For 300 gems, he had made it on board the machine headed to the Pyramid jungle.
The guy who had spoken up showing everyone seated the mark at the back of his palm got him wondering. If the Pyramid jungle was such a rare place to visit as it was one of the hardest places to access, that meant the Panthers handed out their seals to specific people for specific reasons. They all were traveling to the same place which meant each of them having the panther seal was a guarantee.
"The Panthers are a unique set of creatures classified as beasts of the intelligentsia. Not many beasts are as intelligent or as civilized as they are," The guy whose name was Roy, continued.
"I see meaning we all have important business with them," Cheryl, the only girl among them said.
"How long will it take before we get there?" Max asked to satisfy his anxiety.
"From what I know, the Pyramid jungle is not a place easy to get to. It usually takes months or even a year and sometimes extra months," Roy answered with a shrug.
Max heaved a sigh. This journey was going to be a tough one. Despite the time he would spend just to get there, he felt it was worth it. At least then he would get answers to his questions.
He, Roy, and Cheryl engaged themselves in a conversation while the other guy with green hair kept to himself. He was unusually quiet that Max started developing suspicions about him. Though the green-haired boy had not done anything to raise doubts, Max felt he needed to keep his guard up. The quiet ones were always the dangerous ones.
As if Roy had trailed the same line of thoughts as his he attempted to get the boy to say something.
"Yo, anything the problem?" Roy asked the boy with green hair.
A pink germ stone appeared from behind him.
"I'm good," A voice came from the gem causing it to glow.
"Oh a skill, cool," Roy remarked.
"My familiar," The gem spoke once more.
His reply made Max reminisce on the stats of the green-haired guy.
Player Name : [ Chase xx ]
Rank : [ Mortal Being/Bot ]
[ No. 3515 ]
Number of kills : [ 990 ]
Special skill(s) : [ Bass kill/skills related to Bass kill ]
[ Next skill/Bass-related skill to be unlocked over the next 30 kills ]
Title : [ The Silencer ]
[ Master of the familiar, the mind stone ] Everything was starting to make sense now. Chase had a familiar which happened to be a gem that could relay his thoughts. He possessed a skill, Bass kill which could only mean his ability was one classified as oral destruction, and as such people with this kind of ability rarely spoke.
"I see," Roy replied.
*. *. *.
It was a bleak, cold, and completely dark space that was enough to send sinister chills down the spine of any normal human being. In the middle of this darkness stood a man wearing black clothes that merged perfectly with the darkness, a ball lit with raging black energy lurking at its bottom in his hands. His eyes defied the darkness as he could see perfectly in the darkness and could differentiate the dark colours from each other.
"You may still have use to me. I guess I'll end up having to grant you a second chance as it is not every day someone gets to find something perfect," The man said as his eyes lingered on the ball.
He ran his fingers down the ball as he threw it into the air and it floated off to the side. As the ball was about to develop cracks in response to the dramatic movement of his fingers, a voice interrupted his moment.
"My Lord, you have managed to get them on your side. They are here now and request your presence."
The man dressed in black struggled to swallow the anger swelling in him. He opened his eyes and he had returned from the dark space to his room where he had been meditating.
"Next time when you see I am in the midst of business never dare interrupt me. Got it?" The handsome-looking man with black hair said as he stood up to put on a simple shirt.
"I'm very sorry sire," The servant quickly apologized by slipping onto his knees and burying his face into the ground.
The man took in a deep breath as he wore the shirt.
"This is not the first time I am making myself clear on that. You've heard me quarreling with the others about this."
"I'm sorry sir. It's my fault, I should have known better," The man on the floor shivered in fear as his master moved closer to him until there was barely any space left between them.
The black-haired man crouched to the man's level.
"Of what use are your ears?" He asked.
"Please forgive me sire!" The servant continued shaking.
"I asked a question," The man's voice came harsher.
"To...to hear my Lord. My ears are for hearing!" The servant closed his eyes and uttered a reply loudly due to the fear he struggled to battle with.
"But you don't use them for that," The man shook his head.
"I'll use them better next time," The servant burst into tears.
"Discipline is the best action taken against a naughty child," The man said. "You are my child so I have every right to correct your actions."
All of a sudden, the servant could feel a strange movement going through his body. His eyes twitched as his body shook violently. Several sharp long needle-like objects shot out through his ears and dug themselves into his face. Screams and cries escaped the servant's lips as blood dripped from every corner of his face as more needles kept forcing their way out of his ears.
The man stood up and smiled before walking out of the room, leaving the servant behind in a terrible state and the door closed behind him.
As the black-haired man made his way out of the room, servants working around stopped what they were doing to greet him before returning to their chores. The house depicted wealth. The tiled floor was neatly polished to the point where not even a speck of mud could be seen on it. The walls were touched with a splendid show of dark artwork that would capture the eyes of anyone who stepped into the house. The countless number of stairs that wove in and out of the house were made of impregnable glass. All these he passed through before reaching the spacious living room. The room was well furnished to the status befitting a king. Already seated and waiting for his arrival were his guests. A lady in a tight-fitting red dress and two men who happened to be twins.
"It's my honour to have you here," A smile spread throughout the black-haired man's lips. "Seems you finally decided to accept my request."
"I only decided to hear you out. Perhaps you might have an offer I will have interest in," The woman said.
"Allying with you, Cecil might be profitable," One of the twins said to which the other nodded in agreement.
The black-haired man known as Cecil smiled once again.
"It's nice to be able to hear the reasons you have placed your trust in me. Have you ever thought of creating a world where everything would go just as you want? There is too much corruption in the game verse that I want to correct. The so-called Lord of the Verse rules in a way that I find laughable. Making my army of dark soldiers would surely place him off. Perhaps after banishing me from the world, he thought that was my end. He should have killed me years ago if he wanted to plunge me into darkness for eternity."
*. *. *.
"Our chances have been put to an abrupt end by those puny humans," A voice came from behind the nearby bushes as pairs of eyes followed in the direction of a girl and a boy.
"The Pyramid jungle is one place that'll prevent us from seeking our chances," Another voice said.
.
.
.
Hillary and Nicole slowly made their way back to the inns of the city as soon as Max had gotten on board and his ride had disappeared into the sky.
Just then, an unexpected attack made its way to them but before it could unleash the power behind it, a tall mud wall rose from the ground, blocking the attack.
"What was that?" Nicole who had been caught off guard, asked.
"We have company," Hillary said as the mud wall dispersed into the ground.
Behind the wall were six sets of creatures that took on the shape of curvy women but these women possessed green bodies, shrubs in the form of hair, and green fingers from which branches that formed nails grew. The only clothing on their bodies was grasses which covered only their chests and another material made of grass wrapped around their waists stopping a little above their knees.
"What are you guys?" Hillary was the first to speak.
"Introduction is not needed to be given unto the enemy."