COI C113
In Taiyou Industries security facility, they were almost in shock to see the detection of brown red cloud appearing then disappearing only for a moment. The location was seen by their workers. It was two Enders and holding some fully unidentified item. They are clearly be the one who is interacting the strange phenomenon. Item they are holding is a modelled coin forged in bronze, fits in the size of an average man’s palm. No information being given. The investigator checks the list to be one of the demonic items. Looking further to the list where other adventurers found more throughout the ruins. Coming from the monsters as loots, it is not a threat according to the Dexter Guild.
The staff found something on screen, where one disoriented figure is coming to the factories. A message from the archscientist as the unknown person continue heading where the brown red cloud appeared.
“Sir, I think we should tell the superiors about this”
“Did the archscientist confirms the identity of the phenomenon?”
“The scanner shows someone sprinting like a gust of wind. The message mentions this ‘someone’ is infiltrating passed through the low ranks. No one is detecting it”
The investigator calls to the workers to be aware for what is coming.
The man moves swiftly passed so many adventurers, all low ranks and workers combine. It is the first time for him to test these ancient items in his inventory, picking only for stealth and some personal items to be able to use it effectively. The symbol of his arm band shows the Dark Green Dot. For once, he is going to dare to go through the lower ranks without them noticing. Instead of using the rebellion fighters, they picked the citizens who joined months ago. What better off to try is the man who always play around among the new members. His earpiece rings, and it was his partner calling.
“Of all the people in the gang members, why is it has to be you?”
“You mean those kids, let’s remind ourselves that we are not bringing those fighters here. I have been into the realm with them, and I was like a general to them”
“You were there supposed to rescue those allied idiots, thankfully, I heard it was those people from Fuku city and some random kid carrying Enders item”
“Well, I have what they called it Mung Guan”
“Shut the fuck up, I know what that means, ‘green bean tropical bird’ . . . They are not Asian descent and didn’t have that kind of term”
The man laughs “If only you could join me, we will become a comedic duo”
The woman hangs up and he stops before entering the area. Taiyou Industries is protected by Dexter Guild, which means multiple high graded technology made from runes. He knows their technology able to identify whatever magic is placed. Except for a special item. He pulls out his inventory, it is a cape that said it turns him invisible. Then he pulls the other items; gloves, sash, and finally boots. The man sets in to take his first inside as the adventurers moves pass by him. He starts walking . . . confidently.
Tabitha’s bind with Archivist starts to act up. Someone is here and no presence through her magic. It was strange for her, the exposure weakens her quite a lot, and everything feel something is not right. She asks him
“Why am I getting the feeling that something is off?”
“You’re not, remember you also partially bind with Kiege. I can’t sense it but hers is something to be acknowledged of her efforts. Is it a threat?”
“No, I mean, I just don’t know. I can feel something is wrong like someone is stalking but the pacing is a bit jolly . . .?”
The man steps a groove on walking on the path. The boots shut off the noise from his steps, and the gloves softly make little sounds as he claps. It was too unnatural for Tabitha to judge it correctly. The cape hid the visions of everyone’s sight, the sash remained still to his belt, and only his mouth is intentionally shut. The item he wears are actually working. Able to ignore everything how much power can the citizens held. He mustered the courage to sneakily whispers to them.
“I am also a citizen . . .”
He flips some adventurer’s hat during their work. The adventurer felt his magic item was dropped.
“Hey Shoun, your hat falls off”
“What? Oh, it did. No way! Personal items shouldn’t be easily taken off or drop accidentally”
“He’s right! The one could able to remove that hat off from you is either be disarm ability or stealing magic. It could be a monster”
“Sarcastically laughing* Yeah right, we are already passed an hour here. Monsters sneaking here is their death sentence when it has loots inside. Or we should call it, demons’ treasures”
They continue talking about it as the others continue to search through the ruins. The man hears them about the monster. He checks his inventory again if he can find any monster type items. Sort of . . .
Two item pops up from his head, but it felt so incomplete, then he is still butting in his own comedic idea. Without her stopping him, he grew more charming to himself, loving the side of him causing jokes without violence, and even though he is the bad guy . . . the gangster style bad guy. A doll and the mask on both of his hand, the straw doll wrapped with a small rope like threads, and the mask in white with only one eye open. For this opportunity to make it happen he will be using it on them. He said to himself
“They told me to test it out, I’m denying how weak it is but I’m no genius”
The monster appeared undetected, they notice it only through the corner of their eyes, and they were shock from what they saw.
“Everyone spread out, a monster appeared”
Across the distance, other adventurers quick into action and fires at the monster. The silhouette phase through the projectiles, one magic missile hits on its body as it reacted. It was deflected.
“There! The monster can be hit on its body”
The mist disperses as their magic try to clear it off the silhouette, the magic drops into dust as the exposure being dense in one place.
For the first time on their eyes to see a monster is immune to the dust, they momentarily stop and observe the monster. Bewildered or strange how the monster looks, questioning about the monster’s appearance and how it dressed. Monsters dressed? That’s what they are feeling for the moment. The monster is a normal pigmen colored green for some reason. Cartoonish looking matching to their world’s version, the big difference for all the monsters in this world is that
“That monster is realistically has muscles”
“This is not one of those from the tutorial dungeons”
“Yeah, it’s flexing it too like it is taunting us”
The man hid beneath the pigman, he grumbled as his own creation. “It’s supposed to be an orc. What’s with them about muscles, does this world should have those? Sigh* Alright . . .”
The orc without a weapon, tries to come closer as it reached down and grab the adventurers. The adventurers dodge away in quick reflexes, somehow, it got hold of them and begins to throw them back to the station. Dumbfounded as they saw something bizarre, it was in a right distance for them to escape but they suddenly appeared to its hand like they are lagging.
The man is using his magic to retract their position for only a few seconds. The cape gradually hid his magic too for only how the cape withstand his power, he did in close combat. The moment of action portrays to himself, he runs toward the orc’s target. Fused with retract on them, wait, reappeared, and throws them to the station for safe measures. He did it great with a smile, as he watches the adventurers fighting back again. He continues playfully messing them around. The straw doll is in safe place emitting the illusion and the mask formed its body as the orc. The orc is not real, but they sure can’t see him either.
His boots negate the status effects through his maneuverability, his gloves ignore the protective runes and magics as he easily grabs them and throw anywhere, and his sash carefully maneuvered him to dodge the numerous magic coming his way. The sash begins to burn from its edges giving him the sign that he was hit. It continues to move around then stray bullets hits him as the sashes sacrifice the piece of itself to protect him. The man is doing what he was supposed to do. He needs to test and understand how these items worked.
Remembering back in their hidden base, after the looting in the rat man’s realm, it was a bit hard to understand what the fighters trying to do with it. All unidentified and neither the citizens/gang members themselves able to study it. The fighters had practice with it and test in every dangerous way. The last result will be him doing it all at once. They are too busy continue to scavenge what left inside the realms as he is the only volunteer, or ‘convincing’ enough to be one and not letting others to do so.
He is getting tired running around, and the magic he is using is damaging his gloves. The limits are reaching close to his items, mixing the gloves with his mana clearly shows how it interacts aggressively one another, it didn’t hurt him but the gloves itself already showing sign of wear and tears. He stops what he was doing, then he got tempted by one of the adventurers charging as he grabs her and swing her around back to the station.
“Laugh* It never gets old”
The man takes his time resting outside of the battlefield. The adventurers already start to realize that it is no threats and only keep throwing them off. Sometime they able to hit but other times they missed. The most hits they got it from its abs. The male adventurers turning to the female adventurers as they are the one who land the hit. They blushed
“Don’t you dare think it was like that”
“No, I’m expecting someone is making a joke. You girls able to hit it while we are going around flying back to the station. Some calls reach out to them and they are thought we were crazy”
The low ranks have been ridiculed for their surprised approach from that green pigman. Others observed the bizarre transformation from what they seen so far. One of them tries to go near, then immediately flies off. Yet, it didn’t move now, strange. They use all the methods they have to identify it. Still nothing, and only thing left is to see clearly. The mist helps it block its clear features as the dust already gathered here. A call received from their friends who thrown to the station. The workers respond were through one of their friends.
“They still don’t believe us, no detection and no signs of us being thrown here of any signs of injury. I don’t think it’s a joke by someone but clearly is someone is greater than a S rank . . .”
The man overheard them with another item at hand, quite convenient for him to study and write down every item he used. So far, the prank went smoothly to confuse them. On that same situation, they can’t ignore the monster either. There is no reason for ignoring it while he will be going to make it more alluring. Even his special ritual item at his hands, it is the same like the rest of the item he brought but it takes him a special world that is clearly not from here.
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Given by the covered man himself, his leader, the item he is holding is far more than man than he could ever believe. He must be careful of using it, because the mana he has is not natural to that world. He needs to use it quick and back out. As the adventurers are busy eyeing the orc. He writes down the difference of the items he is holding from other magic items. He carefully writes it down as he watches them acting like children being wary by an imaginary monster. Then he added some music for them to hear.
The adventures heard some boss battle music, no one knows where it comes from but they were hoping for it.
“Damn it, I thought we have someone from the melody guild to play as a bard for us”
“You do know that soundwaves are their magic, right? Someone who uses music exposed by the dust. It forms mist like crystal dust. It’s hard to breathe from it”
Battle music playing* The monster starts to move posing as it is ready for a fight. The adventurers are in a mix of seeing it through. The way it interacts is strange, and leaving them to a suspicion to be an illusion. A random person just thrown away as the monster swings.
“He’s fine”
The adventurers glare at the guy who lost immersion from it.
For a quite sometimes, the adventurers continue trying to find and collect the remnants. It wouldn’t take long as the monster annoys them with its presence and casually throwing them off as they search. Another reply from Taiyou Industries and this time is the Enders, they give them their honest thoughts
“If it can’t be killed and also you guys. Though it annoys you like keep throwing you like a ball. I’d advice to call someone who is staying guard with the workers at north. He has a strange item might be comparable”
Meanwhile the man wrote “Elder item, or subject to change when the community decide to name it like RAP. These items are exceptional for people who don’t have mana, an alternative for runes but it has some strange power. It can do one thing, but in only in situational use. Like a set is missing to make it effectively whole. Sometimes like the gloves I’m wearing is more effective than the illusion and the mask combine, as if, it missing something. I could describe every bit of testing from my items, unfortunately I won’t be writing it here. However, I could remind myself that my mana or magic does harm it somehow . . .”
For a moment, the man saw someone is casting a spell on his orc. Channeling spell he thought to be dangerous, he controls the illusion of the orc as it turns around and sees the caster. Without any hesitation, the caster releases the spell. The blasts of arcane magic release to the air temporarily causing thunderous roar to the skies. The dusts rain down as the arcane magic persists falling like snow, but when it touches something, it sparks of volts then explodes on contact. Starting to link the magic is coming from, the man’s items save him from being detected as the surrounding used mana is being track to anyone.
The caster was a bit disappointed, “Even my own channeling spells are easily interrupts. Agathean told me that arcane magic is the untouchable spell”
“It is still neutral mana. That monster is either had runes or some unique trait we don’t know about”
“A monster with boss music, I don’t know about you two, we have no choice to bring those Enders for help”
One of the adventurers runs back to them as he was finished talking with the Enders
“The Enders woman agreed but her partner thought otherwise”
“What does he want?”
“Expect he would fail, only thing he had now is that coin on his hand. He doesn’t know he would be able to beat an untouchable monster”
The man hears their conversation. Enders . . . This is not what he was hoping for, he shouldn’t be testing his items with the Enders, they might know how to reveal his position even though having these conditionally powerful items. Seeing enough humiliation for the day, he tries to make it convincing. He brings out from his inventory for the last test. A broken pieced mirror, mystery that it lies secretly inside. The reflection shows a deformed figure inside the mirror, clearly, it’s a curve mirror. He easily knows how the mirror isn’t flat.
“I don’t know what this thing can do, but the fighters said is something horrifying but only parts of itself will only be revealed. I hope this will work, only a piece of it”
He uses it and everyone around him feel something inside of them. Their bodies feel numb only to their fingertips and they’re starting to look around fainting view as if everything fades away. The mirror distorted their view but it causes them to feel nausea. The mirror is incomplete and something inside made them feel sick. As dumb as he wants to test it to himself, the mirror didn’t affect him as the sash forces him to look away. His items are something.
The orc disappears and replaced by a reflecting mirror floating on its own, its him holding it while invisible. The adventurers are able to sense it. They realize
“So, it wasn’t a monster at all. It’s a broken mirror”
“But why it feels like I’m hurling when I look at it”
“Magic mirror, I’m supposed. Damnit what’s wrong with my head”
The mirror is reflecting their mana such a strange way as if it is trying to disrupt it. This is not right. The man can’t understand how it is done and only heard from the fighters. A piece of something that is make it horrifyingly dangerous as a whole. The mirror blasts itself a light of nova. The adventurers fell and leaving them lying on the ground.
The man is disappointed and have to leave. Away from the incident, he had everything planned out to mess them around. Only stealth items at hand, the mask and doll are should’ve been his dummy, and the mirror that he was eyeing on to try. Even though it wasn’t stealthy, he takes it as a curse. The moment he is reaching one of the hidden realms, he was stopped by an invisible wall. The sash stops him from bumping into it. When he tries to touch it, it was gone. The man continues to move forward as something throws behind him. The hidden realm portal was revealed and the stranger comes in and sealed it off by hand, two human hands pulled together in like curtain and seal portal.
A stranger who wore nothing but casual clothes, it is remarkable for such a stranger able to do it without any magic items on him. The stranger turns around with his mask bright ups with an expression . . . a happy expression . . . The man almost laughs, then he turns around and see another one, a woman. The man starts to realize that this two must be the Enders. He was a bit disappointed, then he forgot how much equipment the Enders have being replaced with safety gears. Except those two have far worse, they have nothing.
The idea to reveal himself and fend them off feels like to easy for him. He had learned the mana control and the equipment he had is not good except for his cape. He hides well after all the trouble he’s been into. The mist starts circling around him where the stranger is moving both his hands and feet like he is controlling the wind. The mist flows through him as the figure formed, his sash blocks his attacks. Then the sash quickly tears off entirely. The stranger able to grab it invisibly and tear it with in one pull. The man forces to reveal himself to surprise him.
He uses his magic to reopen the portal and pushes the stranger in. The man quickly reacted before he gets caught. The portal closed leaving the woman surprised. The man was able to get into the realm and the stranger before him. He uses his UI and change his RAP to fit the situation he is in, saved in multiple files in different kinds of fighting style and magic tactics. The man readies himself if he forced to end the stranger. He is no ordinary citizens, back in his head as he remembers how he behaves himself. It’s been long for him not to kill someone because he is harming his own people, but the stranger is not one of them. He won’t be revealing himself to them anytime soon.
He hides again with his cape, and losing his prankster mojo. The threat is here and he won’t dare to let that man lived. In his monologue
“I’m starting to doubt to keep you alive, before from the rat’s realm, I have spared those people because I disguised myself like one of the rebellions. But you, I don’t know, and I don’t want to figure it out”
The man was acting himself as a joke, causing problems to the low rank adventurers. He knew the Enders won’t be able detect him with their tech, but this stranger . . . he was able to find him. That kind of talent is a threat for the gang members when infiltrating. He admitted he collaborated with an Enders before. However, this man, is not part of the business.
He unequipped all of his items, with only he himself in style. All things went serious as he pulls out a gun. Aim closely to his head, steadily preparing to pull the trigger. Bam* He missed, the stranger disappeared and little lights coming around him. He heard a woman
“Archivist! Are you ok?”
The man was in disbelief, someone actually entered this realm. This realm specialized to hid almost anyone with magic, this realm is invaluable was made by the covered man himself. There is no way that woman able to get in without elven magic.
Tabitha was relief, and also very surprised. She used her elven item given by Elrond. A special cage that keeps those lights, fire flies like creatures, and was able to find her partner without any effort. Luckily, she actually saves him from a man who pulls out a gun. This is getting dangerous to face him, and the small lights blocking his view as it surrounding him. She said to him
“We need to get out of here, we are not ready to face an enemy without our equipment”
“We have one, the coin”
“Are you gone nuts? What about me? I can’t help you with my magic”
“Sorry, I’m not going to force you, but you did hear them about their circumstances. WE are definitely do this”
Archivist held the coin as she sees her small lights coming back to her, as it whispers to her in such elven tune. She hears its soothing words
“Wisps? Alright, please saved us when something goes wrong”
The small wisps huddled to her and dispersed into nothing like flash of light. Leaving Archivist facing the man who tried to flee, this is no mistake for his conscience to face him. The sense of the man’s sudden instinct turns dark after both of them entered this realm. Archivist knows where he is now.
The man hid his gun as the threat seems too elusive for him to get a good shot. It’s kind of embarrassing for him to not able to shoot anybody in this world, even the bullets are runed. There is no good opportunity to execute someone with that kind of power. Archivist steps in and the man sprint forward. The man stomps the ground casts a spell on it, the ground explodes using the debris to blast on to him. Archivist uses the coin and steps on the debris, it becomes a terrain as he jumps forward and kicks the man in mid-air.
The man dodges leaving his after image, moving away to the side. Archivist lands in a high leveled ground as the exploded debris being formed beneath his feet, he picks up the after image up as the coin solidifies the illusion. The man gets hit with his after image and sees that Archivist is using it as a weapon. He gets with his own illusion and worse, the illusion is becoming a puppet weapon. Archivist insert his fingers on the body as it links with magic. The body becomes alive and backs away, disappeared.
The man falls back as he sets his spell spread around him, his spells were easily disabled by him in one strong stomp. The bright light color of his spell blends and become the environment itself, the traces of mana is being nulled and materialize. It terraforms as he can’t touch it, but someone out there is climbing around like a monkey going through the newly formed landscape. Archivist runs around the terrain, wall running, climbing, sliding through to areas where the man can’t see. The man casts his spell at him with multiple control to spread his attacks.
Archivist shifts the environment to fits his maneuverability, running away and dodging every range magic he could possibly go through. The man chases him hidden along with his magic spells, teleport closely unleashing all the spells he could possibly destroy. As he goes too close to him, Archivist terraform the man’s spell neatly and tightly as he slides all around him in a globe. The man phases through it then suddenly got kicked to the side. The man turns around and raises his explosive shield. The illusion comes in and used up his explosive shield.
At the moment where the shield explodes, Archivist goes in then deals a heavy blow and the man fell. Archivist raises his legs high, then slam it to his head. First then second of his foot slams on his head in fast sequence. The man feels the damage for the first time as it breaks his defense. His head is getting numb as his RAP’s special ability, last chance pops up. A timer sets up for him as the adrenaline kicks in. He has only few minutes to remain conscious, he must escape or he will be captured. He had no choice but to bring out those items.
Archivist pulls the illusion to him and body slam it to the man. A sash retaliates and swipe them out in place. The man grabs the illusion with his gloves, broken the control of Archivist’s magic. He stops where he is about to land a hit to the man’s chest. The man stops for the moment as he is cautious what he is up to next. The sash didn’t react, his gloves worn, and his boots set on his footings. Archivist can’t hear the man’s steps, but he looks at him at front. Through Tabitha’s allowable mana and also his own, he has to stop it.
The man looks at Archivist releases his magic through his hands and feet. His RAP quickly auto changed his fighting style to martial arts, in a fast sequence he did for the first time in hand-to-hand combat to non-allies for the first time. Both hands raised and collide, Archivist magic was subdued by unknown item on the man’s hand. The man fights back as he sees the mask blank and no lights appeared. Archivist dodges forward and immediately turns it on strong beam of light from his mask. The man’s sash comes to his aid and blocks the beaming light, still able to blind him. Archivist is able to land a hit.
Archivist regathers the spell from the man subdued it. Forming a wall to block him from view, the man’s sash burnt off after the attack. The fast sequence of assaults made him hesitate for a bit. The illusion appears behind as the remaining sash able to reach and trip onto his back, he turns around and finishing off the illusion. It disperses ending Archivist’s control. Archivist retreats, phases through the wall. The man is relief as one enemy is down, he is now taken the offensive.
Archivist goes low and tries to pull him up. The man’s boots resist it as the quiet steps able him not to lose balance. Without a foundation to properly to set the man’s attack, he quickly unequip his gloves and lands both of his hand slamming on his back. His magic release with tremendous force, a serious blow in lightning speed, piercing through to Archivist back with strong shockwave lands to the ground. The man finally hits him through his full potential, an imperfect ability leaving the mana to spread without full control.
The powerful blow on his back, Archivist redirects the flow of the blow to down to his feet, hasten his flow of his enemy’s mana out of his system. It descends down to the ground overwhelmingly shattering leaving an uncontrollable eruption. The man thought he was finished, but he felt something flowing through him from Archivist’s grip. The sash tries to retaliate the pressure of the mana flow, but it shreds apart and fell off. The man feels his mana flow blocked and his legs paralyzed. The realm is becoming unstable as its existence won’t last.
After the blast, the little wisps have come and save Archivist. The man lies on the ground as he checks his condition.
“Paralyzed, caused . . . a powerful misdirection of mana flow, hostile magic flows through the sensitive part of the body preventing it both physically and magically to the nerve. Damage . . . Temporary, Recovery . . . manually using magic to return the flow”
Due to the enemy’s effort to use a skill on those weak points, it won’t heal as if it was been dislocated.
The man looks unsatisfied, he had never faced a weak enemy who has knowledge on the item. The coin had made so many wonders on his mind. His UI shows no enemies around him, it is a relief he never thought of having it without a joke on the side. He checks his inventory and something was off, one important item went missing and it can’t be detected inside the realm. His sash is gone, the elusive protected item had given to him the slightest advantage to survive. He remains calm and said in such ironic voice
“Shi . . . it”
A long swear word coming from him, no anger and no show of humiliation.