Sora watched Karim’s memories, focusing on the mission involving Alius. Skipping over the repetitive assignments Karim had carried out under Hannah’s control, he quickly reached the event that tied Karim to Alius.
In the vision, Sora saw Karim and nearly forty other players spread out across Mirny and the surrounding small cities. Their orders were clear: wait and restrain a target—Alius. They had waited in ambush, with updates on Alius’ movements feeding into their communication system every few moments.
When Alius finally appeared, running toward one of their setups, the ambush had begun. Yet, to Karim’s astonishment, Alius had managed to escape, protected by summons of overwhelming strength.
The next memory showed Karim and his guildmates receiving regular updates as Alius moved between cities using teleportation scrolls. Each time he attempted to leave a city, they encircled him, cutting off his escape routes. Still, Alius had evaded them, his combat prowess far surpassing theirs.
Karim’s point of view shifted to a moment of direct confrontation. Alius stood before him, his frustration evident. Karim was the only one still standing; all his guildmates lay incapacitated on the ground.
Sora watched, piecing together the events. Alius was being baited into becoming a Player Killer. By forcing him to kill other players, his enemies aimed to ensure he would be banned from safe zones.
Karim’s fury was palpable. Members of [GODS] were waiting for this to happen, assigned to capture Alius after he became a Player Killer. Karim’s hatred toward Hannah had extended to her guild, noting their ruthlessness.
Sora’s mind raced as he processed what he had learned. ‘Hannah wants Alius alive… but why?’
Removing his hand from Karim’s forehead, Sora released him, leaving him unconscious but unharmed. He turned his gaze toward the four [GODS] guild players lying nearby, his eyes narrowing.
“That was a decent strategy,” Sora muttered. “I’m glad I returned in time.”
He glanced at Alius, who stood silently, his expression unreadable. Noticing Kara’s curious gaze, Sora decided to share his findings from Karim’s memories.
“You can browse through people’s memories now? What the hell?” Alius asked, his focus stuck on the first revelation.
Sora smiled. “I can do so much more than that. You’d probably ask me to teach you if you knew the half of it.”
Kara rolled her eyes, her tone sharp. “Stop bragging, Sora. Now that we know Hannah’s intention to capture Alius alive, we need to leave this area, focus on grinding levels, and refining our skills. Whatever her plan is, Alius and I are too weak to face it head-on.”
Sora nodded, glancing at the remaining players from the [GODS] and [ASS] guilds lying unconscious. “I’m going to check their memories first. You never know what I might find.”
As Sora dug through the players’ memories one by one, Kara and Alius discussed the Tower and their encounter with Rachel. When Sora finally finished, he turned back to them, his expression grim.
“Everything I saw in Karim’s memories is real,” he began. “And I think I know where Hope is.”
Both Kara and Alius looked at him in surprise.
“Already?” Kara asked.
Sora exhaled. “The four players from the [GODS] guild are part of Hannah’s faction. From what I’ve pieced together, there are four major factions vying for power within their guild, and it’s a complete mess. But that’s not the important part. There’s a key player in Hannah’s faction who has a terrifying Supreme Skill.”
He continued, “He can imprison players within his skill. Once inside, they lose access to all powers and skills, becoming weaker than level 1 players. It even cancels the effects of innate skills, making it the perfect prison for players.”
Alius asked, “How can we save Hope inside then? And why do you think Hope is there?”
Sora’s gaze darkened. “I don't know how we can help her for now. I think she is inside, but I can’t be certain. In one of the memories I scanned, I saw them capturing her after a long battle. It was brutal—over thirty players attacked her, and she held out for minutes before they finally overwhelmed her. She’s strong, but she couldn't last forever against that kind of force.”
He looked at Alius before adding, “When you encountered them, half of the players were hiding in ambush. This isn’t the first time they’ve done this. From what I saw, her faction has a history of capturing and imprisoning enemies or rival players from other guilds.”
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Kara’s fists clenched at her sides, her anger rising. “It seems no matter what world we’re in, there are always people abusing their power. And Hannah is exactly that kind of trash. Should we give her a taste of her own medicine?”
Alius, also having trouble containing his fury, growled, “Hannah’s entire guild is rotten. She and everyone who follows her need to pay for what they’ve done. Let's stop wasting time here and get rid of these pawns she threw at me.”
Sora interrupted, his voice calm. “Hold on. Punishing them won’t solve the problem. They’re under Hannah’s control, bound by contracts. They’re victims too.”
Alius shot him an angry look. “Victims? They may be under contracts, but they're not puppets. Every action of theirs is done with consciousness.”
Sora countered, “Believe me, I've seen these guys' struggles and suffering. They're living lives worse than death. Most of them stayed alive hoping they'd unlock [Supreme Skills] and manage to escape Hannah's rule. They had absolutely no intention to harm you. They even half-assed most of their missions to ensure there were minimal casualties. Every time they chased after you, they made sure to leave a path for you to escape. They were even quite happy when they found out you had stopped attempting to leave the city, as the four other players had asked for reinforcements capable of locking down [Teleportation] to deal with you in the future.”
Seeing the duo bicker, Kara sighed, “The little guys aren't the main issue. What about keeping them with us, seeing if we can free them from their contracts and remove her ‘investment’? Wouldn't that be even worse for Hannah?”
Sora smiled at her suggestion and nodded. “I will experiment with them and find a way to break the contracts they had with her. But these four pests did so many evil things that I will get rid of them before they wake up. I wanted to wake them up and copy all their skills, but I'm afraid they'll contact their guild as soon as I release them from their current state.”
Noticing Sora's change of tone and aura when he mentioned eliminating the four players, Alius and Kara were taken aback.
When Sora raised his hand to eliminate them, Alius stopped him.
"Why are you stopping me? Do you want me to give you the details of what they did?" Sora turned to Alius, questioning his action.
"No. I was thinking that you could maybe give them to Kara. What if she harvested their [Time]?" Alius said, surprising the other two.
Sensing both of their gazes, Kara felt her heartbeat quicken. She seemed conflicted before finally nodding. "You are right. I've taken so many lives at this point that it doesn't matter who kills them."
As if the first half was said to convince herself, she looked at Sora and asked, "Can you keep them unconscious? The process seems to be extremely painful to the target."
Sora nodded and brought two players in front of her.
Kara glanced at the unconscious players, determination in her eyes. “Then let’s get started.”
Taking a steady breath, she placed her hands on their chests. A soft golden light began to emit from her palms, forming threads of energy that latched onto their bodies.
Sora, standing nearby, activated his [Mana Eyes] and extended his mental power, focusing intently on the process. 'Maybe I can learn a thing or two from this?' he thought, always eager to learn new skills.
Noticing Alius doing something similar with [Soul Power], he smiled. 'It seems he has the same habit...'
The energy pulsed with a life of its own, attracting something hidden deep within the players' bodies. Through his abilities, he could faintly see elements of [Time] flowing toward Kara, but the complexity of what he witnessed left him perplexed.
'I feel like I'm missing too many pieces of this puzzle… As if I can only see and sense part of what is happening,' Sora thought. His F-tier ability allowed him to sense and see [Time], but it was far from enough to comprehend what was currently happening.
The players’ bodies began to change almost immediately. Their appearances, once resembling people in their late thirties, rapidly deteriorated. Their skin wrinkled, their muscles shrank, and their bone structure weakened. Their bodies became frail and hunched as they aged at an unnatural speed.
Sora studied the changes closely. He sensed the fading vitality leaking from their bodies. None of that life force was lost as Kara used her [Supreme Skill] to absorb all of it…
Watching her, Sora thought, 'Our innocence is long gone... But why do I feel more pained watching her do this than when I kill with my own hands?'
He gave the two players one last look. By this point, they looked over a hundred years old—frail, skeletal, their features barely resembling who they had been seconds earlier. Their breathing slowed down, their hearts slowing until, finally, both stopped entirely.
The group stood in silence as the two players lay lifeless, their bodies still for only a moment. Then, their bodies disintegrated. Dust replaced flesh and bone, scattering in the air.
Where the players had been, only some equipment remained, shining brightly.
Kara stepped back, her hands trembling slightly as she seemed lost in thought. Her aura fluctuated uncontrollably, turning icy before regaining its warmth every few seconds.
Alius stared at her, his voice soft, but his words cold. “They chose this path when they started hunting other players. They brought this upon themselves. You gave them a peaceful death when they deserved no pity.”
Sora sighed, extending his hand to control the remaining two players and bringing them in front of Kara.
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image-2024-11-02-192827181 [https://i.ibb.co/ZGDZGCj/image-2024-11-02-192827181.png]
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