Alice and Fedora walk through the old Hillcrest—after spending hours trying to escape the crater without dying. The player's eyes are fixed on the recruitment poster, scrutinizing every detail.
"Being an Angel knight transcends wearing divine armor. Aerion's beauty today stems from the Angels' bravery—descending to secure resources, ensuring survival, and vanquishing the demons plaguing our lands."
"It's about unwavering righteousness, regardless of cost. You'll not only secure a brilliant future for your family but also impact thousands of generations with your deeds."
"Requirements: Participants must be 16–30 years old, bring your own equipment, and have no physical disabilities. Failure to meet any requirement disqualifies attendance. Additional rules will be disclosed at the test site."
"Your first test: A true Angel of Aerion possesses a keen mind. Thus, the test's date and location are concealed in a riddle. Solve it, and you might join our ranks. Good luck."
"Gloob?"
"I agree, it's suspicious. But if it's legitimate, I'll be closer to saving Sophie and Solol. Besides, I'm out of options."
They continue their stroll. Alice's spirits lift considerably with her gelatinous companion; while Kenneth's interruption of her Dungeon was frustrating, at least she wasn't alone.
The sky was a blank white canvas, devoid of sun. The temperature had plummeted, yet Alice remained unfazed—even enjoying the chill—while Fedora shivered.
"Oh, you poor thing…" She drapes the hood over Fedora, who grunts in relief. "Fedora: Stealth Mode," Alice quips.
She examines the riddle:
"In a sea of sapphires, where moonlight dances,
Seek the guardian that rises highest in the scales.
When the last night of the cycle comes to an end,
It's there that the path to heaven will finally begin."
"Ugh, why always a puzzle? My interpretation skills are abysmal! 'Last night of the cycle'? What cycle? My brain only functions in combat. Unless..."
She accesses her status screen, noticing 15 unspent points. An idea strikes. She invests everything into Intelligence.
[Alice LvL. 23]
[Experience: 153/1400]
[HP: 195/195]
[Stamina: 190/190]
[Mana: 80/80] ← Humans gain 2 mana per intelligence point.
[Class: Swordswoman]
[Strength: 30]
[Defense: 30]
[Stamina: 29]
[Speed: 15]
[Intelligence: 16] ← +15 points
[Magic: 1]
[Luck: 1]
"Now, 500 IQ brain, crack this!" She rereads the riddle aloud, feeling smarter, and... still draws a blank. "... I just wasted those points, didn't I?"
Fedora nods. "Gloob."
"Hmm... 'Sea of Sapphires'? I've got it! It's at the beach!" She bolts forward enthusiastically, then halts abruptly. "Wait, is there even a beach around here? A living one?"
"Gloob. Gluep."
"You're right. Well, sapphire's a gem, so it must be a cave!" She abandons the idea, recalling her last cave experience. "H-how about we explore other possibilities first?"
<…>
As night fell, Alice sought refuge from the darkness and cold in one of Hillcrest's more habitable houses. She kindled a fire in the living room using stones, and Fedora had been basking in its warmth since.
Meanwhile, Alice hunched over the table, scrawling potential answers to the riddle on aged paper with a charcoal stub. "Sea of sapphires. Guardian that rises highest. Last night of the cycle. Beyond their beauty, what's unique about sapphires? Well, they're blue—" She freezes mid-thought, drops her makeshift pencil, and smacks her forehead against the table, stifling a groan. "Lazuli Forest, you IDIOT!"
With the first clue cracked, she tackles the second part: 'the guardian that rises highest in the scales'—clearly something tall. It can't be a mountain; nothing about it screams 'guardian,' and the forest isn't exactly teeming with them to warrant a 'scale.'
A stone, perhaps? It's durable, fitting the 'guardian' role. But Alice's intuition nudges her elsewhere. A tree? The forest's largest, or at least a standout specimen. Still uncertain, she decides field exploration might yield better results than mere mental gymnastics.
"At least I've nailed down half the location. Now for the date... It's even trickier since I'm clueless about the current year. 'Last night of the cycle' could mean week's end, month's end, or year's end. If only I had a grasp on this place's calendar..."
The menu materializes before her, revealing a previously unseen—or nonexistent—option labeled 'calendar.'
"Are you stalking me, you perverts?!" Alice yells at the ceiling.
[Date: 20:41 — April 28, 501 A.A.]
"April has 31 days, so the 'last night of the cycle' might be the month's end—the 31st! Unless I've botched the interpretation and I'm about to miss my shot..."
"Gloob?"
"Well, I've got tomorrow to test my theories."
"Gloob?! GLOOB!" the slime shrieks toward the window.
Alice whirls around, catching a fleeting shadow. Instinctively, she summons Fedora to her head and brandishes her sword.
CRASH
A man bursts through the window, shards piercing his flesh without eliciting pain. Crouched, he leers at the swordswoman with a sadistic grin, his face hauntingly familiar. "I knew you'd crawl back, you little shit!" It was Jayden.
The vampire lunges, his right arm a spear, black nails elongating to impale his prey. Alice parries just in time, her blade cleaving Jayden's hand in two. "YOU!" she snarls.
[Wind Scrapper]
[Stamina: 180/190]
With her enhanced strike, Alice completes an arc with her sword. Her foe recoils, but loses half an arm in the process. Yet again, he seems impervious to pain, mockingly lapping at his own blood.
The swordswoman notices his body riddled with unhealed burn scars. "You're looking different. New haircut?" Alice taunts.
"Oh, this? Quite fetching, right? But it pales compared to the scars you'll sport when I'm through." Veins throb across his right side as flesh knits, regenerating his arm. "Be a good girl, though, and I might spare that pretty face."
"Yeah? And if you bark like a dog, I'll make it quick."
Jayden aims at Alice, index finger coiled behind his thumb. "Blood Magic..." Veins bulge in his hand. "Explosive Massacre!" His thumb snaps forward with inhuman force, launching his severed index finger like a bullet.
Alice deflects the predictable assault, but her [Perfect Block] counter triggers an explosion of crimson flames.
BOOM
Cackling, he flees the crumbling property. "Not so tough without that pink-haired freak, eh?"
But from the inferno emerges a silhouette. His eyes widen in disbelief. "Impossible! No mere human survives being incinerated!"
To his shock, Alice steps from the flames unscathed—Fedora nestled under her hood—a green aura enveloping her. "This player can."
[Shield: 00/20]
[HP: 170/195]
[Stamina: 160/190]
She advances on Jayden, who prepares to retreat. As he leaps, a web snares his foot. "Speed!" The swordswoman's aura shifts to blue. Before Jayden can react, Alice streaks past him like lightning, effortlessly severing his left arm.
Before the limb hits the ground, she strikes again, claiming his other arm. Enraged by the damage inflicted by his most loathed enemy, the vampire focuses all his blood to trigger an explosive regeneration and instantly restore his limbs.
Yet, bizarrely, he feels no blood coursing through him. The player halts before him, seizing a fistful of hair. Jayden thrashes furiously, veins bulging grotesquely across his face. Then he glances down, spotting his own body on the ground.
"W-what...?"
Meeting his gaze, Alice inquires, "Any last words?"
Finally grasping his imminent demise, horror consumes his eyes. He wails desperately: "W-WAIT! WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!"
"What a cute puppy," are the last words Jayden hears before being hurled skyward. Alice, with her amplified speed, executes hundreds of cuts to his head, reducing him to particles as fine as ground dust. "Don't run away from a fight you started."