News of Ki-ru Shoumetsu being captured put the whole city of Revalia in a state of frenzy. And soon after, the neighboring cities who caught wind of the news couldn't control their happiness as well. It was one of the most memorable days in the city of Lucid, the day when a common enemy in their midst was finally removed.
Of course, the majority of the people weren't just concerned about the perpetrator. They were also curious as to which powerful adventurer managed to capture the high-leveled murderer. It was common knowledge that Ki-ru Shoumetsu's level is well above four hundred. And currently, there are only fifty or so people who are above level 500. Nevertheless, those famous adventurers denied apprehending the murderer, saying something along the lines of 'even if we knew, we won't disclose it to everyone'.
And so, the mysterious person or entity who captured the murderer remained unknown and the City Guards kept their mouths shut as well. However, rumor has it that a low-leveled adventurer was the one who captured him, approaching him when his guard was down and cutting both his wrists and ankles in one fluid motion. Many people didn't want to believe it, but a few were convinced that a low-leveled but talented adventurer could've done the job.
After all, who else could take down a level 400 adventurer aside from higher-leveled adventurers or an out-of-the-norm adventurer with unique skills.
.....
[Skill: Third-Eye (Unique) (Exclusive)
Description— Allows you to see Evil Spirits and communicate with them. Also gives you the power to control Evil Spirits.
— Controlling Evil Spirits can't be done if the Evil Spirit has a higher level than the user.
Damage— N/A
Skill Mana Consumption—
Skill Casting Time— N/A
Skill Cooldown— N/A]
Three hours later, Yuuta and Yua returned to the previous location where they were supposed to meet. What Yua didn't know was that for the past three hours, Yuuta busily dragged Shoumetsu to the Town Hall after stabbing him four times... specifically on his wrists and ankles. He broke them so bad that they wouldn't even heal naturally. Unless someone would use the Healing Element on his injuries, it is impossible to put back. And just for added measure, Yuuta had to stab it in too deep so he would break the bones into dust. If he were to be put in prison or be sentenced to death, at least he wouldn't go on a rampage and escape by the last second. Yuuta was aware that he shouldn't be taking vengeance for himself but rather, all the people he victimized should collectively do so. The only thing he could do is assist on that vengeance— by injuring the murderer to the point of being irrecoverable.
And if somehow he survived all that, and he got away from the rightful authorities, then Yuuta swore to himself that he would do the same thing again. He doesn't know if it was just a fluke that he happened to match the strength of a level 400, but he was sure to himself that he would be able to do it when the time calls.
"I'm done!" Yua interrupted his line of thought as soon as they met up. "Where have you been? Did you skip out on the mapping area? You do know I did more than half of it, right?"
"Yes, all right all right. Thank you so much for your help. I'll treat you to something next time." Yuuta continued. "In any case, how did you do it that fast? Did you sprint all the way?"
"Heh~" Yua wore a smirk as she turned his back towards Yuuta. Suddenly, two pairs of black, transparent wings sprouted from his back, glistening as it was hit by the sun's rays. "How is it?"
"It looks beautiful. I never thought that faeries in this world also have wings."
"Everyone does, but mine's a different color. The faeries of the Issaz Tribe have bright, clear blue wings. As for me, I got this. It was probably because my dad was a human."
"It's fine, at least you got the most unique wings of them all." Yuuta pointed out as he twiddled his thumbs in front of her. "By the way, about your offer..."
"What offer?"
"The one about keeping you in my party forever, I guess I'll take you up on it." Yuuta's smile was filled with warmth as he continued. "You're efficient when it comes to completing quests... and I think you'll be a really good partner here in the world of Lucid. Of course! The rewards are always the same, 50-50. Nothing less nothing more. And besides, you'll also be able to help your mom earn some extra cash by going with me in my subjugations and mapping quests... assuming that you still are up for that offer."
Meanwhile, Yua's eyes were already sparkling as she aggressively nodded.
"Was that a yes?"
"Yes!"
For some reason, Yuuta felt like he just proposed to someone but he just put the thought at the back of his mind and tried to ignore it while he could. As for Yua, however, she was obviously taking it as a proposal rather than a normal association with Yuuta's party. At the end of the day, Yuuta offered a permanent spot for Yua in the party and Yua acquiesced to it... that's all there is to it.
A few minutes later, Yua bade goodbye and headed back home, walking on air. Yuuta wondered why Yua was overjoyed and concluded that maybe she just really badly wanted to be a part of of his party. And with that out of the way, Yuuta finally had time for himself to check all his rewards in his mailbox
[50,055 Garnets
9 Quartz
2 Randomized Gift Boxes
1 Unique Skill Of Your Choosing
Holy Sword of Light and Truth]
Just the first contents of the mailbox were enough to make Yuuta's eyes widened with shock. 50,055 Garnets is a lot of money. A Garnet is equivalent to 10,000 Xandrites and with that amount of money, one can already survive for a day in the city of Revalia where food costs and rent aren't that expensive. However, Yuuta wasn't thinking about that at all. The first thing that came into his mind is the price for Skill Scrolls. Even if he were to buy the most expensive one— which is probably a Legendary or a Mythic Skill— he'd still have a lot of money left over.
"I guess I'll be hitting one of the Skill Shops in the city next. Hopefully, they have a Skill that would worthwhile." Yuuta said to himself as he relaxed underneath the same tree where he was three hours ago. "But then again, getting Skills is all about luck. I don't have to rush and buy a second-grade Skill in the Skill Shop... but I can't wait for long either. A storm's brewing and I have to catch up to the strongest adventurers. Otherwise, I might get caught in the crossfire of trouble sooner than later."
Something clicked in Yuuta's mind and he fished through his pockets. There was an item he got from Ki-ru Shoumetsu a few hours ago but he never really got a good look at it. Thinking about it now, he was fairly certain that that item would give him a major clue as to what's going on in the world of Lucid and how it's connected to the real world.
Previously, Yuuta had doubts that the Lucid Dream Server is not at all connected to the real world and that everything's just a mad conspiracy theory. At one point, he even thought that maybe the serial killers of the real world are trying so hard to connect their crimes to the game... probably to bring the game down? Yuuta wasn't so sure.
But recently, Yuuta's mind would drift into the Lucid world at certain intervals in a day. He would just suddenly gain the ability to see and after a few seconds, it would be gone. He would also hear the voice of the System talking to him even though he wasn't in the game. Because of that, Yuuta had the notion that maybe, his theory that the Lucid Dream Server and the real world is connected is not that far-fetched.
And now, meeting the supposed killer who killed his homeroom teacher was more than enough evidence for him. There really is a connection— a bridge— that interlinks the real world to the Lucid Dream Server.
But how? A Lucid Dream Server is a game that uses the mind and its ability to lucid dream in order to access the game... how could something in the mind interfere with the real world?
Unlesss...
Yuuta examined the item in his hand. It was a miniature shield, sort of like a brooch or an insignia that signifies a certain group. The crest was of light purple color and in the middle of it was a circle with three ropes that dangled underneath it. In the middle of a circle were threads that looked like webbings of a spider. As a whole, the crest had a purple color whilst the image in the middle has a light blue color. In terms of design, Yuuta thought that the item was indeed aesthetic.
"A dreamcatcher?" Yuuta asked himself, pertaining to the design of the insignia. "Why a dreamcatcher?"