NOVEL FROG Chapter 9 Fading World ( Part 2 )
Fading World ( Part 2 )
Aiko knew the answer , but lacked the words that would best bring everything to a comprehensive summary.
“ Bossman , there is no good way to put this , but your world is set to join a long list of millions that have fallen to the might of a powerful race called the Titans ,” she started , her energetic and lively attitude turning solemn.
“ What do you mean Titans? Are they the things I just fought?”
“Far from it Bossman , Wailing Hounds and Dread Ghosts are just flies compared to Titans. These are mighty celestial beings that devour the energy of worlds. They are also the creators of Systems , like the one you currently have.”
“This still does not answer why I am chosen,” he followed up after taking a moment to digest the information dump.
“ Well Aiko is making an educated guess here , but Aiko believes that you were not even meant to have this System. It was meant for one of the Enforcers who would come to weaken your world in the name of a Titan . The fact that you got it either way is what makes Aiko believe that you were chosen”
“ So who was supposed to get my System then ?”
“Aiko thinks it would have probably been a human that had spent decades meditating so that once they were given the System , they could upgrade all its abilities instantly .It's an older process called cultivation,”
“ Wait , I have to meditate to upgrade the System ?”
“ If Bossman had gotten one of the older versions , then yes. But right now Bossman has the very latest System and it is able to adapt to who you are. This is why it chose a reward based progression style to level up,”
“How many other Systems are there , Aiko ?”
“ Aiko is not sure, but she knows that there are thousands of enforcers serving the Titan race.This will explain why Aiko felt the presence of another System user nearby. She did not activate herself for fear of exposing Bossman ,”
The smile had already faded on Jack , “ What would happen if they found me?”
“ Well Bossman , your System is built on the experience gained from past Systems and their experiences .Consequently it has one of the highest growth potentials and you might even become the most powerful System user one day.
However , since the System was never meant for Bossman in the first place, the Titan after your world will spare no effort in retrieving it. Aiko hates to tell Bossman this , but a System can only be extracted from a dead host .”
Hamilton grabbed his crutch and used it to lift himself up . Using his elemental power had drained most of the energy in his body , making simple tasks like walking or even sitting upright daunting.
He however still managed to get himself over to Jack and sit beside him.
“ Damn this shit man ,I feel useless and pathetic ,” he cursed .
“ Cynthia is really going out of her way for you. I thought this would be cause for celebration,” Jack started.
“ She is pissing me off by insisting that I eat her food. I will not have her go hungry for my sake ,”
“ Any of us would be doing the same , you should have seen the shitty state you were in when the military came for us ,”
“ Cynthia tells me that you also got some scratches of your own. How’s Linzy taking it?”
“ Well luckily she’s not overbearing ,” Jack paused to think of a better way to describe Linzy , “ It takes a lot to get under her skin. Though she may get frightened like anyone else , Linzy has her own way of strengthening her heart .”
“ It comes with the territory when you are charged with being a healing mage in the association. You have to be strong for others sake ,” Hamilton explained. Though he had never served in the same platoon as Linzy , he knew the horrors that lay in the war zones once a mage fight occurred.
“Speaking of platoons , the one I used to serve under while I was still an active mage is coming here. I still know a few people on the inside and can get us some decent living standards,” Hamilton added , his eyes falling on the hundreds of survivors jam packed in the bunker .
“ The place was already past its capacity when we came in yet more people are still being brought in. Pretty soon, we will be lucky to get one meal a day,” Jack agreed with him.
“ Aiko also wants to leave this place. Aiko says Bossman should just go out into the streets and hunt monsters. This way Bossman will level up his abilities faster and destroy even stronger opponents ,” went Aiko inside Jack’s subconscious.
“ And where the hell is that blue hot head of yours anyway ,” Hamilton put aside the thoughts of starvation for the moment.
“ What did the fool just call Aiko just now? Aiko will make sure the fool never forgets his low standing with Aiko !” The blue girl literally jumped out of Jack’s chest and gave Hamilton a painful kick in the leg.
She then pouted and crossed her hands , furiously waiting for an apology.
“ Aiko , get back inside me right now ,” Jack said with urgency as Hamilton winced at the sharp pain . The people in the bunker had taken notice of the blue apparition standing in front of Hamilton and started to whisper amongst themselves.
“ Is she a Heretic? They are the ones responsible for this crisis right?” the people started murmuring.
“And what about the two men?”
“ One seems injured , but that doesn’t mean he’s not a Heretic as well right?”
“ I say they are all Heretics !”
“ Yes I agree , one of us should inform the soldiers . And quickly before they summon one of those monsters here ,”
Jack and Hamilton could read the hostile stares coming from the onlookers. If they didn’t do something quickly , they’d be in trouble.
“ Aiko now !” Jack got impatient. Aiko obeyed and vanished into his soul.
“ What the fuck is wrong with her !” Hamilton joined Jack
No sooner had he said this than the whole bunker went silent , the sound of rapid gunshots coming through the hallway that Linzy and Cynthia had just gone through .
The soldiers manning this hallway all fell down with relative ease as a skinny man in a cowboy clad strolled past their bleeding corpses with two prisms floating behind him.
The obsidian black prisms had multiple round proliferations across their surface from which countless rounds of bullets sprayed out in endless torrents, killing any living thing on sight.
[
36 Souls harvested.
Rewards ; Core energy x3
]
The man observed the red screen before him with a look of satisfaction as he dismissed his talent.
“ Your souls are valued gift and I move to set them to purpose ,” the man said as he walked through the hallway and arrived at the safety bunker where Jack and Hamilton were.
Without giving anyone time to breathe , he summoned and released one of the prisms upon the crowd at the far right of the room.
They all fell instantly as the bullets rained through their bodies , leaving the white wall behind them spattered in red.
Jack was trying to get a read on the man with Perception to no avail. It felt like trying to read a book through a curtain. The information was within reach but obscured.
“ That’s the presence I felt . He knows we are here ,” Aiko whispered , fearful that the enforcer might sense her . At his current stats , she knew that Jack stood no chance against this man.
The remaining crowds panicked and started screaming.
Some dared to make a break for it and were put down swiftly by another floating prism just when they were about to reach the hallway leading out of the bunker. Their bodies piled up on each other haphazardly , blocking the exit in the process.
“ Listen , as I make intent known. Hidden in your numbers is a man who stands in possession of a power not of their own. Break word and make him known to me , that you may live to see the sun fall this day ,” the man lied, letting the two black prisms float around to do a perimeter run of the room.
The remaining people , frozen in fear , were obviously unable to find their tongues.
“Come on , free tongue and see self parted from misery ,” the cow boy’s boots clicked as he started walking round the centre of the crowd , giving each person a keen scrutinising look.
He slowed when his eyes neared Jack , sensing that his quarry was near.
“ And what if you have already killed him you fucking psycho !” a young woman with a child of barely ten years clinging to her blouse spoke up from behind the enforcer.