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2024-10-29 19:42:56Invasion Day 5
Courtyard by Marriott, Fishkill, NY
The air was hot. Seth had felt so since early today. That was why he and Amy chose the hotel to take a small reprive, the air conditioned lobby was the best after all.
Aside from the obvious advantage, the hotel’s main lobby was also covered by brick wall and sturdy glass door. They had a clear view of the front yard and no infectores would come from behind. They had slaughtered everyone inside.
Moreover, the System would alert him if any infectores were around. He also found out that another Systemist could be detected, so it would prepare him if someone had any ill intention.
That was why, the fact that Seth didn’t notice anything before an attack was unleashed towards him was unbelievable.
If he stood a little to the left, he’d lose his head, instead of just a few stray of dark hair. The blast resulted in a damaged front desk instead, reducing the brick mat
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100 Systems Invasion 29. Stormweaver
Pain bloomed in his chest.That was the only thing Seth could think about.He tried to think about his life. At least, the best part of it. The cat videos – oh, how much he missed lazying around and only watched the cutest, fluffiest creature on Earth plays – the snacks he save to munch when he pull an all-nighter, the tiny green herbs his neighbour Elba made him water.Well, he could think about his dream job too. It wasn’t much of a job, really, but Seth wanted to at least pay rents with his hobby. Fuck his classes and the most stuck up professor he ever know. Victor Louise’s certain death would happen sooner than he expected. He couldn’t give exams if he wasn’t alive.And that brought his mind to a round-about way, that he was dying.Seth was dying, he couldn’t deny that.If he didn’t do anything, he’d die and Striker would receive a hefty cells and exp from Seth’s demise. Probably celebrating a big kill with free expensive wine and burn the hotel down. No one would say anything, b
100 Systems Invasion 30. The Birth
Dark chains suddenly wrapped around Seth's body, binding his arms to his chest with no preamble. Amy was no better. Both of them had let their guards down."Look at you lovebirds, so cute huddling together under a tree," the bitchy witch said with words dripping sweets, sending shivers down his spine."Have you been kissing each other senseless?" The alleged mage who cursed Amy's village smiled, showing rows of pure white, sharpened teeth. "Are you up for a threesome? I don't mind sharing."Seth bristled, seething with impetuous anger. "Shut your fucking trap!""What a foul mouth you have there. Men. You all deserve to die.""I'll kill you first," Seth growled, fiery coals in his eyes.The horrible hair-styled blonde raised an eyebrow, reeling back to stand on her heels. It looked like she was analyzing him.[System analyzer detected.]'Hide my stats!'[Level 1 users cannot hide statistics.]"No level. No skill. No gift. Two useless items. That's all you got and you dare to threaten m
100 Systems Invasion 31. Quickies
Reinard Blackridge appeared in the middle of the make-shift tornado. Standing tall and looking mighty amongst the fallen leaves and dirt, Reinard's butt chin brought relief. His mere presence had the opposite effect from before. The floating purple screen appeared in front of Seth's eyes. [1 new System user found.][Open a three-way PvP?]'No!' Seth quickly denied. He needed an ally, not an enemy. [Three-way PvP invitation cancelled.]"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Reinard looked around, noting the misty forest and three other presences beside him. "Amy?" Reinard turned a questioning eye at his summoner. "I thought I wouldn't see you again for the next few weeks?""We don't have much time, but please lend us your power," she hurried to say, looking pointedly at the thrashing dark mage pinned to the ground by Seth. Reinard chuckled, "You demand something big. What would I get for it?"Seth was suddenly being thrown into the air. [You are currently airborne due to your
100 Systems Invasion 32. Deadmen
A laugh was supposed to convey happiness, not a manic reaction out of humorless circumstances. At least, that was what was on normal people's minds.Present in such a situation, Seth couldn't fault Striker for laughing in the face of death. After all, he had done so before."Lift my curse from your village?" Striker repeated with such exaggeration, prompting Amy to bristle even more. "I'd rather die if Uravis and all of his men can still suffer!""But you can–""Forgive?" Striker smirked darkly, eyes widened, and she reminded Seth of the Chucky doll. "Uravis can grovel under my feet, and I won't even entertain the idea of lifting my curse. I will never!""You're truly despicable.""I'm not the one starting this, honey. It's called justice.""No, it's revenge.""Whatever your naïvete call it, I won't change my mind.""I don't know anything about the curse, but can I drop her now? It's almost on my skill limit," Reinard interjected, waiting for Amy's cue."You're truly fargone, aren't y
100 Systems Invasion 33. Jar of Dirt
'How to resurrect a dead man?'[What makes you think you can resurrect people as you please?]Striker clicked his tongue.[You cannot unlock Necromancy skill on this level.]Therefore, Striker decided he'd come along with Amy to her village, even with the high probability that he'd become sick – just like every other male there.For him, her well-being was the most important. Not that he told her so. He was sane enough to remember that sudden infatuation would only bring suspicion.Ashwell village could be reached in a two-hour walk from the forest where they fought with Striker. The sky was dark when they arrived, and Striker suddenly felt the pain in his stomach when he stepped foot on the village's border.'Fuck!' Striker bit his tongue, stopping the curse from slipping past his mouth and alerting Amy of his pain. He volunteered for it, despite the System's incessant insult of his lack of IQ.[Warning!][You are about to enter a cursed zone.]'Too late, damn it.'The pain had grown
100 Systems Invasion 34. The Funeral
The funeral went smoothly, despite the fire that burned down three houses in the middle of Ashwell village.Seth went to a funeral before. Once.Amy's funeral.The only one he ever attended to. Though, her family didn't really want him there. They didn't want him there, in the first place.Not when she was still alive; nor when she was dead.This time, he didn't want to go to Amy's father's funeral. He didn't know the man. Although, seeing her tearful face, his heart was wrenched and he ended up coming anyway.He saw it from afar. Saying some useless condolences to his girlfriend's counterpart in this universe before it started.The funeral was held for seven people. Amy's father, Uvaris and his father – Deja the village leader, Uvaris' mother, his younger brother, and his baby twin sisters.Amy's house was too close to Uvaris', hence why it was burned along the way. The arsonist was none other than a widow who lost her husband because of the curse – just like Amy's father was.It did
100 Systems Invasion 35. Start the Search
"This is Samir Higgins, a famous mage known for his vast knowledge of purifying magics," the barkeeper introduced them to the newcomer. Samir looked much like how Seth thought of a Mongolian shaman. He was wearing a hat with animated individual facial expressions and a number of feathers, as well as cotton pendants. His deel was light in color, probably of goat leather. A little drum hanging from his back obscured most of the time. "You're too generous with your praise, Odie," the Mongolian shaman said, taking a seat beside Seth. "Mystic Sour, please.""Right away, sir," the barkeeper – Odie, turned his back and went to make the requested drink."So," Samir clapped his hands, making some beads from his bracelet to clank against each other, "Who might you be and what can I help you with?""Seth Leinster," and he pointed to the red-haired girl with freckles on her cheek, "Amy G– Ashmark."Amy shot a confused look, but it soon dissipated as she started. "My village is cursed by a mage.
100 Systems Invasion 36. A Cheapskate
"This is Samir Higgins, a famous mage known for his vast knowledge of purifying magics," the barkeeper introduced them to the newcomer. Samir looked much like how Seth thought of a Mongolian shaman. He was wearing a hat with animated individual facial expressions and a number of feathers, as well as cotton pendants. His deel was light in color, probably of goat leather. A little drum hanging from his back obscured most of the time. "You're too generous with your praise, Odie," the Mongolian shaman said, taking a seat beside Seth. "Mystic Sour, please.""Right away, sir," the barkeeper – Odie, turned his back and went to make the requested drink."So," Samir clapped his hands, making some beads from his bracelet to clank against each other, "Who might you be and what can I help you with?""Seth Leinster," and he pointed to the red-haired girl with freckles on her cheek, "Amy G– Ashmark."Amy shot a confused look, but it soon dissipated as she started. "My village is cursed by a mage.
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79. Table Turned
The raid was a bust.The lieutenant didn't even wait until they were in the privacy of his office before chewing him like useless gum. He demanded, "What is this, Monroe?"Mark bit back the urge to say, 'What did I tell you about raiding it yesterday, Sir?' He waited quietly and avoided any eye contact from the many people in bulletproof vests with bold 'PPD' on their back, strapping their gun back into safety and rounding up their failed attempt. "Why did I spend three hours of driving to the middle of nowhere with a full squad to take down a drug lab and slavery den while there's nothing here?"Again, instead of pointing out that the raid should have been done as quickly as he had suggested, Mark waited."Tell me, Monroe, why are you even screwing up this bad after the rookie slip up with that fake journalist in the warehouse?"'This is not my fault,' he thought. "We are too late, Sir," he said."Too late? Are you saying I'm too slow to act?" Madsen retorted angrily. "Do you even k
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78. Make a Move
"You're so annoying, do I have to remind you every hour?" Rhea grumbled from the passenger seat, watching the dark-haired man behind the steering wheel as the car drove itself to the hill house. "Old news," Lucian commented and then glared at her. "But I already said not to let him into this again."Of course. "Mikhal's right. You do sounds like a jealous secret boyfriend.""Ha. Ha." There was no humor behind that. "First, I am not your boyfriend, I'm your fiance. Second, you're the one keeping this a secret, not me."Rhea grinned, "You didn't deny the first one? Are you jealous?""So what?" She frowned but didn't say anything else. She still couldn't figure out why he was jealous of that tall coworker of hers. No matter how many times she asked him, Lucian wouldn't tell.'Or you just never believe his answer,' a small voice at the back of her head supplied helpfully. She brushed it off because it was total drivel. There was no way Lucian actually felt jealous just because he liked
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77. Running for Life
She was not as reckless as Lucian sometimes said to her. But she was still new in this espionage thing, and Mikhal suddenly pushed her down to the ground. Her heart raced, pounding noisily along with the blood in her ears. Mikhal's tall figure was equally low by her side. Confidence may fool many people, but she had none of it right now. Especially not after a burly man in a tank top suddenly pointed his long firearm in her direction, right before she took another shot of the drug lab with her phone. Breathing quietly, they waited in suspenseful silence until the man turned his weapon away from their direction. Another man came out of the drug lab's door, probably exchanging words before both of them went inside again. Rhea exhaled in relief, shoulders slumping down as both Mikhal and her shared a look. They moved closer, trying to get more proof from the small window at the side of the building now known as the drug lab. Not only from the chemical glasses with some colored liquid
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76. Into Hidden View
After four days of work, Rhea finally got her day off again. Mikhal texted her, 'Meet you at East Station in twenty.' Smiling to herself, Rhea texted back an affirmation. "So…" Liz glanced at her from behind the steering wheel, "If I may ask, where are you going, Miss Rhea?""Out," she merely said."Any specific place in mind?"Rhea locked her phone, "Not really."The bespectacled girl looked uncomfortable for a second before she asked again. "Do you have any companions?""Yes.""Oh. Who is that?"Rhea narrowed her eyes, not liking where the bespectacled girl was going with this. "Is this an interrogation?""No, of course, not." Liz hastily said, topping it with an awkward laugh that she tried to make it sound natural. "I'm sorry if it came out like that, Miss Rhea. I didn't mean to."She sighed, turning to the sturdy houses that came into view as they finally reached the town's area. "It's fine. Lucian ordered you to do that, right?" Liz stayed silent, so she'd take that as a yes.
- 100 Systems Invasion
75. Coping Mechanism
The cafeteria was full of cola and burgers. "Free dinner for everyone!" one of the senior staff called out as they entered it. Rhea grinned – almost jumped in excitement – as her favorite food was served in front of her for free. Emi, on the other hand, chimed in a loud voice, "We don't pay to eat here!"She stuffed her face with the burger. She sat surrounded by a white shirt and blue vest-wearing staff, finally having a nice break out of the craziness of the afternoon shift. "I can't believe I was so excited about it before."Emi smiled broadly, munching on her mouthful bite of burger. She looked funny. "Didn't I tell you that it's crazy?""Yes, but you carefully left out the fact that it is precisely like that oddball group all over again, except, it happens continuously. Marching in a group in the lobby, then shoving each other to get in the elevator. Why do we only have four elevators, anyway?""But it only happens in the afternoon. After that, it's pretty slow, isn't it?"Rhea h
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74. Unwritten Law
Lucian had been at the scene of serious diplomacy once, ages ago as he was still ten, where his father was showing him how to negotiate with a foreign mafia boss from another country. Earl would sign an agreement of letting said mafia boss move into Livingard and give him a little territory on the border to set up whatever operation they had planned. Earl would get back his prized butler slash right-hand man safely in one piece in exchange. He was fond of that man, his favorite butler. A middle-aged friendly guy who had a penchant for cutting apples into beautiful figures and dragging Lucian out of bed before dawn for a morning run. So, hearing that his favorite butler would be back after missing – he was captivated by the foreign mafia after accidentally crashing his motorbike to the mafia's daughter on the road – for three days, Lucian was eager when his father wanted him to tag along. It was supposed to be a valuable learning experience for him.One of the foreign mafia subordinat
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73. At Least We Try
'Let him be, don't talk to him, whatever, just ignore him.'She didn't even want to see him. But bottling her overflowing emotions? It was a ridiculous idea.Then a notification chimed in, breaking into her bubble of thought, pulling her from the suffocating underwater feeling. 'How's' your girl's day out with Emi?' Mikhal texted her, oblivious to the chaos she made herself. 'She was great.' She texted back.'Cool. No more outings today?' His reply came seconds later, followed by three dots, signifying he was typing now. 'Imma starts the afternoon shift today. Dunno what to expect.''Expect the worst.''Never know u'r such a pessimist.'She wasn't. Fine, maybe she was. Just at the moment, though. Rhea responded with a laughing emoticon. Followed by a string of crying yellow faces.'What was that?' She bit her bottom lip, 'I want to go out.' Her thumb sent it before she even read the line. She considered deleting it. No use, Mikhal already typed again.'I'm free, if you were asking
- 100 Systems Invasion
72. The Walk Down
Sprinting to the beach, Rhea suddenly stopped before her sneakers touched the wet sand. Quickly taking them off, Rhea looked around for a place to put them without getting worried that the wave would sweep on them or someone take them away. Not that she was suspicious of some people enjoying the beach there, or that her shoes were extremely pricey – they were, not that Rhea knew about that, because it was Lucian who paid – but Rhea didn't want to lose her only pair of sneakers.She looked back to Lucian's parked car on the edge of the beach, where the dry ground met with green patches of grass. Squinting her blue eyes, Rhea calculated how much force she needed to get her shoes to the car's side. The light brown-haired girl got into a stance as if she would throw a slider with her sneaker as the ball. Then, Rhea let go of one of her sneakers in a powerful side swing. It flew in a bent trajectory and landed safely on the dry sand, though still a little far away from the car."Ah, I need
- 100 Systems Invasion
71. Wolf in the Flesh
It was the first time Rhea saw a wolf in real life.The wolf looked like how a wolf would in a book or movie. Nothing special, unlike the jet-black wild wolf she saw in a show. Or the majestic white wolf in legends. The animal in front of her looked just like the usual wolf. Short, triangular ears. Broad snout. A long tail. Looking slender yet seems powerful in its built. Its back was grey, so was its upper head. While the rest of its fur was light brown, and the underside was white.Rhea could not believe it."Should we continue?" Jo asked, stepping slowly on the gas pedal.As Jo drove the car past the watchful gaze of the wolf, Rhea felt a shudder run through her body. Either it was a creepy coincidence, or Lucian somehow controlled the wolf to appear there and failed Rhea's escape. Which sounded impossible. Both of them.It was some minutes later that Jo stopped the car. They were near the first building in the outskirt of Stradfield's little town. "Are you sure you want to get off
