"Haa... Haa..."
Heavy breaths.
*Step* *Step*
The sound of rushed steps.
"Follow the music! Go to the music!"
Rushed voices.
Da Dang—
And a haunting melody.
"We're getting closer. Make sure you follow closely behind."
Several people rushed ahead.
They all had one goal.
Reach the music.
"We're closer!"
The more they ran, the louder the music became.
Unknowingly, their steps started to match the tempo of the tune.
And soon—
They came upon an opening, dimly lit by a faint blue light.
Da Dang Da!
Shadows spilled outward in every direction, and at their center stood a figure hunched over a keyboard, their fingers gliding across the keyboard in an erratic manner.
DANG!
Their movements weren't clean.
In fact, they were extremely erratic, and the notes didn't match well with one another.
But at the same time...
Listening to the piece, the people present couldn't help but feel something stir within them.
Their skin crawled at the sound of the music.
At the sight of the Jester.
Deng! De—!
Each note seemed to carry a madness that left them unsettled.
DONG!
It made their hearts race.
In that moment, the Jester seemed to be the central figure within the factory.
Nobody could take their eyes away from the Jester.
The Jester... was all anyone could see.
Dang! Dang—
***
The more I clung to the madness, the more it seemed to consume me.
This consumption was directly reflected in my music.
Deng! Du—
I started making more and more errors.
I started to miss the tempo.
I started to lose rhythm.
And yet...
It was such simple errors that were drawing the piece closer and closer to perfection.
The growing madness.
The growing craze...
All of it was highlighting the main principle of the piece.
Despair.
This was a piece that highlighted one's despair in pursuit of perfection. It was the story of the conductor, and the closer I came to reaching the despair that was needed to embody this piece, the more I realized that I was starting to lose sight of myself.
The madness. The despair....
It was slowly starting to consume my mind.
"Uekh... Uekh..."
Each breath that I took seemed harder than the last.
My hands and face were numb.
I couldn't focus. I couldn't think.
All I did was cling to the madness and despair of my situation and pour it all out on the keyboard in front of me. Even as people gathered before me, I learned to ignore them. I learned to pay no mind to them.
But it was also in that moment that I started to lose track of my mission.
Deng Di— Di!
'...How many are here?'
I caught a glimpse of the people watching me. I slowly began to count every one of them.
One, two, three, four...
In total, there appeared to be twelve of them. Some looked to be knocked out, while others looked to be in terrible condition.
I could pretty much tell what had happened.
'A lot of time must've passed since I started to play the music.'
I had been so immersed in playing the keyboard that I lost track of everything. However, just by looking at the situation in front of me, I understood what had happened. Clara, following our brief interaction, most likely didn't trust me immediately and looked for an exit on her own.
That probably led her nowhere.
She most likely tried other methods, but those, too, led her nowhere.
In the end, she had no choice but to listen to my words. Meeting the other members in her squad, she relayed the entire situation to them and started gathering everyone present to where I was.
She had no choice but to trust me.
And it would've been the right choice in the past.
But...
Deng!
I was too far gone into my madness to care anymore.
All I was programmed to do was play the keyboard in front of me.
Anything else was just useless noise.
This right here...
It was all that I needed to do.
Dang!
***
"This should be the last person."
Clara appeared behind a figure, smacking her hand against the back of their head and knocking them unconscious. Placing them over her back, she turned towards the distance where a certain tune played in the air.
It was soft, but it quietly whispered in the air.
'...It's different than before.'
She could tell that the tune was different from the first time she heard it.
It was faster.
More erratic.
More... desperate.
Dang, Deng—!
There was something haunting about the tune that played in the air. The more desperate it grew, the more anxious she felt.
But most importantly...
'Something is off with this gate.'
For a ranked gate, that potentially increased to rank, this gate...
It was far too easy.
She could no longer feel the presence that lingered in the shadows, watching her every movement. In fact, it was almost as if it had completely disappeared. This allowed her to do everything that she wanted without much trouble.
She informed her other members about the situation.
They all tried to look for an exit, but regardless of how hard they tried, they couldn't find an exit.
They tried all sorts of other methods to get out.
But in the end, there wasn't one.
And it was then that Clara decided to listen to the Jester.
She had no choice but to listen.
And—
'Easy. This is too easy. How can it be this easy? No, I refuse to believe that a gate of this rank is this easy.'
And yet, despite her beliefs, there was no denying the reality that was unfolding right before her very eyes as she turned a corner and spotted a dim blue light coming from the distance.
Da Dang—!
The tune grew closer, and as she rushed ahead, a single figure appeared in the distance, bathed in the dim blue glow of the lamp as his fingers pressed heavily on the keyboard, the notes screaming in the air.
...And in that moment, as if sensing her presence, the Jester stopped.
The surroundings grew silent, and his head slowly turned.
Their gazes met.
And he pulled his hands away from the keyboard.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
Creak.
A single step echoed through the space.
It did not belong to her. Nor to anyone near them.
Her heart clenched as the sound came again.
Closer.
Heavier.
*Step*
From beyond the shadows, a masked man emerged. His face was hidden, yet Clara felt as if his gaze pierced straight through her.
The Jester rose from his seat, his movements relatively smooth, and the tension in the air thickened to the point of suffocation. The blue glow from the lamp seemed to dim, swallowed by the silence pressing in from every corner.
No words were spoken.
None were needed.
The simple presence of the two, Jester and masked man, was enough to make Clara's body tense completely.
Without waiting for the others to react, the Jester finally moved. He turned his head and walked towards the door near him.
As he did, he stopped before looking back.
Though he didn't say anything, his gaze said it all.
Clara swallowed quietly, her body growing even tenser before looking at the others.
"Let's go!"
-x-X-x-
"Quickly get in! Quick!"
Clara's voice reverberated loudly within the darkness. What followed after her voice was the single sound of certain steps. Despite being muffled by her voice, the rushed steps of the others, the steps echoed clearly within the surroundings.
*Step*
*Step*
*Step*
They were slow.
Unhurried.
Yet they pressed closer and closer, each one heavier than the last, as though the air itself recoiled from them.
"Quick!"
Clara clenched her jaw, pulling one of the scouts by the arm as they stumbled through the area. The small light coming from the narrow gap of the door flickered faintly, warping their shadows as they darted forward.
The door was ahead.
Just a little further!
"Move! Faster!" Clara shouted, her voice breaking under the suffocating weight of the tension.
She looked ahead, and she counted everyone.
One, two, three...
There were sixteen people in total.
'Perfect... Everyone is here!'
Bang!
One of her scouts stumbled onto the floor, their face pale and eyes trembling. 'I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't do this...' Their body was locked in a state of shock as the trauma from all their experience came crashing down on them.
"Shit, get up!"
Rushing towards them, Clara picked them up from the floor and tossed them on her back.
"Ukh—!"
She groaned.
With two bodies behind her back, she found herself struggling.
'Almost. Almost...'
But she couldn't give up here.
Failure meant restarting.
...That was the last thing that she wanted!
Getting to their current position wasn't easy. Each reset, the gate layout would change. It wasn't easy to collect everyone before they died. Not only that, but the time frame that they had in order to collect everyone and reach the Jester wasn't long.
Not only that, but there was also no guarantee the Jester would remain.
They couldn't afford to let this chance waste.
Therefore—
"Uakh!"
With a heavy groan, Clara forced herself forward as she dragged two bodies behind her.
*Step.*
The step was closer now.
It was almost behind her.
Clara's heart skipped a beat. A sinking feeling crept down her spine as her body tensed and she pushed herself further.
She didn't dare look back, but she could feel it.
The presence.
Cold and steady... drawing nearer and nearer to her. Almost as if it was savoring her fear.
Clara clenched her teeth.
Her node activated, and a dark mist shrouded her body as she sped up.
'There!'
That little push was all she needed to finally reach the door.
Thump! Thump!
Clara shoved the unconscious bodies she carried on her back, her legs stumbling forward as her chest heaved up and down.
She wanted to fall on the ground, but things were far from over.
*Step*
"....!?"
She froze.
The step...
It was right behind her.
A shadow cast right above her.
The long arm extended, holding onto the knife.
Clara's chest tightened, her heart beating loud enough to hurt. With every ounce of strength she had, she turned around, and just as the knife was about to plunge into her...
Bang!
The door closed.
A Jester appeared.
Their eyes met as the surroundings turned quiet.
Then—
The world turned dark.
"....."
By the time Clara regained her senses, she was standing before a familiar setting. Her body was drenched in sweat, breath uneven, as her gaze swept the area. Faces surrounded her, countless and unclear, pressing in as she struggled to grasp the reality of the scene before her.
Get away from me... Get awa—
"Hey!"
A voice shook her out of her state.
Looking up, she saw the Section Chief looking at her as he grasped her by the arms.
"Calm down. What's going on?"
"Ehm.. Ah..."
Clara covered her mouth, stepping back as she finally managed to regain a sense of herself.
"Haa... Haa..."
She breathed heavily, forcing herself to slow and steady her racing chest. The Section Chief finally released his grip when he saw her begin to calm. Clara met his gaze for a brief moment before drawing several deep, deliberate breaths.
Around her, agents from the bureau rushed forward, moving swiftly toward the others behind her.
Clara didn't pay attention to that.
Instead, she thought about her recent state.
'What happened to me? Why was I like that...?'
It was unusual for her to lose her composure by this much. The last time it had happened, it was back when—
Ah.
She saw the pattern.
The last time...
It was when the Jester was present.
The same was for this time.
That... Jester.
"Have you finally calmed down?"
Raising her head, Clara nodded her head.
"A little."
She looked around, confused. There were a lot of agents present, including several important figures. Her head tilted slightly.
"What's going on? Why is..."
"We detected an abnormality with the gate. It's also the reason why I rushed here."
"An abnormality?"
Clara blinked her eyes.
"Yes."
The Section Chief nodded, his face turning grim as he stared at the gate behind her.
"The gate's energy had been steadily rising with each passing minute. It hadn't yet reached the next tier, but it was dangerously close. Fortunately, just before it could, you appeared with the others."
Pausing, the Section Chief scanned the area, his brows knitting tightly as he moved with caution. He leaned closer to her, lowering his voice. "Can you tell me what happened in there? Judging by your current state, I can only assume you barely managed to clear the gate. With the growing rank, it must've also been incredibly difficult."
"Barely clear? Difficult...?"
Clara stared at the Section Chief, her expression blank. Slowly, she lowered her gaze, and that's when she noticed the fragments clutched in her hand.
She blinked slowly.
When...?
"Clara?"
"Oh, yes."
Her gaze cleared as she looked at the Section Chief.
"About the gate. It wasn't difficult. In fact..." She paused, her expression turning strange. "It was incredibly easy."
"Eh...?"
It was the Section Chief's turn to look at her blankly.
"Easy?"
He looked at her. The state she was in. He found it hard to believe her words. But then, her next words made his expression stiffen.
"VILE - 2013. The Jester."
She only needed to say those words for the Section Chief to understand, as his eyes widened.
"We managed to clear the gate without any problems because of the Jester. It..."
Clara paused once more, thinking about the melody he played.
That haunting, yet beautiful melody.
"It..."
Clara paused once more, turning to look at the group behind her.
"It was the reason why all seventeen of us were able to get back without any problems and clear the gate."
Clara clenched her teeth as the words left her lips. She slowly lifted her head to meet the Section Chief's gaze, and froze, caught off guard by the strange expression on his face.
What's..? What—
"Seventeen, you said?"
Clara blinked.
"Yes. Seventeen"
Was there something wrong with what she said?
The Section Chief's expression turned even stranger as he looked at her. Unable to understand his confusion, Clara turned back.
And it was there that she realized something.
Seventeen...?
Wait, why seventeen?
She was only supposed to rescue eleven people. Counting her and her squad, they should've been sixteen in total.
And yet...
Looking before her, all she saw was fifteen people.
Where was...?
-x-X-x-
'Wait, wait, wait...'
Clara rubbed her head, the world around her beginning to tilt as a sharp migraine pressed in. The pain swelled until it blurred her vision, and for a moment her balance gave way, leaving her stumbling on unsteady feet.
"Hey, hey...!"
If not for the Section Chief helping her, she would've probably fallen over.
"Are you okay? Med—"
"No, I'm fine. Don't call for them. It'll make the situation worse. I'll be fine in a few minutes."
Clara rubbed her head again, forcefully pushing the pain away as she collected herself.
Despite her best attempts, the pain was intense. It took a total of ten minutes for her to fully get back to normal as she sat down on the ground, gulping down the bottle of water that the Section Chief had managed to provide her.
"Are you feeling better?"
Hearing the Section Chief's words, Clara nodded.
"...Yes, a bit."
The migraine wasn't hurting as much.
But it was still there. Lingering at the back of her mind.
"Okay, get some rest. While I do want to ask you more about the situation, I'll save that for later. I'll go talk to the agents for now. If you need anything, send me a message or call for me."
Seeing her feeling better, the Section Chief decided to give her some space as he stood up and left to check on the other recruits while also talking to the bureau agents.
Clara's eyes traced his silhouette for a moment before she closed her eyes and thought back to the situation.
'The number of people that we needed to rescue was eleven. I'm sure of it.'
They had all been provided with the profiles of the people that they needed to rescue in advance. She was sure about this fact.
'...In the last moments, I counted sixteen people. There should've been fifteen of us.'
Did she count the Jester by accident?
'No, that's unlikely. The Jester had entered beforehand.'
In that case...
'An extra person had entered?'
Clara swallowed silently, feeling the hair on her skin slowly starting to rise as a cold chill pressed down on her back.
Who...?
Who could've possibly entered?
Clara swallowed yet again. Despite the chaos of the situation, she was almost certain that she and her team would've realized it if an extra person had appeared. In fact, she wasn't the type to forget something as simple as them being sixteen in total.
Normally, she would've realized that there was an extra person.
The fact that she didn't notice didn't make sense to her.
Was this a mistake due to tiredness?
Or... was there more to it?
'No matter how much I think about it, I can't seem to recall anyone that I don't know inside of that room.'
Clara prided herself on her memory. She could distinctly remember all the faces in the room.
And yet—
There was not one single face that she didn't recognize.
'How did that make sense?'
The more Clara thought about it, the more the migraine that had been lingering at the back of her mind started to resurface. It was also amidst her thoughts that she lowered her head and stared at the small camera attached to her uniform.
'It's a good thing that I've got this here.'
Clara turned her attention towards the Section Chief. He was still busy talking to those from the bureau. She quietly pursed her lips before taking out her phone and loading the Guild App up.
Following this, she connected the phone to the camera.
A video began to play shortly after.
It was an extremely long one. Thankfully, Clara only needed to see the ending as she skipped to that very moment.
'Here.'
She stopped right at the part she remembered.
Right before she started running for the door. In that moment, she could see it clearly.
The sixteen figures that she remembered counting.
'I knew it. This wasn't a mistake.'
Her heart raced momentarily.
She then pressed play.
The video continued.
—Run! Quickly!
—Don't fall behind! Quickly run!
She could hear the muffled sound of her own voice from the video.
The steps that followed her behind too.
She heard it all. But that wasn't what she cared about. What she cared about was the sixteen people.
Clara looked at the back of all of them, and she found herself unable to tell who the extra person was. They all felt familiar to her.
Why...?
Clara sped up the video.
It was the moment right after she entered the room.
She saw the massive shadow cast behind her, the hand slowly raising to stab at her. She could hear the sound of her own breath leaving, and her body growing tense.
But it was also in that moment that she saw the profiles of everyone present.
Clara counted again.
'One, two, three... seven, eight... twelve, thirteen... sixteen.'
All were present.
Clara paused the video there and raised her head to look into the distance. Where the other fifteen people were gathered. She slowly began to match their profiles with the one in the video.
'He's here. She's here. He's here. He...'
Her voice stopped.
A young man with freckles, black hair, and deep brown eyes... He wasn't in the group in the distance. Clara's throat tightened as she studied him. He wasn't in the group in the distance. Not like in the video.
Clara looked back at it.
She felt certain that she knew him, and yet...
The longer she stared, the less certain she became. Her skin prickled, her chest pulled tight, and the air around her started to feel suffocating.
Her breathing quickened.
Without realizing, her finger pressed down on 'play'.
The boy's head turned.
His eyes locked onto the camera.
And then, slowly, he smiled.
***
"Uergh!"
The moment I regained a sense of myself, the first thing I did was puke in the nearest trash can.
"Uerghhh—!"
Despite my best attempts at holding back, I couldn't stop myself. My stomach acted on its own as I started to puke my entire soul out. All the trauma and experience of the gate came crashing down on me all at once as I began puking.
I thought I had gotten used to it after everything that I had experienced.
But I was wrong.
It was even worse this time.
I puked not out of fear, but out of trauma.
My mind was simply trying its best to restore my sense of self.
"Haa... Haa..."
I didn't know how long I had puked for. By the time I had stopped, I felt extremely weak as I slumped down on the ground.
I stared blankly at the ceiling above me.
The lights flickered faintly.
...I had gotten sick of the sight above me. I had seen it far too many times.
"H-haa."
The puking wasn't the worst part of it all. The worst part of it all was trying to detach my mind from everything that had happened. Everything felt numb to me at the moment, my fingers twitching, and my emotions all over the place.
I understood that it would take some time for me to return to normal.
Forcing myself up, I took out my phone and checked the date. Inside the gate, I couldn't figure out what day it was. But now that I was out, this should no longer be a problem.
'I hope it wasn't for too long. I hope—'
My heart sank the moment I pulled down the calendar.
Twenty days.
A total of twenty days had passed since the hourglass had flipped.
My heart sank at the realization as I forced myself up and connected my phone to the Wi-Fi.
"Shit..."
The more I thought about the situation, the more anxious I became. I had been gone for a total of twenty days. I was almost certain that the Guild had started looking for me. Kyle was probably the same.
Perhaps even a manhunt.
'My face might be all over the papers.'
I bit my nails whilst I connected my phone to the internet. And just as I began to panic, I paused.
"Eh...?"
The expected flood of messages wasn't there.
Instead, it was strangely silent.
I opened the browser and looked for my name. Besides a few things about my game, there wasn't much at all.
"Wait, what?"
I scratched the side of my face.
"So nobody noticed?"
Frowning, I looked at my phone. I double checked to make sure, but it really did seem like nobody noticed my absence for twenty days.
This...
"I'm not that anti-social, right?"
-x-X-x-
"I know that I'm not very friendly. In fact, I know that I have no friends. No..." I paused for a moment before correcting myself. "I do have a friend, and that's Kyle."
I pursed my lips.
"...I know that I'm not the friendliest of guys, but am I that unlikable?"
I scrolled through my phone. There were no messages besides a few spam ones coming from some random phone numbers.
It was almost as if nobody even cared about my twenty-day disappearance.
"This is odd."
I didn't really know how to feel.
Heartbroken, if anything.
"...."
Rubbing my brows and staring at my phone, I started to feel that there was something off about the current situation. While it was true that I was unpopular, given how Kyle was, I found it hard to believe that he would completely forget about me.
'Something definitely happened while I was gone.'
...And that something had something to do with the weird system.
I pressed my lips together and looked at the door of the office.
Taking a step forward, I paused when I felt something in my pocket. Taking a moment to dig into it, I was surprised to pull out a fragment.
"Oh."
I stared at the sight in pleasant surprise.
"Right, the gate cleared. Of course, I'd receive fragments."
I dug into my pocket and retrieved several more fragments. By the time I was done, I had taken a total of five fragments, a couple looking extremely pure, while a few others were a little bit murkier.
'I wonder what the attribute for these is.'
I planned on testing it later. Just like the purity. I was a little disappointed to see that the purity wasn't extremely pure for all of them. This suggested that I hadn't cleared the gate perfectly.
This left me somewhat confused.
'I led everyone towards the exit. I pretty much did all the work. Realistically speaking, I should've gotten at least an grade in terms of clearing.'
But apparently that didn't seem to be the case...
"Did I miss something?"
I frowned and placed the fragments away.
Something did stir in my mind.
"The knocks?"
Indeed, I had still not figured out the reason behind the knocks and the door lock. Was that why I didn't manage to clear the gate fully?
"Maybe."
I didn't feel much while thinking about.
My emotions were all over the place at the moment.
Whatever the case was, I had managed to clear the gate in the end.
The only issue was my room. Thankfully, everything had returned to what it was prior to me breaking it. Nonetheless, the size of the room and the small details were still things that Clara and her members had seen.
'There's even a chance that they recorded everything.'
I looked around the room.
Towards the white walls and lamp above.
After thinking about it for a while, I came to a decision.
"I'll paint everything new. I'll also change the lights."
I needed to change the room so that it looked completely different than the one in the video.
"..I might be thinking too much, but it's never bad to be careful."
More importantly...
"Eighteen plus five... That's twenty-three."
I took out a small sack containing eighteen fragments and added the five that I had just gotten from the gate. In total, that meant that I now had enough fragments to reach the third order.
My heart raced at the thought.
But it only lasted for a brief moment.
"No, I can't rush things."
I was desperate to reach the Third Order. The incoming quest with the conductor was only a few days away. However, I needed to be patient. I couldn't force myself to reach the Third Order without all the nodes being pure.
I was already struggling with one Cognitive Shard and one Fragmented Node.
I needed my next node to be extremely sturdy.
"But it's not like I have much time."
I quietly stared at my hand. Though subtle, it was trembling. This was one of the lingering side effects of the fracture in my node. While it was still subtle for now, it wouldn't be long before the situation became worse.
I knew that I didn't have much time. I had to reach the Third Order as soon as possible and purchase the even more evolved version of the medicine.
"H-hoo."
My chest trembled as I took a deep breath.
In the end, I pushed all thoughts to the side for now and finally headed to the door.
'Time to figure out exactly what happened during the time that I was gone.'
***
"....."
A tense silence filled a certain room within the Guild.
The lights were off, and two figures sat within the room. With his arms and legs crossed, the Section Chief stared at the projection on the wall.
Depicted on it were the happenings of the gate.
The video continued to play for a while before it finally came to an end.
Flick!
The projection turned off, and the lights returned.
And yet—
"...."
The Section Chief remained silent while staring at the empty wall in front of him. His expression was grim, and black lines formed on his forehead.
Eventually, however, his lips parted as he finally shattered the silence.
"It's as you said. VILE - 2013 appeared. That explains the gate's increasing rank."
His expression turned grim as he thought about the anomaly.
From start to finish, he wasn't able to get much information about the anomaly. He could see that Clara had tried to do so, but before she could even get the chance, the entire scenario would reset.
Not only that, but recalling the actions of the Jester, the Section Chief's expression turned even more grim.
'I can't understand it at all. What is it doing? Is this somehow related to the ranked gate that opened up here?'
Thinking thus far, he paused.
"Perhaps, it is..."
His eyes slowly widened as he thought about the ranked gate and the scenario. It was within an opera house, and recalling the note on the poster, something clicked in his mind.
"That must be it...!"
The Section Chief pressed his hand against the table and stood up. Staring at the empty wall, he turned to look at Clara.
"That right there is most likely the clue regarding the gate. The Jester's..." The Section Chief paused, his expression turning strange as Clara wore a similar expression, drawing the same conclusion as him.
"He's practicing."
"He's training."
The two spoke at the same time.
The Section Chief sat back down on the chair as he mused over the situation.
"The Jester was using the gate as some sort of practice place for his upcoming performance. While I don't understand why, one thing is clear."
The Section Chief tapped the table, and the lights turned off.
A flash sparked on the wall, and a video began to play.
Da Dang—!
What followed was a haunting, yet beautiful tune.
Listening to it, the Section Chief was certain.
"This right here is the key to clearing the gate."
His eyes sharpened as he listened to the tune. But before he even had the chance to get excited, Clara spoke, "While I do agree with you, Section Chief. I think there are other things that we need to worry about."
She pressed a small remote as a certain image appeared.
The Section Chief's excitement faded rather quickly.
Instead, a certain gloom took over his expression as Clara's next words forced the room into a biting cold.
"An anomaly belonging to a rising ranked gate managed to infiltrate our group and leave the gate. Right now, the anomaly is roaming somewhere. Most likely growing stronger by the day. What should we do about this?"
"...I'm not sure."
The Section Chief mumbled while covering his mouth. There was a lot going on right now. He didn't think he'd have the time to divert his attention towards the anomaly. But it was also true that he couldn't ignore it.
If this was an anomaly that came from a ranked gate, then he had no choice but to pay close attention to it.
"For now, I'll report everything to the bureau. But... I'm not too sure about the situation. There's a lack of personnel due to the current situation. I'll send some people over at the same time, and inform all Guilds on that island. We need to be careful with this."
Turning his attention towards the projection and stopping it right at the end where the anomaly smiled, he took out a picture of the image with his phone and sent it to the database.
"There's a high chance that their face will change. For now, I've sent it to the database. If any of the cameras or surveillance equipment around the island detects the face, we'll be alerted immediately."
Guilds, depending on their rank and the importance of the mission, were given the ability to remotely check and use all surveillance equipment placed on the island. This was done to ensure the utmost safety for the citizens of the island.
"Okay, all that is left is to write a report to the bureau and then send it to the Guild Leader as well."
Putting his phone away, the Section Chief looked back at Clara.
His lips parted, and he prepared to issue an order when—
Trrr! Trrr—
His phone vibrated.
He paused for a moment, looking at Clara and then his phone. After a moment of hesitation, and with Clara's subtle nod, he took out his phone again and answered the call.
"Yes...?"
His voice was subdued as he answered.
Clara watched him from the side as she waited for him to finish. However, it became pretty clear soon that the situation was extremely serious as the Section Chief's expression turned grave.
"What?"
His voice came out hoarse.
Clara sat up at the sight, and before she even had the chance to wonder what was happening, the Section Chief's expression twisted.
"He's coming? No, I don't want to see him. That's the last thing I'd want."
***
Coming out of the office space, I was greeted by a mess. The main area was crowded, the sound of the printer churning paper after paper resounding throughout.
"Watch it!"
"...Here!"
Strangers hurried past me, clutching loose papers and folders, their steps uneven and urgent as if every second mattered. Desks were pulled out of place, chairs half-turned, and the sharp rustle of pages filled the room.
'What the hell is going on?'
It was also extremely noisy.
I had to take a moment to adjust myself to the noise before properly assessing the situation. It didn't take long for me to realize what was happening.
'The conductor gate is about to open in a few days. Everyone must be busy trying to research it and preparing for it.'
I still didn't know what the plan for the Guild was, but I was certain that they were going to send a lot of us to the Gate.
'...they'll most likely send all the top elites, but I hope they won't send me. If they do try, I'll need to find a way to reject it.'
Just thinking about it made me shudder. They wouldnt' be that crazy, right?
"Seth...?"
A certain voice broke me out of my thoughts. When I turned my head, a familiar face appeared.
"Rowan?"
What was he doing here?
I checked the time and date, and saw that we didn't have any therapy sessions arranged for today.
No, wait!
"Rowan!"
"...Huh?"
With a startled look, Rowan stepped back. I didn't care and moved closer to him as I just barely managed to suppress my rapidly beating heart.
"About our sessions. I wanted to—"
"Ah, actually. I was coming to you to talk about that."
Rowan suddenly smiled as he patted me on the shoulder.
"I want to thank you for the previous sessions. I've been feeling so much better ever since the last few sessions. I've even managed to get some sleep without any nightmares. I just wanted to tell you this."
Rowan looked incredibly happy as he looked at me, but staring at him, I was confused.
Previous sessions...?
Was that the one we had more than twenty days ago?
'Well, I'm happy he's feeling a lot better. But—'
"The one we had two days ago was especially great. I don't think it'll be long before I will no longer need the sessions."
With a laugh, Rowan patted me on the shoulder as he mumbled, 'You really saved my life there.'
Listening to him, I couldn't react.
Session two days ago...?
What was he talking about? I wasn't sure two days ago. I was—
"Oh, anyway. I have to go. Things are rather hectic these days. I'll still show up tomorrow, and thanks a lot again!"
With a cheerful smile, Rowan turned back and went back to work.
"Oh!"
But suddenly, as if recalling something, he stopped and turned back to me.
"Congrats! I heard you've been killing it!"
He left right after that.
I could only stare at his back with a numb expression.
That...
I swallowed silently
'What the hell happened while I was gone?'
Unable to fully grasp the situation, I looked around before spotting Zoey. She looked to be busy handling several papers at once.
I stopped right behind her cubicle.
"....."
I opened my mouth, but didn't really know what to say. In the end, she was the one to notice me as she raised her head.
"What?"
"Hello."
"...."
"...."
The silence that followed my greeting was uncomfortable. I felt my face itch for some reason.
Clearing my throat, I looked around.
"Where is Kyle? Do you know where he is?"
"Kyle...?"
Zoey looked at me strangely.
"You don't know?"
"...I forgot."
Her expression turned even stranger, but she ended up answering not long after.
"He's on duty right now."
On duty...?
What the hell did that mean?
'Is she saying he's in a gate?'
Well, thinking about it, Kyle being in a gate wasn't strange, but considering the current situation, it was strange.
"There are a lot of people coming to the island now that the gate is about to open. He's trying to maintain order."
"...Oh, okay."
That made a lot of sense.
I looked at her and nodded
"I knew that."
"....."
Zoey just gave me a weird look. She seemed to want to say something, but in the end, she lowered her head and busied herself with the papers in front of her. At the same time, she made a shooing motion with her hand.
"Go. Go. I'm also busy handling stuff."
I pursed my lips before turning away.
'Fine. It's not like I want to stay either. I just wanted to ask about Kyle.'
I did try messaging him, too, but he didn't reply.
Turning around and preparing to head to the other office, Zoey's voice once again reached my ears.
"Oh, right."
She sounded hesitant.
"...Congrats, I guess."
Congrats?
I turned around to look at her. With her gaze still focused on the documents in front of her, Zoey mumbled, "Regarding your recent dives. I heard you managed to get a perfect clear. That's pretty impressive."
"....?"
The hell was she talking about?
-x-X-x-
'None of it makes sense.'
Everything felt strange. None of it made any sense to me. From Rowan's words to Zoey's. I couldn't understand anything at all.
Despite wanting to ask Zoey about it, I held myself back.
I didn't want to arouse any suspicions.
'...It shouldn't be too hard for me to find out.'
Staring at Zoey for a second too long, I eventually turned around and headed for the elevators, where I went up a floor and reached my other office. I was sure I'd be able to find out more if I went there.
And...
'While I did say that I don't want to spend any more time in my office, this view isn't really helping. It feels just as stifling.'
A long corridor met my sight.
It was one that stretched until my eyes couldn't see. Doors appeared on each side of the corridor.
I looked around before eventually finding the door to my team and opened it.
Clank—!
"Kill me... I want to die. I can't take this anymore."
"...Am I allowed to help?"
"Just strangle gently. En... Do it so that it doesn't hurt too. Ah, and... also make sure that you make eye contact while doing so. Nn—! Wait, not yet!"
"....."
The moment I stepped into the office, I was met with a mess.
The first thing that caught my eye was Mia and Nora, with Nora holding Mia's neck with both hands. She looked to be strangling her. This...
That wasn't all. Looking around, it looked like the others weren't faring any better.
Min and Niel were both sitting at their desk, faces hunched over their keyboards and looking completely unresponsive. On the other hand, Sarah sat on her seat with her head leaning against the wall, her face extremely pale.
The only one that looked to be faring okay was Joanna, but even she looked exhausted.
Staring at the sight in front of me, I didn't know how to react.
'Just what in the world happened here while I was gone?'
"Nn!?"
I didn't even get the chance to say anything before Mia suddenly took notice of me. For some strange reason, her face paled considerably at the sight of me. Almost as if she had seen a ghost. No, maybe worse.
As if noticing her reaction, Nora let go of her neck and looked back at me.
Her expression turned complicated before paling.
"Huh?"
"What...?"
The others also appeared to wake up by the sound. All heads turned in my direction, and I saw a noticeable shift in their expressions.
"....."
The room grew extremely quiet from that moment.
I just looked at everyone, baffled. I could see it in their eyes at the moment.
Everyone was staring at me with the same scared expression.
My heart sank.
'I really need to get behind the situation. This is too weird.'
Without saying anything, I walked towards my desk and booted up the PC. Thankfully, I knew exactly where to find my answers. The PC had a log of everything that I did. If something really did happen while I was gone, I could see it through the PC.
Waiting for the PC to boot, a hesitant voice reached me.
"...Squad Leader."
"Hm?"
I raised my head to see Joanna standing in front of me. Although her face was pale, and her expression seemed hesitant, there was a certain resoluteness in her gaze as she looked at me. I was a little thrown off by her expression.
It almost looked like she was about to go to war.
"May we talk for a moment?"
Joanna looked back.
"...In private, preferably."
I frowned.
However, seeing the look on her face and seeing the others looking in our direction, I nodded.
"Yes, we can talk."
'This might actually make things easier for me.'
I just prepared myself to stand up when I heard the sound of chairs scraping against the floor as the other members of the squad stood up.
"Hm?"
"...You can stay, Squad Leader. We'll leave."
"Yeah, you can talk to her. We'll come back in a bit."
"Take care."
They left without even waiting for me to say something.
I could only stare at the sight with an incredulous expression. Why did they seem so eager to leave? I looked back at Joanna as she bit her lip. She looked extremely uncomfortable.
I prepared myself in that moment.
Were they unsatisfied with my leadership? Was it because I missed so much time? No, maybe it wasn't that. Clearly, something did happen. But what?
What happened?
My thoughts started to spiral as I waited for her to speak.
In the end, however, mustering her courage, Joanna finally managed to blurt out a few words. The words that left her mouth left me completely stunned.
"We need a break."
"....."
Ha?
What did she just say?
Break?
"We can't keep going like this. I understand that we've been able to perform well recently under your leadership, even ranking first amongst all the new teams, but we haven't had a single day off. All we've been doing is going through gates, and our minds can no longer bear the burden!"
"....."
My mind was blank.
I was at a complete loss.
Rank first? No day off? Going through gates?
'What did she just say?'
I couldn't understand the situation at all.
Joanna turned back towards the door.
"She didn't show it now, but just yesterday, Mia woke up in the middle of the night and puked because of all the trauma that she sustained. We went to the Guild doctor, and he said that she's currently sleep-deprived and her mind is in a terrible state. The same goes for the others. And..." Joanna hesitated, her pale lips trembling slightly as she lowered her head. "I also can't do this anymore. The constant diving and scenario changes are getting to my mind. I can barely keep up any longer. If things keep going like this, then..."
Joanna stopped there. She didn't say anything else.
However, she didn't need to say anything else for me to understand.
"Hoo."
Taking a deep breath, Joanna looked at me. Her tone turned a little softer.
"Squad Leader. I am extremely grateful for everything that you've done for us. We've managed to climb up the rankings within the Guild quickly because of you, but we can't keep going like this. Please gran—"
"Okay."
"No? If thi—Eh, what?"
Joanna blinked her eyes while looking at me.
"You..."
"You want a break, right? You can have it."
I pretended to look at my watch.
"Really?"
Joanna looked both suspicious and excited.
I nodded at her.
"Yes."
"...Great. Yeah, great."
Joanna nodded slowly, trying her best to hide her excitement. However, it wasn't a very good attempt as I saw her visibly clench her hand into a fist. In the end, I leaned back against my chair.
"Is that all?"
"Ah, yes. That's all."
"Okay. You can tell the others to come back."
"I'll do that."
Joanna turned around and proceeded to head out of the door, ready to bring the others back in. I stared at her back for a brief moment before turning my attention towards my PC and clicking around.
Eventually, I pulled out the gate log.
And it was there that my expression nearly crumbled.
"This..."
[Gate : Sealed Sea]
[Gate : Rusted City]
.
.
.
Number of gates cleared over the past month : 16
-x-X-x-
I was overwhelmed by the sight that greeted me. While I did expect something upon hearing Joanna's words, what greeted my eyes was a completely unexpected situation.
'Sixteen...'
I couldn't believe my eyes.
Over the past month, they have gone through sixteen gates. If we excluded the one where I was actually present, they had done a total of fifteen gates over the past twenty days.
'How does this make sense?'
Could a human even achieve something like this?
While it was true that all of the gates were cleared beforehand, and there was a lot of information about them, it usually took a team a couple of days of proper planning before diving into a gate. A lot of preparation was needed.
The fact that they had done so many gates in such little time made absolutely no sense.
'No wonder they were all like that.'
I thought about Joanna's words and realized just how bad the situation was. From the way she spoke, I had assumed it'd be something like five gates. But fifteen?
'...This is ridiculous.'
But that wasn't the thing that shocked me the most.
I was more surprised by the clearance grade of each gate.
'It's incredibly high.'
The weird expressions and talk all suddenly started to make sense.
But...
How did this happen?
I wasn't present at all. How did they manage to clear the gates at such a level?
I reached for the mouse and dragged the cursor around. Eventually, reaching the 'log' area, I downloaded all of the recordings and transferred them to my phone.
A bar appeared on my screen.
‖ —[10%]————‖
Seeing it, I knew that it would take a little bit of time for everything to load. Pulling my attention away from the PC, I saw that everyone was back in the room. The moment I looked at them, several looked away.
I almost smiled at the sight.
'This feels like I'm some sort of teacher who's about to ask the children for their homework.'
I shook the thought from my mind and decided to speak.
"I talked to Joanna. I understand the situation. Therefore, for the next week, you can all do whatever you want. We won't be diving in any gate."
Not that I planned to, anyway...
"There are more important matters at the Guild. As such, I doubt we'll be able to go anyway. For now, all of you can do whatever you want. If you wish to train using the games, or if you want to read something, you can do that. In fact, you can all go back to your dorms and relax. We've already met the Guild's monthly quota. It's not like we have to do anything more."
"....."
"....."
"....."
As opposed to the reaction that I was expecting, I was met with a strange silence right after I was done speaking. Surprised, I raised my brow.
"What?"
But then—
"R-really? Can... we actually do that? But the last time we asked..."
Mia finally shattered the silence, her voice trembling slightly as she looked at me. The others also looked at me with the same expression.
"Just go before I change my mi—"
Clank! Clank!
Chairs flipped before I knew it. Mia, Nora, Min, Niel, Sarah, and even Joanna all shot up from their seats before I even had the chance to finish my words. They then all shot away from the room, closing the door behind them.
Clank!
"...."
The room fell completely silent in that moment as I stared at the door in a daze.
That...
But then—
Clank!
The door opened, and several heads popped in.
"Thanks!"
They rushed right after that.
"....."
I didn't know how to react as I covered my mouth and tried to smile. It was just unfortunate that my attempt failed miserably as my smile faltered almost immediately after, and a certain ache pressed against my chest.
"....Hm."
Clutching my chest, I tried my best to resist the feeling as it dug deeply into me.
Before I knew it, I started to sweat as my breathing became rougher and rougher. Clenching my teeth, I just barely managed to sustain that feeling as I leaned back against my chair and took deep and heavy breaths.
'It's getting bad.'
I silently swallowed while staring blankly at the ceiling above me.
'...The medicine effect is becoming lower and lower.'
But it wasn't just the medicine. It was the side effects of the previous gate as well. Constantly being forced to experience the same thing over and over again had made me different. While I still tried to act the same, I realized that I started to feel less than before.
I hoped this was temporary.
I took a pill from my pocket and popped it in my mouth. Accompanied by some water, I managed to swallow it all down as I started to calm down.
"Okay."
I took a deep breath and put the pills away.
"It looks like I need to try and push for the Third Order soon."
There was one issue, however. I didn't have enough fragments. No, I technically did have enough, but the purity wasn't good enough.
Sighing, I looked at the PC again.
‖ ————[93%]—‖
"Looks like it's almost done."
Pulling my gaze away from the PC, I scratched the back of my head. I needed to think of a way to procure more fragments.
"Since I can't dive into any more ga—"
I paused all of a sudden. Blinking slowly, I moved my attention back to the PC and looked at the logs.
"Wait..."
I frowned.
"...Where the hell did all of the fragments from those gates go?"
Surely...
Ding!
A notification followed quickly after.
Turning my attention towards my phone, I looked at the numerous videos before me. I paused the moment I saw them as I felt my heart beat rise. For some reason, I was a little nervous to see the videos. Just what exactly happened to me while I was gone?
Swallowing quietly, I pressed 'play' and the first video began.
"This looks like some sort of abandoned park."
The sky was dark, and I could see the entire team in the video. They were all together, and as I began watching the video, my eyes fell on a particular individual. With soft black hair and a relatively thin figure, my eyes couldn't help but fall on myself.
Yes...
Myself.
"A doppleganger?"
From head to toe, he looked exactly like me. However, upon closer look, something about his eyes was different. They were almost black, and a certain pressure seemed to come out from these eyes, involuntarily making me avert my own.
They felt suffocating. Almost as if they were death itself, and as the video continued to play, I watched as 'I' commanded everyone quietly. My words were neither soft nor loud. Just even.
But there was a certain indifference to my actions that felt inhuman.
It almost felt like a robot was controlling me.
I watched as he cleared the gate without any trouble. Every one of his actions and commands seemed to be measured, assessing the situation with such calm that it almost felt creepy. This wasn't like me at all.
Turning to the next videos, it was the same.
I could also see that the others were uncomfortable with my commands. However, unlike when they were with me, they listened to everything.
The gates were being cleared relatively quickly.
But at the same time, I could see that each gate was taking more and more of a mental toll on the members. All besides... my doppelganger.
The more gates he cleared, the weirder his eyes became.
They became even more intense.
And eventually, I reached the last video.
This video was shorter than the others. Playing it, I bit my lips as I watched myself clear the gate with incredible ease. I could see the others had also improved a lot, and as the gate slowly came to an end, my doppelganger slowly turned his head, and our gazes met.
Chills spread down my body the moment I looked into its eyes.
A warning.
Yes, that gaze...
It felt like it was a warning directed right at me.
This was the system warning me.
Telling me to stop wasting time.
*Puff*
The space above me opened up, and several fragments fell on my hands.
I stared blankly at the scene.
This...
What just happened?
-x-X-x-
I never questioned the system.
Not because I didn't want to, but because I was in desperate need of it. I was desperate to get rid of the disease that had been plaguing me since childhood. I didn't want to die, and so, in desperation, I clung to the one thing that could help me get rid of the nightmare that had been haunting me for so long.
I followed the system requirements and quietly let it dictate my actions.
I understood that there was no free lunch in this world.
The system clearly had some sort of goal.
I did too.
I thought that in the end, as I grew stronger, I'd learn more about the truth.
But—
"....."
Quietly staring at the numerous fragments in my hands, all of which looked like they were extremely pure, alongside the warning by the doppelganger, I understood that I could no longer ignore the situation.
'It's in a rush.'
The system was in a rush.
I counted the fragments in my hands.
Five.
It had given me a total of five fragments.
Holding them in my hand, I remained quiet while staring at them.
'...The system very clearly wants me to get stronger. But why?'
I thought about all the quests in the past. Each of the quests was connected in some sort of way. From the cult case to the secrets of the version of me that existed in this world. Each time the system presented me with a quest, it did so with a certain intention.
I understood this and didn't say much.
While I knew that the system was stringing me along for some sort of goal it had, since it benefitted me directly, I never questioned it, even though I hated the feeling of having my movements secretly controlled by someone.
This time, again.
The system was stringing me along with the fragments.
It was telling me to reach the Third Order.
"I don't like this at all."
Holding onto the fragments, I felt a sense of repulsion. I knew that I was doing this for my own selfish motives, but this feeling of quietly being used as a puppet...
It made me feel like shit.
Putting the fragments away, I crossed my arms and tapped my finger against my right arm.
"....."
I sat in silence.
I wanted to muse over the situation. While things were okay for now, I knew that things couldn't keep going like this. The more I progressed, the deeper I fell into the cycle of reliance. It wouldn't be long until I became a complete puppet to the system.
'No, maybe I already am.'
The thought made me frown.
In the end, however, what could I do...?
I was in desperate need of the medicine.
I bit my lip.
Ding!
A certain notification pulled me out of my thoughts.
Turning my attention towards my phone, I momentarily closed my eyes before standing up.
"Looks like things are getting started."
Putting the fragments away, I headed for the door.
I planned on thinking more about the situation later.
*
There was a gathering on the main floor of the Containment Department.
The moment I entered, the place was packed with people.
'It isn't different from last time.'
This was an entire department gathering. Naturally, the topic in question was regarding the upcoming gate. There were five days until the day of the gate. As such, the Guild was in a state of high alert.
'...Where should I sit?'
I looked around, and just before I decided on a spot, a hand pressed on my shoulder.
"There you are, superstar~"
A head popped up next to my shoulder.
Turning my head, I flinched.
"Shit!"
"...Wow."
Team Leader Soran brought her head back, looking somewhat offended.
"What's with that look? It's almost as if you're repulsed by the fact that a super sexy, super hot, super beautiful lady is talking to you."
I flinched again.
"...."
The Team Leader's expression fell.
"That wasn't necessary..."
"No, that..." I scratched the side of my face. I myself didn't know why I flinched again. Then again, her words did make me want to puke.
"Whatever. It's fine."
Though she said that, I could tell that the Team Leader's face had considerably darkened. She was most likely holding a grudge. Her continuous mumbles, which went like, 'Not at all angry. I'm not offended. I probably scared you', made it all too clear.
I could only stare at her until she finally snapped out of it and looked at me again.
"Right, I wanted to talk to you about your recent exploits. I've been so busy handling this mess that I haven't had the time to properly congratulate you on your achievements."
She placed her hand over my shoulder and patted it a couple of times.
"Good job."
"...."
Was this really it?
The Team Leader's eyes narrowed for a moment.
"You're not happy with this?"
"...Very."
She smiled.
"That's good."
The Team Leader pulled her hand away before turning towards the Section Chief in the distance.
"The meeting is about to start, so I'll go for now. However, I'd like the two of us to have dinner some day again. There are quite a few things that I'd like to talk with you about. They're quite important, so you can't miss it."
"Oh..."
Secretly, I started to sweat.
Having dinner with her?
I'd rather die.
But then... thinking about the black market, I found myself unable to flatly refuse her on the spot.
'Fuck.'
"Keep up the good work. I hope you all remain consistent for the upcoming department trials. I expect a lot of things from your group."
The Team Leader left right after that, leaving me somewhat at a loss.
Department Trials?
That...
What exactly was that?
I was at a loss, but before I could dwell on it, another hand pulled my shoulder.
This again...?
"Yo."
It was Kyle this time. He was giving me a weird look.
"Are you and the Team Leader close?"
"What?"
I looked at Kyle strangely. The two of us close? What about our interaction looked close?
If anything, I wanted to avoid her at all costs.
"Are you?"
"No."
Of course not.
Kyle nodded.
"...Hmm. Well, it's fine."
"No, it's not fine."
"Oh, sure."
"No, seriously."
"I believe you."
"Not you too..."
"Here, let's grab these seats."
Before I knew it, Kyle dragged me towards a couple of seats as we sat down. I tried to speak to him, but before I had the chance, the lights of the place flickered off, and the Section Chief began speaking shortly after that.
"Looks like everyone is here. I'll make things short."
The room instantly fell quiet.
I did too, as I held myself back.
In the end, I turned my attention towards the Section Chief.
"There are five days until the rank gate opens up. So far, everything looks clear. The gate has remained stable. However..."
The Section Chief's expression turned grim, the air growing tense.
"VILE-2013 has been recently spotted. From what we've managed to observe, our previous observations hold true. The anomaly is capable of increasing the rank of the gates that it's inside of. We believe the same case will happen for the gate."
The Section Chief's words caused the room to grow even tenser.
"...But thankfully, from what we managed to observe, the increase will be gradual. What does that mean?"
Holding onto a small controller, the Section Chief pressed it as a projection flashed on the wall behind him.
"It means that we have a limited amount of time to clear the gate before it'll be too late."
He paused.
"This gate... It'll without a doubt rise to rank if we take too long to clear it."
-x-X-x-
Murmurs and whispers filled the surroundings. I could see the tension in the room slowly starting to rise.
The Section Chief took in the tension and continued to speak, "In that regard, we've already shared a lot of the information with the bureau, and we're getting ready for what is to come. We've also gotten a few hints regarding what the gate could possibly be about."
Pressing the remote, the projection changed. An image appeared shortly after — one that caused a small stir and made my heart tighten a little.
That's...
"VILE — 2013, also known as the Jester. As previously stated, we managed to spot him again recently."
Pressing the remote again, the image began to move as the Jester in the video started playing the piano. His movements were smooth and erratic at the same time. A low, yet incredibly haunting tune filled the surroundings as all eyes seemed fixed on the Jester.
Even Kyle's expression turned subtly serious at the sight. But after a while, he leaned closer to me and whispered, "I remember you used to play the piano."
I barely kept my expression from changing as my heart skipped a beat while I looked at Kyle.
Swallowing softly, I nodded my head.
"...Yes. I have."
Did he notice something?
It couldn't—
"That thing plays better than you."
He laughed while commenting.
"You should start practicing again."
My eye twitched subtly.
"...Oh."
I looked at the figure on the screen.
If only he knew...
Click!
The Section Chief paused the video.
"From what we've managed to figure out, including the posters and all the clues, the gate will most likely include this certain performance from the anomaly. While we're unsure if the anomaly will play this very same music, from what we've heard so far, it doesn't appear to be anything dangerous. Nonetheless, we should still be careful. Considering the rank of the gate, we all should be aware of the dangers."
The Section Chief went on to detail the items necessary for the gate and so on.
I listened to all of this, feeling a knot form in my stomach.
'Why is he speaking as though all of us will be present? As far as I'm aware, not everyone can enter.'
I rubbed the back of my head. If that was truly the case, then how would I explain my disappearance? It wasn't like I could be there.
I had to perform.
But...
'Will the system do the same thing as before? Will my doppelgänger appear again?'
I thought back to the video I watched and the expression on the doppelgänger. My stomach sank.
For whatever reason, the doppelgänger didn't give me a good feeling.
While it looked and acted like me, I could tell it was an entity completely different. It felt like some sort of anomaly that could shape-shift at will.
"That's all for the preparations. I'll keep you all updated with the information. Now, I'll talk about more pressing matters at hand."
The Section Chief turned somewhat helpless at this moment.
He focused back on the projection and pressed the remote.
Immediately, the projection shifted to a news channel.
A red headline immediately stood out to me:
[Members of the Main Island have finally descended in Malovia. Are they here to tackle the gate?]
Behind the headline, a group of people in suits walked out of the airport area, surrounded by reporters as flashes of light and a barrage of questions rained down on them.
The group remained rather indifferent, but it wasn't long before they stopped, as the man at the head of the group, a tall man with blonde hair, slowly pulled his glasses away to reveal his crystal-blue eyes.
In that moment, all the flashes stopped, and he smiled.
"I'm very happy for the greeting, but our team is currently tired. If possible, we'd like for all of you to part ways."
Although his request sounded polite, the moment the words left his mouth, it was as though the reporters lost control of their bodies; they all stepped aside.
The man smiled again before putting his sunglasses back on and continuing on his own.
It looked like the scene would end there, but just as he started to move, a reporter shouted a question.
"The gate! Are you here to take over!? Unless it reaches the rank, the Guilds here can take care of it!"
The words echoed throughout the area as the blonde man stopped. Without turning his back, he murmured, "Even if the gate doesn't upgrade, I doubt the people of this island can handle an ranked gate."
He then left immediately afterward.
The video ended, and the room fell silent.
All eyes seemed fixed on the blonde man on the screen. I expected anger at his words, but instead, everyone looked tense, and even... bitter.
Curious, I turned to look at Kyle. I was met with an unexpected expression.
He didn't look angry or tense. In fact, his expression seemed extremely complicated.
'What's going on? Why is everyone acting like this?'
As I looked around, I realized the situation was more complex than I thought. When my eyes fell on Zoey, I saw her expression was even more conflicted than Kyle's.
This made me extremely curious.
"Care to tell me what's going on?"
"...Oh."
As if my voice finally snapped him out of it, Kyle looked at me and forced a smile.
"That person right there..."
His expression became even more complicated.
"He used to be my senior. You can say that he's the one who taught me everything."
***
A large black car sped through the streets of Malovia. The tall skyscrapers pierced the sky as a figure sat inside, staring at the ever-changing scenery with a calm expression.
"...It's been a while since I've been here. I'm glad to see this place hasn't changed at all."
A smile crossed his lips as he turned to the driver.
"How long until we arrive?"
"We should be almost there, sir."
"Mhm."
Hermes nodded faintly before taking out his phone. A few familiar contacts appeared as he touched his chin.
'It's been a while since I last saw my juniors. I wonder how they're doing. I'm sure they're ready to be brought back with me. This island is too small to hold talents like them.'
While Guilds were all graded from Pawn to King, not all Guilds were equal.
The Guilds on the main island were far stronger than those on the other islands. They had more influence and access to higher-ranked gates.
Simply put, their wealth far exceeded that of the Guilds from other islands.
This was why he had chosen to move away. This place was too small to hold talents like himself and his juniors.
Hermes planned to bring them back with him to the main island after this was all over. He couldn't leave them rotting here.
"...We're here."
The car came to a stop, and Hermes put on his sunglasses before opening the door, his gaze falling on the massive opera house ahead.
Feeling the energy emanating from it, his eyes closed slightly, and he took a deep breath.
'...Not bad.'
He looked satisfied.
"Not bad at all."
D — 5
-x-X-x-
D — 4
The entire Guild was in a state of tension. People scrambled about as they prepared for the upcoming gate.
I watched all of this from my office, leaning against the doorframe while frowning.
'...So, it's not like we're all going. Only an elite group will go, but the Guild has yet to release the list of people going since they are still not sure how many they can bring. In the end, they're trying to get everyone ready.'
I didn't really know how to feel about this, especially since there was a chance that I could get picked.
'This is pretty troublesome.'
Most importantly, there was another thing bothering me.
Kyle's senior.
Listening to what Kyle had said, and doing some research on him, he was apparently one of the original stars of the Guild.
He was also well respected, and recalling the expression on Kyle's face, I knew that Kyle looked up to him a lot.
In the end, however, he went to a Guild on the main island, leaving everyone behind.
Seeing the hateful looks on the faces of some people, I could tell that many resented his decision.
'...But I don't think he did the wrong thing.'
He was merely looking out for his own interests. There was nothing really wrong with that. Not only was the main island filled with opportunities, but the money was also much better there.
I'd probably switch too if given the chance.
'Well, maybe not. Let's see in the future.'
I kind of liked it at the Guild. I didn't plan on jumping ship unless I had to.
At the end of the day, my interests came first. I couldn't afford to care about things like loyalty when my life was on the line.
Which also brought me back to my previous thoughts about the system.
'I should try not to be too reliant on it. In this case, I should try to be more proactive. Integrate myself more with the world and increase my strength naturally. I should also be more careful when selecting quests.'
All of them were there to help me increase my strength. But in the end, what was the goal of the system? What did it achieve by making me stronger?
The more I thought about my current situation, the sicker I felt.
'Still, for now, I don't really have much of a choice.'
Turning back and closing the door behind me, I went to my desk, opened the drawer, and took out all the fragments I had managed to collect.
There were a total of twenty-three fragments, of which only seven were of good purity:
[92%, 67%, 78%, 83%, 72%, 93%, 88%]
Two were of an okay percentage:
[51%, 53%]
The rest were just bad. Below 50%.
I looked at my current account balance.
[6,087 SP]
"....."
I was nearly broke. Looking at the fax machine and recalling how each attempt cost about 500 SP, I knew it wouldn't be enough.
In the end, I had no choice but to check my bank account.
[Current Balance: 763,338$]
I nearly whistled at the sight. It was... a very pretty sight.
Following the money I had made from the game, coupled with what I had remaining inside, this was the total. A pretty good sum.
And... one that depleted rather quickly.
No, it was more like an instant.
[Current Balance: 63,338$]
I felt a pang in my heart as I stared at my account. The sum was fine, but thinking back to how massive it had been made me feel bitter.
At least my SP had increased.
[Balance: 76,087 SP]
I nearly cried as I walked toward the fax machine and started operating it.
Of the twenty-three fragments, fifteen I had already removed the attribute from. They were the ones I had gotten from the bet.
It was also there that I learned of Mirelle's Decree.
She was of the 'Warden' Decree. In essence, she had the ability to 'null' anything with her voice. It was an incredibly powerful Decree. Of course, the strength of her powers was proportional to mine.
"In any case..."
I looked at the fax machine.
[13%]
Just staring at the purity of the fragment made me want to spit on the floor.
'They really didn't play nice.'
I thought about sending my next game to them while making sure to make it harder for them.
'Now that I think about it, I haven't checked the situation with my game. I should do that later.'
I was kind of curious. But for now, this was more important.
I looked back at the fax machine and pressed the red button on top.
[Purity Enhancer: 500 SP has been deducted from your account.]
I tried to ignore the message while the fax machine roared to life.
Secretly cursing under my breath, I waited for the machine to display a result.
It didn't take long.
Ding!
A chime rang, and a new percentage appeared:
[7%]
I smiled.
This was going to be a long day, wasn't it?
*
[Current Balance: 3,081 SP]
"...."
I stared at the empty ceiling above me.
'What is life...?'
Was it simply the biological distinction in actions, or the ability to think?
Life... what a complicated question.
Blinking slowly, I pulled myself out of my state and stared at the numerous fragments in front of me.
[92%, 67%, 78%, 83%, 72%, 93%, 88%, 74%, 70%, 76%, 71%, 73%, 69%, 75%, 77%, 72%, 70%, 74%, 71%]
Somehow, I had managed to get all fragments at an overall average of 75.84%.
This was a relatively high percentage, much higher than my previous node.
The bad news was that, in the entire process, three shards had shattered, and I had consumed about 73,000 SP just to get all of these to an appropriate percentage.
I only had one shard left...
I also barely had any SP.
If I ran out of SP or the shard shattered, I'd be in serious trouble.
'I might be able to get another shard, but what about the money? It's about 5,000$ per attempt. And it's not like each attempt works.'
Some shards went high on the first try, while others took more than five. I even went fifteen times empty before I got something.
This was ridiculous.
"Alright."
I took a deep breath, my hand trembling slightly as I placed the last fragment on the fax.
[21%]
I had stopped cursing by now. I had already sworn in my heart to make the worst game possible and force them to play it.
Well, so long as I was still alive...
Given my current percentages, I could use the fragment, but I didn't want to lower the average. It would still be above 70%, but...
'Even though I'm in a rush, I need to make sure my node is the best possible. I don't think I can handle any more fractures.'
Staring at the fax machine, I took several deep breaths before finally pressing the red button.
Then—
The fax machine roared into action as I stared at the number panel.
[Purity Enhancer: 500 SP has been deducted from your account.]
I had about six more tries. Realistically, fewer, since I needed SP to buy medicine.
'I can still add more, but I'm not sure I want to do that.'
Biting my lips, I stared at the fax machine. It was taking longer than usual, and my anxiety grew with each second.
My leg tapped against the floor, and my breathing quickened.
I waited for what felt like forever until—
Ding!
The chime finally rang, and a percentage appeared:
[64%]
I clenched my hand into a fist.
"Good enough!"
I could now try for the third order.