6. The Dumb Chimeras

When Mai opened her eyes, she found herself in a pitch-black place. There was no wind, and it was utterly silent. She groped around her but couldn't touch anything. Sitting up, she felt a throbbing in her head and instinctively held her forehead.

"Is this a dream? Where am I?"

She should have been dead or at least close to it, as she was certain her body no longer existed. Normally terrified of the dark, she strangely didn't feel fear right now, which made her furrow her brow. Rising, she fumbled into the darkness, hoping to find something, but to no avail.

"Okay, I'll accept if I'm dead, but at least give me something so I don't have to stare at black nothingness."

She grunted and waited, but nothing happened. She waited a bit longer, but still, nothing. She had no sense of time, which irritated her, and she sighed deeply.

"Just give me a sign."

*Whoosh*

A small glowing pearl appeared, hovering in front of her face, the size of a grain of sand. It vibrated and grew larger, stopping when it was the size of a soccer ball. It emitted an ethereal glow and a pleasant warmth.

*Ping*

A dark blue rectangular hologram appeared in front of her with text.

Do you want powers?

Mai thought it was a trick question or a rhetorical one, so she didn't respond and waited to see what would happen. The screen began to vibrate, quickly transforming red and flashing violently.

*Bip. Bip. Bip*

Do you want powers?

Mai furrowed her eyebrows, recognizing the red color as a danger signal in video games, but stuck to her choice.

*Vroom*

Suddenly, the floor beneath her lit up with shades of yellow, red, and orange, resembling dust slowly floating upward. The floor rippled, making it look like the sea, and suddenly the dust shifted, revealing giant red eyes beneath her feet. It seemed like she was floating above them, with something invisible or a barrier between them.

The eyes blinked, and she bent down, putting her nose to the dust, which felt warm. To her shock, her head went through the floor, and suddenly, she stuck her head out on the other side—a vast dark area filled with dark fish-like creatures. Some had human bodies, some had bird faces, while others resembled deep-sea fish. What they all had in common were their glowing red eyes, looking bloodshot, and they stared ravenously at her. Mai quickly looked around and felt a rush in her stomach.

"I am surrounded."

She noticed that none of the creatures spoke to her, which made her furrow her eyebrows. They couldn't see her!

She quickly pulled her head back and stared down at the frightening creatures on the floor. It looked like an army waiting for something.

"Are they about to go to war? Is that what awaits me if I decline?"

*Bip. Bip. Bip*

The screen flashed, and she hurriedly stood up and accepted.

"I'll take the powers since I have no choice."

*Ping*

Several stats appeared.

Name: Mai 

Title: Unknown 

Attack 

Crit 

Pierce 

Resilience 

Defense 

Block 

HP: 1 

Quest: Heal 

Time limit: 1 day 

Skill points: 5

She furrowed her eyebrows.

"Seriously, 1 hp?"

It was like an RPG video game, but she was missing an important stat.

"Where's my mana? Is this a joke?"

If the system had already messed with her HP, she wouldn't waste points on it.

Attack: 2 

Crit: 2 

Pierce: 1

1 point sounded like nothing, so she didn't dwell on it.

"It's asking me to heal as a quest, but then I get a hangover."

Quest in a game was a mission that needed to be completed to be rewarded. It could range from delivering a bottle of booze to someone to defeating a powerful boss.

She shook her head and chose to skip it because there was no warning on the Time Limit. What could be the worst that happened? That she couldn't heal for a day? Yeah, she was fine with that. Maybe the dome would even ignore her. Suddenly, she felt an intense heat spreading through her body, and she began to sweat profusely. Was she getting a fever?

She blinked once and now stared at illuminating stars in a clear dark sky. The moon's beautiful rays shone down on her, and she lay spread out like a starfish. The sand was cold, and she felt a cool breeze pass by, making her body shiver, and she got goosebumps as she sat up abruptly.

She stood up, brushing the sand off, and noticed her breath. She checked her surroundings and recognized the place as the same playground she had been in when Sophie had chased her. Suddenly, she felt a slight prick over her left chest, scratched it a bit, but didn't think much of it, as she often had tingling sensations in that area, especially when healing people. She reached into her pocket, found her phone, and checked the time.

00:00

So, it was midnight. Suddenly, an image of Kenta's face flashed before her, reminding her of his walk.

She briskly walked away from the park, but when she reached the end of the road, a large group of big red lions suddenly appeared. They had white alicorn on their foreheads, and their manes looked like they were on fire. Their bodies resembled lava with a beautiful glowing hue, and their tails were snakes with voracious snake heads. They approached her slowly, and a moment later, she was surrounded from all sides.

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Chimera?"

They didn't exist in reality but only in fantasy stories. The spider boss earlier had also been different.

"Heh. You smell good. Are you one of those so-called gods?" a chimera suddenly spoke, and its sharp white teeth became visible, giving a glow in the moonlight.

Mai furrowed her eyebrows again, and her heart pounded quickly.

"You can talk? Are you related to a spider woman?"

The chimera furrowed its eyebrows, grunted, and closed its left eye.

"You can't categorize us with those creatures. We are Chimeras, created by Lord Melech himself." It smiled and looked proud.

So, they were Chimeras. 

Mai blinked and became curious. "Who is Lord Melech?"

"You don't seem surprised to see us, but instead, you dare to ask about Lord Melech." another chimera shouted and growled at her.

"Lio, stop mentioning his name. Only I can do that." The front chimera put the other in place with a cold voice, but it only started an argument.

"Since when did you get the right to be the only one who could mention his name?"

"Yes, that's right. We are all created by Lord Melech, so we are all the same."

"Agreed. We all have the same rights."

"We can use his name as much as you."

Mai suddenly got a headache because she didn't have time for this; Kenta was waiting for her at home. The chimeras could have their discussion without her. She interrupted them immediately.

"Sorry, but I don't have time for this."

The chimeras stopped arguing and growled loudly, suddenly attacking her without warning. Her heart pounded fast, and she clenched her right fist, closing her eyes and swung at them, hoping to hit one.

*Pa*

She felt a wet, soft snout, and her hands hit something hard, causing her to open her eyes in surprise. She quickly pulled her hand back. In front of her stood a chimera, one meter away, staring at her with foam around its mouth.

"How dare you, you ant. It is Lord Melech who designed this perfect nose."

The chimera got angry and snapped at her, but Mai punched it again with her knuckles.

*Pa. Pa. Pa*

It received repeated blows and backed away. The other chimeras, who had witnessed the scene, shook their heads, and attacked her simultaneously and Mai frantically swung at all of them.

*Pa. Pa. Pa*

Her heart pounded faster, and the adrenaline pumped high. I can beat them to a pulp! She looked at the last chimera remaining, which furrowed its eyebrows. She spread her arms as if welcoming it, making it growl at her. She gave it a confident smile. 

At the same time, nearby in a residential neighborhood, a large group of people in black hooded cloaks stood. In front of them lay a pile of lifeless creatures with beautiful female bodies, but their skin was deathly pale, their eyes were yellow, and they had long black claws. They were slender with beautiful curves, wearing short black dresses that were low-cut, and their feet had long claws, and, on their backs, they had large black leather wings. They all wore short black dresses that were low-cut, and their feet had long claws. Behind their heads hung a black halo that resembled a hologram. Next to them lay a pile of men whose bodies were desiccated, as if something had sucked the life out of them, resembling mummies.

A woman furrowed her eyebrows.

"Only men. Interesting." A smile spread across her lips.

"Sofia, don't get good ideas." Joked a man, but in reality, he was terrified.

They began to discuss what lay before them.

"Succubus or vampires?"

"A type of soul-sucker, or something completely different?"