『...』
『Syncing player queues...』
『Warning!』
『A special event has corrupted the final quest room.』
『Quest Difficulty Updated!』
『New Difficulty: Unique』
*
Han woke up to something heavy sitting on his chest.
Still groggy and now struggling to breathe, he tried to stand up. However...
"What the..." he whispered, eyes finally adjusting to the light.
Nolan was sitting on top of him, knees pinning his arms down on both sides. Whilst a sword was slowly digging into his skin; not quite cutting into flesh, but enough to realise Nolan meant business.
"Good, you're awake," Nolan whispered.
"Y-Yeah... I am," Han replied, scanning the room. It was a small space about the size of a jail cell, with six golden-yellow walls enclosing it. From the looks of it, they were the only two in it.
'What's this about?' Han thought to himself. A few things came to mind, but none of them made sense. If Nolan wanted to rob him, he could've done that while he was still unconscious. The same went for if he was planning on killing him.
So, Han just remained silent, waiting to see what demands Nolan would make.
However, for several seconds, Nolan just stared at him in silence—only his ragged, desperate breathing echoing off the walls.
"Okay man, what the actual fuck?" Han sighed, finally.
Nolan still remained silent, moving the sword from Han's neck to just above his lips.
"Say something," Han shouted. "You're being fucking creepy."
"Shh," Nolan hushed, tapping his sword on Han's lips.
Han opened his mouth to say something more, before quickly shutting up. Something about the look in Nolan's eye... a wild, cold gaze. He would take Han's lips without hesitation.
A few more minutes passed before anyone else spoke.
"What do you think, captain? He still human or...?" Nolan asked, his eyes glued to Han.
'Who is he talking to?' Han thought. He couldn't see all that well from his position on the ground, but he was certain that they were the only two in the room.
"Can't be sure," a voice replied. Female.
Han tried twisting his neck to see where the voice had come from. 'Who said that?' However, Nolan pushed him back down.
'It's not the woman from before,' Han thought. Her voice was soft... joyous almost. This one on the other hand, was hoarse and cold. Like an old woman who had smoked too many cigarettes in her day.
Nolan nodded. "I say we kill him," he whispered. "Whether or not he's been turned, he still put me and Jen in danger."
"Wait," Han whispered, smiling awkwardly beneath him. "Let's talk about this. You don't want to murder a child do you?"
However, from the dark look on Nolan's eyes, there would be no talking here.
Han sighed. 'Well, Fuck this.'
"Queen's-"
Before he could finish the sentence, a cold hand covered his mouth. "Can't have you trying to use your skills, now can we?"
A girl came into view; raven-black hair draped against snow white skin.
Han froze, staring at the girl in silence.
Her beauty was comparable to those... thralls in the previous quest.
'Is that what's going on here? Is Nolan being manipulated by this thing?' Han wondered.
To top it off, the girl had an eye patch covering her right eye, and her lips were so rosy that they looked stained with blood. 'Yeah, she's definitely a thrall.'
However, the only way he could be certain was by using Queen's Gaze. Though right now it seemed like the only reason he was still alive was because the girl... or thrall, was trying to talk Nolan out of it.
"I think he's human," she said, looking up at Nolan.
"How can you be so sure?"
The girl just shrugged. "A thrall would've been a little more forceful in its escape attempt," she replied. "This guy, on the other hand, was just going to let himself get killed."
All Han could do was scoff at that. The girl's hand smelled like pee, blood and dirt, and she was pressing tightly against his lips, so he had to fight to keep his mouth closed, if he didn't want to know how that tasted.
The girl looked down at Han before removing her hand.
She had a wild grin on her doll-like face. "You're kind of cute, you know."
Han just stared at her, sceptical.
"Nolan, off," she ordered.
The moment Nolan climbed off, Han took a massive step back, and with a deep breath. "Queen's Gaze!"
Time slowed, and Han finally had a few moments to breathe.
His first order of business was the girl. 'Let's see what you really are.'
He focused on her, and a system tag with her name appeared over her head.
『Level 294 Player Heron [Ranked]』
'So she really is a human, huh? And level 294... but how? How long has she been here?'
It couldn't have been too long, right? Despite her voice, this Heron girl seemed to be in middle school... perhaps junior high at max. So how had she gotten so many levels? Was it just that easy?
'And ranked? What's this about ranked?'
As Han focused on the 'Ranked' tag, a wisp of crimson light appeared above her name tag. They bundled together before morphing into slithering characters.
『Spatial Ranking: 2』
Han froze.
'Second? As in, second what? Second strongest?'
Just then, he noticed her eye twitch.
'What was that? Did she just... no, no way.'
However, he was proved wrong only a moment later.
Her eyes rolled to focus on him.
'How? How is she moving here?'
She scanned the room, eyes wide in excitement, before looking back at him.
Her lips twitched.
'Wait. What is she trying to do?'
Her lips twitched again. And then...
Her mouth moved.
"So an Eye of Principality, huh."
Then her right leg twitched. "That means my hunch was right."
Han could only stare in shock as she began walking toward him, a massive, wild grin twisting her face.
Her eye burned into his.
Then she slid a finger into his mouth.
'What. The. Fuck.'
"You're Unique, aren't you?"