Traveler: Derek Walker 28
I was the only one moving freely in this frozen world. The entire world had turned to grayscale, and I was the sole splash of color within it. I was the center of this universe.
The one-eyed knight was shielded by the dark barrier conjured by Cunning. I didn't even need to tap it directly to know its strength was formidable. There's an old saying: with utmost sincerity, you can pierce rock with an arrow, or even punch through bulletproof glass with a pistol. I aimed a Holy Missile at a single point on the barrier.
Pitch-black darkness blocked my path like a wall of steel, but with this new power I'd gained through enlightenment, I figured I could break through. After all, my Holy Arrow had evolved into the superior Holy Missile—it wasn't impossible.
I focused all my power on that one spot. The condensed light blazed through the colorless world. In this halted realm, the most potent life force—the barrage of light—surged toward its target, trailing afterimages.
Whiiiiiing! A deafening roar echoed everywhere, like a fighter jet slicing through the sky at supersonic speeds. But in this stopped world, no one else was bothered by the noise except me.
Thudoom! A dull explosion rocked the air, followed by a blast wave. The light barrage collided with the dark veil, its devastating energy cracking the barrier. Spiderweb fissures spread across it, shattering the entire thing to pieces. It was the combined might of the evolved Holy Missile and its elemental advantage.
"Gaaah!"
Collecting that power had taken time, so the barrier crumbled just as Time Pause wore off. The one-eyed bastard's scream pierced the explosive din. His body flew backward with a crash, but the barrier had absorbed most of the blast, so he wasn't gravely wounded. A bit disappointing.
Time resumed its flow, but I still held the advantage. Naturally, I'd strike first. A perfect battle plan mapped itself in my mind: which skills, how to target him.
'Time Acceleration.'
The world slowed. Not as absolute as Time Pause, but this was time manipulation too. If Time Pause halted the world, Time Acceleration sped up my own time.
'Light Saber.'
A sword of light materialized in my right hand. My strength and agility outstripped my intellect anyway—more than enough to cleave the bastard in two. I gripped the blade tightly. Target: that one-eyed fucker. He hadn't even recovered yet. That split-second opening looked huge to me.
"You're no ordinary human! This'll be fun to hunt!"
A thick fog of dark mist settled around me, blocking my path. It coalesced into a wicked lamp spirit–like creature. This was Cunning, the dark spirit. He'd shown himself right in front of me. Expected.
"Step aside if you don't wanna die!"
"I'm not afraid of death. Keek!"
The surrounding mist morphed into tentacles aimed at me. Insanely fast attacks. I had to focus. Even a graze would hurt like hell. True to a dark spirit, ruthless offense. But my right hand held the perfect counter to darkness: the Light Saber. I calmly sliced through the encroaching tentacles one by one. The severed ones dissolved into mist and were reabsorbed by Cunning, recovering his mana. Waiting for him to tire out seemed unlikely.
"Impressive skills. You're not like the riffraff so far. That light power's even better than the priests'?"
The tentacles weren't all. Black shadows writhed and swelled on the ground like an oil spill at sea. The ominous vibe was hundreds of times worse. From the darkness-choked floor, a human-shaped something slithered up. One of Cunning's tricks: Dark Puppet. The grudges of lives he'd taken, given form. Annoying pattern even in the game.
"Urk! Cunning! Hold him off here!"
The one-eyed retard grabbed the nape of the light-purple-haired girl's neck. She thrashed in the air, caught by the man.
"L-Let go! Hnng!"
"Shut up and follow if you don't wanna die!"
I tried to go for the one-armed fucker, but Cunning gave me no breathing room. The Dark Puppets surrounded me from all sides, tentacles constantly probing. Even with the elemental edge, his resistance was no joke.
'Fuck. Annoying as shit in the game, and here too.'
"Let my sister go!"
A blue-haired girl identical to the light-purple one suddenly appeared, grabbing the one-eyed knight's leg. He snarled and drew his sword as she hindered his escape.
"Damn it! Don't get in my way, you crazy bitches!"
"Delphy!"
The knight's sword swung vertically upward. My eyes involuntarily flicked that way.
"Daring to get distracted with me right here! Reckless!"
A vicious tentacle from Cunning targeted my side. I barely parried with the Light Saber. Without Time Acceleration, it'd have been a solid hit.
"You fucking bitch! Stay out of it!"
The sword-wielding knight sliced off the blue-haired girl's arm without hesitation.
"Kyaaah! Delphy!"
The light-purple girl and the black-haired girl screamed. Cunning, conversely, laughed confidently.
"This negative energy! Delicious!"
Cunning fed on negative emotions. Human despair was his favorite snack. One reason he craved ruin and slaughter. Suddenly, his Dark Puppet grew another 30cm. The tentacles hounding me sped up too—now even taxing with Time Acceleration.
"You dog-fucking bitch! Let go! I said let go!"
The blue-haired girl clung with her remaining arm despite the severed one. Crimson blood dripped onto the ground.
"No! Don't take my sister! No way! Not sister... not sister! Mom's fine, the fairy tales too, but not sister! Never sister!"
"Delphy, let go! You'll die!"
The light-purple girl's face went sheet-white as she yelled, but the blue-haired girl wouldn't release him.
"You filthy mutt! I'll make you a cripple!"
The man mercilessly hacked off her other arm. Her body toppled, limbless from the arms. He didn't stop, severing her legs too.
"Fine! I'll show you hell! You won't die easy—I'll let wild dogs chew your limbs!"
He roughly tossed the light-purple girl aside and grabbed the limbless blue-haired one by the throat. She seemed passed out from pain. Left like that, she'd die.
"Delphy!"
The light-purple girl stretched out her hand with a pitiful scream. The one-eyed man fled, dragging the blue-haired girl.
"Nooo! Delphy!"
"Lilac! We gotta get outta here first! Too dangerous!"
"Maysee sis! Delphy! Delphy's... waaah! Delphy's dying! If Delphy dies, I...!"
"I'll chase that guy! Don't worry! Delphy won't die!"
The black-haired girl calmly evacuated the others away from Cunning. He didn't bother stopping them—his focus was me.
'Fucking hell.'
Cunning's relentless attacks were a pain. Plus, this one-armed shithead—not even in the original game—had wrecked my prized collectible. I hadn't been this pissed in reality often.
I steadied my breath.
'Fuck it. All-in.'
I returned to reality. Doing so froze Solary World time. I planned to use my absolute last reserve.
'Reroll skills with credits...? Nah. Might not get combat-useful ones right away. Credits are tight from trading—can't waste 'em. Right now, it's stats, not skills.'
Thoughts sorted, I shifted to the Extreme Sword Heaven Line world.
Thanks to Many Bodies, another me was active there. I was in a small carriage. Another me dozed right in front, looking way too chill compared to my ass-busting.
Wanna flick his forehead hard, but nah. He's me, after all.
"Huuuuh...? Huh! Uuuh... ? What? We ain't at the village yet?"
The guy woke at my presence, voice groggy.
"Wanna switch? Thanks, me. Best me ever."
"Cut the bullshit. Share memories first."
Me and clone could share memories via contact. We shook hands. I absorbed all his memories and experiences. He got mine too.
"Dude! Wasting a week in the brothel?!"
Fuck. Typical me—this asshole slacked off hard there.
"Nah, that courtesan's pussy was so tight and grippy... Good's good, right? Anyway, you've leveled up nuts. What? Burned almost all bonus points? Fuck, no heads-up before going ham like that?"
"Was the situation. You see in the memories."
"True. Anyway, I get why you're here. Beat that spirit fucker together?"
"You handle Cunning a bit. Gotta check on the slaves. Please."
"Sure. Family's great, huh?"
"We family? You're just me. I'm you."
"Hm... Whatever, we'll sort philosophy later. Solary World now."
"OK."
Me and clone shifted to Solary World simultaneously. To its denizens, I'd suddenly doubled.
Cunning reacted just like that.
"Huh? What technique is that?"
My clone ignored his question.
"I'll take here. You smash that one-eyed prick!"
"OK!"
The clone would cover Cunning fine. Saving the beauty came first. If that blue-haired girl bled out, I'd lose sleep over the injustice.
Her blood trail was like Hansel's breadcrumbs, easy to follow. The other girls trailed it too. Especially the black-haired one from the arena, leading. Maysee, I think.
"Th-That guy! It's him from before!"
Maysee pointed at me. I ignored her and bolted ahead. The trail wound through twisting alleys.
"Master!"
Chasing the blue-haired girl's trace, a familiar, longed-for voice rang out. Sera. Mask off, she rode Poseidon toward me.
"Sera! How'd you get here!?"
"Dodged the guards, followed Master's scent! Elfer's prepped to leave. Let's go quick."
Smart Elfer moved exactly as I wanted without orders. But I couldn't flee yet—too much left to do.
I mounted Poseidon.
"Got business first. Poseidon! Follow this blood trail!"
"Hiiiiiing!"
With a mighty neigh, Poseidon charged. I ditched the now-useless mask.
"Sera! Guide those girls tailing us to the caravan. All my precious collectibles! Tell the worried ones I'll save the girl and return!"
"Yesss! Got it!"
Poseidon pierced the maze of alleys at insane speed. Twisty paths were no obstacle. The blood led past alleys, open lots, to a shabby warehouse—a rickety hut.
Poseidon smashed through the door with powerful kicks and barreled inside.