"Who are you?" Those words echoed in Zenith's mind as his eyes locked onto the little Cautus.
Zenith:Now that you mention it… should I use my real identity, create one from scratch… or just play the amnesiac card? Without realizing it, his expression showed deep contemplation.
Amiya, seeing this, slowly looked toward the Doctor, who also glanced at her before turning back to Zenith—who had already composed himself again.
Zenith: "I may not really remember exactly who I am, but you can call me Veil."Outwardly, he said this with a straight face, but inside he was dying of embarrassment. Please, someone kill me—why did I choose that name? T-T
Amiya's suspicion seemed confirmed—this man was amnesiac too. But something about his earlier behavior felt off."I see… so you've also lost your memory," she said, her eyes narrowing slightly. Still, the fact he had helped the woman and child proved he wasn't an enemy—at least, for now.
Zenith: "Well, now that you know my name, you should probably take care of her."He pointed toward the woman and child. "I'm not exactly good at reassuring people or looking after them."He stepped aside, letting Amiya take the lead.
He watched the scene unfold—the woman's fear of Amiya, and the Doctor receiving a lesson about the Infected. Now that I think about it… I'm not immune to infection, right? I should ask the PDA later once we're settled.
While the others were talking and the medic tried injecting something into the guard, something unexpected happened.
CRACK. BREAK.
The sound of glass cracking and shattering echoed through the street. Everyone turned toward the source: Zenith.
Even he was startled. He quickly grabbed his PDA, ignoring the multiple stares, and checked the new message.
[Template Shadow Dancer / Kunoichi – 30 min usage time ended. CD: 1h]
Zenith:TF do you mean "usage ended"? That's not how a template is supposed to work!
[Well, if your IQ were higher than -10, you could have guessed the template system was temporary—remember when you got Liu Ryoshu?]
Zenith: …"Damn, you're right. I hate to admit it. T-T"
[Anyway, check your notifications and mailbox.]
Lifting his gaze toward the others staring at him strangely, he put on his best actor's face and looked confused."Why is everyone looking at me?"Before anyone could answer, he continued, "If you're wondering about the glass shattering sound—it came from behind me."He stepped aside, pointing toward the shards and a conveniently shattered window. God, I was lucky there was a broken window here.
Most of them still seemed doubtful—especially Doctor, Amiya, and Doberman—but they quickly returned to what they were doing.
Zenith let out a relieved sigh and checked his notifications:
Achievement![First Blood!]Req: Kill your first human being.Description: At this very moment, can you still be considered human for killing in cold blood?Reward: ×1 Extraction Ticket | ×5 Enkephalin
[Baited]Req: Be stupid enough to miss the obvious signs of the system.Description: Getting this achievement means you're dumb. Congrats!Reward: ×1 EXODIA THE C—heeeyyy, got ya | ×1 Daextration 10
Loots[Reunion Member ×2]80 Lunacy (combined)×2 Enkephalin
He stared blankly at the achievement. Is this thing for real? I know I'm not that smart, but calling me dumb straight up? That's too much… Anyway, let's check the mail.
[New User Bonus]×5 Extraction Tickets1300 Lunacy×1 Fixer Affiliation Ticket×1 Affection Card
[First Encounter Cleared]×1 Abno Extraction×1 Low-Tier Weapon of Choice×5 HP Ampules×5 Sanity Ampules
He pressed "Collect All," saw the loot summary pop up, then hit OK and opened his inventory.
Doberman: "Gather up, everyone—we're leaving! Anything could happen on our way to the meeting point!"Her voice wasn't loud, but carried enough authority that even those farther away heard her.
Zenith looked at her, then at Amiya, who was also watching him."So… uuuh… can I come with you guys?"
Amiya smiled and nodded. "Of course. You helped us, so you're welcome to come along."With that, they started walking, and he followed closely, checking his PDA for item descriptions.
[Affection Card] – Raises a character's affection. Affection card are required to cross the threshold from close friend to lover.[Fixer Affiliation Ticket] – Choose a named character or Fixer faction to affiliate with and gain benefits/items.[Abno Extraction] – Lets you extract one loot from your available abnormalities without using Enkephalin.[HP Ampule] – An illegal modified K-Corp ampule. Regenerates health for 5 min.[Sanity Ampule] – An illegal modified K-Corp ampule. Instantly restores sanity and stabilizes it for 5 min.
Zenith:Not a bad start for loot… but with what's coming, I'll need more. At least I need K-Corp ampules in the loot pool.With the weapon chooser he selected a perfectly generic one-handed iron straight sword—it even came with a free scabbard.Attaching it to his waist, he pocketed his PDA and quietly followed the RI team.
{Somewhere else}"...We've found an unknown variable," a mysterious voice said, turning to another figure. "Notify the others now. We go after them."Both figures retreated into the shadows.
{Back with the RI team}
The group moved quickly through Chernobog's chaotic streets. Doberman stopped in front of a TV broadcasting news of the Reunion riots and Ursus propaganda.
Doberman: "This is beyond my expectations… explosions, riots, fires, fighting in the streets… has Chernobog completely fallen into chaos?"Her voice trembled with shock and disbelief as they hurried toward the extraction point.
After some time, the group stumbled upon a riot.It was Zenith's first time seeing one—especially one this violent. His hand instinctively gripped his sword handle.
They tried to find another way out, but luck wasn't on their side.
Reunion Member: "Huh? Why are there armored troops here?"
The man's surprise alerted the others, and Zenith could see a fight was inevitable.
Eight Reunion members approached their group of six. Two dashed toward Amiya and the Doctor, but an RI guard blocked the strike aimed at the Doctor, while Amiya shot the other in the head, knocking him out cold.
Zenith dashed toward the RU fighting the guard and punched him in the side with his stigma glove, creating a burst of flame that burned and knocked the opponent out.
As Zenith and the guard recovered, a Reunion attacker tried to strike him from behind.
Doctor: "Duck!"
Zenith body move on its own following doctor order he ducked, dodging the strike and leaving the enemy exposed for the guard, who slashed him in the chest and kicked him back.
Zenith quickly stood, turned toward the staggered enemy, and finished him off with a flame-enhanced punch, shattering the mask and burning his face.
Meanwhile, Amiya and Doberman had already taken down three more. One attacker dodged Amiya's arts bolts while another was being whipped by Doberman.
Zenith approached the one fighting Doberman, kneed him in the stomach, then impaled him with a fiery knife-hand strike, burning through him completely. [1]Seeing his comrade's brutal death, the last Reunion member faltered—and took a headshot from Amiya, falling unconscious.
As they prepared to leave, the Ursus guard stopped them, leading to what could barely be called a "discussion"—more like pure racism, in Zenith's opinion.
While the arguing continued, Zenith noticed smoke drifting toward them. Doberman seemed to notice too; their eyes met, and with a nod, they both understood. He reached for his sword.
Doberman: "Defenders—they're attacking!"Ursus Guard: "Wh-what?!"
Figures emerged from the smoke—one stood out. A red-haired woman wearing a mask and protective gear locked eyes on them.
??? "Trying to run? Where do you think you're going?"She raised her dagger and pointed toward them. "Go! Tear them apart!"
Multiple Reunion goons charged at both the Ursus guards and the RI team.
Doberman: "Even her minions seem well-trained… could she be a Reunion ringleader?"
Amiya, worried for everyone's safety, tried to convince the Ursus captain to evacuate, but he rejected her—spouting even more racist remarks—so they pulled back.
Ursus Captain: "Come at us, infected filth!"The captain smirked, taunting the enemy leader.
??? "All Chernobogians… must die!"
She and her minions rushed into battle with the Ursus police.
TBC
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you like this story ? use your powerstone on it then x)
btw comment any idea for the loot in the gacha
[1] Liu Ryoshu Skill 2