A feminine figure sat with knees to her chin in front of a monitor. She was watching ARMA’s live broadcast of today’s game quietly in a dimly lit room.

“First Blood! Blue One from House Clovis has eliminated Chi Ma from House Magnum! Blue One will be rewarded with an additional 10 sigils. Participants from House Clovis will also benefit an additional 500 Digeets.” ARMA’s announcer declared.

The figure choked suddenly. The air around her became too heavy to breath.

“This is not the plan.” A hoarse voice spoke from behind her. “Crimson was supposed to obtain First Blood. How the he** did a nobody from House Clovis get an upper hand on someone from House Magnum!”

The girl gasped for air desperately.

“He even beat someone from the Ma family.” A man wrapped in a dark cloak stepped out of the shadows from a corner of the room and sent a kick towards the girl. “Get up, you worthless Demi.”

The man’s kick was hard enough to make the girl unconscious. Her mind could not handle the struggle of suffocation as well as the pain inflicted onto her already bruised body.

The man recalled something when he saw the girl laying still on the cold floor.

“I forget that I tend to cast ⟨⟨Missing Wind⟩⟩ when I’m upset. I’m sure you understand this habit of mine.” The man left the room unhurriedly. He never liked the girl. Her existence reminded him of who he was. And he hated it.

It was a long time before the girl woke up. When she did, the bodily pain she felt made her wished that she stayed unconscious.

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[There are three main races in this world: Astrals, Demi-astrals, and Obscurities.] ELZB informed Aisael.

[Astrals are genetically engineered humans who surpassed the boundaries of mortality. They do not need to eat, drink, sleep, or even breath to live. An astral circuit exist in place of blood vessels, respiratory tracts, and other bodily functions essential to human survival. An astral circuit generates astral energy to keep an Astral alive. Astral energy can be discharged out of their body at will in bursts as a defense mechanism.]

[Demi-astrals are Astrals with an abnormal astral circuit. Most of them require human sustenance to live. They are often despised and discriminated by others because of their mortal flaws.]

[Obscurities are the dominant race and predators of this world. They exist in different shapes and sizes, mutations and combinations. An average Astral cannot measure up to the strength of an average Obscurity.] ELZB concluded.

At this point, Aisael and Toby heard sounds of a fight breaking out as they exited from a thick canopy of trees. The both of them made their way cautiously towards the sounds which came from behind the corner of a hillside.

“It’s my sister!” As the both of them round a bend, Toby pointed at a young girl who was surrounded by three girls and a boy. She has smooth black hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a fierce look even though she was outnumbered. “We’ve got to help her!”

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“Come at me, you cowards!” Toby’s sister taunted. “Gang up on a lone girl like me, that’s the only way you idiots from House Philius know how to fight.”

Aisael’s initial intention to help was dampened along with whatever good impression he had of the girl after she opened her mouth.

“Dina! We’re here!” Toby, however, did not hesitate and ran as fast as his skinny legs could. It was a pitifully bold sight.

[Are you not joining the fray?] ELZB asked.

This is going to be troublesome.

Aisael sighed before sprinting towards Dina and the group from House Philius.

Toby was loud and distracting. Dina made use of this opportunity and tackled the girl in front of her.

“Quick, get her!” The group realized what was going on and started retaliating.

No matter how many times Dina took a hit and fell, she managed to find a way to get back on her feet. Her strength came in the form of her determination.

Aisael arrived to the fight faster than Toby. He grabbed the guy’s shoulder from behind unsuspectingly, jerked him back, and swung a heavy fist towards the side of his head. The surprise dizzy punch made the guy unable to fight back. It did not take long for Aisael to turn him into a ray of light.

Toby saw how Aisael fought and attempted to imitate. However, reality is often different from expectations. Toby could not hold his grip on any of his targets for long before being shaken off. This infuriated him as he realized that his contributions to the fight might amount to none.

Toby changed tactics and decided to pull on their hairs instead. Now that drew their attention. The two girls whom he pulled hairs on were as pissed as matador bulls. They chased after him madly. Toby’s cheap tricks halved the burden Dina was bearing.

“Thanks Toby!”

The fight between Dina and the remaining girl was short lived when the latter realized that she could not match Dina in one on one combat. She gave up and vanished into a ray of light.

The two girls who were already exhausted from chasing after Toby surrendered the moment they noticed Aisael and Dina catching up behind them.

“Good to see you, Blue One.” Dina looked Aisael up and down warily. “How did you get first blood? Especially on someone from House Magnum?”

“I fought.” Aisael shrugged.

“Brother Blue is strong!” A grin was plastered on Toby’s face. It was obvious that Toby looked up to Aisael. Dina felt strangely at ease seeing the latter was visibly awkward from being praised.

“How many sigils do you guys have?” Dina asked. “I have four.”

“Twelve.” Aisael said.

“I’ve got one.” Toby shuffled nervously.

“Here.” Dina handed a sigil to each of them. “Thanks for the help.”

Aisael and Toby accepted the sigils.

“This isn’t enough; we need more sigils.” Toby sounded unsatisfied.

Aisael rubbed the imprint on the sigil he was holding and began walking purposefully in a direction. Toby and Dina followed not too far behind. Aisael did not mind. It was better to fight alongside comrades.

[That fight was sloppy. If you had your pre-transmigrated body-…]

If I had my super-soldier body, our fights would end quickly and that would not be interesting. Besides, physical strength is not my top priority. I need to know who brought me into this world. And why…

The trio encountered and defeated three more groups for the remainder of the hunt. Unsurprisingly, all three groups belonged to House Philius.

The three of them collected a total of forty-one sigils.

“All participants, prepare yourselves. Point Siege will begin shortly.” The announcer signaled the start of the next stage.

“See you guys on the other side.” Dina waved at Aisael and Toby.

“See ya!” Toby waved back.

The other side?