Wednesday, 11 June 1986
Midnight
The drapes on the windows of Darcie's room were half closed, preventing the moonlight of a crescent moon from seeping in unwantedly.
On the bed, a tiny figure was sleeping, a soft blanket covering her from head to toe. Only the soft noise of her breathing, undulating the cotton over her face, could be heard in this silence. On her left, between the bed and the windows, was another figure lying on the floor. It was even tinier than the one on the bed.
Dobby had learned to sleep noiselessly in the Malfoy Manor even in the farthest, deepest, and darkest corners, where even if he were to shout, none would hear him.
Today, Darcie had ordered him to sleep in her room, a gesture that Dobby had received with teary eyes. However, she had ordered him to not get up or open his eyes even if she were to get up before morning. Being a house-elf, Dobby was bound to obey, anyway. But, since her childhood, Dobby had received Darcie's orders more eagerly and happily.
Suddenly, the entire blanket squirmed as if giant roaches were crawling inside it.
The figure lying under the blanket wasn't tiny anymore.
Kai threw the blanket off his face and sat up. In a matter of moments, sweat claimed his brows and back, drenching it as if he had been in a long run.
His eyes flickered, and the tips of his fingers throbbed. His teeth gritted against each other and there was a nervous feeling coursing through his entire body.
He looked to his left and down, and saw Dobby, sleeping like a dog.
Kai had murder in his eyes.
...
[
Beast Proximity: 3 meters
Glitch Condition matched
Contestant Kai Stormborn is qualified to awaken his Glitch
Do you want to awaken it now?
]
…
Kai licked his lips, but then remembered the dragon beneath the grounds of Gringotts and how his Glitch had failed to devour the beast.
All that would repeat itself if he were to let the thing inside his chest rampage on this little thing. Kai shook away his bloodlust and flicked his hand, taking out the Pokedex.
He flipped it open and pointed the camera on its back towards the magical creature.
…
[
Accessing mode: New Data Storage
Scanning the magical creature…
Scan Complete
…
Digitizing the Stats…
Data stored
…
Mode: New Data Storage
Slots Available: (1/50)
Latest Magical Creature: House-elf
…
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn
Your Magical Contract with Professor Elm is updated
]
…
Sigh! Kai let out a breath, sending the Pokedex back to his Inventory.
Show me the Kill Count, Kai willed, bringing out the ignored notifications. And the notification related to the Tournament of Worth.
With so many days already passed, the Tournament of Worth must have already commenced. Moreover, Darcie wasn't a Contestant, so Kai had to wait to use his Identity Period to access the notifications.
A dull-gray status window flashed into existence.
…
[
Initiating Battle Sequence…
Floor: 4 (2nd Set)
Kill Count: (2/20)
Battle Number: Not Applicable
…
Floor: 5 (2nd Set)
Kill Count: (0/10)
Battle Number: Not Applicable
…
Floor: 6 (2nd Set)
Kill Count: (0/3)
Battle Number: Not Applicable
]
…
Kai tapped his fingers on the bed, squinting his eyes. He didn't have the Mission Credits to know the equivalent Kill Count, either. But he had already left all the killing till the latter half of his reincarnation.
The notification blurred and more dull-gray words appeared in front of him.
…
[
Candidate Red, the Tournament of Worth has commenced.
Please refer to the following points:
1. Theme of the Tournament — Survival
2. Total Number of Candidates — 1,000,000
3. Your Group ID — 7900
4. Local Time of Teleportation — 20 June 1986, 19:00
Details:
1. Tournament of Worth has three stages
2. Every stage has an approximate pass rate of 1%
3. Every stage will have its own rules, regulations, and rewards
4. The Stats of all Candidates in a Group will be standardized before each stage
5. Irrespective of place, ongoing battle, or conversation, all Candidates will be teleported out of their Time Node to their respective stages, alerting no other Contestant and main storyline Character
6. A one-time privilege of quitting the Tournament will be given to all the Candidates
Notes:
1. Each Candidate can qualify as a Candidate only once
2. The Tournament, except the 3rd Stage, will be broadcast to the paying Contestants
3. These Contestants will have access to all Candidates' Code Names but not their appearances
]
…
Kai brooded on each point for some time and then jumped out of the bed. The house-elf squirmed like a squirrel but didn't dare to open his eyes if was awake.
Kai slithered towards the table, making no noise whatsoever.
He took out two parchments and scribbled down the happenings after his reincarnation on them for Meg and Spawn. Without knowing when or how he would get the opportunity to be free, they had decided not to use Kai's minor-epithets to contact him beforehand. Otherwise, the sudden shaking of his Inventory could make him come out of his Act of playing the role of Darcie, even though he couldn't access it.
Good thing I instructed Andrik to not chant the minor-epithets before our next meeting, Kai had thought then.
So, they had all decided to use Hastur's epithets from Kai's end to make an initial contact first. Thenceforth, they would contact each other at pre-planned times only, eliminating the need for unwanted interruptions.
After he was done, Kai slithered to the bathroom, closed the doors, and prepared for the ritual.
…
-The Dweller in the Depths-
-The Bringer of Madness and Doom-
-The King in Yellow-
…
The darkness within the bathroom flickered, and an unseen, unheard, and unfelt wind howled around him.
The flame of the candle, resting on the center of the Yellow Sign drawn on the floor with blood, burgeoned and painted the white bathroom walls into pale, sickly yellow.
Kai didn't have to look outside at the sky to know that all the stars had lost their light, except one.
— I, Red, sacrifice blood and a mass-produced Sword, and request to send this letter to Contestant Morning Mist —
Kai took out one Common graded sword he had collected specifically for sacrifices and placed it under the flame. The sword lifted by itself, and the flame devoured it along with the rolled piece of parchment.
When all was done, Kai hurriedly repeated the same process, but this time mentioned Contestant Spawn.
After that, he cleaned up everything. One glance at this, and even the stupidest wizard and witch would relate it to the forbidden blood rituals of the darkest kind.
Then came the worst part — Wait.
Suddenly, the world shook like a leaf unannounced after a long time. Kai concentrated on the door at the other end of the tunnel inside his Inventory. It parted a little, letting Kai see beyond it. Meg was sitting on her knees. The fervor on her face was mind-boggling.
Kai ignored her and reached for the dagger and letter placed between the door and her.
***************
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