Draig breathed heavily as he hid from the swarm of Goblins, he was thankful to have made it in his opinion. However this proved that he would need to be more wary in the future, as he said this he thought back to his years as a youth.
'Little guys like this would have never considered trying to shake me down' thought the young man as if he was Tracer's senior by a great deal.
Draig was roused from his thoughts by the muffled sounds of yelling from somewhere else.
[System Regulation Mission: Use the ability of your class to eliminate the player who is holding his counterparts hostage. Rewards?????/Punishment: Unlock Hardcore Mode until next Regulation Mission]
Reading the Message Draig felt himself grit his teeth.
"Do you give other people mandatory missions" asked Draig not expecting an answer, he didn't receive one but as said previously that had been expected.
The would be Shinobi accepted this mission though he didn't really have a choice, this action brought up the next message.
[Track the sounds of the muffled voices to find your target, beware of monsters caught under the bewitching spell...]
Draig read the message and felt the warning was a bit odd given the current circumstances.
**************
Minutes later Draig could be seen looking through a ruined school building, the voices from before were louder than ever.
The Shinobi felt a pit building in his stomach for some reason as he looked around warily.
He thought about the system's warning from before and felt the pit grow bigger.
'Why haven't I seen the monsters yet.....'
Draig drew closer to the sounds of the calling voices, looking through the rooms he eventually happened upon a large number of people gagged and set in groups. Luckily he went unnoticed thanks to his sneaking passive, it wasn't much of a boost but it was good for the level of things currently.
He inspected the room and saw a girl sitting at the teacher's desk swatting what looked like a bloody mud pie with what appeared to be a yard stick.
The girl had sickeningly sweet grin on her face until she stopped and began looking through the crowd again.
"I wonder which one of you Sophie will let me play with next" moaned the girl as she smiled in a perverted manner while blood splatter covered her face.
Draig grimaced slightly.
'Kind of reminds me of her....' thought Draig as he remembered a particular 'acquaintance' he had before his arm was taken.
Shaking the thought of HER from his mind the Shinobi focused his aim and flung a rapid number of stars towards the girl causing her to suddenly shriek in pain from the unexpected attack.
Draig didn't hesitate as he quickly arrived before her with the Sun sword mid swing, the girl suddenly smiled as she faded away and the people in the room also disappeared as if they were never there.
"OH DRAIG DARLING!!!!!! It's been ages, and you have your arm back too???" came an all too familiar voice, so disturbing such a sweet voice could do so much.....
"Did you know I was here and have come to win me back??? Awwww I'm sorry though, my new boyfriend wouldn't like that very much.... but thanks anyways" continued the voice in an immature manner.
Draig looked for the source of the voice only to find himself alone.
"Oh don't be silly, I wouldn't dare be out in the open with all the crazies running around." laughed the voice causing Draig to release a breath he didn't know he was holding.
*******
Elsewhere a girl in a college uniform could be seen overlooking what seemed like a fairytale come to life, she had bright eyes and a heartwarming smile until she saw the world stop expanding.
Her lips falling into a pout she looked at a large group of students and others who had been taken prisoner.
"Ah pooo, it stopped getting bigger... Oh well, luckily I still have a bunch of you guys to give me more star power" pouted the girl before she finished with a giggle and a cute smile as she struck a silly pose.
Seeing this the prisoners began struggling harder and yelling with all their might.
**********
Draig fell back into the shadows and resumed sneaking around, the old building looked terrible as it showed the early signs of changing from this strange new world they were forced to call reality.
Taking a left he saw the first signs of monsters, they were odd looking though and seemed familiar almost.
'Mr. Rotty and Count Stabsalot' thought Draig in recognition of the two iconic drawings he remembered from her journal.
**********
Mr. Rotty was a doll made from a sack of potatoes and stuffed with straw in a creepy fashion, the doll was looking about as if watching for intruders though it didn't seem like it would be effective with a lack of eyes.
Count Stabsalot was another doll though he stood a few inches taller than Mr. Rotty, he was dressed as an old gentleman befitting his title his cane however was a large needle that also acted as his sword.
The Count leaned on a corner and reached into his pocket pulling out an adorable little pocket watch.
"Come Rotty, our Mistress said her guest has canceled if we haven't seen him by now." came the shockingly manly voice from the doll.
********
'Shit just gets weirder and weirder when she gets involved' thought Draig watching the scene with a mild shiver.
A few minutes went by after Rotty and Stabsalot left, Draig had only just become comfortable enough to move when he saw movement coming from the other hall.
***********
"The Boss said to send more to Katrina... again" came the voice of what appeared to be guards.
"That girl has really changed the boss...." answered the other of the duo.
"I know what you mean, a few months ago we were only some punks doing graffiti and a little shoplifting. I'm happy for the boss... but that girl is nothing but trouble, the boss would have been better off without her." responded the first of the two guards.
"Shhh, remember last time she heard someone talking about her.... she went and cried to the boss and Arnold was killed as an example" hushed the second guard.
**********
Draig understood what the duo meant, he could've avoided a great many tragedies if he had never met her but then again she had this way about her that made every moment with her feel like a dream.
He shook his head as he trailed behind the duo, he did so for a few minutes as they went down some stairs into an old storage basement.
It was here that Draig was able to finally glimpse some of the prisoners.
Seeing half of his target in sight the Shinobi seemed to almost appear from the shadows as people finally noticed him, with a quick swing their head were removed and burnt to ash.
Sighing lightly Draig began untying people and watched as some quickly scanned medallions while others checked their Scouts.
As he finished he noticed someone walking towards him.
"Thank you for helping us stranger, may I ask how you got here" asked a larger man who was followed by a few other people who seemed to carry the dignity of a leader.
"I was doing a class quest" answered Draig watching these people carefully, he was worried about bare handed skills as he took a step back.
Seeing this the large man and his entourage stopped.
"Apologies didn't mean to frighten you" started the large man with a smile but Draig snorted.
"It's not fear, it's strategy" retorted Draig as he felt himself getting back into an old groove.
"Of course, now you said you were here on a class quest? What class are you then" came the question.
"A merchant naturally" answered Draig not willing to reveal his actual information.
"A Merchant? A doubtful claim, merchants can't hold weapons" answered the large man condescendingly.
Draig just stared at this man blankly for some time, noticing the stare the large man decided to explain.
"Listen I can see you're an amateur so as a thanks for saving all of us I'll explain a few things about games, see there are certain classes and professions that can't hold weapons. Merchants are one of those classes so it is impossible for you to be able to hold a weapon." explained the large man with a kind smile.
"But this isn't a game..." stated Draig causing a deathly silence.
"We can test this, one of our members was a merchant. We were able to get a good start because we had a traveling shop with us. If he is really a merchant then we just need someone with their scout to come and attempt to do business with him." explained a woman accompanying the leader entourage.
*******
[Buyer attempt detected, opening MyMerch app. Due to low level store is only stocked with starter items]
Draig watched the message appear on his Scout before the app opened.
[Player: Alexandria Dreymos has subscribed to your market and his now able to purchase your wares across great distances]
It seemed a corresponding message appeared on the woman's Scout as her eyes lit up.
"I apologize for our initial meeting friend, I would like to explain that I had not intended to thank you with these brutes. I just happened to get swept up with them on my way over" smiled Alexandria as she gave a speedy explanation/excuse for her earlier allegiance.
"Alex what the hell, what's with that attitude" cried the large man angrily as it seemed he was proven wrong about a Merchant's abilities.
"Oh my new Merchant friend and I were just discussing a potential mutually beneficial relationship" grinned Alexandria deviously.
The group just stared with their mouths agape at the insinuation.
Deciding to end this misunderstanding before it got out of control Draig spoke up.
"I didn't say anything about relationship....." interrupted Draig causing the scene to become awkward.
**********
After a few moments of silence everyone just returned to their previous activities ignoring the previous scandal however now it was time of worry as they tried to collaborate to find a way out.
Among these people were the group leaders who had thanked him previously along with their 'Parties'.
Alex seemed to have the smallest group as it was just her and three other girls.
"Let's get straight to the point, we are at a disadvantage. We are unarmed and that crazy demon girl is out there waiting on her next victim, we are in the worse possible scenario for a boss fight" explained the large man in a frustrated tone, as it turned out his name was Wesley. Behind him were what appeared to be other nerdy type individuals.
"Boss fight? You're getting too caught up in your own delusions of being in a reincarnation novel" scoffed Draig before he began again.
"This is real life, that is still a human being out there. From my experiences even in games humans are always easier to kill, even if they are bosses." continued Draig as his monotone voice began to pick up a bit of an edge it hadn't carried in a long time.
Seeing the looks on their faces Draig decided to figure out how so many people were caught so fast.
"I heard about it from a friend" explained one of the leaders to the side.
This was followed by looks of surprise from those within earshot as they began to report the same thing.
**********
After a few moment of everyone arguing loudly for a bit he had enough and pelted a valve causing a loud ding a hiss of steam to usher forth.
"Be quiet" growled Draig surprising some with his aggressive tone.
"So you all heard about something from a friend, what is it that is so great that you would all gather without thought" asked Draig trying to get to the bottom of this.
"We came for the Great Meeting....." answered someone in the back solemnly.
"It was supposed to be us gathering together to create a safe haven" came another voice.
Draig basically had the gist of the situation now and ignored the other voice speaking out.
'It's not a bad idea though' came the subconscious thought.
"Draig what are you planning on doing now?" asked Alex as she followed the 'Merchant'.
"I have to go complete my quest" answered Draig honestly, he had to go do this one way or another lest he find out what Hardcore mode was.
"What about us then? How are we going to get out of here...." asked Alex her voice sounding worried though she hid it well.
The scumbag turned Shinobi playing Merchant didn't know how to answer. He wasn't close with anyone really least of all some random people he accidentally rescued.
"Shit, okay let me think for a second" answered Draig after a moment as he tried to think of a plan.