CHAPTER 24: NOW YOU KNOW

"Runes."

"Runes? What’s that?"

"It’s an inherent ability of the Dwarf species that allows them to write things that can do wonders," Samuel explained.

"Dwarves can do that? I thought they were only good at crafting weapons and other items."

"Yes they can, in fact, every dwarf can create runes. However, even among dwarves, only a very few can create runes that affect space."

"Woah~ that’s amazing. How come I never heard of it?"

"That’s because the dwarves live in an entirely different solar system, which is very far away. Only the rulers of each planet know about their power. However, the amount of information they know varies due to many different factors—the most prominent ones being the size of the planet, the amount of resources on the planet, the population, the number of ruling powers, and many others."

"Damn, that sounds complicated."

"You don’t need to worry about that."

’For now...’

"I see. However, how come I didn’t feel or notice a single thing when we were teleporting?"

"Again, there are many factors. But the most important one would be that you didn’t feel anything because the spatial runes were perfectly drawn, which made the teleportation completely stable."

"Hmm... I think I get it. But what would have happened if the runes weren’t drawn perfectly?" Xavier asked.

"Then we wouldn’t be alive," Samuel replied.

"...!" Xavier’s eyes widened in horror.

"That’s the thing with runes, Master Xavier. Although all dwarves are capable of drawing them, most refrain from doing so due to the heavy repercussions of drawing faulty runes."

"Hold on a minute—does that mean the writings on my Hell’s Advocate Dagger are also runes?"

"That is right," Samuel nodded.

"Then what do they do?" Xavier asked, his voice brimming with excitement.

"You sure you want to know about that?"

"Uh-huh." Xavier nodded.

"Really?"

"C’mon, man, out with it already. I even brought the dagger with me." Xavier pointed at the bag he was carrying.

After that, Samuel didn’t say another word. He silently put his right hand inside his suit and took out a small dark-green canister. He looked Xavier in the eye with a solemn expression.

"Remember that it was you who wanted this."

CRACK!!

FSSHH!!

Immediately after he said that, Samuel threw the glass canister on the ground. It cracked and released a blue-colored gas.

"What the—! The heck is this? Cough! Cough! Ugh—my eyes! Cough! Cough! Samuel! What the heck is this!? Cough! Cough!"

Xavier covered his eyes with his right hand and his mouth with the left. He couldn’t see anything—his entire view was clouded by the thick, blue gas.

"Heok! Cough! Cough! I-I can’t b-breathe...."

Thud!

Xavier fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Some time later...

"Mmnh... guh..."

Xavier rubbed his eyes and opened them.

"Ugh... where am I?"

He sat up and touched his forehead.

"Samuel... ugh... that’s right, I remember now."

"Guh... why the heck did he do that all of a sudden?"

"Don’t tell me he betrayed me? Ugh... my head hurts... let’s not think about it for now..."

He looked at his watch.

"It has only been a few minutes. Although... there is no internet. Well, that much is to be expected, I guess."

"But I need to get out of here. I can’t stay in this death zone. Who knows when something weird might pop—"

"GHHRRR!!!"

SWIPE!

BANG!

"Grr..."

"What an idiot. Wants to attack me but roars at the end and gives away its position. Talk about stupid," Xavier said, putting his leg down.

While Xavier was still gathering his thoughts, a wolf-like monster had suddenly pounced on him. However, thanks to the roar at the end, Xavier became aware of its presence just in time and immediately kicked it in the gut, sending it flying nearly eight meters away.

He turned to look at the creature. It resembled a wolf but had two tails. Its fur was dark brown, with beige under its belly. It had sharp claws and vicious fangs. It looked like a creature from fictional stories.

"Hmm? The monster seems to have fainted. Well, that’s to be expected. After all, I’m strong," Xavier said with a smirk.

’Haah... who am I even kidding? The monster is only an Ungraded Monster at Level Two, considering how weak it was. That’s the only reason I managed to knock it down. If it had been a Level Six or even Level Five Ungraded Monster, I’d be dead before I even knew it,’ Xavier thought, shaking his head.

"Huh? My bag... I still have it on me?" Xavier said to himself.

"...!"

’Does that mean...?’

He hurriedly opened his bag—and was surprised by what he found. The Hell’s Advocate Dagger was still inside. Not only that, there were also plenty of supplies.

’Samuel... I get it now,’ Xavier thought with a small smile.

’So you want me to train in the world’s most dangerous place, eh? Fine. I’ll show you just what I can do.’

’And that is...’

’**** you, dammit!! How dare you leave me here!! If I die because of this, I’m gonna come back as a ghost and forever haunt you!! Wait... can androids even be haunted? Ugh... what am I even thinking? I should focus on not getting myself killed in this death zone.’

"AAAOOOOO!!!"

"...!!"

’W-What the heck was that noise? It sounded like... don’t tell me...’

Xavier heard multiple loud howls not far from his location. He immediately realized more of the ungraded wolves were coming—and fast.

"Shit!" he cursed.

He took both earpieces from his bag and plugged them in. Then, he quickly wore the smartwatch and took out the dagger. Without wasting another second, he pressed the button.

Beep

[Power On]

[Greetings, Mas—]

"No time! Haley, get ready for combat! Enemies are approaching!" Xavier cut off the assistant and gave the command.

[Understood. Activating Flight Mode.]

FUUSSHH!

Flames burst out from the bottom as the Hell’s Advocate Dagger rose into the air, hovering a few inches above Xavier’s head.

In the next second...1

Noo! Another cliffhanger! Why!!!!!!!!!!!!!