January 12th, 2022
***
They were exhausted. Rio, Koga, and Reed dragged their bodies through the smoldering city. The fires had long been extinguished, leaving behind a dreadful atmosphere and chilly weather.
Blood dripped down from their weapons and stains occupied their tattered clothes and bandages — They had run out of healing potions a while ago.
Rio limped forward, leaning out the alley into the street. Her eyes picked out a staircase leading down to a train station. Her nerves eased at the lack of goblins. Seems they finally caught a break.
"There's a train station up ahead."
"Phew-
"-Finally!" Koga and Reed overlapped.
The two straightened their backs and marched onward, taking the lead.
Within seconds of entering, the three collapsed down onto a bench inside. By now, everyone was dead tired. The lack of adequate sleep the night before had caught up to them.
Rio chuckled softly. Reed was fast asleep. She gathered her thoughts, gently resting her eyes for a quick nap.
Their goal was to find the remaining uncleared dungeon, but by now, they'd be happy finding any of the dungeons. The layout of the city, combined with the identical-looking rubble, made it too easy to get lost. Far too easy. Rio cursed each time they doubled back on their route. It was mind-numbing for them.
In a way, she got what she wanted. Every patrol they bumped into brought more XP. But death was always just one slip away. Both men had exhausted all their mana, save for one emergency potion. So Rio was left to carry their asses through battle. She sighed, leaving the temptation of sleep behind and standing up from the bench.
She'd let the two get a little more rest while she investigated. The stronger they were, the longer they'd last while she teleported away. Only if the need arose, of course.
The station was very dark with the power out, and the setting sun meant little natural light. Rio blindly searched around for anything of use.
Along the back wall, lit by a dim bulb, sat a giant map of the city and its transportation routes. She fumbled her hands onto a newspaper and pencil, drawing a replica of the layout.
Based on the map, they were about equidistant from the rest of the dungeons.
Technically though, the residential area was the furthest from the power plant. It had the highest odds of being the uncleared dungeon. More importantly, residential meant homes. As in – insulated, and with beds. It was a warm thought as night approached.
She stored the map and roused the two boys from their slumber. They left the train station, traveling slowly through sad streets.
***
[Teleport.]
Rio zipped up to the rooftop, getting her first look at the neighborhoods of the residential area. They were... immaculate.
Each house and hedge was in mint condition. No trimmings were scattered; no walls were demolished, and it looked inviting. Almost like a small slice of normality amidst everything else... Almost.
Worldly possessions and empty strollers sat discarded in the streets. It looked as though people had disappeared into thin air, leaving whatever they had on them at the time.
'How do they cover their tracks so well?'
Rio shivered, sinking into her sweater.
Around this time, Koga and Reed pulled their bodies over the last lip, taking in the sights.
"Damn..."
"Where do we even begin?"
She didn't know either. But her best guess-
"Over there," she pointed.
-was a discolored clump of houses in the distance.
"Uh-" Koga and Reed glanced at each other. "-that's a little far."
She knew what they meant. But it felt tantalizing to have her goal so close.
"..."
"Rio?"
"Ye-yeah?"
Koga pointed to a comfy two-story house close by.
"I was saying we should call it quits for the night, settle down nearby in case Richter and Brent come here."
"Yeah, okay."
Her response was distant. Regardless, she followed them to the front door of the house. But the whole time, she kept glancing over her shoulder.
Looking east, in the direction of their only lead. The potential location of the fourth dungeon, an uncleared treasure trove of opportunity.
***
Richter thrust his blade through its neck, killing the final goblin. He glanced over to see Brent breathing heavily, lying on his back to recover. It baffled him how a former Olympic medalist could be so out of breath from these simple fights.
Earlier, his sense spotted Brent a little after leaving his dungeon. He was struggling against five opponents, so Richter pitched in.
For Brent, it was an eye-opening experience. He gleaned some information about how deadly his companion could be. Let alone struggle, Richter hadn't used mana against any of their foes. It changed his entire perspective. And his instincts also went through an update on how they viewed the man.
It also led to more questions.
'Was it always like this? Was he just playing around with mana earlier?'
The answer was obvious.
These monsters just weren't strong enough to challenge him.
Richter pulled Brent to his feet and motioned for him to follow. It was nearly dark out, with the last rays fading fast. They sped up, jogging onward to the residential district.
Richter's sense scanned the edge of the neighborhoods, picking up three auras in a house on the boundary.
'Guess they made it.' he thought.
"The other three are further ahead; they've secured a place for the night."
Brent was ecstatic.
They closed in on the property, lit by the moon's rising.
Unfortunately...
'What the?'
Richter watched with his sense as an aura snuck out onto the second-floor balcony. It possessed no body and lacked a physical presence, but he knew who it was. The first moment they get alone and already...
Richter sighed.
He'd deal with this later. For now, a nice cold bath was in order.
***
Her heart beat wildly while the man stared right through her.
'Can he see me? Does he know where I am?' she panicked.
Richter's gaze swept across the second floor and left. He walked forward, knocking and greeting the others inside.
Rio kneeled for a moment to rest, calming her nerves.
'Can a Transcendent ability so easily counter another?'
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. In an instant, he drained her of all confidence.
There was only one place she would be venturing to at this time, and her sole plan relied on an Ability. One she received during her first dungeon. A dungeon full of regret.
Tears welled up in her eyes — Rio would take it all back if she could.
She fished out several bloody bracelets from her pocket. Each had the initials of a girl's name etched into the center.
She recalled the morning when the System arrived. Her in-game friends were so excited at the prospect, confident with their capabilities. They acquired classes without trouble, completed a couple of dungeons with no sweat, and then called up to form a party with her.
It was so exhilarating. It was real! It was everything she had wanted from Mirage. A chance to be someone special in reality. Her party chose a higher level dungeon since they had so many people. They all believed in her.
But when it mattered most, she failed them. Rio messed up her mana circulation during a critical time, allowing a Dowul to rip through her first friend. From there, it was a collection of screams and growls. Her friends were too distraught to cast their skills correctly. Each of them was preyed on, screaming for anybody to save them. All while she watched in horror. They yelled her name, bleeding, looking for her help.
They couldn't see her. For the first time, [Transcendent Erase Presence] had activated.
They died thinking she had abandoned them or run off, but she was right there watching. She saw every second of it. She heard them curse her name in anguish.
She passed her fingers over the bracelets.
'MK, TK, DE, TF, IC, AP... I'm so sorry...'
She cried hard, letting it consume her. Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks and wet her sleeves. She curled into a ball on the balcony, cursing the man who dredged up the pain.
She would learn that technique of his. It didn't matter how long she had to practice. She would NEVER screw up a Skill again.
***
"It's good to see you guys again," Reed beamed.
Koga and Reed greeted them from the comfort of a sofa. Both wore pajamas that were too baggy – They had helped themselves to the wardrobe of a stranger.
'Was it a coping mechanism?'
They were far too relaxed.
Richter swept his sense to the weeping aura up above. Seems he upset her somehow. It was an issue for later.
"You two sure look cozy."
Reed gave a hearty laugh. "Well of course! With you here, I doubt anything can sneak up on us."
A slight undertone was present in his voice. Reed's smile widened, showing teeth. His sharp eyes mismatched his expression.
"I'm not pulling an all-nighter. At least keep your weapons close by."
Reed laughed again, "I'm sure it wouldn't tire you out, even if you did."
Koga was tugging at his friend's sleeve, his eyes wide open. He wasn't looking for a confrontation.
Richter rolled his eyes at the short, bearded man. Whatever he was looking for, Richter didn't care. His former disciples acted the same way. If they worked hard, they'd acquire it too. Sadly, very few ever put in the effort.
"Koga, is there any water left?"
"Uh yes– yes there is."
"Sweet, I'm using the upstairs bathroom."
His shirt slid off halfway up the stairs, revealing dozens of scars across his torso. But none of the guys had been looking when it happened.
***
Koga shook Reed by the arms, "What was that?"
"That bastard looks down on all of us! Even now, he didn't ask about our dungeon. You remember what he said before we left, right?"
"Well, yeah but..." he trailed off.
Brent was sitting off to the side, awkwardly watching the interaction. Reed turned to him with a burning passion.
"Did you travel with Richter on the way here? How was it?"
Brent glanced at Koga, who looked very sorry.
"I learned a lot. Watching him fight was insightful."
He sipped a cold cup of hot chocolate.
"Damn! Don't take his side. Tell us how you REALLY feel."
"Well, alright then. I don't think you give him enough credit. The fact that we had an easy journey to Kagawa, the lack of goblins when he led us through the city, and the odds of him drawing the longest straw when he can detect them anyway — I doubt they're just coincidences."
He took another sip.
Reed thrashed around on the sofa. Brent brought up good points, and that only annoyed him more. He stood up, stomping down a hallway to the right.
"I'm going to bed."
And he slammed the door shut.
***
A nice long bath helps ease the tension. Richter rolled his shoulders, enjoying his first one in two days. He grabbed a bar of soap, lathered up, and rinsed off. Toward the end, his sense noticed a shift in the weeping aura. It took on a ferocity he wasn't familiar with – It felt desperate.
He heightened his sense, taking a closer look through the walls. Rio was back to circulating mana through her body. The speed was recklessly fast and that much sloppier. Honestly, it looked like she got worse at it. There was one big change though.
Vibrant pulses of mana flushed from her body with each failure. They were so overwhelming he shut his sense off. While not the intended result, it may have its uses. If she could master it, he could probably use that to locate them from far away. It was almost like... like a beacon.
'A beacon?'
He flooded his sense back out around the neighborhoods, catching wind of six auras running toward them.
'Just great.'
Richter .
"We've got six goblins on the way!" He shouted.
None of them were prepared. Reed peeked his head out, barely awake. Brent was almost asleep on the sofa, and Koga was using the bathroom. Rio heard his shout but didn't care enough to stop.
The house was messy as people yelled, trying to find their weapons.
Time was up. The six goblins busted down the front door, grinning ear to ear. Richter's heart quivered from the sight.
It was the captain and five of his subordinates. The sight made Richter frown — this wasn't how he wanted to fight him. But between his exhaustion-
"I can't find my sword!"
"WHERE IS MY SHIELD?"
"Someone tell Rio!"
-and the mess around him... He couldn't take it anymore.
[Transcendent Bloodlust]
A heavy coat of death pressed down on the entire property. Every goblin and human stopped on a dime, paling in fear. They couldn't move, talk, or control their mana. An invisible force held them in place, all except for one.
Sweat beaded down Richter's forehead, veins bulging.
This wasn't how he wanted to do things. He was expending more effort than necessary, but it was to prove a point. It was such a shame to waste a great foe like this.
[Mana Surge – 10%]
In one clean flick, he slit the throats of all six goblins huddled together.
Their bodies slipped to the ground, bleeding in the entryway.
He released the pressure and stood the door back in its frame. Richter moved an extra sofa over to block the entrance. With that, he sheathed his blade and returned upstairs. His group mates refused to meet his gaze. They all fell to the ground, desperately working to regain their bearings. The bloodlust was gone, but it didn't feel that way.
Meanwhile, Richter drew another bath upstairs and slid in. A soft sigh escaped his lips.
'I hope they understand now.'
Truthfully, Richter didn't know much about it. Would the Abilities remain useful forever? Would they fizzle out in ten to twenty levels? He had no idea. The criteria to get them were so strange in the first place.
He thought back on all his Sense training over the years, on how much effort and time it took to make progress. Compared to the single evening that gave him bloodlust. A hushed-up event from a few years prior — when he took his anger out on a well-known criminal. Several witnesses watched as he diced him into pieces.
It happened a few days after the release of Mirage, right around the semi-finals for Swordsmanship. He blew his top when he learned that his opponent had quit. The criminal just happened to catch him at the wrong time.
He slid further into the cold water, blinking away the illusionary red tint of the water. Sometimes, he still sees it. Imagining himself floating in the blood of this man.
***