Steve: "But before that, I need to get ready first!"
Kregt: "Fine, suit yourself, Steve. Just let me know when you're set."
Steve: "Got it."
Steve walked out of the fighting arena. Arriving at the guild lobby, he intended to check out the facilities this guild had to offer.
Steve: "Excuse me, Miss, what is this place?"
Ria: "Ugh... Call me Ria! Are you blind? This is the food supply room."
Steve: "Hehe, yeah, sorry. Can I have some?"
Ria handed a loaf of bread to Steve.
Ria: "There, take it."
Unknown: (Oi Steve, just one? How is that enough?)
Steve: (It looks like one, but inside there are actually 100 loaves.)
Unknown: (Interesting... interesting.)
Not long after Steve started walking, a girl stopped in front of him.
??? : "Uh, hello, Big Bro? Can I ask something?"
Steve: "Ask what?"
??? : "You're really strong, but how come your level is still Level 10?"
Steve: "Eh... (Holy crap, I forgot levels existed!) So... well..."
??? : "What is it, Bro?"
Steve: "I rarely go leveling. I usually fight bosses, but it turns out they don't give much EXP, hehe. By the way, what's your name, little girl?"
Gaki: "I'm not little! My name is Gaki. Nice to meet you, I'm Rank B."
Steve: "Oh, right, right. Sorry. Good luck, I've gotta go!"
Steve hurriedly walked away from Gaki.
Steve: (Phew~ Luckily she bought it. Seems like I need to grind levels more.)
Unknown: (Is a level really that important?)
Steve: (For me, since I have your power, it's not necessary. But it's suspicious if someone is that strong at a low level!)
Unknown: (Then how do we level up fast?)
Steve: (From a monster grinder. I don't know if this guild has one, but a big guild should.)
Unknown: (Monster grinder? Humans have the weirdest inventions.)
Steve: (Later. We have to get back to Kregt after preparing!)
Steve visited various shops for combat gear diamond swords, healing potions, and other items. After finishing, he quickly headed to Kregt's office. He opened the door and happily praised the guild's facilities.
Steve: "Whew, this is great! Everything is free!"
Kregt: "i'm Glad you're comfortable. Are you
ready?"
Steve: "very Ready!"
Kregt: "I've prepared transportation for you. A Wyvern to take you to Zone Zero."
Steve: "Alright, I'm heading out, Kregt."
Kregt: "Stay safe."
Steve climbed onto the Wyvern. He snapped the reins, and the creature immediately took flight toward the destination.
They crossed continents and oceans, but the destination was nowhere in sight until they grew incredibly bored.
Unknown: (I'm so bored, Steve. I'll just open a portal, okay?)
Steve: "Please do. I'm bored too, and we only have 80 loaves of bread left."
The Unknown opened a portal based on the coordinates on their map.
Woosh!
After entering the portal, they arrived at an island covered in black mist and mountains that hid the interior.
Darrr!
A bolt of lightning nearly struck them.
Steve: "Too much lightning. It'll be expensive if this Wyvern dies."
Steve coated the Wyvern with a protective shield made from the Unknown's dark power. Once finished,
He steered the Wyvern to dive down. He dodged the lightning strikes and finally managed to land safely.
Steve: "Phew, safe."
Steve stepped down onto strange ground. The texture was so strange is like mud, but with a vibrating and sharp sensation.
Even the air felt heavy, as if oxygen itself refused to stay there.
Steve: "How is it, Unknown? Anything similar to your energy?"
Unknown: (Don't know. Nothing feels like mine.)
Steve continued his journey, surrounded by the ruins of ancient buildings.
As they walked, it felt as though something was watching them from behind the thick black mist.
Steve: "Hey! Who's there?"
Slowly, a green light appeared, growing larger and larger. Suddenly, a creature let out a deafening scream.
Thump, thump, thump! A massive, eyeless green creature ran toward Steve.
Steve was shocked by the sudden pursuit, but he tried to stay calm and prepared for battle.
However, when the creature reached him, it stopped.
It sniffed the surroundings and then simply walked away as if nothing had happened.
Steve: "Wait, what?"
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE OBTAINED A SECRET ACHIEVEMENT: THE WARDEN. RECEIVE YOUR REWARD: 100 HAI-]
The monster or now we call it, the Warden immediately chased Steve again because of the loud notification sound. Steve bolted in a panic.
Steve: "SHUT UP, NOTIFICATION!"
The Warden chased him while launching ultrasonic sound attacks, but Steve dodged them easily.
Steve: (It seems this monster only hunts based on sound!)
Realizing how the Warden functioned, Steve began crafting something from the items he took from the guild.
He set up a few static electricity sources that kept spinning, connecting them to a bell so it would ring continuously. Steve hid behind a ruined building, hoping his trick would work.
The Warden reached the source of the noise. Strangely, the creature became docile and just stood there near the ringing bell.
Steve: "Wow, it wasn't a waste taking everything from the guild for free."
(Back at the guild...)
Kregt: "That brat took everything..."
The Glitch and The Scythe
Steve: "Time to explore... according to the map, we should head straight that way."
Steve resumed his journey. He passed through a forest split in two; the trees were stained with black ink, fire, water, and other anomalies.
Unknown: (Hmmm... this looks familiar.)
Steve: "What is it, Unknown?"
Unknown: (Nothing. Just keep going.)
Eventually, Steve arrived at a small building that looked well-maintained.
Steve: "How strange. Let me check inside."
Click. Steve opened the door. Inside looked like a normal house, but there was a photo of four people whose faces were blurred, as if erased from history.
Unknown: (Them? Why is that picture here?)
Steve: "You know them?"
Unknown: (N-no... I don't know.)
After finding nothing else, they left the building and followed the coordinates. Finally, Steve found a massive dome enveloped in thick black smoke.
Steve: "This should be it. X:-454, Y:70, Z:677. Yeah, let me dive in."
Steve flew up and began exploring the interior of the dome.
It was filled with strange monsters and cave systems containing ancient materials. He flew deeper, but suddenly hit an invisible wall.
Steve: "Huh? What the? Why can't I pass this thing?"
[WARNING! ENEMY DETECTED!!!]
The invisible wall flickered with purple and red glitch effects, as if the space in front of Steve was suffering a system error.
Unknown: (Get ready, Steve. Something's coming.)
A dimensional rift opened, and a Warden stepped out but this one was different.
Steve: "Another Warden!?"
Unknown: (Watch out. This one is weird detail it's bigger and it has eyes!)
Woosh!
Steve dashed forward, coating his diamond sword with pure darkness.
Clang! CRACK!
Steve: "What?! It broke, even though I coated it with pure darkness!"
The monster glared at Steve. It quickly grabbed him and threw him against the dome wall.
BOOM!
Steve: "What is this? Why is it so strong?!"
Steve didn't give up. He tried again, clenching his fist and concentrating all his energy into one point.
"ARGHHH!" BAM! But the attack did nothing to the Warden.
Steve: "Damn it, how do I kill this thing?"
Unknown: (Do you need my help, Ste—!)
In the silence, a hologram of a man carrying a scythe appeared. The mysterious man swung his weapon, sent the Warden flying back.
???: "Are you alright, young man?"
Steve: "Who are you?"
???: "That's not important right now. Take my scythe! I don't have much time; I am merely a remnant of energy tasked with protecting my land!"
Steve quickly grabbed the scythe. It looked ordinary, but it was incredibly powerful, pulsing with a severe glitch effect. Steve gripped the vibrating handle as purple pixels sparked around it. His hand felt hot, as if holding unstable fire.
Steve: "Thank you, whoever you are, Unc!"
Unknown: (That scyte...)
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: TRIAL ITEM ACTIVATED!]
[NAME: SCYTE'S SCYTHE]
[GRADE: BEFORE CREATION]
[DURATION: 30 SECONDS]
The Eyed Warden roared, its chest glowing green as it prepared a massive sonic blast. But this time, Steve didn't run.
Steve: "Only 30 seconds? That's enough to finish this one-eyed freak!"
Woosh!
Steve moved at an impossible speed. The glitch effect made his movements look frame skipped, confusing the Warden's vision.
Steve: "HIIYAAAHHH!"
Steve slashed the scythe vertically. As the blade sliced through the air, the space around it seemed to tear apart.
SHING!
BOOM!!
The Warden tried to block with its hardened arms, but the glitch scythe passed through its defense as if it were paper.
The slash hit the Warden's chest directly, causing an explosion of black and purple data that shattered part
Steve: "Insane! One hit and it pierced through! Too bad it's just a trial."
Unknown: (Heh.)
Steve: "I need to end this before this OP weapon disappears."
Unknown: (Jump up and slash the air, Steve!)
Steve was surprised but followed the instructions without hesitation.
He leaped into the sky and gripped the scythe tightly.
The weapon automatically began absorbing Steve's black energy.
"HAAAHHH!!!" Steve swung the scythe.
A giant aura of the scythe manifested in the void, hurtling toward the Warden.
BOOM!!!
The Warden was sliced in two, its body instantly dissolving into the environment along with the mysterious scythe.
Steve: "Who was that, Scyte? You better explain this to me later!"
Unknown: (Sigh... fine.)