Earth: The Second

What is Reality?

At first, there is almost nothing to see inside this room. Darkness, combined with damp smell since the airways have been destroyed for so long. But yet there they are, in front of the giant screen that becomes the only source of light they can find inside. Rika, Gon, Hepaetus, and also Razazel are unconscious. Each of them is sitting at the chairs behind the row of desks in front of that giant panel.

Meanwhile, members of the Black Claws are awake as day. In fact, they are the ones that put their employee to sleep in the first place and dragged them all inside.

“Phew,” said Boran who just finished carrying Hepaetus. “They all go to sleep faster than what I expected. How did you do that, Kaina?” asked him. Kaina acted cold as she taking out a straw made out of bamboo from her utility bag.

“Oh, I see, sleeping dart huh?” observes Boran. “Maybe I should get one for myself too.”

“For what? You’re a defender, with that armor you will only cause noise before you can shoot dart out of your mouth,” replied Kaina.

Boran shrugged off his shoulder and turned to their employer, who apparently has become a hostage for now. “A man can dream,” mumble Boran, as he walked to the person who is standing still in front of the central panel.

Standing motionlessly is Adma. Once again, his finger had turned into some kind of connector and plugged it into the machine. Objects that are still strange for either Boran, Kaina, and even Boss.

“Say, that Serpentia guy said that Adma is able to connect with these devices right?” asked Boran to Kaina. The girl, being cold as ever, just replied with humming.

“What do you think would happened if we disconnect his connection right now?”

“Do you want Boss to kill you?” said Kaina, for once in a while, she finally speaks.

“Well, no matter what you see, this is an advantage for us, right? If they are our enemy, killing them when in their weakest state is make much sense,” pushed Boran. 

“What do you think Boss would do if he caught you doing that?” asked Kaina in turn. Honestly, she does not care very much about whatever they would going to do with their victim. Kaina used to be an assassin, and following orders is one thing she is very good at.

“He would be furious, probably?”

“Exactly,” replied Kaina briefly. “That guys is not just Boss’s target, but also his rival, or something like that.”

Being called the Best Adventurer, there is only so much task they can take across the country. Slaying dangerous beasts, repelling bandit attacks, and also joining siege of wars between nobles. Eventually, when they became too good at their jobs, everything becomes bland, and things getting old pretty quick.

Boss knew this very well. Being famed as ‘mercenary king’, he also feels the same boredom which makes him move to another job as an adventurer. He also started to use short swords that he had never been accustomed to.

Kaina remembers that time in Horundah, when they gathering information about the rumored ‘hero of the caravan.’ When she told him the story from a couple on the scene, his eyes are glowing. It’s a childish smile like a child who saw his favorite knight marching into the town after winning a war.

Kaina understands that to some extent, his leader is idolizing the mysterious Adma.

Both Boss, Kaina, and Boran understand how special Adma is from their actual employer, Serpentia.

They know that Adma is not entirely human. Instead, he is some kind of mix between man and machine, equipped with many technological advances that people in this world will never understand.

Kaina glaring at Adma, especially at his finger that turned into cables, and connected to those mysterious machines.

“What a weirdo…” she mutters.

Not long after that, Boss and Serpentia suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Since they all have locked the front chamber door, the only way they can get in is by teleportation magic that only Serpentia could do.

Those magics are also the first time that they experience after meeting that man. Suddenly transported into the base with a giant beast-machine, is not something that you would quickly forget.

Nevertheless, his ability is very fitting to the proclaim as Master of Dungeon.

Back to the boss, on his hand are a bunch of half-rounded-looking metal equipment that two of them had never seen before. At a glance, it seems like something that you would wear on your head.

“Two targets and three additional hostages, I see,” utter Serpentia. “Three of them could become our bargaining chips, while we pushed Adma and Hepaetus to work together.”

Boss, on the other hand, calling up his companion and commanded them to take the helmets and putting it the each of the sleeping people. 

As expected, that thing is still a helmet no matter what you see it. Each of them has some kind of cable connector, that Serpentia asked to be plugged into a panel in front of them.

After doing what he said, suddenly glow coming from those helmets, followed by a buzzing sound from the machine.

“...What actually is this device?” asked Kaina to Boss and Serpentia, suspiciously.

“It’s the device that would move your soul into the virtual world that exists inside the machine,” replied Serpentia.

“World inside the machine? Like something like that really exists!” Kaina’s question quickly turned into a mock, but it’s not like Serpentia showed any care toward that assassin.

Instead, he is looking at the giant monitor inside that control room. For the Black Claws they are just showing nonsense, but for Serpentia, he understands through whatever happened inside the Virtual Space.

“One helmet left,” suddenly Boss is catching Serpentia’s attention. He took the helmet, and proceed into one of the computer panels nearest to them.

“Look like our heroes would face new challenges,” said Serpentia. Boss brush those words off with a grin, he takes on the helmet and connected it to the computer.

Glowing of the lamp, and buzzing sound can be heard. At the same time, Boss feels dizzy, and he immediately loses his conscience.

***

“Adma! Adma, can you hear me!” the statics keep decreasing, and Adma can hear that voice just fine. He noticed that familiar female voice, coming from Rika.

“Rika? Where are you? How can you come into this place?” asked Adma.

“I… I don’t know either! Can’t you see me Adma? I’m behind you!” shouted Rika inside his head.

“What!? Where!?” Adma glancing left, right, and behind, but he sees no one.

“I’m… I’m floating! And you can not see me, am I dead Adma?” Rika’s voice seems like in panic.

“Rika! Calm down!” said Adma. Apparently, he understands what is going on right now. “You’re not dead yet, this is a Virtual Space that exists inside a machine,” said Adma. Meanwhile, the fist of that giant is starting to move again. His gaze is pointing toward Adma, and it slammed his hand to the spot where Adma standing right now.

“Damn it! Nowhere to run!” shouted Adma, after he dodges that last attack. There are no places to hide in this lobby, so Adma take initiative and runs into one of the chambers.

“The hell!?” he is surprised when they see how the interior of the dungeon suddenly changes. No longer a structure made out of stone and ground, but instead, a wooden building with thousand pillars and stairs. There are a lot of empty spaces here, but nothing that would hide him away from the fight.

“No way else but to fight huh?” Adma muttered to himself. “Rika! Rika! Can you hear me?” 

“Adma! I’m still right behind you!” said her.

“Are you also with Gon and Hepaetus?” maybe they all are also in this Virtual Space,” said Adma. He can’t see Rika, and the only way to communicate is through voices.

“No, they are not with me! But I will try to look for them!” shouted Rika.

Noticing that his target has run into the building, that giant punches the chamber entrance, destroying one sector of the building that is made out of woods. Adma runs into the chamber and manages to dodge again at the right time.

“Can’t destroy an enemy with this scale empty-handed huh?” asked Adma to himself. With exception of bear and the Dark Monster, all of this time, Adma only fights against an opponent of the same height as him. Therefore, martial arts is enough.

“But this time, it won’t do!” he shouted. Adma focused on his hand and imagining a weapon.

“Blade!” he shouted.

He thought that his hand would turn into a sword, just like what he haye tried with Navigator days ago. But turns out, there is nothing.

“What…?” Adma is dumbfounded. Again, that giant is throwing a punch that destroyed parts of the building. 

Adma almost getting caught in the blast, but luckily, he doesn’t. Now, he runs around the entire structure, trying his best to not staying in one place. At the same time, he keeps swinging his arm around.

“Blade! Chainsaw! Void Canon!” he shouted, but nothing came out.

“What the hell is happening!?” as the last thing he screamed, the Giant’s hand finally caught Adma who has been running around aimlessly.

Between the fly debris caused by him, the Giant pull his hand out of the building, noticed that he finally caught Adma.

“Ugh! Argh!” shouted Adma, this is the first time he feels suffocated, even though his body automatically filtering the oxygen and other dangerous substances.

Another thing that he noticed, is how squished his body feel. As if he is not a cyborg he used to be.

The Giant’s grip grows tighter, and Adma’s pain keeps increasing.

“Argh!” he screamed, all of his body feel the sensation of being squished apart. Right now, he is no different than a lemonade.

“Navi… gator…” plead Adma. Although in the virtual world, Adma does not know that the damage would be this realistic. He squirms and struggles however he can, but the giants are not that easy to beat.