Chapter 12: Behind the Curtains

"What the heck", Havok cursed. "What is wrong with this world?", he continued as he punched a pole.

"Geez... Don't sweat it", I said to him as I walked away.

"What do you mean by don't sweat it?!", he said as he grabbed my hood and yanked me towards him. "We're trapped in this world with no way out! All you're gonna say is 'don't sweat it'?"

"It just means that we have to do our best to beat this world, right X?", Oxide said as he walked towards us. Havok and I stared at Oxide as he smiled accompanied by his sister behind him.

It wasn't really what I meant, but rather than causing another fight with Havok, I nodded at Oxide's statement. Havok let me go after I nodded.

Havok faced his fellow guild members and told them, "We are going to take down the first floor gate! Prepare yourselves! We assemble at our guild house tomorrow at 0900 (9 a.m.)!". He got a loud shout as a reply.

"All right! Dismissed!", Havok shouted at them again. After that, all his guild members went their separate ways to prepare for their battle tomorrow.

"Right... Now what to do?", Oxide said while stretching his arms.

"I guess I'm going back to my restaurant", Val said.

"I'm gonna stop by for dinner. Mind saving a grilled wild meat sandwich for me?", I asked.

"Hahaha. Sure", she said and smiled. After that she bows and left me and Oxide.

"Right!", Oxide surprised me as he yank him and rested his arm on my shoulders. "Now that she's not here, let's do something together", he said with a huge grin.

"Umm... Could it be that you're-"

"I am normal damn it!", Oxide said at he smacked my head.

"You're the one who grinned in that way... Geez", I said as I rubbed the back of my head.

"One day you're gonna thank me for doing that", he laughed as he messed up my hair. "By the way, you haven't had the time to get to my supplier right? We can go there now"

"Isn't the workshop going to be empty?", I asked as we started walking at the marketplace.

"Don't worry about it. I don't get much customers at this time anyway.", he replied. "By the way, where's that golem friend of yours?"

"Barrios? Probably managing his guild. Why?"

"Tell him to meet up at Ridgeview at dinner", he said.

"Why?", I asked.

"No reason. Just do it", he replied.

"Fine", I said. I opened up my friend list and dialed Barrios' contact.

"X? What's up?", I heard Barrios' voice.

"Can you meet up at Ridgeview at dinner?", I asked.

"Why? You're paying?"

"I'd go broke if I pay for your food every time idiot", I replied to him. Meanwhile, Oxide was chuckling next to me. I gave him a 'stay out of this' expression. He got it but kept chuckling anyways.

"Hmm... That sounds like a good thing for me to keep doing", Barrios said through the call.

"I'd make a sushi out of you in that case", I replied to Barrios.

"Woah... Don't say those things with a calm tone. That's creepy", Barrios replied. I sighed after hearing that.

"Anyways, Oxide told me to invite you over. Maybe he's paying", I told Barrios.

"Alright! I'm in!", Barrios happily said over the call, in contrast of Oxide yelling 'I am not!' which sounded like a background voice to me.

"Geez... I did not say he will. Beg him to pay your food by yourself.", I told Barrios. Oxide already went into his supplier's place as I loitered in front of the place.

"Dang it... But if it's Oxide who invites, I guess he has something in mind. I'll be there anyway", he replied.

"Okay. See ya", I said. After he replied his farewell, I hung up.

"You done?", Oxide asked as he walked out of his supplier's place.

"Yeah", I replied.

"It's still to early to go to Ridgeview. Mind accompanying me for a while?", he asked.

"I'm accompanying you from just now... And you're asking me this now?", I asked him.

"Good! Follow me", he said as he signaled me with his fingers to follow him. I didn't say a word and followed him quietly.
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Oxide walked to a place I've never been before. He also told me to keep a low profile while I followed him. We went towards the west end of the floor map. Oxide stopped about 100 meters away from the edge of the map.

"You see that big door?", Oxide asked me as he pointed towards a giant door. The door was a double door about 4 meters tall.

"What about it?", I asked.

"This is the gate to the next floor", Oxide answered.

"I count 11 guards.", I told him.

"Look again, X.", he said as he pointed out all the enemies hiding in the bushes and trees. "There are about 30 plus of them out there"

"And that's not counting reinforcements that might come later", I added.

"Right. Havok's forces won't get past this without any casualties tomorrow", he said.

"How does this have any connection with him?", I asked.

"He's still a living being. So are all his followers. You heard it yourself, if you die in this game, you die for real.", he answered.

"How do you even know that? Do you simply take what Kiyoshi Hayate said? You don't even know if it's true or not.", I said.

"Then why don't you finish off your health bar here now? You're not even sure if dying here is for real.", he said.

"Either way, you really will die if you die in-game", Oxide continued before I could say anything back. "If not, I wouldn't be here"

"What do you mean?"

"If this is not a real death game, I wouldn't be here right now", he said. I went speechless immediately.

"Don't tell this to anyone. Not even my sister", he continued. I could see his seriousness in his eyes, and I nodded in response.

"Alright... I'm hungry, let's go back", he said with his trademark grin on his face.
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It took us quite a while going back to Ridgeview Crest. We didn't rush going back to the city. Oxide opted to take a longer route and kept on talking pointlessly along the way. I knew he was trying to make me forget what he said seriously back then. I wish I could.

"Yo!", Oxide said as he entered Ridgeview Crest.

"Welcome back!', his sister replied and Barrios waved at Oxide and I.

"I'm going to start preparing dinner", Val said and went into her kitchen.

Oxide gave me a light push towards the kitchen. "Go help her", he whispered. "There's something I need to talk to Barrios in private". I obeyed Oxide's order and went to the kitchen.

"Hey", I said to Val as I entered the kitchen.

"X? What are you doing here?", Val asked me.

"I was told to help you by your brother", I replied. "So what can I do?"

"I don't really need any help though... I might if this is the real world, but this is the simplified version of the real world remember", she replied as she kept on preparing dinner.

"I see... I guess I'm gonna hang around here for a while. He needs to talk to Barrios alone", I replied.

"Suspicous isn't it?", Val said in a teasing tone.

"I know right", I said agreeing to her. "Still, if it's something he wants to speak in private, I guess it can't be helped"

"You respect him a lot, don't you?", Val asked.

"Yeah. Sorry about this, but I kinda view him as a bigger brother", I replied.

"He gets that a lot", Val said as she giggled. "He's the kind of person who looks out for everyone". I nodded in agreement.

"Anyway I'm done. You can help me bring some right?", she asked. I nodded and took two plates out to the counter Barrios and Oxide was sitting on. They looked like talking seriously for a second, but tried to hide it.

 "What are you guys talking about?", I asked as I served their food in front of them.

"Nothing important", Barrios replied as he took a bite of his sandwich. Oxide nodded in agreement and ate his sandwich. I looked at them skeptically, but they ignored it.

"Here X", Val said behind me and gave me my plate. I said thanks and took the plate from her.

"Thanks for the food", Barrios suddenly said.

"That was quick", Val said.

"I'm kinda in a rush", Barrios said as he smiled. I knew that smile was to cover something up, but I decided not to look into the matter, since it's probably from what Oxide said to him.

"I'll be going back for today", Barrios said as he left.

"Okay. Take care", Val said.

"You're really in for a free dinner, aren't you?", I commented on Barrios.

"Maybe", he said as he went out of the restaurant.

"Now then", Oxide said in a serious tone. "We're going to help Havok tomorrow"

"What?! Why should we?!", I disagreed.

"Because people's life are at stake here", Val said. "Right bro?", she confirmed with her brother. Oxide nodded for an answer.

"As much as you despise him, there's a bigger picture to look at", Oxide said. I sighed at him.

"You're not the only one who despise him, X. All four of us do", he continued. Val nodded in agreement.

"I get your point. So what do you want to do?", I asked.

"We're going to help his assault on the gate", he said.

"He'll disagree, won't he bro?", Val asked about his brother's plans.

"We don't need him to agree or disagree", Oxide said. "We're doing it from behind the curtains"

Chapter 11: Different Players

There's just something wrong with this game. I couldn't understand most parts of it. Usually a level boss on an MMORPG would be a monster or some other thing not human. But according to Havok's information that he shared with everyone, he said that the portal to the next floor was guarded by humans, specifically wearing gray hoods and a skull insignia on them. I didn't doubt Havok's information because what he really wants to be is the hero who saves everyone. He wouldn't be faking information and destroy his image in front of the public. Not only that, I saw one player seemingly logged out of this virtual world. 

Just what the hell is wrong with this world?

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"Geez...", I mumbled looking up to the sky. It was a hot sunny day. "How can a virtual reality console replicate the real world almost perfectly?", I asked myself. I put on my hood and walk towards the city gates.

It's been about 2 weeks since I started to be Oxide's apprentice. After helping him making a new backsword for Barrios, I couldn't say no to be an apprentice of this skillful blacksmith. He thought me a lot of stuff about forging and other stuffs. Oxide is apparently a university student on material science major. He also told me that there were a lot of compound materials that he can make by using his studies in the real world.

This time, Oxide has sent me to gather some materials at Rocky Plains with Val. It's the first time he sent me to gather materials without him. Usually, I would accompany him to hunt down monsters to gather dropped materials or finding loot spots. This time however, he had quite a lot of weapon orders from his clients.

"A more simplified version of the real world huh...", I mumbled to myself as I walk through the path towards my destination.

"That's what my brother always said right?', Val asked. I didn't realize myself that I mumbled what was in my mind out loud. Val saw that right through me and burst into laughter.

"Geez Val... You sure are good at reading people's minds...", I told her.

"It's not that hard you know. You just need to know what probably the other person is thinking about when they make that face", she said.

"That's not exactly easy", I replied.

"Then call it a girl's intuition", she said. I'm even more confused hearing that.

"You're not running your shop again today?", I asked her.

"I hired an NPC to take care of it", she replied.

"Is that even possible?", I asked.

"Of course it is. If not I wouldn't be here right?"

"Right..."

"Every store owner has the option to do so. Of course with a price, but my store's income can take it", she said.

"So, what are we hunting today?", Val asked.

I opened the note I saved and read it. "It says here that we're supposed to gather 50 iron ores from golems or by looting".

"Hmm... That's not much", I said.

"Not much?", Val asked with a surprised tone.

"Usually he gathers about 200", I told her.

"Well that explains what 'not much' meant", she said.

"I guess he always does get too excited doing a task"

"That's how he is alright", the little sister approved.

"Can you handle the golems later?", I asked her as we are nearing Rocky Plains.

"Just because you saved me doesn't mean that I'm weak", she pouted. "It was a 5-on-1, plus the '1' is a fencer.", she added.

"Alright alright", I shrugged off. "So how do you want to do this? Both of us attack straight on or something else?", I asked her.

"Can you tank?", she asked.

"You do realize that I'm an assassin, right?"

"So you can't?"

"I never said that did I? Golems are slow moving monsters, dodging their attacks shouldn't be a problem", I gave her an explanation. "But what are you gonna do?", I asked.

"Just see later", she said.
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We decided we would stick together as Val suggested, opposed to my usual 'hunter killer' (a person spots targets, and the other kills the target quickly) tactic. When we attack a monster, I would keep the monster busy while Val would... do whatever she planned to do.

What we planned to do is look for loot spots while killing golems along the way. Loot spots usually would give more bonuses instead of monster drops, but golems are known to be aggressive monsters (they would attack a player without warning opposed to passive monsters which will attack if they are attacked).

"There's a loot spot over there", I pointed at the spot. "Go get the loot, Val. I'll stay as a lookout.", I told Val. She nodded in response and went to the loot spot.

I looked around to see if there are any golems around. I noticed a golem moving towards our location. Too make the golem focus it's attacks at me, I rushed at the golem to do a preemptive attack at it, opposed to using Stalker and attack it when it gets closer. I don't want to risk Val being the golem's target.

I took out my Spyker and Light Dagger and used Double Cross. All four slashes hit the golem, but only reduced it's HP until slightly above the yellow bar. Golems are monsters that have a strong resistance towards physical attacks, but the amount of damage I dealt was already considerably high, despite how it looks like.

I noticed another golem moving towards us. Handling one golem is quite manageable, but handling two will always be troublesome. With the first golem targeting me, I made the second golem focus it's attacks at me too. I stand in the middle of the two golems as both of them walked towards me. At the moment both golems unleashed their attacks, I slip away as they hit each other with their respective attacks.

Before the two golems could recover, I did a Double Cross at the golem with lower health and defeated it. After defeating the first golem, I rushed away from the second golem before it could attack me. The second golem then chased me as I was about to prepare another Double Cross. Before I did it however, the golem suddenly died. Apparently Val took the golem out with one hit.

"I told you I'm not that weak", she told me as she sheathed her rapier.

"How the heck did you took it out with one hit? It still has a little less than half of it's HP left", I asked her.

"Well... Fencers are very deadly when they can lay an attack on a weak spot", she explained to me. "Golem's weak spots are cracks on their rock body. Thanks to you, you caused a crack on the golem's back. So I took him out quite easily", she said as she smiled at me.

"Did you use a skill?", I asked since I'm still not convinced that a single regular blow would took out half of a golem's HP.

"You figured that out huh?", Val said looking a bit dissapointed. "I thought that I would be able to surprise you with a powerful attack. I guess it didn't work", she said while giving a dry laugh. I gave her a wry smile.

"I used my weapon skill", she said. "My brother made this rapier. He named it Linnaea, after a twinflower. It's weapon skill's called Double Action. It's a skill that lets the user to land 2 identical attack on the same time", she said.

"Umm... You lost me there", I said. I didn't understood a word from her Double Action explanation.

"Well... It's like I do one move, but do twice the impact", she said.

"So... Like you attack deals twice the amount of damage?"

"Something like that", she answered me.

"Why don't you say so?", I asked.

"Because it isn't exactly like that", she said.

"Geez... Save me the explanation, at least I know basically what it does", I replied. "So do we get enough iron ores? I got 12", I asked.

"Yes we do", she answered. "We got 30 from the looting spot, and I received 15 from the golem", she added.

"Alright. Let's go back", I said. She nodded.
____________________________________________________________________________

"We're back", both Val and I said after I opened Oxide's workshop door.

"Welcome back you guys", Oxide said as he gave a smile at us. "I've been waiting for you guys."

"Umm... X", he said with a worried tone. "I know you just got back, but can you go get something for me at my supplier's place. I'll send you a message of where it is and what to buy along with the money needed."

"Can't you get it yourself?", I asked him with a wry smile.

"I want to walk around the square and laze around you know.", he said.

"Geez...", I sighed. "I'm off"

I got out of Oxide's workshop and walk towards the market place. After a couple of minutes, I got a message from Oxide.

"So, I'm supposed to buy these things.", I asked myself as I opened the message. I can only speechlessly stare at the immense amount of items I'm supposed to buy.

"How the heck does he even have enough GPs to actually buy all of these materials?", I asked myself in my head. I sighed and pick up my pace on going to the material supplier he specified.

As I was almost at the location Oxide specified, I received a call from him.

"X, stop what I told you to do and go to the town square now", he said.

"I'm almost at your supplier's place, I can go there afterwards", I told him.

"Forget it. This is more urgent", he said as he hung up. I sighed at what he said but then made a decision to go to the square immediately.

To save time, I went through the rooftops just like I always do when I'm in a hurry. I can't think of something that could be more important to a blacksmith than to get his order from his supplier. The closer I get to the square, the more anxious I get.

By the time I reached the square, I understood what had happened. Havok was interrogating one of those gray-hooded guys he claimed as the guardians towards the next floor.

"So, what exactly are you people? Guardians? People playing God at us?", Havok asked the guy. The guy didn't say a word.

"What exactly do you want with us? Say something damn it!", he said as he punched the gray-hooded guy. The gray-hooded guy just smirked at his expense. 

However, I noticed that smirk, it was the smirk given by the rogue who I killed the other day. I'm sure I wasn't mistaken. I rushed to the gray-hooded guy and stopped Havok from landing another hit at the gray-hooded guy.

"What?! You! What the heck do you want?!", Havok burst into rage towards me from stopping him. I ignored him, but this just made him even more enraged.

"Stop messing around with me bastard! He's my suspect for restricting our freedom!", he shouted.

"Will you just pipe down for a second?", I snapped at him in an 'I'm not interested' manner.

"Are you looking for another fight?!", Havok asked.

"No", I replied at him and opened the captured rogue's hood. There was no mistaking it, he's the guy I killed a couple of weeks back.

"Nice seeing you again, boy", he said to me. I can hear the crowd gasp in shock that the hooded guy knew me.

"How the hell did you not die? I saw you get destroyed into pixels with my own eyes.", I asked him as I held the collar of his hood. Everyone looking at the scene was speechless as they heard me asked that question. Even Havok himself has calmed down.

"Well... Let's just say that we're two different type of players", he said. I was confused at the statement he said. I heard that there were already reports of people who died in this game, they were never seen in-game ever again. I wasn't the only one dumbfounded. The whole square was in silence, trying to digest what they just heard.

While I was left thinking about the statement the captured rogue was saying, he pushed me aside and opened his menu.

"See you around, kid", he said as he pressed a button. He turned into pixels and logged out in front of all of the spectators.

Chapter 10: The Blacksmith's Apprentice

"It's closed?", I asked.

"Seems like it", Barrios answered. "Although I was drooling this morning for a toast", he said as he flooded the streets with tears, and all I can do is smile wryly at him.

Both me and Barrios had the same idea in mind this morning. We wanted to have a brunch at Ridgeview Crest. Apparently it was closed for the day.

"Nothing we can do then", I said as I start walking away. I felt someone tugging my shirt from behind. I thought it was Barrios, but he was right beside me. I looked back and found out the culprit. It was Val.

"Yo!", she greeted in a casual manner. She also smacked Barrios at his back, although she shook her arm after the impact with Barrios' armor.

"Mornin'", Barrios greeted her back.

"Hey", I greeted her back too.

"So what's up? We were looking for toast for a brunch you know", Barrios said as he pulled me towards him, while unaware of him choking me.

"Ooo... I'm taking a break today", Val answered. "I'm visiting someone today".

"Visiting someone?", I asked back to make sure.

"Yep! Since you're here, why not come with me? He's someone I want to introduce to you guys", she said.

"He? Introduce?", Barrios asked. "ARE YOU GETTING MARRIED?!", he suddenly asked in a loud tone. At his stupid question, Val can only give an dry laugh.

"That came out of nowhere, you idiot", I riposted him.

"That came out of nowhere either!", he tried to do a comeback, although that just seemed like he's making a bigger idiot of himself to me.

"Come on guys, stop fighting", Val stepped between us to stop us. "Eitherdfay, I'm not getting married. He's someone I know from the real world.", she said.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!", Barrios said as he start walking. But then he stopped a couple of steps ahead and asked, "Where exactly are we going?".

"Your grave", I riposted him. Barrios could only give an annoyed look while Val was laughing at Barrios' idiocy.

"Come one, I'll show you the way.", Val said as she took the lead.

"Would you stop making me look like a fool?", Barrios whispered to me.

"I thought you're one without even trying.", I replied. Barrios gave me a 'what the heck' look. I smacked his back in a friendly manner.
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"Here we are", Val said as she stopped in front of a tavern. The banner reads "Adventurer's Tavern". Me and Barrios stood quietly as she opened the door. we followed her in after exchanging a glance and I signaled him to go ahead first.

"You're here after all", Val said to a person. He had a moderate build, brown hair, and golden eyes. Judging from his apparel, he seemed like a rogue.

"Look who came up. Been a while Val!", the guy greeted her with a smile just like Val's.

"Sure has been, big bro.", Val answered his greeting.

"Big bro?", I asked.

"Yes. this here is my bigger brother", Val answered me.

"Hi. You must be Extorsion and Barrios. My in-game name is Oxide. Pleased to meet you.", he said.

"Pleased to meet you too.", Barrios replied to him.

"Yeah, pleased to meet you too. By the way, you can simply call me X", I added.

"So. X's the assassin, and Barrios' the defender.", he said.

"Yeap. I'm the defender. And this puny guy is the assassin.", Barrios said pointing at me. I gave him a 'not impressed' look.

"I see.",  said. "X, what happened to your other dagger?", Oxide asked me.

"You noticed?", I asked him in surprise.

"Yeah. The dagger you are using belongs to a dual dagger set doesn't it?", he replied.

"It does. But it snapped into two pieces.", I said.

"How exactly?", he asked me again.

"It cracked a bit against Havok's Diamond Slash, and finally it snapped when I attacked him while he activated his Safeguard skill.", I said.

"Havok? So you're the one who won the battle against Havok.", he replied. Some people looked towards me after  said that. I probably had raised some notoriety after winning a duel against Havok.

"Are you planning to just use the other one?", he asked me.

"Not exactly, but I am looking for a substitute for this", I said.

"In that case, what about I give you a dagger instead?", he offered me.

"Are you really okay that?", I asked him.

"Of course. A rogue like me wouldn't have any use for a dagger", he said as he opened his inventory list. After searching through a ton of stuff, he summoned the dagger he meant. "Here", he gave me the dagger.

As I took it, a pop-up appeared at my HUD showing details about the dagger. It's called Spyker. It has a decent damage and it's also light in-hand. It has a bleeding effect, an effect that will cause anyone hit by the dagger to receive an amount of damage per second. It's main weakness is it's ability to defend from an attack. Under all of the stats, I noticed something else was written there. It said that the Spyker was crafted by Oxide.

"You crafted this?", I asked him.

"Yes I did", he said.

"How exactly do you craft a weapon?", I asked him.

"My side job's a blacksmith you know", he said while laughing. "Were you interested in being a blacksmith?", he asked me.

"I am sort of interested. But I guess I'm gonna need to think before having a side job.", I replied.

"Planning on being a frontliner?", he asked me again.

"A frontliner?"

"Yes. A frontliner. The guys who fight clearing floors to clear the game", he explained to me.

"Not really I guess", I answered.

"How about if you start by helping me in my workshop? Then you can see if you're interested or not", he said.

"I'll do that", I answered him. And thus I became Oxide's temporary apprentice.

Chapter 9: The Extortion, part 2

"Your present mother isn't your biological mother.", my so-called father said.

"What about Takagi?", I asked.

"He's our child. In other words-"

"My half-brother.", I cut him off, taking the words right out of his mouth. He looked kinda shocked for a second, but then nodded to confirm it.

"Is that it?", I asked.

"Yes", he answered quietly.

"Do you think I actually care who my real parents are?", I asked with an annoyed tone. He looked at me in the eyes as if he didn't believed what he just heard.

"Do you think by saying that I would change my thoughts about you? Do you think I would pity you?", I asked with a more angry tone.

"Both of you are two people which I will never care for. Don't even try to ask for my care when you don't even care-", I said before I was stopped by him. He tugged on my hoodie giving me a sharp look. I was petrified by it, but then looked back at him with a disgusted look.

"You looking for a fight?", he asked. I stayed quiet an ignored him, but deep down I really was looking for a fight with this guy.

"What is it?! You're scared?!", he shouted. I kept on ignoring him to annoy him even more. Next thing I knew, I was thrown by him towards a sliding door made out of glass. I crashed on to it and causes the glass to break. My forehead was bleeding due to the impact. I was just laying there dumbfounded by the fact that I never knew my so-called dad could be this dangerous.

When I looked at him, he was just there standing. Tears were rolling down his eyes, and he was repeatedly saying "I'm sorry". I thought to myself, what a pitiful sight. If I still have any care towards that person, I might pity him. But I have stopped caring for him for as long as I could remember. I just stood up and walked outside, leaving the old man behind.

I ran all over town in hope of finding Takagi. This town isn't a big town, but it does certainly felt big if you're searching only for a single guy. To be honest, I didn't know where to look. Takagi always shuts himself up in his room, never leaving it except for school.

The more I put effort in looking for Takagi, the more restless I became. I was worried in never finding him. He is someone important to me. He is the only guy who was able to keep my sanity in check, otherwise I wouldn't know what I might've become.

Without noticing, I was standing in the middle of the park before. I didn't know if I had given up in finding Takagi, or just simply trying to sort myself out. I was just standing there doing nothing.

"Didn't I told you to go home?", a voice said from behind me.

"I did, Hisako", I said while facing her.

"Then why are you here again?", she asked me.

"Takagi went missing after I got home. Probably he's looking for me.", I said. "What are you doing here? I thought you went back home.", I asked her.

"I got bored at home, so I decided to go back here", she said.

"Is that really what happened? I'm not so sure.", I replied.

"You're really good at digging out the truth, are you?", she said. "It's just that my parents are not really on good terms. You know how much I hate it when they're fighting", she continued.

I knew that Hisako hates her parents fighting, but her parents never went too far when fighting. They also fought rarely. My parents however fought every single day, and both only cares about themselves. It's almost like Takagi and I are just staying over at their place to sleep.

"I know you're someone who don't really like to make other people worry about you, but it's okay to tell me. I don't mind anyway.", I said. She simply gave a weak nod.

"What happened to your forehead?", Hisako asked.

"I fought with the old man. I didn't thought he would go physical though. It just sorta happened.", I answered.

"Let's go to my place. I'll treat the wound.", she said as she took my hand.

"No need for that. I still got even more important things to worry about.", I answered without moving an inch despite Hisako pulling my hand.

"In that case, I'll help look for your brother. I got nothing to do anyways", she said.

"Are you sure?", I asked. She nodded. Not sure who started walking, but we walk side by side looking for Takagi.

We went around on the outskirts of the town with no luck. We then decided to go towards the center of town, hoping that Takagi might be there.

"I lost it.", I said suddenly. Hisako just looked puzzled at me.

"I couldn't control myself anymore today.", I continued. "It's just that I always wanted to get some peace and quiet, away from my so-called parents. They forbid me from being away from them, since they kept on saying I should live like a family with them. I always hated those words coming out of their mouths. There hasn't been a single day without an argument breaking out in my house for as long as I can remember. I'm just sick of it already".

"You should know that keeping your distance from them will not change anything, or even make your parents ask more of your attention. You will need to talk to them and understand their point of view of your family problems.", Hisako said calmly.

"How can I even do that?!", I shouted. I realized that I was scaring Hisako judging by the shocked face she was making. "I... I...", I tried to say something, but the words are just stuck on my throat. I was shocked that I actually lost my self control in front of Hisako. The next thing I knew, I was running away from her without looking back.

There was just so much things running through my head, I stopped running. I was on my knees in the middle of the road, unsure of what to do. I looked towards the sky without a thought. It was grey, looking as if it was going to snow pretty soon.

"There you are", a voice called me from behind. I looked back, it was Takagi.

"I've been looking all over the place for you.", he said calmly. "Let's go home. We'll sort things out together with mom and dad.", he continued while touching my shoulder. Without realizing, I punched him.

"You want to sort this out with those two idiots?! Have you lost your mind?! They're the one who caused this! I don't want anything to do with them anymore!", I shouted at him. He was just sitting on the ground, holding the part of his face that got hit by my punch, looking gloomy.

"What has happened here?", a different voice asked. It was my so-called mother. "Come on boys, time to go home and talk this through.", she said calmly.

"Don't act like you're part of my life!", I screamed at her. I ran away from the scene, only listening to Takagi calling out for me.

I ran past an intersection when I realized that Takagi was chasing me. I looked back at Takagi and decided to wait for him. I felt that I have calmed down a bit.

But something else caught my eye, a speeding vehicle was going through the intersection I just passed, and Takagi right in the middle of the road.

"Takagi! Stop running!", I shouted.

"Wait for me, bro!" he shouted back.

"Takagi, stop now!", I shouted in horror.

Takagi looked puzzled for a moment the looked towards his right. He had realized a speeding car was honking its horn and trying to brake before hitting him. He showed a face filled with horror as he knew that escaping the crash was inevitable. He looked at me and moved his mouth.

The next thing I knew, I was holding my lifeless brother in my arms with tears rolling down my cheeks. The moment was even more colder to me, colder than the atmosphere which started to snow. The car immediately rushed off the scene after hitting Takagi. I was in too much shock to remember the license plate of the blue Nissan Skyline that hit him. I just held the closest person to me, yearning for a miracle to happen, even though I knew it was never going to happen.

Goodbye. It was the last word he said to me.
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Takagi. It has the meaning 'tall tree'. That night, out of desperation, I asked my parents why did they gave him that name. They said that a tall tree is where people might gathered to sheltered themselves from the sun rays and be protected by that tree's shadow. The 'sun rays' according to them are all the hardships that were given to us, and the 'shadow' is what symbolizes peace. Takagi was always the one who fought for peace in the family on both my faction and my parent's. It was a suitable name for him.

Ever since then, I hated snow and winter. I hated this city. I hated this world. But most of all, I hated myself for losing control of myself. I had forgotten what it's like to have someone close to me. I had closed myself from the rest of the world, knowing that I might just be the cause behind their griefs. To wear this mask of loneliness without solitude was my own accord. My way of keeping everyone out of harm's way.

This is where I took the name Extorsion from. I took the name from the word extortion: a practice of obtaining something through force. What I sought for is peace, and I extort myself to find it.

Chapter 8: The Extortion, part 1

It has been 3 years past since I wore that mask. 3 years of locking away the pain and agony I had to gone through. 3 years of being an outcast towards the world. I was then reminded of that dreadful winter.
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Cross Faction is an RPG game that Takagi and I have been playing for some time. Takagi was notably good at this, he was even invited to join a prestigious guild which joins into international competition. However, Takagi waved off that invitation since he claims he was only playing for fun.

"Oi Takagi! Can I enter?", I knocked on his door.

"Sure, just come in!", I heard Takagi's voice from the other side of the door. With the green light given, I went into his room.

"Still playing Cross Faction?", I asked.

"Can't you tell bro?", he replied. I took a closer look at his computer screen, and the famous Vyper was there fighting off 2 other guys.

One of the enemies was a tanker, guys who are able to take on a lot of hits thanks to it's huge HP, with the name DarkBringer. The other one was a mage, which my guess is, an offensive mage. DarkBringer charged forward to make him the center of attention. Takagi, however, used a spell on him to delay his movements for 10 seconds (or so Takagi said, I don't remember all his spells). He used the 10 second delay to attack the mage behind the tank. The mage was unable to use any skill since he was the type of mage, which Takagi claims, who needs a long casting time. Vyper finished off the mage using a combo Takagi likes to use, Firestrom followed up by Magic Sapper. With this combo, he said he was able to lash out enormous damage while regaining quite a decent amount of Magic Points (or MP for short) to use. Takagi then attacked the tanker while deactivating all his equipment's bonuses with a skill of his (Again, I don't remember every spell Takagi possesses). He then calls out all of his big guns to finish off DarkBringer.

"Dang it!", DarkBringer said through the chat. "How can you be so good at Cross Faction, Vyper?", he said.

"I don't know. I just think of the best possible outcome with all the possibilities I can do... I guess.", Takagi answered. "Still, you're pretty decent at playing this too, DarkBringer.", he continued.

"I still don't get it, why wouldn't you join the Realm Takers?", DarkBringer asked.

"I don't really have much time to play games. I also don't plan to make a living out of it. I simply play them to kill time hahaha.", Takagi answered.

"I see... By the way I got a clan battle to fight. See you around?", DarkBringer asked.

"Sure. Good luck on your clan fight.", Takagi answered. DarkBringer went off to his battle afterwards.

"So.. What do you need bro?", Takagi asked me. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was doing. I just thought I could waste time watching Vyper take out some guys.

"I don't really know hahaha.", I answered him.

"Sometimes you're wierd bro...", Takagi said. "By the way, I'm gonna pack up for that school trip I'm having tomorrow.", he continued.

"I see. How long is it before you came back?", I asked.

"Around 3 days if we stick to the plan.", he said. "Of course, I wouldn't be the one who accidentally kicked some other student's shoe to a river and had to retreive it.". Both Takagi and I laughed after he said that. I was actually the one who accidentally kicked a classmate's shoe to a river, and was forced to retrieve it afterwards. It wasted around half a day just finding the shoe, which I fortunately found ashore on a river bank. This caused me to arrive almost at midnight, which was scheduled to be at 1 p.m.

"Would you not remind me of that accident? That was so hilarious I couldn't even say sorry with a straight face to my classmate. Haha-", I was stopped when Takagi and I heard a sound like a window broke. We hurried downstairs and found what was the cause of the noise. It was no other than our parents fighting again.

"You selfish idiot! Can't you think more than just your selfish needs?!", our mom shouted from one side of the kitchen. In front of her was a plate broken into pieces which seems like the cause of the crash-like sound just now.

"I think for myself? Who do you think pays for all those pieces of cloth you never used? You're the one who's basically wasting my money here!", our father shouted back.

"Well all you ever did is just slouch around doing nothing in the house!".

"I deserve to do anything I want since I'm the one making the money around here! You on the other hand don't have the right to spend my money as if you just won a lottery!".

"You know what?! I'm sick living with your stupid made-up rules! You want to be the only royalty in a family, then have it!".

"SHUT UP!", I screamed out as I punched the wall. This causes everyone to look at me, all with a surprised expression on their face. "Why can't we just have one day, just one single God damn day in this 16 years I spent alive without any stupid fights between you two?! Why can't I just have a simple peaceful family to be in?!", I continued. My parent's face turned into looks of guilt as they just heard what I have been suppressing this whole time.

I pulled back my hand from the wall and found out that I was bleeding. I refused to stay any longer in this house. I took my hoodie I left on a couch and walked out of my so-called house. I'd figure I might just crash in one of my friend's house for the night since I was on term break anyways.

"Where are you going bro?", Takagi asked.

"Where does it look like? Out.", I said as I stormed off.

"No wait! Bro!", Takagi tried to stop me. He was too late though. I was already too pissed off by my parents.

It seemed as if forever for me to just get to the park I usually use to think and reflect my life. My brain was filled with all the unwanted thoughts of my parents. I ran and ran to the park, but it just feels like time just rolls backwards in my head since my thoughts were still in the place I don't feel I belong.

I knew Takagi was going after me, but he won't be following for much longer. I always cut through a construction site and went to higher grounds from there. From the construction site, I went through the roofs of the houses between the construction site and the park. I'm used to free running since I was pretty much doing it almost everyday since I was 12 years old. Takagi however, mostly stick to staying in front of his computer, either pro-gaming or programming. He wouldn't be able to get to me. Besides, he was never knew of the park I like to go to.

I sat on a bench which shows off the rest of the city, since the park was built on top of a hill. All the houses below lined up perfectly. The sun was just about to say goodbye to this city, hiding behind the comfort of the mountains. For a second, I thought this was a nice scenery, but it waved off quite quickly.

I hate this city. I hate this fate I was given to live through. Every single day I always felt as if I was simply returned to a prison. I wasted most of my days out of that prison. I don't know what I was doing, I pretty much just went around town and mess around.

I wanted to live in an apartment, away from all the messed up things back at that prison. However, both my so-called parents disagreed with me. They said things about living as a family, living in harmony together in a perfect place called home. What a bunch of lies. Acting as if they were living with common sense, but all they knew was the contrary. The only thing I ever did in that prison was play Cross Faction, look for a suitable part-time job, and sleep.

"Not rare seeing you here.", a voice said behind me. I recognized that voice. It was Kisama Hisako, a childhood friend of mine.

"Nice to see you too, Hisako", I replied. She sat beside me, also staring at the sunset presented before us.

"What's up this time?", she asked.

"The regular. Messed up life of mine back at a place I don't wish to call home", I said.

"Sooner or later you're going to need to learn how to live as a family.", she said. Usually if someone says anything like this, I'll be angry. But when Hisako said it, it always calms me down. I don't know either it's the way she speaks or the face she made when saying it, but it worked.

"The later, the better. I have every other people to care for except for those two.", I snapped back in a reluctant manner. Hisako sighed afterwards.

She knew it isn't going to be easy for me to be able to live with my family peacefully, but deep down I know she was trying her best. Each time after she lectured me about being with a family, I felt like I might want to try to do so. But whenever I walked back through the front door of my so-called home, the atmosphere always made me forget about her words.

"It's getting late. I'm going home. You should too.", she said.

"I'm thinking about crashing at Yoshiro's place", I replied.

"No, you're not. You're going back home. Or should I escort you back home?".

"Fine fine. I don't need your escort.".

"Good, see you later.", she said. I nodded.

I always knew that I can always lie to her and eventually end up at Yoshiro's place, but there's this part of me that never could make myself lie. No matter how terrible the outcome might be, but I just can't lie. It was probably the sense of righteousness that I had since I was small.

I opened the gates of my so-called home. I sighed before opening the door. As I opened the door, I realized there was no one in the house besides my dad who was sitting on the couch with his hands holding his head.

"Where's Takagi?", I asked.

"He's not back yet. So is that lady.", my dad replied. I was rather confused by him calling my so-called mom 'that lady' rather than 'my mom'. However, I shook it off my head.

"What? How can he not be back home yet?", I was rather shocked.

"I don't know. He's a good kid, he wouldn't go home late.", my so-called dad replied.

"Well then we're gonna need to look for him! Not staying here doing nothing!", I shouted at my so-called dad. Takagi is someone important to me, probably the most important person. He was the one who kept me stay sane in the whole jeopardy I was living in.

"There is something I have to tell you.", my so-called dad said softly as I was about to leave.

"It can wait.", I snapped back.

"No it can't!", he shouted back at me. I was surprised. He never yelled straight at me. I just realized how fearsome he could be.

"Sit down there.", he continued while pointing at the other end of the kotatsu. I was in a rather shock, but followed what he said afterwards. I followed what he wanted since this is the first time he had shouted right at me, so I thought it was very important.

"What is it?", I asked.

"It's about your past.", he said. There was some pause before he continued, as if gathering courage before continuing. "Your present mother isn't your biological mother."

Chapter 7: The Life I'm Too Scared to Live

One would say that loneliness and solitude can be considered the same thing. It is basically so, but there's one appealing difference. Loneliness is the fear. Solitude is the glory. We are social beings, we lust for solitude but yet fear of loneliness. Those who chose the path of solitude are the ones who fears loneliness, and is willing to chase solitude to be noticed by others. But in reality, there are also people who chose the path of loneliness. A path which most people say is a path of a mad man. A path which will take someone to utter desperation and eternal anxiety. A path of sheer destruction of one's self. But truth be told, the more lonely someone is, the more human they are.

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West of Stoneridge was the infamous ridge, which legend says was due to a battle fought back in the older age. It was the story of The Battle of Stoneridge. A massive war broke out between two factions. Stonehaven, a famous city known as the crossroads of the world, was believed as the capital of the losing side of the battle. At that time, the opposite faction had already attacked the western side of the city. The losing faction's supreme leader was faced between two choices; to admit defeat to the opposition, or to turn the tides by destroying more than half of the city. The leader had chosen to turn the tides by destroying his own city rather than admitting defeat. He ordered his warriors to prepare explosives and create a barrier for the blast. They threw everything they had to destroy the other half of Stoneridge.

In the final days of the battle, the losing faction emerged as the victors, but has made a selfish decision. More than 8000 lives were sacrificed just to achieve a glory. Innocent blood mixed with blood of killers stained the west side of the once glorious city. This was believed as a downfall of the empire, as chaos spreads out of control due to a single man's decision. Alas, it was simply a story of how the mighty have fallen.

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I sat on top of an old 20-story watch tower near the ridge facing towards the ridge. It was a regular place for me to be, as I always came there to think. In my mind was a scene that happened 3 days ago, the moment I left Ridgeview without giving an answer to Barrios or Val.

I knew they trusted me, but I was the one who had problems with trusting someone. I grew reluctant to the fact I am living with other people in this world, both the real world and this world. I live by myself and for myself. But now, I felt guilt as I have distrusted those who believed in me. I can see it from Val's eyes, the look of broken hope. I knew I am used to live my own way, but I always had a sense of righteousness deep down. I had always ignored it, but now it wants to change the way I am.

The next morning...

I woke up to a bright light shining down on my face. It was the sun blazing straight to my eyes. I didn't realize I slept on top of the tower. I checked my menu and noted that it was already 10. I climbed down the watch tower and aimlessly walked through the town. Before I realized, my feet took me to Ridgeview Crest. I looked at the door and realized that it was closed. I felt that there was something wrong.

I rushed around town, hoping to be able to see Val and apologize to her. I know I messed up, and I want to make it right. I went everywhere I might think she might be, but wasn't sure where she is either.

I rushed around town, hoping to be able to see her and apologize without knowing why. I rushed towards the market, knowing she might be buying some supplies for her restaurant. She wasn't there. I checked the square for a possibility she might be taking a day off. She wasn't there either.

I noticed that Barrios was in the town square. Apparently, he noticed that I was too. I tried to slip away, but he was able to get to me before I left the scene.

"Strange of you not to use Stalker.", Barrios said.

"I can only Stalker if I'm in-", I was cut off before I continued.

"The shadows.", Barrios said while pointing at where I was standing. I realized I was standing in the shadows this whole time, but it never hit me that I could just Stalker away.

"You're really off today, huh? And 3 days ago you wanted to finish off your business with that underground guild.", he reluctantly said.

"I get it. You can skip the 'I told you so' section and cut to the chase", I replied.

"Straight forward as always, aren't you X? Well, I dispatched some of my guys to investigate this matter. They found a lead somewhere near the first floor gate.", he told me. " Still, if you're thinking about soloing this thing, I'm not letting you.".

"Why aren't you just letting me go?", I asked him.

"There's something about you that will kill you sooner or later. I don't want anyone I know to die pointlessly. So I'm basically preventing you before that happens.", he said.

"Since when are you my guardian?", I asked him. However, he acts as if I did not ask him anything.

"What were you doing here? It's not like you to be wandering in a crowded place like this.", Barrios asked.

"None of your business.", I reluctantly said.

"If you're looking for Val, she's taking a day off to go hunting. She's in the South Crater Forest.".

"Is that... The forest to the southwest of Stoneridge?", I asked. Barrios noticed the panicked look on my face.

"Yeah. Why?", he asked.

"I was ambushed in that forest last time", I replied. Barrios looked panicked after hearing what I said. He rushed immediately into the direction of the forest. I knew what was on his mind, but with a sense of panic, it would be a disadvantage on our accord.

"Wait up Barrios!", I caught up to him at the south gate of Stoneridge. He stared at me as if we don't have much time left. I am aware of this but I needed to calm his insecurity for it to be a winning fight.

"Look, you can't panic at a time like this.", I said.

"How is it that I won't panic? You know Val's in danger.", he said with an enraged tone.

"If you panic, we'll lose for sure.", I replied. This seemed to have calmed him down.

"We don't know how many of them are there at the moment, but we do have the element of surprise. I want us to use this to our advantage.". Barrios nodded in agreement.

"I'll act as a scout until we find Val. I'll stick to the trees and give you heads up from there. I need you to be as stealthy and focused as you can. If I tell you to take down a target, I want you to take him down the fastest way possible.", I continued. Barrios nodded that he understood. "Be warned, that as a scout, I will not be able to help you in combat, since it will blow my cover. At least, until we find Val.".

"Let's get on with it already.", Barrios said. I nodded in agreement. I was about to go scout but Barrios held my shoulder. "Thanks. You calmed me down a lot.", he said. I nodded.

"You can be a great leader I think", he continued.

"We both know that would be impossible.", I said. I started my scouting as Barrios prepared his new-and-improved backsword.

I sticked to the treetops to scout out targets for Barrios to take out. There were some monsters, but no sign of those hooded guys yet. The day turned into night, still no sign of Val or those hooded guys. South Crater Forest is one of the largest are in the first floor, so I did thought that it will take some time to find Val, but not this long.

I was about to tell Barrios that we need to pull out for the night as it was dangerous for the both of us, but suddenly a scream came from somewhere nearby. It was a female scream. Both Barrios and I stared at each other and nodded in unison, we're going to the direction of that scream.

"Let me go!", the voice shrieked. I moved faster through the treetops and found out who the voice belonged to. It was Val's. She was surrounded by 5 other guys, all with gray hoods.

"Calm down miss. We're not going to hurt you. After we're done with you, you will be set free", a guy said followed by an evil laugh. I knew where this is going, I have to stop them.

Another guy was grabbing Val's clothes, attempting to strip her down. I threw a throwing knife at a guy beside him to start creating a distraction. The guy shrieked, this caused all the others to look at him. I used this moment to get close to them with Stalker and stabbed the guy holding Val on his back. This causes panic on those 5 guys. They weren't prepared for this.

I threw the guy I stabbed at the guy I hit with a throwing knife earlier. They were knocked off their feet, giving me time to handle the others. Among the remaining 3, one was a rogue, another one was a fencer, and the last one was an assassin. The rogue immediately pulled out his katana and attempted a slash at me. I dodged him, but the rapier used a blowback attack which knocked me over. It didn't end there. The assassin did a form of double slash with his butterfly sword.

I was ricocheted and fell near Val. Val checked my face, wondering who is it that tried to save her. As soon as she saw my face, she looked shocked to found out that I was the one saving her. I smiled at her and got up to fend off the attackers. All 5 of them are ready to fight, whereas the other 2 were a defender and another rogue. I checked my health bar, it was somewhere lower that 50% left.

"What do you think you're doing kid? Playing a hero?", the defender asked. Obviously, I did not answered him.

"My my.... Looks like this guy is mute. I do have one piece of advice kid, anyone who plays a hero will die out of his overconfidence.", the assassin continued. I smirked. All the attackers and Val noticed this. The rogueran out of patience and charged at me. I threw my dagger at him to startle him. The moment he was startled, I rushed at him and kicked him on his torso. I snatched his katana and took back my dagger.

I held the katana on my right hand, and my dagger on my left hand with the blade pointing downwards. I plan to use the katana for offense, and my dagger for defensive purposes. Everyone was looking at me. They never thought that snatching an opponent's weapon was available to do. I was also surprised by this, as I just noticed that I could do that.

"What the heck? How can he do that?", the fencer said. Everyone was shocked but prepared to attack me either way. The rogue,from which I acquired the katana from, equipped another katana for him to use. He charged at me and used a skill called Crescent Moon. It was a skill which shoots some kind of energy based slicer shaped like a crescent from his katana. I dodged his skill and charged at him. I used my Double Cross skill at him, but nothing happened. It seems as if you can't use any skills you know with a weapon from a different class, or a weapon not from your inventory.

The rogue just blocked my attack and seemingly created an opening for his peers to attack. The defender was about to slash me, but suddenly Barrios was there to block his attack with his shield. He pushed away the defender's sword and bashed him backwards. This caused the other rogue behind him to be pushed away too.

I kicked away the rogue blocking my attack and slashed the fencer about to attack me. He jerked backwards, but the assassin was about to do a follow up attack. I pointed the katana I was holding at him in order to distract him. He slowed down his speed, and I used this to my advantage. I tossed the katana aside and threw 2 throwing knives at him. As he blocked the incoming throwing knives at him, he didn't have enough time to react to my follow up attack with my dagger. I slashed his left eye and sent him flying backwards.

"Retreat!", one of the rogues said. They all ran away from the battle. "You won't get away from this, Extorsion!", the assassin said. I was shocked they knew my name. It seemed as if they are doing research about me.

"Damn.. They even know your name now, X", Barrios said. "Not only that, it might be possible that they know about Val's connection to you to.", he continued.

"That's why I told you guys, stay out of this.", I said as I faced Barrios and Val.

Val stood up and walked towards me. Barrios tried to ask if she's okay, but she ignored him. I didn't move as I was rather shocked that she isn't acting as friendly as how she is supposed to be. As soon as she's near enough to me, she slapped me. At this moment, I was speechless. All I could feel was the pain on my cheek and guilt in my heart.

"One slap... You deserve one slap because you worry me to death.", she said as she cried in front of me. "I don't care what are you going to do to me as payback. But you deserve it!", she continued as she cried even louder. The setting was filled with the sound of Val's cries for quite some time. Soon after, rain fell to wash away all the blood spilt on the grounds.

"I'm not going to do anything to you.", I said after some time after the rain started. "Either way you looked at it, I deserved it. This was my fault entirely.", I went on.

"Barrios, take her back to Stoneridge.", I told Barrios. He nodded.

"What are you going to do?", Barrios asked right before he and Val left me.

"Some matter I have to attend to.", I said.

"Don't do anything stupid.", he replied. I nodded to assure him I won't. Afterwards, it was just me in the middle of the raining forest. I took the katana I snatched from the rogue before and stabbed it to the ground. I never intended on snatching it, so I just thought to leave it there in hope that the owner might go back to the battleground.

So there I was, standing in the middle of the rain, reflecting on what has happened. All this time, I was living behind a mask, a mask of loneliness with no solitude. Living as someone else who is contradictory to my old self. The guy who I was back before I put on the mask was the guy I'm traumatized to be. He was the life I'm too scared to live.

Chapter 6: To Trust or to Not Trust, that's the Question

"First to make the opponent's health bar to red, or make the opponent unable to battle wins.", Havok said. I nodded at him. He cynically smiled at me as he prepares his Diamondback. I pull out my Twin Daggers and prepare for his attack. He charged at me as soon as he saw I was ready.

"Diamond Slash!", Havok screamed out his skill move. The Diamond Slash was a quick slash that gives 200% additional bonus damage if an opponent was hit with. I used my right hand dagger to push away Havok's Diamond Slash and spun around to push him off balance.

"Damn it!", Havok said after he had regained his balance. He charged at me again and swung his sword at me. I blocked the swing coming from above with both my daggers, but suddenly he used his hand and punched me on my gut.

"Argh!", I shrieked whilst falling backwards. This guy does not like to lose, and he'll do anything it takes to do win. I checked my health bar, it was on the yellow zone at about 75% of my total HP bar.

"Hahaha! You like that?", Havok tried to provoke me.

"You're not going to provoke me Havok. I'll win the fight for sure.", I replied.

"I'd like to see you try.", he said.

"Go on X! Get him!", Barrios cheered for me from the sides. I nodded at Barrios and get back up to finish the fight.

"Alright, let's finish this.", Havok said. He puts up a stance and signaled me to go on an attack him. I prepared my Twin Daggers and charged at him.

"Double Cross!", I cried out one of my skills. Double Cross is a skill which permits the user to land 4 consecutive critical attacks to the enemy which deals 150% of the base damage for each hit.

"Safeguard!", Havok used his skill as soon as my right dagger hits his sword. Safeguard is a skill which allows the user to block an attack with any equipment available to use. This skill also makes the equipment sturdy enough to literally make a weapon break, just as Barrios' backsword has.

My right dagger broke into two pieces due to the impact it has got from defending Havok's Diamond Slash earlier. I didn't stop me attack yet since I still have 3 more critical hits to land at him. I used my left dagger to hit him 3 consecutive times while he was vulnerable after blocking my first Double Cross hit. After the 3rd hit, he lunged backwards to retreat from another incoming attack from me. He realized his health bar was close to the red zone.

"You've got some potential kid. Maybe you'll do well in The Chivalry.", Havok said.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't do guilds.", I replied. The words I said created quite some shock from the spectators of the battle. I heard murmurs of people talking about me.

"Is he crazy to actually ditch an opportunity like this?". "Such a cocky kid. He'll die soon enough with his ego". "He's underestimating the power of The Chivalry! This is a disgrace!". Of course I didn't care much of what people are saying, I have always prefer to work alone.

"Hmph. Well let's end this battle already!", Havok said as he ran up towards me.

"Let's finish this. Diamond Slash!", he said readying up for his final attack on me. I ran up towards him as fast as I can. Havok didn't thought about this, but he did stop his charge and swung his sword at me. I sled down on me knees to dodge his attack and slashed him with my dagger. His HP bar reached the red zone, and the battle was ended.

"How... How did..", Havok said in a shocked tone. The spectators also gave out a shocked gasp, they never thought that the famous Havok would have been beaten by a regular gamer.

I put back my dagger to my holster and walk up towards Barrios, who was also shocked.

"You okay?", I asked.

"Y-Yeah. How did you do that man? That was awesome!", Barrios replied. He seemed happy that I managed to beat Havok.

"Beginner's luck", I shrugged. "Come on, we're done here.".

"Sure, but where are we going?", he asked.

"Ridgeview. My treat.", I answered as started to walk out of The Chivalry's guild house.
___________________________________________________________________________

"Oi, Takagi! Dinner's ready!", a boy shouted while banging a door.

"Wait up big bro. I'm just about to beat this guy.", Takagi replied from the other side of the door.

"Come on already. You know we have to eat when the whole family's on the table.", the older boy said. He went inside his brother's room to see what he's up to.

"Can't you just use Firestorm and finish it already?", the older boy asked.

"I can't use it yet, I need to use a decoy skill to make the guy use his silencing skill.", Takagi said.

"Silencing skill?".

"You know, the type of skill that makes the foe unable to use a skill. If he used that, I will not be able to use any skill for a couple of seconds. But as soon as the effect wears off, I'm gonna use Firestorm while his silencing skill cooldown in in count.", Takagi answered.

"Dang it... You do think a whole lot more than regular gamers. No wonder you're one of the best in this region, Vyper.", the older brother said.

"Don't call me that bro!", Takagi said. His older brother just laughed.
__________________________________________________________________________

"Hi X!", Val greeted me when I walked into Ridgeview Crest.

"Hey Val. You got a table for 2?", I asked.

"Sure, follow me. Who's your friend?", she asked.

"The name's Barrios. I'm a good friend of X.", Barrios said as he pat smacked my back.

"Oww....", I said while looking at Barrios with a less than amused face. He just smiled back at me. Val was giggling right next to me due to the scene Barrios was making.

"Here you are.", Val said as she showed us our table. "So, what would you want to eat?".

"I'll have the Wild Meat Deluxe combo.", Barrios said immediately. Val wrote down Barrios' order.

"The usual, X?", she asked me.

"Just make mine anyway you want. I'll also have the Zuto berry tea", I replied.

"Okay. I'll be back soon.", she said as she went inside the kitchen.

"What did you meant by making your's anyway she wanted?", Barrios asked.

"You'll see.", I replied.

"By the way, have you ever seen this insignia?", I asked Barrios while showing him the skull insignia I was holding on.

"No. Why?", he asked me back.

"This skull is the insignia of the ones who were guarding the gate to the next floor.", I said.

"Seriously? Are they strong?".

"I would say they have... advanced tactics.", I said.

"How so?", Barrios asked.

"I was assaulted by them when I was tailing one of them. They used tactical means of taking down an enemy. I was ambushed by a fencer, a rogue, and 2 defenders. I was charged by the two defenders, which I dodged, but the rogue used some kind of disorientation explosive to make me lose my balance. This buys some time for the fencer to be able to land a strike on me.", I replied.

"Bugger...", Barrios said.

"The rogue also used a smoke grenade which made me unable to see, but he was able to since he has already tagged me.", I said.

"How did you get out of the mess?", he asked.

"I'd rather not say, it's not something I want to remember.", I replied.

"Why?"

"It costed 2 unwanted casualties.", I said.

"Alright you guys, here's your food.", Val interrupted our conversation. She set down our orders on the table.

"Thanks Val.", I said. As usual, her smile always lift my feelings, which made me feel more easier.

"So, what's this made of?", I asked.

"What's it made of?", Barrios asked in confusion.

"This isn't in the menu, that's what I meant by making mine her way.", I said. Barrios looked shocked as if he thought it wasn't fair. Val and I just laughed at him.

"This time, I tried to make it with grilled fish topped with some kind of tartar sauce recipe I made.", she said.

"I see. Sound's nice", I replied.

"Sure does. If you don't mind, I'll grab a bite from-", Barrios was interrupted as I smacked his head to the table.

"Don't even think about it.", I said.

"Damn it...", he said while his face was still squashed to the table. Val just laughed at this and came to sit with us.

"Don't you have other customers to worry about?", I asked.

"It's already closing time you know.", she said.

"Haaa?". I checked my menu, and yes it was already closing time.

"Sorry... again.", I sighed.

"I don't mind if it's you", she said. "Go ahead and try the bread.".

I took a bite of my dinner and it does taste amusing as always. "It's so good...", I said.

"You're drooling, X", Barrios interrupted.

"Good food can't be rushed.", I reluctantly said while taking another bite.

"Hahaha. So what were you guys talking about just now?", Val asked.

"It's about the skull insignia I told you about this morning.", I answered.

"And X being ambushed.", Barrios added.

"Ooo... About that time right?", Val asked. I simply nodded as I took another bite of my dinner.

"By the way, there wasn't any of them who visited my restaurant today, X.", Val said.

"Might be an underground guild.", Barrios said.

"An underground guild?", I asked.

Barrios finished up his food before continuing. "Yeah, an underground guild. These guilds are guilds that does criminality such as robbing other player's goods and other stuffs. I've even start hearing rumors that they are actually killing other players.".

"What?", I asked after I finished my food.

"Well, I've only heard rumors about it. I don't know if it's real or not.", Barrios said.

"What are we going to do about it?", Val asked.

"I'm gonna go and dig out some information tomorrow, you guys just do what you usually do. I'll-", I was stopped by Barrios.

"No. I'm not going to let you handle this on your own.", he said.

"Me neither.", Val added.

"But you guys can end up messing in the wrong place for that.", I defended my idea.

"You might already be a target for them to kill since you actually took out 2 of their people, X. I'm not gonna let you go on your own.", Barrios said.

"Barrios...", I said.

"I don't want you to get killed because of silly things like this too, X. I think it even might be best if you lay low for a little while. Like Barrios said, you might already be a target.", Val added.

"You too, Val?"

"Yeah."

For the first time in my life, I had to choose to ally myself with people I trust, or to work as a lone wolf like usual.