286 Starting Area
The world changed ever since Christmas Day.
Humans suddenly received Special Abilities, also known as Gifts, and had a System to regulate their capabilities. If it only ended there, then one could have thought of the change as a good thing. Perhaps people would dub it a ‘miracle’.
Unfortunately, with these special powers… came consequences.
The horror known as Demons emerged!
It has been six months since then. The world that once knew even a semblance of peace had been plunged into the depths of chaos. The skies could barely maintain its wonderfully bright color and had already began to dull.
The air was heavy, and the stench of death could be found in every corner. Was this Hell on Earth? Perhaps… or maybe it was just a prelude for what would be coming…
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[WELCOME TO THE THIRD ARC: RISE OF THE HOARDER]
[Date: June 26th (6 Months After The ‘Christmas Miracle’]
<Time Left Until The Arrival Of The Horsemen: 3 Months, 6 Weeks, 6 Days>
[LET THE STORY COMMENCE]
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The entire area was desolate. Other than the darkness that surrounded the cold hallway, nothing much could be seen.
Usually, there had to be some sort of illumination for these sort of places, but the fact that none were visible showed the kind of situation the structure was in.
Further down the hall, or rather, at the place which one began to walk through the vast hallway, was a large room. It seemed like a starting area, and it was shaped like the inside of a dome. The vast expanse showed that it could fit a thousand people, most likely more.
In this massive room, there was actually light.
Glowing flames from torches decorated the area all around it. The blue flickers of fire made no sound, and the empty hall remained in decorum. Until…
>SHIIIIIINNNNGGGGG<
A burst of light emanated from the center of the hall, and something like a Magic Circle, having different shapes and symbol imbued within, appeared!
The golden illumination completely overwhelmed the dull light that the blue flames had produced, but it only lasted for a few seconds. Afterward, the brilliant radiation vanished, same as the Magic Circle. It was as if they had never appeared.
But, there was now a difference within the large auditorium. Before, it was empty… but now…
“Wow… it really is abandoned.”
“I’m so nervous… should we really be doing this?”
“Calm your nerves. This isn’t our first time, you know?”
“B-but, no one has attempted this in weeks. There’s a reason for that, right?”
“We’ll be fine. Besides, we have a ‘Return Stone’, don’t we?”
… Humans had appeared!
They were five in total, all covered in gear. Three males, two females… a standard Party.
One was dressed as a warrior, having the classic battle armor that was dyed red, along with a longsword strapped to his waist. Two were garbed as Mages. One could tell at one glance from their robes, colored blue and black respectively. Of the final two, one seemed like a Thief while the other had the appearance of a… healer? No, she was actually a Tamer.
These five were a Party, a group with similar objectives that had registered with the System. While they had differing personalities, it didn’t change the fact that their goals were aligned. From their gear, it was clear they meant business, and since these people even had a Return Stone, clearly they came prepared.
Usually, when exploring the Tower, one could not leave unless they reached a checkpoint known as the ‘Safe Zone’. These areas, as the name implied, was a haven where Gifteds didn’t need to worry about dangers of any kind. The large auditorium the group appeared in was one of the Safe Zones which also served as the starting point for their exploration.
A Safe Zone allowed the Gifteds in the Tower to leave at any time, also ensuring they recovered a portion of their HP so they didn’t die. In a sense, they were blessings.
Unfortunately, only one Safe Zone existed per floor. Their positions were also random. In that light, a person could be stranded in a Tower without getting to a Safe Zone on time. It was due to this reason that Return Stones existed.
Return Stones forcefully transported a Gifted to the Starting Area, no matter where they were in the Tower. In essence, back to the very spot they now stood on. If the Gifted who used the Return Stone was in a Party, all the members would also be transported… as long as they were in the vicinity.
If they were too far apart, the Return Stone wouldn’t apply to them. This served as a deterrence to members who liked to act on their own and cause trouble for the others, but it also cautioned the whole Party to always stick close.
Of course, even if the Return Stone didn’t exist, the members of a Party had to be by one another’s side. After all… the Tower wasn’t a place where a single person would last for long. Of course, with the exception of the Rankers on the Leaderboard.
Maybe they stood a chance, but for a team of fairly strong people, the possibility of soloing a place as dangerous as this was practically nonexistent.
For Gifteds who did their very best to survive, forming groups was inevitable!
“We should start moving. Tia!” The one with the red armor, also their leader, spoke as he turned to the one dressed as a Thief.
“Use your Skill to scour the area.”
Tia nodded and activated a Stealth Skill known as <Sneak>, a Job-Related one only she could use.
One active, her body faded and she became invisible. Tia, the Thief, looked behind her and saw her Party Members nodding. It was a signal that they couldn’t see her. Once she had confirmed this for a fact, Tia took action.
‘Alright, then… here I go!’
Tia activated a <Sprint> Skill and dashed away from the Starting Area. She plunged into the dark hallway that began to light up the moment she passed through it.
The team waited patiently for her return, not bothered in the slightest.