When Alysha got home, she threw herself into bed, too annoyed to continue carving.
"Stupid Kosa. Why do you have to be like this? Genji isn't going to hurt you. Why are you so afraid of him anyway?"
In her boredom, Alysha texted Lisa, a fellow carver she met during the festival.
Alysha: How's your project coming along?
Lisa: Same as ever. I've been working on it since I came back. What about you, Unofficial Master?
Unofficial Master. It was a nickname that perfectly described Alysha's situation. Her skills with the carving knife were astounding enough to match a master's, but she had no significant works under her name.
As such, most people in the community treated this as another of the media's tricks to attract the audience. The only ones who believed her worthiness were the audience and Finlosh, the master carver who hosted the event.
Alysha: The usual. Mom and Dad still don't like me playing with sharp knives, but I'm managing.
Lisa: I'm not surprised. No one would be at ease with their daughter swinging a knife that fast.
Alysha: You were watching?
Lisa: I couldn't miss Master Finlosh's display.
Alysha: That's true. On that topic, Mr. Finlosh is coming to my city in two weeks. Do you want to meet up then?
Lisa: Where did this come from?
Alysha: Well, he wanted to talk to me after the festival, but I had to catch my flight. We exchanged numbers and he said he'd settle his side before coming to meet me.
Lisa: ...
Lisa: I hate how unfair life is. Do you know how rare it is to meet a master, and one's just going to make a trip for you?
Alysha: So will you be coming?
Lisa: Is that even a question? Of course, I am.
Alysha: See you then.
With that out of the way, Alysha's frustrations faded into sleepiness, causing her to sleep early. The following morning, the family was having breakfast when the doorbell rang. Without waiting for anyone else to react, Alysha jumped out of her seat and ran to answer the door.
Seeing her enthusiastic attitude, the father gritted his teeth and asked Kosa, "Are you sure you can't beat him up?"
Kosa had informed him of Genji's visit the previous night, which he wasn't happy about. But for her daughter's joy, he had no choice but to endure these feelings.
"I don't even dare try. He's not one to hold back, and I don't feel like becoming a punching bag today."
The father let out a helpless sigh and finished his meal, understanding that his request was too extreme.
"It's fine, honey. Kosa can handle most problems. You don't need to worry too much."
"I know, but I still don't like him."
"You can dislike him all you want, but that won't stop Alysha from seeing him. Don't overthink it. From what I can tell, he's not a bad person, so it shouldn't be a problem to let Alysha spend time with him."
At the mother's comment, the corner of Kosa's eyes twitched, struggling to imagine Genji as a good person. How could she, when all she could see was a hill of bodies every time they met?
Seconds later, Genji entered the room, agreeing to something Alysha had mentioned.
"Good morning, familiar stranger. Have you eaten yet?" The mother asked politely.
"Yeah. I came over after I finished."
"Then we'll leave Alysha in your care today. We're going to head out for a business meeting." The mother said, pulling the father aside before he could give Genji a piece of his mind.
Half an hour later, they finished their meal and moved into the makeshift carving room.
"Give me a moment. I'll get my things, and then we can start," Alysha said, bolting up the stairs and leaving Kosa in an awkward silence with Genji.
"It's nice weather we're having today," she started after a while.
"Is it? I didn't notice since I was thinking about things," Genji replied.
"That's cool. What were you thinking about?"
"Are you sure you want to know?" Genji asked with a gentle smile.
Seeing this smile, beads of sweat trickled down the side of Kosa's face. Genji rarely smiled like this, but each time he did, someone suffered miserably.
"No, I'm good."
"That's good, or I might have to start my plans early."
Kosa inwardly let out a sigh of relief but paused when she considered the implications of his words.
"Wait, plans? What plans?"
"Hush. Let me think," Genji replied with one finger over his lips.
Kosa gave him a blank stare, wondering what he meant when she had her realization. 'Hold up. He can't be considering how to get rid of me, right? No way! I only interrupted his reunion a little bit. Will he really do that for something so minor?'
But to be safe, she decided to confirm it. "Genji, you wouldn't happen to be thinking about something violent, by any chance, right?"
However, Genji said nothing, which scared Kosa more than if he had given an answer.
'Holy shit! He is!'
"Hold up, Genji. You don't have to do this. It's only a small interruption. If it upset you that much, I promise I won't do it again. Please reconsider," she blurted out, panicking for real now.
"What are you talking about? Am I really so petty?"
"N-no," she stuttered, fearful of saying the opposite.
"Exactly. You have nothing to worry about. Now leave me alone for a while so I can think."
The first part of his answer calmed her nerves, but the second half caused her comfort to instantly collapse. 'Shit! That settles it. He's definitely thinking about how to get rid of me. There's no way anything else could trouble him like this.'
"Wait, wait, wait. Didn't you say I have nothing to worry about? Why are you still thinking about it?"
This time, Genji didn't even look at her, ignoring her question completely. When Kosa realized this, she fell into despair. 'It's over. He's not even treating me as a person anymore.'
This thought weighed down on her and crushed her hopes, burying her in a mountain of terror. She had never seen Genji plan so much, so she was certain her death would be well hidden.
'I bet the cover story will be so good that people won't even question it. Poor me. What did I do to deserve this?'
As Kosa's distress reached an all-time high, Alysha's soft footsteps sounded from the stairs.
"Sorry, that took a while. I was looking for something."
"Hmmm," Kosa hummed weakly, too frightened to give a proper response.
"Oh, Kosa! What happened to you? Why are you so pale?"
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"I-it's n-nothing," Kosa replied, shooting a shaky glance at Genji, afraid that one wrong answer would cause her death to be agonizing.
"You sure? You're sweating a lot. Do you have a fever by any chance?" Alysha approached her and felt her forehead.
"N-no. I-I'm g-good."
"You say that, but I'm really worried about you. It feels like every time I look away from you, you become like this. Next time, I won't leave you for so long. It's just that I didn't put my tools in my usual place since we came back so early. I hope you don't mind," Alysha whispered, flashing a bright smile.
Kosa was stupefied when she registered what Alysha had said. 'There's no way she would misplace her tools like that. She did that on purpose. Does that mean he's in on this as well?'
Kosa looked over to Genji and instantly got her answer when she saw his light smile. 'Darn. So it was a false alarm. That's good. That must be her payback then.'
"Okay, Genji, I'm ready." Alysha's smile widened into a heartfelt one as she turned away from the shell-shocked Kosa and hopped next to him.
"Then let's get started."
'Still, when did she get so scary? I better not piss her off like that again,' Kosa thought, still shaken by how fast Alysha had changed her mischievous smile.
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While this was happening, Sinclair was summoned by Shepherd to his room.
"The Barren Wasteland's order has collapsed. Do you know anything about it?" The slouching Shepherd asked.
"What? When?"
"Two weeks ago, a month after you left."
Sinclair was taken aback by this answer. How could this be possible? It was unthinkable for a world to collapse, let alone one with a parallel world. Normally, parallel worlds had twice the resources and stability of a regular world, which was what made them so precious.
As long as a parallel had enough essence, it was impossible for it to collapse, but this only applied when it had ample essence. If the world was low on essence, then a parallel world would only worsen the situation since it required twice as much essence to maintain, forming a vicious cycle.
Sinclair recalled the exhausted terrain of the searing desert and understood that it fell into the second category. Plus, the situation might be worse than he expected since the scene he saw was the revealed world, where most of the essence was concentrated.
In fact, there was enough essence on that side that Sinclair was certain it wouldn't collapse. That only left the hidden side, which was what confused him. How could the hidden world collapse so suddenly? By definition, the world was hidden so no one should have entered it. Yet that was the only explanation since a world would never cause its own collapse.
'Just what could have caused this?' As Sinclair pondered this question, he suddenly recalled the scene that forced him to return. 'Hold on! If it was that time and him, it might be possible.'
Acting on this feeling, he pulled out an item and crushed it.
[State a name to check.]
"Enigma from EverRealm."
[You do not have enough authority to view this profile.]
Sinclair immediately noticed the phrasing and confirmed his suspicion. The prompt said he didn't have enough authority, not that the profile didn't exist. There was a big difference since it implied that the target was alive!
As for the lack of authority, Sinclair expected this since the item was only a rare one. This wasn't the first time he used this consumable so he knew the details of it. That was the one upside of being low-rated.
"He actually survived," Sinclair muttered, surprise evident on his face.
"You know the reason?" Shepherd asked after Sinclair finished his actions.
"Yes, he's a troublesome enemy. I request to use backup plan #4."
"So extreme?"
"I schemed against him twice, and he's still alive."
"That doesn't justify it. Your schemes might be deep, but we can only use that trump card once. After that, the realms won't allow it again. Shouldn't we save it for a more troublesome enemy?"
"He will become the greatest obstacle to our plans."
"You think so highly of him?"
"He's getting stronger at a frightening rate and has some of the strongest equipment I've seen. It's hard to believe he's only in the second step."
"Is he more problematic than the veterans of the higher steps?"
"Absolutely. I tag-teamed him with a boss, and he didn't even break a sweat. How often do you find someone with such high combat abilities?"
"Fine, you have my permission to use it," Shepherd said, handing over two legendary consumables with an unchanging expression.
"You won't regret this."
When Sinclair left the room, Shepherd shook his head and made a bizarre comment. "Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways. Be it fear or madness, what difference does it make when expressed as impulsiveness, under the cover of decisiveness?"
----------------------------------------
When the timer hit zero, Genji returned to EverRealm to make his final preparations for his next world. After ensuring his storage was sorted as preferred, he grabbed a light snack and relaxed. Half an hour later, his remaining time expired, and a spatial force enveloped him.
[Initiating teleportation...]
[Error! Outside interference detected.]
[You have been marked by Sinclair of LuminalRealm.]
[World deviation has occurred.]
[It has been detected that your power vastly exceeds the limits of this world.]
[Adjustments will be made...]
[Error! Outside interference detected.]
[Restraints will be defined by the opposing party.]
[Adjustments finished. World has begun.]
Upon seeing these prompts, Genji sensed something was amiss. Before he could react, he found himself in a glass cylinder, submerged in green liquid. Sensing the sudden change, he quickly held his breath and observed his surroundings.
He was in an elaborate lab, filled with unfamiliar machines and advanced tools. Several similar cylindrical tanks lined the walls, each containing naked humans in a motionless state, their eyes closed as if lifeless.
Seeing their bare bodies, Genji realized he was no different. All his equipment was gone, leaving him with nothing but his chiseled body.
In the room, a metallic figure clad in a white lab coat monitored the machines, its eyes flickering with various shades of light. A robotic arm extended, typing commands into the machines before nodding in satisfaction and moving on to the next one. Genji was four chambers away and had only a minute or two to determine his next course of action.
Suddenly, an unprecedented wave of weakness hit him. This wasn't the typical weakening from injuries or age, but a sensation akin to when he returned to Earth.
Similar to before, Genji felt metaphorical chains constricting him, weakening him to an unprecedented low. Due to this, his lungs ached with pain and he struggled to function from the lack of oxygen.
----------------------------------------
Futuristic World
Background:
A world dominated by robots and advanced technology. Little is known about this place since you are the first visitor from EverRealm.
Mission: You are in a death match with Sinclair of LuminalReam. Kill the other party using any means necessary.
Duration: The return function will only trigger when one of you dies.
Restrictions:
1. All items are returned to your room
2. Spatial storage has been sealed for the duration of this world
3. All stats are limited to 10
4. All abilities outside of technology-related ones are locked, except for talents
5. The starting identity is limited to 2 options, a dangerously detrimental one, and a drastically beneficial one. By default, both parties will start with a detrimental identity, but this can be changed by an ability. Should a party change its identity, the current identity type will be removed from the possible options.
Note: These restrictions will apply to both parties
Identity: Human experimental clone
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"Oh? Subject #1003 is awake? How strange," the robotic man said as he approached Genji's glass tank. "His vital signs have also changed. Did he undergo some mutations?"
The man reached out and tapped away on the keyboard, completely ignoring Genji's gaze. "For now, let's inject the sleeping agent and conduct a thorough dissection later."
Genji didn't hear what the man had said, but he felt a sudden wave of sleepiness assault him. It was a strong sensation, clouding his mind like a devil whispering in his ear and tempting him to return to his dark embrace.
It was an alluring offer, but Genji's instincts screamed at him to get out of there. It felt like if he delayed for too long, he would never wake up again.
Resisting the drug to the best of his ability, Genji reached out and pressed his hand against the glass. It was firm, very firm. With his stats, there was no way he could break it.
Despite this seemingly hopeless situation, Genji remained calm. He didn't care that his vision was becoming blurry or that he was losing strength. Because at that moment, Genji sensed an ominous yet secure power reaching out to him.
It was a familiar power, one that had accompanied him through many worlds. It was [Curse Bearer], the weapon unrestricted by all world limitations.
'It finally kicked in.'
Genji reached out, materialized his trusted weapon, pressed it against the glass, and pulled the trigger. A sharp crack resounded from the glass before him, followed by the fracturing of the surrounding material. The next moment, everything shattered, and Genji burst out with heaving breaths.
"What—"
But before the metallic man could utter another word, Genji pulled the trigger again, unleashing an attack that tore his body apart. Metal shards and arcs of electricity flew everywhere under the crushing force of his assault, creating uneven dents in the surrounding walls.
But before he could relax, alarms started blaring and flashing red lights covered his senses.
"Subject #1003 has escaped. Subject #1003 has escaped." A robotic voice announced through the intercom system. "Initiating emergency measures."
On the last word, a dull click sounded from the doors followed by the slamming of heavy metal. Then, multiple turrets popped out of the walls and aimed at Genji. Another sense of crisis overwhelmed his senses, causing Genji to dive aside and roll without pause.
When he stopped, he realized the turrets weren't shooting metal bullets, but plasma that charred the ground behind him. Springing to his feet, Genji flashstepped before the weapons could shoot again, appearing beside one.
Using his last shot, Genji disconnected the weapon from its mounted position and yanked out its charging wires. Then he dived aside, dodging another wave of attacks before he quickly shot down everything.
Genji tossed aside the heavy turret and quickly scoured the room for anything of use. In a matter of seconds, he donned a metallic lab coat and drew a thin scalpel.
But before he could scavenge any further, a series of thunking sounds came from the hallways. Genji dashed into a blindspot and arced his body to ambush the approaching group. Seconds later, the doors slid aside to reveal multiple robots armed with plasma weapons.
The moment they entered, they instantly turned to Genji, having seen his actions through the microscopic camera in the room. However, this didn't deter Genji from lunging at them and swinging with everything he had.
A thin streak of cutting instant covered the blade of the scalpel, allowing Genji to sever their hold on a metallic rod. Genji caught the item, pointed it at the target, and flicked the slider on it. A bright beam of plasma shot outward, forming a sword that pierced into the robot's chest.
Genji was not expecting this change, but he quickly adopted and yanked aside, bisecting the robot. The following moment, he pivoted on his foot and struck down two projectiles before shifting his body aside for a stab.
Seconds later, Genji completely dismantled all his opponents and shut down his stolen weapon.
"This is pretty strong, but I don't think it will last," he commented, observing the red energy bar in the handle. "Oh well, it's better than nothing."