers of all universes. There are worlds they''ve seeded in taking over. No, ruling many worlds does not give you more power." He stopped the oing question before he could finish his thoughts.


    "I suppose the second method is by trapping many humans, convincing them to betray their kind and summon them over?"


    Chronos nodded, d he didn''t have to exin everything. The kid made it easy for him, he at least liked him for that.


    Kiro didn''t take another step forward. He wasn''t keen on finding out what would happen if he set foot in the cave. They waited, the voices wereing back out. Right at the mouth of the cave, they bowed, humming a very alien and strangenguage.


    It looked like they were summoning something because not long after something grew from the hard concrete of the cave. A bright light that caused Kiro to squint his eyes to the point they werepletely shut.


    "Unfortunately, that''s its original form. It''s nothing a  lesser being is able to see."


    "Yeah because clustered light is so interesting to look at." He shot back, even though it was true, he wasn''t fond of the fact that Chronos called them lesser beings.


    He sensed no hostility or a mocking tone when he said it but it still stung just the same. They deserved more respect than what they were being credited for.


    The light however was getting dimmer by the second, allowing Kiro to open his eyes. A figure stood at the centre of it all, slightly glowing. It had taken the image of man. Except for the golden eyes, nothing else was strange.


    "Why have youe?" The man asked, a sinister smile stered on his face.


    "We would like to follow you sir, we would like to help you¡ª" The man didn''t finish his praises before his eyes bulged and they gargled their words in red liquid. A straight line creased his neck, from side to side.


    "Sir? What am I, a dog? You? Help me? Hahaha."


    "Apologies your highness, the god most high. We are your tools and are at your disposal." keson amended, he was visibly shaking, clearly regretting his decision.


    He was naive enough to think that they could''ve brokered a partnership with this being.


    They had a seer with them, he was the one who told them about the oing strong being. That his arrival was something that couldn''t be stopped, that resistance was futile.


    Even in the past, the keson only looked out for themselves. It was only this prophecy that made him betray humanity. If there was nothing they could do, he liked his chances with the enemy.


    ''Dammit. Will it be okay with Isaac as a guardian? I sure hope he''s the guy to disappoint his ancestors and chooses the other side." He sighed, they had quite the long and rocky road ahead.


    "Young Isaac, you can''tpare him with someone like him. He''s still very young, still figuring things out. I''m not asking you to be best friends with him, just give him the benefit of the doubt."


    "Being defended by a god, must be nice." Kiro could never forget what he did to him past and present. But seeing the war happening, he was willing to put their differences aside.


    Chronos slightly smiled. He was certain it was his Lord who chose this boy, while in his slumber too.


    There wasn''t much he could do at the state he was in but he still managed to choose someone who was worthy even in his eyes. He was beyond ted that he could meet him before he...


    ''No time to get sappy now, you knew from the very beginning what doing this would mean.'' He tried to console himself.


    The scene before them was even more pathetic.


    "We will devote our entire lives to you, the most high god!"


    The beingughed, his mockingughter piercing their ears in the most gruesome way. "Then it''ll be short and sweet?"


    He didn''t borate whether he meant human lives had short life spans or he didn''t intend to use them for very long. Now that he was summoned in their world, they were useless tools.


    This conversation went on with them on their knees, their faces almost touching the ground. The fear and their hooded faces made them sweat uncontrobly.


    "You''ve done me a great service, rest assured, the only death suited for you is a warriors death. You will die, fighting your own kind. Its fitting, show me you''ve discarded that identitypletely." He said looking Kiro right in the eyes.


    The being licked his lips, "take off those godawful clothes."


    They didn''t argue, they did as they were told. One by one the hoods fell off their heads. Revealing some familiar faces, but Kiro never expected to see her there.


    "Wh-hats she doing here?" His eyes were as wide as his red nose.


    "Greed I''m afraid is an ugly thing."

 Chapter 362: The Turning Point

    "But she¡¯s...she¡¯s..." The words didn¡¯t want to leave his lips. He didn¡¯t want to say it, saying it would only make it more true.


    "Your predecessor, yes. Everyone has at least one bad apple within their bloodline. It¡¯s life."


    "But she doesn¡¯t have a power? Shouldn¡¯t she be in Sanctau¡ªAfrica already?" He was utterly surprised. Out of everything he¡¯d seen, this turn of events was somethingpletely out of his predictions.


    "She only pretended to not. She¡¯s a very powerful mind maniptor. With her and keson, summoning the ancient one made it easy." Chronos exined, a little disappointed that he didn¡¯t catch it.


    "Why, why are you showing me this?"


    "If you think it¡¯s because of Isaac, it¡¯s not. I¡¯m not trying to teach you to be humble here we are way passed that, this is a lesson, a lesson that anything cane from anywhere. Always be prepared for the impossible. Always calcte 50 different contingencies, be ahead of them."


    Kiro wanted to scream, he wanted to cry and curse his ancestor out. But it wouldn¡¯t matter, they couldn¡¯t hear him. He was shaking with anger, unbelieving that his and Isaac¡¯s ancestor were responsible for almost ending the world.


    While his other predecessor was on the other side fighting to keep their world safe. He didn¡¯t understand how people this different could¡¯ve ended up married with children.


    With their hoodies off, most there were clearly scared including keson. But not her, she had a crazed look, smiling like a maniac. Bowing with her handfortably on her right breast.


    The being before them looked at the servants satisfied. His eyes fell onto her, then he looked at Kiro once again.


    He suddenly disappeared from where he stood, appearing right where the cave and them separated. He touched the invisible wall, the only thing that could describe its eyes, its demeanor was evil.


    If Kiro didn¡¯t believe in the devil before, he did now. As he fell on his butt, shaken by the sudden appearance of the devil.


    "C-can he?" He stuttered.


    "Yes. Yes he can. But don¡¯t be rmed, as long as you don¡¯t enter his domain, you are safe."


    ¡¯Safe?¡¯ His heart was threatening to leave his body, causing it to shrivel up and die in the process.


    "Always watching,e y with us?" It said in a sad mock voice.


    This was just how dangerous gods were. Their memories could interact with unknown people like the two intruders.


    Chronos put his finger on his lips, "don¡¯t answer him back, it¡¯ll make it easier for him toe over here if you converse. We don¡¯t want that. He may be a memory but those can be deadly too."


    "Easier? He cane anyway?" Kiro was very confused by his choice of words.


    "Yes and no? Just don¡¯t sumb, better yet, close your eyes."


    But it was toote, Kiro had peeked into its graveyard of eyes. He was immediately pulled into its abyss of death.


    There was nothing in them, nothing but torture, death and insanity. Kiro was this close to losing his sanity, if he hadn¡¯t seen his fair share of gory and death. If he hadn¡¯t killed anyone before, this would¡¯ve been over for him.


    He only dipped his toes, but the ocean took him to the middle of it. Every time he tried to swim away, he swam in circles,ing back to its centre. It was a frightening experience, the waves kept his head underneath.


    He fought hard to stay afloat, he knew that if he let himself be taken here. He¡¯ll never return to his world. With Chronos dying, he wasn¡¯t sure he had enough time to find someone else to show this to.


    He felt something hold him by the scruff of the neck and pulling him away from the depths of the eyes he was embarrassingly drowning in.


    When he came to he was on the ground, shaking, as if he were really out at sea, lost with nothing but his body to try and get out.


    "What the hell, was that?" He asked between cluttering teeth.


    "Something really dangerous, if you ever encounter them, don¡¯t look them in the eye. As you are now, you¡¯re not strong enough."


    "Thanks for telling me after I almost died." He said begrudgingly.


    Chronos just t outughed at him. This would serve as a good experience. A scar that would follow him wherever he went, something that would enforce him to ensure the destruction of Harbingers in Asgard.


    "That was the fucking worst." He said attempting to get up and surprisingly managing to. "What was that, seriously, it felt like being swallowed by an ocean the size of the entire universe."


    "It¡¯s a technique privy only to the most high, even I don¡¯t know how it works. It¡¯s basically your mental fortitude against another¡¯s, you¡¯re trying to rob them of their sanity, to conquer them. It¡¯s a hard concept. Even for me." He shrugged.


    Kiro thought back to Kaos, how it basically tried to steal his sanity away. This was very simr, maybe if he could test it out?


    "It¡¯s just like Kaos!" He eximed happily.


    Chronos looked at him like he was crazy.


    "What?"


    "Don¡¯t you get it, you made Asgard right, you also must¡¯ve made the Underworld. Hubris¡¯ home, home of the energy Kaos."


    Chronos didn¡¯t have it in him to tell Kiro that, that wasn¡¯t his doing. Hubris was much of a surprise for him, as he was for everyone else. His system didn¡¯t detect this Kaos either.


    "Mm. Yeah. Sure. We need to go back." He tried stirring the conversation in a different direction. Maybe this Kaos bit was something his Lord nned, slumbering as he was.


    He had yet to agree but the world around them was already warped. They were in the middle of the street, ck blood stained the asphalt road.


    Humans were in a festive mood, happy and unaware of the storm that was soon approaching.


    "We did great following you sir, you¡¯ve lead us to an overwhelming victory!" One kid said, he didn¡¯t look to be older than 21.


    "No Matthew, we did this all of us. I¡¯m proud to have taken the leading position." Percival patted the kid on the shoulder.


    Matthew meant to say something snarky but instead, spat a mouthful of blood.

 Chapter 363: The Betrayal That Ended It

    "Hey! Matt, what¡¯s wrong?"


    He realised when Matthew fell on his chest that he was still holding onto his shoulder. He quicklyid him down.


    "Healer! I need a healer here. Brace yourselves, we¡¯re under attack. I repeat, we¡¯re under attack from an unknown and unseen enemy." He didn¡¯t have a microphone but his voice carried throughout the battlefield.


    Four to five healers were already by his side. Checking for anything that could¡¯ve been wrong with the kid, Matthew.


    Everyone else scrambled, getting into position. Rounding up the teams they were originally assigned to. As exhausted as they were, they could still put the fatigue aside to fight for what was theirs.


    "You¡¯ll be okay buddy, just keep breathing, keep breathing." He spoke to him, holding his blood stained hand.


    Every time he¡¯d cough, a mouthful of it woulde out. Letting them know of the internal damage he suffered from an unknown attack.


    "Captain Waynworth, we don¡¯t know, we can¡¯t see anything. His vitals are¡ª"


    "Then what¡¯s wrong with him?" He shouted, not able to control his anger.


    They managed to get this far without a single casuality. For proof you only needed to look at the road that was only covered in ck blood, but now, with Matthew, the red was threatening something that made his chest tighten.


    At his peripheral, he could see a group of people walking towards them. They were wearing all ck, they seemed to be human too ¡ª not the monsters they were fighting, definitely not.


    He got up from where the healers were desperately trying to revive Matthew. There was a strange ringing in his ears, making his sense of hearing dull and unfocused. The noise he made out was muffled, as he walked forward.


    Percival saw people he knew. People he shared meals and drinks with, people he didn¡¯t consider friends but they were far from being enemies. But their demeanor was very different, they looked at their own people like they were some kind of disgusting worms.


    "What are you guys doing?" He asked spotting keson from the crowd. He couldn¡¯t even hear his own voice, the ringing was getting worse.


    He hit the side of his head to get rid of it. But nothing was working.


    "Our god given right you could say." He answered honestly.


    Percival only read his lips as he said. His eyes fell on another, a woman. If he was shocked before, this was something else entirely. His heart practically jumped out of his chest. What was she doing here?


    "Helena¡ªyou¡ªthe kids¡ª"


    Helena¡¯s smile was wide and unnatural. "Don¡¯t worry darling, they¡¯re okay. They¡¯re fine, for now." Sheughed.


    "keson!!!.What did you do?" He saw red, before he knew it he was releasing bloodlust on the people who¡¯vee to disrupt their victory.


    Kiro had never seen mana act so violently before. The properties of this energy were very much simr to that of Kaos. Its violent nature told him that much.


    The bloodlust was a physical manifestation that was nothing but anger, the people who were now seen as enemies were dropping one by one like flies.


    Those weaker simply couldn¡¯t handle themselves, the energy was too dense, robbing them of breathable air.


    He ran straight for keson, ming him for turning his wife into a maniac. His travelling technique was a little different from blink, his body could be seen but his feet made it clear how fast he was moving by how invisible they became.


    Arriving at his destination. He swung his sword, which keson tried to block with his finger. Instead the sword cut through bone like it was butter.


    His calctions were slightly off because Percival entered a mode they knew nothing about. Not even the person himself knew. If it was regr old Percival he could¡¯ve been able to block it, but this was very different, it was very dangerous.


    "Fuuuuuck!" He cried, as a group of healers from their side quickly stopped the bleeding.


    Percival had his wife facing him, she quickly took keson¡¯s spot. She was still smiling, licking her lips. Whatever mode this was, he clearly hadn¡¯t lost his mind.


    "Helena, go back to our children. Leave this to me." The pleading and hurt in his voice couldn¡¯t be concealed.


    He wanted to believe that his wife was doing this, all of it under coercion. Otherwise how could he have been fooled, all this time?


    "You were always quite the protector. Don¡¯t beat yourself up about this, I¡¯ve always just been that good at pretending." She smiled, her arm half raised, she was chanting something.


    Percival started to feel prickles from within. They were ufortable, but he held his sword forward and continued to walk towards her.


    She was putting her all into squashing his insides, but the physically manifested energy was healing him faster than she was doing any real damage.


    "keson, how long are you nning to stay down there? Our Lord isn¡¯t going to be happy if we can¡¯t finish them off."


    She wanted to be the one to kill her husband but he was simply too strong. It would¡¯ve been greater if she could¡¯ve been the one cutting the ties.


    Kiro was burning hot where he stood. He couldn¡¯t believe the nerve of this woman, betrayed her entire family, for what. He felt digusted that her blood coursed through his veins.


    Chronos didn¡¯t have any words tofort him. He was who he was because of what was unfolding before him, even without telling him that, he was sure he knew that much.


    "So you¡¯re the one who did that to Matthew?" He wasn¡¯t shouting, his voice was calm and agony gued it.


    He knew what he had to do, grabbing the tilt of his sword tightly, he fell deeper into enemy soldiers. Cutting them as he chased his wife, he had to be the one to take her down. He med himself for not seeing it sooner.


    Something that never happened to him urred, he was missing about fifty percent of his targets.


    He never missed before.

 Chapter 364: Percival, Human From Earth

    He quickly surmised that the ability was his wife''s. She had hidden hers and he''d read every power they had in their world. There was nothing that could take them by surprise but this one...


    For a second it looked as thought he''d split himself into at least a thousand of himself. But it onlysted for a few seconds, an illusion that had the enemy shaking in their boots.


    That was also the queue for the rest of Percival''s men to attack and so they did. While the man himself chased off his wife.


    She suddenly stopped in front of a tilted, falling building. And out of nowhere a tail materialised out of nowhere. Percival was past the point of talking and asking questions.


    So he went straight for her heart with his sword, which the tail easily parried. Shooting her pointed sharp tail straight for the eye. He put his sword where his eye was and tilted his head to the side to avoid the impact.


    The tail pierced through his hand, moving past his face. That was the n, as he wrapped the tail around his wrist and yanking his wife closer. She was resisting, so he jumped up, holding the tail tightly, he began to smash her from side to side.


    He wasn''t happy, he wasn''t crying. He instead had a face of anguish. It was painted in his eyes and all over his face. He took the job of being leader prepared to do anything to save humanity.


    Percival felt like a massive failure. To not have seen his own wife betraying humanity. The betrayal was huge, it was bare, it disgusted him to the core.


    keson on the other couldn''t hope toe any closer. He was surrounded by many, most of hisrades died from Percival''s bloodlust.


    "Wait, wait." Helena said, her face bloodied up. She was sure she''d die if he kept this up. "Honey, my husband, I''m so sorry. I was manipted. I was lied to and forced to do this." She said in the most sincere voice she could muster.


    Percival had obviously stopped to hear her out. The moment he heard her voice, it was like poison. The words made him feel good, made him feel like he was making the biggest mistake of his life.


    "You know baby, I love you. Let''s get this done and go back to our kids." She smiled widely.


    He brought her closer slowly. She was waiting apprehensively, making sure she didn''t make any sudden movements. She didn''t want to rm him.


    Them she felt it, something cold driving straight through her neck. She didn''t say anything ¡ª she couldn''t ¡ª she could only feel it. Even she knew it was toote to do anything else, her eyes were wide with shock.


    "W-why?" She asked with much difficulty.


    Tears were streaming down Percival''s face now. He knelt where she was, holding her hand tight and kissing it. The sword was still buried in her neck.


    "I know baby I know, I love you too. Shhh." He said between sobs. "Rest now. I''ll bare the humiliation."


    He thought watching humanity end was painful. But what he was feeling couldn''t be described, anynguage on earthcked the depth of expressing the sadness he was feeling.


    He''d just killed the love of his life.


    Like a man possessed, he sobbed over her body as she took herst breath. He didn''t want to let her go, as if that meant losing her a second time.


    He was in the middle of a battlefield but nobody dared to go closer to him. That was a wounded animal, a man with nothing to lose, nobody had the guts to attack him while he was down.


    His screams of anguish were muffled however when the Ancient One walked into view. He smiled seeing the chaos before him, but also extremely disgusted at how weak humans were.


    He''d given them only fifteen minutes to finish this up but they were far from it. Instead it looked like his servants were the ones dwindling.


    "My, I should really choose my servants with more care." He stretched his arms, looking at the woman who had just died. "That''s a pity, I liked her. Something about her eyes that me want her."


    Kiro watched his grand ancestor enter some kind of insanity mode. He could more or less feel the energy eating at his sanity, little by little. But the man didn''t seem to care he had a goal, and it was in front of him.


    "Is that, his berserk mode?"


    Chronos nodded. He had a sour expression on his face. Kiro knew exactly what that meant, whatever mode a human can achieve, the gods were always a thousand times stronger.


    Sure enough, none of his attacksnded. He instead picked a strand of grass from the ground and parried every single sword strike with it.


    "I know he''s fighting my predecessor but that is just so badass. What a showoff!" Kiro was utterly impressed.


    Chronosughed, d the kid could find humour where there was none. Because Percival was getting absolutely destroyed.


    He was against someone who could shift the very particles in his world, the atoms in his body. He stood no chance and he knew it but he''d be damned if he gave up.


    He released his bloodlust once again, and disappeared from where he was. Only to bounce back and be pushed violently into a building. Everyone else was either choking on their own blood, or they''d died from fear alone.


    Percival was the only human still putting up a fight.


    "I''m not using my full power but your resilience is astonishing. Come, be my puppet. I''ll treat you better than this world has treated you." The ancient one made his offer.


    A being that was very prideful, impressed with his fighting spirit. To the point of offering him servantship. Kiro got goosebumps.


    "Me? Yourckey?" He smiled from ear to ear, despite the agony he was in, the smile reached his eyes. "I''m Percival Waynworth, human from earth. You will never break me." He spat, pointing his sword right at the being.

 Chapter 365: Gods Arent So Different

    Kiro''s pride was filled to the bream. Looking at his predecessor challenging a god, not faltering, nothing but a seemingly calm face ¡ª yet a raging storm within. No matter how he looked at it, Percival was damn impressive and he suddenly felt overwhelming pride at carrying his name.


    He never understood why his family ensured his name was never forgotten. He could now see it, everything was clear. Whoever started the tradition of giving their first born the middle name ''Percival'' was a genius in his eyes.


    ''I am not even half the man he is.'' He looked at him with admiration. He may not have thought of himself as man enough to rival him, but that''s exactly where he was headed.


    He knew all was lost but he wasn''t looking to give up, not any time soon. Not until every bone breaks, every muscles tears and his blood runs dry. Until then, he stood his ground not the least interested in joining the ranks of a god as ackey.


    The arrival of the ancient one to their world had made some drastic changes to the atmosphere, thereby making changes to the world.


    Kiro was witnessing the very thing that reduced his home world into nothing but a single country.


    The air was running very thin, it was clear that a being of this calibre wasn''t made to fit into such a small world. As he was burning the very thing that supported and produced life, not purposely but by mere presence.


    His mere presence caused the whole world toin, it was only a memory but Kiro could feel it.


    The changes were so visible that Kiro could see them. It was clearly still day but it was getting darker by the second.


    The ground they stood on was heating up, Chronos lifted them up a couple of meters into the air. The changes wouldn''t affect them, but he didn''t trust himself to be strong enough to not make any mistakes.


    Cracks started deepening, buildings crumbled, caving into the holes that nature had dug herself and being swallowed by the earth.


    A bright brilliant orange showed itself from the cracks, then without as much as a warning the orange liquid shot up from multiple cracks on the ground.


    "The world ¡ª the world is bleeding." He watched intently.


    Percival wasn''t going to let something like that end him, he was quick on his feet, avoiding each and every explosiveva.


    Attacking the being who parried each and every one of his strikes. With a grass strand, he didn''t show any signs of frustration. He knewnding a hit would be impossible.


    "This is happening all around the world. Except for the sanctuary they sent theirst hope to carry humanity forward. They''ve done amazing, you should be proud." Chronos broke the silence.


    "Why isn''t it affected?" Kiro was genuinely curious.


    "They took precautions, they gave it all their protection while luring the enemy to them and away from humanity''s hope. They more or less knew they weren''t going to make it, the most important thing was to keep the enemy away from the sanctuary."


    "That''s kind of funny, maybe that''s why my country is now called Sanctauri." He smiled. ''How unoriginal.'' He thought, moved to almost tears.


    Humans back then, or even now, may be endlessly wed. But as long as one or two stand their ground, all will be well. Kiro believed this with every fibre of his being.


    If there were more of Percival right now, standing up to this god, they may have been able to do great damage. He wanted guardians to be different, slightly different from the old sanctum. He wanted the strong, but also people he could trust.


    He knew that was too much to ask at such a short space of time but if he was doing this he would do it the right way.


    Kiro didn''t understand why these gods couldn''t just stay in their respective universes and rule those, why they had to take over everything. It was distasteful. He looked at the god with dwindling curiosity.


    "Gods aren''t so different from humans." He mumbled the thoughting to him, Chronos heard him even then.


    "How so?"


    "Greed. This god or devil or whatever you want to call it. They have a whole universe for them to rule but they want more. That''s exactly how humans are, that''s how my world became the way it is." He shook his head.


    He didn''t imagine that the greed within humans was buried this deep. It was clearly something that couldn''t be cleansed, notpletely. If gods could bear it too.


    "The whole made in their image thing? A facy. You''re your own beings. Besides, the only one who is hellbent in ruling every universe is just this one. Look at me, I''m helping you aren''t I."


    He pondered that for a second. Chronos was right. He was sacrificing his life to ensure they kept their world, he''d possibly die and not see what bes of the world he was fighting for but he was helping anyway.


    "Well if you don''t want to join my ranks, then die with the rest of your ant soldiers." His voice could be heard.


    Both Chronos and Kiro turned just in time to see a miracle. The god must''ve been toox and too yful, but he slipped, his defense ¡ª his guard was down. Percival didn''t let that go to waste, he closed the gap within a second, burying his sword on the right cheek of the being.


    A scar could be seen, it wasn''t blood that came out, it was instead a beam of light.


    The white light suddenly engulfed all of them. Kiro felt suffocated, he was gasping for air when the swirling feeling returned to his core. Tugging at his flesh, his mind and soul. This was a pain he''d never quite get used to.


    When everything suddenly stopped, his eyes weren''t working properly. He blinked them back into focus, they were back in the garden. Kiro tried to speak but his throat was too dry, he couldn''t get anything out.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 366: The Time God

    Chronos understood how he was feeling so he didn''t bother him. He just walked over to the chairs to sit and rx.


    This particr jump made his body even worse. He''d gone before a couple of times, he had to make sure he knew everything before he let Kiroe with him ¡ª and most importantly, that it was safe.


    "What ¡ª what the hell. What happened? Why did you bring us back? It wasn''t over yet!" He was still on the ground.


    The goosebumps he was feeling were indescribable. He saw it ¡ª Percival ¡ª he hurt it. If it could be hurt, that meant they had a much better chance as guardians to kill an ancient one. He had a crazed looked on his face, one of hope.


    Chronos didn''t notice that he had dragged himself to where he sat. He looked at him, those hopeful eyes made him want to stick around much longer. He had a great feeling that, this kid would be the key to doing things that have never been done before.


    "I know you saw the light. That was the end. I''ve never lingered around after that light, I don''t know what would happen to you if we did but I can assure you that was the end."


    "How do you know?"


    "Because soon after, our Lord went down to your world to duke it out with the ancient one. That''s why he was weakened, that''s why he''s been asleep this whole time. The fight between the supreme gods of their respective universes drained him." He exined, taking a long drag from the pipe.


    "Why do you even smoke that thing? It''s not like it does anything."


    "I just like how it feels."


    Kiro managed to get up from the ground, he threw his body on the chair. If he was this exhausted he didn''t want to imagine how fatigued the god of time was. He was the one using his powers this whole time after all.


    "Are you dying?" He finally gathered the courage to ask, he wasn''t able to look at him as he asked.


    "Yes. Even for us gods there are rules we cannot break. Meddling in your world and life, well I''ve broken about a thousand and so I''m just paying for my dues." He didn''t seem all that sad that he was dying.


    Kiro couldn''t quite stop the guilt that was welling up from the pits of his stomach. He felt a little sick.


    If only he got it right from the very first time Chronos turned back the time for him. But he was busy being a loser to change anything about himself, he only had the courage to once his memories were with him.


    He looked at the god in front of him. He''d given him a lot, those memories were the start of everything great in his life. He got to even meet his new siblings, thanks to this man ¡ª being ¡ª god whatever he was.


    "Don''t feel guilty. I knew what I was getting myself into."


    Kiro understood that he also did all this to ensure the survival of humanity, using him as the constant. He couldn''t help the guilt he felt nheless, he was at the centre of it all.


    "I''m really sorry. But can you please tell me more about Kaos and Hubris'' home?"


    Chronos sighed, "I have no idea about those. They''re not part of my code, my best guess? You fell into another dimension. Don''t forget that Harbingers use Asgard as their gateway.


    "So it''s not exactly farfetched that a crack to another dimension would open. It waspletely a coincidence that you fell into Hubris'' home.


    "Oh and Kiro, I know you got quite the abilities down there. That damned idiot decided to meddle too, to help you, help me. But if you ever find yourself in another dimension, don''t die.


    "I theorise that you''ll either be affected in real life, entering aa or something very much worse, death. So be very careful. Asgard is your safe zone, make sure to fight them within your safe zone, nowhere else."


    Kiro couldn''t believe the system let him tame a being from another world. It was such an insane concept to grasp.


    He nodded in understanding. Remembering how scared he was to die in the Underworld. To think his gut was right on the money about the serious consequences.


    "Who''s the idiot? The monkey King?" He was the only being that helped them down there, it couldn''t be anyone else.


    "Yes. My oldest friend." He looked at his wrist as if checking the time from a nonexistent watch. "It''s time for you to leave. Even when I die, the game will continue on protecting your world as long as you protect it too."


    "Pheew! That''s a relief. I thought you''d tell me I''d need to take over the game as its owner or something. I''m d it''s not like that, I have too much on my te as is."


    Chronos simply smiled. He never wanted to burden the boy, so he made things much easier for him. His only job was to fight back harbingers, that''s it.


    Kiro took out fire whiskey from his storage, he poured on two of the sses and offered one to the god that was always looking out for him even when he didn''t know it.


    "To the time god, thank you for being my guardian angel ¡ª no, thank you for being humanity''s guardian angel. I''ll make you proud." He raised his ss and downed the liquid in a single go.


    Chronos followed suit. He felt hot, he wasn''t sure if it was the whiskey or he was being very emotional. And suddenly attached and sentimental.


    "Oh and Kiro, leave the bottle."


    Kiro chuckled and tossed it.


    He wasn''t sure that dying was the right thing anymore, but it was toote for regrets he knew it too. Before Kiro could make him think twice about his decisions, he waved his index finger and the boy was gone.


    "The tower was just my way of calling you here, when you go back. It won''t be there anymore."


    The voice rang inside his heart and he cheekily smiled. Not knowing this would be thest time he sees Chronos.

 Chapter 367: Back To Base

    When Kiro came to, he was standing in the middle of the vige. Just where the tower had been. Viktor and Aeron stood on either side of him.


    By theirck of questions and curiosity, he concluded that, no time had passed since he left this realm. Its always been like this when he had left Asgard ¡ª though it only happened once.


    By the looks of things around the vige, they''d lifted the curse or at least Kiro got what he came here for. The vigers were slowly leaving their hiding ces with the fog gone.


    Thin and sickly, it looked like their bones would break under their already reduced weight. Even the children dragged their feet, everyone was hurrying, as fast as they could, to the food storage.


    "Aeron, we need to hurry back to our base. Sorry Viktor, but members only." He would''ve grabbed Aeron''s arm if he didn''t act quickly to follow him.


    Ding!


    [Congrattions on getting rid of the tower of death. You''re rewarded with two billion EXP and hundred thousand coins. These rewards will be split three ways.]


    Even with the 2 billion exp divided three ways, Kiro didn''t level up, not even once. The expressions of the two though said otherwise.


    "There was no tower!" He shouted to the system before he could stop himself.


    "What?"


    "Nothing."


    Viktor didn''t seem to take what Kiro said seriously because he was jogging right behind them. Not missing a step.


    "Dude, don''t make me knock you out again!" He didn''t have the patience, not anymore.


    "No need to be so rude Kiro, seriously. You can just lock me up in your cer, I''ll be fine to wait there."


    He wanted to argue but took a deep breath instead. He''d be a guardian and soon enough, he''d have to know the truth behind it all. He may aswell share the burden right now.


    If he was honest with himself, he didn''t know how to break it to his team. Would they believe him without much proof? Even he wasn''t sure that what he went through wasn''t a hallucination the tower caused ¡ª the game was big on hallucinations afterall.


    ''No. Its real, I know it is. It feels different from the hallucinated nightmares of thebyrinth, it feels way too different.'' He shook off the doubts he was trying to nt in his mind.


    He was surprised with himself though, he was taking this better than he gave himself credit for. He couldn''t wait to see the different reactions from his mates.


    Kiro opened the doors to their base, he didn''t realise how much he was holding himself together. He breathed a sigh of relief that nothing happened on the way, his muscles rxed a bit.


    "Where are the rest?" He asked Hiro who was still in his shop, doing whatever craftsmen did.


    "Not sure." He shrugged, not looking up once.


    "Can you call them?" He said, biting his nails, thinking of ways he could prove to them what he''d seen back there.


    ''Maybe I could use the reality warping skill? But that will set me back a couple of more months and with the situation as it is, I don''t need that setback. How would I even use the power anyway!''


    "Look, Kiro, I''m busy. Go y with your beasts or something." He shooed him away.


    "Hiro? This is important."


    It was in the way he stopped pacing, giving him a deadpan look that made Hiro to finally pay attention. He was about to ask what happened, but Kiro walked away.


    "Wait, dammit..." He followed right behind, calling Ishaan. He hoped they were nearby, mostly he hoped they were all together.


    "Kiro is calling a meeting, he says its urgent. Please be here within ten minutes."


    ''Tch. Who does he think I am, his secretary? Why did I even agree so easily to make this call when he could''ve made it himself?'' He was a little mad at himself, hoping he wasn''t reverting back to his old self.


    "But we''re about to run a dungeon?" Heined, not sounding happy.


    "I''m not happy either buddy, but Kiro sounded serious about this. I don''t know what it is, but he seemed very nervous too, now I know you know not many things can shake him up like that. So get your ass over here."


    He hung up before he could even counter. He was also dragged away from his work, he wasn''t in the mood to go back and forth with them.


    "Kiro, what happened?"


    He waited for a while for an answer, only to realise that he was fast asleep. He looked to Aeron and Viktor for answers, who shrugged.


    "We only went to the market to buy some beast meat when this guy attacked us out of nowhere!"


    "Hey, it''s bad when you say it like that."


    "Of course it was bad, because of his stunt we were almost arrested but the guard told us to take up a quest to make up for it."


    They told him all about the vige and the tower, but they couldn''t remember how they managed to release the tower''s curse. One moment they were fighting, the next they were outside the tower staring at each other.


    Hiro nodded, there was no way this was what frightened Kiro to such an extent. Luckily, that''s also when the rest of After Dark filed into the room.


    He could feel them through vibrations, so he opened his eyes and yawned, stretching his limbs. He hadn''t realised how mentally exhausting going back to the past would actually be.


    He''d seen things, both good and bad. He was still a little bitter about Helena Waynworth betraying not just her husband and her kids, but the entirety of their family line. Kiro didn''t even know her personally, but the disappointment he felt towards her was insurmountable.


    "So what''s up?"


    "Yeah, what was so urgent that we had toe back so quickly? You know, we won''t have time once the tournament starts." Ishaan would never stop being the big mouthiner.


    Kiro was still looking for a much better way to tell them. When he couldn''t find any, he concluded that he wasn''t as smart as he thought he was.


    He looked at each of them, unaware and blissful in their ignorance. He didn''t have that luxury, not anymore.

 Chapter 368 The Truth

    "Wait, isn''t he an outsider? I thought this was only for us?" Niki asked confused.


    Kiro''s eyes fell on Viktor, who was already getting up, prepared to wait outside. It wasn''t as if he didn''t trust Kiro, he just didn''t want to look for him in case this thing didn''t work. He spent quite the money, Kiro had integrity there was no way he wouldn''t give him his money back if it didn''t work.


    "That''s alright, he can stay, this is guardian news anyway. He drank the potion, he''ll be one soon enough." Kiro exined.


    "Then shouldn''t Saanvi and I be here too?" Ishaan asked confused.


    Kiro shook his head. He didn''t need a crowd looking at him funny at what he was about to tell them. He, himself, thought it was insane. If he didn''t see it himself, he''d find it hard to believeing from anyone else.


    "Idiot, then Isaac and Ursa would have toe too." Felix shook his head disappointed.


    Kiro chuckled nervously, "what I''m about to say is totally insane, absolutely unbelievable, batshit ''are you out of your mind'' kind of story but I''m not crazy. I only ask that you consider it very carefully before letting your thoughts known."


    He gave them a brief moment to soak in his words before starting the story. He told them everything they needed to know, with each reveal the people sitting there listening, were trying their best not to burst outughing.


    Kiro obviously noticed this but hushed anyone who tried to interrupt him.


    They wanted tough, they didn''t want to believe him but the story was actually matching the events. If not from their actual world, ones from the game. Everything was just falling in ce like a perfect puzzle piece.


    Each of them would be lying if they said they didn''t have at least one weird experience in the game.


    "I never thought you were the imaginative type."


    "Yeah man, why are you wasting our time with tall tales. Aren''t you too old to be believing in fairytales anyway?"


    "My rival has absolutely lost his mind. It must be the tower, there''s nothing else, he was fine before it."


    Kiro was tempted to beat the truth into them, he took a deep breath however. Calming himself down, reminding himself that, this is also how he''d react if he were in their shoes.


    "Didn''t I tell you idiots to think before you let your thoughts known? I''m feeling insane as it is, there''s nothing you can say about my sanity that I haven''t already thought of." He said, as calmly as he could.


    Continue reading on empire


    Hiro was the only one who was quiet. Kiro was looking forward to his words of shock the most, but his best friend was sitting there, still as the chair he sat on. Staring nkly at nothingness.


    "Hiro?" Kiro''s voice sounded muffled and faraway, but it managed to grab his attention anyway.


    "Mm?" He unconsciously answered.


    "Are you okay?"


    He looked him in the eyes, "so you were telling the truth? back then, on our first quest, do you remember? You told me and I didn''t listen. I thought you were just fooling around."


    "There was no way to convince you then, there''s no way to convince you now. But I''m telling you, that''s why I was so adamant about buying this game, that''s why I know things about it people don''t." He shrugged, that was about the only thing he had.


    "Did we know each other? Then...you know¡ª"


    "No we didn''t. My first time, that I can remember anyway."


    "I don''t know why but that''s kind of a relief. You know, some things make sense now. Your hatred for Isaac, it must''ve been hard going through all that alone."


    This conversation was taking a very strange turn, one Kiro wasn''t expecting. Instead of being worried about the possible doom their world faced, Hiro just wanted to know about the life he lived.


    Everyone''s snarky remarks were quietened by his questions ¡ª his curiosity. This was all fascinating to a brain like his.


    "Yes, it was." Kiro answered, feeling a little hot under his skin.


    Hiro''s words towards him were free from judgement. He was like a child, his curiosity was genuine. Which made Kiro a little, just a tiny bit emotional.


    "I''m so sorry we couldn''t find each other in the previous one."


    Kiro simply nodded, appreciating his words that were epting instead of rejecting him. He was afraid that if he said anything at that moment, tears would fall all on their own. He didn''t need that, not right now.


    He had to hold himself together. Even if with just tape.


    "How could you just believe him?" Viktor was shocked.


    "Why would Kiro lie about something like this? Think about that. If you don''t want to believe it, fine, but any logical person has that ''what if'' voice in them. If you take this lightly, we could all die."


    He mumbled something about pranks but didn''t argue with anything of substance.


    Felix was quiet. He wasn''t moving where he sat. His mind was going faster than he could say anything coherent to say. He was speechless.


    "You''re taking this rather well." Ishaanmended him.


    "He''s not, that''s his thinking face not his calm face." Niki corrected him.


    Their reaction was of course very normal. Not only were gods real, but there was also a god from a different universe trying to take over theirs.


    Anybody in that room who wasn''t scared by the portrait Kiro had painted for them was only lying to themselves ¡ª and it was a vivid one, he didn''t leave a single detail out, he dumped everything on them as it was dumped on him.


    Ding!


    [Kiro is correct. You all need togetherness now more than ever. The ancient one knows what we are up to, so they''re pushing the takeover to happen very soon. You can''t be away from the game for long periods of time. At least two hours a day.]


    "YOU COULD DO THAT THIS WHOLE TIME?"

 Chapter 369 A Promise

    Freya spent a lot of her time with Kiyoko. She was grieving, she needed more than just Isao to remind her that everything will be okay. Despite being a new mum, she was pushing herself.


    Something Sekani scolded her about frequently. She was in the clear with the doctor, but he didn''t want her falling back into the routine of breaking her body and pushing it to its limits.


    To ensure that she didn''t push herself, he asked Vada to apany her every time she went over to the Misakis. He''d be left with Angelina taking care of the four newborns and asionally Alora and Isao too.


    "I think Sir Waynworth is right, you''re pushing yourself way too hard madam." Vada wasing out of her shell the more she spent time with them.


    "Oh I know. But can you imagine it? This woman lost her husband. It feels like she lost him twice, and I feel so devasted for her." Freya answered her taking long strides between the snow that came back over night.


    Vada was doing her best to keep up, she wasn''t coddled by any means growing up but Freya was tougher. She was also a bit taller, so Vada had to almost run to match up with her fast walking speed.


    "You''re still so young Vada, why did you choose to work as a maid?" Experience tales at empire


    "I couldn''t finish school, I had siblings I needed to take care of. That''s why I quit, to find a job that could ept a dropout like me, to ensure my siblings seeded where I had failed."


    Freya could feel the sadness and hurt in her voice. She didn''t want to ask further but she thought knowing her well would be better. She wasn''t like Angelina and Wilfred, those two were already old. She on the other hand had great potential to turn her life around.


    "What happened to your siblings?"


    She chuckled, "abandoned me once they got better jobs. It''s funny what money can do to people. I''m surprised you and Sir Waynworth are very humble. I''ve worked for many cruel people."


    Freya didn''t realised she had stopped on her tracks hearing such a sad story. She couldn''t imagine the betrayal she must''ve felt, the hurt and maybe the regret too.


    "I''m so sorry. That''s very horrible." She said grabbing her hands, attempting tofort her. "You know, you could still finish school? Some academies ept online learning."


    She looked more devasted, she obviously thought of this before. "Online learning is even more expensive than going to the academy physically."


    Freya thought it was a very dumb rule, a way to weed out old people from attending. They didn''t specifically say that there was an age limit but they made online sses ridiculously expensive knowingly that old people would choose not enroll by physically going to sses.


    "I have a good idea about that, don''t worry." She winked and continued to walk.


    The n was to get Waynworth Enterprise to give out schrships for underprivileged and excellent students. That way, Vada could apply or be chosen for one.


    Vada didn''t know what her n was, but her hopeful and confident smile made her not doubt her for a second. She was sure she could finish her studies. She hoped the money could make her siblings see her differently.


    They stopped in front of a huge door, she rapped her knuckles on the door gently. It would be a while before she was used to pressing the doorbell, it was there but old habits died hard.


    The door opened, revealing a woman in herte thirties.


    "Come on in, she''s been getting ready." Annie ushered them in.


    Annie was the maid the Misaki''s chose. They originally thought just one would suffice, but realising how big the house was, Kiyoko consulted Hiro and they were working on hiring another one and a driver too.


    Even though Freya explicitly told Kiyoko thating to them was no problem at all if they wanted a ride somewhere, it still felt wrong burdening her with all that.


    "This way, I''ll make tea while you wait." Annie said joyfully, she''d seen how depressed her madam was when Freya wasn''t around. They weren''t used to each other just yet, so she didn''t know how to make her better.


    Vada offered to help but she was shooed away. Annie was a nice woman, but she didn''t like sharing her kitchen with anyone else. Something even Kiyoko had to get used to.


    "She''s so territorial, it''s insane." Shemented plumping herself on the couch.


    Freya smiled. It would be a while before she had a  daughter as old as Vada. She tried to imagine what will Alora be like then, she was already a sassy little princess.


    "Sorry to have made you wait, I''m ready." She smiled nervously. "I couldn''t decide what to wear, ended up resorting to this ck dress."


    "Madam, it''s too cold." Annie came in with a tray and scones.


    "I''ll wear a winter coat, don''t you worry about me. Let''s drink and eat, then we can go." Kiyoko took a seat.


    "If you''re ready, don''t worry about little old me, you can be on your way."


    "We aren''t going to let your hard work go to waste Annie. Join us for this, the officials can wait fifteen minutes." She could be hard headed sometimes.


    Annie did as she was told. It was awkward at first but she learned to rx after a while.


    Kiyoko is overjoyed his son became friends with Kiro thereby bringing her a friend in Freya. She didn''t know what she would''ve done thest couple of days without her.


    Today was the hardest yet, it was the day when she had to go register Jin as dead. Part of her was still very much in denial, finding the love of your life in this world wasn''t easy.


    When you did, you could only hope to grow old and grey together but her time with Jin was cut very short. They hadn''t even reached their 40s yet when he was abruptly yanked from their livesing back a yearter as nothing but a corpse.


    ''I''ll take care of our kids darling, rest easy.'' She promised.

 Chapter 370 I Would Die If It Were You

    Sekani didn''t have the time to be hands on with thepany. Philip was doing all the work, calling him every week for updates. The person who suffered the most was Wilfred, he went back and forth frequently.


    He expressed he didn''t mind doing this for his master more than once. At a certain point Sekani stopped asking, since he didn''t want to be called Master.


    His focus was entirely on the newborns.


    Liyana, Gaia, Caspien and Rian were growing rather fast. Only over a month old and they could already move around, only with their stomachs.


    Their fragile limbs couldn''t quite carry them yet, so they dragged themselves across the safe room that was especially prepared for them.


    Sekani couldn''t remember how it was with Alora but to him, this seemed like they were growing unnaturally fast.


    This was another difference between the humans of old and the new ones. The kids matured at a rapid and scary rate. At this age, a second looking away could mean a tragedy.


    That''s why Sekani had people over to fix up a single room, make it safe for the still very fragile kids. They were also starting to show individuality and personality.


    Liyana was very overprotective. Sekani couldn''t help but tip his hat to nature. She was just a kid, she didn''t know that she was the oldest yet she was already acting responsible for the younger siblings.


    Gaia was super shy and quiet, she rarely cried. The parents would asionally have to ensure she was still alive sometimes. She was also obsessed with this one toy, that was a stuffed gori.


    Caspien was the naughty one. They couldn''t take him anywhere, couldn''t give him anything that he wouldn''t find a way to break. Wherever he went, he was followed by a trail of chaos. Sekani didn''t even want to imagine what he''ll be like in a year from now, when he could walk.


    ''Another Loki, gods help us.''


    Rian was cut from a different cloth. It was kind of scary how matured he acted, they could''ve sworn he was an old man. He only let his waste out when they took the diaper out, he was also very much into picture books. He couldy there for hours looking at them.


    It was also helpful that the books were actually on a small screen, just for him. He learned pretty fast to swipe left and right to get to the next picture or the previous.


    The room was divided into four sections. They decided on this because of Caspien. The kid was simply a bulldozer that terrorised his siblings, not in a bad way, but their toys would see their end and a lot of crying would soon follow.


    "Can''t the date be pushed back a bit? Things are hectic this side." Sekani was talking on the phone, opening the door to check on the kids.


    "Sorry Sir, the keson, despite the setback, they''ve confirmed theunch to be this week. They refuse to move it. If we don''t choose the same date, I''m afraid we will be losing." Philip gave him the rundown.


    The kids lit up at seeing their fathering into the room, they started cooing. The only one who didn''t seem to care was Rian, as he was immersed into his picture books.


    "Fine, I''ll see what I can do, I can''t miss theunch. That would look bad, I''ll talk to Freya."


    Sekani expected for him to hangup but he didn''t. He waited for him to say the next piece of news but he never said anything.


    "Ahem?"


    "Could I, uh, see my nephews and nieces?"


    He simply shook his head. Philip had asked this a thousand times for him to still be embarrassed about it. So he did what he always did, and put him on the big screen on the room.


    The screen was so huge that they could see him properly whileying down.


    "Hello, you little rascals, missed me?"


    Hearing his voice, they stopped what they were doing and looked up the screen, saying incoherent nonsense ¡ª babynguage was a lot harder to figure out but Philip always yed along.


    Even Rian looked up for a little bit, they were all somehow very fond of Philip. They didn''t see him much since he was always away, but it was early Christmas to them every time they did.


    "You know Philip, I don''t like how my kids love you more than they love me. You saw how unbothered they were when I walked in." Sekani jokinglyined.


    "Unfortunately, it seems they''ve already reached the age of not liking their parents much, instead putting all their hope on their elder brother." His grin was almostical.


    "Tsk. By the way, with the weather like this, how are they even going through with theunch?"


    "You haven''t been watching TV much have you? The storm will clear out on Friday. Saturday will be the day of theunch."


    "Okay fine, release a statement saying that we will be releasing our product on Saturday." He said half annoyed.


    "I''d like for us to ask Kiro to post an ad for us." He asked subtly and hesitantly.


    "Why?"


    "He''s a really popr yer of Asgard Online, probably ranked 1 in the entire game. Coming from him it would definitely boost our sales."


    "Thinking ahead, that''s smart. I''ll ¡ª"


    "That''s alright, I''ll ask him. I don''t want you doing more than you should. Those four should be keeping you on your feet." He offered sincerely.


    He nodded in understanding. Philip talked with the kids for thest time and then dropped the call. Just then, Freya walked in.


    She immediately went for a hug, Sekani embraced her. She waspletely cold. Making him shiver in the process.


    "You should slow your visits down." He told her gently.


    Freya smiled, "well I can''t imagine what she''s going through. I''d die if you were gone."


    Sekani sighed. That was the excuse she always used to get him to let her off. And it worked every single damn time.

 Chapter 371 Moments of Bliss

    After the system crashed their meeting to confirm the truth in Kiro''s story, those who didn''t want to believe him were left in utter shock.


    The silence made the hall seem a little bigger than it actually was ¡ª everyone alone in their head space, with their thoughts.


    Kiro understood the dilemma they were in, but at least they didn''t get to witness the end of humanity like he did. He was mostly recovered though and was waiting for them toe to their own senses.


    "Well, I need to go." He finally said when nobody moved for over an hour.


    "Go? Can we even..."


    "Ishaan don''t be crazy. The system clearly said at least two hours in a day. I don''t know about you but this game, this world just became a whole less interesting. It feels like a chore now." Niki reasoned.


    "We have a lot of those ¡ª chores ¡ª But I need to make a post as soon as possible about the tournaments ¡ª Yes there''ll be one held every week. We need more power. I''m thinking maybe, Sundays?"


    "A leader for a reason, so put together." Viktorplimented.


    But Kiro didn''t take it to heart. He had plenty of time to ept this as their new reality. It had only been a little over an hour, their seemingly unending shock was absolutely normal.


    "So gods are real." Felix mumbled.


    With everything they were fixated on, the fact that gods were real wasn''t something that took first priority in their heads. They weren''t a particrly religious society, so it wasn''t too strange that they didn''t stop to consider what the revtion may actually mean.


    "Oh fuck, what do we do?" Ishaan was panicked, as usual.


    All eyes fell on Kiro, as they always seem to do. He sighed bitterly.


    "What should we do? Chronos didn''t seem like the kind of guy that wanted to be worshipped."


    "Thank fuck, I wouldn''t know where to start." Viktor chimed in.


    "If that is all, I''d like to leave you guys. I have no time to sit around thinking about this, if you''d seen what I''d seen, you''d want to act as soon as possible too."


    "I''ll go with you." Hiro offered.


    Kiro nodded at his direction and logged out before Ishaan couldin any further.


    Breathing air that wasn''t in Asgard actually felt refreshing, if there wasn''t a storm going on, he would''ve considered going outside to bask in the sun ¡ª but he imagined the sun was buried underneath grey clouds.


    He''d forgotten for a moment that they were under the same roof. I was right beside him, still very much immersed in the game.


    He was excited for but only a moment, that''s when his stomach churned and he remembered what he knew, and all she needed to know.


    "Fuck." He let slip quietly.


    One of the reason he never mentioned the sanctum to her, the fake one, was because he didn''t wish to burden her. Especially when he thought her father was a part of them, dealing with Ishaan having to go against his father was already enough.


    But this, this was much bigger. Bigger than himself, bigger than the sanctum, bigger than the entirety of their world ¡ª their entire universe was concerned.


    His mind zoomed away from the problems, and straight to the girl he was sharing a bed with. He caught himself smiling.


    ''Is this really okay?''


    She looked so still, so beautiful and so unbelievably out of his league. Kiro couldn''t understand why she was even with him, yes he''s had people gushing over his looks but he didn''t see it. He didn''t see it the way he saw her.


    His phone jerked him out of his lustful, hopeful and peaceful thoughts. The disturbance was met with a very hostile attitude, wasn''t he allowed to daydream?


    "Philip? What is it?" He couldn''t exactly hide his annoyed tone.


    Philip smiled knowingly. The only thing that would get a teenage boy this worked was nothing but a single thing.


    "What am I disturbing?" He tried to poke for answers but Kiro didn''t say anything and waited for him to say what he wanted.


    "Onto more important things. Theunch for Waynworth Enterprise happens this Saturday, you''ll of course be expected to be there. I''ll send the invitations." He winked.


    "Another thing, since we have the number one Asgard yer on our side, we hoped you''d use your poprity to advertise our product."


    "Okay, that is a brilliant idea. I''ll do that right away."


    "I thought you''d like it and by the way, I know you''re active be sure to use ¡ª"


    Kiro cut it off immediately. He didn''t want to hear that from him, not from anyone. He wasn''t a child, he could do it, without experience, he can figure things out.


    "You shouldn''t be so embarrassed talking about stuff like that, you know."


    The voice came from behind him, at the same time two arms stretched out in front of him. Hugging him from behind. His heart hammered in his chest for a split second until he realised who it was.


    Unintentionally, he smiled, turning his head only to meet with her lips. The butterflies came back, as he sank deeper into the chamber of nothing but sundogs and bliss. If it were up to him, these were the moment he wanted to live in.


    The thought of the world being at stake shook him back to reality.


    "I need to tell you something, but first we need Saanvi here too."


    I looked at him with the most usatory expression he''d ever seen in his life. He apologetically kissed her on the forehead, he got up and left for the lounge the ce had. She followed, unwillingly.


    It was by chance that they all opened the doors to their bedrooms at the same time. After Dark had gloomy faces, all except for Kiro and Hiro. People who seemed to have epted that their fate was this.


    Without wasting precious time, Kiro let Hiro tell it to them. He asionally corrected here and there but otherwise he''d gotten the gist of it all.


    "What the fuck?"


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!

 Chapter 372 True Blood To The World

    Kiro decided to leave the conversation. They were debating about a lot of different possibilities, but he was on his phone, before he could forgot he needed to do what Philip asked.


    The girls didn''t have a hard time epting the news. They could see and feel how the others were, ontop of that, Hiro had recorded everything the system had exined to them. Making it easy to be believable even though the story sounded bogus.


    "So the world of Asgard is like a failsafe world, since we humans aren''t trustworthy? I''d like a word with these gods." Saanvimented seriously.


    "He''s dying, you know?" Kiro said taking his eyes off his phone for a second. "Chronos, with all the meddling he did, it ended up killing him. He doesn''t have a lot of time left."


    "But he''s a god?" I was utterly confused.


    "Yes. And even gods have rules they cannot break but he gave his life for us. We better do him proud." He told them seriously.


    He immediately went back to his phone, he was in the middle of writing and buttering his father''spany products. But the room was now buried deep in silence.


    What he said made the people within it feel bad for the dying god. They felt guilt, a being they''ve never even met, a being they never even knew existed, had been doing something so big behind the scenes ensuring their survival.


    "I didn''t mean it in a depressing way, he''s way too cool about this whole dying thing. I just wanted you guys to know the sacrifices that brought us here."


    "Wouldn''t that make you Kiro an old ass man?" Ishaanughed.


    "Maybe if he was reincarnated or something. But the god simply turned back the time with his memories intact. If you think about it, we went back too, we just don''t remember." Hiro surmised logically.


    Ishaan gave him a dirty look, he hadn''t thought about it like that. This made him feel like the idiot in the group.


    "I guess Ishaan is the dumbest one amongst us." Felix snorted.


    For the first time since seemingly forever, theyughed, genuinely, at the expense of Ishaan. Seeing his friends a little joyous, Ishaan didn''t mind much, he joined in instead.


    After a while they were chatting amongst themselves again, leaving Kiro to his devices. He was never good with words, he was still scratching his head about what to write. He had to be very careful, which is why he couldn''t think of anything.


    "Shit!" He audibly eximed.


    Everyone looked at him expectedly, he could feel their piercing stares at the back of his neck. He let out a heavy breath out.


    "It''s not anything you guys should worry about, I''m supposed to be posting about the product my father created but I can''t think of a clever way."


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    "You can promise those who buy the pod that they stand a chance to win a true blood potion?" Hiro suggested.


    Kiro looked at him for a long time, "now, how is it that you weren''t even in the top 10 of our ss? You''re a genius. But first, we should let them know what the potion is and it''s effects."


    Hiro turned into a kind of red blush. He wasn''t a dumb kid, but this happened to him always. When there wasn''t any pressure to do good, he excelled.


    "We have Aeron and Viktor as our guinea pigs. Us too, let''s get to work." Kiro said as if they''d already agreed to help him.


    Nobody uttered a singleint, as they helped himpile various videos showing their power and strength. They intended to showoff the power first, then dangle the potion in front of the whole of Asgard.


    They luckily had footage fighting a harbinger, a creature only ever seen by a very few, apart from guardians. Thanks to the appearance of the general during the guild wars, some have witnessed it.


    ------------------


    The next day, video was talked about by various news channels and online forums. It showed the guardians fighting, with Isaac and Ursa cut out of the video.


    Kiro didn''t want his advertisement to include the kid of an enemypany and his side piece. The fight changed every 7 seconds, transitioning to another fight.


    At the very end, Kiro''s avatar would appear saying: "Only your true blood awakening can make you that strong. Order a pod from Waynworth Enterprise or buy it starting on Saturday and stand a chance to win a true blood potion to test your limits on a new pod."


    He felt bad using something so precious to bait buyers. But if he could use the situation to further elevate his family then that''s what he would do.


    They needed more guardians anyway, he was going to be the one choosing the lucky winners. So he didn''t think there was much exploitation happening.


    [Popr yer on Asgard Online, Kiro, recently came out with new information. Revealing the secrets to his power and those closest to him. They''ve been hogging this power since the beginning, but now that they need something from the public, it is revealed. What are your thoughts viewers?]


    Viewer 1: It''s only natural. Nothing is for free in this world, if he came out with this information iming it was free, I would''ve been more skeptical.


    Viewer 2: I disagree. This Kiro pretended to sympathise with the poor because he was one of them at one point, but now that he''s up there with the rich. He''s doing as the rich do.


    Viewer 3: I don''t want to lie, you sound very jealous.


    Viewer 1: He does. I''ve done some research on the Waynworth Enterprise. They employ the poor, mostly from the lower district and they''re paid properly, not overworked. This is apany we should be supporting.


    Viewer 4: Always looking for handouts. Thispany isn''t going tost long before ites crashing down, the most sessfulpanies in our country do well because they''re cutthroat.


    Viewer 1: You mean by exploiting workers?


    Viewer 3: Too truth. very and exploitation, no wonder they''re so rich, they don''t consider the people who actually make theirpanies work.


    Of course these viewers were so brave to call out the rich because they were promised anonymity.

 Chapter 373 Through their Eyes

    The post had people from all corners of Sanctauri talking about it. He truly had Hiro to thank, as he didn''t think to use the potion as bait.


    On the Asgard Online tform, various conversations were happening. Thispetition concerned them after all.


    [Do you think this is the truth?]


    [It must be. I''ve seen a lot of sages that weren''t beast tamers, surely this potion gives you a secondary ss. I cannot wait, I''ve tried everything to unlock the second ss to no avail.]


    [Haha. We always thought he had connections to the game or that he was cheating. I''ll definitely get that pod, fingers crossed I win. I never win anything.]


    All of them were looking at thements together. Unbelieving that the post had amassed over ten million views in just 24 hours. Even for the number 1 yer in Asgard, they thought this was a little bit much.


    "Look at this one, I guess everyone will try acting like a god from now on if they ever have the chance to get their hands on the potion."


    Some of thements weren''t all that pretty. Which made it easier for them to weed out people who could potentially betray them. They knew that there was no 100% irond fullproof n to guard against such people but they could try their best.


    "So, when are we telling the other two guardians?" Felix was asking the real questions.


    As much as they wanted to ignore the fact that Isaac and Ursa were a part of this, they couldn''t do that for long. Chronos told Kiro not to judge Isaac too harshly, he was nning to do just that but only for the safety of their world, nothing more.


    "Please don''t remind us." Saanvi said looking absolutely disgusted. "Let us enjoy thesements for a little bit before worrying about those two dungheads."


    Kiro chuckled, he liked Saanvi when she wasn''t butting heads with him. She could be a bit of a handful, but since dating Hiro she''d tone it down a bit. Just then, his thoughts were disturbed by his phone ringing.


    "Philip?"


    "What the hell did you do!"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Waynworth Enterprise website has crashed multiple times, we''re getting more visitors and orders than our system can handle."


    "How''s that a problem? Philip, are you bored or something..."


    "What''s up your ass? I''m just making conversation. We''ve gotten a guy already to fix it up."


    Kiro noticed his easily irritable selftely. He needed more time to digest the news, he needed it more than he liked to admit.


    "Yeah sorry, we were supposed to be ying cricket this week but the storm made that impossible." He made his excuse. "And now we''re babysitting our opponents."


    "Sounds like a hassle. I''ll send the invites shortly, remember you have to be here on Saturday. Even Loki and LJ will being."


    "Is muming too?"


    "Yes."


    "What about my youngest siblings?"


    "They''ll be there too."


    Kiro thought about it for a moment, he agreed to go if his whole family would be there. He was given a second chance, even though he just found out that, that second chance wasn''t so he could have a life with his family but to destroy a persistent ancient one that wouldn''t leave them alone until one of them werepletely erased.


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    "I''ll make sure to include a plus 1 for you," he winked and whispered. "Oh and tell Hiro he''s also expected to be there." He added quickly.


    He nodded. He knew his friend would appreciate something like this, building things and making them work was his speciality. Philip said his goodbyes and dropped the call.


    Kiro wasn''t all there, he couldn''t get over the fact that his ancestor betrayed them. It was also the only thing he almost left out, he didn''t want anyone seeing him differently because of Helena.


    But telling his friends was a really good decision, as they reassured him he was nothing like her.


    He felt arms wrap around him once again, only this time they were under his shirt. Startled as he was, he managed to turn his head.


    "Are you okay? You left us there for a second."


    Kiro hadn''t noticed his mind drifting, making him slip from the reality he knew and back to the past that Chronos had dragged him to.


    Now that I made him aware of it, he didn''t know if it was the effects of time travel or seeing what he''d seen had awakened a trauma within himself.


    "I''m alright. I didn''t go anywhere." He lied, trying to brush it off. "Hey Hiro, my family kinda expects you to attend the function for Waynworth Enterprise on Saturday." He quickly said, changing the subject.


    He took out the arms that were still wrapped around his torso. They were making him feel things that he couldn''t attend to with a room full of people.


    He smiled at her, kissing both her hands, in a strange way trying to reassure her that he was okay, before letting gopletely.


    "Yeah, I know. Mum already told me about it."


    He shrugged and chose a sit far away from I. She made him feel vulnerable and he wasn''t a fan, he didn''t need all the mush at the moment. No, he needed a brain, a logical, thinking brain.


    "So what was it like? The previous world."


    "I can safely say that, even though theirs was bigger, ours is better. Their buildings, streets and even the people, were very, primitive."


    He left out the details about the world before and just delved deeper into the most important aspect. Now that everyone was a bit calm, they wanted to know their roots. He told them everything he''d seen.


    "Cars huh? I wish they''d make better cars here though. How is it no one has incorporated our technology with old cars?"


    "Yeah, the best we have is that they''re powered by  the minerals underneath. They should make flying cars, definitely."


    "Don''t forget that the war set humans back by at least a hundred years." Kiro hushed them, he wished they''d talk about anything else.


    They spent their next days in-game trying to level up. Of course this was a very challenging thing, as all of them except Aeron were above level hundred.

 Chapter 374 Intimate Night

    Kiro practically threw himself on the bed. If he wasn''t in the game, he was helping James with cooking. He''d came by and asked for their help.


    And since Kiro was the most experienced, he was chosen for that reason. He didn''t mind getting away from all of it at least once a day.


    They had to figure a way to level up and they had to figure it out faster. Kiro was currentlypiling every high level dungeon he remembered from the past.


    He even had a pad and a pen out, writing anything that came to mind. His theory was that, it''s possible that his past memories vanish the moment Chronos ceases to exist.


    He''ll only have linear memories after his death, so he wanted to write down as much as possible. Even though it was just a theory, it was a usible one.


    "You thought I wouldn''t notice how distant you''ve made yourself?"


    "Mm." He''d be lying if he said he could hear her, he was still immersed in the many dungeons he remembered.


    I flicked his forehead as hard as she could.


    "Ouch!"


    "Kiro Percival Waynworth don''t you dare shut me out."


    "I''m not, honest..." He lied, rubbing the spot she had hit. He wasn''t acting, it was painful.


    He couldn''t believe so much strength wasing out of her tiny body. A body he could pick up with ease and throw it.


    She was getting sadder by the second, mostly frustrated. She didn''t want to endup like her own parents, she liked this boy a lot.


    Her parents kept up appearances, but she knew that they''d longed fallen out of love. That was partly because her father seemed to keep secrets, even she could tell. And here was Kiro, acting the same way her father did.


    "Look, I''m okay, I really am." He noticed her sadness.


    "I just don''t want to endup like those couples who keep things from each other, no matter how small. Small things build up into bigger things, think about that." She got out of the bed they were sharing, intending to spend the night on the floor.


    The floor wasfortable enough, the rug was clean and soft. The bed suffocated her for some reason and she didn''t really want to be up there, if it wasn''t in the middle of the night, she would''ve asked to switch with Hiro and stay with Saanvi instead. Explore more stories at empire


    Clearly, the two of them weren''t ready for something serious, something stable. And she understood to a certain extent, the whole thing about fighting gods was a lot but she''d hoped they''d do it together.


    ''Gods man, get a grip.'' He gave himself a peptalk.


    "I''m just really scared is all. Chronos wasn''t specific, but it''s possible we could fight them outside of Asgard and that would mean serious consequences for anyone that dies."


    "I see."


    "I just don''t want to lose any more..." He trailed off not able topletely form the thought.


    I was the one ignoring him now, she''d tried everything and it didn''t work, so she decided to give him some space to think.


    He didn''t really know what to do, he hated being vulnerable but he seemed to hate being ignored by her even more. Silence filled the room with neither of them talking for a while.


    "You''re not the only person who has people they care about Kiro. I''m scared too, we all are, this responsibility is a big one, someone may actually die, someone we both care about or we could lose each other but so what...We can''t change what''sing, we can only prepare for it." She didn''t miss a single beat.


    "I know."


    She was startled by how sudden and close his voice was. Turning her head she saw him sitting besides her, his back against the bed.


    It was kind of scary that she didn''t hear him get off the bed, but then again, she was talking plenty and her mind wasn''t really there.


    She propped herself up against the bed too.


    "You''re not alone this time, for once, trust in someone, it doesn''t have to be me. But you can''t do this alone. We all know the risks."


    Kiro''s heart felt warm and his face felt hot. In his mind, he was telling himself not to shed a single tear. He''d been alone for so long in the past, that he unconsciously didn''t really let people in.


    So here was I, pleading for him to open himself up once again. He had people now, people he could lean on.


    All that melted when his mind returned, looking at the most beautiful girl, so close to him, he could hear her breathe.


    "Thanks." He smiled genuinely. "Will you be my plus one tomorrow?" He impulsively asked.


    "Thought you''d never ask!"


    Seeing her that excited, he couldn''t control his body and leaned in causing for their lips to meet, she allowed it. It wasn''t long before there was a bulge in his pants.


    I continued to touch him in ces he didn''t know were sensitive spots for him. This experience was very new and very exciting, he weed it with arms wide open.


    Their clothes were abandoned in seconds, he sheathed himself and was ontop of her. They were still on the floor but neither minded.


    Her pale and perfect skin had a red blush to it, with all the sweat and heat it exuded. Kiro was gentle with her, he promised himself that he''d always be.


    Nothing, absolutely nothing came close to this feeling. This feeling of taking someone else within yourself. He felt like he was ontop of the world, like anything and everything was possible.


    After several minutes passed, they were lying on the floor with I on his chest listening to his heartbeat, breathing heavily. Bodily fluids stained the floor but they could care less. They were young once.


    The time god wasn''t going to give them their youth once again, it was best to live it to the fullest.


    "That was great, wanna go again?"


    She didn''t answer him with words, she simply mounted him. Telling him to be ready too, because she was.

 Chapter 375 Launch

    In an estate that seemed to always bear bad news ever since a certain someone rose to power, there were people going up and down, some were even clearing the snow but it was useless since it would pile back up within minutes.


    Despite the bad weather they were doing their best for their employer, they protected their skin through a thickyer of a jacket that only allowed for their eyes to be visible. Even that was protected by colourless sses, that went over their heads.


    They marched on like soldiers going to a war and in a way, they were at war with Waynworth Enterprise. Apany that seemed to have sprung up out of nowhere and was already making waves around the country.


    Their demeanor made it clear that they were getting ready for something and they didn''t let the weather get in the way of that.


    The government hadmanded people to stay in, but keson had always bent the rules to favour him. The government was truly nothing but puppets controlled by the sanctum.


    "Load these chairs in the truck." Trent gave his orders.


    They were getting ready for their ownunch for the gaming pods. keson ensured luxury for the guests, so he was transporting the one of kind set of chairs and tables that he had in his estate. Find exclusive stories on empire


    Trent was given strict orders and he was following them to the brim. After their many setbacks, they needed a sessfulunch. Even Trent was praying desperately for one.


    He didn''t believe in any gods, but was hopeful that they were real this time and could hear his wishes and grant them.


    He didn''t know how his master would react to yet another loss. It was essential that they won this round, otherwise he wasn''t quite sure he could handle a great outburst from Gilbert.


    Even blind eyes could see the brewing storm that was happening within him. He was within an inch of his sanity, it seemed that one wrong thing, just one disaster would detonate him into smithereens.


    He walked around the estate, ensuring that the workers did everything perfectly. Of course the event wouldn''t be held there, they''d already secured the best venue the upper district had to offer.


    His phone rung, he had to quickly run up the house, it was quite the spectacle seeing an old man running through the slipperly ground without slipping once.


    Taking the jacket off was quite the hassle.


    "Trent speaking." He answered wiping the snow off his jacket.


    "Sir. We''ve gathered some information Sir. The Waynworths are going tounch on the same day, but they could only acquire a venue in the middle district. Not even the better areas too, the ones closest to the lower district too.


    "The venue can only amodate around 300 people at the max and that''d be pushing it. I can confirm that we are definitely going to beat them in this round."


    The guy said smiling greatly. He was clearly in the know about thepetition between keson Tech and Waynworth Enterprise. If you couldn''t tell by his expression, the excitement was in his voice.


    Trent nodded with great satisfaction, they did their best to hold out the venues so that they didn''t get any good ones.


    He couldn''t lie to himself, this dug deeper into their pockets. Especially having to reconstruct the keson Tech building and now this, bribing venue owners so they rejected theirpetition. It was definitely costly.


    "Good job, don''t ck off. Don''t growx. Keep a close eye on things, they always have a way to pull one over us." He hung up.


    He was suddenly in a better mood, he didn''t bother going outside. He walked straight to his master''s study, to tell him the good news.


    Trent hadn''t even pushed the door open when he heard Gilbert biting someone''s head off. He pushed the door and opened it a little bit, leaving it ajar.


    Gilbert keson was on the phone, saying more curses than his mouth could keep up. The moment he dropped the call, it flew to the wall. If it wasn''t made of really durable material, it would''ve shattered on impact.


    Trent couldn''t bring himself to talk, he just stood by the door. Having opened it wide by instinct, he couldn''t back down and pretend to not have seen this.


    "Trent, what''s the matter?" He asked when he noticed him at the door frame.


    He wasn''t sure whether these were good enough news. But he had to tell him, especially now that he seemed to be in a sour mood.


    "We just received good news Master keson. We were able to restrict Waynworth Enterprise to a venue closer to the lower district." He told him, albeit, reluctantly.


    He took a deep sigh and smirked, "a lower district venue, for a lower districtpany. It suits them."


    "Indeed Master. I told Colt to keep a close eye on them, so we aren''t surprised by anything." He continued unsure whether to continue incase Gilbert''s anger was rted to this.


    "What''s the news on our headquarters? Your explosives did a number on it. I''ll never be happy about that." He asked absentmindedly.


    "It is finished Sir, workers wille in tomorrow."


    "Tell them not to, thest thing we want is for the public to further question our innocence."


    "Yes, Master."


    He lingered for a moment, hoping he could confide in him about what he walked in on but he never did. He asked to be excused and Gilbert allowed it.


    He didn''t even hear the door close. His thoughtspletely consumed him. He shouldn''t be thinking about anything else, but the news he''d received earlier made their way to the front of his head.


    As unbelievable as it was, he couldn''t help but ponder.


    He should be worried about Waynworth Enterprise, the fact that their sales have gone up because of that video, he should be focused on countering that but he wasn''t.


    Yes the news made him angry for but a second but his focused was easily stolen by this news. It was too insane to be real.


    ''That stupid game, Asgard Online is real?''

 Chapter 376 Launch, II

    The venue was breathtakingly beautiful. It wasrge, thergest there was in Sanctauri. The chairs made it look like a fantastical world, where royals dine and have parties.


    The ceiling was very high, making anyone inside seem insignificant, like it was made for giants to fit in. They were absolute swallowed hole by the beast, and the belly of it looked elegant.


    The venue could fit thousands and thousands of people. The floor was made of obsidian marble stone, with brushes of gold spread across. Like fairy dust.


    keson was backstage, looking at the supposedly audience of the century through the curtains.


    "Where the hell is everyone Trent?"


    The venue was empty, in this venue''s standards anyway. There were five hundred people attending but because of the vastness of it, it made it look like two.


    Trent was sweating buckets. He was sure he didn''t want to be there anymore, after leaving his master''s study the other day, he did find out about the video. He never thought it''d do so much damage though.


    Everyone here who was a guest was from the upper district, anyone else from the middle and lower were employees of thepany.


    They greatly underestimated the poprity of the game. None of them could''ve imagined that one single potion could make such a big difference.


    They spent a good amount of money too, to make thisunch happen. But now it was proving to be another failure.


    ''Dammit, if only I''d have acquired thatpany.'' He thought, regret gued his mind.


    He now wished he could''ve bought it, he berated himself for stalling. ying the long game came with risks, ones he never calcted because he didn''t register that the game would make people rich over night.


    And most of all, that one of those would buy thepany and hold the majority of shares.


    "Sir, look at this." Trent stretched out his shaking arm, a phone in hand.


    He couldn''t believe his eyes, it was a live video from the Waynworth Enterpriseunch. The venue was packed, so much that many people couldn''t even get inside but they didn''t seem to mind.


    ---------------------


    "Bel, if you take any more time in there, we''re going to bete." He yelled at the door.


    He didn''t understand why most girls took so much time to get ready. Especially a girl like her, who could woe an entire room wearing only pyjamas.


    Kiro was wearing a navy suit, he originally wanted to wear it with sneakers but got an earful from I instead. So he was wearing formal shoes with it.


    He hated how fast his hair grew, though it was only over a month since his mother decided he needed another haircut, his hair was longer but not too messy.


    The door to their room finally opened and there she stood. With a red dress that stopped just above her knees. Despite being shorter, Kiro thought her legs were long. Her long red hair was let down, she smiled and pushed some of it behind her ear.


    "I''m ready now."


    It took way too long for Kiro to process that sentence. He was thinking about stupid things like any boy in love. He didn''t know whether he preferred I with or without her clothes on.


    ''Calm down there.'' He gave himself a talk down.


    His friends were already there. Ishaan and Niki passed the opportunity to go, while Felix shocked everybody and offered himself to go.


    "I have to get used to these now that I''m a partner."


    Is what he gave them as a reason, and nobody questioned him because he was someone who could be very reclusive, this was a step in a good direction.


    Niki and Ishaan were standing there, whistling and pping their hands.


    "Cut it out." Hiro begged.


    But they didn''t give, what kind of friends would they be if they didn''t tease them for dressing up.


    Hiro''s suit was grey, while Felix went with the traditional ck.


    "You look beautiful." Kiro whispered in her ear as they entered the private jet that was waiting for them.


    She didn''t say anything, only gave him a genuine smile. She acted calm when she was giggly and warm inside.


    As they approached they could see on the ground a sea of people. They knew they couldn''t fit in the venue but they were there anyway.


    I took out her phone and started recording. She''d never seen that many people in one ce before, it was a wonder.


    Their transportation took only ten minutes to reach the venue. Landing was a hassle, they had to go over at the back, the front was already filled with people. It would''ve been impossible to get in using the front.


    "Hiro''s potions sure are popr." Imented.


    They were ushered inside by security. Despite it being a third rate venue, they''ve managed to turn it around with decorations alone. The tickets toe were firste, first serve.


    Everyone was already seated ording to the number on their tickets. Each ticket costed about 1 cred. The moment the video went up, the tickets sold out within seconds.


    "Dad!"


    "Dad?" Sekani balled his fist and hit him at the back of head. "Whenst did you even call, you unfilial son."


    "Ouch. You want me to pass don''t you?" He knew it was a weak excuse so he quickly changed the subject. "Where are my siblings anyway?"


    "Bet they don''t even remember you." Stay tuned with empire


    Kiro rolled his eyes, it was obvious that they didn''t. They were just infants, he was sure their brain was so small they didn''t have space to fit more than one thing at a time.


    "Wow, how do they all look like you?" Hiro was a bit surprised.


    "Seriously, why did they choose your mundane looks. Your mum is better looking." Saanvi said picking one up.


    But the one she picked up didn''t want to be carried, at least not by her. She was desperately trying to get to her brother, as if she knew who he was.


    "That''s right Liyana, that girl is no good,e to your brother." Kiro egged her on.


    "Tsk. I''ll just get another, you have four remember?"


    To her surprise they all wanted their older brother.


    Kiro looked at her solemnly, "Saanvi, don''t ever have kids."

 Chapter 377 Launch, III

    "They''re more clingy than Freckles." He said, having trouble holding all them at once.


    Just then the door burst open, Alora came in running. Behind her were Loki and LJ. She couldn''t jump into his arms, so she hugged his leg instead.


    "I swear, they''re taking everyone''s attention away from me." Sheined, almost in tears.


    Kiro, despite their protest, put the babies in each of his friends'' arms and picked up Alora. He''d forgotten about how clingy she was, and how devasting the change would have been for her.


    She was used to being the youngest, now at just almost six years old, she couldn''t be treated like a baby anymore. Especially when their parents had four babies on their hands and apany to run.


    "Don''t cry, I''m here, I''m here." Kiro said giving her a big kiss on the forehead.


    "I''m not..." She said tears welling up.


    He didn''t know whether tough or empathise.


    His eyes fell on Loki, who was giving him a knowing smile. He''d seen the news and new immediately that his brother was involved.


    Kiro moved his head lower so he could be face to face with him. "Not a word out of you." Hemanded.


    He was, for the first time in his life, thoroughly proud of his brother. He''d grown much from the days he was still in school and he appreciated that a lot.


    He understood immediately what he wanted, "Yes!"


    "My baby boys." Freya said walking in. She took a long look at Kiro, "something is different about you." She looked Kiro straight into the eyes, then to I, then back to her son and smirked. Explore more at empire


    Kiroprehended the interrogative look right away, he did his best to try and not seem guilty. At that moment, he didn''t mind if a harbinger would show itself so he could fight it instead.


    Hiro''s mum looked better than thest time they''d seen her. She gave the impression of being okay that Jin died. She still had children to take care of, moreso Isao.


    "Mum, don''t start." He said in the most innocent of voices.


    Freya didn''t pry any further, she''d already gotten confirmation without her son even uttering a single word.


    "Anyway, about the video, just what are those potions for people toe here in great numbers?" Sekani asked, still quite unbelieving that a game  caused such a craze.


    "Oh, you wouldn''t understand unless you yed the game..." Saying this struck an idea in his head.


    He could get his brother to y Asgard, he knew the rule he put in ce but thought it was a stupid rule now that they were facing a universal threat.


    ''I''ll have toe up with a good idea as to why I''m changing that rule.'' He sighed, shaking his head.


    They were backstage because of a slight dy. Multiple screens were being installed outside, so those outside could be a part of theunch as those inside. It was the only way, they couldn''t chase away potential buyers.


    When it was finally time to start, they walked into the hall, there were round tables and about four chairs in a single table.


    "That''s alright, I''ll go sit with Mrs. Waynworth and Mrs. Misaki." Felix had a naughty smile as he said when they offered for him to take another chair and sit with them.


    "Why''s he smug all of a sudden..." Hiro mumbled to himself.


    The little kids were left with Vada and Angelina in the previous room they were in. The venue wasn''t all that great, but the decorations made up for that.


    Multiple screens lit up at the same time outside. The noise quickly died down, they could finally see the inside of it.


    While most were here because of the potion, a lot of them were there because Waynworth Enterprise was helpful within the lower district. And since it was the district with many people, they decided to go out and support the man fully.


    Some knew him personally since he was once amongst them. They felt immense pride seeing one of their own so sessful, they now too believed they could get out of the slums.


    Everyone had hope ¡ª something so important in the dire times ahead.


    "Good afternoon to everyone present today and to those who aren''t but wanted to be," Sekani started nervously.


    He originally wanted to delegate this to Kiro, but he shot him down so quick he had no rebuttal in him left.


    But what surprised him most were the cheers that erupted after that greeting. It helped him collect himself and calm his nerves. It wasn''t like he wasn''t used to presentations, but this was hispany, his baby, so naturally he''d be nervous.


    "My gratitude is insurmountable to everyone whom visited our website and crashed it. We really appreciated it guys."


    The crowds roared withughter.


    "Now you''ll wonder, what''s so different about this gaming gear? Why should I upgrade and change the head gear?


    "Firstly, it''s a pod, where your whole body is rested inside of it while you game. The head gear has its disadvantages and we''ve luckily managed to capitalise and eliminate them.


    "The body will no longer be strained because the slightg is fixed, you will nowmand your avatar in real time. That dy is slight but you''ll see for yourself the difference it makes.


    "You could also y endlessly for years if your body didn''t need nourishment but rest assured, it has been created so that it kicks you out when your vitals are low."


    He received a loud apuse, he swiped in front of himself and a small screen appeared. He made itrger and got it to hover above his head.


    On the screen was the pod he was talking about, along with many of the advantages he didn''t mention.


    "What better way to know whether you love a product than to test it? That''s right you will be given that chance. The time limit will be ten minutes for each individual."


    The hall erupted in chatter. Everyone wanted to try one, old and young.


    "To those who ordered online, they will arrive in your homes right before you do." He lied as they were already delivered.


    He didn''t want thisunch to lose its momentum because people decided they didn''t want to wait 10 minutes to try out a pod.

 Chapter 378 The Obelisk 360

    "Ladies, gentlemen, I introduce to you, the Obelisk 360." He said, as two people behind him unveiled the gaming pod on stage.


    The room was filled with gasps and a very excited atmosphere. Seeing the actual pod made everyone fill with great happiness. It looked like Waynworth Enterprise didn''t pull any stops, it looked premium.


    "Ites in three colours, ck, gray and royal purple." He smiled, "We didn''t reveal that for a reason, everyone''s colour will be a surprise. Purple is very limited though."


    Producing each pod cost them ten thousand creds but the purple one was a little bit more. Getting a colour that wasn''t ck or white or both proved to cost more.


    Sekani knew he''d be making an enemy of himself in this market but he wasn''t going to overcharge people. He knew better than anyone, being at the bottom and not having the power to do anything.


    His goal was so that it wasn''t ridiculously expensive that it was only a luxury for the rich. The game made people money, so getting these pods in the lower district would help them greatly.


    If he didn''t have employees to pay, he would have made it much lower but he settled for thirty thousand creds. A third of an old gaming system, he was sure keson Tech would double the price of the head gear.


    But they would be forced to withdraw and drop the price when the headlines are all about Waynworth Enterprise and their cheap Obelisk 360.


    That''s why Sekani had kept the price a secret until today, he wanted to mess with keson Tech, just one more time.


    Even those who ordered online hadn''t yet been charged.


    After the deliveries were made, the room was filled with notification sounds. Each person took out their phones, unbelieving of the cost of this futuristic device.


    "Only thirty thousand? There''s just no way, what''s the catch?" One manined loudly, almost as if he was trying to cause a riot.


    "Seriously, I bet there are individual parts you''ll have to buy and put together so you can use it otherwise how does this make any sense?" Another responded.


    "It really makes no sense. The way he talked about it, I was ready to pay a million." Another kid joined in.


    The two men looked at him and shook their heads. They only hoped that their own kids were more responsible about money.


    People were used to a society that wasn''t kind to them, one that was cutthroat, so this kind of fairness and generosity wasn''t met with warm arms. They were skeptical, looking for every excuse under the sky, so that they, Waynworth Enterprise, could have ulterior motives.


    "Your dad is amazing. Giving a big fat middle finger to keson Tech in the cruelest way possible." Saanvi was utterly amused and impressed.


    Nobody until this family ever stood up to the rich. She loved to see such justice being carried out, while she enjoyed her life of luxury, she was very aware of the cost in which it came.


    "Well, who did you think I took after?" Kiro said smirking slightly, he felt great satisfaction in that moment.


    "You still have a long way to go." She rolled her eyes at him.


    She did think he was like him in this one particr thing but there was no way in hell she was going to give Kiiro Waynworth apliment.


    Kiro was still smiling smugly, if he heard that, he chose to ignore it.


    One by one people got up from their chairs to test run the pod that was now where Sekani had been standing. It was Philip on stage, guiding them through.


    The tickets had numbering, so they went numerically ording to them. Nobodyined, they didn''t cause a ruckus either. They waited for their turn impatiently.


    Some wanted to prove that the product was a sham since it was being sold at such a low price, some wanted to look for their ulterior motives. They were going to study the inside of the pod andpare it with theirs. Read exclusive content at empire


    Incase they made them faulty on purpose.


    The first batch came out looking a little disoriented. Their expressions carried nothing but glee, the excitement within them seemed to overflow into the audience. Without saying anything at all, the people who had yet to go in understood.


    They were gamers after all.


    The hunger and want in their faces couldn''t be hidden. The second batch quickly got up, practically running to the stage, to get the taste of the promised honey.


    "Come on, it can''t be that good?" I said, as many people who came out looked the same no matter who they were.


    "I''ve only been inside it once, it was pretty impressive. I can''t imagine how incredible it is now that it is a finished product." Kiro answered her.


    "You''ll take every chance to talk your dad up, huh?" Saanvi interrupted.


    "As he should!" Hiro told her, not looking at them but hearing what they were saying.


    As someone who aspired to be an inventor of technologies never been seen before, he was ecstatic but also utterly heartbroken.


    The person who introduced this to him as a child wasn''t there anymore, they weren''t even breathing the same air anymore. It was confusing, feeling two conflicting emotions at once.


    "Thank you, dad." He whispered to himself and smiled bitterly.


    He didn''t think anyone heard him until he felt someone squeeze his shoulder. Turning his head, his best friend was smiling like aplete idiot. It was strange but it was contagious as he unwillingly smiled back at him.


    "I hope you guys don''t mind, but I''ve had our pods shipped to our dorms already."


    "How did you even know we wouldn''t prefer the other pod?" Saanvi pricked.


    Hiro had a you''re-ying-with-fire expression. Isaac was territory that shouldn''t be even joked about. And he saw a vein pop on Kiro''s temple but his smile never faded.


    "That''s why I paid for them."


    Saanvi could sense that she hit a nerve, so she took her victory in silence.


    The day was a long one, even though they brought out more pods so that theunch would be shorter. People were genuinely interested in the product, their questions were neverending.

 Chapter 379 Quit School

    The second Kiro''s head hit the pillow, he immediately fell asleep. Being home, under the same roof as everyone of his family, with thepany''sunch sessful, he felt a little ¡ª only a little lighter.


    Today, the end of the world didn''t exist. He caught a glimpse of a new beginning of their world instead and it was beautiful and it brought him so much hope.


    "Your father did great, the updated gear will be a great advantage for you all."


    That''s what he heard a voice say when the sun rested on his eyes, waking him up. It was blindingly bright, like there hadn''t been a heavy storm the whole week.


    "That voice was definitely different, that wasn''t Chronos..." He grumbled as he got out of bed. "I have no idea why I even still go to school, what a waste of time."


    He yawned.


    "There are more important things at hand, I''ll try convincing my parents." He took out his phone and dialed a number.


    "Hiro, let''s drop out." He said yawning again.


    "You woke me up for that madness?" He answered annoyed.


    "Think about it, there''s nothing that academy can teach you about creating things you don''t already know."


    "It''s not worth it, my mother would never allow it."


    "Let''s call a meeting and convince them?" He could tell that Hiro wasn''t convinced. "Look, we don''t need school. Especially with what we have to do. Imagine not being able to logout and you miss a ss or a meal or something. Or worst case scenario, a harbingers wrecks havoc while we are in the middle of a test?"


    He didn''t have the guts to quit alone, so he at least needed his best friend to be on his side so he could go through with it.


    Kiro didn''t n to convince the other guardians to follow suit. He figured if he had Hiro by his side, they could hold off harbingers until the others arrive or they could even defeat one.


    "What are we gonna tell them?" Hiro finally understood his concerns and he agreed.


    A lot could happen while they were stuck in ss. Another thing that was bothering him was how they would tell the whole world about this, or it was safer to keep it to themselves.


    "Mm, I don''t know..."


    He really had no idea how he would spin it. He didn''t want to rehearse it either, incase that made him more nervous and he ended up saying gibberish.


    Walking into his bathroom, he started his shower. It was cold water with good enough pressure. He needed this to wake him fully up.


    While in there, Kiro heard his room door open. He quickly turned the faucet off. He put a towel around his waist, while he had another in hand to dry his hair.


    As he walked out, he was greeted by a silhouette that stood at 104 centimetres. He smiled gracefully, her face was however disappointed.


    She came in early because she wanted to wake him up.


    "You can wake me up tomorrow!" He eximed.


    "You have school." She pouted, turning on her heels to leave.


    "Not for long." Kiro said to himself.


    He quickly put on casual clothes and went down for breakfast. It wasn''t surprising that everyone, but Loki and Philip were already awake. The were four little demanding kids in the house, sleeping until the sun was out wasn''t a luxury they could afford.


    "Congrattions dad." Kiro said shaking his hand, which Sekani turned into a hug by yanking him closer.


    Theunch was more than just a sess, their sales went through the roof and more were still being sold, it was quite something to witness.


    "Thanks to you." He smiled ruffling his hair.


    Kiro grabbed some freshly baked bread, there was one every morning. Angelina was a really mean cook, people were usually Jack''s of all trades but she was a master of all.


    He nodded outside for his dad to follow him.


    "I want to quit school." He finally said when they walked far enough from the house.


    Sekani waited for the punchline but it never came.


    "You have to be joking?"


    Kiro shook his head, "I don''t learn anything there. Why do I even go? There''s nothing they can teach me."


    Sekani sighed. He couldn''t refute what his son was saying. But he didn''t see a future where Freya ever agreed to this.


    "You''re not telling me so that I could tell your mother are you?"


    "Well, a man could only hope?" He chuckled nervously.


    Sekani didn''t promise anything. He knew it would take a lot, more than just words to convince his wife. She was a lot stubborn, something Kiro took from her.


    ''Since they''re both so hard-headed maybe having a mediator won''t be such a bad idea?''


    Later that day, Freya and Kiyoko were both seated in the living area sofa. Both their sons stood in front of them, far enough to not be implicated by their anger.


    Sekani was sitting to his wife''s left, in way, in the middle of them.


    The two women looked utterly confused as to why their sons wanted them both in the same room. Both their imaginations ran wild with all sorts of scenarios.


    "Who did you get pregnant?" Freya started, scared out of her mind.


    "I want to, we want to quit school." He blurted out.


    ''Way to rip the bandaid off champ.'' He berated himself.


    Even Hiro gave him looks of judgement. He couldn''t believe how bad he was at letting bad news down easily.


    "What? No."


    "Wait, let me exin..."


    "There''s nothing ¡ª"


    "Honey, please." Sekani pleaded. "Hear him out." Enjoy new stories from empire


    Kiro took a deep breathe.


    "I feel that school is a waste of my potential, there''s nothing they can teach me I don''t already know."


    "Kiro, it''s the principal..."


    "Why did you send us to school?" He quickly asked, and answered "yes, to make you guys money but we''ve already done that. What use is school?"


    Kiyoko was awfully quiet, so was her son. Hiro didn''t know which buttons to press to convince her.


    "You may be smart, but I know my Hiro isn''t. Hisst results weren''t good."  She finally said.


    "That''s who Hiro is. I''m good at theory, he''s good at practical. There''s nothing I can think of he couldn''t build. Traditional school isn''t for him." Kiro defended his friend.


    "Is this about the game, Asgard, being real?"


    "Ye¡ªwait, what?" He turned his head to the enquiring voice.


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