Chapter 33: Chapter 27: Finally, A Day Without Anything Drastic Happening (Part 3)
"…I will be following the Sword Junkie around Artemia as his official videographer!"
<SwordJunkieStan: Sword Junkie in 3D!?>
<Acturus_Zero: Did you get your money back before Marcus died, Sword Junkie!?>
"And for our very first stream together…" Cyrus smirked, "Mr. Julian Winters, aka Sword Junkie, will be taking on… a Dungeon!"
<Potato_killer: …Isn't he a newbie?>
<NoWayJose: Wait, has he ever been in a dungeon before?>
"Relax, relax…" Cyrus sighed. "...I'll be there. If I think Sword Junkie can't do it, I'll intervene."
<SwordJunkieNo.1Fan: The Sword Junkie needs no help!>
"A dungeon…?" Julian, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly frowned.
"D… don't worry, Mr. Julian," Cyrus heard Julian's slightly cold breath, "It's just going to be a showcase of your skills!"
"Uhm…" He tilted his head toward Cyrus, his brow furrowed in confusion. "What's… a dungeon?"
"...Oh."
"Ellie…" A few hours later after his meeting with Cyrus, Julian was now once again sitting beside Ellie; the soft beeping of the machines caused his breath to slightly stutter.
"I promise you, Ellie…" He held Ellie's hand, "...I'm going to help you this time around."
Julian stared at Ellie's face for a few seconds before leaning back on his seat, and in his hands was the LinkGear.
"I'll leave for a bit," Julian then whispered as he placed the device on his head… and soon, his consciousness began to slip away.
But before his mind fully drifted into the Between, he made sure to keep his eyes slightly open, allowing MEGAN to still watch over Ellie.
Creepy? Perhaps. But it was the only way he could be sure she was safe while he was gone.
[Please wait while your consciousness is being transferred to Artemia.]
"MEGAN," And as soon as Julian saw MEGAN's form materialize in the Between, he quickly approached her and held her hand, "I'm counting on you. Make sure Ellie is safe."
"Leave everything to me!" MEGAN nodded, "I'll watch over Ellie. But you do remember what we talked about, right?"
"Yes."
"Your live chat will now be turned on. My username is PrettyOneeChan,
but since you can't read the texts anyway, I will filter the message you see to be only from me—remember the words we memorized?"
"Yes. No. Log out," Julian breathed out, "I memorized what they look like, MEGAN."
"Okay. Good." MEGAN also breathed out, "You need to grow stronger, much stronger than you are now. Now that you have chosen this path. Those thugs who came... I am sure they are not done with you."
"I know... But MEGAN," Julian whispered as he looked around the dark expanse of the Between, "Do you remember what I told you during the Mana Evaluation? About the penalty?"
"Yes. You mentioned the Master of Shadows," MEGAN nodded, "I've been scouring the internet for any information, but nothing comes up. But I believe you, though. There's something fishy going on here."
"It's just… this place…" Julian continued to look around, "The Between...It reminds me of where I fought the shadow crawler."
"W…what?" MEGAN's eye slightly twitched, "What… do you mean?"
"It feels the same as…" But alas, before Julian could finish his words, his consciousness fully transferred to Artemia, leaving MEGAN alone in the dark, eerie void.
"Uhmm…" MEGAN actually planned to stay a bit in the Between to try and investigate some things, but after what Julian just said,
"...I'm out." She wasn't going to stay in this place for a second longer.
"Sword Junkie! You're here!"
Julian winced slightly at the loud voice, he just stepped out of his room and was still feeling a little groggy and weak… but Cyrus's loud voice surely helped wake up his clone from how loud his voice was.
"Morning there." Cyrus stood near the inn's entrance, waving his hand enthusiastically, "Did you make sure your real body's well-fed before you jumped?"
"Yes…" Julian nodded; the tone of his voice slightly awkward, "...And good morning."
"Pft… there's no need to be so stiff," Cyrus chuckled, "There's not a lot of people yet in the chat since it's not the official start of the stream yet. Just relax, start stretching your body, and get something to eat. We're still waiting for our party, they'll be here in an hour or so."
"Okay… I was thinking of getting a weapon first," Julian breathed out, "I'll visit Juliet, maybe I could borrow one of the weapons we made together if she still hasn't sold them."
"Well… that's perfect!" Cyrus shrugged with a carefree grin. "Let's go!"
"...You're coming with me?" Julian tilted his head, "It's fine. You can just stay here and—"
"Nonsense!" Cyrus shook his head as he already started walking away. "This is great content for those who are already tuning in—look, people are already starting to comment."
As they stepped out of the inn and made their way toward the smithy plaza, Cyrus continued to talk to the chat. Wasn't… he afraid of attracting the attention of the hyums? What if someone from the Order of Artemia hears him?
"I… thought our technology didn't work here in Artemia?" Julian asked, "I remember the scientists from Humanity Engineering mentioning it… and yet we can stream and you can even see the live chat?"
"Hm…" Cyrus squinted his eyes, "I've…never really thought about it. Maybe because it's just radio and signal? Who knows, it works."
"Huh…"
"And…" Cyrus leaned closer, lowering his voice to a whisper, "Don't talk about Humanity Engineering while we're streaming. They… don't really like it."
"Oh… Okay," Julian hummed.
"By the way, does your live chat work now? Can you see Megan's messages?"
"Uhm..." Julian started looking around for any floating words, "...MEGAN, are you-"
<PrettyOneeChan: Yes.>
"Yes," Julian blinked as he finally saw the message. It wasn't exactly the same as the [Guidance of Artemis], which usually takes up his entire vision, "I can see it now."
"Is that...?"
A few minutes later, they arrived at the smithy plaza. Julian, however, slightly gasped as they neared Juliet's outdoor smithy.
It… was in shambles—tools were scattered across the ground, and several pieces of equipment looked damaged or broken. Even the tent wasn't standing up straight anymore.
"Juliet!?" Julian rushed toward the smithy. "What… what happened!? Who… who did this!?"
"J…Julian…?" Juliet emerged from the ground, her face pale and streaked with tears. "I… I did it."
"Huh…?"
"I've… I've…" She stammered, her voice trembling. "I've…been trying to find our [Epic] sword. I think… I think someone stole it!"
"What…?" Julian looked around. But after a few seconds, a thought suddenly came into his mind as he remembered the shop owner back in Archon town. The scene, it felt extremely… familiar.
Julian then very slowly backed away as he very quietly whispered, "Guidance… show me the Master of Shadow's progress."
[Master of Shadows Quest]
Craft 10 [Epic] Grade weapons and offer them to the shadows. (1/10).
"...Oooh."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Romeru
Romeru And 3 of 3
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone