COI C50
It’s been hours throughout the afternoon, the old man has finally closed all the recent software on this slow ancient computer. The next step now is open up the operating software from the concealed files, where the collection of all extinct races’ landmarks under one place. It is still a mystery of its structure preserve rather than fell into ruins. The old man couldn’t understand why there are remains left such as the entity coming out from it. Even he was part of the group to get it, secretive on his memory, that it supposed to be located at the center of the Pangaea or Rune Isles.
Now as he opens up a program to cease control of the sphere, showing the data how far its full control of its surface. The program didn’t reach further below to its world core, as in within under a few kilometers deep. Where its strange new color layers look dark and most troubling, matching the same outlook in the southern region of Rune Isles. The place that no living race to venture forth or become the abomination they have remembered during the Fall era. The program starts to boot up as the next few more controls to be set up, it will be a matter of time to close it.
R-cord is carrying someone on his shoulder, his monocle tried to scan on him but was chased by that man’s companion. A woman who changes her hair color, quite a waste for the mana to expose herself and a bit of her mana for appearance. She nearly destroyed his helmet though and used the man he is carrying as a weapon. His admiration on this man’s equipment as they are both identical of armored machines, but he is curious about the weapons he is holding. That explosion is enough for the entity to fall, or probably it was her. No metallic limbs to be that easily broken, unless it's purely on the weapon.
No mana infused, but a high combustible substance to tear it from limb to limb. During the chase, he is still busy trying to bypass the man's armor. But this place he was going into is as safe and real than he could run around surrounded by its making. If she decides to leave from here, it’s good enough for him to examine what he is carrying and the weapons hid within. A new variety of combustible weaponry on his recorded data, even though it will match the previous versions but chances to get this man’s arsenal is as rare as making one.
His monocle received a message from Tabitha. He reads it carefully leaving the other eye to watch his surroundings. Nera has finally move around and find a wall to lay down on, still frustrated, she intentionally uses her demonic arm to reach out and imagined that she grabs something. The arm almost reached to the right side of R-cord, while he is using his monocle and didn’t notice it. The tips of her hand nearly graze his arm as it stops and almost grabs him blindly in mid-air. Then the hand return back into the darkness, R-cord turns around as if something almost touched him.
“We have found out the information about those people who made a lot of noise. They continue to persist as long as they are trying to attract that entity’s attention. You’re right about everything is happening here. That entity possessed so much utilities that is truly suspected that its body contain unimaginable magic. Gather as much as data as you possibly can, we will be hiding one of the safe rooms made by McS4. PS. Please advise to use the information I send you as neutral as you can. There will be a chance we might face them . . .”
Continue to read on the rest of the message, he realizes the man he is carrying is the part of the group. Guildmember’s telepathy managed to breakthrough one of their minds and gather information as much as he can. With his information, he had added few details of their locations. The data shows the past 10 minutes where R-cord is at and the people who are within his position. His free hand raised tapping on his head, the incredible things had happened. The woman who chased him is still here, the effects of the their visions remains to see in a short distance really made it difficult to react.
He humbly admired the way the two circle around out of the pressure within the darkness. The worries from the entity and the struggle to adapt under the new environment. The steps they have to take splashing on the puddles making so much noise to the point that woman managed to chase him here. After that long stealth maneuvering lead the two in a full stop, it stops when the woman lying on the wall. Keeping it a secret to himself, as he gains respect to her . . . enthusiastic heroism for her companion. Then doubted later if she faced the real thing.
Nera sitting down crouching, trying to reach the others with her device. She already knew that there is no signal unless substitute the electromagnetic wave into a mana wave. The monster might find them because of that. She raised her head, a silhouette appeared and a tint of night to see someone is coming to her field of view. She raises her demonic hand but stops that the stranger who she is chasing carrying her companion. Still going at it, she jumps up to him.
“Team Platinum?”
She grabs his head but continue to talk “Let’s have a talk . . .”
A metallic needle coming from the door as it had difficulty getting in. R-cord continue to talk to her as the monster still trying to get in.
“This room is safe, especially I received a message from my team that I was ordered to listen to your situation”
“. . .”
Nera looks at the monster’s legs still trying to get in. The room they are in is strong enough to withstand the monster’s breach. R-cord continues to talk to her and finally she replied.
“Enders . . . are you really from Enders?”
“Enough of the question, you’re here for my actions”
He places Sniper on the ground, remained malfunction. The two ceased their mishaps and try to talk it out for a bit.
“How in the hell did you found us? Are you the one within the tower?”
“Please don’t ask questions about places and locations. I can’t barely see anywhere under 6meters on sight. As for that question, I am tracing energy. Your machine here is tracked by my scanner. Out of curiosity that robot wondering around without even drained by that entity”
“Entity!?”
“By the love of archscience, what do you call those humongous legs over there?”
Pointed out the monster continue to reaching at them, then eventually disappeared again.
“We called it a monster”
“Fine, I understand, but we called it an entity you know why?”
“. . .”
“Because that thing can use demonic powers, a replica to some sort. But enough about that . . . I have taken your companion out of curiosity. The thought of him disappeared as he was caught by it made me want to save him, for myself”
Nera is calming down, as she is now facing an Ender. It means she has a chance to send a letter to them. As R-cord continues explaining himself and secretly scanning her companion with his monocle, Nera pulled out a letter and requesting about it. Sniper remained inactive as he detects someone is hacking his systems. He activates his UIs to protect his private data.
“So, anyway I have a request”
“. . . Such an impressive specimen of an ancient being . . . A request?”
“Yeah, we want to kept it as we done our research”
His monocle managed to scan the exterior but the inside of its arsenal is sealed by mana. It’s too paranormal for his tech to scan the impossible. And the woman requests to let that entity stay a bit longer, if he guessed it right then the replica exist within their domain. Under those time, it must be related visually. No doubt that those places are trying to hide something, more exclusively, it’s going to be fragile as it relies a special item to kept it existing. For them, they can be part of its sources.
He thinks again, they could easily stop it. Someone must be able to control it . . . thus this train of thoughts distracted himself from her question. R-cord had nothing else to assume but theorize it.
“I won’t”
“Figures, can’t blame you when we are demanding too much since the beginning”
“No, if this is the only thing you want to train yourselves with. Then you are not going to prepare for the rest”
“Wait, training? You mean to tell me you want us to train here. Why not said so in the beginning?”
“I meant that seeing the illusion only through darkness won’t be there only magic existed”
Nera couldn’t agree more what he said. Her team is the alternative of adventuring, and the two nerds are the example that is more than just mana used. R-cord warns her
“If you don’t understand why. We will meet again with my team with caution”
“I get it . . .!”
He took the letter and be on his way. To his last words she starts to get it with his reason.
“Bring that man to me once we keep your promise. This letter will convince them to keep it, I’m still wondering how you held such a powerful seal”
“Eheh, yeah right, that seal”
Nera won’t going to mention that those seals were printed, even their own stamps are commonly made with that same seal on it.
R-cord teleported out, to their final bluff leaving her grin to her own success. Nera pulled Sniper’s helmet off and looking sheepish as he is about to go to sleep.
“Wha . . . ah . . . huh? NO! where’s that Ender. Dang it, and I thought I’ve be the one who sending the letter. Uh Nera?”
Nera shows herself smiling at him as she succeeded sending the letter. By the look of her face, he realizes it first and complains about it.
“Fuck!”
Realizing he is still inside the realm but nothing come after them. Contemplating to himself, and the confusion on his face. He kept thinking. Nera tells him.
“We did it, I send the message”
“Just the letter, I was trying to put a tracker on my letter to see where they are going”
“Laugh* enough about that, we finally did it . . . just only in one afternoon. You bet that we won’t be going to finish today, would you?”
“Ah, great, but my story should’ve been great”
“You mean taken away from some stranger”
“An Ender stranger mind you. I should tell some bullshit story about me being save by heavy duty armor guy who just knock me out and carried me as my knight”
“LOL!”
The monster appears again and keeps trying to get in and from the way she is so confident to laugh like that, Sniper assumes they are in a safe place. Nera responds
“I never thought you are a funny guy”
“I’m not, I’m laughing on my own struggle being a college student helps be this sane. The fuck?”
The metallic legs trying to reach them as its tips are close by. Nera turned around shockingly smiling as they are close. The monster didn’t used its tongue because of the trajectory is not line of sight. Nera finally laid off under her experience within this dark shortening moment.
Nera looks down and sees her letter left on the ground. She remembers R-cord place the letter inside his armor, it even slipped inside like some vending machine. She asks him
“I’ve gave the Ender and teleported off . . .”
“I didn’t see it, my armor malfunctioned”
“. . . Even inserted inside in his armor like a vending machine . . .”
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“Really? Man, now I really want to know what that armor is”
“. . . Did you think that teleportation left something that didn’t recognize?”
“In sci-fi y . . . es Don’t tell me. The letter was left behind”
She paused a bit and won’t budge after finding out about it. Sniper should be annoyed but the way he expresses something like that happened. He starts to wonder.
“There’s no way that reference made it to this world. Perhaps I would like to train here for a bit, just to find him again”
Nera kneels down and grabs the letter. She sits next to him as she pouted from all that is happening today. Stealth venturing come and go, the strange paranormal activity from the monster, the chased, protect themselves from it, the chase after, and now here sitting next to him feeling a fool of herself.
“At least we found a place that we wouldn’t be attacked, right Sniper?”
“That would be great, let’s rest for a bit and hope we could find them”
“That’ll be good. So, who are you back in our home world”
“Is it a great time to talk like this?”
“I was a part timer in . . .”
Nera ignored his question and proceed to talking about herself back in their home world. She likes to talk other people about their problems and struggles as it helps her cope up with the humiliation or the stress she’s having. Sniper goes along and knows how she feels from what she says to him. Two ordinary people talking about their life.
McS4 teleported him as he appeared the tight spaces where the entity should’ve been trapped. Tabitha’s plan was to conceal it within this place was a failure. Because of it being easily attracted any noise it could hear. It is impossible to trap it and wasting amount of equipment such as ropes and dummies coming from R-cord’s back up. The reason why he had scout out there because who are causing the incidents but admit he was attracted the same quality of armor than he thought. He wasn’t distracted the first guy with different equipment.
He honestly impressed how both of them were the least exposed from the entity until someone used magic somewhere in the air. Voldemyr was there, surprising how the clang of his crossbow would attract it, but it was earlier than that. R-cord assumed earlier about the magic as it there is still silence, it still stalks. Then it must be magic, put everything in a short conclusion. He gets the information what he was ordered to do, but kept his devilishly smile hidden within his helmet as he was teleported, letting the letter to be left behind. In archscience, there is no easy way for discovery but years of data and evidence. If Tabitha found out about them, she would gladly help them.
Many Enders have waited to face them, because of the authority from Lord Lori’es. They obediently follow and kept the most dangerous away from them. These people need to face them sooner than later, if the adventurers succeed to keep it. It is beyond chance for them to learn about the Enders as elites would give no opportunity for them to learn under 6meters. Life must not be treated easily, if they know the wisdom of their intention. It will weaken their expectation out of a joke. The tech masters easily exposed themselves from the beginning when guarding the gate. Losing their purpose so easily, and it came back where few survivors reached out to them as hope.
He understands how they react, but not so when facing who hated them. The human mind is fragile to the young, and for him isolated away from such drama. Made him think that the founders were right on something. McS4 breaks R-cords line of thought as he mentioned about the adventurers.
“I have readings that you left something from your suit. Was it foreign item from the adventurers?”
“Yes, a letter”
“Huh, will you willing to send it?”
“I won’t, and they are smart enough it was an accident”
“You should’ve decline and explain the situation from our side”
“There is no need for spoilers, dare we can continue this façade”
“It means you won’t be helping us when we face them”
“To have that façade, I guess you can. There are only 6 people”
“Let’s not tell about it with Guildmember and Tabitha. Oh yeah, don’t forget Voldemyr was there too”
“Agreed”
The two talk to each other within the dark, where Guildmember can only read their minds to his best ability. He reaches only all the Raker Mawn members but not them. Their contact together seems nulled as they know how to ignore him in thoughts.
“I’m sorry Tabitha, you have to rely on that man’s monocle. They seem to know how to ignore me”
“Then it leads to McS4 to be the only one I couldn’t contact with. I even request for his cooperation and he decline”
Archivist suspects “Maybe he is acted out like one who those bad examples among the team”
“Archivist, I know that you are trying to think they are pretending but what we did together was beyond teamwork. Like we are expecting to do our roles even someone saying it”
“It’s because Guildmember is here telepathically”
“Please don’t try to jinx me here”
“. . . Jinx?”
Guildmember did work together outside of the trap as they analyze that fluid. Their way of predicting really made him think they know what he was about to do. He should’ve done things as they only guided him away from trouble. Like they know what to do, it’s like they already trained facing that entity before. Elrond’s mind reaches him as his telepathy randomly heard someone else.
“It’s time to test her leadership, I’ll distract the entity as you will be facing the adventurers later on. They have something to tell us, please made it naturally. It will agitate the Enders if they know that it is mocked”
The environment soon weighing off the darkness, everyone who still there witness the shift. The monster’s presence soon faltered, and the sphere still remained night. Team Platinum finally reunites after such numerous attempts to survive. Sniper and Nera rally them as they have the speaker fix and gather them all in one open space. All of them are tired, wasting all of their limited energy and mana to escape the monster. One of them tried to speak out, and MRage is the first to scream.
“AAAH! YEAH!”
“Sheesh! I never thought he would stop looking grumpy for the rest of the day”
Partner with Lycaon, they couldn’t believe how they managed to survive.
“We were supposed to be dead, but something kept that monster going elsewhere. I think they are others tried to handle it”
“I DON”T GIVE A shit, damn I was screaming so loud. Let the Enders have their ways with it. It’s worse any boss we come across among the dungeons”
“We need to research more about it, it has the same ability from the realms”
“There is no fucking way that monster suddenly appeared when I step a puddle. We were lucky that idiot splashing around it”
Paladin and Kombat come in heard about the splashing noise.
“Yeah, that idiot must be one of us”
They look at each other as they show nothing of them doing it. To their surprised, everything that the monster left fades and form smoke as it leads to back to the entrance. The only things are remained are the night and rain water.
“I’m guessing the one who actually trying to get it were the ones who are making the distraction”
“I guess either we were saved or waste their efforts to conceal it”
“Good riddance, the sphere is been limiting our abilities to far too long”
“It’s because it will help you to understand if your only source of power is taken away”
The darkness once was is already gone without them knowing, then they finally see clearly when the night sky clears. They turned around and see the same man with power armor, Nera almost yelled at him but Sniper and warned her about him.
“That’s not him, look”
The man in power armor looks different, and carrying something on his back. Comparing the other one who won’t be carrying more on his back with him. By him carrying a blow gun, Sniper and Kombat assumed he carries a flamethrower.
Lycaon sees the opportunity and shouted at them.
“We are here to send you a message, a letter from the city guild as proof of our request. Previous contacts won’t allow you to respond or even accept it. I was wondering why they won’t allow that?”
“I have no authority to receive your letter. My teammate had already met your team, realizing the letter left behind him shows of our misconception. From the order of our authoritarians, we must be defeated in order to send it, forgive him without even knowing”
“That’s sound like them if they really wanted to say no”
The adventurers caught the bait, without Tabitha heard about him saying it. It should be as natural enough to not pleased both sides. McS4 couldn’t understand why they have to make it complicated, there are other guilds are gladly cooperated . . . Now as he thinks about it, those people they hate might related with them. Men with absolute mana, but the difference between them as how much generations mastered it. This talk won’t last long as he setting up his position. Three people from his team won’t be helping; Guildmember and Tabitha should act out their leadership, and R-cord was excused because of them.
McS4 and Archivist are the only two who would fight. A magic projectile appeared out of nowhere as Archivist deflects it. The adventurers had stop talking to him as realize they have to follow their rules. McS4 continues to fake this scene
“I’m sorry”
“Don’t be, I hope those leaders of yours won’t make your jobs even worse”
Archivist heard them “Hey, what were you two talking about?”
“Don’t worry blank face, it’s been like that since morning”
“Ri . . . ght? We should regroup, two vs six will be difficult”
“Eheh, you actually believe they are soldiers. It’s too illogical after discovering their weakness. Their mana dependency what caused for them to be here in the first place”
They land down to where they are facing them. Archivist had sent the message through telepathy to her as she realized they are going on their own way.
“They went rogue, that McS4 really does acting on mutiny. What are we going to do, Guildmember?”
“Like every betrayal starts, always take down the leader. Never use this tactic on your own people, but to us, that’s why there is loyalty. Reach out anyone from the Enders who is willing to contact you and punish the act of treason. Even though this is pretend, others never treated it like fiction. Remember, Archivist had always followed your orders and not your thoughts”
Tabitha remembered asking Archivist as they made it out from the entity.
“Please, always save the team. Your skills are amazing, Guildmember, I have no doubt you will fail after what we have been running from that drop dead robot”
Returning back to her senses, she jokingly embarrassed herself. “Yeah, but not literally. Heheh nervously*”
Archivist groan to the idea to keep McS4’s plan to fight on. He is willing to follow her orders and review it with her. If there is a time, she meets strangers who are militaristic as he could never imagined, it’s hard for her to use them as it is beneficial for her in the coming future.
“I love playing pretend”
“Oh shut up!”
The two are facing six enemies. Two powered armored, and the four with weapons raised at them. They encircled them as they always do in dungeons. Archivist and McS4 are surrounded and a fire shot by the Sniper. Archivist pushes him a bit and let the bullet passed by. An explosion appeared and released smoke, McS4 wore a helmet while Archivist pushed the smoke back as a whole. The return of the normal brightness helps him aim where three of them attack.
Archivist collects the water around him and place it on their feet, turning it into ice, using it as a revolving platform. Controlling the rest of the water to freeze any attacks it could reached them. Heavy weapons appeared and ignores the magic he casts on. Rune weapons being used as he quickly pushed them back. Their mana within the adventurers is still there and force one of them back. McS4 got hit from one of their swords, as his armor bear the cuts and slashes. A long mace appeared and breaks his blow gun as he tries to block it, now in twos. A leak coming from his weapon as he has to spray it on them.
Fumes coming out from the hose connecting the gun, its colored fumes appeared differently from the smoke. It’s light blue fumes surrounding them. MRage uses his magic as he was knock back from Archivist. The fumes were push outward as the magic he is casting loses control. Archivist bends control the air to spread around them, another gunshot fired and McS4 switch with his energy weapons. Precisely aim at the projectile and nulled the attacks. Distracting from themselves on the defensive, Kombat nerd and Nera consecutively attacking after the first attempt.
Archivist turned the revolving platform for them to move around, blocking their attacks. He counters as much as he could with his martial arts but stops by someone wearing a power armor, his arm bounces off in pain without knowing. Kombat nerd is reaching closely with his shield and pushed him off from the revolving platform. Leaving McS4 behind, he uses the grappling hook and grab the platform to where Archivist knock off into. Quickly they regroup as they chase after them. McS4 underestimated that these people rarely used their mana, forcing him to use what the adventurers didn’t know about.
Still within the light bluish fumes, where magic can’t be used there. Sniper aimed again but nulled again from McS4's laser weapon, Kombat is the only man could face both of them in melee. Along with his companions rushing together, using only by their own rune weapons. They go in to finish them off. McS4 opens up his secret weapons charging up to its full power, slams it on the ground and creates a disruptor. An impulse to the ground as it quakes, as it released upward to the air with fissure of colored light blue. The same colors with the fumes but more powerful.
Those who attack them in melee fully lost their control of their mana. Lycaon, Paladin, Kombat, and Nera secretly attacking McS4 to disarm him. All of them loses their control, their bodies feel the fatigue and their body sores as it’s been exceeded the body performance they are trying to do. MRage sees it and try to use magic to stop it and Sniper follows along to any shots at their radius. The laser weapon is on auto aim defending themselves in range, Archivist is finishing them off by flipping them on the floor. The magic inside the impulse disruptor field made them vulnerable.
One after the other, Archivist just hitting on the knee as they all going down. Without his mana, he is using what his natural body can do. Kombat loses his magic to have enough strength to wear his power armor, disrupted, he barely lifts it with only his back. Archivist accidentally hit it and hurt his leg backing away the thought it was a magic equipment, but it was an actual armor. They were nullified but not out, their actual natural body shows the dependency of their magic. Leaving the two outside watching how they see them can’t control their mana.
A man taps Sniper’s back as he turns around. Not recognizing who he was or even carrying a heavy crossbow in his back, looking down as he is short, the man said to him.
“Let’s get this over with, there is more to learn than just the night of a demon”
“Who . . . no, you’re right. I thought we could send them a letter easily”
“It won’t earn your respect if your keep asking. There are more things to be done than just use only magic”
Sniper gives him what he requested. The request was inhumane and crueler as the man modified it even further.
Sharpening it, infused with runes inherit it to explode with such great force. Sniper sees him imbued the tip of a piercing tip as if he is trying to kill someone.
“Uh!?”
The man didn’t listen and focus closely as he aim. Without even a proper warning or anything to response or to stop him. He fired in an arc as his heavy crossbow isn’t strong enough to fire a modified grenade as an arrow head and the tip that meant to drill. Together as one, it’s a primitive anti-materiel-rifle, McS4’s head was torn off and exploded. Archivist and the others regain their mana as the man exploded.
They regain themselves and see where that projectile is coming from. A shock to be behold, Voldemyr comes in and overkilling the man of his companion. Without even to say anything to them, he said to Archivist
“You’ve seen why this sphere was given to them. They are not god’s absolutes”
He walks out and walk passes him, Archivist didn’t understand what he meant except he knows McS4 had made himself a traitor and not following the training and probably Tabitha will learn if that even going to happen.
The adventurers never thought they could feel the kind of struggle within this world. As they almost forgot how it felt back in their home world. They look at Archivist as he tries to nurture them, but can’t as they already healed on their own. Yet he won’t ignore what happened before.
“That incident negates all of your mana control, seems like your body didn’t naturally build up. If this happened again, facing someone without mana will be a slow death to you all”
He leaves letting them know the realization of their actual bodies.
Tabitha had stop using her telepathy, the last straw for her not to use her mana again. Her body, what’s are left behind inside of her either is malnourished or already exceed her limits. Guildmember helps her thoughts circulating and she randomly smiled.
“It reminds me of Kiege takes care me from that blood lurker disease”
She has now her resolves, and try to take care of herself. With the amount of power needed, she should let her body experience it naturally as it will naturally adapt. Leaving her to cut up more time than she could ever manage with it.
The team had failed their mission as they left the sphere. Showing the city guild more situation. They have to deal with and need to be more efficient they could ever be done. Accepting the progress needed as the people who ignores the healthy diet and exercise, requiring it all to be as strong as a body builder or a proficient healthy person. Isekai City begins spreading the news about it in order to anyone, who will one day, lost their mana won’t be experiencing deficiency of their health, especially when the swarms end.