"Enhance: Last Authority."
Kaelin hesitated. Then he said in a quiet voice: "All magical beasts die in the next ten seconds…" He paused for a heartbeat. "And, uh… all the Beast Slayers go to sleep at the exact same moment."
Kaelin's system flickered briefly, the interface pulsing with a sharp light.
[Statement locked ✅]
The window vanished instantly.
"Man, this is so boring…" Kaelin said. "I hate using this ability. Anyway…" He turned around. "I'm off. We'll see each other some other time…" He turned his head toward Noen. "Nono."
He smiled and… he was gone. Vanished. So fast it was as if he had never been there.
"Statement locked?" Noen asked, having fell on the ground, his eyes squeezed shut and his hair fluttering wildly from the incredible speed of Kaelin's departure. He turned around, trying to blink the dust away.
At the same time at the battle between Beast Slayers and Beasts, an unstable branch at the top of an ancient pine tree snapped, striking a magic beast, a Frost-Claw Bear, right on its snout. The bear sneezed with such violent force it somersaulted backward, crushing a line of Goblins like bowling pins before its claws accidentally nicked the throat of a Greater Drake. In its death throes, the Drake released an accidental blast of fire that flash-cooked the oxygen around the remaining monsters, causing them to suffer simultaneous heart failure and die instantly.
The heat from that same fire flash-melted a patch of half-frozen moss, revealing a hidden, bloated Sleep-Gas Toad. The sudden temperature shift caused the toad to panic and pop with a soft pfft, releasing a massive cloud of blue sedative gas into the wind.
The lead Beast Slayer, mid-shout, inhaled a direct lungful. His furious scream turned into a gargantuan yawn as he slid forward, his forehead landing gently on the furry belly of the dead bear. The contagious yawn ripped through the rest of the unit. Slayers leaned against their shields, sat down on the ground, or slumped against each other, completely overcome by the urge to rest.
Within moments, the entire forest fell silent.
Noen stood up and saw all the beasts and Slayers lying motionless on the forest floor.
"W-What just happened?" he asked. His head turned to the receptionist. "Are you okay?" he asked, running over to her.
"Well, more or less," the woman said, lying on the ground.
Noen reached out a hand and helped her up. Her gaze fell on them as well.
"All the beasts are… dead? And the… government people too?" she asked in shock, hands over her mouth. "No, no, no," Noen said. "Look closely, they're just sleeping."
"Why?" she asked. Noen shrugged his shoulders. "I... dont know."
—Did he just… determine the future?—
Noen asked himself, sitting down on the ground in shock. At that exact moment, Noen's system opened up beside him.
[One Achievement complete!]
[Click here to access]
Noen looked. —Achievement?—
He clicked on the here.
[Achievement: Gain your first 3 LP - completed!]
[Click here to access rewards]
—Rewards? Ohhh right, if you complete certain quests, you get rewards. Based on the difficulty, better ones of course.— He moved his finger to the system and clicked on the here again.
[REWARDS:]
[5 LP]
[Level Bell]
—Nice, 5 LP! And… Level Bell?—
He clicked on a small Description button next to the item name.
[Description:]
[A Level Bell allows you to summon a magical beast with the approximate strength of your System.]
—Ahhh, that's the stuff from last year's lessons in school!—
He exited the info screen and clicked directly on the item name itself. The system began to blink and glow before a small golden bell, about the size of a palm, spawned at the height of the system. It fell to the ground. Noen picked it up.
—With this, I will definitely get even more LP!—
Noen slipped the golden bell into his suit pocket, feeling the weight of the metal through the fabric.
—Should I ring it right now? I mean, I still have the Affinity Stat bonus right now.—
He rested his arm on his leg, looking out at the rows of snoring soldiers. The silence of the forest was eerie after such chaos. —No, I've had enough for today. I'm calling it a day.—
He turned around and took in the sight of the completely ruined hotel. The moonlight shone through the cracks in the walls, highlighting the dust still hanging in the air. At the entrance, he saw the receptionist just walking inside. He walked up to her.
"I can surely still sleep here tonight, right?"
The receptionist smiled, though her face was pale. "Yeah, yeah, do as you please. This whole situation actually suits us a bit anyway."
Noen raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Well, the hotel is going to be demolished anyway," she said, looking around at the cracked pillars. "No customers. You were the only one today, for example. Except for that tall guy who was also somehow there." She scratched her head in confusion before she let herself fall into her chair in the lobby.
"Well then, have a good evening!" Noen said politely, already starting his way up the stairs.
"You too, Mr. Cain," she said, her voice sounding clearly tired.
Noen made his way to his room, navigating the debris in the hallway. He went in and let himself fall into his bed. Finally alone, he thought, the exhaustion finally hitting him like a physical blow.
He peeked his head over the edge of the bed and saw the massive hole in the floor Kaelin had left behind. He threw himself back onto the mattress.
He placed the palm of his hand on his forehead, staring up at the dark ceiling.
"What is it with that guy?"
In the meantime, Kaelin had made himself comfortable in a secluded cave far, far away, resting casually in a hammock he had strung up between two jagged rocks. He stared intensely at the rough stone wall, his usual playful grin replaced by a pensive expression. The wind whistled softly through the cracks in the rock as the quiet night passed.
Finally, his gaze flickered as he muttered to the empty air:
"I-I can't tell him yet…"