CHAPTER 38: OTHER HIDDEN MISSIONS

’Here are steps to create a sentient System:

Step 1: you find a functional system with little to no glitch.

Step 2: you fill it up with Mana and Faith points and program the System into the host’s body.

Step 3: you choose a colour theme for your system. Any colors!

Step 4: you find a soul! It could be the soul you earned, or the soul you trapped! Anyone would do! Merge the soul with the System with barely no damage!

And the last step! Step 5: you seal the soul’s memory. Unless conditions are met by the host, the soul would only preserve 10% of its memory! All in order to keep things smooth and running!

And don’t forget to have a backup if things don’t turn out well! The Global Cosmic G... would always be here! 24/7 all days and years and centuries, in any timelines and dimensions!’

——

"T–the Advertiser! We have to meet him now!" Elian’s voice tore through the room as he sprinted out of the club.

"Why?! I still don’t know what’s hAppeniNg?!" Moon shouted back, clutching her head almost tripping over a stool.

"Are you dumb?!" Aven barked, kicking the door open so hard it slammed against the wall. "He said the ’Mission’ sent to kill the King—everyone assumed it’s to kill the opposing king! Which made sense, but there are other missions way more important than killing the king!"

Elian ran past them all. "Which is to hear the tales of Kai!"

"B-but... what other missions?!"

[Why are y’all screaming at each other?]

Suckerbot, I think you should know exactly how dangerous this is. We’ve been distracted. And your reveal was— we’ll talk later!

[Just don’t trip on a rock and die stupidly.]

They were already bolting out of Slot Heaven, the glass door slamming behind them as the hollow streets swallowed their footsteps.

Crix had stumbled as a neon sign burst overhead. "Damn it—wait up, Elian!" I have never mentioned Kai’s cult to him. Did I slip? He thought.

"Elian, slow down!" Aven shouted, but Elian didn’t. His pulse was all drumbeats as each step kicked up a storm of dust.

Moon leapt over a toppled vending machine, landing hard beside her twin. "We’re running back to him? The creepy purple snake freak who talked in riddles?!"

"The main reason Kykloi spared our lives was to meet him! He knows something!" Elian snapped, nearly slipping on a puddle of oil. "And if the Black Guild is after the same thing, we don’t have time to play guessing games!"

Aven gritted his teeth, grabbing Elian by the arm just long enough to drag him out of the path of a collapsing billboard. The metal fell, shattering into sparks behind them.

"Then what?!" He yelled, wheezing. Aven never knew Elian could run that fast. "We walk in and ask politely? What if he doesn’t spill. You—haa—you got everyone running after you. How sure are you that this tales of Kai was real a-and the colossal Serpent wasn’t just messing with your head like it did with mine."

Elian’s eyes burned from the heavy wind. "It doesn’t hurt to ask? Just bribe the man a couple of gold coins and he’ll talk. Plus, check your Missions. There are more than one mission."

Aven’s face drained of colour when he checked the given missions.

[You Have Unlocked The Hidden Missions!]

[Primary Mission: Kill the King.]

[Secondary Mission(s): Decide the Fate of your World.]

[Protect the King piece.]

[Collect the lost items: Eyes, Ears, Tongue, Body, Hand...]

[Do You Wish To Ignore These Missions?]

[Ignoring May Cause Severe Consequences.]

He faintly gasped. The secondary missions were purposely written in tiny caveat font, intentionally and carefully hidden unless the thought if there were other missions had crossed their minds.

Only the primary Mission was broadcast and no one— not even him, bothered to check whether there was a possibility other missions were given out.

Aven now questioned how Elian even came to this conclusion.

"Why do you even think this ’Kai’ was a myth?" Elian asked. He hadn’t heard any other tales before. But they seemed hellbent on calling it a myth.

"Because the story doesn’t make any sense!" Sun spat, also catching up with Elian.

"It is confusing!! It infuriates me every single time I hear the story. I have a headache each time I remember a tale!"

Now Elian was even more confused.

They had reached the big entrance of the bright casino. Breathless.

Each inhale scraped down their throats.

But they all went in, nevertheless.

Sun cowered over Moon again, afraid some snakes might jump in and curse him.

The Casino looked different. It was evident the Advertiser had done a bit of cleaning and replaced the dented slot machine. Even the glasses were polished clean. And the holes in the ground had been tiled.

Elian wiped sweat from his brow, he took a deep breath, holding his hand over his mouth as he shouted. "Advertiser! Where are you?"

No one replied.

So he shouted again, with others joining him, shouting the Advertiser’s name.

Until a soft clap echoed.

The Advertiser appeared from behind a flickering column of light.

The purple man frowned at them with pure annoyance. His serpentine slits of his eyes narrowed, then curved upward in amusement.

"My, my," he drawled. "The idiots return with panic on their faces. What do you want?"

Elian sighed. "What do you know about the tales of the Wretched Man?"

The Advertiser’s smile faltered. His face twitched. It was barely noticable but sharp.

His hand then curled over his new cane as if steadying something invisible.

"...Ah," he murmured. "That annoying tale."

He turned, and a wooden carved chair formed beneath him. He sat with practiced grace, legs crossed.

"You speak of Kai. The man—or the god—who traded every piece of himself for the woman he adored. The six tales that make no sense, no order, no time."

"Yeah, we know."

The Advertiser tilted his head, eyes narrowing into paper-thin slits.

"Since you asked... they were never told to make sense."

Moon’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean by that? I’m only here because Elian is here. If not—"

"Let me speak! Ugh! That confusion was the point. Every historian, every priest, every madman who sought the tales ended up more lost than before. They thought it tragedy. None realized that the nonsense was the only truth that could keep the body from being found."

He let out a muffled groan, showing sharp teeth. "If your precious Guilds now seeks the body of Kai... Humans are bastards. Why do they seek that now? Well, you’re all doomed if it reaches the wrong person. I cannot reveal any more than this but who seeks that now seeks trouble."

Aven clenched his jaw. "So it’s true? The tales are real?"

"Of course it’s real! What do you think? If a mythic god exists, another insane mythic god could co-exist too? I exist and I’m half snake. Folks nowadays calling anything they don’t see a fake story. Hmph."

What an attitude.

"Keep the Dome safe till we return. We’re going out," Elian announced, about to turn his back at the Advertiser.

The purple man only scoffed, folding his scaley hands. "Shall I remind you that I am not your servant nor your—"

Elian slightly turned and stepped forward as he fished out a pouch of gold. "This will do?" It’s good I converted my coins to hard currency coins with Crix.

The Advertiser’s eyes gleamed. He chuckled, wiping the drool off his mouth before he shamelessly pocketing the coins with a flick of his clawed fingers. "You can get out of my Casino now. Remember to bring more followers! Genuine ones!"

Sun chuckled at the sight of the silly purple man. If only Elian can be that brave to him.

After everything was settled, Aven, Sun and Moon had grabbed a few snacks, stocking them into their system’s inventory as Elian eyed them with such jealousy.

Inventories are cool.

As they stepped outside into the ghost-lit streets, a loud

Kykloi waited—looming above the cracked skyline, the enormous eye hovering just low enough to blind them with its glow.

Its pupil dilated in eerie delight.

[Mission Progress: Secondary Objective Completed.]

Its childish voice thundered through the air. It still felt like two kids speaking at the same time.

[You have met the Advertiser. You have made him speak of the Six Tales of the Wretched Man.]

Everyone held their breath, observing the eerie sight of the large eye. Did it really offered them a quest without the system notifying them again?

Or was this another glitch?

Kykloi squinted its eye. [If you had refused to seek him, you would have been dusted off the board as functionless pieces.]

[And my ego would be hurt. Ignoring the Watcher’s quest? That’s a sin.]

Then it turned. Its gaze narrowing directly on Aven.

[Do you want me to tell the truth you hide from your dear friend?]

Aven took a step back, gritting his teeth. But his stomach dropped. What if this talkative eye reveals that—!

His gaze caught Elian’s indifference to the current situation.

[Or shall the Watcher tell?]

The sky dimmed as its light drew upward, voice fading into distortion.

[Six truths the Watcher sees.]

[Six truths you will wish remained unseen.]

And then it went back up into the sky, gone within a minute.

Aven released a breath of relief among with the rest.

However, the tension Kykloi had created and brought up again remained.

Everything felt awkward. And the silence didn’t help it.

Something twisted in Elian’s stomach. He had been observing, and now had come to a conclusion that this ’friend’ was him.

He turned to Aven. The tension in his jaw cracked. "Spill it," he "Whatever you’re hiding. You’ve been trying to say something since Kykloi mentioned it. I’m the friend, aren’t I? What do you want to tell me? You’ve been avoiding my gaze—even now."

Aven still couldn’t meet his gaze. His fists trembled against his sides.

Sun, Moon and Crix merely watched them with curiosity. What had Aven been hiding?

"If we’re supposed to work together," Elian continued, voice breaking, "then stop holding your damn secrets. Just spill it. Is there a bounty placed on my head or what?"

Aven finally looked up. There was no anger left, but the guilt clung to his face. He bit his lips, almost drawing out blood.

"...Your sister," his voice barely a whisper. "Rin."

Elian froze.

"I got an update back in the Dome." Aven swallowed hard. "She died."

A dull ring engulfed Elian’s ears and a sharp stinging pain hit his chest.

"H-how?" Elian slowly asked.

"I-in a fire."

"Raiders broke into your apartment. They tried to sell her off—to pay for your late mother’s debt. The explosion..." He trailed off. "...it killed her instantly."

Something hollowed out inside Elian right then.

He dropped to the ground with a loud thud!

Aven closed his eyes. He doesn’t want to see a man cry. He knew Elian sister’s death wasn’t his fault. It was just too heartbreaking to say.

But what he didn’t expect was for Elian to break into a soft laugh.