Erald munched on his ice cream. Telon City was going to get chaotic soon. Frelie Verji, the world's strongest superhuman, was going to be sent by his country of the Izin Alliance to Telon City as prisoner since it was a neutral city that stood as its own country. The War of Ash had left many countries devastated and destroyed. An unstable peace between the Izin Alliance and Kenis Alliance had been signed through an agreement of Verji becoming prisoner of Telon Prison for life.
The name Frelie Verji, meaning Free Life, was ironic since the life would be imprisoned. Erald wondered what the man was like. Finishing his ice cream, Erald teleported away in front of the drones. He appeared in a warehouse.
In the warehouse, Erald found an unconscious tied-up woman who had been kidnapped. Without hesitation, Erald took out a black marker and started drawing on her face. He drew delicately and gently so as to not wake her up. A mustache on her face, thick eyebrows, tears, and a wide mouth.
Erald chuckled, loving his work. Electric gunshots rang and Erald continued drawing. The city security was fighting the kidnappers. Footsteps sounded from the roof and Cailes busted down from the roof.
Cailes was a hotheaded city officer. He had ruby hair and ruby eyes, a genetic mutation of his family. Seeing Erald, Cailes became a little flustered. He had not expected to deal with Erald. "Hey Erald."
Erald continued drawing without looking. "Hey Cailes."
Cailes could only wait patiently as Erald finished drawing and teleported away. Cailes sighed, he would need a wet rag to wipe away the drawing from the woman's face.
At a farm, Erald appeared on a tree branch and grabbed a green fruit called Tangi. He started munching on the Tangi. The fruit was like a pear but round. Far out in the city side was a plain of green grass. This city and its land—Erald loved it.
Across the plain of green grass up in the sky, a flying warship flew through the air. The warship immediately detected Erald. Erald smiled as he wondered if they would fire at him or not. In the warship, Captain Cerine frowned. From her studies of Telon City, Erald was not to be messed with.
Erald watched the flying warship land at the edge of Telon City. He teleported to another tree in the city. People nearby saw him and took pictures. The warship doors opened and out stepped armed superhuman soldiers. They all seemed wary of Erald.
Cerine kept her eyes on Erald. Behind Cerine, out stepped Frelie Verji. He was a man who had blond hair and blue eyes like Erald. However, the difference was that while Erald looked like a boy, he looked like a young man. If Erald's face was one of mischievous innocence, then his face was one of a smiling manipulator, a face that could tell you to jump to your death and you would.
He was not led through the city like a prisoner in chains but like that of a beast being led by preys. Cameras everywhere took pictures of him. His gentle eyes of deceit passed Erald, Mercy, and stopped on Reyn. A sense of déjà vu filled him as she reminded him of the war hero Flenny he killed. Turning his gaze away, his eyes landed on an assassin in the crowd. He smirked at them, daring them to try it. Seeing his gaze, they hesitated and stopped themselves.
Mercy watched as Frelie headed towards prison. Deep inside, he was excited and offended. Frelie Verji was without a doubt equal to his friend Mante. It was no wonder the man was so famous. The reason Mercy was offended was because it should be impossible for anyone to be perfect like Mante, yet here was this man acting like all that. The urge to have Mante fight the man clawed at his mind. Taking a deep breath, Mercy turned away and left the streets.
Far beyond, the Host gazed away from Frelie and made a combat skill list and intelligence list.
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Combat Skill List
Mante: 1000
Frelie: 1000
Aren: 250
Atero: 100
Pera: 100
Erald: 100
Reyn: 50
Mercy: 10
Poki: 3
Aespia: 1
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Intelligence List
Frelie: 250
Mercy: 250
Aespia: 250
Pera: 250
Erald: 100
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Poki: 50
Reyn: 50
Mante: 50
Aren: 50
Atero: 50
-
Satisfied with the list, the Host gazed elsewhere. It found Pera who was cooking. Pera suddenly had a thought. "Hey Host."
A piece of paper appeared. "Yes?"
"Do you know when Aespia's birthday is?"
A piece of paper appeared. "Let me check... let's see... if we're counting by years, then it's today."
Pera's eyes widened and his emerald eyes were revealed. They then closed gently. "Thank you Host, I shall give her a birthday gift today."
Pera clapped his hands and a basic book on sewing appeared. He quickly read the book, then clapped his hands again and a sewing machine appeared. Going into the forest, Pera collected materials. Once he had enough materials, he processed them and started sewing. After a while, he finished and put what he made in a blue gift box.
With the gift box in his hand, he headed toward where he thought Aespia might be. Finding her fishing by the river, he went towards her. Aespia turned to Pera with a smile and curiosity. Every time she saw him, she was filled with happiness. The times with him were the best times of her life. "What's that in your hand, Pera?"
Pera bent down with a gentle smile and handed her the box. "It's a gift I made for you. Where I come from, we celebrate the day we were born by receiving gifts from friends or loved ones. So I wanted to give you this gift since it's your birthday."
Aespia took the box carefully. "It's my birthday? I didn't know that."
Pera nodded, "Open the present, I hope you like it."
Trusting Pera, Aespia carefully opened the present. Inside was a black robe and a black witch hat. Aespia didn't know why, but she started crying. Pera became lost and confused for a moment but then understood. Without hesitation, he gave her a hug.
The eighth day came, Aespia was in her witch robe and witch hat all happy. A thought came to her and she looked up at the sky. Although she was somewhat nervous, she decided to call upon the Host. "Hey Host."
A piece of paper appeared. "Yes?"
Aespia asked quickly, "When is Pera's birthday?"
A piece of paper appeared. "In the next month. Hmmmmm, that's interesting, he's younger than you by a month."
Aespia thought of Pera's desire for a wishing star. "Host, I'd like to become a player to get a wishing star."
The air became still. A piece of paper appeared. "Is that so?"
Aespia nodded her head, "Yes."
A piece of paper appeared. "Very well, all you have to do is say 'I'm a fluffy wuffy' and you'll become a player."
Although the words were weird, Aespia didn't hesitate, "I'm a fluffy wuffy."
A piece of paper appeared. "Congratulations, you're now a player."
Aespia smiled, "How do I get the wishing star now?"
A piece of paper appeared. "That's a question with a heavy price, are you sure you want to know?"
Aespia fell into thought for a moment. "What kind of price?"
A piece of paper appeared. "Shrugs, who knows. Maybe I'll only tell once you pay."
Seeing the Host wasn't going to tell her, Aespia became afraid. Then she remembered Pera, how he chased her fears away. "I... yes, I'd like to know."
A piece of paper appeared. "All you have to do is get a Golden Ticket which can be obtained from winning ten simple games that will make you ten times stronger. Then, with that Golden Ticket, you simply have to do a brutal challenge."
Aespia nodded with understanding. "What's the price I have to pay for knowing this?"
A piece of paper appeared. "There's a price for knowing the price you had to pay, are you sure?"
Aespia became lost for words a moment, it seemed there were prices for prices for prices. She didn't like prices, but she hated the unknown more. "Yes."
A piece of paper appeared. "The price was simple. You see, the more you know, the less value you can offer. The less you know, the more value you can offer."
Aespia became confused. "I don't understand."
A piece of paper appeared. "Let's say you have three coins and I have a mystery box that costs three coins. All you have to do is give me a coin and I'll tell you what's in the box. Since you gave me a coin and only have two coins now, it will now be more difficult to get the box since the box costs three coins. Of course, you can give me another coin to ask how to get more coins. Just know that the more you know, the less you have."
Aespia nodded, "I think I understand."
A piece of paper appeared. "Good, would you like your first game?"
Aespia stood strong. "Yes."
A piece of paper appeared. "Very well, the first game is simple, you simply have to stand where you are for ten seconds."
Aespia looked down at her feet and back at the Host. "I'm ready."
Immediately, the Host started placing multiple dangerous restrictions. They were restrictions with dire consequences if Aespia broke them. One of the restrictions was that if Aespia breathed more than thirty times during the ten seconds, she would be immediately reincarnated without her memory. A piece of paper appeared. "Alright, let's begin."
The seconds passed and Aespia stood firm. She breathed calmly as it got closer to ten seconds. Finally, the time reached ten seconds. A piece of paper appeared. "Well done, I'll increase all your stats by 0.9 and give you a Golden Ticket."
-
Aespia
Strength: 1
Endurance: 1
Agility: 1
Card: Golden Ticket
-
Aespia felt the Golden Ticket within her mind and soul. It was hard for her to explain, but it was a card filled with endless possibility. "I'm ready for the Brutal Challenge, Host."
The air became malicious and sadistic. Aespia trembled and was filled with fear. She wanted to run to Pera. However, imagining his face filled her with strength. A piece of paper appeared. "Are you sure?"
Aespia hesitated for a moment and steeled her heart. "Yes."
The Golden Ticket disappeared and a piece of paper appeared. "Very well, all you have to do is survive for one minute. If you die, you'll be erased from existence."
Seeing the words survive and erased from existence made Aespia immediately alert and horrified. From the trees, a Wood Stalker appeared and glared at her with hateful glowing blue eyes. Aespia knew what a Wood Stalker was. She had barely escaped one in her former life.
It was a humanoid creature made of wooden vines that had leaves growing on them. Its face was that of a wooden mask. This one looked strong and agile. A vine grew out from its hand and stiffened into a spear. Aespia turned to run.
The Wood Stalker launched the spear and impaled her into a tree from her back. Aespia screamed with fear even though she felt no pain. The Wood Stalker grew another spear and aimed. It launched the spear and impaled her in the skull. Aespia went limp, she had died.
Aespia's body turned to dust and the Wood Stalker also turned to dust. The Host brought Aespia back into existence. She stood shivering with fear as she looked around for the Wood Stalker. A piece of paper appeared. "You ok?"
Aespia shivered with fear. "That was... horrifying. I thought I was going to be erased from existence."
A piece of paper appeared. "You were erased from existence, I just brought you back. Now that you know, the next time you do a Brutal Challenge with your existence on the line and fail, I'll permanently erase you from existence."
A panicked Pera appeared from the trees as the paper turned to dust. "Aespia!"
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