"Don't move. One movement and your eyes are popping off." the stranger said while holding the dagger with one arm facing toward his eyes. Kash froze in fear as he gaze into the crimson eyes of the stranger.
The Stranger's clothing is a desert-like color cloak covering nearly all of the body parts except for the eyes and feet. On the side of a cloak, there seems to be a mark of some sort.
The mark on the cloak is barely visible. But it appears to be the pattern of a star with 5 more stars on each side.
'What a predicament.' Kash thought to himself. He takes a brief moment to gather visual information by looking around and realizing something.
"...Eight people." Kash silently counted.
"What's wrong? A glue got stuck in your mouth?" The stranger said mockingly.
"You should check what's in my pouch," Kash said. The stranger immediately snatches the pouch and takes a look inside. An empty water bottle is neatly placed right beside a letter.
The stranger then reads the letter, and the crimson eyes widened in shock.
"Those sneaky bastards." the stranger mumbled in anger.
"Alpha, Eta. Escort this guy to the holy. I'll go take a look." the stranger then said while giving back the pouch neatly.
"Yes, Ma'am!" Suddenly, 2 people appeared beside Kash in a blink of an eye.
"The left one is Alpha, he is very skilled in long-range combat. He primarily holds a bow. Despite being blind, he can sense people from a few hundred miles away." The Stranger said as Alpha nods.
"And the other one is Eta. She is good in recon and skilled support." The Stranger said as Eta happily nodded in excitement.
Alpha and Eta are wearing the same cloak as The Stranger. However, they each have a unique marking on each side of their cloaks.
For Alpha, it's a white sword with weird engraving on its blade. While for Eta, it's a yellow cross with intricate and extravagant details.
An Explosion occurs from the distance. The Stranger then pointed her palm facing toward the explosion in a chopping manner.
Right then, the remaining members except for Alpha and Eta swiftly dashed to the scene at insane speeds to the point that the surroundings swooshed every time they went past trees.
"Let's go now." said the stranger while walking away. Kash then followed her.
While walking, Kash takes a look at both Alpha and Eta who is beside him.
Alpha has a broad and stout build. Despite the cloak covering nearly his whole body, it's still noticeable. He's also quite tall, really tall. When compared to Kash, He looks like a giant.
While Eta, on the other hand, is a bit smaller than Kash, around shoulder level, and slightly slimmer. There are white lines protruding at the side of her head in which Kash is left baffled and trying to figure out what it was.
"Let's pick up the pace. Alpha, scan." The Stranger said while taking off her hood revealing her long purple hair whilst waving through the wind with a pointy ear.
"Nothing in sight, Ma'am," Alpha said.
"You can keep up, can you? Hedgehog." The Stranger smirked while looking at Kash's hair.
"Seeing those guys who just casually sprint through the wind, I feel like I'm a slug." Kash nervously laughed.
"Hahaha! We'll take it a too slow then, precious slug." The Stranger insultingly spoke with a grin.
Kash by then is getting a bit annoyed but ignored what she had said.
"Alright, Let's go." The Stranger said.
Alpha, Eta, and The Stranger's feet are glowing. And then...
"BOOM!" An Explosive sprint echoed through the forest followed by a strong gust of wind that would've shaken the forest. Alpha, Eta, and The Stranger are already gone.
"How the f*ck do I catch up with that?!" Kash Shockingly said with his jaw-dropping on the floor.
"Hahaha! What a cute face you're making!" The Stranger said while standing on the tree laid-back and laughing while Alpha and Eta were near her clapping awkwardly.
"I'll just carry you there." The Stranger then immediately carried Kash in a Fireman's carry manner.
"Hey, what are you doi-"
The Stranger then suddenly sprinted at high speed in which Kash got caught off-guard and started screaming. Soon, Alpha, and Eta followed and reached up to her pace.
"OH YEAH! THE VILLAGE THAT THE SENILE PRICK SAID IS ALREADY GONE!." The Stranger shouted at Kash. Considering the high speeds that she was going, Kash barely heard anything.
"WHAT DID YOU SA- Bleergghh..." Kash then suddenly vomited due to motion sickness and it got all over her Cloak.
"WHAT THE- HEY MY CLOAK!" The Stranger then shouted. They stopped running and took a break at an abandoned village nearby where she then threw Kash on a nearby run-downed house out of spite causing it to collapse onto him then hurriedly removed the cloak and threw it on the ground.
"Eta, cleanse." She said.
"..."
Eta then faced both of her palms toward the cloak. Then, a faint light appeared on Eta's palm. A blinding light then covers the cloak. After the light is gone, the Cloak is clean, with barely any scratches or dirt. The Stranger then wore the cloak again.
"Ouch ouch..." Kash said while rubbing his head. He just woke up recently after that throw onto an abandoned building. His clothes are tattered and damaged.
"Here, water." Alpha appeared beside Kash and handed out a water bottle.
Kash sat down, then took the water bottle and drank it immediately. After finishing, Kash let out a big exhale. "That was refreshing."
"I filled that with water infused with mana," Alpha said.
"Some or most people wouldn't have survived that throw." Alpha then looks at Kash, "What are you?-"
A flashing light appeared for a split second in all of their vision. Then followed a loud bang in the distance.
All of them looked over the sound and saw a large smoke of dust piercing through the air. Kash then gave back the emptied water bottle to Alpha.
"Shit... Alpha, Eta. Let's go." The Stranger hastily said. Kash noticed that she is leaving immediately after that loud bang.
He then ran and asked her,
"What's wrong?"
"Someone broke our Array. Time will begin to move again." The Stranger replied.
By that time, it began to rain. A heavy downpour crashed onto them, and all of them wore their hoods.
She then carried Kash again and looked back at the explosion with a monotone look on her face.
"...Let's go." They then sprint through the downpour, like a violent wind splitting through the rain.
23 miles into the run. It had reached midnight at that time. Yet, the rain still won't stop, causing random puddles of mud.
All of their cloaks are now dirty and soaked. The Group set up a tent off-road a couple of meters away from the path under a tree.
They then made a campfire and began to take their rations out of thin air. They then boiled some water in a pot and put their rations inside it.
"...Status" Kash quietly said while sitting on the branch of the tree near them. A green screen then appeared in front of him showing the following;
<< Name: Kash >>
<< Original Name: %Error% >>
<
<< Real Age: 20 >>
<< Affiliation: "Imperishable Journey" >>
<< Title: None >>
<< Job: None >>
<< Skills: 3 (2 Passive) >>
<
<
"...Inventory" Kash quietly said.
[[INVENTORY]]
{{ || || || || || || || || || || || }}
[You have no stored item in the inventory.]
[TIP: The Inventory is private storage that cannot and never will be accessed by third party users. An item can never be ransacked or looted when placed in the Inventory.]
Kash then grabbed an empty water bottle from his pouch and put it forward the green screen. After, his hand is gone and replaced with green boxes overlapping each other.
He let go of the emptied water bottle, then an update screen appeared.
The same image as usual. However, there's an image on the first box.
[[INVENTORY]]
{{ || emp.wtr.btl || || || || || || || || || || }}
[You have 1 stored item in the inventory.]
[TIP: The Inventory is private storage that cannot and never will be accessed by third party users. An item can never be ransacked or looted when placed in the Inventory.]
Kash then did a fist and pulled out his hand out of the green screen then another update screen appeared.
[[INVENTORY]]
{{ || || || || || || || || || || || }}
[You have no stored item in the inventory.]
[TIP: The Inventory is private storage that cannot and never will be accessed by third party users. An item can never be ransacked or looted when placed in the Inventory.]
"so that's how it works, huh." Kash then intriguingly said.
"Hey, Hedgehog man. Foods ready." The Stranger said to Kash.
"I have a name y'know," Kash said while climbing down the tree.
"Oh yeah, what's your name then?" she then replied.
"The name's Kash."
"Weird name heh," She said to Kash.
"I can agree with that honestly." Kash then replied. He sat down beside Alpha and grabbed a can filled with rations handed out by Alpha.
"Have a bite. It's artificial chicken meat in vegetable soup and some cashews." Alpha said with a smile on his face.
Kash then took a bite out of the chicken and was amazed at how delicious it is.
"Damn this is delicious despite it being artificial. Better than my cooking" Kash said while eating the chicken.
"Hahah! You flatter me." Alpha said with a wide smile on his face.
"Hey! Second serving please!" Eta said to Alpha while happily waving the empty bowl.
"Come on now, manners." Alpha chuckled while refilling Eta's bowl.
...
The Moon is as bright as ever, filling the darkness with luminescent light slipping through every small space between the trees and leaves.
Everyone is sound asleep at their makeshift tents and took turns in guarding the perimeter.
This time, it was Kash's turn to guard. Eta called Kash telling him her shift is over and now it was his turn.
He then digs his way out of the hole and stood up while brushing off the dirt from his clothes.
Kash got up and sat on a huge flat rock, patiently watching over the surroundings while Eta goes into her tent to sleep.
Kash is now alone with his thoughts and imagination, pondering as he gazes at the moonlight in a sorrowful manner.
"I miss mom and dad."
"It's been a few weeks since I've been in this world, and these moments and encounters felt somewhat strange yet soothing." Kash questioned to himself.
"But... How do I go home?" he said as he looks into the sky.
A gust of wind immediately flew into Kash's face, he covered his eyes to prevent dust. As soon as he opened his eyes, a silhouette appeared on top of a cliff beside the moon with its glowing red eyes looking towards him.
Kash rubbed his eyes to make sure that he isn't seeing random things.
The whole forest went silent, and it's gone.
Something is rapidly coming towards him. Every sound he heard are coming from all directions. It made him confused and scared.
Nonetheless, gripped himself together and calmed down.
Out of nowhere, a flicker of faint light appeared nearly outside of his vision. He looked in that direction and sees something flying directly at him.