"I must say, you are very smart and skilled for surviving our missiles and swiftly killing my men. But you are dumb as well for walking right into my booty trap"
An armoured knight stepped forward and said with a snicker.
"It's 'booby trap' dumbass"
Jayden said with a yawn, as he sized up the menacing squad who all their swords and bows drawn, and were positioned at all possible escape route.
"Mehh. Who gives a shit about that. You listen closely airhead, you're in my territory now, so it's either you show some respect, or I teach you some. So what's its gonna be dickhead?"
The knight cladded in full body armour asked with a sneer.
"Stop pestering my guest"
A feminine voice suddenly spoke out from behind the squad's formation.
The knight casually looked behind with a frown, to see a pretty faced blondie on a red hooded thigh-length baggy sweater, with black shorts which were barely visible below the hem of the sweater.
The girl had her hands in the front pocket of her sweater as she stared at the knight with a bored look.
"And who may you be?"
The knight asked as he sized up the pretty faced blondie.
"Are you letting him go or..."
The girl spoke calmly.
"Or you can walk with us back to our camp and we'll discuss that over a drink, what do you think?"
The knight interrupted as he drooled over the girl's exposed thighs and long legs.
'Mia, doesn't she look familiar?'
Jayden thought to Mia curiously.
[Is that so?]
"I'll be taking that as a No then. Snake"
The girl called out solemnly.
Before anyone could react, a behemoth snake materialized and swallowed the row of the squad's formation in which the knight was, and disappeared as suddenly as it came.
Silence!
The surviving squad members who all terrified looks on the faces, slowly dropped their weapons to the wet soil, and fled as fast as their legs could take them.
[Show off.]
'I'm really impressed. What was that?'
Jayden thought to Mia with a perplexed look.
[Spirit Beast Tamer. Divine Grade Demonic Titanoboa.]
'Did you just say 'Divine Grade'?'
Jayden asked in surprise.
[She's probably contracted.]
'This contract of a thing is starting to seem like a normal thing'
Jayden complained in distaste.
[It's VERY rare. Your luck is just over the roof.]
'I hope so'
Jayden looked around to see the squad had already fled, so he casually walked up to the dead bodies of the two men he had killed--which wouldn't disappear till an hour time when they'll reincarnate, and began picking up their loots.
"Hi, Jay"
The pretty faced blondie called out with a slight smile.
"Huh? How do you know me?"
Jayden paused as he glanced behind him and asked in surprise.
"Yeah.... You probably don't remember me. I expected that much"
The girl said with a half smile.
"So...?"
Jayden bugged with a raised brow.
"It's Stephanie... Remember?"
The girl asked.
"Stephanie... Stephanie..."
Jayden muttered to himself trying to know if the name would ring any bells.
"I... Don't think i remember..."
Jayden was saying when a memory suddenly flashed his mind.
-
"Don't think of me as the bad guy, you know the unspoken rules. If I'm to be seen with you after we move, then things are going to get tough for the both of us"
Stephanie suddenly said, breaking Jayden's line of thought.
"I thought you would be different.... You kept complaining and vexing over the aloofness of the awakened... You even made me swear that I wouldn't forget you if I'm to awaken my ability... But here you are, spitting this... Bullshit"
Jayden said with a pained chuckle.
"Things never go as planned in this accursed world..."
-
"Ooh... Stephanie. How's aunt Mary?"
Jayden asked with a smile.
"I have no idea where she is. How have you been?"
Stephanie asked as she walked up to Jayden.
"Pretty great, I think. What about you?"
Jayden asked.
"Well, still adapting"
Stephanie replied with a half smile.
'She doesn't have a system?'
Jayden thought to Mia curiously.
[No.]
"It sucks to be you"
Jayden said with a hint of pity.
"Huh? A lot have happened since that night. It's just all... Bizarre"
Stephanie said with a stressed sigh.
"Are you taking this serious?"
Jayden asked.
"Yeah, who isn't?..."
Stephanie replied with a shrug.
"That's your problem. You take all this serious, they take you serious too. Games are meant to relax the mind not stress them. So if you don't start playing this as the game it is, you'll end up as a lost soul. Mark my words"
Jayden said with a serious expression.
"What do you mean by a lost soul?"
Stephanie asked curiously.
"Those who get overwhelmed by the game and ends up as puppets for the programmers. Just like NPCs"
Jayden replied with a shrug.
"And if you don't watch it, you'll be joining the rank soon"
Jayden added with a serious tone.
[YOU HAVE BEEN SUMMONED BY HER MAJESTY... DO YOU WISH TO ACCEPT THE CALL?]
Jayden was confused when he noticed everything around him suddenly pause, including Stephanie. That was when a bold text in red appeared before him, and with it came an oppressing aura.
"M-Mia, is this normal?"
Jayden asked cautiously.
No reply!
"Mia?"
Jayden called out with an unsettling feeling.
No reply!
"This probably isn't normal... I accept the call!"
Jayden said out loud.
His view changed to that of a dim circular spaced hall, with mighty pillars all around, which had scars that told million years of history. Behind the pillars were tall windows, with intricate bar designs, but no sign of a door leading out the enclosed hall.
There were stairs all around, leading down to the middle of the hall where a large circular stone table, with ancient symbols carved on to it's surface, stood strong with a wide dark hole in the middle.
Surrounding the stone table were thirty noble stone seats, and one majestic stone seat. On the majestic stone seat sat a holy figure, shrouded in bright light which was the only source of light in the room. While the thirty noble seats were left vacant and unoccupied.
"You have violated the rule of secrecy, and will not go unpunished. What do you have to say for yourself?"
The figure on the majestic stone seat spoke solemnly.