"How could this have happened?" a strong cold voice filled the vast room inside the castle of the kingdom of Ariel. The voice belongs to an older woman. She slammed her fist on the table, enough to create a small shock wave. But she quickly dispersed it before it could destroy the table. The present people trembled by her voice. From the outside, she looked like an older woman with her snow-white hair and with her grandma-face. But in her eyes, the fighting spirit was still burning. "How could the princess escape from the custody?" The soldier in the room couldn't answer her question. Also, their eyes were filled with fear. No one dared to answer. But her question wasn't to the small crowd, but it aimed towards a middle-aged man. He was standing in front of her, like a schoolboy who did something wrong.
He was the general of the Kingdom Ariel, Velor. "I..I...I'm sorry we guarded the room, but somehow she managed...the butler freed her...I already sent a small troop to capture her." With lowered head, Velor tried to answer her question, but his voice was trembling. "Cut it out. I don't need any of your stupid excuses," her voice was filled with contempt towards Velor.
Velor bit his tongue and clenched his fists. He was angry also frustrated that he couldn't do anything against the woman in front of him. After the King, he had the highest authority in this kingdom, but there was no longer a King in this kingdom after this woman had executed him.
She wasn't an ordinary Inquisitor of the Holy Golden Hand, and she was a Golden Inquisitor. The rumours said each Golden Inquisitor had a strength of 500 regular soldiers and can compete with two A-ranked wizards at the same time.
He wasn't frustrated because she was powerful or he feared the dead, and it was more how the Holy Golden Hand fought or how they achieved their goal. They even turned the folks against their own King. Everything happened a few days ago that Velor couldn't do anything or still couldn't believe it. Velor reputation by the folk was very high, but this woman could turn it into the opposite with a snip if she wanted. This kind of warfare was utterly foreign for Velor who was a man of sword and spoke with victories on battlefields.
The Inquisition was a small organization without any importance in the past. But after the Big War between Tar Empire and the Union Alliance 15 years ago they influence increased, and now they were ruling over a dozen kingdoms and territories.
She made a slight pause, and then she continued, "Well, I won't punish you for this mistake. But I expect you find all of the hideouts of the rebels in the capitol. I gave you one week. If you do it, I will be lenient and will let your family go." For a moment, Velor was surprised, but he nodded. He needed to be patient until the right time came. "You can now go."
After Velor and his men left the room, the woman face hardened. "Karnus, grab forty our men and bring the princess back either alive or at least her dead body." A big man stepped nowhere, and he put a nasty smile on his face. "Understood! Can I have at least fun with her before I bring her back?". The older woman glanced at Karnus. "Do whatever you want but don't destroy her body. It is very valuable for our goal." Karnus nodded and disappeared from the room.
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*****
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Far away, people could see two figures were dashing through the small forest. "Princess...hurry..we..are..here...a...little bit." said an old man while running with a young woman. He was heavily injured also, missing his left arm. Compare to the older man, she wasn't in the worst state, but she was mentally broken and exhausted. It looked like she going faint away. "Please, princess enduring a little bit, " the old man tried to encourage her. She wore a simple potato sack, and her whole body was trembling. She bit and on her tongue and continue to ran. "Bernard, you are losing blood." She was more worried about him. "Don't worry about it, princess, I just a servant...if I can save your life, it is worth it... The Red Dawn...they will help...you," she glanced at him gloomy expression. "Don't say that, Bernard. Graham even Albus sacrificed their life for me. Now you...." she felt huge guilty. "Don't say it like this, princess. As long you are alive, the kingdom has hope. Don't forget what the King had said," he reminded her. She didn't say anything against it.
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*****
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In 2042 the cities and states were owned by mega corporations like Walmart or Nestle, and they dictated their own rules over their properties. The life for average guy wasn't easy. It was impossible to survive with one job, and most people had multiple jobs. Kevin had neither degree nor any unique ability, so he had four jobs. With his 25 years old, his life was already over before it had begun. But thanks to the VR game "Shooting Star", he could find something meaningful and happiness in his life. He even spent half of his salary on the SS. He wasn't alone, and most young men spend their life inside VR games. In 2042 millions of VR games flooded the market. It was the peak of VR games. For each genre, there exist more than a hundred even thousand games. A famous publisher said there were more VR games than dreams in the world.
Kevin was standing on grass and wondered about his new body. Everything felt strange. In Shooting Star, the coordination, weight also other trivial things were handled by the game mechanic itself. So he didn't worry about how everything worked. But now, he could feel everything. It felt strange but same time heavy and sturdy. He felt like he was inside a mecha. 80% of his body was cybernetic, and he was practically a cyborg. Only his right eye and stomach other small parts were normal. His skin was made of a robust artificial material. His arms also his legs were combat-ready prostheses. But the icing on the cake was the "Apeiron reactor". The most powerful energy source core which could be bought in Shooting Star. It was merged with his heart. It can supply unlimited energy to his body. After the inspection, Kevin was more satisfied. He was pleased to have invested a huge amount of money into his own avatar body. He was sure it would pay out in future.
After this, he quickly checked the screen.
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> Name: Kevin
>
> Age: 25
>
> Net Worth: 15'000 silver
>
> Rank: Commander
>
> Skills:
>
> * Firearms: Master
>
> * Commanding Battle Dolls: Epic Master
>
> * Hand-to-Hand combat: Master
>
> * ...
>
> Total
>
> Battle Dolls: 63
>
> Advanced Armor: 13
>
> Weapons: 79
>
>
>
> Point: 10
>
> Tower: 0/9
>
> Death: 4y 364d 23h 53h 01s
>
> ...
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There are six tiers for each skill: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Master, Grandmaster and Epic Master. Only Commanding was at Epic Master. Other skills were on the level of Advanced or Master.
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He quickly went through the gears also glanced into the shop. He had enough military power to start a war against a big country. His confidence quickly disappeared, after seeing the countdown.
I should ignore it
Two things bothered him, first, he can only buy items from the shop with points. Secondly was the price for ammunition. It was very expensive. He needed many points to purchase a minimum of ammo. He needed to find a way to create them. A soldier without ammo was like a tiger without claws.
"Master, I found a road in the northwest. The road seems to lead towards a settlement." Kevin pulled himself from the thought as he saw the maid and nodded. "Show me the way". Alpha moved quick, and Kevin followed her. They both dashed like wind through the forest and reached the end of the forest. Kevin noticed that he still had difficulty moving with his new body.
I need to get to use it. I wonder if someone will come here to explain things. I need information.
Kevin glanced at both sides as he saw two figures far away. Kevin used his left eye to scan. An older man and a young woman.
As Alpha noticed, she quickly prepared for an attack. Kevin interrupted her. "Wait!". As the older man saw Kevin, he headed towards him. As the old man was close enough, he tackled and tried to say something. "you...you". Kevin inspected both, the older man was missing his left arm, and the young woman looked like a beggar, wearing only a potato sack.
Are they here to guide me? Why they look so strange
When a player started to play a game the first time, an NPC would guide him and explain the game mechanic through the story.
In Shooting Star was an older man who had explained everything to Kevin.
"You must be the guy who should guide me, right?". But Kevin got a completely different answer as he had expected. "Please, please protect her.." the old man wasn't able to finish his sentence. He spouted blood and collapsed there.
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> Quest: Protection
>
> Description: Protect potato woman from her pursuer
>
> Reward: 10 Points
>
> Accept: Yes/No
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Kevin was surprised by the quest which popped up. He could decline it if he wanted.
Only ten points? It isn't worth it.
Kevin glanced at the older man, and he was already dead. The potato girl was crying. Kevin found it was more hassle to deal with it, and he decided to decline. As he decided to press the decline button, ten soldiers arrived at the spot. They wore the typical armour.
"Hey, rebels, give up! Give the princess back! If you don't resist, we give you a merciful death!" shouted one of the soldiers as he arrived there. Kevin was surprised to hear the word princess. Same time the quest changed.
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> Quest: Protection of princess
>
> Description: Protect princess Amelia from her pursuer
>
> Reward: 150 Points
>
> Accept: Yes/No
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What the hell is that? Did the quest change?.. Oh, I see. So the quest can change depending on the new intel which I receive. So it is like a real game.
Kevin quickly grasped how the quest system worked. He glanced towards the woman. "Are you a princess?" he asked her, but she was mourning over the corpse of the old man.
150 points seems a lot, but I don't want to involve in a foreign affair. Maybe I have to rescue the kingdom or so. It is too much hassle. I should decline it. Also, I won't do what the system expects from me.
"Good so, capture him!" said one of the soldiers. Six soldiers stepped forwards to catch Kevin. As Kevin saw it, he was pissed off. "Alpha!" It was enough for the maid. She quickly took her battle formation and triggered her machine guns. Before the soldier could reach Kevin, they were pierced like paper. The remaining soldiers startled after seeing how their six comrades fell to the ground. Even the crying young woman was shocked to see the incident. One soldier screamed, "This woman is a wizard!" the remaining four soldiers were trembling. They were just ordinary soldiers. After hearing, they decided to retreat as a voice screamed. "You fools! What are you doing! This both didn't even possess any mana! They are heretics! You bunch of fools" Kevin looked towards the newcomer. It was an older man. He was holding a crystal in his hand. It was glowing. Kevin could guess that h was a magician.
But within seconds, all three were quickly surrounded by heavy big tall soldiers. These soldiers were holding a big shield, also a huge lance. Kevin counted at least 20 of them. They were completely different from first arrived soldiers.
One heavy soldier stepped forward and grabbed the young woman. "Princess Amelia, it is better if you don't resist." She screamed and messed around."Let me go, let me go.." The older man glanced confidently. "You both lost! I don't know how you killed the soldiers. But I make sure you will spite it out. Capture them!"
Kevin was deep in thought about something else, and he completely ignored everything that happened around him. He glanced towards the princess, who was struggling against the heavily armoured soldier. "Hey, potato girl. Do you know where the towers are?" The question of Kevin caught them entirely off guard. Even the princess, who was struggling desperate, glanced towards Kevin with a confused expression. Even the soldiers were irritated.
As Kevin noticed the confused expression on the young woman, he repeated his question. It took a moment before she tried to answer. "Are..are..you asking about the Tower of the Velvet?" She responded to his strange question.
"Yeah, exactly this. Do you know where they are located?" She glanced at him with an unbelievable look. Even the older man was irritated. "Of..of course, I know..I studied about this at a young age...but.." She couldn't believe what she was saying, also answering his question. Everyone knew where they are. It was common sense.
But to her surprise, he looked happy. "Alpha, I permit you to use your full power. Don't leave one of them alive except the potato girl."
The maid put a biggest devilish smile like she had anticipated this command. Two more submachine guns appeared nowhere. With her six submachine guns, the execution had started. Within seconds the area filled with the terrifying sound of her machine guns.
"No..noo..way..noo...way...monster", the confident older man disappeared. His face turned completely white as he saw how his soldiers were pierced through the strange thing. He had never witnessed such a thing. "I am a C-ranked wizard!" screamed the old man and prepared to attack with her magic. But it was already too late. His head exploded.
"Not bad, Alpha," said Kevin smiling. Same time multiple windows appeared.
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> 35x Points earned: 1x C-ranked wizard killed
>
> 60x Points earned: 30x soldiers killed
>
> 150x Points earned: for clear the quest "Protection of princess"
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"Hey potato woman, are you ok?" Kevin glanced towards the woman.
Her mind was a complete blank, and she never saw such a thing. She never heard even. Both didn't even have mana which made it worse. She never heard about no man people taking wizards like this. She never saw such kind of wind. She was more terrified by them, also shocked.
"It seems she has passed away. Alpha, grab her. We should interrogate with her and squeeze as much intel as possible." Alpha quickly nodded and put her all weapons away, and grabbed the fainted girl. Both moved into the forest.
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*****
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"D..did you see it" whispered Arick to Uvia. "What...the hell was that?". Two figures were hiding themselves a little far away between trees. Both were trembling, and they had witnessed something unbelievable.
"Sh..Should we inspect it?" asked Arick to the girl. Uvia grabbed Arick on his collar. "Are you crazy? Didn't you see how the maid killed these soldiers? If we go there, this maid will kill us without a doubt. We should go back, and we have enough information, didn't we?" Her body was trembling more than Arick. Arick was still under shock. "But how? Both don't possess any mana. How could they have killed these soldiers, even a C-wizard?". Uvia shook her head. "I don't know, and I never read such a thing in any book. Didn't master said some wizards can hide their mana presence? What if these people are one of them?"
Arick's eyes went wide. "Are you crazy? Wasn't that in ancient times? If..if.. they can hide which mean...they are Catastrophe-Rank wizard. In whole wizard history, only one was able to reach this rank. But wait...shouldn't we notice the mana flow?" Both glanced at each other, and they had forgotten the basic how magic worked. Even you hide your mana as soon as you used a little bit of magic, the mana could be detected. And Uvia had the best mana detection ability in the whole magic academy.
Arick continued, "Also, how the hell could the maid use six wands? I never heard about that." Uvia bit on her lips. "We should go back, and I think it is enough." Arick glanced at her with surprise. Uvia was more the brave girl than Arick. He wondered why she acted like this.
"What happened to you? Why do you act like this? And how should we explain them? They will think we are crazy. Even our master believe it. Do you think the Magic Council will accept such a ridiculous answer? Also, we could be kicked out of the academy. We already have the lowest score. We need at least prove we cleared this stupid quest. If I know it earlier, I wouldn't have picked up this quest. Dammit, it was just a surveillance quest. How could it end up like this? We need at least evidence. Let grab at least one of the corpses as evidence. I'm sure this incident will stir up. Maybe we will get more points."
Uvia body was shaking. "The maid...I couldn't detect her.." Arick glanced at her with irritation. "What do you mean. You couldn't detect her?". Uvia tried to explain. "You know each living being has an aura even if they didn't have mana.." He nodded. "But I couldn't sense any aura inside the maid body. The man does have, but the maid doesn't. It felt like she wasn't a living being, you know? Not real." Arick looked at her, confused. "So you mean she is a golem or an undead, like this?" Uvia shook her head again. "No, She wasn't golem or undead, even they have a little amount of mana. I couldn't detect her, and even she was there. it was like she wasn't real, you know.."
Arick's face paled. "Wait, maybe you overdid with your sense magic, you know, we saw such crazy battle, so I think you are only stressed, forget about it. ." Uvia thought for a moment and nodded. "Ok, let wait for several minutes and retrieve at least one of the corpse. I think the guy who is laying near the tree, is the furthest." Uvia nodded.