Chapter 4: Problems

Shoun slowly began to wake up, though still somewhat confused. As he regained consciousness, he looked around and quickly realized that Kaze was with him, sitting on the other side of the small room they were in.

The room had a wooden floor and walls covered with white tapestries. It wasn't particularly large—just big enough for both of them to stretch their legs facing each other. As for lighting, there wasn't much. A small crack let in a faint light from outside, but that was it.

—...Where are we?— Shoun asked, his tone reflecting his groggy state.

—Uh... you're finally awake. It took you a while. Do you remember we were heading to one of my hideouts? Well, this is it. Unfortunately, it's not the most comfortable place.

—It's fine. How long was I out?

—A few hours. It's hard to tell how time passes in this place, but it's almost nightfall now—or at least what you could call nightfall. Soon, this place will be completely dark, so don't be startled when it happens.

Shoun simply nodded at the information. He then tried to sit up, wincing as his body protested. After managing to sit through the pain, he began checking his wounds.

His arms had noticeable scabs, and what little he could see of his lower back was also relatively healed, though he could still feel the lingering effects of the ordeal.

But what hurt Shoun the most wasn't his injuries—it was seeing the state of his clothes, especially his denim jacket. It was a limited edition piece from his favorite band, The Red Phoenix. Inside, he was crying, even though he had twenty more just like it at home.

Right now, Shoun was wearing a white t-shirt that had been under his jackets, and his jeans had been cut into shorts that ended just above his knees. Kaze had probably made these adjustments to treat his wounds more easily. The remains of his clothes were piled in the corner of the room, alongside what looked like the remnants of his phone and keys, now reduced to scrap metal after his recent battles.

—Thanks for healing me... I probably wouldn't have made it without you.

—No problem. You saved me the trouble of killing those things myself. By the way, this is yours.

After the half-hearted thanks, Kaze tossed something to Shoun without much explanation. Shoun barely managed to catch it and was about to complain when he realized what he was holding.

—Wait a second... Is this what I think it is?

—Indeed. It's an artifact—or rather, the material that becomes one. It dropped from one of those things. You killed them, so whatever they drop is yours.

What Shoun held in his hands was a material that Vestiges could sometimes drop. It could be exchanged in the Codex for an artifact of a rank equivalent to the creature that dropped it. In this case, the resulting artifact would be of the "Seeker" rank. It was oval-shaped and primarily black, with purple streaks running along its sides.

These materials were extremely valuable. Aside from the obvious fact that they could be turned into artifacts, they were also the most efficient way to trade for them. Once exchanged, an artifact was tailored to its user, so while it was possible to transfer artifacts, it couldn't compare to selling the raw material. This didn't apply to ranks above Dominator, though. These materials were worth more than Shoun had ever had in liquid assets in his entire life, and now he casually held one in his hands.

—(...I think I better not get too excited about this. I could exchange it or sell it... The money wouldn't hurt, but I'm getting ahead of myself.)

Shoun set the material aside for a moment and focused on Kaze, who was "looking" at him—or so Shoun thought. At that moment, Shoun also noticed that Kaze's mask wasn't attached to his face in any visible way, making it a mystery how it stayed on.

—(Well, I guess that's another question for later, but it's not as urgent as this.)— Shoun organized his thoughts before finally asking— Kaze, you said that once we got here, you could get me out of this place... So, now that I'm awake, can we leave?

—...There's a problem with that... Have you wondered how you ended up in this place in the first place?

—A lot, but considering everything else, it wasn't a priority.

—Well, let me explain. One of my abilities is called [Being of Two Worlds]. Its description says something like, 'Being of Two Worlds: You have the ability to cross dimensions and bring people with you to a new world, one plagued by great dangers and equivalent rewards. As an inhabitant of both planes, you can travel between them, but to bring your companions out, they must earn their exit.' That's what the Codex says. Basically, when I activated my ability in the park, where you were probably nearby, I ended up dragging you into this place... Sorry about that.

Shoun clenched his fists tightly. Now that he knew Kaze was responsible for bringing him to this horrible place, he had a good reason to punch him. But he held back, kept his cool, and spoke.

—What does 'earn their exit' mean?

—I have a theory that it's like one of those rank-up trials. We'll have to face an enemy that both of us have a chance of defeating.

At that moment, Shoun confirmed his worst fears. He slammed his fist on the floor, glaring at Kaze, and shouted:

—Do you realize the situation you've put me in? I didn't ask for this! You're strong—you can handle this place. But me? I'm going to die!

Shoun yelled angrily at Kaze. If Kaze weren't stronger than him, Shoun would have beaten him to a pulp. In response, Kaze spoke in his usual monotone voice, though there was a slight hint of... sadness? Shoun couldn't quite tell what emotion tinged his words.

—Again, I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to bring you here without your consent. I'll do everything I can to get you out of this place alive... even if it costs me my life.

Shoun didn't respond immediately. He clenched his fists even tighter and gritted his teeth, but he managed to regain his composure. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and gave Kaze a tired look before speaking.

—I'm angry, but I'm also really tired... Let's talk about this later.

Without waiting for a response, Shoun leaned back against the opposite wall of the small room to think. Kaze simply nodded in acceptance.

Shoun was furious with Kaze, but even he was surprised at how calm he managed to stay. Maybe it was because Kaze himself was willing to sacrifice himself to give Shoun a chance to escape. Still, he was on edge because of the situation. The fear he had pushed aside was slowly creeping back in.

As a distraction, Shoun began replaying his fight with the group of Vestiges in his mind, thinking about the mistakes he had made. While he knew he couldn't go back and avoid those mistakes, he could at least learn from them and try not to repeat them.

—(At that moment, my ability failed... In another, I was too slow... In another, I got distracted... Damn it, I could have done so much better. I had every advantage and a powerful artifact—it should have been an easy fight. But I still almost died... I'm really weak.)— Shoun didn't want to fall into pessimism over his lack of skill. That wouldn't help him get out of this place. He simply took another deep breath and exhaled.—(Anyway, the injuries I had back then couldn't have been minor. He must have healed me, but does he really have a specialized healing ability? If so, that's kind of cheating. After all, he already has cool wind abilities and now healing on top of that.)

Despite his childish complaint, it gave him a chance to consider how his body worked. He was a Seeker. Seekers were still fairly human in terms of physical ability. It was only as they gained points that their bodies and powers improved gradually. One or two points didn't make much of a difference, but ten or fifteen were something to take seriously.

While Grunts were equivalent to large animals like tigers or lions—strong but still manageable with traditional weapons—if they weren't, it would have been impossible for humanity to unlock the Codex in the first place.

Shoun glanced at Kaze, who seemed to be asleep based on his rhythmic breathing. As an Apprentice of rank 2, Kaze had an extra ability, and his body was already far beyond what any normal human could aspire to.

Dominators of rank 3, upon reaching their rank, gained a significant physical boost, allowing them to topple houses or buildings without the need for any abilities.

This showed the advantage humanity had over Vestiges. It was much easier for humans to improve—they just had to keep killing stronger Vestiges. Meanwhile, Vestiges had to do the same, killing humans or stronger Vestiges to rank up. But that was their problem—there were far fewer humans than Vestiges.

This advantage humanity had was almost completely nullified by the sheer number of Vestiges, which outnumbered humans two or even three to one.

In any case, Shoun knew that wasn't really the issue right now. After all, he had to work with what he had to get out of this place. With a thought, he opened his status window.

[«Name: Shoun Foster»

«Age: 17»

«Rank: Seeker»

«Title:...»

«Ascension Points: 13/100»

«Abilities»

«Electric Flow: Your very essence has been touched by electricity since birth, allowing you to control and use it to your advantage»

«Basic Electric Core: A part of your being, it exists and doesn't exist, both in your physical and spiritual body. It is where all your electricity is stored and generated, and it also allows the user to absorb electricity from other sources»]

He looked at his status window and saw there wasn't much difference, aside from now having 13 points. That should make him slightly stronger than before, though with his injuries and empty core, he still felt like crap.

—(In any case, I should fill my core. Who knows what might show up in this place suddenly.)

Shoun spent the rest of the time before nightfall recharging his core to 100%. He also tested the limits of his abilities. While his ability was quite potent in enhancing his physical abilities and firing lightning bolts, his body was still very human, so there had to be a limit.

After some testing, he concluded that once he channeled about 10% of his electricity into his body, it started to hurt—not paralyzing pain, but still annoying. This only increased the more he pushed, to the point where around 20%, the pain became unbearable.

So he quickly decided that in his next fights, he would channel a maximum of 5% into each limb. That would give him a noticeable boost while keeping the strain manageable over time, and he still had room to push further if needed.

Shoun had no idea if 5% was good enough, though. After all, in his last fight, most of the work had been done by Kaze's weapon. But without a proper test dummy, he had to settle for his estimate.

—(Though I could use him as a test dummy... I don't think I'd hurt him much, and it's his fault I'm in this situation anyway, right?... Yeah, he definitely wouldn't find that funny.)— Shoun quickly dismissed the idea and turned to the next task on his list. He picked up the material to exchange for his artifact, ready to see what his new weapon would be.