"Huu. Huu."
Kyle looked around, taking several deep breaths while holding onto his chest. He was mainly exhausted from the Gate he had just completed raiding, but more than anything, he was trying his best to hide from Seth.
â...I think I made a good excuse. Itâs not like I donât want to play his game or anything like that. Iâm just... ehm, exhausted. Yes, thatâs the word. Itâs definitely not because I donât want to spend the next few hours trying to see if thereâs any scary aspect about his game.â
Kyle made a face.
He felt guilty for his thoughts, but he couldnât be blamed.
He was a little traumatized from what had happened in the past.
"Okay, let me just get the reports over."
Going back to his cubicle, Kyle looked through all of his files.
The moment one finished a gate, theyâd need to do some paperwork. This was something that most Squad Leaders had to do.
It mainly had to do with the team evaluation, giving comments on who did well and who did poorly. Areas to improve, and so on...
Just the regular boring stuff.
But it was also the most fun part of the job.
âAt least this part of the job doesnât try to kill me.â
Grabbing a pen, Kyle was just about to write when he paused. He saw a pair of green eyes staring at him.
Kyle blinked as he craned his neck a little to see Zoey staring at him.
"Zoey?"
"Heyyyy."
Kyleâs eyes narrowed.
"Whatâs with you?"
He felt that the way Zoey was behaving was a little odd.
"Me? Whatâs wrong with me?"
Zoey blinked innocently, trying her best to act normal, but the more Kyle saw her like this, the more suspicious he became.
âSomething is up. If she wants something, she usually takes it without asking. If she needs something, she usually asks without anything else. This is definitely suspicious.â
"Ehm."
Zoey coughed, trying to ease the awkwardness.
"Just spit it out. What is it you want?"
"Sethâs number."
"....."
"....."
Kyleâs and Zoeyâs faces froze.
Neither of the two spoke, the surroundings growing silent.
That was until Zoey sighed.
"Alright, Iâll be honest with you. Iâm still struggling to apologize to him for what happened several months back. I also canât seem to get a hold of him since heâs always holed up in his office."
"And youâve not thought about knocking?"
"No."
"...."
Kyle closed his eyes, feeling his head throb. In the end, he took out his phone and sent her Sethâs number.
Kyle knew and understood Zoey quite well. She was the type who would not relent once she set her mind on something. Since she had made up her mind to apologize to Seth, regardless of what word he was going to say, she was going to continue.
In the end, it was best for him to send her Sethâs number.
"Here."
This was also good.
Kyle wanted Seth to have more friends or people he could talk to. Because of how busy he had been, he hadnât been able to spend much time with Seth.
Seth was also too much of a loner.
This would at least get him talking with someone.
âAlthough I doubt heâll answer his phone. He never does.â
Thinking about it, Kyle prepared to tell this information to Zoey, but by the time he lifted his head, she was already gone.
He could only stare at the area where sheâd be at a complete loss.
"She wonât start flipping out once he ignores her, right?"
Seth was probably the only person in the world who would ignore someone like Zoey.
He was...
"Well, heâs Seth."
Kyle shrugged, going back to work.
He decided not to think about it. He found himself doing it a lot lately.
It brought him peace of mind.
***
The Guild Master was efficient.
Not long after I returned to my office, a package was delivered to me.
I didnât even need to look at it to know what it was.
â...He really did send everything.â
I looked into the box and selected several fragments to test their purity.
[79%]
They were all of very high purity.
"With this, I shouldnât have a problem reaching the Fourth Order."
Honestly, I didnât know how to feel about this.
This felt a lot easier than I had expected. Had it not been for the Guild Masterâs help, it wouldâve probably taken me much longer to accumulate all of these fragments, but with just a word, I managed to acquire all of this.
Of course, I understood that things werenât so easy.
Nothing was free.
However, this was necessary for me. I had to do this in order to survive the upcoming quest.
"Letâs start with Mirelle."
I picked up the first fragment, its surface swirling with a faint white glow that pulsed gently against my palm. This was a crystal of the âWardenâ affinity.
[Would you like to remove the attribute?]
ⶠ[Yes] ⷠ[No]
A familiar sight presented itself before me. The color faded from the fragment as a white cloud formed above me. The fragment grew warm, and my head felt a little light. It was a process I was all too familiar with.
The moment the cloud appeared, a tingling shot through my arm, and Mirelleâs head popped out from the painting.
Her eyes narrowed, almost fishlike, as she leapt out of the painting and lunged toward the cloud, absorbing it in a single swift motion.
Her number on my laptop increased, and I reached for the other fragments.
Warden: 22/40
Warden: 27/40
Warden: 34/40
I extracted the attribute from each crystal one by one, feeling my head grow lighter and more unsteady with every fragment I completed.
âJust a little bit more.â
I still pushed myself further, trying to get through all the fragments.
My mind felt dizzy, and I felt nauseated.
I still held on, and soonâ
Warden: 40/40
Mirelle absorbed the last attribute, and a change began to occur.
Her body began to emit a faint glow, her dark hair shifting as if stirred by an invisible breeze. Her eyes deepened in color, the black growing richer, darker, until they seemed endless.
Then her body began to stretch and change, her features maturing before my eyes. In moments, the little girl who looked no older than ten had transformed into a teenager.
I stared at the scene speechlessly before a notification flashed across my vision.
âââââ
<C> Ranked Anomalous Entity - Mirelle
[Description]
: Mirelle was once an innocent girl, but fate dealt her a cruel hand. Taken by a cult, she was turned into one of their experiments and never managed to escape her grim fate, dying in the process. Now, she exists as an anomaly.
Loyalty : 71--> 78
[+7]
(....)
Skill :
[Innocent Giggle]
: With her soft, eerie giggle, Mirelle can temporarily nullify the effects of other anomalies and skills, disrupting their influence for a brief moment.
[Resentful Giggle]
: Mirelleâs laughter seeps into the minds of those nearby, awakening their buried guilt and fears.
Fragments :
[????]
âââââ
"Hiss."
I drew a deep breath, looking at the new skill that she acquired.
This...
It didnât target anomalies, but humans.
I could already picture the countless possibilities that this skill brought.
But most importantly...
"Iâm hungry."
Mirelle rubbed her stomach, lifting her head to look at me.
"Hey. Bring me food. Be quick."
Mirelle had really turned into a teenager.