The horned alpha wolf howled in frustration at Aisael’s relentless attacks. It could not retaliate the swiftly moving astral throughout the entire fight.

Suddenly, a dark thunder cloud appeared as Aisael was about to land the killing blow.

[Stop.] ELZB warned.

Aisael’s momentum was disrupted when he heeded his companion’s warning. He stopped himself from taking a step forward. Soon after, a lightning bolt struck the ground in front of him. Burnt sand smelled unbearable, so was the thunder that followed after.

*ZRONGGGG!!*

A deeper howl drew everyone’s attention. The other horned alpha wolf was running towards Aisael. Strands of lightning sparked between its two horns angrily.

The second alpha wolf was annoyed that Aisael was standing unharmed. It became furious and the lightning on its horns moved more frantically.

“This is it for Blue One. He has only himself to blame for drawing the attention of two bosses.”

“Tsk, what a nasty combination. One with a movement control ability and the other with a burst ability.”

“What is ARMA thinking? This stage is basically impossible to clear!”

Most participants took pity on Aisael and his low chances of survival. However, those that managed to track him throughout the fight felt nothing but awe. Dina was one of them.

There’s no way Blue One could have dodged unless he knew the lightning was coming and where it would strike. Dina thought to herself. He’s not even affected by the petrifying aura.

ELZB, analyze. Aisael felt grateful to have a supercomputer companion right now. He was not in the mood to experience being struck by lightning.

[Double Horns moves slightly slower than Shiny Fur. The two horns on its head are sharp enough to cut air and draw static electricity. It uses the thunder cloud above as a reflective medium for its discharge. Its vital points are its eyes, nose, and paws.] ELZB concluded its analysis of the second horned alpha wolf.

In what world does a cloud reflect electricity? Aisael was briefly confused by the analysis.

Aisael observed the two horned alpha wolves before him. The one with shiny fur was weakened and could barely stand. Double Horns looked agitated and was probably going to attack.

Instead of charging in like before, Aisael decided to be cautious.

Double Horns sprang. It zigzagged towards Aisael, electrical charges accumulated on its horns evident by the increasing amount of sparks. Aisael leapt back, evading Double Horns’ sharp jaws by a hair’s breath.

At the same time, a bolt of lightning discharged from the two horns and shot towards the thunder cloud above. Aisael rolled to the right. The reflected lightning struck the ground to his left.

*ZRONGGGG!!*

The participants gasped. Aisael would have turned into a ray of light had he rolled to the left instead.

*ZRONGGGG!! ZRONGGGG!! ZRONGGGG!! ZRONGGGG!!*

Something unusual became apparent as the chase continued. Aisael was evading every bite, stab, scratch and lightning strike.

“Hey what’s going on?” Toby, who had great admiration for Aisael, was reasonably puzzled. “Didn’t Brother Blue traded his sigils for agility tokens?”

“Yes he did.” Reiz confirmed.

“Brother Blue is not a Demi, is he?” Toby assumed that Aisael has an ability token that lets him read into the future.

“I’m not sure how he’s not dead yet but he’s definitely not a Demi.” Brass was doubtful as well. His position in House Clovis gave him access to the details of most everyone.

According to records, Blue One was an astral who possessed copper graded circuit with the most basic energy type. He was an astral who had the bare minimum of physical training and almost zero exposure to any form or type of abilities. So how was he able to conduct himself in battle with experience akin to a veteran obscurity hunter?

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Strange…” Dina rubbed her head.

“What is it?” Brass inquired.

“Don’t you find it strange that Blue One isn’t fighting back? It’s almost as if he’s stalling.”

Little did Dina know, her remark was on point. Aisael was waiting for the ability “Trailblazer” to come off cooldown. Aisael had two more abilities he could cast but he was saving them for more pressing situations because of their long cooldown times.

[Trailblazer coming off cooldown in 3… 2… 1…] ELZB notified.

Aisael was barely keeping up with Double Horns. He knew that it was trying to maneuver him into Shiny Fur’s attack range. However, that was difficult to achieve due to Aisael’s supercomputer companion determining when and where each lightning bolt will strike.

Aisael was currently in a dangerous position between the two wolves. His plan to take them both out at once required him to place himself at such a risky spot.

[Shiny Fur closing in at 30 meters.] ELZB kept track of the encroaching predator behind Aisael.

The atmosphere was tense. Those familiar with flank tactics were holding their breaths.

[15 meters.]

“Brother Blue! Behind you!” Toby warned but it seemed as if Aisael could not hear him. Toby struggled with all his might but he only moved an inch.

[10 meters.]

The surrounding participants watched helplessly. Some of them thought of backstabbing Shiny Fur since it was already weakened. But the petrifying aura it released reduced their movements greatly.

[5 meters.]

Aisael was ready.

“⟨⟨Trailblazer⟩⟩.”

Aisael cast an ability but nothing happened. The astral energy he generated did not activate the ability token.

Aisael was at a loss. He looked around and could not helped but be shocked. Everything and everyone on the Point 142 was frozen in place. The participants, Cheshires and Horned Wolves would have been mistaken as statues were it not for the surprise in their eyes.

What’s happening?

[The simulation seems to have been forcefully paused.]

Aisael found it absurd that a glitch happened right before he finished off Double Horns and Shiny Fur.

“Hey, it’s Uroko’s favorite!”

A feminine voice called out near Aisael. Three masked individuals materialized out of thin air in the space before him. They were wrapped up in dark tight fitting uniforms. A womanly figure approached him, followed by a muscular and androgynous figure.

Are they game administrators?

[ARMA’s database suggests otherwise. They are unregistered participants, most probably Rogues.] ELZB identified the newcomers.

“He’s got an interesting looking weapon.” The androgynous figure scrutinized the battle forks. Their voice sounded strangely familiar.

The Announcer?

“It does look interesting. Copy it, Kraus.”

The muscular figure took out a scanning device and held it in front of Aisael. A blue light shone on the battle forks briefly, followed by a mechanical beep.

“Done, now let’s get to the main course.”

A number “0” lit above the androgynous figure. They stretched their hands skyward and numbers appeared above every astral within sight. The numbers signified the amount of Digeets they had in their physical bodies.

“⟨⟨Digeet Transfer⟩⟩.” The androgynous figure casted an ability and the “0” above them increased rapidly while the wide variety of numbers on top of every participant dwindled.

523… 3,567… 18,312… 68,455…

Point 142 was being robbed!

ELZB, how long will it take to notify ARMA of the present situation?

[It will take an estimate of 5 minutes to infiltrate ARMA’s security system and send a notification. A non-stealthy approach would only take a minute. However, there is a risk of exposure.]

Non-stealth approach.

Aisael did not like the current circumstance. He worked hard to create an ideal situation to take down both horned alpha wolves only to be interrupted at a crucial moment. And now, the Digeets belonging to his current physical body was being forcefully withdrawn.

A few minute passed and the Digeets above the androgynous figure exceeded a mountainous amount of half a million. Some participants were in disbelief of being robbed through a simulation.

What’s taking ARMA so long to respond? Aisael grew impatient.

“Rogues have appeared in Point 142.” ARMA’s announcer timely declared. “Aisael Mheen has reported the presence of three unregistered participants. He will be awarded 10,500 Digeets.”

Did Uroko’s favorite reported us? The rogued woman noticed Aisael’s Digeet count increased. She furrowed her brow in suspicion.

“Tch, let’s get out of here before security arrives.” Kraus grumbled.

The androgynous figure let her hands down and the hanging numbers disappeared. The three Rogues magically vanished a moment after.

“The match for Point 142 will cease as we’ll be conducting a site investigation due to the inconvenience caused by Rogues. Thank you for choosing ARMA, we look forward to seeing you again.” ARMA’s announcer broadcasted.

The simulated world started breaking down. The floating cat faces and horned wolves disintegrated into pixels. The soot-filled land, Main and Sub points soon faded into whiteness. Participants logged out one by one, their simulated bodies turned into rays of light.

There was only darkness and the whirring sound of a machine operating close by. The sound of metal panels opening was followed by intense phosphorescent light. Aisael rapidly blinked the intrusive brightness away. His vision normalized and was greeted by a multitude of unfamiliar faces looking down from above.