Perhaps it was because Melanie was a deviant and she had been stripped of her achievements. What about Nichols and this woman?
Once again, the woman with long red hair lifted her sword and brought it down against the ground as her eyes switched to a pitch-black color.
A large black ring of dust swept the space in front of her to the depths of the Backlands.
"It is the end for you defying souls."
These were the words that came out of her mouth.
A portal opened beside her and persons Max realized as the captives that had been with him back in the cell started walking out.
"What happened?" A man looked around with a confused look on his face.
"We were in the middle of a fight and the Vagrants were reduced to flesh and blood," Another of the captives said.
The woman's eyes soon returned to their red color and she slid her sword into the transparent sheath strapped to her back.
She moved towards Max and bowed her head to his surprise. How could someone of her caliber bow before someone as weak as him?
"Who are you?" He found himself asking.
"I am the punisher," She replied.
So she was a punisher. Now he understood why she had been strong enough to fall through the barrier.
"Oh thank you for your help," Max said.
The woman nodded. "You may all return," She said. Everyone including Max could feel themselves leave the ground and float into the air. Their bodies made it higher and higher till their bodies disappeared through the barrier. While this was happening, all cheers were given in Max's honor. He couldn't even bring himself to smile as he knew he hadn't done anything and it had all been done by the woman who called herself the Punisher.
*. *. *.
[ Game duration: 00:00:00 ]
The time he had spent in the Backlands had been just enough for a game round before it would elapse. Though he had made some kills before he was taken captive. All kills he had made in the Backlands didn't count since the place was not a game location instead it was an isolated area for prisoners.
Player Name : [ Shadow _Demon ]
Rank : [ Mortal Being ]
[ No. 5196 ]
Number of kills : [ 56 ]
Special skill(s) : [ Tamer of the flame demon, Fury of a thousand blades ]
Title : [ First Mortal ally of the Spirit Serpent ]
He opened his status screen and took a glimpse of his XP.
[ XP 25/250 ]
He still had a long way to go before he would be able to make it to the next level.
As usual, he was transported to the great city and he waited for Hillary at their usual spot. They had both informed Nicole of the spot beforehand so he would be joining them this time.
Soon the other two came to join him under the tree as usual the system would reveal Hillary's stats which usually increased every time they met. And as it had happened on the day he had first seen Nicole in the game, his stats were not revealed to him.
"Nicole I've been wondering. What skill or skills do you currently possess?" Max dived into an interview to find out the cause of why he was unable to see anything about his friend.
"Mmm, well, it's not a special skill but it has helped me in some situations. It's a skill called Scientific null," Nicholas said.
"I see," Max nodded not knowing even the slightest bit of what that meant.
' Computer, what is a scientific null skill?" Max asked in his thoughts.
[ Scientific null: A skill that allows its user to cancel out the effect of any means of science, be it in the form of science for identification or destruction ]
[ Due to this skill, it is impossible for the system to detect the Player's ranking ]
This was the actual reason he couldn't see Nicole's stats. The only thing displayed on the device on his wrist was his rank which happened to fall a little behind Max's. As for the punisher, he could now understand why he couldn't see hers either. She wasn't a player but a punisher that took on disciplinary actions against lawbreakers.
"My skill does give me the ability to null out the effect of scientific creations. The skills of cyborgs, android robots, and all that shit don't work on me," Nicole smiled. He was starting to feel this air of pride around him.
"Cool," Hillary remarked after which she yawned. "I'm super tired. Had a lot of players to fight today."
"Me too if not worse. I can barely feel my fingers and my back hurts," Nicholas lamented. "There were more beasts than players in my areas and I managed to kill a few."
"Mine was a different story entirely," Max sighed.
"Ooh," Nicholas winked.
"I got trapped in this place that served as a prison. I had to fight their leader who ended up killing herself. I mean it was cool and all that," Max went on and on while the two stared at him like he had been speaking gibberish to their ears.
"You always make up kinds of stuff," Nicholas scoffed.
"I'm being honest," Max said
"Yeah you are," Nicholas mockingly replied before his eyes landed on the leafy print without veins at the back of Max's palm.
"What's that? You got a tattoo?" Nicholas widened his eyes as he took his friend's hand into his.
"It's not a tattoo. It's called a Panther seal," Max answered.
"What's a Panther seal?" Nicholas's curiosity led to the birth of more questions.
"It's a means of permitting entry to an outsider into the home of beasts referred to as Hominid Panthers," Max explained.
"So you've been permitted entry?" Nicholas asked.
"Yes, I guess I'll have to leave now. You reminded me I have unfinished business," Max sighed.
"Can I come with you?" Hillary was quick to ask.
"I don't think that'll be possible. I think I'll only be allowed in as I have the seal and you guys don't," Max said.
"Well, that's ok," Hillary replied, a bit down she wouldn't be able to explore the abode of the unique Panther tribe they had encountered in the core of strength.
"I'll be on my way then," Max stood up and the others followed.
' Portal activate. The pyramid jungle '.
[ error! error! ]
[ ??? ]
[ fgmxzrhk786jj ]
[ Location cannot be reached by the portal. All portal access has been blocked due to security reasons ]
Max stared at the screen. He was on the verge of screaming out his lungs. Did that mean he would have to go by leg or book a boat ride or something like that?
[ Location can only be accessed by normal transportation means ]
[ Estimated time to reach the destination: 1 year]
"What do you mean a year?!!"
Max suddenly shouted after staring at a space for minutes as the others stared at him in confusion.
"Are you ok?" Hillary asked.
"No...I mean I am," Max turned to face her.
"Then why did you scream?" She asked.
"It's just I'm finding it hard to create a portal that can access the pyramid jungle," Max slammed his palm against his forehead. "I think I'm going to have to try other means."
*. *. *.
After a while of making enquires, the trio was finally able to find a transportation sect. This sect was filled with people who were involved in the transportation business.
Several other persons were also there waiting to book a ride just like Max. The rides people waited to be booked were not the usual buses and taxis Max was used to seeing back at home instead these were scientific machines that adapted to whatsoever conditions to convey customers smoothly to their various destinations. When on land these machines would take on the form of a huge multi-wheeled vehicle, on water they would take on the ship of a cruise ship, and at night when everyone would be feeling sleepy, they would automatically switch to flight mode whereby the machines would levitate into the air in the form of spaceships.
There was a long line of people who were headed to different places. The machine conveying people to the Pyramid jungle wasn't full as only three people with Max inclusive were headed to the Pyramid jungle. Hillary and Nicole bade him farewell before leaving.
It wasn't long before Max had gotten into his vehicle then it took off in the form of a spaceship into the air as it was night. The white comfortable seats were neatly arranged in rows. The driver's seat was a separate room in front excluded from the room reserved with seats for passengers. The air in here was cold that Max's lids struggled to keep themselves up and still. In the ship with him were two guys and a girl who were seated in a scattered manner in the room. At one end was seated one guy, and at a seat other side was seated the other guy while the girl sat at the far end. Max sat beside a window through which he could view the beautiful starry night. They all seemed to be players like himself from the stats confirmed to his eyes through the system. For a while, there was dead silence in the room until one of the guys spoke up.
"The Pyramid jungle is rarely a place to visit unless you have the Panther seal and for all of us to be here it means we have this," He said and revealed the leafy print without veins at the back of his palm, exactly like the one Max had.