A date to remember

Being showered with sarcastic remarks, the woman only found Darius’ irritation amusing while she answered in kind, making the young man beside her tremble close to the point of fainting while facing Darius’ pressure right in the face.

I-it’s so suffocating… It’s Miss Lily really not feeling this?!

He couldn’t help but wonder: just how was his superior able to joke around with someone who released such strong pressure?

"Hm~, now jokes aside, shall we see what you brought me?"

"… Here."

Already tired of dealing with her, Darius took out nine cores and 51 crystals, leaving the young man baffled while the woman impressed. She smiled interestedly and nodded once. He also took out the mission request to clear out the golems.

"I see nine mid-tier golem cores, 25 lowest-ranked, 15 low-ranked, 5 mid-ranked, 4 high-ranked, and 2 boss-ranked crystals. You surprise me more and more. How many are in the party?"

"Solo."

"…"

The woman started writing the report on her computer, but her fingers stopped after hearing Darius’ answer. She glanced at him in the eyes, but just smiled after seeing his serious and sharp gaze through his gas mask. He was obviously tired and beat all over. His achievements were incredible, and all of this could be visible on his beat-down body.

"If that’s true, then I can say you’re more impressive than I first thought. If you even want to, I could recommend you to a party from the Blue Spark Army. Although it’s a party made of children below the age of 20, they are still quite strong, as all of them are mages with considerable abilities."

To be recommended into a squad of mages was not just an honor for a simple human but also something unheard of. The fact that this woman was able to see such great potential in Darius after only seeing this much showed her great experience in judging humans.

He might have just picked these up from somewhere or eliminated another squad for it, explaining the blood. But those are not the eyes of some petty criminal, while the scratches and burn marks on his body aren’t made by weapons or spells either. Sure enough, all of this was his doing.

Her deep red eyes stared intently at Darius’ eyes, but with a meek tone, he just said,

"Not interested. Just give me the money."

"How impatient. Well then, through credit or cash?"

"This time, credit."

Darius took out a credit card and placed it on the counter. The woman sighed dissatisfied at Darius’ villainous answer and just shook her head, then told the young man to continue the transaction.

"…"

While the young man tried to add the new information to his database while trembling and constantly deleting the mistakes he made, the woman continued to stare at Darius, who only looked downward, as if trying to evade any eye contact with her. Although the glasses were almost like those of sunglasses, her sharp eyes were able to see through, observing his every eye movement.

Is it just me…? Or is he trying to keep his distance from me? Although he wears a mask now, I can tell by his eyes that I’ve never seen him before, so he shouldn’t know me. Normally, men would be spellbound after seeing me, and only after knowing me would they start evading my sight. Well, shall we test the waters?

While the receptionist continued his work, the woman smiled at Darius and asked, as if only to amuse herself,

"Are you still interested in having a drink? You did propose that a while ago, didn’t you?"

The woman chuckled amused but the receptionist only sweated more, wondering why his superior was continuing to pester an already angry man. However, to everyone’s surprise, Darius pondered for a moment and calmly replied,

"I do have something to chat about with a superior from the Social Assistance Agency. So, it’s today after work, fine? If not, then tomorrow night?"

"Oh my?"

The woman seemed surprised for a moment, but then burst out laughing while hiding her mouth.

"I'm rarely taken by surprise like this, but you've done it twice today. Very well; tonight it’s fine. But I still want to get prepared, so let’s meet at 8 p.m. near the 3rd Sector's bus station."

"Hoh, normally I'm the one to set the place and hour, but let's do it your way. However, don’t expect this to be some fancy date. Just come as you are."

"Tsk tsk, don’t you know? A woman has to prepare no matter what, mostly for herself."

"Then do as you wish. I'll do the same."

"You mean, prepare for the date?"

"I mean, I'll do as I wish."

As such, he took his card and badge after the receptionist finished transferring the money, turned away, and waved once at the woman.

"See you."

"Goodbye~."

The woman waved gently, but her smiling eyes were showing a sharp glint, staring interestedly at the distancing young man.

He’s such a weird yet mysterious person. He doesn’t seem easy to control, yet dangerous once made an enemy... I must know him better before making any assumptions. If things go well, he could become a great asset for the Human Coalition.

Her red eyes flahsed with a mysterious power as she observed Darius' back. A dark shadow over his back made her curiosity soar further as she was able to examine not just his physique through his armor but also his unnaturally strong spirit, this being the first time she saw such a ridiculous aura on a simple human.

.

After leaving the building, he walked back to his run-down apartment. Arriving at his place, he started stripping off his bloodied armor, taking a shower, then changing into more casual clothes. However, his casual clothes were actually a pair of military pants and a gray sports T-shirt that was mulled on his body to keep the body temperature stable, accentuating his muscles. He also disinfected and bandaged his whole left arm. Although he’s from the military, he was able to let his hair grow, not necessarily because he wanted to, but because he didn’t wish to pay the barber as he was saving money. Now, he used an elastic band to grab his curly black hair in a tail, while his dark and self-trimmed beard accentuated even more his jawline.

Although he was only 24, there were no longer any childish features on his face; looking like a fully-grown adult, incomparable to how he looked back in his past life before appearing in this world. Even more, he might look even older since lately, he has had to deal with a lot of stress and wrinkles appearing here and there from his severe facial expressions.

Well, good enough.

He glanced once in the mirror, then laid back in bed, wanting to relax for a while as the clock was only 6 p.m. and there were still 2 hours until the established date.

He glared at the ceiling, and calmly, he started thinking about what he had been doing and what the next move was.

Two weeks have already passed since I left the army barracks. Graham reported to me that his people completely decimated Colonel Set’s people and recovered the blueprints. After he examined them for a bit, he came to me and said that the blueprints weren’t complete. But I was able to fool him by saying that the project itself wasn’t finished yet, so it was only normal. After that, Graham already put me in contact with some of his people for building the laboratory. After helping the architects with the blueprints for the laboratory, they said that everything should be done in about one more week. Which is great, because the heroes will start to appear in 1 month from now, and if I wish to help them in any way, I first require power, and 1 month should be enough for me to create what I need, while one week should be enough to gather all the materials needed. Now what I need to do for the future is already set: gather materials, create the godly gadgets, and help humanity raise their combat and strategic knowledge against the monsters. While at it, also sabotage the demonic cult as much as possible. And this woman, the future "Iron Rose", should be of great help to me.

Darius smirked while thinking of the woman he will meet in a few hours.

The Iron Rose was an NPC in-game that will appear later in the story, around the last chapters, when humanity will group up together to fight the demonic followers. She acquired this title because she was known to be not only very beautiful but also a strong and steady woman, unshaken no matter what happened, able to keep her calm and give great advice to all commanders to round up groups of soldiers, mages, and even Spirit Wielders that were normally feared even by the said commanders. She was able to keep her composure and work alongside the four commanders of the four fortified cities after their connection with the Lords was interrupted. What’s more, she was actually able to take command of the four cities after everyone recognized her strategic skills and judged her abilities to be the best of everyone else who participated in the war.

She was also a pretty tough opponent, as she was able to assemble the whole group into one great force that made Darius have his challenges even though he had the knowledge from the game. If anything, she might as well be one of the rare females—no, one of the rare people that he respected in this world.

Sigh~… Today was a tough day…

He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to listen to the silence, clear his mind, calm his tense muscles, and just relax. As he stood still like that, whispers started resounding in his mind.

.

I’m doing the right thing, right?

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Just how much did the future change this time?

We took out the spies inside one group of the elite main army. Will there be any consequences?

The Demonic Followers might cause trouble for my brothers one way or another!

Now that I think about it, was there no other way than to kill them? They were my brothers…

I’m trying to stay low, but I still attract a lot of attention. If a new light appears, the shadows will change positions.

I came all the way here to assist the heroes, but won’t I just get in their way with my actions once again?

I’m yet to get rid of other demonic followers, but other than the ones from the main story, I have no idea where the rest are!

More and more worries resounded inside his head and made Darius struggle in bed, sweat covering his forehead together with a dark frown. As he struggled, the voices became louder and louder while also seeming to be more in number, while the feelings of anxiety and stress got stronger, as if amplifying.

I must do this-

Then go there-

But what if-?

How about-

No! I might cause-

And after-!

----!

---?

-----------!!!!

-QUIET!!!-

In the end, all the voices united in one single thunderous shout, completely emptying his head and making Darius fall into a deep state of emptiness.

.

""……..""

Inside complete darkness, six Darius were standing in a circle, all of them dressed similarly, with the same posture, the same dark expression, and the same sharp glare.

""Mind connection…""

They all said it at the same time, and then they all decided to throw a dice that appeared out of nowhere. The dice combined after being thrown in the same spot, and a 5 appeared on top. It wasn’t anyone of the Darius who chose who that nr. 5 person was, but the dice decided, going to the one in the south-west from the encirclement. Darius irritatedly opened his mouth after the dice had chosen him.

"The mind-connection between us parallel individuals is too strong. Although it might be an advantage in case of danger, we might risk going mad from constantly hearing the minds of six at the same time."

After he spoke, he looked to the one to his left, who was opening his mouth as well.

"We must find a way to weaken this connection quickly. If we can’t rest, then we’re useless for the long run."

"Alcohol's the best option to lower overall mental abilities, but…"

"If we do that, we’ll also lower our mana control. And once we do that, we’ll be unable to utilize Reiki and expel miasma once intoxicated."

"Sigh~ and we also have this damn meeting with the Iron Rose… We must be awake enough, or we might fall into some kind of trap set out by her."

"Sigh~ if we could just meditate and stop thinking..."

""!!!""

Everyone else suddenly opened their eyes wide open and stared at the one who spoke out, the respective Darius also freezing up for a moment.

""Void Mind!""

They spoke together, and the next Darius that was in line continued.

"Right! The Spirit Wielders use that meditation technique to clear their minds and concentrate on becoming one with the mana all around them. If I'm not mistaken, that's the godly scribble's secret technique that helped them advance to the next class in the game."

"Yes. This might help us keep our minds from wandering around, train our mana, and keep our strengthened connection intact. It’s shooting three birds with one stone."

"And I suppose it won’t be a problem putting this meditation into practice."

""Not a problem.""

They all smirked together, and everyone disappeared into darkness.

.

After he woke up, he didn’t get up but laid down while relaxing his mind and body.

He went into a deep meditation while breathing in for 7 seconds, first inside his lower abdomen, then higher up until he was full of air, then breathed out from up until he was completely empty in 7 seconds, repeating this breathing. While doing so, he visualized how, with each breath he took, his body was starting to glow with an electric white glow, while with each exhale, a triangular form of light would go through him from head to toes, pushing the energy through his feet and into the ground, washing his body of any and all impurities. He continued to do this while changing the position of his fingers with each breath: first with connecting his thumb with his pointing finger, then on the next breath with his thumb connected to his middle finger, with his ring finger, the pinky, the pointing finger again, and finally with his middle finger again, hence going 7 times. He did this circle about three times to thoroughly purify his meridians on every plane of being.

After doing so, he visualized a white tube of a diameter similar to that of a circle formed by the thumb and pointing finger, which was going through his body with a palm above his head and a palm below his feet. At each end of this tube, there was a pointy, pure crystal head. Through this tube, with each breath, he visualized how mana was filling his body and how the two powers, earthly and heavenly, connected to his lower Dantian. He continued breathing in, and the flow of energy started accelerating while his breathing remained the same. The focus point in his lower Dantian was growing to a diameter of two palms, turning brighter and stronger.

At the end of every 7 breaths, the energy sphere would turn golden, and then he would send the strengthened and large core of mana in his middle Dantian, at his heart, to be circulated all over inside and outside the body.

"Phew~…"

He exhaled the last breath, then started breathing normally, continuing to focus on his physical body and absorb the gathered power, his senses heightening for a moment.

.

After one hour passed, Darius woke up and decided to grab his backpack with a few things in it, then move out to take the first public bus towards the 3rd Sector. Entering the bus, he waited for about 45 minutes till he finally arrived at the predestined bus station.

[Next station: 3rd Sector]

The automatic voice from inside the bus resounded, and, after getting off the bus, Darius was somewhat surprised by the appearance of a mall right in front of the bus station. At first, he thought the reason she wanted to meet up at such a faraway place from her workplace was because it was near her home, but seeing a mall here, it was more than reasonable why she decided on this place, which is about 7 bus stations away from her workplace.

He took out a newly bought phone and saw that he was there 10 minutes early, deciding to wait on a bench near the mall’s entrance, putting his backpack right beside him.

"……."

As he waited there, he looked around and couldn’t help remembering once again how different this world was from the one he remembered. It was especially disturbing, as some people who passed by were fully clothed, hiding their appearances or even wearing pieces of combat armor. Nothing screamed more post-apocalyptic than seeing armored soldiers, mages with crystal wands, and other crazy clothes, all mixed in a crowd filled with civilians while in front of a mall.

However, what Darius wasn’t aware of was how some people were staring intently at his relaxed posture, looking like a Greek sculpture, his shirt greatly revealing his chiseled muscles.

The reason why so many people stared at Darius wasn’t because he was dressed strangely, but because of his well-built body, the many scars, and, in the women’s case, because of his good looks that he simply wasn’t aware of or interested in.

I just can’t get used to this…

He tried not to mind either the strange environment or the gazes, focusing on a sense of danger that seemed to creep slower in his heart.

Normally, when this happened, danger was right around the corner, even though his five senses perceived no concrete reasons for anything to happen.

This place… the 3rd Sector, was it? Why do I feel like I’ve seen this place before…?

"My~ have you waited for long? You seem mad."

The woman he waited for finally arrived, and Darius was momentarily stunned to see her in a red, rather short dress and black stockings, with beautiful earrings and a small golden pendant around her neck. Her mildly red-glossed lips and the makeup around her red eyes highlighted her sharp yet sensual gaze, which gave anyone the impression that she could see right through them and made their hearts skip a beat with just a glance. Her blonde hair was now curly and tied in an impressive tail that reached her shoulder blades. In her hand was a small black purse, while in her feet were a pair of black leather heels that seemed comfortable enough to not disturb her ankles yet still make her taller by a few centimeters. Obviously enough, she knew how to dress and make her makeup to be both beautiful and comfortable with herself, and she was sure enough to also captivate more than half the crowd around her.

A villainous beauty. That was the first thing that appeared in Darius’ mind after seeing her eyes and calm smile.

"No, I just arrived. And for a simple chat, you came surprisingly prepared."

"Fufu~ I told you, didn’t I? I don’t always get invited, so I might as well go all out."

"You do look stunning. On the other hand, I told you I wouldn’t try to be presentable."

Darius shrugged his shoulders with an indifferent smile, but the woman just giggled as she grabbed onto his arm.

"My~ thank you. As for how you look, don’t worry. With such a body and face, no woman would mind how you’re dressed right now."

"…"

I know that my body is trained, but what about my face? Why did she add that too?

Although he had confidence in his strength, his looks were another story. So he didn’t know, nor did he mind her words about his appearance.

"Oh, also, I might know your name from the mercenary badge, but I guess you still don’t know mine? I’m Lily Rosaria, one of the administrators at the SAA. Nice meeting you."

"Darius. Glad to know you."

"hm? Darius? Wasn’t it Daniel?"

"That’s just to hide my background."

"… And you’re telling me this so suddenly? You’re either very confident or very foolish."

She didn’t seem necessarily mad after hearing this, but she sure seemed provoked by Darius words. However, with the same calm demeanor, he continued.

"That’s just because I want you to trust me as much as possible while we’re having our conversation. There are not a few searching for my head, so I’d prefer having you as an ally rather than an enemy."

Lily was taken aback for a moment, her red eyes wide open while looking at Darius’ face, his eyes examining the crowd around as if expecting to be ambushed at any moment. Seeing him like this, Lily chuckled and continued to hug his arm, her tone more flirtatious than before.

My~ how sweet. Then, while at it, may I also know what your background is? I’m sure you won’t mind that, right?"

"Former Elite soldier from the Main Army and now a solo mercenary. Glad to know you."

"Oh my~ an elite soldier. Now I understand how you were able to get all those materials on your own."

"The elites are just other soldiers. We’re nothing special."

"So that means that even between them, you can be considered between the top?"

"…"

Her conclusion made Darius raise his eyebrows as if saying well, kinda without actually voicing his thoughts, and let her reach the conclusion she wanted, chuckling amused at his face.

"Now~ where do you think we should go?"

"Somewhere to sit, be able to chat in silence, and preferably a cheap place. I need to save some money."

"Oh~ then how about that place?"

She pointed towards a large building that was right in the middle of the mall, looking quite expensive. Rather, it was the most expensive place since it was a 5-star hotel, the only one in the whole city.

Darius’ mouth slightly opened while his face was both confused and baffled, turning to Lily with a complicated look on his face.

"I might not go out a lot, but I can tell that place ain’t cheap. Who are you trying to fool?"

Seeing his face, Lily started laughing while covering her mouth, but then she just waved while walking forward.

"You’re surprisingly easy to tease, aren’t you? Please don’t worry; I won’t make you pay for my share."

"…"

Well, I guess I’ll grab a cup of water then.

Sighing annoyed, Darius followed her, and after arriving in front of the building, he saw large letters above the entrance saying, BORDER HOTEL, followed by five stars. It was a business hotel for big shots with tons of money, with the restaurant having a dining hall on each floor.

It was known that many rich people were visiting these places, not only because the dangers they presented proved to be quite a fascinating attraction for some rich adrenaline junkies, but also because the sight of constant purple thunder flashing all over a part of the sky while a large purple pillar lit up the horizon made for an eerie yet beautiful sight. Everyone thought that this hotel was madness, but the fact that rich people were coming here proved that madness was worth a lot of money.

I think I remember now... the root of the danger I've been feeling ever since I got here...