Aoi Two’s Perspective (not the original Aoi, but the other one who lived in a different yet similar life.) __________________________________ I forgot the last time I tasted good food. How many days had it been since the time I had been luring and fighting these beasts? Two months? No. Two months were short in my calendar. If I had to guess it right, I was up here for eight months fighting and evading these monsters. I fed myself with arcane from my surroundings and made it my nutrition. Although magic particles were different from real nourishments, it was enough to keep me functional. And my body was still in top shape. I also forced myself to sleep only for an hour and wake up dodging those projectiles for the umpteenth time. There was nothing inside my mind but evading these ambushes, hoping I could, at least, strike back with my rifle. But the time never arrived. The lizards weren’t the only creatures present in my vicinity. There were more of them. If I had to name a few, t
[Four adventurers have entered the class A portal.] [Quest: Defeat every single monster residing in this place within an hour.] [Reward: Katana (Mythical)] A panel appeared before the party of adventurers who had entered the portal. These were the instructions to conquer the portal and obtain the treasure that lived inside of it. “Get out of the way!” an adventurer shouted, as he slammed his axe against a monster. Another guy with a shield bashed the beast and yelled in return. “We’re already clear! This portal is nothing compared to the ones we had conquered last week!” A woman, who wore a white hat, waved her staff and cast a spell at her teammates. As soon as the woman le
It happened around twelve years ago. I had a great memory unlike any other. Even though I was just a child - ignorant about my surroundings, I still recalled what happened. Multiple golden coloured circles rolled on the side and resonated a high-pitch sound. The air surrounding me changed as if I was in a lavender garden. My heart trembled as it sensed my family’s doom. “Mom! Dad!” I cried, hoping I could reach out to them. But I failed. Their shadows imprinted themselves inside my mind and continued haunting me like a ghost. The temperature dropped. My body shivered. No matter where I looked, darkness devoured my surroundings. And not a hint of light enveloped in the scenes. There was nobody there to help us. According to the government, portals were fabricated by the people who witnessed them on the internet. And the monsters inside were a product of our imaginations. They told us it wasn’t real. However, that portal was a bridge between distinct realities. It was as if various
After hauling us over in our rooms, the teacher placed Midori and me in detention during breaks, lunch, and after class. He told us it was our punishment for attempting to cut classes early in the morning, which we didn’t. Who the hell even thought about this punishment, especially in Japan? Well, it was our teacher who introduced it to our school. Other schools didn’t have one, only in this academy. Detention wasn’t a thing because students had club activities to deal with rather than this. However, the teacher told us otherwise. Our subject stretched longer than we had expected. But none of these students knew what could come afterward would change everything into a forgotten wasteland. Death slowly approached in our direction. Midori and I couldn’t stand still as we continued fidgeting between our fingers and biting our fingernails. Thanks to our fiddling body movements, some seatmates couldn’t concentrate. We kept looking at the windows, thinking that the portal could appear at an
Lucky for me, I squeezed myself into the crowd of students and entered the building. Hina’s classroom was on the third floor, and this academy had four storeys. Fortunately, most students had already left this place. It made room for me. However, Hina was still unnoticed by my eyes and remained trapped on the third floor. “HINA! WHERE ARE YOU! HINA!” I called out her name, hoping I could find her. Everyone I passed by shrieked at the top of their lungs about monsters or whatnot nestling above us. I wasn’t paying attention and continued my hunt for my step-sister. She was important to me. But as soon as I reached the third floor, my eyes widened in dread. And it was my mistake to neglect such an obvious warning from the students. Little did I know it would come back and bite me. The figure in front of me was what
The monster had already targeted me as its next prey as it glared in my direction. While that happened, a voice coming from Hina’s classroom shrieked and sprinted outside. The girl wasn’t Hina, but she wore the same uniform as my step-sister. Tears fell from her eyes as she careened as far away as possible. I could only guess she was a classmate Hina talked about from her earlier message. But I had no relationship with her besides from Hina. “I-I thought help arrived! I-I don’t wanna die! I don’t wanna!” The girl kept yelling at the top of her lungs and booked it. I couldn’t blame her. If I were in her position, I would’ve also run away. However, I wanted to protect Hina with my life. So I stayed and hoped I could save her with everything I had. The student ran across the hallway’s opposite side without caring fo
“Hina…” I whispered. “Whatever you do, don’t open your eyes. Run away from here as fast as you can. I’ll catch up.” “I… No. I won’t leave you behind, b-brother!” Those were the words I mumbled to the shivering Hina. She clutched her hands behind my back, refusing to obey my words. Hina told me she wouldn’t run away without me. That girl didn’t like the sound of leaving me to die, even though we barely talked for the past few years. It made me smile. But it also made me terrified of what was about to come. I steeled my fist and wished to take it all. This was my job. I lost my family at a young age and lived with strangers I didn’t know. If there was someone who should live, it was Hina. Her parents saved me from despair when I should’ve already died from hunger or depression. Hina had a life even before me, while
“I-I need to go, big brother! I… I don’t know what would happen if my parents…” “I know, Hina. That’s why I need to go and check them for you. Besides, you can’t do it in your condition. If you could walk, maybe I could accompany you. But once we’re out there, you might get sucked into a portal just like this one. Trust your brother, okay?” “But…. If you die because of this, I…” “I won’t, Hina. Trust me.” “Okay…” Hina had eyes itching to go out and look for her parents. If I were in Hina’s position, I would’ve said and acted the same thing. If my parents were on the line, I would’ve run straight to them and stayed by their side. However, Hina couldn’t, not without getting enough rest from her shaking feet.
Aoi Two’s Perspective (not the original Aoi, but the other one who lived in a different yet similar life.) __________________________________ I forgot the last time I tasted good food. How many days had it been since the time I had been luring and fighting these beasts? Two months? No. Two months were short in my calendar. If I had to guess it right, I was up here for eight months fighting and evading these monsters. I fed myself with arcane from my surroundings and made it my nutrition. Although magic particles were different from real nourishments, it was enough to keep me functional. And my body was still in top shape. I also forced myself to sleep only for an hour and wake up dodging those projectiles for the umpteenth time. There was nothing inside my mind but evading these ambushes, hoping I could, at least, strike back with my rifle. But the time never arrived. The lizards weren’t the only creatures present in my vicinity. There were more of them. If I had to name a few, t
Aoi Two’s Perspective (not the original Aoi, but the other one who lived in a different yet similar life.)__________________________________I temporarily lent my power to the Crimson Guild in exchange for my monthly salary enough to pay for the hospital fees and our daily living. There was nothing wrong about it. So I told Hina about our current situation and encouraged her to attend the school we were once going to. But I refused the scholarship and dropped out of university. College life should be something that everyone desires to have, especially us students. But for me, I wanted to see Hina’s parents live for another day. Hence, the approval of being an adventurer in a guild.But I didn’t apply for being a regular adventurer. Regular adventurers were tasked to defeat a certain number of portals in return they will be given cheques and salaries from it. The more portals defeated, the larger amount of cash will be rewarded. As long as the adventurer was talented enough to survive
Volume 3 - Epilogue Aoi Two’s Perspective (not the original Aoi, but the other one who lived in a different yet similar life.) __________________________________ As far as I remembered, my parents died when I was little. When I was six years old. I didn’t need money, a lavish life, or things that I could call mine. There was only one thing I wanted, and that was my parents. I wanted them to live. But with one sudden moment, my wish turned around and burned me alive. My parents were killed by monsters, not humans. The fiend was around a hundred feet tall, and the village we were living in took the invasion. They were reptiles. These monsters had the shape of a dragon, which was technically a lizard with wings. According to the internet, unidentified beasts kept appearing from nowhere, and there were others who fought against them. Those individuals were not the police officers. I believed they were called guilds. And as I glanced around me, the news and other people claimed that t
Aoi’s PerspectiveAoi one or the ORIGINAL MAIN CHARACTER OF THE STORY (not the different one)Author’s note: This Aoi is also calling himself as Aoi one, and the other Aoi will be Aoi two (It is to avoid confusion. Thank you.)_____________________“That’s why I need to become stronger. And you’re not strong enough! Even though we’re the only ones who have this system, you didn’t try to break your own wall and learn more about it! There could’ve been portals that you could eliminate to gain more levels, and yet you chose to idle around and did nothing about it!” What did he mean when this motherfucker told me I wasn’t strong enough?! I trained with Vulcan, which Akai killed. Did he not think of that?!”“Your face is telling me that you met with Vulcan… That you trained with him. But did you learn anything from those sessions besides aiming your gun properly? Because it’s the only thing you have if you plan on comparing yourself to me!” Aoi two, or should I say, this doppelganger adde
Hina’s Perspective_____________________“It’s okay… Don’t cry. There, there…. It’s going to be okay… It’s going to be alright….”And then, I said the words. “I forgive you… I forgive you, Aoi… You don’t have to cry anymore… It’s going to be okay…”I said the words Aoi wanted to hear. Even though he was Obsidian, the face of my brother carved itself on the man beside me. It was as if Aoi two was a dog barking and biting people left and right only to realise he needed someone’s help… He needed my help. And now he had faced his fear and listened to the words Aoi two wanted to hear, his ears calmed down. His ears discerned what was important.‘But what now? What are we going to do now?’ I thought, and looked at the downcasted face of Aoi two. As if knowing the question inside my head, Aoi two returned my gaze and uttered, “I know… you are confused. But we don’t have much time now. As soon as I fought Aoi in this world, the entities behind these portals were already high on alert. And I
Hina’s Perspective _____________________ “Come with me.” With one phrase, the masked man offered his hand to me. He used his other hand to lift Aoi’s body and cast a spell that changed our surroundings. “I’ll show you something.” Obsidian showed no signs of hostility. And the voice behind the masked man soothed my ears as if it was some sort of music with perfect beat and lyrics. I gazed at the man’s hand, wondering if I should take it. I had seen something like this before. But something was off. And at the same time, there was a peculiar feeling of calm and genuineness. He almost reminded me of my brother. In spite of these feelings twirling inside my mind, I shook my head and answered, “I don’t… want to... I won’t leave…. My brother! You… Want… to kill him… I’ll…. Stay by…. His side…. Until you… can kill me…” There was a chance that the masked man wanted to pull me apart from Aoi. And I never wanted that to happen. The moment the masked man heard my words for the umpteenth ti
Hina’s Perspective_____________________All my life, Aoi did nothing but help me with my problems, regardless if it involved him or me. As long as he noticed, which he always did, my brother would rush towards me and help. Aoi really forced himself so hard until he could see me smile. And even though I pushed him countless times, he continued crawling his way back in my arms. I could still remember those days when we were together, especially when these portals hadn’t shown up. Life was simple back then. If only Aoi’s parents didn’t die, maybe he could’ve lived the life he deserved. But his life was taken away by a murderer and the portal. And now, we were given the chance to confront the man who stole his life away. But even so, we couldn’t defeat him. I… couldn’t do a thing. Aoi did everything he could to stop the madman from hurting everyone, despite knowing none of the strangers, but he failed. And the only thing I could do was to watch him suffer.Maybe if I trained hard enoug
As I glanced on my side, Hina still wanted to fight. She stood up and used the rock beside him, but her legs kept shaking as if an earthquake struck us. But the ground remained still. There was no earthquake. And when I appraised her status, my system described her with a fatigue ailment in addition to her drained mana right beside his health bar.[Iron Maiden has been deactivated. Obsidian is too powerful to be compressed!]Those were the words that marked our doom. The moment Obsidian broke free from the [Iron Maiden] all hope was lost. I had no idea how to win now, especially when my sister was on the ground. She couldn’t me right now. But Hina had already assisted me until her body fell on the ground. Although she desperately forced herself to move and stand with the help of a rock, Hina couldn’t cast any more magic and would remain sluggish until she could recover her mana. Obsidian stood on the other side of the map, unscathed and unbothered from the spell. The [Iron Maiden] wa
Time wasn’t on our side. Obsidian tried hitting us with his sniper, but Hina continued lifting me up and creating walls in front of me. It was as if she was reading my movements. When the masked man pulled the trigger and launched a set of bullets in my direction, I went to the side despite having no platform for me to step on. But I trusted my sister. By the time I jumped above ground, I trusted my instincts and rolled on the side. Like I had said, there was no ground to catch me when I fell. But as soon as I gyrated my body, a floor made of soil immediately materialised and cushioned my feet. The next thing I knew, I tumbled to the side and evaded almost every bullet coming in my way. The shells that I couldn’t dodge still didn’t hit me. The moment those leads from the masked man could take me out, Hina summoned a wall in front of me and protected my face.I didn’t have the time to thank my sister and carried onwards with the fight. Time was also our enemy. So when I found an open