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Chapter 197: Worthy

Dasha opened his eyes and found himself falling through the air. He was above the mist and crashed into the ground. The earth rumbled and the mist began to part. Dasha landed on one knee, a palm placed on the ground. The soil was familiar.

[ Error! Return to Gate 13! ]

[ Error! ACCESS CODE: Complete——! INCOMPLETE! ]

[ ——!!!!!!

ERROR1111111——!!!! ]

[ CODE RED! NON-ARCHITECT ACCESS! ]

[ NON-GUEST ACCESS! ]

[ ADMINSTRATOR DETECTED! ]

[ ADMINSTRATOR DENIED! 101010101!

CODE FATHER OF SCIENCE INPUTTED! ]

[ ADMINSTRATOR THALES' REQUEST ACCEPTED! ]

[ Error! Main Objective complete! ]

[ Error! Special Objective complete! Complete——! INCOMPLETE! ]

[ Error! HIDDEN OBJECTIVE complete! Incomplete! Complete——! INCOMPLETE! ]

He ignored the windows. A crumble of white fell from the corner of his vision. He was back. He was back to the Silent Forest. The Administrator Thales failed to kill him. One of the very creators of the Heavenly Games tried to fucking kill him and utterly fell flat.

‘What was that though? A vision? Of who? Why? When?’ His thoughts were interrupted by searing pain. His mana was at an all-time low and his health was in the red. Blood dripped from his exposed eye, pooling together on the mask and staining it. Leveling up helped. It didn’t end his issues, however.

He pulled himself up. His exposed eye, dark brown in hue, flickered black. His bloody ears perked up, catching heel steps. They were close. Too close. He turned. She was here.

“Samantha? Something wrong?”

The blonde in the black skirt and purple skirt was a stone statue. “That’s…”

Samantha, Dee, Caleb, Liam, and Wilma. The last two were mages and fraternal twins. His eye lingered on Dee, then everyone else. ‘Skullmask isn’t here. Must have gotten lost in the mist. Xavier mentioned losing two of his teammates in a couple days.’

“Everyone in formation! Formation IV! Full offence!” Samantha declared.

“H-huh?” Caleb glanced at her. “That’s a player—”

“Now!”

Her five-man team, while puzzled, did not question her further and went into a four-man line. Everyone at the front, Samantha at the back. Caleb guarded the blonde with the wand like a true shieldsman. Dee ran at him first, her steps slightly hesitant though nonetheless willing to strike him down with her spear.

‘Such weak resolve.’

He grabbed the end of her spear and tossed her back. It wasn’t a matter of winning a contest of strength. Dasha was simply overwhelmingly—

[ Warning! Mana in critical zone! ]

[ Warning! Mana in critical zone! ]

‘Tch.’ As Dee soared over him, he put the effort into running after her and landing a flying kick to her stomach. This wasn’t going to kill her, he felt it. His level of Qi was too low to knead Foundation Establishment.

Behind him, he heard the cries of, “Super Aqua—!”

Before they could unleash the attack, Dasha was already there. The Seven-league boots bestowed him with speed like no other. He could easily reach them before they set-off their silly little spell, slamming the heel of his palm into Wilma’s face. Her nose burst with blood. As for Liam, he avoided his last-second aim adjustment and front-flipped into a kick. He landed on him, feet on his upper chest. He stepped forward and placed it on his neck.

“Eat this you piece of fucking shit! Super Fire Dart!”

Samantha’s magic circle was drawn and his Qi Sense was deactivated. It came as no surprise to Dasha that as he turned, a massive impact rocked him. A bullet of fire that was amped in speed by the magic circle. At this range, he could only tank.

“W-what…?”

The flames licked at the left side of his mask, scorching the surface. But as the smoke dissipated, Samantha understood her attack did nothing. Absolutely nothing. Dasha was weak, he was exhausted, but she was weaker. So much weaker. In that moment of understanding, she knew there was no protecting herself.

“Caleb!”

“Right on it.”

Yet still she called for her comrade. Dasha would have moved to kill him, if not for the fact that another piece fell from his mask. ‘The mask is crumbling…?’

“S-should I attack?” Caleb asked, shield raised and ready.

“Hold on! I'm going to blast him with the technique the professor taught me!” Samantha began drawing another magic circle. This time, the pattern was more intricate and larger. It seemed to drain all her focus and mana, and she didn't stop at one magic circle either. She was preparing a fierce attack on him.

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From his left the Olympic woman with the spear jumped at him. Dasha easily blocked all her strikes with his bare hands, his foot remaining on the throat of her comrade. She didn’t recognize him but he did. He had studied her movements once for a paper on the peak human condition. They didn’t just shake hands, they talked and discussed in-length regarding human limitations.

‘She’s gotten much better,’ Dasha thought. Her attacks focused on strength above all else. Single separate thrusts rather than a flow of attacks. If her opponent had been anyone but him, it might have been effective.

Suddenly, Dee's knees dropped, her hands came close together, and her spear flew at speeds that contorted the air. “A Thousand Thrusts!”

‘Oh?’

Dodge, dodge, dodge, dodge. Dasha went out of his way to dodge and fully analyze the skill. He stepped back, allowing Dee to work her way toward him. He went back, back, back, and she pushed, pushed, pushed. Dasha could have very easily stood still and tanked the thrusts like they were tiny pricks. He didn’t. ‘This isn’t a System skill,’ he thought. This was originally devised. ‘No, not exactly. She copied this from someone. She practiced it but…’

It was half-baked. A thousand thrusts? She was at a hundred and already getting winded and losing pace. Dasha instantly lost interest. He stepped in close, back turning toward her, and threw her body over his shoulder uchi-mata style. She struck the ground, gasping, and he kneeled down and grabbed her face with his gauntlets. He wanted to mutter, “Inferno Palm,” but figured he didn't have enough Qi for it. He resorted to swinging over, knee on her chest and a hand choking her neck.

“Mmmmph! Mmmh! Mmmmmm—!”

“Get off her!” Caleb screamed. One hand down on Dee's neck, the other caught his shield. Dasha looked right at the young man who visibly faltered.

‘They saw my face. I’ll give them something else to remember.’ As Dee trashed against his grip, he heard the searing sound of a magic circle being drawn. He released Dee, blasted past Caleb, and used the momentum of his speed and strength to ram a piercing hand toward Wilma's heart.

Suffice to say, he failed. He only penetrated one inch of her flesh. Her robes were of immense quality, it seemed. There was a moment of stillness where his middle, index, and ring finger were lodged inside her. He withdrew and tried again, this time at her throat.

Squelch–!

Fortunately, he reached his destination.

No one was able to do a damn thing. Wilma gasped and staggered back, holding her throat. She couldn't speak, her larynx torn apart. It was a miracle she was breathing at all. Blood spilled and she fell to her knees. Slowly, he turned toward Samantha whose expression was full of fear, her magic circle dwindling away from the sudden lack of flowing mana.

“Your focus broke,” Dasha noted casually, ignoring the gargles of Wilma. “You're the same as before.”

A wicked, irritated grin spread across Samantha. “And you haven't changed one bit, you arrogant, emotionless bastard.” She once again began drawing a magic circle. Halfway through, it broke down. She tried again. Fail. Again. She was met with failure. With failure came fear. “Haa…why isn't it working! Come on, come on!”

Dasha appeared in front of her and grabbed her wrist. Her attempts at ripping away from him failed. She was forced to look up into the one-eyed man; the man that she despised above all others. The man that saw through her and betrayed her without a moment’s notice. “You're shaking,” he said. “You're afraid.”

His grip tightened and broke her wrist, her wand slipping from her fingers. A shriek echoed.

“Do you think I'm going to keep you alive?” he asked. She tried to stand her ground and fight back with her legs, to no avail. He was an impossible mountain that she could not topple. “I would like an answer.”

“N-no…” Samantha’s shoulders shook. She squirmed, hammering at his hand. He wasn’t letting go, he wasn’t granting mercy, and her eyes swelled up. “Wait! Wait, wait, wait!” Dasha was about to tear her wrist off. Her eyes went wider and wider, her voice becoming as low and desperate as her pathetic soul. “Wait! Please, please! Hold on!”

Something was off. Samantha was more tired and panicked than he expected. “How long have you been here?” he asked.

“W-what?” At this point, she was hanging off his taut grip. “How long—? Nnngh, t-ten days! Ten!”

Ten days? Moreover, the mist was still around even though he had destroyed all the redwood trees which he guessed was its source. “Has the main objective been cleared?”

“N-no! No!” Samantha dropped to her knees, blood sliding down her arm. “Please! Please! I-I—!”

‘That damn Administrator…’ Dasha inhaled sharply. ‘Open mission objectives.'

[ Gate 13 : Silent Forest

Main Objective: Incomplete. Return in 30 days.

Prize Pool: ?

SPECIAL OBJECTIVE: Incomplete. Return in 30 days.

SPECIAL PRIZE POOL: ? ]

‘Thales did something. He didn’t just undo my efforts, he made them impossible to do. The trees are back, the Will-o-wisps are likely back, and I bet even if I do what I did before, it won’t give me the rewards I want. That means…I’m stuck here. For a whole month.’

He looked up. The sky was covered by the mist. Somewhere out there, within the confines of the Heavenly Tower, Thales of Miletus was sealed. Watching him. Laughing at him. Wasting his fucking time. That was the greatest transgression anyone could do to him—waste his time.

“Ngh!”

Within the white mist, he saw a woman in white Templar armour, arm outstretched and displaying the mismatched rings on her gloves fingers. He knew this woman. It was Saint Hildegard. She spoke but he couldn’t understand her.

"...mbuuf... spaasl... nhtlz... wyvwly... ylk... npunly... aopjr... nsbl... jhu'a... bzl..."

The language was mistranslating? What? The veins on his wrists bulged and his brain was injected with words and images that didn't make sense to him. A knife, a battlefield, and...Saint Hildegard?

"Ylk... pur... mpa... jspw... shkf'z... lhyz... zluk... wvspjl... qvssf... Rllw... slaaly..."

"...ipa... tvyl... dvyr... npcl... vba... rupml... upjl... zohyw... nla... johujl..."

"Dl tbza jylhal il ylhkf mvy OPZ dvysk!"

"Tf uhtl pz Hzoly Aylua!"

This wasn’t her voice. This was his. This was Jack.

But then, at last, he heard her speak.

“You are not worthy.”

It caused his blood to freeze cold and his brain to throb. Him? Not worthy? Who was she to deem him unworthy? But then he remembered that he was Dasha Pang. He was not Jack. These words were not geared toward him. ‘This damn mask…! Get off!’

He tossed Samantha wayside and stumbled forward, a hand holding his temple. He winced again, his mind flooded with agitating memories that did not belong to him. He whipped his head to the side, hearing blood splatter, only to see the mist again. The mist. The mist. The mist. Everywhere seemed the same with the mist!

‘These aren't my thoughts! What in the world is—nnngh!’

“Everyone has a role. You cannot ask me to do what you may be destined to do.”

“Are you saying I must pursue it myself?”

“Tell me, will you pursue it if I do not?”

“...yes.”

“You have your answer, Jack.”

‘Get out!’ Dasha ordered. ‘Get out of my head!’

Jack and Samantha and everyone else in this world. He was talking to them all. Get away! These players were a complete waste of his time! He needed to heal. He needed to meditate. He needed to calm down and get rid of these memories. If he was going to be trapped here, he needed to take something from this. Samantha, Dee, Caleb, Liam, and Wilma were too weak and irrelevant to pose any issues to him.

They weren't worthy.

He cast a glance at Wilma who was still holding onto her throat, Dee who was crawling back to her feet, and Caleb who was also regaining consciousness.

Another memory panged him. Dasha winced and disappeared into the mist, all the while Samantha stared after him with burning vengeance.