The car sat quietly by the sea.
Yu Jin, Kevin, the Doctor, and Star stared at the glittering waves in silence, moods tangled like someone dumped a jar of spices in their heads.
Because a task had just popped up in the group chat.
A simple newbie task.
Except for them, it was way above their pay grade now.
Yu Jin covered his face. "Why couldn't he show up one day earlier?"
Kevin said flatly, "I think this one's on you."
The Doctor sighed. "Why couldn't you wait one day before going out?"
Star blinked and tested the waters. "Is… apologizing still an option?"
At this moment? Are you kidding?
Yu Jin glared at the bright task prompt on his panel:
Task: Enroll in Cassell College and become a student.
Reward: Choose one of three Word Spirits, plus 500 points.
Enroll in Cassell?
Yeah, we just sent their principal flying into a dumpster. You want us to stroll in and apply?
We'd get chopped into meat paste the moment we crossed their gate!
That was why the four of them leaned against the car at dawn, eyes complicated as the first light crested the horizon.
"We don't have to take the reward, right?" Kevin tried to convince everyone—and himself. "A Word Spirit's a Word Spirit."
"But… 500 points is so sweet!" The Doctor drooled over the store page in the chat, full of everything imaginable: Word Spirits, Noble Phantasms, superpowers… and prices that made your heart bleed.
Yu Jin's Rhein was only 300 points.
The Doctor had mocked him mercilessly for that—who told him to keep bragging about having a high-ranked Word Spirit?
Now look. His skill was the cheapest on the shelf.
Yu Jin didn't love the pricing, but he agreed with it.
Everyone knew Rhein was a human bomb. Doesn't matter if the target survives—the caster sheds skin first. For ordinary hybrids, even dragons, it's basically a one-use consumable.
"I was fine living in darkness…" Star clutched her chest dramatically, face twisted in pain. "…but why did you have to show me the light?"
Three-choice Word Spirit didn't matter that much, but those 500 points?
She wanted them too.
The store was packed with shiny new toys. Her hands itched.
Cold sweat slid down Yu Jin's temple.
Yeah… he'd messed this one up. This task was probably a wash.
That bat swing had not been light.
The rising sun painted the sea gold.
Morning arrived.
"Let's go. Next city." Kevin exhaled, got into the driver's seat, and the others climbed in quietly.
The black car tore down the coastal road.
At 7 a.m., it rolled into the edge of some nameless city.
For them, the name didn't matter.
Kevin parked.
The four got out and stretched.
"Ugh… sitting in a car is exhausting," the Doctor complained bitterly.
"I drove six hours without a word, and you're the one whining first?" Kevin shot him a look.
Star ignored them, shading her eyes like a scout and scanning the shops.
Then she flourished a hand.
"Comrades, target—breakfast!"
A certain someone's stomach growled in agreement.
Kevin and the Doctor both looked over.
Yu Jin rubbed his belly awkwardly. "Feels like… we haven't eaten properly since yesterday?"
"Then we eat first. Doesn't look like they followed us," the Doctor glanced back.
"Hope no more weird crap happens," Kevin muttered, locking the car.
"They tracked us this far—what else could go wrong?" the Doctor shrugged, following.
At 7-something in the morning, the city should've been bustling with commuters and students.
The four didn't want to squeeze through crowds, so they aimed for quiet little diners instead.
Soon they found one.
Star frowned. "I think the busy one looks safer."
If this place were good, it wouldn't be empty.
Kevin and the Doctor agreed. Filling your stomach is one thing, but tasty is better.
Yu Jin didn't care. In the Dark Souls world he hadn't eaten a real meal at all—anything was fine.
But just as they turned to leave, a faint yet unmistakable smell slid into their noses.
All four stopped.
"Let's eat here." Star changed her mind instantly and pushed the door open.
"Should I call that… jinxing it?" the Doctor sighed and went in.
Kevin and Yu Jin followed. Their entrance was noisy, but the shop was dead silent, like no one was there.
But… someone was.
A strained, hurried breathing sound reached their ears.
"Boss, menu!" Star yelled toward the kitchen and plopped down at a table.
The others sat too.
Ten seconds passed. No reply.
"Boss? You gonna serve customers or what?" Star called louder.
This time, footsteps came from the back, and a woman's voice trying to sound calm:
"Coming, coming. Sorry, sorry."
A young woman in an apron hurried out with a stiff smile.
"Boss, why so slow? What were you doing back there?" Yu Jin asked with a friendly grin.
"Just… sorting ingredients." Her smile got even more unnatural.
"Ingredients, huh…" The Doctor poured himself tea lazily. "No wonder. There's a bit of a blood smell."
"Ah, right, right…" Her eyes started to dart.
Then Kevin spoke coldly.
"Then the blood on you… is that pig blood?"
Her last mask cracked.
"I didn't want to do anything to you… you forced me!"
Her dark pupils flared into blazing golden eyes.
A vicious aura erupted from her body. She lunged forward with some freakish strength she hadn't had before, ready to tear the four intruders apart—
only to meet four pairs of golden eyes even brighter than hers.
Outside the diner, in a corner not far away, a man in plain clothes hissed into a communicator:
"Report! Four individuals have entered the observation target's diner! Target is extremely unstable! I request immediate action!"
"No!" the voice snapped back. "No solo moves until support arrives. Target's danger rating is extremely high—you cannot handle it alone. Your job is surveillance. Wait for orders. Acting now is suicide!"
"But—" The man's heart was on fire.
Before he could finish—
A dull, violent crash exploded from inside the diner.
"Damn it! Did they start?!" His face went white.
He ignored the comms screaming at him.
"Stop!" he shouted, sprinting for the door—
the oath he'd sworn upon enrolling in the academy thundered in his head. He couldn't let tragedy repeat in front of him.
With a death-seeker's resolve, he slammed the door open.
The bloody scene he imagined didn't happen.
The scene in front of him was bloody, but it was nothing like what he'd pictured.
Damn! If it's an enemy, hit it!
"You putting on a show for who?" Yu Jin stomped the boss lady's face hard.
"Forced you? Who forced you?" Kevin asked, kicking her again.
The Doctor didn't say a word. His footwork sure did.
Star: "Enemy—hit!"
The man froze in the doorway, completely petrified.
"What… what is this?!"
-------
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