!ALARM
[YOU HAVE COMPLETED ALL THE NECESSARY REQUIREMENTS OF THE ARTIFACT 'ACE SMACKER']
[YOU HAVE EARNED THE RIGHT TO BECOME THE ACE. WILL YOU ACCEPT?]
[YOU DO NOT HAVE MUCH TIME REMAINING]
[IF YOU REFUSE, YOUR HEART WILL STOP APPROXIMATELY 0.2 SECONDS LATER. WILL YOU ACCEPT?]
[YES] [NO]
!ALARM
[WELCOME, ELSPETH]
***
Chika felt cold as she felt her heart slowly decreasing its beat when a warm light engulfed her body, giving warmth like a hug.
"ACK!"
Chika opened her eyes and coughed terribly while inhaling a huge amount of air as if she haven't been breathing for a while.
"Ugh, what happened?"
She rubbed her eyes while waking up. That's when she felt wet and slimy and when she looked down, she is full of saliva-like texture.
"Yuck! What is this!?"
Chika stands up and saw that she was still inside the boss room and everything that happened came back to her like lightning.
"The Lord!" Turning around, she saw that the Bat Lord is missing on his spot and was replaced by a timer hanging in the air.
'4379 H 59 MIN 57 SEC'
Chika tilts her head as she read the time she was confused for a second, "I thought I was beaten and died as a sacrifice but why is the Lord dead?"
Chika shrugged it off as she thought that maybe the other members killed it but a vivid memory shows that they all run away after she was about to be eaten.
She pats away the slimy stuff from her body and walked outside to leave that dreaded place.
As she was about to go out, she saw a bunch of people in front of the tower talking about the timer which is also shown outside. Indicating that the Boss has been defeated and will be re-spawned after 6 months' time.
Going out, all eyes are on her, they were bulging with shock and surprise especially those members who were with her in that raid.
"Chika!" Kalish screamed from the crowd and pushed through to hug Chika. Her aura of happiness to see her alive radiates from her body.
"I'm so glad you made it back. I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
Chika hugged Kalish back while patting her head to stop her from crying.
"Hai hai, I'm alive and well." Chika whispered softly but then her eyes went it's way to Jeene who is looking at her in complete shock.
"How… How did this happen? Jeene whispered as she slowly took a step back. Guilt started to creep inside her as she started giggling like a manic and took off running.
The old members also started to run away, following Jeene as they don't have the strength to face Chika after what they have done. The new members, they were confused about what just happened.
They were only notified that the boss of that tower become stronger and needed more members to help kill it but they didn't expect a single girl to defeat it.
A huge tall man went to Chika and Kalish who are still hugging each other.
"I apologize for ruining your reunion but can you tell us what really happened?" The man scratched his head in awkwardness.
Kalish look at him and nodded as she started talking about what happened inside that tower.
Chika couldn't handle the stickiness of her body so she excused herself and went to the town and find a room to rent so she can take a shower.
It didn't take her long to find one and started doing her business. After 30 minutes, she is back into her room that could not fit three people inside, after all, it's the cheapest one in Trodale.
She lay on the hard mattress while thinking back to what happened to her and while she was into it, Chika unconsciously touch her necklace which made her remember the robotic female voice that she heard while she was in total darkness.
*Knock knock*
A loud knock happens on the door, making Chika flinch in surprise and hurriedly stand up making her elbow hit the table next to the bed.
While in pain, she opened the door with an awkward smile to the landowner who is holding a tray of potato soup and bread.
"Thank you~"
Chika grabbed the tray and close her door when she saw something at the side and when she rotate her body, the screen shifted in front of her.
She was so surprised that she nearly dropped her food, "What is this?"