COI C124
During the same hour as the night is coming. The shield student goes to his social media and contact with his friends. After being child carry by two strangers, they are wondering if his guild is up to. One person is checking on to him was not his friends, yet not a stranger to him. It was Silfa herself checks on him as she sees the equipment being posted on his account. A dwarven written in their own language, it is hard to read it where the edges and the lining were off like it in different writings. She is with Joanne still being constraint from what she did yesterday. It last only an hour, but the two siblings had gripe like this, so, it’s normal.
Joanne complains “Why won’t you let me join Miyusuki’s night training?”
“Because you are the only one is capable to come along with him. I read the list of chats that they are not eager to go there out of jealousy that he receives Enders magic items”
“But . . . I have my own gears to face the ruins. You heard about the low ranks recovering broken items, I could get it too”
Silfa sighs “You know for the next two weeks. The higher ranks are next to go there”
“Why so late?”
“Because that’s when the bomb dissipates, including the monsters hiding in the brown red cloud”
The sun starts to set, and the last blow of horns reach the end of the day. Tired Dexters returning back to the barrack, while the workers remained fresh until they loosen their magic buffs on themselves. Everyone is showing their true selves as the day is over. The Fuku adventurers stretches as they finally take their leave. Others immediately use their magic to teleport out from the area, that moment of get home quickly becomes a reality. Once they are gone, low rank adventurers check on their social media. Without any a small gap for the Fuku adventurer to leave, they already post in their social media. It was like magic to their eyes.
Soon as the darkness comes, the light bluish mist turned hazing. The dark colors are lightly shown around the barriers. The bomb’s effectiveness is starting to wane down. At the same time, the moon is coming to their city with its full glow. No clouds ever trying to block it and no sky couldn’t hide it. Its presence is showing the damage coming through as it rains like snow in crystallize drop. The last train stops at the station, and the adventurers who visit Enders Bridge are coming home, bringing the loots they have during their time there.
Tabitha and the shield student are excited for the night, where the people who are willing to join them already start bargaining with them. It was Rusic who is doing it.
“I may not be part of the Raker Mawn guild, but I am specialized in rune writings or forging. It could be a great opportunity to have Enders to be part of the party for the night?”
Already starts drinking, the shield student quickly starting to doubt the dwarf. Archivist says otherwise,
“If you don’t know boy, Dwarves are able to make weapons during adventuring. Not going to be made in tech, but providing with runes after the encounters would be useful”
R-cord and X2L from Dexter Guild approach them as they are interested, with a condition. They said “We might cross pass through our work going north. We will be patrolling there for any incoming threat from the surviving tree”
Haw and Ironno give their options, “There are safe areas and dangerous phenomenon inside Mihayara District. But we won’t be part of your dungeon seeking”
The options they have is only two large areas they have to go. Tabitha has her own ideas going through the Mihayara District, while the shield student is wanting to get the upgrades.
The most possible place for them is the ruins of Mihayara District. The people reenactment as an adventuring guild is about to begin. The recruits are ready, Archivist is already part of Tabitha’s team. Tabitha was hoping R-cord will help her. That’s herself being wishful thinking whereas they are going to be busy tonight. The people around them are all Enders, who is oblige to join their party for their personal journey. No pay and no rewards, just the loots they have to find on the way.
For the Enders who will be joining them on the outskirts are; Rusic, R-cord, X2L, the rest of the available codices who are going to the electrical grid. Then the Enders who are willing to join to go to Mihayara District are; Rusic . . . and that’s it. The shield student gives a long face whereas the best scraps of materials are from the ruins. Infused with curse that can be molded together. Also, there are places inside the ruins with newly formed young dungeons that are building up the suspense where treasures formed.
Haw never seen people who are willing to go there. This is why Spokesman added rewards for Tabitha to sway there instead of the north. The shield student chances to find such resources are coming from the ruins itself. Going north means he can’t gather invaluable components. Most scraps out there are mostly machine parts. Spokesman had given the boy any opportunity he could get before they could leave. Ironno already sees why, and brought Rusic along to fill the party member.
Archivist however, it is better to be small than have a big party. Two trainees are not daring enough to go deeper. This is going to be an actual adventure, a challenging one as he had experience before with his father. He grips his hands and remembers him, whispering to himself
“Pa, I know you are not going to like this as the experience adventurer is relying a trainee to go through with the journey. Heh, at least I can tell you about this instead about the archives”
Night appeared before them where the hours reach to 6PM, the shield student was consulted by Haw for the last time before his departure. This is loot hunting, and the Enders are taking it seriously on the part of going to the north. The next wave of stretching the border is on, leaving no hesitation as they alone are all Enders. The reality of his adventure will be boring, and will be monotonous as reality of going through dungeons and fight through for treasures. His main objective is to get the tech parts he needed for his gauntlet. He looks at it and Haw is the only one is maintaining it. After the Dexter Guild leave, he is planning on maintenance work.
The party is settled. The shield student, Tabitha, Archivist, and Rusic team formed for the night. Transported directly to the stadium where it was built as a command center of the district leaders. All its equipment is still there and the people who monitored at the ruins remained cautious. The map shows all reports of the location with recent activities happening for the past weeks. There is one that the shield student ventured through with R-cord. Others though, show nothing where the location of the realms. Tabitha was told by Spokesman, that the information they have is separated for now. Because the pasts realms are already being dealt with by Haw’s group.
The personnel scan them for anything suspicious. First was Rusic, and it is already blinking warning sounds for his first step. He brings out his papers and the personnel let him go.
“. . . Then proceed to go to the station to remove your guild’s weapons. It’s been how long you are in service to us, yet you continue to bring prohibit items”
“I was not even exiled for it. I did my service and now I’m doing extermination work with my people. Hey, you three! Get on with the search. I’ve done here”
Archivist was next, looking at him always wearing casual clothes wearing a blank mask. It was obvious he passed without trouble. Next it was the shield student, there was a blink from the scanner as they reach out his gauntlet. The scanner shows forbidden substance hiding inside the gauntlet. The personnel check it then found out it was a mistake.
“Pardon, we apologized for the inconvenience and we didn’t update the prohibit items are no longer banned”
“What is inside my gauntlet?”
“Nothing special. You have the wooden piece from the tree, the ampstalk, and it is only a threat with its living stump can grow again when eating electricity. This one is a bark”
Rusic was kind of surprised, the equipment he made for him were not checked out. Haw had done some nice work to apply the standard for their city’s regulation. Then he checks on Tabitha, rumors of her having truly powerful items made by the known Raker Mawn guild member. She already passed and walks without any warnings nor confiscation. He laughs at himself as he is the only one getting all the attention. The shield student asks
“Why are you laughing?”
“I have my stories, boy. You’ll have to listen to me when ya’ll return back home safely”
They walk out from the stadium, where the parking lots in front of them had light blue mist. The environment though as if the place was not clean for a long time. Dusts form into terrain and remnants of monsters blending in as part of the ruins. The wall of stones and crumbling boulders formed into statues of some sort. Weird crystallized dust formation as it clearly sees that the realms hidden before is merging with it. It feels like a new biome. They continue to go further, Tabitha picks up her deck and the cards start to play, the first three cards in her hand are subtle. She picks one out and the magic is released. The used card returned to the deck holder and sealed away.
The card used is map reveal. Her UI forced into the spell card and deliver much information accurately then shares it to the others. Rusic knows about Ironno’s job location, and clearly sees the place he had been through.
“Hmm, Ironno did found new secret hideouts coming over there. Do you want to check it out?”
Tabitha responds “Is it alright to go there?”
“Loots to be had there, I heard there is one cultic building out there wasn’t even existed before. The building is nothing more of a store to buy dolls and other things. Mysteriously demonic puppets are probably be there”
The shield student starts to remember something. The gem he had last week, he can’t remember much anymore if it was given by R-cord or Lilith. He raises the gem and Rusic sees it.
“My, what clear stone you got there?”
“It’s a gem, I remember someone told me that there is an item inside”
“A sealed item, eh? Are we going to prioritize it?”
“I don’t know, but I was given by the Enders. I would like to found out”
Tabitha sees the gem and tries to identify it. The map shows direction where it is contacting to. Deeper inside where the park is, there is a place is linking with the gem.
Tabitha finds out that there are resources out there hiding, demonic materials. Rusic has runes on his side and the threat level shows on the map to be hibernating. The difficulty shows to be troublesome than life threatening. The shield student won’t be able to get his parts, but it would be the best start for Tabitha.
“Why not then, I can go there collect some loot”
Rusic nods anyway “I agree. I don’t know which of you two recruits wanting to get your hands of. As long the scavenging hunt has something for me to fight”
The shield student was thought of something else, but the gem twinkles on to him out his imagination. He follows along.
The first path they take is the overpass bridge. Coming out from the stadium was easy enough, but the magic they possessed to go through the obstacles are punishing for the both of them. Archivist scouts first as the three moves on. The magic reach is solidifying like it always did since the dust came here. Mixing with the demonic presence is a bit off, there he tries to use some spells to bend to. The mana used and appeared before his hand channeling it into a ball. He disperses it quickly as the magic he held is hurting his hands. The ruins are dangerous to venture while using magic.
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Rusic stops where Archivist checking the end of the bridge. He rushes forward with his runed armored boots, the boots ignite its runes as he runs turn into stomps. The ground shatters as remnants of the monsters crystalized body shatters. Rusic fell off the bridge as the ruins revealed the damage. He manages to land on his feet after the debris pointed at him, scratches of his armor resist him from harm. Archivist now sees what lies inside of the ruins.
Tabitha checks him “I can’t believe that the ruins becoming more hideous than I thought”
“It’s worse than that. Your city is being transformed”
Rusic shouts from below “Yeah! Piece of machine junk is mending with the concrete supports. The structure is turning into a golem from what I’m seeing down here”
The shield student remembers the rat men were able to turn the buildings into monsters. The ruins are clearly starting to transform, and he starts shaken if one of those rat men come to abduct them.
They have passed through everything the ruins have been transforming into. The monsters are materializing as they pass by, the dust is not enough to contain from reappearing. The wind blows where the mist didn’t move like it. Small blows after the other like it is an individual being passed by. Tabitha opens up her deck again, and remain two cards in her hands. Her anxiety grows as the environment turned into a dense mist. Their steps cracks like glass, noise creeps in to their ears that is too feint to understand, and debris once clear off by Haw and Ironno are already being piled with monster’s pieces materializing.
Rusic is starting to understand what Ironno meant before, he stops them where he digs out something from the pile of debris. A safehouse, he opens the magic door and pulled them in suddenly. The safehouse hidden with magic as the illusive magic debris are blocking the pathway that they never see it clearly.
“I knew it, the maintenance metro line. I thought we are going down, but we are truly going up”
They reach to the railroads as it fortifies with magic scrolls wrapping outside of the area. Ironno clearly was here, but he never left the safehouses sealed away.
There they found a note on the wall. “It’s following us, the wraiths without a solid body are haunting us. The three of us; Maser, Haw, and me are not suited to fight with regulated equipment. To anybody who read this, take these pieces of scrolls for you if you’re interested for its loots”
There is another letter “We traced the apparition and its origin. A wraith with mechanical elements inside. Same one where the workers discovered it to be called as ‘chaos marine’. Haw was able to identify what is wearing. A turbine like engine that boosts up the strength and the speed of the mechanism . . .”
Rusic reads it again, ghost machines. The wraiths possessed something really old as if the heroes’ side of allies turned into haunting spirits. Made him wonder is that Demons Faction are controlling the lost souls. The undergrown wasn’t taken likely after all. Archivist nudges Tabitha
“This threat is weak. We can take advantage of this wraith before it fully materialized”
“Uhm, I want to know why those two won’t engage them”
Rusic disappointedly sighs “. . . Hah, you should see us in our first realm raiding. I was all gone mad to them for giving me children’s toys against the people of traitors”
The three can’t imagine what weapons the dwarf was using or even what topic he was talking about. A dwarf with a big story behind his words, he clearly has to say more words to make sense. Rusic took the scroll as it painted with ghostly color.
“I guess this is the one where we have to find that mechanized ghost. I’m up for it to get its loot. Tabitha is going to test her cards and the boy will have a special component for his gauntlet. It is a sure game for all of us then”
The group tries to form a plan as the expectation of the unknown enemy will be the threat because of its demonic magic. Tabitha and the shield student have their failsafe ready, the other two has their way to escape when it gets dangerous. The note describes the wraiths to be still under the phantasm. The eyes on the prize for the recruits to have a demonic machine as their loots. Rusic is already setting up his weapons under the magic of his runes. He uses some torn cloth to make runes of it. In preparation for their first bounty, Archivist is given a weapon from the dwarf, a broom handle that lost its head.
Archivist guessed “You mean to tell me that all of your rune weapons were not allowed to get into the city”
“And that broom is from the very Mountaiwall’s best craftmanship . . .”
Rusic didn’t laughed. The seriousness loses its meaning for this strong warrior, and even the handle of the broom is as sturdy as steel. The only thing that Archivist is trying to figure it out about the rest of the dwarves and their own weapons. What are they carrying to defend themselves in this city?
The hunt for the wraith with a turbine machine is on the way. The location is close to the place they are heading. It is near to the next block. The place is nothing to remember, a fragment of the realms merging to their world. The shield student recognizes the broken statues.
“It’s the statues where the rat men’s realm is. The realm is transferring what it had to do with this place”
Rusic spits to the ground and cracks his bones “It seems so, the broken realms are leaving what materials it holds. All of their stories are putting together now”
Tabitha can’t understand what he was saying, she looks around their surroundings to find the environment being a blur. No citizens patrolling in this part of the city and no signs of other people going pass through here in days. It is kind of obvious that focus recovering the lands taken by the demons, still. Still, here they are in the middle of a haunted ruins. Rusic calls out to them
“The scroll is detecting the wraith’s presence. We are going to restore the threat right in front of us. Fighting against the demons’ familiar will be easy, only we have to do is to drain its master’s mana. Are you for it, lad?”
The shield student lifts the gauntlet and casts his magic buffs around them. Rusic’s armor reflected it away with a smile.
“It’s good that you’re prepared”
Rusic uses the scroll and the magic casts to the imprisoned wraith. It’s true body revealed without any cracks from its crystallized prison. The demonic essence is protecting its body from rusting by the dust. They see its body glowing with runewords in demonic writings. Well preserved and its wraith form is breaking. It’s eyes glows and its prison shatters. The heavy armor, the height more than 2m tall, and weapons on its both sides. Twin broad axes in hands and the engine loudly starting up then went silent. Turbine engine indeed.
The first initiation where the wraith quickly leaps at them. Rusic pushes them away as he will be tanking the threat. Two front collides, and Rusic unleashes his runes to restraint it. The runic magic appeared lynching its head. The static movements of its body tilting forwards as its body and arms are charging to the back lines. Archivist closes in to them, waiting for Tabitha’s card to use. The shield student charges up his gauntlet to his throwing daggers. He attacks the heavily armored as it deflected by its demonic runes. The wraith throws its axe to Rusic, then he swings his hammer at it. The strength of hitting it just stops it and slightly tipping it to the ground.
Tabitha pulls out her cards as the new hands appeared. No buffs for Archivist yet, but has truly crucial spells for this fight. The cards are being played, two cards at the same time. The wraith is slowed for a time. Rusic raises his hammer to break one of its weapons. The slowed wraith, quickly boosts up its engine to the highest settings. It returns its normal pace as it charged at Tabitha. Archivist blocks it using his bending. The earth rises up to form a wall. The wall turned to dust when it touches the wraith. A strong wind of pulverized ground into the air, slowly going to Tabitha’s direction.
The cards went wild, the bonus card activate on its own as the cheat opens up. Tabitha sees the wraith losing its effects of the slow, the magic of invulnerability pops up around her. The slow is gone then a sudden movement already headed on her way. Everything around her exploded by the charging wraith. The molten form of its heavy armor unleashes spikes from its body. The invulnerability negates the instant killing blow, and she was pulled to Archivist’s side. The sonic boom erupts around them and the shockwave blown off Archivist from his feet. The two pushed deeper away from the tremendous force.
Rusic and the shield student’s armor brightens their runewords. It blocks the demonic force and maintain their balance by the strong shockwave. Rusic blocks the wraith’s weapon, and tries to bring the wraith back to him. The shield student’s runes continue to brightens up, where more of his runewords shines to the red. The wraith appeared behind them as it of its axe slices through on top of the shield student. He pulls out his shield and immediately absorb the impact to his gauntlet. The gauntlet already reaching max and implodes in the inside. The release of excess energy stretches an arc from his left side.
The after burn from the overload released as the flames purge the fust of its excess mana. The dust can’t absorb fast enough, the after burn spread wildly. The wraith slamming its axe at him with repetitive strikes. Extreme attack speed, where his shield is able to hold it off as the runewords able to resist it. With a slight step of his movement, he almost parries it. The wraith turns so quickly as the first parry attack failed through its countless assaults. It grabs him by the waist as its over burn engine releases it on to him. The light armor is struggling between runes.
The gauntlet resets itself and he can now use his magic again. He tries to hit with it his fist, it wasn’t effective against its runic heavy armor. He gritted deeply as he raises his shield to block the axe. The strike turns molten and hits his shield like lava splashing like water. Rusic comes to his aid leaping up shattering its last axe. Piercing deeper through the axe, the hammer continues through its arms. Denting it further as it mistakenly crushes the boy’s body.
“AAH!”
He disappears during his mid shout. Archivist comes forth with his broken broom staff.
Tabitha was able to summon the shield student to her side. Their preparation before was critical to this point of battle. The shield student uses the energy to flow through his body. The regeneration potion boosted up, and heals him indefinitely. She turns and see the two is holding it off.
“Phew*” coming from her mouth as the fight settles to their level
“I never thought we are going to fight like this”
“I have already experience it in the school’s sphere. Man, I never thought that monster is weaker than the Enders I fought inside”
“Don’t compare it to an actual battle, make sure to keep fighting in this kind of conditions”
Rusic had fully destroyed two of its weapons, Archvist had set up his bending to form a cyclone made from the dust to hide Tabitha’s location, and the two should be fine whereas the trainees are hiding. The wraith focuses on the dwarf, it slams its fist to the ground to form cracks, picks it up, then used as a weapon. Rebar weapons from the destroyed structure, it was easily destroyed by Rusic’s hammer. It is fast as lightning, Rusic was able to hit it as the sound of the engine returns loudly, then it went faster, finally the engine went silent. The sound in decibels shouldn’t be this quiet. Rusic is wanting to see if they can get it.
Tabitha’s second card was used, and wasn’t given her the time to know what is it. The supposed to identify the wraith, but she doesn’t know what the effects of the card is. Checking her back logs, she found it
“Delay research, it took five turns in order for it to be revealed. It is a mid-game card in order to . . .”
She stops reading as she checks how many turns have passed. Her UI shows the delay research was already been used, there is a special gaming UI for her deck of cards. It is already passed 8 turns.
Rusic hears Tabitha through telepathy, but the runes stop her. She didn’t know about the runes nor the shamanism, only archscience. Archivist takes his place as he instructed him
“Rusic! Do you think we could get something out of it?”
Rusic slides off the wraith then it got pushed to the ground, then slams his hammer to its armored body. It’s being protected with its runes, he channels up restraint, grabs its limbs as it stutters itself to break free.
“. . . What?!”
“I know how to beat it”
“Good, but don’t destroy the loud noise inside of it. I think we could purge its demonic magic somehow”
Tabitha hears Archivist from Rusic’s words. Archivist goes on top of the wraith, standing and used his staff as he raises it high.
“Hold it still, Tabitha is channeling her magic”
“Aye!”
Tabitha pulls out her cards and randomly shuffling to find it. Inside the deck, information reveals inside that there is Archivist’s buffed cards to deal with it. She manages to pick it up and used it immediately.
“I got it! Do it now!”
Archivist loses his footings and uses his coin to balance him out, the release of over burn engine erupts from the ground. The buff channels inside of him as he uses his broken broom stick slamming it to the wraith. The wraith stunned and all of its abilities were stop.
Rusic notices the demonic runewords were gone and tries to pull out its helmet by kicking it off. Dead skull marked with demonic sigil on its forehead. He stomps the head with all his strength by the foot of his runed boots. The wraith is defeated releasing its demonic mana out of its body. The screech release to the air then suddenly went quiet. The release of the dreadful wraith had taken the ruined environment with it. The destroyed battlefield returned back to its messy but intact infrastructure.
The shield student recovers and ready to fight again. “Just like my uncle said; wraiths screech when they are defeated”
Rusic shaken his body around as the runewords slowly diminished from its glow. “Laugh* We have loot here. I don’t think it would be this possible if we didn’t destroy its weapon, but here it is. The carcass of our rewards”
Archivist sighs in relief “I can’t believe I survive from this. Tabitha, how long will you be giving me some help?”
“It’s a card game! Yui did a great job of making my equipment, but I feel it feels kind of slow”
Both of them ignoring the fact that Runes were not able to counter against all of mana types. That card though made it possible to stop it.
Rusic starts pillaging the body. All the loot it has high tier grade items through the citizens’ UI, while the Enders try to make way of the items as some of them are not fully customizable for them. Besides of the feinting wraiths body blown away through the dusty mist, the loot is clearly corrupted and in need to be cleanse. Surprisingly, it has components hiding on its belt. Such a mystery of a mechanized wraith. They get a bounty with no rewards, the price to get the wraith’s loot is the ultimate reward for them.
Without a single time of rest, they proceed to continue to their destination. It is a place that is not supposed to be here. Tabitha resets her deck to see any cards in hand to be useful for this place. With an unlucky hands of Archivist’s buffed cards, it will take an hour to reset all over again.
“Ugh! Yui should make it more convenient”
“You should acknowledge how powerful it is. You shouldn’t underestimate the designer at work. Luckily, we have Haw to make it cheaper for us, and also, we won’t ignore with the party we have now. This journey is just the beginning”
When they step inside the building, the interior was a bit off. As if it looks like an assembly with chairs and benches spread everywhere in a messy look. This is no Isekai citizen’s facility and more of a different world to it. There they see a statue in place at the front of the assembly, view to be an idol for some sort. The corruption of how it looks rather to be demonic than any other. Something was glowing from their backs, and it was the shield student’s.
Hidden inside his inventory, he picks it out. It was the gem. The item hidden inside the gem shows a silhouette inside the glow. Rusic stands guard and let their eyes gaze on it. Archivist joins him as he takes the opposite side. Where the two citizens see the gem, there something familiar how it looks. Tabitha examined it
“A cross?”
“A cross, how’s a cross reacting to this place?”
Rusic slams his runic hammer to the ground, to release a seismic reading. Something here is corrupting what was truly.