20 Serious Matters (2/2)
'Points- 252,341 / Souls- 0'
'Exchange?'
A soft sigh escaped his lips. ”So in other words, I can spend one-hundred of my points to collect one soul.” The male muttered to himself before hitting the x button in the corner of the sub-menu. Sure, he could collect more points upon his return; however, he still had to pay for the suit. It was the last piece of equipment he needed to pay for, and he had yet to know the price. Now he was back at the shop menu, but since he had no Souls he would close it out and would close out the entire menu afterward which would cause the white sphere to die it's illumination down as if it were being deactivated.
Moving back to the door he would look at it before turning back to the gates. ”It would appear that in order to leave, I may have to clear the first floor of this building. However, I have no idea what is behind this door. I don't even know what kind of beasts or creatures reside in this place.” The male would narrow his eyes with a serious expression. He did not even know what the strength of these creatures even was, nor did he have much of a way to tell. In fact, he knew nothing. His information on his place was zero. Walking in without so much as any preparation could mean death. Though, what could he prepare for? If he knew exactly what was going to befall him, things wouldn't be so complicated.
”Standing around won't get me anywhere though. If I want to leave, I should clear the first floor and come back.” The male stated before pushing against the doors. The text would appear yet again
'Upon entering you may not leave until you clear the first floor. Will you still proceed onward?'
This time he would push yes and the doors would open on their own. A still blackness was revealed before his eyes. ”I guess I can't even get a glimpse of what is in there.” The male would huff before going through the blackness which rippled like water to his touch. Upon coming out of the other side he made note of the interior of the building is roughly the same as it was in the other world; without all the demonic designs and what not of course. His crimson glance scouted the area, expanding his senses yet again to see if he could locate anything, and interestingly enough he did. An extremely strong presence seemed to have resided just up the stair-well which happened to have been making its way down the steps.
”A mortal?” The distorted voice of the presence had come at him. ”No, not quite.” It remarked as it made itself known. The figure was a humanoid. The features of a demon, with the horns, claws, fangs, tail, and wings to boot. Above this figures head was a red cursor and below that cursor was the name, 'Verso The Demonic Butler.' The color of the name happened to be a lighter red, almost pinkish even. ”You have the scent of a demon, but also... Hmm... I can't quite place it. Regardless, tell me how you stumbled into my Master's Castle?” The demon called out to him. Riyku didn't know if he should attempt to talk to this demon or come at him with a surprise attack. ”Well?” Demon inquired having noticed the male's hesitation. ”I am not sure. I was brought here.”Riyku replied to which the Demon's brow rose. ”You don't say? That would make you sixth one today.” The demon replied to which Riyku's brow rose. ”Sixth? What do you mean?” Instantly the male was on guard, in fact, there was a burning flicker in his crimson eyes. Noticing this the demon would chuckle, ”Slaves. Are they perhaps yours?” The demon would inquire to which Riyku would close his eyes in thought. He did not know if these six were the girls and Skylar, or someone else.
The lack of information alone was putting him one edge. Clicking his tongue he would nod, ”Yes. They are.” He replied to which the demon snickered. ”Then I am afraid you must leave. The six you seek are my Master's property now. If you are a thief, I will gladly partake of your soul.” The demon suddenly became hostile. Riyku would grit his teeth as a single weapon would appear in his hands.
Demon Slayer Replica +4
Type- Sword
Rarity: A
Condition: Sharp
A weapon used in the ancient war between Man and Demon by the Great Hero Korin. The Demon Slayer is said to have slain several demons as well as the Demon Lord. +10% Bonus attack power when fighting against Demon Class enemies.
It was the sword bathed in light. Looking to his free hand he would replicate this sword with his Shadow Replica which would replicate the Demon Slayer Replica. Of course, the shadow version would not be as powerful as the original, but still, it was better than nothing. Seeing this the demon would snicker and lick his lips. ”Indeed, you are not mortal. You hold the scent of a demon, one of darkness at that. I'll be sure to ascertain your power after devouring your soul.” It was then that the demon flew right at him. The speed wasn't anything close to that of the bandits he had been fighting. In fact, he wasn't even close to that of the girls' speed either. Clicking his tongue he would bring his blade up as if to slash at the demon who only locked the blade with his claw. Pushing the sword downward the demon would lunge his other claw for Riyku's throat. With great nimbility, the male would arch his back and turn on his side to avoid this strike only to step back forth and swing his shadow blade around. For an attempt at cutting the demon down. The demon had pushed off the sword he was locked with to avoid this cut and landed upon his feet before dashing at Riyku once again.
This time around Riyku would use his 'blink' skill to teleport beside the demon while being in mid-swing as if in an attempt to cut him down yet again. Since this caught the demon off guard, he seemed to copy Riyku's skill and 'blink' away just before taking any serious damage. Though the blade did kiss his flesh and cause a minor wound. ”Should have known. All demons can use 'blink.'” The demon kissed his teeth as he retook his stance, and regained his composure. Riyku on the other hand only narrowed his eyes. 'All demons? Did that mean even the demons in the other world?' The male muttered an internal thought as he focused his eyes upon the demon before him.
The demon would dash at him yet again, and Riyku seemed to prepare for it as best he could; however, mid-way through the dash the demon would vanish only to reappear a second later in front of Riyku. The demon's claw coming straight for the male's gut. Since he knew that the demon was capable of using 'blink' he would use it himself and teleport above the demon only to bring both swords down. The demon figured the male would use this skill again and would use it to either evade and make distance or evade and counterstrike. So, he would turn around as if he gash Riyku's throat out; however, Riyku wasn't behind him. No, it wasn't till the demon felt the steel and shadow of a sharp blade cutting through both his arms did he realize that Riyku had come from above.
A high pitched scream would echo throughout the first floor halls as the demon stumbled forward while his blood tainted the clean tiles. ”You bastard!” The demon shouted as he quickly turned around in an attempt to kick the male in the side since Riyku was still recovering; however, the time lag between Riyku's recovery and his own wasn't enough to allow such a feat to be done. Riyku had already thrust his sword into the demon while cutting off the leg with shadow sword. He would then rip out the sword in which the demon fell onto the ground with a loud thud. A marker would appear above the demon's head on Riyku's UI. Stepping up to the demon Riyku would cross both blades at each side of the neck before cutting the head off clean as if 'executing the demon'. The demon's body would then began to boil and evaporate afterward, leaving not a trace of it behind.
'67,430Exp Gained!'
'326 Souls acquired!'
'Key to floor 2 acquired!'
A heavy sigh parted the male's lips as shadow blade dissipated and the original returned to his inventory. It was clearly a sign of the ending battle; though it wasn't much of a struggle. Sure there were surprises, but he wasn't serious injured or even scathed for that matter. ”Key to the 2nd floor eh? I even gained more experience points and acquired souls. Not a bad trade... but what did he mean by there being six slaves?” Riyku's expression became grim as he thought upon it. Though that changed when he bore witness to the illumination of blue light on the second floor and the appearance of another door which had not previously been there. Making his way up the steps with caution he would approach the blue sphere. ”Could this be like the white one?” Riyku muttered his thought aloud before placing his hand against it which caused it to brighten a bit and a screen would appear.
The Rest option was missing, as well as the leave option, but there was a third option available. Selecting the third option he was greeted with another menu to choose from.
The only option was courtyard though, which was probably referring to the white sphere. Just to test this theory he would click upon it and the menus would all disappear in unison while the blue light burned brighter than ever. Moving his arm to cover his eyes from the blinding light he would grit his teeth. Though once the illumination died down he was greeted with the eerie scenery of the courtyard and the ruin of the surrounding area yet again. ”So it does take me back. Perhaps the other areas will unlock as I clear them...” Turning back to the white sphere he would press upon it which gave him the choice menu.
The first thing Riyku made note of was the fact that the Leave option was no longer grayed out. The second was the Travel selection. Since he assumed it would just lead him back to the first floor or give him that option he would simply ignore it and select the Leave option.
'Now exiting Instance Dungeon. Thank you for your hard work.'
The fact that the text box was thanking him was kind of weird, but it was next to nothing when the distortion came through and the world began to spin and twist in all angles until everything was reverted to how it normally was. His being was now standing outside the door of the mansion and the world appeared as peaceful as it was when he was forcefully placed into that strange world. His eyes shifted towards the skies in which he made note of how dark it was. ”How much time has passed since I left?” The male muttered to himself before he heard the sound of the front door being opened. If he didn't realize he was back in the normal world, he would have put his guard up, but the refreshing sight of Skylar was what caused him to relax. 'So, they are safe... But then who were those Slaves that, that demon was talking about.' Riyku would internally speak of before his attention was taken by Skylar. ”There you are, do you realize how late it is? The girls are pretty pissed. It's way past midnight.” Skylar wasn't upset, more so he seemed fearful to which Riyku sighed heavily. ”Is it? Damn... what is the time ratio compared to that place.” Riyku seemed to mutter aloud.
”Place? Time Ratio? Did something happen?” Skylar inquired. Riyku realized then that he would have to explain what just happened to him. Not that Skylar or even the girls would probably comprehend. ”Alright, I do need to explain. Gather the girls and I'll tell you all what happened to me. It is a rather long story, but I hope everyone will be able to sit through it.” Skylar would nod to Riyku. ”I am sure they would like to hear. I myself would like to know what you meant just now. You are a strange one after all.” Skylar stated to which Riyku would sigh heavily. ”Yeah, yeah. Anyways, I'll meet you inside.” Riyku would reply to which Skylar nodded. ”Alright, but don't keep us waiting any longer than you already have. Well them, anyway.” Skylar would reply to which Riyku nodded as the male went inside.
Riyku would look out once more over the courtyard. ”It really is different... What was that world anyway?” Riyku muttered aloud. A few moments of silence, before he would turn to face the door. Out of the corner of his eyes, he thought he saw the faint flicker of something, but when he heard his name being called by one of the girls his attention was drawn astray. As he entered the mansion, he would close the door and with that, the faint flicker happened to have been the steady appearance of the White-Sphere from the other world.