I quickly opened my screen to check what mission we were assigned to.
[MISSION: RETRIEVE CHEMICAL ANTIDOTE]
[OBJECTIVE: SUBMISSION TO ALTIRIS LAB]
[TIME LIMIT: UNDEFINED]
"Do you mean the entire world is ruined?" I asked.
"Yes. This is another dimension of Earth," she began. "This world is completely contaminated by chemical exposure, causing…" She paused. "Well, you'll see for yourself soon enough."
"But the important thing right now," she continued, "is that you need to wear an anti-mask, you get it from the store. The air here will mess you up fast without it."
I quickly checked the store. There were various types and colors of masks available. My eyes landed on a Invisible Mask (25,000 coins).
Garis had chose a simple black mask. We both equipped them quickly.
"So, are you from another earth?" Garis asked as if he already piecing together the situation.
"Yes, we're from Earth-3120. There were 126 of us when we started our mission on this Earth-457."
I wondered how many other dimensional earths joining this mission.
"And you?" she asked back.
"We're from Earth-6494," I replied, still remember it from the memory of the termination scenarios.
"Well, you must have a lot of questions," she said with a grin. "Why don't you follow us to meet our party leader?"
We followed the two strangers through the ruined landscape. I couldn't shake the thought of how vast this mission's operation must be compared to the prototype we had endured before.
"What's your name?" Garis asked to breaking the silence between us.
The woman glanced back, her brown hair glinting faintly in the polluted light. "Tahlia," she said. "And he's Arlen. Don't mind his quietness, he's a better shot than a talker." she added while gesturing to the large man beside her.
"I'm Garis," Garis turned to me expectantly.
"And I am Kira," I added quickly.
The four of us continued walking when suddenly gust of wind blew sand into the air. I shielded my eyes just as Tahlia unsheathed her blade, Arlen's bow already in his hand.
From the swirling sand ahead twisted shapes began to emerge. The weird creatures resembled ostriches but their feathers were sparse and patchy revealing its skin underneath. Their legs were unnaturally long and it had jagged claws.
"Mutants," Tahlia muttered grimly. "Stay sharp. They're fast and nasty."
Before I could process her warning, one of the creatures bolted toward us. Arlen took aim at the mutant instantly to slowing its moved so Tahlia could sliced through its neck in one fluid motion. The creature collapsed in a heap.
The remaining mutants charged, their talons kicking up dust as they closed in on us.
"Watch out!" Garis shouted, raising his hand. The roots erupted from the ground entangling one of the mutants. But his roots appeared thinner and weaker than I had seen before, perhaps due to the lack of nutrient-rich soil in this environment.
Tahlia and Arlen were already engaging one together when another mutant turned its attention to me. It was faster than I expected. I lashed out with a Tendril Strike but the attack felt weak and barely grazing the creature's side.
"Shadow Summoning!" I shouted.
[Skill Activated: Shadow Summoning]
The moment the skill activated, dark smoke erupted around me. The tendrils are far more responsive than before. I could feel powers are feeding into them and no longer limited by the ambient darkness.
The tendrils lashed out wrapping around its legs and yanking it to the ground.
At the end, all of us finally managed to kill all the mutants. The battlefield fell silent except for the sound of our labored breathing.
Tahlia sheathed her blade and glancing at with a small smirk. "Shadow, huh?".
As we prepared to continue walking, Maerion's voice whispered in my ear.
Kira, take the fragment of chaos!
"What?" I shouted startled.
Everyone turned to look at me. Tahlia raised an eyebrow and Garis gave me a confused expression.
"Ah, sorry, I just need a moment. You go ahead," I try my best to sound casual.
Tahlia smirked knowingly. "Well, it's a girl thing, Old Man! Let's go," she said, clearly misunderstanding.
"Just go straight after you're done with your… matter," Garis added, "I'll leave a mark."
Once they were out of sight, I hissed into the empty air.
"What is it, Maerion? You followed me all the way here?"
Maerion emerged in a swirl of smoke.
Kira, Kira, Kira.
Don't forget your contract with me.
I frowned. "Be quick before someone sees you and mistakes you for a mutant," I said mocking it back.
Khe. Khe. Khe.
Take the fragment of chaos from it.
Maerion pointing to one of the dead mutants.
"How?"
Face your palm to it and imagine.
I followed its suggestion by extending my hand toward the mutant. The purple line on the Fragmentor bracelet began to glow faintly and shadowy smoke flowed from my palm. The shadows consumed the mutant until they converged into a small glowing purple crystal that materialized in my hand before vanishing into the shadows.
Khe. Khe. Khe.
Nice…
Maerion's smile stretched unnaturally wide almost splitting its face in two.
I tried to repeat the process on another mutant. Nothing happened.
You can only extract the fragment of chaos from creatures killed by shadow or by power infused with shadow.
I nodded slowly. "But what is this fragment of chaos?"
Khe. Khe. Khe.
Enough for now, Kira. Don't forget to collect all the fragments of chaos.
"Why would I?!" I shot back as my annoyance growing.
Maerion simply disappeared with its usual laughter. With a deep sigh, I hurriedly caught up with the others.
After an hour of walking, we finally arrived at a large white tent. As we stepped inside, a man stood at the center of the room with his hands planted on a table covered in pieces of mutant bodies.
"Caleb," Tahlia called.
The man turned to face us. His electric blue hair gleamed even in the dim lighting.
"Holy…" I blurted out before I could stop myself.
My hand flew to my mouth in an attempt to muffle the words.
Get a grip, Kira! Are you seriously losing it just because someone looks…. this gorgeous?
Tahlia let out a loud laugh while Garis shook his head and smirking slightly.
But Caleb's expression tightened, "Tahlia, how many times do I have to tell you not to bring random people here anymore?"
"She's a Shadow," Tahlia said quickly while pointing at me as if that explained everything.
"Shadow.." Caleb's hardened expression shifted now.
He took a few steps closer and his intense blue eyes locking onto mine. My face turns red and my heart pounded hard it felt like it might burst out of my chest.
"Did you obtain Shadow Infusion yet?"
I quickly returned to my senses."How could you know shadow skills more than me?"
"We've met some shadows before," he replied. "So… you haven't learned it yet."
I crossed my arms defensively. "What is that skill about?"
"Shadow and Light can infuse their power into other archetypes. Your skills as well as others will evolve according to how you use it, and to whom you lend it."
"Evolve?"
"Yes," Caleb nodded. "So you need to choose wisely."
"Then did you try to team up with a shadow?" I asked.
"Not yet," Caleb admitted while pausing briefly. "I still don't know what the unrevealed shadow skill is. Most of the Light mages have already acquired the Light Buff, it's like Shadow Infusion. But they also gain healing abilities and Shadow Counter."
"Shadow Counter?" I repeated, confused.
His answer surprised me even more. "They can nullify your Shadow Summoning entirely."