Return (2)

Later that night...

'Just as I thought...' Zaen thought to himself while checking on his supplies before, heading into the other realm, 'These missions never work the way they were supposed to. Is there some kind of fetish to make simple tasks complicated?'

Even in games, it was never easy to get rid of a long-term problem or mission in one swift move. Zaen never thought he wouldn't have to return to that forsaken place again, but he had been secretly hoping for it to happen. The other realm was nothing to laugh at. Even though most of the monsters there were easy to deal with, they always ended up taking a toll on him, both physically and mentally.

While the bandages and energy drinks he regularly obtained by looting the dead ghouls were enough to sustain him for the short term. In long term, it wasn't viable for Zaen to keep consuming these items recklessly. He knew next to nothing about the artifact and its working let alone about these 'items'. He didn't know whether their excess consumption would lead to any unforeseen issues or complications. But for now, he didn't have any choice but to do what the artifact was requesting of him.

Despite his worries, Zaen was quite excited to visit the other realm. Because for someone like him it was nothing less than a gold mine. Moreover, the mission he was given this time didn't have a time limit for him to abide by. This meant he could spend as much time levelling up and gathering resources as he pleased. Also, the more ghouls he killed, the more souls were captured within the Bloodlust Dagger. Then there were also a few crafting recipes he wanted to gather materials for and the other realm was the best place for him to do so.

All in all, the other realm was like a shopping mall for him to replenish his resources and grow stronger. Just like any exp dungeon in MMORPG game. Sadly, unlike in the games, he didn't have an exp multiplier to get more exp for every ghoul killed. Also, the fact that he won't be receiving those annoying daily quests, relieved him quite a bit.

'67 bandages, 45 throwing knives and 21 cans of energy drink...' Zaen counted the resources he had in his inventory, 'More than enough to last for a couple of days inside the realm without any issues...'

Zaen wasn't focusing on defeating the hidden 'guardian'. He had a feeling that he was a bit too low levelled to do much about a 'guardian' who would most probably be more troublesome than Frenzied Ghoul. And it looked like even the artifact knew it as well since it had only requested him to locate the guardian as the primary goal of the mission. While getting rid of it was optional.

He wondered if it was the artifact's way to tell him to remain vigilant. Thankfully, he wasn't a fool to not heed such a piece of advice. Thus, his main goal had automatically turned into levelling up as much as he could while gathering as many materials as he could.

Also, the special force wasn't going to keep quiet since he eliminated one of their soldiers. If anything, they'd have already improved the training session of the Impounders and the officers. But something had been bothering him ever since his fight against Chris...

It was the realisation that there were humans who are skilled enough to take care of his bratty a*s anytime they pleased. The last time he got lucky and managed to defeat Chris, but he was sure, someday his luck would eventually run out. It was all the more a reason for him to train harder and improve his existing skills and abilities faster. Or else, the force would end up becoming more problematic than the ghouls themselves.

"Alright... I think I'm all set. Aeron is asleep. The 'defence' mechanism he made is online. Nothing else left to do here." Zaen mumbled before opening the missions tab in the artifact. Simultaneously a familiar holographic screen popped up in front of him.

[Mission 2: INVESTIGATOR.]

[Mission completed: 0%]

[Time Limit: None]

[Start the mission?]

[Yes] or [No]

Zaen took a deep breath before equipping his gears and pressed yes. Soon he felt a familiar sensation of the green mist enveloped his body before he vanished from the room as the flow of the time came to a halt, awaiting his return.

***

Moments later, Zaen opened his eyes once again. Although it was only his second time being 'teleported' into the other realm, Zaen had already gotten the hang of it. Though he felt a bit of headache, at least he didn't get knocked out like the last time. But it wasn't something that wouldn't pass after a while. Over the years, he has had worse headaches than the one he was experiencing now.

"Finally, back to this hell..."

The place was as dead as he remembered. Dead trees and destroyed buildings were lined on both sides of the destroyed streets. The demonic red hue of the dead sky was enough to shake the spirits of the most determined men. That coupled with the constant flickering of the few 'working' street lights looked like a VFX effect of some high-end movie.

He couldn't even fathom what would happen to the humans if this place somehow got replaced with the true realm. The mere thought of having Aeron live in this place, made Zaen's limbs go numb. However, his peace and leisure didn't last for long as he heard a sudden thumping of footsteps rushing towards him from every direction. After all, the ghouls go easily feel his presence since he wasn't wearing the Mask of Secrecy as he wanted to save its durability points.

The flickering light from the street light above soon revealed the forty ghouls around him. Even before Zaen got strike one of them down, the ghouls rapidly surrounded him, careful not to come within the light. Zaen knew his escape was impossible. Thankfully, he didn't want to run away from free Exp either.

'There's my welcoming party.' Zaen thought as he met their hungered gaze, 'I wonder... will they attack me one by one or pounce on me like a pack of hungry hyenas.'

Without wasting another moment, the ghouls simultaneously lunged at him.

"Way of the hyenas it is then!" Zaen smiled as he began swinging his daggers all around him, each swing of his blade killing a forsaken monster.