by L. M. Kerr
'I can't let myself fall to my fear. Gosh, this is scary, yeah. But I have to do this to survive.' Shin pushed back the fear that was trying to claw at his heart. Being thrust into a situation like this, any normal person would find it extremely hard to adapt. Even Shin struggled. The thought of his family dying, of losing his brother, cut through that fear like a knife, helping him focus.
'I will forge my own path, different from the one that led to my death in the future.'
He held his gun up and pointed it in a specific direction.
Shin's body blurred and vanished.
He teleported, instantly reappearing right behind the Morenkai, his gun pointed directly at the back of its head.
Before any of the Morenkai could react, or even notice his presence, he fired.
The shock of firing a gun was jarring for Shin. It was loud, explosive, and recoiled more than he had expected. He pushed through it, however, knowing his life was on the line.
Black blood splattered out as the skull of the Golden Morenkai exploded, killed instantly. While bullets might not be able to penetrate or do too much harm to normal Morenkai, the head of a Golden Morenkai was enlarged. The back portion of it was especially weak, just weak enough that a well-placed bullet could easily penetrate.
.
—- Points Obtained —-
Points: 14,082
.
Shin's eyes widened as he saw the notification appear, a huge number of Points pouring into his soul. With such a large addition, Shin could actually physically feel something. A warm feeling of energy settling upon him, something he hadn't noticed when he obtained a much smaller number of Points earlier by luring a Morenkai to its death.
As the body of the Golden Morenkai fell forward, the entire skyscraper seemed to shake an extremely tiny bit. Right after, all the lights that had been off suddenly flickered on. The air conditioning units began to hum, everything electrical began to function as normal.
Shin noticed this, his mind flashing back to something Micheal had told him about Golden Morenkai, before pushing the thought aside, as he began to sprint backwards, waiting for his soul to recharge enough to teleport again.
For, his attack did not go unnoticed.
The two Morenkai that were standing by the window, looking outside, had spun around, their featureless faces zeroing in on Shin as they began to shamble forward.
The Morenkai that had been staring at the special Golden Morenkai, meanwhile, reacted far more violently.
"Grrrr…" It actually let out a rumbling growl, an unusual occurrence for the normally silent Morenkai. The creature hurled its body at Shin, its long arms swinging forward.
Fortunately for Shin, as soon as he fired the bullet that killed the Golden Morenkai, he had beat a fast retreat, sprinting backwards. He felt air violently brush up against him as the long arms of the Morenkai just barely missed.
"Hup!" He spun to the side, his heart pounding with adrenaline as he aimed his Glock 19.
He missed.
He wasn't professionally trained in shooting, and even with a creature that was moving in a straight line at him, it wasn't that easy to hit it. Especially with the adrenaline causing his arm to shake slightly.
His subsequent two shots right after, however, blasted into the chest of the Morenkai, sending it tumbling backwards a couple of meters. The bullets left imprints on the black skin of the creature, but were unable to penetrate.
'Holy crap. They really can just take a bullet like its nothing.' Shin observed, his eyes widening in shock at the freakish creature.
Like a zombie, the creature unnaturally rose back to its feet, its eyeless face zeroing in on Shin in a horrifying manner.
Meanwhile, the two other shambling Morenkai had broken out into loping sprints, hurling themselves towards Shin. In the time it took for this all to go down, they had crossed almost two-thirds of the way across the room.
At that exact moment, Shin smiled.
"Well chums, it's been great, but I gotta split. Sayonara!"
His body blurred and, with little fanfare, vanished.
Mere seconds later, the charging Morenkai collided as they slammed into where Shin had been, crashing down hard on the ground. The third Morenkai shambled forward as well but then paused, looking around in confusion.
Shin had successfully teleported away, killing the Golden Morenkai and getting away with it.
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Chapter 33: Day 3
Micheal awoke to the familiar sound of the air conditioning, humming quietly in the background. He smiled and stretched as he got up, enjoying the moment.
'Already on Day 3…' He thought as he tossed his blankets off and stood up. He went over to the bathroom sink, washing his face. He looked at himself, his bright blue eyes and short brown hair. The strong chin that was just now starting to become covered in stubble.
'I'll need to shave soon.' He shrugged as he bought himself some pancakes for breakfast through the Shop, munching on them and the syrup that came with them.
After figuring out a bit more about how his Life Orbs worked, Micheal had retreated back till he found his Skyscraper. He'd stayed in the same one that he'd picked before, knowing his rather threatening reputation should hold people off for a couple days.
Once he got home, he'd immediately tossed himself in bed, exhausted. He'd slept soundly, with no interference.
'Let's see, on the third day of my time here, did anything interesting happen?' His mind flashed back briefly for a moment as he went over his memories.
He frowned after a moment,
'Ah, right. This was my first active day on a Hunting Team with the Saru Group.' The only memories he found were decidedly unpleasant. His early time here had been anything but easy.
'The major battle with the Godfather Organization and the Black Flag Pirates and their allies happens in around 2 weeks, if I recall. I didn't participate and was mostly on the sidelines for that. The Saru Group didn't really help out at first, we only came in later. Even then, I had no real impact on the battle, not with my weak strength at the time.' He shook his head ruefully.
He took a few more chomps of his pancakes, savoring them. This meal didn't come with silverware and he was too cheap to buy it from the Shop, even knowing it'd cost only a couple Points. Instead, he scooped them up and folded them over, biting them like they were tacos.
'The Godfather Organization is one of the very few altruistic groups in the First Layer. I can't just let them get wiped out. In fact, using them to reveal the secret of the First Layer might actually work quite well for me due to the wide network they control.' He nodded his head and waved around one of the taco-pancakes.
'If I get strong enough, I could just directly kill the leaders of the Black Flag Pirates and their allies…' He mimed a stabbing motion with the folded pancake.
'I'm not sure if I can catch up that much in 2 weeks. Lacking that, however, I'll need to think up a plan to help the Godfather Organization survive.' He sighed with frustration. He didn't actually know much about the members of the Godfather Organization in his Cluster. They had all died before he really had a chance to meet any of them.
'Alright. First things first.' He tossed the thoughts from his mind as he finished eating.
'Let's make another set of Dragon Building Liquid and another Life Orb.'
.. .. .. .. .. .. ..
About 45 minutes later, a man could be seen, sprinting through the central zone of the Stardust Cluster. This man had a sleek, steel blade in his hand and ran with a certain level of grace, his movements powerful and sure.
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— - Status — -
Name: Micheal Care
Points: 492
Race: Human
Age: 18
- Stats -
Strength - 28 -> 30
Endurance - 22 -> 24
Recovery - 20 -> 22
Soul - 10
- Abilities - (3/7)
Life Orb Master
Ki Cultiva
tor (Mortal Tier)
Grandmaster Sword Mastery (1/5)
.
'The increase wasn't crazy significant, not for the second dose. But this feeling…' He couldn't help but smile,
'Man, making real progress is simply the best.' There was nothing he loved more. In the later Layers, making progress could be incredibly difficult. Therefore, here in the early Layers, he quite enjoyed his steady growth.
"Hup!" Micheal jumped atop a long metal bridge, his feet tapping on it as he ran across. He had crossed more than a dozen skyscrapers now, up and active early in the morning. He hadn't encountered any Morenkai on the way yet.
As he ran, he made a couple of large jumps. When he leapt, his body sailed more than 2.5 meters high into the air, a huge amount for any human to make. When he landed, he bent his knees slightly to absorb the impact.
'Bit by bit, my body is getting stronger. It's certain I'll surpass the strongest the old me got on the First Layer.' He kept practicing various movements, getting himself used to the increase in strength.
In no time at all, he arrived at the place he told Lana and her teammates, members of the Mayoral Alliance, to meet up with him.
'By now, my reputation will have spread a bit. I got here pretty early and didn't specify a time, but they'll likely come along soon.' He made a few observations as he glanced around atop the grey skyscraper. Overhead, the midmorning sunlight beat down on him.
He decided to sit down and wait, moving inside the shed that led into the skyscraper to avoid being ambushed. He went over his memories of his past, trying to clear out any vague parts. The more he could remember, the more advantageous his position would be.
Time went by as he relaxed, immersing himself in his memories. In what felt like a blink of an eye, Micheal opened his eyes.
He could hear people talking.
"…and it's not like we have a choice. Abel is the Head of our Alliance, Khari. If he orders us to move, we have to. We don't pick our teams…" A feminine voice was rebuking another.
"I'm just saying it rubs me the wrong way, from what you told me. But I'm a new member here, what do I know." The male voice replied, wavering.
Micheal got up, smiling. He went over to the thin metal door that separated the skyscraper from the world outside, pulling it open.
"Hello." His voice sauntered out as he walked out onto the rooftop.
He was greeted with startled looks from two familiar figures, the shield-bearing warrior Lana and the African, and rather unskilled, sniper Khari. Lana looked as she had before, dressed in a pair of jeans and this time a tight white shirt, a large metal shield on her back. Khari, on the other hand, wore a set of grey pants and a grey shirt, as if he was trying to blend into the background. He had a long rifle slung across his shoulder, looking like he was on a hunting trip.
The third man that had been with them last time was nowhere to be seen, for whatever reason. Perhaps he didn't trust Micheal to hold to his end of the deal.
"Uh, Sir Michael!" Lana bowed slightly as she saw him, bringing a piece of paper out.
"This has all the information I could gather about the new Irregular named Sophia." Her eyes showed just the faintest hint of nervousness as she spoke, glancing back and forth at him. She walked forward, handing him the paper.
Micheal looked at it.
On the front it read.
-Information Report - for Michael—
He frowned slightly as he saw it.
"I spread word throughout the Mayoral Alliance about your query, saying it was my own. Everything I could find out is on that piece of paper." Lana hurriedly added, nodding her head at it.
"It's not that." Micheal sighed.
"It's the name on it." He shook his head, feeling silly for pointing it out.
"…Is not your name Michael?" Lana stuttered, confused.
"Yes but… it's spelled wrong." It was also pronounced differently, but Micheal had given up on that fight long ago. A memory popped up in Micheal's mind.
In his memories from one of the earlier Layers, Shin and Micheal had been sitting around a fire, poking fun at each other. It was one of his fonder memories, though he couldn't recall all the minor details after so long.
.. .. .. .. .. ..
"Bro. Your parents misspelled your name." Shin's voice had been full of jolly cheer as he lambasted Micheal's parents.
"Shin, I already told you, it's a variant spelling to Michael. Plenty of people hav-"
"Nah man, they definitely misspelled your name. No one goes by Micheal with an 'ea'. Does it show up that way on your Status?"
"…"
"Hahaha it does! You're a living typo! Ahahaha!"
.. .. .. .. .. ..
"Never mind, never mind." He smiled slightly,
"Let me see what's on it."
He opened the paper up.
In it were several bullet points and a crudely drawn map.
- The Irregular Sophia had an Ability from the Shop that gave her the power to create illusions. - - Rated at the standard of B Class.
- She is approximately 5'2", or 1.6 meters tall. She has shoulder-length brown hair and matching brown eyes, with a slightly strong jawline.
- In terms of raw physical strength, she is estimated to have middling power at best. Rated at the standard of D Class.
- In terms of defense, she seems to have some type of Artifact that creates a barrier around her, protecting her. Rated at the standard of B Class.
- She has a determined personality and has rebuffed any advances to join a team, trusting no one.
Apart from the listed points, there was a map that led from the central zone to a place just to the northwest. A skyscraper was circled, labeled as the home base of Sophia. It was described as a dark green colored one, with a light blue stripe around the roof.
Micheal looked up, impressed. To have gathered so much intel in so short a time, this girl wasn't half bad. The Mayoral Alliance was situated somewhat close to where Sophia lived, and likely was keeping tabs on her as a result, but for Lana to get him this info so quickly…
Everything on it was accurate, as far as he could tell. What mattered most to him was where Sophia was currently living, something he hadn't known.
"It says she's rebuffed any advances to join a team. Do you know anything specific about this?" He queried.
Lana nodded,
"Both the Black Flag Pirates and the Tobagin Party have asked her to join them. She accepted neither invitation, for unknown reasons."
'Hmm…'
If things went the way the normal timeline was set, Sophia would eventually join the Tobagin Party despite her initial refusal, sometime within the week. Her unique Ability was a coveted one and proved very useful against the Morenkai, as was the Artifact she had with her.
She would gain considerable fame during the Cluster-wide battle after the Godfather Organization got wiped and the other major powers attacked the Black Flag Pirates before they could take over.
However, she would also become horribly maimed and crippled, leading to her becoming deranged. She would later be known as the S Ranked Demon Fairy of the Main Cluster before she left for the Second Layer after many months. Micheal was unsure what happened to her after that.
Of those B Ranked and above, a full 1/3rd of them had died or received near-incurable, crippling injuries from this incident alone. It was a major event.
The surprise attack by the leaders of the Black Flag Pirates on the Godfather Organization had destabilized the power balance in the Cluster, setting everything in motion.
Micheal's first month here had been quite the hectic one, though, by dint of his relative weakness, he'd managed to avoid most of the danger. After all, who would've cared about a weak D or E Rank like him?
'Her Fairy Eyes are extremely useful here in the First Layer, and will still be useful in the Second Layer.' His eyes flashed. Individual strength was important, but he could only have so many Abilities. If he wanted to take on the Gods, he woul
dn't be able to do it alone.
He'd need to form a team.
Shin was already a given. No one that reached the 7th Layer had an ordinary personality. He would definitely be able to handle it, especially with Micheal's aid.
Sophia… she had potential, but he'd need to meet her before he could be certain.
She definitely had the potential to go at least some distance in the 7 Layers, and probably would've gone quite far originally if she hadn't gone insane and fallen to the unknown.
"This is satisfactory." He nodded, pleased. He smiled slightly as he saw Lana seem to relax. Was he really that scary?
"I owe you two a sword lesson, right? Let's get that handled right now."
.
Chapter 34: Live
"Just like that, swing at it! Don't let it hit you!" Micheal's voice echoed authoritatively as he watched Lana and Khari before him.
The duo was currently fighting a regular Morenkai, wielding only a pair of normal quality steel blades.
Around 25 minutes had passed since Micheal had received the intel on Sophia.
In that time, he had begun to train the duo from the Mayoral Alliance, fulfilling his promise. He went over the core basics, how they should position their bodies, how to hold the blade properly, and how to lead forward with a basic strike.
In the 7 Layers, it was possible for humans to gain certain Abilities naturally, without spending Points. Most of these Abilities had to do with certain skills or techniques. Others could be gained through accomplishing certain actions.
Scientists had theorized this had to do with some type of overriding system of rules or laws that existed, one that had been adapted for humans to access through the Shop. It was a well-known fact that several other Races had unique Abilities of their own, some even having full-scale systems of Magic that only those of their Race could use.
The Shop that humans had access to seemed to be something similar to that, but unique in its own right.
The theory was all complex and abstruse. Micheal was no expert and only knew enough to have a general idea.
What he did know, however, was exactly how to achieve the Sword Mastery Ability naturally.