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Chapter 11: First Phase

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From the balcony where he waited, in the chair made of woods and metals, he inhaled deep and closed his eyes, spreading his arms wide to the breezing wind.

It felt like being carried by water but you can still breathe The feel of being caressed steadily, as if lifting you up from your feet, you couldn’t help but feel the sensation on your skin.

You raise your body, you let it embrace you, the purple sky and the orange sunset painting the scenery its hue.

The feeling of elevated gladness stopped and a touch of coldness spread in his skin. He summoned a mask and stood from his chair, turning around to face the door.

“It’s time.”

There was no more idling, no more waiting. Time was already wasted from when he had first arrived.

In the room, all his gears were lined.

Dragunov, Dark Ender, the [Twin Guns], the items he needs, food, the [warehouse], and a new set of clothes.

It’s the same white polo with an intricate design on the left sleeve. But its materials were different. Actually, he already sold his old clothes (or armor of sorts) and equipped the newest ones.

RPG: Terroa’s designing system were designed to be able to recreate one’s own imagination into reality.

Parts and details are already available, except for how the final product would look, the functionality and the structural concept of the Invention (the Armors and the Weapons) is somewhat selected from a wide list that the game system provides.

Similar to how the Warships in Terroa can be designed, the parts of the weapon (stabilizers, edge, bore, hilt, handle, guard, firing system, trigger, body, weight base, core, power source, etc.) can be selected by the player.

They just had to provide the [Appearance Design], and the materials (to determine the durability), and the new weapon gear is created after a day.

For armors, it’s the same concept, except that materials used for the armor plays a substantial part to determine the durability, and sometimes, its special function.

Siva’s new gear is made up of Dragon Skin and Lapis Spine Carapace.

The white polo had a strange greenish glow from the afternoon sunset —or solset—and the black slacks had a more dignified soft feel with improved hardness.

It wasn’t just a formal polo-looking armor set anymore, it was now as strong as a mid-grade full body armor thanks to the materials used.

With one press of a button, the clothes on the bed was transferred and equipped. With another, the guns went up to his hands then vanished to his [warehouse]. He pressed a third confirmation and the Dragunov popped on his arms like blue colored bubbles and vanished.

Lastly, he took the sword sheathed on its dark colored special scabbard from the bed and tied it on his waist.

The [Dark Ender] is a single edged blade, as broad as an arm with fin-like eaves extending from the hilt. Its whole body was black, with only a slightly red colored design, the whole weapon looking like a fishhook one meter long.

Its blade pointing up, the hilt towards his right side. In a simple gesture, he could pull the whole blade with his right hand in a reverse grip.

When all is set, he turned to face the [warehouse] two meters on all sides, three meters long.

Through the glass opening, he could see all his items.

He summoned an H-panel then pressed, the whole block of metal shrunk into a small cube. He put the cube in his belt then it vanished while in his vision, all his items and equipment appeared with an icon.

“Alright.”

Lastly, Siva summoned another H-panel and confirmed what “settings” will he used.

[Kamikaze]

It was the settings he chose at random and now, it was somewhat the right settings for him when using the Flight Armor (Wing Set for the literal wing set).

He walked towards the balcony, his body looking like a superhero and without any warning jumped off.

From the floor where his room was, it was a fall of 100m high. But after twenty meters of falling, 2seconds after he jumped, boosters lighted up in his back and feet that dragged off towards the orange horizon.

He wasn’t the only one who flew inside the city but he was unconditionally the fastest one there. Not everyone can use the [Kamikaze] settings of the Flight Armor.

One mistake, you might become a splattered meat in a building or a tomato in the paved ground.

He flew passed the skyscrapers, the hotels, the modern corporate towers of the Terran world. Going beyond the horizon or blinding orange light, he arrived at the landing bay near the west Hangar Port.

He walked off towards the port passenger entrance, to the receiving area, then to the benches on the left side.

Then he sat down.

Thirty minutes. Forty. One hour. Two hours. He was in the middle of composing a song by tapping his feet when he saw a group of three women being followed by a lot of people.

After a few moments, another group approached them and a conversation happened.

He watched like a fan as the conversation heated up.

There were shouting, cries, drama, and then pleading.

He was just around ten meters behind the group so he could almost hear them. They were also starting to get attention so the audio quality of their conversation also began to be buried in the sounds of murmurs and noise.

As it seems, there were people that pushed the crowd away. To where he was, it was a large bulky man that felt familiar yet distant.

Siva was wearing his “Volume Hunter” persona, the white domino on his upper face and the rugged cloak in his body. He was sitting cross legged now and the beats he was about to compose into a rhythm, disappeared in his mind.

So he just let it all flow. He didn’t care. He was waiting for the people he was waiting and he doesn’t want to waste anymore time be idling in this city.

The commotion subsided and the crowd dispersed. It took long enough but it seems that their conversation ended up well. The two groups of women joined forces and the crowd controlling men also join in on them.

And just when it seemed that everything was well, one of the members of the group of three turned around and brought Siva into surprise.

She was the player he fought during the war of the Two Powers last week!

Siva wouldn’t forget her. She was the one who wielded that indestructible black weapon that can change shape and sizes at her will.

It seems that the girl was looking at his direction when Siva heard her reaction.

“Ah…!!”

He was about to stand up when the bulky man waved a hand on her.

“Yo!”

“So you were alive after all?” The girl spoke to him.

“I can’t die yet. I have to settle some score with the one who got me that one time. I lost a MOD to him and one of my precious Legendary Weapons.”

“Hmp. Men, you’re all the same.”

Siva felt relieved that he wasn’t recognized. Even more so that he wasn’t the one who that reaction was pointed at. Still, when he heard the content of the conversation that followed next, he knew then that he had to get away from there as soon as possible.

So he stood up, turned around, and was about to walk away when he heard a name that made him stop.

“Hey! Amanda needs you!”

Siva turned around and saw Kathleen Brew running to the female player talking to the guy. But with cold sweat flowing through his spine, Siva looked beyond them and to the group that was looking back.

In the middle of that group, he saw Loni, the girl who he recognized as a companion of that strong looking man named Thorn.

But beside her was the person that caused Siva to freeze on his feet.

“Amanda…”

Black hair with a silver right forelocks. Pink lips and a pair of tantalizing eyes. Her complexion was one of the distinctive features of a Maven Racer player but her beautiful expression gave more meaning to the word itself. In short, she looked like an elf princess.

With trembling legs, he wanted to go and greet her but stopped midway when he remembered something else.

He remembered Augustus. He remembered his deal and the rules that governed the care of his brother. He was already breaking this rule by asking Volt and the others for help. He can’t bring in more people into his problem as it may cause more complications to his already complicated situation.

Rex, as the person behind Siva, was greatly in debt with Amanda. He heard from head nurse Martha that Amanda personally took care of him when he was still unconscious.

For Rex, she was an existence he can’t ignore. The two of them spent a long time together as she was also the one assigned to assist his rehabilitation. During those times, he even saw her as beyond a nurse’s existence, perhaps an emotion that’s barely inside the circle of friendship.

He felt a tinge of pain seeing her. Adding the fact that she was radiantly more beautiful than the last time he saw her face. Maybe he really had been tormenting himself? Did old man Janus understood me that well than I understood myself?

All he could do was stare at her now as he noticed the three pairs of eyes from Kathleen Brew’s group.

She even clicked her tongue, shaking her head.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Another victim of her beauty.”

“Pathetic. Hmp.”

“That’s normal. Us men likes beautiful women.”

“You’re a special case. I still haven’t forgiven you for throwing me out.”

Recovering from the shock and surprise, Siva made a tiny jolt and turned around, seeing Hawkeye waving at him from the arrival area.

He spent a last glance towards their group, biting his lips and clenching his fists. Though it can’t be seen in his face, his eyes were almost at the edge of shedding tears from regret.

Moments passed, he took another glance back to the fleeting group, not minding Volt’s group arriving from the gate behind.

“What’s wrong?” Agatha asked worriedly.

“No… it’s… nothing.” He answered.

“Do you know that group?” Volt put a hand on his left shoulder and Siva shook his head but did not deny.

“I only know someone from their group but that’s… a part of my past. Something I already felt prepared on leaving behind me.”

Then she sighed and scratched his head.

“Anyways, you guys are 12 hours early. I thought you’d still take a few days going down the mountain.”

“Well, just to get to you in time, we had to fly our way through the monsters.”

“Flying?”

“I mean, we blasted anything that stood our way.”

“That’s Samara for you.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean, huh?”

“Nothing! Nothing! You were actually cool back then.”

“Wooo… you’re saying that now?”

“I always say that!”

“Not when I’m in good mood.”

With the bickering Volt and Samara, the laughing little sister watched them exchanged their punches.

And all the while, Agatha could only stare at Siva as he kept his eyes to the group who’s already almost out of reach from theirs.

“Dex?” She called with the softest of voice. Somehow, it sounded as if there was something else in her voice.

“What?” Siva faced her, not minding being called by his real name, or in this case, the name he gave them.

“N-No, nothing.”

“I see.”

Siva stared at Agatha as she fidgeted and blushed. He sighed and looked at the dog and cat with a squirrel in their side cheerfully laughing her heart out.

“Well, guys, let’s go. I have lots of things to explain to you. I’m staying at Crown Hotel suite. Are there anything else you need in the market?”

The four exchanged glances and they shrugged.

“Alright. Follow me.”