The building erupted into chaos, and a stampede of bodies surged towards the PB room. The news of PB having an eighth Player had spread like wildfire.

Every Rift Runner is trained for this moment - the appearance of an eighth Player means one thing: claim that player’s head. The current seven Players had already strategized for this eventuality.

Suddenly, Archie became the target of every Rift Runner. They viewed Archie as a monstrous bounty they needed to claim for credits.

In the Pain In The Butt room,

PB began to slowly press his axe against Archie’s throat, intending to sever his head. He reveled in Deadbeat’s look of concern, wanting to inflict as much emotional pain as possible.

Deadbeat remained still, understanding PB's ruthless nature. PB would do anything for credits, so Deadbeat knew he couldn’t act recklessly.

'If the kid can distract PB for just a moment, I can take him down.' Deadbeat was plotting PB's downfall, his gaze fixed on Archie’s despairing face. He thought,

'He is lost. Kid, don’t lose your hope. Fight back. Look up and punch that PB's stupid face.'

Archie was indeed lost. He had thought controlling Rifts was a blessing, but now it seemed like a death sentence. He was spiraling into a vortex of thoughts, believing he would be killed within seconds.

In his moment of despair, a single voice jolted him back to reality, reminding him of his true nature.

"You weakling, is this how you plan to die?"

Mechanic's voice was filled with scorn as Archie looked up to see her holding five tiny steel cars.

Mechanic wanted Archie dead for her family's benefit, but she didn’t want him to die a coward. She had considered him her equal, and his sudden weakness wounded her pride.

" CRASH!" A massive crowd burst through PB’s front door, charging towards them for Archie’s head.

Mechanic's voice rang out as the cars in her hands began to levitate, each one glowing with a blue light. She looked coldly at Archie and sneered,

"You're not a player. You're just a coward."

"VROOM!" The five steel cars began to hum like real vehicles starting up.

"Get out of my way, insects."

"SWOOSH!" Archie watched in awe as the five tiny cars morphed into full-sized, real-life vehicles.

Each car was adorned with a silver coating. It was evident that these were merely decorative cars that had enlarged in size.

"VROOM!" The cars roared, their steel tires spinning at an incredible speed, leaving burn marks on the ground and cracking the mosaic floor.

The large crowd was slowing down, pushing and fighting among themselves for Archie’s head. Some even killed others to be the first to claim Archie’s head. However, their disorganized and chaotic state gave Mechanic the opportunity to prepare for her grand spectacle. As they approached the cars.

"VROOM!" The cars charged towards the crowd and plowed into them, flattening many. But not everyone was caught in the onslaught.

"SNAP!" Mechanic flicked her hands. Swiftly, doors on the cars opened to reveal – Machine Guns mounted inside the car on a tripod with an ammunition belt. There were twenty machine guns in total, enough to halt the crowd's advance.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"BANG!" "BANG!" "BANG!" "BANG!"

Bullets rained down on the crowd, each one the size of a shark's tooth and filled with toxins. Anyone hit was instantly killed, and their bodies were torn apart by the subsequent bullets, turning the room into a bloodbath.

Still, everyone remained calm, as such chaos was a common occurrence in the life of a Rift Runner. Some used their Ethereal to shield themselves from the bullets, while others used the fallen as shields. Her aim was not to kill, but to halt their advance—and she succeeded.

Even though everyone here is Graded ’SS’ Ethereal. There will always be a difference between people who are destined for greatness and others.

Mechanic has a unique Ethereal that makes everyone resent her and kneel before her powers, but for the first time in her life, she felt envious of Archie.

On the other hand, Archie finally realized the reality of his situation. This was no fairy tale. There was no peaceful coexistence among the Rift Runners. They were all monsters, including Mechanic. He felt more fear from Mechanic than from the others.

Mechanic turned around, feeling insignificant to focus on others, stared at Archie and provoked the same words she used before,

"We'll stop if you're willing to live the rest of your life as a nobody."

Mechanic's menacing voice gave a slap Archie needed to recall the words. To live as a nobody or to become a man who can control Rifts.

"I don’t want to die as a nobody."

Archie grunted, gathering his strength and struggling to free himself. He lifted his hands and pushed them against PB’s face to make him let go.

"Don’t move, or I'll kill you,"

PB threatened, shaking Archie’s hand off his face with his left hand. PB was distracted for just a moment, but it was enough.

"SMACK!" Deadbeat quickly closed the distance and punched PB’s face, sending him sprawling on the ground.

Archie fell on the floor, before he could feel a sense of relief.

"AHH..." PB groaned as he picked himself up from the ground, spitting out blood and a broken tooth,

"You bastard, I never liked you anyway, I should have killed you the moment you copied my looks."

Deadbeat, keeping an eye on PB, instructed Archie,

"Kid, use your Rift Watch to get out of here. Check the menu in the watch. You should be able to see it clearly."

"I won’t let him leave," PB raged, his fist slowly turning into ice and forming an icy armor around his hand.

"Get out of here, kid. We'll handle this. This Butt needs a spanking to learn,"

Deadbeat said his goodbyes, his gauntlet also turning into ice.

Deadbeat and PB charged at each other, throwing punches without any guard.

"BAM!" "BAM!"

Each punch threatened to knock them out, but their rage and hatred kept them going.

Archie stood up to see that Mechanic didn’t have a moment to even speak, as more and more Rift Runners were entering the room and the bullets were running out fast.

The only way Archie could save Mechanic and Deadbeat was by leaving this place.

Archie looked at his Rift Watch, which glowed with a golden light. All the bloody bruises on his hand vanished, and the pain he felt also disappeared. However, he didn’t have time to marvel at his watch.

Archie clicked his Rift Watch and golden lights swirled around his rifts like a compartment box. From observing Deadbeat using his Rift watch.

Archie rapidly swiped the golden box upwards for a new menu to appear, until he saw the menu.

[Return Home Planet]

[Yes] [No]

Without a second thought, Archie clicked [Yes] on the menu.

"WOOSH!" Archie rifted in the middle of the fight. Mechanic, Deadbeat, and PB witnessed something they had never seen before.

A golden Rift appeared in the place where Archie had rifted, radiating and then disappearing into nothingness.

After Archie rifted, Mechanic ran towards Deadbeat and shouted,

“Dad, let’s escape.”

Mechanic threw a tiny car at Deadbeat and PB. The car transformed into a huge vehicle that flew towards them with the door open.

"SNAP!" Deadbeat quickly froze PB’s legs, disrupting their exchange of punches. He jumped into the car, blood running down his face, and Mechanic followed.

The car smashed through PB’s building’s glass and escaped. As soon as the car left the building, the five cars shrank back to their original size.

Some of the Rift Runners tried to follow the car, but PB stopped them. Breaking the ice on his legs with a swift kick, he ordered his men.

"Inform the Players and search for the shop named 'Troy's Family Noodles.'"