Ziron

Donovan sipped on a cup of coffee. He was sitting on the sofa, with Dean seated across him.

He had already removed his overcoat and hung it at the coat rack.

Sitting beside Dean was a beautiful lady in casual clothes and with an apron. Her hair was pure black, and she exuded innocence and gentleness. Just being stared at by her made Donovan feel like his mom was looking at him. She was about the same height as Dean.

Dean went first, "So, what are you doing here?"

Hm? He's actually talking like a normal person? He would have added something like 'yo,' 'dude,' or 'bro' into his sentence, but he didn't. Is it because of his new girlfriend?

Donovan replied, "Where's the fifty dollars you owe me?"

"Oh, right." Just as he said that, Dean reached into his pocket and took out a fifty dollar bill. He gave it to Donovan.

After receiving the money, Donovan looked at Dean and said, "So how'd you two meet?"

Dean sighed, and nodded at the girl beside him.

"I am Mina, his AI girlfriend. Pleased to meet you, Donovan Volgard," said the "girl".

Donovan almost gasped and burst into laughter. This guy was so desperate that he bought himself an AI girlfriend?!

Controlling his facial muscles, he kept a straight face. I've already gotten what I came for, I should leave now.

He stood up and bade farewell. After Donovan left, the AI lady walked towards the kitchen. Dean watched her with a smile and said, "Mina, could you make me a cup of coffee as well?"

...

7:20 p.m., Donovan's apartment.

After having dinner and taking care of everything else, he sent a text message to Sylvia:

"Hey."

Seconds later, he received a reply. "Yeah? What's up?"

"Can I call you?" replied Donovan.

"Sure."

Then, four seconds later, his phone started ringing. Sylvia had called him. He picked up, and he heard Sylvia say on the other side of the call, "What'd you want to talk about?"

"...Last night, you were drunk. What happened?" asked Donovan.

"Ah, well... I was drinking alone, you know... Because I was feeling lonely and stuff."

Donovan sighed and said, "...Alright."

Eight seconds of excruciating silence later, he heard Sylvia ask, "Will that be all?"

"I have one more thing... to ask you. We... just had our date, right? What are we now?"

Sylvia chuckled and said, "Well... we could... become a couple, y'know... But if you don't want anything to change, we could stay friends..."

Is it cruel to ignore her feelings and stay friends? Problem is, I don't think I'm ready to get in a relationship right now... What do I do...

Donovan inwardly sighed. After a moment, he said, "Friends. Let's... stay friends."

Silence followed after he said that. A moment later, Sylvia said gently, "Alright. Will that be all?"

"Mm."

The call ended. He put his phone beside him on the sofa, and he leaned against the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

Did I mess up...?

...

Same time, Sylvia's apartment.

She was standing on the balcony, watching the city at night. She sighed, and muttered, "Friends..."

...

Two days later, February 16. It was currently Monday, 7:40 a.m.

Donovan stood in front of his tall mirror. He wore a long black overcoat over a sharp three-piece suit, the white shirt and black tie adding a crisp contrast. He wore a black vest and a silver watch.

You can never go wrong with an all-black outfit...

The reason why he was wearing such a heavy outfit was because of the mission details.

MISSION BRIEFING:

TARGET WORLD: 56-Ziron-14

THREAT LEVEL: Moderate

OBJECTIVE: Eradicate one Drone-type Annihilith and three Reaper-type Annihiliths.

Ah, it's more specific now. Drone and Reaper...

Upon reading those words, the corresponding information about Annihilith levels appeared in his mind:

The first, the most common and numerous form, serving as foot soldiers: Drone-type Annihiliths.

Second, more intelligent and agile: Reaper-type Annihiliths.

The third, larger and more monstrous: Devourer-type Annihiliths.

The fourth, wielding strange, reality-warping abilities: Voidborn-type Annihiliths.

Fifth, commanders of the swarm, highly intelligent, and capable of telepathic control over lesser Annihiliths: Overlord-type Annihiliths.

And finally, the sixth, nearly godlike entities, existing between dimensions, warping reality with their mere presence: Abyssal-type Annihiliths.

My previous missions last week were all on the easy difficulty, and I only fought Drones. Hm...

He recalled Karlon, the first mission after his transmigration, the steampunk-themed city.

Those two Annihiliths from upstairs, the ones that injured me... They must've been Reapers.

He looked at himself in the mirror again.

I did a simple search on Google about the planet called 56-Ziron-14, and I found out it's a planet of ice, just like the planet Sylvia and her team are investigating, which is the exact reason I'm wearing this outfit... Hm... should I wear a scarf and gloves?

After thinking about it, he decided to wear a pair of gloves and a scarf.

Alfred stared at the holographic screen with the mission details. He then said, "Ziron... A planet of ice and snow as far as the eye can see. Good luck, human."

After saying that, Alfred went to the sofa and turned on the TV.

Donovan grabbed his umbrella, passed through the holographic screen, causing it to disappear, and left his apartment.

This time, he decided to fly towards the Portal Chamber. He unfurled his umbrella, and began floating. He was wearing such a heavy outfit, and he didn't want to sweat, even though it was still a bit cold since it was February.

After arriving, he greeted Tiero. Tiero gave him the WNC of Ziron and said, "Be quick and precise. Remember your training."

Donovan nodded, and inserted the card into his umbrella's shaft. He activated the world-hopping ability, and he disappeared.

...

56-Ziron-14.

He arrived inside a dark cave. After arriving, he immediately shuddered. So cold...

He made a ball of fire appear in his palm, and examined his surroundings. There were bones all over the ground!

Then, he heard "snoring" behind him. His eyes widened, and he slowly looked behind him.

He moved his hand so he could better see clearly what exactly was snoring behind him. It was a large ceature with black fur, and it had three heads! One in the front, one in its left side, and one in its right side!

It resembled a bear from his world, Earth, but at the same time, it looked too alien to be called a bear. It even had a pair of wings filled with fur.

Donovan gulped, and floated in the air. He didn't want his footsteps to wake up the sleeping calamity in front of him.

Just then, the creature showed signs of waking up! Donovan instinctively turned invisible, and he quickly floated up towards the cave's exit. But as he left the cave, cold immediately enveloped his body.

S-so cold...

The ball of fire in his palm had been extinguished. As he was suffering from the cold, he remembered a detail from the original Donovan's memories.

He pressed a button on his silver watch, and a "barrier" of sorts surrounded him. He felt his body become warm, but it was still cold.

This barrier only protects me from the cold, and not from attacks... But it's still so damn cold...!

He moved forward through the blizzard of snow. As he was floating, a holographic map appeared in front of him. He didn't see any beeping red dots on the map. He was still far away from any Annihiliths.

He found a cave, and entered. He didn't venture deep, because he was afraid he'd find another monster like the one earlier.

He made a ball of fire appear in his palm, and brought it near his body. After a while, he stood up and continued.

After twenty minutes, red dots finally appeared on the holographic map. It was the four Annihiliths.

Finally... Ugh, but I can't see sh*t because of this damn blizzard!

He kept floating, trying hard not to get blown away. He was nearing the Annihiliths he needed to exterminate.

How am I supposed to ambush them...?

After having this thought, he suddenly heard sounds that sounded similar to a black hole from afar.