“Did they start yet?” Ria peered over a rock, trying to get a closure look at the white tents of the camp in the distance sticking out in the grassy fields,

“Don’t know, been awhile.” Mia replied. They had chosen to catch any escapees and provide support for retreating children and their escort. The two were not participating in the main assault on the camp but that might have been a blessing in disguise, the assault team was full of A rankers, evolved individuals that Mia was looking forward to watching from afar.

An explosion wracked their ears, the two siblings sitting up and seeing a tall stack of black smoke rise into the sky from the center of the camp.

“They are starting!” Ria cheered, more explosions rang out, a tall pillar of earth rising into the sky, small chunks of it separating from itself and firing at anyone below. The smoke converged on itself, shrinking and pressurizing into a ball before spiraling to the ground below. Screams and shouts rang out as chaos rose.

“…wow” was all Mia could say, watching the magic unfold. Beams of light firing from the camp, a large shadow rampaging through the tents, it was a carnage.

“RISING!!!!” A shout reverberated through the air, quickly followed by a pillar of silver light rising high into the sky and cleaving the land in two from the center of the camp all the way into the distance in the opposite direction of the entrance.

“”Wow.”” The two said again, Mia shook her head, nudging Ria “got company.” She pointed to the front, a small group of adventurers were headed their way with several kids piled on their backs. And they were not alone, two white robed people were pursuing them.

Ria saw them, a grin growing on her face, she unsheathed her sword “Our turn!” she shouted, dashing forward “Dibs on the left!”

Nodding, Mia got up on top of one of the rocks, creating a long spear with her ice and aiming it at the one on the left “ready…”

Ria dashed past the group, the two exchanging a brief glance as they passed, she then ducked down into the tall grass, getting close and slashing the figure’s head clean off.

“Gah! If it wasn’t enough for the bea- ge-heak?!” the last remaining girl glanced to her shoulder as she was knocked to the ground, the last thing she saw was a light blue cold spear piercing her neck.

Mia glanced at her status “90…” she really didn’t want to hit 100 with this, but killing high level humans seemed to give a lot of experience points. She was splitting it with Ria, but both of them required less to level up “ha… no helping it.” She shook her head, noticing the group was now passing her and seeing the dead-eyed children on their back “…really can’t help it...”

* * *

“On the right!”

“Mhm” Mia sent a spinning dagger at the retreating church members, the small blade flying past its target while slitting their throats and gracefully weaving to the next, with a total of five kills her blade returned to her side, Mia nervously looking at her status “98…”

The two had killed dozens of retreating false Gaia members, the last child transport was thirty minutes ago, and all was left was to wait for the fighting to end and what comes after. They were not the only group on this defensive line, but if they were getting this many she had to wonder what the other defense posts were like.

Twin explosions rang out, and Mia’s attention was brought to the battle currently taking place high up in the sky, the last visible signs of the battle still being in progress. Three church members dressed in black were fighting against 2 members of the Dragon’s maw and Rising Star, with a writhing mass of water beneath them that had taken over the camp at some point.

“Another one!”

Mia slowly followed the voice, seeing a heavily wounded gold trimmed Gaia member get pierced in the back of the head by Ria’s sword. Once again, Mia checked her status and breathed a sigh of relief, it was still 98.

Ria trotted over to her sister, drenched in blood and staring up at the battle “still brooding over your level?” she asked, a ray of red light slicing threw the air towards one of the men in black, who parried it with a sword of pure light, disappearing and reappearing in several different locations around the group, sending multiple waves of light from all directions.

“Yeah.” Mia heaved a sigh “scared, don’t know if I am doing it right, if I missed something, or if I should go back.” The group shrouded themselves in darkness, the orb absorbing the light and shooting it back at the attacker, who flew low to get out of the way, but the writhing mass of water extended a watery tentacle up towards him, slapping him into the air.

“Eh, wouldn’t worry about it too much.” The darkness extended towards him, light from the other 2 searing the dark. One of the two got kicked higher up by a man with a giant sword, who followed up the man who tried to defend himself with a multicolored ray of light but it was no use, the man was quickly sliced in 8 different pieces.

“You sure? No one has given me an explanation on what really happens, just that I get stronger.” The remaining two regrouped, raising their staffs high above them, only for the man with the giant sword to come down from above, slicing their hands off, and kicking them into the writhing mass.

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“But it’ll happen as long as you level up so… oh hey are we done?” the two black figures did not rise up from the mass. Ria stood up on top of the rock, watching the group of adventurers start to glide gently down from the sky “I think that’s it.”

“Yippee” Mia sarcastically muttered, falling down from the rock “So, we head to the entrance?”

“Nah, straggler time.” Ria grabbed her hand pulling her towards the camp “There’s gotta be one or two around here to get you to 100.”

Mia narrowed her eyes “Ria…”

“Look Mia, if what all you told me is true, I think you are overdue, besides.” Ria stabbed her sword into the back of a man that had no legs who was crawling through the grass “The sooner you get to 100 is the sooner I do as well.”

Mia stared as her level went up “Muu…” she didn’t appreciate being forced like this.

Ria stabbed a few already dead bodies as they entered into the camp, they did not get very far, however, as the writhing mass of water was blocking their way in “so what is this, anyways?” she poked it.

“I don’t think you should poke it.” Mia hid behind her sister, ready to freeze it if worse came to worse.

A head popped out from around a corner inside the mass, a figure swimming inside it. An otter beastman swam over to them, investigating the small disturbance. They popped their head out of the water “Something to report?” they asked.

“Oh, you were from the…Blue Blazing party?” Ria asked, recognizing the man from the hut.

“Yup, Otto at your service.” He swam upside down inside the water, rotating his head “So…?”

“Oh, right.” Ria hit her head “so is it over? Did we win?”

‘Otto the otter…’ Mia was kind of jealous he could swim in that thing.

Otto stared at her without answer “Ah! Did someone send you? Usually you wait for an all clear.” He rolled around again “But you were the G-rankers right? You wouldn’t know. Got it got it.” He chuckled “Wait for the horn, I think it should sound soon. We are just waiting for those Black Robed hooligans to finish drowning… I think?”

“Drowning?” Ria blinked “Theya re not dead yet?!”

“Nope, lung capacity and all that, I think one has a lot of health? Or self healing? Either way it is very boring.” He twisted around and pointed to the surface of the water “Me and my pals yaa? We are casting this as a group, our mana should hold out till the old coots die and they can’t cast while they are being spun around in a whirlpool.”

Mia shivered, remembering her own experience with drowning “…Drowning hurts.”

“That it does girlie, that it does.” Otto laughed “But what is a bit of torture for child murderers and kidnappers yeah?” he said cheerfully.

“…ah so you are purposely killing them slowly.” Ria said, plopping her fist down on her open palm.

“Well no need to put it so bluntly lady.” He stuck both his hands outside the water, making a shooing motion “Now be off with yeahs, get ready for when we go back to the city.” He stuck his appendages back into the water and swam off.

“Well.” Ria spun on her heel and began walking back, continuing to stab each body “Guess we won’t be getting you to 100 with this.”

“Like I wanted to.” She mumbled as they walked past the few un-engulphed tents “I wanted to get fire to max and maybe even wa-“

A shiver ran up Mia’s spine and her blood ran cold, and an overwhelming feeling of dread washed over her as her instincts screamed at her to get away as fast possible. She clutched herself, trying to find the source of this feeling, her eyes falling onto one battered tent.

“Mia?” Ria, mid stab, noticed something was up with her sister, turning around and seeing her approach the tent “Someone in there?” she trotted up next to her.

[Saved to s-s-s-s-slot 3-3-3-3 ::ERROR:: Retrying… Save to slot ::ERRROR:: Retrying…]

“…that isn’t good…” Mia said, the message repeating in her head.

“What isn’t?”

“I can’t save.” Mia said, stopping just short of the tent’s entrance.

“What do you mean you can’t save?!” she looked to the sky “I thought you said you can’t save only when that barrier was up?”

“Yeah, but this time it is saying error.” She pulled back the curtains, the inside of the tent thoroughly trashed, a cloaked chair sitting at its center, every inch of her was now screaming for her to leave.

Ria walked passed her “You got your old saves though, right?” she asked, searching the room with wreckless abandon, what ever was effecting Mia was not effecting her.

“Yeah… Ami? Why can’t I save?”

[Checking… Outside interference of a skill. Odd.]

“And that means…?” Mia asked, stepping inside the tent while watching Ria rummage around the place.

[From what I can tell, something is resisting the save and we are failing to effect it.]

“Things can do that?!” Mia shouted.

Ria looked up from her investigation, rolling her eyes and kept messing around “Oh, what’s this?”

[Everything has resistance, Mia, resistance to time is just exceedingly rare, but it exists. You essentially give anyone it the moment you save in a situation that makes them aware of the time manipulation. But natural forms of it… essentially doesn’t exist.]

“So the error is…?”

“Mia, found something.”

[Someone naturally resisting it at almost the highest level.]

“Great.” Mia sighed, so her time powers just flat out wouldn’t work on whatever was causing this, or just really hard for it to.

“MIA!”

“What! Oh, sorry.” Mia slowly walked over to her sister, who had moved the chair “What is it?”

“Well, if you are done talking to Ami…”

[Saved to slot 3]

“Oh hey, it worked.”

“Mia….”

“Ok, now I am done, what?” Mia brought her full attention to Ria, who was pointing at something on the floor, a white circle with a complex design drawn inside it “what’s that?”

“Dunno.” Ria shrugged “It’s lighting up though.” She pointed out, and indeed it was.

The feeling in Mia’s gut got worse, she felt like she was about to barf “Ah, guess that’s bad.” The light grew brighter, sparks of blue static sparking from it, forcing the two away from it.

[It’s a teleportation circle.]

“Ami just said it’s a teleportation circle!” Mia shouted over the static, the wind inside the tent picking up.

“But they said they blocked those!” Ria shouted in return.

A ball of blue light appeared in the space above the circle, a blade cut through the ball, tearing the space. Sparks turned into lightning and sparked wildly, the area inside the tent turning into a local typhoon as whatever was forcing it’s way into the tent was not giving up.

Mia watched through clenched eyes, she didn’t understand what was going on but she had to stop it. She raised her hand towards the portal, launching all the magic she could muster at it but it didn’t seem to halt whatever was going on, or even slow it down.

It was then she heard it, the echoing voice that carried through the portal… and her heart sank.

“BREAK THROUGH!”