Game World 1: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ S : _ _ E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A _ _ _ _N (21)

Aectaeon immediately stood up and got a hold of the handle. When he tried to open the door, the handle wouldn't budge. He checked the lock yet it wasn't secured. Aectaeon began to fasten and unfasten the lock repeatedly, hoping there would be a difference.

To his dismay, the door remained unmoving. He cursed under his breath, giving up at the same time. Aectaeon then took a deep breath. He slowly turned his head, but stopped halfway when his hands started to quiver.

Feeling a similar sensation to when he was outside of the room, Aectaeon broke out in a sweat. He bit his bottom lip and began chewing on it.

Just then, he caught something appearing in the corner of his eye. Aectaeon quickly took a look, his eyes narrowing as he read the directive from the system.

[[ Mission ]]

[[ Defeat the Irregularity 1 Before the Time Limit Ends ]]

[[ Time Limit: 00 D ; 00 H ; 33 M ; 00 S ]]

[[ Mission Objectives ]]

[[ O: Force the Irregularity 1 to Take One Step Out of the Circle ]]

[[ O: Steal the Last Clue ]]

[[ O: Stab the Irregularity1's Heart ]]

[[ Reward ]]

[[ A: Amoris Versitalis Efficiency +1 ]]

[[ Penalty ]]

[[ A: Immediate Return to the Obelisk ]]

Once he was finished reading, Aectaeon's mouth went agape. However, his curiosity prevailed over his apprehensions. He was thankful to see that the word 'Irregularity 1' was highlighted, so he tapped on it.

[[ Info: Entities that came from another world ]]

[[ Info: Irregularities are divided into levels depending on their crimes ]]

[[ Info: 1 indicates the lowest level; 100 indicates the highest level ]]

'Another game world?' He thought, his jaws stiffening, 'I guess that's not impossible. I'm also from another world. Then, does that mean that I'm facing off with another player?'

The very thought made Aectaeon's knees tremble. Clearly, he was not in the condition to confront a fellow player, more so if they were not human. Withal, the Irregularity was the only thing standing between him and his goal.

Aectaeon let out a long breath, clenching his fists thereafter. He tilted his head to the side as he cracked his knuckles. The second he was done, he turned his body around and faced the entity he believed was a player.

But when he did so, the tension inside Aectaeon's body dissipated.

"What-- What is that creature?" He breathlessly muttered.

In front of him was an entity he couldn't name.

Although the lower half of the entity looked like that of a human's, it's upper half was beyond anything that Aectaeon had ever seen before.

From the waist up, the entity only had a skeleton to show. It was similar to the upper skeleton of a human, but it had four arms that were as long as its height. Adding to its grotesqueness were its fingers -- seven at the end of each arm -- that looked as if they're dried-up vines. Its head was merely a ball of wood, several tree branches emerging on top of it.

"That's a poor design." He said as he gulped, "Ugh, do I even have a chance of winning?"

Aectaeon wasn't all that appalled at what he was seeing. Akin to his encounter with the clown-like creature back on Earth -- and also upon seeing the mien of the other players -- he didn't fear beings that were of different appearance to him.

If anything, he would gladly study their anatomy when it was of interest to him. It would take an entire checklist of circumstances to ignite his curiosity though.

Be that as it may, it was another matter when he's forced to confront one that appeared strong. He might be confident in defending himself against humans, but that confidence had no place in his current ordeal.

He scratched his head, beginning to think of all sorts of methods he could use to gain the upper hand. As he was contemplating, he walked towards the window and attempted to open it. However, it wasn't budging like the door.

'It's safe to say that I can't leave this room until the mission is over.'

Nevertheless, Aectaeon found relief within the details of the mission.

'Last clue, it's the last clue I need to get before I can proceed with the most urgent mission.' A grin then showed up on his pallid countenance, 'Just a bit more struggling, I might be able to get out of this world sooner than I thought.'

Aectaeon's gaze fell on the ground. He saw a circle made of white light, approximately four meters in diameter. Right in the center of it was the card, placed in between the feet of the entity.

Aectaeon sighed upon remembering one of the mission objectives.

'Stab its heart? Where is its heart even? The legs? Or perhaps,' His eyes went up to the creature's head, 'It's in there? Most probably.'

"Use Vityaz-SN"

{{ Vityaz-SN in Use }}

{{ Warning! }}

{{ Vityaz-SN Low on Ammunition }}

At first, Aectaeon assumed that the gun's ammunition was unlimited. However, he just shrugged at the warning and pointed the gun at the entity's head. Without a delay, he fired the gun. Smoke covered the entire room, making Aectaeon cough.

{{ Vityaz-SN Ammunition Depleted }}

{{ Item Rendered Unusable }}

{{ Vityaz-SN will be removed from the Inventory }}

Thereafter, the gun instantly disappeared into thin air.

Aectaeon waited for the smoke to dissipate, waving his hands about to clear his view. He didn't take a single step towards the entity just to be safe. After a few more seconds, his visibility went back to normal.

A scoff came out of his mouth as he clenched his fists once more.

"Right, there's nothing easy in this game, isn't there?"

He didn't need to observe for long to know that the entity was unscathed. Not to mention, its fingers were coiled around every single bullet that he fired.

Like a dysfunctional machine, the entity turned its head -- inch by inch -- towards Aectaeon. It had no eyes, but the man felt like the entity was staring daggers at him.

"Perfect, perfect, just what I've been wishing for! An enemy that a machine gun can't make an enemy out of!"

Aectaeon then threw his arms up and began laughing. He stopped shortly after, gritting his teeth subsequently. His mind went to work. Yet before he could make a decision, his mouth moved on its own.

"Use Mas-38. Use Survival Knife. Use Fire Kit."

With the gun and the knife in both of his hands, and the Fire Kit on the floor, Aectaeon made his next move.