Chương 6: Chapter 05

The elated one understands that only the wise and sentient possess the privilege of understanding joy. Neither the dusty rocks nor the distant stars can fathom the humor that life entails.

A quest for formidable adversaries in games of strategy and activities to while away the time bears no winners or losers.

Instead, a search for the kind of laughter that leaves one breathless, will lead to the unexpected delights that uplift the soul toward divinity.

This is how 'Elation' was presented in the game, or at least based on Michael's memories, it was like that.

Unpredictable, chaotic, and confusing. This was Aha, the Joyseeker. Holding the wax seal in his hand, Michael could faintly hear HIS distant laughter echoing in his ears.

It was like a child who had committed some mischief but couldn't help but rejoice at the outcome even as he was being scolded, stifling his laughter between his fingers and failing miserably.

Elation, Michael didn't have a very clear impression of this path. To him, Aha was a mystery and HIS followers weren't much better; he wanted to stay away if possible.

He didn't think he was suited to this path at all. Michael had always been a serious and correct person, he preferred to follow the rules because he believed it would make his life easier, and he maintained the most basic manners even when talking to a child.

Yet he found himself unexpectedly tucking the wax seal into the pocket of his fancy dress reluctantly.

"It might be useful in the future..."

Though wary of coming into contact with an Aeon like Aha or HIS followers, the Masked Fools, Michael reminded himself that both the Aeon and its followers did not seem particularly evil, at least not as far as he had followed the game's story.

He decided to keep the wax seal containing traces of Elation's power, perhaps it could help him somehow in the future.

Loki floated over to Michael, who gently patted what he assumed was its head.

"You did well, this will be of great help... I think. Thank you."

Loki: "Wubba! Boo!"

The little ghost twirled in the air happily, bringing a small smile to Michael's lips.

'It's cute.'

After glazing Loki's jokes for a while, Michael turned his attention back to the system. Since he had received the reward from the previous two missions, he hadn't checked to see if there was anything useful.

Tormented by a curiosity he had long suppressed, Michael opened the store.

Only to close it right away with a shiver down his spine.

'... Very expensive.'

It was very expensive, in fact, the prices that reached a total of eight digits haunted him more than the little ghost beside him.

Loki: ?

"... System, I'm going to open the store again. Please filter out the options that I can't purchase with my current points."

[Ding!]

[Yes, Host! All options that are not within your current budget have already been filtered out!]

"How efficient..."

Muttering with a bitter tinge deep in his chest, Michael opened the store again.

This time, there were far fewer items. Taking a look at the list, Michael quickly realized that most of the options were merely common everyday items and a few musical instruments.

Michael scrolled and scrolled down the list until he came across some viable options.

[Lesser Health Potion x1: 100 SP]

[Lesser Energy Potion x1: 100 SP]

[Lesser Mind Healing Potion x1: 100 SP]

'Just what I needed...'

Michael finally seemed to have some luck. His finger moved to the screen and he quickly purchased a Minor Health Potion. He was curious as to how he would receive it, but as soon as he closed the system window, he noticed that a small cylindrical container was lying gently inside the box he had rummaged through earlier.

"I didn't even notice..."

Scratching the back of his neck, Michael took out the Lesser Healing Potion and swished the green liquid inside it a few times.

It looked like lemon juice.

Michael didn't linger on the potion any longer than that. He walked back to where Arlan lay, swinging the container in his hand as Loki followed behind him.

"Arlan, I found this inside a box on one of the shelves along with some documents. It appears to be some sort of discarded healing potion prototype with minor effects, it's not much, but it might help you recover faster."

Michael lied as naturally as he breathed.

In his previous life as an assistant, he had witnessed a lot of falsehood in the entertainment industry and learned from it, he was not so naive that he didn't know how to lie, and anyway, it was for Arlan's own good.

Arlan: "What a luck! But are you sure this thing is real...?"

Arlan asked with a bit of doubt, after all, they were in a random storage room that ended up having a supposed potion that could conveniently heal his injuries.

"It doesn't hurt to try, right? This is a storage room, so no one sane enough would just leave poison or anything questionable casually thrown into a box."

Arlan: "Well... I guess you're right."

Arlan nodded, agreeing with Michael's logic. He reached out to grab the container, effortlessly opening the lid and pouring the lime green liquid into his mouth.

Arlan: "It tastes sweet..."

"So, how do you feel?"

Arlan: "There doesn't seem to be anything different so far... Ah! I'm starting to feel my hand and leg tingling..."

Arlan exclaimed in slight surprise, raising his arm to look at his wound slowly but surely healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The bloody skin closed up, the flesh stitching itself together and the torn muscles weaving back together before forming a scab that, not long after, fell off naturally.

Through the tear in his pants, where he had been hit in the leg, the same scene repeated itself, and after about ten to fifteen minutes, Arlan managed to stand up without Michael's help again.

Arlan: "This potion is almost miraculous! And it's just a prototype?! If everyone on the Space Station could carry one... No, let's not think about that now, there are more important things to do. Anyway, thanks Michael."

"You should thank Loki, he's the one who helped me find this thing."

Loki: "Wubba?"

The little ghost had a confused expression, as if asking when it was that he had helped Michael find such a miraculous potion, but Arlan, who could not understand his confusion, thanked him sincerely.

Arlan: "Now that I'm healed, I can easily deal with any Voidranger out there. We should go and try to meet up again with the people from the Astral Express?"

"That would be nice."

Michael nodded. Although Arlan was just the head of a Security Department on the Space Station, he was much stronger than an ordinary person like Michael himself.

To begin with, if he hadn't been ambushed by a large number of Voidrangers while protecting a group of researchers alone, he wouldn't have been injured.

Arlan: "So let's go, stay behind me."

************************************************

The Reaver waited outside the steel door. Among all the Void Beasts of the Antimatter Legion, there was one thing in common that they all shared:

That is, the desire for destruction.

The lust for annihilation, for the extermination of life, the end of material existence. The blessings of the Ravager Lords had shaped the Voidrangers completely into unbridled machines of destruction.

He waited outside the door for those two men to come out. Patiently, he could still feel their presence inside.

And the wait paid off indeed, for the door eventually opened. Brandishing the blades that protruded from his arms, the Reaver charged forward recklessly.

The only thing waiting for him, however, was the massive, metallic blade wielded in Arlan's hands, which easily felled the Voidranger with a casual blow.

The blade embedded in the beast's chest leaked with stardust, but even in the end, the Reaver was still satisfied with his own destruction.

Arlan stepped on the Void Beast's chest, casually pulling out his blade and nodding to Michael who was behind him.

Arlan: "Don't get too far away from me. Among the Voidrangers of the Antimatter Legion, there are some who are particularly sneaky."

"Don't worry, I didn't plan on taking more than five steps beyond your reach."

Michael retorted without a trace of shame. By this point of the game, he was already getting used to being protected.

Without another word, Michael followed Arlan closely. Surprisingly, Arlan was able to memorize the entire route they had taken in their escape earlier, something Michael hadn't even paid attention to in the heat of the moment.

"You are really impressive."

Arlan: "This is nothing to me, Mr. Michael who insisted on helping me even though I was in so much danger, being just a normal human, is even more impressive."

"You would have done the same for anyone on the Space Station."

Arlan: "It's different."

Arlan shook his head, turning to face Michael.

Arlan: "I have a commitment to these people as the head of the Security Department, so it is only natural that I have to protect them. Sir Michael... Forgive me for saying this, but you are only an outsider at best, and yet you insisted on not abandoning me in my hour of greatest danger. This debt, I will not forget."

"If you feel that grateful, don't forget to subscribe to my channel when I create one and like all my posts."

Arlan: "I would do it even if you didn't tell me."

Arlan chuckled lightly, not taking Michael's words seriously. The debt he felt towards this little street artist was much greater than a few likes on a Startube post.

In a few more minutes of walking, they managed to return to the elevator support platform, meeting March 7th, Stelle and Dan Heng.

March 7th: "You guys are back! Where the hell have you been?! Dan Heng has looked everywhere for you two, but he hasn't found a single trace!"

"We were chased by a group of Voidrangers earlier and ended up trapped in a storage room."

Michael explained, and Dan Heng at the side noticed that Arlan's injuries seemed to be completely healed.

Dan Heng: "Arlan, can you walk on your own again...?"

Arlan: "Yes, while we were trapped in the storage room, Mr. Michael found a rather miraculous potion that cured my injuries. If not, we wouldn't have been able to get here, much less get out of that room."

Dan Heng: "Something this miraculous must be a Curio. You should look up the records of this thing later just to make sure there aren't any side effects."

Arlan: "You're right, I'll keep that in mind. Anyway, let's go, we've wasted enough time here."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Arlan, who walked over to the elevator's control panel and activated it. Not long after, all five of them had squeezed inside the elevator and ascended toward the Main Control Zone.

Michael, however, felt he was forgetting something important...

'Oh, sh*t! I totally forgot about that Wubbaboo!'