“Why do I smell humans?”“Meow!”“Yes, I can smell them, too.”Jason phased through the buildings like a silent ghost. It had been months since he started dealing with humans in this world. Of course, they didn’t exchange much, but he received his weekly share of books. It was Norma who brought them to him most of the time, and sometimes it was the girl named Lana. He learned much more about this planet and its history. Also, more accurate and deeper information about the invasion from the aliens. Unlike the people of the world he was in at his previous simulation, these people focused on defending and hiding, rather than fighting back. Jason wondered if that was the reason for their survival, but he didn’t know if there were any survivors in the world he stumbled upon in the last simulation, either.According to the history books he read, this world had a rich magic system in the past, but the more he read, the more he realised it was long gone. The historical books revealed about
“Meow!”‘Hm?’Jason looked at Nyx who was curled into a ball. She seemed to be talking in her sleep.‘Is it because of Mana?’About a year ago, after one and a half years since the simulation started, Mana started to slowly return to the world. Although it was a slow process and people might not even feel Mana at the moment, Jason saw it coming and he felt it. Each day he felt the slight breeze of Mana, brushing off against his skin like a passing wind. Sometimes it lasted for hours while sometimes it just blew away from him in a haste. Either way, Jason saw Mana entering the world from the distant sky, and it gave him the idea that Mana wasn’t something belonging to a world. It could be a universal thing that existed everywhere. He had no idea how long would it take to fill back this entire world with Mana, but he felt it could be decades or centuries, yet he had a hunch that it would happen. As for why Earth didn’t have it, he wasn’t sure. However, Jason assumed that the invaders
“Should we go up?”“I guess he is coming down.”Norma looked at the spiral stairway with expectation. The first floor of the building looked completely different from what they saw a week ago. It was clean and had no debris left. There were several chairs and desks in the corner they hadn’t seen before. It was apparent Night Hunter had prepared this floor as their training ground. They arrived at District 15 as soon as possible in the morning to show their agreement to the conditions given by Night Hunter for the cooperation. It took their chief and the council over two weeks to agree to the conditions written by Night Hunter on further cooperations, but the things humans received as benefits were too tempting for anyone to give up. Night Hunter even promised to offer them Mana Breathing, a long-lost technique of accumulating Mana inside the human body. However, his demands included some very sensitive things for them; advanced mechanical knowledge, stationeries and some power sou
“Good morning, Norma!”“Good Morning, uncle!”Norma greeted the elderly man with a bright smile. ‘They are getting old.’She felt sad when she looked at the bright smile the older man had. The people she knew were getting older, but Norma knew these people were happier than ever. She walked along the street toward the sage tower. The massive cylindrical building looked drastically different from what it had been twenty years ago. It had a fresh coating of white paint, and their engineers completed the repair work about five years ago. Once they called this place the lair of the Night Hunter, but people now called it the Sage Tower. ‘I can’t believe it has been twenty years.’Norma stopped in front of the building and looked up at the clear sky. The sun was no longer red, and some species of birds they released back to the world had taken a liking to the new environment of City Z.The streets around the sage tower had no traffic, but District 15 was the most occupied region of th
“Meow!”“Yes, I know it is spreading!”Jason stared into the night sky as he spoke with Nyx. “Meow!”“What do you mean, I am changing? You are still the same size after twenty years.”“Meow!”“No! I am improving.”“Meow!”“It is not a skin rash!”…He looked at the changes happening to his left arm, and he knew this had something to do with the overconsumption of monster meat.The skin on his left arm felt smooth, but it wasn’t fragile. He didn’t know why there were patches of light that looked like stars. He did not know where they came from or what they were, but these patches brought him the name; star sage. ‘Sigh.’Jason phased back to his room, leaving behind Nyx to her thoughts.He touched the painting he started for the tenth time. It was Hanna and Amelia, waiting for him at the village gate.He knew he wasn’t a great artist, but he wanted to draw it as perfectly as possible. ‘I guess this one won’t do.’He ripped off the drawing paper in dissatisfaction, but he didn’t damag
“Damn! That was difficult!”Jason sat on the massive body of his enemy as his skin reattached itself, closing the wounds and burns. He felt the bones repairing themselves as he rested his tired body. His black blood seeped out like tar onto the ground and solidified the moment it touched the ground.‘How can this arm be so strong?’He knew it was his fault that he was in this state. He underestimated the enemy, thinking it was just another prey. ‘Did my thinking change with the mutation?’Jason fell into thought as he looked at the massive broken sword. Of course, he knew his thinking had changed with the mutation, but he thought he had control of most of his emotions and thoughts after this long. Still, it seemed to be not the case, and he behaved like a predator who was hungry for power like this. Jason knew he could maintain his rational thinking at the time, but bloody battles seemed to bring out the monster within him.This battle reminded him he had to take control of his emot
“We are thirty kilometres away. Hold on.”Amber held onto the railing as she looked at the map. It was difficult with the rocky ride they had. ‘Please, Norbert. Don’t crash.’She prayed after yelling at Ricardo and Esmerelda. Amber saw how scared they looked, and she couldn’t blame them. This was one of the most crucial missions, and they already lost six members during their journey. ‘This is what we signed up for.’The people their government selected for this mission were those who didn’t have any family or significant other to mourn for their loss. The reason was simple; no one knew if this mission would succeed or if they could survive.According to their captain, this was the most dangerous mission and one of the most crucial missions for their Camp El-mond. About two years back, they found traces of human activities around City Z.About ten years back, their people successfully made connections with their old satellites, but they never detected another group of humans until
“Mhm!”Amber moaned when felt the light entering her eyelids. She wanted to rest a bit more in this comfortable place.“I think she is waking up.”‘Huh?’Amber realised the voice she heard didn’t belong to anyone she knew.“Where… Where am I?”She slowly pushed her heavy eyelids open, and she saw a kind-looking older woman looking down at her. There were a few other women in the room, but they backed away when she woke up.“You are in the central treatment centre of City Z.”“City Z….”It took her another moment to digest those words, and then her eyes widened when she remembered all the events that happened to them. All the deaths, pain, and misery flooded her mind, and her eyes became red.“Others… Where are the others?”Amber shot up from her bed, but the pain assaulted her side.“Argh!”She whimpered in pain.“Take it easy. There are a few fractures in your ribs. The others are okay. Your driver has a concussion, but the other two are in better condition. They are waiting outside.
"Shit," Amelia cursed under her breath as she deflected blow after blow, desperately trying to protect Jason from the relentless attacks.It wasn’t just her previous enemies; there was another massive threat looming on the horizon. She could feel the presence of a greater demon, its oppressive aura emanating from afar, finally ready to make its move.'I can't take on this thing,' she thought, parrying another strike aimed at her.She didn't have the luxury of time to grab Jason and flee. Besides, with the monstrous force approaching, running seemed pointless. This new threat was undoubtedly stronger than her.'If only he can fight,' she lamented, her grip tightening around her sword. She couldn't even afford a glance at Jason to check if he was still holding on. All she could hear were his painful grunts, each one a stab to her focus.…"Daddy, Daddy, no, I have to go!" Hanna cried out, trying to rush toward the mine entrance.Before she could take another step, Nocturne leapt from her
'This is not going to end well.'Jason barely caught his breath as he hid behind a stone column, narrowly evading the swing of a giant demon's sword. He felt a growing sense of helplessness as his spells failed to inflict any significant damage on these monstrous enemies. Surprisingly, his Arcane Spawns managed to restrain one of the demons temporarily. However, the limitation was clear—he could only summon three Arcane Spawns at a time, and that number was far from enough to take down even a single demon.'I don't think Amelia can hold on much longer.'While Jason was barely managing against a single demon, Amelia was handling all five of the remaining demons on her own. She moved with incredible agility, skillfully evading the swords and other weapons targeting her, striking back whenever she saw an opening. Her blade flashed, leaving shallow cuts on the demons’ thick skin, but it was clear that even with her skill, she was being overwhelmed. Five demons were far more than she cou
"Hanna, you have to be good and stay here, alright?""Alright, Daddy," Hanna responded, her voice tinged with sadness, but she kept her composure.'Hanna is a big girl. I can't cry. Mommy and Daddy promised to come back,' she reminded herself, trying to act brave.Floating behind her, Nocturne extended its tentacles, imitating the action of wiping away tears as if to comfort Hanna in its own eerie way."No, Hanna is not crying, Little Cuttlefish," Hanna tried to argue with Nocturne, waving her tiny fist cutely at the eldritch horror."Make sure everything is okay." Jason gave Hanna a quick peck on the forehead before turning to Samson and Butch."We will handle things while you are gone, Sir Jason," Butch assured him. Despite not being from Earth, he had learned to mimic Samson when addressing Jason. Many of the bodyguards, even those from Yuriel, had learned to act properly under Samson's guidance.Jason's gaze shifted to Dane, who was responsible for maintaining the outer perimete
“Eh….”Hanna turned her head around as she felt a familiar ominous feeling. “What is it, Hanna?”“Little Cuttlefish is here, Mommy.”She didn’t know where it was, but she felt its presence. A moment later, a ripple appeared near them and a small slit expanded in midair. An eerie dark feeling seeped out of it as several small tentacles slipped into their world. “Whee!”Nocturne floated toward Hanna making a cheerful noise. “Hiss.”Ancient Wraith hissed at the foreign creature. “Grr….”Nyx growled at the creature in anger, but it didn’t try to attack it. First, Nocturne was Jason’s pet. Second, her little master had no anger toward this thing. However, Nyx knew that the horrible disease had the same scent as this creature. It was a dangerous and foreign feeling that made them uncomfortable. “Gu! Gu!”Nocturne immediately released a defensive sound and hid behind Amelia, trying to protect itself. “Don’t harm Little Cuttlefish. It is not his fault.”Hanna gently patted Nyx’s head
“No! I will not let you go in.”Brood’s voice was sharp and loud, and Jason felt the surrounding air vibrate with her voice. “It is already spreading. Send out one of your Drones and check the caves to the north. There is a crack.”Jason didn’t care about Brood’s rant at the moment. He was much stronger than before. Even if he failed to defeat Brood, he was confident enough to survive against her and escape. Besides, Amelia should be already on her way here. “But… But… This is the only place I am supposed to protect. I… I didn’t let anything escape.”Brood’s voice broke a little as she tried to suppress the agitation. “Check it out. I can feel the monsters roaming beneath those cracks, and it won’t be long before they escape.”“But….”“There is no time. She is coming, and she is angry. So check it out. We will go in there and finish it, Brood. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not. It is too dangerous and we are going to end whatever is down there.”Jason had no idea what kind o
‘This is bad. This is very very bad.’Jason stared at the crack on the ground with a frown. He thought the corrupted land was beneath the spider mines, Brood’s lair. However, it seemed to be extended beyond his scope of imagination. He felt the pulsating mutated life roaming beneath the ground, and he had to use a lot of willpower to suppress himself from roaring. The mutated monster within him smelled the delicacy. Still, alerting them wouldn't be a good thing for them at the moment. Only two Grandmasters were at Light Shone while the others followed the bandit exterminators in secrecy. Only a Grandmaster could face a hunter, and anything above would be too much for this world.The red mist leaking through the crack corroded the mana in the surroundings.‘Is there a way to stop it from spreading? Should I repair the crack? But we better deal with whatever is inside first.’Jason didn't feel like angering Amelia anymore.‘I better see Brood. She must know what happened here before.’H
“You… You are Jason.”“I am.”Jason smiled at the man as he finally opened his eyes. He felt relieved to slip away from Amelia’s fiery gaze. “My… My arm….”The player panicked as he hurriedly inspected his arm. “The wound….”“It is gone now. Honestly, it wasn’t a wound. It was an infection.”Jason shrugged.“What exactly happened? I don’t think you were in Spider Mine.”The lower level of the Spider Mine was a forbidden place. Even if it weren’t, very few would dare to wander into the swarm of spiders. “No, Jason. I was working in the Northern Mine. We had a small quack at the lowest level, and a new crack popped up in the floor.”“And you were the closest to it?”“Yes.”“How big is this crack, did anyone else come into contact with it?”Jason didn’t want to drag out the discussion.This wasn’t exactly unexpected, but an open crack meant there was a hidden space underneath the mine that was contaminated by radiation. He needed to find out how big the hidden space was. ‘I really h
“Jason! We need to see Jason!”“What is going on?”Amelia came out of the house as she heard the loud voice. No one dared to shout in front of their home, and she wondered why Jason’s loyal guards didn’t act. “Madam…!”“Grandmaster Amelia! We… We need help. He can’t log out, and we don't know what to do.”“Hm?”Amelia frowned as he looked at the people from Jason’s world. She knew these were the selected people of the Crystal Pulse. Even though Samson and the other guards prevented this group of people from entering the house, they also looked worried. She looked at the man they brought in, and her eyes widened for a moment. There was a purplish wound on the man’s arm, and a dark purple smoke came out of it. He was groaning in pain and it looked as if the man was going senile with pain. He was twitching and rolling on the ground as the others held him. More people were gathering near their house, and she knew many wanted to know what happened to the fallen man. “Mommy… That unc
“Is it online?”“Yes, Chief.”“How is the reaction?”“I think it looks very violent, Chief. There is an outburst of responses.”“Good.”Despite his words, Magnus’s face showed no hint of comfort. “And Jason?”“He will stay on Yuriel for the time being, Chief. Amelia said she is keeping him there indefinitely. As long as this problem isn’t solved.”“Do you think she knows something?”Magnus rubbed his temple. Technically, there was no way for Jason to know the gaming cabin could transport him to another world. Even if an NPC told him so, it would be impossible to believe. ‘It isn’t like he could handle that kind of secret with such grace.’He believed it would be too much for even a man like Jason Hope. However, Amelia’s behaviour made him suspicious of her knowledge about their world. She knew how to arrange security and cover blindspots against modern weapons. This shouldn’t have happened if Amelia was from a magical world. Besides, her plan looked almost flawless, and even Magn