After the epic battle against Targaroth, we decide to take a break to heal our HP and recover the lost EP and MP.

Taking breaks is important when you have to spend a long time inside a dungeon because, at first, when you’ve just entered the dungeon, the EP and MP recover at a fast speed. But as time goes on, the recovery slows down.

That’s because the two stats that are consumed to replenish them, STA (Stamina) and SOU (Soul) start full. But as you expend them, the recovery inevitably slows down. If you don’t take breaks to give time for STA and SOU to fill back up, you’ll end with no EP or MP recovery.

What takes about one minute to fill up at the start, can take over half an hour if you don’t take breaks.

As we wait, we start to discuss our next actions.

“Did you unlock anything for the secret quest after the battle?” I ask Calaban and his teammates.

“No, it’s the same as before. All interrogants.”

“Hmm… it’s the same for us…”

At some point after defeating Targaroth, we got the bonus points from both the completion of the mission and defeating a Calamity. I know, I know. Our mission required us to defeat a Calamity, but this doesn’t mean we can’t get the same bonus all players who defeat one get. It’d be unfair if we didn’t, as all missions have the same reward.

And then, another mission appeared below the first. We realized we had it when we checked the mission reward but don’t know exactly when it happened. Similar to Calaban’s party, it just shows interrogation marks.

I sigh, “We got no clues…”

We now have the perfect item against Calamities, we can now go anywhere we want without having to deviate from our path just to avoid them. But it’s all useless if we don’t know where to go.

Alternatively, we could start chasing down all Calamities around us and obtain extra points…

But I don’t want to do it. After going so far, I demand answers! I want to know the secrets of this Mystery Event! I won’t be able to sleep otherwise!

“Maybe we can find some clue here? Or did we miss something in the other places?” Thunder Thighs thinks with me. “We haven’t checked this room properly yet, have we?”

Investigate this place, she says… Balmy didn’t find anything of note except for the burnt chest when she looked around. Furthermore, all the changes Targaroth made to create his Domain have disappeared since his death.

Well, everything except for…

My eyes unconsciously move to Targaroth’s throne, the last single element that remains of his existence.

“Could it be…?”

But something unexpected happens at that exact moment.

“Why the long faces? What are you thinking so hard about?” A woman’s voice interrupts my thoughts, startling everyone present. Following her sudden appearance, the woman lands right in front of me.

She’s about as tall as me. Her pure white wings seem to emit a light on their own. Golden eyes. Radiant blond hair and a nice figure. The woman who suddenly appears would be the perfect image of a saint if not for her restless and inquisitive eyes, as well as the large sword on her hip.

For a moment, my brain shuts down. The surprise, mixed with fear, surpasses what I can handle.

“M-M-Mar-” I stutter, my eyes wide open.

Marta!? How did she find me!? I… shit. I didn’t make any effort to hide, did I?

I should have expected her to want to ‘punish’ me for taunting her earlier. She must have asked the players she met on the way if they had seen me… I should have hidden myself from all the players we encountered.

She closes my mouth before I can say her real name. “Remember the first rule.”

I nod. “M-my dear older sister, the greatest player in all DMA…”

She lowers her voice and whispers into my ear so nobody else can hear. “Stop. Flattery won’t save you, my dear brother.”

A shiver runs down my spine. She sounds furious. Oh, no… This is the end! What’s worse, it’s MY end!

I somewhat calm down my beating heart and manage to say, stuttering. “W-what brings you here?”

“What could it be, indeed…” She grins at me and another shiver runs down my spine. “...it might have to do with what happened before the Mystery Event started… Or it might not,” she shrugs. “But let’s talk about this later. First, aren’t you going to introduce me to your friends?”

My friends? Oh, she means my teammates. Hmm… why does she ask? Is she trying to annoy me and show her superiority? Or did the anger consume her sanity?

No sane player, pro or not, would gladly jump into the middle of their enemies and get themselves surrounded. Nobody except for my sister, who’s confident she can handle us all at the same time.

The worst part is that I know her quite well, and she actually can. She prefers close-quarters combat. This range is perfect for her to show off all her skills.

With the 50% stat reduction from the completed Tears of a Fallen Kingdom, we should have a chance to defeat her in normal circumstances. In normal circumstances. I say it twice because, in any way you look at it, we aren’t in top shape after the fight with Targaroth.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

No, forget about ‘not being in top shape’. We are in shambles.

I must make everyone understand the predicament we’re in before she starts massacring us, starting with me. I have to buy time somehow.

“Ooh! How long has it been since we last time saw each other?” Marta glares at me at my obvious bullshit. Yeah, I didn’t expect it to work either. “Hahaha… Alright, I’ll do the introductions. Starting with my teammates, this one here is Moo…”

Telling your team’s composition to your enemy is the worst thing you can do, you say? You’re right. But it’ll be worse if she suddenly decides to kill me because I stop talking.

“Waaah!” Balmy rudely interrupts our conversation. She flies to me and starts shaking my head around. “Forget about your friend or whatever, we must run away! Right now! One of the Calamities is right upon us! N-no! It’s too late already! There’s a star marker on top of us! Kyaaaaah!”

‘Yeah… there’s no need to guess who it might be.’ I think, glancing at Marta.

“It’s too late, Balmy… too late…” I shake my head. “The Calamity you’re talking about… the marker on our map… Sigh. She’s right in front of you.”

Everyone looks at me, a look of surprise on their faces. I take this chance to introduce Marta to them… in the most absurd and dramatic way I can think of.

I do so because I know she’ll hate it. Will I regret it? Probably. But it’ll be worth it.

“Everyone, this is my older sister, Anthemia. Tada! You didn’t expect it, did you? She’s not only one of the best DMA players but also the best sister in the whole univers– Ugh…!”

Marta hits me on the head and sends me a killing glare. There’s no use, Marta. I’m used to this, you won’t intimidate me like that. In fact, it only makes me want to do it more.

Balmy, Moo, and the rest are sending me questioning glances, not sure if they should believe my words. I mean, who would believe Marta is a pro player after my introduction? They might believe she’s my sister, but they don’t look like they believe that she’s the Calamity we should be wary of.

I must make them believe me before she kills us all in a fit of rage… a fit of rage that would probably be the consequence of my actions.

“She’s slightly violent and likes to show off his superiority all the time, but– Gufuh!” Something hits my stomach, interrupting me yet again.

The sheer force behind Marta’s punch makes me jump up a meter before landing on the ground like a used rag.

“What did you say?” She asks with furrowed brows.

This is abuse of power! I’ll denounce you to the DMA authorities! “N-nothing. I didn’t say anything at all. Everyone, forget my last words. Please… I beg you… forget it.” I stand up, rubbing my stomach and trying to protect it from further attacks.

“...that’s better.”

Her punch is so fast and sudden that nobody can see or react to it. The others look at us with wide-open eyes.

Only powerful and expert players can pull off an attack without showing previous signs of it. Thanks to it, everyone realizes I’m telling the truth and they immediately step away, raising their guard.

Everyone but Warpoke, who might have recognized her since the start. His eyes are shining like a fan who suddenly meets his idol in the middle of the street. But unlike what you might expect from such a situation, he doesn’t approach her or ask for an autograph. Instead, he has been quietly standing near us, waiting for her to notice him first.

He’s a true fan indeed. He knows my sister’s character well enough to understand that if he came closer to her, he would immediately regret it.

Marta, knowing that her identity has been revealed, looks around, wearing a smile after seeing the reaction of the rest of my teammates and Calaban’s party. She ‘gently’ grabs my shoulder, before making an angelical smile and asking.

“Say, my dear brother. Do you want to play a game with m–”

*Ding! Ding!*

Saved by the bell, and I mean literally. The last thing anyone expected, was the tingling of a bell to sound at this exact moment.

“What’s going on now?” I ask.

As if Marta’s presence wasn’t enough, we have to deal with something else too? But since that player’s corpse turned into one of those black humanoids, rising from the dead in the middle, we’ve got no time to rest. It’s been one thing after the other.

Not that I’m against it, though. It might be a chance to slip away from her if she gets distracted.

*Ding! Ding! Dong, Ding!*

The sound of bells starts to come from several directions at once. Their sound grows in volume. I don’t know what’s happening, but it’s getting close.

Then, intermixed with the sound of bells, we hear voices. No, not voices, but chants. A mysterious melody, almost hypnotic, fills the cave. At the same time, black-hooded figures appear from each one of the entrances, forming lines and slowly walking in our direction.

I grab my head. I just got a massive headache. “Oh, no. Oh, noooooo… I know this pattern…! I still have nightmares of that day! Please, somebody, tell me I’m dreaming!”

Everyone looks at the hooded players. Some look bewildered at the spectacle. Others watch my reaction with curious looks on their faces. Marta nods to herself, muttering something in a low voice.

But the biggest reaction of all, if we exclude my own, comes from Balmy. She bursts out laughing. “Ahahaha! What are they doing? Is this a performance? Hahaha! They look so ridiculous!”

It isn’t funny. Not for me, at least.

The multiple groups create a perfect formation a few meters in front of us. They align into perfect rows and columns, with one single player in front of the rest. They then all drop to their knees at the same time and take a praying posture.

The player in front, the only one left standing, opens his arms wide and starts shouting.

“Oh, Great Mad Rat! We’ve finally found you! Your devoted believers have come to show you our eternal support. We’ve come to help you in this dangerous Mystery Event. Just ask anything of us and we’ll–”

“Hey, teacher! I’ve missed you so much! I have a few questions I’d love to ask you.”

One of the players in the front row waves at me. He interrupts the one they call ‘leader’ and speaks directly at me.

“Shut up, Bil! Don’t interrupt our sacred meeting! And didn’t I prohibit you from calling him like that?”

“But he’s my teacher! Leader, can’t you understand my feelings?”

The two start fighting while the other players remain silent, their heads low. Which only serves to increase the weirdness of this situation. The verbal fight lasts until the one called Bil stops moving completely. From the gray tone of his skin, he must have been turned into stone.

Stone? Oh, yeah… the Leader was using a Champion that was part Cockatrice, wasn’t he?

“Khm!” The Leader feigns a cough. “Where was I…? Ah, yes. Oh, Great Mad Rat, please give us the chance to show our worth and thank you for all the things you’ve done for us. We’re at your service!”

I feel my head throbbing. Can’t a simple man get enough time to solve his problems one by one? Why did another one pop up before I could solve Marta’s problem? Now I’ve got not one massive problem, but two at the same time!

No, no. Let’s think about it positively. Maybe one problem will solve the other? It can’t be impossible, right?

RIGHT!?

Please, somebody, tell me it’s possible, because otherwise I’ll cry…

Marta, who is the only one who has managed to stay calm after watching the surreal situation in front of us, turns to look at me and asks with her usual neutral tone. “What’s wrong with that guys’ heads?”

“I don’t know…” I shake my head.

I have the same question. What’s wrong with them and why are they always like this? Leave me fucking alone, you weirdos!

image [https://i.imgur.com/ZGSK4Pl.png]

What happened next? Chaos ensued. What else did you expect from such a situation?