Chapitre 107: 104th Adversary: Ringo
Let's divert the story for a little bit.
This is something that occurred unknown to Miko and the rest of the Dragna Empire. This was an incident that changed the war and the course of history.
This story took place on the Night Continent. The Night Continent was a continent that knew no day. As the name suggested, it was a place engulfed in the night. In this place, the moon was of a scarlet color and the plants all glowed in the dark. For the inhabitants of this place, darkness was a part of their everyday lives. This place was also the den of some of the world's most dangerous beings and most notorious figures. So it goes without saying that this place was considered the most dangerous place on the planet.
In such a place, an elderly man dressed in a white tuxedo, holding a white cane, was walking down a desolate road. He had a dignified face which made it obvious he was handsome as a youth. His hair was completely white, and his eyes were golden.
"The Night Continent is always exciting to see. It's like a final stage crawling with boss characters."
The old man swung his cane while he walked with youthful vigor, which didn't match his appearance.
"I'm glad I finally get to go on a mission. I was getting bored babysitting Noah's brats all the time. I thought I would be on standby until it's time to announce ourselves to the world, but I'm glad that isn't the case."
The old man stopped and spread his arms.
"I get to move from a spectator and play this beautiful game again. I wonder what kind of storyline is in store for me today?"
He smiled and then continued his walk. He walked with jolly steps while spinning his cane. He was heading in the direction of a mountain range that could be seen from hundreds of kilometers away.
"But still, I'm pretty far from my destination. I was so excited that I left all the gadgets that MYTH gave me."
He stopped and looked at the mountains in the distance.
"I guess I have no choice but to get there the old fashion way."
He lifted his cane and swung it down in front of him. Suddenly, a rip appeared in the space itself. He stepped into this space and disappeared from where he was. He reappeared in an old town close to the mountain range. The old man had moved hundreds of kilometers in a second.
"Oh? The town is packed."
Everywhere the old man looked he could see strong-looking people walking around.
"Is it because this is the Night Continent or could word have spread faster than we thought?"
The man started skipping.
"If that's the case, then I better hurry."
The old man skipped and cut through the crowd with swift movements. He was like a leaf floating in a river, allowing the current to navigate him through narrow spaces.
"That old man is fast."
A youth stopped and looked back at the old man.
"Jin, this is the Night Continent. We can't afford to pick fights with random people because they bumped into you."
A girl not too far away from the youth called out to him. The youth didn't bother to explain himself and kept walking.
"Let's go, Sapphire. Bloom will get noisy if we don't bring back the thing she asked for."
Meanwhile, the old man quickly arrived at the foot of the mountains. There, a group of people was gathering in front of a cave in the mountain.
"As I thought, they did come for the dungeon."
The man smiled and walked towards the crowd.
"Woah, there."
But before he could enter the crowd he was stopped by a group of strong and rough-looking men.
"This isn't a place for you, old man."
The one who seemed like the group's leader spoke to the old man.
"Oh? An NPC huh?"
The old man mumbled.
"What was that?"
"Ah, nothing. Continue with your dialogue."
"Is this old man looking down on us?"
"I would never."
The man shrugged.
"You might not be a Player like myself, but NPCs are as equally important. After all, you guys help us Players move the story forward."
"What's this old man rambling about?"
The thug looked at his allies in confusion.
"Say, young man. Could you please be so kind and tell me why I'm not fit for this place? In the first place, what is this crowd for?"
"You came here without knowing that? You really are a senile old man."
The man laughed.
"There's no need for you to know."
He pushed the old man's shoulder but the old man didn't budge an inch.
"Huh?"
The thug felt something was out of place. He looked at his hand. It was bent out of shape.
"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk."
The old man shook his head with a disappointed expression.
"The role of an NPC is to give the players information that would help to move the story forward. You being tightlipped means you've failed to live up to your role as one."
The old man lifted his cane and rest the tip on the man's forehead.
"In other words, you're nothing but a bug in the system."
He pushed the cane and it bore right through the man's forehead and came out the back of his head. He pulled back his cane and the man's dead body hit the floor.
"B-Boss?!"
The rest of the group started backing away.
"Now then, are you a bug, or will you help move the story along? It's your choice."
The old man wore a bright smile.
"This guy is a master! Run!"
The rest scattered as fast as they could and disappeared into the crowd.
"Hm….They ran. Well, some NPCs do react like that if you kill one of their kind. So I guess it's fine."
The old man entered the crowd. He quickly found himself at the front, looking at the cave.
"Hey, how long has this place been discovered?"
He asked a random person beside him. The person he asked looked at the old man with caution. Despite not sensing any strength from the old man, he knew he couldn't underestimate him. This was the world's most dangerous continent, the Night Continent. Only monsters among monsters can survive here.
"I heard it appeared three hours ago."
(That's an hour later than when our alarms went off. Which means we were the first to know of its existence.)
The old asked another question.
"Has anyone entered the cave yet? If so, have they returned with anything?"
"Many have entered but none have returned. Seeing that it appeared out of nowhere, people are convinced that it's a lost dungeon that could contain many priceless treasures."
(Well, that's true.)
The old man patted the man's shoulder.
"Thanks. You've fulfilled your role exceptionally."
"….Thanks?"
"Now then…"
The old man walked out of the crowd.
"I'm not into dungeon games but work is work, so I'll give it a go."
He started approaching the cave. People flew out of the crowd and rushed at him.
"Don't get ahead of yourself old man!"
"No one is going in that dungeon before me!"
"All the treasure belongs to me!"
They all lifted their weapons to strike the old man, whose back was turned to them.
*Thud!*
However, the attacks never came. The attackers lift their arms only to have them fall to the ground behind them. It was a strange scene. It was like their arms weren't attached to their bodies in the first place, and slipped out of place and dropped to the ground.
"?!"
Those who lost their arms wanted to scream but their expressions froze along with their bodies. Before everyone's eyes, their body parts slid off each other and fell to the ground. They soon became a heap of sliced meat.
"Wha?!"
The man the old man spoke to earlier was shocked to see everyone around him suffer the same fate one after the other. Before long, the huge crowd was reduced to a sea of sliced meat and blood. Only the man remained whole.
"Now that I think about it, it wouldn't be good if people start rushing in after me, so I had to clear the place before I entered."
"Why not me?"
"Because you helped moved the story. There's a chance that you might help another player move the story as well, so you can't die."
After saying that the old man tried to enter the cave.
"Wait."
"Yes?"
The old man turned around and looked at the man.
"Y-Your name….Could I get it?"
"Hmm…."
The old man started to think.
"For now, I'm going by the name Ringo."
Ringo immediately entered the cave after that.
"Ringo….That must've been a false name. Even so…he must've been a Sword Master."
The man shook his head.
"No, for him to accomplish what he did he must be a Sword God, someone who trained the sword to the level where they can slay even gods with a single swing…..I can't believe I got to meet one."
The man smiled.
"The Night Continent is really a scary place!"
Meanwhile, Ringo was walking down the passage inside the cave. He looked around with bright eyes.
"Oh! Wow!"
He touched the walls as he walked.
"This is a strange material. It feels tough at first but if you push with a little force it sinks in and then bounces back like rubber. I really got transported to a different space when I entered the cave. I wonder if I'm even still in Mundus or if I was brought to a different world?"
He was all smiles.
"As I thought, nothing beats exploring new stages and testing the new features."
He continued to walk for a while in the dark passageway until he saw a light at the end. The light rushed towards him. Ringo found himself standing in a large room filled with statues of warriors and unknown creatures. At the back was a large throne with hundreds of beautiful gems embedded in it.
"This is…."
Ringo started looking around the room. He could see a painting on the ceiling. It was a painting of a group of people praying toward a light in the sky. He looked around again and saw that there was a huge sword marking on the floor.
"Hahaha! This is better than I thought! I found one! After so many years, we've discovered another one. A relic from the times before the gods, the Golden Age!"
He threw his hands up into the air.
"We did it, Noah! We found another path to the Primordial Era!"
(What a noisy guest.)
"Hm?"
Ringo heard a voice echo in the room and brought his arms to his side.
"You must be the boss of this stage? I can't see you or sense you which means that you're a phantom. Could you be so kind as to appear in front of me?"
(I need not grace an intruder with my presence. Just stand there and die.)
"I think that's unreasonable considering it was you who suddenly appeared in my world and gave off an aura of mystery. Don't you know? people won't ignore what has caught their attention even if it might be dangerous."
(Enough.)
Ringo saw the throne at the back start glowing. The gems inside it lit up and fired lights of various colors toward him. The lights didn't hit him, they instead formed an army of beasts.
"Oh?"
Ringo looked at the beasts with excitement.
(Pay for your insolence. Attack!)
The army of beasts charged at Ringo.
"I can see why everyone who came here died. These beasts would be strong enough to rampage freely in my world."
He swung the cane in from of him.
*BAM!*
A loud noise resounded as the beasts were all cut into two.
"But they are still nothing but low-level beasts in front of me."
(You're far more formidable than those before you.)
The gems on the throne fired lights again, but they formed one being this time.
(But you'll still die for trespassing.)
The being that was formed was a 20-foot tall warrior wielding a sword half his size and dressed in golden armor from head to toe.
"Oh!"
Ringo's eyes started sparkling.
"Now we're talking!"
The warrior rushed towards Ringo with a speed that didn't fit its size. He swung his sword down on Ringo who swung his cane overhead.
*BAM!*
Even the space shook from their clash.
(Wha?!)
The voice was shocked.
(How can a mortal withstand such an attack so easily?!)
"Hm….I got my hopes up when I sensed power rivaling a Divine Proxy coming from it, but…"
Ringo pushed the warrior back and caused it to stumble.
"Looks like you don't know how to use that power properly."
He put away his cane.
"I don't need anything more than this to handle him."
His arm was covered with a bright light.
"Boost Player activate."
His eyes started glowing.
"Arm Boost."
His arms became tense and looked like they were overflowing with power.
(Attack!)
The warrior attacked Ringo again. Ringo lifted his hand in front of him. Ringo caught the sword so perfectly that no sound could be heard when his arm came in contact with it.
"Hah~."
He lifted his arm and threw the giant warrior over his head. He swung his other arm back without looking.
*BAM!*
His arm hit the warrior and shattered into pieces.
(Impossible!)
"I'm beginning to lose my motivation here, so I'll cut to the chase. Do you have anything that can rewrite the laws of the world or something along that line?"
(Huh?)
"Ah, you're a spirit from millions of years ago so you might not know. You see, about 20,000 years ago these assholes started a war but the war threatened the existence of the world so they signed a ceasefire treaty, but not a normal one. This one was created in a way that those assholes won't have to face a monster like Augustus Dragna again. Ah, Augustus Dragna was a mortal who threatened these assholes so they ganged up on him like the cowards they were.
Anyway, the ceasefire treaty altered the laws of the world and created something called the proxy system which allowed them to pick others to fight for them. But it didn't do that alone. They made it so no mortal could harm them, making themselves invincible. They also made it so that they couldn't harm each other too. I want something to get rid of those laws. You see, those assholes are the final bosses that we mortals need to beat and move the story (world) into a new stage, but being the cheating assholes they are, they aren't making it easy.
So, do you have anything that can help me out with that?"
*******
A few hours later, Ringo was walking through the desolate lands of the Night Continent once again.
"My first time out in years and it was a complete waste of time."
He sighed. He noticed that his communicator was ringing. He looked at the caller ID and picked it up.
"Yo, Noah."
(From the tone of your voice, looks like it was a bust.)
A male voice came from his communicator.
"Yeah. I didn't find anything that could help us out. In the end, I just used my Exorcist Character to get rid of the spirit guarding the place and took anything that looked valuable…..Looks like we have to stick with the original plan."
He smiled.
"If we can't alter the laws then we will have to destroy them with overwhelming force."
(I guess it's settled then. By the way, aren't you going to get those children, Klick?)
"Are you talking about Ace, Sora, and Hina? Well, let's leave them be for now. I'll go get them when the time is right. Besides, they can continue to observe Miko for us. Mari said she liked him right? Then he must be interesting."
(He's in the middle of his evolution after all. Once he experiences full bloom, he'll become much more interesting.)
"I think Krow would like that as well. Once he comes back from his training, he should be far stronger than he was before. I really wished he would at least let me try Augustus's sword even once though."
Ringo laughed.
"Well, I guess I'll get to see it in action when we finally show ourselves to the world."
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone