Remedy emerged silently from the woods.
The group of harassers skidded to a halt, confused. "What just happened?"
The leader snapped his head up and spotted Remedy. "Huh? Since when has he been standing there? Why didn't I detect his presence?"
Remedy approached, calmly assessing the scene.
Is she in a group? Impossible.
"Serene. Is this your party? Why are there more than five of you?"
"It is not my party." Her tone was as flat and icy as ever.
Remedy's gaze slid toward the group. He let out a sharp breath through his nose. Are you guys fearless, or just plain ignorant?
The leader cut off his train of thought. "You... you must be Remedy, right?"
"Oh? You know me? I don't recall us ever meeting."
"Who knows Serene and doesn't know Remedy? You two are always hanging around each other, aren't you?"
The lackeys nodded in unison.
"And so... what do you want with her?" Remedy asked.
"Why are you getting worked up? We were just trying to help your friend."
"Help?"
"Yeah! A Support can't do anything on her own. We're giving her the golden opportunity to join our party."
Remedy swept his eyes over them. Do nothing on her own? Really?
"You want to help her? But there are already five of you... How do you plan to work that out with the party limits?"
"That's none of your business. She'll tag along, and at the end, we'll split the party points with her, won't we?"
He turned to his companions, who nodded. "Yeah, exactly."
"Besides, we didn't want to leave a girl all alone in this forest. If she follows us, we can protect her."
Remedy's eyelids narrowed. Are they stupid, or are they doing this on purpose?
"Now that I'm here, she won't be alone anymore. So you can run along now."
"What? You want to play the hero in front of your little friend? You think you have the stats for that?"
"Of course."
Remedy opened his hands. Twin chains materialized.
Ely. Upgrade the Sharpness Manifestation to Level 5.
[10,000 MP CONSUMED. MANIFESTATION OF THE LAW: SHARPNESS OF A VIBRATING BLADE IS NOW LEVEL 5.]
Manifest.
[100 MP CONSUMED. MANIFESTATION SUCCESSFUL. BOTH CHAINS NOW POSSESS THE LAW OF THE SHARPNESS OF A VIBRATING BLADE.]
Remedy dropped into a combat stance. The group didn't flinch.
No one moved. Only the wind whistled between them. Then, the group burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! What?! You don't seriously think you can take us on, do you?" the leader sneered.
"You're aware you're just a Level 10, right?" a lackey added.
"I don't know what miracle you pulled to get the System, but we're Level 10 too," piped another.
"Plus, our leader is Level 11! You're overestimating yourself, or do you think your luck is going to save you again?"
"If you know what's good for you, drop your items, and we might consider letting you walk away in one piece."
The leader pointed a dismissive finger at Remedy's weapons, a sneer plastered on his face. "And besides, what are you going to do with those things? Chains require insane mastery. A newbie who just got his System shouldn't be lugging those around. Give them here and beat it."
Remedy, his gaze calm, held the chains looped once around his hands, the rest pooling on the snow.
"Shut up and come at me. You talk way too much."
Their laughter choked in their throats. The smiles vanished.
"You newbie...! You're getting arrogant just because you're in front of a girl. I'm going to fix that attitude."
All five lunged at Remedy at once, weapons and fists raised.
"Get ready to suffer, you arrogant brat!"
For a single heartbeat, their speed was twice as fast as normal. Then, a black sphere, covered in fractures over nearly half its surface, materialized above each of their heads. Their speeds instantly plummeted back to normal.
[That is—]
Don't worry, Ely. His eyes slid toward the edge of his vision. Serene was standing right behind him. It's Serene.
[...] Ely did not reply.
Remedy snapped back to the fight and charged forward.
Bind.
[OPPONENTS ARE BOUND TO THE LAW OF SHARPNESS. FOR THEM, THE CHAINS ARE NOW AS SHARP AS A VIBRATING BLADE.]
Now that your stats are back to normal, you're dead meat.
Remedy's arms whipped in every direction. The chains rippled toward them, zigzagging through the air. They barely grazed the boys—yet instantly, deep gashes tore open wherever the links touched.
In this metallic storm of strikes, they couldn't even mount a defense. Blood sprayed abundantly over the white snow.
Once the storm settled, all five lay flat on the ground. The chains reeled back, coiling around Remedy's forearms.
"Good. I'll let you walk away in one piece."
The five gasped for air. Some shut their eyes, while others let their shoulders slump in defeat.
"But you're going to have to tear your Return Scrolls. I'm taking your team's points."
Their grateful expressions instantly warped into pure horror.
"You... you filthy bastard...! You won't get away with this!" the leader screamed.
Then, they ripped their scrolls. A blinding white light engulfed them, and they vanished.
"Not even a thank you, when I just spared their lives..." he muttered, his eyes tracking the system prompt.
[YOU HAVE RECLAIMED THE PARTY'S POINTS: 50 POINTS.]
At least they took out five Level 10 monsters. They weren't completely useless after all.
Then he turned toward Serene.
Tell me, Ely. Can I send a party invite through my system?
[Yes.]
Perfect. Send a party invite to Serene.
[PARTY INVITATION SENT TO SERENE.]
He walked toward her. "It's over, Serene."
He stopped in front of her. She was staring into the void. A luminous notification popped up in Serene's field of vision.
[DING! REMEDY HAS SENT YOU A PARTY INVITATION. JOIN? — YES / NO]
Then, she tilted her head up. Her gaze locked onto Remedy's neck, then drifted up toward the top of his head. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Remedy was baffled. Did she see my tattoos? And wait, what is she looking at up there? Is there something on my head?
He patted his hair but felt nothing.
...Ely? What's going on?
[This girl... she seems to be seeing me.]
Huh? She sees you? How is that even possible? I can only see my own tattoos, I don't even know what you look like! Wait, have you been sitting on my head this entire time?
Then, Serene's gaze dropped to Remedy's shadow. She stared at it for a split second, then returned her eyes to his face.
Remedy blinked. His throat tightened as if he had swallowed down the wrong pipe.
"Uh... what is it, Serene?"
She observed him for a moment, then shifted her gaze to the floating invitation. She tapped it. Remedy received the notification.
[DING! YOU ARE NOW IN A PARTY WITH SERENE. EXPERIENCE POINTS WILL BE SHARED BETWEEN YOU. TOTAL PARTY POINTS: 110 POINTS.]
Remedy exhaled. Everything is fine then...?
Suddenly, he felt his system vibrate violently.
What's happening now, Ely?
[...Serene's system is anomalous. It is not like the others.]
What do you mean?
[It is as if her system derives from a source other than reality. Somewhat like... you.]
W-wait, what?!
End of chapter 15